THE SOCIAL WORK OF THE SALVATION ARMY

BY

EDWIN GIFFORD LAMB, A.B.

Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of
Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Political Science

Columbia University

New York

1909

Copyright, 1909

by

Edwin Gifford Lamb

PREFACE.

I use the word "Social" in the title of this work to suggest that, save in an auxiliary way, I am not attempting to describe the religious features of the organization. Such a field of investigation would prove a very profitable and interesting one, but it is a field, which, for the sake of clearness and impartial study, should be kept separate. The organization itself recognizes the primary division. Commander Booth-Tucker, the leader of the Army in the United States from 1896 to 1904, says, "The Salvation Army is the evolution of two great ideas: first, that of reaching with the gospel of salvation the masses who are outside the pale of ordinary church influence, and second, that of caring for their temporal as well as spiritual interests."[1]

I have secured very little data from books, as there is but little authentic literature on the subject. Primarily, the data for this treatise were taken from personal observation. In pursuing the subject I have visited Salvation Army social institutions of every description. In addition to visiting the larger cities of the United States and the three Army colonies, situated in Ohio, Colorado and California, respectively, I have investigated the work in London, where the Army had its origin, and at the farm colony in Hadleigh, on the river Thames, some thirty miles from London. I have slept in the hotels, worked in the industrial homes, wandered over the farm colonies, and mingled with the inmates of other types of Army institutions.

Nov., 1909. E. G. L.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

Introduction.

The Salvation Army was founded by William Booth in London, England, in 1865. Previous to this time Mr. Booth had been a successful clergyman in the Methodist Church, and had become widely known throughout England as a revivalist. As time passed, he had become more and more interested in the condition of the un-churched masses, and as his church did not approve of his taking up work among the masses in connection with it as an organization, he had, in 1861, separated from the Methodists. With little support, he established in London what was known as The Christian Mission.

From the first, numbers of converts were made, and soon several missions were established in London, and other cities of England. From the first, too, the agency of women was an important feature. Especially was this true in visitation among the lower classes. In regard to the foundation of the Army itself and in connection with its earlier successes, much credit must be given to Mrs. Booth, the wife of William Booth. She became as noted a speaker and revivalist as her husband,