Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1906-10-26
REV. SAM. P. JONES.
His Power Recognized. aid His
Preaching in StauntOn
Recalled.

/
| The death of the Rev Sam P. Jones
| which occurred on the 18th lnst.,. re
moved from public eye one of the mos
remarkable men of the Goth century
As a preacher he had peculiar power
in many respects he was unique, il
others great. We do not speak of hin
strictly from what IS called the relig
| ious side of his life, we leave this tl
| the clergy, or more particularly to thOs,
who make specially of passii G Judg
ment on the departed. as TO whether
they shall or shall not be rewarded witt
a crown of glory We seldom trenct
upon the province OF the Great Judge
or write verdicts for him. We draw
our estimate of this remarkable man
purely and simply from the things he
seemed to accomplish here Cd earth
and judge him by his zeal, and power.
and by the influence be exerted on his
audiences. He has been in StauntOn
We have heard him AS we bad heard
him both praised and denounced, We
went to hear him as we would 60 to
hear lecturer, or to be more candid,
as We would go to see show. or any
sight that was new to US. In going we
accompanied crowd largely drawn
by the same impulses. We wanted to
study the man. and see what there
was in him which made men, women
and children fall over themselves in
their mad rush for seats. The place
In which he held his meetings here
was as devoid of sanctity as any could
have been. 1t was the BOdley Wagon
Works, long frame building then
just completed, and fitted up with a
stage. on which the preacher stood land
where his musical leader and his chos-
en- choir sat. In front were the most
uncomfortable seats, and the sounds
were deadened by saw dust spread up
on the floor. If 1.-THE dim religio us
light" or if
"As in some temples holy shades,
THOUGH hushed the hymn and stilled
the prayer
The silent awe that all pervades,
Tells one that worship has been there,
are necessary adJuncts to religious
worship, this was no place for it. As
we neared the arena. if we may so term
the place of worship, lacking for bet
ter word, we found the candy and lem &.
onade stands in full blast, near the
door was a person selling books con-
tanning hymns to be sung by Mr.. Ex-
cell, the musical director, and on sale
also were the photographs of Mr.
Jones and Mr., Excel. All these were
out of the ordinary, they would in
many cases have shorn the whole oc.
casiOn of any religious feature, and
given it such turn of frivolous enter
tainment as would have made serious
thought and contemplation of higher
ideals impossib ole. Too. the improvis
ed seats aud lights and saw dust
had their effect toward dispellng re-
ligious thought, and savored more of a
circus than a church. But the crowd
pressed and surged and jolted each
other in their anxiety to get desirable
places,
We we're of the crowd, and soon
found ourselves where we had a full
The preacher was already on bis feet
he moved about restlessly. The choir
was singing as we entered, the hymns
we're familiar, and the large assem- blv
joined land the very roof of the building
seemed to be lifted by the volume of
sound. Never in Stanton, we believe.
were so many voices, before or since,
joined in singing hymns at any one
time. The audience was cosmopolitan.
Though the place of worship was a
mile from the city thousands had gone,
people from the country had come
many miles, and many who came to
hear him once, intending TO go home
thereafter, stayed during the meeting
which lasted about week. On one
side was portion devoted to seats for
colOred people, and these were packed,
indeed the building was filed COM
pletely within the radius of the speak
er's voice. There had gone out a
statement that Mr.. Jones was under
the management of company which
"played" him as the term went-that
is they paid him a stated salary and
they took the''gate receipts is,
all the money given at the coll ections
as we'll as the receipts for the sale of
the books containing the hymns sung.
This would ordinarily have routed any
other preacher, whether true or I'm
true, but it had no effect here-people
came. and they staid. When his au-
dience was seated, and the devOtlons
begun with song and prayer had
reached the point where the preacher,
who had for while been seated, arose
and announced his text and began his
discourse, there was dead silence. A
slim, dark, tired looking man, stood
before us. His features are so we'll
known. We apprehend, that no descrip-
ton of them is necessary, but bis dress
was thoroughly unconventional. He
had not on the ministerial garb. This
to persons accustomed to the cloth i'll
pulpits was another point against the
speaker, but he soon made you forget
his dress, the surroundings, the lack
of sanctity in the place of worship, and
follow him as be poured forth his vol
ume of words, and with it ideas.
You may have heard others express
similar ones, but never just as be ex-
pressed them. He bit right, left, up,
down, he cared not whose back he
fayed, or what CALLED jade WINGED, he
called spades spades, and struck at
vice and immortality in his own mimi
table way. Nobody left while be
preached, and whilst some may not
have returned again others took their
places. Well do we remember how
business stagnated, and how ''Sam
Jones" became the one theme OF con-
versation In town and county. No
other man in twenty years has caused
such stir amongst US, if indeed ever
before; no other In twenty years will.
He exerted an indescrlbabie power
over many people, whether lasting, we
do not say, nor do We know. because
we so soon forget even the memories