St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1915-03-03


listen to me than they get" With
the crowd before him he wins their
confidence, makes them his friends
and delivers the message that is in
his heart. He talks plain, blunt
language, tinged with the vernacu-
lar of the sporting crowd and that
all who follow our great national
game are accustomed to use. He
brings the facts of vice and sin and
the truths of sound morality, the
spiritual life and individual respon-
sibility home to the common people
as no other man has done it in this
generation. While he is reaching
the man at the bottom, people of
every class recognize the application
of the same truth to their own lives
and so he gets them all. In a Sc
lect audience he has proved that he
can divest his speech of all slang and
command as perfect English as any
of his critics.
Some who condemn Billy Sunday
say that he is working on a cash ba-
sis, and point to the big free-wiIl
offerings, which are his only COM
pensation in these campaigns, but
which run into many thousands of
dollars a year. The understanding
is that the last day of the meetings
as described in my article two weeks
ago, Billy Sundays remuneration
comes upon a purely voluntary ba-
sis. If at any time improper pres
sure is brought to bear by Mr.. Sun
days associates to make these offer
ings large, it opens the way for crit
icism which might impair his in
f1uence. So long as the offering for
Mr.. Sunday is in fact a free-will Of
fering, 1 see no just grounds for crit
icism because the offering is large,
and we cannot blame Mr.. Sunday
very much for his retort to those
who demand an accounting of his
income, that it is nobody's business
what he does with his money. There
is reason to believe that should he
happen to accumulate a fortune good
use will be made of it when the time
is ripe.
Meantime, shall we blame a man
for providing for his wife and chill
dren and for his own future after he
may have broken down in health?
Shall we blame him for refusing to
proclaim abroad the fact, as I am
told on good authority, that he
tithes his income for the Lord S
word and that he is constantly rem
in silent, private ways? If Billy
Sunday is mercenary, why does he
scorn the honorable platform of the
Chautauqua circuit when offered
a princely salary by the season? Why
does he choose to work harder than
any man of whom we have record
has ever worked as an evangelist,
wearing his life out and surely shor-
tening his days?
No hint of suspicion has ever APP
peared against his honesty or integ-
rity of character or the purity of his
personal life.
Many are troubled about his the
ology. The most unfavorable inter
probation of Billy Sundays ''theol-
ogy" places him in company with
men whom the Christian church
holds in reverent respect and whose
views still largely prevail in the
church. Mr.. Sunday himself de-
clares that he knows no more about
theology than a jack-rabbit knows
about ping pong or golf, and urges all
Christians to quit quibbling over non
essentials and unite in Christian SER
ice on the great fundamental truths.
I am told by men in churches that
have been in his campaigns that most
VI Ills COuN6IIS WOIh OuI IuG1T
Ogy in the church of their choice,
to which they quickly turn from the
'sawdust trail"
The man who is afraid to hear the
truth about himself, his sins and his
duty should beware of Billy Sunday.
The man who is courageous on that
score should give him a hearing, as
most of those who condemn him
have not done. 1 failed to find in
Philadelphia anyone who had &C
tually heard Billy Sunday who was
not on his side. 1t is a steadily in
creasing army that comes to scott
but remains to pray with and for
Billy Sunday.
After talking with many men of
many types and classes in Philadel- |
phia, came to this conclusion: The |
left by Billy Sunday is |
not that of a perspiring actor hurl- |
ing slang and anathema, but of a |
passionate prophet welding the |
sword of the spirit. The slang and
the startling platform manners are
the moral and spiritual
message, shot straight, strikes home.
.Rolfe Cobleigh in the Congrega-
tionalist.
Preventing Farm Fires.
At least one of three serious farm
Tres in Washington county during
he past week or so has been due
% careless handling of a lighted lam
.ern by persons who went into the
barns to do chores; and in all three
If those fires there was heavy finan-
,ial loss, together with the death
{ M NrrN KMa