SALVATION ARMY LEADER

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22094, 27 April 1935, Page 10

SALVATION ARMY LEADER

The arrival to-day of General Evangeline Booth, world leader of the Salvation Army, will interest very many peopl# besides those belonging to or directly associated •with the great organisation of which she is the head. This is so because of two circumstances, the Salvation Army itself and the Booth family. Everybody brought up in an Englishspeaking country—though the army is not by any means confined to these—accepts the Salvation Army as an institution/which exists naturally in the community. It seems as though it has always been part of the religi&us and social organisation, just as it promises always to be a part. When its comparatively brief span <?f existence is remembered, compared with its present dimensions, as regards area, numerical strength and spread of activities, its growth has to be counted among the modern miracles. It appears as an example of the power of that faith which can move mountains. No more than a superficial knowledge of its history is needed to shoTfr how much of all this growth was due to the force, the fire, the indomitable will and the singlehearted devotion of one man, the first General Booth. He was indeed a man of a generation, one whose qualities would have carried him far, no matter to what activity he had bent his energies. He set out to plough ]vhat seemed a lonely furrow ; he found himself directing the tillage of a mighty field. It follows that no matter what claim to importance the Salvation Army has as an institution, the association of the name Booth with it must always add something which would otherwise be lacking. It seems very fitting, therefore, that the leader who arrives today should be another General Booth; the fact that it is a woman who holds that high office adds to rather than detracts from these associations. It is quite certain that the enthusiasm with which General Evangeline Booth was greeted in Australia will be equalled in this country. It is equally certain that her visit will be counted as an important .event by thousands acknowledging ho direct association with the Salvation Army.