The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-09
DOWIE'S FLOCK HERE BOLTS.
ONLY A FEW WOMEN ARE FAITH
Full TO HIS STANDARD.
Oyerseer Mason Says That Elijah iii. Has
Been intoxicating POlygamOus Teach.
Encyclopedias Didn't Come True
Loyal Ones Elicit Little Support.

Loyal Ones Elicit Little Support.
The members Of the Christian Catholic
Church of Zion, the 600 and odd whom John
Alexander Dowie corralled when he came
to save New York in the winter OF 1908,
turned their backs on Elijah III. yester-
day and prayed for the success Of the re-
bellious Voliva. Perhaps a dozen, mostly
women, were all hat remained loyal to the
Prophet.
The late Dowieites hold services in a little
stone church at II West 11eth street. They
share 1t with a negro congregation. The
Rev. George Il. Mason, who was a Baptist
preacher before Dowie won him over, is
overseer and shepherd of the flock. At
the service yesterday morning Overseer
Mason attacked Dowie bitterly, calling
him a liar, thief and harsher names and
quoting paragraphs from the Prophets
Ledpes Of Healing to show that Dowie for
a long time has been covertly preaching
polygamy.
Or. Dowie," said the overseer, led me
to deeper study and better obedience to
Gods word. 1t seemed unwise to notice
little faults in him, but on one occasion when
l came into collision with the prophet he
ragged like a cyclone, and ! made up my
mind then and there that there was a good
deal in Josh Billings's observation:
THE wise man seeth a fly on the hind
leg of a mule and letteth it be, the fool
picketh it OFF,
Il kept on overlooking insults. Wild
statements were explained as Scotch
poetry Oriental hyperbole,' or prophetic
insight
The overseer said that some months 6
his attention was called to polygamous
tea ching, which had been, as he put it, "slyly
introduced into the Lsdres OF Healing during
1904 and 1906. Then, the overseer said. he
began to keep a close eye on E%lijahIlI. To
explain his statement that Dowie has been
planting polygamous teaching for some
time, the overseer read these extracts from
Ledues Of Healing of October %, 1904:
The italics are 0verseer Mason's:
Even these bad women were magnificent
in appearance.
That is one reason why they were 80 at
t~ructire.
If you think Of them only as dissolute hays
you are mistaken.
The Corinthian girl was a mdarifcenHy
formed woman.
Many of you who know the facts Know that
the companions of Socrates, Plato and other
great pnllOSO pHcTb Oh pTteCe NtIb lIt VI
that kind-well educated and very finely
formed and attractive.
Overseer Watson said hat he was warned
of Dowie's monumental conceit as early
as 1889.
THE man is not only drunk with self
praise" said Watson to the flock, but
he acts the unmitigated aristocrat when
he says in Ledrcs OF Healing Of October 20,
1904:
The hard thing Is to have a Church in
which half the people are internal FOOLS
"Dr. Dowie's memory is either short
or else he has told some lies 80 often that
he believes them to be the truth, His eyes
are magnifying lenses-1o0 looks like ZOO,
The boasting Of the size Of Hion City was
notorious. Not all of his falsehoods, how
ever, we're harmless. When Deacon Brain
ard resigned Dowie wrote that his relations
with the deacon had always been most
pleasant, cordial and Of Christian oharao-
ter. A few months later he wrote, referring
to Brainard. of the many difficulties into
which we were brought by the treachery,
duplicity, falsehood and ingratitude of one
man
His lively imagination makes him a
picturesque character. He maintained that
he spoke in Madison Square Garden every
night for two weeks to no less than 5000
persons. But the Garden was seldom
crowded and / learn at the Office that it seats
only II 900.
an raising money the Prophet saw the
limitless possibilities of hot air. At a time
of %stringency for money in Zion, Novem-
Der IL, 1901, he wrote. there are scores Of
millions Of dollars on the way to Zion
The s]tringency continued. The next month
he wrote, After discharging all liabilities,
the estate of Zion, which l control. is worth
S21, 900, 900 in this city and county alone
Chicago and Cook county. Then he tells
about 50, 600, 900 which he controls in Africa,
Europe. Australasia and elsewhere.
This little item of 50, 900 900 has not yet
been located. He boosted in September,
1905, We have reached more people al
ready with the spoken and printed words
than were ever reached in the same length
of time by all the churches of the present
put together First, he put the number
at SOC. 900 900. A few. pages later it had
grown to 700, 900, 900.
of the plain predictions that have failed
there is a bewildering mass-for example,
that by 1905 the railroad people would have
to build a $3.50. 900 station in Zion City; that
Zion City would nave a population Of 10000
by the end of 1903: that ne would get IS Co.,
900 back from the New York visitation;
that he would begin a war upon all the
nine newspapers Of Chicago, and that they
would 60 down like ninepins.
The overseer, toward the close of his
arraignment of Elijah Ill, burst out with;
"The words of this prophet are false
false as hell" There was loud applause
at this. A little later on, discussing Dowie's
extravaganza and love Of luxury, the over
seer declared that Dowie spent $40 900 on
his jaunt through Mexico; $780, 900 on his
tour Of the world, SIS, 900 for a private
yacht, 500. 900 for his Shiloh house and
stock and $l2 900 for his library.
And he overdrew his account to the
tune Of STA 600 added the overseer.
1T 10 every honest mans present duty
he continued, "to stand by 0verseer Voliva
in the present desperate fight for the very
life Of the city and for the relief of many
hundreds who have suffered through DR..
L'owie's misuse Of trust funds"
The meeting wound up with prayers for
Voliva's success, led by Overseer Mason.
After service a dozen women took their
stand in the vestibule Of the church, bidding