The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1915-02-08
RICHMOND BUSINESS
MEN MAKE INQUIRIES
AT TO BILLY SUNDAY
Was Prelude ed;
Now Hopes lnvi-
tation Will Be
Given

II believe Richmond would make
no mistake in inviting Sunday TO hold
a meeting here said r. f. Magili,
secretary ard manager of the Prespy-
terrain committee Of publication, yes
terday. land" he added, Il SIN
cereiy hope, he can be secured at an
early date"
NJ aiagill was prejudiced against
Billy Sunday and his methods and did
NOT favor the proposal 20 extend an
invitation to the evangelist, until af-
ter he had heard Sunday in Philadel-
mia. OF the visit, and of Billy Sun
CAV. Mr. Magiil writes the following
for The Virgii.ian:
a business engagement carried me
TO Philadelphia some weeks ago, and
! took occasion to hear Billy sunday
in order that l might check opinions
formed from newspaper reports
against first-hand view OF the pan
and his work. 1t is hardly just to
pronounce Judgment upon man
based on only single service. but
was told that his sermons and me-
thods might fairly be measured by
the service / attended
Fl confess to having entertained a
preiutffce against the man and his
methods, due to reading detached
quotations in reports OF his meetings,
which seemed to indicate that he is
coarse and brutal in speech, irrev-
erent in spirit and sensational in
methods.
His meetings have been described
as a combination OF a circus. a bur
lesaue, a wheat pit during cornered
market, and a heresy holocaust and
II is charged that his audiences are
made up OF idle curiosity seekers
drawn by desire to see and hear
something sensational.
His Unusual Methods.
II was fortunate in securing seat
In the press gallery. which afforded
close hand view of Mr.. Sunday, an
exceptional view of the great audi
ence OF 1900 people and the plat
form which seated 1900 men who
composed the choir. The meeting
opeSed with a song service led by a
capable director, and Mr. Sunday
took charge promptly at 8 O'Clock.
and announced his text in the usual
formal way. His, theme was Back
sliding and his personality and un-
usual methods were In evidence be-
fore he had spoken three minutes.
HE IL OF highly nervous tenn
permanent. and II would be physical
impossibiiity for him TO speak from
one spot for five consecutive minutes,
and it therefore seemed quite the
natural thing to see him cover the
whole of twenty-foot platform with
the quick nervous stride of trained
athlete-~-never retaining a pose or
posture for two whole minutes. He
spoke with the rapidly of a gatiing
gun. and IL master OF a vocabulary
that IL pronounced second only 10 that
of William ]. Bryan.
"On hearing him the impression
that Sunday is merely reformed
and uneducated tough vanishes i'm
mediateiy. and his wide acquaintance
with Biblical and secular history
crops out in the striking illustration
he uses to drive home his arguments
and appeals and when he gives free
rein to his phenomenal dramatic abil-
ity. he sweeps his audience with a
power closely akin to that OF Henry
Irving In his best days. One OF the
most telling Illustrations In the SER
mon I heard was his recital of the In
cident In the life Of Robert f. Lee
when he refused the offer to become
president of the Louisiana Lottery.
The story was told with consummate
skill as illustrating the finest type OF
fidelity TO principle. and this story
drew the most pronounced applause
of the evening.
Has Broad Sympathy.
His blunt and dogmatic way of
putting things when read in cold type
lend color 10 the charge that he IS
coarse and brutal. but when these
rough reading sentences are coupled
with his personality and the passion
ate love for souls which dominates
the man, these same repellent words
have new meaning and are actually
vibrant with the finest Christian
spirit.
IAN exceedingly checkered career
has given him a broad sympathy with
all classes Of men. and he speaks to
the man in the street literally in his
own tongue. He was left an orphan
through the death of his father in
the War Between the States, spent
his childhood in an orphanage, strug-
gled through bayhood OF direst pow
erty. but picked up the rudiments of
an English education. His reputa-
ton as a sprinter and promising base
ball amateur caught the attention of
Captain Arson. OF the Chicago base
bali club. and ne became one of the
stars of that famous organization,
During the winter months he was en-
gagged to coach the baseball team OF
the Northwestern University. OF Ev-
anston. and he improved the oppor-
tunity by taking a special course in
the university. thus securing an ex-
celient education. He gave up pro-
fessional baseball at the zenith of his
career after his conversion In the
Pacific Garden Mission, In Chicago,
and has given himself for more than
eighteen years To the work of soul
saving and fighting entrenched evils,
mo evangelist of the past or pres
ent has reached and influenced such
throngs of people. and workers In
every city where meetings have been
held unite in saying that the work is
far reaching and permanent"
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