The Washington times., 1917-04-21
SUNDAY WINS 1,7OO
TO SAWDUST. TRAIL
Evangelist Reaches Brand OF
Sinner He Seeks by Epigram,
"Turn or Burn"

NEW YORK, April 21.-Rain spat-
tered upon the roof of the tabernacle
last night and lightning fiickered al
the windows as Billy Sunday, after
crowding a whole sermon into ter
rife epigram, Turn or burn" shout
ed his call to~the sawdust trail. Ma
ture was remiss in not supplying a
final dramatic touch at the moment
of the great surge forward. There
should have been at least one re-
sounding clap of thunder.
Turn or burn, Billy had been
preaching for a lively hour and many
anxious souts, no doubt, had come in
that hour to a very real perception
of birthstone and the fiery pit. 1t was
not difficult to identify these startled
ones as they elbowed to the front
among scores and hundreds upon
whose faces levity seemed to sit
rather too lightly. Their haste and
hurry, their strained and perturbed
countenances, their frantic grasp of
Billy's outstretched hands marked
them for women and men into whom
Billy bad put the fear of the here
after.
More definitely than on Thursday
night, the night of the first summons
to the gospel rath, Billy reached the
brand of sinner for whom he shells
the woods. On Thursday night
church members and churchgoers
went forward in battalions and
platoons. So they did last night, but
among them were many of the fla
grantly unredeemed, boon compan-
ions Of the Demon Rum.
81 Want to Quit the BOOEe:,
There was one man in disheveled
clothes, who had taken his soap on
;heresay, and who had squandered no
cash with Sing Lee, the laundryman;
a man in a gray shirt, who tried to
fall prone at Billy's feet, as he gasp
ed out:
II want to quit the booze! Ny God,
but 1 want to quit it,"
And Billy, holding back the crush
that strove for a snatch at his hand,
patted Gray Shirt on the shoulder,
gave him a glance of encouragement
bucked him up, as our English allies
say, told him to get out and fight
like a man.
81 wish 1 could do 1t for you, old
man." said Billy, but you'll have TO
scrap it out yourself with Jesus
Christ to help you.
Among the first dozen in the race
for the evangelist's hand grip was a
girl in a silk shirt waist which was
as conspicuous for it's red and white
stripes as is the American flag. Wheu
she left her seat in a section about
one-third OF the way from the front
she was all agiggle, this miss. One
might have hazarded that she was
hitting the trail for the fun or the
excitement of the thing, rislSing an
adventure which would furnish the
reminiscence of a drab lifetime. But
as she inched forward up the trail
something seemed to sober the spirits
of the young woman. Her frivolity
fell away from her as If she had
dropped q gay coat to the flooring
of pine shavings. And when she near"
ed Billy the tears were streaming
down her cheeks.
From Laughter To Tears.
"Oh, Mr.. Sunday" she cried, I'm
& fool, that's ALL I've been laughins
at you tonight, and now / want to
be saved. Tell me that l can be
saved"
why, girl" said Billy, you are on
your way now. Praise God! You are
on your way. Those tears are worth
more to you than a pearl necklace.
Go home and pray, girl.
These two, Gray Shirt and Red
Stripes. were types, fairly photo
graphed types, among probably 200
who seemed to get religion" with a
sort of wrenching. gripping intensity,
who appeared to feel, all at once. as
suddenly as if they had been taken
with hot fever, a desire to stampede
forward and grasp at new life. In
this company of earnest ones were the
kinds OF men and women one, sees on
any street at any hour, perfectly IA
miIiar. commonplace human beings
They did not, however, with three or
four exceptions, burst into tears or re-
lieve by vocal recantation their con-
viction OF sin.
Altogether about ] ZOO persons went
forward, from whatever motive or
through whatever Inspiration, to clasp
hands with the eager evangelist and
10 mass themselves in the seats so
systematically and scientifically va
Gated for their coming.
Half Expected to Stick.
1t was estimated by some of Mr..
Sundays experienced observers (men
who had analyzed trail crowds on
many previous occasions) that per
haps half of last nights crowd would
eventually affiliate with a church and
do their honest best TO become Chris
tian men and women. The other half
were-anything you please-eXcite-
ment hunters, seekers OF the curious,
Adventures in levity.
On Thursday night, out OF perhaps
1000. who actually went forward at
Billy's invitation 1.-THE estimate OF
2.40O was slightly over the mark be-
cause IL was an estimate which had to
be made amid a busting confusion, a
great clatter of tongues and in driving
haste) just 9s7 left their names with
the census takers OF the churches and
signihed by that formal enrolment
that they were ready to become
church members and handle a rife in
the gospel trenches. Probably l 600
and odd eYaded the listers, slipping
out of the press at an advantageous
moment.
1t is always this way when feet
crowd to the trail. There are always
some persons who rush to Billy and
then sidestep the responsibilities Of
their implied c0nfeSsion. However,
the fact remains that nowhere in his
career as an evangelist has Sunday
achieved such quick results as meas
ured by the number OF trail hitters
as right here in New York. Boston
didn't approach the first two nights
results here, nor did Detroit nor Phil