Golden Age, June 20, 1934

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A JOURNAL OF FACT HOPE AND COURAGE

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in this issue

PROTEST

REBELLION

ANOTHER DIPLOMA FROM PARIS

NOTES ON NEWS

THE SABBATH DAY A PAST SHADOW

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Vol. XV - No. 385 June 20, 1934

CONTENTS

- .Qx»-

LABOR AND ECONOMICS

The Laundry Code......591

Burning Blue Grass Seed . . . 59G

The Wheat Producer and

the Bread Eater......596

Topsyturvydom (Poem) .... G07

SOCIAL AND EDUCATIONAL

Insurance Against Conscription . 590

Origin of Curious Customs . . . 594

Man-W omnn-Y oke-Going-

Egypt-East.......594

Advice to Young Lawyers . . . 594

Another Diploma from

Exposition at Paris .... 598

MANUFACTURING AND MINING

Labor Cost of Merchandise . . . 596

FINANCE—COMMERCE—TRANSPORTATION

Work of a Clever Lawyer . . . 591

Railroads in a Bad Way .... 591

Bank Loans for Slock Speculations 591

The Du Pont Prosperity . . . 591

POLITICAL—DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN

Protest..... 579

Germany Gave Up as Much as America.....590

Internment on Italy’s Penal Islands 590

AGRICULTURE AND HUSBANDRY

Millions of Farmers Not Needed . 596

Kindness to Wild Life .... 596

An Early Spring in Tacoma . . 596

SCIENCE AND INVENTION

Hard Times Bring More Boys . . 595

New Uses for Aluminum . . . 596

HOME AND HEALTH

89,500 Died in Accidents in 1933 . 594

Catherine Brickland Dead at 123 . 594

The Care of the Sick.....595

Tonsillectomy May

Cause Ear Trouble.....595

Off Caffeine Drinks for Life . . 595

TRAVEL AND MISCELLANY

Cement at $30,000 a Keg , . . 591 New Highway Link

in South America.....591

Price of Baby Girls in China . . 594

German Women May Smoke . . 595

Last Winter in New England . . 596

Cause of Hindu Earthquake . . 596

RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY

Demonism in West Virginia . . 589 “Holy Door” Is Closed .... 592 A Few Pontifical Suggestions . . 592 If Christ Came Back (Cartoon) 592 Rebellion.........597

Letters Received at Paris . . 598 David’s God (Poem).....G01

The Sabbath Day : a Past Shadow 602 Toronto Convention.....607

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-The Golden Age

Volume XV Brooklyn, N. Y., Wednesday, June 20, 1934 Number 385

Protest

Against Enactment of Committee Substitute for Assembly Bill No. 272

Filed June 4, 1934, with chairman (William H. Albright) of judiciary committee of the senate of New Jersey

Charles B. Hessler, in behalf of himself and numerous other citizens of the State of New Jersey, PROTESTS dgainst the enactment of Assembly Bill No. 272, and as reasons therefor assigns the following:

My name is Charles R. Hessler, and I reside at 26 Brookside Avenue, Hawthorne, New Jersey. I am a citizen of the State of New Jersey, being a native-born American citizen.

In behalf of myself and many other citizens of the State of New Jersey protest is made against Assembly Bill No. 272.

Among the many objections to the proposed law I wish to name the following, and for convenience I set them out under five separate and distinct headings, to wit:

(1) It is entirely unnecessary.

(2) It affords a shield and protection for fraud, deceit and wrong-doing.

(3) It provides a penalty which is both cruel and unusual.

(4) It is destructive of the freedom of speech, freedom of press, and freedom of action.

(5) It is vicious, unfair, hypocritical, and begets meanness.

(1) NEEDLESS

The law of the State now in force provides adequate relief to those who have been slandered or libeled. Since a group of persons is made up of a number of individuals, what would afford a remedy for one person would also afford an adequate remedy for any number of persons who make up that group. There could not exist a real necessity for- the proposed law, and no just grounds can be assigned for the same.

B70

(2) DECEITFUL

The purpose of this new brand of libel law as announced by its proponent is misleading and therefore deceitful. Its purpose is not to protect the citizens of New Jersey from libel and slander, but is to punish citizens who dare to publish the truth of and concerning a creed or practice promulgated and indulged in by a group of persons, which creed and practice may be extremely vicious and detrimental to the public welfare.

Otherwise stated, a group of persons may form themselves into an association in New Jersey, promulgate their creed which provides for indulging in certain practices, and claim the same to be religious and label it as such, and regardless of the morality or immorality of such creed and practice no person would be permitted to speak or publish the truth of and concerning such creed, teachings, doctrines and practices. The bill therefore protects wrong-doing and prevents right-doing.

To illustrate: Under protection of such a law a group of persons could promulgate a creed or statement of their belief and rules and forms of worship and proceed to carry out the same, which creed and rules of worship might provide that worshipers appear nude and indulge in practices now well defined as immoral.

If a person or newspaper should publish the truth of and concerning the teachings of such group, their creed and their practices, that statement or publication would necessarily subject such group to shame, ridicule, disgrace and contempt, and the person so publishing the truth would be subject to a severe penalty.

The law, therefore, would shield, protect and connive at fraud, fraudulent practices and indecent conduct, and would do so because of the claim that such practices and conduct are “religious”.

As a striking illustration, we cite the Divine Record at Numbers 25:1-5. The Israelites or Jews were God’s covenant people. Neighboring nations indulged in Baal worship, and many of the Israelites adopted the Baal worship, and particularly that known as Baal-peor. By the terms of that religious creed and practice the worshipers performed their religious ceremony with lewd and immoral women, as it is written:

“And Israel joined himself unto Baal-peor: and the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel. And the Lord said unto Moses, Take all the heads of the people, and hang them up before the Lord against the sun, that the fierce anger of the Lord may be turned away from Israel. And Moses said unto the judges of Israel, Slay ye every one his men that were joined unto Baal-peor. ’ ’—Numbers 25:1-5.

If a similar practice should be indulged in anywhere in the State of New Jersey and a criticism made thereof, the one so criticizing would be guilty of a misdemeanor under the proposed law. Thus the law would protect immorality and indecency.

Furthermore, the bill proposed makes it a misdemeanor punishable by fine and imprisonment for any person to publish facts which would subject a group or groups of persons to shame, ridicule, contempt or hostility by reason of their religion, creed or manner of worship, regardless of whether the practices are right or wrong according to the standard of the Word of Almighty God concerning which the Constitutional provision specifically applies.

In this connection we call attention to the fact that the Constitution of the State of New Jersey provides that “No person shall be deprived of the inestimable privilege of worshiping Almighty God in a manner agreeable to the dictates of his own conscience.”

But there is a vast difference between the worship of Almighty God and the practice of religion; and this is strongly emphasized in the foregoing example concerning the devil worship or the devil religion of Baal-peor.

We emphasize the provision of the Constitution that every man is free to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of his own conscience, but that does not mean that he is free to worship the Devil under the form of religion, which worship would be immoral and in violation of all the rules of common decency.

As a further illustration, let us suppose that a religious group promulgates a creed and form of worship which provides that the one ministering can pray, supposedly to God, to relieve the “soul” of one who has died from a condition of torment, and that the condition upon which such prayer is to be made is that the one making the prayer must receive a sum of money from the surviving relatives of the deceased. Should anyone call attention to God’s Word, showing that such religion and practice is contrary to God’s Word and is a form of devil worship and is a fraud upon the people, that would certainly hold up the group to contempt, ridicule and hostility, and yet it would be the truth, for the reason that God’s Word expressly states that when a man is dead the prayers in his behalf can avail nothing and that no one has authority, right or power to justly receive money at the hands of a living person to utter prayers in behalf of one who is dead.

If this bill should become a law, then everybody would be compelled to acquiesce or subscribe to or at least remain silent as to the doctrines of any institution that parades under the name and form of religion, and which group of persons might be doing so wrongfully and obtaining money under false pretense.

If a group of persons is teaching the truth, then there could be no objection to an honest, constructive criticism of the creed or practices of such a group.

There could not exist any reason to safeguard by law true worship of Almighty God from slander or libel, because that which is true, and hence in harmony with Jehovah God’s Word, is open to the most searching criticism and is certain always to emerge from such criticism entirely unscathed.

Only teachers and practitioners of a false religion would desire the protection that the proposed bill would afford.

There are within the borders of the State of New Jersey religious groups that hold diverse views. For instance, the creed of one is that when a man dies, that is the end of him and there is no hereafter. Whereas, another group, according to its creed and its practice of religion, holds that when a man dies he does not in fact die but is alive and goes either to heaven or to a place of eternal torment called hell.

According to the terms of this bill, if any person should call in question or criticize either one of these groups and should speak or publish a statement appearing in God’s Word showing that such creeds are wrong, the truth would tend to hold such teachers and practicers of error up to ridicule, scorn, contempt and shame, and hence the one speaking or publishing the truth would be guilty of a misdemeanor.

On the face of it, this bill prevents freedom of speech and protects error and fraudulent practices.

There is another group of religionists, who have promulgated a creed and who practice their religion, claiming that a person who is sick and afflicted may be healed merely by the prayers of another imperfect human creature; and at the same time there are many honest people who do not agree with such creed or practice. But any honest and constructive criticism of such creed and practices made by any individual would subject him to heavy punishment regardless of whether his criticism is true or false.

According to the terms of this bill, if it should become a law, any group of persons could promulgate, teach and practice a creed under the form of religion and do so with impunity regardless of the detrimental effect it would have on the general public, and no one would have any right to call in question their practices, which might be very degrading and harmful.

(3) CRUEL

The bill is violative of the fundamental law of the State in this, that it provides for cruel and unusual punishment. Any act committed which is prohibited by the bill subjects the offender to the punishment of both a fine of five thousand dollars ($5000) and imprisonment for five years for the heinous crime (?) of telling the truth.

In support of this, attention is called to the facts hereinafter set out under points 4 and 5.

(4) DESTRUCTIVE

The proposed law would destroy freedom of speech, freedom of press, and the reasonable use of radio broadcasting stations, radio receiving sets, transcription machines and phonographs, even though the use thereof would be of public interest, convenience and necessity.

I beg to emphasize the fact that the preamble to the proposed law is not a fair presentation of the facts as they exist. The Constitution of the State of New Jersey does not guarantee freedom to practice any and all kinds of religion, but it does guarantee and provide that “no person shall be deprived of the inestimable privilege of worshiping ALMIGHTY GOD in a manner agreeable to the dictates of his own conscience”.

There is as much difference between the “worshiping of Almighty God” and the practice of religion as there is between day and night.

Under Paragraph 2 of the proposed bill any person residing either inside or outside of the State of New Jersey who would print, multigraph, or in any other manner produce a book, speech, article, statement, circular or pamphlet which would in any way subject to prejudice, shame, disgrace, contempt or hostility any group of persons residing in the State of New Jersey, by reason of their religion, creed or manner of worship, would be subject to severe punishment. Such a law would be an absolute denial of the freedom of press or other means of publication. It might become very necessary to publish the truth of and concerning a certain creed or religious worship in order to protect the general interest of the people. Under the proposed law a group of persons could indulge in any kind of improper practice under the name of a religion carried out according to their announced creed, and could do so with impunity, because no one would be permitted to publish the truth concerning the same.

There are “religionists” who, acting under a stated creed, indulge in human sacrifice, and it is barely possible that such might set up that kind of religion in New Jersey, and, if so, the public press would not be permitted, under the proposed law, to even call attention to such wrongful practice, for the reason that speaking or publishing the truth of and concerning the same would subject such group of persons to prejudice, shame, hatred, ridicule, disgrace, contempt and hostility, and rightfully so.

Under Paragraph 3 of the proposed law, any person having in his possession and exhibiting or attempting to exhibit to another any book, speech, article, statement, circular, pamphlet, or other written or printed matter which would in any way subject to prejudice, shame, hatred, disgrace, contempt or hostility any group of persons residing in the state, by reason of their creed or religion, the one so having in possession would be subject to severe punishment.

I beg to remind this Committee that under this section of the proposed law if any person should be found in the State of New Jersey with a Bible opened at the twenty-third chapter of Matthew and pointing out to another the language of Jesus therein printed and which He spoke against the priests and Pharisees of His day, and if such person should say to another that the words of Jesus apply with equal force to certain religious practitioners of the present time in New Jersey, the person so having the Bible and thus exhibiting it would be guilty of a violation of this proposed law and subject to severe punishment by fine and imprisonment. The proposed bill therefore denies the right of a man to exhibit to his neighbor the truth as set forth in the Bible and to make effort to aid his neighbor to understand the Bible statements and their application to the present time. It is amazing that in this Twentieth Century any group of men would attempt to induce a legislative body to enact such a law as this bill proposes.

At once there is a suggestion to the mind that this proposed law originated with certain religious practitioners who desire to keep the people in ignorance of the truth of and concerning their own practices because the truth thereof would tend to hold them up to shame, ridicule and contempt. This law, then, would afford a shield to wrong-doers rather than to prevent wrong’s being done. Aside from professional religionists, I ask you, who would be interested in having such a law put upon the statute books of this state ?

Paragraph 4 of this bill would make it a crime for any person to exhibit any picture or photograph made of a group of persons while actually committing a shameful deed, provided that shameful deed is committed in the name of religion. The camera produces a thing as it is, and hence speaks the truth, and the making or exhibiting of such photograph would disclose the truth, and which truth would cause the group of persons there exhibited by the photograph to be brought into shame and contempt; hence a person making known the truth would be committing an offense. Such a law is unreasonable and against public policy.

My own personal experience may have prompted the insertion of Paragraph 4 in this bill, relative to photographs. On June 4, 1933, sixty faithful men and women, who were exercising their Constitutional rights in “worshiping Almighty God”, were wrongfully arrested and placed in jail at the city of Plainfield, New Jersey, where they were held in jail under an ordinance, which ordinance was afterward (by the Court of Common Pleas of Union County) declared invalid. In order that I might have the indisputable facts, which a photograph would bespeak, I engaged a photographer to make a photograph of the prisoners, twenty-nine of whom were women and held in three small cells, and who had been arrested and incarcerated at the instance of certain religionists. While the photograph was being taken the captain of police caused the taking of the photograph to be interrupted, and for the taking of the photograph I was arrested and immediately thrown into prison and subsequently tried, convicted and sentenced to pay a fine of $50 or to serve 60 days in jail. On appeal the Supreme Court reversed the judgment of conviction and discharged me. The truth disclosed by that photograph is what the religionists desired to suppress. If this bill should become a law and a citizen of New Jersey should have or exhibit this photograph he would be subject to severe punishment, even though the photograph tells the truth, which it does. I file a copy of the same as Exhibit A to this statement. *

Paragraph 5 of this remarkable bill would make it a misdemeanor for any person in the presence of two or more persons to speak in any language or make any statement or declaration which in any way would shame, ridicule, disgrace, or bring into contempt or hostility a group of persons by reason of their religion, creed or manner of worship even though the creed, religion or manner of worship should be grossly in violation of common decency and laws of the land which have long been upon the statute books. The proposed law, therefore, would be a complete denial of the freedom of speech even where the speaking of the truth would be necessary for the benefit of the public in general.

Paragraph 6 would punish by fine and imprisonment the owner of a house or other building who would let or hire the same or any part thereof for the use of an association or society of persons in which should be held a meeting of two or more persons wherein any speech should be made, photograph exhibited, paper * See Golden Age No. 361, July 19, 1933, pages 656-657. read, book or other paper exhibited, which would have the tendency to subject to shame, ridicule, disgrace, contempt, or hostility any group of persons practicing an indecent religion according to their creed or manner of worship.

Paragraph 7 of the proposed law would prevent the owner, lessee, manager, or any other person in control of any building or structure to suffer or permit any organization to meet in that building, the constitution, by-laws or rules of which said organization might in any way-incite or subject any other group of persons residing in the state to prejudice, shame, ridicule, disgrace, or contempt by reason of religion, creed or manner of worship. It is a well known fact that for many years the numerous religious organizations in America have freely called attention to the creeds and practices of other organizations, and it would be an easy matter to induce an overzealous court or jury to believe that the purpose and intent of calling attention to the truth of such practices was to violate the law and thus would open the way for constant spying of one organization upon another, the tendency of which would be not only to destroy freedom of speech, but to increase hatred, ill-will and malice of one toward the other and cause the violation of the laws already on the statute books.

Paragraph 8 of the bill would prevent any radio station from using, or permitting the same to be used to broadcast in any language, any speech or declaration, regardless of how true the speech or declaration might be, which would prejudice or subject to shame, hatred, ridicule, disgrace, contempt, or hostility any group of persons because of their religion, creed or manner of worship. This paragraph would prevent any person within the State of New Jersey from using a radio receiving set, transcription machine, phonograph or any other means of reproducing speech which might be heard by other persons and which speech so reproduced would disclose the truth and which truth would tend to promote ridicule, disgrace or contempt of others, even though such others were engaged in a practice that would be entirely against the public interest.

For some time a strong religious organization in the United States has been carrying forward a vicious campaign to prevent the proper use of radio, as is evidenced by a printed copy of the proceedings before a Congressional committee at Washington which I file herewith and mark as Exhibit B. *

Every paragraph and provision and every portion of this proposed act is in derogation of the Constitution of the State of New Jersey and of the United States, and is therefore invalid, and the bill should be rejected as a whole.

I submit that before the lawmakers of this State should attempt to take away from the people freedom of speech and of press and put a gag in the mouth of every one who attempts to speak the truth and imprison those who speak the truth, the matter should be submitted to an open and free discussion of the people and let them determine whether they wish to thus be deprived of their just rights.

(5) HYPOCRITICAL

The proposed bill would beget habits of hypocrisy and meanness, in this, that it would shield all manner of false and fraudulent practices that might be operating under a creed and name of religion. Making it a criminal offense for a person to call attention to such hypocrisy and false practices is directly opposed to the underlying principles of the American government.

Centuries ago the attempt of professional religionists by temporal punishment to prevent citizens from speaking the truth and worshiping Almighty God in the manner which He has commanded was the moving cause for the forefathers to lay the foundations of this government on the bleak shores of New England. Appropriate hereto is the following quotation from the Constitution of the State of Rhode Island:

“Whereas Almighty God hath created the mind free; and all attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or burdens, or by civil incapacitations, tend to beget habits of hypocrisy and meanness; and whereas the principal object of our venerable ancestors, in their migration to this country and their settlement of this state, was, as they expressed it, to hold forth a lively experiment, that a flourishing civil state may stand and be best maintained with full liberty in religious concernments; we, therefore, declare that , . . every man shall be free to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience, ...”

The Constitution of New Jersey is in complete accord with the foregoing and provides,

•"Hearings Before the Committee on Merchant Marine, Radio and Fisheries, House of Representatives, Seventy-third Congress, Second Session, on H.R. 7986" (226 pages).

“No person shall be deprived of the inestimable privilege of worshiping Almighty God in a manner agreeable to the dictates of his own conscience.”

The Constitution of the United States likewise provides for freedom of worship and freedom of press and speech. Religious institutions often attempt to prevent individual citizens from availing themselves of the benefits of these constitutional provisions.

The Constitution of New Jersey specifically mentions Almighty God and shows that the purpose thereof is to grant complete freedom to worship and serve Him.

Almighty God, as therein mentioned, is One whose name alone is Jehovah, the Most High over all the universe. (Exodus 6:3; Psalm 83:18) It is He who has appointed and anointed men and women to be witnesses in His name to tell others about His truth, His King and His kingdom, which is the only hope of the world. His great enemy and opposer is Satan, the Devil, who attempts to keep the people blind as to the truth. I mention this in order to enable us to determine just who is the primary mover in the effort to suppress freedom of speech and freedom of press concerning the truth, which truth might be inimical to the interests of certain groups practicing what they call religion.

For example: In the United States there is one religious institution definitely committed to suppression of freedom of speech on certain subjects. Safely ensconced in the cradle of liberty and granted greater freedom of action here than elsewhere in the world, it yet presumes to deny to others what was so cheerfully accorded. It is of record that that institution has officially denounced freedom of speech as a great error.

Not only does that powerful organization claim the right to do all the thinking and teaching on Biblical questions, but in effect it demands the right to censor all speeches on such subjects that go out over the radio; and wherever possible it has not hesitated to enforce that censorship.

In their published editorials, that organization’s most zealous agents claim to stand by the American principle of free discussion of subjects of public interest. At the same time they demand that they first have opportunity to scrutinize what shall be said. One’s natural reaction to such demands is to inquire, What is there about the beliefs and practices of an institution so inconsistent and unreasonable that it is unsafe for others to mention those beliefs and practices? Why not bring them out into the sunlight and fresh air of free discussion, to the lasting benefit of all concerned ?

Through the publications which it controls, that far-flung organization wields a mighty power over many in the State of New Jersey. Its spokesmen are prompt to say that it believes in freedom of speech, but that nothing must be said that will shock or wound the “religious susceptibilities” of members of their group. In the same breath, those speakers, through their publications, have spared no pains to call humble followers of Jesus Christ the vilest and most abusive names ever put in print.

One of those publications, commenting on a series of Bible-prophecy broadcasts of wide public interest, said: “What they peddle is plain nonsense, the same brand of nonsense you would expect from amateur doctors and amateur lawyers, if the laws would permit such a thing. Such amateurs in any line should be barred from the radio channels.”

In another instance a local society affiliated with that same strong and overzealous religious group went into raptures about democracy’s having received its inspiration from the Sermon on the Mount, and then wound up with a businesslike threat to the local department store’s broadcasting station that unless certain radio programs of Bible instruction disapproved by said society were canceled forthwith the store might expect members of the society to withdraw their accounts. Many similar cases of unjust interference with the rights of the people by that same aggressive and intolerant group of religionists are described in the report of hearings recently held by request of Congress, a copy of which report I offer in evidence as Exhibit C, marked pages 298 to 362, inclusive, and particularly page 316, paragraph 7. *

Examination of hundreds of publications issued by that old but very active ecclesiastical group reveals the interesting fact that the most vicious and horrible bigotry and intolerance are interlarded with extremely sanctimonious claims

* For the newest, and latest, * ‘ Hearings Before the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, House of Representatives, Seventy-third Congress, Second Session, on H.R. 8301” (363 pages) send money order immediately for 25c (stamps not accepted) to Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C. Order the report by its title.

of ultra-Americanism. This same principle of hypocrisy is discernible in the bill introduced for passage by this legislature. It might be justly charged against the authors of the bill that in instances where they claim to stoutly stand for liberty of speech they have shamelessly resorted to the most extravagant denunciation of those who ventured to disagree with them.

One could have a little confidence in the purpose of the authors of the bill if they had said openly, “We are dead set against the American doctrine of freedom of speech, and are out to put an end to it.”

With propriety the question might be asked, Where did this bill originate?

Certainly not in New Jersey. Manifestly it was conceived in malice and brought forth in iniquity at a point far removed from the State of New Jersey.

The true father of it is the Devil himself, who has at all times used religion and religious practices to oppress and degrade honest men and to defame the name of Jehovah God.

And now I respectfully propound this question:

Will the local sponsor of this bill who introduced it in the Assembly tell this Committee and the people of New Jersey that the bill was conceived in his own mind, or whether or not he received instruction from an undisclosed authority to have the bill enacted as law in this State to prevent criticism of the creeds and practices of a certain religious sect?

It is not without significance that a bill similar to the one offered for passage by the legislature of New Jersey is offered also in the legislature of New York, and simultaneously in legislatures of the provinces of Canada, also in Australia, in South Africa, and in the House of Commons at London. This fact of itself strongly suggests that the real sponsors of the bill introduced here are hiding behind some screen labeled “religion” but which is in fact the worst kind of politics.

It is also significant and worthy of consideration that the famous international leader of that prominent sect of “organized Christianity” has recently instructed his representatives in various countries to take all steps possible to prevent the proclamation of the message of God’s kingdom by Jehovah’s witnesses, and that this action has been simultaneously taken to prevent the broadcasting of that message in the following countries, to wit: Australia, South Africa, Japan, China, France, England, Canada and the United States.

And it is further significant that in pursuance of such attempts to prevent the distribution of the message of God’s kingdom many who deliver that message to the homes of the people have been arrested and imprisoned in the several countries just named; and in all those cases such arrests have been made at the instance of religionists.

These facts are cited to show the connection of this proposed modern libel law intended to protect and shield “religionists” that have persecuted and are persecuting inoffensive men, women and children who are exercising their Constitutional right of “worshiping Almighty God” in a manner agreeable to the dictates of their own conscience.

With permission of the Committee, I would like to call attention to another matter, and mark this as an exhibit [Exhibit G], in support of the argument concerning the religious group that is backing this bill. The sponsor of the bill, Mr. Rafferty, is an ardent Catholic. From Fitzgerald’s Manual of the State of New Jersey for 1934 I quote the following: “Mr. Rafferty is a member of Bishop McFaul Council Knights of Columbus, and of the State Council, Knights of Columbus.”

JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES

Within the State of New Jersey there are many persons who worship Almighty God in harmony with the Constitutional provision and with the commandments of the Almighty God. To worship the Almighty God Jehovah in truth and in spirit one must gladly obey His commandments as they are written in His Word the Bible. What is stated in the Bible is the truth, and it is THE TRUTH when spoken that subjects certain religionists to prejudice, disgrace and contempt, and necessarily it would be the religionists who would wish to prevent the speaking of the truth and to have a law with teeth in it in order to prevent the truth’s being told.

To obey and worship Jehovah God one must be a witness of Jehovah; and, as He has commanded, such witness must tell others about Jehovah God’s purpose. By telling the truth of God’s Word these witnesses are not speaking evil of persons, but are setting out the truth which is so necessary for the comfort and protection of the people. Among the commandments which Jehovah God has given to those who worship Him in spirit and in truth are these: “Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen.” 'Go and tell the people.’ ‘This gospel of the Kingdom must be preached unto all nations as a witness, and then the end shall come.’—Isaiah 43:10,12; Isaiah 6:9; Matthew 24:14.

During the past four years in particular, within the borders of the State of New Jersey many of the true followers of Christ Jesus, who are therefore Jehovah’s witnesses, and who have been pursuing their Constitutional rights to worship Jehovah God, have been persecuted, arrested and thrown into prison, and in every case this has been done at the instance of certain religionists who are now anxious to have this bill become a law so that no one can then call in question their wrongful acts.

Those same religionists have attempted to prevent the owners of buildings from renting the same to Jehovah’s witnesses in which to hold meetings for Bible instruction, and they have caused the speaker at such meetings to be surrounded with a squad of men heavily armed for the manifest purpose of creating the impression that Jehovah’s witnesses are dangerous persons ; and this has been done in violation of the Constitution relative to peaceable assembly. These same religionists have caused the arrest of men, women and children, and their imprisonment and continued persecution, and have done so under the provisions of municipal ordinances which the higher courts of this State have declared invalid. I cite these facts to show actual malice which is held and manifested by those who are anxious to have this bill become a law.

And now for the information of this legislative body I attach a list of cases that have been brought in the courts of New Jersey, and the result thereof, as follows, to wit:

ARRESTS

Some of the many eases involving arrest and relentless persecution of Jehovah’s witnesses in the State of New Jersey during six-year period ending May 31, 1934. Thorough study of the Table and the Notes will prove useful to everyone.

TABLE

(N)

(d)

(a) (D)

June 10

South Amboy

Nov. 25

Bergenfield

s X

Dec. 30

Englewood

S X

Jan. 20

South Amboy

Oct. 12

Bergenfield 1)

Nov. 4

c f

Jan. 24

Bergenfield

C 0

Feb. 21

Asbury Park

C 0

Mar. 27

f > > >

V f

Apr. 30

Bergenfield

c f

May 22

s f

” 22

Englewood

c f

June 20

Westfield

c 2f

” 25

} J

” 26

> >

July 13

Bergenfield

” 31

Summit

Oct. 4

Wildwood Crest

c f

Nov. 29

Livingston

Dec. 25

Fanwood

Jan. 8

Dunellen

” 15

Feb. 5

Bergenfield

” 11

” 24

Oakland

” 26

Mar. 5

Long Branch

” 24

Garwood

Apr. 19

Fanwood

May 7

Summit

” 22

June 4

Plainfield

” 11

North Haledon

” 21

Jersey City

July 27

Bayonne

” 28

Summit

s f

” 29

Plainfield

c f

Oct. 22

Summit

Nov. 12

Bergenfield

e 4o

Feb. 5

Bergenfield

s 5f

Mar. 5

Nutley

c X

” 6

Bergenfield

” 10

” 19

Plainfield

” 30

Jersey City

Apr. 15

May 6

Highland Park

” 12

Nutley

” 12

Plainfield

flt

” 18

Newark

” 19

Nutley

” 20

Plainfield

Totals: Towns, 20; cases, 68; persons arrested, 698.

KEY TO SYMBOLS IN TABLE

(N) column shows number of persons arrested

(d) column shows result of trial in police court, thus:

x adverse decision

f favorable decision

m dismissed

r reserved decision

o decision not yet given

t trial due

(a) column shows court to which appeal was taken:

c county court

s supreme court

v chancery court (vice chancellor)

(D) column shows result in higher court

NOTES

1 Court of First Criminal Judicial District, Bergen County; Abram Lebson, judge.

2 Town of Westfield appealed this decision to Supreme Court, which confirmed decision of County Court against Westfield, in opinion by Justices Parker, Lloyd and Heber, May, 1934.

3 Borough magistrate (Morris Kantoff) convicted the man and woman, sentenced them to 90-day prison term, left for his home and then came back to borough jail at midnight and told the “convicts” to go home, which they did.

1 Court of Common Pleas judge (Del Mar) heard argument on this case in December 1933. Supreme Court decided March 21, 1934 (in case of two arrested February 5, 1934, see 5 in Table at left) that the ordinance involved is void. Notwithstanding this Supreme Court decision which has been called to the attention of the Common Pleas judge (Del Mar), he declines to date (May 31, 1934) to rule on the case brought under the same ordinance in November 1933, or to release the defendants’ cash bond of $150.

5 See *.

6 Death of one of the three men involved in this case followed shortly after his confinement in Essex County prison, notwithstanding the genuinely courteous and considerate efforts of the prison warden, Charles Steadman, who disapproves incarceration of Jehovah’s witnesses.

7 Dismissal moved in open court by “corporation counsel” Will Newcorn, who openly announced at the time that the city’s existing “ordinances are sufficient” but “the difficulty has been in obtaining the complaining witnesses to testify to exactly what took place” as “they are reluctant to come into court”. Newcorn then announced in open court and for the record: “For that reason I have drafted an ordinance which will make it possible to secure a conviction” and “that act will become operative and will be adopted tonight”. That “act” was adopted finally and became effective as of April 17, 1934, and it is under that “act” that nine of Jehovah’s witnesses (see 9 in Table at left) are still due to be tried in the city court at Plainfield before the police judge, Will De Meza.

8 False and exaggerated testimony given by police officers, supported by other false witnesses, at the instance of ecclesiastical “higher-ups”, was insufficient to enable the Nutley police judge (Charles Young) and the commissioner (De Muro) of the Department of Public Affairs to convict 14 of Jehovah’s witnesses at a “trial” held May 23, 1934; but the eleven others who also had done the same work of telling the people of Nutley the good news of Jehovah’s kingdom were found “guilty” upon like false testimony under an invalid ordinance and were sentenced to pay a fine of $25 each or serve 20 (and 15) days in jail, AFTER most of them had been incarcerated four days before being tried. Three of those four days they spent in the gracious custody of the warden (Charles Steadman) of Essex County jail. When those “criminals” were unloaded at the warden’s door Sunday, May 20, he was so shocked that Jehovah’s witnesses (well known to him as inoffensive, upright men and women) should again be sent to him for Imprisonment that, as he himself reported, he immediately telephoned his hot displeasure and disapproval to the Nutley magistrate who had sent them. That magistrate and his able accomplice, Will Brown (Nutley's police chief who executes the orders of the Roman Catholic hierarchy’s agents), turned those harmless men and women over to Warden Steadman after keeping them at Nutley police headquarters from Saturday afternoon until 10: 30 Sunday morning. During the stormy, cold night of Saturday (May 19) the six men were confined in bare cells without heat or bedding. All of the same night the sixteen women, including the mother of a seven-week-old infant (and the babe), and several young girls, were also compelled by the Nutley police chief and his men to “rest” on bare benches in the unheated public courtroom of Nutley’s municipal building, without blankets or a single piece of bedding, while beds and blankets were readily available in adjoining rooms, sometimes used by the town’s firemen. Tills occurrence at Nutley illustrates but faintly some of the unmanly and heartless conduct of so-called “officers of the law” toward Jehovah’s witnesses at many other places in the State of New Jersey, including Plainfield, Bergenfield, Asbury Park, North Haledon, Fanwood, Garwood, Elizabeth, Woodbridge, Wildwood Crest, etc., where they have been thrown into cold, damp dungeons, starved, beaten, punched, and otherwise illtreated by the police. Invariably the “officers” act thus toward Jehovah’s witnesses at the instigation of the Protestant clergy as well as of the agents of the Roman Catholic hierarchy. At Nutley, on May 23, 4934, after the all-day “trial” of Jehovah’s witnesses, the police judge finally concluded to delay sending his “convicts” back to prison. This he did, as he announced, to allow himself “opportunity to study” the Supreme Court decision (see Note 2 above) holding invalid the Westfield ordinance, because that ordinance is almost exactly the same as the Nutley ordinance under which Jehovah's witnesses are being persecuted in that town by the local police with the aid and support of the Essex County judge (Hartshorne) who approves and sustains the misguided judgment of Nutley’s magistrate. The men and women so persecuted are “guilty” of nothing except telling the truth of Jehovah God's Word. If such cruelty cap be Inflicted upon men and women under the present state of the law at the instance of religionists, how much more cruel and unusual punishment might be expected at their hands if this bill now pending should become a law!

9 See note 7.

• * « •

Jehovah’s witnesses are devoted to Jehovah God, the Almighty, and worship Him in spirit and in truth. They are not here asking any favors or that anyone shall be prevented from criticizing them. They follow in the footsteps of Christ Jesus, against whom the religionists spoke all manner of violent things when He was on earth. As the Scriptures declare, Jesus made himself of no reputation. Likewise Jehovah’s witnesses are not seeking a reputation amongst men; but we do most vigorously protest against a group of strong, overzealous religionists’ being armed with a law with teeth in it for the purpose of preventing honest and conscientious Christians’ exercising their Constitutional and God-given privilege of worshiping and serving Jehovah God as He has commanded.

Should this bill become a law it not only would be contrary to the plain declaration of the Constitution, but would be an insult to and defiance of Jehovah God; and certainly the lawmaking body of this State would not wish to lend itself as an instrument to accomplish any such purpose even though it is urged by strong and influential and powerful groups of religionists so to do. For more than 140 years the people of America have prided themselves on exercising their God-given privilege to call attention to erroneous religious doctrines, not for the purpose of holding up men to ridicule, but for the purpose of aiding others to see the right way to walk in the pathway marked out by Jesus and to serve Jehovah God in truth and in fact. If this bill should become a law it would turn back the wheels of progress in freedom of thought and speech and bring upon America that condition of darkness that prevailed in Italy, Spain, Mexico and other places during the Dark Ages.

“RELIGIOUS GROUP”

I have here emphasized the activities of a certain known group or religious institution. That strong, vigorous, overzealous, political-religious organization is admittedly pressing action at this time on a world-wide scale and in a manner without parallel in its history, to gain control of every government, including the United States.

That prominent group or organization is the comparatively small number of distinguished clergymen who designate themselves as the Roman Catholic hierarchy.

Let no one misunderstand. To clarify the matter, I define the Roman Catholic hierarchy as it is identified in official publications issued under its own authority. It is the official ruling body that controls the world-wide institution known as the Catholic system. Its seat of government is not in New Jersey, but in Vatican City, in the vicinity of Italy.

I mean no reflection upon the millions of men and women who are the subjects or children of the gigantic Catholic organization and who are required to be obedient to the Hierarchy. Many of those men and women are personally known to me as lovers of liberty and freedom of speech and press, and are my neighbors and friends.

In my opinion it is high time that the attention of the American people in every walk of life is called to the fact that it is the official element known as the Hierarchy, and not the ordinary Catholic, that attempts to dominate the people, and it is that ruling element that desires such unusual legislation as this new brand of libel law.

To aid this Committee to gain a more comprehensive view of the Roman Catholic hierarchy, I submit and file herewith as Exhibit D a chart, a copy of which was filed before the Congressional hearing at Washington, and which chart shows the method of operation from the head of the Catholic institution down to the smallest precinct even in New Jersey. *

POLITICAL RELIGIONISTS

As an illustration to further define the wide difference between the New Jersey Constitutional guarantee and the proposed law, the following is cited:

Among other commandments of the Almighty God are these, to wit:

That the true worshipers of God shall keep themselves separate and distinct from the politics of this world and not indulge in the same. —James 1: 27; 4:4; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18.

Under the guise of “religion” any kind of parade and ceremony in which politicians, as such, participate in their official capacity may be practiced. (See Exhibit E from New York Daily News of May 28,1934, offered herewith.)! It is the privilege of politicians to engage in these parades or exhibitions if they wish to, but if the proposed bill should become law, then should any newspaper or other publication or any person call attention to the fact that the Scriptures point out that such so-called practice of religion is not true worship of God, that would be violating the law.

Therefore the proposed law would permit politicians, under the pretext of religion, to carry on with impunity anything that they might desire and with certainty of being spared from any kind of criticism even though the criticism is wholly the truth; and such politicians could effectively prevent publication of such truth, on the ground that it might subject them to hostility or contempt or shock their “religious susceptibilities”.

If by law the press and citizenry can be prevented from publishing and speaking the truth about a religious organization, then with equal certainty could the law prevent criticism of any political organization. With one group or party in power and thus protected, the people would be helpless and compelled to submit to any and all kinds of injustice and unrighteous practices.

* This chart, with explanation, will appear in next issue, t Explanation, or reproduction, will appear in next issue.

As a further illustration of the difference between true Christians who worship the Almighty God in truth and in spirit (John 4:23) and a group of religionists, I file, as Exhibit F, for consideration of the Committee, a picture which appeared in the London Daily Express of March 31, 1934. If this new brand of libel law should be enacted in New Jersey, then any publisher reproducing this picture would certainly get the limit of a fine of five thousand dollars and five years in prison. *

NAZI

In America there is no real persecution of Jews, and never has been. This, however, has been seized upon by the Catholic hierarchy as a pretext to blind the people while agents of the Hierarchy attempt to put over their subtle political job.

In the United States there are no Nazis. There is no danger from that quarter. The Nazis have gotten control of Germany, it is true.

On the other hand, it is an important fact that in Germany the Catholic organization is the only religious institution (except the reorganized “state church”) that is permitted to operate in that country, and it works hand in hand with the Nazis by mutual agreement set forth in the concordat between the Vatican office and the headquarters of the German republic. The press has announced the fact that Mr. Hitler holds conference with the pope.

If the Nazis and the Catholic system are working together in Germany, it is further significant that in the United States the Catholic hierarchy must bring forward through its agents preventive measures against the Nazis.

Doubtless if New Jersey takes the lead in enacting this new libel law, that will be the cue for other states, where the Catholic hierarchy

* See pages 592-593, of this issue.

will attempt to have passed similar laws upon the pretext that such will afford protection from Nazi propaganda; whereas the real purpose is to shield the Catholic hierarchy from just and proper criticism.

PROTEST

I am one of Jehovah’s witnesses as well as a citizen of New Jersey, and I insist on my Constitutional right and privilege of worshiping Almighty God in a manner agreeable to the dictates of my own conscience. In doing that I must obey the commandments of Almighty God and speak His truth as set forth in His Word, the Bible.

I stress the point that the Constitution of the State of New Jersey provides that this legislature has no power or authority to pass a law that would deprive me or any other citizen of the inestimable privilege of worshiping Almighty God in a manner agreeable to the dictates of my own conscience.

I beg to say that Jehovah’s witnesses are not limited by political divisions of the territory of the earth, but are commanded by the God of heaven and earth to preach His gospel to all nations as a witness. In obedience to that commandment they are preaching His gospel to all nations as a witness.

This statement of protest I make in behalf of Jehovah’s witnesses in New Jersey and throughout the earth.

I make this statement here for the reason that Jehovah’s witnesses are a united company throughout the earth, representing Jehovah, the true God; and the religionists that are persecuting Jehovah’s witnesses show they are a united company operating designedly, even though under cover, throughout the nations of earth, to prevent the people from hearing the truth concerning God’s kingdom.

Demonism in West Virginia

ONE of Jehovah’s witnesses in West Virginia, who lives in a town where there has been and is much opposition to the Kingdom message on the part of one certain clergyman and his flock, writes that, after a prolonged season of prayer to their god to put Jehovah’s witnesses out of the way, the pastor of the church was stricken with an attack of demons and is now so completely under their control that his folly is apparent to all men and the truth is spreading rapidly through the community, as a consequence.

Government

Germany Gave Up as Much as America

Internment on Italy’s Penal Islands

FOR the privilege of engaging in the World War Germany gave up as much as did the United States. In each case the net loss is about $50,000,000,000. In an article in the New York American Harvey C. Garber, reparation expert, and formerly member of Congress, gives the particulars that go to make up the following totals:

Germany paid reparations as follows:

In Dollars (Approx.)

Cash payments and Reparations recovery $668,500,000 Deliveries in kind (following is a

small example: 500 stallions, 30,000 mares, 2,000 bulls, 90,000 milk cows, 1,000 rams, 100,000 sheep, 10,000 goats—as immediate advance to France only; Belgium received 100,000 milk cows alone and a similar number of other animals in proportion as French Government

received) ................... 1,013,500,000

Transportation material surrendered (includes 90 percent of merchant fleet) .................................. 1,640,500,000

Non-military material ............ 1,260,250,000

Private property abroad owned by

German citizens...................................—........... 2,520,000,000

Private and public property in the ceded districts........................... 2,605,500,000

War fleet surrendered....................... 334,500,000

Work of German prisoners of war___ 300,000,000

Miscellaneous individual performances 172,000,000

Germany paid up to Aug. 31,1924 $10,514,750,000

Payments and deliveries under Dawes

and Young Plans 2,774,000,000

Total _____________________________________________________________$13,288,750,000

Further German performances and sacrifices (internal costs of occupation, costs of internal Allies commission, costs of disarming military and industrial, adjustment of borders and refugee costs) ...................... 3,629,500,000

Grand Total (to June 30, 1931) $16,918,250,000

Authority for the above by Wolff Bureau Summary, January 23, 1932.

This enormous sum of almost $17,000,000,000 represents 28| percent of Germany’s national wealth in 1918 (before the inflation). These figures do not include territorial possessions surrendered by Germany, of which its African colonies and Pacific possessions have been estimated as having an economic value of $34,000,000,000.

THE Manchester Guardian contains an article by Francesco Fausto Nitti, Jr., setting forth some of the conditions attaching to internment in Italy’s penal islands.

The “care” with which the sentence of internment is pronounced may be judged by the three following facts among hundreds: (a) I never knew officially the reason of my internment; it was only my father who was able to gather that I was under “suspicion” of setting up an anti-Fascist secret society; (b) in Lipari there are interned men who have been denounced as Communists by their business rivals although they never took any interest in politics; (e) in Lipari I know a small farmer who did not even know what Communism means, but was denounced as a Communist by the police official of his village, who was in love with his wife.

The man who has been sentenced to internment travels in a “vagone cellulate ”, or “iron maiden”. This is composed of a number of small cells scarcely large enough for a man in a sitting posture, and too small to stand up in or stretch the limbs. The only ventilation is a slit opening on to the inner corridor of the carriage. During the journey the prisoner is handcuffed. No food or water is allowed.

The “vagoni cellulari”, attached to the slow, third-class trains, travel only by day; in the evening they stop at the station of a town where there is a prison. When we came out of the cell, after 12 to 18 hours of enforced immobility, without food, without fresh air, and in almost total darkness, our hands swollen because of the tightness of the handcuffs, we could scarcely recognize one another.

From the train the prisoners are transported to the jail. They are linked together by a chain that passes from one handcuff to another. The prisoners must carry their own luggage with their handcuffed hands. When they reach the jail they receive food and spend the night in a “cella di transito” (cell used for prisoners on their way to a further destination), where they sleep on the bare boards amongst vermin of all kinds, without light or air. Generally the prison is reached late in the evening, after the supper hour, so that the prisoners, instead of the usual ration of soup, receive only bread and water.

The men are herded in Naples, and from there are taken by sea to Palermo, to the prison of Ucciardone, which is the nightmare of all Italian prisoners. From there they are taken to the islands.

Insurance Against Conscription

OUT of the total sum of life and other insurance outstanding in Japan at the end of last September, more than 8 percent consisted of policies against being drafted for army service.

Finance, Commerce and Transportation

The Work of a Clever Lawyer

HERE is a notice from a bank telling the good news about the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Manifestly it was written by a clever lawyer who was so eager to put loopholes in his statement that he made the whole thing ridiculous as a safety measure. Here is what he said: “Your deposits in this bank are now protected, as stated, by its membership in the Temporary Deposit Insurance Fund of the FDIC. You thus have a foundation for confidence and future security, which has a measure of the same soundness and stability that is inherent in the United States Government itself.” This is written in such a way that if the member banks of the FDIC should consider it expedient at any time to put up another hard-luck story to their depositors, there will be at least three lines of argument all leading to the same conclusion, i.e., “We have your money, and what are you going to do about it?”

The Laundry Code

THE laundry business has been a difficult business to codify under NBA arrangements, for the reason that it is a business in which labor itself is the greatest item, and all through the southern states the workers are inevitably Negro women, forced by their necessities to accept what is offered in the way of wages. The laundry owners and operators finally fixed upon 14c an hour as the minimum laundry wage. The American Federation of Labor wants the minimum wage made 40c per hour. It points out the high temperature and high humidity characteristic of both the washing and ironing departments, and the dangers to hands and arms, to which the workers are subjected.

Railroads in a Bad Way

IT WOULD not need a great mind to figure out that with beautiful hard roads paralleling every railway, and something like 25,000,000 buses, automobiles and trucks racing up and down on them day and night, the railways would by now be in a bad way, even if there had been no panic in 1929 and no mails and passengers had been carried in the Pullmans of the clouds. But even so, it jolts one to hear of section men paid as low as 7c an hour, or $6 for a full week’s work. The Government, in its effort to revive business and create employment, has offered loans to the railroads at reasonable rates of interest and at no interest for the first year.

…

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Golden Age, June 20, 1934