Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-04-14
ENGLAND ASKS 'BLLY"
SUNDAY TO ASSIST IN
ITS WAR ON LIQUOR
Receives Cablegram From
High Official, Asking
Him to Join King George,
Lord Kite h e n er and
David Lloyd George in
Crusade.
IrRoM A STAFF CORRESPONDENT

! PATTERSON, n. j.. April H.-"Billy"
/ Sunday received a cablegram today beg
| cling him to go to England TO lead the
prohibition campaign backed by King
George, Lord Kitchener and David Lloyd
George. The message was signed by Sir
Henry Edward Randall. director of the
movement to oust drinking among the
workingmen particularly those manu-
featuring munitions of war.
Il don't believe the King would ask
me- do you?'
As he asked this, "Billy" Sunday stood
in the bathroom of his 'house of 100
windows" a razor in one hand, slippers
on his feet laughing somewhere inside
the paiama coat he was wearing. If III
hadn't been for the razor he would nave
looked Just like big, lovablc freckle-
faced youngster. He talked as naturally
about the supreme honor of his life, his
invitation to lead the prohibition forces
of Great Britain in the movement backed
by King George, Lord Kitchener and
David Lloyd-George, as though he were
talking about the days when he courted
'Nell'' Thompson.
TRIUMPH OF HIS LIFE.
He didn't like TO say he wouldn't accept
the invitation cabled 10 him today by Sir
Henry Arthur Randall. director of the
business mems prohibition campaign
that ! couldn't very well refuse" said
Billy" Anyway, | was never so fiat
tered, so honored, so plain ticlled over
anything before in my life
He rolled one sleeve of the pajama
coat and studied the muscles hardened
by years of work on the baseball dia-
mond. He was looking at Billy sun
day, as billy" Sunday would look hand
ing hot Iolts TO Leicester Square
ENGLAND MIGHT NOT UNDERSTAND
Now there's the question of my meth
DDS and my vocabulary" he said II
preach in the language OF the fellow of
Americas streets. I'd have to change
all OF my saloons to public houses I'd
have TO recast almost everything | say"
He took another suuint into the dis
tance and continued:
LAS ! understand it, they'd want me to
tour England with my booze sermon.
That's 1t. Well, now, I'm not exactly
temperance lecturer, although the chuc-
killed. again), l do make n few remarks
on the liquor business, But I've never
done anything with temperance aside
from evangelism and ! don't know as
I'd want to or could, for that matter
I'm not temperance lecturer like Goff
and Murphy were
He went on to say that he didn't know
exactly what effect speaking only once
vi lNlCs III COHSeTNdllNe EnBllSn cities
would have. He counted in this country
on the cumulative effect of the campaign
MANY DON'T LIKE HIM AT FIRST.
MANY fellow doesn't like me the first
time he hears me- and don't do him any
good" he said "But that fellow gets t. |
be my best friend inside week. Isn't |
that so?" and he turned to the Philadcl- |
phla newspaper men who were sitting |
on the edge of the bathtub,
That's so," said one of them, lodging |
"Billy's' good left arm Uhe razor was |
in his right well, do you think you'n |
go to England and chum up with those |
lords and kings and srs and things and |
tell Piccadilly what ails it?"
IL wouldn't like to say | wouldn't" he |
said, but my first duty is to America. |
There are 500 saloons to be put out of |
business right here in Paterson: still, 1t |
night be put to me by those EnElishmen
in such Il way | couldn't refuse them.
THE Lord works in ways that are |
strange to us sometimes" he went on. |
That's what, Ma" said just before the |
men called on Billy" Ma" |
you know, really runs Billy" and the |
rest of the evangelists. She said that |
Billy needed a rest more than any |
hing else, and he was surely going to
get that rest out on Hood River, Ore, |
after closing up in Paterson.
The news that BILLY" had been asked |
10 oust the booze business in England |
spread today like so much wIldfre. From |
all over the country kilograms poured |