BROOKLYN — The original
Brooklyn Daily Eagle (1841-1955) never passed by an opportunity for a good story and an exposé appeared in the Nov. 1, 1916 issue. This one concerned one of Brooklyn’s most renowned citizens in the late 1800s — Pastor Charles Taze Russell (1852-1916) — founder of the religious sect now known as Jehovah’s Witnesses, the international headquarters of which is located in Brooklyn Heights. Followers of Russell so believed in his teachings they originally called themselves “Russellites.” These days, the Witnesses are seen handing out their publications on the streets or in door-to-door visitations. Many residences and business buildings in Brooklyn Heights are utilized by the sect, the older ones beautifully restored.
Miracle Wheat $1 Per Pound
The Eagle’s story, based on an ad Russell placed in his WatchTower publication for wheat seed the growth of which would supposedly be miraculous, was a sensation but resulted in a lawsuit — one that the Eagle won! This is a reprint of the article in part:
“After the ‘work’ had been well started here, ‘Pastor’ Russell’s Watch Tower publication advertised wheat seed for sale at $1.00 a pound [quite expensive in those days].
“It was styled ‘Miracle Wheat,’ and it was asserted that it would grow five times as much as any other brand of wheat.
“There were other claims made for the wheat seed, and the followers were advised to purchase it, the proceeds to go to the WatchTower and be used in publishing the ‘pastor’s’ sermons.
“The Eagle first made public the facts about these new ventures of the Russellites and it published a cartoon picturing the ‘Pastor’ and his ‘Miracle Wheat’ in such a way that ‘Pastor’ Russell brought suit for libel, asking $100,000 damages.
“Government departments investigated the wheat for which $1.00 a pound was asked, and agents of the Government were important witnesses at the trial of the libel suit in January, 1913.
“The ‘Miracle Wheat’ was low in the Government tests, they said. The Eagle won the suit.”
Relevant articles appeared in The Brooklyn Daily Eagle in the month of January 1913. The titles and their dates were:
1/1: Miracle Wheat Scandal
1/22: Testimony of Russelite Beliefs
1/23-24: Testimony on ‘Miracle Wheat’
1/25: Financial statements proving Russell’s absolute control were made by [Watch Tower] Secretary-Treasurer Van Amberg who was quoted as saying, “… We are not responsible to anyone for our expenditures. We are responsible only to God.”
Russell’s 99%
Some Jehovah’s Witnesses these days may wish to minimize the significance of the “Miracle Wheat,” claiming that the profits from its sales went to the Watchtower Society and not to Russell himself. However, the records show that Russell owned 990 of the 1,000 shares of Watchtower Society stock. By this figure, 99 percent of every “contribution” for Miracle Wheat” was in effect a contribution to Russell himself.
The Eagle never passed by a chance to publicize other items of interest regarding C.T. Russell. These opportunities included the revelation from Brooklyn court records that Russell’s wife divorced him in 1896 on charges of incest and adultery. She won the sensational lawsuit. In 1912 Russell went on a world tour and had sermons published in many places as paid advertisements. The 2/19/1912 issue of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle stated that the newspaper had proof that Russell never preached the sermons as he claimed. He stated he had preached them before thousands but witnesses who were on the same cruise refuted it. They were said to be imaginary sermons and Russell was again proven to be a fibber.
Whatever human faults Charles Taze Russell might have had or whatever little tiffs he and the Eagle experienced, his religious beliefs and methods of sharing them have touched well over one million members of the sect in the world, more than a half million of them in the U.S. At times in Brooklyn Heights, it seems all of them are in the community.
Move to Brooklyn
Russell’s sect had its beginnings in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, founded in 1872. It was decided in 1908 that the Allegheny Bible House’s operations had outgrown the facilities there. It was thought that Russell’s sermons if emanated from a larger, better-known city, would result in the publication of the sermons in more newspapers. After consideration by the sect’s leaders it was announced on December 15, 1908 that: “Altogether we concluded, after seeking Divine guidance, that Brooklyn, N.Y., with a large population of the middle class, and known as ‘The City of Churches,’ would for these reasons, be our most suitable center for the harvest work during the few remaining years.”
On an earlier trip to Brooklyn, C.T. Russell located a site he felt would be suitable. The old “Plymouth Bethel,” located at 13-17 Hicks St. in Brooklyn was purchased. It had served as a mission structure for the nearby Plymouth Congregational Church, where Henry Ward Beecher once served as pastor. The society’s representatives also purchased Beecher’s former residence, a four-story brownstone at 124 Columbia Heights, a few blocks away.
The Hicks Street building was remodeled and named the Brooklyn Tabernacle. It housed the Society’s offices and an auditorium.
After considerable repairs, Beecher’s former residence at 124 Columbia Heights became the new home of the society’s headquarters staff. A name was chosen as announced in the March 1, 1909 WatchTower: “The new home we shall call ‘Bethel’ [meaning: “House of God”]. “Newspaper gospelling,” as it was called, gained momentum after the move to Brooklyn.
An Early Talkie!
Motion pictures were gaining popularity by 1912 and Russell and his associates decided it was a medium through which millions of people worldwide could be reached. The presentation was named the “Photo-Drama of Creation.” It combined a movie with a slide presentation, synchronized with musical recordings and phonograph record talks. It was about eight hours in length and was presented in four parts.
The premiere was held at the Temple on West 63rd Street in Manhattan to an audience of 5,000. Many others had to be turned away. As the movie appeared on a large screen, C.T. Russell was seen. His lips began to move and his words could be heard. Not only did they hear his oration but they witnessed, by means of time-lapse photography, other things that astounded them — the unfolding of a flower and the hatching of a chick. They were greatly impressed. Movie theaters were rented in 80 cities to present the program that took audiences from the time of creation to the end of the Millennium. Showings were free to the public.
By the end of 1914, the Photo-Drama” had been seen and heard by audiences totaling over 9,000,000 in North America, Europe and Australia.
© Brooklyn Daily Eagle 2007
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