The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-02-23
SUNDAY GETS $2S,SOO
IN PITTSBURG GIFTS
Baseball Evangelist Receives
Other Presents, With More
Money Yet to Come.
FAvORs A NEW YORK VISIT
Believes Many Converts Would
"Hit the Sawdust Trail"
in This City.

PrrrsBuRo. Feb. 22-For eight weeks
the Rev. william A. Sunday. the baseball |
evangelist. known generally as Billy Sun
day. conducted a campaign OF Christian
revival here. He preached l12 sermons
and spoke to over q million and half
persons. counting repetitions In attend
ance. while the number of persons who
have professed Christianity amounts 10
shout $4,000
The free will offerings at the three
meetings in the tabernacle to-day. which
20 to Mr.. Sunday personally. amounted
to Si0.343.55. Besides this, sls.ts9.17
was subscribed privately and offerings
were taken In all those churches support
ing the evanselistic campaign. The
amount OF these offerings will not he
known till tomorrow
J. D. Gallery, president OF the Pitts
burg Railways Company and a leading
Catholic. gave N. cvnngclistic commit
tee a signed check with instructions to
MI In for any amount for the evangelist.
Magnificent presents have been given
j.. TO Sunday and his associates.
The campaign. which will end to-mor-
row. was far reaching In its influence. The
city was stirred.
prals,ng the work OF the evangelist and
lamenting the fact that as an official body
II was not permitted 10 contribute TO Mr.
Sundays financial support Hundreds Of
churches had additions u their member
ships and various religious and social ac-
tivities benefited from the revival.
Tho campaign started on December Is
last year. But this was only the nominal
beginning. for long before the arrival OF
the evangelist preliminary work was car
ried on to prepare the city for the preach
Ing
The promoters Of the campaign included
the ministers Of the evangelical churches.
The Episcopal clergy took no part in the
work and they We're Joined In their uppo-
sition to the movement by the I.uthera.s
and Un!tarians. The chairman Of the
evangelistic committee was the Rev J X.
McClurkin OF the fashionable Shadyside
Presbyterian Church. Others who took
prominent paris were the Rev. Maitland
Alexander OF the First PRESBYTERIAN
Church. the Rev. George y. shelton. the
Rev w. D. Holderby. the Rev. j. w. r.
Oumwalt and the Rev. Campbell Coyle.
All Expenses Guaranteed.
The committee first received pledges
from the members of the churches that
paid. The guarantees were taken out in
the form Of shares OF stock in the Billy
sunday Revival Campaign.
1t was at FIRST estimated that $40 900
would be needed to defray all expenses.
but this fell short Of the mark. Mr. sun
DAY did not ask for any money from the
committee. He required only that the
cost OF building the tabernacle. heating
and lighting 1t and other costs incidental
TO the campaign be paid by the local
churches. Mr.. Sunday was to receive tho
collections on the last day.
Mr.. Sunday arrived here on Saturday.
December 81. and began preaching the
next day. With him came the Rev. L.
n. Peacock. his first assistant, his choir
master. Homer A. Rodeheaver. his plan
ist, Il ID. Ackley; Miss Grace SAKE. an
expert in Bible teaching: Miss Frances
Miller. in charge of personal work among
business girls. Mrs. William Asher.
worker among factory girls: Mr.. and
Mrs. Loren q. Jones' who do special work
among the high school students. and Fred
seibert. caretaker OF the tabernacle. The
director OF the personal work for men.
Edward II. Emmett, ex-secretary OF the
7. NJ c. A OF Los Angeles, did not Join
the party until after the start of the
campaign here. Ma" Sunday conducted
meetings and helped generally
At Mr.. Sundays first sermon there
were many who went to hear the evange-
list because of curiosity. During the first
two weeks the tabernacle was only &C.
casionally filled.
Billy did not ask for converts at the
Beginning. Not until ne had preached a
week did he invite any one to profess
Christianity.
On the second Sunday evening meeting
he extended the invitation to those who
desired 70 hit the sawdust trail" On
this first invitation as persons walked
up the sawdust aisle and shook the evan
~ ntn T.
tsacA
After the FIRST two weeks work Billy
Sunday became the most talked OF man In
Pittsburg. He was the topic Of CONVEX
sation on trolley cars, in hotels and In
stores. and was the subject for Testing
and ridicuis In the theatres He did no,
mind the latter. az he thought it was good
foe his business.
No seats for Many.
And the crowds began to come. Nigh,
after night many were unable TO md seat
IN the tabern acle or even to gain entrance
20 the building Every evening thousandi
Of men and women from the factories ant
stores would MI the building. They woult
stand In the aisles, sit In the sawdust Of
case anxiously In at the windows Man,
would walt outside for hours to secur'
passage through the doors into tn
structure.
When Mr.. Sunday was announced 4
preach special sermons many hours be
fore schedule time throngs would gathe
20 gain the most desirable places. WheI
he preached his celebrated sermon Of
"Boose' men fiocked around the door
and filled the approach to the choir an
the platform. They climbed the roo
and listened Mt tho skyiights.
One youth. chased by a policeman 70
making too much noise on the roof. en-
tered the building through one OF tn
skyiiRhts. scaled from rafter to rafter an
slid down one OF the poles into the build
ing.
The day the sermon for women onl
was preached the tabernacle was a mas
of scrambling women. This sermon NJ
Sunday preached three times, morning
afternoon and evening. The first wona
arrived at 7 10 In the morning and there
after q stream poured in all day
After the morning meeting II wa
- 4hLcias<h I !.