Golden Age Goodies

by Leolaia 279 Replies latest watchtower scandals

• 

  Leolaia

  Okay kids, I've got another silly Rutherford letter for you!! In the last letter I posted (GAG #6), da Judge dished it out to the Associated Press and told them that they are pawns of the Devil. What a fine witness that was! Well, this time he's writing to the Federal Radio Commision. This was the predecessor of the FCC. Like Howard Stern, Rutherford had a radio program (e.g. on WBBR), and like Howard Stern, Rutherford didn't exactly have a warm relationship with the FCC -- er, the FRC. What did the FRC do to earn his ire? They required WBBR to broadcast at 230.6 kHz instead of the original 256.3 kHz, as part of federal reallocation of the radio spectrum in 1927-28 (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Radio_Commission). What was Rutherford's response? He wouldn't tell them that they are being used by the Devil, now wouldn't he?

  GAG #10: RUTHERFORD BATTLES THE FRC

  

  Text:

  *** g28 10/3 p. 3-6 The Default of the Radio Commission ***

  Sept. 6, 1928

  To the Federal Radio Commission, Department of Interior Building, Washington, D. C.

  Gentlemen:

  It is hardly to be expected that this letter will accomplish any immediate good, but it will be on record to bear witness in the future. Since my interview with various members of your Commission on Tuesday last, I feel it is my duty to write you. In the outset please be assured of my kind feeling toward you personally. Knowing me, I believe that you will bear witness that I am not erratic nor an extremist. I repeat my words uttered before your Commission on a former occasion: "What I say here is not a threat, but a warning."

  From my personal knowledge of you gentlemen I believe that each of you desires to do what is right, but I am wholly convinced that you are unable to do so because of yielding to influences, some of which are visible and some invisible. It is well known that the great visible controlling factor of America is Big Business, and that Professional Politicians and an Apostate Clergy work in conjunction with that selfish interest. All of these yield unconsciously to an unseen and powerful influence....

  It is well known that Big Business controls the commerce of America and the politics of the nation, and now it is boldly and blatantly announced that it will control the religious things that the people shall hear. Clergymen unfaithful to God and their vowes yield and are yielding to the sinister influence of the Trust.

  Permit me to suggest that there are millions of people in America that are not at all in sympathy with the program of the clergymen and Big Business. These good, honest millions believe in the Bible as taught by Jesus Christ and the apostles, and by the good Christian ministers who during the early days of America taught the truth of the Bible then due to be understood and that without monetary consideration. This opinion is fully supported by the great flood of letters and telegrams which I have received from the people throughout America during the past few months...

  The radio belongs to Jehovah God. It is not man's invention. Certainly Big Business does not rightfully own and control it. Why, then, do men yield to this selfish influence of the Trust? I answer, There is an unseen and more powerful influence that controls all selfish interests and therefore controls the world. That invisible power and influence is Satan the Devil, whom the Bible designates as "the prince of the power of the air", and again, "the prince of this world", and again, "the god of this world." The "Radio Trust" would never permit the clergymen to broadcast these Bible truths concerning the Devil and his power over the nations. How, then, are the people to learn of their unseen and sinister enemy and to learn who is their real friend, if the "Radio Trust" has its way?....

  No longer can America boast of being the land of religious freedom as the Constitution guarantees. The fact that Big Business now controls the air and causes clergymen in the Name of the Lord to hypocritically serve up a "Great Message of Religion" that has the approval of the Power Trust and which ignores the Word of God, is but another proof that freedom of thought is done. It is also evidence that the end of near. No nation can continue to ignore God and continue to exist.

  One of your members the other day said to me, "You must pray for us." I do pray that God will give you the courage to tell the Power Trust to stand aside and let the people have a full and fair opportunity to hear the Word of God freely discussed that they may know the way He has provided for their salvation and happiness. Because of the importance of your position relative to the teaching of the people, there is a far greater responsibility upon the Federal Radio Commission at this time than upon the President of the United States. It is of much more importance that the people know the Truth than that they possess all the money and honor that the world can afford.

  Once more in the Name of Jehovah God, the author and creator of the radio, I ask that you grant unto radio stations WBBR and WORD more favorable broadcasting channels, to the end that the people may have a chance to hear the truth and that without money and without price.

  Believe me, gentlemen, in all sincerity

  You friend,

  J. F. RUTHERFORD

  So that's why the Bible refers to Satan as the "prince of the power of the air"....He's the unseen lord of the airwaves!
• 

  rassillon

  So does this mean that Jehovah God owns satallite radio too?
  Should I be able to get a free subscription to XM?
  
  Oh, Jehovah, please make my XM radio receive signals without the need to support satan's interests and buy a subscription.
  
  -r
• 

  headmath

  That letter to the FRC is priceless. It shows that rutherford was mad, delusional and had great ideas of grandness as well

  I think they treat this condition today with heavy meds.

  I mean not even russel was that mad. Thank god he died

  I am printing that letter and I will use it in the tract work
• 

  VM44

  Rutherford wasn't all mad, he wrote that letter with a view that it be published in The Golden Age.

  But can you imagine the impression Rutherford made with the officials after they received and read the letter? I wonder what they wrote to Rutherford in reply?

  Also, the year 1928 was within Jehovah's seventh day, his rest day, in which he was not involved with creative work on the earth. So how could Jehovah have created radio in the 20th century without violating his "day of rest"?

  --VM44
• 

  VM44

  So after receiving that letter did the FRC allocate the frequencies Rutherford wanted for WBBR and WORD? --VM44
• 

  Midget-Sasquatch

  So after receiving that letter did the FRC allocate the frequencies Rutherford wanted for WBBR and WORD?

  
  

  They should have, but alas they failed to take the Judge's kind warning seriously. And because of their rather poor stewardship, their swath of power was about to be greatly diminished. For soon after they turned his request down (actually alot sooner than the amount of time watchtowerites have gotten used to accepting as soon), a great momentum picked up in a rival medium. The first ever television license, was issued a little bit earlier to Jenkins on July 2, 1928. Da Judge smiled (in a way that showed both his deep feeling of caring for those men, as well as the joy and rightful appreciation he had for JayHoover) because he saw what was to come, and he would still be blessed with a continued swath of power of his own.
• 

  VM44

  Information about the history of WBBR may be found at the webpage http://www.angelfire.com/nj2/piratejim/nycamhistory4.html. --VM44

  Jehovah's Witnesses was one of the first religious organizations to enter the broadcasting field.
  In 1923, the International Bible Students' Association (as it was then called - the name 'Jehovah's Witnesses' waa adopted in 1931) bought the equipment of radio station WDT (see Page 1) at Stapleton, Staten Island, which the Ship Owners Radio Service was shutting down.
  A year later, on February 24, 1924, Judge Franklin Rutherford, successor to the sect's founder, Charles Taze Russell, dedicated the new station, called WBBR, at Rossville in southwestern Staten Island.
  Facilities and accomodations for the staff were in the 2½ story "Big House" at 111 Woodrow Rd.
  WBBR's programming schedule included programs in several languages, including Yiddish and Arabic.
  Judge Rutherford later expanded the radio operations into ownership of at least 7 stations in the United States and Canada, including outlets in the Chicago, Toronto, and Oakland areas.
  On August 5, 1928, Rutherford broadcast on a chain of 96 stations, the largest radio network organized till that time.
  Later, broadcasts were beamed via shortwave to over 400 stations worldwide, sometimes originating from WBBR's studios.
  In the New York area, the Witnesses also bought time on WBNX (see Page 5), WOV (see above), WGBB, WFAS and WNEW (see Page 3).
  But, Rutherford's attacks on other religions led many stations to drop his programs, sometimes cutting him off before he was finished.
  WBBR started off on a frequency of 1230 AM in 1924, then moved to 1100 later that year.
  In 1925, the station moved to 720 AM, unauthorized.
  In 1927, WBBR moved again to 1170, and in 1928 to 1300 - in both instances, sharing time with other stations.
  In 1931, the main studios were moved from Rossville to the sect's headquarters at 124 Columbia Heights in Brooklyn Heights, which also served as a residence for church workers.
  In 1941, WBBR's license was transferred to the Watchtower Bible And Tract Society, the religion's publishing arm, and in March of that year, WBBR (and its share-time partners) moved to 1330 AM.
  Judge Rutherford died in 1942 and was buried at Rossville in a Methodist cemetary within sight of the WBBR towers.
  A fire at the Rossville transmitter in February 1945 put the station off the air briefly.
  In 1946, WBBR erected a 411-foot, three-tower array at Rossville and two years later, the power was increased to 5000 watts.
  A new structure housed the transmission equipment.
  For all its days on the air, WBBR was powered by its own electrical generator.
  In 1957, choosing to emphasize its publishing activity and stating that WBBR "no longer served the interests of the Kingdom," the Watchtower Bible And Tract Society sold its station to H. Scott Killgore's Tele-Broadcasters Of New York Inc. for $133,000.
  Call letters were changed to WPOW on May 1, 1957, the religious talks and placid string and organ music disappeared, and the new station embarked on a series of changes that would repeatedly make it something of a pioneer in New York area radio.
• 

  Leolaia

  I've got another interesting Rutherford letter that touches on the subject of radio. On September 11th, 1938 Rutherford gave a vitriolic address which prophesied that the Catholic Hierarchy through their stooges, the Nazis, will successfully take over Britain and subsequently America will also fall and come under totalitarianism. This address was carried on a network of radio stations, and attracted the attention of Time magazine which published a report on the talk on September 19 (when was the last time a WT&BS talk got coverage in Time magazine?). S. A. Cisler, the general manager of KTHS -- one of the stations that syndicated the address -- wrote a personal letter to Rutherford, apparently dismayed by the content of the talk. He asked Rutherford:

  "Judge, have you considered using what is known to be good business methods in advancing the welfare of your group? By that I mean concentrate on the advantages of Jehovah's witnesses and leave out bitter attacks on any particular church."

  And here are excerpts from Rutherford's measured reply:

  GAG #11: JUDGE RUTHERFORD: DEFENDER OF AMERICAN LIBERTY

  

  Text:

  *** g38 11/16 p. 17-19 Counsel by J. F. RUTHERFORD ***

  October 19, 1938

  Mr. S. A. Cisler, General Manager, Radio Station KTHS, Hot Springs, Ark.

  My dear Mr. Cisler:

  Your letter of the 17th addressed to the Watchtower has been handed to me. Thank you for writing frankly. Before answering your questions I must state a few facts plainly that you may know my position. You refer to Jehovah's witnesses as a group, in fact you say, "Have you considered using what is known to be good business methods in advancing the welfare of your group". Please be assured, first, that Jehovah's witnesses are not a religious group nor a religious organization, that they are Christians duly devoted to following in the footsteps of Jesus Christ; second, I am making no effort to advance the welfare of Jehovah's witnesses or any other organization. That may sound strange, but Jehovah's witnesses are in no wise in competition with any organization.

  Religion and Christianity are diametrically opposed one to the other. Religion is a snare and a racket, and has been for more than five thousand years, and this is proved by the Bible plainly. Religion is based upon the traditions of men, and not upon the Bible....It was He [Jesus] who urged His followers to always pray for the coming of that Kingdom. Now the Scriptures and the physical facts show that Christ is enthroned and the Kingdom is at hand.

  In opposition to the Kingdom the Devil has brought forth the corporate state or totalitarian government ruled by visible and arbitrary men with the Roman Catholic Hierarchy as its spiritual overlord working hand in glove with such men as Mussolini and Hitler. The ambition of this crowd is to rule the world. As I stated in London on September the 11th, this combine will get possession of England. Since then the facts show that it is already an almost accomplished thing.

  There is a determined effort on the part of the same crowd to grab control of America and rule it, change the Constitution or abolish it entirely, and take away all the liberties of the people. The ROMAN CATHOLIC HIERARCHY, therefore, is in fact a political institution bent on taking away the liberties of the people and ruling arbitrarily. This operation they are carrying on under the cloak of religion because the people have been led to beliee all these years that religion and Christianity are one and the same....

  Knowing the facts which I do and failing to speak of them, I would be a traitor to the American people and an unfaithful servant of the Lord. My purpose in calling attention to the derelictions of the Catholic organization is this: that the people may get their eyes open to the fact that their liberties are at stake, and not only that, but, following in the course that the Hierarchy is leading them, they are headed for certain destruction. If the Catholic Hierarchy had real faith in their doctrines and the course they are pursuing, they would have no hesitancy in defending the same. The radio is a God-given means of reaching the people, because no man ever invented radio. The radio should be used to inform the people. For ten years past I have used on an average 240 radio stations a year at least once every week to put forth publically the plain teachings of Jesus and His apostles. In the last two years I ahve particularly called attention to the fact that religion is a snare and a racket and that the people are being deceived. I deem it my duty both to man and God to do this thing because I know every interest of the human race is at stake and the fundamental principles of the American government which have been held dear to the American citizens so long are in jeopardy and it now seems a certainty that the people are going to lose their liberties.

  In my opinion, if the owners of radio stations in the United States really saw the issue they would open their stations for a free and fair discussion of the questions at issue and let the American people decide for themselves which way they want to go. Jehovah's witnesses are not seeking members. They are seeking to tell the people the truth, and they are doing it at great cost and expense to themselves because they believe that that is their duty and it is worth while that they should do it....

  Be assured, my dear Sir, of my very best wishes.

  Yours sincerely,

  J. F. Rutherford
• 

  gumby

  Please be assured, first, that Jehovah's witnesses are not a religious group nor a religious organization, that they are Christians duly devoted to following in the footsteps of Jesus Christ; second, I am making no effort to advance the welfare of Jehovah's witnesses or any other organization

  Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha hee hee hee ha ha ha ha!!!

  That poor bastard had more of a "wet brain" than I thought he had .... and only 22 years after his presidency too! Proof that double speak has haunted this cult for decades.

  Leolaia....what the heck you doin up past midnight yound lady? You ain't doin that damn speed are ya?

  Gumgointobed
• 

  VM44

  Here is the text of the 1938 Time article Leolaian referenced. --VM44

  Religion

  "Face the Facts"

  Monday, Sep. 19, 1938

  Jehovah's Witnesses, or the International Bible Students Association, is a sect which believes it is helping to establish God's kingdom on earth, distrusts formalized religion (particularly Roman Catholicism), engages in periodic spats with the law because its members like to peddle anticlerical pamphlets, dislike to have their children salute the flag in school. The longtime pontiff of Jehovah's Witnesses is rawboned Judge Joseph Frederick Rutherford. The Judge is the big money-maker for the sect, which claims that 275,000,000 copies of his writings have been circulated in 80 languages.

  No paupers, Jehovah's Witnesses could well afford last week to hire wire and wireless telephone facilities from American Telephone & Telegraph Co. for a hook-up between Royal Albert Hall in London and auditoriums in 23 U. S., ten Canadian, ten Australian, four New Zealand cities. In those auditoriums, according to Witnesses' calculations, were gathered 100,000 listeners while, in Albert Hall, Judge Rutherford faced most of England's 5,000 Witnesses and 5,000 outsiders who had come to hear what it was all about.

  Judge Rutherford's rambling, worldwide speech was entitled "Face the Facts." Its gist: "A hideous monstrosity is rapidly moving to rule the world by dictators and to regiment the people. God, by His holy prophets, thousands of years ago, as recorded in the Bible, foretold this great menace, its cause, and what will be the result."