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REMARKABLE

Millions Have Been Contributed to

. Society Pastor Russell Founded

and Money Is Still Pouring In

PASTOR RTTSBUnti H dead, bat

his work of up rending his Inter

pretations t the Btble, which

toM him that the mfflennlum was

coming In 1914. goes on. And the

golden stream that has poured In year

after-year from donors Wiw thoroughly

believe all that he taagbt and like

hteeonxfortbale theology, wWoh leaves

ot tell, continue TJie presses hum

sod the tracts flutter forth by the

mflllon, carrying thoughts iwhloh In

spire others and lead them also to be

come converts and contributors' to

this unique system of disseminating

theological Information.

There Is another man at the bead of

the organization now and the city has

been trying hard to prove that It In

nt a religious organisation, but a

business concern, and there has been

seme speculation as to what will be

came of the queer society which has

Its) tieadquarters on Columbia Heights

In Brooklyn now that the man who

created It has gone. For although hl

followers deny It, the Watch Tower

Bible and Tract Society and the Peo

ple's Pnlplt Association were distinctly

Russell organizations. His books, his

tnwts, hia sermons, his paper, his pic

tw were the things which gave life

te 4be movement. He has been char

acterised as a genius m organization,

the) mainspring, of one of the oddewt

i la ii II I iT1 1 1 i that ever existed In this

There have been many thing said

about Pastor Ruraetl and his societies,

hsl various business organizations,

wMoh suggested that they were en

gaged tn any purpose but the single

one of making known the literal teach

ing of the Bible and preaching the

end wf the present governments of

the world and the coming of the King

dom of aod. These criticisms have

mad (Pastor Russell and his followers

whopping mad at times, so much so

that he was well acquainted with the

law oourts through various suits

brought by him and against him.

On the other hand there Is very lit

tle really known about the conduct of

tbe society. Save for the general

knowledge that the society professes to

receive contributions that It may more

widely spread the Gospel and that It

claims to expend all Its money In this

way, Its affairs have been a confusing

and complex mystery. The three of

ficers who control the voting stock and

spend the money say they are ac

countable to no one except God. The

financial connection between the varl

ous societies seems to be somewhat

loose and arbitrary, and when various

officers have been questioned about It

they have shown lack of knowledge of

anything outside of their own depart

ments.

That air of secrecy and mystery

which formerly surrounded the Bethel

Home, as tho headquarters of the so

ciety at 122 and 121 Columbia Heights

lw called, seems likely to ho somewhat

dissipated In the future, or at least the

dow head of the society, J, I'. Ruther

ford, protests that ho Iibh nothing to

conceal and that any one who wants

to know unythlng about the workings

of the society has only to ask. But

Sir. Rutherford couldn't tell offhand

approximately what ninniint the so

ciety received last year nor how much

l expanded, nor how much it costs to

run the Bethel .Home, which houses

twenty families and others who work

for the cause for 111. a month and

found. He referred bts questioner to

the very slightly Itemized statement In

the Watth Tower, the society's pub

lication. The Watch Tower Bible and Tract

Society was founded on shirts. At

least that Is the way in which Pastor

Russell made the money with which

he launched his flrsf venture in whole

sale evangelism by way of lectures

and the printed word. He was. the son

of a man who had what Pastor Rus

sell called a "gents furnishing store" in

Allegheny, Pa., and when he grew up

he quickly showed that so. far as busi

ness ability was concerned he was the

superior of his father. "He went into

business for himself, and the stores

multiplied and became five, and when

he. retired from business, soon after

founding the Watch Tower Society in

1884, he was worth 1250,000.

While making a fortune from selling

shirts Pastor Russell he was Just

Charles Toze Russell then-sat up

nights reading the Bible and occasion

ally preaching tot a chosen few to

whom he expounded his beliefs. He

maintained that the Bible was, the sub

ject of too much higher criticism and

that It was not really taught In the

way it "should be. He proved 'to his

satisfaction and that of others that'thc

Greek "word for hell had., not been

translated In its 'right sense, that it

meant grave or ending for those, who

did evil, and that the Day of Resur

rection was -to be taken literally as a

time when the men of old would come

back to' life and the prophets, the wise

men, would .rule the .world. He set

October, 1914, as the time when the

governments of the earth .would be

overturned and the Kingdom of God

would come.

Harkl The. rumbling In the. nations;

iron cramDllnr with the clay.' .

Harkl What, soundethT TIs creation,

uroanmg ror a Detter aay.

I

That was his conception of what

would happen 'in 1914, but It was to

be the birth of the millennium. His

followers .now sav that his -prediction

set the date, a little too soon, but that

the war of Europe Justifies him, and

that after the war, will como revolution

among the .nations of the earth and

then the Kingdom of God.

However that may be, it is certain

that Pastor Russell's Ideas attracted a

large following, for after the Watch

Tower.society was founded and he be

gan to evolve his Idea of the millennium

people flocked to his standard In such

a way that he began to branch out

into various lines of endeavor. He

founded a paper, the Watch Tower;

published his book, "Studies In the

Scriptures," in six volumes, and

founded his Good .Hope Fund, which'

brings in most of the contributions

from his followers. Then his Ideas

came faster and faster In "miracle

wheat," a cemetery, company for the

poor, "angelaphones" to carry sacred

musto Into homes, a moving picture of

"Creation," a salve designed to heal

almost anything, a cancer cure, and

other things. But it is claimed by the

society no profit comes In from most

of these things, and what profit there

Is Is devoted to the further spreading

of the Word.

Millions of dollars have been con

tributed to the society, left to It in

wills In the form of cash or property

and gained from the sale of some of

these articles since It was organized.

The Good Hope Fund alone brings tn

from $200,000 to $460,000 .a year, the

last and highest figure being that for

1914, the society's banner year.

The receipts have never gone above

$600,000, according to Mr. Rutherford,

and have' fallen as low as $160,000,and

often the society has been left with a

deficit at the end of the year. The

money has gone for the support of the

Bethel Home, has paid for the tremen

dous . amount . of . printing! done bythe

eoclety.50,000,000 pamphlets and clr-

ACTIVITIES OF

PASTOR "RUSSELL'S

culars were sent out last year has

been used to make and exhibit the

picture of '"Creation," and to support

the offices of the organization In all

parts of the world, ,few of which are

said to be self-supporting, and trf pub

l!sh Pastor Russell's sermons In news

papers. When the picture of "Creation" was

on the rood 400 men were engaged in

showing it free of charge. Some of

them were members of the society and ,

merely got their expenses, others had

to be paid. There are always about

600 colporteurs on the road selling

Pastor Russell's books, which Mr.

Rutherford says are supplied to them

at cost price and which they sell at a

price sufficient to pay their expenses

and give them a living. Likewise they

sell "Brown's Wonder Salve." Then

there are travelling lecturers who lec

ture for the love of It and get their

expenses paid, and the expenses don't

run very high.

This gives some slight Idea of the

extent of the organization which was

built up by Pastor Russell in Pittsburg

and which he moved to Brooklyn In

1909. His success was due largely to

the personality of the man and his

manner of appealing to people so that

they believed that through his Inter

pretation of the Bible they had gained

greatly and that they could only repay

him by contributing money and help

ing him to carry the message to

others.

Pastor Russell was unlike most of

the evangelists who have como out of

the West. Unlike Dowle, who arrived

here breathing fire and scorn for the

modern Babylon, Pastor Russell was

an exponent of the kindly smile and

the gentle word that turneth away

wrath. He had long flowing gray hair

that later turned white, and a patri

archal beard that made him look like

a prophet. He soothed the feat of

people as to hell by telling them thero

wasn't any, and that when the time

of destruction came those who had

seen the light would be assured of a

place In the Kingdom, which was to bo

on' this earth.

By the time he came to Brooklyn

his enterprises had narrowed down to

two, the Watch, Tower Bible and Tract

Society and the United States Invest

ment Company, tho latter a holding

tiompany for dealing In real estate. It

was organized in 1S96 to take over

properties that it was not thought ad

vlsable.to have, owned by a religious

organization, and from time to' time

THE SUN, SUNDAY,

NEW VORK TEMPLE ON WEST 65 STREET.

nroDcrtles willed or riven to the so-

clety were turned over to the United

States Investment Company to be sold

and their proceeds turned book to the

Watch Tower Society.

When Pastor Russell moved, to

Brooklyn Mr. Rutherford advised him

that the Watch Tower Society, a

Pennsylvania concern, would not be

able to hold real estate In thla State,

and so the People's Pulpit Association

was formed. W. B. Van Amburgh,

treasurer of the society, was sent on

hero and bought the old homo of

Henry Ward Beecher, at 124 Columbia

Heights, In his name, and later it was

turned over to the People's Pulpit As-

soclatlon.

Then the old Tabernacle at 17 Hicks

street, which used to hold the overflow

from Plymouth Church when ucecner

ing of Pastor Russell. Tne upper noor

is used as a church and the lower part

as a shipping department for a small

Dart of the books and pamphlets.

Ho opened his tabernacle and

preached for two hours one Sunday

back In 1909, Dinner tickets were

given away at the door, and all were

Invited after they eaten to come back

and hear the rest of the sermon. A

little later he hired the Academy of

Music and lectured mere wunoui

charging admission or taking up n

collection. Converts flocked to him and

many of them went to live at the

Bethel Home to help to carry on the

business of the society.

The building next door, at 122 Colum

bia Heights, was also added to tho

home, and later a seven story build

lng was erected on Furman street,

n imrman iri,

connected with the

is not the least of

show tho genius

directly back of and

home. This home

the things which

Pastor Russell had, for he kept twenty

families there without quarrelling.

Tho married people live on one floor.

the single men on another and tho ' the shareholders that J. H. Rutherford

single women on another. They rlso 1 was elected president to succeed Pastor

early and work as they please for $11 ' Russell. It was said Just before that

a month and their food. They eat to'- j meeting tlint the number of share

gother In a largo dining hull and gen- holders hud no increased In recent

erally exist as one family. At 10:30

they get the signal to go to bed, nnd

after that no one Is allowed In the

corridors except the" watchman.

On the fop of this building Is a wire

less plant which has excited the curios

ity of the people in the neighborhood.

At a recent hearing at which the city

attempted to show Its right to tax the

I home as the propertjfyof a non-rellglous

FEBRUARY 4, 1917.

UNUSUAL RELIGIOUS SECT

' organization one of the officers of the

society told Assistant Corporation

Counsel Druhan that the wireless plant

was erected by one of the workmen

members of the society for the children

to play with.

The organization of the Watch

Tower Bible and Tract Society Is

rather peculiar. It Is provided that

for every $10 contributed to It the con-

, trlbutor shall get one voting shart1

If he or she asks for It. When Pastor

Kussell was In Pittsburg ho turned

over all his property, estimated at

i about $300,000, to the society and re-

celved In return voting shares. It was

i also provided that wHen any one asked

for the Wafoh Tower Journal and was

. unable to pay for It he should be

designated as the Lord's poor, tho

paper sent to him free, and in return

. row outswo of tne omcers or. tne con -

, cera. asked for shares, with the result

, that In 1912 only about 48,000 were

. .

outstanding. Of these- Pastor Russell

, owned about 46,000, 1,000 were held by

contributors and the remainder by the

olllcers.

j In this way the control of the so-

clety was absolutely In the hands of

Tastor Russell. No Invitations were

'sent out by mall to shareholders and

; ne announce! mai ne am not ihiiik u

, necessary to do this because since ho

controlled so absolutely the affairs of

, the society It would be a waste of

, money ror otner snarenoiaers to come

on and take part In the elections, if,

however, voting shares had been

issued to all who contributed up to

1913 Pastor Russell's control would

have vanished, for more than 12,000,-

iuho vhhinipo, ior mora uinn

. 000 had been contributed, representing

200.000 shares. But they didn't ask for

them, or hadn't up to that time.

Tho Watoh Tower society Is still the

parent company of the Russell organ-

1 Izatlons, and it was at a meeting of

years that Pastor Russell's control had

vanished but that there had been no

danger of his losing control while ho

lived.

Next to the organization of the

Watch Tower society the most Inter

esting feature Is the Good Hopes

Fund. To those who wish to con

tribute to this fund is sent two copies

ot a pledge to contribute, one to be

sent to the society and one to be kept

, to refresh the contributor's rccollec-

tlon. Mr. Rufhcrford, who Is a law

yer, said recently that these pledges

were not contracts and could not be

enforced In any court of law. One of

them for 1912 has a foreword which

reads :

TOUR 'GOOD HOPES' FOR 1912:"

"The plan hero proposed we desig

nate 'Good Hopes' because nothing Is

, actually promised only your generous

i hopes expressed, based upon your

future prospects as they now appear

I to you. Tho plan proved not only so

beneficial to the cause of truth, but

also so blessed to the hopers for some

i years past, that we again commend

It to all as Sorlptural and good. Those

1 who desire to make use of this plan

i can nil iOut botn tnese memoranda.

1 One should bo kept for the refresh-

I mcnt of your memory; the other mall

to us.

j After reciting that the giver wishes

to help along the work of spreading

the tracts and studies In foreign lands.

he says he hopes to set aside a fund

on the first day of eaoh week to be

1 sent to the society, bu that the

amount of It depends on the Lord's

' -

, the pledge. It then says:

, -My only object In specifying In

j advance what I hopo to be able to do

in this causa Is to enable those In

I charge of the work of publishing and

circulating the tracts, &a., to form

estimates, lay plans, make contracts,

&c-i wkj, some Idea of what I will try

to do m the exercise of this my

highly appreciated privilege."

jt iH0 nys:

"Tb comply with the United States

postal laws, all or any portion of my

donation may he applied as subscrip

tion price of Watch Tower or People's

J'ulntr sent to the Lord's noor or to

l0ii,ers. as the society's officers may

' tiecm odvlsnble."

Tho reCe!pts' from the Good Hopes

., otner rim(, ln jgos were $139,068,

i ioiO about $169,234. In 1911 $200,767.

in 1910 about $169,234, In 1911 !

. n yjn $450,000 and last year :

one of the things which

, i-a8tor Russell's organization n

$279,000.

brought

Pastor Russell s organization more no-

tortety and less money than any of the

contributions of his followers was an

article about miracle wheat which ap

peared In tho ll'afoh Totcer In 1911.

This advised his readers that a man

had discovered a wheat which outdid

all other wheats In productiveness, had

donated a small quantity of It to the

Watch Tower, which could be had at

$1 a pound. The Brooklyn Eagle, ridi

culed the claims made for miracle

wheat and was sued for libel by Pas

tor Russell, but after hearing the tes

timony of many growers, of the wheat

and going moro deeply Into the beliefs

and activities of the members of the

society than any one had ever goqe be

fore a verdict was returned for the

Henry Ward Beecher's Old Home the

Headquarters of Organization City

Says Is Business Concern

Eagle. A Government expert testified

that many wheats exceeded miracle

wheat In productiveness.

The great efficacy of miracle wheat

was based on a prophecy of famine

which was to threaten the world In

1914, at the time when the Govern

ments of the world were to be over-

i thrown, and It was said that miracle

wheat would not be destroyed In the

cataclysm and mignt tiae tne owners

ot It over the time of trial. Only $1,800

worth was sold, and then Pastor Rus

sell offered to refund the purchase

price to any one who might ask for It.

It was In this trial that the theory

of Pastor Russell as to the origin of

much of the evil of this world was

aired. He taught that the fallen

1 angels were confined In the atmos

phere of the earth and that at times

they took on the substance of mortal

men and made trouble for soma people

on earth. Pastor Russell laid many of

his own tribulations to these angels. He

-the alimony was paid by his friends

in the society-and at one time there

appeared In the M'atch Toner a ref-

erence to the materialization of one of

.,, . . . .

rn f I.,.? r, ?PT

the form of Pastor Russell to the wife

of a man In Australia.

I . "At 8Ucn a dl"tn-ce " 13 easy enough

to prove an alibi to prove that tho

r.n,, Vv. .7 .? .

.i, . T J l'w'r, "

Brooklyn, or In the Bethel Home, or in

any of the cities which the editor

visits In the preaching of tho Gospel,

or In a Pullman sleeping car. In which

he travels It Is easily seen that an

alibi might be very difficult to prove In

such cases."

The most recent of the enterprises

of Pastor Russell to come under In

vestigation Is the sale of Angelaphones,

which was chosen by An-lstanl Cor

poration Counsel Druhan In his attempt

to show that the Watch Tower Society

'was a business organization and sub

ject to taxation. This company was

organized by A. E. Ritchie, formerly

vlce-prceident of the Watch Tower

Society, and J. F. Cooke, under the di

rection they said of the board of di

rectors of the Watch Tower Society,

Which is a Pennsylvania Corporation

and doesn't run the Bethel Home.

it has a place at 184 Fulton strati

where parts of phonographs mado are

assembled for alilnmnTit tk, AKtAA

; - - ".---" A... uimn.. vji

the sellers Is to spread sacred music

n homes and so they advertised that

they would sell the machines at cost

until they were well known. They ad

mutea, however, that they wore sold,

at a slight profit, which was eaten up

ny running expenses. Many letters

came tn to the Angelaphone Company

with regard to religious matters, and

In one of Its booklets they wrote:

THE BLIND

A

KILTIE Is rare sight In New

York. No matter how busy

the street he chooses for his

stroll he may feel certain ot being the

most conspicuous object In Its crowd.

But a big braw Highlander swinging

down Fifth avenue the other day was

quite unconscious of the attention he

attracted. All eyes turned to look

after him, but his own eyes saw noth

ing. He was one of the blind- from

the battlefields of Europe. A man on

one side and a woman on the other

guided his rapid steps.

While moat of the passersby stopped

to look after him probably very few

of them noticed something which did

draw one man's comment. This was

the fact that the Scotchman was smok

ing a cigarette.

"Tou know," said this man to his

companion, "It Is the common belief

that thero Is no pleasure In smoking

In the dark. To enjoy a cigar or a

cigarette yon must be able to see the

smoke. .

"But a blind man once told me a

"Our business Is the manuf.i- , c n

Angelaphones and Angelnphonc rec

ords, yet we are loth to oast Into tin

wastebasket such earnest inquiries

which are Important to the writers

and to any one. Arrangement lias

therefore been effected with a Hile

society whereby all bucIi Inquiries w II

have prompt and careful attention.

Any and all Bible questions may noT

be addressed to tis and same will Ik

turned over Immediately to a commit

tee for personal reply."

Ritchie said that ho answered tho

letters.

Another of their benefits to Immun

ity Is In the shape of a "cancer iif '

which was not fold, but wlilcli naa

sent out free to those who asked ' r

It. On the letter containing the p

scrlptlon was tho pledge:

'Tho undersigned solemnly and

! c"eIy Prmlses that ' '

or consideration, direct or indlre t 'n

information herein fjcommunifated Hi

; plodRes th, f,amf secre7 0,1 ,,w '"J'

f an.d,aUt who y '"v" "nV

I d nwlt' VimE ' J I

I J0"""!"' " Is "l J" Yn,T.h

inform all sufferers rcspectlnc tn

1 terms upon whlrh they may enter .

1 , . ..,,,..

.lit i i:i"iiii:ni. minimi id tui.-i

obtain the formula free '

! M tno boom of th3 ,etrP

n? the sufferer how money in'c

' emitted to the society

Then there was "Brown's W"P'i"

Salve," the advantages of !) f'

sore feet was discovered bv nt" '

the book agents of the so'Melv "

society buys It wholesale nt 1"

and sells It to the book acen's fi

cents. Then they sell It Mr Vu '

ford explained that no pro'i

on this, as the packing and i

cost about 8 cento. The label r-.

salve box gives the lnfonna'

It Is good for corns. chi!blal"s

bites. Inflammation of the limtr

Jurles to all parts of the nn'

sores, nose bleed, sore thront

and the stings of Insects.

Mr. Rutherford Is worthv of -notice.

He Is a tall Mlssourlan

erful frame. His head Is coveT '

scant, straggling hair, and lie wen.

old fashioned collar, which shnw 1

neck and about which is a hlaelt ' '

I tie. When he sits down he sire

out his lomr lees nnd nnke t

I In his trousers pocket the

I nf .n-i.-,B ... u i

i " I'l'L.n i . 1 1 1 v . nia ill 11

attitude that suggests pictures .

frontier statesmen of lonir ag" l

as bland and courteous as u

- 1 predecessor In office.

"We have nothing to conrei

any one," said Mr. llutherfoni

Is a spending concern, for the 1

of spreading n true knowledco

Bible, and for no other purp""

1 soever."

MAN'S SMOK

different story. Itn happened

lighting a cigar when I 111' '

seemed to know what I w is '

for ho actually answered tnv t1

"'I suppose,' ho snld. mi

whether I really enjoy mh..:

the dark. Ton think 1 run

smoke. But I do co it In my

eye. I smoked for years befme 1

came blind, so 1 know Just h '

looks nnd In my Imagination, 1

as vividly as you do. Of courso T

It and taste It as you do.

'"When you smoke a clgnr inn

It between two fingers, with the e

end pointing outward Jrom tti

When I hold one I take it w '

tips of my thumb and first two tn .

with the lighted end point ipg 1

palm of my hand. In that wnv 1 '

the warmth of the coal nnd a '

warm current of .moke mrlm? '

tween my fingers. That hi

Illusion; helps me to visualize ''

and the blue spirals, Shut n- '

some time and try It. You v. n

It so bad as you think.' "

tl id