Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-05-03

| had he then found a man capable of buying
it Had he asked real estate men they
| would have told him it would be impossible
to buy tract as large as he wanted-65O(
! acres-so near Chicago, without paying fab
| ulous prices for it, even if he could per
| suade the holders to sell it at all. Failure
to buy any single acre of it would be fatal
| for he had planned city in which there
should be no liquor or tobacco, and in which
these should be forbidden in the deeds and
! leases If a single acre of land was owned
saloon or DO as he pleased in the midst OF
! the cody community ana corrupt the in.
habitantS.
Dowie's Great Scheme
| When things go right with Dowie he as
| sures himself and his followers that it is
| the Lords dongs When they go wrong
| the devil has triumphed. In this case the
Lord came to the rescue and sent a real
| estate man named Wheelock to Zion with
| a proposition to sell another tract of land
to them. Dowie and Sloan sized him up as
pretty safe man to work with, and so
| they made contract with him to go and
buy the land they wanted on a sliding. COM
| mission The cheaper he got it the more
| he made.
Here is s25. OOO," said Sloan. Deposit
! this in the bank at Waukegan in your
| name, hire a buggy buy one and go to
work. Get the land. Get three-year OPP
| tons on every acre of it. Make the best
terms you can. Provide for cash payments
where you have to, get mortgage arrange
! ments where you can. Get all the time you
| can. Let no whisper get out that YOU are
| acting for Dowie."
| Following these instructions. Wheeiock
| worked up and down over the territory,
| moving gradually westward. paying less
| as he went away from the lake, till he had
covered the whole $500 acres and had Sc
| cured options on it at an average price OF
| 500 an acre. These options alone cost Mr..
| DOWie 100000 in cash. They We're on con-
| tracts which provided that any time within
| three years he might close the bargain and
| take deed. They provided for time pay
| ments, and also that the forfeiture of any
! payment would turn back the land to the
| original owner. The owners retained the
\ right to farm their lands until final deed
| was given to Dowie
| The highest price was $500 an acre for
| iake shore land. That seemed a staggerer
| to the Chicago people who had ideas
! about thc value of north shore land so far
away little later a real estate man Of
| fered Dowie 100000 cash if he would step
/ aside and let him assume the responsibility
| OF the bargain. But Dowie refused. The
offer was Increased beyond 81 900 900 but
| he still refused. 1t was easily seen that
| with so large and so compact a tract well
| situated, he had but to run in railway side
! tracks, give away sites to manufacturers,
| guarantee freedom from taxation, and
| found boom town of the largest size
| Opening the City.
| When he had paid for the first 1000 acres
| he called the faithful to Zion and began his
big land sale. Special trains carried thou
sands to the city, where an odd mixture of
religion and business was shown in his plan
to lease" for ], 100 years, at prices which
| would return profit of SIS ,OOOOOO on the
| deal.
chicago expected colossal failure then,
| ana there were numerous prophecies that
! Dowie had at last passed the zenith and
1 fy,Or nd
| But this has failed to happen thus far The
| faithful obeyed their leaders voice. and
| focked in The city was opened In July
| last year. By autumn there were hundreds
! or houses up. The lace works were running
| and new buildings were going up for them
Men. women and children came in every
| conceivable way. 1 remember seeing in a
hollow near creek, in the back part of
| Zion CITY, an encampment of Kansas peo-
| pie who had come all the way In prairie
! schooners-just as their fathers had gone
| to kansaS-and were awaiting their chance
| to build People lived in tents, in shanties.
| In wagons-any way at all, till houses could
| be built Cold weather drove many to shell
ter elsewhere, but many stayed, some liv-
| Ing In tents even with the thermometer at
| 30 delow zero. By spring there were three
thousand people there. BY summer there
will be forty-five thousand. Already Dowie
| has paid for and thrown open 5000 acres
| of his land.
Dowie's plans have expanded with the
| city. He Is building big school houses
| He Is planning a university. He has col
| lege already. but he wants a greater school
| He plans great capital. He has followers
| and settlements all over the country and
| Zion is to be the head city. He plans to
rule from there. and his city must be
| worthy of him. He hopes to see his textile
factory covering fifty acres within decade
| or less, but he does not expect to see all or
| much of Zion given up to commerce, for 1t
Is to be the intellectual and spiritual capt.
tai of the Christian Catholic Church.
| Dowie Now Political Power.
| Incidentally Dowie has become a political
| power In Lake county. In a few years he
| viii be stronger and will loom up in ILL.,
| nois. That Is because Zion City votes as
| Dowie directs. It has a municipality, and
| Dowie kindly steps aside" and allows a
mayor chosen as his people desire. But
both candidates. or all of them, are mem
| bers OF his church and Of his cabinet, and
his views rule Zion through whoever may
| be elected.
| Nor Is there a great deal for the mayor
and his council to do. for Zion is ruled
| largely by the leases on the land, which
provide that no person shall sell liquors or
| tobacco. pork or oysters. or drugs, nor shall
! any one living thereon practice medicine
surgery or dentistry. If these clauses arc
| violated the land reverts to Dowie or after
| his death to trustees Of the church, to be
| disposed Of as they see fit
One need not belong to Dowie's church to
| lease there, and the believer in medicine
may call in doctor from outside. He can
| use drugs If he buys outside and
need not pay his tithes into the church If he
| Is not a member. If one Is willing to obey
| the Ten Commandments plus Dowie's addi-
| tions and to live according to the sanitary
| code of the old Jewish law he will find
| Zion City home among a kindly and in
dustrious people, who, because they spend
nothing on drink and tobacco, are unusually
| prosperous.
| In fact, the most amiable Of goats might
| live happily with whole flock of sheen
| But If he Is unwilling to follow the leader
he would be apt to feel extremely lonesome
| JOHN SWAIN
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