The Washington herald., 1918-02-01
INFERS>
HE MAY SOON
GOTO FRANCE
Tells Tabernacle Audience
He Is Anxious to Cheer
Boys Over There. -
by ARTHUR JOYCE.

| Billy Sunday announced at the Tab
ernacIe last night that he guessed
! he'd have to go over to France and
icheer up the, boys in khaki getting
ready to go into the trenches"
He said he thought he could do
big work 'over there" since I'm ac-
quainted with thousands of the Ameri-
can soldiers-know their mothers and
fathers. have been in their homes
and I'm tied up with those boys in a
way that won't be loosened." Billy
added that he figured he'd "'be OF some
help to the boys. despite my age"
That's the first direct reference the
evangelist has made on the subject
OF going to France since he came to
Washington. II has been known for
some time that he has had the trip in
mind, but he has never committed
himself one way or the other.
Rockefeller May Help.
The announcement last night. fol-
lowing the visit here several days ago
of John ID. Rockefeller, jr., who is
understood to have volunteered to
finance the proposed trip to France.
leads many of the closest friends OF
the evangelist to believe that Billy will
give up his evangelistic campaign
work following this season and that
he will spend some time talking to
the boys" in the American canton
ments before going to- France.
Even Maj. Gen. n. Hibiki, COM
misary of the Japanese imperial
army, who is in this country looking
over Y. NJ. c. A. huts, laughed last
night at Billy Sundays jests during
| his Tabernacle sermon. And the Jap
| fighter, who was one of the heroes of
| Port Arthur. doesn't understand a
word of English! Gen. Hibiki sat on
the platform alongside 4. Yamamoto,
his interpreter. He referred to Billy
in Japanese-as 1.-THE worlds greatest
evangelist" and told. through Yama-
moto. of the evangelist's fame in the
Orient.
That seemed to tickle Billy. He
said he didn't know he was making
dent outside the United States.
And the compliment had the effect of
putting the evangelist in gfeat humor.
He told batch of good stories, all
of them humorous, to illustrate vari-
GUS points in his sermon and the
crowd of approximately 5000 persons
in the building sure hit the ceiling
in great shape.
When Billy told a story of the girl
who goes to her room at night and
picks up the latest best seller in
preference to the Bible, he had the
| audience in screams over the descrip-
tion. Billy told of the hero" and the
'shero" and described in picturesque
| language the advent of the returning
lover, seated on a charger and his
pockets filled with gold after ah
absence of several years seeking his
fortune;" the waiting loved one"
| wrinkled with age and the old man
and the old woman giving the daugh-
ter and son-in-law the bless you,
children
Then Four Nightmares.
Then she turns out the light
rolls over into bed and has four
Nightmares over the daring adven-
ture." wound up Billy.
He got another hand" when he
discussed the doctrine OF the trans
migration of the soul.
IF this theory holds water" COM
mented Billy. then the fellow who
doesn't buy a Liberty Bond or a
War Savings Stamp or who doesn't
help the governmen to win this
war, will come back to earth a
polecat."
Billy slammed the fellow who
thinks the Bible is all wrong be-
cause he can't figure where Cain got
his wife"
I've got my suspicious of a fell
low who shows interest in another
mans wife," said the evangelist.
But I'll answer that by saying he
got her from his father-in-Iaw."
The sermon had some telling
points that brought several hun
dred trail hitters" down the aisles.
On the whole. it was a powerful
slam at the person who doesn't be-
lieve the Bible to be the word of
God. He flayed agnostics and inf
dels and challenged them to dis
prove the existence of the human
soul.
There were special delegations in
the Tabernacle representing the
business women of Washington;
mems Bible classes, Central Bnion
Mission, a crowd from Baltimore,
Alexandria First Baptist Church,
Second Presbyterian Bible class,
Epiphany Chapel and Eldbrooke
Methodist Episcopal Church.