The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1896-03-09
The New Organization Fires Its
First Gun.
Darlington Booth Leads Off s.
900 Soldiers
FROM THE OLD ARMY.
Cooper Union Was Packed at
First Rally.
Booth Does Not Want War,
Must Have Peace.

NEW YORK, March 9.-The inaug-
ural step made by Ballington Booth,
the deposed commander of the Saliva
ticn Army in AmericH, in rival or
ganization on lines similar to the one
from whose command he has been re-
lieved, met success last night. Cooper
Union was the scene where the first
gun was fred, the echo of which
thrilled the hearts of 5000 loyal SOL
diers, who, since the commencement
of the international strife which has
sundered Ba1lingten Booths ale
glance to his father, General Booth of
London, have remained loyal to the
deposed commander and his wife,
Maud Booth. Every seat in the big
auditorium was crowded. The alsles
were crowded and the streets outside
were thronged-
The women wore the regular Saliva
ton army emblem, but the poke hat
was absent. The men, too, had their
badges, but wore no red jackets.
Shortly after o'clock, and before the
vast audience had time to be seated,
Captain Schneider of the Bowery
corps, sprang on chair on the plat
form and waved an American flag
with a painting of George Washing
ton. The audience cbeered Justify as
they sprang to their feet and the ut
most enthusiasm prevailed. Order
had scarcely been restored when
Major Peter Glen, who was among the
first of the officers to tender his resig-
nation after Eva G. Booth had taken
command, appeared on the platform
waving an American flag and placed
a life-size crayon painting of George
Washington on an easel in front of the
speakers table. This was the signal
for renewed outbursts of applause.
1t was only when Ballington Booth
and his wife arrived from their Mont
clair home that the audience lost con-
troll of itself. Their presence on the
platform was the signal for an out
burst of enthusiasm such as had never
before been Witnessed in Cooper
Union.
There was some music and consld-
era bic singing and the customary re-
lig1ous invocations, after which Bal
lington Booth rose and said:
Mrs. Booth and myself have not
come here tonight to allude to the re-
cent sad trouble. It is quite true we
have, after mature deliberation, de-
cided to inaugurate a new movement.
Could we have avoided it, 1t would
most assuredly have been done on our
part; but. recognizing the great AmeS-
lean people believed that we had done
a work nine years, for which they
were gra tified, and would not listen to
private 1ife-recognizing, as we did,
the largest field in the world, and still
further recognizing that there was
room in America for one, two, aye, 100
Salvation armies, we have resolved, to
the best of our ability, to win over the
middle classes of the artisan com
munity of this country. We wish no
strife with the Salvation armY-no
strife, either literal or verbal.
There is at least 40 per cent of the
wage earning populace of the com
munity who are not identified with
any church or place of religious wor-
ship.
''It is them we want to reach, and
extend to them the love that inspired
the Nazarene on the streets of Jerusa-
lem nearly 1900 years ago
ooh! how much hateology and how
little Neurology there is to-day. Mrs
Booth and myself have, within the
last few days, been reading the his
tory of that great American soldier,
George Washington, whose portrait
stands on this platform tonight. We
thought of him and his goodness of
heart and love for Christ as he turned
away for a moment from the frightfu1
scenes of Valley Forge and repaired
to the woods, where he lknelt in prayer
to the God of his country.
''Whatever be the mission we under
take, it will bear the right stamp, and
will be directed in the right direc-
tion."