Waterbury evening Democrat., 1906-07-27
JOHN DOWIE IS 1T . LAST DOWN AND OUT Jldgo Landis Decides That DoWie Does Not Own Zion City, Nor Its
 Industries
RECEIVER APPOINTED
The Judge Went Over John Alex ander'. Record From the Time
 He Left Scotland.

Chicago, July 27.-Judge Landis of the United States district court decided to-day that John Alexander Dowie does not own Zion City and its industries. He refused to ap- point Alexander Granger as receiver and ordered an election for gen. eral overseer. The decision of Judge Landis was as follows:
 It appears that Dowie. a native Of Scotland, where he had received a theological education came from Aus tralia to the Pacific coast in lS8S, and remained there number Of years engaged in church work; from there he came to Chicago and, In 1899, undertook the Zion City enter prise in execution of scheme con- ceived by him many years before; that he purchased vast tract Of land. part of which was sub-di- vided and laid out in park and resi- dence property, provision being made for manufacturing sites; that the grantees of building lots erected houses accommodating 5000 or 5000 people; that Dowie constructed school houses and college buildings at cost of several hundred thousand dollars and tabernacle seating T. 900 people, and that lace factory, soap works, and other industrial en- terprises were established to give employment to the inhabitants of zion City, who were practically all members of the church. The flnanc- ing of this scheme was accomplished, in part. by moneys received from pur- chasers of lots under eleven hundred years leases, but large part of the capital was money contributed to Dowie by persons outside of Zion City.
 .sAfter calling attention to the fact that inasmuch as VOliva's convey ances to Granger were in plain vio- lation of the spirit and intent of powie's power of attorney to Voliya which the court holds both voliva and Granger we'll knew. the court said:
 "As between Dowie. voliva and Granger these instruments were mere waste paper" -.s..
 The court then traces Dowie's church career beginning in Austra- lia down to his work In Zion City and found that Dowie had many years been in receipt of large revenue which he devoted to church and char ity purposes: that the amounts re- ceived by him aggregated in some years $250,000; that Dowie had not sought to amass private fortune; but that he engaged in secular oc- cupation Tn aid of the propagation of his religious doctrine, or. as Dowie expressed 1t. flor God and human ity.".
 The court then says:
 "It Is a we'll recognized principle o equity that where person ac- cepts money or property to be used by him for the benefit of some other person or persons, or for the ad- vancement of some lawful enter. prise. such money or property con- stitutes a trust estate.
 luc tuChs ios shCoO offerings come to Dowie for his pri- vate purse or did the contributors intend that the funds should be de- voted to charitable or religious uses? If for any other purpose than the purely personal benefit of Dowie. the estate is a trust. The fact that such contributions came to him in the form of checks and currency through the mall and express, the contributor emitting to require the execution of . formal declaration of trust, does not tend to divest the transactions oI the real character. It is just as if the contributor sitting in church pew had placed the funds on the coll lection plate passed to him by a dea- con. Surely in such a case the court would not decree that the parson might put the money in his pocket on the alleged score of no agreement to the contrary, merely because the contributor had failed to arise in his place and exact pledge of trustee ship from the pulpit.
 s"'It would be dif,cult to conceive of anything more inherently incon- sistent than Dowie's claim of private and his admission of trust for the spiritual welfare of generations unborn. Obviously the theory advanced in his behalf Is not sound"
 After quoting from Dovie's oficial Leaves of Healing. to show that for six or seven years Dowie had declared fin the church and the paper that he was trus- tee of the estate. s5 per cent of which he asserted belonged to Zion ss whole. the court quotes a codicil to novie's vill executed In August. 1905. ss follows:
 rho remaining nineteenth-tventi- eths of said estate in my name. which hold and have held in trust. in said do hereby give. devise and bequeath to my said successor in ofIlce. to him. or her and her succes- sors in oflce. to be % administered for said church and the extension of Zion and the kingdom of God fn con Formity with the rule and practices of said church"
 Of this codicil. the court says:
 There is no escape from the plain of these words. the decIara- Jon is unqualified and is . complete of an existfng trust obli- i Dn<1oa- No speefous construction |oul1 mahe anything eIss out of it. l - 1De tno jufy 0 eater . 6eerss of l