The Alaska citizen., 1916-07-31
By Theo. W. James. In the Post-Dispatch.

KANSAS CITY, Mo-Leaning over the edge of his platform and praying directly to the devil, then leaping with cat-like quickness upon a char and having an equally intimate talk with the Lord. putting modern slang into the mouths of Biblical charac- ters and consigning saloon keepers to eternal damnation in laundering words that border on profanity, Billy Sunday, greatest of eyangelists, af- ter a week of sulphurous eXhorta- tion. has Kansas City trembling i'll its boots.
 Never before have the hosts of darkness in this city been confronted by so formidable an enemy. Billy Sundays eloquence is 42-cenu- meter projeetile which knocks bas- ton off the fortress of sin al every shot. To use his own language he has a tai-hold on the devil.
 After hearing Billy Sunday speak to an audience of 1S,OO0 in the tab ernacle especially constructed for him here. I can understand how a public entertainer might earn salary of $670O00 a year. but if had the disposition of that salary would give it to Sunday, not to Char ley Chaplin, By this l do not mean that Sunday is solely or even prin- cipally an entertainer He is there with the punch, the swing, the up percut. the body blow and the knock out as a fighter in the cause of righteousness and he is the cham pion 145-pound sin-punisher of the world.
 Tears and Laughter
 Sunday himself would be the last to resent the use of these homely terms in describing his activities. That's just the sort of language he uses whenever he wants to drive home point with unusual force. He brings a tear to the eye with his earnest eloquence and then sends that tear kiting for the tall timbers with a snappy, slangy expression that Jompels laughter.
 70 my friends" he said to that rapt audience of 1S.000, how many of you mean what you say when you pray to the Lord. You kneel down and say Thy kingdom come you talk to the Lord and you tell Him you love Him and want to serve Him-and then you go to a theatre to see a lot of women without enough clothes on to make a tail for kite-not enough to make leg gings for a humming bird. Pm sur prised that God does as well as He does with the material He has to work with. It gets my goat"
 It was a wonderful gathering that audience of 1S,000. In the seats of the main auditorium were 120Oo. In a specially reserved section back of the platform were HOO singers church choristers who furnish the musical portion of the Sunday pro grams. In the entrance lobby, II feet wide and a block long, stood 5000 more and 900 were turned away. Had there been room for all, Billy Sunday on that night would have spoken to 23O00 persons.
 The meeting was opened with re markedly fine singing by the big chorus. Then one of Sundays as sistants cautioned the audience that silence must be maintained. He told them that if they coughed they must put their handkerchiefs to their mouths He demonstrated just how this must be done in an amusing pantomime that caused much laugh ter.
 Billy Sunday, 1.-the, agile and eager to bounce upon Sin, was already on the platform. He was fit as a fid- dle and neat as a fashion plate, in perfectly fitting gray spring suit, patent leather pumps, high turn over collar and black batwing tie. As he stood there he was in strik- ing contrast to the somber-clad Kan sas City minister who offered the opening prayer.
 No sooner had the Amen" of his prayer been sounded than Billy Sun day literally leaped to the front of the platform and brought his fist down on his reading desk with resounding whack that was heard on the uttermost fringe of the big crowd.