The independent. [volume] (Elizabeth City, N.C.) 1908-1936, 1925-07-03
THE PROPHET"
MOVING OUT
Evangelist Makes His $4,000 A
Year, and Prepares To
Go Home
The Independent Bureau
800 The Vance
By r. e. POWELL

Tuesday night and served
notice on "the enemy" that in
a week he will pull up his
stakes and move through the
bloody fields of Tennessee to
his earthly home in Anchor
age.
The Ham-Ramsay finale was
featured, if feature there was to
the meeting, by the dissentlon
among his converts, from those
North Carolina cities in which he
has held evangelistical sway, as to
whether Ham himself is d prophet
or a preacher.
A man introduced to the audi
ence, which almost filled the city's
greatest house, as Duck" Glover,
of Elizabeth City, denied that he
was a follower" Of The Prophet
Ham.
Il am not a follower Of Ham but
of the Lord Jesus CHRIST" Mr..
Glover said by way of castigating
the News and Observer and the
Greensboro News, newspapers which
in their news columns have refrain
ed from throwing a halo around the
stories Of evangelistic enterprise
in the State.
On the other hand, Judge f. ii.
Brooks of Smithfield, described the
Prophet as "A great magnet OF Goa
sent here" and he added that
Gods dynamite" was blasting
through Ham.
Mr.. Ham attacked evolution in a
tongue fire that defied stenographlc
report. He made frequent refer
ences to great historical facts and
ratified them off like a machine gun
splitting bullets.
He did a great many things to
make the last meeting in Raleigh
memorable. And he went through
if with one conspicuous OmmiSSlon'
He did not again attack Editor W.
O. Saunders. of Elizabeth City.
1t was very apparent. however
that he still rankles over the drub-
binc which Saunders gave him anu
which. i'm large measure, has done
more to put a damper ON the Ham
campaigns than the boil weevil did
in Texas.
Goldsboro's Cussin' Mayor
Mr.. Ham is smart. No critic
can afford to deny him that. His
vanity may be measured in his
own statement that he has intro
duced thousands of people in North
Carolina to God and to Jesus Christ
His shrewdness is not so easily ap'
praised.
For instance:
His clinic was a parade of con-
verts who confessed to stupendous
sins, such as drinking, gambling
distilling and dancing. There were
no cheats. although several busl'
ness men and a few bankers offered
testimony. There were no frauds
There were no hypocrites turned
iconoclast. There was the Mayor
of Goldsboro who, until four years
ago, was the champion "cusser' III
Wayne County. He was an Epls'
copalian. Now he has Joined the
Baptist church. He was a great
sinner because, after sewt1s in
the army, he held the blue ribbon
for profanity. Now he's enthusias-
tic behind Mr.. Ham and suspected
of being in front of the ku hluz
Klan.
New Bern Wouldn't Testify.
Many of the "tpyes" had been
paraded on the stage. GoldsDoro
was asked to stand up. New Bern
sent six delegates but not one would
tell anything about what Mr.. Ham
had done for New Bern. They were
all bashful. Fayetteville had the
best lot of takers and Burlington
had the biggest crowd. They came
down on q special train.
How many of you ever heard OF
Elizabeth City," the prophet then
asked.
At least a thousand pairs OF
hands went up. Every one who
remembered the famous Saunders
headline. Il Believe The Prophet
Ham Has Lied" waited with ton
CUES hanging out. They knew the
big moment of a big meeting had
arrived.
"Nr. Kramer, Mr.. Glover and all
the rest of you folks from Eliza
beth City," shouted the Prophet,
"come around here. Come on out
where these people can see what
kind of folks live in Elizabeth City.
Still the tension. Three or four
folks, maybe five, moved from be-
hind the choir and came to the
front of the Stage. NcwSpapcrmrn
in the confusion lost count OF the
total but not more than half /
CONTINUED on page fiTc(