Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-07-28
NOW MY IDEA is THIS!
Daily Talks With Thinking Philadelphans Subjects They
KnOp Best


perience of our own organization to be an
effective one.
'"The nearly Quarter of n century of our
own meetings and the summer work which
we have done have shown that tie people. as
rule. are responsive. Wherever we have
sent cvangelistS there has never been any diff.
fculty in finding persons ready and willing
to near. In almost every case five minutes is
suficlent sun to attract crowd of from 200 TO
400 persons; the problem is t.. hold their
close attention while the message which we
have to give is being delivered.
This part. after all the most important
or all. depends upon the man in charge of
the meeting: good man. however, finds
no trouble in holding the attention of his
audience for the fifteen or twenty minutes
which aic required for the address. But he
must have personality and be entirely fa-
miliar with the things which are demanded
If the attention of a miscellaneous audience
Is to be retained. 1t would be quite pos
s!blc to obtain the requisite number of men
of the highest order 10 do this work: the
pinch comes in the financing of it,
'Thcre has been little, If any. change on
the part OF the people as whole in their
responsiveness to the ;ork of the Church
during the last twenty five years | am
convinced that deep in their hearts people
realize that the things of religion are the
things of the greatest ultimate value in life.
but there IL ever the element of the love of
pleasure ard worhllincss with which 70 con
tend. These in themselves form NOT in
considerable portion of the general problem.
But, on the whole, while people are not
rushing to such services as | have outlined,
they are as responsive to them as they have
ever been.
Brought Home to Many
'Thcrc can be no doubt that these sum-
mer month meetings held in various pubic
places throughout the city have brought tho
principles Of Christianity to many thousands
of persons who would not otherwise huye
been placed in touch with them. During
the period which our own organization hns
been ut this particular phase of the work
there have been services in parks tents
squares, halls, mills, factories of ali kinds
from automobiles, in the most congestcd cen
tcrS OF the city, on church lawns piers
plazas, street corners and many other busy
places of similar kind
while 1t Is not always easy to trace the
direct results Of such meetings. still we feel
that much has been accomplished, and the
efficiency of the method has been fulIv dom
onstrated. There is so much need for work
Of this kind thai the burden is too great for
any one denomination. and if the problem is
to be solved it must be done by union of
forces.
However, there have been some very
gratifying permanent results of these meet :.
ingS, one of which has been the establish
ment and the fostering Of thirteen churches
and missions in the city. If single denomi :
nation can accomplish this much, the posi- =
| bitics of united action may be said to he
| almost unlimited.
Work Among the Children
''Such meetings also give an opportunity
| for great work among the children, the little
ones to whom the dcStnies of the country
| will be intrusted within Il few years. I'm
| pressions have been made upon the plastic
| child nature which will never be effacrd md
| the child mind has been given u bent in the
| right direction.
but, while the union of the evangelical
| denominations seems to b" the ultimate 50.
luton stu there lS much that the indi-
| church in the city should maintain n duily
vacation Bible school rs II part of it's yearly
program, AVID til" expenses of Il shonld he
met from the annual budget of that church
md nm investment which viii uoT rv,.'iI nre
| divilnn1S - '>'''