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Show End Comes Unexpectedly to Spectacular Career of Nan Vho Landed in America Willi $ 1 00 and Amassed o fortune in fev Years by Leadership of Stronge Religious Sect; Lost Control of Zion City and Relatives Believed Him Insane. - - : ' ' CHICAGO, March 9.-. John Alexander Dowie died at 7:40 o'clock this morning in Shiloh house, Zion City. There .were present with him when he died only Judge J). N. Barnes and two personal attendants. It had been his custom, all summer and winter, win-ter, to hold religious services ser-vices every Sunday afternoon after-noon in the parlor of Shiloh house. About 350 of his original followers remained faithful and attended these services. Dowie ahVays wore his apostolic robes and made ja characteristic address. Five weeks ago these meetings meet-ings ceased and Dowie appeared ap-peared no longer in public. The Sunday meetings, however, how-ever, were still held by his adherents. Since that time Dowie had been gradually gradu-ally falling. Friday afternoon, however, there were no Indication of approaching death. - .He received a few followers and prayed for some persons. Hie condition seemed to be about the same as for the last two or three weeks. One of the attendants at-tendants remained with him until midnight mid-night and was relieved by the other attendant. at-tendant. Shortly before 1 o'clock this morning Dowie became delirious and his talk was the same as at a religious meeting in the days of his prime. He denounced men, and women with the old-time vigor, ordered or-dered the guards to throw out disturbers and acted Just as he had on many previous previ-ous occasions. He gradually became weaker and the attendant telephoned for Judge Barnes, who reached" Shiloh house at 7 o'clock. Forty minutes later Dowie was dead. j Mrs. Dowie Expected. No arrangements have yet been made for the funeral. The death of Dowie was unexpected. A large number of followers follow-ers and others are gathered at Shiloh house to pay their respects. Mrs. Dowie. Judge Dowie, the "prophet's" father, and his son, who are at Ben McDhui, Mich., have been notified and are expected at Zion City today. Judge Barnes, who was at the bedside of Dowie. is a member of Vollva's council, coun-cil, but remained friendly to Dowie. believing be-lieving him to be insane and not responsible respon-sible for his actions. Dowie's wife, his father and his son held the same view, and It is believed, therefore, though they were estranged, that they will attend at-tend the funeral. Native of Scotland.' John Alexander Dowie was born In Edinburgh, Scotland. May 25. 1847. In 1R0 his parents removed to Adelaide, Australia, where for seven years the youth was clerk In a business house. Here Dowie developed the commercial instinct in-stinct that served him so well in later life. He saved enough money during this period to return to Edinburgh at the age of 20, to take a five-years' course In theology and the arts. He became a master of Greek and Hebrew, and cultivated culti-vated a literary taste that resulted. In after years, in a library of 10.000 volumes, vol-umes, with which he was thoroughly familiar. fa-miliar. Six years of denominational activity wearied Dowie. who longed for a wider field for operations. He forsook his church and In 1878 went to Melbourne, where he set up a Tree Christian tabernacle, taber-nacle, the first of Its kind, and organised a divine healing association which afterwards af-terwards became International in character. char-acter. He became president of this association associa-tion and gained fame by going out into the country during the prevalence of putrid fever and apparently effecting many cures by prayer, and the laying on of hands. Asks God for $250. After ten years In Melbourne Dowie decided to remove to England, where his association had a number of branches, but the fates took him across the Pacific and his announced intention of making Great Britain world headquarters was never carrled'out. Dowie landed In San Francisco in 1888, needing money. He heeded $250 and had Just told his wife he had "asked God for It." he said, when a man he had not seen In monthsj came along and put the amount In his hand. That was the starting point In his wonderful won-derful money getting career in the Western West-ern world. Two years of wandering along the California Cali-fornia coast followed and then In 1890. Dr. Dowie. his wife, his son, Alexander John Gladstone Dowie, and his daughter, Esther, arrived in Chicago, which was to be the theater of his great work. Arrested Many Times. During the next five years Dowie was arrested at least a hundred times for violation vio-lation of the city ordinances relating to the care of the sick, but the more trouble that was made for him, the more he prospered. pros-pered. Branch churches were established in other cities,' a large hospital for the healing of the sick was built in Chlcagtf, a printing plant put' in operation and a' bank was also started. The Christian Catholic church in Zion Continued on Page 7.). .j-:- - .. ... - ' - . DOWIE DEAD (Continued From Page 1.) City, the outgrowth of the orlgmal International Inter-national Divine Healing association, was formally organized in February, Dowie becoming general overseer. Five years afterward Dowie, before a large audience in the auditorium theater, announced an-nounced that he was "Elijah the Restorer. Re-storer. This assumption of a Biblical personality per-sonality created even more of a sensation among his followers than any of the worldly successes of the "Prophet." Founds Zion City. Previous to this Dowie had marked out i his plans for Zion City, the crowning ef-,fort ef-,fort of his life. Six thousand acres of land were purchased and In August, 1901, the first building was erected in Zion City, which a year later had a populatiqn of lO.nno. ' In Zion Citv-Dowie was supreme. The title of the 6000 acres bought with the money of the sect rested in him. Lots were leased, not sold. Running for ninety-nine years, these leases were filled with the following restrictions: The premises shall never be used for a slaughter-house, saloon or beer garden, gar-den, tobacco store, opium Joint, theater, the-ater, gambling - establishment, dance hall, circus, pharmacy, drug store, office of-fice or residence of a practicing physl-, dan or surgeon, place for selling pork or secret meeting place. In December, 1903, Zion City wa placed under control of a Federal receivership, which wss dissolved a week later on Dowle's representation of ability to pay dollar for dollar on all indebtedness. At that time Dowie estimated the value of his holdings in Zion City at 125,000,000. Starts 8econd Zion. Eighteen months ago Dowie began the Jtromotion of a second Zion City In Mex-co. Mex-co. While engaged in this undertaking his health failed and he went to Jamaica, While there, he suffered a stroke of paralysis par-alysis from which he never fully recovered. recov-ered. It was at this time that he appointed Wilbur Glenn Vollva, his first lieutenant and general overseer of the church. The month Vojiva took charge of Zion City he, by a' power of attorney vested In him by Dowie, had all the property belonging to the church transferred from Dowl" to Overseer Granger, charging extravagance and gross mismanagement by Dowie. Vollva called all the Zionlsta to the tabernacle tab-ernacle in Zion City and denounced Dowie. With the exception of fewer than 200 of Dowle's former followers, all the inhabitants in-habitants of Zion City chose Vollva as their future leader and word was sent to Dowie in Mexico that he had been deposed. de-posed. He Immediately started for Chicago Chi-cago and took the controversy to the courts for settlement. |