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The War Cry | NOVEMBER 2012
GET CONNECTED
The Annual Report for The Salvation
Army in the USA is now available
online (and in downloadable format). Visit
http://annualreport.salvationarmyusa.org
to see the report's vision statements,
a video of personal and community
transformation and an overview of
operations. It's a great way to inform friends,
family, businesses and local representatives
about the Army's work and mission.
2012
ANNUAL
REPORT
AVAILABLE
The town of Arbroath, Scotland
recently unveiled a memorial to
honor the life of native son George
Scott Railton (1849-1913), the
first national commander in the
USA and a Salvation Army pio-
neer in America.
Railton, the son of a Meth -
odist minister, lost both parents
from fever when he was 15 years
old. Homeless and penniless, he
found himself in London working
for a shipping company and in
search of something like the old
Methodism of John Wesley.
At the invitation of William and Catherine Booth,
Railton moved into their home to become William Booth's
secretary. As he developed his theological outlook and
contributed to the vision for the fledgling Army, he per-
suaded Booth to send him to New York for mission work.
He traveled to New York in 1880 with seven female officers
to start the Army's first official mission in the United
States. He and the "Hallelujah Lassies" made swift
progress, joining with the unofficial work in Philadelphia
already begun by young Elizah Shirley and her parents.
By 1881, he was needed by Booth and was on his way
to begin missionary work in other lands. He conducted cam-
paigns in South Africa, Holland, South America, the West
Indies, China, Japan, West Africa, Russia and Turkey. He
MISSIONARY SPIRIT
Army Pioneer
Commemorated
also led the Army's work in Germany and France.
His health began to fail noticeably in 1913, the year
after William Booth's death. But he kept up a frantic sched-
ule with a trip to France and Holland and an impulsive
stop in Cologne, Germany. After running for a train with
heavy baggage, he collapsed and died at the age of 64.
His missionary spirit encompassed not just a province,
land or people, but the whole world.
"Railton's bold leadership captured the attention of
the American public," says Commissioner William Roberts,
National Commander. "His fervent evangelism resulted
in hundreds turning from lives of sin. His organizational
skills cast a sure foundation for the Army that still profits
us to the present day."
The plaque unveiled in Railton's birthplace mirrors a
similar memorial in New York City's Battery Park.
Major Deborah
Sedlar and
Councillor Helen
Oswald, Provost of
Angus, Scotland,
at the unveiling.
George Scott Railton
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