The Authoritative Life of General William Booth

The Authoritative Life of
General William Booth

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William
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Title: The Authoritative Life of General William Booth
Author: George Scott Railton
Release Date: November 4, 2004 [EBook #13958]
Language: English
Character set encoding: UTF-8
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WILLIAM BOOTH ***

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[Illustration: William Booth
Born April 10th. 1829. Died August 20th, 1912.]

The Authoritative Life Of General William Booth Founder of The
Salvation Army
By

G. S. Railton First Commissioner to General Booth
With a Preface by General Bramwell Booth

Copyright, 1912, By George H. Doran Company

Preface

I have no hesitation in commending this small volume as containing so
far as its space permits, a good picture of my beloved Father and a
record of much that made his life of interest and importance to the
world.
It does not, of course, profess to cover anything like the whole story of
his many years of world-wide service. It could not do so. For any such
complete history we must wait for that later production which may, I
hope, be possible before very long when there has been time to go fully
through the masses of diaries, letters and other papers he has left behind
him.
It must not be supposed that I can make myself responsible for every
phrase Commissioner Railton has used. I know, however, that perhaps
no one except myself had anything like his opportunities, during the
last forty years, of knowing and studying my Father's life, both in
public and private, and of understanding his thoughts and purposes.
_Now we wish this book to accomplish something._ We cannot think it
possible for anyone, especially a Salvationist, to read it without being
compelled ever and anon to ask himself such questions as these:--
"Am I living a life that is at all like this life? Am I, at any rate, willing
by God's grace to do anything I can in the same direction, in order that
God may be more loved and glorified, and that my fellow men may be
raised to a more God-like and happy service? After all, is there not
something better for me than money-making, or the search after human
applause, or indeed the pursuit of earthly good of any kind?
"If, instead of aiming at that which will all fade away, I turn my
attention to making the best of my life for God and for others, may I
not also accomplish something that will afford me satisfaction at last
and bear reflection in the world to come?"
I hope also that to some, at least, the great message of this life will
stand revealed in these pages. I believe it to be that, while God can do

little or nothing by us until we are completely submitted and given up
to Him, He can work wonders of infinite moment to the world when we
are. Asked, a few months before his death, if he would put into a
sentence the secret as he saw it, of all the blessings which had attended
him during his seventy years of service, The General replied: "Well, if I
am to put it into one sentence, I would say that I made up my mind that
God Almighty should have all there was of William Booth." It was, in
the beginning, that entire devotion to God and its continued
maintenance which could, alone, account for the story told in these
brief records.
The book is, of course, written in the main from the Salvationist point
of view; much of it, indeed, is simply a reproduction of my father's own
sayings and writings to his own people. This, to all thoughtful readers,
must be our defence against any appearance of self-glorification, or any
omission to refer to the work in the world that others are doing for
Christ. No attempt has been made to tell the story of The General's "life
and times," but simply to note some of the things he said and did
himself. And I trust the record may be found useful by all the many
servants of God who do not think exactly as he thought, but who yet
rejoiced in the triumphs of the Cross through his labours.
To continue and to amplify the results of his work must needs be my
continual aim. I am full of hope that this book may bring me some help,
not only