River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1915-03-04

IlHASlGk KUOOLLLJl nOJeQ preacher Ol
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 "Billys' preaching of the
Gospel.
"Billy" Sunday catches the public
eye and ear by the novelty of his
methods. Some go 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
good joke when he tells them that
their preaching has made the churches
cold storage places with little storage,
or when lie likcns them to the Scribes,
Pharsee5, hypocrites, Of old, or when
lie tells ,hem that they are leading
their congregations straight down to
Hell. These things told in the news
papers seem 50 astounding that people
must see aud hear for themselves.
Billy's Chair Smashing Proclivities.
Others go to hear Billy" because it
is the fad" Business men and cleo
tric and steam railway managers real
lie that thousands will come to town
as they would to a 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
in the business-insists that all the
churches close down. Under the pres
sure the preachers cannot help them
selves and try to make the best of it,
hoping that people will not take Billy"
seriously us 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 Hell.
Others attend to see "Billy's" aero
battle feats jumping onto table or
smashing Il 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
lie 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
nunity, 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 3:14-10, to the ex-
tent that he encourages righteousness
of life and discourages drunkenness
and lewdness, we can surely wish him
Godspeed, and trust that some good is
accomplished 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 if the reports
that BILLY" prayed to God most irrev-
erently, and addressed the Redeemer
as "Old Pal" were true, then "Billy's"
influence on the public would lead on
in the direction in which the world is
now rapidly moving anyway-toward
irreverence. He hoped that BILLY"
would become more reverent, and be-
lieves that this result would follow a
better knowledge Of God. He could
scarcely reconcile with honesty Billy's
attempt to tie up all the souls he
saved, in the churches which he de-
clared were cold storage plants lead
inc down to He'll. He wished that
Billy" would reconcile these oppo-
sites.
He was pleased to note that Billy
Sundays last sermon in each place
was usually on the Second Coming of
Christ; and that Billy apparently rec
ognizes the present and last stage Of
the Church, typifed in Laodicea. This
caused him all the more to wonder
why Billy would help people into