nce in this netherworld that
attracted the versatile philanthropist at the head of the Salvation Army
twenty years ago....

"The general idea about the Salvation Army is, that the nearer it gets
to the most abandoned classes, the more wonderful and the more numerous
are the converts. It is a sad admission to pass on to the world that the
opposite is really the case. The results are fewer. General Booth would
almost break his heart if he knew the proportion of men who have been
'saved,' in the sense that he most values, through his social scheme.
But he ought to know, and the Church and the world ought to know, and in
order that it may I will make bold to say that the officials cannot put
their hands on the names of a thousand men in all parts of the world who
are to-day members of the Army who were converted at the penitent form
of shelters and elevators, who are now earning a living outside the
control of the Army's social work."

But the public appear to have infinite faith in the multiplication and
enlargement of these shelters, as the following extract from a daily
paper of December 1911 will show--

"'Since the days of Mahomet, not forgetting St. Francis and Martin
Luther, I doubt if there is any man who has started, without help from
the Government, such a world-wide movement as this.'

"This was Sir George Askwith's tribute to General Booth and the
Salvation Army at the opening of the new wing of the men's Elevators
in Spa Road, Bermondsey, yesterday afternoon. The task of declaring the
wing open devolved upon the Duke of Argyll, who had beside him on the
platform the Duchess of Marlborough, Lady St. Davids, Lord Armstrong,
Sir Daniel and Lady Hamilton, Alderman Sir Charles C. Wakefield, Sir
Edward Clarke, K.C., Sir George Askwith, and the Mayor of Bermondsey and
General Booth.

"The General, who is just back from Denmark, spoke for three-quarters
of an hour, notwithstanding his great age and his admission that he was
'far from well.' The Elevator, as its name implies, seeks to raise men
who are wholly destitute and give them a fresh start. The new wing has
been erected at a cost of L10,000, and the Elevator, which accommodates
590 men and covers two-and-a-half acres, represents an expenditure of
L30,000, and is the largest institution of its kind in the world.

"'The men,' said the General, 'are admitted on two conditions only, that
they are willing to obey orders, and ready to work. Before he has his
bre