SALVATION ARMY

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 18759, 16 July 1935, Page 2

SALVATION ARMY

THE GENERAL'S RETURN

WORLD CAMPAIGN AHEAD LONDON. June 22. General Evangeline Booth, head ol the Salvation Army, returned to London last week-end. and appears to be none the worse for her strenuous tour ot 40,000 miles. During the 34 days she was in Australia and New Zealand she spoke 99 times. On her journey back through America she took a fortnight hcross from coast to coast, and had the opportunity of meeting old inends, though she spoke at no public meetings. General Booth says she hits gone to live “in the middle .of some woods, though tile locality is not revealed. When she gave a tea party this week in a number ni journalists she mentioned this fact, and said that four enterprising newspapermen had already penetrated to lu-r milage, and she appealed to editors to respect her sanctuary. This (welling, she said, she was meeting her own people m the Alexandre Palace, and they were starting) a world campaign. Next week they are to go on a motor tour through the .Midlands. This means that they would have a fleet of cars and lorries with improvised platforms and hold seven or eight meetings a day m the open air. Oil July 11 General Booth is to visit Norway and Sweden. The interview given to London journalists by the General was rather amusing. It was obvious that her tour ol the Dominions was devoted entirely to spiritual work, to the exclusion ol I'Vervt liing else. Her chief desire was to elaborate on the spirit and work of the A ini v in the places she laid visited, lint every now and again she was brought to earth hv a question regarding mundane matters. These she answered very briefly, or loir il In her chief of stall, and t hen she lose herself again in matters nearer to her heart. TMPR ESS IO X O F XE W ZEA L \ND Of New Zealand she had this lo say: “i saw no more ol New Zealand than was possible from the windows of trains, tun I cannot help, feeling that ii is the garden of the world." Again. she thinks the New Zealand children know how to sing. “At Wellington and Auckland,'’ she said, “they have wonderful hands, and wonderful singing. I low those Salvation Army children sing!" • The iliiiu" that most .struck her oil her I ravels was that whatever I lie original creed, the nationality, the traditions. the social standing of the people, the message the Salvation Army brought made the same appeal. C.Tiistianity was indeed an international religion. Among the numerous irrelevant, subjects t!irust, upon General Booth was that of war. “1 do not think there will lie another war," she said. “I have too mueli faith in the men concerned in the progress nf the nations and in the happiness of the human race, and the prosperity of business. The desire for peace is too all-absorbing and too world-wide for the nations to plunge again into the imbecile policy of sending our men as food for shells and bombs.”