The Washington times., 1914-04-17

please in the ways we think will do
most good"
Those who know Sunday always
are amused by the tales that he is
using religion for financial gain. He
will not talk of the dozens of boys
he has placed in schools. which is
his favorite form of charity. But
others Will tell of these young men
he has helped, and institutions to
which he has contributed.
Sunday has a deep-seated aversion
TO keeping statistics on his cam
paigns. You cannot find out from
him how many saloons he has closed,
how many converts he has taken in,
and the only record he will give out
Is that of the offerings to him. But
when the New York papers figured
out that, Judging from the S267, ,917.2
received in these eighteen cities and
the l61.S6 converts. 1t must have cost
N.5S per convert, Sunday was ex-
ceedingly wroth.
That a large portion OF these Of
fer1nss- come In checks ranging from
slOO TO 1900, drawn on big corpora
tions. is proof of the esteem in which
his work is held by the big business
men of the communities he visits.
statements were gathered from
business men in Scranton and in
Wilkesbarre. These will form an in
tercsting commentary on Sundays
work when presented in a separate
article.
But before leaving Sunday it is
well to let him explain his attitude
on one other charge brought against
him, that of blasphemy In his ex-
ceedingly original, unique and Off
hand prayers.
In Scranton the collections to make
up the guarantee fund were slow in
coming.
Now. Lord" prayed Sunday one
afternoon, you see what a bunch
Of tightwads there are in this town.
Make them dig in. oh, Lord, make
them dig in. when I get to heaven
I am going to tell you, God, how
mean some of these people treated
me-
Talk to Sunday a while, and, what
ever your idea of the merits Of this
style of supplication, you will see
that he means no irreverence by it.
He talks of the Lord and the devil
in an offhand way that suggests
that both personalities are real
persons to him.
his release from the Philadelphia
Nationals, so he could go into
Young Mems Christian Association
work.
Here, I was trying to preach in the
Y. M. c. AS, and tied up with a
three-year contract, with two years
and a half to run, and the Phillies
would not release me.
81 Just got down on my knees and
put II squarely UP to the Lord. on,
Lord said I. If you want me to
work for you fix this ball-playing
thing. Get 'em to let loose on that
contract. I've done all could, NOW,
well, the Lord saw the point, l
suppose. 1t happened that about
that time an outlaw league. known
as the Brotherhood, which OLD lans
will remember. broke up.
THAT threw q lot OF big leaSueIS
ont of Jobs, and the manager could
I'M my place easily. So I went to
work with the Y. NJ. c. A. for Ss5
2 month. And I stuck to 1t, too. IN
the face of offers Of l.Oe a month
to play ball again. Tell that to the
fellows who say am out coping
the coin"
II may be inexplicable to the
reader. but anyone who heard sun
day tell this simple story. and wit
messed his childlike faith and sin
cere belief in the Intervention of
Providence at that stage of his
career, would not be apt to go away
with the idea he was blasphercous.
Instead one gets an almost uncanny
sensation of a man who Is very
close to some mystic power.
Neither would 1t seem sacriligious
il he called your attention to the
fact that IL was said Of the lowly
Nazarene that he taught not as the
scribes.