The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1903-03-19
Lines Are Being Laid Today for the
New 100000 Tabernacle
at Zion City.
ON A PROFIT SHARING BASIS
General Overseer of Zion Announces That
the LabOrers Will Receive 20 Per Cent
2of Earnings of New Association.

Surveyors have begun work to make
the rough plans for the building of the
new Shiloh Tabernacle at Dowie's
famous city of Zion and by the middle
of next week the excavations for the
big temple will be started and it is ex-
pected that the WORK will have all been
com pleted by the first of next Septem-
Der. The temple will be the greatest
house for religious worship ever
planned in this country and its mag
nifcence will recall the history of
Ninevah and Tyre. Dowie has planned
to erect a temple more grand than any
ever erected to the prophets of Baal,
and it will be one of the wonders of
| the Western world when it is COM
pieted. At the last meeting of the
| Christian Catholic church in Zion DR..
| Dowie announced that the contracts
| for the famous tabernacle had been let
and that the work would be pushed by
| the employment of thousands of men.
| Like the building of the pyramids of
| Egypt, every piece of iron and stone
that goes into the tabernacle will be
| prepared for setting before it is
brought to Zion and the great army of
workmen will have nothing to do but
to put the parts in position.
In speaking of the monstrous build
ing, DR.. Dowie announced that it
would cost at least 100000 and it is
possible that the cost may reach near
| ly double this amount. It will be built
entirely of stone and steel and will be
erected on the site of the watch tower
of Zion City. Eight of the largest
steel firms in the country will be en-
p1oyed furnishing the materials for
the new building and decorators are to
| be brought from all parts of the world
to attend to the work of decorating the
exterior. The building will be model
of classic architecture and will be the
| largest building of the kind ever built
in the United States. It will have a
seating capacity of 10000 people and
will be so built that a speaker can be
heard in every part of the house. It
will contain some five galleries and
will be heated with central heating
plant. It will be lighted with cleo
tricity from plant put in for this ex-
press purpose. More than 100000
has already been contributed for the
building of the temple. In speaking
of the plans for the tabernacle, Dr.
Dowie said: SIT is noble design and
wonderful interior with many necessi-
ties and cor-eniences which we have
needed for years in handling the i'm
mense throngs of worshipers and in
preparing them for service. We shall
have, God willing, a beautiful bap-
tistery like unto flowing river. We
expect to be able to baptise thousand
people an hour"
Dowie has also made plan to share
the profits of the upbuilding of Zion
with the 1aborers and he claims that
the first city to have a profit sharing
plan that is profit sharing will be Zion
City. In order to do this the Zion
Building and Manufacturing Associa
| ton has been organized with a capital
stock of $500,O0O. This is taken in
shares of $50 each and Dowie claims
that on these shares he will pay an an
nual dividend of at least seven per
cent. All the profits made in the
building of the city are to be divided
among the people. This association
will have charge of every sort of build
ing and work done in Zion and only
the members of the church will be al
lowed to share in the dividends. At
the end of each year the articles of
agreement of the association provide
that all the profits shall be divided and
that ten per cent shall be paid to the
church, ten per cent to the share
holders, and the remaining seventy
per cent after the interest is paid shall
go to the 1aborers employed in the
city, every man receiving an amount
proportionate to the amount of his
daily wages.
One-fifth of the stock in the COM
pany was subscribed for in an hour. It
is stated that this association will be-
gin business at once and the first
division of profits will take place in
July. In this agreement Dowie for
the first time refers to his probable
death and he assures his people that he
has made a will leaving all his prop
erty to the members of Zion.
|