The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1915-02-25

lnrNSNS,NtNoSSss.|J ''S'N'
our day" The
Pastor would not depart from his Gus
tom and the Bible rule, Speak evil OF
no man" His remarks merely ap.
pertained to "Billy's' preaching of the
Gospel
"Billy" Sunday catches the public
eye and ear by the novelty of his
methods. Some 20 to hear him lam
haste the preachers on the platform
behind him, and to watch their faces
and see them smile as though it were
a good joke when he tells them that
their preaching has made the churches
cold storage places with little storage,
or when he likens them to the Scribes,
Pharisees, hypocrites, of old, or when
he tells them that they are leading
! their congregations straight down to
Hell. These things told in the news
papers seem so astounding that people
must see and hear for themselves.
Billy's Chair Smashing Proclivties.
Others 20 to hear BILLY" because il
is the fad" Business men and elec
trio and steam railway managers real
ize that thousands will come to town
as they would to circus. They bring
pressure to bear upon the poor preach
ers: for Billy" wisely insists that he
will not come and save the citizens
from Hell if there is any competition
la, h. totc hot III h.
churches close down. Under the pres
sure the preachers cannot help them
selves and try to make the best of il.
hoping that people will not take BILLY"
seriously as respects their hypocrisy,
etc, and assured that he will divide
the spoils evenly amongst all the
churches-not the financial spoils, but
the souls for cold storage" or to be let
down to He'll
Others attend to see "Billy's" aero
bate feats. jumping onto a table or
smashing chair; others because they
have been invited to be of the large
choir; Others to say that they have
heard BILLY" Sunday. The worldly
adage is. Nothing succeeds like sue
cess" and every time BILLY" succeeds
he has more success.
Amongst Billy's virtues we should
not forget the fearless way in which he
attacks the social customs and sins
which assail the family and the com
munity. the fearless way In which he
tells the preachers what he really
thinks of them and what the masses
of the public think of them, and the
above board manner In which he bar
gains the result Of his efforts for cold
cash-the meeting of the expenses and |
the giving to himself Of certain collec
tons for himself and his troupe. If |
the Gospel must be sold, it is better to
have it done in the open rather than in
the name Of the heather, the collectors
getting the most
To the extent that Billy" Sunday
seeks to defend the Bible against the
Higher Critics, to the extent that he
really shows up the GOODNESS. formal
ism. hypocrisy. of the Church OF Lao
dicea Revelation 314-17l, to the ex
tent that he encourages righteousness
Of life and discourages drunkenness
and lewdness, We can surely wish him
Godspeed, and trust tnat some good is
by him. In awakening the
people TO do some thinking for them
selves along religious lines.
Some of BILLY" Sundays Faults.
The Pastor said that II the reports
hat Billy" prayed to God most irrev-
,rently. and addressed the Redeemer
Is "Old Pal" were true, then "BilIy's'
influence on the public would lead on
n the direction In which the world Is
low rapidly moving anyway-toward
He hoped that Billy" |
would become more reverent, and be-
ieves that this result would follow a
letter knowledge of God He could
carcely reconcile with honesty Biily's
ttempt to tie up all the souls he
aved, in the churches which he de- :
Jared were cold storage plants lead ;
NJ down TO Hell lie wished that
Billy" would reconcile these oppo-
ties.
He was pleased to note that BILLY \
unday's last sermon in each place Z
ras usually on the Second Coming Of I
'hrist and that "Billy" apparently rec |
gnizes the present and last stage Of I
ne Church. typined IN Laodicea. This ]
iused him all the more to wonder q
fhy BILLY" would help people into {