The Big House
Nelson is Awarded $10,468;
Cult Leaders Plan Appeal
From Providence Journal, June 17, 1948 (front page)
Judge Archambault Declares Undue Influence Under Guise of Messages From God Was Used by Dodges to Get Life Savings From Son-in-Law
Judge Alberie A. Archambault yesterday ordered two Cranston cult leaders to return the life savings their son-in-law said he turned over to them in fear of damnation.
The judge, from his bench in Superior Court, awarded Carl L. Nelson a decision for $10,468.82 in his suit against Fred E. and Mabel C. Dodge, leaders of the Church of Jesus, Inc., a Cranston sect.
Judge Archambault declared that undue influence under the guise of messages from God was used to get Nelson to part with his savings. He said the Dodges influenced Nelson through their interpretations of the Scriptures and by thrcutening him with eternal damnation.
The judge's decision will be appealed to the Supreme Court, Francis D. Harrigan of Boston, attorney for the Dodges, announced promptly after the bench decision.
Judge Archambault said that Nelson was "scared, scared of hell, scared of eternal damnation, scared to meet his fellow religionists. He was finally scared to the point of parting with his money."
"One who steals money," the judge said, "steals it even though his right hand is held up to heaven and a prayer be on the thief's lips."
The court held specifically that Nelson, a middle-aged jewelry worker, was entitled to recover $9876.25 of his life savings the court found he had poured into the cult's new home in Cranston, together with one year's interest of $592.57.
He said he would charge the total amount as a lien for Nelson's benefit against the 30-room house occupied by cult members at 222 Crescent Avenue, Cranston, and the three lots on which it stands, The court sald the smaller house at 197 Crescent Avenue, standing in the Dodges' name, and their church, known as the Temple, in Boston, were subject to attachment for purpose of satisfying the decision.
"One last word," Judge Archambault said, after rendering his decision. "We are all endowed with ordinary common sense, judgment and th God-given intelligence. There Is so much good in most people that it should be possible for people to live to together, respecting each other and understanding each other and practicing their religion with fervency, without being extremists. God doesn't expect people to turn back somersaults in serving Him. He only expects ordinary good conduct, based on love of God and love of neighbor."
Mrs. Dodge received the adverse decision with an anguished, though resigned, appearance, and made no demonstration. Only a day or two ago. she had thrown herself onto the floor of the courtroom in a religious transport during concluding testimony in the case.
Judge Archambault in his long decision, uttered apparently without any reference to notes, described many of the followers of the Dodges as sincere people.
Omits Dodges
He omitted the Dodges themselves and one of their daughters, Mrs. Catherine Lawson, from the list, which included other cultists or former members of the sect on both sides of the court case.
Following summations by Harrigan and by John C. McOsker, for the
Nelsons, yesterday morning, Judge Archambault called a brief recess a little before noon before giving his decision. Returning to the bench, he drank from a glass of water before starting his decision.
He began by saying he wanted to commend the attorneys for their fine, gentlemanly conduct of the case, which he said, made it possible to have it concluded in reasonably brief time, avoiding many difficulties that otherwise might have occurred.
"Our state constitution and our federal constitution," he said, "guarantee to all of us freedom of religion, freedom of speech and freedom of the press, and we are all happy that we do enjoy those freedoms. i:
No Bar to Criticism
"Freedom of religion, however, does not mean that one can practice any sort of cult or religion free from criticism.
"One has a right to go to any church one may choose, One may even found a church. But he who practices religion must do it subject to criticism of himself and his religion, It is just as much a right of the press to criticize a group of religionists, just as much a right for an individual to comment on religions, as it is for religionists to practice religion in the manner they choose, and so one does not in good grace cry 'Sacrilege!' when one's church, because or some happening of the past, is brought into a civil court.”
"There are many sincere people involved in this case, in fact most of them are.”
''The court has paid close attention to all of the witnesses and what they had to say, and the court was impressed by the sincerity of most of these people. They are sincere and and conscientious, The court was impressed with the genuine honesty and sincerity of Carl Nelson, of Evelyn Nelson, of Mrs. Phyllis Andrade, John Roderick, Elma Scalzi and James Zinni, and the court was impressed with the sincerity of Robert Gooding, Ross Hamilton, Carlin Nash, Roy C. Mann, James L. Taylor, Ralph Cox, Harris Halverson, James Rains, Mrs. Nanny Thomas, Frances Nash. Roxybelle C. Taylor and Irene Gooding.”
"Thlrsting for Religion"
"These people who came to the church since 1946 are all good people, sincere people, people thirsting for religion, people who want to be close to their God, and the eloquence of Ralph Cox and others who went to Virginia resulted in their coming north to Cranston and the graciousness of Carl Nelson, Evelyn Nelson and Mrs. Phyllis Andrade caused them to like Cranston and the big house they came to, and they had been exposed to religious manifestations in their part of the country, where religion is practiced ostentatiously, demonstratively, with much speech, much vigor, much cavorting.”
''They derived entertainment and solace in the discussion of the Scriptures and hr1d a beautiful home to live in, the beautiful big house with 30 or more rooms, all large and airy, with a fine basement, with a refectory as part ot it, and large working quarters, including a kitchen and laundry. They liked the library and the lobby with its beautiful paintings and the chapel, and they liked the broad piazzas from which they could see the countryside.
"So you cant blame them for being members of this church and sincere believers of this church.
''The court fears that before long, some of them, if not all of them, will be disillusioned, but at this time they very probably found themselves as they liked to believe themselves, close to God, close to Heaven”
“This church, which perhaps sprung from another small church, was conceived in vanity and has been nurtured in vanity and cupidity since its foundation.”
Churches Sought
''Mr. Dodge, on his own testimony, and Mrs. Dodge on hers, and on the testimony of their daughter, Mrs. Lawson, sought churches or chapels from city to city - Boston, Worcester, Providence, Willimantic, Springfield.
"They were looking for a church some place that they could get control of.
"Mrs. Dodge, in her vanity, wanted to impress people with the fact that she could deliver messages from God.
"Mr. Dodge had no fervency in the beginning, but he found that it was good business to accept Mrs. Dodge at her own stated worth, and so they finally, after going from city to city, year after year, over a period of years, came to Providence, where they found a little chapel ripe to be taken over, and they did take it over, a little time later.
"The minister soon went out of it and any member who did not assist them in obtaining control of the chapel went out.
"Mrs. Dodge had control, and then she had some recruits. Their religion was one that appealed, apparently, to any vain person.
"What greater accomplishment can one have than the ability to talk with God, face to face, the ability to explain God's words?
"Any ordinary person brought up in a Christian atmosphere thinks that Christ is God. When one can communicate with God, walk with Him, see Him, speak for Him, when he is part of God and God is part of him, then one has satisfied one's vanity and that goes for all of the members of this sect.
Vanity Satisfied
"Those who received messages, those who gave them, satisfied their vanity, and so religion was very pleasant for them.
"Now, let's see what happened between the Nelsons and the Dodges.
"There are a few outstanding facts about which there is no controversy. Nelson came into the church as a stranger he walked in, he had no place to go.
"He found it congenial and he continued to go there. In fact, Nelson gave to the Dodges $9876.25, according to Mrs. Lawson, who kept the books, and this was in addition to all the other money that Nelson gave.
''There is no question that Nelson gave this sum of money, and we start off with that as a recognized and admitted fact.
''Did he give it voluntarily, without undue influence exercised over him, or was there duress or conduct akin to duress, which prompted Nelson to part with his money?
Nelson's Character Cited
"The fact that money passes into the hands, into the treasury of a church, dos not mean that that money is not to be thought of again, that it is to be completely forgotten, that it must have been a pure donation.
"Nelson is an intelligent man, although not quick mentally. He ls a slow thinker, a good man, an essentially good man without faults, a man with great faith who all his life has sought to please God, and he thought that one way to do that was , to work hard and save his pennies.
"He never spent a nickel and in that way he thought he was pleasing God and himself. He found himself to be the husband of a daughter of the two respondents (the Dodges), living with them and subject to their influence, to his own wife's influence, who undertook to see, at least for a time, through the glasses provided her by her father and mother.
"Thus he was pulled into the apparent fervency of this group, and while to me, a statement to a man, even coming from a minister, a bishop or a high prelate of the church, that a man should part with his goods or be eternally damned, Is not duress, the constant repetition of that statement, like the rain falling on the roof, day after day, night after night, eventually drives a person insane."
Reiteration Stressed
Judge Archambault said that just as the "bongo song" played over and over again might lead a man to shoot the person who causes the record to be repeated so often, so Nelson, after hearing repeatedly, everywhere, the warning to strip himself of his money or be damned, became ''dazed by it all, mesmerized, hypnotized."
He said that a person does not part with all of his worldly goods, his money, insurance policies, stocks and even insurance on his children, as did Nelson.
"One in the fervency of prayer will give money to the church, but it takes a great deal to make some people part with a dime," he said,
But ''one who is married and has a wife and children, realizing his responsibilities to his family, does not part with all he has unless there be undue influence, or conduct on the part of someone to cause him to cease thinking sanely,"
Judge Archambault said he would find that the constant interpretation of the Scriptures and the advising of Nelson to strip himself and part with his money preyed on his mind, and the numerous repeated church assemblies dulled his mind to the point that he was so tired he could not think.
Implied Contract
Revealing testimony to the effect that God had ordered Mrs. Dodge to have the new big house built, Judge E Archambault said the agreement was that Nelson and his wife were to have there forever a home for themselves and their children and their children's children.
He held that there was a contract between the Dodges and the Nelsons in this regard, an implied contract.
Judge Archambault said it was not strange that Nelson, after he did part with his money, became reconciled with the situation and found the home comfortable and that when the people came from Virginia to join the cult, he was one of those who greeted them and tried to make them happy.
But he said the Dodges later started their campaign of ''ejectment'' in which they worked more effectively than the state laws do. He said the Dodges "had to get tenants out and one or the ways they did this was by having a message come from God to their temple in Boston that Nelson and his wife and their children could no longer live in the home.
He said it was not a question of the Nelson's getting out "tomorrow or next week'" but that they were to get out immediately.
He said that the Dodge’s had failed to live up to their part of the bargain
or contract between them and the Nelsons.
Summaries Given
In the summations by attorneys, Harrigan argued that if Nelson at Thanksgiving time in 1946 was "hoodwinking" the group that came from Virginia by extolling the church he was not coming into court with clean hands and equity should not give him any relief. Harrigan further asserted that Nelson should not get any money back from his in-laws, anyway, because he gave it all freely. The size of Nelson's contribution makes no difference, the lawyer argued. "There always is a high man, no matter what the undertaking is" he said.
McOsker's Argument
McOsker contended, in his arguments, that "Mrs. Dodge has proved herself clearly a fake as I believe Mr. Dodge is a fake. In making this statement he countered Harrigan’s earlier assertion that Mrs. Dodge was a “prophetess” comparable to Mary Baker Eddy, founder of the Christian Science Church.
McOsker told the court that there was substantial evidence of duress. He cited "death messages" and other evidence such as forced marriages, forced separations and people being told to live in certain places. ''Duress runs right through this case,'' he said.