Omaha daily bee., 1906-07-28
ZION CITY DECLARED TRUST
Judge Lands Renders Important Decision
in Voliva- DOwie Case,
JOHN c. HATELY APPOINTED RECEIVER
Election Ordered TO Re Held In De
cember when Adult Residents
of Zion VIII select
Overseer.


Voliva, present general overseer, is given
the property estimated to be worth N2O00OOO
to S21oO0,OOU, in the decision handed down
today by Judge X. M Lands Of the United
States circuit court in the Zion City case
Instead Judge Landis declared Zion City
a trust estate, named John G. Hately,
member of the Chicago Board Of Trade,
| receiver Of the property and ordered the
holding of an election September Is, when
the people of the Christian Apostolic church
! in Zion City shall choose their overseer.
Judge lands will decide later what COM
pensation Dowie will be allowed for his past
| services
! The gist of the courts decision is in
the ruling that contributions Of property .
and money given Dowie were in trust.
Judge lands declared the conveyance of |
! the Zion City property by Voliva under |
power Of attorney to John Alexander |
Granger to be void Judge Landis quoted |
/ from writings OF Dowie to show that the !
latter had always regarded the property |
of his church a trust The adjudication |
in the bankruptcy proceedings against
Dowie also set aside, so that pending !
litigation against Dowie may automatically |
be restrained until the entire litigation is
ended.
Receiver Hatelys bond Of $4,000 was ap-
proved late in the afternoon by the court
and he went Immediately TO Zion City and
assumed charge of the property.
Finding of the Court.
In the decision which Strengthened out
the apparently hopeless tangle of the af
fairs of Zion City Judge lands said in
part:
1t appears that Dowie, a native OF Scot
land, where he had received a theological
education, came from Australia to the Pa
cific coast in 1885, and remained there a
number of years engaged in church work;
from there he came to Chicago and in 1899
undertook the Zion City enterprise in ex-
ecution of scheme conceived by him many
years before; that he purchased a
vast tract OF land, part Of
which subdivided and laid out in park
and residence property, provision being
made for manufacturing sites; that the
grantees of building lots erected houses ac-
commodating 5000 or 5000 people, that
Dowie constructed school houses and col
lege buildings at cost of several hundred
thousand dollars and a tabernacle seating
| 1000 people, and that lace factory, soap
works and other industrial enterprises were
established to give employment TO the in
. habitants OF Zion City, who were practi-
cally all members of the church. The
, financing Of this scheme was accomplished
in part by moneys received from purchss
.ers of lots under 1.loo-yeas leases but a
large PART o. tlae eapital-w was naonnx cop.,
tributed to Dowie by persons outside, OF
Zion City
Testimony of DOwie.
Dowie's testimony respecting the origin
of the property and his relation to it is
then quoted as follows:
l acquired this property by the gener-
osity of good people throughout the world;
l have looked upon the estate the result
= largely of my own good sense under God
? the money came in the form Of contribu-
tiOns from the same common sourse-the
people all over the world-mOstly outside
completely mine to do with as 1 please, ana
that no human being has any claim or in
way got the property and the, way in
which l have 1t bonds me absolutely, when
l have ceased to control IL, to put it in
trust in perpetuity for the Christian Cath
= Ollie Apostolic church, so that 1t shall go
down 10 generations to do good in that line,
. / think is fair for myself and my family
. | did think 5 per cent, but / have reduced
1t to ~ and am somewhat inclined to re-
y duce it still more.
After calling attention to the fact that
inasmuch as Volvas conveyances TO
: ! Granger were in plain violation OF the spirit
: ! and intent of Dowies power OF attorney to
= ! Voliva, which the court holds, both Voliva
and Granger well knew, the court said:
'As between Dowie, Voliva and Granger
these instruments were mere waste paper"
The court then traced Dowie's church ca
: reer, beginning in Australia, down to his
y work in Zion City and found that Dowie
had for many years been in receipt Of a
large revenue which he devoted to church
\ and charity purposes that the amounts re-
, ceived by him aggregated in some years
$3.50, 600: that Dowie had not sought to amass
a private fortune, but that he engaged in
secular occupation in aid of the propaga-
tion of his religious doctrine, or as Dowte
expressed It. For God and humanity"
Law as to Trusts.
= The court then says:
1t is a well recognized principle of equity
that where a person accepts money IN
Is property to be used by him for the benefit
g. Of some other person or persons, or for
> the advancement Of some lawful enter
prise, such money or property constitutes
s. The inquiry then is, did these offerings
n come 10 Dow1e for his private purpose, or
s. did the contributors intend that the funds
/ should be devoted TO charitable religious
N uses. If for any other purpose other than
le estate is a trust y is the duty Of the
T. court to get at the substance Of the thing
ls ana ana n The aSTS court Is not limited to an in
D. specton Of documents or other specific
st declarations Of the parties made at the
| time II their relation Is one of con-
~ fidence or II he who receives the money
rs In a position Of influence over him who
ie gives the money as for instance, II the
" person receiving the money is the advOca t
r ~ a religious faith, and by word and at.
! titude and environment, induces a convc.
tion in the minds Of large number OF
neoDIe that a s an instrumentality of divine
r authority he can and does relieve physica.
! Ills and is clothed with power to exert ar
influence upon the spiritual welfare OF
men and women, who thereupon give him
~ their lands and goods, surely the motive
Of such gift ought not long to remain q
matter OF doubt in the minds Of ratlona
men The fact that such contributions
came TO him in the form OF checks and
currency, through the mail and express
NJ me contributor omitting TO require the eX
B. ! ecution OF a formal declaration of q tes
~ does not tend TO dvest these transaction
- of their real character. 1t Is just as Il
ie The contributor. sitting in a church pew
Id had placed the funds on the collection
= Mate passed to him by a deacon Surely
- In such case the court would not deere,
rs that the parson might put the money II
his pocket on the alleged score Of n,
4 sgreement TO the contrary, merely be
~ csuse the contributor had failed to aris,
in MS place and exact a pledge OF trustee
W ship from the pulpit
r DOvvte's Claims IncOnsiEtent.
al II would be dificult TO conceive Of any
thing more Inherently inconsistent thar
n DoW1e's claim Of private ownership an,
his admission Of trust obligation for IN,
at spiritual welfare Of generations unborn