Barbara Undershaft is engaged in helping the poor as a Major in the
Salvation Army in London. For many years, Barbara and her siblings have
been estranged from their father, Andrew Undershaft, who now reappears
as a rich and successful munitions maker. Undershaft, the father, gives
money to the Salvation Army, which offends Major Barbara, who does not
want to be connected to his tainted wealth. However, the father argues
that poverty is a worse problem than munitions, and claims that he is
doing more to help society by giving his workers jobs and a steady
income than Major Barbara is doing to help them by giving them bread and
soup.