The record-union., 1892-02-10

be reclaimed inside of twenty years.
Three years have not yet passed since
this General of the Salvation Amy be-
gan his new work, and already he has
achieved such success as to bring him the
voluntary congratulations of all the Off
Eight new shelters" for men have
been established-they are really cleanly
lodging-houses, giving good accommoda
tions to the homeless and out of work, for
four cents night. There are three new
Poor Mans Metropolis" superior lodg-
ing-houses for workingmen with jobs,
but with no homes, at from eight to
ten cents night. In each of these two
classes spotless cleanliness is the unal-
terable law. Baths, lavatories, laundries
and other means to it are plentiful and
free; but light, air and cleanliness must
prevail. Eight new GOOD Depots" have
been put in operation, where the outcast
gets far more food for two or four cents
than he can anywhere else.
But these are only the lesser parts Of
of shelter and food, unless employment
is furnished; so two Labor Bureaus were
set up and work secured for all fit for it.
Those needing to be physically restored
before being put to work called for
series of "W orkshops'' and Labor
Factories,' - and these have been supplied.
In them the demoralized are taken for
supervision, and put to work at such
tasks as will gradually tone them up
physically and morally. At first they
are merely subsisted as they gain their
feet they begin to receive small COM
pensation, and soon, as rule, are able to
pay for their food and shelter.
These establishments are called "Ele-
vators'-certainly very appropriate
name. What has been achieved in them
DR.. Shaw pronounces remarkable" For
women, besides shelters, food depots and
elevators, there are help and inquiry
offices, servants registry offices, rescue
homes, book binderies, a knitting and
match factory, and so on. There are more
than twenty 'Slum Officers Posts;" points
from which Booths soldiers go out and
visit in the darkest corners of London,
searching out the poor having enough of
hope left to accept aid, picking up street
waits, etc. Altogether there are now
seventy-five district centers in London
working under the Darkest England"
scheme, and twenty-five or thirty in
provincial towns.
But this 'City Colony'' work is not
all; interlocked with it is the second
phase of the scheme, 1.-THE Farm Colony"
This contemplates for those adapted re-
moval from the city to the country. The
first of the farm colonies is at Had
leigh, in Essex, down the Thames, and
occupies 1000 acres of superior land.
Here the sifted and selected aided find
health, strength, independence and man
illness, and finally by natural processes
helpfulness in the communities.
The cover the Sea Colony'' is the third
and last branch of the scheme. 1t con-
templates shipment to desirable points
on the African coasts, or to Australia, or
wherever the colonists will be accepted,
of groups elevated" to self helpfulness
! nd ~ +n ,,l
maintain colonies. More offers have al
ready been made to receive these colonies
than the army could fill in a very long
! time, but as yet no selections have been
made, and no ''over sea- colony has been
prepared.
] Though thus far only el01, 500 have
been received for the Darkest England'
scheme, yet so well has the plan been
worked that every Shelter" ''shop''
and ''home" has been filled constantly,
and yet e26, 600 remain and are invested
in Government stocks, while nearly
965,000 are in real estate, farm prop
erty, furniture, machinery and tools.
This is all due to the marvellous effici-
ency, economy, devotion and fitness of
the army soldiers chosen to the work,
which DIR. Shaw declares, after personal
inspection, to surpass anything of the
kind in all the social economy of organi-
zation and philanthropy in the world.
1t appears that Booth never contem-
plated that the Rescue Homes (for un-
fortunate girls. of which there are six
| teen in London, nor the Criminals
Homes," or the 'Prison Gate Homes
would ever be self-supporting; but he has
found the Metropolis to yield profit
sufficient to nearly meet the deficits in
these other institutions. We cannot GO
into the statistics of the schemes accom-
plishments for 1891; it is too extended and
the totals too large to be treated and ex-
planned now. 1t is enough to say that
| thus far the Darkest England" scheme
is a success, and that we can well agree
with DR.. Shaw that whatever else may be
said Of the Salvation Army, its capacity
for work among the poor and wretched
has never been equaled or approached.
THE execution of McIlvaine by cleo
tricity was painless and successful in
every detail. But there are journals
which insist that hanging is less repul-
sive method. Thus the San Francisco
Chronicle, which appears to have consti-
tuted itself an objector to progress on all