Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1907-04-22
Iowa Newspapers
BALLYHoos AND PREACHERS.
Dubuque Telegraph

Dubuque Telegraph
| The tattooed man, whiskered lady.
! singing and dancing trio, and the re-
| sounding kettle-d drum before tent
shows in carnival and circus exhibit
| lions are described In circus parlance
SIS the ballyhoo.
| The Snowman expects them to excite
your interest and bring your money
| TO the box office
The ballyhoo is form Of advertis-
ing. It's use, however. is not limited
to showmen. Evanselsts and sensa-
tional preachers employ it. With them
TT frequently takes the form OF emo
tlonal men and women fervidly declar-
| ing a conversion that will unfortunate
~ endure only until temptation again
presents itself. At other times. the
evangeist's or preachers subject COM
prises the ballyhoo.
Thus, at Fairfield, Ia. the other day,
| Evangelist Sunday, who is gesticulat-
Ing, vulgar exhorter. Numbered out
that You people are lousy with mon
ey:-why don't you give more of it?"
Turning to the women he said. Say,
ladies, II your old man won't give you
anything for the collection. go thru
his pockets while he sleeps Such
language. 1t will be appreciated. will
attract crowds for time. and doing
that, is a good ballyhoo.
Some preachers who are personally
ambitious. wondering at their small
audacity in frankness and vulgarity,
congregations, seek for way to fiji
the news, and emulate the exhorting
evangelist. They deal with contempo-
raneous themes. judiciously advertise
themselves. and secure "the crowd
for their audience
They assume that vulgarity and
coarseness In speech Is what the crowd
wants to hear; that 1t is necessary to
talk doTn to the crowd, and that the
latter would rather hear a discussion
Of public policy than discourse on
the gospel.
It's a matter Of regret that preach
Aers with a paucity Of language con-.
found simplicity in expression with
slang. Every writer striving for sim
pie expression finds his model In the
testanents Christ speaks to the peo-
pie in chastened words of one and two
syllables, rarely three syllables
Christ never said anything which,
Ills hearers could not comprehend.
and He did not find it necessary to be
vulgar. or in talking down to the peo-
pie bemean what today is defined as
the dignity Of the cloth
The minister is usually responsible
for empty pews. Editorials were not
generally read by the poorly educated
until man who caught the light In
the simplicity of Biblical language,
wrote his editorials In simple words.
That man has become famous, but his
language is always the vehicle of
thought.
ThereNis nothing under the sun so
prolific of fruitful themes. of instruc-
ton, of good as the Bible. There is
no recital which man would rather
hear than Biblical story. There is
nothing outside of religion on which
he yields his own convictions, to the
minister's, and when the minister
seeks to force him to do so. the min
lister sacrifices respect of himself and
the cloth he wears.
Men OF today want the church to be
holy place that when they enter it
they will feel spiritual upliftment and
not hear preaching to the galleries"
The smell of sawdust, the blare Of
horns and, the noise of the ballyhoo
makes them very, very weary.