further autonomy into the Balkan peninsula, preferring to wait till the ripe and rotten fruit shall drop into her lap, and the hands of the others are thereby paralyzed. And if the sultan loses heart for a moment in the desperate game he is playing, he can find fresh courage by thinking, as Professor Grosvenor in his great book has recently reminded us, that the British embassy stands upon land presented to England in gratitude for help against France in 1801; that the site of the French embassy was given to France in thankfulness for aid against England in 1807; that the shaft among the cypresses in the cemetery at Scutari commemorates English and French support against Russia in 1857; and that another column on the Bosphorus tells how Russia saved Mahmoud II. his empire in 1833. 'You think us weak,' said a Turkish statesman recently to a foreign ambassador, but in truth we are very strong, for our strength is rooted in your divisions.""

Another proof of the backing of the Porte by European powers is furnished in a telegram from London, January 26, telling of the purchase of war supplies in Germany for the Ottoman government. About that time it became known in Germany that Turkish orders for munitions of war had been placed with German manufacturers. Previously negotiations for war material had collapsed because the money to pay for the goods was not forthcoming. But now when the contractors refused to consider the matter without adequate guarantee of payment on delivery, they were astounded by a tender of drafts on account on Constantinople banks, together with the assurance from the agents of the German government that not only would the remainder be paid, but that additional orders were to come, payment of which would have one of the best possible guarantees-that of the German government.

CRISIS IN THE SALVATION ARMY.

THE American branch of the Salvation Army has recently experienced a severe shock in the incidents attending the recall of Commander and Mrs. Ballington Booth from their positions as leaders here. This crisis has served to call forth unexpected and universal comment, expressing the sympathy of all classes of people with the spirit and aim of the army. From all parts of the country, and by all avenues of expression,-from the pulpits, the press, both secular and religious, and from the platform, thoughtful men have acknowledged the value of the work of the army, and have commended its purposes. The

growth of sentiment favorable to the Salvation Army has been slow but unretarded. The expression of this sentiment is so general and so spontaneous that the people now understand fully that this large body of religious workers has a recognized place among Christian and philanthropic organizations.

History of the Army.-William Booth, the founder and supreme commander of the Salvation Army, is a man of strong will and unique personality. He was born in Nottingham, England, in 1829. At the age of twenty-one he became a minister of the Methodist New Connexion. This position he resigned after nine years, in order to devote himself to purely evangelistic work among the most degraded classes of London. In this work he attracted wide attention, and drew to himself the sympathy and substantial aid of some noted philanthropists. Four years after the beginning of his work in London, he named his organization the Christian Mission. This mission had branches in all parts of the kingdom. The work grew, and in 1878 the name of the movement was changed to the Salvation Army, and military discipline was adopted. Mr. Booth became the general of the army, with absolute authority. He is a man of great executive ability, prompt in decision, aggressive and earnest.

No little credit for the success of the movement is due to Mrs. William Booth, who during the first years of the life of the struggling organization was her husband's constant adviser and inspiration. She died in 1890.

The avowed purpose of the Salvation Army is "to make a people of those who are not a people"-to raise the "submerged tenth," and to give courage and self-respect to that large class of men and women who are abandoned by society and themselves. How to accomplish this has long been the most perplexing question which every evangelical denomination of Christians and every philanthropic organization has had to consider. General Booth's army undertook the task in a novel way. When the soldiers marched the dirtiest streets of the English cities with banners flying, fifes screeching, and tambourines clashing, they excited the derision of the "submerged tenth" and the pity of most thoughtful people. But they did not seem to regard either the derision or the pity. Their purpose was fixed, and their minds fortified against such attacks. They held prayer meetings in the streets, and prayed, and sang, and exhorted, amid the jibes of those for whom they were praying. They went down into the

dives, and often succeeded in rescuing women whom hard conditions of life had driven, against their wills, to shame. They were clearly sincere and charitable, and soon came to be known as such by the people among whom they worked. The ideas which they teach are simple and purely spiritual. They are, that misery and wretchedness have their roots in sin; that

salvation from sin can come to every penitent and receptive heart, through Jesus Christ; and that acceptance of atonement through Him is the only way by which men can be saved from the power of sin in this world and the consequences of guilt in the world to come.

Every device is used in order to bring these teachings clearly to the attention of their mixed, degraded, and often indifferent audiences. Extravagant methods,eccentric and unusual manners are the rule among them. But everything of this kind is subordinated

GENERAL WILLIAM BOOTH,
FOUNDER AND COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE
SALVATION ARMY.

to the position of a means of teaching their ideas. Sacred songs set to the music of the church, the parade, and the dance hall, are used in their marches and their meetings. Slang, quaint, and piquant expressions abound in their discourses, and effectively attract the attention of their hearers. Those who attend their meetings hear men of common sense, and often of culture, and women of gentle breeding, address the lowest and least hopeful classes of people in words of true charity and kindest sympathy. These people, who have seldom been in a church, whose habitual attitude toward religion is one of indifference or an tipathy, are persuasively taught truths of great spiritual meaning.

COMMANDER AND MRS. BALLINGTON BOOTH.

The work of the Salvation Army naturally spread beyond the British Isles. There is hardly a quarter of the world where its soldiers are not found. The first of its missionaries to arrive in the United States came in 1881, under the leadership of Commissioner Railton. They were received with little favor. The opinion prevailed that, although they had been successful in the slums of London, yet we did not have in this country any classes so deeply degraded that they could not be more effectually reached by the agencies already established. This idea was quickly proved to be mistaken. The new workers soon found a field for their utmost exertions. Their spirit of sympathy and equality soon proved to be quite in accord with the spirit of our society, while their intelligence and their knowledge of the

wants and ways of the people of the slums gave them recognition.

Commissioner Railton and his two immediate successors carried on the work for six years. Then General Booth's son Ballington was sent to take command of the American army. He and his wife Maud entered upon the work most enthusiastically. At their coming they found 260 corps, 600 officers, and 6,000 soldiers scattered through the cities of the country. The efficiency of their labor is shown by the great increase in the number of corps, officers, and soldiers, and by the widening of their field of work. There are now 680 corps, 2,100 officers, and 30,000 soldiers. They have established sixteen slum posts and six rescue homes. Buffalo, Chicago, Seattle, and San Francisco have each a food and shelter depot. There is an employment bureau in Boston, and one in San Francisco. One of the most important of their institutions is the training garrison, of which there are twenty-two in this country. In these garrisons the new recruits are taught the methods of becoming efficient soldiers. They are impressed with the idea that they should carry the good news of salvation to their friends. They are drilled in the Bible, and taught obedience to discipline and respect for authority. addition to these departments, there is an auxiliary league composed of people who, though not engaged in the work of the army, give it countenance and support by an annual contribution to its treasury. There are 6,000 members of this league, and each pays $5 a year as a membership fee.

In

No account of the work of the Salvation Army would be complete without a mention of General Booth's book, In Darkest England, and the Way Out. This book, which appeared in 1890, attracted wide attention. Philanthropists, university and church "settlement" workers, felt that the author was a man who could teach them something. Accordingly they gave the book a careful reading. The way out" proposed by the general was the establishment of colonies for the poorest people, -a city colony, a farm colony, and an over-the-sea colony. A labor bureau and a factory were to be auxiliaries in this great work.

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The army in America issues two publications,-the Conqueror, a monthly, and the War Cry, a weekly paper. The circulation of the former is 18,000, that of the latter 90,000.

Causes of the Crisis.-There is an important dis