Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1922-06-23

tainly she was luc&y in this the COL
lision did not dull the blue eyes or
put cynical lines in the pretty face.
She came, then, UP from the south
from Atlanta, whore She had already
3aincd Il reputation rs 4 speaker, and
from Florida where she lad been pro-
noted to the command Of corps.
She came up to New York and for
while she edited the Young Soldier,
sort of juvenile War Cry. And then
the army decided TO begin again that
Old losing battle with Broadway, and
somebody at headquarters with u
first-rate glcam of intelligence sug-
gcstcd that Rhcba Crawford be put
III charge of the Broadway Corps.
| don't know what happened the
first Sunday night Rheba Crawford
mounted that Srimy platform in the
lea of the Gaiety theater, and cried
the name of Jesus Christ at the rest
less, churning stream of pleasure
and swirled underneath the chewing
sum signs and the twinlling invita-
tion of the cabarets and the bulbs
blazing from n dozen theatcr fronts.
| don't know if the stream stopped
then-out Of sheer amazcment, per-
haps. Nor do | know what sldrmishes
In
indifference was battered down, what
cnnity was conquered, what insults
We're hurled, ard parried; how trc-
menIousE difficult it all was.
But / know how the stream stops
now. The next time you are. in New
York, with an idle Sunday night 'be-
fore you, plunge into that surging
Broadway crowd and let it toss you
up, about $3.50 or 10 o'clock, just
around the corner from the Gaicty.
A huddle of people twenty deep
presses close to the south sidewalk of
Forty Sixth street, leaving just room
enough for the taXis to thread through
on the north side. 1t is pretty dim
here, compared to- the glare of Broad
way only few feet away; but it is
bright enough to CATCH over the heads
of the crowd, glimpse of half doz-
en- uniforms on the platform.
Out in front of this group where
the arc light CLEANS on the uplifted
face, is q girl. She wears no bonnet
and the severe uniform Sf blue en-
phasizes the Madonna like character
of the face. A moment before she
was striding back and forth, leading
song with more energy than Billy
Sunday ever showed. But now she is
speaking.
The voice rings out through the
flickering darkness with extraordinary
clcarncss.N Not twenty feet away, the
shuttle of feet and the laughter and
hum of the crowd reaches a continu-
:ous crescendo, perforated with the
jangle of a player piano, the whine
of a hurdy- -gurdy, the honk of au-
tomobiles, the whistles of traffic cops,
the desultory bang -bang-banS of
shooting gallery. But the voice
strangely enough is as distinct as
though the girl were at your side.
And the voice thrills.
I suppose what she is saying may
be important, melting, heartening TO
great many people. l suppose the
content Of her sermon is the creed,
the faith, the rock and hope of thous-
ands. For she is preaching gospel
familiar enough to this Christian
country, and she is preaching it in an
orthodox way.
Is that why the voice thrills? Is
that why the crowd is so still, so un-
breaking? Is it because these peo-
pie. snatched out of the strollins
thousands, want to hear about the
Christian theory of salvation and will
listen to anyone who will stand
there and tell them about it?
Rheba Crawford says it is the rca-
son. "You listen, not because of me,
but because it is God speaking through
me-" she tells the crowd.
In any event, theYvoice thrills-and
holds that crowd. And what crowd.
Three Nellow gentlemen, swaying
gently, but somehow powcrless to
stumble away. Several painted lad
les, sncering at first; then listening,
listening, listening, so that, while the
snccr is there, it has become carved in
the paint; passive, set unconscious,
while the eyes belle the sneer. Old
men. younS men, ragged men, ratty
gentlemen with canes and boutin-
nicres: taxi drivers hard-ho!led,
ncrce-eyed but silent; group OF
actors. from the y. V. A., joining lus-