Coming back to the espionage charges, the official stated that as many barriers as possible were set up by the army to prevent such activities, no commission being granted to men not taking a solemn pledge to refrain from politics of any description. Any officer detected in making a public statement of belief in any political creed would be instantly relieved of his post. The sole purpose of Salvation Army officers is to serve the people they are among to the best of their ability.
It will be recalled that the Japanese army in North China recently rounded up some members of the organization in that area, for interrogation on supposedly espionage activities, but were forced to release them owing to lack of evidence. As the officer said yesterday, "The Salvation Army has nothing to hide, and is therefore not afraid of such investigations."
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.