New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-03-18

a
Sunday was urging as deliberately UNI
friendly act. Consequently, when the
evangelist found Cardinal OConnelps
parishioners arrayed against him he
found large proportion of the regis
tered voters of the city of Boston ar
rayed against him. That he was able
to attract such tremendous crowds is
due to the fact that Cardinal OCon-
nell's paper does not have such large
circulation in the towns included in the
metropolitan district, from which most
of the crowds came to the Tabernacle,
and none of which had any say in the
question of whether Boston should or
should not sell liquor.
Therefore, as one of the Cardinals
parishioners genially told me, the vote
was not on the desirability of light wines
and beer as a commercial asset for Bos-
ton; neither was it question of Billy
Sundays power as a pleader; it was a
question of whether or not the citizens
of Boston believe what they read in the
paper.
So that, in way, explains why Billy
Sundays influence isn't rampant in
Boston to-day. And you can't blame
him for that.
AS for the resurgent Unitarians,
found out later that some one had tipped
Sunday off to the fact that Unitarian
ism in Boston has always been tolerated
in fact, that a great many eminent
Bostonians have at times spoken well of
it, and that it might be the polite thing
to omit any especially earnest reference
to them that he might have in mind.
And so, while the Unitarians gathered
their forces and prepared publicity to
offset the attacks which were expected
from the evangelist, the diplomatic ex-
horter refused to attack, and left them
crouched there, ready to spring, through
out his whole campaign, without so
much as once consigning them to hell. 1t
must have been a big disappointment
for the Unitarians, but they still have
their organization and publicity depart
ment left.
And organization seems to be the one
thing that has sprung up in Sundays
wake. Aside from the forces which
were organized to oppose. him, there
were organizations made to help him.
Churches which had been running along
in the even tenor and bass Of their way
for years, with an occasional salad sup
per or Christian Endeavor social, sud
denly staggered to their feet and joined
hands with neighboring churches to
spread the news of Sundays arrival
and drum up attendance. Mems clubs
were formed, Bible classes started, and
general dynamic influence set in mo
ton.
And now that Sunday has gone. these
organizations still remain. Sunday may
not have altered the police blotters, but
lie Has SWclltu JIIt IOilCdu III MANY a
small church organization. He may not
have hit many men who knew the in
side of jail, but he hit great many
men who never knew the inside of any
thing, jail or church. And it is these
influences that you could never tabulate
if you took years to do it.
| went out Huntington Avenue late in
the afternoon to see the largest revival
building in the worlds history. 1t is
being torn down now, and as | picked
my way over the planks and pools Of
slush and looked over the remains of
the brick walls at the salmon sky on
top of the Art Museum, | could very
easily have waxed sentimental. And |
would have done so had / not seen, d.
rectly across the street from the ruins
of the Tabernacle, tidy dance-hall
which bore a large legend telling of
dances every Tuesday, Thursday and
Saturday ewes. Here was the enclosure
which had witnessed an event con-
fessed to be without parallel in religious
history, being ripped apart brick by
brick, while across the street de Cha
teau," fostering one of the Devils ia
VOritp SnOrts and AGAINST which fiery