SALVATION ARMY AND RELIEF

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXX, 13 June 1936, Page 13

SALVATION ARMY AND RELIEF

(To The Editor) Sir. —1 am exceedingly sorry that a mail like Mr William Lock should want ho show an antagonistic aUtitude towards an organisation like tho Salvation Army. The tone of the two recent letters would lead one to think that he wished the world were rid of such a concern. The Ariay is primarily a religious organisation with the end in all its eltorts to help people hack to God and Jesus Christ as their Saviour. With this object in view it has launched a world-wide campaign to alleviate suffering and to try and help ; mankind in all their physical and tern- i pond needs, believing that by so doing ; the spirit of our Master will be more ; readily seen and that they will desire to emulate that spirit. The Salvation j Army has enrolled three million pledged j members in about ninety different- i countries and colonies during the lust fifty years and this vast organisation that deals with every phase of the requirements of men was not built up on public debates and press write-ups, with men who are prejudiced and who desire to belittle the work, but by actually doing a work and showing results by tens of thousands of transformed lives. Therefore I do not want, or have I the time, to enter into any paper discussion with Mr Lock, hut because of the questions raised may I stale briefly, that 1 do not think Mr Lock is very well acquainted with j what the Army is doing, or he would . not have written in the strain ihat he ! has. Many and varied are tho demands made on the Salvation Arm v Officers, not only to distribute clothing and supply grocery orders, but to deal with the tragedies of lives, such as the bring- j mg together again men and their wives > who have allowed some domestic trou- I hies to separate them; to investigate the ease of fallen girls and to send them j to our Maternity Hospital; to bring re- j conciliation between wayward children j and their parents; to persuade and bring back run-a-wny children and restore them to their homes; to assist young people with certain diseases and to get them proper medical attention; assisting aged people who are infirm, in various ways; cooking dainty dishes for the sick; getting and helping people into positions. Some of each of the above various kinds of cases have been helped in this district during recent months, and many other ways .of assistance have been given, that really are not very often found on the records of the books which have to do with the Mayor’s Fund. Besides this the number of homes which I enter, irrespective of creeds, and see a want, surely it is the work of a Christian worker to try and supply that need without having to call upon the resources of a fund that is at present principally the money received from lotteries. 1 may say that every penny raised whether by shilling appeals or any other method is spent in helping the needy or uplifting fallen humanity in some way or other, and 1 think that it has been wjl proved that the organisation of the Army can make a pound go as far as most organisations. The Army produces a balance sheet to the public each year of all its income and expenditure \yhich is audited by public auditors. I do not know what large sums of money Mr Lock refers to as being received by the Army for their business operations unless he refers to the profits from the People’s Palaces and the Army Book Depot in Wellington; if this is so it may enlighten him to know that in recent years these places have scarcely shown any profits and what profits their are go to the Sick Tlene- | lit Funds. The capital of the bequest : left by a certain gentleman in Nelson, some years ago, has not yet reached tiie Army’s funds. It has never been the intention of the Army to want to forestall any Re- j lief Committee but on the other hand 1 we are anxious to assist such Commit- I tees in any way pjossible. ; It lias been my policy to make a Shil- j , iing Appeal to the public during the i j month of June, in order to.assist the j i local work of the Army, and at the j 1 same time advertise an .appeal for clothing so that when the Collectors go j around they can get the addresses of donors that desire to give clothing. If Mr Lock- wishes to know, he will find that at the same time last year a similar appeal was advertised, it just happened this year that the Executive Committee sat that week but my arrangements to appeal for clothing were made before this.

Mr Lock seems to have very much misunderstood the methods of the Local Relief Committee when lie states that they have granted to either the Army or myself £4O for local relief purposes. Neither myself nor the Army has received one penny from the' Relief Committee, on the other hand 1 think the Executive will admit that it is I who have assisted them at their request in taking over the distribution of bed and meal orders to casuals.

I trust, Sir, that I have made myself clear iu the foregoing, and that because of what I have said, Mr Lock will not think that I am merely wanting to advertise the work of the Army. After all, Mr William Lock is not the giver of any good things to the Salvation Army and why should he question the direction of Funds that have been willingly given by sympathetic friends, who are satisfied to trust us ? We have nothing to hide and I trust our work will stand all scrutiny. There is nothing more that I wish to say, Sir. I thank you for your space. My press correspondence with Mr Lock is finished and my address is 35 Collingwood Street, and if Mr Lock cares to call, I shall be pleased to explain to him if possible, any queries that remain in his mind.—l am, etc., 11. MARTIN BROWN (Major.) Nelson 12th June.