Watchtower: 1940 Convention Report - Detroit, Michigan

7/24/2019 Watchtower: 1940 Convention Report - Detroit, Michigan

1/64

TheM SS NG R


2/64

. '

th M ssJ iva R

. . . . . . P u t t i n ~ the onvention A c r o s ~ .. , , .

x' ir

'' E ' c ~ ~

e ~ f lf ~ ~

~ a ; ~ a ; o rg1';f i a J ~ ~

1

(P;.h hJ tff ~ t ~ : ~ ~ f u ~ ~ ; ~ ~ l \

e 1 ~ ~ ; f

under the

stars "

There

WM

a. fearless

l o o ~

held

the,.

. ~ n

d ~ r i s i o n , and

the

w i t n e s s e ~ 9

.9, u ~ t ~ r r n i n a t i o n W?

J\idge

I h i t h e ~ 6 r ~ ' s fa,ce

still }au9hing.:

No Y that t h ~

Theocratic co

'and

}1 ~ 9 n e

o f , ~ ~ f t ~ p . t

r e s o l u t e r 1 J ~ s s m his

v o ~ y e yent1qn,

~ , h 1 ~ g F J I J e . v . ~ n t , it appears w ~ t

I

as

he thus said

to. the

headquarter's family laughmgstock tne Hierarchy

a ~ d

. Americ

in Brqoklyn,

N. 1 .., one

day

in

June.

At

the Leginn

and

other. so-called

" p ~ t r 1 0 t i c " .

gr?u

time.

t.he

contract for.use .of .Ohio State Fair have. made of

t l t , e 1 n ~ ~ l v e s .

Their chagrin is

Grou,nds.

at . C o l u m b u ~ .

was.

stiUJn

effect, but their own

wcxking. t

was Jehovah's stran

'

~ e

religioms, phlitica1 cospiracy was under work

way

to.

arbitrarily

revoke the duly

e x ~ c u t e d

Undaunted,

the convention organizati

cdntpact under the specious pleas of patriotic

turned

Detroit, scene of the internation

motives and avoida;nce of public disorder and convention of Jehovah's witnesses in 1928,

riot,

and

indicatior:ts

the:r:eof had

manifested

the. week. just

preceding. the. date /sche,du

t ~ e m ~ e l v e s

to, representatives of the

WATCB-

for opening the

1940

convention the

c o n t r

1J10WER

. .To add to this, conditions beyond his for use of Convention Hall was signed,

t

to

~ 9 h t r o l n i ~ d e it tpen appear

humanly impos- all the pu,nch out of. the blow

that

the I{i

s ~ W e .

f()F Jll;1ge ~ u t h e r f o r d himself to

attend

archy

and

patr.i6tic

s t o o g e ~

a i m e ~

to g

any conv'ent10n m ,person. There was evident Jehovah's witnesses by causmg

Oh10 s go

t f n ~ ~ i ' t ; ) , j n t y about holding that already-adver-

ernor.

Bricker, to fogloriously refuse

fo

hon

t i ~ e d

first

l l i e 9 c r ~ t i c ,

convention to be,

But

the

p ~ t i t i o n

of

2,042,136

fellow Americans

J'udge Rutherford's courageous words

that

use of the State Fair Grounds as contra

.

June day

were decisi\ie. They settled tlie is- ed for. . . ,

site.

J l1e

li.eadquarters family felt like cheer- The enemy had shown much malevolen

fog. Taking this as definite reassurance from before the con;vention, and had the precedi

the

great

Theocrat himself, the entire organ- yea:r attempted to break up the

c o ~ v e n t i

izattoJ;l took. hold

of

the ~ i t u a t i o n

and

the

a ~ ~

held in Madison

Square

Garden, New Yo

rangement work with

gr1m,

renewed determ1-

but

without success.

t

was necessary

to,

a t ~ o : n ~ n d }:>oiling

zeal

and

irrepressible joy. on guard,

and

there was a

~ e a s u r e of

s

, Not unforeseen nor unexpected, a few gays pense.

After

the first

day

one felt, Whatev

. I a t ~ r


3/64

TH

MESSENGER

. ,

...

,

~ r o ? k r n . N

v.,

s 1 1 p f ~ m b e r .

1 ~ 4 0 ...

Ju dge R u ~ h e ; f o r d

Opens/ o n v e ~ t i o n

'

T

a E HAND OF

.J:rrn:ovA:a i$

not

.shoHen'ed.

_

N e i t h ~ r

is His

ear

heavy, .that it cannot

hear. fie hears

the

prayers of His people who

are

dlligent to serve.

Him:

For

the

eyes of

the Lord are

over

the

righteous,

and

his ears

are

open

unto their prayers; but the

face

of

.. .he

L_o:rd

is

against

them that do evil."

~ Pete:r 3: 12. .

$o#ie _months ago t a p p ~ a r e ~

to

be God's

will

that a

c o n v ~ n t i o P . o f His c,ansecrated peo

P e be held in the United States

this

year. On

fijrM previous years

\v((

had held,

our c o n ~

. , v ~ r i tion . .. Colur.nbus, 0 hio, to_.

the

real

p l e a s ~

11r:e)tJ1d profit of the good pe()pleof that city.

T_his

year the Chamber or Commerce

and the

c o ~ v e : t i o n

committee of

_C9lumbll;s

sent us

~

very kind invitation to hol.d our. convention

there

this year"

That invitation

was accepted

and

a

contract

was signed

for the State Fair

' Gr()UJ.ldsi

and

eyery'

preparation

was made

for

,

the_ co1wention, and that

at great

expense.

. A $tr_o:ng

religious .organization exercised

sufficient _ n f l u ~ 1 1 c e

._to bring

about a c a n c e l l a ~

tion_ or

the

Fair Grounds for

the

c o . r r v e n t i o n ~

.Arrangements

had

previously been made for

a

n u : t ~ b e r of other

cities to be

tied in

witli

the

key convention

by

land wires

and in many

other

p_laces state fair. gr:ounds

and

public

h a l l ~

w _ ~ r e c o n t m c t e d .or. Many

of_these have

been.

c . ~ n c e l e d

by reason of pressul'.e

brought

to

b ~ . a r upon

public officials

by the

great anti-

Cl,u;istian. organization. - _

Wherever

the

city or other

public

f f i c i a l ~

. ,

hf1Ve

had

to do with

the

permission, as soon

as

rented

generally

the

contracts have been

"canceled. Arrangementsfor private halls"'have

bee .n;i.ad,_e. 1\.fanifestly it was the will 'of Al-

mighty God

and His

:King that we should

have a convention_this year.

Your

h e a r t ~

have

been set

upon

this convention

for

some time.

Y

)U hFe met with manyvrebuffs _along the

wrty: But

now we

are

here,

and

for

this mani

festation

of

God's loving-kindness we

are in

deed

thankful and

give praise to

His

name

t h ~ t W ; ~ ~ ~ e ,her.e'. Therefore

I

.say,

the

hand

'

of

the Lord is not

shortened.

.:,( ; . :;":''

...

,

, ,,, ' ,

; , ': :.,,

~ i . W h ~ ~ l1lore

than t ~ o .

miUion _people

ped-

twned, the governor

0

the

State of

Ohio to

. . . :

;

. . . . . . .

. h i ~ power and

1 n f l u e ~ ~ e

to re1nstaU th

contract for our conv-ention that city,

an

: v ~ e n t h o u s : ; t i : d s of

C,it,izens of Colu.mhus joine

n

that

petit10n, the governor denied

the

peti

tion, his assigned reason being that Jehovah'

witnesses declirwd salute

the

:f'.lag that pro

tects them . If

the

governor and

other

publi

officials understood

the

reason why' Jehovah'

: v i t n ~ s s e s

take

the p o s i ~ i . o n

they do concernin

.

salutmg any flag

or

he1hng any creature, thei

attitude

would be different,

We

as

Christia

people, wholly devoted. to Almighty God, re

spect the

~ a . g

of the nation w:herewe :reside

and

we. w1llmgly

and gladly

obey' every

law

for which that flag stands.

The American flag is

a:

symbol of

the

na

, tion,

and particularly

the fundamental law

of

the nation.

That fundamental

law

guaran

tees freedom

of c o n s c ~ e n c e ,

freedom

of

assem

bly, and .freedom of .worship,

and there

is n

law on the

statute

books or any state

or

an

part of the nation

commanding anybody

t

salute a flag outside

of the

schools.

To

sallJt

any flt;tg .means t h ~ t we attributy protectio

and

salvation to

what the

flag re-presents

But those who are

in

power politically de

cline to stand

by the

principles

for

which

th

flag stands.

Our

devotion is

to

Almighty

G o d

We

deem

it

far 1norB

irhportant

to .obey

th

laws Of the land without violating our cove

nant with.

Almighty

God

by saluting an

earthly thmg than

to salute

and then imme

diately violate the law

for

whicp

the

fla

stands, and, above all, to violate God's' law

as do those who

attempt to

force others

t

salute. ,

Knowing, that all .

hings

work together

fo

good to thbse who love:'God

and

who hav

been c ~ l l e d according to

His

purpose, no doub

many

of you have wondered

why

such official

s h o ~ l d

oppose

this

convention

of Christia

people. e r ~ we are reminded of the. word

of_

Christ Jesus

wh,en

He

'stood before tli

Rom3:n dictator, t oz whom He said: '"My king

dom is not of this wqrld." He said that

fo

the -reason that He had previously stated tha

$ ~ t ~ l ) H ~ P ~ v i . l i th'-t n y i ~ i b l e : r u l ~ r o ~ J h i

P.resent world. Therefore

t

was

not the

prop.e

t g ~ g {orJlirn to

s , a l u t ~

tlie

~ h i n g s

of this wprld

The

tune had not then

come

_for

Christ

Jesu

to exercise His power as King.

s ' - .


4/64

, > : . ; . ' - ~ ~ : : ~ '

, , , ,

' < i ~ : ; ; ; : :

The M ; ~ S S E N G E R

' : >:;N()'Y

tM Lord J e ~ u ~ ~ C h r i s t is enthroned 'life. If we who are fa a covell.antwith Jebo

/ King

'and about "to take 'over actual pos- vah God willingly break

that c o v ~ n a n i by d:ls

~ { ~ s s i c ; > : q of all the w o r l ~ . lie

has

nothing in obeying His commandments

we

suffer everla,st

~ O ~ : t i l g n -With the powers

,now.

ruling

the

na- ing destruction, without any hope OJ life here

t i O n ~ pf t h ~ earth, which powers are now in after. Those persons who persecute us intelli

g:I:eat controve'rsies among themselves and the gently or ignorantly can do no more than to

pe8ple

under

great

stress. It is to be expected killthe body. They Gannot affect our eterna

~ l i a t _God would hot have His. people hold a existence as long as

we

are obedient

t

Al

G O n v ~ n J j o n

_on

the

premises held in posses-

mighty

God.

For that

reason Jesus -gave 'to

s ~ O I 1

bJ:

political

and

religious. rulers who are

His

followers this. commandment,

at

Matthew

a ~ ~ i n s t . Him

and

agaimit 'His kingdom . ';rhe 10: 28: 'Fear not_ them that can kill.the body

g r ~ a , t r e l i g i o u s organization, which I have

men'."

but fear God, who is able

to

destroy both sou

~ i o n e d ,

is political and, together with other

and

body

in

Gehenna.'

With

us

it

is a

matte

-

1

persons devoted entirely to religfon

and

poli- - of life

and

death.

For

this reason the apotle

tics, ?-H such:are against Jehovah the Almighty told the courts before whom they were haled

q-9d a,11d.,

against His King. Al hq,ugh. Jehovah when they were charged with preaching 'thi

. says,

" T ~ e

earth is the Lord's, and the fulness 9ospel. of the Kingdom: 'We 'will obey God

thereof," public officials and

religionists say

rather than

men.' Such. is the rule .

hat we

to Jehovah God;s servants: "You cannot meet follow this Q.ay. Our hope of Hfe is with Chris

CHl this earth

and

worship Jehovah' God .in Jesus in The THEOCRATIC

GOVERNMENT,_ and

spfrit

and

fn

truth

without first having

our our

hope of

life

is not

with any earthly

in

p'ermission."-Psalm -24: 1. stitution.

(heO.


5/64

he

MEBSENGER


6/64

palities, against powers, against tlle rulers of ting those

who.

are

opposed

to

Him

n d

~ i s

d a r k . ' . l ; l ~ S ~ of this world, against spiritual kingdbm

to

take :one

side,

and

those who

are

'

wic, tec111ess J11

. h,igh

places.''

We know, t h e r e ~ .

with

Him

to take the other

side. The

divi

. f q r ~ j that Satan is ,our chie enemy because sion is going on, and that rapidly. A

second

.

~ . -

..

k _ ~ . . . Q _ ~ ~ . < : _ . s . _ . . ~

.n

. ,m._.....

Y'_ t.hw.e.

~ n k e m .

y.

o.h. .T. he_._h_T f E ~ . _ , c

__

rea,son

why

t_;ibul

1

ation hhas

com.e is to afford

O . t t A T ~ C uoVERNMENT. e

now

t at a . O$t. w opportunity J.Oi' t 10se w o

t:tre

m a covena;nt

detiions with him

are

our enemies; and we

.

Yith God

to

prove their integrity to Him;

, 9 i f : \ ~ ~ ~ i n ~ h t . ~ h -.. c t c e l e x : . ~ t j , a .

i h ~ a , g l h .

orp

.

1

spc rsitoun

ael

..

r : r t u h l ~ , '

and

you

are having this opportunity,. and

so

oJ. u a im ; ; a

~ i ~ ~ e s setting forth the S c ~ i p t u r a l proof in tribulations also: kn0wing that tribulation

t ~ a t tliese

unseen principalities and powers,

wo:rketh

patience; and patience; experience;

' ~ h ~ ~ e j r i ( ) i i ~ , would overrun thewo'rld at this and experience, hope; and hope maketh not

- y ~ i ' Y

time

. .All

the

evjdence-

shows

that we ashamed; because the

l o ' 1 i ~ oi

God is shed

J : \ , ~ Y l t J t

propfo

u l d e r s t a n d i n ~ of , t h e ~ e proph abroad Jn )Ur hearts by the holy [spirit],

~ ~ ~ , ~ ~ . J f

,eyerythmg had contmued with calm--

which is

given unto us." (Ronutn$ 5: 3 ~ p )

t ~ ~ ~

tlp t6

now,

necessarily

we

would

have

con-

Thank

God

:or.

that

message

written

to

His

(}lttded ~ b a t 'We did npt have t}ie proper un.. people; written long ago to bring comfort and

~ ~ ~ ~ t f i n d h i g of

ihe

Sctipiures. The Lord has satisfaction to their hearts at this time/We

S ~ Q W h Us that We

h.ave

~

corl'Mt

t t , f l d e ~ s t ~ h 4 ' . '

eed upon

tribulation because We

take

that as

ing: itrict now we

see,

as the Scriptures declare, one

of

the evidences that. God is dealing with

the whole world under the sinister

infl;uence

us. as

sons

and

n,ot

bastar(ls.

~ f i c t "ffower of Uie

""loy summary p r ~

..

, ~ o ~ ~ ~ ~ i n g d o m ,

and in :favor o this world

ceedmgs a g ~ 1 : i : ~ t .. a l ~ perso11s.

wh? are subver

' t J ; l ~ f

~ e r t a i n fo ao down. This fa a time sive. lmrp.ediately, h k ~ a flash from the .

. t w h e ~

'1 esiis

i s ~ s e p a f ' a t i n g

the

people,

permit the persecution

p

Jehovah's;

. i t n ~ s s ~ j 1 1 .

.

. , ~ : - ...

1


7/64

The M SS NG R

a ~ ; Maine, South bakota and many other states

broke .out; not .a,gainst Fascism and Nazism,

but

all.

against

J e h o v a h ' ~ witnesses, who are

.And

now in this hour. or peril Satan subtl

endeavors to

entrap

those who

are-

full:r de

voted to God and His King by inducing them

to

bow down to and attr1btite salvation todoing nothing

but

to advertise the great The

ocracy of J.ehovah God under Christ Jesus the

:King. Only the supermind

6 Satan

cou1d have

timed the. ~ c t i o h on b.oth

sid.es

of the earth

at

. the

sa,me hour

and caU.sed)is ~ e r v a n t s to per

form these unlawful deeds against th6se who

areDadvber

1

tisihghThe T n ~ o _ c n A r r r n G f o v d B : R : N M E ~ I . .

. . : : ou. t

ess

t e practitioners o . emon1sm

earthly things.

Satan

well knows thaftha

would. mean

our

destruction. we well know

it would mean out destruction. Therefore w

cannot yield to earthly powers, and we wil

not,

~ v e n

though

it

cost us the lire

we

now

possess on Mrth. Would the governor of th

great state of 0hio, who poses before the' peo

ple or America as one who stands for th

hoped

and

eJtpected to

so

discourage

J

eho

vah's

witp_e$Ses

by

their

efruel . persecution

that.

no

conventioI1 could be held. at all in

the United States. God could have. prevented

that

p e r s ~ c u t i o n , but He has permitted i t in

q r d ~ r

to give the enemy

an

opportunity to

i d ~ n , t i f y

themselves, and an opportunity to

His .people to show

their

full faith

and

con

fidence

ip.

Him. Therefore amidst great tfibu

lation, trials and persecution you have trekk;ed

. your way from every part of the

land

to this

city that you might here meet together to wor-

, s}iip God

in spirit

and in truth

and

in many

other cities

in

the Dnited States other, conven-

tiqn$ are tied tbgether

by

ptivate w i r ~ s wlth

this

o n e ~

that. all

of

us may raise .otir

voices

and h ~ a r t devotion to the great THEOCRA'I' and

His King. ' . . . .

.

Our

position with

referen6e to ~ a l t t t i r t g flags

an4 .

~ m n g

meri. is exactly. in Mi: mony with

God's commandment.

and

in

obedience

to His

W

brd,

ttnd

exactly

ih

harmo11y with the lead

of

9.hrist

. esus, (1od's Mfllmandment .

o.

Ills

9 v e n a n t people is this : 'Thou

shalt know no

o ~ . h e ; r : g o ~ s

but

~ e . ' ~ h a t

m ~ a n s that

we must

] e for Hifl1 and against . detnonism. .Again,

~ e

.saysj 'Thon' shalt not make unto

thee any

graven

imnge

of anything that'

is.

in h ~ a v ~ l 1

above

1

or in

the

earth

beneath,

or that is un

~ e r the earth; thou shalt not bow down thy

self . o

them

no'r

se 've t ~ e m ;

for

I am the

11ord thy God.' When the Lord Jesus. had be

g ~ r t

H i ~

1il istry

~ h e

D e v i ~

sought

to

entrap

Hup. by trymg

to . nduce Jesus to

~ o w

.down

to Satan

~ n d to safote

Satan

. Jesus well know

ing that

,

o' give obeisal1ce to any' creature

Wtmld bring

destruction upon himself; and,

above

all,

because of His love and. complete

devotion to Jehovah , God, Be replied

to the

J'.:)evil in these \Vor(ls : ''(jet thee h ~ n c e , Satan

lot t . W , ~ r , h t ~ 1 r ' Thou shalt worship the .Lord

'tlifGoa;

liii


8/64

>- -

,.

,

:j.:

-::

. , ~ " " . : ; : . ~ y ~ - : ~

.

' : " . ~

~ v . l ' s WOI'dsj11

J ' r h e s s ~ l o r i i ~ n s

5; S() e v i ~ his tr.11e

f o l ~ o w e r s .

.

.

.. ...

>: .,

. ,

d , ~ ~ t ~ y

dealing with Olll

day. A

GOmplete re- Looking

dO)Vll

to

~ h i s

very

time,

the ~ j ? p ~ ~ t l

' p o . r t ~ o f . this address appearis in the

new

book'". Paul, inspired by the spirit of God, w r o t e ' : f o r ' ~ h e

. l ~ ( ( ) q n s p i r a c y

gainst D ~ n ( o c r a c y . H e r ~

only b e n ~ # t

. ~ ~ i t h ~ u l . Qh:J:istiaris now

on

. the. 4t'th

a

f e w

excerpts

are

made:

t f o ~ ~ " ) v : o r ~ s :

'(>'(tJ:w

t i n J ~ f $

.and

s e a . s o n ~ ; - b r e t ~ ~ e n ,

I

....


9/64


10/64

io

T ~ e

J{ESSE/IQER

ye .have no peed that I write unto

yoi'.i,

hec:aw:ie ye

a r ~

not

in t h ~ darkness, but ye are the childnm

9 the light. ' , . . .

. He

dwelt at length

1

upon "the sign" to ap

pear in the near

future and -\vhfoh

would

iu

qicate the battle of Armageddon as due to

begin.

Toward the concl.usion

of

thJs speech, and

to t};le hn:iense delight of a rapt audience

w)J,ich hung on his every word, J u d ~ e Ruther,

f o r ~

sprang a big surprise by introducing. a

new book, Religion

of which

15,000

auto-

graphed copies were. .placed the first hoU.r

a:q.(i

many more the next' day. I ere Judge

Ruther.ford .said :

.; 'fhe ~ o . n l .:has graciously

p:rovid.ed

another

in,trq:rnent for the u s ~

f

His people in this

fln,ll,l campaign. He h ~ s made

it

clear to those

wlfo

lqye

:mm

that demonism ;,tnd Chrii;itian:'.

ity

are exactly op'posed

one

to

the other.

De-

mon religion proceeds from the Devil; Chris.:.

tianity, by and through Christ J es11s. Millions

of people of good wW now in the earth desire

to learn .of this diff

r e : p . c e and

t6 talw the

right

course. God has made such a provision.

I I ~ h a ~ given to ui;i another book. [Great ap

plause] The bookJ Religion [continued ap

plause,] contains the

full

information. Obtain

your copy and read it quickly and then get it

to o t h ~ . r , s ' quickly, that they may learn or God's

provision for their salvation

~ n d

the salvation

,

Of.

all: who

love ~ n . a

s e r v ~ h ~ n i . ) ' .

[Applause]

After a pause, Judge Rutherford'continued:

",A.t

all tiID.es

be

on the

i:tlert, be

watchful.

.Watch for the i;iign for the beginning of A r m a ~

geddon and put your confidence wholly in the

L?rcl T ~ a t signis certain.to be made manifest

i;ioon,

and clearly it will 'be, 'When they say

i , ' . /

'

'

\

, ,

peace and safety,' then sudden destructio

shall immediately begin. When the sign fo

A r m ~ g e d d o n ~ l e a r l y appears, may it be tha

then this promise of J ehovtah will be fulfilled

to wit, 'C0me, my people, enter thou into th

chambers, and shut thy doors about thee; hid

thyself as it were for a little moment, unt

..the indignation be overpast.' .

I f this be the last conventicm to

be

hel

by God's faithful people prior to Armaged

don, then

we ~ i l l

look forward with unbound

ed

joy

to that convention

that

shall never end

[Great applause] Therefore, in the languag

of the apostle, 'Rejoice for evermore,' and giv

praise to Jehovah God;"

Judge Rutherford continued, saying tha

he wished to

offe,r

to the conV:entiori the

M , ~

. sage

6f

Hope, to'

be

distributed, and wid

to the millions of people of good will in a

~ h e

earth.

(It

will

be

the privilege of

J

eho

vah's .witnesses to do more than merely dis

tribute it in printed form, as it has also bee

recorded for phonographic reproduction an

will

be

used extensively in the door-to-doo

witnessing.)

Immediately after this inspiring talk,

ac

cepted as another timely blessing from .Jeho

vah,

and

the u,nariimous acceptance of th

Message of Hope, thousands of corivention

ers were soori seen with the new

book Religio

with its brilliant'greeri cover, eagerly glancin

through it. They were looking forward to th

enjoyment

qf

reading it and

th.e

priv.il.ege o

placing it with the people of good will. 'rhe

recognized that

this was

truly

another instru

ment in the hands of Jehovah's w i t n e s s ~ s fo

the advancement of tpe ~ i n g d o m interests

This session of the convention was one neve

to

be

forgotten.

~ ; / . : ~ ~ .; ::

' " . 5 . ; _ . , ; ; / i Y ~ ;

. : " .. > ligh J?oint of

'ther

Convendon . .

J . l ~ a ( h ~ d ip

th

Public A . d d r , ~ e s

()f

/S.nday July 2 8

J

UDG

.

E R. u.THE.jRF

OR

n s add.

e

.

ss.

o.f Su.nd: .a.y,

"RELIGION

AS A

WORLD REMEDY-The Evi-

'


11/64

J_

~ :

; . . ; ; ~

: ; ~ / _ , .

.

,

-

: _ ; : :_ : :

._;__.,

; ~ , : ~ _ t . : . ' . ' ; .> : /

) f I

/ .

> t

'

> ;: ,

,J._.-,

J e49vah's

' w i t n e ~ s e s

liave n fight wlth any per.:

1

scm because

oL

his

rE;lligious

belieL Many Jews,

, .

C a t p g i t ~ s ,

and so-called . Protestants have been

1

u ~ w i t t j p : g l y ensnared by rl:lligion . . I t is the duty

. _ ~ ~ - d ?:t:iVilege, o e v e ~ y

Christian to aid such to

1

w$ee tP,E\ trntli

in o,rqer

that

tMy may devote them-

~ e l v ~ $ . .

to God and His kingdom. The only purpose

of c ~ l l i n g attention fo the difference bet'Yeen r ~ l i

gion and Christianity is to aid men to

s ~ e

that

qod's law 'is the only safe guide and obedience to

, , ~ ' , '

God_ il;

. r n , l l , n ' ~

only protectiop.. ; . . .

, Tl,iat which

is

called

t P . ~

Christian religion" is

not Christfan.

It

;is a religious ptictice

c a r r i ~ d o;n

under the

n;:qp.e

of Christ, but whfoh is in

1

defiance

of the law of Almighty Bod, and which gives honor

to creatures rather than to Almighty God, and

. which deceives iillions

pf

S:incere persons. As a

b ~ t a 1 1 e , ~ f u h ~ ~ s : ~ 1 ~

t ~ ~ = o ~ ~ t i i f

g

~ ~ e

v ~ ~ ~ l ~ f ~ :

. of

Purgatory''

then .adds -these-words; "This inter

pretation is not

m ~ n e .

It is .thi:t . n ~ n i m o u s yoice of

the

f ~ t l i e r s

of.

C h r i ' s t e r i d o ~ ;

that is, entirely tra-

ditional

. ~ n d .

110.L supp6rte4

by

the

Word

of. God.

., (See the F a , i t ~ of Our Fathelfs page 208.)

After

the d,.ays

of

the

a p o ~ t l e s

a sincere body

of

men

organized t h e m s ~ l v e s as Christians.

T h e r e ~ f t e r

sub

tly Satan, the chfo

of

demons, 'induced men in that

organization to a d v a n c e ; ~ n d t ~ a ~ h t}leir views

ccm

trary to the ]3ible, and thereby substituted religion

for' Christianity.

Thereafter t4ey taught the tradi

tions of men. That has been. dubbed the "Christian

organization", although (fntirely contrary to God's -

W ord . . .. .

,

T h e r ~

are

h9nesfa11d s i n ~ e r , e J;ri9n'

who have been

priests of the Roman Catholic G h u r c h ~ many of

. whom have recently separated

t h ~ m s e l v e s

from

that

religious organization because of the Hierarchy's

political activities

w ~ i c h

are .called "Catholic Ac

tion". There are 1llillions. qf sincere and honest

. C a t h ~ l i c ,

people hei'd .in subjection to the Hier-

archy b e c ~ u s e of fear of c r e ~ u r e s . . . . '

The Hierarchy are the real

mover:s

of compul

sory flag-saluting and honoring creatures. 'Hecause

the C h r ~ ~ t i a _ n s i1l G-erm,any refused to yield to such.

religfous ceremonies t:housands of them have been

incarcerated in prison and' many of them killed

. . . .

The Supreme Court ih the Gobitis case decided

only :that school boards

1Ui&'ht

enforce rles. com

pelling children to salute the flag, and

that

against

their conscientious objection. The court made no

atte1llpt to 'decide that adults n:mst salute thefl.ag.

o such

jssue

\Vas

be,

ore

t ~ ~

~ ( ) u . r t . .

~ e r ~ is

no

law. in. '.America.

thaf

'compels adults.

to

'salute' tlie

. flag.

But

the I{ierarGhy and allies, in order to brow-'

b,eat th,e. people, a,tte:mpt to compel conscientio"Q.s

.

C h r i s ~ 1 ~ l 1 s ,

contrary to the law the lan4,. to vio

late God's la \V W h e n ~ y e r the issue by law is raised

compellhig ~ d u l t ~ to' saJute the flag,

that

issue will

be

properly

II1et

before

~ h e . c ~ u r t s .

.

.-

.

r

. T h ~ g ~ e ~ t multitude" that

A.1111

~ u r v i v e A-:r:ma

geddon and fill t4e earth with a righteous race must

f r o w , h ~ ~ ~ o

:put themselves on

t ~ ~

side

of

THE

u(

THEOCMCY

and its King: The rulers of the

have now forgotten God and

turned

to religion

are certain to go down in a very short time. O

the great m"Ultitude" will survive, aud will live

ever . on the earth. Then shall

t}ie

earth becom

glorious and blessed place in which to live. T

:your 'faces and your heart devotion now to

Almighty God

and

to his 'King, Christ Jesus,

live. ,

The complete

report

of the discourse h

touched upon appears in the new booklet

titled Conspira cy Against Democracy.

At the c o n c l u ~ i o n of

Judge

Rutherfor;

. \' '

t ~ ~ ,

\ y ~ r l d s , rightful rii1er, and we welcome the 'Be of" good c o u r a g ~ ( You have .been of goo

OJ)portJi1)}ty of b.earing the reproach

that

has' been

cour;::i,ge all

the time. .

heaped upon the Lord and upon 'His holy name..

~ u t

when the enemy attack you,

and

whe

\ y e : - ~ a n

upon all order-loving people throughout th

'W'll

1 t th

fl

I

~ H ~ J ~ t t t p t a ~ ~ n o ~ c e

dof

tj1ehfac;h ~ a t t fe

ki11g-

i n = ~ e j l ~

s a l ~ t e

r ~ : f l ~ ~ ~ , ~ e l l ~ r r i ~ g

good i r

, . : ) W , ) , , , ~ , . g . ~ _ v e . n ~ i s an a,n. t :it ~ e i r

011

.Y

me3;ns

'who app. ointed. you to enforce that? Ther

C5f

hfe IS to

flee

from the dom1natmg wicked m- .

f 1 u n ~ e . : n . ( ) 1 V be.ing exercised bythe lawless arid

flee

is no law in America compelling men

to

sa

to'Jhe . T H E ; O C ~ f \ , T I C

RULE

of

Christ . J e s u s ~ T o an

lute flags. Are you the

l a w ~

Have you take

such o r d e r ~ l o v i . n g people

we

extend our kindest

the

l a ~

into your own hands?

t

seems

tO'

m

wishes,

be

they Catholic, Protestant, Jew, bond or that you .are the lawless one. You. had bette

fre(:l{'}'}iei:e. is b ut

PW"

:rp.e.11ns. of s a l v a t ~ o n , and

that go

home

and

think about

that

a. while, an

is by>Jehovah God thr?11gh Christ Jesus our Lord.

take advice from the Lord, and not from

th

fhe resoltion was ,adopted by a thnder- Catholic priest.'

ou$

2

''Aye'' . from 45

1

000

in attendance at De- ."There is no use to get angry and argu

t r o ~ t a n d tens- of thousands simultaneously a s ~ with them . I don't know whether this is tru

sembled

fo

convention halls in seventeen other or not, but I

saw

in the paper yesterday

A : m e ~ i C , : : m c i t f o ~ tiedjn withDetroit.

. . . , was reported

that

someone said

that Nq

h

Judge Rutherford then rose apd m a d e ~ the would not salute that .rag'. That is a very ur

fol}owi:r,ig.

. . fortunate state.ment. The flag is not a

cra

.

~ # T E J \ ' . { P O R A N : E O U S R ~ M R K S

The flag is

a

symbol

Of

a government,

th

f T l l e s ~ ~ r e ~ a r k s / w h i ~ h '.went ,out o v e ~ the chah1 .0,

:

principles of which were established o:r;i' i : J g l i

cohV:e4tiQ4s, were greatly appreciated e v ~ r y w h e r e . ]

eoiisness by men, who loved. God. And.'

it

no

.

' ~ ~ I ' O I l a l l o : v e r

England, Scotland,

and

even,

appears'that

the only people in America

tha

I r e l ~ n g these .caqlegrams have just been re: really love,those principles, who really repre

ceived.

I.

shall rwt

take

time . o read t h e n i ~ sejit

the

flag and. who are determined

to stan

w . H I ' ~ ~ ~ k

t h e c l m i r r p a ~ to do

.thatlater .

I

just

b ~ those principles,

are

Jehovah's witnesse

~ a . n ~ e d tQ ~ k e time f


14/64

14

he

M SS NG R

No 6/bearfog

the large:,headline (in green)

~ ~ T i m e

of

D a r 1 ; n 1 e s s ~ I ~ a .

'60:

2", and detail

ing the hysteria of mob violence and. o t h , ~ r

'wicked

a w l e s s r n ~ t 3 S

against

J'ehbva,h,'s

witness.es

M W

~ _ 9 n v u l s i n g

the United

~ t a t e s ,

. and the

~ ~ r ~ p h i r a l

significanGe thereof.

T ~ e s e

were dis-

, rib11ted at

all eX,its

free to the vast throngs

as

~ h e y

streamed

o u t ~

Unfortunately, great

n'i:;tmpers

of the public were unable to gain

a < l I l i t t a n < ~ e

to Convention Hall on Sunday,

even

aJl

stand ng room being: occupied. Hence,

d , ~ r i l l g

tl ie lecture,

rather than turn

these dis

appointed thousands away

e m p t y ~ h n d e d

and

unrewarY

the conventioner

~ o r

distributi9

o: their

way back to

the

posts of

1

service

~ : n d

in

t h ~ i r

h,ome teJ;rit.ori


15/64

he Y ESSEN:GER i

p o r s o I 1 ~ f Hes, to

seC1lp'or{

t h ~

faithful

s e r v a n ~ s

\if,,

, t h ~ .

Lord, wh.en such crimes will be punished

by death to the p_erpetrators in the day Jehovah

avenges His 'people

6

1

. .

The speaker 11nswered these questions with

abundant Scriptural ~ n d

moder:

corrobora

tive support based upon fulfillment of pro-

, phetic truth. The

fUll

report of the talk is

given elsewhere.

P : a g ~ o g r a p h ~ . . ,

Following'

this talk, and.as announced on

the prcigram, came

a

"Demonstration", when

~

I I ~

f{::norr,

convention servant, introduced

a real

SUrp:rise,

a l}eW portable phonograph

designed for dporstep witnessing and mad.e to

play in vertical position. t had nuniber

of new features,. each of which as mentioned

by the speaker, and simultaneo1:isly demon

7

. strated at' each conventim1 city

in

the United

States, was hailed with joy and applause by

t:Q.e 'conventioners.

1

Trained demonstrators in each. hall stood

on

tables and showed the operation 'of the

1

.

I1ew

phonograph. This was orie of

the

big hits

'of the convention.

Thirty new phonograph$, demonstrateQ. dur-,

ing the convention, were eagerly taken by the

witnesses so fortunate as to ask for them first.

They 'made liberal cont:i;ibutiOns

to.

cover the .

initial expense incurred in perfecting the. new

phonograph. Had h ~ y been available,

five

hun

d jed

of the new phonographs could have been

placed

at

the convention

. r h ~ phonograph has been a ' powerful 'instru

D:ie?t in the hi;tnds 9f the Lq:r


16/64

6 The .MES SENGER

Pioneer meeting a joy to everyone

undoubtedly part of

that

1,100. Yours is a bl1:issgd

lot. You are

storing

treasures in heaven, which no

one can take away

from

you

During the course

of

the

conv:entio11

2 ~

individuals requested fJioneer applications, of

which 83 were filled out

and

turned

in

at the

convention.

are

given

that are

essential to each one of

remnant

and

those of the

great

m u l t i t u d

who have been brought into association ~ w

the remnant.

Now that copies of the official service pu

lication, the

Informa.nt

are sent only to se

ants

of the companies, it is all the more nece

sary for the

publishers to be

in

.attendance

odel

ervice

eeting all the"servicemeetings, where

the

Informa

Service meetirrgs, on the average one .eve- is studied, analyzed and discussed .fo:r .

ning each week,

are

a regular

feature of

all

proJ:>er

e g u i p 1 l l ~ n t

of

each

and every worke

organized c ~ p a n i e s of Jeho:vah)t .witi:rnses ...

.

l t : W ~ pointed out that fiefd s e r ~ i c ~ eo

th;roughout the earth. As

an

illustration .of ers .five

d h ~ t i 1 1 g t m . : u : ~ s

.of agt vity: house-

'how a company service meeting could be made. house witnessjng with phonographs, magaz

IIlOSt

interesting

and

helpful

to the T}ieocratic street-corner wo;rk, back-call work, inform

ambassadors, a Model Service meeting was tion marches, and sound-cars.

1n

'addition, a

conducted frolil the convention platform on as

an

extension of the back-call .work,

th

Thursday evening, July 25.

Four

brethren , ar,e model st11dies tq be conducted in the o n i

served on.

the

program, one

acting

as would

of

the. interested.

a company servant,

another

as

the

secret(try,

Attention

wtts called to

the

fol1owing

a

third

as back-call servant, and

the fourth struction i s ~ e d

by

the

Society :

as stockkeeper. 'When groups of. lawless persons or pub

In

the course of

the

sample meeting it was officials acting

unlawfully

cause. a stop of t

ppinted

out

that not merely. those who. hold publishing work

and injure

the publishers

official positions

in

the company; a ~ e to be

their

property, do this promptly:

used on

p r o g ~ a m s o ~

service meetings, but all Write .a clear, brief, but comprehensive acco

capable brethren should be. sed fr.om

thneJo

of all the facts. As

f r

as po'ssible name accurat

time. each opposer who takes a leading part. Give

official posi tion, such as mayor, chief of police,

In the. model meeting

under

consideration other. State whether he is a member of The Ail11:

the importance of all .company publishers, at- ca.n

Legion

0

r other

v ~ t , e r a n s

organizatioii"{nam

tending service .meetings was stressed, since

it

u r a t ~ l y

.,

an.d

w h ~ t

position he holdi\ there

at such meetings information and instruction Name each clergyman

participating,

giving na


17/64

of_ch11rch

d .enomii:i_ation. Let all such names .be ob

tain,eq a.s a c ~ u r a t e l y

and

as

promptly

as possible

u n 9 ~ r .

the circumstances'. . . .... . .

A comp.etent i n d i ~ i d u a 1 in

the

local c ~ m p ~ n y or

'

z czti f ~ a n sign

this sta ement as his own

and ac-.

knowledge it as a true statement before a notary

public: Typewrite the' state111ent, making eight read-

able copies. Send the original 'to Francis Biddle,

Solicitor

G e n e ~ a l

of

the

United States,

Department

of Justice,

Waishington, D.

C. Send

a copy

to

each

of

.the

following anq r e t ~ i n

one copy

for your

file:

.

4merfoan

Civil L i b e , r t i e ~

pnion,

31 Union Sq11are,

West, New York, N. Y.

Governor

of the

Stitte

w h ~ r e

event occurs;

at-

torney general of

that State; prosecuting attorney

of ,

the

cer

i n v ~ t e d to participate directly in

the

.

I D o ~ c 1 . e l ~ f u d y on the platform, and who an

swere_d

the questions on the current .watch-

tower article

through

microphones.

At

times

t:qe

e n t ~ r e

assembly. was called upon to an

s ~

1

a question in unison. To the question;

Model atchtower study conducted. from platfo

-

' 'What will Jehovah;s enemies then

s a y ~

basso-profundo voice answered, They sh

say 'Peace ind

saf

;)ty

."

f

And what

will

th

happen? addressing the question to the co

vention, which answered with a

thundero

roar, Then sudden destruc_tion cometh up

them, . . . .

and they

shall nqt escape " - Q u o

ing T h ~ s s a l o n i a n s 5 : 3.

Hurdling Obstacles

f you visited Convention

Hall w_hen

t

convention committee did when making a

rangements,

or

if you visited it just twoda

,

after

the close of this assembly, you wou

behold

just

a sprawling series of

five

larg

low-roofed halls with sky-lighting,

adjace

one to another, and with broad passagewa

or

door openings

and

immense floor spac

A

tour

of the vast barnlike structure, fro

the Cass Avenue entrances to the Woodwa

Avenue entrance,

just

two days after the w

nesses got. iri to do construction work, poin

edly showed, to wit,

that

Jehovah has on

ear

a practical people of

many

capabilities, ab

to

carry

on

without

aid of the Devil's com

mercial organization, thoroughly able to

a

as organizers

or

to be organized, and to tran

form a messy situation into a comfortable

a

adequately provided convention location.

to this

and

other convention

arrangemen

ll

other parts of the city, so thorough a j

was done

of

.systematizing all preparato

activities that the work went forward wi

the . required efficiency and completely ov

rode all the obstacles and discol),certing d

lays and hold-ups that the enemy had wi

fully_ brought about. Not. surprising, ther

fore,

that

in

a

few

days' time

the

regul

company of witnesses at Detroit secured 17 0


18/64

18 -

\

Room assignment. department

accommodations for conventioners in private

homes

and

boarding houses, aside from the

city's many hotels.

. '

The rooming committee or department'held:

forth the E ~ s t ~ J ; I l Star

Tei.pple.

_(see

photo),

a few blocks away from Convention, Hall.

The room or office for handUng the rooming

assignments was thoroughly organized

and

the

work classified. There were

val'.'i()lls.

d e s k ~ . ~ r i g

divisions, each

1

ha:ndling different groups

:or

classes of room applications. .

Two days before the convention, arrange

ments had been made for 30,000 conventioners.

A People Not Desired (Zephaniah 2: 1)

Jehovah's

w i t n e s s ~ s a:r;i.d c o m p a n i o ~ s

are a

people or "nation" not desired by the rulers

of this world. They are separate and distinct

from the world,

and

look forward to

that

new.

heavens

and

new earth, wherein dwelleth right

eousness

and

which

will

follow .Armageddon.

I t

was therefore not

out o

co:u 'se qf the

Devil's organization that the Ohio State Fa.ir

Grounds were denied Jehovah'switnesses.Jo.r

their 1940 national . Jtssembly, altho.ugh on

many previous occasions they had assembled

ill

Columbus, t4ree of their largest conven

tions having been held there, in 1924, 1:931,

and

l ~ 3 7 .

h ~ n

t h ~

final .s49yygowi .

~ p ; i . ~ ,

n:ot

even the

State

Fair

Grounds n-,:Oetro1t

h . ~ ~ d t\ .fa i

al'y sea

s

. in .

Newspaper commept on the openfog sess

said:

Without anytraee 0 the m.unicipal welcome

ually accorded gatherings of even less than its s

the Theocratic Convention of Jehovah's witnes

assembled in ~ e t r o i t wednesday for a five-day c

veti,on. . '

.......

..

. .

..

Far ':from.pissing tiie. convenHoilairesofufloii

W e l c o m ~ , in fact, the Common Council. displa

anger that the Witnesses were permitted to

Convention Hall. [Detroit

ree r ss

July

. 1940]

.The

same paper said' under

d,ate of July

Unwelcome. to civic agencies. and the Co:r;n

Council, the witnesses

w Olre

a boon to business

the stores around; Convention Hall. nestau:r:ant o

ers .said they were glad the witnesses had been

nied a meeting place at Columbus and at the

Mi

gan Sta.te

Fair

Grc:uJ.lds,

and

the Masonic Tem

in DefJ:o t . . . ' . . . ,

Opposition to

J , e h o v a h ~ s

witnesses led to

rimoni6us

deb;:ite

in

the Counciland

effort

fix the

b.l.ame.

for their presence in Detroit

to

c g ~ r g i n g

Grindley (owner of Convent

Ia l)

witli tb,e. responsibility. This unfav

9 a b ~ e . ~ h a r g e

led

further

to the

threat

of

i n C '

ing

the

tax

assessments on the. I all. The

h

tile

~ t t i t u d e ,

together with expressions of

ger and covert threats made by such un-Am

ican organizations as the American Legion a

the

Veterans of Foreign Wars, made Jehova

w f t p , e s s ~ t.eaJize.

'the

n e ~ d p

i n c r e a . ~ e d

v


19/64

l a ~ d { ( a l t h ~ u g h ~ o b

attacks and. other.violent

~ 5 e i ) e r i e n < : e s

of the past few months had b,een

s u f t i c i e ~ t t0 ,make them alert). '

[ .

.

. : ; > > . : ~ : , : t : : ~ : ~ : f ~ ~ . , s : ~

' : ~ ~ ~ . t ~ ~ > ~ ~ , . ~ ~ : ~ < :

. ~ ~ ~ ; ; . ~ v ~ : ~ . : . : ~ : _

t ..

~ ; : : . ~ : : . ~ / : :

:

1

_.: : . ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ' 6 ~ ' . ; : ' : ~ ~ _ l ' f ~ ~ '

::f . ~ : - ' \ ' ' f t ' ~ - f , : ' . , f \ : f ' - ~ ; + . ~ ~ ~ , . ; . - ~ ' # ' f ' ; : - r , ~ ~

t : ~ 1

k


23/64

The

J L E S s E ~ G . E R

, .:

the major interference with the work dur-

ipg the convention was by members of the

A:gierican Legion and the Veterans of. For-

~ ~ g n .Vt ars, who ganged

up

on workei:s in vari

ous

piirts of the city, frequent ly with the back

ing 0 priests. There were

: t n o r ~

than;;i, dozen

i11stances

of

.this kind,

and in

two instances

the. wit11esses attacked were. women,_ priests

'with collars

and

vests buttoned on backwards

.attacking them from behh1d. ' ... .

.

. .:

.A

s ~ o . r e

or morB

of mops gathered against

the '\vitnesses in various

parts of

the town. as

they were. engaged . n the. street. work.. The

b:lobwould

surround

an isolated publisher: an_d

threaten

him

with

violence i f he. did not.

d:iS-

continue his work or salute the flag. These

demands were, of cours:e, refused.

In

sbine in

s t ~ n c e s

.workers were viciously assaulted. The

police in every inst3:nce. stood idly

by and

watched the mobs commit

tb.e.

violence, and,

when requested to take c o m p l a i n t ~

or

make

' arrests, refused to _do so, even where.the,

ide:r::-

.

/ i,ty of priests, I..1egionnairesor Veterans was

. establisheff beyond ;reasonable

d o u b t . ~

The a,,ssa11lts 'Yere boldly resisted by the

pl-ihlishers, who. gladly returned t()_ the _terri

:tory

the following days

and

pushed the batt le

to the gate, thereby proving the Devil to be

a. l ~ a r

and

striking terror into

the

h e ~ r t s of

.Je1ioyah's

el1emies.

fatform

. . . . .

... 'he

~ p e a k e r s

platform was placed

in

such

a position in t_he main auditorium

that

it could.

be seen also from three

of

the otherJour halls,

t}lrcrgh

the wide doorways. T h ~ platform was

rnaM attractive

by the display

of

palmsiiftnd

: f i . o w ~ r s one basket .

centrally

placed bearing

a ribbon }Vith golden: letters,

The

Theocratic

. Conyention." A

rug

c.overed the

_floor, and

~ } i ~ f r

of_9ea,utiful. m q d ~ m i s t i c design were

placed

in convenient -places

for

speakers

and

others

~ e r v i n g on

the platform. To. the Jore

b o v ~

the

platform hung

a large banner, em-

b r o ~ d e r e d

}Vith letters . of . gold,

~ ~ i c h _

s a i ~ ,

. MY.

HEART

s :HALL REJorcE IN 1ltHY

sAt\rA:' ' ON.

~ P S L M 13: 5,"

the

1940 year's text. 13ac1 : of

the platform was the sound-contr9l roolll, from

whigh through ,glass p'anels the operators could

s ~ ~

' ~ ~ e ,speakers

and

microphones. at work.

} : f f l ; i o r ~ s c e ~ t )ight over the speakers'

stand

- ~ ~ f l \ ( >

heat;

an important

9onsideration in

t ~ ~ -

yery hot weather that ,then qbtained. A

further

aid

-in reducing the .arduousness

of

the speakers'

task_

was the installaticHi of a

4.Jeet-tall cooling device,

like

a large electric

. .

'

.:

.

.

.

.

: \

.,

.

...

In

the c o n t r ~ l room

fiiti,

whieli kept

the

~ i r in c i r c u i a t i o ~

across

the platform. Being situated

in

a corner, the

platform

would-otherwise have been most un

comfortable

during

sessions.

The orchestra

/pit

was alongside the plat

form .. The orchestra reached a peak of fifty

mliSicians on Sunday, with wide variety. of

instruments,

:from

all

ov_er

th.eUnited S t a t e ~ .

It was conducted by a member of station

WBBR's

musical staff at Brooklyn. By loud

speaker equipment

in

all halls

(and

at all the

conventions

during

relayed programs) the or-

chestra served as excellent guide

and suppor

to

t ~ e

singing coriventioners. Though scattered

6 v ~ r la number of

lrnlls

with partitions

that

prevented

thousands

from. seeing the music

conductor, the entire assembly sang together

in

marvelous unison, well reflecting how they

unitedly

sing together the Theocratic "new

song'' to all mankind. The songs were up-

to-date, non-religious; energetic, in line with

present truth , and

singing them was a man::

ifest

joy

to

the

conventioners. . ..

To the left

of

the platform,

and

suspended

from

the

ceiling above the center aisle of the

main auditorium, hung a huge painting, beau

tifully

executeq in. full color. It

pictured

the

great multitude of

people of good

will_

hasten'"

in,.g from ~ 0 0 1 1 1 e d "Christendon;i." a;nd joyfully

:tleeing to The Theocracy, so. escapmg destruc

tion. Until Judge R u ~ h e r f o r d introduced and

released the new book Religion

Saturday

af

ternoon, little did the conventioners realize or

suspect that the painting was a large-scale

duplicate

of

the embQssed cover

and

frontis

piebe 0 a grand surprise for theni.

< afeteria .

..

. .

,.J)_ring the five assembly

d ~ y s

no

e ~ t i n g

es

tablishment in.

Detroit

had

a patronage

at

al


24/64

24

Tke -ME:S SEN:GER ,

comparable to that of the conventiqn

c ~ f e t e r . i a ,

a feature that ministered:greatly to

the

health,

comfort

and

.convenience of the: o n v e . 1 1 t i 9 1 1 , e r , ~ ~

Businessmen of

Detroit

co-operated willing-

ly in the preparation of the cafeteria. by sup

plying equipment. The Hobart Company fur-,

nished kitchen equipment v a h 1 ~ d

at

$2,065.

The nieat - grinding machine loaned by them

was of

the

latest

design

and

efficiency. The

United

States

Slicing Machine Company

loaned one of tlwir. l a t ~ . ~ t ~ H e e . r s , valued at

$1,000. The McCray

company

furnished r e ~

frigerator

equipment .The Gas Company free

ly supplied ranges for the preparation of

food, as well as

$500 .

worth of pipe required

to handle the large-scale convention. demand

for fuel.

Ruud

Heaters to furnish hot water

were loaned. There was also a machine that

would quickly clean and peel either potatoes

or carrots. Champion dishwasher took care

of

3,000 .

dishes

in an

hour, but many human

dishwashers had to help out to take

ca;re

of

thousands

0

other dishes,. spoons, forks, etc.

All the equipment was put up by the publish

ers themselves, working night ~ n d day to get

everything in readiness. .

With an immense number of conventioners

to be fed, cafeteria arrangements had to

be.

extensive ap.d. thorough. With Jehovah's bless

ing, wonders were accomplished. With plenty

of lumber, tables ;;ind serving units were built.

up

such as

illustrated

Ori

this page .

Te11

of

these (double).

ril);its

handled the crowd with

remarkable dispatch; especially when the im

mense numbers, and the rather cramped

a c ~

commodations, are taken into cons,ider_ation

Una]Jle to take advantage of the convention

cafeteria, thousands

had to

eat outside, and

so atmeal times long lines of hungry conven

ticmers

also

formed. at cafeterias an.d restau

rants for b l o ~ ~ s ar,ond in. _tlie

yicfoitf o :i:

Convention Hall. .

The 'cafeteria was operated, not for

C )ID.;.

merdaJprofit,

ptfor

the

benefit of

the

l e e d y ~

Here p:ractically a.11 tlrn pioneers

and huncire


25/64

. .

:

.

;,

-

1 ~ a t i o n ,

operating

withot pecuniary Ji:r6nt; - t h ~

c ~ t : v - .

t.ax

collector .

has

pursued ..

the

u n u ~ m a J

c9P,:rse- ()f REQUIRING. U$ TO ~

y

; t , t , r C ~ N S E TAX

. : f ~ r - the

-I>rivilege

of

feeding

the n e e d y ~ ; l)oes

tP.e,

city

of. :Petroit pursue, a,. like p q l , i ~ y ,to

W ~ t d s

its. ~ l j g i o u s organizations under , s i ~ i ..

lai eircumstart.ces? . . '' / ' :: _ : -

::

'

-. ' ' . F ~ e d h l g

some

thirty

thousana or

rore

Gofi:_

ventfoners called

for

large

supplies.

Th,e

dai)y'

diet, with

variations, included

2,200 pounds

of

bread and 6_00 doien

eggs,

300

dozen pieces

of

pastry. and thirty. or morff cas-es. each

of 50

fh:tckages of-Corn.Flakes a:rigS}iredded Wlieat,

pesi(les cooked cereal. Also

50

pasketsof peach

es and 40 cases of

126

oranges.

All that

for

l : > r ~ a k f a s t , leaving something over for dinner.

At dinner

1,500

'pounds of

meat

was prepared

(varied one day with 1,200

P.ounds of chicken,

and another-not Friday-with 1,500 pounds

9f

fis}i). Some

14,000 half-pints of

milk were

.

required

daily,

and

40

gallons

of

bulk

milk

and

20

gallons,of cream. One ton qf c.a1Jbage was

co;nsumed daily,

and a hundred

baskets

0 fo-

-

~ t ( ) e s ,

besides . a con$iderable .

quantity

of

/

ot}ier vegetables. Also, there were

250

pounds

of cottage cheese .called

fo:r

daily. No mention

is h e r ~ made of pies, but

there

was a consid

e r a q l ~ supply of these also available. . .

In

the kitchens a truc.k ~ o m p l e t e l y

equipped,

~ i t l i . magnify.ing (loud-speaking) .

q u i p m ~ r i t

made

, t . possible for .kitc}ien_

a ~ d .. cafeteria

W()rkers.

to_

hear all

the

C()nvention proceed'"

hrgs

without

leaving

their

place

or

work

This -

feature

contributed

much to

the

efficiency of

the

.cafeterfa force. , , ,

A s t ~ i k e

. 'Tocopi'.plica

e

matters c9nsWe,:raqly a

t l ' u ~ k

illg

str ike

was called

in

Detroit

just as the

~ ~ n y e n t i o n w ~ s gettiI1g under way. Thls .WO uld

}iavE;ip.trfered

greatly whh the

delivery of

books aI1d

cafeteria

supplies, had

not the

Lord

op erieP,

. he.

way for the publisher

. who

drove

tn

truck to. o b t a ~ n .

Jrom the. trucking

.union

il,''pass,

willingly

granted,

i v i n ~

him

Utihin

CJ.ered freedom to

go

with the

truck whe.reVer

~ t h ~

. c o n v ~ n t i o n interests r e q u i r ~ d . _him. t9 go.

.

.

I

. :,

,

g )pvenfion ighlights : .... - -

;

: , : T p : ~

~ ' o r r i i n g

,0f.

each

~ n v e t i 1 i o n day;

e ~ c e p t

$titid.ay,-was . devoted to

field

sery ce'. The'.As-

~ p b l y f o ~

Field Servfoe \vas

at

9 a,.m.;

:and

.

- ~ ~ ~ m a r k e d

bY

i r i g i ~ f ? ; , p r a ~ . e ~ ,

. ~ a n ~

-the r ~ a _ d ' .

.. -- . .

.

' ' ' " ' . , . . : . . / . ' : ; / ~ . .

i c 5, s, 7.

Views ot. _ r , e ~ t d1Ii;1g.

h ~ 1 i ~ ~ .

( ; ~ ; ; ,.L

.8. Aids

iq l f e e j ; J i i r ~ - , ~ Q Q l , ' '

:: ::_;_

,

:.;;


26/64

in'g (from the 1940 :f

earbOok

ofthe

te Xt

arid

comments for the day. Announcements relat

ing to the field service anq o t h ~ r cop vention

cqncerns were also made, Then,

at

9: 30 the

W,itp.esing partfes c(e'.parted 'for their territo

ries, to hring. to the people of good will the

glad message of the Theocratic ,Kingdo:m of

_;Jehovah.. They also engr;iged in

' ' i n f o r m ~ t i ? n

tntt,:t''Ghe " with large placards, and street )Vlt

nesing with. the

Watchfower

and Cqrisolati9n

magazines.

1

~ l \ s they, made these efforts to comfort

all

that

mourn

they met. some who were

not

of .

good will, either toward God or man. Stich

showed their animosity in various ways.

In

one c a s ~ a

priest

and one of his

:flock

attacked

.a

woman bearing a sign advertising the Sun

day lecture. They tore off not only the sign,

but also

part

of the woman's clothing.

Sunday

morning _witnessed an_ assembly for

baptism. Besides

the

candidates

for

this

sym

bolic immersion, thousands' of other conven

tioners came to the auditorium to hear the

Scriptural presentation of the significance of

this symbol. Then hundreds of cars took the

great

multitude of newly consecrated ones

to the i:uriersion pool, ;:mme qistance away.

Cars were lined up

three ~ e p for

many blocks

along Cass avenue,

and

police officers gave

needed assistance to make things go sm9othly.

The pictures will

tell

t h ~ . r ~ w l . l i n 4 e r . 9 ~ tr-2e

story from here on, t a k i h ~ Y()U to the . mnier

sion pool

and

showing

the

'large numbers

"of

those baptized. Incidentally,

i _s

o interest

that

the papers gave special space to the fact

that the governor of Michigan had gone else

where to attend

an

unusual local r ~ 1 i g i o u s

event, an impressive baptism servfoe at

which some

twenty

persons were immersed.

There were. 1,634 immersed

at

the Gonvention

of

Jehovah's witnesses. '

While these members of the grefit m-qlti

tude'' (Revelation 7: 9) were being. immersed,

the convention at the main audftori.um

and

connected halls. was being . addressed.' on .

the

subjects of Co-ordinating Field Activity'? and

O:rganizin'g Isolated Territory .

During the course of the convention many

talks were given on a wide varietyp Scrip

tural

subjects by publishers from all parts of

the United States and from 'Canada, as well

as some from, Europe. Great

thrills

were e x ~

1.

Some

of the cars that carried

great

multi

tude to pool for baptism.

2.

Arriving at pool

3. Waiting their turn.

4.

E n t e r i n ~ the pool.


27/64

.

i

V T h e l t f t s s 4 E N G ~ 1 1

pe:rienced listening to accounts such as ff

om

a regional servant from the mob-swept areas

of Texas; also from a regional

servant

from

Canada, with its ban n Jehovah's _witness;

also

from the erstwhile servant of .the Berne

1

(Switzerland) branch, who braved many dan

gers from Nazi-Fascists to get out of Europe

and)n time to the convention.

Field Service etc.

Mention has already been made of the var

iou$ forms of field service

that

engaged some

of the time of praGtically all -the convention

ers. Of the. literatUre taken_ to Detroit, the

following disposition was made :

Placed Placed Taken

Field Conv'n Home Total

Books 2,967 21,688 51,060 '75,715

Booklets 210,323

129,0 59

100,000 439,382

Magazines 16,123 16,837

_32,960

[ ngdom ews 100,000 1,926,000 2,026,000

This

report

does not reflect the full amount

I

of

se'rvice rendered by the publishers at the

convention. A very large force

had

to be used

for

day

and

night

guard

duty

throughout the

auditorium,

ttailer

city

and

Alexandrine Hall,

in addition to the

regular

maintenance and

operation of convention departments which

usually absorb a

great

number of workers.

The following precautions were taken to in

sure

proper

observation

and

protectfon

for

workers in the busy downtown

areas:

Mag

azine work on the streets, information marches

and

.business witnessing were co-ordhiated as

-far

aspossible. The time set aside for the first

two f ea ures of the work particularly was

from a.m. /to

:

3 p.m. and from

5

p.m.

to 6 p.m.,

and

from

10

p.m to : 3 p.m.

The

late

evening hour covered

the

theater area.

The co-operation of all the ,.::witnesses 'in the

service

war}

was exGellent. A very fine spirit

was

in

evidence throughout and there were

practically no com

plain

s heard.

Camera Department

Cameras owned. by con:ventioners were put

to use' in the service of The rrheocracy. Freely

offered, thes,e were em ployed to make _records

of convention activities, and, in some instances,

of

interference and opposition

by

lawless ele-

ments. ,


28/64

.

he M ESSENGER

tit J 1 r a i l ~ r amp

i' '.D;'pe

. ~ ~ A r e : r i t i o n

trailer

camp was a novel

~ f i ; 4 ? ~ t t r a c t i v : e

f e ~ t u r e 9f the Detr,pit conve11

t i ~ n ~ . '

There were h:undreds .of

o u s e - c a r s

and

~ a i 1 ~ t s / a ~ w e U as a

number

of

tents a ~ d

other

~ o ) j t ~ i y , a 1 1 . c ; . e s , for acco llIIl.Odating tho,.se who take

t . o , ; ~ ; n ~

' ' . r { ) ~ 4 . in the., service

of t J.e King.

Among

t ~ ~ : r r i ~ n y ' .

trailers and

h o u s e ~ c a r s

there were.

~ . f ~ w ho.me)llade ones, but

for the mo,st

p a r ~

t h , : ~ Y were .of the well-built commercial type.

1 . ) , ~ J l S U a l i.ll the case

of

cars uSed

by

witnesses,

1 J : ~ \ ~ t > a p e r s gave special attention to

the

an

~ ~ ~ n . t jalopies"' of which.

there

were but a 'few.

1

- . c , ~ , : J 1 o w e v e r , testified to the owners' deter

w}natioi;l.1

to

'devote foll time to

the

greatest

s e r v i c ~ imaginable.

..

.

: r r ; ~ ' o r t e s in charge

of

making

arrangements

~ o r

~ b ~ tra,iler camp looked about for a site

witpp-gt.s:cgess until

they

secured

the

free use

~ t . A ' . p i e c ~

of pasture-land

(about

20acres)

.

( ) ~ J : i l : l d . py

a I(ingdom publisher, on

the

a m ~

'r0ad t

.tl:ie east

of the

so-called Shrine

of

t p e ~ : f u i t t k : ~ l o w e r ' ' .operated by one' radiocast

i n ~ . ~ o r e i g n priest

whom

Detroitersdub ' ' ~ m o

( J h ~ r l i e ' ' ('Yith

e f e e n . c ~ tothe

s11chlike t9wer

ofp}s wjlJion-dollar shrine ). 'This. was con

v e r ~ ~ g , ii;ito a splendid slte for' a

frailer

camp,

s ? m ~ J w , e l v ~

miles from Ca;na:it

. ~ $ . n L . ~ a s y niatte,r fo)ocate anyone

staying

.

~ ~ , ~ ~ ~ ~ a ;

~ t i ~ i f f ~ ~ i ~ t r ~ a ~ ~ ~ l ~ ~ : ,

\ ~ : t ; t : i p , .

with.:

office arrangements and.prov1s10ns' ,,

we,re patrolled e g ~ l a r l y

throughout

the night

One night; July 22, when

there

were alre.ad

a n ~ m h e r il}_the camp,

the

power was shut of

aJ1d

.:rp.e;n .

~ a : e ' i n wanting

to

know

i

it wa

ap: American camp. They were assured it was

withadded informatiOn; A little later on

th

mayor ofthe adjacent town came

in with th

own clerk, stating that he had had many call

and

inquirie,s

a ~ ; t o what

this

camp was.

H

'came. out fo

see'

for himself. After 'being cour

tepusly received. and given an explanation a

to

what

the:camp wasthere for, he went awa

satisfied.

One night before the convention opened

about 1:

30

a.In., a leader

of what

was claime

to be

the

Ku

Klux

Klarieame with four auto

loads of ruffians, demanding entrance

to th

camp, and carrying

a

flag. (Why do suc

trouble-seekers usually cover themselves wit

a

flagn

He

was given assurance

that

thi

was not

an

un-American work.

When

he saw

the

: f l a s h : - e ~ n i e r a s clicking, taking his pictur

and pictu es of }1:i s mqtorcadEj ~ n ~ _ tli.etrJ

c ~ p ~ ~ P : U T I . : b ~ r s , he,

beat

a

hasty

retreat, bu

saymg We'll

.be back". After his

departur

.

he

camp

guard

was doubled.

Provisions were

m a d ~ in

the

camp for re

freshments, and arrangements were also Inad

for

c o n ~ u c t i n g

a cafeteria on

the

grounds

fo

thebenefit of

the

.campers.

The ca:rrip was

f i t t ~ d

with .sound equipmen

for

the

P'llrpose

o:f

Inaking

important

an

nouncements, and, as mentioned elsewhere

~ Q r : p o l i c i 1 1 ~ t . ~ e grounds. There .was a chief, ...

. with

a . ~ ~ i s t ~ ~ t s ; J o . ~ ~ a c h " ~ ~ t r e ~ t " ' . T h ~ s t r e e t s ~ . - ~ ~ :

.. ,:.,


29/641.''Traveling

'Fi:t'th

1

Avenue; style, .

2.

Chartered

b u s ~ s : ~ .

_

..

L o c u s t ~ ; ;

and

t r u k l o ~ d

of

.truth'.

......

4

visible' guard.

5; Drawers' 6:1'.'water: 6.

Washday: 7,'Tnaf

ought fo hcila- tm we gef

hoine.'


30/64

he

MESSENGER

1'1

; '

thx C(ove11ti2n p r g c e e d i n ~ s for s&turdayand place 'and July 24-28 as

the

dates,

for

a ''Theo

$u11qay were relayed to

t g ~ . G ~ I I l : P ; .

. cratiG" convention of Jehovah's witnesses.

, N ~ J t

to

d,o wlJ.s

to ADVEJiTJSE. i11tensively

Op mp ltf ms

. . . .

for and wide The

great

:i;nultitude of Nort

'

J f h ~

"wit leS$,

who provided the

la:n


31/64

: . , ' ; i r ~ ~ ~ l i i r s s ~ ' N ' G ~ ~ t t

Ml\J k ~ ~ ~ i ~ public' f ~ ~ n d 4 L ~ ~ ~ ~ p i p ~ r ~ key t 1 s s e m b J x ~ l > - o i n ( Conventions of.Jeiiovah'1

~ 1 J d

r ~ d i q stations)

1

w h ~ 3 h sp1;1.rned

tq

g 1 v ~ w i t n e s ~ ~ s are not get-togethers for sociabilitie

. . .

< ~ t ~ ~ t ~ ~ ~ 1 p u ? ~ i s h e ; ~

, : w ~ ~ ~ ; ; ~ l : f w e f f p ~ t o n ; ~ ~ d several

c ~ ~ m ~ h t s

with.

in thi.s we

will do our very best

were J:ieardas to the s11ccB,ss of this

m_eth9d

protect you. We

want

the convention of J e

'ofadvertising. . vah's witnesses to be a success

and

'to be

e}iind the locaJ :{(ingdom Hall. The lady ~ o r k of Jehovah's witnesses is not Nazi,

~ w : h o owned thiSlot had it cleaned up

and

she Fifth Column . The chief of police persona

_let

us .

park our trailers in

this

lot

without ,

_made

a check on the work being done

by

cost. She also trned _over to us a rooming publishers.

in

Boise,

in

the house-to-house

w

house of nine rooms which was above the nessing.

He

asked people

at

their

homes as

Kingdom HalL This was

turned

into

office and the

conduct of the witnesses

that had

cal

sign.;painting rooms

until we

could movB into

at thehomes, and in

almost all cases was

tlie Columbian Club. 1-;here being several other formed

that

they were very kind

and

pol

, rpoifis

h ~ t

were:

n oi

being used

for office,

etc., when

they

called on us .

a:rrarig'ements \Were made

for

some to sleep All meetings were well attended

by

m

here. This arrangement housed fifteen persons . women, and children. They were all order

that were helping to advertise the convention. enthusiastic

and

eager to lea.rn. The disc

We had

parked four

house trailers

in

t h ~ s sions and demonstrations were to help

the

pu

lot, but there is a city ordinance against park- lishers to be more efficient in every branch

-ing

ho.use

traHers within t]ie city limits. The the service.

b-uilding inspector was

tqld

what

our

work is, The new phonograph

was

indeed

asurpr

and

that it

was all done

for

the welfare

of

to all. Keen interest was shown

in

its ope

the people of Boise. He then consented

to let

tion. Several expressed

their

desire fo ha

us

stay

here

until

the end of the. month.

1

This one of these machines as soon as possible.

all worked

out

to the glory of Jehovah

and At

the

Saturday

afternoon talk from D

also shows that Jehovah blesses those.who

trust

troit, on Times

and

Seasons ,

by

Judge Ru

and serve H i m ~ . . erford, the reception was very good, clear a

. . Local

and

near-by company publishers see- pleasant

to

listen to.

At

the close

of

the t

ing the work that was being done

in

this camp, the Resolution was unanimously approv

moot,

of

whom

were pioneers, contributed food There was great enthusiasm

and grateful

of

all kinds for this hard-working camp, each preciation for

the_

release

of

the

new'bo

.one doing his part with

joy in

his heart that Religion The baok was fodeed a surprise

he toocould have a

partin

arranging

the great all,

and

after

glancing

through

its pages eve

Theocratic con:vention in Boise, which would one knew_ it .Was a provision qf

the

L9:rd

give a mighty witness to the name

of

Jehovah help

instruct

the o t h ~ r sheep . .

in this_ section. .At

the

meeting Sunday afternoon, duri

The conduct of'

the

police was very good. which the a q d r e ~ ~ - ~ ' R ~ l i g i o n as a Worlq Re

(Jhief of Police Utley

and

Mayor Straight,. edy

_came

from

petroit,

t?e. r e c e p t i o ~ w

also the Chamber of Commerce, were very con- - marvelous, very clear

and

d1stmct.

'fhe

mu

siderate of our work. The chief

of

police 'gave was lovely. The whole auditorium was :(il

good advice to the publishers. The advice given 'besides some on

the

speakers'

platform

a

was to av_oid all controversies; do. not talk in the cafeteria r o o ~ Everyone ,present

back to people who speak evil against

you;

tened attentively

'and

carefully. There w

just walkaway

from them

and

avoid mob no sign of disturbance,

and

everything w

; violence as much as possible.

f

you

CO-:Operate.

well. Sincere approval'

and

appreciative than

, . _


37/64

he

M SS NG R

3

forthe

message ~ a s shown, ranging from

~ v i g

orous hand-clapping to tears.

A

resolution was passed to issue a vote of

thanks' to' the

o f f i c i a l ~

of

~ o i s e ,

to the women

o ~

t ~ e

.Columbian Club; where the convention

were. heid, .and to the lan


38/64

38 .

. of/

their

work whep.'they ihcluded.'

eight:year are correet,th"e Wiflleses'"artsadly mfatinderstoo ~ ~ k q t . ~

July 2,

1940

/ . . , .

Recently you made applioation to the manager of

the

Colisewn., a

public

building owned and operated

by the

City of Sioux

F a l l s ~

:tor tne use of, 'such

building

from Jull.y 24th

to

July 28th for ..

the

hold,ing

of a

1

meeting

t the

organization

known.

as

Jeh.ovah

1

s

Witnesses. At that t+me the I11anager aocepted a deposit

of

$35

.on ' the rental charge but with the rese.rvl,'l,ti

0

n tl}at.

i f

. i t s}l_qu,:J,d

develop that the holding of such meeting would be contri;iry

to

the public interests , the permit

to

use the b u , i l ~ i n g would not

be. granted and the deposit would be returned.

1

1

xhiring

the

l as t .

several.

dtlys

numerbui,

o b j ~ 9 t i o n s

ruive

b e ~ n

re

c ~ i y e d by,

the manager of the

C9l1seUI11.

an,a the

9+ty

officials

to the holding.of this. meeting by suoh

organization.

These ob

jectiont1 have been 1Dade by representatives t vari,ous

patriot ic

8 J 1 ~ ' l t f i r a n s . o r g a n i z a t 1 o n s and

by other religious groups, which

gf'oups

claim

to nave be.en

subJeot

to attaok by representatives

of Jehova}l s Witndses. .

pears from the art icle

1n TIME M A ~ ~ I N E for June 24, 1940, at page 54 t:)lat similar meet-

1ngs Of the' organiiation'luive1tMite4

r ~ O ~ E f ~ n C .

~ o b yiolence in

v.:a,r i ~ s . oolllll1..... l ' l i t . ~ I . ~ ..

TM .grouP-_

.al.

s.

o 1co.ns1d.E r. e_dthe rece.nt d.e -

cision of

t h ~

Supreme

Court

whioh s u a t , . i n ~ d a Jchool

o a r ::;: .

.: :; . ::. : . ~ : : : ; .

...

.::;;;:;.,

: ~ . ; ; ......

;

d l s ~ ~ ~ ~ ; r J d f ~ ; ~ t i 1 : i g ] 1 b ~ tht'fJ(1 ~ ~ a : t : ~ ~ . .

' t . t i ~

11n ay

ecture.

... . . . . . . . . . . ..

. : .....

>

.:

.

Sititable rooms .

~ y l . b ~ . ~ n $et ~ f l i d e ~ j n ) J l e ~

Masonic Temple for departments which

a:a.;

ministered the variol1s

d e t ~ p ~

of the.work,

and

the,se' were furnjshed

bf

he focal witnesses' as_

r'equired for the book room, hospital,

s t e n o ~

graphiG and filing department, field service,

advertising, treasurer's office, nursery,

, ~ t c .

The

information desk,

p < J s t ~ offic:e, and

room

ing desk were

set up ill

the lobby.

Telegrams to the

main.

conventi.on .aL e ~ .

troit : 1) Perfect

reception; vowels,

c p n s o ~

nants

true

and

clear.

(2)

May Jehovah's

name be glorified by new phonogpwh. Pup.:

lishers overjoyed. Convention

running

smooth

ly. Speech was thrilling. Reception perfect.

(3) Deepest appreciation to Jehovah for

Brother

Rutherford's

inspiring message clear

ly heard.

Greatly

enthused with new

b o o k ~

No interference. (4) Lecture thrilling; like

great hammer pounding

doW11

walls of

ReJi '

gion. Packed to sidewalk. 117 immersed.

'1

Spokane Washington

T

I_IIS convention, well advertised, mov ed

smoothly. Only once was there any trou

ble. At the one

time

when the guards w e r ~

off duty, i.e., at

t h ~

time of the principal ad-

. dress Sunday, when

all

were in the auditorium;

evil . persons poured

s u ~ r

into the gasoline

tanks .

of

four of

the

automobiles, in ~ n at.:

tempt to 'Yreck the motors. The a.ttem.pt did

not succeed. Police were friendly, having al.,

ways one officer on duty, and on the last day

several in. uniform

and in

plain clothes, as well

as

a

unit

of the fire department, with

their

truck parked right

by

the convention building.

Here 124 .were immersed.

A witness from Canada arrived

at

the

con '.

vention after

trying for

thirty days to. get.

across the l , i n e ~ This was a

grand

surprise to

all.

He

was given a place on the program.

When

.Judge'

Rutherford

spoke of the evil

work of .the American Legion prie

:hran

took

his Legion

card

out of his pocket

and

tore:

'it

up;

sayirig,

I f that

is the kindofan outfit

I

am associated with;

l

had better: get rid of

th\s. . . ........ .

Just before the worst rainstorm e)werie11ced

in years in.Spokane,anopportunity

Documents

Watchtower: 1940 Convention Report - Detroit, Michigan