The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1906-01-25
With impending Financial Crash
Triumyirate at Zion City Opens
Gates to the World
OUTSIDE INDUSTRIES COMING
Zion is to be the Same as Any Other
City Along the North Shore and Her
Workmen Are to Find Work
Tide Over Few Days

DIR. John Alexander Dowie's reign
is over. Pressing creditors of Zion
City were informed yesterday by rep
resentatives of the ttriumvirate'' Of
deacons which has had charge of
Zion's affairs since DR.. Dowie's de-
parture for Jamaica that the old lead
er had abdicated completely the.fnan-
cia1 control Of that community and
that new era Of Gentle" factories
and industries is to be ushered IN.
The full significance Of his elab-
crate exit from the city on Dec. Is, it
was frankly stated, is in the immedi-
ate and complete reversal of his long
cherished plans. lie roi est mort, =
and the first thing his former s'sub-
jects" propose 10 do is to abandon
their isolation and invite in the out
side world. "A few months may find
men smoking with impunity on Shiloh
boulevard.
Eyes, it is a fact admitted Over
seer Speicher, guardedly, last night,
''that DR.. Dowie's control OF. this COM
munity has been placed in other hands
and that most Of his policies. will be
reversed. Perhaps thes greatest
change will be in regard to permitting
outside factories to come in. We have
informed our creditors that the bars
are down and expect to accept some
of the numerous offer which have
come to us since the overseer left. A
shoe factory is negotiating for site,
as are several other industries
''Wi11 you abandon that; lease of
yours forbidding drug stores, saloons,
smoking, etc. ~ was asked.
"There will probably be some modi-
fcation,' he replied, ''but I cannot
state what details have been deter
mined. We expect.to make the terms
acceptable to reasonable outsiders. !"
Overseer Speicher added that DR..
Dowie still retained ultimate control
Of the property, Zion City, which is
still in his name, and had merely
delegated his powers to a commit
tee Of three, consisting of Overseer
Speicher, v. v. Barnes, and Deacon
Alexander Granger. This, however,
does not conform with the statements
made to the creditors, who have been
told that the new .order of things is
permanent.
The news of the abdication devel-
oped at the conference held by repre-
sentatives of Zion.Cityswith Attorney
w. c. Upton of Waukegan regarding
a threatened foreclosure.by Mrs. Mary
J. Durkin and Hiram Ferry Of Zion
City mortgages held by the two and
aggregating $4,000. Interest
amounting to between So, 900 and $8,-
OCo has been past due for some time
until the two creditors agreed on Jan.
IL as the final date.
Their stand brought Deacon Judd,
in charge of Zion City's real estate
affairs, into Waukegan in hurry
with part of the money and full dis
closure Of the carefully matured plans
for new financial regime.
ellis assurances were SO satisfac-
tory" said Attorney Upton at the
close of the interview, .'that / have
advised by clients not to press their
claims. 1t seems to me, in view of
what have learned, that new day
is dawning for Zion City,
An investigation of the North Shore
city last night showed that the resi-
dents themselves share that feeling,
for the first time since the costly re-
Ownership proceedings two years ago.
To the zionites the change was in
stituted Friday night, when Overseer
Speicher, at the close Of perfunctory
business meeting, invited ''criti-
cisms'' upon the administration of
affairs.
"We ali have IDEAS" he is reported
to have said, ''and now is the time to
voice them. I want every man,
woman, and child IN Zion who has
any suggestions to make regarding
our mutual improvement to inform
the overseers, either now or in the
future. We must get progressive
IDEAS
Nothing so radical as that had been
whispered in Zion City since its
founding years ago. 1t was the first
taste of freedom, the first instance of
''home rule" that the little COM
munity has ever known.