Here is the text of those minutes of the meeting of the Board of Directors and Rutherford's response to some of Moyle's charges. I'll leave it to others to make comments on it. I think it's interesting to read from a historial and pyschological perspective.
Taken from pp. 1975-1984 of Moyle vs. Franz et al: Defendants Exhibit D-36 Brooklyn, N.Y., August 8, 1939 Minutes of the joint meeting of the Boards of Directors of The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, the Pennsylvania Corporation, and The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, Inc., of New York, on this 8th day of August, A.D. 1939, at a meeting of the Boards of Directors of the aforementioned Corporations there were present all the members of the Boards, to wit: J.F. Rutherford C.A. Wise W.E. Van Amburgh T.J. Sullivan C.J. Woodworth H.H. Riemer F.W. Franz W.P. Heath, Jr. Grant Suiter A.R. Goux N.H. Knorr The President reported to the Boards of Directors a letter which he had received, addressed to him by O.R. Moyle who for some time past has acted as legal counsel for the Corporations. Thereupon the letter was read before the Boards, and which letter is marked "Exhibit A" and made a part of this record and filed amongst the papers of this Corporation. Upon the reading of the letter a motion was made by T. J. Sullivan that a committee be appointed to consider the letter and make recommendations to the President. This motion was duly carried. Thereupon the President appointed such a committee composed of T.J. Sullivan, H.H. Riemer, and Grant Suiter. The committee retired to consider the letter. After due consideration the committee unanimously reported a resolution which in words and figures is as follows, to wit: "At a joint meeting of the Boards of Directors of the Pennsylvania Corporation, and the New York Corporation of the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society held at the office of the Society at Brooklyn, New York this 8th day of August 1939 at which other members of the family were present, there was read to said Boards and in the presence of O.R. Moyle a letter dated July 21, 1939 written by said Moyle and addressed to the President of the Society. "For four years past the writer of that letter has been entrusted with the confidential matters of the Society. It now appears that the writer of that letter, without excuse, libels the family of God at Bethel, and identifies himself as one who speaks evil against the Lord's organization, and who is a murmurer and complainer, even as the Scriptures have foretold. (Jude 4-16; 1 Corinthians 4:3; Romans 14:4. "The members of the Board of Directors hereby resent the unjust criticisms appearing in that letter, disapprove of the writer and his notions and recommends that the President of the Society immediately terminate the relationship of O.R. Moyle to the Society as legal counsel and as a member of the Bethel Family. "(signed) T.J. Sullivan H.H. Riemer Grant Suiter" A motion was made that the Resolution be adopted. The motion being duly seconded, the letter and the Resolution were discussed at length by each member of the Board. O.R. Moyle, being also present at this meeting, was invited by the President to make any statement he had or to make any defense he desired to make and his only statement was this, to wit: "I have nothing more to say. The letter speaks for itself." Thereupon the name of each member of the Board was called and each one voted to adopt the Resolution. Upon the adoption of the Resolution, the President made the following remarks, which are here inserted in the record, to wit: "I have been at this desk for 22 years. I have had many accusations from the 'evil servant', but never had I had a worse one than this, if as bad. The complaint about me having different places in which to reside is the very language of the evil servant class. The accusations made in this letter that I have many places in which to live, and which are much better than any other members of the organization: The facts concerning this have been published time and again and the brethren everywhere know the facts, and they know that I do not own a foot of land under the sun; that those provisions have been made to further the kingdom interests, and, as stated in the book SALVATION, I wanted something as a tangible record and as evidence that we believe that God is going to bring back to the earth the faithful men of old. The Farm was bought for the support of this Family, and for other good reasons which I have not yet disclosed, but which are in the interest of the kingdom. As Brother Knorr has stated, this office was arranged for me, I had nothing to do with arranging it, but it was done by Brothers Martin, Knorr, Wise and Van Amburgh. "I have been criticized in this letter for having an air-conditioned room. Brother Van Amburgh will bear witness to this, that my office is the hottest room in this building, right under the roof and difficult therein to get good air. An air-conditioned arrangement was put into Brother Van Amburgh's office first, and he is the one that came to me and begged me to put it into my office. The Society did not pay a dime of the cost. (Brother Van Amburgh verified this.) I think the criticism about that is a cold-blooded cruelty, no matter whom it comes from. If it enables me to work, why should somebody criticize except one who has the spirit of the evil servant. "REBUKES: Every rebuke I have administered has been given, as I believe, in the interest of the Society. The Apostle Paul was the special spokesman of the Lord Jesus Christ. As the WATCHTOWER has stated, Timothy and Titus pictured the Society and as the Lord through Paul instructed them so the Lord through the Society instructs and directs others. The Society speaks by its official Head. To Timothy Paul said: 'They that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear.' (1 Tim. 5:20) Concerning one who had taken a wrongful course Paul instructed Titus in these words: 'This witness is true, wherefore rebuke them sharply that they may be sound in the faith.' (Titus 1:13) Again, he said: 'These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.' (Titus 2:15) As I have often stated to some of the brethren, it hurts me far more to administer a rebuke than it does the one who receives it. If I see something in the organization going wrong, as I believe, then I would be unfaithful to the Lord if I did not rebuke such wrongdoer. "I have tried to proceed according to the rule announced by the apostle, which is God's rule, that is to say: 'Whom the Lord loves he rebukes.' (Heb. 12:6) If every person is permitted to take his own course the organization would go to pieces. One who believes in the Theocratic government, and that Jehovah therefore is directing his people, must see that it is the proper course for the Society to arrange a system of study. Then if every person should be permitted to bring forth and adopt his own method of study that would mean acting contrary to the Lord's instructions. Rebukes are therefore necessary to bring such matters to the attention of others that they too may fear to go contrary to the Lord's arrangement. "DISCRIMINATION: I have made no discrimination with reference to marriage. When Bonnie Boyd got married that was her business. It was my business to determine whether or not she should remain in the house. I either had to let her husband remain here or else dispense with her services. She has been my secretary for fifteen years and the most efficient one that I have had in the office. She has taken dictation for everything I have written, speeches, magazine articles, Watchtower, books and booklets. It was for me to determine whether she should remain in the office and I did determine that she should and that was my affair and my responsibility, and not that of someone else. "FILTHY LANGUAGE: If others in this house use it, that is their responsibility. The statement that filthy jokes are told at the table and that the family laughs at these and these only, is a damnable outrage and any man that says that such is the case is a deliberate liar regardless of who he is and from whence he comes. "LIQUOR: This charge is vicious. I have always been open and aboveboard about such matter. Brother Van Amburgh was once a prohibitionist. Upon the doctor's advice he takes some intoxicating liquor and I help him to get it. Brother Wise has stated from three doctors he has been advised to drink beer. I have furnished liquor to Brother and Sister Sullivan, especially her when she was ill, and to others in the house. That is my business and my responsibility. (Speaking directly to Moyle) You denounce me as the 'god of wine', which is the meaning of Bacchus, which is the word you use. You had to go to mythology and not to the Scriptures and find this name for me. Mythology proceeds from the Devil and other wicked spirits. Jesus made wine, the apostle advised that it be taken in moderation and you are welcome to compare their statements to that of the evil spirits, if you wish. If your statement is not of the evil servant then I am not able to understand it. In this connection your charge against the family is vicious and false and shows that it proceeds from the spirit of the wicked one and is a damnable thing. "Now, I say this to you, Moyle, you have allied yourself with the Devil; you have willingly, without any just cause or excuse even, withdrawn yourself from the Lord's organization, and you are going back to the Devil's organization to engage in the practice of law. I have never known any man to withdraw from the Lord's organization and go into the Devil's organization, that ended up right. When you say you want to continue to fight for the Lord, there is not a person in this presence that believes a word of that. Henceforth you shall never represent the Watchtower by my consent. This Resolution has been adopted. I shall follow it. You have served notice to leave September 1. You need not wait but move out of the house this day. If you wish to join the enemy and fight, do so. I have no use for a quitter. You are a quitter. You have furnished as an excuse that the president of this organization has not conducted the Society according to your ideas, and I don't think your ideas are Scriptural. In the 4 years that you have been here, I have never heard you ask or answer a single Bible question in the Bethel home. Any man that pretends to be of the Lord's organization, and who does not attend the studies and does not engage in the spiritual discussion in this home, but who devotes himself to his general work, and then goes about talking with others to cause discord and to find fault with the organization, cannot be in the truth. I shall read this letter to the family or have it read. You may be present; if you wish to defend yourself. Henceforth I shall expect you to ally yourself with those who oppose the Society as long as I am here." MOYLE: "I don't expect to ally myself with any opposition." BRO. RUTHERFORD: "You complain about accommodations. You have the best room in the house aside from my own. What business is it of yours what somebody else has? That is not your business. You have gone to the Farm and talked to Brother Bogard's wife about conditions there. That is none of your business. If there was something wrong there you should have reported it to me. You have never reported it to me. If you were a real confidential servant of the Lord, and of this Society, you would have reported such things, but you did not. "Quoting from the Apostle Paul in substance, your criticism of me is a small thing. I care nothing about that. The apostle said: 'Moreover it is required in stewards that a man be faithful, but with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment....He that judges me is the Lord.' --1 Cor. 4:3, 4. "If everything that you have stated in this letter were true, that is no excuse for what you have done. 'Who art thou that judgeth another man's servant? To his own master he standeth or falleth.'--Romans 14:4. "Your difficulty, Moyle, is fear, probably not that you might receive some bodily injury, but fear you won't be approved of men and have it said you are a good fellow. In my opinion you are a religionist and not a Christian." BROTHER HEATH: "Moyle, I wish to propound to you this question: Are you a Jesuit?" MOYLE: "Absolutely no, a thousand miles from it." BROTHER RUTHERFORD: "You might explain, Moyle, why you were so familiar in the court with McDonald, patting him on the back, when you knew that he was one of the leaders in the assault on the Lord's organization at Madison Square Garden. Had you performed your duty to our brethren the situation would have been far better for us now in the fight with the enemy who attempted to break up the Madison Square Garden meeting. "TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Now, brethren, your advise and this Resolution is adopted and will be carried out." The President thereupon ordered that said Moyle should be discharged as legal counsel for the Corporation and, in harmony with the Resolution, immediately terminated his relationship to the Society. There being no further business, upon motion the joint meeting adjourned. W.E. Van Amburgh, Sec'y
