A casual view of the work of a Salvation Army field officer might suggest
that for such a position few qualities other than enthusiasm and some
ability for public speaking are necessary. Such an idea is as wide of the
mark as may be.
A field officer of The Army has the honour to be chosen for service
similar to that William Booth undertook when he first turned to the
unchurched masses of the East End of London. To him is committed the
spiritual responsibility for the town or part of the town in which he is
stationed. He is there to preach in the streets to the people who will
not go to places of worship, and by every lawful means to compel them to
his hall for help at closer range. He is there to visit the sick, to seek
out the drunkard, to visit the police court, to encourage, and lift, and
lift again the weak and stumbling. He is there to answer letters from
anxious parents, to hunt up straying sons and daughters, to rebuke sin;
in outbreaks of infectious disease and catastrophies to administer
comfort and help to the sorrowing and bereaved; to instruct the children;
to shepherd and inspire the band of Salvationists already attached to his
corps; to raise money for the furtherance of The Army work. Indeed,
nothing which affects the well-being of the populace lies outside the
sphere of the officer of The Salvation Army.
All corps are not the same. There is the city corps, with its hundreds of
soldiers; an efficient brass band and songster brigade, home league,
young people's work, and various other departments. The business man
finds that the hustle, the high rent, floating population and the keen
competition of the city necessitates extraordinary care and daring to
ensure success. The same applies to our officers in charge of city corps.
There is the sea-side corps, with its thousands of visitors and
'trippers' whom The Army officer seeks to reach and bless. There is the
suburban corps, with its settled residential population. There are corps
in industrial centres with features peculiar to them; and the village
corps, where long distances are covered by the officers in their efforts
to reach the scattered population. Each corps presents to the field
officer special problems as well as special opportunities.
To be a field officer as near perfection as possible, was the ambition of
Kate Lee's life. In this calling she believed she could best serve God
and win souls from sin to righteousness. She began as a lieutenant,
receiving twelve shillings per week and her furnished quarters, and when
an adjutant at the height of her success, not only as a soul-winner, but
as an organizer and manager of unusual ability, who in commercial or
civil life could have commanded a large salary, she received a guinea
(about $5.00 at normal exchange) a week and her quarters. [Footnote:
These figures relate to the pre-war scale of allowances.] Kate Lee laid
up her treasure in heaven.
As a Corps-Commander, she saw service in every kind of corps. Beginning
amongst the villages, with tiny hall and a handful of people to care for,
by sheer merit, she rose to command the most important corps in the
British Territory.
She laid good foundation for a successful career. For the direction of
field officers, The Army Founder wrote a book of Orders and Regulations
known in The Army as "The F.O." It is a volume of some six hundred pages
packed from cover to cover with matter as interesting as it is logical
and practical. Every phase of the officer's life and service is therein
dealt with. An officer might be located on Easter Island, separated from
all oversight, and if he consulted his 'F.O.,' and commanded his corps
according to its advice and directions, he would surely build The
Salvation Army in miniature.
So entirely had Kate Lee assimilated William Booth's spirit and adopted
his methods in relation to her work, that she might well have been his
own daughter. She lived the 'F.O.' in relation to her own soul, her
lieutenant, her soldiers, every section of her corps; to the backsliders,
to the great masses of the ungodly, to the civic authorities, to the
churches, to her comrades and superior officers. And she succeeded
wonderfully.
Adjutant Lee set to work in a methodical, practical way. On taking charge
of a corps, she first consulted "The Soldiers' Roll" in order to
ascertain the size and condition of her charge as a fighting force; next
she examined the cashbooks in order to find out her financial
responsibilities. Lastly she took steps to gain an accurate idea of the
condition of the town, morally and spiritually.