Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1914-11-19
ONE TRACK ON
GREAT TERMINAL :
SEVENTEEN THOUSAND HEAR
EVANGELtST'S SERMON TO
MEN ONLY.
[BY GORDON LATHROP.1

Des Moines, Nov. ITO the seven
teen thousand men who listened to
Evangelist Sunday preach his first
men only sermon, he resembled
nothing more than a high power, fast
mail locomotive, tearing down the
glistening glory rails with throttle
wide open and full steam up, bowling
over all that dared oppose but carry
ing friendly signals that all who
would might follow.
There's only one track to the Great
Terminal, according to Bill. All along
the way are block signals showing
clear or danger plainly recognize
able, and there's no reason for us to
plunge into the derail or misunder-
stand the orders if we but have faith
in the Good Dispatcher who, up there
in the heavens, bends night and day
over the great train sheet and regis
tiers each minute of our progress.
Bill Sunday was once a fireman on
the Northwestern. He knows the feel
of the great throbbing monster that
pulls the mails and the freight and
the passengers inside the pullmans
and coaches and he knows how to tell
railroad story. He admitted to the
crowd of men before him that per-
haps he was powerless to help some
of the older ones, those who have
travelled long way in iniquity but he
pictured himself a flagman, waving
the danger signal before their chill
dren and their children's children, just
like the f1agman on the New York
Central train No. 6 several years ago,
who obeyed his dying engineers or
ders to never minw him but go back
and flag the second section and keep
them from plunging into the wreck
ahead
"Unto the third and fourth genera
ton" quoted the evangelist many
times during his sermon but to this
generation right now, he directed the
hot shots of his adjective teeming
brain.
Confronting those who say: TITS no
business of anybody how l live,' he
declared: "It's everybody's business
what everybody does" Personal lib
erty is not personal license, he en-
phatically pointed out, and plunged
into what he called only warming
up arrangement of the liquor traffic
and it's self-justifcation on the
grounds of personal liberty. Consid-
GRAFTON of the liquor question imme-
diately suggested those who sign sa-
loon petitions and he promised them:
"Tll give you yours before leave Des
Moines"
Cursing received every possible
punishment at the hands of Sunday
short of being cursed. mo man can
be decent man and swear" he said
and further declared in regard to COM
munities that nothing would tone
down or give bad name to any COM
munity like blasphemous men, open
licensed saloons and open stores on
the Sabbath.
Returning to a consideration of the
"sins of the father" he took up at
length the data compiled on heredi-
tary influence, advancing the rather
discouraging prophecy, backed by sta
tistics, that if the present rate of in
sanity increased with the increase OF
population, in 219 years everyone
will be crazy as March hares.
But God is still at the throttle of
this old world he said in closing.
"He wants you men out there to say
you believe the Christian life is right
and that the best you know how you
will live your life for Jesus Christ.
Will you do it? Will you say: The
best know how I'll live it from now
on?' Come on, for your sake, for your
wife's sake and for the sake of your