The Washington times., 1917-02-08
Asserts Baseball Evangelist
Has a Wonderful Or
ganization.
SMITH HAS HIS R0MANCES
Tells Many Stories Of Days
When He Ran Away To
Be a Sailor.

Eleven years ago a shaggy-haired,
tawny-skinned, deep-chested man
preached nightly up at Convention
Hall, with a rough, ready eloquence,
wealth OF metaphors, and glowing
word pictures that brought crowds so
large that a Gordon OF police was
needed to keep them in line.
Today that man, Gypsy Smith. is
serving as a chaplain "somew here in
France"
But his son, serious, earnest,
heavy set. youthful figure, with a
trace ofSthe same mellow voice, the
same sort Of homely and pertinent
stories. blended curiously with The
slang that suggests Billy Sunday, and
the storytelling ability that bespeaks
his training under ]. Wilbur Chap
man, is calling upon sinners to hit
the cinderf path" For times have
changed, and Gypsy Smith, jr., has
adopted the tabernacle, the wooden
pulpit, and the more militant songs
the uses Rodeheaver's book) of the
sensational latter-day evangelist.
IL strong For Sunday.
Not that he is an imitator of Sun
day. He freely admits that he has
adapted those features of Sundays
campaigns to his own meetings. for,
he said:
I'm strong for Sunday He has a
wonderful Organization, a wonderful
message. You know great religious
revivals center upon one man, and
usually that man has one message.
Luther preached justification by,
faith. Jonathan Edwards convinced
New England folk that there was a
hell. Dwight L. Moody told them.
In his own appealing and inimitable
way. of the love OF the Saviour.
If ! can, 1 want to jolt church
folk into the realization that they
must accept Christ, which means liv-
rur the Christian life, as we'll as
| to bring sinners to repentance"
He brings out this message in near
ly every sermon. Yesterday he said:
"The world is tired hearing eN-
plantations and expositions on re-
! ligion. Today we wouldn't go across
the street to hear such expositions.
/ We want to see the Bible verified
J in human lives"
Miniature Sunday Meeting.
A Gypsy Smith. jr., meeting is
sort of closeup" miniature Billy
Sunday meeting. Delegations are call
ed upon to stand, the big choir is
| seated back OF the raised platform,
and though the baseball evangelist's
sounding board is not there (for the
/ tabernacle is not so large and the
sounding board il patented) there IL
| the big light throwing the speaker
/ in relief against the background OF
the choristers.
II Billy has his baseball career as
| a common tie with every man in his
audience. Smith had his early eN-
periences, as romantic in their own
way, OF his life as a sailor after he
ran away from home. end he tells
many stories OF these days in the
| course OF his sermons.
! Looks Like Professor.
In appearance he is not ministerial;
neither is he the businessman type
Rather, one might take him for n
young college professor OF the new
school. Behind his big. gold-framed
glasses are kindly, deep-set eyes. and
he has a vigor and vivscity after
fashion entirely his own.
He gesticulates frequently with his
Bible in one hand: often he raises
himself on one foot on a cross sec
ton of his crude pulpit; sometimes he
holds onto il with one hand as he
leans out over the platforms edge to
drive home a point. He achieves by
apt stories what Sunday drives home
by epigrams. Occasionally. though
with surprising suddcnness. he breaks
into a phrase or a sentence that sun
day might have coined.
Christ has to play second fiddle to
every two-by-fOur proposition that
comes along" he told his audience
yesterday.
Congregation Would Protest.
"If your preacher preached twice a
year on the same text. some OF you
old cranks would NIL his mail fun of
anonymous letters. Yet Whitfield
preached 900 times on my text to.
night-'You Must Be Born Again."
The effect OF his preaching can best
be gathered by remarks of his hear
ers on their way out.
"He is so gentle; ! like that" re-
marked one gray haired lady
IL like the way he lambasts those