Mr. Bryan at Philadelphia
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mi iiprvijp ri 20 The Commoner VOli. 15, No. 4 boys blocked the way. Unable to gain Billy Sunday campaign Mr. Bryan Philadelphia a placo in front of tho pulpit, the Heart Keeps Right,' as an Iccotnn "' at crowd turned to the side, and climb- iment to the scratching of ing over the choir benches, over the pencils which were S i On Monday night, April 15, Mr. tho tumult that broke forth when press stand, and up on tho platform. from habit, Bryan delivered in- Bryan, accompanied by and a Sing an addross in the Secretary It was necessary to call a detail of po- shackles of despair. TZ terests of total abstinence at a meet- Mrs. Bryan, Congressman J. Wash- lice to clear pulpit sufficient to " Every ing hold in the Sunday ington Logue, Mr. Mrs. Lewis the cloud will wear a rainbow tabernacle at and Mr. your ' allow Bryan to continue his work If heart keeps aright- - Philadelphia. Tho address will bo Disbrow and Dr. and Mrs. John R. of accepting pledges. found in another part of Tho Com- Sutherland, whose guests the Bryans the "That's what tho moner. Tho following description were, "For more than an hour the sec- meant to many families 5 of appeared in sight. retary stuck to his task, while a never reeln tho meeting is given in tho "Whistles, shouts, songs, the honk-hon- k diminishing phia Inquirer, of March 1G, 1915: of automobile horns, the shrill crowd waited in front, toward tho pulpit, pledge cards wav- The 12,000 strains of cornets and the beating of total abstainers at "Before what was probably tho ing. -- drums, made the tabernacle a din of Policemen, ushers, and leaders that meeting last night will torm largest gathering of men over in the movement gathered in the nucleus of one of th brought togother at one time in noise, a veritable Bedlam for fully tho greatest this five cards, presented them to Mr. Bryan, booze movements in country to liston to a purely total ab- minutes. It was like the screech America. of the crowds on an election night. and returned them as fast as signed. signers enrolled themselves X stinence speech, William Jennings At the conclusion of that period, bars of the Bryan, secrotary of state, Chautauqua "The meeting was presided over by National Total AbatataSs Hav-erfo- while hundreds still waited, Mr. Bry- union, an organization lecturer and advocate of world peace Dr. Isaac Sharpless, president of rd which aims t! college. Before Secretary an arose to his feet, tnc? announced: haveMOO.OOO names and national tomporance, launched " 'I would like to continue signing byan his attack on liquor at tho Sunday Bryan was introduced, Rev. Dr. George B. Adams, pastor these cards, but I fear that such a "Their pledge was tabernacle, Nineteenth and Vine of the Chest impossible retary written by Sec streets, nut street Baptist church, offered task is to accomplish atone Bryan he told last last night. sitting, you want me to witness on "Not even in the early days of the prayer. if he?tQ ? a train las NoVembS Rev. your pledge, take the cards to any signed with a Billy Sunday revival did greater Dr. Rufus W. Miller of the newspaper chance companion National Abstainers' union, described office and I am sure they in travel- - Ifc ls as Allows: throngs foregather in and about tho will forward them to me Washing- great wooden the meeting and the purpose of tne at undersi&ned promises, God structure, and, vast as ton. re- There I will sign them, and helping, never to lio-u- union as an effort to establish the 'to- use intoxicating or its interior, it was not large enough to turn them to office. you accommodate tho crowd clamor- tal abstinence highway to human pro- the Then as a beverage that gress.' can call and receive your cards. ed for admittance. "Long Secretary Greatest of Meetings "Long before 7 every after Bryan and o'clock seat Letter from Archbishop his party had left the tabernacle ni7?US Philalelphia, sometimes In tho tabernacle had been taken and corrupt rum-bosse- "He then read a letter from Arch- scores of men and boys remained, giv- and d and tho great encircling vestibule had bishop Prendergast, in which the lat- the ring' packed to ing their pledges to the ushers, who ?00Ze becam been tho limit of its capa- ter said: ??n5h?f cradle of an organiza- city. Not an inch of spaco was stacked the cards on the pulpit." wasted, " 'I am strongly in favor- - of total tion formed for the purpose hit- but hundreds had to bo away. of turned abstinence, and, in my official rela- ting John Barleycorn in one of his "Secrotary Bryan's speech was a tions, as head of CRYSTALLIZES SENTIMENT vulnerable spots. this diocese, I do AGAINST BOOZE bitter arraignment of liquor, tho everything in my power to promote " 'For.' as SGnrAtji nro ... i money Describing that is spent on it and the ef- the cause. We have many Catholic the Tabernacle meeting, last night, 'If we can lessen de- W. Carl the fects of it, and the results at the con- total abstinence societies one hun- Sprout, in the Philadelphia mand for liquor we can lessen the clusion showed that tho candidate dred and seventy and I endeavor, at North American, writes: sale. who three times essayed to carry his all times, to show my appreciation of "William Jennings Bryan,' in the "There were enough separate dem- party's banner to victory, and Billy failed, their work in the different parishes of Sunday tabernacle last night, onstrations and ovations at that sin-- 5 has lost none of his old power city country. - of the and These societies crystallized- the city's sentiment metInS last night to stock a nati- gripping on-wide and swaying an audience. are not only thoroughly organized against booze, which Billy Sunday be- temperance crusade. Prof. Thousands Sign tho Pledge and flourishing in the Philadelphia gan to stir up ten weeks ago. Charles Scanlon, of Pittsburgh, a "Fully 12,000 men, according to diocese, but elsewhere, and have mer- "The secretary of state won, as leader in the new abstainers' organ- popular estimate, responded to ited the commendation of His Holi- they say in the tabernacle, 12,000 ization, referred to the meeting as his ness, pleas for volunteers to try and dis- the Sovereign Pontiff, and the trail hitters for temperance. the greatest single temperance meet- members of the Hierarchy. "Witnesses to ing ever gathered suade other men from drinking, and " this remarkable at one time." ' between 3,000 and 4,000 surged down 'I beg you to believe that I do not gathering included some 15,000 men Secretary Bryan himself called it mention If C iuo aisio, witn sicnca nieaces in their these facts in any spirit of who jammed the building as it has the largest body of men ever assem- W ' hands, when ho called for those who self-glorificati- on, but to show that seldom been jammed before. It was bled on one occasion to hear a total wouiu renounco urinicmg. while I must ask you to hold me ex- one of the greatest anti-ru- m demon- abstinence speech;.' "As a trail-hittin- g proposition, if cused from taking part in next Mon- strations ever staged in this or any VSth such Piniris as these there such it might be regarded, it eclipsed day's meeting, I hope that you may other city. is rattle need to say anything about ' anything even approached throughout have great success in your efforts to " 'The greatest body of men ever the crowd and the enthusiasm. Men the whole of Billy Sunday's cam- abolish the curse of drunkenness gathered together for a total abstin- packed the. big tabernacle, the ros- paign; and, in tho words of Bryan Sunday Sends Letter ence meeting,' said Secretary Bryan, trum, the vestibule to the outer and the speakers who preceded him, and national temperance crusaders in doors." was a marshaling "Professor Charles Scanlon and the audience, veterans it of the forces others then analyzed the prohibition In the war on which eventually are counted upon to or John Barleycorn, agreed with him. FIFTEEN THOUSAND SIGN THE unfurl tho flag of prohibition total abstinence movement, and "Ovations for Mr. Bryan over then 'Ma' Sunday arrived with a let throughout PLEDGE Pennsylvania. ter rrom Billy to the meeting were matched by ova- The Bryan, which later tions for another following description of the "Bryan's speech was largely a re- was read. In it the evangelist said leader who wasn't meeting was given view of there Billy Sunday. The evan- in a Philadelphia statistics, and his audience he was so worn by his exertions of little daily paper of March 16: was made up in groat part of mem- gelist sent a letter that was cheered the last ten weeks, and facing the so "Twenty persons saw bers of men's Bible classes. prospect of another vigorous loud and so long that the taber- thousand theless, was a temperance week, nacle roof shook with Secretary of State William Jennings it meeting he felt he was obliged to stay home the echo. Bryan on such as surely never was held in this and rest. "After that, every time Billy Sun- his knees last night at the day's 1 conclusion of ab- city and state before and the advo- "The high school boys sang name was mention Pri tiio r nnn his plea for total cates their men loosed their stinence at the, great temperance of local option believe it will be Bong, wincn ended, William, William voices, waved their rally in effect a call to arms whose appeal Jennings Bryan, hats and pounded their palms, one in the Billy Sunday Tabernacle.