davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The theocrat. [volume] (Zion City [i.e. Zion], Ill.) 1914-1949, 1919-04-26

into the very warp and wool of her con-
stitution and practice, Of course, she will
have criticism and opposition in an age
of vice But this very fact makes her
enemies her honor; their very character
makes them a credit to her.
Many who have apostatized from her
own membership, will even unite with
such outside opposition Judas Is
CARROT did with the Jews and Romans
to crush this Divine reform.
There will always be plenty of men
of this "Shirtless" type who desire to
enhance and commercialize such oppo-
sition for personal ggrandizement, TN
der the hypocritical guise Of benignant
paternity over an oppressed people.
Yes, real disinterested service { y for
people robbed of their rights .(?0-
their right" to violate their fundamental
contracts, whose conditions were pub
lished broadcast, and which restrictions
these poor CD, oppressed (?D, unfor-
Inmates CPD fully understood.
We are told that Mr. "Shirtless," in
his stump speeches, promised if elected,
to force this stigma of public "inves-
tigation" upon Zion, thus appealing to all
that was base in real base men, to be-
smirch whole COMMUNICATIONS only
real offence was that he could not con-
troll its vote.
A pretty public servant, to thus cap
italize infamy, and create class war, and
try to disgrace thousands Of the most vir-
| tuous and laW-abiding citizens in the
| State, in order to win office If he were
real shrewd he would know that vice is
never permanently successful. His reso-
luton will act like the Bushman's boom
erang and return upon the head Of the
sender 1t is like Gulliver's gun, which,
whether aimed at duck or pluver, only
knocked its owner over" A dangerous
piece of ordnance It's butt end is more
destructive than the -muzzle!
We say, Gust wait and watch this
man" There will likely be some very in
: structive developments in his life ere
long. We have never known man to
fight Gods cause who, sooner or later,
was not made providential object les
son.
AS a self-respecting man, Mr.. Voliva
has only one alternative left i. e., to
fight this piece of infamy to the last ditch.
Why should he submit to this outrageous
and disgraceful procedure on the part
of an unlawful law-maker? His inves-
tigation of the "call for an investigation"
is already revealing some real interest
ing things.
The theocrat. [volume] (Zion City [i.e. Zion], Ill.) 1914-1949, 1919-04-26
Marshall Field and Company
Devils Chief Agents in Trying to Destroy Zion City

1t is a fact perfectly well known to every
body in Zion City and to thousands out
side of Zion City, that Marshall Field &
Company are the chief hackers, supporters,
and protectors of the tobacco skunks who
have invaded Zion City and persist in pol
luting the atmosphere which decent peo-
pie are compelled to breathe
The conduct of Marshall Field & Com
pany in this matter must make the devil
blush for very shame!
If some collector for a museum would
like to procure some rare specimens, just
let him come to the police station in Zion
City when one of these tobacco skunks
is being prosecuted for violating the to-
bacco ordinance Any one Of them could
easily be taken as the missing link for
which scientists have so long been search
ing. Yes, indeed, any two-legged thing
who will come into a religious community
and parade his nasty, sinking habits be-
fore men, women, and children, to tell the
truth, would be disgrace to the missing
link"
The theocrat. [volume] (Zion City [i.e. Zion], Ill.) 1914-1949, 1919-04-26
Easter Service in
Shiloh Tabernacle
&C. w. b.

One of the largest audiences ever
assembled in Shiloh Tabernacle attended
the Easter service on last Lords Day.
Owing to the fact that the General Over
seer had announced in the Chicago papers
that he would deal with the new persecution
which has been started by lions enemies,
in an effort to destroy Zion as a political,
commercial ndreligious factor in the State
of Illinois, many people had come from dis
tant points-friend and foe alike-to hear
the address.
The floral decorations, while simple in
character, were very beautiful and artistic
ally arranged. At each end of the platform
stood a pyramid consisting of ferns, ever
greens, Easter lilies, geraniums, potted
plants and various flowers The organ and
the railing in front of the choir gallery also
were beautifully decorated
The music was of high order At 80
P. M, the White-Robed Choir of several
hundred voices entered the auditorium, sing
ing in Professional, CHRIST IS RISEN,
ALLELUIA," by Maker.
The first anthem, CHRIST IS RISEN FROM
THE DEAD" by Elvey, was then rendered
After solo by John D. Thomas, entitled
RESURRECTION, by Shelley, the anthem
king OF KINGS" by Sember, also was
The theocrat. [volume] (Zion City [i.e. Zion], Ill.) 1914-1949, 1919-04-26

rendered.
A quartet then sang with choir response,
AWAKE THOU THAT SLEEPEsT," by I'm
deYhM
At the close of the service, the choir sang
in Recessional, CHRIST IS RISEN, CHRIST
is RISEN" by SulliOan.
The General Overseer prefaced his re-
marks by apologizing to the splendid audi
ence for having to intrude upon the sacred
solemnity of an Easter service by making
reference to the avowed investigation of
Zion, which he characterized as illegal and
unconstitutional, by a committee from the
State Legislature who were proposing to
! act at the behest of disgruntled politician
whom Zion had refused to support and of
bunch of underhanded schemers in this
city who had lost in every fight and who
were now begging the Legislature, like lot
of towards, to fight their battles for them.
In his remarks, he dealt with this new
attack upon Zion without gloves, and in
the course of an hour had made it so warm
for her enemies who were present that they
left the building rather than stand fire.
The General Overseer then suddenly
stopped in the midst of his talk and re-
marked that, as the men for whose benefit
he had been speaking had left, it was not
necessary to continue his exposure of the
lying and deceit employed by those who
were fighting us.
The Choir then sang, after which the
General Overseer delivered a regular adj
dress, and very beautiful service was held.
The theocrat. [volume] (Zion City [i.e. Zion], Ill.) 1914-1949, 1919-04-26

The good fight for decency will con-
tinue, both outside and inside of the courts,
and the day will come when Marshall
Field & Company will be completely de-
feated and will be covered with disgrace
and even the people of the world will prop
erly brand them for invading religious
community and using their money to be-
smirch and to destroy the community and
to rob thousands of people of their liber-
ties under the constitution of the State.
There is no doubt as to what the courts
will do when the matter is once properly
placed before them.
Verify, the way of the tobacco skunk
is rough and thorny in Zion City = and
it will become more SO as the days, months,
and years come and go!
Law and order will triumph, and de-
cency will win!
The fight will go on day and night, and
so far as the thousands of Zion people are
concerned, they will never rest until the
last tobacco skunk is either converted and
cleaned up or packs his suitcase and goes
back into Babylon from whence he came!
The theocrat. [volume] (Zion City [i.e. Zion], Ill.) 1914-1949, 1919-04-26

III. Investigations now are due:
Why stop at one-why not have two?
Why not investigate the crew
Who back the boob called "Shirtless" ?
II. The "Foulds" in this conspiracy
Make tracks to the Y. M. C. A.,
Where all the other "Hy-ups" play
The doubtful game of "Shirtless."
Il. On lines of scandalous politics
They Cook" some very "elect" tricks,
And truth with falsehood finely mix,
This gang that should be "Shirtless. +"
Is. When this case is all written up,
1here'n be one blank Page" in the book
All smirched with foul tobacco smoke,
That much inspired poor "Shirtless. !"
IA. He could not have been very sage
To be thus swayed by one blank page"
A smoked" fish of uncertain age;
His brain must have been "Shirtless."
IS. When Voliva gets through with him,
Well-he'll be through with everything,
And good and ready to "cash in
He surely will be "Shirtless"!
10. But Marshall Fields money bags,
OF which some news sheet often brags,
Might save their savior from his rags
If he were shown as "Shirtless"
II. Or Mr.. Shedd, who heads the place,
Might "Shedd" a shirt of Zion lace
10 cover up gink's disgrace,
If they knew he was "Shirtless"!
18. When lions God squares this offence,
His name will look like fifteen cents;
Unless he shows great penitence-
He'll be far worse than "Shirtless"
l9. Then, if you meet him on the street
Thus with his vesture incomplete,
Politely bow and kindly speak,
Don't laugh because he's "Shirtless."
THOMAS H. NELSON
The theocrat. [volume] (Zion City [i.e. Zion], Ill.) 1914-1949, 1919-04-26

Here you won't have long to stay,
For you're rotting, anyway.
AS corpse you need today
An undertaken.
For your manhood's dead and gone
And your sense of shame has flown,
And cremation'd be boon
To such faker.
You could back to Egypt flee;
Then, far inland from the sea,
Could missionary be
To ape and monkey.
There, with very little bother,
They might own you as brother,
And not know you'd earned the other
Name for donkey.
Since those apes are fond of tricks,
You might teach them politics;
Thus a character you'd fix
On true basis.
You might thus become redeemed,
By orang- outangs esteemed;
They may not have even dreamed
What your disgrace is.
Thomas H. B. Nelson.
The theocrat. [volume] (Zion City [i.e. Zion], Ill.) 1914-1949, 1919-04-26
The "Shirtless"
Boomerang
By Elder Thomas H. Nelson

1t is unthinkable to intelligence that
an institution such as Zion could pass
without a challenge or exist without
making enemies.
In a sopping wet State, Zion is bone
dry. In contradistinction to licensed
liquor, she teaches that no community
can truly prosper which places a real
tariff on virtue and a premium on cor
ruption by deriving its revenue from the
vices of its citizens.
In Statewide prevalence of disease
producing tobacco using, Zion has laws
that make the habit a criminal offence.
While drug stores and doctors are
more numerous and dangerous than the
diseases they profess to cure, Zion has
prohibited both from operating inside her
borders, She substitutes physiological
cleanliness, sound hygiene, normal 1iv-
ing, and faith in God, for the foolish,
fatal 'fetishes" of ''the medicine man."
While hog raising is one of the most
lucrative occupations, Zion brands the
cancerOus, scrOfulous, cOnsumption-pro-
duClng pig as an outlaw to be driven from
respectable communities, and prohibits
the appearance of his carcass in her
stores or on her tables Like the in
telligent Jew, she points to the hog in
his filth and says, Behold the dinner of
the genteel GENTLE
In the light of the fact that the mod
ern theater and sheet show are both
schools of vice and manufactures of in
sanity, where all moral law is caricatured
and all restraint to vice is thrown off,
till robbery, arson, rebellion, licentious-
ness, and even murder are glorifed, Zion
has prohibited all such diverting dens
of infamy from existence inside her
bounds.
While most men belong to one, and
many to several, secret lodges, which
they often honor above their church, Zion
condemns all oath-bound lodges as a
snare and a curse, entirely beneath the
consideration of true Christianity. She
fearlessly exposes the fallacies and fail
ures of time-serving, compromising,
and apostate church. She does not ask
to be popular and hold such views and
herald such reforms All she asks is a
fair fight.
With these, and several other educa-
tional restrictions thrust fundamentally
The theocrat. [volume] (Zion City [i.e. Zion], Ill.) 1914-1949, 1919-04-26

EVERY TOBACCO SKI NIX
OUGHT TO BE REQUIRED BY
LAW, AS WAS THE LEPER IN
OLDEN TIMES, TO PLACE UPON
HIS BREAST A SIGN READING,
"UNCLEANw SO THAT ANIMALS,
AND ALL DECENT, RESPECT
ABLE PEOPLE, COULD HAVE
FAIR WARNING AND AVOID CON-
EXAMINATION.
1T IS A FACT THAT MAN is
THE ONLY ANIMAL WHO DE-
FILES HIMSELF WITH TOBACCO
- NICOTINE POISON, ONE OF
THE MOST VIOLENT POISONS
KNOWN TO CHEMISTRY.
The theocrat. [volume] (Zion City [i.e. Zion], Ill.) 1914-1949, 1919-04-26

IT IS A FACT KNOWN NOT ONLY TO THE THOUSANDS OF
ZION PEOPLE, BUT TO THOUSANDS
FERENT STATES, THAT NO GENTLEMAN
SMOKING USING TOBACCO IN ZION CITY in FACT VIsTOR
WHO SMOKES EVERY DAY SAID: mo ONE LOW-DOWN
SCOUNDREL WOULD COME INTO A RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY
IGNORE THE RIGHTS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE,
VIOLATING THEIR CONSCIENCE AND THEIR GOD-GIVEN
LEGAL RIGHTS BY SMOKING OR USING TOBACCO
MUNITY."
INASMUCH THEREFORE, AS, ACCORDING TO THE TESTIMONY
NOT ONLY OF THOUSANDS IN ZION BUT
SIDE, NO GENTLE4N WOULD THINK OF USING TOBACCO IN
ZION CITY, THOSE WHO GENTLEMEN. BUT
ARE A LOW-DOWN GANG REPROBATES WOULD NOT
HESITATE TO GO INTO ROMAN CATHOLIC DEMOLISH
THE ALTAR, POLLUTE DESPERATE
PLACE PARTICULAR BECAUSE THEY DID NOT
AGREE WITH THE DOCTRINES AND PRACTICES ROMAN
CATHOLIC CHURCH.
The theocrat. [volume] (Zion City [i.e. Zion], Ill.) 1914-1949, 1919-04-26
Advice to Rodney B.
Swif

I've been thinking, Rodney Swift,
Of that thirty-thousand Gift"
AS a self-appointed gift =
Your bit of plumber.
What about that widow, ROD?
How about that widows God?
What about that little job
Your friends all wonder.
When you entered politics
With your shrewd and subtle tricks,
Men their eyes on you did fix
And cape and wonder.
They all knew your past disgrace,
And to think you had the face
Thus to make public race
Struck them like thunder.
You know all men are not fools,
And, since decency has rules,
Some reject such dirty tools
AS you present them
If you're shrewd you will resign
Before decency has time
To reveal such proofs of crime
You can't resent them.
Still the outraged widows cries
Are ascending to the skies,
Where judgment on your lies =
Does sure await you.
And the "sixty thousand" "yen''
You gave up to dodge the "pen"
Will not help the least bit when
Demise o'ertakes you
If you do not cease to fight
Against God and all that's right,
You will bring yourself to blight 80
And be forgotten
You should crawl beneath the bed
And then cover up your head,
And just stay there till your dead,
And till you're rotten.
The theocrat. [volume] (Zion City [i.e. Zion], Ill.) 1914-1949, 1919-04-26
F'ShiYtLeSS''

/. The Legislature of the State
Has started to investigate
Voliva and his estate,
To please a man called "Shirtless."
2. He can't control the Zion vote,
SO hopes to sink the Zion boat;
Then DER the wreck he's caused, to
gloat :
I think they call him "Shirtless"!
3. Class strife, class legislation, too
Are being fostered by the few
Who forced this resolution through
Or touched its author "Shirtless. "
T. He thinks he'll make himself a name
If Zion City he'll defame,
And possibly some Doodle claim
This Woodworking ''Shirtless."
5. At great expense to voters now
The Legislature must, somehow,
Help settle religious row,
To please this bonehead "Shirtless.
6. He's got the State in such place
It's own laws must defeat its case,
And Voliva, with smiling face,
Laughs at the "nmf' called "Shirtless.
I. This commonwealth, in such fix,
It's own courts must Illustrate its tricks,
And crush the peanut politics
Of soft-shelled CLAIMS like "Shirtless"
8. Soon his constituents will balk
At being made a laughing stock
For actions such as lately wrought
By braimy, brilliant "Shirtless."
9. Investigate mules hind legs,
Or some exploding powder kegs
A buzzing Saw,-1nine placerS' eggs!
Pity that poor fish "Shirtless."
The theocrat. [volume] (Zion City [i.e. Zion], Ill.) 1914-1949, 1919-04-26
Zion Educational Institutions

ZION EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS Of:
KINDERGARTEN
JUNIOR SCHOOL Eight Grades
PREPARATORY COLLEGE Course FourY Years.
MANUAL TRAINING
DOMESTIC SCIENCE
MUSIC AND ART-and then special department Of Music
Nearly pupils the Year
1919
The BIBLE the principal textbook
to turn out CHRISTIANS and not intellectual animals.
The rule
belong ZION FAMILIES.
and be considered by either
The theocrat. [volume] (Zion City [i.e. Zion], Ill.) 1914-1949, 1919-04-26
FACTS
The Consideration of Which
Should Slow Up Senator
Swift 80
By Elder Thomas Ell. Nelson

SOME of the friends of the Senator from
Lake County should endeavor to stop
his Swift" scribbling Failing in this,
they should secure him a modern pen, as
he still writes with goose-quill
AN over-anxiety to see ones name in
print is a disease The cure, we think, is
to print the facts.
IF Mr. Vo1iva would only be as oblig-
ing as was Mr.. Olson and die now, Senator
r. B. Swift's star of hope might continue
in the ascendancy; but if not, well, God
answers the widows prayer and-the star
falls!
HE who would rob a widow would rob
the world and he who would double-cross a
trustful employer would cheat his God.
SOME politicians are slow to think and
very Swift to speak. They often talk
most who have the least to say
WHO dares audaciously to expose vic
torious villainy, or lawfully attack an I'm
lawful lawmaker?
SOME folks can learn only by experience
that Honesty is the best policy" and the
prayer of the outraged widow calls for the
vengeance of the Lord
HE who stabs with tongue or pen your
reputation now, would pierce your heart
as quickly, if in safety he knew how.
SOME folks are so anxious to see their
names in print that it would be cruel to
disappoint them when much of interest can
be said SO easily.
BEN FRANKLIN said Great haste
makes great waste Some politicians are
too Swift in uttering what they don't
know; yet they don't know that they don't
know.
SOME men become such adopts in de-
ceit that they deceive themselves in think
ing that they have deceived others.
LEGISLATIVE EXORCISM. Til e.
wicked calling the righteous to repentance
and the devil trying to cast out God
A DOUBLE-DEALER < "Swift"
swindler, generally carries home the empty
casket from which the real jewel has fallen
his greatest success but leaves him with
the mere wrapping paper, from which the
true commodity has slipped away.
INVESTIGATORS generally find
The theocrat. [volume] (Zion City [i.e. Zion], Ill.) 1914-1949, 1919-04-26

what they seek: they discover what they
desire and reveal themselves by the result,
AS spiders derive poison from the sweetest
flowers while bees get honey out of the
rankest weeds.
| He who knows how to double-cross his
employer and 1noculate thereby his own
pocket-book with dropsical serum while
his masters pocket-book acquires consump-
! ton, has certainly sense enough to be a
State Senator
MR.. SWIFT is learning late in life that
no man ever permanently prospered by rob-
bing another-much less robbing widow
His experience declares Honesty is the
! best policy whether he himself says it or
not.
WHY was the Senator from Lake Coun-
ty expelled in disgrace from the Milk Pro-
ducers' Association? Oh, he was "mali-
ciously, treacherously" = Swift" and he
spilled the milk = not the "beans" but
the milk" Che just lately "spil1ed his
beans" ~
PEANUT politicians should consider
that even the eloquence of the astute and
sagacious Demosthenes could not secure
the treacherous Athenian from the conse-
quences of his own RIGHTEOUSNESS. God
is ''just the same today"
HE whose mouth is his best offensive
weapon in times of peace will generally
make his legs his best defensive weapon in
times of war That fellows legs will
never stand to see his carcass hurt He'll
deem a good retreat better than a bad
stand. He'll be Swift" = just watch and
see
WHEN Senator Swift double-crossed his
generous employers in the Harvester Com
pany and pocketed twenty-five or thirty
thousand dollars of their money, he may
have been just experimenting in some anna
ture trust-busting tactics Perhaps the
trusted trust-buster was just periodically
defending the poor public.
MR. SWIFT'S treacherous betrayal of
his employers confidence, for which he was
convicted by an Indiana grand jury, and
extradicted from Illinois by the Governors
order, may have been mere weakness"
But come to think of it. all wickedness was
but weakness originally, and weakness of
that order should not be made qualifca
ton for a State Senator
WHEN Rodney B. Swift was expelled
in disgrace from the Milk Producers Asso-
citation for malicious, underhanded dupli-
city," thereby proving that the robber of
Widow Lottridge, and the treacherous be-
trayer of the trustful Harvester Com
pany had not changed his disposition by
changing his State,-he is surely qualified as
a critic of honest men and measures. Mr..
Volva and Zion should tremble at such
criticism!
The theocrat. [volume] (Zion City [i.e. Zion], Ill.) 1914-1949, 1919-04-26

There thousands of and cities United
Then why should they be such fools ZION CITY
overthrow
assist them in their porch climbing and highway robbery?
The theocrat. [volume] (Zion City [i.e. Zion], Ill.) 1914-1949, 1919-04-26

what they seek: they discover what they
desire and reveal themselves by the result,
las spiders derive poison from the sweetest
flowers while bees get honey out of the
rankest weeds.
The theocrat. [volume] (Zion City [i.e. Zion], Ill.) 1914-1949, 1919-04-26
For Complete Information Concerning
THE CHRISTIAN CATHOLIC APOSTOLIC CHURCH
IN ZION

all of its activities, should
($2O0 year, and THE TEEOCRAT ($OO per year,.
All inquiries the Church should WILBUR
VOlVA General Ecclesiastical
Zon Lake County, Illinois.
All inquiries the INSTITUTIONS AND INDUSTRIES
be addressed to w. HRD CLENDINEN ADMINISTRATION
ZION, LAKE COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
All inquiries concerning EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
be addressed o WILBUR GLENN VOLVA
ADMINISTRATION BUILDING, ZION LAKE COUNTY, ILLINOIS,
The theocrat. [volume] (Zion City [i.e. Zion], Ill.) 1914-1949, 1919-04-26

HE who knows how to double-cross his
employer and inoculate thereby his own
pocket-book with dropsical serum, while
his masters pocket-book acquires consump-
ton, has certainly sense enough to be
State Senator!
The theocrat. [volume] (Zion City [i.e. Zion], Ill.) 1914-1949, 1919-04-26

LEGISLATIVE EXORCISM. The
wicked calling the righteous to repentance
and the devil trying to cast out God
The theocrat. [volume] (Zion City [i.e. Zion], Ill.) 1914-1949, 1919-04-26

SOME men become such adopts in de
ceit that they deceive themselves in think
ing that they have deceived others.
The theocrat. [volume] (Zion City [i.e. Zion], Ill.) 1914-1949, 1919-04-26

SOME of the friends of the Senator from
Lake County should endeavor to stop
his Swift scribbling. Failing in this,
they should secure him modern pen, as
he still writes with goose-quill
The theocrat. [volume] (Zion City [i.e. Zion], Ill.) 1914-1949, 1919-04-26

SOME politicians are slow to think and
very Swift" to speak They often talk
most who have the least to say.
The theocrat. [volume] (Zion City [i.e. Zion], Ill.) 1914-1949, 1919-04-26

HE who would rob widow would rob
the world, and he who would double-cross
trustful employer would cheat his God.
The theocrat. [volume] (Zion City [i.e. Zion], Ill.) 1914-1949, 1919-04-26

AN over-anxiety to see ones name il
print is a disease. The cure, we think, i
to print the facts.
The theocrat. [volume] (Zion City [i.e. Zion], Ill.) 1914-1949, 1919-04-26

WHO dares audaciously to expose vic
torious villainy, or lawfully attack an TN
lawful lawnaker?
The theocrat. [volume] (Zion City [i.e. Zion], Ill.) 1914-1949, 1919-04-26

SOME folks are so anxious to see thei
names in print that it would be cruel t.
disappoint them when much of interest cal
be said so easily.
The theocrat. [volume] (Zion City [i.e. Zion], Ill.) 1914-1949, 1919-04-26

MR.. SWIFT is learning late in life that
no man ever permanently prospered by rob-
bing another-fnuch less robbing widow.
His experience declares Honesty is the
best policy" whether he himself says it or
not
The theocrat. [volume] (Zion City [i.e. Zion], Ill.) 1914-1949, 1919-04-26

IF Mr.. Vo1iva would only be as oblig-
ing as was Mr. Olson and die now, Senator
R. B. Swifts star of hope might continue
in the ascendancy; but if not, well, God
answers the widows prayer and-the star
falls!
The theocrat. [volume] (Zion City [i.e. Zion], Ill.) 1914-1949, 1919-04-26

HE who stabs with tongue or pen you
reputation now, would pierce your hear
as quickly, if in safety he knew how.
The theocrat. [volume] (Zion City [i.e. Zion], Ill.) 1914-1949, 1919-04-26

BEN FRANKLIN said Great haste
makes great waste Some politicians are
too Swift in uttering what they don't
know yet they don't know that they don't
know