The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-10-19
From the N

N N UNDERSIZED man, with (Pn snow white, patriarchal beard,
 4 \ brilliant blue eyes, rosy cheeks and comfortably protruding abdomen, entered the Grand Central station yes terday on the private car of the presi- dent of the Nickel Plate railroad. He was John Alexander Dowie, general overseer of the Christian Catholic Church of Zion.
 Sometime he calls himself Elijah the Restorer, in standardization to the Elijah on whose account the bears ate up the bad boys-by Dowie called "Elijah the De- stroyer."
 With this little man Dowie there came to New York some thirty-one hundred other persons from Zion City, III. They were, according to Dowies official doeu- ments. "a large number of overseers elders, evangelists. deacons and dea- conesses of the Christian Catholic church in Zion, and about three thousand mes- sengers of Zion Restoration Host in cluding Zion whiterobed choir, of about five hundred voices, Zion City band, Zion Guard, Zion Bugle and Drum corps and other Zion organizations"
 They came on eight separate railroad trains on eight different railroads. They came to save New York from it's unregen- crate state of sin. They came with intent to visit every house in New York at least twice before they return to Zion City, which is near Chicago, week from next Monday.
 There are lots of people in this big town who will laugh at Dowie and his queer crowd of self-sanetified world-sayers as long as they stay with us. But there is many a business man in New York, never- theless, who would be glad of one-tenth the genius for organization and executive management which seems to radiate from Elijah the Restorer.
 In the authorization of his people in Chicago; in the division of passengers on the trains So that half of the Host might have a days visit in Washington and the other half a days visit at Niagara Falls; in the arrival of the whole 5000 and more in New York within an hour or so of each other; the gathering of the whole crowd at Madison Square Garden with out the straying of a single member, as verified by rollcal1; the laying out of the city for visitation by the members of the Host and the providing of literature to be left at every house door; to say noth- ing of the provision of lodgings and board for this great number and the immense bookkeeping that is necessary in having all these travelling and living expenses paid for in advance-in all these things was the peculiar genius of the little man with the rosy cheeks and the blue eyes and the broad. white beard shown.
 He is at the centre of the whole sys- tenn. He is the deviser and the promoter. When the machine snarls he is the one who strightens out the threads.
 When Dowie arrived at the Grand Gen. tral Station yesterday morning at half past o'clock almost all the rest of the Host were already in Manhattan Island. Some of them had come in as early as half past 6. They came over the ferries from Communpaw, from the Pennsyl- vania station in Jersey City, from Pa vonia. from Hoboken. from Weehawken, and into the Grand Central.
 Every single passenger had a little slip telling him just what street cars to take to get to Madison Square Garden, just how much fare to pay and just exactly to whom to report on arriving at the Garden.
 By the time New York had reached it's usual stage of busy everyday life the streets all over town were pretty well impregnated with evidences of the presence of Dowie's host.
 The men have for the most part the rapt, hollow eyes of religious enthusiasts the world oyer. Most of them have whiskers and most of the whskers are rather scraggly. A great many wore shiny silk hats of ancient styles and high water brooches.
 As to the women of the Zion Host, the opinions of the critics varied.
 They don't look to me as though they got enough to eat said one.
 They seem to wear good clohtes." said another but the clothes don't fit"
 This last criticism was illuminated by