The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1919-03-06

1O4t. Lie SSlSCIlNS SSINISc law was
passed May IS, 1917, and espionage
law June 10, 1917. The manuscript
for The Finished Mystery was in the
hands of the printer on June z, 1917,
and the first edition of the book was
issued July II, 1917. Within nine
months the demand was so great that
$4,000 volumes had been issued,
with another edition of one million
six hundred thousand on the press.
For thirty years prior to the pub
LEGATION of The Finished Mystery
Pastor Russell repeatedly through
! his books and The Watch Tower
proved that the Roman Catholic
hierarchy is the anti Christ, so
prominently named in the Bible. He
and the association nave always
held that there are millions of hon
est Christians in churches, Catholic
and Protestant, but that many of
the clergy keep the people in blind
mes. His second, third and fourth
Volumes contain the most complete
exposure of the papacy from the
Scriptural standpoint that has ever
been published This he did not out
of i'll will, but that the people might
be relieved of religious hypocrites
and parasites. This aroused against
him and his associates the deadly
hatred of the Catholic hierarchy. He
also showed from the Bible that
there are many Protestant clergy
men who used their religion for
cloak, deceived their congregations
and walked hand in hand with the
Catholic rulers. This arrayed against
him this class of dishonest Protes-
tant as well as Catholic clergymen.
He was prosecuted to his death.
For many years past the l. B. S. A.
annually distributed among the peo-
pie, free of charge, millions of pa
pers and tracts containing sermons
of Pastor Russell. The Bible Stu
dents Monthly being one of these,
was published in many languages.
This practice Of free distribution of
Bible Students Monthly continued
after Pastor kussell's death. Early
in January, 1913, The Bible Stu
dents Monthly containing the arti-
Gle The Fall OF Babylon" to the num-
Der of ten million were distributed.
1t contained excerpts from The Fin
ished Mystery, especially the proph-
ecleS OF Ezekiel and Revelations with
reference TO the Catholic hierarchy.
This brought to the officers of the l.
b. 5. A. through the mail many
threats from Catholics in many parts
threats of arson, murder, etc. Par
tlcularly were these threats made
against Mr.. Rutherford.
No Money From Germany.
The latter part of February, 1918,
| secret service men seized the books
OF the treasurer of this Bible asso-
| citation on the preteXt that the asso-
citation was carrying on propaganda
with German money. For tlve weeks
their experts examined those books
| and found not one cent came from
German sources. They were stung
with disappointment and hunted an
other lead.
Some few years before a friend
| had presented Pastor Russell with a
small wireless receiving instrument
There never was a sending instru-
| ment with it. When the United
States entered the war the police of
New York gave notice that all wire
less instruments should be stored
away. The one in question was stor-
! ed away in April, 1917, all equipment
beng at that time completely remov-
ed, but IN fact was broken and totally
out of commission long before that.
When the secret service men seized
the books as above stated they call
ed for the wireless. it was brought
out of storage, the dust removed and
the officers took it away. Although
they knew the instrument was useless
was only a receiving instrument at
best, with no sender at all, and no
equipment, yet they had the press
association send and publish all over
the world message that a powerful
wireless capable of sending a mes
sage across the Atlantic had been
discovered on the building of the |.
b. 5. A, and doubtless used by them
to communicate with the Germans
and which had been seized at night
by federal officers. The Knights of
Columbus saw to it that this dispatch
had wide publication, and while they
knew it was lie yet it served to
work up public sentiment against
the Christian Bible students and
make it easier for sleuths to make
out case against innocent men.
About the same time the public
press announced that it had been
discovered that the |. B. S. A. was
putting out seditious book under
the title "The Finished Mystery" in
violation of the espionage act. The
board of directors of the Bible stu
dents met Immediately and sent a
special representative to Washing
ton, d. c., to ascertain wherein "The
Finished Mystery" contained obiec-
tionable matter. He was directed
to the censor department of the
army intelligence bureau and after
going over the book with three
members of that body was advised
that pages 247 to 252, which is an
explanation of Rev. 1913 and quo
tations from Rev. John Haynes
Holmes and DR.. Jeffercon, might be
Objectionable, but they knew of no
other part. Immediately the few
pages in question were ordered re-
moved from all books offered for
sale not because it was believed
that they contained anything viola
tive of the espionage law, but be-
cause the associations officers did
not wish in any manner to act out
of harmony with the wishes of the
government.
MANY Arrests Made