Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1914-05-05

: viduals they are more or less of a
mystery. To thousands who have only
q reading knowledge Of them they are
unbelievable. To the few who have
had part as aids or cogs in the great
machinery which Is set in motion in
every place where Mr.. Sunday con-
ducts a campaign the results are al
most inevitable.
Through more than 20 years of work
and experimentation Mr.. Sunday has
contrived detailed system which to
ell observers, interested, disinterested
and prejudiced alike appears practic-
ally infallible. Time after time as new
territory has been approached the pre-
diction has been made freely that in
that instance Mr.. Sunday or his
method of operation would fail. Yet
end of six or seven weeks campaign
with flying colors and with new laurels
added to those which already marked
phenomenal achievements. When un-
expected obstacles have presented
themselves the genius Of the evangel-
ist always has proved sufficient to
overcome them.
For this work Mr.. Sunday takes no
credit to himself. Uniformly he gives
to Almighty God the honor Of what
ever success has attended his labors.
He does not believe, however, in leav-
ing anything to chance, nor in impos-
ing on Divine Goodness by anything
which even remotely resembles shirk-
ing. As a result he and his associates
work with prodigious vigor and energy
through every minute of the campaign.
But no amount of energy, nor any,
thing short of miracle like the part
ing of the Red Sea, would account for
the success attendant upon all the
Sunday revivals if it did not begin
before the arrival of the evangelist.
It is in the preliminary campaign
and IN the mastery handling of details
that Mr.. Sunday demonstrates his SUI
periority over all other workers in his
field. For years the demands upon Mr..
Sundays time have been such that II
he accepted all invitations he would
be booked at least ten years in ad-
vance. Obviously this gives him an
opportunity to pick. and choose.
Here then is the first note Of the
scale which must be sounded in order
to realize the full harmony of the
results obtained. The mere invitation
to come to city has no great weight
with the evangelist. The city not only
must want him, but must want him
with a consummate fervor. A fine
instinct resident in the evangelist, and
largely enjoyed by his wife, enables
him to sense to a nicely the real
anxiety of any community to entertain
him.
Committees which call upon him
during campaigns beholding the phe-
nomenal results obtained are not slow
to make almost any promise exacted
of them Realizing that not more
than one out of four invitations can be
accepted they press forward with a
renewed eagerness which naturally
places them en- rapport with the evan
gelist and his work. Thus there Is
established in the inviting committee
the nucleus of the necessary local or
ganization.
Next comes the unity Of evangelical
churches and the abandoning OF all
conflicting services in the community
during the campaign. The larger the
city the more this demand meets with
resistance, but since resistance In no
wise effects the evangelist and since
compliance with his request is an In
dispensable prerequisite to campaign
the second force for cooperation and
interest is set in motion.
Next comes the campaign for incl
dental expenses. 1t is one of the Sun
day doctrines that religion in all It's
phases should be self-supporting, and
he will start upon no revival service
the full expenses of which have not
been guaranteed in advance. A pecu-
liar aspect Of this rule is, that never
in his career has the guarantee been
invoked-always during the progress
of the meeting Mr.. Sunday raises by
collections more money than is needed
to cover the entire cost of the series.
The preliminary underwriting Of
guarantee fund, however, furnishes
the third force which draws people to-
gether, arouses their activity and com
pels their cooperation. Where o
mans treasure Is there is his heart
ALSO" and the men who have signed
their names to a guarantee aggregat-
ing from $4,000 to $4,000 are very
apt to work to make a success Of the
meetings for which their money is
pledged, even though there is moral
certainty that they never will have to
pay cent of what they guarantee.
At this point or even before the ele-
ment of extensive publicity enters into
the campaign. Newspapers in any
community whether large or small
must necessarily pay attention to an
enterprise which the business men OF
the town or city are backing to the
extent Of thousands and thousands OF
dollars. The element of publicity con-
tinues with increasing vigor to the
very end of all campaigns, and one
of the remarkable features in connec