| Tears Of The Widows back to 'William Booth - Famous Words'
To William Booth there was no such currency as dirty money. All gifts, whoever the donor, were gratefully received to help on his work of alleviating the sufferings of the needy. Sinners and saints alike were welcome to contribute to Army coffers. He had a ready answer for his critics. On one occasion he accepted a donation from a man in high society, but one known for his agnosticism. Although some of his friends frowned on his action, the Army Founder's conscience was not uneasy. 'We will wash it in the tears of the widows and orphans' he replied, 'and lay it on the altar of humanity.' He never despised the shillings and pence of the poor; he included the smallest contributions in the subscription lists which contained recognition of help given by the wealthy.
Lord Rothschild appreciated William Booth's work and told him during an interview: ' I'm going to give you £1000, General.' Then in a teasing vein continued 'When will you have it?' 'Now! ' thundered the one time pawnbroker's assistant as he thought of the hundreds of meals he would be able to provide for the hungry, or of the help it would be for some new building project. And the great financier reached for his cheque book.
Another time the Founder's son, Bramwell, was given a blank signed cheque. 'Fill it in and make it payable to the Army,' said the benefactor. He had seen William helping a costermonger loading scrap iron on to a wheelbarrow and had vowed, 'If that is the spirit of The Salvation Army, then I shall help it as I have opportunity.' .Shall we say a thousand pounds? ' asked Bramwell. 'Well - yes,' came the halting reply. 'As you have said only one thousand pounds, we will make it one thousand.' One often wonders what the General said when he heard the story and realized what he could have done with five thousand !
|