W.W 2 - 1940's Australia Bethel helps out war effort!!

by Witness 007 26 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  Bangalore

  Shocking.

  Bangalore
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  Witness 007

  Bump for my mate "Listener."
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  Listener

  Thanks W007.

  I am starting to think that using WTBTS Assets and properties to help support the war effort was a deliberate ploy to protect their ownership. The Government had banned their books and confiscated some of their property, in particular there was once property in Sturt Street, South Australia, a large Kingdom Hall that could seat over 200 people and accommodate two families. It was worth approximately 3,000 pounds in 1943. This property was taken from the JWs and used as a storage unit by the Government until a later court case restored ownership to the WTBTS.

  By becoming involved in the war effort, I wonder how much it helped in getting the bans overturned and being able to retain their assets.
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  Witness 007

  Total scandal we did not follow Jehovahs neutrality laws
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  Rivergang

  Oh yes…… the “Kingdom Farm” in the Brisbane suburb of Oxley. Right adjacent to the military airfield at Archerfield. Canteens operated for servicemen and all that.

  Bloody Hell!
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  Reasonfirst

  I was a kid in 1939-40 so was never near a WTS farm or even a bethel. But when I did become a JW, my father objected on the basis that that the witnesses wouldn't join the army but would sell food to soldiers in the next door army camp.

  I'm not defending the the witnesses, but in the interests of 'truth' want to make a few points (that may not please all readers here).

  I. The so-called kingdom farms and the road side stalls existed for some (forgotten - likely due to old age and a desire to forget all things witnessy) time before 1939. I think that refusing to serve soldiers from those camps would have been legally difficult. In fact, one brother told me that he, when young, and not a JW, when he enlisted was in Ingleburn Army camp, and had bought food at the stall, and appreciated being able to buy fresh fruit etc. So two different attitudes, my father's viewpoint and this other brother.

  That said, I believe that, due to the war, and the need to train soldiers, creating more demand, the then branch (branch overseer was named Mcgiilivray* -see footnote) had added staff to cope with the demand.

  Of course, there's another problem, that may have been a peculiarly Aussie problem, there wasn't a particularly high standard of morality among the witnesses at that time. I've had a few folk who worked at that stall, tell me that the brother with oversight of the stall ran an illegal SP betting shop on the side, and on saturday afternoons would retire to his office, shut the door and work on his "books."

  Others who worked there also complained that they were not very well treated.

  2. Why did all these things happen, one long-serving brother who transferred from Melbourne (where the branch office was previously located) when the Strathfield property was bought told me that there was no money left over. But that there was a lot of unused printing paper left over in one of the buildings and a guillotine. Someone had an idea, cut the paper up and sell it. They did and made quite a lot of money out of it.

  And, that raises an aspect of the (then, anyway) Australian character - When you have a problem, 'Quit wingeing, get of your arse and do something about it." And, they did that! And, the WTS (Aussie branch) was soon involved in lots of off-christian activity.

  How much commercial work was going on when Rutherford visited in 1938? Some of my informants suggest that R. was not told about the commercial activity.

  Anyway, the money that was made, enabled the building of office space and much better printing facilities.

  I was only new (as a JW) and somewhat alarmed by my Dad's accusations, so set out to find out what had happened. What I've said above is what I remember of it.

  There were only a couple of thousand or so, witnesses in the1930's, and since the great depression (that started in the USA and badly affected Australia, In fact it was still influencing life in Aust,. in 1939) and I guess, they could not have financed anything from the membership of the time.

  I've forgotten the details, but most of the property owned by the society was bequeathed in wills or gifted in some other way.

  Not every witness, got involved in that commercial work. Bill Schneider, A soldier in WW1 refused to stop pioneering and take on some work that the branch wanted him to do, so he was sent to some far-western NSW town, until Knorr's visit.

  Footnote: McGillivray - there's a good story about him. I found it hard to find out anything about him. His former secretary was in my first congregation and thought he was wonderful. Others blamed him for anything wrong with the witnesses in that time.

  There's thread here somewhere in which I tell the story about him being shot by an Army sentry. Briefly re-capitulating. The WTS was accused in the first few years of the war of giving information to the enemy, and banned (The High court of Australia later found that the charge was false and exonerated the witnesses). But at the beginning the Army occupied the Strathfield Bethel, but the bethel family were allowed to continue living there. McGillivray came home late one night, and on being challenged by a sentry said something stupid, who promptly shot him (in the shoulder).

  Footnote; My father's first job was as an apprentice, he was laid off in from that company in 1929, did a few ways to try to eke out a living and eventually got a government job (his future father-in-laws influence) His first assigned area covered an area about 20 miles long. He was given a bicycle to get around that area.
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  Rivergang

  That surplus paper certainly got put to good use!

  One of their business enterprises involved the printing of what now would be described as “soft” pornography - with the intended clientele being members of the armed forces.