Page:Portland, Oregon, its History and Builders volume 1.djvu/658

 ritten Mrs.

Henry Weinhard has donated twenty acres of land worth $50,000, to the So- ciety for the "Old Peoples' Home."

THE SALVATION ARMY.

At first treated with inexpressible outrage and insult, the Salvation Army finally won its way into the respect and support of all good people.

The Salvation Army opened operations in Portland in 1886. Renting a small hall and commencing its spiritual work by holding street meetings and out-door meetings every evening. The first officers, Captain and Mrs. Stillwell, received nothing but insults and persecutions for months. Mr. Carl Tamm, one of the army's first recruits, is still a member of Corps No. i, located at 265 Davis street.

During the year of 1890, the city council of the east side, then an incorporated city by itself, attempted to stop the open air work of the army. The Salvation- ists were thrown in the city jail nightly. Adjutant Andrew Loney, the officer in charge, in looking about for a lawyer, could find only one in the city to take up the fight for the army's rights. This lawyer was Judge George H. Williams, who always since that legal battle until the time of his death, was a stanch friend and great financial help to the Salvation Army. The Salvationists spent 118 days in the East Portland jail. The nightly mobs that attacked the handful of Chris- tians, who at last by their patience wore out the hatred that the rough element seemed to possess.

The spiritual work of the army having gained a good hold in Portland, en- couraged the Salvationists to further operations. Thus, in 1895, social and in- dustrial institutions were opened where the "downs and outs" could begin life over again. Thousands of men have been started on the road to success again by the institutions.

The Women's Rescue Home, located at 15th and Hancock streets, which property is owned by the army, has done a great work among the fallen girls. Many came from lives of shame and are living good lives through the efforts of the army officers in this home.

The Swedish branch of the work has only been opened a short time, but has met with success among the Scandinavian population of our city, and is located in a church on Burnside street.

The Salvation army conducts an average of 1,404 indoor meetings yearly. A continuous revival which never ceases is estimated that at least 450,000 people hear the gospel in the outdoor services each year, while converts are being made weekly.

At Christmas time the army sees that no poor family goes hungry, and hun- dreds of baskets filled with dinners for the poor are sent out the day before Christmas all over the city.

The Industrial Home, located at East Third and Davis streets, is a great help to the worthy poor. Providing clothes, shoes, furniture, to the self-helping poor. The waste paper gathered from the business district is here baled and shipped back to the paper mills again. It is here that the man can get a chance to get up, however low he may have fallen.

The children are not forgotten by the army in Portland, and if too poor to go to Sunday school, the army gets them clothes and shoes, pays their carfare and gets them to its junior meetings. It would be a proud day if any church in Portland could say that it was doing as much real substantial Christian work as the meek and lowly Salvationists.

THE PORTLAND COMMONS.

Not one person in a hundred in Portland knows what this means. It is an organization of Christians, different from the Salvation army, in tha