Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-07-17
j AMES STEPSON'S
nyiNTTY AND DEATH
ON BILLY" SUNDAY
uys Henry Kortum Tells
q 17-year-old Boys Re-
li0ious Fervor, Which
, ended in State Asylum
at Trenton.
p, = stoc Correspondent

.~rtiA N. j., July i7.-outslde Of an
briek farmhouse where william
II years old, used TO barrlcade
and through the keyhole preach
N8' while posing as BILLY" Sunday,
.,ood group OF South Jersey farm
fis sbsir wives. They were listening
~ Henry Kortum, stepmother OF
80 youth, relate how he suffered a
~ collapse after hearing the evan
~ fs.,,,,, dIed last Monday in the Trenton
. gor the Insane. His death oc-
Af'e yithin a few hours after being
rns ~, ,o the institution. Physicians de-
mat Kortum became mentally de-
az a result of religious hysteria.
Isorirm insisted today that It was
" sn,ons preached by BILLY" Sunday
= rssulted in her stepson losing his
y. txortum home is located on a 60
farm about a mile from the little
iss...d station at Mantua His death
- 4 the sole topic of the day. Every
- the platform Of the railroad sta
,slited about Billy Kortum's death.
s..s.s buried yesterday in the Kortum
= ..',e Mot in the Eglinecon Cemetery.
~ 4 located at Clarksboro
g.rt,fa has many residents who are
..sstltlous. This element have worked
ss!rsives into such state that they
.,fially afraid to go near the little
Al the Kortum farm. Some OF the
s.a,rs and their children believe that
sas Kortum's spirit is concealed in
'sTs part Of the barn.
ssy how Billy" said Mrs. Kortum,
s.said be alive today II he hadn't heard
nsf Sunday speak. Our boy. changed
81 IN sfter he heard Sunday deliver his
.,,non on Doctor Jekyll and Mr.. Hyde
~ sermon had such an effect on our
- ,hat he actually began to thing that
Il vas Billy Sunday himself. He would
4 INTO the barn and there lock himself
4. while In the barn he would pose as
e5nday and start to deliver his sermons.
u smoke so loud that persons passing
~ harm could hear him. Persons would
ssp in front of the barn and listen to
ply while he spoke to them through the
Esyhoe.
n.wn with rum and down with the devil!
0a,n he imagined that he was the devil
tmself On one occasion we heard our
hv shout Hurrah for BILLY" SundayH
lisnv times I pleaded with Billy to for
"A the sermons that he heard Sunday
,Fsach. but he refused to listen to me.
IA frowned at me as we'll as at other
ssrsons who tried to get him to forget
Bilyi Sunday. He referred to the per-
ems who attempted to get him to forget
sunday as devils.
sEVerything went we'll until my boy
heard Of BILLY" Sunday. He was stu
dlolIs hoy and popular among his friends.
He attended school and was at the top of
lsclass. My husband and planned many
tbrrs for him. We wanted Billy to be-
eorne business man or a good farmer.
Then BILLY Sunday and his sermons
came along. One day Billy heard this
man Sunday speak. He came and told us
all about II. Al first we thought he had
been impressed by the sermon. But soon
we found out that we were mistaken. 1t
wasn't the same Billy. His familiar smile
faded He lost interest in his lessons and
also in the companionship of other boys
no lived in Mantua.
He would go out into the kitchen ant
asayer sermons The sermon which he
tddk pleasure in constantly repeating was
ohs Of DR.. Jekyl and Mr.. Hyde. This
tamon he would repeat sometimes a hun
dfsd times a day"
week ago the Kortum family engaged
TAO physicians to examine young Kortum
after an examination they decided tha
he was suffering from religious mania
He arrived at the asylum last Monday
afternoon and died in the evening Of th'
fane day.