| ←Issue 7 | Star of the West Volume 10 - Issue 8 |
Issue 9→ |
 Proofread onceReturn to PDF view
|
We are working hard to have proofread and nicely formatted text for you to read. Here is our progress on this section:
|
STAR OF THE WEST
PUBLISHED NINETEEN TIMES A YEAR
In the Interest of the BAHAI MOVEMENT
By the BAHAI NEWS SERVICE, 515 South Dearborn Street, Chicago, Ill., U. S. A.
Publishers: ALBERT R. WINDUST—GERTRUDE BUIKEMA—DR. ZIA M. BAGDADI
Entered as second-class matter April 9, 1911, at the post office at Chicago, Ill., under the Act of March 3, 1879.
Terms: $2.50 per year; 15 cents per copy.
Make Money Orders Payable to BAHAI NEWS SERVICE, P. O. Box 283, Chicago, Ill., U. S. A.
To personal checks please add sufficient to cover the bank exchange.
Address all communications to BAHAI NEWS SERVICE, P. O. Box 283, Chicago, Ill., U.S.A.
WORDS OF ABDUL-BAHA.
"Great importance must be given to the development of the STAR OF THE WEST. The circle of its discussion must be widened; in its columns must be published the essential problems pertaining to the Bahai life in all its phases. Its contents must be so universal that even the strangers may subscribe to it. Articles must be published, dealing with the universal principles of the Cause, the writers proving that this Cause takes a vital interest in all the social and religious movements of the age and is conducive to the progress of the world and its inhabitants. In short, the STAR OF THE WEST must promote the aspirations and the ideals that will gather little by little around these general Tablets, bringing into the light of day all the historical, religious and racial knowledge which will be of the utmost value to the Bahai teachers all over the world."
From Unveiling of the Divine Plan.
| Vol. 10 | CONTENTS | No. 8 |
| PAGE | |
"Today, All the Peoples of the World" | |
What is Truth? | |
| BY STANWOOD COBB. | |
Editorial—"But As the Days of Noe Were" | |
"The Covenant of God is Like a Vast and Fathomless Ocean" | |
| Recent Tablet from ABDUL-BAHA to Howard MacNutt. | |
SPECIAL—Recent General Tablet from ABDUL-BAHA to the American Friends | 154 |
Supplication to ABDUL-BAHA signed by Hundreds of American Friends | |
Post Card from Shoghi Rabbani | |
Outline of How Supplication was Drafted | |
| BY CARL SCHEFFLER. | |
PERSIAN SECTION—Portrait of Abdul-Baha | |
Translation of Supplication signed by Hundreds of American Friends | |
Facsimile of Tablet Revealed for American Friends | |
Announcement to Subscribers | |
BULLETIN—The photograph of ABDUL-BAHA shown in this issue can be had from Jacob Schloss, 2511 Broadway, New York City. Size, 7½ x 9¼ inches. Price $1.50 and postage.
TODAY, all the peoples of the world are indulging in self-interest and exert the utmost effort and endeavor to promote their own material interests. They are worshipping themselves and not the Divine Reality nor the world of mankind. They seek diligently their own benefit and not the common weal. This is because they are captives of the world of nature and unaware of the divine teachings, of the bounty of the Kingdom and of the Sun of Truth. But ye, praise be to God, are at present especially favored with this bounty, have become of the chosen, have been informed of the heavenly instructions, have gained admittance into the Kingdom of God, have become the recipients of unbounded blessings, and have been baptized with the Water of Life, with the fire of the Love of God and with the Holy Spirit.
—Abdul-Baha.
(See Tablet page 154.)
"We desire but the good of the world and the happiness of the nations; that all nations shall become one in faith and all men as brothers; that the bonds of affection and unity between the sons of men shall be strengthened, that diversity of religion shall cease and differences of race be annulled. So it shall be; these fruitless strifes; these ruinous wars shall pass away, and the 'Most Great Peace' shall come."—BAHA'O'LLAH.
| Vol. 10 | Asma 1, 75 (August 1, 1919) | No. 8 |
What is Truth?
BY STANWOOD COBB."WHAT is truth?" So asked a Roman governor and jurist in a time when the moral and spiritual horizon of the world was undergoing a tremendous expansion; when the old values were changing, and the new had not yet been established; when a great Manifestation of God was upon earth, and men knew it not. Yes, and it was to this very Manifestation that the stern Roman governor addressed himself. Christ had already said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." Pilate had the earnestness to inquire, but not the capacity to receive, the truth.
"What is the truth?" This question is asked today as eagerly as in the days of Imperial Rome. Again there is a vital shifting of values; a running to and fro; a falling away from the old and an earnest search for the new. What must one believe? Where pin one's faith?
Is truth to be found in the old denominationalism? If so, it is a, very divided truth, a truth in rebellion against itself; and that cannot be, for truth is harmonious, catholic, whole. Is it to be found in any one of the existing world religions to the exclusion of all others? So once thought the adherents of each great world religion. But truth as the exclusive possession of one race, of one religion, is as illogical as that truth should be confined to one sect.
Is truth then relative? God forbid. It is neither fractional, nor formless. Truth is one for the whole world; one and indivisible, for the whole universe.
In 1867 BAHA'O'LLAH, in Adrianople, on his way to years of exile and imprisonment in the Holy Land, declared himself to be "The Promised One;" and of his inspired words he says, "This is that which descended from the Source of Majesty, through the tongue of power and strength upon the prophets of the past. We have taken its essences and clothed them with the garment of brevity as a favor to the beloved, that they may fulfill the Covenant of God."
What is the truth which BAHA'O'LLAH taught? That God exists. That He can be known only through His Manifestations. That He has manifested Himself to the world at different epochs and in different lands. That He is again manifesting Himself to the world, to fulfill His promise; and to satisfy the expectation of every religion and every race for a great Leader, who should lead mankind into the Promised Land; who should initiate the movement which should not end until all had become children of the Kingdom; who should lay down the principles of a spiritualized humanity, exemplifying them in his own character and life.
What are those principles which BAHA'O'LLAH laid down for the guidance of humanity? But first let us ask ourselves what, if one had the opportunity and the choice to create an ideal religion answering to all the needs of humanity,—what, we question, would be its nature?
Such a religion must in the first place be universal. It must unite all races in one sublime Truth.
Secondly, it must wipe out war, the greatest handicap under which humanity now labors.
Thirdly, it must solve the vast problem of labor and capital, a problem which lies at the very roots of human progress and of joy upon earth. For it must guide the habits and regulate the lives of men in such a way as to enable all to exist in happiness, health, and nearness to God.
Last, and most important, and as a means to all the foregoing, it must fill the hearts of men with love for God and love for humanity, so their faces shine and the whole being is radiant of joy.
And all these things the true seeker will find in the Bahai Movement. It not only preaches universal brotherhood and universal religion, but it demonstrates these things in practice. It is the only religious movement which has united, in the thousands, Jews, Protestants of every denomination, Catholics, Mohammedans, Buddhists, Brahmins, Zoroastrians and Confucianists. It is the only movement which amalgamates men of every race and caste and joins the orient and occident in loving partnership of progress. No other movement has ever done this,—even Christianity has never spread east of its birthplace; it became and has remained an occidental religion.
As to War, the Bahai Movement condemns it as a crime against man and God. Only one kind of war it permits, a war of justice, a war against war—but the aim even of such a war is universal peace—peace based not upon politics and selfish interests, but upon tolerance, internationalism, justice—and a humanitarianism that is not confined to nationality. Only the power of a great religion can perform this task of welding together the hearts and lives of men of every race. Christianity once did it; Buddhism and Mohammedanism have done it; and the Bahai Movement once and for all will do it in a lasting and world-wide way.
The Bahai Movement is not an otherworldly, an ascetic, or an esoteric religion. Its teachings are for all, and apply to this life as well as to the next. Its aim is to make this life happy, just and perfect—to establish on earth the Kingdom of heaven. It does not say to the poor man, "Submit to your poverty and degradation, for greater will be your glory in heaven."' It says: "Poverty is a social crime. It must not exist. Every man has the right to secure work and by it the sufficient means to meet his daily needs. There cannot continue to exist the vast extremes of wealth and poverty."
To the capitalist it does not say, "The Church accepts your support and condones your ill-gotten wealth," but it says: "Share your profits with your workmen. Divide up your estates at death so that the many and not the few shall enjoy them." And the Bahai laws will enforce, where capitalism will hesitate, the greater sharing of its profits with labor, a wider distribution of wealth by bequest, and the abolition of poverty.
Thus and thus only can material conditions upon earth make possible a spiritualized humanity. For while all strive madly after wealth and but a few attain it, the hearts of men are too bitter to listen to the voice of God. But the combined results of confiscatory taxation beyond a certain income, and of spiritual love and humanitarianism on the part of the rich, will turn our great achievers from greedful competition unto deeds of more human value. And the satisfaction of the daily needs and the feeling of justice in the distribution of wealth will change the jealous attitude of labor into one of co-operation and happy industry. For every producer, in the Bahai state, will receive not only wages, but a share in his profits.
The Bahai Movement is the only religion
that has ever made work equivalent to prayer. It is not necessary to flee from the world in order to be near to God; nor need one retire from the work-bench in order to pray. For by BAHA'O'LLAH'S command, work done in the spirit of service is equivalent to prayer. Service done in love is the key to the Kingdom. Of this there is potent witness in the personality of Abdul-Baha, the Servant of God, who has made his life a perpetual and joyous sacrifice,—first to BAHA'O'LLAH, his father, and then to the whole world. He is the personification of service; and his words and actions are the inspiration which spur on others to give their time and strength and money to the Cause of humanity and of God.
No one must be idle. In the Bahai state there will be neither tramp nor monied loafer—beggar nor remittance man. All will contribute some service to the state—else they sin in the eyes of God. But work will then be far more joyous than it is now—because it will be done in the spirit of love, done under divine inspiration—and the task-like quality of work will yield to a happy creativeness such as now characterizes only the artist's productions.
"Thou shalt earn thy living by the sweat of thy brow"—is supplanted by, "God cares for all his creatures."
Liberty of government—equality before the law—has been achieved by the advanced members of the human race; but nowhere is there real equality of opportunity. Poverty is a handicap too great for all but the most powerful wills to overcome; while property and privilege raise to eminence men worthy only of the workshop or the prison bench.
Education,—free, thorough, practical,—is the key to equal opportunity. By this means are the talented brought forward, the great achievers of the human race discovered and aided in their work. Not equality of position, but equality of opportunity, is the standard of the Bahai state. Let the great enjoy a position and a wealth commensurate with their abilities and service. But let all have an equal chance to achieve.
So BAHA'O'LLAH lays great stress on education. To give one's children the best education possible is a spiritual duty—and daughters must receive an equal education with the sons, because they are to be the mothers of the coming generation. These commands for universal education, less needed in the occident, are absolutely essential to oriental progress; for the great weight which keeps the orient down is the ignorance of its masses.
The Bahai Movement brings a message of inspiration and freedom to women. They are in all things potentially the equals of men—and their training and education is to be as broad and far-reaching as that given to their brother-men. Humanity cannot fly on one wing only. Woman's power must be added to man's power, woman's vision and ideals to man's vision and ideals for the achievement of a perfect humanity. The vanity and domination of the masculine element must yield to a greater harmony of sex, in which sympathy, understanding, and co-operation will enable man and woman to march abreast toward the victory of spirit.
In the Bahai Movement, the antagonism between science and religion is abolished. There can be no quarrel between the truth of science and the truth of religion, because truth is one. If there is an apparent divergence, it is due to partial error. For religion to deny the truths of science is folly. By so doing it becomes mere superstition. Religion must comport with science, BAHA'O'LLAH declared.
But there is a limitation in the science of today which must be overcome before it is worthy of sharing truth with religion.
For science to deny God, is for it to deny the very ground work and substance of existence. Such a science is no-science. There can be no harmony
between contemporaneous religion and contemporaneous science, for both are dogmatic. The religion of today is mentally wrapped in the swaddling clothes of an infant humanity, while science, in bursting free from this oppression, is lost in an anarchy of materialism. When scientists live as close to God as the prophets of the past, a new and spiritual civilization will pervade the earth.
In the Bahai Movement, it will be no man's duty to preach unto his neighbors. All will have the Word of God at their disposal—its meaning to be sought in their own hearts and from the heart of God. There will be no paid profession of the spiritual teacher. This function will be absorbed by the educator, the scholar, and the scientific investigator.
In the Bahai teachings we find a platform so wide, so universal, that it meets every need of man: one that appeals to both the intellectual and to the emotional; to the humanitarian and to the mystic; to the oriental and to the occidental.
These teachings are for all humanity, nor is there in them fault either of omission or commission. Herein lies the outline of a perfect world-religion; the pattern to which humanity may weave its future destiny; the foundation stone for the building of the Temple.
Yet were the Bahai Movement a mere
platform it would soon pass, as have
passed all other platforms made by man.
It is not because of its platform that it
is spreading over all the world, but because
of its inner spirit, its cohesive
force. It is a religion, not an ethical or
philosophic cult. It moves men to great
and lofty deeds; purifies their hearts;
leads them to God. It is the Water of
Life, bringing rejuvenation to a thirsty
age. To one man it may appeal first
through the intellect, to another through
the heart; but in time it unifies these
two sides of man into a perfect harmony
of spirit. The oriental, mystically inclined,
it makes more practical. The occidental,
inclined toward materialism, it
wakens to the existence of spirit. And
upon all it enjoins deeds.
This is not a religion of words, of lip service, of inherited tradition. It is a religion of action, appealing to the virile, the pioneer, the heroic in man. It points the way to a new and glorious civilization, the keynote of which is social love. And not only does it point the way, but it gives also the impetus, the motive, and the power toward this better life. For many have the eyes to see, the heart to yearn, but few the power to achieve. And the friends of God must be distinguished, not by fine words merely and ideals, but by spiritual achievement. When the Bahais in any community stand out perceptibly as the sweetest, the noblest and the most powerful personalities of them all, then will the Bahai Movement win its adherents by the thousands and the Bahai State come to realization.
Much as it may so be thought, man is not, however, made for living, but life for man. Not a perfect world is the goal of humanity, but a perfected soul. This world is but the battle ground, upon which victory is to be attained of spirit over sense. Hence, of far more importance, in any religion, than the means of a happy civilization, are the means of an individual salvation. "What shall I do to be saved?"—is the eternal quest.
Salvation is a term in obloquy among trained minds. Modern cultured man has deemed himself the peer of existence, needless of salvation, beyond good and evil. If this attitude brings happiness, let the years 1914-1918 bear witness.
If salvation means anything, it means the ushering of the soul into immortal joy; it means the freeing of the soul from sorrow. There is only one way of freedom. It is the way of love. In that predestined union of the soul with God, happiness is found. In separation, only sorrow—no matter how the soul
may seek to shield itself against misfortune. "Grieve not save when thou art far from us; and rejoice not save when thou art near and returning unto us."
To overcome self is the task set for humanity; the earth-task, in which beads of blood ofttimes perspire. The task is great, and many shrink therefrom. Yet, sooner or later, it must be faced by all. There is no escape. For the finite life can never become infinite, nor can mortal put on immortality, until this task is done. Severance from self, this is salvation.
To achieve this goal, but one means is given to man—that of love. That which as duty is difficult, with love becomes a thing of joy. The Friend awaits eternally the first pledging of friendship. He never wearies of the quest—forsakes no seeker, answers love with love. But those who love Him not can never know His love, how infinite, how joy-giving it is. His heart of infinity yearns after all finite beings, draws them as a magnet. But freedom of will gives opportunity for resistance. Man may, but will not, seek this goal; for self-love is a force compelling on the soul of man a long and weary journey, a pilgrimage through sorrow till the peaks of gold are reached.
When will humanity overcome this terrible egoism, this vast conceit in its own powers? When learn that there is no safety save in God; no guidance but the Friend's; no deliverance from evil except by aid of the Holy Spirit? If nothing but universal disaster, and the resulting conviction of human frailty, could avail to turn men to Him who is Mighty,—would it not be a favor on the part of destiny to send affliction over all the earth?
And so woes shall increase, that evil may decrease; complacency shall fail in order that yearning may be aroused; happiness shall wane, that spirituality may grow. But in all trials, in all difficulties, love is the clue, the guidance. In love is deliverance from all evil.
Love in its highest aspect means union, harmony, evanescence before God. But man is too proud to seek this road. He will not submit his heart,—but by foolish imaginings seeks salvation in empty abstractions, in a hollow eclecticism, in a vain endeavor to reach the Divine Essence without accepting the guidance and infinite love of the Divine Friend. It may not be. Those who would enter by any other way are thieves and they shall be rejected. One gate, one way, one path,—not many to salvation.
Such are the teachings of the Bahai Movement. They are not new—they have existed in the world before, in essence, but not in full expression. This, their new and epochal arrangement, is the destined avenue of Truth to the world today. The power of God is behind it, the power of holy spirits in the celestial Kingdom, the power of all good. And nothing can stay its progress, because it is harmonious, catholic, and whole.
Allah'o'Abha!
After four and one-half years, the Persian section of the STAR OF THE WEST, has been re-established in this issue, through the bounty of the Center of the Covenant.
Again the East and West are united.
All the Bahais of America send Abha greetings to the Bahais of Persia, and rejoice with them over this event.
Dr. Zia M. Bagdadi has written this Persian section, which revolves around the recent Tablet Abdul-Baha revealed for the American friends. Mirza Ahmad Sohrab will write the following issues.
—The Editors.
O thou STAR OF THE WEST!
Be thou happy! Be thou happy! Shouldst thou continue to remain firm and eternal, ere long, thou shalt become the Star of the East and shalt spread in every country and clime. Thou art the first paper of the Bahais which is organized in the country of America. Although for the present thy subscribers are limited, thy form is small and thy voice weak, yet shouldst thou stand unshakable, become the object of the attention of the friends and the center of the generosity of the leaders of the faith who are firm in the Covenant, in the future thy subscribers will become hosts after hosts like unto the waves of the sea; thy volume will increase, thy arena will become vast and spacious and thy voice and fame will be raised and become world-wide—and at last thou shalt become the first paper of the world of humanity. Yet all these depend upon firmness firmness, firmness!
(Signed) ABDUL-BAHA ABBAS.
O ye apostles of BAHA'O'LLAH—May my life be a ransom to you!
. . . . Similarly, the Magazine, the STAR OF THE WEST, must be edited in the utmost regularity, but its contents must be the promulgator of the Cause of God—so that both in the East and the West, they may become informed of the most important events.
(Signed) ABDUL-BAHA ABBAS.
STAR OF THE WEST FOUNDATION
| Northeastern States: HOOPER HARRIS. | Western States: HELEN S. GOODALL. |
| Southern States: JOSEPH H. HANNEN. | Dominion of Canada: MAY MAXWELL. |
| Central States: ALBERT VAIL, CARL SCHEFFLER. | |
| Editorial Staff: ALBERT R. WINDUST—GERTRUDE BUIKEMA—DR. ZIA M. BAGDADI | |
| Honorary Member: MIRZA AHMAD SOHRAB | |
| Vol. 10 | Asma 1, 75 (August 1, 1919) | No. 8 |
Editorial—"But as the days of Noe Were" (St. Matt. XXIV: 37-39.)
Nineteen hundred years ago, the Word of God—speaking through the mouth of Jesus—uttered, concerning these days in which we live:
"But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be."
Seven hundred years before, the Word of God—speaking through the mouth of Isaiah—proclaimed, concerning these days: "Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill made low."
Today, the Word of God—speaking through the mouth of Abdul-Baha—as recorded in the Great Tablet published in this issue of the STAR OF THE WEST, declares:
"Consider: Eminent personages whose fame has spread throughout the world, shall, ere long, be exterminated as the result of their deprivation of this heavenly bounty; no name and no fame shall they leave behind, and of them no fruit and trace shall survive."
In the days of Noe, those who entered the Ark of the Covenant were saved from the rising "waters" which submerged the highest "mountains."
In these days of the Son of Man, those who enter into His Ark and are firm in the Covenant, are saved.
—The Editors.
and fathomless ocean"
RECENT TABLET TO HOWARD MACNUTTTo his honor Mr. Howard MacNutt, Brooklyn, New York.—Upon him be BAHA'O'LLAH El-Abha!
He Is God!
O thou old friend!
A month ago a letter was written to the favored maid-servant of God, Mrs. MacNutt, and at present two letters from you dated February 18th and 21st, 1919, have been received. Their text indicated firmness and perseverance in the Kingdom of the exalted Lord.
Today, every wise, vigilant and foresighted person is awakened, and to him are unveiled the mysteries of the future, that nothing save the power of the Covenant is able to stir and move the heart of humanity; just as the new and the old Testaments have propounded throughout all regions the Cause of His Holiness Christ—a Cause that has been the pulsating power in the body of the human world. A tree that has a root shall bear fruit, while the tree which is devoid of it, no matter how high and hardy it may be, will eventually wither, perish, and like unto a log be fit for fire.
The Covenant of God is like unto a vast and fathomless ocean. A billow shall rise and surge therefrom and shall cast ashore all accumulated foam.
In brief, praise be to God, that the highest wish entertained by heedful souls is the exaltation of the Word of God and the propagation of divine fragrances. This is, verily, the secure and firm foundation.
At present, like unto the morn, the lights of the Sun of Truth have been shed around. Effort must be made that slumbering souls may be awakened, the heedless become vigilant, and the divine instructions, which constitute the spirit of this age, may reach the ears of the people of the world, may be propagated in papers and enunciated in meetings with the utmost brilliancy and eloquence.
One's conduct must be like the conduct of Paul, and one's faith similar to that of Peter. This musk-scented breeze shall perfume the nostrils of the people of the world, and this spirit shall resuscitate the dead.
The offensive odor of violation has temporarily arrested the onward movement of the Cause, for otherwise, the divine teachings, like unto the rays of the sun, would immediately spread and radiate throughout all regions.
The addresses of Abdul-Baha which thou has compiled and which thou intendest to print and publish is indeed very advisable. This service shall cause thee to acquire an effulgent face in the Abha Kingdom, and shall make thee the object of the praise and gratitude of the friends in the East as well as the West. But this is to be undertaken with the utmost carefulness, so that the exact text may be reproduced and will exclude all deviations and corruptions committed by previous interpreters.
Convey on my behalf the utmost kindness and respect to the respected maid-servant of God, Mrs. MacNutt.
Upon thee be Baha-el-Abha!
(Translated by Shoghi Rabbani, April 13, 1919. House of Abdul-Baha, Haifa, Palestine.)
American friends
(See pages 167-166 for facsimile of original)To the friends of God and the maid-servants of the Merciful throughout the United States of America and Canada, care of their honors Mr. and Mrs. Scheffler—Upon them be BAHA'O'LLAH El-Abha!
He Is God!
O ye who are firm in the Covenant and the Testament!
Your letter was received and your blessed names were one by one perused. The contents of the letter were divine inspirations and ascertained bounties because they were indicative of the union of the friends and the harmony of all hearts.
Today the most remarkable favor of God centers around union and harmony among the friends; so that this unity and concord may be the cause of the promulgation of the oneness of the world of humanity, may emancipate the world from this intense darkness of enmity and rancor, and that the Sun of Truth may shine in full and perfect effulgence.
Today, all the peoples of the world are indulging in self-interest and exert the utmost effort and endeavor to promote their own material interests. They are worshipping themselves and not the divine reality, nor the world of mankind. They seek diligently their own benefit and not the common weal. This is because they are captives of the world of nature and unaware of the divine teachings, of the bounty of the Kingdom and of the Sun of Truth. But ye, praise be to God, are at present especially favored with this bounty, have become of the chosen, have been informed of the heavenly instructions, have gained admittance into the Kingdom of God, have become the recipients of unbounded blessings and have been baptized with the Water of Life, with the fire of the love of God and with the Holy Spirit.
Strive, therefore, with heart and soul that ye become ignited candles in the assemblage of the world, glittering stars on the horizon of Truth and may become the cause of the propagation of the light of the Kingdom; in order that the world of humanity may be converted into a divine realm, the nether world may become the world of on high, the love of God and the mercy of the Lord may raise their canopy upon the apex of the world, human souls may become the waves of the ocean of truth, the world of humanity may grow into one blessed tree, the verses of oneness may be chanted and the melodies of sanctity may reach the Supreme Concourse.
Day and night I entreat and supplicate to the Kingdom of God and beg for[Page 155]
ye infinite assistance and confirmation. Do not take into consideration your
own aptitudes and capacities, but fix your gaze on the consummate bounty, the
divine bestowal and the power of the Holy Spirit—the power that converts
the drop into a sea and the star into a sun.
Praise be to God, the hosts of the Supreme Concourse secure the victory and the power of the Kingdom is ready to assist and to support. Should ye at every instant unloosen the tongue in thanksgiving and gratitude, ye will not be able to discharge yourselves of the obligation of gratitude for these bestowals.
Consider: Eminent personages whose fame has spread all over the world shall, ere long, be exterminated as the result of their deprivation of this heavenly bounty; no name and no fame shall they leave behind, and of them no fruit and trace shall survive. But as the effulgences of the Sun of Truth have dawned forth upon ye and ye have attained everlasting life, ye shall shine and glitter forevermore from the horizon of existence.
His honor Peter was a fisherman and Mary Magdalene a peasant, but as they were specially favored with the blessings of His Holiness Christ, the horizon of their faith became illumined and down to the present day they are shining from the horizon of everlasting glory. At this station, merit and capacity are not to be considered; nay rather, the resplendent rays of the Sun of Truth, which have illumined these mirrors, must be taken into account.
Ye are inviting me to America. I am likewise longing to gaze at those illumined faces and converse and associate with those real friends. But the magnetic power which shall draw me to those shores is the union and harmony of the friends, their behavior and conduct in accordance with the teachings of God and the firmness of all in the Covenant and the Testament.
O Divine Providence! This assemblage is composed of Thy friends who are attracted to Thy beauty and are set ablaze by the fire of Thy love. Turn these souls into heavenly angels, resuscitate them through the breath of Thy Holy Spirit, grant them eloquent tongues and resolute hearts, bestow upon them heavenly power and merciful susceptibilities, cause them to become the promulgators of the oneness of mankind and the cause of love and concord in the world of humanity, so that the perilous darkness of ignorant prejudice may vanish through the light of the Sun of Truth, this dreary world may become illumined, this material realm may absorb the rays of the world of spirit, these different colors may merge into one color and the melody of praise may rise to the Kingdom of Thy sanctity.
Verily, Thou art the Omnipotent and the Almighty!
Upon ye be Baha-el-Abha!
(Signed) ABDUL-BAHA ABBAS.
(Translated by Shoghi Rabbani, May 22d, 1919.)
To our Beloved Abdul-Baha:—
We, thy humble servants in America, rejoice that the door of communication is at last open and we beg of God that it may ever remain so,
Unworthy are we, yet we supplicate thee, we beseech thee, if it be God's will, to turn thy blessed countenance toward us, that all the regions of the West, even as the East, may be quickened by thy glorious presence.
In the past thou didst promise us, in words creative of fulfillment, that, when the hearts of the friends were united, then again thou wouldst visit America.
Our hearts are united in incessant longing for thee, in complete dependence upon thy love and thy veriest command. May our overwhelming need of thee draw thee speedily to the West and to us, who greet thee in the sacred, wondrus name of El-Abha.
DOMINION OF CANADA
St. John, N. B.
| Henry S. Culver | Wm. H. Humphrey | Agnes B. Nixon |
| Mary R. Warner | A. B. M. Hatheway | George H. Nixon |
| Louise Culver | Kate M. Sotherland | Murray E. Nixon |
| Sophia Humphrey | Mary D. Culver | Jean E. Nixon |
| Beverly, Mass. | Brooklyn, N . Y. | |
| Edw. D. Struven | Anise C. B. Rideout | Sarah J. Walker |
| Harlan F. Ober | (Brookline, Mass.) | Amalie O. Tyler |
| Grace Ober | Julia Goldman | Winifred Richards |
| John T. Crowley | Alfred E. Lunt | Harriet Bellows |
| Clarence H. Lunt | Leonora Stirling Holsapple | Edwin F. Hulrig |
| Mrs. Clarence H. Lunt | Leonora G. Stirling | Ethel Bellows |
| Mrs. Gertrude Walker-Crowley | Rosamond Barton Guillot | Alice Carmack |
| Ella Ledyard Sargent | Alice R. Phipps | |
| Mrs. Annie B. Walker | Carolina W. Nelson | Frank E. Osborne |
| Louise Drake Wrigte | Rufus W. Powell | |
| Bloomfield, N. J. | Virginia Whitney | Martha A. Powell |
| Wm. B. Herbener | Maria. P. Wilson | Anna M. M. Fultz |
| Fred Huether | Frances Goddard | Clara Louise Osborne |
| Mary Huether | Handel King | Beatrice Irwin |
| Norman H. King | Max F. Schober | |
| Boston, Mass. | Sarah Harlow Welch | Mrs. Max F. Schober |
| Emma L. Pascoe | Edwinna Avery Powell | Marguerite E. Schober |
| Julia Culver | Mrs. Emily A. Partridge | John Lanning |
| Sarah E. Snow | Anna Marie Lanning | |
| Aurilla Colcard Pote | Isidor Flexner | Wm. G. Lotze |
| Lily F. Ostburg | Mrs. Isidor Flexner | Ida A. Lotze |
| Geo. E. Ostburg | Margaret Falk Flexner | Nellie Hope Lloyd |
| Mrs. Nora. B. Foster | Elizabeth C. Sherman | Howard MacNutt |
| Marion A. Muth | Ithaca, N. Y. | Nutley, N. J. |
| Mrs. C. Andrews | Hettey B. Townley | Margaret A. Wiley |
| Marie du Bedat | Pauline Crandall | Edna Wiley |
| Edward S. Fields | Dr. Willard S. House | |
| Deborah Barnard | Mrs. Alice House | New Haven, Conn. |
| Bridget Kennedy | Elizabeth Chandler | Mrs. Chas. P. Thompson |
| Helene Lehmann | Mrs. Edith Whiting | Emma. L. Hinman |
| Carolyn B. Taylor | Frank Ashton | |
| Urbian J . Ledoux | Jersey City, N. J. | Mildred G. Thompson |
| Esther Foster | F. G. Hale | Louise N. Thompson |
| Etta. Fleming | Dudley A. Hale | John H. Thompson |
| Emma G. Fleming | Mrs. E. L. Hale | Emma. J. Thompson |
| Laura Fleming | Fred W. Hale | Kate Lee Lewis |
| Howard H. D. Cooper | ||
| Chatham, N. J. | Lena. B. Cooper | |
| Edwin A. Putnam | Wm. C. Reed | New York City, N. Y. |
| Walter Goodfellow | Mary C. Newton | |
| East Orange, N. J. | Jennie Goodfellow | Ethel B. Newton |
| Thomas H. Zucker | Marie B. Moore | Frank C. Newton |
| Eva M. Zucker | Rosalie Moore | William R. Bowes |
| Ludwig G. Zucker | Emily Moore | Amlie C. Bowes |
| George Zucker | Marie Moore | Agnes Marie Bowes |
| Katherine Zucker | Thos. G. Saunders | Juliet Thompson |
| Henry Grasmuk | Harriet M. Saunders | H. M. Newton |
| Mrs. Henry Grasmuk | Mrs. A. P. Dodge | |
| Robert Henry Grasmuk | Montclair, N. J. | Mirza Ali Kuli Khan |
| Mrs. E. Bettinger | Leonora W. Edsall | and Family |
| Mary I. Billet | Agnes B. Alexander | W. B. Gibson |
| Rebah S. Billet | (Honolulu) | Mother Beecher |
| Jacob J. Bettinger | D. M. Bedikian | Alice Ives Breed |
| Glenolden, Pa. | Victoria Bedikian | Edith M. Inglis |
| Wm. C. Revell | Anna Van Blarcom | James F. Brittingham |
| Jessie Revell | Helen B. Hammond | Bertha L. Herkotz |
| Hossein Revell | Alice G. Beede | O. F. Westlin |
| Mrs. W. G. Revell | Esther A. Magee | Mrs. E. N. Crilly |
| Hooper Harris | Elizabeth Hipp | |
| Hillcrest, N. J. | Mrs. Hooper Harris | H. H. |
| Gustav A. Sterner | Esther Davis | Beatrice Irwin |
| Edith M. Inglis | George S. Woolley | |
| Hudson, N. Y. | Etta Beilby | Horace Woolley |
| Anna D. C. O'Hara | William R. Reid | H. Kilsey |
| Louise Wortman | Anna E. Reid | Ida A. Whitlam |
| Alice M. O'Neil | Robert E. Reid | Amelia K. C. |
| Mrs. Luella D. Smith | Mrs. Frances I. Edsall | Valeria DeMeede Kelsey |
| J. T. Rider | Franklin W. Edsall | Clara H. Philippbaar |
| Mrs. Mary E. Rider | Mineola Barnitz Hannen | |
| Edith M. Holsapple | Newark, N. J. | C. N. Hannen |
| Annie Brown | Louise Beyer | Maud Gaudreaux |
| Geo. A. Holsapple | Mrs. Bertha Bettinger | Elizabeth L. Stevens |
| Alethe A. Holsapple | Mrs. Lillian Roworth | Anna Van Blarcum |
| Antoinette Estabrook | Cora A. Tucker | Carrie Marot |
| Lillian E. Trexler | Mrs. Lester Bryant | Wilford M. Dahl |
| Lucy M. Wilson | Mrs. Mary J. Revell | Sis Dahl |
| Elizabeth Sheffield | Geo. Morton | |
| Helen L. Van Eaton | Pittsburgh, Pa. | Clair L. Morton |
| The Baxter Family | W. Reed McNeeley | Hattie Bland |
| Bertha Holley | A. S. Thomas | Mabel Morton |
| Marie B. Moore | Mrs. Maud R. Baumgarten | Richard Morton |
| Georgiana C. Watt | Mrs. Pauline Frasin | |
| Minna Karbanowich | Springfield, Mass. | |
| Oswego, N. Y. | Mrs. Enoch Raub | Fanny Knobloch |
| Mary M. Young | Joseph E. Bakhela | Olive E. Kretz-Bellejean |
| Mrs. Joseph E. Bakhela | J. H. Bellejean | |
| Philadelphia, Pa. | Virginia Whitney | E. H. Finefrock |
| Mrs. N. P. Biggs | Mary K. McComb | J. George Meers |
| Harry W. Summers | W. B. McComb | Sarah Caroline Wright |
| Walter P. Summers | Mrs. Margaret Grahame | Ina M. Pierpont |
| Irvin A. Summers | Beatrice Tompkins | Etta. Z. Otis |
| Mrs. W. P. Summers | Edward J. Thompson | Rose Harris |
| W. P. Summers | Mrs. Edward J. Thompson | Mary K. Stevens |
| Albert Fessler | Mrs. William Semple | J. Arnold Houchens |
| Ray Fessler | Ruby Eiseman | Annie E. D. Houchens |
| Mrs. Wm. C. Revell | Ellanor A. Conrad | Mary B. St. Laurent |
| Wm. C. Revell | Chas. W. Conrad | Amelia Macher |
| Mrs. Annie E. McKinney | Robert C. Conrad | |
| Edna McKinney | David Goldner | Trenton, N. J. |
| Martha Washington | Mrs. Lennie S. Shaw | |
| Laurence Culver | Pittsburgh-Verona, Pa. | Mrs. Mamie Buhlman |
| Mrs. C. Brunett | A. M. Dahl | Mrs. Anna Abram |
| Mary J . Biggs | Mrs. A. M. Dahl | Mrs. Helen Clark |
| Emma Blackwell | Esther H. Dahl | Carl Abram |
| Ellwood Revell | L. C. Hogan | Erma Abram |
| Ethel Revell | Mrs. L. C. Hogan | Madeline W. Shaw |
| Jessie Revell, Jr. | A. Richter | S. L. Jerind |
| Bodieh Revell | Charlotte Mueller | Caroline Kruger |
| Jessie E. Revell | Katherine Dahl | Pauline Ayres |
| Sigurd H. Dahl | J. Newell Ayres |
| Lakeland, Fla. | Loxley, Ala. | Edna Beagle |
| R. G. Peckman | R. Van Iderstine, M. D. | Marie A. Watson |
| Minnie Peckman | Elodia A. Van Iderstine | Olivia Cassell |
| B. S. Lane | Charlotte R. Fosselman | |
| Minnie Lane | Washington, D. C. | Effie H. W. Johnstone |
| Charlotte Rosenhauer | Unis Farishta Woodward | Adolph Mayer |
| Mrs. H. B. Zimmerman | Marzieh Khanom | Wm. Burns Patzer |
| Mrs. C. J. Sanderfeen | Thelma Botts | J. J . Fosselman |
| Mrs. Chas. H. Morton | Natekah Woodward | Henry V. Rinderman |
| J. Cooper | Chas. Mason Remey | Mr. and Mrs. Jos. H. Hannen |
| Mrs. Sarah Cooper | Mildred A. Page | |
| Laya Drum | Roberta. E. Wilson |
| Wm. R. Ripley | Margaret Duncan Green | Elizabeth Ambrose |
| Anna E. Ripley | Stanwood Cobb | Rouhanieh Florence Khanom |
| Mariam Ripley | Marian C. Hotchkiss | |
| Charlotte Emily Dixon | Helen Hotchkiss | Harriet Gibbs Marshall |
| Susan Emily Doyle | Mary Hotchkiss | Emma Hughes |
| Eleanor Dixon Doyle | Rahim Francis ("Abdul Hossein") | Mary H. Hudd |
| Louise Dixon Boyle | Dena Hansen | |
| Roger Boyle | Bahieh Khanom | Claudia Stuart Coles |
| Charlotte E. Boyle | A. B. McDaniel | Josephine Cowles de Lagnel |
| Mary E. Brittingham | Allison White McDaniel | |
| Edward J. Owen | Alden West McDaniel | Daniel Samuel Tate |
| Jno. Randolph Ashton | Walter F. McDaniel | Melville G. Skinner, M. D. |
| Elizabeth Ashton | Leona S. Barnitz | H. Emogene Hoagg |
| Alice Virginia Ashton | Fannie E. Paulson | Walter H. Bowman |
| Evangeline Orne | Elizabeth B. Nourse | Louise A. M. Gregory |
| Elaine Tancil | Ursula Shuman Moore | Louis G. Gregory |
| John Allen McLean | Louise Shuman Irani |
| Akron, Ohio. | Julia Sobel | Zeenat Bagdadi |
| Emma. L. Burnham | Mrs. C. Ioas | Parvene H. Bagdadi |
| Laura. Borst | L. Ioas | A. P. Chapman |
| Henrietta C. Wagner | Margarita Ioas | John Landus |
| Orlo S. Gowls | Monroe Ioas | Olive Bonesteel |
| Alice Fawcett Gowls | Paul Ioas | Chas. Bonesteel |
| Russell L. Brooker | Joseph Ioas | Anna Crouse |
| Belle B. Luxmore | Ella. C. Schroeder | John B. Crouse |
| Bart Mills | Marion General Jack | R. Krueger |
| Josephine F. Clark | Josephine Nelson | H. S. Fugeta |
| Frank D. Clark | Jennie O. Johnson | Meta Ludwig |
| Zelma M. Borst | Olive C. Gardner | John K. Breme |
| May A. Brooker | Mrs. W. H. Hill | Edw. E. Kluge |
| Geraldine Luxmore | Maude C. Houser | Arthur M. Forth |
| Harriet E. Brooker | Mary Lesch | Robert Ludwig |
| Robert E. Mills | Mrs. Rose C. Robinson | Mrs. Wm. Ludwig |
| Mary Audrey Gowls | Mme. Aurelia Bethlen | Mrs. Alma Kluge |
| Julia M. Mills | Emily Olsen | Lillian Wichtmann |
| Baby Richard Dale | Cecilia. M. Harrison | Mrs. M. R. Coleman |
| G. B. Borst | Dr. Wm. Frederick Slater | Mrs. Aileen Hobson |
| Pauline Myers | Ida B. Slater ("Gohar") | Mrs. Mary C. Byron |
| Battle Creek, Mich. | Jean Masson | Mrs. Beatrice Hahn |
| Mrs. Esther Rennels | Bessie M. Fuller | Mrs. Rosa Clark |
| Anna Laura Wilson | Mayme Morrison | |
| Chicago, Ill. | Mrs. Nettie Tobin | Anthony Banks |
| Geo. Kuhlman | Addie Dealey | Mrs. Rachel Cross |
| Mrs. Geo. Kuhlman | John Osenbaugh, M. D. | James H. Cross |
| Mrs. Will R. Tuttle | Frances Mitchell | Mrs. Emma. Maxfield |
| Will R. Tuttle | Louise C. Achilles | Emily McClellan Vail |
| Sylvia Kuhlman | Lillian James | Albert Vail |
| Mayme Kuhlman | Dr. Zia M. Bagdadi | Patty Hill Perron |
| Arna True Perron | Cincinnati, Ohio | Amy Williams |
| Leo P. Perron | Gertrude G. Richardson | H. L. White |
| Katherine Knight True | B. R. Taylor | Edwin White |
| Mabel Ann Nickerson | Albert Hoffman | Stella. Meafoy |
| Mary D. Haskell | Cora Watson | Mary E. Foster |
| Della S. Riley | Lillie M. Mitchell | Helen Bell |
| Sarah Windust | Oliver T. Mitchell | Anna Thompson |
| Sophie Loeding | Dora Taylor | Theodore C. Doolittle |
| Geo. L. Loeding | Joseph Stauss | E. K. Noble |
| Christine Loeding | Marie L. Stauss | Letty Richards |
| Sophie Scheffler | Mrs. Chas. Jacobs | Lethetia Bennett |
| Mrs. F. D. Lander | Annie L. Parmerton | Mary B. Brown |
| May Thurn Scheffler | Cleveland, Ohio | Alice Davidson |
| Carl Scheffler | Minnie E. Graham | Lillian McClellan |
| Gertrude Buikema | Kate Preston | Mrs. W. O. Thornhill |
| Mrs. Elizabeth Herlitz | E. Louise Smith | Columbus, Ohio |
| Hazel Hargis | Mrs. C. I. Hansen | Genevieve L. Coy |
| Albert R. Windust | Dr. Pauline Barton-Peeke | |
| Mrs. A. R. Windust and Family | Laura A. White | Detroit, Mich. |
| W. B. Cooper, D. C. | Mrs. Arthur Page | |
| John F. Herlitz | Anna B. Cooper | Katherine Page |
| Corinne True | Edwin White, Jr. | Mrs. Julia Jordan |
| Elizabeth Diggett | William Judson Kibby | Kathleen O'Connor |
| Betty Diggett | George Sutherland Kibby | Mamie O'Connor |
| Madie Diggett Minge | Elizabeth Kibby | Mrs. W. A. Deland |
| Dr. Emma Mac Kay-Appel | Fanchon Smith | Edrie Rice-Wray |
| Dr. Ernest Hillinger | Charles Aubrey Foerste | Colston Rice-Wray |
| Alex Bogden | Jean Kibby Louis | Mabel S. Rice-Wray |
| A. L. Morris | Wallace E. Fleming | Frances G. Boynton |
| Mrs. A. L. Morris | Thomas W. Fleming | T. C. Rice-Wray |
| Hielke DeBoer | Mary B. Martin | Gustave Vongerecht |
| Julia Smith | Lydia J. Martin | Ada V. Whitmore |
| M. A. Cassim | Sarah E. Martin | Duluth, Minn. |
| H. A. Keeler | Alexander H. Martin, Jr. | Chas. M. Hanson |
| John F. Redden | Stuart B. Martin | Eldrid H. Bauers |
| Genevieve Davies | Jane M. Brown | Mrs. E. H. Bauers |
| Ellen F. Davies | Sarah T. Mason | Grace Bauers |
| Mrs. Elizabeth Cary Kratzer | Alexander H. Martin | Mrs. J . A. Bauers |
| M. P. Potter | Mrs. Chas. M. Hanson | |
| Laura C. Hall | Josephine Highton | Thos. Copeland |
| Jennie May Brown | Judith Potter | Mrs. Thos. Copeland |
| Hanna Matthisen | Newell Potter | |
| Mary Matthisen | Ernestine Foerste | Fruitport, Mich. |
| Alma E. E. Albertson | Irene Hansen | George Loosmore |
| Dr. Wm. F. W. Hall | Lorene Wilson | Mrs. Cora Loosmore |
| Mary D. Hall | Lethia C. Fleming | Sam King |
| C. B. Hall | Evangeline E. Crowell Dunlap | Mrs. Emeline King |
| Mrs. Eva T. Cooper | ||
| Priscilla Hall | Millie Sutherland Kibby | Robert Cooper |
| Henry Hargis | Alice I. Doolittle | Paul Cooper |
| Peter M. Bender | Roy Williams | Mrs. Julius Frazer |
| Sarah Frazer | Pearl Swensen | Alma Penrose |
| Mary Frazer | Mrs. Elizabeth Hertel | Mrs. Tunison |
| Lyle Frazer | G. Hertel | M. L. Ellas |
| Mrs. Simpson | S. Hertel | Mrs. M. L. Ellas |
| Edna Neuman | Mrs. John Hetrick | J. M. Reynolds |
| Edna Petersen | Jeanette Anderson | Gladys Jenness |
| Henry Petersen | Mrs. Tillie Schmid | H. S. Childs |
| Agnes Petersen | Mrs. Emma Linstrom | Mary Childs |
| Nels Petersen | Blenda E. Jackson | H. A. Childs |
| L. Wyatt Cooper | Mrs. John Reimer | Lee S. Childs |
| James Cooper | Mrs. Grace Anderson | Aurelia Childs |
| Bert Beach | Alfred E. Anderson | Virginia Childs |
| Anna Beach | Axel B. Swenson | H. S. Childs, II |
| Marvin Beach | Pete Nelson | Frances Moore |
| Merle Beech | Henry Benning | Mrs. Clark |
| Mrs. Nels Petersen | Mrs. Walter Bohanan | Mrs. Goodwin |
| Bernard M. Jacobsen | Mrs. Penny | |
| Genoa Junction, Wis. | Mrs. Jane Parks Bohanan | Mrs. A. Blanchard |
| Mrs. Emma Hargis | Mrs. Chas. Redeen | Nellie Moore |
| Dell Hargis | Wm. Redeen | M. H. Willhelm |
| Mrs. A. J. Gleason | Wm. Schmid | |
| Cecile Hargis | Mrs. Ernest Redeem | Muskegon, Mich. |
| Emily Hargis | Ralph Yeager | Mrs. Iva Smack |
| Mrs. Laura Sauer | Mrs. Ralph Yeager | Mrs. Edith Bail |
| Grand Haven, Mich. | Baheih Bohanan | Mrs. Lisette Figgie |
| Charles A. Richter | Walter Bohanan | Mrs. Daisy Schaub |
| Martha L. Richter | Gus Sand | |
| Vera A. Richter | Minneapolis, Minn. | Mrs. Frank Spink |
| Arna Richter | Henrietta Brittingham | Frank Spink |
| Carl F. Richter | Constance Hedges | Mrs. Hulda Mecher |
| Arthur Richter | Albert Abdallah | W. J. Moorman |
| Martha A. Richter | Mrs. Abdallah | Helene Bagg |
| Harold W. Richter | John W. Bates, Jr. | |
| Lua Bates | Peoria, Ill. | |
| Grand Rapids, Mich. | Mrs. John W. Bates | J. W. Gift |
| Herman Rennwanz | John W. Bates | Maya Harvey Gift |
| Mrs. Elizabeth Rennwanz | Mrs. Frances C. Schneider | Katherine M. Faber |
| Mrs. Emma. S. Wright | Dr. Charles S. Frink | |
| Mrs. Mary Deremo | Albert H. Hall | Pine City, Minn. |
| Delia M. Perry | Mrs. M. H. Abbiati | M. Lesley Long |
| Mrs. Corilla Sykes | Mrs. F. D. Rollins | |
| Germaine Rollins | St. Louis, Mo. | |
| Kenosha, Wis. | Katherine Wier Jamieson | Emily Gray Fleming |
| Mrs. Barney Parks | Agnes T. Meade | Margareta A. Lafferty |
| Mrs. August Anderson | Elsa C. Breck | Caroline M. Barbee |
| August Anderson | Lillian K. Hildebrand | Eliza A. Glover |
| Mrs. Elvira Benning | G. H. Anderson | Cora Lydia Fly-Jones |
| Mrs. B. M. Jacobsen | Elizabeth Greenleaf | Lida Glover Cottle |
| Augusta Nelson | Chas. L. Greenleaf | |
| Mrs. Bertha Swenson | Albert E. Greenleaf | Topeka, Kan. |
| May Nelson | C. H. Greenleaf | Bertha C. Hyde |
| Urbana, Ill. | ||
| Marie L. Hopper | Ellery B. Paine | Nora B. Dunlap |
| Lorraine Hopper | V. E. Shelford | Johanna Schubarth |
| Beatrice Owens | Mabel Brown Shelford | Winifred Perry |
| Nellie Boucher | Ida E. Zeleny | Frances Fales |
| Katherine Renz | Esther Harding | Josephine Ash |
| Kate Kempner | Nate B. | Perry Ash |
| Annie Mattoon | Cora E. Gray | W. W. Denton |
| Jacob Kunz | A. Sweeney | G. A. Shook |
| Anna Kunz | Blanche Boncher | Genevieve Coy |
| Emilie K. Gusler | Howard Snider | Elizabeth Hackley |
| Mabel H. Paine | Mrs. Howard Snider | Molly Drew Butts |
| Denver, Colo. | Mrs. Ernest Meyer | Florence A. Clapp |
| Mrs. A. M. Bryant | Mrs. John P. Whitton | Eudora Bissell |
| Mrs. Imogene Newell | John P. Whitton | Ruth E. Newland, M. D. |
| Mrs. Elizabeth C. Clark | Mrs. Angelina Vanoni | Artie Spear |
| Mrs. Joseph H. Clark | Mark Vanoni | Hubert E. Parker |
| Mrs. Rachel O. North | Mrs. W. J. Parrott | Lulu B. Eddy |
| Baby Josephine Clark | Letizice Hatch | |
| G. N. Clark | Hollywood, Cal. | Nettie Claire Lewis |
| Mary B. Morrison | Grace Lamb | Mrs. P. L. Reed |
| Mrs. Clara B. Craig | R. E. Lamb | Mrs. A. B. Blackman |
| Adelaide Sharp | Rosella Dennis | |
| Mrs. Clara H. Sharp | ||
| C. Q. Adams | Honolulu, H. I. | Okanogan, Wash. |
| Mrs. Leota L. Blazek | Mrs. Meta Sutherland | Mrs. Ella Briggs |
| Samuel Craig | Mrs. Adeline White | Charlotte Rhodes |
| Frank G. Horal | Mrs. Ella L. Shoffner | Geo. H. Luther |
| Mrs. Mary A. Hoyt | Virginia Rowland | Laura Luther |
| Joseph F. Blazek | Frances Johnson | |
| Elizabeth Muther | ||
| Glendale, Cal. | ||
| Ethel A. Wiley | Kenwood, Cal. | Omak, Wash. |
| Loretha, W. Beckett | Mrs. Nellie B. Wilson | Mr. and Mrs. J. P. Hilts |
| F. B. Beckett | ||
| Olive B. Dible | Los Angeles, Cal. | |
| Mrs. B. Mattern | Mrs. L. R. Waite | Pasadena, Cal. |
| Mae Warrick | Hans Christian Anderson | Mrs. Stuart W. French |
| Mae M. Auforth | Arol A. Platt | Mrs. J. H. Stevison |
| Ruth A. Dible | Devale E. Gallant | Mrs. V. Bernard Herbst |
| Chas. D. Dible | Mrs. M. Bickhart | V. Bernard Herbst |
| Mae Bobzin | Eela V. F. Stevison | Mrs. Roberta Roberts |
| Thos. E. Stevison | Kathryn Roberts | |
| Geyserville, Cal. | Frank W. Eddy | |
| Mrs. John D. Bosch | B. Clarke Smith | |
| John D. Bosch | Nannie Wright | Phillipsburg, Mont. |
| Mildred Meyer | Anna E. Cannon | Peter Maus |
| Portland, Ore. | Mrs. John Echols (Wake Forest, W. Va.) | San Diego, Cal. |
| Geo. O. Latimer | Hattie J. Laughlin | |
| J . W. Latimer | John Echols (Wake Forest, W. Va.) | San Francisco, Cal. |
| Harriet B. Latimer | Dr. Frederick W. D'Evelyn | |
| Katherine McKenzie | Magdelene D. Thumel | |
| Marion Hutchinson | Drucilla W. Haldeman | Mrs. M. E. Nott |
| W. Z. Ralph | Wm. C. Haldeman | Mrs. G. S. Henry |
| Mrs. W. Z. Ralph | Mrs. Emeline Wisner | Elizabeth A. Hurlbut |
| Mrs. M. Hutchinson | Mrs. Annie S. Miller | Mrs. Lelia Shuey |
| Mrs. Juliet P. Addison | Mrs. Linnett Wolfgram | Mrs. Jessie I. King |
| Mrs. Anna. Fitch | Mrs. Anna Hair | J. Jespersen |
| Nettie Nash | Mrs. Elsa V. Yette | Mrs. J. Jespersen |
| L. B. Nash | Lottie Harris | Mrs. E. C. Blum |
| Daisy A. Hunt | Wilbur W. Weed | Mrs. R. L. Price |
| Florence M. Tenney | Edith V. Weed | Mrs. Anna Walker |
| B. N. Bowman | Thurlow H. Weed | Mme. Marie Light-Plise |
| Elizabeth Gore | Sophia Englehorn (Sebastopol, Cal.) | Harriet M. Gillespie |
| Kate E. Everest | Wm. S. Rice | |
| Laverne E. Everest | Albert Olson (Independence, Wash.) | Susan Rice |
| E. B. Rabb | Mrs. Helen Rutledge | |
| Mary M. Rabb | J. H. Bradford (Medford, Ore.) | Mary Stueben Burland |
| Emma Harmon | Mrs. Meta Larsen | |
| Annie G. Stewart | Mrs. D. T. Davis (Seaside, Ore.) | Mrs. Emelia L. Skerritt |
| Nina E. Wood | Wilhelmine H. Bulwinkle | |
| Cora C. Wass | Lydia Rainey (Springfield, Ore.) | Mary C. Baylor |
| Mr. and Mrs. W. D. Sanford | Albert Olson (Halsey, Ore.) | Hosmer L. Blum |
| Rebecca A. Stolp | ||
| Tom Nash | Alice D. Robinson | |
| John Nash | Nettie Taylor Klob | Merrill E. Robinson |
| Celia Nash | Geo. H. Benjamin | Serem D. Orning |
| Kenneth Nash | Alice P. Benjamin | Georgiana C. Scott |
| Helen Nash | Zeevar Addison | Helen S. Fraser |
| Horace Nash | Elizabeth Kane Stephens | R. H. Collier |
| Harriet A. Ray | A. J. Ray | Mrs. Julia C. Collier |
| Mrs. K. A. Harris | Mrs. A. G. Parsons | Mrs. A. Saslavsky |
| Wm. Addison | H. L. Parsons | Madeleine Varney |
| Mr. and Mrs. H. E. Weed | Mrs. Clara. Nordyke | Lena S. Lee |
| Cora. M. O'Malley | Mrs. W. C. McBride | Pauline A. Wormser |
| Kate L. Whitney | Mrs. Theresa Parshley | Frances P. Aurich |
| Helen L. Whitney | A. W. Parshley | Mrs. Leonora G. Rydor |
| G. D. Buchanan | Minnie A. Olson | Florence Keling |
| Noble Hollen (Walla Walla, Wash.) | Fred L. Olson | Henry Keling |
| Dr. Louise Dechmann | Josephine Gross | |
| Elsie Blakeley (Condon, Ore.) | Mrs. E. D. Timms | Mrs. Helen B. Tice |
| Miss Cecil | Elisha D. Shaw | |
| Mrs. Josephine Blakeley | Mrs. Brazeau | Mrs. Mary E. Morris |
| Dora Schmidt | Mrs. Isabel West | A. M. Morris |
| Levi Heller | Isabel Munson | |
| Mrs. Gillam | Pauline Fisher | Willard P. Hatch |
| Anna Eichenberger | Mrs. Crinkshank | Mrs. B. Matteson |
| Louise Lovranich | Dora Hummell | J. V. Matteson |
| Mrs. L. M. Bullock | Josephine Morris Rowan | Mabel F. Geary |
| Martha A. Bullock | Mrs. John F. Murrill | Christine Monroe |
| T. V. Matteson, Jr. | E. H. Tompkins | Adella Shirley |
| T. L. Matteson | J. T. Carey | Charlotte B. Gillen |
| Mrs. Perle DuBois | Hyde Dunn | Virginia Cook |
| Mrs. Frieda Cooper | Clara Dunn | Leon A. Lehmann |
| P. L. Cooper | Willard P. Hatch | Wm. F. Richardson |
| Eleanor Cooper | Mrs. Carrie Rasmussen | Margaret Richardson |
| Marian Cooper | Ada A. Tate | Dr. H. West |
| Mrs. Florence Browne | Mrs. Victoria F. Anthony | Mrs. Henry McConaughy |
| Master Donald Browne | Mrs. A. Marshall | H. M. Periard |
| Lawrelle Browne | Mrs. Helen S. Goodall | Mary Sellen |
| Mabel F. Sankey | Ella Goodall Cooper | H. S. Peters |
| Wilbur E. Tice | Dora A. Dunbar | |
| Mrs. Katrine C. Sankey | Santa Barbara, Cal. | Mrs. Alta M. Rober |
| Jeannette E. Harrison | Marco Zim | Mrs. Ella Stewart |
| N. M. Pal | Minnie Zim | G. L. Jackson |
| Bijou S. Straun | Isabella D. Brittingham | A. M. Southworth |
| Mrs. Ettie Blum | M. F. Berkey | C. H. Jellsett |
| Mrs. Mildred Kawakami | Mrs. M. F. Berkey | W. F. Plasterer |
| Mrs. P. F. Northrop | Mrs. Martha Austin | Gloria Paula Baker |
| J. Vance Matteson | Herbert Zim | |
| F. Lorne Matteson | Milton Zim | Sebastopol, Cal. |
| Mrs. Caroline F. Hammersmith | Flora M. Clark | Mrs. Dorothy Rambo |
| Emma E. Merry | C. L. Thudichum, M. D. | |
| Mrs. Lottie B. Smoot | A. Folger | |
| Mrs. Frieda Paul | Santa Paula, Cal. | Mrs. W. W. Monroe |
| Mrs. Alice J. Ward | Eleanor P. Crane | Mrs. L. Howell |
| Mrs. Narcissa Purden | Mary E. Crane | Benson W. Rutherford |
| W. M. Cline | Howard Carpenter | Fanny L. Wyatt |
| Mrs. Harriet M. Cline | Marion B. Carpenter | Roberta Balfour Thudichum |
| Ada I. Chandon | A. Elizabeth Carpenter | |
| Frances Cline | Carola Thudichum | |
| Wilfrid Cline, Jr. | Santa Rosa, Cal. | Elra Howell |
| A. B. Cline | Alice Griffith | Mary McGaha |
| Mrs. Minnie S. Chandon | Mrs. Grace Allison | W. W. Monroe |
| Mrs. Louise C. Quinan | Mamie L. O'Connor (Honolulu) | Julius Albert Balfour |
| Mrs. Hazel S. Hopkins | Johanna M. Storch | |
| Chandon Hopkins | Leland A. Storch | Wilcox, Ariz. |
| Hossein Hopkins | Juanite Storch | Alletta B. Martin |
| J. Hopkins | Geo. E. Witte | |
| Florence L. Campbell | Seattle, Wash. | |
| Bessie Pearson | Kenvan Lathrop | --- |
| Mrs. Ruth J. Woolverton | Dr. C. F. Lathrop | |
| Mrs. Annie Frances Lane | D. D. Babcock | Howard C. Ives |
| Lulu Wolback | Kenzo Toriken | Mariam Haney |
| Alice B. Owen | Clara Haroldsen | Paul Haney |
| Mrs. Cordie C. Cline | Mildred Haroldsen | |
| Walter H. Cline | Hattie Periard | |
| Frances Cline, Jr. | Zohreh Lathrop | |
| Mrs. Edith Bass Lindsay | Ghamar Lathrop |
Post Card from Shoghi Rabbani
To Dr. Zia M. Bagdadi, Chicago,
Dear brother:
. . . . A general Tablet, remarkable and detailed, has been revealed for the friends and maid-servants of God throughout the United States and Canada. It has been dispatched. I am enclosing the supplication of over 1000 American friends. Their names have been sent with the Tablet. Abdul-Baha ordered me to write to you concerning this important, momentous question. Publish in the Persian and English columns of the STAR OF THE WEST the Persian and English texts of the enclosed supplication. Then publish all the names one by one and after that publish the general Tablet in Persian as well as in English, all in the same copy of the STAR, no matter how voluminous it may become. Then send at least a couple of copies to every province in Persia, addressed to Bahai Assemblies or individuals. Also send at least one copy of the convention photo to each province of Persia, that all Persian Bahais may see what miracles have been wrought, what achievements have been made, what victories have been won, what a universal, a simultaneous response to the trumpet call of service has taken hold of the western friends. This is the Beloved's command, fulfill it. . . .
Ever yours affectionately,
--PERSIAN TEXT--
Star of the West Bahai News Service P. O. Box 283, Chicago, ILL; U. S. A.
--PERSIAN TEXT--
Facsimile of recent Tablet to the American friends.
--PERSIAN TEXT--
Facsimile of recent Tablet to the American friends.
--PERSIAN TEXT--
The greatest difficulty and hardship endured by the Bahais of America during the great war was their deprivation of means of communication with their beloved, Abdul-Baha. Notwithstanding the keen realization by the firm believers of his spiritual presence in our midst to guide and protect, this physical cutting off was a really terrible experience in the work of the Cause, so that when the first wonderful reports about His Excellency came to us—the word cabled by the British Government to the Embassy here in America, telling us of him,—it was as though all clouds of trouble were rolling away and the warmth of the sunlight was again quickening our poor bodies. One heard immediately on all sides the hope expressed that we once again be blessed by his holy presence in our midst. At the Feast held October 16, 1918, at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Leo Perron, Chicago, this hope expressed itself in action. It was decided to write a supplication to Abdul-Baha asking him to come, and at the next meeting of the House of Spirituality the members suggested that all of the friends in the country surely would join us in this great matter, and the secretary was instructed to address all the assemblies and lay the matter before them. The supplication was drafted by Miss Jean Masson, assisted by a committee from the House. All of the signatures were not received until several weeks had passed, so that in the early part of January the whole document was sent to Acca.
--PERSIAN TEXT--
--PERSIAN TEXT--
--PERSIAN TEXT--
--PERSIAN TEXT--
--PERSIAN TEXT--
PAGE 1, VOL. 10
TERMS: $2.50 PER YEAR.
Address: Bahai News Service, Box 283. Chicago, ILL. U.S.A.:
--PERSIAN TEXT--
--PHOTO--
3. © SCHLOSS, N. Y.
His Holiness Abdul-Baha Abbas
This Blessed Picture was taken in New York City, Dec. 2, 1912
Copyright by Jacob Schloss, New York, N. Y.
--PERSIAN TEXT--
