1917 Watchtower Bible Student Schism - A2Z.org

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cause Brother Pierson could not come. They came next
day and insisted that I should call the meeting anyhow. I
told them I would write Brother Picrson and see if he could
come. His reply wa that he could not, because he had
made urangcrnenb with his son to remaln at his place of
byrinesa until the midd!e of July. Later, I received from
said brethren the followmg letter:
"Bethel, June 37, 1011.
"DEAR BROTECR Rvr~iaa~oau:- .
'Wberw the former petition did not meet with
the President's approval, we, the undersigned members
of the Board of Directors of Tar ~ATCR
T o m B m ANB Tn~cr SOCIETY, hereby repeat our
request for a meeting of the Board, on the following
grounds: That we, members of the Board of
Directors, desire information regarding tt.c "Temple,"
also in respect to the financial condition of
the Societp, and other matters of jmportance--Conventlons,
etc; and for the transartron of such other
business of the Society u might properly come before
the Board.
"It is not, however, our thought at this meeting
to attempt to pass on the unfinished business of the
previous meeting of the Board.
"While Brother Ritchie was in favor of leaving
the unfinished businas of the last meeting. until a
later meeting of the Board, in July, still he insisted
that according to our request, you should be respectful
of our petition and all a meeting of the Board
of Directors teday.
"A I. RRcRm.
"T. D. Wrrcsr.
To this I replied u follows:
"Bethel.
"DEAR Brrrnrt~:- ,
'Your note of this date, handed to me after the
noon meal by Brother Hirsh, is before me, in which
you requut a meeting of the Board to-day on the
ground rtrted therein.
"Aa to the financial condition of the Society, no
one could give that intonnation in detail except
Brother Van Amburgh. and he is out of the city.
I have no information of any consequence that I
could give you
"As to the convention;, etc, all the information
that I have I furnished to the Editorial Committee.
and it is now in print, except the programs, whid;
!he Pilgrim Department with Brother Macmillan,
is now making up. I will request them to submit to
you a copy 6f the Program, or anything in conneetion
with the Conventions.
"I. believe this covers everything that you' have
asked. and I have answered as fully as I can.
'Your brother and servant by His Grace,
"J. F. RVTBBFO~D."
Brother Van Amburgh, the Secretary. was then away and
it war impossible to give them the information desired. I
went away for two weeks. During the major portion of the
time of my absence Brother Van Amburgh. the Secretary
and Trwurer was at home. Brother Macmillan who is Vice
President of the PEOPLES PULPIT ASSOCUTION, which owns
a11 the propew in New York and controls the office and
home, and who is also the Representative of the President,
was in charge.
From time to time some of the four hrethren above mentioned
intimated to various members of the office force that
they would soon be in charge, and $at the work .would be
conducted in a different manner. This created a disturbance
in the officc because the office force were not willing to work
under the direction of the brethren above mentioned. bemuse
they seriously doubted their ability to manage the work, as
well as their authority to do SO.
OPENLY DEFIED RULES ALL HAD SOLEMNLY
AGREED TO
The office.has a set of rules which are printed, and each
one of the force and all in the Bethel Home have copies.
These rules were. read both at the Bethel Home and TaSer-
nacle, after being approved by the Board of Diretors, and
everyone, with uplifted hand, agreed to abide by them, including
Brotlrcrs Hirsh, Hoskinr, Wright and' Ritchie. Orle
of the rules of the office is as follows:
"It is understood that no member of the Board
of Directors has any authority to give orders or
directions about the work individually; that the
Board acts in an official capacity when it; session a~ a
board, and while an member of the Board is engaged
in office work Xe will be subject to these rules
the same as though he were not a member of the
Bard."
The office is private during office hours, and only
thosc who are employed in the office shall be admit- .
ted there during such hours, except officers of. the
Society or their secrctaty or representative, or members
of an official committee may be admitted at any
time!'
The four brethren above named were neither officers not
representatives of officers nor members of any official committee.
These four brethren, covering a period of three or four
weeks, held conferences several timu during the day at the
Bethel Home, in various rooms, disregarding and neglecting
the .work of the Society. On the Sth da of July, while
havrng one of.thue conferences, one of &e members was
overheard to ny: "Let us go to the office right now and demand"
so and so. The hearer understood. them to mean
that they should command control. Communicating this fact
to the office, within a few minutes thereafter the four arrived
in a body and approaching the manager of the office,
Brother Martin, demanded to know wh he had given certain
orders about admittance to the officr he produced the rules
and showed it to them. While this conversation was in
progress Brother Maemillan. the Vice President and General
Manager, in the absence of the President, approached the
four and said, "Brethren you are disturbing the office force,
contrary to the rules." To this Brother Ritchie replied. "You
go and sit down; that is none of our business." Brother
Hirsh, waiving his h t at Brother dacmillan, said, "You are
a big bluffer; you an't bluff us." Brother Hoskinr 'raid
"We, the Board of Directors, put you where you art and we
ou orders." This unusual lan ge and conduct
g1%de disturbed th. office force. Ether Yamillan
three times invited than outside the offici: to talk the matter
over, and threeha they declined.
REMEMBERS SEIZURE OF LONDON OFFICE
Brother ZdacmilIan having a few minutes before received
a telephone message from the Bethel from the om who had
overheard a conversation by these tout brethren that they
were going to the office to take chugc; and having howl-
edge of what Brother ohnson had done In E %"" !:
forcibly taking charge o/ the office, the qle, md e ma1
and tymg up the monq n the bank b li tion. and fravin
been instructed by m ~ dto t .arJ wr&e f m ~urds
o8ce and the n f q md to see that aa one took farciblr
charge, and, fearing that breihrcn went thew mdtr Bmthcr
Jolmson's direction tb forctbly tmke chrrgq be alhd 8 policeman,
to put these brrthren out In the msPntCnar they
proached the office of tht Sccretay, Broth- Van Ambburx
and demanded that he Jam them la r meti of the Board.
The Secrety refuued, wing that the ~ru%mt vvaa abrnt
and he dectned to have anything to do with aq .of their
meetings.
This information being communicated to me by wire to
Duluth, Minnesota, where I then was, and being also informed
that they were consulting a lawyer whom I knew, I
wired him, "Please let the matter stand ubtil I return." .
On the 10th nnd 11th of July I was in Chl enga ed
in the trial of a lawsuit for one of the friends. %the fight
of the 10th of July, Brother Wisdom arrivd at the Lotal
where I stopped and informed me that he M made an extra
long journe in order to see me on a matter of great importancc
$e then toY me that wbile at Bethel a few dyr
before he had had a talk with some of the above btethnn
and found them in very bad spirits. Among ether thinp
he said, "Evil speaking 1s being freely indulged in by these
poor deluded brethren. f plty them from the bottm of my
heart." He then informed me that he had traveled on train
on Saturday night for more than five hours with Brother
Hirsh, and that they had discussed the matter of the Society's
affairs. I quote Brother Wisdom's language: "They