REMARKABLE WOMAN

Evening Post, Volume CXVIII, Issue 56, 4 September 1934, Page 9

REMARKABLE WOMAN

TEIBUTE TO CHAEACTER

WORK IN UNITED STATES

The career of Commander Evangelinc Booth is a striking demonstration of the opportunities for leadership and distinguished public service open to women of capacity and conviction. This aspect of her life and work is all the more interesting when it is remembered that, as a girl of twenty, she had become a dominating public figure during an era when women leaders were not accorded the deferences and sympathy they now receive in religion, industry, politics, and art. Commander Evangelinc Booth is usually described as a "singularly gifted, personality." She inherited many fine qualities from her parents, William and Catherine Booth, the founders of the Salvation Army. But "gifts" of this character soon lose their glamour and usefulness unless utilised and subjected to exacting tests. Tims it is that men and women are found worthy or unworthy of their inherited advantages. Evangelino Booth lias not reached the pinnacle of a brilliant career simply and only because she is a "gifted personality." She reached her position as commander of the Salvation Army forces in the United States, an office which she has occupied since 1004, and as one of the outstanding women of modern days, by utilising and developing her gifts and by proving herself supremely worthy of the responsibilities and opportunities they have entailed. Her distinction has not come to her on the proverbial "silver'platter." It has come as a result of continuous hard work, devotion to convictions and ideals willingness to face perplexing situations as well as pleasant ones, and a comprehensive love of mankind. THE SAME ZEAL. Those who hear Commander Evangcline Booth speak today cannot help but bo impressed by the fact that nor message, and its manner of delivery, have the same fire and zeal that characterised her public utterances in the Last Knd of London in her early days. Because her organisation has emerged from its days of trial and turmoil and is universally admired and respected, she docs not assume that the people have become fully aware of 1 lie blessing that God has in store for those who love and obey Him. She is si ill the militant and'fiery "Miss Eva" who, fearlessly faced the jeering mobs m tlie London 'byways in the days when her father anil his devoted followers were fighting and sacrificing'to plant the baniier of the Salvation Army in the shifting sands of an unenlightened public °rCommander Evangeline Booth was born in London on a Christinas Day, the fourth daughter and seventh chiiu of William and Catherine Booth Her record of service extends over fortyone- years, thirty having been spent m the United States as National Leader and Commander in Chief. Before the Commander had entered her teens she assisted in tho children's meetings conducted in the schoolroom of her father's home, and a few years later she was placed as captain in charge of the large Western Hall which the Army had opened in Marylebone, in one of the worst quarters in London. Here she had great success, and among

nthers exercised a remarkable influence over some of the most notorious characters of tho district. MANY ABILITIES. As Field Commissioner she travelled the country extensively, and plunged fearlessly into the riots promoted against the Army at Eastbourne, Torquay, and other places. The Commander's service in England included charge of the International Training Garrison. Later she became Territorial Commissioner for Canada and Newfoundland. Of late years foreign campaigns in all parts of the world have claimed a largo, share of the Commander's time. Invitations from all parts of the world pour in on her. Countries visited reecntly include Japan, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, France, England, and Germany. The Commando', who as a .plaf forix speaker, is regarded as among the foremost women in America, is also a musician and instrumentalist, and has written and composed si number of Salvation Army songs, her latest production of this kind being a volume entitled "Songs of the Evangel," a collection of forty-eight original songs. "Towards a Better World," a collection of sermons, was published in 102!). President Woodrow Wilson bestowed upon the Commander the Distinguished Service Medal in recognition of the Salvation Army's special service and co-operation during the war period. She received in 1921 the honorary degree of M.A. of Tufts College, Massachusetts, and the National Society of Colonial Dames honoured her in January, 1928, with the Eleanor' Van Renssa'laer Gold Medal for "eminent patriotic service." In May, 1033, the National Institute of Social Science awarded her the Gold Medal of the institute for distinguished service in the social welfare field, and his Majesty King Gustaf of Sweden bestowed upon her the rare honour of the Gold Modal of tho Order of Vasa for meritorious service to the people of Sweden and to those of Swedish birth resident in the United States. A PERSONAL TRIBUTE. In a tribute to hor work and character the Hon. Henry W. 'Taft, brother of the late President Taft, writes in the "Daily Mail":— J'or the last fifteen years, as chairman of the Advisory Board of the Army for Greater New York, I have been in frequent contact with Commander Booth, having been consulted by her on many important, and sometimes vital, questions of policy. The growth and influence of the Army in the United States are due to tho courage, vision, spirituality, and human sympathy, as well as to the extraordinary business ability, of Evangeline Booth. I continually find cause to respect her grasp of affairs and knowledge of character. Her alert mind keeps step with the trend of the times. Her gift in forecasting events affecting the Army is remarkable. Indeed, she has that" keen perception of tho practical that one expects to find only in successful captains of industry or finance, and her time is not wasted by humbugs, for she has an uncanny gift in detecting all varieties of them. I have worked beside the Commander in difficult days when it seemed impossible to obtain the means of carrying on her projects for the relief of tho poor and destitute, for the Army has not always had smooth sailing. But she has ever had the long and optimistic view, never hesitating to take a courageous course, confident Hint her cause was too great to bo defeated. > In tho past four years of worldwide economic collapse the Army has weathered financial storms as devastating as those that have wrecked countless great business enterprises, and yet the very causes which in such crises have depleted the Army's income were responsible for a 400 per cent, increase in tho demands made upon it—thus, for instance, in the last fiscal year alone 15,000,000 applications for aid were received. But the ability of tho Commander for shaping affairs to the needs of the Army was only ' stimulated by the urgency of such situations. She made an extensive tour of the United States to confer personally with bankers and business men. Sho realigned her financial fronts, and, among other things, rallied her officers in a voluntary movement to accept with her substantial reductions lin their already meagre salaries, so that the Army might carry its flag into the front ranks of the war on depression. A personal word about Commander Booth: She is tall and slender, with brown eyes set deep beneath an intellectual brow, framed in masses of redbrown hair. She has a sensitive mouth, curving readily into lines of sympathy and smiles of happiness at the sight of children, or in. the acknowledgment of work well done. In habits she is simple, living quietly in a suburb of New York. In brief periods of relaxation she walks through the countryside with her Great Dane Holga at her heels, or rides on her brown mare Golden over the Westehester hills, while in the quiet of her garden she writes her scrmons'and lectures and does much of her planning. The Commander has a boundless capacity for, and devotion to, work, j Mind and body are restless until the heavy programme she outlines for herself is fulfilled.