The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1914-10-20

called Brotherhood threw lot Of
baseball talent into the open market,
and it was possible for the young con-
vert to secure his release
Now 1t must be borne in mind that q
salary of $1,000 q month was a possi-
BILE salary for 8 top notch baseball
player Of national acclaim. To these
specifications Billy Sunday conformed
In every detail. Yet despite this fact.
and the further one that he had wife
to support he relinquished all further
connection with the baseball field to
become an under secretary at the Chi
cago Y. M. G. A. in March, 1891, at
maximum salary of 1898 per month.
To make the contrast still stronger
the Chicago association at that time
was in such straights for funds that
his salary was sometimes as much as
six months In arrears. The evangelist
has remarked often enough that no
one then accused him of being a
CRATER. According to his own state
ment, II went hungry at noon and
walked to and from work to save car
fare"
Properly speaking the Y. M. G. A.
period Of Mr. Sundays life which ex-
tended from 1891 to 1896 should be
considered as part Of his education.
It gave him q training, which has
since proved invaluable, of meeting all
manner of men on the broad plane OF
humanity. 1t gave him an opportunity
at public speaking, of which according
to all reports in the beginning he was
awkward enough. More important
than these it brought him in touch
with the big men who were doing
things in the religious world, and out
Of it ultimately grew his association
with DR.. ]. Wilbur Chapman, even
then world famous evangelist.
L. Wilbur Messer, general secretary
Of the Chicago Y. M. G. A., in discuss
ing Mr.. Sundays connection with his
institution said:
''Mr. Sunday had begun the Christian
life, as q result, as remember, of his
contact with the Pacific Garden Mission
and soon became identified with our as
ISOLATION activities. Mr.. Sunday rendered
very valuable service in the specific re-
ligious work Of the association. He was
especially strong in his personal effort
among men who were strongly tempted
and among those who had fallen by the
way. He was also effective in his evan
eelistic appeals even at that early period
in his Christian life.
I'VE never had a man on our staff who
was more consecrateA, more deeply spir-
itual. more self-sacrificihg or more re-
sultful in his work in winning men to
Christ
mr.. Sunday while with us was a bitter
foe Of any kind Of vice and did some
effective work in creating public senti-
ment concerning certain evils which be-
set young men. Mr.. Sunday has since
that time rendered most valuable service
in many cities where he has conducted
meetings by approving the association
and by raising large funds for its sup
port.
1T count my friendship with Mr. Sum
day as one Of the rare privileges OF my
life.''
The change from active outdoor life
to the comparative confinement of in
stitute work at first interfered serious
ly with Mr. Sundays health and he
was obliged to take an extended vaca-
ton at Lake Geneva for recuperation.
More and more, however, he made
his Y. M. G. A. work take him into the
open, and meeting with the various
classes of people whom 1t was his
province to interest.
An incident of his work is probably
typical of its general trend. In one
of his sermons Mr.. Sunday says:
when was assistant secretary Of the
Hastings, who edited On anti-infidel pa
per. send me $500 copies Of it. Bob In
gersoll was delivering three lectures in
Mcvicker's theater, and I had these
copies distributed to people on the side
walk as they went In or out. The first
night Ingersoll has a big audience. The
next night II was smaller. and on the
third night It had dwindled almost to
nothing.
Every day at noon, while Ingersofl
was lecturing, Hastings would go to old
Tarwell hal1 and answer Ingersolfs
statements Of the night before. One night
IngersoI painted one Of those wonderful
word pictures for which he was justly
famous. He was q master of the use Of
words. Men and women would applaud
and cheer and wave their hats and hand
kerchiefs. and the waves Of sound would
rise and fall like great waves of the sea.
AZ two men were going home from the
Lecture ono Of them said to the other,
bob certainly cleaned 'em mp tcuiehk'
The other man said: There's one thing
he didn't clean up. He didn't clean up
the religion Of my old mother"
Another sermon expression throws
q light on the manner In which he was
cropping toward that self-expression In
which he came to excel, I'VE grew By
expression" He says:
when I first started out to be q
| Christian couldn't stand mp in prayer
| meeting and use three sentences conse-
| cutively, but I made II q rule to speak
| whenever got chance and 30 I over.
came my natural diffdence. God blessea
| me because am determined to do some
thing fos him. could have sat still and
withered and milldewed like q lot Of
you. God wants to develop u according
1 70 nature"
The evangelist's own version Of hii
Introduction into Y. n. c. A. work Il
interesting. He had . contract to PLAY