GENERAL BOOTH.

Auckland Star, Volume XXIII, Issue 212, 6 September 1892, Page 2

GENERAL BOOTH.

DOES HE "REVEL IN LUXURY 2"

•AN INTERESTING REPLY,

•• The Truth About the Salvation Army " is the title of an interesting article in the London " Fortnightly Raview " for July, giving the result of a searching inquiry made by Mr Arnold White. The author says :—" When I entered on the inquiry, the question of General Booth's honesty eeotned to constitute tho key to the whole question. An uneasy feeling undoubtedly prevails among a majority of Englishspeaking people, that, however lofty bho language employed by General Booth, ho himself is making an uncommonly good thing out of his philanthropic aeherne. He is said to travel in first-class stylo, in saloon and Pullman cars, in the best cabins of the finest steamers, in special trains with regal following, and even, in one instance, to have engaged a special Btearaer at a cost of £200. Having gone thoroughly into the facts of the case, 1 deliberately record my toatimony, such as it is, that the accounts of the " Salvation Army are as well kept as the accounts of tho London Joint - Stock Bank. I am no partisan of General Booth. I dislike many of his methods ; detest the language of emotion, and the display of feeling. I abhor publicity given to good works, when that publicity is sought by the doer. But if Jiving man has had injustice inflicted upon him by public opinion, it is William Booth, in tho mabter of the accounts of tho Salvation Army, and in the work he has dono for his fellow men and women. Ib so happens that the auditor of the Midland Railway is the senior partner of the firm of chartered accountants who audit tho accounts of the Salvation Army. Tho audit of the Army differs only from the audit of the Railway in tho matter of greater detail; that is to say, the Army audit deals with a eystem of cash received from the public, and requ ires and receives a more exhaustive cash check both of income and expenditure than is necessary in tho case of the Railway Company. For the Darkest England Fund, a separate audit of the same exhaustive nature and a separate pet of books are also necessary. These conditions are faithfully carried out. With regard to General Booth himself, he gives his services gratuitously to the Salvation Army, his travelling expenses with tho plainest food while en route being his only charges on tho funds. If he wants £5 for journey expenses, he can only get it from the cashiers after a requisition has been sinned by the Secretary of the Expenditure Board, which consists of the financial secretary, chief accountant, and heads of departments. General Booth himself has nothing to do with bho cash, and if he were to pilfer £5 or £500, ho would have to secure tho collusion of at loaafc five men of high character. General Booth opens no letters. It is quite true that in England General Booth travels in sleeping-cars at night and first-class by day. He is an old man, and not in very good health. It is arguod thab, as every minute of every hour of every day is mortgaged to tho work he has in hand, that the mode of travel which leaves him in the most efficient state of health for work is the mo«b economical mode of travel in every sense of the word. Man is a machine. If the machine is put out of gear by s night in a crowded third-class carriage, ib ceems but common sense to adopt some less costly method of locomotion. Hence the sleepingcar and the first-class compartment. The directors of the Union Steamship Company gave General Booth a free passage to the Cape, and in doing so were probably acting in tho interests of their shareholders. The Cape and Australian Government acted in a similar way. It is quite true that £200 wns paid for a special steamer in Australia. Bub therp was a special reason for tho special steamer. It was essential in order to keep an appointment in Melbourne, on which a groat meeting depended. The coßt of tho steamer was paid over and over again by tho appointment being kept, and by the fact that) all who accompanied General Booth were made to pny for their paspage. lam not defending for a moment the policy of making profits. That is not my province. All we are now considering is whether Gonoral Booth is an honest man. Having carefully investigated the current charges made against him, I can come to no other conclusion than thab, in matters of money, he is a good example to some of the Lord Mayors of London, and to many missionary socioties ; that) the administration of the Salvation Army funds, subject to such errors as are incident to humanity, is as good ae> the administration of tho London Joint-Stock Bank ; and that so far from reaping personal pecuniary advantage from his position, he has made, and is making, sacrifices of thousands of pounds which might with equity be retained by him for his own uso."