Consolation, April 29, 1942
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Contents
Acts of The Theocracy in New York State (2) 3
Acts of the Mimic Theocracy 2
Trying to Work an Old Racket 3
"By Their Fruits Ye Shall Know Them" 7
Saga of Sorrow 8
'Framing Mischief by Law' 10
The New Government
The First to Recite the Pledge 12
France in Humiliation 14
"Thy Word Is Truth"
The Best and Worst of Times 16
Hitler's Thousand-Year Plan 18
"York State" Miscellany 19
Under the Totalitarian Flag
Vatican Concept of Christianity 24
In the Days of Pope Innocent VIII 24
Presenting "This Gospel of the Kingdom" 26
Earth's Most Perfect Nonsense 27
British Comment
The War of Words 29
It Pays to Follow Up Book Placements 30
The Wrecking of Spitzbergen 30
Made Refugees in Almost No Time 30
Women in Soviet Russia 31
Reprisals for Bombings 31
The Hercules Came in All O. K. 31
Five French Boys Cross the Channel 31
Grandma Was Sore at the Kaiser 31
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Notanda
Acts of the Mimic Theocracy
◆ Everyone is more or less acquainted with the religious dogmas of "purgatory", masses (high and low), confession, absolution, etc. Any who are at all versed in the Holy Writ know their falsity, and it is not the purpose to here disprove them, as that has been thoroughly accomplished by other WATCHTOWER publications, and to the complete satisfaction of those of unbiased mind.
Of, like common knowledge are their antics of trailing a little piece of bread about in idolatrous processions, bingoing all through the night, blessing everything and everybody—for a modest consideration, and, like dumb dogs, burying bones and bone fragments in the nooks and crannies of their church buildings throughout the earth. Like dogs, they sometimes forget just how many bones they have tucked away, and find themselves with enough of St. Theresa's, for example, to construct a dozen skeletons. Jesus said they were as "whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's [and women's] bones".
Like Athens of old, New York is extremely religious. At hand is a picture of the blessing of motorcycles at Buffalo, with an increasing number of wrecks sure to follow. That's the way it works.
Men 45 to 64 Must Register April 27
◆ The Fourth Registration under the Selective Training and Service Act has been proclaimed by President Roosevelt and will be held on Monday, April 27, 1942, between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m.
Every male citizen of the United States and every other male person residing in the continental United States, or in the Territories of Alaska and Hawaii, or in Puerto Rico, born on or after April 28, 1877, and on or before February 16, 1897, who have not yet registered under the Act, must register.
CONSOLATION
"And in His name shall the nations hope."—Matthew 12:21, A. R. V.
Volume XXIII Brooklyn, N. Y., Wednesday, April 29, 1942 Number 590
Acts of The Theocracy in New York State
(In Three Parts—Part 2)
THE opposers of the acts of THE THEOCRACY in New York state are the religionists. They claim to have a triune god (three in one) at their head. They set up men of their organization as gods or mighty ones. They worship the demons, legions of them, as gods, and finally the Devil himself, the “god of this world”. Their activities are varied—politics, commerce, crusades, inquisitions, everything but the work of preaching the gospel of God’s kingdom.
From this it appears that such an organization would be properly labeled a “theocrasy”. Theocrasy, as defined by Webster, means “a fusion of the divinities of different religions in the thought of worshipers; a mixture of the worship of different gods, as of Jehovah and idols”. The Catholic church boasts of her ability to absorb and make a part of her own ritual the doctrines and rites of pagan religions, and thus admits she is pagan and a mixture, or impure.
It is appropriate that, in contrast with the acts of THE THEOCRACY, some of the activities of this mimic theocracy be considered. These, like the Ephesian silversmiths, see their wealth in possible jeopardy, and, in addition to opposing the truth, endeavor to establish a “new order” which will assure them a permanent grip on the people. (See page 2.)
Gambling parties conducted by the church are sometimes embarrassing, as when the sheep inconsiderately try to turn the tables and fleece the shepherds. Because of a bingo game in connection with the church, two women were arrested, charged with conspiracy to get $150 by using fake tickets. Ladies! Shame! The church officials knew the tickets were false, because, says the New York Times, they had “obtained a master book by which winning combinations could be checked with card serial numbers”. At this distance it appears that the whole thing was a “den of thieves”.
Trying to Work an Old Racket
M. Palko, of New York city, writes to this office:
The church my parents attended was Greek Catholic. The conductors of the church decided to allow only those who bought tickets for $1 to go to confession before Easter. So my parents bought the tickets. My mother rushed to church but left the tickets home; so the priest refused to confess her. With other people, my parents woke up to the fact that the church was a den of thieves. Three of my sisters married Russian Greek Orthodox priests. Before the marriage of the eldest was approved by the archbishop, that gentleman, taking advantage of his position, demanded the privilege of the first night with the bride. To this my brother-in-law, the priest, refused to consent. After that the archbishop was not highly respected by my brother-in-law. [The archbishop was unusually mild in his demand. In the “good old days” before the Reformation the “trinoctium” was a part of the religion of lords, archbishops and such.—Ed.]
Here is an example of the instruction given children by that mimic theocracy. Someone sent in a copy of a little booklet entitled “Our First Communion”. It is beautifully illustrated with colored pictures and black-and-white drawings, but the doctrine it presents baffles the divinely, given mental faculties. The booklet is prepared by the "Rev. Father" William R. Kelly, Fordham University (Jesuit), and is approved by Patrick Cardinal Hayes.
At the outset teachers and parents are deprived of any disinterested motives by the bribe of "100 days indulgence" for instructing their pupils and children. Who wants 100 days' indulgence for obeying Jehovah's command to teach the truth of His Word to children? But wait, there may be something in this bribery after all; for the contents of the booklet mix a subtle poison of human philosophy with the simple facts of Scripture upon which they are supposedly based. But a right-minded individual would not teach such falsehoods to children or anyone else for a hundred or a million days' indulgence. Add to this incongruity the fact that the indulgence farce is manufactured out of whole cloth by a crafty clergy, and one is somewhat prepared for the further absurdities taught in the booklet.
On page 8 appears the statement, "The value of good pictures in education of the young is too well known to need comment." But on page 10 is a "good picture" of an old man who is supposedly God. What educational value is there in this disregard of the second commandment? Note the emphasis with which such image-making was forbidden: "Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves, (for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that [Jehovah] spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire,) lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you [whether with pen or with chisel] a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female." (Deuteronomy 4:15, 16) If the honest purpose of the booklet were to give the child a Scriptural conception of God, that purpose is here frustrated by unlawful representation of the Creator.
The child's mind is further confused on page 15. "Jesus is at the same time God and Man." The clear Scriptural statement is ignored, "There is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things."—1 Corinthians 8:6.
At pages 33 and 36, in describing the last supper, the statements are made: "Right away the bread was changed into His body." "The wine . . . into his blood!" "Holy Communion looks like bread; it tastes like bread. But it is not bread. It is Jesus." In short, God! Simple, isn't it? If you have lost your senses, particularly to see and taste, and reason, yes. The natural result is to completely bewilder the mind of the child in its effort to comprehend such blasphemy. It's just another one of those one-plus-one-plus-one-equals-one mysteries so copiously sprinkled throughout religion.
But there is more. "Our Lord . . . He is right there on the altar." God on the priest's altar, a piece of bread to be eaten! What relative importance must inevitably be assigned to God and the priest? No wonder the priest is exalted above God in the minds of many Catholics. And then, on page 52, "The priest holds up Our Lord." Of course, there is nothing "Our Lord" could do about it; for, after all, He is only a little piece of bread. But now, little ones, stick out your tongue; 'way out. There! Now (page 57), "When the priest puts Holy Communion on our tongues, we know it is Jesus"—God! Now you know all about "God". And it is priests such as these that have the audacity to refer to the logical, consistent presentation of the truth of God's Word by Jehovah's witnesses as "The Freak Religion"!
In striking contrast, note the evidence of proper instruction concerning God and His Kingdom, or THEOCRACY, as it is revealed in a communication from a little girl on Staten Island, New York. Margaret, who modestly refrained from giving her full name, writes:
In our Civics class the discussion of politics came up. All students were asked to write a short composition on their favorite candidate for presidency. I raised my hand and asked the question, "What if one is not interested in politics?" The teacher then replied, "What! You're not interested in politics?" She turned to the class and said, "Well, Margaret is not a good citizen." She then requested me to write a composition on why I was not interested in politics and read it in class the next day. The composition was as follows:
"It is always fair to allow everyone to have all the interest in politics they desire. In all fairness the reverse should be true. People believe that by voting men into office they will naturally have as a result a good government. It is not necessary in these days to have more than common sense to discern clearly that men's efforts to govern themselves are a complete failure. We have only to look at so-called civilized self-governed people (and democracies at that) in Europe.
"Those who see the utter uselessness of imperfect creatures trying to govern themselves by the use of their imperfect minds should know in their extremity to go to the only dependable source of all good government, and if we still claim to be Christians we have at some time used the words we find in the Lord's prayer, which read, 'Thy kingdom come . . . in earth . . . as it is in heaven,' and not until we have the good sense of intelligent creatures made originally in the Creator's likeness shall we have good government which shall be THE THEOCRACY, ruled invisibly by the very One who taught us to use the aforementioned words. If we really thought, we could see clearly that for centuries so-called intelligent people have proven by their repetition of those words that they do not like and are not in harmony with the government under which they live. For the statement is, 'Thy Kingdom come on earth.'
"Should we pray that prayer believing this is the best advice Jehovah's own Son Christ Jesus gave us, and then by our course of action show the Lord that we do not wish His government even though we hypocritically pray for it?"
Of course, through the whole reading much snickering could be heard and no attempt to stop this was made by the teacher. When I finished reading she admitted there were a few good points made in this composition but that the Kingdom was far, far away, and until that Kingdom comes we have to support these governments.
Apparently this teacher is one of the scoffers mentioned by the apostle Peter as saying, "Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation."—2 Peter 3:3, 4.
Other children have not been so favored by being taught from a child the truth of God's Word, and it's extremely difficult to escape the Hierarchy's clutches. The Catholic church boasts if it has a child until it is six years old it will never depart therefrom. It may try.
Do you have a daughter 12 to 15 years of age? If so, you might be interested in the Convent of the Sisters of Mercy, 275 Willoughby Ave., Brooklyn. On a bitterly cold night in February eight little girls housed in this charitable institution disappeared. Some of them hid in the cellar and some in the attic, which are wonderful places for children to spend the night when it is down to zero. The nuns running the shebang thought the girls had made a getaway, and notified the police. That's the only reason the story got into the newspapers. But it all sheds light on what a marvelous thing it is to be a Sister of Mercy in charge of children.
It was the desire of children to come to Jesus. Over 15,000 were joyfully assembled in one group at last year's assembly of Jehovah's witnesses at St. Louis. They try to escape the tender care of the Sisters of Mercy. Why? "The tender mercies of the wicked are cruel."—Proverbs 12:10.
At Mayville, New York, a man was sent up for a year for kidnaping his daughters, 15 and 11 years of age, from St. Mary's Home. You can guess what kind of home his daughters wanted to get away from.
By way of contrast, in New York city a loving father wanted his son to go to church on Easter Sunday. The son did not want to go; he was probably wise to the racket. So the father stabbed his son to death. "What this country needs is more religion."
Perhaps at this point you would like to get "more religion" and learn how to become a member of this mimic theocracy, and receive its 'holy ghost'. It's a rather complicated process and involves quite a bit of hocus-pocus. True, Christ Jesus received anointing as the King of THE THEOCRACY in about three minutes and then immediately started to work. At conventions thousands of Jehovah's witnesses have symbolized their consecration, all within two or three hours, and then proceed with the work they have agreed to do. But this mimic stuff requires a good deal of voodooism to put it across. For example, the New York Daily News says it took three hours of pageantry and ceremony to make a bishop out of Monsignor James Francis Aloysius McIntyre, but 66 bishops and archbishops stuck with the show from 10:00 a.m. to after 1:00 p.m. and saw it through. According to the Daily News Mgr. J. F. A. McIntyre many years ago renounced a promising career in Wall Street (he saw greener pastures). This pious renunciation of a financial career was touched upon during his "Examination" by Archbishop Spellman, and the devout onlookers were "touched by it", so the account reads. Doubtless they will continue to be "touched" from time to time, but in a different sense, and may come to wish the bishop had stayed on Wall Street. The World-Telegram says that at the windup "the Holy Spirit descended to the high altar of the Cathedral, glowing brilliantly in light and color", but a neatly inserted phrase indicates this is true only to the Catholics, and nobody else need believe it; and nobody else will.
The gent who was now all fixed up to be a bishop had been a priest since 1921, and apparently had been without the "Holy Ghost" all that time. But this is all remedied now. Among other things, it was found necessary to see that the new bishop's "head was cleansed with bread crumbs and a clean cloth; his hair was cleansed and combed". Seems funny that a man would come to church in that condition, and then find no water handy to tidy up a bit and be presentable. He might at least have combed his hair. Most churches have a place in the basement where matters of that kind can be given attention without making it necessary to interrupt the ceremonies when once under way. This indelicateness seems to run in the family, for "Archbishop Spellman had cleansed his own hands, a moment or two before, with bread crumbs and lemon juice". Quite a "crummy" affair.
The "Reverend" Arthur A. O'Leary, pastor of the Roman Catholic church of Our Lady of Mercy, in The Bronx, has organized a religious loan association, limited to his own parishioners, and states that "the interest rate will not exceed 1% a month". That is 12 percent a year, twice the legal rate, and Mr. O'Leary is not likely to find any other place where he can get 12 percent a year on his money and be so sure of getting back the principal. Borrowers must pay off the loans at stated intervals, each payday, in fact. And if they are working for Catholics you can bet your last dollar it will be the first bill paid out of the worker's earnings; for he will never see it at all. It will just be forked over and charged up. Mercy! The people give the priest money; he loans their money back to them, at 12 percent interest. Now do you see why Bishop McIntyre "renounced" a financial career on Wall Street?
'Jehovah God and Christ Jesus are the Great Providers,' you say. Is that so? Listen to this. Here is a circular letter from St. Joseph's Union (local number?), 381 Lafayette street, New York city, deftly offering to pray and pray and pray forever over a list of names (at 25c per):
“On faith in the Great Provider, Saint Joseph. Father Drumgoole established the Union and dedicated it to Saint Joseph. Without doubt he meant to teach us devotion to Saint Joseph. The world must know Saint Joseph better. You too must know him better. I want to place your name at the Shrine,” etc., etc.
By Their Fruits Ye Shall Know Them
Archbishop Spellman is reported in The Register as having said, “A citizen must love his country, be sincerely interested in its welfare, and respect and obey its lawful authority by voting honestly and without selfish motives, by paying just taxes, and by defending his country’s rights when necessary.” He claims that all this is taught in Catholic schools. Then why is it that, in proportion to population, there are three times as many Catholic criminals as of the rest of the population? And why is it that bingo and other conspiracies for violation of gambling laws are regular features of Roman Catholic churches? Why do priests unlawfully lead mobs of their misguided dupes against Jehovah’s witnesses? The irresistible conclusion is that the Roman Catholic Hierarchy itself is lawless and its protegés reflect their environment. If they are very precocious children, and perchance are exalted to the coveted order Papal Knight of St. Gregory the Great, they may wind up with Martin T. Manton in federal penitentiary! So work hard, children, and railroad all the Lord’s faithful servants you can, and be knighted—and jailed!
Incidentally, and in conspiracy against their own schools and the welfare of the nation, the following states now furnish at public expense transportation facilities for private-school pupils to institutions where such students will be taught to be subjects of a foreign power, opposed to freedom of speech, freedom of worship and freedom of the press: New York, Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Louisiana, Missouri, and Oregon.
The population of New York state is 26.73 percent Catholic, but the prison population of the state is 56.46 percent Catholic. The population of California is 16.83 percent Catholic, but the prison population of the state is 43.61 percent Catholic. The population of Wisconsin is 23.79 percent Catholic, but the prison population of the state is 43.52 percent Catholic. And so it goes all over the country. In Sing Sing, the largest prison in New York state, in the year 1925 there were 848 Catholics, 301 Protestants, 240 Jews, 14 Greek Catholics, 4 pagans, 1 Mohammedan, and 12 of no faith. It is the things men believe and practice that land them in prison; and of all evil influences upon the minds of men, that of the mercenary “purgatory” racket is the vilest and most crime-provoking. But then there’s plenty of absolution to be had—for a price. Men try to emulate their god, who in this case is the Devil.
So it is seen that the Roman Catholic Church has no qualms about gaining money under false pretenses (“purgatory” racket) or gambling. She has no scruples against bloody crusades, inquisitions, mobocracy, or even blotting out the Constitution of the United States of America. But her susceptibilities are horribly shocked by someone preaching the gospel of God’s kingdom! They refuse to enter themselves, and, by opposing the acts of THE THEOCRACY,
Hinder Others
As to be expected from the Acts of the Apostles, persecutors today are not the agnostics or infidels, but very religious “Christians”. They heap persecution and calumny upon Jehovah’s witnesses and, by threats of “purgatorial” and eternal “fires”, intimidate the oppressed ones under their control; and this for the purpose of retaining their hold upon the Catholic population and further exploiting them. Here’s an example:
At Rochester, New York, a woman received a booklet from one of Jehovah's witnesses as a gift. The publisher returned a week later and offered her another. The lady declined and, pressed for a reason, said the other one had cost her ten dollars; her priest had fined her that much for receiving it into her possession! An intelligent Catholic would not have paid, but this poor, deluded woman, believing the priest to occupy the place of God, did pay.
The fact that it is getting harder and harder for the common people to meet the demands of the religious racketeers was illustrated in the stealing of one of the Sunday hauls at St. Francis Xavier Roman Catholic church. The thief or thieves got away with $1,000 in bills and silver, but missed another bag containing $314 in nickels. The fact that one-fourth of Sunday's cleanup was in nickels shows how difficult it is for the common people to scrape up enough money to keep the racket going. However, the church has an inexhaustible supply of relics, medals, beads, black magic rituals, and like doses of religious somnambulism, which keep the shekels coming in. Thus "business as usual" is assured, and the people are kept in the dark concerning THE THEOCRACY.
When coercion and threats to their own flock fail, the Hierarchy reverts back to its inquisitional traits and persecutes the messengers of the truth. In this she has as willing tools some "Protestant" ministers, the American Legion, some judges and lawyers, in addition to her own parishioners and priests.
Striking a lusty blow in the interests of the Hierarchy's campaign of hate against Jehovah's witnesses, "Reverend Father" Louis D. Berube, at Ogdensburg, New York, declaimed against the witnesses as lawbreakers, book peddlers, 'agin the government,' etc., etc., and advised calling the police, hoping thus to bluff the witnesses out of their rights and encourage his own followers in acts of an unpatriotic, un-American and unlawful nature. His bluff will not work.
At Dannemora, not far from Ogdensburg, inside the walls of Clinton prison, are 2,419 prisoners. Twelve hundred attend mass at the chapel. It is considered the toughest state penitentiary in New York; and while Roman Catholics comprise only one-fifth of the population of the state, their representation in its toughest penitentiary is one-half. Louis Berube, of near-by Ogdensburg, might ponder over the advisability of cleaning his own house first. So far as known, there is not one of Jehovah's witnesses in with this tough bunch, and that in spite of all his efforts to put them there so they could no longer expose his racket.
The Devil is the father of lies and liars. (John 8:44) His masterpiece, the Roman Catholic Hierarchy, makes lies her refuge. The children of this church follow suit. In Flushing, Queens, New York city, a wife and mother out in the witness work was sentenced to thirty days in the penitentiary because when attacked by Mrs. Anna Setzer, 77-02 166th street, she held up her bare hands to ward off the attack. Mrs. Setzer lied in court, claiming the witness had attacked her with a sharp instrument. The lie went over big; it often does. Name of priest unknown. There is not always so delightful an ending; as, for instance, the following
Saga of Sorrow
One of Jehovah's witnesses, in the Jamaica section of Brooklyn, recounts the sad tale of the Farleys which occurred in March, 1941. It follows:
Going from house to house in the witness work with a phonograph I stopped in the store of Mr. Farley and asked if I might play the record. He refused to let me play the record, and engaged me in conversation, asking me why I went around with this stuff. I told him it was because I had faith in God. "Wait a minute," he said, "and I will show you real faith." He went into the back of the store and brought out a hammer and smashed the phonograph as it was lying on the counter, breaking the cover of the phonograph and the record.
I immediately called for a policeman, who was named Kane. He told Mr. Farley he had no right to do this, and that if he didn't want me in his store he should have told me to go out, but he had no right to destroy my property. I went to the complaint clerk in the Magistrate's Court and got a summons out for him for malicious mischief. When he appeared before the Magistrate's Court, Mr. O'Brien, the lawyer for Mr. Farley, said, "This is one of these cases of Jehovah's witnesses going around insulting people's beliefs. They even have a record which insults the flag. I would do the same thing myself if they played that record in my house."
I brought out that the record was never played. The Court was informed that we have nothing to hide and would play any of the records, and the judge said he would be glad to hear them. One side of the "Flag Salute" record was played, and the record "Message of Hope". Prior to the playing of the records the magistrate tried to have Mr. Farley recall what in the records angered him as he said. He could not identify one part of a sentence.
It so happened that another publisher, Mrs. Johnson, was standing on the sidewalk when Mr. Farley came running out and pushed this woman on the shoulder and told her to throw this filthy stuff into the street. The facts were pointed out to the judge that this could well have been a signal for mob action, and the reason we bring this man in here is because throughout the country mob action against Jehovah's witnesses is taking place. Kingdom News No. 7 was presented to the judge for his information along this line.
O'Brien, the lawyer, protested our right to play these records, and upon presenting the booklet Liberty to Preach the magistrate replied that he did not question our right to ring doorbells and carry this message to the people. Since the testimony was conflicting (I said I did not play the phonograph, and Mr. Farley said I did), the judge was asked to take a look at me and see if I looked like the kind of woman who would go into a man's store and refuse to leave when told.
The judge replied that he had been watching me while I was testifying and that he believed I was very sincere and that was why he was willing to give me every consideration.
After hearing the "Flag Salute" record, the judge did remark that the record was a little rough, and we took this occasion to inform him that we had nothing against anyone because they were Catholic, and that we criticize the Hierarchy of the Church, which is the governing body. Since it is proper to criticize the president of the United States and any other public official, there is no reason why this organization should be exempt, since the governing body has a 95 percent representation in foreign countries. The fact that the Hierarchy and Hitler are working hand in hand is a matter of public comment in the newspapers. To this the judge replied he had his own opinion as to that.
It so happened that Mrs. Johnson had recently had a cuckoo clock repaired in Mr. Farley's store, and we told the judge we had nothing against him because he was a Catholic, and that Mrs. Johnson was a Jehovah's witness and so was I and neither of us had gone into his store and broken his jewelry case or window because he was a Catholic. The judge finally said, "This man is guilty; there is no doubt about it." He said to lawyer O'Brien that he was going to deny his request for dismissal of the charge. He read out of the Statute Book and asked us what we wanted him to do with Mr. Farley. We told him that he knew the law and that he realized, if he allowed these things to go on unchecked, what the result would be. It was brought out it could have been my head instead of the phonograph. We pointed out that he had heard all the evidence and we would like him, since it is his duty anyway, to determine what is to be done.
The judge said to Mr. O'Brien, "I want you to take this phonograph and put it in the exact condition it was before it was hit with the hammer." O'Brien replied, "I wouldn't touch the thing!" The judge said he was not going to dicker about price but he wanted O'Brien to get together with us to arrange to pay the price to put the phonograph back into condition. The price to fix the phonograph was agreed upon, and paid by Mr. Farley's lawyer, Mr. O'Brien.
Since this court experience the officer, Kane, who was called in originally when the phonograph was smashed, has met Mrs. Hagenmeyer on the street and told her that Mr. Farley's wife was picked up for shoplifting. Another policeman who is a person of good-will informed the company servant that Mr. Farley had been arrested since on the charge of receiving stolen goods.
There is just one ray of consolation to be extended to the Farleys. If such innocent pranks have landed them in jail, they will be among friends, as the data previously submitted shows the predominance of those of their own good religious training at such institutions. They can all count beads and play bingo together.
In Albion, New York, it is apparently illegal for anybody to impart information to anybody else on any subject whatever, least of all by exercising the freedom of the press so staunchly upheld by the Supreme Court on behalf of Jehovah's witnesses, and hence for all publishers. The once well-edited but now decadent Rochester Democrat and Chronicle contains a dispatch from Albion telling of the arrest and conviction in Albion of six Christian women and two men, and the jailing of six of the eight for two days. The pretense of the magistrate was that offering the magazine Consolation to the public was a nuisance. The real nuisances are those public servants, paid by the people, who, knowingly or otherwise, serve the interests of a foreign power at Vatican City. The justice of the peace in this case was Franklin B. Cropsey, Albion, New York.
◆ 'Framing Mischief by Law'
Such malicious mischief-makers show an utter disregard for the guarantees of freedom set forth by the Constitution, and repeatedly upheld by the Supreme Court. They enact laws of their own calculated to protect the insidious Hierarchy of Rome from exposure. To curry the favor of this conniving foreign power legislatures fawningly adopt such measures, well knowing they are aimed at Jehovah's servants and are in violation of constitutional rights. Such lawmakers show by their actions that they have forgotten God.
David introduces the 94th Psalm with these stirring words: "O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew thyself. Lift up thyself, thou judge of the earth: render a reward to the proud. LORD, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked triumph? How long shall they utter and speak hard things? and all the workers of iniquity boast themselves? They break in pieces thy people, O Lord, and afflict thine heritage." —Psalm 94:1-5.
In the 20th verse of the same Psalm, he asks Jehovah God this question: "Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee, which frameth mischief [oppression (Rotherham)] by a law?" The answer, of course, is "No!" This Psalm goes on to state that though they gather together against the righteous and condemn the innocent, Jehovah will cut them off in their wickedness. All this implies, however, that at some time this business of framing mischief by law would be very much in evidence. Jehovah's witnesses have found that to be the case, and the Catholic periodicals themselves often betray the fact that the Roman Catholic Hierarchy, which to liberty-lovers is the sum of all that is detestable, is often at the bottom of the mischievous flag-salute laws now so frequently used against God's servants.
At Watertown, New York, Doris Jones was arrested, charged with failure to salute the flag. The name of the principal of her school is Charles E. Flinn; the name of the priest, unknown. It was admitted by counsel that Doris Jones is a "very nice, well-behaved little girl of high intelligence". It was feared that the example of such a child might contaminate those not so nice, not so well-behaved and not so intelligent. Maybe that is so, in an upside-down world. So they arrested nine-year-old Doris Jones, charging her with delinquency.
The juvenile court judge, Clarence F. Giles, handed down a decision of over six typewritten legal-cap pages, and, in his concluding remarks, stated:
Delinquency, like a crime, involves an intent to do wrong. No one would argue that in a proper case one who willfully refused to salute the flag or did some disrespectful act in regard to it should not be punished.
Doris is not this type of girl, she is not unpatriotic, she would do nothing to disgrace the flag, she said she respected the flag and her country, she has never violated any other law,-obeys her parents, and teachers in every other respect, is one of the brightest students in her class.
There has never been any claim by anyone that Doris acted other than in good faith.
This little nine-year-old girl finds herself in this position. She has been taught by her parents and the religious society to which she belongs that if she salutes the flag, her God will punish her; the school authorities say if she does not salute the flag, the state will punish her. She chooses to obey her God. Is this delinquency? I say no.
The proceeding is dismissed. Child discharged.
At the same city of Watertown, May D. Lewis, retired schoolteacher accustomed to using her brains, cannot see why anybody should get so excited because Jehovah's witnesses conscientiously decline to salute any flag. She says, thoughtfully:
Jehovah's witnesses seem to really believe what we all say we do, that all homage and worship belong to God alone. I know they object to careless handling of the flag, letting it drag in the dust, etc. I doubt if they would use the flag for a handbag, a head covering, or a handkerchief; all of which have been done in this city inside the month. Possibly they have more real respect for the flag than many who salute. Does all this furor over the flag salute mean the start of Nazism, putting the state in control of religion; or is it a return to the ways of our Puritan ancestors who exiled Baptists, imprisoned Quakers, and burned witches?
Congratulate the Elmont, Long Island, board of education for being real Americans. After a public hearing they recognized the right of two little folks to decline to salute the flag on conscientious grounds.
Even children in New York state join the ranks of the persecutors of these young "children of The King". It isn't new. (2 Kings 2:23,24) A New York parent, E. Gertrude Gilman, writes:
My daughter Wilma, who is 12, alone of all the young people in school, stands for Jehovah and His King and Kingdom. Before school started in September, her daddy went to see the principal and gave him Loyalty, as well as a copy of Consolation concerning flag saluting. He, and all the teachers, are very nice, not noticing that Wilma doesn't salute.
But the children are persecuting her. They searched her book bag and found in it a letter to another little girl, a former Catholic who had also taken her stand elsewhere. They read the letter and then taunted Wilma, "When are you going to write to Elizabeth again?" Wilma would not stoop to read any letter not intended for her eyes.
The susceptibilities of those who snooped were greatly shocked because Wilma did not celebrate either Christmas or Valentine Day, and she received an avalanche of notes from parents and pupils that the snoopers may not come to her house and play with her any more. This was quite a shock, but she takes it like a true soldier of the King.
Greatly to my delight, she reads the Bible night and morning and I find her jotting down favorite scriptures. She feels that she is one of the "10x10x10x10" courageous little souls who are standing shoulder to shoulder for the Kingdom. She studies The Watchtower regularly in class, and attends nearly every Model Study, of which we have five a week, and engages in house-to-house work and magazine work. It gives us older ones more courage to see our little ones so fearlessly standing. And what a privilege they have!
RIGHTEOUS RULER
THE NEW GOVERNMENT
The First to Recite the Pledge
◆ In the Peoria (Ill.) Journal-Transcript, A. F. Citron, teacher in the Peoria public schools, thinks it all wrong to deprive the little non-saluters of an education, and wants to know why it is necessary to resort to totalitarian methods in order to preserve the democratic way of life. Objecting to Justice Frankfurter’s opinion as based more on technicalities than humanity he says, truly, “that those who really mean us ill are the first to recite our pledges and the cleverest to wrap their aims in our flag.”
In the same city an ex-teacher, Mrs. Arthur Hamman, went to two public schools which had excluded Jehovah’s little witnesses, trying to get the principals to see the truth that the witnesses obey all laws not in conflict with those of God, respect the flag because it stands for freedom of worship, but cannot salute it as a graven image.
A Cheery Greeting in Michigan
◆ The good news of THE THEOCRACY is getting around. One of the witnesses in Lansing, Michigan, received a letter from a stranger, asking him to call at her home, out in the country, as she wanted some of the Kingdom literature, about which she had heard. He went, and as he knocked the door flew open and a cheery voice said: “Don’t tell me who you are; I think you are the person I wish to see; go into the other room.” She listened to phonograph records, obtained three Children books, three Salvation books, three Comfort All That Mourn booklets, and a Consolation. That is the way it worked in Britain. When the country got into war, the people suddenly found that they really wanted to know something about God and His purposes.
“Chased” near Lansing
◆ Recently, while out in the service I called at a farm-home and presented the Kingdom message, first by phonograph, then with the card, and each time the lady said she had no time for either one.
Then I told her that Noah had preached for years and the people were not interested and had no time for the message, but when the flood came they thought about what they had heard, but it was too late then for them to have the Lord’s protection, and that the same thing would happen again on the earth.
Kingdom Hall and THEOCRACY publishers at York, Pennsylvania
A Seattle pioneer, 45 years a THEOCRACY publisher
THEOCRACY publishers, El Cajon, California
Fired from his job at the university because of his stand for THE THEOCRACY, this man, now blind for several years, devotes all his time to THEOCRACY magazine work. Friends take him out and also take care of him.
Baptism at Fresno, California
Thanking this lady I then walked away and drove on down the road in the work. Looking back a little later I noticed a car coming, and, after about two miles, found out it was the lady I had talked with, and she had another lady in the car with her.
When she caught up with me she jumped out of the car because she thought I would get away again before she could speak to me, and she said, “I have been following you for two miles, and finally found you, and I want some of those books."
She took six bound books and a Watchtower sample. This was being chased in the way we would all like.—Roman Dembouski, Pioneer.
(To be continued)
France in Humiliation
One Year of Collaboration
◆ The censor-approved dispatch confirmed these admissions of French war aid to Germany:
French war factories, after a slow start following the Armistice, are producing planes, tanks, artillery and munitions for the German Army. About 100,000 skilled French workmen are employed in German factories. French factories are delivering consumer goods to Germany. France has shipped Germany 14,000 head of cattle a month, 14,000,000 bottles of champagne, 80 per-cent of her 1940 wine harvest and all of her wine reserves, cheese, potatoes, sugar-beets, wheat and fruit.
One year ago tomorrow Marshal Petain and Adolph Hitler laid the basis for collaboration at their conference in Montoire. Since then, the dispatch said:
France has realized none of its principal hopes. Some 1,400,000 French soldiers still are in German concentration camps. The Nord and Pas de Calais departments still are hostage provinces of the German military administration in Brussels. Alsace and Lorraine are under a German gauleiter and 40,000 Frenchmen have been expelled. France still is paying Germany 400,000,000 francs a day (about $8,000,000) in occupation costs. The boundary line between Occupied and Unoccupied France still remains south of Paris.
This summary of the consequences of collaboration is the first that Vichy has permitted to be sent out since Petain started co-operating with Hitler. It is a simple story of who wins when a country "collaborates" with Germany.--PM, October 26, 1941.
Petain's Military Honor
◆ Old Mr. Petain, "the good marshal," wrote to the French commander at the front in Russia, standing alongside Hitler, and fighting his battles, and those of Pacelli. Maybe you think he wrote Labonne that he should be ashamed to be an associate of such a reptile as Hitler. If so, you are wrong. On the other hand, he wrote him that he was glad that he was upholding "a part of our military honor". From which it may be understood that Petain's military honor has been turned into hash. Petain went on to say that "by participating in this crusade" (note the word "crusade") Labonne and his men were serving and protecting France in the murdering of millions of Russians, for which cause "Germany acquired a just claim to the world's gratitude". It is well known that Petain, the aged ass, is completely under the thumb of the Roman Catholic Hierarchy; and it is a good thing, in a way, that he is in his present job, so that he can occasionally make a break like this, which gives the Hierarchy dead away.
Hopes of French Monarchists
◆ The hopes of French monarchists as against the hopes of the French people find sympathetic response in the London Catholic Herald. In its issue of September 19, 1941, under the head of "Monarchy: A Focus for French Patriotism", the Herald says:
The baptism of the twin sons of the French Pretender, the Comte de Paris, in the Cathedral of Rabat, Morocco, on July 26, has acted as a convenient inspiration. The Vicar Apostolate of Morocco, Mgr. Henri Vielle, O.F.M., who officiated, congratulated the parents on having chosen godparents from workers and peasant families to reconcile the alliance between people and monarchy. The godparents were from various French provinces, including, significantly, Alsace, Flanders and Savoy. They included a mother of thirteen children. It was noted that the date of the birth of the Princess was the anniversary of “the grievous armistice”. After the ceremony the crowds shouted “Vive la France! Vive le Roi!”
The Fire in the Graff Arms Factory
◆ George Seldes, editor of In Fact, in Scoop magazine for October, 1941, tells of the fire in the Graff arms factories near Paris. It was set by the mechanics that work in the plant.
Every day, each one of them stole a small quantity of greasy waste, which they hid away. Then one day one of the men carried this waste to a distant end of the plant, set fire to it, “discovered” the fire, and pulled the alarm. Men from the factories ran to the blaze, eager for the chance to stop work. There, instead of putting the blaze out, the men all stood around watching the small flame burn.
When the company police arrived, the men blocked their entrance, and then everyone seized the hose and pulled in different directions. Finally the Nazi guards knocked enough men down to let the firemen reach the blaze. Meanwhile the other members of the group, who had remained behind, hauled out their waste and in quick order set four new fires. Soon the entire plant was ablaze.
British Spies in France
◆ Thrilling stories come back of British spies in France. Some who speak German fluently have waylaid German soldiers and officers and stolen their uniforms. They have even joined German regiments as Germans without their identity being discovered. In one instance a British officer disguised as a German officer marched a large detachment of German troops out on the parade ground (at Lorient) just in time to get them machine-gunned by British aviators. It is known that many French physicians and officials lend their cars to members of the R.A.F. and in this way the spies know everything that is going on. Of course, when they are caught it means a sudden and violent death. But every spy expects that.
Starvation at Nice
◆ According to the New York Times’ correspondent at Nice, France, in the summer and fall of 1941 it was impossible to obtain milk without a doctor’s certificate. Trainloads of food were being taken from French farms to Germany, but the French could hardly get any of it. But little more than half of the American Red Cross flour went to the French people, and even then it was mixed with inferior flour and each recipient was supposed to make a donation for the French prisoners of war in Germany. All the money thus collected was believed to be pure graft. There were no eggs and no potatoes. The meat, obtainable two or three times a week, was virtually not eatable. Restaurants were closing up, as they had practically nothing to offer except olives, radishes and vegetables, and at 50 to 60 francs even for a single meal of that.
Rats at 20 Francs Each
◆ Dr. Bessie Strongman, recently returned from Europe, reports rats selling in Brussels at 20 francs each, and that in Marseille, where she was apparently located, paws of dogs and cats have been found in the refuse pails, indicating that the little four-footed folks have been eaten for human food. Indeed, it is well known that no dog or cat is now safe in Europe if allowed to run at large.
Making Use of the Poodles
◆ Vichy France not only is eating dogs, but is working up the wool of the poodles into garments. The wool of four poodles is sufficient for a pull-over sweater, and it is said to be very satisfactory for the purpose.
“THY WORD IS TRUTH” —John 17:17
The Best and Worst of Times
NO HUMAN mind could have known beforehand what centuries of time would bring forth, but the all-wise God knew, and He foretold. Jehovah God has made abundant provision for His creation to have faith in Him. The Scriptures declare that He knew the end from the beginning. He knew that after the enemy Satan had deceived, debauched and misled men they would have a hard time to establish their faith in God. In the exercise of His loving-kindness, therefore, Jehovah caused His faithful servants to write at His dictation the things that would come to pass in future years, including the present world war for world domination.—See Daniel 11:27-45.
The author of all true prophecy is Jehovah. In proof of this it is written (Isaiah 44:6, 7): “Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, I am the first and the last, and besides me there is no God. And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order before me? the things that are coming, and that shall come to pass, I declare unto them.” (Am. Rev. Ver.) Many men have tried to interpret prophecy but have failed, because, as it is written, in 2 Peter 1:20, “no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.”
In His Word the Lord declares that men shall understand His prophecy at the worst of all times, the end of the world, because that is His due time for the understanding. God has now caused to come to pass certain facts and things which are in fulfillment of prophecy, and the student can now understand. Divine prophecy, when understood, is so marvelous and so satisfying that every one who understands and appreciates it delights to make known to others these great truths, that they too may see the way to everlasting life and rejoice and give glory to God’s name. For this reason a campaign of education is now going forward by Jehovah’s witnesses, and it is carried on by radio, by books and recorded speeches, and by personal visits to the homes of the people.
The first great prophecy was spoken by Jehovah while man was in Eden. That prophecy covered the entire period of time from the beginning of Satan’s wicked work and the fall of man until the complete recovery of obedient men. He foretold the destruction of the wicked one and the triumph of righteousness, which prophecy is recorded at Genesis 3:15. Satan has always hated and persecuted anyone who made known to his fellow creatures the text of this prophecy, because it foretells his own complete downfall.
The last great prophecy God gave to His beloved Son, Christ Jesus, and caused a record thereof to be made in the twenty-first chapter of Revelation. It foretells the new and glorious government of righteousness, THE THEOCRACY, in operation for the uplift and blessing of mankind. The first prophecy written in Genesis marks out man’s way which by reason of Satan’s wrongdoing has led men into sorrow, sickness and death. The last great prophecy of God tells of the blessed time now at hand when the wicked one will be eliminated, and death and the grave will be destroyed, when sorrow and crime shall cease, and when all things shall be made new to the good of man and to the praise of Jehovah God.
All true prophecy uttered between the time of the first and last prophecies here mentioned has been spoken by men as mouthpieces or servants of Jehovah and recorded for the special benefit of the men who should be upon the earth at the end of Satan’s world, where we now are. Therefore, to be living today is sublime. It is the worst of times, because of the gross darkness and wickedness in the earth; and it is the best of times, because the day of deliverance through the THEOCRATIC GOVERNMENT under Christ is just at hand. The study of divine prophecy is the most enlightening and profitable work in which man can engage, and the reverential man approaches its study with full confidence that it points out to him endless life and joy.
God caused faithful Enoch to speak the first prophecy uttered by man. (Genesis 5:21-24; Jude 14, 15) Enoch told of the coming of Jehovah’s great Executive Officer to execute judgment upon all. Then follows the prophecy God gave to Abraham, in which God foretold the time coming when God brings forth a “seed” or one through whom all the nations and families of the earth that live shall be blessed. That prophecy appears in Genesis, chapters twelve and twenty-two. All subsequent prophecy may well be said to relate to the carrying out of the will of God as expressed in the prophecies uttered by Enoch and Abraham. These two prophecies relate to the destruction of Satan’s organization by Christ, The Seed promised, and to the blessing thereafter of all obedient families of the earth under the righteous rule of the Messiah, Jehovah’s anointed King. Both prophecies foretell the vindication thereby of Jehovah’s name.
In olden times God used the nation of Israel to make prophetic pictures foretelling things that must come to pass in the days in which we are now living. In 1 Corinthians 10:11 the record is that the things that happened to Israel were for examples of that which shall come to pass at the end of Satan’s uninterrupted rule or world. As in the formation of the earth God caused a great treasure of coal and mineral wealth to be stored up for man, likewise in the history of the course of Israel God provided a great treasure house of knowledge and truth to be laid up for those who desire and seek the truth during these the worst times of human history.
Samuel was the first of a line of prophets of Israel after settling in the Holy Land. Later, when God’s inspired witness Peter, shortly after Pentecost, at the temple, spoke concerning the redemption of humankind through the blood of Christ Jesus and of the restoration of THE THEOCRACY under Him, Peter mentioned Samuel and the other prophets thereafter. In Acts, chapter three, it is written that God would send Jesus Christ to restore all things which God had spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began; “yea, and all the prophets from Samuel, and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days.” Now we have come to the time when God has sent Jesus Christ the second time; hence it is God’s due time to give men an understanding of the Bible prophecies. No man can receive credit for the unfolding and understanding of prophecy. God gives an understanding now to those who earnestly seek the truth and who obey His will.
Because the prophecies of the Bible are now in course of fulfillment, he who is on Jehovah’s side can see approximately what is to come to pass in the very near future; therefore Jehovah says to those who love Him, as recorded in Isaiah 42:9: “Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.” These prophecies affect the entire human race. An understanding of the prophecies gives one a broader conception of Jehovah the Most High and enables one to see something of the height and depth and breadth and length of His marvelous love made manifest toward the sons of men. Therefore, as His messengers come to you, receive these witnesses of Jehovah who bring to you an explanation of the prophecies. Provide yourself with the Bible helps they bring, and learn the outworking of God’s purpose and why by His providence this is the best of times. Then you will rejoice without ceasing.
Germany
Hitler's Thousand-Year Plan
◆ What Hitler's "thousand-year plan" would mean for Europe and the world has now been made known in the United States as the result of information gleaned from seized Nazi documents, German agents who have been rounded up, and various other sources.
Ever since the war began, German economists, soldiers, politicians and engineers have been working out the details of a Nazi world order which Hitler, if he were to be victorious, would ruthlessly impose.
These plans are already being applied in the occupied zones in Europe. As part of the scheme, expulsions of native inhabitants are taking place in areas bordering Germany in France, Holland, Poland and Czechoslovakia.
All together about nine million people have been forcibly removed to distant parts of the territory—some of them to concentration camps—and "pukka" Germans put in their places.
Behind this "population replacement" is not mere national fanaticism, but a subtle and cold-blooded plan completely to Germanize the steel and chemical industries of West and Central Europe; it is exclusively in the two belts in which these industries are chiefly situated that the "population replacements" are occurring.
In the one belt are the coal, iron and steel works of Lorraine, Luxemburg, Belgium and Holland; in the other belt, the great Czech heavy industries and chemical works, and the steel, coal, zinc and lead industries of Upper Silesia.
The Nazis propose that only Germans will be allowed to own and operate these industries.
According to Hitler's plan, Germany will be the only country on the Continent allowed to manufacture steel, engines and motor cars, or operate chemical plants and research laboratories.
A system of virtual slave labor will also be introduced to the greater glory of the Third Reich, and the workers will be recruited entirely from the non-Germanic countries.
The Nazi plan provides for a 12-hour working day, at rigidly-controlled wages, forbids the establishment of trade unions and prohibits a workman from leaving his job without government permission.
Outside of Europe, Hitler's plan provides for complete destruction of the British Empire, the annexation of Rhodesia and most of South Africa as a German colony, the subjugation of Canada, control of India, and Nazi economic domination of the Americas, with Japan operating a "friendly sphere of influence" in the Far East.
Such are the salient details—long suspected, now definitely known, of the Nazi "Thousand-Year Plan."—From the Johannesburg Sunday Times.
Wilhelm Gets 2½ Years' Rest
◆ Wilhelm Meier, Bombach, Germany, was in a restaurant when there was the usual ruffle of drums and blare of victory bugles preceding one more victory announcement. He forgot for the moment that he was in Germany, asked to have the radio shut off, and made some comments which were at once tattled to the Gestapo. The court gave him 2½ years in jail to think it over. You can thank God you don't live in Germany.
Shifting All Bohemian Jews
◆ The merciless persecution of the Jews continues without any letup. The Reich will transport all Jews from Bohemia to territories Germany has conquered from Russia or Poland. There were 200,000 Jews in Bohemia when the Nazi troops took it over, and in 2½ years there were less than half that number, with their complete resettlement elsewhere planned to take place at an early date.
"York State" Miscellany
A Music of Necessity
◆ A court in New York city decided that the ringing of a bell by a scissors grinder is a "music of necessity" associated with the life of a great city. The people need to have their knives and scissors ground; the grinder cannot take the time to call personally at each home, his business comes to him from ringing the bell, and people who do not like it can lump it. That is the drift of the decision, and most people will say that it is common sense. The man who does not like it can hie himself to the country, and, when he wants something sharpened, can either go out into the tool shed and sharpen it himself (getting somebody else to turn the grindstone) or bring the dull knives into town and get them sharpened in a hardware store or fixit shop where they do such kind of musical work of necessity.
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