The most controversial book ever published by the Bible Students was The Finished Mystery, a verse by verse commentary on Revelation and Ezekiel published in 1917. As well as some internal issues, it resulted in key Watch Tower headquarters staff being arrested in 1918, and sentenced to long terms of imprisonment under the Espionage Act of June 15, 1917. It should be noted at the outset, as most readers will already know, those imprisoned were released in 1919 and all charges against them were ultimately dropped.
But it was a testing time, and in dealing with the
problems faced on a day by day basis, various editions of The Finished Mystery were produced. This article is going to look
at one paragraph in several of them. For the record, in this article the
initials JFR refer to the Society’s President, Joseph F Rutherford, and page
numbers in brackets refer to specific pages in the trial transcript United States of America vs Joseph F
Rutherford and others (1918).
For a fuller description of how the book came to be
produced as a proposed seventh volume of the Studies in the Scriptures series,
see the following article on Gertrude Seibert.
https://jeromehistory.blogspot.com/2020/04/1-gertrude-and-finished-mystery.html
The paragraph that caused the controversy was a
discussion of Revelation 16:13 with the subheading “Come out of the mouth of
the dragon.”
This defined patriotism as murder, “a narrow-minded
hatred of other peoples” and “the spirit of the very Devil.”
The United States joined the World War on April 6,
1917, and was appealing to patriotism to recruit its army. Various religious
figures supported this and came in for unsparing criticism in The Finished Mystery.
When the government objected to the book, especially
pages 247-253 which included the offending paragraph, several steps were taken
to calm down the situation. The printers were instructed to stop production
(see JFR’s telegram on page 1309) and Bible Students were asked to physically
cut out the offending pages from copies offered to the public (see Kingdom News
no. 2).
Above is a copy with pages 247-254 excised. Written
in pencil along the remaining stub of the pages is “to comply with government
requirement.”
Later some replacement pages were printed for readers
to fill the gap. Note the message at the top of the page: “These pages are to
be inserted in lieu of the original pages 247-254, which were censored.”
The problem passage had now changed
“patriotism” to “hatred” as shown below.
This was not the end of the revision
because when replacement pages were actually bound back into the book at
source, at some point in 1918 the wording changed subtly from “hatred” to “race
hatred.”
The term “race hatred” could of course be
applied to all sides in a conflict. That this would become the favored text is
shown by The Watch Tower for June 1, 1920, which gives a whole
five pages of suggested alterations which readers could make in their copies if
they chose.
The notice does not reveal what wording
was being replaced, whether “hatred” or the original “patriotism.” (There was yet
another key variant which we will come to shortly). And even another revision
in the final printings in the 1920s.
However, these amendments of 1917 and 1918 did not
make the problem go away. In May 1918 eight members of the headquarters staff
were arrested and charged with violating the 1917 Espionage Act. Repeatedly throughout
the ensuing trial, the original words
condemning “patriotism” were to be quoted by the prosecution.
Nonetheless, not all Bible Students appeared to be
in full agreement with the original sentiments as expressed. From the trial
transcript (page 552) cross examination of George Fisher by Counsel Isaac
Oeland:
Q.
Did this language meet with your approval that Satan deals with a certain
delusion which is best described by the word, patriotism, but which is in
reality murder, the spirit of the very devil; did that meet with your full
approval?
A.
No, sir.
Q.
You knew Mr Woodworth had written that?
A.
Yes, sir.
Q.
You knew it was to be published and circulated in a book that you had helped to
produce?
A.
Yes, sir.
Q.
And that you did not agree with it?
A.
I did not agree with that because my conception of patriotism does not agree
with that.
Fisher was still sent down with the other
defendants, but would later leave fellowship with defendants Woodworth and
Rutherford before his death in 1926.
There is one more element to the story, with yet
another version of the offending passages.
In early 1918 a new version was proposed called the ZG. This was planned
as a magazine edition of the book, as other volumes had been before. ZA for
example was volume one, The Divine Plan
of the Ages. G was the 7th letter of the alphabet so the 7th
volume. This is highly collectable today and throws up some interesting
questions.
It was dated March 1, 1918, but never released then.
When instructions were given to remove pages from the 1917 book edition, Bible
Students were also instructed NOT to circulate this magazine copy, and an
alternative March 1, 1918, issue of The
Watch Tower was published in its place. The September 15, 1918, Watch Tower reminded Bible Students not
to circulate the ZG and referred back to an earlier notification given in the
March.
The Jehovah’s
Witnesses in the Divine Purpose book on page 90 says that ZG had been
printed before the war. For America that would have to be before April 6, 1917.
If correct, that would make ZG the first edition, because the trial transcript reveals
that the hardback edition was first printed in July 1917. It had mainly been
written before the war started (JFR’s testimony on page 974) – that was a key
point of the Society’s defense – apart from a few additions including a poem
written by Gertrude Seibert (GWS) at the end of the Song of Solomon section and
dated June 27, 1917. However, the contract with the Conkey Company for the
first edition was only finalised at the end of June 1917 (page 1172) and then
very quickly indeed the book was printed in the first half of July to be
released at the Bethel on July 17. This was after America entered the war.
However, while the bulk
of it was certainly written prior to
America entering the war (which is the key point, as claimed in the WT for March 1,
1918 (article ‘Religious Intolerance’), the actual printing of ZG may have come later. The Divine Purpose book perhaps meant “written”
rather than “printed” and the comment was never subsequently repeated. As an indication of a later printing date, we
have the date of March 1, 1918 on it. How much before intended publication was
that decision taken? Also, on the actual Watch Tower cover of extant copies
there was a message to send copies to soliders and sailors serving at the front
once readers had finished with them. For this to make sense there would have to
be Americans actually serving at the front at the time.
In reality it is a moot point, because as noted
earlier the publication was pulled and the general issue of ZG did not see the
light of day until 1920. (See The Watch
Tower for July 1, 1920, page 199). At that time some copies had the
original Watch Tower cover with the
above message removed and a green title cover added in its place. (See Letter
of Instruction to Directors in Bulletin
for May 1, 1921). It should be noted that there was no mention of the ZG in the
trial, which only focussed on the first edition, and continually kept quoting
from that specific passage condemning patriotism. The trial had a lengthy
examination and cross-examination of the manager of the Conkey Company who
printed the hardback edition. Had ZG been in circulation it would have likely
been used by the defense, because the offending passage about patriotism had
not just been torn out, the text had been altered with a critical variant.
The change is most interesting, and would fit a publication
intended for American soldiers. Instead of an attack on “patriotism” the ZG
version substituted “Germany autocracy” and condemned German “human butchery.”
Other changes in this special edition were the
removal of the verse by verse consideration of Song of Solomon along with
Gertrude Seibert’s poem and the addition of a chapter taking readers verse by
verse through the world powers of Daniel 7.
I am grateful to correspondent Gary who has put
together information to suggest that the ZG edition, while mainly written before the war – which is not
disputed – may have been printed in a
very small window in March 1918. His words are printed in red.
Fred H. Robison was
sent to visit Secretary of War Newton Baker on March 5, 1918, to see how their
sudden objection to the publication could be resolved, He was intercepted en
route by MID (military) agents who interrogated him instead and so he never got
to see Baker. These quizzed him on the FM and he repeated that it had been
completed prior to April 6, 1917. However, he was forced to back down when it
was pointed out to him that it could not all have been completed prior to this
time since the book included reference to seven billion dollars appropriated by
Congress for the war; so, Robison acknowledged he must have been mistaken.
This ties in with
Gertrude Seibert’s poem “written expressly for The Finished Mystery” being
dated June 25, 1917, so it is evident that while, no doubt, most of the book
was written prior to America’s entry into the war, some snippets was added
after.
Robison never got to reach Newton Baker
but took advice from those he met that “there was no disposition on the part of
the Government (to) interfere with our work in general and that if pages
246-253, inclusive, were removed, there would be no known objection to the
volume.” As a consequence, it is reasonable to conclude it was very shortly
afterward that the the special ZG Watch Tower edition was
printed. As noted it adjusts the reference to patriotism and excludes the
relevant passages from pages 247-253 which were largely quotes from two
pacifist ministers. This strongly suggests its writing, printing and
distribution to IBSA colporteurs and classes occurred almost immediately after
Robison’s Washington episode on March 5, 1918, but prior to the Department of
Justice banning distribution of the FM, in any form, as a violation of the
Espionage Act just nine days later on March 14, 1918. The IBSA then immediately
instructed colporteurs and class Secretaries to desist from selling the FM
books and hold on to copies of the special ZG Watch Tower edition.
Thereafter, a belated
normal edition of the Watch Tower dated March 1, 1918, was swiftly completed
and sent out instead, but the fact that this was completed after the
publication date is itself apparent since it makes reference to Woodward and
Herr being arrested on March 4, Robison’s visit to Washington and then the
banning of the book on March 14.
After the war the Brooklyn Eight were all released
from prison and shortly thereafter all charges were dropped. Eventually the
original text of the book was restored. Examining the 1924 boxed deluxe edition
and also one of the final printings in 1927 (the 2,004,000 edition) it is noted
that criticisms of “hatred” or “race hatred” or “German autocracy” had all
disappeared. “Patriotism” was restored.
The book went out of print towards the end of the 1920s. A new explanation of Revelation and Ezekiel was to be given in Light (two books on Revelation in 1930) and Vindication (three books on Ezekiel in 1931-1932).
