The Social Work of the Salvation Army

by Edwin Gifford Lamb

Still another advantage of this work is found in the saving of the community's funds. Of late years, more and more, the principle has been advanced and brought before the public, that the starving and unemployed are to be cared for in some way, and we are willing to tax ourselves to provide for this. As far back as the census of 1890, we find that the United States spent annually $40,000,000 in charities and over $12,000,000 in penal and reformatory institutions. Probably the total expenditure for these two objects to-day would be nearer $60,000,000 annually. What percentage of this $60,000,000 would go to the class of people aided by the Army industrial work would be hard to ascertain or approximate, but there is room for a great extension of this kind of work, and the Army's efforts are most suggestive. In some of the European countries, especially Germany, many helpful experiments along this line are in progress, but conditions in the United States are vastly different. In any case social economists are agreed that vast sums are spent annually in our country to little or no purpose from the point of view of social relief. In the year 1907, 8,696 men were cared for in the United States industrial homes of the Army. This means just that amount of saving to the nation that it would have cost the regular municipal and state charities to have dealt with these 8,696 men, since these men were aided by a self-supporting organization and paid for their own support. This work, then, if carried far enough, would effect quite a saving of taxes.

But along with advantages there may be disadvantages. Some objections have been raised to this branch of the Army's work. For instance, it is stated that industries entered into by the Army tend to hurt economic conditions with regard to both wages and prices.[29] With regard to wages it is urged that the Army will keep for its industries, workers in constraint of one kind or another, paying them a lower wage than the same workers could procure outside, and thus lowering the wages in the respective industries. We do not consider this objection a strong one. Let us forget for the present the philanthropic side of the industrial work, and look on it as a distinctly economic enterprise, as a factor of production. We think it quite likely that a manager, anxious above everything else to make his institution a financial success, would make an endeavor to keep as long as possible, and at as low wages as possible, men who could receive more on the outside. He might even try to retain men for whom he could secure better positions through the employment bureau, if he needed their services, and times were so good that no other applicant offered to take their place, but this he could not succeed in doing to any serious extent; for, in the first place, the restraint exercised over the men is very slight, and secondly, if the men could secure better wages, it would not be long before they found it out and left the home voluntarily. It would be just the same as in any industry in which most of the workers are ignorant. They would remain under low wages just as long as their ignorance and lack of initiative would allow, but sooner or later the relatively able man would seek the best wage. Hence the able man would seek the best wage, and his place would be taken by one, possibly morally and physically unable to procure any wage, or, in other words, belonging to the unemployable class. If it should come to the point of the Army's hiring able men to carry on the work without aiding the outcasts, it must compete in the market for them and pay the market price. The only real danger would lie in the Army's industrial work securing a strong enough position in some industry to be able to dictate terms to labor in an industry, but this is so unlikely as to be almost irrelevant and even in such an almost inconceivable case, the danger would be only temporary. Labor would still be able to drift sufficiently to another agency, not controlled by the Army and thus bring up wages again. This is the more true in that any industry, in which the Army engages, must of necessity be one in which unskilled labor is competent.[30] In addition to this, from personal investigation, we can state that a large part of the labor employed in these plants of the Army is at any rate temporarily inefficient labor and would not have much chance in securing employment elsewhere. Finally, though considered a charitable work, this branch of the army is, as already stated, a corporation, a business enterprise financed by investors who receive interest on their investments; hence, to the same extent that it is a financial enterprise, like other such enterprises, it will be governed by the rate of wages.[31]

Another objection has been raised by critics, to the effect that the Army, through its industry, enters into competition with existing firms and companies to the harm of the latter.[32] For instance they urge that in the case of those engaged in second-hand goods and salvage, who are able to make a profit by buying their material, the army enters into an unfair competition, when it takes such material, given in charity, and sells at a lower figure. In so far as the army does undersell others this objection is valid, and we have no doubt that in some cases such is the truth. Doubtless some individuals and firms have been hurt in their business by this under-selling. For instance, in Chicago, the Army has nine retail stores situated in the poorer districts, doing a big business in second hand goods. In addition to those goods it sends into the retail trade, it sells hundreds of tons of paper and rags annually. This must have some effect on others engaged in this business. However, the Army itself sometimes pays for its material and does not often undersell.[33] But there is another side to this question of underselling. Naturally the tendency is to get as much as possible for its goods, and provided there is a market, the army would seek to obtain just as much as any one else in the business. It now falls back on a question of supply and demand. The only way in which the price would be lowered by the Salvation Army would be by an increase of supply. Doubtless the supply of these goods is increased by the thorough work of the Army agents, and, to such an extent, its entrance into this field would tend to lower prices. However, in the leading salvage industries of the army, the increase in supply does no more than offset the increase in demand. The amount of displacement of the salvage and allied industries due to the competition of the army at present would not seem to be much, although of course it is difficult to get any exact figures along this line.

Looking at the Salvation Army retail store as a form of relief, another question arises as to whether the opportunity given to the residents of the district to get things at the Salvation Army's store cheaper than elsewhere interferes with the standard of living. By the standard of living we mean the scale or measure of comfort and satisfaction which a person or a community of persons regards as indispensable to happiness.[34] This would differ in the case of different persons and classes and communities, but progress demands that the standard should never be lowered, but should always be raised, in accord with increasing enlightenment and education.

"It is only," says Dr. Devine, "when individuals or individual families for personal or exceptional or temporary reasons fall below the standard, that charitable assistance can effectively intervene. In other words, as has been pointed out in other connections, the relieving policy cannot be made to raise the general standard of living, but it should be so established as not to depress it"[35].

Here, then, the point is, whether those who are otherwise able to come up to the standard of living in a given community take advantage of this form of charity, or whether the customers of the Salvation Army's stores are living below that standard. To just the extent that the former is true, this part of the work would be pauperizing and retrogressive, but we do not consider the former to be true. Naturally, we have no statistics on this point, but speaking from general observation, we should say that the customers of these stores are needy poor, who are living below the standard, and hence, the store is a boon to them in aiding them toward a realization of that standard.

Let us now sum up our conclusions regarding the industrial work of the Army. Regarding the industrial colonies, we would say that, while doubtless responsible for good and reformation in certain cases, nevertheless, owing to their cost of maintenance and the fact that the work can be done without them, they are not a practical form of charity deserving the intelligent support of the public. Regarding the city industrial work, including the employment, amid a good environment, of men out of work, including also the turning of much otherwise waste matter into an economic good, and the assistance of deserving poor by means of second-hand stores, we would say that it is commendable and deserving of support. This latter conclusion is made in spite of three objections: first, that there is a tendency to lower wages, which objection we do not consider as important for reasons given; second, that underselling of certain commodities by the Army takes place, which objection we admit to a limited extent, and third, that the standard of living is interfered with, which objection we do not consider valid.

Examples of Men in the Army Industrial Homes.

These examples were collected by Mr. Jas. Ward at the two industrial homes situated on West 19th Street and West 48th Street, New York City, during the months of March and April, 1908. Mr. Ward worked right with the men whose cases are given here, and slept in the homes, thus being with them night and day. The home on West 19th Street was an old milk depot rented temporarily by the Army to aid the unemployed during the winter, and had accommodation for two hundred men. Everything was very crude. The men slept on the floor, some without blankets. They were required to work from three to five hours every day, and during the rest of the day, they were allowed to go out and seek for work. The best of these men were drafted out to fill the vacancies in the regular industrial homes of the Army as they occurred. On the other hand, the home on West 48th Street was and is one of the Army's best homes, built for the purpose by the Army in 1907, at a cost of $130,000.00. Everything here is arranged for comfort and cleanliness. The dormitory is of the best, with good ventilation and other sanitary conditions. It is a seven-story building, and has accommodation for one hundred and seventy-five men. Twenty-two wagons are sent out from this home every day. In every way it is a contrast with the West 19th Street home, hence the examples will show some difference, according to which home they refer.