Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1917-11-20
THREE THOUSAND
START JOURNEY
TO BETTER LIFE
"BiIIy" Sundays Meetings Re-
suit in Largest Number of
Trail HitterS Yet Produced
in Single day During Atlanta
Meeting
By WARD GREENE.

pace he set yesterday. almost the
entire population OF Atlanta would
De processing Christians by the time
the revival ends five weeks hence.
That is no exaggeration. Speaking in
round numbers, 5000 people hit the
trail Sunday. If 5000 a dav hit the
tran from now on, and you count those
who already have hit the trail and those
who professed Christianity before the
revival began. there wouldn't be enough
sinners left hereabouts by the middle of
December to crowd a sardine can.
OF course, Billy can't get results like
that all the time. He can't win 200
prisoners from the federal prison, $50
men and women at the morning service,
l.2iS men and 800 women at the after
noon service and 500 men and women at
the evening service, every day in the
week.
No. he can't come to the end of every
perfect day with 2,97S to his credit on
the ledger Of the Lord. But if he could
and there's nothing on earth that
Billy Sunday wouldn't rather do than
Just that-you couldn't stir up enough
folks on the Sunday morning after Billy
left town TO make up a foursome at
golf. They would all be in church. if
the churches would hold them and they
stuck to their pledge.
Sunday nights service at the taberna-
cle-like the two that preceded it-saw
the aisles so choked with penitents
when the call for converts went forth
and the choir broke into Just As L
Am" that IL took man nearly five min
utes to rise from his seat i'm the last
row and make his way TO the platform
to shake Billy Sundays hand.
Not only was that due to the fact that
more than 500 were trying to do that
very same thing. but because the tab
ernacle again held one of the greatest
throngs that ever packed itself into
public building in Atlanta.
S. r. o. Sign is Out
Long Before Seven.
Long before o'clock the S. r. 0. sign
was out at all entrances. Many were
turned away. In fact. il was not the
fault of a large, portly gentleman who
guards his gate on the southwest cor
ner that Congressman William Schley
Howard and several newspaper men did
not spend the evening gazing up at the
stars and wondering what it was like
inside.
However. after CONGRESSMAN Howard
and the newspaper men had decided
either to borrow a Jimmy and little
nltrc-glycerine or to go home, somebody
discovered that at another entrance the
keeper was still honoring cards marked
Good at ANY Door,"
So we all got in and after prying two
or three ushers out of the choice seats
in the press-box, everybody was happy
again
Where the ushers eventually sat is a
puzzle, since a hasty glance around the
arena revealed nearly enough room to
accommodate a small and agile fly Peo-
pie were standing up all around. people
were damned to the top of the choir
loft, people were sprawled all over the !
steps leading to the platform. and two !
little boys were with difficulty kept
from climbing into the grand piano.
What VIII You Do With
JesusP" His Text.
And when all of those folks began |
tossing For You / Am Praying" with |
one section booming out the first line !
and aonther the next. until the last soft |
phrase came drifting out of the dis
tance like an eerie echo from another |
shore. an atmosphere or such hushed |
expectancy settled down over the tab |
ernacle that the very sawdust seemed |
to grow tense and to look up toward !
the pulpit where the little man i'm the |
gray suit had placed his open Bible and |
now was uttering the text of his ser
mon. What VIII You DO With Jesus?" |
That was the question he asked them. /
1t was his whole sermon-that one
question. Around it he built story after
story. From il he wandered away for
moment. only to return again and
again. until he had hammered it home
into the mind and heart and soul of
every man and woman present-"What |
VIII You Do With Jesus?"
Will you receive Him or will you cru
city Him? VIII YOU take Him as did
the twelve disciples, or Will you toss
Him out TO the rabble as did Pontius
PLATE? Will you accept Jesus? or will !
YOU deny Him? Spit upon Him? Jeer at |
Him? Cast lots for His garments? Stone !
Him? Toss 'larts into His bleeding |
sides? Nail Him to the cross?
What will YOU do with Jesus?"
There was no quibbling about the aues- |
ton. When Billy Sunday asked it, he |
asked il this way-Jesus Christ or moth |
ing. happiness or misery; heaven or |
hell. There was no neutrality no mid |
die course. Jesus Christ or the Devil, |
And 81 was not what will you do I
with Jesus tomorrow. or next day or
next week. or when YOU die?. what /
have YOU done with Jesus yesterday or /
last week or today II was, What will /
YOU do with Jesus Christ NOW"
That was the question he shot al /
them. hurting il out with a shout, with Z
whisper. with a laugh
What will YOU do without Jesus when {
YOU stand before the bar of judgment, /
when another there has an advocate in |
Jesus Christ? What will YOU do when /
the black pit opens below and you /
smell the sulphur fumes. and there !
comes up from the depths of hell. "A 1
wailiuE cry. IO-O-o-O-o-o-O-St, LOO /
o-o-O-o-o-St, Wc-have-no-ad
in-hel" What will YOU do without /
Him them"
The spell of that doleful cry from /
hell was still upon the audience. as /
Billy. the sweat pouring from him, I
lurched about, his face gIorifed.
"Oh. you can laugh at me. old mani /
he grinned. call me vulgar if you /
want to. But I'VE GOT 1T ON YOU! /
I'VE GOT JESUS CHRISTI"
whats Your Answer"
And Crowd FIocks Down.