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| author | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:42:08 -0700 |
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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/13434-0.txt b/13434-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..b36d062 --- /dev/null +++ b/13434-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,6654 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 13434 *** + +[Illustration: GENERAL BOOTH] + + +REGENERATION + +Being an Account of the Social Work of The Salvation Army in Great +Britain. + +H. RIDER HAGGARD + + +1910 + + + + +DEDICATION + + +I dedicate these pages to the Officers and Soldiers of the Salvation +Army, in token of my admiration of the self-sacrificing work by which +it is their privilege to aid the poor and wretched throughout the +world. + +H. RIDER HAGGARD. + +DITCHINGHAM, + +_November, 1910_ + + +CONTENTS + + INTRODUCTORY + + MEN'S SOCIAL WORK, LONDON + + SPA ROAD ELEVATOR + + GREAT PETER STREET SHELTER + + FREE BREAKFAST SERVICE + + EX-CRIMINALS + + MEN'S WORKSHOP: HANBURY STREET, WHITECHAPEL + + STURGE HOUSE, BOW ROAD + + CENTRAL LABOUR BUREAU + + INTERNATIONAL INVESTIGATION DEPARTMENT + + EMIGRATION DEPARTMENT + + WOMEN'S SOCIAL WORK IN LONDON + + HEADQUARTERS OF THE WOMEN'S SOCIAL WORK + + HILLSBOROUGH HOUSE INEBRIATES' HOME + + MATERNITY NURSING HOME + + MATERNITY RECEIVING HOME + + MATERNITY HOSPITAL + + 'THE NEST,' CLAPTON + + TRAINING INSTITUTE FOR WOMEN'S SOCIAL WORK + + WOMEN'S INDUSTRIAL HOME, HACKNEY + + INEBRIATES' HOME + + WOMEN'S INDUSTRIAL HOME, SOUTHWOOD + + WOMEN'S SHELTER, WHITECHAPEL + + SLUM SETTLEMENT, HACKNEY ROAD + + PICCADILLY MIDNIGHT WORK + + ANTI-SUICIDE BUREAU + + WORK IN THE PROVINCES, LIVERPOOL + + MEN'S SOCIAL WORK, MANCHESTER + + OAKHILL HOUSE, MANCHESTER + + MEN'S SOCIAL WORK, GLASGOW + + ARDENSHAW WOMEN'S HOME + + WOMEN'S LODGING-HOUSE, GLASGOW + + LAND AND INDUSTRIAL COLONY, HADLEIGH + + SMALL-HOLDINGS SETTLEMENT, BOXTED + + IMPRESSIONS OF GENERAL BOOTH + + THE CHIEF OF THE STAFF + + NOTE ON THE RELIGION OF THE SALVATION ARMY + + APPENDICES + + + + +AUTHOR'S NOTE + +The author desires to thank Mr. D.R. DANIEL for the kind and valuable +assistance he has given him in his researches into the Social Work of +the Salvation Army. + +He takes this occasion to make it clear that this book does no more +than set out the results of his investigations into some of that vast +Social Work, and his personal conclusions as to it and those by whom +it is prosecuted. + +To obviate any possible misunderstanding as to the reason of its +writing, he wishes to state further that it has not been compiled by +him as a matter of literary business. + + + + +INTRODUCTORY + + +WHAT IS THE SALVATION ARMY? + +If this question were put to the ordinary person of fashion or +leisure, how would it be answered? + +In many cases thus: 'The Salvation Army is a body of people dressed up +in a semi-military uniform, or those of them who are women, in +unbecoming poke bonnets, who go about the streets making a noise in +the name of God and frightening horses with brass bands. It is under +the rule of an arbitrary old gentleman named Booth, who calls himself +a General, and whose principal trade assets consist in a handsome and +unusual face, and an inexhaustible flow of language, which he +generally delivers from a white motor-car wherever he finds that he +can attract the most attention. He is a clever actor in his way, who +has got a great number of people under his thumb, and I am told that +he has made a large fortune out of the business, like the late prophet +Dowie, and others of the same sort. The newspapers are always exposing +him; but he knows which side his bread is buttered and does not care. +When he is gone no doubt his family will divide up the cash, and we +shall hear no more of the Salvation Army!' + +Such are still the honest beliefs of thousands of our instructed +fellow-countrymen, and of hundreds of thousands of others of less +degree belonging to the classes which are generally typified under the +synonym of 'the man in the street,' by which most people understand +one who knows little, and of that little nothing accurately, but who +decides the fate of political elections. + +Let us suppose, however, that the questioner should succeed in +interesting an intelligent and fair-minded individual holder of these +views sufficiently to induce him to make inquiry into the facts +concerning this Salvation Army. What would he then discover? + +He would discover that about five and forty years ago some impulse, +wherever it may have come from, moved a Dissenting minister, gifted +with a mind of power and originality, and a body of great strength and +endurance, gifted, also, with an able wife who shared his views, to +try, if not to cure, at least to ameliorate the lot of the fallen or +distressed millions that are one of the natural products of high +civilization, by ministering to their creature wants and regenerating +their spirits upon the plain and simple lines laid down in the New +Testament. He would find, also, that this humble effort, at first +quite unaided, has been so successful that the results seem to partake +of the nature of the miraculous. + +Thus he would learn that the religious Organization founded by this +man and his wife is now established and, in most instances, firmly +rooted in 56 Countries and Colonies, where it preaches the Gospel in +33 separate languages: that it has over 16,000 Officers wholly +employed in its service, and publishes 74 periodicals in 20 tongues, +with a total circulation of nearly 1,000,000 copies per issue: that it +accommodates over 28,000 poor people nightly in its Institutions, +maintaining 229 Food Dépôts and Shelters for men, women, and children, +and 157 Labour Factories where destitute or characterless people are +employed: that it has 17 Homes for ex-criminals, 37 Homes for +children, 116 Industrial Homes for the rescue of women, 16 Land +Colonies, 149 Slum Stations for the visitation and assistance of the +poor, 60 Labour Bureaux for helping the unemployed, and 521 Day +Schools for children: that, in addition to all these, it has Criminal +and General Investigation Departments, Inebriate Homes for men and +women, Inquiry Offices for tracing lost and missing people, Maternity +Hospitals, 37 Homes for training Officers, Prison-visitation Staffs, +and so on almost _ad infinitum_. + +He would find, also, that it collects and dispenses an enormous +revenue, mostly from among the poorer classes, and that its system is +run with remarkable business ability: that General Booth, often +supposed to be so opulent, lives upon a pittance which most country +clergymen would refuse, taking nothing, and never having taken +anything, from the funds of the Army. And lastly, not to weary the +reader, that whatever may be thought of its methods and of the noise +made by the 23,000 or so of voluntary bandsmen who belong to it, it is +undoubtedly for good or evil one of the world forces of our age. + +Before going further, it may, perhaps, be well that I should explain +how it is that I come to write these pages. First, I ought to state +that my personal acquaintance with the Salvation Army dates back a +good many years, from the time, indeed, when I was writing 'Rural +England,' in connexion with which work I had a long and interesting +interview with General Booth that is already published. Subsequently I +was appointed by the British Government as a Commissioner to +investigate and report upon the Land Colonies of the Salvation Army in +the United States, in the course of which inquiry I came into contact +with many of its Officers, and learned much of its system and methods, +especially with reference to emigration. Also I have had other +opportunities of keeping in touch with the Army and its developments. + +In the spring of 1910 I was asked, on behalf of General Booth, whether +I would undertake to write for publication an account of the Social +Work of the Army in this country. After some hesitation, for the lack +of time was a formidable obstacle to a very busy man, I assented to +this request, the plan agreed upon being that I should visit the +various Institutions, or a number of them, etc., and record what I +actually saw, neither more nor less, together with my resulting +impressions. This I have done, and it only remains for me to assure +the reader that the record is true, and, to the best of his belief and +ability, set down without fear, favour, or prejudice, by one not +unaccustomed to such tasks. + +Almost at the commencement of my labours I sought an interview with +General Booth, thinking, as I told him and his Officers (the Salvation +Army is not mealy-mouthed about such matters) that at his age it would +be well to set down his views in black and white. On the whole, I +found him well and vigorous. He complained, however, of the difficulty +he was experiencing, owing to the complete loss of sight in one eye, +occasioned by an accident during a motor journey, and the possible +deprivation of the sight of the other through cataract. + +Of the attacks that have been and are continually made upon the +Salvation Army, some of them extremely bitter, General Booth would say +little. He pointed out that he had not been in the habit of defending +himself and his Organization in public, and was quite content that the +work should speak for itself. Their affairs and finances had been +investigated by eminent men, who 'could not find a sixpence out of +place'; and for the rest, a balance-sheet was published annually. This +balance-sheet for the year ending September 30, 1909, I reprint in an +appendix.[1] + +With regard to the Social Work of the Army, which in its beginning was +a purely religious body, General Booth said that they had been driven +into it because of their sympathy with suffering. They found it +impossible to look upon people undergoing starvation or weighed down +by sorrows and miseries that came upon them through poverty, without +stretching out a hand to help them on to their feet again. In the same +way they could not study wrongdoers and criminals and learn their +secret histories, which show how closely a great proportion of human +sin is connected with wretched surroundings, without trying to help +and reform them to the best of their abilities. Thus it was that their +Social operations began, increased, and multiplied. They contemplated +not only the regeneration of the individual, but also of his +circumstances, and were continually finding out new methods by which +this might be done. + +The Army looked forward to the development of its Social Work on the +lines of self-help, self-management and self-support. Whenever a new +development came under consideration, the question arose--How is it to +be financed? The work they had in hand at present took all their +funds. One of their great underlying principles was that of the +necessity of self-support, without which no business or undertaking +could stand for long. The individual must co-operate in his own moral +and physical redemption. At the same time this system of theirs was, +in practice, one of the difficulties with which they had to contend, +since it caused the benevolent to believe that the Army did not need +financial assistance. His own view was that they ought to receive +support in their work from the Government, as they actually did in +some other countries. Especially did he desire to receive State aid in +dealing with ascertained criminals, such as was extended to them in +certain parts of the world. + +Thus only a few weeks before, in Holland, the Parliament had asked the +Salvation Army to co-operate in the care of discharged prisoners and +gave a grant of money for their support. In Java the tale was the +same. There they were preparing estates as homes for lepers, and soon +a large portion of the leper population of that land would be in their +charge. + +General Booth told me the story of a celebrated Danish doctor, an +optician, who became attracted to the Army, and, giving up his +practice and position, entered its service with his wife. They said +they wished to lead a life of real sacrifice and self-denial, and so, +after going through a training like any other Cadets, were sent out to +take charge of the medical work in Java. A recent report stated that +this Officer had attended 16,000 patients in nine months, and +performed 516 operations. + +In Australia, the Government had handed over the work amongst the +Reformatory boys to the Army. In New Zealand, the Government had +requested it to take over inebriates, and was now paying a +contribution to that work of 10s. per head a week. There the Army had +purchased two islands to accommodate these inebriates, one on which +the men followed the pursuits of agriculture, fishing, and so forth, +and the other for the women. In Canada there was an idea that a large +prison should be erected, of which the Salvation Army would take +charge. He hoped that in course of time they would be allowed greatly +to extend their work in the English prisons. + +General Booth pointed out to me with reference to their Social Work, +that it was necessary to spend large sums of money in finding +employment for men whom they had rescued. Here, one of their greatest +difficulties was the vehement opposition of members of the Labour +Party in different countries. + +This party said, for example, that the Army ought to pay the Trade +Union rate of wage to any poor fellow whom they had picked up and set +to such labour as paper-sorting or carpentry. Thus in Western +Australia they had an estate of 20,000 acres lying idle. When he was +there a while ago, he asked the Officer in charge why he did not +cultivate this land and make it productive. The man replied he had no +labour; whereon the General said that he could send him plenty from +England. + +'Yes,' commented the Officer, 'but the moment they begin to work here, +however inefficient or broken down they may be, we shall have to pay +them 7s. a day!' + +This regulation, of course, makes it impossible to cultivate that +estate except at a heavy loss. + +He himself had been denounced as the 'prince of sweaters,' because he +took in derelict carpenters at their Institution in Hanbury Street +(which I shall describe later), to whom he did not pay the Trade Union +wage, although that Institution had from the first been worked at a +loss. In this case he had made peace with the Parliamentary Committee +by promising not to make anything there which was used outside the +Army establishments. But still the attacks went on. + +Passing from this subject, I asked General Booth if he had formed any +forecast of the future of the Salvation Army after his own death. He +replied that there were certain factors in the present position of the +Army which seemed to him to indicate its future growth and continuity. +Speaking impersonally, he said that the present General had become an +important man not by his own choice or through the workings of +ambition, but by the will of Providence. He had acquired a certain +standing, a great hold over his community, and an influence which +helped to concentrate and keep together forces that had grown to be +worldwide in their character. It was natural, therefore, that people +should wonder what would happen when he ceased to be. + +His answer to these queries was that legal arrangements had been made +to provide for this obvious contingency. Under the provisions of the +constitution of the Army he had selected his successor, although he +had never told anybody the name of that successor, which he felt sure, +when announced, was one that would command the fullest confidence and +respect. The first duty of the General of the Army on taking up his +office was to choose a man to succeed him, reserving to himself the +power to change that man for another, should he see good reason for +such a course. In short, his choice is secret, and being unhampered by +any law of heredity or other considerations except those that appeal +to his own reason and judgment, not final. He nominates whom he will. + +I asked him what would happen if this nominated General misconducted +himself in any way, or proved unsuitable, or lost his reason. He +replied that in such circumstances arrangements had been made under +which the heads of the Army could elect another General, and that what +they decided would be law. The organization of the Army was such that +any Department of it remained independent of the ability of one +individual. If a man proved incompetent, or did not succeed, his +office was changed; the square man was never left in the round hole. +Each Department had laws for its direction and guidance, and those in +authority were responsible for the execution of those laws. If for any +reason whatsoever, one commander fell out of the line of action, +another was always waiting to take his place. In short, he had no fear +that the removal of his own person and name would affect the +Organization. It was true, he remarked, that leaders cannot be +manufactured to order, and also that the Army had made, and would +continue to make, mistakes up and down the world. But those mistakes +showed them how to avoid similar errors, and how and where to improve. + +As regarded a change of headship, a fresh individuality always has +charms, and a new force would always strike out in some new direction. +The man needed was one who would _do_ something. General Booth did not +fear but that he would be always forthcoming, and said that for his +part he was quite happy as to the future, in which he anticipated an +enlargement of their work. The Organization existed, and with it the +arrangements for filling every niche. The discipline of to-day would +continue to-morrow, and that spirit would always be ready to burst +into flame when it was needed. + +In his view it was inextinguishable. + + + + +MEN'S SOCIAL WORK, LONDON + + + +THE MIDDLESEX STREET SHELTER + +The first of the London Institutions of the Salvation Army which I +visited was that known as the Middlesex Street Shelter and Working +Men's Home, which is at present under the supervision of Commissioner +Sturgess. This building consists of six floors, and contains sleeping +accommodation for 462 men. It has been at work since the year 1906, +when it was acquired by the Army with the help of that well-known +philanthropist, the late Mr. George Herring. + +Of the 462 men accommodated daily, 311 pay 3d. for their night's +lodging, and the remainder 5d. The threepenny charge entitles the +tenant to the use of a bunk bedstead with sheets and an American cloth +cover. If the extra 2d. is forthcoming the wanderer is provided with a +proper bed, fitted with a wire spring hospital frame and provided with +a mattress, sheets, pillow, and blankets. I may state here that as in +the case of this Shelter the building, furniture and other equipment +have been provided by charity, the nightly fees collected almost +suffice to pay the running expenses of the establishment. Under less +favourable circumstances, however, where the building and equipment +are a charge on the capital funds of the Salvation Army, the +experience is that these fees do not suffice to meet the cost of +interest and maintenance. + +The object of this and similar Shelters is to afford to men upon the +verge of destitution the choice between such accommodation as is here +provided and the common lodging-house, known as a 'kip house,' or the +casual ward of a workhouse. Those who avail themselves of these +Shelters belong, speaking generally, to the destitute or nearly +destitute classes. They are harbours of refuge for the unfortunates +who find themselves on the streets of London at nightfall with a few +coppers or some other small sum in their pockets. Many of these social +wrecks have sunk through drink, but many others owe their sad position +to lack or loss of employment, or to some other misfortune. + +For an extra charge of 1d. the inmates are provided with a good +supper, consisting of a pint of soup and a large piece of bread, or of +bread and jam and tea, or of potato-pie. A second penny supplies them +with breakfast on the following morning, consisting of bread and +porridge or of bread and fish, with tea or coffee. + +The dormitories, both of the fivepenny class on the ground floor and +of the threepenny class upstairs, are kept scrupulously sweet and +clean, and attached to them are lavatories and baths. These lavatories +contain a great number of brown earthenware basins fitted with taps. +Receptacles are provided, also, where the inmates can wash their +clothes and have them dried by means of an ingenious electrical +contrivance and hot air, capable of thoroughly drying any ordinary +garment in twenty minutes while its owner takes a bath. + +The man in charge of this apparatus and of the baths was one who had +been picked up on the Embankment during the past winter. In return for +his services he received food, lodging, clothes and pocket-money to +the amount of 3s. a week. He told me that he was formerly a commercial +traveller, and was trying to re-enter that profession or to become a +ship's steward. Sickness had been the cause of his fall in the world. + +Adjoining the downstairs dormitory is a dining and sitting-room for +the use of those who have taken bed tickets. In this room, when I +visited it, several men were engaged in various occupations. One of +them was painting flowers. Another, a watch repairer, was apparently +making up his accounts, which, perhaps, were of an imaginary nature. A +third was eating a dinner which he had purchased at the food bar. A +fourth smoked a cigarette and watched the flower artist at his work. A +fifth was a Cingalese who had come from Ceylon to lay some grievance +before the late King. The authorities at Whitehall having investigated +his case, he had been recommended to return to Ceylon and consult a +lawyer there. Now he was waiting tor the arrival of remittances to +enable him to pay his passage back to Ceylon. I wondered whether the +remittances would ever be forthcoming. Meanwhile he lived here on +7-1/2d. a day, 5d. for his bed and 2-1/2d. for his food. Of these and +other men similarly situated I will give some account presently. + +Having inspected the upper floors I descended to the basement, where +what are called the 'Shelter men' are received at a separate entrance +at 5.30 in the afternoon, and buying their penny or halfpennyworth of +food, seat themselves on benches to eat. Here, too, they can sit and +smoke or mend their clothes, or if they are wet, dry themselves in the +annexe, until they retire to rest. During the past winter of 1909 400 +men taken from the Embankment were sheltered here gratis every night, +and were provided with soup and bread. When not otherwise occupied +this hall is often used for the purpose of religious services. + +I spoke at hazard with some of those who were sitting about in the +Shelter. A few specimen cases may be interesting. An old man told me +that he had travelled all over the world for fifty years, especially +in the islands of the South Pacific, until sickness broke him down. He +came last from Shanghai, where he had been an overseer on railway +work, and before that from Manila. Being incapacitated by fever and +rheumatism, and possessing 1,500 dollars, he travelled home, +apparently via India and Burma, stopping a while in each country. +Eventually he drifted to a lodging-house, and, falling ill there, was +sent to the Highgate Infirmary, where, he said, he was so cold that he +could not stop. Ultimately he found himself upon the streets in +winter. For the past twelve months he had been living in this Shelter +upon some help that a friend gave him, for all his own money was gone. +Now he was trying to write books, one of which was in the hands of a +well-known firm. He remarked, pathetically, that they 'have had it a +long time.' He was also waiting 'every day' for a pension from +America, which he considered was due to him because he fought in the +Civil War. + +Most of these poor people are waiting for something. + +This man added that he could not find his relatives, and that he +intended to stop in the Shelter until his book was published, or he +could 'help himself out.' + +The next man I spoke to was the flower artist, whom I have already +mentioned, whose work, by the way, if a little striking in colour, was +by no means bad, especially as he had no real flowers to draw from. By +trade he was a lawyer's clerk; but he stated that, unfortunately for +him, the head partner of his firm went bankrupt six years before, and +the bad times, together with the competition of female labour in the +clerical department, prevented him from obtaining another situation, +so he had been obliged to fall back upon flower painting. He was a +married man, but he said, 'While I could make a fair week's money, +things were comfortable, but when orders fell slack I was requested to +go, as my room was preferable to my company, and being a man of +nervous temperament I could not stand it, and have been here ever +since'--that was for about ten weeks. He managed to make enough for +his board and lodging by the sale of his flower-pictures. + +A third man informed me that he had opened twenty-seven shops for a +large firm of tobacconists, and then left to start in business for +himself; also he used to go out window-dressing, in which he was +skilled. Then, about nine years ago, his wife began to drink, and +while he was absent in hospital, neglected his business so that it +became worthless. Finally she deserted him, and he had heard nothing +of her since. After that he took to drink himself. He came to this +Shelter intermittently, and supported himself by an occasional job of +window-dressing. The Salvation Army was trying to cure this man of his +drinking habits. + +A fourth man, a Eurasian, was a schoolmaster in India, who drifted to +this country, and had been for four years in the Colney Hatch Asylum. +He was sent to the Salvation Army by the After Care Society. He had +been two years in the Shelter, and was engaged in saving up money to +go to America. He was employed in the Shelter as a scrubber, and also +as a seller of food tickets, by which means he had saved some money. +Also he had a £5 note, which his sister sent to him. This note he was +keeping to return to her as a present on her birthday! His story was +long and miserable, and his case a sad one. Still, he was capable of +doing work of a sort. + +Another very smart and useful man had been a nurse in the Army Medical +Corps, which he left some years ago with a good character. +Occasionally he found a job at nursing, and stayed at the Shelter, +where he was given employment between engagements. + +Yet another, quite a young person, was a carman who had been +discharged through slackness of work in the firm of which he was a +servant. He had been ten weeks in the Institution, to which he came +from the workhouse, and hoped to find employment at his trade. + +In passing through this building, I observed a young man of foreign +appearance seated in a window-place reading a book, and asked his +history. I was told that he was a German of education, whose ambition +it is to become a librarian in his native country. He had come to +England in order to learn our language, and being practically without +means, drifted into this place, where he was employed in cleaning the +windows and pursued his studies in the intervals of that humble work. +Let us hope that in due course his painstaking industry will be +rewarded, and his ambition fulfilled. + +All these cases, and others that I have no space to mention, belonged +to the class of what I may call the regular 'hangers-on' of this +particular Shelter. As I visited it in the middle of the day, I did +not see its multitude of normal nightly occupants. Of such men, +however, I shall be able to speak elsewhere. + + + + +THE SPA ROAD ELEVATOR + + + +BERMONDSEY + +The next Institution that I inspected was that of a paper-sorting +works at Spa Road, Bermondsey, where all sorts of waste paper are +dealt with in enormous quantities. Of this stuff some is given and +some is bought. Upon delivery it goes to the sorters, who separate it +out according to the different classes of the material, after which it +is pressed into bales by hydraulic machinery and sold to merchants to +be re-made. + +These works stand upon two acres of land. Parts of the existing +buildings were once a preserve factory, but some of them have been +erected by the Army. There remain upon the site certain +dwelling-houses, which are still let to tenants. These are destined to +be pulled down whenever money is forthcoming to extend the factory. + +The object of the Institution is to find work for distressed or fallen +persons, and restore them to society. The Manager of this 'Elevator,' +as it is called, informed me that it employs about 480 men, all of +whom are picked up upon the streets. As a rule, these men are given +their board and lodging in return for work during the first week, but +no money, as their labour is worth little. In the second week, 6d. is +paid to them in cash; and, subsequently, this remuneration is added to +in proportion to the value of the labour, till in the end some of them +earn 8s. or 9s. a week in addition to their board and lodging. + +I asked the Officer in charge what he had to say as to the charges of +sweating and underselling which have been brought against the +Salvation Army in connexion with this and its other productive +Institutions. + +He replied that they neither sweated nor undersold. The men whom they +picked up had no value in the labour market, and could get nothing to +do because no one would employ them, many of them being the victims of +drink or entirely unskilled. Such people they overlooked, housed, fed, +and instructed, whether they did or did not earn their food and +lodging, and after the first week paid them upon a rising scale. The +results were eminently satisfactory, as even allowing for the +drunkards they found that but few cases, not more than 10 per cent, +were hopeless. Did they not rescue these men most of them would sink +utterly; indeed, according to their own testimony many of such +wastrels were snatched from suicide. As a matter of fact, also, they +employed more men per ton of paper than any other dealers in the +trade. + +With reference to the commercial results, after allowing for interest +on the capital invested, the place did not pay its way. He said that a +sum of £15,000 was urgently required for the erection of a new +building on this site, some of those that exist being of a +rough-and-ready character. They were trying to raise subscriptions +towards this object, but found the response very slow. + +He added that they collected their raw material from warehouses, most +of it being given to them, but some they bought, as it was necessary +to keep the works supplied, which could not be done with the gratis +stuff alone. Also they found that the paper they purchased was the +most profitable. + +These works presented a busy spectacle of useful industry. There was +the sorting-room, where great masses of waste-paper of every kind was +being picked over by about 100 men and separated into its various +classes. The resulting heaps are thrown through hoppers into bins. +From the bins this sorted stuff passes into hydraulic presses which +crush it into bales that, after being wired, are ready for sale. + +It occurred to me that the dealing with this mass of refuse paper must +be an unhealthy occupation; but I was informed that this is not the +case, and certainly the appearance of the workers bore out the +statement. + +After completing a tour of the works I visited one of the bedrooms +containing seventy beds, where everything seemed very tidy and fresh. +Clean sheets are provided every week, as are baths for the inmates. In +the kitchen were great cooking boilers, ovens, etc., all of which are +worked by steam produced by the burning of the refuse of the sorted +paper. Then I saw the household salvage store, which contained +enormous quantities of old clothes and boots; also a great collection +of furniture, including a Turkish bath cabinet, all of which articles +had been given to the Army by charitable folk. These are either given +away or sold to the employes of the factory or to the poor of the +neighbourhood at a very cheap rate. + +The man in charge of this store was an extremely good-looking and +gentlemanly young follow of University education, who had been a +writer of fiction, and once acted as secretary to a gentleman who +travelled on the Continent and in the East. Losing his employment, he +took to a life of dissipation, became ill, and sank to the very +bottom. He informed me that his ideals and outlook on life were now +totally changed. I have every hope that he will do well in the future, +as his abilities are evidently considerable, and Nature has favoured +him in many ways. + +I interviewed a number of the men employed in these works, most of +whom had come down through drink, some of them from very good +situations. One had been the superintendent of a sewing-machine +company. He took to liquor, left his wife, and found himself upon the +streets. Now he was a traveller for the Salvation Army, in the +interests of the Waste-Paper Department, had regained his position in +life, and was living with his wife and family in a comfortable house. + +Another was a grocer by profession, all of whose savings were stolen, +after which he took to drink. He had been three months in the works, +and at the time of my visit was earning 6s. a week with food and +lodging. + +Another had been a Barnardo boy, who came from Canada as a ship's +steward, and could find nothing to do in England. Another was a +gentleman's servant, who was dismissed because the family left London. + +Another was an auctioneer, who failed from want of capital, took to +drink, and emigrated to Canada. Two years later he fell ill with +pleurisy, and was sent home because the authorities were afraid that +his ailment might turn to consumption. He stated that at this time he +had given up drink, but could obtain no employment, so came upon the +streets. As he was starving and without hope, not having slept in a +bed for ten nights, he was about to commit suicide when the Salvation +Army picked him up. He had seen his wife for the first time in four +years on the previous Whit Monday, and they proposed to live together +again so soon as he secured permanent employment. + +Another had been a soldier in the Seaforth Highlanders, and served in +the Egyptian Campaign of 1881, and also in the American Army. +Subsequently he was employed as a porter at a lodging-house at a +salary of 25s. a week, but left because of trouble about a woman. He +came upon the streets, and, being unable to find employment, was +contemplating suicide, when he fell under the influence of the Army at +the Blackfriars Shelter. + +All these men, and others whom I spoke to at random but have no space +to write of, assured me that they were quite satisfied with their +treatment at the works, and repudiated--some of them with +indignation--the suggestion that I put to them tentatively that they +suffered from a system of sweating. For the most part, indeed, their +gratitude for the help they were receiving in the hour of need was +very evident and touching. + + + + +THE GREAT PETER STREET SHELTER + + + +WESTMINSTER + +This fine building is the most up-to-date Men's Shelter that the +Salvation Army possesses in London. It was once the billiard works of +Messrs. Burroughes and Watts, and is situated in Westminster, quite +near to the Houses of Parliament. I visited it about eight o'clock in +the evening, and at its entrance was confronted with the word 'Full,' +inscribed in chalk upon its portals, at which poor tramps, deprived of +their hope of a night's lodging, were staring disconsolately. It +reminded me of a playhouse upon a first-night of importance, but, +alas! the actors here play in a tragedy more dreadful in its +cumulative effect than any that was ever put upon the stage. + +This Shelter is wonderfully equipped and organized. It contains +sitting or resting-rooms, smoking-rooms, huge dormitories capable of +accommodating about 600 sleepers; bathrooms, lavatories, extensive +hot-water and warming apparatus, great kitchens, and butteries, and so +forth. In the sitting and smoking-rooms, numbers of derelict men were +seated. Some did nothing except stare before them vacantly. Some +evidently were suffering from the effects of drink or fatigue; some +were reading newspapers which they had picked up in the course of +their day's tramp. One, I remember, was engaged in sorting out and +crumpling up a number of cigar and cigarette ends which he had +collected from the pavements, carefully grading the results in +different heaps, according to the class of the tobacco (how strong it +must be!) either for his own consumption or for sale to other +unfortunates. In another place, men were eating the 1d. or 1/2d. +suppers that they had purchased. + +Early as it was, however, the great dormitories were crowded with +hundreds of the lodgers, either in bed or in process of getting there. +I noticed that they all undressed themselves, wrapping up their rags +in bundles, and, for the most part slept quite naked. Many of them +struck me as very fine fellows physically, and the reflection crossed +my mind, seeing them thus _in puris naturalibus_, that there was +little indeed to distinguish them from a crowd of males of the upper +class engaged, let us say, in bathing. It is the clothes that make the +difference to the eye. + +In this Shelter I was told, by the way, that there exists a code of +rough honour among these people, who very rarely attempt to steal +anything from each other. Having so little property, they sternly +respect its rights. I should add that the charge made for +accommodation and food is 3d. per night for sleeping, and 1d. or 1/2d. +per portion of food. + +The sight of this Institution crowded with human derelicts struck me +as most sad, more so indeed than many others that I have seen, though, +perhaps, this may have been because I was myself tired out with a long +day of inspection. + +The Staff-Captain in charge here told me his history, which is so +typical and interesting that I will repeat it briefly. Many years ago +(he is now an elderly man) he was a steward on board a P. and O. +liner, and doing well. Then a terrible misfortune overwhelmed him. +Suddenly his wife and child died, and, as a result of the shock, he +took to drink. He attempted to cut his throat (the scar remains to +him), and was put upon his trial for the offence. Subsequently he +drifted on to the streets, where he spent eight years. During all this +time his object was to be rid of life, the methods he adopted being to +make himself drunk with methylated spirits, or any other villainous +and fiery liquor, and when that failed, to sleep at night in wet grass +or ditches. Once he was picked up suffering from inflammation of the +lungs and carried to an infirmary, where he lay senseless for three +days. The end of it was that a Salvation Army Officer found him in +Oxford Street, and took him to a Shelter in Burne Street, where he was +bathed and put to bed. + +That was many years ago, and now he is to a great extent responsible +for the management of this Westminster Refuge. Commissioner Sturgess, +one of the head Officers of the Army, told me that their great +difficulty was to prevent him from overdoing himself at this +charitable task. I think the Commissioner said that sometimes he would +work eighteen or twenty hours out of the twenty-four. + +One day this Staff-Captain played a grim little trick upon me. I was +seated at luncheon in a Salvation Army building, when the door opened, +and there entered as dreadful a human object as I have ever seen. The +man was clad in tatters, his bleeding feet were bound up with filthy +rags; he wore a dingy newspaper for a shirt. His face was cut and +plastered over roughly; he was a disgusting sight. He told me, in +husky accents, that drink had brought him down, and that he wanted +help. I made a few appropriate remarks, presented him with a small +coin, and sent him to the Officers downstairs. + +A quarter of an hour later the Staff-Captain appeared in his uniform +and explained that he and the 'object' were the same person. Again it +was the clothes that made the difference. Those which he had worn when +he appeared at the luncheon-table were the same in which he had been +picked up on the streets of London. Also he thanked me for my good +advice which he said he hoped to follow, and for the sixpence that he +announced his intention of wearing on his watch-chain. For my part I +felt that the laugh was against me. Perhaps if I had thought the +Salvation Army capable of perpetrating a joke, I should not have been +so easily deceived. + +This Staff-Captain gave me much information as to the class of +wanderers who frequent these Shelters, He estimated that about 50 per +cent of them sink to that level through the effects of drink. That is +to say, if by the waving of some magic wand intoxicants and harmful +drugs should cease to be obtainable in this country, the bulk of +extreme misery which needs such succour, and it may be added of crime +at large, would be lessened by one-half. This is a terrible statement, +and one that seems to excuse a great deal of what is called 'teetotal +fanaticism.' The rest, in his view, owe their fall to misfortune of +various kinds, which often in its turn leads to flight to the delusive +and destroying solace of drink. Thus about 25 per cent of the total +have been afflicted with sickness or acute domestic troubles. Or +perhaps they are 'knocked out' by shock, such as is brought on by the +loss of a dearly-loved wife or child, and have never been able to +recover from that crushing blow. The remainder are the victims of +advancing age and of the cruel commercial competition of our day. Thus +he said that the large business firms destroy and devour the small +shopkeepers, as a hawk devours sparrows; and these little people or +their employes, if they are past middle age, can find no other work. +Especially is this the case since the Employers' Liability Acts came +into operation, for now few will take on hands who are not young and +very strong, as older folk must naturally be more liable to sickness +and accident. + +Again, he told me that it has become the custom in large businesses of +which the dividends are falling, to put in a man called an +'Organizer,' who is often an American. + +This Organizer goes through the whole staff and mercilessly dismisses +the elderly or the least efficient, dividing up their work among those +who remain. So these discarded men fall to rise no more and drift to +the poorhouse or the Shelters or the jails, and finally into the river +or a pauper's grave. First, however, many spend what may be called a +period of probation on the streets, where they sleep at night under +arches or on stairways, or on the inhospitable flagstones and benches +of the Embankment, even in winter. + +The Staff-Captain informed me that on one night during the previous +November he counted no less than 120 men, women, and children sleeping +in the wet on or in the neighbourhood of the Embankment. Think of +it--in this one place! Think of it, you whose women and children, to +say nothing of yourselves, do not sleep on the Embankment in the wet +in November. It may be answered that they might have gone to the +casual ward, where there are generally vacancies. I suppose that they +might, but so perverse are many of them that they do not. Indeed, +often they declare bluntly that they would rather go to prison than to +the casual ward, as in prison they are more kindly treated. + +The reader may have noted as he drove along the Embankment or other +London thoroughfares at night in winter, long queues of people waiting +their turn to get something. What they are waiting for is a cup of +soup and, perhaps, an opportunity of sheltering till the dawn, which +soup and shelter are supplied by the Salvation Army, and sometimes by +other charitable Organizations. I asked whether this provision of +gratis food did in fact pauperize the population, as has been alleged. +The Staff-Captain answered that men do not as a rule stop out in the +middle of the winter till past midnight to get a pint of soup and a +piece of bread. Of course, there might be exceptions; but for the most +part those who take this charity, do so because if is sorely needed. + +The cost of these midnight meals is reckoned by the Salvation Army at +about £8 per 1,000, including the labour involved in cooking and +distribution. This money is paid from the Army's Central Fund, which +collects subscriptions for that special purpose. + +'Of course, our midnight soup has its critics,' said one of the +Officers who has charge of its distribution; 'but all I know is that +it saves many from jumping into the river.' + +During the past winter, that is from November 3, 1909, to March 24, +1910, 163,101 persons received free accommodation and food at the +hands of the Salvation Army in connexion with its Embankment Soup +Distribution Charity. + + + + +THE FREE BREAKFAST SERVICE + + + +BLACKFRIARS SHELTER + +On a Sunday in June I attended the Free Breakfast service at the +Blackfriars Shelter. The lease of this building was acquired by the +Salvation Army from a Temperance Company. Behind it lay contractors' +stables, which were also bought; after which the premises were rebuilt +and altered to suit the purposes to which they are now put, the +stabling being for the most part converted into sleeping-rooms. + +The Officer who accompanied me, Lieut.-Colonel Jolliffe, explained +that this Blackfriars Shelter is, as it were, the dredger for and the +feeder of all the Salvation Army's Social Institutions for men in +London. Indeed, it may be likened to a dragnet set to catch male +unfortunates in this part of the Metropolis. Here, as in the other +Army Shelters, are great numbers of bunks that are hired out at 3d. a +night, and the usual food-kitchens and appliances. + +I visited one or two of these, well-ventilated places that in cold +weather are warmed by means of hot-water pipes to a heat of about 70 +deg., as the clothing on the bunks is light. + +I observed that although the rooms had only been vacated for a few +hours, they were perfectly inoffensive, and even sweet; a result that +is obtained by a very strict attention to cleanliness and ample +ventilation. The floors of these places are constantly scrubbed, and +the bunks undergo a process of disinfection about once a week. As a +consequence, in all the Army Shelters the vermin which sometimes +trouble common lodging-houses are almost unknown. + +I may add that the closest supervision is exercised in these places +when they are occupied. Night watchmen are always on duty, and an +Officer sleeps in a little apartment attached to each dormitory. The +result is that there are practically no troubles of any kind. +Sometimes, however, a poor wanderer is found dead in the morning, in +which case the body is quietly conveyed away to await inquest. + +I asked what happened when men who could not produce the necessary +coppers to pay for their lodging, applied for admission. The answer +was that the matter was left to the discretion of the Officer in +charge. In fact, in cases of absolute and piteous want, men are +admitted free, although, naturally enough, the Army does not advertise +that this happens. If it did, its hospitality would be considerably +overtaxed. + +Leaving the dormitories, I entered the great hall, in which were +gathered nearly 600 men seated upon benches, every one of which was +filled. The faces and general aspect of these men were eloquent of +want and sorrow. Some of them appeared to be intent upon the religious +service that was going on, attendance at this service being the +condition on which the free breakfast is given to all who need food +and have passed the previous night in the street. Others were gazing +about them vacantly, and others, sufferers from the effects of drink, +debauchery, or fatigue, seemed to be half comatose or asleep. + +This congregation, the strangest that I have ever seen, comprised men +of all classes. Some might once have belonged to the learned +professions, while others had fallen so low that they looked scarcely +human. Every grade of rag-clad misery was represented here, and every +stage of life from the lad of sixteen up to the aged man whose +allotted span was almost at an end. Rank upon rank of them, there they +sat in their infinite variety, linked only by the common bond of utter +wretchedness, the most melancholy sight, I think, that ever my eyes +beheld. All of them, however, were fairly clean, for this matter had +been seen to by the Officers who attend upon them. The Salvation Army +does not only wash the feet of its guests, but the whole body. Also, +it dries and purifies their tattered garments. + +When I entered the hall, an Officer on the platform was engaged in +offering up an extempore prayer. + +'We pray that the Holy Spirit may be poured out upon these men. We +pray, O God, that Thou wilt help them to take fresh courage, to find +fresh hope, and that they may rise once again to fight the battle of +life. We pray that Thou mayst bring to Thy feet, this morning, such as +shall be saved eternally.' + +Then another Officer, styled the Chaplain, addressed the audience. He +told them that there was a way out of their troubles, and that +hundreds who had sat in that hall as they did, now blessed the day +which brought them there. He said: 'You came here this morning, you +scarcely knew how or why. You did not know the hand of God was leading +you, and that He will bless you if you will listen to His Voice. You +think you cannot escape from this wretched life; you think of the past +with all its failures. But do not trouble about the years that are +gone. Seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all other +things shall be added unto you. Then there will be no more wandering +about without a friend, for I say to you that God lives, and this +morning you will hear from others, who once were in a similar +condition to yourself, what He has done for them.' + +Next a man with a fine tenor voice, who, it seems, is nicknamed 'the +Yorkshire Canary,' sang the hymn beginning, 'God moves in a mysterious +way.' After this in plain, forcible language he told his own story. He +said that he was well brought up by a good father and mother, and lost +everything through his own sin. His voice was in a sense his ruin, +since he used to sing in public-houses and saloons and there learnt to +drink. At length he found himself upon the streets in London, and +tramped thence to Yorkshire to throw himself upon the mercy of his +parents. When he was quite close to his home, however, his courage +failed him, and he tramped back to London, where he was picked up by +the Salvation Army. + +This man, a most respectable-looking person, is now a clerk in a +well-known business house. In his own words, 'I knelt down and gave my +heart to God, and am to-day in a good situation.' + +Next a Salvation Army soldier spoke. Four years before he had attended +the Sunday morning meeting in this hall and 'found the friendship of +God. He has helped me to regain the manhood I had lost and to do my +duty. For two years now I have helped to support an invalid sister +instead of being a burden to every one I knew, as once I was.' + +After the singing of the hymn, 'Rock of Ages,' another man addressed +the meeting. He had been a drunkard, a homeless wanderer, who slept +night after night on the Embankment till fortune brought him to this +service and to the Penitent-Form. Since that time, two and a half +years before, no drink had passed his lips, and once again, as he +declared, he had become 'a self-respecting, respectable citizen.' + +Then a dwarf whom I had seen at work in the Spa Road Elevator, and who +once was taken about the country to be exhibited as a side show at +fairs and there fell a victim to drink, gave his testimony. + +Another verse, 'Could my tears for ever flow,' and after it, in rapid +succession, spoke a man who had been a schoolmaster and fallen through +drink and gambling; a man who, or whose brother, I am not sure which, +had been a Wesleyan preacher, and who is now employed in a Life +Assurance Company; a man who had been a prisoner; a man who had been a +confirmed drunkard, and others. + +Always it was the same earnest, simple tale of drink and degradation, +passed now for ever; of the Penitent-Form; of the building up of a new +self, and of position regained. + +More singing and an eloquent prayer which seemed to move the audience +very much, some of them to tears; an address from a woman Salvation +Army Officer, who pleaded with the people in the name of their +mothers, and a brief but excellent sermon from Commissioner Sturgess, +based upon the parable of the Marriage of the King's Son as recorded +in the 22nd chapter of St. Matthew, and of the guests who were +collected from the highways and byways to attend the feast whence the +rich and worldly had excused themselves. + +Then the great and final invocation to Heaven to move the hearts of +these men, and the invitation to them to present themselves at the +Penitent-Form. Lastly a mighty, thundering hymn, 'Jesu, Lover of my +soul,' and the ending of the long drama. + +It was a wonderful thing to see the spiritually-faced man on the +platform pleading with his sordid audience, and to watch them stirring +beneath his words. To see, also, a uniformed woman flitting to and fro +among that audience, whispering, exhorting, invoking--a temptress to +Salvation, then to note the response and its manner that were stranger +still. Some poor wretch would seem to awaken, only to relapse into a +state of sullen, almost defiant torpor. A little while and the leaven +begins to work in him. He flushes, mutters something, half rises from +his seat, sits down again, rises once more and with a peculiar, +unwilling gait staggers to the Penitent-Form, and in an abandonment of +grief and repentance throws himself upon his knees and there begins to +sob. A watching Officer comes to him, kneels at his side and, I +suppose, confesses him. The tremendous hymn bursts out like a paean of +triumph-- + + Just as I am, without one plea, + +it begins, the rest I forget or did not catch. + +Now the ice is broken. Another comes and another, and another, till +there is no more room at the Penitent-Bench. They swarm on to the +platform which is cleared for them, and there kneel down, and I +observed the naked feet of some of them showing through the worn-out +boots. + +So it goes on. At length the great audience rises and begins to +depart, filing one by one through a certain doorway. As they pass, +Officers who have appeared from somewhere wait for them with +outstretched arms. The most of them brush past shaking their heads and +muttering. Here and there one pauses, is lost--or rather won. The +Salvation Army has him in its net and he joins the crowd upon the +platform. Still the hymn swells and falls till all have departed save +those who remain for good--about 10 per cent of that sad company. + +[Illustration: SEEKING THE HOMELESS AT MIDNIGHT.] + +It is done and the catcher feels that he has witnessed the very +uttermost of tragedies, human and spiritual. + + * * * * * + +Mere common 'revivalism'! the critic will say, and it may be so. Still +such revivalism, if that is the term for it, must be judged by its +fruits. I am informed that of those who kneel here experience shows +that but a small percentage relapse. The most of them become what in +the Salvation Army cant--if one chooses so to name it--is known as +'saved.' + +This means that from drunkards and wastrels stained with every sort of +human fault, or even crime, they are turned into God-fearing and +respectable men who henceforward, instead of being a pest to society +and a terror to all those who have the misfortune to be connected with +them, become props of society and a comfort and a support to their +relatives and friends. + +Thus is the mesh of mercy spread, and such is its harvest. + +The age of miracles is past, we are told; but I confess that while +watching this strange sight I wondered more than once that if this +were so, what that age of miracles had been like. Of one thing I was +sure, that it must have been to such as these that He who is +acknowledged even by sceptics to have been the very Master of mankind, +would have chosen to preach, had this been the age of His appearance, +He who came to call sinners to repentance. Probably, too, it was to +such as these that He did preach, for folk of this character are +common to the generations. Doubtless, Judea had its knaves and +drunkards, as we know it had its victims of sickness and misfortune. +The devils that were cast out in Jerusalem did not die; they reappear +in London and elsewhere to-day, and, it would seem, can still be cast +out. + +I confess another thing, also; namely, that I found all this drama +curiously exciting. Most of us who have passed middle age and led a +full and varied life will be familiar with the great human emotions. +Yet I discovered here a new emotion, one quite foreign to a somewhat +extended experience, one that I cannot even attempt to define. The +contagion of revivalism! again it will be said. This may be so, or it +may not. But at least, so far as this branch of the Salvation Army +work is concerned, those engaged in it may fairly claim that the tree +should be judged by its fruits. Without doubt, in the main these +fruits are good and wholesome. + +I have only to add to my description of this remarkable service, that +the number netted, namely, about 10 per cent of those present, was, I +am told, just normal, neither more nor less than the average. Some of +these doubtless will relapse; but if only _one_ of them remains really +reformed, surely the Salvation Army has vindicated its arguments and +all is proved to be well worth while. But to that one very many +ciphers must be added as the clear and proved result of the forty +years or so of its activity. Whatever may be doubtful, this is true +beyond all controversy, for it numbers its converts by the thousand. + + * * * * * + +The congregation which I saw on this particular occasion seemed to me +to consist for the most part of elderly men; in fact, some of them +were very old, and the average age of those who attended the +Penitent-Form I estimated at about thirty-five years. This, however, +varies. I am informed that at times they are mostly young persons. It +must be remembered--and the statement throws a lurid light upon the +conditions prevailing in London, as in other of our great cities--that +the population which week by week attends these Sunday morning +services is of an ever-shifting character. Doubtless, there are some +_habitués_ and others who reappear from time to time. But the most of +the audience is new. Every Saturday night the highways and the hedges, +or rather the streets and the railway arches yield a new crop of +homeless and quite destitute wanderers. These are gathered into the +Blackfriars Shelter, and go their bitter road again after the rest, +the breakfast, and the service. But as we have seen here a substantial +proportion, about 10 per cent, remain behind. These are all +interviewed separately and fed, and on the following morning as many +of them as vacancies can be found for in the Paper Works Elevator or +elsewhere are sent thither. + +I saw plenty of these men, and with them others who had been rescued +previously; so many, indeed, that it is impossible to set out their +separate cases. Looking through my notes made at the time, I find +among them a schoolmaster, an Australian who fought in South Africa, a +publican who had lost £2,000 in speculation and been twelve months on +the streets, a sailor and two soldiers who between them had seen much +service abroad, and a University man who had tried to commit suicide +from London Bridge. + +Also there was a person who was recently described in the newspapers +as the 'dirtiest man in London.' He was found sitting on the steps of +a large building in Queen Victoria Street, partly paralysed from +exposure. So filthy and verminous was he, that it was necessary to +scrape his body, which mere washing would not touch. When he was +picked up, a crowd of several hundred people followed him down the +street, attracted by his dreadful appearance. His pockets were full of +filth, amongst which were found 5s. in coppers. He had then been a +month in the Shelter, where he peels or peeled potatoes, etc., and +looked quite bright and clean. + +Most of these people had been brought down by the accursed drink, +which is the bane of our nation, and some few by sheer misfortune. + +Neither at the service, nor afterwards, did I see a single Jew, for +the fallen of that race seem to be looked after by their fellow +religionists. Moreover, the Jews do not drink to excess. Foreigners, +also, are comparatively scarce at Blackfriars and in the other +Shelters. + + + + +THE EX-CRIMINALS + + +On the afternoon of the Sunday on which I visited the Blackfriars +Shelter, I attended another service, conducted by Commissioner +Sturgess, at Quaker Street. + +Here the room was filled by about 150 men, all of whom had been +rescued, and were then working in the various Shelters or elsewhere. I +may say that I have seldom seen a congregation of more respectable +appearance, and never one that joined with greater earnestness in a +religious service. + +I will take this opportunity to observe that the Salvation Army +enforces no religious test upon those to whom it extends its +assistance. If a man is a member of the Church of England or a Roman +Catholic, for instance, and wishes to remain so, all that it tries to +do is to make him a good member of his Church. Its only _sine qua non_ +is that the individual should show himself ready to work zealously at +any task which it may be able to find for him. + +The rest of that afternoon I spent in interviewing ex-criminals who +were then in the charge of the Salvation Army. To give details of +their cases in this book is impossible. Here I will only say, +therefore, that some of these had been most desperate characters, who +had served as much as thirty or forty years in various prisons, or +even been condemned to death for murder. Indeed, the nineteen men whom +I interviewed had, between them, done 371 years of what is known as +'time.' + +I cannot honestly report that I liked the looks of all these gentry, +or believed everything that they told me. For instance, when such +people swear that they have been wrongly convicted, an old lawyer and +magistrate like myself, who knows what pains are taken by every +English Court to safeguard the innocent, is apt to be sceptical. +Still, it should be added that many of these jailbirds are now to all +appearance quite reformed, while some of them are doing well in more +or less responsible positions, under the supervision of the Army. + +The Salvation Army Officers have authority from the Home Office to +visit the various prisons, where the inmates are informed that those +who are desirous of seeing them must give in their names. Then on a +certain day, the Officer, who, under Commissioner Sturgess, is +responsible for the Prison work of the Army in England, appears at the +Wandsworth or the Pentonville Prison, or wherever it may be. There he +finds, perhaps, as many as 150 men waiting to see him, the total +number of ex-prisoners who pass through the hands of the Army in +England averaging at present about 1,000 per annum. He interviews +these men in their cells privately, the prison officials remaining +outside, and stops as long with each of them as he deems to be +needful, for the Governors of the prisons give him every opportunity +of attaining the object of his work. This Officer informed me that his +conversation with the prisoners is not restricted in any way. It may +be about their future or of spiritual matters, or it may have to do +with their family affairs. + +The details of each case are carefully recorded in a book which I saw, +and when a convict is discharged and given over to the care of the +Army, a photograph and an official statement of his record is +furnished with him. This statement the Army finds a great help, as in +dealing with such people it is necessary to know their past in order +to be able to guard against their weak points. + +The Government authorities have now begun to seek the aid of the Army +in certain special cases. If they feel that it is unnecessary to +retain a man any longer, they will sometimes hand him over, should the +Salvation Army Officers be willing to take him in and be responsible +for him. General Booth and his subordinates think that if this system +were enlarged and followed up, it would result in the mitigation or +the abbreviation of many sentences, without exposing the public to +danger. + +In discussing this matter with them, I ventured to point out that it +would be a bad thing if the Army became in any way identified with the +prison Authorities, and began, at any rate in the mind of the criminal +classes, to wear the initials G.R. instead of those of the Army upon +their collars. This was not disputed by Commissioner Sturgess, with +whom I debated the question. + +What the Army desires, however, is that the Government should +subsidize this work in order to enable it to support the ex-convicts +until it can find opportunity to place them in positions where they +can earn their own bread. The trouble with such folk is that, +naturally enough, few desire to employ them, and until they are +employed, which in the case of aged persons or of those with a very +bad record may be never, they must be fed, clothed, and housed. + +After going into the whole subject at considerable length and in much +detail, the conclusion which I came to was that this work of the +visitation of prisoners by Salvation Army Officers, and the care of +them when released either on or before the completion of their +sentences, is one that might be usefully extended, should the Home +Office Authorities see fit so to do. There is no doubt, although it +cannot guarantee success in every case, that the Salvation Army is +peculiarly successful in its dealings with hardened criminals. + +Why this is so is not easy to explain. I think, however, that there +are two main reasons for its success. The first is that the Army takes +great care never to break a promise which it may make through any of +its Officers. Thus, if a man in jail is told that his relatives will +be hunted up and communicated with, or that an application will be +made to the Authorities to have him committed to the care of the Army, +or that work will be found for him on his release, and the like, that +undertaking, whatever it may be, is noted in the book which I have +mentioned, and although years may pass before it can be fulfilled, is +in due course carried out to the letter. Now, convicts are shy birds, +who put little faith in promises. But when they find that these are +always kept they gain confidence in the makers of them, and often +learn to trust them entirely. + +The second and more potent reason is to be found in the power of that +loving sympathy which the Army extends even to the vilest, to those +from whom the least puritanical of us would shrink. It shows such men +that they are not utterly lost, as these believe; that it, at any +rate, does not mark them with a figurative broad arrow and consign +them to a separate division of society; that it is able to give them +back the self-respect without which mankind is lower than the beast, +and to place them, regenerated, upon a path that, if it be steep and +thorny, still leads to those heights of peace and honour which they +never thought to tread again. + +This is done not by physical care and comfort, though, of course, +these help towards the desired end, but by its own spiritual means, or +so it would appear. Its Officers pray with the man; they awake his +conscience, which is never dead in any of us; they pour the blessed +light of hope into the dark places of his soul; they cause him to hate +the past, and to desire to lead a new life. Once this desire is +established, the rest is comparatively simple, for where the heart +leads the feet will follow; but without it little or nothing can be +done. Such is the explanation I have to offer. At any rate, I believe +it remains a fact that among the worst criminals the Salvation Army +often succeeds where others have failed. + +Another point that should not be overlooked in this connexion is that +it must be a great comfort to the sinner and an encouragement of the +most practical sort to find, as he sometimes will, that the hands +which are dragging him and his kind from the mire, had once been as +filthy as his own. When the worker can say to him, 'Look at me; in +bygone days I was as bad as or worse than you'; when he can point to +many others whose vices were formerly notorious, but who now fill +positions of trust in the Army or outside of it, and are honoured of +all men; then the lost one, emerging, perhaps, for the fifth or sixth +time from the darkness of his prison, sees by the light of these +concrete examples that the future has promise for us all. If _they_ +have succeeded why should _he_ fail? That is the argument which comes +home to him. + +There remains a matter to be considered. Let us suppose that as time +goes by the Authorities become more and more convinced of the value of +the Army's prison work, and pass over to its care criminals in +ever-increasing numbers, as they are doing in some other countries and +in the great Colonies, what will be the effect upon the Army itself? +Will not this mass of comparatively useless material clog the wheels +of the great machine by overlading it with a vast number of +ex-prisoners, some of whom, owing to their age or other circumstances, +are quite incapable of earning their livelihood, and therefore must be +carried till their deaths? When I put the query to those in command, +the answer given was that they did not think so, as they believed that +the Army would be able to turn the great majority of these men into +respectable, wage-earning members of society. + +Thus of those who have been sent to it lately from the prisons, it +has, I understand, been forced to return only two, because these men +would not behave themselves, and proved to be a source of danger and +contamination to others. As regards the residuum who are incapacitated +by age or weakness of mind or body, General Booth and his Officers are +of opinion that the Government should contribute to their support in +such places as the Army may be able to find for them to dwell in under +its care. + +I hope that these forecasts, which after all are made by men of great +experience who should know, may not prove to be over-sanguine. Still +it must be remembered that in England alone there are, I am told, some +30,000 confirmed criminals in the jails, not reckoning the 5,000 who +are classed as convicts. If even 20 per cent of these were passed over +to the care of the Army, with or without State grants in aid of their +support, this must in the nature of things prove a heavy burden upon +its resources. When all is said and done it is harder to find +employment for a jailbird, even if reformed, than for any other class +of man, because so damaged a human article has but little commercial +value in the Labour market. + +If, however, the Salvation Army is prepared to face this gigantic +task, it may be hoped that it will be given an opportunity of showing +what it can do on a large scale, as it has already shown upon one more +restricted. Prison reform is in the air. The present system is +admitted more or less to have broken down. It has been shown to be +incompetent to attain the real end for which it is established; that +is, not punishment, as many still believe, for this hereditary idea is +hard to eradicate, but prevention and, still more, reformation. + +The 'Vengeance of the Law' is a phrase not easy to forget; but among +humane and highly-civilized peoples the word Vengeance should be +replaced by another, the best that I can think of is--Regeneration. +The Law should not seek to avenge--that may be left to the savage +codes, civil and religious, of the dark ages. Except in the case of +the death sentence, which is not everywhere in favour, it should seek +to regenerate. + +If, then, among other agencies, the Salvation Army is able to prove +beyond cavil that it can assist our criminal system to attain this +noble end, ought not opportunity to be given it in full measure? Is it +too much to hope that when the new Prison Act, of which the substance +has recently been outlined by the Home Secretary, comes to be +discussed, this object may be kept in view and the offer of the +Salvation Army to co-operate in the great endeavour may not be lightly +thrust aside? If its help is found so valuable in the solution of this +particular problem in other lands, why should it be rejected here, or, +rather, why should it not be more largely utilized, as I know from +their own lips, General Booth and his Officers hope and desire?[2] + + + + +THE MEN'S WORKSHOP + + + +HANBURY STREET, WHITECHAPEL + +This Salvation Army carpentering and joinery shop has been in +existence for about fifteen years, but it does not even now pay its +way. It was started by the Army in order to assist fallen mechanics by +giving them temporary work until they could find other situations. + +The manager informed me that at the beginning they found work for +about thirty men. When I visited the place some fifty hands were +employed--bricklayers, painters, joiners, etc., none of whom need stop +an hour longer than they choose. From 100 to 150 men pass through this +Workshop in a year, but many of them being elderly and therefore +unable to obtain work elsewhere, stop for a long while, as the Army +cannot well get rid of them. All of these folk arrive in a state of +absolute destitution, having even sold their tools, the last +possessions with which a competent workman parts. + +The Parliamentary Committee of the Labour Party and the Trade Unions +have recently stirred up a great agitation, which has been widely +reported in the Press, against the Hanbury Street Workshop, because +the Army does not pay the Union rate of wages. As a result the Army +now declines all outside contracts, and confines its operations to the +work of erecting, repairing, or furnishing its own buildings. + +Here it may be stated that these complaints seem to be unreasonable. +The men employed have almost without exception been taken off the +streets to save them from starvation or the poorhouse. Often enough +they are by no means competent at their work, while some of them have +for the time being been rendered practically useless through the +effects of drink or other debaucheries. Yet it is argued with violence +that to such people, whom no business firm would employ upon any +terms, the Army ought to pay the full Trade Union rate of wages. When +every allowance is made for the great and urgent problems connected +with the cruel practice of 'sweating,' surely this attitude throws a +strange light upon some of the methods of the Trade Unions? + +The inference seems to be that they would prefer that these derelicts +should come on the rates or starve rather than that the Army should +house and feed them, giving them, in addition, such wage as their +labour may be worth. Further comment seems to be needless, especially +when I repeat that, as I am assured, this Hanbury Street Institution +never has earned, and does not now earn, the cost of its upkeep. + +It is situated in the heart of a very poor district, and is rather a +ramshackle place to look at, but still quite suitable to its purposes. +I have observed that one of the characteristics of the Salvation Army +is that it never spends unnecessary money upon buildings. If it can +buy a good house or other suitable structure cheap it does so. If it +cannot, it makes use of what it can get at a price within its means, +provided that the place will satisfy the requirements of the sanitary +and other Authorities. + +All the machines at Hanbury Street are driven by electric power that +is supplied by the Stepney Council at a cost of 1_d_. per unit for +power and 3_d_. per unit for lighting. + +An elderly man whom I saw there attending to this machinery, was +dismissed by one of the great railway companies when they were +reducing their hands. He had been in the employ of the Salvation Army +for seven years and received the use of a house rent free and a wage +of 30_s_. a week, which probably he would find it quite impossible to +earn anywhere else. + +The hours of employment are from 6.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. if the man is +engaged on outside work, or to 6 p.m. if he labours in the workshop, +and the men are paid at various rates according to the value of their +work, and whether they are boarded and lodged, or live outside. Thus +one to whom I spoke, who was the son of a former mayor of an important +town, was allowed 3_s._ a week plus food and lodging, while another +received 9_s._ a week, 5_s._ of which was sent to his wife, from whom +he was separated. Another man, after living on the Army for about two +years, made charges against it to the Carpenters' and Joiners' Union. +He returned and apologized, but had practically to be kept under +restraint on account of his drinking habits. + +Another man spent twenty years in jail and then walked the streets. He +is now a very respectable person, earns 27_s._ 6_d._ a week, and lives +outside with his wife and family. Another was once convicted of +cruelty to his children, whom he placed under the boards of the +flooring while he went out to drink. These children are now restored +to him, and he lives with them. Another among those with whom I +happened to speak, was robbed by a relative of £4,000 which his father +left to him. He was taken on by the Army in a state of destitution, +but I forget what he earned. Another, the youngest man in the Works, +came to them without any trade at all and in a destitute condition, +but when I saw him was in charge of a morticing machine. He had +married, lived out, and had been in the employ of the Army for five +years. His wage was 27_s._ 6_d._ a week. Two others drew as much as £2 +5_s._ 11_d._ each, living out; but, on the other hand, some received +as little as 3_s._ a week with board and lodging. + +Amongst this latter class was a young Mormon from Salt Lake City, who +earned 4_s._ 6_d._ a week and his board and lodging. He had been in +the Elevator about three months, having got drunk in London and missed +his ship. Although he attended the Salvation Army meetings, he +remained a Mormon. + +In these Works all sorts of articles are manufactured to be used by +other branches of the Salvation Army. Thus I saw poultry-houses being +made for the Boxted Small Holdings; these cost from £4 5_s._ to £4 +10_s._ net, and were excellent structures designed to hold about two +dozen fowls. Further on large numbers of seats of different patterns +were in process of manufacture, some of them for children, and other +longer ones, with reversible backs, to be used in the numerous Army +halls. Next I visited a room in which mattresses and mattress covers +are made for the various Shelters, also the waterproof bunk bedding, +which costs 7_s._ 9_d._ per cover. Further on, in a separate +compartment, was a flock-tearing machine, at which the Mormon I have +mentioned was employed. This is a very dusty job whereat a man does +not work for more than one day in ten. + +Then there were the painting and polishing-room, the joinery room, and +the room where doors, window frames, and articles of furniture are +constructed; also special garden benches, cleverly planned so that the +seat can be protected from rain. These were designed by a young lady +whom I chance to know in private life, and who, as I now discovered +for the first time, is also a member of the Salvation Army. + +Such is the Hanbury Street Workshop, where the Army makes the best use +it can of rather indifferent human materials, and, as I have said, +loses money at the business. + + + + +STURGE HOUSE, BOW ROAD + + + +This branch of the Men's Social Work of the Salvation Army is a home +for poor and destitute boys. The house, which once belonged to the +late Dr. Barnardo, has been recently hired on a short lease. One of +the features of the Army work is the reclamation of lads, of whom +about 2,400 have passed through its hands in London during the course +of the last eight years. + +Sturge House has been fitted up for this special purpose, and +accommodates about fifty boys. The Officer in charge informed me that +some boys apply to them for assistance when they are out of work, +while others come from bad homes, and yet others through the Shelters, +which pass on suitable lads. Each case is strictly investigated when +it arrives, with the result that about one-third of their number are +restored to their parents, from whom often enough they have run away, +sometimes upon the most flimsy pretexts. + +Not unfrequently these boys are bad characters, who tell false tales +of their past. Thus, recently, two who arrived at the Headquarters at +Whitechapel, alleged that they were farm-labourers from Norfolk. As +they did not in the least look the part, inquiries were made, when it +was found that they had never been nearer to Norfolk than Hampstead, +where both of them had been concerned in the stealing of £10 from a +business firm. The matter was patched up with the intervention of the +Army, and the boys were restored to their parents. + +Occasionally, too, lads are brought here by kind folk, who find them +starving. They are taken in, kept for a while, taught and fed, and +when their characters are re-established--for many of them have none +left--put out into the world. Some of them, indeed, work daily at +various employments in London, and pay 5s. a week for their board and +lodging at the Home. A good proportion of these lads also are sent to +the collieries in Wales, where, after a few years, they earn good +wages. + +In these collieries a man and a boy generally work together. A while +ago such a man applied to the Army for a boy, and the applicant, +proving respectable, the boy was sent, and turned out extremely well. +In due course he became a collier himself, and, in his turn, sent for +a boy. So the thing spread, till up to the present time the Army has +supplied fifty or sixty lads to colliers in South Wales, all of whom +seem to be satisfactory and prosperous. + +As the Manager explained, it is not difficult to place out a lad as +soon as his character can be more or less guaranteed. The difficulty +comes with a man who is middle-aged or old. He added that this Home +does not in any sense compete with those of Dr. Barnardo; in fact, in +certain ways they work hand in hand. The Barnardo Homes will not +receive lads who are over sixteen, whereas the Army takes them up to +eighteen. So it comes about that Barnardo's sometimes send on cases +which are over their age limit to Sturge House. + +I saw the boys at their dinner, and although many of them had a bad +record, certainly they looked very respectable, and likely to make +good and useful men. The experience of the Army is that most of them +are quite capable of reformation, and that, when once their hearts +have been changed, they seldom fall back into the ways of dishonesty. + +This Home, like all those managed by the Salvation Army, is spotlessly +clean, and the dormitories are very pleasant rooms. Also, there is a +garden, and in it I saw a number of pots of flowers, which had just +been sent as a present by a boy whom the Army helped three years ago, +and who is now, I understand, a gardener. + +Sturge House struck me as a most useful Institution; and as there is +about it none of the depressing air of the adult Shelters, my visit +here was a pleasant change. The reclamation or the helping of a lad is +a very different business from that of restoring the adult or the old +man to a station in life which he seems to have lost for ever. + + + + +THE CENTRAL LABOUR BUREAU + + + +This Bureau is established in the Social Headquarters at Whitechapel, +a large building acquired as long ago as 1878. Here is to be seen the +room in which General Booth used to hold some of his first prayer +meetings, and a little chamber where he took counsel with those +Officers who were the fathers of the Army. Also there is a place where +he could sit unseen and listen to the preaching of his subordinates, +so that he might judge of their ability. + +The large hall is now part of yet another Shelter, which contains 232 +beds and bunks. I inspected this place, but as it differs in no +important detail from others, I will not describe it. + +The Officer who is in charge of the Labour Bureau informed me that +hundreds of men apply there for work every week, of whom a great many +are sent into the various Elevators and Shelters. The Army finds it +extremely difficult to procure outside employment for these men, for +the simple reason that there is very little available. Moreover, now +that the Government Labour Bureaux are open, this trouble is not +lessened. Of these Bureaux, the Manager said that they are most +useful, but fail to find employment for many who apply to them. +Indeed, numbers of men come on from them to the Salvation Army. + +The hard fact is that there are more idle hands than there is work for +them to do, even where honest and capable folk are concerned. Thus, in +the majority of instances, the Army is obliged to rely upon its own +Institutions and the Hadleigh Land Colony to provide some sort of job +for out-of-works. Of course, of such jobs there are not enough to go +round, so many poor folk must be sent empty away or supported by +charity. + +I suggested that it might be worth while to establish a school of +chauffeurs, and the Officers present said that they would consider the +matter. Unfortunately, however, such an experiment must be costly at +the present price of motor-vehicles. + +I annex the Labour Bureau Statistics for May, 1910:-- + + LONDON + + Applicants for temporary employment 479 + Sent to temporary employment 183 + Applicants for Elevators 864 + Sent to Elevators 260 + Sent to Shelters 32 + + PROVINCES + + Applicants for temporary employment 461 + Sent to temporary employment 160 + Applicants for Elevators 417 + Sent to Elevators 202 + Sent to Shelters 20 + Sent to permanent situations 35 + + + +THE INTERNATIONAL INVESTIGATION DEPARTMENT + +This is a curious and interesting branch of the work of the Salvation +Army. About two thousand times a year it receives letters or personal +applications, asking it to find some missing relative or friend of the +writer or applicant. In reply, a form is posted or given, which must +be filled up with the necessary particulars. Then, if it be a London +case, the Officer in charge sends out a skilled man to work up clues. +If, on the other hand, it be a country case, the Officer in charge of +the Corps nearest to where it has occurred, is instructed to initiate +the inquiry. Also, advertisements are inserted in the Army papers, +known as 'The War Cry' and 'The Social Gazette,' both in Great Britain +and other countries, if the lost person is supposed to be on the +Continent or in some distant part of the world. + +The result is that a large percentage of the individuals sought for +are discovered, alive or dead, for in such work the Salvation Army has +advantages denied to any other body, scarcely excepting the Police. +Its representatives are everywhere, and to whatever land they may +belong or whatever tongue they may speak, all of them obey an order +sent out from Headquarters wholeheartedly and uninfluenced by the +question of regard. The usual fee charged for this work is 10_s_. +6_d_.; but when this cannot be paid, a large number of cases are +undertaken free. The Army goes to as much trouble in these unpaid +cases as in any others, only then it is not able to flood the country +with printed bills. Of course, where well-to-do people are concerned, +it expects that its out-of-pocket costs will be met. + +The cases with which it has to deal are of all kinds. Often those who +have disappeared are found to have done so purposely, perhaps leaving +behind them manufactured evidence, such as coats or letters on a +river-bank, suggesting that they have committed suicide. Generally, +these people are involved in some fraud or other trouble. Again, +husbands desert their wives, or wives their husbands, and vanish, in +which instances they are probably living with somebody else under +another name. Or children are kidnapped, or girls are lured away, or +individuals emigrate to far lands and neglect to write. Or, perhaps, +they simply sink out of all knowledge, and vanish effectually enough +into a paupers grave. + +But the oddest cases of all are those of a complete loss of memory, a +thing that is by no means so infrequent as is generally supposed. The +experience of the Army is that the majority of these cases happen +among those who lead a studious life. The victim goes out in his usual +health and suddenly forgets everything. His mind becomes a total +blank. Yet certain instincts remain, such as that of earning a living. + +Thus, to take a single recent example, the son of a large bookseller +in a country town left the house one day, saying that he would not be +away for long, and disappeared. At the invitation of his father, the +Army took up the case, and ultimately found that the man had been +working in its Spa Road Elevator under another name. Afterwards he +went away, became destitute, and sold matches in the streets. +Ultimately he was found in a Church Army Home. He recovered his +memory, and subsequently lost it again to the extent that he could +recall nothing which happened to him during the period of its first +lapse. All that time vanished into total darkness. + +This business of the hunting out of the missing through the agency of +the Salvation Army is one which increases every day. It is not unusual +for the Army to discover individuals who have been missing for thirty +years and upwards. + + + + +THE EMIGRATION DEPARTMENT + + + +Some years ago I was present one night in the Board-room at Euston +Station and addressed a shipload of emigrants who were departing to +Canada under the auspices of the Salvation Army. I forget their exact +number, but I think it was not less than 500. What I do not forget, +however, is the sorrow that I felt at seeing so many men in the prime +of life leaving the shores of their country for ever, especially as +most of them were not married. This meant, amongst other things, that +an equal number of women who remained behind were deprived of the +possibility of obtaining a husband in a country in which the females +already outnumber the males by more than a million. I said as much in +the little speech I made on this occasion, and I think that some one +answered me with the pertinent remark that if there was no work at +home, it must be sought abroad. + +[Illustration: INMATES OF A MEN'S INDUSTRIAL HOME.] + +There lies the whole problem in a nutshell--men must live. As for the +aged and the incompetent and the sick and the unattached women, these +are left behind for the community to support, while young and active +men of energy move off to endow new lands with their capacities and +strength. The results of this movement, carried out upon a great +scale, can be seen in the remoter parts of Ireland, which, as the +visitor will observe, appear to be largely populated by very young +children and by persons getting on in years. Whether or no this is a +satisfactory state of affairs is not for me to say, although the +matter, too large to discuss here, is one upon which I may have my own +opinion. + +Colonel Lamb, the head of the Salvation Army Emigration Department, +informed me that during the past seven years the Army has emigrated +about 50,000 souls, of whom 10,000 were assisted out of its funds, the +rest paying their own way or being paid for from one source or +another. From 8,000 to 10,000 people have been sent during the present +year, 1910, most of them to Canada, which is the Mecca of the +Salvation Army Emigration policy. So carefully have all these people +been selected, that not 1 per cent have ever been returned to this +country by the Canadian Authorities as undesirable. The truth is that +those Authorities have the greatest confidence in the discretion of +the Army, and in its ability to handle this matter to the advantage of +all concerned. + +That this is true I know from personal experience, since when, some +years ago, I was a Commissioner from the British Government and had +authority to formulate a scheme of Colonial land-settlement, the Prime +Minister of Canada, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, told me so himself in the +plainest language. Indeed, he did more, formally offering a huge block +of territory to be selected anywhere I might choose in the Dominion, +with the aid of its Officers, for the purposes of settlement by poor +folk and their children under the auspices of the Salvation Army. +Also, he added the promise of as much more land as might be required +in the future for the same purpose.[3] + +Most unhappily, as I hold, that offer was not accepted by the British +Government. If this had been done, by now hundreds of English families +would have been transferred from conditions of want at home in the +English towns, into those of peace and plenty upon the land abroad. +Moreover, the recent rise in the value of Canadian land has been so +great that the scheme would not have cost the British taxpayer a +halfpenny, or so I most firmly believe. + +Unfortunately, however, my scheme was too novel in its character to +appeal to the official mind, especially as its working would have +involved a loan repayable by instalments, the administration of which +must have been entrusted to the Salvation Army or to other charitable +Organizations. So this priceless opportunity was lost, probably for +ever, as the new and stricter emigration regulations adopted by +Canada, as I understand, would make it extremely difficult to emigrate +the class I hoped to help, namely, indigent people of good character, +resident in English cities, with growing families of children. + +Young men, especially if they have been bred on the land, and young +marriageable women are eagerly desired in the Colonies, including +Australia; but at families, as we have read in recent correspondence +in the newspapers, they look askance. + +'Why do they not want families in Australia? I asked Colonel Lamb. + +'Because the trouble of housing comes in. It is the same thing in +Canada, it is the same thing all through the Colonies. They do not +want too much trouble,' he answered. + +These words define the position very accurately. 'Give us your best,' +say the Colonies. 'Give us your adult, healthy men and women whom you +have paid to rear and educate, but don't bother us with families of +children whom we have to house. Above all send us no damaged articles. +You are welcome to keep those at home.' + +To my mind this attitude, natural as it may be, creates a serious +problem so far as Great Britain and Ireland are concerned, for the +question will arise, Can we afford to go on parting with the good and +retaining the less desirable? + +On this subject I had a long argument with Colonel Lamb, and his +answer to the question was in the affirmative, although I must admit +that his reasons did not at all convince me. He seemed to believe that +we could send out 250,000 people, chosen people, per annum for the +next ten years without harm to ourselves. Well, it may be so, and, as +he added, 'we are in their (that is, the Colonies') hands, and have to +do what they choose to allow.' + +Also his opinion was that 'the best thing possible for this country is +wholesale emigration,' of course of those whom the Colonies will +accept. He said, 'People here are dissatisfied with their present +condition and want a change. If we had money to assist them, there is +practically no limit to the number who want to go. There are tens of +thousands who would conform to the Canadian regulations. One of the +things we advise the man who has been forced out of the country is +that rather than come into the town he should go to the Colonies.' + +On the matter of the complaints which have been made in Canada of the +emigrant from London, Colonel Lamb said, 'The Londoner, it is alleged, +is not wanted. The Canadian is full of self-assertiveness, and the +Cockney has some of that too; he does not hesitate to express his +views, and you have conflicting spirits at once. The Cockney will +arrive at the conclusion in about twenty-four hours that he could run +Canada better than it is now being run. The Scotchman will take a week +to arrive at the same conclusion, and holds his tongue about it. The +Cockney says what he thinks on the first day of arrival, and the +result is--fireworks. He and the Canadians do not agree to begin with; +but when they get over the first passage of arms they settle down +amicably. The Cockney is finally appreciated, and, being industrious +and amenable to law and order, if he has got a bit of humour he gets +on all right, but not at first.' + +Colonel Lamb informed me that in Australia the Labour Party is afraid +of the Army because it believes 'we will send in people to bring down +wages.' Therefore, the Labour Party has sidetracked General Booth's +proposals. Now, however, it alleges that it is not opposed to +emigration, if not on too large a scale. 'They don't mind a few girls; +but they say the condition that must precede emigration is the +breaking up of the land.' + +Colonel Lamb appeared to desire that an Emigration Board should be +appointed in England, with power and funds to deal with the +distribution of the population of the Empire and to systematize +emigration. To this Imperial Board, individuals or Societies, such as +the Salvation Army, should, he thought, be able to submit their +schemes, which schemes would receive assistance according to their +merits under such limitations as the Board might see fit to impose. To +such a Board he would even give power to carry out land-settlement +schemes in the British Isles. + +This is a great proposal, but one wonders whence the money is to come. +Also how long will it be before the Labour Parties in the various +Colonies, including Canada, gain so much power that they will refuse +to accept emigrants at all, except young women, or agriculturalists +who bring capital with them? + +But all these problems are for the future. Meanwhile it is evident +that the Salvation Army manages its emigration work with extraordinary +success and business skill. Those whom it sends from these shores for +their own benefit are invariably accepted, at any rate in Canada, and +provided with work on their arrival in the chosen Colony. That the +selection is sound and careful is shown, also, by the fact that the +Army recovers from those emigrants to whom it gives assistance a +considerable percentage of the sums advanced to enable them to start +life in a new land. + + + + +THE WOMEN'S SOCIAL WORK IN LONDON + + + +At the commencement of my investigation of this branch of the +Salvation Army activities in England, I discussed its general aspects +with Mrs. Bramwell Booth, who has it in her charge. She pointed out to +me that this Women's Social Work is a much larger business than it was +believed to be even by those who had some acquaintance with the +Salvation Army, and that it deals with many matters of great +importance in their bearing on the complex problems of our +civilization. + +Among them, to take some that she mentioned, which recur to my mind, +are the questions of illegitimacy and prostitution, of maternity homes +for poor girls who have fallen into trouble, of women thieves, of what +is known as the White Slave traffic, of female children who have been +exposed to awful treatment, of women who are drunkards or drug-takers, +of aged and destitute women, of intractable or vicious-minded girls, +and, lastly, of the training of young persons to enable them to deal +scientifically with all these evils, or under the name of Slum +Sisters, to wait upon the poor in their homes, and nurse them through +the trials of maternity. + +How practical and efficient this training is, no one can know who has +not, like myself, visited and inquired into the various Institutions +and Refuges of the Army in different cities of the land. It is a +wonderful thing, as has happened to me again and again, to see some +quiet, middle-aged lady, often so shy that it is difficult to extract +from her the information required, ruling with the most perfect +success a number of young women, who, a few weeks or months before, +were the vilest of the vile, and what is stranger still, reforming as +she rules. These ladies exercise no severity; the punishment, which, +perhaps necessarily, is a leading feature in some of our Government +Institutions, is unknown to their system. I am told that no one is +ever struck, no one is imprisoned, no one is restricted in diet for +any offence. As an Officer said to me:-- + +'If we cannot manage a girl by love, we recognize that the case is +beyond us, and ask her to go away. This, however, very seldom +happens.' + +As a matter of fact, that case which is beyond the regenerating powers +of the Army must be very bad indeed, at any rate where young people +are concerned. In the vast majority of instances a cure is effected, +and apparently a permanent cure. In every one of these Homes there is +a room reserved for the accommodation of those who have passed through +it and gone out into the world again, should they care to return there +in their holidays or other intervals of leisure. That room is always +in great demand, and I can imagine no more eloquent testimony to the +manner of the treatment of its occupants while they dwelt in these +Homes as 'cases.' + +In truth, a study of the female Officers of the Salvation Army is +calculated to convert the observer not only to a belief in the right +of women to the suffrage, but also to that of their fitness to rule +among, or even over men. Only I never heard that any of these ladies +ever sought such privileges; moreover, few of the sex would care to +win them at the price of the training, self-denial, and stern +experience which it is their lot to undergo. + +Mrs. Bramwell Booth pointed out to me that although the actual work of +the Army on these women's questions is 'more than just a little,' it +had, as it were, only touched their fringe. Yet even this 'fringe' has +many threads, seeing that over 44,000 of these women's cases have been +helped in one way or another since this branch of the home work began +about twenty years ago. + +She added that scarcely a month goes by in which the Army does not +break out in a new direction, open a new Institution, or attempt to +attack a new problem; and this, be it remembered, not only in these +islands but over the face of half the earth. At present its sphere of +influence is limited by the lack of funds. Give it enough money, she +said, and there is little that it would not dare to try. Everywhere +the harvest is plentiful, and if the workers remain comparatively few, +it is because material means are lacking for their support. Given the +money and the workers would be found. Nor will they ask much for +maintenance or salary, enough to provide the necessary buildings, and +to keep body and soul together, that is all.[4] + +What are these women doing? In London they run more than a score of +Homes and Agencies, including a Maternity Hospital, which I will +describe later, where hundreds of poor deceived girls are taken in +during their trouble. I believe it is almost the only one of the sort, +at any rate on the same scale, in that great city. + +Also they manage various Homes for drunken women. It has always been +supposed to be a practical impossibility to effect a cure in such +cases, but the lady Officers of the Salvation Army succeed in turning +about 50 per cent of their patients into perfectly sober persons. At +least they remain sober for three years from the date of their +discharge, after which they are often followed no further. + +Another of their objects is to find out the fathers of illegitimate +children, and persuade them to sign a form of agreement which has been +carefully drawn by Counsel, binding themselves to contribute towards +the cost of the maintenance of the child. Or failing this, should the +evidence be sufficient, they try to obtain affiliation orders against +such fathers in a Magistrates' Court. Here I may state that the amount +of affiliation money collected in England by the Army in 1909 was +£1,217, of which £208 was for new cases. Further, £671 was collected +and paid over for maintenance to deserted wives. Little or none of +this money would have been forthcoming but for its exertions. + +Mrs. Bramwell Booth informed me that there exists a class of young +men, most of them in the employ of tradesfolk, who habitually amuse +themselves by getting servant girls into trouble, often under a +promise of marriage. Then, if the usual results follow, it is common +for these men to move away to another town, taking their references +with them and, sometimes under a new name, to repeat the process +there. She was of opinion that the age of consent ought to be raised +to eighteen at least, a course for which there is much to be said. +Also she thought, and this is more controversial, that when any young +girl has been seduced under promise of marriage, the seducer should be +liable to punishment under the criminal law. Of course, one of the +difficulties here would be to prove the promise of marriage beyond all +reasonable doubt. + +Also to bring such matters within the cognizance of the criminal law +would be a new and, indeed, a dangerous departure not altogether easy +to justify, especially as old magistrates like myself, who have +considerable experience of such cases must know, it is not always the +man who is to blame. Personally, I incline to the view that if the age +of consent were raised, and the contribution exacted from the putative +father of an illegitimate child made proportionate to his means, and +not limited, as it is now, to a maximum of 5s. a week, the criminal +law might well be left out of the question. It must be remembered +further, as Mrs. Booth pointed out herself, that there is another +remedy, namely, that of a better home-training of girls who should be +prepared by their mothers or friends to face the dangers of the world, +a duty which these too often neglect. The result is that many young +women who feel lonely and desire to get married, overstep the limits +of prudence on receipt of a promise that thus they may attain their +end, with the result that generally they find themselves ruined and +deserted. + +Mrs. Bramwell Booth said that the Army is doing its utmost to mitigate +the horrors of what is known as the White Slave traffic, both here and +in many other countries. With this object it has a Bill before +Parliament at the present time, of which one of the aims is to prevent +children from being sent out of this country to France under +circumstances that practically ensure their moral destruction. It +seems that the state of things in Paris in this connexion is, in her +own words, 'most abominable, too horrible for words.' Children are +procured from certain theatre dancing schools, and their birth +certificates sometimes falsified to make it appear that they are over +fourteen, although often they may be as young as twelve or even ten. +Then they are conveyed to vile places in Paris where their doom is +sure. + +Let us hope that in due course this Bill will become law, for if girls +are protected up to sixteen in this country, surely they should not be +sent out of it in doubtful circumstances under that age. + +Needless to say abominations of this nature are not unknown in London. +Thus a while ago the Army received a telegram from a German girl +asking, 'Can you help?' Two of its people went at once to the address +given, and, contriving to get into the house, discovered there a young +woman who, imagining that she had been engaged in Germany as a servant +in an English family, found herself in a London brothel. Fortunately, +being a girl of some character and resource, she held her own, and, +having heard of the Salvation Army in her own land, persuaded a +milkman to take the telegram that brought about her delivery from this +den of wickedness. + +Unfortunately it proved impossible to discover the woman who had hired +her abroad, as the victim of the plot really knew nothing about that +procuress. This girl was restored to her home in Germany none the +worse for her terrific adventure, and a few weeks later refunded her +travelling expenses. But how many must there be who have never heard +of the Salvation Army, and can find no milkman to help them out of +their vile prisons, for such places are no less. + +Another branch of the Army women's work is that of the rescue of +prostitutes from the streets, which is known as the 'Midnight Work.' +For the purpose of this endeavour it hires a flat in Great Titchfield +Street, of which, and of the mission that centres round it, I will +speak later in this book. + +The Women's Social Work of the Salvation Army began in London, in the +year 1884, at the cottage of a woman-soldier of the Army who lived in +Whitechapel. This lady, who was interested in girls without character, +took some of them into her home. Eventually she left the place which +came into the hands of the Army, whereon Mrs. Bramwell Booth was sent +to take charge of the twelve inmates whom it would accommodate. The +seed that was thus sown in 1884 has now multiplied itself into +fifty-nine Homes and Agencies for women in Great Britain alone, to say +nothing of others abroad and in the Colonies. But this is only a +beginning. + +'We look forward,' said Mrs. Bramwell Booth to me, 'to a great +increase of this side of our work at home. No year has passed without +the opening of a new Women's Home of some kind, and we hope that this +will continue. Thus I want to build a very big Maternity Hospital if I +can get the money. We have about £20,000 in hand for this purpose; but +the lesser of the two schemes before us will cost £35,000.' + +Will not some rich and charitable person provide the £15,000 that are +lacking? + + + + +THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE WOMEN'S SOCIAL WORK + + + +LOWER CLAPTON ROAD + +The Women's Social Headquarters of the Salvation Army in England is +situated at Clapton. It is a property of nearly three acres, on which +stand four houses that will be rebuilt whenever funds are forthcoming +for the erection of the Maternity Hospital and Training Institution +for nurses and midwives which I have already mentioned. At present +about forty Officers are employed here, most of whom are women, under +the command of Commissioner Cox, one of the foremost of the 600 +women-Officers of the Salvation Army in the United Kingdom who give +their services to the women's social work. + +It is almost needless for me to add that Commissioner Cox is a lady of +very great ability, who is entirely devoted to the cause to which she +has dedicated her life. One of the reasons of the great success of the +Salvation Army is that only able people exactly suited to the +particular work in view are put in authority over that work. Here +there are no sinecures, no bought advowsons, and no freehold livings. +Moreover, the policy of the Army, as a general rule, is not to allow +any one to remain too long in any one office, lest he or she should +become fossilized or subject to local influences. + +I remember when I was in America hearing of a case in which a very +leading Officer of the Army, who chanced to be a near relative of +General Booth, declined to obey an order to change his command for +another in a totally different part of the world. The order was +repeated once or twice, and as often disobeyed. Resignation followed +and an attempt to found a rival Organization. I only mention this +matter to show that discipline is enforced in this Society without +fear, favour, or prejudice, which is, perhaps, a principal reason of +its efficiency. + + + + +HILLSBOROUGH HOUSE INEBRIATES' HOME + + +Under the guidance of Commissioner Cox I inspected a number of the +London Women's Institutions of the Army, first visiting the +Hillsborough House Inebriates' Home. This Home, a beautifully clean +and well-kept place, has accommodation for thirty patients, +twenty-nine beds being occupied on the day of my visit. The lady in +charge informed me that these patients are expected to contribute 10s. +per week towards the cost of their maintenance; but that, as a matter +of fact, they seldom pay so much. Generally the sum recovered varies +from 7s. to 3s. per week, while a good many give nothing at all. + +The work the patients do in this Home is sold and produces something +towards the cost of upkeep. The actual expense of the maintenance of +the inmates averages about 12s. 6d. a week per head, which sum +includes an allowance for rent. Most of the cases stay in the Home for +twelve months, although some remain for a shorter period. When the +cure is completed, if they are married, the patients return to their +husbands. The unmarried are sent out to positions as governesses, +nurses, or servants, that is, if the authorities of the Home are able +to give them satisfactory characters. + +As the reader who knows anything of such matters will be aware, it is +generally supposed to be rather more easy to pass a camel through the +eye of a needle than to reclaim a confirmed female drunkard. Yet, as I +have already said, the Salvation Army, on a three years' test in each +case, has shown that it deals successfully with about 50 per cent of +those women who come into its hands for treatment as inebriates or +drug-takers. How is this done? Largely, of course, by effecting +through religious means a change of heart and nature, as the Army +often seems to have the power to do, and by the exercise of gentle +personal influences. + +But there remains another aid which is physical. + +With the shrewdness that distinguishes them, the Officers of the Army +have discovered that the practice of vegetarianism is a wonderful +enemy to the practice of alcoholism. The vegetarian, it seems, +conceives a bodily distaste to spirituous liquors. If they can +persuade a patient to become a vegetarian, then the chances of her +cure are enormously increased. Therefore, in this and in the other +female Inebriate Homes no meat is served. The breakfast, which is +eaten at 7.30, consists of tea, brown and white bread and butter, +porridge and fresh milk, or stewed fruit. A sample dinner at one +o'clock includes macaroni cheese, greens, potatoes, fruit pudding or +plain boiled puddings with stewed figs. On one day a week, however, +baked or boiled fish is served with pease pudding, potatoes, and +boiled currant pudding, and on another, brown gravy is given with +onions in batter. Tea, which is served at six o'clock, consists--to +take a couple of samples--of tea, white and brown bread and butter, +and cheese sandwiches with salad; or of tea, white and brown bread and +butter, savoury rolls, and apples or oranges. + +It will be observed that this diet is as simple as it well can be; but +I think it right to add, after personal inspection, that the inmates +appear to thrive on it extremely well. Certainly all whom I saw looked +well nourished and healthy. + +A book is kept in the Home in which the details of each case are +carefully entered, together with its record for two years after +discharge. Here are the particulars of three cases taken by me at +hazard from this book which will serve to indicate the class of +patient that is treated at this Home. Of course, I omit the names:-- + + _A.B._ Aged thirty-one. Her mother, who was a drunkard and + gave A.B. drink in her childhood, died some time ago. A.B. + drove her father, who was in good circumstances, having a + large business, to madness by her inebriety. Indeed, he + tried to commit suicide by hanging himself, but, oddly + enough, it was A.B. who cut him down, and he was sent to an + asylum. A.B. had fallen very low since her mother's death; + but I do not give these details. All the members of her + family drank, except, strange to say, the father, who at the + date of my visit was in the asylum. A.B. had been in the + Home some time, and was giving every satisfaction. It was + hoped that she will be quite cured. + + _C.D._ Aged thirty. C.D.'s father, a farmer, was a moderate + drinker, her mother was a temperance woman. Her parents + discovered her craving for drink about ten years ago. She + was unable to keep any situation on account of this failing. + Four years ago C.D. was sent to an Inebriate Home for twelve + months, but no cure was effected. Afterwards she + disappeared, having been dismissed from her place, and was + found again for the mother by the Salvation Army. At the + time of my visit she had been six months in the Home, and + was doing well. + + _E.F._ Aged forty-eight; was the widow of a professional + man, whom she married as his second wife, and by whom she + had two children, one of whom survives. She began to drink + before her husband's death, and this tendency was increased + by family troubles that arose over his will. She mismanaged + his business and lost everything, drank heavily and + despaired. She tried to keep a boarding house, but her + furniture was seized and she came absolutely to the end of + her resources, her own daughter being sent away to her + relatives. E.F. was nine months in the Hillsborough Home, + and had gone as cook and housekeeper to a situation, where + she also was giving every satisfaction. + + + + +THE MATERNITY NURSING HOME + + + +LORNE HOUSE, STOKE NEWINGTON + +Her Royal Highness Princes Louise, the Duchess of Argyll, defrayed the +cost of the purchase of the leasehold of this charming Home. The +lady-Officer in charge informed me that the object of the +establishment is to take in women who have or are about to have +illegitimate children. It is not, however, a lying-in Home, the +mothers being sent to the Ivy House Hospital for their confinements. +After these are over they are kept for four or sometimes for six +months at Lorne House. At the expiration of this period situations are +found for most of them, and the babies are put out to nurse in the +houses of carefully selected women with whom the mothers can keep in +touch. These women are visited from time to time by Salvation Army +Officers who make sure that the infants are well treated in every way. + +All the cases in this Home are those of girls who have fallen into +trouble for the first time. They belong to a better class than do +those who are received in many of the Army Homes. The charge for their +maintenance is supposed to be £1 a week, but some pay only 5s., and +some nothing at all. As a matter of fact, out of the twelve cases +which the Home will hold, at the time of my visit half were making no +payment. If the Army averages a contribution of 7s. a week from them, +it thinks itself fortunate. + +I saw a number of the babies in cradles placed in an old greenhouse in +the garden to protect them from the rain that was falling at the time. +When it is at all fine they are kept as much as possible in the open +air, and the results seem to justify this treatment, for it would be +difficult to find healthier infants. + +Five or six of the inmates sleep together in a room; for those with +children a cot is provided beside each bed. I saw several of these +young women, who all seemed to be as happy and contented as was +possible under their somewhat depressing circumstances. + + + + +THE MATERNITY RECEIVING HOME + + + +BRENT HOUSE, HACKNEY + +This Home serves a somewhat similar purpose as that at Lorne House, +but the young women taken in here while awaiting their confinement are +not, as a rule, of so high a class. + +In the garden at the back of the house about forty girls were seated +in a kind of shelter which protected them from the rain, some of them +working and some talking together, while others remained apart +depressed and silent. Most of these young women were shortly expecting +to become mothers. Certain of them, however, already had their +infants, as there were seventeen babies in the Home who had been +crowded out of the Central Maternity Hospital. Among these were some +very sad cases, several of them being girls of gentle birth, taken in +here because they could pay nothing. One, I remember, was a foreign +young lady, whose sad history I will not relate. She was found running +about the streets of a seaport town in a half-crazed condition and +brought to this place by the Officers of the Salvation Army. + +In this house there is a room where ex-patients who are in service can +bring their infants upon their holidays. Two or three of these women +were here upon the occasion of my visit, and it was a pathetic sight +to see them dandling the babies from whom they had been separated and +giving them their food. + +It is the custom in this and other Salvation Army Maternity Homes to +set apart a night in every month for what is called a Social Evening. +On these occasions fifty or more of the former inmates will arrive +with their children, whom they have brought from the various places +where they are at nurse, and for a few hours enjoy their society, +after which they take them back to the nurses and return to their +work, whatever it may be. By means of this kindly arrangement these +poor mothers are enabled from time to time to see something of their +offspring, which, needless to say, is a boon they greatly prize. + + + + +THE MATERNITY HOSPITAL + + + +IVY HOUSE, HACKNEY + +This Hospital is one for the accommodation of young mothers on the +occasion of the birth of their illegitimate children. It is a humble +building, containing twenty-five beds, although I think a few more can +be arranged. That it serves its purpose well, until the large +Maternity Hospital of which I have already spoken can be built, is +shown by the fact that 286 babies (of whom only twenty-five were not +illegitimate) were born here in 1900 without the loss of a single +mother. Thirty babies died, however, which the lady-Officer in charge +thought rather a high proportion, but one accounted for by the fact +that during this particular year a large number of the births were +premature. In 1908, 270 children were born, of whom twelve died, six +of these being premature. + +The cases are drawn from London and other towns where the Salvation +Army is at work. Generally they, or their relatives and friends, or +perhaps the father of the child, apply to the Army to help them in +their trouble, thereby, no doubt, preventing many child-murders and +some suicides. The charge made by the Institution for these lying-in +cases is in proportion to the ability of the patient to pay. Many +contribute nothing at all. From those who do pay, the average sum +received is 10_s_. a week, in return for which they are furnished with +medical attendance, food, nursing, and all other things needful to +their state. + +I went over the Hospital, and saw these unfortunate mothers lying in +bed, each of them with her infant in a cot beside her. Although their +immediate trial was over, these poor girls looked very sad. + +'They know that their lives are spoiled,' said the lady in charge. + +Most of them were quite young, some being only fifteen, and the +majority under twenty. This, it was explained to me, is generally due +to the ignorance of the facts of life in which girls are kept by their +parents or others responsible for their training. Last year there was +a mother aged thirteen in this Hospital. + +One girl, who seemed particularly sad, had twins lying beside her. +Hoping to cheer her up, I remarked that they were beautiful babies, +whereon she hid her face beneath the bedclothes. + +'Don't talk about them,' said the Officer, drawing me away, 'that +child nearly cried her eyes out when she was told that there were two. +You see, it is hard enough for these poor mothers to keep one, but +when it comes to two--!' + +I asked whether the majority of these unfortunate young women really +tried to support their children. The answer was that most of them try +very hard indeed, and will use all their money for this purpose, even +stinting themselves of absolute necessaries. Few of them go wrong +again after their first slip, as they have learned their lesson. +Moreover, during their stay in hospital and afterwards, the Salvation +Army does its best to impress on them certain moral teachings, and +thus to make its work preventive as well as remedial. + +Places in service are found for a great number of these girls, +generally where only one servant is kept, so that they may not be +taunted by the others if these should find out their secret. This as a +rule, however, is confided to the mistress. The average wage they +receive is about £18 a year. As it costs them £13, or 5_s_. a week, to +support an infant (not allowing for its clothes), the struggle is very +hard unless the Army can discover the father, and make him contribute +towards the support of his child, either voluntarily or through a +bastardy order. + +I was informed that many of these fathers are supposed to be +gentlemen, but when it comes to this matter of payment, they show that +they have little title to that description. Of course, in the case of +men of humbler degree, money is even harder to recover. I may add, +that my own long experience as a magistrate goes to confirm this +statement. It is extraordinary to what meanness, subterfuge, and even +perjury, a man will sometimes resort, in order to avoid paying so +little as 1_s_. 6_d_. a week towards the keep of his own child. Often +the line of defence is a cruel attempt to blacken the character of the +mother, even when the accuser well knows that there is not the +slightest ground for the charge, and that he alone is responsible for +the woman's fall.[5] Also, if the case is proved, and the order made, +many such men will run away and hide themselves in another part of the +country to escape the fulfilment of their just obligations. + +In connexion with this Maternity Hospital, the Salvation Army has a +Training School for midwives and nurses, all of whom must pass the +Central Midwives Board examination before they are allowed to +practise. Some of the students, after qualifying, continue to work for +the Army in its Hospital Department, and others in the Slum +Department, while some go abroad in the service of other Societies. +The scale of fees for this four months' course in midwifery varies +according to circumstances. The Army asks the full charge of eighteen +guineas from those students who belong to, or propose to serve other +Societies. Those who intend to go abroad to work with medical +missionaries, have to pay fifteen guineas, and those who are members +of the Salvation Army, or who intend to serve the Army in this +Department, pay nothing, unless, at the conclusion of their course, +they decide to leave the Army's service. + +At the last examination, out of fourteen students sent up from this +Institution, thirteen passed the necessary test. + + + + +'THE NEST' + + + +CLAPTON + +When I began to write this book, I determined to set down all things +exactly as I saw or heard them. But, although somewhat hardened in +such matters by long experience of a very ugly world, I find that +there are limits to what can be told of such a place as 'The Nest' in +pages which are meant for perusal by the general public. The house +itself is charming, with a good garden adorned by beautiful trees. It +has every arrangement and comfort possible for the welfare of its +child inmates, including an open-air bedroom, cleverly contrived from +an old greenhouse for the use of those among them whose lungs are +weakly. + +But these inmates, these sixty-two children whose ages varied from +about four to about sixteen! What can I say of their histories? Only +in general language, that more than one half of them have been subject +to outrages too terrible to repeat, often enough at the hands of their +own fathers! If the reader wishes to learn more, he can apply +confidentially to Commissioner Cox, or to Mrs. Bramwell Booth. + +[Illustration: SOME OF THE CHILDREN AT 'THE NEST'.] + +Here, however, is a case that I can mention, as although it is +dreadful enough, it belongs to a different class. Seeing a child of +ten, whose name was Betty, playing about quite happily with the +others, I spoke to her, and afterwards asked for the particulars of +her story. They were brief. It appears that this poor little thing had +actually seen her father murder her mother. I am glad to be able to +add that to all appearance she has recovered from the shock of this +awful experience. + +Indeed, all these little girls, notwithstanding their hideous pasts, +seemed, so far as I could judge, to be extremely happy at their +childish games in the garden. Except that some were of stunted growth, +I noted nothing abnormal about any of them. I was told, however, by +the Officer in charge, that occasionally, when they grow older, +propensities originally induced in them through no fault of their own +will assert themselves. + +To lessen this danger, as in the case of the women inebriates, all +these children are brought up as vegetarians. Before me, as I write, +is the bill of fare for the week, which I tore off a notice board in +the house. The breakfast on three days, to take examples, consists of +porridge, with boiling milk and sugar, cocoa, brown and white bread +and butter. On the other mornings either stewed figs, prunes, or +marmalade are added. A sample dinner consists of lentil savoury, baked +potatoes, brown gravy and bread; boiled rice with milk and sugar. For +tea, bananas, apples, oranges, nuts, jam, brown and white bread and +butter and cocoa are supplied, but tea itself as a beverage is only +given on Sundays. A footnote to the bill of fare states that all +children over twelve years of age who wish for it, can have bread and +butter before going to bed. + +Certainly the inmates of 'The Nest,' if any judgment may be formed +from their personal appearance, afford a good argument to the +advocates of vegetarianism. + +It costs £13 a year to endow a bed in this Institution. Amongst +others, I saw one which was labelled 'The Band of Helpers' Bed. This +is maintained by girls who have passed through the Institution, and +are now earning their livelihood in the world, as I thought, a +touching and significant testimony. I should add that the children in +this Home are educated under the direction of a certificated +governess. + +My visit to this Refuge made a deep impression on my mind. No person +of sense and experience, remembering the nameless outrages to which +many of these poor children have been exposed, could witness their +present health and happiness without realizing the blessed nature of +this work. + + + + +THE TRAINING INSTITUTE FOR WOMEN SOCIAL WORKERS + + + +CLAPTON + +Colonel Lambert, the lady-Officer in charge of this Institution, +informed me that it can accommodate sixty young women. At the time of +my visit forty-seven pupils were being prepared for service in the +Women's Department of what is called 'Salvation Army Warfare.' These +Cadets come from all sources and in various ways. Most of them have +first been members of the Army and made application to be trained, +feeling themselves attracted to this particular branch of its work. + +The basis of their instruction is religious and theological. It +includes the study of the Bible, of the doctrine and discipline of the +Salvation Army and the rules and regulations governing the labours of +its Social Officers. In addition, these Cadets attend practical +classes where they learn needlework, the scientific cutting out of +garments, knitting, laundry work, first medical aid, nursing, and so +forth. The course at this Institution takes ten months to complete, +after which those Cadets who have passed the examinations are +appointed to various centres of the Army's Social activities. + +When these young women have passed out and enter on active Social work +they are allowed their board and lodging and a small salary to pay for +their clothing. This salary at the commencement of a worker's career +amounts to the magnificent sum of 4s. a week, if she 'lives in' (about +the pay of a country kitchen maid); out of which she is expected to +defray the cost of her uniform and other clothes, postage stamps, etc. +Ultimately, after many years of service, it may rise to as much as +10s. in the case of senior Officers, or, if the Officer finds her own +board and lodging, to a limit of £1 a week. + +Of these ladies who are trained in the Home few leave the Army. Should +they do so, however, I am informed that they can generally obtain from +other Organizations double or treble the pay which the Army is able to +afford. + +This Training Institution is a building admirably suited to the +purpose to which it is put. Originally it was a ladies' school, which +was purchased by the Salvation Army. The dining-room of the Cadets was +very well arranged and charmingly decorated with flowers, as was that +of the Officers beyond. There was also a Cadets' retiring-room, where +I saw some of them reading or otherwise amusing themselves on their +Saturday half-holiday. The Army would be glad to find and train more +of these self-sacrificing workers; but the conditions of the pay which +they can offer and the arduous nature of the lifelong service +involved, are such that those of a satisfactory class are not too +readily forthcoming. + +Attached to this Training Institution is a Home for girls of doubtful +or bad antecedents, which I also visited. This Rescue Home is linked +up with the Training School, so that the Cadets may have the +opportunity of acquiring a practical knowledge of the class of work +upon which they are to be engaged in after-life. Most of the girls in +the Rescue Home have passed through the Police-courts, and been handed +over to the care of the Army by magistrates. The object of the Army is +to reform them and instruct them in useful work which will enable them +to earn an honest living. + +Many of these girls have been in the habit of thieving from their +mistresses or others, generally in order to enable them to make +presents to their lovers. Indeed, it would seem that this mania for +making presents is a frequent cause of the fall of young persons with +a natural leaning to dishonesty and a desire to appear rich and +liberal. The Army succeeds in reclaiming a great number of them; but +the thieving instinct is one not easy to eradicate. + +All these girls seemed fairly happy. A great deal of knitting is done +by them, and I saw a room furnished with a number of knitting +machines, where work is turned out to the value of nearly £25 a week. +Also I was shown piles of women's and children's underclothing and +other articles, the produce of the girls' needles, which are sold to +help to defray the expenses of the Home. In the workroom on this +Saturday afternoon a number of the young women were engaged in mending +their own garments. After their period of probation many of these +girls are sent out to situations found for them by the Army. + + + + +THE WOMEN'S INDUSTRIAL HOME + + + +HACKNEY + +This Home is one of much the same class as that which I have just +described. It has accommodation for forty-eight girls, of whom over +1,000 have passed through the Institution, where they are generally +kept for a period of six months. Most of the young women in the Home +when I visited it had been thieves. One, who was twenty-seven years of +age, had stolen ever since she was twelve, and the lady in charge told +me that when she came to them everything she had on her, and almost +all the articles in her trunk were the property of former mistresses. + +In answer to my questions, Commissioner Cox informed me that the +result of their work in this Home was so satisfactory that they +scarcely liked to announce it. They computed, however, that taken on a +three years' test--for the subsequent career of each inmate is +followed for that period--90 per cent of the cases prove to be +permanent moral cures. This, when the previous history of these young +women is considered, may, I think, be accounted a great triumph. No +money contribution is asked or expected in this particular Home. +Indeed, it would not be forthcoming from the class of girls who are +sent or come here to be reformed, many of whom, on entering, are +destitute of underclothing and other necessaries, The needlework which +they do, however, is sold, and helps to pay for the upkeep of the +place. + +I asked what was done if any of them refused to work. The answer was +that this very rarely happened, as the women-Officers shared in their +labours, and the girls could not for shame's sake sit idle while their +Officers worked. I visited the room where this sewing was in progress, +and observed that Commissioner Cox, who conducted me, was received +with hearty, and to all appearance, spontaneous clapping of hands, +which seemed to indicate that these poor young women are happy and +contented. The hours of labour kept in the Home are those laid down in +the Factory Acts. + +While looking at the work produced by the inmates, I asked +Commissioner Cox if she had anything to say as to the charges of +sweating which are sometimes brought against the Army, and of +underselling in the markets. Her answer was:-- + +'We do not compete in the markets at all, as we do not make sufficient +articles, and never work for the trade or supply wholesale; we sell +the garments we make one by one by means of our pedlars. It is +necessary that we should do this in order to support our girls. Either +we must manufacture and sell the work, or they must starve.' + +Here we have the whole charge of sweating by the Army in a nutshell, +and the answer to it. + +In this Home a system has been devised for providing each girl with an +outfit when she leaves. It is managed by means of a kind of deferred +pay, which is increased if she keeps up to the standard of work +required. Thus, gradually, she earns her outfit, and leaves the place +with a box of good clothes. The first thing provided is a pair of +boots, then a suitable box, and lastly, the materials which they make +into clothes. + +This house, like all the others, I found to be extremely well +arranged, with properly-ventilated dormitories, and well suited to its +purposes. + + + + +THE INEBRIATES' HOME + + + +SPRINGFIELD LODGE, DENMARK HILL. + +This house, which has a fine garden attached, was a gentleman's +residence purchased by the Salvation Army, to serve as an Inebriates' +Home for the better class of patients. With the exception of a few who +give their services in connexion with the work of the place as a +return for their treatment, it is really a Home for gentlefolk. When I +visited it, some of the inmates, of whom there are usually from +twenty-five to thirty, were talented ladies who could speak several +languages, or paint, or play very well. All these came here to be +cured of the drink or drug habit. The fee for the course ranges from a +guinea to 10_s_. per week, according to the ability of the patient to +pay, but some who lack this ability pay nothing at all. + +The lady in charge remarked drily on this point, that many people +seemed to think that as the place belonged to the Salvation Army it +did not matter if they paid or not. As is the practice at Hillsborough +House, a vegetarian diet is insisted upon as a condition of +the patient receiving treatment at the Home. Often this is a cause of +much remonstrance, as the inmates, who are mostly persons in middle or +advanced life, think that it will kill them. The actual results, +however, are found to be most satisfactory, as the percentage of +successes is found to be 50 per cent, after a year in the Home and +three years' subsequent supervision. I was told that a while ago, Sir +Thomas Barlow, the well-known physician, challenged this statement. He +was asked to see for himself, he examined a number of the patients, +inspected the books and records, and finally satisfied himself that it +was absolutely correct. + +The Army attaches much importance to what may be called the after-care +of the cases, for the lack of which so many people who pass through +Homes and then return to ordinary life, break down, and become, +perhaps, worse than they were before. The seven devils of Scripture +are always ready to re-occupy the swept and garnished soul, especially +if they be the devils of drink. + +Moreover, the experience of the Army is that relatives and friends are +extraordinarily thoughtless in this matter. Often enough they will, as +it were, thrust spirituous liquors down the throat of the +newly-reformed drunkard, or at the least will pass them before their +eyes and drink them in their presence as usual, with results that may +be imagined. One taste and in four cases out of six the thing is done. +The old longings awake again and must be satisfied. + +For these reasons the highly-skilled Officers of the Salvation Army +hold that reclaimed inebriates should be safeguarded, watched, and, so +far as the circumstances may allow, kept under the influences that +have brought about their partial recovery. They say that they owe much +of their remarkable success in those cases to a strict observance of +such preventive methods for a period of three years. After that time +patients must stand upon their own feet. These remarks apply also to +the victims of the drug habit, who are even more difficult to deal +with than common drunkards. + +At this Home I had a conversation with a fine young woman, an +ex-hospital nurse, who gave me a very interesting account of her +experiences of laudanum drinking. She said that in an illness she had +gone through while she was a nurse a doctor dosed her with laudanum to +deaden her pain and induce sleep. The upshot was that she could not +sleep without the help of laudanum or other opiates, and thus the +fatal habit was formed. She described the effects of the drug upon +her, which appeared to be temporary exhilaration and freedom from all +care, coupled with sensations of great vigour. She spoke also of +delightful visions; but when I asked her to describe the visions, she +went back upon that statement, perhaps because their nature was such +as she did not care to set out. She added, however, that the sleep +which followed was haunted by terrible dreams. + +Another effect of the habit, according to this lady, is forgetfulness, +which showed itself in all kinds of mistakes, and in the loss of power +of accurate expression, which caused her to say things she did not +mean and could not remember when she had said them. She told me that +the process of weaning herself from the drug was extremely painful and +difficult; but that she now slept well and desired it no more. + +To be plain, I was not satisfied with the truth of this last +statement, for there was a strange look in her eyes which suggested +that she still desired it very much; also she seemed to me to +prevaricate upon certain points. Further, those in charge of her +allowed that this diagnosis was probably correct, especially as she is +now in the Home for the second time, although her first visit there +was a very short one. Still they thought that she would be cured in +the end. Let us hope that they were right. + +The Army has also another Home in this neighbourhood, run on similar +lines, for the treatment of middle-class and poor people. + + + + +THE WOMEN'S INDUSTRIAL HOME + + + +SOUTHWOOD, SYDENHAM HILL + +This is another of the Salvation Army Homes for Women. When I visited +Southwood, which is an extremely good house, having been a gentleman's +residence, with a garden and commanding a beautiful view, there were +about forty inmates, some of whom were persons of gentle birth. For +such ladies single sleeping places are provided, with special dining +and sitting-rooms. These are supposed to pay a guinea a week for their +board and accommodation, though I gathered that this sum was not +always forthcoming. The majority of the other inmates, most of whom +have gone astray in one way or another, pay nothing. + +A good many of the cases here are what are called preventive; that is +to say, that their parents or guardians being able to do nothing with +them, and fearing lest they should come to ruin, send them to this +place as a last resource, hoping that they may be cured of their evil +tendencies. + +Thus one girl whom I think I saw, could not be prevented from gadding +on the streets, and therefore had been placed here. Another young +woman was a schoolmistress who would not get out of bed and refused to +work. When she came to the Home she was very insolent and +bad-tempered, and would do nothing. Now, I was informed, she rises +with the lark, at 6.30 indeed, and works like a Trojan. I could not +help wondering whether these excellent habits would survive her +departure from the Home. Another lady, who had been sentenced for +thefts, was the daughter of a minister. She horrified the Officers by +regretting that she had gone to jail for so little, when others who +had taken and enjoyed large sums received practically the same +sentence. She was reported to be doing well. + +Another, also a lady, was the victim of an infatuation which caused +her to possess herself of money to send to some man who had followed +her about from the time she was in a boarding school. Another was a +foreigner, who had been sent to an American doctor in the East to be +trained as a nurse. This poor girl underwent an awful experience, and +was in the care of the Salvation Army recovering from shock; but, of +course, hers is a different class of case from those which I have +mentioned above. Another was an English girl who had been turned out +of Canada because of her bad behaviour with men. And so on. + +It only remains to say that most of these people appeared to be doing +well, while many of those in the humbler classes of life were being +taught to earn their own living in the laundry that is attached to the +Institution. + + + + +THE WOMEN'S SHELTER + + + +WHITECHAPEL + +This is a place where women, most of them old, so far as my +observation went, are taken in to sleep at a charge of 3_d._ a night. +It used to be 2_d_. until the London County Council made the provision +of sheets, etc., compulsory, when the Army was obliged to raise the +payment. This Shelter, which is almost always so full that people have +to be turned away, holds 261 women. It contains a separate room, where +children are admitted with their mothers, half price, namely +1-1/2_d._, being charged per child. There is a kitchen attached where +the inmates can buy a large mug of tea for a 1/2_d._, and a huge chunk +of bread for a second 1/2_d._; also, if I remember right, other +articles of food, if they can afford such luxuries. + +The great dormitory in this Shelter, it may be mentioned, was once a +swimming-bath. Some of the women who come to this place have slept in +it almost every night for eighteen or twenty years. Others make use of +it for a few months, and then vanish for a period, especially in the +summer, when they go hop or strawberry picking, and return in the +winter. Every day, however, fresh people appear, possibly to depart on +the morrow and be seen no more. + +I asked whether the aged folk had not been benefited by the Old Age +Pensions Act. The lady Officer in charge replied that it had been a +blessing to some of them. One old woman, however, would not apply for +her pension, although she was urged to take a room for herself +somewhere. She said that she was afraid if she did so, she might be +turned out and be lonely. + +I visited this Shelter in the late afternoon, before it was filled up. +A number of dilapidated and antique females were sitting about in the +rooms, talking or sewing. One old lady was doing crochet work. She +told me that she made her living by it, and by flower-selling. Another +informed me that it was years since she had slept anywhere else, and +that she did not know what poor women like her would do without this +place. Another was cooking the broth. Her husband was a sea captain, +and when he died, her father had allowed her _£1_ a week until he +died. Afterwards she took to drink, and drifted here, where, I was +informed, she is doing well. And so on, and so on, _ad infinitum_. The +Hanbury Street Women's Shelter is not a cheerful spot to visit on a +dull and rainy evening. + + + + +THE SLUM SETTLEMENT + + + +HACKNEY ROAD + +Slum work is an important branch of the Social labours of the +Salvation Army, Thus last year the Slum Sisters visited over 105,000 +families, over 20,000 sick, and over 32,000 public-houses, in which +work they spent more than 90,000 hours of time. Also they attended 482 +births, and paid nearly 9,000 visits in connexion with them. + +There are nine Slum Settlements and Posts in London, and nineteen +others in England, Scotland, and Ireland. The old system used to be +for the Sisters and Nurses to live among the lowest class of the poor, +lodging in the actual tenements in which their work was carried out. +This, however, was abandoned as far as possible, because it was found +that after the arduous toil of the day these ladies could get little +rest at night, owing to the noise that went on about them, a +circumstance that caused their health to suffer and made them +inefficient. Now out of the 117 Officers engaged in Slum work in Great +Britain, about one-half who labour in London live in five houses set +apart for them in different quarters of the city; fifteen Officers +being the usual complement to each house. + +The particular dwelling of which I write is a good specimen of them +all, and from it the Sisters and Nurses who live there work +Shoreditch, Bethnal Green, Whitechapel, and the Hoxton and Hackney +Road districts. It is decently furnished and a comfortable place in +its way, although, of course, it stands in a poor neighbourhood. I +remember that there was even the finishing touch of a canary in the +window. I should add that no cases are attended in the house itself, +which is purely a residence. + +To this particular Settlement two qualified midwives and a nurse are +attached. While I was there one of the midwives came in, very tired, +at about half-past eleven in the morning. Since three o'clock on that +same morning she had attended three confinements, so no wonder she was +tired. She said that one of her cases was utterly unprovided with +anything needful as the father was out of work, although on the +occasion of a previous confinement they had all they wanted. Now they +lived in a little room in which there was not space 'to swing a cat,' +and were without a single bite of food or bit of clothing, so that the +baby when it came had to be wrapped up in an old shawl and the woman +sent to the Infirmary. The Sister in charge informed me that if they +had them they could find employment for twice their strength of nurses +without overlapping the work of any other charity. + +The people with whom they deal are for the most part those who have a +rooted objection to infirmaries, although the hospitals are much more +used than was formerly the case. The system of the Army is to make a +charge of 6_s_. 6_d_. for attending a confinement, which, if paid, is +generally collected in instalments of 3_d_. or 6_d_. a week. Often, +however, it is not paid, and the charge remains a mere formality. She +added that many of these poor people are most improvident, and make no +provision whatsoever for these events, even if they can afford to do +so. The result is that the Army has to lend them baby garments and +other things. + +The Sister said in answer to my questions that there was a great deal +of poverty in their district where many men were out of work, a number +of them because they could find nothing to do. She thought that things +were certainly no better in this respect; indeed, the state of +depression was chronic. Owing to the bad summer of 1909, which +affected the hop-picking and other businesses, the destitution that +year was as great during the warm months as it usually is in the +winter. + +The poor of this district, she said, 'generally live upon fried fish +and chips. You know they cannot cook, anyway they don't, and what they +do cook is all done in the frying-pan, which is also a very convenient +article to pawn. They don't understand economy, for when they have a +bit of money they will buy in food and have a big feast, not thinking +of the days when there will be little or nothing. Then, again, they +buy their goods in small portions; for instance, their coal by the +ha'p'orth or their wood by the farthing's-worth, which, in fact, works +out at a great profit to the dealers. Or they buy a farthing's-worth +of tea, which is boiled up again and again till it is awful-looking +stuff.' + +I asked her what she considered to be the main underlying cause of +this misery. She answered that she thought it was due 'to the people +flocking from the country to the city,' thereby confirming an opinion +that I have long held and advanced. She added that the overcrowding in +the district was terrible, the regulations of the Public Health +Authorities designed to check it being 'a dead letter.' In one case +with which she had to do, a father, mother, and nine children lived in +a room that measured 9 ft. by 9 ft., and the baby came into the world +with the children looking on! + +The general weekly rent for a room containing a family is 5_s_., or if +it is furnished, 7_s_. 6_d_. The Sister described to me the furniture +of one for the use of which this extra half-crown is charged. It +consisted of a rickety bed, two chairs, one without a back and one +without a seat, and a little shaky table. The floor was bare, and she +estimated the total value of these articles at about their weekly rent +of 2_s_. 6_d_., if, indeed, they were worth carrying away. In this +chamber dwelt a coachman who was out of place, his wife, and three or +four children, I wonder what arrangement these poor folk make as to +the use of the one chair that has a bottom. To occupy the other must +be an empty honour. With reference to this man the Sister remarked +that as a result of the introduction of motor vehicles, busmen, +cabmen, and blacksmiths were joining the ranks of her melancholy +clientele in numbers. + +This and some similar stories caused me to reflect on the remarkable +contrast between rents in the country and in town. For instance, I own +about a dozen cottages in this village in which I write, and the +highest rent that I receive is 2_s_. 5_d_. a week. This is paid for a +large double dwelling, on which I had to spend over £100 quite +recently to convert two cottages into one. Also, there is a large +double garden thrown in, so large that a man can scarcely manage it in +his spare time, a pigsty, fruit trees, etc. All this for 1_d_. a week +less than is charged for the two broken chairs, the rickety bed, and +the shaky table! Again, for £10 a year, I let a comfortable farmhouse; +that is, £3 a year less than the out-of-work coachman pays for his +single room without the furniture. And yet, as the Sister said, people +continue to rush from the country to the towns! + +Nor, it seems, do they always make the best of things when they get +there. Thus the Sister mentioned that the education which the girls +receive in the schools causes them to desire a more exalted lot in +life than that of a servant. So they try to find places in shops, or +jam factories, etc. Some get them, but many fail; and of those who +fail, a large proportion go to swell the mass of the unemployed, or to +recruit the ranks of an undesirable profession. She went so far as to +say that most of the domestic servants in London are not Cockneys at +all, but come from the country; adding, that the sad part of it was +that thousands of these poor girls, after proper training, could find +comfortable and remunerative employment without displacing others, as +the demand for domestic servants is much greater than the supply. +These are cold facts which seem to suggest that our system of free +education is capable of improvement. + +It appears that all this district is a great centre of what is known +as 'sweating.' Thus artificial flowers, of which I was shown a fine +specimen, a marguerite, are made at a price of 1_s_. per gross, the +workers supplying their own glue. An expert hand, beginning at eight +in the morning and continuing till ten at night, can produce a gross +and a half of these flowers, and thus net 1_s_. 6_d_., minus the cost +of the glue, scissors, and sundries. The Officers of the Army find it +extremely difficult to talk to these poor people, who are invariably +too busy to listen. Therefore, some of them have learnt how to make +artificial flowers themselves, so that when they call they can join in +the family manufacture, and, while doing so, carry on their +conversation. + +For the making of match-boxes and the sticking on of the labels the +pay is 2-1/2_d_. per gross. Few of us, I think, would care to +manufacture 144 matchboxes for 2-1/2_d_. I learned that it is not +unusual to find little children of four years of age helping their +mothers to make these boxes. + +The Slum Sisters attached to the Settlement, who are distinct from the +Maternity Nurses, visit the very poorest and worst neighbourhoods, for +the purpose of helping the sick and afflicted, and incidentally of +cleaning their homes. Also, they find out persons who are about +sixty-nine years of age, and contribute to their maintenance, so as to +save them from being forced to receive poor-law relief, which would +prevent them from obtaining their old-age pensions when they come to +seventy. + +Here is an illustration of the sort of case with which these Slum +Sisters have to deal; perhaps, I should say, the easiest sort of case. +An old man and his wife whom they visited, lived in a clean room. The +old woman fell sick, and before she died the Slum Sisters gave her a +bath, which, as these poor people much object to washing, caused all +the neighbours to say that they had killed her. After his wife's +death, the husband, who earned his living by selling laces on London +Bridge, went down in the world, and his room became filthy. The Slum +Sisters told him that they would clean up the place, but he forbade +them to touch the bed, which, he said, was full of mice and beetles. +As he knew that women dread mice and beetles, he thought that this +statement would frighten them. When he was out selling his laces, they +descended upon his room, where the first thing that they did was to +remove the said bed into the yard and burn it, replacing it with +another. On his return, the old man exclaimed: 'Oh, my darlings, +whatever _have_ you been doing?' + +They still clean this room once a week. + +The general impression left upon my mind, after visiting this place at +Hackney Road and conversing with its guardian angels, is, that in some +of its aspects, if not in all, civilization is a failure. Probably +thoughtful people made the same remark in ancient Rome, and in every +other city since cities were. The truth is, that so soon as its +children desert the land which bore them for the towns, these horrors +follow as surely as the night follows the day. + + + + +THE PICCADILLY MIDNIGHT WORK + + + +GREAT TICHFIELD STREET + +I visited this place a little before twelve o'clock on a summer night. +It is a small flat near Oxford Street, in which live two +women-Officers of the Army, who are engaged in the work of reclaiming +prostitutes. I may mention that for the last fourteen years the Major +in charge, night by night, has tramped the streets with this object. +The Titchfield Street flat is not in any sense a Home, but I saw a +small room in it, with two beds, where cases who may be rescued from +the streets, or come here in a time of trouble, can sleep until +arrangements are made for them to proceed to one of the Rescue +Institutions of the Army. + +This work is one of the most difficult and comparatively unproductive +of any that the Army undertakes. The careers of these unfortunate +street women, who are nearly all of them very fine specimens of female +humanity, for the most part follow a rocket-like curve. The majority +of them begin by getting into trouble, at the end of which, perhaps, +they find themselves with a child upon their hands. Or they may have +been turned out of their homes, or some sudden misfortune may have +reduced them to destitution. At any rate, the result is that they take +to a loose life, and mayhap, after living under the protection of one +or two men, find themselves upon the streets. Sometimes, it may be +said to their credit, if that word can be used in this connexion, they +adopt this mode of life in order to support their child or children. + +The Major informed me that if they are handsome they generally begin +with a period of great prosperity. One whom she knew earned about £30 +a week, and a good many of them make as much as £1,000 a year, and pay +perhaps £6 weekly in rent. + +A certain proportion of them are careful, open a bank account, save +money, retire, and get married. Generally, these keep their bank-books +in their stockings, which, in their peculiar mode of life, they find +to be the safest place, as they are very suspicious of each other, and +much afraid of being robbed. The majority of them, however, are not so +provident. They live in and for the moment, and spend their ill-gotten +gains as fast as they receive them. + +Gradually they drift downwards. They begin in Piccadilly, and +progress, or rather retrogress, through Leicester Square on to +Tottenham Court Road and Oxford Street, and thence to the Euston Road, +ending their sad careers in Bishopsgate and Whitechapel. The Major +informed me that there are but very few in the Piccadilly +neighbourhood whom she knew when she took up this work, and that, as a +rule, they cannot stand the life for long. The irregular hours, the +exposure, the excitement, and above all the drink in which most of +them indulge, kill them out or send them to a poorhouse or the +hospital. + +She said, however, that as a class they have many virtues. For +instance, they are very kind-hearted, and will always help each other +in trouble. Also, most of them have affection for their children, +being careful to keep them, if possible, from any knowledge of their +mode of life. Further, they are charitable to the poor, and, in a way, +religious; or, perhaps, superstitious would be a better term. Thus, +they often go to church on Sundays, and do not follow their avocation +on Sunday nights. On New Year's Eve, their practice is to attend the +Watch Night services, where, doubtless, poor people, they make those +good resolutions that form the proverbial pavement of the road to +Hell. Nearly all of them drink more or less, as they say that they +could not live their life without stimulant. Moreover, their +profession necessitates their walking some miles every night. + +For the most part these women lodge in pairs in their own flats, where +they pay about 35_s_. a week for three unfurnished rooms. The Officer +told me that often some despicable man, who is called a 'bully,' lives +on them, following them round the streets, and watching them. Even the +smartest girls are not infrequently the victims of such a man, who +knocks them about and takes money from them. Occasionally he may be a +husband or a relative. She added that as a class they are much better +behaved and less noisy than they used to be. This improvement, +however, is largely due to the increased strictness of the police. +These women do not decrease in number. In the Major's opinion, there +are as many or more of them on the streets as there were fourteen +years ago, although the brothels and the procuresses are less +numerous, and their quarters have shifted from Piccadilly to other +neighbourhoods. + +The Army methods of dealing, or rather of attempting to deal with this +utterly insoluble problem are simple enough. The Officers walk the +streets every night from about twelve to two and distribute cards in +three languages according to the nationality of the girl to whom these +are offered. Here they are in English, French, and German:-- + + Mrs. Booth will gladly help any Girl + or Woman in need of a friend. + _APPLY AT_ + 79 Great Titchfield Street, + or 259 Mare Street, Hackney, N.E. + +[Illustration: BONNES NOUVELLS.] + + Vous avez une amie + qui est disposée à + vous aider. + + (S addresser) + Madame Booth + 79 Great Titchfield Street, + Oxford Street, + Londres, W. + + MADAM BOOTH will herzlich gerne Jedem + Mädchen oder Jeder Frau helfen, die sich + in Noth auf eine Freundin befinden. + + 259 Mare Street, Hackney, + 70 Great Titchfield Street, W. + +Most of the girls to whom they are offered will not take them, but a +good number do and, occasionally, the seed thus sown bears fruit. Thus +the woman who takes the card may come to Great Titchfield Street and +be rescued in due course. More frequently, however, she will give a +false address, or make an appointment which she does not keep, or will +say that it is too late for her to change her life. But this fact does +not always prevent such a woman from trying to help others by sending +young girls who have recently taken to the trade to the Titchfield +Street Refuge in the hope that they may be induced to abandon their +evil courses. + +Occasionally the Army has midnight suppers in its Regent Hall for +these women, who attend in large numbers, perhaps out of curiosity. At +the last supper nearly 300 'swell girls' were present and listened to +the prayers and the exhortations to amend their lives. Sometimes, too, +the Officers attend them when they are sick or dying. Once they buried +one of the women, who died whilst under their care, holding a midnight +funeral over her at their hall in Oxford Street. + +It was attended by hundreds of the sisterhood, and the Major described +the scene as terrible. The women were seized with hysterics, and burst +into shrieks and sobs. They even tried to open the coffin in order to +kiss the dead girl who lay within. + +Amongst many other cases, I was informed of a black girl called +Diamond, so named because she wore real diamonds on her dresses, which +dresses cost over £100 apiece. The Army tried to help her in vain, and +wrote her many letters. In the end she died in an Infirmary, when all +the letters were found carefully hidden away among her belongings and +returned to the Major. + +The average number of rescues compassed, directly or indirectly, by +the Piccadilly Midnight work is about fifty a year. This is not a very +great result; but after all the taking of even a few people from this +hellish life and their restoration to decency and self-respect is well +worth the cost and labour of the mission. The Officers told me that +they meet with but little success in the case of those women who are +in their bloom and earning great incomes. It can scarcely be +otherwise, for what has the Army to offer them in place of their +gaudy, glittering life of luxury and excitement? + +The way of transgressors is hard, but the way of repentance is harder; +at any rate, while the transgressor is doing well. On the one hand +jewels and champagne, furs and motors, and on the other prayers that +talk of death and judgment, plain garments made by the wearer's +labour, and at the end the drudgery of earning an honest livelihood, +perhaps as a servant. Human nature being what it is, it seems scarcely +wonderful that these children of pleasure cling to the path of 'roses' +and turn from that of 'thorns.' + +With those that are growing old and find themselves broken in body and +in spirit, who are thrust aside in the fierce competition of their +trade in favour of younger rivals; those who find the wine in their +tinsel cup turning, or turned, to gall, the case is different. They +are sometimes, not always, glad to creep to such shelter from the +storms of life as the Army can offer, and there work out their moral +and physical salvation. For what bitterness is there like to that +which must be endured by the poor, broken woman of the streets, as +scorned, spat on, thrust aside, she sinks from depth to depth into the +last depth of all, striving to drown her miseries with drugs or drink, +if so she may win forgetfulness even for an hour? + +Sometimes, too, these patient toilers in the deep of midnight sin +succeed in dragging from the brink those that have but dipped their +feet in its dark waters. _Nemo repente fuit turpissimus_--no one +becomes altogether filthy in an hour--runs the old Roman saying, which +is as true to-day as it was 2,000 years ago, and whether it be spoken +of body or of soul, it is easier to wash the feet than the whole +being. When they understand what lies before them certain of the young +shrink back and grasp Mercy's outstretched arms. + +One night about twelve o'clock, together with Lieut.-Colonel Jolliffe, +an Officer of the Army who was dressed in plain clothes, I accompanied +the Major and the lady who is her colleague, to Leicester Square and +its neighbourhood, and there watched their methods of work, following +them at a little distance. Dressed in their uniform they mingled with +the women who marched the pavements, and now and again, with curiously +swift and decisive steps glided up to one of them, whispered a few +earnest words into her ear, and proffered a printed ticket. Most of +those spoken to walked on stonily as people do when they meet an +undesirable acquaintance whom they do not wish to recognize. Some +thrust past them rudely; some hesitated and with a hard laugh went +their way; but a few took the tickets and hid them among their laces. + +So far as the work was concerned that was all there was to see. +Nothing dramatic happened; no girl fled to them imploring help or +asking to be saved from the persecutions of a man; no girl even +insulted them--for these Officers to be insulted is a thing unknown. +All I saw was the sowing of the seed in very stony ground, where not +one kern out of a thousand is like to germinate and much less to grow. +Yet as experience proves, occasionally it does both germinate and +grow, yes, and bloom and come to the harvest of repentance and +redemption. It is for this that these unwearying labourers scatter +their grain from night to night, that at length they may garner into +their bosoms a scanty but a priceless harvest. + +It was a strange scene. The air was hot and heavy, the sky was filled +with black and lowering clouds already laced with lightnings. The +music-halls and restaurants had given out their crowds, the midnight +mart was open. Everywhere were women, all finely dressed, most of them +painted, as could be seen in the glare of the electric lights, some of +them more or less excited with drink, but none turbulent or noisy. +Mixed up with these were the bargainers, men of every degree, the most +of them with faces unpleasant to consider. + +Some had made their pact and were departing. I noticed one young girl +whose looks would have drawn attention anywhere, whispering an address +from beneath an enormous feathered hat to the driver of a taxicab, +while her companion, a pleasant-looking, fresh-coloured boy, for he +was scarcely more, entered the vehicle, a self-satisfied air upon his +face. She sprang in also, and the cab with its occupants glided away +out of my ken for ever. + +Here and there stalwart, quiet policemen requested loiterers to move +on, and the loiterers obeyed and re-formed in groups behind them; here +and there a respectable woman pushed her way through the throng, +gathering up her skirts as she did so and glancing covertly at this +unaccustomed company out of the corners of her eyes. + +While watching all these sights we lost touch of the Salvation Army +ladies, who wormed their way through the crowd as easily and quickly +as a snake does through undergrowth, and set out to find them. Big +drops began to fall, the thunder growled, and in a moment the +concourse commenced to melt. Five minutes later the rain was falling +fast and the streets had emptied. That night's market was at an end. + +No farmer watches the weather more anxiously than do these painted +women in their muslins and gold-laced shoes. + +Meanwhile, their night's work done, the Salvation Army ladies were +tramping through the wet back to Titchfield Street, for they do not +spend money on cabs, and the buses had ceased to run. + + + + +THE ANTI-SUICIDE BUREAU + + + +This is a branch of the Army's work with which I have been more or +less acquainted for some years. + +The idea of an Anti-Suicide Bureau arose in the Army four or five +years ago; but every one seems to have forgotten with whom it actually +originated. I suppose that it grew, like Topsy, or was discovered +simultaneously by several Officers, like a new planet by different +astronomers studying the heavens in faith and hope. At any rate, the +results of the idea are remarkable. Thus in London alone 1,064 cases +were dealt with in the year 1909, and of those cases it is estimated +that all but about a dozen were turned from their fatal purpose. Let +us halve these figures, and say that 500 lives were actually saved, +that 500 men live to-day in and about London who otherwise would be +dead by their own hands and buried in dishonoured graves. Or let us +even quarter them, and surely this remains a wonderful work, +especially when we remember that London is by no means the only place +in which it is being carried on. + +How is it done? the reader may ask. I answer by knowledge of human +nature, by the power of sympathy, by gentle kindness. A poor wretch +staggers into a humble little room at the Salvation Army Headquarters +in Queen Victoria Street. He unfolds an incoherent tale. He is an +unpleasant and disturbing person whom any lawyer or business man would +get rid of as soon as possible. He vapours about self-destruction, he +hints at dark troubles with his wife. He produces drugs or weapons--a +point at which most people would certainly show him out. But the +Officers in charge do nothing of the sort. They laugh at him or give +him a cup of tea. They bid him brace himself together, and tell them +the truth and nothing but the truth. Then out pours the awful tale, +which, however bad it may be, they listen to quite unmoved though not +unconcerned, for they hear such every day. When it is finished, they +ask coolly enough why, in the name of all that their visitor +reverences or holds dear, he considers it necessary to commit suicide +for a trifling job like that. A new light dawns upon the desperate +man. He answers, because he can see no other way out. + +Why, exclaims the Officer, there are a dozen ways out. Let us find one +of them. You, A., have been faithless to your wife. Well, when the +matter is explained to her, I daresay she will forgive you. You, B., +have defrauded your employer. Well, employers are not always +relentless. I'll call on him this evening and talk the matter over. +You, C., are hopelessly in debt through horse-racing or speculation. +Well, at the worst you can go through the Court and start afresh. You, +D., have committed a crime. Go and own up to it like a man, stand your +trial, and work out your sentence. I daresay it won't be so very heavy +if you take that course, and we will look after you when it is over. +You, E., have been brought into this state through your miserable +vices, drink, or whatever they may be. Cure yourself of the +vices--we'll show you how--don't crown them by cutting your throat +like a cur. You, F., have been afflicted with great sorrows. Well, +those sorrows have some purpose and some meaning. There's always a +dawn beyond the night; wait for that dawn; it will come here or +hereafter. + +And so on, and on, through all the gamut of human sin and misery. + +Of course, there are cases in which the Army fails. As I have said, +there were about a dozen of these last year, six of which, if I +remember right, occurred with startling rapidity one after the other. +The Suicide Officers of the Army always take up the daily paper with +fear and trembling, and not infrequently find that the man whom they +thought they had consoled and set upon a different path, has been +discovered dead by drowning in the river, or by poison in the streets, +or by whatever it may be. But everything has its proportion of +failures, and where intending suicides are concerned 1 or 2 per cent, +or on the quarter basis that I have adopted as beyond question of +sincerity of intent, 4 or 8 per cent is not a large average. Indeed, +20 per cent would not be large, or even 50 per cent. But these figures +do not occur. + +Of course, it is suggested that many of those who drift into the +Anti-Suicide Bureau have no real intention of making away with +themselves, but that they come there only to see what they can get in +the way of money or other comfort. As regards money, the answer is +that, except very occasionally, the Army gives none, for the simple +reason that it has none to give. For the rest the fatal cases which +happen show that there is a grim purpose at work in the minds of many +of the applicants. But I repeat, let us halve the figures, let us even +quarter them, which, as Euclid remarked, is absurd, and even then what +are we to conclude? + +Before proceeding with my comments upon this work I ought to state, +perhaps, that the Army has various branches of this Anti-Suicide +Crusade. Thus, it is at work in almost all our big cities, and also in +America, in Australia, and in Japan. The Japanese Bureau was opened +last year with very good results. This is the more remarkable in a +country where ancient tradition and immemorial custom hallow the +system of _hara-kiri_ in any case of trouble or disgrace. + +Moreover, the idea is spreading, Count Tolstoy is said to have been +interested in it. Applications have been received from the Hague for +particulars of the Army methods in the matter. Similar work is being +carried out in Vienna, not by the Army, but on its lines. The Army has +been informed that if it will open an Anti-Suicide Bureau in Budapest, +office accommodation, etc., will be found for it. And so forth. + +Colonel Unsworth who, until recently had charge of the Anti-Suicide +Bureau from its commencement, is of opinion that suicide is very much +on the increase, a statement that it would be difficult to dispute in +view of the number of cases recorded daily in the local Press. For +instance, I read one on this morning of writing, in a Norfolk paper, +where a farmer had blown out his brains, to all appearance because he +had a difference of opinion with his wife as to whether he should, or +should not, take on another farm. + +Colonel Unsworth attributed this sad state of affairs to sundry +causes. The first of these was the intense and ever-increasing nervous +pressure of our time. The second, the spread of fatalism, The third, +the advance of materialistic ideas, and of the general disbelief in +the doctrine of future retribution. The fourth, a certain noticeable +return in such matters to the standard of Pagan nations, especially of +ancient Rome, where it was held that if things went wrong and life +became valueless, or even uninteresting, to bring it to an end was in +no sense shameful but praiseworthy. In illustration of this point, he +quoted a remark said to have been made by a magistrate not long ago, +to the effect that in certain conditions a man was not to be blamed +for taking his own life. + +His fifth reason was that circumstances arise in which some people +convince themselves that their deaths would benefit their families. +Thus, insurances may fall in, for, after one or two premiums have been +paid, many offices take the risk of suicide. Or they may know that +when they are gone, wealthy relatives will take care of their +children, who will thus be happier and better off than these are while +they, the fathers, live. Wrong as it may be, this, indeed, is an +attitude with which it is difficult not to feel a certain sympathy. +After all, we are told that there is no greater love than that of a +man who lays down his life for his friend, though there ran be no +doubt that the saying was not intended to include this kind of laying +down of life. + +Colonel Unsworth's sixth cause was the increasing atrophy of the +public conscience. He stated that suicide is rarely preached against +from the pulpit, as drunkenness is for instance. Further, a jury can +seldom be induced to bring in a verdict of _felo-de-se._ Even where +the victim was obviously and, perhaps painfully sane, his act is put +down to temporary insanity. + +Other causes are drink, hereditary disposition, madness in all its +protean shapes; incurable disease, unwillingness to face the +consequences of sin or folly; the passion of sexual love, which is +sometimes so mighty as to amount to madness; the effects of utter +grief such as result from the loss of those far more beloved than +self, of which an instance is at hand in the case of the Officer in +charge of the Shelter at Great Peter Street, Westminster, mentioned +earlier in this book, who, it may be remembered, tried to kill himself +after the death of his wife and child; and lastly, where women are +concerned, terror and shame at the prospect of giving birth to a +child, whose appearance in the world is not sanctioned by law or +custom. + +Suicide among women is, however, comparatively rare, a fact which +suggests either that the causes which produce it press on or affect +them less, or that in this particular, their minds are better balanced +than are those of men. I was told, at any rate, that but few women +apply to the Suicide Bureau of the Army for help in this temptation; +though, perhaps, that may be due to the greater secretiveness of the +sex. + +Speaking generally, this magnitude of the evil to be attacked may be +gauged from the fact that about 3,800 people die by their own hands in +England and Wales every year, a somewhat appalling total. + +Intending suicides come into the hands of the Army Bureau in various +ways. Some of them see notices in the Press descriptive of this branch +of the Social Work. Some of them are found by policemen in desperate +circumstances and brought to the Bureau, and some are sent there from +different localities by Salvation Army Officers. + +I have looked through the records of numbers of these cases, but, for +obvious reasons, it is difficult to give a full and accurate +description of any of them. The reader, therefore, must be content to +accept my assurance of their genuine nature. One or two, however, may +be alluded to with becoming vagueness. Here is an example of a not +infrequent kind, when a person arrives at the office having already +attempted the deed. + +A business man who had recently made a study of agnostic literature, +had become involved in certain complications, which resulted in a +quarrel with his wife. His means not being sufficient to the support +of a double establishment, he took the train to London with a bottle +of sulphonal in his pocket (not a drug to be recommended for his +purpose) and swallowed tabloids all the way to town. When he had taken +seventy-five grains, and the bottle, as I saw, was two-thirds empty, +he found that the drug worked in a way he did not expect. Instead of +killing him, it awoke his religious susceptibilities, which the course +of agnostic literature had scotched but not killed, and he began to +wonder with some earnestness whether, after all, there might not be a +Hereafter which, in the circumstances, he did not care to face. + +In this acute perplexity he bethought him of the Salvation Army, and +arrived at the Bureau in a state of considerable excitement, as +quickly as a taxicab could bring him. A doctor and a fortnight in +hospital did the rest. The Army found him another situation in place +of the one which he had lost, and composed his differences with his +wife. They are now both Salvationists and very happy. So, in this +instance, all's well that ends well. + +_Case Two._--A man, in a responsible position, and of rather +extravagant habits, married a wife of more extravagant habits, and +found that, whatever the proverb may say, it costs more to keep two +than one. His money matters became desperately involved, but, being +afraid to confide in his wife, he spent a Sunday afternoon in trying +to make up his mind whether he would shoot or drown himself. While he +was thus engaged, a Salvation Army band happened to pass his door, and +reminded him of what he had read about the Anti-Suicide Bureau. +Postponing decision as to the exact method of his departure from this +earth, he called there, and was persuaded to make a clean breast of +the matter to his wife. + +Afterwards the Army took up his extremely complicated affairs. I saw a +pile of documents relating to them that must have been at least 4 ins. +thick. The various money-lenders were interviewed, and persuaded to +accept payment in weekly or monthly instalments. The account was +almost square when I saw it, and the person concerned extremely happy +and grateful. I should say that, in this case, a lawyer's bill for the +work which was done for nothing would have amounted to quite £50. + +In another somewhat similar case, that of an official who had tampered +with moneys in his charge, though this was not discovered, some of the +creditors had placed the business in the hands of +debt-collecting-agencies, than whom, said Colonel Unsworth, 'there are +no harder or more cruel creditors.' At any rate, they drove this poor +man almost to madness, with the usual result. A friend brought him to +the Army, who shouldered his affairs, dealt with the debt-collecting +agencies, obtained help from his connexions, and paid off what was +owing by instalments. He and his family are now again quite +comfortable. + +[Illustration: AT ONE OF THE ARMY FOOD DEPOTS.] + +_Case Three_.--A man was cursed with such a fearful temper that he +could keep no situation. He came to London in a state of fury, with a +razor in his pocket. Happening to see the words 'Salvation Army +Shelter' on a building, it occurred to him to hear what the Suicide +Officers had to say before he cut his throat. They dealt with the +matter, and showed him the error of his way. He is now in a very good +single-handed situation abroad where, as he cannot talk the language, +he finds it difficult to quarrel with those about him. + +_Case Four_.--Telephone operator, who was driven mad by that dreadful +instrument and by domestic worries. The Army Officers saved the man +and smoothed over the domestic worries; but how he gets on with the +telephone instruments is not recorded. + +_Case Five_.--Unsuitable marriage and bad temper. The wife had become +involved in some trouble in early life, and unwisely, as it proved, +confessed to the husband, who brought it up against her every time +there was a quarrel between them. In this instance, also, suicide was +averted and the domestic differences were arranged. + +_Case Six_--A man in a business firm, married, with children, was +through no fault of his own thrown out of work, owing to the +appointment of a new manager. He came at last to the Embankment, and +afterwards applied for a job in answer to an advertisement. The +advertiser told him it was a pity that as he had been so near the +river he did not go into it. The man determined to commit suicide; but +the Officers dissuaded him from this course and helped him. He +returned a year later in a condition of considerable prosperity, +having worked his way to a Colony where he is now doing extremely +well, his visit to England being in connexion with the business in +which he had become a partner. + +And so on _ad infinitum._ I might tell many such stories, some of them +of a much more tragic character than those I have instanced, but +refrain from doing so lest by chance they should be identified, +especially where the individuals concerned belonged to the upper +strata of society. Perhaps enough has been said, however, to show what +a great work is being done by the Army in this Department, where in +London alone it deals with several would-be suicides every day. + +Of course, some of these people are frauds. For instance, one of the +Officers told me that not long ago a medical man, who was evidently a +drunkard, called on him and said that he would commit suicide unless +money were given to him. He was informed that this was against the +rules; whereon the man produced a bottle and said that if the money +were not forthcoming, he would drink its contents and make an end of +himself in the office. As may be imagined the Officer went through an +anxious moment, not quite knowing what to do. However, he looked the +man over, summed him up to the best of his judgment and ability, and +coming to the conclusion that he was a bully and a braggart, said that +he might do what he liked. The man swallowed the contents of the +bottle, exclaiming that he would be dead in a few minutes, and a pause +ensued, during which the Officer confessed to me that he felt very +uncomfortable. The end of it was that his visitor said, with a laugh, +that 'he would not like to cumber the Salvation Army with his corpse,' +and walked out of the room. The draught which he had taken was +comparatively harmless. + +As I have mentioned, however, a proportion of the cases are quite +irreclaimable. They come and consult the Army, then depart and do the +deed. Six that can be traced have been lost in this way during the +last few months. + +Colonel Unsworth explained to me what I had already guessed, that this +business of dealing with scores and hundreds of despairing beings +standing on the very edge of the grave, is a terrible strain upon any +man. The responsibility becomes too great, and he who has to bear it +is apt to be crushed beneath its weight. Every morning he reads his +paper with a sensation of nervous dread, fearing lest among the police +news he should find a brief account of the discovery of some corpse +which he can identify as that of an individual with whom he had +pleaded at his office on the yesterday and in vain. + +On former occasions when I visited him, Colonel Unsworth used to show +me a small museum of poisons, knives, revolvers, etc., which he had +taken from those who proposed to use them to cut the Gordian knot of +life. + +Now, however, he has but few of these dreadful relics. I asked him +what he had done with the rest. He answered that he had destroyed +them. + +'The truth is,' he added, 'that after some years of this business I +can no longer bear to look at the horrid things; they get upon my +nerves.' + +If I may venture to offer a word of advice to the Chiefs of the +Salvation Army, I would suggest that the very responsible position of +first Anti-Suicide Officer in London is not one that any man should be +asked to fill in perpetuity. + + + + +WORK IN THE PROVINCES + + + +LIVERPOOL + +When planning this little book I had it in my mind to deal at some +length with the Provincial Social Work of the Army, Now I find, +however, that considerations of space must be taken into account; also +that it is not needful to set out all the details of that work, seeing +that to do so would involve a great deal of repetition. + +The Salvation Army machines for the regeneration of fallen men and +women, if I may so describe them, are, after all, of much the same +design, and vary for the most part only in the matter of size. The +material that goes through those machines is, it is true, different, +yet even its infinite variety, if considered in the mass, has a +certain similitude. For these reasons, therefore, I will only speak of +what is done by the Army in three of the great Midland and Northern +cities that I have visited, namely, Manchester, Liverpool, and +Glasgow, and of that but briefly, although my notes concerning it run +to over 100 typed pages. + +The lady in charge of the Slum Settlement in Liverpool informed me +that the poverty in that city is very great, and during the past +winter of 1919 was really terrible owing to the scarceness of work in +the docks. The poor, however, are not so overcrowded, and rents are +cheaper than in London, the cost of two dwelling-cellars being about +2_s_. 6_d_., and of a room about 3_s_. a week. The sisterhood of +fallen women is, she added, very large in Liverpool; but most of these +belong to a low class. + +In this city the Army has one Institution for women called the 'Ann +Fowler' Memorial Home, which differs a good deal from the majority of +those that I have seen. It is a Lodging-Home for Women, and is +designed for the accommodation of persons of a better class than those +who generally frequent such places. This building, which was provided +in memory of her mother by Miss Fowler, a local philanthropist, at a +cost of about £6,000, was originally a Welsh Congregational chapel, +that has been altered to suit the purpose to which it is now put. It +is extremely well fitted-up with separate cubicles made of oak +panelling, good lavatory accommodation, and kitchens in which is made +some of the most excellent soup that I ever tasted. + +Yet strange to say this place is not as much appreciated as it might +be, as may be judged from the fact that although it is designed to +hold 113 lodgers, when I visited it there were not more than between +forty and fifty. This is remarkable, as the charge made is only 4_d_. +per night, or 2_s_. a week, even for a cubicle, and an excellent +breakfast of bread and butter, fish, and tea can be had for 2_d_. +Other meals are supplied on a like scale, with the result that a woman +employed in outside work can live in considerable comfort in a room or +cubicle of her own for about 8_s_. a week. + +The lady in charge told me, however, that there are reasons for this +state of affairs. One is that it provides for people of a rather +higher class than usual, who, of course, are not so numerous as those +lower in the social scale. + +The principal reason, however, is prejudice. It is known that most of +the women accommodated in the Army Shelters are what are known as +'fallen' or 'drunks.' Therefore, occupants of a Home devoted to a +higher section of society fear lest they should be tarred with the +same brush in the eyes of their associates. + +Here is a story which illustrates this point which I remember hearing +in the United States. A woman, whose inebriety was well known, was +picked up absolutely dead drunk in an American city and taken by an +Officer of the Army to one of its Homes and put to bed. In the morning +she awoke and, guessing where she was lodged from various signs and +tokens, such as texts upon the wall, began to scream for her clothes. +An attendant, who thought that she had developed delirium tremens, ran +up and asked what was the matter. + +'Matter?' ejaculated the sot, 'the matter is that if I don't get out +of this ---- place in double quick time, _I shall lose my character!_' + +The women who avail themselves of this 'Ann Fowler' Home are of all +ages and in various employments. One, I was told, was a lady separated +from her husband, whose father, now dead, had been the mayor of a +large city. + +A Liverpool Institution of another class, known as 'The Hollies,' is +an Industrial Home for fallen women, drunkards, thieves, and +incorrigible girls. It holds thirty-eight inmates and is always full, +a good many of these being sent to the place from Police-courts whence +they are discharged under the First Offenders Acts. + +I saw these women at their evening prayers. The singing was hearty and +spontaneous, and they all seemed happy enough. Still, the faces of +most of them (they varied in age from forty-six to sixteen) showed +traces of life's troubles, but one or two were evidently persons of +some refinement. Their histories, which would fill volumes, must be +omitted. Suffice it to say that this Home, like all the others, is +extremely well-arranged and managed, and is doing a most excellent and +successful work. + +When the women are believed to be cured of their evil habits, whatever +they may be, they are for the most part sent out to service. There are +two rooms in the place to which they can return during their holidays, +or when they are changing situations, at a charge of 5s. a week. This +many of them like to do. + +Next door to 'The Hollies' is another Home where young girls with +their illegitimate babies, and also a few children, are accommodated. +It is arranged to hold twenty-four mothers, and is generally full. A +charge of 5s. a week is supposed to be made, but unless the cases are +sent from the workhouse, when the Guardians pay, in practice little is +recovered from the patients. When they are well again, their babies +are put out to nurse, as at the London Maternity Home, and the girls +are sent to service, no difficulty being experienced in finding them +places. During the two years that this Home had been open eighty-two +girls had passed through it, and of these, the Matron informed me, +there were but ten who were not doing so well as they might. The rest +were in employment of one sort or another, and seemed to be in the way +of completely regaining their characters. + +I visited this place late at night, and in the room devoted to +children, as distinct from infants, saw one girl of nine with a +curious history. This child had been twelve times in the hands of the +police before her father brought her to the Army on their suggestion. +Her mania was to run away from home, where it does not appear that she +was ill-treated, and to sleep in the streets, on one occasion for as +long as five nights. This child had a very curious face, and even in +her sleep, as I saw her, there was about it something wild and +defiant. When the Matron turned her over she did not yawn or cry, but +uttered a kind of snarl. I suppose that here is an instance of +atavism, that the child throw back for thousands or tens of thousands +of years, to when her progenitors were savages, and that their +primitive instincts have reasserted themselves in her, although she +was born in the twentieth century. She had been ten months in the Home +and was doing well. Indeed, the Matron told me that they had taken her +out and given her opportunities of running away, but that she had +never attempted to avail herself of them. + +The Officer in charge informed me that there is much need for a +Maternity Hospital in Liverpool. + +There are also Institutions for men in Liverpool, but these I must +pass over. + + + + +THE MEN'S SOCIAL WORK + + + +MANCHESTER + +The Officer in charge of the Men's Social Work in Manchester told me +the same story that I had heard in Liverpool as to the prevailing +distress. He said, 'It has been terrible the last few winters. I have +never seen anything like it. We know because they come to us, and the +trouble is more in a fixed point than in London. Numbers and numbers +come, destitute of shelter or food or anything. The cause is want of +employment. There is no work. Many cases, of course, go down through +drink, but the most cannot get work. The fact is that there are more +men than there is work for them to do, and this I may say is a regular +thing, winter and summer.' + +A sad statement surely, and one that excites thought. + +I asked what became of this residue who could not find work. His +answer was, 'They wander about, die off, and so on.' + +A still sadder statement, I think. + +The Major in charge is a man of great organising ability, force of +character, and abounding human sympathy. Yet he was once one of the +melancholy army of wasters. Some seventeen years ago he came into the +Army through one of its Shelters, a drunken, out-of-place +cabinet-maker, who had been tramping the streets. They gave him work +and he 'got converted.' Now he is the head of the Manchester Social +Institutions, engaged in finding work for or converting thousands of +others. + +At first the Army had only one establishment in Manchester, which used +to be a cotton mill. Now it is a Shelter for 200 men. Then it took +others, some of which are owned and some hired, among them a great +'Elevator' on the London plan, where waste paper is sorted and sold. +The turn-over here was over £8,000 in 1909, and may rise to £12,000. I +forget how many men it finds work for, but every week some twenty-five +new hands come in, and about the same number pass out. + +This is a wonderful place, filled with what appears to be rubbish, but +which is really valuable material. Among this rubbish all sorts of +strange things are to be found. Thus I picked out of it, and kept as a +souvenir, a beautifully-bound copy of Wesley's Hymns, published about +a hundred years ago. Lying near it was an early edition of Scott's +'Marmion.' This Elevator more than pays its way; indeed the Army is +saving money out of it, which is put by to purchase other buildings. + +Then there are houses where the people employed in the paper-works +lodge, a recently-acquired home for the better class of men, which was +once a mansion of the De Clifford family, and afterwards a hospital, +and a store where every kind of oddment is sold by Dutch auction. +These articles are given to the Army, and among the week's collection +I saw clocks, furniture, bicycles, a parrot cage, and a crutch. Not +long ago the managers of this store had a goat presented to them, +which nearly ate them out of house and home, as no one would buy it, +and they did not like to send the poor beast to the butcher. + +In these various Shelters and Institutions I saw some strange +characters. One had been an electrical engineer, educated under +Professor Owen, at Cardiff College. He came into money, and gambled +away £13,000 on horse-racing, although he told me that he won as much +as £8,000 on one Ascot meeting. His subsequent history is a story in +itself, one too long to set out; but the end of it, in his own words, +was 'Four years ago I came here, and, thank God! I am going on all +right.' + +Why do not the writers of naturalistic novels study Salvation Army +Shelters? In any one of them they would find more material than could +be used up in ten lifetimes; though, personally, I confess I am +content to read such stories in the secret annals of the various +Institutions. + +Another man, a very pleasant and humorous person, who was once a +Church worker and a singer in the choir, etc., when, in his own words, +he used 'to put on religion with his Sunday clothes and take it off +again with them,' came to grief through sheer love of amusement, such +as that which is to be found in music-halls and theatres. His habit +was to spend the money of an insurance company by which he was +employed, in taking out the young lady to whom he was engaged, to such +entertainments. Ultimately, of course, he was found out, and, when +starving on the road, determined to commit suicide. The Salvationists +found him in the nick of time, and now he is foreman of their +paper-collecting yard. + +Another, at the ripe age of twenty-four, had been twenty-seven times +in prison. His father was in prison, his eldest brother committed +suicide in prison by throwing himself over the banisters. Also, he had +two brothers at present undergoing penal servitude, who, when he was a +little fellow, used to pass him through windows to open doors in +houses which they were burgling. + +I suggested that it was a poor game and that he had better give it up. +He answered:--'I shall never do it again, sir, God helping me.' +Really I think he meant what he said. + +Another, in the Chepstow Street Shelter, where he acted as +night-watchman, was discharged from Portland, after serving a fifteen +years' sentence for manslaughter. His trouble was that he killed a man +in a fight, and as he had fought him before and had a grudge against +him, was very nearly hanged for his pains. This man earned £9 in some +way or other during his sentence, which he sent to his wife. +Afterwards, he discovered that she had been living with another man, +who died and left her well off. But she has never refunded the £9, nor +will she have anything to do with her husband. + + + + +OAKHILL HOUSE + + + +MANCHESTER + +Oakhill House is a Rescue Home for women, which was given to the Army +by Mrs. Crossley, a well-known local lady. It deals with prison, +fallen, inebriate, and preventive cases. At the time of my visit there +were sixty-three inmates, but when a new adjacent building is +completed there will be room for more. There is a wonderful laundry in +this Home, where the most beautiful washing is done at extremely +moderate prices. The ironing and starching room was a busy sight, but +what I chiefly remember about it was the spectacle of one melancholy +old man, the only male among that crowd of women, seated by a +steam-boiler that drove the machinery, to which it was his business to +attend. (No woman can be persuaded to look after a boiler.) In the +midst of all those females he had the appearance of a superannuated +and disillusioned Turk contemplating his too extensive establishment +and reflecting on its monthly bills. + +The matron in charge informed me that even for these rough women there +is no system of punishment whatsoever. No girl is ever restricted in +her food, or put on bread and water, or struck, or shut away by +herself. The Army maxim is that it is its mission not to punish but to +try to reform. If in any particular case its methods of gentleness +fail, which they rarely do, it is considered best that the case should +depart, very possibly to return again later on. + +She added that although many of these women had committed assaults, +and even fought the Police, not one of them attacks another in the +Home once in a year, and that during her twenty years of work, +although she had lived among some of the worst women in England, she +had never received a single blow. As an illustration of what the +Salvation Army understands by this word 'work' I may state that +throughout these twenty years, except for the allotted annual +fortnight, this lady has had no furlough. + + + + +THE MEN'S SOCIAL WORK + + + +GLASGOW + +I saw the Brigadier in charge of the Men's Social Work in Glasgow at a +great central Institution where hundreds of poor people sleep every +night. The inscriptions painted on the windows give a good idea of its +character. Here are some of them: 'Cheap beds.' 'Cheap food.' 'Waste +paper collected.' 'Missing friends found.' 'Salvation for all.' + +In addition to this Refuge there is an 'Elevator' of the usual type, +in which about eighty men were at work, and an establishment called +the Dale House Home, a very beautiful Adams' house, let to the Army at +a small rent by an Eye Hospital that no longer requires it. This house +accommodates ninety-seven of the men who work in the Elevator. + +The Brigadier informed me that the distress at Glasgow was very great +last year. Indeed, during that year of 1909 the Army fed about 35,000 +men at the docks, and 65,000 at the Refuge, a charity which caused +them to be officially recognized for the first time by the +Corporation, that sent them a cheque in aid of their work. Now, +however, things have much improved, owing to the building of +men-of-war and the forging of great guns for the Navy. At Parkhead +Forge alone 8,000 men are being employed upon a vessel of the +Dreadnought class, which will occupy them for a year and a half. So it +would seem that these monsters of destruction have their peaceful +uses. + +Glasgow, he said, 'is a terrible place for drink, especially of +methylated spirits and whisky.' Drink at the beginning, I need hardly +remark, means destitution at the end, so doubtless this failing +accounts for a large proportion of its poverty. + +The Men's Social Work of the Army in Glasgow, which is its +Headquarters in Scotland, is spreading in every direction, not only in +that city itself, but beyond it to Paisley, Greenock, and Edinburgh. +Indeed, the Brigadier has orders 'to get into Dundee and Aberdeen as +soon as possible.' I asked him how he would provide the money. He +answered, 'Well, by trusting in God and keeping our powder dry.' + +As regards the Army's local finance the trouble is that owing to the +national thriftiness it is harder to make commercial ventures pay in +Scotland than in England. Thus I was informed that in Glasgow the +Corporation collects and sells its own waste paper, which means that +there is less of that material left for the Salvation Army to deal +with. In England, so far as I am aware, the waste-paper business is +not a form of municipal trading that the Corporations of great cities +undertake. + +Another leading branch of the Salvation Army effort in Scotland is its +Prison work. It is registered in that country as a Prisoners' Aid +Society, and the doors of every jail in the land are open to its +Officers. I saw the Army's prison book, in which are entered the +details of each prison case with which it is dealing. Awful enough +some of them were. + +I remember two that caught my eye as I turned its pages. The first was +that of a man who had gone for a walk with his wife, from whom he was +separated, cut her head off, and thrown it into a field. The second +was that of another man, or brute beast, who had taken his child by +the heels and dashed out its brains against the fireplace. It may be +wondered why these gentle creatures still adorn the world. The +explanation seems to be that in Scotland there is a great horror of +capital punishment, which is but rarely inflicted. + +My recollection is that the Officer who visited them had hopes of the +permanent reformation of both these men; or, at any rate, that there +were notes in his book to this effect. + +I saw many extraordinary cases in this Glasgow Refuge, some of whom +had come there through sheer misfortune. One had been a medical man +who, unfortunately, was left money and took to speculating on the +Stock Exchange. He was a very large holder of shares in a South +African mine, which he bought at 1s. 6d. These shares now stand at £7; +but, unhappily for him, his brokers dissolved partnership, and neither +of them would carry over his account. So it was closed down just at +the wrong time, with the result that he lost everything, and finally +came to the streets. He never drank or did anything wrong; it was, as +he said, 'simply a matter of sheer bad luck.' + +Another was a Glasgow silk merchant, who made a bad debt of £3,000 +that swamped him. Afterwards he became paralysed, but recovered. He +had been three years cashier of this Shelter. + +Another arrived at the Shelter in such a state that the Officer in +charge told me he was obliged to throw his macintosh round him to hide +his nakedness. He was an engineer who took a public-house, and helped +himself freely to his stock-in-trade, with the result that he became a +frightful drunkard, and lost £1,700. He informed me that he used to +consume no less than four bottles of whisky a day, and suffered from +delirium tremens several times. In the Shelter--I quote his own +words--'I gave my heart to God, and after that all desire for drink +and wrongdoing' (he had not been immaculate in other ways) 'gradually +left me. From 1892 I had been a drunkard. After my conversion, in less +than three weeks I ceased to have any desire for drink.' + +This man became night-watchman in the Shelter, a position which he +held for twelve months. He said: 'I was promoted to be Sergeant; when +I put on my uniform and stripes, I reckoned myself a man again. Then I +was made foreman of the works at Greendyke Street. Then I was sent to +pioneer our work in Paisley, and when that was nicely started, I was +sent on to Greenock, where I am now trying to work up a (Salvation +Army) business.' + +Here, for a reason to be explained presently, I will quote a very +similar case which I saw at the Army Colony at Hadleigh, in Essex. +This man, also a Scotsman (no Englishman, I think, could have survived +such experiences), is a person of fine and imposing appearance, great +bodily strength, and good address. He is about fifty years of age, and +has been a soldier, and after leaving the Service, a gardener. Indeed, +he is now, or was recently, foreman market-gardener at Hadleigh. He +married a hospital nurse, and found out some years after marriage that +she was in the habit of using drugs. This habit he contracted also, +either during her life or after her death, and with it that of drink. + +His custom was to drink till he was a wreck, and then take drugs, +either by the mouth or subcutaneously, to steady himself. Chloroform +and ether he mixed together and drank, strychnine he injected. At the +beginning of this course, threepennyworth of laudanum would suffice +him for three doses. At the end, three years later (not to mention +ether, chloroform, and strychnine), he took of laudanum alone nearly a +tablespoonful ten or twelve times a day, a quantity, I understand, +which is enough to kill five or six horses. One of the results was +that when he had to be operated on for some malady, it was found +impossible to bring him under the influence of the anaesthetic. All +that could be done was to deprive him of his power of movement, in +which state he had to bear the dreadful pain of the operation. +Afterwards the surgeon asked him if he were a drug-taker, and he told +me that he answered:-- + +'Why, sir, I could have drunk all the lot you have been trying to give +me, without ever knowing the difference.' + +In this condition, when he was such a wreck that he trembled from head +to foot and was contemplating suicide, he came into the hands of the +Army, and was sent down to the Hadleigh Farm. + +Now comes the point of the story. At Hadleigh he 'got converted,' and +from that hour has never touched either drink or drugs. Moreover, he +assured me solemnly that he could go into a chemist's shop or a bar +with money in his pocket without feeling the slightest desire to +indulge in such stimulants. He said that after his conversion, he had +a 'terrible fight' with his old habits, the physical results of their +discontinuance being most painful. Subsequently, however, and by +degrees, the craving left him entirely, I asked him to what he +attributed this extraordinary cure. He replied:-- + +'To the power of God. If I trusted in my own strength I should +certainly fail, but the power of God keeps me from being overcome.' + +Now these are only two out of a number of cases that I have seen +myself, in which a similar explanation of his cure has been given to +me by the person cured, and I would like to ask the unprejudiced and +open-minded reader how he explains them. Personally I cannot explain +them except upon an hypothesis which, as a practical person, I confess +I hesitate to adopt. I mean that of a direct interposition from above, +or of the working of something so unrecognized or so undefined in the +nature of man (which it will be remembered the old Egyptians, a very +wise people, divided into many component parts, whereof we have now +lost count), that it may be designated an innate superior power or +principle, brought into action by faith or 'suggestion.' + +That these people who have been the slaves of, or possessed by certain +gross and palpable vices, of which drink is only one, are truly and +totally changed, there can be no question. To that I am able to bear +witness. The demoniacs of New Testament history cannot have been more +transformed; and I know of no stranger experience than to listen to +such men, as I have times and again, speaking of their past selves as +entities cast off and gone, and of their present selves as new +creatures. It is, indeed, one that throws a fresh light upon certain +difficult passages in the Epistles of St. Paul, and even upon the +darker sayings of the Master of mankind Himself. They do, in truth, +seem to have been 'born again.' But this is a line of thought that I +will not attempt to follow; it lies outside my sphere and the scope of +these pages. + +After the Officer who used to consume four bottles of whisky a day, +and is now in charge of the Salvation Army work in Greenock, had left +the room, I propounded these problems to Lieut.-Colonel Jolliffe and +the Brigadier, as I had done previously to Commissioner Sturgess. I +pointed out that religious conversion seemed to me to be a spiritual +process, whereas the craving for drink or any other carnal +satisfaction was, or appeared to be, a physical weakness of the body. +Therefore, I did not understand how the spiritual conversion could +suddenly and permanently affect or remove the physical desire, unless +it were by the action of the phenomenon called miracle, which mankind +admits doubtfully to have been possible in the dim period of the birth +of a religion, but for the most part denies to be possible in these +latter days. + +'Quite so,' answered the Colonel, calmly, in almost the same words +that Commissioner Sturgess had used, 'it _is_ miracle; that is our +belief. These men cannot change and purify themselves, their vices are +instantaneously, permanently, and miraculously removed by the power +and the Grace of God. This is the truth, and nothing more wonderful +can be conceived.' + +Here, without further comment, I leave this deeply interesting matter +to the consideration of abler and better instructed persons than +myself. + +To come to something more mundane, which also deserves consideration, +I was informed that in Glasgow, with a population of about 900,000, +there exists a floating class of 80,000 people, who live in +lodging-houses of the same sort as, and mostly inferior to the +Salvation Army Shelter of which I am now writing. In other words, out +of every twelve inhabitants of this great city, one is driven to that +method of obtaining a place to sleep in at night. + +In this particular Refuge there is what is called a free shelter room, +where people are accommodated in winter who have not even the few +coppers necessary to pay for a bed. During the month before my visit, +which took place in the summer-time, the Brigadier had allotted free +beds in this room to destitute persons to the value of £13. I may add +that twice a week this particular place is washed with a carbolic +mixture! + + + + +THE ARDENSHAW WOMEN'S HOME + + + +GLASGOW + +I visited two of the Salvation Army's Women's Institutions in Glasgow. +The first of these was a Women's Rescue Home known as Ardenshaw. This +is a very good house, substantially built and well fitted up, that +before it was bought by the Army was the residence of a Glasgow +merchant. It has accommodation for thirty-six, and is always full. The +inmates are of all kinds, prison cases, preventive cases, fallen +cases, drink cases. The very worst of all these classes, however, are +not taken in here, but sent to the Refuge in High Street. Ardenshaw +resembles other Homes of the same sort that I have already dealt with +in various cities, so I need not describe it here. + +Its Officers visit the prisons at Duke Street, Glasgow, Ayr, and +Greenock, and I saw a letter which had just arrived from the chaplain +of one of these jails, asking the Matron to interest herself in the +case of a girl coming up for trial, and to take her into a Home if she +were discharged as a first offender. + +While I was eating some lunch in this house I noticed a young woman in +Salvation Army dress coming up the steps with a child of particularly +charming appearance. At my request she was brought into the room, +where I extracted from her a story which seems to be worth repeating +as an illustration of the spirit which animates so many members of the +Army. + +The young woman herself had once been an invalid who was taken into +the Home and nursed till she recovered, after which she was sent to a +situation in a large town. Here she came in contact with a poor family +in which the mother is a drunkard and the father a respectable, +hardworking man, and took a great fancy to one of the children, the +little girl I have mentioned. This child, who is about five years of +age, it is her habit to supply with clothes and more or less to feed. +Unfortunately, however, when the mother is on the drink she pawns the +clothes which my Salvation Army friend is obliged to redeem, since if +she does not, little Bessie is left almost naked. Indeed, before +Bessie was brought away upon this particular visit her protectress had +to pay 14_s_. to recover her garments from the pawnshop, a +considerable sum out of a wage of about £18 a year. + +I asked her why she did not take away this very fascinating child +altogether, and arrange for her to enter one of the Army Homes. She +answered because, although the mother would be glad enough to let her +go, the father, who is naturally fond of his children, objected. + +'Of which the result may be,' remarked Lieut.-Colonel Jolliffe grimly, +'that about a dozen years hence that sweet little girl will become a +street-walking drunkard.' + +'Not while I live,' broke in her foster-mother, indignantly. + +This kind-hearted little woman told me she had been six years in +service as sole maid-of-all-work in a large house. I inquired whether +it was a hard place. She replied that it would be easier if her four +mistresses, who are sisters and old maiden ladies, did not all take +their meals at four different times, have four different teapots, +insist upon their washing being sent to four different laundries, +employ four different doctors, and sleep in four different rooms. +'However,' she added, 'it is not so difficult as it was as there used +to be five, but one has died. Also, they are kind to me in other ways +and about Bessie. They like me to come here for my holiday, as then +they know I shall return on the right day and at the right hour.' + +When she had left the room, having in mind the capacities of the +average servant, and the outcry she is apt to make about her +particular 'work,' I said that it seemed strange that one young woman +could fulfil all these multifarious duties satisfactorily. + +'Oh,' said the matter-of-fact Colonel, 'you see, she belongs to the +Salvation Army, and looks at things from the point of view of her +duty, and not from that of her comfort.' + +It is curious at what a tender age children learn to note the habits +of those about them. When this little Bessie was given _2d_. she +lisped out in her pretty Scotch accent, 'Mother winna have this for +beer!' + + + + +THE WOMEN'S LODGING-HOUSE + + + +GLASGOW + +The last place that I visited in Glasgow was the Shelter for women, an +Institution of the same sort as the Shelter for men. It is a +Lodging-house in which women can have a bed at the price of 4_d_. per +night; but if that sum is not forthcoming, they are not, as a rule, +turned away if they are known to be destitute. + +The class of people who frequent this Home is a very low one; for the +most part they are drunkards. They must leave the Shelter before ten +o'clock in the morning, when the majority of them go out hawking, +selling laces, or other odds and ends. Some of them earn as much as +2_s_. a day; but, as a rule, they spend a good deal of what they earn, +only saving enough to pay for their night's lodging. This place has +been open for sixteen years, and contains 133 beds, which are almost +always full. + +The women whom I saw at this Shelter were a very rough-looking set, +nearly all elderly, and, as their filthy garments and marred +countenances showed, often the victims of drink. Still, they have good +in them, for the lady in charge assured me that they are generous to +each other. If one of the company has nothing they will collect the +price of her bed or her food between them, and even pay her debts, if +these are not too large. There were several children in the place, for +each woman is allowed to bring in one. When I was there many of the +inmates were cooking their meals on the common stove, and very curious +and unappetizing these were. + +Among them I noted a dark-eyed lassie of about sixteen who was crying. +Drawing her aside, I questioned her. It seemed that her father, a +drunken fellow, had turned her out of her home that afternoon because +she had forgotten to give him a message. Having nowhere to go she +wandered about the streets until she met a woman who told her of this +Lodging-house. She added, touchingly enough, that it was not her +mother's fault. + +Imagine a girl of sixteen thrown out to spend the night upon the +streets of Glasgow! + +On the walls of one of the rooms I saw a notice that read oddly in a +Shelter for women. It ran:-- + +_Smoking is strictly prohibited after retiring_. + + + + +THE LAND AND INDUSTRIAL COLONY + + + +HADLEIGH, ESSEX + +The Hadleigh Colony, of which Lieut.-Colonel Laurie is the Officer in +charge, is an estate of about 3,000 acres which was purchased by the +Salvation Army in the year 1891 at a cost of about £20 the acre, the +land being stiff clay of the usual Essex type. As it has chanced, +owing to the amount of building which is going on in the neighbourhood +of Southend, and to its proximity to London, that is within forty +miles, the investment has proved a very good one. I imagine that if +ever it should come to the hammer the Hadleigh Colony would fetch a +great deal more than £20 the acre, independently of its cultural +improvements. These, of course, are very great. For instance, more +than 100 acres are now planted with fruit-trees in full bearing. Also, +there are brickfields which are furnished with the best machinery and +plant, ranges of tomato and salad houses, and a large French garden +where early vegetables are grown for market. A portion of the land, +however, still remains in the hands of tenants, with whom the Army +does not like to interfere. + +The total turn-over of the land 'in hand' amounts to the large sum of +over £30,000 per annum, and the total capital invested is in the +neighbourhood of £110,000. Of this great sum about £78,000 is the cost +of the land and the buildings; the brickworks and other industries +account for £12,000, while the remaining £20,000 represents the value +of the live and dead stock. I believe that the mortgage remaining on +the place, which the Army had not funds to pay for outright, is now +less than £50,000, borrowed at about 4 per cent, and, needless to say, +it is well secured. + +Lieut.-Colonel Laurie informed me on the occasion of my last visit to +Hadleigh, in July, 1910, that taken as a whole even now the farm does +not pay its way.[6] This result is entirely owing to the character of +the labour employed. At first sight, as the men are paid but a +trifling sum in cash, it would appear that this labour must be +extremely cheap. Investigation, however, gives the story another +colour. + +It costs the Army 10_s_. a week to keep a man at Hadleigh in food and +lodgings, and in addition he receives a cash grant of from 6_d_ to +5_s_. a week. + +Careful observation shows that the labour of three of these men, of +whom 92 per cent, be it remembered, come to the Colony through their +drinking habits, is about equal to that of one good agricultural hand +who, in Norfolk, reckoning in his harvest and sundries, would +earn--let us say, 18s. a week. Therefore, in practice where I, as a +farmer, pay about 18s., or in the case of carters and milkmen nearly +£1, the Army pays £2, circumstances under which it is indeed difficult +to farm remuneratively in England. + +The object of the Hadleigh Colony is to supply a place where broken +men of bad habits, who chance in most cases to have had some connexion +with or liking for the land, can be reformed, and ultimately sent out +to situations, or as emigrants to Canada. About 400 of such men pass +through the Colony each year. Of these men, Lieut.-Colonel Laurie +estimates that 7-1/2 per cent prove absolute failures, although, he +added that, 'it is very, very difficult to determine as to when a man +should be labelled an absolute failure. He may leave us an apparent +failure, and still come all right in the end.' + +The rest, namely 91 per cent or so, regain their place as decent and +useful members of society, a wonderful result which is brought about +by the pressure of discipline, tempered with kindness, and the +influence of steady and healthful work. + +Persons of every class drift to this Colony. Thus, among the 230 +Colonists who were training there when I visited it in July, 1910, +were two chemists and a journalist, while a Church of England +clergyman had just left it for Canada. + +As a specimen of the ruck, however, I will mention the first +individual to whom I happened to speak--a strong young man, who was +weeding a bed of onions. He told me that he had been a farm labourer +in early life, and, subsequently, for six years a coachman in a +private livery stables in London. He lost his place through drink, +became a wanderer on the Embankment, was picked up by the Salvation +Army and sent to one of its Elevator paper-works. Afterwards, he +volunteered to work on the land at Hadleigh, where he had then been +employed for nine months. His ambition was to emigrate to Canada, +which, doubtless, he has now done, or is about to do. Such cases might +be duplicated by the dozen, but for this there is no need. _Ex uno +disce omnes_. + +All the labour employed, however, is not of this class. For instance, +the next man to whom I spoke, who was engaged in ploughing up old +cabbage land with a pair of very useful four-year-olds, bred on the +farm, was not a Colonist but an agricultural hand, paid at the rate of +wages usual in the district. Another, who managed the tomato-houses, +was a skilled professional tomato-grower from the Channel Islands. The +experience of the managers of the Colony is that it is necessary to +employ a certain number of expert agriculturalists on the place, in +order that they may train the raw hands who come from London and +elsewhere. + +To a farmer, such as the present writer, a visit to Hadleigh is an +extremely interesting event, showing him, as it does, what can be done +upon cold and unkindly land by the aid of capital, intelligence, and +labour. Still I doubt whether a detailed description of all these +agricultural operations falls within the scope of a book such as that +upon which I am engaged. + +Therefore, I will content myself with saying that this business, like +everything else that the Army undertakes, is carried out with great +thoroughness and considerable success. The extensive orchards are +admirably managed, and were fruitful even in the bad season of 1910. +The tomato-houses, which have recently been increased at a capital +cost of about £1,000, produce many tons of tomatoes, and the French +garden is excellent of its kind. The breed of Middle-white pigs is to +be commended; so much so in my judgment, and I can give no better +testimonial, that at the moment of writing I am trying to obtain from +it a pedigree boar for my own use. The Hadleigh poultry farm, too, is +famous all over the world, and the Officer who manages it was the +President for 1910 of the Wyandotte Society, fowls for which Hadleigh +is famous, having taken the championship prizes for this breed and +others all over the kingdom. The cattle and horses are also good of +their class, and the crops in a trying year looked extremely well. + +All these things, however, are but a means to an end, which end is the +redemption of our fallen fellow-creatures, or such of them as come +within the reach of the work of the Salvation Army at this particular +place. + +I should add, perhaps, that there is a Citadel or gathering hall, +which will seat 400, where religious services are held and concerts +are given on Saturday nights for the amusement of the Colonists. I may +mention that no pressure is brought to bear to force any man in its +charge to conform to the religious principles of the Army. Indeed, +many of these attend the services at the neighbouring parish church. +Notwithstanding the past characters of those who live there, +disturbances of any sort are unknown at Hadleigh. Indeed, it is +extremely rare for a case originating on the Colony to come before the +local magistrates. + + + + +THE SMALL-HOLDINGS SETTLEMENT + + + +BOXTED, ESSEX + +General Booth and his Officers are, as I know from various +conversations with them, firmly convinced that many of the great and +patent evils of our civilization result from the desertion of the land +by its inhabitants, and that crowding into cities which is one of the +most marked phenomena of our time. Indeed, it was an identity of view +upon this point, which is one that I have advanced for years, that +first brought me into contact with the Salvation Army. But to preach +the advantages of bringing people back to the land is one thing, and +to get them there quite another. Many obstacles stand in the way. I +need only mention two of these: the necessity for large capital and +the still more important necessity of enabling those who are settled +on it to earn out of Mother Earth a sufficient living for themselves +and their families. + +That well-known philanthropist, the late Mr. Herring, was another +person much impressed with the importance of this matter, and I +remember about five years ago dining with him, with General Booth as +my fellow-guest, on an occasion when all this subject was gone into in +detail. So lively, indeed, was Mr. Herring's interest that he offered +to advance a sum of £100,000 to the Army, to be used in an experiment +of land-settlement, carried out under its auspices. Should that +experiment prove successful, the capital repaid by the tenants was to +go to King Edward's Hospital Fund, and should it fail, that capital +was to be written off. Of this £100,000, £40,000 has now been invested +in the Boxted venture, and if this succeeds, I understand that the +balance will become available for other ventures under the provisions +of Mr. Herring's will. A long while must elapse, however, before the +result of the experiment can be definitely ascertained. + +The Boxted Settlement is situated In North Essex, about three miles +from Colchester, and covers an area of 400 acres. It is a flat place, +that before the Enclosures Acts was a heath, with good road frontages +throughout, an important point where small-holdings are concerned. The +soil is a medium loam over gravel, neither very good nor very bad, so +far as my judgment goes, and of course capable of great improvement +under intensive culture. + +This estate, which altogether cost about £20 per acre to buy, has +been divided into sixty-seven holdings, varying in size from 4-1/2 +acres to 7 acres. The cottages which stand upon the holdings have been +built in pairs, at a cost of about £380 per pair, which price +includes drainage, a drinking well, and, I think, a soft-water +cistern. These are extremely good dwellings, and I was much struck +with their substantial and practical character. They comprise three +bedrooms, a large living-room, a parlour, and a scullery, containing a +sink and a bath. Also there is a tool-house, a pigstye, and a movable +fowl-house on wheels. + +On each holding an orchard of fruit trees has been planted in +readiness for the tenant, also strawberries, currants, gooseberries, +and raspberries, which in all occupy about three-quarters of an acre. +The plan is that the rest of the holding should be cultivated +intensively upon a system that is estimated to return £20 per acre. + +The arrangement between the Army and its settlers is briefly as +follows: In every case the tenant begins without any capital, and is +provided with seeds and manures to carry him through the first two +years, also with a living allowance at the rate of 10_s_. a week for +the man and his wife, and 1_s_. a week for each child, which allowance +is to cease after he has marketed his first crops. + +The tenancy terms are, that for two years the settler is a tenant at +will, the agreement being terminable by either party at any time +without compensation. At the end of these two years, subject to the +approval of the Director of the Settlement, the settler can take a 999 +years' lease of his holding, the Army for obvious reasons retaining +the freehold. After the first year of this lease, the rental payable +for forty years is to be 5 per cent per annum upon the capital +invested in the settlement of the man and his family upon the holding, +which rent is to include the cost of the house, land, and +improvements, and all moneys advanced to him during his period of +probation. + +It is estimated that this capital sum will average £520 per holding, +so that the tenant's annual rent for forty years will be £26, after +which he will have nothing more to pay save a nominal rent, and the +remainder of the lease will be the property of himself, or rather, of +his descendants. This property, I presume, will be saleable. + +So, putting aside all legal technicalities and complications, it comes +to this: the tenant is started for two years after which he pays about +£4 a year rent per acre for the next forty years, and thereby +virtually purchases his holding. The whole question, which time alone +can answer, is whether a man can earn £4 per acre rent per annum, and, +in addition, provide a living for himself and family out of a +five-acre holding on medium land near Colchester. + +The problem is one upon which I cannot venture to express any decisive +opinion, even after many years of experience of such matters. I trust, +however, that the answer may prove to be in the affirmative, and I am +quite sure that if any Organization is able to cause it to work out +this way, that Organization is the Salvation Army, whose brilliant +business capacity can, as I know, make a commercial success of the +most unpromising materials. + +I should like to point out that this venture is one of great and +almost of national importance, because if it fails then it will be +practically proved that it is impossible to establish small holders on +the land by artificial means, at any rate, in England, and at the +present prices of agricultural produce. It is not often that a sum of +£40,000 will be available for such a purpose, and with it the +direction of a charitable Organization that seeks no profit, the +oversight of an Officer as skilled and experienced as Lieut.-Colonel +Hiffe, and, in addition, a trained Superintendent who will afford +advice as to all agricultural matters, a co-operative society ready to +hire out implements, horses and carts at cost price, and, if so +desired, to undertake the distribution or marketing of produce. Still, +notwithstanding all these advantages, I have my misgivings as to the +ultimate result. + +The men chosen to occupy these holdings by a Selection Committee of +Salvation Army Officers, are for the most part married people who were +born in the country, but had migrated to the towns. Most of them have +more or less kept themselves in touch with country life by cultivating +allotments during their period of urban residence, and precedence has +been given to those who have shown a real desire to return to the +land. Other essentials are a good character, both personal and as a +worker, bodily and mental health, and total abstention from any form +of alcohol. No creed test is required, and there are men of various +religious faiths upon the Settlement, only a proportion of them being +Salvationists. + +I interviewed two of these settlers at hazard upon their holdings, +and, although the year had been adverse, found them happy and hopeful. +No. 1, who had been a mechanic, proposed to increase his earnings by +mending bicycles. No. 2 was an agriculturist pure and simple, and +showed me his fowls and pigs with pride. Here, however, I found a +little rift within the rural lute, for on asking him how his wife +liked the life he replied after a little hesitation, 'Not very well, +sir: you see, she has been accustomed to a town.' + +If she continues not to like it 'very well,' there will, I think, be +an end to that man's prospects as a small holder. + +I had the pleasure of bring present in July, 1910, at the formal +opening of the Boxted Settlement, when the Salvation Army entertained +several hundred guests to luncheon, many of them very well-known +people. The day for a wonder was fine, General Booth spoke for over an +hour in his most characteristic and interesting way; the Chairman, +Earl Carrington, President of the Board of Agriculture, blessed the +undertaking officially and privately; everybody seemed pleased with +the holdings, and, in short, all went merrily as a marriage bell. + +As I sat and listened, however, the query that arose in my mind +was--What would be the state of these holdings and of the tenants or +of their descendants on, say, that day thirty years? I trust and hope +that it will be a good state in both instances; but I must confess to +certain doubts and fears. + +In this parish of Ditchingham, where I live, there is a man with a few +acres of land, an orchard, a greenhouse, etc. That man works his +little tenancy, deals in the surplus produce of large gardens, which +he peddles out in the neighbouring town, and, on an average, takes +piecework on my farm (at the moment of writing he and his son are +hoeing mangolds) for two or three days a week; at any rate, for a +great part of the year. He is a type of what I may call the natural +small holder, and I believe does fairly well. The question is, can the +artificially created small holder, who must pay a rent of £4 the acre, +attain to a like result? + +Again, I say I hope so most sincerely, for if not in England 'back to +the land' will prove but an empty catchword. At any rate, the country +should be most grateful to the late Mr. Herring, who provided the +funds for this intensely interesting experiment, and to the Salvation +Army which is carrying it out in the interests of the landless poor. + + + + +IMPRESSIONS OF GENERAL BOOTH + + + +It has occurred to the writer that a few words descriptive of William +Booth, the creator and first General of the Salvation Army, set down +by a contemporary who has enjoyed a good many opportunities of +observing him during the past ten years, may possibly have a future if +not a present value. + +Of the greatness of this man, to my mind, there can be no doubt. When +the point of time whereon we stand and play our separate parts has +receded, and those who follow us look back into the grey mist which +veils the past; when that mist has hidden the glitter of the +decorations and deadened the echoes of the high-sounding titles of +to-day; when our political tumults, our town-bred excitements, and +many of the very names that are household words to us, are forgotten, +or discoverable only in the pages of history; when, perhaps, the +Salvation Army itself has fulfilled its mission and gone its road, I +am certain that the figure of William Booth will abide clearly visible +in those shadows, and that the influences of his work will remain, if +not still felt, at least remembered and honoured. He will be one of +the few, of the very few enduring figures of our day; and even if our +civilization should be destined to undergo eclipse for a period, as +seems possible, when the light returns, by it he will still be seen. + +For truly this work of his is fine, and one that appeals to the +imagination, although we are so near to it that few of us appreciate +its real proportions. Also, in fact, it is the work that should be +admired rather than the man, who, after all, is nothing but the +instrument appointed to shape it from the clay of circumstance. The +clay lay ready to be shaped, then appeared the moulder animated with +will and purpose, and working for the work's sake to an end which he +could not foresee. + +I have no information on the point, but I should be surprised to learn +that General Booth, when Providence moved him to begin his labours +among the poor, had even an inkling of their future growth within the +short period of his own life. He sowed a seed in faith and hope, and, +in spite of opposition and poverty, in spite of ridicule and of +slander, he has lived to see that seed ripen into a marvellous +harvest. Directly, or indirectly, hundreds of thousands of men and +women throughout the world have benefited by his efforts. He has been +a tool of destiny, like Mahomet or Napoleon, only in this case one +fated to help and not to harm mankind. Such, at least, is my estimate +of him. + +A little less of the spirit of self-sacrifice, a different sense of +responsibility, and the same strength of imagination and power of +purpose devoted to purely material objects, might have raised up +another multi-millionaire, or a mob-leader, or a self-seeking despot. +But, as it happened, some grace was given to him, and the river has +run another way. + +Opportunity, too, has played into his hands. He saw that the +recognized and established Creeds scarcely touched the great, sordid, +lustful, drink-sodden, poverty-steeped masses of the city populations +of the world: that they were waiting for a teacher who could speak to +them in a tongue they understood. He spoke, and some of them have +listened: only a fraction it is true, but still some. More, as it +chanced, he married a wife who entered into his thoughts, and was able +to help to fulfil his aspirations, and from that union were born +descendants who, for the most part, are fitted to carry on his +labours. + +Further, like Loyola, and others, he has the power of rule, being a +born leader of men, so that thousands obey his word without question +in every corner of the earth, although some of these have never seen +his face. Lastly, Nature endowed him with a striking presence that +appeals to the popular mind, with a considerable gift of speech, with +great physical strength and abounding energy, qualities which have +enabled him to toil without ceasing and to travel far and wide. Thus +it comes about that as truly as any man of our generation, when his +hour is ended, he, too, I believe, should be able to say with a clear +conscience, 'I have finished the work that Thou gavest me to do': +although his heart may add, 'I have not finished it as well as I could +wish.' + +Now let me try to convey my personal impressions of this man. I see +him in various conversations with myself, when he has thought that he +could make use of me to serve his ever-present and impersonal ends, +trying to add me up, wondering how far I was sincere, and to what +extent I might be influenced by private objects; then, at last, +concluding that I was honest in my own fashion, opening his heart +little by little, and finally appealing to me to aid him in his +labours. + +'I like that man; _he understands me!_' I once heard him say, +mentioning my name, and believing that he was thinking, not speaking. + +I tell this story merely to illustrate his habit of reflecting aloud, +for as he spoke these words I was standing beside him. When I repeated +it to his Officers, one of them remarked horrified:-- + +'Good gracious! it might just as well have been something much less +complimentary. One never knows what he will say.' + +He is an autocrat, whose word is law to thousands. Had he not been an +autocrat indeed, the Salvation Army would not exist to-day, for it +sprang from his brain like Minerva from the head of Jove, and has been +driven to success by his single, forceful will. + +Yet this quality of masterfulness is tempered and illuminated by an +unfailing sense of humour, which he is quite ready to exercise at his +own expense. Thus, a few years ago he and I dined with the late Mr. +Herring, and, as a matter of fact, although I had certain things to +say on the matters under discussion, his flow of most interesting +conversation did not allow me over much opportunity of saying them. It +is hard to compete in words with one who has preached continually for +fifty years! + +When General Booth departed to catch a midnight train, for the +Continent I think, Mr. Herring went to see him to the door. Returning +presently, much amused, he repeated their parting words, which were as +follows:-- + +GENERAL BOOTH: 'A very good fellow Haggard; but a talker, you know, +Herring, a talker!' + +MR. HERRING (looking at him): 'Indeed!' + +GENERAL BOOTH (laughing): 'Ah! Herring, you mean that it was _I_ who +did the talking, not Haggard. Well, _perhaps I did_.' + +Some people think that General Booth is conceited. + +'It is a pity that the old gentleman is so vain,' a highly-placed +person once said to me. + +I answered that if he or I had done all that General Booth has done, +we might be pardoned a little vanity. + +In truth, however, the charge is mistaken, for at bottom I believe him +to be a very humble-minded man, and one who does not in the least +overrate himself. This may be gathered, indeed, from the tenor of his +remarks on the subject of his personal value to the Army, that I have +recorded at the beginning of this book. + +What people of slower mind and narrower views may mistake for pride, +in his case, I am sure, is but the impatient and unconscious +assertiveness of superior power, based upon vision and accumulated +knowledge. Also, as a general proposition, I believe vanity to be +almost impossible to such a man. So far as my experience of life goes, +that scarce creature, the innately, as distinguished from the +accidentally eminent man, he who is fashioned from Nature's gold, not +merely gilded by circumstance, is never vain. + +Such a man knows but too well how poor is the fruit of his supremest +effort, how marred by secret weakness is what the world calls his +strength, and when his gifts are in the balance, how hard it would be +for any seeing judge to distinguish his success from common failure. +It is the little pinchbeck man, whom wealth, accident, or cheap +cleverness has thrust forward, who grows vain over triumphs that are +not worth having, not the great doer of deeds, or the seer whose +imagination is wide enough to enable him to understand his own utter +insignificance in the scale of things. + +But to return to General Booth. Again I hear him explaining to me vast +schemes, as yet unrealized, that lurk at the back of his vivid, +practical, organizing brain. Schemes for settling tens of thousands of +the city poor upon unoccupied lands in sundry portions of the earth. +Schemes for great universities or training colleges, in which men and +women might be educated to deal with the social problems of our age on +a scientific basis. Schemes for obtaining Government assistance to +enable the Army to raise up the countless mass of criminals in many +lands, taking charge of them as they leave the jail, and by +regenerating their fallen natures, saving them soul and body. + +In the last interview I had with him, I read to him a note I had made +of a conversation which had taken place a few days before between Mr. +Roosevelt and myself on the subject of the Salvation Army. Here is the +note, or part of it. + +MR. ROOSEVELT: 'Why not make use of all this charitable energy, now +often misdirected, for national ends?' + +MYSELF: 'What I have called "the waste forces of Benevolence." It is +odd, Mr. Roosevelt, that we should both have come to that conclusion.' + +MR. ROOSEVELT: 'Yes, that's the term. You see the reason is that we +are both sensible men who understand.' + +'That is very important,' said General Booth, when he had heard this +extract. '"Make use of all this charitable energy, now often +misdirected for national ends!" Why not, indeed? Heaven knows it is +often misdirected. The Salvation Army has made mistakes enough. If +only that could be done it would be a great thing. But first we have +got to make other people "understand" besides Roosevelt and yourself.' + +That, at least, was the sense of his words. + +Once more I see him addressing a crowded meeting of City men in +London, on a murky winter afternoon. In five minutes he has gripped +his audience with his tale of things that are new to most of them, +quite outside of their experience. He lifts a curtain as it were, and +shows them the awful misery that lies often at their very office +doors, and the duty which is theirs to aid the fallen and the +suffering. It is a long address, very long, but none of the hearers +are wearied. + +At the end of it I had cause to meet him in his office about a certain +matter. He had stripped off his coat, and stood in the red jersey of +his uniform, the perspiration still streaming from him after the +exertion of his prolonged effort in that packed hall. As he spoke he +ate his simple meal of vegetables (mushrooms they were, I remember), +and tea, for, like most of his family, he never touches meat. Either +he must see me while he ate or not at all; and when there is work to +be done, General Booth does not think of convenience or of rest; +moreover, as usual, there was a train to catch. One of his +peculiarities is that he seems always to be starting for somewhere, +often at the other side of the world. + +Lastly, I see him on one of his tours. He is due to speak in a small +country town. His Officers have arrived to make arrangements, and are +waiting with the audience. It pours with rain, and he is late. At +length the motors dash up through the mud and wet, and out of the +first of them he appears, a tall, cloaked figure. Already that day he +has addressed two such meetings besides several roadside gatherings, +and at night he must speak to a great audience in a city fourteen +miles away; also stop at this place and at that before he gets there, +for a like purpose. He is to appear in the big city at eight, and +already it is half-past three. + +Five minutes later he has been assisted on to the platform (for this +was before his operation and he was almost blind), and for nearly an +hour pours out a ceaseless flood of eloquence, telling the history of +his Organization, telling of his life's work and of his heart's aims, +asking for their prayers and help. He looks a very old man now, much +older than when first I knew him, and with his handsome, somewhat +Jewish face and long, white beard, a very type of some prophet of +Israel. So Abraham must have looked, one thinks, or Jeremiah, or +Elijah. But there is no weariness in his voice or his gestures; and, +as he exhorts and prays, his darkening eyes seem to flash. + +It is over. He bids farewell to the audience that he has never seen +before, and will never see again, invokes a fervent blessing on them, +and presently the motors are rushing away into the wet night, bearing +with them this burning fire of a man. + +Such are some of my impressions of William Booth, General of the +Salvation Army. + + + + +THE CHIEF OF THE STAFF + + + +No account of the Salvation Army would be complete without some words +about Mr. Bramwell Booth, General Booth's eldest son and right-hand +man, who in the Army is known as the Chief of the Staff. Being +convinced of this, I sought an interview with him--the last of the +many that I have had in connexion with the present work. + +In the Army Mr. Bramwell Booth is generally recognized as 'the power +behind the throne.' He it is who, seated in his office in London, +directs the affairs and administers the policy of this vast +Organization in all lands; the care of the countless Salvation Army +churches is on his shoulders, and has been for these many years. He +does not travel outside Europe; his work lies chiefly at home. I +understand, however, that he takes his share in the evangelical +labours of the Army, and is a powerful and convincing speaker, +although I have never chanced to hear any of his addresses. + +[Illustration: MR. BRAMWELL BOOTH, Chief of the Staff.] + +In appearance at his present age of something over fifty, he is tall +and not robust, with an extremely sympathetic face that has about it +little of his father's rugged cast and sternness. Perhaps it is this +evident sympathy that commands the affection of so many, for I have +been told more than once that he is the best beloved man in the Army, +and one who never uses a stern word. + +I found him busy and pressed for time, even more so, if possible, than +I was myself; he had but just arrived by an early train from some +provincial city. In fact, he was then engaged upon his annual +visitation to all the Field Officers in the country, which, as he +explained, takes him away from London for three days a week for a +period of six weeks, and throws upon him a considerable extra strain +of mind and body. The diocese of the Salvation Army is very extensive! + +I said to Mr. Bramwell Booth that I desired from him his views of the +Army as a religious and a social force throughout the wide world, in +every land where it sets its foot. I wished to hear of the work +considered as a whole, likewise of that work in its various aspects, +and of the different races of mankind among which it is carried on. +Also, amongst others, I put to him the following specific questions:-- + + In what way and by what means does the Army adapt itself to + the needs and customs of the various peoples among whom it + is established? + + What is its comparative measure of success with each of + these peoples, and what future is anticipated for it among + them respectively? + + Where is the work advancing, where does it hang in the + balance, and where is it being driven backwards? + + What are your views upon the future of the Army as a + religious and social power throughout the world, bearing in + mind the undoubted difficulties with which it is confronted? + + Do you consider that now, after forty-five years of + existence, it is, speaking generally, on the downward or on + the upward grade? + + What information can you give me as to the position of the + Army in its relations with other religious bodies? + +At this point Mr. Bramwell Booth inquired mildly how much time I had +to spare. The result of my answer was that we agreed together that it +was clearly impossible to deal with all these great matters in an +interview. So it was decided that he should take time to think them +over, and should furnish his replies in the form of a written +memorandum. This he has done, and I may say without flattery that the +paper which he has drawn up is one of the most clear and broad-minded +that I have had the pleasure of reading for a long while. Since it is +too long to be used as a quotation, I print it in an appendix,[7] +trusting sincerely that all who are interested in the Salvation Army +in its various aspects will not neglect its perusal. Indeed, it is a +valuable and an authoritative document, composed by perhaps the only +person in the world who, from his place and information, is equal to +the task. + +Personally I venture upon neither criticism nor comment, whose rôle +throughout all these pages is but that of a showman, although I trust +one not altogether devoid of insight into the matter in hand. + +To only one point will I call attention--that of the general note of +confidence which runs through Mr. Bramwell Booth's remarks. Clearly he +at least does not believe that the Salvation Army is in danger of +dissolution. Like his father, he believes that it will go on from good +to good and from strength to strength. + +There remain, however, one or two other points that we discussed +together to which I will allude. Thus I asked him if he had anything +to say as to the attacks which from time to time were made upon the +Army. He replied as his father had done: 'Nothing, except that they +were best left to answer themselves.' + +Then our conversation turned to the matter of the resignation of +certain Officers of the Army which had caused some passing public +remark. + +'We have an old saying here,' he said, with some humour, 'that we do +not often lose any one whom we very much desire to keep.' + +I pointed out that I had heard allegations made to the effect that the +Army Officers were badly paid, hardly treated, and, when they proved +of no more use, let go to find a living as best they could. + +He replied that, as to the matter of money, the Army had established a +Pension fund in all the Western countries, which now amounts to a +large total. In this country the sum was about £44,000, and during +1909 about £1,800 had been paid here in pensions. This, however, was +only a beginning, but he thought that the effort was being made on the +right lines, and that, notwithstanding their poverty, a really +adequate Pension fund would be built up in due course. + +Then of a sudden he became eloquent. He said he admitted that the Army +had little to offer. Those who came into its service knew that this +was so; that they had no hope of temporal reward; that thenceforth the +great feature of their life and work was that it must be filled with +labour and self-denial. The whole business of helping and saving our +fellow-creatures was one of struggle and suffering. Sacrifice was the +key-note of Christianity as laid down by its Founder. Those who sought +money and temporal honour must look elsewhere than to the Salvation +Army. Its pride and glory was that thousands were willing to suffer +and deny themselves from year to year, and to find their joy and their +recompense in the consciousness that they were doing something, +however little, to lighten the darkness and relieve the misery of the +world. + +Here are some of his actual words upon this matter that I will quote, +as I cannot better them:-- + +'The two facts of real consequence about our Officers are these: +First, that their numbers go on increasing year by year, and second, +that they remain devoted to their work, very poor, and absolutely bent +on obtaining a reward in Heaven. But let me quote here from General +Booth on this matter:-- + +'"I resolved that no disadvantage as to birth, or education, or social +condition should debar any one from entering the list of combatants so +long as he was one with me in love for God, in faith for the salvation +of men, and in willingness to obey the orders he should receive from +me and from those I authorized to direct him. I have, of course, had +many disappointments--not a few of them very hard to bear at the +time--but from the early days of 1868, when I engaged my first +recognized helper, to 1878, when the number had increased by slow +degrees to about 100, and on to the present day, when their number is +rapidly approaching 20,000, there has not been a single year without +its increase, not only in quantity, but in quality. + +'"I am sometimes asked, What about those who have left me? Well, I am +thankful to say that we remain in sympathetic and friendly relations +with the great bulk of them. It was to be expected that in work such +as ours, demanding, as it does, not only arduous toil and constant +self-denial and often real hardships of one kind or another, some +should prove unworthy, some should grow weary, and others should faint +by the way, whilst others again, though very excellent souls, should +prove unsuitable. It could not be otherwise, for we are engaged in +real warfare, and whoever heard of war without wounds and losses? But +even of those who do thus step aside from the position of Officers, a +large proportion--in this country nine out of ten--remain with us, +engaged in some voluntary effort in our ranks."' + +'But,' continued Mr. Bramwell Booth, 'I would be the last person to +minimize our losses. They may be accounted for in the most natural +way, and yet we cannot but feel them and suffer from them. And yet it +is all just a repetition of the Bible stories of all ages; nay, of all +stories of genuine fighting in any great cause. The great feature of +our present experience in this matter is that the number who go out +from us grows every year smaller in proportion to the whole, and that, +as the General says in the above extract, a very large proportion of +those continue in friendly relations with us. + +'The triumph of these splendid men and women, in the face of every +kind of difficulty in every part of the world is, however, really a +triumph of their faith. It is not the Army, it is not their leaders, +it is not even the wonderful devotion which many of them manifest, +which is the secret of their continued life and continued success, nor +is it any confidence in their own abilities. No! The true +representative of the Army is relying at every turn upon the presence, +guidance, and help of God in trying to carry out the Father's purpose +with respect to every lost and suffering child of man. By that test, +alike in the present and future, we must ever stand or fall. The Army +is either a work of faith or it is nothing at all. + +'Everything throughout all our ranks can really be brought to that +test, and I regard with composure every loss and attack, every puzzle +and danger, chiefly because I rely upon my comrades' trust in God +being responded to by Him according to their need.' + +Perhaps I may be allowed to add a few remarks upon this subject. A +great deal is made of the resignation of a few Salvation Army Officers +in order that they may accept excellent posts in other walks of life; +indeed, it is not uncommon to see it stated that such resignations +herald the dissolution of the Society. Inasmuch as the number of the +Army's Officers is nearing 20,000 it would seem that it can very well +spare a few of them. What fills me with wonder is not that some go, +but that so many remain. _This_ is one of the facts which, amongst +much that is discouraging, convinces me of the innate nobility of man. +An old friend of mine of pious disposition once remarked to me that +_he_ could never have been a Christian martyr. At the first twist of +the cord, or the first nip of the red-hot pincers, he was sure that +_he_ would have thrown incense by the handful upon the altar of any +heathen god or goddess that was fashionable at the moment. His spirit +might have been willing, but his flesh would certainly have proved +weak. + +I sympathized with the honesty of this confession, and in the same way +I sympathize with those Officers of the Salvation Army who, in racing +slang, cannot 'stay the course.' + +Let us consider the lot of these men. Any who have entered on even a +secular crusade, something that takes them off the beaten, official +paths, that leads them through the thorns and wildernesses of a new, +untravelled country, towards some distant goal seen dimly, or not seen +at all except in dreams, will know what such an undertaking means. It +means snakes in the grass; it means savages, or in other words veiled +and poisonous hatreds and bitter foes, or, still worse, treacherous +friends. The crusader may get through, in which case no one will thank +him except, perhaps, after he is dead. Or he may fail and perish, in +which case every one will mock at him. Or he may retreat discouraged +and return to the official road, in which case his friends will remark +that they are glad to see that his insanity was only of the +intermittent order, and that at length he has learned his place in the +world and to whom he ought to touch his cap. + +Well, these are official roads to Heaven as well as to the House of +Lords and other mundane goals, a fact which the Salvation Army Officer +and others of his kind have probably found out. On the official road, +if he has interest and ability--the first is to be preferred--he might +have become anything, and with ordinary fortune would certainly have +become something. + +But on the path that he has chosen what is there for him to gain? An +inheritance of dim glory beyond the stars, obscured doubtless from +time to time, if he is like other men, by sudden and sickening +eclipses of his faith. And meanwhile the daily round, the insolent +gibe, and the bitter ingratitude of men that leaves him grieving. Also +not enough money to pay for a cab when it is wet, and considerable +uncertainty as to the future of his children, and even as to his own +old age. Few comforts for him, not even those of a glass of wine to +stimulate him, or of tobacco to soothe his nerves, for these are +forbidden to him by the rules of his Order. Unless he can reach the +very top of his particular tree also, which it is most unlikely that +he will, no public recognition even of his faithful, strenuous work, +and who is there that at heart does not long for public recognition? +In short, nothing that is desirable to man save the consciousness of a +virtue which, after all, he must feel to be indifferent (being well +aware of his own secret faults), and the satisfaction of having helped +a certain number of lame human dogs over moral or physical stiles. + +In such a case and in a world which we must admit to be selfish and +imperfect, the wonder is not that certain Salvation Army Officers, +being trained men of high ability, yield to tempting offers and go, +but that so many of them remain. + +'Look at my case,' said one of them to me. 'With my experience and +organizing ability I am worth £2,000 a year as the manager of any big +business, and I could have it if I liked. Here I get about £200!' + +This was one of those who remain. I say all honour to such noble +souls, for surely they are of the salt of the earth. + + + + +NOTE ON THE RELIGION OF THE SALVATION ARMY + + + +The religious faith of the Salvation Army, as I have observed and +understand it (for little has been said to me on this matter), is +extremely simple. It believes in an eternal Heaven for the righteous +and--a sad doctrine this, some of us may think--in a Hell, equally +eternal, for the wicked.[8] Its bedrock is the Bible, especially the +New Testament, which it accepts as true without qualification, from +the first word to the last, troubling itself with no doubts or +criticisms. Especially does it believe in the dual nature of the +Saviour, in Christ as God, and in Christ as man, and in the +possibility of forgiveness and redemption for even the most degraded +and defiled of human beings. Love is its watchword, the spirit of love +is its spirit, love arrayed in the garments of charity. + +In essentials, with one exception, its doctrines much resemble those +of the Church of England, and of various dissenting Protestant bodies. +The exception is, that it does not make use of the Sacraments, even of +that of Communion, although, on the other hand, it does not deny the +efficacy of those Sacraments, or object to others, even if they be +members of the Army, availing themselves of them. Thus, I have known +an Army Officer to join in the Communion Service. The reason for this +exception is, I believe, that in the view of General Booth, the +Sacraments complicate matters, are open to argument and attack, and +are not understood by the majority of the classes with which the Army +deals. How their omission is reconciled with certain prominent +passages and directions laid down in the New Testament I do not know. +To me, I confess, this disregard of them seems illogical. + +The motto of the Army is 'Salvation for all,' and, as I have hinted in +these pages, it has a sure conviction of the essential persistence of +miracle in these modern days. It holds that when a man kneels at the +Penitent-Form and 'gets converted,' a miracle takes place within him, +if his repentance is true, and that thenceforward some Grace from on +High will give him the power to overcome the evil in his heart and +blood. + +It believes, too, in the instant efficacy of earnest prayer, and in +the possibility of direct communication by this means between man and +his Maker. + +Here is an instance of this statement. While inspecting the Shelters +in one of the provincial cities, I was shown a certain building which +had recently passed into the possession of the Army. The Officer who +was conducting me said that the negotiations preliminary to the +acquisition of the lease of this building had been long and difficult. +I remarked that these must have caused him anxiety. 'Oh, no,' he +answered, simply. 'You see I had talked with the Lord about it, and I +knew that we should get the place in the end.' + +This reply may cause some to smile, but I confess I find such +childlike faith touching and even beautiful. + +There is small doubt that consciously or unconsciously, the Salvation +Army has followed St. Paul's example of being all things to all men, +if 'by all means' it may save some. This is the reason of its methods +which to many seem so vulgar and offensive. Once I spoke to an Officer +high up in the Army of this matter, instancing, amongst other things, +its brass bands and loud-voiced preaching at street corners. + +'My dear sir,' he replied, 'if we came to convert _you_, we should not +bring a brass band or send a missionary who shouted out sacred names +every minute. Possibly, if we thought that you were open to the +influences of music, we might send a first-rate violinist to play +pieces from the classical masters, and we should certainly send a man +whom we knew to be your intellectual equal, and who could therefore +appeal to your reason. But our mission at present is not so much to +you and your class, as to the dregs of humanity. The folk we deal with +live in a state of noise of which you have no conception, and if we +want to force them to listen to us, we must begin by making a greater +noise in order to attract their attention at all. In the same way it +is of no use wasting subtleties on them; we have to go straight to the +main points, which are clear and sharp enough to pierce their +drink-besotted intelligences, or to reach any fragment of conscience +they may have remaining in them.' + +I thought the argument sound and well put, and results have proved its +force, since the Salvation Army undoubtedly gets a hold of people that +few other forms of religious effort seem able to grasp, at least to +any considerable extent. + +I wish to make it clear, however, that I hold no particular brief for +the Army, its theology, and its methods. I recognize fully, as I know +it does, the splendid work that is being done in the religious and +social fields by other Organizations of the same class, especially by +Dr. Barnardo's Homes, by the Waifs and Strays Society, by the Church +Army, and, above all, perhaps, by another Society, with which I have +had the honour to be connected in a humble capacity for many years, +that for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Still it remains true +that the Salvation Army is unique, if only on account of the colossal +scale of its operations. Its fertilizing stream flows on steadily from +land to land, till it bids fair to irrigate the whole earth. What I +have written about is but one little segment of a work which +flourishes everywhere, and even lifts its head in Roman Catholic +countries, although in these, as yet, it makes no very great progress. + +How potent then, and how generally suited to the needs of stained and +suffering mankind, must be that religion which appeals both to the +West and to the East, which is as much at home in Java and Korea as it +is in Copenhagen or Glasgow. For it should be borne in mind that the +basis of the Salvation Army is religious, that it aims, above +everything, at the conversion of men to an active and lively faith in +the plain, uncomplicated tenets of Christianity to the benefit of +their souls in some future state of existence and, incidentally, to +the Reformation of their characters while on earth. + +The social work of which I have been treating is a mere by-product or +consequence of its main idea. Experience has shown, that it is of +little use to talk about his soul to a man with an empty stomach. +First, he must be fed and cleansed and given some other habitation +than the street. Also the Army has learned that Christ still walks the +earth in the shape of Charity; and that religion, after all, is best +preached by putting its maxims into practice; that the poor are always +with us; and that the first duty of the Christian is to bind their +wounds and soothe their sorrows. Afterwards, he may hope to cure them +of their sins, for he knows that unless such a cure is effected, +temporal assistance avails but little. Except in cases of pure +misfortune which stand upon another, and, so far as the Army work is +concerned, upon an outside footing, the causes of the fall must be +removed, or that fall will be repeated. The man or woman must be born +again, must be regenerated. Such, as I understand it, is at once the +belief of the Salvation Army and the object of all its efforts. +Therefore, I give to this book its title of 'Regeneration.' + + + +THE NEED IS GREAT! + + * * * * * + +_The principal items of the Salvation Army's expenditure for Social +Work during the financial year ending September 30, 1911, are as +follows, and help is earnestly asked to meet these, the work being +entirely dependent upon Voluntary Gifts_. + +For Maintenance of Work amongst the Destitute + and Outcast Men and Women, including Shelters + for Homeless Men and Women, Homes for Children, + Rescue Homes, etc..................................... £15,000 + +For Maintenance of the Slum Sisterhood and Nurses + for the Sick Poor..................................... £3,000 + +For Prison Visitation Staff and Prison-Gate Work........ £5,000 + +For Work among Youths and Boys.......................... £2,000 + +For Special Relief and Distress Agencies................ £5,000 + +For Development of the Work and Agricultural + Departments of the Hadleigh Colony.................... £3,000 + +For Assistance and Partial Maintenance of the + Unemployed and Inefficient............................ £5,000 + +For Assisting suitable Men and Women to Emigrate........ £3,000 + +Towards the provision of New Institutions for Men + and Boys in London and various provincial Cities...... £10,000 + +For the General Management and Supervision of all + the above Operations.................................. £2,000 + ------- + £53,000 + +Cheques and Postal Orders should be made payable to WILLIAM BOOTH, +crossed 'Bank of England, Law Courts Branch,' and sent to MRS. BOOTH, +101 Queen Victoria Street, London, E.C. Clothes for the poor and +articles for sale are always needed. + + + + +LEGACIES + + * * * * * + +Ladies and Gentlemen are earnestly asked to remember the needs of the +Salvation Army's Social Work (the 'Darkest England' Social Scheme), in +connexion with the preparation of their wills. + + * * * * * + +All kinds of property can now be legally bequeathed for charitable +purposes, and the following form of legacy is recommended. Where a +legacy does not consist of a certain amount of money, care should be +taken to identify clearly the property, shares, stock, or whatever it +may be intended to be bequeathed. + +_'I GIVE AND BEQUEATH TO WILLIAM BOOTH, or other the General for the +time being of the Salvation Army, and Director of the "Darkest +England" Social Scheme, the sum of £............_ (or) _MY TWO +freehold houses known as Nos.......... in the county +of................_ (or) _my £............ ordinary stock of the +London and North-Western Railway Company_ (or) _my shares +in............Limited_ (or as the case may be) _to be used or applied +by him, at his discretion, for the general purposes of the "Darkest +England" Social Scheme. And I direct the said last-mentioned Legacy to +be paid within twelve months after my decease.'_ + + * * * * * + +DIRECTIONS FOR EXECUTION OF WILL + + * * * * * + +The Will must be executed by the Testator in the presence of two +witnesses, who must sign their names, addresses, and occupations at +the end of the Will in the presence of the Testator. The best method +to adopt for a Testator to be quite sure that his Will is executed +properly, is for him to take the Will and his two witnesses into a +room, lock the door, and tell the witnesses that he wishes them to +attest his Will. All three must sign in the room and nobody must go +out until all have signed. + +GENERAL BOOTH will always be pleased to procure further advice for any +friends desiring to benefit the Salvation Army's work in any of its +departments, by Will or otherwise, and will treat any communications +made to him on the subject as strictly private and confidential. +Letters dealing with the matter should be marked Private, and +addressed to GENERAL BOOTH, 101 QUEEN VICTORIA STREET, LONDON, E.C. + + + + +APPENDIX A + + +NOTES ON THE ARMY'S FUTURE + +(Following My Conversation with Mr. Rider Haggard) + +BY BRAMWELL BOOTH + +When asked to give my own view of the present and probable future +influence of the Salvation Army upon the world, I feel in no danger of +exaggeration. If any one could imagine what it has been for me to sit +at its centre almost without intermission for more than thirty-five +years, receiving continual reports of its development and progress in +one nation after another, studying from within not only its strength +and vitality, but its weaknesses and failures, and labouring to devise +remedies and preventatives, until what was a little unknown Mission in +the East End of London has become the widely, I might almost say, the +universally recognized Army of to-day, he could perhaps understand +something of my great confidence. + +Curious indeed seem to be the thoughts of many people about +us!--people, I mean, who have only had a glance at one of our open-air +meetings, or have only heard some wild challenge of General Booth's +good faith, and have then more or less carefully avoided any closer +acquaintance with us. They often appear to be under the impression +that you have only to persuade a few people to march through any +crowded thoroughfare with a band, to gather a congregation, and, if +you please, to form out of it an Army, and from that again to secure a +vast revenue! I often wish that such people could know the struggles +of almost every individual, even amongst the very poorest, between the +moment of first contact with us and that of resolving to enlist in our +ranks. How few, even now, seem aware of the fact that so far from +paying or rewarding any one for joining in our efforts, all who do so +are from the first called upon daily not only to give to our funds, +but by sacrifice of time, labour, money, and often of health as well, +to constitute themselves efficient soldiers of their Corps, and assist +in providing it with every necessity. + +Every one of the 3,000,000 meetings held annually, even in this +country, depends upon the voluntary giving up of the time and effort +of working-men and women who have in most cases to hurry from work to +home, and from home to meeting-place, after a hard day's labour. Much +the same may be said of the 450,000 meetings held annually on the +Continent of Europe; with this difference, that our people there have +mostly to begin work earlier in the day, and to conclude much later +than is the case here. Their evening meetings, in conformity with the +habits of the country concerned, must needs be begun, therefore, +later, and conclude much later than similar gatherings in the United +Kingdom. + +A cursory glance through the seventy-four newspapers and periodicals +published by the Army--generally weekly--in twenty-one languages, +would show any one how variously our people everywhere are seeking to +meet the different habits of life in each country, and how constantly +new plans are being tried to attain the supreme object of all our +multitudinous agencies--the arousing of men's attention to the claims +of God and their ingathering to His Kingdom. + +The original plan adopted in this country of going to the people by +means of meetings and marches in the streets, is in many lands not +legally permissible, while in others it is almost useless. Our +leaders, therefore, have always to be finding out other means of +attaining the same end. This has resulted in very great gains of +liberty in several ways. On the Continent, for example, though it is +not possible to get a general permission to hold open-air meetings in +the streets, it is becoming more and more usual to let our people hold +such gatherings in the large pleasure-grounds, provided within or on +the outskirts both of the great cities and the lesser towns. In some +cases the announcements of further meetings, made somewhat after the +style of the public crier, develops into a series of short open-air +addresses. In other cases, conspicuously in Italy, where our work is +only as yet in its infancy--the sale of our paper, both by individual +hawkers and by groups of comrades singing the songs it contains in +marketplaces, largely makes up for the want of the more regularized +open-air work. + +And in the courts of the great blocks of buildings which abound in +cities like Berlin, Copenhagen, Stockholm, and elsewhere, meetings are +held which are really often more effective in impressing whole +families of various classes than any of our open-air proceedings in +countries like England and the United States. + +But everywhere the Army seeks especially, though not by any means +exclusively, for those who are to be found frequenting the +public-houses, cafes, beer gardens, dives, saloons, and other +drinking-places of the world. In all countries our people sell our +papers amidst these crowds, as well as at the doors of the theatres +and other places of amusement, and the mere offer of these papers, now +that their unflinching character as to God and goodness is well known, +constitutes an act of war, a submission to which in so many million +cases is no slight evidence of confidence among the masses of the +people in our sincerity, and, so far, a sign of our success. + +But 'The War Cry' seller is in the countries of more scattered +population, such as Switzerland, some of the colonies, and large parts +of India, much more than is the case in the big cities, the +representative of every form of helpfulness. He, or she, not merely +offers the paper for sale to those who have neither opportunity nor +inclination to attend religious services of any kind, but enters +himself where no paper ever comes, holds little meetings with groups +of those who have never prayed, heartens those who are sinking down +under pressure of calamity, visits the sick-room of the friendless, +and often becomes the intermediary of the suffering and destitute and +those who can help them in their dismal necessities. + +Of the persistent hopefulness with which our people everywhere go to +the apparently abandoned, I will only say that it constitutes a store +of moral and material help, not only for those people themselves, but +for all who become acquainted with it, the value of which in the +present it is difficult to exaggerate, and the influence of which on +the future it is equally difficult to over-estimate. + +While leaving the utmost possible freedom for initiative to our +leaders, we are seeking everywhere to solidify and regularize every +effort that has once been shown to be of any practical use. Any one +amongst us, down to the youngest and poorest in any part of the world, +may do a new thing next week which will prove a blessing to his +fellows, and some one will be on the watch to see that that good +thing, once done, be repeated, and, so far as may be, kept up in +perpetuity. + +Where special classes of needs exist, we must of course employ special +agencies. The vitality and adaptability of the Army in the presence of +new opportunities is one of the happy auguries for the future. While +all that is virile and forceful in it increases, there is less and +less of the rigid and formal. + +Fourteen or fifteen years ago some Officers were set apart to visit +the Lapps who range over all the Territories to the north of +Scandinavia. This meant at first only months of solitary travelling +during the summer, and no little suffering in the winter, with little +apparent result. But gradually a system of meetings was established, +the people's confidence was gained, and at length it has been found +possible to group together various centres of regular activity amongst +these interesting but little-known people, and now experienced leaders +will see both to the permanence of all that has already been begun, +and to the further extension of the work. + +In Holland, where our work has assumed the proportions of a national +movement, the beneficent effects of which are recognized by all +classes, the canal population is helped by means of a small sailing +ship, on which are held regular meetings for them. Our Norwegian +people also have a life-boat called the _Catherine Booth_ stationed +upon a stormy and difficult part of the coast, which not only goes out +to help into safety boats and boats' crews, but whose crew also holds +meetings on islands in remote fisher hamlets where no other religious +visitors come. + +The same principle of adaptation to local conditions and requirements +will, I doubt not, quickly ensure success for the small detachment of +Officers we have just sent to commence operations in Russia. + +In Dutch India we have not only a growing Missionary work amongst both +Javanese and Chinese, but Government Institutions have been placed +under our care, where lepers, the blind, and other infirm natives, as +well as neglected children, are medically cared for and helped in +other ways. + +In South Africa, both English and Dutch-speaking peoples are united +under one Flag, and give themselves up to work amongst the native +races round them--races which constitute so grave a problem in the +eyes of all thoughtful men who know anything of the true position in +South Africa. One of the latest items of news is that an Angoni has +accepted salvation at one of our settlements in Mashonaland, and on +return to his own home and work--lying away between Lake Nyassa and +the Zambezi--has begun to hold meetings and to exercise an influence +upon his people which cannot but end in the establishment of our work +amongst them. + +But, to my mind, one of the most important features of our work in all +Eastern and African lands is our development of the native power under +experienced guidance to purely Salvationist and therefore +non-political purposes. Surely the most potent possible corrective for +the sort of half rebel influence that has grown or is growing up in +Africa under the name of Ethiopianism, as well as for much of the +strange uneasiness among the dumb masses of India, is the complete +organization of native races under leaders who, whilst of their own +people, are devoted to the highest ethical aims, and stand in happy +subjection to men of other lands who have given them a training in +discipline and unity which does not contemplate bloodshed. + +We are now beginning both in India and Africa, as well as in the West +Indies, to find experienced native Officers capable of taking Staff +positions; that is, of becoming reliable leaders in large districts +where we are at work. These men have not merely all the advantages of +language and of fitness for the varieties of climate which are so +trying to Westerners, but they show a courage and tenacity and +tact--in short, a capacity for leadership and administration such as +no one--at any rate, no one that I know of--expected to find in them. +Here is opened a prospect of the highest significance. + +More than can be easily estimated has been done in spreading +information about us for some years past by Salvationists belonging to +various national armies and navies. We encourage all such men to group +themselves into brigades, so far as may be allowed, in their various +barracks and ships. Thus united, they work for their mutual +encouragement, and for the spreading of good influences among others. +It was such a little handful that really began our work in the West +Indies, and we have now a Corps in Sierra Leone, on the west coast of +Africa, formed by men of a West Indian regiment temporarily quartered +there. The same thing has happened in Sumatra by means of Dutch and +Javanese soldiers. + +For British India we naturally felt ourselves first of all, as to the +heathen world, under obligation to do something. And no inconsiderable +results have followed the efforts which were first commenced there +twenty-eight years ago. Our pioneers, though they greatly disturbed +the official white world, won the hearts of the people at a stroke, by +wearing Indian dress, living amongst and in the style of the poorer +villages. Soon Indian converts offered themselves for service, and +after training; were commissioned as Officers, and it was at once seen +that they would be far more influential than any foreigners. From the +point at which that discovery was really made, the work assumed +important proportions, passing at once in large measure from the +position of a foreign mission to being a movement of the people +themselves. + +The vastness of the country and the difference of language have led to +our treating it as five separate commands, now under the general lead +of one headquarters. Incidentally, this has helped us in dealing with +some of the difficulties connected with caste, as it has been possible +to remove Indian Officers from one part of India to another, and we +have made some efforts which have, I admit, proved less successful in +some districts than in others, to deal with castes which, within their +own lines, are often little more than Trade Unions with a mixture of +superstition. + +Meanwhile, the practical character of our work has shown itself in +efforts to help in various ways the lowest of the people to improve +their circumstances. The need for this is instantly apparent when one +reflects that some 40,000,000 of the inhabitants of India are always +hungry. A system of loan banks, which has now been adopted in part by +the Government, has been of great service to the small +agriculturalists. The invention of an extremely simple and yet greatly +improved hand loom has proved, and will prove, very valuable to the +weavers. New plans of relief in times of scarcity and famine have also +greatly helped in some districts to win the confidence of the people. +Industrial schools, chiefly for orphan children, have also been a +feature of the work in some districts. + +Recently the Government, having seen with what success our people have +laboured for the salvation of the lower castes, have decided to hand +over to us the special care of several of the criminal tribes, who are +really the remnants of the Aborigines. Although this work is at +present only in its experimental stage, all who have examined the +results so far have been delighted at the rapidity with which we have +brought many into habits of self-supporting industry, who, with their +fathers before them, had been accustomed to live entirely by plunder. +About 2,000 persons of this class are already under our care. + +There are some 3,000,000 of these robbers in different parts of India. +They are only kept under anything like control at great cost for +police and military supervision; but we are satisfied that, if +reasonable support be given, a great proportion of them can be +reclaimed from their present courses of idleness and crime, and in any +case their children can be saved. + +We have been able in India, perhaps more than in any other part of the +world, to realize the international character of our work by linking +together Officers from England, Germany, Holland, and the Scandinavian +countries, as well as from America, in the one great object of helping +the heathen peoples. But most of all we have rejoiced in being able to +blend East and West, European Officers having often been placed under +more experienced Indian comrades, as well as vice versa. The great +common purpose dominating all sections of the Army, and the influences +of the Spirit of God, have united men of different levels of +intelligence, and knit them together in the same fellowship, without +any unwise mingling of races. We have now 2,000 Officers in India, and +that alone is a testimony of the highest significance to the success +of our efforts, and to the possibilities which lie before us. But even +more important in its bearing upon the future, in my estimation, is +the wonderful ambition dominating our people there to reach every +class, but most of all to deal with the low caste, or outcast, as they +are sometimes called. Many of our Indian Officers have followed in the +steps of our pioneers in the country, and, consumed by an enthusiasm +amounting to a passion for their fellows, have literally sacrificed +their lives in the ceaseless pressing forward of their work. + +In America we have had to deal, perhaps, with the other extreme of +human needs. Throughout Canada there is very little to be seen of +poverty and wretchedness. In the United States the great cities begin +indeed to have areas of vice and misery not to be surpassed in any of +the older cities of the world. But everywhere we have found people who +have become forgetful of God, neglectful of every higher duty, and +abandoned to one or other form of selfishness. Our work in the United +States especially has been confronted with difficulties peculiar to +the country, its widespread populations and their cosmopolitan +character being not the least of these. Nevertheless, we have now in +the States and Canada nearly 4,000 Officers leading the work in 1,380 +Corps and Societies, and 350 Social Institutions. I ought to say that +it has not been found easy to raise large numbers in many places, but +of the generosity and devotion of those who have united themselves +with us, and the immense amount of work which they accomplish for +their fellows, it is impossible to speak too highly. + +I look with confidence to the future in both these great countries. +Governments and local Authorities are beginning to grant us the +facilities and help we need to deal effectually with their abandoned +classes, as well as to attack some other problems of a difficult +nature. Within the last few years, we have placed in Canada more than +50,000 emigrants, chiefly from this country. Their characteristics, +and their success in their new surroundings, have won for us the +highest commendation of the Authorities concerned. + +In the vast fields of South America, we have as yet only small forces, +but we have established a good footing with the various populations, +and have already received no inconsiderable help for our purely +philanthropic work from several of the Governments. Our latest new +extensions, Chile, Paraguay, and Peru, and Panama, seem to offer +prospects of success, even greater than we have been able to record in +the Argentine or Uruguay. Before your book is published, we shall +probably have made a beginning also in both Bolivia and Brazil. + +The South American Republics--chiefly populated by the descendants of +the poorest classes of Southern Europe--are professedly Roman +Catholic. The influence of the priesthood, however, owing to various +causes, seems to be on the wane, and a habit of abandoning all +religious thought is much on the increase. But the realization that +our people never attack any Church, or quibble about details of creed +and ceremonial, has won their way to the hearts of many, and there can +be no doubt that we have a great future amongst these peoples. In Peru +the law does not allow any persons not of the Romish Church to offer +prayer in public places, but when it was found that our Officers made +no trouble of this, but managed all the same to hold open-air and +theatre services very much in our usual style, great numbers of the +people were astonished at the 'new religion,' and so many had soon +begun to pray 'in private' that we have little doubt about the future +of our work there. + +In thinking of the future, I cannot overlook our plans of organization +which have, I am persuaded, much to do with the proper maintenance and +continuance of the work we have taken in hand. + +While striving as much as possible to avoid red tape, or indeed any +methods likely to hinder initiative and enterprise, we are careful to +apply a systemization comprehensible to the most untrained minds, so +that we may make every one feel a proper degree of responsibility, as +well as guard them from mere emotionalism and spasmodic activity, +accompanied as that kind of thing often is, by general neglect. + +Thus no one can join the Army until after satisfying the local Officer +and some resident of the place during a period of trial of the +sincerity of his profession. He must then sign our Articles of War. +These Articles describe precisely our doctrines, our promise to +abstain from intoxicants, worldly pleasures, and fashions, bad or +unworthy language, or conduct, and unfairness to either employer or +employé, as well as our purpose to help and benefit those around us. +(See Appendix B.) + +Some local voluntary worker becomes responsible for setting each +recruit a definite task in connexion with our efforts, and all are +placed under the general oversight of their Captain. A Corps, which is +the unit of our Organization, is organized under a Captain and +Lieutenant who have been trained in the work they have to do as +leaders. Corps are linked together into divisions under Officers, who, +in addition to seeing that they regularly carry out their work, have +the oversight of a considerable tract of country, with the duty of +extending our operations within that area. In some countries a number +of divisions are sometimes grouped into provinces with an Officer in +charge of the whole province, and each country has its national +headquarters under a Territorial Commissioner, all being under the +lead of the International Headquarters in London. + +No time is wasted in committee-ing or debating amongst us, and yet in +all matters of finance and property there is such arrangement that +several individuals are cognizant of every detail, and that no one +person's fault or neglect shall necessarily involve permanent injury +or loss. The central accounts in each country, including those in +London, are under the care of public auditors; but we have also our +own International Audit Department, whose representatives visit every +headquarters from time to time, so as to make sure, not only that the +accounts are kept on our approved system, but that all expenditure is +rigidly criticized. All who really look into our financial methods are +impressed by their economy and precision. The fact is that almost all +our people have been well schooled in poverty. They have learned the +value of pence. + +All this seems to me to have great importance in connexion with +estimates of our future. On the one hand we are ever seeking to +impress on all our people the supreme need of God's spirit of love and +life and freedom, without whose presence the most carefully managed +system could not but speedily grow cold and useless. But at the same +time, we insist that the service of God, however full of love and +gladness, ought to be more precise, more regular, nay, more exacting +than that of any inferior master. + +II + +As to your question whether we are generally making progress, I think +I can say that, viewing the whole field of activity, and taking into +account every aspect of the work, the Army is undoubtedly on the +up-grade. Naturally progress is not so rapid in one country as +another, nor is it always so marked in one period as in another in +particular countries, nor is it always so evident in some departments +of effort as in others; but speaking of the whole, there is, as indeed +there has been from the very beginnings, steady advance. + +In some countries, of course, there is more rapid development of our +purely evangelistic propaganda, while in others our philanthropic +agencies are more active. Progress in human affairs is generally +tidal. It has been so with us. A period of great outward activity is +sometimes followed by one of comparative rest, and in the same way the +spirit of advance in one department sometimes passes from that for a +time to others. A period of great progress in all kinds of pioneer +work, for example in Germany, is just now being followed there by one +of consolidation and organization. A time of enormous advance in all +our departments of charitable effort in the United States is now being +succeeded by a wonderful manifestation of purely spiritual fervour and +awakening. + +In this, the old country, our very success has in some ways militated +against our continued advance at the old rate of progress. Not only +has much ground already been occupied, but innumerable agencies, +modelled outwardly, at least, after those we first established, have +sprung into existence, and are working on a field of effort which was +at one time largely left to us. And yet during the last five years the +Army has enormously strengthened its hold on the confidence of all +classes of the people here, increased its numbers, developed in a +remarkable degree its internal organization, greatly added to its +material resources, as well as maintained and extended its offering of +men and money for the support of the work in heathen countries. + +But even in places where we have appeared to be stagnant, in the sense +of not undertaking any new aggressive activities, we are constantly +making as a part of our regular warfare new captures from the enemy of +souls, maintaining the care of congregations and people linked with +us, working at full pressure our social machinery, training the +children for future labour, raising up men and women to go out into +the world as missionaries of one kind or another, and doing it all +while carrying on vigorous efforts to bring to those who are most +needy in every locality both material and spiritual support. + +Like all aggressive movements, the Army is, of course, peculiarly +subject to loss of one kind or another. That arising from the removals +of its people alone constitutes a serious item. Any one who knows +anything of religious work amongst the working-classes will understand +how great a loss may be caused--even where the population is, +generally speaking, increasing--by the removal of one or two zealous +local leaders. But such losses are trifling compared with those which +follow from some stoppage of employment when large numbers of workmen +must either migrate or starve. + +Similar results often occur from the change of leadership. The removal +of our Officers from point to point, and even from country to country, +is one of our most indispensable needs; but, of course, we have to pay +for it, chiefly in the dislocation and discouragements and losses +which it often necessarily entails. + +So far from such variations being in any way discreditable to us, we +think them one of the most valuable tests of the vitality and courage +of our people, both Officers and Soldiers, that they fight on +unflinchingly under such circumstances--fight on happily, to prove +that while fluctuations of this character are very trying, they often +also open the way both to the wider diffusion of our work elsewhere +and to the breaking up of entirely new ground in the old centres. + +In brief, it is with us at all times a real warfare wherein triumphs +can only be secured at the cost of struggles that are very often +painful and unpleasant. You cannot have the aggression, the advance, +the captures of war without the change, the alarms, the cost, the +wounds, the losses, which are inseparable from it. + +A very striking and thoughtful description of some of the work done at +one of our London Corps has recently been issued by a well-known +writer. I refer to 'Broken Earthenware,' by Mr. Harold Begbie. No one +can read the book without being impressed by the sense of personal +insight which it reveals. But how few take in its main lesson, that +the Army is in every place going on, not only with the recovery but +with the development of broken men and women into more and more +capable and efficient servants and rescuers of their fellows. + +That this should be so is remarkable enough as applied to Westerners, +broken by evil habits and more or less surrounded by wreckage, but how +much more valuable when applied to the teeming populations of the +East! There in so many cases there is no past of criminality or even +of vice as we understand it to forget, but only an infancy of darkness +and ignorance as to Christ and the liberty He brings. + +Many of our best Indian Officers have been snatched from one form or +other of outrageous selfishness, but thousands of our people there are +gradually emerging from what is really the prolonged childhood of a +race to see and know how influential the light of God can make even +them amongst their fellows. Ten years ago in Japan a Salvationist +Officer was a strange if not an unknown phenomenon, but with every +increase of the Christian and Western influences in that country, +every capable witness to Christ becomes, quite apart from any effort +of his own, a much more noticed, consulted, and imitated example than +he was before. In Korea, after a couple of years' effort, we have seen +most striking results of our work, and have just sent, to work among +their own people, our first twenty married Koreans, after a +preliminary period of training for Officership. It is most difficult +to realize the revolution involved in the whole outlook on life to men +who have been looked upon as little more than serfs, without any +prospect of influence in their country. + +The same processes of inner and outer development which have made of +the unknown English workman or workwoman of twenty years ago, the +recognized servants of the community, welcomed everywhere by mayors +and magistrates to help in the service of the poor, will, out of the +clever Oriental, I believe, far more rapidly develop leaders in the +new line of Christian improvement in every sphere of life. It is +considerations such as these which make me say sometimes that the +danger in the Army is not in the direction of magnifying, but rather +of minimizing the influences that are carrying us upward and outward +in every part of the world. + +But in our own estimation there is another reason which perhaps equals +all these for calculating upon a wider development of the Army's +future influence. During the last twenty years we have been pressing +forward amongst a very large number of Church and missionary efforts. +Our speakers have notoriously been amongst the most unlearned and +ungrammatical, and therefore often despised, while so many thousands +of university men were preaching and writing of Christ. But no one now +disputes the fact that the old-fashioned proclamation of the doctrine +of Jesus Christ as a Divine Saviour of the lost has largely gone out +of fashion. The influence of the priest, of the clerk in holy orders, +of the minister, has been so largely undermined that candidates for +the ministry are becoming scarce in many Churches, just while we are +seeing them arise in steadily increasing numbers from among the very +people who know the Army and its work best, and who have most +carefully observed the demands of sacrifice and labour it makes upon +its leaders. + +One cannot but rejoice when one hears ever and anon of some conference +or congress at which various efforts are made to recover, at any rate, +the appearance of a forward movement in the Churches. But the most +serious fact of all, perhaps, is the mixture amongst these +Christianizing plans, whether in one country or another, of the +unbelieving leaven, so that it is possible for men to go forth as the +emissaries of Christianity who have ceased to believe in the Divine +nature of its Founder, and who look for success rather to schemes of +education and of social and temporal improvement than to that new +creation of man by God's power, wherein lies all our hope, as indeed +it must be the hope of every true servant of Christ. + +But I call attention to these facts not to reproach any Church. Far +from it. I simply desire to point out one reason for thinking +ourselves justified in anticipating for the Army a future influence +far beyond anything we have yet experienced. + +Recent 'defences' of Christian revelation have, in our view, been far +more seriously damaging than any attacks that have ever been made from +the hostile camp. In the hope--a vain hope--of conciliating +opposition, there has too often been a timid surrender of much that +can alone give authority to Christian testimony. If Jesus Christ was +not competent to decide the truth or untruth of the Divine revelation, +which He fully and constantly endorsed as such, how absurd it is to +suppose that any eulogies of His character can save Him from the just +contempt of all fearless thinkers, no matter to what nationality they +belong. + +The Army finds itself already, and every year seems more and more +likely to find itself, the only firm and unalterable witness to the +truth of Christ and of His redeeming work in many neighbourhoods and +districts, among them even some wide stretches of Christian territory. +And the times can only bring upon us, it seems to me, more and more +the scrutiny of all who wish to know whether the declarations of the +Scriptures as to God's work in men are or are not reliable. This, +then, however melancholy the reflection may be--and to me it is in +some aspects melancholy indeed--assures to us a future of far wider +importance and influence than any we have dreamed of in the past. + +Our strength, as your book eloquently shows, in dealing with the +deepest sunken, the forgotten, the outcasts of society, the pariahs +and lepers of modern life; has ever been our absolute certainty with +regard to Christ's love and power to help them. How much greater must +of necessity be the value and influence of our testimony where the +very existence of Christ and His salvation becomes a matter of doubt +and dispute! Here, at any rate, is one reason which leads me to +believe that the Salvation Army has before it a future of the highest +moment to the world. + +III + +In relation to other religious bodies, our position is marvellously +altered from the time when they nearly all, if not quite all, +denounced us. + +I do not think that any of the Churches in any part of the world do +this now, although no doubt individuals here and there are still +bitterly hostile to us. In the United States and in many of the +British Colonies the Churches welcome our help, and generally speak +well of our work; and even many Roman Catholic leaders, as well as +authorities of the Jewish faith, may be included in this statement. On +the Continent there are signs that they are slowly turning the same +way. + +Now, I confidently expect a steady extension of this feeling towards +us as the Churches come more and more to recognize that we not only do +not attack them, but that we are actually auxiliaries to their forces, +not only gaining our audiences and recruits from those who are outside +their ministrations, but even serving them by doing work for their +adherents which for a variety of reasons they find it very difficult, +if not impossible, to accomplish themselves. + +At the same time it would be a mistake to think that we have any +desire to adopt any of their methods or ceremonials. We keep +everywhere to our simple and non-ecclesiastical habits, and while we +certainly have some very significant and impressive ceremonials of our +own, the way our buildings are fitted, the style of our songs and +music, and the character of our prayers and public talking are +everywhere entirely distinctive, and are nowhere in any danger of +coming into serious competition with the worship adopted by the +Churches. + +Some of our leading Officers think that in one respect our relations +to the Churches, their pastors, and people are unsatisfactory. In the +United States it is customary for the clergy and leaders of every +Church to treat our leaders with the most manifest sympathy and +respect. But there is far too marked a contrast between that treatment +and that which we receive in many other countries. There are, of +course, splendid exceptions. Still few members of any Church are +willing to be seen in active association with us. + +I daresay this is very largely a question of class or caste, and I am +very far from making it a matter of complaint. We would, in fact, far +rather that our people should be regarded as outcasts, than that they +should be tempted to tone down the directness of their witness, or +that they should come under the influence of those uncertainties and +misgivings to which I have already made reference. Nevertheless, it is +certainly no wish of ours that there should remain any distance +between us and any true followers of Christ by whatever name they may +be called. And so we keep firmly, even where it may seem difficult or +impolitic to do so, to our original attitude of entire friendliness +with all those who name the Name of Christ. + +I give a few figures bearing upon the present extent of our +operations:-- + + Number of Countries and Colonies occupied by + the Salvation Army 56 + Languages in which the Work is carried on 33 + Corps, Circles, and Societies of Salvationists 8,768 + Number of persons wholly supported by and employed + in Salvation Army Work 21,390 + Of those, with Rank 16,220 + Without Rank 5,170 + Number of Training Colleges for Officers and + workers 35 + Providing accommodation for 1,866 + SOCIAL OPERATIONS.-- + Number of Institutions 954 + Number of Officers and Cadets employed 2,573 + Number of Local Officers, voluntary and unpaid 60,260 + NUMBER OF PERIODICALS 74 + These Periodicals are published in twenty-one languages, + and have a total circulation per issue of about one million + copies. + + + + +APPENDIX B + + +THE SALVATION ARMY'S ARTICLES OF WAR + + +HAVING received with all my heart the salvation offered to me by the +tender mercy of Jehovah, I do here and now publicly acknowledge God to +be my Father and King, Jesus Christ to be my Saviour, and the Holy +Spirit to be my Guide, Comforter, and Strength; and that I will, by +His help, love, serve, worship, and obey this glorious God through +time and through eternity, + +BELIEVING solemnly that the Salvation Army has been raised up by God, +and is sustained and directed by Him, I do here declare my full +determination, by God's help, to be a true Soldier of the Army till I +die. + + I am thoroughly convinced of the truth of the Army's + teaching. + + I believe that repentance towards God, faith in our Lord + Jesus Christ, and conversion by the Holy Spirit are + necessary to salvation, and that all men may be saved. + + I believe that we are saved by grace, through faith in our + Lord Jesus Christ, and he that believeth hath the witness of + it in himself. I have got it. Thank God! + + I believe that the Scriptures were given by inspiration of + God, and that they teach that not only does continuance in + the favour of God depend upon continued faith in and + obedience to Christ, but that it is possible for those who + have been truly converted to fall away and be eternally + lost. + + I believe that it is the privilege of all God's people to be + wholly sanctified, and that 'their whole spirit and soul and + body' may 'be preserved blameless unto the coming of our + Lord Jesus Christ,' That is to say, I believe that after + conversion there remain in the heart of the believer + inclinations to evil, or roots of bitterness, which, unless + overpowered by divine grace, produce actual sin; but these + evil tendencies can be entirely taken away by the Spirit of + God, and the whole heart, thus cleansed from anything + contrary to the will of God, or entirely sanctified, will + then produce the fruit of the Spirit only. And I believe + that persons thus entirely sanctified may, by the power of + God, be kept unblameable and unreprovable before Him. + + I believe in the immortality of the soul; in the + resurrection of the body; in the general judgment at the end + of the world; in the eternal happiness of the righteous; and + in the everlasting punishment of the wicked. + +THEREFORE, + + I do here and now, and for ever, renounce the world with all + its sinful pleasures, companionships, treasures, and + objects, and declare my full determination boldly to show + myself a soldier of Jesus Christ in all places and + companies, no matter what I may have to suffer, do, or lose, + by so doing. + + I do here and now declare that I will abstain from the use + of all intoxicating liquors, and from the habitual use of + opium, laudanum, morphia, and all other baneful drugs, + except when in illness such drugs shall be ordered for me by + a doctor. + + I do here and now declare that I will abstain from the use + of all low or profane language; from the taking of the name + of God in vain; and from all impurity, or from taking part + in any unclean conversation, or the reading of any obscene + book or paper at any time, in any company, or in any place. + + I do here declare that I will not allow myself in any + falsehood, deceit, misrepresentation, or dishonesty; neither + will I practise any fraudulent conduct in my business, my + home, nor in any other relation in which I may stand to my + fellow-men, but that I will deal truthfully, fairly, + honourably, and kindly with all those who may employ me, or + whom I may myself employ, + + I do here declare that I will never treat any woman, child, + or other person, whose life, comfort, or happiness may be + placed within my power, in an oppressive, cruel or cowardly + manner, but that I will protect such from evil and danger so + far as I can, and promote to the utmost of my ability their + present welfare and eternal salvation. + + I do here declare that I will spend all the time, strength, + money, and influence I can in supporting and carrying on + this war, and that I will endeavour to lead my family, + friends, neighbours, and all others whom I can influence, to + do the same, believing that the sure and only way to remedy + all the evils in the world is by bringing men to submit + themselves to the Government of the Lord Jesus Christ. + + I do here declare that I will always obey the lawful orders + of my Officers, and that I will carry out to the utmost of + my powers all the orders and regulations of the Army; and + further that I will be an example of faithfulness to its + principles, advance to the utmost of my ability its + operations, and never allow, where I can prevent it, any + injury to its interests, or hindrance to its success. + +AND + + I do here and now call upon all present to witness that I + enter into this undertaking, and sign these Articles of War + of my own free will, feeling that the love of Christ, who + died to save me, requires from me this devotion of my life + to His service for the salvation of the whole world, and + therefore wish now to be enrolled as a Soldier of the + Salvation Army. + + _Signed_........................................... + + _Image (full Christian and Surname)_ + + _Address_........................................ + + _Date_........................ _Corps_............. + + + +APPENDIX C + +COPY OF THE SALVATION ARMY BALANCE SHEET, EXTRACTED FROM THE +FORTY-THIRD ANNUAL STATEMENTS OF ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDING +SEPTEMBER 30, 1909. + +_Copies of this Balance Sheet with Statements of Account can be had +upon application. The Balance Sheet and Statements of Account for the +year ending September 30, 1910, will be posted from the press early +next year. The Balance Sheet of The Army's Social Fund can be obtained +from the Secretary._ + + +LIABILITIES + + DR. + £ s. d. +TO LOANS UPON MORTGAGE, + including accrued Interest 540,277 3 11 + +" LOANS FOR FIXED PERIODS, + including accrued Interest 121,958 8 1 + +" RESERVE FUNDS, including + General and Special Reserves 176,143 15 ½ + +" SUNDRY CREDITORS 10,359 3 2 + +" COLONIAL AND FOREIGN + TERRITORIES FUND 55,219 10 7 + +" SELF-DENIAL FUND + (Balance) 3,463 12 3 + + + ---------------- +Carried Forward £907,621 13 1/2 + + +ASSETS + + CR. + £ s. d. £ s. d. +BY FREEHOLD and LEASEHOLD + PROPERTY (at or below + cost) in the United + Kingdom, as on September + 30, 1908 1,066,923 16 2-1/2 +" Additions during the year 23,271 4 6 + -------------------- + 1,090,195 2 8-1/2 +" Freehold Estate in + Australia 10,375 3 6 + ----------------- 1,100,571 6 4-1/2 +" INVESTMENTS, including + Investment of Reserve + and Sinking Funds 196,412 9 2 +" FURNITURE and FITTINGS + at Headquarters, Officers' + Quarters, and + Training College, as on + September 30, 1908 5,412 16 1 +" Additions during the year 2,768 9 5-1/2 + --------------- + 8,181 5 6-1/2 + _Less_ Depreciation 2,433 19 9 + --------------- 5,748 5 9-1/2 + ----------------- +Carried forward £1,802,732 1 4 + + +BALANCE SHEET--_continued_ + +DR. + +Brought forward 907,621 13 0-1/2 + +To The Salvation Army Fund, + +as per last Balance Sheet 411,701 0 6-1/4 + +" Donations and Subscriptions + For Capital Purposes +(including building +Contributions, +£20,044 0s. 2d.) 37,044 6 2 + +" General Income and Expenditure + Account +(Balance) 1,309 17 8-1/2 + +---------------------------------------------------------------------- + + 450,064 18 4-1/2 + ----------------- + + £1,357,706 11 5 + +CR. + +Brought forward 1,302,732 1 4 + +By Loans + +" Trade Headquarters Fund 27,902 16 5 + +" Sundry Colonial and + Foreign Territories 8,606 16 0 + ------------ + + 34,506 12 5 + +" Sundry Debtors 18,360 10 4 + +" Cash at Bank 2,107 7 4 + + --------------- + £1,357,706 11 5 + +We have examined the above Statement with the Books, Accounts, and +Vouchers relating thereto, and certify the same to be correct. We have +also verified the Bank balances and Investments. + +KNOX, CROPPER & CO., + +_Chartered Accountants._ + +16 FINSBURY CIRCUS, E.C. + +_December_ 31, 1909. + + + + +APPENDIX D + +A FEW FIGURES SHOWING SOME OF THE WORK OF THE DARKEST ENGLAND SCHEME +IN THE UNITED KINGDOM. + + TO SEPTEMBER 30, 1909 DURING TOTAL TO + 1910 SEPT. 30, 1910 +Number of Meals supplied at + Cheap Food Dépôts 69,784,480 6,869,897 76,654,377 +Number of Cheap Lodgings for + the Homeless 27,850,674 2,445,300 30,295,974 +Number of Meetings held in + Shelters 140,747 8,660 149,407 +Number of Applications from + Unemployed registered at + Labour Bureaux 302,538 13,009 315,547 +Number received into Factories 63,694 6,754 70,448 +Number for whom Employment + (temporary or permanent) has + been found 249,453 20,210 269,663 +Number of Ex-Criminals received + into Homes 8,840 416 9,256 +Number of Ex-Criminals assisted, + restored to Friends, + sent to situations, etc. 7,886 1,166 9,052 +Number of Applications for Lost + Persons 44,001 2,120 46,121 +Number of Lost Persons found 13,710 398 14,108 +Number of Women and Girls + received into Rescue Homes 44,417 3,679 48,096 +Number of Women and Girls + received into Rescue Homes + who were sent to Situations, + restored to Friends, etc. 37,168 3,346 40,514 +Number of Families visited in + Slums 998,079 109,750 1,107,829 +Number of Families prayed with 577,550 64,141 641,691 +Number of Public-houses visited 630,021 33,188 663,209 +Number of Lodging-houses + visited 17,330 3,457 20,787 +Number of Lodging-house Meetings + held 7,319 1,792 9,111 +Number of Sick People visited + and nursed 93,233 21,912 115,145 + + + + +NOTES: + + +[1: See Appendix C] + +[2: The following extract from the recently issued 'Report of +the Commissioners of Prisons and the Directors of Convict Prisons,' +for the year ended March 31, 1910, Part I [Cd. 5360], published since +the above was written, sets out the present views of the Authorities +on this important matter:-- + + 'Out of the present inmates of convict prisons over 40 per + cent have been previously in penal servitude, viz. out of + 3,046 male convicts in convict prisons, 1,253 had been + previously sentenced to penal servitude, 672 once, 271 + twice, 196 three times, and 114 four times or more. Mr. + Secretary Churchill has referred to us the question whether, + and in what way, it would be possible to make any impression + on this roll of recidivism--this unyielding _corpus_ of + habitual crime. The problem is never absent from the minds + of those responsible for the administration of prisons and + the treatment of crime, and during recent years great + efforts have been made to improve the machinery of + assistance on discharge, fully impressed as we are with the + truth of the old French saying, "_Le difficile ce n'est pas + emprisoner un homme, c'est de le relâcher_." We have tried + to avail ourselves fully of the resources offered by such + powerful agencies as the Church Army, Salvation Army, as + well as other societies who have for years operated in this + particular field of charitable effort. We recognize the + ready help given by all these agencies. No doubt by their + efforts many difficult and unpromising cases have been + rehabilitated; but after full consideration we have come to + the opinion that the task of rehabilitation in the case of + men returning to freedom after a sentence of penal servitude + is too difficult and too costly to be left entirely to + voluntary societies, unaided by any grant of public funds, + and working independently of each other at a problem where + unity of method and direction is above all things required. + Mr. Secretary Churchill, to whom these views have been + represented, at once agreed that the difficulty lay in this + question of discharge, and that the official authority, + acting in close and friendly co-operation with the voluntary + societies must take a more active part than hitherto in + controlling the passage into free life of a man emerging + from penal servitude. ... A plan is now under consideration + for establishing a Central Agency of Control for Discharged + Convicts, on which both the official and unofficial element + will be represented, with a subsidy from public funds, the + purpose of which will be to take in hand the guidance and + direction of every convict on the day of discharge' (pp. 15, + 16).] + +[3: See Parliamentary Blue Book [Cd. 2562].] + +[4: The scale of pay in the Salvation Array for Officers in charge of +Corps (or Stations) is as follows:--For Single Men: Lieutenants, 16s. +weekly; Captains, 18s. weekly. For Single Women: Lieutenants, 12s. +weekly; Captains, 15s. weekly. For Married Men, 27s. per week and 1s. +per week for each child under 7 years of age, and 2s. per week for +each child between the ages of 7 and 14. Furnished lodgings are +provided in addition.] + +[5: But the day before this proof came into my hands it was my duty to +help to try a case illustrative of these remarks. In that case a girl +when only just over the age of sixteen had been seduced by a young man +and borne a son. First the father admitted parentage and promised +marriage. Then he denied parentage, and, apparently without a shadow +of evidence, alleged that the child was the result of an incestuous +intercourse between its mother and a relative. At the trial, having, +it seemed, come to the conclusion that this wicked slander would not +enable him to escape an affiliation order, he again frankly admitted +his parentage. In the country districts, at any rate, such examples +are common.--H. R. H.] + +[6: The loss is being reduced annually, that for the financial year +which has just closed being the lowest on record.] + +[7: See Appendix A] + +[8: On this and other points see the Salvation Army's 'Articles of +War,' Appendix B.] + + + + +INDEX + + +Affiliation Orders, 91, 109-110. + +'Ann Fowler' Home, 166, 168. + +Anti-Suicide Bureau, 151-164. + +Ardenshaw Women's Home, Glasgow, 188. + +Argyll, Duchess of, 103. + +'Articles of War,' 257. + +Australia, 14, 83. + +Balance-sheet for 1909, 260-261. + +Barlow, Sir Thomas, 123. + +Barnardo, The late Dr., 71, 73, 233. + +Blackfriars Shelter, 41. + +Booth, General, 7, 10-12, 14-18, 57, 61, 63, 85, 97, 200-201, 206, + 208-217, 223. + +Booth, Mr. Bramwell, 218-225. + +Booth, Mrs. Bramwell, 87, 89, 91-93, 95, 144. + +Boxted Small Holdings, 69, 200-207. + +British Government, The, and Colonial Land Scheme, 82. + +Canada, 14, 82-86. + +Carrington, Earl, 206. + +Central Labour Bureau, 75. + +Chief of the Staff, The: see Mr. Bramwell Booth. + +Cox, Commissioner, 96, 98, 119, 120. + +Criminals in England, 61. + +Crossley, Mrs., 176. + +Drink, 37. + +Duke Street, Glasgow, 188. + +Edinburgh, 179. + +Embankment Soup Distribution, 22, 39, 40. + +Emigration Department, 80; + Emigration Board, 85. + +Employers' Liability Act, 38. + +Ex-Criminals, 54. + +First Offenders Act, 168. + +Free Breakfast Service, 41. + +Future of the Salvation Army, Notes on, 237. + +Glasgow, 165, 178-182, 192. + +Government Labour Bureaux, 75-76. + +Government Subsidy, 57. + +Great Peter St. Shelter, 33, 157. + +Great Titchfield St., 94, 140, 150. + +Hadleigh Land Colony, 76, 182, 184, 194, 198, 199. + +Hanbury St. Workshop, 65-70. + +Herring, The late Mr. George, 19, 200, 201, 207, 212. + +Hillsborough House Inebriates' Home, 98, 102, 122. + +Hollies,' 'The, 168, 169. + +Home Office, The, 55. + +Iliffe, Lieut.-Colonel, 204. + +Impressions of General Booth, 208. + +India, 23. + +Inebriates' Home, The, Springfield Lodge, 122. + +International Investigation Department, 77. + +Ivy House Maternity Hospital, 107. + +Java, 233. + +Jolliffe, Lieut.-Colonel, 41, 148, 185-186, 190-191. + +King Edward Hospital Fund, 201. + +Labour Bureau, Central, Whitechapel, 75; + Statistics, 76. + +Labour Party and Trade. + Unions, 65, 85-86. + +Lamb, Colonel, 81, 83-85. + +Lambert, Colonel, 115. + +Land Colony, Hadleigh, 194. + +Laudanum-drinking, 124, 183. + +Laurie, Lieut.-Colonel, 194-196. + +Laurier, Sir Wilfrid, 82. + +Liverpool, 165. + +London County Council, 129. + +London Maternity Home, 169. + +Lorne House, 103, 105. + +Manchester, 165; + Social Institutions, 172. + +Maternity Home, Lorne House, Stoke Newington, 103. + +Maternity Home, Brent House, Hackney, 105-106. + +Maternity Hospital, + Hackney, 105, 107; + Liverpool, 171. + +Maternity Hospital, New, required, 170. + +Men's Social Work, + Glasgow, 178; + London, 19, 65; + Manchester, 171. + +Middlesex Street Shelter, 19. + +Midnight Work, Social, 94. + +Needs, Our, 235. + +Nest,' 'The, Clapton, 112. + +Oakhill House, Manchester, 176. + +Old-Age Pensions Act, 130. + +Paris, 93. + +Parliamentary Committee of the Trade Unions, 65. + +Penitent Form, The, 46-48, 51, 230. + +Pentonville Prison, 56. + +Piccadilly Midnight Work, 140. + +Prevention of Cruelty to Children, Society for the, 233. + +Princess Louise, H.R.H., 103. + +Prison Act, The New, 63. + +Prison Reform, 62, 63 (note). + +Prison Visitation, 55, 188. + +Prisoners' Aid Society, 180. + +Quaker Street, 54. + +Religion of the Salvation Army, Note on the, 229. + +Rescue Home, The, 117. + +'Revivalism!' 49. + +Roosevelt, Mr. 214-215. + +'Rural England,' 10. + +Sacraments, The, 230. + +Salvation Army, Some Statistics of the, 9-10. + +Scale of pay, Officers', 90 (note). + +Scotland, 131, 179. + +Slum Settlement, The Hackney Road, 131. + +Slum Sisters, 88; + Some Statistics of their work, 131. + +Small Holdings, 200-207. + +Southwood, Sydenham, 126. + +Spa Road Elevator, 27, 46, 79. + +Sturge House, 71-74. + +Sturgess, Commissioner, 19, 36, 47, 54, 55, 57, 186. + +Sweating, Charges of, refuted, 28, 66, 120-121. + +Titchfield Street Home, The, 140, 145, 150. + +Trade Unions and rate of Wages, 15-16. + +Training Institute for Women Social Workers, The, 115. + +Unsworth, Colonel, 155, 157, 160, 164. + +Vegetarianism, 99, 113-114. + +Visitation of prisoners by Salvation Army Officers, 55-56. + +Wandsworth Prison, 56. + +Waste Paper Department, + Spa Road, 27, 31, 52; + Manchester, 172; + Glasgow, 180. + +White Slave Traffic, 87, 93. + +Whitechapel, 72, 75, 95, 132, 142. + +Women's Industrial Home, Hackney, 119; + Sydenham, 126. + +Women's Shelter, 129. + +Women's Social Work, London, 87; + Headquarters, 96. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Regeneration, by H. Rider Haggard + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 13434 *** diff --git a/13434-h/13434-h.htm b/13434-h/13434-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7eeddf2 --- /dev/null +++ b/13434-h/13434-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,7278 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> + +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> + <head> + <meta content="pg2html (binary v0.17)" name="linkgenerator" /> + <title> + Regeneration, by H. 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Rider Haggard + </h2> + <h3> + 1910 + </h3> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <p> + <b>CONTENTS</b> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0001"> DEDICATION </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0002"> AUTHOR'S NOTE </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0003"> INTRODUCTORY </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0004"> MEN'S SOCIAL WORK, LONDON </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0005"> THE SPA ROAD ELEVATOR </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0006"> THE GREAT PETER STREET SHELTER </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0007"> THE FREE BREAKFAST SERVICE </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0008"> THE EX-CRIMINALS </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0009"> THE MEN'S WORKSHOP </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0010"> STURGE HOUSE, BOW ROAD </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0011"> THE CENTRAL LABOUR BUREAU </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0012"> THE EMIGRATION DEPARTMENT </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0013"> THE WOMEN'S SOCIAL WORK IN LONDON </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0014"> THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE WOMEN'S SOCIAL WORK </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0015"> HILLSBOROUGH HOUSE INEBRIATES' HOME </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0016"> THE MATERNITY NURSING HOME </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0017"> THE MATERNITY RECEIVING HOME </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0018"> THE MATERNITY HOSPITAL </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0019"> 'THE NEST' </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0020"> THE TRAINING INSTITUTE FOR WOMEN SOCIAL WORKERS + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0021"> THE WOMEN'S INDUSTRIAL HOME </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0022"> THE INEBRIATES' HOME </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0023"> THE WOMEN'S INDUSTRIAL HOME </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0024"> THE WOMEN'S SHELTER </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0025"> THE SLUM SETTLEMENT </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0026"> THE PICCADILLY MIDNIGHT WORK </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0027"> THE ANTI-SUICIDE BUREAU </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0028"> WORK IN THE PROVINCES </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0029"> THE MEN'S SOCIAL WORK </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0030"> OAKHILL HOUSE </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0031"> THE MEN'S SOCIAL WORK </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0032"> THE ARDENSHAW WOMEN'S HOME </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0033"> THE WOMEN'S LODGING-HOUSE </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0034"> THE LAND AND INDUSTRIAL COLONY </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0035"> THE SMALL-HOLDINGS SETTLEMENT </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0036"> IMPRESSIONS OF GENERAL BOOTH </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0037"> THE CHIEF OF THE STAFF </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0038"> NOTE ON THE RELIGION OF THE SALVATION ARMY </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0039"> LEGACIES </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_APPEA"> APPENDIX A </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_NOTE"> NOTES ON THE ARMY'S FUTURE </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_APPEB"> APPENDIX B </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_APPEC"> APPENDIX C </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_APPED"> APPENDIX D </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_NOTEB"> NOTES: </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0001" id="link2H_4_0001"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + DEDICATION + </h2> + <p> + I dedicate these pages to the Officers and Soldiers of the Salvation Army, + in token of my admiration of the self-sacrificing work by which it is + their privilege to aid the poor and wretched throughout the world. + </p> + <p> + H. RIDER HAGGARD. + </p> + <p> + DITCHINGHAM, + </p> + <p> + <i>November, 1910</i> + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0002" id="link2H_4_0002"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + AUTHOR'S NOTE + </h2> + <p> + The author desires to thank Mr. D.R. DANIEL for the kind and valuable + assistance he has given him in his researches into the Social Work of the + Salvation Army. + </p> + <p> + He takes this occasion to make it clear that this book does no more than + set out the results of his investigations into some of that vast Social + Work, and his personal conclusions as to it and those by whom it is + prosecuted. + </p> + <p> + To obviate any possible misunderstanding as to the reason of its writing, + he wishes to state further that it has not been compiled by him as a + matter of literary business. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0003" id="link2H_4_0003"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + INTRODUCTORY + </h2> + <h3> + WHAT IS THE SALVATION ARMY? + </h3> + <p> + If this question were put to the ordinary person of fashion or leisure, + how would it be answered? + </p> + <p> + In many cases thus: 'The Salvation Army is a body of people dressed up in + a semi-military uniform, or those of them who are women, in unbecoming + poke bonnets, who go about the streets making a noise in the name of God + and frightening horses with brass bands. It is under the rule of an + arbitrary old gentleman named Booth, who calls himself a General, and + whose principal trade assets consist in a handsome and unusual face, and + an inexhaustible flow of language, which he generally delivers from a + white motor-car wherever he finds that he can attract the most attention. + He is a clever actor in his way, who has got a great number of people + under his thumb, and I am told that he has made a large fortune out of the + business, like the late prophet Dowie, and others of the same sort. The + newspapers are always exposing him; but he knows which side his bread is + buttered and does not care. When he is gone no doubt his family will + divide up the cash, and we shall hear no more of the Salvation Army!' + </p> + <p> + Such are still the honest beliefs of thousands of our instructed + fellow-countrymen, and of hundreds of thousands of others of less degree + belonging to the classes which are generally typified under the synonym of + 'the man in the street,' by which most people understand one who knows + little, and of that little nothing accurately, but who decides the fate of + political elections. + </p> + <p> + Let us suppose, however, that the questioner should succeed in interesting + an intelligent and fair-minded individual holder of these views + sufficiently to induce him to make inquiry into the facts concerning this + Salvation Army. What would he then discover? + </p> + <p> + He would discover that about five and forty years ago some impulse, + wherever it may have come from, moved a Dissenting minister, gifted with a + mind of power and originality, and a body of great strength and endurance, + gifted, also, with an able wife who shared his views, to try, if not to + cure, at least to ameliorate the lot of the fallen or distressed millions + that are one of the natural products of high civilization, by ministering + to their creature wants and regenerating their spirits upon the plain and + simple lines laid down in the New Testament. He would find, also, that + this humble effort, at first quite unaided, has been so successful that + the results seem to partake of the nature of the miraculous. + </p> + <p> + Thus he would learn that the religious Organization founded by this man + and his wife is now established and, in most instances, firmly rooted in + 56 Countries and Colonies, where it preaches the Gospel in 33 separate + languages: that it has over 16,000 Officers wholly employed in its + service, and publishes 74 periodicals in 20 tongues, with a total + circulation of nearly 1,000,000 copies per issue: that it accommodates + over 28,000 poor people nightly in its Institutions, maintaining 229 Food + Dépôts and Shelters for men, women, and children, and 157 Labour Factories + where destitute or characterless people are employed: that it has 17 Homes + for ex-criminals, 37 Homes for children, 116 Industrial Homes for the + rescue of women, 16 Land Colonies, 149 Slum Stations for the visitation + and assistance of the poor, 60 Labour Bureaux for helping the unemployed, + and 521 Day Schools for children: that, in addition to all these, it has + Criminal and General Investigation Departments, Inebriate Homes for men + and women, Inquiry Offices for tracing lost and missing people, Maternity + Hospitals, 37 Homes for training Officers, Prison-visitation Staffs, and + so on almost <i>ad infinitum</i>. + </p> + <p> + He would find, also, that it collects and dispenses an enormous revenue, + mostly from among the poorer classes, and that its system is run with + remarkable business ability: that General Booth, often supposed to be so + opulent, lives upon a pittance which most country clergymen would refuse, + taking nothing, and never having taken anything, from the funds of the + Army. And lastly, not to weary the reader, that whatever may be thought of + its methods and of the noise made by the 23,000 or so of voluntary + bandsmen who belong to it, it is undoubtedly for good or evil one of the + world forces of our age. + </p> + <p> + Before going further, it may, perhaps, be well that I should explain how + it is that I come to write these pages. First, I ought to state that my + personal acquaintance with the Salvation Army dates back a good many + years, from the time, indeed, when I was writing 'Rural England,' in + connexion with which work I had a long and interesting interview with + General Booth that is already published. Subsequently I was appointed by + the British Government as a Commissioner to investigate and report upon + the Land Colonies of the Salvation Army in the United States, in the + course of which inquiry I came into contact with many of its Officers, and + learned much of its system and methods, especially with reference to + emigration. Also I have had other opportunities of keeping in touch with + the Army and its developments. + </p> + <p> + In the spring of 1910 I was asked, on behalf of General Booth, whether I + would undertake to write for publication an account of the Social Work of + the Army in this country. After some hesitation, for the lack of time was + a formidable obstacle to a very busy man, I assented to this request, the + plan agreed upon being that I should visit the various Institutions, or a + number of them, etc., and record what I actually saw, neither more nor + less, together with my resulting impressions. This I have done, and it + only remains for me to assure the reader that the record is true, and, to + the best of his belief and ability, set down without fear, favour, or + prejudice, by one not unaccustomed to such tasks. + </p> + <p> + Almost at the commencement of my labours I sought an interview with + General Booth, thinking, as I told him and his Officers (the Salvation + Army is not mealy-mouthed about such matters) that at his age it would be + well to set down his views in black and white. On the whole, I found him + well and vigorous. He complained, however, of the difficulty he was + experiencing, owing to the complete loss of sight in one eye, occasioned + by an accident during a motor journey, and the possible deprivation of the + sight of the other through cataract. + </p> + <p> + Of the attacks that have been and are continually made upon the Salvation + Army, some of them extremely bitter, General Booth would say little. He + pointed out that he had not been in the habit of defending himself and his + Organization in public, and was quite content that the work should speak + for itself. Their affairs and finances had been investigated by eminent + men, who 'could not find a sixpence out of place'; and for the rest, a + balance-sheet was published annually. This balance-sheet for the year + ending September 30, 1909, I reprint in an appendix.<a href="#linknote-1" + name="linknoteref-1" id="linknoteref-1"><small>1</small></a> + </p> + <p> + With regard to the Social Work of the Army, which in its beginning was a + purely religious body, General Booth said that they had been driven into + it because of their sympathy with suffering. They found it impossible to + look upon people undergoing starvation or weighed down by sorrows and + miseries that came upon them through poverty, without stretching out a + hand to help them on to their feet again. In the same way they could not + study wrongdoers and criminals and learn their secret histories, which + show how closely a great proportion of human sin is connected with + wretched surroundings, without trying to help and reform them to the best + of their abilities. Thus it was that their Social operations began, + increased, and multiplied. They contemplated not only the regeneration of + the individual, but also of his circumstances, and were continually + finding out new methods by which this might be done. + </p> + <p> + The Army looked forward to the development of its Social Work on the lines + of self-help, self-management and self-support. Whenever a new development + came under consideration, the question arose—How is it to be + financed? The work they had in hand at present took all their funds. One + of their great underlying principles was that of the necessity of + self-support, without which no business or undertaking could stand for + long. The individual must co-operate in his own moral and physical + redemption. At the same time this system of theirs was, in practice, one + of the difficulties with which they had to contend, since it caused the + benevolent to believe that the Army did not need financial assistance. His + own view was that they ought to receive support in their work from the + Government, as they actually did in some other countries. Especially did + he desire to receive State aid in dealing with ascertained criminals, such + as was extended to them in certain parts of the world. + </p> + <p> + Thus only a few weeks before, in Holland, the Parliament had asked the + Salvation Army to co-operate in the care of discharged prisoners and gave + a grant of money for their support. In Java the tale was the same. There + they were preparing estates as homes for lepers, and soon a large portion + of the leper population of that land would be in their charge. + </p> + <p> + General Booth told me the story of a celebrated Danish doctor, an + optician, who became attracted to the Army, and, giving up his practice + and position, entered its service with his wife. They said they wished to + lead a life of real sacrifice and self-denial, and so, after going through + a training like any other Cadets, were sent out to take charge of the + medical work in Java. A recent report stated that this Officer had + attended 16,000 patients in nine months, and performed 516 operations. + </p> + <p> + In Australia, the Government had handed over the work amongst the + Reformatory boys to the Army. In New Zealand, the Government had requested + it to take over inebriates, and was now paying a contribution to that work + of 10s. per head a week. There the Army had purchased two islands to + accommodate these inebriates, one on which the men followed the pursuits + of agriculture, fishing, and so forth, and the other for the women. In + Canada there was an idea that a large prison should be erected, of which + the Salvation Army would take charge. He hoped that in course of time they + would be allowed greatly to extend their work in the English prisons. + </p> + <p> + General Booth pointed out to me with reference to their Social Work, that + it was necessary to spend large sums of money in finding employment for + men whom they had rescued. Here, one of their greatest difficulties was + the vehement opposition of members of the Labour Party in different + countries. + </p> + <p> + This party said, for example, that the Army ought to pay the Trade Union + rate of wage to any poor fellow whom they had picked up and set to such + labour as paper-sorting or carpentry. Thus in Western Australia they had + an estate of 20,000 acres lying idle. When he was there a while ago, he + asked the Officer in charge why he did not cultivate this land and make it + productive. The man replied he had no labour; whereon the General said + that he could send him plenty from England. + </p> + <p> + 'Yes,' commented the Officer, 'but the moment they begin to work here, + however inefficient or broken down they may be, we shall have to pay them + 7s. a day!' + </p> + <p> + This regulation, of course, makes it impossible to cultivate that estate + except at a heavy loss. + </p> + <p> + He himself had been denounced as the 'prince of sweaters,' because he took + in derelict carpenters at their Institution in Hanbury Street (which I + shall describe later), to whom he did not pay the Trade Union wage, + although that Institution had from the first been worked at a loss. In + this case he had made peace with the Parliamentary Committee by promising + not to make anything there which was used outside the Army establishments. + But still the attacks went on. + </p> + <p> + Passing from this subject, I asked General Booth if he had formed any + forecast of the future of the Salvation Army after his own death. He + replied that there were certain factors in the present position of the + Army which seemed to him to indicate its future growth and continuity. + Speaking impersonally, he said that the present General had become an + important man not by his own choice or through the workings of ambition, + but by the will of Providence. He had acquired a certain standing, a great + hold over his community, and an influence which helped to concentrate and + keep together forces that had grown to be worldwide in their character. It + was natural, therefore, that people should wonder what would happen when + he ceased to be. + </p> + <p> + His answer to these queries was that legal arrangements had been made to + provide for this obvious contingency. Under the provisions of the + constitution of the Army he had selected his successor, although he had + never told anybody the name of that successor, which he felt sure, when + announced, was one that would command the fullest confidence and respect. + The first duty of the General of the Army on taking up his office was to + choose a man to succeed him, reserving to himself the power to change that + man for another, should he see good reason for such a course. In short, + his choice is secret, and being unhampered by any law of heredity or other + considerations except those that appeal to his own reason and judgment, + not final. He nominates whom he will. + </p> + <p> + I asked him what would happen if this nominated General misconducted + himself in any way, or proved unsuitable, or lost his reason. He replied + that in such circumstances arrangements had been made under which the + heads of the Army could elect another General, and that what they decided + would be law. The organization of the Army was such that any Department of + it remained independent of the ability of one individual. If a man proved + incompetent, or did not succeed, his office was changed; the square man + was never left in the round hole. Each Department had laws for its + direction and guidance, and those in authority were responsible for the + execution of those laws. If for any reason whatsoever, one commander fell + out of the line of action, another was always waiting to take his place. + In short, he had no fear that the removal of his own person and name would + affect the Organization. It was true, he remarked, that leaders cannot be + manufactured to order, and also that the Army had made, and would continue + to make, mistakes up and down the world. But those mistakes showed them + how to avoid similar errors, and how and where to improve. + </p> + <p> + As regarded a change of headship, a fresh individuality always has charms, + and a new force would always strike out in some new direction. The man + needed was one who would <i>do</i> something. General Booth did not fear + but that he would be always forthcoming, and said that for his part he was + quite happy as to the future, in which he anticipated an enlargement of + their work. The Organization existed, and with it the arrangements for + filling every niche. The discipline of to-day would continue to-morrow, + and that spirit would always be ready to burst into flame when it was + needed. + </p> + <p> + In his view it was inextinguishable. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0004" id="link2H_4_0004"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + MEN'S SOCIAL WORK, LONDON + </h2> + <h3> + THE MIDDLESEX STREET SHELTER + </h3> + <p> + The first of the London Institutions of the Salvation Army which I visited + was that known as the Middlesex Street Shelter and Working Men's Home, + which is at present under the supervision of Commissioner Sturgess. This + building consists of six floors, and contains sleeping accommodation for + 462 men. It has been at work since the year 1906, when it was acquired by + the Army with the help of that well-known philanthropist, the late Mr. + George Herring. + </p> + <p> + Of the 462 men accommodated daily, 311 pay 3d. for their night's lodging, + and the remainder 5d. The threepenny charge entitles the tenant to the use + of a bunk bedstead with sheets and an American cloth cover. If the extra + 2d. is forthcoming the wanderer is provided with a proper bed, fitted with + a wire spring hospital frame and provided with a mattress, sheets, pillow, + and blankets. I may state here that as in the case of this Shelter the + building, furniture and other equipment have been provided by charity, the + nightly fees collected almost suffice to pay the running expenses of the + establishment. Under less favourable circumstances, however, where the + building and equipment are a charge on the capital funds of the Salvation + Army, the experience is that these fees do not suffice to meet the cost of + interest and maintenance. + </p> + <p> + The object of this and similar Shelters is to afford to men upon the verge + of destitution the choice between such accommodation as is here provided + and the common lodging-house, known as a 'kip house,' or the casual ward + of a workhouse. Those who avail themselves of these Shelters belong, + speaking generally, to the destitute or nearly destitute classes. They are + harbours of refuge for the unfortunates who find themselves on the streets + of London at nightfall with a few coppers or some other small sum in their + pockets. Many of these social wrecks have sunk through drink, but many + others owe their sad position to lack or loss of employment, or to some + other misfortune. + </p> + <p> + For an extra charge of 1d. the inmates are provided with a good supper, + consisting of a pint of soup and a large piece of bread, or of bread and + jam and tea, or of potato-pie. A second penny supplies them with breakfast + on the following morning, consisting of bread and porridge or of bread and + fish, with tea or coffee. + </p> + <p> + The dormitories, both of the fivepenny class on the ground floor and of + the threepenny class upstairs, are kept scrupulously sweet and clean, and + attached to them are lavatories and baths. These lavatories contain a + great number of brown earthenware basins fitted with taps. Receptacles are + provided, also, where the inmates can wash their clothes and have them + dried by means of an ingenious electrical contrivance and hot air, capable + of thoroughly drying any ordinary garment in twenty minutes while its + owner takes a bath. + </p> + <p> + The man in charge of this apparatus and of the baths was one who had been + picked up on the Embankment during the past winter. In return for his + services he received food, lodging, clothes and pocket-money to the amount + of 3s. a week. He told me that he was formerly a commercial traveller, and + was trying to re-enter that profession or to become a ship's steward. + Sickness had been the cause of his fall in the world. + </p> + <p> + Adjoining the downstairs dormitory is a dining and sitting-room for the + use of those who have taken bed tickets. In this room, when I visited it, + several men were engaged in various occupations. One of them was painting + flowers. Another, a watch repairer, was apparently making up his accounts, + which, perhaps, were of an imaginary nature. A third was eating a dinner + which he had purchased at the food bar. A fourth smoked a cigarette and + watched the flower artist at his work. A fifth was a Cingalese who had + come from Ceylon to lay some grievance before the late King. The + authorities at Whitehall having investigated his case, he had been + recommended to return to Ceylon and consult a lawyer there. Now he was + waiting tor the arrival of remittances to enable him to pay his passage + back to Ceylon. I wondered whether the remittances would ever be + forthcoming. Meanwhile he lived here on 7-1/2d. a day, 5d. for his bed and + 2-1/2d. for his food. Of these and other men similarly situated I will + give some account presently. + </p> + <p> + Having inspected the upper floors I descended to the basement, where what + are called the 'Shelter men' are received at a separate entrance at 5.30 + in the afternoon, and buying their penny or halfpennyworth of food, seat + themselves on benches to eat. Here, too, they can sit and smoke or mend + their clothes, or if they are wet, dry themselves in the annexe, until + they retire to rest. During the past winter of 1909 400 men taken from the + Embankment were sheltered here gratis every night, and were provided with + soup and bread. When not otherwise occupied this hall is often used for + the purpose of religious services. + </p> + <p> + I spoke at hazard with some of those who were sitting about in the + Shelter. A few specimen cases may be interesting. An old man told me that + he had travelled all over the world for fifty years, especially in the + islands of the South Pacific, until sickness broke him down. He came last + from Shanghai, where he had been an overseer on railway work, and before + that from Manila. Being incapacitated by fever and rheumatism, and + possessing 1,500 dollars, he travelled home, apparently via India and + Burma, stopping a while in each country. Eventually he drifted to a + lodging-house, and, falling ill there, was sent to the Highgate Infirmary, + where, he said, he was so cold that he could not stop. Ultimately he found + himself upon the streets in winter. For the past twelve months he had been + living in this Shelter upon some help that a friend gave him, for all his + own money was gone. Now he was trying to write books, one of which was in + the hands of a well-known firm. He remarked, pathetically, that they 'have + had it a long time.' He was also waiting 'every day' for a pension from + America, which he considered was due to him because he fought in the Civil + War. + </p> + <p> + Most of these poor people are waiting for something. + </p> + <p> + This man added that he could not find his relatives, and that he intended + to stop in the Shelter until his book was published, or he could 'help + himself out.' + </p> + <p> + The next man I spoke to was the flower artist, whom I have already + mentioned, whose work, by the way, if a little striking in colour, was by + no means bad, especially as he had no real flowers to draw from. By trade + he was a lawyer's clerk; but he stated that, unfortunately for him, the + head partner of his firm went bankrupt six years before, and the bad + times, together with the competition of female labour in the clerical + department, prevented him from obtaining another situation, so he had been + obliged to fall back upon flower painting. He was a married man, but he + said, 'While I could make a fair week's money, things were comfortable, + but when orders fell slack I was requested to go, as my room was + preferable to my company, and being a man of nervous temperament I could + not stand it, and have been here ever since'—that was for about ten + weeks. He managed to make enough for his board and lodging by the sale of + his flower-pictures. + </p> + <p> + A third man informed me that he had opened twenty-seven shops for a large + firm of tobacconists, and then left to start in business for himself; also + he used to go out window-dressing, in which he was skilled. Then, about + nine years ago, his wife began to drink, and while he was absent in + hospital, neglected his business so that it became worthless. Finally she + deserted him, and he had heard nothing of her since. After that he took to + drink himself. He came to this Shelter intermittently, and supported + himself by an occasional job of window-dressing. The Salvation Army was + trying to cure this man of his drinking habits. + </p> + <p> + A fourth man, a Eurasian, was a schoolmaster in India, who drifted to this + country, and had been for four years in the Colney Hatch Asylum. He was + sent to the Salvation Army by the After Care Society. He had been two + years in the Shelter, and was engaged in saving up money to go to America. + He was employed in the Shelter as a scrubber, and also as a seller of food + tickets, by which means he had saved some money. Also he had a £5 note, + which his sister sent to him. This note he was keeping to return to her as + a present on her birthday! His story was long and miserable, and his case + a sad one. Still, he was capable of doing work of a sort. + </p> + <p> + Another very smart and useful man had been a nurse in the Army Medical + Corps, which he left some years ago with a good character. Occasionally he + found a job at nursing, and stayed at the Shelter, where he was given + employment between engagements. + </p> + <p> + Yet another, quite a young person, was a carman who had been discharged + through slackness of work in the firm of which he was a servant. He had + been ten weeks in the Institution, to which he came from the workhouse, + and hoped to find employment at his trade. + </p> + <p> + In passing through this building, I observed a young man of foreign + appearance seated in a window-place reading a book, and asked his history. + I was told that he was a German of education, whose ambition it is to + become a librarian in his native country. He had come to England in order + to learn our language, and being practically without means, drifted into + this place, where he was employed in cleaning the windows and pursued his + studies in the intervals of that humble work. Let us hope that in due + course his painstaking industry will be rewarded, and his ambition + fulfilled. + </p> + <p> + All these cases, and others that I have no space to mention, belonged to + the class of what I may call the regular 'hangers-on' of this particular + Shelter. As I visited it in the middle of the day, I did not see its + multitude of normal nightly occupants. Of such men, however, I shall be + able to speak elsewhere. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0005" id="link2H_4_0005"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE SPA ROAD ELEVATOR + </h2> + <h3> + BERMONDSEY + </h3> + <p> + The next Institution that I inspected was that of a paper-sorting works at + Spa Road, Bermondsey, where all sorts of waste paper are dealt with in + enormous quantities. Of this stuff some is given and some is bought. Upon + delivery it goes to the sorters, who separate it out according to the + different classes of the material, after which it is pressed into bales by + hydraulic machinery and sold to merchants to be re-made. + </p> + <p> + These works stand upon two acres of land. Parts of the existing buildings + were once a preserve factory, but some of them have been erected by the + Army. There remain upon the site certain dwelling-houses, which are still + let to tenants. These are destined to be pulled down whenever money is + forthcoming to extend the factory. + </p> + <p> + The object of the Institution is to find work for distressed or fallen + persons, and restore them to society. The Manager of this 'Elevator,' as + it is called, informed me that it employs about 480 men, all of whom are + picked up upon the streets. As a rule, these men are given their board and + lodging in return for work during the first week, but no money, as their + labour is worth little. In the second week, 6d. is paid to them in cash; + and, subsequently, this remuneration is added to in proportion to the + value of the labour, till in the end some of them earn 8s. or 9s. a week + in addition to their board and lodging. + </p> + <p> + I asked the Officer in charge what he had to say as to the charges of + sweating and underselling which have been brought against the Salvation + Army in connexion with this and its other productive Institutions. + </p> + <p> + He replied that they neither sweated nor undersold. The men whom they + picked up had no value in the labour market, and could get nothing to do + because no one would employ them, many of them being the victims of drink + or entirely unskilled. Such people they overlooked, housed, fed, and + instructed, whether they did or did not earn their food and lodging, and + after the first week paid them upon a rising scale. The results were + eminently satisfactory, as even allowing for the drunkards they found that + but few cases, not more than 10 per cent, were hopeless. Did they not + rescue these men most of them would sink utterly; indeed, according to + their own testimony many of such wastrels were snatched from suicide. As a + matter of fact, also, they employed more men per ton of paper than any + other dealers in the trade. + </p> + <p> + With reference to the commercial results, after allowing for interest on + the capital invested, the place did not pay its way. He said that a sum of + £15,000 was urgently required for the erection of a new building on this + site, some of those that exist being of a rough-and-ready character. They + were trying to raise subscriptions towards this object, but found the + response very slow. + </p> + <p> + He added that they collected their raw material from warehouses, most of + it being given to them, but some they bought, as it was necessary to keep + the works supplied, which could not be done with the gratis stuff alone. + Also they found that the paper they purchased was the most profitable. + </p> + <p> + These works presented a busy spectacle of useful industry. There was the + sorting-room, where great masses of waste-paper of every kind was being + picked over by about 100 men and separated into its various classes. The + resulting heaps are thrown through hoppers into bins. From the bins this + sorted stuff passes into hydraulic presses which crush it into bales that, + after being wired, are ready for sale. + </p> + <p> + It occurred to me that the dealing with this mass of refuse paper must be + an unhealthy occupation; but I was informed that this is not the case, and + certainly the appearance of the workers bore out the statement. + </p> + <p> + After completing a tour of the works I visited one of the bedrooms + containing seventy beds, where everything seemed very tidy and fresh. + Clean sheets are provided every week, as are baths for the inmates. In the + kitchen were great cooking boilers, ovens, etc., all of which are worked + by steam produced by the burning of the refuse of the sorted paper. Then I + saw the household salvage store, which contained enormous quantities of + old clothes and boots; also a great collection of furniture, including a + Turkish bath cabinet, all of which articles had been given to the Army by + charitable folk. These are either given away or sold to the employes of + the factory or to the poor of the neighbourhood at a very cheap rate. + </p> + <p> + The man in charge of this store was an extremely good-looking and + gentlemanly young follow of University education, who had been a writer of + fiction, and once acted as secretary to a gentleman who travelled on the + Continent and in the East. Losing his employment, he took to a life of + dissipation, became ill, and sank to the very bottom. He informed me that + his ideals and outlook on life were now totally changed. I have every hope + that he will do well in the future, as his abilities are evidently + considerable, and Nature has favoured him in many ways. + </p> + <p> + I interviewed a number of the men employed in these works, most of whom + had come down through drink, some of them from very good situations. One + had been the superintendent of a sewing-machine company. He took to + liquor, left his wife, and found himself upon the streets. Now he was a + traveller for the Salvation Army, in the interests of the Waste-Paper + Department, had regained his position in life, and was living with his + wife and family in a comfortable house. + </p> + <p> + Another was a grocer by profession, all of whose savings were stolen, + after which he took to drink. He had been three months in the works, and + at the time of my visit was earning 6s. a week with food and lodging. + </p> + <p> + Another had been a Barnardo boy, who came from Canada as a ship's steward, + and could find nothing to do in England. Another was a gentleman's + servant, who was dismissed because the family left London. + </p> + <p> + Another was an auctioneer, who failed from want of capital, took to drink, + and emigrated to Canada. Two years later he fell ill with pleurisy, and + was sent home because the authorities were afraid that his ailment might + turn to consumption. He stated that at this time he had given up drink, + but could obtain no employment, so came upon the streets. As he was + starving and without hope, not having slept in a bed for ten nights, he + was about to commit suicide when the Salvation Army picked him up. He had + seen his wife for the first time in four years on the previous Whit + Monday, and they proposed to live together again so soon as he secured + permanent employment. + </p> + <p> + Another had been a soldier in the Seaforth Highlanders, and served in the + Egyptian Campaign of 1881, and also in the American Army. Subsequently he + was employed as a porter at a lodging-house at a salary of 25s. a week, + but left because of trouble about a woman. He came upon the streets, and, + being unable to find employment, was contemplating suicide, when he fell + under the influence of the Army at the Blackfriars Shelter. + </p> + <p> + All these men, and others whom I spoke to at random but have no space to + write of, assured me that they were quite satisfied with their treatment + at the works, and repudiated—some of them with indignation—the + suggestion that I put to them tentatively that they suffered from a system + of sweating. For the most part, indeed, their gratitude for the help they + were receiving in the hour of need was very evident and touching. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0006" id="link2H_4_0006"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE GREAT PETER STREET SHELTER + </h2> + <h3> + WESTMINSTER + </h3> + <p> + This fine building is the most up-to-date Men's Shelter that the Salvation + Army possesses in London. It was once the billiard works of Messrs. + Burroughes and Watts, and is situated in Westminster, quite near to the + Houses of Parliament. I visited it about eight o'clock in the evening, and + at its entrance was confronted with the word 'Full,' inscribed in chalk + upon its portals, at which poor tramps, deprived of their hope of a + night's lodging, were staring disconsolately. It reminded me of a + playhouse upon a first-night of importance, but, alas! the actors here + play in a tragedy more dreadful in its cumulative effect than any that was + ever put upon the stage. + </p> + <p> + This Shelter is wonderfully equipped and organized. It contains sitting or + resting-rooms, smoking-rooms, huge dormitories capable of accommodating + about 600 sleepers; bathrooms, lavatories, extensive hot-water and warming + apparatus, great kitchens, and butteries, and so forth. In the sitting and + smoking-rooms, numbers of derelict men were seated. Some did nothing + except stare before them vacantly. Some evidently were suffering from the + effects of drink or fatigue; some were reading newspapers which they had + picked up in the course of their day's tramp. One, I remember, was engaged + in sorting out and crumpling up a number of cigar and cigarette ends which + he had collected from the pavements, carefully grading the results in + different heaps, according to the class of the tobacco (how strong it must + be!) either for his own consumption or for sale to other unfortunates. In + another place, men were eating the 1d. or 1/2d. suppers that they had + purchased. + </p> + <p> + Early as it was, however, the great dormitories were crowded with hundreds + of the lodgers, either in bed or in process of getting there. I noticed + that they all undressed themselves, wrapping up their rags in bundles, + and, for the most part slept quite naked. Many of them struck me as very + fine fellows physically, and the reflection crossed my mind, seeing them + thus <i>in puris naturalibus</i>, that there was little indeed to + distinguish them from a crowd of males of the upper class engaged, let us + say, in bathing. It is the clothes that make the difference to the eye. + </p> + <p> + In this Shelter I was told, by the way, that there exists a code of rough + honour among these people, who very rarely attempt to steal anything from + each other. Having so little property, they sternly respect its rights. I + should add that the charge made for accommodation and food is 3d. per + night for sleeping, and 1d. or 1/2d. per portion of food. + </p> + <p> + The sight of this Institution crowded with human derelicts struck me as + most sad, more so indeed than many others that I have seen, though, + perhaps, this may have been because I was myself tired out with a long day + of inspection. + </p> + <p> + The Staff-Captain in charge here told me his history, which is so typical + and interesting that I will repeat it briefly. Many years ago (he is now + an elderly man) he was a steward on board a P. and O. liner, and doing + well. Then a terrible misfortune overwhelmed him. Suddenly his wife and + child died, and, as a result of the shock, he took to drink. He attempted + to cut his throat (the scar remains to him), and was put upon his trial + for the offence. Subsequently he drifted on to the streets, where he spent + eight years. During all this time his object was to be rid of life, the + methods he adopted being to make himself drunk with methylated spirits, or + any other villainous and fiery liquor, and when that failed, to sleep at + night in wet grass or ditches. Once he was picked up suffering from + inflammation of the lungs and carried to an infirmary, where he lay + senseless for three days. The end of it was that a Salvation Army Officer + found him in Oxford Street, and took him to a Shelter in Burne Street, + where he was bathed and put to bed. + </p> + <p> + That was many years ago, and now he is to a great extent responsible for + the management of this Westminster Refuge. Commissioner Sturgess, one of + the head Officers of the Army, told me that their great difficulty was to + prevent him from overdoing himself at this charitable task. I think the + Commissioner said that sometimes he would work eighteen or twenty hours + out of the twenty-four. + </p> + <p> + One day this Staff-Captain played a grim little trick upon me. I was + seated at luncheon in a Salvation Army building, when the door opened, and + there entered as dreadful a human object as I have ever seen. The man was + clad in tatters, his bleeding feet were bound up with filthy rags; he wore + a dingy newspaper for a shirt. His face was cut and plastered over + roughly; he was a disgusting sight. He told me, in husky accents, that + drink had brought him down, and that he wanted help. I made a few + appropriate remarks, presented him with a small coin, and sent him to the + Officers downstairs. + </p> + <p> + A quarter of an hour later the Staff-Captain appeared in his uniform and + explained that he and the 'object' were the same person. Again it was the + clothes that made the difference. Those which he had worn when he appeared + at the luncheon-table were the same in which he had been picked up on the + streets of London. Also he thanked me for my good advice which he said he + hoped to follow, and for the sixpence that he announced his intention of + wearing on his watch-chain. For my part I felt that the laugh was against + me. Perhaps if I had thought the Salvation Army capable of perpetrating a + joke, I should not have been so easily deceived. + </p> + <p> + This Staff-Captain gave me much information as to the class of wanderers + who frequent these Shelters, He estimated that about 50 per cent of them + sink to that level through the effects of drink. That is to say, if by the + waving of some magic wand intoxicants and harmful drugs should cease to be + obtainable in this country, the bulk of extreme misery which needs such + succour, and it may be added of crime at large, would be lessened by + one-half. This is a terrible statement, and one that seems to excuse a + great deal of what is called 'teetotal fanaticism.' The rest, in his view, + owe their fall to misfortune of various kinds, which often in its turn + leads to flight to the delusive and destroying solace of drink. Thus about + 25 per cent of the total have been afflicted with sickness or acute + domestic troubles. Or perhaps they are 'knocked out' by shock, such as is + brought on by the loss of a dearly-loved wife or child, and have never + been able to recover from that crushing blow. The remainder are the + victims of advancing age and of the cruel commercial competition of our + day. Thus he said that the large business firms destroy and devour the + small shopkeepers, as a hawk devours sparrows; and these little people or + their employes, if they are past middle age, can find no other work. + Especially is this the case since the Employers' Liability Acts came into + operation, for now few will take on hands who are not young and very + strong, as older folk must naturally be more liable to sickness and + accident. + </p> + <p> + Again, he told me that it has become the custom in large businesses of + which the dividends are falling, to put in a man called an 'Organizer,' + who is often an American. + </p> + <p> + This Organizer goes through the whole staff and mercilessly dismisses the + elderly or the least efficient, dividing up their work among those who + remain. So these discarded men fall to rise no more and drift to the + poorhouse or the Shelters or the jails, and finally into the river or a + pauper's grave. First, however, many spend what may be called a period of + probation on the streets, where they sleep at night under arches or on + stairways, or on the inhospitable flagstones and benches of the + Embankment, even in winter. + </p> + <p> + The Staff-Captain informed me that on one night during the previous + November he counted no less than 120 men, women, and children sleeping in + the wet on or in the neighbourhood of the Embankment. Think of it—in + this one place! Think of it, you whose women and children, to say nothing + of yourselves, do not sleep on the Embankment in the wet in November. It + may be answered that they might have gone to the casual ward, where there + are generally vacancies. I suppose that they might, but so perverse are + many of them that they do not. Indeed, often they declare bluntly that + they would rather go to prison than to the casual ward, as in prison they + are more kindly treated. + </p> + <p> + The reader may have noted as he drove along the Embankment or other London + thoroughfares at night in winter, long queues of people waiting their turn + to get something. What they are waiting for is a cup of soup and, perhaps, + an opportunity of sheltering till the dawn, which soup and shelter are + supplied by the Salvation Army, and sometimes by other charitable + Organizations. I asked whether this provision of gratis food did in fact + pauperize the population, as has been alleged. The Staff-Captain answered + that men do not as a rule stop out in the middle of the winter till past + midnight to get a pint of soup and a piece of bread. Of course, there + might be exceptions; but for the most part those who take this charity, do + so because if is sorely needed. + </p> + <p> + The cost of these midnight meals is reckoned by the Salvation Army at + about £8 per 1,000, including the labour involved in cooking and + distribution. This money is paid from the Army's Central Fund, which + collects subscriptions for that special purpose. + </p> + <p> + 'Of course, our midnight soup has its critics,' said one of the Officers + who has charge of its distribution; 'but all I know is that it saves many + from jumping into the river.' + </p> + <p> + During the past winter, that is from November 3, 1909, to March 24, 1910, + 163,101 persons received free accommodation and food at the hands of the + Salvation Army in connexion with its Embankment Soup Distribution Charity. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0007" id="link2H_4_0007"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE FREE BREAKFAST SERVICE + </h2> + <h3> + BLACKFRIARS SHELTER + </h3> + <p> + On a Sunday in June I attended the Free Breakfast service at the + Blackfriars Shelter. The lease of this building was acquired by the + Salvation Army from a Temperance Company. Behind it lay contractors' + stables, which were also bought; after which the premises were rebuilt and + altered to suit the purposes to which they are now put, the stabling being + for the most part converted into sleeping-rooms. + </p> + <p> + The Officer who accompanied me, Lieut.-Colonel Jolliffe, explained that + this Blackfriars Shelter is, as it were, the dredger for and the feeder of + all the Salvation Army's Social Institutions for men in London. Indeed, it + may be likened to a dragnet set to catch male unfortunates in this part of + the Metropolis. Here, as in the other Army Shelters, are great numbers of + bunks that are hired out at 3d. a night, and the usual food-kitchens and + appliances. + </p> + <p> + I visited one or two of these, well-ventilated places that in cold weather + are warmed by means of hot-water pipes to a heat of about 70 deg., as the + clothing on the bunks is light. + </p> + <p> + I observed that although the rooms had only been vacated for a few hours, + they were perfectly inoffensive, and even sweet; a result that is obtained + by a very strict attention to cleanliness and ample ventilation. The + floors of these places are constantly scrubbed, and the bunks undergo a + process of disinfection about once a week. As a consequence, in all the + Army Shelters the vermin which sometimes trouble common lodging-houses are + almost unknown. + </p> + <p> + I may add that the closest supervision is exercised in these places when + they are occupied. Night watchmen are always on duty, and an Officer + sleeps in a little apartment attached to each dormitory. The result is + that there are practically no troubles of any kind. Sometimes, however, a + poor wanderer is found dead in the morning, in which case the body is + quietly conveyed away to await inquest. + </p> + <p> + I asked what happened when men who could not produce the necessary coppers + to pay for their lodging, applied for admission. The answer was that the + matter was left to the discretion of the Officer in charge. In fact, in + cases of absolute and piteous want, men are admitted free, although, + naturally enough, the Army does not advertise that this happens. If it + did, its hospitality would be considerably overtaxed. + </p> + <p> + Leaving the dormitories, I entered the great hall, in which were gathered + nearly 600 men seated upon benches, every one of which was filled. The + faces and general aspect of these men were eloquent of want and sorrow. + Some of them appeared to be intent upon the religious service that was + going on, attendance at this service being the condition on which the free + breakfast is given to all who need food and have passed the previous night + in the street. Others were gazing about them vacantly, and others, + sufferers from the effects of drink, debauchery, or fatigue, seemed to be + half comatose or asleep. + </p> + <p> + This congregation, the strangest that I have ever seen, comprised men of + all classes. Some might once have belonged to the learned professions, + while others had fallen so low that they looked scarcely human. Every + grade of rag-clad misery was represented here, and every stage of life + from the lad of sixteen up to the aged man whose allotted span was almost + at an end. Rank upon rank of them, there they sat in their infinite + variety, linked only by the common bond of utter wretchedness, the most + melancholy sight, I think, that ever my eyes beheld. All of them, however, + were fairly clean, for this matter had been seen to by the Officers who + attend upon them. The Salvation Army does not only wash the feet of its + guests, but the whole body. Also, it dries and purifies their tattered + garments. + </p> + <p> + When I entered the hall, an Officer on the platform was engaged in + offering up an extempore prayer. + </p> + <p> + 'We pray that the Holy Spirit may be poured out upon these men. We pray, O + God, that Thou wilt help them to take fresh courage, to find fresh hope, + and that they may rise once again to fight the battle of life. We pray + that Thou mayst bring to Thy feet, this morning, such as shall be saved + eternally.' + </p> + <p> + Then another Officer, styled the Chaplain, addressed the audience. He told + them that there was a way out of their troubles, and that hundreds who had + sat in that hall as they did, now blessed the day which brought them + there. He said: 'You came here this morning, you scarcely knew how or why. + You did not know the hand of God was leading you, and that He will bless + you if you will listen to His Voice. You think you cannot escape from this + wretched life; you think of the past with all its failures. But do not + trouble about the years that are gone. Seek the Kingdom of God and His + righteousness, and all other things shall be added unto you. Then there + will be no more wandering about without a friend, for I say to you that + God lives, and this morning you will hear from others, who once were in a + similar condition to yourself, what He has done for them.' + </p> + <p> + Next a man with a fine tenor voice, who, it seems, is nicknamed 'the + Yorkshire Canary,' sang the hymn beginning, 'God moves in a mysterious + way.' After this in plain, forcible language he told his own story. He + said that he was well brought up by a good father and mother, and lost + everything through his own sin. His voice was in a sense his ruin, since + he used to sing in public-houses and saloons and there learnt to drink. At + length he found himself upon the streets in London, and tramped thence to + Yorkshire to throw himself upon the mercy of his parents. When he was + quite close to his home, however, his courage failed him, and he tramped + back to London, where he was picked up by the Salvation Army. + </p> + <p> + This man, a most respectable-looking person, is now a clerk in a + well-known business house. In his own words, 'I knelt down and gave my + heart to God, and am to-day in a good situation.' + </p> + <p> + Next a Salvation Army soldier spoke. Four years before he had attended the + Sunday morning meeting in this hall and 'found the friendship of God. He + has helped me to regain the manhood I had lost and to do my duty. For two + years now I have helped to support an invalid sister instead of being a + burden to every one I knew, as once I was.' + </p> + <p> + After the singing of the hymn, 'Rock of Ages,' another man addressed the + meeting. He had been a drunkard, a homeless wanderer, who slept night + after night on the Embankment till fortune brought him to this service and + to the Penitent-Form. Since that time, two and a half years before, no + drink had passed his lips, and once again, as he declared, he had become + 'a self-respecting, respectable citizen.' + </p> + <p> + Then a dwarf whom I had seen at work in the Spa Road Elevator, and who + once was taken about the country to be exhibited as a side show at fairs + and there fell a victim to drink, gave his testimony. + </p> + <p> + Another verse, 'Could my tears for ever flow,' and after it, in rapid + succession, spoke a man who had been a schoolmaster and fallen through + drink and gambling; a man who, or whose brother, I am not sure which, had + been a Wesleyan preacher, and who is now employed in a Life Assurance + Company; a man who had been a prisoner; a man who had been a confirmed + drunkard, and others. + </p> + <p> + Always it was the same earnest, simple tale of drink and degradation, + passed now for ever; of the Penitent-Form; of the building up of a new + self, and of position regained. + </p> + <p> + More singing and an eloquent prayer which seemed to move the audience very + much, some of them to tears; an address from a woman Salvation Army + Officer, who pleaded with the people in the name of their mothers, and a + brief but excellent sermon from Commissioner Sturgess, based upon the + parable of the Marriage of the King's Son as recorded in the 22nd chapter + of St. Matthew, and of the guests who were collected from the highways and + byways to attend the feast whence the rich and worldly had excused + themselves. + </p> + <p> + Then the great and final invocation to Heaven to move the hearts of these + men, and the invitation to them to present themselves at the + Penitent-Form. Lastly a mighty, thundering hymn, 'Jesu, Lover of my soul,' + and the ending of the long drama. + </p> + <p> + It was a wonderful thing to see the spiritually-faced man on the platform + pleading with his sordid audience, and to watch them stirring beneath his + words. To see, also, a uniformed woman flitting to and fro among that + audience, whispering, exhorting, invoking—a temptress to Salvation, + then to note the response and its manner that were stranger still. Some + poor wretch would seem to awaken, only to relapse into a state of sullen, + almost defiant torpor. A little while and the leaven begins to work in + him. He flushes, mutters something, half rises from his seat, sits down + again, rises once more and with a peculiar, unwilling gait staggers to the + Penitent-Form, and in an abandonment of grief and repentance throws + himself upon his knees and there begins to sob. A watching Officer comes + to him, kneels at his side and, I suppose, confesses him. The tremendous + hymn bursts out like a paean of triumph— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Just as I am, without one plea, +</pre> + <p> + it begins, the rest I forget or did not catch. + </p> + <p> + Now the ice is broken. Another comes and another, and another, till there + is no more room at the Penitent-Bench. They swarm on to the platform which + is cleared for them, and there kneel down, and I observed the naked feet + of some of them showing through the worn-out boots. + </p> + <p> + So it goes on. At length the great audience rises and begins to depart, + filing one by one through a certain doorway. As they pass, Officers who + have appeared from somewhere wait for them with outstretched arms. The + most of them brush past shaking their heads and muttering. Here and there + one pauses, is lost—or rather won. The Salvation Army has him in its + net and he joins the crowd upon the platform. Still the hymn swells and + falls till all have departed save those who remain for good—about 10 + per cent of that sad company. + </p> + <p> + It is done and the catcher feels that he has witnessed the very uttermost + of tragedies, human and spiritual. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + Mere common 'revivalism'! the critic will say, and it may be so. Still + such revivalism, if that is the term for it, must be judged by its fruits. + I am informed that of those who kneel here experience shows that but a + small percentage relapse. The most of them become what in the Salvation + Army cant—if one chooses so to name it—is known as 'saved.' + </p> + <p> + This means that from drunkards and wastrels stained with every sort of + human fault, or even crime, they are turned into God-fearing and + respectable men who henceforward, instead of being a pest to society and a + terror to all those who have the misfortune to be connected with them, + become props of society and a comfort and a support to their relatives and + friends. + </p> + <p> + Thus is the mesh of mercy spread, and such is its harvest. + </p> + <p> + The age of miracles is past, we are told; but I confess that while + watching this strange sight I wondered more than once that if this were + so, what that age of miracles had been like. Of one thing I was sure, that + it must have been to such as these that He who is acknowledged even by + sceptics to have been the very Master of mankind, would have chosen to + preach, had this been the age of His appearance, He who came to call + sinners to repentance. Probably, too, it was to such as these that He did + preach, for folk of this character are common to the generations. + Doubtless, Judea had its knaves and drunkards, as we know it had its + victims of sickness and misfortune. The devils that were cast out in + Jerusalem did not die; they reappear in London and elsewhere to-day, and, + it would seem, can still be cast out. + </p> + <p> + I confess another thing, also; namely, that I found all this drama + curiously exciting. Most of us who have passed middle age and led a full + and varied life will be familiar with the great human emotions. Yet I + discovered here a new emotion, one quite foreign to a somewhat extended + experience, one that I cannot even attempt to define. The contagion of + revivalism! again it will be said. This may be so, or it may not. But at + least, so far as this branch of the Salvation Army work is concerned, + those engaged in it may fairly claim that the tree should be judged by its + fruits. Without doubt, in the main these fruits are good and wholesome. + </p> + <p> + I have only to add to my description of this remarkable service, that the + number netted, namely, about 10 per cent of those present, was, I am told, + just normal, neither more nor less than the average. Some of these + doubtless will relapse; but if only <i>one</i> of them remains really + reformed, surely the Salvation Army has vindicated its arguments and all + is proved to be well worth while. But to that one very many ciphers must + be added as the clear and proved result of the forty years or so of its + activity. Whatever may be doubtful, this is true beyond all controversy, + for it numbers its converts by the thousand. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + The congregation which I saw on this particular occasion seemed to me to + consist for the most part of elderly men; in fact, some of them were very + old, and the average age of those who attended the Penitent-Form I + estimated at about thirty-five years. This, however, varies. I am informed + that at times they are mostly young persons. It must be remembered—and + the statement throws a lurid light upon the conditions prevailing in + London, as in other of our great cities—that the population which + week by week attends these Sunday morning services is of an ever-shifting + character. Doubtless, there are some <i>habitués</i> and others who + reappear from time to time. But the most of the audience is new. Every + Saturday night the highways and the hedges, or rather the streets and the + railway arches yield a new crop of homeless and quite destitute wanderers. + These are gathered into the Blackfriars Shelter, and go their bitter road + again after the rest, the breakfast, and the service. But as we have seen + here a substantial proportion, about 10 per cent, remain behind. These are + all interviewed separately and fed, and on the following morning as many + of them as vacancies can be found for in the Paper Works Elevator or + elsewhere are sent thither. + </p> + <p> + I saw plenty of these men, and with them others who had been rescued + previously; so many, indeed, that it is impossible to set out their + separate cases. Looking through my notes made at the time, I find among + them a schoolmaster, an Australian who fought in South Africa, a publican + who had lost £2,000 in speculation and been twelve months on the streets, + a sailor and two soldiers who between them had seen much service abroad, + and a University man who had tried to commit suicide from London Bridge. + </p> + <p> + Also there was a person who was recently described in the newspapers as + the 'dirtiest man in London.' He was found sitting on the steps of a large + building in Queen Victoria Street, partly paralysed from exposure. So + filthy and verminous was he, that it was necessary to scrape his body, + which mere washing would not touch. When he was picked up, a crowd of + several hundred people followed him down the street, attracted by his + dreadful appearance. His pockets were full of filth, amongst which were + found 5s. in coppers. He had then been a month in the Shelter, where he + peels or peeled potatoes, etc., and looked quite bright and clean. + </p> + <p> + Most of these people had been brought down by the accursed drink, which is + the bane of our nation, and some few by sheer misfortune. + </p> + <p> + Neither at the service, nor afterwards, did I see a single Jew, for the + fallen of that race seem to be looked after by their fellow religionists. + Moreover, the Jews do not drink to excess. Foreigners, also, are + comparatively scarce at Blackfriars and in the other Shelters. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0008" id="link2H_4_0008"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE EX-CRIMINALS + </h2> + <p> + On the afternoon of the Sunday on which I visited the Blackfriars Shelter, + I attended another service, conducted by Commissioner Sturgess, at Quaker + Street. + </p> + <p> + Here the room was filled by about 150 men, all of whom had been rescued, + and were then working in the various Shelters or elsewhere. I may say that + I have seldom seen a congregation of more respectable appearance, and + never one that joined with greater earnestness in a religious service. + </p> + <p> + I will take this opportunity to observe that the Salvation Army enforces + no religious test upon those to whom it extends its assistance. If a man + is a member of the Church of England or a Roman Catholic, for instance, + and wishes to remain so, all that it tries to do is to make him a good + member of his Church. Its only <i>sine qua non</i> is that the individual + should show himself ready to work zealously at any task which it may be + able to find for him. + </p> + <p> + The rest of that afternoon I spent in interviewing ex-criminals who were + then in the charge of the Salvation Army. To give details of their cases + in this book is impossible. Here I will only say, therefore, that some of + these had been most desperate characters, who had served as much as thirty + or forty years in various prisons, or even been condemned to death for + murder. Indeed, the nineteen men whom I interviewed had, between them, + done 371 years of what is known as 'time.' + </p> + <p> + I cannot honestly report that I liked the looks of all these gentry, or + believed everything that they told me. For instance, when such people + swear that they have been wrongly convicted, an old lawyer and magistrate + like myself, who knows what pains are taken by every English Court to + safeguard the innocent, is apt to be sceptical. Still, it should be added + that many of these jailbirds are now to all appearance quite reformed, + while some of them are doing well in more or less responsible positions, + under the supervision of the Army. + </p> + <p> + The Salvation Army Officers have authority from the Home Office to visit + the various prisons, where the inmates are informed that those who are + desirous of seeing them must give in their names. Then on a certain day, + the Officer, who, under Commissioner Sturgess, is responsible for the + Prison work of the Army in England, appears at the Wandsworth or the + Pentonville Prison, or wherever it may be. There he finds, perhaps, as + many as 150 men waiting to see him, the total number of ex-prisoners who + pass through the hands of the Army in England averaging at present about + 1,000 per annum. He interviews these men in their cells privately, the + prison officials remaining outside, and stops as long with each of them as + he deems to be needful, for the Governors of the prisons give him every + opportunity of attaining the object of his work. This Officer informed me + that his conversation with the prisoners is not restricted in any way. It + may be about their future or of spiritual matters, or it may have to do + with their family affairs. + </p> + <p> + The details of each case are carefully recorded in a book which I saw, and + when a convict is discharged and given over to the care of the Army, a + photograph and an official statement of his record is furnished with him. + This statement the Army finds a great help, as in dealing with such people + it is necessary to know their past in order to be able to guard against + their weak points. + </p> + <p> + The Government authorities have now begun to seek the aid of the Army in + certain special cases. If they feel that it is unnecessary to retain a man + any longer, they will sometimes hand him over, should the Salvation Army + Officers be willing to take him in and be responsible for him. General + Booth and his subordinates think that if this system were enlarged and + followed up, it would result in the mitigation or the abbreviation of many + sentences, without exposing the public to danger. + </p> + <p> + In discussing this matter with them, I ventured to point out that it would + be a bad thing if the Army became in any way identified with the prison + Authorities, and began, at any rate in the mind of the criminal classes, + to wear the initials G.R. instead of those of the Army upon their collars. + This was not disputed by Commissioner Sturgess, with whom I debated the + question. + </p> + <p> + What the Army desires, however, is that the Government should subsidize + this work in order to enable it to support the ex-convicts until it can + find opportunity to place them in positions where they can earn their own + bread. The trouble with such folk is that, naturally enough, few desire to + employ them, and until they are employed, which in the case of aged + persons or of those with a very bad record may be never, they must be fed, + clothed, and housed. + </p> + <p> + After going into the whole subject at considerable length and in much + detail, the conclusion which I came to was that this work of the + visitation of prisoners by Salvation Army Officers, and the care of them + when released either on or before the completion of their sentences, is + one that might be usefully extended, should the Home Office Authorities + see fit so to do. There is no doubt, although it cannot guarantee success + in every case, that the Salvation Army is peculiarly successful in its + dealings with hardened criminals. + </p> + <p> + Why this is so is not easy to explain. I think, however, that there are + two main reasons for its success. The first is that the Army takes great + care never to break a promise which it may make through any of its + Officers. Thus, if a man in jail is told that his relatives will be hunted + up and communicated with, or that an application will be made to the + Authorities to have him committed to the care of the Army, or that work + will be found for him on his release, and the like, that undertaking, + whatever it may be, is noted in the book which I have mentioned, and + although years may pass before it can be fulfilled, is in due course + carried out to the letter. Now, convicts are shy birds, who put little + faith in promises. But when they find that these are always kept they gain + confidence in the makers of them, and often learn to trust them entirely. + </p> + <p> + The second and more potent reason is to be found in the power of that + loving sympathy which the Army extends even to the vilest, to those from + whom the least puritanical of us would shrink. It shows such men that they + are not utterly lost, as these believe; that it, at any rate, does not + mark them with a figurative broad arrow and consign them to a separate + division of society; that it is able to give them back the self-respect + without which mankind is lower than the beast, and to place them, + regenerated, upon a path that, if it be steep and thorny, still leads to + those heights of peace and honour which they never thought to tread again. + </p> + <p> + This is done not by physical care and comfort, though, of course, these + help towards the desired end, but by its own spiritual means, or so it + would appear. Its Officers pray with the man; they awake his conscience, + which is never dead in any of us; they pour the blessed light of hope into + the dark places of his soul; they cause him to hate the past, and to + desire to lead a new life. Once this desire is established, the rest is + comparatively simple, for where the heart leads the feet will follow; but + without it little or nothing can be done. Such is the explanation I have + to offer. At any rate, I believe it remains a fact that among the worst + criminals the Salvation Army often succeeds where others have failed. + </p> + <p> + Another point that should not be overlooked in this connexion is that it + must be a great comfort to the sinner and an encouragement of the most + practical sort to find, as he sometimes will, that the hands which are + dragging him and his kind from the mire, had once been as filthy as his + own. When the worker can say to him, 'Look at me; in bygone days I was as + bad as or worse than you'; when he can point to many others whose vices + were formerly notorious, but who now fill positions of trust in the Army + or outside of it, and are honoured of all men; then the lost one, + emerging, perhaps, for the fifth or sixth time from the darkness of his + prison, sees by the light of these concrete examples that the future has + promise for us all. If <i>they</i> have succeeded why should <i>he</i> + fail? That is the argument which comes home to him. + </p> + <p> + There remains a matter to be considered. Let us suppose that as time goes + by the Authorities become more and more convinced of the value of the + Army's prison work, and pass over to its care criminals in ever-increasing + numbers, as they are doing in some other countries and in the great + Colonies, what will be the effect upon the Army itself? Will not this mass + of comparatively useless material clog the wheels of the great machine by + overlading it with a vast number of ex-prisoners, some of whom, owing to + their age or other circumstances, are quite incapable of earning their + livelihood, and therefore must be carried till their deaths? When I put + the query to those in command, the answer given was that they did not + think so, as they believed that the Army would be able to turn the great + majority of these men into respectable, wage-earning members of society. + </p> + <p> + Thus of those who have been sent to it lately from the prisons, it has, I + understand, been forced to return only two, because these men would not + behave themselves, and proved to be a source of danger and contamination + to others. As regards the residuum who are incapacitated by age or + weakness of mind or body, General Booth and his Officers are of opinion + that the Government should contribute to their support in such places as + the Army may be able to find for them to dwell in under its care. + </p> + <p> + I hope that these forecasts, which after all are made by men of great + experience who should know, may not prove to be over-sanguine. Still it + must be remembered that in England alone there are, I am told, some 30,000 + confirmed criminals in the jails, not reckoning the 5,000 who are classed + as convicts. If even 20 per cent of these were passed over to the care of + the Army, with or without State grants in aid of their support, this must + in the nature of things prove a heavy burden upon its resources. When all + is said and done it is harder to find employment for a jailbird, even if + reformed, than for any other class of man, because so damaged a human + article has but little commercial value in the Labour market. + </p> + <p> + If, however, the Salvation Army is prepared to face this gigantic task, it + may be hoped that it will be given an opportunity of showing what it can + do on a large scale, as it has already shown upon one more restricted. + Prison reform is in the air. The present system is admitted more or less + to have broken down. It has been shown to be incompetent to attain the + real end for which it is established; that is, not punishment, as many + still believe, for this hereditary idea is hard to eradicate, but + prevention and, still more, reformation. + </p> + <p> + The 'Vengeance of the Law' is a phrase not easy to forget; but among + humane and highly-civilized peoples the word Vengeance should be replaced + by another, the best that I can think of is—Regeneration. The Law + should not seek to avenge—that may be left to the savage codes, + civil and religious, of the dark ages. Except in the case of the death + sentence, which is not everywhere in favour, it should seek to regenerate. + </p> + <p> + If, then, among other agencies, the Salvation Army is able to prove beyond + cavil that it can assist our criminal system to attain this noble end, + ought not opportunity to be given it in full measure? Is it too much to + hope that when the new Prison Act, of which the substance has recently + been outlined by the Home Secretary, comes to be discussed, this object + may be kept in view and the offer of the Salvation Army to co-operate in + the great endeavour may not be lightly thrust aside? If its help is found + so valuable in the solution of this particular problem in other lands, why + should it be rejected here, or, rather, why should it not be more largely + utilized, as I know from their own lips, General Booth and his Officers + hope and desire?<a href="#linknote-2" name="linknoteref-2" + id="linknoteref-2"><small>2</small></a> + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0009" id="link2H_4_0009"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE MEN'S WORKSHOP + </h2> + <h3> + HANBURY STREET, WHITECHAPEL + </h3> + <p> + This Salvation Army carpentering and joinery shop has been in existence + for about fifteen years, but it does not even now pay its way. It was + started by the Army in order to assist fallen mechanics by giving them + temporary work until they could find other situations. + </p> + <p> + The manager informed me that at the beginning they found work for about + thirty men. When I visited the place some fifty hands were employed—bricklayers, + painters, joiners, etc., none of whom need stop an hour longer than they + choose. From 100 to 150 men pass through this Workshop in a year, but many + of them being elderly and therefore unable to obtain work elsewhere, stop + for a long while, as the Army cannot well get rid of them. All of these + folk arrive in a state of absolute destitution, having even sold their + tools, the last possessions with which a competent workman parts. + </p> + <p> + The Parliamentary Committee of the Labour Party and the Trade Unions have + recently stirred up a great agitation, which has been widely reported in + the Press, against the Hanbury Street Workshop, because the Army does not + pay the Union rate of wages. As a result the Army now declines all outside + contracts, and confines its operations to the work of erecting, repairing, + or furnishing its own buildings. + </p> + <p> + Here it may be stated that these complaints seem to be unreasonable. The + men employed have almost without exception been taken off the streets to + save them from starvation or the poorhouse. Often enough they are by no + means competent at their work, while some of them have for the time being + been rendered practically useless through the effects of drink or other + debaucheries. Yet it is argued with violence that to such people, whom no + business firm would employ upon any terms, the Army ought to pay the full + Trade Union rate of wages. When every allowance is made for the great and + urgent problems connected with the cruel practice of 'sweating,' surely + this attitude throws a strange light upon some of the methods of the Trade + Unions? + </p> + <p> + The inference seems to be that they would prefer that these derelicts + should come on the rates or starve rather than that the Army should house + and feed them, giving them, in addition, such wage as their labour may be + worth. Further comment seems to be needless, especially when I repeat + that, as I am assured, this Hanbury Street Institution never has earned, + and does not now earn, the cost of its upkeep. + </p> + <p> + It is situated in the heart of a very poor district, and is rather a + ramshackle place to look at, but still quite suitable to its purposes. I + have observed that one of the characteristics of the Salvation Army is + that it never spends unnecessary money upon buildings. If it can buy a + good house or other suitable structure cheap it does so. If it cannot, it + makes use of what it can get at a price within its means, provided that + the place will satisfy the requirements of the sanitary and other + Authorities. + </p> + <p> + All the machines at Hanbury Street are driven by electric power that is + supplied by the Stepney Council at a cost of 1<i>d</i>. per unit for power + and 3<i>d</i>. per unit for lighting. + </p> + <p> + An elderly man whom I saw there attending to this machinery, was dismissed + by one of the great railway companies when they were reducing their hands. + He had been in the employ of the Salvation Army for seven years and + received the use of a house rent free and a wage of 30<i>s</i>. a week, + which probably he would find it quite impossible to earn anywhere else. + </p> + <p> + The hours of employment are from 6.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. if the man is + engaged on outside work, or to 6 p.m. if he labours in the workshop, and + the men are paid at various rates according to the value of their work, + and whether they are boarded and lodged, or live outside. Thus one to whom + I spoke, who was the son of a former mayor of an important town, was + allowed 3<i>s.</i> a week plus food and lodging, while another received 9<i>s.</i> + a week, 5<i>s.</i> of which was sent to his wife, from whom he was + separated. Another man, after living on the Army for about two years, made + charges against it to the Carpenters' and Joiners' Union. He returned and + apologized, but had practically to be kept under restraint on account of + his drinking habits. + </p> + <p> + Another man spent twenty years in jail and then walked the streets. He is + now a very respectable person, earns 27<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> a week, and + lives outside with his wife and family. Another was once convicted of + cruelty to his children, whom he placed under the boards of the flooring + while he went out to drink. These children are now restored to him, and he + lives with them. Another among those with whom I happened to speak, was + robbed by a relative of £4,000 which his father left to him. He was taken + on by the Army in a state of destitution, but I forget what he earned. + Another, the youngest man in the Works, came to them without any trade at + all and in a destitute condition, but when I saw him was in charge of a + morticing machine. He had married, lived out, and had been in the employ + of the Army for five years. His wage was 27<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> a week. + Two others drew as much as £2 5<i>s.</i> 11<i>d.</i> each, living out; + but, on the other hand, some received as little as 3<i>s.</i> a week with + board and lodging. + </p> + <p> + Amongst this latter class was a young Mormon from Salt Lake City, who + earned 4<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> a week and his board and lodging. He had been + in the Elevator about three months, having got drunk in London and missed + his ship. Although he attended the Salvation Army meetings, he remained a + Mormon. + </p> + <p> + In these Works all sorts of articles are manufactured to be used by other + branches of the Salvation Army. Thus I saw poultry-houses being made for + the Boxted Small Holdings; these cost from £4 5<i>s.</i> to £4 10<i>s.</i> + net, and were excellent structures designed to hold about two dozen fowls. + Further on large numbers of seats of different patterns were in process of + manufacture, some of them for children, and other longer ones, with + reversible backs, to be used in the numerous Army halls. Next I visited a + room in which mattresses and mattress covers are made for the various + Shelters, also the waterproof bunk bedding, which costs 7<i>s.</i> 9<i>d.</i> + per cover. Further on, in a separate compartment, was a flock-tearing + machine, at which the Mormon I have mentioned was employed. This is a very + dusty job whereat a man does not work for more than one day in ten. + </p> + <p> + Then there were the painting and polishing-room, the joinery room, and the + room where doors, window frames, and articles of furniture are + constructed; also special garden benches, cleverly planned so that the + seat can be protected from rain. These were designed by a young lady whom + I chance to know in private life, and who, as I now discovered for the + first time, is also a member of the Salvation Army. + </p> + <p> + Such is the Hanbury Street Workshop, where the Army makes the best use it + can of rather indifferent human materials, and, as I have said, loses + money at the business. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0010" id="link2H_4_0010"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + STURGE HOUSE, BOW ROAD + </h2> + <p> + This branch of the Men's Social Work of the Salvation Army is a home for + poor and destitute boys. The house, which once belonged to the late Dr. + Barnardo, has been recently hired on a short lease. One of the features of + the Army work is the reclamation of lads, of whom about 2,400 have passed + through its hands in London during the course of the last eight years. + </p> + <p> + Sturge House has been fitted up for this special purpose, and accommodates + about fifty boys. The Officer in charge informed me that some boys apply + to them for assistance when they are out of work, while others come from + bad homes, and yet others through the Shelters, which pass on suitable + lads. Each case is strictly investigated when it arrives, with the result + that about one-third of their number are restored to their parents, from + whom often enough they have run away, sometimes upon the most flimsy + pretexts. + </p> + <p> + Not unfrequently these boys are bad characters, who tell false tales of + their past. Thus, recently, two who arrived at the Headquarters at + Whitechapel, alleged that they were farm-labourers from Norfolk. As they + did not in the least look the part, inquiries were made, when it was found + that they had never been nearer to Norfolk than Hampstead, where both of + them had been concerned in the stealing of £10 from a business firm. The + matter was patched up with the intervention of the Army, and the boys were + restored to their parents. + </p> + <p> + Occasionally, too, lads are brought here by kind folk, who find them + starving. They are taken in, kept for a while, taught and fed, and when + their characters are re-established—for many of them have none left—put + out into the world. Some of them, indeed, work daily at various + employments in London, and pay 5s. a week for their board and lodging at + the Home. A good proportion of these lads also are sent to the collieries + in Wales, where, after a few years, they earn good wages. + </p> + <p> + In these collieries a man and a boy generally work together. A while ago + such a man applied to the Army for a boy, and the applicant, proving + respectable, the boy was sent, and turned out extremely well. In due + course he became a collier himself, and, in his turn, sent for a boy. So + the thing spread, till up to the present time the Army has supplied fifty + or sixty lads to colliers in South Wales, all of whom seem to be + satisfactory and prosperous. + </p> + <p> + As the Manager explained, it is not difficult to place out a lad as soon + as his character can be more or less guaranteed. The difficulty comes with + a man who is middle-aged or old. He added that this Home does not in any + sense compete with those of Dr. Barnardo; in fact, in certain ways they + work hand in hand. The Barnardo Homes will not receive lads who are over + sixteen, whereas the Army takes them up to eighteen. So it comes about + that Barnardo's sometimes send on cases which are over their age limit to + Sturge House. + </p> + <p> + I saw the boys at their dinner, and although many of them had a bad + record, certainly they looked very respectable, and likely to make good + and useful men. The experience of the Army is that most of them are quite + capable of reformation, and that, when once their hearts have been + changed, they seldom fall back into the ways of dishonesty. + </p> + <p> + This Home, like all those managed by the Salvation Army, is spotlessly + clean, and the dormitories are very pleasant rooms. Also, there is a + garden, and in it I saw a number of pots of flowers, which had just been + sent as a present by a boy whom the Army helped three years ago, and who + is now, I understand, a gardener. + </p> + <p> + Sturge House struck me as a most useful Institution; and as there is about + it none of the depressing air of the adult Shelters, my visit here was a + pleasant change. The reclamation or the helping of a lad is a very + different business from that of restoring the adult or the old man to a + station in life which he seems to have lost for ever. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0011" id="link2H_4_0011"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE CENTRAL LABOUR BUREAU + </h2> + <p> + This Bureau is established in the Social Headquarters at Whitechapel, a + large building acquired as long ago as 1878. Here is to be seen the room + in which General Booth used to hold some of his first prayer meetings, and + a little chamber where he took counsel with those Officers who were the + fathers of the Army. Also there is a place where he could sit unseen and + listen to the preaching of his subordinates, so that he might judge of + their ability. + </p> + <p> + The large hall is now part of yet another Shelter, which contains 232 beds + and bunks. I inspected this place, but as it differs in no important + detail from others, I will not describe it. + </p> + <p> + The Officer who is in charge of the Labour Bureau informed me that + hundreds of men apply there for work every week, of whom a great many are + sent into the various Elevators and Shelters. The Army finds it extremely + difficult to procure outside employment for these men, for the simple + reason that there is very little available. Moreover, now that the + Government Labour Bureaux are open, this trouble is not lessened. Of these + Bureaux, the Manager said that they are most useful, but fail to find + employment for many who apply to them. Indeed, numbers of men come on from + them to the Salvation Army. + </p> + <p> + The hard fact is that there are more idle hands than there is work for + them to do, even where honest and capable folk are concerned. Thus, in the + majority of instances, the Army is obliged to rely upon its own + Institutions and the Hadleigh Land Colony to provide some sort of job for + out-of-works. Of course, of such jobs there are not enough to go round, so + many poor folk must be sent empty away or supported by charity. + </p> + <p> + I suggested that it might be worth while to establish a school of + chauffeurs, and the Officers present said that they would consider the + matter. Unfortunately, however, such an experiment must be costly at the + present price of motor-vehicles. + </p> + <p> + I annex the Labour Bureau Statistics for May, 1910:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + LONDON + + Applicants for temporary employment 479 + Sent to temporary employment 183 + Applicants for Elevators 864 + Sent to Elevators 260 + Sent to Shelters 32 + + PROVINCES + + Applicants for temporary employment 461 + Sent to temporary employment 160 + Applicants for Elevators 417 + Sent to Elevators 202 + Sent to Shelters 20 + Sent to permanent situations 35 +</pre> + <h3> + THE INTERNATIONAL INVESTIGATION DEPARTMENT + </h3> + <p> + This is a curious and interesting branch of the work of the Salvation + Army. About two thousand times a year it receives letters or personal + applications, asking it to find some missing relative or friend of the + writer or applicant. In reply, a form is posted or given, which must be + filled up with the necessary particulars. Then, if it be a London case, + the Officer in charge sends out a skilled man to work up clues. If, on the + other hand, it be a country case, the Officer in charge of the Corps + nearest to where it has occurred, is instructed to initiate the inquiry. + Also, advertisements are inserted in the Army papers, known as 'The War + Cry' and 'The Social Gazette,' both in Great Britain and other countries, + if the lost person is supposed to be on the Continent or in some distant + part of the world. + </p> + <p> + The result is that a large percentage of the individuals sought for are + discovered, alive or dead, for in such work the Salvation Army has + advantages denied to any other body, scarcely excepting the Police. Its + representatives are everywhere, and to whatever land they may belong or + whatever tongue they may speak, all of them obey an order sent out from + Headquarters wholeheartedly and uninfluenced by the question of regard. + The usual fee charged for this work is 10<i>s</i>. 6<i>d</i>.; but when + this cannot be paid, a large number of cases are undertaken free. The Army + goes to as much trouble in these unpaid cases as in any others, only then + it is not able to flood the country with printed bills. Of course, where + well-to-do people are concerned, it expects that its out-of-pocket costs + will be met. + </p> + <p> + The cases with which it has to deal are of all kinds. Often those who have + disappeared are found to have done so purposely, perhaps leaving behind + them manufactured evidence, such as coats or letters on a river-bank, + suggesting that they have committed suicide. Generally, these people are + involved in some fraud or other trouble. Again, husbands desert their + wives, or wives their husbands, and vanish, in which instances they are + probably living with somebody else under another name. Or children are + kidnapped, or girls are lured away, or individuals emigrate to far lands + and neglect to write. Or, perhaps, they simply sink out of all knowledge, + and vanish effectually enough into a paupers grave. + </p> + <p> + But the oddest cases of all are those of a complete loss of memory, a + thing that is by no means so infrequent as is generally supposed. The + experience of the Army is that the majority of these cases happen among + those who lead a studious life. The victim goes out in his usual health + and suddenly forgets everything. His mind becomes a total blank. Yet + certain instincts remain, such as that of earning a living. + </p> + <p> + Thus, to take a single recent example, the son of a large bookseller in a + country town left the house one day, saying that he would not be away for + long, and disappeared. At the invitation of his father, the Army took up + the case, and ultimately found that the man had been working in its Spa + Road Elevator under another name. Afterwards he went away, became + destitute, and sold matches in the streets. Ultimately he was found in a + Church Army Home. He recovered his memory, and subsequently lost it again + to the extent that he could recall nothing which happened to him during + the period of its first lapse. All that time vanished into total darkness. + </p> + <p> + This business of the hunting out of the missing through the agency of the + Salvation Army is one which increases every day. It is not unusual for the + Army to discover individuals who have been missing for thirty years and + upwards. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0012" id="link2H_4_0012"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE EMIGRATION DEPARTMENT + </h2> + <p> + Some years ago I was present one night in the Board-room at Euston Station + and addressed a shipload of emigrants who were departing to Canada under + the auspices of the Salvation Army. I forget their exact number, but I + think it was not less than 500. What I do not forget, however, is the + sorrow that I felt at seeing so many men in the prime of life leaving the + shores of their country for ever, especially as most of them were not + married. This meant, amongst other things, that an equal number of women + who remained behind were deprived of the possibility of obtaining a + husband in a country in which the females already outnumber the males by + more than a million. I said as much in the little speech I made on this + occasion, and I think that some one answered me with the pertinent remark + that if there was no work at home, it must be sought abroad. + </p> + <p> + There lies the whole problem in a nutshell—men must live. As for the + aged and the incompetent and the sick and the unattached women, these are + left behind for the community to support, while young and active men of + energy move off to endow new lands with their capacities and strength. The + results of this movement, carried out upon a great scale, can be seen in + the remoter parts of Ireland, which, as the visitor will observe, appear + to be largely populated by very young children and by persons getting on + in years. Whether or no this is a satisfactory state of affairs is not for + me to say, although the matter, too large to discuss here, is one upon + which I may have my own opinion. + </p> + <p> + Colonel Lamb, the head of the Salvation Army Emigration Department, + informed me that during the past seven years the Army has emigrated about + 50,000 souls, of whom 10,000 were assisted out of its funds, the rest + paying their own way or being paid for from one source or another. From + 8,000 to 10,000 people have been sent during the present year, 1910, most + of them to Canada, which is the Mecca of the Salvation Army Emigration + policy. So carefully have all these people been selected, that not 1 per + cent have ever been returned to this country by the Canadian Authorities + as undesirable. The truth is that those Authorities have the greatest + confidence in the discretion of the Army, and in its ability to handle + this matter to the advantage of all concerned. + </p> + <p> + That this is true I know from personal experience, since when, some years + ago, I was a Commissioner from the British Government and had authority to + formulate a scheme of Colonial land-settlement, the Prime Minister of + Canada, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, told me so himself in the plainest language. + Indeed, he did more, formally offering a huge block of territory to be + selected anywhere I might choose in the Dominion, with the aid of its + Officers, for the purposes of settlement by poor folk and their children + under the auspices of the Salvation Army. Also, he added the promise of as + much more land as might be required in the future for the same purpose.<a + href="#linknote-3" name="linknoteref-3" id="linknoteref-3"><small>3</small></a> + </p> + <p> + Most unhappily, as I hold, that offer was not accepted by the British + Government. If this had been done, by now hundreds of English families + would have been transferred from conditions of want at home in the English + towns, into those of peace and plenty upon the land abroad. Moreover, the + recent rise in the value of Canadian land has been so great that the + scheme would not have cost the British taxpayer a halfpenny, or so I most + firmly believe. + </p> + <p> + Unfortunately, however, my scheme was too novel in its character to appeal + to the official mind, especially as its working would have involved a loan + repayable by instalments, the administration of which must have been + entrusted to the Salvation Army or to other charitable Organizations. So + this priceless opportunity was lost, probably for ever, as the new and + stricter emigration regulations adopted by Canada, as I understand, would + make it extremely difficult to emigrate the class I hoped to help, namely, + indigent people of good character, resident in English cities, with + growing families of children. + </p> + <p> + Young men, especially if they have been bred on the land, and young + marriageable women are eagerly desired in the Colonies, including + Australia; but at families, as we have read in recent correspondence in + the newspapers, they look askance. + </p> + <p> + 'Why do they not want families in Australia? I asked Colonel Lamb. + </p> + <p> + 'Because the trouble of housing comes in. It is the same thing in Canada, + it is the same thing all through the Colonies. They do not want too much + trouble,' he answered. + </p> + <p> + These words define the position very accurately. 'Give us your best,' say + the Colonies. 'Give us your adult, healthy men and women whom you have + paid to rear and educate, but don't bother us with families of children + whom we have to house. Above all send us no damaged articles. You are + welcome to keep those at home.' + </p> + <p> + To my mind this attitude, natural as it may be, creates a serious problem + so far as Great Britain and Ireland are concerned, for the question will + arise, Can we afford to go on parting with the good and retaining the less + desirable? + </p> + <p> + On this subject I had a long argument with Colonel Lamb, and his answer to + the question was in the affirmative, although I must admit that his + reasons did not at all convince me. He seemed to believe that we could + send out 250,000 people, chosen people, per annum for the next ten years + without harm to ourselves. Well, it may be so, and, as he added, 'we are + in their (that is, the Colonies') hands, and have to do what they choose + to allow.' + </p> + <p> + Also his opinion was that 'the best thing possible for this country is + wholesale emigration,' of course of those whom the Colonies will accept. + He said, 'People here are dissatisfied with their present condition and + want a change. If we had money to assist them, there is practically no + limit to the number who want to go. There are tens of thousands who would + conform to the Canadian regulations. One of the things we advise the man + who has been forced out of the country is that rather than come into the + town he should go to the Colonies.' + </p> + <p> + On the matter of the complaints which have been made in Canada of the + emigrant from London, Colonel Lamb said, 'The Londoner, it is alleged, is + not wanted. The Canadian is full of self-assertiveness, and the Cockney + has some of that too; he does not hesitate to express his views, and you + have conflicting spirits at once. The Cockney will arrive at the + conclusion in about twenty-four hours that he could run Canada better than + it is now being run. The Scotchman will take a week to arrive at the same + conclusion, and holds his tongue about it. The Cockney says what he thinks + on the first day of arrival, and the result is—fireworks. He and the + Canadians do not agree to begin with; but when they get over the first + passage of arms they settle down amicably. The Cockney is finally + appreciated, and, being industrious and amenable to law and order, if he + has got a bit of humour he gets on all right, but not at first.' + </p> + <p> + Colonel Lamb informed me that in Australia the Labour Party is afraid of + the Army because it believes 'we will send in people to bring down wages.' + Therefore, the Labour Party has sidetracked General Booth's proposals. + Now, however, it alleges that it is not opposed to emigration, if not on + too large a scale. 'They don't mind a few girls; but they say the + condition that must precede emigration is the breaking up of the land.' + </p> + <p> + Colonel Lamb appeared to desire that an Emigration Board should be + appointed in England, with power and funds to deal with the distribution + of the population of the Empire and to systematize emigration. To this + Imperial Board, individuals or Societies, such as the Salvation Army, + should, he thought, be able to submit their schemes, which schemes would + receive assistance according to their merits under such limitations as the + Board might see fit to impose. To such a Board he would even give power to + carry out land-settlement schemes in the British Isles. + </p> + <p> + This is a great proposal, but one wonders whence the money is to come. + Also how long will it be before the Labour Parties in the various + Colonies, including Canada, gain so much power that they will refuse to + accept emigrants at all, except young women, or agriculturalists who bring + capital with them? + </p> + <p> + But all these problems are for the future. Meanwhile it is evident that + the Salvation Army manages its emigration work with extraordinary success + and business skill. Those whom it sends from these shores for their own + benefit are invariably accepted, at any rate in Canada, and provided with + work on their arrival in the chosen Colony. That the selection is sound + and careful is shown, also, by the fact that the Army recovers from those + emigrants to whom it gives assistance a considerable percentage of the + sums advanced to enable them to start life in a new land. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0013" id="link2H_4_0013"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE WOMEN'S SOCIAL WORK IN LONDON + </h2> + <p> + At the commencement of my investigation of this branch of the Salvation + Army activities in England, I discussed its general aspects with Mrs. + Bramwell Booth, who has it in her charge. She pointed out to me that this + Women's Social Work is a much larger business than it was believed to be + even by those who had some acquaintance with the Salvation Army, and that + it deals with many matters of great importance in their bearing on the + complex problems of our civilization. + </p> + <p> + Among them, to take some that she mentioned, which recur to my mind, are + the questions of illegitimacy and prostitution, of maternity homes for + poor girls who have fallen into trouble, of women thieves, of what is + known as the White Slave traffic, of female children who have been exposed + to awful treatment, of women who are drunkards or drug-takers, of aged and + destitute women, of intractable or vicious-minded girls, and, lastly, of + the training of young persons to enable them to deal scientifically with + all these evils, or under the name of Slum Sisters, to wait upon the poor + in their homes, and nurse them through the trials of maternity. + </p> + <p> + How practical and efficient this training is, no one can know who has not, + like myself, visited and inquired into the various Institutions and + Refuges of the Army in different cities of the land. It is a wonderful + thing, as has happened to me again and again, to see some quiet, + middle-aged lady, often so shy that it is difficult to extract from her + the information required, ruling with the most perfect success a number of + young women, who, a few weeks or months before, were the vilest of the + vile, and what is stranger still, reforming as she rules. These ladies + exercise no severity; the punishment, which, perhaps necessarily, is a + leading feature in some of our Government Institutions, is unknown to + their system. I am told that no one is ever struck, no one is imprisoned, + no one is restricted in diet for any offence. As an Officer said to me:— + </p> + <p> + 'If we cannot manage a girl by love, we recognize that the case is beyond + us, and ask her to go away. This, however, very seldom happens.' + </p> + <p> + As a matter of fact, that case which is beyond the regenerating powers of + the Army must be very bad indeed, at any rate where young people are + concerned. In the vast majority of instances a cure is effected, and + apparently a permanent cure. In every one of these Homes there is a room + reserved for the accommodation of those who have passed through it and + gone out into the world again, should they care to return there in their + holidays or other intervals of leisure. That room is always in great + demand, and I can imagine no more eloquent testimony to the manner of the + treatment of its occupants while they dwelt in these Homes as 'cases.' + </p> + <p> + In truth, a study of the female Officers of the Salvation Army is + calculated to convert the observer not only to a belief in the right of + women to the suffrage, but also to that of their fitness to rule among, or + even over men. Only I never heard that any of these ladies ever sought + such privileges; moreover, few of the sex would care to win them at the + price of the training, self-denial, and stern experience which it is their + lot to undergo. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Bramwell Booth pointed out to me that although the actual work of the + Army on these women's questions is 'more than just a little,' it had, as + it were, only touched their fringe. Yet even this 'fringe' has many + threads, seeing that over 44,000 of these women's cases have been helped + in one way or another since this branch of the home work began about + twenty years ago. + </p> + <p> + She added that scarcely a month goes by in which the Army does not break + out in a new direction, open a new Institution, or attempt to attack a new + problem; and this, be it remembered, not only in these islands but over + the face of half the earth. At present its sphere of influence is limited + by the lack of funds. Give it enough money, she said, and there is little + that it would not dare to try. Everywhere the harvest is plentiful, and if + the workers remain comparatively few, it is because material means are + lacking for their support. Given the money and the workers would be found. + Nor will they ask much for maintenance or salary, enough to provide the + necessary buildings, and to keep body and soul together, that is all.<a + href="#linknote-4" name="linknoteref-4" id="linknoteref-4"><small>4</small></a> + </p> + <p> + What are these women doing? In London they run more than a score of Homes + and Agencies, including a Maternity Hospital, which I will describe later, + where hundreds of poor deceived girls are taken in during their trouble. I + believe it is almost the only one of the sort, at any rate on the same + scale, in that great city. + </p> + <p> + Also they manage various Homes for drunken women. It has always been + supposed to be a practical impossibility to effect a cure in such cases, + but the lady Officers of the Salvation Army succeed in turning about 50 + per cent of their patients into perfectly sober persons. At least they + remain sober for three years from the date of their discharge, after which + they are often followed no further. + </p> + <p> + Another of their objects is to find out the fathers of illegitimate + children, and persuade them to sign a form of agreement which has been + carefully drawn by Counsel, binding themselves to contribute towards the + cost of the maintenance of the child. Or failing this, should the evidence + be sufficient, they try to obtain affiliation orders against such fathers + in a Magistrates' Court. Here I may state that the amount of affiliation + money collected in England by the Army in 1909 was £1,217, of which £208 + was for new cases. Further, £671 was collected and paid over for + maintenance to deserted wives. Little or none of this money would have + been forthcoming but for its exertions. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Bramwell Booth informed me that there exists a class of young men, + most of them in the employ of tradesfolk, who habitually amuse themselves + by getting servant girls into trouble, often under a promise of marriage. + Then, if the usual results follow, it is common for these men to move away + to another town, taking their references with them and, sometimes under a + new name, to repeat the process there. She was of opinion that the age of + consent ought to be raised to eighteen at least, a course for which there + is much to be said. Also she thought, and this is more controversial, that + when any young girl has been seduced under promise of marriage, the + seducer should be liable to punishment under the criminal law. Of course, + one of the difficulties here would be to prove the promise of marriage + beyond all reasonable doubt. + </p> + <p> + Also to bring such matters within the cognizance of the criminal law would + be a new and, indeed, a dangerous departure not altogether easy to + justify, especially as old magistrates like myself, who have considerable + experience of such cases must know, it is not always the man who is to + blame. Personally, I incline to the view that if the age of consent were + raised, and the contribution exacted from the putative father of an + illegitimate child made proportionate to his means, and not limited, as it + is now, to a maximum of 5s. a week, the criminal law might well be left + out of the question. It must be remembered further, as Mrs. Booth pointed + out herself, that there is another remedy, namely, that of a better + home-training of girls who should be prepared by their mothers or friends + to face the dangers of the world, a duty which these too often neglect. + The result is that many young women who feel lonely and desire to get + married, overstep the limits of prudence on receipt of a promise that thus + they may attain their end, with the result that generally they find + themselves ruined and deserted. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Bramwell Booth said that the Army is doing its utmost to mitigate the + horrors of what is known as the White Slave traffic, both here and in many + other countries. With this object it has a Bill before Parliament at the + present time, of which one of the aims is to prevent children from being + sent out of this country to France under circumstances that practically + ensure their moral destruction. It seems that the state of things in Paris + in this connexion is, in her own words, 'most abominable, too horrible for + words.' Children are procured from certain theatre dancing schools, and + their birth certificates sometimes falsified to make it appear that they + are over fourteen, although often they may be as young as twelve or even + ten. Then they are conveyed to vile places in Paris where their doom is + sure. + </p> + <p> + Let us hope that in due course this Bill will become law, for if girls are + protected up to sixteen in this country, surely they should not be sent + out of it in doubtful circumstances under that age. + </p> + <p> + Needless to say abominations of this nature are not unknown in London. + Thus a while ago the Army received a telegram from a German girl asking, + 'Can you help?' Two of its people went at once to the address given, and, + contriving to get into the house, discovered there a young woman who, + imagining that she had been engaged in Germany as a servant in an English + family, found herself in a London brothel. Fortunately, being a girl of + some character and resource, she held her own, and, having heard of the + Salvation Army in her own land, persuaded a milkman to take the telegram + that brought about her delivery from this den of wickedness. + </p> + <p> + Unfortunately it proved impossible to discover the woman who had hired her + abroad, as the victim of the plot really knew nothing about that + procuress. This girl was restored to her home in Germany none the worse + for her terrific adventure, and a few weeks later refunded her travelling + expenses. But how many must there be who have never heard of the Salvation + Army, and can find no milkman to help them out of their vile prisons, for + such places are no less. + </p> + <p> + Another branch of the Army women's work is that of the rescue of + prostitutes from the streets, which is known as the 'Midnight Work.' For + the purpose of this endeavour it hires a flat in Great Titchfield Street, + of which, and of the mission that centres round it, I will speak later in + this book. + </p> + <p> + The Women's Social Work of the Salvation Army began in London, in the year + 1884, at the cottage of a woman-soldier of the Army who lived in + Whitechapel. This lady, who was interested in girls without character, + took some of them into her home. Eventually she left the place which came + into the hands of the Army, whereon Mrs. Bramwell Booth was sent to take + charge of the twelve inmates whom it would accommodate. The seed that was + thus sown in 1884 has now multiplied itself into fifty-nine Homes and + Agencies for women in Great Britain alone, to say nothing of others abroad + and in the Colonies. But this is only a beginning. + </p> + <p> + 'We look forward,' said Mrs. Bramwell Booth to me, 'to a great increase of + this side of our work at home. No year has passed without the opening of a + new Women's Home of some kind, and we hope that this will continue. Thus I + want to build a very big Maternity Hospital if I can get the money. We + have about £20,000 in hand for this purpose; but the lesser of the two + schemes before us will cost £35,000.' + </p> + <p> + Will not some rich and charitable person provide the £15,000 that are + lacking? + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0014" id="link2H_4_0014"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE WOMEN'S SOCIAL WORK + </h2> + <h3> + LOWER CLAPTON ROAD + </h3> + <p> + The Women's Social Headquarters of the Salvation Army in England is + situated at Clapton. It is a property of nearly three acres, on which + stand four houses that will be rebuilt whenever funds are forthcoming for + the erection of the Maternity Hospital and Training Institution for nurses + and midwives which I have already mentioned. At present about forty + Officers are employed here, most of whom are women, under the command of + Commissioner Cox, one of the foremost of the 600 women-Officers of the + Salvation Army in the United Kingdom who give their services to the + women's social work. + </p> + <p> + It is almost needless for me to add that Commissioner Cox is a lady of + very great ability, who is entirely devoted to the cause to which she has + dedicated her life. One of the reasons of the great success of the + Salvation Army is that only able people exactly suited to the particular + work in view are put in authority over that work. Here there are no + sinecures, no bought advowsons, and no freehold livings. Moreover, the + policy of the Army, as a general rule, is not to allow any one to remain + too long in any one office, lest he or she should become fossilized or + subject to local influences. + </p> + <p> + I remember when I was in America hearing of a case in which a very leading + Officer of the Army, who chanced to be a near relative of General Booth, + declined to obey an order to change his command for another in a totally + different part of the world. The order was repeated once or twice, and as + often disobeyed. Resignation followed and an attempt to found a rival + Organization. I only mention this matter to show that discipline is + enforced in this Society without fear, favour, or prejudice, which is, + perhaps, a principal reason of its efficiency. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0015" id="link2H_4_0015"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + HILLSBOROUGH HOUSE INEBRIATES' HOME + </h2> + <p> + Under the guidance of Commissioner Cox I inspected a number of the London + Women's Institutions of the Army, first visiting the Hillsborough House + Inebriates' Home. This Home, a beautifully clean and well-kept place, has + accommodation for thirty patients, twenty-nine beds being occupied on the + day of my visit. The lady in charge informed me that these patients are + expected to contribute 10s. per week towards the cost of their + maintenance; but that, as a matter of fact, they seldom pay so much. + Generally the sum recovered varies from 7s. to 3s. per week, while a good + many give nothing at all. + </p> + <p> + The work the patients do in this Home is sold and produces something + towards the cost of upkeep. The actual expense of the maintenance of the + inmates averages about 12s. 6d. a week per head, which sum includes an + allowance for rent. Most of the cases stay in the Home for twelve months, + although some remain for a shorter period. When the cure is completed, if + they are married, the patients return to their husbands. The unmarried are + sent out to positions as governesses, nurses, or servants, that is, if the + authorities of the Home are able to give them satisfactory characters. + </p> + <p> + As the reader who knows anything of such matters will be aware, it is + generally supposed to be rather more easy to pass a camel through the eye + of a needle than to reclaim a confirmed female drunkard. Yet, as I have + already said, the Salvation Army, on a three years' test in each case, has + shown that it deals successfully with about 50 per cent of those women who + come into its hands for treatment as inebriates or drug-takers. How is + this done? Largely, of course, by effecting through religious means a + change of heart and nature, as the Army often seems to have the power to + do, and by the exercise of gentle personal influences. + </p> + <p> + But there remains another aid which is physical. + </p> + <p> + With the shrewdness that distinguishes them, the Officers of the Army have + discovered that the practice of vegetarianism is a wonderful enemy to the + practice of alcoholism. The vegetarian, it seems, conceives a bodily + distaste to spirituous liquors. If they can persuade a patient to become a + vegetarian, then the chances of her cure are enormously increased. + Therefore, in this and in the other female Inebriate Homes no meat is + served. The breakfast, which is eaten at 7.30, consists of tea, brown and + white bread and butter, porridge and fresh milk, or stewed fruit. A sample + dinner at one o'clock includes macaroni cheese, greens, potatoes, fruit + pudding or plain boiled puddings with stewed figs. On one day a week, + however, baked or boiled fish is served with pease pudding, potatoes, and + boiled currant pudding, and on another, brown gravy is given with onions + in batter. Tea, which is served at six o'clock, consists—to take a + couple of samples—of tea, white and brown bread and butter, and + cheese sandwiches with salad; or of tea, white and brown bread and butter, + savoury rolls, and apples or oranges. + </p> + <p> + It will be observed that this diet is as simple as it well can be; but I + think it right to add, after personal inspection, that the inmates appear + to thrive on it extremely well. Certainly all whom I saw looked well + nourished and healthy. + </p> + <p> + A book is kept in the Home in which the details of each case are carefully + entered, together with its record for two years after discharge. Here are + the particulars of three cases taken by me at hazard from this book which + will serve to indicate the class of patient that is treated at this Home. + Of course, I omit the names:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + <i>A.B.</i> Aged thirty-one. Her mother, who was a drunkard and + gave A.B. drink in her childhood, died some time ago. A.B. + drove her father, who was in good circumstances, having a + large business, to madness by her inebriety. Indeed, he + tried to commit suicide by hanging himself, but, oddly + enough, it was A.B. who cut him down, and he was sent to an + asylum. A.B. had fallen very low since her mother's death; + but I do not give these details. All the members of her + family drank, except, strange to say, the father, who at the + date of my visit was in the asylum. A.B. had been in the + Home some time, and was giving every satisfaction. It was + hoped that she will be quite cured. + + <i>C.D.</i> Aged thirty. C.D.'s father, a farmer, was a moderate + drinker, her mother was a temperance woman. Her parents + discovered her craving for drink about ten years ago. She + was unable to keep any situation on account of this failing. + Four years ago C.D. was sent to an Inebriate Home for twelve + months, but no cure was effected. Afterwards she + disappeared, having been dismissed from her place, and was + found again for the mother by the Salvation Army. At the + time of my visit she had been six months in the Home, and + was doing well. + + <i>E.F.</i> Aged forty-eight; was the widow of a professional + man, whom she married as his second wife, and by whom she + had two children, one of whom survives. She began to drink + before her husband's death, and this tendency was increased + by family troubles that arose over his will. She mismanaged + his business and lost everything, drank heavily and + despaired. She tried to keep a boarding house, but her + furniture was seized and she came absolutely to the end of + her resources, her own daughter being sent away to her + relatives. E.F. was nine months in the Hillsborough Home, + and had gone as cook and housekeeper to a situation, where + she also was giving every satisfaction. +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0016" id="link2H_4_0016"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE MATERNITY NURSING HOME + </h2> + <h3> + LORNE HOUSE, STOKE NEWINGTON + </h3> + <p> + Her Royal Highness Princes Louise, the Duchess of Argyll, defrayed the + cost of the purchase of the leasehold of this charming Home. The + lady-Officer in charge informed me that the object of the establishment is + to take in women who have or are about to have illegitimate children. It + is not, however, a lying-in Home, the mothers being sent to the Ivy House + Hospital for their confinements. After these are over they are kept for + four or sometimes for six months at Lorne House. At the expiration of this + period situations are found for most of them, and the babies are put out + to nurse in the houses of carefully selected women with whom the mothers + can keep in touch. These women are visited from time to time by Salvation + Army Officers who make sure that the infants are well treated in every + way. + </p> + <p> + All the cases in this Home are those of girls who have fallen into trouble + for the first time. They belong to a better class than do those who are + received in many of the Army Homes. The charge for their maintenance is + supposed to be £1 a week, but some pay only 5s., and some nothing at all. + As a matter of fact, out of the twelve cases which the Home will hold, at + the time of my visit half were making no payment. If the Army averages a + contribution of 7s. a week from them, it thinks itself fortunate. + </p> + <p> + I saw a number of the babies in cradles placed in an old greenhouse in the + garden to protect them from the rain that was falling at the time. When it + is at all fine they are kept as much as possible in the open air, and the + results seem to justify this treatment, for it would be difficult to find + healthier infants. + </p> + <p> + Five or six of the inmates sleep together in a room; for those with + children a cot is provided beside each bed. I saw several of these young + women, who all seemed to be as happy and contented as was possible under + their somewhat depressing circumstances. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0017" id="link2H_4_0017"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE MATERNITY RECEIVING HOME + </h2> + <h3> + BRENT HOUSE, HACKNEY + </h3> + <p> + This Home serves a somewhat similar purpose as that at Lorne House, but + the young women taken in here while awaiting their confinement are not, as + a rule, of so high a class. + </p> + <p> + In the garden at the back of the house about forty girls were seated in a + kind of shelter which protected them from the rain, some of them working + and some talking together, while others remained apart depressed and + silent. Most of these young women were shortly expecting to become + mothers. Certain of them, however, already had their infants, as there + were seventeen babies in the Home who had been crowded out of the Central + Maternity Hospital. Among these were some very sad cases, several of them + being girls of gentle birth, taken in here because they could pay nothing. + One, I remember, was a foreign young lady, whose sad history I will not + relate. She was found running about the streets of a seaport town in a + half-crazed condition and brought to this place by the Officers of the + Salvation Army. + </p> + <p> + In this house there is a room where ex-patients who are in service can + bring their infants upon their holidays. Two or three of these women were + here upon the occasion of my visit, and it was a pathetic sight to see + them dandling the babies from whom they had been separated and giving them + their food. + </p> + <p> + It is the custom in this and other Salvation Army Maternity Homes to set + apart a night in every month for what is called a Social Evening. On these + occasions fifty or more of the former inmates will arrive with their + children, whom they have brought from the various places where they are at + nurse, and for a few hours enjoy their society, after which they take them + back to the nurses and return to their work, whatever it may be. By means + of this kindly arrangement these poor mothers are enabled from time to + time to see something of their offspring, which, needless to say, is a + boon they greatly prize. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0018" id="link2H_4_0018"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE MATERNITY HOSPITAL + </h2> + <h3> + IVY HOUSE, HACKNEY + </h3> + <p> + This Hospital is one for the accommodation of young mothers on the + occasion of the birth of their illegitimate children. It is a humble + building, containing twenty-five beds, although I think a few more can be + arranged. That it serves its purpose well, until the large Maternity + Hospital of which I have already spoken can be built, is shown by the fact + that 286 babies (of whom only twenty-five were not illegitimate) were born + here in 1900 without the loss of a single mother. Thirty babies died, + however, which the lady-Officer in charge thought rather a high + proportion, but one accounted for by the fact that during this particular + year a large number of the births were premature. In 1908, 270 children + were born, of whom twelve died, six of these being premature. + </p> + <p> + The cases are drawn from London and other towns where the Salvation Army + is at work. Generally they, or their relatives and friends, or perhaps the + father of the child, apply to the Army to help them in their trouble, + thereby, no doubt, preventing many child-murders and some suicides. The + charge made by the Institution for these lying-in cases is in proportion + to the ability of the patient to pay. Many contribute nothing at all. From + those who do pay, the average sum received is 10<i>s</i>. a week, in + return for which they are furnished with medical attendance, food, + nursing, and all other things needful to their state. + </p> + <p> + I went over the Hospital, and saw these unfortunate mothers lying in bed, + each of them with her infant in a cot beside her. Although their immediate + trial was over, these poor girls looked very sad. + </p> + <p> + 'They know that their lives are spoiled,' said the lady in charge. + </p> + <p> + Most of them were quite young, some being only fifteen, and the majority + under twenty. This, it was explained to me, is generally due to the + ignorance of the facts of life in which girls are kept by their parents or + others responsible for their training. Last year there was a mother aged + thirteen in this Hospital. + </p> + <p> + One girl, who seemed particularly sad, had twins lying beside her. Hoping + to cheer her up, I remarked that they were beautiful babies, whereon she + hid her face beneath the bedclothes. + </p> + <p> + 'Don't talk about them,' said the Officer, drawing me away, 'that child + nearly cried her eyes out when she was told that there were two. You see, + it is hard enough for these poor mothers to keep one, but when it comes to + two—!' + </p> + <p> + I asked whether the majority of these unfortunate young women really tried + to support their children. The answer was that most of them try very hard + indeed, and will use all their money for this purpose, even stinting + themselves of absolute necessaries. Few of them go wrong again after their + first slip, as they have learned their lesson. Moreover, during their stay + in hospital and afterwards, the Salvation Army does its best to impress on + them certain moral teachings, and thus to make its work preventive as well + as remedial. + </p> + <p> + Places in service are found for a great number of these girls, generally + where only one servant is kept, so that they may not be taunted by the + others if these should find out their secret. This as a rule, however, is + confided to the mistress. The average wage they receive is about £18 a + year. As it costs them £13, or 5<i>s</i>. a week, to support an infant + (not allowing for its clothes), the struggle is very hard unless the Army + can discover the father, and make him contribute towards the support of + his child, either voluntarily or through a bastardy order. + </p> + <p> + I was informed that many of these fathers are supposed to be gentlemen, + but when it comes to this matter of payment, they show that they have + little title to that description. Of course, in the case of men of humbler + degree, money is even harder to recover. I may add, that my own long + experience as a magistrate goes to confirm this statement. It is + extraordinary to what meanness, subterfuge, and even perjury, a man will + sometimes resort, in order to avoid paying so little as 1<i>s</i>. 6<i>d</i>. + a week towards the keep of his own child. Often the line of defence is a + cruel attempt to blacken the character of the mother, even when the + accuser well knows that there is not the slightest ground for the charge, + and that he alone is responsible for the woman's fall.<a href="#linknote-5" + name="linknoteref-5" id="linknoteref-5"><small>5</small></a> Also, if the + case is proved, and the order made, many such men will run away and hide + themselves in another part of the country to escape the fulfilment of + their just obligations. + </p> + <p> + In connexion with this Maternity Hospital, the Salvation Army has a + Training School for midwives and nurses, all of whom must pass the Central + Midwives Board examination before they are allowed to practise. Some of + the students, after qualifying, continue to work for the Army in its + Hospital Department, and others in the Slum Department, while some go + abroad in the service of other Societies. The scale of fees for this four + months' course in midwifery varies according to circumstances. The Army + asks the full charge of eighteen guineas from those students who belong + to, or propose to serve other Societies. Those who intend to go abroad to + work with medical missionaries, have to pay fifteen guineas, and those who + are members of the Salvation Army, or who intend to serve the Army in this + Department, pay nothing, unless, at the conclusion of their course, they + decide to leave the Army's service. + </p> + <p> + At the last examination, out of fourteen students sent up from this + Institution, thirteen passed the necessary test. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0019" id="link2H_4_0019"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + 'THE NEST' + </h2> + <h3> + CLAPTON + </h3> + <p> + When I began to write this book, I determined to set down all things + exactly as I saw or heard them. But, although somewhat hardened in such + matters by long experience of a very ugly world, I find that there are + limits to what can be told of such a place as 'The Nest' in pages which + are meant for perusal by the general public. The house itself is charming, + with a good garden adorned by beautiful trees. It has every arrangement + and comfort possible for the welfare of its child inmates, including an + open-air bedroom, cleverly contrived from an old greenhouse for the use of + those among them whose lungs are weakly. + </p> + <p> + But these inmates, these sixty-two children whose ages varied from about + four to about sixteen! What can I say of their histories? Only in general + language, that more than one half of them have been subject to outrages + too terrible to repeat, often enough at the hands of their own fathers! If + the reader wishes to learn more, he can apply confidentially to + Commissioner Cox, or to Mrs. Bramwell Booth. + </p> + <p> + Here, however, is a case that I can mention, as although it is dreadful + enough, it belongs to a different class. Seeing a child of ten, whose name + was Betty, playing about quite happily with the others, I spoke to her, + and afterwards asked for the particulars of her story. They were brief. It + appears that this poor little thing had actually seen her father murder + her mother. I am glad to be able to add that to all appearance she has + recovered from the shock of this awful experience. + </p> + <p> + Indeed, all these little girls, notwithstanding their hideous pasts, + seemed, so far as I could judge, to be extremely happy at their childish + games in the garden. Except that some were of stunted growth, I noted + nothing abnormal about any of them. I was told, however, by the Officer in + charge, that occasionally, when they grow older, propensities originally + induced in them through no fault of their own will assert themselves. + </p> + <p> + To lessen this danger, as in the case of the women inebriates, all these + children are brought up as vegetarians. Before me, as I write, is the bill + of fare for the week, which I tore off a notice board in the house. The + breakfast on three days, to take examples, consists of porridge, with + boiling milk and sugar, cocoa, brown and white bread and butter. On the + other mornings either stewed figs, prunes, or marmalade are added. A + sample dinner consists of lentil savoury, baked potatoes, brown gravy and + bread; boiled rice with milk and sugar. For tea, bananas, apples, oranges, + nuts, jam, brown and white bread and butter and cocoa are supplied, but + tea itself as a beverage is only given on Sundays. A footnote to the bill + of fare states that all children over twelve years of age who wish for it, + can have bread and butter before going to bed. + </p> + <p> + Certainly the inmates of 'The Nest,' if any judgment may be formed from + their personal appearance, afford a good argument to the advocates of + vegetarianism. + </p> + <p> + It costs £13 a year to endow a bed in this Institution. Amongst others, I + saw one which was labelled 'The Band of Helpers' Bed. This is maintained + by girls who have passed through the Institution, and are now earning + their livelihood in the world, as I thought, a touching and significant + testimony. I should add that the children in this Home are educated under + the direction of a certificated governess. + </p> + <p> + My visit to this Refuge made a deep impression on my mind. No person of + sense and experience, remembering the nameless outrages to which many of + these poor children have been exposed, could witness their present health + and happiness without realizing the blessed nature of this work. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0020" id="link2H_4_0020"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE TRAINING INSTITUTE FOR WOMEN SOCIAL WORKERS + </h2> + <h3> + CLAPTON + </h3> + <p> + Colonel Lambert, the lady-Officer in charge of this Institution, informed + me that it can accommodate sixty young women. At the time of my visit + forty-seven pupils were being prepared for service in the Women's + Department of what is called 'Salvation Army Warfare.' These Cadets come + from all sources and in various ways. Most of them have first been members + of the Army and made application to be trained, feeling themselves + attracted to this particular branch of its work. + </p> + <p> + The basis of their instruction is religious and theological. It includes + the study of the Bible, of the doctrine and discipline of the Salvation + Army and the rules and regulations governing the labours of its Social + Officers. In addition, these Cadets attend practical classes where they + learn needlework, the scientific cutting out of garments, knitting, + laundry work, first medical aid, nursing, and so forth. The course at this + Institution takes ten months to complete, after which those Cadets who + have passed the examinations are appointed to various centres of the + Army's Social activities. + </p> + <p> + When these young women have passed out and enter on active Social work + they are allowed their board and lodging and a small salary to pay for + their clothing. This salary at the commencement of a worker's career + amounts to the magnificent sum of 4s. a week, if she 'lives in' (about the + pay of a country kitchen maid); out of which she is expected to defray the + cost of her uniform and other clothes, postage stamps, etc. Ultimately, + after many years of service, it may rise to as much as 10s. in the case of + senior Officers, or, if the Officer finds her own board and lodging, to a + limit of £1 a week. + </p> + <p> + Of these ladies who are trained in the Home few leave the Army. Should + they do so, however, I am informed that they can generally obtain from + other Organizations double or treble the pay which the Army is able to + afford. + </p> + <p> + This Training Institution is a building admirably suited to the purpose to + which it is put. Originally it was a ladies' school, which was purchased + by the Salvation Army. The dining-room of the Cadets was very well + arranged and charmingly decorated with flowers, as was that of the + Officers beyond. There was also a Cadets' retiring-room, where I saw some + of them reading or otherwise amusing themselves on their Saturday + half-holiday. The Army would be glad to find and train more of these + self-sacrificing workers; but the conditions of the pay which they can + offer and the arduous nature of the lifelong service involved, are such + that those of a satisfactory class are not too readily forthcoming. + </p> + <p> + Attached to this Training Institution is a Home for girls of doubtful or + bad antecedents, which I also visited. This Rescue Home is linked up with + the Training School, so that the Cadets may have the opportunity of + acquiring a practical knowledge of the class of work upon which they are + to be engaged in after-life. Most of the girls in the Rescue Home have + passed through the Police-courts, and been handed over to the care of the + Army by magistrates. The object of the Army is to reform them and instruct + them in useful work which will enable them to earn an honest living. + </p> + <p> + Many of these girls have been in the habit of thieving from their + mistresses or others, generally in order to enable them to make presents + to their lovers. Indeed, it would seem that this mania for making presents + is a frequent cause of the fall of young persons with a natural leaning to + dishonesty and a desire to appear rich and liberal. The Army succeeds in + reclaiming a great number of them; but the thieving instinct is one not + easy to eradicate. + </p> + <p> + All these girls seemed fairly happy. A great deal of knitting is done by + them, and I saw a room furnished with a number of knitting machines, where + work is turned out to the value of nearly £25 a week. Also I was shown + piles of women's and children's underclothing and other articles, the + produce of the girls' needles, which are sold to help to defray the + expenses of the Home. In the workroom on this Saturday afternoon a number + of the young women were engaged in mending their own garments. After their + period of probation many of these girls are sent out to situations found + for them by the Army. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0021" id="link2H_4_0021"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE WOMEN'S INDUSTRIAL HOME + </h2> + <h3> + HACKNEY + </h3> + <p> + This Home is one of much the same class as that which I have just + described. It has accommodation for forty-eight girls, of whom over 1,000 + have passed through the Institution, where they are generally kept for a + period of six months. Most of the young women in the Home when I visited + it had been thieves. One, who was twenty-seven years of age, had stolen + ever since she was twelve, and the lady in charge told me that when she + came to them everything she had on her, and almost all the articles in her + trunk were the property of former mistresses. + </p> + <p> + In answer to my questions, Commissioner Cox informed me that the result of + their work in this Home was so satisfactory that they scarcely liked to + announce it. They computed, however, that taken on a three years' test—for + the subsequent career of each inmate is followed for that period—90 + per cent of the cases prove to be permanent moral cures. This, when the + previous history of these young women is considered, may, I think, be + accounted a great triumph. No money contribution is asked or expected in + this particular Home. Indeed, it would not be forthcoming from the class + of girls who are sent or come here to be reformed, many of whom, on + entering, are destitute of underclothing and other necessaries, The + needlework which they do, however, is sold, and helps to pay for the + upkeep of the place. + </p> + <p> + I asked what was done if any of them refused to work. The answer was that + this very rarely happened, as the women-Officers shared in their labours, + and the girls could not for shame's sake sit idle while their Officers + worked. I visited the room where this sewing was in progress, and observed + that Commissioner Cox, who conducted me, was received with hearty, and to + all appearance, spontaneous clapping of hands, which seemed to indicate + that these poor young women are happy and contented. The hours of labour + kept in the Home are those laid down in the Factory Acts. + </p> + <p> + While looking at the work produced by the inmates, I asked Commissioner + Cox if she had anything to say as to the charges of sweating which are + sometimes brought against the Army, and of underselling in the markets. + Her answer was:— + </p> + <p> + 'We do not compete in the markets at all, as we do not make sufficient + articles, and never work for the trade or supply wholesale; we sell the + garments we make one by one by means of our pedlars. It is necessary that + we should do this in order to support our girls. Either we must + manufacture and sell the work, or they must starve.' + </p> + <p> + Here we have the whole charge of sweating by the Army in a nutshell, and + the answer to it. + </p> + <p> + In this Home a system has been devised for providing each girl with an + outfit when she leaves. It is managed by means of a kind of deferred pay, + which is increased if she keeps up to the standard of work required. Thus, + gradually, she earns her outfit, and leaves the place with a box of good + clothes. The first thing provided is a pair of boots, then a suitable box, + and lastly, the materials which they make into clothes. + </p> + <p> + This house, like all the others, I found to be extremely well arranged, + with properly-ventilated dormitories, and well suited to its purposes. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0022" id="link2H_4_0022"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE INEBRIATES' HOME + </h2> + <h3> + SPRINGFIELD LODGE, DENMARK HILL. + </h3> + <p> + This house, which has a fine garden attached, was a gentleman's residence + purchased by the Salvation Army, to serve as an Inebriates' Home for the + better class of patients. With the exception of a few who give their + services in connexion with the work of the place as a return for their + treatment, it is really a Home for gentlefolk. When I visited it, some of + the inmates, of whom there are usually from twenty-five to thirty, were + talented ladies who could speak several languages, or paint, or play very + well. All these came here to be cured of the drink or drug habit. The fee + for the course ranges from a guinea to 10<i>s</i>. per week, according to + the ability of the patient to pay, but some who lack this ability pay + nothing at all. + </p> + <p> + The lady in charge remarked drily on this point, that many people seemed + to think that as the place belonged to the Salvation Army it did not + matter if they paid or not. As is the practice at Hillsborough House, a + vegetarian diet is insisted upon as a condition of the patient receiving + treatment at the Home. Often this is a cause of much remonstrance, as the + inmates, who are mostly persons in middle or advanced life, think that it + will kill them. The actual results, however, are found to be most + satisfactory, as the percentage of successes is found to be 50 per cent, + after a year in the Home and three years' subsequent supervision. I was + told that a while ago, Sir Thomas Barlow, the well-known physician, + challenged this statement. He was asked to see for himself, he examined a + number of the patients, inspected the books and records, and finally + satisfied himself that it was absolutely correct. + </p> + <p> + The Army attaches much importance to what may be called the after-care of + the cases, for the lack of which so many people who pass through Homes and + then return to ordinary life, break down, and become, perhaps, worse than + they were before. The seven devils of Scripture are always ready to + re-occupy the swept and garnished soul, especially if they be the devils + of drink. + </p> + <p> + Moreover, the experience of the Army is that relatives and friends are + extraordinarily thoughtless in this matter. Often enough they will, as it + were, thrust spirituous liquors down the throat of the newly-reformed + drunkard, or at the least will pass them before their eyes and drink them + in their presence as usual, with results that may be imagined. One taste + and in four cases out of six the thing is done. The old longings awake + again and must be satisfied. + </p> + <p> + For these reasons the highly-skilled Officers of the Salvation Army hold + that reclaimed inebriates should be safeguarded, watched, and, so far as + the circumstances may allow, kept under the influences that have brought + about their partial recovery. They say that they owe much of their + remarkable success in those cases to a strict observance of such + preventive methods for a period of three years. After that time patients + must stand upon their own feet. These remarks apply also to the victims of + the drug habit, who are even more difficult to deal with than common + drunkards. + </p> + <p> + At this Home I had a conversation with a fine young woman, an ex-hospital + nurse, who gave me a very interesting account of her experiences of + laudanum drinking. She said that in an illness she had gone through while + she was a nurse a doctor dosed her with laudanum to deaden her pain and + induce sleep. The upshot was that she could not sleep without the help of + laudanum or other opiates, and thus the fatal habit was formed. She + described the effects of the drug upon her, which appeared to be temporary + exhilaration and freedom from all care, coupled with sensations of great + vigour. She spoke also of delightful visions; but when I asked her to + describe the visions, she went back upon that statement, perhaps because + their nature was such as she did not care to set out. She added, however, + that the sleep which followed was haunted by terrible dreams. + </p> + <p> + Another effect of the habit, according to this lady, is forgetfulness, + which showed itself in all kinds of mistakes, and in the loss of power of + accurate expression, which caused her to say things she did not mean and + could not remember when she had said them. She told me that the process of + weaning herself from the drug was extremely painful and difficult; but + that she now slept well and desired it no more. + </p> + <p> + To be plain, I was not satisfied with the truth of this last statement, + for there was a strange look in her eyes which suggested that she still + desired it very much; also she seemed to me to prevaricate upon certain + points. Further, those in charge of her allowed that this diagnosis was + probably correct, especially as she is now in the Home for the second + time, although her first visit there was a very short one. Still they + thought that she would be cured in the end. Let us hope that they were + right. + </p> + <p> + The Army has also another Home in this neighbourhood, run on similar + lines, for the treatment of middle-class and poor people. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0023" id="link2H_4_0023"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE WOMEN'S INDUSTRIAL HOME + </h2> + <h3> + SOUTHWOOD, SYDENHAM HILL + </h3> + <p> + This is another of the Salvation Army Homes for Women. When I visited + Southwood, which is an extremely good house, having been a gentleman's + residence, with a garden and commanding a beautiful view, there were about + forty inmates, some of whom were persons of gentle birth. For such ladies + single sleeping places are provided, with special dining and + sitting-rooms. These are supposed to pay a guinea a week for their board + and accommodation, though I gathered that this sum was not always + forthcoming. The majority of the other inmates, most of whom have gone + astray in one way or another, pay nothing. + </p> + <p> + A good many of the cases here are what are called preventive; that is to + say, that their parents or guardians being able to do nothing with them, + and fearing lest they should come to ruin, send them to this place as a + last resource, hoping that they may be cured of their evil tendencies. + </p> + <p> + Thus one girl whom I think I saw, could not be prevented from gadding on + the streets, and therefore had been placed here. Another young woman was a + schoolmistress who would not get out of bed and refused to work. When she + came to the Home she was very insolent and bad-tempered, and would do + nothing. Now, I was informed, she rises with the lark, at 6.30 indeed, and + works like a Trojan. I could not help wondering whether these excellent + habits would survive her departure from the Home. Another lady, who had + been sentenced for thefts, was the daughter of a minister. She horrified + the Officers by regretting that she had gone to jail for so little, when + others who had taken and enjoyed large sums received practically the same + sentence. She was reported to be doing well. + </p> + <p> + Another, also a lady, was the victim of an infatuation which caused her to + possess herself of money to send to some man who had followed her about + from the time she was in a boarding school. Another was a foreigner, who + had been sent to an American doctor in the East to be trained as a nurse. + This poor girl underwent an awful experience, and was in the care of the + Salvation Army recovering from shock; but, of course, hers is a different + class of case from those which I have mentioned above. Another was an + English girl who had been turned out of Canada because of her bad + behaviour with men. And so on. + </p> + <p> + It only remains to say that most of these people appeared to be doing + well, while many of those in the humbler classes of life were being taught + to earn their own living in the laundry that is attached to the + Institution. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0024" id="link2H_4_0024"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE WOMEN'S SHELTER + </h2> + <h3> + WHITECHAPEL + </h3> + <p> + This is a place where women, most of them old, so far as my observation + went, are taken in to sleep at a charge of 3<i>d.</i> a night. It used to + be 2<i>d</i>. until the London County Council made the provision of + sheets, etc., compulsory, when the Army was obliged to raise the payment. + This Shelter, which is almost always so full that people have to be turned + away, holds 261 women. It contains a separate room, where children are + admitted with their mothers, half price, namely 1-1/2<i>d.</i>, being + charged per child. There is a kitchen attached where the inmates can buy a + large mug of tea for a 1/2<i>d.</i>, and a huge chunk of bread for a + second 1/2<i>d.</i>; also, if I remember right, other articles of food, if + they can afford such luxuries. + </p> + <p> + The great dormitory in this Shelter, it may be mentioned, was once a + swimming-bath. Some of the women who come to this place have slept in it + almost every night for eighteen or twenty years. Others make use of it for + a few months, and then vanish for a period, especially in the summer, when + they go hop or strawberry picking, and return in the winter. Every day, + however, fresh people appear, possibly to depart on the morrow and be seen + no more. + </p> + <p> + I asked whether the aged folk had not been benefited by the Old Age + Pensions Act. The lady Officer in charge replied that it had been a + blessing to some of them. One old woman, however, would not apply for her + pension, although she was urged to take a room for herself somewhere. She + said that she was afraid if she did so, she might be turned out and be + lonely. + </p> + <p> + I visited this Shelter in the late afternoon, before it was filled up. A + number of dilapidated and antique females were sitting about in the rooms, + talking or sewing. One old lady was doing crochet work. She told me that + she made her living by it, and by flower-selling. Another informed me that + it was years since she had slept anywhere else, and that she did not know + what poor women like her would do without this place. Another was cooking + the broth. Her husband was a sea captain, and when he died, her father had + allowed her <i>£1</i> a week until he died. Afterwards she took to drink, + and drifted here, where, I was informed, she is doing well. And so on, and + so on, <i>ad infinitum</i>. The Hanbury Street Women's Shelter is not a + cheerful spot to visit on a dull and rainy evening. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0025" id="link2H_4_0025"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE SLUM SETTLEMENT + </h2> + <h3> + HACKNEY ROAD + </h3> + <p> + Slum work is an important branch of the Social labours of the Salvation + Army, Thus last year the Slum Sisters visited over 105,000 families, over + 20,000 sick, and over 32,000 public-houses, in which work they spent more + than 90,000 hours of time. Also they attended 482 births, and paid nearly + 9,000 visits in connexion with them. + </p> + <p> + There are nine Slum Settlements and Posts in London, and nineteen others + in England, Scotland, and Ireland. The old system used to be for the + Sisters and Nurses to live among the lowest class of the poor, lodging in + the actual tenements in which their work was carried out. This, however, + was abandoned as far as possible, because it was found that after the + arduous toil of the day these ladies could get little rest at night, owing + to the noise that went on about them, a circumstance that caused their + health to suffer and made them inefficient. Now out of the 117 Officers + engaged in Slum work in Great Britain, about one-half who labour in London + live in five houses set apart for them in different quarters of the city; + fifteen Officers being the usual complement to each house. + </p> + <p> + The particular dwelling of which I write is a good specimen of them all, + and from it the Sisters and Nurses who live there work Shoreditch, Bethnal + Green, Whitechapel, and the Hoxton and Hackney Road districts. It is + decently furnished and a comfortable place in its way, although, of + course, it stands in a poor neighbourhood. I remember that there was even + the finishing touch of a canary in the window. I should add that no cases + are attended in the house itself, which is purely a residence. + </p> + <p> + To this particular Settlement two qualified midwives and a nurse are + attached. While I was there one of the midwives came in, very tired, at + about half-past eleven in the morning. Since three o'clock on that same + morning she had attended three confinements, so no wonder she was tired. + She said that one of her cases was utterly unprovided with anything + needful as the father was out of work, although on the occasion of a + previous confinement they had all they wanted. Now they lived in a little + room in which there was not space 'to swing a cat,' and were without a + single bite of food or bit of clothing, so that the baby when it came had + to be wrapped up in an old shawl and the woman sent to the Infirmary. The + Sister in charge informed me that if they had them they could find + employment for twice their strength of nurses without overlapping the work + of any other charity. + </p> + <p> + The people with whom they deal are for the most part those who have a + rooted objection to infirmaries, although the hospitals are much more used + than was formerly the case. The system of the Army is to make a charge of + 6<i>s</i>. 6<i>d</i>. for attending a confinement, which, if paid, is + generally collected in instalments of 3<i>d</i>. or 6<i>d</i>. a week. + Often, however, it is not paid, and the charge remains a mere formality. + She added that many of these poor people are most improvident, and make no + provision whatsoever for these events, even if they can afford to do so. + The result is that the Army has to lend them baby garments and other + things. + </p> + <p> + The Sister said in answer to my questions that there was a great deal of + poverty in their district where many men were out of work, a number of + them because they could find nothing to do. She thought that things were + certainly no better in this respect; indeed, the state of depression was + chronic. Owing to the bad summer of 1909, which affected the hop-picking + and other businesses, the destitution that year was as great during the + warm months as it usually is in the winter. + </p> + <p> + The poor of this district, she said, 'generally live upon fried fish and + chips. You know they cannot cook, anyway they don't, and what they do cook + is all done in the frying-pan, which is also a very convenient article to + pawn. They don't understand economy, for when they have a bit of money + they will buy in food and have a big feast, not thinking of the days when + there will be little or nothing. Then, again, they buy their goods in + small portions; for instance, their coal by the ha'p'orth or their wood by + the farthing's-worth, which, in fact, works out at a great profit to the + dealers. Or they buy a farthing's-worth of tea, which is boiled up again + and again till it is awful-looking stuff.' + </p> + <p> + I asked her what she considered to be the main underlying cause of this + misery. She answered that she thought it was due 'to the people flocking + from the country to the city,' thereby confirming an opinion that I have + long held and advanced. She added that the overcrowding in the district + was terrible, the regulations of the Public Health Authorities designed to + check it being 'a dead letter.' In one case with which she had to do, a + father, mother, and nine children lived in a room that measured 9 ft. by 9 + ft., and the baby came into the world with the children looking on! + </p> + <p> + The general weekly rent for a room containing a family is 5<i>s</i>., or + if it is furnished, 7<i>s</i>. 6<i>d</i>. The Sister described to me the + furniture of one for the use of which this extra half-crown is charged. It + consisted of a rickety bed, two chairs, one without a back and one without + a seat, and a little shaky table. The floor was bare, and she estimated + the total value of these articles at about their weekly rent of 2<i>s</i>. + 6<i>d</i>., if, indeed, they were worth carrying away. In this chamber + dwelt a coachman who was out of place, his wife, and three or four + children, I wonder what arrangement these poor folk make as to the use of + the one chair that has a bottom. To occupy the other must be an empty + honour. With reference to this man the Sister remarked that as a result of + the introduction of motor vehicles, busmen, cabmen, and blacksmiths were + joining the ranks of her melancholy clientele in numbers. + </p> + <p> + This and some similar stories caused me to reflect on the remarkable + contrast between rents in the country and in town. For instance, I own + about a dozen cottages in this village in which I write, and the highest + rent that I receive is 2<i>s</i>. 5<i>d</i>. a week. This is paid for a + large double dwelling, on which I had to spend over £100 quite recently to + convert two cottages into one. Also, there is a large double garden thrown + in, so large that a man can scarcely manage it in his spare time, a + pigsty, fruit trees, etc. All this for 1<i>d</i>. a week less than is + charged for the two broken chairs, the rickety bed, and the shaky table! + Again, for £10 a year, I let a comfortable farmhouse; that is, £3 a year + less than the out-of-work coachman pays for his single room without the + furniture. And yet, as the Sister said, people continue to rush from the + country to the towns! + </p> + <p> + Nor, it seems, do they always make the best of things when they get there. + Thus the Sister mentioned that the education which the girls receive in + the schools causes them to desire a more exalted lot in life than that of + a servant. So they try to find places in shops, or jam factories, etc. + Some get them, but many fail; and of those who fail, a large proportion go + to swell the mass of the unemployed, or to recruit the ranks of an + undesirable profession. She went so far as to say that most of the + domestic servants in London are not Cockneys at all, but come from the + country; adding, that the sad part of it was that thousands of these poor + girls, after proper training, could find comfortable and remunerative + employment without displacing others, as the demand for domestic servants + is much greater than the supply. These are cold facts which seem to + suggest that our system of free education is capable of improvement. + </p> + <p> + It appears that all this district is a great centre of what is known as + 'sweating.' Thus artificial flowers, of which I was shown a fine specimen, + a marguerite, are made at a price of 1<i>s</i>. per gross, the workers + supplying their own glue. An expert hand, beginning at eight in the + morning and continuing till ten at night, can produce a gross and a half + of these flowers, and thus net 1<i>s</i>. 6<i>d</i>., minus the cost of + the glue, scissors, and sundries. The Officers of the Army find it + extremely difficult to talk to these poor people, who are invariably too + busy to listen. Therefore, some of them have learnt how to make artificial + flowers themselves, so that when they call they can join in the family + manufacture, and, while doing so, carry on their conversation. + </p> + <p> + For the making of match-boxes and the sticking on of the labels the pay is + 2-1/2<i>d</i>. per gross. Few of us, I think, would care to manufacture + 144 matchboxes for 2-1/2<i>d</i>. I learned that it is not unusual to find + little children of four years of age helping their mothers to make these + boxes. + </p> + <p> + The Slum Sisters attached to the Settlement, who are distinct from the + Maternity Nurses, visit the very poorest and worst neighbourhoods, for the + purpose of helping the sick and afflicted, and incidentally of cleaning + their homes. Also, they find out persons who are about sixty-nine years of + age, and contribute to their maintenance, so as to save them from being + forced to receive poor-law relief, which would prevent them from obtaining + their old-age pensions when they come to seventy. + </p> + <p> + Here is an illustration of the sort of case with which these Slum Sisters + have to deal; perhaps, I should say, the easiest sort of case. An old man + and his wife whom they visited, lived in a clean room. The old woman fell + sick, and before she died the Slum Sisters gave her a bath, which, as + these poor people much object to washing, caused all the neighbours to say + that they had killed her. After his wife's death, the husband, who earned + his living by selling laces on London Bridge, went down in the world, and + his room became filthy. The Slum Sisters told him that they would clean up + the place, but he forbade them to touch the bed, which, he said, was full + of mice and beetles. As he knew that women dread mice and beetles, he + thought that this statement would frighten them. When he was out selling + his laces, they descended upon his room, where the first thing that they + did was to remove the said bed into the yard and burn it, replacing it + with another. On his return, the old man exclaimed: 'Oh, my darlings, + whatever <i>have</i> you been doing?' + </p> + <p> + They still clean this room once a week. + </p> + <p> + The general impression left upon my mind, after visiting this place at + Hackney Road and conversing with its guardian angels, is, that in some of + its aspects, if not in all, civilization is a failure. Probably thoughtful + people made the same remark in ancient Rome, and in every other city since + cities were. The truth is, that so soon as its children desert the land + which bore them for the towns, these horrors follow as surely as the night + follows the day. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0026" id="link2H_4_0026"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE PICCADILLY MIDNIGHT WORK + </h2> + <h3> + GREAT TICHFIELD STREET + </h3> + <p> + I visited this place a little before twelve o'clock on a summer night. It + is a small flat near Oxford Street, in which live two women-Officers of + the Army, who are engaged in the work of reclaiming prostitutes. I may + mention that for the last fourteen years the Major in charge, night by + night, has tramped the streets with this object. The Titchfield Street + flat is not in any sense a Home, but I saw a small room in it, with two + beds, where cases who may be rescued from the streets, or come here in a + time of trouble, can sleep until arrangements are made for them to proceed + to one of the Rescue Institutions of the Army. + </p> + <p> + This work is one of the most difficult and comparatively unproductive of + any that the Army undertakes. The careers of these unfortunate street + women, who are nearly all of them very fine specimens of female humanity, + for the most part follow a rocket-like curve. The majority of them begin + by getting into trouble, at the end of which, perhaps, they find + themselves with a child upon their hands. Or they may have been turned out + of their homes, or some sudden misfortune may have reduced them to + destitution. At any rate, the result is that they take to a loose life, + and mayhap, after living under the protection of one or two men, find + themselves upon the streets. Sometimes, it may be said to their credit, if + that word can be used in this connexion, they adopt this mode of life in + order to support their child or children. + </p> + <p> + The Major informed me that if they are handsome they generally begin with + a period of great prosperity. One whom she knew earned about £30 a week, + and a good many of them make as much as £1,000 a year, and pay perhaps £6 + weekly in rent. + </p> + <p> + A certain proportion of them are careful, open a bank account, save money, + retire, and get married. Generally, these keep their bank-books in their + stockings, which, in their peculiar mode of life, they find to be the + safest place, as they are very suspicious of each other, and much afraid + of being robbed. The majority of them, however, are not so provident. They + live in and for the moment, and spend their ill-gotten gains as fast as + they receive them. + </p> + <p> + Gradually they drift downwards. They begin in Piccadilly, and progress, or + rather retrogress, through Leicester Square on to Tottenham Court Road and + Oxford Street, and thence to the Euston Road, ending their sad careers in + Bishopsgate and Whitechapel. The Major informed me that there are but very + few in the Piccadilly neighbourhood whom she knew when she took up this + work, and that, as a rule, they cannot stand the life for long. The + irregular hours, the exposure, the excitement, and above all the drink in + which most of them indulge, kill them out or send them to a poorhouse or + the hospital. + </p> + <p> + She said, however, that as a class they have many virtues. For instance, + they are very kind-hearted, and will always help each other in trouble. + Also, most of them have affection for their children, being careful to + keep them, if possible, from any knowledge of their mode of life. Further, + they are charitable to the poor, and, in a way, religious; or, perhaps, + superstitious would be a better term. Thus, they often go to church on + Sundays, and do not follow their avocation on Sunday nights. On New Year's + Eve, their practice is to attend the Watch Night services, where, + doubtless, poor people, they make those good resolutions that form the + proverbial pavement of the road to Hell. Nearly all of them drink more or + less, as they say that they could not live their life without stimulant. + Moreover, their profession necessitates their walking some miles every + night. + </p> + <p> + For the most part these women lodge in pairs in their own flats, where + they pay about 35<i>s</i>. a week for three unfurnished rooms. The Officer + told me that often some despicable man, who is called a 'bully,' lives on + them, following them round the streets, and watching them. Even the + smartest girls are not infrequently the victims of such a man, who knocks + them about and takes money from them. Occasionally he may be a husband or + a relative. She added that as a class they are much better behaved and + less noisy than they used to be. This improvement, however, is largely due + to the increased strictness of the police. These women do not decrease in + number. In the Major's opinion, there are as many or more of them on the + streets as there were fourteen years ago, although the brothels and the + procuresses are less numerous, and their quarters have shifted from + Piccadilly to other neighbourhoods. + </p> + <p> + The Army methods of dealing, or rather of attempting to deal with this + utterly insoluble problem are simple enough. The Officers walk the streets + every night from about twelve to two and distribute cards in three + languages according to the nationality of the girl to whom these are + offered. Here they are in English, French, and German:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Mrs. Booth will gladly help any Girl + or Woman in need of a friend. + <i>APPLY AT</i> + 79 Great Titchfield Street, + or 259 Mare Street, Hackney, N.E. +</pre> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Vous avez une amie + qui est disposée à + vous aider. + + (S addresser) + Madame Booth + 79 Great Titchfield Street, + Oxford Street, + Londres, W. + + MADAM BOOTH will herzlich gerne Jedem + Mädchen oder Jeder Frau helfen, die sich + in Noth auf eine Freundin befinden. + + 259 Mare Street, Hackney, + 70 Great Titchfield Street, W. +</pre> + <p> + Most of the girls to whom they are offered will not take them, but a good + number do and, occasionally, the seed thus sown bears fruit. Thus the + woman who takes the card may come to Great Titchfield Street and be + rescued in due course. More frequently, however, she will give a false + address, or make an appointment which she does not keep, or will say that + it is too late for her to change her life. But this fact does not always + prevent such a woman from trying to help others by sending young girls who + have recently taken to the trade to the Titchfield Street Refuge in the + hope that they may be induced to abandon their evil courses. + </p> + <p> + Occasionally the Army has midnight suppers in its Regent Hall for these + women, who attend in large numbers, perhaps out of curiosity. At the last + supper nearly 300 'swell girls' were present and listened to the prayers + and the exhortations to amend their lives. Sometimes, too, the Officers + attend them when they are sick or dying. Once they buried one of the + women, who died whilst under their care, holding a midnight funeral over + her at their hall in Oxford Street. + </p> + <p> + It was attended by hundreds of the sisterhood, and the Major described the + scene as terrible. The women were seized with hysterics, and burst into + shrieks and sobs. They even tried to open the coffin in order to kiss the + dead girl who lay within. + </p> + <p> + Amongst many other cases, I was informed of a black girl called Diamond, + so named because she wore real diamonds on her dresses, which dresses cost + over £100 apiece. The Army tried to help her in vain, and wrote her many + letters. In the end she died in an Infirmary, when all the letters were + found carefully hidden away among her belongings and returned to the + Major. + </p> + <p> + The average number of rescues compassed, directly or indirectly, by the + Piccadilly Midnight work is about fifty a year. This is not a very great + result; but after all the taking of even a few people from this hellish + life and their restoration to decency and self-respect is well worth the + cost and labour of the mission. The Officers told me that they meet with + but little success in the case of those women who are in their bloom and + earning great incomes. It can scarcely be otherwise, for what has the Army + to offer them in place of their gaudy, glittering life of luxury and + excitement? + </p> + <p> + The way of transgressors is hard, but the way of repentance is harder; at + any rate, while the transgressor is doing well. On the one hand jewels and + champagne, furs and motors, and on the other prayers that talk of death + and judgment, plain garments made by the wearer's labour, and at the end + the drudgery of earning an honest livelihood, perhaps as a servant. Human + nature being what it is, it seems scarcely wonderful that these children + of pleasure cling to the path of 'roses' and turn from that of 'thorns.' + </p> + <p> + With those that are growing old and find themselves broken in body and in + spirit, who are thrust aside in the fierce competition of their trade in + favour of younger rivals; those who find the wine in their tinsel cup + turning, or turned, to gall, the case is different. They are sometimes, + not always, glad to creep to such shelter from the storms of life as the + Army can offer, and there work out their moral and physical salvation. For + what bitterness is there like to that which must be endured by the poor, + broken woman of the streets, as scorned, spat on, thrust aside, she sinks + from depth to depth into the last depth of all, striving to drown her + miseries with drugs or drink, if so she may win forgetfulness even for an + hour? + </p> + <p> + Sometimes, too, these patient toilers in the deep of midnight sin succeed + in dragging from the brink those that have but dipped their feet in its + dark waters. <i>Nemo repente fuit turpissimus</i>—no one becomes + altogether filthy in an hour—runs the old Roman saying, which is as + true to-day as it was 2,000 years ago, and whether it be spoken of body or + of soul, it is easier to wash the feet than the whole being. When they + understand what lies before them certain of the young shrink back and + grasp Mercy's outstretched arms. + </p> + <p> + One night about twelve o'clock, together with Lieut.-Colonel Jolliffe, an + Officer of the Army who was dressed in plain clothes, I accompanied the + Major and the lady who is her colleague, to Leicester Square and its + neighbourhood, and there watched their methods of work, following them at + a little distance. Dressed in their uniform they mingled with the women + who marched the pavements, and now and again, with curiously swift and + decisive steps glided up to one of them, whispered a few earnest words + into her ear, and proffered a printed ticket. Most of those spoken to + walked on stonily as people do when they meet an undesirable acquaintance + whom they do not wish to recognize. Some thrust past them rudely; some + hesitated and with a hard laugh went their way; but a few took the tickets + and hid them among their laces. + </p> + <p> + So far as the work was concerned that was all there was to see. Nothing + dramatic happened; no girl fled to them imploring help or asking to be + saved from the persecutions of a man; no girl even insulted them—for + these Officers to be insulted is a thing unknown. All I saw was the sowing + of the seed in very stony ground, where not one kern out of a thousand is + like to germinate and much less to grow. Yet as experience proves, + occasionally it does both germinate and grow, yes, and bloom and come to + the harvest of repentance and redemption. It is for this that these + unwearying labourers scatter their grain from night to night, that at + length they may garner into their bosoms a scanty but a priceless harvest. + </p> + <p> + It was a strange scene. The air was hot and heavy, the sky was filled with + black and lowering clouds already laced with lightnings. The music-halls + and restaurants had given out their crowds, the midnight mart was open. + Everywhere were women, all finely dressed, most of them painted, as could + be seen in the glare of the electric lights, some of them more or less + excited with drink, but none turbulent or noisy. Mixed up with these were + the bargainers, men of every degree, the most of them with faces + unpleasant to consider. + </p> + <p> + Some had made their pact and were departing. I noticed one young girl + whose looks would have drawn attention anywhere, whispering an address + from beneath an enormous feathered hat to the driver of a taxicab, while + her companion, a pleasant-looking, fresh-coloured boy, for he was scarcely + more, entered the vehicle, a self-satisfied air upon his face. She sprang + in also, and the cab with its occupants glided away out of my ken for + ever. + </p> + <p> + Here and there stalwart, quiet policemen requested loiterers to move on, + and the loiterers obeyed and re-formed in groups behind them; here and + there a respectable woman pushed her way through the throng, gathering up + her skirts as she did so and glancing covertly at this unaccustomed + company out of the corners of her eyes. + </p> + <p> + While watching all these sights we lost touch of the Salvation Army + ladies, who wormed their way through the crowd as easily and quickly as a + snake does through undergrowth, and set out to find them. Big drops began + to fall, the thunder growled, and in a moment the concourse commenced to + melt. Five minutes later the rain was falling fast and the streets had + emptied. That night's market was at an end. + </p> + <p> + No farmer watches the weather more anxiously than do these painted women + in their muslins and gold-laced shoes. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile, their night's work done, the Salvation Army ladies were + tramping through the wet back to Titchfield Street, for they do not spend + money on cabs, and the buses had ceased to run. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0027" id="link2H_4_0027"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE ANTI-SUICIDE BUREAU + </h2> + <p> + This is a branch of the Army's work with which I have been more or less + acquainted for some years. + </p> + <p> + The idea of an Anti-Suicide Bureau arose in the Army four or five years + ago; but every one seems to have forgotten with whom it actually + originated. I suppose that it grew, like Topsy, or was discovered + simultaneously by several Officers, like a new planet by different + astronomers studying the heavens in faith and hope. At any rate, the + results of the idea are remarkable. Thus in London alone 1,064 cases were + dealt with in the year 1909, and of those cases it is estimated that all + but about a dozen were turned from their fatal purpose. Let us halve these + figures, and say that 500 lives were actually saved, that 500 men live + to-day in and about London who otherwise would be dead by their own hands + and buried in dishonoured graves. Or let us even quarter them, and surely + this remains a wonderful work, especially when we remember that London is + by no means the only place in which it is being carried on. + </p> + <p> + How is it done? the reader may ask. I answer by knowledge of human nature, + by the power of sympathy, by gentle kindness. A poor wretch staggers into + a humble little room at the Salvation Army Headquarters in Queen Victoria + Street. He unfolds an incoherent tale. He is an unpleasant and disturbing + person whom any lawyer or business man would get rid of as soon as + possible. He vapours about self-destruction, he hints at dark troubles + with his wife. He produces drugs or weapons—a point at which most + people would certainly show him out. But the Officers in charge do nothing + of the sort. They laugh at him or give him a cup of tea. They bid him + brace himself together, and tell them the truth and nothing but the truth. + Then out pours the awful tale, which, however bad it may be, they listen + to quite unmoved though not unconcerned, for they hear such every day. + When it is finished, they ask coolly enough why, in the name of all that + their visitor reverences or holds dear, he considers it necessary to + commit suicide for a trifling job like that. A new light dawns upon the + desperate man. He answers, because he can see no other way out. + </p> + <p> + Why, exclaims the Officer, there are a dozen ways out. Let us find one of + them. You, A., have been faithless to your wife. Well, when the matter is + explained to her, I daresay she will forgive you. You, B., have defrauded + your employer. Well, employers are not always relentless. I'll call on him + this evening and talk the matter over. You, C., are hopelessly in debt + through horse-racing or speculation. Well, at the worst you can go through + the Court and start afresh. You, D., have committed a crime. Go and own up + to it like a man, stand your trial, and work out your sentence. I daresay + it won't be so very heavy if you take that course, and we will look after + you when it is over. You, E., have been brought into this state through + your miserable vices, drink, or whatever they may be. Cure yourself of the + vices—we'll show you how—don't crown them by cutting your + throat like a cur. You, F., have been afflicted with great sorrows. Well, + those sorrows have some purpose and some meaning. There's always a dawn + beyond the night; wait for that dawn; it will come here or hereafter. + </p> + <p> + And so on, and on, through all the gamut of human sin and misery. + </p> + <p> + Of course, there are cases in which the Army fails. As I have said, there + were about a dozen of these last year, six of which, if I remember right, + occurred with startling rapidity one after the other. The Suicide Officers + of the Army always take up the daily paper with fear and trembling, and + not infrequently find that the man whom they thought they had consoled and + set upon a different path, has been discovered dead by drowning in the + river, or by poison in the streets, or by whatever it may be. But + everything has its proportion of failures, and where intending suicides + are concerned 1 or 2 per cent, or on the quarter basis that I have adopted + as beyond question of sincerity of intent, 4 or 8 per cent is not a large + average. Indeed, 20 per cent would not be large, or even 50 per cent. But + these figures do not occur. + </p> + <p> + Of course, it is suggested that many of those who drift into the + Anti-Suicide Bureau have no real intention of making away with themselves, + but that they come there only to see what they can get in the way of money + or other comfort. As regards money, the answer is that, except very + occasionally, the Army gives none, for the simple reason that it has none + to give. For the rest the fatal cases which happen show that there is a + grim purpose at work in the minds of many of the applicants. But I repeat, + let us halve the figures, let us even quarter them, which, as Euclid + remarked, is absurd, and even then what are we to conclude? + </p> + <p> + Before proceeding with my comments upon this work I ought to state, + perhaps, that the Army has various branches of this Anti-Suicide Crusade. + Thus, it is at work in almost all our big cities, and also in America, in + Australia, and in Japan. The Japanese Bureau was opened last year with + very good results. This is the more remarkable in a country where ancient + tradition and immemorial custom hallow the system of <i>hara-kiri</i> in + any case of trouble or disgrace. + </p> + <p> + Moreover, the idea is spreading, Count Tolstoy is said to have been + interested in it. Applications have been received from the Hague for + particulars of the Army methods in the matter. Similar work is being + carried out in Vienna, not by the Army, but on its lines. The Army has + been informed that if it will open an Anti-Suicide Bureau in Budapest, + office accommodation, etc., will be found for it. And so forth. + </p> + <p> + Colonel Unsworth who, until recently had charge of the Anti-Suicide Bureau + from its commencement, is of opinion that suicide is very much on the + increase, a statement that it would be difficult to dispute in view of the + number of cases recorded daily in the local Press. For instance, I read + one on this morning of writing, in a Norfolk paper, where a farmer had + blown out his brains, to all appearance because he had a difference of + opinion with his wife as to whether he should, or should not, take on + another farm. + </p> + <p> + Colonel Unsworth attributed this sad state of affairs to sundry causes. + The first of these was the intense and ever-increasing nervous pressure of + our time. The second, the spread of fatalism, The third, the advance of + materialistic ideas, and of the general disbelief in the doctrine of + future retribution. The fourth, a certain noticeable return in such + matters to the standard of Pagan nations, especially of ancient Rome, + where it was held that if things went wrong and life became valueless, or + even uninteresting, to bring it to an end was in no sense shameful but + praiseworthy. In illustration of this point, he quoted a remark said to + have been made by a magistrate not long ago, to the effect that in certain + conditions a man was not to be blamed for taking his own life. + </p> + <p> + His fifth reason was that circumstances arise in which some people + convince themselves that their deaths would benefit their families. Thus, + insurances may fall in, for, after one or two premiums have been paid, + many offices take the risk of suicide. Or they may know that when they are + gone, wealthy relatives will take care of their children, who will thus be + happier and better off than these are while they, the fathers, live. Wrong + as it may be, this, indeed, is an attitude with which it is difficult not + to feel a certain sympathy. After all, we are told that there is no + greater love than that of a man who lays down his life for his friend, + though there ran be no doubt that the saying was not intended to include + this kind of laying down of life. + </p> + <p> + Colonel Unsworth's sixth cause was the increasing atrophy of the public + conscience. He stated that suicide is rarely preached against from the + pulpit, as drunkenness is for instance. Further, a jury can seldom be + induced to bring in a verdict of <i>felo-de-se.</i> Even where the victim + was obviously and, perhaps painfully sane, his act is put down to + temporary insanity. + </p> + <p> + Other causes are drink, hereditary disposition, madness in all its protean + shapes; incurable disease, unwillingness to face the consequences of sin + or folly; the passion of sexual love, which is sometimes so mighty as to + amount to madness; the effects of utter grief such as result from the loss + of those far more beloved than self, of which an instance is at hand in + the case of the Officer in charge of the Shelter at Great Peter Street, + Westminster, mentioned earlier in this book, who, it may be remembered, + tried to kill himself after the death of his wife and child; and lastly, + where women are concerned, terror and shame at the prospect of giving + birth to a child, whose appearance in the world is not sanctioned by law + or custom. + </p> + <p> + Suicide among women is, however, comparatively rare, a fact which suggests + either that the causes which produce it press on or affect them less, or + that in this particular, their minds are better balanced than are those of + men. I was told, at any rate, that but few women apply to the Suicide + Bureau of the Army for help in this temptation; though, perhaps, that may + be due to the greater secretiveness of the sex. + </p> + <p> + Speaking generally, this magnitude of the evil to be attacked may be + gauged from the fact that about 3,800 people die by their own hands in + England and Wales every year, a somewhat appalling total. + </p> + <p> + Intending suicides come into the hands of the Army Bureau in various ways. + Some of them see notices in the Press descriptive of this branch of the + Social Work. Some of them are found by policemen in desperate + circumstances and brought to the Bureau, and some are sent there from + different localities by Salvation Army Officers. + </p> + <p> + I have looked through the records of numbers of these cases, but, for + obvious reasons, it is difficult to give a full and accurate description + of any of them. The reader, therefore, must be content to accept my + assurance of their genuine nature. One or two, however, may be alluded to + with becoming vagueness. Here is an example of a not infrequent kind, when + a person arrives at the office having already attempted the deed. + </p> + <p> + A business man who had recently made a study of agnostic literature, had + become involved in certain complications, which resulted in a quarrel with + his wife. His means not being sufficient to the support of a double + establishment, he took the train to London with a bottle of sulphonal in + his pocket (not a drug to be recommended for his purpose) and swallowed + tabloids all the way to town. When he had taken seventy-five grains, and + the bottle, as I saw, was two-thirds empty, he found that the drug worked + in a way he did not expect. Instead of killing him, it awoke his religious + susceptibilities, which the course of agnostic literature had scotched but + not killed, and he began to wonder with some earnestness whether, after + all, there might not be a Hereafter which, in the circumstances, he did + not care to face. + </p> + <p> + In this acute perplexity he bethought him of the Salvation Army, and + arrived at the Bureau in a state of considerable excitement, as quickly as + a taxicab could bring him. A doctor and a fortnight in hospital did the + rest. The Army found him another situation in place of the one which he + had lost, and composed his differences with his wife. They are now both + Salvationists and very happy. So, in this instance, all's well that ends + well. + </p> + <p> + <i>Case Two.</i>—A man, in a responsible position, and of rather + extravagant habits, married a wife of more extravagant habits, and found + that, whatever the proverb may say, it costs more to keep two than one. + His money matters became desperately involved, but, being afraid to + confide in his wife, he spent a Sunday afternoon in trying to make up his + mind whether he would shoot or drown himself. While he was thus engaged, a + Salvation Army band happened to pass his door, and reminded him of what he + had read about the Anti-Suicide Bureau. Postponing decision as to the + exact method of his departure from this earth, he called there, and was + persuaded to make a clean breast of the matter to his wife. + </p> + <p> + Afterwards the Army took up his extremely complicated affairs. I saw a + pile of documents relating to them that must have been at least 4 ins. + thick. The various money-lenders were interviewed, and persuaded to accept + payment in weekly or monthly instalments. The account was almost square + when I saw it, and the person concerned extremely happy and grateful. I + should say that, in this case, a lawyer's bill for the work which was done + for nothing would have amounted to quite £50. + </p> + <p> + In another somewhat similar case, that of an official who had tampered + with moneys in his charge, though this was not discovered, some of the + creditors had placed the business in the hands of + debt-collecting-agencies, than whom, said Colonel Unsworth, 'there are no + harder or more cruel creditors.' At any rate, they drove this poor man + almost to madness, with the usual result. A friend brought him to the + Army, who shouldered his affairs, dealt with the debt-collecting agencies, + obtained help from his connexions, and paid off what was owing by + instalments. He and his family are now again quite comfortable. + </p> + <p> + <i>Case Three</i>.—A man was cursed with such a fearful temper that + he could keep no situation. He came to London in a state of fury, with a + razor in his pocket. Happening to see the words 'Salvation Army Shelter' + on a building, it occurred to him to hear what the Suicide Officers had to + say before he cut his throat. They dealt with the matter, and showed him + the error of his way. He is now in a very good single-handed situation + abroad where, as he cannot talk the language, he finds it difficult to + quarrel with those about him. + </p> + <p> + <i>Case Four</i>.—Telephone operator, who was driven mad by that + dreadful instrument and by domestic worries. The Army Officers saved the + man and smoothed over the domestic worries; but how he gets on with the + telephone instruments is not recorded. + </p> + <p> + <i>Case Five</i>.—Unsuitable marriage and bad temper. The wife had + become involved in some trouble in early life, and unwisely, as it proved, + confessed to the husband, who brought it up against her every time there + was a quarrel between them. In this instance, also, suicide was averted + and the domestic differences were arranged. + </p> + <p> + <i>Case Six</i>—A man in a business firm, married, with children, + was through no fault of his own thrown out of work, owing to the + appointment of a new manager. He came at last to the Embankment, and + afterwards applied for a job in answer to an advertisement. The advertiser + told him it was a pity that as he had been so near the river he did not go + into it. The man determined to commit suicide; but the Officers dissuaded + him from this course and helped him. He returned a year later in a + condition of considerable prosperity, having worked his way to a Colony + where he is now doing extremely well, his visit to England being in + connexion with the business in which he had become a partner. + </p> + <p> + And so on <i>ad infinitum.</i> I might tell many such stories, some of + them of a much more tragic character than those I have instanced, but + refrain from doing so lest by chance they should be identified, especially + where the individuals concerned belonged to the upper strata of society. + Perhaps enough has been said, however, to show what a great work is being + done by the Army in this Department, where in London alone it deals with + several would-be suicides every day. + </p> + <p> + Of course, some of these people are frauds. For instance, one of the + Officers told me that not long ago a medical man, who was evidently a + drunkard, called on him and said that he would commit suicide unless money + were given to him. He was informed that this was against the rules; + whereon the man produced a bottle and said that if the money were not + forthcoming, he would drink its contents and make an end of himself in the + office. As may be imagined the Officer went through an anxious moment, not + quite knowing what to do. However, he looked the man over, summed him up + to the best of his judgment and ability, and coming to the conclusion that + he was a bully and a braggart, said that he might do what he liked. The + man swallowed the contents of the bottle, exclaiming that he would be dead + in a few minutes, and a pause ensued, during which the Officer confessed + to me that he felt very uncomfortable. The end of it was that his visitor + said, with a laugh, that 'he would not like to cumber the Salvation Army + with his corpse,' and walked out of the room. The draught which he had + taken was comparatively harmless. + </p> + <p> + As I have mentioned, however, a proportion of the cases are quite + irreclaimable. They come and consult the Army, then depart and do the + deed. Six that can be traced have been lost in this way during the last + few months. + </p> + <p> + Colonel Unsworth explained to me what I had already guessed, that this + business of dealing with scores and hundreds of despairing beings standing + on the very edge of the grave, is a terrible strain upon any man. The + responsibility becomes too great, and he who has to bear it is apt to be + crushed beneath its weight. Every morning he reads his paper with a + sensation of nervous dread, fearing lest among the police news he should + find a brief account of the discovery of some corpse which he can identify + as that of an individual with whom he had pleaded at his office on the + yesterday and in vain. + </p> + <p> + On former occasions when I visited him, Colonel Unsworth used to show me a + small museum of poisons, knives, revolvers, etc., which he had taken from + those who proposed to use them to cut the Gordian knot of life. + </p> + <p> + Now, however, he has but few of these dreadful relics. I asked him what he + had done with the rest. He answered that he had destroyed them. + </p> + <p> + 'The truth is,' he added, 'that after some years of this business I can no + longer bear to look at the horrid things; they get upon my nerves.' + </p> + <p> + If I may venture to offer a word of advice to the Chiefs of the Salvation + Army, I would suggest that the very responsible position of first + Anti-Suicide Officer in London is not one that any man should be asked to + fill in perpetuity. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0028" id="link2H_4_0028"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + WORK IN THE PROVINCES + </h2> + <h3> + LIVERPOOL + </h3> + <p> + When planning this little book I had it in my mind to deal at some length + with the Provincial Social Work of the Army, Now I find, however, that + considerations of space must be taken into account; also that it is not + needful to set out all the details of that work, seeing that to do so + would involve a great deal of repetition. + </p> + <p> + The Salvation Army machines for the regeneration of fallen men and women, + if I may so describe them, are, after all, of much the same design, and + vary for the most part only in the matter of size. The material that goes + through those machines is, it is true, different, yet even its infinite + variety, if considered in the mass, has a certain similitude. For these + reasons, therefore, I will only speak of what is done by the Army in three + of the great Midland and Northern cities that I have visited, namely, + Manchester, Liverpool, and Glasgow, and of that but briefly, although my + notes concerning it run to over 100 typed pages. + </p> + <p> + The lady in charge of the Slum Settlement in Liverpool informed me that + the poverty in that city is very great, and during the past winter of 1919 + was really terrible owing to the scarceness of work in the docks. The + poor, however, are not so overcrowded, and rents are cheaper than in + London, the cost of two dwelling-cellars being about 2<i>s</i>. 6<i>d</i>., + and of a room about 3<i>s</i>. a week. The sisterhood of fallen women is, + she added, very large in Liverpool; but most of these belong to a low + class. + </p> + <p> + In this city the Army has one Institution for women called the 'Ann + Fowler' Memorial Home, which differs a good deal from the majority of + those that I have seen. It is a Lodging-Home for Women, and is designed + for the accommodation of persons of a better class than those who + generally frequent such places. This building, which was provided in + memory of her mother by Miss Fowler, a local philanthropist, at a cost of + about £6,000, was originally a Welsh Congregational chapel, that has been + altered to suit the purpose to which it is now put. It is extremely well + fitted-up with separate cubicles made of oak panelling, good lavatory + accommodation, and kitchens in which is made some of the most excellent + soup that I ever tasted. + </p> + <p> + Yet strange to say this place is not as much appreciated as it might be, + as may be judged from the fact that although it is designed to hold 113 + lodgers, when I visited it there were not more than between forty and + fifty. This is remarkable, as the charge made is only 4<i>d</i>. per + night, or 2<i>s</i>. a week, even for a cubicle, and an excellent + breakfast of bread and butter, fish, and tea can be had for 2<i>d</i>. + Other meals are supplied on a like scale, with the result that a woman + employed in outside work can live in considerable comfort in a room or + cubicle of her own for about 8<i>s</i>. a week. + </p> + <p> + The lady in charge told me, however, that there are reasons for this state + of affairs. One is that it provides for people of a rather higher class + than usual, who, of course, are not so numerous as those lower in the + social scale. + </p> + <p> + The principal reason, however, is prejudice. It is known that most of the + women accommodated in the Army Shelters are what are known as 'fallen' or + 'drunks.' Therefore, occupants of a Home devoted to a higher section of + society fear lest they should be tarred with the same brush in the eyes of + their associates. + </p> + <p> + Here is a story which illustrates this point which I remember hearing in + the United States. A woman, whose inebriety was well known, was picked up + absolutely dead drunk in an American city and taken by an Officer of the + Army to one of its Homes and put to bed. In the morning she awoke and, + guessing where she was lodged from various signs and tokens, such as texts + upon the wall, began to scream for her clothes. An attendant, who thought + that she had developed delirium tremens, ran up and asked what was the + matter. + </p> + <p> + 'Matter?' ejaculated the sot, 'the matter is that if I don't get out of + this —— place in double quick time, <i>I shall lose my + character!</i>' + </p> + <p> + The women who avail themselves of this 'Ann Fowler' Home are of all ages + and in various employments. One, I was told, was a lady separated from her + husband, whose father, now dead, had been the mayor of a large city. + </p> + <p> + A Liverpool Institution of another class, known as 'The Hollies,' is an + Industrial Home for fallen women, drunkards, thieves, and incorrigible + girls. It holds thirty-eight inmates and is always full, a good many of + these being sent to the place from Police-courts whence they are + discharged under the First Offenders Acts. + </p> + <p> + I saw these women at their evening prayers. The singing was hearty and + spontaneous, and they all seemed happy enough. Still, the faces of most of + them (they varied in age from forty-six to sixteen) showed traces of + life's troubles, but one or two were evidently persons of some refinement. + Their histories, which would fill volumes, must be omitted. Suffice it to + say that this Home, like all the others, is extremely well-arranged and + managed, and is doing a most excellent and successful work. + </p> + <p> + When the women are believed to be cured of their evil habits, whatever + they may be, they are for the most part sent out to service. There are two + rooms in the place to which they can return during their holidays, or when + they are changing situations, at a charge of 5s. a week. This many of them + like to do. + </p> + <p> + Next door to 'The Hollies' is another Home where young girls with their + illegitimate babies, and also a few children, are accommodated. It is + arranged to hold twenty-four mothers, and is generally full. A charge of + 5s. a week is supposed to be made, but unless the cases are sent from the + workhouse, when the Guardians pay, in practice little is recovered from + the patients. When they are well again, their babies are put out to nurse, + as at the London Maternity Home, and the girls are sent to service, no + difficulty being experienced in finding them places. During the two years + that this Home had been open eighty-two girls had passed through it, and + of these, the Matron informed me, there were but ten who were not doing so + well as they might. The rest were in employment of one sort or another, + and seemed to be in the way of completely regaining their characters. + </p> + <p> + I visited this place late at night, and in the room devoted to children, + as distinct from infants, saw one girl of nine with a curious history. + This child had been twelve times in the hands of the police before her + father brought her to the Army on their suggestion. Her mania was to run + away from home, where it does not appear that she was ill-treated, and to + sleep in the streets, on one occasion for as long as five nights. This + child had a very curious face, and even in her sleep, as I saw her, there + was about it something wild and defiant. When the Matron turned her over + she did not yawn or cry, but uttered a kind of snarl. I suppose that here + is an instance of atavism, that the child throw back for thousands or tens + of thousands of years, to when her progenitors were savages, and that + their primitive instincts have reasserted themselves in her, although she + was born in the twentieth century. She had been ten months in the Home and + was doing well. Indeed, the Matron told me that they had taken her out and + given her opportunities of running away, but that she had never attempted + to avail herself of them. + </p> + <p> + The Officer in charge informed me that there is much need for a Maternity + Hospital in Liverpool. + </p> + <p> + There are also Institutions for men in Liverpool, but these I must pass + over. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0029" id="link2H_4_0029"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE MEN'S SOCIAL WORK + </h2> + <h3> + MANCHESTER + </h3> + <p> + The Officer in charge of the Men's Social Work in Manchester told me the + same story that I had heard in Liverpool as to the prevailing distress. He + said, 'It has been terrible the last few winters. I have never seen + anything like it. We know because they come to us, and the trouble is more + in a fixed point than in London. Numbers and numbers come, destitute of + shelter or food or anything. The cause is want of employment. There is no + work. Many cases, of course, go down through drink, but the most cannot + get work. The fact is that there are more men than there is work for them + to do, and this I may say is a regular thing, winter and summer.' + </p> + <p> + A sad statement surely, and one that excites thought. + </p> + <p> + I asked what became of this residue who could not find work. His answer + was, 'They wander about, die off, and so on.' + </p> + <p> + A still sadder statement, I think. + </p> + <p> + The Major in charge is a man of great organising ability, force of + character, and abounding human sympathy. Yet he was once one of the + melancholy army of wasters. Some seventeen years ago he came into the Army + through one of its Shelters, a drunken, out-of-place cabinet-maker, who + had been tramping the streets. They gave him work and he 'got converted.' + Now he is the head of the Manchester Social Institutions, engaged in + finding work for or converting thousands of others. + </p> + <p> + At first the Army had only one establishment in Manchester, which used to + be a cotton mill. Now it is a Shelter for 200 men. Then it took others, + some of which are owned and some hired, among them a great 'Elevator' on + the London plan, where waste paper is sorted and sold. The turn-over here + was over £8,000 in 1909, and may rise to £12,000. I forget how many men it + finds work for, but every week some twenty-five new hands come in, and + about the same number pass out. + </p> + <p> + This is a wonderful place, filled with what appears to be rubbish, but + which is really valuable material. Among this rubbish all sorts of strange + things are to be found. Thus I picked out of it, and kept as a souvenir, a + beautifully-bound copy of Wesley's Hymns, published about a hundred years + ago. Lying near it was an early edition of Scott's 'Marmion.' This + Elevator more than pays its way; indeed the Army is saving money out of + it, which is put by to purchase other buildings. + </p> + <p> + Then there are houses where the people employed in the paper-works lodge, + a recently-acquired home for the better class of men, which was once a + mansion of the De Clifford family, and afterwards a hospital, and a store + where every kind of oddment is sold by Dutch auction. These articles are + given to the Army, and among the week's collection I saw clocks, + furniture, bicycles, a parrot cage, and a crutch. Not long ago the + managers of this store had a goat presented to them, which nearly ate them + out of house and home, as no one would buy it, and they did not like to + send the poor beast to the butcher. + </p> + <p> + In these various Shelters and Institutions I saw some strange characters. + One had been an electrical engineer, educated under Professor Owen, at + Cardiff College. He came into money, and gambled away £13,000 on + horse-racing, although he told me that he won as much as £8,000 on one + Ascot meeting. His subsequent history is a story in itself, one too long + to set out; but the end of it, in his own words, was 'Four years ago I + came here, and, thank God! I am going on all right.' + </p> + <p> + Why do not the writers of naturalistic novels study Salvation Army + Shelters? In any one of them they would find more material than could be + used up in ten lifetimes; though, personally, I confess I am content to + read such stories in the secret annals of the various Institutions. + </p> + <p> + Another man, a very pleasant and humorous person, who was once a Church + worker and a singer in the choir, etc., when, in his own words, he used + 'to put on religion with his Sunday clothes and take it off again with + them,' came to grief through sheer love of amusement, such as that which + is to be found in music-halls and theatres. His habit was to spend the + money of an insurance company by which he was employed, in taking out the + young lady to whom he was engaged, to such entertainments. Ultimately, of + course, he was found out, and, when starving on the road, determined to + commit suicide. The Salvationists found him in the nick of time, and now + he is foreman of their paper-collecting yard. + </p> + <p> + Another, at the ripe age of twenty-four, had been twenty-seven times in + prison. His father was in prison, his eldest brother committed suicide in + prison by throwing himself over the banisters. Also, he had two brothers + at present undergoing penal servitude, who, when he was a little fellow, + used to pass him through windows to open doors in houses which they were + burgling. + </p> + <p> + I suggested that it was a poor game and that he had better give it up. He + answered:—'I shall never do it again, sir, God helping me.' Really I + think he meant what he said. + </p> + <p> + Another, in the Chepstow Street Shelter, where he acted as night-watchman, + was discharged from Portland, after serving a fifteen years' sentence for + manslaughter. His trouble was that he killed a man in a fight, and as he + had fought him before and had a grudge against him, was very nearly hanged + for his pains. This man earned £9 in some way or other during his + sentence, which he sent to his wife. Afterwards, he discovered that she + had been living with another man, who died and left her well off. But she + has never refunded the £9, nor will she have anything to do with her + husband. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0030" id="link2H_4_0030"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + OAKHILL HOUSE + </h2> + <h3> + MANCHESTER + </h3> + <p> + Oakhill House is a Rescue Home for women, which was given to the Army by + Mrs. Crossley, a well-known local lady. It deals with prison, fallen, + inebriate, and preventive cases. At the time of my visit there were + sixty-three inmates, but when a new adjacent building is completed there + will be room for more. There is a wonderful laundry in this Home, where + the most beautiful washing is done at extremely moderate prices. The + ironing and starching room was a busy sight, but what I chiefly remember + about it was the spectacle of one melancholy old man, the only male among + that crowd of women, seated by a steam-boiler that drove the machinery, to + which it was his business to attend. (No woman can be persuaded to look + after a boiler.) In the midst of all those females he had the appearance + of a superannuated and disillusioned Turk contemplating his too extensive + establishment and reflecting on its monthly bills. + </p> + <p> + The matron in charge informed me that even for these rough women there is + no system of punishment whatsoever. No girl is ever restricted in her + food, or put on bread and water, or struck, or shut away by herself. The + Army maxim is that it is its mission not to punish but to try to reform. + If in any particular case its methods of gentleness fail, which they + rarely do, it is considered best that the case should depart, very + possibly to return again later on. + </p> + <p> + She added that although many of these women had committed assaults, and + even fought the Police, not one of them attacks another in the Home once + in a year, and that during her twenty years of work, although she had + lived among some of the worst women in England, she had never received a + single blow. As an illustration of what the Salvation Army understands by + this word 'work' I may state that throughout these twenty years, except + for the allotted annual fortnight, this lady has had no furlough. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0031" id="link2H_4_0031"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE MEN'S SOCIAL WORK + </h2> + <h3> + GLASGOW + </h3> + <p> + I saw the Brigadier in charge of the Men's Social Work in Glasgow at a + great central Institution where hundreds of poor people sleep every night. + The inscriptions painted on the windows give a good idea of its character. + Here are some of them: 'Cheap beds.' 'Cheap food.' 'Waste paper + collected.' 'Missing friends found.' 'Salvation for all.' + </p> + <p> + In addition to this Refuge there is an 'Elevator' of the usual type, in + which about eighty men were at work, and an establishment called the Dale + House Home, a very beautiful Adams' house, let to the Army at a small rent + by an Eye Hospital that no longer requires it. This house accommodates + ninety-seven of the men who work in the Elevator. + </p> + <p> + The Brigadier informed me that the distress at Glasgow was very great last + year. Indeed, during that year of 1909 the Army fed about 35,000 men at + the docks, and 65,000 at the Refuge, a charity which caused them to be + officially recognized for the first time by the Corporation, that sent + them a cheque in aid of their work. Now, however, things have much + improved, owing to the building of men-of-war and the forging of great + guns for the Navy. At Parkhead Forge alone 8,000 men are being employed + upon a vessel of the Dreadnought class, which will occupy them for a year + and a half. So it would seem that these monsters of destruction have their + peaceful uses. + </p> + <p> + Glasgow, he said, 'is a terrible place for drink, especially of methylated + spirits and whisky.' Drink at the beginning, I need hardly remark, means + destitution at the end, so doubtless this failing accounts for a large + proportion of its poverty. + </p> + <p> + The Men's Social Work of the Army in Glasgow, which is its Headquarters in + Scotland, is spreading in every direction, not only in that city itself, + but beyond it to Paisley, Greenock, and Edinburgh. Indeed, the Brigadier + has orders 'to get into Dundee and Aberdeen as soon as possible.' I asked + him how he would provide the money. He answered, 'Well, by trusting in God + and keeping our powder dry.' + </p> + <p> + As regards the Army's local finance the trouble is that owing to the + national thriftiness it is harder to make commercial ventures pay in + Scotland than in England. Thus I was informed that in Glasgow the + Corporation collects and sells its own waste paper, which means that there + is less of that material left for the Salvation Army to deal with. In + England, so far as I am aware, the waste-paper business is not a form of + municipal trading that the Corporations of great cities undertake. + </p> + <p> + Another leading branch of the Salvation Army effort in Scotland is its + Prison work. It is registered in that country as a Prisoners' Aid Society, + and the doors of every jail in the land are open to its Officers. I saw + the Army's prison book, in which are entered the details of each prison + case with which it is dealing. Awful enough some of them were. + </p> + <p> + I remember two that caught my eye as I turned its pages. The first was + that of a man who had gone for a walk with his wife, from whom he was + separated, cut her head off, and thrown it into a field. The second was + that of another man, or brute beast, who had taken his child by the heels + and dashed out its brains against the fireplace. It may be wondered why + these gentle creatures still adorn the world. The explanation seems to be + that in Scotland there is a great horror of capital punishment, which is + but rarely inflicted. + </p> + <p> + My recollection is that the Officer who visited them had hopes of the + permanent reformation of both these men; or, at any rate, that there were + notes in his book to this effect. + </p> + <p> + I saw many extraordinary cases in this Glasgow Refuge, some of whom had + come there through sheer misfortune. One had been a medical man who, + unfortunately, was left money and took to speculating on the Stock + Exchange. He was a very large holder of shares in a South African mine, + which he bought at 1s. 6d. These shares now stand at £7; but, unhappily + for him, his brokers dissolved partnership, and neither of them would + carry over his account. So it was closed down just at the wrong time, with + the result that he lost everything, and finally came to the streets. He + never drank or did anything wrong; it was, as he said, 'simply a matter of + sheer bad luck.' + </p> + <p> + Another was a Glasgow silk merchant, who made a bad debt of £3,000 that + swamped him. Afterwards he became paralysed, but recovered. He had been + three years cashier of this Shelter. + </p> + <p> + Another arrived at the Shelter in such a state that the Officer in charge + told me he was obliged to throw his macintosh round him to hide his + nakedness. He was an engineer who took a public-house, and helped himself + freely to his stock-in-trade, with the result that he became a frightful + drunkard, and lost £1,700. He informed me that he used to consume no less + than four bottles of whisky a day, and suffered from delirium tremens + several times. In the Shelter—I quote his own words—'I gave my + heart to God, and after that all desire for drink and wrongdoing' (he had + not been immaculate in other ways) 'gradually left me. From 1892 I had + been a drunkard. After my conversion, in less than three weeks I ceased to + have any desire for drink.' + </p> + <p> + This man became night-watchman in the Shelter, a position which he held + for twelve months. He said: 'I was promoted to be Sergeant; when I put on + my uniform and stripes, I reckoned myself a man again. Then I was made + foreman of the works at Greendyke Street. Then I was sent to pioneer our + work in Paisley, and when that was nicely started, I was sent on to + Greenock, where I am now trying to work up a (Salvation Army) business.' + </p> + <p> + Here, for a reason to be explained presently, I will quote a very similar + case which I saw at the Army Colony at Hadleigh, in Essex. This man, also + a Scotsman (no Englishman, I think, could have survived such experiences), + is a person of fine and imposing appearance, great bodily strength, and + good address. He is about fifty years of age, and has been a soldier, and + after leaving the Service, a gardener. Indeed, he is now, or was recently, + foreman market-gardener at Hadleigh. He married a hospital nurse, and + found out some years after marriage that she was in the habit of using + drugs. This habit he contracted also, either during her life or after her + death, and with it that of drink. + </p> + <p> + His custom was to drink till he was a wreck, and then take drugs, either + by the mouth or subcutaneously, to steady himself. Chloroform and ether he + mixed together and drank, strychnine he injected. At the beginning of this + course, threepennyworth of laudanum would suffice him for three doses. At + the end, three years later (not to mention ether, chloroform, and + strychnine), he took of laudanum alone nearly a tablespoonful ten or + twelve times a day, a quantity, I understand, which is enough to kill five + or six horses. One of the results was that when he had to be operated on + for some malady, it was found impossible to bring him under the influence + of the anaesthetic. All that could be done was to deprive him of his power + of movement, in which state he had to bear the dreadful pain of the + operation. Afterwards the surgeon asked him if he were a drug-taker, and + he told me that he answered:— + </p> + <p> + 'Why, sir, I could have drunk all the lot you have been trying to give me, + without ever knowing the difference.' + </p> + <p> + In this condition, when he was such a wreck that he trembled from head to + foot and was contemplating suicide, he came into the hands of the Army, + and was sent down to the Hadleigh Farm. + </p> + <p> + Now comes the point of the story. At Hadleigh he 'got converted,' and from + that hour has never touched either drink or drugs. Moreover, he assured me + solemnly that he could go into a chemist's shop or a bar with money in his + pocket without feeling the slightest desire to indulge in such stimulants. + He said that after his conversion, he had a 'terrible fight' with his old + habits, the physical results of their discontinuance being most painful. + Subsequently, however, and by degrees, the craving left him entirely, I + asked him to what he attributed this extraordinary cure. He replied:— + </p> + <p> + 'To the power of God. If I trusted in my own strength I should certainly + fail, but the power of God keeps me from being overcome.' + </p> + <p> + Now these are only two out of a number of cases that I have seen myself, + in which a similar explanation of his cure has been given to me by the + person cured, and I would like to ask the unprejudiced and open-minded + reader how he explains them. Personally I cannot explain them except upon + an hypothesis which, as a practical person, I confess I hesitate to adopt. + I mean that of a direct interposition from above, or of the working of + something so unrecognized or so undefined in the nature of man (which it + will be remembered the old Egyptians, a very wise people, divided into + many component parts, whereof we have now lost count), that it may be + designated an innate superior power or principle, brought into action by + faith or 'suggestion.' + </p> + <p> + That these people who have been the slaves of, or possessed by certain + gross and palpable vices, of which drink is only one, are truly and + totally changed, there can be no question. To that I am able to bear + witness. The demoniacs of New Testament history cannot have been more + transformed; and I know of no stranger experience than to listen to such + men, as I have times and again, speaking of their past selves as entities + cast off and gone, and of their present selves as new creatures. It is, + indeed, one that throws a fresh light upon certain difficult passages in + the Epistles of St. Paul, and even upon the darker sayings of the Master + of mankind Himself. They do, in truth, seem to have been 'born again.' But + this is a line of thought that I will not attempt to follow; it lies + outside my sphere and the scope of these pages. + </p> + <p> + After the Officer who used to consume four bottles of whisky a day, and is + now in charge of the Salvation Army work in Greenock, had left the room, I + propounded these problems to Lieut.-Colonel Jolliffe and the Brigadier, as + I had done previously to Commissioner Sturgess. I pointed out that + religious conversion seemed to me to be a spiritual process, whereas the + craving for drink or any other carnal satisfaction was, or appeared to be, + a physical weakness of the body. Therefore, I did not understand how the + spiritual conversion could suddenly and permanently affect or remove the + physical desire, unless it were by the action of the phenomenon called + miracle, which mankind admits doubtfully to have been possible in the dim + period of the birth of a religion, but for the most part denies to be + possible in these latter days. + </p> + <p> + 'Quite so,' answered the Colonel, calmly, in almost the same words that + Commissioner Sturgess had used, 'it <i>is</i> miracle; that is our belief. + These men cannot change and purify themselves, their vices are + instantaneously, permanently, and miraculously removed by the power and + the Grace of God. This is the truth, and nothing more wonderful can be + conceived.' + </p> + <p> + Here, without further comment, I leave this deeply interesting matter to + the consideration of abler and better instructed persons than myself. + </p> + <p> + To come to something more mundane, which also deserves consideration, I + was informed that in Glasgow, with a population of about 900,000, there + exists a floating class of 80,000 people, who live in lodging-houses of + the same sort as, and mostly inferior to the Salvation Army Shelter of + which I am now writing. In other words, out of every twelve inhabitants of + this great city, one is driven to that method of obtaining a place to + sleep in at night. + </p> + <p> + In this particular Refuge there is what is called a free shelter room, + where people are accommodated in winter who have not even the few coppers + necessary to pay for a bed. During the month before my visit, which took + place in the summer-time, the Brigadier had allotted free beds in this + room to destitute persons to the value of £13. I may add that twice a week + this particular place is washed with a carbolic mixture! + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0032" id="link2H_4_0032"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE ARDENSHAW WOMEN'S HOME + </h2> + <h3> + GLASGOW + </h3> + <p> + I visited two of the Salvation Army's Women's Institutions in Glasgow. The + first of these was a Women's Rescue Home known as Ardenshaw. This is a + very good house, substantially built and well fitted up, that before it + was bought by the Army was the residence of a Glasgow merchant. It has + accommodation for thirty-six, and is always full. The inmates are of all + kinds, prison cases, preventive cases, fallen cases, drink cases. The very + worst of all these classes, however, are not taken in here, but sent to + the Refuge in High Street. Ardenshaw resembles other Homes of the same + sort that I have already dealt with in various cities, so I need not + describe it here. + </p> + <p> + Its Officers visit the prisons at Duke Street, Glasgow, Ayr, and Greenock, + and I saw a letter which had just arrived from the chaplain of one of + these jails, asking the Matron to interest herself in the case of a girl + coming up for trial, and to take her into a Home if she were discharged as + a first offender. + </p> + <p> + While I was eating some lunch in this house I noticed a young woman in + Salvation Army dress coming up the steps with a child of particularly + charming appearance. At my request she was brought into the room, where I + extracted from her a story which seems to be worth repeating as an + illustration of the spirit which animates so many members of the Army. + </p> + <p> + The young woman herself had once been an invalid who was taken into the + Home and nursed till she recovered, after which she was sent to a + situation in a large town. Here she came in contact with a poor family in + which the mother is a drunkard and the father a respectable, hardworking + man, and took a great fancy to one of the children, the little girl I have + mentioned. This child, who is about five years of age, it is her habit to + supply with clothes and more or less to feed. Unfortunately, however, when + the mother is on the drink she pawns the clothes which my Salvation Army + friend is obliged to redeem, since if she does not, little Bessie is left + almost naked. Indeed, before Bessie was brought away upon this particular + visit her protectress had to pay 14<i>s</i>. to recover her garments from + the pawnshop, a considerable sum out of a wage of about £18 a year. + </p> + <p> + I asked her why she did not take away this very fascinating child + altogether, and arrange for her to enter one of the Army Homes. She + answered because, although the mother would be glad enough to let her go, + the father, who is naturally fond of his children, objected. + </p> + <p> + 'Of which the result may be,' remarked Lieut.-Colonel Jolliffe grimly, + 'that about a dozen years hence that sweet little girl will become a + street-walking drunkard.' + </p> + <p> + 'Not while I live,' broke in her foster-mother, indignantly. + </p> + <p> + This kind-hearted little woman told me she had been six years in service + as sole maid-of-all-work in a large house. I inquired whether it was a + hard place. She replied that it would be easier if her four mistresses, + who are sisters and old maiden ladies, did not all take their meals at + four different times, have four different teapots, insist upon their + washing being sent to four different laundries, employ four different + doctors, and sleep in four different rooms. 'However,' she added, 'it is + not so difficult as it was as there used to be five, but one has died. + Also, they are kind to me in other ways and about Bessie. They like me to + come here for my holiday, as then they know I shall return on the right + day and at the right hour.' + </p> + <p> + When she had left the room, having in mind the capacities of the average + servant, and the outcry she is apt to make about her particular 'work,' I + said that it seemed strange that one young woman could fulfil all these + multifarious duties satisfactorily. + </p> + <p> + 'Oh,' said the matter-of-fact Colonel, 'you see, she belongs to the + Salvation Army, and looks at things from the point of view of her duty, + and not from that of her comfort.' + </p> + <p> + It is curious at what a tender age children learn to note the habits of + those about them. When this little Bessie was given <i>2d</i>. she lisped + out in her pretty Scotch accent, 'Mother winna have this for beer!' + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0033" id="link2H_4_0033"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE WOMEN'S LODGING-HOUSE + </h2> + <h3> + GLASGOW + </h3> + <p> + The last place that I visited in Glasgow was the Shelter for women, an + Institution of the same sort as the Shelter for men. It is a Lodging-house + in which women can have a bed at the price of 4<i>d</i>. per night; but if + that sum is not forthcoming, they are not, as a rule, turned away if they + are known to be destitute. + </p> + <p> + The class of people who frequent this Home is a very low one; for the most + part they are drunkards. They must leave the Shelter before ten o'clock in + the morning, when the majority of them go out hawking, selling laces, or + other odds and ends. Some of them earn as much as 2<i>s</i>. a day; but, + as a rule, they spend a good deal of what they earn, only saving enough to + pay for their night's lodging. This place has been open for sixteen years, + and contains 133 beds, which are almost always full. + </p> + <p> + The women whom I saw at this Shelter were a very rough-looking set, nearly + all elderly, and, as their filthy garments and marred countenances showed, + often the victims of drink. Still, they have good in them, for the lady in + charge assured me that they are generous to each other. If one of the + company has nothing they will collect the price of her bed or her food + between them, and even pay her debts, if these are not too large. There + were several children in the place, for each woman is allowed to bring in + one. When I was there many of the inmates were cooking their meals on the + common stove, and very curious and unappetizing these were. + </p> + <p> + Among them I noted a dark-eyed lassie of about sixteen who was crying. + Drawing her aside, I questioned her. It seemed that her father, a drunken + fellow, had turned her out of her home that afternoon because she had + forgotten to give him a message. Having nowhere to go she wandered about + the streets until she met a woman who told her of this Lodging-house. She + added, touchingly enough, that it was not her mother's fault. + </p> + <p> + Imagine a girl of sixteen thrown out to spend the night upon the streets + of Glasgow! + </p> + <p> + On the walls of one of the rooms I saw a notice that read oddly in a + Shelter for women. It ran:— + </p> + <p> + <i>Smoking is strictly prohibited after retiring</i>. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0034" id="link2H_4_0034"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE LAND AND INDUSTRIAL COLONY + </h2> + <h3> + HADLEIGH, ESSEX + </h3> + <p> + The Hadleigh Colony, of which Lieut.-Colonel Laurie is the Officer in + charge, is an estate of about 3,000 acres which was purchased by the + Salvation Army in the year 1891 at a cost of about £20 the acre, the land + being stiff clay of the usual Essex type. As it has chanced, owing to the + amount of building which is going on in the neighbourhood of Southend, and + to its proximity to London, that is within forty miles, the investment has + proved a very good one. I imagine that if ever it should come to the + hammer the Hadleigh Colony would fetch a great deal more than £20 the + acre, independently of its cultural improvements. These, of course, are + very great. For instance, more than 100 acres are now planted with + fruit-trees in full bearing. Also, there are brickfields which are + furnished with the best machinery and plant, ranges of tomato and salad + houses, and a large French garden where early vegetables are grown for + market. A portion of the land, however, still remains in the hands of + tenants, with whom the Army does not like to interfere. + </p> + <p> + The total turn-over of the land 'in hand' amounts to the large sum of over + £30,000 per annum, and the total capital invested is in the neighbourhood + of £110,000. Of this great sum about £78,000 is the cost of the land and + the buildings; the brickworks and other industries account for £12,000, + while the remaining £20,000 represents the value of the live and dead + stock. I believe that the mortgage remaining on the place, which the Army + had not funds to pay for outright, is now less than £50,000, borrowed at + about 4 per cent, and, needless to say, it is well secured. + </p> + <p> + Lieut.-Colonel Laurie informed me on the occasion of my last visit to + Hadleigh, in July, 1910, that taken as a whole even now the farm does not + pay its way.<a href="#linknote-6" name="linknoteref-6" id="linknoteref-6"><small>6</small></a> + This result is entirely owing to the character of the labour employed. At + first sight, as the men are paid but a trifling sum in cash, it would + appear that this labour must be extremely cheap. Investigation, however, + gives the story another colour. + </p> + <p> + It costs the Army 10<i>s</i>. a week to keep a man at Hadleigh in food and + lodgings, and in addition he receives a cash grant of from 6<i>d</i> to 5<i>s</i>. + a week. + </p> + <p> + Careful observation shows that the labour of three of these men, of whom + 92 per cent, be it remembered, come to the Colony through their drinking + habits, is about equal to that of one good agricultural hand who, in + Norfolk, reckoning in his harvest and sundries, would earn—let us + say, 18s. a week. Therefore, in practice where I, as a farmer, pay about + 18s., or in the case of carters and milkmen nearly £1, the Army pays £2, + circumstances under which it is indeed difficult to farm remuneratively in + England. + </p> + <p> + The object of the Hadleigh Colony is to supply a place where broken men of + bad habits, who chance in most cases to have had some connexion with or + liking for the land, can be reformed, and ultimately sent out to + situations, or as emigrants to Canada. About 400 of such men pass through + the Colony each year. Of these men, Lieut.-Colonel Laurie estimates that + 7-1/2 per cent prove absolute failures, although, he added that, 'it is + very, very difficult to determine as to when a man should be labelled an + absolute failure. He may leave us an apparent failure, and still come all + right in the end.' + </p> + <p> + The rest, namely 91 per cent or so, regain their place as decent and + useful members of society, a wonderful result which is brought about by + the pressure of discipline, tempered with kindness, and the influence of + steady and healthful work. + </p> + <p> + Persons of every class drift to this Colony. Thus, among the 230 Colonists + who were training there when I visited it in July, 1910, were two chemists + and a journalist, while a Church of England clergyman had just left it for + Canada. + </p> + <p> + As a specimen of the ruck, however, I will mention the first individual to + whom I happened to speak—a strong young man, who was weeding a bed + of onions. He told me that he had been a farm labourer in early life, and, + subsequently, for six years a coachman in a private livery stables in + London. He lost his place through drink, became a wanderer on the + Embankment, was picked up by the Salvation Army and sent to one of its + Elevator paper-works. Afterwards, he volunteered to work on the land at + Hadleigh, where he had then been employed for nine months. His ambition + was to emigrate to Canada, which, doubtless, he has now done, or is about + to do. Such cases might be duplicated by the dozen, but for this there is + no need. <i>Ex uno disce omnes</i>. + </p> + <p> + All the labour employed, however, is not of this class. For instance, the + next man to whom I spoke, who was engaged in ploughing up old cabbage land + with a pair of very useful four-year-olds, bred on the farm, was not a + Colonist but an agricultural hand, paid at the rate of wages usual in the + district. Another, who managed the tomato-houses, was a skilled + professional tomato-grower from the Channel Islands. The experience of the + managers of the Colony is that it is necessary to employ a certain number + of expert agriculturalists on the place, in order that they may train the + raw hands who come from London and elsewhere. + </p> + <p> + To a farmer, such as the present writer, a visit to Hadleigh is an + extremely interesting event, showing him, as it does, what can be done + upon cold and unkindly land by the aid of capital, intelligence, and + labour. Still I doubt whether a detailed description of all these + agricultural operations falls within the scope of a book such as that upon + which I am engaged. + </p> + <p> + Therefore, I will content myself with saying that this business, like + everything else that the Army undertakes, is carried out with great + thoroughness and considerable success. The extensive orchards are + admirably managed, and were fruitful even in the bad season of 1910. The + tomato-houses, which have recently been increased at a capital cost of + about £1,000, produce many tons of tomatoes, and the French garden is + excellent of its kind. The breed of Middle-white pigs is to be commended; + so much so in my judgment, and I can give no better testimonial, that at + the moment of writing I am trying to obtain from it a pedigree boar for my + own use. The Hadleigh poultry farm, too, is famous all over the world, and + the Officer who manages it was the President for 1910 of the Wyandotte + Society, fowls for which Hadleigh is famous, having taken the championship + prizes for this breed and others all over the kingdom. The cattle and + horses are also good of their class, and the crops in a trying year looked + extremely well. + </p> + <p> + All these things, however, are but a means to an end, which end is the + redemption of our fallen fellow-creatures, or such of them as come within + the reach of the work of the Salvation Army at this particular place. + </p> + <p> + I should add, perhaps, that there is a Citadel or gathering hall, which + will seat 400, where religious services are held and concerts are given on + Saturday nights for the amusement of the Colonists. I may mention that no + pressure is brought to bear to force any man in its charge to conform to + the religious principles of the Army. Indeed, many of these attend the + services at the neighbouring parish church. Notwithstanding the past + characters of those who live there, disturbances of any sort are unknown + at Hadleigh. Indeed, it is extremely rare for a case originating on the + Colony to come before the local magistrates. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0035" id="link2H_4_0035"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE SMALL-HOLDINGS SETTLEMENT + </h2> + <h3> + BOXTED, ESSEX + </h3> + <p> + General Booth and his Officers are, as I know from various conversations + with them, firmly convinced that many of the great and patent evils of our + civilization result from the desertion of the land by its inhabitants, and + that crowding into cities which is one of the most marked phenomena of our + time. Indeed, it was an identity of view upon this point, which is one + that I have advanced for years, that first brought me into contact with + the Salvation Army. But to preach the advantages of bringing people back + to the land is one thing, and to get them there quite another. Many + obstacles stand in the way. I need only mention two of these: the + necessity for large capital and the still more important necessity of + enabling those who are settled on it to earn out of Mother Earth a + sufficient living for themselves and their families. + </p> + <p> + That well-known philanthropist, the late Mr. Herring, was another person + much impressed with the importance of this matter, and I remember about + five years ago dining with him, with General Booth as my fellow-guest, on + an occasion when all this subject was gone into in detail. So lively, + indeed, was Mr. Herring's interest that he offered to advance a sum of + £100,000 to the Army, to be used in an experiment of land-settlement, + carried out under its auspices. Should that experiment prove successful, + the capital repaid by the tenants was to go to King Edward's Hospital + Fund, and should it fail, that capital was to be written off. Of this + £100,000, £40,000 has now been invested in the Boxted venture, and if this + succeeds, I understand that the balance will become available for other + ventures under the provisions of Mr. Herring's will. A long while must + elapse, however, before the result of the experiment can be definitely + ascertained. + </p> + <p> + The Boxted Settlement is situated In North Essex, about three miles from + Colchester, and covers an area of 400 acres. It is a flat place, that + before the Enclosures Acts was a heath, with good road frontages + throughout, an important point where small-holdings are concerned. The + soil is a medium loam over gravel, neither very good nor very bad, so far + as my judgment goes, and of course capable of great improvement under + intensive culture. + </p> + <p> + This estate, which altogether cost about £20 per acre to buy, has been + divided into sixty-seven holdings, varying in size from 4-1/2 acres to 7 + acres. The cottages which stand upon the holdings have been built in + pairs, at a cost of about £380 per pair, which price includes drainage, a + drinking well, and, I think, a soft-water cistern. These are extremely + good dwellings, and I was much struck with their substantial and practical + character. They comprise three bedrooms, a large living-room, a parlour, + and a scullery, containing a sink and a bath. Also there is a tool-house, + a pigstye, and a movable fowl-house on wheels. + </p> + <p> + On each holding an orchard of fruit trees has been planted in readiness + for the tenant, also strawberries, currants, gooseberries, and + raspberries, which in all occupy about three-quarters of an acre. The plan + is that the rest of the holding should be cultivated intensively upon a + system that is estimated to return £20 per acre. + </p> + <p> + The arrangement between the Army and its settlers is briefly as follows: + In every case the tenant begins without any capital, and is provided with + seeds and manures to carry him through the first two years, also with a + living allowance at the rate of 10<i>s</i>. a week for the man and his + wife, and 1<i>s</i>. a week for each child, which allowance is to cease + after he has marketed his first crops. + </p> + <p> + The tenancy terms are, that for two years the settler is a tenant at will, + the agreement being terminable by either party at any time without + compensation. At the end of these two years, subject to the approval of + the Director of the Settlement, the settler can take a 999 years' lease of + his holding, the Army for obvious reasons retaining the freehold. After + the first year of this lease, the rental payable for forty years is to be + 5 per cent per annum upon the capital invested in the settlement of the + man and his family upon the holding, which rent is to include the cost of + the house, land, and improvements, and all moneys advanced to him during + his period of probation. + </p> + <p> + It is estimated that this capital sum will average £520 per holding, so + that the tenant's annual rent for forty years will be £26, after which he + will have nothing more to pay save a nominal rent, and the remainder of + the lease will be the property of himself, or rather, of his descendants. + This property, I presume, will be saleable. + </p> + <p> + So, putting aside all legal technicalities and complications, it comes to + this: the tenant is started for two years after which he pays about £4 a + year rent per acre for the next forty years, and thereby virtually + purchases his holding. The whole question, which time alone can answer, is + whether a man can earn £4 per acre rent per annum, and, in addition, + provide a living for himself and family out of a five-acre holding on + medium land near Colchester. + </p> + <p> + The problem is one upon which I cannot venture to express any decisive + opinion, even after many years of experience of such matters. I trust, + however, that the answer may prove to be in the affirmative, and I am + quite sure that if any Organization is able to cause it to work out this + way, that Organization is the Salvation Army, whose brilliant business + capacity can, as I know, make a commercial success of the most unpromising + materials. + </p> + <p> + I should like to point out that this venture is one of great and almost of + national importance, because if it fails then it will be practically + proved that it is impossible to establish small holders on the land by + artificial means, at any rate, in England, and at the present prices of + agricultural produce. It is not often that a sum of £40,000 will be + available for such a purpose, and with it the direction of a charitable + Organization that seeks no profit, the oversight of an Officer as skilled + and experienced as Lieut.-Colonel Hiffe, and, in addition, a trained + Superintendent who will afford advice as to all agricultural matters, a + co-operative society ready to hire out implements, horses and carts at + cost price, and, if so desired, to undertake the distribution or marketing + of produce. Still, notwithstanding all these advantages, I have my + misgivings as to the ultimate result. + </p> + <p> + The men chosen to occupy these holdings by a Selection Committee of + Salvation Army Officers, are for the most part married people who were + born in the country, but had migrated to the towns. Most of them have more + or less kept themselves in touch with country life by cultivating + allotments during their period of urban residence, and precedence has been + given to those who have shown a real desire to return to the land. Other + essentials are a good character, both personal and as a worker, bodily and + mental health, and total abstention from any form of alcohol. No creed + test is required, and there are men of various religious faiths upon the + Settlement, only a proportion of them being Salvationists. + </p> + <p> + I interviewed two of these settlers at hazard upon their holdings, and, + although the year had been adverse, found them happy and hopeful. No. 1, + who had been a mechanic, proposed to increase his earnings by mending + bicycles. No. 2 was an agriculturist pure and simple, and showed me his + fowls and pigs with pride. Here, however, I found a little rift within the + rural lute, for on asking him how his wife liked the life he replied after + a little hesitation, 'Not very well, sir: you see, she has been accustomed + to a town.' + </p> + <p> + If she continues not to like it 'very well,' there will, I think, be an + end to that man's prospects as a small holder. + </p> + <p> + I had the pleasure of bring present in July, 1910, at the formal opening + of the Boxted Settlement, when the Salvation Army entertained several + hundred guests to luncheon, many of them very well-known people. The day + for a wonder was fine, General Booth spoke for over an hour in his most + characteristic and interesting way; the Chairman, Earl Carrington, + President of the Board of Agriculture, blessed the undertaking officially + and privately; everybody seemed pleased with the holdings, and, in short, + all went merrily as a marriage bell. + </p> + <p> + As I sat and listened, however, the query that arose in my mind was—What + would be the state of these holdings and of the tenants or of their + descendants on, say, that day thirty years? I trust and hope that it will + be a good state in both instances; but I must confess to certain doubts + and fears. + </p> + <p> + In this parish of Ditchingham, where I live, there is a man with a few + acres of land, an orchard, a greenhouse, etc. That man works his little + tenancy, deals in the surplus produce of large gardens, which he peddles + out in the neighbouring town, and, on an average, takes piecework on my + farm (at the moment of writing he and his son are hoeing mangolds) for two + or three days a week; at any rate, for a great part of the year. He is a + type of what I may call the natural small holder, and I believe does + fairly well. The question is, can the artificially created small holder, + who must pay a rent of £4 the acre, attain to a like result? + </p> + <p> + Again, I say I hope so most sincerely, for if not in England 'back to the + land' will prove but an empty catchword. At any rate, the country should + be most grateful to the late Mr. Herring, who provided the funds for this + intensely interesting experiment, and to the Salvation Army which is + carrying it out in the interests of the landless poor. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0036" id="link2H_4_0036"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + IMPRESSIONS OF GENERAL BOOTH + </h2> + <p> + It has occurred to the writer that a few words descriptive of William + Booth, the creator and first General of the Salvation Army, set down by a + contemporary who has enjoyed a good many opportunities of observing him + during the past ten years, may possibly have a future if not a present + value. + </p> + <p> + Of the greatness of this man, to my mind, there can be no doubt. When the + point of time whereon we stand and play our separate parts has receded, + and those who follow us look back into the grey mist which veils the past; + when that mist has hidden the glitter of the decorations and deadened the + echoes of the high-sounding titles of to-day; when our political tumults, + our town-bred excitements, and many of the very names that are household + words to us, are forgotten, or discoverable only in the pages of history; + when, perhaps, the Salvation Army itself has fulfilled its mission and + gone its road, I am certain that the figure of William Booth will abide + clearly visible in those shadows, and that the influences of his work will + remain, if not still felt, at least remembered and honoured. He will be + one of the few, of the very few enduring figures of our day; and even if + our civilization should be destined to undergo eclipse for a period, as + seems possible, when the light returns, by it he will still be seen. + </p> + <p> + For truly this work of his is fine, and one that appeals to the + imagination, although we are so near to it that few of us appreciate its + real proportions. Also, in fact, it is the work that should be admired + rather than the man, who, after all, is nothing but the instrument + appointed to shape it from the clay of circumstance. The clay lay ready to + be shaped, then appeared the moulder animated with will and purpose, and + working for the work's sake to an end which he could not foresee. + </p> + <p> + I have no information on the point, but I should be surprised to learn + that General Booth, when Providence moved him to begin his labours among + the poor, had even an inkling of their future growth within the short + period of his own life. He sowed a seed in faith and hope, and, in spite + of opposition and poverty, in spite of ridicule and of slander, he has + lived to see that seed ripen into a marvellous harvest. Directly, or + indirectly, hundreds of thousands of men and women throughout the world + have benefited by his efforts. He has been a tool of destiny, like Mahomet + or Napoleon, only in this case one fated to help and not to harm mankind. + Such, at least, is my estimate of him. + </p> + <p> + A little less of the spirit of self-sacrifice, a different sense of + responsibility, and the same strength of imagination and power of purpose + devoted to purely material objects, might have raised up another + multi-millionaire, or a mob-leader, or a self-seeking despot. But, as it + happened, some grace was given to him, and the river has run another way. + </p> + <p> + Opportunity, too, has played into his hands. He saw that the recognized + and established Creeds scarcely touched the great, sordid, lustful, + drink-sodden, poverty-steeped masses of the city populations of the world: + that they were waiting for a teacher who could speak to them in a tongue + they understood. He spoke, and some of them have listened: only a fraction + it is true, but still some. More, as it chanced, he married a wife who + entered into his thoughts, and was able to help to fulfil his aspirations, + and from that union were born descendants who, for the most part, are + fitted to carry on his labours. + </p> + <p> + Further, like Loyola, and others, he has the power of rule, being a born + leader of men, so that thousands obey his word without question in every + corner of the earth, although some of these have never seen his face. + Lastly, Nature endowed him with a striking presence that appeals to the + popular mind, with a considerable gift of speech, with great physical + strength and abounding energy, qualities which have enabled him to toil + without ceasing and to travel far and wide. Thus it comes about that as + truly as any man of our generation, when his hour is ended, he, too, I + believe, should be able to say with a clear conscience, 'I have finished + the work that Thou gavest me to do': although his heart may add, 'I have + not finished it as well as I could wish.' + </p> + <p> + Now let me try to convey my personal impressions of this man. I see him in + various conversations with myself, when he has thought that he could make + use of me to serve his ever-present and impersonal ends, trying to add me + up, wondering how far I was sincere, and to what extent I might be + influenced by private objects; then, at last, concluding that I was honest + in my own fashion, opening his heart little by little, and finally + appealing to me to aid him in his labours. + </p> + <p> + 'I like that man; <i>he understands me!</i>' I once heard him say, + mentioning my name, and believing that he was thinking, not speaking. + </p> + <p> + I tell this story merely to illustrate his habit of reflecting aloud, for + as he spoke these words I was standing beside him. When I repeated it to + his Officers, one of them remarked horrified:— + </p> + <p> + 'Good gracious! it might just as well have been something much less + complimentary. One never knows what he will say.' + </p> + <p> + He is an autocrat, whose word is law to thousands. Had he not been an + autocrat indeed, the Salvation Army would not exist to-day, for it sprang + from his brain like Minerva from the head of Jove, and has been driven to + success by his single, forceful will. + </p> + <p> + Yet this quality of masterfulness is tempered and illuminated by an + unfailing sense of humour, which he is quite ready to exercise at his own + expense. Thus, a few years ago he and I dined with the late Mr. Herring, + and, as a matter of fact, although I had certain things to say on the + matters under discussion, his flow of most interesting conversation did + not allow me over much opportunity of saying them. It is hard to compete + in words with one who has preached continually for fifty years! + </p> + <p> + When General Booth departed to catch a midnight train, for the Continent I + think, Mr. Herring went to see him to the door. Returning presently, much + amused, he repeated their parting words, which were as follows:— + </p> + <p> + GENERAL BOOTH: 'A very good fellow Haggard; but a talker, you know, + Herring, a talker!' + </p> + <p> + MR. HERRING (looking at him): 'Indeed!' + </p> + <p> + GENERAL BOOTH (laughing): 'Ah! Herring, you mean that it was <i>I</i> who + did the talking, not Haggard. Well, <i>perhaps I did</i>.' + </p> + <p> + Some people think that General Booth is conceited. + </p> + <p> + 'It is a pity that the old gentleman is so vain,' a highly-placed person + once said to me. + </p> + <p> + I answered that if he or I had done all that General Booth has done, we + might be pardoned a little vanity. + </p> + <p> + In truth, however, the charge is mistaken, for at bottom I believe him to + be a very humble-minded man, and one who does not in the least overrate + himself. This may be gathered, indeed, from the tenor of his remarks on + the subject of his personal value to the Army, that I have recorded at the + beginning of this book. + </p> + <p> + What people of slower mind and narrower views may mistake for pride, in + his case, I am sure, is but the impatient and unconscious assertiveness of + superior power, based upon vision and accumulated knowledge. Also, as a + general proposition, I believe vanity to be almost impossible to such a + man. So far as my experience of life goes, that scarce creature, the + innately, as distinguished from the accidentally eminent man, he who is + fashioned from Nature's gold, not merely gilded by circumstance, is never + vain. + </p> + <p> + Such a man knows but too well how poor is the fruit of his supremest + effort, how marred by secret weakness is what the world calls his + strength, and when his gifts are in the balance, how hard it would be for + any seeing judge to distinguish his success from common failure. It is the + little pinchbeck man, whom wealth, accident, or cheap cleverness has + thrust forward, who grows vain over triumphs that are not worth having, + not the great doer of deeds, or the seer whose imagination is wide enough + to enable him to understand his own utter insignificance in the scale of + things. + </p> + <p> + But to return to General Booth. Again I hear him explaining to me vast + schemes, as yet unrealized, that lurk at the back of his vivid, practical, + organizing brain. Schemes for settling tens of thousands of the city poor + upon unoccupied lands in sundry portions of the earth. Schemes for great + universities or training colleges, in which men and women might be + educated to deal with the social problems of our age on a scientific + basis. Schemes for obtaining Government assistance to enable the Army to + raise up the countless mass of criminals in many lands, taking charge of + them as they leave the jail, and by regenerating their fallen natures, + saving them soul and body. + </p> + <p> + In the last interview I had with him, I read to him a note I had made of a + conversation which had taken place a few days before between Mr. Roosevelt + and myself on the subject of the Salvation Army. Here is the note, or part + of it. + </p> + <p> + MR. ROOSEVELT: 'Why not make use of all this charitable energy, now often + misdirected, for national ends?' + </p> + <p> + MYSELF: 'What I have called "the waste forces of Benevolence." It is odd, + Mr. Roosevelt, that we should both have come to that conclusion.' + </p> + <p> + MR. ROOSEVELT: 'Yes, that's the term. You see the reason is that we are + both sensible men who understand.' + </p> + <p> + 'That is very important,' said General Booth, when he had heard this + extract. '"Make use of all this charitable energy, now often misdirected + for national ends!" Why not, indeed? Heaven knows it is often misdirected. + The Salvation Army has made mistakes enough. If only that could be done it + would be a great thing. But first we have got to make other people + "understand" besides Roosevelt and yourself.' + </p> + <p> + That, at least, was the sense of his words. + </p> + <p> + Once more I see him addressing a crowded meeting of City men in London, on + a murky winter afternoon. In five minutes he has gripped his audience with + his tale of things that are new to most of them, quite outside of their + experience. He lifts a curtain as it were, and shows them the awful misery + that lies often at their very office doors, and the duty which is theirs + to aid the fallen and the suffering. It is a long address, very long, but + none of the hearers are wearied. + </p> + <p> + At the end of it I had cause to meet him in his office about a certain + matter. He had stripped off his coat, and stood in the red jersey of his + uniform, the perspiration still streaming from him after the exertion of + his prolonged effort in that packed hall. As he spoke he ate his simple + meal of vegetables (mushrooms they were, I remember), and tea, for, like + most of his family, he never touches meat. Either he must see me while he + ate or not at all; and when there is work to be done, General Booth does + not think of convenience or of rest; moreover, as usual, there was a train + to catch. One of his peculiarities is that he seems always to be starting + for somewhere, often at the other side of the world. + </p> + <p> + Lastly, I see him on one of his tours. He is due to speak in a small + country town. His Officers have arrived to make arrangements, and are + waiting with the audience. It pours with rain, and he is late. At length + the motors dash up through the mud and wet, and out of the first of them + he appears, a tall, cloaked figure. Already that day he has addressed two + such meetings besides several roadside gatherings, and at night he must + speak to a great audience in a city fourteen miles away; also stop at this + place and at that before he gets there, for a like purpose. He is to + appear in the big city at eight, and already it is half-past three. + </p> + <p> + Five minutes later he has been assisted on to the platform (for this was + before his operation and he was almost blind), and for nearly an hour + pours out a ceaseless flood of eloquence, telling the history of his + Organization, telling of his life's work and of his heart's aims, asking + for their prayers and help. He looks a very old man now, much older than + when first I knew him, and with his handsome, somewhat Jewish face and + long, white beard, a very type of some prophet of Israel. So Abraham must + have looked, one thinks, or Jeremiah, or Elijah. But there is no weariness + in his voice or his gestures; and, as he exhorts and prays, his darkening + eyes seem to flash. + </p> + <p> + It is over. He bids farewell to the audience that he has never seen + before, and will never see again, invokes a fervent blessing on them, and + presently the motors are rushing away into the wet night, bearing with + them this burning fire of a man. + </p> + <p> + Such are some of my impressions of William Booth, General of the Salvation + Army. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0037" id="link2H_4_0037"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE CHIEF OF THE STAFF + </h2> + <p> + No account of the Salvation Army would be complete without some words + about Mr. Bramwell Booth, General Booth's eldest son and right-hand man, + who in the Army is known as the Chief of the Staff. Being convinced of + this, I sought an interview with him—the last of the many that I + have had in connexion with the present work. + </p> + <p> + In the Army Mr. Bramwell Booth is generally recognized as 'the power + behind the throne.' He it is who, seated in his office in London, directs + the affairs and administers the policy of this vast Organization in all + lands; the care of the countless Salvation Army churches is on his + shoulders, and has been for these many years. He does not travel outside + Europe; his work lies chiefly at home. I understand, however, that he + takes his share in the evangelical labours of the Army, and is a powerful + and convincing speaker, although I have never chanced to hear any of his + addresses. + </p> + <p> + In appearance at his present age of something over fifty, he is tall and + not robust, with an extremely sympathetic face that has about it little of + his father's rugged cast and sternness. Perhaps it is this evident + sympathy that commands the affection of so many, for I have been told more + than once that he is the best beloved man in the Army, and one who never + uses a stern word. + </p> + <p> + I found him busy and pressed for time, even more so, if possible, than I + was myself; he had but just arrived by an early train from some provincial + city. In fact, he was then engaged upon his annual visitation to all the + Field Officers in the country, which, as he explained, takes him away from + London for three days a week for a period of six weeks, and throws upon + him a considerable extra strain of mind and body. The diocese of the + Salvation Army is very extensive! + </p> + <p> + I said to Mr. Bramwell Booth that I desired from him his views of the Army + as a religious and a social force throughout the wide world, in every land + where it sets its foot. I wished to hear of the work considered as a + whole, likewise of that work in its various aspects, and of the different + races of mankind among which it is carried on. Also, amongst others, I put + to him the following specific questions:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + In what way and by what means does the Army adapt itself to + the needs and customs of the various peoples among whom it + is established? + + What is its comparative measure of success with each of + these peoples, and what future is anticipated for it among + them respectively? + + Where is the work advancing, where does it hang in the + balance, and where is it being driven backwards? + + What are your views upon the future of the Army as a + religious and social power throughout the world, bearing in + mind the undoubted difficulties with which it is confronted? + + Do you consider that now, after forty-five years of + existence, it is, speaking generally, on the downward or on + the upward grade? + + What information can you give me as to the position of the + Army in its relations with other religious bodies? +</pre> + <p> + At this point Mr. Bramwell Booth inquired mildly how much time I had to + spare. The result of my answer was that we agreed together that it was + clearly impossible to deal with all these great matters in an interview. + So it was decided that he should take time to think them over, and should + furnish his replies in the form of a written memorandum. This he has done, + and I may say without flattery that the paper which he has drawn up is one + of the most clear and broad-minded that I have had the pleasure of reading + for a long while. Since it is too long to be used as a quotation, I print + it in an appendix,<a href="#linknote-7" name="linknoteref-7" + id="linknoteref-7"><small>7</small></a> trusting sincerely that all who + are interested in the Salvation Army in its various aspects will not + neglect its perusal. Indeed, it is a valuable and an authoritative + document, composed by perhaps the only person in the world who, from his + place and information, is equal to the task. + </p> + <p> + Personally I venture upon neither criticism nor comment, whose rôle + throughout all these pages is but that of a showman, although I trust one + not altogether devoid of insight into the matter in hand. + </p> + <p> + To only one point will I call attention—that of the general note of + confidence which runs through Mr. Bramwell Booth's remarks. Clearly he at + least does not believe that the Salvation Army is in danger of + dissolution. Like his father, he believes that it will go on from good to + good and from strength to strength. + </p> + <p> + There remain, however, one or two other points that we discussed together + to which I will allude. Thus I asked him if he had anything to say as to + the attacks which from time to time were made upon the Army. He replied as + his father had done: 'Nothing, except that they were best left to answer + themselves.' + </p> + <p> + Then our conversation turned to the matter of the resignation of certain + Officers of the Army which had caused some passing public remark. + </p> + <p> + 'We have an old saying here,' he said, with some humour, 'that we do not + often lose any one whom we very much desire to keep.' + </p> + <p> + I pointed out that I had heard allegations made to the effect that the + Army Officers were badly paid, hardly treated, and, when they proved of no + more use, let go to find a living as best they could. + </p> + <p> + He replied that, as to the matter of money, the Army had established a + Pension fund in all the Western countries, which now amounts to a large + total. In this country the sum was about £44,000, and during 1909 about + £1,800 had been paid here in pensions. This, however, was only a + beginning, but he thought that the effort was being made on the right + lines, and that, notwithstanding their poverty, a really adequate Pension + fund would be built up in due course. + </p> + <p> + Then of a sudden he became eloquent. He said he admitted that the Army had + little to offer. Those who came into its service knew that this was so; + that they had no hope of temporal reward; that thenceforth the great + feature of their life and work was that it must be filled with labour and + self-denial. The whole business of helping and saving our fellow-creatures + was one of struggle and suffering. Sacrifice was the key-note of + Christianity as laid down by its Founder. Those who sought money and + temporal honour must look elsewhere than to the Salvation Army. Its pride + and glory was that thousands were willing to suffer and deny themselves + from year to year, and to find their joy and their recompense in the + consciousness that they were doing something, however little, to lighten + the darkness and relieve the misery of the world. + </p> + <p> + Here are some of his actual words upon this matter that I will quote, as I + cannot better them:— + </p> + <p> + 'The two facts of real consequence about our Officers are these: First, + that their numbers go on increasing year by year, and second, that they + remain devoted to their work, very poor, and absolutely bent on obtaining + a reward in Heaven. But let me quote here from General Booth on this + matter:— + </p> + <p> + '"I resolved that no disadvantage as to birth, or education, or social + condition should debar any one from entering the list of combatants so + long as he was one with me in love for God, in faith for the salvation of + men, and in willingness to obey the orders he should receive from me and + from those I authorized to direct him. I have, of course, had many + disappointments—not a few of them very hard to bear at the time—but + from the early days of 1868, when I engaged my first recognized helper, to + 1878, when the number had increased by slow degrees to about 100, and on + to the present day, when their number is rapidly approaching 20,000, there + has not been a single year without its increase, not only in quantity, but + in quality. + </p> + <p> + '"I am sometimes asked, What about those who have left me? Well, I am + thankful to say that we remain in sympathetic and friendly relations with + the great bulk of them. It was to be expected that in work such as ours, + demanding, as it does, not only arduous toil and constant self-denial and + often real hardships of one kind or another, some should prove unworthy, + some should grow weary, and others should faint by the way, whilst others + again, though very excellent souls, should prove unsuitable. It could not + be otherwise, for we are engaged in real warfare, and whoever heard of war + without wounds and losses? But even of those who do thus step aside from + the position of Officers, a large proportion—in this country nine + out of ten—remain with us, engaged in some voluntary effort in our + ranks."' + </p> + <p> + 'But,' continued Mr. Bramwell Booth, 'I would be the last person to + minimize our losses. They may be accounted for in the most natural way, + and yet we cannot but feel them and suffer from them. And yet it is all + just a repetition of the Bible stories of all ages; nay, of all stories of + genuine fighting in any great cause. The great feature of our present + experience in this matter is that the number who go out from us grows + every year smaller in proportion to the whole, and that, as the General + says in the above extract, a very large proportion of those continue in + friendly relations with us. + </p> + <p> + 'The triumph of these splendid men and women, in the face of every kind of + difficulty in every part of the world is, however, really a triumph of + their faith. It is not the Army, it is not their leaders, it is not even + the wonderful devotion which many of them manifest, which is the secret of + their continued life and continued success, nor is it any confidence in + their own abilities. No! The true representative of the Army is relying at + every turn upon the presence, guidance, and help of God in trying to carry + out the Father's purpose with respect to every lost and suffering child of + man. By that test, alike in the present and future, we must ever stand or + fall. The Army is either a work of faith or it is nothing at all. + </p> + <p> + 'Everything throughout all our ranks can really be brought to that test, + and I regard with composure every loss and attack, every puzzle and + danger, chiefly because I rely upon my comrades' trust in God being + responded to by Him according to their need.' + </p> + <p> + Perhaps I may be allowed to add a few remarks upon this subject. A great + deal is made of the resignation of a few Salvation Army Officers in order + that they may accept excellent posts in other walks of life; indeed, it is + not uncommon to see it stated that such resignations herald the + dissolution of the Society. Inasmuch as the number of the Army's Officers + is nearing 20,000 it would seem that it can very well spare a few of them. + What fills me with wonder is not that some go, but that so many remain. <i>This</i> + is one of the facts which, amongst much that is discouraging, convinces me + of the innate nobility of man. An old friend of mine of pious disposition + once remarked to me that <i>he</i> could never have been a Christian + martyr. At the first twist of the cord, or the first nip of the red-hot + pincers, he was sure that <i>he</i> would have thrown incense by the + handful upon the altar of any heathen god or goddess that was fashionable + at the moment. His spirit might have been willing, but his flesh would + certainly have proved weak. + </p> + <p> + I sympathized with the honesty of this confession, and in the same way I + sympathize with those Officers of the Salvation Army who, in racing slang, + cannot 'stay the course.' + </p> + <p> + Let us consider the lot of these men. Any who have entered on even a + secular crusade, something that takes them off the beaten, official paths, + that leads them through the thorns and wildernesses of a new, untravelled + country, towards some distant goal seen dimly, or not seen at all except + in dreams, will know what such an undertaking means. It means snakes in + the grass; it means savages, or in other words veiled and poisonous + hatreds and bitter foes, or, still worse, treacherous friends. The + crusader may get through, in which case no one will thank him except, + perhaps, after he is dead. Or he may fail and perish, in which case every + one will mock at him. Or he may retreat discouraged and return to the + official road, in which case his friends will remark that they are glad to + see that his insanity was only of the intermittent order, and that at + length he has learned his place in the world and to whom he ought to touch + his cap. + </p> + <p> + Well, these are official roads to Heaven as well as to the House of Lords + and other mundane goals, a fact which the Salvation Army Officer and + others of his kind have probably found out. On the official road, if he + has interest and ability—the first is to be preferred—he might + have become anything, and with ordinary fortune would certainly have + become something. + </p> + <p> + But on the path that he has chosen what is there for him to gain? An + inheritance of dim glory beyond the stars, obscured doubtless from time to + time, if he is like other men, by sudden and sickening eclipses of his + faith. And meanwhile the daily round, the insolent gibe, and the bitter + ingratitude of men that leaves him grieving. Also not enough money to pay + for a cab when it is wet, and considerable uncertainty as to the future of + his children, and even as to his own old age. Few comforts for him, not + even those of a glass of wine to stimulate him, or of tobacco to soothe + his nerves, for these are forbidden to him by the rules of his Order. + Unless he can reach the very top of his particular tree also, which it is + most unlikely that he will, no public recognition even of his faithful, + strenuous work, and who is there that at heart does not long for public + recognition? In short, nothing that is desirable to man save the + consciousness of a virtue which, after all, he must feel to be indifferent + (being well aware of his own secret faults), and the satisfaction of + having helped a certain number of lame human dogs over moral or physical + stiles. + </p> + <p> + In such a case and in a world which we must admit to be selfish and + imperfect, the wonder is not that certain Salvation Army Officers, being + trained men of high ability, yield to tempting offers and go, but that so + many of them remain. + </p> + <p> + 'Look at my case,' said one of them to me. 'With my experience and + organizing ability I am worth £2,000 a year as the manager of any big + business, and I could have it if I liked. Here I get about £200!' + </p> + <p> + This was one of those who remain. I say all honour to such noble souls, + for surely they are of the salt of the earth. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0038" id="link2H_4_0038"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + NOTE ON THE RELIGION OF THE SALVATION ARMY + </h2> + <p> + The religious faith of the Salvation Army, as I have observed and + understand it (for little has been said to me on this matter), is + extremely simple. It believes in an eternal Heaven for the righteous and—a + sad doctrine this, some of us may think—in a Hell, equally eternal, + for the wicked.<a href="#linknote-8" name="linknoteref-8" + id="linknoteref-8"><small>8</small></a> Its bedrock is the Bible, + especially the New Testament, which it accepts as true without + qualification, from the first word to the last, troubling itself with no + doubts or criticisms. Especially does it believe in the dual nature of the + Saviour, in Christ as God, and in Christ as man, and in the possibility of + forgiveness and redemption for even the most degraded and defiled of human + beings. Love is its watchword, the spirit of love is its spirit, love + arrayed in the garments of charity. + </p> + <p> + In essentials, with one exception, its doctrines much resemble those of + the Church of England, and of various dissenting Protestant bodies. The + exception is, that it does not make use of the Sacraments, even of that of + Communion, although, on the other hand, it does not deny the efficacy of + those Sacraments, or object to others, even if they be members of the + Army, availing themselves of them. Thus, I have known an Army Officer to + join in the Communion Service. The reason for this exception is, I + believe, that in the view of General Booth, the Sacraments complicate + matters, are open to argument and attack, and are not understood by the + majority of the classes with which the Army deals. How their omission is + reconciled with certain prominent passages and directions laid down in the + New Testament I do not know. To me, I confess, this disregard of them + seems illogical. + </p> + <p> + The motto of the Army is 'Salvation for all,' and, as I have hinted in + these pages, it has a sure conviction of the essential persistence of + miracle in these modern days. It holds that when a man kneels at the + Penitent-Form and 'gets converted,' a miracle takes place within him, if + his repentance is true, and that thenceforward some Grace from on High + will give him the power to overcome the evil in his heart and blood. + </p> + <p> + It believes, too, in the instant efficacy of earnest prayer, and in the + possibility of direct communication by this means between man and his + Maker. + </p> + <p> + Here is an instance of this statement. While inspecting the Shelters in + one of the provincial cities, I was shown a certain building which had + recently passed into the possession of the Army. The Officer who was + conducting me said that the negotiations preliminary to the acquisition of + the lease of this building had been long and difficult. I remarked that + these must have caused him anxiety. 'Oh, no,' he answered, simply. 'You + see I had talked with the Lord about it, and I knew that we should get the + place in the end.' + </p> + <p> + This reply may cause some to smile, but I confess I find such childlike + faith touching and even beautiful. + </p> + <p> + There is small doubt that consciously or unconsciously, the Salvation Army + has followed St. Paul's example of being all things to all men, if 'by all + means' it may save some. This is the reason of its methods which to many + seem so vulgar and offensive. Once I spoke to an Officer high up in the + Army of this matter, instancing, amongst other things, its brass bands and + loud-voiced preaching at street corners. + </p> + <p> + 'My dear sir,' he replied, 'if we came to convert <i>you</i>, we should + not bring a brass band or send a missionary who shouted out sacred names + every minute. Possibly, if we thought that you were open to the influences + of music, we might send a first-rate violinist to play pieces from the + classical masters, and we should certainly send a man whom we knew to be + your intellectual equal, and who could therefore appeal to your reason. + But our mission at present is not so much to you and your class, as to the + dregs of humanity. The folk we deal with live in a state of noise of which + you have no conception, and if we want to force them to listen to us, we + must begin by making a greater noise in order to attract their attention + at all. In the same way it is of no use wasting subtleties on them; we + have to go straight to the main points, which are clear and sharp enough + to pierce their drink-besotted intelligences, or to reach any fragment of + conscience they may have remaining in them.' + </p> + <p> + I thought the argument sound and well put, and results have proved its + force, since the Salvation Army undoubtedly gets a hold of people that few + other forms of religious effort seem able to grasp, at least to any + considerable extent. + </p> + <p> + I wish to make it clear, however, that I hold no particular brief for the + Army, its theology, and its methods. I recognize fully, as I know it does, + the splendid work that is being done in the religious and social fields by + other Organizations of the same class, especially by Dr. Barnardo's Homes, + by the Waifs and Strays Society, by the Church Army, and, above all, + perhaps, by another Society, with which I have had the honour to be + connected in a humble capacity for many years, that for the Prevention of + Cruelty to Children. Still it remains true that the Salvation Army is + unique, if only on account of the colossal scale of its operations. Its + fertilizing stream flows on steadily from land to land, till it bids fair + to irrigate the whole earth. What I have written about is but one little + segment of a work which flourishes everywhere, and even lifts its head in + Roman Catholic countries, although in these, as yet, it makes no very + great progress. + </p> + <p> + How potent then, and how generally suited to the needs of stained and + suffering mankind, must be that religion which appeals both to the West + and to the East, which is as much at home in Java and Korea as it is in + Copenhagen or Glasgow. For it should be borne in mind that the basis of + the Salvation Army is religious, that it aims, above everything, at the + conversion of men to an active and lively faith in the plain, + uncomplicated tenets of Christianity to the benefit of their souls in some + future state of existence and, incidentally, to the Reformation of their + characters while on earth. + </p> + <p> + The social work of which I have been treating is a mere by-product or + consequence of its main idea. Experience has shown, that it is of little + use to talk about his soul to a man with an empty stomach. First, he must + be fed and cleansed and given some other habitation than the street. Also + the Army has learned that Christ still walks the earth in the shape of + Charity; and that religion, after all, is best preached by putting its + maxims into practice; that the poor are always with us; and that the first + duty of the Christian is to bind their wounds and soothe their sorrows. + Afterwards, he may hope to cure them of their sins, for he knows that + unless such a cure is effected, temporal assistance avails but little. + Except in cases of pure misfortune which stand upon another, and, so far + as the Army work is concerned, upon an outside footing, the causes of the + fall must be removed, or that fall will be repeated. The man or woman must + be born again, must be regenerated. Such, as I understand it, is at once + the belief of the Salvation Army and the object of all its efforts. + Therefore, I give to this book its title of 'Regeneration.' + </p> + <h3> + THE NEED IS GREAT! + </h3> + <hr /> + <p> + <i>The principal items of the Salvation Army's expenditure for Social Work + during the financial year ending September 30, 1911, are as follows, and + help is earnestly asked to meet these, the work being entirely dependent + upon Voluntary Gifts</i>. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> +For Maintenance of Work amongst the Destitute + and Outcast Men and Women, including Shelters + for Homeless Men and Women, Homes for Children, + Rescue Homes, etc..................................... £15,000 +</pre> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> +For Maintenance of the Slum Sisterhood and Nurses + for the Sick Poor..................................... £3,000 +</pre> + <p> + For Prison Visitation Staff and Prison-Gate Work........ £5,000 + </p> + <p> + For Work among Youths and Boys.......................... £2,000 + </p> + <p> + For Special Relief and Distress Agencies................ £5,000 + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> +For Development of the Work and Agricultural + Departments of the Hadleigh Colony.................... £3,000 +</pre> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> +For Assistance and Partial Maintenance of the + Unemployed and Inefficient............................ £5,000 +</pre> + <p> + For Assisting suitable Men and Women to Emigrate........ £3,000 + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> +Towards the provision of New Institutions for Men + and Boys in London and various provincial Cities...... £10,000 +</pre> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> +For the General Management and Supervision of all + the above Operations.................................. £2,000 + ———- + £53,000 +</pre> + <p> + Cheques and Postal Orders should be made payable to WILLIAM BOOTH, crossed + 'Bank of England, Law Courts Branch,' and sent to MRS. BOOTH, 101 Queen + Victoria Street, London, E.C. Clothes for the poor and articles for sale + are always needed. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0039" id="link2H_4_0039"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + LEGACIES + </h2> + <hr /> + <p> + Ladies and Gentlemen are earnestly asked to remember the needs of the + Salvation Army's Social Work (the 'Darkest England' Social Scheme), in + connexion with the preparation of their wills. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + All kinds of property can now be legally bequeathed for charitable + purposes, and the following form of legacy is recommended. Where a legacy + does not consist of a certain amount of money, care should be taken to + identify clearly the property, shares, stock, or whatever it may be + intended to be bequeathed. + </p> + <p> + <i>'I GIVE AND BEQUEATH TO WILLIAM BOOTH, or other the General for the + time being of the Salvation Army, and Director of the "Darkest England" + Social Scheme, the sum of £............</i> (or) <i>MY TWO freehold houses + known as Nos.......... in the county of................</i> (or) <i>my + £............ ordinary stock of the London and North-Western Railway + Company</i> (or) <i>my shares in............Limited</i> (or as the case + may be) <i>to be used or applied by him, at his discretion, for the + general purposes of the "Darkest England" Social Scheme. And I direct the + said last-mentioned Legacy to be paid within twelve months after my + decease.'</i> + </p> + <hr /> + <h3> + DIRECTIONS FOR EXECUTION OF WILL + </h3> + <hr /> + <p> + The Will must be executed by the Testator in the presence of two + witnesses, who must sign their names, addresses, and occupations at the + end of the Will in the presence of the Testator. The best method to adopt + for a Testator to be quite sure that his Will is executed properly, is for + him to take the Will and his two witnesses into a room, lock the door, and + tell the witnesses that he wishes them to attest his Will. All three must + sign in the room and nobody must go out until all have signed. + </p> + <p> + GENERAL BOOTH will always be pleased to procure further advice for any + friends desiring to benefit the Salvation Army's work in any of its + departments, by Will or otherwise, and will treat any communications made + to him on the subject as strictly private and confidential. Letters + dealing with the matter should be marked Private, and addressed to GENERAL + BOOTH, 101 QUEEN VICTORIA STREET, LONDON, E.C. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_APPEA" id="link2H_APPEA"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + APPENDIX A + </h2> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_NOTE" id="link2H_NOTE"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + NOTES ON THE ARMY'S FUTURE + </h2> + <h3> + (Following My Conversation with Mr. Rider Haggard) + </h3> + <h3> + BY BRAMWELL BOOTH + </h3> + <p> + When asked to give my own view of the present and probable future + influence of the Salvation Army upon the world, I feel in no danger of + exaggeration. If any one could imagine what it has been for me to sit at + its centre almost without intermission for more than thirty-five years, + receiving continual reports of its development and progress in one nation + after another, studying from within not only its strength and vitality, + but its weaknesses and failures, and labouring to devise remedies and + preventatives, until what was a little unknown Mission in the East End of + London has become the widely, I might almost say, the universally + recognized Army of to-day, he could perhaps understand something of my + great confidence. + </p> + <p> + Curious indeed seem to be the thoughts of many people about us!—people, + I mean, who have only had a glance at one of our open-air meetings, or + have only heard some wild challenge of General Booth's good faith, and + have then more or less carefully avoided any closer acquaintance with us. + They often appear to be under the impression that you have only to + persuade a few people to march through any crowded thoroughfare with a + band, to gather a congregation, and, if you please, to form out of it an + Army, and from that again to secure a vast revenue! I often wish that such + people could know the struggles of almost every individual, even amongst + the very poorest, between the moment of first contact with us and that of + resolving to enlist in our ranks. How few, even now, seem aware of the + fact that so far from paying or rewarding any one for joining in our + efforts, all who do so are from the first called upon daily not only to + give to our funds, but by sacrifice of time, labour, money, and often of + health as well, to constitute themselves efficient soldiers of their + Corps, and assist in providing it with every necessity. + </p> + <p> + Every one of the 3,000,000 meetings held annually, even in this country, + depends upon the voluntary giving up of the time and effort of working-men + and women who have in most cases to hurry from work to home, and from home + to meeting-place, after a hard day's labour. Much the same may be said of + the 450,000 meetings held annually on the Continent of Europe; with this + difference, that our people there have mostly to begin work earlier in the + day, and to conclude much later than is the case here. Their evening + meetings, in conformity with the habits of the country concerned, must + needs be begun, therefore, later, and conclude much later than similar + gatherings in the United Kingdom. + </p> + <p> + A cursory glance through the seventy-four newspapers and periodicals + published by the Army—generally weekly—in twenty-one + languages, would show any one how variously our people everywhere are + seeking to meet the different habits of life in each country, and how + constantly new plans are being tried to attain the supreme object of all + our multitudinous agencies—the arousing of men's attention to the + claims of God and their ingathering to His Kingdom. + </p> + <p> + The original plan adopted in this country of going to the people by means + of meetings and marches in the streets, is in many lands not legally + permissible, while in others it is almost useless. Our leaders, therefore, + have always to be finding out other means of attaining the same end. This + has resulted in very great gains of liberty in several ways. On the + Continent, for example, though it is not possible to get a general + permission to hold open-air meetings in the streets, it is becoming more + and more usual to let our people hold such gatherings in the large + pleasure-grounds, provided within or on the outskirts both of the great + cities and the lesser towns. In some cases the announcements of further + meetings, made somewhat after the style of the public crier, develops into + a series of short open-air addresses. In other cases, conspicuously in + Italy, where our work is only as yet in its infancy—the sale of our + paper, both by individual hawkers and by groups of comrades singing the + songs it contains in marketplaces, largely makes up for the want of the + more regularized open-air work. + </p> + <p> + And in the courts of the great blocks of buildings which abound in cities + like Berlin, Copenhagen, Stockholm, and elsewhere, meetings are held which + are really often more effective in impressing whole families of various + classes than any of our open-air proceedings in countries like England and + the United States. + </p> + <p> + But everywhere the Army seeks especially, though not by any means + exclusively, for those who are to be found frequenting the public-houses, + cafes, beer gardens, dives, saloons, and other drinking-places of the + world. In all countries our people sell our papers amidst these crowds, as + well as at the doors of the theatres and other places of amusement, and + the mere offer of these papers, now that their unflinching character as to + God and goodness is well known, constitutes an act of war, a submission to + which in so many million cases is no slight evidence of confidence among + the masses of the people in our sincerity, and, so far, a sign of our + success. + </p> + <p> + But 'The War Cry' seller is in the countries of more scattered population, + such as Switzerland, some of the colonies, and large parts of India, much + more than is the case in the big cities, the representative of every form + of helpfulness. He, or she, not merely offers the paper for sale to those + who have neither opportunity nor inclination to attend religious services + of any kind, but enters himself where no paper ever comes, holds little + meetings with groups of those who have never prayed, heartens those who + are sinking down under pressure of calamity, visits the sick-room of the + friendless, and often becomes the intermediary of the suffering and + destitute and those who can help them in their dismal necessities. + </p> + <p> + Of the persistent hopefulness with which our people everywhere go to the + apparently abandoned, I will only say that it constitutes a store of moral + and material help, not only for those people themselves, but for all who + become acquainted with it, the value of which in the present it is + difficult to exaggerate, and the influence of which on the future it is + equally difficult to over-estimate. + </p> + <p> + While leaving the utmost possible freedom for initiative to our leaders, + we are seeking everywhere to solidify and regularize every effort that has + once been shown to be of any practical use. Any one amongst us, down to + the youngest and poorest in any part of the world, may do a new thing next + week which will prove a blessing to his fellows, and some one will be on + the watch to see that that good thing, once done, be repeated, and, so far + as may be, kept up in perpetuity. + </p> + <p> + Where special classes of needs exist, we must of course employ special + agencies. The vitality and adaptability of the Army in the presence of new + opportunities is one of the happy auguries for the future. While all that + is virile and forceful in it increases, there is less and less of the + rigid and formal. + </p> + <p> + Fourteen or fifteen years ago some Officers were set apart to visit the + Lapps who range over all the Territories to the north of Scandinavia. This + meant at first only months of solitary travelling during the summer, and + no little suffering in the winter, with little apparent result. But + gradually a system of meetings was established, the people's confidence + was gained, and at length it has been found possible to group together + various centres of regular activity amongst these interesting but + little-known people, and now experienced leaders will see both to the + permanence of all that has already been begun, and to the further + extension of the work. + </p> + <p> + In Holland, where our work has assumed the proportions of a national + movement, the beneficent effects of which are recognized by all classes, + the canal population is helped by means of a small sailing ship, on which + are held regular meetings for them. Our Norwegian people also have a + life-boat called the <i>Catherine Booth</i> stationed upon a stormy and + difficult part of the coast, which not only goes out to help into safety + boats and boats' crews, but whose crew also holds meetings on islands in + remote fisher hamlets where no other religious visitors come. + </p> + <p> + The same principle of adaptation to local conditions and requirements + will, I doubt not, quickly ensure success for the small detachment of + Officers we have just sent to commence operations in Russia. + </p> + <p> + In Dutch India we have not only a growing Missionary work amongst both + Javanese and Chinese, but Government Institutions have been placed under + our care, where lepers, the blind, and other infirm natives, as well as + neglected children, are medically cared for and helped in other ways. + </p> + <p> + In South Africa, both English and Dutch-speaking peoples are united under + one Flag, and give themselves up to work amongst the native races round + them—races which constitute so grave a problem in the eyes of all + thoughtful men who know anything of the true position in South Africa. One + of the latest items of news is that an Angoni has accepted salvation at + one of our settlements in Mashonaland, and on return to his own home and + work—lying away between Lake Nyassa and the Zambezi—has begun + to hold meetings and to exercise an influence upon his people which cannot + but end in the establishment of our work amongst them. + </p> + <p> + But, to my mind, one of the most important features of our work in all + Eastern and African lands is our development of the native power under + experienced guidance to purely Salvationist and therefore non-political + purposes. Surely the most potent possible corrective for the sort of half + rebel influence that has grown or is growing up in Africa under the name + of Ethiopianism, as well as for much of the strange uneasiness among the + dumb masses of India, is the complete organization of native races under + leaders who, whilst of their own people, are devoted to the highest + ethical aims, and stand in happy subjection to men of other lands who have + given them a training in discipline and unity which does not contemplate + bloodshed. + </p> + <p> + We are now beginning both in India and Africa, as well as in the West + Indies, to find experienced native Officers capable of taking Staff + positions; that is, of becoming reliable leaders in large districts where + we are at work. These men have not merely all the advantages of language + and of fitness for the varieties of climate which are so trying to + Westerners, but they show a courage and tenacity and tact—in short, + a capacity for leadership and administration such as no one—at any + rate, no one that I know of—expected to find in them. Here is opened + a prospect of the highest significance. + </p> + <p> + More than can be easily estimated has been done in spreading information + about us for some years past by Salvationists belonging to various + national armies and navies. We encourage all such men to group themselves + into brigades, so far as may be allowed, in their various barracks and + ships. Thus united, they work for their mutual encouragement, and for the + spreading of good influences among others. It was such a little handful + that really began our work in the West Indies, and we have now a Corps in + Sierra Leone, on the west coast of Africa, formed by men of a West Indian + regiment temporarily quartered there. The same thing has happened in + Sumatra by means of Dutch and Javanese soldiers. + </p> + <p> + For British India we naturally felt ourselves first of all, as to the + heathen world, under obligation to do something. And no inconsiderable + results have followed the efforts which were first commenced there + twenty-eight years ago. Our pioneers, though they greatly disturbed the + official white world, won the hearts of the people at a stroke, by wearing + Indian dress, living amongst and in the style of the poorer villages. Soon + Indian converts offered themselves for service, and after training; were + commissioned as Officers, and it was at once seen that they would be far + more influential than any foreigners. From the point at which that + discovery was really made, the work assumed important proportions, passing + at once in large measure from the position of a foreign mission to being a + movement of the people themselves. + </p> + <p> + The vastness of the country and the difference of language have led to our + treating it as five separate commands, now under the general lead of one + headquarters. Incidentally, this has helped us in dealing with some of the + difficulties connected with caste, as it has been possible to remove + Indian Officers from one part of India to another, and we have made some + efforts which have, I admit, proved less successful in some districts than + in others, to deal with castes which, within their own lines, are often + little more than Trade Unions with a mixture of superstition. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile, the practical character of our work has shown itself in efforts + to help in various ways the lowest of the people to improve their + circumstances. The need for this is instantly apparent when one reflects + that some 40,000,000 of the inhabitants of India are always hungry. A + system of loan banks, which has now been adopted in part by the + Government, has been of great service to the small agriculturalists. The + invention of an extremely simple and yet greatly improved hand loom has + proved, and will prove, very valuable to the weavers. New plans of relief + in times of scarcity and famine have also greatly helped in some districts + to win the confidence of the people. Industrial schools, chiefly for + orphan children, have also been a feature of the work in some districts. + </p> + <p> + Recently the Government, having seen with what success our people have + laboured for the salvation of the lower castes, have decided to hand over + to us the special care of several of the criminal tribes, who are really + the remnants of the Aborigines. Although this work is at present only in + its experimental stage, all who have examined the results so far have been + delighted at the rapidity with which we have brought many into habits of + self-supporting industry, who, with their fathers before them, had been + accustomed to live entirely by plunder. About 2,000 persons of this class + are already under our care. + </p> + <p> + There are some 3,000,000 of these robbers in different parts of India. + They are only kept under anything like control at great cost for police + and military supervision; but we are satisfied that, if reasonable support + be given, a great proportion of them can be reclaimed from their present + courses of idleness and crime, and in any case their children can be + saved. + </p> + <p> + We have been able in India, perhaps more than in any other part of the + world, to realize the international character of our work by linking + together Officers from England, Germany, Holland, and the Scandinavian + countries, as well as from America, in the one great object of helping the + heathen peoples. But most of all we have rejoiced in being able to blend + East and West, European Officers having often been placed under more + experienced Indian comrades, as well as vice versa. The great common + purpose dominating all sections of the Army, and the influences of the + Spirit of God, have united men of different levels of intelligence, and + knit them together in the same fellowship, without any unwise mingling of + races. We have now 2,000 Officers in India, and that alone is a testimony + of the highest significance to the success of our efforts, and to the + possibilities which lie before us. But even more important in its bearing + upon the future, in my estimation, is the wonderful ambition dominating + our people there to reach every class, but most of all to deal with the + low caste, or outcast, as they are sometimes called. Many of our Indian + Officers have followed in the steps of our pioneers in the country, and, + consumed by an enthusiasm amounting to a passion for their fellows, have + literally sacrificed their lives in the ceaseless pressing forward of + their work. + </p> + <p> + In America we have had to deal, perhaps, with the other extreme of human + needs. Throughout Canada there is very little to be seen of poverty and + wretchedness. In the United States the great cities begin indeed to have + areas of vice and misery not to be surpassed in any of the older cities of + the world. But everywhere we have found people who have become forgetful + of God, neglectful of every higher duty, and abandoned to one or other + form of selfishness. Our work in the United States especially has been + confronted with difficulties peculiar to the country, its widespread + populations and their cosmopolitan character being not the least of these. + Nevertheless, we have now in the States and Canada nearly 4,000 Officers + leading the work in 1,380 Corps and Societies, and 350 Social + Institutions. I ought to say that it has not been found easy to raise + large numbers in many places, but of the generosity and devotion of those + who have united themselves with us, and the immense amount of work which + they accomplish for their fellows, it is impossible to speak too highly. + </p> + <p> + I look with confidence to the future in both these great countries. + Governments and local Authorities are beginning to grant us the facilities + and help we need to deal effectually with their abandoned classes, as well + as to attack some other problems of a difficult nature. Within the last + few years, we have placed in Canada more than 50,000 emigrants, chiefly + from this country. Their characteristics, and their success in their new + surroundings, have won for us the highest commendation of the Authorities + concerned. + </p> + <p> + In the vast fields of South America, we have as yet only small forces, but + we have established a good footing with the various populations, and have + already received no inconsiderable help for our purely philanthropic work + from several of the Governments. Our latest new extensions, Chile, + Paraguay, and Peru, and Panama, seem to offer prospects of success, even + greater than we have been able to record in the Argentine or Uruguay. + Before your book is published, we shall probably have made a beginning + also in both Bolivia and Brazil. + </p> + <p> + The South American Republics—chiefly populated by the descendants of + the poorest classes of Southern Europe—are professedly Roman + Catholic. The influence of the priesthood, however, owing to various + causes, seems to be on the wane, and a habit of abandoning all religious + thought is much on the increase. But the realization that our people never + attack any Church, or quibble about details of creed and ceremonial, has + won their way to the hearts of many, and there can be no doubt that we + have a great future amongst these peoples. In Peru the law does not allow + any persons not of the Romish Church to offer prayer in public places, but + when it was found that our Officers made no trouble of this, but managed + all the same to hold open-air and theatre services very much in our usual + style, great numbers of the people were astonished at the 'new religion,' + and so many had soon begun to pray 'in private' that we have little doubt + about the future of our work there. + </p> + <p> + In thinking of the future, I cannot overlook our plans of organization + which have, I am persuaded, much to do with the proper maintenance and + continuance of the work we have taken in hand. + </p> + <p> + While striving as much as possible to avoid red tape, or indeed any + methods likely to hinder initiative and enterprise, we are careful to + apply a systemization comprehensible to the most untrained minds, so that + we may make every one feel a proper degree of responsibility, as well as + guard them from mere emotionalism and spasmodic activity, accompanied as + that kind of thing often is, by general neglect. + </p> + <p> + Thus no one can join the Army until after satisfying the local Officer and + some resident of the place during a period of trial of the sincerity of + his profession. He must then sign our Articles of War. These Articles + describe precisely our doctrines, our promise to abstain from intoxicants, + worldly pleasures, and fashions, bad or unworthy language, or conduct, and + unfairness to either employer or employé, as well as our purpose to help + and benefit those around us. (See Appendix B.) + </p> + <p> + Some local voluntary worker becomes responsible for setting each recruit a + definite task in connexion with our efforts, and all are placed under the + general oversight of their Captain. A Corps, which is the unit of our + Organization, is organized under a Captain and Lieutenant who have been + trained in the work they have to do as leaders. Corps are linked together + into divisions under Officers, who, in addition to seeing that they + regularly carry out their work, have the oversight of a considerable tract + of country, with the duty of extending our operations within that area. In + some countries a number of divisions are sometimes grouped into provinces + with an Officer in charge of the whole province, and each country has its + national headquarters under a Territorial Commissioner, all being under + the lead of the International Headquarters in London. + </p> + <p> + No time is wasted in committee-ing or debating amongst us, and yet in all + matters of finance and property there is such arrangement that several + individuals are cognizant of every detail, and that no one person's fault + or neglect shall necessarily involve permanent injury or loss. The central + accounts in each country, including those in London, are under the care of + public auditors; but we have also our own International Audit Department, + whose representatives visit every headquarters from time to time, so as to + make sure, not only that the accounts are kept on our approved system, but + that all expenditure is rigidly criticized. All who really look into our + financial methods are impressed by their economy and precision. The fact + is that almost all our people have been well schooled in poverty. They + have learned the value of pence. + </p> + <p> + All this seems to me to have great importance in connexion with estimates + of our future. On the one hand we are ever seeking to impress on all our + people the supreme need of God's spirit of love and life and freedom, + without whose presence the most carefully managed system could not but + speedily grow cold and useless. But at the same time, we insist that the + service of God, however full of love and gladness, ought to be more + precise, more regular, nay, more exacting than that of any inferior + master. + </p> + <h3> + II + </h3> + <p> + As to your question whether we are generally making progress, I think I + can say that, viewing the whole field of activity, and taking into account + every aspect of the work, the Army is undoubtedly on the up-grade. + Naturally progress is not so rapid in one country as another, nor is it + always so marked in one period as in another in particular countries, nor + is it always so evident in some departments of effort as in others; but + speaking of the whole, there is, as indeed there has been from the very + beginnings, steady advance. + </p> + <p> + In some countries, of course, there is more rapid development of our + purely evangelistic propaganda, while in others our philanthropic agencies + are more active. Progress in human affairs is generally tidal. It has been + so with us. A period of great outward activity is sometimes followed by + one of comparative rest, and in the same way the spirit of advance in one + department sometimes passes from that for a time to others. A period of + great progress in all kinds of pioneer work, for example in Germany, is + just now being followed there by one of consolidation and organization. A + time of enormous advance in all our departments of charitable effort in + the United States is now being succeeded by a wonderful manifestation of + purely spiritual fervour and awakening. + </p> + <p> + In this, the old country, our very success has in some ways militated + against our continued advance at the old rate of progress. Not only has + much ground already been occupied, but innumerable agencies, modelled + outwardly, at least, after those we first established, have sprung into + existence, and are working on a field of effort which was at one time + largely left to us. And yet during the last five years the Army has + enormously strengthened its hold on the confidence of all classes of the + people here, increased its numbers, developed in a remarkable degree its + internal organization, greatly added to its material resources, as well as + maintained and extended its offering of men and money for the support of + the work in heathen countries. + </p> + <p> + But even in places where we have appeared to be stagnant, in the sense of + not undertaking any new aggressive activities, we are constantly making as + a part of our regular warfare new captures from the enemy of souls, + maintaining the care of congregations and people linked with us, working + at full pressure our social machinery, training the children for future + labour, raising up men and women to go out into the world as missionaries + of one kind or another, and doing it all while carrying on vigorous + efforts to bring to those who are most needy in every locality both + material and spiritual support. + </p> + <p> + Like all aggressive movements, the Army is, of course, peculiarly subject + to loss of one kind or another. That arising from the removals of its + people alone constitutes a serious item. Any one who knows anything of + religious work amongst the working-classes will understand how great a + loss may be caused—even where the population is, generally speaking, + increasing—by the removal of one or two zealous local leaders. But + such losses are trifling compared with those which follow from some + stoppage of employment when large numbers of workmen must either migrate + or starve. + </p> + <p> + Similar results often occur from the change of leadership. The removal of + our Officers from point to point, and even from country to country, is one + of our most indispensable needs; but, of course, we have to pay for it, + chiefly in the dislocation and discouragements and losses which it often + necessarily entails. + </p> + <p> + So far from such variations being in any way discreditable to us, we think + them one of the most valuable tests of the vitality and courage of our + people, both Officers and Soldiers, that they fight on unflinchingly under + such circumstances—fight on happily, to prove that while + fluctuations of this character are very trying, they often also open the + way both to the wider diffusion of our work elsewhere and to the breaking + up of entirely new ground in the old centres. + </p> + <p> + In brief, it is with us at all times a real warfare wherein triumphs can + only be secured at the cost of struggles that are very often painful and + unpleasant. You cannot have the aggression, the advance, the captures of + war without the change, the alarms, the cost, the wounds, the losses, + which are inseparable from it. + </p> + <p> + A very striking and thoughtful description of some of the work done at one + of our London Corps has recently been issued by a well-known writer. I + refer to 'Broken Earthenware,' by Mr. Harold Begbie. No one can read the + book without being impressed by the sense of personal insight which it + reveals. But how few take in its main lesson, that the Army is in every + place going on, not only with the recovery but with the development of + broken men and women into more and more capable and efficient servants and + rescuers of their fellows. + </p> + <p> + That this should be so is remarkable enough as applied to Westerners, + broken by evil habits and more or less surrounded by wreckage, but how + much more valuable when applied to the teeming populations of the East! + There in so many cases there is no past of criminality or even of vice as + we understand it to forget, but only an infancy of darkness and ignorance + as to Christ and the liberty He brings. + </p> + <p> + Many of our best Indian Officers have been snatched from one form or other + of outrageous selfishness, but thousands of our people there are gradually + emerging from what is really the prolonged childhood of a race to see and + know how influential the light of God can make even them amongst their + fellows. Ten years ago in Japan a Salvationist Officer was a strange if + not an unknown phenomenon, but with every increase of the Christian and + Western influences in that country, every capable witness to Christ + becomes, quite apart from any effort of his own, a much more noticed, + consulted, and imitated example than he was before. In Korea, after a + couple of years' effort, we have seen most striking results of our work, + and have just sent, to work among their own people, our first twenty + married Koreans, after a preliminary period of training for Officership. + It is most difficult to realize the revolution involved in the whole + outlook on life to men who have been looked upon as little more than + serfs, without any prospect of influence in their country. + </p> + <p> + The same processes of inner and outer development which have made of the + unknown English workman or workwoman of twenty years ago, the recognized + servants of the community, welcomed everywhere by mayors and magistrates + to help in the service of the poor, will, out of the clever Oriental, I + believe, far more rapidly develop leaders in the new line of Christian + improvement in every sphere of life. It is considerations such as these + which make me say sometimes that the danger in the Army is not in the + direction of magnifying, but rather of minimizing the influences that are + carrying us upward and outward in every part of the world. + </p> + <p> + But in our own estimation there is another reason which perhaps equals all + these for calculating upon a wider development of the Army's future + influence. During the last twenty years we have been pressing forward + amongst a very large number of Church and missionary efforts. Our speakers + have notoriously been amongst the most unlearned and ungrammatical, and + therefore often despised, while so many thousands of university men were + preaching and writing of Christ. But no one now disputes the fact that the + old-fashioned proclamation of the doctrine of Jesus Christ as a Divine + Saviour of the lost has largely gone out of fashion. The influence of the + priest, of the clerk in holy orders, of the minister, has been so largely + undermined that candidates for the ministry are becoming scarce in many + Churches, just while we are seeing them arise in steadily increasing + numbers from among the very people who know the Army and its work best, + and who have most carefully observed the demands of sacrifice and labour + it makes upon its leaders. + </p> + <p> + One cannot but rejoice when one hears ever and anon of some conference or + congress at which various efforts are made to recover, at any rate, the + appearance of a forward movement in the Churches. But the most serious + fact of all, perhaps, is the mixture amongst these Christianizing plans, + whether in one country or another, of the unbelieving leaven, so that it + is possible for men to go forth as the emissaries of Christianity who have + ceased to believe in the Divine nature of its Founder, and who look for + success rather to schemes of education and of social and temporal + improvement than to that new creation of man by God's power, wherein lies + all our hope, as indeed it must be the hope of every true servant of + Christ. + </p> + <p> + But I call attention to these facts not to reproach any Church. Far from + it. I simply desire to point out one reason for thinking ourselves + justified in anticipating for the Army a future influence far beyond + anything we have yet experienced. + </p> + <p> + Recent 'defences' of Christian revelation have, in our view, been far more + seriously damaging than any attacks that have ever been made from the + hostile camp. In the hope—a vain hope—of conciliating + opposition, there has too often been a timid surrender of much that can + alone give authority to Christian testimony. If Jesus Christ was not + competent to decide the truth or untruth of the Divine revelation, which + He fully and constantly endorsed as such, how absurd it is to suppose that + any eulogies of His character can save Him from the just contempt of all + fearless thinkers, no matter to what nationality they belong. + </p> + <p> + The Army finds itself already, and every year seems more and more likely + to find itself, the only firm and unalterable witness to the truth of + Christ and of His redeeming work in many neighbourhoods and districts, + among them even some wide stretches of Christian territory. And the times + can only bring upon us, it seems to me, more and more the scrutiny of all + who wish to know whether the declarations of the Scriptures as to God's + work in men are or are not reliable. This, then, however melancholy the + reflection may be—and to me it is in some aspects melancholy indeed—assures + to us a future of far wider importance and influence than any we have + dreamed of in the past. + </p> + <p> + Our strength, as your book eloquently shows, in dealing with the deepest + sunken, the forgotten, the outcasts of society, the pariahs and lepers of + modern life; has ever been our absolute certainty with regard to Christ's + love and power to help them. How much greater must of necessity be the + value and influence of our testimony where the very existence of Christ + and His salvation becomes a matter of doubt and dispute! Here, at any + rate, is one reason which leads me to believe that the Salvation Army has + before it a future of the highest moment to the world. + </p> + <h3> + III + </h3> + <p> + In relation to other religious bodies, our position is marvellously + altered from the time when they nearly all, if not quite all, denounced + us. + </p> + <p> + I do not think that any of the Churches in any part of the world do this + now, although no doubt individuals here and there are still bitterly + hostile to us. In the United States and in many of the British Colonies + the Churches welcome our help, and generally speak well of our work; and + even many Roman Catholic leaders, as well as authorities of the Jewish + faith, may be included in this statement. On the Continent there are signs + that they are slowly turning the same way. + </p> + <p> + Now, I confidently expect a steady extension of this feeling towards us as + the Churches come more and more to recognize that we not only do not + attack them, but that we are actually auxiliaries to their forces, not + only gaining our audiences and recruits from those who are outside their + ministrations, but even serving them by doing work for their adherents + which for a variety of reasons they find it very difficult, if not + impossible, to accomplish themselves. + </p> + <p> + At the same time it would be a mistake to think that we have any desire to + adopt any of their methods or ceremonials. We keep everywhere to our + simple and non-ecclesiastical habits, and while we certainly have some + very significant and impressive ceremonials of our own, the way our + buildings are fitted, the style of our songs and music, and the character + of our prayers and public talking are everywhere entirely distinctive, and + are nowhere in any danger of coming into serious competition with the + worship adopted by the Churches. + </p> + <p> + Some of our leading Officers think that in one respect our relations to + the Churches, their pastors, and people are unsatisfactory. In the United + States it is customary for the clergy and leaders of every Church to treat + our leaders with the most manifest sympathy and respect. But there is far + too marked a contrast between that treatment and that which we receive in + many other countries. There are, of course, splendid exceptions. Still few + members of any Church are willing to be seen in active association with + us. + </p> + <p> + I daresay this is very largely a question of class or caste, and I am very + far from making it a matter of complaint. We would, in fact, far rather + that our people should be regarded as outcasts, than that they should be + tempted to tone down the directness of their witness, or that they should + come under the influence of those uncertainties and misgivings to which I + have already made reference. Nevertheless, it is certainly no wish of ours + that there should remain any distance between us and any true followers of + Christ by whatever name they may be called. And so we keep firmly, even + where it may seem difficult or impolitic to do so, to our original + attitude of entire friendliness with all those who name the Name of + Christ. + </p> + <p> + I give a few figures bearing upon the present extent of our operations:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Number of Countries and Colonies occupied by + the Salvation Army 56 + Languages in which the Work is carried on 33 + Corps, Circles, and Societies of Salvationists 8,768 + Number of persons wholly supported by and employed + in Salvation Army Work 21,390 + Of those, with Rank 16,220 + Without Rank 5,170 + Number of Training Colleges for Officers and + workers 35 + Providing accommodation for 1,866 + SOCIAL OPERATIONS.— + Number of Institutions 954 + Number of Officers and Cadets employed 2,573 + Number of Local Officers, voluntary and unpaid 60,260 + NUMBER OF PERIODICALS 74 + These Periodicals are published in twenty-one languages, + and have a total circulation per issue of about one million + copies. +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_APPEB" id="link2H_APPEB"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + APPENDIX B + </h2> + <h3> + THE SALVATION ARMY'S ARTICLES OF WAR + </h3> + <p> + HAVING received with all my heart the salvation offered to me by the + tender mercy of Jehovah, I do here and now publicly acknowledge God to be + my Father and King, Jesus Christ to be my Saviour, and the Holy Spirit to + be my Guide, Comforter, and Strength; and that I will, by His help, love, + serve, worship, and obey this glorious God through time and through + eternity, + </p> + <p> + BELIEVING solemnly that the Salvation Army has been raised up by God, and + is sustained and directed by Him, I do here declare my full determination, + by God's help, to be a true Soldier of the Army till I die. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + I am thoroughly convinced of the truth of the Army's + teaching. + + I believe that repentance towards God, faith in our Lord + Jesus Christ, and conversion by the Holy Spirit are + necessary to salvation, and that all men may be saved. + + I believe that we are saved by grace, through faith in our + Lord Jesus Christ, and he that believeth hath the witness of + it in himself. I have got it. Thank God! + + I believe that the Scriptures were given by inspiration of + God, and that they teach that not only does continuance in + the favour of God depend upon continued faith in and + obedience to Christ, but that it is possible for those who + have been truly converted to fall away and be eternally + lost. + + I believe that it is the privilege of all God's people to be + wholly sanctified, and that 'their whole spirit and soul and + body' may 'be preserved blameless unto the coming of our + Lord Jesus Christ,' That is to say, I believe that after + conversion there remain in the heart of the believer + inclinations to evil, or roots of bitterness, which, unless + overpowered by divine grace, produce actual sin; but these + evil tendencies can be entirely taken away by the Spirit of + God, and the whole heart, thus cleansed from anything + contrary to the will of God, or entirely sanctified, will + then produce the fruit of the Spirit only. And I believe + that persons thus entirely sanctified may, by the power of + God, be kept unblameable and unreprovable before Him. + + I believe in the immortality of the soul; in the + resurrection of the body; in the general judgment at the end + of the world; in the eternal happiness of the righteous; and + in the everlasting punishment of the wicked. +</pre> + <h3> + THEREFORE, + </h3> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + I do here and now, and for ever, renounce the world with all + its sinful pleasures, companionships, treasures, and + objects, and declare my full determination boldly to show + myself a soldier of Jesus Christ in all places and + companies, no matter what I may have to suffer, do, or lose, + by so doing. + + I do here and now declare that I will abstain from the use + of all intoxicating liquors, and from the habitual use of + opium, laudanum, morphia, and all other baneful drugs, + except when in illness such drugs shall be ordered for me by + a doctor. + + I do here and now declare that I will abstain from the use + of all low or profane language; from the taking of the name + of God in vain; and from all impurity, or from taking part + in any unclean conversation, or the reading of any obscene + book or paper at any time, in any company, or in any place. + + I do here declare that I will not allow myself in any + falsehood, deceit, misrepresentation, or dishonesty; neither + will I practise any fraudulent conduct in my business, my + home, nor in any other relation in which I may stand to my + fellow-men, but that I will deal truthfully, fairly, + honourably, and kindly with all those who may employ me, or + whom I may myself employ, + + I do here declare that I will never treat any woman, child, + or other person, whose life, comfort, or happiness may be + placed within my power, in an oppressive, cruel or cowardly + manner, but that I will protect such from evil and danger so + far as I can, and promote to the utmost of my ability their + present welfare and eternal salvation. + + I do here declare that I will spend all the time, strength, + money, and influence I can in supporting and carrying on + this war, and that I will endeavour to lead my family, + friends, neighbours, and all others whom I can influence, to + do the same, believing that the sure and only way to remedy + all the evils in the world is by bringing men to submit + themselves to the Government of the Lord Jesus Christ. + + I do here declare that I will always obey the lawful orders + of my Officers, and that I will carry out to the utmost of + my powers all the orders and regulations of the Army; and + further that I will be an example of faithfulness to its + principles, advance to the utmost of my ability its + operations, and never allow, where I can prevent it, any + injury to its interests, or hindrance to its success. +</pre> + <h3> + AND + </h3> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + I do here and now call upon all present to witness that I + enter into this undertaking, and sign these Articles of War + of my own free will, feeling that the love of Christ, who + died to save me, requires from me this devotion of my life + to His service for the salvation of the whole world, and + therefore wish now to be enrolled as a Soldier of the + Salvation Army. + + <i>Signed</i>........................................... + + <i>Image (full Christian and Surname)</i> + + <i>Address</i>........................................ + + <i>Date</i>........................ <i>Corps</i>............. +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_APPEC" id="link2H_APPEC"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + APPENDIX C + </h2> + <p> + COPY OF THE SALVATION ARMY BALANCE SHEET, EXTRACTED FROM THE FORTY-THIRD + ANNUAL STATEMENTS OF ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDING SEPTEMBER 30, 1909. + </p> + <p> + <i>Copies of this Balance Sheet with Statements of Account can be had upon + application. The Balance Sheet and Statements of Account for the year + ending September 30, 1910, will be posted from the press early next year. + The Balance Sheet of The Army's Social Fund can be obtained from the + Secretary.</i> + </p> + <h3> + LIABILITIES + </h3> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + DR. + £ s. d. + TO LOANS UPON MORTGAGE, + including accrued Interest 540,277 3 11 + + " LOANS FOR FIXED PERIODS, + including accrued Interest 121,958 8 1 + + " RESERVE FUNDS, including + General and Special Reserves 176,143 15 ½ + + " SUNDRY CREDITORS 10,359 3 2 + + " COLONIAL AND FOREIGN + TERRITORIES FUND 55,219 10 7 + + " SELF-DENIAL FUND + (Balance) 3,463 12 3 +</pre> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + ———————— + Carried Forward £907,621 13 1/2 +</pre> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + ASSETS + + CR. + £ s. d. £ s. d. + BY FREEHOLD and LEASEHOLD + PROPERTY (at or below + cost) in the United + Kingdom, as on September + 30, 1908 1,066,923 16 2-1/2 + " Additions during the year 23,271 4 6 + —————————— + 1,090,195 2 8-1/2 + " Freehold Estate in + Australia 10,375 3 6 + ————————- 1,100,571 6 4-1/2 + " INVESTMENTS, including + Investment of Reserve + and Sinking Funds 196,412 9 2 + " FURNITURE and FITTINGS + at Headquarters, Officers' + Quarters, and + Training College, as on + September 30, 1908 5,412 16 1 + " Additions during the year 2,768 9 5-1/2 + ———————- + 8,181 5 6-1/2 + <i>Less</i> Depreciation 2,433 19 9 + ———————- 5,748 5 9-1/2 + ————————- + Carried forward £1,802,732 1 4 +</pre> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + BALANCE SHEET—<i>continued</i> + + DR. + + Brought forward 907,621 13 0-1/2 + + To The Salvation Army Fund, + + as per last Balance Sheet 411,701 0 6-1/4 + + " Donations and Subscriptions + For Capital Purposes + (including building + Contributions, + £20,044 0s. 2d.) 37,044 6 2 + + " General Income and Expenditure + Account + (Balance) 1,309 17 8-1/2 + + ——————————————————————————————————— + + 450,064 18 4-1/2 + ————————- + + £1,357,706 11 5 + + CR. + + Brought forward 1,302,732 1 4 + + By Loans + + " Trade Headquarters Fund 27,902 16 5 + + " Sundry Colonial and + Foreign Territories 8,606 16 0 + —————— + + 34,506 12 5 + + " Sundry Debtors 18,360 10 4 + + " Cash at Bank 2,107 7 4 + + ———————- + £1,357,706 11 5 + + We have examined the above Statement with the Books, Accounts, and + Vouchers relating thereto, and certify the same to be correct. We have + also verified the Bank balances and Investments. + + KNOX, CROPPER & CO., + + <i>Chartered Accountants.</i> + + 16 FINSBURY CIRCUS, E.C. + + <i>December</i> 31, 1909. +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_APPED" id="link2H_APPED"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + APPENDIX D + </h2> + <p> + A FEW FIGURES SHOWING SOME OF THE WORK OF THE DARKEST ENGLAND SCHEME IN + THE UNITED KINGDOM. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + TO SEPTEMBER 30, 1909 DURING TOTAL TO + 1910 SEPT. 30, 1910 + Number of Meals supplied at + Cheap Food Dépôts 69,784,480 6,869,897 76,654,377 + Number of Cheap Lodgings for + the Homeless 27,850,674 2,445,300 30,295,974 + Number of Meetings held in + Shelters 140,747 8,660 149,407 + Number of Applications from + Unemployed registered at + Labour Bureaux 302,538 13,009 315,547 + Number received into Factories 63,694 6,754 70,448 + Number for whom Employment + (temporary or permanent) has + been found 249,453 20,210 269,663 + Number of Ex-Criminals received + into Homes 8,840 416 9,256 + Number of Ex-Criminals assisted, + restored to Friends, + sent to situations, etc. 7,886 1,166 9,052 + Number of Applications for Lost + Persons 44,001 2,120 46,121 + Number of Lost Persons found 13,710 398 14,108 + Number of Women and Girls + received into Rescue Homes 44,417 3,679 48,096 + Number of Women and Girls + received into Rescue Homes + who were sent to Situations, + restored to Friends, etc. 37,168 3,346 40,514 + Number of Families visited in + Slums 998,079 109,750 1,107,829 + Number of Families prayed with 577,550 64,141 641,691 + Number of Public-houses visited 630,021 33,188 663,209 + Number of Lodging-houses + visited 17,330 3,457 20,787 + Number of Lodging-house Meetings + held 7,319 1,792 9,111 + Number of Sick People visited + and nursed 93,233 21,912 115,145 +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_NOTEB" id="link2H_NOTEB"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + NOTES: + </h2> + <p> + <a name="linknote-1" id="linknote-1"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1 (<a href="#linknoteref-1">return</a>)<br /> [ See Appendix C.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-2" id="linknote-2"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 2 (<a href="#linknoteref-2">return</a>)<br /> [ The following extract from + the recently issued 'Report of the Commissioners of Prisons and the + Directors of Convict Prisons,' for the year ended March 31, 1910, Part I + [Cd. 5360], published since the above was written, sets out the present + views of the Authorities on this important matter:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Out of the present inmates of convict prisons over 40 per + cent have been previously in penal servitude, viz. out of + 3,046 male convicts in convict prisons, 1,253 had been + previously sentenced to penal servitude, 672 once, 271 + twice, 196 three times, and 114 four times or more. Mr. + Secretary Churchill has referred to us the question whether, + and in what way, it would be possible to make any impression + on this roll of recidivism—this unyielding <i>corpus</i> of + habitual crime. The problem is never absent from the minds + of those responsible for the administration of prisons and + the treatment of crime, and during recent years great + efforts have been made to improve the machinery of + assistance on discharge, fully impressed as we are with the + truth of the old French saying, "<i>Le difficile ce n'est pas + emprisoner un homme, c'est de le relâcher</i>." We have tried + to avail ourselves fully of the resources offered by such + powerful agencies as the Church Army, Salvation Army, as + well as other societies who have for years operated in this + particular field of charitable effort. We recognize the + ready help given by all these agencies. No doubt by their + efforts many difficult and unpromising cases have been + rehabilitated; but after full consideration we have come to + the opinion that the task of rehabilitation in the case of + men returning to freedom after a sentence of penal servitude + is too difficult and too costly to be left entirely to + voluntary societies, unaided by any grant of public funds, + and working independently of each other at a problem where + unity of method and direction is above all things required. + Mr. Secretary Churchill, to whom these views have been + represented, at once agreed that the difficulty lay in this + question of discharge, and that the official authority, + acting in close and friendly co-operation with the voluntary + societies must take a more active part than hitherto in + controlling the passage into free life of a man emerging + from penal servitude. ... A plan is now under consideration + for establishing a Central Agency of Control for Discharged + Convicts, on which both the official and unofficial element + will be represented, with a subsidy from public funds, the + purpose of which will be to take in hand the guidance and + direction of every convict on the day of discharge' (pp. 15, + 16).] +</pre> + <p> + <a name="linknote-3" id="linknote-3"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 3 (<a href="#linknoteref-3">return</a>)<br /> [ See Parliamentary Blue Book + [Cd. 2562].] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-4" id="linknote-4"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 4 (<a href="#linknoteref-4">return</a>)<br /> [ The scale of pay in the + Salvation Array for Officers in charge of Corps (or Stations) is as + follows:—For Single Men: Lieutenants, 16s. weekly; Captains, 18s. + weekly. For Single Women: Lieutenants, 12s. weekly; Captains, 15s. weekly. + For Married Men, 27s. per week and 1s. per week for each child under 7 + years of age, and 2s. per week for each child between the ages of 7 and + 14. Furnished lodgings are provided in addition.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-5" id="linknote-5"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 5 (<a href="#linknoteref-5">return</a>)<br /> [ But the day before this + proof came into my hands it was my duty to help to try a case illustrative + of these remarks. In that case a girl when only just over the age of + sixteen had been seduced by a young man and borne a son. First the father + admitted parentage and promised marriage. Then he denied parentage, and, + apparently without a shadow of evidence, alleged that the child was the + result of an incestuous intercourse between its mother and a relative. At + the trial, having, it seemed, come to the conclusion that this wicked + slander would not enable him to escape an affiliation order, he again + frankly admitted his parentage. In the country districts, at any rate, + such examples are common.—H. R. H.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-6" id="linknote-6"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 6 (<a href="#linknoteref-6">return</a>)<br /> [ The loss is being reduced + annually, that for the financial year which has just closed being the + lowest on record.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-7" id="linknote-7"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 7 (<a href="#linknoteref-7">return</a>)<br /> [ See Appendix A.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-8" id="linknote-8"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 8 (<a href="#linknoteref-8">return</a>)<br /> [ On this and other points + see the Salvation Army's 'Articles of War,' Appendix B.] + </p> + <div style="height: 6em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + + <div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 13434 ***</div> +</body> +</html> diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..16f736b --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #13434 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/13434) diff --git a/old/13434-8.txt b/old/13434-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a7ea231 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/13434-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,7044 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Regeneration, by H. Rider Haggard + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Regeneration + +Author: H. Rider Haggard + +Release Date: September 11, 2004 [EBook #13434] +[Date last updated: March 25, 2005] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK REGENERATION *** + + + + +Produced by Keith M. Eckrich, and the Project Gutenberg Online +Distributed Proofreaders Team + + + + + + +[Illustration: GENERAL BOOTH] + + +REGENERATION + +Being an Account of the Social Work of The Salvation Army in Great +Britain. + +H. RIDER HAGGARD + + +1910 + + + + +DEDICATION + + +I dedicate these pages to the Officers and Soldiers of the Salvation +Army, in token of my admiration of the self-sacrificing work by which +it is their privilege to aid the poor and wretched throughout the +world. + +H. RIDER HAGGARD. + +DITCHINGHAM, + +_November, 1910_ + + +CONTENTS + + INTRODUCTORY + + MEN'S SOCIAL WORK, LONDON + + SPA ROAD ELEVATOR + + GREAT PETER STREET SHELTER + + FREE BREAKFAST SERVICE + + EX-CRIMINALS + + MEN'S WORKSHOP: HANBURY STREET, WHITECHAPEL + + STURGE HOUSE, BOW ROAD + + CENTRAL LABOUR BUREAU + + INTERNATIONAL INVESTIGATION DEPARTMENT + + EMIGRATION DEPARTMENT + + WOMEN'S SOCIAL WORK IN LONDON + + HEADQUARTERS OF THE WOMEN'S SOCIAL WORK + + HILLSBOROUGH HOUSE INEBRIATES' HOME + + MATERNITY NURSING HOME + + MATERNITY RECEIVING HOME + + MATERNITY HOSPITAL + + 'THE NEST,' CLAPTON + + TRAINING INSTITUTE FOR WOMEN'S SOCIAL WORK + + WOMEN'S INDUSTRIAL HOME, HACKNEY + + INEBRIATES' HOME + + WOMEN'S INDUSTRIAL HOME, SOUTHWOOD + + WOMEN'S SHELTER, WHITECHAPEL + + SLUM SETTLEMENT, HACKNEY ROAD + + PICCADILLY MIDNIGHT WORK + + ANTI-SUICIDE BUREAU + + WORK IN THE PROVINCES, LIVERPOOL + + MEN'S SOCIAL WORK, MANCHESTER + + OAKHILL HOUSE, MANCHESTER + + MEN'S SOCIAL WORK, GLASGOW + + ARDENSHAW WOMEN'S HOME + + WOMEN'S LODGING-HOUSE, GLASGOW + + LAND AND INDUSTRIAL COLONY, HADLEIGH + + SMALL-HOLDINGS SETTLEMENT, BOXTED + + IMPRESSIONS OF GENERAL BOOTH + + THE CHIEF OF THE STAFF + + NOTE ON THE RELIGION OF THE SALVATION ARMY + + APPENDICES + + + + +AUTHOR'S NOTE + +The author desires to thank Mr. D.R. DANIEL for the kind and valuable +assistance he has given him in his researches into the Social Work of +the Salvation Army. + +He takes this occasion to make it clear that this book does no more +than set out the results of his investigations into some of that vast +Social Work, and his personal conclusions as to it and those by whom +it is prosecuted. + +To obviate any possible misunderstanding as to the reason of its +writing, he wishes to state further that it has not been compiled by +him as a matter of literary business. + + + + +INTRODUCTORY + + +WHAT IS THE SALVATION ARMY? + +If this question were put to the ordinary person of fashion or +leisure, how would it be answered? + +In many cases thus: 'The Salvation Army is a body of people dressed up +in a semi-military uniform, or those of them who are women, in +unbecoming poke bonnets, who go about the streets making a noise in +the name of God and frightening horses with brass bands. It is under +the rule of an arbitrary old gentleman named Booth, who calls himself +a General, and whose principal trade assets consist in a handsome and +unusual face, and an inexhaustible flow of language, which he +generally delivers from a white motor-car wherever he finds that he +can attract the most attention. He is a clever actor in his way, who +has got a great number of people under his thumb, and I am told that +he has made a large fortune out of the business, like the late prophet +Dowie, and others of the same sort. The newspapers are always exposing +him; but he knows which side his bread is buttered and does not care. +When he is gone no doubt his family will divide up the cash, and we +shall hear no more of the Salvation Army!' + +Such are still the honest beliefs of thousands of our instructed +fellow-countrymen, and of hundreds of thousands of others of less +degree belonging to the classes which are generally typified under the +synonym of 'the man in the street,' by which most people understand +one who knows little, and of that little nothing accurately, but who +decides the fate of political elections. + +Let us suppose, however, that the questioner should succeed in +interesting an intelligent and fair-minded individual holder of these +views sufficiently to induce him to make inquiry into the facts +concerning this Salvation Army. What would he then discover? + +He would discover that about five and forty years ago some impulse, +wherever it may have come from, moved a Dissenting minister, gifted +with a mind of power and originality, and a body of great strength and +endurance, gifted, also, with an able wife who shared his views, to +try, if not to cure, at least to ameliorate the lot of the fallen or +distressed millions that are one of the natural products of high +civilization, by ministering to their creature wants and regenerating +their spirits upon the plain and simple lines laid down in the New +Testament. He would find, also, that this humble effort, at first +quite unaided, has been so successful that the results seem to partake +of the nature of the miraculous. + +Thus he would learn that the religious Organization founded by this +man and his wife is now established and, in most instances, firmly +rooted in 56 Countries and Colonies, where it preaches the Gospel in +33 separate languages: that it has over 16,000 Officers wholly +employed in its service, and publishes 74 periodicals in 20 tongues, +with a total circulation of nearly 1,000,000 copies per issue: that it +accommodates over 28,000 poor people nightly in its Institutions, +maintaining 229 Food Dépôts and Shelters for men, women, and children, +and 157 Labour Factories where destitute or characterless people are +employed: that it has 17 Homes for ex-criminals, 37 Homes for +children, 116 Industrial Homes for the rescue of women, 16 Land +Colonies, 149 Slum Stations for the visitation and assistance of the +poor, 60 Labour Bureaux for helping the unemployed, and 521 Day +Schools for children: that, in addition to all these, it has Criminal +and General Investigation Departments, Inebriate Homes for men and +women, Inquiry Offices for tracing lost and missing people, Maternity +Hospitals, 37 Homes for training Officers, Prison-visitation Staffs, +and so on almost _ad infinitum_. + +He would find, also, that it collects and dispenses an enormous +revenue, mostly from among the poorer classes, and that its system is +run with remarkable business ability: that General Booth, often +supposed to be so opulent, lives upon a pittance which most country +clergymen would refuse, taking nothing, and never having taken +anything, from the funds of the Army. And lastly, not to weary the +reader, that whatever may be thought of its methods and of the noise +made by the 23,000 or so of voluntary bandsmen who belong to it, it is +undoubtedly for good or evil one of the world forces of our age. + +Before going further, it may, perhaps, be well that I should explain +how it is that I come to write these pages. First, I ought to state +that my personal acquaintance with the Salvation Army dates back a +good many years, from the time, indeed, when I was writing 'Rural +England,' in connexion with which work I had a long and interesting +interview with General Booth that is already published. Subsequently I +was appointed by the British Government as a Commissioner to +investigate and report upon the Land Colonies of the Salvation Army in +the United States, in the course of which inquiry I came into contact +with many of its Officers, and learned much of its system and methods, +especially with reference to emigration. Also I have had other +opportunities of keeping in touch with the Army and its developments. + +In the spring of 1910 I was asked, on behalf of General Booth, whether +I would undertake to write for publication an account of the Social +Work of the Army in this country. After some hesitation, for the lack +of time was a formidable obstacle to a very busy man, I assented to +this request, the plan agreed upon being that I should visit the +various Institutions, or a number of them, etc., and record what I +actually saw, neither more nor less, together with my resulting +impressions. This I have done, and it only remains for me to assure +the reader that the record is true, and, to the best of his belief and +ability, set down without fear, favour, or prejudice, by one not +unaccustomed to such tasks. + +Almost at the commencement of my labours I sought an interview with +General Booth, thinking, as I told him and his Officers (the Salvation +Army is not mealy-mouthed about such matters) that at his age it would +be well to set down his views in black and white. On the whole, I +found him well and vigorous. He complained, however, of the difficulty +he was experiencing, owing to the complete loss of sight in one eye, +occasioned by an accident during a motor journey, and the possible +deprivation of the sight of the other through cataract. + +Of the attacks that have been and are continually made upon the +Salvation Army, some of them extremely bitter, General Booth would say +little. He pointed out that he had not been in the habit of defending +himself and his Organization in public, and was quite content that the +work should speak for itself. Their affairs and finances had been +investigated by eminent men, who 'could not find a sixpence out of +place'; and for the rest, a balance-sheet was published annually. This +balance-sheet for the year ending September 30, 1909, I reprint in an +appendix.[1] + +With regard to the Social Work of the Army, which in its beginning was +a purely religious body, General Booth said that they had been driven +into it because of their sympathy with suffering. They found it +impossible to look upon people undergoing starvation or weighed down +by sorrows and miseries that came upon them through poverty, without +stretching out a hand to help them on to their feet again. In the same +way they could not study wrongdoers and criminals and learn their +secret histories, which show how closely a great proportion of human +sin is connected with wretched surroundings, without trying to help +and reform them to the best of their abilities. Thus it was that their +Social operations began, increased, and multiplied. They contemplated +not only the regeneration of the individual, but also of his +circumstances, and were continually finding out new methods by which +this might be done. + +The Army looked forward to the development of its Social Work on the +lines of self-help, self-management and self-support. Whenever a new +development came under consideration, the question arose--How is it to +be financed? The work they had in hand at present took all their +funds. One of their great underlying principles was that of the +necessity of self-support, without which no business or undertaking +could stand for long. The individual must co-operate in his own moral +and physical redemption. At the same time this system of theirs was, +in practice, one of the difficulties with which they had to contend, +since it caused the benevolent to believe that the Army did not need +financial assistance. His own view was that they ought to receive +support in their work from the Government, as they actually did in +some other countries. Especially did he desire to receive State aid in +dealing with ascertained criminals, such as was extended to them in +certain parts of the world. + +Thus only a few weeks before, in Holland, the Parliament had asked the +Salvation Army to co-operate in the care of discharged prisoners and +gave a grant of money for their support. In Java the tale was the +same. There they were preparing estates as homes for lepers, and soon +a large portion of the leper population of that land would be in their +charge. + +General Booth told me the story of a celebrated Danish doctor, an +optician, who became attracted to the Army, and, giving up his +practice and position, entered its service with his wife. They said +they wished to lead a life of real sacrifice and self-denial, and so, +after going through a training like any other Cadets, were sent out to +take charge of the medical work in Java. A recent report stated that +this Officer had attended 16,000 patients in nine months, and +performed 516 operations. + +In Australia, the Government had handed over the work amongst the +Reformatory boys to the Army. In New Zealand, the Government had +requested it to take over inebriates, and was now paying a +contribution to that work of 10s. per head a week. There the Army had +purchased two islands to accommodate these inebriates, one on which +the men followed the pursuits of agriculture, fishing, and so forth, +and the other for the women. In Canada there was an idea that a large +prison should be erected, of which the Salvation Army would take +charge. He hoped that in course of time they would be allowed greatly +to extend their work in the English prisons. + +General Booth pointed out to me with reference to their Social Work, +that it was necessary to spend large sums of money in finding +employment for men whom they had rescued. Here, one of their greatest +difficulties was the vehement opposition of members of the Labour +Party in different countries. + +This party said, for example, that the Army ought to pay the Trade +Union rate of wage to any poor fellow whom they had picked up and set +to such labour as paper-sorting or carpentry. Thus in Western +Australia they had an estate of 20,000 acres lying idle. When he was +there a while ago, he asked the Officer in charge why he did not +cultivate this land and make it productive. The man replied he had no +labour; whereon the General said that he could send him plenty from +England. + +'Yes,' commented the Officer, 'but the moment they begin to work here, +however inefficient or broken down they may be, we shall have to pay +them 7s. a day!' + +This regulation, of course, makes it impossible to cultivate that +estate except at a heavy loss. + +He himself had been denounced as the 'prince of sweaters,' because he +took in derelict carpenters at their Institution in Hanbury Street +(which I shall describe later), to whom he did not pay the Trade Union +wage, although that Institution had from the first been worked at a +loss. In this case he had made peace with the Parliamentary Committee +by promising not to make anything there which was used outside the +Army establishments. But still the attacks went on. + +Passing from this subject, I asked General Booth if he had formed any +forecast of the future of the Salvation Army after his own death. He +replied that there were certain factors in the present position of the +Army which seemed to him to indicate its future growth and continuity. +Speaking impersonally, he said that the present General had become an +important man not by his own choice or through the workings of +ambition, but by the will of Providence. He had acquired a certain +standing, a great hold over his community, and an influence which +helped to concentrate and keep together forces that had grown to be +worldwide in their character. It was natural, therefore, that people +should wonder what would happen when he ceased to be. + +His answer to these queries was that legal arrangements had been made +to provide for this obvious contingency. Under the provisions of the +constitution of the Army he had selected his successor, although he +had never told anybody the name of that successor, which he felt sure, +when announced, was one that would command the fullest confidence and +respect. The first duty of the General of the Army on taking up his +office was to choose a man to succeed him, reserving to himself the +power to change that man for another, should he see good reason for +such a course. In short, his choice is secret, and being unhampered by +any law of heredity or other considerations except those that appeal +to his own reason and judgment, not final. He nominates whom he will. + +I asked him what would happen if this nominated General misconducted +himself in any way, or proved unsuitable, or lost his reason. He +replied that in such circumstances arrangements had been made under +which the heads of the Army could elect another General, and that what +they decided would be law. The organization of the Army was such that +any Department of it remained independent of the ability of one +individual. If a man proved incompetent, or did not succeed, his +office was changed; the square man was never left in the round hole. +Each Department had laws for its direction and guidance, and those in +authority were responsible for the execution of those laws. If for any +reason whatsoever, one commander fell out of the line of action, +another was always waiting to take his place. In short, he had no fear +that the removal of his own person and name would affect the +Organization. It was true, he remarked, that leaders cannot be +manufactured to order, and also that the Army had made, and would +continue to make, mistakes up and down the world. But those mistakes +showed them how to avoid similar errors, and how and where to improve. + +As regarded a change of headship, a fresh individuality always has +charms, and a new force would always strike out in some new direction. +The man needed was one who would _do_ something. General Booth did not +fear but that he would be always forthcoming, and said that for his +part he was quite happy as to the future, in which he anticipated an +enlargement of their work. The Organization existed, and with it the +arrangements for filling every niche. The discipline of to-day would +continue to-morrow, and that spirit would always be ready to burst +into flame when it was needed. + +In his view it was inextinguishable. + + + + +MEN'S SOCIAL WORK, LONDON + + + +THE MIDDLESEX STREET SHELTER + +The first of the London Institutions of the Salvation Army which I +visited was that known as the Middlesex Street Shelter and Working +Men's Home, which is at present under the supervision of Commissioner +Sturgess. This building consists of six floors, and contains sleeping +accommodation for 462 men. It has been at work since the year 1906, +when it was acquired by the Army with the help of that well-known +philanthropist, the late Mr. George Herring. + +Of the 462 men accommodated daily, 311 pay 3d. for their night's +lodging, and the remainder 5d. The threepenny charge entitles the +tenant to the use of a bunk bedstead with sheets and an American cloth +cover. If the extra 2d. is forthcoming the wanderer is provided with a +proper bed, fitted with a wire spring hospital frame and provided with +a mattress, sheets, pillow, and blankets. I may state here that as in +the case of this Shelter the building, furniture and other equipment +have been provided by charity, the nightly fees collected almost +suffice to pay the running expenses of the establishment. Under less +favourable circumstances, however, where the building and equipment +are a charge on the capital funds of the Salvation Army, the +experience is that these fees do not suffice to meet the cost of +interest and maintenance. + +The object of this and similar Shelters is to afford to men upon the +verge of destitution the choice between such accommodation as is here +provided and the common lodging-house, known as a 'kip house,' or the +casual ward of a workhouse. Those who avail themselves of these +Shelters belong, speaking generally, to the destitute or nearly +destitute classes. They are harbours of refuge for the unfortunates +who find themselves on the streets of London at nightfall with a few +coppers or some other small sum in their pockets. Many of these social +wrecks have sunk through drink, but many others owe their sad position +to lack or loss of employment, or to some other misfortune. + +For an extra charge of 1d. the inmates are provided with a good +supper, consisting of a pint of soup and a large piece of bread, or of +bread and jam and tea, or of potato-pie. A second penny supplies them +with breakfast on the following morning, consisting of bread and +porridge or of bread and fish, with tea or coffee. + +The dormitories, both of the fivepenny class on the ground floor and +of the threepenny class upstairs, are kept scrupulously sweet and +clean, and attached to them are lavatories and baths. These lavatories +contain a great number of brown earthenware basins fitted with taps. +Receptacles are provided, also, where the inmates can wash their +clothes and have them dried by means of an ingenious electrical +contrivance and hot air, capable of thoroughly drying any ordinary +garment in twenty minutes while its owner takes a bath. + +The man in charge of this apparatus and of the baths was one who had +been picked up on the Embankment during the past winter. In return for +his services he received food, lodging, clothes and pocket-money to +the amount of 3s. a week. He told me that he was formerly a commercial +traveller, and was trying to re-enter that profession or to become a +ship's steward. Sickness had been the cause of his fall in the world. + +Adjoining the downstairs dormitory is a dining and sitting-room for +the use of those who have taken bed tickets. In this room, when I +visited it, several men were engaged in various occupations. One of +them was painting flowers. Another, a watch repairer, was apparently +making up his accounts, which, perhaps, were of an imaginary nature. A +third was eating a dinner which he had purchased at the food bar. A +fourth smoked a cigarette and watched the flower artist at his work. A +fifth was a Cingalese who had come from Ceylon to lay some grievance +before the late King. The authorities at Whitehall having investigated +his case, he had been recommended to return to Ceylon and consult a +lawyer there. Now he was waiting tor the arrival of remittances to +enable him to pay his passage back to Ceylon. I wondered whether the +remittances would ever be forthcoming. Meanwhile he lived here on +7-1/2d. a day, 5d. for his bed and 2-1/2d. for his food. Of these and +other men similarly situated I will give some account presently. + +Having inspected the upper floors I descended to the basement, where +what are called the 'Shelter men' are received at a separate entrance +at 5.30 in the afternoon, and buying their penny or halfpennyworth of +food, seat themselves on benches to eat. Here, too, they can sit and +smoke or mend their clothes, or if they are wet, dry themselves in the +annexe, until they retire to rest. During the past winter of 1909 400 +men taken from the Embankment were sheltered here gratis every night, +and were provided with soup and bread. When not otherwise occupied +this hall is often used for the purpose of religious services. + +I spoke at hazard with some of those who were sitting about in the +Shelter. A few specimen cases may be interesting. An old man told me +that he had travelled all over the world for fifty years, especially +in the islands of the South Pacific, until sickness broke him down. He +came last from Shanghai, where he had been an overseer on railway +work, and before that from Manila. Being incapacitated by fever and +rheumatism, and possessing 1,500 dollars, he travelled home, +apparently via India and Burma, stopping a while in each country. +Eventually he drifted to a lodging-house, and, falling ill there, was +sent to the Highgate Infirmary, where, he said, he was so cold that he +could not stop. Ultimately he found himself upon the streets in +winter. For the past twelve months he had been living in this Shelter +upon some help that a friend gave him, for all his own money was gone. +Now he was trying to write books, one of which was in the hands of a +well-known firm. He remarked, pathetically, that they 'have had it a +long time.' He was also waiting 'every day' for a pension from +America, which he considered was due to him because he fought in the +Civil War. + +Most of these poor people are waiting for something. + +This man added that he could not find his relatives, and that he +intended to stop in the Shelter until his book was published, or he +could 'help himself out.' + +The next man I spoke to was the flower artist, whom I have already +mentioned, whose work, by the way, if a little striking in colour, was +by no means bad, especially as he had no real flowers to draw from. By +trade he was a lawyer's clerk; but he stated that, unfortunately for +him, the head partner of his firm went bankrupt six years before, and +the bad times, together with the competition of female labour in the +clerical department, prevented him from obtaining another situation, +so he had been obliged to fall back upon flower painting. He was a +married man, but he said, 'While I could make a fair week's money, +things were comfortable, but when orders fell slack I was requested to +go, as my room was preferable to my company, and being a man of +nervous temperament I could not stand it, and have been here ever +since'--that was for about ten weeks. He managed to make enough for +his board and lodging by the sale of his flower-pictures. + +A third man informed me that he had opened twenty-seven shops for a +large firm of tobacconists, and then left to start in business for +himself; also he used to go out window-dressing, in which he was +skilled. Then, about nine years ago, his wife began to drink, and +while he was absent in hospital, neglected his business so that it +became worthless. Finally she deserted him, and he had heard nothing +of her since. After that he took to drink himself. He came to this +Shelter intermittently, and supported himself by an occasional job of +window-dressing. The Salvation Army was trying to cure this man of his +drinking habits. + +A fourth man, a Eurasian, was a schoolmaster in India, who drifted to +this country, and had been for four years in the Colney Hatch Asylum. +He was sent to the Salvation Army by the After Care Society. He had +been two years in the Shelter, and was engaged in saving up money to +go to America. He was employed in the Shelter as a scrubber, and also +as a seller of food tickets, by which means he had saved some money. +Also he had a £5 note, which his sister sent to him. This note he was +keeping to return to her as a present on her birthday! His story was +long and miserable, and his case a sad one. Still, he was capable of +doing work of a sort. + +Another very smart and useful man had been a nurse in the Army Medical +Corps, which he left some years ago with a good character. +Occasionally he found a job at nursing, and stayed at the Shelter, +where he was given employment between engagements. + +Yet another, quite a young person, was a carman who had been +discharged through slackness of work in the firm of which he was a +servant. He had been ten weeks in the Institution, to which he came +from the workhouse, and hoped to find employment at his trade. + +In passing through this building, I observed a young man of foreign +appearance seated in a window-place reading a book, and asked his +history. I was told that he was a German of education, whose ambition +it is to become a librarian in his native country. He had come to +England in order to learn our language, and being practically without +means, drifted into this place, where he was employed in cleaning the +windows and pursued his studies in the intervals of that humble work. +Let us hope that in due course his painstaking industry will be +rewarded, and his ambition fulfilled. + +All these cases, and others that I have no space to mention, belonged +to the class of what I may call the regular 'hangers-on' of this +particular Shelter. As I visited it in the middle of the day, I did +not see its multitude of normal nightly occupants. Of such men, +however, I shall be able to speak elsewhere. + + + + +THE SPA ROAD ELEVATOR + + + +BERMONDSEY + +The next Institution that I inspected was that of a paper-sorting +works at Spa Road, Bermondsey, where all sorts of waste paper are +dealt with in enormous quantities. Of this stuff some is given and +some is bought. Upon delivery it goes to the sorters, who separate it +out according to the different classes of the material, after which it +is pressed into bales by hydraulic machinery and sold to merchants to +be re-made. + +These works stand upon two acres of land. Parts of the existing +buildings were once a preserve factory, but some of them have been +erected by the Army. There remain upon the site certain +dwelling-houses, which are still let to tenants. These are destined to +be pulled down whenever money is forthcoming to extend the factory. + +The object of the Institution is to find work for distressed or fallen +persons, and restore them to society. The Manager of this 'Elevator,' +as it is called, informed me that it employs about 480 men, all of +whom are picked up upon the streets. As a rule, these men are given +their board and lodging in return for work during the first week, but +no money, as their labour is worth little. In the second week, 6d. is +paid to them in cash; and, subsequently, this remuneration is added to +in proportion to the value of the labour, till in the end some of them +earn 8s. or 9s. a week in addition to their board and lodging. + +I asked the Officer in charge what he had to say as to the charges of +sweating and underselling which have been brought against the +Salvation Army in connexion with this and its other productive +Institutions. + +He replied that they neither sweated nor undersold. The men whom they +picked up had no value in the labour market, and could get nothing to +do because no one would employ them, many of them being the victims of +drink or entirely unskilled. Such people they overlooked, housed, fed, +and instructed, whether they did or did not earn their food and +lodging, and after the first week paid them upon a rising scale. The +results were eminently satisfactory, as even allowing for the +drunkards they found that but few cases, not more than 10 per cent, +were hopeless. Did they not rescue these men most of them would sink +utterly; indeed, according to their own testimony many of such +wastrels were snatched from suicide. As a matter of fact, also, they +employed more men per ton of paper than any other dealers in the +trade. + +With reference to the commercial results, after allowing for interest +on the capital invested, the place did not pay its way. He said that a +sum of £15,000 was urgently required for the erection of a new +building on this site, some of those that exist being of a +rough-and-ready character. They were trying to raise subscriptions +towards this object, but found the response very slow. + +He added that they collected their raw material from warehouses, most +of it being given to them, but some they bought, as it was necessary +to keep the works supplied, which could not be done with the gratis +stuff alone. Also they found that the paper they purchased was the +most profitable. + +These works presented a busy spectacle of useful industry. There was +the sorting-room, where great masses of waste-paper of every kind was +being picked over by about 100 men and separated into its various +classes. The resulting heaps are thrown through hoppers into bins. +From the bins this sorted stuff passes into hydraulic presses which +crush it into bales that, after being wired, are ready for sale. + +It occurred to me that the dealing with this mass of refuse paper must +be an unhealthy occupation; but I was informed that this is not the +case, and certainly the appearance of the workers bore out the +statement. + +After completing a tour of the works I visited one of the bedrooms +containing seventy beds, where everything seemed very tidy and fresh. +Clean sheets are provided every week, as are baths for the inmates. In +the kitchen were great cooking boilers, ovens, etc., all of which are +worked by steam produced by the burning of the refuse of the sorted +paper. Then I saw the household salvage store, which contained +enormous quantities of old clothes and boots; also a great collection +of furniture, including a Turkish bath cabinet, all of which articles +had been given to the Army by charitable folk. These are either given +away or sold to the employes of the factory or to the poor of the +neighbourhood at a very cheap rate. + +The man in charge of this store was an extremely good-looking and +gentlemanly young follow of University education, who had been a +writer of fiction, and once acted as secretary to a gentleman who +travelled on the Continent and in the East. Losing his employment, he +took to a life of dissipation, became ill, and sank to the very +bottom. He informed me that his ideals and outlook on life were now +totally changed. I have every hope that he will do well in the future, +as his abilities are evidently considerable, and Nature has favoured +him in many ways. + +I interviewed a number of the men employed in these works, most of +whom had come down through drink, some of them from very good +situations. One had been the superintendent of a sewing-machine +company. He took to liquor, left his wife, and found himself upon the +streets. Now he was a traveller for the Salvation Army, in the +interests of the Waste-Paper Department, had regained his position in +life, and was living with his wife and family in a comfortable house. + +Another was a grocer by profession, all of whose savings were stolen, +after which he took to drink. He had been three months in the works, +and at the time of my visit was earning 6s. a week with food and +lodging. + +Another had been a Barnardo boy, who came from Canada as a ship's +steward, and could find nothing to do in England. Another was a +gentleman's servant, who was dismissed because the family left London. + +Another was an auctioneer, who failed from want of capital, took to +drink, and emigrated to Canada. Two years later he fell ill with +pleurisy, and was sent home because the authorities were afraid that +his ailment might turn to consumption. He stated that at this time he +had given up drink, but could obtain no employment, so came upon the +streets. As he was starving and without hope, not having slept in a +bed for ten nights, he was about to commit suicide when the Salvation +Army picked him up. He had seen his wife for the first time in four +years on the previous Whit Monday, and they proposed to live together +again so soon as he secured permanent employment. + +Another had been a soldier in the Seaforth Highlanders, and served in +the Egyptian Campaign of 1881, and also in the American Army. +Subsequently he was employed as a porter at a lodging-house at a +salary of 25s. a week, but left because of trouble about a woman. He +came upon the streets, and, being unable to find employment, was +contemplating suicide, when he fell under the influence of the Army at +the Blackfriars Shelter. + +All these men, and others whom I spoke to at random but have no space +to write of, assured me that they were quite satisfied with their +treatment at the works, and repudiated--some of them with +indignation--the suggestion that I put to them tentatively that they +suffered from a system of sweating. For the most part, indeed, their +gratitude for the help they were receiving in the hour of need was +very evident and touching. + + + + +THE GREAT PETER STREET SHELTER + + + +WESTMINSTER + +This fine building is the most up-to-date Men's Shelter that the +Salvation Army possesses in London. It was once the billiard works of +Messrs. Burroughes and Watts, and is situated in Westminster, quite +near to the Houses of Parliament. I visited it about eight o'clock in +the evening, and at its entrance was confronted with the word 'Full,' +inscribed in chalk upon its portals, at which poor tramps, deprived of +their hope of a night's lodging, were staring disconsolately. It +reminded me of a playhouse upon a first-night of importance, but, +alas! the actors here play in a tragedy more dreadful in its +cumulative effect than any that was ever put upon the stage. + +This Shelter is wonderfully equipped and organized. It contains +sitting or resting-rooms, smoking-rooms, huge dormitories capable of +accommodating about 600 sleepers; bathrooms, lavatories, extensive +hot-water and warming apparatus, great kitchens, and butteries, and so +forth. In the sitting and smoking-rooms, numbers of derelict men were +seated. Some did nothing except stare before them vacantly. Some +evidently were suffering from the effects of drink or fatigue; some +were reading newspapers which they had picked up in the course of +their day's tramp. One, I remember, was engaged in sorting out and +crumpling up a number of cigar and cigarette ends which he had +collected from the pavements, carefully grading the results in +different heaps, according to the class of the tobacco (how strong it +must be!) either for his own consumption or for sale to other +unfortunates. In another place, men were eating the 1d. or 1/2d. +suppers that they had purchased. + +Early as it was, however, the great dormitories were crowded with +hundreds of the lodgers, either in bed or in process of getting there. +I noticed that they all undressed themselves, wrapping up their rags +in bundles, and, for the most part slept quite naked. Many of them +struck me as very fine fellows physically, and the reflection crossed +my mind, seeing them thus _in puris naturalibus_, that there was +little indeed to distinguish them from a crowd of males of the upper +class engaged, let us say, in bathing. It is the clothes that make the +difference to the eye. + +In this Shelter I was told, by the way, that there exists a code of +rough honour among these people, who very rarely attempt to steal +anything from each other. Having so little property, they sternly +respect its rights. I should add that the charge made for +accommodation and food is 3d. per night for sleeping, and 1d. or 1/2d. +per portion of food. + +The sight of this Institution crowded with human derelicts struck me +as most sad, more so indeed than many others that I have seen, though, +perhaps, this may have been because I was myself tired out with a long +day of inspection. + +The Staff-Captain in charge here told me his history, which is so +typical and interesting that I will repeat it briefly. Many years ago +(he is now an elderly man) he was a steward on board a P. and O. +liner, and doing well. Then a terrible misfortune overwhelmed him. +Suddenly his wife and child died, and, as a result of the shock, he +took to drink. He attempted to cut his throat (the scar remains to +him), and was put upon his trial for the offence. Subsequently he +drifted on to the streets, where he spent eight years. During all this +time his object was to be rid of life, the methods he adopted being to +make himself drunk with methylated spirits, or any other villainous +and fiery liquor, and when that failed, to sleep at night in wet grass +or ditches. Once he was picked up suffering from inflammation of the +lungs and carried to an infirmary, where he lay senseless for three +days. The end of it was that a Salvation Army Officer found him in +Oxford Street, and took him to a Shelter in Burne Street, where he was +bathed and put to bed. + +That was many years ago, and now he is to a great extent responsible +for the management of this Westminster Refuge. Commissioner Sturgess, +one of the head Officers of the Army, told me that their great +difficulty was to prevent him from overdoing himself at this +charitable task. I think the Commissioner said that sometimes he would +work eighteen or twenty hours out of the twenty-four. + +One day this Staff-Captain played a grim little trick upon me. I was +seated at luncheon in a Salvation Army building, when the door opened, +and there entered as dreadful a human object as I have ever seen. The +man was clad in tatters, his bleeding feet were bound up with filthy +rags; he wore a dingy newspaper for a shirt. His face was cut and +plastered over roughly; he was a disgusting sight. He told me, in +husky accents, that drink had brought him down, and that he wanted +help. I made a few appropriate remarks, presented him with a small +coin, and sent him to the Officers downstairs. + +A quarter of an hour later the Staff-Captain appeared in his uniform +and explained that he and the 'object' were the same person. Again it +was the clothes that made the difference. Those which he had worn when +he appeared at the luncheon-table were the same in which he had been +picked up on the streets of London. Also he thanked me for my good +advice which he said he hoped to follow, and for the sixpence that he +announced his intention of wearing on his watch-chain. For my part I +felt that the laugh was against me. Perhaps if I had thought the +Salvation Army capable of perpetrating a joke, I should not have been +so easily deceived. + +This Staff-Captain gave me much information as to the class of +wanderers who frequent these Shelters, He estimated that about 50 per +cent of them sink to that level through the effects of drink. That is +to say, if by the waving of some magic wand intoxicants and harmful +drugs should cease to be obtainable in this country, the bulk of +extreme misery which needs such succour, and it may be added of crime +at large, would be lessened by one-half. This is a terrible statement, +and one that seems to excuse a great deal of what is called 'teetotal +fanaticism.' The rest, in his view, owe their fall to misfortune of +various kinds, which often in its turn leads to flight to the delusive +and destroying solace of drink. Thus about 25 per cent of the total +have been afflicted with sickness or acute domestic troubles. Or +perhaps they are 'knocked out' by shock, such as is brought on by the +loss of a dearly-loved wife or child, and have never been able to +recover from that crushing blow. The remainder are the victims of +advancing age and of the cruel commercial competition of our day. Thus +he said that the large business firms destroy and devour the small +shopkeepers, as a hawk devours sparrows; and these little people or +their employes, if they are past middle age, can find no other work. +Especially is this the case since the Employers' Liability Acts came +into operation, for now few will take on hands who are not young and +very strong, as older folk must naturally be more liable to sickness +and accident. + +Again, he told me that it has become the custom in large businesses of +which the dividends are falling, to put in a man called an +'Organizer,' who is often an American. + +This Organizer goes through the whole staff and mercilessly dismisses +the elderly or the least efficient, dividing up their work among those +who remain. So these discarded men fall to rise no more and drift to +the poorhouse or the Shelters or the jails, and finally into the river +or a pauper's grave. First, however, many spend what may be called a +period of probation on the streets, where they sleep at night under +arches or on stairways, or on the inhospitable flagstones and benches +of the Embankment, even in winter. + +The Staff-Captain informed me that on one night during the previous +November he counted no less than 120 men, women, and children sleeping +in the wet on or in the neighbourhood of the Embankment. Think of +it--in this one place! Think of it, you whose women and children, to +say nothing of yourselves, do not sleep on the Embankment in the wet +in November. It may be answered that they might have gone to the +casual ward, where there are generally vacancies. I suppose that they +might, but so perverse are many of them that they do not. Indeed, +often they declare bluntly that they would rather go to prison than to +the casual ward, as in prison they are more kindly treated. + +The reader may have noted as he drove along the Embankment or other +London thoroughfares at night in winter, long queues of people waiting +their turn to get something. What they are waiting for is a cup of +soup and, perhaps, an opportunity of sheltering till the dawn, which +soup and shelter are supplied by the Salvation Army, and sometimes by +other charitable Organizations. I asked whether this provision of +gratis food did in fact pauperize the population, as has been alleged. +The Staff-Captain answered that men do not as a rule stop out in the +middle of the winter till past midnight to get a pint of soup and a +piece of bread. Of course, there might be exceptions; but for the most +part those who take this charity, do so because if is sorely needed. + +The cost of these midnight meals is reckoned by the Salvation Army at +about £8 per 1,000, including the labour involved in cooking and +distribution. This money is paid from the Army's Central Fund, which +collects subscriptions for that special purpose. + +'Of course, our midnight soup has its critics,' said one of the +Officers who has charge of its distribution; 'but all I know is that +it saves many from jumping into the river.' + +During the past winter, that is from November 3, 1909, to March 24, +1910, 163,101 persons received free accommodation and food at the +hands of the Salvation Army in connexion with its Embankment Soup +Distribution Charity. + + + + +THE FREE BREAKFAST SERVICE + + + +BLACKFRIARS SHELTER + +On a Sunday in June I attended the Free Breakfast service at the +Blackfriars Shelter. The lease of this building was acquired by the +Salvation Army from a Temperance Company. Behind it lay contractors' +stables, which were also bought; after which the premises were rebuilt +and altered to suit the purposes to which they are now put, the +stabling being for the most part converted into sleeping-rooms. + +The Officer who accompanied me, Lieut.-Colonel Jolliffe, explained +that this Blackfriars Shelter is, as it were, the dredger for and the +feeder of all the Salvation Army's Social Institutions for men in +London. Indeed, it may be likened to a dragnet set to catch male +unfortunates in this part of the Metropolis. Here, as in the other +Army Shelters, are great numbers of bunks that are hired out at 3d. a +night, and the usual food-kitchens and appliances. + +I visited one or two of these, well-ventilated places that in cold +weather are warmed by means of hot-water pipes to a heat of about 70 +deg., as the clothing on the bunks is light. + +I observed that although the rooms had only been vacated for a few +hours, they were perfectly inoffensive, and even sweet; a result that +is obtained by a very strict attention to cleanliness and ample +ventilation. The floors of these places are constantly scrubbed, and +the bunks undergo a process of disinfection about once a week. As a +consequence, in all the Army Shelters the vermin which sometimes +trouble common lodging-houses are almost unknown. + +I may add that the closest supervision is exercised in these places +when they are occupied. Night watchmen are always on duty, and an +Officer sleeps in a little apartment attached to each dormitory. The +result is that there are practically no troubles of any kind. +Sometimes, however, a poor wanderer is found dead in the morning, in +which case the body is quietly conveyed away to await inquest. + +I asked what happened when men who could not produce the necessary +coppers to pay for their lodging, applied for admission. The answer +was that the matter was left to the discretion of the Officer in +charge. In fact, in cases of absolute and piteous want, men are +admitted free, although, naturally enough, the Army does not advertise +that this happens. If it did, its hospitality would be considerably +overtaxed. + +Leaving the dormitories, I entered the great hall, in which were +gathered nearly 600 men seated upon benches, every one of which was +filled. The faces and general aspect of these men were eloquent of +want and sorrow. Some of them appeared to be intent upon the religious +service that was going on, attendance at this service being the +condition on which the free breakfast is given to all who need food +and have passed the previous night in the street. Others were gazing +about them vacantly, and others, sufferers from the effects of drink, +debauchery, or fatigue, seemed to be half comatose or asleep. + +This congregation, the strangest that I have ever seen, comprised men +of all classes. Some might once have belonged to the learned +professions, while others had fallen so low that they looked scarcely +human. Every grade of rag-clad misery was represented here, and every +stage of life from the lad of sixteen up to the aged man whose +allotted span was almost at an end. Rank upon rank of them, there they +sat in their infinite variety, linked only by the common bond of utter +wretchedness, the most melancholy sight, I think, that ever my eyes +beheld. All of them, however, were fairly clean, for this matter had +been seen to by the Officers who attend upon them. The Salvation Army +does not only wash the feet of its guests, but the whole body. Also, +it dries and purifies their tattered garments. + +When I entered the hall, an Officer on the platform was engaged in +offering up an extempore prayer. + +'We pray that the Holy Spirit may be poured out upon these men. We +pray, O God, that Thou wilt help them to take fresh courage, to find +fresh hope, and that they may rise once again to fight the battle of +life. We pray that Thou mayst bring to Thy feet, this morning, such as +shall be saved eternally.' + +Then another Officer, styled the Chaplain, addressed the audience. He +told them that there was a way out of their troubles, and that +hundreds who had sat in that hall as they did, now blessed the day +which brought them there. He said: 'You came here this morning, you +scarcely knew how or why. You did not know the hand of God was leading +you, and that He will bless you if you will listen to His Voice. You +think you cannot escape from this wretched life; you think of the past +with all its failures. But do not trouble about the years that are +gone. Seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all other +things shall be added unto you. Then there will be no more wandering +about without a friend, for I say to you that God lives, and this +morning you will hear from others, who once were in a similar +condition to yourself, what He has done for them.' + +Next a man with a fine tenor voice, who, it seems, is nicknamed 'the +Yorkshire Canary,' sang the hymn beginning, 'God moves in a mysterious +way.' After this in plain, forcible language he told his own story. He +said that he was well brought up by a good father and mother, and lost +everything through his own sin. His voice was in a sense his ruin, +since he used to sing in public-houses and saloons and there learnt to +drink. At length he found himself upon the streets in London, and +tramped thence to Yorkshire to throw himself upon the mercy of his +parents. When he was quite close to his home, however, his courage +failed him, and he tramped back to London, where he was picked up by +the Salvation Army. + +This man, a most respectable-looking person, is now a clerk in a +well-known business house. In his own words, 'I knelt down and gave my +heart to God, and am to-day in a good situation.' + +Next a Salvation Army soldier spoke. Four years before he had attended +the Sunday morning meeting in this hall and 'found the friendship of +God. He has helped me to regain the manhood I had lost and to do my +duty. For two years now I have helped to support an invalid sister +instead of being a burden to every one I knew, as once I was.' + +After the singing of the hymn, 'Rock of Ages,' another man addressed +the meeting. He had been a drunkard, a homeless wanderer, who slept +night after night on the Embankment till fortune brought him to this +service and to the Penitent-Form. Since that time, two and a half +years before, no drink had passed his lips, and once again, as he +declared, he had become 'a self-respecting, respectable citizen.' + +Then a dwarf whom I had seen at work in the Spa Road Elevator, and who +once was taken about the country to be exhibited as a side show at +fairs and there fell a victim to drink, gave his testimony. + +Another verse, 'Could my tears for ever flow,' and after it, in rapid +succession, spoke a man who had been a schoolmaster and fallen through +drink and gambling; a man who, or whose brother, I am not sure which, +had been a Wesleyan preacher, and who is now employed in a Life +Assurance Company; a man who had been a prisoner; a man who had been a +confirmed drunkard, and others. + +Always it was the same earnest, simple tale of drink and degradation, +passed now for ever; of the Penitent-Form; of the building up of a new +self, and of position regained. + +More singing and an eloquent prayer which seemed to move the audience +very much, some of them to tears; an address from a woman Salvation +Army Officer, who pleaded with the people in the name of their +mothers, and a brief but excellent sermon from Commissioner Sturgess, +based upon the parable of the Marriage of the King's Son as recorded +in the 22nd chapter of St. Matthew, and of the guests who were +collected from the highways and byways to attend the feast whence the +rich and worldly had excused themselves. + +Then the great and final invocation to Heaven to move the hearts of +these men, and the invitation to them to present themselves at the +Penitent-Form. Lastly a mighty, thundering hymn, 'Jesu, Lover of my +soul,' and the ending of the long drama. + +It was a wonderful thing to see the spiritually-faced man on the +platform pleading with his sordid audience, and to watch them stirring +beneath his words. To see, also, a uniformed woman flitting to and fro +among that audience, whispering, exhorting, invoking--a temptress to +Salvation, then to note the response and its manner that were stranger +still. Some poor wretch would seem to awaken, only to relapse into a +state of sullen, almost defiant torpor. A little while and the leaven +begins to work in him. He flushes, mutters something, half rises from +his seat, sits down again, rises once more and with a peculiar, +unwilling gait staggers to the Penitent-Form, and in an abandonment of +grief and repentance throws himself upon his knees and there begins to +sob. A watching Officer comes to him, kneels at his side and, I +suppose, confesses him. The tremendous hymn bursts out like a paean of +triumph-- + + Just as I am, without one plea, + +it begins, the rest I forget or did not catch. + +Now the ice is broken. Another comes and another, and another, till +there is no more room at the Penitent-Bench. They swarm on to the +platform which is cleared for them, and there kneel down, and I +observed the naked feet of some of them showing through the worn-out +boots. + +So it goes on. At length the great audience rises and begins to +depart, filing one by one through a certain doorway. As they pass, +Officers who have appeared from somewhere wait for them with +outstretched arms. The most of them brush past shaking their heads and +muttering. Here and there one pauses, is lost--or rather won. The +Salvation Army has him in its net and he joins the crowd upon the +platform. Still the hymn swells and falls till all have departed save +those who remain for good--about 10 per cent of that sad company. + +[Illustration: SEEKING THE HOMELESS AT MIDNIGHT.] + +It is done and the catcher feels that he has witnessed the very +uttermost of tragedies, human and spiritual. + + * * * * * + +Mere common 'revivalism'! the critic will say, and it may be so. Still +such revivalism, if that is the term for it, must be judged by its +fruits. I am informed that of those who kneel here experience shows +that but a small percentage relapse. The most of them become what in +the Salvation Army cant--if one chooses so to name it--is known as +'saved.' + +This means that from drunkards and wastrels stained with every sort of +human fault, or even crime, they are turned into God-fearing and +respectable men who henceforward, instead of being a pest to society +and a terror to all those who have the misfortune to be connected with +them, become props of society and a comfort and a support to their +relatives and friends. + +Thus is the mesh of mercy spread, and such is its harvest. + +The age of miracles is past, we are told; but I confess that while +watching this strange sight I wondered more than once that if this +were so, what that age of miracles had been like. Of one thing I was +sure, that it must have been to such as these that He who is +acknowledged even by sceptics to have been the very Master of mankind, +would have chosen to preach, had this been the age of His appearance, +He who came to call sinners to repentance. Probably, too, it was to +such as these that He did preach, for folk of this character are +common to the generations. Doubtless, Judea had its knaves and +drunkards, as we know it had its victims of sickness and misfortune. +The devils that were cast out in Jerusalem did not die; they reappear +in London and elsewhere to-day, and, it would seem, can still be cast +out. + +I confess another thing, also; namely, that I found all this drama +curiously exciting. Most of us who have passed middle age and led a +full and varied life will be familiar with the great human emotions. +Yet I discovered here a new emotion, one quite foreign to a somewhat +extended experience, one that I cannot even attempt to define. The +contagion of revivalism! again it will be said. This may be so, or it +may not. But at least, so far as this branch of the Salvation Army +work is concerned, those engaged in it may fairly claim that the tree +should be judged by its fruits. Without doubt, in the main these +fruits are good and wholesome. + +I have only to add to my description of this remarkable service, that +the number netted, namely, about 10 per cent of those present, was, I +am told, just normal, neither more nor less than the average. Some of +these doubtless will relapse; but if only _one_ of them remains really +reformed, surely the Salvation Army has vindicated its arguments and +all is proved to be well worth while. But to that one very many +ciphers must be added as the clear and proved result of the forty +years or so of its activity. Whatever may be doubtful, this is true +beyond all controversy, for it numbers its converts by the thousand. + + * * * * * + +The congregation which I saw on this particular occasion seemed to me +to consist for the most part of elderly men; in fact, some of them +were very old, and the average age of those who attended the +Penitent-Form I estimated at about thirty-five years. This, however, +varies. I am informed that at times they are mostly young persons. It +must be remembered--and the statement throws a lurid light upon the +conditions prevailing in London, as in other of our great cities--that +the population which week by week attends these Sunday morning +services is of an ever-shifting character. Doubtless, there are some +_habitués_ and others who reappear from time to time. But the most of +the audience is new. Every Saturday night the highways and the hedges, +or rather the streets and the railway arches yield a new crop of +homeless and quite destitute wanderers. These are gathered into the +Blackfriars Shelter, and go their bitter road again after the rest, +the breakfast, and the service. But as we have seen here a substantial +proportion, about 10 per cent, remain behind. These are all +interviewed separately and fed, and on the following morning as many +of them as vacancies can be found for in the Paper Works Elevator or +elsewhere are sent thither. + +I saw plenty of these men, and with them others who had been rescued +previously; so many, indeed, that it is impossible to set out their +separate cases. Looking through my notes made at the time, I find +among them a schoolmaster, an Australian who fought in South Africa, a +publican who had lost £2,000 in speculation and been twelve months on +the streets, a sailor and two soldiers who between them had seen much +service abroad, and a University man who had tried to commit suicide +from London Bridge. + +Also there was a person who was recently described in the newspapers +as the 'dirtiest man in London.' He was found sitting on the steps of +a large building in Queen Victoria Street, partly paralysed from +exposure. So filthy and verminous was he, that it was necessary to +scrape his body, which mere washing would not touch. When he was +picked up, a crowd of several hundred people followed him down the +street, attracted by his dreadful appearance. His pockets were full of +filth, amongst which were found 5s. in coppers. He had then been a +month in the Shelter, where he peels or peeled potatoes, etc., and +looked quite bright and clean. + +Most of these people had been brought down by the accursed drink, +which is the bane of our nation, and some few by sheer misfortune. + +Neither at the service, nor afterwards, did I see a single Jew, for +the fallen of that race seem to be looked after by their fellow +religionists. Moreover, the Jews do not drink to excess. Foreigners, +also, are comparatively scarce at Blackfriars and in the other +Shelters. + + + + +THE EX-CRIMINALS + + +On the afternoon of the Sunday on which I visited the Blackfriars +Shelter, I attended another service, conducted by Commissioner +Sturgess, at Quaker Street. + +Here the room was filled by about 150 men, all of whom had been +rescued, and were then working in the various Shelters or elsewhere. I +may say that I have seldom seen a congregation of more respectable +appearance, and never one that joined with greater earnestness in a +religious service. + +I will take this opportunity to observe that the Salvation Army +enforces no religious test upon those to whom it extends its +assistance. If a man is a member of the Church of England or a Roman +Catholic, for instance, and wishes to remain so, all that it tries to +do is to make him a good member of his Church. Its only _sine qua non_ +is that the individual should show himself ready to work zealously at +any task which it may be able to find for him. + +The rest of that afternoon I spent in interviewing ex-criminals who +were then in the charge of the Salvation Army. To give details of +their cases in this book is impossible. Here I will only say, +therefore, that some of these had been most desperate characters, who +had served as much as thirty or forty years in various prisons, or +even been condemned to death for murder. Indeed, the nineteen men whom +I interviewed had, between them, done 371 years of what is known as +'time.' + +I cannot honestly report that I liked the looks of all these gentry, +or believed everything that they told me. For instance, when such +people swear that they have been wrongly convicted, an old lawyer and +magistrate like myself, who knows what pains are taken by every +English Court to safeguard the innocent, is apt to be sceptical. +Still, it should be added that many of these jailbirds are now to all +appearance quite reformed, while some of them are doing well in more +or less responsible positions, under the supervision of the Army. + +The Salvation Army Officers have authority from the Home Office to +visit the various prisons, where the inmates are informed that those +who are desirous of seeing them must give in their names. Then on a +certain day, the Officer, who, under Commissioner Sturgess, is +responsible for the Prison work of the Army in England, appears at the +Wandsworth or the Pentonville Prison, or wherever it may be. There he +finds, perhaps, as many as 150 men waiting to see him, the total +number of ex-prisoners who pass through the hands of the Army in +England averaging at present about 1,000 per annum. He interviews +these men in their cells privately, the prison officials remaining +outside, and stops as long with each of them as he deems to be +needful, for the Governors of the prisons give him every opportunity +of attaining the object of his work. This Officer informed me that his +conversation with the prisoners is not restricted in any way. It may +be about their future or of spiritual matters, or it may have to do +with their family affairs. + +The details of each case are carefully recorded in a book which I saw, +and when a convict is discharged and given over to the care of the +Army, a photograph and an official statement of his record is +furnished with him. This statement the Army finds a great help, as in +dealing with such people it is necessary to know their past in order +to be able to guard against their weak points. + +The Government authorities have now begun to seek the aid of the Army +in certain special cases. If they feel that it is unnecessary to +retain a man any longer, they will sometimes hand him over, should the +Salvation Army Officers be willing to take him in and be responsible +for him. General Booth and his subordinates think that if this system +were enlarged and followed up, it would result in the mitigation or +the abbreviation of many sentences, without exposing the public to +danger. + +In discussing this matter with them, I ventured to point out that it +would be a bad thing if the Army became in any way identified with the +prison Authorities, and began, at any rate in the mind of the criminal +classes, to wear the initials G.R. instead of those of the Army upon +their collars. This was not disputed by Commissioner Sturgess, with +whom I debated the question. + +What the Army desires, however, is that the Government should +subsidize this work in order to enable it to support the ex-convicts +until it can find opportunity to place them in positions where they +can earn their own bread. The trouble with such folk is that, +naturally enough, few desire to employ them, and until they are +employed, which in the case of aged persons or of those with a very +bad record may be never, they must be fed, clothed, and housed. + +After going into the whole subject at considerable length and in much +detail, the conclusion which I came to was that this work of the +visitation of prisoners by Salvation Army Officers, and the care of +them when released either on or before the completion of their +sentences, is one that might be usefully extended, should the Home +Office Authorities see fit so to do. There is no doubt, although it +cannot guarantee success in every case, that the Salvation Army is +peculiarly successful in its dealings with hardened criminals. + +Why this is so is not easy to explain. I think, however, that there +are two main reasons for its success. The first is that the Army takes +great care never to break a promise which it may make through any of +its Officers. Thus, if a man in jail is told that his relatives will +be hunted up and communicated with, or that an application will be +made to the Authorities to have him committed to the care of the Army, +or that work will be found for him on his release, and the like, that +undertaking, whatever it may be, is noted in the book which I have +mentioned, and although years may pass before it can be fulfilled, is +in due course carried out to the letter. Now, convicts are shy birds, +who put little faith in promises. But when they find that these are +always kept they gain confidence in the makers of them, and often +learn to trust them entirely. + +The second and more potent reason is to be found in the power of that +loving sympathy which the Army extends even to the vilest, to those +from whom the least puritanical of us would shrink. It shows such men +that they are not utterly lost, as these believe; that it, at any +rate, does not mark them with a figurative broad arrow and consign +them to a separate division of society; that it is able to give them +back the self-respect without which mankind is lower than the beast, +and to place them, regenerated, upon a path that, if it be steep and +thorny, still leads to those heights of peace and honour which they +never thought to tread again. + +This is done not by physical care and comfort, though, of course, +these help towards the desired end, but by its own spiritual means, or +so it would appear. Its Officers pray with the man; they awake his +conscience, which is never dead in any of us; they pour the blessed +light of hope into the dark places of his soul; they cause him to hate +the past, and to desire to lead a new life. Once this desire is +established, the rest is comparatively simple, for where the heart +leads the feet will follow; but without it little or nothing can be +done. Such is the explanation I have to offer. At any rate, I believe +it remains a fact that among the worst criminals the Salvation Army +often succeeds where others have failed. + +Another point that should not be overlooked in this connexion is that +it must be a great comfort to the sinner and an encouragement of the +most practical sort to find, as he sometimes will, that the hands +which are dragging him and his kind from the mire, had once been as +filthy as his own. When the worker can say to him, 'Look at me; in +bygone days I was as bad as or worse than you'; when he can point to +many others whose vices were formerly notorious, but who now fill +positions of trust in the Army or outside of it, and are honoured of +all men; then the lost one, emerging, perhaps, for the fifth or sixth +time from the darkness of his prison, sees by the light of these +concrete examples that the future has promise for us all. If _they_ +have succeeded why should _he_ fail? That is the argument which comes +home to him. + +There remains a matter to be considered. Let us suppose that as time +goes by the Authorities become more and more convinced of the value of +the Army's prison work, and pass over to its care criminals in +ever-increasing numbers, as they are doing in some other countries and +in the great Colonies, what will be the effect upon the Army itself? +Will not this mass of comparatively useless material clog the wheels +of the great machine by overlading it with a vast number of +ex-prisoners, some of whom, owing to their age or other circumstances, +are quite incapable of earning their livelihood, and therefore must be +carried till their deaths? When I put the query to those in command, +the answer given was that they did not think so, as they believed that +the Army would be able to turn the great majority of these men into +respectable, wage-earning members of society. + +Thus of those who have been sent to it lately from the prisons, it +has, I understand, been forced to return only two, because these men +would not behave themselves, and proved to be a source of danger and +contamination to others. As regards the residuum who are incapacitated +by age or weakness of mind or body, General Booth and his Officers are +of opinion that the Government should contribute to their support in +such places as the Army may be able to find for them to dwell in under +its care. + +I hope that these forecasts, which after all are made by men of great +experience who should know, may not prove to be over-sanguine. Still +it must be remembered that in England alone there are, I am told, some +30,000 confirmed criminals in the jails, not reckoning the 5,000 who +are classed as convicts. If even 20 per cent of these were passed over +to the care of the Army, with or without State grants in aid of their +support, this must in the nature of things prove a heavy burden upon +its resources. When all is said and done it is harder to find +employment for a jailbird, even if reformed, than for any other class +of man, because so damaged a human article has but little commercial +value in the Labour market. + +If, however, the Salvation Army is prepared to face this gigantic +task, it may be hoped that it will be given an opportunity of showing +what it can do on a large scale, as it has already shown upon one more +restricted. Prison reform is in the air. The present system is +admitted more or less to have broken down. It has been shown to be +incompetent to attain the real end for which it is established; that +is, not punishment, as many still believe, for this hereditary idea is +hard to eradicate, but prevention and, still more, reformation. + +The 'Vengeance of the Law' is a phrase not easy to forget; but among +humane and highly-civilized peoples the word Vengeance should be +replaced by another, the best that I can think of is--Regeneration. +The Law should not seek to avenge--that may be left to the savage +codes, civil and religious, of the dark ages. Except in the case of +the death sentence, which is not everywhere in favour, it should seek +to regenerate. + +If, then, among other agencies, the Salvation Army is able to prove +beyond cavil that it can assist our criminal system to attain this +noble end, ought not opportunity to be given it in full measure? Is it +too much to hope that when the new Prison Act, of which the substance +has recently been outlined by the Home Secretary, comes to be +discussed, this object may be kept in view and the offer of the +Salvation Army to co-operate in the great endeavour may not be lightly +thrust aside? If its help is found so valuable in the solution of this +particular problem in other lands, why should it be rejected here, or, +rather, why should it not be more largely utilized, as I know from +their own lips, General Booth and his Officers hope and desire?[2] + + + + +THE MEN'S WORKSHOP + + + +HANBURY STREET, WHITECHAPEL + +This Salvation Army carpentering and joinery shop has been in +existence for about fifteen years, but it does not even now pay its +way. It was started by the Army in order to assist fallen mechanics by +giving them temporary work until they could find other situations. + +The manager informed me that at the beginning they found work for +about thirty men. When I visited the place some fifty hands were +employed--bricklayers, painters, joiners, etc., none of whom need stop +an hour longer than they choose. From 100 to 150 men pass through this +Workshop in a year, but many of them being elderly and therefore +unable to obtain work elsewhere, stop for a long while, as the Army +cannot well get rid of them. All of these folk arrive in a state of +absolute destitution, having even sold their tools, the last +possessions with which a competent workman parts. + +The Parliamentary Committee of the Labour Party and the Trade Unions +have recently stirred up a great agitation, which has been widely +reported in the Press, against the Hanbury Street Workshop, because +the Army does not pay the Union rate of wages. As a result the Army +now declines all outside contracts, and confines its operations to the +work of erecting, repairing, or furnishing its own buildings. + +Here it may be stated that these complaints seem to be unreasonable. +The men employed have almost without exception been taken off the +streets to save them from starvation or the poorhouse. Often enough +they are by no means competent at their work, while some of them have +for the time being been rendered practically useless through the +effects of drink or other debaucheries. Yet it is argued with violence +that to such people, whom no business firm would employ upon any +terms, the Army ought to pay the full Trade Union rate of wages. When +every allowance is made for the great and urgent problems connected +with the cruel practice of 'sweating,' surely this attitude throws a +strange light upon some of the methods of the Trade Unions? + +The inference seems to be that they would prefer that these derelicts +should come on the rates or starve rather than that the Army should +house and feed them, giving them, in addition, such wage as their +labour may be worth. Further comment seems to be needless, especially +when I repeat that, as I am assured, this Hanbury Street Institution +never has earned, and does not now earn, the cost of its upkeep. + +It is situated in the heart of a very poor district, and is rather a +ramshackle place to look at, but still quite suitable to its purposes. +I have observed that one of the characteristics of the Salvation Army +is that it never spends unnecessary money upon buildings. If it can +buy a good house or other suitable structure cheap it does so. If it +cannot, it makes use of what it can get at a price within its means, +provided that the place will satisfy the requirements of the sanitary +and other Authorities. + +All the machines at Hanbury Street are driven by electric power that +is supplied by the Stepney Council at a cost of 1_d_. per unit for +power and 3_d_. per unit for lighting. + +An elderly man whom I saw there attending to this machinery, was +dismissed by one of the great railway companies when they were +reducing their hands. He had been in the employ of the Salvation Army +for seven years and received the use of a house rent free and a wage +of 30_s_. a week, which probably he would find it quite impossible to +earn anywhere else. + +The hours of employment are from 6.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. if the man is +engaged on outside work, or to 6 p.m. if he labours in the workshop, +and the men are paid at various rates according to the value of their +work, and whether they are boarded and lodged, or live outside. Thus +one to whom I spoke, who was the son of a former mayor of an important +town, was allowed 3_s._ a week plus food and lodging, while another +received 9_s._ a week, 5_s._ of which was sent to his wife, from whom +he was separated. Another man, after living on the Army for about two +years, made charges against it to the Carpenters' and Joiners' Union. +He returned and apologized, but had practically to be kept under +restraint on account of his drinking habits. + +Another man spent twenty years in jail and then walked the streets. He +is now a very respectable person, earns 27_s._ 6_d._ a week, and lives +outside with his wife and family. Another was once convicted of +cruelty to his children, whom he placed under the boards of the +flooring while he went out to drink. These children are now restored +to him, and he lives with them. Another among those with whom I +happened to speak, was robbed by a relative of £4,000 which his father +left to him. He was taken on by the Army in a state of destitution, +but I forget what he earned. Another, the youngest man in the Works, +came to them without any trade at all and in a destitute condition, +but when I saw him was in charge of a morticing machine. He had +married, lived out, and had been in the employ of the Army for five +years. His wage was 27_s._ 6_d._ a week. Two others drew as much as £2 +5_s._ 11_d._ each, living out; but, on the other hand, some received +as little as 3_s._ a week with board and lodging. + +Amongst this latter class was a young Mormon from Salt Lake City, who +earned 4_s._ 6_d._ a week and his board and lodging. He had been in +the Elevator about three months, having got drunk in London and missed +his ship. Although he attended the Salvation Army meetings, he +remained a Mormon. + +In these Works all sorts of articles are manufactured to be used by +other branches of the Salvation Army. Thus I saw poultry-houses being +made for the Boxted Small Holdings; these cost from £4 5_s._ to £4 +10_s._ net, and were excellent structures designed to hold about two +dozen fowls. Further on large numbers of seats of different patterns +were in process of manufacture, some of them for children, and other +longer ones, with reversible backs, to be used in the numerous Army +halls. Next I visited a room in which mattresses and mattress covers +are made for the various Shelters, also the waterproof bunk bedding, +which costs 7_s._ 9_d._ per cover. Further on, in a separate +compartment, was a flock-tearing machine, at which the Mormon I have +mentioned was employed. This is a very dusty job whereat a man does +not work for more than one day in ten. + +Then there were the painting and polishing-room, the joinery room, and +the room where doors, window frames, and articles of furniture are +constructed; also special garden benches, cleverly planned so that the +seat can be protected from rain. These were designed by a young lady +whom I chance to know in private life, and who, as I now discovered +for the first time, is also a member of the Salvation Army. + +Such is the Hanbury Street Workshop, where the Army makes the best use +it can of rather indifferent human materials, and, as I have said, +loses money at the business. + + + + +STURGE HOUSE, BOW ROAD + + + +This branch of the Men's Social Work of the Salvation Army is a home +for poor and destitute boys. The house, which once belonged to the +late Dr. Barnardo, has been recently hired on a short lease. One of +the features of the Army work is the reclamation of lads, of whom +about 2,400 have passed through its hands in London during the course +of the last eight years. + +Sturge House has been fitted up for this special purpose, and +accommodates about fifty boys. The Officer in charge informed me that +some boys apply to them for assistance when they are out of work, +while others come from bad homes, and yet others through the Shelters, +which pass on suitable lads. Each case is strictly investigated when +it arrives, with the result that about one-third of their number are +restored to their parents, from whom often enough they have run away, +sometimes upon the most flimsy pretexts. + +Not unfrequently these boys are bad characters, who tell false tales +of their past. Thus, recently, two who arrived at the Headquarters at +Whitechapel, alleged that they were farm-labourers from Norfolk. As +they did not in the least look the part, inquiries were made, when it +was found that they had never been nearer to Norfolk than Hampstead, +where both of them had been concerned in the stealing of £10 from a +business firm. The matter was patched up with the intervention of the +Army, and the boys were restored to their parents. + +Occasionally, too, lads are brought here by kind folk, who find them +starving. They are taken in, kept for a while, taught and fed, and +when their characters are re-established--for many of them have none +left--put out into the world. Some of them, indeed, work daily at +various employments in London, and pay 5s. a week for their board and +lodging at the Home. A good proportion of these lads also are sent to +the collieries in Wales, where, after a few years, they earn good +wages. + +In these collieries a man and a boy generally work together. A while +ago such a man applied to the Army for a boy, and the applicant, +proving respectable, the boy was sent, and turned out extremely well. +In due course he became a collier himself, and, in his turn, sent for +a boy. So the thing spread, till up to the present time the Army has +supplied fifty or sixty lads to colliers in South Wales, all of whom +seem to be satisfactory and prosperous. + +As the Manager explained, it is not difficult to place out a lad as +soon as his character can be more or less guaranteed. The difficulty +comes with a man who is middle-aged or old. He added that this Home +does not in any sense compete with those of Dr. Barnardo; in fact, in +certain ways they work hand in hand. The Barnardo Homes will not +receive lads who are over sixteen, whereas the Army takes them up to +eighteen. So it comes about that Barnardo's sometimes send on cases +which are over their age limit to Sturge House. + +I saw the boys at their dinner, and although many of them had a bad +record, certainly they looked very respectable, and likely to make +good and useful men. The experience of the Army is that most of them +are quite capable of reformation, and that, when once their hearts +have been changed, they seldom fall back into the ways of dishonesty. + +This Home, like all those managed by the Salvation Army, is spotlessly +clean, and the dormitories are very pleasant rooms. Also, there is a +garden, and in it I saw a number of pots of flowers, which had just +been sent as a present by a boy whom the Army helped three years ago, +and who is now, I understand, a gardener. + +Sturge House struck me as a most useful Institution; and as there is +about it none of the depressing air of the adult Shelters, my visit +here was a pleasant change. The reclamation or the helping of a lad is +a very different business from that of restoring the adult or the old +man to a station in life which he seems to have lost for ever. + + + + +THE CENTRAL LABOUR BUREAU + + + +This Bureau is established in the Social Headquarters at Whitechapel, +a large building acquired as long ago as 1878. Here is to be seen the +room in which General Booth used to hold some of his first prayer +meetings, and a little chamber where he took counsel with those +Officers who were the fathers of the Army. Also there is a place where +he could sit unseen and listen to the preaching of his subordinates, +so that he might judge of their ability. + +The large hall is now part of yet another Shelter, which contains 232 +beds and bunks. I inspected this place, but as it differs in no +important detail from others, I will not describe it. + +The Officer who is in charge of the Labour Bureau informed me that +hundreds of men apply there for work every week, of whom a great many +are sent into the various Elevators and Shelters. The Army finds it +extremely difficult to procure outside employment for these men, for +the simple reason that there is very little available. Moreover, now +that the Government Labour Bureaux are open, this trouble is not +lessened. Of these Bureaux, the Manager said that they are most +useful, but fail to find employment for many who apply to them. +Indeed, numbers of men come on from them to the Salvation Army. + +The hard fact is that there are more idle hands than there is work for +them to do, even where honest and capable folk are concerned. Thus, in +the majority of instances, the Army is obliged to rely upon its own +Institutions and the Hadleigh Land Colony to provide some sort of job +for out-of-works. Of course, of such jobs there are not enough to go +round, so many poor folk must be sent empty away or supported by +charity. + +I suggested that it might be worth while to establish a school of +chauffeurs, and the Officers present said that they would consider the +matter. Unfortunately, however, such an experiment must be costly at +the present price of motor-vehicles. + +I annex the Labour Bureau Statistics for May, 1910:-- + + LONDON + + Applicants for temporary employment 479 + Sent to temporary employment 183 + Applicants for Elevators 864 + Sent to Elevators 260 + Sent to Shelters 32 + + PROVINCES + + Applicants for temporary employment 461 + Sent to temporary employment 160 + Applicants for Elevators 417 + Sent to Elevators 202 + Sent to Shelters 20 + Sent to permanent situations 35 + + + +THE INTERNATIONAL INVESTIGATION DEPARTMENT + +This is a curious and interesting branch of the work of the Salvation +Army. About two thousand times a year it receives letters or personal +applications, asking it to find some missing relative or friend of the +writer or applicant. In reply, a form is posted or given, which must +be filled up with the necessary particulars. Then, if it be a London +case, the Officer in charge sends out a skilled man to work up clues. +If, on the other hand, it be a country case, the Officer in charge of +the Corps nearest to where it has occurred, is instructed to initiate +the inquiry. Also, advertisements are inserted in the Army papers, +known as 'The War Cry' and 'The Social Gazette,' both in Great Britain +and other countries, if the lost person is supposed to be on the +Continent or in some distant part of the world. + +The result is that a large percentage of the individuals sought for +are discovered, alive or dead, for in such work the Salvation Army has +advantages denied to any other body, scarcely excepting the Police. +Its representatives are everywhere, and to whatever land they may +belong or whatever tongue they may speak, all of them obey an order +sent out from Headquarters wholeheartedly and uninfluenced by the +question of regard. The usual fee charged for this work is 10_s_. +6_d_.; but when this cannot be paid, a large number of cases are +undertaken free. The Army goes to as much trouble in these unpaid +cases as in any others, only then it is not able to flood the country +with printed bills. Of course, where well-to-do people are concerned, +it expects that its out-of-pocket costs will be met. + +The cases with which it has to deal are of all kinds. Often those who +have disappeared are found to have done so purposely, perhaps leaving +behind them manufactured evidence, such as coats or letters on a +river-bank, suggesting that they have committed suicide. Generally, +these people are involved in some fraud or other trouble. Again, +husbands desert their wives, or wives their husbands, and vanish, in +which instances they are probably living with somebody else under +another name. Or children are kidnapped, or girls are lured away, or +individuals emigrate to far lands and neglect to write. Or, perhaps, +they simply sink out of all knowledge, and vanish effectually enough +into a paupers grave. + +But the oddest cases of all are those of a complete loss of memory, a +thing that is by no means so infrequent as is generally supposed. The +experience of the Army is that the majority of these cases happen +among those who lead a studious life. The victim goes out in his usual +health and suddenly forgets everything. His mind becomes a total +blank. Yet certain instincts remain, such as that of earning a living. + +Thus, to take a single recent example, the son of a large bookseller +in a country town left the house one day, saying that he would not be +away for long, and disappeared. At the invitation of his father, the +Army took up the case, and ultimately found that the man had been +working in its Spa Road Elevator under another name. Afterwards he +went away, became destitute, and sold matches in the streets. +Ultimately he was found in a Church Army Home. He recovered his +memory, and subsequently lost it again to the extent that he could +recall nothing which happened to him during the period of its first +lapse. All that time vanished into total darkness. + +This business of the hunting out of the missing through the agency of +the Salvation Army is one which increases every day. It is not unusual +for the Army to discover individuals who have been missing for thirty +years and upwards. + + + + +THE EMIGRATION DEPARTMENT + + + +Some years ago I was present one night in the Board-room at Euston +Station and addressed a shipload of emigrants who were departing to +Canada under the auspices of the Salvation Army. I forget their exact +number, but I think it was not less than 500. What I do not forget, +however, is the sorrow that I felt at seeing so many men in the prime +of life leaving the shores of their country for ever, especially as +most of them were not married. This meant, amongst other things, that +an equal number of women who remained behind were deprived of the +possibility of obtaining a husband in a country in which the females +already outnumber the males by more than a million. I said as much in +the little speech I made on this occasion, and I think that some one +answered me with the pertinent remark that if there was no work at +home, it must be sought abroad. + +[Illustration: INMATES OF A MEN'S INDUSTRIAL HOME.] + +There lies the whole problem in a nutshell--men must live. As for the +aged and the incompetent and the sick and the unattached women, these +are left behind for the community to support, while young and active +men of energy move off to endow new lands with their capacities and +strength. The results of this movement, carried out upon a great +scale, can be seen in the remoter parts of Ireland, which, as the +visitor will observe, appear to be largely populated by very young +children and by persons getting on in years. Whether or no this is a +satisfactory state of affairs is not for me to say, although the +matter, too large to discuss here, is one upon which I may have my own +opinion. + +Colonel Lamb, the head of the Salvation Army Emigration Department, +informed me that during the past seven years the Army has emigrated +about 50,000 souls, of whom 10,000 were assisted out of its funds, the +rest paying their own way or being paid for from one source or +another. From 8,000 to 10,000 people have been sent during the present +year, 1910, most of them to Canada, which is the Mecca of the +Salvation Army Emigration policy. So carefully have all these people +been selected, that not 1 per cent have ever been returned to this +country by the Canadian Authorities as undesirable. The truth is that +those Authorities have the greatest confidence in the discretion of +the Army, and in its ability to handle this matter to the advantage of +all concerned. + +That this is true I know from personal experience, since when, some +years ago, I was a Commissioner from the British Government and had +authority to formulate a scheme of Colonial land-settlement, the Prime +Minister of Canada, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, told me so himself in the +plainest language. Indeed, he did more, formally offering a huge block +of territory to be selected anywhere I might choose in the Dominion, +with the aid of its Officers, for the purposes of settlement by poor +folk and their children under the auspices of the Salvation Army. +Also, he added the promise of as much more land as might be required +in the future for the same purpose.[3] + +Most unhappily, as I hold, that offer was not accepted by the British +Government. If this had been done, by now hundreds of English families +would have been transferred from conditions of want at home in the +English towns, into those of peace and plenty upon the land abroad. +Moreover, the recent rise in the value of Canadian land has been so +great that the scheme would not have cost the British taxpayer a +halfpenny, or so I most firmly believe. + +Unfortunately, however, my scheme was too novel in its character to +appeal to the official mind, especially as its working would have +involved a loan repayable by instalments, the administration of which +must have been entrusted to the Salvation Army or to other charitable +Organizations. So this priceless opportunity was lost, probably for +ever, as the new and stricter emigration regulations adopted by +Canada, as I understand, would make it extremely difficult to emigrate +the class I hoped to help, namely, indigent people of good character, +resident in English cities, with growing families of children. + +Young men, especially if they have been bred on the land, and young +marriageable women are eagerly desired in the Colonies, including +Australia; but at families, as we have read in recent correspondence +in the newspapers, they look askance. + +'Why do they not want families in Australia? I asked Colonel Lamb. + +'Because the trouble of housing comes in. It is the same thing in +Canada, it is the same thing all through the Colonies. They do not +want too much trouble,' he answered. + +These words define the position very accurately. 'Give us your best,' +say the Colonies. 'Give us your adult, healthy men and women whom you +have paid to rear and educate, but don't bother us with families of +children whom we have to house. Above all send us no damaged articles. +You are welcome to keep those at home.' + +To my mind this attitude, natural as it may be, creates a serious +problem so far as Great Britain and Ireland are concerned, for the +question will arise, Can we afford to go on parting with the good and +retaining the less desirable? + +On this subject I had a long argument with Colonel Lamb, and his +answer to the question was in the affirmative, although I must admit +that his reasons did not at all convince me. He seemed to believe that +we could send out 250,000 people, chosen people, per annum for the +next ten years without harm to ourselves. Well, it may be so, and, as +he added, 'we are in their (that is, the Colonies') hands, and have to +do what they choose to allow.' + +Also his opinion was that 'the best thing possible for this country is +wholesale emigration,' of course of those whom the Colonies will +accept. He said, 'People here are dissatisfied with their present +condition and want a change. If we had money to assist them, there is +practically no limit to the number who want to go. There are tens of +thousands who would conform to the Canadian regulations. One of the +things we advise the man who has been forced out of the country is +that rather than come into the town he should go to the Colonies.' + +On the matter of the complaints which have been made in Canada of the +emigrant from London, Colonel Lamb said, 'The Londoner, it is alleged, +is not wanted. The Canadian is full of self-assertiveness, and the +Cockney has some of that too; he does not hesitate to express his +views, and you have conflicting spirits at once. The Cockney will +arrive at the conclusion in about twenty-four hours that he could run +Canada better than it is now being run. The Scotchman will take a week +to arrive at the same conclusion, and holds his tongue about it. The +Cockney says what he thinks on the first day of arrival, and the +result is--fireworks. He and the Canadians do not agree to begin with; +but when they get over the first passage of arms they settle down +amicably. The Cockney is finally appreciated, and, being industrious +and amenable to law and order, if he has got a bit of humour he gets +on all right, but not at first.' + +Colonel Lamb informed me that in Australia the Labour Party is afraid +of the Army because it believes 'we will send in people to bring down +wages.' Therefore, the Labour Party has sidetracked General Booth's +proposals. Now, however, it alleges that it is not opposed to +emigration, if not on too large a scale. 'They don't mind a few girls; +but they say the condition that must precede emigration is the +breaking up of the land.' + +Colonel Lamb appeared to desire that an Emigration Board should be +appointed in England, with power and funds to deal with the +distribution of the population of the Empire and to systematize +emigration. To this Imperial Board, individuals or Societies, such as +the Salvation Army, should, he thought, be able to submit their +schemes, which schemes would receive assistance according to their +merits under such limitations as the Board might see fit to impose. To +such a Board he would even give power to carry out land-settlement +schemes in the British Isles. + +This is a great proposal, but one wonders whence the money is to come. +Also how long will it be before the Labour Parties in the various +Colonies, including Canada, gain so much power that they will refuse +to accept emigrants at all, except young women, or agriculturalists +who bring capital with them? + +But all these problems are for the future. Meanwhile it is evident +that the Salvation Army manages its emigration work with extraordinary +success and business skill. Those whom it sends from these shores for +their own benefit are invariably accepted, at any rate in Canada, and +provided with work on their arrival in the chosen Colony. That the +selection is sound and careful is shown, also, by the fact that the +Army recovers from those emigrants to whom it gives assistance a +considerable percentage of the sums advanced to enable them to start +life in a new land. + + + + +THE WOMEN'S SOCIAL WORK IN LONDON + + + +At the commencement of my investigation of this branch of the +Salvation Army activities in England, I discussed its general aspects +with Mrs. Bramwell Booth, who has it in her charge. She pointed out to +me that this Women's Social Work is a much larger business than it was +believed to be even by those who had some acquaintance with the +Salvation Army, and that it deals with many matters of great +importance in their bearing on the complex problems of our +civilization. + +Among them, to take some that she mentioned, which recur to my mind, +are the questions of illegitimacy and prostitution, of maternity homes +for poor girls who have fallen into trouble, of women thieves, of what +is known as the White Slave traffic, of female children who have been +exposed to awful treatment, of women who are drunkards or drug-takers, +of aged and destitute women, of intractable or vicious-minded girls, +and, lastly, of the training of young persons to enable them to deal +scientifically with all these evils, or under the name of Slum +Sisters, to wait upon the poor in their homes, and nurse them through +the trials of maternity. + +How practical and efficient this training is, no one can know who has +not, like myself, visited and inquired into the various Institutions +and Refuges of the Army in different cities of the land. It is a +wonderful thing, as has happened to me again and again, to see some +quiet, middle-aged lady, often so shy that it is difficult to extract +from her the information required, ruling with the most perfect +success a number of young women, who, a few weeks or months before, +were the vilest of the vile, and what is stranger still, reforming as +she rules. These ladies exercise no severity; the punishment, which, +perhaps necessarily, is a leading feature in some of our Government +Institutions, is unknown to their system. I am told that no one is +ever struck, no one is imprisoned, no one is restricted in diet for +any offence. As an Officer said to me:-- + +'If we cannot manage a girl by love, we recognize that the case is +beyond us, and ask her to go away. This, however, very seldom +happens.' + +As a matter of fact, that case which is beyond the regenerating powers +of the Army must be very bad indeed, at any rate where young people +are concerned. In the vast majority of instances a cure is effected, +and apparently a permanent cure. In every one of these Homes there is +a room reserved for the accommodation of those who have passed through +it and gone out into the world again, should they care to return there +in their holidays or other intervals of leisure. That room is always +in great demand, and I can imagine no more eloquent testimony to the +manner of the treatment of its occupants while they dwelt in these +Homes as 'cases.' + +In truth, a study of the female Officers of the Salvation Army is +calculated to convert the observer not only to a belief in the right +of women to the suffrage, but also to that of their fitness to rule +among, or even over men. Only I never heard that any of these ladies +ever sought such privileges; moreover, few of the sex would care to +win them at the price of the training, self-denial, and stern +experience which it is their lot to undergo. + +Mrs. Bramwell Booth pointed out to me that although the actual work of +the Army on these women's questions is 'more than just a little,' it +had, as it were, only touched their fringe. Yet even this 'fringe' has +many threads, seeing that over 44,000 of these women's cases have been +helped in one way or another since this branch of the home work began +about twenty years ago. + +She added that scarcely a month goes by in which the Army does not +break out in a new direction, open a new Institution, or attempt to +attack a new problem; and this, be it remembered, not only in these +islands but over the face of half the earth. At present its sphere of +influence is limited by the lack of funds. Give it enough money, she +said, and there is little that it would not dare to try. Everywhere +the harvest is plentiful, and if the workers remain comparatively few, +it is because material means are lacking for their support. Given the +money and the workers would be found. Nor will they ask much for +maintenance or salary, enough to provide the necessary buildings, and +to keep body and soul together, that is all.[4] + +What are these women doing? In London they run more than a score of +Homes and Agencies, including a Maternity Hospital, which I will +describe later, where hundreds of poor deceived girls are taken in +during their trouble. I believe it is almost the only one of the sort, +at any rate on the same scale, in that great city. + +Also they manage various Homes for drunken women. It has always been +supposed to be a practical impossibility to effect a cure in such +cases, but the lady Officers of the Salvation Army succeed in turning +about 50 per cent of their patients into perfectly sober persons. At +least they remain sober for three years from the date of their +discharge, after which they are often followed no further. + +Another of their objects is to find out the fathers of illegitimate +children, and persuade them to sign a form of agreement which has been +carefully drawn by Counsel, binding themselves to contribute towards +the cost of the maintenance of the child. Or failing this, should the +evidence be sufficient, they try to obtain affiliation orders against +such fathers in a Magistrates' Court. Here I may state that the amount +of affiliation money collected in England by the Army in 1909 was +£1,217, of which £208 was for new cases. Further, £671 was collected +and paid over for maintenance to deserted wives. Little or none of +this money would have been forthcoming but for its exertions. + +Mrs. Bramwell Booth informed me that there exists a class of young +men, most of them in the employ of tradesfolk, who habitually amuse +themselves by getting servant girls into trouble, often under a +promise of marriage. Then, if the usual results follow, it is common +for these men to move away to another town, taking their references +with them and, sometimes under a new name, to repeat the process +there. She was of opinion that the age of consent ought to be raised +to eighteen at least, a course for which there is much to be said. +Also she thought, and this is more controversial, that when any young +girl has been seduced under promise of marriage, the seducer should be +liable to punishment under the criminal law. Of course, one of the +difficulties here would be to prove the promise of marriage beyond all +reasonable doubt. + +Also to bring such matters within the cognizance of the criminal law +would be a new and, indeed, a dangerous departure not altogether easy +to justify, especially as old magistrates like myself, who have +considerable experience of such cases must know, it is not always the +man who is to blame. Personally, I incline to the view that if the age +of consent were raised, and the contribution exacted from the putative +father of an illegitimate child made proportionate to his means, and +not limited, as it is now, to a maximum of 5s. a week, the criminal +law might well be left out of the question. It must be remembered +further, as Mrs. Booth pointed out herself, that there is another +remedy, namely, that of a better home-training of girls who should be +prepared by their mothers or friends to face the dangers of the world, +a duty which these too often neglect. The result is that many young +women who feel lonely and desire to get married, overstep the limits +of prudence on receipt of a promise that thus they may attain their +end, with the result that generally they find themselves ruined and +deserted. + +Mrs. Bramwell Booth said that the Army is doing its utmost to mitigate +the horrors of what is known as the White Slave traffic, both here and +in many other countries. With this object it has a Bill before +Parliament at the present time, of which one of the aims is to prevent +children from being sent out of this country to France under +circumstances that practically ensure their moral destruction. It +seems that the state of things in Paris in this connexion is, in her +own words, 'most abominable, too horrible for words.' Children are +procured from certain theatre dancing schools, and their birth +certificates sometimes falsified to make it appear that they are over +fourteen, although often they may be as young as twelve or even ten. +Then they are conveyed to vile places in Paris where their doom is +sure. + +Let us hope that in due course this Bill will become law, for if girls +are protected up to sixteen in this country, surely they should not be +sent out of it in doubtful circumstances under that age. + +Needless to say abominations of this nature are not unknown in London. +Thus a while ago the Army received a telegram from a German girl +asking, 'Can you help?' Two of its people went at once to the address +given, and, contriving to get into the house, discovered there a young +woman who, imagining that she had been engaged in Germany as a servant +in an English family, found herself in a London brothel. Fortunately, +being a girl of some character and resource, she held her own, and, +having heard of the Salvation Army in her own land, persuaded a +milkman to take the telegram that brought about her delivery from this +den of wickedness. + +Unfortunately it proved impossible to discover the woman who had hired +her abroad, as the victim of the plot really knew nothing about that +procuress. This girl was restored to her home in Germany none the +worse for her terrific adventure, and a few weeks later refunded her +travelling expenses. But how many must there be who have never heard +of the Salvation Army, and can find no milkman to help them out of +their vile prisons, for such places are no less. + +Another branch of the Army women's work is that of the rescue of +prostitutes from the streets, which is known as the 'Midnight Work.' +For the purpose of this endeavour it hires a flat in Great Titchfield +Street, of which, and of the mission that centres round it, I will +speak later in this book. + +The Women's Social Work of the Salvation Army began in London, in the +year 1884, at the cottage of a woman-soldier of the Army who lived in +Whitechapel. This lady, who was interested in girls without character, +took some of them into her home. Eventually she left the place which +came into the hands of the Army, whereon Mrs. Bramwell Booth was sent +to take charge of the twelve inmates whom it would accommodate. The +seed that was thus sown in 1884 has now multiplied itself into +fifty-nine Homes and Agencies for women in Great Britain alone, to say +nothing of others abroad and in the Colonies. But this is only a +beginning. + +'We look forward,' said Mrs. Bramwell Booth to me, 'to a great +increase of this side of our work at home. No year has passed without +the opening of a new Women's Home of some kind, and we hope that this +will continue. Thus I want to build a very big Maternity Hospital if I +can get the money. We have about £20,000 in hand for this purpose; but +the lesser of the two schemes before us will cost £35,000.' + +Will not some rich and charitable person provide the £15,000 that are +lacking? + + + + +THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE WOMEN'S SOCIAL WORK + + + +LOWER CLAPTON ROAD + +The Women's Social Headquarters of the Salvation Army in England is +situated at Clapton. It is a property of nearly three acres, on which +stand four houses that will be rebuilt whenever funds are forthcoming +for the erection of the Maternity Hospital and Training Institution +for nurses and midwives which I have already mentioned. At present +about forty Officers are employed here, most of whom are women, under +the command of Commissioner Cox, one of the foremost of the 600 +women-Officers of the Salvation Army in the United Kingdom who give +their services to the women's social work. + +It is almost needless for me to add that Commissioner Cox is a lady of +very great ability, who is entirely devoted to the cause to which she +has dedicated her life. One of the reasons of the great success of the +Salvation Army is that only able people exactly suited to the +particular work in view are put in authority over that work. Here +there are no sinecures, no bought advowsons, and no freehold livings. +Moreover, the policy of the Army, as a general rule, is not to allow +any one to remain too long in any one office, lest he or she should +become fossilized or subject to local influences. + +I remember when I was in America hearing of a case in which a very +leading Officer of the Army, who chanced to be a near relative of +General Booth, declined to obey an order to change his command for +another in a totally different part of the world. The order was +repeated once or twice, and as often disobeyed. Resignation followed +and an attempt to found a rival Organization. I only mention this +matter to show that discipline is enforced in this Society without +fear, favour, or prejudice, which is, perhaps, a principal reason of +its efficiency. + + + + +HILLSBOROUGH HOUSE INEBRIATES' HOME + + +Under the guidance of Commissioner Cox I inspected a number of the +London Women's Institutions of the Army, first visiting the +Hillsborough House Inebriates' Home. This Home, a beautifully clean +and well-kept place, has accommodation for thirty patients, +twenty-nine beds being occupied on the day of my visit. The lady in +charge informed me that these patients are expected to contribute 10s. +per week towards the cost of their maintenance; but that, as a matter +of fact, they seldom pay so much. Generally the sum recovered varies +from 7s. to 3s. per week, while a good many give nothing at all. + +The work the patients do in this Home is sold and produces something +towards the cost of upkeep. The actual expense of the maintenance of +the inmates averages about 12s. 6d. a week per head, which sum +includes an allowance for rent. Most of the cases stay in the Home for +twelve months, although some remain for a shorter period. When the +cure is completed, if they are married, the patients return to their +husbands. The unmarried are sent out to positions as governesses, +nurses, or servants, that is, if the authorities of the Home are able +to give them satisfactory characters. + +As the reader who knows anything of such matters will be aware, it is +generally supposed to be rather more easy to pass a camel through the +eye of a needle than to reclaim a confirmed female drunkard. Yet, as I +have already said, the Salvation Army, on a three years' test in each +case, has shown that it deals successfully with about 50 per cent of +those women who come into its hands for treatment as inebriates or +drug-takers. How is this done? Largely, of course, by effecting +through religious means a change of heart and nature, as the Army +often seems to have the power to do, and by the exercise of gentle +personal influences. + +But there remains another aid which is physical. + +With the shrewdness that distinguishes them, the Officers of the Army +have discovered that the practice of vegetarianism is a wonderful +enemy to the practice of alcoholism. The vegetarian, it seems, +conceives a bodily distaste to spirituous liquors. If they can +persuade a patient to become a vegetarian, then the chances of her +cure are enormously increased. Therefore, in this and in the other +female Inebriate Homes no meat is served. The breakfast, which is +eaten at 7.30, consists of tea, brown and white bread and butter, +porridge and fresh milk, or stewed fruit. A sample dinner at one +o'clock includes macaroni cheese, greens, potatoes, fruit pudding or +plain boiled puddings with stewed figs. On one day a week, however, +baked or boiled fish is served with pease pudding, potatoes, and +boiled currant pudding, and on another, brown gravy is given with +onions in batter. Tea, which is served at six o'clock, consists--to +take a couple of samples--of tea, white and brown bread and butter, +and cheese sandwiches with salad; or of tea, white and brown bread and +butter, savoury rolls, and apples or oranges. + +It will be observed that this diet is as simple as it well can be; but +I think it right to add, after personal inspection, that the inmates +appear to thrive on it extremely well. Certainly all whom I saw looked +well nourished and healthy. + +A book is kept in the Home in which the details of each case are +carefully entered, together with its record for two years after +discharge. Here are the particulars of three cases taken by me at +hazard from this book which will serve to indicate the class of +patient that is treated at this Home. Of course, I omit the names:-- + + _A.B._ Aged thirty-one. Her mother, who was a drunkard and + gave A.B. drink in her childhood, died some time ago. A.B. + drove her father, who was in good circumstances, having a + large business, to madness by her inebriety. Indeed, he + tried to commit suicide by hanging himself, but, oddly + enough, it was A.B. who cut him down, and he was sent to an + asylum. A.B. had fallen very low since her mother's death; + but I do not give these details. All the members of her + family drank, except, strange to say, the father, who at the + date of my visit was in the asylum. A.B. had been in the + Home some time, and was giving every satisfaction. It was + hoped that she will be quite cured. + + _C.D._ Aged thirty. C.D.'s father, a farmer, was a moderate + drinker, her mother was a temperance woman. Her parents + discovered her craving for drink about ten years ago. She + was unable to keep any situation on account of this failing. + Four years ago C.D. was sent to an Inebriate Home for twelve + months, but no cure was effected. Afterwards she + disappeared, having been dismissed from her place, and was + found again for the mother by the Salvation Army. At the + time of my visit she had been six months in the Home, and + was doing well. + + _E.F._ Aged forty-eight; was the widow of a professional + man, whom she married as his second wife, and by whom she + had two children, one of whom survives. She began to drink + before her husband's death, and this tendency was increased + by family troubles that arose over his will. She mismanaged + his business and lost everything, drank heavily and + despaired. She tried to keep a boarding house, but her + furniture was seized and she came absolutely to the end of + her resources, her own daughter being sent away to her + relatives. E.F. was nine months in the Hillsborough Home, + and had gone as cook and housekeeper to a situation, where + she also was giving every satisfaction. + + + + +THE MATERNITY NURSING HOME + + + +LORNE HOUSE, STOKE NEWINGTON + +Her Royal Highness Princes Louise, the Duchess of Argyll, defrayed the +cost of the purchase of the leasehold of this charming Home. The +lady-Officer in charge informed me that the object of the +establishment is to take in women who have or are about to have +illegitimate children. It is not, however, a lying-in Home, the +mothers being sent to the Ivy House Hospital for their confinements. +After these are over they are kept for four or sometimes for six +months at Lorne House. At the expiration of this period situations are +found for most of them, and the babies are put out to nurse in the +houses of carefully selected women with whom the mothers can keep in +touch. These women are visited from time to time by Salvation Army +Officers who make sure that the infants are well treated in every way. + +All the cases in this Home are those of girls who have fallen into +trouble for the first time. They belong to a better class than do +those who are received in many of the Army Homes. The charge for their +maintenance is supposed to be £1 a week, but some pay only 5s., and +some nothing at all. As a matter of fact, out of the twelve cases +which the Home will hold, at the time of my visit half were making no +payment. If the Army averages a contribution of 7s. a week from them, +it thinks itself fortunate. + +I saw a number of the babies in cradles placed in an old greenhouse in +the garden to protect them from the rain that was falling at the time. +When it is at all fine they are kept as much as possible in the open +air, and the results seem to justify this treatment, for it would be +difficult to find healthier infants. + +Five or six of the inmates sleep together in a room; for those with +children a cot is provided beside each bed. I saw several of these +young women, who all seemed to be as happy and contented as was +possible under their somewhat depressing circumstances. + + + + +THE MATERNITY RECEIVING HOME + + + +BRENT HOUSE, HACKNEY + +This Home serves a somewhat similar purpose as that at Lorne House, +but the young women taken in here while awaiting their confinement are +not, as a rule, of so high a class. + +In the garden at the back of the house about forty girls were seated +in a kind of shelter which protected them from the rain, some of them +working and some talking together, while others remained apart +depressed and silent. Most of these young women were shortly expecting +to become mothers. Certain of them, however, already had their +infants, as there were seventeen babies in the Home who had been +crowded out of the Central Maternity Hospital. Among these were some +very sad cases, several of them being girls of gentle birth, taken in +here because they could pay nothing. One, I remember, was a foreign +young lady, whose sad history I will not relate. She was found running +about the streets of a seaport town in a half-crazed condition and +brought to this place by the Officers of the Salvation Army. + +In this house there is a room where ex-patients who are in service can +bring their infants upon their holidays. Two or three of these women +were here upon the occasion of my visit, and it was a pathetic sight +to see them dandling the babies from whom they had been separated and +giving them their food. + +It is the custom in this and other Salvation Army Maternity Homes to +set apart a night in every month for what is called a Social Evening. +On these occasions fifty or more of the former inmates will arrive +with their children, whom they have brought from the various places +where they are at nurse, and for a few hours enjoy their society, +after which they take them back to the nurses and return to their +work, whatever it may be. By means of this kindly arrangement these +poor mothers are enabled from time to time to see something of their +offspring, which, needless to say, is a boon they greatly prize. + + + + +THE MATERNITY HOSPITAL + + + +IVY HOUSE, HACKNEY + +This Hospital is one for the accommodation of young mothers on the +occasion of the birth of their illegitimate children. It is a humble +building, containing twenty-five beds, although I think a few more can +be arranged. That it serves its purpose well, until the large +Maternity Hospital of which I have already spoken can be built, is +shown by the fact that 286 babies (of whom only twenty-five were not +illegitimate) were born here in 1900 without the loss of a single +mother. Thirty babies died, however, which the lady-Officer in charge +thought rather a high proportion, but one accounted for by the fact +that during this particular year a large number of the births were +premature. In 1908, 270 children were born, of whom twelve died, six +of these being premature. + +The cases are drawn from London and other towns where the Salvation +Army is at work. Generally they, or their relatives and friends, or +perhaps the father of the child, apply to the Army to help them in +their trouble, thereby, no doubt, preventing many child-murders and +some suicides. The charge made by the Institution for these lying-in +cases is in proportion to the ability of the patient to pay. Many +contribute nothing at all. From those who do pay, the average sum +received is 10_s_. a week, in return for which they are furnished with +medical attendance, food, nursing, and all other things needful to +their state. + +I went over the Hospital, and saw these unfortunate mothers lying in +bed, each of them with her infant in a cot beside her. Although their +immediate trial was over, these poor girls looked very sad. + +'They know that their lives are spoiled,' said the lady in charge. + +Most of them were quite young, some being only fifteen, and the +majority under twenty. This, it was explained to me, is generally due +to the ignorance of the facts of life in which girls are kept by their +parents or others responsible for their training. Last year there was +a mother aged thirteen in this Hospital. + +One girl, who seemed particularly sad, had twins lying beside her. +Hoping to cheer her up, I remarked that they were beautiful babies, +whereon she hid her face beneath the bedclothes. + +'Don't talk about them,' said the Officer, drawing me away, 'that +child nearly cried her eyes out when she was told that there were two. +You see, it is hard enough for these poor mothers to keep one, but +when it comes to two--!' + +I asked whether the majority of these unfortunate young women really +tried to support their children. The answer was that most of them try +very hard indeed, and will use all their money for this purpose, even +stinting themselves of absolute necessaries. Few of them go wrong +again after their first slip, as they have learned their lesson. +Moreover, during their stay in hospital and afterwards, the Salvation +Army does its best to impress on them certain moral teachings, and +thus to make its work preventive as well as remedial. + +Places in service are found for a great number of these girls, +generally where only one servant is kept, so that they may not be +taunted by the others if these should find out their secret. This as a +rule, however, is confided to the mistress. The average wage they +receive is about £18 a year. As it costs them £13, or 5_s_. a week, to +support an infant (not allowing for its clothes), the struggle is very +hard unless the Army can discover the father, and make him contribute +towards the support of his child, either voluntarily or through a +bastardy order. + +I was informed that many of these fathers are supposed to be +gentlemen, but when it comes to this matter of payment, they show that +they have little title to that description. Of course, in the case of +men of humbler degree, money is even harder to recover. I may add, +that my own long experience as a magistrate goes to confirm this +statement. It is extraordinary to what meanness, subterfuge, and even +perjury, a man will sometimes resort, in order to avoid paying so +little as 1_s_. 6_d_. a week towards the keep of his own child. Often +the line of defence is a cruel attempt to blacken the character of the +mother, even when the accuser well knows that there is not the +slightest ground for the charge, and that he alone is responsible for +the woman's fall.[5] Also, if the case is proved, and the order made, +many such men will run away and hide themselves in another part of the +country to escape the fulfilment of their just obligations. + +In connexion with this Maternity Hospital, the Salvation Army has a +Training School for midwives and nurses, all of whom must pass the +Central Midwives Board examination before they are allowed to +practise. Some of the students, after qualifying, continue to work for +the Army in its Hospital Department, and others in the Slum +Department, while some go abroad in the service of other Societies. +The scale of fees for this four months' course in midwifery varies +according to circumstances. The Army asks the full charge of eighteen +guineas from those students who belong to, or propose to serve other +Societies. Those who intend to go abroad to work with medical +missionaries, have to pay fifteen guineas, and those who are members +of the Salvation Army, or who intend to serve the Army in this +Department, pay nothing, unless, at the conclusion of their course, +they decide to leave the Army's service. + +At the last examination, out of fourteen students sent up from this +Institution, thirteen passed the necessary test. + + + + +'THE NEST' + + + +CLAPTON + +When I began to write this book, I determined to set down all things +exactly as I saw or heard them. But, although somewhat hardened in +such matters by long experience of a very ugly world, I find that +there are limits to what can be told of such a place as 'The Nest' in +pages which are meant for perusal by the general public. The house +itself is charming, with a good garden adorned by beautiful trees. It +has every arrangement and comfort possible for the welfare of its +child inmates, including an open-air bedroom, cleverly contrived from +an old greenhouse for the use of those among them whose lungs are +weakly. + +But these inmates, these sixty-two children whose ages varied from +about four to about sixteen! What can I say of their histories? Only +in general language, that more than one half of them have been subject +to outrages too terrible to repeat, often enough at the hands of their +own fathers! If the reader wishes to learn more, he can apply +confidentially to Commissioner Cox, or to Mrs. Bramwell Booth. + +[Illustration: SOME OF THE CHILDREN AT 'THE NEST'.] + +Here, however, is a case that I can mention, as although it is +dreadful enough, it belongs to a different class. Seeing a child of +ten, whose name was Betty, playing about quite happily with the +others, I spoke to her, and afterwards asked for the particulars of +her story. They were brief. It appears that this poor little thing had +actually seen her father murder her mother. I am glad to be able to +add that to all appearance she has recovered from the shock of this +awful experience. + +Indeed, all these little girls, notwithstanding their hideous pasts, +seemed, so far as I could judge, to be extremely happy at their +childish games in the garden. Except that some were of stunted growth, +I noted nothing abnormal about any of them. I was told, however, by +the Officer in charge, that occasionally, when they grow older, +propensities originally induced in them through no fault of their own +will assert themselves. + +To lessen this danger, as in the case of the women inebriates, all +these children are brought up as vegetarians. Before me, as I write, +is the bill of fare for the week, which I tore off a notice board in +the house. The breakfast on three days, to take examples, consists of +porridge, with boiling milk and sugar, cocoa, brown and white bread +and butter. On the other mornings either stewed figs, prunes, or +marmalade are added. A sample dinner consists of lentil savoury, baked +potatoes, brown gravy and bread; boiled rice with milk and sugar. For +tea, bananas, apples, oranges, nuts, jam, brown and white bread and +butter and cocoa are supplied, but tea itself as a beverage is only +given on Sundays. A footnote to the bill of fare states that all +children over twelve years of age who wish for it, can have bread and +butter before going to bed. + +Certainly the inmates of 'The Nest,' if any judgment may be formed +from their personal appearance, afford a good argument to the +advocates of vegetarianism. + +It costs £13 a year to endow a bed in this Institution. Amongst +others, I saw one which was labelled 'The Band of Helpers' Bed. This +is maintained by girls who have passed through the Institution, and +are now earning their livelihood in the world, as I thought, a +touching and significant testimony. I should add that the children in +this Home are educated under the direction of a certificated +governess. + +My visit to this Refuge made a deep impression on my mind. No person +of sense and experience, remembering the nameless outrages to which +many of these poor children have been exposed, could witness their +present health and happiness without realizing the blessed nature of +this work. + + + + +THE TRAINING INSTITUTE FOR WOMEN SOCIAL WORKERS + + + +CLAPTON + +Colonel Lambert, the lady-Officer in charge of this Institution, +informed me that it can accommodate sixty young women. At the time of +my visit forty-seven pupils were being prepared for service in the +Women's Department of what is called 'Salvation Army Warfare.' These +Cadets come from all sources and in various ways. Most of them have +first been members of the Army and made application to be trained, +feeling themselves attracted to this particular branch of its work. + +The basis of their instruction is religious and theological. It +includes the study of the Bible, of the doctrine and discipline of the +Salvation Army and the rules and regulations governing the labours of +its Social Officers. In addition, these Cadets attend practical +classes where they learn needlework, the scientific cutting out of +garments, knitting, laundry work, first medical aid, nursing, and so +forth. The course at this Institution takes ten months to complete, +after which those Cadets who have passed the examinations are +appointed to various centres of the Army's Social activities. + +When these young women have passed out and enter on active Social work +they are allowed their board and lodging and a small salary to pay for +their clothing. This salary at the commencement of a worker's career +amounts to the magnificent sum of 4s. a week, if she 'lives in' (about +the pay of a country kitchen maid); out of which she is expected to +defray the cost of her uniform and other clothes, postage stamps, etc. +Ultimately, after many years of service, it may rise to as much as +10s. in the case of senior Officers, or, if the Officer finds her own +board and lodging, to a limit of £1 a week. + +Of these ladies who are trained in the Home few leave the Army. Should +they do so, however, I am informed that they can generally obtain from +other Organizations double or treble the pay which the Army is able to +afford. + +This Training Institution is a building admirably suited to the +purpose to which it is put. Originally it was a ladies' school, which +was purchased by the Salvation Army. The dining-room of the Cadets was +very well arranged and charmingly decorated with flowers, as was that +of the Officers beyond. There was also a Cadets' retiring-room, where +I saw some of them reading or otherwise amusing themselves on their +Saturday half-holiday. The Army would be glad to find and train more +of these self-sacrificing workers; but the conditions of the pay which +they can offer and the arduous nature of the lifelong service +involved, are such that those of a satisfactory class are not too +readily forthcoming. + +Attached to this Training Institution is a Home for girls of doubtful +or bad antecedents, which I also visited. This Rescue Home is linked +up with the Training School, so that the Cadets may have the +opportunity of acquiring a practical knowledge of the class of work +upon which they are to be engaged in after-life. Most of the girls in +the Rescue Home have passed through the Police-courts, and been handed +over to the care of the Army by magistrates. The object of the Army is +to reform them and instruct them in useful work which will enable them +to earn an honest living. + +Many of these girls have been in the habit of thieving from their +mistresses or others, generally in order to enable them to make +presents to their lovers. Indeed, it would seem that this mania for +making presents is a frequent cause of the fall of young persons with +a natural leaning to dishonesty and a desire to appear rich and +liberal. The Army succeeds in reclaiming a great number of them; but +the thieving instinct is one not easy to eradicate. + +All these girls seemed fairly happy. A great deal of knitting is done +by them, and I saw a room furnished with a number of knitting +machines, where work is turned out to the value of nearly £25 a week. +Also I was shown piles of women's and children's underclothing and +other articles, the produce of the girls' needles, which are sold to +help to defray the expenses of the Home. In the workroom on this +Saturday afternoon a number of the young women were engaged in mending +their own garments. After their period of probation many of these +girls are sent out to situations found for them by the Army. + + + + +THE WOMEN'S INDUSTRIAL HOME + + + +HACKNEY + +This Home is one of much the same class as that which I have just +described. It has accommodation for forty-eight girls, of whom over +1,000 have passed through the Institution, where they are generally +kept for a period of six months. Most of the young women in the Home +when I visited it had been thieves. One, who was twenty-seven years of +age, had stolen ever since she was twelve, and the lady in charge told +me that when she came to them everything she had on her, and almost +all the articles in her trunk were the property of former mistresses. + +In answer to my questions, Commissioner Cox informed me that the +result of their work in this Home was so satisfactory that they +scarcely liked to announce it. They computed, however, that taken on a +three years' test--for the subsequent career of each inmate is +followed for that period--90 per cent of the cases prove to be +permanent moral cures. This, when the previous history of these young +women is considered, may, I think, be accounted a great triumph. No +money contribution is asked or expected in this particular Home. +Indeed, it would not be forthcoming from the class of girls who are +sent or come here to be reformed, many of whom, on entering, are +destitute of underclothing and other necessaries, The needlework which +they do, however, is sold, and helps to pay for the upkeep of the +place. + +I asked what was done if any of them refused to work. The answer was +that this very rarely happened, as the women-Officers shared in their +labours, and the girls could not for shame's sake sit idle while their +Officers worked. I visited the room where this sewing was in progress, +and observed that Commissioner Cox, who conducted me, was received +with hearty, and to all appearance, spontaneous clapping of hands, +which seemed to indicate that these poor young women are happy and +contented. The hours of labour kept in the Home are those laid down in +the Factory Acts. + +While looking at the work produced by the inmates, I asked +Commissioner Cox if she had anything to say as to the charges of +sweating which are sometimes brought against the Army, and of +underselling in the markets. Her answer was:-- + +'We do not compete in the markets at all, as we do not make sufficient +articles, and never work for the trade or supply wholesale; we sell +the garments we make one by one by means of our pedlars. It is +necessary that we should do this in order to support our girls. Either +we must manufacture and sell the work, or they must starve.' + +Here we have the whole charge of sweating by the Army in a nutshell, +and the answer to it. + +In this Home a system has been devised for providing each girl with an +outfit when she leaves. It is managed by means of a kind of deferred +pay, which is increased if she keeps up to the standard of work +required. Thus, gradually, she earns her outfit, and leaves the place +with a box of good clothes. The first thing provided is a pair of +boots, then a suitable box, and lastly, the materials which they make +into clothes. + +This house, like all the others, I found to be extremely well +arranged, with properly-ventilated dormitories, and well suited to its +purposes. + + + + +THE INEBRIATES' HOME + + + +SPRINGFIELD LODGE, DENMARK HILL. + +This house, which has a fine garden attached, was a gentleman's +residence purchased by the Salvation Army, to serve as an Inebriates' +Home for the better class of patients. With the exception of a few who +give their services in connexion with the work of the place as a +return for their treatment, it is really a Home for gentlefolk. When I +visited it, some of the inmates, of whom there are usually from +twenty-five to thirty, were talented ladies who could speak several +languages, or paint, or play very well. All these came here to be +cured of the drink or drug habit. The fee for the course ranges from a +guinea to 10_s_. per week, according to the ability of the patient to +pay, but some who lack this ability pay nothing at all. + +The lady in charge remarked drily on this point, that many people +seemed to think that as the place belonged to the Salvation Army it +did not matter if they paid or not. As is the practice at Hillsborough +House, a vegetarian diet is insisted upon as a condition of +the patient receiving treatment at the Home. Often this is a cause of +much remonstrance, as the inmates, who are mostly persons in middle or +advanced life, think that it will kill them. The actual results, +however, are found to be most satisfactory, as the percentage of +successes is found to be 50 per cent, after a year in the Home and +three years' subsequent supervision. I was told that a while ago, Sir +Thomas Barlow, the well-known physician, challenged this statement. He +was asked to see for himself, he examined a number of the patients, +inspected the books and records, and finally satisfied himself that it +was absolutely correct. + +The Army attaches much importance to what may be called the after-care +of the cases, for the lack of which so many people who pass through +Homes and then return to ordinary life, break down, and become, +perhaps, worse than they were before. The seven devils of Scripture +are always ready to re-occupy the swept and garnished soul, especially +if they be the devils of drink. + +Moreover, the experience of the Army is that relatives and friends are +extraordinarily thoughtless in this matter. Often enough they will, as +it were, thrust spirituous liquors down the throat of the +newly-reformed drunkard, or at the least will pass them before their +eyes and drink them in their presence as usual, with results that may +be imagined. One taste and in four cases out of six the thing is done. +The old longings awake again and must be satisfied. + +For these reasons the highly-skilled Officers of the Salvation Army +hold that reclaimed inebriates should be safeguarded, watched, and, so +far as the circumstances may allow, kept under the influences that +have brought about their partial recovery. They say that they owe much +of their remarkable success in those cases to a strict observance of +such preventive methods for a period of three years. After that time +patients must stand upon their own feet. These remarks apply also to +the victims of the drug habit, who are even more difficult to deal +with than common drunkards. + +At this Home I had a conversation with a fine young woman, an +ex-hospital nurse, who gave me a very interesting account of her +experiences of laudanum drinking. She said that in an illness she had +gone through while she was a nurse a doctor dosed her with laudanum to +deaden her pain and induce sleep. The upshot was that she could not +sleep without the help of laudanum or other opiates, and thus the +fatal habit was formed. She described the effects of the drug upon +her, which appeared to be temporary exhilaration and freedom from all +care, coupled with sensations of great vigour. She spoke also of +delightful visions; but when I asked her to describe the visions, she +went back upon that statement, perhaps because their nature was such +as she did not care to set out. She added, however, that the sleep +which followed was haunted by terrible dreams. + +Another effect of the habit, according to this lady, is forgetfulness, +which showed itself in all kinds of mistakes, and in the loss of power +of accurate expression, which caused her to say things she did not +mean and could not remember when she had said them. She told me that +the process of weaning herself from the drug was extremely painful and +difficult; but that she now slept well and desired it no more. + +To be plain, I was not satisfied with the truth of this last +statement, for there was a strange look in her eyes which suggested +that she still desired it very much; also she seemed to me to +prevaricate upon certain points. Further, those in charge of her +allowed that this diagnosis was probably correct, especially as she is +now in the Home for the second time, although her first visit there +was a very short one. Still they thought that she would be cured in +the end. Let us hope that they were right. + +The Army has also another Home in this neighbourhood, run on similar +lines, for the treatment of middle-class and poor people. + + + + +THE WOMEN'S INDUSTRIAL HOME + + + +SOUTHWOOD, SYDENHAM HILL + +This is another of the Salvation Army Homes for Women. When I visited +Southwood, which is an extremely good house, having been a gentleman's +residence, with a garden and commanding a beautiful view, there were +about forty inmates, some of whom were persons of gentle birth. For +such ladies single sleeping places are provided, with special dining +and sitting-rooms. These are supposed to pay a guinea a week for their +board and accommodation, though I gathered that this sum was not +always forthcoming. The majority of the other inmates, most of whom +have gone astray in one way or another, pay nothing. + +A good many of the cases here are what are called preventive; that is +to say, that their parents or guardians being able to do nothing with +them, and fearing lest they should come to ruin, send them to this +place as a last resource, hoping that they may be cured of their evil +tendencies. + +Thus one girl whom I think I saw, could not be prevented from gadding +on the streets, and therefore had been placed here. Another young +woman was a schoolmistress who would not get out of bed and refused to +work. When she came to the Home she was very insolent and +bad-tempered, and would do nothing. Now, I was informed, she rises +with the lark, at 6.30 indeed, and works like a Trojan. I could not +help wondering whether these excellent habits would survive her +departure from the Home. Another lady, who had been sentenced for +thefts, was the daughter of a minister. She horrified the Officers by +regretting that she had gone to jail for so little, when others who +had taken and enjoyed large sums received practically the same +sentence. She was reported to be doing well. + +Another, also a lady, was the victim of an infatuation which caused +her to possess herself of money to send to some man who had followed +her about from the time she was in a boarding school. Another was a +foreigner, who had been sent to an American doctor in the East to be +trained as a nurse. This poor girl underwent an awful experience, and +was in the care of the Salvation Army recovering from shock; but, of +course, hers is a different class of case from those which I have +mentioned above. Another was an English girl who had been turned out +of Canada because of her bad behaviour with men. And so on. + +It only remains to say that most of these people appeared to be doing +well, while many of those in the humbler classes of life were being +taught to earn their own living in the laundry that is attached to the +Institution. + + + + +THE WOMEN'S SHELTER + + + +WHITECHAPEL + +This is a place where women, most of them old, so far as my +observation went, are taken in to sleep at a charge of 3_d._ a night. +It used to be 2_d_. until the London County Council made the provision +of sheets, etc., compulsory, when the Army was obliged to raise the +payment. This Shelter, which is almost always so full that people have +to be turned away, holds 261 women. It contains a separate room, where +children are admitted with their mothers, half price, namely +1-1/2_d._, being charged per child. There is a kitchen attached where +the inmates can buy a large mug of tea for a 1/2_d._, and a huge chunk +of bread for a second 1/2_d._; also, if I remember right, other +articles of food, if they can afford such luxuries. + +The great dormitory in this Shelter, it may be mentioned, was once a +swimming-bath. Some of the women who come to this place have slept in +it almost every night for eighteen or twenty years. Others make use of +it for a few months, and then vanish for a period, especially in the +summer, when they go hop or strawberry picking, and return in the +winter. Every day, however, fresh people appear, possibly to depart on +the morrow and be seen no more. + +I asked whether the aged folk had not been benefited by the Old Age +Pensions Act. The lady Officer in charge replied that it had been a +blessing to some of them. One old woman, however, would not apply for +her pension, although she was urged to take a room for herself +somewhere. She said that she was afraid if she did so, she might be +turned out and be lonely. + +I visited this Shelter in the late afternoon, before it was filled up. +A number of dilapidated and antique females were sitting about in the +rooms, talking or sewing. One old lady was doing crochet work. She +told me that she made her living by it, and by flower-selling. Another +informed me that it was years since she had slept anywhere else, and +that she did not know what poor women like her would do without this +place. Another was cooking the broth. Her husband was a sea captain, +and when he died, her father had allowed her _£1_ a week until he +died. Afterwards she took to drink, and drifted here, where, I was +informed, she is doing well. And so on, and so on, _ad infinitum_. The +Hanbury Street Women's Shelter is not a cheerful spot to visit on a +dull and rainy evening. + + + + +THE SLUM SETTLEMENT + + + +HACKNEY ROAD + +Slum work is an important branch of the Social labours of the +Salvation Army, Thus last year the Slum Sisters visited over 105,000 +families, over 20,000 sick, and over 32,000 public-houses, in which +work they spent more than 90,000 hours of time. Also they attended 482 +births, and paid nearly 9,000 visits in connexion with them. + +There are nine Slum Settlements and Posts in London, and nineteen +others in England, Scotland, and Ireland. The old system used to be +for the Sisters and Nurses to live among the lowest class of the poor, +lodging in the actual tenements in which their work was carried out. +This, however, was abandoned as far as possible, because it was found +that after the arduous toil of the day these ladies could get little +rest at night, owing to the noise that went on about them, a +circumstance that caused their health to suffer and made them +inefficient. Now out of the 117 Officers engaged in Slum work in Great +Britain, about one-half who labour in London live in five houses set +apart for them in different quarters of the city; fifteen Officers +being the usual complement to each house. + +The particular dwelling of which I write is a good specimen of them +all, and from it the Sisters and Nurses who live there work +Shoreditch, Bethnal Green, Whitechapel, and the Hoxton and Hackney +Road districts. It is decently furnished and a comfortable place in +its way, although, of course, it stands in a poor neighbourhood. I +remember that there was even the finishing touch of a canary in the +window. I should add that no cases are attended in the house itself, +which is purely a residence. + +To this particular Settlement two qualified midwives and a nurse are +attached. While I was there one of the midwives came in, very tired, +at about half-past eleven in the morning. Since three o'clock on that +same morning she had attended three confinements, so no wonder she was +tired. She said that one of her cases was utterly unprovided with +anything needful as the father was out of work, although on the +occasion of a previous confinement they had all they wanted. Now they +lived in a little room in which there was not space 'to swing a cat,' +and were without a single bite of food or bit of clothing, so that the +baby when it came had to be wrapped up in an old shawl and the woman +sent to the Infirmary. The Sister in charge informed me that if they +had them they could find employment for twice their strength of nurses +without overlapping the work of any other charity. + +The people with whom they deal are for the most part those who have a +rooted objection to infirmaries, although the hospitals are much more +used than was formerly the case. The system of the Army is to make a +charge of 6_s_. 6_d_. for attending a confinement, which, if paid, is +generally collected in instalments of 3_d_. or 6_d_. a week. Often, +however, it is not paid, and the charge remains a mere formality. She +added that many of these poor people are most improvident, and make no +provision whatsoever for these events, even if they can afford to do +so. The result is that the Army has to lend them baby garments and +other things. + +The Sister said in answer to my questions that there was a great deal +of poverty in their district where many men were out of work, a number +of them because they could find nothing to do. She thought that things +were certainly no better in this respect; indeed, the state of +depression was chronic. Owing to the bad summer of 1909, which +affected the hop-picking and other businesses, the destitution that +year was as great during the warm months as it usually is in the +winter. + +The poor of this district, she said, 'generally live upon fried fish +and chips. You know they cannot cook, anyway they don't, and what they +do cook is all done in the frying-pan, which is also a very convenient +article to pawn. They don't understand economy, for when they have a +bit of money they will buy in food and have a big feast, not thinking +of the days when there will be little or nothing. Then, again, they +buy their goods in small portions; for instance, their coal by the +ha'p'orth or their wood by the farthing's-worth, which, in fact, works +out at a great profit to the dealers. Or they buy a farthing's-worth +of tea, which is boiled up again and again till it is awful-looking +stuff.' + +I asked her what she considered to be the main underlying cause of +this misery. She answered that she thought it was due 'to the people +flocking from the country to the city,' thereby confirming an opinion +that I have long held and advanced. She added that the overcrowding in +the district was terrible, the regulations of the Public Health +Authorities designed to check it being 'a dead letter.' In one case +with which she had to do, a father, mother, and nine children lived in +a room that measured 9 ft. by 9 ft., and the baby came into the world +with the children looking on! + +The general weekly rent for a room containing a family is 5_s_., or if +it is furnished, 7_s_. 6_d_. The Sister described to me the furniture +of one for the use of which this extra half-crown is charged. It +consisted of a rickety bed, two chairs, one without a back and one +without a seat, and a little shaky table. The floor was bare, and she +estimated the total value of these articles at about their weekly rent +of 2_s_. 6_d_., if, indeed, they were worth carrying away. In this +chamber dwelt a coachman who was out of place, his wife, and three or +four children, I wonder what arrangement these poor folk make as to +the use of the one chair that has a bottom. To occupy the other must +be an empty honour. With reference to this man the Sister remarked +that as a result of the introduction of motor vehicles, busmen, +cabmen, and blacksmiths were joining the ranks of her melancholy +clientele in numbers. + +This and some similar stories caused me to reflect on the remarkable +contrast between rents in the country and in town. For instance, I own +about a dozen cottages in this village in which I write, and the +highest rent that I receive is 2_s_. 5_d_. a week. This is paid for a +large double dwelling, on which I had to spend over £100 quite +recently to convert two cottages into one. Also, there is a large +double garden thrown in, so large that a man can scarcely manage it in +his spare time, a pigsty, fruit trees, etc. All this for 1_d_. a week +less than is charged for the two broken chairs, the rickety bed, and +the shaky table! Again, for £10 a year, I let a comfortable farmhouse; +that is, £3 a year less than the out-of-work coachman pays for his +single room without the furniture. And yet, as the Sister said, people +continue to rush from the country to the towns! + +Nor, it seems, do they always make the best of things when they get +there. Thus the Sister mentioned that the education which the girls +receive in the schools causes them to desire a more exalted lot in +life than that of a servant. So they try to find places in shops, or +jam factories, etc. Some get them, but many fail; and of those who +fail, a large proportion go to swell the mass of the unemployed, or to +recruit the ranks of an undesirable profession. She went so far as to +say that most of the domestic servants in London are not Cockneys at +all, but come from the country; adding, that the sad part of it was +that thousands of these poor girls, after proper training, could find +comfortable and remunerative employment without displacing others, as +the demand for domestic servants is much greater than the supply. +These are cold facts which seem to suggest that our system of free +education is capable of improvement. + +It appears that all this district is a great centre of what is known +as 'sweating.' Thus artificial flowers, of which I was shown a fine +specimen, a marguerite, are made at a price of 1_s_. per gross, the +workers supplying their own glue. An expert hand, beginning at eight +in the morning and continuing till ten at night, can produce a gross +and a half of these flowers, and thus net 1_s_. 6_d_., minus the cost +of the glue, scissors, and sundries. The Officers of the Army find it +extremely difficult to talk to these poor people, who are invariably +too busy to listen. Therefore, some of them have learnt how to make +artificial flowers themselves, so that when they call they can join in +the family manufacture, and, while doing so, carry on their +conversation. + +For the making of match-boxes and the sticking on of the labels the +pay is 2-1/2_d_. per gross. Few of us, I think, would care to +manufacture 144 matchboxes for 2-1/2_d_. I learned that it is not +unusual to find little children of four years of age helping their +mothers to make these boxes. + +The Slum Sisters attached to the Settlement, who are distinct from the +Maternity Nurses, visit the very poorest and worst neighbourhoods, for +the purpose of helping the sick and afflicted, and incidentally of +cleaning their homes. Also, they find out persons who are about +sixty-nine years of age, and contribute to their maintenance, so as to +save them from being forced to receive poor-law relief, which would +prevent them from obtaining their old-age pensions when they come to +seventy. + +Here is an illustration of the sort of case with which these Slum +Sisters have to deal; perhaps, I should say, the easiest sort of case. +An old man and his wife whom they visited, lived in a clean room. The +old woman fell sick, and before she died the Slum Sisters gave her a +bath, which, as these poor people much object to washing, caused all +the neighbours to say that they had killed her. After his wife's +death, the husband, who earned his living by selling laces on London +Bridge, went down in the world, and his room became filthy. The Slum +Sisters told him that they would clean up the place, but he forbade +them to touch the bed, which, he said, was full of mice and beetles. +As he knew that women dread mice and beetles, he thought that this +statement would frighten them. When he was out selling his laces, they +descended upon his room, where the first thing that they did was to +remove the said bed into the yard and burn it, replacing it with +another. On his return, the old man exclaimed: 'Oh, my darlings, +whatever _have_ you been doing?' + +They still clean this room once a week. + +The general impression left upon my mind, after visiting this place at +Hackney Road and conversing with its guardian angels, is, that in some +of its aspects, if not in all, civilization is a failure. Probably +thoughtful people made the same remark in ancient Rome, and in every +other city since cities were. The truth is, that so soon as its +children desert the land which bore them for the towns, these horrors +follow as surely as the night follows the day. + + + + +THE PICCADILLY MIDNIGHT WORK + + + +GREAT TICHFIELD STREET + +I visited this place a little before twelve o'clock on a summer night. +It is a small flat near Oxford Street, in which live two +women-Officers of the Army, who are engaged in the work of reclaiming +prostitutes. I may mention that for the last fourteen years the Major +in charge, night by night, has tramped the streets with this object. +The Titchfield Street flat is not in any sense a Home, but I saw a +small room in it, with two beds, where cases who may be rescued from +the streets, or come here in a time of trouble, can sleep until +arrangements are made for them to proceed to one of the Rescue +Institutions of the Army. + +This work is one of the most difficult and comparatively unproductive +of any that the Army undertakes. The careers of these unfortunate +street women, who are nearly all of them very fine specimens of female +humanity, for the most part follow a rocket-like curve. The majority +of them begin by getting into trouble, at the end of which, perhaps, +they find themselves with a child upon their hands. Or they may have +been turned out of their homes, or some sudden misfortune may have +reduced them to destitution. At any rate, the result is that they take +to a loose life, and mayhap, after living under the protection of one +or two men, find themselves upon the streets. Sometimes, it may be +said to their credit, if that word can be used in this connexion, they +adopt this mode of life in order to support their child or children. + +The Major informed me that if they are handsome they generally begin +with a period of great prosperity. One whom she knew earned about £30 +a week, and a good many of them make as much as £1,000 a year, and pay +perhaps £6 weekly in rent. + +A certain proportion of them are careful, open a bank account, save +money, retire, and get married. Generally, these keep their bank-books +in their stockings, which, in their peculiar mode of life, they find +to be the safest place, as they are very suspicious of each other, and +much afraid of being robbed. The majority of them, however, are not so +provident. They live in and for the moment, and spend their ill-gotten +gains as fast as they receive them. + +Gradually they drift downwards. They begin in Piccadilly, and +progress, or rather retrogress, through Leicester Square on to +Tottenham Court Road and Oxford Street, and thence to the Euston Road, +ending their sad careers in Bishopsgate and Whitechapel. The Major +informed me that there are but very few in the Piccadilly +neighbourhood whom she knew when she took up this work, and that, as a +rule, they cannot stand the life for long. The irregular hours, the +exposure, the excitement, and above all the drink in which most of +them indulge, kill them out or send them to a poorhouse or the +hospital. + +She said, however, that as a class they have many virtues. For +instance, they are very kind-hearted, and will always help each other +in trouble. Also, most of them have affection for their children, +being careful to keep them, if possible, from any knowledge of their +mode of life. Further, they are charitable to the poor, and, in a way, +religious; or, perhaps, superstitious would be a better term. Thus, +they often go to church on Sundays, and do not follow their avocation +on Sunday nights. On New Year's Eve, their practice is to attend the +Watch Night services, where, doubtless, poor people, they make those +good resolutions that form the proverbial pavement of the road to +Hell. Nearly all of them drink more or less, as they say that they +could not live their life without stimulant. Moreover, their +profession necessitates their walking some miles every night. + +For the most part these women lodge in pairs in their own flats, where +they pay about 35_s_. a week for three unfurnished rooms. The Officer +told me that often some despicable man, who is called a 'bully,' lives +on them, following them round the streets, and watching them. Even the +smartest girls are not infrequently the victims of such a man, who +knocks them about and takes money from them. Occasionally he may be a +husband or a relative. She added that as a class they are much better +behaved and less noisy than they used to be. This improvement, +however, is largely due to the increased strictness of the police. +These women do not decrease in number. In the Major's opinion, there +are as many or more of them on the streets as there were fourteen +years ago, although the brothels and the procuresses are less +numerous, and their quarters have shifted from Piccadilly to other +neighbourhoods. + +The Army methods of dealing, or rather of attempting to deal with this +utterly insoluble problem are simple enough. The Officers walk the +streets every night from about twelve to two and distribute cards in +three languages according to the nationality of the girl to whom these +are offered. Here they are in English, French, and German:-- + + Mrs. Booth will gladly help any Girl + or Woman in need of a friend. + _APPLY AT_ + 79 Great Titchfield Street, + or 259 Mare Street, Hackney, N.E. + +[Illustration: BONNES NOUVELLS.] + + Vous avez une amie + qui est disposée à + vous aider. + + (S addresser) + Madame Booth + 79 Great Titchfield Street, + Oxford Street, + Londres, W. + + MADAM BOOTH will herzlich gerne Jedem + Mädchen oder Jeder Frau helfen, die sich + in Noth auf eine Freundin befinden. + + 259 Mare Street, Hackney, + 70 Great Titchfield Street, W. + +Most of the girls to whom they are offered will not take them, but a +good number do and, occasionally, the seed thus sown bears fruit. Thus +the woman who takes the card may come to Great Titchfield Street and +be rescued in due course. More frequently, however, she will give a +false address, or make an appointment which she does not keep, or will +say that it is too late for her to change her life. But this fact does +not always prevent such a woman from trying to help others by sending +young girls who have recently taken to the trade to the Titchfield +Street Refuge in the hope that they may be induced to abandon their +evil courses. + +Occasionally the Army has midnight suppers in its Regent Hall for +these women, who attend in large numbers, perhaps out of curiosity. At +the last supper nearly 300 'swell girls' were present and listened to +the prayers and the exhortations to amend their lives. Sometimes, too, +the Officers attend them when they are sick or dying. Once they buried +one of the women, who died whilst under their care, holding a midnight +funeral over her at their hall in Oxford Street. + +It was attended by hundreds of the sisterhood, and the Major described +the scene as terrible. The women were seized with hysterics, and burst +into shrieks and sobs. They even tried to open the coffin in order to +kiss the dead girl who lay within. + +Amongst many other cases, I was informed of a black girl called +Diamond, so named because she wore real diamonds on her dresses, which +dresses cost over £100 apiece. The Army tried to help her in vain, and +wrote her many letters. In the end she died in an Infirmary, when all +the letters were found carefully hidden away among her belongings and +returned to the Major. + +The average number of rescues compassed, directly or indirectly, by +the Piccadilly Midnight work is about fifty a year. This is not a very +great result; but after all the taking of even a few people from this +hellish life and their restoration to decency and self-respect is well +worth the cost and labour of the mission. The Officers told me that +they meet with but little success in the case of those women who are +in their bloom and earning great incomes. It can scarcely be +otherwise, for what has the Army to offer them in place of their +gaudy, glittering life of luxury and excitement? + +The way of transgressors is hard, but the way of repentance is harder; +at any rate, while the transgressor is doing well. On the one hand +jewels and champagne, furs and motors, and on the other prayers that +talk of death and judgment, plain garments made by the wearer's +labour, and at the end the drudgery of earning an honest livelihood, +perhaps as a servant. Human nature being what it is, it seems scarcely +wonderful that these children of pleasure cling to the path of 'roses' +and turn from that of 'thorns.' + +With those that are growing old and find themselves broken in body and +in spirit, who are thrust aside in the fierce competition of their +trade in favour of younger rivals; those who find the wine in their +tinsel cup turning, or turned, to gall, the case is different. They +are sometimes, not always, glad to creep to such shelter from the +storms of life as the Army can offer, and there work out their moral +and physical salvation. For what bitterness is there like to that +which must be endured by the poor, broken woman of the streets, as +scorned, spat on, thrust aside, she sinks from depth to depth into the +last depth of all, striving to drown her miseries with drugs or drink, +if so she may win forgetfulness even for an hour? + +Sometimes, too, these patient toilers in the deep of midnight sin +succeed in dragging from the brink those that have but dipped their +feet in its dark waters. _Nemo repente fuit turpissimus_--no one +becomes altogether filthy in an hour--runs the old Roman saying, which +is as true to-day as it was 2,000 years ago, and whether it be spoken +of body or of soul, it is easier to wash the feet than the whole +being. When they understand what lies before them certain of the young +shrink back and grasp Mercy's outstretched arms. + +One night about twelve o'clock, together with Lieut.-Colonel Jolliffe, +an Officer of the Army who was dressed in plain clothes, I accompanied +the Major and the lady who is her colleague, to Leicester Square and +its neighbourhood, and there watched their methods of work, following +them at a little distance. Dressed in their uniform they mingled with +the women who marched the pavements, and now and again, with curiously +swift and decisive steps glided up to one of them, whispered a few +earnest words into her ear, and proffered a printed ticket. Most of +those spoken to walked on stonily as people do when they meet an +undesirable acquaintance whom they do not wish to recognize. Some +thrust past them rudely; some hesitated and with a hard laugh went +their way; but a few took the tickets and hid them among their laces. + +So far as the work was concerned that was all there was to see. +Nothing dramatic happened; no girl fled to them imploring help or +asking to be saved from the persecutions of a man; no girl even +insulted them--for these Officers to be insulted is a thing unknown. +All I saw was the sowing of the seed in very stony ground, where not +one kern out of a thousand is like to germinate and much less to grow. +Yet as experience proves, occasionally it does both germinate and +grow, yes, and bloom and come to the harvest of repentance and +redemption. It is for this that these unwearying labourers scatter +their grain from night to night, that at length they may garner into +their bosoms a scanty but a priceless harvest. + +It was a strange scene. The air was hot and heavy, the sky was filled +with black and lowering clouds already laced with lightnings. The +music-halls and restaurants had given out their crowds, the midnight +mart was open. Everywhere were women, all finely dressed, most of them +painted, as could be seen in the glare of the electric lights, some of +them more or less excited with drink, but none turbulent or noisy. +Mixed up with these were the bargainers, men of every degree, the most +of them with faces unpleasant to consider. + +Some had made their pact and were departing. I noticed one young girl +whose looks would have drawn attention anywhere, whispering an address +from beneath an enormous feathered hat to the driver of a taxicab, +while her companion, a pleasant-looking, fresh-coloured boy, for he +was scarcely more, entered the vehicle, a self-satisfied air upon his +face. She sprang in also, and the cab with its occupants glided away +out of my ken for ever. + +Here and there stalwart, quiet policemen requested loiterers to move +on, and the loiterers obeyed and re-formed in groups behind them; here +and there a respectable woman pushed her way through the throng, +gathering up her skirts as she did so and glancing covertly at this +unaccustomed company out of the corners of her eyes. + +While watching all these sights we lost touch of the Salvation Army +ladies, who wormed their way through the crowd as easily and quickly +as a snake does through undergrowth, and set out to find them. Big +drops began to fall, the thunder growled, and in a moment the +concourse commenced to melt. Five minutes later the rain was falling +fast and the streets had emptied. That night's market was at an end. + +No farmer watches the weather more anxiously than do these painted +women in their muslins and gold-laced shoes. + +Meanwhile, their night's work done, the Salvation Army ladies were +tramping through the wet back to Titchfield Street, for they do not +spend money on cabs, and the buses had ceased to run. + + + + +THE ANTI-SUICIDE BUREAU + + + +This is a branch of the Army's work with which I have been more or +less acquainted for some years. + +The idea of an Anti-Suicide Bureau arose in the Army four or five +years ago; but every one seems to have forgotten with whom it actually +originated. I suppose that it grew, like Topsy, or was discovered +simultaneously by several Officers, like a new planet by different +astronomers studying the heavens in faith and hope. At any rate, the +results of the idea are remarkable. Thus in London alone 1,064 cases +were dealt with in the year 1909, and of those cases it is estimated +that all but about a dozen were turned from their fatal purpose. Let +us halve these figures, and say that 500 lives were actually saved, +that 500 men live to-day in and about London who otherwise would be +dead by their own hands and buried in dishonoured graves. Or let us +even quarter them, and surely this remains a wonderful work, +especially when we remember that London is by no means the only place +in which it is being carried on. + +How is it done? the reader may ask. I answer by knowledge of human +nature, by the power of sympathy, by gentle kindness. A poor wretch +staggers into a humble little room at the Salvation Army Headquarters +in Queen Victoria Street. He unfolds an incoherent tale. He is an +unpleasant and disturbing person whom any lawyer or business man would +get rid of as soon as possible. He vapours about self-destruction, he +hints at dark troubles with his wife. He produces drugs or weapons--a +point at which most people would certainly show him out. But the +Officers in charge do nothing of the sort. They laugh at him or give +him a cup of tea. They bid him brace himself together, and tell them +the truth and nothing but the truth. Then out pours the awful tale, +which, however bad it may be, they listen to quite unmoved though not +unconcerned, for they hear such every day. When it is finished, they +ask coolly enough why, in the name of all that their visitor +reverences or holds dear, he considers it necessary to commit suicide +for a trifling job like that. A new light dawns upon the desperate +man. He answers, because he can see no other way out. + +Why, exclaims the Officer, there are a dozen ways out. Let us find one +of them. You, A., have been faithless to your wife. Well, when the +matter is explained to her, I daresay she will forgive you. You, B., +have defrauded your employer. Well, employers are not always +relentless. I'll call on him this evening and talk the matter over. +You, C., are hopelessly in debt through horse-racing or speculation. +Well, at the worst you can go through the Court and start afresh. You, +D., have committed a crime. Go and own up to it like a man, stand your +trial, and work out your sentence. I daresay it won't be so very heavy +if you take that course, and we will look after you when it is over. +You, E., have been brought into this state through your miserable +vices, drink, or whatever they may be. Cure yourself of the +vices--we'll show you how--don't crown them by cutting your throat +like a cur. You, F., have been afflicted with great sorrows. Well, +those sorrows have some purpose and some meaning. There's always a +dawn beyond the night; wait for that dawn; it will come here or +hereafter. + +And so on, and on, through all the gamut of human sin and misery. + +Of course, there are cases in which the Army fails. As I have said, +there were about a dozen of these last year, six of which, if I +remember right, occurred with startling rapidity one after the other. +The Suicide Officers of the Army always take up the daily paper with +fear and trembling, and not infrequently find that the man whom they +thought they had consoled and set upon a different path, has been +discovered dead by drowning in the river, or by poison in the streets, +or by whatever it may be. But everything has its proportion of +failures, and where intending suicides are concerned 1 or 2 per cent, +or on the quarter basis that I have adopted as beyond question of +sincerity of intent, 4 or 8 per cent is not a large average. Indeed, +20 per cent would not be large, or even 50 per cent. But these figures +do not occur. + +Of course, it is suggested that many of those who drift into the +Anti-Suicide Bureau have no real intention of making away with +themselves, but that they come there only to see what they can get in +the way of money or other comfort. As regards money, the answer is +that, except very occasionally, the Army gives none, for the simple +reason that it has none to give. For the rest the fatal cases which +happen show that there is a grim purpose at work in the minds of many +of the applicants. But I repeat, let us halve the figures, let us even +quarter them, which, as Euclid remarked, is absurd, and even then what +are we to conclude? + +Before proceeding with my comments upon this work I ought to state, +perhaps, that the Army has various branches of this Anti-Suicide +Crusade. Thus, it is at work in almost all our big cities, and also in +America, in Australia, and in Japan. The Japanese Bureau was opened +last year with very good results. This is the more remarkable in a +country where ancient tradition and immemorial custom hallow the +system of _hara-kiri_ in any case of trouble or disgrace. + +Moreover, the idea is spreading, Count Tolstoy is said to have been +interested in it. Applications have been received from the Hague for +particulars of the Army methods in the matter. Similar work is being +carried out in Vienna, not by the Army, but on its lines. The Army has +been informed that if it will open an Anti-Suicide Bureau in Budapest, +office accommodation, etc., will be found for it. And so forth. + +Colonel Unsworth who, until recently had charge of the Anti-Suicide +Bureau from its commencement, is of opinion that suicide is very much +on the increase, a statement that it would be difficult to dispute in +view of the number of cases recorded daily in the local Press. For +instance, I read one on this morning of writing, in a Norfolk paper, +where a farmer had blown out his brains, to all appearance because he +had a difference of opinion with his wife as to whether he should, or +should not, take on another farm. + +Colonel Unsworth attributed this sad state of affairs to sundry +causes. The first of these was the intense and ever-increasing nervous +pressure of our time. The second, the spread of fatalism, The third, +the advance of materialistic ideas, and of the general disbelief in +the doctrine of future retribution. The fourth, a certain noticeable +return in such matters to the standard of Pagan nations, especially of +ancient Rome, where it was held that if things went wrong and life +became valueless, or even uninteresting, to bring it to an end was in +no sense shameful but praiseworthy. In illustration of this point, he +quoted a remark said to have been made by a magistrate not long ago, +to the effect that in certain conditions a man was not to be blamed +for taking his own life. + +His fifth reason was that circumstances arise in which some people +convince themselves that their deaths would benefit their families. +Thus, insurances may fall in, for, after one or two premiums have been +paid, many offices take the risk of suicide. Or they may know that +when they are gone, wealthy relatives will take care of their +children, who will thus be happier and better off than these are while +they, the fathers, live. Wrong as it may be, this, indeed, is an +attitude with which it is difficult not to feel a certain sympathy. +After all, we are told that there is no greater love than that of a +man who lays down his life for his friend, though there ran be no +doubt that the saying was not intended to include this kind of laying +down of life. + +Colonel Unsworth's sixth cause was the increasing atrophy of the +public conscience. He stated that suicide is rarely preached against +from the pulpit, as drunkenness is for instance. Further, a jury can +seldom be induced to bring in a verdict of _felo-de-se._ Even where +the victim was obviously and, perhaps painfully sane, his act is put +down to temporary insanity. + +Other causes are drink, hereditary disposition, madness in all its +protean shapes; incurable disease, unwillingness to face the +consequences of sin or folly; the passion of sexual love, which is +sometimes so mighty as to amount to madness; the effects of utter +grief such as result from the loss of those far more beloved than +self, of which an instance is at hand in the case of the Officer in +charge of the Shelter at Great Peter Street, Westminster, mentioned +earlier in this book, who, it may be remembered, tried to kill himself +after the death of his wife and child; and lastly, where women are +concerned, terror and shame at the prospect of giving birth to a +child, whose appearance in the world is not sanctioned by law or +custom. + +Suicide among women is, however, comparatively rare, a fact which +suggests either that the causes which produce it press on or affect +them less, or that in this particular, their minds are better balanced +than are those of men. I was told, at any rate, that but few women +apply to the Suicide Bureau of the Army for help in this temptation; +though, perhaps, that may be due to the greater secretiveness of the +sex. + +Speaking generally, this magnitude of the evil to be attacked may be +gauged from the fact that about 3,800 people die by their own hands in +England and Wales every year, a somewhat appalling total. + +Intending suicides come into the hands of the Army Bureau in various +ways. Some of them see notices in the Press descriptive of this branch +of the Social Work. Some of them are found by policemen in desperate +circumstances and brought to the Bureau, and some are sent there from +different localities by Salvation Army Officers. + +I have looked through the records of numbers of these cases, but, for +obvious reasons, it is difficult to give a full and accurate +description of any of them. The reader, therefore, must be content to +accept my assurance of their genuine nature. One or two, however, may +be alluded to with becoming vagueness. Here is an example of a not +infrequent kind, when a person arrives at the office having already +attempted the deed. + +A business man who had recently made a study of agnostic literature, +had become involved in certain complications, which resulted in a +quarrel with his wife. His means not being sufficient to the support +of a double establishment, he took the train to London with a bottle +of sulphonal in his pocket (not a drug to be recommended for his +purpose) and swallowed tabloids all the way to town. When he had taken +seventy-five grains, and the bottle, as I saw, was two-thirds empty, +he found that the drug worked in a way he did not expect. Instead of +killing him, it awoke his religious susceptibilities, which the course +of agnostic literature had scotched but not killed, and he began to +wonder with some earnestness whether, after all, there might not be a +Hereafter which, in the circumstances, he did not care to face. + +In this acute perplexity he bethought him of the Salvation Army, and +arrived at the Bureau in a state of considerable excitement, as +quickly as a taxicab could bring him. A doctor and a fortnight in +hospital did the rest. The Army found him another situation in place +of the one which he had lost, and composed his differences with his +wife. They are now both Salvationists and very happy. So, in this +instance, all's well that ends well. + +_Case Two._--A man, in a responsible position, and of rather +extravagant habits, married a wife of more extravagant habits, and +found that, whatever the proverb may say, it costs more to keep two +than one. His money matters became desperately involved, but, being +afraid to confide in his wife, he spent a Sunday afternoon in trying +to make up his mind whether he would shoot or drown himself. While he +was thus engaged, a Salvation Army band happened to pass his door, and +reminded him of what he had read about the Anti-Suicide Bureau. +Postponing decision as to the exact method of his departure from this +earth, he called there, and was persuaded to make a clean breast of +the matter to his wife. + +Afterwards the Army took up his extremely complicated affairs. I saw a +pile of documents relating to them that must have been at least 4 ins. +thick. The various money-lenders were interviewed, and persuaded to +accept payment in weekly or monthly instalments. The account was +almost square when I saw it, and the person concerned extremely happy +and grateful. I should say that, in this case, a lawyer's bill for the +work which was done for nothing would have amounted to quite £50. + +In another somewhat similar case, that of an official who had tampered +with moneys in his charge, though this was not discovered, some of the +creditors had placed the business in the hands of +debt-collecting-agencies, than whom, said Colonel Unsworth, 'there are +no harder or more cruel creditors.' At any rate, they drove this poor +man almost to madness, with the usual result. A friend brought him to +the Army, who shouldered his affairs, dealt with the debt-collecting +agencies, obtained help from his connexions, and paid off what was +owing by instalments. He and his family are now again quite +comfortable. + +[Illustration: AT ONE OF THE ARMY FOOD DEPOTS.] + +_Case Three_.--A man was cursed with such a fearful temper that he +could keep no situation. He came to London in a state of fury, with a +razor in his pocket. Happening to see the words 'Salvation Army +Shelter' on a building, it occurred to him to hear what the Suicide +Officers had to say before he cut his throat. They dealt with the +matter, and showed him the error of his way. He is now in a very good +single-handed situation abroad where, as he cannot talk the language, +he finds it difficult to quarrel with those about him. + +_Case Four_.--Telephone operator, who was driven mad by that dreadful +instrument and by domestic worries. The Army Officers saved the man +and smoothed over the domestic worries; but how he gets on with the +telephone instruments is not recorded. + +_Case Five_.--Unsuitable marriage and bad temper. The wife had become +involved in some trouble in early life, and unwisely, as it proved, +confessed to the husband, who brought it up against her every time +there was a quarrel between them. In this instance, also, suicide was +averted and the domestic differences were arranged. + +_Case Six_--A man in a business firm, married, with children, was +through no fault of his own thrown out of work, owing to the +appointment of a new manager. He came at last to the Embankment, and +afterwards applied for a job in answer to an advertisement. The +advertiser told him it was a pity that as he had been so near the +river he did not go into it. The man determined to commit suicide; but +the Officers dissuaded him from this course and helped him. He +returned a year later in a condition of considerable prosperity, +having worked his way to a Colony where he is now doing extremely +well, his visit to England being in connexion with the business in +which he had become a partner. + +And so on _ad infinitum._ I might tell many such stories, some of them +of a much more tragic character than those I have instanced, but +refrain from doing so lest by chance they should be identified, +especially where the individuals concerned belonged to the upper +strata of society. Perhaps enough has been said, however, to show what +a great work is being done by the Army in this Department, where in +London alone it deals with several would-be suicides every day. + +Of course, some of these people are frauds. For instance, one of the +Officers told me that not long ago a medical man, who was evidently a +drunkard, called on him and said that he would commit suicide unless +money were given to him. He was informed that this was against the +rules; whereon the man produced a bottle and said that if the money +were not forthcoming, he would drink its contents and make an end of +himself in the office. As may be imagined the Officer went through an +anxious moment, not quite knowing what to do. However, he looked the +man over, summed him up to the best of his judgment and ability, and +coming to the conclusion that he was a bully and a braggart, said that +he might do what he liked. The man swallowed the contents of the +bottle, exclaiming that he would be dead in a few minutes, and a pause +ensued, during which the Officer confessed to me that he felt very +uncomfortable. The end of it was that his visitor said, with a laugh, +that 'he would not like to cumber the Salvation Army with his corpse,' +and walked out of the room. The draught which he had taken was +comparatively harmless. + +As I have mentioned, however, a proportion of the cases are quite +irreclaimable. They come and consult the Army, then depart and do the +deed. Six that can be traced have been lost in this way during the +last few months. + +Colonel Unsworth explained to me what I had already guessed, that this +business of dealing with scores and hundreds of despairing beings +standing on the very edge of the grave, is a terrible strain upon any +man. The responsibility becomes too great, and he who has to bear it +is apt to be crushed beneath its weight. Every morning he reads his +paper with a sensation of nervous dread, fearing lest among the police +news he should find a brief account of the discovery of some corpse +which he can identify as that of an individual with whom he had +pleaded at his office on the yesterday and in vain. + +On former occasions when I visited him, Colonel Unsworth used to show +me a small museum of poisons, knives, revolvers, etc., which he had +taken from those who proposed to use them to cut the Gordian knot of +life. + +Now, however, he has but few of these dreadful relics. I asked him +what he had done with the rest. He answered that he had destroyed +them. + +'The truth is,' he added, 'that after some years of this business I +can no longer bear to look at the horrid things; they get upon my +nerves.' + +If I may venture to offer a word of advice to the Chiefs of the +Salvation Army, I would suggest that the very responsible position of +first Anti-Suicide Officer in London is not one that any man should be +asked to fill in perpetuity. + + + + +WORK IN THE PROVINCES + + + +LIVERPOOL + +When planning this little book I had it in my mind to deal at some +length with the Provincial Social Work of the Army, Now I find, +however, that considerations of space must be taken into account; also +that it is not needful to set out all the details of that work, seeing +that to do so would involve a great deal of repetition. + +The Salvation Army machines for the regeneration of fallen men and +women, if I may so describe them, are, after all, of much the same +design, and vary for the most part only in the matter of size. The +material that goes through those machines is, it is true, different, +yet even its infinite variety, if considered in the mass, has a +certain similitude. For these reasons, therefore, I will only speak of +what is done by the Army in three of the great Midland and Northern +cities that I have visited, namely, Manchester, Liverpool, and +Glasgow, and of that but briefly, although my notes concerning it run +to over 100 typed pages. + +The lady in charge of the Slum Settlement in Liverpool informed me +that the poverty in that city is very great, and during the past +winter of 1919 was really terrible owing to the scarceness of work in +the docks. The poor, however, are not so overcrowded, and rents are +cheaper than in London, the cost of two dwelling-cellars being about +2_s_. 6_d_., and of a room about 3_s_. a week. The sisterhood of +fallen women is, she added, very large in Liverpool; but most of these +belong to a low class. + +In this city the Army has one Institution for women called the 'Ann +Fowler' Memorial Home, which differs a good deal from the majority of +those that I have seen. It is a Lodging-Home for Women, and is +designed for the accommodation of persons of a better class than those +who generally frequent such places. This building, which was provided +in memory of her mother by Miss Fowler, a local philanthropist, at a +cost of about £6,000, was originally a Welsh Congregational chapel, +that has been altered to suit the purpose to which it is now put. It +is extremely well fitted-up with separate cubicles made of oak +panelling, good lavatory accommodation, and kitchens in which is made +some of the most excellent soup that I ever tasted. + +Yet strange to say this place is not as much appreciated as it might +be, as may be judged from the fact that although it is designed to +hold 113 lodgers, when I visited it there were not more than between +forty and fifty. This is remarkable, as the charge made is only 4_d_. +per night, or 2_s_. a week, even for a cubicle, and an excellent +breakfast of bread and butter, fish, and tea can be had for 2_d_. +Other meals are supplied on a like scale, with the result that a woman +employed in outside work can live in considerable comfort in a room or +cubicle of her own for about 8_s_. a week. + +The lady in charge told me, however, that there are reasons for this +state of affairs. One is that it provides for people of a rather +higher class than usual, who, of course, are not so numerous as those +lower in the social scale. + +The principal reason, however, is prejudice. It is known that most of +the women accommodated in the Army Shelters are what are known as +'fallen' or 'drunks.' Therefore, occupants of a Home devoted to a +higher section of society fear lest they should be tarred with the +same brush in the eyes of their associates. + +Here is a story which illustrates this point which I remember hearing +in the United States. A woman, whose inebriety was well known, was +picked up absolutely dead drunk in an American city and taken by an +Officer of the Army to one of its Homes and put to bed. In the morning +she awoke and, guessing where she was lodged from various signs and +tokens, such as texts upon the wall, began to scream for her clothes. +An attendant, who thought that she had developed delirium tremens, ran +up and asked what was the matter. + +'Matter?' ejaculated the sot, 'the matter is that if I don't get out +of this ---- place in double quick time, _I shall lose my character!_' + +The women who avail themselves of this 'Ann Fowler' Home are of all +ages and in various employments. One, I was told, was a lady separated +from her husband, whose father, now dead, had been the mayor of a +large city. + +A Liverpool Institution of another class, known as 'The Hollies,' is +an Industrial Home for fallen women, drunkards, thieves, and +incorrigible girls. It holds thirty-eight inmates and is always full, +a good many of these being sent to the place from Police-courts whence +they are discharged under the First Offenders Acts. + +I saw these women at their evening prayers. The singing was hearty and +spontaneous, and they all seemed happy enough. Still, the faces of +most of them (they varied in age from forty-six to sixteen) showed +traces of life's troubles, but one or two were evidently persons of +some refinement. Their histories, which would fill volumes, must be +omitted. Suffice it to say that this Home, like all the others, is +extremely well-arranged and managed, and is doing a most excellent and +successful work. + +When the women are believed to be cured of their evil habits, whatever +they may be, they are for the most part sent out to service. There are +two rooms in the place to which they can return during their holidays, +or when they are changing situations, at a charge of 5s. a week. This +many of them like to do. + +Next door to 'The Hollies' is another Home where young girls with +their illegitimate babies, and also a few children, are accommodated. +It is arranged to hold twenty-four mothers, and is generally full. A +charge of 5s. a week is supposed to be made, but unless the cases are +sent from the workhouse, when the Guardians pay, in practice little is +recovered from the patients. When they are well again, their babies +are put out to nurse, as at the London Maternity Home, and the girls +are sent to service, no difficulty being experienced in finding them +places. During the two years that this Home had been open eighty-two +girls had passed through it, and of these, the Matron informed me, +there were but ten who were not doing so well as they might. The rest +were in employment of one sort or another, and seemed to be in the way +of completely regaining their characters. + +I visited this place late at night, and in the room devoted to +children, as distinct from infants, saw one girl of nine with a +curious history. This child had been twelve times in the hands of the +police before her father brought her to the Army on their suggestion. +Her mania was to run away from home, where it does not appear that she +was ill-treated, and to sleep in the streets, on one occasion for as +long as five nights. This child had a very curious face, and even in +her sleep, as I saw her, there was about it something wild and +defiant. When the Matron turned her over she did not yawn or cry, but +uttered a kind of snarl. I suppose that here is an instance of +atavism, that the child throw back for thousands or tens of thousands +of years, to when her progenitors were savages, and that their +primitive instincts have reasserted themselves in her, although she +was born in the twentieth century. She had been ten months in the Home +and was doing well. Indeed, the Matron told me that they had taken her +out and given her opportunities of running away, but that she had +never attempted to avail herself of them. + +The Officer in charge informed me that there is much need for a +Maternity Hospital in Liverpool. + +There are also Institutions for men in Liverpool, but these I must +pass over. + + + + +THE MEN'S SOCIAL WORK + + + +MANCHESTER + +The Officer in charge of the Men's Social Work in Manchester told me +the same story that I had heard in Liverpool as to the prevailing +distress. He said, 'It has been terrible the last few winters. I have +never seen anything like it. We know because they come to us, and the +trouble is more in a fixed point than in London. Numbers and numbers +come, destitute of shelter or food or anything. The cause is want of +employment. There is no work. Many cases, of course, go down through +drink, but the most cannot get work. The fact is that there are more +men than there is work for them to do, and this I may say is a regular +thing, winter and summer.' + +A sad statement surely, and one that excites thought. + +I asked what became of this residue who could not find work. His +answer was, 'They wander about, die off, and so on.' + +A still sadder statement, I think. + +The Major in charge is a man of great organising ability, force of +character, and abounding human sympathy. Yet he was once one of the +melancholy army of wasters. Some seventeen years ago he came into the +Army through one of its Shelters, a drunken, out-of-place +cabinet-maker, who had been tramping the streets. They gave him work +and he 'got converted.' Now he is the head of the Manchester Social +Institutions, engaged in finding work for or converting thousands of +others. + +At first the Army had only one establishment in Manchester, which used +to be a cotton mill. Now it is a Shelter for 200 men. Then it took +others, some of which are owned and some hired, among them a great +'Elevator' on the London plan, where waste paper is sorted and sold. +The turn-over here was over £8,000 in 1909, and may rise to £12,000. I +forget how many men it finds work for, but every week some twenty-five +new hands come in, and about the same number pass out. + +This is a wonderful place, filled with what appears to be rubbish, but +which is really valuable material. Among this rubbish all sorts of +strange things are to be found. Thus I picked out of it, and kept as a +souvenir, a beautifully-bound copy of Wesley's Hymns, published about +a hundred years ago. Lying near it was an early edition of Scott's +'Marmion.' This Elevator more than pays its way; indeed the Army is +saving money out of it, which is put by to purchase other buildings. + +Then there are houses where the people employed in the paper-works +lodge, a recently-acquired home for the better class of men, which was +once a mansion of the De Clifford family, and afterwards a hospital, +and a store where every kind of oddment is sold by Dutch auction. +These articles are given to the Army, and among the week's collection +I saw clocks, furniture, bicycles, a parrot cage, and a crutch. Not +long ago the managers of this store had a goat presented to them, +which nearly ate them out of house and home, as no one would buy it, +and they did not like to send the poor beast to the butcher. + +In these various Shelters and Institutions I saw some strange +characters. One had been an electrical engineer, educated under +Professor Owen, at Cardiff College. He came into money, and gambled +away £13,000 on horse-racing, although he told me that he won as much +as £8,000 on one Ascot meeting. His subsequent history is a story in +itself, one too long to set out; but the end of it, in his own words, +was 'Four years ago I came here, and, thank God! I am going on all +right.' + +Why do not the writers of naturalistic novels study Salvation Army +Shelters? In any one of them they would find more material than could +be used up in ten lifetimes; though, personally, I confess I am +content to read such stories in the secret annals of the various +Institutions. + +Another man, a very pleasant and humorous person, who was once a +Church worker and a singer in the choir, etc., when, in his own words, +he used 'to put on religion with his Sunday clothes and take it off +again with them,' came to grief through sheer love of amusement, such +as that which is to be found in music-halls and theatres. His habit +was to spend the money of an insurance company by which he was +employed, in taking out the young lady to whom he was engaged, to such +entertainments. Ultimately, of course, he was found out, and, when +starving on the road, determined to commit suicide. The Salvationists +found him in the nick of time, and now he is foreman of their +paper-collecting yard. + +Another, at the ripe age of twenty-four, had been twenty-seven times +in prison. His father was in prison, his eldest brother committed +suicide in prison by throwing himself over the banisters. Also, he had +two brothers at present undergoing penal servitude, who, when he was a +little fellow, used to pass him through windows to open doors in +houses which they were burgling. + +I suggested that it was a poor game and that he had better give it up. +He answered:--'I shall never do it again, sir, God helping me.' +Really I think he meant what he said. + +Another, in the Chepstow Street Shelter, where he acted as +night-watchman, was discharged from Portland, after serving a fifteen +years' sentence for manslaughter. His trouble was that he killed a man +in a fight, and as he had fought him before and had a grudge against +him, was very nearly hanged for his pains. This man earned £9 in some +way or other during his sentence, which he sent to his wife. +Afterwards, he discovered that she had been living with another man, +who died and left her well off. But she has never refunded the £9, nor +will she have anything to do with her husband. + + + + +OAKHILL HOUSE + + + +MANCHESTER + +Oakhill House is a Rescue Home for women, which was given to the Army +by Mrs. Crossley, a well-known local lady. It deals with prison, +fallen, inebriate, and preventive cases. At the time of my visit there +were sixty-three inmates, but when a new adjacent building is +completed there will be room for more. There is a wonderful laundry in +this Home, where the most beautiful washing is done at extremely +moderate prices. The ironing and starching room was a busy sight, but +what I chiefly remember about it was the spectacle of one melancholy +old man, the only male among that crowd of women, seated by a +steam-boiler that drove the machinery, to which it was his business to +attend. (No woman can be persuaded to look after a boiler.) In the +midst of all those females he had the appearance of a superannuated +and disillusioned Turk contemplating his too extensive establishment +and reflecting on its monthly bills. + +The matron in charge informed me that even for these rough women there +is no system of punishment whatsoever. No girl is ever restricted in +her food, or put on bread and water, or struck, or shut away by +herself. The Army maxim is that it is its mission not to punish but to +try to reform. If in any particular case its methods of gentleness +fail, which they rarely do, it is considered best that the case should +depart, very possibly to return again later on. + +She added that although many of these women had committed assaults, +and even fought the Police, not one of them attacks another in the +Home once in a year, and that during her twenty years of work, +although she had lived among some of the worst women in England, she +had never received a single blow. As an illustration of what the +Salvation Army understands by this word 'work' I may state that +throughout these twenty years, except for the allotted annual +fortnight, this lady has had no furlough. + + + + +THE MEN'S SOCIAL WORK + + + +GLASGOW + +I saw the Brigadier in charge of the Men's Social Work in Glasgow at a +great central Institution where hundreds of poor people sleep every +night. The inscriptions painted on the windows give a good idea of its +character. Here are some of them: 'Cheap beds.' 'Cheap food.' 'Waste +paper collected.' 'Missing friends found.' 'Salvation for all.' + +In addition to this Refuge there is an 'Elevator' of the usual type, +in which about eighty men were at work, and an establishment called +the Dale House Home, a very beautiful Adams' house, let to the Army at +a small rent by an Eye Hospital that no longer requires it. This house +accommodates ninety-seven of the men who work in the Elevator. + +The Brigadier informed me that the distress at Glasgow was very great +last year. Indeed, during that year of 1909 the Army fed about 35,000 +men at the docks, and 65,000 at the Refuge, a charity which caused +them to be officially recognized for the first time by the +Corporation, that sent them a cheque in aid of their work. Now, +however, things have much improved, owing to the building of +men-of-war and the forging of great guns for the Navy. At Parkhead +Forge alone 8,000 men are being employed upon a vessel of the +Dreadnought class, which will occupy them for a year and a half. So it +would seem that these monsters of destruction have their peaceful +uses. + +Glasgow, he said, 'is a terrible place for drink, especially of +methylated spirits and whisky.' Drink at the beginning, I need hardly +remark, means destitution at the end, so doubtless this failing +accounts for a large proportion of its poverty. + +The Men's Social Work of the Army in Glasgow, which is its +Headquarters in Scotland, is spreading in every direction, not only in +that city itself, but beyond it to Paisley, Greenock, and Edinburgh. +Indeed, the Brigadier has orders 'to get into Dundee and Aberdeen as +soon as possible.' I asked him how he would provide the money. He +answered, 'Well, by trusting in God and keeping our powder dry.' + +As regards the Army's local finance the trouble is that owing to the +national thriftiness it is harder to make commercial ventures pay in +Scotland than in England. Thus I was informed that in Glasgow the +Corporation collects and sells its own waste paper, which means that +there is less of that material left for the Salvation Army to deal +with. In England, so far as I am aware, the waste-paper business is +not a form of municipal trading that the Corporations of great cities +undertake. + +Another leading branch of the Salvation Army effort in Scotland is its +Prison work. It is registered in that country as a Prisoners' Aid +Society, and the doors of every jail in the land are open to its +Officers. I saw the Army's prison book, in which are entered the +details of each prison case with which it is dealing. Awful enough +some of them were. + +I remember two that caught my eye as I turned its pages. The first was +that of a man who had gone for a walk with his wife, from whom he was +separated, cut her head off, and thrown it into a field. The second +was that of another man, or brute beast, who had taken his child by +the heels and dashed out its brains against the fireplace. It may be +wondered why these gentle creatures still adorn the world. The +explanation seems to be that in Scotland there is a great horror of +capital punishment, which is but rarely inflicted. + +My recollection is that the Officer who visited them had hopes of the +permanent reformation of both these men; or, at any rate, that there +were notes in his book to this effect. + +I saw many extraordinary cases in this Glasgow Refuge, some of whom +had come there through sheer misfortune. One had been a medical man +who, unfortunately, was left money and took to speculating on the +Stock Exchange. He was a very large holder of shares in a South +African mine, which he bought at 1s. 6d. These shares now stand at £7; +but, unhappily for him, his brokers dissolved partnership, and neither +of them would carry over his account. So it was closed down just at +the wrong time, with the result that he lost everything, and finally +came to the streets. He never drank or did anything wrong; it was, as +he said, 'simply a matter of sheer bad luck.' + +Another was a Glasgow silk merchant, who made a bad debt of £3,000 +that swamped him. Afterwards he became paralysed, but recovered. He +had been three years cashier of this Shelter. + +Another arrived at the Shelter in such a state that the Officer in +charge told me he was obliged to throw his macintosh round him to hide +his nakedness. He was an engineer who took a public-house, and helped +himself freely to his stock-in-trade, with the result that he became a +frightful drunkard, and lost £1,700. He informed me that he used to +consume no less than four bottles of whisky a day, and suffered from +delirium tremens several times. In the Shelter--I quote his own +words--'I gave my heart to God, and after that all desire for drink +and wrongdoing' (he had not been immaculate in other ways) 'gradually +left me. From 1892 I had been a drunkard. After my conversion, in less +than three weeks I ceased to have any desire for drink.' + +This man became night-watchman in the Shelter, a position which he +held for twelve months. He said: 'I was promoted to be Sergeant; when +I put on my uniform and stripes, I reckoned myself a man again. Then I +was made foreman of the works at Greendyke Street. Then I was sent to +pioneer our work in Paisley, and when that was nicely started, I was +sent on to Greenock, where I am now trying to work up a (Salvation +Army) business.' + +Here, for a reason to be explained presently, I will quote a very +similar case which I saw at the Army Colony at Hadleigh, in Essex. +This man, also a Scotsman (no Englishman, I think, could have survived +such experiences), is a person of fine and imposing appearance, great +bodily strength, and good address. He is about fifty years of age, and +has been a soldier, and after leaving the Service, a gardener. Indeed, +he is now, or was recently, foreman market-gardener at Hadleigh. He +married a hospital nurse, and found out some years after marriage that +she was in the habit of using drugs. This habit he contracted also, +either during her life or after her death, and with it that of drink. + +His custom was to drink till he was a wreck, and then take drugs, +either by the mouth or subcutaneously, to steady himself. Chloroform +and ether he mixed together and drank, strychnine he injected. At the +beginning of this course, threepennyworth of laudanum would suffice +him for three doses. At the end, three years later (not to mention +ether, chloroform, and strychnine), he took of laudanum alone nearly a +tablespoonful ten or twelve times a day, a quantity, I understand, +which is enough to kill five or six horses. One of the results was +that when he had to be operated on for some malady, it was found +impossible to bring him under the influence of the anaesthetic. All +that could be done was to deprive him of his power of movement, in +which state he had to bear the dreadful pain of the operation. +Afterwards the surgeon asked him if he were a drug-taker, and he told +me that he answered:-- + +'Why, sir, I could have drunk all the lot you have been trying to give +me, without ever knowing the difference.' + +In this condition, when he was such a wreck that he trembled from head +to foot and was contemplating suicide, he came into the hands of the +Army, and was sent down to the Hadleigh Farm. + +Now comes the point of the story. At Hadleigh he 'got converted,' and +from that hour has never touched either drink or drugs. Moreover, he +assured me solemnly that he could go into a chemist's shop or a bar +with money in his pocket without feeling the slightest desire to +indulge in such stimulants. He said that after his conversion, he had +a 'terrible fight' with his old habits, the physical results of their +discontinuance being most painful. Subsequently, however, and by +degrees, the craving left him entirely, I asked him to what he +attributed this extraordinary cure. He replied:-- + +'To the power of God. If I trusted in my own strength I should +certainly fail, but the power of God keeps me from being overcome.' + +Now these are only two out of a number of cases that I have seen +myself, in which a similar explanation of his cure has been given to +me by the person cured, and I would like to ask the unprejudiced and +open-minded reader how he explains them. Personally I cannot explain +them except upon an hypothesis which, as a practical person, I confess +I hesitate to adopt. I mean that of a direct interposition from above, +or of the working of something so unrecognized or so undefined in the +nature of man (which it will be remembered the old Egyptians, a very +wise people, divided into many component parts, whereof we have now +lost count), that it may be designated an innate superior power or +principle, brought into action by faith or 'suggestion.' + +That these people who have been the slaves of, or possessed by certain +gross and palpable vices, of which drink is only one, are truly and +totally changed, there can be no question. To that I am able to bear +witness. The demoniacs of New Testament history cannot have been more +transformed; and I know of no stranger experience than to listen to +such men, as I have times and again, speaking of their past selves as +entities cast off and gone, and of their present selves as new +creatures. It is, indeed, one that throws a fresh light upon certain +difficult passages in the Epistles of St. Paul, and even upon the +darker sayings of the Master of mankind Himself. They do, in truth, +seem to have been 'born again.' But this is a line of thought that I +will not attempt to follow; it lies outside my sphere and the scope of +these pages. + +After the Officer who used to consume four bottles of whisky a day, +and is now in charge of the Salvation Army work in Greenock, had left +the room, I propounded these problems to Lieut.-Colonel Jolliffe and +the Brigadier, as I had done previously to Commissioner Sturgess. I +pointed out that religious conversion seemed to me to be a spiritual +process, whereas the craving for drink or any other carnal +satisfaction was, or appeared to be, a physical weakness of the body. +Therefore, I did not understand how the spiritual conversion could +suddenly and permanently affect or remove the physical desire, unless +it were by the action of the phenomenon called miracle, which mankind +admits doubtfully to have been possible in the dim period of the birth +of a religion, but for the most part denies to be possible in these +latter days. + +'Quite so,' answered the Colonel, calmly, in almost the same words +that Commissioner Sturgess had used, 'it _is_ miracle; that is our +belief. These men cannot change and purify themselves, their vices are +instantaneously, permanently, and miraculously removed by the power +and the Grace of God. This is the truth, and nothing more wonderful +can be conceived.' + +Here, without further comment, I leave this deeply interesting matter +to the consideration of abler and better instructed persons than +myself. + +To come to something more mundane, which also deserves consideration, +I was informed that in Glasgow, with a population of about 900,000, +there exists a floating class of 80,000 people, who live in +lodging-houses of the same sort as, and mostly inferior to the +Salvation Army Shelter of which I am now writing. In other words, out +of every twelve inhabitants of this great city, one is driven to that +method of obtaining a place to sleep in at night. + +In this particular Refuge there is what is called a free shelter room, +where people are accommodated in winter who have not even the few +coppers necessary to pay for a bed. During the month before my visit, +which took place in the summer-time, the Brigadier had allotted free +beds in this room to destitute persons to the value of £13. I may add +that twice a week this particular place is washed with a carbolic +mixture! + + + + +THE ARDENSHAW WOMEN'S HOME + + + +GLASGOW + +I visited two of the Salvation Army's Women's Institutions in Glasgow. +The first of these was a Women's Rescue Home known as Ardenshaw. This +is a very good house, substantially built and well fitted up, that +before it was bought by the Army was the residence of a Glasgow +merchant. It has accommodation for thirty-six, and is always full. The +inmates are of all kinds, prison cases, preventive cases, fallen +cases, drink cases. The very worst of all these classes, however, are +not taken in here, but sent to the Refuge in High Street. Ardenshaw +resembles other Homes of the same sort that I have already dealt with +in various cities, so I need not describe it here. + +Its Officers visit the prisons at Duke Street, Glasgow, Ayr, and +Greenock, and I saw a letter which had just arrived from the chaplain +of one of these jails, asking the Matron to interest herself in the +case of a girl coming up for trial, and to take her into a Home if she +were discharged as a first offender. + +While I was eating some lunch in this house I noticed a young woman in +Salvation Army dress coming up the steps with a child of particularly +charming appearance. At my request she was brought into the room, +where I extracted from her a story which seems to be worth repeating +as an illustration of the spirit which animates so many members of the +Army. + +The young woman herself had once been an invalid who was taken into +the Home and nursed till she recovered, after which she was sent to a +situation in a large town. Here she came in contact with a poor family +in which the mother is a drunkard and the father a respectable, +hardworking man, and took a great fancy to one of the children, the +little girl I have mentioned. This child, who is about five years of +age, it is her habit to supply with clothes and more or less to feed. +Unfortunately, however, when the mother is on the drink she pawns the +clothes which my Salvation Army friend is obliged to redeem, since if +she does not, little Bessie is left almost naked. Indeed, before +Bessie was brought away upon this particular visit her protectress had +to pay 14_s_. to recover her garments from the pawnshop, a +considerable sum out of a wage of about £18 a year. + +I asked her why she did not take away this very fascinating child +altogether, and arrange for her to enter one of the Army Homes. She +answered because, although the mother would be glad enough to let her +go, the father, who is naturally fond of his children, objected. + +'Of which the result may be,' remarked Lieut.-Colonel Jolliffe grimly, +'that about a dozen years hence that sweet little girl will become a +street-walking drunkard.' + +'Not while I live,' broke in her foster-mother, indignantly. + +This kind-hearted little woman told me she had been six years in +service as sole maid-of-all-work in a large house. I inquired whether +it was a hard place. She replied that it would be easier if her four +mistresses, who are sisters and old maiden ladies, did not all take +their meals at four different times, have four different teapots, +insist upon their washing being sent to four different laundries, +employ four different doctors, and sleep in four different rooms. +'However,' she added, 'it is not so difficult as it was as there used +to be five, but one has died. Also, they are kind to me in other ways +and about Bessie. They like me to come here for my holiday, as then +they know I shall return on the right day and at the right hour.' + +When she had left the room, having in mind the capacities of the +average servant, and the outcry she is apt to make about her +particular 'work,' I said that it seemed strange that one young woman +could fulfil all these multifarious duties satisfactorily. + +'Oh,' said the matter-of-fact Colonel, 'you see, she belongs to the +Salvation Army, and looks at things from the point of view of her +duty, and not from that of her comfort.' + +It is curious at what a tender age children learn to note the habits +of those about them. When this little Bessie was given _2d_. she +lisped out in her pretty Scotch accent, 'Mother winna have this for +beer!' + + + + +THE WOMEN'S LODGING-HOUSE + + + +GLASGOW + +The last place that I visited in Glasgow was the Shelter for women, an +Institution of the same sort as the Shelter for men. It is a +Lodging-house in which women can have a bed at the price of 4_d_. per +night; but if that sum is not forthcoming, they are not, as a rule, +turned away if they are known to be destitute. + +The class of people who frequent this Home is a very low one; for the +most part they are drunkards. They must leave the Shelter before ten +o'clock in the morning, when the majority of them go out hawking, +selling laces, or other odds and ends. Some of them earn as much as +2_s_. a day; but, as a rule, they spend a good deal of what they earn, +only saving enough to pay for their night's lodging. This place has +been open for sixteen years, and contains 133 beds, which are almost +always full. + +The women whom I saw at this Shelter were a very rough-looking set, +nearly all elderly, and, as their filthy garments and marred +countenances showed, often the victims of drink. Still, they have good +in them, for the lady in charge assured me that they are generous to +each other. If one of the company has nothing they will collect the +price of her bed or her food between them, and even pay her debts, if +these are not too large. There were several children in the place, for +each woman is allowed to bring in one. When I was there many of the +inmates were cooking their meals on the common stove, and very curious +and unappetizing these were. + +Among them I noted a dark-eyed lassie of about sixteen who was crying. +Drawing her aside, I questioned her. It seemed that her father, a +drunken fellow, had turned her out of her home that afternoon because +she had forgotten to give him a message. Having nowhere to go she +wandered about the streets until she met a woman who told her of this +Lodging-house. She added, touchingly enough, that it was not her +mother's fault. + +Imagine a girl of sixteen thrown out to spend the night upon the +streets of Glasgow! + +On the walls of one of the rooms I saw a notice that read oddly in a +Shelter for women. It ran:-- + +_Smoking is strictly prohibited after retiring_. + + + + +THE LAND AND INDUSTRIAL COLONY + + + +HADLEIGH, ESSEX + +The Hadleigh Colony, of which Lieut.-Colonel Laurie is the Officer in +charge, is an estate of about 3,000 acres which was purchased by the +Salvation Army in the year 1891 at a cost of about £20 the acre, the +land being stiff clay of the usual Essex type. As it has chanced, +owing to the amount of building which is going on in the neighbourhood +of Southend, and to its proximity to London, that is within forty +miles, the investment has proved a very good one. I imagine that if +ever it should come to the hammer the Hadleigh Colony would fetch a +great deal more than £20 the acre, independently of its cultural +improvements. These, of course, are very great. For instance, more +than 100 acres are now planted with fruit-trees in full bearing. Also, +there are brickfields which are furnished with the best machinery and +plant, ranges of tomato and salad houses, and a large French garden +where early vegetables are grown for market. A portion of the land, +however, still remains in the hands of tenants, with whom the Army +does not like to interfere. + +The total turn-over of the land 'in hand' amounts to the large sum of +over £30,000 per annum, and the total capital invested is in the +neighbourhood of £110,000. Of this great sum about £78,000 is the cost +of the land and the buildings; the brickworks and other industries +account for £12,000, while the remaining £20,000 represents the value +of the live and dead stock. I believe that the mortgage remaining on +the place, which the Army had not funds to pay for outright, is now +less than £50,000, borrowed at about 4 per cent, and, needless to say, +it is well secured. + +Lieut.-Colonel Laurie informed me on the occasion of my last visit to +Hadleigh, in July, 1910, that taken as a whole even now the farm does +not pay its way.[6] This result is entirely owing to the character of +the labour employed. At first sight, as the men are paid but a +trifling sum in cash, it would appear that this labour must be +extremely cheap. Investigation, however, gives the story another +colour. + +It costs the Army 10_s_. a week to keep a man at Hadleigh in food and +lodgings, and in addition he receives a cash grant of from 6_d_ to +5_s_. a week. + +Careful observation shows that the labour of three of these men, of +whom 92 per cent, be it remembered, come to the Colony through their +drinking habits, is about equal to that of one good agricultural hand +who, in Norfolk, reckoning in his harvest and sundries, would +earn--let us say, 18s. a week. Therefore, in practice where I, as a +farmer, pay about 18s., or in the case of carters and milkmen nearly +£1, the Army pays £2, circumstances under which it is indeed difficult +to farm remuneratively in England. + +The object of the Hadleigh Colony is to supply a place where broken +men of bad habits, who chance in most cases to have had some connexion +with or liking for the land, can be reformed, and ultimately sent out +to situations, or as emigrants to Canada. About 400 of such men pass +through the Colony each year. Of these men, Lieut.-Colonel Laurie +estimates that 7-1/2 per cent prove absolute failures, although, he +added that, 'it is very, very difficult to determine as to when a man +should be labelled an absolute failure. He may leave us an apparent +failure, and still come all right in the end.' + +The rest, namely 91 per cent or so, regain their place as decent and +useful members of society, a wonderful result which is brought about +by the pressure of discipline, tempered with kindness, and the +influence of steady and healthful work. + +Persons of every class drift to this Colony. Thus, among the 230 +Colonists who were training there when I visited it in July, 1910, +were two chemists and a journalist, while a Church of England +clergyman had just left it for Canada. + +As a specimen of the ruck, however, I will mention the first +individual to whom I happened to speak--a strong young man, who was +weeding a bed of onions. He told me that he had been a farm labourer +in early life, and, subsequently, for six years a coachman in a +private livery stables in London. He lost his place through drink, +became a wanderer on the Embankment, was picked up by the Salvation +Army and sent to one of its Elevator paper-works. Afterwards, he +volunteered to work on the land at Hadleigh, where he had then been +employed for nine months. His ambition was to emigrate to Canada, +which, doubtless, he has now done, or is about to do. Such cases might +be duplicated by the dozen, but for this there is no need. _Ex uno +disce omnes_. + +All the labour employed, however, is not of this class. For instance, +the next man to whom I spoke, who was engaged in ploughing up old +cabbage land with a pair of very useful four-year-olds, bred on the +farm, was not a Colonist but an agricultural hand, paid at the rate of +wages usual in the district. Another, who managed the tomato-houses, +was a skilled professional tomato-grower from the Channel Islands. The +experience of the managers of the Colony is that it is necessary to +employ a certain number of expert agriculturalists on the place, in +order that they may train the raw hands who come from London and +elsewhere. + +To a farmer, such as the present writer, a visit to Hadleigh is an +extremely interesting event, showing him, as it does, what can be done +upon cold and unkindly land by the aid of capital, intelligence, and +labour. Still I doubt whether a detailed description of all these +agricultural operations falls within the scope of a book such as that +upon which I am engaged. + +Therefore, I will content myself with saying that this business, like +everything else that the Army undertakes, is carried out with great +thoroughness and considerable success. The extensive orchards are +admirably managed, and were fruitful even in the bad season of 1910. +The tomato-houses, which have recently been increased at a capital +cost of about £1,000, produce many tons of tomatoes, and the French +garden is excellent of its kind. The breed of Middle-white pigs is to +be commended; so much so in my judgment, and I can give no better +testimonial, that at the moment of writing I am trying to obtain from +it a pedigree boar for my own use. The Hadleigh poultry farm, too, is +famous all over the world, and the Officer who manages it was the +President for 1910 of the Wyandotte Society, fowls for which Hadleigh +is famous, having taken the championship prizes for this breed and +others all over the kingdom. The cattle and horses are also good of +their class, and the crops in a trying year looked extremely well. + +All these things, however, are but a means to an end, which end is the +redemption of our fallen fellow-creatures, or such of them as come +within the reach of the work of the Salvation Army at this particular +place. + +I should add, perhaps, that there is a Citadel or gathering hall, +which will seat 400, where religious services are held and concerts +are given on Saturday nights for the amusement of the Colonists. I may +mention that no pressure is brought to bear to force any man in its +charge to conform to the religious principles of the Army. Indeed, +many of these attend the services at the neighbouring parish church. +Notwithstanding the past characters of those who live there, +disturbances of any sort are unknown at Hadleigh. Indeed, it is +extremely rare for a case originating on the Colony to come before the +local magistrates. + + + + +THE SMALL-HOLDINGS SETTLEMENT + + + +BOXTED, ESSEX + +General Booth and his Officers are, as I know from various +conversations with them, firmly convinced that many of the great and +patent evils of our civilization result from the desertion of the land +by its inhabitants, and that crowding into cities which is one of the +most marked phenomena of our time. Indeed, it was an identity of view +upon this point, which is one that I have advanced for years, that +first brought me into contact with the Salvation Army. But to preach +the advantages of bringing people back to the land is one thing, and +to get them there quite another. Many obstacles stand in the way. I +need only mention two of these: the necessity for large capital and +the still more important necessity of enabling those who are settled +on it to earn out of Mother Earth a sufficient living for themselves +and their families. + +That well-known philanthropist, the late Mr. Herring, was another +person much impressed with the importance of this matter, and I +remember about five years ago dining with him, with General Booth as +my fellow-guest, on an occasion when all this subject was gone into in +detail. So lively, indeed, was Mr. Herring's interest that he offered +to advance a sum of £100,000 to the Army, to be used in an experiment +of land-settlement, carried out under its auspices. Should that +experiment prove successful, the capital repaid by the tenants was to +go to King Edward's Hospital Fund, and should it fail, that capital +was to be written off. Of this £100,000, £40,000 has now been invested +in the Boxted venture, and if this succeeds, I understand that the +balance will become available for other ventures under the provisions +of Mr. Herring's will. A long while must elapse, however, before the +result of the experiment can be definitely ascertained. + +The Boxted Settlement is situated In North Essex, about three miles +from Colchester, and covers an area of 400 acres. It is a flat place, +that before the Enclosures Acts was a heath, with good road frontages +throughout, an important point where small-holdings are concerned. The +soil is a medium loam over gravel, neither very good nor very bad, so +far as my judgment goes, and of course capable of great improvement +under intensive culture. + +This estate, which altogether cost about £20 per acre to buy, has +been divided into sixty-seven holdings, varying in size from 4-1/2 +acres to 7 acres. The cottages which stand upon the holdings have been +built in pairs, at a cost of about £380 per pair, which price +includes drainage, a drinking well, and, I think, a soft-water +cistern. These are extremely good dwellings, and I was much struck +with their substantial and practical character. They comprise three +bedrooms, a large living-room, a parlour, and a scullery, containing a +sink and a bath. Also there is a tool-house, a pigstye, and a movable +fowl-house on wheels. + +On each holding an orchard of fruit trees has been planted in +readiness for the tenant, also strawberries, currants, gooseberries, +and raspberries, which in all occupy about three-quarters of an acre. +The plan is that the rest of the holding should be cultivated +intensively upon a system that is estimated to return £20 per acre. + +The arrangement between the Army and its settlers is briefly as +follows: In every case the tenant begins without any capital, and is +provided with seeds and manures to carry him through the first two +years, also with a living allowance at the rate of 10_s_. a week for +the man and his wife, and 1_s_. a week for each child, which allowance +is to cease after he has marketed his first crops. + +The tenancy terms are, that for two years the settler is a tenant at +will, the agreement being terminable by either party at any time +without compensation. At the end of these two years, subject to the +approval of the Director of the Settlement, the settler can take a 999 +years' lease of his holding, the Army for obvious reasons retaining +the freehold. After the first year of this lease, the rental payable +for forty years is to be 5 per cent per annum upon the capital +invested in the settlement of the man and his family upon the holding, +which rent is to include the cost of the house, land, and +improvements, and all moneys advanced to him during his period of +probation. + +It is estimated that this capital sum will average £520 per holding, +so that the tenant's annual rent for forty years will be £26, after +which he will have nothing more to pay save a nominal rent, and the +remainder of the lease will be the property of himself, or rather, of +his descendants. This property, I presume, will be saleable. + +So, putting aside all legal technicalities and complications, it comes +to this: the tenant is started for two years after which he pays about +£4 a year rent per acre for the next forty years, and thereby +virtually purchases his holding. The whole question, which time alone +can answer, is whether a man can earn £4 per acre rent per annum, and, +in addition, provide a living for himself and family out of a +five-acre holding on medium land near Colchester. + +The problem is one upon which I cannot venture to express any decisive +opinion, even after many years of experience of such matters. I trust, +however, that the answer may prove to be in the affirmative, and I am +quite sure that if any Organization is able to cause it to work out +this way, that Organization is the Salvation Army, whose brilliant +business capacity can, as I know, make a commercial success of the +most unpromising materials. + +I should like to point out that this venture is one of great and +almost of national importance, because if it fails then it will be +practically proved that it is impossible to establish small holders on +the land by artificial means, at any rate, in England, and at the +present prices of agricultural produce. It is not often that a sum of +£40,000 will be available for such a purpose, and with it the +direction of a charitable Organization that seeks no profit, the +oversight of an Officer as skilled and experienced as Lieut.-Colonel +Hiffe, and, in addition, a trained Superintendent who will afford +advice as to all agricultural matters, a co-operative society ready to +hire out implements, horses and carts at cost price, and, if so +desired, to undertake the distribution or marketing of produce. Still, +notwithstanding all these advantages, I have my misgivings as to the +ultimate result. + +The men chosen to occupy these holdings by a Selection Committee of +Salvation Army Officers, are for the most part married people who were +born in the country, but had migrated to the towns. Most of them have +more or less kept themselves in touch with country life by cultivating +allotments during their period of urban residence, and precedence has +been given to those who have shown a real desire to return to the +land. Other essentials are a good character, both personal and as a +worker, bodily and mental health, and total abstention from any form +of alcohol. No creed test is required, and there are men of various +religious faiths upon the Settlement, only a proportion of them being +Salvationists. + +I interviewed two of these settlers at hazard upon their holdings, +and, although the year had been adverse, found them happy and hopeful. +No. 1, who had been a mechanic, proposed to increase his earnings by +mending bicycles. No. 2 was an agriculturist pure and simple, and +showed me his fowls and pigs with pride. Here, however, I found a +little rift within the rural lute, for on asking him how his wife +liked the life he replied after a little hesitation, 'Not very well, +sir: you see, she has been accustomed to a town.' + +If she continues not to like it 'very well,' there will, I think, be +an end to that man's prospects as a small holder. + +I had the pleasure of bring present in July, 1910, at the formal +opening of the Boxted Settlement, when the Salvation Army entertained +several hundred guests to luncheon, many of them very well-known +people. The day for a wonder was fine, General Booth spoke for over an +hour in his most characteristic and interesting way; the Chairman, +Earl Carrington, President of the Board of Agriculture, blessed the +undertaking officially and privately; everybody seemed pleased with +the holdings, and, in short, all went merrily as a marriage bell. + +As I sat and listened, however, the query that arose in my mind +was--What would be the state of these holdings and of the tenants or +of their descendants on, say, that day thirty years? I trust and hope +that it will be a good state in both instances; but I must confess to +certain doubts and fears. + +In this parish of Ditchingham, where I live, there is a man with a few +acres of land, an orchard, a greenhouse, etc. That man works his +little tenancy, deals in the surplus produce of large gardens, which +he peddles out in the neighbouring town, and, on an average, takes +piecework on my farm (at the moment of writing he and his son are +hoeing mangolds) for two or three days a week; at any rate, for a +great part of the year. He is a type of what I may call the natural +small holder, and I believe does fairly well. The question is, can the +artificially created small holder, who must pay a rent of £4 the acre, +attain to a like result? + +Again, I say I hope so most sincerely, for if not in England 'back to +the land' will prove but an empty catchword. At any rate, the country +should be most grateful to the late Mr. Herring, who provided the +funds for this intensely interesting experiment, and to the Salvation +Army which is carrying it out in the interests of the landless poor. + + + + +IMPRESSIONS OF GENERAL BOOTH + + + +It has occurred to the writer that a few words descriptive of William +Booth, the creator and first General of the Salvation Army, set down +by a contemporary who has enjoyed a good many opportunities of +observing him during the past ten years, may possibly have a future if +not a present value. + +Of the greatness of this man, to my mind, there can be no doubt. When +the point of time whereon we stand and play our separate parts has +receded, and those who follow us look back into the grey mist which +veils the past; when that mist has hidden the glitter of the +decorations and deadened the echoes of the high-sounding titles of +to-day; when our political tumults, our town-bred excitements, and +many of the very names that are household words to us, are forgotten, +or discoverable only in the pages of history; when, perhaps, the +Salvation Army itself has fulfilled its mission and gone its road, I +am certain that the figure of William Booth will abide clearly visible +in those shadows, and that the influences of his work will remain, if +not still felt, at least remembered and honoured. He will be one of +the few, of the very few enduring figures of our day; and even if our +civilization should be destined to undergo eclipse for a period, as +seems possible, when the light returns, by it he will still be seen. + +For truly this work of his is fine, and one that appeals to the +imagination, although we are so near to it that few of us appreciate +its real proportions. Also, in fact, it is the work that should be +admired rather than the man, who, after all, is nothing but the +instrument appointed to shape it from the clay of circumstance. The +clay lay ready to be shaped, then appeared the moulder animated with +will and purpose, and working for the work's sake to an end which he +could not foresee. + +I have no information on the point, but I should be surprised to learn +that General Booth, when Providence moved him to begin his labours +among the poor, had even an inkling of their future growth within the +short period of his own life. He sowed a seed in faith and hope, and, +in spite of opposition and poverty, in spite of ridicule and of +slander, he has lived to see that seed ripen into a marvellous +harvest. Directly, or indirectly, hundreds of thousands of men and +women throughout the world have benefited by his efforts. He has been +a tool of destiny, like Mahomet or Napoleon, only in this case one +fated to help and not to harm mankind. Such, at least, is my estimate +of him. + +A little less of the spirit of self-sacrifice, a different sense of +responsibility, and the same strength of imagination and power of +purpose devoted to purely material objects, might have raised up +another multi-millionaire, or a mob-leader, or a self-seeking despot. +But, as it happened, some grace was given to him, and the river has +run another way. + +Opportunity, too, has played into his hands. He saw that the +recognized and established Creeds scarcely touched the great, sordid, +lustful, drink-sodden, poverty-steeped masses of the city populations +of the world: that they were waiting for a teacher who could speak to +them in a tongue they understood. He spoke, and some of them have +listened: only a fraction it is true, but still some. More, as it +chanced, he married a wife who entered into his thoughts, and was able +to help to fulfil his aspirations, and from that union were born +descendants who, for the most part, are fitted to carry on his +labours. + +Further, like Loyola, and others, he has the power of rule, being a +born leader of men, so that thousands obey his word without question +in every corner of the earth, although some of these have never seen +his face. Lastly, Nature endowed him with a striking presence that +appeals to the popular mind, with a considerable gift of speech, with +great physical strength and abounding energy, qualities which have +enabled him to toil without ceasing and to travel far and wide. Thus +it comes about that as truly as any man of our generation, when his +hour is ended, he, too, I believe, should be able to say with a clear +conscience, 'I have finished the work that Thou gavest me to do': +although his heart may add, 'I have not finished it as well as I could +wish.' + +Now let me try to convey my personal impressions of this man. I see +him in various conversations with myself, when he has thought that he +could make use of me to serve his ever-present and impersonal ends, +trying to add me up, wondering how far I was sincere, and to what +extent I might be influenced by private objects; then, at last, +concluding that I was honest in my own fashion, opening his heart +little by little, and finally appealing to me to aid him in his +labours. + +'I like that man; _he understands me!_' I once heard him say, +mentioning my name, and believing that he was thinking, not speaking. + +I tell this story merely to illustrate his habit of reflecting aloud, +for as he spoke these words I was standing beside him. When I repeated +it to his Officers, one of them remarked horrified:-- + +'Good gracious! it might just as well have been something much less +complimentary. One never knows what he will say.' + +He is an autocrat, whose word is law to thousands. Had he not been an +autocrat indeed, the Salvation Army would not exist to-day, for it +sprang from his brain like Minerva from the head of Jove, and has been +driven to success by his single, forceful will. + +Yet this quality of masterfulness is tempered and illuminated by an +unfailing sense of humour, which he is quite ready to exercise at his +own expense. Thus, a few years ago he and I dined with the late Mr. +Herring, and, as a matter of fact, although I had certain things to +say on the matters under discussion, his flow of most interesting +conversation did not allow me over much opportunity of saying them. It +is hard to compete in words with one who has preached continually for +fifty years! + +When General Booth departed to catch a midnight train, for the +Continent I think, Mr. Herring went to see him to the door. Returning +presently, much amused, he repeated their parting words, which were as +follows:-- + +GENERAL BOOTH: 'A very good fellow Haggard; but a talker, you know, +Herring, a talker!' + +MR. HERRING (looking at him): 'Indeed!' + +GENERAL BOOTH (laughing): 'Ah! Herring, you mean that it was _I_ who +did the talking, not Haggard. Well, _perhaps I did_.' + +Some people think that General Booth is conceited. + +'It is a pity that the old gentleman is so vain,' a highly-placed +person once said to me. + +I answered that if he or I had done all that General Booth has done, +we might be pardoned a little vanity. + +In truth, however, the charge is mistaken, for at bottom I believe him +to be a very humble-minded man, and one who does not in the least +overrate himself. This may be gathered, indeed, from the tenor of his +remarks on the subject of his personal value to the Army, that I have +recorded at the beginning of this book. + +What people of slower mind and narrower views may mistake for pride, +in his case, I am sure, is but the impatient and unconscious +assertiveness of superior power, based upon vision and accumulated +knowledge. Also, as a general proposition, I believe vanity to be +almost impossible to such a man. So far as my experience of life goes, +that scarce creature, the innately, as distinguished from the +accidentally eminent man, he who is fashioned from Nature's gold, not +merely gilded by circumstance, is never vain. + +Such a man knows but too well how poor is the fruit of his supremest +effort, how marred by secret weakness is what the world calls his +strength, and when his gifts are in the balance, how hard it would be +for any seeing judge to distinguish his success from common failure. +It is the little pinchbeck man, whom wealth, accident, or cheap +cleverness has thrust forward, who grows vain over triumphs that are +not worth having, not the great doer of deeds, or the seer whose +imagination is wide enough to enable him to understand his own utter +insignificance in the scale of things. + +But to return to General Booth. Again I hear him explaining to me vast +schemes, as yet unrealized, that lurk at the back of his vivid, +practical, organizing brain. Schemes for settling tens of thousands of +the city poor upon unoccupied lands in sundry portions of the earth. +Schemes for great universities or training colleges, in which men and +women might be educated to deal with the social problems of our age on +a scientific basis. Schemes for obtaining Government assistance to +enable the Army to raise up the countless mass of criminals in many +lands, taking charge of them as they leave the jail, and by +regenerating their fallen natures, saving them soul and body. + +In the last interview I had with him, I read to him a note I had made +of a conversation which had taken place a few days before between Mr. +Roosevelt and myself on the subject of the Salvation Army. Here is the +note, or part of it. + +MR. ROOSEVELT: 'Why not make use of all this charitable energy, now +often misdirected, for national ends?' + +MYSELF: 'What I have called "the waste forces of Benevolence." It is +odd, Mr. Roosevelt, that we should both have come to that conclusion.' + +MR. ROOSEVELT: 'Yes, that's the term. You see the reason is that we +are both sensible men who understand.' + +'That is very important,' said General Booth, when he had heard this +extract. '"Make use of all this charitable energy, now often +misdirected for national ends!" Why not, indeed? Heaven knows it is +often misdirected. The Salvation Army has made mistakes enough. If +only that could be done it would be a great thing. But first we have +got to make other people "understand" besides Roosevelt and yourself.' + +That, at least, was the sense of his words. + +Once more I see him addressing a crowded meeting of City men in +London, on a murky winter afternoon. In five minutes he has gripped +his audience with his tale of things that are new to most of them, +quite outside of their experience. He lifts a curtain as it were, and +shows them the awful misery that lies often at their very office +doors, and the duty which is theirs to aid the fallen and the +suffering. It is a long address, very long, but none of the hearers +are wearied. + +At the end of it I had cause to meet him in his office about a certain +matter. He had stripped off his coat, and stood in the red jersey of +his uniform, the perspiration still streaming from him after the +exertion of his prolonged effort in that packed hall. As he spoke he +ate his simple meal of vegetables (mushrooms they were, I remember), +and tea, for, like most of his family, he never touches meat. Either +he must see me while he ate or not at all; and when there is work to +be done, General Booth does not think of convenience or of rest; +moreover, as usual, there was a train to catch. One of his +peculiarities is that he seems always to be starting for somewhere, +often at the other side of the world. + +Lastly, I see him on one of his tours. He is due to speak in a small +country town. His Officers have arrived to make arrangements, and are +waiting with the audience. It pours with rain, and he is late. At +length the motors dash up through the mud and wet, and out of the +first of them he appears, a tall, cloaked figure. Already that day he +has addressed two such meetings besides several roadside gatherings, +and at night he must speak to a great audience in a city fourteen +miles away; also stop at this place and at that before he gets there, +for a like purpose. He is to appear in the big city at eight, and +already it is half-past three. + +Five minutes later he has been assisted on to the platform (for this +was before his operation and he was almost blind), and for nearly an +hour pours out a ceaseless flood of eloquence, telling the history of +his Organization, telling of his life's work and of his heart's aims, +asking for their prayers and help. He looks a very old man now, much +older than when first I knew him, and with his handsome, somewhat +Jewish face and long, white beard, a very type of some prophet of +Israel. So Abraham must have looked, one thinks, or Jeremiah, or +Elijah. But there is no weariness in his voice or his gestures; and, +as he exhorts and prays, his darkening eyes seem to flash. + +It is over. He bids farewell to the audience that he has never seen +before, and will never see again, invokes a fervent blessing on them, +and presently the motors are rushing away into the wet night, bearing +with them this burning fire of a man. + +Such are some of my impressions of William Booth, General of the +Salvation Army. + + + + +THE CHIEF OF THE STAFF + + + +No account of the Salvation Army would be complete without some words +about Mr. Bramwell Booth, General Booth's eldest son and right-hand +man, who in the Army is known as the Chief of the Staff. Being +convinced of this, I sought an interview with him--the last of the +many that I have had in connexion with the present work. + +In the Army Mr. Bramwell Booth is generally recognized as 'the power +behind the throne.' He it is who, seated in his office in London, +directs the affairs and administers the policy of this vast +Organization in all lands; the care of the countless Salvation Army +churches is on his shoulders, and has been for these many years. He +does not travel outside Europe; his work lies chiefly at home. I +understand, however, that he takes his share in the evangelical +labours of the Army, and is a powerful and convincing speaker, +although I have never chanced to hear any of his addresses. + +[Illustration: MR. BRAMWELL BOOTH, Chief of the Staff.] + +In appearance at his present age of something over fifty, he is tall +and not robust, with an extremely sympathetic face that has about it +little of his father's rugged cast and sternness. Perhaps it is this +evident sympathy that commands the affection of so many, for I have +been told more than once that he is the best beloved man in the Army, +and one who never uses a stern word. + +I found him busy and pressed for time, even more so, if possible, than +I was myself; he had but just arrived by an early train from some +provincial city. In fact, he was then engaged upon his annual +visitation to all the Field Officers in the country, which, as he +explained, takes him away from London for three days a week for a +period of six weeks, and throws upon him a considerable extra strain +of mind and body. The diocese of the Salvation Army is very extensive! + +I said to Mr. Bramwell Booth that I desired from him his views of the +Army as a religious and a social force throughout the wide world, in +every land where it sets its foot. I wished to hear of the work +considered as a whole, likewise of that work in its various aspects, +and of the different races of mankind among which it is carried on. +Also, amongst others, I put to him the following specific questions:-- + + In what way and by what means does the Army adapt itself to + the needs and customs of the various peoples among whom it + is established? + + What is its comparative measure of success with each of + these peoples, and what future is anticipated for it among + them respectively? + + Where is the work advancing, where does it hang in the + balance, and where is it being driven backwards? + + What are your views upon the future of the Army as a + religious and social power throughout the world, bearing in + mind the undoubted difficulties with which it is confronted? + + Do you consider that now, after forty-five years of + existence, it is, speaking generally, on the downward or on + the upward grade? + + What information can you give me as to the position of the + Army in its relations with other religious bodies? + +At this point Mr. Bramwell Booth inquired mildly how much time I had +to spare. The result of my answer was that we agreed together that it +was clearly impossible to deal with all these great matters in an +interview. So it was decided that he should take time to think them +over, and should furnish his replies in the form of a written +memorandum. This he has done, and I may say without flattery that the +paper which he has drawn up is one of the most clear and broad-minded +that I have had the pleasure of reading for a long while. Since it is +too long to be used as a quotation, I print it in an appendix,[7] +trusting sincerely that all who are interested in the Salvation Army +in its various aspects will not neglect its perusal. Indeed, it is a +valuable and an authoritative document, composed by perhaps the only +person in the world who, from his place and information, is equal to +the task. + +Personally I venture upon neither criticism nor comment, whose rôle +throughout all these pages is but that of a showman, although I trust +one not altogether devoid of insight into the matter in hand. + +To only one point will I call attention--that of the general note of +confidence which runs through Mr. Bramwell Booth's remarks. Clearly he +at least does not believe that the Salvation Army is in danger of +dissolution. Like his father, he believes that it will go on from good +to good and from strength to strength. + +There remain, however, one or two other points that we discussed +together to which I will allude. Thus I asked him if he had anything +to say as to the attacks which from time to time were made upon the +Army. He replied as his father had done: 'Nothing, except that they +were best left to answer themselves.' + +Then our conversation turned to the matter of the resignation of +certain Officers of the Army which had caused some passing public +remark. + +'We have an old saying here,' he said, with some humour, 'that we do +not often lose any one whom we very much desire to keep.' + +I pointed out that I had heard allegations made to the effect that the +Army Officers were badly paid, hardly treated, and, when they proved +of no more use, let go to find a living as best they could. + +He replied that, as to the matter of money, the Army had established a +Pension fund in all the Western countries, which now amounts to a +large total. In this country the sum was about £44,000, and during +1909 about £1,800 had been paid here in pensions. This, however, was +only a beginning, but he thought that the effort was being made on the +right lines, and that, notwithstanding their poverty, a really +adequate Pension fund would be built up in due course. + +Then of a sudden he became eloquent. He said he admitted that the Army +had little to offer. Those who came into its service knew that this +was so; that they had no hope of temporal reward; that thenceforth the +great feature of their life and work was that it must be filled with +labour and self-denial. The whole business of helping and saving our +fellow-creatures was one of struggle and suffering. Sacrifice was the +key-note of Christianity as laid down by its Founder. Those who sought +money and temporal honour must look elsewhere than to the Salvation +Army. Its pride and glory was that thousands were willing to suffer +and deny themselves from year to year, and to find their joy and their +recompense in the consciousness that they were doing something, +however little, to lighten the darkness and relieve the misery of the +world. + +Here are some of his actual words upon this matter that I will quote, +as I cannot better them:-- + +'The two facts of real consequence about our Officers are these: +First, that their numbers go on increasing year by year, and second, +that they remain devoted to their work, very poor, and absolutely bent +on obtaining a reward in Heaven. But let me quote here from General +Booth on this matter:-- + +'"I resolved that no disadvantage as to birth, or education, or social +condition should debar any one from entering the list of combatants so +long as he was one with me in love for God, in faith for the salvation +of men, and in willingness to obey the orders he should receive from +me and from those I authorized to direct him. I have, of course, had +many disappointments--not a few of them very hard to bear at the +time--but from the early days of 1868, when I engaged my first +recognized helper, to 1878, when the number had increased by slow +degrees to about 100, and on to the present day, when their number is +rapidly approaching 20,000, there has not been a single year without +its increase, not only in quantity, but in quality. + +'"I am sometimes asked, What about those who have left me? Well, I am +thankful to say that we remain in sympathetic and friendly relations +with the great bulk of them. It was to be expected that in work such +as ours, demanding, as it does, not only arduous toil and constant +self-denial and often real hardships of one kind or another, some +should prove unworthy, some should grow weary, and others should faint +by the way, whilst others again, though very excellent souls, should +prove unsuitable. It could not be otherwise, for we are engaged in +real warfare, and whoever heard of war without wounds and losses? But +even of those who do thus step aside from the position of Officers, a +large proportion--in this country nine out of ten--remain with us, +engaged in some voluntary effort in our ranks."' + +'But,' continued Mr. Bramwell Booth, 'I would be the last person to +minimize our losses. They may be accounted for in the most natural +way, and yet we cannot but feel them and suffer from them. And yet it +is all just a repetition of the Bible stories of all ages; nay, of all +stories of genuine fighting in any great cause. The great feature of +our present experience in this matter is that the number who go out +from us grows every year smaller in proportion to the whole, and that, +as the General says in the above extract, a very large proportion of +those continue in friendly relations with us. + +'The triumph of these splendid men and women, in the face of every +kind of difficulty in every part of the world is, however, really a +triumph of their faith. It is not the Army, it is not their leaders, +it is not even the wonderful devotion which many of them manifest, +which is the secret of their continued life and continued success, nor +is it any confidence in their own abilities. No! The true +representative of the Army is relying at every turn upon the presence, +guidance, and help of God in trying to carry out the Father's purpose +with respect to every lost and suffering child of man. By that test, +alike in the present and future, we must ever stand or fall. The Army +is either a work of faith or it is nothing at all. + +'Everything throughout all our ranks can really be brought to that +test, and I regard with composure every loss and attack, every puzzle +and danger, chiefly because I rely upon my comrades' trust in God +being responded to by Him according to their need.' + +Perhaps I may be allowed to add a few remarks upon this subject. A +great deal is made of the resignation of a few Salvation Army Officers +in order that they may accept excellent posts in other walks of life; +indeed, it is not uncommon to see it stated that such resignations +herald the dissolution of the Society. Inasmuch as the number of the +Army's Officers is nearing 20,000 it would seem that it can very well +spare a few of them. What fills me with wonder is not that some go, +but that so many remain. _This_ is one of the facts which, amongst +much that is discouraging, convinces me of the innate nobility of man. +An old friend of mine of pious disposition once remarked to me that +_he_ could never have been a Christian martyr. At the first twist of +the cord, or the first nip of the red-hot pincers, he was sure that +_he_ would have thrown incense by the handful upon the altar of any +heathen god or goddess that was fashionable at the moment. His spirit +might have been willing, but his flesh would certainly have proved +weak. + +I sympathized with the honesty of this confession, and in the same way +I sympathize with those Officers of the Salvation Army who, in racing +slang, cannot 'stay the course.' + +Let us consider the lot of these men. Any who have entered on even a +secular crusade, something that takes them off the beaten, official +paths, that leads them through the thorns and wildernesses of a new, +untravelled country, towards some distant goal seen dimly, or not seen +at all except in dreams, will know what such an undertaking means. It +means snakes in the grass; it means savages, or in other words veiled +and poisonous hatreds and bitter foes, or, still worse, treacherous +friends. The crusader may get through, in which case no one will thank +him except, perhaps, after he is dead. Or he may fail and perish, in +which case every one will mock at him. Or he may retreat discouraged +and return to the official road, in which case his friends will remark +that they are glad to see that his insanity was only of the +intermittent order, and that at length he has learned his place in the +world and to whom he ought to touch his cap. + +Well, these are official roads to Heaven as well as to the House of +Lords and other mundane goals, a fact which the Salvation Army Officer +and others of his kind have probably found out. On the official road, +if he has interest and ability--the first is to be preferred--he might +have become anything, and with ordinary fortune would certainly have +become something. + +But on the path that he has chosen what is there for him to gain? An +inheritance of dim glory beyond the stars, obscured doubtless from +time to time, if he is like other men, by sudden and sickening +eclipses of his faith. And meanwhile the daily round, the insolent +gibe, and the bitter ingratitude of men that leaves him grieving. Also +not enough money to pay for a cab when it is wet, and considerable +uncertainty as to the future of his children, and even as to his own +old age. Few comforts for him, not even those of a glass of wine to +stimulate him, or of tobacco to soothe his nerves, for these are +forbidden to him by the rules of his Order. Unless he can reach the +very top of his particular tree also, which it is most unlikely that +he will, no public recognition even of his faithful, strenuous work, +and who is there that at heart does not long for public recognition? +In short, nothing that is desirable to man save the consciousness of a +virtue which, after all, he must feel to be indifferent (being well +aware of his own secret faults), and the satisfaction of having helped +a certain number of lame human dogs over moral or physical stiles. + +In such a case and in a world which we must admit to be selfish and +imperfect, the wonder is not that certain Salvation Army Officers, +being trained men of high ability, yield to tempting offers and go, +but that so many of them remain. + +'Look at my case,' said one of them to me. 'With my experience and +organizing ability I am worth £2,000 a year as the manager of any big +business, and I could have it if I liked. Here I get about £200!' + +This was one of those who remain. I say all honour to such noble +souls, for surely they are of the salt of the earth. + + + + +NOTE ON THE RELIGION OF THE SALVATION ARMY + + + +The religious faith of the Salvation Army, as I have observed and +understand it (for little has been said to me on this matter), is +extremely simple. It believes in an eternal Heaven for the righteous +and--a sad doctrine this, some of us may think--in a Hell, equally +eternal, for the wicked.[8] Its bedrock is the Bible, especially the +New Testament, which it accepts as true without qualification, from +the first word to the last, troubling itself with no doubts or +criticisms. Especially does it believe in the dual nature of the +Saviour, in Christ as God, and in Christ as man, and in the +possibility of forgiveness and redemption for even the most degraded +and defiled of human beings. Love is its watchword, the spirit of love +is its spirit, love arrayed in the garments of charity. + +In essentials, with one exception, its doctrines much resemble those +of the Church of England, and of various dissenting Protestant bodies. +The exception is, that it does not make use of the Sacraments, even of +that of Communion, although, on the other hand, it does not deny the +efficacy of those Sacraments, or object to others, even if they be +members of the Army, availing themselves of them. Thus, I have known +an Army Officer to join in the Communion Service. The reason for this +exception is, I believe, that in the view of General Booth, the +Sacraments complicate matters, are open to argument and attack, and +are not understood by the majority of the classes with which the Army +deals. How their omission is reconciled with certain prominent +passages and directions laid down in the New Testament I do not know. +To me, I confess, this disregard of them seems illogical. + +The motto of the Army is 'Salvation for all,' and, as I have hinted in +these pages, it has a sure conviction of the essential persistence of +miracle in these modern days. It holds that when a man kneels at the +Penitent-Form and 'gets converted,' a miracle takes place within him, +if his repentance is true, and that thenceforward some Grace from on +High will give him the power to overcome the evil in his heart and +blood. + +It believes, too, in the instant efficacy of earnest prayer, and in +the possibility of direct communication by this means between man and +his Maker. + +Here is an instance of this statement. While inspecting the Shelters +in one of the provincial cities, I was shown a certain building which +had recently passed into the possession of the Army. The Officer who +was conducting me said that the negotiations preliminary to the +acquisition of the lease of this building had been long and difficult. +I remarked that these must have caused him anxiety. 'Oh, no,' he +answered, simply. 'You see I had talked with the Lord about it, and I +knew that we should get the place in the end.' + +This reply may cause some to smile, but I confess I find such +childlike faith touching and even beautiful. + +There is small doubt that consciously or unconsciously, the Salvation +Army has followed St. Paul's example of being all things to all men, +if 'by all means' it may save some. This is the reason of its methods +which to many seem so vulgar and offensive. Once I spoke to an Officer +high up in the Army of this matter, instancing, amongst other things, +its brass bands and loud-voiced preaching at street corners. + +'My dear sir,' he replied, 'if we came to convert _you_, we should not +bring a brass band or send a missionary who shouted out sacred names +every minute. Possibly, if we thought that you were open to the +influences of music, we might send a first-rate violinist to play +pieces from the classical masters, and we should certainly send a man +whom we knew to be your intellectual equal, and who could therefore +appeal to your reason. But our mission at present is not so much to +you and your class, as to the dregs of humanity. The folk we deal with +live in a state of noise of which you have no conception, and if we +want to force them to listen to us, we must begin by making a greater +noise in order to attract their attention at all. In the same way it +is of no use wasting subtleties on them; we have to go straight to the +main points, which are clear and sharp enough to pierce their +drink-besotted intelligences, or to reach any fragment of conscience +they may have remaining in them.' + +I thought the argument sound and well put, and results have proved its +force, since the Salvation Army undoubtedly gets a hold of people that +few other forms of religious effort seem able to grasp, at least to +any considerable extent. + +I wish to make it clear, however, that I hold no particular brief for +the Army, its theology, and its methods. I recognize fully, as I know +it does, the splendid work that is being done in the religious and +social fields by other Organizations of the same class, especially by +Dr. Barnardo's Homes, by the Waifs and Strays Society, by the Church +Army, and, above all, perhaps, by another Society, with which I have +had the honour to be connected in a humble capacity for many years, +that for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Still it remains true +that the Salvation Army is unique, if only on account of the colossal +scale of its operations. Its fertilizing stream flows on steadily from +land to land, till it bids fair to irrigate the whole earth. What I +have written about is but one little segment of a work which +flourishes everywhere, and even lifts its head in Roman Catholic +countries, although in these, as yet, it makes no very great progress. + +How potent then, and how generally suited to the needs of stained and +suffering mankind, must be that religion which appeals both to the +West and to the East, which is as much at home in Java and Korea as it +is in Copenhagen or Glasgow. For it should be borne in mind that the +basis of the Salvation Army is religious, that it aims, above +everything, at the conversion of men to an active and lively faith in +the plain, uncomplicated tenets of Christianity to the benefit of +their souls in some future state of existence and, incidentally, to +the Reformation of their characters while on earth. + +The social work of which I have been treating is a mere by-product or +consequence of its main idea. Experience has shown, that it is of +little use to talk about his soul to a man with an empty stomach. +First, he must be fed and cleansed and given some other habitation +than the street. Also the Army has learned that Christ still walks the +earth in the shape of Charity; and that religion, after all, is best +preached by putting its maxims into practice; that the poor are always +with us; and that the first duty of the Christian is to bind their +wounds and soothe their sorrows. Afterwards, he may hope to cure them +of their sins, for he knows that unless such a cure is effected, +temporal assistance avails but little. Except in cases of pure +misfortune which stand upon another, and, so far as the Army work is +concerned, upon an outside footing, the causes of the fall must be +removed, or that fall will be repeated. The man or woman must be born +again, must be regenerated. Such, as I understand it, is at once the +belief of the Salvation Army and the object of all its efforts. +Therefore, I give to this book its title of 'Regeneration.' + + + +THE NEED IS GREAT! + + * * * * * + +_The principal items of the Salvation Army's expenditure for Social +Work during the financial year ending September 30, 1911, are as +follows, and help is earnestly asked to meet these, the work being +entirely dependent upon Voluntary Gifts_. + +For Maintenance of Work amongst the Destitute + and Outcast Men and Women, including Shelters + for Homeless Men and Women, Homes for Children, + Rescue Homes, etc..................................... £15,000 + +For Maintenance of the Slum Sisterhood and Nurses + for the Sick Poor..................................... £3,000 + +For Prison Visitation Staff and Prison-Gate Work........ £5,000 + +For Work among Youths and Boys.......................... £2,000 + +For Special Relief and Distress Agencies................ £5,000 + +For Development of the Work and Agricultural + Departments of the Hadleigh Colony.................... £3,000 + +For Assistance and Partial Maintenance of the + Unemployed and Inefficient............................ £5,000 + +For Assisting suitable Men and Women to Emigrate........ £3,000 + +Towards the provision of New Institutions for Men + and Boys in London and various provincial Cities...... £10,000 + +For the General Management and Supervision of all + the above Operations.................................. £2,000 + ------- + £53,000 + +Cheques and Postal Orders should be made payable to WILLIAM BOOTH, +crossed 'Bank of England, Law Courts Branch,' and sent to MRS. BOOTH, +101 Queen Victoria Street, London, E.C. Clothes for the poor and +articles for sale are always needed. + + + + +LEGACIES + + * * * * * + +Ladies and Gentlemen are earnestly asked to remember the needs of the +Salvation Army's Social Work (the 'Darkest England' Social Scheme), in +connexion with the preparation of their wills. + + * * * * * + +All kinds of property can now be legally bequeathed for charitable +purposes, and the following form of legacy is recommended. Where a +legacy does not consist of a certain amount of money, care should be +taken to identify clearly the property, shares, stock, or whatever it +may be intended to be bequeathed. + +_'I GIVE AND BEQUEATH TO WILLIAM BOOTH, or other the General for the +time being of the Salvation Army, and Director of the "Darkest +England" Social Scheme, the sum of £............_ (or) _MY TWO +freehold houses known as Nos.......... in the county +of................_ (or) _my £............ ordinary stock of the +London and North-Western Railway Company_ (or) _my shares +in............Limited_ (or as the case may be) _to be used or applied +by him, at his discretion, for the general purposes of the "Darkest +England" Social Scheme. And I direct the said last-mentioned Legacy to +be paid within twelve months after my decease.'_ + + * * * * * + +DIRECTIONS FOR EXECUTION OF WILL + + * * * * * + +The Will must be executed by the Testator in the presence of two +witnesses, who must sign their names, addresses, and occupations at +the end of the Will in the presence of the Testator. The best method +to adopt for a Testator to be quite sure that his Will is executed +properly, is for him to take the Will and his two witnesses into a +room, lock the door, and tell the witnesses that he wishes them to +attest his Will. All three must sign in the room and nobody must go +out until all have signed. + +GENERAL BOOTH will always be pleased to procure further advice for any +friends desiring to benefit the Salvation Army's work in any of its +departments, by Will or otherwise, and will treat any communications +made to him on the subject as strictly private and confidential. +Letters dealing with the matter should be marked Private, and +addressed to GENERAL BOOTH, 101 QUEEN VICTORIA STREET, LONDON, E.C. + + + + +APPENDIX A + + +NOTES ON THE ARMY'S FUTURE + +(Following My Conversation with Mr. Rider Haggard) + +BY BRAMWELL BOOTH + +When asked to give my own view of the present and probable future +influence of the Salvation Army upon the world, I feel in no danger of +exaggeration. If any one could imagine what it has been for me to sit +at its centre almost without intermission for more than thirty-five +years, receiving continual reports of its development and progress in +one nation after another, studying from within not only its strength +and vitality, but its weaknesses and failures, and labouring to devise +remedies and preventatives, until what was a little unknown Mission in +the East End of London has become the widely, I might almost say, the +universally recognized Army of to-day, he could perhaps understand +something of my great confidence. + +Curious indeed seem to be the thoughts of many people about +us!--people, I mean, who have only had a glance at one of our open-air +meetings, or have only heard some wild challenge of General Booth's +good faith, and have then more or less carefully avoided any closer +acquaintance with us. They often appear to be under the impression +that you have only to persuade a few people to march through any +crowded thoroughfare with a band, to gather a congregation, and, if +you please, to form out of it an Army, and from that again to secure a +vast revenue! I often wish that such people could know the struggles +of almost every individual, even amongst the very poorest, between the +moment of first contact with us and that of resolving to enlist in our +ranks. How few, even now, seem aware of the fact that so far from +paying or rewarding any one for joining in our efforts, all who do so +are from the first called upon daily not only to give to our funds, +but by sacrifice of time, labour, money, and often of health as well, +to constitute themselves efficient soldiers of their Corps, and assist +in providing it with every necessity. + +Every one of the 3,000,000 meetings held annually, even in this +country, depends upon the voluntary giving up of the time and effort +of working-men and women who have in most cases to hurry from work to +home, and from home to meeting-place, after a hard day's labour. Much +the same may be said of the 450,000 meetings held annually on the +Continent of Europe; with this difference, that our people there have +mostly to begin work earlier in the day, and to conclude much later +than is the case here. Their evening meetings, in conformity with the +habits of the country concerned, must needs be begun, therefore, +later, and conclude much later than similar gatherings in the United +Kingdom. + +A cursory glance through the seventy-four newspapers and periodicals +published by the Army--generally weekly--in twenty-one languages, +would show any one how variously our people everywhere are seeking to +meet the different habits of life in each country, and how constantly +new plans are being tried to attain the supreme object of all our +multitudinous agencies--the arousing of men's attention to the claims +of God and their ingathering to His Kingdom. + +The original plan adopted in this country of going to the people by +means of meetings and marches in the streets, is in many lands not +legally permissible, while in others it is almost useless. Our +leaders, therefore, have always to be finding out other means of +attaining the same end. This has resulted in very great gains of +liberty in several ways. On the Continent, for example, though it is +not possible to get a general permission to hold open-air meetings in +the streets, it is becoming more and more usual to let our people hold +such gatherings in the large pleasure-grounds, provided within or on +the outskirts both of the great cities and the lesser towns. In some +cases the announcements of further meetings, made somewhat after the +style of the public crier, develops into a series of short open-air +addresses. In other cases, conspicuously in Italy, where our work is +only as yet in its infancy--the sale of our paper, both by individual +hawkers and by groups of comrades singing the songs it contains in +marketplaces, largely makes up for the want of the more regularized +open-air work. + +And in the courts of the great blocks of buildings which abound in +cities like Berlin, Copenhagen, Stockholm, and elsewhere, meetings are +held which are really often more effective in impressing whole +families of various classes than any of our open-air proceedings in +countries like England and the United States. + +But everywhere the Army seeks especially, though not by any means +exclusively, for those who are to be found frequenting the +public-houses, cafes, beer gardens, dives, saloons, and other +drinking-places of the world. In all countries our people sell our +papers amidst these crowds, as well as at the doors of the theatres +and other places of amusement, and the mere offer of these papers, now +that their unflinching character as to God and goodness is well known, +constitutes an act of war, a submission to which in so many million +cases is no slight evidence of confidence among the masses of the +people in our sincerity, and, so far, a sign of our success. + +But 'The War Cry' seller is in the countries of more scattered +population, such as Switzerland, some of the colonies, and large parts +of India, much more than is the case in the big cities, the +representative of every form of helpfulness. He, or she, not merely +offers the paper for sale to those who have neither opportunity nor +inclination to attend religious services of any kind, but enters +himself where no paper ever comes, holds little meetings with groups +of those who have never prayed, heartens those who are sinking down +under pressure of calamity, visits the sick-room of the friendless, +and often becomes the intermediary of the suffering and destitute and +those who can help them in their dismal necessities. + +Of the persistent hopefulness with which our people everywhere go to +the apparently abandoned, I will only say that it constitutes a store +of moral and material help, not only for those people themselves, but +for all who become acquainted with it, the value of which in the +present it is difficult to exaggerate, and the influence of which on +the future it is equally difficult to over-estimate. + +While leaving the utmost possible freedom for initiative to our +leaders, we are seeking everywhere to solidify and regularize every +effort that has once been shown to be of any practical use. Any one +amongst us, down to the youngest and poorest in any part of the world, +may do a new thing next week which will prove a blessing to his +fellows, and some one will be on the watch to see that that good +thing, once done, be repeated, and, so far as may be, kept up in +perpetuity. + +Where special classes of needs exist, we must of course employ special +agencies. The vitality and adaptability of the Army in the presence of +new opportunities is one of the happy auguries for the future. While +all that is virile and forceful in it increases, there is less and +less of the rigid and formal. + +Fourteen or fifteen years ago some Officers were set apart to visit +the Lapps who range over all the Territories to the north of +Scandinavia. This meant at first only months of solitary travelling +during the summer, and no little suffering in the winter, with little +apparent result. But gradually a system of meetings was established, +the people's confidence was gained, and at length it has been found +possible to group together various centres of regular activity amongst +these interesting but little-known people, and now experienced leaders +will see both to the permanence of all that has already been begun, +and to the further extension of the work. + +In Holland, where our work has assumed the proportions of a national +movement, the beneficent effects of which are recognized by all +classes, the canal population is helped by means of a small sailing +ship, on which are held regular meetings for them. Our Norwegian +people also have a life-boat called the _Catherine Booth_ stationed +upon a stormy and difficult part of the coast, which not only goes out +to help into safety boats and boats' crews, but whose crew also holds +meetings on islands in remote fisher hamlets where no other religious +visitors come. + +The same principle of adaptation to local conditions and requirements +will, I doubt not, quickly ensure success for the small detachment of +Officers we have just sent to commence operations in Russia. + +In Dutch India we have not only a growing Missionary work amongst both +Javanese and Chinese, but Government Institutions have been placed +under our care, where lepers, the blind, and other infirm natives, as +well as neglected children, are medically cared for and helped in +other ways. + +In South Africa, both English and Dutch-speaking peoples are united +under one Flag, and give themselves up to work amongst the native +races round them--races which constitute so grave a problem in the +eyes of all thoughtful men who know anything of the true position in +South Africa. One of the latest items of news is that an Angoni has +accepted salvation at one of our settlements in Mashonaland, and on +return to his own home and work--lying away between Lake Nyassa and +the Zambezi--has begun to hold meetings and to exercise an influence +upon his people which cannot but end in the establishment of our work +amongst them. + +But, to my mind, one of the most important features of our work in all +Eastern and African lands is our development of the native power under +experienced guidance to purely Salvationist and therefore +non-political purposes. Surely the most potent possible corrective for +the sort of half rebel influence that has grown or is growing up in +Africa under the name of Ethiopianism, as well as for much of the +strange uneasiness among the dumb masses of India, is the complete +organization of native races under leaders who, whilst of their own +people, are devoted to the highest ethical aims, and stand in happy +subjection to men of other lands who have given them a training in +discipline and unity which does not contemplate bloodshed. + +We are now beginning both in India and Africa, as well as in the West +Indies, to find experienced native Officers capable of taking Staff +positions; that is, of becoming reliable leaders in large districts +where we are at work. These men have not merely all the advantages of +language and of fitness for the varieties of climate which are so +trying to Westerners, but they show a courage and tenacity and +tact--in short, a capacity for leadership and administration such as +no one--at any rate, no one that I know of--expected to find in them. +Here is opened a prospect of the highest significance. + +More than can be easily estimated has been done in spreading +information about us for some years past by Salvationists belonging to +various national armies and navies. We encourage all such men to group +themselves into brigades, so far as may be allowed, in their various +barracks and ships. Thus united, they work for their mutual +encouragement, and for the spreading of good influences among others. +It was such a little handful that really began our work in the West +Indies, and we have now a Corps in Sierra Leone, on the west coast of +Africa, formed by men of a West Indian regiment temporarily quartered +there. The same thing has happened in Sumatra by means of Dutch and +Javanese soldiers. + +For British India we naturally felt ourselves first of all, as to the +heathen world, under obligation to do something. And no inconsiderable +results have followed the efforts which were first commenced there +twenty-eight years ago. Our pioneers, though they greatly disturbed +the official white world, won the hearts of the people at a stroke, by +wearing Indian dress, living amongst and in the style of the poorer +villages. Soon Indian converts offered themselves for service, and +after training; were commissioned as Officers, and it was at once seen +that they would be far more influential than any foreigners. From the +point at which that discovery was really made, the work assumed +important proportions, passing at once in large measure from the +position of a foreign mission to being a movement of the people +themselves. + +The vastness of the country and the difference of language have led to +our treating it as five separate commands, now under the general lead +of one headquarters. Incidentally, this has helped us in dealing with +some of the difficulties connected with caste, as it has been possible +to remove Indian Officers from one part of India to another, and we +have made some efforts which have, I admit, proved less successful in +some districts than in others, to deal with castes which, within their +own lines, are often little more than Trade Unions with a mixture of +superstition. + +Meanwhile, the practical character of our work has shown itself in +efforts to help in various ways the lowest of the people to improve +their circumstances. The need for this is instantly apparent when one +reflects that some 40,000,000 of the inhabitants of India are always +hungry. A system of loan banks, which has now been adopted in part by +the Government, has been of great service to the small +agriculturalists. The invention of an extremely simple and yet greatly +improved hand loom has proved, and will prove, very valuable to the +weavers. New plans of relief in times of scarcity and famine have also +greatly helped in some districts to win the confidence of the people. +Industrial schools, chiefly for orphan children, have also been a +feature of the work in some districts. + +Recently the Government, having seen with what success our people have +laboured for the salvation of the lower castes, have decided to hand +over to us the special care of several of the criminal tribes, who are +really the remnants of the Aborigines. Although this work is at +present only in its experimental stage, all who have examined the +results so far have been delighted at the rapidity with which we have +brought many into habits of self-supporting industry, who, with their +fathers before them, had been accustomed to live entirely by plunder. +About 2,000 persons of this class are already under our care. + +There are some 3,000,000 of these robbers in different parts of India. +They are only kept under anything like control at great cost for +police and military supervision; but we are satisfied that, if +reasonable support be given, a great proportion of them can be +reclaimed from their present courses of idleness and crime, and in any +case their children can be saved. + +We have been able in India, perhaps more than in any other part of the +world, to realize the international character of our work by linking +together Officers from England, Germany, Holland, and the Scandinavian +countries, as well as from America, in the one great object of helping +the heathen peoples. But most of all we have rejoiced in being able to +blend East and West, European Officers having often been placed under +more experienced Indian comrades, as well as vice versa. The great +common purpose dominating all sections of the Army, and the influences +of the Spirit of God, have united men of different levels of +intelligence, and knit them together in the same fellowship, without +any unwise mingling of races. We have now 2,000 Officers in India, and +that alone is a testimony of the highest significance to the success +of our efforts, and to the possibilities which lie before us. But even +more important in its bearing upon the future, in my estimation, is +the wonderful ambition dominating our people there to reach every +class, but most of all to deal with the low caste, or outcast, as they +are sometimes called. Many of our Indian Officers have followed in the +steps of our pioneers in the country, and, consumed by an enthusiasm +amounting to a passion for their fellows, have literally sacrificed +their lives in the ceaseless pressing forward of their work. + +In America we have had to deal, perhaps, with the other extreme of +human needs. Throughout Canada there is very little to be seen of +poverty and wretchedness. In the United States the great cities begin +indeed to have areas of vice and misery not to be surpassed in any of +the older cities of the world. But everywhere we have found people who +have become forgetful of God, neglectful of every higher duty, and +abandoned to one or other form of selfishness. Our work in the United +States especially has been confronted with difficulties peculiar to +the country, its widespread populations and their cosmopolitan +character being not the least of these. Nevertheless, we have now in +the States and Canada nearly 4,000 Officers leading the work in 1,380 +Corps and Societies, and 350 Social Institutions. I ought to say that +it has not been found easy to raise large numbers in many places, but +of the generosity and devotion of those who have united themselves +with us, and the immense amount of work which they accomplish for +their fellows, it is impossible to speak too highly. + +I look with confidence to the future in both these great countries. +Governments and local Authorities are beginning to grant us the +facilities and help we need to deal effectually with their abandoned +classes, as well as to attack some other problems of a difficult +nature. Within the last few years, we have placed in Canada more than +50,000 emigrants, chiefly from this country. Their characteristics, +and their success in their new surroundings, have won for us the +highest commendation of the Authorities concerned. + +In the vast fields of South America, we have as yet only small forces, +but we have established a good footing with the various populations, +and have already received no inconsiderable help for our purely +philanthropic work from several of the Governments. Our latest new +extensions, Chile, Paraguay, and Peru, and Panama, seem to offer +prospects of success, even greater than we have been able to record in +the Argentine or Uruguay. Before your book is published, we shall +probably have made a beginning also in both Bolivia and Brazil. + +The South American Republics--chiefly populated by the descendants of +the poorest classes of Southern Europe--are professedly Roman +Catholic. The influence of the priesthood, however, owing to various +causes, seems to be on the wane, and a habit of abandoning all +religious thought is much on the increase. But the realization that +our people never attack any Church, or quibble about details of creed +and ceremonial, has won their way to the hearts of many, and there can +be no doubt that we have a great future amongst these peoples. In Peru +the law does not allow any persons not of the Romish Church to offer +prayer in public places, but when it was found that our Officers made +no trouble of this, but managed all the same to hold open-air and +theatre services very much in our usual style, great numbers of the +people were astonished at the 'new religion,' and so many had soon +begun to pray 'in private' that we have little doubt about the future +of our work there. + +In thinking of the future, I cannot overlook our plans of organization +which have, I am persuaded, much to do with the proper maintenance and +continuance of the work we have taken in hand. + +While striving as much as possible to avoid red tape, or indeed any +methods likely to hinder initiative and enterprise, we are careful to +apply a systemization comprehensible to the most untrained minds, so +that we may make every one feel a proper degree of responsibility, as +well as guard them from mere emotionalism and spasmodic activity, +accompanied as that kind of thing often is, by general neglect. + +Thus no one can join the Army until after satisfying the local Officer +and some resident of the place during a period of trial of the +sincerity of his profession. He must then sign our Articles of War. +These Articles describe precisely our doctrines, our promise to +abstain from intoxicants, worldly pleasures, and fashions, bad or +unworthy language, or conduct, and unfairness to either employer or +employé, as well as our purpose to help and benefit those around us. +(See Appendix B.) + +Some local voluntary worker becomes responsible for setting each +recruit a definite task in connexion with our efforts, and all are +placed under the general oversight of their Captain. A Corps, which is +the unit of our Organization, is organized under a Captain and +Lieutenant who have been trained in the work they have to do as +leaders. Corps are linked together into divisions under Officers, who, +in addition to seeing that they regularly carry out their work, have +the oversight of a considerable tract of country, with the duty of +extending our operations within that area. In some countries a number +of divisions are sometimes grouped into provinces with an Officer in +charge of the whole province, and each country has its national +headquarters under a Territorial Commissioner, all being under the +lead of the International Headquarters in London. + +No time is wasted in committee-ing or debating amongst us, and yet in +all matters of finance and property there is such arrangement that +several individuals are cognizant of every detail, and that no one +person's fault or neglect shall necessarily involve permanent injury +or loss. The central accounts in each country, including those in +London, are under the care of public auditors; but we have also our +own International Audit Department, whose representatives visit every +headquarters from time to time, so as to make sure, not only that the +accounts are kept on our approved system, but that all expenditure is +rigidly criticized. All who really look into our financial methods are +impressed by their economy and precision. The fact is that almost all +our people have been well schooled in poverty. They have learned the +value of pence. + +All this seems to me to have great importance in connexion with +estimates of our future. On the one hand we are ever seeking to +impress on all our people the supreme need of God's spirit of love and +life and freedom, without whose presence the most carefully managed +system could not but speedily grow cold and useless. But at the same +time, we insist that the service of God, however full of love and +gladness, ought to be more precise, more regular, nay, more exacting +than that of any inferior master. + +II + +As to your question whether we are generally making progress, I think +I can say that, viewing the whole field of activity, and taking into +account every aspect of the work, the Army is undoubtedly on the +up-grade. Naturally progress is not so rapid in one country as +another, nor is it always so marked in one period as in another in +particular countries, nor is it always so evident in some departments +of effort as in others; but speaking of the whole, there is, as indeed +there has been from the very beginnings, steady advance. + +In some countries, of course, there is more rapid development of our +purely evangelistic propaganda, while in others our philanthropic +agencies are more active. Progress in human affairs is generally +tidal. It has been so with us. A period of great outward activity is +sometimes followed by one of comparative rest, and in the same way the +spirit of advance in one department sometimes passes from that for a +time to others. A period of great progress in all kinds of pioneer +work, for example in Germany, is just now being followed there by one +of consolidation and organization. A time of enormous advance in all +our departments of charitable effort in the United States is now being +succeeded by a wonderful manifestation of purely spiritual fervour and +awakening. + +In this, the old country, our very success has in some ways militated +against our continued advance at the old rate of progress. Not only +has much ground already been occupied, but innumerable agencies, +modelled outwardly, at least, after those we first established, have +sprung into existence, and are working on a field of effort which was +at one time largely left to us. And yet during the last five years the +Army has enormously strengthened its hold on the confidence of all +classes of the people here, increased its numbers, developed in a +remarkable degree its internal organization, greatly added to its +material resources, as well as maintained and extended its offering of +men and money for the support of the work in heathen countries. + +But even in places where we have appeared to be stagnant, in the sense +of not undertaking any new aggressive activities, we are constantly +making as a part of our regular warfare new captures from the enemy of +souls, maintaining the care of congregations and people linked with +us, working at full pressure our social machinery, training the +children for future labour, raising up men and women to go out into +the world as missionaries of one kind or another, and doing it all +while carrying on vigorous efforts to bring to those who are most +needy in every locality both material and spiritual support. + +Like all aggressive movements, the Army is, of course, peculiarly +subject to loss of one kind or another. That arising from the removals +of its people alone constitutes a serious item. Any one who knows +anything of religious work amongst the working-classes will understand +how great a loss may be caused--even where the population is, +generally speaking, increasing--by the removal of one or two zealous +local leaders. But such losses are trifling compared with those which +follow from some stoppage of employment when large numbers of workmen +must either migrate or starve. + +Similar results often occur from the change of leadership. The removal +of our Officers from point to point, and even from country to country, +is one of our most indispensable needs; but, of course, we have to pay +for it, chiefly in the dislocation and discouragements and losses +which it often necessarily entails. + +So far from such variations being in any way discreditable to us, we +think them one of the most valuable tests of the vitality and courage +of our people, both Officers and Soldiers, that they fight on +unflinchingly under such circumstances--fight on happily, to prove +that while fluctuations of this character are very trying, they often +also open the way both to the wider diffusion of our work elsewhere +and to the breaking up of entirely new ground in the old centres. + +In brief, it is with us at all times a real warfare wherein triumphs +can only be secured at the cost of struggles that are very often +painful and unpleasant. You cannot have the aggression, the advance, +the captures of war without the change, the alarms, the cost, the +wounds, the losses, which are inseparable from it. + +A very striking and thoughtful description of some of the work done at +one of our London Corps has recently been issued by a well-known +writer. I refer to 'Broken Earthenware,' by Mr. Harold Begbie. No one +can read the book without being impressed by the sense of personal +insight which it reveals. But how few take in its main lesson, that +the Army is in every place going on, not only with the recovery but +with the development of broken men and women into more and more +capable and efficient servants and rescuers of their fellows. + +That this should be so is remarkable enough as applied to Westerners, +broken by evil habits and more or less surrounded by wreckage, but how +much more valuable when applied to the teeming populations of the +East! There in so many cases there is no past of criminality or even +of vice as we understand it to forget, but only an infancy of darkness +and ignorance as to Christ and the liberty He brings. + +Many of our best Indian Officers have been snatched from one form or +other of outrageous selfishness, but thousands of our people there are +gradually emerging from what is really the prolonged childhood of a +race to see and know how influential the light of God can make even +them amongst their fellows. Ten years ago in Japan a Salvationist +Officer was a strange if not an unknown phenomenon, but with every +increase of the Christian and Western influences in that country, +every capable witness to Christ becomes, quite apart from any effort +of his own, a much more noticed, consulted, and imitated example than +he was before. In Korea, after a couple of years' effort, we have seen +most striking results of our work, and have just sent, to work among +their own people, our first twenty married Koreans, after a +preliminary period of training for Officership. It is most difficult +to realize the revolution involved in the whole outlook on life to men +who have been looked upon as little more than serfs, without any +prospect of influence in their country. + +The same processes of inner and outer development which have made of +the unknown English workman or workwoman of twenty years ago, the +recognized servants of the community, welcomed everywhere by mayors +and magistrates to help in the service of the poor, will, out of the +clever Oriental, I believe, far more rapidly develop leaders in the +new line of Christian improvement in every sphere of life. It is +considerations such as these which make me say sometimes that the +danger in the Army is not in the direction of magnifying, but rather +of minimizing the influences that are carrying us upward and outward +in every part of the world. + +But in our own estimation there is another reason which perhaps equals +all these for calculating upon a wider development of the Army's +future influence. During the last twenty years we have been pressing +forward amongst a very large number of Church and missionary efforts. +Our speakers have notoriously been amongst the most unlearned and +ungrammatical, and therefore often despised, while so many thousands +of university men were preaching and writing of Christ. But no one now +disputes the fact that the old-fashioned proclamation of the doctrine +of Jesus Christ as a Divine Saviour of the lost has largely gone out +of fashion. The influence of the priest, of the clerk in holy orders, +of the minister, has been so largely undermined that candidates for +the ministry are becoming scarce in many Churches, just while we are +seeing them arise in steadily increasing numbers from among the very +people who know the Army and its work best, and who have most +carefully observed the demands of sacrifice and labour it makes upon +its leaders. + +One cannot but rejoice when one hears ever and anon of some conference +or congress at which various efforts are made to recover, at any rate, +the appearance of a forward movement in the Churches. But the most +serious fact of all, perhaps, is the mixture amongst these +Christianizing plans, whether in one country or another, of the +unbelieving leaven, so that it is possible for men to go forth as the +emissaries of Christianity who have ceased to believe in the Divine +nature of its Founder, and who look for success rather to schemes of +education and of social and temporal improvement than to that new +creation of man by God's power, wherein lies all our hope, as indeed +it must be the hope of every true servant of Christ. + +But I call attention to these facts not to reproach any Church. Far +from it. I simply desire to point out one reason for thinking +ourselves justified in anticipating for the Army a future influence +far beyond anything we have yet experienced. + +Recent 'defences' of Christian revelation have, in our view, been far +more seriously damaging than any attacks that have ever been made from +the hostile camp. In the hope--a vain hope--of conciliating +opposition, there has too often been a timid surrender of much that +can alone give authority to Christian testimony. If Jesus Christ was +not competent to decide the truth or untruth of the Divine revelation, +which He fully and constantly endorsed as such, how absurd it is to +suppose that any eulogies of His character can save Him from the just +contempt of all fearless thinkers, no matter to what nationality they +belong. + +The Army finds itself already, and every year seems more and more +likely to find itself, the only firm and unalterable witness to the +truth of Christ and of His redeeming work in many neighbourhoods and +districts, among them even some wide stretches of Christian territory. +And the times can only bring upon us, it seems to me, more and more +the scrutiny of all who wish to know whether the declarations of the +Scriptures as to God's work in men are or are not reliable. This, +then, however melancholy the reflection may be--and to me it is in +some aspects melancholy indeed--assures to us a future of far wider +importance and influence than any we have dreamed of in the past. + +Our strength, as your book eloquently shows, in dealing with the +deepest sunken, the forgotten, the outcasts of society, the pariahs +and lepers of modern life; has ever been our absolute certainty with +regard to Christ's love and power to help them. How much greater must +of necessity be the value and influence of our testimony where the +very existence of Christ and His salvation becomes a matter of doubt +and dispute! Here, at any rate, is one reason which leads me to +believe that the Salvation Army has before it a future of the highest +moment to the world. + +III + +In relation to other religious bodies, our position is marvellously +altered from the time when they nearly all, if not quite all, +denounced us. + +I do not think that any of the Churches in any part of the world do +this now, although no doubt individuals here and there are still +bitterly hostile to us. In the United States and in many of the +British Colonies the Churches welcome our help, and generally speak +well of our work; and even many Roman Catholic leaders, as well as +authorities of the Jewish faith, may be included in this statement. On +the Continent there are signs that they are slowly turning the same +way. + +Now, I confidently expect a steady extension of this feeling towards +us as the Churches come more and more to recognize that we not only do +not attack them, but that we are actually auxiliaries to their forces, +not only gaining our audiences and recruits from those who are outside +their ministrations, but even serving them by doing work for their +adherents which for a variety of reasons they find it very difficult, +if not impossible, to accomplish themselves. + +At the same time it would be a mistake to think that we have any +desire to adopt any of their methods or ceremonials. We keep +everywhere to our simple and non-ecclesiastical habits, and while we +certainly have some very significant and impressive ceremonials of our +own, the way our buildings are fitted, the style of our songs and +music, and the character of our prayers and public talking are +everywhere entirely distinctive, and are nowhere in any danger of +coming into serious competition with the worship adopted by the +Churches. + +Some of our leading Officers think that in one respect our relations +to the Churches, their pastors, and people are unsatisfactory. In the +United States it is customary for the clergy and leaders of every +Church to treat our leaders with the most manifest sympathy and +respect. But there is far too marked a contrast between that treatment +and that which we receive in many other countries. There are, of +course, splendid exceptions. Still few members of any Church are +willing to be seen in active association with us. + +I daresay this is very largely a question of class or caste, and I am +very far from making it a matter of complaint. We would, in fact, far +rather that our people should be regarded as outcasts, than that they +should be tempted to tone down the directness of their witness, or +that they should come under the influence of those uncertainties and +misgivings to which I have already made reference. Nevertheless, it is +certainly no wish of ours that there should remain any distance +between us and any true followers of Christ by whatever name they may +be called. And so we keep firmly, even where it may seem difficult or +impolitic to do so, to our original attitude of entire friendliness +with all those who name the Name of Christ. + +I give a few figures bearing upon the present extent of our +operations:-- + + Number of Countries and Colonies occupied by + the Salvation Army 56 + Languages in which the Work is carried on 33 + Corps, Circles, and Societies of Salvationists 8,768 + Number of persons wholly supported by and employed + in Salvation Army Work 21,390 + Of those, with Rank 16,220 + Without Rank 5,170 + Number of Training Colleges for Officers and + workers 35 + Providing accommodation for 1,866 + SOCIAL OPERATIONS.-- + Number of Institutions 954 + Number of Officers and Cadets employed 2,573 + Number of Local Officers, voluntary and unpaid 60,260 + NUMBER OF PERIODICALS 74 + These Periodicals are published in twenty-one languages, + and have a total circulation per issue of about one million + copies. + + + + +APPENDIX B + + +THE SALVATION ARMY'S ARTICLES OF WAR + + +HAVING received with all my heart the salvation offered to me by the +tender mercy of Jehovah, I do here and now publicly acknowledge God to +be my Father and King, Jesus Christ to be my Saviour, and the Holy +Spirit to be my Guide, Comforter, and Strength; and that I will, by +His help, love, serve, worship, and obey this glorious God through +time and through eternity, + +BELIEVING solemnly that the Salvation Army has been raised up by God, +and is sustained and directed by Him, I do here declare my full +determination, by God's help, to be a true Soldier of the Army till I +die. + + I am thoroughly convinced of the truth of the Army's + teaching. + + I believe that repentance towards God, faith in our Lord + Jesus Christ, and conversion by the Holy Spirit are + necessary to salvation, and that all men may be saved. + + I believe that we are saved by grace, through faith in our + Lord Jesus Christ, and he that believeth hath the witness of + it in himself. I have got it. Thank God! + + I believe that the Scriptures were given by inspiration of + God, and that they teach that not only does continuance in + the favour of God depend upon continued faith in and + obedience to Christ, but that it is possible for those who + have been truly converted to fall away and be eternally + lost. + + I believe that it is the privilege of all God's people to be + wholly sanctified, and that 'their whole spirit and soul and + body' may 'be preserved blameless unto the coming of our + Lord Jesus Christ,' That is to say, I believe that after + conversion there remain in the heart of the believer + inclinations to evil, or roots of bitterness, which, unless + overpowered by divine grace, produce actual sin; but these + evil tendencies can be entirely taken away by the Spirit of + God, and the whole heart, thus cleansed from anything + contrary to the will of God, or entirely sanctified, will + then produce the fruit of the Spirit only. And I believe + that persons thus entirely sanctified may, by the power of + God, be kept unblameable and unreprovable before Him. + + I believe in the immortality of the soul; in the + resurrection of the body; in the general judgment at the end + of the world; in the eternal happiness of the righteous; and + in the everlasting punishment of the wicked. + +THEREFORE, + + I do here and now, and for ever, renounce the world with all + its sinful pleasures, companionships, treasures, and + objects, and declare my full determination boldly to show + myself a soldier of Jesus Christ in all places and + companies, no matter what I may have to suffer, do, or lose, + by so doing. + + I do here and now declare that I will abstain from the use + of all intoxicating liquors, and from the habitual use of + opium, laudanum, morphia, and all other baneful drugs, + except when in illness such drugs shall be ordered for me by + a doctor. + + I do here and now declare that I will abstain from the use + of all low or profane language; from the taking of the name + of God in vain; and from all impurity, or from taking part + in any unclean conversation, or the reading of any obscene + book or paper at any time, in any company, or in any place. + + I do here declare that I will not allow myself in any + falsehood, deceit, misrepresentation, or dishonesty; neither + will I practise any fraudulent conduct in my business, my + home, nor in any other relation in which I may stand to my + fellow-men, but that I will deal truthfully, fairly, + honourably, and kindly with all those who may employ me, or + whom I may myself employ, + + I do here declare that I will never treat any woman, child, + or other person, whose life, comfort, or happiness may be + placed within my power, in an oppressive, cruel or cowardly + manner, but that I will protect such from evil and danger so + far as I can, and promote to the utmost of my ability their + present welfare and eternal salvation. + + I do here declare that I will spend all the time, strength, + money, and influence I can in supporting and carrying on + this war, and that I will endeavour to lead my family, + friends, neighbours, and all others whom I can influence, to + do the same, believing that the sure and only way to remedy + all the evils in the world is by bringing men to submit + themselves to the Government of the Lord Jesus Christ. + + I do here declare that I will always obey the lawful orders + of my Officers, and that I will carry out to the utmost of + my powers all the orders and regulations of the Army; and + further that I will be an example of faithfulness to its + principles, advance to the utmost of my ability its + operations, and never allow, where I can prevent it, any + injury to its interests, or hindrance to its success. + +AND + + I do here and now call upon all present to witness that I + enter into this undertaking, and sign these Articles of War + of my own free will, feeling that the love of Christ, who + died to save me, requires from me this devotion of my life + to His service for the salvation of the whole world, and + therefore wish now to be enrolled as a Soldier of the + Salvation Army. + + _Signed_........................................... + + _Image (full Christian and Surname)_ + + _Address_........................................ + + _Date_........................ _Corps_............. + + + +APPENDIX C + +COPY OF THE SALVATION ARMY BALANCE SHEET, EXTRACTED FROM THE +FORTY-THIRD ANNUAL STATEMENTS OF ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDING +SEPTEMBER 30, 1909. + +_Copies of this Balance Sheet with Statements of Account can be had +upon application. The Balance Sheet and Statements of Account for the +year ending September 30, 1910, will be posted from the press early +next year. The Balance Sheet of The Army's Social Fund can be obtained +from the Secretary._ + + +LIABILITIES + + DR. + £ s. d. +TO LOANS UPON MORTGAGE, + including accrued Interest 540,277 3 11 + +" LOANS FOR FIXED PERIODS, + including accrued Interest 121,958 8 1 + +" RESERVE FUNDS, including + General and Special Reserves 176,143 15 ½ + +" SUNDRY CREDITORS 10,359 3 2 + +" COLONIAL AND FOREIGN + TERRITORIES FUND 55,219 10 7 + +" SELF-DENIAL FUND + (Balance) 3,463 12 3 + + + ---------------- +Carried Forward £907,621 13 1/2 + + +ASSETS + + CR. + £ s. d. £ s. d. +BY FREEHOLD and LEASEHOLD + PROPERTY (at or below + cost) in the United + Kingdom, as on September + 30, 1908 1,066,923 16 2-1/2 +" Additions during the year 23,271 4 6 + -------------------- + 1,090,195 2 8-1/2 +" Freehold Estate in + Australia 10,375 3 6 + ----------------- 1,100,571 6 4-1/2 +" INVESTMENTS, including + Investment of Reserve + and Sinking Funds 196,412 9 2 +" FURNITURE and FITTINGS + at Headquarters, Officers' + Quarters, and + Training College, as on + September 30, 1908 5,412 16 1 +" Additions during the year 2,768 9 5-1/2 + --------------- + 8,181 5 6-1/2 + _Less_ Depreciation 2,433 19 9 + --------------- 5,748 5 9-1/2 + ----------------- +Carried forward £1,802,732 1 4 + + +BALANCE SHEET--_continued_ + +DR. + +Brought forward 907,621 13 0-1/2 + +To The Salvation Army Fund, + +as per last Balance Sheet 411,701 0 6-1/4 + +" Donations and Subscriptions + For Capital Purposes +(including building +Contributions, +£20,044 0s. 2d.) 37,044 6 2 + +" General Income and Expenditure + Account +(Balance) 1,309 17 8-1/2 + +---------------------------------------------------------------------- + + 450,064 18 4-1/2 + ----------------- + + £1,357,706 11 5 + +CR. + +Brought forward 1,302,732 1 4 + +By Loans + +" Trade Headquarters Fund 27,902 16 5 + +" Sundry Colonial and + Foreign Territories 8,606 16 0 + ------------ + + 34,506 12 5 + +" Sundry Debtors 18,360 10 4 + +" Cash at Bank 2,107 7 4 + + --------------- + £1,357,706 11 5 + +We have examined the above Statement with the Books, Accounts, and +Vouchers relating thereto, and certify the same to be correct. We have +also verified the Bank balances and Investments. + +KNOX, CROPPER & CO., + +_Chartered Accountants._ + +16 FINSBURY CIRCUS, E.C. + +_December_ 31, 1909. + + + + +APPENDIX D + +A FEW FIGURES SHOWING SOME OF THE WORK OF THE DARKEST ENGLAND SCHEME +IN THE UNITED KINGDOM. + + TO SEPTEMBER 30, 1909 DURING TOTAL TO + 1910 SEPT. 30, 1910 +Number of Meals supplied at + Cheap Food Dépôts 69,784,480 6,869,897 76,654,377 +Number of Cheap Lodgings for + the Homeless 27,850,674 2,445,300 30,295,974 +Number of Meetings held in + Shelters 140,747 8,660 149,407 +Number of Applications from + Unemployed registered at + Labour Bureaux 302,538 13,009 315,547 +Number received into Factories 63,694 6,754 70,448 +Number for whom Employment + (temporary or permanent) has + been found 249,453 20,210 269,663 +Number of Ex-Criminals received + into Homes 8,840 416 9,256 +Number of Ex-Criminals assisted, + restored to Friends, + sent to situations, etc. 7,886 1,166 9,052 +Number of Applications for Lost + Persons 44,001 2,120 46,121 +Number of Lost Persons found 13,710 398 14,108 +Number of Women and Girls + received into Rescue Homes 44,417 3,679 48,096 +Number of Women and Girls + received into Rescue Homes + who were sent to Situations, + restored to Friends, etc. 37,168 3,346 40,514 +Number of Families visited in + Slums 998,079 109,750 1,107,829 +Number of Families prayed with 577,550 64,141 641,691 +Number of Public-houses visited 630,021 33,188 663,209 +Number of Lodging-houses + visited 17,330 3,457 20,787 +Number of Lodging-house Meetings + held 7,319 1,792 9,111 +Number of Sick People visited + and nursed 93,233 21,912 115,145 + + + + +NOTES: + + +[1: See Appendix C] + +[2: The following extract from the recently issued 'Report of +the Commissioners of Prisons and the Directors of Convict Prisons,' +for the year ended March 31, 1910, Part I [Cd. 5360], published since +the above was written, sets out the present views of the Authorities +on this important matter:-- + + 'Out of the present inmates of convict prisons over 40 per + cent have been previously in penal servitude, viz. out of + 3,046 male convicts in convict prisons, 1,253 had been + previously sentenced to penal servitude, 672 once, 271 + twice, 196 three times, and 114 four times or more. Mr. + Secretary Churchill has referred to us the question whether, + and in what way, it would be possible to make any impression + on this roll of recidivism--this unyielding _corpus_ of + habitual crime. The problem is never absent from the minds + of those responsible for the administration of prisons and + the treatment of crime, and during recent years great + efforts have been made to improve the machinery of + assistance on discharge, fully impressed as we are with the + truth of the old French saying, "_Le difficile ce n'est pas + emprisoner un homme, c'est de le relâcher_." We have tried + to avail ourselves fully of the resources offered by such + powerful agencies as the Church Army, Salvation Army, as + well as other societies who have for years operated in this + particular field of charitable effort. We recognize the + ready help given by all these agencies. No doubt by their + efforts many difficult and unpromising cases have been + rehabilitated; but after full consideration we have come to + the opinion that the task of rehabilitation in the case of + men returning to freedom after a sentence of penal servitude + is too difficult and too costly to be left entirely to + voluntary societies, unaided by any grant of public funds, + and working independently of each other at a problem where + unity of method and direction is above all things required. + Mr. Secretary Churchill, to whom these views have been + represented, at once agreed that the difficulty lay in this + question of discharge, and that the official authority, + acting in close and friendly co-operation with the voluntary + societies must take a more active part than hitherto in + controlling the passage into free life of a man emerging + from penal servitude. ... A plan is now under consideration + for establishing a Central Agency of Control for Discharged + Convicts, on which both the official and unofficial element + will be represented, with a subsidy from public funds, the + purpose of which will be to take in hand the guidance and + direction of every convict on the day of discharge' (pp. 15, + 16).] + +[3: See Parliamentary Blue Book [Cd. 2562].] + +[4: The scale of pay in the Salvation Array for Officers in charge of +Corps (or Stations) is as follows:--For Single Men: Lieutenants, 16s. +weekly; Captains, 18s. weekly. For Single Women: Lieutenants, 12s. +weekly; Captains, 15s. weekly. For Married Men, 27s. per week and 1s. +per week for each child under 7 years of age, and 2s. per week for +each child between the ages of 7 and 14. Furnished lodgings are +provided in addition.] + +[5: But the day before this proof came into my hands it was my duty to +help to try a case illustrative of these remarks. In that case a girl +when only just over the age of sixteen had been seduced by a young man +and borne a son. First the father admitted parentage and promised +marriage. Then he denied parentage, and, apparently without a shadow +of evidence, alleged that the child was the result of an incestuous +intercourse between its mother and a relative. At the trial, having, +it seemed, come to the conclusion that this wicked slander would not +enable him to escape an affiliation order, he again frankly admitted +his parentage. In the country districts, at any rate, such examples +are common.--H. R. H.] + +[6: The loss is being reduced annually, that for the financial year +which has just closed being the lowest on record.] + +[7: See Appendix A] + +[8: On this and other points see the Salvation Army's 'Articles of +War,' Appendix B.] + + + + +INDEX + + +Affiliation Orders, 91, 109-110. + +'Ann Fowler' Home, 166, 168. + +Anti-Suicide Bureau, 151-164. + +Ardenshaw Women's Home, Glasgow, 188. + +Argyll, Duchess of, 103. + +'Articles of War,' 257. + +Australia, 14, 83. + +Balance-sheet for 1909, 260-261. + +Barlow, Sir Thomas, 123. + +Barnardo, The late Dr., 71, 73, 233. + +Blackfriars Shelter, 41. + +Booth, General, 7, 10-12, 14-18, 57, 61, 63, 85, 97, 200-201, 206, + 208-217, 223. + +Booth, Mr. Bramwell, 218-225. + +Booth, Mrs. Bramwell, 87, 89, 91-93, 95, 144. + +Boxted Small Holdings, 69, 200-207. + +British Government, The, and Colonial Land Scheme, 82. + +Canada, 14, 82-86. + +Carrington, Earl, 206. + +Central Labour Bureau, 75. + +Chief of the Staff, The: see Mr. Bramwell Booth. + +Cox, Commissioner, 96, 98, 119, 120. + +Criminals in England, 61. + +Crossley, Mrs., 176. + +Drink, 37. + +Duke Street, Glasgow, 188. + +Edinburgh, 179. + +Embankment Soup Distribution, 22, 39, 40. + +Emigration Department, 80; + Emigration Board, 85. + +Employers' Liability Act, 38. + +Ex-Criminals, 54. + +First Offenders Act, 168. + +Free Breakfast Service, 41. + +Future of the Salvation Army, Notes on, 237. + +Glasgow, 165, 178-182, 192. + +Government Labour Bureaux, 75-76. + +Government Subsidy, 57. + +Great Peter St. Shelter, 33, 157. + +Great Titchfield St., 94, 140, 150. + +Hadleigh Land Colony, 76, 182, 184, 194, 198, 199. + +Hanbury St. Workshop, 65-70. + +Herring, The late Mr. George, 19, 200, 201, 207, 212. + +Hillsborough House Inebriates' Home, 98, 102, 122. + +Hollies,' 'The, 168, 169. + +Home Office, The, 55. + +Iliffe, Lieut.-Colonel, 204. + +Impressions of General Booth, 208. + +India, 23. + +Inebriates' Home, The, Springfield Lodge, 122. + +International Investigation Department, 77. + +Ivy House Maternity Hospital, 107. + +Java, 233. + +Jolliffe, Lieut.-Colonel, 41, 148, 185-186, 190-191. + +King Edward Hospital Fund, 201. + +Labour Bureau, Central, Whitechapel, 75; + Statistics, 76. + +Labour Party and Trade. + Unions, 65, 85-86. + +Lamb, Colonel, 81, 83-85. + +Lambert, Colonel, 115. + +Land Colony, Hadleigh, 194. + +Laudanum-drinking, 124, 183. + +Laurie, Lieut.-Colonel, 194-196. + +Laurier, Sir Wilfrid, 82. + +Liverpool, 165. + +London County Council, 129. + +London Maternity Home, 169. + +Lorne House, 103, 105. + +Manchester, 165; + Social Institutions, 172. + +Maternity Home, Lorne House, Stoke Newington, 103. + +Maternity Home, Brent House, Hackney, 105-106. + +Maternity Hospital, + Hackney, 105, 107; + Liverpool, 171. + +Maternity Hospital, New, required, 170. + +Men's Social Work, + Glasgow, 178; + London, 19, 65; + Manchester, 171. + +Middlesex Street Shelter, 19. + +Midnight Work, Social, 94. + +Needs, Our, 235. + +Nest,' 'The, Clapton, 112. + +Oakhill House, Manchester, 176. + +Old-Age Pensions Act, 130. + +Paris, 93. + +Parliamentary Committee of the Trade Unions, 65. + +Penitent Form, The, 46-48, 51, 230. + +Pentonville Prison, 56. + +Piccadilly Midnight Work, 140. + +Prevention of Cruelty to Children, Society for the, 233. + +Princess Louise, H.R.H., 103. + +Prison Act, The New, 63. + +Prison Reform, 62, 63 (note). + +Prison Visitation, 55, 188. + +Prisoners' Aid Society, 180. + +Quaker Street, 54. + +Religion of the Salvation Army, Note on the, 229. + +Rescue Home, The, 117. + +'Revivalism!' 49. + +Roosevelt, Mr. 214-215. + +'Rural England,' 10. + +Sacraments, The, 230. + +Salvation Army, Some Statistics of the, 9-10. + +Scale of pay, Officers', 90 (note). + +Scotland, 131, 179. + +Slum Settlement, The Hackney Road, 131. + +Slum Sisters, 88; + Some Statistics of their work, 131. + +Small Holdings, 200-207. + +Southwood, Sydenham, 126. + +Spa Road Elevator, 27, 46, 79. + +Sturge House, 71-74. + +Sturgess, Commissioner, 19, 36, 47, 54, 55, 57, 186. + +Sweating, Charges of, refuted, 28, 66, 120-121. + +Titchfield Street Home, The, 140, 145, 150. + +Trade Unions and rate of Wages, 15-16. + +Training Institute for Women Social Workers, The, 115. + +Unsworth, Colonel, 155, 157, 160, 164. + +Vegetarianism, 99, 113-114. + +Visitation of prisoners by Salvation Army Officers, 55-56. + +Wandsworth Prison, 56. + +Waste Paper Department, + Spa Road, 27, 31, 52; + Manchester, 172; + Glasgow, 180. + +White Slave Traffic, 87, 93. + +Whitechapel, 72, 75, 95, 132, 142. + +Women's Industrial Home, Hackney, 119; + Sydenham, 126. + +Women's Shelter, 129. + +Women's Social Work, London, 87; + Headquarters, 96. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Regeneration, by H. 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Rider Haggard + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .75em; margin-bottom: .75em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 5%; text-align: justify; font-size: 80%; font-style: italic;} + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + .xx-small {font-size: 60%;} + .x-small {font-size: 75%;} + .small {font-size: 85%;} + .large {font-size: 115%;} + .x-large {font-size: 130%;} + .indent5 { margin-left: 5%;} + .indent10 { margin-left: 10%;} + .indent15 { margin-left: 15%;} + .indent20 { margin-left: 20%;} + .indent25 { margin-left: 25%;} + .indent30 { margin-left: 30%;} + .indent35 { margin-left: 35%;} + .indent40 { margin-left: 40%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + .pagenum {position: absolute; right: 1%; font-size: 0.6em; + font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; + text-align: right; background-color: #FFFACD; + border: 1px solid; padding: 0.3em;text-indent: 0em;} + .side { float: left; font-size: 75%; width: 15%; padding-left: 0.8em; + border-left: dashed thin; text-align: left; + text-indent: 0; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; + font-weight: bold; color: black; background: #eeeeee; border: solid 1px;} + .head { float: left; font-size: 90%; width: 98%; padding-left: 0.8em; + border-left: dashed thin; text-align: center; + text-indent: 0; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; + font-weight: bold; color: black; background: #eeeeee; border: solid 1px;} + p.pfirst, p.noindent {text-indent: 0} + span.dropcap { float: left; margin: 0 0.1em 0 0; line-height: 0.8 } + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} +</style> + </head> + <body> +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Regeneration, by H. Rider Haggard + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Regeneration + +Author: H. Rider Haggard + +Release Date: September 11, 2004 [EBook #13434] +Last Updated: October 17, 2018 + + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK REGENERATION *** + + + + +Etext produced by Keith M. Eckrich, and the Project Gutenberg Online +Distributed Proofreaders Team + +HTML file produced by David Widger + + + +</pre> + + <div style="height: 8em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h1> + REGENERATION + </h1> + <h4> + Being an Account of the Social Work of The Salvation Army in Great + Britain. + </h4> + <h2> + By H. Rider Haggard + </h2> + <h3> + 1910 + </h3> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <p> + <b>CONTENTS</b> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0001"> DEDICATION </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0002"> AUTHOR'S NOTE </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0003"> INTRODUCTORY </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0004"> MEN'S SOCIAL WORK, LONDON </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0005"> THE SPA ROAD ELEVATOR </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0006"> THE GREAT PETER STREET SHELTER </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0007"> THE FREE BREAKFAST SERVICE </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0008"> THE EX-CRIMINALS </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0009"> THE MEN'S WORKSHOP </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0010"> STURGE HOUSE, BOW ROAD </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0011"> THE CENTRAL LABOUR BUREAU </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0012"> THE EMIGRATION DEPARTMENT </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0013"> THE WOMEN'S SOCIAL WORK IN LONDON </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0014"> THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE WOMEN'S SOCIAL WORK </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0015"> HILLSBOROUGH HOUSE INEBRIATES' HOME </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0016"> THE MATERNITY NURSING HOME </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0017"> THE MATERNITY RECEIVING HOME </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0018"> THE MATERNITY HOSPITAL </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0019"> 'THE NEST' </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0020"> THE TRAINING INSTITUTE FOR WOMEN SOCIAL WORKERS + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0021"> THE WOMEN'S INDUSTRIAL HOME </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0022"> THE INEBRIATES' HOME </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0023"> THE WOMEN'S INDUSTRIAL HOME </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0024"> THE WOMEN'S SHELTER </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0025"> THE SLUM SETTLEMENT </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0026"> THE PICCADILLY MIDNIGHT WORK </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0027"> THE ANTI-SUICIDE BUREAU </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0028"> WORK IN THE PROVINCES </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0029"> THE MEN'S SOCIAL WORK </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0030"> OAKHILL HOUSE </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0031"> THE MEN'S SOCIAL WORK </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0032"> THE ARDENSHAW WOMEN'S HOME </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0033"> THE WOMEN'S LODGING-HOUSE </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0034"> THE LAND AND INDUSTRIAL COLONY </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0035"> THE SMALL-HOLDINGS SETTLEMENT </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0036"> IMPRESSIONS OF GENERAL BOOTH </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0037"> THE CHIEF OF THE STAFF </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0038"> NOTE ON THE RELIGION OF THE SALVATION ARMY </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0039"> LEGACIES </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_APPEA"> APPENDIX A </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_NOTE"> NOTES ON THE ARMY'S FUTURE </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_APPEB"> APPENDIX B </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_APPEC"> APPENDIX C </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_APPED"> APPENDIX D </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_NOTEB"> NOTES: </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0001" id="link2H_4_0001"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + DEDICATION + </h2> + <p> + I dedicate these pages to the Officers and Soldiers of the Salvation Army, + in token of my admiration of the self-sacrificing work by which it is + their privilege to aid the poor and wretched throughout the world. + </p> + <p> + H. RIDER HAGGARD. + </p> + <p> + DITCHINGHAM, + </p> + <p> + <i>November, 1910</i> + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0002" id="link2H_4_0002"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + AUTHOR'S NOTE + </h2> + <p> + The author desires to thank Mr. D.R. DANIEL for the kind and valuable + assistance he has given him in his researches into the Social Work of the + Salvation Army. + </p> + <p> + He takes this occasion to make it clear that this book does no more than + set out the results of his investigations into some of that vast Social + Work, and his personal conclusions as to it and those by whom it is + prosecuted. + </p> + <p> + To obviate any possible misunderstanding as to the reason of its writing, + he wishes to state further that it has not been compiled by him as a + matter of literary business. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0003" id="link2H_4_0003"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + INTRODUCTORY + </h2> + <h3> + WHAT IS THE SALVATION ARMY? + </h3> + <p> + If this question were put to the ordinary person of fashion or leisure, + how would it be answered? + </p> + <p> + In many cases thus: 'The Salvation Army is a body of people dressed up in + a semi-military uniform, or those of them who are women, in unbecoming + poke bonnets, who go about the streets making a noise in the name of God + and frightening horses with brass bands. It is under the rule of an + arbitrary old gentleman named Booth, who calls himself a General, and + whose principal trade assets consist in a handsome and unusual face, and + an inexhaustible flow of language, which he generally delivers from a + white motor-car wherever he finds that he can attract the most attention. + He is a clever actor in his way, who has got a great number of people + under his thumb, and I am told that he has made a large fortune out of the + business, like the late prophet Dowie, and others of the same sort. The + newspapers are always exposing him; but he knows which side his bread is + buttered and does not care. When he is gone no doubt his family will + divide up the cash, and we shall hear no more of the Salvation Army!' + </p> + <p> + Such are still the honest beliefs of thousands of our instructed + fellow-countrymen, and of hundreds of thousands of others of less degree + belonging to the classes which are generally typified under the synonym of + 'the man in the street,' by which most people understand one who knows + little, and of that little nothing accurately, but who decides the fate of + political elections. + </p> + <p> + Let us suppose, however, that the questioner should succeed in interesting + an intelligent and fair-minded individual holder of these views + sufficiently to induce him to make inquiry into the facts concerning this + Salvation Army. What would he then discover? + </p> + <p> + He would discover that about five and forty years ago some impulse, + wherever it may have come from, moved a Dissenting minister, gifted with a + mind of power and originality, and a body of great strength and endurance, + gifted, also, with an able wife who shared his views, to try, if not to + cure, at least to ameliorate the lot of the fallen or distressed millions + that are one of the natural products of high civilization, by ministering + to their creature wants and regenerating their spirits upon the plain and + simple lines laid down in the New Testament. He would find, also, that + this humble effort, at first quite unaided, has been so successful that + the results seem to partake of the nature of the miraculous. + </p> + <p> + Thus he would learn that the religious Organization founded by this man + and his wife is now established and, in most instances, firmly rooted in + 56 Countries and Colonies, where it preaches the Gospel in 33 separate + languages: that it has over 16,000 Officers wholly employed in its + service, and publishes 74 periodicals in 20 tongues, with a total + circulation of nearly 1,000,000 copies per issue: that it accommodates + over 28,000 poor people nightly in its Institutions, maintaining 229 Food + Dépôts and Shelters for men, women, and children, and 157 Labour Factories + where destitute or characterless people are employed: that it has 17 Homes + for ex-criminals, 37 Homes for children, 116 Industrial Homes for the + rescue of women, 16 Land Colonies, 149 Slum Stations for the visitation + and assistance of the poor, 60 Labour Bureaux for helping the unemployed, + and 521 Day Schools for children: that, in addition to all these, it has + Criminal and General Investigation Departments, Inebriate Homes for men + and women, Inquiry Offices for tracing lost and missing people, Maternity + Hospitals, 37 Homes for training Officers, Prison-visitation Staffs, and + so on almost <i>ad infinitum</i>. + </p> + <p> + He would find, also, that it collects and dispenses an enormous revenue, + mostly from among the poorer classes, and that its system is run with + remarkable business ability: that General Booth, often supposed to be so + opulent, lives upon a pittance which most country clergymen would refuse, + taking nothing, and never having taken anything, from the funds of the + Army. And lastly, not to weary the reader, that whatever may be thought of + its methods and of the noise made by the 23,000 or so of voluntary + bandsmen who belong to it, it is undoubtedly for good or evil one of the + world forces of our age. + </p> + <p> + Before going further, it may, perhaps, be well that I should explain how + it is that I come to write these pages. First, I ought to state that my + personal acquaintance with the Salvation Army dates back a good many + years, from the time, indeed, when I was writing 'Rural England,' in + connexion with which work I had a long and interesting interview with + General Booth that is already published. Subsequently I was appointed by + the British Government as a Commissioner to investigate and report upon + the Land Colonies of the Salvation Army in the United States, in the + course of which inquiry I came into contact with many of its Officers, and + learned much of its system and methods, especially with reference to + emigration. Also I have had other opportunities of keeping in touch with + the Army and its developments. + </p> + <p> + In the spring of 1910 I was asked, on behalf of General Booth, whether I + would undertake to write for publication an account of the Social Work of + the Army in this country. After some hesitation, for the lack of time was + a formidable obstacle to a very busy man, I assented to this request, the + plan agreed upon being that I should visit the various Institutions, or a + number of them, etc., and record what I actually saw, neither more nor + less, together with my resulting impressions. This I have done, and it + only remains for me to assure the reader that the record is true, and, to + the best of his belief and ability, set down without fear, favour, or + prejudice, by one not unaccustomed to such tasks. + </p> + <p> + Almost at the commencement of my labours I sought an interview with + General Booth, thinking, as I told him and his Officers (the Salvation + Army is not mealy-mouthed about such matters) that at his age it would be + well to set down his views in black and white. On the whole, I found him + well and vigorous. He complained, however, of the difficulty he was + experiencing, owing to the complete loss of sight in one eye, occasioned + by an accident during a motor journey, and the possible deprivation of the + sight of the other through cataract. + </p> + <p> + Of the attacks that have been and are continually made upon the Salvation + Army, some of them extremely bitter, General Booth would say little. He + pointed out that he had not been in the habit of defending himself and his + Organization in public, and was quite content that the work should speak + for itself. Their affairs and finances had been investigated by eminent + men, who 'could not find a sixpence out of place'; and for the rest, a + balance-sheet was published annually. This balance-sheet for the year + ending September 30, 1909, I reprint in an appendix.<a href="#linknote-1" + name="linknoteref-1" id="linknoteref-1"><small>1</small></a> + </p> + <p> + With regard to the Social Work of the Army, which in its beginning was a + purely religious body, General Booth said that they had been driven into + it because of their sympathy with suffering. They found it impossible to + look upon people undergoing starvation or weighed down by sorrows and + miseries that came upon them through poverty, without stretching out a + hand to help them on to their feet again. In the same way they could not + study wrongdoers and criminals and learn their secret histories, which + show how closely a great proportion of human sin is connected with + wretched surroundings, without trying to help and reform them to the best + of their abilities. Thus it was that their Social operations began, + increased, and multiplied. They contemplated not only the regeneration of + the individual, but also of his circumstances, and were continually + finding out new methods by which this might be done. + </p> + <p> + The Army looked forward to the development of its Social Work on the lines + of self-help, self-management and self-support. Whenever a new development + came under consideration, the question arose—How is it to be + financed? The work they had in hand at present took all their funds. One + of their great underlying principles was that of the necessity of + self-support, without which no business or undertaking could stand for + long. The individual must co-operate in his own moral and physical + redemption. At the same time this system of theirs was, in practice, one + of the difficulties with which they had to contend, since it caused the + benevolent to believe that the Army did not need financial assistance. His + own view was that they ought to receive support in their work from the + Government, as they actually did in some other countries. Especially did + he desire to receive State aid in dealing with ascertained criminals, such + as was extended to them in certain parts of the world. + </p> + <p> + Thus only a few weeks before, in Holland, the Parliament had asked the + Salvation Army to co-operate in the care of discharged prisoners and gave + a grant of money for their support. In Java the tale was the same. There + they were preparing estates as homes for lepers, and soon a large portion + of the leper population of that land would be in their charge. + </p> + <p> + General Booth told me the story of a celebrated Danish doctor, an + optician, who became attracted to the Army, and, giving up his practice + and position, entered its service with his wife. They said they wished to + lead a life of real sacrifice and self-denial, and so, after going through + a training like any other Cadets, were sent out to take charge of the + medical work in Java. A recent report stated that this Officer had + attended 16,000 patients in nine months, and performed 516 operations. + </p> + <p> + In Australia, the Government had handed over the work amongst the + Reformatory boys to the Army. In New Zealand, the Government had requested + it to take over inebriates, and was now paying a contribution to that work + of 10s. per head a week. There the Army had purchased two islands to + accommodate these inebriates, one on which the men followed the pursuits + of agriculture, fishing, and so forth, and the other for the women. In + Canada there was an idea that a large prison should be erected, of which + the Salvation Army would take charge. He hoped that in course of time they + would be allowed greatly to extend their work in the English prisons. + </p> + <p> + General Booth pointed out to me with reference to their Social Work, that + it was necessary to spend large sums of money in finding employment for + men whom they had rescued. Here, one of their greatest difficulties was + the vehement opposition of members of the Labour Party in different + countries. + </p> + <p> + This party said, for example, that the Army ought to pay the Trade Union + rate of wage to any poor fellow whom they had picked up and set to such + labour as paper-sorting or carpentry. Thus in Western Australia they had + an estate of 20,000 acres lying idle. When he was there a while ago, he + asked the Officer in charge why he did not cultivate this land and make it + productive. The man replied he had no labour; whereon the General said + that he could send him plenty from England. + </p> + <p> + 'Yes,' commented the Officer, 'but the moment they begin to work here, + however inefficient or broken down they may be, we shall have to pay them + 7s. a day!' + </p> + <p> + This regulation, of course, makes it impossible to cultivate that estate + except at a heavy loss. + </p> + <p> + He himself had been denounced as the 'prince of sweaters,' because he took + in derelict carpenters at their Institution in Hanbury Street (which I + shall describe later), to whom he did not pay the Trade Union wage, + although that Institution had from the first been worked at a loss. In + this case he had made peace with the Parliamentary Committee by promising + not to make anything there which was used outside the Army establishments. + But still the attacks went on. + </p> + <p> + Passing from this subject, I asked General Booth if he had formed any + forecast of the future of the Salvation Army after his own death. He + replied that there were certain factors in the present position of the + Army which seemed to him to indicate its future growth and continuity. + Speaking impersonally, he said that the present General had become an + important man not by his own choice or through the workings of ambition, + but by the will of Providence. He had acquired a certain standing, a great + hold over his community, and an influence which helped to concentrate and + keep together forces that had grown to be worldwide in their character. It + was natural, therefore, that people should wonder what would happen when + he ceased to be. + </p> + <p> + His answer to these queries was that legal arrangements had been made to + provide for this obvious contingency. Under the provisions of the + constitution of the Army he had selected his successor, although he had + never told anybody the name of that successor, which he felt sure, when + announced, was one that would command the fullest confidence and respect. + The first duty of the General of the Army on taking up his office was to + choose a man to succeed him, reserving to himself the power to change that + man for another, should he see good reason for such a course. In short, + his choice is secret, and being unhampered by any law of heredity or other + considerations except those that appeal to his own reason and judgment, + not final. He nominates whom he will. + </p> + <p> + I asked him what would happen if this nominated General misconducted + himself in any way, or proved unsuitable, or lost his reason. He replied + that in such circumstances arrangements had been made under which the + heads of the Army could elect another General, and that what they decided + would be law. The organization of the Army was such that any Department of + it remained independent of the ability of one individual. If a man proved + incompetent, or did not succeed, his office was changed; the square man + was never left in the round hole. Each Department had laws for its + direction and guidance, and those in authority were responsible for the + execution of those laws. If for any reason whatsoever, one commander fell + out of the line of action, another was always waiting to take his place. + In short, he had no fear that the removal of his own person and name would + affect the Organization. It was true, he remarked, that leaders cannot be + manufactured to order, and also that the Army had made, and would continue + to make, mistakes up and down the world. But those mistakes showed them + how to avoid similar errors, and how and where to improve. + </p> + <p> + As regarded a change of headship, a fresh individuality always has charms, + and a new force would always strike out in some new direction. The man + needed was one who would <i>do</i> something. General Booth did not fear + but that he would be always forthcoming, and said that for his part he was + quite happy as to the future, in which he anticipated an enlargement of + their work. The Organization existed, and with it the arrangements for + filling every niche. The discipline of to-day would continue to-morrow, + and that spirit would always be ready to burst into flame when it was + needed. + </p> + <p> + In his view it was inextinguishable. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0004" id="link2H_4_0004"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + MEN'S SOCIAL WORK, LONDON + </h2> + <h3> + THE MIDDLESEX STREET SHELTER + </h3> + <p> + The first of the London Institutions of the Salvation Army which I visited + was that known as the Middlesex Street Shelter and Working Men's Home, + which is at present under the supervision of Commissioner Sturgess. This + building consists of six floors, and contains sleeping accommodation for + 462 men. It has been at work since the year 1906, when it was acquired by + the Army with the help of that well-known philanthropist, the late Mr. + George Herring. + </p> + <p> + Of the 462 men accommodated daily, 311 pay 3d. for their night's lodging, + and the remainder 5d. The threepenny charge entitles the tenant to the use + of a bunk bedstead with sheets and an American cloth cover. If the extra + 2d. is forthcoming the wanderer is provided with a proper bed, fitted with + a wire spring hospital frame and provided with a mattress, sheets, pillow, + and blankets. I may state here that as in the case of this Shelter the + building, furniture and other equipment have been provided by charity, the + nightly fees collected almost suffice to pay the running expenses of the + establishment. Under less favourable circumstances, however, where the + building and equipment are a charge on the capital funds of the Salvation + Army, the experience is that these fees do not suffice to meet the cost of + interest and maintenance. + </p> + <p> + The object of this and similar Shelters is to afford to men upon the verge + of destitution the choice between such accommodation as is here provided + and the common lodging-house, known as a 'kip house,' or the casual ward + of a workhouse. Those who avail themselves of these Shelters belong, + speaking generally, to the destitute or nearly destitute classes. They are + harbours of refuge for the unfortunates who find themselves on the streets + of London at nightfall with a few coppers or some other small sum in their + pockets. Many of these social wrecks have sunk through drink, but many + others owe their sad position to lack or loss of employment, or to some + other misfortune. + </p> + <p> + For an extra charge of 1d. the inmates are provided with a good supper, + consisting of a pint of soup and a large piece of bread, or of bread and + jam and tea, or of potato-pie. A second penny supplies them with breakfast + on the following morning, consisting of bread and porridge or of bread and + fish, with tea or coffee. + </p> + <p> + The dormitories, both of the fivepenny class on the ground floor and of + the threepenny class upstairs, are kept scrupulously sweet and clean, and + attached to them are lavatories and baths. These lavatories contain a + great number of brown earthenware basins fitted with taps. Receptacles are + provided, also, where the inmates can wash their clothes and have them + dried by means of an ingenious electrical contrivance and hot air, capable + of thoroughly drying any ordinary garment in twenty minutes while its + owner takes a bath. + </p> + <p> + The man in charge of this apparatus and of the baths was one who had been + picked up on the Embankment during the past winter. In return for his + services he received food, lodging, clothes and pocket-money to the amount + of 3s. a week. He told me that he was formerly a commercial traveller, and + was trying to re-enter that profession or to become a ship's steward. + Sickness had been the cause of his fall in the world. + </p> + <p> + Adjoining the downstairs dormitory is a dining and sitting-room for the + use of those who have taken bed tickets. In this room, when I visited it, + several men were engaged in various occupations. One of them was painting + flowers. Another, a watch repairer, was apparently making up his accounts, + which, perhaps, were of an imaginary nature. A third was eating a dinner + which he had purchased at the food bar. A fourth smoked a cigarette and + watched the flower artist at his work. A fifth was a Cingalese who had + come from Ceylon to lay some grievance before the late King. The + authorities at Whitehall having investigated his case, he had been + recommended to return to Ceylon and consult a lawyer there. Now he was + waiting tor the arrival of remittances to enable him to pay his passage + back to Ceylon. I wondered whether the remittances would ever be + forthcoming. Meanwhile he lived here on 7-1/2d. a day, 5d. for his bed and + 2-1/2d. for his food. Of these and other men similarly situated I will + give some account presently. + </p> + <p> + Having inspected the upper floors I descended to the basement, where what + are called the 'Shelter men' are received at a separate entrance at 5.30 + in the afternoon, and buying their penny or halfpennyworth of food, seat + themselves on benches to eat. Here, too, they can sit and smoke or mend + their clothes, or if they are wet, dry themselves in the annexe, until + they retire to rest. During the past winter of 1909 400 men taken from the + Embankment were sheltered here gratis every night, and were provided with + soup and bread. When not otherwise occupied this hall is often used for + the purpose of religious services. + </p> + <p> + I spoke at hazard with some of those who were sitting about in the + Shelter. A few specimen cases may be interesting. An old man told me that + he had travelled all over the world for fifty years, especially in the + islands of the South Pacific, until sickness broke him down. He came last + from Shanghai, where he had been an overseer on railway work, and before + that from Manila. Being incapacitated by fever and rheumatism, and + possessing 1,500 dollars, he travelled home, apparently via India and + Burma, stopping a while in each country. Eventually he drifted to a + lodging-house, and, falling ill there, was sent to the Highgate Infirmary, + where, he said, he was so cold that he could not stop. Ultimately he found + himself upon the streets in winter. For the past twelve months he had been + living in this Shelter upon some help that a friend gave him, for all his + own money was gone. Now he was trying to write books, one of which was in + the hands of a well-known firm. He remarked, pathetically, that they 'have + had it a long time.' He was also waiting 'every day' for a pension from + America, which he considered was due to him because he fought in the Civil + War. + </p> + <p> + Most of these poor people are waiting for something. + </p> + <p> + This man added that he could not find his relatives, and that he intended + to stop in the Shelter until his book was published, or he could 'help + himself out.' + </p> + <p> + The next man I spoke to was the flower artist, whom I have already + mentioned, whose work, by the way, if a little striking in colour, was by + no means bad, especially as he had no real flowers to draw from. By trade + he was a lawyer's clerk; but he stated that, unfortunately for him, the + head partner of his firm went bankrupt six years before, and the bad + times, together with the competition of female labour in the clerical + department, prevented him from obtaining another situation, so he had been + obliged to fall back upon flower painting. He was a married man, but he + said, 'While I could make a fair week's money, things were comfortable, + but when orders fell slack I was requested to go, as my room was + preferable to my company, and being a man of nervous temperament I could + not stand it, and have been here ever since'—that was for about ten + weeks. He managed to make enough for his board and lodging by the sale of + his flower-pictures. + </p> + <p> + A third man informed me that he had opened twenty-seven shops for a large + firm of tobacconists, and then left to start in business for himself; also + he used to go out window-dressing, in which he was skilled. Then, about + nine years ago, his wife began to drink, and while he was absent in + hospital, neglected his business so that it became worthless. Finally she + deserted him, and he had heard nothing of her since. After that he took to + drink himself. He came to this Shelter intermittently, and supported + himself by an occasional job of window-dressing. The Salvation Army was + trying to cure this man of his drinking habits. + </p> + <p> + A fourth man, a Eurasian, was a schoolmaster in India, who drifted to this + country, and had been for four years in the Colney Hatch Asylum. He was + sent to the Salvation Army by the After Care Society. He had been two + years in the Shelter, and was engaged in saving up money to go to America. + He was employed in the Shelter as a scrubber, and also as a seller of food + tickets, by which means he had saved some money. Also he had a £5 note, + which his sister sent to him. This note he was keeping to return to her as + a present on her birthday! His story was long and miserable, and his case + a sad one. Still, he was capable of doing work of a sort. + </p> + <p> + Another very smart and useful man had been a nurse in the Army Medical + Corps, which he left some years ago with a good character. Occasionally he + found a job at nursing, and stayed at the Shelter, where he was given + employment between engagements. + </p> + <p> + Yet another, quite a young person, was a carman who had been discharged + through slackness of work in the firm of which he was a servant. He had + been ten weeks in the Institution, to which he came from the workhouse, + and hoped to find employment at his trade. + </p> + <p> + In passing through this building, I observed a young man of foreign + appearance seated in a window-place reading a book, and asked his history. + I was told that he was a German of education, whose ambition it is to + become a librarian in his native country. He had come to England in order + to learn our language, and being practically without means, drifted into + this place, where he was employed in cleaning the windows and pursued his + studies in the intervals of that humble work. Let us hope that in due + course his painstaking industry will be rewarded, and his ambition + fulfilled. + </p> + <p> + All these cases, and others that I have no space to mention, belonged to + the class of what I may call the regular 'hangers-on' of this particular + Shelter. As I visited it in the middle of the day, I did not see its + multitude of normal nightly occupants. Of such men, however, I shall be + able to speak elsewhere. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0005" id="link2H_4_0005"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE SPA ROAD ELEVATOR + </h2> + <h3> + BERMONDSEY + </h3> + <p> + The next Institution that I inspected was that of a paper-sorting works at + Spa Road, Bermondsey, where all sorts of waste paper are dealt with in + enormous quantities. Of this stuff some is given and some is bought. Upon + delivery it goes to the sorters, who separate it out according to the + different classes of the material, after which it is pressed into bales by + hydraulic machinery and sold to merchants to be re-made. + </p> + <p> + These works stand upon two acres of land. Parts of the existing buildings + were once a preserve factory, but some of them have been erected by the + Army. There remain upon the site certain dwelling-houses, which are still + let to tenants. These are destined to be pulled down whenever money is + forthcoming to extend the factory. + </p> + <p> + The object of the Institution is to find work for distressed or fallen + persons, and restore them to society. The Manager of this 'Elevator,' as + it is called, informed me that it employs about 480 men, all of whom are + picked up upon the streets. As a rule, these men are given their board and + lodging in return for work during the first week, but no money, as their + labour is worth little. In the second week, 6d. is paid to them in cash; + and, subsequently, this remuneration is added to in proportion to the + value of the labour, till in the end some of them earn 8s. or 9s. a week + in addition to their board and lodging. + </p> + <p> + I asked the Officer in charge what he had to say as to the charges of + sweating and underselling which have been brought against the Salvation + Army in connexion with this and its other productive Institutions. + </p> + <p> + He replied that they neither sweated nor undersold. The men whom they + picked up had no value in the labour market, and could get nothing to do + because no one would employ them, many of them being the victims of drink + or entirely unskilled. Such people they overlooked, housed, fed, and + instructed, whether they did or did not earn their food and lodging, and + after the first week paid them upon a rising scale. The results were + eminently satisfactory, as even allowing for the drunkards they found that + but few cases, not more than 10 per cent, were hopeless. Did they not + rescue these men most of them would sink utterly; indeed, according to + their own testimony many of such wastrels were snatched from suicide. As a + matter of fact, also, they employed more men per ton of paper than any + other dealers in the trade. + </p> + <p> + With reference to the commercial results, after allowing for interest on + the capital invested, the place did not pay its way. He said that a sum of + £15,000 was urgently required for the erection of a new building on this + site, some of those that exist being of a rough-and-ready character. They + were trying to raise subscriptions towards this object, but found the + response very slow. + </p> + <p> + He added that they collected their raw material from warehouses, most of + it being given to them, but some they bought, as it was necessary to keep + the works supplied, which could not be done with the gratis stuff alone. + Also they found that the paper they purchased was the most profitable. + </p> + <p> + These works presented a busy spectacle of useful industry. There was the + sorting-room, where great masses of waste-paper of every kind was being + picked over by about 100 men and separated into its various classes. The + resulting heaps are thrown through hoppers into bins. From the bins this + sorted stuff passes into hydraulic presses which crush it into bales that, + after being wired, are ready for sale. + </p> + <p> + It occurred to me that the dealing with this mass of refuse paper must be + an unhealthy occupation; but I was informed that this is not the case, and + certainly the appearance of the workers bore out the statement. + </p> + <p> + After completing a tour of the works I visited one of the bedrooms + containing seventy beds, where everything seemed very tidy and fresh. + Clean sheets are provided every week, as are baths for the inmates. In the + kitchen were great cooking boilers, ovens, etc., all of which are worked + by steam produced by the burning of the refuse of the sorted paper. Then I + saw the household salvage store, which contained enormous quantities of + old clothes and boots; also a great collection of furniture, including a + Turkish bath cabinet, all of which articles had been given to the Army by + charitable folk. These are either given away or sold to the employes of + the factory or to the poor of the neighbourhood at a very cheap rate. + </p> + <p> + The man in charge of this store was an extremely good-looking and + gentlemanly young follow of University education, who had been a writer of + fiction, and once acted as secretary to a gentleman who travelled on the + Continent and in the East. Losing his employment, he took to a life of + dissipation, became ill, and sank to the very bottom. He informed me that + his ideals and outlook on life were now totally changed. I have every hope + that he will do well in the future, as his abilities are evidently + considerable, and Nature has favoured him in many ways. + </p> + <p> + I interviewed a number of the men employed in these works, most of whom + had come down through drink, some of them from very good situations. One + had been the superintendent of a sewing-machine company. He took to + liquor, left his wife, and found himself upon the streets. Now he was a + traveller for the Salvation Army, in the interests of the Waste-Paper + Department, had regained his position in life, and was living with his + wife and family in a comfortable house. + </p> + <p> + Another was a grocer by profession, all of whose savings were stolen, + after which he took to drink. He had been three months in the works, and + at the time of my visit was earning 6s. a week with food and lodging. + </p> + <p> + Another had been a Barnardo boy, who came from Canada as a ship's steward, + and could find nothing to do in England. Another was a gentleman's + servant, who was dismissed because the family left London. + </p> + <p> + Another was an auctioneer, who failed from want of capital, took to drink, + and emigrated to Canada. Two years later he fell ill with pleurisy, and + was sent home because the authorities were afraid that his ailment might + turn to consumption. He stated that at this time he had given up drink, + but could obtain no employment, so came upon the streets. As he was + starving and without hope, not having slept in a bed for ten nights, he + was about to commit suicide when the Salvation Army picked him up. He had + seen his wife for the first time in four years on the previous Whit + Monday, and they proposed to live together again so soon as he secured + permanent employment. + </p> + <p> + Another had been a soldier in the Seaforth Highlanders, and served in the + Egyptian Campaign of 1881, and also in the American Army. Subsequently he + was employed as a porter at a lodging-house at a salary of 25s. a week, + but left because of trouble about a woman. He came upon the streets, and, + being unable to find employment, was contemplating suicide, when he fell + under the influence of the Army at the Blackfriars Shelter. + </p> + <p> + All these men, and others whom I spoke to at random but have no space to + write of, assured me that they were quite satisfied with their treatment + at the works, and repudiated—some of them with indignation—the + suggestion that I put to them tentatively that they suffered from a system + of sweating. For the most part, indeed, their gratitude for the help they + were receiving in the hour of need was very evident and touching. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0006" id="link2H_4_0006"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE GREAT PETER STREET SHELTER + </h2> + <h3> + WESTMINSTER + </h3> + <p> + This fine building is the most up-to-date Men's Shelter that the Salvation + Army possesses in London. It was once the billiard works of Messrs. + Burroughes and Watts, and is situated in Westminster, quite near to the + Houses of Parliament. I visited it about eight o'clock in the evening, and + at its entrance was confronted with the word 'Full,' inscribed in chalk + upon its portals, at which poor tramps, deprived of their hope of a + night's lodging, were staring disconsolately. It reminded me of a + playhouse upon a first-night of importance, but, alas! the actors here + play in a tragedy more dreadful in its cumulative effect than any that was + ever put upon the stage. + </p> + <p> + This Shelter is wonderfully equipped and organized. It contains sitting or + resting-rooms, smoking-rooms, huge dormitories capable of accommodating + about 600 sleepers; bathrooms, lavatories, extensive hot-water and warming + apparatus, great kitchens, and butteries, and so forth. In the sitting and + smoking-rooms, numbers of derelict men were seated. Some did nothing + except stare before them vacantly. Some evidently were suffering from the + effects of drink or fatigue; some were reading newspapers which they had + picked up in the course of their day's tramp. One, I remember, was engaged + in sorting out and crumpling up a number of cigar and cigarette ends which + he had collected from the pavements, carefully grading the results in + different heaps, according to the class of the tobacco (how strong it must + be!) either for his own consumption or for sale to other unfortunates. In + another place, men were eating the 1d. or 1/2d. suppers that they had + purchased. + </p> + <p> + Early as it was, however, the great dormitories were crowded with hundreds + of the lodgers, either in bed or in process of getting there. I noticed + that they all undressed themselves, wrapping up their rags in bundles, + and, for the most part slept quite naked. Many of them struck me as very + fine fellows physically, and the reflection crossed my mind, seeing them + thus <i>in puris naturalibus</i>, that there was little indeed to + distinguish them from a crowd of males of the upper class engaged, let us + say, in bathing. It is the clothes that make the difference to the eye. + </p> + <p> + In this Shelter I was told, by the way, that there exists a code of rough + honour among these people, who very rarely attempt to steal anything from + each other. Having so little property, they sternly respect its rights. I + should add that the charge made for accommodation and food is 3d. per + night for sleeping, and 1d. or 1/2d. per portion of food. + </p> + <p> + The sight of this Institution crowded with human derelicts struck me as + most sad, more so indeed than many others that I have seen, though, + perhaps, this may have been because I was myself tired out with a long day + of inspection. + </p> + <p> + The Staff-Captain in charge here told me his history, which is so typical + and interesting that I will repeat it briefly. Many years ago (he is now + an elderly man) he was a steward on board a P. and O. liner, and doing + well. Then a terrible misfortune overwhelmed him. Suddenly his wife and + child died, and, as a result of the shock, he took to drink. He attempted + to cut his throat (the scar remains to him), and was put upon his trial + for the offence. Subsequently he drifted on to the streets, where he spent + eight years. During all this time his object was to be rid of life, the + methods he adopted being to make himself drunk with methylated spirits, or + any other villainous and fiery liquor, and when that failed, to sleep at + night in wet grass or ditches. Once he was picked up suffering from + inflammation of the lungs and carried to an infirmary, where he lay + senseless for three days. The end of it was that a Salvation Army Officer + found him in Oxford Street, and took him to a Shelter in Burne Street, + where he was bathed and put to bed. + </p> + <p> + That was many years ago, and now he is to a great extent responsible for + the management of this Westminster Refuge. Commissioner Sturgess, one of + the head Officers of the Army, told me that their great difficulty was to + prevent him from overdoing himself at this charitable task. I think the + Commissioner said that sometimes he would work eighteen or twenty hours + out of the twenty-four. + </p> + <p> + One day this Staff-Captain played a grim little trick upon me. I was + seated at luncheon in a Salvation Army building, when the door opened, and + there entered as dreadful a human object as I have ever seen. The man was + clad in tatters, his bleeding feet were bound up with filthy rags; he wore + a dingy newspaper for a shirt. His face was cut and plastered over + roughly; he was a disgusting sight. He told me, in husky accents, that + drink had brought him down, and that he wanted help. I made a few + appropriate remarks, presented him with a small coin, and sent him to the + Officers downstairs. + </p> + <p> + A quarter of an hour later the Staff-Captain appeared in his uniform and + explained that he and the 'object' were the same person. Again it was the + clothes that made the difference. Those which he had worn when he appeared + at the luncheon-table were the same in which he had been picked up on the + streets of London. Also he thanked me for my good advice which he said he + hoped to follow, and for the sixpence that he announced his intention of + wearing on his watch-chain. For my part I felt that the laugh was against + me. Perhaps if I had thought the Salvation Army capable of perpetrating a + joke, I should not have been so easily deceived. + </p> + <p> + This Staff-Captain gave me much information as to the class of wanderers + who frequent these Shelters, He estimated that about 50 per cent of them + sink to that level through the effects of drink. That is to say, if by the + waving of some magic wand intoxicants and harmful drugs should cease to be + obtainable in this country, the bulk of extreme misery which needs such + succour, and it may be added of crime at large, would be lessened by + one-half. This is a terrible statement, and one that seems to excuse a + great deal of what is called 'teetotal fanaticism.' The rest, in his view, + owe their fall to misfortune of various kinds, which often in its turn + leads to flight to the delusive and destroying solace of drink. Thus about + 25 per cent of the total have been afflicted with sickness or acute + domestic troubles. Or perhaps they are 'knocked out' by shock, such as is + brought on by the loss of a dearly-loved wife or child, and have never + been able to recover from that crushing blow. The remainder are the + victims of advancing age and of the cruel commercial competition of our + day. Thus he said that the large business firms destroy and devour the + small shopkeepers, as a hawk devours sparrows; and these little people or + their employes, if they are past middle age, can find no other work. + Especially is this the case since the Employers' Liability Acts came into + operation, for now few will take on hands who are not young and very + strong, as older folk must naturally be more liable to sickness and + accident. + </p> + <p> + Again, he told me that it has become the custom in large businesses of + which the dividends are falling, to put in a man called an 'Organizer,' + who is often an American. + </p> + <p> + This Organizer goes through the whole staff and mercilessly dismisses the + elderly or the least efficient, dividing up their work among those who + remain. So these discarded men fall to rise no more and drift to the + poorhouse or the Shelters or the jails, and finally into the river or a + pauper's grave. First, however, many spend what may be called a period of + probation on the streets, where they sleep at night under arches or on + stairways, or on the inhospitable flagstones and benches of the + Embankment, even in winter. + </p> + <p> + The Staff-Captain informed me that on one night during the previous + November he counted no less than 120 men, women, and children sleeping in + the wet on or in the neighbourhood of the Embankment. Think of it—in + this one place! Think of it, you whose women and children, to say nothing + of yourselves, do not sleep on the Embankment in the wet in November. It + may be answered that they might have gone to the casual ward, where there + are generally vacancies. I suppose that they might, but so perverse are + many of them that they do not. Indeed, often they declare bluntly that + they would rather go to prison than to the casual ward, as in prison they + are more kindly treated. + </p> + <p> + The reader may have noted as he drove along the Embankment or other London + thoroughfares at night in winter, long queues of people waiting their turn + to get something. What they are waiting for is a cup of soup and, perhaps, + an opportunity of sheltering till the dawn, which soup and shelter are + supplied by the Salvation Army, and sometimes by other charitable + Organizations. I asked whether this provision of gratis food did in fact + pauperize the population, as has been alleged. The Staff-Captain answered + that men do not as a rule stop out in the middle of the winter till past + midnight to get a pint of soup and a piece of bread. Of course, there + might be exceptions; but for the most part those who take this charity, do + so because if is sorely needed. + </p> + <p> + The cost of these midnight meals is reckoned by the Salvation Army at + about £8 per 1,000, including the labour involved in cooking and + distribution. This money is paid from the Army's Central Fund, which + collects subscriptions for that special purpose. + </p> + <p> + 'Of course, our midnight soup has its critics,' said one of the Officers + who has charge of its distribution; 'but all I know is that it saves many + from jumping into the river.' + </p> + <p> + During the past winter, that is from November 3, 1909, to March 24, 1910, + 163,101 persons received free accommodation and food at the hands of the + Salvation Army in connexion with its Embankment Soup Distribution Charity. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0007" id="link2H_4_0007"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE FREE BREAKFAST SERVICE + </h2> + <h3> + BLACKFRIARS SHELTER + </h3> + <p> + On a Sunday in June I attended the Free Breakfast service at the + Blackfriars Shelter. The lease of this building was acquired by the + Salvation Army from a Temperance Company. Behind it lay contractors' + stables, which were also bought; after which the premises were rebuilt and + altered to suit the purposes to which they are now put, the stabling being + for the most part converted into sleeping-rooms. + </p> + <p> + The Officer who accompanied me, Lieut.-Colonel Jolliffe, explained that + this Blackfriars Shelter is, as it were, the dredger for and the feeder of + all the Salvation Army's Social Institutions for men in London. Indeed, it + may be likened to a dragnet set to catch male unfortunates in this part of + the Metropolis. Here, as in the other Army Shelters, are great numbers of + bunks that are hired out at 3d. a night, and the usual food-kitchens and + appliances. + </p> + <p> + I visited one or two of these, well-ventilated places that in cold weather + are warmed by means of hot-water pipes to a heat of about 70 deg., as the + clothing on the bunks is light. + </p> + <p> + I observed that although the rooms had only been vacated for a few hours, + they were perfectly inoffensive, and even sweet; a result that is obtained + by a very strict attention to cleanliness and ample ventilation. The + floors of these places are constantly scrubbed, and the bunks undergo a + process of disinfection about once a week. As a consequence, in all the + Army Shelters the vermin which sometimes trouble common lodging-houses are + almost unknown. + </p> + <p> + I may add that the closest supervision is exercised in these places when + they are occupied. Night watchmen are always on duty, and an Officer + sleeps in a little apartment attached to each dormitory. The result is + that there are practically no troubles of any kind. Sometimes, however, a + poor wanderer is found dead in the morning, in which case the body is + quietly conveyed away to await inquest. + </p> + <p> + I asked what happened when men who could not produce the necessary coppers + to pay for their lodging, applied for admission. The answer was that the + matter was left to the discretion of the Officer in charge. In fact, in + cases of absolute and piteous want, men are admitted free, although, + naturally enough, the Army does not advertise that this happens. If it + did, its hospitality would be considerably overtaxed. + </p> + <p> + Leaving the dormitories, I entered the great hall, in which were gathered + nearly 600 men seated upon benches, every one of which was filled. The + faces and general aspect of these men were eloquent of want and sorrow. + Some of them appeared to be intent upon the religious service that was + going on, attendance at this service being the condition on which the free + breakfast is given to all who need food and have passed the previous night + in the street. Others were gazing about them vacantly, and others, + sufferers from the effects of drink, debauchery, or fatigue, seemed to be + half comatose or asleep. + </p> + <p> + This congregation, the strangest that I have ever seen, comprised men of + all classes. Some might once have belonged to the learned professions, + while others had fallen so low that they looked scarcely human. Every + grade of rag-clad misery was represented here, and every stage of life + from the lad of sixteen up to the aged man whose allotted span was almost + at an end. Rank upon rank of them, there they sat in their infinite + variety, linked only by the common bond of utter wretchedness, the most + melancholy sight, I think, that ever my eyes beheld. All of them, however, + were fairly clean, for this matter had been seen to by the Officers who + attend upon them. The Salvation Army does not only wash the feet of its + guests, but the whole body. Also, it dries and purifies their tattered + garments. + </p> + <p> + When I entered the hall, an Officer on the platform was engaged in + offering up an extempore prayer. + </p> + <p> + 'We pray that the Holy Spirit may be poured out upon these men. We pray, O + God, that Thou wilt help them to take fresh courage, to find fresh hope, + and that they may rise once again to fight the battle of life. We pray + that Thou mayst bring to Thy feet, this morning, such as shall be saved + eternally.' + </p> + <p> + Then another Officer, styled the Chaplain, addressed the audience. He told + them that there was a way out of their troubles, and that hundreds who had + sat in that hall as they did, now blessed the day which brought them + there. He said: 'You came here this morning, you scarcely knew how or why. + You did not know the hand of God was leading you, and that He will bless + you if you will listen to His Voice. You think you cannot escape from this + wretched life; you think of the past with all its failures. But do not + trouble about the years that are gone. Seek the Kingdom of God and His + righteousness, and all other things shall be added unto you. Then there + will be no more wandering about without a friend, for I say to you that + God lives, and this morning you will hear from others, who once were in a + similar condition to yourself, what He has done for them.' + </p> + <p> + Next a man with a fine tenor voice, who, it seems, is nicknamed 'the + Yorkshire Canary,' sang the hymn beginning, 'God moves in a mysterious + way.' After this in plain, forcible language he told his own story. He + said that he was well brought up by a good father and mother, and lost + everything through his own sin. His voice was in a sense his ruin, since + he used to sing in public-houses and saloons and there learnt to drink. At + length he found himself upon the streets in London, and tramped thence to + Yorkshire to throw himself upon the mercy of his parents. When he was + quite close to his home, however, his courage failed him, and he tramped + back to London, where he was picked up by the Salvation Army. + </p> + <p> + This man, a most respectable-looking person, is now a clerk in a + well-known business house. In his own words, 'I knelt down and gave my + heart to God, and am to-day in a good situation.' + </p> + <p> + Next a Salvation Army soldier spoke. Four years before he had attended the + Sunday morning meeting in this hall and 'found the friendship of God. He + has helped me to regain the manhood I had lost and to do my duty. For two + years now I have helped to support an invalid sister instead of being a + burden to every one I knew, as once I was.' + </p> + <p> + After the singing of the hymn, 'Rock of Ages,' another man addressed the + meeting. He had been a drunkard, a homeless wanderer, who slept night + after night on the Embankment till fortune brought him to this service and + to the Penitent-Form. Since that time, two and a half years before, no + drink had passed his lips, and once again, as he declared, he had become + 'a self-respecting, respectable citizen.' + </p> + <p> + Then a dwarf whom I had seen at work in the Spa Road Elevator, and who + once was taken about the country to be exhibited as a side show at fairs + and there fell a victim to drink, gave his testimony. + </p> + <p> + Another verse, 'Could my tears for ever flow,' and after it, in rapid + succession, spoke a man who had been a schoolmaster and fallen through + drink and gambling; a man who, or whose brother, I am not sure which, had + been a Wesleyan preacher, and who is now employed in a Life Assurance + Company; a man who had been a prisoner; a man who had been a confirmed + drunkard, and others. + </p> + <p> + Always it was the same earnest, simple tale of drink and degradation, + passed now for ever; of the Penitent-Form; of the building up of a new + self, and of position regained. + </p> + <p> + More singing and an eloquent prayer which seemed to move the audience very + much, some of them to tears; an address from a woman Salvation Army + Officer, who pleaded with the people in the name of their mothers, and a + brief but excellent sermon from Commissioner Sturgess, based upon the + parable of the Marriage of the King's Son as recorded in the 22nd chapter + of St. Matthew, and of the guests who were collected from the highways and + byways to attend the feast whence the rich and worldly had excused + themselves. + </p> + <p> + Then the great and final invocation to Heaven to move the hearts of these + men, and the invitation to them to present themselves at the + Penitent-Form. Lastly a mighty, thundering hymn, 'Jesu, Lover of my soul,' + and the ending of the long drama. + </p> + <p> + It was a wonderful thing to see the spiritually-faced man on the platform + pleading with his sordid audience, and to watch them stirring beneath his + words. To see, also, a uniformed woman flitting to and fro among that + audience, whispering, exhorting, invoking—a temptress to Salvation, + then to note the response and its manner that were stranger still. Some + poor wretch would seem to awaken, only to relapse into a state of sullen, + almost defiant torpor. A little while and the leaven begins to work in + him. He flushes, mutters something, half rises from his seat, sits down + again, rises once more and with a peculiar, unwilling gait staggers to the + Penitent-Form, and in an abandonment of grief and repentance throws + himself upon his knees and there begins to sob. A watching Officer comes + to him, kneels at his side and, I suppose, confesses him. The tremendous + hymn bursts out like a paean of triumph— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Just as I am, without one plea, +</pre> + <p> + it begins, the rest I forget or did not catch. + </p> + <p> + Now the ice is broken. Another comes and another, and another, till there + is no more room at the Penitent-Bench. They swarm on to the platform which + is cleared for them, and there kneel down, and I observed the naked feet + of some of them showing through the worn-out boots. + </p> + <p> + So it goes on. At length the great audience rises and begins to depart, + filing one by one through a certain doorway. As they pass, Officers who + have appeared from somewhere wait for them with outstretched arms. The + most of them brush past shaking their heads and muttering. Here and there + one pauses, is lost—or rather won. The Salvation Army has him in its + net and he joins the crowd upon the platform. Still the hymn swells and + falls till all have departed save those who remain for good—about 10 + per cent of that sad company. + </p> + <p> + It is done and the catcher feels that he has witnessed the very uttermost + of tragedies, human and spiritual. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + Mere common 'revivalism'! the critic will say, and it may be so. Still + such revivalism, if that is the term for it, must be judged by its fruits. + I am informed that of those who kneel here experience shows that but a + small percentage relapse. The most of them become what in the Salvation + Army cant—if one chooses so to name it—is known as 'saved.' + </p> + <p> + This means that from drunkards and wastrels stained with every sort of + human fault, or even crime, they are turned into God-fearing and + respectable men who henceforward, instead of being a pest to society and a + terror to all those who have the misfortune to be connected with them, + become props of society and a comfort and a support to their relatives and + friends. + </p> + <p> + Thus is the mesh of mercy spread, and such is its harvest. + </p> + <p> + The age of miracles is past, we are told; but I confess that while + watching this strange sight I wondered more than once that if this were + so, what that age of miracles had been like. Of one thing I was sure, that + it must have been to such as these that He who is acknowledged even by + sceptics to have been the very Master of mankind, would have chosen to + preach, had this been the age of His appearance, He who came to call + sinners to repentance. Probably, too, it was to such as these that He did + preach, for folk of this character are common to the generations. + Doubtless, Judea had its knaves and drunkards, as we know it had its + victims of sickness and misfortune. The devils that were cast out in + Jerusalem did not die; they reappear in London and elsewhere to-day, and, + it would seem, can still be cast out. + </p> + <p> + I confess another thing, also; namely, that I found all this drama + curiously exciting. Most of us who have passed middle age and led a full + and varied life will be familiar with the great human emotions. Yet I + discovered here a new emotion, one quite foreign to a somewhat extended + experience, one that I cannot even attempt to define. The contagion of + revivalism! again it will be said. This may be so, or it may not. But at + least, so far as this branch of the Salvation Army work is concerned, + those engaged in it may fairly claim that the tree should be judged by its + fruits. Without doubt, in the main these fruits are good and wholesome. + </p> + <p> + I have only to add to my description of this remarkable service, that the + number netted, namely, about 10 per cent of those present, was, I am told, + just normal, neither more nor less than the average. Some of these + doubtless will relapse; but if only <i>one</i> of them remains really + reformed, surely the Salvation Army has vindicated its arguments and all + is proved to be well worth while. But to that one very many ciphers must + be added as the clear and proved result of the forty years or so of its + activity. Whatever may be doubtful, this is true beyond all controversy, + for it numbers its converts by the thousand. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + The congregation which I saw on this particular occasion seemed to me to + consist for the most part of elderly men; in fact, some of them were very + old, and the average age of those who attended the Penitent-Form I + estimated at about thirty-five years. This, however, varies. I am informed + that at times they are mostly young persons. It must be remembered—and + the statement throws a lurid light upon the conditions prevailing in + London, as in other of our great cities—that the population which + week by week attends these Sunday morning services is of an ever-shifting + character. Doubtless, there are some <i>habitués</i> and others who + reappear from time to time. But the most of the audience is new. Every + Saturday night the highways and the hedges, or rather the streets and the + railway arches yield a new crop of homeless and quite destitute wanderers. + These are gathered into the Blackfriars Shelter, and go their bitter road + again after the rest, the breakfast, and the service. But as we have seen + here a substantial proportion, about 10 per cent, remain behind. These are + all interviewed separately and fed, and on the following morning as many + of them as vacancies can be found for in the Paper Works Elevator or + elsewhere are sent thither. + </p> + <p> + I saw plenty of these men, and with them others who had been rescued + previously; so many, indeed, that it is impossible to set out their + separate cases. Looking through my notes made at the time, I find among + them a schoolmaster, an Australian who fought in South Africa, a publican + who had lost £2,000 in speculation and been twelve months on the streets, + a sailor and two soldiers who between them had seen much service abroad, + and a University man who had tried to commit suicide from London Bridge. + </p> + <p> + Also there was a person who was recently described in the newspapers as + the 'dirtiest man in London.' He was found sitting on the steps of a large + building in Queen Victoria Street, partly paralysed from exposure. So + filthy and verminous was he, that it was necessary to scrape his body, + which mere washing would not touch. When he was picked up, a crowd of + several hundred people followed him down the street, attracted by his + dreadful appearance. His pockets were full of filth, amongst which were + found 5s. in coppers. He had then been a month in the Shelter, where he + peels or peeled potatoes, etc., and looked quite bright and clean. + </p> + <p> + Most of these people had been brought down by the accursed drink, which is + the bane of our nation, and some few by sheer misfortune. + </p> + <p> + Neither at the service, nor afterwards, did I see a single Jew, for the + fallen of that race seem to be looked after by their fellow religionists. + Moreover, the Jews do not drink to excess. Foreigners, also, are + comparatively scarce at Blackfriars and in the other Shelters. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0008" id="link2H_4_0008"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE EX-CRIMINALS + </h2> + <p> + On the afternoon of the Sunday on which I visited the Blackfriars Shelter, + I attended another service, conducted by Commissioner Sturgess, at Quaker + Street. + </p> + <p> + Here the room was filled by about 150 men, all of whom had been rescued, + and were then working in the various Shelters or elsewhere. I may say that + I have seldom seen a congregation of more respectable appearance, and + never one that joined with greater earnestness in a religious service. + </p> + <p> + I will take this opportunity to observe that the Salvation Army enforces + no religious test upon those to whom it extends its assistance. If a man + is a member of the Church of England or a Roman Catholic, for instance, + and wishes to remain so, all that it tries to do is to make him a good + member of his Church. Its only <i>sine qua non</i> is that the individual + should show himself ready to work zealously at any task which it may be + able to find for him. + </p> + <p> + The rest of that afternoon I spent in interviewing ex-criminals who were + then in the charge of the Salvation Army. To give details of their cases + in this book is impossible. Here I will only say, therefore, that some of + these had been most desperate characters, who had served as much as thirty + or forty years in various prisons, or even been condemned to death for + murder. Indeed, the nineteen men whom I interviewed had, between them, + done 371 years of what is known as 'time.' + </p> + <p> + I cannot honestly report that I liked the looks of all these gentry, or + believed everything that they told me. For instance, when such people + swear that they have been wrongly convicted, an old lawyer and magistrate + like myself, who knows what pains are taken by every English Court to + safeguard the innocent, is apt to be sceptical. Still, it should be added + that many of these jailbirds are now to all appearance quite reformed, + while some of them are doing well in more or less responsible positions, + under the supervision of the Army. + </p> + <p> + The Salvation Army Officers have authority from the Home Office to visit + the various prisons, where the inmates are informed that those who are + desirous of seeing them must give in their names. Then on a certain day, + the Officer, who, under Commissioner Sturgess, is responsible for the + Prison work of the Army in England, appears at the Wandsworth or the + Pentonville Prison, or wherever it may be. There he finds, perhaps, as + many as 150 men waiting to see him, the total number of ex-prisoners who + pass through the hands of the Army in England averaging at present about + 1,000 per annum. He interviews these men in their cells privately, the + prison officials remaining outside, and stops as long with each of them as + he deems to be needful, for the Governors of the prisons give him every + opportunity of attaining the object of his work. This Officer informed me + that his conversation with the prisoners is not restricted in any way. It + may be about their future or of spiritual matters, or it may have to do + with their family affairs. + </p> + <p> + The details of each case are carefully recorded in a book which I saw, and + when a convict is discharged and given over to the care of the Army, a + photograph and an official statement of his record is furnished with him. + This statement the Army finds a great help, as in dealing with such people + it is necessary to know their past in order to be able to guard against + their weak points. + </p> + <p> + The Government authorities have now begun to seek the aid of the Army in + certain special cases. If they feel that it is unnecessary to retain a man + any longer, they will sometimes hand him over, should the Salvation Army + Officers be willing to take him in and be responsible for him. General + Booth and his subordinates think that if this system were enlarged and + followed up, it would result in the mitigation or the abbreviation of many + sentences, without exposing the public to danger. + </p> + <p> + In discussing this matter with them, I ventured to point out that it would + be a bad thing if the Army became in any way identified with the prison + Authorities, and began, at any rate in the mind of the criminal classes, + to wear the initials G.R. instead of those of the Army upon their collars. + This was not disputed by Commissioner Sturgess, with whom I debated the + question. + </p> + <p> + What the Army desires, however, is that the Government should subsidize + this work in order to enable it to support the ex-convicts until it can + find opportunity to place them in positions where they can earn their own + bread. The trouble with such folk is that, naturally enough, few desire to + employ them, and until they are employed, which in the case of aged + persons or of those with a very bad record may be never, they must be fed, + clothed, and housed. + </p> + <p> + After going into the whole subject at considerable length and in much + detail, the conclusion which I came to was that this work of the + visitation of prisoners by Salvation Army Officers, and the care of them + when released either on or before the completion of their sentences, is + one that might be usefully extended, should the Home Office Authorities + see fit so to do. There is no doubt, although it cannot guarantee success + in every case, that the Salvation Army is peculiarly successful in its + dealings with hardened criminals. + </p> + <p> + Why this is so is not easy to explain. I think, however, that there are + two main reasons for its success. The first is that the Army takes great + care never to break a promise which it may make through any of its + Officers. Thus, if a man in jail is told that his relatives will be hunted + up and communicated with, or that an application will be made to the + Authorities to have him committed to the care of the Army, or that work + will be found for him on his release, and the like, that undertaking, + whatever it may be, is noted in the book which I have mentioned, and + although years may pass before it can be fulfilled, is in due course + carried out to the letter. Now, convicts are shy birds, who put little + faith in promises. But when they find that these are always kept they gain + confidence in the makers of them, and often learn to trust them entirely. + </p> + <p> + The second and more potent reason is to be found in the power of that + loving sympathy which the Army extends even to the vilest, to those from + whom the least puritanical of us would shrink. It shows such men that they + are not utterly lost, as these believe; that it, at any rate, does not + mark them with a figurative broad arrow and consign them to a separate + division of society; that it is able to give them back the self-respect + without which mankind is lower than the beast, and to place them, + regenerated, upon a path that, if it be steep and thorny, still leads to + those heights of peace and honour which they never thought to tread again. + </p> + <p> + This is done not by physical care and comfort, though, of course, these + help towards the desired end, but by its own spiritual means, or so it + would appear. Its Officers pray with the man; they awake his conscience, + which is never dead in any of us; they pour the blessed light of hope into + the dark places of his soul; they cause him to hate the past, and to + desire to lead a new life. Once this desire is established, the rest is + comparatively simple, for where the heart leads the feet will follow; but + without it little or nothing can be done. Such is the explanation I have + to offer. At any rate, I believe it remains a fact that among the worst + criminals the Salvation Army often succeeds where others have failed. + </p> + <p> + Another point that should not be overlooked in this connexion is that it + must be a great comfort to the sinner and an encouragement of the most + practical sort to find, as he sometimes will, that the hands which are + dragging him and his kind from the mire, had once been as filthy as his + own. When the worker can say to him, 'Look at me; in bygone days I was as + bad as or worse than you'; when he can point to many others whose vices + were formerly notorious, but who now fill positions of trust in the Army + or outside of it, and are honoured of all men; then the lost one, + emerging, perhaps, for the fifth or sixth time from the darkness of his + prison, sees by the light of these concrete examples that the future has + promise for us all. If <i>they</i> have succeeded why should <i>he</i> + fail? That is the argument which comes home to him. + </p> + <p> + There remains a matter to be considered. Let us suppose that as time goes + by the Authorities become more and more convinced of the value of the + Army's prison work, and pass over to its care criminals in ever-increasing + numbers, as they are doing in some other countries and in the great + Colonies, what will be the effect upon the Army itself? Will not this mass + of comparatively useless material clog the wheels of the great machine by + overlading it with a vast number of ex-prisoners, some of whom, owing to + their age or other circumstances, are quite incapable of earning their + livelihood, and therefore must be carried till their deaths? When I put + the query to those in command, the answer given was that they did not + think so, as they believed that the Army would be able to turn the great + majority of these men into respectable, wage-earning members of society. + </p> + <p> + Thus of those who have been sent to it lately from the prisons, it has, I + understand, been forced to return only two, because these men would not + behave themselves, and proved to be a source of danger and contamination + to others. As regards the residuum who are incapacitated by age or + weakness of mind or body, General Booth and his Officers are of opinion + that the Government should contribute to their support in such places as + the Army may be able to find for them to dwell in under its care. + </p> + <p> + I hope that these forecasts, which after all are made by men of great + experience who should know, may not prove to be over-sanguine. Still it + must be remembered that in England alone there are, I am told, some 30,000 + confirmed criminals in the jails, not reckoning the 5,000 who are classed + as convicts. If even 20 per cent of these were passed over to the care of + the Army, with or without State grants in aid of their support, this must + in the nature of things prove a heavy burden upon its resources. When all + is said and done it is harder to find employment for a jailbird, even if + reformed, than for any other class of man, because so damaged a human + article has but little commercial value in the Labour market. + </p> + <p> + If, however, the Salvation Army is prepared to face this gigantic task, it + may be hoped that it will be given an opportunity of showing what it can + do on a large scale, as it has already shown upon one more restricted. + Prison reform is in the air. The present system is admitted more or less + to have broken down. It has been shown to be incompetent to attain the + real end for which it is established; that is, not punishment, as many + still believe, for this hereditary idea is hard to eradicate, but + prevention and, still more, reformation. + </p> + <p> + The 'Vengeance of the Law' is a phrase not easy to forget; but among + humane and highly-civilized peoples the word Vengeance should be replaced + by another, the best that I can think of is—Regeneration. The Law + should not seek to avenge—that may be left to the savage codes, + civil and religious, of the dark ages. Except in the case of the death + sentence, which is not everywhere in favour, it should seek to regenerate. + </p> + <p> + If, then, among other agencies, the Salvation Army is able to prove beyond + cavil that it can assist our criminal system to attain this noble end, + ought not opportunity to be given it in full measure? Is it too much to + hope that when the new Prison Act, of which the substance has recently + been outlined by the Home Secretary, comes to be discussed, this object + may be kept in view and the offer of the Salvation Army to co-operate in + the great endeavour may not be lightly thrust aside? If its help is found + so valuable in the solution of this particular problem in other lands, why + should it be rejected here, or, rather, why should it not be more largely + utilized, as I know from their own lips, General Booth and his Officers + hope and desire?<a href="#linknote-2" name="linknoteref-2" + id="linknoteref-2"><small>2</small></a> + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0009" id="link2H_4_0009"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE MEN'S WORKSHOP + </h2> + <h3> + HANBURY STREET, WHITECHAPEL + </h3> + <p> + This Salvation Army carpentering and joinery shop has been in existence + for about fifteen years, but it does not even now pay its way. It was + started by the Army in order to assist fallen mechanics by giving them + temporary work until they could find other situations. + </p> + <p> + The manager informed me that at the beginning they found work for about + thirty men. When I visited the place some fifty hands were employed—bricklayers, + painters, joiners, etc., none of whom need stop an hour longer than they + choose. From 100 to 150 men pass through this Workshop in a year, but many + of them being elderly and therefore unable to obtain work elsewhere, stop + for a long while, as the Army cannot well get rid of them. All of these + folk arrive in a state of absolute destitution, having even sold their + tools, the last possessions with which a competent workman parts. + </p> + <p> + The Parliamentary Committee of the Labour Party and the Trade Unions have + recently stirred up a great agitation, which has been widely reported in + the Press, against the Hanbury Street Workshop, because the Army does not + pay the Union rate of wages. As a result the Army now declines all outside + contracts, and confines its operations to the work of erecting, repairing, + or furnishing its own buildings. + </p> + <p> + Here it may be stated that these complaints seem to be unreasonable. The + men employed have almost without exception been taken off the streets to + save them from starvation or the poorhouse. Often enough they are by no + means competent at their work, while some of them have for the time being + been rendered practically useless through the effects of drink or other + debaucheries. Yet it is argued with violence that to such people, whom no + business firm would employ upon any terms, the Army ought to pay the full + Trade Union rate of wages. When every allowance is made for the great and + urgent problems connected with the cruel practice of 'sweating,' surely + this attitude throws a strange light upon some of the methods of the Trade + Unions? + </p> + <p> + The inference seems to be that they would prefer that these derelicts + should come on the rates or starve rather than that the Army should house + and feed them, giving them, in addition, such wage as their labour may be + worth. Further comment seems to be needless, especially when I repeat + that, as I am assured, this Hanbury Street Institution never has earned, + and does not now earn, the cost of its upkeep. + </p> + <p> + It is situated in the heart of a very poor district, and is rather a + ramshackle place to look at, but still quite suitable to its purposes. I + have observed that one of the characteristics of the Salvation Army is + that it never spends unnecessary money upon buildings. If it can buy a + good house or other suitable structure cheap it does so. If it cannot, it + makes use of what it can get at a price within its means, provided that + the place will satisfy the requirements of the sanitary and other + Authorities. + </p> + <p> + All the machines at Hanbury Street are driven by electric power that is + supplied by the Stepney Council at a cost of 1<i>d</i>. per unit for power + and 3<i>d</i>. per unit for lighting. + </p> + <p> + An elderly man whom I saw there attending to this machinery, was dismissed + by one of the great railway companies when they were reducing their hands. + He had been in the employ of the Salvation Army for seven years and + received the use of a house rent free and a wage of 30<i>s</i>. a week, + which probably he would find it quite impossible to earn anywhere else. + </p> + <p> + The hours of employment are from 6.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. if the man is + engaged on outside work, or to 6 p.m. if he labours in the workshop, and + the men are paid at various rates according to the value of their work, + and whether they are boarded and lodged, or live outside. Thus one to whom + I spoke, who was the son of a former mayor of an important town, was + allowed 3<i>s.</i> a week plus food and lodging, while another received 9<i>s.</i> + a week, 5<i>s.</i> of which was sent to his wife, from whom he was + separated. Another man, after living on the Army for about two years, made + charges against it to the Carpenters' and Joiners' Union. He returned and + apologized, but had practically to be kept under restraint on account of + his drinking habits. + </p> + <p> + Another man spent twenty years in jail and then walked the streets. He is + now a very respectable person, earns 27<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> a week, and + lives outside with his wife and family. Another was once convicted of + cruelty to his children, whom he placed under the boards of the flooring + while he went out to drink. These children are now restored to him, and he + lives with them. Another among those with whom I happened to speak, was + robbed by a relative of £4,000 which his father left to him. He was taken + on by the Army in a state of destitution, but I forget what he earned. + Another, the youngest man in the Works, came to them without any trade at + all and in a destitute condition, but when I saw him was in charge of a + morticing machine. He had married, lived out, and had been in the employ + of the Army for five years. His wage was 27<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> a week. + Two others drew as much as £2 5<i>s.</i> 11<i>d.</i> each, living out; + but, on the other hand, some received as little as 3<i>s.</i> a week with + board and lodging. + </p> + <p> + Amongst this latter class was a young Mormon from Salt Lake City, who + earned 4<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> a week and his board and lodging. He had been + in the Elevator about three months, having got drunk in London and missed + his ship. Although he attended the Salvation Army meetings, he remained a + Mormon. + </p> + <p> + In these Works all sorts of articles are manufactured to be used by other + branches of the Salvation Army. Thus I saw poultry-houses being made for + the Boxted Small Holdings; these cost from £4 5<i>s.</i> to £4 10<i>s.</i> + net, and were excellent structures designed to hold about two dozen fowls. + Further on large numbers of seats of different patterns were in process of + manufacture, some of them for children, and other longer ones, with + reversible backs, to be used in the numerous Army halls. Next I visited a + room in which mattresses and mattress covers are made for the various + Shelters, also the waterproof bunk bedding, which costs 7<i>s.</i> 9<i>d.</i> + per cover. Further on, in a separate compartment, was a flock-tearing + machine, at which the Mormon I have mentioned was employed. This is a very + dusty job whereat a man does not work for more than one day in ten. + </p> + <p> + Then there were the painting and polishing-room, the joinery room, and the + room where doors, window frames, and articles of furniture are + constructed; also special garden benches, cleverly planned so that the + seat can be protected from rain. These were designed by a young lady whom + I chance to know in private life, and who, as I now discovered for the + first time, is also a member of the Salvation Army. + </p> + <p> + Such is the Hanbury Street Workshop, where the Army makes the best use it + can of rather indifferent human materials, and, as I have said, loses + money at the business. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0010" id="link2H_4_0010"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + STURGE HOUSE, BOW ROAD + </h2> + <p> + This branch of the Men's Social Work of the Salvation Army is a home for + poor and destitute boys. The house, which once belonged to the late Dr. + Barnardo, has been recently hired on a short lease. One of the features of + the Army work is the reclamation of lads, of whom about 2,400 have passed + through its hands in London during the course of the last eight years. + </p> + <p> + Sturge House has been fitted up for this special purpose, and accommodates + about fifty boys. The Officer in charge informed me that some boys apply + to them for assistance when they are out of work, while others come from + bad homes, and yet others through the Shelters, which pass on suitable + lads. Each case is strictly investigated when it arrives, with the result + that about one-third of their number are restored to their parents, from + whom often enough they have run away, sometimes upon the most flimsy + pretexts. + </p> + <p> + Not unfrequently these boys are bad characters, who tell false tales of + their past. Thus, recently, two who arrived at the Headquarters at + Whitechapel, alleged that they were farm-labourers from Norfolk. As they + did not in the least look the part, inquiries were made, when it was found + that they had never been nearer to Norfolk than Hampstead, where both of + them had been concerned in the stealing of £10 from a business firm. The + matter was patched up with the intervention of the Army, and the boys were + restored to their parents. + </p> + <p> + Occasionally, too, lads are brought here by kind folk, who find them + starving. They are taken in, kept for a while, taught and fed, and when + their characters are re-established—for many of them have none left—put + out into the world. Some of them, indeed, work daily at various + employments in London, and pay 5s. a week for their board and lodging at + the Home. A good proportion of these lads also are sent to the collieries + in Wales, where, after a few years, they earn good wages. + </p> + <p> + In these collieries a man and a boy generally work together. A while ago + such a man applied to the Army for a boy, and the applicant, proving + respectable, the boy was sent, and turned out extremely well. In due + course he became a collier himself, and, in his turn, sent for a boy. So + the thing spread, till up to the present time the Army has supplied fifty + or sixty lads to colliers in South Wales, all of whom seem to be + satisfactory and prosperous. + </p> + <p> + As the Manager explained, it is not difficult to place out a lad as soon + as his character can be more or less guaranteed. The difficulty comes with + a man who is middle-aged or old. He added that this Home does not in any + sense compete with those of Dr. Barnardo; in fact, in certain ways they + work hand in hand. The Barnardo Homes will not receive lads who are over + sixteen, whereas the Army takes them up to eighteen. So it comes about + that Barnardo's sometimes send on cases which are over their age limit to + Sturge House. + </p> + <p> + I saw the boys at their dinner, and although many of them had a bad + record, certainly they looked very respectable, and likely to make good + and useful men. The experience of the Army is that most of them are quite + capable of reformation, and that, when once their hearts have been + changed, they seldom fall back into the ways of dishonesty. + </p> + <p> + This Home, like all those managed by the Salvation Army, is spotlessly + clean, and the dormitories are very pleasant rooms. Also, there is a + garden, and in it I saw a number of pots of flowers, which had just been + sent as a present by a boy whom the Army helped three years ago, and who + is now, I understand, a gardener. + </p> + <p> + Sturge House struck me as a most useful Institution; and as there is about + it none of the depressing air of the adult Shelters, my visit here was a + pleasant change. The reclamation or the helping of a lad is a very + different business from that of restoring the adult or the old man to a + station in life which he seems to have lost for ever. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0011" id="link2H_4_0011"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE CENTRAL LABOUR BUREAU + </h2> + <p> + This Bureau is established in the Social Headquarters at Whitechapel, a + large building acquired as long ago as 1878. Here is to be seen the room + in which General Booth used to hold some of his first prayer meetings, and + a little chamber where he took counsel with those Officers who were the + fathers of the Army. Also there is a place where he could sit unseen and + listen to the preaching of his subordinates, so that he might judge of + their ability. + </p> + <p> + The large hall is now part of yet another Shelter, which contains 232 beds + and bunks. I inspected this place, but as it differs in no important + detail from others, I will not describe it. + </p> + <p> + The Officer who is in charge of the Labour Bureau informed me that + hundreds of men apply there for work every week, of whom a great many are + sent into the various Elevators and Shelters. The Army finds it extremely + difficult to procure outside employment for these men, for the simple + reason that there is very little available. Moreover, now that the + Government Labour Bureaux are open, this trouble is not lessened. Of these + Bureaux, the Manager said that they are most useful, but fail to find + employment for many who apply to them. Indeed, numbers of men come on from + them to the Salvation Army. + </p> + <p> + The hard fact is that there are more idle hands than there is work for + them to do, even where honest and capable folk are concerned. Thus, in the + majority of instances, the Army is obliged to rely upon its own + Institutions and the Hadleigh Land Colony to provide some sort of job for + out-of-works. Of course, of such jobs there are not enough to go round, so + many poor folk must be sent empty away or supported by charity. + </p> + <p> + I suggested that it might be worth while to establish a school of + chauffeurs, and the Officers present said that they would consider the + matter. Unfortunately, however, such an experiment must be costly at the + present price of motor-vehicles. + </p> + <p> + I annex the Labour Bureau Statistics for May, 1910:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + LONDON + + Applicants for temporary employment 479 + Sent to temporary employment 183 + Applicants for Elevators 864 + Sent to Elevators 260 + Sent to Shelters 32 + + PROVINCES + + Applicants for temporary employment 461 + Sent to temporary employment 160 + Applicants for Elevators 417 + Sent to Elevators 202 + Sent to Shelters 20 + Sent to permanent situations 35 +</pre> + <h3> + THE INTERNATIONAL INVESTIGATION DEPARTMENT + </h3> + <p> + This is a curious and interesting branch of the work of the Salvation + Army. About two thousand times a year it receives letters or personal + applications, asking it to find some missing relative or friend of the + writer or applicant. In reply, a form is posted or given, which must be + filled up with the necessary particulars. Then, if it be a London case, + the Officer in charge sends out a skilled man to work up clues. If, on the + other hand, it be a country case, the Officer in charge of the Corps + nearest to where it has occurred, is instructed to initiate the inquiry. + Also, advertisements are inserted in the Army papers, known as 'The War + Cry' and 'The Social Gazette,' both in Great Britain and other countries, + if the lost person is supposed to be on the Continent or in some distant + part of the world. + </p> + <p> + The result is that a large percentage of the individuals sought for are + discovered, alive or dead, for in such work the Salvation Army has + advantages denied to any other body, scarcely excepting the Police. Its + representatives are everywhere, and to whatever land they may belong or + whatever tongue they may speak, all of them obey an order sent out from + Headquarters wholeheartedly and uninfluenced by the question of regard. + The usual fee charged for this work is 10<i>s</i>. 6<i>d</i>.; but when + this cannot be paid, a large number of cases are undertaken free. The Army + goes to as much trouble in these unpaid cases as in any others, only then + it is not able to flood the country with printed bills. Of course, where + well-to-do people are concerned, it expects that its out-of-pocket costs + will be met. + </p> + <p> + The cases with which it has to deal are of all kinds. Often those who have + disappeared are found to have done so purposely, perhaps leaving behind + them manufactured evidence, such as coats or letters on a river-bank, + suggesting that they have committed suicide. Generally, these people are + involved in some fraud or other trouble. Again, husbands desert their + wives, or wives their husbands, and vanish, in which instances they are + probably living with somebody else under another name. Or children are + kidnapped, or girls are lured away, or individuals emigrate to far lands + and neglect to write. Or, perhaps, they simply sink out of all knowledge, + and vanish effectually enough into a paupers grave. + </p> + <p> + But the oddest cases of all are those of a complete loss of memory, a + thing that is by no means so infrequent as is generally supposed. The + experience of the Army is that the majority of these cases happen among + those who lead a studious life. The victim goes out in his usual health + and suddenly forgets everything. His mind becomes a total blank. Yet + certain instincts remain, such as that of earning a living. + </p> + <p> + Thus, to take a single recent example, the son of a large bookseller in a + country town left the house one day, saying that he would not be away for + long, and disappeared. At the invitation of his father, the Army took up + the case, and ultimately found that the man had been working in its Spa + Road Elevator under another name. Afterwards he went away, became + destitute, and sold matches in the streets. Ultimately he was found in a + Church Army Home. He recovered his memory, and subsequently lost it again + to the extent that he could recall nothing which happened to him during + the period of its first lapse. All that time vanished into total darkness. + </p> + <p> + This business of the hunting out of the missing through the agency of the + Salvation Army is one which increases every day. It is not unusual for the + Army to discover individuals who have been missing for thirty years and + upwards. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0012" id="link2H_4_0012"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE EMIGRATION DEPARTMENT + </h2> + <p> + Some years ago I was present one night in the Board-room at Euston Station + and addressed a shipload of emigrants who were departing to Canada under + the auspices of the Salvation Army. I forget their exact number, but I + think it was not less than 500. What I do not forget, however, is the + sorrow that I felt at seeing so many men in the prime of life leaving the + shores of their country for ever, especially as most of them were not + married. This meant, amongst other things, that an equal number of women + who remained behind were deprived of the possibility of obtaining a + husband in a country in which the females already outnumber the males by + more than a million. I said as much in the little speech I made on this + occasion, and I think that some one answered me with the pertinent remark + that if there was no work at home, it must be sought abroad. + </p> + <p> + There lies the whole problem in a nutshell—men must live. As for the + aged and the incompetent and the sick and the unattached women, these are + left behind for the community to support, while young and active men of + energy move off to endow new lands with their capacities and strength. The + results of this movement, carried out upon a great scale, can be seen in + the remoter parts of Ireland, which, as the visitor will observe, appear + to be largely populated by very young children and by persons getting on + in years. Whether or no this is a satisfactory state of affairs is not for + me to say, although the matter, too large to discuss here, is one upon + which I may have my own opinion. + </p> + <p> + Colonel Lamb, the head of the Salvation Army Emigration Department, + informed me that during the past seven years the Army has emigrated about + 50,000 souls, of whom 10,000 were assisted out of its funds, the rest + paying their own way or being paid for from one source or another. From + 8,000 to 10,000 people have been sent during the present year, 1910, most + of them to Canada, which is the Mecca of the Salvation Army Emigration + policy. So carefully have all these people been selected, that not 1 per + cent have ever been returned to this country by the Canadian Authorities + as undesirable. The truth is that those Authorities have the greatest + confidence in the discretion of the Army, and in its ability to handle + this matter to the advantage of all concerned. + </p> + <p> + That this is true I know from personal experience, since when, some years + ago, I was a Commissioner from the British Government and had authority to + formulate a scheme of Colonial land-settlement, the Prime Minister of + Canada, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, told me so himself in the plainest language. + Indeed, he did more, formally offering a huge block of territory to be + selected anywhere I might choose in the Dominion, with the aid of its + Officers, for the purposes of settlement by poor folk and their children + under the auspices of the Salvation Army. Also, he added the promise of as + much more land as might be required in the future for the same purpose.<a + href="#linknote-3" name="linknoteref-3" id="linknoteref-3"><small>3</small></a> + </p> + <p> + Most unhappily, as I hold, that offer was not accepted by the British + Government. If this had been done, by now hundreds of English families + would have been transferred from conditions of want at home in the English + towns, into those of peace and plenty upon the land abroad. Moreover, the + recent rise in the value of Canadian land has been so great that the + scheme would not have cost the British taxpayer a halfpenny, or so I most + firmly believe. + </p> + <p> + Unfortunately, however, my scheme was too novel in its character to appeal + to the official mind, especially as its working would have involved a loan + repayable by instalments, the administration of which must have been + entrusted to the Salvation Army or to other charitable Organizations. So + this priceless opportunity was lost, probably for ever, as the new and + stricter emigration regulations adopted by Canada, as I understand, would + make it extremely difficult to emigrate the class I hoped to help, namely, + indigent people of good character, resident in English cities, with + growing families of children. + </p> + <p> + Young men, especially if they have been bred on the land, and young + marriageable women are eagerly desired in the Colonies, including + Australia; but at families, as we have read in recent correspondence in + the newspapers, they look askance. + </p> + <p> + 'Why do they not want families in Australia? I asked Colonel Lamb. + </p> + <p> + 'Because the trouble of housing comes in. It is the same thing in Canada, + it is the same thing all through the Colonies. They do not want too much + trouble,' he answered. + </p> + <p> + These words define the position very accurately. 'Give us your best,' say + the Colonies. 'Give us your adult, healthy men and women whom you have + paid to rear and educate, but don't bother us with families of children + whom we have to house. Above all send us no damaged articles. You are + welcome to keep those at home.' + </p> + <p> + To my mind this attitude, natural as it may be, creates a serious problem + so far as Great Britain and Ireland are concerned, for the question will + arise, Can we afford to go on parting with the good and retaining the less + desirable? + </p> + <p> + On this subject I had a long argument with Colonel Lamb, and his answer to + the question was in the affirmative, although I must admit that his + reasons did not at all convince me. He seemed to believe that we could + send out 250,000 people, chosen people, per annum for the next ten years + without harm to ourselves. Well, it may be so, and, as he added, 'we are + in their (that is, the Colonies') hands, and have to do what they choose + to allow.' + </p> + <p> + Also his opinion was that 'the best thing possible for this country is + wholesale emigration,' of course of those whom the Colonies will accept. + He said, 'People here are dissatisfied with their present condition and + want a change. If we had money to assist them, there is practically no + limit to the number who want to go. There are tens of thousands who would + conform to the Canadian regulations. One of the things we advise the man + who has been forced out of the country is that rather than come into the + town he should go to the Colonies.' + </p> + <p> + On the matter of the complaints which have been made in Canada of the + emigrant from London, Colonel Lamb said, 'The Londoner, it is alleged, is + not wanted. The Canadian is full of self-assertiveness, and the Cockney + has some of that too; he does not hesitate to express his views, and you + have conflicting spirits at once. The Cockney will arrive at the + conclusion in about twenty-four hours that he could run Canada better than + it is now being run. The Scotchman will take a week to arrive at the same + conclusion, and holds his tongue about it. The Cockney says what he thinks + on the first day of arrival, and the result is—fireworks. He and the + Canadians do not agree to begin with; but when they get over the first + passage of arms they settle down amicably. The Cockney is finally + appreciated, and, being industrious and amenable to law and order, if he + has got a bit of humour he gets on all right, but not at first.' + </p> + <p> + Colonel Lamb informed me that in Australia the Labour Party is afraid of + the Army because it believes 'we will send in people to bring down wages.' + Therefore, the Labour Party has sidetracked General Booth's proposals. + Now, however, it alleges that it is not opposed to emigration, if not on + too large a scale. 'They don't mind a few girls; but they say the + condition that must precede emigration is the breaking up of the land.' + </p> + <p> + Colonel Lamb appeared to desire that an Emigration Board should be + appointed in England, with power and funds to deal with the distribution + of the population of the Empire and to systematize emigration. To this + Imperial Board, individuals or Societies, such as the Salvation Army, + should, he thought, be able to submit their schemes, which schemes would + receive assistance according to their merits under such limitations as the + Board might see fit to impose. To such a Board he would even give power to + carry out land-settlement schemes in the British Isles. + </p> + <p> + This is a great proposal, but one wonders whence the money is to come. + Also how long will it be before the Labour Parties in the various + Colonies, including Canada, gain so much power that they will refuse to + accept emigrants at all, except young women, or agriculturalists who bring + capital with them? + </p> + <p> + But all these problems are for the future. Meanwhile it is evident that + the Salvation Army manages its emigration work with extraordinary success + and business skill. Those whom it sends from these shores for their own + benefit are invariably accepted, at any rate in Canada, and provided with + work on their arrival in the chosen Colony. That the selection is sound + and careful is shown, also, by the fact that the Army recovers from those + emigrants to whom it gives assistance a considerable percentage of the + sums advanced to enable them to start life in a new land. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0013" id="link2H_4_0013"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE WOMEN'S SOCIAL WORK IN LONDON + </h2> + <p> + At the commencement of my investigation of this branch of the Salvation + Army activities in England, I discussed its general aspects with Mrs. + Bramwell Booth, who has it in her charge. She pointed out to me that this + Women's Social Work is a much larger business than it was believed to be + even by those who had some acquaintance with the Salvation Army, and that + it deals with many matters of great importance in their bearing on the + complex problems of our civilization. + </p> + <p> + Among them, to take some that she mentioned, which recur to my mind, are + the questions of illegitimacy and prostitution, of maternity homes for + poor girls who have fallen into trouble, of women thieves, of what is + known as the White Slave traffic, of female children who have been exposed + to awful treatment, of women who are drunkards or drug-takers, of aged and + destitute women, of intractable or vicious-minded girls, and, lastly, of + the training of young persons to enable them to deal scientifically with + all these evils, or under the name of Slum Sisters, to wait upon the poor + in their homes, and nurse them through the trials of maternity. + </p> + <p> + How practical and efficient this training is, no one can know who has not, + like myself, visited and inquired into the various Institutions and + Refuges of the Army in different cities of the land. It is a wonderful + thing, as has happened to me again and again, to see some quiet, + middle-aged lady, often so shy that it is difficult to extract from her + the information required, ruling with the most perfect success a number of + young women, who, a few weeks or months before, were the vilest of the + vile, and what is stranger still, reforming as she rules. These ladies + exercise no severity; the punishment, which, perhaps necessarily, is a + leading feature in some of our Government Institutions, is unknown to + their system. I am told that no one is ever struck, no one is imprisoned, + no one is restricted in diet for any offence. As an Officer said to me:— + </p> + <p> + 'If we cannot manage a girl by love, we recognize that the case is beyond + us, and ask her to go away. This, however, very seldom happens.' + </p> + <p> + As a matter of fact, that case which is beyond the regenerating powers of + the Army must be very bad indeed, at any rate where young people are + concerned. In the vast majority of instances a cure is effected, and + apparently a permanent cure. In every one of these Homes there is a room + reserved for the accommodation of those who have passed through it and + gone out into the world again, should they care to return there in their + holidays or other intervals of leisure. That room is always in great + demand, and I can imagine no more eloquent testimony to the manner of the + treatment of its occupants while they dwelt in these Homes as 'cases.' + </p> + <p> + In truth, a study of the female Officers of the Salvation Army is + calculated to convert the observer not only to a belief in the right of + women to the suffrage, but also to that of their fitness to rule among, or + even over men. Only I never heard that any of these ladies ever sought + such privileges; moreover, few of the sex would care to win them at the + price of the training, self-denial, and stern experience which it is their + lot to undergo. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Bramwell Booth pointed out to me that although the actual work of the + Army on these women's questions is 'more than just a little,' it had, as + it were, only touched their fringe. Yet even this 'fringe' has many + threads, seeing that over 44,000 of these women's cases have been helped + in one way or another since this branch of the home work began about + twenty years ago. + </p> + <p> + She added that scarcely a month goes by in which the Army does not break + out in a new direction, open a new Institution, or attempt to attack a new + problem; and this, be it remembered, not only in these islands but over + the face of half the earth. At present its sphere of influence is limited + by the lack of funds. Give it enough money, she said, and there is little + that it would not dare to try. Everywhere the harvest is plentiful, and if + the workers remain comparatively few, it is because material means are + lacking for their support. Given the money and the workers would be found. + Nor will they ask much for maintenance or salary, enough to provide the + necessary buildings, and to keep body and soul together, that is all.<a + href="#linknote-4" name="linknoteref-4" id="linknoteref-4"><small>4</small></a> + </p> + <p> + What are these women doing? In London they run more than a score of Homes + and Agencies, including a Maternity Hospital, which I will describe later, + where hundreds of poor deceived girls are taken in during their trouble. I + believe it is almost the only one of the sort, at any rate on the same + scale, in that great city. + </p> + <p> + Also they manage various Homes for drunken women. It has always been + supposed to be a practical impossibility to effect a cure in such cases, + but the lady Officers of the Salvation Army succeed in turning about 50 + per cent of their patients into perfectly sober persons. At least they + remain sober for three years from the date of their discharge, after which + they are often followed no further. + </p> + <p> + Another of their objects is to find out the fathers of illegitimate + children, and persuade them to sign a form of agreement which has been + carefully drawn by Counsel, binding themselves to contribute towards the + cost of the maintenance of the child. Or failing this, should the evidence + be sufficient, they try to obtain affiliation orders against such fathers + in a Magistrates' Court. Here I may state that the amount of affiliation + money collected in England by the Army in 1909 was £1,217, of which £208 + was for new cases. Further, £671 was collected and paid over for + maintenance to deserted wives. Little or none of this money would have + been forthcoming but for its exertions. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Bramwell Booth informed me that there exists a class of young men, + most of them in the employ of tradesfolk, who habitually amuse themselves + by getting servant girls into trouble, often under a promise of marriage. + Then, if the usual results follow, it is common for these men to move away + to another town, taking their references with them and, sometimes under a + new name, to repeat the process there. She was of opinion that the age of + consent ought to be raised to eighteen at least, a course for which there + is much to be said. Also she thought, and this is more controversial, that + when any young girl has been seduced under promise of marriage, the + seducer should be liable to punishment under the criminal law. Of course, + one of the difficulties here would be to prove the promise of marriage + beyond all reasonable doubt. + </p> + <p> + Also to bring such matters within the cognizance of the criminal law would + be a new and, indeed, a dangerous departure not altogether easy to + justify, especially as old magistrates like myself, who have considerable + experience of such cases must know, it is not always the man who is to + blame. Personally, I incline to the view that if the age of consent were + raised, and the contribution exacted from the putative father of an + illegitimate child made proportionate to his means, and not limited, as it + is now, to a maximum of 5s. a week, the criminal law might well be left + out of the question. It must be remembered further, as Mrs. Booth pointed + out herself, that there is another remedy, namely, that of a better + home-training of girls who should be prepared by their mothers or friends + to face the dangers of the world, a duty which these too often neglect. + The result is that many young women who feel lonely and desire to get + married, overstep the limits of prudence on receipt of a promise that thus + they may attain their end, with the result that generally they find + themselves ruined and deserted. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Bramwell Booth said that the Army is doing its utmost to mitigate the + horrors of what is known as the White Slave traffic, both here and in many + other countries. With this object it has a Bill before Parliament at the + present time, of which one of the aims is to prevent children from being + sent out of this country to France under circumstances that practically + ensure their moral destruction. It seems that the state of things in Paris + in this connexion is, in her own words, 'most abominable, too horrible for + words.' Children are procured from certain theatre dancing schools, and + their birth certificates sometimes falsified to make it appear that they + are over fourteen, although often they may be as young as twelve or even + ten. Then they are conveyed to vile places in Paris where their doom is + sure. + </p> + <p> + Let us hope that in due course this Bill will become law, for if girls are + protected up to sixteen in this country, surely they should not be sent + out of it in doubtful circumstances under that age. + </p> + <p> + Needless to say abominations of this nature are not unknown in London. + Thus a while ago the Army received a telegram from a German girl asking, + 'Can you help?' Two of its people went at once to the address given, and, + contriving to get into the house, discovered there a young woman who, + imagining that she had been engaged in Germany as a servant in an English + family, found herself in a London brothel. Fortunately, being a girl of + some character and resource, she held her own, and, having heard of the + Salvation Army in her own land, persuaded a milkman to take the telegram + that brought about her delivery from this den of wickedness. + </p> + <p> + Unfortunately it proved impossible to discover the woman who had hired her + abroad, as the victim of the plot really knew nothing about that + procuress. This girl was restored to her home in Germany none the worse + for her terrific adventure, and a few weeks later refunded her travelling + expenses. But how many must there be who have never heard of the Salvation + Army, and can find no milkman to help them out of their vile prisons, for + such places are no less. + </p> + <p> + Another branch of the Army women's work is that of the rescue of + prostitutes from the streets, which is known as the 'Midnight Work.' For + the purpose of this endeavour it hires a flat in Great Titchfield Street, + of which, and of the mission that centres round it, I will speak later in + this book. + </p> + <p> + The Women's Social Work of the Salvation Army began in London, in the year + 1884, at the cottage of a woman-soldier of the Army who lived in + Whitechapel. This lady, who was interested in girls without character, + took some of them into her home. Eventually she left the place which came + into the hands of the Army, whereon Mrs. Bramwell Booth was sent to take + charge of the twelve inmates whom it would accommodate. The seed that was + thus sown in 1884 has now multiplied itself into fifty-nine Homes and + Agencies for women in Great Britain alone, to say nothing of others abroad + and in the Colonies. But this is only a beginning. + </p> + <p> + 'We look forward,' said Mrs. Bramwell Booth to me, 'to a great increase of + this side of our work at home. No year has passed without the opening of a + new Women's Home of some kind, and we hope that this will continue. Thus I + want to build a very big Maternity Hospital if I can get the money. We + have about £20,000 in hand for this purpose; but the lesser of the two + schemes before us will cost £35,000.' + </p> + <p> + Will not some rich and charitable person provide the £15,000 that are + lacking? + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0014" id="link2H_4_0014"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE WOMEN'S SOCIAL WORK + </h2> + <h3> + LOWER CLAPTON ROAD + </h3> + <p> + The Women's Social Headquarters of the Salvation Army in England is + situated at Clapton. It is a property of nearly three acres, on which + stand four houses that will be rebuilt whenever funds are forthcoming for + the erection of the Maternity Hospital and Training Institution for nurses + and midwives which I have already mentioned. At present about forty + Officers are employed here, most of whom are women, under the command of + Commissioner Cox, one of the foremost of the 600 women-Officers of the + Salvation Army in the United Kingdom who give their services to the + women's social work. + </p> + <p> + It is almost needless for me to add that Commissioner Cox is a lady of + very great ability, who is entirely devoted to the cause to which she has + dedicated her life. One of the reasons of the great success of the + Salvation Army is that only able people exactly suited to the particular + work in view are put in authority over that work. Here there are no + sinecures, no bought advowsons, and no freehold livings. Moreover, the + policy of the Army, as a general rule, is not to allow any one to remain + too long in any one office, lest he or she should become fossilized or + subject to local influences. + </p> + <p> + I remember when I was in America hearing of a case in which a very leading + Officer of the Army, who chanced to be a near relative of General Booth, + declined to obey an order to change his command for another in a totally + different part of the world. The order was repeated once or twice, and as + often disobeyed. Resignation followed and an attempt to found a rival + Organization. I only mention this matter to show that discipline is + enforced in this Society without fear, favour, or prejudice, which is, + perhaps, a principal reason of its efficiency. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0015" id="link2H_4_0015"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + HILLSBOROUGH HOUSE INEBRIATES' HOME + </h2> + <p> + Under the guidance of Commissioner Cox I inspected a number of the London + Women's Institutions of the Army, first visiting the Hillsborough House + Inebriates' Home. This Home, a beautifully clean and well-kept place, has + accommodation for thirty patients, twenty-nine beds being occupied on the + day of my visit. The lady in charge informed me that these patients are + expected to contribute 10s. per week towards the cost of their + maintenance; but that, as a matter of fact, they seldom pay so much. + Generally the sum recovered varies from 7s. to 3s. per week, while a good + many give nothing at all. + </p> + <p> + The work the patients do in this Home is sold and produces something + towards the cost of upkeep. The actual expense of the maintenance of the + inmates averages about 12s. 6d. a week per head, which sum includes an + allowance for rent. Most of the cases stay in the Home for twelve months, + although some remain for a shorter period. When the cure is completed, if + they are married, the patients return to their husbands. The unmarried are + sent out to positions as governesses, nurses, or servants, that is, if the + authorities of the Home are able to give them satisfactory characters. + </p> + <p> + As the reader who knows anything of such matters will be aware, it is + generally supposed to be rather more easy to pass a camel through the eye + of a needle than to reclaim a confirmed female drunkard. Yet, as I have + already said, the Salvation Army, on a three years' test in each case, has + shown that it deals successfully with about 50 per cent of those women who + come into its hands for treatment as inebriates or drug-takers. How is + this done? Largely, of course, by effecting through religious means a + change of heart and nature, as the Army often seems to have the power to + do, and by the exercise of gentle personal influences. + </p> + <p> + But there remains another aid which is physical. + </p> + <p> + With the shrewdness that distinguishes them, the Officers of the Army have + discovered that the practice of vegetarianism is a wonderful enemy to the + practice of alcoholism. The vegetarian, it seems, conceives a bodily + distaste to spirituous liquors. If they can persuade a patient to become a + vegetarian, then the chances of her cure are enormously increased. + Therefore, in this and in the other female Inebriate Homes no meat is + served. The breakfast, which is eaten at 7.30, consists of tea, brown and + white bread and butter, porridge and fresh milk, or stewed fruit. A sample + dinner at one o'clock includes macaroni cheese, greens, potatoes, fruit + pudding or plain boiled puddings with stewed figs. On one day a week, + however, baked or boiled fish is served with pease pudding, potatoes, and + boiled currant pudding, and on another, brown gravy is given with onions + in batter. Tea, which is served at six o'clock, consists—to take a + couple of samples—of tea, white and brown bread and butter, and + cheese sandwiches with salad; or of tea, white and brown bread and butter, + savoury rolls, and apples or oranges. + </p> + <p> + It will be observed that this diet is as simple as it well can be; but I + think it right to add, after personal inspection, that the inmates appear + to thrive on it extremely well. Certainly all whom I saw looked well + nourished and healthy. + </p> + <p> + A book is kept in the Home in which the details of each case are carefully + entered, together with its record for two years after discharge. Here are + the particulars of three cases taken by me at hazard from this book which + will serve to indicate the class of patient that is treated at this Home. + Of course, I omit the names:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + <i>A.B.</i> Aged thirty-one. Her mother, who was a drunkard and + gave A.B. drink in her childhood, died some time ago. A.B. + drove her father, who was in good circumstances, having a + large business, to madness by her inebriety. Indeed, he + tried to commit suicide by hanging himself, but, oddly + enough, it was A.B. who cut him down, and he was sent to an + asylum. A.B. had fallen very low since her mother's death; + but I do not give these details. All the members of her + family drank, except, strange to say, the father, who at the + date of my visit was in the asylum. A.B. had been in the + Home some time, and was giving every satisfaction. It was + hoped that she will be quite cured. + + <i>C.D.</i> Aged thirty. C.D.'s father, a farmer, was a moderate + drinker, her mother was a temperance woman. Her parents + discovered her craving for drink about ten years ago. She + was unable to keep any situation on account of this failing. + Four years ago C.D. was sent to an Inebriate Home for twelve + months, but no cure was effected. Afterwards she + disappeared, having been dismissed from her place, and was + found again for the mother by the Salvation Army. At the + time of my visit she had been six months in the Home, and + was doing well. + + <i>E.F.</i> Aged forty-eight; was the widow of a professional + man, whom she married as his second wife, and by whom she + had two children, one of whom survives. She began to drink + before her husband's death, and this tendency was increased + by family troubles that arose over his will. She mismanaged + his business and lost everything, drank heavily and + despaired. She tried to keep a boarding house, but her + furniture was seized and she came absolutely to the end of + her resources, her own daughter being sent away to her + relatives. E.F. was nine months in the Hillsborough Home, + and had gone as cook and housekeeper to a situation, where + she also was giving every satisfaction. +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0016" id="link2H_4_0016"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE MATERNITY NURSING HOME + </h2> + <h3> + LORNE HOUSE, STOKE NEWINGTON + </h3> + <p> + Her Royal Highness Princes Louise, the Duchess of Argyll, defrayed the + cost of the purchase of the leasehold of this charming Home. The + lady-Officer in charge informed me that the object of the establishment is + to take in women who have or are about to have illegitimate children. It + is not, however, a lying-in Home, the mothers being sent to the Ivy House + Hospital for their confinements. After these are over they are kept for + four or sometimes for six months at Lorne House. At the expiration of this + period situations are found for most of them, and the babies are put out + to nurse in the houses of carefully selected women with whom the mothers + can keep in touch. These women are visited from time to time by Salvation + Army Officers who make sure that the infants are well treated in every + way. + </p> + <p> + All the cases in this Home are those of girls who have fallen into trouble + for the first time. They belong to a better class than do those who are + received in many of the Army Homes. The charge for their maintenance is + supposed to be £1 a week, but some pay only 5s., and some nothing at all. + As a matter of fact, out of the twelve cases which the Home will hold, at + the time of my visit half were making no payment. If the Army averages a + contribution of 7s. a week from them, it thinks itself fortunate. + </p> + <p> + I saw a number of the babies in cradles placed in an old greenhouse in the + garden to protect them from the rain that was falling at the time. When it + is at all fine they are kept as much as possible in the open air, and the + results seem to justify this treatment, for it would be difficult to find + healthier infants. + </p> + <p> + Five or six of the inmates sleep together in a room; for those with + children a cot is provided beside each bed. I saw several of these young + women, who all seemed to be as happy and contented as was possible under + their somewhat depressing circumstances. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0017" id="link2H_4_0017"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE MATERNITY RECEIVING HOME + </h2> + <h3> + BRENT HOUSE, HACKNEY + </h3> + <p> + This Home serves a somewhat similar purpose as that at Lorne House, but + the young women taken in here while awaiting their confinement are not, as + a rule, of so high a class. + </p> + <p> + In the garden at the back of the house about forty girls were seated in a + kind of shelter which protected them from the rain, some of them working + and some talking together, while others remained apart depressed and + silent. Most of these young women were shortly expecting to become + mothers. Certain of them, however, already had their infants, as there + were seventeen babies in the Home who had been crowded out of the Central + Maternity Hospital. Among these were some very sad cases, several of them + being girls of gentle birth, taken in here because they could pay nothing. + One, I remember, was a foreign young lady, whose sad history I will not + relate. She was found running about the streets of a seaport town in a + half-crazed condition and brought to this place by the Officers of the + Salvation Army. + </p> + <p> + In this house there is a room where ex-patients who are in service can + bring their infants upon their holidays. Two or three of these women were + here upon the occasion of my visit, and it was a pathetic sight to see + them dandling the babies from whom they had been separated and giving them + their food. + </p> + <p> + It is the custom in this and other Salvation Army Maternity Homes to set + apart a night in every month for what is called a Social Evening. On these + occasions fifty or more of the former inmates will arrive with their + children, whom they have brought from the various places where they are at + nurse, and for a few hours enjoy their society, after which they take them + back to the nurses and return to their work, whatever it may be. By means + of this kindly arrangement these poor mothers are enabled from time to + time to see something of their offspring, which, needless to say, is a + boon they greatly prize. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0018" id="link2H_4_0018"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE MATERNITY HOSPITAL + </h2> + <h3> + IVY HOUSE, HACKNEY + </h3> + <p> + This Hospital is one for the accommodation of young mothers on the + occasion of the birth of their illegitimate children. It is a humble + building, containing twenty-five beds, although I think a few more can be + arranged. That it serves its purpose well, until the large Maternity + Hospital of which I have already spoken can be built, is shown by the fact + that 286 babies (of whom only twenty-five were not illegitimate) were born + here in 1900 without the loss of a single mother. Thirty babies died, + however, which the lady-Officer in charge thought rather a high + proportion, but one accounted for by the fact that during this particular + year a large number of the births were premature. In 1908, 270 children + were born, of whom twelve died, six of these being premature. + </p> + <p> + The cases are drawn from London and other towns where the Salvation Army + is at work. Generally they, or their relatives and friends, or perhaps the + father of the child, apply to the Army to help them in their trouble, + thereby, no doubt, preventing many child-murders and some suicides. The + charge made by the Institution for these lying-in cases is in proportion + to the ability of the patient to pay. Many contribute nothing at all. From + those who do pay, the average sum received is 10<i>s</i>. a week, in + return for which they are furnished with medical attendance, food, + nursing, and all other things needful to their state. + </p> + <p> + I went over the Hospital, and saw these unfortunate mothers lying in bed, + each of them with her infant in a cot beside her. Although their immediate + trial was over, these poor girls looked very sad. + </p> + <p> + 'They know that their lives are spoiled,' said the lady in charge. + </p> + <p> + Most of them were quite young, some being only fifteen, and the majority + under twenty. This, it was explained to me, is generally due to the + ignorance of the facts of life in which girls are kept by their parents or + others responsible for their training. Last year there was a mother aged + thirteen in this Hospital. + </p> + <p> + One girl, who seemed particularly sad, had twins lying beside her. Hoping + to cheer her up, I remarked that they were beautiful babies, whereon she + hid her face beneath the bedclothes. + </p> + <p> + 'Don't talk about them,' said the Officer, drawing me away, 'that child + nearly cried her eyes out when she was told that there were two. You see, + it is hard enough for these poor mothers to keep one, but when it comes to + two—!' + </p> + <p> + I asked whether the majority of these unfortunate young women really tried + to support their children. The answer was that most of them try very hard + indeed, and will use all their money for this purpose, even stinting + themselves of absolute necessaries. Few of them go wrong again after their + first slip, as they have learned their lesson. Moreover, during their stay + in hospital and afterwards, the Salvation Army does its best to impress on + them certain moral teachings, and thus to make its work preventive as well + as remedial. + </p> + <p> + Places in service are found for a great number of these girls, generally + where only one servant is kept, so that they may not be taunted by the + others if these should find out their secret. This as a rule, however, is + confided to the mistress. The average wage they receive is about £18 a + year. As it costs them £13, or 5<i>s</i>. a week, to support an infant + (not allowing for its clothes), the struggle is very hard unless the Army + can discover the father, and make him contribute towards the support of + his child, either voluntarily or through a bastardy order. + </p> + <p> + I was informed that many of these fathers are supposed to be gentlemen, + but when it comes to this matter of payment, they show that they have + little title to that description. Of course, in the case of men of humbler + degree, money is even harder to recover. I may add, that my own long + experience as a magistrate goes to confirm this statement. It is + extraordinary to what meanness, subterfuge, and even perjury, a man will + sometimes resort, in order to avoid paying so little as 1<i>s</i>. 6<i>d</i>. + a week towards the keep of his own child. Often the line of defence is a + cruel attempt to blacken the character of the mother, even when the + accuser well knows that there is not the slightest ground for the charge, + and that he alone is responsible for the woman's fall.<a href="#linknote-5" + name="linknoteref-5" id="linknoteref-5"><small>5</small></a> Also, if the + case is proved, and the order made, many such men will run away and hide + themselves in another part of the country to escape the fulfilment of + their just obligations. + </p> + <p> + In connexion with this Maternity Hospital, the Salvation Army has a + Training School for midwives and nurses, all of whom must pass the Central + Midwives Board examination before they are allowed to practise. Some of + the students, after qualifying, continue to work for the Army in its + Hospital Department, and others in the Slum Department, while some go + abroad in the service of other Societies. The scale of fees for this four + months' course in midwifery varies according to circumstances. The Army + asks the full charge of eighteen guineas from those students who belong + to, or propose to serve other Societies. Those who intend to go abroad to + work with medical missionaries, have to pay fifteen guineas, and those who + are members of the Salvation Army, or who intend to serve the Army in this + Department, pay nothing, unless, at the conclusion of their course, they + decide to leave the Army's service. + </p> + <p> + At the last examination, out of fourteen students sent up from this + Institution, thirteen passed the necessary test. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0019" id="link2H_4_0019"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + 'THE NEST' + </h2> + <h3> + CLAPTON + </h3> + <p> + When I began to write this book, I determined to set down all things + exactly as I saw or heard them. But, although somewhat hardened in such + matters by long experience of a very ugly world, I find that there are + limits to what can be told of such a place as 'The Nest' in pages which + are meant for perusal by the general public. The house itself is charming, + with a good garden adorned by beautiful trees. It has every arrangement + and comfort possible for the welfare of its child inmates, including an + open-air bedroom, cleverly contrived from an old greenhouse for the use of + those among them whose lungs are weakly. + </p> + <p> + But these inmates, these sixty-two children whose ages varied from about + four to about sixteen! What can I say of their histories? Only in general + language, that more than one half of them have been subject to outrages + too terrible to repeat, often enough at the hands of their own fathers! If + the reader wishes to learn more, he can apply confidentially to + Commissioner Cox, or to Mrs. Bramwell Booth. + </p> + <p> + Here, however, is a case that I can mention, as although it is dreadful + enough, it belongs to a different class. Seeing a child of ten, whose name + was Betty, playing about quite happily with the others, I spoke to her, + and afterwards asked for the particulars of her story. They were brief. It + appears that this poor little thing had actually seen her father murder + her mother. I am glad to be able to add that to all appearance she has + recovered from the shock of this awful experience. + </p> + <p> + Indeed, all these little girls, notwithstanding their hideous pasts, + seemed, so far as I could judge, to be extremely happy at their childish + games in the garden. Except that some were of stunted growth, I noted + nothing abnormal about any of them. I was told, however, by the Officer in + charge, that occasionally, when they grow older, propensities originally + induced in them through no fault of their own will assert themselves. + </p> + <p> + To lessen this danger, as in the case of the women inebriates, all these + children are brought up as vegetarians. Before me, as I write, is the bill + of fare for the week, which I tore off a notice board in the house. The + breakfast on three days, to take examples, consists of porridge, with + boiling milk and sugar, cocoa, brown and white bread and butter. On the + other mornings either stewed figs, prunes, or marmalade are added. A + sample dinner consists of lentil savoury, baked potatoes, brown gravy and + bread; boiled rice with milk and sugar. For tea, bananas, apples, oranges, + nuts, jam, brown and white bread and butter and cocoa are supplied, but + tea itself as a beverage is only given on Sundays. A footnote to the bill + of fare states that all children over twelve years of age who wish for it, + can have bread and butter before going to bed. + </p> + <p> + Certainly the inmates of 'The Nest,' if any judgment may be formed from + their personal appearance, afford a good argument to the advocates of + vegetarianism. + </p> + <p> + It costs £13 a year to endow a bed in this Institution. Amongst others, I + saw one which was labelled 'The Band of Helpers' Bed. This is maintained + by girls who have passed through the Institution, and are now earning + their livelihood in the world, as I thought, a touching and significant + testimony. I should add that the children in this Home are educated under + the direction of a certificated governess. + </p> + <p> + My visit to this Refuge made a deep impression on my mind. No person of + sense and experience, remembering the nameless outrages to which many of + these poor children have been exposed, could witness their present health + and happiness without realizing the blessed nature of this work. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0020" id="link2H_4_0020"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE TRAINING INSTITUTE FOR WOMEN SOCIAL WORKERS + </h2> + <h3> + CLAPTON + </h3> + <p> + Colonel Lambert, the lady-Officer in charge of this Institution, informed + me that it can accommodate sixty young women. At the time of my visit + forty-seven pupils were being prepared for service in the Women's + Department of what is called 'Salvation Army Warfare.' These Cadets come + from all sources and in various ways. Most of them have first been members + of the Army and made application to be trained, feeling themselves + attracted to this particular branch of its work. + </p> + <p> + The basis of their instruction is religious and theological. It includes + the study of the Bible, of the doctrine and discipline of the Salvation + Army and the rules and regulations governing the labours of its Social + Officers. In addition, these Cadets attend practical classes where they + learn needlework, the scientific cutting out of garments, knitting, + laundry work, first medical aid, nursing, and so forth. The course at this + Institution takes ten months to complete, after which those Cadets who + have passed the examinations are appointed to various centres of the + Army's Social activities. + </p> + <p> + When these young women have passed out and enter on active Social work + they are allowed their board and lodging and a small salary to pay for + their clothing. This salary at the commencement of a worker's career + amounts to the magnificent sum of 4s. a week, if she 'lives in' (about the + pay of a country kitchen maid); out of which she is expected to defray the + cost of her uniform and other clothes, postage stamps, etc. Ultimately, + after many years of service, it may rise to as much as 10s. in the case of + senior Officers, or, if the Officer finds her own board and lodging, to a + limit of £1 a week. + </p> + <p> + Of these ladies who are trained in the Home few leave the Army. Should + they do so, however, I am informed that they can generally obtain from + other Organizations double or treble the pay which the Army is able to + afford. + </p> + <p> + This Training Institution is a building admirably suited to the purpose to + which it is put. Originally it was a ladies' school, which was purchased + by the Salvation Army. The dining-room of the Cadets was very well + arranged and charmingly decorated with flowers, as was that of the + Officers beyond. There was also a Cadets' retiring-room, where I saw some + of them reading or otherwise amusing themselves on their Saturday + half-holiday. The Army would be glad to find and train more of these + self-sacrificing workers; but the conditions of the pay which they can + offer and the arduous nature of the lifelong service involved, are such + that those of a satisfactory class are not too readily forthcoming. + </p> + <p> + Attached to this Training Institution is a Home for girls of doubtful or + bad antecedents, which I also visited. This Rescue Home is linked up with + the Training School, so that the Cadets may have the opportunity of + acquiring a practical knowledge of the class of work upon which they are + to be engaged in after-life. Most of the girls in the Rescue Home have + passed through the Police-courts, and been handed over to the care of the + Army by magistrates. The object of the Army is to reform them and instruct + them in useful work which will enable them to earn an honest living. + </p> + <p> + Many of these girls have been in the habit of thieving from their + mistresses or others, generally in order to enable them to make presents + to their lovers. Indeed, it would seem that this mania for making presents + is a frequent cause of the fall of young persons with a natural leaning to + dishonesty and a desire to appear rich and liberal. The Army succeeds in + reclaiming a great number of them; but the thieving instinct is one not + easy to eradicate. + </p> + <p> + All these girls seemed fairly happy. A great deal of knitting is done by + them, and I saw a room furnished with a number of knitting machines, where + work is turned out to the value of nearly £25 a week. Also I was shown + piles of women's and children's underclothing and other articles, the + produce of the girls' needles, which are sold to help to defray the + expenses of the Home. In the workroom on this Saturday afternoon a number + of the young women were engaged in mending their own garments. After their + period of probation many of these girls are sent out to situations found + for them by the Army. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0021" id="link2H_4_0021"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE WOMEN'S INDUSTRIAL HOME + </h2> + <h3> + HACKNEY + </h3> + <p> + This Home is one of much the same class as that which I have just + described. It has accommodation for forty-eight girls, of whom over 1,000 + have passed through the Institution, where they are generally kept for a + period of six months. Most of the young women in the Home when I visited + it had been thieves. One, who was twenty-seven years of age, had stolen + ever since she was twelve, and the lady in charge told me that when she + came to them everything she had on her, and almost all the articles in her + trunk were the property of former mistresses. + </p> + <p> + In answer to my questions, Commissioner Cox informed me that the result of + their work in this Home was so satisfactory that they scarcely liked to + announce it. They computed, however, that taken on a three years' test—for + the subsequent career of each inmate is followed for that period—90 + per cent of the cases prove to be permanent moral cures. This, when the + previous history of these young women is considered, may, I think, be + accounted a great triumph. No money contribution is asked or expected in + this particular Home. Indeed, it would not be forthcoming from the class + of girls who are sent or come here to be reformed, many of whom, on + entering, are destitute of underclothing and other necessaries, The + needlework which they do, however, is sold, and helps to pay for the + upkeep of the place. + </p> + <p> + I asked what was done if any of them refused to work. The answer was that + this very rarely happened, as the women-Officers shared in their labours, + and the girls could not for shame's sake sit idle while their Officers + worked. I visited the room where this sewing was in progress, and observed + that Commissioner Cox, who conducted me, was received with hearty, and to + all appearance, spontaneous clapping of hands, which seemed to indicate + that these poor young women are happy and contented. The hours of labour + kept in the Home are those laid down in the Factory Acts. + </p> + <p> + While looking at the work produced by the inmates, I asked Commissioner + Cox if she had anything to say as to the charges of sweating which are + sometimes brought against the Army, and of underselling in the markets. + Her answer was:— + </p> + <p> + 'We do not compete in the markets at all, as we do not make sufficient + articles, and never work for the trade or supply wholesale; we sell the + garments we make one by one by means of our pedlars. It is necessary that + we should do this in order to support our girls. Either we must + manufacture and sell the work, or they must starve.' + </p> + <p> + Here we have the whole charge of sweating by the Army in a nutshell, and + the answer to it. + </p> + <p> + In this Home a system has been devised for providing each girl with an + outfit when she leaves. It is managed by means of a kind of deferred pay, + which is increased if she keeps up to the standard of work required. Thus, + gradually, she earns her outfit, and leaves the place with a box of good + clothes. The first thing provided is a pair of boots, then a suitable box, + and lastly, the materials which they make into clothes. + </p> + <p> + This house, like all the others, I found to be extremely well arranged, + with properly-ventilated dormitories, and well suited to its purposes. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0022" id="link2H_4_0022"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE INEBRIATES' HOME + </h2> + <h3> + SPRINGFIELD LODGE, DENMARK HILL. + </h3> + <p> + This house, which has a fine garden attached, was a gentleman's residence + purchased by the Salvation Army, to serve as an Inebriates' Home for the + better class of patients. With the exception of a few who give their + services in connexion with the work of the place as a return for their + treatment, it is really a Home for gentlefolk. When I visited it, some of + the inmates, of whom there are usually from twenty-five to thirty, were + talented ladies who could speak several languages, or paint, or play very + well. All these came here to be cured of the drink or drug habit. The fee + for the course ranges from a guinea to 10<i>s</i>. per week, according to + the ability of the patient to pay, but some who lack this ability pay + nothing at all. + </p> + <p> + The lady in charge remarked drily on this point, that many people seemed + to think that as the place belonged to the Salvation Army it did not + matter if they paid or not. As is the practice at Hillsborough House, a + vegetarian diet is insisted upon as a condition of the patient receiving + treatment at the Home. Often this is a cause of much remonstrance, as the + inmates, who are mostly persons in middle or advanced life, think that it + will kill them. The actual results, however, are found to be most + satisfactory, as the percentage of successes is found to be 50 per cent, + after a year in the Home and three years' subsequent supervision. I was + told that a while ago, Sir Thomas Barlow, the well-known physician, + challenged this statement. He was asked to see for himself, he examined a + number of the patients, inspected the books and records, and finally + satisfied himself that it was absolutely correct. + </p> + <p> + The Army attaches much importance to what may be called the after-care of + the cases, for the lack of which so many people who pass through Homes and + then return to ordinary life, break down, and become, perhaps, worse than + they were before. The seven devils of Scripture are always ready to + re-occupy the swept and garnished soul, especially if they be the devils + of drink. + </p> + <p> + Moreover, the experience of the Army is that relatives and friends are + extraordinarily thoughtless in this matter. Often enough they will, as it + were, thrust spirituous liquors down the throat of the newly-reformed + drunkard, or at the least will pass them before their eyes and drink them + in their presence as usual, with results that may be imagined. One taste + and in four cases out of six the thing is done. The old longings awake + again and must be satisfied. + </p> + <p> + For these reasons the highly-skilled Officers of the Salvation Army hold + that reclaimed inebriates should be safeguarded, watched, and, so far as + the circumstances may allow, kept under the influences that have brought + about their partial recovery. They say that they owe much of their + remarkable success in those cases to a strict observance of such + preventive methods for a period of three years. After that time patients + must stand upon their own feet. These remarks apply also to the victims of + the drug habit, who are even more difficult to deal with than common + drunkards. + </p> + <p> + At this Home I had a conversation with a fine young woman, an ex-hospital + nurse, who gave me a very interesting account of her experiences of + laudanum drinking. She said that in an illness she had gone through while + she was a nurse a doctor dosed her with laudanum to deaden her pain and + induce sleep. The upshot was that she could not sleep without the help of + laudanum or other opiates, and thus the fatal habit was formed. She + described the effects of the drug upon her, which appeared to be temporary + exhilaration and freedom from all care, coupled with sensations of great + vigour. She spoke also of delightful visions; but when I asked her to + describe the visions, she went back upon that statement, perhaps because + their nature was such as she did not care to set out. She added, however, + that the sleep which followed was haunted by terrible dreams. + </p> + <p> + Another effect of the habit, according to this lady, is forgetfulness, + which showed itself in all kinds of mistakes, and in the loss of power of + accurate expression, which caused her to say things she did not mean and + could not remember when she had said them. She told me that the process of + weaning herself from the drug was extremely painful and difficult; but + that she now slept well and desired it no more. + </p> + <p> + To be plain, I was not satisfied with the truth of this last statement, + for there was a strange look in her eyes which suggested that she still + desired it very much; also she seemed to me to prevaricate upon certain + points. Further, those in charge of her allowed that this diagnosis was + probably correct, especially as she is now in the Home for the second + time, although her first visit there was a very short one. Still they + thought that she would be cured in the end. Let us hope that they were + right. + </p> + <p> + The Army has also another Home in this neighbourhood, run on similar + lines, for the treatment of middle-class and poor people. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0023" id="link2H_4_0023"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE WOMEN'S INDUSTRIAL HOME + </h2> + <h3> + SOUTHWOOD, SYDENHAM HILL + </h3> + <p> + This is another of the Salvation Army Homes for Women. When I visited + Southwood, which is an extremely good house, having been a gentleman's + residence, with a garden and commanding a beautiful view, there were about + forty inmates, some of whom were persons of gentle birth. For such ladies + single sleeping places are provided, with special dining and + sitting-rooms. These are supposed to pay a guinea a week for their board + and accommodation, though I gathered that this sum was not always + forthcoming. The majority of the other inmates, most of whom have gone + astray in one way or another, pay nothing. + </p> + <p> + A good many of the cases here are what are called preventive; that is to + say, that their parents or guardians being able to do nothing with them, + and fearing lest they should come to ruin, send them to this place as a + last resource, hoping that they may be cured of their evil tendencies. + </p> + <p> + Thus one girl whom I think I saw, could not be prevented from gadding on + the streets, and therefore had been placed here. Another young woman was a + schoolmistress who would not get out of bed and refused to work. When she + came to the Home she was very insolent and bad-tempered, and would do + nothing. Now, I was informed, she rises with the lark, at 6.30 indeed, and + works like a Trojan. I could not help wondering whether these excellent + habits would survive her departure from the Home. Another lady, who had + been sentenced for thefts, was the daughter of a minister. She horrified + the Officers by regretting that she had gone to jail for so little, when + others who had taken and enjoyed large sums received practically the same + sentence. She was reported to be doing well. + </p> + <p> + Another, also a lady, was the victim of an infatuation which caused her to + possess herself of money to send to some man who had followed her about + from the time she was in a boarding school. Another was a foreigner, who + had been sent to an American doctor in the East to be trained as a nurse. + This poor girl underwent an awful experience, and was in the care of the + Salvation Army recovering from shock; but, of course, hers is a different + class of case from those which I have mentioned above. Another was an + English girl who had been turned out of Canada because of her bad + behaviour with men. And so on. + </p> + <p> + It only remains to say that most of these people appeared to be doing + well, while many of those in the humbler classes of life were being taught + to earn their own living in the laundry that is attached to the + Institution. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0024" id="link2H_4_0024"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE WOMEN'S SHELTER + </h2> + <h3> + WHITECHAPEL + </h3> + <p> + This is a place where women, most of them old, so far as my observation + went, are taken in to sleep at a charge of 3<i>d.</i> a night. It used to + be 2<i>d</i>. until the London County Council made the provision of + sheets, etc., compulsory, when the Army was obliged to raise the payment. + This Shelter, which is almost always so full that people have to be turned + away, holds 261 women. It contains a separate room, where children are + admitted with their mothers, half price, namely 1-1/2<i>d.</i>, being + charged per child. There is a kitchen attached where the inmates can buy a + large mug of tea for a 1/2<i>d.</i>, and a huge chunk of bread for a + second 1/2<i>d.</i>; also, if I remember right, other articles of food, if + they can afford such luxuries. + </p> + <p> + The great dormitory in this Shelter, it may be mentioned, was once a + swimming-bath. Some of the women who come to this place have slept in it + almost every night for eighteen or twenty years. Others make use of it for + a few months, and then vanish for a period, especially in the summer, when + they go hop or strawberry picking, and return in the winter. Every day, + however, fresh people appear, possibly to depart on the morrow and be seen + no more. + </p> + <p> + I asked whether the aged folk had not been benefited by the Old Age + Pensions Act. The lady Officer in charge replied that it had been a + blessing to some of them. One old woman, however, would not apply for her + pension, although she was urged to take a room for herself somewhere. She + said that she was afraid if she did so, she might be turned out and be + lonely. + </p> + <p> + I visited this Shelter in the late afternoon, before it was filled up. A + number of dilapidated and antique females were sitting about in the rooms, + talking or sewing. One old lady was doing crochet work. She told me that + she made her living by it, and by flower-selling. Another informed me that + it was years since she had slept anywhere else, and that she did not know + what poor women like her would do without this place. Another was cooking + the broth. Her husband was a sea captain, and when he died, her father had + allowed her <i>£1</i> a week until he died. Afterwards she took to drink, + and drifted here, where, I was informed, she is doing well. And so on, and + so on, <i>ad infinitum</i>. The Hanbury Street Women's Shelter is not a + cheerful spot to visit on a dull and rainy evening. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0025" id="link2H_4_0025"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE SLUM SETTLEMENT + </h2> + <h3> + HACKNEY ROAD + </h3> + <p> + Slum work is an important branch of the Social labours of the Salvation + Army, Thus last year the Slum Sisters visited over 105,000 families, over + 20,000 sick, and over 32,000 public-houses, in which work they spent more + than 90,000 hours of time. Also they attended 482 births, and paid nearly + 9,000 visits in connexion with them. + </p> + <p> + There are nine Slum Settlements and Posts in London, and nineteen others + in England, Scotland, and Ireland. The old system used to be for the + Sisters and Nurses to live among the lowest class of the poor, lodging in + the actual tenements in which their work was carried out. This, however, + was abandoned as far as possible, because it was found that after the + arduous toil of the day these ladies could get little rest at night, owing + to the noise that went on about them, a circumstance that caused their + health to suffer and made them inefficient. Now out of the 117 Officers + engaged in Slum work in Great Britain, about one-half who labour in London + live in five houses set apart for them in different quarters of the city; + fifteen Officers being the usual complement to each house. + </p> + <p> + The particular dwelling of which I write is a good specimen of them all, + and from it the Sisters and Nurses who live there work Shoreditch, Bethnal + Green, Whitechapel, and the Hoxton and Hackney Road districts. It is + decently furnished and a comfortable place in its way, although, of + course, it stands in a poor neighbourhood. I remember that there was even + the finishing touch of a canary in the window. I should add that no cases + are attended in the house itself, which is purely a residence. + </p> + <p> + To this particular Settlement two qualified midwives and a nurse are + attached. While I was there one of the midwives came in, very tired, at + about half-past eleven in the morning. Since three o'clock on that same + morning she had attended three confinements, so no wonder she was tired. + She said that one of her cases was utterly unprovided with anything + needful as the father was out of work, although on the occasion of a + previous confinement they had all they wanted. Now they lived in a little + room in which there was not space 'to swing a cat,' and were without a + single bite of food or bit of clothing, so that the baby when it came had + to be wrapped up in an old shawl and the woman sent to the Infirmary. The + Sister in charge informed me that if they had them they could find + employment for twice their strength of nurses without overlapping the work + of any other charity. + </p> + <p> + The people with whom they deal are for the most part those who have a + rooted objection to infirmaries, although the hospitals are much more used + than was formerly the case. The system of the Army is to make a charge of + 6<i>s</i>. 6<i>d</i>. for attending a confinement, which, if paid, is + generally collected in instalments of 3<i>d</i>. or 6<i>d</i>. a week. + Often, however, it is not paid, and the charge remains a mere formality. + She added that many of these poor people are most improvident, and make no + provision whatsoever for these events, even if they can afford to do so. + The result is that the Army has to lend them baby garments and other + things. + </p> + <p> + The Sister said in answer to my questions that there was a great deal of + poverty in their district where many men were out of work, a number of + them because they could find nothing to do. She thought that things were + certainly no better in this respect; indeed, the state of depression was + chronic. Owing to the bad summer of 1909, which affected the hop-picking + and other businesses, the destitution that year was as great during the + warm months as it usually is in the winter. + </p> + <p> + The poor of this district, she said, 'generally live upon fried fish and + chips. You know they cannot cook, anyway they don't, and what they do cook + is all done in the frying-pan, which is also a very convenient article to + pawn. They don't understand economy, for when they have a bit of money + they will buy in food and have a big feast, not thinking of the days when + there will be little or nothing. Then, again, they buy their goods in + small portions; for instance, their coal by the ha'p'orth or their wood by + the farthing's-worth, which, in fact, works out at a great profit to the + dealers. Or they buy a farthing's-worth of tea, which is boiled up again + and again till it is awful-looking stuff.' + </p> + <p> + I asked her what she considered to be the main underlying cause of this + misery. She answered that she thought it was due 'to the people flocking + from the country to the city,' thereby confirming an opinion that I have + long held and advanced. She added that the overcrowding in the district + was terrible, the regulations of the Public Health Authorities designed to + check it being 'a dead letter.' In one case with which she had to do, a + father, mother, and nine children lived in a room that measured 9 ft. by 9 + ft., and the baby came into the world with the children looking on! + </p> + <p> + The general weekly rent for a room containing a family is 5<i>s</i>., or + if it is furnished, 7<i>s</i>. 6<i>d</i>. The Sister described to me the + furniture of one for the use of which this extra half-crown is charged. It + consisted of a rickety bed, two chairs, one without a back and one without + a seat, and a little shaky table. The floor was bare, and she estimated + the total value of these articles at about their weekly rent of 2<i>s</i>. + 6<i>d</i>., if, indeed, they were worth carrying away. In this chamber + dwelt a coachman who was out of place, his wife, and three or four + children, I wonder what arrangement these poor folk make as to the use of + the one chair that has a bottom. To occupy the other must be an empty + honour. With reference to this man the Sister remarked that as a result of + the introduction of motor vehicles, busmen, cabmen, and blacksmiths were + joining the ranks of her melancholy clientele in numbers. + </p> + <p> + This and some similar stories caused me to reflect on the remarkable + contrast between rents in the country and in town. For instance, I own + about a dozen cottages in this village in which I write, and the highest + rent that I receive is 2<i>s</i>. 5<i>d</i>. a week. This is paid for a + large double dwelling, on which I had to spend over £100 quite recently to + convert two cottages into one. Also, there is a large double garden thrown + in, so large that a man can scarcely manage it in his spare time, a + pigsty, fruit trees, etc. All this for 1<i>d</i>. a week less than is + charged for the two broken chairs, the rickety bed, and the shaky table! + Again, for £10 a year, I let a comfortable farmhouse; that is, £3 a year + less than the out-of-work coachman pays for his single room without the + furniture. And yet, as the Sister said, people continue to rush from the + country to the towns! + </p> + <p> + Nor, it seems, do they always make the best of things when they get there. + Thus the Sister mentioned that the education which the girls receive in + the schools causes them to desire a more exalted lot in life than that of + a servant. So they try to find places in shops, or jam factories, etc. + Some get them, but many fail; and of those who fail, a large proportion go + to swell the mass of the unemployed, or to recruit the ranks of an + undesirable profession. She went so far as to say that most of the + domestic servants in London are not Cockneys at all, but come from the + country; adding, that the sad part of it was that thousands of these poor + girls, after proper training, could find comfortable and remunerative + employment without displacing others, as the demand for domestic servants + is much greater than the supply. These are cold facts which seem to + suggest that our system of free education is capable of improvement. + </p> + <p> + It appears that all this district is a great centre of what is known as + 'sweating.' Thus artificial flowers, of which I was shown a fine specimen, + a marguerite, are made at a price of 1<i>s</i>. per gross, the workers + supplying their own glue. An expert hand, beginning at eight in the + morning and continuing till ten at night, can produce a gross and a half + of these flowers, and thus net 1<i>s</i>. 6<i>d</i>., minus the cost of + the glue, scissors, and sundries. The Officers of the Army find it + extremely difficult to talk to these poor people, who are invariably too + busy to listen. Therefore, some of them have learnt how to make artificial + flowers themselves, so that when they call they can join in the family + manufacture, and, while doing so, carry on their conversation. + </p> + <p> + For the making of match-boxes and the sticking on of the labels the pay is + 2-1/2<i>d</i>. per gross. Few of us, I think, would care to manufacture + 144 matchboxes for 2-1/2<i>d</i>. I learned that it is not unusual to find + little children of four years of age helping their mothers to make these + boxes. + </p> + <p> + The Slum Sisters attached to the Settlement, who are distinct from the + Maternity Nurses, visit the very poorest and worst neighbourhoods, for the + purpose of helping the sick and afflicted, and incidentally of cleaning + their homes. Also, they find out persons who are about sixty-nine years of + age, and contribute to their maintenance, so as to save them from being + forced to receive poor-law relief, which would prevent them from obtaining + their old-age pensions when they come to seventy. + </p> + <p> + Here is an illustration of the sort of case with which these Slum Sisters + have to deal; perhaps, I should say, the easiest sort of case. An old man + and his wife whom they visited, lived in a clean room. The old woman fell + sick, and before she died the Slum Sisters gave her a bath, which, as + these poor people much object to washing, caused all the neighbours to say + that they had killed her. After his wife's death, the husband, who earned + his living by selling laces on London Bridge, went down in the world, and + his room became filthy. The Slum Sisters told him that they would clean up + the place, but he forbade them to touch the bed, which, he said, was full + of mice and beetles. As he knew that women dread mice and beetles, he + thought that this statement would frighten them. When he was out selling + his laces, they descended upon his room, where the first thing that they + did was to remove the said bed into the yard and burn it, replacing it + with another. On his return, the old man exclaimed: 'Oh, my darlings, + whatever <i>have</i> you been doing?' + </p> + <p> + They still clean this room once a week. + </p> + <p> + The general impression left upon my mind, after visiting this place at + Hackney Road and conversing with its guardian angels, is, that in some of + its aspects, if not in all, civilization is a failure. Probably thoughtful + people made the same remark in ancient Rome, and in every other city since + cities were. The truth is, that so soon as its children desert the land + which bore them for the towns, these horrors follow as surely as the night + follows the day. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0026" id="link2H_4_0026"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE PICCADILLY MIDNIGHT WORK + </h2> + <h3> + GREAT TICHFIELD STREET + </h3> + <p> + I visited this place a little before twelve o'clock on a summer night. It + is a small flat near Oxford Street, in which live two women-Officers of + the Army, who are engaged in the work of reclaiming prostitutes. I may + mention that for the last fourteen years the Major in charge, night by + night, has tramped the streets with this object. The Titchfield Street + flat is not in any sense a Home, but I saw a small room in it, with two + beds, where cases who may be rescued from the streets, or come here in a + time of trouble, can sleep until arrangements are made for them to proceed + to one of the Rescue Institutions of the Army. + </p> + <p> + This work is one of the most difficult and comparatively unproductive of + any that the Army undertakes. The careers of these unfortunate street + women, who are nearly all of them very fine specimens of female humanity, + for the most part follow a rocket-like curve. The majority of them begin + by getting into trouble, at the end of which, perhaps, they find + themselves with a child upon their hands. Or they may have been turned out + of their homes, or some sudden misfortune may have reduced them to + destitution. At any rate, the result is that they take to a loose life, + and mayhap, after living under the protection of one or two men, find + themselves upon the streets. Sometimes, it may be said to their credit, if + that word can be used in this connexion, they adopt this mode of life in + order to support their child or children. + </p> + <p> + The Major informed me that if they are handsome they generally begin with + a period of great prosperity. One whom she knew earned about £30 a week, + and a good many of them make as much as £1,000 a year, and pay perhaps £6 + weekly in rent. + </p> + <p> + A certain proportion of them are careful, open a bank account, save money, + retire, and get married. Generally, these keep their bank-books in their + stockings, which, in their peculiar mode of life, they find to be the + safest place, as they are very suspicious of each other, and much afraid + of being robbed. The majority of them, however, are not so provident. They + live in and for the moment, and spend their ill-gotten gains as fast as + they receive them. + </p> + <p> + Gradually they drift downwards. They begin in Piccadilly, and progress, or + rather retrogress, through Leicester Square on to Tottenham Court Road and + Oxford Street, and thence to the Euston Road, ending their sad careers in + Bishopsgate and Whitechapel. The Major informed me that there are but very + few in the Piccadilly neighbourhood whom she knew when she took up this + work, and that, as a rule, they cannot stand the life for long. The + irregular hours, the exposure, the excitement, and above all the drink in + which most of them indulge, kill them out or send them to a poorhouse or + the hospital. + </p> + <p> + She said, however, that as a class they have many virtues. For instance, + they are very kind-hearted, and will always help each other in trouble. + Also, most of them have affection for their children, being careful to + keep them, if possible, from any knowledge of their mode of life. Further, + they are charitable to the poor, and, in a way, religious; or, perhaps, + superstitious would be a better term. Thus, they often go to church on + Sundays, and do not follow their avocation on Sunday nights. On New Year's + Eve, their practice is to attend the Watch Night services, where, + doubtless, poor people, they make those good resolutions that form the + proverbial pavement of the road to Hell. Nearly all of them drink more or + less, as they say that they could not live their life without stimulant. + Moreover, their profession necessitates their walking some miles every + night. + </p> + <p> + For the most part these women lodge in pairs in their own flats, where + they pay about 35<i>s</i>. a week for three unfurnished rooms. The Officer + told me that often some despicable man, who is called a 'bully,' lives on + them, following them round the streets, and watching them. Even the + smartest girls are not infrequently the victims of such a man, who knocks + them about and takes money from them. Occasionally he may be a husband or + a relative. She added that as a class they are much better behaved and + less noisy than they used to be. This improvement, however, is largely due + to the increased strictness of the police. These women do not decrease in + number. In the Major's opinion, there are as many or more of them on the + streets as there were fourteen years ago, although the brothels and the + procuresses are less numerous, and their quarters have shifted from + Piccadilly to other neighbourhoods. + </p> + <p> + The Army methods of dealing, or rather of attempting to deal with this + utterly insoluble problem are simple enough. The Officers walk the streets + every night from about twelve to two and distribute cards in three + languages according to the nationality of the girl to whom these are + offered. Here they are in English, French, and German:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Mrs. Booth will gladly help any Girl + or Woman in need of a friend. + <i>APPLY AT</i> + 79 Great Titchfield Street, + or 259 Mare Street, Hackney, N.E. +</pre> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Vous avez une amie + qui est disposée à + vous aider. + + (S addresser) + Madame Booth + 79 Great Titchfield Street, + Oxford Street, + Londres, W. + + MADAM BOOTH will herzlich gerne Jedem + Mädchen oder Jeder Frau helfen, die sich + in Noth auf eine Freundin befinden. + + 259 Mare Street, Hackney, + 70 Great Titchfield Street, W. +</pre> + <p> + Most of the girls to whom they are offered will not take them, but a good + number do and, occasionally, the seed thus sown bears fruit. Thus the + woman who takes the card may come to Great Titchfield Street and be + rescued in due course. More frequently, however, she will give a false + address, or make an appointment which she does not keep, or will say that + it is too late for her to change her life. But this fact does not always + prevent such a woman from trying to help others by sending young girls who + have recently taken to the trade to the Titchfield Street Refuge in the + hope that they may be induced to abandon their evil courses. + </p> + <p> + Occasionally the Army has midnight suppers in its Regent Hall for these + women, who attend in large numbers, perhaps out of curiosity. At the last + supper nearly 300 'swell girls' were present and listened to the prayers + and the exhortations to amend their lives. Sometimes, too, the Officers + attend them when they are sick or dying. Once they buried one of the + women, who died whilst under their care, holding a midnight funeral over + her at their hall in Oxford Street. + </p> + <p> + It was attended by hundreds of the sisterhood, and the Major described the + scene as terrible. The women were seized with hysterics, and burst into + shrieks and sobs. They even tried to open the coffin in order to kiss the + dead girl who lay within. + </p> + <p> + Amongst many other cases, I was informed of a black girl called Diamond, + so named because she wore real diamonds on her dresses, which dresses cost + over £100 apiece. The Army tried to help her in vain, and wrote her many + letters. In the end she died in an Infirmary, when all the letters were + found carefully hidden away among her belongings and returned to the + Major. + </p> + <p> + The average number of rescues compassed, directly or indirectly, by the + Piccadilly Midnight work is about fifty a year. This is not a very great + result; but after all the taking of even a few people from this hellish + life and their restoration to decency and self-respect is well worth the + cost and labour of the mission. The Officers told me that they meet with + but little success in the case of those women who are in their bloom and + earning great incomes. It can scarcely be otherwise, for what has the Army + to offer them in place of their gaudy, glittering life of luxury and + excitement? + </p> + <p> + The way of transgressors is hard, but the way of repentance is harder; at + any rate, while the transgressor is doing well. On the one hand jewels and + champagne, furs and motors, and on the other prayers that talk of death + and judgment, plain garments made by the wearer's labour, and at the end + the drudgery of earning an honest livelihood, perhaps as a servant. Human + nature being what it is, it seems scarcely wonderful that these children + of pleasure cling to the path of 'roses' and turn from that of 'thorns.' + </p> + <p> + With those that are growing old and find themselves broken in body and in + spirit, who are thrust aside in the fierce competition of their trade in + favour of younger rivals; those who find the wine in their tinsel cup + turning, or turned, to gall, the case is different. They are sometimes, + not always, glad to creep to such shelter from the storms of life as the + Army can offer, and there work out their moral and physical salvation. For + what bitterness is there like to that which must be endured by the poor, + broken woman of the streets, as scorned, spat on, thrust aside, she sinks + from depth to depth into the last depth of all, striving to drown her + miseries with drugs or drink, if so she may win forgetfulness even for an + hour? + </p> + <p> + Sometimes, too, these patient toilers in the deep of midnight sin succeed + in dragging from the brink those that have but dipped their feet in its + dark waters. <i>Nemo repente fuit turpissimus</i>—no one becomes + altogether filthy in an hour—runs the old Roman saying, which is as + true to-day as it was 2,000 years ago, and whether it be spoken of body or + of soul, it is easier to wash the feet than the whole being. When they + understand what lies before them certain of the young shrink back and + grasp Mercy's outstretched arms. + </p> + <p> + One night about twelve o'clock, together with Lieut.-Colonel Jolliffe, an + Officer of the Army who was dressed in plain clothes, I accompanied the + Major and the lady who is her colleague, to Leicester Square and its + neighbourhood, and there watched their methods of work, following them at + a little distance. Dressed in their uniform they mingled with the women + who marched the pavements, and now and again, with curiously swift and + decisive steps glided up to one of them, whispered a few earnest words + into her ear, and proffered a printed ticket. Most of those spoken to + walked on stonily as people do when they meet an undesirable acquaintance + whom they do not wish to recognize. Some thrust past them rudely; some + hesitated and with a hard laugh went their way; but a few took the tickets + and hid them among their laces. + </p> + <p> + So far as the work was concerned that was all there was to see. Nothing + dramatic happened; no girl fled to them imploring help or asking to be + saved from the persecutions of a man; no girl even insulted them—for + these Officers to be insulted is a thing unknown. All I saw was the sowing + of the seed in very stony ground, where not one kern out of a thousand is + like to germinate and much less to grow. Yet as experience proves, + occasionally it does both germinate and grow, yes, and bloom and come to + the harvest of repentance and redemption. It is for this that these + unwearying labourers scatter their grain from night to night, that at + length they may garner into their bosoms a scanty but a priceless harvest. + </p> + <p> + It was a strange scene. The air was hot and heavy, the sky was filled with + black and lowering clouds already laced with lightnings. The music-halls + and restaurants had given out their crowds, the midnight mart was open. + Everywhere were women, all finely dressed, most of them painted, as could + be seen in the glare of the electric lights, some of them more or less + excited with drink, but none turbulent or noisy. Mixed up with these were + the bargainers, men of every degree, the most of them with faces + unpleasant to consider. + </p> + <p> + Some had made their pact and were departing. I noticed one young girl + whose looks would have drawn attention anywhere, whispering an address + from beneath an enormous feathered hat to the driver of a taxicab, while + her companion, a pleasant-looking, fresh-coloured boy, for he was scarcely + more, entered the vehicle, a self-satisfied air upon his face. She sprang + in also, and the cab with its occupants glided away out of my ken for + ever. + </p> + <p> + Here and there stalwart, quiet policemen requested loiterers to move on, + and the loiterers obeyed and re-formed in groups behind them; here and + there a respectable woman pushed her way through the throng, gathering up + her skirts as she did so and glancing covertly at this unaccustomed + company out of the corners of her eyes. + </p> + <p> + While watching all these sights we lost touch of the Salvation Army + ladies, who wormed their way through the crowd as easily and quickly as a + snake does through undergrowth, and set out to find them. Big drops began + to fall, the thunder growled, and in a moment the concourse commenced to + melt. Five minutes later the rain was falling fast and the streets had + emptied. That night's market was at an end. + </p> + <p> + No farmer watches the weather more anxiously than do these painted women + in their muslins and gold-laced shoes. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile, their night's work done, the Salvation Army ladies were + tramping through the wet back to Titchfield Street, for they do not spend + money on cabs, and the buses had ceased to run. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0027" id="link2H_4_0027"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE ANTI-SUICIDE BUREAU + </h2> + <p> + This is a branch of the Army's work with which I have been more or less + acquainted for some years. + </p> + <p> + The idea of an Anti-Suicide Bureau arose in the Army four or five years + ago; but every one seems to have forgotten with whom it actually + originated. I suppose that it grew, like Topsy, or was discovered + simultaneously by several Officers, like a new planet by different + astronomers studying the heavens in faith and hope. At any rate, the + results of the idea are remarkable. Thus in London alone 1,064 cases were + dealt with in the year 1909, and of those cases it is estimated that all + but about a dozen were turned from their fatal purpose. Let us halve these + figures, and say that 500 lives were actually saved, that 500 men live + to-day in and about London who otherwise would be dead by their own hands + and buried in dishonoured graves. Or let us even quarter them, and surely + this remains a wonderful work, especially when we remember that London is + by no means the only place in which it is being carried on. + </p> + <p> + How is it done? the reader may ask. I answer by knowledge of human nature, + by the power of sympathy, by gentle kindness. A poor wretch staggers into + a humble little room at the Salvation Army Headquarters in Queen Victoria + Street. He unfolds an incoherent tale. He is an unpleasant and disturbing + person whom any lawyer or business man would get rid of as soon as + possible. He vapours about self-destruction, he hints at dark troubles + with his wife. He produces drugs or weapons—a point at which most + people would certainly show him out. But the Officers in charge do nothing + of the sort. They laugh at him or give him a cup of tea. They bid him + brace himself together, and tell them the truth and nothing but the truth. + Then out pours the awful tale, which, however bad it may be, they listen + to quite unmoved though not unconcerned, for they hear such every day. + When it is finished, they ask coolly enough why, in the name of all that + their visitor reverences or holds dear, he considers it necessary to + commit suicide for a trifling job like that. A new light dawns upon the + desperate man. He answers, because he can see no other way out. + </p> + <p> + Why, exclaims the Officer, there are a dozen ways out. Let us find one of + them. You, A., have been faithless to your wife. Well, when the matter is + explained to her, I daresay she will forgive you. You, B., have defrauded + your employer. Well, employers are not always relentless. I'll call on him + this evening and talk the matter over. You, C., are hopelessly in debt + through horse-racing or speculation. Well, at the worst you can go through + the Court and start afresh. You, D., have committed a crime. Go and own up + to it like a man, stand your trial, and work out your sentence. I daresay + it won't be so very heavy if you take that course, and we will look after + you when it is over. You, E., have been brought into this state through + your miserable vices, drink, or whatever they may be. Cure yourself of the + vices—we'll show you how—don't crown them by cutting your + throat like a cur. You, F., have been afflicted with great sorrows. Well, + those sorrows have some purpose and some meaning. There's always a dawn + beyond the night; wait for that dawn; it will come here or hereafter. + </p> + <p> + And so on, and on, through all the gamut of human sin and misery. + </p> + <p> + Of course, there are cases in which the Army fails. As I have said, there + were about a dozen of these last year, six of which, if I remember right, + occurred with startling rapidity one after the other. The Suicide Officers + of the Army always take up the daily paper with fear and trembling, and + not infrequently find that the man whom they thought they had consoled and + set upon a different path, has been discovered dead by drowning in the + river, or by poison in the streets, or by whatever it may be. But + everything has its proportion of failures, and where intending suicides + are concerned 1 or 2 per cent, or on the quarter basis that I have adopted + as beyond question of sincerity of intent, 4 or 8 per cent is not a large + average. Indeed, 20 per cent would not be large, or even 50 per cent. But + these figures do not occur. + </p> + <p> + Of course, it is suggested that many of those who drift into the + Anti-Suicide Bureau have no real intention of making away with themselves, + but that they come there only to see what they can get in the way of money + or other comfort. As regards money, the answer is that, except very + occasionally, the Army gives none, for the simple reason that it has none + to give. For the rest the fatal cases which happen show that there is a + grim purpose at work in the minds of many of the applicants. But I repeat, + let us halve the figures, let us even quarter them, which, as Euclid + remarked, is absurd, and even then what are we to conclude? + </p> + <p> + Before proceeding with my comments upon this work I ought to state, + perhaps, that the Army has various branches of this Anti-Suicide Crusade. + Thus, it is at work in almost all our big cities, and also in America, in + Australia, and in Japan. The Japanese Bureau was opened last year with + very good results. This is the more remarkable in a country where ancient + tradition and immemorial custom hallow the system of <i>hara-kiri</i> in + any case of trouble or disgrace. + </p> + <p> + Moreover, the idea is spreading, Count Tolstoy is said to have been + interested in it. Applications have been received from the Hague for + particulars of the Army methods in the matter. Similar work is being + carried out in Vienna, not by the Army, but on its lines. The Army has + been informed that if it will open an Anti-Suicide Bureau in Budapest, + office accommodation, etc., will be found for it. And so forth. + </p> + <p> + Colonel Unsworth who, until recently had charge of the Anti-Suicide Bureau + from its commencement, is of opinion that suicide is very much on the + increase, a statement that it would be difficult to dispute in view of the + number of cases recorded daily in the local Press. For instance, I read + one on this morning of writing, in a Norfolk paper, where a farmer had + blown out his brains, to all appearance because he had a difference of + opinion with his wife as to whether he should, or should not, take on + another farm. + </p> + <p> + Colonel Unsworth attributed this sad state of affairs to sundry causes. + The first of these was the intense and ever-increasing nervous pressure of + our time. The second, the spread of fatalism, The third, the advance of + materialistic ideas, and of the general disbelief in the doctrine of + future retribution. The fourth, a certain noticeable return in such + matters to the standard of Pagan nations, especially of ancient Rome, + where it was held that if things went wrong and life became valueless, or + even uninteresting, to bring it to an end was in no sense shameful but + praiseworthy. In illustration of this point, he quoted a remark said to + have been made by a magistrate not long ago, to the effect that in certain + conditions a man was not to be blamed for taking his own life. + </p> + <p> + His fifth reason was that circumstances arise in which some people + convince themselves that their deaths would benefit their families. Thus, + insurances may fall in, for, after one or two premiums have been paid, + many offices take the risk of suicide. Or they may know that when they are + gone, wealthy relatives will take care of their children, who will thus be + happier and better off than these are while they, the fathers, live. Wrong + as it may be, this, indeed, is an attitude with which it is difficult not + to feel a certain sympathy. After all, we are told that there is no + greater love than that of a man who lays down his life for his friend, + though there ran be no doubt that the saying was not intended to include + this kind of laying down of life. + </p> + <p> + Colonel Unsworth's sixth cause was the increasing atrophy of the public + conscience. He stated that suicide is rarely preached against from the + pulpit, as drunkenness is for instance. Further, a jury can seldom be + induced to bring in a verdict of <i>felo-de-se.</i> Even where the victim + was obviously and, perhaps painfully sane, his act is put down to + temporary insanity. + </p> + <p> + Other causes are drink, hereditary disposition, madness in all its protean + shapes; incurable disease, unwillingness to face the consequences of sin + or folly; the passion of sexual love, which is sometimes so mighty as to + amount to madness; the effects of utter grief such as result from the loss + of those far more beloved than self, of which an instance is at hand in + the case of the Officer in charge of the Shelter at Great Peter Street, + Westminster, mentioned earlier in this book, who, it may be remembered, + tried to kill himself after the death of his wife and child; and lastly, + where women are concerned, terror and shame at the prospect of giving + birth to a child, whose appearance in the world is not sanctioned by law + or custom. + </p> + <p> + Suicide among women is, however, comparatively rare, a fact which suggests + either that the causes which produce it press on or affect them less, or + that in this particular, their minds are better balanced than are those of + men. I was told, at any rate, that but few women apply to the Suicide + Bureau of the Army for help in this temptation; though, perhaps, that may + be due to the greater secretiveness of the sex. + </p> + <p> + Speaking generally, this magnitude of the evil to be attacked may be + gauged from the fact that about 3,800 people die by their own hands in + England and Wales every year, a somewhat appalling total. + </p> + <p> + Intending suicides come into the hands of the Army Bureau in various ways. + Some of them see notices in the Press descriptive of this branch of the + Social Work. Some of them are found by policemen in desperate + circumstances and brought to the Bureau, and some are sent there from + different localities by Salvation Army Officers. + </p> + <p> + I have looked through the records of numbers of these cases, but, for + obvious reasons, it is difficult to give a full and accurate description + of any of them. The reader, therefore, must be content to accept my + assurance of their genuine nature. One or two, however, may be alluded to + with becoming vagueness. Here is an example of a not infrequent kind, when + a person arrives at the office having already attempted the deed. + </p> + <p> + A business man who had recently made a study of agnostic literature, had + become involved in certain complications, which resulted in a quarrel with + his wife. His means not being sufficient to the support of a double + establishment, he took the train to London with a bottle of sulphonal in + his pocket (not a drug to be recommended for his purpose) and swallowed + tabloids all the way to town. When he had taken seventy-five grains, and + the bottle, as I saw, was two-thirds empty, he found that the drug worked + in a way he did not expect. Instead of killing him, it awoke his religious + susceptibilities, which the course of agnostic literature had scotched but + not killed, and he began to wonder with some earnestness whether, after + all, there might not be a Hereafter which, in the circumstances, he did + not care to face. + </p> + <p> + In this acute perplexity he bethought him of the Salvation Army, and + arrived at the Bureau in a state of considerable excitement, as quickly as + a taxicab could bring him. A doctor and a fortnight in hospital did the + rest. The Army found him another situation in place of the one which he + had lost, and composed his differences with his wife. They are now both + Salvationists and very happy. So, in this instance, all's well that ends + well. + </p> + <p> + <i>Case Two.</i>—A man, in a responsible position, and of rather + extravagant habits, married a wife of more extravagant habits, and found + that, whatever the proverb may say, it costs more to keep two than one. + His money matters became desperately involved, but, being afraid to + confide in his wife, he spent a Sunday afternoon in trying to make up his + mind whether he would shoot or drown himself. While he was thus engaged, a + Salvation Army band happened to pass his door, and reminded him of what he + had read about the Anti-Suicide Bureau. Postponing decision as to the + exact method of his departure from this earth, he called there, and was + persuaded to make a clean breast of the matter to his wife. + </p> + <p> + Afterwards the Army took up his extremely complicated affairs. I saw a + pile of documents relating to them that must have been at least 4 ins. + thick. The various money-lenders were interviewed, and persuaded to accept + payment in weekly or monthly instalments. The account was almost square + when I saw it, and the person concerned extremely happy and grateful. I + should say that, in this case, a lawyer's bill for the work which was done + for nothing would have amounted to quite £50. + </p> + <p> + In another somewhat similar case, that of an official who had tampered + with moneys in his charge, though this was not discovered, some of the + creditors had placed the business in the hands of + debt-collecting-agencies, than whom, said Colonel Unsworth, 'there are no + harder or more cruel creditors.' At any rate, they drove this poor man + almost to madness, with the usual result. A friend brought him to the + Army, who shouldered his affairs, dealt with the debt-collecting agencies, + obtained help from his connexions, and paid off what was owing by + instalments. He and his family are now again quite comfortable. + </p> + <p> + <i>Case Three</i>.—A man was cursed with such a fearful temper that + he could keep no situation. He came to London in a state of fury, with a + razor in his pocket. Happening to see the words 'Salvation Army Shelter' + on a building, it occurred to him to hear what the Suicide Officers had to + say before he cut his throat. They dealt with the matter, and showed him + the error of his way. He is now in a very good single-handed situation + abroad where, as he cannot talk the language, he finds it difficult to + quarrel with those about him. + </p> + <p> + <i>Case Four</i>.—Telephone operator, who was driven mad by that + dreadful instrument and by domestic worries. The Army Officers saved the + man and smoothed over the domestic worries; but how he gets on with the + telephone instruments is not recorded. + </p> + <p> + <i>Case Five</i>.—Unsuitable marriage and bad temper. The wife had + become involved in some trouble in early life, and unwisely, as it proved, + confessed to the husband, who brought it up against her every time there + was a quarrel between them. In this instance, also, suicide was averted + and the domestic differences were arranged. + </p> + <p> + <i>Case Six</i>—A man in a business firm, married, with children, + was through no fault of his own thrown out of work, owing to the + appointment of a new manager. He came at last to the Embankment, and + afterwards applied for a job in answer to an advertisement. The advertiser + told him it was a pity that as he had been so near the river he did not go + into it. The man determined to commit suicide; but the Officers dissuaded + him from this course and helped him. He returned a year later in a + condition of considerable prosperity, having worked his way to a Colony + where he is now doing extremely well, his visit to England being in + connexion with the business in which he had become a partner. + </p> + <p> + And so on <i>ad infinitum.</i> I might tell many such stories, some of + them of a much more tragic character than those I have instanced, but + refrain from doing so lest by chance they should be identified, especially + where the individuals concerned belonged to the upper strata of society. + Perhaps enough has been said, however, to show what a great work is being + done by the Army in this Department, where in London alone it deals with + several would-be suicides every day. + </p> + <p> + Of course, some of these people are frauds. For instance, one of the + Officers told me that not long ago a medical man, who was evidently a + drunkard, called on him and said that he would commit suicide unless money + were given to him. He was informed that this was against the rules; + whereon the man produced a bottle and said that if the money were not + forthcoming, he would drink its contents and make an end of himself in the + office. As may be imagined the Officer went through an anxious moment, not + quite knowing what to do. However, he looked the man over, summed him up + to the best of his judgment and ability, and coming to the conclusion that + he was a bully and a braggart, said that he might do what he liked. The + man swallowed the contents of the bottle, exclaiming that he would be dead + in a few minutes, and a pause ensued, during which the Officer confessed + to me that he felt very uncomfortable. The end of it was that his visitor + said, with a laugh, that 'he would not like to cumber the Salvation Army + with his corpse,' and walked out of the room. The draught which he had + taken was comparatively harmless. + </p> + <p> + As I have mentioned, however, a proportion of the cases are quite + irreclaimable. They come and consult the Army, then depart and do the + deed. Six that can be traced have been lost in this way during the last + few months. + </p> + <p> + Colonel Unsworth explained to me what I had already guessed, that this + business of dealing with scores and hundreds of despairing beings standing + on the very edge of the grave, is a terrible strain upon any man. The + responsibility becomes too great, and he who has to bear it is apt to be + crushed beneath its weight. Every morning he reads his paper with a + sensation of nervous dread, fearing lest among the police news he should + find a brief account of the discovery of some corpse which he can identify + as that of an individual with whom he had pleaded at his office on the + yesterday and in vain. + </p> + <p> + On former occasions when I visited him, Colonel Unsworth used to show me a + small museum of poisons, knives, revolvers, etc., which he had taken from + those who proposed to use them to cut the Gordian knot of life. + </p> + <p> + Now, however, he has but few of these dreadful relics. I asked him what he + had done with the rest. He answered that he had destroyed them. + </p> + <p> + 'The truth is,' he added, 'that after some years of this business I can no + longer bear to look at the horrid things; they get upon my nerves.' + </p> + <p> + If I may venture to offer a word of advice to the Chiefs of the Salvation + Army, I would suggest that the very responsible position of first + Anti-Suicide Officer in London is not one that any man should be asked to + fill in perpetuity. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0028" id="link2H_4_0028"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + WORK IN THE PROVINCES + </h2> + <h3> + LIVERPOOL + </h3> + <p> + When planning this little book I had it in my mind to deal at some length + with the Provincial Social Work of the Army, Now I find, however, that + considerations of space must be taken into account; also that it is not + needful to set out all the details of that work, seeing that to do so + would involve a great deal of repetition. + </p> + <p> + The Salvation Army machines for the regeneration of fallen men and women, + if I may so describe them, are, after all, of much the same design, and + vary for the most part only in the matter of size. The material that goes + through those machines is, it is true, different, yet even its infinite + variety, if considered in the mass, has a certain similitude. For these + reasons, therefore, I will only speak of what is done by the Army in three + of the great Midland and Northern cities that I have visited, namely, + Manchester, Liverpool, and Glasgow, and of that but briefly, although my + notes concerning it run to over 100 typed pages. + </p> + <p> + The lady in charge of the Slum Settlement in Liverpool informed me that + the poverty in that city is very great, and during the past winter of 1919 + was really terrible owing to the scarceness of work in the docks. The + poor, however, are not so overcrowded, and rents are cheaper than in + London, the cost of two dwelling-cellars being about 2<i>s</i>. 6<i>d</i>., + and of a room about 3<i>s</i>. a week. The sisterhood of fallen women is, + she added, very large in Liverpool; but most of these belong to a low + class. + </p> + <p> + In this city the Army has one Institution for women called the 'Ann + Fowler' Memorial Home, which differs a good deal from the majority of + those that I have seen. It is a Lodging-Home for Women, and is designed + for the accommodation of persons of a better class than those who + generally frequent such places. This building, which was provided in + memory of her mother by Miss Fowler, a local philanthropist, at a cost of + about £6,000, was originally a Welsh Congregational chapel, that has been + altered to suit the purpose to which it is now put. It is extremely well + fitted-up with separate cubicles made of oak panelling, good lavatory + accommodation, and kitchens in which is made some of the most excellent + soup that I ever tasted. + </p> + <p> + Yet strange to say this place is not as much appreciated as it might be, + as may be judged from the fact that although it is designed to hold 113 + lodgers, when I visited it there were not more than between forty and + fifty. This is remarkable, as the charge made is only 4<i>d</i>. per + night, or 2<i>s</i>. a week, even for a cubicle, and an excellent + breakfast of bread and butter, fish, and tea can be had for 2<i>d</i>. + Other meals are supplied on a like scale, with the result that a woman + employed in outside work can live in considerable comfort in a room or + cubicle of her own for about 8<i>s</i>. a week. + </p> + <p> + The lady in charge told me, however, that there are reasons for this state + of affairs. One is that it provides for people of a rather higher class + than usual, who, of course, are not so numerous as those lower in the + social scale. + </p> + <p> + The principal reason, however, is prejudice. It is known that most of the + women accommodated in the Army Shelters are what are known as 'fallen' or + 'drunks.' Therefore, occupants of a Home devoted to a higher section of + society fear lest they should be tarred with the same brush in the eyes of + their associates. + </p> + <p> + Here is a story which illustrates this point which I remember hearing in + the United States. A woman, whose inebriety was well known, was picked up + absolutely dead drunk in an American city and taken by an Officer of the + Army to one of its Homes and put to bed. In the morning she awoke and, + guessing where she was lodged from various signs and tokens, such as texts + upon the wall, began to scream for her clothes. An attendant, who thought + that she had developed delirium tremens, ran up and asked what was the + matter. + </p> + <p> + 'Matter?' ejaculated the sot, 'the matter is that if I don't get out of + this —— place in double quick time, <i>I shall lose my + character!</i>' + </p> + <p> + The women who avail themselves of this 'Ann Fowler' Home are of all ages + and in various employments. One, I was told, was a lady separated from her + husband, whose father, now dead, had been the mayor of a large city. + </p> + <p> + A Liverpool Institution of another class, known as 'The Hollies,' is an + Industrial Home for fallen women, drunkards, thieves, and incorrigible + girls. It holds thirty-eight inmates and is always full, a good many of + these being sent to the place from Police-courts whence they are + discharged under the First Offenders Acts. + </p> + <p> + I saw these women at their evening prayers. The singing was hearty and + spontaneous, and they all seemed happy enough. Still, the faces of most of + them (they varied in age from forty-six to sixteen) showed traces of + life's troubles, but one or two were evidently persons of some refinement. + Their histories, which would fill volumes, must be omitted. Suffice it to + say that this Home, like all the others, is extremely well-arranged and + managed, and is doing a most excellent and successful work. + </p> + <p> + When the women are believed to be cured of their evil habits, whatever + they may be, they are for the most part sent out to service. There are two + rooms in the place to which they can return during their holidays, or when + they are changing situations, at a charge of 5s. a week. This many of them + like to do. + </p> + <p> + Next door to 'The Hollies' is another Home where young girls with their + illegitimate babies, and also a few children, are accommodated. It is + arranged to hold twenty-four mothers, and is generally full. A charge of + 5s. a week is supposed to be made, but unless the cases are sent from the + workhouse, when the Guardians pay, in practice little is recovered from + the patients. When they are well again, their babies are put out to nurse, + as at the London Maternity Home, and the girls are sent to service, no + difficulty being experienced in finding them places. During the two years + that this Home had been open eighty-two girls had passed through it, and + of these, the Matron informed me, there were but ten who were not doing so + well as they might. The rest were in employment of one sort or another, + and seemed to be in the way of completely regaining their characters. + </p> + <p> + I visited this place late at night, and in the room devoted to children, + as distinct from infants, saw one girl of nine with a curious history. + This child had been twelve times in the hands of the police before her + father brought her to the Army on their suggestion. Her mania was to run + away from home, where it does not appear that she was ill-treated, and to + sleep in the streets, on one occasion for as long as five nights. This + child had a very curious face, and even in her sleep, as I saw her, there + was about it something wild and defiant. When the Matron turned her over + she did not yawn or cry, but uttered a kind of snarl. I suppose that here + is an instance of atavism, that the child throw back for thousands or tens + of thousands of years, to when her progenitors were savages, and that + their primitive instincts have reasserted themselves in her, although she + was born in the twentieth century. She had been ten months in the Home and + was doing well. Indeed, the Matron told me that they had taken her out and + given her opportunities of running away, but that she had never attempted + to avail herself of them. + </p> + <p> + The Officer in charge informed me that there is much need for a Maternity + Hospital in Liverpool. + </p> + <p> + There are also Institutions for men in Liverpool, but these I must pass + over. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0029" id="link2H_4_0029"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE MEN'S SOCIAL WORK + </h2> + <h3> + MANCHESTER + </h3> + <p> + The Officer in charge of the Men's Social Work in Manchester told me the + same story that I had heard in Liverpool as to the prevailing distress. He + said, 'It has been terrible the last few winters. I have never seen + anything like it. We know because they come to us, and the trouble is more + in a fixed point than in London. Numbers and numbers come, destitute of + shelter or food or anything. The cause is want of employment. There is no + work. Many cases, of course, go down through drink, but the most cannot + get work. The fact is that there are more men than there is work for them + to do, and this I may say is a regular thing, winter and summer.' + </p> + <p> + A sad statement surely, and one that excites thought. + </p> + <p> + I asked what became of this residue who could not find work. His answer + was, 'They wander about, die off, and so on.' + </p> + <p> + A still sadder statement, I think. + </p> + <p> + The Major in charge is a man of great organising ability, force of + character, and abounding human sympathy. Yet he was once one of the + melancholy army of wasters. Some seventeen years ago he came into the Army + through one of its Shelters, a drunken, out-of-place cabinet-maker, who + had been tramping the streets. They gave him work and he 'got converted.' + Now he is the head of the Manchester Social Institutions, engaged in + finding work for or converting thousands of others. + </p> + <p> + At first the Army had only one establishment in Manchester, which used to + be a cotton mill. Now it is a Shelter for 200 men. Then it took others, + some of which are owned and some hired, among them a great 'Elevator' on + the London plan, where waste paper is sorted and sold. The turn-over here + was over £8,000 in 1909, and may rise to £12,000. I forget how many men it + finds work for, but every week some twenty-five new hands come in, and + about the same number pass out. + </p> + <p> + This is a wonderful place, filled with what appears to be rubbish, but + which is really valuable material. Among this rubbish all sorts of strange + things are to be found. Thus I picked out of it, and kept as a souvenir, a + beautifully-bound copy of Wesley's Hymns, published about a hundred years + ago. Lying near it was an early edition of Scott's 'Marmion.' This + Elevator more than pays its way; indeed the Army is saving money out of + it, which is put by to purchase other buildings. + </p> + <p> + Then there are houses where the people employed in the paper-works lodge, + a recently-acquired home for the better class of men, which was once a + mansion of the De Clifford family, and afterwards a hospital, and a store + where every kind of oddment is sold by Dutch auction. These articles are + given to the Army, and among the week's collection I saw clocks, + furniture, bicycles, a parrot cage, and a crutch. Not long ago the + managers of this store had a goat presented to them, which nearly ate them + out of house and home, as no one would buy it, and they did not like to + send the poor beast to the butcher. + </p> + <p> + In these various Shelters and Institutions I saw some strange characters. + One had been an electrical engineer, educated under Professor Owen, at + Cardiff College. He came into money, and gambled away £13,000 on + horse-racing, although he told me that he won as much as £8,000 on one + Ascot meeting. His subsequent history is a story in itself, one too long + to set out; but the end of it, in his own words, was 'Four years ago I + came here, and, thank God! I am going on all right.' + </p> + <p> + Why do not the writers of naturalistic novels study Salvation Army + Shelters? In any one of them they would find more material than could be + used up in ten lifetimes; though, personally, I confess I am content to + read such stories in the secret annals of the various Institutions. + </p> + <p> + Another man, a very pleasant and humorous person, who was once a Church + worker and a singer in the choir, etc., when, in his own words, he used + 'to put on religion with his Sunday clothes and take it off again with + them,' came to grief through sheer love of amusement, such as that which + is to be found in music-halls and theatres. His habit was to spend the + money of an insurance company by which he was employed, in taking out the + young lady to whom he was engaged, to such entertainments. Ultimately, of + course, he was found out, and, when starving on the road, determined to + commit suicide. The Salvationists found him in the nick of time, and now + he is foreman of their paper-collecting yard. + </p> + <p> + Another, at the ripe age of twenty-four, had been twenty-seven times in + prison. His father was in prison, his eldest brother committed suicide in + prison by throwing himself over the banisters. Also, he had two brothers + at present undergoing penal servitude, who, when he was a little fellow, + used to pass him through windows to open doors in houses which they were + burgling. + </p> + <p> + I suggested that it was a poor game and that he had better give it up. He + answered:—'I shall never do it again, sir, God helping me.' Really I + think he meant what he said. + </p> + <p> + Another, in the Chepstow Street Shelter, where he acted as night-watchman, + was discharged from Portland, after serving a fifteen years' sentence for + manslaughter. His trouble was that he killed a man in a fight, and as he + had fought him before and had a grudge against him, was very nearly hanged + for his pains. This man earned £9 in some way or other during his + sentence, which he sent to his wife. Afterwards, he discovered that she + had been living with another man, who died and left her well off. But she + has never refunded the £9, nor will she have anything to do with her + husband. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0030" id="link2H_4_0030"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + OAKHILL HOUSE + </h2> + <h3> + MANCHESTER + </h3> + <p> + Oakhill House is a Rescue Home for women, which was given to the Army by + Mrs. Crossley, a well-known local lady. It deals with prison, fallen, + inebriate, and preventive cases. At the time of my visit there were + sixty-three inmates, but when a new adjacent building is completed there + will be room for more. There is a wonderful laundry in this Home, where + the most beautiful washing is done at extremely moderate prices. The + ironing and starching room was a busy sight, but what I chiefly remember + about it was the spectacle of one melancholy old man, the only male among + that crowd of women, seated by a steam-boiler that drove the machinery, to + which it was his business to attend. (No woman can be persuaded to look + after a boiler.) In the midst of all those females he had the appearance + of a superannuated and disillusioned Turk contemplating his too extensive + establishment and reflecting on its monthly bills. + </p> + <p> + The matron in charge informed me that even for these rough women there is + no system of punishment whatsoever. No girl is ever restricted in her + food, or put on bread and water, or struck, or shut away by herself. The + Army maxim is that it is its mission not to punish but to try to reform. + If in any particular case its methods of gentleness fail, which they + rarely do, it is considered best that the case should depart, very + possibly to return again later on. + </p> + <p> + She added that although many of these women had committed assaults, and + even fought the Police, not one of them attacks another in the Home once + in a year, and that during her twenty years of work, although she had + lived among some of the worst women in England, she had never received a + single blow. As an illustration of what the Salvation Army understands by + this word 'work' I may state that throughout these twenty years, except + for the allotted annual fortnight, this lady has had no furlough. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0031" id="link2H_4_0031"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE MEN'S SOCIAL WORK + </h2> + <h3> + GLASGOW + </h3> + <p> + I saw the Brigadier in charge of the Men's Social Work in Glasgow at a + great central Institution where hundreds of poor people sleep every night. + The inscriptions painted on the windows give a good idea of its character. + Here are some of them: 'Cheap beds.' 'Cheap food.' 'Waste paper + collected.' 'Missing friends found.' 'Salvation for all.' + </p> + <p> + In addition to this Refuge there is an 'Elevator' of the usual type, in + which about eighty men were at work, and an establishment called the Dale + House Home, a very beautiful Adams' house, let to the Army at a small rent + by an Eye Hospital that no longer requires it. This house accommodates + ninety-seven of the men who work in the Elevator. + </p> + <p> + The Brigadier informed me that the distress at Glasgow was very great last + year. Indeed, during that year of 1909 the Army fed about 35,000 men at + the docks, and 65,000 at the Refuge, a charity which caused them to be + officially recognized for the first time by the Corporation, that sent + them a cheque in aid of their work. Now, however, things have much + improved, owing to the building of men-of-war and the forging of great + guns for the Navy. At Parkhead Forge alone 8,000 men are being employed + upon a vessel of the Dreadnought class, which will occupy them for a year + and a half. So it would seem that these monsters of destruction have their + peaceful uses. + </p> + <p> + Glasgow, he said, 'is a terrible place for drink, especially of methylated + spirits and whisky.' Drink at the beginning, I need hardly remark, means + destitution at the end, so doubtless this failing accounts for a large + proportion of its poverty. + </p> + <p> + The Men's Social Work of the Army in Glasgow, which is its Headquarters in + Scotland, is spreading in every direction, not only in that city itself, + but beyond it to Paisley, Greenock, and Edinburgh. Indeed, the Brigadier + has orders 'to get into Dundee and Aberdeen as soon as possible.' I asked + him how he would provide the money. He answered, 'Well, by trusting in God + and keeping our powder dry.' + </p> + <p> + As regards the Army's local finance the trouble is that owing to the + national thriftiness it is harder to make commercial ventures pay in + Scotland than in England. Thus I was informed that in Glasgow the + Corporation collects and sells its own waste paper, which means that there + is less of that material left for the Salvation Army to deal with. In + England, so far as I am aware, the waste-paper business is not a form of + municipal trading that the Corporations of great cities undertake. + </p> + <p> + Another leading branch of the Salvation Army effort in Scotland is its + Prison work. It is registered in that country as a Prisoners' Aid Society, + and the doors of every jail in the land are open to its Officers. I saw + the Army's prison book, in which are entered the details of each prison + case with which it is dealing. Awful enough some of them were. + </p> + <p> + I remember two that caught my eye as I turned its pages. The first was + that of a man who had gone for a walk with his wife, from whom he was + separated, cut her head off, and thrown it into a field. The second was + that of another man, or brute beast, who had taken his child by the heels + and dashed out its brains against the fireplace. It may be wondered why + these gentle creatures still adorn the world. The explanation seems to be + that in Scotland there is a great horror of capital punishment, which is + but rarely inflicted. + </p> + <p> + My recollection is that the Officer who visited them had hopes of the + permanent reformation of both these men; or, at any rate, that there were + notes in his book to this effect. + </p> + <p> + I saw many extraordinary cases in this Glasgow Refuge, some of whom had + come there through sheer misfortune. One had been a medical man who, + unfortunately, was left money and took to speculating on the Stock + Exchange. He was a very large holder of shares in a South African mine, + which he bought at 1s. 6d. These shares now stand at £7; but, unhappily + for him, his brokers dissolved partnership, and neither of them would + carry over his account. So it was closed down just at the wrong time, with + the result that he lost everything, and finally came to the streets. He + never drank or did anything wrong; it was, as he said, 'simply a matter of + sheer bad luck.' + </p> + <p> + Another was a Glasgow silk merchant, who made a bad debt of £3,000 that + swamped him. Afterwards he became paralysed, but recovered. He had been + three years cashier of this Shelter. + </p> + <p> + Another arrived at the Shelter in such a state that the Officer in charge + told me he was obliged to throw his macintosh round him to hide his + nakedness. He was an engineer who took a public-house, and helped himself + freely to his stock-in-trade, with the result that he became a frightful + drunkard, and lost £1,700. He informed me that he used to consume no less + than four bottles of whisky a day, and suffered from delirium tremens + several times. In the Shelter—I quote his own words—'I gave my + heart to God, and after that all desire for drink and wrongdoing' (he had + not been immaculate in other ways) 'gradually left me. From 1892 I had + been a drunkard. After my conversion, in less than three weeks I ceased to + have any desire for drink.' + </p> + <p> + This man became night-watchman in the Shelter, a position which he held + for twelve months. He said: 'I was promoted to be Sergeant; when I put on + my uniform and stripes, I reckoned myself a man again. Then I was made + foreman of the works at Greendyke Street. Then I was sent to pioneer our + work in Paisley, and when that was nicely started, I was sent on to + Greenock, where I am now trying to work up a (Salvation Army) business.' + </p> + <p> + Here, for a reason to be explained presently, I will quote a very similar + case which I saw at the Army Colony at Hadleigh, in Essex. This man, also + a Scotsman (no Englishman, I think, could have survived such experiences), + is a person of fine and imposing appearance, great bodily strength, and + good address. He is about fifty years of age, and has been a soldier, and + after leaving the Service, a gardener. Indeed, he is now, or was recently, + foreman market-gardener at Hadleigh. He married a hospital nurse, and + found out some years after marriage that she was in the habit of using + drugs. This habit he contracted also, either during her life or after her + death, and with it that of drink. + </p> + <p> + His custom was to drink till he was a wreck, and then take drugs, either + by the mouth or subcutaneously, to steady himself. Chloroform and ether he + mixed together and drank, strychnine he injected. At the beginning of this + course, threepennyworth of laudanum would suffice him for three doses. At + the end, three years later (not to mention ether, chloroform, and + strychnine), he took of laudanum alone nearly a tablespoonful ten or + twelve times a day, a quantity, I understand, which is enough to kill five + or six horses. One of the results was that when he had to be operated on + for some malady, it was found impossible to bring him under the influence + of the anaesthetic. All that could be done was to deprive him of his power + of movement, in which state he had to bear the dreadful pain of the + operation. Afterwards the surgeon asked him if he were a drug-taker, and + he told me that he answered:— + </p> + <p> + 'Why, sir, I could have drunk all the lot you have been trying to give me, + without ever knowing the difference.' + </p> + <p> + In this condition, when he was such a wreck that he trembled from head to + foot and was contemplating suicide, he came into the hands of the Army, + and was sent down to the Hadleigh Farm. + </p> + <p> + Now comes the point of the story. At Hadleigh he 'got converted,' and from + that hour has never touched either drink or drugs. Moreover, he assured me + solemnly that he could go into a chemist's shop or a bar with money in his + pocket without feeling the slightest desire to indulge in such stimulants. + He said that after his conversion, he had a 'terrible fight' with his old + habits, the physical results of their discontinuance being most painful. + Subsequently, however, and by degrees, the craving left him entirely, I + asked him to what he attributed this extraordinary cure. He replied:— + </p> + <p> + 'To the power of God. If I trusted in my own strength I should certainly + fail, but the power of God keeps me from being overcome.' + </p> + <p> + Now these are only two out of a number of cases that I have seen myself, + in which a similar explanation of his cure has been given to me by the + person cured, and I would like to ask the unprejudiced and open-minded + reader how he explains them. Personally I cannot explain them except upon + an hypothesis which, as a practical person, I confess I hesitate to adopt. + I mean that of a direct interposition from above, or of the working of + something so unrecognized or so undefined in the nature of man (which it + will be remembered the old Egyptians, a very wise people, divided into + many component parts, whereof we have now lost count), that it may be + designated an innate superior power or principle, brought into action by + faith or 'suggestion.' + </p> + <p> + That these people who have been the slaves of, or possessed by certain + gross and palpable vices, of which drink is only one, are truly and + totally changed, there can be no question. To that I am able to bear + witness. The demoniacs of New Testament history cannot have been more + transformed; and I know of no stranger experience than to listen to such + men, as I have times and again, speaking of their past selves as entities + cast off and gone, and of their present selves as new creatures. It is, + indeed, one that throws a fresh light upon certain difficult passages in + the Epistles of St. Paul, and even upon the darker sayings of the Master + of mankind Himself. They do, in truth, seem to have been 'born again.' But + this is a line of thought that I will not attempt to follow; it lies + outside my sphere and the scope of these pages. + </p> + <p> + After the Officer who used to consume four bottles of whisky a day, and is + now in charge of the Salvation Army work in Greenock, had left the room, I + propounded these problems to Lieut.-Colonel Jolliffe and the Brigadier, as + I had done previously to Commissioner Sturgess. I pointed out that + religious conversion seemed to me to be a spiritual process, whereas the + craving for drink or any other carnal satisfaction was, or appeared to be, + a physical weakness of the body. Therefore, I did not understand how the + spiritual conversion could suddenly and permanently affect or remove the + physical desire, unless it were by the action of the phenomenon called + miracle, which mankind admits doubtfully to have been possible in the dim + period of the birth of a religion, but for the most part denies to be + possible in these latter days. + </p> + <p> + 'Quite so,' answered the Colonel, calmly, in almost the same words that + Commissioner Sturgess had used, 'it <i>is</i> miracle; that is our belief. + These men cannot change and purify themselves, their vices are + instantaneously, permanently, and miraculously removed by the power and + the Grace of God. This is the truth, and nothing more wonderful can be + conceived.' + </p> + <p> + Here, without further comment, I leave this deeply interesting matter to + the consideration of abler and better instructed persons than myself. + </p> + <p> + To come to something more mundane, which also deserves consideration, I + was informed that in Glasgow, with a population of about 900,000, there + exists a floating class of 80,000 people, who live in lodging-houses of + the same sort as, and mostly inferior to the Salvation Army Shelter of + which I am now writing. In other words, out of every twelve inhabitants of + this great city, one is driven to that method of obtaining a place to + sleep in at night. + </p> + <p> + In this particular Refuge there is what is called a free shelter room, + where people are accommodated in winter who have not even the few coppers + necessary to pay for a bed. During the month before my visit, which took + place in the summer-time, the Brigadier had allotted free beds in this + room to destitute persons to the value of £13. I may add that twice a week + this particular place is washed with a carbolic mixture! + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0032" id="link2H_4_0032"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE ARDENSHAW WOMEN'S HOME + </h2> + <h3> + GLASGOW + </h3> + <p> + I visited two of the Salvation Army's Women's Institutions in Glasgow. The + first of these was a Women's Rescue Home known as Ardenshaw. This is a + very good house, substantially built and well fitted up, that before it + was bought by the Army was the residence of a Glasgow merchant. It has + accommodation for thirty-six, and is always full. The inmates are of all + kinds, prison cases, preventive cases, fallen cases, drink cases. The very + worst of all these classes, however, are not taken in here, but sent to + the Refuge in High Street. Ardenshaw resembles other Homes of the same + sort that I have already dealt with in various cities, so I need not + describe it here. + </p> + <p> + Its Officers visit the prisons at Duke Street, Glasgow, Ayr, and Greenock, + and I saw a letter which had just arrived from the chaplain of one of + these jails, asking the Matron to interest herself in the case of a girl + coming up for trial, and to take her into a Home if she were discharged as + a first offender. + </p> + <p> + While I was eating some lunch in this house I noticed a young woman in + Salvation Army dress coming up the steps with a child of particularly + charming appearance. At my request she was brought into the room, where I + extracted from her a story which seems to be worth repeating as an + illustration of the spirit which animates so many members of the Army. + </p> + <p> + The young woman herself had once been an invalid who was taken into the + Home and nursed till she recovered, after which she was sent to a + situation in a large town. Here she came in contact with a poor family in + which the mother is a drunkard and the father a respectable, hardworking + man, and took a great fancy to one of the children, the little girl I have + mentioned. This child, who is about five years of age, it is her habit to + supply with clothes and more or less to feed. Unfortunately, however, when + the mother is on the drink she pawns the clothes which my Salvation Army + friend is obliged to redeem, since if she does not, little Bessie is left + almost naked. Indeed, before Bessie was brought away upon this particular + visit her protectress had to pay 14<i>s</i>. to recover her garments from + the pawnshop, a considerable sum out of a wage of about £18 a year. + </p> + <p> + I asked her why she did not take away this very fascinating child + altogether, and arrange for her to enter one of the Army Homes. She + answered because, although the mother would be glad enough to let her go, + the father, who is naturally fond of his children, objected. + </p> + <p> + 'Of which the result may be,' remarked Lieut.-Colonel Jolliffe grimly, + 'that about a dozen years hence that sweet little girl will become a + street-walking drunkard.' + </p> + <p> + 'Not while I live,' broke in her foster-mother, indignantly. + </p> + <p> + This kind-hearted little woman told me she had been six years in service + as sole maid-of-all-work in a large house. I inquired whether it was a + hard place. She replied that it would be easier if her four mistresses, + who are sisters and old maiden ladies, did not all take their meals at + four different times, have four different teapots, insist upon their + washing being sent to four different laundries, employ four different + doctors, and sleep in four different rooms. 'However,' she added, 'it is + not so difficult as it was as there used to be five, but one has died. + Also, they are kind to me in other ways and about Bessie. They like me to + come here for my holiday, as then they know I shall return on the right + day and at the right hour.' + </p> + <p> + When she had left the room, having in mind the capacities of the average + servant, and the outcry she is apt to make about her particular 'work,' I + said that it seemed strange that one young woman could fulfil all these + multifarious duties satisfactorily. + </p> + <p> + 'Oh,' said the matter-of-fact Colonel, 'you see, she belongs to the + Salvation Army, and looks at things from the point of view of her duty, + and not from that of her comfort.' + </p> + <p> + It is curious at what a tender age children learn to note the habits of + those about them. When this little Bessie was given <i>2d</i>. she lisped + out in her pretty Scotch accent, 'Mother winna have this for beer!' + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0033" id="link2H_4_0033"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE WOMEN'S LODGING-HOUSE + </h2> + <h3> + GLASGOW + </h3> + <p> + The last place that I visited in Glasgow was the Shelter for women, an + Institution of the same sort as the Shelter for men. It is a Lodging-house + in which women can have a bed at the price of 4<i>d</i>. per night; but if + that sum is not forthcoming, they are not, as a rule, turned away if they + are known to be destitute. + </p> + <p> + The class of people who frequent this Home is a very low one; for the most + part they are drunkards. They must leave the Shelter before ten o'clock in + the morning, when the majority of them go out hawking, selling laces, or + other odds and ends. Some of them earn as much as 2<i>s</i>. a day; but, + as a rule, they spend a good deal of what they earn, only saving enough to + pay for their night's lodging. This place has been open for sixteen years, + and contains 133 beds, which are almost always full. + </p> + <p> + The women whom I saw at this Shelter were a very rough-looking set, nearly + all elderly, and, as their filthy garments and marred countenances showed, + often the victims of drink. Still, they have good in them, for the lady in + charge assured me that they are generous to each other. If one of the + company has nothing they will collect the price of her bed or her food + between them, and even pay her debts, if these are not too large. There + were several children in the place, for each woman is allowed to bring in + one. When I was there many of the inmates were cooking their meals on the + common stove, and very curious and unappetizing these were. + </p> + <p> + Among them I noted a dark-eyed lassie of about sixteen who was crying. + Drawing her aside, I questioned her. It seemed that her father, a drunken + fellow, had turned her out of her home that afternoon because she had + forgotten to give him a message. Having nowhere to go she wandered about + the streets until she met a woman who told her of this Lodging-house. She + added, touchingly enough, that it was not her mother's fault. + </p> + <p> + Imagine a girl of sixteen thrown out to spend the night upon the streets + of Glasgow! + </p> + <p> + On the walls of one of the rooms I saw a notice that read oddly in a + Shelter for women. It ran:— + </p> + <p> + <i>Smoking is strictly prohibited after retiring</i>. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0034" id="link2H_4_0034"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE LAND AND INDUSTRIAL COLONY + </h2> + <h3> + HADLEIGH, ESSEX + </h3> + <p> + The Hadleigh Colony, of which Lieut.-Colonel Laurie is the Officer in + charge, is an estate of about 3,000 acres which was purchased by the + Salvation Army in the year 1891 at a cost of about £20 the acre, the land + being stiff clay of the usual Essex type. As it has chanced, owing to the + amount of building which is going on in the neighbourhood of Southend, and + to its proximity to London, that is within forty miles, the investment has + proved a very good one. I imagine that if ever it should come to the + hammer the Hadleigh Colony would fetch a great deal more than £20 the + acre, independently of its cultural improvements. These, of course, are + very great. For instance, more than 100 acres are now planted with + fruit-trees in full bearing. Also, there are brickfields which are + furnished with the best machinery and plant, ranges of tomato and salad + houses, and a large French garden where early vegetables are grown for + market. A portion of the land, however, still remains in the hands of + tenants, with whom the Army does not like to interfere. + </p> + <p> + The total turn-over of the land 'in hand' amounts to the large sum of over + £30,000 per annum, and the total capital invested is in the neighbourhood + of £110,000. Of this great sum about £78,000 is the cost of the land and + the buildings; the brickworks and other industries account for £12,000, + while the remaining £20,000 represents the value of the live and dead + stock. I believe that the mortgage remaining on the place, which the Army + had not funds to pay for outright, is now less than £50,000, borrowed at + about 4 per cent, and, needless to say, it is well secured. + </p> + <p> + Lieut.-Colonel Laurie informed me on the occasion of my last visit to + Hadleigh, in July, 1910, that taken as a whole even now the farm does not + pay its way.<a href="#linknote-6" name="linknoteref-6" id="linknoteref-6"><small>6</small></a> + This result is entirely owing to the character of the labour employed. At + first sight, as the men are paid but a trifling sum in cash, it would + appear that this labour must be extremely cheap. Investigation, however, + gives the story another colour. + </p> + <p> + It costs the Army 10<i>s</i>. a week to keep a man at Hadleigh in food and + lodgings, and in addition he receives a cash grant of from 6<i>d</i> to 5<i>s</i>. + a week. + </p> + <p> + Careful observation shows that the labour of three of these men, of whom + 92 per cent, be it remembered, come to the Colony through their drinking + habits, is about equal to that of one good agricultural hand who, in + Norfolk, reckoning in his harvest and sundries, would earn—let us + say, 18s. a week. Therefore, in practice where I, as a farmer, pay about + 18s., or in the case of carters and milkmen nearly £1, the Army pays £2, + circumstances under which it is indeed difficult to farm remuneratively in + England. + </p> + <p> + The object of the Hadleigh Colony is to supply a place where broken men of + bad habits, who chance in most cases to have had some connexion with or + liking for the land, can be reformed, and ultimately sent out to + situations, or as emigrants to Canada. About 400 of such men pass through + the Colony each year. Of these men, Lieut.-Colonel Laurie estimates that + 7-1/2 per cent prove absolute failures, although, he added that, 'it is + very, very difficult to determine as to when a man should be labelled an + absolute failure. He may leave us an apparent failure, and still come all + right in the end.' + </p> + <p> + The rest, namely 91 per cent or so, regain their place as decent and + useful members of society, a wonderful result which is brought about by + the pressure of discipline, tempered with kindness, and the influence of + steady and healthful work. + </p> + <p> + Persons of every class drift to this Colony. Thus, among the 230 Colonists + who were training there when I visited it in July, 1910, were two chemists + and a journalist, while a Church of England clergyman had just left it for + Canada. + </p> + <p> + As a specimen of the ruck, however, I will mention the first individual to + whom I happened to speak—a strong young man, who was weeding a bed + of onions. He told me that he had been a farm labourer in early life, and, + subsequently, for six years a coachman in a private livery stables in + London. He lost his place through drink, became a wanderer on the + Embankment, was picked up by the Salvation Army and sent to one of its + Elevator paper-works. Afterwards, he volunteered to work on the land at + Hadleigh, where he had then been employed for nine months. His ambition + was to emigrate to Canada, which, doubtless, he has now done, or is about + to do. Such cases might be duplicated by the dozen, but for this there is + no need. <i>Ex uno disce omnes</i>. + </p> + <p> + All the labour employed, however, is not of this class. For instance, the + next man to whom I spoke, who was engaged in ploughing up old cabbage land + with a pair of very useful four-year-olds, bred on the farm, was not a + Colonist but an agricultural hand, paid at the rate of wages usual in the + district. Another, who managed the tomato-houses, was a skilled + professional tomato-grower from the Channel Islands. The experience of the + managers of the Colony is that it is necessary to employ a certain number + of expert agriculturalists on the place, in order that they may train the + raw hands who come from London and elsewhere. + </p> + <p> + To a farmer, such as the present writer, a visit to Hadleigh is an + extremely interesting event, showing him, as it does, what can be done + upon cold and unkindly land by the aid of capital, intelligence, and + labour. Still I doubt whether a detailed description of all these + agricultural operations falls within the scope of a book such as that upon + which I am engaged. + </p> + <p> + Therefore, I will content myself with saying that this business, like + everything else that the Army undertakes, is carried out with great + thoroughness and considerable success. The extensive orchards are + admirably managed, and were fruitful even in the bad season of 1910. The + tomato-houses, which have recently been increased at a capital cost of + about £1,000, produce many tons of tomatoes, and the French garden is + excellent of its kind. The breed of Middle-white pigs is to be commended; + so much so in my judgment, and I can give no better testimonial, that at + the moment of writing I am trying to obtain from it a pedigree boar for my + own use. The Hadleigh poultry farm, too, is famous all over the world, and + the Officer who manages it was the President for 1910 of the Wyandotte + Society, fowls for which Hadleigh is famous, having taken the championship + prizes for this breed and others all over the kingdom. The cattle and + horses are also good of their class, and the crops in a trying year looked + extremely well. + </p> + <p> + All these things, however, are but a means to an end, which end is the + redemption of our fallen fellow-creatures, or such of them as come within + the reach of the work of the Salvation Army at this particular place. + </p> + <p> + I should add, perhaps, that there is a Citadel or gathering hall, which + will seat 400, where religious services are held and concerts are given on + Saturday nights for the amusement of the Colonists. I may mention that no + pressure is brought to bear to force any man in its charge to conform to + the religious principles of the Army. Indeed, many of these attend the + services at the neighbouring parish church. Notwithstanding the past + characters of those who live there, disturbances of any sort are unknown + at Hadleigh. Indeed, it is extremely rare for a case originating on the + Colony to come before the local magistrates. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0035" id="link2H_4_0035"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE SMALL-HOLDINGS SETTLEMENT + </h2> + <h3> + BOXTED, ESSEX + </h3> + <p> + General Booth and his Officers are, as I know from various conversations + with them, firmly convinced that many of the great and patent evils of our + civilization result from the desertion of the land by its inhabitants, and + that crowding into cities which is one of the most marked phenomena of our + time. Indeed, it was an identity of view upon this point, which is one + that I have advanced for years, that first brought me into contact with + the Salvation Army. But to preach the advantages of bringing people back + to the land is one thing, and to get them there quite another. Many + obstacles stand in the way. I need only mention two of these: the + necessity for large capital and the still more important necessity of + enabling those who are settled on it to earn out of Mother Earth a + sufficient living for themselves and their families. + </p> + <p> + That well-known philanthropist, the late Mr. Herring, was another person + much impressed with the importance of this matter, and I remember about + five years ago dining with him, with General Booth as my fellow-guest, on + an occasion when all this subject was gone into in detail. So lively, + indeed, was Mr. Herring's interest that he offered to advance a sum of + £100,000 to the Army, to be used in an experiment of land-settlement, + carried out under its auspices. Should that experiment prove successful, + the capital repaid by the tenants was to go to King Edward's Hospital + Fund, and should it fail, that capital was to be written off. Of this + £100,000, £40,000 has now been invested in the Boxted venture, and if this + succeeds, I understand that the balance will become available for other + ventures under the provisions of Mr. Herring's will. A long while must + elapse, however, before the result of the experiment can be definitely + ascertained. + </p> + <p> + The Boxted Settlement is situated In North Essex, about three miles from + Colchester, and covers an area of 400 acres. It is a flat place, that + before the Enclosures Acts was a heath, with good road frontages + throughout, an important point where small-holdings are concerned. The + soil is a medium loam over gravel, neither very good nor very bad, so far + as my judgment goes, and of course capable of great improvement under + intensive culture. + </p> + <p> + This estate, which altogether cost about £20 per acre to buy, has been + divided into sixty-seven holdings, varying in size from 4-1/2 acres to 7 + acres. The cottages which stand upon the holdings have been built in + pairs, at a cost of about £380 per pair, which price includes drainage, a + drinking well, and, I think, a soft-water cistern. These are extremely + good dwellings, and I was much struck with their substantial and practical + character. They comprise three bedrooms, a large living-room, a parlour, + and a scullery, containing a sink and a bath. Also there is a tool-house, + a pigstye, and a movable fowl-house on wheels. + </p> + <p> + On each holding an orchard of fruit trees has been planted in readiness + for the tenant, also strawberries, currants, gooseberries, and + raspberries, which in all occupy about three-quarters of an acre. The plan + is that the rest of the holding should be cultivated intensively upon a + system that is estimated to return £20 per acre. + </p> + <p> + The arrangement between the Army and its settlers is briefly as follows: + In every case the tenant begins without any capital, and is provided with + seeds and manures to carry him through the first two years, also with a + living allowance at the rate of 10<i>s</i>. a week for the man and his + wife, and 1<i>s</i>. a week for each child, which allowance is to cease + after he has marketed his first crops. + </p> + <p> + The tenancy terms are, that for two years the settler is a tenant at will, + the agreement being terminable by either party at any time without + compensation. At the end of these two years, subject to the approval of + the Director of the Settlement, the settler can take a 999 years' lease of + his holding, the Army for obvious reasons retaining the freehold. After + the first year of this lease, the rental payable for forty years is to be + 5 per cent per annum upon the capital invested in the settlement of the + man and his family upon the holding, which rent is to include the cost of + the house, land, and improvements, and all moneys advanced to him during + his period of probation. + </p> + <p> + It is estimated that this capital sum will average £520 per holding, so + that the tenant's annual rent for forty years will be £26, after which he + will have nothing more to pay save a nominal rent, and the remainder of + the lease will be the property of himself, or rather, of his descendants. + This property, I presume, will be saleable. + </p> + <p> + So, putting aside all legal technicalities and complications, it comes to + this: the tenant is started for two years after which he pays about £4 a + year rent per acre for the next forty years, and thereby virtually + purchases his holding. The whole question, which time alone can answer, is + whether a man can earn £4 per acre rent per annum, and, in addition, + provide a living for himself and family out of a five-acre holding on + medium land near Colchester. + </p> + <p> + The problem is one upon which I cannot venture to express any decisive + opinion, even after many years of experience of such matters. I trust, + however, that the answer may prove to be in the affirmative, and I am + quite sure that if any Organization is able to cause it to work out this + way, that Organization is the Salvation Army, whose brilliant business + capacity can, as I know, make a commercial success of the most unpromising + materials. + </p> + <p> + I should like to point out that this venture is one of great and almost of + national importance, because if it fails then it will be practically + proved that it is impossible to establish small holders on the land by + artificial means, at any rate, in England, and at the present prices of + agricultural produce. It is not often that a sum of £40,000 will be + available for such a purpose, and with it the direction of a charitable + Organization that seeks no profit, the oversight of an Officer as skilled + and experienced as Lieut.-Colonel Hiffe, and, in addition, a trained + Superintendent who will afford advice as to all agricultural matters, a + co-operative society ready to hire out implements, horses and carts at + cost price, and, if so desired, to undertake the distribution or marketing + of produce. Still, notwithstanding all these advantages, I have my + misgivings as to the ultimate result. + </p> + <p> + The men chosen to occupy these holdings by a Selection Committee of + Salvation Army Officers, are for the most part married people who were + born in the country, but had migrated to the towns. Most of them have more + or less kept themselves in touch with country life by cultivating + allotments during their period of urban residence, and precedence has been + given to those who have shown a real desire to return to the land. Other + essentials are a good character, both personal and as a worker, bodily and + mental health, and total abstention from any form of alcohol. No creed + test is required, and there are men of various religious faiths upon the + Settlement, only a proportion of them being Salvationists. + </p> + <p> + I interviewed two of these settlers at hazard upon their holdings, and, + although the year had been adverse, found them happy and hopeful. No. 1, + who had been a mechanic, proposed to increase his earnings by mending + bicycles. No. 2 was an agriculturist pure and simple, and showed me his + fowls and pigs with pride. Here, however, I found a little rift within the + rural lute, for on asking him how his wife liked the life he replied after + a little hesitation, 'Not very well, sir: you see, she has been accustomed + to a town.' + </p> + <p> + If she continues not to like it 'very well,' there will, I think, be an + end to that man's prospects as a small holder. + </p> + <p> + I had the pleasure of bring present in July, 1910, at the formal opening + of the Boxted Settlement, when the Salvation Army entertained several + hundred guests to luncheon, many of them very well-known people. The day + for a wonder was fine, General Booth spoke for over an hour in his most + characteristic and interesting way; the Chairman, Earl Carrington, + President of the Board of Agriculture, blessed the undertaking officially + and privately; everybody seemed pleased with the holdings, and, in short, + all went merrily as a marriage bell. + </p> + <p> + As I sat and listened, however, the query that arose in my mind was—What + would be the state of these holdings and of the tenants or of their + descendants on, say, that day thirty years? I trust and hope that it will + be a good state in both instances; but I must confess to certain doubts + and fears. + </p> + <p> + In this parish of Ditchingham, where I live, there is a man with a few + acres of land, an orchard, a greenhouse, etc. That man works his little + tenancy, deals in the surplus produce of large gardens, which he peddles + out in the neighbouring town, and, on an average, takes piecework on my + farm (at the moment of writing he and his son are hoeing mangolds) for two + or three days a week; at any rate, for a great part of the year. He is a + type of what I may call the natural small holder, and I believe does + fairly well. The question is, can the artificially created small holder, + who must pay a rent of £4 the acre, attain to a like result? + </p> + <p> + Again, I say I hope so most sincerely, for if not in England 'back to the + land' will prove but an empty catchword. At any rate, the country should + be most grateful to the late Mr. Herring, who provided the funds for this + intensely interesting experiment, and to the Salvation Army which is + carrying it out in the interests of the landless poor. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0036" id="link2H_4_0036"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + IMPRESSIONS OF GENERAL BOOTH + </h2> + <p> + It has occurred to the writer that a few words descriptive of William + Booth, the creator and first General of the Salvation Army, set down by a + contemporary who has enjoyed a good many opportunities of observing him + during the past ten years, may possibly have a future if not a present + value. + </p> + <p> + Of the greatness of this man, to my mind, there can be no doubt. When the + point of time whereon we stand and play our separate parts has receded, + and those who follow us look back into the grey mist which veils the past; + when that mist has hidden the glitter of the decorations and deadened the + echoes of the high-sounding titles of to-day; when our political tumults, + our town-bred excitements, and many of the very names that are household + words to us, are forgotten, or discoverable only in the pages of history; + when, perhaps, the Salvation Army itself has fulfilled its mission and + gone its road, I am certain that the figure of William Booth will abide + clearly visible in those shadows, and that the influences of his work will + remain, if not still felt, at least remembered and honoured. He will be + one of the few, of the very few enduring figures of our day; and even if + our civilization should be destined to undergo eclipse for a period, as + seems possible, when the light returns, by it he will still be seen. + </p> + <p> + For truly this work of his is fine, and one that appeals to the + imagination, although we are so near to it that few of us appreciate its + real proportions. Also, in fact, it is the work that should be admired + rather than the man, who, after all, is nothing but the instrument + appointed to shape it from the clay of circumstance. The clay lay ready to + be shaped, then appeared the moulder animated with will and purpose, and + working for the work's sake to an end which he could not foresee. + </p> + <p> + I have no information on the point, but I should be surprised to learn + that General Booth, when Providence moved him to begin his labours among + the poor, had even an inkling of their future growth within the short + period of his own life. He sowed a seed in faith and hope, and, in spite + of opposition and poverty, in spite of ridicule and of slander, he has + lived to see that seed ripen into a marvellous harvest. Directly, or + indirectly, hundreds of thousands of men and women throughout the world + have benefited by his efforts. He has been a tool of destiny, like Mahomet + or Napoleon, only in this case one fated to help and not to harm mankind. + Such, at least, is my estimate of him. + </p> + <p> + A little less of the spirit of self-sacrifice, a different sense of + responsibility, and the same strength of imagination and power of purpose + devoted to purely material objects, might have raised up another + multi-millionaire, or a mob-leader, or a self-seeking despot. But, as it + happened, some grace was given to him, and the river has run another way. + </p> + <p> + Opportunity, too, has played into his hands. He saw that the recognized + and established Creeds scarcely touched the great, sordid, lustful, + drink-sodden, poverty-steeped masses of the city populations of the world: + that they were waiting for a teacher who could speak to them in a tongue + they understood. He spoke, and some of them have listened: only a fraction + it is true, but still some. More, as it chanced, he married a wife who + entered into his thoughts, and was able to help to fulfil his aspirations, + and from that union were born descendants who, for the most part, are + fitted to carry on his labours. + </p> + <p> + Further, like Loyola, and others, he has the power of rule, being a born + leader of men, so that thousands obey his word without question in every + corner of the earth, although some of these have never seen his face. + Lastly, Nature endowed him with a striking presence that appeals to the + popular mind, with a considerable gift of speech, with great physical + strength and abounding energy, qualities which have enabled him to toil + without ceasing and to travel far and wide. Thus it comes about that as + truly as any man of our generation, when his hour is ended, he, too, I + believe, should be able to say with a clear conscience, 'I have finished + the work that Thou gavest me to do': although his heart may add, 'I have + not finished it as well as I could wish.' + </p> + <p> + Now let me try to convey my personal impressions of this man. I see him in + various conversations with myself, when he has thought that he could make + use of me to serve his ever-present and impersonal ends, trying to add me + up, wondering how far I was sincere, and to what extent I might be + influenced by private objects; then, at last, concluding that I was honest + in my own fashion, opening his heart little by little, and finally + appealing to me to aid him in his labours. + </p> + <p> + 'I like that man; <i>he understands me!</i>' I once heard him say, + mentioning my name, and believing that he was thinking, not speaking. + </p> + <p> + I tell this story merely to illustrate his habit of reflecting aloud, for + as he spoke these words I was standing beside him. When I repeated it to + his Officers, one of them remarked horrified:— + </p> + <p> + 'Good gracious! it might just as well have been something much less + complimentary. One never knows what he will say.' + </p> + <p> + He is an autocrat, whose word is law to thousands. Had he not been an + autocrat indeed, the Salvation Army would not exist to-day, for it sprang + from his brain like Minerva from the head of Jove, and has been driven to + success by his single, forceful will. + </p> + <p> + Yet this quality of masterfulness is tempered and illuminated by an + unfailing sense of humour, which he is quite ready to exercise at his own + expense. Thus, a few years ago he and I dined with the late Mr. Herring, + and, as a matter of fact, although I had certain things to say on the + matters under discussion, his flow of most interesting conversation did + not allow me over much opportunity of saying them. It is hard to compete + in words with one who has preached continually for fifty years! + </p> + <p> + When General Booth departed to catch a midnight train, for the Continent I + think, Mr. Herring went to see him to the door. Returning presently, much + amused, he repeated their parting words, which were as follows:— + </p> + <p> + GENERAL BOOTH: 'A very good fellow Haggard; but a talker, you know, + Herring, a talker!' + </p> + <p> + MR. HERRING (looking at him): 'Indeed!' + </p> + <p> + GENERAL BOOTH (laughing): 'Ah! Herring, you mean that it was <i>I</i> who + did the talking, not Haggard. Well, <i>perhaps I did</i>.' + </p> + <p> + Some people think that General Booth is conceited. + </p> + <p> + 'It is a pity that the old gentleman is so vain,' a highly-placed person + once said to me. + </p> + <p> + I answered that if he or I had done all that General Booth has done, we + might be pardoned a little vanity. + </p> + <p> + In truth, however, the charge is mistaken, for at bottom I believe him to + be a very humble-minded man, and one who does not in the least overrate + himself. This may be gathered, indeed, from the tenor of his remarks on + the subject of his personal value to the Army, that I have recorded at the + beginning of this book. + </p> + <p> + What people of slower mind and narrower views may mistake for pride, in + his case, I am sure, is but the impatient and unconscious assertiveness of + superior power, based upon vision and accumulated knowledge. Also, as a + general proposition, I believe vanity to be almost impossible to such a + man. So far as my experience of life goes, that scarce creature, the + innately, as distinguished from the accidentally eminent man, he who is + fashioned from Nature's gold, not merely gilded by circumstance, is never + vain. + </p> + <p> + Such a man knows but too well how poor is the fruit of his supremest + effort, how marred by secret weakness is what the world calls his + strength, and when his gifts are in the balance, how hard it would be for + any seeing judge to distinguish his success from common failure. It is the + little pinchbeck man, whom wealth, accident, or cheap cleverness has + thrust forward, who grows vain over triumphs that are not worth having, + not the great doer of deeds, or the seer whose imagination is wide enough + to enable him to understand his own utter insignificance in the scale of + things. + </p> + <p> + But to return to General Booth. Again I hear him explaining to me vast + schemes, as yet unrealized, that lurk at the back of his vivid, practical, + organizing brain. Schemes for settling tens of thousands of the city poor + upon unoccupied lands in sundry portions of the earth. Schemes for great + universities or training colleges, in which men and women might be + educated to deal with the social problems of our age on a scientific + basis. Schemes for obtaining Government assistance to enable the Army to + raise up the countless mass of criminals in many lands, taking charge of + them as they leave the jail, and by regenerating their fallen natures, + saving them soul and body. + </p> + <p> + In the last interview I had with him, I read to him a note I had made of a + conversation which had taken place a few days before between Mr. Roosevelt + and myself on the subject of the Salvation Army. Here is the note, or part + of it. + </p> + <p> + MR. ROOSEVELT: 'Why not make use of all this charitable energy, now often + misdirected, for national ends?' + </p> + <p> + MYSELF: 'What I have called "the waste forces of Benevolence." It is odd, + Mr. Roosevelt, that we should both have come to that conclusion.' + </p> + <p> + MR. ROOSEVELT: 'Yes, that's the term. You see the reason is that we are + both sensible men who understand.' + </p> + <p> + 'That is very important,' said General Booth, when he had heard this + extract. '"Make use of all this charitable energy, now often misdirected + for national ends!" Why not, indeed? Heaven knows it is often misdirected. + The Salvation Army has made mistakes enough. If only that could be done it + would be a great thing. But first we have got to make other people + "understand" besides Roosevelt and yourself.' + </p> + <p> + That, at least, was the sense of his words. + </p> + <p> + Once more I see him addressing a crowded meeting of City men in London, on + a murky winter afternoon. In five minutes he has gripped his audience with + his tale of things that are new to most of them, quite outside of their + experience. He lifts a curtain as it were, and shows them the awful misery + that lies often at their very office doors, and the duty which is theirs + to aid the fallen and the suffering. It is a long address, very long, but + none of the hearers are wearied. + </p> + <p> + At the end of it I had cause to meet him in his office about a certain + matter. He had stripped off his coat, and stood in the red jersey of his + uniform, the perspiration still streaming from him after the exertion of + his prolonged effort in that packed hall. As he spoke he ate his simple + meal of vegetables (mushrooms they were, I remember), and tea, for, like + most of his family, he never touches meat. Either he must see me while he + ate or not at all; and when there is work to be done, General Booth does + not think of convenience or of rest; moreover, as usual, there was a train + to catch. One of his peculiarities is that he seems always to be starting + for somewhere, often at the other side of the world. + </p> + <p> + Lastly, I see him on one of his tours. He is due to speak in a small + country town. His Officers have arrived to make arrangements, and are + waiting with the audience. It pours with rain, and he is late. At length + the motors dash up through the mud and wet, and out of the first of them + he appears, a tall, cloaked figure. Already that day he has addressed two + such meetings besides several roadside gatherings, and at night he must + speak to a great audience in a city fourteen miles away; also stop at this + place and at that before he gets there, for a like purpose. He is to + appear in the big city at eight, and already it is half-past three. + </p> + <p> + Five minutes later he has been assisted on to the platform (for this was + before his operation and he was almost blind), and for nearly an hour + pours out a ceaseless flood of eloquence, telling the history of his + Organization, telling of his life's work and of his heart's aims, asking + for their prayers and help. He looks a very old man now, much older than + when first I knew him, and with his handsome, somewhat Jewish face and + long, white beard, a very type of some prophet of Israel. So Abraham must + have looked, one thinks, or Jeremiah, or Elijah. But there is no weariness + in his voice or his gestures; and, as he exhorts and prays, his darkening + eyes seem to flash. + </p> + <p> + It is over. He bids farewell to the audience that he has never seen + before, and will never see again, invokes a fervent blessing on them, and + presently the motors are rushing away into the wet night, bearing with + them this burning fire of a man. + </p> + <p> + Such are some of my impressions of William Booth, General of the Salvation + Army. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0037" id="link2H_4_0037"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE CHIEF OF THE STAFF + </h2> + <p> + No account of the Salvation Army would be complete without some words + about Mr. Bramwell Booth, General Booth's eldest son and right-hand man, + who in the Army is known as the Chief of the Staff. Being convinced of + this, I sought an interview with him—the last of the many that I + have had in connexion with the present work. + </p> + <p> + In the Army Mr. Bramwell Booth is generally recognized as 'the power + behind the throne.' He it is who, seated in his office in London, directs + the affairs and administers the policy of this vast Organization in all + lands; the care of the countless Salvation Army churches is on his + shoulders, and has been for these many years. He does not travel outside + Europe; his work lies chiefly at home. I understand, however, that he + takes his share in the evangelical labours of the Army, and is a powerful + and convincing speaker, although I have never chanced to hear any of his + addresses. + </p> + <p> + In appearance at his present age of something over fifty, he is tall and + not robust, with an extremely sympathetic face that has about it little of + his father's rugged cast and sternness. Perhaps it is this evident + sympathy that commands the affection of so many, for I have been told more + than once that he is the best beloved man in the Army, and one who never + uses a stern word. + </p> + <p> + I found him busy and pressed for time, even more so, if possible, than I + was myself; he had but just arrived by an early train from some provincial + city. In fact, he was then engaged upon his annual visitation to all the + Field Officers in the country, which, as he explained, takes him away from + London for three days a week for a period of six weeks, and throws upon + him a considerable extra strain of mind and body. The diocese of the + Salvation Army is very extensive! + </p> + <p> + I said to Mr. Bramwell Booth that I desired from him his views of the Army + as a religious and a social force throughout the wide world, in every land + where it sets its foot. I wished to hear of the work considered as a + whole, likewise of that work in its various aspects, and of the different + races of mankind among which it is carried on. Also, amongst others, I put + to him the following specific questions:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + In what way and by what means does the Army adapt itself to + the needs and customs of the various peoples among whom it + is established? + + What is its comparative measure of success with each of + these peoples, and what future is anticipated for it among + them respectively? + + Where is the work advancing, where does it hang in the + balance, and where is it being driven backwards? + + What are your views upon the future of the Army as a + religious and social power throughout the world, bearing in + mind the undoubted difficulties with which it is confronted? + + Do you consider that now, after forty-five years of + existence, it is, speaking generally, on the downward or on + the upward grade? + + What information can you give me as to the position of the + Army in its relations with other religious bodies? +</pre> + <p> + At this point Mr. Bramwell Booth inquired mildly how much time I had to + spare. The result of my answer was that we agreed together that it was + clearly impossible to deal with all these great matters in an interview. + So it was decided that he should take time to think them over, and should + furnish his replies in the form of a written memorandum. This he has done, + and I may say without flattery that the paper which he has drawn up is one + of the most clear and broad-minded that I have had the pleasure of reading + for a long while. Since it is too long to be used as a quotation, I print + it in an appendix,<a href="#linknote-7" name="linknoteref-7" + id="linknoteref-7"><small>7</small></a> trusting sincerely that all who + are interested in the Salvation Army in its various aspects will not + neglect its perusal. Indeed, it is a valuable and an authoritative + document, composed by perhaps the only person in the world who, from his + place and information, is equal to the task. + </p> + <p> + Personally I venture upon neither criticism nor comment, whose rôle + throughout all these pages is but that of a showman, although I trust one + not altogether devoid of insight into the matter in hand. + </p> + <p> + To only one point will I call attention—that of the general note of + confidence which runs through Mr. Bramwell Booth's remarks. Clearly he at + least does not believe that the Salvation Army is in danger of + dissolution. Like his father, he believes that it will go on from good to + good and from strength to strength. + </p> + <p> + There remain, however, one or two other points that we discussed together + to which I will allude. Thus I asked him if he had anything to say as to + the attacks which from time to time were made upon the Army. He replied as + his father had done: 'Nothing, except that they were best left to answer + themselves.' + </p> + <p> + Then our conversation turned to the matter of the resignation of certain + Officers of the Army which had caused some passing public remark. + </p> + <p> + 'We have an old saying here,' he said, with some humour, 'that we do not + often lose any one whom we very much desire to keep.' + </p> + <p> + I pointed out that I had heard allegations made to the effect that the + Army Officers were badly paid, hardly treated, and, when they proved of no + more use, let go to find a living as best they could. + </p> + <p> + He replied that, as to the matter of money, the Army had established a + Pension fund in all the Western countries, which now amounts to a large + total. In this country the sum was about £44,000, and during 1909 about + £1,800 had been paid here in pensions. This, however, was only a + beginning, but he thought that the effort was being made on the right + lines, and that, notwithstanding their poverty, a really adequate Pension + fund would be built up in due course. + </p> + <p> + Then of a sudden he became eloquent. He said he admitted that the Army had + little to offer. Those who came into its service knew that this was so; + that they had no hope of temporal reward; that thenceforth the great + feature of their life and work was that it must be filled with labour and + self-denial. The whole business of helping and saving our fellow-creatures + was one of struggle and suffering. Sacrifice was the key-note of + Christianity as laid down by its Founder. Those who sought money and + temporal honour must look elsewhere than to the Salvation Army. Its pride + and glory was that thousands were willing to suffer and deny themselves + from year to year, and to find their joy and their recompense in the + consciousness that they were doing something, however little, to lighten + the darkness and relieve the misery of the world. + </p> + <p> + Here are some of his actual words upon this matter that I will quote, as I + cannot better them:— + </p> + <p> + 'The two facts of real consequence about our Officers are these: First, + that their numbers go on increasing year by year, and second, that they + remain devoted to their work, very poor, and absolutely bent on obtaining + a reward in Heaven. But let me quote here from General Booth on this + matter:— + </p> + <p> + '"I resolved that no disadvantage as to birth, or education, or social + condition should debar any one from entering the list of combatants so + long as he was one with me in love for God, in faith for the salvation of + men, and in willingness to obey the orders he should receive from me and + from those I authorized to direct him. I have, of course, had many + disappointments—not a few of them very hard to bear at the time—but + from the early days of 1868, when I engaged my first recognized helper, to + 1878, when the number had increased by slow degrees to about 100, and on + to the present day, when their number is rapidly approaching 20,000, there + has not been a single year without its increase, not only in quantity, but + in quality. + </p> + <p> + '"I am sometimes asked, What about those who have left me? Well, I am + thankful to say that we remain in sympathetic and friendly relations with + the great bulk of them. It was to be expected that in work such as ours, + demanding, as it does, not only arduous toil and constant self-denial and + often real hardships of one kind or another, some should prove unworthy, + some should grow weary, and others should faint by the way, whilst others + again, though very excellent souls, should prove unsuitable. It could not + be otherwise, for we are engaged in real warfare, and whoever heard of war + without wounds and losses? But even of those who do thus step aside from + the position of Officers, a large proportion—in this country nine + out of ten—remain with us, engaged in some voluntary effort in our + ranks."' + </p> + <p> + 'But,' continued Mr. Bramwell Booth, 'I would be the last person to + minimize our losses. They may be accounted for in the most natural way, + and yet we cannot but feel them and suffer from them. And yet it is all + just a repetition of the Bible stories of all ages; nay, of all stories of + genuine fighting in any great cause. The great feature of our present + experience in this matter is that the number who go out from us grows + every year smaller in proportion to the whole, and that, as the General + says in the above extract, a very large proportion of those continue in + friendly relations with us. + </p> + <p> + 'The triumph of these splendid men and women, in the face of every kind of + difficulty in every part of the world is, however, really a triumph of + their faith. It is not the Army, it is not their leaders, it is not even + the wonderful devotion which many of them manifest, which is the secret of + their continued life and continued success, nor is it any confidence in + their own abilities. No! The true representative of the Army is relying at + every turn upon the presence, guidance, and help of God in trying to carry + out the Father's purpose with respect to every lost and suffering child of + man. By that test, alike in the present and future, we must ever stand or + fall. The Army is either a work of faith or it is nothing at all. + </p> + <p> + 'Everything throughout all our ranks can really be brought to that test, + and I regard with composure every loss and attack, every puzzle and + danger, chiefly because I rely upon my comrades' trust in God being + responded to by Him according to their need.' + </p> + <p> + Perhaps I may be allowed to add a few remarks upon this subject. A great + deal is made of the resignation of a few Salvation Army Officers in order + that they may accept excellent posts in other walks of life; indeed, it is + not uncommon to see it stated that such resignations herald the + dissolution of the Society. Inasmuch as the number of the Army's Officers + is nearing 20,000 it would seem that it can very well spare a few of them. + What fills me with wonder is not that some go, but that so many remain. <i>This</i> + is one of the facts which, amongst much that is discouraging, convinces me + of the innate nobility of man. An old friend of mine of pious disposition + once remarked to me that <i>he</i> could never have been a Christian + martyr. At the first twist of the cord, or the first nip of the red-hot + pincers, he was sure that <i>he</i> would have thrown incense by the + handful upon the altar of any heathen god or goddess that was fashionable + at the moment. His spirit might have been willing, but his flesh would + certainly have proved weak. + </p> + <p> + I sympathized with the honesty of this confession, and in the same way I + sympathize with those Officers of the Salvation Army who, in racing slang, + cannot 'stay the course.' + </p> + <p> + Let us consider the lot of these men. Any who have entered on even a + secular crusade, something that takes them off the beaten, official paths, + that leads them through the thorns and wildernesses of a new, untravelled + country, towards some distant goal seen dimly, or not seen at all except + in dreams, will know what such an undertaking means. It means snakes in + the grass; it means savages, or in other words veiled and poisonous + hatreds and bitter foes, or, still worse, treacherous friends. The + crusader may get through, in which case no one will thank him except, + perhaps, after he is dead. Or he may fail and perish, in which case every + one will mock at him. Or he may retreat discouraged and return to the + official road, in which case his friends will remark that they are glad to + see that his insanity was only of the intermittent order, and that at + length he has learned his place in the world and to whom he ought to touch + his cap. + </p> + <p> + Well, these are official roads to Heaven as well as to the House of Lords + and other mundane goals, a fact which the Salvation Army Officer and + others of his kind have probably found out. On the official road, if he + has interest and ability—the first is to be preferred—he might + have become anything, and with ordinary fortune would certainly have + become something. + </p> + <p> + But on the path that he has chosen what is there for him to gain? An + inheritance of dim glory beyond the stars, obscured doubtless from time to + time, if he is like other men, by sudden and sickening eclipses of his + faith. And meanwhile the daily round, the insolent gibe, and the bitter + ingratitude of men that leaves him grieving. Also not enough money to pay + for a cab when it is wet, and considerable uncertainty as to the future of + his children, and even as to his own old age. Few comforts for him, not + even those of a glass of wine to stimulate him, or of tobacco to soothe + his nerves, for these are forbidden to him by the rules of his Order. + Unless he can reach the very top of his particular tree also, which it is + most unlikely that he will, no public recognition even of his faithful, + strenuous work, and who is there that at heart does not long for public + recognition? In short, nothing that is desirable to man save the + consciousness of a virtue which, after all, he must feel to be indifferent + (being well aware of his own secret faults), and the satisfaction of + having helped a certain number of lame human dogs over moral or physical + stiles. + </p> + <p> + In such a case and in a world which we must admit to be selfish and + imperfect, the wonder is not that certain Salvation Army Officers, being + trained men of high ability, yield to tempting offers and go, but that so + many of them remain. + </p> + <p> + 'Look at my case,' said one of them to me. 'With my experience and + organizing ability I am worth £2,000 a year as the manager of any big + business, and I could have it if I liked. Here I get about £200!' + </p> + <p> + This was one of those who remain. I say all honour to such noble souls, + for surely they are of the salt of the earth. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0038" id="link2H_4_0038"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + NOTE ON THE RELIGION OF THE SALVATION ARMY + </h2> + <p> + The religious faith of the Salvation Army, as I have observed and + understand it (for little has been said to me on this matter), is + extremely simple. It believes in an eternal Heaven for the righteous and—a + sad doctrine this, some of us may think—in a Hell, equally eternal, + for the wicked.<a href="#linknote-8" name="linknoteref-8" + id="linknoteref-8"><small>8</small></a> Its bedrock is the Bible, + especially the New Testament, which it accepts as true without + qualification, from the first word to the last, troubling itself with no + doubts or criticisms. Especially does it believe in the dual nature of the + Saviour, in Christ as God, and in Christ as man, and in the possibility of + forgiveness and redemption for even the most degraded and defiled of human + beings. Love is its watchword, the spirit of love is its spirit, love + arrayed in the garments of charity. + </p> + <p> + In essentials, with one exception, its doctrines much resemble those of + the Church of England, and of various dissenting Protestant bodies. The + exception is, that it does not make use of the Sacraments, even of that of + Communion, although, on the other hand, it does not deny the efficacy of + those Sacraments, or object to others, even if they be members of the + Army, availing themselves of them. Thus, I have known an Army Officer to + join in the Communion Service. The reason for this exception is, I + believe, that in the view of General Booth, the Sacraments complicate + matters, are open to argument and attack, and are not understood by the + majority of the classes with which the Army deals. How their omission is + reconciled with certain prominent passages and directions laid down in the + New Testament I do not know. To me, I confess, this disregard of them + seems illogical. + </p> + <p> + The motto of the Army is 'Salvation for all,' and, as I have hinted in + these pages, it has a sure conviction of the essential persistence of + miracle in these modern days. It holds that when a man kneels at the + Penitent-Form and 'gets converted,' a miracle takes place within him, if + his repentance is true, and that thenceforward some Grace from on High + will give him the power to overcome the evil in his heart and blood. + </p> + <p> + It believes, too, in the instant efficacy of earnest prayer, and in the + possibility of direct communication by this means between man and his + Maker. + </p> + <p> + Here is an instance of this statement. While inspecting the Shelters in + one of the provincial cities, I was shown a certain building which had + recently passed into the possession of the Army. The Officer who was + conducting me said that the negotiations preliminary to the acquisition of + the lease of this building had been long and difficult. I remarked that + these must have caused him anxiety. 'Oh, no,' he answered, simply. 'You + see I had talked with the Lord about it, and I knew that we should get the + place in the end.' + </p> + <p> + This reply may cause some to smile, but I confess I find such childlike + faith touching and even beautiful. + </p> + <p> + There is small doubt that consciously or unconsciously, the Salvation Army + has followed St. Paul's example of being all things to all men, if 'by all + means' it may save some. This is the reason of its methods which to many + seem so vulgar and offensive. Once I spoke to an Officer high up in the + Army of this matter, instancing, amongst other things, its brass bands and + loud-voiced preaching at street corners. + </p> + <p> + 'My dear sir,' he replied, 'if we came to convert <i>you</i>, we should + not bring a brass band or send a missionary who shouted out sacred names + every minute. Possibly, if we thought that you were open to the influences + of music, we might send a first-rate violinist to play pieces from the + classical masters, and we should certainly send a man whom we knew to be + your intellectual equal, and who could therefore appeal to your reason. + But our mission at present is not so much to you and your class, as to the + dregs of humanity. The folk we deal with live in a state of noise of which + you have no conception, and if we want to force them to listen to us, we + must begin by making a greater noise in order to attract their attention + at all. In the same way it is of no use wasting subtleties on them; we + have to go straight to the main points, which are clear and sharp enough + to pierce their drink-besotted intelligences, or to reach any fragment of + conscience they may have remaining in them.' + </p> + <p> + I thought the argument sound and well put, and results have proved its + force, since the Salvation Army undoubtedly gets a hold of people that few + other forms of religious effort seem able to grasp, at least to any + considerable extent. + </p> + <p> + I wish to make it clear, however, that I hold no particular brief for the + Army, its theology, and its methods. I recognize fully, as I know it does, + the splendid work that is being done in the religious and social fields by + other Organizations of the same class, especially by Dr. Barnardo's Homes, + by the Waifs and Strays Society, by the Church Army, and, above all, + perhaps, by another Society, with which I have had the honour to be + connected in a humble capacity for many years, that for the Prevention of + Cruelty to Children. Still it remains true that the Salvation Army is + unique, if only on account of the colossal scale of its operations. Its + fertilizing stream flows on steadily from land to land, till it bids fair + to irrigate the whole earth. What I have written about is but one little + segment of a work which flourishes everywhere, and even lifts its head in + Roman Catholic countries, although in these, as yet, it makes no very + great progress. + </p> + <p> + How potent then, and how generally suited to the needs of stained and + suffering mankind, must be that religion which appeals both to the West + and to the East, which is as much at home in Java and Korea as it is in + Copenhagen or Glasgow. For it should be borne in mind that the basis of + the Salvation Army is religious, that it aims, above everything, at the + conversion of men to an active and lively faith in the plain, + uncomplicated tenets of Christianity to the benefit of their souls in some + future state of existence and, incidentally, to the Reformation of their + characters while on earth. + </p> + <p> + The social work of which I have been treating is a mere by-product or + consequence of its main idea. Experience has shown, that it is of little + use to talk about his soul to a man with an empty stomach. First, he must + be fed and cleansed and given some other habitation than the street. Also + the Army has learned that Christ still walks the earth in the shape of + Charity; and that religion, after all, is best preached by putting its + maxims into practice; that the poor are always with us; and that the first + duty of the Christian is to bind their wounds and soothe their sorrows. + Afterwards, he may hope to cure them of their sins, for he knows that + unless such a cure is effected, temporal assistance avails but little. + Except in cases of pure misfortune which stand upon another, and, so far + as the Army work is concerned, upon an outside footing, the causes of the + fall must be removed, or that fall will be repeated. The man or woman must + be born again, must be regenerated. Such, as I understand it, is at once + the belief of the Salvation Army and the object of all its efforts. + Therefore, I give to this book its title of 'Regeneration.' + </p> + <h3> + THE NEED IS GREAT! + </h3> + <hr /> + <p> + <i>The principal items of the Salvation Army's expenditure for Social Work + during the financial year ending September 30, 1911, are as follows, and + help is earnestly asked to meet these, the work being entirely dependent + upon Voluntary Gifts</i>. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> +For Maintenance of Work amongst the Destitute + and Outcast Men and Women, including Shelters + for Homeless Men and Women, Homes for Children, + Rescue Homes, etc..................................... £15,000 +</pre> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> +For Maintenance of the Slum Sisterhood and Nurses + for the Sick Poor..................................... £3,000 +</pre> + <p> + For Prison Visitation Staff and Prison-Gate Work........ £5,000 + </p> + <p> + For Work among Youths and Boys.......................... £2,000 + </p> + <p> + For Special Relief and Distress Agencies................ £5,000 + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> +For Development of the Work and Agricultural + Departments of the Hadleigh Colony.................... £3,000 +</pre> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> +For Assistance and Partial Maintenance of the + Unemployed and Inefficient............................ £5,000 +</pre> + <p> + For Assisting suitable Men and Women to Emigrate........ £3,000 + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> +Towards the provision of New Institutions for Men + and Boys in London and various provincial Cities...... £10,000 +</pre> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> +For the General Management and Supervision of all + the above Operations.................................. £2,000 + ———- + £53,000 +</pre> + <p> + Cheques and Postal Orders should be made payable to WILLIAM BOOTH, crossed + 'Bank of England, Law Courts Branch,' and sent to MRS. BOOTH, 101 Queen + Victoria Street, London, E.C. Clothes for the poor and articles for sale + are always needed. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0039" id="link2H_4_0039"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + LEGACIES + </h2> + <hr /> + <p> + Ladies and Gentlemen are earnestly asked to remember the needs of the + Salvation Army's Social Work (the 'Darkest England' Social Scheme), in + connexion with the preparation of their wills. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + All kinds of property can now be legally bequeathed for charitable + purposes, and the following form of legacy is recommended. Where a legacy + does not consist of a certain amount of money, care should be taken to + identify clearly the property, shares, stock, or whatever it may be + intended to be bequeathed. + </p> + <p> + <i>'I GIVE AND BEQUEATH TO WILLIAM BOOTH, or other the General for the + time being of the Salvation Army, and Director of the "Darkest England" + Social Scheme, the sum of £............</i> (or) <i>MY TWO freehold houses + known as Nos.......... in the county of................</i> (or) <i>my + £............ ordinary stock of the London and North-Western Railway + Company</i> (or) <i>my shares in............Limited</i> (or as the case + may be) <i>to be used or applied by him, at his discretion, for the + general purposes of the "Darkest England" Social Scheme. And I direct the + said last-mentioned Legacy to be paid within twelve months after my + decease.'</i> + </p> + <hr /> + <h3> + DIRECTIONS FOR EXECUTION OF WILL + </h3> + <hr /> + <p> + The Will must be executed by the Testator in the presence of two + witnesses, who must sign their names, addresses, and occupations at the + end of the Will in the presence of the Testator. The best method to adopt + for a Testator to be quite sure that his Will is executed properly, is for + him to take the Will and his two witnesses into a room, lock the door, and + tell the witnesses that he wishes them to attest his Will. All three must + sign in the room and nobody must go out until all have signed. + </p> + <p> + GENERAL BOOTH will always be pleased to procure further advice for any + friends desiring to benefit the Salvation Army's work in any of its + departments, by Will or otherwise, and will treat any communications made + to him on the subject as strictly private and confidential. Letters + dealing with the matter should be marked Private, and addressed to GENERAL + BOOTH, 101 QUEEN VICTORIA STREET, LONDON, E.C. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_APPEA" id="link2H_APPEA"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + APPENDIX A + </h2> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_NOTE" id="link2H_NOTE"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + NOTES ON THE ARMY'S FUTURE + </h2> + <h3> + (Following My Conversation with Mr. Rider Haggard) + </h3> + <h3> + BY BRAMWELL BOOTH + </h3> + <p> + When asked to give my own view of the present and probable future + influence of the Salvation Army upon the world, I feel in no danger of + exaggeration. If any one could imagine what it has been for me to sit at + its centre almost without intermission for more than thirty-five years, + receiving continual reports of its development and progress in one nation + after another, studying from within not only its strength and vitality, + but its weaknesses and failures, and labouring to devise remedies and + preventatives, until what was a little unknown Mission in the East End of + London has become the widely, I might almost say, the universally + recognized Army of to-day, he could perhaps understand something of my + great confidence. + </p> + <p> + Curious indeed seem to be the thoughts of many people about us!—people, + I mean, who have only had a glance at one of our open-air meetings, or + have only heard some wild challenge of General Booth's good faith, and + have then more or less carefully avoided any closer acquaintance with us. + They often appear to be under the impression that you have only to + persuade a few people to march through any crowded thoroughfare with a + band, to gather a congregation, and, if you please, to form out of it an + Army, and from that again to secure a vast revenue! I often wish that such + people could know the struggles of almost every individual, even amongst + the very poorest, between the moment of first contact with us and that of + resolving to enlist in our ranks. How few, even now, seem aware of the + fact that so far from paying or rewarding any one for joining in our + efforts, all who do so are from the first called upon daily not only to + give to our funds, but by sacrifice of time, labour, money, and often of + health as well, to constitute themselves efficient soldiers of their + Corps, and assist in providing it with every necessity. + </p> + <p> + Every one of the 3,000,000 meetings held annually, even in this country, + depends upon the voluntary giving up of the time and effort of working-men + and women who have in most cases to hurry from work to home, and from home + to meeting-place, after a hard day's labour. Much the same may be said of + the 450,000 meetings held annually on the Continent of Europe; with this + difference, that our people there have mostly to begin work earlier in the + day, and to conclude much later than is the case here. Their evening + meetings, in conformity with the habits of the country concerned, must + needs be begun, therefore, later, and conclude much later than similar + gatherings in the United Kingdom. + </p> + <p> + A cursory glance through the seventy-four newspapers and periodicals + published by the Army—generally weekly—in twenty-one + languages, would show any one how variously our people everywhere are + seeking to meet the different habits of life in each country, and how + constantly new plans are being tried to attain the supreme object of all + our multitudinous agencies—the arousing of men's attention to the + claims of God and their ingathering to His Kingdom. + </p> + <p> + The original plan adopted in this country of going to the people by means + of meetings and marches in the streets, is in many lands not legally + permissible, while in others it is almost useless. Our leaders, therefore, + have always to be finding out other means of attaining the same end. This + has resulted in very great gains of liberty in several ways. On the + Continent, for example, though it is not possible to get a general + permission to hold open-air meetings in the streets, it is becoming more + and more usual to let our people hold such gatherings in the large + pleasure-grounds, provided within or on the outskirts both of the great + cities and the lesser towns. In some cases the announcements of further + meetings, made somewhat after the style of the public crier, develops into + a series of short open-air addresses. In other cases, conspicuously in + Italy, where our work is only as yet in its infancy—the sale of our + paper, both by individual hawkers and by groups of comrades singing the + songs it contains in marketplaces, largely makes up for the want of the + more regularized open-air work. + </p> + <p> + And in the courts of the great blocks of buildings which abound in cities + like Berlin, Copenhagen, Stockholm, and elsewhere, meetings are held which + are really often more effective in impressing whole families of various + classes than any of our open-air proceedings in countries like England and + the United States. + </p> + <p> + But everywhere the Army seeks especially, though not by any means + exclusively, for those who are to be found frequenting the public-houses, + cafes, beer gardens, dives, saloons, and other drinking-places of the + world. In all countries our people sell our papers amidst these crowds, as + well as at the doors of the theatres and other places of amusement, and + the mere offer of these papers, now that their unflinching character as to + God and goodness is well known, constitutes an act of war, a submission to + which in so many million cases is no slight evidence of confidence among + the masses of the people in our sincerity, and, so far, a sign of our + success. + </p> + <p> + But 'The War Cry' seller is in the countries of more scattered population, + such as Switzerland, some of the colonies, and large parts of India, much + more than is the case in the big cities, the representative of every form + of helpfulness. He, or she, not merely offers the paper for sale to those + who have neither opportunity nor inclination to attend religious services + of any kind, but enters himself where no paper ever comes, holds little + meetings with groups of those who have never prayed, heartens those who + are sinking down under pressure of calamity, visits the sick-room of the + friendless, and often becomes the intermediary of the suffering and + destitute and those who can help them in their dismal necessities. + </p> + <p> + Of the persistent hopefulness with which our people everywhere go to the + apparently abandoned, I will only say that it constitutes a store of moral + and material help, not only for those people themselves, but for all who + become acquainted with it, the value of which in the present it is + difficult to exaggerate, and the influence of which on the future it is + equally difficult to over-estimate. + </p> + <p> + While leaving the utmost possible freedom for initiative to our leaders, + we are seeking everywhere to solidify and regularize every effort that has + once been shown to be of any practical use. Any one amongst us, down to + the youngest and poorest in any part of the world, may do a new thing next + week which will prove a blessing to his fellows, and some one will be on + the watch to see that that good thing, once done, be repeated, and, so far + as may be, kept up in perpetuity. + </p> + <p> + Where special classes of needs exist, we must of course employ special + agencies. The vitality and adaptability of the Army in the presence of new + opportunities is one of the happy auguries for the future. While all that + is virile and forceful in it increases, there is less and less of the + rigid and formal. + </p> + <p> + Fourteen or fifteen years ago some Officers were set apart to visit the + Lapps who range over all the Territories to the north of Scandinavia. This + meant at first only months of solitary travelling during the summer, and + no little suffering in the winter, with little apparent result. But + gradually a system of meetings was established, the people's confidence + was gained, and at length it has been found possible to group together + various centres of regular activity amongst these interesting but + little-known people, and now experienced leaders will see both to the + permanence of all that has already been begun, and to the further + extension of the work. + </p> + <p> + In Holland, where our work has assumed the proportions of a national + movement, the beneficent effects of which are recognized by all classes, + the canal population is helped by means of a small sailing ship, on which + are held regular meetings for them. Our Norwegian people also have a + life-boat called the <i>Catherine Booth</i> stationed upon a stormy and + difficult part of the coast, which not only goes out to help into safety + boats and boats' crews, but whose crew also holds meetings on islands in + remote fisher hamlets where no other religious visitors come. + </p> + <p> + The same principle of adaptation to local conditions and requirements + will, I doubt not, quickly ensure success for the small detachment of + Officers we have just sent to commence operations in Russia. + </p> + <p> + In Dutch India we have not only a growing Missionary work amongst both + Javanese and Chinese, but Government Institutions have been placed under + our care, where lepers, the blind, and other infirm natives, as well as + neglected children, are medically cared for and helped in other ways. + </p> + <p> + In South Africa, both English and Dutch-speaking peoples are united under + one Flag, and give themselves up to work amongst the native races round + them—races which constitute so grave a problem in the eyes of all + thoughtful men who know anything of the true position in South Africa. One + of the latest items of news is that an Angoni has accepted salvation at + one of our settlements in Mashonaland, and on return to his own home and + work—lying away between Lake Nyassa and the Zambezi—has begun + to hold meetings and to exercise an influence upon his people which cannot + but end in the establishment of our work amongst them. + </p> + <p> + But, to my mind, one of the most important features of our work in all + Eastern and African lands is our development of the native power under + experienced guidance to purely Salvationist and therefore non-political + purposes. Surely the most potent possible corrective for the sort of half + rebel influence that has grown or is growing up in Africa under the name + of Ethiopianism, as well as for much of the strange uneasiness among the + dumb masses of India, is the complete organization of native races under + leaders who, whilst of their own people, are devoted to the highest + ethical aims, and stand in happy subjection to men of other lands who have + given them a training in discipline and unity which does not contemplate + bloodshed. + </p> + <p> + We are now beginning both in India and Africa, as well as in the West + Indies, to find experienced native Officers capable of taking Staff + positions; that is, of becoming reliable leaders in large districts where + we are at work. These men have not merely all the advantages of language + and of fitness for the varieties of climate which are so trying to + Westerners, but they show a courage and tenacity and tact—in short, + a capacity for leadership and administration such as no one—at any + rate, no one that I know of—expected to find in them. Here is opened + a prospect of the highest significance. + </p> + <p> + More than can be easily estimated has been done in spreading information + about us for some years past by Salvationists belonging to various + national armies and navies. We encourage all such men to group themselves + into brigades, so far as may be allowed, in their various barracks and + ships. Thus united, they work for their mutual encouragement, and for the + spreading of good influences among others. It was such a little handful + that really began our work in the West Indies, and we have now a Corps in + Sierra Leone, on the west coast of Africa, formed by men of a West Indian + regiment temporarily quartered there. The same thing has happened in + Sumatra by means of Dutch and Javanese soldiers. + </p> + <p> + For British India we naturally felt ourselves first of all, as to the + heathen world, under obligation to do something. And no inconsiderable + results have followed the efforts which were first commenced there + twenty-eight years ago. Our pioneers, though they greatly disturbed the + official white world, won the hearts of the people at a stroke, by wearing + Indian dress, living amongst and in the style of the poorer villages. Soon + Indian converts offered themselves for service, and after training; were + commissioned as Officers, and it was at once seen that they would be far + more influential than any foreigners. From the point at which that + discovery was really made, the work assumed important proportions, passing + at once in large measure from the position of a foreign mission to being a + movement of the people themselves. + </p> + <p> + The vastness of the country and the difference of language have led to our + treating it as five separate commands, now under the general lead of one + headquarters. Incidentally, this has helped us in dealing with some of the + difficulties connected with caste, as it has been possible to remove + Indian Officers from one part of India to another, and we have made some + efforts which have, I admit, proved less successful in some districts than + in others, to deal with castes which, within their own lines, are often + little more than Trade Unions with a mixture of superstition. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile, the practical character of our work has shown itself in efforts + to help in various ways the lowest of the people to improve their + circumstances. The need for this is instantly apparent when one reflects + that some 40,000,000 of the inhabitants of India are always hungry. A + system of loan banks, which has now been adopted in part by the + Government, has been of great service to the small agriculturalists. The + invention of an extremely simple and yet greatly improved hand loom has + proved, and will prove, very valuable to the weavers. New plans of relief + in times of scarcity and famine have also greatly helped in some districts + to win the confidence of the people. Industrial schools, chiefly for + orphan children, have also been a feature of the work in some districts. + </p> + <p> + Recently the Government, having seen with what success our people have + laboured for the salvation of the lower castes, have decided to hand over + to us the special care of several of the criminal tribes, who are really + the remnants of the Aborigines. Although this work is at present only in + its experimental stage, all who have examined the results so far have been + delighted at the rapidity with which we have brought many into habits of + self-supporting industry, who, with their fathers before them, had been + accustomed to live entirely by plunder. About 2,000 persons of this class + are already under our care. + </p> + <p> + There are some 3,000,000 of these robbers in different parts of India. + They are only kept under anything like control at great cost for police + and military supervision; but we are satisfied that, if reasonable support + be given, a great proportion of them can be reclaimed from their present + courses of idleness and crime, and in any case their children can be + saved. + </p> + <p> + We have been able in India, perhaps more than in any other part of the + world, to realize the international character of our work by linking + together Officers from England, Germany, Holland, and the Scandinavian + countries, as well as from America, in the one great object of helping the + heathen peoples. But most of all we have rejoiced in being able to blend + East and West, European Officers having often been placed under more + experienced Indian comrades, as well as vice versa. The great common + purpose dominating all sections of the Army, and the influences of the + Spirit of God, have united men of different levels of intelligence, and + knit them together in the same fellowship, without any unwise mingling of + races. We have now 2,000 Officers in India, and that alone is a testimony + of the highest significance to the success of our efforts, and to the + possibilities which lie before us. But even more important in its bearing + upon the future, in my estimation, is the wonderful ambition dominating + our people there to reach every class, but most of all to deal with the + low caste, or outcast, as they are sometimes called. Many of our Indian + Officers have followed in the steps of our pioneers in the country, and, + consumed by an enthusiasm amounting to a passion for their fellows, have + literally sacrificed their lives in the ceaseless pressing forward of + their work. + </p> + <p> + In America we have had to deal, perhaps, with the other extreme of human + needs. Throughout Canada there is very little to be seen of poverty and + wretchedness. In the United States the great cities begin indeed to have + areas of vice and misery not to be surpassed in any of the older cities of + the world. But everywhere we have found people who have become forgetful + of God, neglectful of every higher duty, and abandoned to one or other + form of selfishness. Our work in the United States especially has been + confronted with difficulties peculiar to the country, its widespread + populations and their cosmopolitan character being not the least of these. + Nevertheless, we have now in the States and Canada nearly 4,000 Officers + leading the work in 1,380 Corps and Societies, and 350 Social + Institutions. I ought to say that it has not been found easy to raise + large numbers in many places, but of the generosity and devotion of those + who have united themselves with us, and the immense amount of work which + they accomplish for their fellows, it is impossible to speak too highly. + </p> + <p> + I look with confidence to the future in both these great countries. + Governments and local Authorities are beginning to grant us the facilities + and help we need to deal effectually with their abandoned classes, as well + as to attack some other problems of a difficult nature. Within the last + few years, we have placed in Canada more than 50,000 emigrants, chiefly + from this country. Their characteristics, and their success in their new + surroundings, have won for us the highest commendation of the Authorities + concerned. + </p> + <p> + In the vast fields of South America, we have as yet only small forces, but + we have established a good footing with the various populations, and have + already received no inconsiderable help for our purely philanthropic work + from several of the Governments. Our latest new extensions, Chile, + Paraguay, and Peru, and Panama, seem to offer prospects of success, even + greater than we have been able to record in the Argentine or Uruguay. + Before your book is published, we shall probably have made a beginning + also in both Bolivia and Brazil. + </p> + <p> + The South American Republics—chiefly populated by the descendants of + the poorest classes of Southern Europe—are professedly Roman + Catholic. The influence of the priesthood, however, owing to various + causes, seems to be on the wane, and a habit of abandoning all religious + thought is much on the increase. But the realization that our people never + attack any Church, or quibble about details of creed and ceremonial, has + won their way to the hearts of many, and there can be no doubt that we + have a great future amongst these peoples. In Peru the law does not allow + any persons not of the Romish Church to offer prayer in public places, but + when it was found that our Officers made no trouble of this, but managed + all the same to hold open-air and theatre services very much in our usual + style, great numbers of the people were astonished at the 'new religion,' + and so many had soon begun to pray 'in private' that we have little doubt + about the future of our work there. + </p> + <p> + In thinking of the future, I cannot overlook our plans of organization + which have, I am persuaded, much to do with the proper maintenance and + continuance of the work we have taken in hand. + </p> + <p> + While striving as much as possible to avoid red tape, or indeed any + methods likely to hinder initiative and enterprise, we are careful to + apply a systemization comprehensible to the most untrained minds, so that + we may make every one feel a proper degree of responsibility, as well as + guard them from mere emotionalism and spasmodic activity, accompanied as + that kind of thing often is, by general neglect. + </p> + <p> + Thus no one can join the Army until after satisfying the local Officer and + some resident of the place during a period of trial of the sincerity of + his profession. He must then sign our Articles of War. These Articles + describe precisely our doctrines, our promise to abstain from intoxicants, + worldly pleasures, and fashions, bad or unworthy language, or conduct, and + unfairness to either employer or employé, as well as our purpose to help + and benefit those around us. (See Appendix B.) + </p> + <p> + Some local voluntary worker becomes responsible for setting each recruit a + definite task in connexion with our efforts, and all are placed under the + general oversight of their Captain. A Corps, which is the unit of our + Organization, is organized under a Captain and Lieutenant who have been + trained in the work they have to do as leaders. Corps are linked together + into divisions under Officers, who, in addition to seeing that they + regularly carry out their work, have the oversight of a considerable tract + of country, with the duty of extending our operations within that area. In + some countries a number of divisions are sometimes grouped into provinces + with an Officer in charge of the whole province, and each country has its + national headquarters under a Territorial Commissioner, all being under + the lead of the International Headquarters in London. + </p> + <p> + No time is wasted in committee-ing or debating amongst us, and yet in all + matters of finance and property there is such arrangement that several + individuals are cognizant of every detail, and that no one person's fault + or neglect shall necessarily involve permanent injury or loss. The central + accounts in each country, including those in London, are under the care of + public auditors; but we have also our own International Audit Department, + whose representatives visit every headquarters from time to time, so as to + make sure, not only that the accounts are kept on our approved system, but + that all expenditure is rigidly criticized. All who really look into our + financial methods are impressed by their economy and precision. The fact + is that almost all our people have been well schooled in poverty. They + have learned the value of pence. + </p> + <p> + All this seems to me to have great importance in connexion with estimates + of our future. On the one hand we are ever seeking to impress on all our + people the supreme need of God's spirit of love and life and freedom, + without whose presence the most carefully managed system could not but + speedily grow cold and useless. But at the same time, we insist that the + service of God, however full of love and gladness, ought to be more + precise, more regular, nay, more exacting than that of any inferior + master. + </p> + <h3> + II + </h3> + <p> + As to your question whether we are generally making progress, I think I + can say that, viewing the whole field of activity, and taking into account + every aspect of the work, the Army is undoubtedly on the up-grade. + Naturally progress is not so rapid in one country as another, nor is it + always so marked in one period as in another in particular countries, nor + is it always so evident in some departments of effort as in others; but + speaking of the whole, there is, as indeed there has been from the very + beginnings, steady advance. + </p> + <p> + In some countries, of course, there is more rapid development of our + purely evangelistic propaganda, while in others our philanthropic agencies + are more active. Progress in human affairs is generally tidal. It has been + so with us. A period of great outward activity is sometimes followed by + one of comparative rest, and in the same way the spirit of advance in one + department sometimes passes from that for a time to others. A period of + great progress in all kinds of pioneer work, for example in Germany, is + just now being followed there by one of consolidation and organization. A + time of enormous advance in all our departments of charitable effort in + the United States is now being succeeded by a wonderful manifestation of + purely spiritual fervour and awakening. + </p> + <p> + In this, the old country, our very success has in some ways militated + against our continued advance at the old rate of progress. Not only has + much ground already been occupied, but innumerable agencies, modelled + outwardly, at least, after those we first established, have sprung into + existence, and are working on a field of effort which was at one time + largely left to us. And yet during the last five years the Army has + enormously strengthened its hold on the confidence of all classes of the + people here, increased its numbers, developed in a remarkable degree its + internal organization, greatly added to its material resources, as well as + maintained and extended its offering of men and money for the support of + the work in heathen countries. + </p> + <p> + But even in places where we have appeared to be stagnant, in the sense of + not undertaking any new aggressive activities, we are constantly making as + a part of our regular warfare new captures from the enemy of souls, + maintaining the care of congregations and people linked with us, working + at full pressure our social machinery, training the children for future + labour, raising up men and women to go out into the world as missionaries + of one kind or another, and doing it all while carrying on vigorous + efforts to bring to those who are most needy in every locality both + material and spiritual support. + </p> + <p> + Like all aggressive movements, the Army is, of course, peculiarly subject + to loss of one kind or another. That arising from the removals of its + people alone constitutes a serious item. Any one who knows anything of + religious work amongst the working-classes will understand how great a + loss may be caused—even where the population is, generally speaking, + increasing—by the removal of one or two zealous local leaders. But + such losses are trifling compared with those which follow from some + stoppage of employment when large numbers of workmen must either migrate + or starve. + </p> + <p> + Similar results often occur from the change of leadership. The removal of + our Officers from point to point, and even from country to country, is one + of our most indispensable needs; but, of course, we have to pay for it, + chiefly in the dislocation and discouragements and losses which it often + necessarily entails. + </p> + <p> + So far from such variations being in any way discreditable to us, we think + them one of the most valuable tests of the vitality and courage of our + people, both Officers and Soldiers, that they fight on unflinchingly under + such circumstances—fight on happily, to prove that while + fluctuations of this character are very trying, they often also open the + way both to the wider diffusion of our work elsewhere and to the breaking + up of entirely new ground in the old centres. + </p> + <p> + In brief, it is with us at all times a real warfare wherein triumphs can + only be secured at the cost of struggles that are very often painful and + unpleasant. You cannot have the aggression, the advance, the captures of + war without the change, the alarms, the cost, the wounds, the losses, + which are inseparable from it. + </p> + <p> + A very striking and thoughtful description of some of the work done at one + of our London Corps has recently been issued by a well-known writer. I + refer to 'Broken Earthenware,' by Mr. Harold Begbie. No one can read the + book without being impressed by the sense of personal insight which it + reveals. But how few take in its main lesson, that the Army is in every + place going on, not only with the recovery but with the development of + broken men and women into more and more capable and efficient servants and + rescuers of their fellows. + </p> + <p> + That this should be so is remarkable enough as applied to Westerners, + broken by evil habits and more or less surrounded by wreckage, but how + much more valuable when applied to the teeming populations of the East! + There in so many cases there is no past of criminality or even of vice as + we understand it to forget, but only an infancy of darkness and ignorance + as to Christ and the liberty He brings. + </p> + <p> + Many of our best Indian Officers have been snatched from one form or other + of outrageous selfishness, but thousands of our people there are gradually + emerging from what is really the prolonged childhood of a race to see and + know how influential the light of God can make even them amongst their + fellows. Ten years ago in Japan a Salvationist Officer was a strange if + not an unknown phenomenon, but with every increase of the Christian and + Western influences in that country, every capable witness to Christ + becomes, quite apart from any effort of his own, a much more noticed, + consulted, and imitated example than he was before. In Korea, after a + couple of years' effort, we have seen most striking results of our work, + and have just sent, to work among their own people, our first twenty + married Koreans, after a preliminary period of training for Officership. + It is most difficult to realize the revolution involved in the whole + outlook on life to men who have been looked upon as little more than + serfs, without any prospect of influence in their country. + </p> + <p> + The same processes of inner and outer development which have made of the + unknown English workman or workwoman of twenty years ago, the recognized + servants of the community, welcomed everywhere by mayors and magistrates + to help in the service of the poor, will, out of the clever Oriental, I + believe, far more rapidly develop leaders in the new line of Christian + improvement in every sphere of life. It is considerations such as these + which make me say sometimes that the danger in the Army is not in the + direction of magnifying, but rather of minimizing the influences that are + carrying us upward and outward in every part of the world. + </p> + <p> + But in our own estimation there is another reason which perhaps equals all + these for calculating upon a wider development of the Army's future + influence. During the last twenty years we have been pressing forward + amongst a very large number of Church and missionary efforts. Our speakers + have notoriously been amongst the most unlearned and ungrammatical, and + therefore often despised, while so many thousands of university men were + preaching and writing of Christ. But no one now disputes the fact that the + old-fashioned proclamation of the doctrine of Jesus Christ as a Divine + Saviour of the lost has largely gone out of fashion. The influence of the + priest, of the clerk in holy orders, of the minister, has been so largely + undermined that candidates for the ministry are becoming scarce in many + Churches, just while we are seeing them arise in steadily increasing + numbers from among the very people who know the Army and its work best, + and who have most carefully observed the demands of sacrifice and labour + it makes upon its leaders. + </p> + <p> + One cannot but rejoice when one hears ever and anon of some conference or + congress at which various efforts are made to recover, at any rate, the + appearance of a forward movement in the Churches. But the most serious + fact of all, perhaps, is the mixture amongst these Christianizing plans, + whether in one country or another, of the unbelieving leaven, so that it + is possible for men to go forth as the emissaries of Christianity who have + ceased to believe in the Divine nature of its Founder, and who look for + success rather to schemes of education and of social and temporal + improvement than to that new creation of man by God's power, wherein lies + all our hope, as indeed it must be the hope of every true servant of + Christ. + </p> + <p> + But I call attention to these facts not to reproach any Church. Far from + it. I simply desire to point out one reason for thinking ourselves + justified in anticipating for the Army a future influence far beyond + anything we have yet experienced. + </p> + <p> + Recent 'defences' of Christian revelation have, in our view, been far more + seriously damaging than any attacks that have ever been made from the + hostile camp. In the hope—a vain hope—of conciliating + opposition, there has too often been a timid surrender of much that can + alone give authority to Christian testimony. If Jesus Christ was not + competent to decide the truth or untruth of the Divine revelation, which + He fully and constantly endorsed as such, how absurd it is to suppose that + any eulogies of His character can save Him from the just contempt of all + fearless thinkers, no matter to what nationality they belong. + </p> + <p> + The Army finds itself already, and every year seems more and more likely + to find itself, the only firm and unalterable witness to the truth of + Christ and of His redeeming work in many neighbourhoods and districts, + among them even some wide stretches of Christian territory. And the times + can only bring upon us, it seems to me, more and more the scrutiny of all + who wish to know whether the declarations of the Scriptures as to God's + work in men are or are not reliable. This, then, however melancholy the + reflection may be—and to me it is in some aspects melancholy indeed—assures + to us a future of far wider importance and influence than any we have + dreamed of in the past. + </p> + <p> + Our strength, as your book eloquently shows, in dealing with the deepest + sunken, the forgotten, the outcasts of society, the pariahs and lepers of + modern life; has ever been our absolute certainty with regard to Christ's + love and power to help them. How much greater must of necessity be the + value and influence of our testimony where the very existence of Christ + and His salvation becomes a matter of doubt and dispute! Here, at any + rate, is one reason which leads me to believe that the Salvation Army has + before it a future of the highest moment to the world. + </p> + <h3> + III + </h3> + <p> + In relation to other religious bodies, our position is marvellously + altered from the time when they nearly all, if not quite all, denounced + us. + </p> + <p> + I do not think that any of the Churches in any part of the world do this + now, although no doubt individuals here and there are still bitterly + hostile to us. In the United States and in many of the British Colonies + the Churches welcome our help, and generally speak well of our work; and + even many Roman Catholic leaders, as well as authorities of the Jewish + faith, may be included in this statement. On the Continent there are signs + that they are slowly turning the same way. + </p> + <p> + Now, I confidently expect a steady extension of this feeling towards us as + the Churches come more and more to recognize that we not only do not + attack them, but that we are actually auxiliaries to their forces, not + only gaining our audiences and recruits from those who are outside their + ministrations, but even serving them by doing work for their adherents + which for a variety of reasons they find it very difficult, if not + impossible, to accomplish themselves. + </p> + <p> + At the same time it would be a mistake to think that we have any desire to + adopt any of their methods or ceremonials. We keep everywhere to our + simple and non-ecclesiastical habits, and while we certainly have some + very significant and impressive ceremonials of our own, the way our + buildings are fitted, the style of our songs and music, and the character + of our prayers and public talking are everywhere entirely distinctive, and + are nowhere in any danger of coming into serious competition with the + worship adopted by the Churches. + </p> + <p> + Some of our leading Officers think that in one respect our relations to + the Churches, their pastors, and people are unsatisfactory. In the United + States it is customary for the clergy and leaders of every Church to treat + our leaders with the most manifest sympathy and respect. But there is far + too marked a contrast between that treatment and that which we receive in + many other countries. There are, of course, splendid exceptions. Still few + members of any Church are willing to be seen in active association with + us. + </p> + <p> + I daresay this is very largely a question of class or caste, and I am very + far from making it a matter of complaint. We would, in fact, far rather + that our people should be regarded as outcasts, than that they should be + tempted to tone down the directness of their witness, or that they should + come under the influence of those uncertainties and misgivings to which I + have already made reference. Nevertheless, it is certainly no wish of ours + that there should remain any distance between us and any true followers of + Christ by whatever name they may be called. And so we keep firmly, even + where it may seem difficult or impolitic to do so, to our original + attitude of entire friendliness with all those who name the Name of + Christ. + </p> + <p> + I give a few figures bearing upon the present extent of our operations:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Number of Countries and Colonies occupied by + the Salvation Army 56 + Languages in which the Work is carried on 33 + Corps, Circles, and Societies of Salvationists 8,768 + Number of persons wholly supported by and employed + in Salvation Army Work 21,390 + Of those, with Rank 16,220 + Without Rank 5,170 + Number of Training Colleges for Officers and + workers 35 + Providing accommodation for 1,866 + SOCIAL OPERATIONS.— + Number of Institutions 954 + Number of Officers and Cadets employed 2,573 + Number of Local Officers, voluntary and unpaid 60,260 + NUMBER OF PERIODICALS 74 + These Periodicals are published in twenty-one languages, + and have a total circulation per issue of about one million + copies. +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_APPEB" id="link2H_APPEB"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + APPENDIX B + </h2> + <h3> + THE SALVATION ARMY'S ARTICLES OF WAR + </h3> + <p> + HAVING received with all my heart the salvation offered to me by the + tender mercy of Jehovah, I do here and now publicly acknowledge God to be + my Father and King, Jesus Christ to be my Saviour, and the Holy Spirit to + be my Guide, Comforter, and Strength; and that I will, by His help, love, + serve, worship, and obey this glorious God through time and through + eternity, + </p> + <p> + BELIEVING solemnly that the Salvation Army has been raised up by God, and + is sustained and directed by Him, I do here declare my full determination, + by God's help, to be a true Soldier of the Army till I die. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + I am thoroughly convinced of the truth of the Army's + teaching. + + I believe that repentance towards God, faith in our Lord + Jesus Christ, and conversion by the Holy Spirit are + necessary to salvation, and that all men may be saved. + + I believe that we are saved by grace, through faith in our + Lord Jesus Christ, and he that believeth hath the witness of + it in himself. I have got it. Thank God! + + I believe that the Scriptures were given by inspiration of + God, and that they teach that not only does continuance in + the favour of God depend upon continued faith in and + obedience to Christ, but that it is possible for those who + have been truly converted to fall away and be eternally + lost. + + I believe that it is the privilege of all God's people to be + wholly sanctified, and that 'their whole spirit and soul and + body' may 'be preserved blameless unto the coming of our + Lord Jesus Christ,' That is to say, I believe that after + conversion there remain in the heart of the believer + inclinations to evil, or roots of bitterness, which, unless + overpowered by divine grace, produce actual sin; but these + evil tendencies can be entirely taken away by the Spirit of + God, and the whole heart, thus cleansed from anything + contrary to the will of God, or entirely sanctified, will + then produce the fruit of the Spirit only. And I believe + that persons thus entirely sanctified may, by the power of + God, be kept unblameable and unreprovable before Him. + + I believe in the immortality of the soul; in the + resurrection of the body; in the general judgment at the end + of the world; in the eternal happiness of the righteous; and + in the everlasting punishment of the wicked. +</pre> + <h3> + THEREFORE, + </h3> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + I do here and now, and for ever, renounce the world with all + its sinful pleasures, companionships, treasures, and + objects, and declare my full determination boldly to show + myself a soldier of Jesus Christ in all places and + companies, no matter what I may have to suffer, do, or lose, + by so doing. + + I do here and now declare that I will abstain from the use + of all intoxicating liquors, and from the habitual use of + opium, laudanum, morphia, and all other baneful drugs, + except when in illness such drugs shall be ordered for me by + a doctor. + + I do here and now declare that I will abstain from the use + of all low or profane language; from the taking of the name + of God in vain; and from all impurity, or from taking part + in any unclean conversation, or the reading of any obscene + book or paper at any time, in any company, or in any place. + + I do here declare that I will not allow myself in any + falsehood, deceit, misrepresentation, or dishonesty; neither + will I practise any fraudulent conduct in my business, my + home, nor in any other relation in which I may stand to my + fellow-men, but that I will deal truthfully, fairly, + honourably, and kindly with all those who may employ me, or + whom I may myself employ, + + I do here declare that I will never treat any woman, child, + or other person, whose life, comfort, or happiness may be + placed within my power, in an oppressive, cruel or cowardly + manner, but that I will protect such from evil and danger so + far as I can, and promote to the utmost of my ability their + present welfare and eternal salvation. + + I do here declare that I will spend all the time, strength, + money, and influence I can in supporting and carrying on + this war, and that I will endeavour to lead my family, + friends, neighbours, and all others whom I can influence, to + do the same, believing that the sure and only way to remedy + all the evils in the world is by bringing men to submit + themselves to the Government of the Lord Jesus Christ. + + I do here declare that I will always obey the lawful orders + of my Officers, and that I will carry out to the utmost of + my powers all the orders and regulations of the Army; and + further that I will be an example of faithfulness to its + principles, advance to the utmost of my ability its + operations, and never allow, where I can prevent it, any + injury to its interests, or hindrance to its success. +</pre> + <h3> + AND + </h3> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + I do here and now call upon all present to witness that I + enter into this undertaking, and sign these Articles of War + of my own free will, feeling that the love of Christ, who + died to save me, requires from me this devotion of my life + to His service for the salvation of the whole world, and + therefore wish now to be enrolled as a Soldier of the + Salvation Army. + + <i>Signed</i>........................................... + + <i>Image (full Christian and Surname)</i> + + <i>Address</i>........................................ + + <i>Date</i>........................ <i>Corps</i>............. +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_APPEC" id="link2H_APPEC"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + APPENDIX C + </h2> + <p> + COPY OF THE SALVATION ARMY BALANCE SHEET, EXTRACTED FROM THE FORTY-THIRD + ANNUAL STATEMENTS OF ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDING SEPTEMBER 30, 1909. + </p> + <p> + <i>Copies of this Balance Sheet with Statements of Account can be had upon + application. The Balance Sheet and Statements of Account for the year + ending September 30, 1910, will be posted from the press early next year. + The Balance Sheet of The Army's Social Fund can be obtained from the + Secretary.</i> + </p> + <h3> + LIABILITIES + </h3> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + DR. + £ s. d. + TO LOANS UPON MORTGAGE, + including accrued Interest 540,277 3 11 + + " LOANS FOR FIXED PERIODS, + including accrued Interest 121,958 8 1 + + " RESERVE FUNDS, including + General and Special Reserves 176,143 15 ½ + + " SUNDRY CREDITORS 10,359 3 2 + + " COLONIAL AND FOREIGN + TERRITORIES FUND 55,219 10 7 + + " SELF-DENIAL FUND + (Balance) 3,463 12 3 +</pre> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + ———————— + Carried Forward £907,621 13 1/2 +</pre> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + ASSETS + + CR. + £ s. d. £ s. d. + BY FREEHOLD and LEASEHOLD + PROPERTY (at or below + cost) in the United + Kingdom, as on September + 30, 1908 1,066,923 16 2-1/2 + " Additions during the year 23,271 4 6 + —————————— + 1,090,195 2 8-1/2 + " Freehold Estate in + Australia 10,375 3 6 + ————————- 1,100,571 6 4-1/2 + " INVESTMENTS, including + Investment of Reserve + and Sinking Funds 196,412 9 2 + " FURNITURE and FITTINGS + at Headquarters, Officers' + Quarters, and + Training College, as on + September 30, 1908 5,412 16 1 + " Additions during the year 2,768 9 5-1/2 + ———————- + 8,181 5 6-1/2 + <i>Less</i> Depreciation 2,433 19 9 + ———————- 5,748 5 9-1/2 + ————————- + Carried forward £1,802,732 1 4 +</pre> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + BALANCE SHEET—<i>continued</i> + + DR. + + Brought forward 907,621 13 0-1/2 + + To The Salvation Army Fund, + + as per last Balance Sheet 411,701 0 6-1/4 + + " Donations and Subscriptions + For Capital Purposes + (including building + Contributions, + £20,044 0s. 2d.) 37,044 6 2 + + " General Income and Expenditure + Account + (Balance) 1,309 17 8-1/2 + + ——————————————————————————————————— + + 450,064 18 4-1/2 + ————————- + + £1,357,706 11 5 + + CR. + + Brought forward 1,302,732 1 4 + + By Loans + + " Trade Headquarters Fund 27,902 16 5 + + " Sundry Colonial and + Foreign Territories 8,606 16 0 + —————— + + 34,506 12 5 + + " Sundry Debtors 18,360 10 4 + + " Cash at Bank 2,107 7 4 + + ———————- + £1,357,706 11 5 + + We have examined the above Statement with the Books, Accounts, and + Vouchers relating thereto, and certify the same to be correct. We have + also verified the Bank balances and Investments. + + KNOX, CROPPER & CO., + + <i>Chartered Accountants.</i> + + 16 FINSBURY CIRCUS, E.C. + + <i>December</i> 31, 1909. +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_APPED" id="link2H_APPED"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + APPENDIX D + </h2> + <p> + A FEW FIGURES SHOWING SOME OF THE WORK OF THE DARKEST ENGLAND SCHEME IN + THE UNITED KINGDOM. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + TO SEPTEMBER 30, 1909 DURING TOTAL TO + 1910 SEPT. 30, 1910 + Number of Meals supplied at + Cheap Food Dépôts 69,784,480 6,869,897 76,654,377 + Number of Cheap Lodgings for + the Homeless 27,850,674 2,445,300 30,295,974 + Number of Meetings held in + Shelters 140,747 8,660 149,407 + Number of Applications from + Unemployed registered at + Labour Bureaux 302,538 13,009 315,547 + Number received into Factories 63,694 6,754 70,448 + Number for whom Employment + (temporary or permanent) has + been found 249,453 20,210 269,663 + Number of Ex-Criminals received + into Homes 8,840 416 9,256 + Number of Ex-Criminals assisted, + restored to Friends, + sent to situations, etc. 7,886 1,166 9,052 + Number of Applications for Lost + Persons 44,001 2,120 46,121 + Number of Lost Persons found 13,710 398 14,108 + Number of Women and Girls + received into Rescue Homes 44,417 3,679 48,096 + Number of Women and Girls + received into Rescue Homes + who were sent to Situations, + restored to Friends, etc. 37,168 3,346 40,514 + Number of Families visited in + Slums 998,079 109,750 1,107,829 + Number of Families prayed with 577,550 64,141 641,691 + Number of Public-houses visited 630,021 33,188 663,209 + Number of Lodging-houses + visited 17,330 3,457 20,787 + Number of Lodging-house Meetings + held 7,319 1,792 9,111 + Number of Sick People visited + and nursed 93,233 21,912 115,145 +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_NOTEB" id="link2H_NOTEB"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + NOTES: + </h2> + <p> + <a name="linknote-1" id="linknote-1"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1 (<a href="#linknoteref-1">return</a>)<br /> [ See Appendix C.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-2" id="linknote-2"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 2 (<a href="#linknoteref-2">return</a>)<br /> [ The following extract from + the recently issued 'Report of the Commissioners of Prisons and the + Directors of Convict Prisons,' for the year ended March 31, 1910, Part I + [Cd. 5360], published since the above was written, sets out the present + views of the Authorities on this important matter:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Out of the present inmates of convict prisons over 40 per + cent have been previously in penal servitude, viz. out of + 3,046 male convicts in convict prisons, 1,253 had been + previously sentenced to penal servitude, 672 once, 271 + twice, 196 three times, and 114 four times or more. Mr. + Secretary Churchill has referred to us the question whether, + and in what way, it would be possible to make any impression + on this roll of recidivism—this unyielding <i>corpus</i> of + habitual crime. The problem is never absent from the minds + of those responsible for the administration of prisons and + the treatment of crime, and during recent years great + efforts have been made to improve the machinery of + assistance on discharge, fully impressed as we are with the + truth of the old French saying, "<i>Le difficile ce n'est pas + emprisoner un homme, c'est de le relâcher</i>." We have tried + to avail ourselves fully of the resources offered by such + powerful agencies as the Church Army, Salvation Army, as + well as other societies who have for years operated in this + particular field of charitable effort. We recognize the + ready help given by all these agencies. No doubt by their + efforts many difficult and unpromising cases have been + rehabilitated; but after full consideration we have come to + the opinion that the task of rehabilitation in the case of + men returning to freedom after a sentence of penal servitude + is too difficult and too costly to be left entirely to + voluntary societies, unaided by any grant of public funds, + and working independently of each other at a problem where + unity of method and direction is above all things required. + Mr. Secretary Churchill, to whom these views have been + represented, at once agreed that the difficulty lay in this + question of discharge, and that the official authority, + acting in close and friendly co-operation with the voluntary + societies must take a more active part than hitherto in + controlling the passage into free life of a man emerging + from penal servitude. ... A plan is now under consideration + for establishing a Central Agency of Control for Discharged + Convicts, on which both the official and unofficial element + will be represented, with a subsidy from public funds, the + purpose of which will be to take in hand the guidance and + direction of every convict on the day of discharge' (pp. 15, + 16).] +</pre> + <p> + <a name="linknote-3" id="linknote-3"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 3 (<a href="#linknoteref-3">return</a>)<br /> [ See Parliamentary Blue Book + [Cd. 2562].] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-4" id="linknote-4"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 4 (<a href="#linknoteref-4">return</a>)<br /> [ The scale of pay in the + Salvation Array for Officers in charge of Corps (or Stations) is as + follows:—For Single Men: Lieutenants, 16s. weekly; Captains, 18s. + weekly. For Single Women: Lieutenants, 12s. weekly; Captains, 15s. weekly. + For Married Men, 27s. per week and 1s. per week for each child under 7 + years of age, and 2s. per week for each child between the ages of 7 and + 14. Furnished lodgings are provided in addition.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-5" id="linknote-5"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 5 (<a href="#linknoteref-5">return</a>)<br /> [ But the day before this + proof came into my hands it was my duty to help to try a case illustrative + of these remarks. In that case a girl when only just over the age of + sixteen had been seduced by a young man and borne a son. First the father + admitted parentage and promised marriage. Then he denied parentage, and, + apparently without a shadow of evidence, alleged that the child was the + result of an incestuous intercourse between its mother and a relative. At + the trial, having, it seemed, come to the conclusion that this wicked + slander would not enable him to escape an affiliation order, he again + frankly admitted his parentage. In the country districts, at any rate, + such examples are common.—H. R. H.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-6" id="linknote-6"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 6 (<a href="#linknoteref-6">return</a>)<br /> [ The loss is being reduced + annually, that for the financial year which has just closed being the + lowest on record.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-7" id="linknote-7"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 7 (<a href="#linknoteref-7">return</a>)<br /> [ See Appendix A.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-8" id="linknote-8"> </a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 8 (<a href="#linknoteref-8">return</a>)<br /> [ On this and other points + see the Salvation Army's 'Articles of War,' Appendix B.] + </p> + <div style="height: 6em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> +<pre> + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Regeneration, by H. 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Rider Haggard + +Release Date: September 11, 2004 [EBook #13434] +[Date last updated: March 25, 2005] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK REGENERATION *** + + + + +Produced by Keith M. Eckrich, and the Project Gutenberg Online +Distributed Proofreaders Team + + + + + + +[Illustration: GENERAL BOOTH] + + +REGENERATION + +Being an Account of the Social Work of The Salvation Army in Great +Britain. + +H. RIDER HAGGARD + + +1910 + + + + +DEDICATION + + +I dedicate these pages to the Officers and Soldiers of the Salvation +Army, in token of my admiration of the self-sacrificing work by which +it is their privilege to aid the poor and wretched throughout the +world. + +H. RIDER HAGGARD. + +DITCHINGHAM, + +_November, 1910_ + + +CONTENTS + + INTRODUCTORY + + MEN'S SOCIAL WORK, LONDON + + SPA ROAD ELEVATOR + + GREAT PETER STREET SHELTER + + FREE BREAKFAST SERVICE + + EX-CRIMINALS + + MEN'S WORKSHOP: HANBURY STREET, WHITECHAPEL + + STURGE HOUSE, BOW ROAD + + CENTRAL LABOUR BUREAU + + INTERNATIONAL INVESTIGATION DEPARTMENT + + EMIGRATION DEPARTMENT + + WOMEN'S SOCIAL WORK IN LONDON + + HEADQUARTERS OF THE WOMEN'S SOCIAL WORK + + HILLSBOROUGH HOUSE INEBRIATES' HOME + + MATERNITY NURSING HOME + + MATERNITY RECEIVING HOME + + MATERNITY HOSPITAL + + 'THE NEST,' CLAPTON + + TRAINING INSTITUTE FOR WOMEN'S SOCIAL WORK + + WOMEN'S INDUSTRIAL HOME, HACKNEY + + INEBRIATES' HOME + + WOMEN'S INDUSTRIAL HOME, SOUTHWOOD + + WOMEN'S SHELTER, WHITECHAPEL + + SLUM SETTLEMENT, HACKNEY ROAD + + PICCADILLY MIDNIGHT WORK + + ANTI-SUICIDE BUREAU + + WORK IN THE PROVINCES, LIVERPOOL + + MEN'S SOCIAL WORK, MANCHESTER + + OAKHILL HOUSE, MANCHESTER + + MEN'S SOCIAL WORK, GLASGOW + + ARDENSHAW WOMEN'S HOME + + WOMEN'S LODGING-HOUSE, GLASGOW + + LAND AND INDUSTRIAL COLONY, HADLEIGH + + SMALL-HOLDINGS SETTLEMENT, BOXTED + + IMPRESSIONS OF GENERAL BOOTH + + THE CHIEF OF THE STAFF + + NOTE ON THE RELIGION OF THE SALVATION ARMY + + APPENDICES + + + + +AUTHOR'S NOTE + +The author desires to thank Mr. D.R. DANIEL for the kind and valuable +assistance he has given him in his researches into the Social Work of +the Salvation Army. + +He takes this occasion to make it clear that this book does no more +than set out the results of his investigations into some of that vast +Social Work, and his personal conclusions as to it and those by whom +it is prosecuted. + +To obviate any possible misunderstanding as to the reason of its +writing, he wishes to state further that it has not been compiled by +him as a matter of literary business. + + + + +INTRODUCTORY + + +WHAT IS THE SALVATION ARMY? + +If this question were put to the ordinary person of fashion or +leisure, how would it be answered? + +In many cases thus: 'The Salvation Army is a body of people dressed up +in a semi-military uniform, or those of them who are women, in +unbecoming poke bonnets, who go about the streets making a noise in +the name of God and frightening horses with brass bands. It is under +the rule of an arbitrary old gentleman named Booth, who calls himself +a General, and whose principal trade assets consist in a handsome and +unusual face, and an inexhaustible flow of language, which he +generally delivers from a white motor-car wherever he finds that he +can attract the most attention. He is a clever actor in his way, who +has got a great number of people under his thumb, and I am told that +he has made a large fortune out of the business, like the late prophet +Dowie, and others of the same sort. The newspapers are always exposing +him; but he knows which side his bread is buttered and does not care. +When he is gone no doubt his family will divide up the cash, and we +shall hear no more of the Salvation Army!' + +Such are still the honest beliefs of thousands of our instructed +fellow-countrymen, and of hundreds of thousands of others of less +degree belonging to the classes which are generally typified under the +synonym of 'the man in the street,' by which most people understand +one who knows little, and of that little nothing accurately, but who +decides the fate of political elections. + +Let us suppose, however, that the questioner should succeed in +interesting an intelligent and fair-minded individual holder of these +views sufficiently to induce him to make inquiry into the facts +concerning this Salvation Army. What would he then discover? + +He would discover that about five and forty years ago some impulse, +wherever it may have come from, moved a Dissenting minister, gifted +with a mind of power and originality, and a body of great strength and +endurance, gifted, also, with an able wife who shared his views, to +try, if not to cure, at least to ameliorate the lot of the fallen or +distressed millions that are one of the natural products of high +civilization, by ministering to their creature wants and regenerating +their spirits upon the plain and simple lines laid down in the New +Testament. He would find, also, that this humble effort, at first +quite unaided, has been so successful that the results seem to partake +of the nature of the miraculous. + +Thus he would learn that the religious Organization founded by this +man and his wife is now established and, in most instances, firmly +rooted in 56 Countries and Colonies, where it preaches the Gospel in +33 separate languages: that it has over 16,000 Officers wholly +employed in its service, and publishes 74 periodicals in 20 tongues, +with a total circulation of nearly 1,000,000 copies per issue: that it +accommodates over 28,000 poor people nightly in its Institutions, +maintaining 229 Food Depots and Shelters for men, women, and children, +and 157 Labour Factories where destitute or characterless people are +employed: that it has 17 Homes for ex-criminals, 37 Homes for +children, 116 Industrial Homes for the rescue of women, 16 Land +Colonies, 149 Slum Stations for the visitation and assistance of the +poor, 60 Labour Bureaux for helping the unemployed, and 521 Day +Schools for children: that, in addition to all these, it has Criminal +and General Investigation Departments, Inebriate Homes for men and +women, Inquiry Offices for tracing lost and missing people, Maternity +Hospitals, 37 Homes for training Officers, Prison-visitation Staffs, +and so on almost _ad infinitum_. + +He would find, also, that it collects and dispenses an enormous +revenue, mostly from among the poorer classes, and that its system is +run with remarkable business ability: that General Booth, often +supposed to be so opulent, lives upon a pittance which most country +clergymen would refuse, taking nothing, and never having taken +anything, from the funds of the Army. And lastly, not to weary the +reader, that whatever may be thought of its methods and of the noise +made by the 23,000 or so of voluntary bandsmen who belong to it, it is +undoubtedly for good or evil one of the world forces of our age. + +Before going further, it may, perhaps, be well that I should explain +how it is that I come to write these pages. First, I ought to state +that my personal acquaintance with the Salvation Army dates back a +good many years, from the time, indeed, when I was writing 'Rural +England,' in connexion with which work I had a long and interesting +interview with General Booth that is already published. Subsequently I +was appointed by the British Government as a Commissioner to +investigate and report upon the Land Colonies of the Salvation Army in +the United States, in the course of which inquiry I came into contact +with many of its Officers, and learned much of its system and methods, +especially with reference to emigration. Also I have had other +opportunities of keeping in touch with the Army and its developments. + +In the spring of 1910 I was asked, on behalf of General Booth, whether +I would undertake to write for publication an account of the Social +Work of the Army in this country. After some hesitation, for the lack +of time was a formidable obstacle to a very busy man, I assented to +this request, the plan agreed upon being that I should visit the +various Institutions, or a number of them, etc., and record what I +actually saw, neither more nor less, together with my resulting +impressions. This I have done, and it only remains for me to assure +the reader that the record is true, and, to the best of his belief and +ability, set down without fear, favour, or prejudice, by one not +unaccustomed to such tasks. + +Almost at the commencement of my labours I sought an interview with +General Booth, thinking, as I told him and his Officers (the Salvation +Army is not mealy-mouthed about such matters) that at his age it would +be well to set down his views in black and white. On the whole, I +found him well and vigorous. He complained, however, of the difficulty +he was experiencing, owing to the complete loss of sight in one eye, +occasioned by an accident during a motor journey, and the possible +deprivation of the sight of the other through cataract. + +Of the attacks that have been and are continually made upon the +Salvation Army, some of them extremely bitter, General Booth would say +little. He pointed out that he had not been in the habit of defending +himself and his Organization in public, and was quite content that the +work should speak for itself. Their affairs and finances had been +investigated by eminent men, who 'could not find a sixpence out of +place'; and for the rest, a balance-sheet was published annually. This +balance-sheet for the year ending September 30, 1909, I reprint in an +appendix.[1] + +With regard to the Social Work of the Army, which in its beginning was +a purely religious body, General Booth said that they had been driven +into it because of their sympathy with suffering. They found it +impossible to look upon people undergoing starvation or weighed down +by sorrows and miseries that came upon them through poverty, without +stretching out a hand to help them on to their feet again. In the same +way they could not study wrongdoers and criminals and learn their +secret histories, which show how closely a great proportion of human +sin is connected with wretched surroundings, without trying to help +and reform them to the best of their abilities. Thus it was that their +Social operations began, increased, and multiplied. They contemplated +not only the regeneration of the individual, but also of his +circumstances, and were continually finding out new methods by which +this might be done. + +The Army looked forward to the development of its Social Work on the +lines of self-help, self-management and self-support. Whenever a new +development came under consideration, the question arose--How is it to +be financed? The work they had in hand at present took all their +funds. One of their great underlying principles was that of the +necessity of self-support, without which no business or undertaking +could stand for long. The individual must co-operate in his own moral +and physical redemption. At the same time this system of theirs was, +in practice, one of the difficulties with which they had to contend, +since it caused the benevolent to believe that the Army did not need +financial assistance. His own view was that they ought to receive +support in their work from the Government, as they actually did in +some other countries. Especially did he desire to receive State aid in +dealing with ascertained criminals, such as was extended to them in +certain parts of the world. + +Thus only a few weeks before, in Holland, the Parliament had asked the +Salvation Army to co-operate in the care of discharged prisoners and +gave a grant of money for their support. In Java the tale was the +same. There they were preparing estates as homes for lepers, and soon +a large portion of the leper population of that land would be in their +charge. + +General Booth told me the story of a celebrated Danish doctor, an +optician, who became attracted to the Army, and, giving up his +practice and position, entered its service with his wife. They said +they wished to lead a life of real sacrifice and self-denial, and so, +after going through a training like any other Cadets, were sent out to +take charge of the medical work in Java. A recent report stated that +this Officer had attended 16,000 patients in nine months, and +performed 516 operations. + +In Australia, the Government had handed over the work amongst the +Reformatory boys to the Army. In New Zealand, the Government had +requested it to take over inebriates, and was now paying a +contribution to that work of 10s. per head a week. There the Army had +purchased two islands to accommodate these inebriates, one on which +the men followed the pursuits of agriculture, fishing, and so forth, +and the other for the women. In Canada there was an idea that a large +prison should be erected, of which the Salvation Army would take +charge. He hoped that in course of time they would be allowed greatly +to extend their work in the English prisons. + +General Booth pointed out to me with reference to their Social Work, +that it was necessary to spend large sums of money in finding +employment for men whom they had rescued. Here, one of their greatest +difficulties was the vehement opposition of members of the Labour +Party in different countries. + +This party said, for example, that the Army ought to pay the Trade +Union rate of wage to any poor fellow whom they had picked up and set +to such labour as paper-sorting or carpentry. Thus in Western +Australia they had an estate of 20,000 acres lying idle. When he was +there a while ago, he asked the Officer in charge why he did not +cultivate this land and make it productive. The man replied he had no +labour; whereon the General said that he could send him plenty from +England. + +'Yes,' commented the Officer, 'but the moment they begin to work here, +however inefficient or broken down they may be, we shall have to pay +them 7s. a day!' + +This regulation, of course, makes it impossible to cultivate that +estate except at a heavy loss. + +He himself had been denounced as the 'prince of sweaters,' because he +took in derelict carpenters at their Institution in Hanbury Street +(which I shall describe later), to whom he did not pay the Trade Union +wage, although that Institution had from the first been worked at a +loss. In this case he had made peace with the Parliamentary Committee +by promising not to make anything there which was used outside the +Army establishments. But still the attacks went on. + +Passing from this subject, I asked General Booth if he had formed any +forecast of the future of the Salvation Army after his own death. He +replied that there were certain factors in the present position of the +Army which seemed to him to indicate its future growth and continuity. +Speaking impersonally, he said that the present General had become an +important man not by his own choice or through the workings of +ambition, but by the will of Providence. He had acquired a certain +standing, a great hold over his community, and an influence which +helped to concentrate and keep together forces that had grown to be +worldwide in their character. It was natural, therefore, that people +should wonder what would happen when he ceased to be. + +His answer to these queries was that legal arrangements had been made +to provide for this obvious contingency. Under the provisions of the +constitution of the Army he had selected his successor, although he +had never told anybody the name of that successor, which he felt sure, +when announced, was one that would command the fullest confidence and +respect. The first duty of the General of the Army on taking up his +office was to choose a man to succeed him, reserving to himself the +power to change that man for another, should he see good reason for +such a course. In short, his choice is secret, and being unhampered by +any law of heredity or other considerations except those that appeal +to his own reason and judgment, not final. He nominates whom he will. + +I asked him what would happen if this nominated General misconducted +himself in any way, or proved unsuitable, or lost his reason. He +replied that in such circumstances arrangements had been made under +which the heads of the Army could elect another General, and that what +they decided would be law. The organization of the Army was such that +any Department of it remained independent of the ability of one +individual. If a man proved incompetent, or did not succeed, his +office was changed; the square man was never left in the round hole. +Each Department had laws for its direction and guidance, and those in +authority were responsible for the execution of those laws. If for any +reason whatsoever, one commander fell out of the line of action, +another was always waiting to take his place. In short, he had no fear +that the removal of his own person and name would affect the +Organization. It was true, he remarked, that leaders cannot be +manufactured to order, and also that the Army had made, and would +continue to make, mistakes up and down the world. But those mistakes +showed them how to avoid similar errors, and how and where to improve. + +As regarded a change of headship, a fresh individuality always has +charms, and a new force would always strike out in some new direction. +The man needed was one who would _do_ something. General Booth did not +fear but that he would be always forthcoming, and said that for his +part he was quite happy as to the future, in which he anticipated an +enlargement of their work. The Organization existed, and with it the +arrangements for filling every niche. The discipline of to-day would +continue to-morrow, and that spirit would always be ready to burst +into flame when it was needed. + +In his view it was inextinguishable. + + + + +MEN'S SOCIAL WORK, LONDON + + + +THE MIDDLESEX STREET SHELTER + +The first of the London Institutions of the Salvation Army which I +visited was that known as the Middlesex Street Shelter and Working +Men's Home, which is at present under the supervision of Commissioner +Sturgess. This building consists of six floors, and contains sleeping +accommodation for 462 men. It has been at work since the year 1906, +when it was acquired by the Army with the help of that well-known +philanthropist, the late Mr. George Herring. + +Of the 462 men accommodated daily, 311 pay 3d. for their night's +lodging, and the remainder 5d. The threepenny charge entitles the +tenant to the use of a bunk bedstead with sheets and an American cloth +cover. If the extra 2d. is forthcoming the wanderer is provided with a +proper bed, fitted with a wire spring hospital frame and provided with +a mattress, sheets, pillow, and blankets. I may state here that as in +the case of this Shelter the building, furniture and other equipment +have been provided by charity, the nightly fees collected almost +suffice to pay the running expenses of the establishment. Under less +favourable circumstances, however, where the building and equipment +are a charge on the capital funds of the Salvation Army, the +experience is that these fees do not suffice to meet the cost of +interest and maintenance. + +The object of this and similar Shelters is to afford to men upon the +verge of destitution the choice between such accommodation as is here +provided and the common lodging-house, known as a 'kip house,' or the +casual ward of a workhouse. Those who avail themselves of these +Shelters belong, speaking generally, to the destitute or nearly +destitute classes. They are harbours of refuge for the unfortunates +who find themselves on the streets of London at nightfall with a few +coppers or some other small sum in their pockets. Many of these social +wrecks have sunk through drink, but many others owe their sad position +to lack or loss of employment, or to some other misfortune. + +For an extra charge of 1d. the inmates are provided with a good +supper, consisting of a pint of soup and a large piece of bread, or of +bread and jam and tea, or of potato-pie. A second penny supplies them +with breakfast on the following morning, consisting of bread and +porridge or of bread and fish, with tea or coffee. + +The dormitories, both of the fivepenny class on the ground floor and +of the threepenny class upstairs, are kept scrupulously sweet and +clean, and attached to them are lavatories and baths. These lavatories +contain a great number of brown earthenware basins fitted with taps. +Receptacles are provided, also, where the inmates can wash their +clothes and have them dried by means of an ingenious electrical +contrivance and hot air, capable of thoroughly drying any ordinary +garment in twenty minutes while its owner takes a bath. + +The man in charge of this apparatus and of the baths was one who had +been picked up on the Embankment during the past winter. In return for +his services he received food, lodging, clothes and pocket-money to +the amount of 3s. a week. He told me that he was formerly a commercial +traveller, and was trying to re-enter that profession or to become a +ship's steward. Sickness had been the cause of his fall in the world. + +Adjoining the downstairs dormitory is a dining and sitting-room for +the use of those who have taken bed tickets. In this room, when I +visited it, several men were engaged in various occupations. One of +them was painting flowers. Another, a watch repairer, was apparently +making up his accounts, which, perhaps, were of an imaginary nature. A +third was eating a dinner which he had purchased at the food bar. A +fourth smoked a cigarette and watched the flower artist at his work. A +fifth was a Cingalese who had come from Ceylon to lay some grievance +before the late King. The authorities at Whitehall having investigated +his case, he had been recommended to return to Ceylon and consult a +lawyer there. Now he was waiting tor the arrival of remittances to +enable him to pay his passage back to Ceylon. I wondered whether the +remittances would ever be forthcoming. Meanwhile he lived here on +7-1/2d. a day, 5d. for his bed and 2-1/2d. for his food. Of these and +other men similarly situated I will give some account presently. + +Having inspected the upper floors I descended to the basement, where +what are called the 'Shelter men' are received at a separate entrance +at 5.30 in the afternoon, and buying their penny or halfpennyworth of +food, seat themselves on benches to eat. Here, too, they can sit and +smoke or mend their clothes, or if they are wet, dry themselves in the +annexe, until they retire to rest. During the past winter of 1909 400 +men taken from the Embankment were sheltered here gratis every night, +and were provided with soup and bread. When not otherwise occupied +this hall is often used for the purpose of religious services. + +I spoke at hazard with some of those who were sitting about in the +Shelter. A few specimen cases may be interesting. An old man told me +that he had travelled all over the world for fifty years, especially +in the islands of the South Pacific, until sickness broke him down. He +came last from Shanghai, where he had been an overseer on railway +work, and before that from Manila. Being incapacitated by fever and +rheumatism, and possessing 1,500 dollars, he travelled home, +apparently via India and Burma, stopping a while in each country. +Eventually he drifted to a lodging-house, and, falling ill there, was +sent to the Highgate Infirmary, where, he said, he was so cold that he +could not stop. Ultimately he found himself upon the streets in +winter. For the past twelve months he had been living in this Shelter +upon some help that a friend gave him, for all his own money was gone. +Now he was trying to write books, one of which was in the hands of a +well-known firm. He remarked, pathetically, that they 'have had it a +long time.' He was also waiting 'every day' for a pension from +America, which he considered was due to him because he fought in the +Civil War. + +Most of these poor people are waiting for something. + +This man added that he could not find his relatives, and that he +intended to stop in the Shelter until his book was published, or he +could 'help himself out.' + +The next man I spoke to was the flower artist, whom I have already +mentioned, whose work, by the way, if a little striking in colour, was +by no means bad, especially as he had no real flowers to draw from. By +trade he was a lawyer's clerk; but he stated that, unfortunately for +him, the head partner of his firm went bankrupt six years before, and +the bad times, together with the competition of female labour in the +clerical department, prevented him from obtaining another situation, +so he had been obliged to fall back upon flower painting. He was a +married man, but he said, 'While I could make a fair week's money, +things were comfortable, but when orders fell slack I was requested to +go, as my room was preferable to my company, and being a man of +nervous temperament I could not stand it, and have been here ever +since'--that was for about ten weeks. He managed to make enough for +his board and lodging by the sale of his flower-pictures. + +A third man informed me that he had opened twenty-seven shops for a +large firm of tobacconists, and then left to start in business for +himself; also he used to go out window-dressing, in which he was +skilled. Then, about nine years ago, his wife began to drink, and +while he was absent in hospital, neglected his business so that it +became worthless. Finally she deserted him, and he had heard nothing +of her since. After that he took to drink himself. He came to this +Shelter intermittently, and supported himself by an occasional job of +window-dressing. The Salvation Army was trying to cure this man of his +drinking habits. + +A fourth man, a Eurasian, was a schoolmaster in India, who drifted to +this country, and had been for four years in the Colney Hatch Asylum. +He was sent to the Salvation Army by the After Care Society. He had +been two years in the Shelter, and was engaged in saving up money to +go to America. He was employed in the Shelter as a scrubber, and also +as a seller of food tickets, by which means he had saved some money. +Also he had a L5 note, which his sister sent to him. This note he was +keeping to return to her as a present on her birthday! His story was +long and miserable, and his case a sad one. Still, he was capable of +doing work of a sort. + +Another very smart and useful man had been a nurse in the Army Medical +Corps, which he left some years ago with a good character. +Occasionally he found a job at nursing, and stayed at the Shelter, +where he was given employment between engagements. + +Yet another, quite a young person, was a carman who had been +discharged through slackness of work in the firm of which he was a +servant. He had been ten weeks in the Institution, to which he came +from the workhouse, and hoped to find employment at his trade. + +In passing through this building, I observed a young man of foreign +appearance seated in a window-place reading a book, and asked his +history. I was told that he was a German of education, whose ambition +it is to become a librarian in his native country. He had come to +England in order to learn our language, and being practically without +means, drifted into this place, where he was employed in cleaning the +windows and pursued his studies in the intervals of that humble work. +Let us hope that in due course his painstaking industry will be +rewarded, and his ambition fulfilled. + +All these cases, and others that I have no space to mention, belonged +to the class of what I may call the regular 'hangers-on' of this +particular Shelter. As I visited it in the middle of the day, I did +not see its multitude of normal nightly occupants. Of such men, +however, I shall be able to speak elsewhere. + + + + +THE SPA ROAD ELEVATOR + + + +BERMONDSEY + +The next Institution that I inspected was that of a paper-sorting +works at Spa Road, Bermondsey, where all sorts of waste paper are +dealt with in enormous quantities. Of this stuff some is given and +some is bought. Upon delivery it goes to the sorters, who separate it +out according to the different classes of the material, after which it +is pressed into bales by hydraulic machinery and sold to merchants to +be re-made. + +These works stand upon two acres of land. Parts of the existing +buildings were once a preserve factory, but some of them have been +erected by the Army. There remain upon the site certain +dwelling-houses, which are still let to tenants. These are destined to +be pulled down whenever money is forthcoming to extend the factory. + +The object of the Institution is to find work for distressed or fallen +persons, and restore them to society. The Manager of this 'Elevator,' +as it is called, informed me that it employs about 480 men, all of +whom are picked up upon the streets. As a rule, these men are given +their board and lodging in return for work during the first week, but +no money, as their labour is worth little. In the second week, 6d. is +paid to them in cash; and, subsequently, this remuneration is added to +in proportion to the value of the labour, till in the end some of them +earn 8s. or 9s. a week in addition to their board and lodging. + +I asked the Officer in charge what he had to say as to the charges of +sweating and underselling which have been brought against the +Salvation Army in connexion with this and its other productive +Institutions. + +He replied that they neither sweated nor undersold. The men whom they +picked up had no value in the labour market, and could get nothing to +do because no one would employ them, many of them being the victims of +drink or entirely unskilled. Such people they overlooked, housed, fed, +and instructed, whether they did or did not earn their food and +lodging, and after the first week paid them upon a rising scale. The +results were eminently satisfactory, as even allowing for the +drunkards they found that but few cases, not more than 10 per cent, +were hopeless. Did they not rescue these men most of them would sink +utterly; indeed, according to their own testimony many of such +wastrels were snatched from suicide. As a matter of fact, also, they +employed more men per ton of paper than any other dealers in the +trade. + +With reference to the commercial results, after allowing for interest +on the capital invested, the place did not pay its way. He said that a +sum of L15,000 was urgently required for the erection of a new +building on this site, some of those that exist being of a +rough-and-ready character. They were trying to raise subscriptions +towards this object, but found the response very slow. + +He added that they collected their raw material from warehouses, most +of it being given to them, but some they bought, as it was necessary +to keep the works supplied, which could not be done with the gratis +stuff alone. Also they found that the paper they purchased was the +most profitable. + +These works presented a busy spectacle of useful industry. There was +the sorting-room, where great masses of waste-paper of every kind was +being picked over by about 100 men and separated into its various +classes. The resulting heaps are thrown through hoppers into bins. +From the bins this sorted stuff passes into hydraulic presses which +crush it into bales that, after being wired, are ready for sale. + +It occurred to me that the dealing with this mass of refuse paper must +be an unhealthy occupation; but I was informed that this is not the +case, and certainly the appearance of the workers bore out the +statement. + +After completing a tour of the works I visited one of the bedrooms +containing seventy beds, where everything seemed very tidy and fresh. +Clean sheets are provided every week, as are baths for the inmates. In +the kitchen were great cooking boilers, ovens, etc., all of which are +worked by steam produced by the burning of the refuse of the sorted +paper. Then I saw the household salvage store, which contained +enormous quantities of old clothes and boots; also a great collection +of furniture, including a Turkish bath cabinet, all of which articles +had been given to the Army by charitable folk. These are either given +away or sold to the employes of the factory or to the poor of the +neighbourhood at a very cheap rate. + +The man in charge of this store was an extremely good-looking and +gentlemanly young follow of University education, who had been a +writer of fiction, and once acted as secretary to a gentleman who +travelled on the Continent and in the East. Losing his employment, he +took to a life of dissipation, became ill, and sank to the very +bottom. He informed me that his ideals and outlook on life were now +totally changed. I have every hope that he will do well in the future, +as his abilities are evidently considerable, and Nature has favoured +him in many ways. + +I interviewed a number of the men employed in these works, most of +whom had come down through drink, some of them from very good +situations. One had been the superintendent of a sewing-machine +company. He took to liquor, left his wife, and found himself upon the +streets. Now he was a traveller for the Salvation Army, in the +interests of the Waste-Paper Department, had regained his position in +life, and was living with his wife and family in a comfortable house. + +Another was a grocer by profession, all of whose savings were stolen, +after which he took to drink. He had been three months in the works, +and at the time of my visit was earning 6s. a week with food and +lodging. + +Another had been a Barnardo boy, who came from Canada as a ship's +steward, and could find nothing to do in England. Another was a +gentleman's servant, who was dismissed because the family left London. + +Another was an auctioneer, who failed from want of capital, took to +drink, and emigrated to Canada. Two years later he fell ill with +pleurisy, and was sent home because the authorities were afraid that +his ailment might turn to consumption. He stated that at this time he +had given up drink, but could obtain no employment, so came upon the +streets. As he was starving and without hope, not having slept in a +bed for ten nights, he was about to commit suicide when the Salvation +Army picked him up. He had seen his wife for the first time in four +years on the previous Whit Monday, and they proposed to live together +again so soon as he secured permanent employment. + +Another had been a soldier in the Seaforth Highlanders, and served in +the Egyptian Campaign of 1881, and also in the American Army. +Subsequently he was employed as a porter at a lodging-house at a +salary of 25s. a week, but left because of trouble about a woman. He +came upon the streets, and, being unable to find employment, was +contemplating suicide, when he fell under the influence of the Army at +the Blackfriars Shelter. + +All these men, and others whom I spoke to at random but have no space +to write of, assured me that they were quite satisfied with their +treatment at the works, and repudiated--some of them with +indignation--the suggestion that I put to them tentatively that they +suffered from a system of sweating. For the most part, indeed, their +gratitude for the help they were receiving in the hour of need was +very evident and touching. + + + + +THE GREAT PETER STREET SHELTER + + + +WESTMINSTER + +This fine building is the most up-to-date Men's Shelter that the +Salvation Army possesses in London. It was once the billiard works of +Messrs. Burroughes and Watts, and is situated in Westminster, quite +near to the Houses of Parliament. I visited it about eight o'clock in +the evening, and at its entrance was confronted with the word 'Full,' +inscribed in chalk upon its portals, at which poor tramps, deprived of +their hope of a night's lodging, were staring disconsolately. It +reminded me of a playhouse upon a first-night of importance, but, +alas! the actors here play in a tragedy more dreadful in its +cumulative effect than any that was ever put upon the stage. + +This Shelter is wonderfully equipped and organized. It contains +sitting or resting-rooms, smoking-rooms, huge dormitories capable of +accommodating about 600 sleepers; bathrooms, lavatories, extensive +hot-water and warming apparatus, great kitchens, and butteries, and so +forth. In the sitting and smoking-rooms, numbers of derelict men were +seated. Some did nothing except stare before them vacantly. Some +evidently were suffering from the effects of drink or fatigue; some +were reading newspapers which they had picked up in the course of +their day's tramp. One, I remember, was engaged in sorting out and +crumpling up a number of cigar and cigarette ends which he had +collected from the pavements, carefully grading the results in +different heaps, according to the class of the tobacco (how strong it +must be!) either for his own consumption or for sale to other +unfortunates. In another place, men were eating the 1d. or 1/2d. +suppers that they had purchased. + +Early as it was, however, the great dormitories were crowded with +hundreds of the lodgers, either in bed or in process of getting there. +I noticed that they all undressed themselves, wrapping up their rags +in bundles, and, for the most part slept quite naked. Many of them +struck me as very fine fellows physically, and the reflection crossed +my mind, seeing them thus _in puris naturalibus_, that there was +little indeed to distinguish them from a crowd of males of the upper +class engaged, let us say, in bathing. It is the clothes that make the +difference to the eye. + +In this Shelter I was told, by the way, that there exists a code of +rough honour among these people, who very rarely attempt to steal +anything from each other. Having so little property, they sternly +respect its rights. I should add that the charge made for +accommodation and food is 3d. per night for sleeping, and 1d. or 1/2d. +per portion of food. + +The sight of this Institution crowded with human derelicts struck me +as most sad, more so indeed than many others that I have seen, though, +perhaps, this may have been because I was myself tired out with a long +day of inspection. + +The Staff-Captain in charge here told me his history, which is so +typical and interesting that I will repeat it briefly. Many years ago +(he is now an elderly man) he was a steward on board a P. and O. +liner, and doing well. Then a terrible misfortune overwhelmed him. +Suddenly his wife and child died, and, as a result of the shock, he +took to drink. He attempted to cut his throat (the scar remains to +him), and was put upon his trial for the offence. Subsequently he +drifted on to the streets, where he spent eight years. During all this +time his object was to be rid of life, the methods he adopted being to +make himself drunk with methylated spirits, or any other villainous +and fiery liquor, and when that failed, to sleep at night in wet grass +or ditches. Once he was picked up suffering from inflammation of the +lungs and carried to an infirmary, where he lay senseless for three +days. The end of it was that a Salvation Army Officer found him in +Oxford Street, and took him to a Shelter in Burne Street, where he was +bathed and put to bed. + +That was many years ago, and now he is to a great extent responsible +for the management of this Westminster Refuge. Commissioner Sturgess, +one of the head Officers of the Army, told me that their great +difficulty was to prevent him from overdoing himself at this +charitable task. I think the Commissioner said that sometimes he would +work eighteen or twenty hours out of the twenty-four. + +One day this Staff-Captain played a grim little trick upon me. I was +seated at luncheon in a Salvation Army building, when the door opened, +and there entered as dreadful a human object as I have ever seen. The +man was clad in tatters, his bleeding feet were bound up with filthy +rags; he wore a dingy newspaper for a shirt. His face was cut and +plastered over roughly; he was a disgusting sight. He told me, in +husky accents, that drink had brought him down, and that he wanted +help. I made a few appropriate remarks, presented him with a small +coin, and sent him to the Officers downstairs. + +A quarter of an hour later the Staff-Captain appeared in his uniform +and explained that he and the 'object' were the same person. Again it +was the clothes that made the difference. Those which he had worn when +he appeared at the luncheon-table were the same in which he had been +picked up on the streets of London. Also he thanked me for my good +advice which he said he hoped to follow, and for the sixpence that he +announced his intention of wearing on his watch-chain. For my part I +felt that the laugh was against me. Perhaps if I had thought the +Salvation Army capable of perpetrating a joke, I should not have been +so easily deceived. + +This Staff-Captain gave me much information as to the class of +wanderers who frequent these Shelters, He estimated that about 50 per +cent of them sink to that level through the effects of drink. That is +to say, if by the waving of some magic wand intoxicants and harmful +drugs should cease to be obtainable in this country, the bulk of +extreme misery which needs such succour, and it may be added of crime +at large, would be lessened by one-half. This is a terrible statement, +and one that seems to excuse a great deal of what is called 'teetotal +fanaticism.' The rest, in his view, owe their fall to misfortune of +various kinds, which often in its turn leads to flight to the delusive +and destroying solace of drink. Thus about 25 per cent of the total +have been afflicted with sickness or acute domestic troubles. Or +perhaps they are 'knocked out' by shock, such as is brought on by the +loss of a dearly-loved wife or child, and have never been able to +recover from that crushing blow. The remainder are the victims of +advancing age and of the cruel commercial competition of our day. Thus +he said that the large business firms destroy and devour the small +shopkeepers, as a hawk devours sparrows; and these little people or +their employes, if they are past middle age, can find no other work. +Especially is this the case since the Employers' Liability Acts came +into operation, for now few will take on hands who are not young and +very strong, as older folk must naturally be more liable to sickness +and accident. + +Again, he told me that it has become the custom in large businesses of +which the dividends are falling, to put in a man called an +'Organizer,' who is often an American. + +This Organizer goes through the whole staff and mercilessly dismisses +the elderly or the least efficient, dividing up their work among those +who remain. So these discarded men fall to rise no more and drift to +the poorhouse or the Shelters or the jails, and finally into the river +or a pauper's grave. First, however, many spend what may be called a +period of probation on the streets, where they sleep at night under +arches or on stairways, or on the inhospitable flagstones and benches +of the Embankment, even in winter. + +The Staff-Captain informed me that on one night during the previous +November he counted no less than 120 men, women, and children sleeping +in the wet on or in the neighbourhood of the Embankment. Think of +it--in this one place! Think of it, you whose women and children, to +say nothing of yourselves, do not sleep on the Embankment in the wet +in November. It may be answered that they might have gone to the +casual ward, where there are generally vacancies. I suppose that they +might, but so perverse are many of them that they do not. Indeed, +often they declare bluntly that they would rather go to prison than to +the casual ward, as in prison they are more kindly treated. + +The reader may have noted as he drove along the Embankment or other +London thoroughfares at night in winter, long queues of people waiting +their turn to get something. What they are waiting for is a cup of +soup and, perhaps, an opportunity of sheltering till the dawn, which +soup and shelter are supplied by the Salvation Army, and sometimes by +other charitable Organizations. I asked whether this provision of +gratis food did in fact pauperize the population, as has been alleged. +The Staff-Captain answered that men do not as a rule stop out in the +middle of the winter till past midnight to get a pint of soup and a +piece of bread. Of course, there might be exceptions; but for the most +part those who take this charity, do so because if is sorely needed. + +The cost of these midnight meals is reckoned by the Salvation Army at +about L8 per 1,000, including the labour involved in cooking and +distribution. This money is paid from the Army's Central Fund, which +collects subscriptions for that special purpose. + +'Of course, our midnight soup has its critics,' said one of the +Officers who has charge of its distribution; 'but all I know is that +it saves many from jumping into the river.' + +During the past winter, that is from November 3, 1909, to March 24, +1910, 163,101 persons received free accommodation and food at the +hands of the Salvation Army in connexion with its Embankment Soup +Distribution Charity. + + + + +THE FREE BREAKFAST SERVICE + + + +BLACKFRIARS SHELTER + +On a Sunday in June I attended the Free Breakfast service at the +Blackfriars Shelter. The lease of this building was acquired by the +Salvation Army from a Temperance Company. Behind it lay contractors' +stables, which were also bought; after which the premises were rebuilt +and altered to suit the purposes to which they are now put, the +stabling being for the most part converted into sleeping-rooms. + +The Officer who accompanied me, Lieut.-Colonel Jolliffe, explained +that this Blackfriars Shelter is, as it were, the dredger for and the +feeder of all the Salvation Army's Social Institutions for men in +London. Indeed, it may be likened to a dragnet set to catch male +unfortunates in this part of the Metropolis. Here, as in the other +Army Shelters, are great numbers of bunks that are hired out at 3d. a +night, and the usual food-kitchens and appliances. + +I visited one or two of these, well-ventilated places that in cold +weather are warmed by means of hot-water pipes to a heat of about 70 +deg., as the clothing on the bunks is light. + +I observed that although the rooms had only been vacated for a few +hours, they were perfectly inoffensive, and even sweet; a result that +is obtained by a very strict attention to cleanliness and ample +ventilation. The floors of these places are constantly scrubbed, and +the bunks undergo a process of disinfection about once a week. As a +consequence, in all the Army Shelters the vermin which sometimes +trouble common lodging-houses are almost unknown. + +I may add that the closest supervision is exercised in these places +when they are occupied. Night watchmen are always on duty, and an +Officer sleeps in a little apartment attached to each dormitory. The +result is that there are practically no troubles of any kind. +Sometimes, however, a poor wanderer is found dead in the morning, in +which case the body is quietly conveyed away to await inquest. + +I asked what happened when men who could not produce the necessary +coppers to pay for their lodging, applied for admission. The answer +was that the matter was left to the discretion of the Officer in +charge. In fact, in cases of absolute and piteous want, men are +admitted free, although, naturally enough, the Army does not advertise +that this happens. If it did, its hospitality would be considerably +overtaxed. + +Leaving the dormitories, I entered the great hall, in which were +gathered nearly 600 men seated upon benches, every one of which was +filled. The faces and general aspect of these men were eloquent of +want and sorrow. Some of them appeared to be intent upon the religious +service that was going on, attendance at this service being the +condition on which the free breakfast is given to all who need food +and have passed the previous night in the street. Others were gazing +about them vacantly, and others, sufferers from the effects of drink, +debauchery, or fatigue, seemed to be half comatose or asleep. + +This congregation, the strangest that I have ever seen, comprised men +of all classes. Some might once have belonged to the learned +professions, while others had fallen so low that they looked scarcely +human. Every grade of rag-clad misery was represented here, and every +stage of life from the lad of sixteen up to the aged man whose +allotted span was almost at an end. Rank upon rank of them, there they +sat in their infinite variety, linked only by the common bond of utter +wretchedness, the most melancholy sight, I think, that ever my eyes +beheld. All of them, however, were fairly clean, for this matter had +been seen to by the Officers who attend upon them. The Salvation Army +does not only wash the feet of its guests, but the whole body. Also, +it dries and purifies their tattered garments. + +When I entered the hall, an Officer on the platform was engaged in +offering up an extempore prayer. + +'We pray that the Holy Spirit may be poured out upon these men. We +pray, O God, that Thou wilt help them to take fresh courage, to find +fresh hope, and that they may rise once again to fight the battle of +life. We pray that Thou mayst bring to Thy feet, this morning, such as +shall be saved eternally.' + +Then another Officer, styled the Chaplain, addressed the audience. He +told them that there was a way out of their troubles, and that +hundreds who had sat in that hall as they did, now blessed the day +which brought them there. He said: 'You came here this morning, you +scarcely knew how or why. You did not know the hand of God was leading +you, and that He will bless you if you will listen to His Voice. You +think you cannot escape from this wretched life; you think of the past +with all its failures. But do not trouble about the years that are +gone. Seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all other +things shall be added unto you. Then there will be no more wandering +about without a friend, for I say to you that God lives, and this +morning you will hear from others, who once were in a similar +condition to yourself, what He has done for them.' + +Next a man with a fine tenor voice, who, it seems, is nicknamed 'the +Yorkshire Canary,' sang the hymn beginning, 'God moves in a mysterious +way.' After this in plain, forcible language he told his own story. He +said that he was well brought up by a good father and mother, and lost +everything through his own sin. His voice was in a sense his ruin, +since he used to sing in public-houses and saloons and there learnt to +drink. At length he found himself upon the streets in London, and +tramped thence to Yorkshire to throw himself upon the mercy of his +parents. When he was quite close to his home, however, his courage +failed him, and he tramped back to London, where he was picked up by +the Salvation Army. + +This man, a most respectable-looking person, is now a clerk in a +well-known business house. In his own words, 'I knelt down and gave my +heart to God, and am to-day in a good situation.' + +Next a Salvation Army soldier spoke. Four years before he had attended +the Sunday morning meeting in this hall and 'found the friendship of +God. He has helped me to regain the manhood I had lost and to do my +duty. For two years now I have helped to support an invalid sister +instead of being a burden to every one I knew, as once I was.' + +After the singing of the hymn, 'Rock of Ages,' another man addressed +the meeting. He had been a drunkard, a homeless wanderer, who slept +night after night on the Embankment till fortune brought him to this +service and to the Penitent-Form. Since that time, two and a half +years before, no drink had passed his lips, and once again, as he +declared, he had become 'a self-respecting, respectable citizen.' + +Then a dwarf whom I had seen at work in the Spa Road Elevator, and who +once was taken about the country to be exhibited as a side show at +fairs and there fell a victim to drink, gave his testimony. + +Another verse, 'Could my tears for ever flow,' and after it, in rapid +succession, spoke a man who had been a schoolmaster and fallen through +drink and gambling; a man who, or whose brother, I am not sure which, +had been a Wesleyan preacher, and who is now employed in a Life +Assurance Company; a man who had been a prisoner; a man who had been a +confirmed drunkard, and others. + +Always it was the same earnest, simple tale of drink and degradation, +passed now for ever; of the Penitent-Form; of the building up of a new +self, and of position regained. + +More singing and an eloquent prayer which seemed to move the audience +very much, some of them to tears; an address from a woman Salvation +Army Officer, who pleaded with the people in the name of their +mothers, and a brief but excellent sermon from Commissioner Sturgess, +based upon the parable of the Marriage of the King's Son as recorded +in the 22nd chapter of St. Matthew, and of the guests who were +collected from the highways and byways to attend the feast whence the +rich and worldly had excused themselves. + +Then the great and final invocation to Heaven to move the hearts of +these men, and the invitation to them to present themselves at the +Penitent-Form. Lastly a mighty, thundering hymn, 'Jesu, Lover of my +soul,' and the ending of the long drama. + +It was a wonderful thing to see the spiritually-faced man on the +platform pleading with his sordid audience, and to watch them stirring +beneath his words. To see, also, a uniformed woman flitting to and fro +among that audience, whispering, exhorting, invoking--a temptress to +Salvation, then to note the response and its manner that were stranger +still. Some poor wretch would seem to awaken, only to relapse into a +state of sullen, almost defiant torpor. A little while and the leaven +begins to work in him. He flushes, mutters something, half rises from +his seat, sits down again, rises once more and with a peculiar, +unwilling gait staggers to the Penitent-Form, and in an abandonment of +grief and repentance throws himself upon his knees and there begins to +sob. A watching Officer comes to him, kneels at his side and, I +suppose, confesses him. The tremendous hymn bursts out like a paean of +triumph-- + + Just as I am, without one plea, + +it begins, the rest I forget or did not catch. + +Now the ice is broken. Another comes and another, and another, till +there is no more room at the Penitent-Bench. They swarm on to the +platform which is cleared for them, and there kneel down, and I +observed the naked feet of some of them showing through the worn-out +boots. + +So it goes on. At length the great audience rises and begins to +depart, filing one by one through a certain doorway. As they pass, +Officers who have appeared from somewhere wait for them with +outstretched arms. The most of them brush past shaking their heads and +muttering. Here and there one pauses, is lost--or rather won. The +Salvation Army has him in its net and he joins the crowd upon the +platform. Still the hymn swells and falls till all have departed save +those who remain for good--about 10 per cent of that sad company. + +[Illustration: SEEKING THE HOMELESS AT MIDNIGHT.] + +It is done and the catcher feels that he has witnessed the very +uttermost of tragedies, human and spiritual. + + * * * * * + +Mere common 'revivalism'! the critic will say, and it may be so. Still +such revivalism, if that is the term for it, must be judged by its +fruits. I am informed that of those who kneel here experience shows +that but a small percentage relapse. The most of them become what in +the Salvation Army cant--if one chooses so to name it--is known as +'saved.' + +This means that from drunkards and wastrels stained with every sort of +human fault, or even crime, they are turned into God-fearing and +respectable men who henceforward, instead of being a pest to society +and a terror to all those who have the misfortune to be connected with +them, become props of society and a comfort and a support to their +relatives and friends. + +Thus is the mesh of mercy spread, and such is its harvest. + +The age of miracles is past, we are told; but I confess that while +watching this strange sight I wondered more than once that if this +were so, what that age of miracles had been like. Of one thing I was +sure, that it must have been to such as these that He who is +acknowledged even by sceptics to have been the very Master of mankind, +would have chosen to preach, had this been the age of His appearance, +He who came to call sinners to repentance. Probably, too, it was to +such as these that He did preach, for folk of this character are +common to the generations. Doubtless, Judea had its knaves and +drunkards, as we know it had its victims of sickness and misfortune. +The devils that were cast out in Jerusalem did not die; they reappear +in London and elsewhere to-day, and, it would seem, can still be cast +out. + +I confess another thing, also; namely, that I found all this drama +curiously exciting. Most of us who have passed middle age and led a +full and varied life will be familiar with the great human emotions. +Yet I discovered here a new emotion, one quite foreign to a somewhat +extended experience, one that I cannot even attempt to define. The +contagion of revivalism! again it will be said. This may be so, or it +may not. But at least, so far as this branch of the Salvation Army +work is concerned, those engaged in it may fairly claim that the tree +should be judged by its fruits. Without doubt, in the main these +fruits are good and wholesome. + +I have only to add to my description of this remarkable service, that +the number netted, namely, about 10 per cent of those present, was, I +am told, just normal, neither more nor less than the average. Some of +these doubtless will relapse; but if only _one_ of them remains really +reformed, surely the Salvation Army has vindicated its arguments and +all is proved to be well worth while. But to that one very many +ciphers must be added as the clear and proved result of the forty +years or so of its activity. Whatever may be doubtful, this is true +beyond all controversy, for it numbers its converts by the thousand. + + * * * * * + +The congregation which I saw on this particular occasion seemed to me +to consist for the most part of elderly men; in fact, some of them +were very old, and the average age of those who attended the +Penitent-Form I estimated at about thirty-five years. This, however, +varies. I am informed that at times they are mostly young persons. It +must be remembered--and the statement throws a lurid light upon the +conditions prevailing in London, as in other of our great cities--that +the population which week by week attends these Sunday morning +services is of an ever-shifting character. Doubtless, there are some +_habitues_ and others who reappear from time to time. But the most of +the audience is new. Every Saturday night the highways and the hedges, +or rather the streets and the railway arches yield a new crop of +homeless and quite destitute wanderers. These are gathered into the +Blackfriars Shelter, and go their bitter road again after the rest, +the breakfast, and the service. But as we have seen here a substantial +proportion, about 10 per cent, remain behind. These are all +interviewed separately and fed, and on the following morning as many +of them as vacancies can be found for in the Paper Works Elevator or +elsewhere are sent thither. + +I saw plenty of these men, and with them others who had been rescued +previously; so many, indeed, that it is impossible to set out their +separate cases. Looking through my notes made at the time, I find +among them a schoolmaster, an Australian who fought in South Africa, a +publican who had lost L2,000 in speculation and been twelve months on +the streets, a sailor and two soldiers who between them had seen much +service abroad, and a University man who had tried to commit suicide +from London Bridge. + +Also there was a person who was recently described in the newspapers +as the 'dirtiest man in London.' He was found sitting on the steps of +a large building in Queen Victoria Street, partly paralysed from +exposure. So filthy and verminous was he, that it was necessary to +scrape his body, which mere washing would not touch. When he was +picked up, a crowd of several hundred people followed him down the +street, attracted by his dreadful appearance. His pockets were full of +filth, amongst which were found 5s. in coppers. He had then been a +month in the Shelter, where he peels or peeled potatoes, etc., and +looked quite bright and clean. + +Most of these people had been brought down by the accursed drink, +which is the bane of our nation, and some few by sheer misfortune. + +Neither at the service, nor afterwards, did I see a single Jew, for +the fallen of that race seem to be looked after by their fellow +religionists. Moreover, the Jews do not drink to excess. Foreigners, +also, are comparatively scarce at Blackfriars and in the other +Shelters. + + + + +THE EX-CRIMINALS + + +On the afternoon of the Sunday on which I visited the Blackfriars +Shelter, I attended another service, conducted by Commissioner +Sturgess, at Quaker Street. + +Here the room was filled by about 150 men, all of whom had been +rescued, and were then working in the various Shelters or elsewhere. I +may say that I have seldom seen a congregation of more respectable +appearance, and never one that joined with greater earnestness in a +religious service. + +I will take this opportunity to observe that the Salvation Army +enforces no religious test upon those to whom it extends its +assistance. If a man is a member of the Church of England or a Roman +Catholic, for instance, and wishes to remain so, all that it tries to +do is to make him a good member of his Church. Its only _sine qua non_ +is that the individual should show himself ready to work zealously at +any task which it may be able to find for him. + +The rest of that afternoon I spent in interviewing ex-criminals who +were then in the charge of the Salvation Army. To give details of +their cases in this book is impossible. Here I will only say, +therefore, that some of these had been most desperate characters, who +had served as much as thirty or forty years in various prisons, or +even been condemned to death for murder. Indeed, the nineteen men whom +I interviewed had, between them, done 371 years of what is known as +'time.' + +I cannot honestly report that I liked the looks of all these gentry, +or believed everything that they told me. For instance, when such +people swear that they have been wrongly convicted, an old lawyer and +magistrate like myself, who knows what pains are taken by every +English Court to safeguard the innocent, is apt to be sceptical. +Still, it should be added that many of these jailbirds are now to all +appearance quite reformed, while some of them are doing well in more +or less responsible positions, under the supervision of the Army. + +The Salvation Army Officers have authority from the Home Office to +visit the various prisons, where the inmates are informed that those +who are desirous of seeing them must give in their names. Then on a +certain day, the Officer, who, under Commissioner Sturgess, is +responsible for the Prison work of the Army in England, appears at the +Wandsworth or the Pentonville Prison, or wherever it may be. There he +finds, perhaps, as many as 150 men waiting to see him, the total +number of ex-prisoners who pass through the hands of the Army in +England averaging at present about 1,000 per annum. He interviews +these men in their cells privately, the prison officials remaining +outside, and stops as long with each of them as he deems to be +needful, for the Governors of the prisons give him every opportunity +of attaining the object of his work. This Officer informed me that his +conversation with the prisoners is not restricted in any way. It may +be about their future or of spiritual matters, or it may have to do +with their family affairs. + +The details of each case are carefully recorded in a book which I saw, +and when a convict is discharged and given over to the care of the +Army, a photograph and an official statement of his record is +furnished with him. This statement the Army finds a great help, as in +dealing with such people it is necessary to know their past in order +to be able to guard against their weak points. + +The Government authorities have now begun to seek the aid of the Army +in certain special cases. If they feel that it is unnecessary to +retain a man any longer, they will sometimes hand him over, should the +Salvation Army Officers be willing to take him in and be responsible +for him. General Booth and his subordinates think that if this system +were enlarged and followed up, it would result in the mitigation or +the abbreviation of many sentences, without exposing the public to +danger. + +In discussing this matter with them, I ventured to point out that it +would be a bad thing if the Army became in any way identified with the +prison Authorities, and began, at any rate in the mind of the criminal +classes, to wear the initials G.R. instead of those of the Army upon +their collars. This was not disputed by Commissioner Sturgess, with +whom I debated the question. + +What the Army desires, however, is that the Government should +subsidize this work in order to enable it to support the ex-convicts +until it can find opportunity to place them in positions where they +can earn their own bread. The trouble with such folk is that, +naturally enough, few desire to employ them, and until they are +employed, which in the case of aged persons or of those with a very +bad record may be never, they must be fed, clothed, and housed. + +After going into the whole subject at considerable length and in much +detail, the conclusion which I came to was that this work of the +visitation of prisoners by Salvation Army Officers, and the care of +them when released either on or before the completion of their +sentences, is one that might be usefully extended, should the Home +Office Authorities see fit so to do. There is no doubt, although it +cannot guarantee success in every case, that the Salvation Army is +peculiarly successful in its dealings with hardened criminals. + +Why this is so is not easy to explain. I think, however, that there +are two main reasons for its success. The first is that the Army takes +great care never to break a promise which it may make through any of +its Officers. Thus, if a man in jail is told that his relatives will +be hunted up and communicated with, or that an application will be +made to the Authorities to have him committed to the care of the Army, +or that work will be found for him on his release, and the like, that +undertaking, whatever it may be, is noted in the book which I have +mentioned, and although years may pass before it can be fulfilled, is +in due course carried out to the letter. Now, convicts are shy birds, +who put little faith in promises. But when they find that these are +always kept they gain confidence in the makers of them, and often +learn to trust them entirely. + +The second and more potent reason is to be found in the power of that +loving sympathy which the Army extends even to the vilest, to those +from whom the least puritanical of us would shrink. It shows such men +that they are not utterly lost, as these believe; that it, at any +rate, does not mark them with a figurative broad arrow and consign +them to a separate division of society; that it is able to give them +back the self-respect without which mankind is lower than the beast, +and to place them, regenerated, upon a path that, if it be steep and +thorny, still leads to those heights of peace and honour which they +never thought to tread again. + +This is done not by physical care and comfort, though, of course, +these help towards the desired end, but by its own spiritual means, or +so it would appear. Its Officers pray with the man; they awake his +conscience, which is never dead in any of us; they pour the blessed +light of hope into the dark places of his soul; they cause him to hate +the past, and to desire to lead a new life. Once this desire is +established, the rest is comparatively simple, for where the heart +leads the feet will follow; but without it little or nothing can be +done. Such is the explanation I have to offer. At any rate, I believe +it remains a fact that among the worst criminals the Salvation Army +often succeeds where others have failed. + +Another point that should not be overlooked in this connexion is that +it must be a great comfort to the sinner and an encouragement of the +most practical sort to find, as he sometimes will, that the hands +which are dragging him and his kind from the mire, had once been as +filthy as his own. When the worker can say to him, 'Look at me; in +bygone days I was as bad as or worse than you'; when he can point to +many others whose vices were formerly notorious, but who now fill +positions of trust in the Army or outside of it, and are honoured of +all men; then the lost one, emerging, perhaps, for the fifth or sixth +time from the darkness of his prison, sees by the light of these +concrete examples that the future has promise for us all. If _they_ +have succeeded why should _he_ fail? That is the argument which comes +home to him. + +There remains a matter to be considered. Let us suppose that as time +goes by the Authorities become more and more convinced of the value of +the Army's prison work, and pass over to its care criminals in +ever-increasing numbers, as they are doing in some other countries and +in the great Colonies, what will be the effect upon the Army itself? +Will not this mass of comparatively useless material clog the wheels +of the great machine by overlading it with a vast number of +ex-prisoners, some of whom, owing to their age or other circumstances, +are quite incapable of earning their livelihood, and therefore must be +carried till their deaths? When I put the query to those in command, +the answer given was that they did not think so, as they believed that +the Army would be able to turn the great majority of these men into +respectable, wage-earning members of society. + +Thus of those who have been sent to it lately from the prisons, it +has, I understand, been forced to return only two, because these men +would not behave themselves, and proved to be a source of danger and +contamination to others. As regards the residuum who are incapacitated +by age or weakness of mind or body, General Booth and his Officers are +of opinion that the Government should contribute to their support in +such places as the Army may be able to find for them to dwell in under +its care. + +I hope that these forecasts, which after all are made by men of great +experience who should know, may not prove to be over-sanguine. Still +it must be remembered that in England alone there are, I am told, some +30,000 confirmed criminals in the jails, not reckoning the 5,000 who +are classed as convicts. If even 20 per cent of these were passed over +to the care of the Army, with or without State grants in aid of their +support, this must in the nature of things prove a heavy burden upon +its resources. When all is said and done it is harder to find +employment for a jailbird, even if reformed, than for any other class +of man, because so damaged a human article has but little commercial +value in the Labour market. + +If, however, the Salvation Army is prepared to face this gigantic +task, it may be hoped that it will be given an opportunity of showing +what it can do on a large scale, as it has already shown upon one more +restricted. Prison reform is in the air. The present system is +admitted more or less to have broken down. It has been shown to be +incompetent to attain the real end for which it is established; that +is, not punishment, as many still believe, for this hereditary idea is +hard to eradicate, but prevention and, still more, reformation. + +The 'Vengeance of the Law' is a phrase not easy to forget; but among +humane and highly-civilized peoples the word Vengeance should be +replaced by another, the best that I can think of is--Regeneration. +The Law should not seek to avenge--that may be left to the savage +codes, civil and religious, of the dark ages. Except in the case of +the death sentence, which is not everywhere in favour, it should seek +to regenerate. + +If, then, among other agencies, the Salvation Army is able to prove +beyond cavil that it can assist our criminal system to attain this +noble end, ought not opportunity to be given it in full measure? Is it +too much to hope that when the new Prison Act, of which the substance +has recently been outlined by the Home Secretary, comes to be +discussed, this object may be kept in view and the offer of the +Salvation Army to co-operate in the great endeavour may not be lightly +thrust aside? If its help is found so valuable in the solution of this +particular problem in other lands, why should it be rejected here, or, +rather, why should it not be more largely utilized, as I know from +their own lips, General Booth and his Officers hope and desire?[2] + + + + +THE MEN'S WORKSHOP + + + +HANBURY STREET, WHITECHAPEL + +This Salvation Army carpentering and joinery shop has been in +existence for about fifteen years, but it does not even now pay its +way. It was started by the Army in order to assist fallen mechanics by +giving them temporary work until they could find other situations. + +The manager informed me that at the beginning they found work for +about thirty men. When I visited the place some fifty hands were +employed--bricklayers, painters, joiners, etc., none of whom need stop +an hour longer than they choose. From 100 to 150 men pass through this +Workshop in a year, but many of them being elderly and therefore +unable to obtain work elsewhere, stop for a long while, as the Army +cannot well get rid of them. All of these folk arrive in a state of +absolute destitution, having even sold their tools, the last +possessions with which a competent workman parts. + +The Parliamentary Committee of the Labour Party and the Trade Unions +have recently stirred up a great agitation, which has been widely +reported in the Press, against the Hanbury Street Workshop, because +the Army does not pay the Union rate of wages. As a result the Army +now declines all outside contracts, and confines its operations to the +work of erecting, repairing, or furnishing its own buildings. + +Here it may be stated that these complaints seem to be unreasonable. +The men employed have almost without exception been taken off the +streets to save them from starvation or the poorhouse. Often enough +they are by no means competent at their work, while some of them have +for the time being been rendered practically useless through the +effects of drink or other debaucheries. Yet it is argued with violence +that to such people, whom no business firm would employ upon any +terms, the Army ought to pay the full Trade Union rate of wages. When +every allowance is made for the great and urgent problems connected +with the cruel practice of 'sweating,' surely this attitude throws a +strange light upon some of the methods of the Trade Unions? + +The inference seems to be that they would prefer that these derelicts +should come on the rates or starve rather than that the Army should +house and feed them, giving them, in addition, such wage as their +labour may be worth. Further comment seems to be needless, especially +when I repeat that, as I am assured, this Hanbury Street Institution +never has earned, and does not now earn, the cost of its upkeep. + +It is situated in the heart of a very poor district, and is rather a +ramshackle place to look at, but still quite suitable to its purposes. +I have observed that one of the characteristics of the Salvation Army +is that it never spends unnecessary money upon buildings. If it can +buy a good house or other suitable structure cheap it does so. If it +cannot, it makes use of what it can get at a price within its means, +provided that the place will satisfy the requirements of the sanitary +and other Authorities. + +All the machines at Hanbury Street are driven by electric power that +is supplied by the Stepney Council at a cost of 1_d_. per unit for +power and 3_d_. per unit for lighting. + +An elderly man whom I saw there attending to this machinery, was +dismissed by one of the great railway companies when they were +reducing their hands. He had been in the employ of the Salvation Army +for seven years and received the use of a house rent free and a wage +of 30_s_. a week, which probably he would find it quite impossible to +earn anywhere else. + +The hours of employment are from 6.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. if the man is +engaged on outside work, or to 6 p.m. if he labours in the workshop, +and the men are paid at various rates according to the value of their +work, and whether they are boarded and lodged, or live outside. Thus +one to whom I spoke, who was the son of a former mayor of an important +town, was allowed 3_s._ a week plus food and lodging, while another +received 9_s._ a week, 5_s._ of which was sent to his wife, from whom +he was separated. Another man, after living on the Army for about two +years, made charges against it to the Carpenters' and Joiners' Union. +He returned and apologized, but had practically to be kept under +restraint on account of his drinking habits. + +Another man spent twenty years in jail and then walked the streets. He +is now a very respectable person, earns 27_s._ 6_d._ a week, and lives +outside with his wife and family. Another was once convicted of +cruelty to his children, whom he placed under the boards of the +flooring while he went out to drink. These children are now restored +to him, and he lives with them. Another among those with whom I +happened to speak, was robbed by a relative of L4,000 which his father +left to him. He was taken on by the Army in a state of destitution, +but I forget what he earned. Another, the youngest man in the Works, +came to them without any trade at all and in a destitute condition, +but when I saw him was in charge of a morticing machine. He had +married, lived out, and had been in the employ of the Army for five +years. His wage was 27_s._ 6_d._ a week. Two others drew as much as L2 +5_s._ 11_d._ each, living out; but, on the other hand, some received +as little as 3_s._ a week with board and lodging. + +Amongst this latter class was a young Mormon from Salt Lake City, who +earned 4_s._ 6_d._ a week and his board and lodging. He had been in +the Elevator about three months, having got drunk in London and missed +his ship. Although he attended the Salvation Army meetings, he +remained a Mormon. + +In these Works all sorts of articles are manufactured to be used by +other branches of the Salvation Army. Thus I saw poultry-houses being +made for the Boxted Small Holdings; these cost from L4 5_s._ to L4 +10_s._ net, and were excellent structures designed to hold about two +dozen fowls. Further on large numbers of seats of different patterns +were in process of manufacture, some of them for children, and other +longer ones, with reversible backs, to be used in the numerous Army +halls. Next I visited a room in which mattresses and mattress covers +are made for the various Shelters, also the waterproof bunk bedding, +which costs 7_s._ 9_d._ per cover. Further on, in a separate +compartment, was a flock-tearing machine, at which the Mormon I have +mentioned was employed. This is a very dusty job whereat a man does +not work for more than one day in ten. + +Then there were the painting and polishing-room, the joinery room, and +the room where doors, window frames, and articles of furniture are +constructed; also special garden benches, cleverly planned so that the +seat can be protected from rain. These were designed by a young lady +whom I chance to know in private life, and who, as I now discovered +for the first time, is also a member of the Salvation Army. + +Such is the Hanbury Street Workshop, where the Army makes the best use +it can of rather indifferent human materials, and, as I have said, +loses money at the business. + + + + +STURGE HOUSE, BOW ROAD + + + +This branch of the Men's Social Work of the Salvation Army is a home +for poor and destitute boys. The house, which once belonged to the +late Dr. Barnardo, has been recently hired on a short lease. One of +the features of the Army work is the reclamation of lads, of whom +about 2,400 have passed through its hands in London during the course +of the last eight years. + +Sturge House has been fitted up for this special purpose, and +accommodates about fifty boys. The Officer in charge informed me that +some boys apply to them for assistance when they are out of work, +while others come from bad homes, and yet others through the Shelters, +which pass on suitable lads. Each case is strictly investigated when +it arrives, with the result that about one-third of their number are +restored to their parents, from whom often enough they have run away, +sometimes upon the most flimsy pretexts. + +Not unfrequently these boys are bad characters, who tell false tales +of their past. Thus, recently, two who arrived at the Headquarters at +Whitechapel, alleged that they were farm-labourers from Norfolk. As +they did not in the least look the part, inquiries were made, when it +was found that they had never been nearer to Norfolk than Hampstead, +where both of them had been concerned in the stealing of L10 from a +business firm. The matter was patched up with the intervention of the +Army, and the boys were restored to their parents. + +Occasionally, too, lads are brought here by kind folk, who find them +starving. They are taken in, kept for a while, taught and fed, and +when their characters are re-established--for many of them have none +left--put out into the world. Some of them, indeed, work daily at +various employments in London, and pay 5s. a week for their board and +lodging at the Home. A good proportion of these lads also are sent to +the collieries in Wales, where, after a few years, they earn good +wages. + +In these collieries a man and a boy generally work together. A while +ago such a man applied to the Army for a boy, and the applicant, +proving respectable, the boy was sent, and turned out extremely well. +In due course he became a collier himself, and, in his turn, sent for +a boy. So the thing spread, till up to the present time the Army has +supplied fifty or sixty lads to colliers in South Wales, all of whom +seem to be satisfactory and prosperous. + +As the Manager explained, it is not difficult to place out a lad as +soon as his character can be more or less guaranteed. The difficulty +comes with a man who is middle-aged or old. He added that this Home +does not in any sense compete with those of Dr. Barnardo; in fact, in +certain ways they work hand in hand. The Barnardo Homes will not +receive lads who are over sixteen, whereas the Army takes them up to +eighteen. So it comes about that Barnardo's sometimes send on cases +which are over their age limit to Sturge House. + +I saw the boys at their dinner, and although many of them had a bad +record, certainly they looked very respectable, and likely to make +good and useful men. The experience of the Army is that most of them +are quite capable of reformation, and that, when once their hearts +have been changed, they seldom fall back into the ways of dishonesty. + +This Home, like all those managed by the Salvation Army, is spotlessly +clean, and the dormitories are very pleasant rooms. Also, there is a +garden, and in it I saw a number of pots of flowers, which had just +been sent as a present by a boy whom the Army helped three years ago, +and who is now, I understand, a gardener. + +Sturge House struck me as a most useful Institution; and as there is +about it none of the depressing air of the adult Shelters, my visit +here was a pleasant change. The reclamation or the helping of a lad is +a very different business from that of restoring the adult or the old +man to a station in life which he seems to have lost for ever. + + + + +THE CENTRAL LABOUR BUREAU + + + +This Bureau is established in the Social Headquarters at Whitechapel, +a large building acquired as long ago as 1878. Here is to be seen the +room in which General Booth used to hold some of his first prayer +meetings, and a little chamber where he took counsel with those +Officers who were the fathers of the Army. Also there is a place where +he could sit unseen and listen to the preaching of his subordinates, +so that he might judge of their ability. + +The large hall is now part of yet another Shelter, which contains 232 +beds and bunks. I inspected this place, but as it differs in no +important detail from others, I will not describe it. + +The Officer who is in charge of the Labour Bureau informed me that +hundreds of men apply there for work every week, of whom a great many +are sent into the various Elevators and Shelters. The Army finds it +extremely difficult to procure outside employment for these men, for +the simple reason that there is very little available. Moreover, now +that the Government Labour Bureaux are open, this trouble is not +lessened. Of these Bureaux, the Manager said that they are most +useful, but fail to find employment for many who apply to them. +Indeed, numbers of men come on from them to the Salvation Army. + +The hard fact is that there are more idle hands than there is work for +them to do, even where honest and capable folk are concerned. Thus, in +the majority of instances, the Army is obliged to rely upon its own +Institutions and the Hadleigh Land Colony to provide some sort of job +for out-of-works. Of course, of such jobs there are not enough to go +round, so many poor folk must be sent empty away or supported by +charity. + +I suggested that it might be worth while to establish a school of +chauffeurs, and the Officers present said that they would consider the +matter. Unfortunately, however, such an experiment must be costly at +the present price of motor-vehicles. + +I annex the Labour Bureau Statistics for May, 1910:-- + + LONDON + + Applicants for temporary employment 479 + Sent to temporary employment 183 + Applicants for Elevators 864 + Sent to Elevators 260 + Sent to Shelters 32 + + PROVINCES + + Applicants for temporary employment 461 + Sent to temporary employment 160 + Applicants for Elevators 417 + Sent to Elevators 202 + Sent to Shelters 20 + Sent to permanent situations 35 + + + +THE INTERNATIONAL INVESTIGATION DEPARTMENT + +This is a curious and interesting branch of the work of the Salvation +Army. About two thousand times a year it receives letters or personal +applications, asking it to find some missing relative or friend of the +writer or applicant. In reply, a form is posted or given, which must +be filled up with the necessary particulars. Then, if it be a London +case, the Officer in charge sends out a skilled man to work up clues. +If, on the other hand, it be a country case, the Officer in charge of +the Corps nearest to where it has occurred, is instructed to initiate +the inquiry. Also, advertisements are inserted in the Army papers, +known as 'The War Cry' and 'The Social Gazette,' both in Great Britain +and other countries, if the lost person is supposed to be on the +Continent or in some distant part of the world. + +The result is that a large percentage of the individuals sought for +are discovered, alive or dead, for in such work the Salvation Army has +advantages denied to any other body, scarcely excepting the Police. +Its representatives are everywhere, and to whatever land they may +belong or whatever tongue they may speak, all of them obey an order +sent out from Headquarters wholeheartedly and uninfluenced by the +question of regard. The usual fee charged for this work is 10_s_. +6_d_.; but when this cannot be paid, a large number of cases are +undertaken free. The Army goes to as much trouble in these unpaid +cases as in any others, only then it is not able to flood the country +with printed bills. Of course, where well-to-do people are concerned, +it expects that its out-of-pocket costs will be met. + +The cases with which it has to deal are of all kinds. Often those who +have disappeared are found to have done so purposely, perhaps leaving +behind them manufactured evidence, such as coats or letters on a +river-bank, suggesting that they have committed suicide. Generally, +these people are involved in some fraud or other trouble. Again, +husbands desert their wives, or wives their husbands, and vanish, in +which instances they are probably living with somebody else under +another name. Or children are kidnapped, or girls are lured away, or +individuals emigrate to far lands and neglect to write. Or, perhaps, +they simply sink out of all knowledge, and vanish effectually enough +into a paupers grave. + +But the oddest cases of all are those of a complete loss of memory, a +thing that is by no means so infrequent as is generally supposed. The +experience of the Army is that the majority of these cases happen +among those who lead a studious life. The victim goes out in his usual +health and suddenly forgets everything. His mind becomes a total +blank. Yet certain instincts remain, such as that of earning a living. + +Thus, to take a single recent example, the son of a large bookseller +in a country town left the house one day, saying that he would not be +away for long, and disappeared. At the invitation of his father, the +Army took up the case, and ultimately found that the man had been +working in its Spa Road Elevator under another name. Afterwards he +went away, became destitute, and sold matches in the streets. +Ultimately he was found in a Church Army Home. He recovered his +memory, and subsequently lost it again to the extent that he could +recall nothing which happened to him during the period of its first +lapse. All that time vanished into total darkness. + +This business of the hunting out of the missing through the agency of +the Salvation Army is one which increases every day. It is not unusual +for the Army to discover individuals who have been missing for thirty +years and upwards. + + + + +THE EMIGRATION DEPARTMENT + + + +Some years ago I was present one night in the Board-room at Euston +Station and addressed a shipload of emigrants who were departing to +Canada under the auspices of the Salvation Army. I forget their exact +number, but I think it was not less than 500. What I do not forget, +however, is the sorrow that I felt at seeing so many men in the prime +of life leaving the shores of their country for ever, especially as +most of them were not married. This meant, amongst other things, that +an equal number of women who remained behind were deprived of the +possibility of obtaining a husband in a country in which the females +already outnumber the males by more than a million. I said as much in +the little speech I made on this occasion, and I think that some one +answered me with the pertinent remark that if there was no work at +home, it must be sought abroad. + +[Illustration: INMATES OF A MEN'S INDUSTRIAL HOME.] + +There lies the whole problem in a nutshell--men must live. As for the +aged and the incompetent and the sick and the unattached women, these +are left behind for the community to support, while young and active +men of energy move off to endow new lands with their capacities and +strength. The results of this movement, carried out upon a great +scale, can be seen in the remoter parts of Ireland, which, as the +visitor will observe, appear to be largely populated by very young +children and by persons getting on in years. Whether or no this is a +satisfactory state of affairs is not for me to say, although the +matter, too large to discuss here, is one upon which I may have my own +opinion. + +Colonel Lamb, the head of the Salvation Army Emigration Department, +informed me that during the past seven years the Army has emigrated +about 50,000 souls, of whom 10,000 were assisted out of its funds, the +rest paying their own way or being paid for from one source or +another. From 8,000 to 10,000 people have been sent during the present +year, 1910, most of them to Canada, which is the Mecca of the +Salvation Army Emigration policy. So carefully have all these people +been selected, that not 1 per cent have ever been returned to this +country by the Canadian Authorities as undesirable. The truth is that +those Authorities have the greatest confidence in the discretion of +the Army, and in its ability to handle this matter to the advantage of +all concerned. + +That this is true I know from personal experience, since when, some +years ago, I was a Commissioner from the British Government and had +authority to formulate a scheme of Colonial land-settlement, the Prime +Minister of Canada, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, told me so himself in the +plainest language. Indeed, he did more, formally offering a huge block +of territory to be selected anywhere I might choose in the Dominion, +with the aid of its Officers, for the purposes of settlement by poor +folk and their children under the auspices of the Salvation Army. +Also, he added the promise of as much more land as might be required +in the future for the same purpose.[3] + +Most unhappily, as I hold, that offer was not accepted by the British +Government. If this had been done, by now hundreds of English families +would have been transferred from conditions of want at home in the +English towns, into those of peace and plenty upon the land abroad. +Moreover, the recent rise in the value of Canadian land has been so +great that the scheme would not have cost the British taxpayer a +halfpenny, or so I most firmly believe. + +Unfortunately, however, my scheme was too novel in its character to +appeal to the official mind, especially as its working would have +involved a loan repayable by instalments, the administration of which +must have been entrusted to the Salvation Army or to other charitable +Organizations. So this priceless opportunity was lost, probably for +ever, as the new and stricter emigration regulations adopted by +Canada, as I understand, would make it extremely difficult to emigrate +the class I hoped to help, namely, indigent people of good character, +resident in English cities, with growing families of children. + +Young men, especially if they have been bred on the land, and young +marriageable women are eagerly desired in the Colonies, including +Australia; but at families, as we have read in recent correspondence +in the newspapers, they look askance. + +'Why do they not want families in Australia? I asked Colonel Lamb. + +'Because the trouble of housing comes in. It is the same thing in +Canada, it is the same thing all through the Colonies. They do not +want too much trouble,' he answered. + +These words define the position very accurately. 'Give us your best,' +say the Colonies. 'Give us your adult, healthy men and women whom you +have paid to rear and educate, but don't bother us with families of +children whom we have to house. Above all send us no damaged articles. +You are welcome to keep those at home.' + +To my mind this attitude, natural as it may be, creates a serious +problem so far as Great Britain and Ireland are concerned, for the +question will arise, Can we afford to go on parting with the good and +retaining the less desirable? + +On this subject I had a long argument with Colonel Lamb, and his +answer to the question was in the affirmative, although I must admit +that his reasons did not at all convince me. He seemed to believe that +we could send out 250,000 people, chosen people, per annum for the +next ten years without harm to ourselves. Well, it may be so, and, as +he added, 'we are in their (that is, the Colonies') hands, and have to +do what they choose to allow.' + +Also his opinion was that 'the best thing possible for this country is +wholesale emigration,' of course of those whom the Colonies will +accept. He said, 'People here are dissatisfied with their present +condition and want a change. If we had money to assist them, there is +practically no limit to the number who want to go. There are tens of +thousands who would conform to the Canadian regulations. One of the +things we advise the man who has been forced out of the country is +that rather than come into the town he should go to the Colonies.' + +On the matter of the complaints which have been made in Canada of the +emigrant from London, Colonel Lamb said, 'The Londoner, it is alleged, +is not wanted. The Canadian is full of self-assertiveness, and the +Cockney has some of that too; he does not hesitate to express his +views, and you have conflicting spirits at once. The Cockney will +arrive at the conclusion in about twenty-four hours that he could run +Canada better than it is now being run. The Scotchman will take a week +to arrive at the same conclusion, and holds his tongue about it. The +Cockney says what he thinks on the first day of arrival, and the +result is--fireworks. He and the Canadians do not agree to begin with; +but when they get over the first passage of arms they settle down +amicably. The Cockney is finally appreciated, and, being industrious +and amenable to law and order, if he has got a bit of humour he gets +on all right, but not at first.' + +Colonel Lamb informed me that in Australia the Labour Party is afraid +of the Army because it believes 'we will send in people to bring down +wages.' Therefore, the Labour Party has sidetracked General Booth's +proposals. Now, however, it alleges that it is not opposed to +emigration, if not on too large a scale. 'They don't mind a few girls; +but they say the condition that must precede emigration is the +breaking up of the land.' + +Colonel Lamb appeared to desire that an Emigration Board should be +appointed in England, with power and funds to deal with the +distribution of the population of the Empire and to systematize +emigration. To this Imperial Board, individuals or Societies, such as +the Salvation Army, should, he thought, be able to submit their +schemes, which schemes would receive assistance according to their +merits under such limitations as the Board might see fit to impose. To +such a Board he would even give power to carry out land-settlement +schemes in the British Isles. + +This is a great proposal, but one wonders whence the money is to come. +Also how long will it be before the Labour Parties in the various +Colonies, including Canada, gain so much power that they will refuse +to accept emigrants at all, except young women, or agriculturalists +who bring capital with them? + +But all these problems are for the future. Meanwhile it is evident +that the Salvation Army manages its emigration work with extraordinary +success and business skill. Those whom it sends from these shores for +their own benefit are invariably accepted, at any rate in Canada, and +provided with work on their arrival in the chosen Colony. That the +selection is sound and careful is shown, also, by the fact that the +Army recovers from those emigrants to whom it gives assistance a +considerable percentage of the sums advanced to enable them to start +life in a new land. + + + + +THE WOMEN'S SOCIAL WORK IN LONDON + + + +At the commencement of my investigation of this branch of the +Salvation Army activities in England, I discussed its general aspects +with Mrs. Bramwell Booth, who has it in her charge. She pointed out to +me that this Women's Social Work is a much larger business than it was +believed to be even by those who had some acquaintance with the +Salvation Army, and that it deals with many matters of great +importance in their bearing on the complex problems of our +civilization. + +Among them, to take some that she mentioned, which recur to my mind, +are the questions of illegitimacy and prostitution, of maternity homes +for poor girls who have fallen into trouble, of women thieves, of what +is known as the White Slave traffic, of female children who have been +exposed to awful treatment, of women who are drunkards or drug-takers, +of aged and destitute women, of intractable or vicious-minded girls, +and, lastly, of the training of young persons to enable them to deal +scientifically with all these evils, or under the name of Slum +Sisters, to wait upon the poor in their homes, and nurse them through +the trials of maternity. + +How practical and efficient this training is, no one can know who has +not, like myself, visited and inquired into the various Institutions +and Refuges of the Army in different cities of the land. It is a +wonderful thing, as has happened to me again and again, to see some +quiet, middle-aged lady, often so shy that it is difficult to extract +from her the information required, ruling with the most perfect +success a number of young women, who, a few weeks or months before, +were the vilest of the vile, and what is stranger still, reforming as +she rules. These ladies exercise no severity; the punishment, which, +perhaps necessarily, is a leading feature in some of our Government +Institutions, is unknown to their system. I am told that no one is +ever struck, no one is imprisoned, no one is restricted in diet for +any offence. As an Officer said to me:-- + +'If we cannot manage a girl by love, we recognize that the case is +beyond us, and ask her to go away. This, however, very seldom +happens.' + +As a matter of fact, that case which is beyond the regenerating powers +of the Army must be very bad indeed, at any rate where young people +are concerned. In the vast majority of instances a cure is effected, +and apparently a permanent cure. In every one of these Homes there is +a room reserved for the accommodation of those who have passed through +it and gone out into the world again, should they care to return there +in their holidays or other intervals of leisure. That room is always +in great demand, and I can imagine no more eloquent testimony to the +manner of the treatment of its occupants while they dwelt in these +Homes as 'cases.' + +In truth, a study of the female Officers of the Salvation Army is +calculated to convert the observer not only to a belief in the right +of women to the suffrage, but also to that of their fitness to rule +among, or even over men. Only I never heard that any of these ladies +ever sought such privileges; moreover, few of the sex would care to +win them at the price of the training, self-denial, and stern +experience which it is their lot to undergo. + +Mrs. Bramwell Booth pointed out to me that although the actual work of +the Army on these women's questions is 'more than just a little,' it +had, as it were, only touched their fringe. Yet even this 'fringe' has +many threads, seeing that over 44,000 of these women's cases have been +helped in one way or another since this branch of the home work began +about twenty years ago. + +She added that scarcely a month goes by in which the Army does not +break out in a new direction, open a new Institution, or attempt to +attack a new problem; and this, be it remembered, not only in these +islands but over the face of half the earth. At present its sphere of +influence is limited by the lack of funds. Give it enough money, she +said, and there is little that it would not dare to try. Everywhere +the harvest is plentiful, and if the workers remain comparatively few, +it is because material means are lacking for their support. Given the +money and the workers would be found. Nor will they ask much for +maintenance or salary, enough to provide the necessary buildings, and +to keep body and soul together, that is all.[4] + +What are these women doing? In London they run more than a score of +Homes and Agencies, including a Maternity Hospital, which I will +describe later, where hundreds of poor deceived girls are taken in +during their trouble. I believe it is almost the only one of the sort, +at any rate on the same scale, in that great city. + +Also they manage various Homes for drunken women. It has always been +supposed to be a practical impossibility to effect a cure in such +cases, but the lady Officers of the Salvation Army succeed in turning +about 50 per cent of their patients into perfectly sober persons. At +least they remain sober for three years from the date of their +discharge, after which they are often followed no further. + +Another of their objects is to find out the fathers of illegitimate +children, and persuade them to sign a form of agreement which has been +carefully drawn by Counsel, binding themselves to contribute towards +the cost of the maintenance of the child. Or failing this, should the +evidence be sufficient, they try to obtain affiliation orders against +such fathers in a Magistrates' Court. Here I may state that the amount +of affiliation money collected in England by the Army in 1909 was +L1,217, of which L208 was for new cases. Further, L671 was collected +and paid over for maintenance to deserted wives. Little or none of +this money would have been forthcoming but for its exertions. + +Mrs. Bramwell Booth informed me that there exists a class of young +men, most of them in the employ of tradesfolk, who habitually amuse +themselves by getting servant girls into trouble, often under a +promise of marriage. Then, if the usual results follow, it is common +for these men to move away to another town, taking their references +with them and, sometimes under a new name, to repeat the process +there. She was of opinion that the age of consent ought to be raised +to eighteen at least, a course for which there is much to be said. +Also she thought, and this is more controversial, that when any young +girl has been seduced under promise of marriage, the seducer should be +liable to punishment under the criminal law. Of course, one of the +difficulties here would be to prove the promise of marriage beyond all +reasonable doubt. + +Also to bring such matters within the cognizance of the criminal law +would be a new and, indeed, a dangerous departure not altogether easy +to justify, especially as old magistrates like myself, who have +considerable experience of such cases must know, it is not always the +man who is to blame. Personally, I incline to the view that if the age +of consent were raised, and the contribution exacted from the putative +father of an illegitimate child made proportionate to his means, and +not limited, as it is now, to a maximum of 5s. a week, the criminal +law might well be left out of the question. It must be remembered +further, as Mrs. Booth pointed out herself, that there is another +remedy, namely, that of a better home-training of girls who should be +prepared by their mothers or friends to face the dangers of the world, +a duty which these too often neglect. The result is that many young +women who feel lonely and desire to get married, overstep the limits +of prudence on receipt of a promise that thus they may attain their +end, with the result that generally they find themselves ruined and +deserted. + +Mrs. Bramwell Booth said that the Army is doing its utmost to mitigate +the horrors of what is known as the White Slave traffic, both here and +in many other countries. With this object it has a Bill before +Parliament at the present time, of which one of the aims is to prevent +children from being sent out of this country to France under +circumstances that practically ensure their moral destruction. It +seems that the state of things in Paris in this connexion is, in her +own words, 'most abominable, too horrible for words.' Children are +procured from certain theatre dancing schools, and their birth +certificates sometimes falsified to make it appear that they are over +fourteen, although often they may be as young as twelve or even ten. +Then they are conveyed to vile places in Paris where their doom is +sure. + +Let us hope that in due course this Bill will become law, for if girls +are protected up to sixteen in this country, surely they should not be +sent out of it in doubtful circumstances under that age. + +Needless to say abominations of this nature are not unknown in London. +Thus a while ago the Army received a telegram from a German girl +asking, 'Can you help?' Two of its people went at once to the address +given, and, contriving to get into the house, discovered there a young +woman who, imagining that she had been engaged in Germany as a servant +in an English family, found herself in a London brothel. Fortunately, +being a girl of some character and resource, she held her own, and, +having heard of the Salvation Army in her own land, persuaded a +milkman to take the telegram that brought about her delivery from this +den of wickedness. + +Unfortunately it proved impossible to discover the woman who had hired +her abroad, as the victim of the plot really knew nothing about that +procuress. This girl was restored to her home in Germany none the +worse for her terrific adventure, and a few weeks later refunded her +travelling expenses. But how many must there be who have never heard +of the Salvation Army, and can find no milkman to help them out of +their vile prisons, for such places are no less. + +Another branch of the Army women's work is that of the rescue of +prostitutes from the streets, which is known as the 'Midnight Work.' +For the purpose of this endeavour it hires a flat in Great Titchfield +Street, of which, and of the mission that centres round it, I will +speak later in this book. + +The Women's Social Work of the Salvation Army began in London, in the +year 1884, at the cottage of a woman-soldier of the Army who lived in +Whitechapel. This lady, who was interested in girls without character, +took some of them into her home. Eventually she left the place which +came into the hands of the Army, whereon Mrs. Bramwell Booth was sent +to take charge of the twelve inmates whom it would accommodate. The +seed that was thus sown in 1884 has now multiplied itself into +fifty-nine Homes and Agencies for women in Great Britain alone, to say +nothing of others abroad and in the Colonies. But this is only a +beginning. + +'We look forward,' said Mrs. Bramwell Booth to me, 'to a great +increase of this side of our work at home. No year has passed without +the opening of a new Women's Home of some kind, and we hope that this +will continue. Thus I want to build a very big Maternity Hospital if I +can get the money. We have about L20,000 in hand for this purpose; but +the lesser of the two schemes before us will cost L35,000.' + +Will not some rich and charitable person provide the L15,000 that are +lacking? + + + + +THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE WOMEN'S SOCIAL WORK + + + +LOWER CLAPTON ROAD + +The Women's Social Headquarters of the Salvation Army in England is +situated at Clapton. It is a property of nearly three acres, on which +stand four houses that will be rebuilt whenever funds are forthcoming +for the erection of the Maternity Hospital and Training Institution +for nurses and midwives which I have already mentioned. At present +about forty Officers are employed here, most of whom are women, under +the command of Commissioner Cox, one of the foremost of the 600 +women-Officers of the Salvation Army in the United Kingdom who give +their services to the women's social work. + +It is almost needless for me to add that Commissioner Cox is a lady of +very great ability, who is entirely devoted to the cause to which she +has dedicated her life. One of the reasons of the great success of the +Salvation Army is that only able people exactly suited to the +particular work in view are put in authority over that work. Here +there are no sinecures, no bought advowsons, and no freehold livings. +Moreover, the policy of the Army, as a general rule, is not to allow +any one to remain too long in any one office, lest he or she should +become fossilized or subject to local influences. + +I remember when I was in America hearing of a case in which a very +leading Officer of the Army, who chanced to be a near relative of +General Booth, declined to obey an order to change his command for +another in a totally different part of the world. The order was +repeated once or twice, and as often disobeyed. Resignation followed +and an attempt to found a rival Organization. I only mention this +matter to show that discipline is enforced in this Society without +fear, favour, or prejudice, which is, perhaps, a principal reason of +its efficiency. + + + + +HILLSBOROUGH HOUSE INEBRIATES' HOME + + +Under the guidance of Commissioner Cox I inspected a number of the +London Women's Institutions of the Army, first visiting the +Hillsborough House Inebriates' Home. This Home, a beautifully clean +and well-kept place, has accommodation for thirty patients, +twenty-nine beds being occupied on the day of my visit. The lady in +charge informed me that these patients are expected to contribute 10s. +per week towards the cost of their maintenance; but that, as a matter +of fact, they seldom pay so much. Generally the sum recovered varies +from 7s. to 3s. per week, while a good many give nothing at all. + +The work the patients do in this Home is sold and produces something +towards the cost of upkeep. The actual expense of the maintenance of +the inmates averages about 12s. 6d. a week per head, which sum +includes an allowance for rent. Most of the cases stay in the Home for +twelve months, although some remain for a shorter period. When the +cure is completed, if they are married, the patients return to their +husbands. The unmarried are sent out to positions as governesses, +nurses, or servants, that is, if the authorities of the Home are able +to give them satisfactory characters. + +As the reader who knows anything of such matters will be aware, it is +generally supposed to be rather more easy to pass a camel through the +eye of a needle than to reclaim a confirmed female drunkard. Yet, as I +have already said, the Salvation Army, on a three years' test in each +case, has shown that it deals successfully with about 50 per cent of +those women who come into its hands for treatment as inebriates or +drug-takers. How is this done? Largely, of course, by effecting +through religious means a change of heart and nature, as the Army +often seems to have the power to do, and by the exercise of gentle +personal influences. + +But there remains another aid which is physical. + +With the shrewdness that distinguishes them, the Officers of the Army +have discovered that the practice of vegetarianism is a wonderful +enemy to the practice of alcoholism. The vegetarian, it seems, +conceives a bodily distaste to spirituous liquors. If they can +persuade a patient to become a vegetarian, then the chances of her +cure are enormously increased. Therefore, in this and in the other +female Inebriate Homes no meat is served. The breakfast, which is +eaten at 7.30, consists of tea, brown and white bread and butter, +porridge and fresh milk, or stewed fruit. A sample dinner at one +o'clock includes macaroni cheese, greens, potatoes, fruit pudding or +plain boiled puddings with stewed figs. On one day a week, however, +baked or boiled fish is served with pease pudding, potatoes, and +boiled currant pudding, and on another, brown gravy is given with +onions in batter. Tea, which is served at six o'clock, consists--to +take a couple of samples--of tea, white and brown bread and butter, +and cheese sandwiches with salad; or of tea, white and brown bread and +butter, savoury rolls, and apples or oranges. + +It will be observed that this diet is as simple as it well can be; but +I think it right to add, after personal inspection, that the inmates +appear to thrive on it extremely well. Certainly all whom I saw looked +well nourished and healthy. + +A book is kept in the Home in which the details of each case are +carefully entered, together with its record for two years after +discharge. Here are the particulars of three cases taken by me at +hazard from this book which will serve to indicate the class of +patient that is treated at this Home. Of course, I omit the names:-- + + _A.B._ Aged thirty-one. Her mother, who was a drunkard and + gave A.B. drink in her childhood, died some time ago. A.B. + drove her father, who was in good circumstances, having a + large business, to madness by her inebriety. Indeed, he + tried to commit suicide by hanging himself, but, oddly + enough, it was A.B. who cut him down, and he was sent to an + asylum. A.B. had fallen very low since her mother's death; + but I do not give these details. All the members of her + family drank, except, strange to say, the father, who at the + date of my visit was in the asylum. A.B. had been in the + Home some time, and was giving every satisfaction. It was + hoped that she will be quite cured. + + _C.D._ Aged thirty. C.D.'s father, a farmer, was a moderate + drinker, her mother was a temperance woman. Her parents + discovered her craving for drink about ten years ago. She + was unable to keep any situation on account of this failing. + Four years ago C.D. was sent to an Inebriate Home for twelve + months, but no cure was effected. Afterwards she + disappeared, having been dismissed from her place, and was + found again for the mother by the Salvation Army. At the + time of my visit she had been six months in the Home, and + was doing well. + + _E.F._ Aged forty-eight; was the widow of a professional + man, whom she married as his second wife, and by whom she + had two children, one of whom survives. She began to drink + before her husband's death, and this tendency was increased + by family troubles that arose over his will. She mismanaged + his business and lost everything, drank heavily and + despaired. She tried to keep a boarding house, but her + furniture was seized and she came absolutely to the end of + her resources, her own daughter being sent away to her + relatives. E.F. was nine months in the Hillsborough Home, + and had gone as cook and housekeeper to a situation, where + she also was giving every satisfaction. + + + + +THE MATERNITY NURSING HOME + + + +LORNE HOUSE, STOKE NEWINGTON + +Her Royal Highness Princes Louise, the Duchess of Argyll, defrayed the +cost of the purchase of the leasehold of this charming Home. The +lady-Officer in charge informed me that the object of the +establishment is to take in women who have or are about to have +illegitimate children. It is not, however, a lying-in Home, the +mothers being sent to the Ivy House Hospital for their confinements. +After these are over they are kept for four or sometimes for six +months at Lorne House. At the expiration of this period situations are +found for most of them, and the babies are put out to nurse in the +houses of carefully selected women with whom the mothers can keep in +touch. These women are visited from time to time by Salvation Army +Officers who make sure that the infants are well treated in every way. + +All the cases in this Home are those of girls who have fallen into +trouble for the first time. They belong to a better class than do +those who are received in many of the Army Homes. The charge for their +maintenance is supposed to be L1 a week, but some pay only 5s., and +some nothing at all. As a matter of fact, out of the twelve cases +which the Home will hold, at the time of my visit half were making no +payment. If the Army averages a contribution of 7s. a week from them, +it thinks itself fortunate. + +I saw a number of the babies in cradles placed in an old greenhouse in +the garden to protect them from the rain that was falling at the time. +When it is at all fine they are kept as much as possible in the open +air, and the results seem to justify this treatment, for it would be +difficult to find healthier infants. + +Five or six of the inmates sleep together in a room; for those with +children a cot is provided beside each bed. I saw several of these +young women, who all seemed to be as happy and contented as was +possible under their somewhat depressing circumstances. + + + + +THE MATERNITY RECEIVING HOME + + + +BRENT HOUSE, HACKNEY + +This Home serves a somewhat similar purpose as that at Lorne House, +but the young women taken in here while awaiting their confinement are +not, as a rule, of so high a class. + +In the garden at the back of the house about forty girls were seated +in a kind of shelter which protected them from the rain, some of them +working and some talking together, while others remained apart +depressed and silent. Most of these young women were shortly expecting +to become mothers. Certain of them, however, already had their +infants, as there were seventeen babies in the Home who had been +crowded out of the Central Maternity Hospital. Among these were some +very sad cases, several of them being girls of gentle birth, taken in +here because they could pay nothing. One, I remember, was a foreign +young lady, whose sad history I will not relate. She was found running +about the streets of a seaport town in a half-crazed condition and +brought to this place by the Officers of the Salvation Army. + +In this house there is a room where ex-patients who are in service can +bring their infants upon their holidays. Two or three of these women +were here upon the occasion of my visit, and it was a pathetic sight +to see them dandling the babies from whom they had been separated and +giving them their food. + +It is the custom in this and other Salvation Army Maternity Homes to +set apart a night in every month for what is called a Social Evening. +On these occasions fifty or more of the former inmates will arrive +with their children, whom they have brought from the various places +where they are at nurse, and for a few hours enjoy their society, +after which they take them back to the nurses and return to their +work, whatever it may be. By means of this kindly arrangement these +poor mothers are enabled from time to time to see something of their +offspring, which, needless to say, is a boon they greatly prize. + + + + +THE MATERNITY HOSPITAL + + + +IVY HOUSE, HACKNEY + +This Hospital is one for the accommodation of young mothers on the +occasion of the birth of their illegitimate children. It is a humble +building, containing twenty-five beds, although I think a few more can +be arranged. That it serves its purpose well, until the large +Maternity Hospital of which I have already spoken can be built, is +shown by the fact that 286 babies (of whom only twenty-five were not +illegitimate) were born here in 1900 without the loss of a single +mother. Thirty babies died, however, which the lady-Officer in charge +thought rather a high proportion, but one accounted for by the fact +that during this particular year a large number of the births were +premature. In 1908, 270 children were born, of whom twelve died, six +of these being premature. + +The cases are drawn from London and other towns where the Salvation +Army is at work. Generally they, or their relatives and friends, or +perhaps the father of the child, apply to the Army to help them in +their trouble, thereby, no doubt, preventing many child-murders and +some suicides. The charge made by the Institution for these lying-in +cases is in proportion to the ability of the patient to pay. Many +contribute nothing at all. From those who do pay, the average sum +received is 10_s_. a week, in return for which they are furnished with +medical attendance, food, nursing, and all other things needful to +their state. + +I went over the Hospital, and saw these unfortunate mothers lying in +bed, each of them with her infant in a cot beside her. Although their +immediate trial was over, these poor girls looked very sad. + +'They know that their lives are spoiled,' said the lady in charge. + +Most of them were quite young, some being only fifteen, and the +majority under twenty. This, it was explained to me, is generally due +to the ignorance of the facts of life in which girls are kept by their +parents or others responsible for their training. Last year there was +a mother aged thirteen in this Hospital. + +One girl, who seemed particularly sad, had twins lying beside her. +Hoping to cheer her up, I remarked that they were beautiful babies, +whereon she hid her face beneath the bedclothes. + +'Don't talk about them,' said the Officer, drawing me away, 'that +child nearly cried her eyes out when she was told that there were two. +You see, it is hard enough for these poor mothers to keep one, but +when it comes to two--!' + +I asked whether the majority of these unfortunate young women really +tried to support their children. The answer was that most of them try +very hard indeed, and will use all their money for this purpose, even +stinting themselves of absolute necessaries. Few of them go wrong +again after their first slip, as they have learned their lesson. +Moreover, during their stay in hospital and afterwards, the Salvation +Army does its best to impress on them certain moral teachings, and +thus to make its work preventive as well as remedial. + +Places in service are found for a great number of these girls, +generally where only one servant is kept, so that they may not be +taunted by the others if these should find out their secret. This as a +rule, however, is confided to the mistress. The average wage they +receive is about L18 a year. As it costs them L13, or 5_s_. a week, to +support an infant (not allowing for its clothes), the struggle is very +hard unless the Army can discover the father, and make him contribute +towards the support of his child, either voluntarily or through a +bastardy order. + +I was informed that many of these fathers are supposed to be +gentlemen, but when it comes to this matter of payment, they show that +they have little title to that description. Of course, in the case of +men of humbler degree, money is even harder to recover. I may add, +that my own long experience as a magistrate goes to confirm this +statement. It is extraordinary to what meanness, subterfuge, and even +perjury, a man will sometimes resort, in order to avoid paying so +little as 1_s_. 6_d_. a week towards the keep of his own child. Often +the line of defence is a cruel attempt to blacken the character of the +mother, even when the accuser well knows that there is not the +slightest ground for the charge, and that he alone is responsible for +the woman's fall.[5] Also, if the case is proved, and the order made, +many such men will run away and hide themselves in another part of the +country to escape the fulfilment of their just obligations. + +In connexion with this Maternity Hospital, the Salvation Army has a +Training School for midwives and nurses, all of whom must pass the +Central Midwives Board examination before they are allowed to +practise. Some of the students, after qualifying, continue to work for +the Army in its Hospital Department, and others in the Slum +Department, while some go abroad in the service of other Societies. +The scale of fees for this four months' course in midwifery varies +according to circumstances. The Army asks the full charge of eighteen +guineas from those students who belong to, or propose to serve other +Societies. Those who intend to go abroad to work with medical +missionaries, have to pay fifteen guineas, and those who are members +of the Salvation Army, or who intend to serve the Army in this +Department, pay nothing, unless, at the conclusion of their course, +they decide to leave the Army's service. + +At the last examination, out of fourteen students sent up from this +Institution, thirteen passed the necessary test. + + + + +'THE NEST' + + + +CLAPTON + +When I began to write this book, I determined to set down all things +exactly as I saw or heard them. But, although somewhat hardened in +such matters by long experience of a very ugly world, I find that +there are limits to what can be told of such a place as 'The Nest' in +pages which are meant for perusal by the general public. The house +itself is charming, with a good garden adorned by beautiful trees. It +has every arrangement and comfort possible for the welfare of its +child inmates, including an open-air bedroom, cleverly contrived from +an old greenhouse for the use of those among them whose lungs are +weakly. + +But these inmates, these sixty-two children whose ages varied from +about four to about sixteen! What can I say of their histories? Only +in general language, that more than one half of them have been subject +to outrages too terrible to repeat, often enough at the hands of their +own fathers! If the reader wishes to learn more, he can apply +confidentially to Commissioner Cox, or to Mrs. Bramwell Booth. + +[Illustration: SOME OF THE CHILDREN AT 'THE NEST'.] + +Here, however, is a case that I can mention, as although it is +dreadful enough, it belongs to a different class. Seeing a child of +ten, whose name was Betty, playing about quite happily with the +others, I spoke to her, and afterwards asked for the particulars of +her story. They were brief. It appears that this poor little thing had +actually seen her father murder her mother. I am glad to be able to +add that to all appearance she has recovered from the shock of this +awful experience. + +Indeed, all these little girls, notwithstanding their hideous pasts, +seemed, so far as I could judge, to be extremely happy at their +childish games in the garden. Except that some were of stunted growth, +I noted nothing abnormal about any of them. I was told, however, by +the Officer in charge, that occasionally, when they grow older, +propensities originally induced in them through no fault of their own +will assert themselves. + +To lessen this danger, as in the case of the women inebriates, all +these children are brought up as vegetarians. Before me, as I write, +is the bill of fare for the week, which I tore off a notice board in +the house. The breakfast on three days, to take examples, consists of +porridge, with boiling milk and sugar, cocoa, brown and white bread +and butter. On the other mornings either stewed figs, prunes, or +marmalade are added. A sample dinner consists of lentil savoury, baked +potatoes, brown gravy and bread; boiled rice with milk and sugar. For +tea, bananas, apples, oranges, nuts, jam, brown and white bread and +butter and cocoa are supplied, but tea itself as a beverage is only +given on Sundays. A footnote to the bill of fare states that all +children over twelve years of age who wish for it, can have bread and +butter before going to bed. + +Certainly the inmates of 'The Nest,' if any judgment may be formed +from their personal appearance, afford a good argument to the +advocates of vegetarianism. + +It costs L13 a year to endow a bed in this Institution. Amongst +others, I saw one which was labelled 'The Band of Helpers' Bed. This +is maintained by girls who have passed through the Institution, and +are now earning their livelihood in the world, as I thought, a +touching and significant testimony. I should add that the children in +this Home are educated under the direction of a certificated +governess. + +My visit to this Refuge made a deep impression on my mind. No person +of sense and experience, remembering the nameless outrages to which +many of these poor children have been exposed, could witness their +present health and happiness without realizing the blessed nature of +this work. + + + + +THE TRAINING INSTITUTE FOR WOMEN SOCIAL WORKERS + + + +CLAPTON + +Colonel Lambert, the lady-Officer in charge of this Institution, +informed me that it can accommodate sixty young women. At the time of +my visit forty-seven pupils were being prepared for service in the +Women's Department of what is called 'Salvation Army Warfare.' These +Cadets come from all sources and in various ways. Most of them have +first been members of the Army and made application to be trained, +feeling themselves attracted to this particular branch of its work. + +The basis of their instruction is religious and theological. It +includes the study of the Bible, of the doctrine and discipline of the +Salvation Army and the rules and regulations governing the labours of +its Social Officers. In addition, these Cadets attend practical +classes where they learn needlework, the scientific cutting out of +garments, knitting, laundry work, first medical aid, nursing, and so +forth. The course at this Institution takes ten months to complete, +after which those Cadets who have passed the examinations are +appointed to various centres of the Army's Social activities. + +When these young women have passed out and enter on active Social work +they are allowed their board and lodging and a small salary to pay for +their clothing. This salary at the commencement of a worker's career +amounts to the magnificent sum of 4s. a week, if she 'lives in' (about +the pay of a country kitchen maid); out of which she is expected to +defray the cost of her uniform and other clothes, postage stamps, etc. +Ultimately, after many years of service, it may rise to as much as +10s. in the case of senior Officers, or, if the Officer finds her own +board and lodging, to a limit of L1 a week. + +Of these ladies who are trained in the Home few leave the Army. Should +they do so, however, I am informed that they can generally obtain from +other Organizations double or treble the pay which the Army is able to +afford. + +This Training Institution is a building admirably suited to the +purpose to which it is put. Originally it was a ladies' school, which +was purchased by the Salvation Army. The dining-room of the Cadets was +very well arranged and charmingly decorated with flowers, as was that +of the Officers beyond. There was also a Cadets' retiring-room, where +I saw some of them reading or otherwise amusing themselves on their +Saturday half-holiday. The Army would be glad to find and train more +of these self-sacrificing workers; but the conditions of the pay which +they can offer and the arduous nature of the lifelong service +involved, are such that those of a satisfactory class are not too +readily forthcoming. + +Attached to this Training Institution is a Home for girls of doubtful +or bad antecedents, which I also visited. This Rescue Home is linked +up with the Training School, so that the Cadets may have the +opportunity of acquiring a practical knowledge of the class of work +upon which they are to be engaged in after-life. Most of the girls in +the Rescue Home have passed through the Police-courts, and been handed +over to the care of the Army by magistrates. The object of the Army is +to reform them and instruct them in useful work which will enable them +to earn an honest living. + +Many of these girls have been in the habit of thieving from their +mistresses or others, generally in order to enable them to make +presents to their lovers. Indeed, it would seem that this mania for +making presents is a frequent cause of the fall of young persons with +a natural leaning to dishonesty and a desire to appear rich and +liberal. The Army succeeds in reclaiming a great number of them; but +the thieving instinct is one not easy to eradicate. + +All these girls seemed fairly happy. A great deal of knitting is done +by them, and I saw a room furnished with a number of knitting +machines, where work is turned out to the value of nearly L25 a week. +Also I was shown piles of women's and children's underclothing and +other articles, the produce of the girls' needles, which are sold to +help to defray the expenses of the Home. In the workroom on this +Saturday afternoon a number of the young women were engaged in mending +their own garments. After their period of probation many of these +girls are sent out to situations found for them by the Army. + + + + +THE WOMEN'S INDUSTRIAL HOME + + + +HACKNEY + +This Home is one of much the same class as that which I have just +described. It has accommodation for forty-eight girls, of whom over +1,000 have passed through the Institution, where they are generally +kept for a period of six months. Most of the young women in the Home +when I visited it had been thieves. One, who was twenty-seven years of +age, had stolen ever since she was twelve, and the lady in charge told +me that when she came to them everything she had on her, and almost +all the articles in her trunk were the property of former mistresses. + +In answer to my questions, Commissioner Cox informed me that the +result of their work in this Home was so satisfactory that they +scarcely liked to announce it. They computed, however, that taken on a +three years' test--for the subsequent career of each inmate is +followed for that period--90 per cent of the cases prove to be +permanent moral cures. This, when the previous history of these young +women is considered, may, I think, be accounted a great triumph. No +money contribution is asked or expected in this particular Home. +Indeed, it would not be forthcoming from the class of girls who are +sent or come here to be reformed, many of whom, on entering, are +destitute of underclothing and other necessaries, The needlework which +they do, however, is sold, and helps to pay for the upkeep of the +place. + +I asked what was done if any of them refused to work. The answer was +that this very rarely happened, as the women-Officers shared in their +labours, and the girls could not for shame's sake sit idle while their +Officers worked. I visited the room where this sewing was in progress, +and observed that Commissioner Cox, who conducted me, was received +with hearty, and to all appearance, spontaneous clapping of hands, +which seemed to indicate that these poor young women are happy and +contented. The hours of labour kept in the Home are those laid down in +the Factory Acts. + +While looking at the work produced by the inmates, I asked +Commissioner Cox if she had anything to say as to the charges of +sweating which are sometimes brought against the Army, and of +underselling in the markets. Her answer was:-- + +'We do not compete in the markets at all, as we do not make sufficient +articles, and never work for the trade or supply wholesale; we sell +the garments we make one by one by means of our pedlars. It is +necessary that we should do this in order to support our girls. Either +we must manufacture and sell the work, or they must starve.' + +Here we have the whole charge of sweating by the Army in a nutshell, +and the answer to it. + +In this Home a system has been devised for providing each girl with an +outfit when she leaves. It is managed by means of a kind of deferred +pay, which is increased if she keeps up to the standard of work +required. Thus, gradually, she earns her outfit, and leaves the place +with a box of good clothes. The first thing provided is a pair of +boots, then a suitable box, and lastly, the materials which they make +into clothes. + +This house, like all the others, I found to be extremely well +arranged, with properly-ventilated dormitories, and well suited to its +purposes. + + + + +THE INEBRIATES' HOME + + + +SPRINGFIELD LODGE, DENMARK HILL. + +This house, which has a fine garden attached, was a gentleman's +residence purchased by the Salvation Army, to serve as an Inebriates' +Home for the better class of patients. With the exception of a few who +give their services in connexion with the work of the place as a +return for their treatment, it is really a Home for gentlefolk. When I +visited it, some of the inmates, of whom there are usually from +twenty-five to thirty, were talented ladies who could speak several +languages, or paint, or play very well. All these came here to be +cured of the drink or drug habit. The fee for the course ranges from a +guinea to 10_s_. per week, according to the ability of the patient to +pay, but some who lack this ability pay nothing at all. + +The lady in charge remarked drily on this point, that many people +seemed to think that as the place belonged to the Salvation Army it +did not matter if they paid or not. As is the practice at Hillsborough +House, a vegetarian diet is insisted upon as a condition of +the patient receiving treatment at the Home. Often this is a cause of +much remonstrance, as the inmates, who are mostly persons in middle or +advanced life, think that it will kill them. The actual results, +however, are found to be most satisfactory, as the percentage of +successes is found to be 50 per cent, after a year in the Home and +three years' subsequent supervision. I was told that a while ago, Sir +Thomas Barlow, the well-known physician, challenged this statement. He +was asked to see for himself, he examined a number of the patients, +inspected the books and records, and finally satisfied himself that it +was absolutely correct. + +The Army attaches much importance to what may be called the after-care +of the cases, for the lack of which so many people who pass through +Homes and then return to ordinary life, break down, and become, +perhaps, worse than they were before. The seven devils of Scripture +are always ready to re-occupy the swept and garnished soul, especially +if they be the devils of drink. + +Moreover, the experience of the Army is that relatives and friends are +extraordinarily thoughtless in this matter. Often enough they will, as +it were, thrust spirituous liquors down the throat of the +newly-reformed drunkard, or at the least will pass them before their +eyes and drink them in their presence as usual, with results that may +be imagined. One taste and in four cases out of six the thing is done. +The old longings awake again and must be satisfied. + +For these reasons the highly-skilled Officers of the Salvation Army +hold that reclaimed inebriates should be safeguarded, watched, and, so +far as the circumstances may allow, kept under the influences that +have brought about their partial recovery. They say that they owe much +of their remarkable success in those cases to a strict observance of +such preventive methods for a period of three years. After that time +patients must stand upon their own feet. These remarks apply also to +the victims of the drug habit, who are even more difficult to deal +with than common drunkards. + +At this Home I had a conversation with a fine young woman, an +ex-hospital nurse, who gave me a very interesting account of her +experiences of laudanum drinking. She said that in an illness she had +gone through while she was a nurse a doctor dosed her with laudanum to +deaden her pain and induce sleep. The upshot was that she could not +sleep without the help of laudanum or other opiates, and thus the +fatal habit was formed. She described the effects of the drug upon +her, which appeared to be temporary exhilaration and freedom from all +care, coupled with sensations of great vigour. She spoke also of +delightful visions; but when I asked her to describe the visions, she +went back upon that statement, perhaps because their nature was such +as she did not care to set out. She added, however, that the sleep +which followed was haunted by terrible dreams. + +Another effect of the habit, according to this lady, is forgetfulness, +which showed itself in all kinds of mistakes, and in the loss of power +of accurate expression, which caused her to say things she did not +mean and could not remember when she had said them. She told me that +the process of weaning herself from the drug was extremely painful and +difficult; but that she now slept well and desired it no more. + +To be plain, I was not satisfied with the truth of this last +statement, for there was a strange look in her eyes which suggested +that she still desired it very much; also she seemed to me to +prevaricate upon certain points. Further, those in charge of her +allowed that this diagnosis was probably correct, especially as she is +now in the Home for the second time, although her first visit there +was a very short one. Still they thought that she would be cured in +the end. Let us hope that they were right. + +The Army has also another Home in this neighbourhood, run on similar +lines, for the treatment of middle-class and poor people. + + + + +THE WOMEN'S INDUSTRIAL HOME + + + +SOUTHWOOD, SYDENHAM HILL + +This is another of the Salvation Army Homes for Women. When I visited +Southwood, which is an extremely good house, having been a gentleman's +residence, with a garden and commanding a beautiful view, there were +about forty inmates, some of whom were persons of gentle birth. For +such ladies single sleeping places are provided, with special dining +and sitting-rooms. These are supposed to pay a guinea a week for their +board and accommodation, though I gathered that this sum was not +always forthcoming. The majority of the other inmates, most of whom +have gone astray in one way or another, pay nothing. + +A good many of the cases here are what are called preventive; that is +to say, that their parents or guardians being able to do nothing with +them, and fearing lest they should come to ruin, send them to this +place as a last resource, hoping that they may be cured of their evil +tendencies. + +Thus one girl whom I think I saw, could not be prevented from gadding +on the streets, and therefore had been placed here. Another young +woman was a schoolmistress who would not get out of bed and refused to +work. When she came to the Home she was very insolent and +bad-tempered, and would do nothing. Now, I was informed, she rises +with the lark, at 6.30 indeed, and works like a Trojan. I could not +help wondering whether these excellent habits would survive her +departure from the Home. Another lady, who had been sentenced for +thefts, was the daughter of a minister. She horrified the Officers by +regretting that she had gone to jail for so little, when others who +had taken and enjoyed large sums received practically the same +sentence. She was reported to be doing well. + +Another, also a lady, was the victim of an infatuation which caused +her to possess herself of money to send to some man who had followed +her about from the time she was in a boarding school. Another was a +foreigner, who had been sent to an American doctor in the East to be +trained as a nurse. This poor girl underwent an awful experience, and +was in the care of the Salvation Army recovering from shock; but, of +course, hers is a different class of case from those which I have +mentioned above. Another was an English girl who had been turned out +of Canada because of her bad behaviour with men. And so on. + +It only remains to say that most of these people appeared to be doing +well, while many of those in the humbler classes of life were being +taught to earn their own living in the laundry that is attached to the +Institution. + + + + +THE WOMEN'S SHELTER + + + +WHITECHAPEL + +This is a place where women, most of them old, so far as my +observation went, are taken in to sleep at a charge of 3_d._ a night. +It used to be 2_d_. until the London County Council made the provision +of sheets, etc., compulsory, when the Army was obliged to raise the +payment. This Shelter, which is almost always so full that people have +to be turned away, holds 261 women. It contains a separate room, where +children are admitted with their mothers, half price, namely +1-1/2_d._, being charged per child. There is a kitchen attached where +the inmates can buy a large mug of tea for a 1/2_d._, and a huge chunk +of bread for a second 1/2_d._; also, if I remember right, other +articles of food, if they can afford such luxuries. + +The great dormitory in this Shelter, it may be mentioned, was once a +swimming-bath. Some of the women who come to this place have slept in +it almost every night for eighteen or twenty years. Others make use of +it for a few months, and then vanish for a period, especially in the +summer, when they go hop or strawberry picking, and return in the +winter. Every day, however, fresh people appear, possibly to depart on +the morrow and be seen no more. + +I asked whether the aged folk had not been benefited by the Old Age +Pensions Act. The lady Officer in charge replied that it had been a +blessing to some of them. One old woman, however, would not apply for +her pension, although she was urged to take a room for herself +somewhere. She said that she was afraid if she did so, she might be +turned out and be lonely. + +I visited this Shelter in the late afternoon, before it was filled up. +A number of dilapidated and antique females were sitting about in the +rooms, talking or sewing. One old lady was doing crochet work. She +told me that she made her living by it, and by flower-selling. Another +informed me that it was years since she had slept anywhere else, and +that she did not know what poor women like her would do without this +place. Another was cooking the broth. Her husband was a sea captain, +and when he died, her father had allowed her _L1_ a week until he +died. Afterwards she took to drink, and drifted here, where, I was +informed, she is doing well. And so on, and so on, _ad infinitum_. The +Hanbury Street Women's Shelter is not a cheerful spot to visit on a +dull and rainy evening. + + + + +THE SLUM SETTLEMENT + + + +HACKNEY ROAD + +Slum work is an important branch of the Social labours of the +Salvation Army, Thus last year the Slum Sisters visited over 105,000 +families, over 20,000 sick, and over 32,000 public-houses, in which +work they spent more than 90,000 hours of time. Also they attended 482 +births, and paid nearly 9,000 visits in connexion with them. + +There are nine Slum Settlements and Posts in London, and nineteen +others in England, Scotland, and Ireland. The old system used to be +for the Sisters and Nurses to live among the lowest class of the poor, +lodging in the actual tenements in which their work was carried out. +This, however, was abandoned as far as possible, because it was found +that after the arduous toil of the day these ladies could get little +rest at night, owing to the noise that went on about them, a +circumstance that caused their health to suffer and made them +inefficient. Now out of the 117 Officers engaged in Slum work in Great +Britain, about one-half who labour in London live in five houses set +apart for them in different quarters of the city; fifteen Officers +being the usual complement to each house. + +The particular dwelling of which I write is a good specimen of them +all, and from it the Sisters and Nurses who live there work +Shoreditch, Bethnal Green, Whitechapel, and the Hoxton and Hackney +Road districts. It is decently furnished and a comfortable place in +its way, although, of course, it stands in a poor neighbourhood. I +remember that there was even the finishing touch of a canary in the +window. I should add that no cases are attended in the house itself, +which is purely a residence. + +To this particular Settlement two qualified midwives and a nurse are +attached. While I was there one of the midwives came in, very tired, +at about half-past eleven in the morning. Since three o'clock on that +same morning she had attended three confinements, so no wonder she was +tired. She said that one of her cases was utterly unprovided with +anything needful as the father was out of work, although on the +occasion of a previous confinement they had all they wanted. Now they +lived in a little room in which there was not space 'to swing a cat,' +and were without a single bite of food or bit of clothing, so that the +baby when it came had to be wrapped up in an old shawl and the woman +sent to the Infirmary. The Sister in charge informed me that if they +had them they could find employment for twice their strength of nurses +without overlapping the work of any other charity. + +The people with whom they deal are for the most part those who have a +rooted objection to infirmaries, although the hospitals are much more +used than was formerly the case. The system of the Army is to make a +charge of 6_s_. 6_d_. for attending a confinement, which, if paid, is +generally collected in instalments of 3_d_. or 6_d_. a week. Often, +however, it is not paid, and the charge remains a mere formality. She +added that many of these poor people are most improvident, and make no +provision whatsoever for these events, even if they can afford to do +so. The result is that the Army has to lend them baby garments and +other things. + +The Sister said in answer to my questions that there was a great deal +of poverty in their district where many men were out of work, a number +of them because they could find nothing to do. She thought that things +were certainly no better in this respect; indeed, the state of +depression was chronic. Owing to the bad summer of 1909, which +affected the hop-picking and other businesses, the destitution that +year was as great during the warm months as it usually is in the +winter. + +The poor of this district, she said, 'generally live upon fried fish +and chips. You know they cannot cook, anyway they don't, and what they +do cook is all done in the frying-pan, which is also a very convenient +article to pawn. They don't understand economy, for when they have a +bit of money they will buy in food and have a big feast, not thinking +of the days when there will be little or nothing. Then, again, they +buy their goods in small portions; for instance, their coal by the +ha'p'orth or their wood by the farthing's-worth, which, in fact, works +out at a great profit to the dealers. Or they buy a farthing's-worth +of tea, which is boiled up again and again till it is awful-looking +stuff.' + +I asked her what she considered to be the main underlying cause of +this misery. She answered that she thought it was due 'to the people +flocking from the country to the city,' thereby confirming an opinion +that I have long held and advanced. She added that the overcrowding in +the district was terrible, the regulations of the Public Health +Authorities designed to check it being 'a dead letter.' In one case +with which she had to do, a father, mother, and nine children lived in +a room that measured 9 ft. by 9 ft., and the baby came into the world +with the children looking on! + +The general weekly rent for a room containing a family is 5_s_., or if +it is furnished, 7_s_. 6_d_. The Sister described to me the furniture +of one for the use of which this extra half-crown is charged. It +consisted of a rickety bed, two chairs, one without a back and one +without a seat, and a little shaky table. The floor was bare, and she +estimated the total value of these articles at about their weekly rent +of 2_s_. 6_d_., if, indeed, they were worth carrying away. In this +chamber dwelt a coachman who was out of place, his wife, and three or +four children, I wonder what arrangement these poor folk make as to +the use of the one chair that has a bottom. To occupy the other must +be an empty honour. With reference to this man the Sister remarked +that as a result of the introduction of motor vehicles, busmen, +cabmen, and blacksmiths were joining the ranks of her melancholy +clientele in numbers. + +This and some similar stories caused me to reflect on the remarkable +contrast between rents in the country and in town. For instance, I own +about a dozen cottages in this village in which I write, and the +highest rent that I receive is 2_s_. 5_d_. a week. This is paid for a +large double dwelling, on which I had to spend over L100 quite +recently to convert two cottages into one. Also, there is a large +double garden thrown in, so large that a man can scarcely manage it in +his spare time, a pigsty, fruit trees, etc. All this for 1_d_. a week +less than is charged for the two broken chairs, the rickety bed, and +the shaky table! Again, for L10 a year, I let a comfortable farmhouse; +that is, L3 a year less than the out-of-work coachman pays for his +single room without the furniture. And yet, as the Sister said, people +continue to rush from the country to the towns! + +Nor, it seems, do they always make the best of things when they get +there. Thus the Sister mentioned that the education which the girls +receive in the schools causes them to desire a more exalted lot in +life than that of a servant. So they try to find places in shops, or +jam factories, etc. Some get them, but many fail; and of those who +fail, a large proportion go to swell the mass of the unemployed, or to +recruit the ranks of an undesirable profession. She went so far as to +say that most of the domestic servants in London are not Cockneys at +all, but come from the country; adding, that the sad part of it was +that thousands of these poor girls, after proper training, could find +comfortable and remunerative employment without displacing others, as +the demand for domestic servants is much greater than the supply. +These are cold facts which seem to suggest that our system of free +education is capable of improvement. + +It appears that all this district is a great centre of what is known +as 'sweating.' Thus artificial flowers, of which I was shown a fine +specimen, a marguerite, are made at a price of 1_s_. per gross, the +workers supplying their own glue. An expert hand, beginning at eight +in the morning and continuing till ten at night, can produce a gross +and a half of these flowers, and thus net 1_s_. 6_d_., minus the cost +of the glue, scissors, and sundries. The Officers of the Army find it +extremely difficult to talk to these poor people, who are invariably +too busy to listen. Therefore, some of them have learnt how to make +artificial flowers themselves, so that when they call they can join in +the family manufacture, and, while doing so, carry on their +conversation. + +For the making of match-boxes and the sticking on of the labels the +pay is 2-1/2_d_. per gross. Few of us, I think, would care to +manufacture 144 matchboxes for 2-1/2_d_. I learned that it is not +unusual to find little children of four years of age helping their +mothers to make these boxes. + +The Slum Sisters attached to the Settlement, who are distinct from the +Maternity Nurses, visit the very poorest and worst neighbourhoods, for +the purpose of helping the sick and afflicted, and incidentally of +cleaning their homes. Also, they find out persons who are about +sixty-nine years of age, and contribute to their maintenance, so as to +save them from being forced to receive poor-law relief, which would +prevent them from obtaining their old-age pensions when they come to +seventy. + +Here is an illustration of the sort of case with which these Slum +Sisters have to deal; perhaps, I should say, the easiest sort of case. +An old man and his wife whom they visited, lived in a clean room. The +old woman fell sick, and before she died the Slum Sisters gave her a +bath, which, as these poor people much object to washing, caused all +the neighbours to say that they had killed her. After his wife's +death, the husband, who earned his living by selling laces on London +Bridge, went down in the world, and his room became filthy. The Slum +Sisters told him that they would clean up the place, but he forbade +them to touch the bed, which, he said, was full of mice and beetles. +As he knew that women dread mice and beetles, he thought that this +statement would frighten them. When he was out selling his laces, they +descended upon his room, where the first thing that they did was to +remove the said bed into the yard and burn it, replacing it with +another. On his return, the old man exclaimed: 'Oh, my darlings, +whatever _have_ you been doing?' + +They still clean this room once a week. + +The general impression left upon my mind, after visiting this place at +Hackney Road and conversing with its guardian angels, is, that in some +of its aspects, if not in all, civilization is a failure. Probably +thoughtful people made the same remark in ancient Rome, and in every +other city since cities were. The truth is, that so soon as its +children desert the land which bore them for the towns, these horrors +follow as surely as the night follows the day. + + + + +THE PICCADILLY MIDNIGHT WORK + + + +GREAT TICHFIELD STREET + +I visited this place a little before twelve o'clock on a summer night. +It is a small flat near Oxford Street, in which live two +women-Officers of the Army, who are engaged in the work of reclaiming +prostitutes. I may mention that for the last fourteen years the Major +in charge, night by night, has tramped the streets with this object. +The Titchfield Street flat is not in any sense a Home, but I saw a +small room in it, with two beds, where cases who may be rescued from +the streets, or come here in a time of trouble, can sleep until +arrangements are made for them to proceed to one of the Rescue +Institutions of the Army. + +This work is one of the most difficult and comparatively unproductive +of any that the Army undertakes. The careers of these unfortunate +street women, who are nearly all of them very fine specimens of female +humanity, for the most part follow a rocket-like curve. The majority +of them begin by getting into trouble, at the end of which, perhaps, +they find themselves with a child upon their hands. Or they may have +been turned out of their homes, or some sudden misfortune may have +reduced them to destitution. At any rate, the result is that they take +to a loose life, and mayhap, after living under the protection of one +or two men, find themselves upon the streets. Sometimes, it may be +said to their credit, if that word can be used in this connexion, they +adopt this mode of life in order to support their child or children. + +The Major informed me that if they are handsome they generally begin +with a period of great prosperity. One whom she knew earned about L30 +a week, and a good many of them make as much as L1,000 a year, and pay +perhaps L6 weekly in rent. + +A certain proportion of them are careful, open a bank account, save +money, retire, and get married. Generally, these keep their bank-books +in their stockings, which, in their peculiar mode of life, they find +to be the safest place, as they are very suspicious of each other, and +much afraid of being robbed. The majority of them, however, are not so +provident. They live in and for the moment, and spend their ill-gotten +gains as fast as they receive them. + +Gradually they drift downwards. They begin in Piccadilly, and +progress, or rather retrogress, through Leicester Square on to +Tottenham Court Road and Oxford Street, and thence to the Euston Road, +ending their sad careers in Bishopsgate and Whitechapel. The Major +informed me that there are but very few in the Piccadilly +neighbourhood whom she knew when she took up this work, and that, as a +rule, they cannot stand the life for long. The irregular hours, the +exposure, the excitement, and above all the drink in which most of +them indulge, kill them out or send them to a poorhouse or the +hospital. + +She said, however, that as a class they have many virtues. For +instance, they are very kind-hearted, and will always help each other +in trouble. Also, most of them have affection for their children, +being careful to keep them, if possible, from any knowledge of their +mode of life. Further, they are charitable to the poor, and, in a way, +religious; or, perhaps, superstitious would be a better term. Thus, +they often go to church on Sundays, and do not follow their avocation +on Sunday nights. On New Year's Eve, their practice is to attend the +Watch Night services, where, doubtless, poor people, they make those +good resolutions that form the proverbial pavement of the road to +Hell. Nearly all of them drink more or less, as they say that they +could not live their life without stimulant. Moreover, their +profession necessitates their walking some miles every night. + +For the most part these women lodge in pairs in their own flats, where +they pay about 35_s_. a week for three unfurnished rooms. The Officer +told me that often some despicable man, who is called a 'bully,' lives +on them, following them round the streets, and watching them. Even the +smartest girls are not infrequently the victims of such a man, who +knocks them about and takes money from them. Occasionally he may be a +husband or a relative. She added that as a class they are much better +behaved and less noisy than they used to be. This improvement, +however, is largely due to the increased strictness of the police. +These women do not decrease in number. In the Major's opinion, there +are as many or more of them on the streets as there were fourteen +years ago, although the brothels and the procuresses are less +numerous, and their quarters have shifted from Piccadilly to other +neighbourhoods. + +The Army methods of dealing, or rather of attempting to deal with this +utterly insoluble problem are simple enough. The Officers walk the +streets every night from about twelve to two and distribute cards in +three languages according to the nationality of the girl to whom these +are offered. Here they are in English, French, and German:-- + + Mrs. Booth will gladly help any Girl + or Woman in need of a friend. + _APPLY AT_ + 79 Great Titchfield Street, + or 259 Mare Street, Hackney, N.E. + +[Illustration: BONNES NOUVELLS.] + + Vous avez une amie + qui est disposee a + vous aider. + + (S addresser) + Madame Booth + 79 Great Titchfield Street, + Oxford Street, + Londres, W. + + MADAM BOOTH will herzlich gerne Jedem + Maedchen oder Jeder Frau helfen, die sich + in Noth auf eine Freundin befinden. + + 259 Mare Street, Hackney, + 70 Great Titchfield Street, W. + +Most of the girls to whom they are offered will not take them, but a +good number do and, occasionally, the seed thus sown bears fruit. Thus +the woman who takes the card may come to Great Titchfield Street and +be rescued in due course. More frequently, however, she will give a +false address, or make an appointment which she does not keep, or will +say that it is too late for her to change her life. But this fact does +not always prevent such a woman from trying to help others by sending +young girls who have recently taken to the trade to the Titchfield +Street Refuge in the hope that they may be induced to abandon their +evil courses. + +Occasionally the Army has midnight suppers in its Regent Hall for +these women, who attend in large numbers, perhaps out of curiosity. At +the last supper nearly 300 'swell girls' were present and listened to +the prayers and the exhortations to amend their lives. Sometimes, too, +the Officers attend them when they are sick or dying. Once they buried +one of the women, who died whilst under their care, holding a midnight +funeral over her at their hall in Oxford Street. + +It was attended by hundreds of the sisterhood, and the Major described +the scene as terrible. The women were seized with hysterics, and burst +into shrieks and sobs. They even tried to open the coffin in order to +kiss the dead girl who lay within. + +Amongst many other cases, I was informed of a black girl called +Diamond, so named because she wore real diamonds on her dresses, which +dresses cost over L100 apiece. The Army tried to help her in vain, and +wrote her many letters. In the end she died in an Infirmary, when all +the letters were found carefully hidden away among her belongings and +returned to the Major. + +The average number of rescues compassed, directly or indirectly, by +the Piccadilly Midnight work is about fifty a year. This is not a very +great result; but after all the taking of even a few people from this +hellish life and their restoration to decency and self-respect is well +worth the cost and labour of the mission. The Officers told me that +they meet with but little success in the case of those women who are +in their bloom and earning great incomes. It can scarcely be +otherwise, for what has the Army to offer them in place of their +gaudy, glittering life of luxury and excitement? + +The way of transgressors is hard, but the way of repentance is harder; +at any rate, while the transgressor is doing well. On the one hand +jewels and champagne, furs and motors, and on the other prayers that +talk of death and judgment, plain garments made by the wearer's +labour, and at the end the drudgery of earning an honest livelihood, +perhaps as a servant. Human nature being what it is, it seems scarcely +wonderful that these children of pleasure cling to the path of 'roses' +and turn from that of 'thorns.' + +With those that are growing old and find themselves broken in body and +in spirit, who are thrust aside in the fierce competition of their +trade in favour of younger rivals; those who find the wine in their +tinsel cup turning, or turned, to gall, the case is different. They +are sometimes, not always, glad to creep to such shelter from the +storms of life as the Army can offer, and there work out their moral +and physical salvation. For what bitterness is there like to that +which must be endured by the poor, broken woman of the streets, as +scorned, spat on, thrust aside, she sinks from depth to depth into the +last depth of all, striving to drown her miseries with drugs or drink, +if so she may win forgetfulness even for an hour? + +Sometimes, too, these patient toilers in the deep of midnight sin +succeed in dragging from the brink those that have but dipped their +feet in its dark waters. _Nemo repente fuit turpissimus_--no one +becomes altogether filthy in an hour--runs the old Roman saying, which +is as true to-day as it was 2,000 years ago, and whether it be spoken +of body or of soul, it is easier to wash the feet than the whole +being. When they understand what lies before them certain of the young +shrink back and grasp Mercy's outstretched arms. + +One night about twelve o'clock, together with Lieut.-Colonel Jolliffe, +an Officer of the Army who was dressed in plain clothes, I accompanied +the Major and the lady who is her colleague, to Leicester Square and +its neighbourhood, and there watched their methods of work, following +them at a little distance. Dressed in their uniform they mingled with +the women who marched the pavements, and now and again, with curiously +swift and decisive steps glided up to one of them, whispered a few +earnest words into her ear, and proffered a printed ticket. Most of +those spoken to walked on stonily as people do when they meet an +undesirable acquaintance whom they do not wish to recognize. Some +thrust past them rudely; some hesitated and with a hard laugh went +their way; but a few took the tickets and hid them among their laces. + +So far as the work was concerned that was all there was to see. +Nothing dramatic happened; no girl fled to them imploring help or +asking to be saved from the persecutions of a man; no girl even +insulted them--for these Officers to be insulted is a thing unknown. +All I saw was the sowing of the seed in very stony ground, where not +one kern out of a thousand is like to germinate and much less to grow. +Yet as experience proves, occasionally it does both germinate and +grow, yes, and bloom and come to the harvest of repentance and +redemption. It is for this that these unwearying labourers scatter +their grain from night to night, that at length they may garner into +their bosoms a scanty but a priceless harvest. + +It was a strange scene. The air was hot and heavy, the sky was filled +with black and lowering clouds already laced with lightnings. The +music-halls and restaurants had given out their crowds, the midnight +mart was open. Everywhere were women, all finely dressed, most of them +painted, as could be seen in the glare of the electric lights, some of +them more or less excited with drink, but none turbulent or noisy. +Mixed up with these were the bargainers, men of every degree, the most +of them with faces unpleasant to consider. + +Some had made their pact and were departing. I noticed one young girl +whose looks would have drawn attention anywhere, whispering an address +from beneath an enormous feathered hat to the driver of a taxicab, +while her companion, a pleasant-looking, fresh-coloured boy, for he +was scarcely more, entered the vehicle, a self-satisfied air upon his +face. She sprang in also, and the cab with its occupants glided away +out of my ken for ever. + +Here and there stalwart, quiet policemen requested loiterers to move +on, and the loiterers obeyed and re-formed in groups behind them; here +and there a respectable woman pushed her way through the throng, +gathering up her skirts as she did so and glancing covertly at this +unaccustomed company out of the corners of her eyes. + +While watching all these sights we lost touch of the Salvation Army +ladies, who wormed their way through the crowd as easily and quickly +as a snake does through undergrowth, and set out to find them. Big +drops began to fall, the thunder growled, and in a moment the +concourse commenced to melt. Five minutes later the rain was falling +fast and the streets had emptied. That night's market was at an end. + +No farmer watches the weather more anxiously than do these painted +women in their muslins and gold-laced shoes. + +Meanwhile, their night's work done, the Salvation Army ladies were +tramping through the wet back to Titchfield Street, for they do not +spend money on cabs, and the buses had ceased to run. + + + + +THE ANTI-SUICIDE BUREAU + + + +This is a branch of the Army's work with which I have been more or +less acquainted for some years. + +The idea of an Anti-Suicide Bureau arose in the Army four or five +years ago; but every one seems to have forgotten with whom it actually +originated. I suppose that it grew, like Topsy, or was discovered +simultaneously by several Officers, like a new planet by different +astronomers studying the heavens in faith and hope. At any rate, the +results of the idea are remarkable. Thus in London alone 1,064 cases +were dealt with in the year 1909, and of those cases it is estimated +that all but about a dozen were turned from their fatal purpose. Let +us halve these figures, and say that 500 lives were actually saved, +that 500 men live to-day in and about London who otherwise would be +dead by their own hands and buried in dishonoured graves. Or let us +even quarter them, and surely this remains a wonderful work, +especially when we remember that London is by no means the only place +in which it is being carried on. + +How is it done? the reader may ask. I answer by knowledge of human +nature, by the power of sympathy, by gentle kindness. A poor wretch +staggers into a humble little room at the Salvation Army Headquarters +in Queen Victoria Street. He unfolds an incoherent tale. He is an +unpleasant and disturbing person whom any lawyer or business man would +get rid of as soon as possible. He vapours about self-destruction, he +hints at dark troubles with his wife. He produces drugs or weapons--a +point at which most people would certainly show him out. But the +Officers in charge do nothing of the sort. They laugh at him or give +him a cup of tea. They bid him brace himself together, and tell them +the truth and nothing but the truth. Then out pours the awful tale, +which, however bad it may be, they listen to quite unmoved though not +unconcerned, for they hear such every day. When it is finished, they +ask coolly enough why, in the name of all that their visitor +reverences or holds dear, he considers it necessary to commit suicide +for a trifling job like that. A new light dawns upon the desperate +man. He answers, because he can see no other way out. + +Why, exclaims the Officer, there are a dozen ways out. Let us find one +of them. You, A., have been faithless to your wife. Well, when the +matter is explained to her, I daresay she will forgive you. You, B., +have defrauded your employer. Well, employers are not always +relentless. I'll call on him this evening and talk the matter over. +You, C., are hopelessly in debt through horse-racing or speculation. +Well, at the worst you can go through the Court and start afresh. You, +D., have committed a crime. Go and own up to it like a man, stand your +trial, and work out your sentence. I daresay it won't be so very heavy +if you take that course, and we will look after you when it is over. +You, E., have been brought into this state through your miserable +vices, drink, or whatever they may be. Cure yourself of the +vices--we'll show you how--don't crown them by cutting your throat +like a cur. You, F., have been afflicted with great sorrows. Well, +those sorrows have some purpose and some meaning. There's always a +dawn beyond the night; wait for that dawn; it will come here or +hereafter. + +And so on, and on, through all the gamut of human sin and misery. + +Of course, there are cases in which the Army fails. As I have said, +there were about a dozen of these last year, six of which, if I +remember right, occurred with startling rapidity one after the other. +The Suicide Officers of the Army always take up the daily paper with +fear and trembling, and not infrequently find that the man whom they +thought they had consoled and set upon a different path, has been +discovered dead by drowning in the river, or by poison in the streets, +or by whatever it may be. But everything has its proportion of +failures, and where intending suicides are concerned 1 or 2 per cent, +or on the quarter basis that I have adopted as beyond question of +sincerity of intent, 4 or 8 per cent is not a large average. Indeed, +20 per cent would not be large, or even 50 per cent. But these figures +do not occur. + +Of course, it is suggested that many of those who drift into the +Anti-Suicide Bureau have no real intention of making away with +themselves, but that they come there only to see what they can get in +the way of money or other comfort. As regards money, the answer is +that, except very occasionally, the Army gives none, for the simple +reason that it has none to give. For the rest the fatal cases which +happen show that there is a grim purpose at work in the minds of many +of the applicants. But I repeat, let us halve the figures, let us even +quarter them, which, as Euclid remarked, is absurd, and even then what +are we to conclude? + +Before proceeding with my comments upon this work I ought to state, +perhaps, that the Army has various branches of this Anti-Suicide +Crusade. Thus, it is at work in almost all our big cities, and also in +America, in Australia, and in Japan. The Japanese Bureau was opened +last year with very good results. This is the more remarkable in a +country where ancient tradition and immemorial custom hallow the +system of _hara-kiri_ in any case of trouble or disgrace. + +Moreover, the idea is spreading, Count Tolstoy is said to have been +interested in it. Applications have been received from the Hague for +particulars of the Army methods in the matter. Similar work is being +carried out in Vienna, not by the Army, but on its lines. The Army has +been informed that if it will open an Anti-Suicide Bureau in Budapest, +office accommodation, etc., will be found for it. And so forth. + +Colonel Unsworth who, until recently had charge of the Anti-Suicide +Bureau from its commencement, is of opinion that suicide is very much +on the increase, a statement that it would be difficult to dispute in +view of the number of cases recorded daily in the local Press. For +instance, I read one on this morning of writing, in a Norfolk paper, +where a farmer had blown out his brains, to all appearance because he +had a difference of opinion with his wife as to whether he should, or +should not, take on another farm. + +Colonel Unsworth attributed this sad state of affairs to sundry +causes. The first of these was the intense and ever-increasing nervous +pressure of our time. The second, the spread of fatalism, The third, +the advance of materialistic ideas, and of the general disbelief in +the doctrine of future retribution. The fourth, a certain noticeable +return in such matters to the standard of Pagan nations, especially of +ancient Rome, where it was held that if things went wrong and life +became valueless, or even uninteresting, to bring it to an end was in +no sense shameful but praiseworthy. In illustration of this point, he +quoted a remark said to have been made by a magistrate not long ago, +to the effect that in certain conditions a man was not to be blamed +for taking his own life. + +His fifth reason was that circumstances arise in which some people +convince themselves that their deaths would benefit their families. +Thus, insurances may fall in, for, after one or two premiums have been +paid, many offices take the risk of suicide. Or they may know that +when they are gone, wealthy relatives will take care of their +children, who will thus be happier and better off than these are while +they, the fathers, live. Wrong as it may be, this, indeed, is an +attitude with which it is difficult not to feel a certain sympathy. +After all, we are told that there is no greater love than that of a +man who lays down his life for his friend, though there ran be no +doubt that the saying was not intended to include this kind of laying +down of life. + +Colonel Unsworth's sixth cause was the increasing atrophy of the +public conscience. He stated that suicide is rarely preached against +from the pulpit, as drunkenness is for instance. Further, a jury can +seldom be induced to bring in a verdict of _felo-de-se._ Even where +the victim was obviously and, perhaps painfully sane, his act is put +down to temporary insanity. + +Other causes are drink, hereditary disposition, madness in all its +protean shapes; incurable disease, unwillingness to face the +consequences of sin or folly; the passion of sexual love, which is +sometimes so mighty as to amount to madness; the effects of utter +grief such as result from the loss of those far more beloved than +self, of which an instance is at hand in the case of the Officer in +charge of the Shelter at Great Peter Street, Westminster, mentioned +earlier in this book, who, it may be remembered, tried to kill himself +after the death of his wife and child; and lastly, where women are +concerned, terror and shame at the prospect of giving birth to a +child, whose appearance in the world is not sanctioned by law or +custom. + +Suicide among women is, however, comparatively rare, a fact which +suggests either that the causes which produce it press on or affect +them less, or that in this particular, their minds are better balanced +than are those of men. I was told, at any rate, that but few women +apply to the Suicide Bureau of the Army for help in this temptation; +though, perhaps, that may be due to the greater secretiveness of the +sex. + +Speaking generally, this magnitude of the evil to be attacked may be +gauged from the fact that about 3,800 people die by their own hands in +England and Wales every year, a somewhat appalling total. + +Intending suicides come into the hands of the Army Bureau in various +ways. Some of them see notices in the Press descriptive of this branch +of the Social Work. Some of them are found by policemen in desperate +circumstances and brought to the Bureau, and some are sent there from +different localities by Salvation Army Officers. + +I have looked through the records of numbers of these cases, but, for +obvious reasons, it is difficult to give a full and accurate +description of any of them. The reader, therefore, must be content to +accept my assurance of their genuine nature. One or two, however, may +be alluded to with becoming vagueness. Here is an example of a not +infrequent kind, when a person arrives at the office having already +attempted the deed. + +A business man who had recently made a study of agnostic literature, +had become involved in certain complications, which resulted in a +quarrel with his wife. His means not being sufficient to the support +of a double establishment, he took the train to London with a bottle +of sulphonal in his pocket (not a drug to be recommended for his +purpose) and swallowed tabloids all the way to town. When he had taken +seventy-five grains, and the bottle, as I saw, was two-thirds empty, +he found that the drug worked in a way he did not expect. Instead of +killing him, it awoke his religious susceptibilities, which the course +of agnostic literature had scotched but not killed, and he began to +wonder with some earnestness whether, after all, there might not be a +Hereafter which, in the circumstances, he did not care to face. + +In this acute perplexity he bethought him of the Salvation Army, and +arrived at the Bureau in a state of considerable excitement, as +quickly as a taxicab could bring him. A doctor and a fortnight in +hospital did the rest. The Army found him another situation in place +of the one which he had lost, and composed his differences with his +wife. They are now both Salvationists and very happy. So, in this +instance, all's well that ends well. + +_Case Two._--A man, in a responsible position, and of rather +extravagant habits, married a wife of more extravagant habits, and +found that, whatever the proverb may say, it costs more to keep two +than one. His money matters became desperately involved, but, being +afraid to confide in his wife, he spent a Sunday afternoon in trying +to make up his mind whether he would shoot or drown himself. While he +was thus engaged, a Salvation Army band happened to pass his door, and +reminded him of what he had read about the Anti-Suicide Bureau. +Postponing decision as to the exact method of his departure from this +earth, he called there, and was persuaded to make a clean breast of +the matter to his wife. + +Afterwards the Army took up his extremely complicated affairs. I saw a +pile of documents relating to them that must have been at least 4 ins. +thick. The various money-lenders were interviewed, and persuaded to +accept payment in weekly or monthly instalments. The account was +almost square when I saw it, and the person concerned extremely happy +and grateful. I should say that, in this case, a lawyer's bill for the +work which was done for nothing would have amounted to quite L50. + +In another somewhat similar case, that of an official who had tampered +with moneys in his charge, though this was not discovered, some of the +creditors had placed the business in the hands of +debt-collecting-agencies, than whom, said Colonel Unsworth, 'there are +no harder or more cruel creditors.' At any rate, they drove this poor +man almost to madness, with the usual result. A friend brought him to +the Army, who shouldered his affairs, dealt with the debt-collecting +agencies, obtained help from his connexions, and paid off what was +owing by instalments. He and his family are now again quite +comfortable. + +[Illustration: AT ONE OF THE ARMY FOOD DEPOTS.] + +_Case Three_.--A man was cursed with such a fearful temper that he +could keep no situation. He came to London in a state of fury, with a +razor in his pocket. Happening to see the words 'Salvation Army +Shelter' on a building, it occurred to him to hear what the Suicide +Officers had to say before he cut his throat. They dealt with the +matter, and showed him the error of his way. He is now in a very good +single-handed situation abroad where, as he cannot talk the language, +he finds it difficult to quarrel with those about him. + +_Case Four_.--Telephone operator, who was driven mad by that dreadful +instrument and by domestic worries. The Army Officers saved the man +and smoothed over the domestic worries; but how he gets on with the +telephone instruments is not recorded. + +_Case Five_.--Unsuitable marriage and bad temper. The wife had become +involved in some trouble in early life, and unwisely, as it proved, +confessed to the husband, who brought it up against her every time +there was a quarrel between them. In this instance, also, suicide was +averted and the domestic differences were arranged. + +_Case Six_--A man in a business firm, married, with children, was +through no fault of his own thrown out of work, owing to the +appointment of a new manager. He came at last to the Embankment, and +afterwards applied for a job in answer to an advertisement. The +advertiser told him it was a pity that as he had been so near the +river he did not go into it. The man determined to commit suicide; but +the Officers dissuaded him from this course and helped him. He +returned a year later in a condition of considerable prosperity, +having worked his way to a Colony where he is now doing extremely +well, his visit to England being in connexion with the business in +which he had become a partner. + +And so on _ad infinitum._ I might tell many such stories, some of them +of a much more tragic character than those I have instanced, but +refrain from doing so lest by chance they should be identified, +especially where the individuals concerned belonged to the upper +strata of society. Perhaps enough has been said, however, to show what +a great work is being done by the Army in this Department, where in +London alone it deals with several would-be suicides every day. + +Of course, some of these people are frauds. For instance, one of the +Officers told me that not long ago a medical man, who was evidently a +drunkard, called on him and said that he would commit suicide unless +money were given to him. He was informed that this was against the +rules; whereon the man produced a bottle and said that if the money +were not forthcoming, he would drink its contents and make an end of +himself in the office. As may be imagined the Officer went through an +anxious moment, not quite knowing what to do. However, he looked the +man over, summed him up to the best of his judgment and ability, and +coming to the conclusion that he was a bully and a braggart, said that +he might do what he liked. The man swallowed the contents of the +bottle, exclaiming that he would be dead in a few minutes, and a pause +ensued, during which the Officer confessed to me that he felt very +uncomfortable. The end of it was that his visitor said, with a laugh, +that 'he would not like to cumber the Salvation Army with his corpse,' +and walked out of the room. The draught which he had taken was +comparatively harmless. + +As I have mentioned, however, a proportion of the cases are quite +irreclaimable. They come and consult the Army, then depart and do the +deed. Six that can be traced have been lost in this way during the +last few months. + +Colonel Unsworth explained to me what I had already guessed, that this +business of dealing with scores and hundreds of despairing beings +standing on the very edge of the grave, is a terrible strain upon any +man. The responsibility becomes too great, and he who has to bear it +is apt to be crushed beneath its weight. Every morning he reads his +paper with a sensation of nervous dread, fearing lest among the police +news he should find a brief account of the discovery of some corpse +which he can identify as that of an individual with whom he had +pleaded at his office on the yesterday and in vain. + +On former occasions when I visited him, Colonel Unsworth used to show +me a small museum of poisons, knives, revolvers, etc., which he had +taken from those who proposed to use them to cut the Gordian knot of +life. + +Now, however, he has but few of these dreadful relics. I asked him +what he had done with the rest. He answered that he had destroyed +them. + +'The truth is,' he added, 'that after some years of this business I +can no longer bear to look at the horrid things; they get upon my +nerves.' + +If I may venture to offer a word of advice to the Chiefs of the +Salvation Army, I would suggest that the very responsible position of +first Anti-Suicide Officer in London is not one that any man should be +asked to fill in perpetuity. + + + + +WORK IN THE PROVINCES + + + +LIVERPOOL + +When planning this little book I had it in my mind to deal at some +length with the Provincial Social Work of the Army, Now I find, +however, that considerations of space must be taken into account; also +that it is not needful to set out all the details of that work, seeing +that to do so would involve a great deal of repetition. + +The Salvation Army machines for the regeneration of fallen men and +women, if I may so describe them, are, after all, of much the same +design, and vary for the most part only in the matter of size. The +material that goes through those machines is, it is true, different, +yet even its infinite variety, if considered in the mass, has a +certain similitude. For these reasons, therefore, I will only speak of +what is done by the Army in three of the great Midland and Northern +cities that I have visited, namely, Manchester, Liverpool, and +Glasgow, and of that but briefly, although my notes concerning it run +to over 100 typed pages. + +The lady in charge of the Slum Settlement in Liverpool informed me +that the poverty in that city is very great, and during the past +winter of 1919 was really terrible owing to the scarceness of work in +the docks. The poor, however, are not so overcrowded, and rents are +cheaper than in London, the cost of two dwelling-cellars being about +2_s_. 6_d_., and of a room about 3_s_. a week. The sisterhood of +fallen women is, she added, very large in Liverpool; but most of these +belong to a low class. + +In this city the Army has one Institution for women called the 'Ann +Fowler' Memorial Home, which differs a good deal from the majority of +those that I have seen. It is a Lodging-Home for Women, and is +designed for the accommodation of persons of a better class than those +who generally frequent such places. This building, which was provided +in memory of her mother by Miss Fowler, a local philanthropist, at a +cost of about L6,000, was originally a Welsh Congregational chapel, +that has been altered to suit the purpose to which it is now put. It +is extremely well fitted-up with separate cubicles made of oak +panelling, good lavatory accommodation, and kitchens in which is made +some of the most excellent soup that I ever tasted. + +Yet strange to say this place is not as much appreciated as it might +be, as may be judged from the fact that although it is designed to +hold 113 lodgers, when I visited it there were not more than between +forty and fifty. This is remarkable, as the charge made is only 4_d_. +per night, or 2_s_. a week, even for a cubicle, and an excellent +breakfast of bread and butter, fish, and tea can be had for 2_d_. +Other meals are supplied on a like scale, with the result that a woman +employed in outside work can live in considerable comfort in a room or +cubicle of her own for about 8_s_. a week. + +The lady in charge told me, however, that there are reasons for this +state of affairs. One is that it provides for people of a rather +higher class than usual, who, of course, are not so numerous as those +lower in the social scale. + +The principal reason, however, is prejudice. It is known that most of +the women accommodated in the Army Shelters are what are known as +'fallen' or 'drunks.' Therefore, occupants of a Home devoted to a +higher section of society fear lest they should be tarred with the +same brush in the eyes of their associates. + +Here is a story which illustrates this point which I remember hearing +in the United States. A woman, whose inebriety was well known, was +picked up absolutely dead drunk in an American city and taken by an +Officer of the Army to one of its Homes and put to bed. In the morning +she awoke and, guessing where she was lodged from various signs and +tokens, such as texts upon the wall, began to scream for her clothes. +An attendant, who thought that she had developed delirium tremens, ran +up and asked what was the matter. + +'Matter?' ejaculated the sot, 'the matter is that if I don't get out +of this ---- place in double quick time, _I shall lose my character!_' + +The women who avail themselves of this 'Ann Fowler' Home are of all +ages and in various employments. One, I was told, was a lady separated +from her husband, whose father, now dead, had been the mayor of a +large city. + +A Liverpool Institution of another class, known as 'The Hollies,' is +an Industrial Home for fallen women, drunkards, thieves, and +incorrigible girls. It holds thirty-eight inmates and is always full, +a good many of these being sent to the place from Police-courts whence +they are discharged under the First Offenders Acts. + +I saw these women at their evening prayers. The singing was hearty and +spontaneous, and they all seemed happy enough. Still, the faces of +most of them (they varied in age from forty-six to sixteen) showed +traces of life's troubles, but one or two were evidently persons of +some refinement. Their histories, which would fill volumes, must be +omitted. Suffice it to say that this Home, like all the others, is +extremely well-arranged and managed, and is doing a most excellent and +successful work. + +When the women are believed to be cured of their evil habits, whatever +they may be, they are for the most part sent out to service. There are +two rooms in the place to which they can return during their holidays, +or when they are changing situations, at a charge of 5s. a week. This +many of them like to do. + +Next door to 'The Hollies' is another Home where young girls with +their illegitimate babies, and also a few children, are accommodated. +It is arranged to hold twenty-four mothers, and is generally full. A +charge of 5s. a week is supposed to be made, but unless the cases are +sent from the workhouse, when the Guardians pay, in practice little is +recovered from the patients. When they are well again, their babies +are put out to nurse, as at the London Maternity Home, and the girls +are sent to service, no difficulty being experienced in finding them +places. During the two years that this Home had been open eighty-two +girls had passed through it, and of these, the Matron informed me, +there were but ten who were not doing so well as they might. The rest +were in employment of one sort or another, and seemed to be in the way +of completely regaining their characters. + +I visited this place late at night, and in the room devoted to +children, as distinct from infants, saw one girl of nine with a +curious history. This child had been twelve times in the hands of the +police before her father brought her to the Army on their suggestion. +Her mania was to run away from home, where it does not appear that she +was ill-treated, and to sleep in the streets, on one occasion for as +long as five nights. This child had a very curious face, and even in +her sleep, as I saw her, there was about it something wild and +defiant. When the Matron turned her over she did not yawn or cry, but +uttered a kind of snarl. I suppose that here is an instance of +atavism, that the child throw back for thousands or tens of thousands +of years, to when her progenitors were savages, and that their +primitive instincts have reasserted themselves in her, although she +was born in the twentieth century. She had been ten months in the Home +and was doing well. Indeed, the Matron told me that they had taken her +out and given her opportunities of running away, but that she had +never attempted to avail herself of them. + +The Officer in charge informed me that there is much need for a +Maternity Hospital in Liverpool. + +There are also Institutions for men in Liverpool, but these I must +pass over. + + + + +THE MEN'S SOCIAL WORK + + + +MANCHESTER + +The Officer in charge of the Men's Social Work in Manchester told me +the same story that I had heard in Liverpool as to the prevailing +distress. He said, 'It has been terrible the last few winters. I have +never seen anything like it. We know because they come to us, and the +trouble is more in a fixed point than in London. Numbers and numbers +come, destitute of shelter or food or anything. The cause is want of +employment. There is no work. Many cases, of course, go down through +drink, but the most cannot get work. The fact is that there are more +men than there is work for them to do, and this I may say is a regular +thing, winter and summer.' + +A sad statement surely, and one that excites thought. + +I asked what became of this residue who could not find work. His +answer was, 'They wander about, die off, and so on.' + +A still sadder statement, I think. + +The Major in charge is a man of great organising ability, force of +character, and abounding human sympathy. Yet he was once one of the +melancholy army of wasters. Some seventeen years ago he came into the +Army through one of its Shelters, a drunken, out-of-place +cabinet-maker, who had been tramping the streets. They gave him work +and he 'got converted.' Now he is the head of the Manchester Social +Institutions, engaged in finding work for or converting thousands of +others. + +At first the Army had only one establishment in Manchester, which used +to be a cotton mill. Now it is a Shelter for 200 men. Then it took +others, some of which are owned and some hired, among them a great +'Elevator' on the London plan, where waste paper is sorted and sold. +The turn-over here was over L8,000 in 1909, and may rise to L12,000. I +forget how many men it finds work for, but every week some twenty-five +new hands come in, and about the same number pass out. + +This is a wonderful place, filled with what appears to be rubbish, but +which is really valuable material. Among this rubbish all sorts of +strange things are to be found. Thus I picked out of it, and kept as a +souvenir, a beautifully-bound copy of Wesley's Hymns, published about +a hundred years ago. Lying near it was an early edition of Scott's +'Marmion.' This Elevator more than pays its way; indeed the Army is +saving money out of it, which is put by to purchase other buildings. + +Then there are houses where the people employed in the paper-works +lodge, a recently-acquired home for the better class of men, which was +once a mansion of the De Clifford family, and afterwards a hospital, +and a store where every kind of oddment is sold by Dutch auction. +These articles are given to the Army, and among the week's collection +I saw clocks, furniture, bicycles, a parrot cage, and a crutch. Not +long ago the managers of this store had a goat presented to them, +which nearly ate them out of house and home, as no one would buy it, +and they did not like to send the poor beast to the butcher. + +In these various Shelters and Institutions I saw some strange +characters. One had been an electrical engineer, educated under +Professor Owen, at Cardiff College. He came into money, and gambled +away L13,000 on horse-racing, although he told me that he won as much +as L8,000 on one Ascot meeting. His subsequent history is a story in +itself, one too long to set out; but the end of it, in his own words, +was 'Four years ago I came here, and, thank God! I am going on all +right.' + +Why do not the writers of naturalistic novels study Salvation Army +Shelters? In any one of them they would find more material than could +be used up in ten lifetimes; though, personally, I confess I am +content to read such stories in the secret annals of the various +Institutions. + +Another man, a very pleasant and humorous person, who was once a +Church worker and a singer in the choir, etc., when, in his own words, +he used 'to put on religion with his Sunday clothes and take it off +again with them,' came to grief through sheer love of amusement, such +as that which is to be found in music-halls and theatres. His habit +was to spend the money of an insurance company by which he was +employed, in taking out the young lady to whom he was engaged, to such +entertainments. Ultimately, of course, he was found out, and, when +starving on the road, determined to commit suicide. The Salvationists +found him in the nick of time, and now he is foreman of their +paper-collecting yard. + +Another, at the ripe age of twenty-four, had been twenty-seven times +in prison. His father was in prison, his eldest brother committed +suicide in prison by throwing himself over the banisters. Also, he had +two brothers at present undergoing penal servitude, who, when he was a +little fellow, used to pass him through windows to open doors in +houses which they were burgling. + +I suggested that it was a poor game and that he had better give it up. +He answered:--'I shall never do it again, sir, God helping me.' +Really I think he meant what he said. + +Another, in the Chepstow Street Shelter, where he acted as +night-watchman, was discharged from Portland, after serving a fifteen +years' sentence for manslaughter. His trouble was that he killed a man +in a fight, and as he had fought him before and had a grudge against +him, was very nearly hanged for his pains. This man earned L9 in some +way or other during his sentence, which he sent to his wife. +Afterwards, he discovered that she had been living with another man, +who died and left her well off. But she has never refunded the L9, nor +will she have anything to do with her husband. + + + + +OAKHILL HOUSE + + + +MANCHESTER + +Oakhill House is a Rescue Home for women, which was given to the Army +by Mrs. Crossley, a well-known local lady. It deals with prison, +fallen, inebriate, and preventive cases. At the time of my visit there +were sixty-three inmates, but when a new adjacent building is +completed there will be room for more. There is a wonderful laundry in +this Home, where the most beautiful washing is done at extremely +moderate prices. The ironing and starching room was a busy sight, but +what I chiefly remember about it was the spectacle of one melancholy +old man, the only male among that crowd of women, seated by a +steam-boiler that drove the machinery, to which it was his business to +attend. (No woman can be persuaded to look after a boiler.) In the +midst of all those females he had the appearance of a superannuated +and disillusioned Turk contemplating his too extensive establishment +and reflecting on its monthly bills. + +The matron in charge informed me that even for these rough women there +is no system of punishment whatsoever. No girl is ever restricted in +her food, or put on bread and water, or struck, or shut away by +herself. The Army maxim is that it is its mission not to punish but to +try to reform. If in any particular case its methods of gentleness +fail, which they rarely do, it is considered best that the case should +depart, very possibly to return again later on. + +She added that although many of these women had committed assaults, +and even fought the Police, not one of them attacks another in the +Home once in a year, and that during her twenty years of work, +although she had lived among some of the worst women in England, she +had never received a single blow. As an illustration of what the +Salvation Army understands by this word 'work' I may state that +throughout these twenty years, except for the allotted annual +fortnight, this lady has had no furlough. + + + + +THE MEN'S SOCIAL WORK + + + +GLASGOW + +I saw the Brigadier in charge of the Men's Social Work in Glasgow at a +great central Institution where hundreds of poor people sleep every +night. The inscriptions painted on the windows give a good idea of its +character. Here are some of them: 'Cheap beds.' 'Cheap food.' 'Waste +paper collected.' 'Missing friends found.' 'Salvation for all.' + +In addition to this Refuge there is an 'Elevator' of the usual type, +in which about eighty men were at work, and an establishment called +the Dale House Home, a very beautiful Adams' house, let to the Army at +a small rent by an Eye Hospital that no longer requires it. This house +accommodates ninety-seven of the men who work in the Elevator. + +The Brigadier informed me that the distress at Glasgow was very great +last year. Indeed, during that year of 1909 the Army fed about 35,000 +men at the docks, and 65,000 at the Refuge, a charity which caused +them to be officially recognized for the first time by the +Corporation, that sent them a cheque in aid of their work. Now, +however, things have much improved, owing to the building of +men-of-war and the forging of great guns for the Navy. At Parkhead +Forge alone 8,000 men are being employed upon a vessel of the +Dreadnought class, which will occupy them for a year and a half. So it +would seem that these monsters of destruction have their peaceful +uses. + +Glasgow, he said, 'is a terrible place for drink, especially of +methylated spirits and whisky.' Drink at the beginning, I need hardly +remark, means destitution at the end, so doubtless this failing +accounts for a large proportion of its poverty. + +The Men's Social Work of the Army in Glasgow, which is its +Headquarters in Scotland, is spreading in every direction, not only in +that city itself, but beyond it to Paisley, Greenock, and Edinburgh. +Indeed, the Brigadier has orders 'to get into Dundee and Aberdeen as +soon as possible.' I asked him how he would provide the money. He +answered, 'Well, by trusting in God and keeping our powder dry.' + +As regards the Army's local finance the trouble is that owing to the +national thriftiness it is harder to make commercial ventures pay in +Scotland than in England. Thus I was informed that in Glasgow the +Corporation collects and sells its own waste paper, which means that +there is less of that material left for the Salvation Army to deal +with. In England, so far as I am aware, the waste-paper business is +not a form of municipal trading that the Corporations of great cities +undertake. + +Another leading branch of the Salvation Army effort in Scotland is its +Prison work. It is registered in that country as a Prisoners' Aid +Society, and the doors of every jail in the land are open to its +Officers. I saw the Army's prison book, in which are entered the +details of each prison case with which it is dealing. Awful enough +some of them were. + +I remember two that caught my eye as I turned its pages. The first was +that of a man who had gone for a walk with his wife, from whom he was +separated, cut her head off, and thrown it into a field. The second +was that of another man, or brute beast, who had taken his child by +the heels and dashed out its brains against the fireplace. It may be +wondered why these gentle creatures still adorn the world. The +explanation seems to be that in Scotland there is a great horror of +capital punishment, which is but rarely inflicted. + +My recollection is that the Officer who visited them had hopes of the +permanent reformation of both these men; or, at any rate, that there +were notes in his book to this effect. + +I saw many extraordinary cases in this Glasgow Refuge, some of whom +had come there through sheer misfortune. One had been a medical man +who, unfortunately, was left money and took to speculating on the +Stock Exchange. He was a very large holder of shares in a South +African mine, which he bought at 1s. 6d. These shares now stand at L7; +but, unhappily for him, his brokers dissolved partnership, and neither +of them would carry over his account. So it was closed down just at +the wrong time, with the result that he lost everything, and finally +came to the streets. He never drank or did anything wrong; it was, as +he said, 'simply a matter of sheer bad luck.' + +Another was a Glasgow silk merchant, who made a bad debt of L3,000 +that swamped him. Afterwards he became paralysed, but recovered. He +had been three years cashier of this Shelter. + +Another arrived at the Shelter in such a state that the Officer in +charge told me he was obliged to throw his macintosh round him to hide +his nakedness. He was an engineer who took a public-house, and helped +himself freely to his stock-in-trade, with the result that he became a +frightful drunkard, and lost L1,700. He informed me that he used to +consume no less than four bottles of whisky a day, and suffered from +delirium tremens several times. In the Shelter--I quote his own +words--'I gave my heart to God, and after that all desire for drink +and wrongdoing' (he had not been immaculate in other ways) 'gradually +left me. From 1892 I had been a drunkard. After my conversion, in less +than three weeks I ceased to have any desire for drink.' + +This man became night-watchman in the Shelter, a position which he +held for twelve months. He said: 'I was promoted to be Sergeant; when +I put on my uniform and stripes, I reckoned myself a man again. Then I +was made foreman of the works at Greendyke Street. Then I was sent to +pioneer our work in Paisley, and when that was nicely started, I was +sent on to Greenock, where I am now trying to work up a (Salvation +Army) business.' + +Here, for a reason to be explained presently, I will quote a very +similar case which I saw at the Army Colony at Hadleigh, in Essex. +This man, also a Scotsman (no Englishman, I think, could have survived +such experiences), is a person of fine and imposing appearance, great +bodily strength, and good address. He is about fifty years of age, and +has been a soldier, and after leaving the Service, a gardener. Indeed, +he is now, or was recently, foreman market-gardener at Hadleigh. He +married a hospital nurse, and found out some years after marriage that +she was in the habit of using drugs. This habit he contracted also, +either during her life or after her death, and with it that of drink. + +His custom was to drink till he was a wreck, and then take drugs, +either by the mouth or subcutaneously, to steady himself. Chloroform +and ether he mixed together and drank, strychnine he injected. At the +beginning of this course, threepennyworth of laudanum would suffice +him for three doses. At the end, three years later (not to mention +ether, chloroform, and strychnine), he took of laudanum alone nearly a +tablespoonful ten or twelve times a day, a quantity, I understand, +which is enough to kill five or six horses. One of the results was +that when he had to be operated on for some malady, it was found +impossible to bring him under the influence of the anaesthetic. All +that could be done was to deprive him of his power of movement, in +which state he had to bear the dreadful pain of the operation. +Afterwards the surgeon asked him if he were a drug-taker, and he told +me that he answered:-- + +'Why, sir, I could have drunk all the lot you have been trying to give +me, without ever knowing the difference.' + +In this condition, when he was such a wreck that he trembled from head +to foot and was contemplating suicide, he came into the hands of the +Army, and was sent down to the Hadleigh Farm. + +Now comes the point of the story. At Hadleigh he 'got converted,' and +from that hour has never touched either drink or drugs. Moreover, he +assured me solemnly that he could go into a chemist's shop or a bar +with money in his pocket without feeling the slightest desire to +indulge in such stimulants. He said that after his conversion, he had +a 'terrible fight' with his old habits, the physical results of their +discontinuance being most painful. Subsequently, however, and by +degrees, the craving left him entirely, I asked him to what he +attributed this extraordinary cure. He replied:-- + +'To the power of God. If I trusted in my own strength I should +certainly fail, but the power of God keeps me from being overcome.' + +Now these are only two out of a number of cases that I have seen +myself, in which a similar explanation of his cure has been given to +me by the person cured, and I would like to ask the unprejudiced and +open-minded reader how he explains them. Personally I cannot explain +them except upon an hypothesis which, as a practical person, I confess +I hesitate to adopt. I mean that of a direct interposition from above, +or of the working of something so unrecognized or so undefined in the +nature of man (which it will be remembered the old Egyptians, a very +wise people, divided into many component parts, whereof we have now +lost count), that it may be designated an innate superior power or +principle, brought into action by faith or 'suggestion.' + +That these people who have been the slaves of, or possessed by certain +gross and palpable vices, of which drink is only one, are truly and +totally changed, there can be no question. To that I am able to bear +witness. The demoniacs of New Testament history cannot have been more +transformed; and I know of no stranger experience than to listen to +such men, as I have times and again, speaking of their past selves as +entities cast off and gone, and of their present selves as new +creatures. It is, indeed, one that throws a fresh light upon certain +difficult passages in the Epistles of St. Paul, and even upon the +darker sayings of the Master of mankind Himself. They do, in truth, +seem to have been 'born again.' But this is a line of thought that I +will not attempt to follow; it lies outside my sphere and the scope of +these pages. + +After the Officer who used to consume four bottles of whisky a day, +and is now in charge of the Salvation Army work in Greenock, had left +the room, I propounded these problems to Lieut.-Colonel Jolliffe and +the Brigadier, as I had done previously to Commissioner Sturgess. I +pointed out that religious conversion seemed to me to be a spiritual +process, whereas the craving for drink or any other carnal +satisfaction was, or appeared to be, a physical weakness of the body. +Therefore, I did not understand how the spiritual conversion could +suddenly and permanently affect or remove the physical desire, unless +it were by the action of the phenomenon called miracle, which mankind +admits doubtfully to have been possible in the dim period of the birth +of a religion, but for the most part denies to be possible in these +latter days. + +'Quite so,' answered the Colonel, calmly, in almost the same words +that Commissioner Sturgess had used, 'it _is_ miracle; that is our +belief. These men cannot change and purify themselves, their vices are +instantaneously, permanently, and miraculously removed by the power +and the Grace of God. This is the truth, and nothing more wonderful +can be conceived.' + +Here, without further comment, I leave this deeply interesting matter +to the consideration of abler and better instructed persons than +myself. + +To come to something more mundane, which also deserves consideration, +I was informed that in Glasgow, with a population of about 900,000, +there exists a floating class of 80,000 people, who live in +lodging-houses of the same sort as, and mostly inferior to the +Salvation Army Shelter of which I am now writing. In other words, out +of every twelve inhabitants of this great city, one is driven to that +method of obtaining a place to sleep in at night. + +In this particular Refuge there is what is called a free shelter room, +where people are accommodated in winter who have not even the few +coppers necessary to pay for a bed. During the month before my visit, +which took place in the summer-time, the Brigadier had allotted free +beds in this room to destitute persons to the value of L13. I may add +that twice a week this particular place is washed with a carbolic +mixture! + + + + +THE ARDENSHAW WOMEN'S HOME + + + +GLASGOW + +I visited two of the Salvation Army's Women's Institutions in Glasgow. +The first of these was a Women's Rescue Home known as Ardenshaw. This +is a very good house, substantially built and well fitted up, that +before it was bought by the Army was the residence of a Glasgow +merchant. It has accommodation for thirty-six, and is always full. The +inmates are of all kinds, prison cases, preventive cases, fallen +cases, drink cases. The very worst of all these classes, however, are +not taken in here, but sent to the Refuge in High Street. Ardenshaw +resembles other Homes of the same sort that I have already dealt with +in various cities, so I need not describe it here. + +Its Officers visit the prisons at Duke Street, Glasgow, Ayr, and +Greenock, and I saw a letter which had just arrived from the chaplain +of one of these jails, asking the Matron to interest herself in the +case of a girl coming up for trial, and to take her into a Home if she +were discharged as a first offender. + +While I was eating some lunch in this house I noticed a young woman in +Salvation Army dress coming up the steps with a child of particularly +charming appearance. At my request she was brought into the room, +where I extracted from her a story which seems to be worth repeating +as an illustration of the spirit which animates so many members of the +Army. + +The young woman herself had once been an invalid who was taken into +the Home and nursed till she recovered, after which she was sent to a +situation in a large town. Here she came in contact with a poor family +in which the mother is a drunkard and the father a respectable, +hardworking man, and took a great fancy to one of the children, the +little girl I have mentioned. This child, who is about five years of +age, it is her habit to supply with clothes and more or less to feed. +Unfortunately, however, when the mother is on the drink she pawns the +clothes which my Salvation Army friend is obliged to redeem, since if +she does not, little Bessie is left almost naked. Indeed, before +Bessie was brought away upon this particular visit her protectress had +to pay 14_s_. to recover her garments from the pawnshop, a +considerable sum out of a wage of about L18 a year. + +I asked her why she did not take away this very fascinating child +altogether, and arrange for her to enter one of the Army Homes. She +answered because, although the mother would be glad enough to let her +go, the father, who is naturally fond of his children, objected. + +'Of which the result may be,' remarked Lieut.-Colonel Jolliffe grimly, +'that about a dozen years hence that sweet little girl will become a +street-walking drunkard.' + +'Not while I live,' broke in her foster-mother, indignantly. + +This kind-hearted little woman told me she had been six years in +service as sole maid-of-all-work in a large house. I inquired whether +it was a hard place. She replied that it would be easier if her four +mistresses, who are sisters and old maiden ladies, did not all take +their meals at four different times, have four different teapots, +insist upon their washing being sent to four different laundries, +employ four different doctors, and sleep in four different rooms. +'However,' she added, 'it is not so difficult as it was as there used +to be five, but one has died. Also, they are kind to me in other ways +and about Bessie. They like me to come here for my holiday, as then +they know I shall return on the right day and at the right hour.' + +When she had left the room, having in mind the capacities of the +average servant, and the outcry she is apt to make about her +particular 'work,' I said that it seemed strange that one young woman +could fulfil all these multifarious duties satisfactorily. + +'Oh,' said the matter-of-fact Colonel, 'you see, she belongs to the +Salvation Army, and looks at things from the point of view of her +duty, and not from that of her comfort.' + +It is curious at what a tender age children learn to note the habits +of those about them. When this little Bessie was given _2d_. she +lisped out in her pretty Scotch accent, 'Mother winna have this for +beer!' + + + + +THE WOMEN'S LODGING-HOUSE + + + +GLASGOW + +The last place that I visited in Glasgow was the Shelter for women, an +Institution of the same sort as the Shelter for men. It is a +Lodging-house in which women can have a bed at the price of 4_d_. per +night; but if that sum is not forthcoming, they are not, as a rule, +turned away if they are known to be destitute. + +The class of people who frequent this Home is a very low one; for the +most part they are drunkards. They must leave the Shelter before ten +o'clock in the morning, when the majority of them go out hawking, +selling laces, or other odds and ends. Some of them earn as much as +2_s_. a day; but, as a rule, they spend a good deal of what they earn, +only saving enough to pay for their night's lodging. This place has +been open for sixteen years, and contains 133 beds, which are almost +always full. + +The women whom I saw at this Shelter were a very rough-looking set, +nearly all elderly, and, as their filthy garments and marred +countenances showed, often the victims of drink. Still, they have good +in them, for the lady in charge assured me that they are generous to +each other. If one of the company has nothing they will collect the +price of her bed or her food between them, and even pay her debts, if +these are not too large. There were several children in the place, for +each woman is allowed to bring in one. When I was there many of the +inmates were cooking their meals on the common stove, and very curious +and unappetizing these were. + +Among them I noted a dark-eyed lassie of about sixteen who was crying. +Drawing her aside, I questioned her. It seemed that her father, a +drunken fellow, had turned her out of her home that afternoon because +she had forgotten to give him a message. Having nowhere to go she +wandered about the streets until she met a woman who told her of this +Lodging-house. She added, touchingly enough, that it was not her +mother's fault. + +Imagine a girl of sixteen thrown out to spend the night upon the +streets of Glasgow! + +On the walls of one of the rooms I saw a notice that read oddly in a +Shelter for women. It ran:-- + +_Smoking is strictly prohibited after retiring_. + + + + +THE LAND AND INDUSTRIAL COLONY + + + +HADLEIGH, ESSEX + +The Hadleigh Colony, of which Lieut.-Colonel Laurie is the Officer in +charge, is an estate of about 3,000 acres which was purchased by the +Salvation Army in the year 1891 at a cost of about L20 the acre, the +land being stiff clay of the usual Essex type. As it has chanced, +owing to the amount of building which is going on in the neighbourhood +of Southend, and to its proximity to London, that is within forty +miles, the investment has proved a very good one. I imagine that if +ever it should come to the hammer the Hadleigh Colony would fetch a +great deal more than L20 the acre, independently of its cultural +improvements. These, of course, are very great. For instance, more +than 100 acres are now planted with fruit-trees in full bearing. Also, +there are brickfields which are furnished with the best machinery and +plant, ranges of tomato and salad houses, and a large French garden +where early vegetables are grown for market. A portion of the land, +however, still remains in the hands of tenants, with whom the Army +does not like to interfere. + +The total turn-over of the land 'in hand' amounts to the large sum of +over L30,000 per annum, and the total capital invested is in the +neighbourhood of L110,000. Of this great sum about L78,000 is the cost +of the land and the buildings; the brickworks and other industries +account for L12,000, while the remaining L20,000 represents the value +of the live and dead stock. I believe that the mortgage remaining on +the place, which the Army had not funds to pay for outright, is now +less than L50,000, borrowed at about 4 per cent, and, needless to say, +it is well secured. + +Lieut.-Colonel Laurie informed me on the occasion of my last visit to +Hadleigh, in July, 1910, that taken as a whole even now the farm does +not pay its way.[6] This result is entirely owing to the character of +the labour employed. At first sight, as the men are paid but a +trifling sum in cash, it would appear that this labour must be +extremely cheap. Investigation, however, gives the story another +colour. + +It costs the Army 10_s_. a week to keep a man at Hadleigh in food and +lodgings, and in addition he receives a cash grant of from 6_d_ to +5_s_. a week. + +Careful observation shows that the labour of three of these men, of +whom 92 per cent, be it remembered, come to the Colony through their +drinking habits, is about equal to that of one good agricultural hand +who, in Norfolk, reckoning in his harvest and sundries, would +earn--let us say, 18s. a week. Therefore, in practice where I, as a +farmer, pay about 18s., or in the case of carters and milkmen nearly +L1, the Army pays L2, circumstances under which it is indeed difficult +to farm remuneratively in England. + +The object of the Hadleigh Colony is to supply a place where broken +men of bad habits, who chance in most cases to have had some connexion +with or liking for the land, can be reformed, and ultimately sent out +to situations, or as emigrants to Canada. About 400 of such men pass +through the Colony each year. Of these men, Lieut.-Colonel Laurie +estimates that 7-1/2 per cent prove absolute failures, although, he +added that, 'it is very, very difficult to determine as to when a man +should be labelled an absolute failure. He may leave us an apparent +failure, and still come all right in the end.' + +The rest, namely 91 per cent or so, regain their place as decent and +useful members of society, a wonderful result which is brought about +by the pressure of discipline, tempered with kindness, and the +influence of steady and healthful work. + +Persons of every class drift to this Colony. Thus, among the 230 +Colonists who were training there when I visited it in July, 1910, +were two chemists and a journalist, while a Church of England +clergyman had just left it for Canada. + +As a specimen of the ruck, however, I will mention the first +individual to whom I happened to speak--a strong young man, who was +weeding a bed of onions. He told me that he had been a farm labourer +in early life, and, subsequently, for six years a coachman in a +private livery stables in London. He lost his place through drink, +became a wanderer on the Embankment, was picked up by the Salvation +Army and sent to one of its Elevator paper-works. Afterwards, he +volunteered to work on the land at Hadleigh, where he had then been +employed for nine months. His ambition was to emigrate to Canada, +which, doubtless, he has now done, or is about to do. Such cases might +be duplicated by the dozen, but for this there is no need. _Ex uno +disce omnes_. + +All the labour employed, however, is not of this class. For instance, +the next man to whom I spoke, who was engaged in ploughing up old +cabbage land with a pair of very useful four-year-olds, bred on the +farm, was not a Colonist but an agricultural hand, paid at the rate of +wages usual in the district. Another, who managed the tomato-houses, +was a skilled professional tomato-grower from the Channel Islands. The +experience of the managers of the Colony is that it is necessary to +employ a certain number of expert agriculturalists on the place, in +order that they may train the raw hands who come from London and +elsewhere. + +To a farmer, such as the present writer, a visit to Hadleigh is an +extremely interesting event, showing him, as it does, what can be done +upon cold and unkindly land by the aid of capital, intelligence, and +labour. Still I doubt whether a detailed description of all these +agricultural operations falls within the scope of a book such as that +upon which I am engaged. + +Therefore, I will content myself with saying that this business, like +everything else that the Army undertakes, is carried out with great +thoroughness and considerable success. The extensive orchards are +admirably managed, and were fruitful even in the bad season of 1910. +The tomato-houses, which have recently been increased at a capital +cost of about L1,000, produce many tons of tomatoes, and the French +garden is excellent of its kind. The breed of Middle-white pigs is to +be commended; so much so in my judgment, and I can give no better +testimonial, that at the moment of writing I am trying to obtain from +it a pedigree boar for my own use. The Hadleigh poultry farm, too, is +famous all over the world, and the Officer who manages it was the +President for 1910 of the Wyandotte Society, fowls for which Hadleigh +is famous, having taken the championship prizes for this breed and +others all over the kingdom. The cattle and horses are also good of +their class, and the crops in a trying year looked extremely well. + +All these things, however, are but a means to an end, which end is the +redemption of our fallen fellow-creatures, or such of them as come +within the reach of the work of the Salvation Army at this particular +place. + +I should add, perhaps, that there is a Citadel or gathering hall, +which will seat 400, where religious services are held and concerts +are given on Saturday nights for the amusement of the Colonists. I may +mention that no pressure is brought to bear to force any man in its +charge to conform to the religious principles of the Army. Indeed, +many of these attend the services at the neighbouring parish church. +Notwithstanding the past characters of those who live there, +disturbances of any sort are unknown at Hadleigh. Indeed, it is +extremely rare for a case originating on the Colony to come before the +local magistrates. + + + + +THE SMALL-HOLDINGS SETTLEMENT + + + +BOXTED, ESSEX + +General Booth and his Officers are, as I know from various +conversations with them, firmly convinced that many of the great and +patent evils of our civilization result from the desertion of the land +by its inhabitants, and that crowding into cities which is one of the +most marked phenomena of our time. Indeed, it was an identity of view +upon this point, which is one that I have advanced for years, that +first brought me into contact with the Salvation Army. But to preach +the advantages of bringing people back to the land is one thing, and +to get them there quite another. Many obstacles stand in the way. I +need only mention two of these: the necessity for large capital and +the still more important necessity of enabling those who are settled +on it to earn out of Mother Earth a sufficient living for themselves +and their families. + +That well-known philanthropist, the late Mr. Herring, was another +person much impressed with the importance of this matter, and I +remember about five years ago dining with him, with General Booth as +my fellow-guest, on an occasion when all this subject was gone into in +detail. So lively, indeed, was Mr. Herring's interest that he offered +to advance a sum of L100,000 to the Army, to be used in an experiment +of land-settlement, carried out under its auspices. Should that +experiment prove successful, the capital repaid by the tenants was to +go to King Edward's Hospital Fund, and should it fail, that capital +was to be written off. Of this L100,000, L40,000 has now been invested +in the Boxted venture, and if this succeeds, I understand that the +balance will become available for other ventures under the provisions +of Mr. Herring's will. A long while must elapse, however, before the +result of the experiment can be definitely ascertained. + +The Boxted Settlement is situated In North Essex, about three miles +from Colchester, and covers an area of 400 acres. It is a flat place, +that before the Enclosures Acts was a heath, with good road frontages +throughout, an important point where small-holdings are concerned. The +soil is a medium loam over gravel, neither very good nor very bad, so +far as my judgment goes, and of course capable of great improvement +under intensive culture. + +This estate, which altogether cost about L20 per acre to buy, has +been divided into sixty-seven holdings, varying in size from 4-1/2 +acres to 7 acres. The cottages which stand upon the holdings have been +built in pairs, at a cost of about L380 per pair, which price +includes drainage, a drinking well, and, I think, a soft-water +cistern. These are extremely good dwellings, and I was much struck +with their substantial and practical character. They comprise three +bedrooms, a large living-room, a parlour, and a scullery, containing a +sink and a bath. Also there is a tool-house, a pigstye, and a movable +fowl-house on wheels. + +On each holding an orchard of fruit trees has been planted in +readiness for the tenant, also strawberries, currants, gooseberries, +and raspberries, which in all occupy about three-quarters of an acre. +The plan is that the rest of the holding should be cultivated +intensively upon a system that is estimated to return L20 per acre. + +The arrangement between the Army and its settlers is briefly as +follows: In every case the tenant begins without any capital, and is +provided with seeds and manures to carry him through the first two +years, also with a living allowance at the rate of 10_s_. a week for +the man and his wife, and 1_s_. a week for each child, which allowance +is to cease after he has marketed his first crops. + +The tenancy terms are, that for two years the settler is a tenant at +will, the agreement being terminable by either party at any time +without compensation. At the end of these two years, subject to the +approval of the Director of the Settlement, the settler can take a 999 +years' lease of his holding, the Army for obvious reasons retaining +the freehold. After the first year of this lease, the rental payable +for forty years is to be 5 per cent per annum upon the capital +invested in the settlement of the man and his family upon the holding, +which rent is to include the cost of the house, land, and +improvements, and all moneys advanced to him during his period of +probation. + +It is estimated that this capital sum will average L520 per holding, +so that the tenant's annual rent for forty years will be L26, after +which he will have nothing more to pay save a nominal rent, and the +remainder of the lease will be the property of himself, or rather, of +his descendants. This property, I presume, will be saleable. + +So, putting aside all legal technicalities and complications, it comes +to this: the tenant is started for two years after which he pays about +L4 a year rent per acre for the next forty years, and thereby +virtually purchases his holding. The whole question, which time alone +can answer, is whether a man can earn L4 per acre rent per annum, and, +in addition, provide a living for himself and family out of a +five-acre holding on medium land near Colchester. + +The problem is one upon which I cannot venture to express any decisive +opinion, even after many years of experience of such matters. I trust, +however, that the answer may prove to be in the affirmative, and I am +quite sure that if any Organization is able to cause it to work out +this way, that Organization is the Salvation Army, whose brilliant +business capacity can, as I know, make a commercial success of the +most unpromising materials. + +I should like to point out that this venture is one of great and +almost of national importance, because if it fails then it will be +practically proved that it is impossible to establish small holders on +the land by artificial means, at any rate, in England, and at the +present prices of agricultural produce. It is not often that a sum of +L40,000 will be available for such a purpose, and with it the +direction of a charitable Organization that seeks no profit, the +oversight of an Officer as skilled and experienced as Lieut.-Colonel +Hiffe, and, in addition, a trained Superintendent who will afford +advice as to all agricultural matters, a co-operative society ready to +hire out implements, horses and carts at cost price, and, if so +desired, to undertake the distribution or marketing of produce. Still, +notwithstanding all these advantages, I have my misgivings as to the +ultimate result. + +The men chosen to occupy these holdings by a Selection Committee of +Salvation Army Officers, are for the most part married people who were +born in the country, but had migrated to the towns. Most of them have +more or less kept themselves in touch with country life by cultivating +allotments during their period of urban residence, and precedence has +been given to those who have shown a real desire to return to the +land. Other essentials are a good character, both personal and as a +worker, bodily and mental health, and total abstention from any form +of alcohol. No creed test is required, and there are men of various +religious faiths upon the Settlement, only a proportion of them being +Salvationists. + +I interviewed two of these settlers at hazard upon their holdings, +and, although the year had been adverse, found them happy and hopeful. +No. 1, who had been a mechanic, proposed to increase his earnings by +mending bicycles. No. 2 was an agriculturist pure and simple, and +showed me his fowls and pigs with pride. Here, however, I found a +little rift within the rural lute, for on asking him how his wife +liked the life he replied after a little hesitation, 'Not very well, +sir: you see, she has been accustomed to a town.' + +If she continues not to like it 'very well,' there will, I think, be +an end to that man's prospects as a small holder. + +I had the pleasure of bring present in July, 1910, at the formal +opening of the Boxted Settlement, when the Salvation Army entertained +several hundred guests to luncheon, many of them very well-known +people. The day for a wonder was fine, General Booth spoke for over an +hour in his most characteristic and interesting way; the Chairman, +Earl Carrington, President of the Board of Agriculture, blessed the +undertaking officially and privately; everybody seemed pleased with +the holdings, and, in short, all went merrily as a marriage bell. + +As I sat and listened, however, the query that arose in my mind +was--What would be the state of these holdings and of the tenants or +of their descendants on, say, that day thirty years? I trust and hope +that it will be a good state in both instances; but I must confess to +certain doubts and fears. + +In this parish of Ditchingham, where I live, there is a man with a few +acres of land, an orchard, a greenhouse, etc. That man works his +little tenancy, deals in the surplus produce of large gardens, which +he peddles out in the neighbouring town, and, on an average, takes +piecework on my farm (at the moment of writing he and his son are +hoeing mangolds) for two or three days a week; at any rate, for a +great part of the year. He is a type of what I may call the natural +small holder, and I believe does fairly well. The question is, can the +artificially created small holder, who must pay a rent of L4 the acre, +attain to a like result? + +Again, I say I hope so most sincerely, for if not in England 'back to +the land' will prove but an empty catchword. At any rate, the country +should be most grateful to the late Mr. Herring, who provided the +funds for this intensely interesting experiment, and to the Salvation +Army which is carrying it out in the interests of the landless poor. + + + + +IMPRESSIONS OF GENERAL BOOTH + + + +It has occurred to the writer that a few words descriptive of William +Booth, the creator and first General of the Salvation Army, set down +by a contemporary who has enjoyed a good many opportunities of +observing him during the past ten years, may possibly have a future if +not a present value. + +Of the greatness of this man, to my mind, there can be no doubt. When +the point of time whereon we stand and play our separate parts has +receded, and those who follow us look back into the grey mist which +veils the past; when that mist has hidden the glitter of the +decorations and deadened the echoes of the high-sounding titles of +to-day; when our political tumults, our town-bred excitements, and +many of the very names that are household words to us, are forgotten, +or discoverable only in the pages of history; when, perhaps, the +Salvation Army itself has fulfilled its mission and gone its road, I +am certain that the figure of William Booth will abide clearly visible +in those shadows, and that the influences of his work will remain, if +not still felt, at least remembered and honoured. He will be one of +the few, of the very few enduring figures of our day; and even if our +civilization should be destined to undergo eclipse for a period, as +seems possible, when the light returns, by it he will still be seen. + +For truly this work of his is fine, and one that appeals to the +imagination, although we are so near to it that few of us appreciate +its real proportions. Also, in fact, it is the work that should be +admired rather than the man, who, after all, is nothing but the +instrument appointed to shape it from the clay of circumstance. The +clay lay ready to be shaped, then appeared the moulder animated with +will and purpose, and working for the work's sake to an end which he +could not foresee. + +I have no information on the point, but I should be surprised to learn +that General Booth, when Providence moved him to begin his labours +among the poor, had even an inkling of their future growth within the +short period of his own life. He sowed a seed in faith and hope, and, +in spite of opposition and poverty, in spite of ridicule and of +slander, he has lived to see that seed ripen into a marvellous +harvest. Directly, or indirectly, hundreds of thousands of men and +women throughout the world have benefited by his efforts. He has been +a tool of destiny, like Mahomet or Napoleon, only in this case one +fated to help and not to harm mankind. Such, at least, is my estimate +of him. + +A little less of the spirit of self-sacrifice, a different sense of +responsibility, and the same strength of imagination and power of +purpose devoted to purely material objects, might have raised up +another multi-millionaire, or a mob-leader, or a self-seeking despot. +But, as it happened, some grace was given to him, and the river has +run another way. + +Opportunity, too, has played into his hands. He saw that the +recognized and established Creeds scarcely touched the great, sordid, +lustful, drink-sodden, poverty-steeped masses of the city populations +of the world: that they were waiting for a teacher who could speak to +them in a tongue they understood. He spoke, and some of them have +listened: only a fraction it is true, but still some. More, as it +chanced, he married a wife who entered into his thoughts, and was able +to help to fulfil his aspirations, and from that union were born +descendants who, for the most part, are fitted to carry on his +labours. + +Further, like Loyola, and others, he has the power of rule, being a +born leader of men, so that thousands obey his word without question +in every corner of the earth, although some of these have never seen +his face. Lastly, Nature endowed him with a striking presence that +appeals to the popular mind, with a considerable gift of speech, with +great physical strength and abounding energy, qualities which have +enabled him to toil without ceasing and to travel far and wide. Thus +it comes about that as truly as any man of our generation, when his +hour is ended, he, too, I believe, should be able to say with a clear +conscience, 'I have finished the work that Thou gavest me to do': +although his heart may add, 'I have not finished it as well as I could +wish.' + +Now let me try to convey my personal impressions of this man. I see +him in various conversations with myself, when he has thought that he +could make use of me to serve his ever-present and impersonal ends, +trying to add me up, wondering how far I was sincere, and to what +extent I might be influenced by private objects; then, at last, +concluding that I was honest in my own fashion, opening his heart +little by little, and finally appealing to me to aid him in his +labours. + +'I like that man; _he understands me!_' I once heard him say, +mentioning my name, and believing that he was thinking, not speaking. + +I tell this story merely to illustrate his habit of reflecting aloud, +for as he spoke these words I was standing beside him. When I repeated +it to his Officers, one of them remarked horrified:-- + +'Good gracious! it might just as well have been something much less +complimentary. One never knows what he will say.' + +He is an autocrat, whose word is law to thousands. Had he not been an +autocrat indeed, the Salvation Army would not exist to-day, for it +sprang from his brain like Minerva from the head of Jove, and has been +driven to success by his single, forceful will. + +Yet this quality of masterfulness is tempered and illuminated by an +unfailing sense of humour, which he is quite ready to exercise at his +own expense. Thus, a few years ago he and I dined with the late Mr. +Herring, and, as a matter of fact, although I had certain things to +say on the matters under discussion, his flow of most interesting +conversation did not allow me over much opportunity of saying them. It +is hard to compete in words with one who has preached continually for +fifty years! + +When General Booth departed to catch a midnight train, for the +Continent I think, Mr. Herring went to see him to the door. Returning +presently, much amused, he repeated their parting words, which were as +follows:-- + +GENERAL BOOTH: 'A very good fellow Haggard; but a talker, you know, +Herring, a talker!' + +MR. HERRING (looking at him): 'Indeed!' + +GENERAL BOOTH (laughing): 'Ah! Herring, you mean that it was _I_ who +did the talking, not Haggard. Well, _perhaps I did_.' + +Some people think that General Booth is conceited. + +'It is a pity that the old gentleman is so vain,' a highly-placed +person once said to me. + +I answered that if he or I had done all that General Booth has done, +we might be pardoned a little vanity. + +In truth, however, the charge is mistaken, for at bottom I believe him +to be a very humble-minded man, and one who does not in the least +overrate himself. This may be gathered, indeed, from the tenor of his +remarks on the subject of his personal value to the Army, that I have +recorded at the beginning of this book. + +What people of slower mind and narrower views may mistake for pride, +in his case, I am sure, is but the impatient and unconscious +assertiveness of superior power, based upon vision and accumulated +knowledge. Also, as a general proposition, I believe vanity to be +almost impossible to such a man. So far as my experience of life goes, +that scarce creature, the innately, as distinguished from the +accidentally eminent man, he who is fashioned from Nature's gold, not +merely gilded by circumstance, is never vain. + +Such a man knows but too well how poor is the fruit of his supremest +effort, how marred by secret weakness is what the world calls his +strength, and when his gifts are in the balance, how hard it would be +for any seeing judge to distinguish his success from common failure. +It is the little pinchbeck man, whom wealth, accident, or cheap +cleverness has thrust forward, who grows vain over triumphs that are +not worth having, not the great doer of deeds, or the seer whose +imagination is wide enough to enable him to understand his own utter +insignificance in the scale of things. + +But to return to General Booth. Again I hear him explaining to me vast +schemes, as yet unrealized, that lurk at the back of his vivid, +practical, organizing brain. Schemes for settling tens of thousands of +the city poor upon unoccupied lands in sundry portions of the earth. +Schemes for great universities or training colleges, in which men and +women might be educated to deal with the social problems of our age on +a scientific basis. Schemes for obtaining Government assistance to +enable the Army to raise up the countless mass of criminals in many +lands, taking charge of them as they leave the jail, and by +regenerating their fallen natures, saving them soul and body. + +In the last interview I had with him, I read to him a note I had made +of a conversation which had taken place a few days before between Mr. +Roosevelt and myself on the subject of the Salvation Army. Here is the +note, or part of it. + +MR. ROOSEVELT: 'Why not make use of all this charitable energy, now +often misdirected, for national ends?' + +MYSELF: 'What I have called "the waste forces of Benevolence." It is +odd, Mr. Roosevelt, that we should both have come to that conclusion.' + +MR. ROOSEVELT: 'Yes, that's the term. You see the reason is that we +are both sensible men who understand.' + +'That is very important,' said General Booth, when he had heard this +extract. '"Make use of all this charitable energy, now often +misdirected for national ends!" Why not, indeed? Heaven knows it is +often misdirected. The Salvation Army has made mistakes enough. If +only that could be done it would be a great thing. But first we have +got to make other people "understand" besides Roosevelt and yourself.' + +That, at least, was the sense of his words. + +Once more I see him addressing a crowded meeting of City men in +London, on a murky winter afternoon. In five minutes he has gripped +his audience with his tale of things that are new to most of them, +quite outside of their experience. He lifts a curtain as it were, and +shows them the awful misery that lies often at their very office +doors, and the duty which is theirs to aid the fallen and the +suffering. It is a long address, very long, but none of the hearers +are wearied. + +At the end of it I had cause to meet him in his office about a certain +matter. He had stripped off his coat, and stood in the red jersey of +his uniform, the perspiration still streaming from him after the +exertion of his prolonged effort in that packed hall. As he spoke he +ate his simple meal of vegetables (mushrooms they were, I remember), +and tea, for, like most of his family, he never touches meat. Either +he must see me while he ate or not at all; and when there is work to +be done, General Booth does not think of convenience or of rest; +moreover, as usual, there was a train to catch. One of his +peculiarities is that he seems always to be starting for somewhere, +often at the other side of the world. + +Lastly, I see him on one of his tours. He is due to speak in a small +country town. His Officers have arrived to make arrangements, and are +waiting with the audience. It pours with rain, and he is late. At +length the motors dash up through the mud and wet, and out of the +first of them he appears, a tall, cloaked figure. Already that day he +has addressed two such meetings besides several roadside gatherings, +and at night he must speak to a great audience in a city fourteen +miles away; also stop at this place and at that before he gets there, +for a like purpose. He is to appear in the big city at eight, and +already it is half-past three. + +Five minutes later he has been assisted on to the platform (for this +was before his operation and he was almost blind), and for nearly an +hour pours out a ceaseless flood of eloquence, telling the history of +his Organization, telling of his life's work and of his heart's aims, +asking for their prayers and help. He looks a very old man now, much +older than when first I knew him, and with his handsome, somewhat +Jewish face and long, white beard, a very type of some prophet of +Israel. So Abraham must have looked, one thinks, or Jeremiah, or +Elijah. But there is no weariness in his voice or his gestures; and, +as he exhorts and prays, his darkening eyes seem to flash. + +It is over. He bids farewell to the audience that he has never seen +before, and will never see again, invokes a fervent blessing on them, +and presently the motors are rushing away into the wet night, bearing +with them this burning fire of a man. + +Such are some of my impressions of William Booth, General of the +Salvation Army. + + + + +THE CHIEF OF THE STAFF + + + +No account of the Salvation Army would be complete without some words +about Mr. Bramwell Booth, General Booth's eldest son and right-hand +man, who in the Army is known as the Chief of the Staff. Being +convinced of this, I sought an interview with him--the last of the +many that I have had in connexion with the present work. + +In the Army Mr. Bramwell Booth is generally recognized as 'the power +behind the throne.' He it is who, seated in his office in London, +directs the affairs and administers the policy of this vast +Organization in all lands; the care of the countless Salvation Army +churches is on his shoulders, and has been for these many years. He +does not travel outside Europe; his work lies chiefly at home. I +understand, however, that he takes his share in the evangelical +labours of the Army, and is a powerful and convincing speaker, +although I have never chanced to hear any of his addresses. + +[Illustration: MR. BRAMWELL BOOTH, Chief of the Staff.] + +In appearance at his present age of something over fifty, he is tall +and not robust, with an extremely sympathetic face that has about it +little of his father's rugged cast and sternness. Perhaps it is this +evident sympathy that commands the affection of so many, for I have +been told more than once that he is the best beloved man in the Army, +and one who never uses a stern word. + +I found him busy and pressed for time, even more so, if possible, than +I was myself; he had but just arrived by an early train from some +provincial city. In fact, he was then engaged upon his annual +visitation to all the Field Officers in the country, which, as he +explained, takes him away from London for three days a week for a +period of six weeks, and throws upon him a considerable extra strain +of mind and body. The diocese of the Salvation Army is very extensive! + +I said to Mr. Bramwell Booth that I desired from him his views of the +Army as a religious and a social force throughout the wide world, in +every land where it sets its foot. I wished to hear of the work +considered as a whole, likewise of that work in its various aspects, +and of the different races of mankind among which it is carried on. +Also, amongst others, I put to him the following specific questions:-- + + In what way and by what means does the Army adapt itself to + the needs and customs of the various peoples among whom it + is established? + + What is its comparative measure of success with each of + these peoples, and what future is anticipated for it among + them respectively? + + Where is the work advancing, where does it hang in the + balance, and where is it being driven backwards? + + What are your views upon the future of the Army as a + religious and social power throughout the world, bearing in + mind the undoubted difficulties with which it is confronted? + + Do you consider that now, after forty-five years of + existence, it is, speaking generally, on the downward or on + the upward grade? + + What information can you give me as to the position of the + Army in its relations with other religious bodies? + +At this point Mr. Bramwell Booth inquired mildly how much time I had +to spare. The result of my answer was that we agreed together that it +was clearly impossible to deal with all these great matters in an +interview. So it was decided that he should take time to think them +over, and should furnish his replies in the form of a written +memorandum. This he has done, and I may say without flattery that the +paper which he has drawn up is one of the most clear and broad-minded +that I have had the pleasure of reading for a long while. Since it is +too long to be used as a quotation, I print it in an appendix,[7] +trusting sincerely that all who are interested in the Salvation Army +in its various aspects will not neglect its perusal. Indeed, it is a +valuable and an authoritative document, composed by perhaps the only +person in the world who, from his place and information, is equal to +the task. + +Personally I venture upon neither criticism nor comment, whose role +throughout all these pages is but that of a showman, although I trust +one not altogether devoid of insight into the matter in hand. + +To only one point will I call attention--that of the general note of +confidence which runs through Mr. Bramwell Booth's remarks. Clearly he +at least does not believe that the Salvation Army is in danger of +dissolution. Like his father, he believes that it will go on from good +to good and from strength to strength. + +There remain, however, one or two other points that we discussed +together to which I will allude. Thus I asked him if he had anything +to say as to the attacks which from time to time were made upon the +Army. He replied as his father had done: 'Nothing, except that they +were best left to answer themselves.' + +Then our conversation turned to the matter of the resignation of +certain Officers of the Army which had caused some passing public +remark. + +'We have an old saying here,' he said, with some humour, 'that we do +not often lose any one whom we very much desire to keep.' + +I pointed out that I had heard allegations made to the effect that the +Army Officers were badly paid, hardly treated, and, when they proved +of no more use, let go to find a living as best they could. + +He replied that, as to the matter of money, the Army had established a +Pension fund in all the Western countries, which now amounts to a +large total. In this country the sum was about L44,000, and during +1909 about L1,800 had been paid here in pensions. This, however, was +only a beginning, but he thought that the effort was being made on the +right lines, and that, notwithstanding their poverty, a really +adequate Pension fund would be built up in due course. + +Then of a sudden he became eloquent. He said he admitted that the Army +had little to offer. Those who came into its service knew that this +was so; that they had no hope of temporal reward; that thenceforth the +great feature of their life and work was that it must be filled with +labour and self-denial. The whole business of helping and saving our +fellow-creatures was one of struggle and suffering. Sacrifice was the +key-note of Christianity as laid down by its Founder. Those who sought +money and temporal honour must look elsewhere than to the Salvation +Army. Its pride and glory was that thousands were willing to suffer +and deny themselves from year to year, and to find their joy and their +recompense in the consciousness that they were doing something, +however little, to lighten the darkness and relieve the misery of the +world. + +Here are some of his actual words upon this matter that I will quote, +as I cannot better them:-- + +'The two facts of real consequence about our Officers are these: +First, that their numbers go on increasing year by year, and second, +that they remain devoted to their work, very poor, and absolutely bent +on obtaining a reward in Heaven. But let me quote here from General +Booth on this matter:-- + +'"I resolved that no disadvantage as to birth, or education, or social +condition should debar any one from entering the list of combatants so +long as he was one with me in love for God, in faith for the salvation +of men, and in willingness to obey the orders he should receive from +me and from those I authorized to direct him. I have, of course, had +many disappointments--not a few of them very hard to bear at the +time--but from the early days of 1868, when I engaged my first +recognized helper, to 1878, when the number had increased by slow +degrees to about 100, and on to the present day, when their number is +rapidly approaching 20,000, there has not been a single year without +its increase, not only in quantity, but in quality. + +'"I am sometimes asked, What about those who have left me? Well, I am +thankful to say that we remain in sympathetic and friendly relations +with the great bulk of them. It was to be expected that in work such +as ours, demanding, as it does, not only arduous toil and constant +self-denial and often real hardships of one kind or another, some +should prove unworthy, some should grow weary, and others should faint +by the way, whilst others again, though very excellent souls, should +prove unsuitable. It could not be otherwise, for we are engaged in +real warfare, and whoever heard of war without wounds and losses? But +even of those who do thus step aside from the position of Officers, a +large proportion--in this country nine out of ten--remain with us, +engaged in some voluntary effort in our ranks."' + +'But,' continued Mr. Bramwell Booth, 'I would be the last person to +minimize our losses. They may be accounted for in the most natural +way, and yet we cannot but feel them and suffer from them. And yet it +is all just a repetition of the Bible stories of all ages; nay, of all +stories of genuine fighting in any great cause. The great feature of +our present experience in this matter is that the number who go out +from us grows every year smaller in proportion to the whole, and that, +as the General says in the above extract, a very large proportion of +those continue in friendly relations with us. + +'The triumph of these splendid men and women, in the face of every +kind of difficulty in every part of the world is, however, really a +triumph of their faith. It is not the Army, it is not their leaders, +it is not even the wonderful devotion which many of them manifest, +which is the secret of their continued life and continued success, nor +is it any confidence in their own abilities. No! The true +representative of the Army is relying at every turn upon the presence, +guidance, and help of God in trying to carry out the Father's purpose +with respect to every lost and suffering child of man. By that test, +alike in the present and future, we must ever stand or fall. The Army +is either a work of faith or it is nothing at all. + +'Everything throughout all our ranks can really be brought to that +test, and I regard with composure every loss and attack, every puzzle +and danger, chiefly because I rely upon my comrades' trust in God +being responded to by Him according to their need.' + +Perhaps I may be allowed to add a few remarks upon this subject. A +great deal is made of the resignation of a few Salvation Army Officers +in order that they may accept excellent posts in other walks of life; +indeed, it is not uncommon to see it stated that such resignations +herald the dissolution of the Society. Inasmuch as the number of the +Army's Officers is nearing 20,000 it would seem that it can very well +spare a few of them. What fills me with wonder is not that some go, +but that so many remain. _This_ is one of the facts which, amongst +much that is discouraging, convinces me of the innate nobility of man. +An old friend of mine of pious disposition once remarked to me that +_he_ could never have been a Christian martyr. At the first twist of +the cord, or the first nip of the red-hot pincers, he was sure that +_he_ would have thrown incense by the handful upon the altar of any +heathen god or goddess that was fashionable at the moment. His spirit +might have been willing, but his flesh would certainly have proved +weak. + +I sympathized with the honesty of this confession, and in the same way +I sympathize with those Officers of the Salvation Army who, in racing +slang, cannot 'stay the course.' + +Let us consider the lot of these men. Any who have entered on even a +secular crusade, something that takes them off the beaten, official +paths, that leads them through the thorns and wildernesses of a new, +untravelled country, towards some distant goal seen dimly, or not seen +at all except in dreams, will know what such an undertaking means. It +means snakes in the grass; it means savages, or in other words veiled +and poisonous hatreds and bitter foes, or, still worse, treacherous +friends. The crusader may get through, in which case no one will thank +him except, perhaps, after he is dead. Or he may fail and perish, in +which case every one will mock at him. Or he may retreat discouraged +and return to the official road, in which case his friends will remark +that they are glad to see that his insanity was only of the +intermittent order, and that at length he has learned his place in the +world and to whom he ought to touch his cap. + +Well, these are official roads to Heaven as well as to the House of +Lords and other mundane goals, a fact which the Salvation Army Officer +and others of his kind have probably found out. On the official road, +if he has interest and ability--the first is to be preferred--he might +have become anything, and with ordinary fortune would certainly have +become something. + +But on the path that he has chosen what is there for him to gain? An +inheritance of dim glory beyond the stars, obscured doubtless from +time to time, if he is like other men, by sudden and sickening +eclipses of his faith. And meanwhile the daily round, the insolent +gibe, and the bitter ingratitude of men that leaves him grieving. Also +not enough money to pay for a cab when it is wet, and considerable +uncertainty as to the future of his children, and even as to his own +old age. Few comforts for him, not even those of a glass of wine to +stimulate him, or of tobacco to soothe his nerves, for these are +forbidden to him by the rules of his Order. Unless he can reach the +very top of his particular tree also, which it is most unlikely that +he will, no public recognition even of his faithful, strenuous work, +and who is there that at heart does not long for public recognition? +In short, nothing that is desirable to man save the consciousness of a +virtue which, after all, he must feel to be indifferent (being well +aware of his own secret faults), and the satisfaction of having helped +a certain number of lame human dogs over moral or physical stiles. + +In such a case and in a world which we must admit to be selfish and +imperfect, the wonder is not that certain Salvation Army Officers, +being trained men of high ability, yield to tempting offers and go, +but that so many of them remain. + +'Look at my case,' said one of them to me. 'With my experience and +organizing ability I am worth L2,000 a year as the manager of any big +business, and I could have it if I liked. Here I get about L200!' + +This was one of those who remain. I say all honour to such noble +souls, for surely they are of the salt of the earth. + + + + +NOTE ON THE RELIGION OF THE SALVATION ARMY + + + +The religious faith of the Salvation Army, as I have observed and +understand it (for little has been said to me on this matter), is +extremely simple. It believes in an eternal Heaven for the righteous +and--a sad doctrine this, some of us may think--in a Hell, equally +eternal, for the wicked.[8] Its bedrock is the Bible, especially the +New Testament, which it accepts as true without qualification, from +the first word to the last, troubling itself with no doubts or +criticisms. Especially does it believe in the dual nature of the +Saviour, in Christ as God, and in Christ as man, and in the +possibility of forgiveness and redemption for even the most degraded +and defiled of human beings. Love is its watchword, the spirit of love +is its spirit, love arrayed in the garments of charity. + +In essentials, with one exception, its doctrines much resemble those +of the Church of England, and of various dissenting Protestant bodies. +The exception is, that it does not make use of the Sacraments, even of +that of Communion, although, on the other hand, it does not deny the +efficacy of those Sacraments, or object to others, even if they be +members of the Army, availing themselves of them. Thus, I have known +an Army Officer to join in the Communion Service. The reason for this +exception is, I believe, that in the view of General Booth, the +Sacraments complicate matters, are open to argument and attack, and +are not understood by the majority of the classes with which the Army +deals. How their omission is reconciled with certain prominent +passages and directions laid down in the New Testament I do not know. +To me, I confess, this disregard of them seems illogical. + +The motto of the Army is 'Salvation for all,' and, as I have hinted in +these pages, it has a sure conviction of the essential persistence of +miracle in these modern days. It holds that when a man kneels at the +Penitent-Form and 'gets converted,' a miracle takes place within him, +if his repentance is true, and that thenceforward some Grace from on +High will give him the power to overcome the evil in his heart and +blood. + +It believes, too, in the instant efficacy of earnest prayer, and in +the possibility of direct communication by this means between man and +his Maker. + +Here is an instance of this statement. While inspecting the Shelters +in one of the provincial cities, I was shown a certain building which +had recently passed into the possession of the Army. The Officer who +was conducting me said that the negotiations preliminary to the +acquisition of the lease of this building had been long and difficult. +I remarked that these must have caused him anxiety. 'Oh, no,' he +answered, simply. 'You see I had talked with the Lord about it, and I +knew that we should get the place in the end.' + +This reply may cause some to smile, but I confess I find such +childlike faith touching and even beautiful. + +There is small doubt that consciously or unconsciously, the Salvation +Army has followed St. Paul's example of being all things to all men, +if 'by all means' it may save some. This is the reason of its methods +which to many seem so vulgar and offensive. Once I spoke to an Officer +high up in the Army of this matter, instancing, amongst other things, +its brass bands and loud-voiced preaching at street corners. + +'My dear sir,' he replied, 'if we came to convert _you_, we should not +bring a brass band or send a missionary who shouted out sacred names +every minute. Possibly, if we thought that you were open to the +influences of music, we might send a first-rate violinist to play +pieces from the classical masters, and we should certainly send a man +whom we knew to be your intellectual equal, and who could therefore +appeal to your reason. But our mission at present is not so much to +you and your class, as to the dregs of humanity. The folk we deal with +live in a state of noise of which you have no conception, and if we +want to force them to listen to us, we must begin by making a greater +noise in order to attract their attention at all. In the same way it +is of no use wasting subtleties on them; we have to go straight to the +main points, which are clear and sharp enough to pierce their +drink-besotted intelligences, or to reach any fragment of conscience +they may have remaining in them.' + +I thought the argument sound and well put, and results have proved its +force, since the Salvation Army undoubtedly gets a hold of people that +few other forms of religious effort seem able to grasp, at least to +any considerable extent. + +I wish to make it clear, however, that I hold no particular brief for +the Army, its theology, and its methods. I recognize fully, as I know +it does, the splendid work that is being done in the religious and +social fields by other Organizations of the same class, especially by +Dr. Barnardo's Homes, by the Waifs and Strays Society, by the Church +Army, and, above all, perhaps, by another Society, with which I have +had the honour to be connected in a humble capacity for many years, +that for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Still it remains true +that the Salvation Army is unique, if only on account of the colossal +scale of its operations. Its fertilizing stream flows on steadily from +land to land, till it bids fair to irrigate the whole earth. What I +have written about is but one little segment of a work which +flourishes everywhere, and even lifts its head in Roman Catholic +countries, although in these, as yet, it makes no very great progress. + +How potent then, and how generally suited to the needs of stained and +suffering mankind, must be that religion which appeals both to the +West and to the East, which is as much at home in Java and Korea as it +is in Copenhagen or Glasgow. For it should be borne in mind that the +basis of the Salvation Army is religious, that it aims, above +everything, at the conversion of men to an active and lively faith in +the plain, uncomplicated tenets of Christianity to the benefit of +their souls in some future state of existence and, incidentally, to +the Reformation of their characters while on earth. + +The social work of which I have been treating is a mere by-product or +consequence of its main idea. Experience has shown, that it is of +little use to talk about his soul to a man with an empty stomach. +First, he must be fed and cleansed and given some other habitation +than the street. Also the Army has learned that Christ still walks the +earth in the shape of Charity; and that religion, after all, is best +preached by putting its maxims into practice; that the poor are always +with us; and that the first duty of the Christian is to bind their +wounds and soothe their sorrows. Afterwards, he may hope to cure them +of their sins, for he knows that unless such a cure is effected, +temporal assistance avails but little. Except in cases of pure +misfortune which stand upon another, and, so far as the Army work is +concerned, upon an outside footing, the causes of the fall must be +removed, or that fall will be repeated. The man or woman must be born +again, must be regenerated. Such, as I understand it, is at once the +belief of the Salvation Army and the object of all its efforts. +Therefore, I give to this book its title of 'Regeneration.' + + + +THE NEED IS GREAT! + + * * * * * + +_The principal items of the Salvation Army's expenditure for Social +Work during the financial year ending September 30, 1911, are as +follows, and help is earnestly asked to meet these, the work being +entirely dependent upon Voluntary Gifts_. + +For Maintenance of Work amongst the Destitute + and Outcast Men and Women, including Shelters + for Homeless Men and Women, Homes for Children, + Rescue Homes, etc..................................... L15,000 + +For Maintenance of the Slum Sisterhood and Nurses + for the Sick Poor..................................... L3,000 + +For Prison Visitation Staff and Prison-Gate Work........ L5,000 + +For Work among Youths and Boys.......................... L2,000 + +For Special Relief and Distress Agencies................ L5,000 + +For Development of the Work and Agricultural + Departments of the Hadleigh Colony.................... L3,000 + +For Assistance and Partial Maintenance of the + Unemployed and Inefficient............................ L5,000 + +For Assisting suitable Men and Women to Emigrate........ L3,000 + +Towards the provision of New Institutions for Men + and Boys in London and various provincial Cities...... L10,000 + +For the General Management and Supervision of all + the above Operations.................................. L2,000 + ------- + L53,000 + +Cheques and Postal Orders should be made payable to WILLIAM BOOTH, +crossed 'Bank of England, Law Courts Branch,' and sent to MRS. BOOTH, +101 Queen Victoria Street, London, E.C. Clothes for the poor and +articles for sale are always needed. + + + + +LEGACIES + + * * * * * + +Ladies and Gentlemen are earnestly asked to remember the needs of the +Salvation Army's Social Work (the 'Darkest England' Social Scheme), in +connexion with the preparation of their wills. + + * * * * * + +All kinds of property can now be legally bequeathed for charitable +purposes, and the following form of legacy is recommended. Where a +legacy does not consist of a certain amount of money, care should be +taken to identify clearly the property, shares, stock, or whatever it +may be intended to be bequeathed. + +_'I GIVE AND BEQUEATH TO WILLIAM BOOTH, or other the General for the +time being of the Salvation Army, and Director of the "Darkest +England" Social Scheme, the sum of L............_ (or) _MY TWO +freehold houses known as Nos.......... in the county +of................_ (or) _my L............ ordinary stock of the +London and North-Western Railway Company_ (or) _my shares +in............Limited_ (or as the case may be) _to be used or applied +by him, at his discretion, for the general purposes of the "Darkest +England" Social Scheme. And I direct the said last-mentioned Legacy to +be paid within twelve months after my decease.'_ + + * * * * * + +DIRECTIONS FOR EXECUTION OF WILL + + * * * * * + +The Will must be executed by the Testator in the presence of two +witnesses, who must sign their names, addresses, and occupations at +the end of the Will in the presence of the Testator. The best method +to adopt for a Testator to be quite sure that his Will is executed +properly, is for him to take the Will and his two witnesses into a +room, lock the door, and tell the witnesses that he wishes them to +attest his Will. All three must sign in the room and nobody must go +out until all have signed. + +GENERAL BOOTH will always be pleased to procure further advice for any +friends desiring to benefit the Salvation Army's work in any of its +departments, by Will or otherwise, and will treat any communications +made to him on the subject as strictly private and confidential. +Letters dealing with the matter should be marked Private, and +addressed to GENERAL BOOTH, 101 QUEEN VICTORIA STREET, LONDON, E.C. + + + + +APPENDIX A + + +NOTES ON THE ARMY'S FUTURE + +(Following My Conversation with Mr. Rider Haggard) + +BY BRAMWELL BOOTH + +When asked to give my own view of the present and probable future +influence of the Salvation Army upon the world, I feel in no danger of +exaggeration. If any one could imagine what it has been for me to sit +at its centre almost without intermission for more than thirty-five +years, receiving continual reports of its development and progress in +one nation after another, studying from within not only its strength +and vitality, but its weaknesses and failures, and labouring to devise +remedies and preventatives, until what was a little unknown Mission in +the East End of London has become the widely, I might almost say, the +universally recognized Army of to-day, he could perhaps understand +something of my great confidence. + +Curious indeed seem to be the thoughts of many people about +us!--people, I mean, who have only had a glance at one of our open-air +meetings, or have only heard some wild challenge of General Booth's +good faith, and have then more or less carefully avoided any closer +acquaintance with us. They often appear to be under the impression +that you have only to persuade a few people to march through any +crowded thoroughfare with a band, to gather a congregation, and, if +you please, to form out of it an Army, and from that again to secure a +vast revenue! I often wish that such people could know the struggles +of almost every individual, even amongst the very poorest, between the +moment of first contact with us and that of resolving to enlist in our +ranks. How few, even now, seem aware of the fact that so far from +paying or rewarding any one for joining in our efforts, all who do so +are from the first called upon daily not only to give to our funds, +but by sacrifice of time, labour, money, and often of health as well, +to constitute themselves efficient soldiers of their Corps, and assist +in providing it with every necessity. + +Every one of the 3,000,000 meetings held annually, even in this +country, depends upon the voluntary giving up of the time and effort +of working-men and women who have in most cases to hurry from work to +home, and from home to meeting-place, after a hard day's labour. Much +the same may be said of the 450,000 meetings held annually on the +Continent of Europe; with this difference, that our people there have +mostly to begin work earlier in the day, and to conclude much later +than is the case here. Their evening meetings, in conformity with the +habits of the country concerned, must needs be begun, therefore, +later, and conclude much later than similar gatherings in the United +Kingdom. + +A cursory glance through the seventy-four newspapers and periodicals +published by the Army--generally weekly--in twenty-one languages, +would show any one how variously our people everywhere are seeking to +meet the different habits of life in each country, and how constantly +new plans are being tried to attain the supreme object of all our +multitudinous agencies--the arousing of men's attention to the claims +of God and their ingathering to His Kingdom. + +The original plan adopted in this country of going to the people by +means of meetings and marches in the streets, is in many lands not +legally permissible, while in others it is almost useless. Our +leaders, therefore, have always to be finding out other means of +attaining the same end. This has resulted in very great gains of +liberty in several ways. On the Continent, for example, though it is +not possible to get a general permission to hold open-air meetings in +the streets, it is becoming more and more usual to let our people hold +such gatherings in the large pleasure-grounds, provided within or on +the outskirts both of the great cities and the lesser towns. In some +cases the announcements of further meetings, made somewhat after the +style of the public crier, develops into a series of short open-air +addresses. In other cases, conspicuously in Italy, where our work is +only as yet in its infancy--the sale of our paper, both by individual +hawkers and by groups of comrades singing the songs it contains in +marketplaces, largely makes up for the want of the more regularized +open-air work. + +And in the courts of the great blocks of buildings which abound in +cities like Berlin, Copenhagen, Stockholm, and elsewhere, meetings are +held which are really often more effective in impressing whole +families of various classes than any of our open-air proceedings in +countries like England and the United States. + +But everywhere the Army seeks especially, though not by any means +exclusively, for those who are to be found frequenting the +public-houses, cafes, beer gardens, dives, saloons, and other +drinking-places of the world. In all countries our people sell our +papers amidst these crowds, as well as at the doors of the theatres +and other places of amusement, and the mere offer of these papers, now +that their unflinching character as to God and goodness is well known, +constitutes an act of war, a submission to which in so many million +cases is no slight evidence of confidence among the masses of the +people in our sincerity, and, so far, a sign of our success. + +But 'The War Cry' seller is in the countries of more scattered +population, such as Switzerland, some of the colonies, and large parts +of India, much more than is the case in the big cities, the +representative of every form of helpfulness. He, or she, not merely +offers the paper for sale to those who have neither opportunity nor +inclination to attend religious services of any kind, but enters +himself where no paper ever comes, holds little meetings with groups +of those who have never prayed, heartens those who are sinking down +under pressure of calamity, visits the sick-room of the friendless, +and often becomes the intermediary of the suffering and destitute and +those who can help them in their dismal necessities. + +Of the persistent hopefulness with which our people everywhere go to +the apparently abandoned, I will only say that it constitutes a store +of moral and material help, not only for those people themselves, but +for all who become acquainted with it, the value of which in the +present it is difficult to exaggerate, and the influence of which on +the future it is equally difficult to over-estimate. + +While leaving the utmost possible freedom for initiative to our +leaders, we are seeking everywhere to solidify and regularize every +effort that has once been shown to be of any practical use. Any one +amongst us, down to the youngest and poorest in any part of the world, +may do a new thing next week which will prove a blessing to his +fellows, and some one will be on the watch to see that that good +thing, once done, be repeated, and, so far as may be, kept up in +perpetuity. + +Where special classes of needs exist, we must of course employ special +agencies. The vitality and adaptability of the Army in the presence of +new opportunities is one of the happy auguries for the future. While +all that is virile and forceful in it increases, there is less and +less of the rigid and formal. + +Fourteen or fifteen years ago some Officers were set apart to visit +the Lapps who range over all the Territories to the north of +Scandinavia. This meant at first only months of solitary travelling +during the summer, and no little suffering in the winter, with little +apparent result. But gradually a system of meetings was established, +the people's confidence was gained, and at length it has been found +possible to group together various centres of regular activity amongst +these interesting but little-known people, and now experienced leaders +will see both to the permanence of all that has already been begun, +and to the further extension of the work. + +In Holland, where our work has assumed the proportions of a national +movement, the beneficent effects of which are recognized by all +classes, the canal population is helped by means of a small sailing +ship, on which are held regular meetings for them. Our Norwegian +people also have a life-boat called the _Catherine Booth_ stationed +upon a stormy and difficult part of the coast, which not only goes out +to help into safety boats and boats' crews, but whose crew also holds +meetings on islands in remote fisher hamlets where no other religious +visitors come. + +The same principle of adaptation to local conditions and requirements +will, I doubt not, quickly ensure success for the small detachment of +Officers we have just sent to commence operations in Russia. + +In Dutch India we have not only a growing Missionary work amongst both +Javanese and Chinese, but Government Institutions have been placed +under our care, where lepers, the blind, and other infirm natives, as +well as neglected children, are medically cared for and helped in +other ways. + +In South Africa, both English and Dutch-speaking peoples are united +under one Flag, and give themselves up to work amongst the native +races round them--races which constitute so grave a problem in the +eyes of all thoughtful men who know anything of the true position in +South Africa. One of the latest items of news is that an Angoni has +accepted salvation at one of our settlements in Mashonaland, and on +return to his own home and work--lying away between Lake Nyassa and +the Zambezi--has begun to hold meetings and to exercise an influence +upon his people which cannot but end in the establishment of our work +amongst them. + +But, to my mind, one of the most important features of our work in all +Eastern and African lands is our development of the native power under +experienced guidance to purely Salvationist and therefore +non-political purposes. Surely the most potent possible corrective for +the sort of half rebel influence that has grown or is growing up in +Africa under the name of Ethiopianism, as well as for much of the +strange uneasiness among the dumb masses of India, is the complete +organization of native races under leaders who, whilst of their own +people, are devoted to the highest ethical aims, and stand in happy +subjection to men of other lands who have given them a training in +discipline and unity which does not contemplate bloodshed. + +We are now beginning both in India and Africa, as well as in the West +Indies, to find experienced native Officers capable of taking Staff +positions; that is, of becoming reliable leaders in large districts +where we are at work. These men have not merely all the advantages of +language and of fitness for the varieties of climate which are so +trying to Westerners, but they show a courage and tenacity and +tact--in short, a capacity for leadership and administration such as +no one--at any rate, no one that I know of--expected to find in them. +Here is opened a prospect of the highest significance. + +More than can be easily estimated has been done in spreading +information about us for some years past by Salvationists belonging to +various national armies and navies. We encourage all such men to group +themselves into brigades, so far as may be allowed, in their various +barracks and ships. Thus united, they work for their mutual +encouragement, and for the spreading of good influences among others. +It was such a little handful that really began our work in the West +Indies, and we have now a Corps in Sierra Leone, on the west coast of +Africa, formed by men of a West Indian regiment temporarily quartered +there. The same thing has happened in Sumatra by means of Dutch and +Javanese soldiers. + +For British India we naturally felt ourselves first of all, as to the +heathen world, under obligation to do something. And no inconsiderable +results have followed the efforts which were first commenced there +twenty-eight years ago. Our pioneers, though they greatly disturbed +the official white world, won the hearts of the people at a stroke, by +wearing Indian dress, living amongst and in the style of the poorer +villages. Soon Indian converts offered themselves for service, and +after training; were commissioned as Officers, and it was at once seen +that they would be far more influential than any foreigners. From the +point at which that discovery was really made, the work assumed +important proportions, passing at once in large measure from the +position of a foreign mission to being a movement of the people +themselves. + +The vastness of the country and the difference of language have led to +our treating it as five separate commands, now under the general lead +of one headquarters. Incidentally, this has helped us in dealing with +some of the difficulties connected with caste, as it has been possible +to remove Indian Officers from one part of India to another, and we +have made some efforts which have, I admit, proved less successful in +some districts than in others, to deal with castes which, within their +own lines, are often little more than Trade Unions with a mixture of +superstition. + +Meanwhile, the practical character of our work has shown itself in +efforts to help in various ways the lowest of the people to improve +their circumstances. The need for this is instantly apparent when one +reflects that some 40,000,000 of the inhabitants of India are always +hungry. A system of loan banks, which has now been adopted in part by +the Government, has been of great service to the small +agriculturalists. The invention of an extremely simple and yet greatly +improved hand loom has proved, and will prove, very valuable to the +weavers. New plans of relief in times of scarcity and famine have also +greatly helped in some districts to win the confidence of the people. +Industrial schools, chiefly for orphan children, have also been a +feature of the work in some districts. + +Recently the Government, having seen with what success our people have +laboured for the salvation of the lower castes, have decided to hand +over to us the special care of several of the criminal tribes, who are +really the remnants of the Aborigines. Although this work is at +present only in its experimental stage, all who have examined the +results so far have been delighted at the rapidity with which we have +brought many into habits of self-supporting industry, who, with their +fathers before them, had been accustomed to live entirely by plunder. +About 2,000 persons of this class are already under our care. + +There are some 3,000,000 of these robbers in different parts of India. +They are only kept under anything like control at great cost for +police and military supervision; but we are satisfied that, if +reasonable support be given, a great proportion of them can be +reclaimed from their present courses of idleness and crime, and in any +case their children can be saved. + +We have been able in India, perhaps more than in any other part of the +world, to realize the international character of our work by linking +together Officers from England, Germany, Holland, and the Scandinavian +countries, as well as from America, in the one great object of helping +the heathen peoples. But most of all we have rejoiced in being able to +blend East and West, European Officers having often been placed under +more experienced Indian comrades, as well as vice versa. The great +common purpose dominating all sections of the Army, and the influences +of the Spirit of God, have united men of different levels of +intelligence, and knit them together in the same fellowship, without +any unwise mingling of races. We have now 2,000 Officers in India, and +that alone is a testimony of the highest significance to the success +of our efforts, and to the possibilities which lie before us. But even +more important in its bearing upon the future, in my estimation, is +the wonderful ambition dominating our people there to reach every +class, but most of all to deal with the low caste, or outcast, as they +are sometimes called. Many of our Indian Officers have followed in the +steps of our pioneers in the country, and, consumed by an enthusiasm +amounting to a passion for their fellows, have literally sacrificed +their lives in the ceaseless pressing forward of their work. + +In America we have had to deal, perhaps, with the other extreme of +human needs. Throughout Canada there is very little to be seen of +poverty and wretchedness. In the United States the great cities begin +indeed to have areas of vice and misery not to be surpassed in any of +the older cities of the world. But everywhere we have found people who +have become forgetful of God, neglectful of every higher duty, and +abandoned to one or other form of selfishness. Our work in the United +States especially has been confronted with difficulties peculiar to +the country, its widespread populations and their cosmopolitan +character being not the least of these. Nevertheless, we have now in +the States and Canada nearly 4,000 Officers leading the work in 1,380 +Corps and Societies, and 350 Social Institutions. I ought to say that +it has not been found easy to raise large numbers in many places, but +of the generosity and devotion of those who have united themselves +with us, and the immense amount of work which they accomplish for +their fellows, it is impossible to speak too highly. + +I look with confidence to the future in both these great countries. +Governments and local Authorities are beginning to grant us the +facilities and help we need to deal effectually with their abandoned +classes, as well as to attack some other problems of a difficult +nature. Within the last few years, we have placed in Canada more than +50,000 emigrants, chiefly from this country. Their characteristics, +and their success in their new surroundings, have won for us the +highest commendation of the Authorities concerned. + +In the vast fields of South America, we have as yet only small forces, +but we have established a good footing with the various populations, +and have already received no inconsiderable help for our purely +philanthropic work from several of the Governments. Our latest new +extensions, Chile, Paraguay, and Peru, and Panama, seem to offer +prospects of success, even greater than we have been able to record in +the Argentine or Uruguay. Before your book is published, we shall +probably have made a beginning also in both Bolivia and Brazil. + +The South American Republics--chiefly populated by the descendants of +the poorest classes of Southern Europe--are professedly Roman +Catholic. The influence of the priesthood, however, owing to various +causes, seems to be on the wane, and a habit of abandoning all +religious thought is much on the increase. But the realization that +our people never attack any Church, or quibble about details of creed +and ceremonial, has won their way to the hearts of many, and there can +be no doubt that we have a great future amongst these peoples. In Peru +the law does not allow any persons not of the Romish Church to offer +prayer in public places, but when it was found that our Officers made +no trouble of this, but managed all the same to hold open-air and +theatre services very much in our usual style, great numbers of the +people were astonished at the 'new religion,' and so many had soon +begun to pray 'in private' that we have little doubt about the future +of our work there. + +In thinking of the future, I cannot overlook our plans of organization +which have, I am persuaded, much to do with the proper maintenance and +continuance of the work we have taken in hand. + +While striving as much as possible to avoid red tape, or indeed any +methods likely to hinder initiative and enterprise, we are careful to +apply a systemization comprehensible to the most untrained minds, so +that we may make every one feel a proper degree of responsibility, as +well as guard them from mere emotionalism and spasmodic activity, +accompanied as that kind of thing often is, by general neglect. + +Thus no one can join the Army until after satisfying the local Officer +and some resident of the place during a period of trial of the +sincerity of his profession. He must then sign our Articles of War. +These Articles describe precisely our doctrines, our promise to +abstain from intoxicants, worldly pleasures, and fashions, bad or +unworthy language, or conduct, and unfairness to either employer or +employe, as well as our purpose to help and benefit those around us. +(See Appendix B.) + +Some local voluntary worker becomes responsible for setting each +recruit a definite task in connexion with our efforts, and all are +placed under the general oversight of their Captain. A Corps, which is +the unit of our Organization, is organized under a Captain and +Lieutenant who have been trained in the work they have to do as +leaders. Corps are linked together into divisions under Officers, who, +in addition to seeing that they regularly carry out their work, have +the oversight of a considerable tract of country, with the duty of +extending our operations within that area. In some countries a number +of divisions are sometimes grouped into provinces with an Officer in +charge of the whole province, and each country has its national +headquarters under a Territorial Commissioner, all being under the +lead of the International Headquarters in London. + +No time is wasted in committee-ing or debating amongst us, and yet in +all matters of finance and property there is such arrangement that +several individuals are cognizant of every detail, and that no one +person's fault or neglect shall necessarily involve permanent injury +or loss. The central accounts in each country, including those in +London, are under the care of public auditors; but we have also our +own International Audit Department, whose representatives visit every +headquarters from time to time, so as to make sure, not only that the +accounts are kept on our approved system, but that all expenditure is +rigidly criticized. All who really look into our financial methods are +impressed by their economy and precision. The fact is that almost all +our people have been well schooled in poverty. They have learned the +value of pence. + +All this seems to me to have great importance in connexion with +estimates of our future. On the one hand we are ever seeking to +impress on all our people the supreme need of God's spirit of love and +life and freedom, without whose presence the most carefully managed +system could not but speedily grow cold and useless. But at the same +time, we insist that the service of God, however full of love and +gladness, ought to be more precise, more regular, nay, more exacting +than that of any inferior master. + +II + +As to your question whether we are generally making progress, I think +I can say that, viewing the whole field of activity, and taking into +account every aspect of the work, the Army is undoubtedly on the +up-grade. Naturally progress is not so rapid in one country as +another, nor is it always so marked in one period as in another in +particular countries, nor is it always so evident in some departments +of effort as in others; but speaking of the whole, there is, as indeed +there has been from the very beginnings, steady advance. + +In some countries, of course, there is more rapid development of our +purely evangelistic propaganda, while in others our philanthropic +agencies are more active. Progress in human affairs is generally +tidal. It has been so with us. A period of great outward activity is +sometimes followed by one of comparative rest, and in the same way the +spirit of advance in one department sometimes passes from that for a +time to others. A period of great progress in all kinds of pioneer +work, for example in Germany, is just now being followed there by one +of consolidation and organization. A time of enormous advance in all +our departments of charitable effort in the United States is now being +succeeded by a wonderful manifestation of purely spiritual fervour and +awakening. + +In this, the old country, our very success has in some ways militated +against our continued advance at the old rate of progress. Not only +has much ground already been occupied, but innumerable agencies, +modelled outwardly, at least, after those we first established, have +sprung into existence, and are working on a field of effort which was +at one time largely left to us. And yet during the last five years the +Army has enormously strengthened its hold on the confidence of all +classes of the people here, increased its numbers, developed in a +remarkable degree its internal organization, greatly added to its +material resources, as well as maintained and extended its offering of +men and money for the support of the work in heathen countries. + +But even in places where we have appeared to be stagnant, in the sense +of not undertaking any new aggressive activities, we are constantly +making as a part of our regular warfare new captures from the enemy of +souls, maintaining the care of congregations and people linked with +us, working at full pressure our social machinery, training the +children for future labour, raising up men and women to go out into +the world as missionaries of one kind or another, and doing it all +while carrying on vigorous efforts to bring to those who are most +needy in every locality both material and spiritual support. + +Like all aggressive movements, the Army is, of course, peculiarly +subject to loss of one kind or another. That arising from the removals +of its people alone constitutes a serious item. Any one who knows +anything of religious work amongst the working-classes will understand +how great a loss may be caused--even where the population is, +generally speaking, increasing--by the removal of one or two zealous +local leaders. But such losses are trifling compared with those which +follow from some stoppage of employment when large numbers of workmen +must either migrate or starve. + +Similar results often occur from the change of leadership. The removal +of our Officers from point to point, and even from country to country, +is one of our most indispensable needs; but, of course, we have to pay +for it, chiefly in the dislocation and discouragements and losses +which it often necessarily entails. + +So far from such variations being in any way discreditable to us, we +think them one of the most valuable tests of the vitality and courage +of our people, both Officers and Soldiers, that they fight on +unflinchingly under such circumstances--fight on happily, to prove +that while fluctuations of this character are very trying, they often +also open the way both to the wider diffusion of our work elsewhere +and to the breaking up of entirely new ground in the old centres. + +In brief, it is with us at all times a real warfare wherein triumphs +can only be secured at the cost of struggles that are very often +painful and unpleasant. You cannot have the aggression, the advance, +the captures of war without the change, the alarms, the cost, the +wounds, the losses, which are inseparable from it. + +A very striking and thoughtful description of some of the work done at +one of our London Corps has recently been issued by a well-known +writer. I refer to 'Broken Earthenware,' by Mr. Harold Begbie. No one +can read the book without being impressed by the sense of personal +insight which it reveals. But how few take in its main lesson, that +the Army is in every place going on, not only with the recovery but +with the development of broken men and women into more and more +capable and efficient servants and rescuers of their fellows. + +That this should be so is remarkable enough as applied to Westerners, +broken by evil habits and more or less surrounded by wreckage, but how +much more valuable when applied to the teeming populations of the +East! There in so many cases there is no past of criminality or even +of vice as we understand it to forget, but only an infancy of darkness +and ignorance as to Christ and the liberty He brings. + +Many of our best Indian Officers have been snatched from one form or +other of outrageous selfishness, but thousands of our people there are +gradually emerging from what is really the prolonged childhood of a +race to see and know how influential the light of God can make even +them amongst their fellows. Ten years ago in Japan a Salvationist +Officer was a strange if not an unknown phenomenon, but with every +increase of the Christian and Western influences in that country, +every capable witness to Christ becomes, quite apart from any effort +of his own, a much more noticed, consulted, and imitated example than +he was before. In Korea, after a couple of years' effort, we have seen +most striking results of our work, and have just sent, to work among +their own people, our first twenty married Koreans, after a +preliminary period of training for Officership. It is most difficult +to realize the revolution involved in the whole outlook on life to men +who have been looked upon as little more than serfs, without any +prospect of influence in their country. + +The same processes of inner and outer development which have made of +the unknown English workman or workwoman of twenty years ago, the +recognized servants of the community, welcomed everywhere by mayors +and magistrates to help in the service of the poor, will, out of the +clever Oriental, I believe, far more rapidly develop leaders in the +new line of Christian improvement in every sphere of life. It is +considerations such as these which make me say sometimes that the +danger in the Army is not in the direction of magnifying, but rather +of minimizing the influences that are carrying us upward and outward +in every part of the world. + +But in our own estimation there is another reason which perhaps equals +all these for calculating upon a wider development of the Army's +future influence. During the last twenty years we have been pressing +forward amongst a very large number of Church and missionary efforts. +Our speakers have notoriously been amongst the most unlearned and +ungrammatical, and therefore often despised, while so many thousands +of university men were preaching and writing of Christ. But no one now +disputes the fact that the old-fashioned proclamation of the doctrine +of Jesus Christ as a Divine Saviour of the lost has largely gone out +of fashion. The influence of the priest, of the clerk in holy orders, +of the minister, has been so largely undermined that candidates for +the ministry are becoming scarce in many Churches, just while we are +seeing them arise in steadily increasing numbers from among the very +people who know the Army and its work best, and who have most +carefully observed the demands of sacrifice and labour it makes upon +its leaders. + +One cannot but rejoice when one hears ever and anon of some conference +or congress at which various efforts are made to recover, at any rate, +the appearance of a forward movement in the Churches. But the most +serious fact of all, perhaps, is the mixture amongst these +Christianizing plans, whether in one country or another, of the +unbelieving leaven, so that it is possible for men to go forth as the +emissaries of Christianity who have ceased to believe in the Divine +nature of its Founder, and who look for success rather to schemes of +education and of social and temporal improvement than to that new +creation of man by God's power, wherein lies all our hope, as indeed +it must be the hope of every true servant of Christ. + +But I call attention to these facts not to reproach any Church. Far +from it. I simply desire to point out one reason for thinking +ourselves justified in anticipating for the Army a future influence +far beyond anything we have yet experienced. + +Recent 'defences' of Christian revelation have, in our view, been far +more seriously damaging than any attacks that have ever been made from +the hostile camp. In the hope--a vain hope--of conciliating +opposition, there has too often been a timid surrender of much that +can alone give authority to Christian testimony. If Jesus Christ was +not competent to decide the truth or untruth of the Divine revelation, +which He fully and constantly endorsed as such, how absurd it is to +suppose that any eulogies of His character can save Him from the just +contempt of all fearless thinkers, no matter to what nationality they +belong. + +The Army finds itself already, and every year seems more and more +likely to find itself, the only firm and unalterable witness to the +truth of Christ and of His redeeming work in many neighbourhoods and +districts, among them even some wide stretches of Christian territory. +And the times can only bring upon us, it seems to me, more and more +the scrutiny of all who wish to know whether the declarations of the +Scriptures as to God's work in men are or are not reliable. This, +then, however melancholy the reflection may be--and to me it is in +some aspects melancholy indeed--assures to us a future of far wider +importance and influence than any we have dreamed of in the past. + +Our strength, as your book eloquently shows, in dealing with the +deepest sunken, the forgotten, the outcasts of society, the pariahs +and lepers of modern life; has ever been our absolute certainty with +regard to Christ's love and power to help them. How much greater must +of necessity be the value and influence of our testimony where the +very existence of Christ and His salvation becomes a matter of doubt +and dispute! Here, at any rate, is one reason which leads me to +believe that the Salvation Army has before it a future of the highest +moment to the world. + +III + +In relation to other religious bodies, our position is marvellously +altered from the time when they nearly all, if not quite all, +denounced us. + +I do not think that any of the Churches in any part of the world do +this now, although no doubt individuals here and there are still +bitterly hostile to us. In the United States and in many of the +British Colonies the Churches welcome our help, and generally speak +well of our work; and even many Roman Catholic leaders, as well as +authorities of the Jewish faith, may be included in this statement. On +the Continent there are signs that they are slowly turning the same +way. + +Now, I confidently expect a steady extension of this feeling towards +us as the Churches come more and more to recognize that we not only do +not attack them, but that we are actually auxiliaries to their forces, +not only gaining our audiences and recruits from those who are outside +their ministrations, but even serving them by doing work for their +adherents which for a variety of reasons they find it very difficult, +if not impossible, to accomplish themselves. + +At the same time it would be a mistake to think that we have any +desire to adopt any of their methods or ceremonials. We keep +everywhere to our simple and non-ecclesiastical habits, and while we +certainly have some very significant and impressive ceremonials of our +own, the way our buildings are fitted, the style of our songs and +music, and the character of our prayers and public talking are +everywhere entirely distinctive, and are nowhere in any danger of +coming into serious competition with the worship adopted by the +Churches. + +Some of our leading Officers think that in one respect our relations +to the Churches, their pastors, and people are unsatisfactory. In the +United States it is customary for the clergy and leaders of every +Church to treat our leaders with the most manifest sympathy and +respect. But there is far too marked a contrast between that treatment +and that which we receive in many other countries. There are, of +course, splendid exceptions. Still few members of any Church are +willing to be seen in active association with us. + +I daresay this is very largely a question of class or caste, and I am +very far from making it a matter of complaint. We would, in fact, far +rather that our people should be regarded as outcasts, than that they +should be tempted to tone down the directness of their witness, or +that they should come under the influence of those uncertainties and +misgivings to which I have already made reference. Nevertheless, it is +certainly no wish of ours that there should remain any distance +between us and any true followers of Christ by whatever name they may +be called. And so we keep firmly, even where it may seem difficult or +impolitic to do so, to our original attitude of entire friendliness +with all those who name the Name of Christ. + +I give a few figures bearing upon the present extent of our +operations:-- + + Number of Countries and Colonies occupied by + the Salvation Army 56 + Languages in which the Work is carried on 33 + Corps, Circles, and Societies of Salvationists 8,768 + Number of persons wholly supported by and employed + in Salvation Army Work 21,390 + Of those, with Rank 16,220 + Without Rank 5,170 + Number of Training Colleges for Officers and + workers 35 + Providing accommodation for 1,866 + SOCIAL OPERATIONS.-- + Number of Institutions 954 + Number of Officers and Cadets employed 2,573 + Number of Local Officers, voluntary and unpaid 60,260 + NUMBER OF PERIODICALS 74 + These Periodicals are published in twenty-one languages, + and have a total circulation per issue of about one million + copies. + + + + +APPENDIX B + + +THE SALVATION ARMY'S ARTICLES OF WAR + + +HAVING received with all my heart the salvation offered to me by the +tender mercy of Jehovah, I do here and now publicly acknowledge God to +be my Father and King, Jesus Christ to be my Saviour, and the Holy +Spirit to be my Guide, Comforter, and Strength; and that I will, by +His help, love, serve, worship, and obey this glorious God through +time and through eternity, + +BELIEVING solemnly that the Salvation Army has been raised up by God, +and is sustained and directed by Him, I do here declare my full +determination, by God's help, to be a true Soldier of the Army till I +die. + + I am thoroughly convinced of the truth of the Army's + teaching. + + I believe that repentance towards God, faith in our Lord + Jesus Christ, and conversion by the Holy Spirit are + necessary to salvation, and that all men may be saved. + + I believe that we are saved by grace, through faith in our + Lord Jesus Christ, and he that believeth hath the witness of + it in himself. I have got it. Thank God! + + I believe that the Scriptures were given by inspiration of + God, and that they teach that not only does continuance in + the favour of God depend upon continued faith in and + obedience to Christ, but that it is possible for those who + have been truly converted to fall away and be eternally + lost. + + I believe that it is the privilege of all God's people to be + wholly sanctified, and that 'their whole spirit and soul and + body' may 'be preserved blameless unto the coming of our + Lord Jesus Christ,' That is to say, I believe that after + conversion there remain in the heart of the believer + inclinations to evil, or roots of bitterness, which, unless + overpowered by divine grace, produce actual sin; but these + evil tendencies can be entirely taken away by the Spirit of + God, and the whole heart, thus cleansed from anything + contrary to the will of God, or entirely sanctified, will + then produce the fruit of the Spirit only. And I believe + that persons thus entirely sanctified may, by the power of + God, be kept unblameable and unreprovable before Him. + + I believe in the immortality of the soul; in the + resurrection of the body; in the general judgment at the end + of the world; in the eternal happiness of the righteous; and + in the everlasting punishment of the wicked. + +THEREFORE, + + I do here and now, and for ever, renounce the world with all + its sinful pleasures, companionships, treasures, and + objects, and declare my full determination boldly to show + myself a soldier of Jesus Christ in all places and + companies, no matter what I may have to suffer, do, or lose, + by so doing. + + I do here and now declare that I will abstain from the use + of all intoxicating liquors, and from the habitual use of + opium, laudanum, morphia, and all other baneful drugs, + except when in illness such drugs shall be ordered for me by + a doctor. + + I do here and now declare that I will abstain from the use + of all low or profane language; from the taking of the name + of God in vain; and from all impurity, or from taking part + in any unclean conversation, or the reading of any obscene + book or paper at any time, in any company, or in any place. + + I do here declare that I will not allow myself in any + falsehood, deceit, misrepresentation, or dishonesty; neither + will I practise any fraudulent conduct in my business, my + home, nor in any other relation in which I may stand to my + fellow-men, but that I will deal truthfully, fairly, + honourably, and kindly with all those who may employ me, or + whom I may myself employ, + + I do here declare that I will never treat any woman, child, + or other person, whose life, comfort, or happiness may be + placed within my power, in an oppressive, cruel or cowardly + manner, but that I will protect such from evil and danger so + far as I can, and promote to the utmost of my ability their + present welfare and eternal salvation. + + I do here declare that I will spend all the time, strength, + money, and influence I can in supporting and carrying on + this war, and that I will endeavour to lead my family, + friends, neighbours, and all others whom I can influence, to + do the same, believing that the sure and only way to remedy + all the evils in the world is by bringing men to submit + themselves to the Government of the Lord Jesus Christ. + + I do here declare that I will always obey the lawful orders + of my Officers, and that I will carry out to the utmost of + my powers all the orders and regulations of the Army; and + further that I will be an example of faithfulness to its + principles, advance to the utmost of my ability its + operations, and never allow, where I can prevent it, any + injury to its interests, or hindrance to its success. + +AND + + I do here and now call upon all present to witness that I + enter into this undertaking, and sign these Articles of War + of my own free will, feeling that the love of Christ, who + died to save me, requires from me this devotion of my life + to His service for the salvation of the whole world, and + therefore wish now to be enrolled as a Soldier of the + Salvation Army. + + _Signed_........................................... + + _Image (full Christian and Surname)_ + + _Address_........................................ + + _Date_........................ _Corps_............. + + + +APPENDIX C + +COPY OF THE SALVATION ARMY BALANCE SHEET, EXTRACTED FROM THE +FORTY-THIRD ANNUAL STATEMENTS OF ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDING +SEPTEMBER 30, 1909. + +_Copies of this Balance Sheet with Statements of Account can be had +upon application. The Balance Sheet and Statements of Account for the +year ending September 30, 1910, will be posted from the press early +next year. The Balance Sheet of The Army's Social Fund can be obtained +from the Secretary._ + + +LIABILITIES + + DR. + L s. d. +TO LOANS UPON MORTGAGE, + including accrued Interest 540,277 3 11 + +" LOANS FOR FIXED PERIODS, + including accrued Interest 121,958 8 1 + +" RESERVE FUNDS, including + General and Special Reserves 176,143 15 1/2 + +" SUNDRY CREDITORS 10,359 3 2 + +" COLONIAL AND FOREIGN + TERRITORIES FUND 55,219 10 7 + +" SELF-DENIAL FUND + (Balance) 3,463 12 3 + + + ---------------- +Carried Forward L907,621 13 1/2 + + +ASSETS + + CR. + L s. d. L s. d. +BY FREEHOLD and LEASEHOLD + PROPERTY (at or below + cost) in the United + Kingdom, as on September + 30, 1908 1,066,923 16 2-1/2 +" Additions during the year 23,271 4 6 + -------------------- + 1,090,195 2 8-1/2 +" Freehold Estate in + Australia 10,375 3 6 + ----------------- 1,100,571 6 4-1/2 +" INVESTMENTS, including + Investment of Reserve + and Sinking Funds 196,412 9 2 +" FURNITURE and FITTINGS + at Headquarters, Officers' + Quarters, and + Training College, as on + September 30, 1908 5,412 16 1 +" Additions during the year 2,768 9 5-1/2 + --------------- + 8,181 5 6-1/2 + _Less_ Depreciation 2,433 19 9 + --------------- 5,748 5 9-1/2 + ----------------- +Carried forward L1,802,732 1 4 + + +BALANCE SHEET--_continued_ + +DR. + +Brought forward 907,621 13 0-1/2 + +To The Salvation Army Fund, + +as per last Balance Sheet 411,701 0 6-1/4 + +" Donations and Subscriptions + For Capital Purposes +(including building +Contributions, +L20,044 0s. 2d.) 37,044 6 2 + +" General Income and Expenditure + Account +(Balance) 1,309 17 8-1/2 + +---------------------------------------------------------------------- + + 450,064 18 4-1/2 + ----------------- + + L1,357,706 11 5 + +CR. + +Brought forward 1,302,732 1 4 + +By Loans + +" Trade Headquarters Fund 27,902 16 5 + +" Sundry Colonial and + Foreign Territories 8,606 16 0 + ------------ + + 34,506 12 5 + +" Sundry Debtors 18,360 10 4 + +" Cash at Bank 2,107 7 4 + + --------------- + L1,357,706 11 5 + +We have examined the above Statement with the Books, Accounts, and +Vouchers relating thereto, and certify the same to be correct. We have +also verified the Bank balances and Investments. + +KNOX, CROPPER & CO., + +_Chartered Accountants._ + +16 FINSBURY CIRCUS, E.C. + +_December_ 31, 1909. + + + + +APPENDIX D + +A FEW FIGURES SHOWING SOME OF THE WORK OF THE DARKEST ENGLAND SCHEME +IN THE UNITED KINGDOM. + + TO SEPTEMBER 30, 1909 DURING TOTAL TO + 1910 SEPT. 30, 1910 +Number of Meals supplied at + Cheap Food Depots 69,784,480 6,869,897 76,654,377 +Number of Cheap Lodgings for + the Homeless 27,850,674 2,445,300 30,295,974 +Number of Meetings held in + Shelters 140,747 8,660 149,407 +Number of Applications from + Unemployed registered at + Labour Bureaux 302,538 13,009 315,547 +Number received into Factories 63,694 6,754 70,448 +Number for whom Employment + (temporary or permanent) has + been found 249,453 20,210 269,663 +Number of Ex-Criminals received + into Homes 8,840 416 9,256 +Number of Ex-Criminals assisted, + restored to Friends, + sent to situations, etc. 7,886 1,166 9,052 +Number of Applications for Lost + Persons 44,001 2,120 46,121 +Number of Lost Persons found 13,710 398 14,108 +Number of Women and Girls + received into Rescue Homes 44,417 3,679 48,096 +Number of Women and Girls + received into Rescue Homes + who were sent to Situations, + restored to Friends, etc. 37,168 3,346 40,514 +Number of Families visited in + Slums 998,079 109,750 1,107,829 +Number of Families prayed with 577,550 64,141 641,691 +Number of Public-houses visited 630,021 33,188 663,209 +Number of Lodging-houses + visited 17,330 3,457 20,787 +Number of Lodging-house Meetings + held 7,319 1,792 9,111 +Number of Sick People visited + and nursed 93,233 21,912 115,145 + + + + +NOTES: + + +[1: See Appendix C] + +[2: The following extract from the recently issued 'Report of +the Commissioners of Prisons and the Directors of Convict Prisons,' +for the year ended March 31, 1910, Part I [Cd. 5360], published since +the above was written, sets out the present views of the Authorities +on this important matter:-- + + 'Out of the present inmates of convict prisons over 40 per + cent have been previously in penal servitude, viz. out of + 3,046 male convicts in convict prisons, 1,253 had been + previously sentenced to penal servitude, 672 once, 271 + twice, 196 three times, and 114 four times or more. Mr. + Secretary Churchill has referred to us the question whether, + and in what way, it would be possible to make any impression + on this roll of recidivism--this unyielding _corpus_ of + habitual crime. The problem is never absent from the minds + of those responsible for the administration of prisons and + the treatment of crime, and during recent years great + efforts have been made to improve the machinery of + assistance on discharge, fully impressed as we are with the + truth of the old French saying, "_Le difficile ce n'est pas + emprisoner un homme, c'est de le relacher_." We have tried + to avail ourselves fully of the resources offered by such + powerful agencies as the Church Army, Salvation Army, as + well as other societies who have for years operated in this + particular field of charitable effort. We recognize the + ready help given by all these agencies. No doubt by their + efforts many difficult and unpromising cases have been + rehabilitated; but after full consideration we have come to + the opinion that the task of rehabilitation in the case of + men returning to freedom after a sentence of penal servitude + is too difficult and too costly to be left entirely to + voluntary societies, unaided by any grant of public funds, + and working independently of each other at a problem where + unity of method and direction is above all things required. + Mr. Secretary Churchill, to whom these views have been + represented, at once agreed that the difficulty lay in this + question of discharge, and that the official authority, + acting in close and friendly co-operation with the voluntary + societies must take a more active part than hitherto in + controlling the passage into free life of a man emerging + from penal servitude. ... A plan is now under consideration + for establishing a Central Agency of Control for Discharged + Convicts, on which both the official and unofficial element + will be represented, with a subsidy from public funds, the + purpose of which will be to take in hand the guidance and + direction of every convict on the day of discharge' (pp. 15, + 16).] + +[3: See Parliamentary Blue Book [Cd. 2562].] + +[4: The scale of pay in the Salvation Array for Officers in charge of +Corps (or Stations) is as follows:--For Single Men: Lieutenants, 16s. +weekly; Captains, 18s. weekly. For Single Women: Lieutenants, 12s. +weekly; Captains, 15s. weekly. For Married Men, 27s. per week and 1s. +per week for each child under 7 years of age, and 2s. per week for +each child between the ages of 7 and 14. Furnished lodgings are +provided in addition.] + +[5: But the day before this proof came into my hands it was my duty to +help to try a case illustrative of these remarks. In that case a girl +when only just over the age of sixteen had been seduced by a young man +and borne a son. First the father admitted parentage and promised +marriage. Then he denied parentage, and, apparently without a shadow +of evidence, alleged that the child was the result of an incestuous +intercourse between its mother and a relative. At the trial, having, +it seemed, come to the conclusion that this wicked slander would not +enable him to escape an affiliation order, he again frankly admitted +his parentage. In the country districts, at any rate, such examples +are common.--H. R. H.] + +[6: The loss is being reduced annually, that for the financial year +which has just closed being the lowest on record.] + +[7: See Appendix A] + +[8: On this and other points see the Salvation Army's 'Articles of +War,' Appendix B.] + + + + +INDEX + + +Affiliation Orders, 91, 109-110. + +'Ann Fowler' Home, 166, 168. + +Anti-Suicide Bureau, 151-164. + +Ardenshaw Women's Home, Glasgow, 188. + +Argyll, Duchess of, 103. + +'Articles of War,' 257. + +Australia, 14, 83. + +Balance-sheet for 1909, 260-261. + +Barlow, Sir Thomas, 123. + +Barnardo, The late Dr., 71, 73, 233. + +Blackfriars Shelter, 41. + +Booth, General, 7, 10-12, 14-18, 57, 61, 63, 85, 97, 200-201, 206, + 208-217, 223. + +Booth, Mr. Bramwell, 218-225. + +Booth, Mrs. Bramwell, 87, 89, 91-93, 95, 144. + +Boxted Small Holdings, 69, 200-207. + +British Government, The, and Colonial Land Scheme, 82. + +Canada, 14, 82-86. + +Carrington, Earl, 206. + +Central Labour Bureau, 75. + +Chief of the Staff, The: see Mr. Bramwell Booth. + +Cox, Commissioner, 96, 98, 119, 120. + +Criminals in England, 61. + +Crossley, Mrs., 176. + +Drink, 37. + +Duke Street, Glasgow, 188. + +Edinburgh, 179. + +Embankment Soup Distribution, 22, 39, 40. + +Emigration Department, 80; + Emigration Board, 85. + +Employers' Liability Act, 38. + +Ex-Criminals, 54. + +First Offenders Act, 168. + +Free Breakfast Service, 41. + +Future of the Salvation Army, Notes on, 237. + +Glasgow, 165, 178-182, 192. + +Government Labour Bureaux, 75-76. + +Government Subsidy, 57. + +Great Peter St. Shelter, 33, 157. + +Great Titchfield St., 94, 140, 150. + +Hadleigh Land Colony, 76, 182, 184, 194, 198, 199. + +Hanbury St. Workshop, 65-70. + +Herring, The late Mr. George, 19, 200, 201, 207, 212. + +Hillsborough House Inebriates' Home, 98, 102, 122. + +Hollies,' 'The, 168, 169. + +Home Office, The, 55. + +Iliffe, Lieut.-Colonel, 204. + +Impressions of General Booth, 208. + +India, 23. + +Inebriates' Home, The, Springfield Lodge, 122. + +International Investigation Department, 77. + +Ivy House Maternity Hospital, 107. + +Java, 233. + +Jolliffe, Lieut.-Colonel, 41, 148, 185-186, 190-191. + +King Edward Hospital Fund, 201. + +Labour Bureau, Central, Whitechapel, 75; + Statistics, 76. + +Labour Party and Trade. + Unions, 65, 85-86. + +Lamb, Colonel, 81, 83-85. + +Lambert, Colonel, 115. + +Land Colony, Hadleigh, 194. + +Laudanum-drinking, 124, 183. + +Laurie, Lieut.-Colonel, 194-196. + +Laurier, Sir Wilfrid, 82. + +Liverpool, 165. + +London County Council, 129. + +London Maternity Home, 169. + +Lorne House, 103, 105. + +Manchester, 165; + Social Institutions, 172. + +Maternity Home, Lorne House, Stoke Newington, 103. + +Maternity Home, Brent House, Hackney, 105-106. + +Maternity Hospital, + Hackney, 105, 107; + Liverpool, 171. + +Maternity Hospital, New, required, 170. + +Men's Social Work, + Glasgow, 178; + London, 19, 65; + Manchester, 171. + +Middlesex Street Shelter, 19. + +Midnight Work, Social, 94. + +Needs, Our, 235. + +Nest,' 'The, Clapton, 112. + +Oakhill House, Manchester, 176. + +Old-Age Pensions Act, 130. + +Paris, 93. + +Parliamentary Committee of the Trade Unions, 65. + +Penitent Form, The, 46-48, 51, 230. + +Pentonville Prison, 56. + +Piccadilly Midnight Work, 140. + +Prevention of Cruelty to Children, Society for the, 233. + +Princess Louise, H.R.H., 103. + +Prison Act, The New, 63. + +Prison Reform, 62, 63 (note). + +Prison Visitation, 55, 188. + +Prisoners' Aid Society, 180. + +Quaker Street, 54. + +Religion of the Salvation Army, Note on the, 229. + +Rescue Home, The, 117. + +'Revivalism!' 49. + +Roosevelt, Mr. 214-215. + +'Rural England,' 10. + +Sacraments, The, 230. + +Salvation Army, Some Statistics of the, 9-10. + +Scale of pay, Officers', 90 (note). + +Scotland, 131, 179. + +Slum Settlement, The Hackney Road, 131. + +Slum Sisters, 88; + Some Statistics of their work, 131. + +Small Holdings, 200-207. + +Southwood, Sydenham, 126. + +Spa Road Elevator, 27, 46, 79. + +Sturge House, 71-74. + +Sturgess, Commissioner, 19, 36, 47, 54, 55, 57, 186. + +Sweating, Charges of, refuted, 28, 66, 120-121. + +Titchfield Street Home, The, 140, 145, 150. + +Trade Unions and rate of Wages, 15-16. + +Training Institute for Women Social Workers, The, 115. + +Unsworth, Colonel, 155, 157, 160, 164. + +Vegetarianism, 99, 113-114. + +Visitation of prisoners by Salvation Army Officers, 55-56. + +Wandsworth Prison, 56. + +Waste Paper Department, + Spa Road, 27, 31, 52; + Manchester, 172; + Glasgow, 180. + +White Slave Traffic, 87, 93. + +Whitechapel, 72, 75, 95, 132, 142. + +Women's Industrial Home, Hackney, 119; + Sydenham, 126. + +Women's Shelter, 129. + +Women's Social Work, London, 87; + Headquarters, 96. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Regeneration, by H. 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