THE FALLEN PALADIN.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1808, 22 July 1913, Page 2

THE FALLEN PALADIN.

IN SALVATION ARMY.

COMMISSIONER RAILTON. Local headquarters of the Salvation Army received cabled advice jesterday to the effect that Commissioner George Scott Railton had died suddenly on tho railway station at Cologne, Germany. The lato Commissioner was one of the most striking fignxes connected with the great movement founded by tho lnte General.Booth. At one time he was a guiding hand at headquarters, London, and, more recently, his strong personality marked him out as tho man to undertako tho work of Speoial Commissioner travelling on the Continent. According to information givxsn to a Dominion representative yesterday, it seems that tho late Commissioner Railton was on a visit to Germany, when heart failure ended what was from first to last a. lifei of "wonderfully enlightened insistency." He was one of the few men left who helped to link up the present Salvation Army with the days when the late William Booth was turning the furrow in tire great field which lie was presently to open up. lie joined tho Army at tho ago of 30 in 1873, tho movement then being known as tho "Christian Mission." He was a pioneer Salvationist in the United States, entering that field with a party of English workers in 1880. He had of Salvation Army work in Germany in 1887, and of tho French work of _"Armeo du Salut" in 1902. Besides being a man gifted with largo administrative capacity, ho had a somewhat distinguished literary gift, and was for many years a contributor to all tho Army publications. His latest work was an authoritative life of General Booth. He was also a first-elass linguist, being master of 6everal languages, all of which' were tho languago of countries into which the Army's work was likely to be extended, and, which he took the trouble to master on that account. As far as is understood by inquiry, one of the greatest of the workers has now been removed by death, and General "Bramwell Booth feels tho los 3 keenly. In the "eighties," the "War Cry" had articles dealing with tho work and personality of the lato Commissioner, but it is proljable tliat no adequate appreciation of him has ever yet been published. In tha early days of the Army, when they used to meet in tho Grecian Theatre, london, and were subject to frequent prosecutions by tho police, tho lato Commissioner was one of the "strong men of the time." The late Mr. Du Maurier (author of "Trilby") was once credited with saying: "Well, they can prosecute the Salvation Army as much as they like, but they will never dare to prosecute Railton. One glance of his compelling eyo would rout an ordinary magistrate for over." This is one of the few characterisations of Commissioner Railton on record, but it is also fairly well known that in his younger days ho sometimes went without food for 72 hours at a stretch, in order that he might be able to devote his "pay" either to the general Army funds or to buying meals for the London poor. Otherwise very little is known about him to tho outside world, for, though a lion in the work for whioTi he deemed luo had been "called," he probably did everything ho could to ensuje that ho would never lie "advertised."