THE SALVATION ARMY AND OUTCAST LONDON

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 2094, 26 March 1889, Page 2

THE SALVATION ARMY AND OUTCAST LONDON

In pursuance of the Salvation Army scheme for providing food and shelter for the unemployed poor at a nominal cost and for savins; fallen women, a ihelter wat opened on January 16th In St. John's •qaare, Olerkenvrell, a large number of persona attending. " General ". Booth, who presided, contended, that In helping people to escape from poverty and wretchedness the Salvation Army wai smoothing the way for them to higher things. Last February they began an experiment at Llmehouao — opening a lodging hoaee and a kitchen for the poor. At that establishment they had supplied 1200 meals at 6d each, 27 205 »t 3d, 297,000 at a penny, 240,000 at a halfpenny, and over 27,000 at a farthing, the latter being sold almost entirely to children. Sometimes two, and even three, little onet would buy a basin of soup and eat It la altercate spoonf ols, first to one, thon to ta» Other, and to ou. The figuros ke had given made a total of 595.G0Q meals supplied at the Llmehouse shelter In eleven month*. The number of lodgers during the iimt period had been 29.800. There was a low of £15Q on the operations of the elevens months, but the Salvation Army wa» only a learner m this wort* and might even make It pay. Nineteen of the men who had made use of the Limehoui* shelter ha/1 professed a determination to glva themselves to God and lead a 'new life ; and the plaoe itself was to a. large) extent managed by men who had been, rescued from lives of poverty and wretohedoeei. Such an establishment, would not fall to do much good, besldei that of a material kind. It must b* eomethlng to keep people from tb* common lodging-houses with their low associations. The doors of the shelter at I^lmohoaie were closed at a certain hour, oo that there was no going m and ont at all hours of the night. Every man who used the plaoe, was made to feel that if ho bad a tale to tell lt*would be heard with sympathy, and if possible something would be done to help him out of his wretohednsss, physical at well as moral. Then was a little reading of the Bible, the sing. Ing of a hymn, and io the morning a abort address j but no man got mora soup or a batter "doss" beoause he was at .» Salvation Army meeting the night before or would be at one the night after. In the shelter which that meeting was assembled to opan, 260 persons oouli sleep and taka sapper and breakfast. If fairly pa'ronlsed, it would probably pay its working uxpsnaes j but for the opst of fitting op— £6sß —ha wai compelled te UQuble the public^ 1 •