In some localities tent meetings are practical and economical for holding public meetings, but great care should be taken to see that they are rightly conducted so as to represent the message we bear.
We should secure a desirable location on a main street of travel, one that is easily reached by people coming from all parts of the city. After we have secured the location, the grounds should be leveled, unsightly places cared for and all debris removed; then the tent should be properly pitched so that there will be no wrinkles or sags left in the tent top to catch water when it rains. The rostrum should be built in proportion to the height of the side wall and pitch of the canopy.
A suitable place should be provided for the choir, if there is one. One or more bright Scriptural mottoes and some shrubbery or potted plants placed around the rostrum will add much to the appearance and will cost but little.
The tent should be well lighted inside and out. Study should be given to this. The lights should be arranged so that they will not shine directly into the eyes of the congregation. To avoid glare, the lights for the choir and the pulpit should be shielded.
A neat, well-lighted entrance should be constructed, and the seats arranged so as to give proper space for the aisles.
II. Pitching the Tent
After the lot has been cleared of all debris, sharp stones, and everything detrimental to the canvas when unrolled, the exact location for the main center poles is to be chosen. This is determined by the size of the lot, the size of the tent, and how far, from the street it is to be placed, also the lair of the land.
The first thing we must know is the measure of the tent itself. Most of our conferences have bought tents at different times and, in some cases, from different companies, so that there is a diversion of measurements as well as the number of stakes required. So if not already known exactly, one must get these facts in hand before starting to lay out for the pitching.
The measurements one should obtain before going ahead are the actual length of the splices or splice between center poles, the width of the tent, the height of the wall to be used, and the number of spaces between ropes on the semicircle at one end.
When you have the width of the tent plus the splices you know the length of the tent. Measure off the length of the tent, and divide in half if you have two splices ; in the center put down three stakes across the place where the foot of the center pole will come; and to each side of the center pole put one stake three or four inches ahead of the three stakes so that if the pole twists in the process of its erection. these side stakes will act as a guide to hold the footing in place. From here measure the distance of each splice back toward the end and put in stakes in the same manner for the other two center poles. If only one splice is used, measure from the center of the length back half the distance of the splice, and put in stakes for the center poles in the same manner.
The next step is to drive the stakes for the guy ropes. These should be good long stakes. Measure back half the width of the tent plus the height of the wall, and if the wall is not over seven feet, add five feet; if the wall is eight feet, add six feet ; if the wall is nine feet, add seven feet and place a stake in line with the center poles at each end for the guy ropes. From each one of these guy-rope stakes place two more stakes in a triangle, measuring one foot farther from center pole location than the two end guy ropes, so as to avoid the tendency for rubbing on the canvas where the splice extends straight in line and does not make the curve of the semicircle. When two or more splices are used, the guy-rope stakes (for the pole in the center) must be driven in such a way as to place one guy rope on one side of the tent and the other two on the other side of the tent, thereby forming a triangle. These guyrope stakes should line up in position on a straight line with the guy-rope stakes on the side of the tent from the end center poles. If the general direction of the wind can be determined, the two stakes of the center triangle should be placed on that side most subject to the wind.
Next, raise the center poles, but before doing so, hook the larger block of the block and tackle to the collar at the top of the pole and wire the hook so it cannot come off. The three guy ropes, or cables (if cables are used), are next put on top of the poles, and the pole is ready to be erected. In raising the poles where there is not enough manpower, an auto wrecker sometimes can be obtained at a reasonable charge for this purpose. If you have enough men, it is just as well to put up the top half of one pole and use it as a derrick by hooking the pulleys of the two poles together and taking up the slack. Thus the long pole can be easily raised. A small rope should be tied to the pulleys when hooked together so that after the large pole is erected the pulleys can be drawn back down.
After the first large pole is erected, take down the one used for the derrick and add the bottom half, after which use the large pole erected as a derrick to put up the other pole in like manner. However, one should never attempt to raise these poles without one or more men to manage each guy rope, according to the size and height of the pole. Each pole should have a two-inch block of wood placed under its base, and the stakes at the foot of it should be pulled after its erection.
Once the center poles are up, square off on both sides of the center poles where the splices will be, and place a stake at each corner the distance of one half the width of the tent plus the height of the wall. These stakes are known as starting stakes for your measurements, and should be strong ones, because greater strain is placed on these stakes once the tent is pitched. To test and see that you have a perfect square, you may check the distance crisscross. Tf it is the same both ways when you have measured crisscross in the form of an X between the stakes and the center poles, you know it is squared. If it is not, you must adjust the stakes until it is, being sure that the parallel distance between the stakes is the same as that between the center of the center poles, and that the center poles are their proper distance apart, according to the width of the splice. The next step is to multiply the width of the tent plus twice the height of the wall by pi, or 3.1416. This will give you the full circumference of the circle where the stakes are to be set at both ends of the tent. Divide this in half, and you have the length of the semicircle at one end. Divide this distance by the number of spaces between the wall guy ropes on the semicircle end, and you have the space each stake should be set apart on the ends.
Next bold the end of the tape line at the starting stake and measure off the distance each stake should be set apart on the ends, and at a near right angle take the tape measure back to the center pole. The distance from the near right angle to the center pole should be the width of the tent plus the height of the wall. Then set your stake at the near right angle, and use this stake to start from to set the next one around the semicircle, and repeat until you come to the middle of the semicircle.
Then go to the other side and work back to the same point in the same way. If the last distance between the stakes is only a few inches off, you must divide the difference by resetting all the stakes until the distance between them is the same. But the starting stakes must remain the same. This must be done at both ends. Then you may drive in your stakes and roll out the canvas. The stakes to hold the wall guy ropes for the splices should be driven after the canvas is rolled out, because the distance between them and the semicircle stakes is different and can best be determined then..
The splice (or splices as the case may be) is pulled in place, and the end pieces are brought up to it and stretched into position. Then bolt the bail ring too-ether around the center pole and place in the hook of the small pulley. Wire open end of hook so it is safe. Lace the pieces together. being sure to tie each rib roping properly as you come to it, and work down toward the rim. Be sure the lacing is finished by tying the rims well together so that they overlap each other properly.
Now drive the stakes where needed for each splice. Tie each wall guy rope near the end of the rope to its special stake. Place the wall poles, bottom in, under the canvas at each one's special place. Then insert the wall poles into the wall pole holes, and raise to a semi-upright position with the bottom of the pole toeing in toward the middle.
The top is then raised to within about four or five feet of the top of the center pole, unless it is extra long, and is tied fast by means of the fall rope which comes from the block and tackle. This is fastened to the bottom of pole.
The wall should be snapped on at this point, and each wall pole tied in its place by a rope for that purpose. If the wall poles are not already bored with a hole for this about eight or ten inches down from the top, holes big enough to accommodate the rope should be bored before the canvas is rolled out. This is important, because if the wall poles are not tied to the rim of the tent, they will come loose and punch holes in the tent. Or the top may be lifted in the wind, the poles will fall out and the tent become badly damaged.
If the tent is big enough to have quarter poles, these should also be inserted after the tent is raised to its full height, and these should be tied in their places by the ropes furnished for this purpose.
The wall guy ropes will need to be adjusted until the tent takes shape, and the proper medium tautness of the canvas is obtained. For this the top sometimes needs a second adjustment, up or down.
The next thing for safety's sake is to double stake all the way guy-rope stakes and main guy-rope stakes by placing a second stake eighteen or twenty inches behind the first stake. Sometimes, however, clue to the lay of the land, we have to make a few adjustments to relieve sags or water pockets that may form where the ground is not always level.
—To be concluded in July
