Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1914-12-01
SUNDAY BOSS
OF DES MONIES
SERMON FOR MEN ATTRACTS AT
LEAST 5000; CHICAGO WANTS
EVANGELIST.
BY Gordon Lathrop.

BY Gordon Lathrop.
Des Moines, Nov. 3O.-The story of
Billy Sundays activities of Sunday,
Nov. 20, Is the story of Des Moines of
that day. When, after four weeks SER
vices. twenty-seven thousand men in
a city with population of 10000 are
drawn and held by the personality of
one man, to endure discomfort, rear
range their meal hours and spend
hours holding narrow man 's-sized
space on board bench in order to
hear an hours sermon and when fully
eight thousand more men try to gain
admittance but are turned away for
lack of room, and when it is consider
ed that there were not forty thousand
women present only because of the
fact that two of the three sermons
were for men only it may be said that
Bill Sunday was On this day in par
ticular the boss of Des Moines.
Mr.. Sundays personality was re-
sponsible for more than that. The
spacious Des Moines auditorium was
filed to overlooking twice by those
who could not get in the tabernacle
and the churches where, before Sun
day came to the city, ministers plead
ed in vain for full attendance, were
filled with worshipers, stirred to a new
sense of Christian responsibility by
this man concerning whom it is con-
tinually asked: How does he do it?
What is there in the man that sweeps
aside the frequent crudities of express
sion, the lack of polish and at times
of depth in his theological contentious,
the occasional displeasing manner
isms, what is it that rises above all
individual criticism and yields an in
fluence over men and women of all
classes and in increasing NUMBER"
The answer might be partly found
in consideration of the essential
truths that Sunday breaches but the
picture presented by Sunday himself
at the close of the third sermon of this
day, Booze, or Get on the Water
Wagon" might answer the query fur
Their.
1t was the second preaching Of this
sermon on the same day. The NOR
ing sermon was for men and women
and was delivered with all Sundays
power and vigor but the afternoon and
evening sermons were just for men
and on the topic of greatest local in
terest, the liquor question Sunday
would be famous if for nothing more
than this delivery of his view of the
liquor traffic contained in this sermon.
1t was terrific strain on him to
preach this wonderful sermon twice
in one day, but he did not spare him
self
The man gives of himself, Of his
heart and nerves and brain and
muscle in full measure with that
which is given him by his auditors
and all who observed him when the
last sermon and after-meeting were
over, when he stood with head bowed
while Homer Rodeheaver prayed, saw
in his face the lines and marks of the
effort of this day.
He had torn off his collar early in
this sermon, saying that his voice was
so hoarse that even the pressure or
the collar made speaking difficult.
Later he unbottoned his collar button
and barred his throat, then stripped off
his coat, revealing the white shirt
fairly pasted to his body by perspira-
ton. Ht put on the coat after while
and kept it on until the end but the
SEPARATION between his, shoulders three
inches wide and extending to the
middle of his back. His hair was
rumpled This was the evidence OF
the muscular effort he had put forth
in the one sermon, the last of three
on this day.
But further evidence of strain
could be observed. He had in this
after-meeting received one hundred
men who came forward, protesting
conversion. This number made the
total for the day two hundred and
twenty. When the last man had shak-
en- the evangelist's hand, Billy turned
to his assistant and whispered: you
pray. Rodey, can't do any more
Sunday stood aside with hear bowed.
He seemed to try to compose his fear
lures but the nerves in his face
| twitched his cheeks and eyes and his
body trembled with sheer nerve ex-
haustion. Although he had ceased his
exertions five minutes before, the
sweat rolled down from his forehead
and trickled off his nose. He looked
rather comical, in way, but in the
same way long distance runner looks
| after ne mas cTOSScu Ine tdPc oACol q
gruelling race and is about to fall
nerveless to the ground. No one held
for more than fieeting instant the
funny aspect of Sundays appearance,
though it really wasn't common
thing to see preacher with coat and
collar off At that glimpse of Billy
Sunday, many of those who have won
dered How does be do it?' had their
own question answered.
Billy Sunday gives of himself as but
few men in the world have given.
Chicago Wants Sunday.
| Sixty-five churches on the west side
of Chicago have signed formal invi-
| tation for the former baseball player
| to conduct an evangelistic campaign
in a great tabernacle to be erected on
the west side.
The fact is to be conveyed to Mr.
Sunday in person by the Rev. James
E. Walker pastor of the First United
Presbyterian church, who will leave
Chicago today for Des Moines DR.
walker expects to meet Mr.. Sunday
ON Tuesday and tell him Of the results
4 soh