The Conspiracy Exposed was very rare. Years ago, I saw an original copy, and had it photocopied at that time. I checked the pdf file and it is the same as the original, so the pdf file is authentic, and not fake. It did not make it into the Watchtower Reprints.
In the last few years, the early writings of the Adventists, Barbour, and Russell have shown up on the internet. But for years they were not readily accessible. The Bible Students were still a small number in the 19th century. In years preceding 1914 they would have the Studies in the Scriptures (Millennial Dawn) and current issues of the Watchtower, but most of them might have never seen what we are able to see now.
It says in the Conspiracy Exposed the Harvest Siftings article came after, but it is not in the PDF file. This would have been the same Harvest Siftings that was published several times in the Watchtower. The Conspiracy Exposed says it was first published in 1890. This makes it an early account, and it should be to the later printings for any changes.
I have quickly read over the PDF file again. As I remember Alan Rogerson in his book on the JWs sides with Russell in this matter.
It is revealing of Russell's finances, he mentions his chain of stores, that he sold them and decided to live off the interest of his investment, and reveals some of his investments, that he had most of the voting shares, and tells how many.
I do remember reading a letter from Conley about these matters. I thought it in the Conspiracy Exposed, but maybe it was in the Watchtower. Are all the pages here?
Although the tone is unfortunate with the labels of "siftings", etc. both parties denouncing each other, on the other hand the actual allegations seem to be petty and not matters of gross wrongdoing.
From his own account, Russell was independently wealthy, and used his time to run a non-profit business, and there seems to be little evidence from this document that Russell was at that time profiting financially from it.
Russell's group was still small, but Russell was ending up with most of the power in it, and I wonder if this is really behind some of these allegations. Russell had money and the power that comes with it, had most of the voting shares, was the President of the Society, the manager, the editor, the head of the Bible House family - no doubt small at this time, Pastor of the Church in Allegheny.
I did not notice any mentions of elders. I don't think that Russell at that time advocated the elders or church officers. Later he did, and I wonder if it might be partly as a result of this controversy.
Russell said there were ones that wanted to find the preceding books to MIllenial Dawn, Russell said that he wasn't aware of any, and then proceeded to mention specific doctrines that no others were currently teaching. Russell is probably accurate here, but there were others that were currently teaching OTHER doctrines, and there were preceding books that were teaching these doctrines that Russell mentions.
Russell seemed to have a tendency sometimes to tell the truth but not the whole truth, but he was not lying either, but left out information that would cause the reader to be mislead. Some of his business practices described here do seem mildly deceptive, although maybe standard practice at that time.
My impression of Russell is that he was genuinely independently wealthy, had accumulated enough money that he no longer had to work for a living, expected his time on earth to be short and decided to devote himself to promote a cause he believed in, and to run it. Russell never gave up on the invisible presence of 1874, and most of his mistakes lead back to that original assumption. His writings show a growth over the years, his early writings are Adventist in tone, but much broader and more appealing later when he addressed a larger public audience. Russell was many-sided and able, had an inquisitive mind even philosophical, and showed some bold creativity in his enterprises as in the PhotoDrama. He had only an 8th grade education, and would have benefited from more formal education. He was given to speculation, and lacked critical judgment, that he might have gained from more education.
Although Russell had many interesting ideas, some of these ideas were not tested by reality but were only speculation, and unfortunately he based his cause and movement on it. He was certain he was right, and his belief in his rightness and his cause clouded his judgment. Russell was a complex man, somewhat enigmatic but an amiable spirit that shows through in his writings.
Ironically if Russell had maintained his chain of stores and developed it into another Sears, he might be more highly regarded than he is now.
