WONDERFUL RECORD

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 53, 6 March 1929, Page 9

WONDERFUL RECORD

THE 1929 YEAR BOOK

(From "The Post's" Representative.) LONPON, sth January. The year 1929 is a momentous one i Jn. the: history of the Salvation Army, and consequently the Army "Year 'Book" for 1929 is of especial interest as a record of past progress and of tho immense scale of. the Salvation Army's: Operation's at this important moment. In a section which deals with the finance of the. Army it is explained that, by a-deed pool enrolled in Chancery in 1878, tho General for the tinie being is constituted the trustee • of all >Army funds and property, necessary arrangements being made for securing it a the purposes for which it has been acquired when, at his death, it shall have passed into the hands of his successor.

"The founder and the present Genferal," it is added, "have, ever since the early days of strife and poverty, recognised the ■ importance of keeping strict accounts. All moneys received at the various headquarters arc carefully dealt with, a receipt being issued for every amount paid in, and all transactions being recorded by competent trustworthy accountants, in accordance ■witty a complete and highly approved fiy'stein. Army accounts are, without ■exception, subject to a rigid periodical by officers duly appointed jfor the purpose. The accounts of international headquarters are audited by |* firm of first-class accountants." IMPRESSIVE STATISTICS. In • tho lifetime of its founder, between, its inception as the East Lon- { don Revival Society in 1865 and General Booth's death in 1912, the Salvation Army had been set up in 58 countries., its message had been spoken in 34 languages, the number of its corps and .outposts had grown to 9415, and the number of its commissioned officers ■to 15.988. During the leadership of General Brainwell Booth the rate of progress, measured in statistics, has been even greater. Between 1912 and 1928 the Army has been established in 25 more countries, and its message is : now spoken in 33 more languages. The ; Army's corps and outposts now numi'ber 15,517, and its whole-time servants i 'have increased to 33,637. Between 1912 j and to-day the social institutions and I agencies which it conducts have in- \ creased from 1142 to 1533. One of tho '.most impressive indications of the .Army's strength is the number of its .unpaid workers—tho men and women /■who devote the time they can spare ; from earning their living to its evangelical and social work. Chief among .these are the local officers, Who carry on the affairs of thn branches under a^ regular officer, and tho bandsmen .When "William Booth died there were 55,658 local officers and nearly 26 000 bandsmen. To-day the local officers •'number 105,034 and the bandsmen nearJy 43,000. ■'«■■■; . Through the Army's migration and Settlement department about 38,000 people have been settled in tho Dominions' since 1920. Altogether the department has settled/ some 200,000 persons during tho 25 years of its-exist-ence, and it is claimed that the failures amount to less than 1 per cent. The Army specialises in training boys .from 14 to 19 years of age in elementary agriculture, and since the inception of this work in 1923 more than 4000 boys have been happily settled overseas. In the early days of the migration and settlement department Most of the settlers went to Canada •but m later years the tendency has ;been towards Australia and New Zealand.