The Captain, the Donated Groceries and the Missing Clothes
A former corps member tells Seattle police that goods given for the poor were eaten by the officers living at headquarters and the clothing sold off — while the 'captain' calls the whole thing spite.
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.
SEATTLE, Feb. 9. — The police are investigating the business methods of William Stacy, an officer of the "American Salvation Army," as the result of a complaint filed yesterday by Joseph Kennedy, former member of the corps, who resigned, he states, because of alleged questionable methods pursued by Stacy, who claims the title of "captain."
Kennedy told the police that provisions donated to the "army" by business men, in the belief that they were going to the relief of the poor, are eaten by the ten or twelve officers who make their home at the headquarters. Clothing collected for the needy is sold, Kennedy says.
Kennedy's charge against Stacy is so serious that the police have declined to give out further information concerning it until a complete investigation has been made.
Stacy declared today that Kennedy's charges are untrue and are due to spite.
“Clothing collected for the needy is sold, Kennedy says.”
A century before nonprofit watchdogs and charity-rating websites, donors had only a rival officer's word and a police inquiry to tell them whether the coats they gave away reached anybody. The accusation is familiar in shape — goods diverted, officers living off the donations, an internal whistle-blower called a liar — and so is the defense that the accuser is simply bitter.
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