VIOLENCE ERUPTS AT LITCHFIELD

About the same time that Kingdom Farm had been the object of threatened assault and arson, trouble flared up against Jehovah’s witnesses in Litchfield, Illinois. “In some way the troublemakers in Litchfield got wind of our plans so that when we did go in to work the town they were ready for us,” recalls Clarence S. Huzzey. “The local priest rang the church bells as a signal and they began rounding up the brothers​—taking them to the local jail. Some of the brothers were badly beaten and the mob even threatened to burn down the jail. Some of the mobsters located the cars of the brothers and began demolishing them​—reducing them to rubble.”

Walter R. Wissman says: “After being beaten by the mob the brothers were herded into the local jail by the state highway patrol for their own protection. One brother, Charles Cervenka, was knocked to the ground when he refused to salute the flag, the flag was pushed into his face, and he was severely kicked and beaten about his head and body. He was the most severely injured of the brothers and he never quite recovered from the beating. He died a few years later. He said later that as he was being beaten he thought to himself that he was so glad this happened to him and not to one of the newer brothers because he knew that he could take it, while perhaps a newer one would have weakened and compromised.”

“The town of Litchfield was very proud of its accomplishment,” Brother Wissman recalls. “In fact, a number of years later, along in the 1950’s, Litchfield had a centennial celebration with floats depicting the outstanding events in the city’s hundred-year history. One of these floats was in commemoration of the mobbing of Jehovah’s witnesses in 1940. The town officials considered that this was a memorable event in their history. May Jehovah reward them!”

UNHEEDED PLEAS

So serious and numerous were the violent attacks upon Jehovah’s witnesses that United States Solicitor General Francis Biddle and Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt (wife of President Franklin D. Roosevelt) made public appeals for the discontinuance of such actions. In fact, on June 16, 1940, the very day of the Litchfield incident, during a coast-to-coast radio broadcast over the network of the National Broadcasting Company, Biddle stated:

“Jehovah’s witnesses have been repeatedly set upon and beaten. They had committed no crime; but the mob adjudged they had, and meted out mob punishment. The Attorney General has ordered an immediate investigation to these outrages.

“The people must be alert and watchful, and above all cool and sane. Since mob violence will make the government’s task infinitely more difficult, it will not be tolerated. We shall not defeat the Nazi evil by emulating its methods.”

But such pleas did not stem the tide of hostility against Jehovah’s witnesses.

As it is, Jehovah’s servants often were assaulted by violent mobs as they engaged in witnessing on the streets with The Watchtower and Consolation. For example, George L. McKee says that week after week in one Oklahoma community mobs ranging from 100 to well over 1,000 infuriated men assailed Witnesses engaged in magazine street work. The mayor, chief of police and other officials would provide no protection. According to Brother McKee, generally the mobsters were led by a prominent physician and leader of the American Legion, a cousin of Belle Starr, notorious woman bandit. First, drunken henchmen started a disturbance. Then came the mob, armed with pool sticks, clubs, knives, meat cleavers and guns. Their object? To run the Witnesses out of town. But each Saturday, Kingdom proclaimers determined in advance how long they were going to engage in street work and, though the mob would gather quickly, they were successful in completing the allotted time. Many magazines were placed with shoppers.

One Saturday about fifteen Witnesses were accosted. “We realized we would have to rely upon Jehovah God and good judgment to escape with our very lives,” says Brother McKee, continuing: “Without as much as a warning, they began to attack three of us brothers with their knives and clubs. . . . With our broken arms, cracked skulls and other injuries, we went to four different doctors in the community, but all refused to give the treatment we needed. We had to travel to a community fifty miles away for the services of a sympathetic doctor. Bruises and feelings soon healed and we were back on the street corner on the following Saturday with the good news of the Kingdom. This spirit prevailed throughout all the troublesome times we had in the heat of persecution.”

FURY AT CONNERSVILLE

Notable among acts of mob violence were incidents that occurred in 1940 at Connersville, Indiana. Certain Christian women on trial there were falsely charged with “riotous conspiracy.” As Brother Rainbow, a zone servant, and Victor and Mildred Schmidt left the courthouse on the trial’s first day, about twenty men lunged at their car, threatened them with death and tried to overturn the vehicle.

On the trial’s final day, the prosecuting attorney used his arguing time more for inciting to riot, sometimes speaking directly to armed men in the building. About 9:00 p.m. the verdict came​—“Guilty.” Then a storm of violence broke loose. Sister Schmidt says that she and her husband Victor, who was one of the lawyers handling the case, along with two other brothers, were cut off from the other Witnesses and were accosted by a mob of from two to three hundred. She tells us:

“Almost immediately, a barrage of all kinds of fruit, vegetables and eggs began bombarding us. We were told later that the mobsters had unloaded a whole truckload of these items on us.

“We tried to run to our car, but were headed off and pushed to the highway leading out of the city. Then the mob rushed at us, striking the brothers and hitting me in the back, causing a whiplash effect. By now, a storm had broken in all its fury. The rain was coming in torrents and the wind was lashing furiously. However, the fury of the elements was insignificant in comparison with the fury of this demon-crazed mob. Because of the storm, many took to their cars and drove alongside of us, yelling and cursing us and always including Jehovah’s name in their cursings. Oh, how that pierced our hearts!

“But in spite of the storm, it seemed as though there were at least a hundred men on foot pressing down on us. Once a carload of friends driven by Sister Jacoby (now Sister Crain) from Springfield, Ohio, tried to rescue us, but the mob nearly upset the car and kicked it and tore at its doors. This brought more blows upon us as the mobsters pulled us away from the car. The friends were forced to drive on without us. As we were driven on and the storm continued unabated, the mobsters kept yelling and chanting: ‘Throw them in the river! Throw them in the river!’ This unceasing chant struck terror into my heart and as we approached the bridge to cross the river the chant suddenly stopped. Soon we were actually across the bridge. It was as though Jehovah’s angels had blinded the mob as to where we were! I thought, ‘Oh, Jehovah, thank you!’

“Then the big burly mobsters began striking the brothers again. How hard it was to see someone you love being struck! Each time they struck Victor, he staggered, but never fell. These blows were blows of horror to me . . .

“Time after time they approached me from the back and would give me that quick whiplashing push. Finally, we were separated from the two brothers and as we walked locked arm in arm, Victor said: ‘We haven’t suffered as much as Paul. We haven’t resisted unto the shedding of blood.’ [Compare Hebrews 12:4.]

“It was very dark and getting late (I learned later, about 11:00 p.m.). We were beyond the city limits and near exhaustion when suddenly a car stopped very close to us. A familiar voice said: ‘Quick! Get in!’ Oh, here was that fine young pioneer lad, Ray Franz, rescuing us from this violent mob! . . .

“Here again, we all felt that Jehovah’s angels had blinded the enemy from seeing us enter the car. Here in the car safe from the mob were dear Brother Rainbow and his wife and three others. Somehow, that little car made room for all eight of us. We all felt that Jehovah’s angels had prevented the enemy from seeing us enter the car. The mob was still violently incensed against us, with no indication of releasing us. It seemed as though Jehovah with his loving arms had reached down and rescued us! We later learned that after the two brothers were cut off from us they had found refuge in a haystack until some brothers found them early in the morning. One of the brothers had been severely hurt by an object thrown at him.

“We arrived home about 2:00 a.m. drenched and cold, as the storm had ended a heat wave and ushered in cold air. Our brothers and sisters ministered unto us, even closing five open wounds on Victor’s face. How thankful we were to be in the loving care of our dear brothers!”

Despite such severe experiences, however, Jehovah upholds and strengthens his servants. “So,” remarks Sister Schmidt, “here we had undergone another kind of trial which Jehovah had mercifully helped us to bear and to ‘let endurance have its work complete.’”​—Jas. 1:4.

OTHER ACTS OF MOB BRUTALITY

Many were the acts of mob violence having Jehovah’s witnesses as their targets. In December 1942 at Winnsboro, Texas, a number of Jehovah’s witnesses were accosted by a mob while doing magazine street work. Among the Witnesses was O. L. Pillars, servant to the brethren (circuit overseer). As the mobsters approached, the Witnesses concluded that street work could not be done under such circumstances. So they began walking toward their car. “In the middle of the main street, in his sound car, was the Baptist preacher, C. C. Phillips,” recalls Brother Pillars. “He had been preaching about Christ and his being crucified, but as soon as he saw us he changed his sermon. He started ranting and raving about how Jehovah’s witnesses would not salute the flag. He told how he would be happy to die for Old Glory and that anyone not saluting the flag should be run out of town. As we passed his truck, we looked ahead to see another mob coming toward us. Soon they closed in on us and held us until the city marshal appeared and arrested us.”

Later, the mob entered the office of the marshal, who made no attempt to protect the Witnesses. They were seized by the mobsters. In the street, Brother Pillars, for one, was being pummeled with fists. “At this time,” says Brother Pillars, “I experienced the most unusual help. I was taking a terrible beating. Blood was gushing from my nose, face and mouth, but I felt little or no pain. Even at that time I marveled at this fact and felt it to be a manifestation of angelic help. . . . To me it explained how our German brothers had faithfully endured the heat of Nazi persecution without wavering.”

Brother Pillars was repeatedly beaten into unconsciousness, then revived and beaten again. Finally, unable to bring him to, the mobsters soaked him with cold water and tried to make him salute a two- by four-inch flag, according to him, “the only flag these great ‘patriots’ could find.” As they held it up, they would also hold up his arm, but he let his hand droop down, showing he would not salute. Soon they had a rope around his neck, jerked him to the ground and dragged him to the jail. Dimly he heard them say: “Let’s go ahead and hang him. Then we’ll be rid of those Witnesses forever.” Not long thereafter, they tried just that. Brother Pillars writes: “They put the new one-half-inch hemp rope around my neck, tying the hangman’s noose behind the ear, and dragged me into the street. Next the rope was thrown over a pipe that extended from the building. Four or five mobsters began pulling on the rope. As I was lifted off the ground, the rope tightened and I lost consciousness.”

The next thing Brother Pillars knew, he was back in the unheated jail. A doctor examined him and said: “If you want this boy to live, you had better get him to the hospital, as he has lost a lot of blood and his eyes have dilated.” To this the marshal retorted: “He’s the most stubborn devil I have ever seen.” “How those words encouraged me,” remarks Brother Pillars, “for they assured me I had not compromised!”

After the doctor left, the mobsters filed through the cold, unlit jail. They struck matches to see Brother Pillars’ face, and he heard them ask: “Is he dead yet?“ Someone replied: “No, but he’s going to die.” Chilled to the bone and soaking wet, Brother Pillars tried to keep from shivering, hoping they would think he had died. Finally, they left and all was quiet. Eventually the door opened, the Texas State Police entered and Brother Pillars was taken by ambulance to the Pittsburg, Texas, hospital. He had been at the mob’s mercy for six hours. But what had happened when they hung him? Why was he still alive? “I found out those answers late the next day,” remarks Brother Pillars, adding:

“Into my prison ward at the Pittsburg hospital where I was recuperating came Brother Tom Williams. He was a local attorney from Sulphur Springs and a real fighter for righteousness. He had endeavored to locate me with no success until he threatened to sue the town. Then they revealed I was in the hospital. How very good it was to see a brother’s face! He then told me that it was all over town​—I had been hung but the rope broke!

“Later, when the F.B.I. made an official investigation and this led to a grand jury inquiry, a group of Pentecostal men were willing to testify. They said: ‘Today it is Jehovah’s witnesses. Tomorrow it will be us!’ When they described the hanging, they said: “We saw him dangling on the rope. Then it broke. When we saw the rope break, we knew it was the Lord that broke it.’”

The marshal and other officials fled across the state line. Hence, they never were put on trial. Brother Pillars recuperated and returned to his work as servant to the brethren in that area.