El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1920-09-13
Culpepper Calls Up Memories
He Gets En-" And Holds En-


nURKE CULPEPPER must have
/ n Something that the rest OF US
haven't got 10 hold an audience
and draw audiences as he does.
Rev. Percy r kuiclzerbocEer as
serts that Trinity N. T.. church has
+ 1900 members and that they are be
hind him. every man, woman and
E child OF course, they don't all at
tend all services, for Trinity church
won't hold 1900 people. But he has
as an audience all that Trinity will
hold, and that should be satisfying,
since he Is preaching at and for
( Trinity.
Putting aside an engagement TO go
( out and shoot doves early Sunday
morning / accepted a pressing inTi-
tarion from Dr. knickerbocker to go
and hear his eYangelist's IL o'clock
address It was announced as a SER
mon and maybe II Was-the evangelist
himself declared that It was the first
time he had attempted to preach the
doctrine Of Jesus Christ since he came
here, he'd been too busy. he said,
D "Hghtin' and scrathin' sin" The
church was packed when / reached
tire at II o'clock and sam BRENT
furnished me a seat and stood up.
The speaker got the fullest atten-
ton from first 10 last and the audi
ence didn't even laugh when he
jumped over the pulpit shouldered
chair and paraded. stoop-backed.
up one OF the aisles in imitation Of
Christ carrying the cross before cruel
fixion
Culpepper looks like an actor who
ought to be doing Hamlet. He Guilt
Yates his hair like an actor would and
he has q fine crop Of it-almost all
gray-and he wears It parted almost
in the center, a little more on the
right than on the left. He shouts.
say" at you SO much that you think
he wants you to talk yourself and
uses no other word so much except
hear and me--Hear me-"
Twice during his Sunday morning
talk he stood on the chancel rail and
once ne hoped across the stage-beg
pardon. the space behind the pulpit
when illustrating how a blue hen
walked in the days before the strain
had been bred up beyond and above
blue hens. He rushed out into the au-
Rugged his Bible and vigorously
rocked II in a straight-bscked chair
IN Imitation OF a mother rocking a
baby, which, he said, mothers always
did in straight backed chairs. The
audience hoWled when he said he lay
in bed one cold night watching his
wife do this rocking stunt with their
first born and waiting for her to put
the child down SO he could ask her TO
/ bring him another blanket-it was
that cold
Crepe AID COffins.
He has the faculty Of telling 2
funny story well and ike all evangel-
lists follows II with a sad, shivery one
that ends either with a piece OF crepe
on the front door or '-rhe cold. still
form" OF a loved dead one in a coffin,
although he said OF death. II despise
II, I hate it." Crepe and coffius are
the stock IN trade OF evangelist
lots OF them, anyhow-1nd II you
have ever had a death IN the family,
they surely bring tears and often
bring you down to the chancel rail
at the conclusion Of the tax.
Whether Il is religion or emotional
ism, or how long Il lasts. the preach
ers know best II they think K lasts
and is worth while. all right
AIethodists are emotional always
do / know Well from the time
can remember until was Il years
old, had a camp meeting IN place
OF a vacation every sumner and its
custard pies and fried chickens and
the sweet scent OF the drying leaves
in the arbor are stiH memories not
unpleasant, but the emouonalism OF
the victims always made my spine
chilly. even as youth OF very tender
age. 7 just never could get emotional
OF thrill over it IT Is inherent, sup
pose, for when dad got religion or
emotion OF whatever Il was at one OF
these camp meetings, he had a fuss
with the preacher later because he
wouldn't shout nor testify" and came
near spelling II all when he demanded
10 be immersed IN the nearby creek
instead Of 'sprinkled" under the ar
Dor. But u was a gladsome sort OF
a thing altogether and the scene that
followed the Culpepper sermon Sun
day was reminiscent Of Il, for dad