Story of the Salvation Army Told by Its Founder
MlHtl KEIUEIA 1 VIHll 10 mis my OI
I I the venerable, but Btlll energetic,
I t - m it. ni ' . .
icauer ui me oaivauuu aiiii,
with Commander Booth-Tucker
and the members of his staff, has
stimulated public Intrrest In this grand old
man of the uniformed evangelists. General
Booth Is one of the men of the day, a lrader
of men and a unique and interesting figure.
While" In Omaha the general explained
how the name "Salvation Army" came to
be used. At the time when the army was
first assuming form in his mind and to the
others working with him, there was a great
Interest In the forming of volunteer corps
In London. It was the custom of General
Booth to print large posters announcing
his meetings with catch lines to attract the
attention of the public. One of his com
patriots had written out a copy for one of
these posters which he showed to Mr. Booth
for his approval. The head line, making
use of the volunteer popularity, read, "A
volunteer army for Christ." The General
looked It over and then, running his pencil
through the word "volunteer," substituted
"salvation." The author of the poster liked
the change; Mrs. Booth liked it; the gen
eral liked It. And from that time the
rapidly growing missionary organization
was called the "Salvation Army."
"In the beginning," Bald the general, "we
had no Idea of having a military organiza
tion. That was gradually adopted as the
growth of the work made It necessary. I
knew that organization was essential for
any permanent good. It Is a mistake to
suppose that we have taken the military
as a model. We have never taken anything
as a model no church, no chapel, no army.
In fact the title 'captain' was, In the
first instance, Intended to be nautical rather
than military, and was meant to catch the
eye of the Whitby fishermen; the subse
quent addition of the other military titles
was a matter of necessity. It became es
sential to define the position of the as
sistant evangelist, and what more conven
ient term could be found than that of lieu
tenant? Elders and class leaders were no
more and some substitute was necessary.
Sergeants and sergeant majors just met the
difficulty.
"The rapid increase of the work made it
advisable to group the stations into dis
tricts, under the charge of the most ex
perienced evangelist. A distinguishing title
again became a necessity. The clerical cata
logue had been abandoned as unsuitable.
Hence it appeared advisable once more to
have recourse to military phraseology, and
the major and colonel were accordingly in
troduced. As to my title well. It also
came as natural as the rest. I had up to
then been plain William Booth, general su
perintendent of the mission. Captain Cad
man one day announced me at a meeting as
the general of the Salvation Army. It has
stuck to me ever since. I never took the
title. It was forced upon me by others in
exactly the same way that Christians were
first so called at Antloch. The stations re-
- )
v
: (
I S
. , i
COMMANDER BOOTH-TUCKER, IN CHARGE OP THE AMERICAN
FORCES OF THE SALVATION ARMY Photo by a Staff Artist.
celved the name 'corps,' and In 1878 the
first flag was presented."
It was a long struggle for General Booth
before he finally reached a position where
he could see his way to success in the work
which he had chosen to do. At the very
beginning of his desire to enter the min
istry he suffered a nearly fatal illness.
After a slow recovery he went to see the
old family physician, who Bald:
"The life of a Methodist minister will
cut short your career, if you try to take
it up, and you will shortly be before a
tribunal where you will answer for com
mitting suicide."
But the impulse was too strong to be
resisted, and the general went ahead. His
first efforts, however, among the lowly
must have been rather discouraging to him
self, and many a less determined' person
would have probably decided to let existing
conditions remain. The young fellow had
become interested in the work of a Wcs
leyan chapel at Nottingham. With a party
of earnest young men he set out to work
the highways. Open-air meetings were
held and processions led down the Goose
gate, with the result that the chapel
soon began to fill up with a motley crowd
of tatterdemalions. Booth and his co
workers were enthusiastic, but one day the
good old preacher of the chapel, with a
worried look on his face, drew the ener
getic young man aside.
"I wanted to ask you, Mr. Booth I know
you won't take offenBO at this It you and
the other young brothers couldn't manage
to bring your people in at the back door
at chapel and Beat them in the rear, where
they won't be so noticeable to the er
more respectable members of the congre
gallon?"
He first allied himself with the Wes
Icyans, but found that he was not very
welcome and could not work along the
lines he wished. The reformers were In
too unstable and divided a condition, on
the other hand, to appeal to Booth, awith
his high sense of organization. lie also
had some thoughts of joining the Congre
Rationalists, but finally decided upon Inde
pendent work. Later on he became the
preacher of a small Reformed chapel in
London, at a stipend of $250 a year.
Shortly before this Mr. Booth met Miss
Catherine Mumford, who later became his
wife. The first meeting occurred at a
gathering where an enthusiastic, but un
wise partisan, forced the general to recite,
among a party which did not number many
temperance advocates, a poem called the
"Grogseller's Dream." In the heated dis
cussion which followed, Miss Mumford
championed the general so strongly that a
mutual admiration sprang up. A wedding
did not follow for a long period of diffi
culty and indecision, during which the
general was once reduced to a 12-cent
piece, which he characteristically gave to
an invalid girl.
General Booth Is in reality entitled to be
culled general, and Is, strictly speaking,
a general of the British empire. It is an
unwritten law that whoever the sovereign
addresses by a military title is, of neces
sity, of that rank. The queen once sent
a message to the head of the Salvation
Army, addressing him as general.
The use of popular alra by the Salvation
army, set to words calculated to arouse
religious fervor, was a startling Innovation.
It is Bald that the practice began in Eng
land a number of years ago In this man
ner: Captain Baugh wrote some verses
which seemed to fit the tune of "Cham
pagne Charley" better than any other. The
matter was brought to the attention of
the general, but he was dubious of the
effect of using a tune which bad had such
associations, and finally vetoed its use. At
a meeting shortly after, a song was called
for, and some person struck up this new
song. Enthusiasm was roused. General
Booth was pleased.
"Why, that is a pleasing tune. What is It?"
"That Is Baugh's new song, set to 'Cham
pagne Charley,' " was the reply.
"Well," said Booth, "we want all of
that kind we can get."
It is related of the general that In the
old days he was trying to impress upon his
small son the fact that God takes care of
all his creatures, and that not a sparrow
falls without his knowledge. Seeing a
crane wandering In the shallow water
searching for food, he drew the chllds at
tention to the bird's perfect adaptation to
Its manner of life; 119 long legs for wading,
the long bill, and the noiseless manner of
putting the feet In the water.
"We cannot," he said, "look at the crane
but we see God's design and love Illus
trated." "Yes," replied the little boy, "I see his
goodness as far as the crane Is concerned,
but how about the fishes?"
The general was at fault this once for
a fitting reply.
Commander Booth-Tucker was, before
joining the army, a magistrate In the In
dian civil service. Ills connection with
the Salvationists was brought about lu this
manner: Some ono sent a copy of the
"War Cry" to Australia to a friend, who,
In turn, enclosed it to Calcutta, from which
latter place It finally came Into the hands
of Magistrate Tucker, wrapped about some
thing sent from the market. Mr. Tucker
happened to pick up the sheet and Imme
diately became Interested. Ho had never
heard cf the army before. He finally re
signed from the civil list and went to
England to join the general. Later he re
turned to India, with others, to start tho
campaign In the empire.
Commander Booth-Tucker (he assumed
the name of Booth at the tlnio of his
marriage with the daughter of the general)
was the originator of the system of work
In India, by which the Salvationist officers
wear the native costumes. The com
mander, himself, has walked barefooted
through the land where he was formerly
a member of the ruling class. The com
mander's first visit to this country was
marred by an unfortunate Incident. Dis
guised, he visited a number of low lodging
places to find out their actual condition.
For some reason, the police became bub.
plclous of him and he was arrested. Steve
Brody, the bridge jumper, went his bond,
and be wu discharged In court. This
was In 1896, when he came to take charge
of the American Salvation army.
Tbi commander has a quiet wit. One
dry someone asked him why a small fault
In a gospel teacher attracted more notice
than a large transgression on the part of a
bad man.
"For the same reason, I suppose," he re
plied, "that a slight stain on a white cloth
is more noticeable than larger on on a
colored cloth."
He was once advising a drunkard In the
Whltechapel slums to leave off drinking.
"But how can I do this?" asked the sot.
"You can stop as easy as opening your
hand."
"If you can prove that to me, I will do
what you say."
"Then," said the commander, "whenever
you find a glass of liquor in your hand, open
your hand before the glass reaches your
lips, and you will never drink again."
It is said that the drunkard kept his word
and reformed.
Mirthful Gleams from Solemn Courts
Four Good Short Stories
PJ-lOVERNOR PENNYPACKER of
I iw I Pennsylvania Is an unusually
L I trme T aHn i ti 1 (3 rfiul ooli ill n r T-0 .
()UUU , hi van au v. 1 l . ll"ll , -
lates the Washington Times, anil
while presiding judge of the
common pleas court of Philadelphia an
office that he resigned cn his nomination for
the governorship he would occasionally
point some remark with an apt quotation
from the classics.
One day he did this in ruling out a ques
tion, whereupon the lawyer whose case had
suffered from the ruling, said petulantly.
"Talk English, your honor. I never was a
schoolmaster."
"Nor a pupil either, perhaps?" the judge
suggested quietly.
While a jury was being Impanelled in cir
cuit court In Washington, D. C, recently,
one of the talesmen asked to be excused
from serving on the ground that he suf
fered from deafness.
"Can you hear what I am saying?" Chief
Justice Bingham of the supreme court of
the District of Columbia, who was on the
bench, softly Inquired.
"Yes, sir," promptly replied the citizen.
"How does the deafness affect you, then?"
the chief justice desired to know.
"Why, your honor," the citizen explained,
"I can't hear at all with my left ear."
The chief justice smiled. "I suppose," he
said, after a pause, "that under the cir
cumstances you would be able to bear only
one side of a case."
The talesman was excused.
In an Iowa case brought against a dead
man, and so entltld by an attorney who
was apparently absent-minded, the follow
ing motion was filed, as we learn from the
Davenport Republican:
"Defendant's motion to dismiss.
"In the district court In and for county.
"Claus Knutson Morvke against Knuteson
Sofjord, deceased.
"Behold!!! Now doth appear the shades
of Knuteson Sofjord, deceased, and dis
daining to be sworn after the manner of
men but with all the solemnity of those
long dead objects to the jurisdiction of th'.s
court.
First For the reason that it appears
from the record that he is a nonresident of
Jowa and a resident of Elysium and this
court will take Judicial knowledge that no
lawyers are allowed In that domain and he
is thus deprived of the ability to defend in
this action.
Second The suing of a dead man is a
cruel and unusual mode of punishment un
known to theology and forbidden by the
constitution of the United States.
Third Defendant admits that the notice
of this action (which was by publication)
reached him and, on account of the uni
versal and uniform purity of newspapers
and their editors they are always received
in the land of the blest, but shows to the
court that no officer of the court can be
admitted to enforce any judgment that may
be rendered against him.
Therefore he prays that he be protected
in his grave from the persecutions of law
yers and be allowed to rest in peace.
The following letter is from a recently
elected Justice of the peace to another
Justice of experience:
"H , Tex.. Dec. 4, 1902. Friend S :
Please write under what statute to bring
a suit for damages where there is a contract
for money rent to cultivate land only and
the renter uses the field to pasture stock
for third parties for a consideration, against
the consent of the owner of the land. Is it
a suit on the contract or in trespass to try
title? Also, the law governing the eject
ment of a tenant when time is up. Your
friend, P D ."
"P. 8. When I refer to the statutes 1
find so blamed much law I get puzzled.
"P D ."
George Harding, the eminent patent at
torney, who died a few days ago in Phila
delphia at the age of 75, was a man or vast
determination. He had been accustomed
for many years to pass his summers in
the Catsklll mountains. One morning about
twenty years ago, while at a hotel there,
he expressed dissatisfaction with his
breakfast. The manager was in bad hu
mor and replied: "If you don't like the
service at this hotel, Mr. Harding, you
had better build a hotel of your own." To
this Mr. Harding promptly replied, "I
will," and he did, the result being that
before long the bumptious manager found
himself out of a job.
At a circuit court in a provincial county
town, relates London Answers, a young
countrywoman was under examination.
"Now, my good girl," Bald the advocate,
"you say you were near the spot when the
prisoner at the bar committed the act. Was
anyone with you at the time?"
"Ylss, ylss, my lord ant atvocate, my
sweetheart was wis me."
"Courting, I suppose?" was again asked.
"Is he here? We want corroborative evi
dence." "Ylss, my atvocate ant lord, ahust oot
slde." "We had better call him :nt- court," bore
remarked the Judge.
"No. no, my lord!" cried the witness.
"Gootnessh, no! I can hartly get h'-n to
court me wLen we're sloac, ant I'm sure
he won't court me here afore you all."
The prospective Juror was under exam
ination by the attorney for the defense, re
ports the Record-Herald.
"Have you expressed an opinion on the
merits of this case?"
"No, sir."
"Have you formed such an opinion?"
"No, sir."
"Have you read of the case?"
"No, sir."
"Do you know anyone who has formed an
opinion?"
"Well, I can't Just say as to that."
"Ah! now we're beginning to get down to
interesting facts. You think it possible
that you may know such a person?"
"I think it probable."
"Yes, yes, of course. And do you know
anyone who has read about the case?"
"I know a man who has a cousin who
works on a newspaper and reads nearly
everything."
"Ha, then you have some connection with
a man who presumably has read about the
case and formed an opinion? We'll get at
the whole truth presently. Now, sir, do
you know the prosecuting witness or any
of his lawyers?"
"No, sir."
"Do you know anyone who does know
them?"
"We ell "
"Speak up! Speak up,! Don't try to con
ceal anything."
"Well, I know a man whose wife's brother
once worked for the father of one of the
lawyers."
"Challenged for cause!" cried the attor
ney for the defense, triumphantly.
M
iAJOR SHATTUCK of the Signal
corps tells an amusing story of
an old-time "religious revival"
lv- meeting in a negro church near
' Savannah. That the revival spirit
might be quickened, it was arranged that
the preacher should give a signal when he
thought the excitement was highest, and
from the attic through a hole cut in the
ceiling directly over the pulpit the sexton
was to shove a pure white dove,, whose
flight around the church and over the heads
of the audience was expected to have an
inspiring effect, and, as far as emotional
excitement was concerned, to cap the cli
max. All went well at the start; the church
was packed; the preacher's text was, "In
the form of a dove," and as he piled up
his eloquent periods the excitement was
strong. Then the opportune moment ar
rivedthe signal was given and the packed
audience was scared out of its wits on look
ing up to the celling and beholding a cat,
with a clothesline around its middle, yowl
ing and spitting, being lowered over the
preacher's head. The preacher called to the
sexton in the attic: "Whar'a de dove?"
And the sexton's voice came down through
the opening so you could hear it a block:
"Inside the cat!"
Shortly after the adoption of the codo
In South Dakota and before local counsel
understood its working, reports the New
York Times, a young lawyer of New York
City went there and began to practice.
Sharp as a brier and being well versed
In the nicety of code pleading, he made
both bench and bar look like the proverbial
30 cents. Opposing counsel didn't mind
being beaten so much aa they did having
to take his impudence, They finally pinned
their faith to the well known ability of
Justice Brewer of the United States su
preme court to repress the ardor of fresh
counsel.
"Walt," said they; "he'll trim that
moukey."
The justice came on circuit. The young
ster appeared before him and was even
more offensive than he had been to the
local judges. But the smiles which his
brethern in the law had stored up for the
occasion were useless. He escaped unre
buked. The evening before Justice Brewer's de
parture an old and Influential lawyer in
vited a few members of the bar to meet
him at dinner. During the course of the
repast the host ventured to ask the jus
tice why he had allowed the young attor
ney such wide latitude.
"Let me tell you a story," said his
honor. "One beautiful, cloudless night the
moon rose in all her effulgent beauty and
attracted the attention of a cur dog. Tho
dog barked and barked at her."
Then came a pause and the Justice con
tinued to eat bis dinner.
Finally the host said: "Well, Justice
Brewer, what then?"
"Oh," said the Justice, "the moon went
right on."
Ex-Speaker Reed loved his Joke as dearly
in later days as ever he did In the times
when he was mi much In the public eye In
Washington, repcrts the New York Times.
It Is related that one day he met
a friend from a small town In the interior,
where In rapid succession the cashier of tti
principal bank had been fouul a defaulter,
a leading business man had failed dishon
orably and been Imprisoned and the county
clerk (living there) had been convicted of
misappropriating public funds.
Mr. Reed greeted his friend very effu
sively, shaking his hand h srtlly and say
ing how pleased he was to see him. The
friend, somewhat surprised at the extraor
dinary heartiness, said:
"Mighty glad to Bee YOU, Reed, but why
all this er ?"
"Why, because," replied Mr. Reed, "I'm
so very glad to see a man from X who Is
out of jail!" .
It is related that a general officer of the
British army In the Sudan who was In
specting a post on the line of communica
tions duly arrived one day at a lit t lo hut
which represented the headquarters of the
army in some wind-swept hole. He entered
and looking around espied an office table
and two trays, one full of papers. Inter
ested, he read the label attached to each.
The empty one was ticketed "Business" and
the other "Bosh." "Excellent officer."
purred the visitor; "thoroughly under
stands his work." But when he went fur
ther and proceeded to examine the papers
in the "bosh" tray his feelings may bo
better Imagined thm dscrihtd on finding
the documents consisted exclusively of his
own voluminous orders and memoranda.