El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1915-02-12

~ PHILADELPHIA, Pa, Eel. a
~ million and a half people in this
4 town who are talking Sunday
have almost as many varying opinions
o. Billy-"cut the Doc; cut the Rev
erend'; cut the William has been
his insistent admonition. To find the
number who have talked Sunday dur
ing the four weeks since January 3.
when the Rev William Ashley Sunday
came to the Tabernacle at 18th and
Vine streets, subtract from the total
population Of the city and suburbs the
infants in arms and the deaf mutes.
And as for those who have heard him
his audiences have totaled upward OF
100000. Allowing even for the re
peaters," he probably has established
the worlds record by preaching in that
time to at least 400, 900 Phladelphians.
For heavens sake grandfather
said an year old girl at breakfast a
few days ago, don't talk Billy Sunday
this morning. He's getting on my
nerves"
He Gets the Crowds.
II Billy Sunday makes US all so
fighting mad" said a young man after
u AUL aIE uUlElL at q AuEIIlltlL Town JILL
ncr table last week, makes US into
better Catholics, better pantheists, bet
ter anarchists, and better shouting
MethOdists, 1 don't know that he is
such a blasphemer Of Philadelphia's
holy quiet after all"
Ten thousand people have answered,
at the close Of the services, the evan
gclists call to hit the saWdust traiP
and come forward and give me your
hand for Christ" That is the express
of d fg n frF in fa Df
figures. After attending his services,
one cannot escape the impression that
Sunday Is more interested in these ten
thousand than in the million and a half
who are arguing him out
After weeks of first hand contact
with Sunday, one does not easily doubt
his sincerity. 1t may be doubted |
whether he ever applies the acid test |
of intrOspectiOn to his own emotions,
his methods, his conclusions, his start /,
ling array of slang. Yet they are his I
words, his emotions, and he sticks by /
them. When Sunday says: The man J
who denies the divinity of Christ is (
q dirty larn' he means it,
He Plays Upon Crowd Emotions.
People have called him a great crowd T
More truly, perhaps, he (
has the crowd instinct. He senses the
craving for a laugh as a relief from
pathos, pathos and shock as a relief
from laughter, frenzy as a strenuous /
climax to cold denunciatiOn.
Certainly he dominates a crowd. He
has never lost the attention of his aud
fences for a moment He has a curious {
uucarny adaptability to their demands.
He drives them through the whole
samut Of emotions from shrieking
laughter to shuddering fear of hell
but he never fails to give them a thrill /
that they can relish.
Adnpts Himself to Every Audience.
He adapts himself to all sorts and /
kinds of audiences. When he talked
to the society folks" he told them a
little story out Of Henry Van Dyke. /
When he addressed $4,000 college and
high school students. the sermon fairly
rang with "manliness' and 'WOmanu-
ness" All his appeals were illustrated
with stories Of dauntless action. he
college vices, Cigaret smoking,
flirting. dancing, drinking: but he did
not offend With his inimitable button
cry he made them ridiculous. He closed
with a wonderfully acted word pic
-ure-the story Of the winning of the
marathon at the Athenian Olympiad OF |
1896. At the finish, he had the whole !
crowd on their feet, cheering like mad.
He delivered the sermon on Home
10 an audience of fathers and mothers.
He closed with the story Of the man
he does not mention until the very end
either the man or his song. A man s
body is eXhumed from its grave IN
Africa. It is brought to the United
states on an American DaLueSulp- II !
Is buried in Washington, with presl- !
dent cabinet members, congressman,
school children. black and white high /
and low, standing with dropping flags.
How II Works.
What had this man dOne2 Had he
quilt a statue2' He enumerates all the
achievements Of fame.
''NOw he thunders. He had done
none Of these things" Softly. He
had written. little song. A song
iung by the engineer in his cab when /
ne looks out of the window into the
-ainy night and sees the light he
Knows shining over the misty field; a
song sung by the captain on the bridge
80 He enumerates all the industrial
opportunities for sentimental solos. !
There is a deep hush Then-sOftly-
John Howard Payne had written 1
Back OF the platform a piano starts
( I'll a -