Info needed on M.A Howlett, prominent Bethelite from the 1920's and 30's

by VM44 13 Replies latest watchtower scandals

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  VM44

  I need information about a M.A Howlett who was at Bethel during the 1920's and 30's.

  Ken Rain's online articles quote Roy D. Goodrich as saying that Howlett used the Abram's electronic machines (also known as the E.R.A. machine) to diagnose and treat people at Bethel. Can anyone confirm this? This is my main reason for wanting to know more about Howlett.

  It does not appear that he was a doctor, yet it is claimed that during the last years (or months) of Rutherford's life, Howlett was his nurse.

  Who was this man? He is essentially forgotten today, but at one time it appears that he was well known and very prominent in the Watchtower Organization.

  About the only thing I have found out about him is that his first name was Matthew.

  Does anyone know his story and what became of him? Any info would be appreciated.

  --VM44
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  VM44

  I am also seeking information on a Dr. Mae Work who was a Bethel Osteopah also during the same time period.

  She was a great supporter in the Abrams E.R.A. machine and diagnosed and treated people with cancer using the device. She claimed that she cured people of cancer, but when the cancer returned, she said it was because the people had kept on using aluminum pots to cook their food!

  I haven't been able to find anything at all about Dr. Work. Does anyone know anything about her?

  --VM44
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  VM44

  I have to say this about Dr Mae Work, her claiming that the Abram's machine "cured" cancer, and that the individual's cancer returned in a few months because the person kept on using aluminum pots showed that she had no understanding of the scientific method at all. She made medical statements based upon wishful, self-delusional thinking rather than upon experiments.

  This brings into question how a person could be certified as a Doctor of Osteopathy and yet be so ignorant as to make such false and dangerous statements.

  Are there any Osteopathic Organizations in New York that might still have records on Dr Work?

  --VM44
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  Nosferatu

  Man, that sounds like the grape cure that the Watchtower published.
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  VM44

  Goodrich wrote about the "Grape Cure" that was then being promoted by The Golden Age magazine.

  He called it "The Spook Cure"!

  --VM44
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  IT Support

  I need information about a M.A Howlett who was at Bethel during the 1920's and 30's ...

  Who was this man? He is essentially forgotten today, but at one time it appears that he was well known and very prominent in the Watchtower Organization.

  Matthew Arnold Howlett was one of Rutherford's lackeys who took a substantial part (along with Rutherford himself) in slandering Olin Moyle after he left Bethel in August 1939, highly critical of Rutherford. Howlett was one of the defendants in the action for defamation that Moyle raised against Rutherford, the other WT directors (and Howlett).

  Howlett gave substantial testimony during the trial: in the transcript, his pre-trial examination is from page 156 to page 167. His main testimony during the trial starts on page 1166 and goes through to page 1211.

  I don't remember the details now offhand, and don't have time to read it again, but it's fascinating if you can get a hold of the transcript.

  (It's available to buy from Witness Inc.)

  PS: I'm afraid I get far too little time these days to visit here, but just happened to notice this thread tonight...
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  VM44

  Thank you IT Support. That is the sort of info I was looking for, and you provided a reference as well.

  That Moyle transcript certainly contains a gold mine of information! Every Watchtower Researcher should have a copy of it.

  --VM44
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  fjtoth

  I could be mistaken, but I'm almost certain his first name was Malcolm, not Matthew. He visited our home in the 40s, but I was too young to know whether he visited as a "doctor." We lived near Mountain Farm in New Jersey, and once a year or so M. A. Howlett and others from there and from Brooklyn would hold weekend meetings in a neighbor's backyard. I remember him mainly as one of the principal announcers on the Society's radio station WBBR. He had a pleasant voice that, at the time, seemed both kind and fatherly. He was something like a Bible answer man, but I can't remember the exact name of the program at this point.
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  IT Support

  fjtoth,

  I could be mistaken, but I'm almost certain his first name was Malcolm, not Matthew.

  That's interesting: on page 156 of the court transcript, introducing Howlett, it states:

  "MATTHEW A. HOWLETT, named as 'Malcolm' A. Howlett as a defendant in this action, having been duly sworn, testified as follows:

  Does this mean that his legal name was 'Matthew' but he was usually known as 'Malcolm'?
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  Leolaia

  Look at Farkel's Berta & Bonnie thread. There's a bunch of info on Howlett there.