Tuesday, December 27, 2016

The Miracle Wheat Story - Part 3 (moved)

Addendum – False or Unsubstantiated Statements Being Made Concerning Charles Taze Russell and Miracle Wheat

By Ronald R. Day, Sr.

Below are quotes from various sites and forums that contain unverified or false statements that are not necessarily dealt with above. Since I first wrote this, many of these quotes have evidently been removed; at least I cannot find many of them anymore on the internet.

Unsubstantiated Statement #1:
Russell owned 990 of the 1,000 shares of Watchtower Society stock. By this figure, 99% of every “contribution” for “Miracle Wheat” was in effect a contribution to Russell himself.
Our Comments

The above has been repeated often on many sites and in many forums. The truth is that no one has ever owned any capital stock in the Watch Tower Society, not even Russell.  The Charter of the Society, Article V, clearly stated: "The Corporation has no capital stock. Each donation of ten dollars to the funds of said corporation shall entitle the contributor, or his assigns, to one non-forfeitable, non-assessable, and non-divided bearing share, and to one vote for every such share in said corporation. Certificates of membership so acquired shall be issued by the Secretary, countersigned by the President, to the persons entitled thereto." Thus, there has never been one single share of capital stock issued by the Watch Tower Society. However, in Russell's day, each contribution of $10.00 any contributor was entitled to one voting share. These "voting shares", however, were not the same as capital stock.

In 1907, in his last Will and Testament, Brother Russell stated: "I have already donated to the WATCH TOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY all my voting shares therein, putting the same in the hands of five Trustees, as follows: Sr. E. Louise Hamilton, Sr. Almeta M. Nation Robison, Sr. J. G. Herr, Sr. C. Tomlins, Sr. Alice G. James." Thus, Russell no longer held any voting shares in the Watch Tower, but his shares were put in the trust of several sisters, evidently with the thought that they would use them wisely after his death. (After Russell died, Rutherford claimed that those shares died with Russell and were not valid). Nevertheless, in 1915 Rutherford reported in his booklet, A Great Battle in The Ecclesiastical Heavens, the following: "While there are nearly two hundred thousand shares, and it would be an easy matter to elect some other man as president, there never has been cast a vote against Pastor Russell."

Nevertheless, the false statement that Russell allegedly owned 990 of 1000 shares of stock in the Watch Tower Society appears to be based on Russell’s use of a company called “United States Investment Company”. This company was formed by Russell around 1896 in Pennsylvania in which Russell evidently put up the money for and capital was recorded in his name and two others. This may be where all these rumors of Russell owning 90% or 99% of the Watch Tower Society have come from, although this company was not the Watch Tower Society. Russell and some of his associates evidently formed this company because some had objected to the Watch Tower Society’s receiving and selling real estate and other items, so this “company” had been formed for that purpose, to take care of such transactions in a business manner totally separate from the Watch Tower Society. 

Of course, this made it appear at least on paper that Russell had 90% ownership in any property and assets owned by this company, so his opponents evidently saw in this an excuse to distort the fact so as to promote all kinds of false accusations, which evidently became twisted to what is stated in the quote above. 

In truth, any profits that came from business activities of this company eventually went to the Watch Tower Society and was used in spreading the glad tidings of great joy. No one was receiving any secret profit from this company. 

The United States Investment Company, however, had nothing at all to do with the sale of “Miracle Wheat”. 

In Joseph Rutherford's Battle in the Ecclesiastical Heavens (1915), we find some information about that company. Rutherford stated that this company was never "a corporation in the strict sense of the word." Rutherford reports that the company was started with $1,000 and Russell himself furnished that $1,000. We have reproduced Rutherfor's statements concerning the United States Investment Company at:
https://reslight.boards.net/post/2083/thread

Unsubstantiated Statement #2:
While the motives of Russell can only be judged by God Himself, few would argue that such “Miracle Wheat” claims today would be more at home in the National Enquirer than in the Watchtower – a magazine claiming to be produced by God’s only true organization on the earth.
Our comments

In a sense, the above is proven false because of the relatively new “Miracle Wheat” produced by Norman Borlaug. This new "Miracle Wheat" has been written about in many Scientific and Agricultural journals. (See links presented below.) Borlaug himself received the Nobel prize for creating such wheat. Should one also think that the claims made for the Borlaug's "miracle wheat" to unworthy of credence?

Nevertheless, while the motives of the editors of the Eagle can only be judged by God Himself, the perversions, distortions and misrepresentation of facts that the Eagle presented would be more at home in tabloids that are not too concerned with the facts rather than in a newspaper that should be actually concerned with the facts. 

Russell, however, did not publish his magazine The Watch Tower as "produced by God's only true organization on earth." Russell did not believe in an organization such as the Jehovah's Witnesses.  Thus, the last part is irrelevant to the Watch Tower in Russell’s day, as there was no claim at all by Mr. Russell that the Watch Tower was “a magazine claiming to be produced by God’s only true organization on the earth.” There was no "organization" dogma attached to the Watch Tower Society of Russell's day. Indeed, Russell preached against the kind of "organization" claims made by the JW leadership.

Unsubstantiated Statement #3:
Before he got his religious career well underway, Russell promoted what he called “miracle wheat,” which he sold at sixty dollars per bushel.
Our comments

This makes it appear that Russell is the one who gave this wheat the name, "Miracle Wheat." Russell himself did not name the wheat “Miracle Wheat”, nor did he himself originate any of the claims concerning “Miracle Wheat”. 

Additionally, Brother Russell’s so-called "religious career" was well underway long before he had ever heard of Stoner or his “Miracle Wheat.” Russell's "religious career" could be said to have begun long before he became a teenager. Russell, however, first heard of Stoner and his "Miracle Wheat" in the year 1908. Russell, however, started his Biblical studies apart from man's creeds around 1870. If one counts 1870 as the date when he started his "religious career," that would mean that he had been in that "career" for about 38 years before he ever heard of Stoner's "Miracle Wheat." Indeed, he started publishing his "Watch Tower" magazine in 1879; that was about 29 years before he ever heard of Stoner's Miracle Wheat.

Unsubstantiated Statement #4:
You may know of the court case in which Charles Taze Russell, founder of the Watch Tower Society, was on trial for mail fraud (he had claimed that his "miracle wheat" would produce ten times as much as regular wheat).
Our comments

The above statement is evidently no longer on the WEB. At least I have not been able to find it. Nevertheless, it is often stated that Brother Russell was sued because of  his selling "Miracle Wheat". It should be apparent from all the information above that Mr. Russell was never on trial for “mail fraud”, nor was Russell ever sued by anyone concerning "Miracle Wheat"; thus, those making these claims are mistaken.

While Russell did repeat what others had said concerning the yield, he did not originate the claims concerning Miracle Wheat. As to its producing “ten times” as much as regular wheat, we have not found anyone who made such a claim. However, the original government report that Mr. Russell quoted (see above) would seem to indicate that, given proper soil and circumstance, this wheat might have been able to produce up to ten times more, but, as we stated, we have not verified where anyone ever made the claim that it would produce ten times more. The point is, however, that it was others that said this; Mr. Russell only reported what was said in the newspapers and what had been reported to him.

Unsubstantiated Statement #5:
Some farmers also commenced proceedings against him on the grounds of fraud and swindling because he sold to them wheat which he called, `miracle wheat’ at a very high price, claiming that it was from the holy land and that it was many times more abundant than the normal harvest. {Of course non of this was true, the wheat was normal American wheat. --  The Heresy of Jehovah's Witnesses, by H.H. Pope Shenouda III, page 8.
Our comments:

None of the above is true. There were never any farmers who brought proceedings against Russell. Indeed, in the court case in which Russell sued The Brookly Daily Eagle, there were many who were willing to testify on behalf of Russell, and 11 did testify of the results they had with Stoner's Miracle Wheat, which verified the veracity of the claims for the wheat. In court, the vast majority of the testimony proved that the wheat did yield much more than what is normal. Only one person testified that it was inferior, and this person evidently was not a farmer. On the other hand, however, Russell did send out letters to all who had purchased any of the wheat in which he offered to return money if any were not satisfied. Not one person asked for any money back, as shown in the information already given in this report.

Unsubstantiated Statement #6:
[[Charles Taze Russell]] was certainly an expert at making money, whether in the drapery business until he sold it, or by investments in mines and real estate, or by the selling of his books, and of “miracle wheat.” Unfortunately he was legally compelled to restore to the purchasers the money he had obtained for his miracle wheat, on the score that it had been dishonestly extracted from them.

Russell certainly sought find ways to raise money to support the work of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. I cannot say that he was "an expert" as this, since not all of his ventures proved very successful. Russell was never in the drapery business, so this statement is in error. Possibly the author confused Russell's haberdashery business as being a "drapery" business. 


Unsubstantiated Statement #7
The Society was prosecuted for selling Miracle Wheat at sixty times the going rate for wheat, and which was found to be inferior to ordinary wheat.
The statement has evidently been removed, as I can no longer find it on the internet. The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, however, was never prosecuted for selling Miracle Wheat. Indeed, the Watch Tower itself did not sell the wheat. Many farmers, however, did testify in court of the superiority of Stoner's Miracle Wheat.

Unsubstantiated Statement #8
Charles Russell was convicted of fraud for advertising “miracle wheat” in an early watchtower.... Charles Russell, a former 7th day Adventist constantly changed tact when his predictions for the end of the world didn’t happen.
Russell, of course, was never convicted of fraud. The form "Watchtower", however, was not used to designate Russell's magazine. It was spelled "Watch Tower". Russell, however, was never a member of the 7th Day Adventists. Additionally, he never gave any predictions for the "end of the world." Since we discussed Russell and 'the end of the world' elsewhere, we will not get into this here.

See links to my research regarding:

Russell and the End of the World

Regarding the claim the Russell was a former 7th Day Adventist:

Russell and the Seventh-Day Adventists

Unsubstantiated Statement #9
He [Russell] claimed it would grow five times as well as regular wheat. In fact, it grew slightly less well than regular wheat, as was established in court when Russell was sued.
Our comments

Mr. Russell himself made no claims for the wheat; he did report claims made by others. In court, the superiority of Stoner's wheat was well established by the testimony of many farmers. One person appeared who supposedly presented the testimony of some "government experts" who tested the wheat and claimed that their tests showed the wheat to be inferior.

Russell, however, was not sued, but rather Russell was the one who brought the suit against the Eagle.

Final Thought:

While Stoner's“Miracle Wheat” faded away over the years, probably partly from the adverse publicity which may have led farmers to disregard Stoner's instructions related to that wheat, a new high-yielding strain has been produced since then, which is also called “Miracle Wheat”:



Billions Served – agronomist Norman Borlaug – Interview
https://reason.com/2000/04/01/billions-served-norman-borlaug/

Taking the Mexican "Miracle Wheat" to the Farmers
https://borlaug.cfans.umn.edu/borlaug/1961-1969

Tribute to Dr. Norman Borlaug
http://www.isaaa.org/kc/cropbiotechupdate/article/default.asp?ID=3925

Some other information online concerning Brother Russell and Miracle Wheat; we do not necessarily agree with all statements made by authors.

Pastor Russell in Reply to Critics — C. T. Russell’s Reply to the accusations of E. L. Benedict (Mason M. E. Church) as appeared in the Tacoma Tribune regarding money matters, 1914, miracle wheat, Union Ban





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