A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U V W X Z

The War Romance of the Salvation Army

E >> Evangeline Booth and Grace Livingston Hill >> The War Romance of the Salvation Army




John J. Pershing.


Marshal Foch, Paris, France:

Your brilliant armies, under blessing of God, have triumphed. The
Salvation Army of America exults with war-worn but invincible France. We
must consolidate for God of Peace all the good your valor has secured.
Commander Evangeline Booth.


[Illustration: Western Union cablegram (transcription below)]

WESTERN UNION
ANGLO-AMERICAN DIRECT UNITED STATES
CABLEGRAM
34 Broadway N.Y.
Received at 16 BROAD STREET, NEW YORK

193 F8 PZ
FRANCE 31

EVANGELINE BOOTH
COMMANDER SALVATION ARMY
IN AMERICA NEW YORK

TRÈS TOUCHÉ DU SENTIMENT ÉLEVÉ QUI A INSPIRÉ VOTRE
TÉLÉGRAMME JE VOUS ADRESSE AINSI QU'À VOS ADHÉRENTS MES
SINCÈRES REMERCIEMENTS

MARECHAL FOCH


I am deeply touched by the high sentiment which inspired
your cablegram, and I tender you and your adherents sincere
thanks.

MARSHAL FOCH



Letter from Sir Douglas Haig


Just before leaving London on Thursday for his provincial campaigns,
General Booth received the following letter from Field Marshal Sir Douglas
Haig. The generous tribute will be read with intense satisfaction by
Salvationists the world over:


General Headquarters, British Armies in France.
March 27, 1918.

I am glad to have the opportunity of congratulating the Salvation Army on
the service which its representatives have rendered during the past year
to the British Armies in France.

The Salvation Army workers have shown themselves to be of the right sort
and I value their presence here as being one of the best influences on the
moral and spiritual welfare of the troops at the bases. The inestimable
value of these influences is realized when the morale of the troops is
afterwards put to the test at the front.

The huts which the Salvation Army has staffed have besides been an
addition to the comfort of the soldiers which has been greatly
appreciated.

I shall be glad if you will convey the thanks of all ranks of the British
Expeditionary Forces in France to the Salvation Army for its continued
good work.

D. Haig, Field Marshal,
Commanding British Armies in France.


The Following Message from Marshal Joffre:

Miss Evangeline Booth,
Apr. 9, 1919.
New York City.

"President Wilson has said that the work of the Salvation Army on the
Franco-American front needs no praise in view of the magnificent results
obtained and remains only to be admired and congratulated. I cannot do
better than to use the same words which I am sure express the sentiments
of all French soldiers. "J. Joffre."


From Field Marshal Viscount French.

"Of all the organizations that have come into existence during the past
fifty years none has done finer work or achieved better results in all
parts of the Empire than the Salvation Army. In particular, its activities
have been of the very greatest benefit to the soldiers in this war."


June 16, 1918.

Colonel Theodore Roosevelt, writing from Oyster Bay, Long Island, under
date of April 11, 1918, has the following to say to the War Work Executive
of the Salvation Army:

"I was greatly interested in your letter quoting the letter from my son
now with Pershing in France. His testimony as to the admirable work done
by the Salvation Army agrees with all my own observations as to what the
Salvation Army has done in war and in peace. You have had to enlarge
enormously your program and readjust your work in order to meet the need
of the vast number of soldiers and sailors serving our country overseas;
and you must have funds to help you. I am informed that over 40,000
Salvationists are in the ranks of the Allied armies. I can myself bear
testimony to the fact that you have a practical social service, combined
with practical religion, that appeals to multitudes of men who are not
reached by the regular churches; and I know that you were able to put your
organization to work in France before the end of the first month of the
World War. I am glad to learn that you do not duplicate or parallel the
work done by any other organization, and that you are in constant touch
with the War Work Councils of such organizations as the Y. M. C. A. and
the Bed Cross. I happen to know that you are now maintaining and operating
168 huts behind the lines in France, together with 70 hostels, and that
you have furnished 46 ambulances, manned and officered by Salvationists. I
am particularly interested to learn that 6000 women are knitting under the
direction of the Salvation Army, and with materials furnished by this
organization here in America, in order to turn out garments and useful
articles for the soldiers at the Front.

"Faithfully yours,

"(Signed) Theodore Roosevelt."



April 21st, 1919.

Commander Evangeline Booth,
120 West 14th Street, New York, N. Y.

Dear Commander Booth:

I have known the Salvation Army from its beginning.

The mother of the Salvation Army was Mrs. Catherine Booth, and her common
sense and Christian spirit laid the foundations; while her husband,
General William Booth, in his impressive frame, fertility of ideas, and
invincible spirit of evangelism always seemed to me as if he were closely
related to St. Peter, the fisherman--the man of ideas and many questions,
of the Lord's family.

General William Booth was of a discipleship that kept him always on the
"long, long trail" with a self-sacrificing spirit, but with a cheerfulness
that heard the nightingales in the early mornings that awakened him to
duty and service. He was never tired. The Salvation Army under the present
leadership of your brother, Bramwell Booth, has "carried on" along the
same roads, and with the same methods, as the great General who has passed
into the Beyond.

The Salvation Army has been itself true to the spirit of its mighty
originator during the present war. No work was too hard; no day was long
enough; no duty too simple, no self-denial was too great.

Prom my personal knowledge, the Salvation Army workers were consecrated to
their work. Just as the brave boys who carried the Flag, they were
soldiers fighting a battle, to find comforts, and a song to put music into
the hearts of the noble fellows that now lie sleeping on the ridges of the
Marne, with their graves unmarked save with a cross.

The sleepless vigilance of the Salvation Army extended from their kitchens
where they cooked for the boys, to the hospitals where they prayed with
them to the last hour when life ended in a silence, the stillest of all
slumbers.

The Armies of every country in which they labored have a record of their
faithfulness and devotion which will be sealed in the hearts of the many
thousands they helped in the days of the struggle for peace.

The question is, what can we do now to perpetuate the Salvation Army and
its work, and my reply is, that there is nothing they ask or want that
should be refused to them. They are worthy; they are competent; they can
be trusted with responsibility; and their splendid leader seems to have
almost a miraculous power for management in the work which her father
committed to her so far as America is concerned.

Very sincerely yours,

(Signed) John Wanamaker.



Cardinal's Residence, 408 Charles Street, Baltimore.
April 16, 1919.

Hon. Charles S. Whitman, New York City.

Honorable and Dear Sir:

I have been asked by the local Commander of the Salvation Army to address
a word to you as the National Chairman of the Campaign about to be
launched in behalf of the above named organization. This I am happy to do,
and for the reason that, along with my fellow American citizens, I rejoice
in the splendid service which the Salvation Army rendered our Soldier and
Sailor Boys during the war. Every returning trooper is a willing witness
to the efficient and generous work of the Salvation Army both at the
Front, and in the camps at home. I am also the more happy to commend this
organization because it is free from sectarian bias. The man in need of
help is the object of their effort, with never a question of his creed or
color.

I trust, therefore, your efforts to raise $13,000,000 for the Salvation
Army will meet with a hearty response from our generous American public.

Faithfully yours,
James, Cardinal, Gibbons.



Commissioner Plenipotentiary of the United States of America.

Paris, April 7th, 1919.

My Dear Commander Booth:

Those of us who have been fortunate enough to see something of the work of
the Salvation Army with the American troops have been made proud by the
devotion and self-sacrifice of the workers connected with your
organization.

I congratulate you and, through you, your associates, and I wish you the
best of fortune in the continuance of your splendid work.

Very sincerely yours,
L. M. House.



Commander Evangeline Booth, Salvation Army.

Evangeline Booth,
Salvation Army Headquarters, New York.

I have seen the work of the Salvation Army in France and consider it very
helpful and valuable. I trust you will be able to secure the means not
only for its maintenance but for the enlargement of its scope. It is a
good work and should be encouraged.

Leonard Wood.
Camp Funston, Kansas.



Brigadier-General Duncan wrote to Colonel Barker the
following letter:

December 7, 1917.

The Salvation Army in this its first experience with our troops has
stepped very closely into the hearts of the men. Your huts have been open
to them at all times. They have been cordially received in a homelike
atmosphere and many needs provided in religious teachings. Your efforts
have the honest support of our chaplains. I have talked with many of our
soldiers who are warm in their praise and satisfaction in what is being
done for them. For myself I feel that the Salvation Army has a real place
for its activities with our Army in France and I offer you and your
workers, men and women, good wishes and thanks for what you have done and
are doing for our men.

G. B. Duncan, Brigadier-General.



The Salvation Army is doing a great work in France and every soldier bears
testimony to the fact.

Omar Bundy, Major-General.



Headquarters First Division,
American Expeditionary Forces.

France, September 15, 1918.

From: Chief of Staff.

To: Major L. Allison Coe, Salvation Army.

Subject: Service in Operation against St. Mihiel Salient.

1. The Division Commander desires me to express to you his appreciation of
the particularly valuable service that the Salvation Army, through you and
your assistants, has rendered the Division during the recent operation
against the St. Mihiel salient.

2. You have furnished aid and comfort to the American soldier throughout
the trying experiences of the last few days, and in accomplishing this
worthy mission have spared yourself in nothing.

3. The Division Commander wishes me to thank you for the Division and for
himself.

CK/T. Campbell King, Chief of Staff.



CABLEGRAM.

Paris, December 17,1917.

Commander Miss E, Booth, 120 W. 14th St., New York.

I am glad to be able to express my appreciation of the work done by the
Salvation Army in the way of providing for the comfort and welfare of the
Command. I think the efforts of the Salvation Army are admirable and
deserving of appreciation and commendation, and I consider the effort is
made without advertisement and that it reaches and is appreciated by those
for whom it is most needed.

L. P. MURPHY, Lieut.-Colonel of Cavalry.



CABLEGRAM.

Paris, December 17,1917.

Commander Miss E. Booth,
120 W. 14th Street, New York City.

I wish to express my most sincere appreciation of the work of your
organization with my regiment. Your Officer has done everything that could
be expected of any organization in carrying on his work with the soldiers
of this command, and has surpassed any such expectations. He has assisted
the soldiers in every way possible and has gained their hearty good will.
He has also shown himself willing and anxious to carry out regulations and
orders affecting his organization. As a matter of fact, all the officers
and soldiers of this command are most enthusiastic about the help of the
Salvation Army, and you can hear nothing but praise for its work. The work
of your organization, both religious and material, has been wholesome and
dignified, and I desire you to know that it is appreciated.

J. L. HINES,
Colonel, Sixteenth Infantry.



In sending a contribution toward the expenses of the War Work, Colonel
George B. McClellan wrote:

Treasurer, Salvation Army, July 24, 1918.
120 West 14th Street, New York City.

DEAR SIR:

All the Officers I have talked with who have been in the trenches have
enthusiastically praised the work the Salvation Army is doing at the
front. They are agreed that for coolness under fire, cheerfulness under
the most adverse conditions, kindness, helpfulness and real efficiency,
your workers are unsurpassed.

Will you accept the enclosed check as my modest contribution to your War
Fund, and believe me to be

Yours very truly,
GEO. B. MCCLELLAND Lt.-Col. Ord. Dept., N. A.



CABLEGRAM.

Paris, December 17,1917.

Commander Miss B. Booth,
120 West 14th Street, New York City, N. Y.

I have carefully observed the work of the Salvation Army from their first
arrival in Training Area First Division American Expeditionary Force to
date. The work they have done for the enlisted men of the Division and the
places of amusement and recreation that they have provided for them, are
of the highest order. I unhesitatingly state that, in my opinion, the
Salvation Army has done more for the enlisted men of the First Division
than any other organization or society operating in France.

F. G. LAWTON,
Colonel, Infantry, National Army.



To WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

The work of the Salvation Army as illustrated by the work of Major S. H.
Atkins is duplicated by no one. He has been Chaplain and more besides. He
has the confidence of officers and men. Major Atkins, as typifying the
Salvation Army, has been forward at the very front with what is even more
important than the rear area work.

THEODORE ROOSEVELT.



The following letter was sent to Major Atkins of the Salvation Army:

Headquarters, 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry,
France, December 26, 1917.

I wish to thank you for the great work you have been
doing here among the men of this battalion. You have
added greatly to the happiness and contentment of us all; giving, as you
have, an opportunity for good, clean entertainment and pleasure.

In religious work you have done much. As you know, this regiment has no
chaplain, and you have to a large extent taken the place of one here.

For myself, and on behalf of the officers stationed here, I wish to
express my appreciation of the work that you have been doing here, and the
hope that you can accompany the battalion wherever the fortune of war may
lead us.

Wishing you a very happy and successful New Year, I am

Yours sincerely,
(Signed) THEODORE ROOSEVELT, JR.,
Major (U.S.R.), 26th Infantry.



When Captain Archibald Roosevelt was lying wounded
in Red Cross Hospital No. 1 he wrote the following letter
to the same officer:

Red Cross Hospital No. 1.

July 10, 1918.

"You have, by your example, helped the men morally and physically. By your
continued presence in the most dangerous and uncomfortable periods, you
have made yourself the comrade and friend of every officer and man in our
battalion. It is in this way that you have filled a position which the
other charitable organizations had left vacant.

"Let me also mention that, perfect Democrat that you are, you have
realized the necessity of discipline, and have helped make the discipline
understood by these men and officers.

"If all the Salvation Army workers are like you, I sincerely hope to see
the time when there is a Salvation Army officer with each battalion in the
camp."



Before leaving France for the United States, two Salvation
Army lassies received the following letter:

I was very sorry to hear that you had been taken from this division, and
desire to express my appreciation of the excellent assistance you have
been to us.

In all of our "shows" you have been with us, and I wish that I knew of the
many sufferers you have cheered and made more comfortable. They are many
and, I am positive, will always have grateful thoughts of you.

I have seen you enduring hardships--going without food and sleep, working
day and night, sometimes under fire, both shell and avion--and never have
you been anything but cheerful and willing.

I thank you and your organization for all of this, and assure you of the
respect and gratitude of the entire division.

J. I. MABEE, Colonel, Medical Corps,
Division Surgeon.



CABLE.

January 17, 1918.

The Salvation Army, New York:

As Inspector General of the First Division I have inspected all the
Salvation Army huts in this Division area and I am glad to inform you that
your work here is a well-earned success. Your huts are warm, dry, light,
and, I believe, much appreciated by all the men in this Division. To make
these huts at all homelike under present conditions requires energy and
ability. I know that the Salvation Army men in this Division have it and
am very willing to so testify.

CONRAD S. BABCOCK, Lieut.-Colonel,
Inspector General, First Division.



"The Salvation Army keeps open house, and any time that a body of men come
back from the front lines, in from a convoy, there is hot coffee and
sometimes home-made doughnuts (all free to the men). I was in command of a
town where the hut never closed till 3 or 4 in the morning, and their
girls baked pies and made doughnuts up to the front, under shell fire, for
our infantrymen. A Salvation Army lassie is safe without an escort
anywhere in France where there is an American soldier. That speaks for
itself. I am for any organization that is out to do something for my men,
and I think that it is the idea of the American people when they give
their money. What we want is someone who is willing to come over here and
do something for the boys, regardless of the fact that it may not net any
gain--in fact, may not help them to gather enough facts for a lecture tour
when they return home."



Headquarters, Third Division,
September 5,1918.

MY DEAR MR. LEFFINGWELL:

Your letter of July 22d just received. It has, perhaps, been somewhat
delayed in reaching me, owing to the fact that I have recently been
transferred to another division. I only wish things had been so that I
might have granted you or a representative of the Salvation Army an
interview when I was in the States recently, but, being under orders, I
could wait for nothing. Whatever I may have said, in a casual way, of the
work of the Salvation Army in France, I assure you was all deserved. Your
organization has been doing a splendid work for the men of my former
division and other troops who have come in contact with it. I have often
remarked, as have many of the officers, that after the war the Salvation
Army is going to receive such a boom from the boys who have come in touch
with it over here that it will seem like a veritable propaganda! Why
shouldn't it? For your work has been conducted in such a quiet,
unostentatious, unselfish way that only a man whose sensibilities are dead
can fail to appreciate it. I have found several of your workers, whose
names at this moment I am unable to recall, putting up with all sorts of
hardships and inconveniences, working from daylight until well into the
night that the boys might be cheered in one way or another. Your shacks
have always been at the disposal of the chaplains for their regimental
services. Whether Mass for the Catholic chaplains or Holy Communion for an
Episcopalian chaplain, they always found a place to set up their altars in
the Salvation Army huts; and the Protestant chaplains, also the Jewish,
always, to my knowledge, were given its use for their services. I have
found your own services have been very acceptable to the boys, in general,
but perhaps your doughnut program, with hot coffee or chocolate, means as
much as anything. Not that, like those of old, we follow the Salvation
Army because we can get filled up, but we all like their spirit. More than
on one occasion do I know of troops moving at night--and pretty wet and
hungry--that have been warmed and fed and sent on their way with new
courage because of what some Salvation Army worker and hut furnished. And
as they went their way many fine things were said about the Salvation
Army. I am sure, as a result of this work, you have won the favor and
confidence of hundreds of these soldier lads, and, if I am not terribly
mistaken, when we get home the Salvation tambourine will receive greater
consideration than heretofore.

I am glad to express my feelings for your work. God bless you in it, and
always!

Sincerely yours,

LYMAN BOLLINS, Division Chaplain,
Headquarters, Third Division, A. E. F., via New York.



At the Front in France, June 12, 1918.

Commissioner Thomas Estill,
Salvation Army, Chicago.

MY DEAR COMMISSIONER:

We are engaged in a great battle. My time is all taken with our wounded
and dead. Still I cannot resist the temptation to take a few moments in
which to express our appreciation of the splendid aid given our soldiers
by the Salvation Army.

The work of the Salvation Army is not in duplication of that of any other
organization. It is entirely original and unique. It fills a long-felt
want. Some day the world will know the aid that you have rendered our
soldiers. Then you will receive every dollar you need.

Your work is also greatly appreciated by the French people. I have never
heard a single unfavorable comment on the Salvation Army. They are
respected everywhere. Their unselfish devotion to our well, sick, wounded
and dead is above any praise that I can bestow. God will surely greatly
reward them.

I heartily congratulate you on the class of workers you have sent over
here. I pray that your invaluable aid may be extended to our troops
everywhere. God bless you and yours,

In His name,
(Signed) THOMAS J. DICKSON,
Chaplain with rank of Major,
Sixth Field Artillery, First Division, U. S. Army.



An appreciation written concerning the first Salvation
Army chaplain that was appointed after the war started:

Camp Cody, New Mexico,

January 16, 1918.

Major E. C. Clemans,
136th Infantry, Camp Cody, N. M.

Commissioner Thomas Estill, Chicago, Ill.

I have been associated with the chaplain now for nearly four months. I
have found him a Christian soldier and gentleman. He is "on the job" all
the time and no Chaplain in this Division is doing more faithful and
effective work. He is thoroughly evangelistic, is burdened for the souls
of his men and is working for their salvation not in but from their sins.
He is a "man's man," knows how to approach men and knows how and does get
hold of their affections in such a way that he is a help and a comfort to
them. He brings things to pass.

The Salvation Army may be well pleased that it is so well represented in
the Army as it is by Chaplain Kline.

Sincerely yours,

(Signed) EZRA C. CLEMANS,
Senior Chaplain, 34th Division.



July 11, 1918.

I have been familiar with the work of the Salvation Army for years, and
the organization from the beginning of the war has been doing a wonderful
work with the Allied forces and since the entering of the United States
into the struggle has given splendid aid and coöperation not only in
connection with the war activities at home but also with our forces
abroad. Their work is entitled to the sincere admiration of every American
citizen.

MAJOR EDWIN F. GLENN.



TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

It gives me the greatest pleasure to testify to the very excellent work of
the Salvation Army as I have seen it in this division. I have seen the
work done by this organization for ten months, under all sorts of
conditions, and it has always been of the highest character. At the start,
the Salvation Army was handicapped by lack of funds, but even under
adverse conditions, it did most valuable work in maintaining cheerful
recreation centres for the men, often in places exposed to hostile shell-
fire. The doughnut and pie supply has been maintained. This seems a little
thing, but it has gone a long way to keep the men cheerful. All the
Salvation Army force has been untiring in its work under very trying
conditions, and as a result, I believe it has gained the respect and
affection of officers and men more than any similar organization.

ALBERT J. MYERS, JR., Major, National Army.
1st Div., A. E. F. (Captain, Cavalry, U.S.A.)



Extract from letter from Captain Charles W. Albright:
Q. M., R. C., France.

"As to the Salvation Army, well, if they wanted our boys to lie down for
them to walk on, to keep their feet from getting muddy, the boys would
gladly do so.

"From everyone, officers and men alike, nothing but the highest praise is
given the Salvation Army. They are right in the thick of danger,
comforting and helping the men in the front line, heedless of shot, shell
or gas, the U. S. Army in France, as a unit, swears by the Salvation Army.

"I am proud to have a sister in their ranks."

Copyright (c) 2007. famouswriterz.com. All rights reserved.