SECRET JW CASES

JEHOVAH'S WITNESS EMPLOYEES SAY

"THANKS, BUT NO THANKS"

TO JOBS ORDERED REINSTATED BY U.S. GOVERNMENT

JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES v. PITTSBURGH PLATE GLASS COMPANY was a 1942-3 "Jehovah's Witnesses Are Victorious Again" case, which is like some other frequently cited JW cases of the era, in that it has been "spun" so as to glorify the Jehovah's Witnesses, and hide the negatives. The following summary will include some of the glossed-over details.

In December 1941, in the days following Japan's sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, a total of seven Jehovah's Witness Employees either were fired or resigned from the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company's manufacturing plant located in Clarksburg, West Virginia. After extensive, costly, and time consuming legal intervention from the Federal government, the jobs of all seven JW Employees were reinstated. One detail, which some commentators evidently feel is unimportant to the story, is the fact that after all the time and effort put forth on their behalf, only two of the seven Jehovah's Witness Employees returned to work at the PPG factory, and one of those two JWs returned for only three weeks.

On December 8, 1941, which was the Monday after the attack on Pearl Harbor, most PPG workers stopped what they were doing and listened to radios scattered around the factory, which broadcasted President Roosevelt's speech to Congress, in which the President explained the tragedy that had just occurred, and related the loss of American lives and property. President Roosevelt formally requested that Congress declare war against Japan, which also meant America's entry into the already ongoing war in Europe.

The National Anthem sounded from the radios after Roosevelt's speech ended. The emotional PPG workers included many veterans of the first World War. All removed their caps and stood at attention. Many placed their caps over their hearts. As the Star Spangled Banner sounded throughout the plant, workers in the shipping department noticed that a Jehovah's Witness co-worker, named Clyde Seders, had neither removed his cap nor stood up. Thereafter, Seders co-workers in his department refused to continue to work with him. Word of Seders' disrespect spread quickly throughout the other departments. The plant Superintendent questioned Seders as to what was his problem, and Seders explained that his WatchTower beliefs would not permit him to stand for the National Anthem nor support the war effort. The Superintendent told Seders that if he did not change his attitude that he could either quit or be fired. Seders quit at the end of the day - probably not necessarily due to what the Super had said.

Seders actions on December 8 also drew attention to the other six JWs working at the plant. Shortly thereafter, there was a second confrontation between a group of PPG workers and three JWs who stated to that group of co-workers that they also would refuse to stand for the playing of the National Anthem, and they also would not support the war effort.

Due to such, the American Legion sponsored a flag raising ceremony at the plant on December 17. The six remaining JW Employees wisely stayed away from the ceremony. However, the next day, a JW Employee, named Paul Schmidt, was fired, as was his son, Bernard Schmidt, on December 24, 1941. The four other JW Employees (Woodrow Parsons, Charles Paris, Brown Russell, and Charles Ferris) apparently choose to resign because no co-worker would work alongside them.

Thereafter, Paul Schmidt took the lead in the fight to get their jobs back for his fellow JWs. In January 1942, Schmidt wrote a letter to Eleanor Roosevelt, in which Schmidt asked her to intercede with her husband on behalf of the Clarksburg Seven. Schmidt's letter was passed along to the President's Committee On Fair Employment Practice, which had been established by executive order, in June 1941, with the purpose to promote full employment in "defense industries", by ending discrimination because of race, creed, color, or national. A CFEP field investigator performed an investigation at the PPG plant in April 1942, and as a result of such, CFEP began behind-the-scenes actions to get the two PPG unions, the AFL and the CIO, to intercede with local Clarksburg PPG members to allow the return of the seven JWs.

Author Chuck Smith reports that those behind-the-scenes actions between the CFEP and the AFL and the CIO were fruitless, so, in August 1942, Paul Schmidt traveled to Washington D.C. to appeal directly to the CFEP. Interestingly, however, Chuck Smith reports that before Schmidt visited the CFEP, Schmidt first traveled to New York City "to look for work", because his unemployment compensation benefits were depleted. Yeh, right. It would be my guess that the only "job interview" that Paul Schmidt attended during his short visit to New York City was in the offices of the Legal Department of WatchTower Society world headquarters in Brooklyn.

Amazingly, after Paul Schmidt's visit to NYC, and then to the CFEP, the CFEP sent letters to the two unions and PPG demanding that the seven JWs be reinstated. When such had not occurred by November, the CFEP issued another letter which ordered that the JWs be reinstated. In addition, the CFEP also issued a press release, which resulted in an AP news article titled, "SEVEN JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES REGAIN WAR PLANT JOBS", which received nationwide coverage to the probable chagrin of the WatchTower Society.

By now, readers should understand that in 1942 the WatchTower Society welcomed legal contests like a starving man welcomes food. Thus, that news headline also explains to readers why this case was another case during which the WatchTower Society apparently purposefully stayed out of the pubic eye, and appears to have allowed the ACLU to take the public role in watching over and commenting on the Clarksburg Seven.

That headline probably also explains why after much, much more work by the CFEP, including a hearing in December 1942, five of the seven JWs did not show up for work when their jobs were eventually reinstated on March 27, 1943. Author Chuck Smith simply reports, without question, that the other five JWs did not show up because they "had secured other employment". Naturally. But, given the publicity surrounding their terminations at PPG, does anyone really believe that those replacement jobs provided the compensation and benefits provided by the jobs at PPG?

Interestingly, the apparent "ruse" that all seven JWs wanted their jobs back at PPG was continued throughout the 15 months long effort to regain such. This is evidenced by the fact that PPG made preparations for the return of all seven JWs. Paul Schmidt even promised the CFEP representative sent to oversee the return that he would make sure that the returning JW Employees did not say anything that would upset the peace at PPG, and that he would also make sure that local Clarksburg JWs did not say anything in the community that would upset the peace, plus Schmidt even agreed to purchase "war bonds". Either Paul Schmidt was a natural born con-artist, or more probable, he himself had been deceived during all the behind-the-scenes goings-on during the past 15 months by whomever was acting as "Producer" and "Director" of this "play". Paul Schmidt very well may have been the most surprised person at PPG on March 27, 1943, when he discovered that only he and his son had returned to work.

One last interesting note to this drama. Bernard Schmidt spent only three weeks at his job at PPG. Bernard Schmidt had already been ordered by the local draft board to report to a "conscientious objector" camp in April 1943. Since most JWs were refusing even to go to CO camps, it is possible that Bernard Schmidt eventually did prison time as many other JWs chose to do. I will report on such if and when that info is obtained.

Paul Schmidt continued working at PPG until he retired in the 1950s. It would be interesting to know how Paul Schmidt's fellow JWs treated a "war-bond-buying, war-plant-working" JW after this case escaped the public limelight.

On Saturday afternoon, November 20, 1943, as was quite common during WWII, High School students in Myrtle Point, Oregon, were holding a War Bond Rally near the town's High School, in order to sell war bonds and stamps, when a group of 25 Jehovah's Witness adults showed up and began selling their own anti-government, anti-patriotism, and anti-religion propaganda.

The high schoolers did not take kindly to the Jehovah's Witnesses intruding on their rally, and the students admittedly verbally harassed the JWs. Apparently, one adult JW male could not take the teenagers' verbal jabs, and made the mistake of slapping one of them. As it turned out, several of the high schoolers were members of the school's footbal team, and they returned the favor to several of the adult JWs. A near riot developed, but was over before police arrived. Apparently, it was the leader of the JWs who went for the police, and demanded police protection while the JWs carried out their "constitutionally protected" activities. The police decided not to make any arrests given no serious injuries.

Apparently, Jehovah's Witnesses intentionally targeted "war bond" rallies and drives for their own anti-government activities. Who knows how many times that it was reported that a group of JWs got the crap kicked out of them, but the media report failed to report the "context" behind such.

In a 1944 news article from Council Bluffs, Iowa, a woman appeared at a meeting of the City Council to complain about the JWs never-ending distribution of propaganda, including the fact that the JWs had been showing up a local war bond rallies and telling people that if they wanted the war to end, then they should stop buying war bonds and stamps. The Mayor blew her off with the reasoning that the JWs were simply exercising their "constitutionally protected rights."

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THE WATCHTOWER SOCIETY LEADER

WHO WAS,

BUT WAS NOT,

BUT WHOSE DEATH STROKE WAS HEALED,

AND ASCENDED OUT OF THE ABYSS

The May 15, 1968 issue of the WATCHTOWER magazine contains the "life story" of a prominent Jehovah's Witness Leader whose name is no longer remembered by current Jehovah's Witnesses. That WatchTower Society Leader was Anton Adam Koerber. However, some of today's Jehovah's Witnesses may still recall the "tale" for which the WatchTower Society wishes Anton Koerber to be remembered. That "tale" was included in Koerber's 1968 WATCHTOWER biography, and was thereafter repeated time and again at WatchTower District Conventions, Circuit Assemblies, and local Kingdom Hall meetings in the late 1960s and early 1970s -- incidents which I personally recall, including "ooo-ing" and "aahh-ing" from the audience.

As the "tale" goes, Anton Koerber claimed to have been offered a business proposition, which allegedly would have yielded $1,000,000.00 profit to him in only one year, but Koerber declined the business deal because it would have interfered with his ministry as a Jehovah's Witness. Even if somewhat close to the truth, that "experience", as later repeated at 1960s and 1970s WatchTower functions, rarely ever included Koerber's name and never ever included Koerber's personal circumstances -- which were that Koerber was an aging man in failing health, who was already a multi-millionaire who did not need the money.

Those readers, who are personally acquainted with a highly successful life insurance salesperson, or some other type salesperson who has what it takes to "sell swimming and sunbathing accessories to Eskimoes", already have a good feel for "who was" Anton Koerber. The WATCHTOWER biography discretely describes Anton Koerber as a person with "a very positive personality", which sometimes led to "misunderstandings" with those whom Koerber interacted. Amusingly, in a 1950s newspaper article promoting an upcoming WatchTower "Circuit Assembly", the "Circuit Servant" for that area, Anton Koerber, obviously served as that reporter's primary source of info given that that reporter referred to Koerber as the "supervisor" of the circuit, who "has arranged for a number of visiting ministers, who have taken personal training under his direction, to assist him in the speaking and dramatic portions of the program."

Anton Koerber's WATCHTOWER biography includes some very interesting snippets from Koerber's life, but typically, it intentionally leaves out most of the negatives. The WATCHTOWER biography also leaves out several "specifics" about Koerber's life that sets Koerber uniquely apart from every other Jehovah's Witness. Let's see if we can help out the WatchTower Society with telling "the rest of the story".

UNITED STATES v. KOERBER. Anton Koerber's WATCHTOWER biography states: "During World War I, he was arrested and tried because of his conscientious objection to war, but the case was held in abeyance and dropped when the war was over." Frankly, I'm surprised that the WATCHTOWER biography did not claim that Koerber was "totally exonerated", which is the claim that the WatchTower Society makes when it mentions that the cases against its Corporate Officers were essentially dropped when the World War I was over. Regardless, I do not have any additional specific details about Koerber's criminal prosecution in 1918-9. Interestingly, however, the WATCHTOWER biography claims: "For years Anton had been in the insurance business. While such issues as buying war bonds caused strained relations with his business associates, it was the slogan 'Millions Now Living Will Never Die,' which the Bible Students were then preaching, that caused him to sever his connections with the insurance business and enter the real estate field." Yes, Anton Koerber started his rise to prosperity as an "insurance salesman", but come on now. Would not Koerber's Washington D.C. insurance business "associates" (in actuality, probably Koerber's "Employer") been more upset about the damage to their business reputation in the Washington D.C. area caused by Koerber's arrest and criminal prosecution for draft evasion?

The WATCHTOWER biography really does an excellent job of "spinning" what next happens in Koerber's life: "He now saw his way clear to enter the full-time preaching work. This he did with William N. Hall, a retired army brigadier general, whose privilege it had been to accompany Pastor Russell, the first president of the Watch Tower Society, on one of his world tours. Anton found Hall a helpful companion and a fine soldier of Jesus Christ. They traveled far and wide in Maryland, Virginia and other Eastern states, leaving much literature in the homes of the people and setting up Bible study groups. They would later return to strengthen them in the faith and train them in the Christian ministry. Eventually a number of these groups became established congregations. So in these respects they were serving much as did the apostle Paul and his companions."

In actuality, General William P. Hall, whom Anton Koerber found "helpful", and who had been "privileged" to have accompanied Charles Taze Russell on the 1911-12 around the world tour, had been THE ADJUTANT GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY at the time of his retirement. General Hall was a WEST POINT GRADUATE and recipient of the CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR, due to his heroics on the American western frontier, and Hall is buried at ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETARY. In reality, the few American newspapers which covered the WatchTower world tour did so, not because of Charles Taze Russell, but because of General William P. Hall. Koerber's WATCHTOWER biography makes it sound as if Koerber was General Hall's peer, when in fact, Koerber was privileged to have worked with a man of Hall's stature. Curiously, the WatchTower Society has never published a Biography of General Hall despite all that General Hall's own work did for its reputation in its early days. CLICK HERE TO READ MY OWN LAME ATTEMPT AT SUCH.

The WATCHTOWER biography relates: "He had a share, back in 1925, in fighting for licenses for radio stations owned by the Watch Tower Society. For some twenty-five years and more he appeared before presidents, cabinet members and members of Congress to serve them with the many resolutions adopted by Jehovah's witnesses at their various assemblies, ... ." How do you suppose that Anton Koerber, a young relative "unknown" in Washington power circles, was able to reach the point where he was able to freely mix in such Washington circles. In all likelihood, it was General William P. Hall who first introduced Anton Koerber to the circles of the Washington elite. It likely were those same "William P. Hall contacts" which enabled Anton Koerber's Washington D. C. real estate investment business to flourish.

At some point, probably in the early 1930s, Anton Koerber, Rose Koerber, along with their son and daughter, were invited to work at WatchTower Society headquarters in Brooklyn. This is "special" given that only the most "privileged" of even the elite within Jehovah's Witnesses were allowed to bring their families to live at Bethel. In 1933, while his family remained at Bethel, Koerber was appointed to a field position as "Regional Servant" for the eastern United States.

In 1935, Judge Rutherford sent Anton Koerber on a special mission to Germany and Russia. Koerber's mission was to regain possession of the WatchTower Society printing presses seized by the German government, and to have the presses shipped to Russia, where Koerber was to open a branch office. However, Anton Koerber failed at each assigned task.

Sometime around 1938, Koerber's wife was struck by paralysis and became permanently bedridden. Whether it was because of this tragedy, or some other event that happened even prior to 1938, is not known, but the family was forced to move back to the Washington D.C. area. I have reasons to believe that the Koerbers did not return to the Washington D.C. area until around this time, but I'm not positive. Given Koerber's failed mission to Europe, it is also possible that Rutherford and Koerber fell out after Koerber's return. However, given the info below, such may or may not have been the case.

At any rate, the WatchTower Society's history book, titled JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES -- PROCLAIMERS OF GOD'S KINGDOM, page 640, discloses that upon Anton Koeber's return to Maryland that he started publishing a monthly newsletter for local Jehovah's Witnesses, which apparently included both WatchTower related info and advertisements for some of Koerber's business ventures. Apparently, Judge Rutherford quickly put a stop to Koerber's newsletter, and things went downhill from there, if not already at the bottom of the hill.

ANTON KOERBER v. JOSEPH F. RUTHERFORD and M. ARNOLD HOWLETT. For someone who knew Judge Rutherford as well as did Anton Koerber, it is extremely difficult to understand why Koerber would have ever committed the "unforgivable sin" of filing a personal lawsuit against Rutherford. Regrettably, I do not have full details as to what all this lawsuit involved. The few details that I do have indicate that this lawsuit was probably filed in 1940 -- possibly in 1939. Apparently, Anton Koerber, Judge Rutherford, and a third WatchTower Society headquarters bigshot, named Matthew Howlett, were all three "partners" in some sort of business "joint venture". The business was evidently intended for the purpose of making money, and evidently Judge Rutherford and Matthew Howlett were managing and operating such from WatchTower Society headquarters, because in 1940-1, as part of the lawsuit, Anton Koerber asked the Court to order Rutherford and Howlett to produce an "accounting" of the business, including producing the business's books and records, and themselves submitting to questions regarding such. It appears that a partial accounting was so ordered in June 1941.

Given Anton Koerber's request for an accounting and full information from Rutherford and Howlett about the business, Koerber's role in this three man "partnership" apparently was strictly as the "money man", or financier. Given Judge Rutherford's advancing age, his burdened schedule running his WatchTower monarchy, and his stature amongst Jehovah's Witnesses, it is likely that this business was something in which Judge Rutherford was strictly the "Big Paulie" of the partnership, who had some keen interest in the subject of the business, but intended only to lend his name and reputation to such. That apparently leaves Matthew Howlett as the only one of the three men who could have actually been involved in the goings-on of the business. So then, who was Matthew Howlett? The answer may give us a clue as to what this money-making joint venture may have involved.

Matthew A. Howlett and Judge Rutherford reportedly first met in 1913 -- possibly in Winnipeg, where Howlett was part of a "crew". Howlett was "made" by "Big Paulie" in 1917, when as a unmarried man, Rutherford brought him from Canada to work at WatchTower headquarters in Brooklyn. Howlett had been born and reared in England, where he reportedly completed four years of "medical school". Howlett also claimed to have completed "some" additional "post-graduate" medical courses here in the United States. Curiously, however, Howlett testified in court that he had never ever "practiced medicine". Yet, Howlett further testified that he had served on and off as Judge Rutherford's "private nurse" and "dietician" since 1934, and that he had done so during the months leading up to Judge Rutherford's death.

In fact, Matthew Howlett was accused of treating Bethelites with Albert Abram's E.R.A. machine and techniques, which some claimed to essentially be an electronic Ouija Board. For additional information, see LECOCQ court case below. Despite one or more Bethelites stating that Howlett had treated them using Abram's E.R.A., Howlett not only denied doing so, but even denied that he knew anything about Abram's E.R.A. Maybe that demostrates how and why Howlett rose to the position of being one of Big Paulie's most trusted "captains" by the latter 1930s.

In July 1938, Rutherford sent Howlett to work as the "Zone Servant" for Northern Ohio, which was to become one of the hotbeds of legal action. Howlett and his by-then wife returned to Bethel in September 1939, just in time for Rutherford to send Howlett to Wisconsin to Olin Moyle's home area to deal with the limited "rebellions" that occurred there after Moyle return there after resigning his job at Bethel.

From these pieces of information about Howlett, it appears that Howlett was someone who had Rutherford's trust and confidence, and was used by Rutherford for his most important missions. It also appears that Howlett's area of expertise was the medical field. Maybe Howlett, Rutherford, and Koerber were developing an improved version of Abram's E.R.A.?

We will have to leave the "Koerber Lawsuit Mystery" for now, because there is even a bigger "Koerber Mystery" -- one that makes Anton A. Koerber one of the most "unique" Jehovah's Witnesses to have ever been a member of the WatchTower Society.

Sometime around the filing of KOERBER v. RUTHERFORD, Anton Koerber was reportedly "disfellowshipped", or excommunicated from the WatchTower Society. If such did not occur until after the filing of Koerber's lawsuit against Rutherford, then that was certainly the actual reason, regardless what was given as the "excuse".

In the history of the WatchTower Society, there have been many "bigshots" who have either chosen to leave on their own, or have been forced to leave. Even the FIRST PRESIDENT OF THE WATCHTOWER SOCIETY chose to separate himself from the WatchTower Society. (William H. Conley and Sarah Conley, were two of the five "original Bible Students". Russell, his father, and his sister were the other three. The first President of the WatchTower Society rejected Charles Taze Russell's own rejection of the Trinity Doctrine, as well as Russell's repeated failed attempts to set specific dates for prophetic events, and returned to the Presbyterian Church, and thereafter helped found the Christian and Missionary Alliance denomination.) There have been many other similar defections from the WatchTower Society over its history. However, to the best of my recollection, none of those dozens of WatchTower "bigshots" ever returned to the WatchTower Society to a similar position of power and authority which they had held prior to their leaving the WatchTower Society. In fact, Hayden Covington is the only bigshot that I can recall who has ever been "reinstated", and Covington's was essentially a "deathbed reinstatement".

This is where Anton Koerber "breaks the mold", and becomes the most unique Jehovah's Witness in this subsection of WatchTower Society history. Having not merely been disfellowshipped after working for years in positions of high authority, but having even committed the "unforgivable sin" of filing a lawsuit against the President of the WatchTower Society, and then after 12 or more years absence from the organization, Anton Koerber was "reinstated" sometime in 1951/2. After barely re-establishing himself as a congregation "publisher", Koerber boldly applied to become a fulltime Pioneer sometime in 1952. However, Koerber's application was foreseeably rejected. Not one to take "No" for an answer, Koerber traveled to WatchTower Society headquarters, where he made another request directly to the Service Department.

Bill Cetnar was given the "job" of meeting with Koerber and telling him "No" again. Koerber gave Cetnar a $10.00 handshake (that's 1952 money), and told Cetnar that he wanted to speak with someone else-- meaning someone who was someone at Bethel. Charles Taze Russell's and Judge Rutherford's old friend, A. H. MacMillan, went back with Cetnar to speak with Koerber. MacMillan reportedly dismissed Koerber with a severe tongue-lashing, which included accusing Koerber of being "selfish", and simply seeking a "title" (its interesting that at other times, the WatchTower Society says that "Pioneer" is not a title).

Bill Cetnar reports that a day or two after his two meetings with Koerber that he entered the Bethel dining hall one day and there sat Anton Koerber next to Nathan H. Knorr -- the President of the WatchTower Society. After the meal, Cetnar saw Koerber in the lobby. Koerber called Cetnar over to him, and pointed out the window to a parked brand new Cadillac. Koerber bragged to Cetnar that he had just presented that new Cadillac to President Knorr as a gift.

Miraculously, instead of receiving an appointment as a "regular pioneer" in his congregation, Anton Koerber was appointed as a CIRCUIT SERVANT -- a position that Koerber held for the next seven years in Pennsylvania and Maryland, and only relinguished such around 1959 due to his failing health. To recount, Anton Koerber had been disfellowshipped for 12 years or more, but was appointed a Circuit Servant only a few months after being re-instated. But, that is not the complete story.

Years later, after Koerber had died in 1967, an official of The Dawn Bible Students (which was one of the groups that was formed after the schism that occurred after Judge Rutherford used "legal inaccuracies" and "legal inadequacies" in Charles Taze Russell's Will and Estate to take over control of the WatchTower Society, despite the fact that Rutherford was Russell's attorney who had failed to correct those same legal problems) disclosed that, in 1951, evidently prior to his trip to WatchTower headquarters, that Anton Koerber had sent a letter to The Dawn Bible Students, in which Koerber requested a meeting with their Governing Body. That letter also included a donation of $2000.00 (again that's 1951 dollars). During a subsequent meeting during the Dawn's annual Convention, Anton Koerber allegedly offered his financial backing to "the evil slave class" if they would make certain concessions, which presumably included appointing Koerber to some position of authority. Koerber's offer was eventually declined on the basis that they would not "sell" their principles for money.

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UNITED STATES v. LECOCQ (1924) and UNITED STATES v. ELECTRONIC MEDICAL FOUNDATION (1954) are related court cases, although separated by three decades, which shed light on the beliefs and practices of the Jehovah's Witnesses -- especially with regard to medicine, doctors, and the health care system.

Mary Lecocq was a "Jehovah's Witness", (called "Bible Students" in 1924), in Jonesboro, Arkansas, who was prosecuted in federal court for "mail fraud", in connection with a "medical clinic" that she owned and operated. Mary Lecocq was a practitioner of "Electronic Reactions of Abrams", also known as "ERA", which was eventually proven to be medical quackery. Sometime prior to 1924, a medical doctor who wished to prove that both Albert Abrams and field practitioners, such as Mary Lecocq, who used Abram's machines and techniques, were "frauds", mailed a blood sample to Mary Lecocq and asked her to "test" the sample for possible disease, and if she found such, then to provide her medical solution. After Lecocq mailed back her diagnosis of cancer, diabetes, and malaria, along with her recommendation for treatment using one of Abram's machines, it was revealed to federal authorities that the blood sample had been extracted from a rooster. Federal criminal prosecution followed. For whatever reason, the USDC judge would not allow the case to be decided by the federal jury, but rather directed a verdict in Lecocq's favor, because in his opinion, Lecocq had proven that she had "acted in good faith" when she diagnosed and recommended treatment for the human disease found in the chicken blood. That was 1924.

Albert Abrams actually died just before he was to leave San Francisco and travel to Jonesboro to testify in the LECOCQ prosecution. After Abram's timely death, his "work" was carried on under the name of the "Electronic Medical Foundation". Although Mary Lecocq possibly closed her Jonesboro clinic in the latter 1920s, which many "Jehovah's Witnessess" around the country had patronized both by mail and traveling there, the EMF continued to be supported by the Jehovah's Witnesses, including members of the WatchTower Society world headquarter's medical staff. An osteopath at Brooklyn Bethel, named Mae J. Work, reportedly spoke at one or more EMF annual conventions in the 1930s.

In April 1925, the WatchTower Society's GOLDEN AGE magazine (AWAKE! predecessor) carried an article authored by Dr. Robert A. Gamble, in which he announced and advertised for sale a better and improved version of Abram's ERA machine that he had invented, called the Electronic Radio Biola. Dr. Robert Gamble was a medical doctor from Petersburg, Virginia, who also owned and operated a radio station, which he undoubtedly used to braodcast WatchTower sermons. Dr. Robert Gamble also was a prominent member of the WatchTower Society, who traveled about Virginia speaking on behalf of the WatchTower Society, and even spoke in California in Fall 1922, when he traveled there to study with Albert Abrams. Gamble was also the Chairman of the 1921 WatchTower Convention held in Washington D.C.

It is believed that Gamble had a partner in his Biola Manufacturing Company -- a second Jehovah's Witness medical doctor, named Lovick R. Bennett (1872-1949), who owned Bennett Medicine Company. Lovick Bennett also was a prominent member of the WatchTower Society, who traveled about Virginia and North Carolina speaking on behalf of the WatchTower Society. Biola Manufacturing Company (BMC just like Bennett Medicine Company) had a Norfolk, Virginia address, which was where Lovick Bennett lived, while Robert Gamble lived in Petersburg. In 1933, Gamble was killed, and three unidentified others were injured, in an automobile accident near Norfolk.

Abram's and Gamble/Bennett's machines and techniques were used and supported by prominent members of the WatchTower Society, at least through the 1940s, despite such being repeatedly exposed by one scientific and medical investigator after another. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, in September 1953, the WatchTower Society ran an article in its AWAKE! magazine that declared similar "radio wave" machines and techniques to be medical quackery -- without acknowledging its own decades-long involvement. Interestingly, the "Radio Clast" machine condemned in that AWAKE! article was manufactured in a small northern Ohio city named Tiffin. More interesting is the fact that Tiffin, Ohio has one of the oldest WatchTower congregations, of signifcant size, in the United States -- check ZWT for"Memorial" statistics for the 1800s -- which can't help but foster questions as to whether the person(s) behind the RadioClast were also JWs.

Interestingly, in January 1954, only a few weeks after that AWAKE! article was published, after a year-long or more investigation, the United States Food and Drug Administration filed a federal lawsuit against EMF in which it eventually forced EMF to stop distributing the thirteen different versions of machines it manufactured and leased to "field practioners".

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NEW YORK v. ORRELL and NORTH CAROLINA v. ORRELL ( times at least 3 ) were criminal court cases which involved a WatchTower Society "Agitator" named Eugene Dallas Orrell. Gene Orrell was a 29 year-old unmarried man when he joined the Jehovah's Witnesses in 1921. By only 1923, Orrell had managed to sufficiently distinguish himself amongst JWs to get invited to work at WatchTower world headquarters. There, Orrell quickly rose in the ranks all the way to "Bethel Servant" by only 1931-2. During that period, Orrell's living quarters were in the room adjacent to Judge Rutherford's private office. Bonnie Boyd and her mother were the only other persons who lived in that Seventh Floor complex of offices and apartments. Orrell related that Rutherford and he were "very" good friends, and occasional drinking buddies, in addition to their having an excellent working relationship.

In fact, although his name has all but been forgotten, Gene Orrell was one of the most active WatchTower Society workers inside and outside Brooklyn headquarters from the late 1920s up until Judge Rutherford's death in 1942. In addition to being "Bethel Servant", Gene Orrell was used by Rutherford out in the field where and whenever a "loyal soldier" was needed. Orrell lectured all over the United States, and even performed special projects in the cities of Chicago and Philadelphia. By the late 1930s, at a time when there were many legal battles brewing, Orrell was serving in both Carolinas as a "Servant To The Brethren", or what would be a "District Overseer" today. Interestingly, however, when only about 50 years old, Orrell gradually dropped out of sight after Rutherford's death, and little if anything was heard of Orrell between then and his death thirty years later. I can't even locate anything which would indicate that any of his large family also were JWs.

Gene Orrell's resume also includes being one of the three WatchTower Society "headcrackers" who were "miraculously" acquitted of felonious assault charges alleged to have occurred in the riot which developed during the infamous Rutherford speech at Madison Square Garden in June 1939. WatchTower Attorney, Olin Moyle, was so certain that Orrell would be convicted that Moyle recommended that Orrell plead "guilty" rather than go to trial. Interestingly, Orrell wanted to contest the charges, and Rutherford agreed, and arranged for Orrell to have a separate attorney. As it turned out, Orrell's assessment of the situation was better than Moyle's, who was an experienced trial attorney who had won before SCOTUS. These were part of the circumstances that led up to the Rutherford-Moyle blowup.

In the summer of 1940, Gene Orrell was arrested at least three times in North Carolina (there were very likely many more). One of those court cases was especially interesting. Orrell, and some other JWs under his command, were arrested for distributing WatchTower literature without first securing a city permit, which cost only $1.00 per day, or $5.00 per year. This was before SCOTUS ruled that distributors of religious literature could not be required to obtain such permits. Thus, JWs all over the U.S. were testing such permit requirements, and were losing case after case in the local courts. What makes the Orrell case so interesting is that the local Superior court "miraculously" overturned Orrell's initial conviction. That local Judge ruled in Orrell's favor that the $1.00 city license requirement was "unconstitutional". That same Judge told Orrell that Orrell still should have went ahead and paid the $1.00 fee to obtain the city permit, even if such did violate Orrell's constitutional rights.

That local low level Judge showed more common sense than did "Judge Rutherford". That Judge explained to Orrell, "I don't think that any true witness of Jehovah would make himself a nuisance. I do think they could advance their cause more graciously and effectively by complying with ordinances."

Curiously, a different judge that handled Orrell's arraignment, when Orrell was initially arrested, later told a reporter that Orrell had told him that he was a Reserve Officer in the United States Army. It is not known whether Orrell stated this in open court, or whether this was something Orrell told the judge away from the proceedings, but in either case, that certainly gives one something to ponder. In fact, Gene Orrell was a WWI Veteran who, as an Officer in the U.S. Army, had been decorated for bravery.

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UNITED STATES v. CZUBRYT was a 1944 Massachusetts federal court case. In Spring 1944, a Jehovah's Witness named Joseph Stanley Czubryt, 30, of North Adams, was apparently denied classification as a "minister" by his draft board, and not so untypically of some JWs, Czubryt proceeded to cooperate with subsequent steps in the process, such as showing up for the physical exam (in hopes of failing such), etc. However, Czubryt passed his physical, and he was notified to report for transport to the induction center on Wednesday, March 29, 1944. Czubryt both send a letter to his draft board that he would not be going, and even went down and notified the officials in person that Wednesday. Although specifics are unknown, there are hints that Czubryt was not well received that day by the other inductees and their families.

What is unusual about this case, however, is what happened the next day. Joseph Czubryt "accidentally" shot himself in the left knee, while supposedly examining a .22 pistol, which had "recently came into his possession". Unfortunately for Czubryt, the small caliber gun did not do much damage. Doctors were able to remove the bullet and release him the same day. Czubryt was eventually convicted of violating federal draft laws, and sentenced to two years in prison.

A man identifying himself as the local JW leader wrote a "Letter To The Editor" in support of Czubryt, which displayed a total lack of consciousness that WWII was a worldwide war between the forces of good and evil, as well as how the rest of America viewed the JWs' supposed "neutrality" in such fight:

"Have we all stopped to think about the hardship this decision is to this Christian because of the many that do not believe like him? ... [God's] word commands us to love our fellow man and not to take up arms against him. (What about against yourself?) ... Jehovah's Witnesses are engaged in a free educational work in the Bible and Mr. Czubryt is only one instrument used by God.

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Over the decades, depending on what its "legal needs" were at the time, the WatchTower Society has flip-flopped back and forth as to whether it claimed that "ALL" baptized Jehovah's Witnesses, including females, were "ordained Ministers", or only its "Elders" were "ordained Ministers. Even non-JWs should be able to guess what the position was during WWII.

UNITED STATES v. MILLER was a 1943 Oregon federal court decision, in which 19 year-old Howard Robert Miller Jr was convicted on draft evasion charges after contending that he had been an "ordained Minister" since the day he was baptized as a Jehovah's Witness at the age of 10.

At his sentencing, Howard Miller Sr backhandedly threatened the federal judge when he stated, "If I were in your position, your honor, I would ask God to strike me dead before I sent this boy to prison."

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UNITED STATES v. BAXLEY was a 1942 South Carolina federal court decision. A Jehovah's Witness, named John Melvin Baxley, was convicted of "aiding, abetting, and counseling" his son, Adrian Baxley (see page 2014), and other JWs, to violate the Selective Sevice Act, and sentenced to 15 months in prison.

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UNITED STATES v. FLOURNEY was a 1943 New Mexico federal court decision. In a statement to the court made prior to sentencing, a Jehovah's Witness draft dodger, named Frank Younger Flourney, placed an unquoted "curse" on the Judge if he interfered with the work of Jehovah's Witnesses. The Judge responded: "If the Lord strikes me dead, I have a duty to perform. You have been fairly convicted, and I sentence you'to five years."

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UNITED STATES v. BURGDORF was a 1950 California federal court case. In 1950, a draft dodging Jehovah's Witness, named Thomas H. Burgdorf, was sentenced to five years in prison, at a time when most JWs often received three years or less (but often were released after only a few months of good behavior), after he po'ed the judge by stating in court that "armed services chaplains are traitors to God."

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In 1943, an unidentified JW draft dodger called USDC Judge John Collett "a tool of the Devil" after Collett sentenced him to the maximum prison term.

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UNITED STATES v. SELF was a 1942 North Carolina federal court case. In 1942, a draft dodging Jehovah's Witness, named Evan Loy Self, was sentenced to 18 months in prison after he refused to report even as a conscientious objector. After Self's sentencing, an unidentified JW Female gave the Prosecutor a public tongue-lashing as he exited the courtroom. The JW wagged her finger under the prosecutor's nose, and yelled, "There's blood on your hands." She may have been especially angered because Self's brother, Glen Richard Self, had also been recently arrested on draft evasion charges.

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UNITED STATES v. JWs 1 - 41 were 1943 Pennsylvania federal court decisions. On December 10, 1943, three Pittsburgh federal judges sentenced 41 different Jehovah's Witnesses to five years each in federal prison on various charges of draft evasion. The three judges did so despite weathering "invocations of divine wrath".

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UNITED STATES v. MOLINARI was a 1943 California federal court decision. In January 1943, a Jehovah's Witness "Minister", named Raymond Molinari, 24, of Mountain View, California, was convicted of failing to show up for induction into the U.S. Army. At his sentencing, which was typically three years in prison, Molinari informed the judge that he had changed his mind, and would agree to induction. Molinari, whose wife was expecting their first child in a matter of weeks, stated that after re-thinking the situation, he realized that California was subject to invasion from Japan. Other JWs in attendance condemned Molinari for compromising.

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UNITED STATES v. LUNDIN was a 1943 Illinois federal court decision. An 18 year-old Jehovah's Witness, named Whitney Theodore Lundin, was arrested and awaiting trial on draft evasion charges, when he had a Pauline experience while sitting in his jail cell and reading WatchTower books. Whitney Lundin reported, "A great beam of light suddenly came over me. I changed my mind. I'm ready to be a soldier."

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UNITED STATES v. ANDRUSAK was a 1942 Wisconsin federal court decision. A Manitowoc Jehovah's Witness, named Theodore Andrusak, was charged with draft evasion after failing to show up for induction into the military. While in local jail awaiting trial, Andrusak declared to a local draft board official, who was attempting to get Andrusak to change his mind, "I just won't go. I don't care if I get locked up in jail for three or four years." Apparently, Ted Andrusak was an expert on the subject. From 1939-1941, he had done 12-18 months in state prison for breaking and entering.

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TAYLOR v. MISSISSPPI was a 1943 SCOTUS victory for the WatchTower Society, which almost always is reported in such a way that few people understand exactly what actually occurred. This case actually demonstrates why so many people came to hate the Jehovah's Witnesses during this period in which Americans were contemplating the real possibility that Hitler, Mussolini, and Tito would win WWII, and take over and rule over the United States.

Within a matter of weeks after Pearl Harbor, the State of Mississppi developed and enacted a state law which was unquestionably directed at Jehovah's Witnesses and other subversive groups. The law criminalized "disloyalty to the government of the United States, or the state of Mississippi", and activities "which reasonably tends to create an attitude of stubborn refusal to salute, honor or respect the flag or government of the United States, or of the state of Mississippi". Taylor, and two other JWs in separate incidents, were convicted under this law. However, on appeal to SCOTUS, the law was struck down as unconstitutional.

But, rarely is it discussed what Taylor exactly did to get arrested. Taylor did what thousands of JWs did every single day while WWII was ongoing. Taylor went to the homes of families who had recently suffered the death of loved ones in the war, and told grieving mothers, fathers, and wives that their sons and husbands not only had died pointlessly, but had even sinned in fighting for their country.

The SCOTUS decision only summarizes such, but readers who have the intelligence and education can put themselves contextually in the shoes of the targets of Taylor's sermonizing:

"... the prosecution offered evidence to show that Taylor, in the course of interviews with several women, the sons of two of whom had been killed in battle overseas, stated that it was wrong for our President to send our boys across in uniform to fight our enemies; that it was wrong to fight our enemies; that these boys were being shot down for no purpose at all; that the two women's sons may have thought they were doing the right thing to fight our enemies, but it was wrong; that Hitler would rule but would not have to come here to rule; that the quicker people here quit bowing down and worshiping and saluting our flag and government the sooner we would have peace."

I do not want to use much webspace on this topic, but persons interested in the outrageous quantity of WatchTower litigation might be interested to know about a lawsuit "genre" that has gone unreported and unnoticed because the WatchTower Society lost all such court cases.

Post-WWII, after the fear of Hitler and Tojo was replaced by relief afforded by their demise, many of the hundreds of JW draft evasion court cases were heard in federal appellate courts, some of which were no longer anxious to continue such cases, and a few of such were "won" for any number of reasons -- ranging from technicalities to legitimate blunders.

As just one more example of how the WatchTower Society never allowed any opportunity to pass to "stick their finger in the eye" of any adversary, some of the JWs in those cases started filing civil lawsuits seeking tens of thousands of dollars in damages against the individual members of those draft boards, appeal boards, and any and all individual administrative and court personnel who worked for the various governmental entities connected with the draft.

Thus far, I have ran across lawsuits in Ohio, Arkansas, and South Carolina. All were dismissed by the various USDCs on the grounds that the defendants were "immune" from such lawsuits, yet such lawsuits still had to be answered, handled, etc.

DODEZ v. SELECTIVE SERVICE ET AL was a 1948-9 Ohio case dismissed at USDC level and affirmed by USCA.

GIBSON v. SELECTIVE SERVICE ET AL was a 1947-8 Arkansas case dismissed at USDC level.

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Most non-JWs think that JWs refuse to serve in the U. S. military because JWs are "pacifists" who object to "war" and "killing", which is not true. JWs refuse to serve in the U. S. military because the WatchTower Society teaches that the U. S. Government is an illegimate government in rebellion against God, and is supported by Satan. JWs believe that they will rule the world after God finally gets around to killing all non-JWs at Armageddon.

Objecting to war and killing is simply the "public relations" excuse sometimes told in courts and to reporters, because the WatchTower Society knows what would happen if the general public fully and completely understood what JWs are taught behind closed doors. However, ever now and then, some stray JW runs his/her mouth too much, and even though their comments get reported, few people understand what the JW actually said.

For instance, in 1969, in UNITED STATES v. FISHER, when Donald Fisher, of Miami, Florida, was convicted of draft evasion, he stated in open court that the Jehovah's Witnesses' objection to military service was not so much because they objected to war, but rather because JWs objected to performing any service for any government other than the "kingdom of God", which in the world of JWs means the "WatchTower Society".

In another 1969 case, UNITED STATES v. GODDARD, Boyd Lynn Goddard was classified as a conscientious objector, but as did 98% of Jehovah's Witnesses so classified, Goddard still refused to perform the alternative service that he assigned at a local Texas hospital. At his trial, Goddard testified that had he taken the job at Big Spring State Hospital, he would have freed up someone else to take his place in the military service, or in some other capacity to support the United States government, and that such was against his religions convictions. Goddard stated that he could not support the government of the United States, or any other government not engaged in God's work, except in such things as paying taxes. Goddard maintained that he could not work for God and the Devil at the same time.

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KRETCHET v. UNITED STATES was a 1960 California federal appellate court case during which a Jehovah's Witness named Joe Ronald Kretchet was represented by WatchTower Society lead attorney Hayden Covington. Here is an interesting excerpt from that opinion:

In appellant's first personal appearance before the local board he stated that "He is in Christ's Army now, and if he went into the Army, it would be treason." He further stated that he believed in self-defense under circumstances which are not premeditated, and that he had a right to protect his Christian brothers, and that he would fight to defend them in case of an emergency. In his personal appearance before the first hearing officer of the Department of Justice appellant stated that he would defend his home against an invader; he would kill if it became necessary; and that he opposed noncombatant duty because he cannot serve two masters. In his second personal appearance before the local board, appellant stated that he never claimed to be against war in any form, that he believed in theocratic warfare commanded by God, and unless God told him to fight there was no reason to fight. In appellant's appearance before the hearing officer on his second appeal he filed a letter in which he stated, "I believe that the Bible does not allow me to participate in any war that is being fought at the present or will ever be fought at any time in the future. I am conscientiously opposed to participation of war in any form. I will not participate in any battle in which carnal weapons are used and lives are lost. Yet, I do not claim to be a pacifist." At the time of such personal appearance before the hearing officer appellant indicated that if Jehovah, or someone believed to be speaking for Jehovah, ordered him to slay now or to participate in a war now, he would participate in such a war and that in such participation he would use such carnal weapons as were available to him in order to carry out Jehovah's commandments.

Contrary to the impression often given by the Jehovah's Witnesses that "everyone was against them" during this period in history, the Executive Branch of the Federal Government was on the side of the JWs almost all the time. In fact, as early as 1940, J. Edgar Hoover had instructed his F.B.I. agents to assist the JWs whenever possible in the JWs battles with local and state officials. Hoover even made this instruction to the U.S. District Attorneys, who at the time were under the authority of the Attorney General. AG Biddle then later issued similar instructions.

By 1943, incidents involving violence had become somewhat rare, which makes the placement of the following "paid" 1943 newspaper advertisement somewhat curious, given the threat regarding "acts of violence against Jehovah's Witnesses."

A $500.00 reward has been offered by the

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION

for the first person to supply information

leading to the arrest conviction and imprisonment of anyone

who takes part in acts of violence against

JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES

Because of the lawless opposition to the work of Jehovah's Witnesses,

the Department of Justice has made a thorough investigation of the matter.

Chief of the Federal Bureau of Investigation

in his report to the Attorney General established that

there is no connection between German Nazis and Jehovah's Witnesses.

THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

has sent a special circular to every United States Attorney in the country

urging them to take every possible step at once
to prevent interference with the work of Jehovah's Witnesses.

Also, in 1943, some U.S. District Attorneys even ran radio advertisements in which the local citizenry were warned that Jehovah's Witnesses would receive the full support and aid of the United States Government "to preach and teach their beliefs anywhere in the land; to use the streets, highways, byways, homes, churches, public buildings, or rented halls for the distribution of their literature and reproduction of phonograph records; all unmolested, so long as they do not infringe upon the rights and privileges of others and make no effort to force their doctrines upon unwilling ears or against legitimate protest."

Again, given the rarity of violence against JWs when these newspaper and radio advertisements were ran seems to indicate that the federal government was not really concerned with "violence", but rather was using the "memories" of such as a "red herring", and suchs ads were actually intended to stamp out organized grass-roots opposition against the WatchTower Society.

However, I have noticed what seems to be a gradual change in the FBI's attitude as WWII wore on, especially after 1943, when the various SCOTUS successes had eliminated most of the WatchTower's problems with local/state officials, and when the JWs started becoming problems to the federal government. The draft issue really became a pain to the FBI. As more and more JW males refused to be inducted into the military, the FBI was charged with the task of conducting interviews, investigations, and arrests as part of the prosecutions. Given the large quantity of JW "draft dodgers", and given that interviewing all of them would require the time and effort of the many agents over time, it probably did not have taken long before the FBI did not find JWs to be so "charming".

In fact, by 1945, there started to be rumblings within the federal government that maybe the FBI should initiate an investigation of the WatchTower Society to determine whether their actions with regard to the draft issue had crossed the line and violated federal law, as had occurred during WWI, resulting in imprisonment of top WatchTower leaders. Fortunately for the JW leaders at WatchTower HQ, WWII did not last much longer.

I also may have stumbled onto another reason that, if true, would explain the seemed change in the FBI's attitude toward JWs. Again, if true, this incident was apparently "buried" by both the government and the JWs. If any reader has yet to understand what I am saying, let me make myself clear. I have NOT been able to confirm that this "supposed incident" did in fact occur, but here is the gist of a story/rumor that was making the rounds in 1942.

Supposedly, in 1942, a pair of FBI agents somehow ended up in a gun battle with "some" JWs, and shot and killed two JWs. The encounter supposedly involved "draft evasion". The exact scenario is unknown. It is unknown whether this was a simple "interview" situation that the JWs did not understand to be routine, or whether this was a more serious "arrest" scenario. It is unknown whether this occurred at a JW home, which might have involved a father and a son, or two brothers. Or, it could have been two unrelated JWs on the run. Or, maybe this was simply a 1940s "urban legend" which evolved out of the following actual court case:

UNITED STATES v. WHITE was a 1942 New Mexico federal court case. In November 1942, the FBI announced that they had arrested Homer Eugene White, 35, who was described as "the leader" of the Jehovah's Witnesses in southern New Mexico. White was arrested on various draft evasion charges, but more interestingly, also on federal charges of threatening agents of the FBI. Homer White had threatened to shoot any FBI agent who approached his ranchhouse. White pled guilty.

JW HUMOR SECTION

In December 2002, Elders at the Burlington, Wisconsin Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witness called in local police to conduct an investigation of two lighted Santa Clauses which had been left outside the Burlington Kingdom Hall plugged into the Kingdom Hall's exterior electrical outlet. Although unconfirmed, the Federal Bureau of Investigation may also have been contacted to initiate a federal "hate-crimes" investigation. Reportedly, neither smirking Santa Claus would "give-up" the perpetrator(s) despite intense interrogation and possible water-boarding.

In August 1943, Illinois police stopped for speeding a car containing 3 adult males and 2 underage females from Pittsburgh, who claimed they were on their way to a WatchTower Convention in Minneapolis. They were accused of speeding in excess of 60 mph in a 20 mph zone. When they appeared before the traffic judge, the driver, who stated that he was an ordained Jehovah's Witness Minister "who could not lie", further claimed that he was only doing 20 mph, and "besides, the car could not go sixty". The judge then made the JW-Minister-who-could-not-lie a deal. The judge offered to take the JW's car for a testdrive, and if the car would not go 60 mph, then he would dismiss the ticket, but if the car would go 60 mph, then the fine would be doubled. The JW decided that he would go ahead and pay the $15.00 fine, because JWs don't "gamble" either.

In 1943, a Texas attorney, who at the end of a long tiring day in court defending a JW who had been arrested for distributing WatchTower propaganda, was approached by a JW spectator who offered him some of the literature for his own perusal. The attorney snapped at the naive JW, "Listen, I defended him, but I don't have to read the stuff!!!"

In 1944, a superior court Pittsburgh judge was forced to return to a JW a $10.00 fine which had been assessed after the JW's conviction for "disturbing the peace" in a lower court for distributing the WatchTower Society's propaganda on city streets. In open court, the judge stated that he had lost respect for the Supreme Court of the United States after their recent decisions in favor of forbidding local governments the ability to regulate the sales activities of JWs. After ordering the fine returned to the JW, the judge told the JW in open court, "Never come to my house unless you want to get punched in the nose."

In 1961, a "Congregation Servant" in Albuquerque, New Mexico, had been awaiting the arrival at his home of two WatchTower representatives from Oregon, whom he had never met before. When the JW and his wife were awakened in the wee hours of Sunday AM, they opened their front door expecting to greet the expected two JWs, but instead were greeted by two "drunks". One drunk passed out soon after entering the home, while the other man was so drunk that he was barely able to carry on a conversation. When the conscious drunk fled the house after some intense questioning, the JW and his wife call the police. When the police arrived, they arrested the drunk who had passed out, and took him to jail. Interestingly, when local reporters became aware of this scenario the next day, the JWs related that the events of the previous evening were just a series of "coincidences". Supposedly, two "local" men who did not know each other started drinking together in a local bar. When the bar closed, one man offered to drive the other home. The two men mistakenly ended up at the home of the JWs. The man whose home they supposedly thought it was, and who passed out, and who was later arrested, changed his story and said that he thought he had arrived at a party, rather than at his home, where the driver thought he was taking him. The driver, who had later fled, for some unexplained reason followed the first man inside his home, instead of simply dropping his new acquaitance off at the front door of "his home". Interestingly, the two WatchTower representatives still had not yet arrived before this "series of coincidences" made the news.

In 1967-9, a California Jehovah's Witness, named Lawrence Monroe Haven, was convicted in federal USDC of draft evasion. As part of his appeal at the USCA level, Lawrence Haven argued that Jehovah's Witnesses "have been systematically excluded from serving on local draft boards and that he was, therefore, classified and ordered to report for civilian work by a [draft] board which had no power because its composition was unconstitutional." Haven sought to prove his unique defense by submitting testimony from a Los Angeles area "Congregation Overseer" to the effect that no member of the Jehovah's Witnesses, so far as he knew, had ever been asked to serve on a local draft board. Needless to say, that argument went over like a lead balloon.