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The War Romance of the Salvation Army

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





An old regular army officer who returned to Paris last week said:

"I wish every American who has stood on street corners in America and
sneered at the work of the Salvation Army could see what they are doing
for the boys in France.

"They do not proclaim that they are here for investigation or for getting
atmosphere for War romances. They have not come to furnish material for
Broadway press agents. They do not wear, 'Oh, such becoming uniforms,'
white shoes, dainty blue capes and bonnets, nor do they frequent Paris tea
rooms where the swanky British and American officers put up.

"Take it from me, these women are doing almighty fine work. There are
twenty-two of them here in France. We army men have given them shell-
shattered and cast-off field kitchens to work with, and oh, man, the
doughnuts, the pancakes and the pies they turn out!

"I'm an old army officer, but what I like about the Salvation Army is that
it doesn't cater to officers. It is for the doughboys first, last and all
the time. The Salvation Army men do not wear Sam Browne belts; they do as
little handshaking with officers as possible.

"They cash the boys' checks without question, and during the month of
April in a certain division the Salvation Army sent home $20,000 for the
soldiers. The Rockefeller Foundation hasn't as yet given the Salvation
Army a million-dollar donation to carry on its work. Fact is, I don't know
just how the Salvation Army chaplains and lassies do get along. But get
along they do.

"Perhaps some of the boys and officers give them a lift now and then when
the sledding is rough. They don't aim to make a slight profit as do some
other organizations.

"Ever since Cornelius Hickey put up 'Hickey's Hut,' the first Salvation
Army hut in France, they have been working at a loss. I saw an American
officer give a Salvation Army chaplain 500 francs out of his pay at a
certain small town in France recently.

"The work done in 'Hickey's Hut' did much to endear the Salvation folks to
the doughboys. When a letter arrived in France some months ago addressed
only to 'Hickey's Hut, France,' it reached its destination _toute de
suite_, forty-eight hours after it arrived.

"The French climate has hit our boys hard. It is wet and penetratingly
cold. Goes right to the marrow, and three suits of underwear are no
protection against it. When the lads returned from training camp or the
trenches, wet, cold, hungry and despondent, they found a welcome in
'Hickey's Hut.'

"Not a patronizing, holier-than-thou, we-know-we-are-doing-a-good-work-
and-hope-you-doughboys-appreciate-it sort of a welcome, but a good old
Salvation Army, Bowery Mission welcome, such as Tim Sullivan knew how to
hand out in the old days.

"Around a warm fire with men who spoke their own language and who did not
pretend to be above them in the social scale the doughboys forgot that
they were four thousand miles from home and that they couldn't 'sling the
lingo.'

"I saw a group of lads on the Montdidier front who had not been paid in
three months, standing cursing their luck. They had no money, therefore,
they could not buy anything.

"The Salvation Army had been apprised by telegraph that the doughboys were
playing in hard luck. Presto! Out from Paris came a truck loaded with
everything to eat. The truck was unloaded and the boys paid for whatever
they wanted with slips of paper signed with their John Hancocks. The
Salvation Army lassies asked no questions, but accepted the slips of paper
as if they were Uncle Sam's gold.

"And one of the most useful institutions in Europe where war rages is one
that has no publicity bureau and has no horns to toot. This is the
Salvation Army. In the estimation of many, the Salvation Army goes way
ahead of the work of many of the other war organizations working here. I
see brave women and young women of the Salvation Army every day in places
that are really hazardous."



First Lieutenant Marion M. Marcus, Jr., Field Artillery,
wrote to one of our leading officers:

October 9, 1918.

"If the people at home could see the untiring and absolute devotion of the
workers of the Salvation Army, in serving and caring for our men, they
would more than give you the support you ask. The way the men and women
expose themselves to the dangers of the front lines and hardships has more
than endeared them to every member of the American Expeditionary Forces,
and they are always in the right spot with cheer of hot food and drink
when it is most appreciated."



EXTRACT FROM LETTER.

"Away up front where things break hard and rough for us, and we are hungry
and want something hot, we can usually find it in some old partly
destroyed building, which has been organized into a shack by--well, guess
--the Salvation Army.

"They are the soldier's friend. They make no display or show of any kind,
but they are fast winning a warm corner in the heart of everyone."



"I feel it is my duty to drop you a few lines to let you know how the boys
over here appreciate what the Salvation Army is doing for them. It is a
second home to us. There is always a cheerful welcome awaiting us there
and _I have yet to meet a sour-faced cleric behind the counter_. One
Salvation Army worker has his home in a cellar, located close to the
front-line trenches. He cheerfully carries on his wonderful work amid the
flying of shells and in danger of gas. He is one fine fellow, always
greeting you with a smile. He serves the boys with hot coffee every day,
free of charge, and many times he has divided his own bread with the tired
and hungry boys returning from the trenches. In the evening he serves
coffee and doughnuts at a small price. Say, who wouldn't be willing to
fight after feasting on that?

"In the many rest camps you will find the Salvation Army girls. They are
located so close to the front-line trenches that they have to wear their
gas masks in the slung position, and they also have their tin hats ready
to put on. The girls certainly are a fine, jolly bunch, and when it comes
to baking pies and doughnuts they are hard to beat. The boys line up a
half hour before time so as to be sure they get their share. I had the
pleasure of talking to a mother and her daughter and they told me they had
sold out everything they had to the boys with the exception of some salmon
and sardines on which they were living--salmon for dinner and sardines for
supper. They stood it all with big smiles and those smiles made me smile
when I thought of my troubles.

"In the trenches the boys become affected with body lice, known as
cooties. A good hot bath is the only real cure for them. While on the way
to a bath-house a Salvation Army worker overtook us. He was riding in a
Ford which had seen better days. The springs on it were about all in and
it made a noise like someone calling for mercy. The Salvation Army worker
pulled up in front of us and with a broad smile on his face said: "Room
for half a ton!" We did not need a second invitation and we soon had poor
Henry loaded down. I thought sure it would give out, but the worker only
laughed about it and kept on feeding the machine more gas as we cheered
until it started away with us.

"I want to tell you what the Salvation Army does for the moral side of the
soldier. The American soldier needs the guidance of God over here more
than he ever did in his whole life. Away from home and in a foreign land
in every corner, one must have Divine guidance to keep him on the narrow
path of life. If it was not for the _workers of God over here the boys
would gradually break away and then I'm afraid we would not have the right
kind of fighters to hold up our end_. Of course, prayers alone won't
satisfy the appetite of the American soldier, and the Salvation Army girls
get around that by baking for the boys. They believe in satisfying the
cravings of the stomach as well as the craving of the soul and mind. I
always enjoy the sermons at the Salvation Army. A good, every-day sermon
is always appreciated. The Salvation Army helps you along in their good
old way, and they don't believe in preaching all day on what you should do
and what you shouldn't do. The girls are a fine bunch of singers and their
singing is enjoyed very much by all of the boys. It is a treat to see an
American girl so close to the front and a still better treat to listen to
one sing.

"The Salvation Army does much good work in keeping the boys in the right
spirit so that they are glad to go back to the trenches when their turn
comes. There is no Salvation Army hut on this front. I often wish there
was one on every front. I believe the Salvation Army does not get its full
credit over in the States. Perhaps the people over there do not understand
the full meaning of the work it is doing over here. I want the Salvation
Army to know that it has all of the boys over here back of it and we want
to keep up the good work. We will go through hell, if necessary, because
we know the folks back home are back of us. We want the Salvation Army to
feel the same way. The _boys over here are really back of it and we want
you to continue your good work_."



"There is just one thing more I wish to speak of, and that is the little
old Salvation Army. You will never see me, nor any of the other boys over
here, laugh at their street services in the future, and if I see anyone
else doing that little thing that person is due for a busted head! I
haven't seen where they are raising a tenth the money some of the other
societies are, but they are the topnotchers of them all as the soldiers'
friend, and their handouts always come at the right time. Some of those
girls work as hard as we do."

"The Salvation Army over here is doing wonderful work. _They haven't any
shows or music, but they certainly know what pleases the boys most_,
and feed us with homemade apple pie or crullers, with lemonade--a great
big piece of pie or three crullers, with a large cup of lemonade, for a
franc (18-1/2 cents).

"These people are working like beavers, and the people in the States ought
to give them plenty of credit and appreciate their wonderful help to the
men over here." "We were in a bomb-proof semi-dugout, in the heart of a
dense forest, within range of enemy guns, my Hebrew comrade and I. We were
talking of the fate that brought us here--of the conditions as we left
them at home. There was the thought of what 'might' happen if we were to
return to America minus a limb or an eye; we were discussing the great
economic and moral reform which is a certainty after the war, when through
the air came the harmonious strumming of a guitar accompanying a sweet,
feminine voice, and we heard:

Lead, Kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom;
Lead Thou me on;
The night is dark and I am far from home,
Lead Thou me on.
Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene--
One step enough for me.

"It was the Salvation Army! In a desert of human hearts, many of them
wounded with heartache, these brave, brave servants of the Son of David
came to cheer us up and make life more bearable.

"In our outfit are Greeks, Italians, Bohemians, Irish, Jews--all of them
loyal Americans--and the Salvation Army serves each with an impartial
self-sacrifice which should forever still the voices of critics who
condemn sending Army lassies over here.

"Those in the ranks are men. The Salvation Army women are admired--almost
worshipped--but respected and safe. Men by the thousands would lay down
their lives for the Salvationists, and not till after the war will the
full results of this sacrifice by Salvation Army workers bear fruit. But
now, with so many strong temptations to go the wrong way, here are noble
girls roughing it, smiling at the hardships, singing songs, making
doughnuts for the doughboys, and always reminding us, even in danger, that
it is not all of 'life to live,' bringing to us recollections of our
mothers, sisters, and sweethearts, and if anyone questions, 'Is it worth
while?' the answer is: 'A thousand times yes!' and I cannot refrain from
sending my hearty thanks for all this service means to us.

"A few miles in back of us now, a half dozen Connecticut girls
representing the Salvation Army are doing their bit to make things
brighter for us, and say, maybe those girls cannot bake. Every day they
furnish us with real homemade crullers and pies at a small cost, and their
coffee, holy smoke! it makes me homesick to even write about it. The girls
have their headquarters in an old tumble-down building and they must have
some nerve, for the Boche keeps dropping shells all around them day and
night, and it would only take one of those shells to blow the whole outfit
into kingdom come."



In a letter from a private to his mother while he was lying wounded in the
hospital, he says of the Salvation Army and Red Cross:

"Most emphatically let me say that they both are giving real service to
the men here and both are worthy of any praise or help that can be given
them. This is especially so of the Salvation Army, because it is not fully
understood just what they are doing over here. They are the only ones
that, regardless of shells or gas, feed the boys in the trenches and bear
home to them the realization of what God really is at the very moment when
our brave lads are facing death. Their timely phrases about the Christ,
handed out with their doughnuts and coffee, have turned many faltering
souls back to the path and they will never forget it. 'Man's extremity is
God's opportunity' surely holds good here. You may not realize or think it
possible, but a large majority of the boys carry Bibles and there are
often heated arguments over the different phrases.

"I have just turned my pockets inside out and the tambourine could hold no
more, but it was all I had and I am still in debt to the Salvation Army.

"For hot coffee and cookies when I was shivering like an aspen, for
buttons and patches on my tattered uniform, for steering me clear of the
camp followers; but more than all for the cheery words of solace for those
'gone West,' for the blessed face of a woman from the homeland in the
midst of withering blight and desolation--for these I am indebted to the
Salvation Army."



CABLEGRAM.

Paris, December 17, 1917.

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

Being a Private, I am one of the many thousands who enjoy the kindnesses
and thoughtful recreation in the Salvation hut. The huts are always
crowded when the boys are off duty, for 'tis there we find warmth of body
and comradeship, pleasures in games and music, delight in the palatable
refreshments, knowledge in reading periodicals, convenience in the writing
material at our disposal, and other home-like touches for enjoyment. The
courtesy and good-will of the hut workers, combined with these good
things, makes the huts a resort of real comfort with the big thought of
salvation in Christ predominating over all. Appreciation of these huts,
and all they mean to the soldier in this terrible war, rises full in all
our hearts.

CLINTON SPENCER,
Private, Motor Action.

"I just used to love to listen to the Salvation Army at 6th and Penn
Streets, but I never dreamed of seeing them over here. And when I first
saw four girls cooking and baking all day I wondered what it was all
about.

"But I didn't have long to find out, for that night I saw these same girls
put on their gas masks at the alert and start for the trenches. Then I
started to ask about them. I never spoke to the girls, but fellows who had
been in the trenches told me that they came up under shell fire to give
the boys pies or doughnuts or little cakes or cocoa or whatever they had
made that day. I thought that great of the Salvation Army. And many a boy
who got help through them has a warm spot in his heart for them.

"You can see by the paper I write on who gave it to us. It is Salvation
Army paper. Altogether I say give three hearty cheers for the Salvation
Army and the girls who risk their own lives to give our boys a little
treat."



"I am going to crow about our real friends here--and it is the verdict of
all the boys--it is the Salvation Army, Joe. _That is the boys' mother
and father here. It is our home_. They have a treat for us boys every
night--that is, cookies, doughnuts or pie--about 9 o'clock. But that is
only a little of them. The big thing is the spirit--the feeling a boy gets
of being home when he enters the hut and meets the lassies and lads who
call themselves the soldiers of Christ, and we are proud to call them
brother soldiers. We think the world of them! So, Joe, whenever you get a
chance to do the Salvation Army a good turn, by word or deed, do so, as
thereby you will help us. When we get back we are going to be the
Salvation Army's big friend, and you will see it become one of the United
States' great organizations."

"My life as a soldier is not quite as easy as it was in Rochester, but
still I am not going to give up my religion, and I am not ashamed to let
the other fellows know that I belong to the Salvation Army. Sometimes they
try to get me to smoke or go and have a glass of beer with them, but I
tell them that I am a Salvationist. There are twenty fellows in a hut, so
they used to make fun at me when I used to say my prayers. Once in awhile
I used to have a _pair of shoes_ or a coat or something, thrown at
me. I used to think what I could do to stop them throwing things at me, so
I thought of a plan and waited. It was two or three nights before they
threw anything again. One night, as I was saying my prayers, someone threw
his shoes at me. After I got through I picked up the shoes and took out my
shoe brushes and polished and cleaned the shoes thrown at me, and from
that night to now I have never had a thing thrown at me. The fellow came
to me in a little while and said he was sorry he had thrown them. There
are four or five Salvationists in our company--one was a Captain in the
States. The Salvation Army has three big huts here among the soldier boys.
We have some nice meetings here, and they have reading-rooms and writing
and lunch-rooms, so I spend most of my time there."



LETTER OF COMMENDATION RE SALVATION ARMY.

U.S.S. Point Bonita, 15 October, 1918.

Miss Evangeline Booth, Commander,
Care of Salvation Army Headquarters,
14th Street, New York City.

DEAR MISS BOOTH:--

We want to thank you for presenting our crew with an elegant phonograph
and 25 records. We are all going to take up a collection and buy a lot of
records and I guess we will be able to pass the time away when we are not
on watch.

We have a few men in the crew who have made trips across on transports and
they say that every soldier and sailor has praised the Salvation Army way-
up-to-the-sky for all the many kindnesses shown them.

We also want to thank you for the kindness shown to one of our crew. The
Major who gave us the present was the best yet and so was the gentleman
who drove the auto about ten miles to our ship. That is the Salvation Army
all over. During the war or in times of peace, your organization reaches
the hearts of all.

We all would like to thank Mr. Leffingwell for his great kindness in
helping us.

The undersigned all have the warmest sort of feeling for you and the
Salvation Army.

Many, many thanks, from the ship's crew.



"I was down to the Salvation Army the other day helping them cook
doughnuts and they sure did taste good, and the fellows fairly go crazy to
get them, too. Anything that is homemade don't last long around here, and
when they get candy or anything sweet there is a line about a block long.

"Notice the paper this is written on? Well, I can't say enough about them.
They sure are a treat to us boys, and almost every night they have good
eats for us. One night it is lemonade, pies and coffee, and the next it is
doughnuts and coffee, and they are just like mother makes. There are two
girls here that run the place, and they are real American girls, too. The
first I have seen since I have been in France, and I'll say they are a
treat!

"Hogan and I have been helping them, and now I cook pies and doughnuts as
well as anyone. We sure do have a picnic with them and enjoy helping out
once in awhile. One thing I want you to do is to help the Salvation Army
all you can and whenever you get a chance to lend a helping hand to them
do it, for they sure have done a whole lot for your boy, and if you can
get them a write-up in the papers, why do it and I will be happy."



FROM LORD DERBY.

"The splendid work which the Salvation Army has done among the soldiers
during the war is one for which I, as Secretary of State for War, should
like to thank them most sincerely; it is a work which is deserving of all
support."



STATE OF NEW JERSEY
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT
TRENTON.

MY DEAR MR. BATTLE: December 27, 1917.

I have learned of the campaign of the Salvation Army to raise money for
its war activities. The work of the Salvation Army is at all times
commendable and deserving, but particularly so in its relation to the war.

I sincerely hope that the campaign will be very successful.
Cordially yours,

(Signed) WALTER B. EDGE,

Mr. George Gordon Battle, Governor.
General Chairman, 37 Wall Street, New York City.



GOVERNOR CHARLES S. WHITMAN'S ADDRESS AT LUNCHEON
AT HOTEL TEN EYCK, ALBANY, NEW YORK, DECEMBER 8, 1917.

"I take especial pleasure in offering my tribute of respect and
appreciation to the Salvation Army. I have known of its work as intimately
as any man who is not directly connected with the organization. In my
position as a judge and a district attorney of New York City for many
years, I always found the Salvation Army a great help in solving the
various problems of the poor, the criminal and distressed.

"Frequently while other agencies, though good, hesitated, there was never
a case where there was a possibility that relief might be brought--never
was a case of misery or violence so low, that the Salvation Army would not
undertake it.

"The Salvation Army lends its manhood and womanhood to go 'Over There'
from our States, and our State, to labor with those who fight and die.
There is very little we can do, but we can help with our funds."



"The Salvation Army is worthy of the support of all right-thinking people.
Its main purpose is to reclaim men and women to decency and good
citizenship. This purpose is being prosecuted not only with energy and
enthusiasm but with rare tact and judgment.

"The sphere of the Army's operations has now been extended to the
battlefields of Europe, where its consecrated workers will coöperate with
the Y.M.C.A., K. of C., and kindred organizations.

"It gives me pleasure to commend the work of this beneficent organization,
and to urge our people to remember its splendid service to humanity.

"Very truly yours,
"ALBERT E. SLEEPER,
"Governor."



Endorsement of January 25, 1918.
Governor Hugh M. Dorsey, of Georgia.

The Salvation Army has been a potent force for good everywhere, so far as
I know. They are rendering to our soldiers "somewhere in France" the most
invaluable aid, ministering not only to their spiritual needs, but caring
for them in a material way. This they have done without the blare of
trumpets.

Many commanding officers certify to the fact that the Salvation Army is
not only rendering most effective work, but that this work is of a
distinctive character and of a nature not covered by the activities of
other organizations ministering to the needs of the soldier boys. In other
words, they are filling that gap in the army life which they have always
so well filled in the civil life of our people.



STATE OF UTAH
EXECUTIVE OFFICE

Salt Lake City, January 21, 1918.

"I have learned with a great deal of interest of the splendid work being
done by the Salvation Army for the moral uplift of the soldiers, both in
the training camps and in the field. I am very glad to endorse this work
and to express the hope that the Salvation Army may find a way to continue
and extend its work among the soldiers."

(Signed) SIMON BAMBERG,
Governor.



FROM A PROCLAMATION BY GOVERNOR BRUMBAUGH.

To the People of Pennsylvania:

I have long since learned to believe in the great, good work of the
Salvation Army and have given it my approval and support through the
years. This mighty body of consecrated workers are like gleaners in the
fields of humanity. They seek and succor and save those that most need and
least receive aid. Now, THEREFORE, I, Martin G. Brumbaugh, Governor of
the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, do cordially commend the work of the
Salvation Army and call upon our people to give earnest heed to their call
for assistance, making liberal donations to their praiseworthy work and
manifesting thus our continued and resolute purpose to give our men in
arms unstinted aid and to support gladly all these noble and sacrificing
agencies that under God give hope and help to our soldiers.

[SEAL]

GIVEN under my hand and the great seal of the State, at the City of
Harrisburg, this seventh day of February, in the year of our Lord one
thousand nine hundred and eighteen, and of the Commonwealth the one
hundred and forty-second.

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