Los Angeles herald., 1906-04-09
DOW|E IS CALLED
LIAR AND TRAITOR
STRONG DENUNCIATl0M FROM
HIS OWN PULPIT
Zion en- Masse Repudiates "EIijah"
and Swears AIeeanc to Voliva.
Action Stuns First
Apostle
BY Associated Press.


ZION CITY, ILL.,, April S.--The people
of Zion City heard their former leader
John Alexander Dowie denounced from
the pulpit in Shiloh tabernacle today,
and they approved of it, or at least as
many of them as could crowd into that
vast meeting house signified their will
ingness, in manner that left no doubt
of their sincerity, to follow in the foot
steps of the first apostles successor,
General Overseer Voliva. Zion's new
leader was the man that told of Dowie's
alleged misdeeds, and the more bitter
and scathing the words of denunciation
the more general and enthusiastic was
the approval of his listeners. When,
after denouncing Dowie as a "spend-
thrift" liar" and "a traitor to his
trust and his people," Overseer Voliva
suddenly stopped in his denunciation
of the founder of the sect and at the
end of a moments hesitation demand
ed a decision of the audience as to
who should be their future leader, the
5000 people in the tabernacle arose as
one person and signified their willing
ness to follow Volva to the end
Todays meeting was called for 2:30
o'clock in the afternoon, but as early
as 10 o'clock this morning all the streets
crowded, some walking, others riding
III carriages, but all headed in one
drection-Shiloh tabernacle.
BY the time Overseer Voliva, ac-
companied by Mrs. Voliva and their
little daughter, reached the meeting
house the place was full to overflowing
with the former adherents of DoWfe,
who had been patiently waiting for
hours to listen to the public exposure
~. do NKrED
today.
Perfidy of Dowie
On the platform with Voliva were
Mrs. John Alexander Dowie, Judge
Barnes. head of the law department of
Zion City, and Overseers Spreicher
Excel, Cantel and Granger. AT the
conclusion of short prayer by Over
seer Spreicher. the newly appointed
head of Zion, clad in robe of simple
white and black, decided departure
from the gaudy raiment assumed by
the first apostle on similar occasions,
stepped to the front of the platform and
i'm n slow. calm and steady voice made
the announcement that he was going to
take advantage of today's meeting to
tell them a few truths about the man
whom they had so faithfully followed
for SO many years. He then told the
vast audience of the "deplorable con-
ditions" he found at Zion City when he
arrived here month ago from Aus
tralia and took up the management
of the home of the catholic Christian
church at Dowie's command
The speaker did not mince his words
and told in the first few words he ut
tered of the "perfidy' of John AleXan-
der Dowie. When most bitter in the
denunciation of his former master there
was no one in the tabernacle VINO
showed approval of his remarks more
than Overseer Jane Dowie, the wife for
thirty years of John Alexander Dowie
ard the mother of his three children
At one point in his remarks where
Volva i'm angry tones exclaimed: Il
will see that all the costly furniture
and expensive library adorning Dowie's
Zion city residence, and which were
purchased by that hypocrite while
MANY of his people were in need of
food. are sold and the money turned
into Zion storehouses," Mrs. Dowie rose
from her scat and with her voice and
hand loudly applauded the words of the
speaker.
The Selfishness Of "Elijah"
Overseer Voliva in justification of the
overthrow of Zion's apostle told how
money had been sduandered foolishly
for Dowie's own comfort while the
creditors and the people of Zion were
calling loudly for money. AS an illus
tration of this state of affairs Voliva
cited his own experience in Zion church.
lie declared that he had been COM
pelled to keep himself and family of
five on $50 q month allowed him by
Dowie and that out of this monthly
salary he had been compelled to turn
over a tenth in tithes TO the church
He then asked what has become of
all this money that has been flowing
into Zion for so many years?"
He then asked his congregation If
they wished to return to the Dowie
regime or preferred to follow him and
the business committee of twelve over
seers which he had appointed and all
of whom were a unit in the action
taken deposing Dowie. His answer
was an emphatic acquiescence in all
that had been done for Zion since the
movement against Dowis was begun.
In bringing his announcement of
Dowie to a close Overseer VoliVa said:
alexander Granger OWNS this taber-
nacle. He owns this entire estate.
What | want you to do is to send all
tithes and offerings to Zion in the name
of Overseer Granger, instead of in the
name of John Alexander Dowie. Make
all checks and all commercial paper of
every description payable to Alexander
Granger. The day has come when you
ought TO ACT as men ana WOIIlen anu
exercise your God-given free will |
don't want you to do any more by con-
straint. l wart you to be calm and
straightforward and present these mat
ters in a way that none can truthfully
say that you We're excited or acted on
the impulse of the moment. If you
want to stand for downright lying,
hypocrisy, shameful misuse of money,
keep your seats, bu, all of those present
who are tired of his lying, his eXagger-
ations, his misrepresentation and his
Inconsistencies and his hypocrisy and
his gross ignorance of all business laws
and principles stand up as an evidence
of their announcement of Dowie and
his methods"
All for VoliVa
The response to this request was in
stantaneous, every one in the building
rising to his feet in acknowledgment
of Voliva's leadership.
After the singing of hymn Voliva
declared that if Dowie imagined that
on his arrival in Zion City on Tuesday
he Dowie) would be able to frighten
Voiiva into submission he never was
more badly mistaken in his life.