Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1896-10-01
THE SALVATION ARMY.
story About General Booth from ,
Former Resident of Iordo,,

from
former Resident of London.
The present trouble in the Salvation
Army has recalled some incidents
showing how the infieXiblc, not to sov
cruel discipline in the rank and file
OF the army. ana the extreme hard
ships undergone, especially by the
newer members. Not many of thes.
stories get into print, for the rev con.
Verts are silent. A bright woman who
mas lived several years in New York.
but is of English birth and training,
told the other day of an incident of
twelve or thirteen years ago, which
occurred while she was resident of
Guys hospital at London. She was
there as an indoor medical student At
tending clinics, and also for treatment
for spinal trouble. her brother being
one OF the resident doctors of the hos
ptal.
During severe spell of cold weatb-
er, she said, three of the patients
brought to the hospital were members
or the Salvation Army in uniform-two
women and man. All three had col
lapsed from weakness and exposure
While out i'll the bitter cold performing
the work imposed by their superlols.
l believe they We're begging-or Mt
least one was. That is. as ! under
stood it. each was furnished with
list of names and addresses of people
from whom subscriptions were to be
solicited, each list representing days
work of the hardest sort. 1t was said
that if they did not do satisfactory
days work they only got bread and
water for supper.
"The man was found to be danger
ously i'll of pneumonia. The house doc
tor said that one of the chief causes
of his illness was insufficient clothing
The man had on only thin cotton
shirt of the tlimsiest material under
meath his Salvation Army jersey. The
doctor said that to 20 out with such
suicidal, and that the people who i'm
posed such tasks ought to be in Jail.
In fact, all the attendants in the ward
were indignant, and it was almost the
sole subject of our conversation at
meals. The man said that these were
all the clothes he had and he had no
means of getting more. They had a
trifiing allowance, | believe he said,
nf m 4 Ssl,i "A
had to account literally for every half
penny of it. If they spent what was
considered an unnecessary penny it
was deducted from the next weeks al
lOWance.
Il don't know so much about the
women patients, but we understood
they were also very low. They, too,
had the scantiest clothing. 1t is Il rule
in Guys, as in other hospitals, that
patients who can afford to pay for
treatment ought to do so. After a
while in this case the hospital authOrl-
ties sent bill to General Booth for
the treatment of these three patients.
The general answered, declining to
pay: he said neither he nor the army
could be responsible for the medical
bills of its members He also said, and
this was the outrageous part of 1t.
that when soldier ceased TO work he
ceased to belong to the army. The
hospital people wrote again and in
sisted that as these people became i'll
IL N,
imposed by the army, the army ought
to pay the bills.
Il don't remember how that contro-
versy ended-probably | never heard
but | know the hospital officials We're
angry enough to make trouble for the
general if he did not pay. Some part
of the story eventually got in the pa
pers, and Il radical weekly took il up.
This paper hunted up the people that
General Booth dealt with for his sup
plies and published long articles show
ing that he rcveled in the choicest lux
uries in the market and lived like Il
regular nabob. They said he bought
Strawberries in winter, the best in
Covent garden. ut half Il guinea 4 box,
and that he bought the most expensive
wines and had cook at t45 year,
which is very big salary over there
for cook"
1t has already been noted that the
general has always kept the control of
the army, which included the sole
handling of the funds, among the men,
bers of his own family.