improvement of the people's condition in any land. But
for that very reason he loathed, with uncommon vigour, such socialism as
would spurn and crush out of the world the man who is no longer in
first-class physical condition or desirous of earning an honest living
by hard work, instead of going about to create hatred between man and
man, and would prevent those who will not submit to any man's dictation
from leaving their families to starve when work is to be obtained.

The General's indignation was specially aroused when "socialist"
spouters tried to block all his plans of beneficence with their foul
misrepresentations. He fought every such attempt with the utmost
determination, and by the help of God and the more intelligent of his
fellow-countrymen, crushed every such attack more completely than the
public sometimes knew, for he resolutely kept out of any political or
social agitation and went calmly on his way, even when his quietude led
the enemy to imagine that he was yielding. In later years, when all the
pressmen of a city came together to meet him, the Social Democratic
paper representative would, of course, come with the rest. On the
occasion of such an interview once in Denmark, he writes:--

"The Social Democrat usually contents himself by compassionating
the inadequacy of my efforts for dealing with the miseries which
they contemplate, with the remark that I don't go deep enough, that
mine is a superficial operation, whereas they destroy poverty by
dragging it up by the roots!

"My notion is that the principles upon which my efforts are founded
carry me to the lowest roots of all, namely, the selfishness of
human nature. Their notion is that capital is the root of the
misery. Destroy the capital, or rather I expect they mean divide it
up, or let everybody have the benefits that flow out of its
possession. My notion is that the roots of the selfishness are to
be found in human nature itself."

Chapter XIII

Women And Scandinavia

For a number of years it was The General's custom to conduct the annual
review of our Swedish troops at Sodertelge, a beautiful seaside spot,
near enough to Stockholm to make it easily accessible, and yet far
enough down the Fjord to make the journey thither a very delightful
excursion.

The sight of from fifteen to twenty steamers crowded with Salvationists
making their way, with streaming banners, musi