Consolation, December 23, 1942
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Contents
Religion's Guilt (Part 1) 3
Religion Not Persecuted 5
Canada 9
Michigan and Wisconsin 10
Detroit's Crooked Police and Ex-Mayor 10
"Government Is Based on Morality" 10
The New Government
Quick Action by Competent Men 12
Witnessing at Corbin, Kentucky 13
An Honest Justice of the Peace 14
"Thy Word Is Truth"
When Hitler Dies 16
"Let Freedom Ring" 18
Power and Civil Liberty 19
Flag Saluting 19
"Time for a Halt" 20
International Highway Around the World 22
Where Will Uncle Sam Get Rubber? 23
Automobile and Other Accidents 24
Problems of the Judiciary 25
Presenting "This Gospel of the Kingdom"
Modulation, Poise, Audience Fear 26
"Sedition," by Attorney General Biddle 29
Was FBI Balked by Fifth Column? 30
Drift from Constitution 30
Justice in Brandon, Mississippi 31
Wave of Car and Tire Thefts Feared 31
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Notanda
Description of Espionage Act
◆ "(1) Whoever, when the United States is at war, shall willfully make or convey false reports or false statements with intent to interfere with the operation or success of the military or naval forces of the United States or to promote the success of its enemies,
"(2) and whoever, when the United States is at war, shall willfully cause or attempt to cause insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny, or refusal of duty, in the military or naval forces of the United States,
"(3) or shall willfully obstruct the recruiting or enlistment service of the United States, to the injury of the service or of the United States, shall be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000 or imprisonment for not more than twenty years, or both."
Hawaiian Shark Played 'Possum
◆ Don't get too frisky around a dead shark. He may not be dead. That seems to be the point in a story from Honolulu. Fishermen had bagged a shark and drew him alongside the boat. One of the fishermen leaned over the side to put the gaff into his dead playmate and the shark leaped up and almost bit his arm off. He was rushed to a hospital, and will keep his arm, but he won't believe a shark is dead any more until he sees slices of him served under some fancy name in a high-toned restaurant.
Will Durant Fears for Democracy
◆ It may be we are living the last year in the history of democracy. It becomes clear we cannot fight a war by democratic means. We of this generation may never see again the right of free speech, press and assemblage we have enjoyed. When the war is over we shall have to keep a dictator because of the resulting depression.—Will Durant, famous author, in an address in Chicago.
CONSOLATION
"And in His name shall the nations hope."—Matthew 12:21, A. R. V.
Volume XXIV Brooklyn, N. Y., Wednesday, December 23, 1942 Number 607
Religion's Guilt (In Two Parts—Part 1)
TODAY the eyes of Americans are riveted upon the flames of war. Aggressors ravage Europe and Asia; while all true Americans yearn for the destruction of the butchers of both the Caucasian and the yellow race. Passion is ever high, and rational thinking is proportionately low.
And yet it is at such times of crisis that sober thought, unmoved by clamor and chaotic fear, is most required. The Scriptures declare, by none other than Christ Jesus, that these very events mark the establishment of His Kingdom (Matthew 24th chapter); but the affairs of the moment engross the attention of those who sweat under the increasing burdens. The promised Kingdom is totally disregarded by most. No regard is given to the Lord's Word in seeking the solution because men have found the professional purveyors of religion (who claim the exclusive right to teach the Bible) the least trustworthy of all the "broken oars" advocated in the misery that has no boundaries. God's Word gives the solution so much needed. Hence it will be profitable to consider why religion has so notably failed to point the way to man's TRUE GUIDE.—John 17:17.
Vice has ever had the form of beauty! It was so in Eden. It is no different today. The greatest harm has often hid in soft, seductive word or figure. Dope, drink, and false-hearted woman have reaped their toll of unsuspecting victims who discovered all too late the snare had pierced them while the tempting morsel numbed intelligent judgment.
Religion is more seductive than all else. (Hebrews 12:1) You, who have properly avoided all the common pitfalls, may yet have been religion's prey!
Religion has posed as man's benefactor; claimed to be for his greatest good. It is time for an estimate of some of these claims. It must be evident to all that God's blessing is not on religion, and the causes therefor are the business of everybody. Why has Jehovah condemned religion, and what facts today prove this condemnation entirely justified? It may shock some to even consider the taking religion to task; and the seekers of pleasant reading may well turn back now. But let the searchers for the Bible answer hasten now before the black night of totalitarian oppression has swallowed up all outcry against her partner, religion.
Calm thinking is difficult today. Yet the thoughtful man will agree that it is far better to have his religious susceptibilities shocked than to lose his life. Avoidance of shocking the religious susceptibilities of others has not been productive of love between the nations of earth; steel and bombs are freely resorted to while soft words are continually advocated as regards religion. Why should religion be inviolable? Why should it not be examined for guilt in a blazing world which has entrusted its well-being to religious guides?
Examination of religion's guilt is as necessary to learning the way to life as the investigation of the causes of a disease is to its cure. God provides life in His appointed way. (John 14:6) If one believes that way is through religion he must be daily and dismally disappointed. He must conclude that God is not all-powerful, as the Bible states, and that the future is hopeless. For such it will be profitable to consider the proof below, that religion, NOT THE LORD, is responsible for the conditions that prevail today, and that freedom and life will follow God's vengeance upon the institutions that have posed under His name. "For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by my name."—Jeremiah 25:29, 33.
The great message from Jehovah "Peace—Can It Last?" covers thoroughly and most brilliantly the record and aspiration of the greatest of all religious institutions. In this article a brief glance will be taken of a few additional facts, because no speech nor even encyclopedia could contain the record of so many abuses of the public confidence, nor so many crimes upon unsuspecting innocents!—Jeremiah 2:34.
Religion's Performance Record
In the present world conflict nothing is more apparent than the failure of religion. It has unquestionably been a costly structure to build. That it also has a superstitious grip upon the people is proved by the circumstance that the many who have donated their money, time and energy to its edifices and expanse have never reasonably required the production of results. Claiming to be Christian, they have never required that religion follow in truth the example and teachings of Christ. Claiming to be all-powerful (the pope claims to be the vicegerent of Christ, the same Christ to whom God granted all power in heaven and earth), they have never required the exercise of this power in behalf of the people who support it. Claiming to be infallible, they do not even question the Papal support of such butchers as Franco and Hitler; and the pope's refusal to dub the war against Nazism "a just war", even though so requested by the president of the United States; nor his unholy alliance with the Shinto emperor of Japan. Not that such demands would be heard if they were made by the Catholic population; they would, of course, receive no consideration by the head of the Autocracy of Rome. But the strange grip of religion is reflected by the fact that the demands are NEVER MADE.
A single enlightening exception to the rule of unquestioning acceptance is the cable sent to Pope Pius XII shortly before the invasion of Poland. It was sent from Chicago by a group of Polish Catholics requesting the excommunication of Hitler. The pope, then deeply involved in helping Hitler take over Europe, did not betray his embarrassment. No answer was given the Polish Americans, and it is stated reliably that because of this rebuff many Polish Catholics tore up the picture of the pope.
This event was but a faint ripple in the ranks of Rome. Do not the three hundred million Catholics continue to carry the religious load of vast proportions, and this without question? Except for some supernatural power (which power will be disclosed with proof later) would not many of these supporters shop around for something that had a record of worth to support its extravagant claims? This religion obviously has not. The same millions who provide the money and sustenance for Rome's power would, no doubt, have ceased long ago to buy another product with so bad a record. It is rotten, death-dealing provender. (Micah 6:14; Isaiah 28:8; 2 Peter 2:22) Therefore the source of its power over the masses must be sought elsewhere than in any value in itself.
A man would not buy decayed fruit just because his father did. Yet "the old time religion is good enough" for many generations. The source of this peculiar subjection could not be from Jehovah, because Jehovah invites men to reason with Him (Isaiah 1:18) and Christ Jesus declares that "the truth shall make you "free" (John 8:32); and not subject therefore to the shackles and slavery of a system that exacts blind obedience. There could be only one source of such a seductive organization exercising authority over vast multitudes and so deeply rooted in the nations of this world. Only Satan the Devil could wish man turned from the worship of Jehovah by plunging him beneath the black waters of superstition. Attaching God's name to the machinations of the Catholic priesthood is the final infamy of the adversary responsible for the institution and prosperity of religion. "Now is the judgment of this world."—John 12:31, 40; 2 Corinthians 4:4; John 14:30.
The main reason why religion is to be destroyed is that it has upheld the Devil's side of the controversy by defaming God's name. Jehovah purposes to vindicate His name at the final battle, and this calls for the destruction of all forms of religion. The Catholic is considered here more specifically because it is the largest and most powerful. Though weighed in the balance and found wanting several thousand years ago, its destruction, like that of the mother organization, Babylon, was reserved for this day. It is to the unwitting comforters of this monstrosity, and for their salvation, that Jehovah addressed these words: "Come out of her, my people."—Revelation 18:4.
When religion is finally overthrown, at Armageddon, those who support it to the end will 'partake of her plagues', that is, suffer the same fate. It is therefore of vital importance to learn of its blood-guilt and doom, its chances of escaping retribution, and whether any mercy will be shown it by the Lord. To the religionists of His day Jesus said: "How can ye escape the damnation of hell?" (Matthew 23:33) The proof is abundant that His words foretold a like punishment on the religious institutions which exist now, when He has returned, invisible and immortal, and established His promised Kingdom. (Matthew 6:10)
Since every vestige of Satan's realm, named "Babylon", must be eradicated, it follows that its religious backbone on earth must be exterminated.—1 Corinthians 15:25; John 12:48.
Religion Not Persecuted
No doubt there are some who feel that such destruction is not justified. For such it will be a revelation to observe how the Roman Catholic Hierarchy has fomented the present bloody conflict and fights on the side of the Nazi-Fascist-Pearl Harbor-Stabbers combine. Of course, the press generally portrays the Vatican Hierarchy as a benevolent institution, whose ceremonies are a "solemn and exquisite pageantry, deeply religious", and whose aims are "peace". Not discounting the outward appearance, which is undoubtedly impressive to some, let us examine the heart motives and the performance of the organization which has such an imposing front.
Jesus prophesied that all Christians would be persecuted. Matthew 24:9: "Ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake." "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." (2 Timothy 3:12; Revelation 12:17) The rule has had full and terrible demonstration throughout the ages and at the present. Now in contrast with this, how has religion, particularly the Catholic, been dealt with?
The Catholic church is NOT persecuted in America. This scarcely needs proof, as it is too unquestionably true. But the following two circumstances are referred to: In a Protestant country, in name at least, opposed to Catholicism, the president has a diplomatic representative, Myron Taylor, sent to the head of Roman Catholicism, namely, the pope, whose office is located near the capital of a country with which we are at war; and in spite of this Papal affiliation with America's enemies, the chief religious teacher of our army, that is, Chaplain Arnold, "the first Catholic to hold the chief's place" (who carries the rank of brigadier general), was selected from this organization which takes orders from Italy. (Rochester Times-Union, January 6, 1942) The president asked for "more religion", and he seems to prefer the imported brand.
The Catholic church is NOT persecuted in Italy, nor in Spain. Fascists have had a concordat or working agreement with the pope since 1929. A Catholic apologist admits that the bishop of Taranto (Italy) calls the war against the United States "a crusade, a holy war". (Gunner, in Lee's Weekly, November 26, 1941, Auckland, N. Z.) Of the Ethiopian campaign so notably "blessed", the Christian Century remarks: "When Italy overran Ethiopia, which no stretch of the imagination could call a Catholic country, it became a protected preserve for Catholic missionaries." (Issue of July 29, 1942) The clergy of Rome have "blessed" so many planes that dropped "blessed" bombs on London that the famous English author, H. G. Wells, indited a burning protest entitled "Why Not Bomb Rome?"
Spain is another country that has come in for much "blessing". For the crushing of free Spain Franco was knighted to the Papal order of St. Gregory the Great. Some idea of the "honor" of this title may be gathered from the fact that ex-Judge Martin T. Manton, recently convicted (June, 1940) of selling justice on the United States federal bench, was also a member of this "distinguished" order. Just what may be expected in the United States when the "benevolent" Church of Rome finds this country worthy of a "blessing" can be learned from the fate of Spain, disclosed also by the Christian Century (same issue as above). "Franco's Spain has annihilated the Protestant churches and has returned to the policies of Philip II [who promoted the Inquisition and sent the Armada against England, 1588]."
The Catholic church is NOT persecuted in France. When France was betrayed to Hitler by the Jesuits, and the puppet Petain was established as nominal head, the Papacy lost no time in showering this Catholic with praise. Recently, when so many Jews were attacked at the instigation of the Rome that created the "pogrom", or riot, to deal with rival Judaism, and were just then being herded together for exile, Petain was indiscreet enough to say, "However, I have one consolation—the pope understands and approves my attitude." (United Press dispatch from Vichy, August 1, 1942, quoted by that constant exposer of Catholic intrigue, The Converted Catholic, 229 W. 48th St., N. Y. C.) Following the above this paragraph appears:
No one is foolish enough to think that Petain was suffering delusions when he spoke of the pope's explicit approval of his attitude toward the Jews. It is widely known that the Vatican hails the present Fascist rule in Vichy as the birth of Catholic France. This is what the Catholic International magazine of June, 1942, meant when it said: "Isn't it all glorious? France has lost her navy and regained her souls!"
Now the question of controversy. Has not Hitler all but destroyed the Catholic church in Germany? No; the Catholic church is NOT persecuted in Germany. American newspapers, controlled by editors favorable to Catholic Action or members of Catholic Action, which is the English equivalent to Nazism, are largely responsible for this myth which has saved the Romanists much deserved criticism. The fact that there is no logical reason why Hitler, a baptized Catholic, should persecute his own "church" in his homeland, when he has promoted it in Spain, France, Belgium, and parts of conquered Russia, seems to occur to few of the American reading public. Hitler is an avowed friend of Serrano Suñer, his brother-in-law Franco (to whom he sent the Condor Legion to assist in the destruction of the Republic), Mussolini, Petain, Norway's Quisling, Belgium's Leopold, and DeGrelle (who leads the Belgian Catholic Rexist Party), the infamous Joseph Tiso (Slovakian chief of state, who sold out Czechoslovakia, and Papal Chamberlain), all well-known Catholics.
In Europe the Hierarchy brags about the exploits of Hitler. Note that for several consecutive years all the Catholic bishops of Germany, assembled at Fulda, have issued manifestos lauding the triumph of the Fuehrer, and professing undying loyalty to the Nazi dictator. They urged, with considerable reason, that Hitler is freeing Europe from all enemies of Catholicism; that Catholics in even the conquered countries should unite behind the great champion of the Catholic church. Witness the success of such arguments by the fact that legions have been sent to assist Hitler’s Russian campaign by almost every country of Europe. There is no doubt that these nations are prevailed on to lend aid to Hitler by the oft repeated cry of priests in every land: “Hitler fights a holy war against Russia.” That the Catholic Church supports the German butcher with all her might is further proved by the evidence below.
Consolation has often pointed out that Hitler is a staunch Roman Catholic, and has printed pictures of his worship in Catholic churches. Journalists, such as Pierre Van Paassen (who wrote Days of Our Years and The Time Is Now), G. E. R. Gedye, and Lawrence Fernsworth (Catholic), have disclosed the Papal participation in the bloodshed of Europe. Fernsworth and Van Paassen particularly cleared up the issues of the Spanish Rebellion, furnishing proof from the battlefields that the Catholic Church smashed the republic in order to regain her confiscated wealth; a wealth built upon the poverty and starvation of the masses, who had voted its confiscation that they might eat; and a wealth regained by the murder of millions of Catholic people. After this Hitler’s legions and Mussolini’s legions returned to devastate the rest of Europe.
The destruction of the Spanish Catholic republic serves to illustrate the merciless indifference of the Hierarchy to the Catholic people, who are her so-called “children”. This very disregard for Catholic life by the authorities of the “church”, who in fact raised up the three bloody dictators Franco, Hitler, and Mussolini, has given some color to the assertion that the Catholic church is being persecuted. In other words, the Catholic Hierarchy, led by Pope Pius XII, supports the men who inflict sorrow and bloodshed upon the Catholic people. “Her children” are nothing to the Papacy when she decides that the death of a few million will advance her interests, such as was the case in Spain.
Again, Hitler’s destruction in 1933 of the Catholic Center Party of the Reich is pointed to as evidence of persecution of the “Church”. On the contrary, this act is proof that the present Papal authorities are in the control of the Jesuits, the espionage agents and secret army of Rome, and bent upon extermination of all liberal elements within this vast system, such as the democratic Catholic Center Party, which lost its existence nine years ago. On this point says the well-informed Converted Catholic magazine (October, 1942, issue):
Pius XI cleared the way for Hitler’s abolishment of democratic government by dissolving the powerful Catholic Center Party in Germany. It should also be noted that, behind the later flimflam of Hitler-Vatican rifts, the present pope has at all times refused to condemn Hitler, much less excommunicate him from the church or renounce the Nazi concordat which he himself negotiated with Hitler when he was papal nuncio to Berlin.
According to the same authority, Fritz Thyssen admitted he and other Catholic tycoons poured millions into the coffers of Hitler in the hope of restoring the “Holy Roman Empire”. (“I Paid Hitler”) Note the following two paragraphs also:
In 1933 the Vatican was the first sovereign State to put the stamp of approval on Hitler by entering into a solemn agreement with him right after he established a dictatorship that shocked the sensibilities of the world. Hitler established his Nazi party in Munich, the most Catholic city in Germany. Goebbels, Himmler, Roehm, Von Papen, Seyss-Inquart, Buerckel, and other pillars of Nazism are Roman Catholics, and are openly listed as such in the official Wer Ist's (Who's Who) of Germany.
Of Hitler's intense admiration for the Catholic church, of which he is an acknowledged member in good standing (and also listed as such in Wer Ist's), there can be no reasonable doubt. Apart from Hitler's own statements on the Catholic church, there is a footnote on page 365 of Hitler's Mein Kampf which says: "Raushning (cf. His Revolution des Nihilismus) has pointed out Hitler's deep respect for the Catholic Church and in particular for the Society of Jesus" (i. e., the Jesuits).
In addition, an editorial note on page 69 of the Reynal and Hitchcock edition of Hitler's Mein Kampf states that "Hitler . . . was born a Catholic."
"Positive Christianity" is the Jesuit name for aggressive Catholicism in its most rabid form. Hitler adopted for Nazism the policy and methods of the terrible Jesuits, and teachings of his master manifest themselves in his slaughter of the Jews, the Masons, Jehovah's witnesses, and the refinement of torture in his concentration camps. He therefore merely assumed the execution of the plans and purposes of the blasphemous "Society of Jesus". Hitler is therefore the Jesuit scourge of Europe, dedicated to the crushing of all opposition to their age-old schemes for world domination.
To offset these well-known facts, which the Hierarchy does not dare deny openly, she is now able to speak through many supposedly unbiased publications in the United States. The Hierarchy has vast holdings in America, and she reaps a rich revenue from Catholic American supporters. At the time when the president asked the pope to declare the war against Nazism "a just war", and was refused by a "polite 'No'", he seemed to intimate that this revenue might be withheld.—It is to blind Americans to her guilty part in the carnage of Europe that the press is constantly fed stories of persecution of the "Church", which is the very opposite of the facts, as all newspapers well know.
Examples of this servility are the recent articles entitled "Hitler's New Scapegoat—the Catholics", in the February 23 (1942) issue of the picture magazine Look (which James J. Murphy uncovers as trite propaganda, in his astute exposé "The status of Catholicism in Nazi Germany", in The Converted Catholic, April, 1942), and the Saturday Evening Post's "Hitler Can't Do Business with the Church" (September 26, 1942). Hitler has always done business with the "Church", "business" in blood, in which only the merciless Rome could engage. All the concordats or "business agreements" are still in force between the Vatican and the gangsters.
It can now be understood why the American reading public professes amazement and incredulity that Hitler is in league with the pope. The newspapers of this land are so completely in the hands of Catholic editors or have, for a price, so absolutely submitted to Catholic censorship, that even when a damaging dispatch finds its way accidentally into one edition it is carefully deleted from other editions. The writer once requested a two-month-old issue of the New York Journal-American, which had contained the picture of German priests instituting mass in conquered parts of Russia "for the first time" since Bolshevism took charge, and was told that no copies of the Journal more than one month old were available. Had the request been for one of Hearst's editorials the rule would, no doubt, have been relaxed. The well-known case of the destruction by Franco of 110,000 Bibles appeared in the early morning edition of the New York Times of October 6, 1941, and was deleted from the second and following editions.—Elton Groves.
[The foregoing disclosures, that religion is a false guide; that it is, by its centuries-old record, the opposite of Christianity; that it is NOT persecuted, either in America or in Italy, Spain, France, or Germany, will be a revelation to many. And they will wish to know why the stories of persecution are so continually spread, without any regard whatever for the facts; what is the real situation in Japan and other countries; what the people must now do in their greatest of all predicaments; and what shall be religion's end. All this is set forth in the next issue of this magazine.—Ed.]
Canada
Progress in Dehydration
◆ Considerable progress has been made in the dehydration of foods for the armed forces overseas. The prices paid for the dehydrated vegetables f.o.b. factory were, for potatoes, 31c per pound; turnips, 45c; carrots, 47c; cabbage, 73c. Two of the Canadian dehydration plants are in Nova Scotia, and one each in Ontario and British Columbia. If the war continues and the submarines continue their depredations, it seems almost essential that dehydration be speeded up and made general, at least for such transported foods as are largely water.
1,000 Miles West of Montreal
◆ A thousand miles west of Montreal, away up a hundred miles north of the most northern bend of the shore of Lake Superior, there were found some years ago some Norse weapons that indicate that the Vikings traveled that way 400 years before Columbus discovered America. The presumption would be that these hardy travelers ascended the St. Lawrence and followed the northern shores of the Great Lakes to the place where the weapons were found. The last link of the Transcanada Highway passes near where the discovery was made.
A Busy "Liberator"
◆ Five times in nine days the same "Liberator" crossed the ocean between Montreal and Britain, and with the same crew. Then the crew had to have 72 hours' rest. The same crew made eight round trips between Montreal and Australia in 90 days.
Dog Trained to Catch Pennies
◆ A Boston bulldog at Vancouver, British Columbia, has been taught to catch pennies in her mouth and deposit these in a tin can. When the tin gets full, or nearly so, it is turned over to the Red Cross. In this way, at last accounts, she had collected over $20. She seems to have entered into the spirit of the thing and to regard her business as important. She seems to understand conversations about her work, and to resent contributions that are thrown in such a way that she has to pick them up off the floor.
Aluminum or Newsprint, but Not Both
◆ The Canadian government has notified the United States production authorities that there is not enough hydroelectric power for the quantities of aluminum and newsprint that are desired, and so a choice must be made. If more aluminum is desired, and this Uncle Sam says he must have, then he must rest content with a smaller quantity of newsprint. Much of the newsprint goes for printing advertising matter and other material that is of no real benefit to anybody.
If You Were a Reindeer
◆ If you were a reindeer, and born at one of the reindeer stations 200 miles north of the Arctic circle, the chances are 9 to 1 that you would survive and that in a few hours after your birth you would be able to walk, and within a few days would be scraping about for moss, to help out on your milk diet. That is the way it works out.
Michigan and Wisconsin
Detroit's Crooked Police and Ex-Mayor
◆ Jehovah's witnesses could be treated fine at St. Louis by as capable a police force as is to be found in any American city. The year previous, at Detroit, they were treated badly. Since then John Hamilton, councilman that used his influence to make it hot for them, was sentenced to three to ten years in prison as a self-confessed perjuror and bribe-taker; the former county prosecutor and former sheriff and 19 other politicians were convicted of collecting $100,000 of pimp money from gamblers and brothel-keepers, and out of 216 crooked police indicted by the grand jury the ex-mayor, Richard W. Reading, got the stiffest of twenty-five sentences: four to eight years in prison for conspiracy to obstruct justice and the protection of gamblers that have robbed Detroiters of an estimated $10,000,000 a year. If there is any real benefit in being on the Devil's side, the experiences of the Detroit gang fail to disclose it.
Sight Restored After Eight Years
◆ Suppose you were totally blind in both eyes, and had been for eight years. Suppose one of your nine children took you out for a walk and suddenly jerked you toward the curb to keep you from being run over by a crazy motorist, and as he did so you fell on your hands and knees. You would feel rather blue, would you not? Maybe you would, but if when you stumbled and fell the light came back into one of your eyes, and then after a few days you saw for the first time the face and form of your little seven-year-old daughter, you would think God is good and there are some pleasant things in the world after all. Now, wouldn't you? That happened to Frank J. Kubiak on the streets of Detroit. His wife felt so good about it that she cried for three days. Women are like that.
"Government Is Based on Morality"
◆ Governor Murray D. Van Wagoner, of Michigan, offers as his excuse for appointing so many clergymen to important state commissions and special boards (the same being a clandestine union of church and state), "Government is based on morality. Nothing else will work, or consistently promote the public welfare. So the advice of clergymen is pertinent and necessary, particularly in questions of broad policies and in humanitarian and social problems." Assuming that to be true, is it good morals to appoint to public office men who claim to be teachers of God's Word but do not believe the Scriptures to be divinely inspired? And is there any humanitarian problem greater than that of whether or not poor humanity, after suffering for a lifetime under politicians and priests and preachers, must face living with them forever or 'staying indefinitely in "purgatory" or in "hell"'?
Sojourner Truth Homes
◆ At Detroit the Sojourner Truth Homes were built for Negro occupancy and named in honor of a Civil War Negro woman leader. The construction was supervised by the United States Housing Authority and the homes were designated for Negro occupancy by the Office of Defense Housing Co-ordination.
The time came for the Negroes to move in. Criminals in the neighborhood burned a fiery cross, and when the police came they said they found 1,200 persons armed with knives, clubs, rifles and shotguns. The police knew their duty, but with that finesse obtained from numerous higher-ups they carefully arrested 107 of the abused Negroes, and 2 other persons, to make a showing.
It is of record that the police, prior to the disturbance, made no effort to disperse the whites. The New York Times, in an Associated Press dispatch dated March 1, 1942, made the illuminating statement: "The Federal Government first decided that the project was for Negroes, later specified white occupancy and finally reverted to its original decision."
The police could jump into the Detroit river, for the amount of help they gave.
Getting Things Done at Detroit
◆ The army asked one automobile company to make a certain gun. The production executives were advised to study the methods in a government arsenal. At the arsenal, the army officer in charge explained that gunmaking was a special art. He proudly told the automobile makers that it required 400 man-hours to put one of those guns together. Each piece had to be filed and fitted by hand. Ten men working a 40-hour week were necessary to assemble the gun.
The automobile executives said if they couldn't beat that the war would be lost. They applied machine-precision methods so that the parts of the gun would need no filing to fit. Parts were interchangeable—you could bring the parts up in bins and put the guns together without any last-minute filing down. This company is assembling the guns in 15 minutes instead of in 400 man-hours. That's what I mean by making the machine goosestep.—Raymond Clapper, in the New York World-Telegram.
Scrap Kept in Storage
◆ At Zachow, Wisconsin, Albert Radtke, automobile dealer, got rid of his old cars each winter by towing them out on the ice of a nearby lake. In the spring the ice melted; and in this way, over a period of fifteen years some 500 cars went to the bottom. Now they are valuable for their scrap and are being fished out and salvaged at an average of $15 each. A farmer has a cable stretched across the lake, with a grappling hook suspended from it. A tractor on shore brings the cars to land after they have been hooked and brought to the surface.
Holy Spiritual Church Folds Up
◆ The Holy Spiritual Church of Michigan has folded up. The "Reverend" Yoga Roy thoughtlessly sold the piano and all the chairs for $10 and treated $118 in funds for a future convention to what may be described as a great disappearance act. The bishop [that's what he admits he is] got into trouble for collecting $86 from one of his flock to get her son out of the Ionia State Reformatory, and then failing to deliver the goods, that is, the son. The judge on the bench convicted him of larceny by trick; the lady who owns the church says the bishop can't pastor, can't preach and is just no good, all of which is doubtless true. But the bishop, who says he has been preaching theology for 46 years, says that he is just as good as any other bishop (which is probably true) and that he resigned as pastor because his flock wanted him to select and bless policy numbers from the pulpit.
Plugged Fire Extinguishers
◆ Detroit discovered that the fire extinguishers had been plugged in several of the public schools where defense workers are trained. The plugging had been done by mechanics. One of the plugged extinguishers exploded while being examined.
The Swastika Waves in Dublin
◆ Ireland's worst enemy is at Vatican City, and it is for that reason that the swastika and the Fascist tricolor wave over the German and Italian legations in Dublin. German butchers and housekeepers have been gradually withdrawn and their places taken by Nazi agents. Abandoned parachutes are often found; also, suspicious-looking and -acting persons with plenty of money in tattered trouser pockets. If Britain is ever invaded, the chances are that it will be via Eire. But meantime there are 150,000 loyal Irishmen in the British forces, and more than that number in British factories, though no mention of these is ever made in the Irish press.
RIGHTEOUS RULER
THE NEW GOVERNMENT
Quick Action by Competent Men
◆ August 21, 1942
Federal Bureau of Investigation,
Abilene, Texas.
Gentlemen:
Last Sunday evening I sent you the following night letter by Western Union:
“Federal Bureau of Investigation
Abilene, Texas.
“Through misunderstanding Sheriff McAdams of Abilene is holding Catalina Escobar and daughter Rita and two boys named Trevino, all Mexican Christians. They are Jehovah's witnesses engaged in Biblical educational work in Merkel, distributing the well-known Watchtower and Consolation magazines and are mistakenly and wrongfully detained. They are working in conjunction with Abilene and Sweetwater companies of Jehovah's witnesses; are honest and faithful to the Bible teachings. I know them personally, and assure you of their integrity. Refer the matter to you as properly informed men for investigation, respectfully requesting their immediate release in harmony with instructions from Mr. Francis Biddle, of the Department of Justice at Washington, recently issued to officers throughout the nation.”
Your promptness in ordering the release of these innocent people is very commendable, and Jehovah's witnesses in this locality know that their confidence was not misplaced when referring this matter to you for attention. THE WATCH-TOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY, INC., of Brooklyn, New York, publisher for Jehovah's witnesses, was engaged in Christian educational and charitable work long before many of us were born—in fact, it has been engaged in announcing the kingdom of Christ for more than sixty years. During the past nine or ten years a distinctly patriotic service has been rendered by it to the American people by publication of a continuous warning against the encroachments of the wicked totalitarian dictators who are striving for world domination. The above-mentioned Society, in presenting this timely message, has called attention to the only real hope of mankind, which is God's Theocracy. Due to the malevolence of Satan, misguided persons are led to oppose this good work and cause trouble by encouraging false arrests and other methods of opposition. Jehovah's witnesses are not criminals, but law-abiding persons, and expect to continue their public witnessing as heretofore.
Assuring you on behalf of Jehovah's witnesses of appreciation of your just action in the above matter, I am sincerely yours, B. R. Kent.
The Bewilderment of O'Grady
◆ While engaged in the street distribution of The Watchtower, officer O'Grady took me to the station, where I was told that I must get a permit. As no one mentioned my staying, I returned to my work. Again officer O'Grady accosted me, and took me to the station, and I was informed that I should appear in court the following Monday to stand trial. As I was released on my own recognizance, I returned to my work. Along comes O'Grady. I am taken to the station for the third time and required to give bond for six dollars, which I did. In court the prosecuting attorney learned about the Supreme Court decisions and about a case now pending in the high court in this state. He then asked the judge to continue the case for ninety days, awaiting the decision of the State Court of Appeals, and we informed him that the work must continue; to which the judge and attorney agreed. O'Grady looked bewildered.—Mrs. R. E. Gilliam, Kentucky.
All pupils of the Miami (Fla.) Kingdom School here shown are Theocratic publishers, and all but three have been baptized. The book Children, which the little folks are holding, is used as a text for reading in all grades.
Witnessing at Corbin, Kentucky
◆ I was tried yesterday, July 10, 1942, and had a jury trial, and learned afterwards that three of the jurors were preachers. The prosecuting attorney was one I had witnessed to the day before in trying to get a postponement of trial. He was affected by what I told him and he and the judge kept passing the buck as to who should decide as to postponement. But they refused postponement and the trial came off as scheduled.
I was in jail five hours last Wednesday before I got bond. When the prosecuting attorney started to talk to the jury he said he did not feel well; was sick, as he could not sleep all night thinking about the case, and, I guess, our conversation. He seemed favorable at first, but, as is noticeable in so many of these men, he suddenly became violent and one could plainly see the action of the demons. Said anyone who did not like these laws should get out of the country, etc. After my trial they unjustly read warrants for the arrest of the rest of the party. Their bond was fixed at $100 each. Mine was fixed at $200. The girls were in jail about six hours yesterday before they got bond, and their trial comes up next Tuesday.
Corbin is just one of those places from which we will have to shake the dust off our feet. Even a good share of back-calls and Children studies have faded out.
These officials know they are handling a very different class of people and they appear very nervous and fearful and hesitant as to what to do, and then the demons take possession and they carry out what they are told to do. A lawyer's wife to whom I witnessed about two weeks ago was called as a witness for the court, but she said before court she was for us and they did not call her.
I am glad now that we stuck to Corbin to the last-ditch fight, as this witness through a packed court and front-page newspaper account is a final witness which could not otherwise have been accomplished, and better than I have ever been able to have a part in giving before in any other town.—Gilbert Frank Smith.
An Honest Justice of the Peace
◆ We three special publishers, Charles Zitko, Ralph Falbo, Jr., and myself, are at present working the business section of Charleroi, Pa.
On the morning of May 27, while at work my brother Ralph entered a beer saloon and began to play the phonograph for the proprietor. While the record was playing two men who were drinking went to the rear of the saloon and got a flag and demanded that Ralph salute the flag while they held it. Ralph told them that he had not come for that purpose, but to preach the gospel of God’s kingdom, and then he walked out. When he walked out of the place the two men followed Ralph out and began calling him vile names and also said to him, “Heil Hitler, you s—— of a b——.” Ralph did not give any answer and in the meantime Charles and I and my other brother Salvatore, who is a company publisher, returned to the car, which was parked near by. These two men proceeded to the car and began to gather a mob. They took their coats off and their glasses and said they would get us.
‘I was in prison, and ye visited me.’ - Bakersfield, Calif.
Thirteen-year-old Jonadab at Leicester, England
We at once got into the car and went to the police station and requested that the police give us protection. One of the police was sent with us to the scene of the trouble. The two leaders of the mob had returned to the beer saloon. The police entered the saloon and obtained their names and addresses and gave them to us. We asked the police officer to make an arrest of the two men, but he refused. The police suggested that we go to a justice of the peace and have a warrant sworn against these men. The justice of the peace refused to do such duty because we have previously had much trouble in this city in doing the work.
We then went to the town of Bentleyville, Pa., to a justice of the peace and had a warrant sworn out. The justice told us that about 19 men went to his place the night the warrant was served, including a constable from Charleroi, and told the justice of the peace that if we would win they would give plenty of trouble in Charleroi and threatened our lives.
Street witnessing at Casper, Wyoming
The next night, May 28, we had the hearing. When the defendants came in for the hearing about 35 big husky men all wearing flags came marching. We thought their threats would there be carried out, but, by God's grace, His protection was with us and no trouble started.
While the hearing was going on some of the men made threatening remarks, at which the justice of the peace stood up and told them to remain silent and to keep their mouths shut or else he would throw them out. The justice of the peace told them that he was a Catholic but he was there to uphold the law, and he did. He also told the defendants that even though they believed in saluting the flag and he did too they had no right to interfere with our work and to try to compel us to salute the flag. Then he told them of the Supreme Court's decisions upholding our work.
He found the defendants guilty and charged them $19.50 fine and costs or fifteen days in jail.
The beer saloon proprietor paid the bill and stated to the justice of the peace that the next time we work his place he will mash the phonograph over our heads, to which the justice of the peace replied, "Go ahead and try; I'm looking for business and I can use the money too."
We have continued our work and can see the Lord's protection over His people.—Nick Falbo, Pennsylvania.
Common Sense in Oregon
◆ At Coquille, Oregon, Mrs. Hazel McKibben and Mrs. Jack Dolan, members of the "Sixth Column" organization of their city, had one of Jehovah's witnesses arrested for circulating information about Jehovah's kingdom. They just couldn't bear to have any reflections made against their "church", but when the case came into court the recorder of the city had sense enough to tell them, "This is the only country left where there is freedom of speech, and we want to keep it that way."
(To be continued)
Happy lassies at Manchester, England, Pioneer home. Note strips of paper on windows, to prevent flying glass in air raids.
"THY WORD IS TRUTH" —John 17:17
When Hitler Dies
FOR a long time religious leaders of the organization into which dictator Hitler was baptized have taught that the punishment for the wicked, those who disobey God, and especially those who do not belong to the religious organization, is everlasting torment or torture in a hell burning with unquenchable fire and brimstone. Many have been frightened away from studying the Bible because of that terrible religious doctrine. Many have thought God to be responsible for such religious teaching and have refused to believe in Jehovah God and His Son, Christ Jesus, because of it. It is another religious doctrine of Satan the Devil who blasphemes Jehovah God and seeks to bring reproach upon His blameless name.
The religious teaching responsible for the "eternal torment" theory and by which Satan has blinded religionists is the deceptive teaching that the dead are still conscious after death as human creatures. This is not supported by the inspired Bible, however. When an innocent sheep dies, there is nothing of it that survives in consciousness. When a blood-stained man in the highest position of honor in his political party, such as Hitler, dies, refusing to understand concerning Jehovah God and His purpose and persecuting Jehovah's witnesses for refusing to disobey God, then Psalm 49: 11-20 applies to such tyrannical dictator, namely: "Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names. Nevertheless man being in honour abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish. . . . Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling. . . . When he dieth he shall carry nothing away: his glory shall not descend after him. . . . Man that is in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish." To which the apostle Peter adds his testimony: "But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption."—2 Peter 2: 12.
Anything that perishes cannot be conscious, cannot be in existence, and, of course, cannot be immortal. If the human soul were immortal, as the religion of the Catholic dictators teaches, then it would be conscious somewhere after the dissolution of the human body. To the contrary of that, the Holy Bible teaches that those who die are never again conscious unless they come under God's mercy and His redemptive provision by Christ Jesus and are resurrected during the thousand-year reign of the King Christ Jesus. Let the inspired Scriptures themselves speak, showing that the human dead are unconscious:
Psalm 6: 5 reads: "In death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?" Thus is shown that they have no memory while dead. Psalm 115: 17 reads: "The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence." Hence they could not speak while dead and break the silence.
The human dead cannot breathe, think, or feel. Hence God's Word stands as a warning to all fanatical followers of totalitarian dictators: "Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish." (Psalm 146: 3, 4) And Psalm 104: 29 adds: "Thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust." A person when unconscious does not feel. This is illustrated by the fact that when a person is taken to a hospital for an operation the surgeon puts the patient under an anesthetic, puts him to sleep so that he cannot feel during the operation. Hence concerning the dead it is written: “The living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing. . . . Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished.” (Ecclesiastes 9: 5, 6) Being unconscious, they know not anything when dead. Hence to the ones alive on earth who desire to make the most of their lives to the honor and glory of God it is written: “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.” (Ecclesiastes 9: 10) Or, to quote the Catholic Douay Version Bible: “For neither work, nor reason, nor wisdom nor knowledge shall be in HELL, whither thou art hastening.”
It was the Redeemer Jesus who said: “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3: 16) The opposite of everlasting life is for one to perish, and here in the Savior’s words is proof conclusive that death means the perishing of all human sinners unless redemption is received through Jesus Christ by faith and obedience. This would absolutely disprove the religious doctrine of consciousness of the dead, and it disproves also the religious falsehood of the immortality of the human soul.
Concerning such ones as come under the redemptive merit of Christ Jesus, death is spoken of in the Bible as a sleep, for the reason that Jehovah God by Christ Jesus will in His due time awaken all such dead ones in the grave and will give them an opportunity of life. The Bible abounds in expressions referring to such dead ones as asleep. A few of these expressions are: “David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David.” (1 Kings 2: 10) “And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.” (Acts 7: 59, 60) “After that, he [the resurrected Jesus] was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.” (1 Corinthians 15: 6, 17, 18, 20) “I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, . . . even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him [in the resurrection].”—1 Thessalonians 4: 13, 14.
Concerning wicked oppressors of mankind and who oppose Jehovah God it is prophesied: “They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise: therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish.” (Isaiah 26: 14) Though Hitler has never been excommunicated from his religious organization there exists no so-called “Purgatory” for him to go to after death. And as for those who receive of Christ’s redemption, we must conclude from the Scriptures that the human dead are wholly unconscious from the moment of death and continue so until such future time under God’s established Kingdom as He may be pleased to awaken them out of death and give them an opportunity of life. Thus and so it is stated by the Redeemer Christ Jesus, at John 5: 28, 29. “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves [Gr. mnemeion—memorial] shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life.” “Let Freedom Ring”
THE Bill of Rights, whose 150th anniversary we are to celebrate Monday, December 15 [1941], was not originally a part of our Constitution. This will sound strange to many who have not been close students of American history, but it is a fact nevertheless. Says the librarian of Congress:
“The Constitution, written at the Federal Convention in the summer of 1787, did not contain a specific declaration of individual rights. In the opinion of the delegates such a declaration was unnecessary; it would either reaffirm rights already existing, or it would merely prohibit the national government from interfering with them.
“Nevertheless, when the draft was submitted for adoption, it was discovered that many shared the view of Thomas Jefferson that a ‘BILL OF RIGHTS is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth, general or particular; and what no just government should refuse, or rest on inference.’
“Massachusetts, Virginia, New York, and other states ratified the Constitution, but with the recommendation that a BILL OF RIGHTS be added. This recommendation was accepted by the First Congress, in the form of twelve proposed amendments, which were passed on September 25, 1789. Of these, ten were declared ratified on December 15, 1791....
DEFEND AND PRESERVE
“They are today ‘ingrained in our American natures’. They are worth defending, preserving, and advancing at every cost and by every means. The anniversary of their adoption is therefore an anniversary well worth celebrating. . . . Celebrations must proceed spontaneously from the people’s sense of gratitude for the privilege and protection of rights which are at once personal, imprescriptible, and inalienable.
“It will be a time for the renewal of faith—faith in the doctrine of human liberty, faith in the principles by which we govern and are governed.
“It will be a time too for remembering—for remembering that in other parts of the world these privileges and protections are denied, and for remembering that where they are denied neither human liberty nor human decency and self-respect survive their loss.
“It will be a time finally for pride—pride in our citizenship in a free nation, conceived in freedom and by freedom’s strength brought to the foremost greatness of the earth.”
But in our exultation at this moment over the Bill of Rights we must not forget that it has never functioned fully. During the century and a half since it came into being its guaranteed freedoms have been trampled many times. Nothing is to be gained by blinking this fact.
Of course no human documents are observed one hundred percent. There is a popular fallacy that passing a law or adopting a constitution is sufficient. This is not true. Laws don’t enforce themselves. Constitutions don’t operate from their own power. They are in the last analysis but scraps of paper—useful as norms of conduct, but absolutely dependent upon people for their enforcement.
THREE DIFFERENT VIEWS
A study of the period covered by our Bill of Rights will make plain the point we are stressing. Read Prof. Leon Whipple’s The Story of Civil Liberty in the United States if you would know the truth of the matter. Relative to this subject he says: “What did the liberty guarantees mean? They did not seem particularly clear to anybody—nor do they yet! They did not mean the same thing to different factions, and they did not mean the same thing to anyone very long.
“There were three general views which have persisted roughly ever since. The conservative wanted them interpreted legally, along the English tradition, and not adding many new ideas from the Revolution. The people wanted them interpreted practically, as they had been evolved in the Revolution, first, as the means of freeing themselves from tyranny; second, as the necessary instruments of self-government. The rare libertarian wanted them interpreted philosophically, as an ideal of spiritual and intellectual freedom looking toward the future, and now at least roughly expressed in words.”
POWER AND CIVIL LIBERTY
Prof. Whipple maintains that “whoever has power has civil liberty”. From a realistic standpoint he is unquestionably right. The ultimate power in a democracy is the power of an enlightened and an aroused public opinion. Therefore, in order to have a decent observance of the Bill of Rights, we must educate the people as to the value of the liberties guaranteed, and the necessity of their seeing to it that those liberties are respected. To this end groups like the American Civil Liberties Union need to be constantly on the job.
Sam Jones, the Southern evangelist, used to say, quoting the Bible: “ ‘The wicked flee when no man pursueth,’ but they make a lot better time when someone is after them.” So also when lovers of freedom form vigilance societies like the A.C.L.U. and everlastingly keep after recalcitrant officials who violate their sacred oaths of office by trampling the Bill of Rights, and others who treat these fundamental freedoms lightly, then something happens. Courts pay attention to the doctrine of freedom; policemen are careful not to exceed their authority; vigilantes desist from their unlawful activities; and the general level of freedom is raised.
We must have freedom if we are to have progress. Everyone who thinks accepts that axiom. Room for improvement is the biggest room in the world, someone has suggested. But we can’t move on into that room under dictatorship and suppression. There must be freedom. The trial and error method must be in vogue. The suggestion of all sorts of plans and new ideas must be permissible. Otherwise we have life bogging down into rust and stagnation.
So, on this 150th anniversary of the Bill of Rights, let us dedicate ourselves anew to the principles contained in the document—not with mere lip service, which is so easy to offer, but with life service in a never-ending campaign to make liberty regnant in all the land.
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