A Great Battle in the Ecclesiastical Heavens by J. F. Rutherford, 1915

8/20/2019 A Great Battle in the Ecclesiastical Heavens by J. F. Rutherford, 1915

1/65

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


2/65

IN

THE

M ORNINO D NI E L W S FOUND UNI NJ URE


3/65

.

-

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 . .


4/65

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.


5/65

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


6/65

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


7/65

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.


8/65

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-


9/65

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,


10/65

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


11/65

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


12/65

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


13/65

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.


14/65

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.


15/65

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


16/65

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.


17/65

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


18/65

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


19/65

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


20/65

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.


21/65

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


22/65

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


23/65

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


24/65

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


25/65

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


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


27/65

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 .


28/65

PIPTEEN PLANTS OP MIRACLE F R A T : EACH OROWN PRO ON ORAIN

NONE YIELDED

L SS

THAN 1 m GRAINS


29/65

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.


30/65

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 ~ -


31/65

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-


32/65

ow 2

now

a

ow

4


33/65

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


34/65

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


35/65

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:


36/65

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


37/65

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


38/65

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,


39/65

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


40/65

Minister@< rievance 9

8/20/2019

Documents

A Great Battle in the Ecclesiastical Heavens by J. F. Rutherford, 1915