The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-12-05
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scuczue ou&ut 70 Uo tc11oh " tssoee easily deceived people who become such willing victims of falkirs. religious or otherwise. Whether he is deluded zealo. or constituencies sharper makes little difference, for the result is the same. He has collected and invested many mii- lions of dollars and the probabilities are that the whole Zion business will fall to pieces and his victims will suffer for his success as a money getter.
 There was no little surprise expressed at the time he made his raid on New York. The idea that he could ''oonvert" that city to his belief was 90 absurd that people wondered if he really believed 1t. but when he announced that he intended or expected to get fifty million dollars out of his raid. people began to see the true inwardness of the movement. The Philadelphia Record is doubtless correct when 1t says that the descent on New York was his fcriorn hope. It was his last and desperate chance to get in a large amount of money which he knew he was presently to be in great need Of. About the time of his going East he is- sued his command to Zionites who lived elsewhere to sell their property. move to Dowie's headquarters and deposit their money in his bank. He issued that com mand as one means of getting it. and he resorted to the very bold strike of descent upon New York in the hope of gathering in million or two. If he failed in New York it would simply increase the amount of his liabilities and reduce the percentage of their claims that his creditors wohld get. But he might suc- ceed. and if he should succeed 1t would mean plenty of capital to carry his huge industrial scheme over an approaching embarrassment. It is barely possible that if he had pur- sued a different course in that city. he might have accomplished something in the way of money-getting, which was plainly the object he had in view. The idea of converting" the New Yorkers was nonsense. and no one knew it better than he did. The only conversion about which he cared was to convert their money into his own pockets, with hope of warding off bankruptcy and lengthening his lease of control over his deludedd fol- lowers. .
 We repeat that he might. by pursuing different methods. have succeeded to some extent in his plan to raise money. In some respects, New Yorkers are excep- tionally easy. They make millions and they spend it freely. They are accustomed to all kinds of games and gratis, and are not slow to contribute to anything that takes their fancy. If Dowie had shown any touch of Christian tolerance. or if he had even exhibited ordinary decency or good breeding. he might have persuaded many thousands of dollars from other pockets to his own. He might have ap- pealed to the people in the name of char ity, humanity or Christianity, and thus have achieved at least partial financial success.
 But instead of this, he adopted the methods of Biilingsgate, and was not long finding that he was e failure. To quote again from The Record, "when he faced New York audience he knew he was in for heavy bill of expenses and no re- ceipts worth mentioning. Being a very emotional old fellow. he lost his tenn per and became coarse and abusive. When it was too late, he realized that this was only making a bad matter worse. and he attempted to change his style, but he could not control himself or make a different impression upon New York. He relapsed into bitterness and billingssate because he realized that his last desperate effort had failed and dis aster awaited him. He was particularly abusive of the newspapers because they showed the whole city what an exhibition he was making of himself. and made the collapse of his enterprise all the more certain
 When he sent his wife and son off to Australia 1t was evident that he wanted them out of the way when the crash came. and there is little doubt that he intended to follow them and thus frd an asylum from the storm that was bound to follow the collapse of his schemes. It came quicker than he ex- pSCtSu' anu ue was caught III the QeDr1S. Just what is to be the final result is not plain. other than that 1t Is evidently an end of Dowieism. It may be that the debts now pressing may be settled in some way. but 1t is plain that his follow CTS are losing faith in him. That Is shown by their withdrawing their money from his bank and by their refusing to comply with his demands for more. He may escape the consequences of his acts and may get away with enough money to gratify all his desires. but he will leave behind him his reputation and a host of ruined followers. So much for Dowie.
 
 The Sacramento Bee is evidently trying to put itself into the Professor Bassett class on the subject of Booker Washing ton. In an editorial severely criticising the Southern people for. their comments on Roosevelt's acts, The Bee says:
 President Roosevelt honored himself no less than Washington when they sat down together to dine in the White House. And 1t Is no disrespect to the President to say that the greater man of the two was the one with the black skin.
 We do not really think that any of the Southern editors have had anything to tha PracIdapt ~yaa