I have obtained a 1917 edition of the Finished Mystery. There are some pages that were removed, supposedly due to censorship. Does anyone know the history on this and how (or if) it relates to the imprisonment and release of Rutherford and associates? Thanks!
Finished Mystery - Censorship Question
by Ultimate Reality 5 Replies latest watchtower bible
-
-
AWAKE&WATCHING
I think I read about that on Randy Waters site "Freeminds".
W E L C O M E - to the board
-
Gopher
UR,
Here's what I found at this site: http://academic.evergreen.edu/k/klalor09/Post%20Office%20Censorship%20home.htm
I highlighted the censored portion in red. It sounds like the WTS got in trouble for taking sides in WW1 ! They had to remove the offending paragraphs and re-publish the book without them.
Under the Espionage Act of June 1917 and Sedition Act of May 1918, the Postmaster General Albert Sidney Burleson was authorized to ban from the mails any matter violating the Act or “advocating or urging treason, insurrection, or forcible resistance to any law of the United States”. Fines could range up to ten thousand dollars and prison sentences up to twenty years. Postmaster General Burleson interpreted this act broadly, siezing and suppressing "all kinds of publications that he deemed radical, dissenting, or otherwise supspect" (Espionage History). Under it, many were prosecuted. Juries, allowed to decide whether a defendant's speech violated the Act, routinely returned guilty verdicts.
In Shaffer v. United States (9th Cir. 1919), the defendant was found guilty of possessing and mailing copies of the book, The Finished Mystery , which contained the passage, “standing opposite to these Satan has placed [a] certain delusion which is best described by the word patriotism, but which is in reality murder, the spirit of the very devil. [If] you say it is a war of defense against wanton and intolerable aggression, I must reply that [it] has yet to be proved that Germany has any intention or desire of attacking us. [The] war itself is wrong. Its prosecution will be a crime. There is not a question raised, an issue involved, a cause at stake, which is worth the life of one blue-jacket on the sea or one khaki-coat in the trenches.” The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that “the service may be obstructed by attacking the justice of the cause for which the war is waged, and by undermining the spirit of loyalty which inspires men to enlist or to register for conscription in the service of their country” (Stone) .
-
Gopher
(duplicate post)
-
Merry Magdalene
The 1975 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses commented on the incident on page 119:
"After their trialsome period of 1917-1919, Jehovah’s people subjected themselves to scrutiny. Realizing that they had acted in ways that did not meet with God’s approval, they sought forgiveness in prayer repenting of their former course. This led to Jehovah’s forgiveness and blessing. One compromise had been the cutting of pages from The Finished Mystery, this to please those who had assumed the position of censor. Another occurred when The Watch Tower of June 1, 1918, stated: "In accordance with the resolution of Congress of April 2nd, and with the proclamation of the President of the United States of May 11, it is suggested that the Lord’s people everywhere make May 30th a day of prayer and supplication." Subsequent comments lauded the United States and did not harmonize with the Christian position of neutrality."
http://e-watchman.com/commentaries/watchtower-un-truth.htmlI don't think these other tidbits really answer your question, but I still found them interesting...
A small article from 18 June 1918 NY Times: http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9E07E4DE173EE433A2575BC1A9609C946996D6CF&oref=slogin
From " Spy Mad ?" Investigating Subversion in Pennsylvania 1917-1918 by Philip Jenkins:
A much more serious menace was felt to be the Russellites or Watch Tower Society, the later Jehovah’s Witnesses, who were accused of having crossed the line from anti-war sentiment to actual treason. The movement would long be controversial for its refusal to acknowledge the jurisdiction of earthly governments, and members usually claimed conscientious objector status. In 1918, the FBI and the State Police launched a major investigation of a book entitled The Finished Mystery, a continuation of the writings of Charles Taze Russell, the movement’s founder. This work included a fierce denunciation of war and nationalism. Two Scranton men had written “the most objectionable and vicious portions of the book”, which apart from IWW tracts was the anti-war item most often singled out for condemnation.34 The State Police infiltrated meetings in numerous small towns, and avidly tracked the distribution of Russellite literature.35 Arrests were made across the Commonwealth, mere possession of the book for sale being sufficient to merit prosecution under the Espionage Act. In addition, the German government was said to have financed publication, enabling the book to be distributed free in large quantities. Several Russellite leaders received long prison terms in the affair.
~Merry
-
AnnOMaly
Here's a link to the Freeminds article Awake&Watching was talking about - http://www.freeminds.org/history/exonerated.htm
And this more detailed one is fascinating - http://www.exjws.net/museum/jfrtrial1.htm. According to this, based on court records, the 'Finished Mystery' was only a part of the Government's complaint. The other problem was that these officers of the WTS were also PRIVATELY encouraging some through letters, pamphlets etc. to avoid the draft, or if they were already in the army, to be insubordinate, disloyal, mutinous and refuse to do their duty.
This comment was an eye-opener too:
"Further, it is very important to understand that the Government needed to establish that the Bible Students were not an organized religion recognized for conscious objection, because they had no required Creed! This is why Joseph Rutherford subsequently strengthened the JW Creed, and forced the congregations of Bible Students to Register with the Society, and changed their religion into a controlled hierarchical system! This is why to this very day the Society has all JW congregations remind young JW men each year to register with the Selective Service upon reaching 18 years of age ... to avoid a similar lawsuit."