Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-10-26
NO DARK WAYS TO heaven
Gypsy Smith Scores Critics of Plan
to Parade in Vice Section.
WON'T TURN FROM PURPOSE
Six Thousand Attend Services in
Convention Hall-Big Audi
ences Afternoon and Night.

Gypsy Smith leaned over the rail of the
temporary pulpit in Convention Hall last
night. his black eyes flashing before that
audience of 5000 persons who had ar
! rived before the seats Of the vast audi
| forum were all filled and the doors
I closed
| Some of you would be Christians If you
could be Christians on the sly. II there
were any underground passage into the
kingdom of heaven, If there were some
secret pathway leading there. you would
| be the first to take 1t. But there is not.
You have been public sinner, and you
| have got to be a public saint"
The gypsy-evangelist took for his theme
the story of Zaccheus, who. in order to
see Christ in the midst of the immense
| crowd that was following Him into Je-
| rusalem. climbed into a tree.
"Zaccheus has been held up by lots
| of people as the embodiment of Curl
| osity," he said. II believe Zaccheus was
! far more than that.
Christ never treated a curious person
as he treated this man. He had a sharp.
| curt way with curious people and specu-
| lators. but he had always tender spot
| in his heart for those who were tired of
| sin.
1T was SO with Zaccheus and it will
be SO with you If you come to these meet
| ings with an honest purpose to listen to
| the word of God and declare publicly
| that you wish to confess your sins and
| espouse Christianity.
Flouts the Sly Christian.
"Zaccheus was handicapped because he
was small. There are multitudes of peo-
pie kept from seeing Christ because of
! the crowds. Some of you would be Chris
| tians If you could be Christians on the
| sly There are some of you who would
| stand up and say, I would do 1t II |
could do it without any one knowing
! it,
Some of you, If your souls salvation
depended on doing what Zaccheus did,
| would be lost. Christ knew Zaccheus--
knew him by name. He knows your
| name. He knows the life you are living.
He knows who IS beside you. He knows
who that companion is and what your
relations are with that companion. There
| is no bribing God. There is no shutting
His eye.
The only way to go up is to come
| down, for he that eXalteth himself snail
be abased. You will have to come OF. on
your stills You can't drive into the
kingdom of Heaven in an automobile
You will have. to get down on your
knees and God will have to do a tremen-
dous lot of breaking before He gets some
| of you fit to enter the kingdom of
heaven.
Determined Upon Parade.
One of the incidents of the meeting
was the evangelist's reply to those who
he thought were scoffing at his plan for
midnight march Of the Christian hosts
of Washington. When he announced the
plan for the parade partly through the
vice-ridden sections Of the city, some in
| the audience smiled.
| Some of you have turned up your
noses when have spoken plainly about
your failings in Christ's path. but l am
not hurt by it," he said. IF you can
stand for a semi-recognized tenderloin
that is the disgrace Of American cities
and not raise hand to stop it, l guess
you can stand what you are pleased to
call my wild babblings.
| You may sheer at me and at the plan
to go through the byways and wicked
| spots of this great city, singing Gods
gospel and exhorting those poor unfor-
! Inmates who do not know Christ to come
| to Him. but that we will reach many
souls through the effort 1 have not the
| slightest doubt.
IF you are true Christians and wish
| to live as Christians after never raising
a hand to help wipe out these spots of
| moral leprosy, which. l am told, invade
| the very doors Of your new municipal
building, you will not smile. You will
follow with those who are not ashamed
to be seen marching in Gods cause in
public procession, and in an effort to
draw from such places as the saloon and
the dives, where young men are ruined.
the man and the woman who might never
have been reached by the church men,
bers and professed Christians who are
satisfied to visit their churches to show
off their new hats and gowns"
Big Afternoon Audience.
Convention Hall was filled with men
in the afternoon and Gypsy Smith spoke
to them of the manliness in publicly pro-
Tossing the Christian faith.
world Is to be an out-and-out Christian
man" he stated.
Not a decorated corpse. not a cadaver-
Gus something or other that moves once
or twice a week and calls itself by the
sacred name of Christian, but Gods man
out and out 36o days In the year. That is
the MODEST thing in Gods world
Il know there are some OF you who
think that religion will do for Sunday
schools. and there are more of you who
think that religion is good enough for
the women.
us it weak to be a Christian? You
try it, You go down into the city to-
morrow morning and tell the boys you
have given yourself to Christ. and see
Ii it won't take courage to do that. When
they~a ask you to come and have a drink
YOU say, No, / have done with that for
ever l wish mad my way In this mat
F,0 II lnr,,