Iron County news. [volume] (Hurley, Wis.) 1913-1950, 1915-10-09
BILLY" SUNDAYS METHODS.
The Great Revivalist Is Described As
Being Somewhat of An
Psychologist.
By Ellis b. Usher.

or some months there has been a
demand here in Milwaukee for
Chilly" Sunday. So far the more con
seryatiye church people have pre-
vailed and we have not had him. The
problem took on interest to me recent
ly because | have passed through
Omaha several times, where BILLY"
has been holding forth and have been
moving about Nebraska so | have
read the Omaha papers, which have
reported him very fully. He has had
very large audiences. %, 900 or more
had heard him up to the middle of
this week and about $500 people had
chit the trail" in "Billy's" parlance,
and were recorded to the credit of his
efforts. This would be about one per
cent OF his hearers, and of these, if
the papers state the facts, as they
probably do, for they tabulate them
once week and place them conspic-
uously at the head of their reports, a
large number are children and still
another large element is from church
members who had been neglecting
their churches. 1t should be remem-
bered, too, that BILLY" has scolded,
lambasted and proded with all sorts
OF hot pOkers, all the ministers and
laymen of the various protestant
churches, until the organization be-
hind him represents the united efforts
of large part of the church element
of Omaha. For example, the Omaha
orld-Herald of last Tuesday NOR
ming had notice of 141 prayer NEE
tings to be held at various homes
throughout the city at 10 o'clock that
morning. Some of these, Judging
from the notices, were movable, CO.
yering neighbOrhOods where no spe-
cial private house could be designa-
ted. | mention this to suggest that
the fact that "Billy's" meetings are
large is by no means due to his draw
ing power alone. Hundreds of local
christians are constantly employed.
with feyerish and impulsive zeal, in
leading others to the Tabernacle
Analysed carefully Billy" is not on
ly an eXhOrter but he is a systematic
organizer and he takes trained assist
anee along with him to perfect each
feature of his well planned system of
arousing community. 1t is the old
fashioned revival" brought up to
date with telephones, automobiles, aiT
ships, submersibles, machine guns,
bombs, siege guns, and even asphy-
Xiating gas. The sinneris fairly run
in to the Tabernacle and then bella
bored until he is deaf and blind TO
everything but the horror of his un-
done condition.
THERE'S NOTHING LIKE IT.
In Omaha, one morning, the hotel
clerk an old La Crosse acquaintance
whom | knew to be devout Cath
Ollie, said: you know Billy Sun
days here? Ii you can get to the at
ternoon meeting, you ought to &c, if
you've never heard him. 60 on the
same theory you'd go to the movies,
or to the Cheyenne Roundup. "
There's nothing like it," l left too
soon 10 go. but hundreds do go on just
that principle, and no doubt some of
them chit the trail, while it Is hot,
But as | couldn't, l read about it
quite carefully.
Is HELL HOT AS EVER?
have long had notion that, in re-
cent years especially, the Fool Kill
Ter" had been very negligent, and it
has occurred to me, at times, that he
might have the valid excuse that he is
oYerWOrked. This was before the
war In moments of reflection my
mind, even now, has wandered back
to some of the real old time hell fire
and birthstone" sermons, that are re-
collections of my early youth, and
have wondered if religion hadn't lost
some of its grip, Tor its gripe), by let
ting hell cool off too much. Ofeourse
am like all the other refOrmers. 1t
is not on my own account that |
should want hell warmed up. want
1.-THE other fellow" saved. just as the
whites down south want prohibition
for the darkies and the poo white
trash Just as the respectable gem
tleman who always has an amply sup
piled sideboard an / gives literally to
the church, wants his employees to
avoid saloons. In short some people
who can be scared into being good,
even temporarily, by seething,
white hot pit, ought to be put into the
pepper and shaken out over ii ocea-
sionally, because il will wonderfully
stimulate their religious activity and
at least while they are noisily. though