a great battle in the ecclesiastical heavens by j. f. rutherford, 1915
TRANSCRIPT
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IN THE
AS
S N
Y A
LAWYER
N INTERN TION L C SE
REVIEWED Y
J
F
RUTHERFORD
OP
THE
NEW YORK
ln
rn
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IN
THE
M ORNINO D NI E L W S FOUND UNI NJ URE
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.
-
A
G R E A T
BATTLE
IN TH
ECCLESIASTICAL HEAVENS
AS SEEN .BY A LAWYER
. .
.
METHODISTS LUTHERANS
BAPTISTS PRESBYTERIANS ET AL
PLLUNTIFFS
VERSUS
O N E
M A N DEFEND NT
n?;fiEfl s~
WHY THE GREAT CONTROVERSY1
THE MOTIVE PROUPTINO IT1
THE CHARGES MADE1
THE ANSWERS THERETO1
WHAT WILL BE THE RESULT ?
Yet
me
shahe
~ t hi
eartl~o ,
h f n t h e a h h a f ~ e t h h g s w h k h ~ -
noi
be sih;l(m m y mnai~~. -Hcb. 12:26 27.
SOWRIOHTSD
ISIS
BY J F
RUTHERFORD
W ~ 1.5 . .
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FOR WORD
ERTAIN leading clergymen, represent-
ng numerous church denominah ons,
such as Episcopalian, Presbyterian,
Baptist, Methodist, Christian, Lutheran,
United Brethren, and certain Catholic
bishops, priests and prelates, have united in
their cause o f action against
ON
MAN
They are assailing him Irom every conceiva-
ble quarter, using all possible means, fin1 or
fair, t o destroy .that
ON
MAN S influence
and power.
he
seek t o enlist everypossi-
ble agency, ~v i l ing r uowilIing, t o aid them
in their unrighteous codict.
They hare
precipitated the biggest ecclesiastical dis-
turbance ever known. The noise o f their
battle i s heard t o the uttermost parts o f the
earth and their dust is blinding many people.
The Ecclesiastical Heavens are being shaken
with great violence. Who will fill? Who
d l emain unshaken
As statements o f judges and attorneys
have been quoted by these allied iorres, and
without warrant used as a pretext fbr their
attack, and used also as a basis for peculiar
newspaper stories, the writer o f this booklet
fiels duty bound t o review the case
and
publish the facts t o the world.
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GRE T
B TTLE
N TH
ECCLESI STIC L HE VENS
BELLIGERENTS FORESHADOWED
HIS s the day of big things Big enterprises,
1
birr trusts, big alliances and birr fikhts
big battle always creates mucli n5se and
attracts some attention. This ecclesiasti-
cal
disturbance is no exception
In every great controversy there must
be a t least two parties.
Usually one is
wrong and the other right. ach will
claim to
be
right. Each one may
be
conscientious. Con-
science, however, is not always
a
safe moral guide. I t will
depend on whether or not that conscience has been educated
according to the Divine rule. I t is sometimes difficult for
even the unbiased to determine who
has
the right of the
controversy. There is one Guide we can always safely follow.
TH S FE GUIDE
Jehovah governs the Universe by fixed
laws or rules, which we call principles.
The man who acts in harmonv therewith is eovemed hv
principle. The one who acts codtrary thereto is controlled h i
passion.
heparlics to a
great i gh t y be
foreshndoved and
the
right or wrong
therwf
be
dctmnimd
by
the
applicatwn of
these fixed
p r i n t i p h .
Most men claim to
be
conscientious, and we credit them
with so being, but their conscience is often guided by the
wrong influence. To determine the right of the controversy
we must ascertain the Divine rule and apply it. The majority
are measurably controlled by other men; therefore, to that
extent controlled by passion and not by principle. For this
reason the man who occupies an honorable position among
men holds a place of
great
responsibility.
Minister of the Gospel occupi& a
SOIL
T H E I R
most honorable position. goo man
in such
place is a power for good, hut
when Clergyman uses the garb of his
sacred office to accomplish
a
selfish purpose, or to vent his
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Servants of od or of
Satan
spleen against one with whom he differs, he not only violates
his obligation to God, but degrades himself and dishonors the
cause of Christianity.
There are but two Great Masters-God and Satan. Every
person serves one or the other of these Masters. God puts in
operation good pqnuples always. His aw furnishes an ab-
solutely perfect guide. Satan exercises an evil power always.
He is the father of falsehood, mistepresentation and abuse.
Do all clergymen serve the same Master?
"Ye are servants
of him whom ye obey." "If any man have not the Spirit of
Christ he
is
none of His." (See Appendix for further proof
on this point.)
Every Clergyman is presumed to be
a
Christian. Sometimes this is a vile
SPEAK ' IL O presumption. Plainly ~ o d ' s word
NO MAN
says to Christians, "Speak evil of no
man." "Who art thou that judgest another " "Thou shalt
not bear false witness." "Vengeance is mine, I will repay,
saith the Lord." Sad indeed i t is to see professed Christians.
contrary to these Divine rules, resorting to slander, mis-
representation and vilification of
a
Christian gentleman who is
giving his life to teaching the people to follow Christ. Even if
the charges made by them were true no justification could be
found in the Scriptures for uttering them, but when the charges
are made in utter disregard of the truth and with the avowed
purpose of doing injury we are constrained to ask, Are these
the servants of God or the servants of Satan?
Every great man and every good cause has mortal
enemies. Great truths are dearly bought. Great refor-
mqtions have h,ad to fight every inch of the way to triumph
For nearly a half century the defendant in this case has been
a shining light in the world, battling for good, that the eyes
of men might be opened
to a realization of the goodness of
God manifested in His Plan towards mankind. He has fear-
lessly held forth the light of Biblical Truth, and as i t has shone
with increased brilliancy his assailants have become more
venomous.
TTR CTS
There is a reason for every wilful act.
BuGrcBIG
There is a controlling motive back of
LITTLE BUGS,
this great fight. Jesus said, "Darkness
BLIND BUGS
hates the Light." Error abides in
darkness. The brilliancy of
a
light
attracts blind bugs--big bugs as well as l ss r ones-which
vainly try to destroy the Light and usually succeed in destroy-
ing themselves. As the defendant herein has held forth the
light of Divine Truth and led thousands of honest Christians
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The Unholy Alknce
systems and out of darkness and into the glorious light of God,
his enemies have exhibited a greater degree of ferociousness
toward him.
UNHOLY LLI NCE
E N E M I E S FO R
I t i s a well-known fact that for cen-
NOW
turies Catholics and Protestants have
been deadly enemies, and the Ec-
clesiastical Heavens have long been in
B E D - F E L L O W S
turmoil because of the mortal combat
between them. In the controversy we are here examining,
Catholics and Protestants have united in a campaign of
persecution. Enemies for centuries now become bed-fellows
-strange bed-fellows these Doubtless many who are fol-
lowing their leaders, however, are blind, and verily believe
they are doing God service, by assaulting the great light bearer.
The public prea exercises
a
mighty power, either forgcod
or for evil. I t has been a marvelous factor tn the educat~on f
the people; therefore a power for good. When, however, the
press is used by selfish and designing men as an instrument for
the destmction of the good name of
a
fellow-man i t then be-
comes a power for evil. A few unscrupulous newspapers,
headed by The Brooklyn Eagle, always willing to be used as
instnunents for the promulgation of sensational and scandal-
ous matter, have joined the aforesaid alliance and taken up
the cudgel against One Man, the defendant.
The vulgar and the scandal monger, eager to ply their vo-
cation, have joined the ranks and are performing their part.
G ME
Back of this motley brigade, and con-
stituting the real brains thereof, are
OF
THE
certain keen, intellectual, far-seeing
A G AIN S T O N E M A N
and designing men, who, without au-
thority from the Lord, have taken the title of "Reverend,'
"Doctor of Divinity," "Cardinal" or "Priest." Long have
these rested in
ease
and comfort. as the Proohet describes
them Isa.
56:10, ll),
while their'poor
have fed
upon husks until they are famished.-Amos 8:11,12.
Long have these designing men kept their flocks in bondage
by keeping them in the dark. Now God's Day of Reckoning is
a t hand. Seeing their berths of comfort and popularity in
danger, the walls of the Babylonish systems crunibling, while
many of their former supporters are hastily withdrawing in
obedience to God's cornmiand (Rev. 18:4 . these men. without
regard to religious belief or sec&rian aff i~i~tion,n sheer desper-
ation have ioined hands aeainst ONE
MAN,
he defendant.
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8 Object o Attack
save their positions of ease.' T h e O N E M AN has turned th e
light upon them , exposing them t o th e gaze of the people.
"Darkness hates th e Light." This Unholy Alliance is strain-
ing every nerve and sinew
to
destroy this ONE MAN, his
influence an d his work. I t is th e same old game of th e Phar-
isees. I t is history repeating itself.
EVEN
GOO JOHN
T h e same class assaulted St Pau l and
persecuted him t o the death.
Martin
JOINED HIS
Ly ther and othe r great reformers were
PERSEOUTORS
vlctims of a like element.
The great
and m d ohn Wesley was ano ther vic-
tim-his wn
wtj joining x i s rsecutors.
-T he same Phari-
saical class defamed the Lord Jesus when He was on earth.
The y called in question th e legitimacy of H is birth , applied
all manner of vile eoithets t o H im , denounced Him a s an
enemy of th e go vern hen t, an d h a l f y caused H is crucifixion.
Having in mind th a t similar treatm ent would b e meted o u t to
His faithful servants, Jesus said, "T he servant is no t greater
th an his Lord; if they havc
persecuted
M e thcy also will per-
secute you."
This case will be of special interest to lawyers and others
who ha ve in mind t he illegal trial of ou r M aster. Verily,
human natur e has no t changed, even in th is twentieth century
of enlightenment
ROME ND
In the case here we see Greek C atholics,
Roman Catholics, Anglicans, Gentiles
HER
MONeREL
and Jews, Presbyterians and Metho-
pRoGENy dists, Baptists, Lutherans, Congrega-
ONE MAN
tionalists. etc.. etc.. not onlv in Amer-
ica, b u t in Canada, in Europe, &d from th e four co;ners of the
earth , united for th e avowed purpose of overthrowing th is
ON E M AN.
T h e fight against M artin L uth er seems a pigmy compared
with this one. I n Luther's case it was Papal Rome against one
man. I n this case i t is Papal Rome and all her mongrel prog-
eny against
One Man
Who is the O N E MA N, t he defendant
THE GREATEST
in this
case
P STOR
RUSSELL1
L ~V I N GPREACHER
H e is th e most talked of preacher in
th e world.
He preaches to more peo-
ple than. an y living man. Ev en his enemies concede th a t
much. T h e Ed itor
Afield
of
The
Continent a member of the
unholy combine and one of its spokesmen, recently said of
Pastor Russell
"H is writings ar e said to have greater news-
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Ordimtion Cards 9
combined circulation of the writings of all the
priests and preachers in North America; greater
even'than the work of Arthur Brisbane, Norman
Hapgood, George Horace Lorimer, Dr. Frank
Crane, Frederick Haskins, .and a dozen other of
the best known editors and svndicate writers nut
together.
Herein lies one of the causes for the attack by the allied
forces. Some history will here be recalled with interest.
PREACHERS
For nearly three hundred years after
Martili Luther's day there was a
AND
gradual development of Protestant de-
ORDIN TION
nominational churches. Trouble would
c*RDS TO PREACH
start in one denomination;
a division
ARE ISSUED
would result; some would withdraw,
and the seceders would organize a new denomination.
Each
seceding class became knGwn by some sectarian name, such
as Baptists, Methodists, Campbellites,' Congre-
gationalists, Unitcd Brethren, River Brethren, Christ-
adelphians, etc. Each sect, by its own authority, au-
thorized certain persons to preach, and seemingly no one had
any special objections to this until about
1840.
The Bible teaches that THE Church is one the Body of
Christ, whereas the Protestant Systems,
cach chiming
to be
The Church, number nearly two hundred. Because of this
apparent inconsistency, they feared that all their organiza-
tions would be brought into disrepute, and therefore there
should be some alliance between all of them; hence, in 1846
the Evangelical Alliance was formed. While allied, each
sect formed its own Ordination Boards, which boards exercised
the power of ordaining or authorizing others to preach.
One of the rules resulting from this Alliance has been,
and now is, that no one shall be allowed to preach unless he
has received an ordination at the hands of one of these Or-
daining Boards already existing. Anyone attempting to
preach without being licensed or formally ordained by one of
these Ordaining Boards is branded as a scab preacher.
This Alliance has become virtually a Preachers' Union,
and an edict has gone forth that if anyone desires
t
preach he
must get a union c rd (ordination); otherwise he is irregular.
Some of the independent thinkers have held aloof from this
Alliance, claiming the right to worship God according to the
dictates of their own conscience and to exercise the liberty of
free swech.
.
The defendant herein, Pastor Russell,
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1 Seats Free No Collections
other.
H e has refused t o be forced into th e Com bine; hence
th e Combine seeks t o force him t o q u it preaching.
One of their stron g men engaged Pastor Russell in de bate ,
hoping thereby t o discredit his scholarship and .teaching.
This acted as a boomerang to the allied. forces, because the
debate exposed the fallacy of the
doctrines
long taught by
these systems, causing many of the ir flocks t o flee from them .
One. honest member of th e Alliance who heard th a t deba te
said t o P astor Russell, I a m glad t o s you tu rn th e hose on
hell and pu t o u t th e fire Hell-fire gone, th e collections come
slowly.
PREACHERS'
ALLIANCE, I N
DESPERATION,
A S S A I L S SEATS
FREE
A N D
N O
COLLECTIONS"
ADVERTISED
BY
O N E M A N
with their money.
a handful. while
t h
Then Pastor Russell adopted a kind of
trade-m ark on al l of his announce:
ments-"Seats Free, No Collection"-
and the Alliance concluded that this
was
a
reflection on their constant beg-
ging for money, and therefore another
cause for anger. For some tim e now
the poor fellowshave had great diffi-
culty in inducing the people to part
Their congregations have been reduced to
.ousands flock to hear Pastor Ru x?il.
Thc
people prefer to go and hear th e O N E M AN where the "seats
ar e free an d no collections," an d where they can get some com-
forting food.
Unable to successfullv com bat th e shafts of Bible T ru th s
shot fo rth by this great m odem religious reformer, his enemiks
have resorted t o th e old device of throw inz sand in th e oeoole's
eyes by attack ing h is private life an d buzine'ss methods.
If a bad man reforms and becomes a pteacher for one of
these systems his past deeds are forgotten a nd he is heralded
a s a hem in their cause, no m at ter wh at he believes, nor the
characte r of th e language used t o express his belief.
B u t when a good m an, such as th e defendant herein, who
has a clean private life, boldly proclaims "the faith once de-
livered to th e saints" an d exposes th e errors of th e D ark Ages
which have long held th e people in bondage, all conceivable
charges ar e trumped u p b y his enemies, an d these magnified,
for th e manifest purpose of preventing th e people from seeing
the T ru th s he is teaching.
B jME
O T A B L E DO not understand m e.to say th at all
EXCEPTIONS I N
the preachers are in this Unholy Alli-
ance. .There are exceptions. T hus
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Creation Plaoto-Drama 1 1
The active members of the Unholy Alliance, however, have
grown desperate. Their operations are not confined to a single
community. They have carried the fight into everystate in
the Union; every province o Canada; throughout: Great
Britain; the European Cont~nent; China: Japan: India;
Australia and the Islands of the Sea.
Members of this Preachers Union or Alliance caused thou-
sands of extra copies of th eir favorite medipm of slander and
libel-The Brooklyn Daily E a g k t o
e
ppnted and sent all
over the world. As soon as announcement 1s made that Pastor
Russell is to be in
a
certain city to speak, this reprint of the
Brooklyn
Eagle puts in its appearance and is freely distributed.
Some people are deceived into believing that the
Brooklyn
Eagle is one of the greatest papers printed; whereas, although
published in the great city of New York, its regular circulation
is only about 25,000.
POPULARlTY
OF
I t is
a
well-known fact that Pastor Rus-
THIS
MAN
sell s scrtnuns arc pitllished each week
PROVOKES
in hundreds of newspapers in different
PREACHERS parts of the world. This provokes the
UNION
members of the Alliance, and in nearlv
every country of the world they have held meetings and
resolutions denunciatorv 01 Pastor Russell and his work; and
they try to coerce the>ewspapers, by threats of boycotting
and other means, to cease print~ng is sermons:
As an illustration, we cite the four-column editorial in the
Evenitzg
Journal,
of Wilmington, Delaware, December 4th.
1914,
setting forth how the Ministerial Union tried to force
that paper t o cease the publication of Pastor Russell s sermons.
There are many similar occurrences throughout the country.
OVER 9,000,000
Pastor Russell, the defendant herein, is
the author of the Photo-Drama of Cre-
SEE
ation. I t is a wonderful production.
DR M FREE
The Bible storv. beeinnine with cre-
~ .
ation, is set forth in an orderly manner to modern times.
This beautiful story is told to the people, assembled in
public halls, by means of a phonograph, or talking machine,
and illustrated by many artistically colored stereopticon views
and motion oictures.
I t
has attracted wide attention throuzh-
out the worfd, and
I
am authoritatively informed, by the man-
ager of the Photo-Drama, that nine million persons have seen
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2 Religious Infulerance
of the Bible.
Had the preachers done their full duty, it
might not have been necessary to have the Photo-Drama,
but God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform,
and so HE is using many untitled and humble-minded persons
to spread the Message of glad tidings concerning Christ and
His Kingdom of blessings, and pointing the people to the near
endof Babylonish reign.
If our forefathers, who laid the foundation of the American
Government as aland of religious freedor?, could see the relig-
ious intolerance manifested by this comblne of ministers, they
would turn over in their graves. The methods adopted in their
frantic endeavor to crush Pastor Russell and his philanthropic
work are shocking to every fair-minded, liberty-loving person.
METHO
Laurel, Mississippi, is the scene of ac-
OF PREACHERS
tlon. Mr. Nicholson, Manager in
UNION
Charge of the Drama, rented thc
Ooera House a t this olace from
Mr.
Taylor, the owner, in which to exhibit the ~hdto-Drama.The
two gentlemen were standing in front of the Opera House pre-
paring for the advertisement. Mr. Taylor was delighted
with the opportunity of having such wonderful exhibition
given in his house, and was congratulating himself, when
along came the leading Methodist minister of the place, who
is designated The Boss of the Preachers' Union there.
Learning what was about to take place he becamc enraged,
shook his fist in Mr. Nicholson's face, exclaiming in angry
tones, You try to show thcsc things in this town and yoit will
have the biggest fight on your hands you ever saw; better get
out of town, and get
quick/
Mr. Nicholson proceeded, un-
daunted by this threat, t o prepare for the exhibition.
The
Ministerial Union a t once held a meeting, in which all engaged
in denouncing Pastor Russell and the Drama, except the
Episcopalian minister, who stood firm for religious tolerance
and -common decency. The union passed resolutions against
the Drama and Pastor Russell; then called upon the Mayor
of the City and Chief of Police and induced them to notify
the Drama Manager that i t should not
bc exhibited in that
city.
The Ministerial Union then uied its power with the Elec-
tric-Light Company, and induced its owners to cut off the
electric current and refuse to fum'ish such to be used by the
Drama. Their influence was brought to bear upon Mr.
Taylor, the Opera House owner, to such an extent that he tore
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Haberdasher
MODERN
the Old School," who is wiUing to fight
GAMALIEL
for the right. He a t once infonned the
Electric Light Company and the city
officials hat he would apply to the courts for an injunction
again them
and have them restrained from unlawfully
exercjmng their
power.
This frightened the city officials and the ~lectricLight
Company, and the preachers weakened. They decided to not
further attempt
to.prevent the exhibition of the Photo-Drama.
The Mayor sent word
to
the Manager, saying, "Go
ahead,
only don't knock us or the preachers." They feared the
result when the people should see the pictures and know they
had been so woefully misrepresented. The people came and
were delighted, some saying, "We cannot understand the
ministers' opposition "
And thus this Unholy Alliance continues its fight against
the ONE MAN who, like a mighty ship in a storm, majes-
tically rides the waves, keeping steadily on his course to the
goal. While the storm of persecution rages, the common
people crowd the halls where he
goes
eager to hear, in this hour
of peril, the message of comfort that he brings to their hearts.
The scope of his work and his influence continue to grow, and
members of the Preachers' Union gnaw their tongues, rage and
imagine vain things.
Thedefendant, Pastor Russell, ismy friend.
I have known
CHARGES
him for fifteen years or more, and for
SPECIFICALLY
several years have represented him as
EXAMINED his legal counselor. I have carefully
AND COMPLETELY investigated every specific charge that
REFUTED
has heenmadeagainsthi. Beingfamil-
iar with the facts, especially relating to
the
charges
against him that have been adjudicated in the
courts, I deem it my duty to the public that I publish these
facts.
Pastor Russell needs no defense amongst those who know
him. These lines are more especially to advise the public.
Sneeringly, his opponents refer to him as a "haberdasher"
and seller of shirts." I t is true that when Pastor Russell
was a young man, and before reachii his majority, he was
engaged in the mercantile business, J i n g Gents' Furnishing
Goods, and his business ability was demonstrated by the fact
that he soon was operating five different stores.
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tents to provide his temporary necessities.
Jesus was a car-
penter.
Blessed is he that labors.
His enemies charge that he has organized various corpora-
tions through which he conducts his religious work, and that
P ~ T ~ R
USSELL
he uses these asa meansof personal and
INCORPOR TES
financial -gain to himself, and that the
soCIETV corporations are merely blinds by
which he deceives the people. What
are the facts?
In 1884 ~ ~ ~ W A T C A T O W E RIBLEAND TRACT OCIETY as
organized, and was incorporated under the laws of the State
of Pennsylvania, for the purpose of the mental, moral and
religious improvement of men and women, by teaching the
Bible by means of the publication and distribution of Bibles,
books, papers, pamphlets and other Bible literature, and by
providing oral lectures free for the people.
NO VOTE EVER This is
a
non-stock corlx)r:~ti~~n;t
C ST G INST
pays 110 dividends, no salaries, and no
P sToR
one has ever, as its books clearly show,
reaped any financial benefit therefrom.
I t is supported entirely by voluntary contributions made
by those who are interested in the promulgation of Bible
Truths. Its work is exclusively religious. For each con--
tribution of
10.00
the contributor is entitled to one voting
share. While there are nearly two hundred thousand shares,
and it would be an-easy matter to elect some othei man as
president, there never has been cast a vote against Pastor Rtrssell
At the last election he was absent, his own votes were not
cast, yet more than one hundred thousand votes of others were
cast for him as president. The contributors and voters arc
men of strong character and many of them of superior financial
standing, scattered throughout America and Canada. Such
loyal supporters as these testify to the high esteem in which thc
president of this institution is held.
Like other corporations,
its business affairs are controlled by a Board of Directors.
In
1909,
the work of this non-sectarian religiotis corporation
having largely increased, and Greater New York City being
NOTHER
the most accessible place from which
CORPOR TION
to direct its work, both in America and
NECESS RY foreign lands, it was deemed, by its
Board of Directors, wise to move the
headquarters to Brooklyn.
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Corporations 15
the organization of a s,imilar corporation in New York State.
This suggestion was followed, and the PEOPLESPULPIT
ASSOCIATIONas organized under the Membership Corpora-
tion Law of New York for the identical purposes for which the
WATCH
TOWER
IBLE ND
TRACTOCIETY
xists. The
PEOPLESPULPITASSOCIATIONolds title to the property in
New York wherein the work of said Society is conducted.
Later i t became necessary to have a European corporation
in the interests of the work, a large portion of its activities
being in European countries; hence a corporation was formed
GREAT
under the laws of Great Britain with
CORPORAT ION
headquarters a t London, under the
1 B S A
name of the INTERNATIONALIBLE
STUDENTSSSOCIATION.
t
was organ-
ized for the identical purposes for which the parent cor-
poration, the WATCH
TOWER
IBLE AND
TRACT
OCIETY,
was originally organized, and all three of these corporations
arc practically one and the same. All contributions are
made to the WATCH
OWER
IBLE ND
TRACT
OCIETY, hich
finances all the work of the three corporations named.
Throughout the various countries of the world are classes of
Bible Students who, independent of all sectarian creeds or
systems, regularly assemble a t their homes or public halls, for
the purpose of Bible study, and these are known as Asso-
ciated Bible Students, because their work and study are in
harmony with that conducted by the aforesaid corporations.
None of these are corporations for profit; they pay no divi-
dends, no salaries, and no one has ever reaped any financial
benefit therefrom, but all funds thereof are used for the pro-
mulgation of Bible Truths.
Much ado has been made by his enemies about business
ST TES
corporations with which Pastor Russell
INVESTMENT
is connected, particularly with refer-
COMPAN Y
ence to the UNITED STATES NVEST-
MENT COMPANY.
The fact is that this company was never a corporation in
the strict sense of the word. It was a limited partnership or-
ganized under the Statutes of Pennsylvania. Its capital stock
was $1,000.
Pastor Russell furnished that $1,000 out of his
personal means.
This company was organized for the purpose of taking title
to certain property which it did take over and afterwards
disposed of, and every dollar that was received therefrom went
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This company has been our of existence for more than two
years, and does not own anyth~ngoday, even tts capital stock
being expended by the WATCHTOWERBIBLE
AND
TRACT
SOCIETYn its religious work.
There i s no corporatwn i n e ~ i s k n c e nywhere i n the world
i n which Pactor Russell owns a sgngle share of stock nor in which
anyone else holds an y stock for his use or benefit.
P STOR
RUSSELL S
When Pastor Russell closed out his
WEALTH
business, many years ago, he had
upwards of a quarter of a million
dollars. The greater portion he freely spent in the publica-
tion of Bible literature, which was distributed
to the people
without charge
for the purpose of enlightening them cou-
cerning the harmonious Plan of God as taught in the Scrip-
tures. The. remainder of his wealth he transferred to the
WATCHTOWERBIBLE
ND
TRACTOCIETYn harmony with
and in fulfilment of an agreement between himself and wife
made before their domest~c roubles began.
Pastor Russell now has no money, no bank account and
owns no property a s~derom
a
few personal effects, nor does
anyone hold any property or money for his personal benefit.
Hislife for the past forty years has been devoted exclusively
to religious work, during which time he has received as
a
mone-
tary compensation his meals and
a
modest room in which to
work and sleep, traveling expenses.and
14
per month for in-
cidental expenses, which amount 1s supplied by the WATCEI
TOWER
I B L ~
ND
TR CTOCIETY.
The charge that he has used these corpcrations for his
personal and private gain is absolutely false, as the books of
the corporations abundantly testify. Every dollar
that comes
into his hands he accounts to the Society for the same.
As an illustration, it was incidentally shown in
a
lawsuit
in which the books of the Society were necessary as evidence
that on one occasion Pastor Russell was on the opposite side
of the continent from New York when he was handed a draft
for 10,000,payable to his own order and which he could have
cashed and appropriated to his own use, but, on the contrary,
he sent the draft at once to the Treasurer of the Society,
authorizing him to indorse his na?le thereon and cash i t for
the benefit of the work of s a d Society, which was done.
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dTV
2
r;.PalDomcstu ffairs
17
a ;'--
astor usse was mamed in 1879.
For the first thirteen
years of their married life he and Mrs Russell lived hap ily
together. They were both engaged
in
religious work, and d
been even before their marriage..
A
semi-monthly religious
journal.
TH
WATCH
OWER,as published, of which Pastor
Russell was and still
is
the editor. She became dissatisfied
with his manner of conducting this journal and attempted to
dictate the policy thereof. Being the head of the house,
Pastor R u d l would not submit to his wife's dictating the
manner of conducting his business airs. Without notice,
DOMESTIC
she,voluntarily separated herself from
TROUBLES
him in 1897 nearly eighteenyearsafter
their marriage. For nearly seven years
she lived separate and apart from him, he furnishing her a
separate home.
In June, 1903 she filed in the court of Common Pleas at
Pittsburgh a suit for legalseparation. They had been actually
separated for nearly seven years. In April, 1906 the cause
came on for trial before Justice Collier and a jury.
I t has been remarked by a number of lawyerswho have read
the record in this
c se
that no court has ever befsre granted a
separation upon
s slight testimony as aqpears in this case.
The record discloses noth~ng xc'ept a misunderstanding be-
tween husband and wife, and which at one time was adjusted,
by mutual consent. The issue being submitted to the jury
they evidently concluded that, being already achurlly &pa-
rated for a period of seven years,
a
kgal separation might as
well take place.
There never has been
an
absolute divorce of either of the
parties.
Upon ~e trial of this cause Mrs. Rus-
ST RY
EVER
sell testified that one Miss Ball had
stated to her that her husband said,
MANUFACTURED
I
am
like a jelly-fish, I float around
here and there. I touch this one and that one, and if she
responds I take her to me, and if not I float on to others.
All this matter the Court struck from the record and would
not permit it to go to the jury. In his chsarge to the jury the
Judge said:
This
littie incident about this girl that was in
the family, that is beyond the ground of the libel and has
nothing to do with the
c se because not being put in it, and
it
was
mndoned or allowed to pass.
I t is manifest that this elly-fish story was entirely the
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18 Domestic Affairs
Pastor Russell emphatically
enie l ul
any srrch thing ever
occurred.
I t would seem unreasonable that any man would
make such a statement about himself.
But the most conclusive facts disclosed by the record show-
ing her statement to be untrue are these: Miss Ball came to
them in 1889, a child of ten, and was taken into the home of
Mr. and Mrs: Russell. She was treated as a member of the
family. She was an orphan. She kisse both Mr. and Mrs.
Russell good night each evening when she retired. They
treated her as their own child. (Court Record, pages 90,91.
Mrs. Russell testified that the elly-fish incident trans-
pired in
1894,
when the girl could not have been more than
fifteen years of
agi
(Page 15, Record.)
Mrs. Russell
lived
with
hcr
husband for three yews thereafter
and was separated from i even
years
longer before suit was
filed, or ten years after the alleged ~ncident efore she filed her
suit for separation. In her complaint, or bill for separation,
o reference whatever
is m de
to the Ball or jelly fish incident.
Her husband had no notice that she intended to make such a
charge, and when upon the trial i t was intimated by her coun-
sel that he expected to prove such, counsel for Pastor Russell
asked for a continuance of the case, which the Court denied.
Miss Ball was then living and Mrs. Russell knew where she
was and could have procured her as a witness, or have had her
deposition, in court. No attempt was made to procure her
attendance or her deposition.
Pastor Russell could not have bad her there to testify be-
cause he had no notice or intimation that his wife would at-
tempt to bring such into the case.
I t is but reasonable to con-
clude that this iellv-fish stow was manufactured for the oc-
casion. Truly
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Domestic Affairs
19
MRS RUSSELL
At the trial of this c se Mrs. Russell's
FIEs HER
counsel made mention that Mr. Russell
HUSBAND WAS
was in a room with Emily Matthews, a
NOT GUILTY
member of the household, and the door
was locked; T o this Pastor Russell
at
the time made answer under oath (page
92,
Record of Testi-
mony), as follows:
I
said (to Mrs. Russell), 'Dear, you understood all about
that. You know that was the room in which the slops were
emptied and the water was carried, and that was the morning
that Emily Matthews was sick, and you told me of i t and asked
me to go up and
see
her, and when they were running out and
in with water pails I turned the key for half a minute until I
would have
a
chance to hear quietly what she had to say, and
there wasn't the slightest impropriety in anything that was
done.
I
would just
as
soon that everybody in this room
would be present.'
Mrs. Russell did not deny this statement in her testimony,
and therefore, being undisputed, it must be taken
as
the true
and correct explanation. - I t shows not the slightest impro-
priety on his part.
That Mrs Russell hersev
did
not believe and never h s be
l i e d that her husband w s guilty of immor l conduct is shown
by the record in this case where her own counsel (on page 10)
asked Mrs Russell this question: You don't
mecm
that your
husband was auillr of adultem? Ans. No.
I t is seen&at-t6e court iroperly took away from the jury
the consideration of the elly-fish incident to .which she
testified. These are the facts which Pastor Russell's enemies
distort, and upon which they charge him with immoral con-
duct.
There was no testimony produced. upon the trial of this
case that had any tendency t show that Pastor Russell
had been morally derelict in the slightest. No witness testi-
fied against his moral'character, and no witness in any court
j
has ever yet uttered
a
word of testimony tending to show any-
thing against his morality.
: Shortly after the trial of the above
1
EXoNERATEU IN
c se the Washington Post published
the aforementioned jelly-fish story
in connection with the name of Pastor
I Russell, and charged that he was guilty of immoral conduct.
:. Thereupon Pastor Russell filed suit for libel against the Post,
which case was tried before a jury.
The instructions of the
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20
Miracle W h a t
Pastor Russell thereupon appealed to the Superior Court,
which court reversed the judgment of the lower court and re-
manded the c se for retrial, &at
a
jury might have opportu-
n ty to assess larger damages. The case came on for trial the
second time and after plaintiff had put in
a
portion of his tes-
timony counsel for the
W as h in gh Post
offered a compromise
and the c se was settled by the defendant, the Washinglon
Post paying fo Pastor Russell a substantial sum of money, to-
gether with all costs in the case, and the
Post
thereafter pub-
lished his sermons.
Thus he was completely exonerated by two different courts
concerning the jelly-fish or immoral story.
Still his enemies persisted in trying to get this before the
public. A preacher in
New
Jersey wrote an article to
a
Chi-
cago paper, the
Mission
Frimd charging Pastor Russell with
immorality, and as proof thereof cited the Miss Ball or jelly-
fish story. Thereupon an action of libel for damages was
filed by Pastor Russell's counsel against the
Mission
Friend.
The case came on for hearing, and after argument of the legal
questions involved the Court decided in favor of Pastor Rus-
sell. The only question that remained to determine was the
amount of damages to be allowed Pastor Russell.
Counsel for the Mission Friend then sought a compromise
or settlement. Pastor Russell not desiring blood money,
but merely that his g o d name might be vindicated, agreed to
the compromise upon the following terms, which were carried
out, to wit:
The Misswn Friend paid all the costs and published a re-
traction admitting that it had wrongfully published the Miss
Ball or jelly-fish story concerning Pastor Russell, further
stating that Pastor Russell is a Christian and a gentleman of
the highest integrity and moral standing and entitled to the
respect and esteem of all good people.
MIRACLE
WHEAT
Pastor Russell's enemies charge that he
NOT
NAMED
BY
sold a great quantity of ordinary seed
P STOR RUSSELL
wheat under the name of Miracle
NOR
DID
HE
EVER
Wheat, a t one dollar per pound, or
REALIZE ANY
sixty dollars per bushel, and realized
ROM
IT
therefrom an enormous sum of money
which he appropriated to his own use.
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Miracle Wheai 21
should be sold a t
1.00
per ppund and all the proceeds arising
from the sale thereof should be received b the WATCH
TOWER
IBLR ND
TRACTOCIETY
s a donation rom them, to be used
by said Society in its religious work. The wheat was received
and sent out by the Society, and the gross receipts therefrom
were about
1,800.
Pastor Russell did
no
get a penny of this.
His connection
therewith was this, that he publxshed astatement in his journal,
The Watch Tower,
giving flotice that this wheat had been
contributed and could be had for a dollar a pound.
Pastor Russell did not discover the wheal, nor did he name i t ,
nor did ha receive any personal benefit therefrom.
Nor
was the
Society of which he is president guilty
of
the slightest miscon-
duct.
Had this
same transaction occurred with some Catholic or
Protestant church no one would ever have thought of making
any fuss about it. But the Preachers' Union seized upon it
as another means of persecuting Pastor Russell.
PREACHERS ALLI.
I t
a
well-known fact that the
Brook-
NCE EMPLOYS
lyn D aily Eagle
is given to making un-
BROOKLYN E GLE warranted attacks upon others. Its
FOR SYSTEM TIC
persecution of the late lamented Dr. T.
ATTACK UPON
DeWitt Talmage is an instance. It
P STOR
RUSSELL may seem the part of wisdom to divert
attention by charging another with
wrongdoing.
The Eag
has not such a reputation as a good
man would desire.
Pastor Russell's teaching. was not interfering. with
The
Eagle,
but was en ~i ~h teni ag th eeople and t us interfering
with the Preachers Unholv AUiance. and some of its members
deemed i t necessary to d& something.
The agk
was em-
ployed
as
an instrument to do the job.
The Eagle
was willing
and ready
to begin
he attadr. Hence, on March22,1911, he
Eagk
published an article ridiculing the religious work in
which Pastor Russell was engaged (fol. 936). On the same
day i t published another article ridiculing Miracle Wheat
and various pennns engaged in growingit On September
23.
1911,
it published an article announcing that the United
States Government was about to take up the matter of Mira-
cle Wheat, intimating that the Government Inspector would
ask t o
be furnished with a sample of Miracle Wheat sold at
Pastor Russell's Tabernacle, to
be
tested, that the faithful
and a waiting world may learn more fully of the
mfonishing
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Miracle Wheat
which shows that
The agle
was trying to illislead its readers
and prejudice them against Pastor Russell by inferentially
charging thathe was selling a fraudulent wheat.
On the same date
The agle
published a libelous cartoon,
and words in connection therewith, +ected against Pastor
Russell and his alleged relationsh~p to Miracle Wheat.
Pastor Russell sued The agle for damages. The facts given
here are taken from the record of the trial of that case in the
Supreme Court of Kings County. New York.
Figures appear-
ing in parentheses, thus (fol. 774, etc.), refer to folios of the
printed record of the caie now on file in the Appellate Division
of the Supreme Court of New York.
The chief issue raised by the pleadings. in this case was
whether or not the wheat n question was superior to ordinary
wheat. Eleven witnesses testified to its superior quality over
other wheat.
Following are the names and addresses of the witnesses:
Kent B. Stoner, Fincastle, Virginia: Joseph I. Knight, Sr.,
1067 38th Street, Brooklyn, New York; Isaac L. Frey, Lower
Mt. Bethel, Pennsylvania; Frederick Widener, Belvidere.
N. J.: Henry D. Ayre, Cleveland, Tennessee; William Pray,
Mansfield, N. J.; William I Tomlinson, Kirkwood, N. J.;
Edward W. Hunt, Stratfol d,
N J.:
Dr. Joseph
A
Carlton,
Palmetto, Georgia; J. A. Bohnet, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania:
Samuel J. Fleming, Wabash, Indiana.
The eight first named never heard of Pastor Russell or his
religious teachings prior to the trial of this case, but had been
experimenting with Miracle Wheat and found it far superior
to any other wheat.
PL NT
The testimony showed that in the year
O
MIR CLE
1904 Mr.
K. B
Stoner noticed grow-
ing in his garden in Fincastle, Virginia,
WHE T H D 1
an unusual olant. which t first he mis-
ST LKS
took for a k h d of grass known as parlor
grass, but which, upon further observation, proved to be wheat.
The plant had one hundred and forty-two stalks, each stalk
bear:ng a head of fully matured wheat.
Mr. Stoner had never prior to that time
seen
a wheat
plant bearing more than five heads.
The unusual yield from this single plant prompted him to
save the grain, which he planted the following Fall (fols. 73-
75).
For several seasons he continued producing this grain,
and in 1906, about two yean after discovering it, because of
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he
YO 1 hotoprapb of
One
Stool el MfrUlo
hut
prom in 1912
In tbc . do. of Mr
K
Stonor Phmstle -V~ rttbln
tr
dl the
iden
tical rmt whew the original stalk of Mirule Wheat w u dhvered . It s
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and i t was arranged. that they shoul
grow
the wheat on
sham .and-market
it
after accumul?ttng a sufficient supply
(fols.
86,127,129). .
Mr. K nighcmved a forty-five per cent.
(46%)
interest
jn
he wheat. :They
a@
to withhold the
wkeatfrom the market until
1913
(fol.
128);
but-subsequently
d e u d d to &ll
in
Au&~st,
911,
(folsls;
128, 125).
W H ~ A ~
fter m A g his. arrangement with
S O L D B Y
Mr. ,Stoner
Mr. Knight.. went to
Eurdpe and exhibited the wheat in
oTHERsER POUN'DAT s1.26
t h e agricultural departments of va-
rious countries (fols.
129-131).
Neither
Mr. ~night'norMr. Stoner h d ever corresponded with Pas-
tor RugqeU, nor had any 'acquaintance with him or with any
of his. associates prior to the
time
.of the trial (fols.
82, 154).
Prior to hismeting Mr. Kdght, Mr. Stoner had sold some
of the wheat; always t 51.25
a
pound (fols;
80, 83).
In
1908
he sold four pounds at
$1.26
a pound to Joseph A. Carlton,
a dentist of P dqeeo, Georgia, the owner of a
256-acre
farm
(fol.
162);
b
QQ9
he sold -.pounds
Frederick S.
Wid-
ener, of Behide*;
@
J., for from bmewhee between two and
five dollars (fol.:a98. Mr. Widener gave some of this to
Isaac.
L. Frey, a fw f0 e r Mt. .Bethel. Neither he nor M.ri
Frey had any.connq%ion with Pastor Russell ~work ffols.
395, 387, 383). 1 : .
W i a m I. Todi iwnand Edward Hunt, farmers of New
Jeney, also &peiiinented ,with this wheat.
U
of the*
@ers+s
who thus bought their wheat directly
o r .ndiiedly from .$toner, the discoverer of 'the. wheat, or
from Knight, his jjgitiiek, found
. i t
o have remarkable re-
producing qualities (f
. &392, 396. 470,: 1, 478-480).
T
first
'plant found b 'stoner
had
OVER 80 BUSHELS
OF MIRACLE over 4,000
grains to the stool. In
W H E A T T O . T H E
.$lie. .Fall.. of
1904
he planted
1,800
ACRE.
.j&ns,:and each eain yielded an awr-
...
. e.lof:
,260
erains. The aver= re-
turn from ordinary wh&iiIt&:.&& s d o n was about .ten - e n s
for eacli main ofseed ifols.
75-78).
Mr. Stoner found that a
peck
to ;he acre, that'is
15
pounds of MiracIe Wheat, pro-
duced over forty bushels (fol.,
88).
He h c raised s high s 80
kh s
of Mirack Wheat
to the o n e
(fd.
92).
Thus it is seen that Mirade
Wlieat
produced twenty fiup
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room than the
the rows, and about Four times the space of ordinary wheat.
If sown like ordinary wheat Miracle was a failure, for room
was essential (fols.
97-99, 104).
A four by four-inch space,
such as the Government allow is too
small to allow for the
normal stooling of Miracle W I at (fol.
104).
When he has
observed common wheat planted in competition with Miracle,
the spaces between Miracle planting have been about four
times the ppace between the other wheat plantings.
This
was as he recommended (fol.
155).
Widener, when he sowed Miracle, counted
22
to
28
stalks
to the grain (fols.
396, 397).
Mr. Frey raised a bushel and a
half of wheat from a quart of grain (fol.
383),
and the follow-
ing year,
1911,
raised
108
bushels from
16
to
22
quarts of seed.
He seeded about
15
pounds to the acre (fols.
383-392).
M I R C L EW H E T
Mr. Henry A. Ayre, a farmer of Cleve-
T K ES FIRST
land, Tennessee, with thirty-five years'
T
experience, bought some Stoner (Mir-
S T T E F IR S
acle) Wheat in the fall of
1909
or
1910. He sowed one-half bushe to a
scant seven-eighths of an acre and reaped a little over twenty-
S X bushels per acre. i is a poor wheat section, where the
yield of ordinary wheat is about
8
bushels per acre.
Mr. Ayre found Miracle Wheat hardier than ordinary
wheat, standing the winters better and stooling much more
than any other wheat he ever saw. I t stood a freezing winter
where rye had frozen out (fols. 299-402). He had the sur-
rounding farmers raise this wheat for him under contract
(fol.
407).
He raised as large as 64 stools from one plant of
this wheat.
Miracle Wheat took st prize for him in the Fall of 1910
a t the Appalachian Expo+tion, for Tennessee, Georgia and
North Carolina, and also took first prize a t the State Fair in
Tennessee, and
at
his
county
fair (fol.
408).
He grew
Ex-
hibit 6,
a
stool of Miracle Wheat containing
49
st lks (fols.
408, 943).
W H E T
William Pray, a farmer of Mansfield
BETTER
Township,N
J.,
whowas unacquainted
T H N O T H E R
with plaintiff in any way, raised Stoner
or Miracle Wheat for three years. He
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26/65
6 erit o Miracle Wha t
Wheat did.
To this is due its superior producing qualities
(fols. 464-466 . The usual practice of farmers in his sectior~
is to sow two bushels of ordinary wheat
to
the acre, and he
knows of no way of getting better results (fols.
467,
468).
William I. Tomlinson,
who had been
a
farmer
for nine ears, in Kirk-
wood,N .,in IQO9plant-
ed Miracle Wheat in wm-
petition with ordinary
wheat-16 acres withMir-
acle Wheat a t a half bush-
el to the acre, which
yielded 32 bushels to the
acre, and
2
acres of or-
dina wheat a t one and
a hal ushels to the acre,
which yielded 2 bushels
to the acre.
He is not a
followerof Pastor Russell,
nor a betiever in any of his
doctrines (fols. 470, 471).
Edward W. Hunt, a
farmer of Stratford,
N
J.,
for many years, who does
not knaw Pastor Russell
and was not connected
with him in any way, ex
perimented with Miracle
Wheat. He first sowed
a
bushel of seed to an acre
and a half, which pro-
duced 56 bushels, part of
the
crm
having ,been de-
with Amber
Wheat. He ulanted 10
acres with Miiade,
three
-
*eLd
by
Bdr.rd
Me
pecks
o the acre and the
~ b&y.,pI&gru.e
sk
yield averaged
34%
bush- , .
els peradrepor345bushets
in all.
He planted 18 acres with Amber Wheat, a bushel
and a half to the acre, and the yield was 3 bushels
in all, or a little more than 8bushels to the acre. Both fields
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grown from one grain (fol. 74 . A bunch of wheat grown near
Los Angeleg; California, of the same Miracle Wheat was ex-
hibited before the jury and put in evidence (fol.
158).
It
contained 118 stalks and as many heads of well-developed
wheat standing more than' six feet tall, all' grown from one
erain.
See
illustration.)
o n November 23, 1907,
H.
A. Miller,
FIRST KNOWL-
Assistant Agriculturist of the United
States Government, filed in the De-
OF
partment of Agriculture a t Washing-
WHEAT
ton.
D.
C., a reDort uwn the wheat
being grown upon Mr. Stone& farm; highly commending
said wheat :(fols.
1185-1.188).
.The -public press throughout
the-countjrat the time took notice of this report. Pastor.
Russell's
gtfention was called to.it, and on March 15, 1908,
he publihed-: n his journal,
he Watch Tower
some .press
comments y d extrticts from the aforementionedGovernment
report. Thfk. .uw Paslor
Russell's
first knowkd~e f M k l e
Wheat w h u h . . ~ ~r.
Stoner
and
oth rs
had
been experiment:
-ing with
for
three years or more.
Dr. Joseph A. Carlton, of Palmetto, Georgia, reading in
Pastor Russell's
Watch Tmvir
the aforementioned notice;
purchased from Mr. Stoner four pounds of this wheat for
which he paid Stoner 1.25 per pound, or 75 per bushel (fol;
169). He planted a pound and three-quarters to one-fifth
of an acre, took accurate account of the Geld, and found.
that i t eight bushels and
24
pounds, or
504
pounds.
Georgiaisnot a wheat State (fols.
162,163).
Yield of ordinary
wheat in that Stateis from
5
to 20 bushels to the acre (fol. 164).
In 1910 Dr., Carlton reaped 62% bushels of Miracle Wheat
from a little over two acres (fol.
165).
From one single grain
in his field 7 1 stalks were grown (fol. 168).
Mr. Bohnet got a
peck
of.thiswheat from Dr. Carlton. He
sowed 14 pounds to one-half an acre and rbped 8 bushels.
One-half of this he sent to Mr. Kuesthardt, of Port Ccnton,
Ohlo, editor of the Ottawa Zdung a German county news-
p a p . Samuel
J.
Fleming, of -Wabash, I n i a , t 'five
p~undsofeed from .Bohnet and
t4
pounds fi6m Kuesthardt,
and-sowed25 'pounds to about one-a& of 'land, .and although
it
wa i
late in the s-n
his yield w . Iushels. Average
yield of 'ordin wheat
in
that ection (sowed a bushel and a
half t he a c z i s about20 bushels (fol. 234 .
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PIPTEEN PLANTS OP MIRACLE F R A T : EACH OROWN PRO ON ORAIN
NONE YIELDED
L SS
THAN 1 m GRAINS
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Eagle s Lone Witness 29
bushels to th e acre, showing th a t Miracle W heat yields from
2
t o 20 times more than ordinary wheat.
Pas tor Russell hav ing no .personal knowledge of th e
wheat, counsel did no t call him a s a witness. H e was in
court. readv and willing to testifv, but counsel
d ~ d ot call
.
him for t h e reason aboc e stated.
T h e Brooklyn Eagle, to offset all this . t ~ t i m o n y f prac-
tical farmers an d wheat raisers, produced bu t
a
single witness,
namely, Mr. Ball, of the Agricultural Department of the
United States Government, who was neither a farmer nor
wheat raiser. Mr. Ball testified t h a t he was connected ,wjth
the U.
S.
Government with the Department of Aaricult~ire
as an A gronomist and Acting C ere dist in charge-of c'ereal
investigations (fol. 732 . H is imposing title was ab ou t his
only recomm endation. H e produced
a
memoranda of ex-
periments with M iracle W heat, supposed t o have been made
a t th e G overnment station, by persons whom he was unable
t o name.
DONATION There was absolutely no testimony in
K ~ P T
the
case
showing that Pastor Russell
T REFUND
ha d induced a single person t o purchase
BUT NO
ONE
Miracle W heat. N ot
a
word tending
MONEY
to show that anyone was defrauded,
BACK
On th e contrary, shortly after t he pub-
lication of th e libel by the Brooklyn
Eagk, the
W XH
TOWERIBLE AND TRACTOCIETY ub'-
lished broadcast over t h e country an d s en t t o each purchaser
a notice t h a t
if
anyone was dissatisfied with his purchase he
might have his money returned, and the identical money
arising from the sale of said wheat was held for
a
year for thc
oum ose of refundine. Not a single oerson asked to have his
.
mo;ey refunded.
Uoon th e trial of th is case. counsel for th e
Brooklvn
Eagle
severely ridiculed the religious teachings of pasto r
Russell. T h e jury, being largely composed of men of stfon g
religious prejudices, and
at
least one of them a n atheist, dis-
regarded th e testimony of th e practical farmers an d wheat
raisers, an d th e several exhibits of Miracle W heat actually
produced and shown to them, and decided the case. in favor
of the
Brooklyn Eagle,
upon th e unsupported testimony of one
Government official who never raised a grain of wheat in his
life. T h e case was a t once appealed and is now pending in the
Appellate Division of the Supreme Court.
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3
Miracle WheaI WorkE s air
that
Messls.
Stoner,
Kni
ht, Carlton and others had been
selling the same wheat rl
f .25pn Wnd
which was not only
considered legitimate, but a very reaeonable price in view of
the extraordinary quality of the wheat and the small quantity
in existence.
It cannot be conceived how anyone can honestly hold up
Pastor Russell to ridicnle for the connection that he had with
Miracle
meat
Neither he nor the
WAZH
T o m
I LE
AND TRACT
OCIETY
id anyth ig
in
the s i htest manner
reprehensible, but,
n
the
contrary
their
con
uct was open
and aboveboard and proper in every way.
ansar
r a i d nOW
hi
as
much
rh t ashmneaW faapetitor. nr
r;rlempcrnnt
tn c han
tty~her
u l c h u a v e t ~ i n r ~ -
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REV. R SS
for the arrest of Ross. He evaded the
officer
for some time and even failed to
k ep
his app6intment
5
at his church to prevent the officer from taking him into
ly,
h
was takenbefore George E. Jelfs, Police
the charge of criminal libel. Upon
a
hearing
for trial. pon motion, the.-Superior
commitment because of
a
technical m o r
Ross was again taken before the Magis-
on for
hearing
the second time pastor
witness, was away on n extended
of the South, tilling appoint-
no
noticeofthedate of hear-
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ow 2
now
a
ow
4
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4
Concerning Alimony
resented and made them appear entirely different from their
true meaning.
This
could not have been accidanlal on
his
part.
For instance, among other things, he charges: He (Pastor
Russell) sought to evade payment fured by the court by fleeing
from one State to another, making it necessary for his wife to
get
a n w tradi twn order
which she did, and which led to the
condemnation of the cunning pastor by a third court, and the
increase of the alimony.
Rev. Ross probably did not know that extradition pro-
ceedings cannot be resorted to to enforce a money judgment.
No extradition order was made, nor were there any extra-
dition proceedings. But probably Rev. Ross thought the
people would believe his statement, even though false, because
he is recognized as a Minister.
Upon the hearing of the question of alimony, the Court
adjudged that Mrs. Russell should receive from her husband
the sum of
100
per month.
This order was made March 4,
1908.
The
amount of al imony was never increased.
In the forepart o the winter of 1908 arrangements were
made to transfer the main office of the Bible Society's work to
Brooklyn, New York, for the reasons heretofore stated. Some
time was required to accomplish this work, but the removal,
which was open and aboveboard, was completed in March,
1909. The Pittsburgh papers made mention of the removal.
Pastor Russell remained in Pittsburgh until everything was
removed that was to be removed, himself being the last one of
the office force to leave Pittsburgh. No attempt was made to
interfere with the removal, as indeed there could not have
been any successful attempt.
In December,
1908,
Mrs. Russell filed certain suits to set
aside the transfer of property made by her husband to the
WATCH
TOWER
IBLE ND
TR CT
OCIETY,nd to enforce
tkie payment of alimony. Prior thereto, at a hearing of the
testimony on the alimony branch of theseparation case, Pastor
Russell had testified that before the organization of theWATCH
TOWER
IBLE
AND
TRACT
OCIETY,
oth he and his wife
having consecrated theit
all
to be used in the religious work
in which they were engaged in serving the Lord, it was agreed
between them that all of his property should be turned over'to
the WATCHTOWERBIBLE
ND
TR CTOCIETY,FOR
TH T
PURPOSE. The property was his and he had the right to do
with it as he pleased. That after their separation, acting in
good faith and in harmony with their said agreement, he had
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2 .
Early fn April, 1909, and after said Society and Pastor
7
~ s s e l ~ad reni~ved o Brooklyn, the afoiesaid
c ses
ca$e
ten
for hearingonmotion , Mr. Carpenter and myself appeariirg
, &behalf of said Sciety .and Pastor Russell. After hearing
.
&&emotions,he Court,took the matter under advisement and
5fterwards decided.it, holding that Mr. Russell's transfer df
I. i e
property to the S e t y was a fraud on his wife and that
the alimony must be paid. As it is well understood,
a
man's
act may operate
as legal fraud
against another, even
though
he acts i n absolute good faith.
Besides, court decisions are net
infallible, as we all know, because ,rendered by imperfect
human beings. At the time of the rendition of this.decision,
Pastor Russell's residence was in Brooklyn, but he
at
the time
wasin Europe, on.hissemi-annual lecture tour of Great Britain.
He had not been advised of the decision of the Court upon this
point. He stated to me prior thereto that he would
be
glad
to
pay Mrs. Russell,but he had nomoney, which fact I knew to be
true.
MRS RUSSELL
During the absence of Pastor RusseIl in
NEVER
Europe, as aforesaid,
five
men, his'per-
DEFRAUDED
OF A
sonal friends,
w i t b u t . his knbwlcdgc
CENT BY HER
ascertained the amount of money
HUSBAND
required to meet the judgment
df
alimony.
They raised more than the
.necessary amount among themselves, placed it in my hands
and sent me to Pittsburgh to pay this judgment. I went
to
Pittsburgh and with Mrs. Russell's attorneys settled
all
the litigation, paying o
her euery cent
interest included,
which
the court had allowed her
together with all the couit
costs.. These facts appear from the court records.
Mls.
RU;rs211 .has nwer been cheatd or defrauded out of one penny by
her husband but
MS
received everything that the court a U d er.
We submit that the furnishing of more than $10,000 by his
five friends to relieve him of
a
judgment as above mentioned,
ahd that without his knowledge, is
a
strong testimony of the
high esteem in which Pastor Russell is held by those who know
h.im.
These gentlemen are of high standing, and if necessary
'I
will
give
their names and addresses to anyone upon request.
I
wonder how many preachers who are assaulting Pastor Ru?
sell
could find five men who would-voluntarilydo so much fbr
them
The charge that Pastor ussell procurid certain property
worth $40,000to be sold for 550.00'and to be bought in by said
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36 Biblical Education
erty while he lives and if she dies first her inchoate right of
dower dies with her. Where the husband owns.property on
which there is
a
valid mortgage and the mortgage be foredosed
sold, and a t & d sale brings nomore than the
mortaarre de t. then of course there would be no dower for the
nd
pro
wife though she survived the husband.
Pastor Russell owned
a
piece of property in Pittsburgh on
which there was a Galid mortgage. He conveyed this property,
under previous agreement with Mrs. Russell, td the WATCH
TOWERIBLEAND TR CTOCIETYabje~t
o
said mortgage
Thereafter
a
creditor levied an execution on this property and
sold it a t public auction after due notice according to law.
Pastor Russell had no title to or interest in the property a t that
time because he had previously conveyed i t to said Society.
The Society, in order to prevent a cloud being cast upon its
title by sheriff's deed to another, bid in the property a t sheriff's
sale, i t being the best bidder. This sale and the sheriff's
deed gave said Society no more title than i t previously had,
but merely kept clear the title it already had.
Years later the aforesaid mortgage was foreclosed and the
property sold by the
muner of
t h t
mortgage
and a t
this sa k
the
property brought only the amount of the mortgage debt and
costs. The sale under the mortgage eliminated any dower
or other interest Mrs. Russell might ever have had in the
property. Even had her husband still owned the property a t
the time of the sale under the mortgage her inchoate right of
dower would entirely have been eliminated because the pur-
chaser a t that sale got a dear and perfect title. Neither Pas-
tor Russell nor the Society bid a t said sale. I t is therefore
clear that Mrs. Russell was not defrauded by any one.
Ross &axes Pastor Russell is unlearned because he is not
a graduate of sdme theological school. venture the assertion
that
can
name a hundred living men who never even saw the
outside walls of a theological sch-ool who know more about the
Bible and its teaching than is taught in any theological college
in
the land. Pastor Russell is not a graduate of a theological
RUSS LL
college. The greatest lawyer th i s
country has produced-Benjamh Har-
rison-never attended a law school.
IBLE
Theological colleges teach theology and
not the Bible. Pastor Russell knows the Bible better than
any other living man.
Upon this point we quote with hearty approval the words
of Dr.
G. W. Bull in h ~ searned treatise of The Gospel of
john, as follows:
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some professional policemen who must protect all learning;
medicine, law, gospel, or what not.
If you never went
tbwugh their schools of learning you
are a
freak, and there is
something suspicious about your good sense. These,men
thought there was only one way of learning-they would ask a
&tificate of the sun There are many schools and
school^
masters in God's uhiverse. Cease your aiticism of any
Christian scholar. Let him learn in his own way; the King-
dom of
God
sgoing to make great progress when some of these
high brows
are
removed to Heaven. Sometimes aman's
titterance of pmfound Tmths is stated in'poor grammatical
h
nd the philosophers
are
puzzled by his power.
They
wonder where he got
it
I
do not know-probably his
dm
nr dn was
his mother's knees then let him speak. Remem-
ber today: Godhath chosen tlle weak things of this world to
mnfound the mighty."'
The other charge8 of Ross
are
quaily untrue and have
been
heretofore answered herein, except, however, with reference to
Pastor Russell's ordinatidn, which he has clearly answered
through the public press and in his sermons.
Here is a sample showing the length t o which ministers and
,'
@stain unscrupul~usnewspapers will go to malignpastor
,
Russell:
0
K ~ D N A P ~ N OTORY
Miss Ruth Galbraith, of Atlantic City,
BOMPETES FOR
N.
J : is
the owner of certain property
F I R ~ T
PLACE
held
m
trust by a Tmst Company of
Ft H STORY Philadelphia, Pa. Wer mother desired
A
to use the daughter's income, which,
of course, she had no right to. Through the Trust Com-
pany's Attorney a t Philadelphia, Miss Ruth began an action
'
in
the
Qrphans' Court to have her monthly income paid over
b
some other person for her benefit, in onler that she
might live separate from her mother. The reason for living
p rt
was because there lived
in
the home an elder brother
who was a consumptive, and while her mother
was
amply able
to provide
a
servant to look after the invalid son
Mias
Ruth
was
required
to do this, and not wishing to be
exposed
to the
$isease objected.
Her half sister, Mrs. HoUister, resided on Orange Street,
Brooklyn,
N.
Y. and M+ss Ruth went there .to visit her.
:
Mr.
and Mrs.'Hollister accompanied her
to
Philadelphia, Pa.,
;
os several occasions, a t the hearing
in
the Orphans' Court of
the aforesaid
case
On a few occasions while in Brooklyn,
:
Miss Ruth, together
wit
her half sfstet, had a meal a t the
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8 Biblical
Education
erty while he lives and if she dies first her inchoate right of
dower dies with her. Where the husband owns property on
which there is a valid mortgage and the mortgage be foreclosed
and.orowrtv sold. and a t said sale brinas no more than the
mor&g'e debt, then of course there would
be
no dower for the
wife even thoueh she survived the husband.
Pastor ~ns);ellwne a piece of property in Pittsburgh on
which there was a valid mortgage. He conveyed this property,
under previous agreement with Mrs. Russell, td the WAKE
TOWERIBLE ND
TRACT
OCIETY
ubject
t said mortgage
Thereafter a creditor levied an execution on this property and
sold it a t public auction after due notice according to law.
Pastor Russell had no title to or interest in the property a t that
time because he had previously conveyed it to said Society.
The Society,
in order to prevent a cloud being cast upon its
title by sheriff's deed to another, bid in the property a t sheriff's
sale, i t being the best bidder. This sale and the sheriff's
deed gave said Society no more title than it previously had,
but merely kept dear the title it already had.
Years later the aforesaid
mortgage
was foreclosed and the
property sold by the owner of
that nuntgage
and a t
this sale
the
property brought only the amount of the mortgage debt and
costs. The sale under the mortgage eliminated any dower
or other interest
Mrs.
Russell might ever have had in the
property. Even had her husband still owned the property a t
the time of the sale under the mortgage her inchoate right of
dower would entirely have been eliminated because the pur-
chaser a t that sale got a clear and perfect title.
Neither Pas-
tor Russell nor the Sodety bid a t said sale. I t is therefore
clear that
Mrs.
Russell was not defrauded by any one.
Ross charges Pastor Russell is unlearned because he is not
a graduate of
sdme theological school.
I venture the assertion
that
I c n name a hundred living men who never even saw the
outside walls of a theological school who know more about the
Bible and its te ching than is taught
in
any theological college
in the land. Pastor Russell is not a graduate of a theological
PA, oR
college. The 'greatest lawyer this
country has produced-Benjamiq Har-
rison-never attended a law school.
leLE
Theological colleges teach theology and
not
the Bible. Pastor Russell knows the Bible
better than
any other living man.
Upon this point we quote with hearty approval the words
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Kidnaping Falsehood
7
some professional policemen who must protect all learning;
medicine, law, gospel, or what not.
If you never went
through their schools of learning you are a freak, and there is
something suspicious about your good sense. Thesemen
thought there was only one way of learning-they would ask a
certificate of the sun There are many schools and school-
masters in God's' universe. Cease your criticism of any
Christian scholar. Let him learn
in
his own way; the King-
dom of God is going to make great progress when some of these
high brows are removed to Heaven. Sometimes aman's
utterance of profound Truths is stated
in
poor grammatical
form, and the philosophers are puzzled by his power. They
wonder where he got it: I do not know-probably his olm
mut r was his mother's knees-then let him speak. Remem-
ber today: God hath chosen the weak things of this world to
confound the mighty."'
The other charges of Ross are equally untrue and have been
heretofore answered herein, except, however, with reference to
Pastor Russell's ordination, which he has clearly answered
through the public press and in his sermons.
Here is a sample showing the length to which ministers and
certain unscrupulous newspapers will go to malign Pastor
Russell:
K ~ ~ N P I N ~
TORY Miss Ruth Galbraith, of Atlantic City,
COMPETES FOR N. J. is the owner of certain property
IRST
L CE held in trust by a Trust Company of
STORY Philadelphia, Pa. Her mother desired
to use the daughter's income, which,
of course, she had no right to. Through the Trust Com-
pany's Attorney a t Philadelphia, Miss Ruth began an action
in the Orphans' Court to have her monthly income paid over
to some other person for her benefit, in order that she
might live separate from her mother. The reason for living
apart was because there lived in the home an elder brother
who was a consumptive, and while her mother was amply able
to provide a servant to look after the invalid son Miss Ruth
was required to do this, and not wishing to be exposed to the
disease objected.
Her half sister, Mrs. Hollister, resided on Orange Street,
Brooklyn,
N. Y.,
and Miss Ruth went there t o visit her.
Mr. and Mrs.'Hollister accompanied her t o Philadelphia, Pa.,
on several occisions, a t the hearing in the Orphans' Court of
the aforesaid case. On a few occasions while in Brooklyn,
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8 Ministerial Grievance
mediums of publication, headed by
The
Brooklyn Eagle
caused to be published that Mrs. Galbraith had instituted a
hab ea s dorpus proceeding in t he Orphans' Court at Philadel.
phi? against Pastor Russell to recover her daughter, Miss
R uth , from - th e Bethel Home. O ther newspapers; giving
ciedence
to
th e story , republished it throughout th e country.
Anyone, upon second thou ght, would know th a t court in
Pennsylvania would have .no jurisdiction t o issue a writ of
habeas corpus directed to a 'm a n resid ing -inth e S ta te of New
York, an d this, of itself, should ha ve been sufficient t o have
given
h e story t h e "earmarks" of
a
falsehood. I n fact; Pastor
Russell was never
pa rty t o a n y procedure in connection with
this m atte r; no habeas corp us proceeding w& ever begun
against him ; M issG albraith a t no time was in the custody
of Pastor Russell o r anyone else a t Bethel Home, an d no writ
of habeas
cqrpus was ever issued for th e purpose of recovering
Miss Galbraith from th e Bethel Home. Furthermore. Miss
Galbraith was never in the Bethel Home except for a brief
period w hile taking
a
meal there.
Mrs., Galbraith, th e m other, who for some years has
been a member of a congregation t o which Pastor Russell
preaches, think ing t h a t her Pas tor could. render her aid, sen t
him a telegram requesting such. Thereupon he addressed
a letter t o her saying t h a t her telegram had been received at
te n o'clock
at
night: t h a t he did no t know where M iss R uth
was residing, and-was therefore unable t o render any assistance.
Th is is all th e connection th a t Pas tor Russell ever ha d w ith th e
m atter, an d o u t of this th e aforesaid false statem ents were pub-
lished.
Fo r the past forty years Pastor Russell has been pointing
o u t Scriptural proof showing th a t th e g reat International wars
would
be
upon the earth i n 1914 just exactly a s the y hav e
come, an d t h a t shortly thereafter Messiah's Kingdom would be
established. H is teachings havc emphasized th e nearness of
BEC USE the Kingdom of Messiah. Members of
H E
TE CHES the Ministerial Union scoff at this,
THE PEOPLE endeavoring to keep the people from
knowing about and entering into the
Kingdom. I t might be well for them to tak e heed to the
words of th e M aste r, who said, Woe unto you, Scribes and
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Minister@< rievance 9
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