Evolution and Ethics, and Other Essays Part 17

I now propose to bring forward a little more evidence as to how things really stand where Mr. Booth's system has had a fair trial. I obtain it, mainly, from a curious pamphlet, the t.i.tle of which runs: "The New Papacy. Behind the Scenes in the Salvation Army," by an ex-Staff Officer. "Make not my Father's house a house of merchandise" (John ii.

16). 1889. Published at Toronto, by A. Britnell. On the cover it is stated that "This is the book which was burned by the authorities of the Salvation Army." I remind the reader, once more, that the statements which I shall cite must be regarded as ex parte; all I can vouch for is that, on grounds of internal evidence and from other concurrent testimony respecting the ways of the Booth hierarchy, I feel justified in using them.

This is the picture the writer draws of the army in the early days of its invasion of the Dominion of Canada:--

[264] "Then, it will be remembered, it professed to be the humble handmaid of the existing churches; its professed object was the evangelization of the ma.s.ses. It repudiated the idea of building up a separate religious body, and it denounced the practice of gathering together wealth and the acc.u.mulation of property. Men and women other than its own converts gathered around it and threw themselves heart and soul into the work, for the simple reason that it offered, as they supposed, a more extended and widely open field for evangelical effort. Ministers everywhere were invited and welcomed to its platforms, majors and colonels were few and far between, and the supremacy and power of the General were things unknown . . . Care was taken to avoid anything like proselytism; its converts were never coerced into joining its ranks... In a word, the organization occupied the position of an auxiliary mission and recruiting agency for the various religious bodies.... The meetings were crowded, people professed conversion by the score, the public liberally supplied the means to carry on the work in their respective communities; therefore every corps was wholly self-supporting, its officers were properly, if not luxuriously, cared for, the local expenditure was amply provided, and, under the supervision of the secretary, a local member, and the officer in charge, the funds were disbursed in the towns where they were collected, and the [265] spirit of satisfaction and confidence was mutual all around" (pp. 4, 5).

Such was the army as the green tree. Now for the dry:--

"Those who have been daily conversant with the army's machinery are well aware how entirely and radically the whole system has changed, and how, from a band of devoted and disinterested workers, united in the bonds of zeal and charity for the good of their fellows, it has developed into a colossal and aggressive agency for the building up of a system and a sect, bound by rules and regulations altogether subversive of religious liberty and antagonistic to every (other?) branch of Christian endeavour, and bound hand and foot to the will of one supreme head and ruler.... As the work has spread through the country, and as the area of its endeavours has enlarged, each leading position has been filled, one after the other, by individuals strangers to the country, totally ignorant of the sentiments and idiosyncrasies of the Canadian people, trained in one school under the teachings and dominance of a member of the Booth family, and out of whom every idea has been crushed, except that of unquestioning obedience to the General, and the absolute necessity of going forward to his bidding without hesitation or question" (p. 6).

[266] "What is the result of all this? In the first place, whilst material prosperity has undoubtedly been attained, spirituality has been quenched, and, as an evangelical agency, the army has become almost a dead letter... In seventy-five per cent of its stations its officers suffer need and privation, chiefly on account of the heavy taxation that is placed upon them to maintain an imposing headquarters and a large ornamental staff. The whole financial arrangements are carried on by a system of inflation and a hand-to-mouth extravagance and blindness as to future contingencies. Nearly all of its original workers and members have disappeared" (p. 7). "In reference to the religious bodies at large the army has become entirely antagonistic.

Soldiers are forbidden by its rules to attend other places of wors.h.i.+p without the permission of their officers... Officers or soldiers who may conscientiously leave the service or the ranks are looked upon and often denounced publicly as backsliders... Means of the most despicable description have been resorted to in order to starve them back to the service" (p. 8). "In its inner workings the army system is identical with Jesuitism... That 'the end justifies the means,' if not openly taught, is as tacitly agreed as in that celebrated order"

(p. 9).

Surely a bitter, overcharged, anonymous libel, is the reflection which will occur to many who read [267] these pa.s.sages, especially the last.

Well, I turn to other evidence which, at any rate, is not anonymous.

It is contained in a pamphlet ent.i.tled "General Booth, the Family, and the Salvation Army, showing its Rise, Progress, and Moral and Spiritual Decline," by S. H. Hodges, LL.B., late Major in the Army, and formerly private secretary to General Booth (Manchester, 1890). I recommend potential contributors to Mr. Booth's wealth to study this little work also. I have learned a great deal from it. Among other interesting novelties, it tells me that Mr. Booth has discovered "the necessity of a third step or blessing, in the work of Salvation. He said to me one day, 'Hodges, you have only two barrels to your gun; I have three'" (p. 31). And if Mr. Hodges's description of this third barrel is correct--"giving up your conscience" and, "for G.o.d and the army, stooping to do things which even honourable worldly men would not consent to do" (p. 32)--it is surely calculated to bring down a good many things, the first principles of morality among them.

Mr. Hodges gives some remarkable examples of the army practice with the "General's" new rifle. But I must refer the curious to his instructive pamphlet. The position I am about to take up is a serious one; and I prefer to fortify it by the help of evidence which, though some of it may be anonymous, cannot be sneered away. And I shall [268]

be believed, when I say that nothing but a sense of the great social danger of the spread of Boothism could induce me to revive a scandal, even though it is barely ent.i.tled to the benefit of the Statute of Limitations.

On the 7th of July, 1883, you, Sir, did the public a great service by writing a leading article on the notorious "Eagle" case, from which I take the following extract:--

"Mr. Justice Kay refused the application, but he was induced to refuse it by means which, as Mr. Justice Stephen justly remarked, were highly discreditable to Mr. Booth. Mr. Booth filed an affidavit which appears totally to have misled Mr. Justice Kay, as it would have misled any one who regarded it as a frank and honest statement by a professed teacher of religion."

When I addressed my first letter to you I had never so much as heard of the "Eagle" scandal. But I am thankful that my perception of the inevitable tendency of all religious autocracies towards evil was clear enough to bring about a provisional condemnation of Mr. Booth's schemes in my mind. Supposing that I had decided the other way, with what sort of feeling should I have faced my friend, when I had to confess that the money had pa.s.sed into the absolute control of a person about the character of whose administration this [269]

concurrence of d.a.m.natory evidence was already extant?

I have nothing to say about Mr. Booth personally, for I know nothing.

On that subject, as on several others, I profess myself an agnostic.

But, if he is, as he may be, a saint actuated by the purest of motives, he is not the first saint who, as you have said, has shown himself "in the ardour of prosecuting a well-meant object" to be capable of overlooking "the plain maxims of every-day morality." If I were a Salvationist soldier, I should cry with Oth.e.l.lo, "Ca.s.sio, I love thee; but never more be officer of mine."

I am, Sir, your obedient servant, T. H. Huxley.

V

The "Times," December 24th, 1890--

Sir,--If I have any strong points, finance is certainly not one of them. But the financial, or rather fiscal, operations of the General of the Salvation Army, as they are set forth and exemplified in "The New Papacy," possess that grand simplicity which is the mark of genius; [270] and even I can comprehend them--or, to be more modest, I can portray them in such a manner that every lineament, however harsh, and every shade, however dark, can be verified by published evidence.

Suppose there is a thriving, expanding colonial town, and that, scattered among its artisans and labourers, there is a sprinkling of Methodists, or other such ultra-evangelical good people, doing their best, in a quiet way, to "save souls." Clearly, this is an outpost which it is desirable to capture. "We," therefore, take measures to get up a Salvation "boom" of the ordinary pattern. Enthusiasm is roused. A score or two of soldiers are enlisted into the ranks of the Salvation Army. "We" select the man who promises to serve our purposes best, make a "captain" of him, and put him in command of the "corps."

He is very pleased and grateful; and indeed he ought to be. All he has done is that he has given up his trade; that he has promised to work at least nine hours a day in our service (none of your eight-hour nonsense for us) as collector, bookseller, general agent, and anything else we may order him to be. "We," on the other hand, guarantee him nothing whatever; to do so might weaken his faith and subst.i.tute worldly for spiritual ties between us. Knowing that, if he exerts himself in a right spirit, his labours will surely be blessed, we content ourselves with telling him that if, after all [271] expenses are paid and our demands are satisfied each week, 25s. remains, he may take it. And, if nothing remains, he may take that, and stay his stomach with what the faithful may give him. With a certain grim playfulness, we add that the value of these contributions will be reckoned as so much salary. So long as our "captain" is successful, therefore, a beneficent spring of cash trickles unseen into our treasury; when it begins to dry up we say, "G.o.d bless you, dear boy,"

turn him adrift (with or without 2s. 4d. in his pocket), and put some other willing horse in the shafts.

The "General," I believe, proposes, among other things, to do away with "sweating." May he not as well set a good example by beginning at home? My little sketch, however, looks so like a monstrous caricature that, after all, I must produce the original from the pages of my Canadian authority. He says that a "captain" "has to pay 10 per cent.

of all collections and donations to the divisional fund for the support of his divisional officer, who has also the privilege of arranging for such special meetings as he shall think fit, the proceeds of which he takes away for the general needs of the division.

Headquarters, too, has the right to hold such special meetings at the corps and send around such special attractions as its wisdom sees fit, and to take away the proceeds for the purposes it decides upon.

[272] He has to pay the rent of his building, either to headquarters or a private individual; he has to send the whole collection of the afternoon meeting of the first Sunday in the month to the 'Extension Fund' at headquarters; he has to pay for the heating, lighting, and cleaning of his hall, together with such necessary repairs as may be needed; he has to provide the food, lodging, and clothing of his cadet, if he has one; headquarters taxes him with so many copies of the army papers each week, for which he has to pay, sold or unsold; and when he has done this, he may take $6 (or $5, being a woman), or such proportion of it as may be left, with which to clothe and feed himself and to pay the rent and provide for the heating and lighting of his quarters. If he has a lieutenant he has to pay him $6 per week, or such proportion of it as he himself gets, and share the house expenses with him. Now, it will be easily understood that at least 60 per cent. of the stations in Canada the officer gets no money at all, and he has to beg specially amongst his people for his house-rent and food. There are few places in the Dominion in which the soldiers do not find their officers in all the food they need; but it must be remembered that the value of the food so received has to be accounted for at headquarters and entered upon the books of the corps as cash received, the amount being deducted from any moneys that the officer is able to take from the [273] week's collections. So that, no matter how much may be specially given, the officer cannot receive more than the value of $6 per week. The officer cannot collect any arrears of salary, as each week has to pay its own expenses; and if there is any surplus cash after all demands are met it must be sent to the 'war chest' at headquarters."--"The New Papacy" (pp. 35, 36).

Evidently, Sir, "headquarters" has taken to heart the injunction about casting your bread upon the waters. It casts the crumb of a day or two's work of an emissary, and gets back any quant.i.ty of loaves of cash, so long as "captains" present themselves to be used up and replaced by new victims. What can be said of these devoted poor fellows except, O sancta simplicitas!

But it would be a great mistake to suppose that the money-gathering efficacy of Mr. Booth's fiscal agencies is exhausted by the foregoing enumeration of their regular operations. Consider the following edifying history of the "Rescue Home" in Toronto:--

"It is a fine building in the heart of the city; the lot cost $7,000, and a building was put up at a cost of $7,000 more, and there is a mortgage on it amounting to half the cost of the whole. The land to-day would probably fetch double its original price, and every year enhances its value....In the first five months of its [274] existence this inst.i.tution received from the public an income of $1,812 70c.; out of this $600 was paid to headquarters for rent, $590 52c. was spent upon the building in various ways, and the balance of $622 18c.

paid the salaries of the staff and supported the inmates" (pp. 24, 25).

Said I not truly that Mr. Booth's fisc bears the stamp of genius? Who else could have got the public to buy him a "corner lot," put a building upon it, pay all its working expenses: and then, not content with paying him a heavy rent for the use of the handsome present they had made him, they say not a word against his mortgaging it to half its value? And, so far as any one knows, there is nothing to stop headquarters from selling the whole estate tomorrow, and using the money as the "General" may direct.

Once more listen to the author of "The New Papacy," who affirms that "out of the funds given by the Dominion for the evangelization of the people by means of the Salvation Army, one sixth had been spent in the extension of the Kingdom of G.o.d, and the other five sixths had been invested in valuable property, all handed over to Mr. Booth and his heirs and a.s.signs, as we have already stated" (p. 26).

And this brings me to the last point upon which I wish to touch. The answer to all inquiries as to what has become of the enormous [275]

personal and real estate which has been given over to Mr. Booth is that it is held "in trust." The supporters of Mr. Booth may feel justified in taking that statement "on trust." I do not. Anyhow, the more completely satisfactory this "trust" is, the less can any man who asks the public to put blind faith in his integrity and his wisdom object to acquaint them exactly with its provisions. Is the trust drawn up in favour of the Salvation Army? But what is the legal status of the Salvation Army? Have the soldiers any claim? Certainly not.

Have the officers any legal interest in the "trust"? Surely not. The "General" has taken good care to insist on their renouncing all claims as a condition of their appointment. Thus, to all appearance, the army, as a legal person, is identical with Mr. Booth. And, in that case, any "trust" ostensibly for the benefit of the army is--what shall we say that is at once accurate and polite?

I conclude with these plain questions--Will Mr. Booth take counsel's opinion as to whether there is anything in such legal arrangements as he has at present made which prevents him from disposing of the wealth he has acc.u.mulated at his own will and pleasure? Will anybody be in a position to set either the civil or the criminal law in motion against him or his successors if he or they choose to spend every farthing in ways very different from those contemplated by the donors?

[276] I may add that a careful study of the terms of a "Declaration of Trust by William Booth in favour of the Christian Mission," made in 1878, has not enabled persons of much greater competence than myself to answer these questions satisfactorily.*

I am, Sir, your obedient servant, T. H. Huxley.

* See Preface to this volume, pp. ix-xiii.

On December 24th a letter appeared in the "Times" signed "J. S.

Trotter," in which the following pa.s.sages appear:--

"It seems a pity to put a damper on the spirits of those who agree with Professor Huxley in his denunciation of General Booth and all his works. May I give a few particulars as to the 'book' which was published in Canada? I had the pleasure of an interview with the author of a book written in Canada. The book was printed at Toronto, and two copies only struck off by the printers; one of these copies was stolen from the printer, and the quotation sent to you by Professor Huxley was inserted in the book, and is consequently a forgery. The book was published without the consent and against the will of the author.

[277] "So the quotation is not only 'a bitter, overcharged anonymous libel,' as Professor Huxley intimates, but a forgery as well. As to Mr. Hodges, it seems to me to be simply trifling with your readers to bring him in as an authority. He was turned out of the army, out of kindness taken on again, and again dismissed. If this had happened to one of your staff, would his opinion of the 'Times' as a newspaper be taken for gospel?"

But in the "Times" of December 29th Mr. J. S. Trotter writes:--

"I find I was mistaken in saying, in my letter of Wednesday, to the 'Times' that Mr. Hodges was dismissed from the service of General Booth, and regret any inconvenience the statement may have caused to Mr. Hodges."

And on December 30th the "Times" published a letter from Mr. Hodges in which he says that Mr. Trotter's statements as they regard himself "are the very reverse of truth.--I was never turned out of the Salvation Army. Nor, so far as I was made acquainted with General Booth's motives, was I taken on again out of kindness. In order to rejoin the Salvation Army, I resigned the position of manager in a mill where I was in [278] receipt of a salary of [Pounds] 250 per annum, with house-rent and one third of the profits. Instead of this Mr. Booth allowed me [Pounds] 2 per week and house-rent."

VI

The "Times," December 26th, 1890

Sir,--I am much obliged to Mr. J. S. Trotter for the letter which you published this morning. It furnishes evidence, which I much desired to possess on the following points:--

1. The author of "The New Papacy" is a responsible, trustworthy person; otherwise Mr. Trotter would not speak of having had "the pleasure of an interview" with him.