The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1915-04-18

ASIDE EVOLUTION 80 Tar tho spiritual world
is concerned; and far as the, natural
man Is concerned. "If you want to believe that
you are descended assembled from a tadpole
through a monkey, you are free to do so, but
as for me believe THAI was made In the image
of God by God. and not evolved out of for
tuitous concurrence OF atoms. and believe that
the God who made me has redeemed me with
His own precious blood Thus and thus has
Billy preached Whether his anthropology and
his theology four square to the measure
of the scientist or the academic theoogian he
has not cared. have the people cared
He has captured the press of this great city.
which has given moro space and more promi-
nent space than was before given to any
enc man or TO anyone movement. Our great
dailies have pNntcd in full his sermons; often
giving moro than full page to the reports OF
them. 1t has been said, and is still being said,
this unprecedented press support has been given
because of the hot stuff in his sermons and
reports. and because IL has been paying stuff
Well what and who made 1t hot and paying 7
Sheer at hin, and his message his manners,
his slang and his method of speech as you may.
the fact remains that. for power of speech ana
action (and he Is great actor no seems to
have peer among platform speakers And
yet believe IL has been more the message
than. the man, though the man has made the
message vivid and living and real as II has
seldom so been made 1t has been delivered
without decentralization or apology and In Ian
gnage which all men. high and low, can under
stand without the aid of dictionary or encyclo-
AS to the Cost Thereof
And what about the awful cost in money
involved in this Sunday campaign? Fifty thou
and dollars for the tabernacle and its running
expenses: and dreadful to relate. fifty thousand
dollars for Billy himself Let jig double the
amount and say two hundred thousand dollars
fer this eleven weeks campaign. and still keep
In mind that all this while men and women and
children starving and shivering for the want
Of food and raiment. We have heard no kick
ing because last fall 10000 fans gathered in the
New Haven Stadium ana howled and shouted
themselves hcarse as only college fans can over
a single football game. for which they paid
& 90 600 gate fees and then went down and
spent as much more In rSotous suppers and
baccha nalian feasts The cost OF that one game
would pay the entire cost OF these eleven weeks
OF gospel campaign. including the free-wll Of
F fcring TO Billy himself And yet hear no
criticism from Billy's critics because OF this will
/ full waste OF money that might have been given
to the poor
PATHS last farewell tour through the United
StateS.i said to have netted her $4,000 for one
hundred nights OF song Caruso is paid almost
the game fabulous sums for his songs IN UNI
known tongue. And vet they converted no sim
ncrs; rescued drunkards: built up no broken
down homes: put fallen men on their feet;
no backbone into Weakened Christians and In
spired multttudes to live higher and nobler
ives
| Did you ever stop TO think how much per head
| II has cost those 100000 hearers to make up
that XZuU,VDD. 1T you nave not 1orEutcn yoHt
arithmetic figure II out and note the few psitry
cents IL means for each Of those 100000 TO
have given.
! Where. then does this money criticism come
( in; and from whom has It conner Certainly It
/ has not cost the critics any money. and they are
4 free to give the money they have saved by their
( righteousness 70 the poor. Let US hear from
the poor. Have all the critics put together
given as much to the poor OF Philadelphia as
the frequenters OF the tabernacle in their va
rious collections have given 70 special emer-
sency funds? Has any OF his critics given
as much to the poor Billy Sunday has: we
wonder. Certainly these critics have given none
of their money to this money grabbing evan
eal.st" Where. then. does this money kick
come IN?
| II Billy Sunday had done nothing more than
pledge 10000 men 20 lead sober. God-rearins
! lives, II would he worth thousand times more
In money to Pennsylvania and TO the employers
OF labor and 10 the employees themselves than
all the cost OF tho Sunday campaign. Billy says
/ that shakespeares Go to- Is only seventeenth
century for Come off" So we say 10 the sun
! dav critics GO to- and Come off,
Vale Billy God bless you.-Philadelphia
I Evening Telegram.