Evening Republican, Volume 19, Number 70, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 March 1915 — MAY FIGHT DEVIL IN CHICAGO REVIVAL [ARTICLE]

MAY FIGHT DEVIL IN CHICAGO REVIVAL

“Billy” Sunday, Back From Philadelphia to Winona Home, Talks in Interesting Way. Winona Lake, Ind., March 24. “Billy” Sunday is tempted sorely today to sign articles for a knockout fight with the devil in Chicago during the “dry” campaign of 1916. Once he exploded emphatically with “You bet, I'll do it,” when the possibilities of the battel were borne home to him. Then he as quickly reconsidered and expressed doubt whether he should go. Mrs. Sunday, active partner of her husband in his labors, is keen for the Chicago campaign. “That's a great fight they're going to have up there in Chicago. You ought to be in it,” were her words to her husband IQ minutes after neighbors had escorted them in triumph on their return from Philadelphia. “It seems to me that the west side is all that is after me,” he said. “I don’t want to go to Chicago unless I can preach to tee whole city. Come to think of it, in Chicago there’s liable to be bickering about where tee tabernacle is to be located and that sort of thing.” Mr. Sunday finally said that if he does go to Chicago he'll have to force an opening wedge into his tentative schedule for next year to do it. He invited the newspaper man to the family dinner, said a short and emphatic grace, and then ate like a hungry man. “If any of those delegations of preachers that I've been wiring to keep away from here insist on coming they won’t find me,” Mr. Sunday everred between bites. “I'm going to play medicine ball, rake leaves, and frolic with the squirrels.” Mr. Sunday was told by his visitor teat criticism of him aS a capitalizer of religion from a mercenary standpoint justified some questions teat ordinarily would be impertinent. “My financial affairs are open to the world,”, responded Ms, Sunday.. “At that tee liquor people have lied about them. In one of my campaigns they boosted the contributions b/ $5,000 and cut down tee actual number of converts 3,000. “What is your income?” asked the reporter. “I don’t know,” was the easy reply.- “The newspapers have printed all of it They know and I don’t. I haven’t kepi any statistics in 20 years. I know I religiously give one-tenth of all I get to tee Lord.” “Here they go and holler because I make more money than some other preachers. They might as well holler because some one doctor or some one lawyer makes more than others of the same profession.” ~Then. he added the stinger of tee interview. “Johnny Kilbane and somebody

else go in and fight for 18 minutes for $5,500 a side. That’s $305.50 a minute for each prize-fighter for the time he puts in. Were I paid for the time I put in on the fighting the devil at the rate these men are for fighting each other, my campaign in Philadelphia would have brought me four million dollars.”