The Golden age. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1906-1915, July 12, 1906, Page 7, Image 7

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Glorious Close of Six Montbs Campaign HE six months revival crusade of Dr. Torrey and Mr. Alexander came to an end last night in Ottawa, Canada, amid stirring scenes. The closing meeting was one of great power. The big building was crowded with 6,000 people fully an hour before the time set for the service to begin. Late comers sat on the steps leading to the choir platform, or T stood in the aisles throughout the meeting, so eager were they to hear the evangelists. In spite of the oppressive heat the singing under the leadership of Mr. Alexander was remarkably inspiring, and the swinging rendering of the ‘Glory Song’ by more than 6,000 voices brought the meeting to a high pitch of spiritual fervor. Dr. Torrey preached on “Today and Tomorrow” urging upon the unsaved the necessity of an im mediate decision for Christ. The entire audience was deeply moved by his words, although compara tively few stood up when he gave the invitation. When the opportunity was given for personal work, however, scores of Christians went to work with a will, and large numbers who had hesitated under conviction were brought to the front. Before the meeting closed more than a hundred persons stood up to publicly confess their acceptance of Christ. A children’s meeting in the afternoon had resulted in 250 of the young people confessing Christ, so that the closing day proved aglorious climax to one of the most successful campaigns the famous evange lists have conducted. The Results of the Meeting. During the past six months Dr. Torrey and Mr. Alexander have held revivals in Toronto, Philadel phia, Atlanta, and Ottawa. A notable feature of the crusade which has just closed in this city were the crowds which gathered at the meetings, which, in proportion to the population were far greater than in any other city the evangelists visited. It was here in Ottawa that they addressed an audience of nearly 8,000 persons, making the largest revival meeting held by them on this side the water. The converts of the 18-days campaign in this city numbered over 1,500. They included all ranks and classes, from a titled lady to a famous pugilist, Alf Allen. In an editorial this morning the Ottawa Free Press says: “The mission has been the direct cause of the greatest religious awakening Ottawa has ever ex perienced. That a couple of earnest men preaching the Gospel in its simplicity should have stirred a whole city in the short period of their visit needs some other explanation than that they have played upon the emotional feelings of their auditors, a charge which is ever made against the evangelist but not always substantiated. Rather is the great success of the mission due to the fact that Dr. Torrey preached a Gospel in which he believed im plicitly in such a manner that he convinced others that he believed in it, and they in turn were con vinced of its truth and the efficiency of its teach ings.” A Pugilist’s Conversion. Preaching last Sunday night on ‘Heroes and Cow ards’ Dr. Torrey related in the course of his ser mon how Jem Burke, the champion heavyweight pugilist of Tasmania, had accepted Christ in their meetings in that country. At the conclusion of the sermon, among the crowd of men that flocked to the front seats was Alf. Allen, champion middleweight pugilist, who for four years ran a saloon in Ottawa, and his conversion was the event of the night. At the end of the meeting a large number of choir members gathered around the pugilist, and as one after another grasped his hand they sang again and again the chorus of the popular revival melody, f Grace Enough for Me’ which runs; The Canadian Capital Stirred to Its Center. —A Famous Prizefighter’s Conversion. — Dr. Torrey and Mr. Alexander on their Work in America. The Golden Age for July 12, 1906. By GEORGE T. B. DAVIS. “Grace, fathomless as the sea; Grace, flowing from Calvary; Grace, enough for eternity; Grace, enough for me.” The next day when I saw Mr. Allen lie declared that he was through with prize fighting, and that he had never before been so happy in his life. He said that after being drunk for two months he had wan dered into the building where the revival meetings were being held last Friday night. He did not know what was going on, but simply went in be cause he saw the crowd going there. Drunk as he was he accepted Christ at the invitation of a work er, and promised to return on the following Sunday evening to confess Him. In Church Twice in Life. When asked about his past life the ex-pugilist said: “I had never been in church but twice in my life—once when I was a boy, and once when I was married. I left home at 14 years of age, and went out to the Flathead Reservation in Montana, living with the wild people there for quite a few years. I came back, and have been here something like 15 years. I was in the saloon business four years. I have been drinking all my life, a’nd living the hard est, wickedest life I knew how. “I made $20,000 fighting and running the saloon, and lost it in four years. About three years ago I lost my saloon. Then I was drunk for two years. I went home, and they tried to keep me straight, but I began to see green ribbons and snakes and hear dogs barking, and they couldn’t do anything with me. Finally they sent me to Central Prison, where I served six months and came out last Jan uary. “In April I fought Jack Monro—the Butte min er—at Hull for eight rounds. Then I went down to Maine, where I made over S2OO, and blew it in in a week’s spree at Montreal. I came back to Ottawa and in some way wandered into Dey’s Rink last Friday night after having been drunk for two months. “I don’t remember anything about the sermon. I remember that someone took me up to the front, and I promised to come again Sunday night. To keep from drinking on Saturday and Sunday I stay ed in bed all day at my hotel. “Now my old life seems away off—l don’t want to think of it. I don’t want to go near a saloon again, and I’ll never put on another glove. I have no inclination for them. I never in all my life put in such a day as today. Yesterday was the hap piest day of my life, but today is even happier than yesterday. ’ ’ The ex-pugilist declared that although he had been the worst man in Ottawa he is now going to try and lead his old associates to accept Christ. His conversion has thrilled the whole city. A daily newspaper published his testimony on its sporting page this week, in which Mr. Allen made an appeal to his old associates to quit their sinful life and take The Six Month’s Campaign. Christ. Both Dr. Torrey and Mr. Alexander are greatly pleased over the results of their first six' months work in America. When Dr. Torrey was asked for a brief statement of the work, he said: “The first six months work on this side the At lantic have been months of great blessing. The first mission, in Toronto, was one of the best we have ever had in any country. Probably we have never been in any place where the fire extended out to the surrounding country as it did in Toronto. Sweeping revivals sprang up in many places, quite transforming the towns where they occurred. The work has gone on in Toronto ever since we left. One Presbyterian minister tells of 260 accessions to his church, and the work still in progress. Large numbers of accessions to other churches have been reported, and new life has been instilled into many. Perhaps the most notable conversion in Toronto was that of the leading criminal lawyer of the Province. “The next three months were spent in Philadel phia. This was emphatically a church mission. One Presbyterian church reported 160, another 110, another 107, another 101, and others in the neigh borhood of 100. The Philadelphia work was also marked by the large number of business men who were converted and men in political life. These business men have organized into Gospel bands. They are now going around the churches of the city holding meetings, and have been greatly bless ed. It was said by many that the most distinctive feature of the Philadelphia mission was the way in which people had been brought out into personal work. Leaders in the religious life said this was a new message to Philadelphia. Th e Atlanta Meeting. “The mission in Atlanta in the month of May was in some respects like that in Philadelphia, es pecially in the impression made upon the business men. Some of the best known men in the city were either converted at this time or took a new stand in the Christian life. The ministers of the city co operated heartily by their presence and prayer. There were a large number of notable conversions. “The mission in Ottawa is one of the shortest we have ever held, but in many respects one of the most blessed. Though Ottawa has but 65,000 in habitants, 40 per cent of whom are Roman Cath olics, they provided a hall that would accommodate 6,000 people, a hall admirably adapted for our pur pose, and the best we have had this side the At lantic. Some thought it absurd to provide so large a hall in so small a city, in the beat of summer but it was packed to overflowing at the very first even ing service, on a Sunday, and has been none too large for the week-night services. On the last Sun day it was necessary to divide the congregation, and have women only in the afternoon and men only at night, but still the hall was full. A large share, of the many converts have come from what is considered as the better class of society, though not a few drunkards have been saved. “On the whole we have ben greatly gratified by our first six months on this side the Atlantic. From each of the places where we have been, have come urgent calls to undertake missions again with them at a very early date, but this we cannot consider, as there are so many other places calling for us where we have never worked at all.” At the conclusion of the Ottawa campaign the evangelists rest for three months. Dr. Torrey has returned to his summer home at Northfield, Mass., and will address various Bible conferences through out the summer, while Mr. Alexander sailed from Montreal for his home in England. He will rest most of the summer, but in the latter part of July will speak at the World’s Christian Endeavor Con vention at Geneva, Switzerland. The evangelists expect to continue their Ameri can campaign for at least another year, the follow ing dates having already been arranged: Nashville, Tenn., Oct. 14 to Nov. 11; Omaha, Neb., Nov. 18 to Dec. 16; Winnipeg, Canada, in January; it has not yet been definitely settled where they will labor in February, but in March they will be at Buffalo, and in April at Pittsburgh, Pa. In the concluding article of this series I wish to request that the readers of this paper will pray daily throughout the summer for the outpouring of God’s Spirit upon Dr. Torrey and Mr. Alexander, and upon every member of the evangelistic party, that they may all grow stronger in the faith and have the joy of leading many souls to Christ wher ever they may be, on train or steamship or in hopies in other lands, 7