The National tribune., 1908-12-10
PATHETIC END OF ZION.

One of the saddest spots on this earth
Lis Dowie's once much-advertised city
| of Zion. Old men and women once
comfortably provided for haunt the
place. seeking for bread and the barest
means OF livelihood. Very many wild
ows were overcome by Dowie's plead
ings, and gave up their whole property
to him, and are now absolutely desti-
tute. Quite a number of successful
business men who had passed the turn
of life did the same, and are also re-
duced to absolute want. number of
women have had their minds af-
fected so that they are really pitiabie
objects. Several of the younger men,
who have some ability and hopefulness,
are striving to do something with the
wreck of the city, but they are fighting
bitterly among themselves, and have
the community divided into warning
factions There are about $500 people
still in the town, and of these between
1000 and 5000 follow the leadership
of Wilbur Glenn Voliva, who was named
in Dowie's first will as his successor.
yoliva says that he has the majority
with him, and expects to beat all his
opponents when the case comes to the
Supreme Court. He says that he can
put the community on a sound footing
He has cut down the expenses, reduc-
ing the salaries of the ecclesiastical de-
partment $4,000 year and in the bus
mess department. $4,000 a year. He
draws only $15G a month for himself,
and lives in the quietest possible way,
in strong contrast to the pomp and
magnificence of Dowie. When Dowie
| died he had overdrawn his account in
the bank S550,000. Voliva is a man in
middle life, of medium hight, with
round face and tendency to put on
| flesh His manner and words are not
such as to inspire confidence in out
siders The next competitor is John
Lewis, who was named in Dowie's Sec
ond will as his successor He claims
to be conducting the work on Dowie
lines. and says he has $50 followers.
| Another Elder is Daniel Bryant, who
| does not give the number of his fol-
lowers but maintains his candidacy and
holds services every Sunday. He says
that he is not fighting for himself, but
against any one-man power Next is
w. D. Taylor, who represents the
sirflon-pure Dowieites, who claim to
obey not only the spirit, but the abso-
lutte letter of the law. Taylor is the
most likeable of the lot. but also the
most impracticable. Bryant was mis-
J .;o 80 IN, friaa
but was brought back to take charge
of the ecclesiastical affairs of the
Church after Dowies death.
Then there are about 500 Parham-
ties, who follow a self-confident, utterly
impracticable man named Parham.
Parham and his followers claim all
sorts of things, among others the gift of
tongues and of prophecy The Par
hamites are the least intelligent of the
crowd
Next are the Crosbyites, followers of
a Miss Crosby. who, with her affinity.
Arthur Bales, teach free love as car
dinal tenet and have a number OF fol-
lowers Charles Samson, the present
head of the sect, is in jail at Waukegan
1oI his ttiG eSeiiiiSS t'ielt "A+'
be released as Paul and Silas were.
The various churches are trying to
get the Dowieites back into the fold,
and the Methodists have so far had the
nioat success. Strange TO say, the Chris
tian Scientists have not made much in
road.
The Seventh Day Adventists are
striving hard, but apparently without
securing converts. which seems strange,
as most of the Dowieites are of the ma
ture that the Seventh Day Adventists
would appeal to. There are many things
that would be intensely comical if they
were not SO pathetic. For example,
Parham, who was a wandering preach
er, was really an outcast, without either
intelligence or principles. He had been
implicated in all sorts of misdemean-
ors, and his impudence was something
astounding. He claimed the gift of
tongues, and under his influence men
and women would arise in the congre-
CATION, jabber meaningless words, and
he would solemnly pronounce it Chi
nese, japanese or Arabic. A meeting of
his followers locks like draft from
some insane asylum.