The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-03-11
CHURCH AND sALvATIoNIsTs.

CHURCH AND SALvATIONISTS.
Ballington Booth has held the first
meeting to inaugurate his new Saliva
ton Army. 1t would have been better
for him to have obeyed his father, his
superior commander, if he could, but
he SAYS that his removal was not in the
form where he could accede TO it with
out sacrificing his own beliefs and
ideas. In that case it was his duty To
himself TO retire.
His new army will succeed in the
United States, not as the Salvation
Army, but as Ballington Booths Army.
The wonderful organization as a whole
will be injured.
1t is interesting TO note the attitude
the sectarian press have taken as re-
CARDS Burlington Booth. Their utter
ances are not favorable to him. The
New. York Churchman says:
Much needless sympathy has been
expended upon the American leaders
of the Salvation Army. The difficult
ties which have recently arisen are
evidently a family quarrel. and moth
ing more. But there is mutiny. And
mutiny and characterization are as I'M
seemly among those who play at SOL
diers as in real army Of blue or red
coats. Mr.. Darlington Booth took COM
mand of the army in the United States
with very full understanding that he
must obey the orders of his general
And just as Francis Xavier was sent
first to India, then TO Japan, and lastly
to China at the command of his gen
eral,' so il would have been consistent
with the law of obedience if Mr.. Bal
lington Booth had obeyed the COM
mands of his general when called
upon to resign his work in America.
1t was his duty 10 submit to the COM
mand of his superior officer with
out question or dispute; and to hest
tate and demur. and still more to re-
sist, strikes at the very root of one
of the fundamental principles of the
organization to which he belongs. 1t
is difficult to understand how so many
excellent citizens have found it con-
sistent with their sense of right and
wrong to support Mr.. Ballington Booth
and his wife in their determination to
call in question the judgment and
authority of one who occupies toward
his subordinates the position of pope
and in the present instance stands in
the relationship of father to the indi-
viduals who question his authority"
This can be answered by the state
ment that the reason the American
people encouraged Ballington Booth in
his organization Of a new army was
because they understood that Balling-
ton Booth and his wife had been re-
moved because of their fidelity to
America and opposition to English
methods. America is American in all
things, and will always stand for Amer
lea as against every other county in
matters of religious ceremony as in
everything else.
The Methodist organ, the New York
Christian Advocate is no more lenient
with Ballington Booth than the New
York Churchman. The Christian Adj
vOcate says:
mo man IS compelled to join the
Salvation Army. All who belong to
it Joined it voluntarily; every intelli-
gent person who gave a dollar to it
gave il with the knowledge that Cen
eral Booth, from London, moves the
whole concern according to his own
will The Salvation Army will go to
pieces the moment it loses its auto
cratic head. 1t will go to pieces grad
ually or rapidly when General Booth
dies, unless he has provided for the
emergency. Being an Institution with
out sacraments, and therefore not a
church, ii is simply and solely a mill
tary organization devoted to getting
people TO become Christians and, as
far as possible, workers in the army.
L is on the principle of Ignatius 10y
ola, and II owes its glory TO autocracy
and obedience. We have never attach
ed as much Importance to the work of
the army as many persons in this
country who know nothing about the
work done by Baptists, Methodists and
similar denominations; but we have
felt sufficiently interested in il TO recog-
nize all the good it actually does, have
made a study of its organization. and
are satisfied that a failure 10 remove
Ballington Booth-who has remained
here longer than any other command
er OF his grade has remained in any
place, except his sister, the marshal,
who stayed longer in France because
she could speak French-wOuld in the
end have destroyed the morals of the
army"