The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-03-10
Breathed Last at Shiloh
 House. HIS REMARKABLE CAREER Prophets Last Hours Were Spent
 In Delirum. Just Before the End Elijah II. Relieved Himself once More All Power full and Preached To His
 Attendants.

Chicago, March 9.-John AleXahuer Dowie died at TAO this morning at shiloh House. Zion City.
 There were present him when he died. only Judge D. N Barnes. and two personal attendants. It had been his custom all during the summer and win ter to hold religious services every sunday afternoon in the parlor of Shiloh House.
 About $50 of his original followers remained faithful and attended these services. Dowie always wore his apostolic robes and made characteris- tic address Five weeks ago these meetings ceased and Dowie appeared no longer in public. The Sunday meet ing, however. was till held by his ad- herents.
 Since that time Dowie had gradually been failing Friday afternoon, how ever. there was no indications of ap- proaching death. He received 0 few followers and prayed for some people. His condition seemed to be about the same as for the last two or three weeks.
 one of the attendants remained with him until midnight. and was relieved by the other attendant. Shortly be- fore 1 o'clock this morning, Dowie be- came delirous and his talk was the same as at a religious meeting in the days of his prime. He denounced peo- pie with the old time vigor, ordered the guards to throw out disturbers and acted just as he had on so many prev ious occasions. He gradually became weaker and weaker and the attendant teIephoned for Judge Barnes, who reached shiloh House at a. m. Forty minutes later Dowie died.
 DOwie's Remarkable Career. John Alexander Dowie was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. May 25. 1S47. In 1860. his parents moved to Adelaide. Australia, where for seven years the youth was clerk in a business house. Here Dowie developed the commercial Instinct that served him 60 well later ln life. He saved enough money dur fng this period to return to Edinburghs at the age of 20, to take a five years course in theology and the arts He became a masker of Greek and Hebrew and cultivated literary taste that re- suited in after years in a library of 10000 volumes, with which he was thoroughly familiar.
 Six years of denominational activity wearied Dowie. who longed for wider field of operation. He forsook his church and in 1878, went to Melbourne, where he set up free Christian taber- nacle--the first of its kind--and orga- ntzed A divine healing association, which afterwards became international fin character. He became president Of this association and gained fame by going out into the country during the prevalence of putrid fever and appar- ently effecting many cures by prayer and the laying on Of hands.
 After ten years in Melbourne, Dowie decided to remove to England, where his association had a number or branches, but the fates took him across the Pacific, and his announced intention of making Great Britain the world headuuarters was never carried out.
 Dowie landed in San Francisco in 1888, needing money. He needed $250, and had just told his wife he asked God for it." ne said. when a man he had not seen Tn months came along and put the amount in his hand That was the starting point in his wonderful money getting career in the Western world Two years of wandering along the Cal ifornia coast followed, and then, in 1890, Doctor" Dowie, bis wife, his son Alexander John Gladstone Dowie. and his daughter, Esther, arrived in Chi, cago, which was to he the theatre of his great work.
 During tn next five years, Dowie was arrested at least hundred times for violation of the city ordinances relat- ing to the care of the sick, but the more trouble that was made for hlm the more he prospered in reality. Branch churches were established in other cities a large hospital for the healing of the sick was built fin Chi cago and a college for the training of missionaries was organized; a printing plant put in operation, and bank was also started.
 The Christian Catholic Church in Zion City, the outgrowth of the orig inai International Divine Healing As- sociation, was formally organized in February. 1896. Dowie becoming Gen. eraI Overseer. Four years afterwards Dowie, before a large audience in tho Auditorium Theatre, announced that he was Elijah the Restorer, spoken of Nal achi This assumption of a Biblical personality created even more of sen. sation among his followers than any of the worldly successes of the "Proph- ct"
 Plans For Zion City,
 Previous to this, Dowie had marked out his plans for Zion City. the crown ing effort of his life, Six thousand acres of land were purchased or secur- ed by options. and in August of 1901, the first building was erected in Zion City, which, a year later. had a popula- ton of 10000.
 Tn Zion City as we'll as the church, Dowie was supreme. The title of the six thousand acres bought with the money of the sect, rested in him. Lots were leased. not sold. Running for 999 years, these leases were filled with the following restrictions:
 The premises shall never be used for a slaughter house, saloon or beer garden, tobacco store, opium joint, theatre, gambling esta blishment, dance hall. circus pharmacy drug store, office or residence of a practicinG physician ar surgeon. place for selling pork or se- cret meeting place"
 In December of 1903 Zion City was placed under control of federal re- ceivership. which was dissolved a week later on Dowies representation of abil- itv to pay dollar for dollar on all in- debtedness. At that time Dowie esti- mated the value of his holdings ir Zion City at $25.o0O,oOo. Since the values of the lace factory the other industries and holdings at Zion City are believed to have increased to $2S,' OOO 900