Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1914-09-17
DONE in PHILADELPHIA

proclamation, but what a difference there
was in Philadelphia, in 1874, when the Miller
ties were aroused by a similar belief!
1t was just such strange prophecies which
the educated regarded with Indifference that
made life worth living 10 years ago. People
then thirsting for excitement of any
kind, and they welcomed Mller's prediction
as "a break in the monotony of life.
The story of the Millerites and their belief
is that of one of those popular delusons
which seem to have made their appearance
i'm every age. The present generation does
not have to be reminded of Dowie whose
ideas, while not quite so weird, still were
sufficiently different to arouse general in
tcrcst. In the past there was a number of
dclusions that took the public by storm and
held them until the true character of the
belief became apparent. The tulips that we
can buy today for few cents once were sold
for fortunes in Holland during the rage Of
the tulip mania. You see, these delusons are
not always of religious character. The
tulip mania was purely speculative and had
been nursed to perfection by unscrupulous
manipulators.
But this is wandering from my subject.
wanted to say something about William Mil
Ter and his deusion that sent dozens of
weak minded persons insane, and In some
localities ruined numerous persons.
Miller was born in Massachusetts, but he
was a resident of Low Hampton, in the
northeastern part of New York, when he an
nounced his calculation of the date of the
second coming of Christ. While young
man he had confessed himself an atheist.
He had served as a captain of infantry in
the United States army in the War of 1872,
and it was not until long after that conflict,
or in 1918. that he suddenly became religious.
Then he began to study the Bible, but he
also began to calculate the time when Christ
was to appear earth again, and finally he
declared that he had overcome all difficulties
and had reached the conclusion that the date
would he in the spring Of the year 1S43
OF course, a great deal of this got into
printed form, and soon he had convinced
numerous persons who willing follow
ers. The delusion spread rapidly, but, of
course, had it's greatest vogue when the time
Miller had set approached.
Mller's theory of the second Advent was
founded upon his Interpretation of the real
meaning of the terms days, weeks and years
in the Old Testament. l will not attempt to
bore anybody by repeating his nterpreta-
tons, and there would not be sufficient space
here to do it. But I assure any in
Credulous reader that II was much like
Ignatius Donnelys famous cryptogram in
Shakespeare in respect: you could not
find the answer even after you had the rule
to find it. No one ever could work out Don
nclly's cryptogram, and perhaps, as he was
Il very bright man, he did not intend they
should.
The first date set for the second Advent by
Miller was April IA, 1913 The disciples
awaited the day with deepest solcitude,"
but when it arrived nothing happened. But
they not discouraged They were
sured that ancient chronology was not thor
oughly understood and that a few months
more or less might eapse before the well
come day arrived
In the meantime, Miller had a stone wall
built his farm and there was a good deal
of talk about it, Some prying ones desired
to know what he intended to do with a stone
wall if he was so soon to leave this world.
i also was charged that Miller had refused
to sell his farm; and the newspapers We're
asking him pointedly what he needed a farm
for. They also took one of his disciples,
j. Y. Hines, of Washington, to task because
lie was engaged in publishing and selling
more than 100000 books and papers"
They added by way Of comment that He
must be engaged in a speculation" and
thereupon secuted the truthfulness of the
prophecy.
But, as in the case Of all delusions Miller
had followers in many parts of the Eastern
United States. They We're pretty we'll repre-
sentcd in Philadelphia. When the first date
had failed Miller promptly referred to the
occasional failures of even Biblical prophets,
and announced that very probably his cacu-
latons had been wrong. lie then asserted /
that on October %, 1874, the second Advent
would occur.
This statement was made very positively, |
and the Adventists became very deeply |
interested. As the time approached some Of |
the followers gave away their property !
Storekeepers disposed of their stocks to who |
ever desired them for nothing. In one sec |
ton of the country as many as l5 persons .
became insane. Some of them were not even |
followers of Miller but We're afraid that he !
might speak the truth.
When the day arrived the Philadelphia |
followers of Miller went to Darby, where they
awaited the end Of the world There were
more than a thousand Of them, and they
began to pray and sing
But it raincd They were very distressed
and when they found the day was not the
day, they waited till the morrow. Then there |
was more rain, and the ajority of the Mil
lertes plOdded their weary way back to the |
city along the Darby road A few were .
willing to give Miller another q hours of /
grace, but they too, found his calculations
were inaccurate,
When the excitement was at it's height, /
there We're advertisements in the daily news
papers of ascension robes" and one store
had a placard in its window to inform
passers-by that muslin for ascension robes"
was sold there,