The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-10-22
THE SALVATIONIST EXPLAINS HER
MISSION TO THE CLAIMING
AUXILIARY.
TELLS OF ROUGH DIAMONDS.
ASTONISHING LAST REQUEST OF A
MURDERER - CAMPAIGN
AGAINST SIN.

before Cne CnanHlLS auAIlldTy III the par
lors OF DR.. Stebbins' church. The rooms
were filled with elegantly dressed women
who had come to hear something about
the Salvation Army, its work in the slums,
and the roughs and toughs with whom, up
to the present, its work has been most
concerned. 1t was like a message from
another world to most of the fashionable
women to listen to Mrs. Booth telling her
experiences among people against whom
they would hesitate to brush their silken
skirts in the street.
The speaker began by assuring her hear
ers that much latent good lay in even the
most british of these outcastS. She mar
rated an experience that was evidently
personal of a ruffian who had slain another
man in drunken brawl and who was con-
demned to death. He was callous to all
emotion, till woman managed to reach
his better feelings and he repented, osten-
Sibly at least.
'They offered to grant him last re-
quest before he died." said Mrs. Booth.
II expected he would ask for some deli
cacy to eat, something to CRAFTY his
animal nature; but what he said was, Il
should like to put my little baby to sleep
once more; and they brought the little
child to his cell. He rocked it to sleep be-
fore going to the gallows.
when you see father love such as this
existing in brutal criminal it should
surely show you that there is something
OF the divine existing in the man. could
tell you wonderful and romantic stories
about our saloon experiences. for in New
York we hold as many services in the
saloons as in the barracks, and many
drunken waits have been brought back to
honesty and responsibility through this
hrnrl nh OE bn zNpl- 10.
army can show some practical, tangible
results that people all over the country are
beginning to take an interest In it..
Mrs. Booth gave a general sketch of the
army system, showing how the soldiers
are self-supporting, how the officers have
their own little homes and how the bar
racks is not, as is often supposed, a dwell
ing house for the saivationists, but merely
place for holding services-a church so
to speak. Each dollar spent is accounted
for and each corps is generally self-sup-
porting. 1--WE do not go about merely
arousing people to repentance and then
leaving them. Where we plant our flag
we plant 1t to stay. In the slums our
officers win their way by their work, by
nursing and feeding and scrubbing in the
tilthiest tenement-houses. We have some
method in our madness in the Salvation
Army. Money is earned for necessary ex
penses, but from the commander-in-
down to the smallest officer lives of pow
ertv are lived for the worlds sake. Our
difficulty is to make the officers accept
enough for their necessities"
The apparent sensationalism of Saliva
ton Army methods was explained by say
ing that it had been thought wise to learn
a lesson from the plays, the variety shows
that interested the multitude. "People
will flock to hear something new, some
thing exciting, and is religion always to be
dead2 Music. for instance, belongs to the
Lord, not to the devil; that is why we take
the latest popular songs, things that catch
the ear, and adopt eevating words to
them. You would be surprised to find
that some of the people who are the most
cultured and have the most of this world s
goods ,have strayed into our halls and
have been carried away by our music"
A touching description was given of the
"hopeiess, homeless outcastS" in the Bow
cry, and Mrs. Booth described, in power
full words, the awful condition of filth and
misery In which some of these poor
wretches exist. 81 do not believe in pub.
fishing the seamy side of things, but
think it as well to let those who know
nothing about it have some idea of the real
condition of things occasionally" and the
eloquent salvationist certainly gave the
fashionable women before her no excuse
for languishing any longer in ignorance.
One story alone, about an unfortunate
CIippiS, " dOSO pOo ufiu iloI Doeli hlduo IoI
three years, was sufficient in itself to arouse
the desire to take soap and water into the
slums.
The rescueswork was described the sal
vationist reminding her wealthy sisters
that the good and pure of her own sex are
not generally the ones willing to extend a
helping hand to a fallen woman. 'But
my opinion of rescue work is that if an i'm
pure woman is ever to be reached and
touched 1t Is by pure woman"
The lecture concluded with an account
of the Salvation Army Auxiliary League,
which those present were invited to join.
Mrs. Booth afterward took drive out to
the Cliff to visit Mayor Sutro.