The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-03-19
ITS SAINTS TROUBLE MAINE.
LEGISLATIVE ACTION SOUGHT on
THE COLONY At SHILOH.

The $3.50, 900 Settlement Formed There
by an Evangelist Who Began With 8
Cents and q FiOIman p.
Days story OF Its RIse and Progress.
Conditions among the Saints Of Shiloh
and the continued expansion Of their re-
markable settlement INIT town Of Dur
ham. where, starting with an old wheelbar-
row and three cents, Evangelist SANFORD
and his followers have erected buildings
valued at a little less than a quarter Of
a million dollas, have begun to arouse
the people Of Maine. The Saints are talk
ing about having an electric railway from
the station at Lisbon Falls 20 the gates
of their temple. Recently SANFORD has
bought several hundred more acres Of
land in Durham, and it IL surmised that
he may purpose establishing some sort Of
industrial enterprise there on the Dowie
plan.
A dozen Of the Maine boards OF trade
and the citiz0ps Of some twenty towns
have petitioned the Legislature for an
investigation Of conditions at Shiloh. Sand
ford himself IL awaiting a second trial
on the charge OF granddaughter In having
caused the death Of a child through a
seventy hour fast he proclaimed in the set
tlement He Is aalso waiting the result II
an appeal against a conviction Of cruel
treatment Of his own son, a child Of seven
In imposing a similar fast.
What will become Of the settle mept
should he be removed Is a problem. Sand
ford Is head and front and Inspiration of
the movement--ths whole thing. thew
say In Durham-and those who under
stand best the inner workings Of the COLONY
and the influence he exsrts In Il predict
disinte grafton when he quits. In that
case the town Of Durham may find itself
saddled with some 200 OF 500 paupers. or
one for every taIpaying citizen; 20 natur-
ally the community Is anxious.
Holman +. Day, the Maine poet whom
Sanford, in the beginning Of things i'm
partially constituted Official chronicler Of
the progress Of the temple he had planned.
tells In the May number Of Leslis's MaOa-
zine the history Of the colony and describes
the spirit prevailing in It. Mr.. Day han
pened to see the start Of the movement
by receiving a hurry call 10 show IN Sand
ford who had just busted the Quaker p,eet-
ing at Durham by converting to his faith
two-thirds Of it's membeTs One had been
30 impressed that he had made over u
the new prophet the family homestead.
Mr.. Day found sanford An this tumbls.
down old farmhouse. He pointed through
the window to an old blue wheelbarrow
tilted up In the yard. Thea 10 turned
out his pocket and produced three oents,
All the earthly capital have In the world
to-day he said, you are looking at. A
wheelharrow and three cents Now come
outdoors with me. Look up there.
He pointed to the bare sandy poll Of the
Il am goingt TO start tomorrow morning. Z"
he went on, ito build a mighty temple up
there TO the glory Of God. know Just no v
Il Is going TO look. God has shown Il 70 me
In dream and ! have drawn II out on
this piece Of paper
He had drawn Il In oolors and A. looked
q marve llous place, On the Hpot he
appointed Mr.. Day, as q typical doubtar.
the ohronicler Of bis proRres. The ne 1t day
he and two disciples beEan trundlinR dirt
with the wbeelbaTow 20 prepare for the
foundations. The farmers oams around
and wondered. Next day some Of the En
brought teams and offered TO lend a hand
Within a week hundreds were at work.
The $3.50 900 temple which Sanford onlla
The Gates Of Praise, 10 the result, A horse
trader with a chariot and four white horses
and printer with his outfit were among the
early recruits. The colony soon numbered
200 Sanford never hsRRsd, took no
collections and received no salary. When