The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-01-30
RUSSELL
LOSES HIS SUIT
Jury Holds Miracle Wheat"
Man Was Not Libeled
by Eagle.

New York. January "a verdict
for tho Eagle and against Pastor Charles
T. Russell, of miracle wheat fame
was returned by jury before Supreme
Court Justice Kelby in Brooklyn yes
terday at the close of a $780, 900 libel suit
which had grown out of the publication
in the Brooklyn newspaper OF car
toon pretending TO portray the piaintii
in the act OF being called away from his
task OF bedding miracle wheat TO
ioin the Onion" Bank directors.
The Jury was out forty minutes.
Pastor Russell objected TO the car
toon on the ground that IL was an unfair
characterization. which pictured MIN as
a crook and Mt company for the men
who had wrecked the Union Bank He
OBJ ected also to the title Easy Money
Puzzle" that appeared beneath the car
toon and Furthermore, 10 extracts from
the news and editorial columns, in
Guiding a paragraph in which he was
credited. he alleged, with the wisdom
of the serpent
In summing up for the defence Isaac
r. ICELAND insisted that the sale of
miracle" wheat as carried on IN Pastor
Russelrs tabernacle and elsewhere was
a purely business scheme to beneht the
Watch Tower Bible and Tract So
cietv. which. he asserted. is dominated
by the pastor. The articles and car
toons were justified by the facts. ne
said but he denied that there had been
on the Eagles part any inclination TO
put Pastor Russell in the crooked
financial class. 1t was not intended TO
put him in a class with the Union Bank
directors, but rather TO show him as
good salesman of wheat, too shrewd to
bank his 81 600 day in looted institu-
ton.
TO the allegation that the plaintiffs
character had been injured Mr.. Oeland
said
What the plaintiff is you can infer
from the fact that he did not take the
witness stand and let you look in his
ewes as he told US OF his past life.
Taking up the doctrine expounded
by the plaintiff the lawyer ridiculed his
theory of the return of the ancient
worthless TO rule the world he also
questioned the prophesied famine of
1914 and the sale of miracle" wheat at
$50 a bushel to tide over the famine
when the same article could be pur-
chased elsewhere for S.
His followers said Mr.. ICELAND,
had been made to believe that every
thing Pastor Russell wrote was gospel
trl,th. and they rose for it like fish for
a ninnow. but as soon as these articles
printed the sale was stopped short.
Mr.. OeIand emphasized the fact that
the wheat had been grown on land
owned by the plaintiff.
Pastor Russell entered court in time
Sparks sum up. Mr.. Sparks defended
the reputation and motives of his client.
and defended the preacher for retaining
control of d society to which he had
donated it was said, fortune of $3.50.
600 twenty-five years before Counsel
denied that Pastor Russell had any idea
Of selling miracle" wheat at profit,
or of selling it at all. when he published
the first notice In the Watch Tower
Mr. Sparks waxed eloquent in as
serting that the paper even had libelled
his clients whiskers. This in reference
TO the cartoon in which the preacher
was depicted as peddling miracle
wheat lie denied that Pastor Russell
had made a profit out of the Watch
Tower Society
After the verdict was announced, Mr..
Sparks moved that il be set aside. JUS
tice Kelby denied the motion.
Later Sparks announced that he
might appeal