"Billy" Sunday, the Man and His Message: With his own words which have won thousands for ChristEllis, William T. (William Thomas)
Religion
"Billy" Sunday, the Man and His Message: With his own words which have won thousands for Christ
Ellis, William T. (William Thomas)
Baseball players -- United States -- Biography; Evangelists -- United States -- Biography; Sunday, Billy, 1862-1935
"'Religion as such had little to do with it,' replied the car-maker,
'except that it started it. The thing that made those men efficient was
cutting out the drink. Billy Sunday got them all on the water wagon.
They became sober and stayed sober. They could run their machines
with steady hands and true eyes. The men themselves realize what a
difference it makes. They are strong for prohibition. If the people
of Pittsburgh and its vicinity could vote on the temperance question
today, the saloons would be wiped out there.'
"'The manufacturers are strong for prohibition, too. They never gave
much thought to the matter before. But this demonstration of Billy
Sunday's has made us all strong for prohibition. We _know_ now that
most of our accidents are due to whisky. For years we have been trying
to find a way to secure a high degree of efficiency among our men. We
never succeeded. Along comes this preacher and accomplishes more in a
few weeks than we have ever been able to do.
"'We know now that until booze is banished we can never have really
efficient workmen. We're fools if we don't profit by what he has shown
us. Take it from me, booze has got to go. We are not much interested in
the moral side of the matter as such. It is purely a matter of dollars
and cents. They say corporations have no souls. From this time forth
corporations are going to show mighty little soul toward the man who
drinks.'"
A great parade of men marks the close of a Sunday campaign. In
Scranton the line of march was broken into by a brewer's wagon. The
driver was not content with trying to break the line of parade, but
he also hurled offensive epithets at Sunday and his converts. Perhaps
passive endurance was the virtue called for on this occasion; but it
was certainly not the virtue practiced. For those husky mill workers
stepped out of line for a moment, bodily overturned the brewer's wagon,
and sent the beer kegs rolling in the street, all to the tune of the
Sunday war song, "De Brewer's Big Horses Can't Run Over Me."
[Illustration: De Brewer's Big Hosses.
(SOLO AND CHORUS.)
H. S. Taylor.
J. B. Herbert.
]
This song, written by H. S. Taylor, is the most popular one in the
Sunday campaign. It is by no means a hymn of worship, but rather a
battle-cry. When thousands of men lift their voices in this militant
refrain, with whistles blowing and bells ringing in the chorus,
the effect is fairly thrilling. Words and music are beneath the
consideration of the scholarly musician; but they strike the common
mind of the American who wants a battle hymn.
DE BREWER'S BIG HOSSES.[A]
Oh, de Brewer's big hosses, comin' down de road,
Totin' all around ole Lucifer's load;
Dey step so high, an' dey step so free,
But dem big hosses can't run over me.
CHORUS.
Oh, no! boys, oh, no!
De turnpike's free wherebber I go,
I'm a temperance ingine, don't you see,
And de Brewer's big hosses can't run over me.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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