Agricultural colonies; Poor -- Great Britain; Salvation Army; Unemployed -- Great Britain
3. All these modern miracles would, however, have been comparatively
useless but for the Army's system of utilising the gifts and energy of
our converts to the uttermost. Suppose that without any claim to Divine
power the Army had succeeded in raising up tens of thousands of
persons, formerly unknown and unseen in the community, and made them
into Singers, Speakers, Musicians, and Orderlies, that would surely in
itself have been a remarkable fact. But not only have these engaged in
various labours for the benefit of the community. They have been filled
with a burning ambition to attain the highest possible degree of
usefulness. No one can wonder that we expect to see the same process
carried on successfully amongst our new friends of the Casual Ward and
the Slum. And if the Army has been able to accomplish all this
utilisation of human talents for the highest purposes, in spite of an
almost universally prevailing contrary practice amongst the Churches,
what may not its Social Wing be expected to do, with the example of the
Army before it?
4. The maintenance of all this system has, of course, been largely due
to the unqualified acceptance of military government and discipline.
But for this we cannot be blind to the fact that even in our own ranks
difficulties would every day arise as to the exaltation to front seats
of those who were formerly persecutors and injurious. The old feeling
which would have kept Paul suspected, in the background, after his
conversion is, unfortunately, a part of the conservative groundwork of
human nature that continues to exist everywhere, and which has to be
overcome by rigid discipline in order to secure that everywhere and
always, the new convert should be made the most of for Christ.
But our Army system is a great indisputable fact, so much so that our
enemies sometimes reproach us with it. That it should be possible to
create an Army Organisation, and to secure faithful execution of duty
daily is indeed a wonder, but a wonder accomplished, just as completely
amongst the Republicans of America and France, as amongst the
militarily trained Germans, or the subjects of the British monarchy.
It is notorious that we can send an officer from London, possessed of
no extraordinary ability, to take command of any corps in the world,
with a certainty that he will find soldiers eager to do his bidding,
and without a thought of disputing his commands, so long as he
continues faithful to the orders and regulations under which his men
are enlisted.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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