Religion: William the Great

Adjutant William B. Plews of the Volunteers of America (Salvation Army offshoot) was once a vaudeville magician called “William the Great.” For the last nine years he has been preaching in his spare time, without much success. Last week, in Rochester, N. Y., his announcement that he would perform tricks (to help religion meet “pretty bad modern competition”) filled his Volunteers chapel. Adjutant Plews’s first stunt was to impersonate St. Paul in prison at Philippi, in padlocked chains and an unscriptural mail-sack. He prayed for God’s aid, escaped in a couple of minutes from his bonds, informed his delighted congregation that so could they escape the fetters of sin if they appealed to God. Declaring that religion is admirably “fitted to magic,” Necromancer Plews promised to display his repertory of 3,200 tricks in future services.