PHILANTHROPY AND COMMERCE.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 9022, 8 January 1908, Page 4

PHILANTHROPY AND COMMERCE.

If one judged by the few uniformed members of the Salvation Army who l are to be met with on parade in the; cities and towns of the dominion, the impression would be formed that the organisation is in a decadent condition. It is not always well, however, to judge by appearances, and in the case of the "Army" such judgment would lead to an entirely wrong conclusion. That institutiun is very much aiive in a hundred different directions, and does not hesitate to enter even the field of commerce where commerce is likely to serve its i ends. The latest move of the Salvation Army is the establishment of a steam fleet of its own. It is "a big order," but no bigger than many it has undertaken and carried to a successful issue. The movement is being set on foot in the capital of the Empire, and Colonel Lamb, with that charming optimism which characterises the leaders of the great organisation, has no doubt about the money being obtainable. "It is simply a question of finance," cheerfully remarked the Colonel to a press representative, as if that was the merest : trifle of an obstacle; and doubtless it j will prove to be so, for the "Army"' ihas a knack of raising the funds necessary for its every undertaking. : "As soou as we can find the money," , 3f»ys Colonel Lamb, "we shall buy the ships, and have a service of vessels '>f our own. Our shipping department has been very successful. We have chartered vessels solely for our own use, and have already secured ten for next season's emigration. Of course, we should exr pect hostility from the steamship companies, but that is only to be experted. We can get plenty ofefficient men i'rom the captain downwards, and," he added,, "no swearing in the stokehold. All wauld be good Salvationists. The vessels would be primarily intended for, passenger traffic, but we should* carry freight as well. Then we snould not be hampered, like other companies, in our working. For instance,, if the Atlantic traffic was slow we could go into the Pacific, and so on. We only wafit someone—some Empire-builder —to come along and give ua . the mon'ey, and we will start right away." We hope "the Eftipirebuilder" will come along and intakethe job on."