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14 Mrs. MAUD BALLINGTON BOOTH I Ngl i. \ * IM.. /-J HE recent visit of Mrs. Maud Ballington Booth to Atlanta cannot be said to revive or accentuate interest in this remarkable woman or her wonderful work, for she is one of the few personalities in whom interest never flags and her work is among that rare class of effort which wins for itself at all times the fullest commendation from all classes. Yet the presence of Mrs. Booth in Georgia cre- ates a desire to know specifically the present status of her world-renowned endeavor to alleviate as far as possible the hard lines of the criminal classes and to bring them to a mental at titude in which reformation and repentance shall bear the adequate results. Feeling that our readers would welcome a report of this kind from Mrs. Booth herself, a meeting with her was- arranged for a rep resentative of The Golden Age in order that some accurate account of her work in American prisons might be given. We say “accurate” advisedly and yet it is impossible to cover the extent or the effect of the work that Mrs. Booth does. It is unique in its character and quality, and as it is di- rected toward the moral regeneration of the prisoner it serves as a most distinct and decided benefit to society as well. Some ten or twelve years ago, Mrs. Booth and her husband became the head of a philanthropic movement in this country known as “The Volunteers of America’’ and separated from The Salvation Army of which it 'was originally a part. The American organization differs from the En glish one inasmuch as the “Volunteers are governed not by an individual but by what is known as the Greenfield Council composed of officers of the order above the rank of major, and to this Council all questions of government or of policy are submitted, each member being empowered to cast a vote, a majority of wffiich decides and determines the action of the body. This council has thepporerw r er to elect a leader and Mr. Booth has been chosen for this position for a number of years and has recently been re-elected. Both he and his wife are actively engaged in general philanthropic work, but Mrs. Booth herself has, specialized, as it were, by devoting herself almost exclusively at this time to the prisoners of the country. Her First Prison Work. She was first attracted to this work when about eleven years ago she was in San Fran cisco on business for one of the charitable institutions of the Salvation Army, and she received an appeal from the prisoners at San Quienten (the site of the state prison) to address them at a Sunday service. She is, a regularly ordained minister of the Gospel and hoping that she might have some mes sage for these men she immediately went to the prison, the visit being the first she had ever made to an institution of the kind. She was so impressed with the difference within those sin-darkened walls and the beau ty of the wonderful western world without that her heart was moved with pity even before she saw the inmates. How much more deeply the sight of those sad faces moved her womanly sympathy may be understood from the fact that from that time forward she made it her chief work in life to help them whenever and wherev er she could. Her Method of Work. When Mrs. Booth was asked her method of ap proaching the prisoners she said: “I make it a rule never to seek an interview with any individual prisoner; I think this would be both unwise and dangerous; if they feel that they need me they have only to say so and I go to them. And they do send for me and write to me —I get hun dreds of letters from men I have never seen and even more from those I have seen. It was with a deep desire to keep in close touch with these men even those living in the most distant cities that I or ganized what is known as ‘The Prison League’ and it is to establish a branch of it in the Federal Prison in Atlanta that I am here at this time.” This “League” is one in which al Iprisoners join who really desire to lead a better life and to make of their term of punishment a period of probation and of benefit, from which they can gain strength to The “Little Mother” of the Prisoned Criminal. erect a new future. The pledge signed by the pris oners includes certain promises of obedience to all prison rules, together with promises to perform cer tain religious observances, reading of a little helpful “Day Book” and also of an earnest, honest effort to lead a better life” Mrs. Booth then said that this League had in many instances so helped prison discipline that it was endorsed by the prison authorities and she was not only permitted but encouraged to work among these prisoners freely and without the usual restrictions placed upon visitors. The Vast Field of Effort. It seemed impossible for Mrs. Booth to adequately describe the vast extent of the field of work open to those who would enter the prisons and seek to aid the prisoners. She said that crime was more often the result of early environment and of densest ignorance than of mere viciousness, and that while many believed reformation impossible for an adult criminal she knew from her own personal experience that the fullest possible reformation was not only possible but had really resulted in the cases of the h• ■-V V- i.'■ ■ ' • te' - ■- • ? :■ ; ' : •" < /.. ■ •" • fey . ■ ■■ •.. •••■ V/ • ■ . ■• . ■■■■ . ' ■ /X ■. 1 • /■?■„ i®' ■ ’ '■ * - ' ‘ 4 ‘ -'■ -W fee.-’ ; M ■ £ j- ”■ ' * r '' 4 ■• ■ ' ' ' ■ ■ MRS. MAUD BALLINGTON BOOTH. most apparently hardened and indifferent criminals. Drink the Greatest Barrier to Reform. When asked what was the most difficult factor with which she met in her work of reformation, Mrs. Booth answered without hesitation: “Intemperance is our most gigantic stumbling block. We have reformed men whose whole lives have been steeped in crime and we have led them back to paths of usefulness and even honor, but for those whose lives the curse of strong drink has entered we often labor in vain. When such men go back into the world of work they meet companions and com rades who urge on them the baleful ‘treating’ habit, and when cold and tired and a bit discouraged the temptation is not resisted and soon the ex-prisoner is again back in the old sinful paths This evil we fight as best we may but it is an evil almost too great for human will to combat; especially with the present unrestricted laws of our land. Without this one huge evil we can win even the most sin-steep ed lives. A Reformed Burglar. I have in mind now a man whose first imprisonment The Golden Age for December 20, 1906. occurred when he was but seven years old and who during a long period of years was guilty of an incredibly long list of crimes. He was regarded by the police as a most ‘accomplished’ burglar, and one so reckless of consequences that he was again and again captured and imprisoned. Finally, I spoke at Sing Sing, New York, one Sunday and this man was among those who asked for an interview with me. His heart had been touched by my talk and he wholly gave himself up to Christ Soon after he was taken sick and at the time of his discharge from prison he was too ill to stand alone. He somehow managed to make his way to Hope Hall, the home I have estab lished for discharged criminals, but he was too ill to remain there. I had him taken to a hospital where after many weeks he was finally cured. Then he be gan to grow,eager for work and I believed he would do well if the chance were given him. My hopes were justified, for from the first week when he brought me a roll of crumpled bills saying, “Little Mother” this is the first honest money I ever earned,’ until today, he has never once taken a single backward step. He is now married and it so happened that his own little home was entered and burglarized on one occasion. He told me he had never before fully realized what this crime meant, and when the thief was apprehended and was proven to be the son of the janitor of the house, a young boy whose first offense this was, the man, William, refused to pros ecute him but said to the trembling mother, ‘You just send that boy to me; I’ll give him a talk which will do him more good than the prison!’ “From this it will be seen how far-reach ing was the eect of the reform in one life; we cannot estimate the extent of the work of this kind.” said Mrs. Booth, “for ‘Wiliam’ is only one of the many men who have learn ed their lesson and who are eager to pass it on.” Prisoners Help Each Other. “Do the majority of the discharged prison ers w’hom you visit seek you when they are free?” Mrs. Booth was then asked. “Many of them do,” was the answer, “but occasionally they have some family to whom they can go. I recall a case now in which this same man William helped a fellow pris oner. One winter’s night while William was asleep a knock came on his door and he awoke to find a man, who had recently com pleted a twenty year sentence and who had been with William in prison, standing out side. On being questioned, he said he had been walking the streets for weeks seeking work but had failed to find it. He had not gone to Hope Hall for he had an aged moth er and on her small savings they had been living. But now the fund was exhausted and on his return to his home that night he had found the mother had been ejected for non payment of rent and as she was bedridden she was then in the street. William at once decided to take the woman into his own room and he and the son carried the mat tress from the bed down the streets of New York until they reached the woman and brought her back to William’s own room. — —4—, — ——~ v . . - ~ v Neither man having any place else to go at that time of night, they sat on the landing outside the door until morning. William determined to get work for this man but on consulting his own employ er he found there was no place in the factory, ‘But,’ said William, ‘the man must have work or he will go back into the old life’ The employer was sorry but he could not place him. William left, but returned at noon to announce trimuphantly, ‘l’ve found a place for my friend.’ ‘I am glad of that,’ replied the head of the factory. ‘Where will you place him’? ‘Well,’ said William, ‘I want him to have my place; you can give me a character after these two years and I have no family myself, so I can find other work.’ The gentleman was so impressed with this that he created a place for the new man and it was William’s pride and pleasure to note that his protege well mer ited the trust placed in him. Today both these men are doing well and are simply two examples of the results of this work —results which are growing great er every day.” Compulsory Education for Prisoners. Above all else, save the spiritual influence, Mrs. Booth is a most ardent advocate of compulsory ed«