years ago; but every one seems to have forgotten with whom it actually
originated. I suppose that it grew, like Topsy, or was discovered
simultaneously by several Officers, like a new planet by different
astronomers studying the heavens in faith and hope. At any rate, the
results of the idea are remarkable. Thus in London alone 1,064 cases
were dealt with in the year 1909, and of those cases it is estimated
that all but about a dozen were turned from their fatal purpose. Let
us halve these figures, and say that 500 lives were actually saved,
that 500 men live to-day in and about London who otherwise would be
dead by their own hands and buried in dishonoured graves. Or let us
even quarter them, and surely this remains a wonderful work,
especially when we remember that London is by no means the only place
in which it is being carried on.
How is it done? the reader may ask. I answer by knowledge of human
nature, by the power of sympathy, by gentle kindness. A poor wretch
staggers into a humble little room at the Salvation Army Headquarters
in Queen Victoria Street. He unfolds an incoherent tale. He is an
unpleasant and disturbing person whom any lawyer or business man would
get rid of as soon as possible. He vapours about self-destruction, he
hints at dark troubles with his wife. He produces drugs or weapons--a
point at which most people would certainly show him out. But the
Officers in charge do nothing of the sort. They laugh at him or give
him a cup of tea. They bid him brace himself together, and tell them
the truth and nothing but the truth. Then out pours the awful tale,
which, however bad it may be, they listen to quite unmoved though not
unconcerned, for they hear such every day. When it is finished, they
ask coolly enough why, in the name of all that their visitor
reverences or holds dear, he considers it necessary to commit suicide
for a trifling job like that. A new light dawns upon the desperate
man. He answers, because he can see no other way out.
Why, exclaims the Officer, there are a dozen ways out. Let us find one
of them. You, A., have been faithless to your wife. Well, when the
matter is explained to her, I daresay she will forgive you. You, B.,
have defrauded your employer. Well, employers are not always
relentless. I'll call on him this evening and talk the matter over.
You, C., are hopelessly in debt through horse-racing or speculation.
Well, at the worst you can go through the Court and start afresh. You,
D., have committed a crime. Go and own up to it like a man, stand your
trial, and work out your sentence. I daresay it won't be so very heavy
if you take that course, and we will look after you when it is over.
You, E., have been brought into this state through your miserable
vices, drink, or whatever they may be. Cure yourself of the
vices--we'll show you how--don't crown them by cutting your throat
like a cur. You, F., have been afflicted with great sorrows. Well,
those sorrows have some purpose and some meaning. There's always a
dawn beyond the night; wait for that dawn; it will come here or
hereafter.
And so on, and on, through all the gamut of human sin and misery.
Of course, there are cases in which the Army fails. As I have said,
there were about a dozen of these last year, six of which, if I
remember right, occurred with startling rapidity one after the other.
The Suicide Officers of the Army always take up the daily paper with
fear and trembling, and not infrequently find that the man whom they
thought they had consoled and set upon a different path, has been
discovered dead by drowning in the river, or by poison in the streets,
or by whatever it may be. But everything has its proportion of
failures, and where intending suicides are concerned 1 or 2 per cent,
or on the quarter basis that I have adopted as beyond question of
sincerity of intent, 4 or 8 per cent is not a large average. Indeed,
20 per cent would not be large, or even 50 per cent. But these figures
do not occur.
Of course, it is suggested that many of those who drift into the
Anti-Suicide Bureau have no real intention of making away with
themselves, but that they come there only to see what they can get in
the way of money or other comfort. As regards money, the answer is
that, except very occasionally, the Army gives none, for the simple
reason that it has none to give. For the rest the fatal cases which
happen show that there is a grim purpose at work in the minds of many
of the applicants. But I repeat, let us halve the figures, let us even
quarter them, which, as Euclid remarked, is absurd, and even then what
are we to conclude?
Before proceeding with my comments upon this work I ought to state,
perhaps, that the Army has various branches of this Anti-Suicide
Crusade. Thus, it is at work in almost all our big cities, and also in
America, in Australia, and in Japan. The Japanese Bureau was opened
last year with very good results. This is the more remarkable in a
country where ancient tradition and immemorial custom hallow the
system of _hara-kiri_ in any case of trouble or disgrace.
Moreover, the idea is spreading, Count Tolstoy is said to have been
interested in it. Applications have been received from the Hague for
particulars of the Army methods in the matter. Similar work is being
carried out in Vienna, not by the Army, but on its lines. The Army has
been informed that if it will open an Anti-Suicide Bureau in Budapest,
office accommodation, etc., will be found for it. And so forth.
Colonel Unsworth who, until recently had charge of the Anti-Suicide
Bureau from its commencement, is of opinion that suicide is very much
on the increase, a statement that it would be difficult to dispute in
view of the number of cases recorded daily in the local Press. For
instance, I read one on this morning of writing, in a Norfolk paper,
where a farmer had blown out his brains, to all appearance because he
had a difference of opinion with his wife as to whether he should, or
should not, take on another farm.
Colonel Unsworth attributed this sad state of affairs to sundry
causes. The first of these was the intense and ever-increasing nervous
pressure of our time. The second, the spread of fatalism, The third,
the advance of materialistic ideas, and of the general disbelief in
the doctrine of future retribution. The fourth, a certain noticeable
return in such matters to the standard of Pagan nations, especially of
ancient Rome, where it was held that if things went wrong and life
became valueless, or even uninteresting, to bring it to an end was in
no sense shameful but praiseworthy. In illustration of this point, he
quoted a remark said to have been made by a magistrate not long ago,
to the effect that in certain conditions a man was not to be blamed
for taking his own life.
His fifth reason was that circumstances arise in which some people
convince themselves that their deaths would benefit their families.
Thus, insurances may fall in, for, after one or two premiums have been
paid, many offices take the risk of suicide. Or they may know that
when they are gone, wealthy relatives will take care of their
children, who will thus be happier and better off than these are while
they, the fathers, live. Wrong as it may be, this, indeed, is an
attitude with which it is difficult not to feel a certain sympathy.
After all, we are told that there is no greater love than that of a
man who lays down his life for his friend, though there ran be no
doubt that the saying was not intended to include this kind of laying
down of life.
Colonel Unsworth's sixth cause was the increasing atrophy of the
public conscience. He stated that suicide is rarely preached against
from the pulpit, as drunkenness is for instance. Further, a jury can
seldom be induced to bring in a verdict of _felo-de-se._ Even where
the victim was obviously and, perhaps painfully sane, his act is put
down to temporary insanity.
Other causes are drink, hereditary disposition, madness in all its
protean shapes; incurable disease, unwillingness to face the
consequences of sin or folly; the passion of sexual love, which is
sometimes so mighty as to amount to madness; the effects of utter
grief such as result from the loss of those far more beloved than
self, of which an instance is at hand in the case of the Officer in
charge of the Shelter at Great Peter Street, Westminster, mentioned
earlier in this book, who, it may be remembered, tried to kill himself
after the death of his wife and child; and lastly, where women are
concerned, terror and shame at the prospect of giving birth to a
child, whose appearance in the world is not sanctioned by law or
custom.
Suicide among women is, however, comparatively rare, a fact which
suggests either that the causes which produce it press on or affect
them less, or that in this particular, their minds are better balanced
than are those of men. I was told, at any rate, that but few women
apply to the Suicide Bureau of the Army for help in this temptation;
though, perhaps, that may be due to the greater secretiveness of the
sex.
Speaking generally, this magnitude of the evil to be attacked may be
gauged from the fact that about 3,800 people die by their own hands in
England and Wales every year, a somewhat appalling total.
Intending suicides come into the hands of the Army Bureau in various
ways. Some of them see notices in the Press descriptive of this branch
of the Social Work. Some of them are found by policemen in desperate
circumstances and brought to the Bureau, and some are sent there from
different localities by Salvation Army Officers.
I have looked through the records of numbers of these cases, but, for
obvious reasons, it is difficult to give a full and accurate
description of any of them. The reader, therefore, must be content to
accept my assurance of their genuine nature. One or two, however, may
be alluded to with becoming vagueness. Here is an example of a not
infrequent kind, when a person arrives at the office having already
attempted the deed.
A business man who had recently made a study of agnostic literature,
had become involved in certain complications, which resulted in a
quarrel with his wife. His means not being sufficient to the support
of a double establishment, he took the train to London with a bottle
of sulphonal in his pocket (not a drug to be recommended for his
purpose) and swallowed tabloids all the way to town. When he had taken
seventy-five grains, and the bottle, as I saw, was two-thirds empty,
he found that the drug worked in a way he did not expect. Instead of
killing him, it awoke his religious susceptibilities, which the course
of agnostic literature had scotched but not killed, and he began to
wonder with some earnestness whether, after all, there might not be a
Hereafter which, in the circumstances, he did not care to face.
In this acute perplexity he bethought him of the Salvation Army, and
arrived at the Bureau in a state of considerable excitement, as
quickly as a taxicab could bring him. A doctor and a fortnight in
hospital did the rest. The Army found him another situation in place
of the one which he had lost, and composed his differences with his
wife. They are now both Salvationists and very happy. So, in this
instance, all's well that ends well.
_Case Two._--A man, in a responsible position, and of rather
extravagant habits, married a wife of more extravagant habits, and
found that, whatever the proverb may say, it costs more to keep two
than one. His money matters became desperately involved, but, being
afraid to confide in his wife, he spent a Sunday afternoon in trying
to make up his mind whether he would shoot or drown himself. While he
was thus engaged, a Salvation Army band happened to pass his door, and
reminded him of what he had read about the Anti-Suicide Bureau.
Postponing decision as to the exact method of his departure from this
earth, he called there, and was persuaded to make a clean breast of
the matter to his wife.
Afterwards the Army took up his extremely complicated affairs. I saw a
pile of documents relating to them that must have been at least 4 ins.
thick. The various money-lenders were interviewed, and persuaded to
accept payment in weekly or monthly instalments. The account was
almost square when I saw it, and the person concerned extremely happy
and grateful. I should say that, in this case, a lawyer's bill for the
work which was done for nothing would have amounted to quite £50.
In another somewhat similar case, that of an official who had tampered
with moneys in his charge, though this was not discovered, some of the
creditors had placed the business in the hands of
debt-collecting-agencies, than whom, said Colonel Unsworth, 'there are
no harder or more cruel creditors.' At any rate, they drove this poor
man almost to madness, with the usual result. A friend brought him to
the Army, who shouldered his affairs, dealt with the debt-collecting
agencies, obtained help from his connexions, and paid off what was
owing by instalments. He and his family are now again quite
comfortable.
[Illustration: AT ONE OF THE ARMY FOOD DEPOTS.]
_Case Three_.--A man was cursed with such a fearful temper that he
could keep no situation. He came to London in a state of fury, with a
razor in his pocket. Happening to see the words 'Salvation Army
Shelter' on a building, it occurred to him to hear what the Suicide
Officers had to say before he cut his throat. They dealt with the
matter, and showed him the error of his way. He is now in a very good
single-handed situation abroad where, as he cannot talk the language,
he finds it difficult to quarrel with those about him.
_Case Four_.--Telephone operator, who was driven mad by that dreadful
instrument and by domestic worries. The Army Officers saved the man
and smoothed over the domestic worries; but how he gets on with the
telephone instruments is not recorded.
_Case Five_.--Unsuitable marriage and bad temper. The wife had become
involved in some trouble in early life, and unwisely, as it proved,
confessed to the husband, who brought it up against her every time
there was a quarrel between them. In this instance, also, suicide was
averted and the domestic differences were arranged.
_Case Six_--A man in a business firm, married, with children, was
through no fault of his own thrown out of work, owing to the
appointment of a new manager. He came at last to the Embankment, and
afterwards applied for a job in answer to an advertisement. The
advertiser told him it was a pity that as he had been so near the
river he did not go into it. The man determined to commit suicide; but
the Officers dissuaded him from this course and helped him. He
returned a year later in a condition of considerable prosperity,
having worked his way to a Colony where he is now doing extremely
well, his visit to England being in connexion with the business in
which he had become a partner.
And so on _ad infinitum._ I might tell many such stories, some of them
of a much more tragic character than those I have instanced, but
refrain from doing so lest by chance they should be identified,
especially where the individuals concerned belonged to the upper
strata of society. Perhaps enough has been said, however, to show what
a great work is being done by the Army in this Department, where in
London alone it deals with several would-be suicides every day.
Of course, some of these people are frauds. For instance, one of the
Officers told me that not long ago a medical man, who was evidently a
drunkard, called on him and said that he would commit suicide unless
money were given to him. He was informed that this was against the
rules; whereon the man produced a bottle and said that if the money
were not forthcoming, he would drink its contents and make an end of
himself in the office. As may be imagined the Officer went through an
anxious moment, not quite knowing what to do. However, he looked the
man over, summed him up to the best of his judgment and ability, and
coming to the conclusion that he was a bully and a braggart, said that
he might do what he liked. The man swallowed the contents of the
bottle, exclaiming that he would be dead in a few minutes, and a pause
ensued, during which the Officer confessed to me that he felt very
uncomfortable. The end of it was that his visitor said, with a laugh,
that 'he would not like to cumber the Salvation Army with his corpse,'
and walked out of the room. The draught which he had taken was
comparatively harmless.
As I have mentioned, however, a proportion of the cases are quite
irreclaimable. They come and consult the Army, then depart and do the
deed. Six that can be traced have been lost in this way during the
last few months.
Colonel Unsworth explained to me what I had already guessed, that this
business of dealing with scores and hundreds of despairing beings
standing on the very edge of the grave, is a terrible strain upon any
man. The responsibility becomes too great, and he who has to bear it
is apt to be crushed beneath its weight. Every morning he reads his
paper with a sensation of nervous dread, fearing lest among the police
news he should find a brief account of the discovery of some corpse
which he can identify as that of an individual with whom he had
pleaded at his office on the yesterday and in vain.
On former occasions when I visited him, Colonel Unsworth used to show
me a small museum of poisons, knives, revolvers, etc., which he had
taken from those who proposed to use them to cut the Gordian knot of
life.
Now, however, he has but few of these dreadful relics. I asked him
what he had done with the rest. He answered that he had destroyed
them.
'The truth is,' he added, 'that after some years of this business I
can no longer bear to look at the horrid things; they get upon my
nerves.'
If I may venture to offer a word of advice to the Chiefs of the
Salvation Army, I would suggest that the very responsible position of
first Anti-Suicide Officer in London is not one that any man should be
asked to fill in perpetuity.
WORK IN THE PROVINCES
LIVERPOOL
When planning this little book I had it in my mind to deal at some
length with the Provincial Social Work of the Army, Now I find,
however, that considerations of space must be taken into account; also
that it is not needful to set out all the details of that work, seeing
that to do so would involve a great deal of repetition.
The Salvation Army machines for the regeneration of fallen men and
women, if I may so describe them, are, after all, of much the same
design, and vary for the most part only in the matter of size. The
material that goes through those machines is, it is true, different,
yet even its infinite variety, if considered in the mass, has a
certain similitude. For these reasons, therefore, I will only speak of
what is done by the Army in three of the great Midland and Northern
cities that I have visited, namely, Manchester, Liverpool, and
Glasgow, and of that but briefly, although my notes concerning it run
to over 100 typed pages.
The lady in charge of the Slum Settlement in Liverpool informed me
that the poverty in that city is very great, and during the past
winter of 1919 was really terrible owing to the scarceness of work in
the docks. The poor, however, are not so overcrowded, and rents are
cheaper than in London, the cost of two dwelling-cellars being about
2_s_. 6_d_., and of a room about 3_s_. a week. The sisterhood of
fallen women is, she added, very large in Liverpool; but most of these
belong to a low class.
In this city the Army has one Institution for women called the 'Ann
Fowler' Memorial Home, which differs a good deal from the majority of
those that I have seen. It is a Lodging-Home for Women, and is
designed for the accommodation of persons of a better class than those
who generally frequent such places. This building, which was provided
in memory of her mother by Miss Fowler, a local philanthropist, at a
cost of about £6,000, was originally a Welsh Congregational chapel,
that has been altered to suit the purpose to which it is now put. It
is extremely well fitted-up with separate cubicles made of oak
panelling, good lavatory accommodation, and kitchens in which is made
some of the most excellent soup that I ever tasted.
Yet strange to say this place is not as much appreciated as it might
be, as may be judged from the fact that although it is designed to
hold 113 lodgers, when I visited it there were not more than between
forty and fifty. This is remarkable, as the charge made is only 4_d_.
per night, or 2_s_. a week, even for a cubicle, and an excellent
breakfast of bread and butter, fish, and tea can be had for 2_d_.
Other meals are supplied on a like scale, with the result that a woman
employed in outside work can live in considerable comfort in a room or
cubicle of her own for about 8_s_. a week.
The lady in charge told me, however, that there are reasons for this
state of affairs. One is that it provides for people of a rather
higher class than usual, who, of course, are not so numerous as those
lower in the social scale.
The principal reason, however, is prejudice. It is known that most of
the women accommodated in the Army Shelters are what are known as
'fallen' or 'drunks.' Therefore, occupants of a Home devoted to a
higher section of society fear lest they should be tarred with the
same brush in the eyes of their associates.
Here is a story which illustrates this point which I remember hearing
in the United States. A woman, whose inebriety was well known, was
picked up absolutely dead drunk in an American city and taken by an
Officer of the Army to one of its Homes and put to bed. In the morning
she awoke and, guessing where she was lodged from various signs and
tokens, such as texts upon the wall, began to scream for her clothes.
An attendant, who thought that she had developed delirium tremens, ran
up and asked what was the matter.
'Matter?' ejaculated the sot, 'the matter is that if I don't get out
of this ---- place in double quick time, _I shall lose my character!_'
The women who avail themselves of this 'Ann Fowler' Home are of all
ages and in various employments. One, I was told, was a lady separated
from her husband, whose father, now dead, had been the mayor of a
large city.
A Liverpool Institution of another class, known as 'The Hollies,' is
an Industrial Home for fallen women, drunkards, thieves, and
incorrigible girls. It holds thirty-eight inmates and is always full,
a good many of these being sent to the place from Police-courts whence
they are discharged under the First Offenders Acts.
I saw these women at their evening prayers. The singing was hearty and
spontaneous, and they all seemed happy enough. Still, the faces of
most of them (they varied in age from forty-six to sixteen) showed
traces of life's troubles, but one or two were evidently persons of
some refinement. Their histories, which would fill volumes, must be
omitted. Suffice it to say that this Home, like all the others, is
extremely well-arranged and managed, and is doing a most excellent and
successful work.
When the women are believed to be cured of their evil habits, whatever
they may be, they are for the most part sent out to service. There are
two rooms in the place to which they can return during their holidays,
or when they are changing situations, at a charge of 5s. a week. This
many of them like to do.
Next door to 'The Hollies' is another Home where young girls with
their illegitimate babies, and also a few children, are accommodated.
It is arranged to hold twenty-four mothers, and is generally full. A
charge of 5s. a week is supposed to be made, but unless the cases are
sent from the workhouse, when the Guardians pay, in practice little is
recovered from the patients. When they are well again, their babies
are put out to nurse, as at the London Maternity Home, and the girls
are sent to service, no difficulty being experienced in finding them
places. During the two years that this Home had been open eighty-two
girls had passed through it, and of these, the Matron informed me,
there were but ten who were not doing so well as they might. The rest
were in employment of one sort or another, and seemed to be in the way
of completely regaining their characters.