The Salvation Army Runaway
A Spokane teenager is apprehended in Seattle while seeking a life of service with the Salvation Army.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Moody Ridley, a 15-year-old boy, was captured in the lower part of the city about 10:30 last night by Officer Leahscher and taken to police headquarters, having run away from his home in Spokane. The police were put on his track by a letter dated May 11, from the boy's father, Frank Ridley, to Chief Willard, in which he says: 'My boy, Moody Ridley, left home on Tuesday, May 8, 1894, and I fear that he has made his way to your city. The reason for his departure is wholly unknown to me, unless it be that he wanted to unite himself with the Salvation Army for active service. In his pocket can be found a red-back Testament, and if in your city he is likely among the Salvation Army. Should you find him say to him that I want him to come home and that he can feel assured of a father's pardon and welcome.' The letter also contained a description of the boy, which led to his discovery wandering around the streets, without a cent in his pocket but with the red Testament still with him. He said he had run away because he did not want to go to school and did not want to go back.
“The reason for his departure is wholly unknown to me, unless it be that he wanted to unite himself with the Salvation Army for active service.”
Youth homelessness and the pull of radical social movements were pressing issues for families a century ago just as they are today. While Moody Ridley sought the Salvation Army, today's runaways navigate a much more complex and dangerous urban landscape in Seattle.
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