Awake!, October 22, 1962
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Are We Victims of Fate?
Did Men Live a Million Years Ago?
PAGE 9
Big Business in Crime
PAGE 12
Fathers, Enjoy Your Children
OCTOBER 22, 1962
THE MISSION OF THIS JOURNAl
Ntw» lOurcM that art able to keep you awake to thji vital Ittuti of our time* must be unfettered by censorship and selfish interests. ‘‘Awake!” has no fetters. It recognizes facts, faces facts, is free to publish facts. It Is not bound by political ambitions or obligations; It Is unhampered by advertisers whose toes must not be trodden on; it is unprejudiced by traditional creeds. This journal keeps itself free that it moy speak freely to you. But it does not abuse its freedom. It maintains integrity to truth.
"Awake!" uses the regular news channels, but is not dependent on them. Its awn correspondents are on all continents, in scores of notions. From the four corners af the earth their uncensored, on-the-scenes reports come to you through these columns. This journal's viewpoint is not narrow, but is international. It is read in many nations, in many languages, by persons of all ages. Through its pages many fields of knowledge pass In review—government, commerce, religion, history, geography, science, social conditions, natural wonders—why, its coverage is as broad as the earth and as high as the heavens.
"Awake!" pledges itself to righteous principles, to exposing hidden foes and subtle dangers, to championing freedom for all, to comforting mourners and strengthening those disheartened by the failures of a delinquent world, reflecting sure hope for the establishment of a righteous New World.
Get acquainted with "Awake!” Keep awake by reading "Awake!”
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CONTENTS
A Time to Be Clever, a Time to Be Kind 3
Are We Victims of Fate?
Morals in Catholic Mexico
Did Men Lave a Million Years Ago?
Why Communism?
Big Business in Crime
Sound Control
Fathers, Enjoy Your Children
“Compac” Links Australia and
New Zealand
El Huwipunja—Remains of Colonialism in Ecuador
The Constant Danger
"Your Word Is Truth”
‘The Rest of the Dead Come to Life' 2
Watching the World
Volume XL111 . London, England, October 22, 11362 Number 20
LONG ago a wise king wrote: “For everything there is an appointed time, even a time for every affair under the heavens: ... a time to break down and a time to build; a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to wail and a time to skip about.” And, it may be added: A time to be clever and a time to be kind.—Eccl. 3:1, 3, 4.
In this modern hurried age kindness is often crowded out, if not by greed then by thoughtlessness. Yet how much happiness even a little kindness can bring! Especially is it the time for kindness when there is need for an encouraging word, a helping hand or the proverbial "cup of cold water.” He who is kind heeds Jesus’ words: “Just as you want men to do to you, do the same way to them.”—Matt. 10:42; Luke 6:31.
Instead of being kind, the tendency today is to be clever. Of course, the word “clever” has various connotations. Certain beasts of prey are spoken of as being especially clever, such as the coyote and the wolverine. An ingenious toy, tool, gadget or trap may be said to be clever. The quick response, the witty reply are also said to be clever. Clever, however, is a word of but limited praise. Thus if you wanted to compliment a lawyer, rather than telling him he had been clever you would use such expressions as resourceful, skillful or astute.
It should be noted that one of the definitions for “clever” given by Webster’s Third New International Dictionary is, “Intelligent, quick, ingenious, and resourceful but lacking in depth, soundness, wisdom, or morality.” A clever lawyer may well be a tricky one, even as tricks are the stock in trade of the clever magician. Cleverness also often manifests itself by what is called, in modern American idiom, “wisecracks” or smart remarks.
Because of this, cleverness is often given an unfavorable connotation. As Rudyard Kipling once asked: “It’s clever, but is it art?” And as another English writer years ago counseled young ladies: “Be good, sweet maid, and let who will be clever." Thus it has also been observed that time and again a “clever mist of words” serves to hide the lack of knowledge on the part of a speaker or writer.
In human relations cleverness might be likened to spice, not very substantial as food but still helpful to make things interesting. If used sparingly, at the right time or occasion, and, of course, without malice, there can be no objection to it.
However, when it becomes one s marie or identification, then Invariably it betrays lack of “depth, soundness, wisdom and morality.”
Illustrating this fact is the life of the French writer and infidel, Voltaire, who, while active in fighting political oppression and religious bigotry, at the same time was famed for his clever wit. The Encyclopaedia Britannica, therefore, felt obliged to say about him, among other things: “His characteristic is for the most part an almost superhuman cleverness rather than positive genius., . . His great fault was an inveterate superficiality.... He was inordinately vain, totally unscrupulous in gaining money, in attacking an enemy, or in protecting himself when threatened with danger.” According to another encyclopedic authority, Voltaire “was a libertine; he lied without scruple.”
He especially liked to use his cleverness on the Bible, distorting its record and magnifying the weaknesses of its characters. To this end he borrowed heavily from the English deists, whom he plagiarized, falsified, misquoted and miscredited—all typical of his unscrupulous methods.
Though usually credited with that famed epitome of tolerance: “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it,” the fact is that it was not made by him. But typical of his clever but shallow philosophy is his statement: “Clever tyrants never are punished.” Of course, all tyrants as well as all other deliberate wrongdoers like to think that they are clever enough to escape punishment. But how many of them, from Hitler on down, have found out by bitter experience that Voltaire's philosophy was not sound! In fact, his own experience proved him false. He was a tyrant with the pen, and because of his unbridled and indiscriminate and unprincipled cleverness he was repeatedly set upon and beaten, sued, imprisoned, ostracized and at times exiled.
While there was only one Voltaire, he does have disciples or imitators among those gifted with a quick, sharp wit. Such, however, will do well to remember that there is a time and place for cleverness, but the temptation is to indulge it constantly for the petty triumphs it gives; that is not the way to win the hearts of others. Such a one might consider the words of Cowper in his poem “Friendship,” which might be paraphrased:
‘The man who’s clever as can be will seldom scruple to make free with friendship’s finest feelings, will thrust a dagger at your breast and tell you 'twas a special jest by way of balm for healing.’
Among others who would do well to curb their cleverness is the practical joker. Often he is not nearly so bright as he thinks he is. As Solomon long ago wrote: “Just like someone mad that is shooting fiery missiles, ... so is the man that has tricked his fellow man and has said: ‘Was I not having fun?’ ”—Prov. 26:18, 19.
Clever is also what the modern youth often aspires to be, especially toward his parents and other elders, thereby betraying a glaring lack of respect, and usually as little sense. To note a recent true-life incident: When a ten-year-old was asked by an elderly guest, “Is that your dog?” the lad replied, “What did you think it was, a fish or a horse?” That was not the time nor the way to be clever. It showed lack of wisdom on the part of the boy.
Yes, there is a time for everything: A time to be clever and a time to be kind; a time to be clever and a time to be serious; a time to be clever and a time to be respectful. Wise and happy is he who knows when it is the time for each!
VICTIMS
about fate.
Is
correct
one?
fate
decreed him to be a victim that day?
automobile accident, is he a victim of fate? When a person dies, is it because
A 5,000-pound steel beam recently fell seventeen stories from a building under con-struction in New York city, killing a man passing by. Was it fate? When a marriage goes bad, does it have to be that way? When a child turns out to be a delinquent, was it fate that made it that way? When a driver has an
Many are
the beliefs
yours the
To many persons the word “fate” means more than final outcome. This is evident from the many expressions one hears, such as: “It had to be this way.” "It was in the stars,” “Fate decreed it that way.” “It was his unavoidable fate.” “His time had come.” "Whatever will be will be.” Many persons who speak this way believe that one’s actions are so controlled by other forces, such as the stars or a supernatural force, that the course of one’s existence is determined for a person beforehand.
Some believe that it is primarily the time of death that is determined by fate. Because of such beliefs a soldier goes into battle with the belief that he will not meet his death a moment sooner than if he had stayed at home. Or a driver may drive his car overly fast, believing that he will not meet his end until his time is up. Still others believe that God is partial and that he predetermines certain individuals to get everlasting life, and that other persons have no hope no matter what they do.
What is the origin of these many views regarding fate? They find their origin in ancient pagan religions, such as that practiced by the stargazing Babylonians. They believed that their star gods more or less predestinated their lives. The ancient Greeks had a mythological belief in three sisters, Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos, These goddesses were supposed to control the destinies of gods and men, Clotho held the distaff and spun the thread, Lachesis rolled up the thread on the spindle and Atropos mercilessly cut the thread, which was supposed to measure the life of every mortal person. The Romans took over this belief and called their own fate goddesses Nona, Decuma and Morta.
What, now, does the Holy Bible show about the incidents in a person’s life? What does it disclose as to one’s destiny?
God-given Laws and Principles Govern
The Holy Bible shows that man was created a free moral agent; he can choose to do good or to do bad. Man will reap whatever he sows. The apostle Paul states this divine principle: “Whatever a man is sowing, this he will also reap; because he who is sowing with a view to his flesh will reap corruption from his flesh, but he who is sowing with a view to the spirit will reap everlasting life from the spirit. So let us not give up in doing what is fine, for in due season we shall reap if we do not tire out.”—Gal. 6:7-9.
Here the Bible shows that what we reap is not the result of some blind fate, some force over which we have no control; but we reap what we have sown. Trees and plants each have seed according to their kind; what is sown will result in the production of something of the same family kind. So it is with us. It may take time, and there may be a long period between sowing and reaping; but in time each person will be shown up by what he has sown. God is not to be mocked. We cannot violate this principle and do bad things and then expect to avoid reaping the bad results. If we do what is in harmony with God’s Word, if we cultivate the fruitage of his holy spirit and obey his commandments, then the result will be everlasting life in his new world.
Since we reap what we sow, it should be evident that we are responsible for the results of many things. Blind fate does not decide. A marriage does not have to go bad. If the marriage partners truly live by the principles given in the Bible, they have every reason for their marriage to be a successful one. Children do not need to turn out delinquent. Christians know that the Bible rule is: "Foolishness is tied up with the heart of a boy; the rod of discipline is what will remove it far from him.” (Prov. 22:15) So when parents violate this rule and do not bring up their children “in the discipline and authoritative advice of Jehovah,” then what can they expect but that their children will turn out delinquent?—Eph. 6:4.
Most auto accidents do not have to happen. Usually someone fails to abide by a law that has been set down by the community as necessary for safe driving. Or it may be just carelessness. People do not have to walk in front of trucks and be killed. They can stop and look both ways before they cross a street. When a person fails to look and is struck by a vehicle, it is not fate that brought about the disaster but carelessness.
Time and Unforeseen Occurrence
But what about the person killed in New York city when a steel beam fell seventeen stories? It could have been carelessness by workers in the building; or it could have been an unforeseen occurrence, something breaking. The time element also enters the picture. The man happened to be at a particular spot when the beam fell. The beam would have fallen whether the man was standing below or not. But the man just happened to be there at the time the beam fell.
Similarly a person can be standing at a curb, waiting to cross a street. A car in which the steering mechanism suddenly became defective strikes and kills the pedestrian. It was not the fault of the person, nor perhaps of the driver, who may have had no way of knowing the mechanism was near the breaking point.
When a tower in Jesus’ day fell, killing eighteen persons, the Son of God did not ascribe it to fate nor did he say it was because they were more wicked than others. Some may have been very good persons. "Those eighteen upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, thereby killing them, do you imagine that they were proved greater debtors than all other men inhabiting Jerusalem? No, indeed, I tell you.” Jesus thus shows that such an accident is not because of fate but rather is more in harmony with what the Bible calls “time and unforeseen occurrence.”—Luke 13:4, 5.
Every one of us is subject to "time and unforeseen occurrence. ” This includes good persons as well as bad ones. It affects.those who are most accomplished or skilled in their particular endeavors. Thus the inspired writer says: “I returned to see under the sun that the swift do not have the race, nor the mighty ones the battle, nor do the wise also have the food, nor do the understanding ones also have the riches, nor do even those having knowledge have the favor; because time and unforeseen occurrence befall them all.”—Eccl, 9:11.
Generally the race is won by the swift; but not always. The fastest runner may step on a stone and be thrown off balance at a critical moment, and a much slower runner might win the race. Or the swiftest runner might happen to be “out of trim” on a certain day. Time and unforeseen occurrence may thus affect the final result. The persons killed by the falling tower in Jesus’ day and the man killed in New York city by the falling beam were not victims of a fate that decreed it had to be that way. It was simply “time and unforeseen occurrence,” that which ‘befalls them all.’
In God’s new world, under the reign of the King Jesus Christ, obedient mankind will reach perfection. Then there will not be so much unforeseen occurrence. There will be perfection of judgment. Not only that, but there will be the direct blessing of God. He has promised that he will directly intervene, such as in the case of the wild animal creation. Many wild creatures might injure or kill man today; but in the new T^orld it will not be so, for God has declared: “I shall certainly conclude a covenant in that day in connection with the wild besfst of the field and with the flying creature of the heavens and the creeping thing of the ground, and the bow and the sword and war I shall break out of the land, and I will make them lie down in security.”—Hos. 2:18.
Today man cannot control the dispositions of wild creatures; as God told Job, it was not man who gave the wild ass or the wild bull its disposition. (Job 39:5-12) But in the new world God will control the dispositions of wild creatures so that no injury results to man. Because of "time and unforeseen occurrence,” today, a person might step on a poisonous serpent and be bitten; but in the new world “the sucking child will certainly play upon the hole of the cobra; and upon the light aperture of a poisonous snake will a weaned child actually put his own hand.” In the new world God will do other things so that fatal accidents will not result to his people, for “they will not do any harm or cause any ruin in all my holy mountain.” Today lightning may strike the earth and, because of “time and unforeseen occurrence,” kill a person. In the new world divine blessing will prevent death-dealing “time and unforeseen occurrence,” since God has promised everlasting life to those who faithfully serve him; and “it is impossible for God to lie.”—Isa. 11:8, 9; Heb, 6:18.
Free Will and Self-chosen Destiny
Because of “time and unforeseen occurrence” many persons have believed that man is a victim of blind fate; but in actuality he is not a victim of fate when it comes to daily events in his life nor even as to his final destiny, which may be everlasting destruction or everlasting life.
God is impartial and judges a person according to his deeds or lack of proper deeds. “So, then,” said the apostle Paul, “each of us will render an account for himself to God.” (Rom. 14:12) Moreover, God cannot be accused of predestinating some persons to life and others to death, since the inspired apostle Peter declared: “For a certainty I perceive that God is not partial, but in every nation the man that fears him and works righteousness is acceptable to him.”—Acts 10:34, 35.
God has given us free will. Though we > do not have total freedom as God does, we have, to a great extent, freedom of choice. It is true that some limitations are placed upon our freedom of choice by reason of heredity and environment. One might choose to be a musician or an artist, but if he has not inherited the qualities needed for the work, then to be successful he will need to choose that which is more in harmony with his endowments and abilities. Environment may prove to be a handicap. Yet despite ungodly teachings in Communist lands, some persons are serving the true God. Despite the materialism in many Western lands, there are people who are putting spiritual interests first. God has given us sufficient free will.
So people today can go to God’s Word and they can choose to live by it or not, to make God’s kingdom their hope or not, to honor God or not. One can choose today just as the Israelites could choose when Moses warned them: “I do take the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you today, that I have put life and death before you, the blessing and the malediction; and you must choose life in order that you may keep alive, you and your offspring, by loving Jehovah your God, by listening to his voice and by sticking to him.”—Deut 30:19, 20.
We should choose to do that which is in harmony with God’s purpose, as revealed in his Holy Word, the Bible. Because we have free will we can work either with or against God’s purpose. But there will not be success if one violates God’s commandments or works in opposition to divine prophecy. Did Alexander the Great succeed in rebuilding the city of Babylon so as to make it his world capital? No; though it seemed a simple thing for him to rebuild the city, he was working against God’s purpose, which was that Babylon must be a desolation. “Babylon . . . must become as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. She will never be inhabited.” (Isa. 13:19, 20) We cannot work against God’s purposes and succeed.
So for real success and to gain the hope of everlasting life we need to work with God and his revealed purposes. The Bible makes clear God’s purpose to bring in a new world of enduring righteousness. (2 Pet. 3:13) Whether one will gain life in that new world is not a matter of blind fate; it is determined by one’s decision now whether to act in harmony with God’s will or not. Mere indecision or inaction can put us in opposition to God. Declared the Son of God: “He that is not on my side is against me, and he that does not gather with me scatters.” So God-given principles, along with our free will, affect our destiny, not blind fate.—Matt. 12:30.
A person may refuse to take advantage of God’s provision for gaining everlasting life because of fear of men or love of money, but this does not alter the fact that a choice is possible. We are not victims of a predetermined fate. It is with us the same as Joshua declared to the Israelites: “Now if it is bad in your eyes to serve Jehovah, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve ... as for me and my household, we shall serve Jehovah.” Far from being victims of fate, we have God-given free will. Use it to choose life by serving Jehovah.—Josh. 24:15.
MORALS IN CATHOLIC MEXICO
[Z According to an Associated Press dispatch of May 21, 1962, Roman Catholic Church officials report that 50 percent of the mothers in Mexico are without husbands; 20 percent of these have been abandoned or divorced and another 30 percent are unmarried. The Catholic officials blamed the situation on lack of religious and moral education.
A MILLION YEARS AGO^
“Guesswork on Antiquity of Man,” Awake.' April 22, 1958.) But a few months later, even more sensational headlines announced that scientists at the University of California had measured the volcanic ash in which the fossils were imbedded, and had found that the bones were actually 1,750,000 years old. They used a radioactive clock that is based on the decay of potassium into argon. Here, it seemed, was convincing proof, obtained with the most modern tools of science, of the great antiq
A RECENT discovery in the Olduvai Gorge in Tanganyika, East Africa, has attracted worldwide attention. Bones of a petrified creature were dug up by a British anthropologist in a rock stratum that he believed was more than half a million years old. The find included the jawbone, and parts of the skull, hands and feet. From the teeth he inferred that the bones were those of a child, perhaps twelve years old when it was killed.
When the discovery was announced, the newspapers carried articles under headlines such as “The Oldest Human,” and “Child Slain 600,000 Years Ago.” They described the bones as belonging to “the oldest member of the human race known to science.” The discoverer, Dr. L. S. B, Leakey, told reporters he believed the relics to be much older than 600,000 years, the age he had assigned to earlier fossil discoveries, which he calls Zinjanthropus.
Informed readers, knowing how much guesswork goes into age estimates by paleontologists, were inclined to regard such speculation with some skepticism. (See uity of man. Would this finally silence those who support the Bible chronology of man’s history, which limits him to a mere 6,000 years? Further developments were watched with interest.
Incidentally, it might be thought that the discoverer would be somewhat chagrined to learn that hk guess at the age, as something over 600,000 years, had been wrong by more than a million years. But his frank, personal account of the Olduvai find discloses that he accepted the older date readily, even with elation. One wonders if he would have been as quick to welcome a correction that made his fossils much younger.
Claims Disputed
Since the publication of the age findings, several other scientists have stood up to challenge the results of the California team, and today the age of the Olduvai fossils is a very moot question. The daily press has made little or no mention of these arguments. Consequently, the lay public has been given no reason to disbelieve that the Olduvai child continues to be “the oldest member of the human race known to science.’’ But what hag been going on backstage? Let us look into some more recent reports in scientific periodicals.
Nuclear physicists at Heidelberg University made a detailed study of various beds of the volcanic ash from Olduvai, using the same potassium-argon clock that the California scientists had used. They found disconcerting divergences from the ages previously given. The new ages were smaller, sometimes by as much as half a million years. Further, they found that the potassium-argon ages did not even fall in the proper sequence; that in some cases the bed lying underneath gave a younger age than the bed lying above it. They pointed out that the ages determined with this clock might all be too high, on account of “Inherited argon.”
Scientists at'Johns Hopkins University have also attacked the 1.75-million-year figure. As well as citing the possibility of inherited contaminants, they suggested other possible errors in the age of the volcanic ash. It might have been mixed with ash from older falls. Or ground water seeping through the rocks might have transferred argon from older ash beds to the younger. They say the indicated ages must ba taken “with a grain of salt.”
The Potassium-Argon Clock
In order to weigh the critics’ objections, it is necessary to understand the basic principle of the potassium-argon dating method. It is similar in principle to the uranium-lead clock. (See Awake! f February 8,1952.) Potassium in its natural form is made up of three isotopes, with atomic weights 39, 40 and 41. Of these, isotopes 39 and 41 are stable. The rare isotope 40 breaks down by radioactive decay, very slowly, with a half-life of 1,300 million years. Argon-40, a gas that makes up about one percent of the air we breathe, is formed at a regular, predictable rate by this process. Although it is a very slow process, it is believed that most of the argon in the atmosphere has been formed in this way, in the many years since the earth's crust cooled.
When potassium is present in a mineral in a rock, the argon formed by its decay is trapped in the rock. But when the rock is heated hot enough, the argon escapes and can be measured with the delicate instruments of the California or Heidelberg scientists. They can compare the amount of argon collected from a mineral specimen with the amount of potassium in it, and then calculate how long it would take the argon to be formed. They call this time the age of the rock.
However, as in every radioactive dating method, the answer is correct only if certain assumptions are true. In this case, one must be sure, first, that none of the argon has escaped from the rock, and second, that there was no argon in the rock when it was formed.
In the first case, if argon gas diffuses out of the rock, be it ever so slowly, then when the physicist measures what is left, he calculates an age that is less than the true age of the mineral.
On the other hand, if argon was present in the rock when it was formed, then the clock was not set to zero, and this makes the rock look older than it really is.
Errors in Assumptions
Many rocks have been dated by the potassium-argon method. Ages from some hundreds of millions to several billion years have been found. The 1,300-million-year half-life of potassium-40 makes it quite suitable for rocks of such ages. But many cases have been found where the potassium-argon clock is defective in respect to the first assumption. This is most clearly shown in cases where the different minerals that make up the rock contain potassium in different chemical forms. It may be found that for one mineral the potassium clock gives an age that checks other clocks quite well, but another mineral in the same rock appears much younger. Actually, of course, both minerals havt the same age, but what has happened ii that some of the argon has diffused out of one mineral but not from the other. Thus, an unreliable answer is found.
Now, what about the case where the newly formed rock already has argon in it? Where could such argon come from? We must remember that the rock that is melted by the volcanic activity has had a previous history. The potassium in that rock, as in every other, is as old as the earth itself, and it has been generating argon all the while. When the rock is melted, all this argon must be boiled out if the clock is to be set correctly. If any trace of argon remains, the clock is not set to zero, and ages measured with it will be too high. Suppose the rock was 100 million years old at the time of its melting. If only one percent of the argon formed in that period is left, the clock is set 1,000,000 years earlier than the true date. If the rock were older, as most of them are, an even smaller retention of argon could cause a millionyear error. This is what the critics mean by “inherited argon.”
Such an error would not be very serious if the rock were to He another hundred million years before some geologist dug it up to measure its age. He could not tell 100 million from 101 million anyhow. But a young rock, such as the volcanic tuff at Olduvai, is highly vulnerable to such an error. The fact that the potassium clock has been shown accurate in older rocks Is no proof that it is accurate for rocks that may be only 10 or 1,000,000 years old. Using the potassium clock on such young rocks is like trying to read seconds on a dock that has only an hour hand.
Speculation versus God’s Word
This explains why scientists are reluctant to accept the 1,750,000-year date for the Olduvai fossils. As one of them writes: “Because some of the Olduvai Gorge dates are inconsistent, some must be inaccurate; they may ail be.” It would take only the tiniest trace of argon inherited from the melted rock to make a 5,000-year-old ash bed look 1,750,000 years old.
What bearing does all this have on the 6,000-year span of man’s existence? Does this argument about the age of the Olduvai bones make you feel that you must hide your Bible whenever someone starts out with the words, “Science has proved .. . ”? Surely such speculations, challenged and disputed as they are even among scientists, will not be accepted by a reasonable person as of any weight whatever in overthrowing the historical record of man’s 6,000 years given in the Bible. Remember that what is accepted as “proved scientific fact" today may be quite obsolete in the light of tomorrow’s discoveries. On the other hand, the Genesis record has stood for thirty-five centuries against all challenges to its truthfulness and authenticity. The promise of Jehovah God is that his Word will endure forever.
Why Communism?
♦ Swiss theologist Emil Brunner in his book The Misunderstanding of the Church declares that "modern communism has arisen as a result
of spiritual undernourishment because the Church has nearly always neglected creating true brotherhood in Christ.”
BIG BUSINESS-
THIRTY years have passed since the immense bootlegging business of the infamous Scarface Capone collapsed. His subsequent imprisonment and death from the advanced stages of syphilis did not mark the end of big organized crime. The efforts he made to build a huge criminal organization and to establish a measure of cooperation among underworld gangs laid the foundation for the powerful crime syndicates existing today. Their evil tentacles reach out over the Western world, making crime a far bigger business than in the days of Capone.
From bootlegging alone the Capone organization received an estimated income of $50 million a year. In addition to this it took in about $25 million from gambling, dose to $10 million from prostitution and another $10 million from the distribution of narcotics. This huge income from illegal activities fades into insignificance when compared with what the syndicates get today.
In 1958 J. Edgar Hoover of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation estimated that the proceeds from crime amount to about $22 billion a year in the United States alone. This is nearly half of the American arms budget for 1962. The lion’s share goes to the syndicates. The Ke-fauver committee that began an investigation of organized crime in the United States in 1950 revealed that a gambling syndicate in Miami, Florida, had at that time a gross income of from 30 to 40 mil-
the United States, gambling pours into the underworld an annual sum of from 10 to 15 billion dollars. This is the principal source of revenue for the big crime syndicates. It helps to finance their many criminal ventures and to corrupt public officials. Regarding gambling operations, the Kefauver committee observed: “The tremendous profits to be made from these completely nonproductive operations offer obvious attractions to the lawless and parasitic elements in our society. . . . Wherever large-scale gambling has been carried on it has been the experience of law-enforcement officials that violence and crime increase in proportion to the size of the gambling operations.”
Bootlegging is another big source of income for the syndicates. The repeal of prohibition in the United States in December, 1933, temporarily forced racketeers to turn to other rackets. Prohibition had made bootlegging a gold mine for them, but liquor ceased to be profitable after it was repealed. The situation changed, however, when the Government began raising the liquor tax.
lion dollars a year. That was just one of The demand for bootleg liquor increased several gambling syndicates. Throughout as the liquor tax gradually rose from $2.00
per gallon to $10.50. Unwittingly the Government made bootlegging a profitable undertaking again. The price of legal liquor is so high in the United States that illegal liquor can be sold at a much lower price and still make a tremendous profit for the bootlegger, as much as 1,000 percent. So much illegal liquor is sold by the underworld that the United States government loses about $1,500,000,000 a year in tax revenue. This means that bootlegging is big business.
Legitimate Business
As a cover for their illegal activities, the crime syndicates have invested in a number of legitimate businesses. These are operated by front men who usually have no criminal records. A bootlegging syndicate, for example, finds this very advantageous. A gangster-owned construction firm can obtain the materials needed for putting together the distillery equipment necessary for a big operation that might amount to as many as thirty strategically located stills. The construction firm or firms can get the needed materials without attracting the attention of the authorities. Construction laborers for building the stills can be supplied by a gangster-controlled union.
Since huge mash vats of about 10,000 gallons apiece might be used in a big operation, it is necessary for the syndicate to own laundries or a soft drink factory near the stills to cover up the tremendous quantities of water that the stills require. Gangster-owned yeast factories can divert some of their output to the bootlegging operation without government officials becoming suspicious. By owning companies that have a legitimate reason for buying large quantities of sugar the syndicate can hide their purchases of sugar. One bootlegging syndicate that operated in the New York metropolitan area a few years ago consumed so much sugar that it had to purchase eighteen bakeries, nine candy factories, six soft drink plants, three icecream plants, four fruit canning plants, three domestic sugar companies and two export sugar companies. This bootlegging syndicate was merely one of several that were operating in different parts of the United States at that time.
Other legitimate businesses in which gangsters invest money are hotels; night clubs; restaurants and bars; the distribution of Italian olive oil, cheese and tomato paste; wholesale fruit and vegetable produce markets; vending machines of all types; juke boxes; newspapers; shipping; bonding companies; loan companies; trucking; the garment industry; funeral homes; jewelry and furs; coal companies; automobile agencies; real estate; paper and wastepaper; taxicabs, and so on. They also are involved in the operation of many labor unions. Frequently the racketeers strive to establish monopolies in legitimate enterprises by means of extortion, bombing and other gangster tactics.
Mafia
Associated with most of the crime syndicates is an evil brotherhood known as the Mafia. It is a loosely knit association of Sicilian families for whom crime is a 200-year-old tradition. It had its beginning on the island of Sicily, where it is still strongly entrenched despite repeated efforts by the Italian police to crush it. From childhood the members are trained to make crime their profession and to become adept in every form of skulduggery. Their depredations in Italy, the United States and in nearly every prosperous city of the world have brought reproach upon the many honest people who live in Sicily or who have Sicilian ancestry.
Unlike secret societies that have a president. initiations and bylaws, the Mafia is a loose association of criminals who are held together by family relationships, nationality, common interests and Mafia traditions. Membership is gained, not by initiation, but by gradual recognition through criminal deeds and by introductions to Mafia members. Without exception the brotherhood is limited to persons of Sicilian extraction.
Those Mafia members who are good organizers, crafty, ruthless and exceptionally successful in underworld businesses arc the ones who reach the top in the Mafia and become known as “dons.” They arc the elders of the brotherhood. A don may be the coordinator over a section of a metropolis such as New York, Chicago, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Montreal, Naples, Rome or some other city. The crime syndicate that he heads enforces his decrees by intimidation and violence. The infamous Murder Incorporated was a Mafia organization used for that purpose by Mafia dons. In less than ten years it murdered approximately 130 people. The crime syndicate under Scarfa.ce Capone, also a Mafia or-ganimtion, murdered more than 500 people In Jess than five years.
At times a number of dons may find it advisable to meet together to coordinate their criminal enterprises, to settle disputes and to discuss the problems of operating big business in crime. A recent meeting of this sort that gained great notoriety was the one held at Apalachin, New York, in 1957. The well-dressed men who arrived there in late-model Cadillacs and with a total of S300.000 in pocket money were leaders of criminal syndicates in the United States, Cuba and Italy.
The Mafia brotherhood specializes in illicit narcotics, prostitution, counterfeiting, bootlegging, organized gambling and extortion. They control practically ail the illegal narcotics distribution in the United States. In conducting their operations they make agreements with many gangs—Irish, Jewish, Polish, Greek, Mexican and Negro. Outside the United States they have working agreements with the French underworld as well as with criminals in the Near East.
The European head of their narcotics ring was, until recently, Charlie (Lucky) Luciano, who settled in Naples, Italy, alter his deportation from the United States in 1946. In New York he had been a partner in Murder Incorporated. The narcotics syndicate he headed smuggled about S150 million worth of heroin into the United States in the last ten years. On January 26, 1962, Luciano died from a heart attack. Despite the frightful criminal record of this vicious mafioso, he was given a requiem mass by the Roman Catholic Church. As with the rest of the Mafia brotherhood, he was never excommunicated by the church for his criminal activities.
Like their father the Devil, the Mafia brotherhood strives to delude the public into thinking that it does not exist. When a mafioso is questioned about the brotherhood by investigators he usually denies any knowledge about it. Under no circumstances will he discuss its activities or give the name of a “brother,” The code of omerta keeps him as well as most witnesses to Mafia crimes silent. Omerta means “conspiracy of silence.” To violate this code of the Mafia means certain death by Mafia killers.
In the eyes of the community in which a mafioso lives he appears to be a respectable citizen. His home Is little different from others in the community. As a conservatively dressed suburbanite he appears to be an affectionate family man and a faithful member of bis church. Every effort is made by him to ingratiate himself to the community by being active in community and church affairs and by being a generous contributor to charity drives and philanthropic organizations. For his community services he is often praised by civic groups.
One of the men who attended the Apalachin meeting of the Mafia distributes hundreds of turkeys to needy people on such holidays as Thanksgiving and Christmas. The service of his many taxicabs and trucks are offered free to any organization in his city that wants to take orphans and crippled children on an outing during the summer. For four years this gangster served as a city councilman. He was even voted the city’s man of the year in 1956.
Political Corruption
It is not possible for a crime syndicate to conduct its huge illegal enterprises without the cooperation of policemen, judges and high-ranking politicians. Capone’s gang paid out $15 million a year to city and state officials and to the police to get that cooperation. Eliot Ness, the Federal agent who smashed Capone’s bootlegging empire, was. offered a bribe of $2,000 a week to lose interest in the gang’s activities. Not many officials have the moral stamina to resist that much money.
During the investigations of the Ke-fauver committee, a Philadelphia policeman calculated that the lower echelon of the police in that city received more than $150,000 a month as. protection money from the underworld. Bribery has caused some law-enforcement agencies to aid a crime syndicate to eliminate competitors. Commenting on this, the Kefauver committee observed: ‘ ‘Wherever organized criminal gangs are entrenched in a particular community and have been given the green light to operate, it is not unusual to see the forces of law enforcement being used against their competitors while protected operations are left severely alone.”
The committee said that it found shocking evidence of “corruption and connivance at all levels of government—Federal, State and local.” Corrupted political leaders forsake their obligation to serve the interests of the people in order to serve the interests of well-paying crime syndicates.
When the United States government was seeking to deport Niccolo Impastato, two senators introduced a bill before Congress to prevent his deportation. This they did despite the fact that this mafioso was second in command of the largest heroin syndicate operating in the United States In 1943, and that his evil reputation had earned him the underworld nickname of “Killer.” The principal witness against him was murdered. 17118 is the usual fate of a witness against a mafioso. Fortunately for the public, the senators failed in their effort.
In New York city Mafia dons have been so influential with political leaders that city and state officials have been known to seek consultations with them. This was commonplace when Lucky Luciano was established in New York. While head of a $12-million-a-year vice ring he held morning receptions at the Waldorf Astoria hotel that were attended, not only by fellow gangsters, but by judges and political, leaders. A similar situation existed with another top Mafia man, Giuseppe (Joe) Adonis. In the book Brotherhood of Evil, Frederic Sondem, Jr., makes this remark about Adonis: “The list of the regular guests in his restaurant became increasingly impressive. There were an assistant attorney general of the state, the minority leader of the State Assembly, the Democratic leader of Brooklyn, judges ranging in rank from city magistrates to State Supreme Court justices, borough presidents, Tammany sachems and district leaders both Democratic and Republican. . . . One of Don Giuseppe’s most regular patrons was William O'Dwyer—as district attorney of New York County and later as the city’s mayor.” Small politicians who had the favor of Adonis often made surprisingly quick advancements to high political posts.
Former Mayor O’Dwyer also had close relationships with the notorious Frank Costello. The Kefauver committee found that he had appointed Costello friends to political offices, and it observed that O’Dwyer did not take any “effective action against the top echelons of the gambling, narcotics, waterfront, murder or bookmaking rackets. In fact, his actions impeded promising investigation of such rackets.”
In many communities it is the gangsters’ man rather than the people’s man that is voted into office, but the people who vote for him must share a measure of responsibility for his dereliction.
Fighting the Syndicates
There are many uncorrupted officials, dedicated lawmen and indignant committees that are waging an admirable fight against big business in crime. Their diligent efforts are doing much to make such business a very risky undertaking. Cooperation among the law-enforcement agencies within the United States as well as with those in other countries is an important factor in this fight. The organization known as Interpol plays a major role In the international fight against crime syndicates. Its valuable records in Paris on 400,000 international criminals are available to the police forces of sixty-three nations.
More than dedicated lawmen and honest political leaders are needed in the fight against organized crime. There must also be the cooperation of the public. Without that it is a losing fight. In the days of Capone it was the public that supported his criminal organization. Barbers, manicurists, bartenders, hotel clerks, doormen, shoeshine boys and other common people gladly passed on to that band of cutthroats any information that might be of value to it. Why? Because they were rewarded handsomely for useful information. Their greedy love for money blinded them to the need for law and order.
It is public demand for gambling, prostitution, cheap liquor and narcotics that breeds organized crime. Supplying this demand keeps crime syndicates in business. Even the smallest amount of gambling by the public helps to finance the criminal organizations that prey upon it. The responsibility of the public for organized crime was pointed out by the Kefauver committee: “Ultimately success in the war against crime depends on the uplifting of standards of public and private morality, a rededication to basic Spiritual values, which will entail righteous indignation over crime and corruption.”
Public responsibility for crime was again pointed out ten years later by the United States attorney general, Robert Kennedy, who said in 1961: “Unless the basic attitude changes here in this country, the rackets will prosper and grow. Ninety percent of the major racketeers would be out of business by the end of this year if the ordinary citizen, the businessman, the union official and the public authority stood up to be counted and refused to be corrupted.” Without the support of the public there would be no big business in crime.
HOIXD C(«XTKOI.
The fly that buzzes the loudest usually gets swatted first.
FATHERS
Fathers are often completely surprised at the pleasure and enjoyment they
receive from playing with their children. But why should they be? Is this not natural? Did not the Son of God say that Jehovah his Father was specially fond of him day by day? (Prov. 8:30) So there was a mutual enjoyment in the father-and-son relationship from the very beginning.
The value of such warm, close companionship and fun-sharing during a child’s formative years should never be underestimated, for its contributions for good are great. Fatherhood not only calls for love, integrity, courage and knowledge, but also requires a sharing of these qualities daily with those who depend on the father for their future. Obviously, Dad cannot be a real father, unless, of course, he is at home in body and mind. When he is, it is then that he is happiest.
But what can fathers do to enjoy their children? And where will a hardworking father find the time for such activity?
There are 168 hours in a week for each of us. The average man spends about 40 of them at his secular work. Allow another 20 hours for traveling time and lunch. Then set aside 56 hours, eight each night, for sleep. That adds up to 116 hours, which leaves father 52 hours for eating, relaxing, or whatever else he wants to do. Surely in those 52 hours he should be'able to set aside some time to be with his children. But how many do it? Not many.
Some fathers retort, “What can I do? Pm too old to play with children.” But playing with children is the very thing that keeps a man’s spirit from growing old. And as for things to do, there are aplenty. For example, there are games fathers can play with their children. These can be played during mealtime, at bedtime or on weekends. Some can be played while riding in a car, others while taking a walk. The game “Chain Geography,” for instance, can be played using Bible names of places. A player begins by naming a country, territory, city, sea, river or something similar. The other player then has to come up with another name that starts with the last letter of the preceding word. Junior starts off by saying “Judea”; father calls out “Arad”; sister says “Dan”; brother remembers “Nod,” and so on. The same can be done with names of persons mentioned in the Bible. Children and adults find this game great fun.
Another game is one in which a letter is called out and others add to the letter until a word is spelled or they add to it without spelling a word. For instance, father may say H, Junior O, mother L. Now if sister were to say Y or E or D that would spell a word and she would either win or lose depending on how the game was played.
Quiz games are also enjoyable. Father starts off saying, "I’m thinking of someone,” or, *Tm thinking of something.” The children will try to find out what he is thinking, in twenty questions or less. Or son will say, "Dad, you’re ‘it.’ ” Now father must try to find out what “it” is. So he will ask, “Where do I live? Do I build nests? Can I swim?” The game continues until the “It” player guesses who he is or gives up.
There seems to be a game for every mood and moment. Children enjoy playing checkers and become very adept too. To turn checkers into a quick-moving romp try playing "give-away.” The player tries to get rid of all his checkers as quickly as possible. The first to do so is the winner.
Scrabble and anagrams test spelling and vocabulary. Dominoes emphasize number adding and matching. Chinese checkers is a game of jumping but not taking. There are games to play with pencil and paper and games to play with other equipment.
Father may not think so, but when Junior is sick in bed, a few moments of Dad's attention is some of the best medicine in the world. When visiting with son bring along an old camera or clock and spend a few minutes tinkering with it together. It is always good to spring some new riddle or story or some mental teaser. Children never seem to get enough of these. And if sister Is in bed, try putting a jigsaw puzzle together with her or work a simple crossword puzzle. These things mean a lot to children and parents.
Enjoying the Outdoors
Most children like to play outdoor games with father. Playing catch with a ball, hiking or climbing a hill are always great fun. If you live near the seashore, go shell hunting with your children. Teach them to listen to the surf roll in. Sit in the pitch darkness of the night and thrill at the sight of the moonrise. Observe its silvery reflections and dark shadows. Watch sunrises and sunsets with them. The memory of such scenes, photographed on the child’s mind, will mean more to him in manhood than many hour lectures on creation and good behavior,
A child’s world is fresh, new and exciting. Here is a father’s chance to relive and recapture through the eyes of a growing child some of that excitement he once knew. For a child to appreciate and wonder at creation it needs the companionship of an adult who is willing to share his knowledge and experience. If a father allows himself this experience he will rediscover a joy often lost to men of age.
Exploring nature with your child is deeply rewarding. This is not a huge project; rather, it is a matter of becoming receptive to and aware of what lies around you. For no matter where you live there are clouds and stars, the beauties of the dawn and the twilight. If you train your child to appreciate things through all his senses, you will be keeping your own appreciation alive. The sand grains of the seashore mean more to him if he sees them run through his fingers or looks at them under a magnifying glass. He will not forget moss if he feels its velvety surface. Have him distinguish the different fragrances as he walks with you through the forest. Have him sniff seaweeds, fishes and salt water. Train him so he can tell their separate odors. Has he come to appreciate the haunting smell of new-mown hay or grass' after a warm summer rain? Has he tasted clover blossoms, wild grapes and blackberries? To watch him thrill as you lead him through every new experience of life will bring joy to your heart.
Hearing too requires conscious cultivation, Some children pass through life without hearing the dawn chorus of the birds in the spring. Never let this happen to your children. Wake them up some morning and have them watch with you the daybreak. The experiences of predawn are unforgettable. The soft sounds of the wind, the happy ripple of a brook and the songs of birds are some of the never-to-be-forgotten sounds. Someday hold your boy’s hand as together you watch a thunderstorm. He will sense your fearlessness and learn courage thereby. When he is around, look at things and speak of them with appreciation and keen interest, and he will learn to wonder and appreciate the world he lives in. In such companionship your child will find joy and you will find Inner contentment and a renewed excitement in living.
Then when you read to your child about the wonderful works of God in the Bible, he will have a deeper appreciation for what he hears for having tasted and felt, for having heard and seen some of the same things. He will come to delight in his God Jehovah and will be moved thereby to worship and serve him.
Enjoying Children Indoors
Fathers can enjoy their children indoors as well as outdoors. One way is by teaching them to become collectors of things. Persons who collect things are unusually happy, because they live in so many places; that is, their imagination sweeps the wide world wherever things are found. Some collect stamps and coins, others gather unusual shells, stones, leaves and flowers. Some enjoy collecting different Bible translations, Bible dictionaries and concordances. Collectors always have something in common to talk about. Can’t you just see Junior’s excitement when he sees father? “Dad! Guess what I have found!” And away they go happily engrossed In conversation, discussing Junior’s recent find.
■ Collections mean display cases and labeling. The cases become filled with a variety of lovely flowers, shells and rocks. Theirs is a miniature family museum. These things will make them think of the places they have visited, things they have seen and the people they have met. The coins and stamps they collect will remind them of faraway people and strange customs.
Fathers find delight in teaching children how to grow plants and flowers inside the home. Children thrill in watching things grow. Home aquariums and terrariums never cease to amuse both father and sun. Fish and underwater plantlife are fascinating to watch. In terrariums pet rabbits and turtles are kept. Vegetable gardens are fine if there is a backyard. Children will take a keen interest in gardening if parents will. Home-grown radishes, carrots, peas, beans and tomatoes always add new excitement to the dinner table.
Display cases, flower boxes, terrariums and aquariums may also make you want to have a workshop. Designing and creating things for home use are things children never forget. While the workshop is a place of serious business, it is a marvelous place to teach children the value of tools, the need to keep them clean and in their proper places. Junior can help in making snack trays or a bulletin board for the home. Let him observe and help you make a wastepaper basket for the kitchen, or shelves for your cases. Train him so he can make his own pencil holder and magazine rack. Have him assist you whenever possible. His joy will be your great reward.
According to your own abilities, you can teach him to work with wood, leather, plastics, cork, aluminum, ceramic clay, cloth or' copper. Train him to use a saw, how. to hammer, carve and whittle, grind and polish, bake clay, draw and paint While instructing him your own skills will be kept alive. Yours will be the greater joy for having trained someone you love.
Learning Expeditions
“Hey, Dad, how about going somewhere?” “Okay,” says father, “where shall we go?” “Anyplace.” But anyplace will never do. Take the children to some specific place that they will remember. While children never seem to tire of zoos and museums, of merrygo-rounds and picnics, there is no need to go repeatedly to
these places. Why not take them to a paper mill or a newspaper publishing plant on occasion? Let them see firsthand how paper is made and how newspapers are printed. Why not take them to one of the Watch Tower Society’s many branch offices, where they can see for themselves how Bibles, books, booklets and magazines are made and shipped to all parts of the earth?
Children like ice cream and chocolate, so why not take them to ice-cream and chocolate factories? A trip to the airport, a tour of an automobile factory, a visit to the city library, will enlarge their appreciation and better equip them for later life. Spend a weekend on a poultry or dairy farm or visit a soda bottling plant. A trip to the courthouse, a few hours at a trial and a tour of the city jail may teach children greater appreciation for law and order, A few hours at a children’s hospital may make them aware of caring for their health and the need to be more careful and sympathetic toward others.
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