The Washington times., 1915-01-07

NOUS sermons. that on Faith" in the
$4,000 people.
word subject Of his last nights SER
mon. Fer more than an hour Sunday
yolleyed and thundered at graft In
Pennsylvania State politics. -
GRAFT has got the strangle hold on
religion and the church,, he yelled.
nraft has gagged and bound the
"Pennsylvanla is one OF the worst
wn'sky.soaked old States in the coun.
enact a local option liquor law. The
Talk Of the initiative and referendum
by state politicians he Characterised 90
such talk" he shouted. rs pure
buncombe and against pure govern
ment, because they refuse to lei the
| people have county local option bill,
| want rum
Halted BY Applause.
Time and again the evangelist had to
| stop. mop his streaming face. and wait
for the overwhelming periods of accla-
nation that greeted his inerciless lam
pooning tactics to subside. Everybody
| in that vast expanse OF massed humans
| seemed to be trying to see how much
commotion he or she could make. An
over the place men and women cropped
out OF their seats in the approving en-
thusiasm and cried out encouragement
for Billy to 60 on. The women were
every whit as fervent about 1t a. the
men, too.
Some even ventured 30 far az to
whistle, while from the choir platform
arose hullabaloo that al times reach
ed the point OF becoming well nigh
| The singers there almost to the man
and the woman. not to mention the
company Of about 800 clergymen. beat
a nerye-rackinR tattoo on the boards
with their feet. At the same time they
And then sunday. putting hard from
the exertions Of the minutes before.
sas cased cn ssped on as IN. ..st Of Il the
Turning 80 he half faced the minis.
ters and the audience at once. he threw
the lung power he could command
"Preachers and church people of
philadelphia: ! say to you that If you
faces before God. nc will rewrite the
sistorX of your city and perhaps your
Tells of Early Youth.
Once during his sermon. Billy swung
into the memories OF his boyhood for
an illustration Of how sinners must
make restitution before they can hope
for salvation and spiritual happiness.
He rccounted how he applied FOR and
obtained job as janitor in q country
| school at SO a month.
Nobody could have called me a
CRATER then he shouted. and he
showed his upper teeth in one Of
those intrinsically winning Billy Sun
day smiles. His hearers virtually ex-
ploded In amusement. but they were
brought up short when the evangelist
leaned over the edge of the platform
and assumed fighting pose prepara-
tory to adding. And say. bud: just
come up close enough to me when you
call me a CRATER. But before you do
ia advise you to have your picture
| taken"
And on top OF that. Billy sailed into
those before him in to-whom-it-
may concern fashion.
| ''Dhats your name?" he cried. 'T
don't mean the name on your door
plate. or the name in the telephone
office. or the name on your marriage
lcertif1cate. l mean your real name, as
God aces II. Arc you a scoundrel or
! saint? some Of you arc 80 Now down
hsma hs,' {! have to get an aer'plane to 60 to
Desire To Pray.
Sundays basic object was to inject
| into the breasts of his listeners a
trenchant desire to pray. fIe said nc
never saw the community so black that
Gods people couldn't move with prayer.
He pointed to New York. describing it
as "a city OF iniquity, the streets of
which flowed with a tidal wave Of
blasphcmy and wickodness." he said
New York would fall on its knees in no
| to earnestly pray.
But the service was not devoid OF
| humorous moments. Twice Sunday
| found the platform too small for him
benches fanking It. One OF those times
was when he was initiating a little toy
running across a neld fleeing from a
herd Of rams and praying, Lord, help
me" The other occasion came when he
Illustrated a Grouchy lawyer calling
| down about four flights OF stairs to his
wife. who. having just come by religion
he thought her Ill.
Stirred To Tears.
For the first time since he came here
Mr.. Sunday stirred enough people to
tears to be noticeable last night, He
told a pathetic story Of how a drunken
son became converted in answer to q
the fact that ne didn't seem to strive
to inject oratorical pathos into the tell
Ing Of it lin fact. relieving the fearful
appeal Of 1t by using some Of his wild
women and not few men were openly
dabbihE handkerchicfs to their eyes
| when he finished.
Three or four times last night Billy
showed that inopportunc excNmations
, OF "Amen! and approving cries OF
"fes!' and others annoyed him To
one woman who seemed to want to
tencc he preached he said reprovingly,
sister, wish you had to be up here
and preach. You won't get sore, hope,
II ask you not to make any more
noise"