SALVATION ARMY'S ORIGIN

William Booth, a Methodist minister, became an evangelistic preacher to London's east-end slum dwellers in 1861. In founding his Christian Mission movement, he wanted to address the physical as well as spiritual needs of society's poor and outcast population. Many of his early helpers were drunkards, thieves, and reprobates not readily welcomed into established churches. In an address to Britain's Parliament, Booth said that every individual deserved the same basics afforded a cabbie's horse, namely housing, food, and worthy employment. The movement changed its name to the Salvation Army in 1878 and began to spread its two-pronged ministry, coming to the United States in 1880. It now operates in 91 countries.