The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1908-11-30
Before Hearing Him preach.

Qowa) Press Billy Sunday was ha'
i ing sort of devil of a time in Ottun
d wa last week. The mayor and the tn
alter man We're fighting him, and Bill
e wasn't laying down. to any oil
; servable extent. The air was full c
explosives and expletives. The schoC
board forbade him speaking TO tn
scented it. and threatened to walk on
if the board did not recant. and the
recanted. 1--WE defy the school board.
/. seems that those boys are bound t
get religion or know the reason why
by lux
! The local Courier is full of Billy.
savings. chiefly slang A good dea
of ii sounds like swearing. AS
this town is going to he'll. There is
too much Joining church and no
enough Joining God, There is toe
much playing tag with God and aide
and seek with the devil That's
i edifying. eh' Here is a genteel thing
and so spiritual besides:
II wish ! could pull string and
all the unpaid for clothes You people
are wearing would fall off Some of
you men wouldn't have anything on
but a celluloid collar End pair of
socks. and Won women wouldn't have
anything on but rat and some hair
pins"
1t was nip and tuck between
tabernacle and theater the night
The Devil" was played there, the
night before it came here. Both
buildings We're damned with rubber
ers, and one performance was quite
as religious as tother.
In one sermon Billy gave an anus
ing, but rather obscene ccount of
the girl dancing before Eerod He
sprawled on a couch. with punches
of his harem around him. she nude
and hopping about on one toe. till
he said, come here, little girl-yov
got next next to me, girl, what do you
want?' And she spun on one toe
out TO her old adultress mama, who
told her to ask for the head of John
the Baptist Billy is very graphic,
and dare devilish. and that's tae
secret of his success. 1t must make
the regular clergy hopping mad to see
this young ball-player skin them
all to pieces. making money, evan
gelizing. but they go in cahoots
with him, probably to have chance
to watch him and learn his methods.
Why. in six weeks in a place he
hives more money than the average
bit of Cloth gathers n ten years.
He tickles a town to the limit and
they shell out literally, and consid-
er that he runs the most amusing circus
they ever saw, Folks are willing
TO pay for real good fun. The min
listers ought not to get envious of
Billy no more than the common run
of editors should get sore because
Roosevelt is to nave a salary OF
$4,000 year for being associate
editor of the Outlook Intrinsically
Teddy isn't worth ar such sum
though he will draw thousands of sub
scribers, curious 10 see where he'll
break out next. But. he will soon
play out, for he has close limitations.
He has already got out of his sys-
tenn about all the stuff that in
there He says he cares nothing
for economic and commercial and
political subjects: all that interests
him is moral questions. but the pub
lie already knows those things. how
many kids married folks should
have. how to be manly, pucky, fair,
honorable and all that like a COW,
he is about dry" and can be turn
ed ont to grass. But there seems
10 be no end 10 Billy's original and
even aboriginal stuff. that the mass
Is ike so well that they lap and
lick II with their tongues as If it
were taffy In that respect. Billy
is like Sam Jones. who never went
stale even in repeating his old gags
and 1okes Billy wears lots better
than Tedds is more various. queer
original and devilish He earns his
big money all right In some places
he g sers in more cash in FIVE or six
weeks than even the frst-rate
preachers ger In whole year. say.
five, six or even seven thousand
dollars. Folks gladly pay for the
chance of hearing him backyard
towns and people. void funny slang.
rip sinners mp the back and tepid
Christians down in front. It's
circus and the price Of the ticket
cuts no figure-tae mob want
see the clown ami watch his amusing
antics That L is all r7avesty of
anything that can rightly be called
religion cuts no ice II is a very
curious psychologist fact that folks
never enjoy anything so much as to
see some one else catch hail Column
bia in a crowd at the tongues end
Of an audacious fellow whether
politician or preacher. and taeyIl
sit and see without winclng. the
hide stripped off some poor victim.
and count it amusement to see It
nailed to barn door. Il the skin.
ner gets round to that class. and
tiays them alive, it is not quite SO
funny but fbev olodi,. .t ~