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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 postoffice at Chicago, Ill., under the Act of March 3, 1879.
Terms: $3.00 per year; 20 cents per copy.
Two copies to same name and address, $5.00 per year.
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.
"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. 11 | CONTENTS | No. 5 |
| PAGE | |
Frontispiece—Model of the Mashrekol-Azkar, designed by Louis Bourgeois | 82 |
Bahai Temple Strikes New Art Note | 83 |
| (From the New York American) | |
Persian-Indian Style of Architecture (Illustrated) | 85 |
| By CHARLES MASON REMEY. | |
Recent Tablets from Abdul-Baha to Mirza Ahmad Sohrab | 87 |
Editorial — Memorial to Joseph H. Hannen | 90 |
"Set up this esteemed soul in Thy Glorious Kingdom" | 90 |
| Tablet from ABDUL-BAHA to Pauline Hannen. | |
Recent Tablets from ABDUL-BAHA to American Bahais | 91 |
| Dr. Charles Hall. Louis G. Gregory. | |
Green Acre in 1920 | 92 |
PERSIAN SECTION—Written by Jenabi Fazel Mazandarani | 96-93 |
| 1. Words of advice from ABDUL-BAHA. 2. Article regarding the Convention by Mrs. Boyle. 3. Article about Mr. Bourgeois' design of Temple. 4. Letter from Dr. Lotfullah. 5. Cablegram from ABDUL-BAHA regarding writing Persian Section of the STAR OF THE WEST. | |
--PHOTO-- © 1920 L. BOURGEOIS. ARCHT. & SCULPT.
Model of the Mashrekol-Azkar design accepted by the Twelfth Annual Convention.
Designed by Louis Bourgeois (Copyrighted).
"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. 11 | Nur 1, 76 (June 5, 1920) | No. 5 |
Bahai Temple Strikes New Art Note
Louis Bourgeois' Model for $1,500,000 Structure Combines Essence of All Architectural Systems.
BY PEYTON BOSWELL.
ON the shore of Lake Michigan, just a little ways north of Chicago, the Bahai Movement is soon to begin the erection of a Temple of Peace. Many persons who have seen the model for this building, which is the work of the architect and sculptor, Louis Bourgeois, say that the great Temple will be the most beautiful modern structure in the world. Some go so far as to say that it will be the most beautiful structure ever erected. A large model of the Temple, filling almost an entire room, is now on exhibition at the Kevorkian Galleries, No. 40 West Fifty-seventh street.
The Bahai Temple of Peace, whose doors will never close, day or night, and in which every person may worship, will cost about $1,500,000. Its outer covering will be of cream colored terra cotta. It will be 225 feet in diameter and 180 feet high.
Mr. Bourgeois' model was selected by a committee of forty-nine. This committee was ready to approve the design, but because the structure differed from any other building that had ever been erected, they felt that they needed guidance, before making the formal acceptance, from an architect who could tell them whether it was practical.
They called in Mr. H. Van Buren Magonigle, president of the Architectural League. Without being apprised of the preference of the committee, Mr. Magonigle studied all the models submitted and quickly selected that of Mr. Bourgeois. His verdict was: "It is the first new idea in architecture since the thirteenth century. I want to see it erected."
The Bahai Temple of Peace combines within itself all the lovely elements of all the types of architecture that man has ever devised. This may at first sound rather discouraging to students of art who know how inspirationless eclectic works usually are. If a painter tries to combine all the good points of all the schools of painting he invariably gets a picture that is tame and uninteresting. It is the individual method that counts.
But, after looking at Mr. Bourgeois' model for his beautiful Temple, listen to him explain, in a voice trembling with enthusiasm, just how he came to combine all styles of architecture in his design:
"The Bahai Movement," says Mr. Bourgeois, "is a fusing of the essential spiritual elements of all religions and all philosophies. Stripped of the personalities of their founders and subsequent leaders, all sects are found to have very much the same divine basis. All the teachings that have held the minds of men and ennobled them are
found to be very much alike in essence. The doctrines of Christ, of Buddha and of Mohammed greatly resemble each other. As with religions so it is with architecture. If you resolve the different architectural systems to their idealistic basis, laying aside all extreme forms, you will see that they harmonize so perfectly that they can be blended without one discordant note. That is what I have tried to do in the Temple of Peace—to combine all architectural modes into a symbol of the Bahai Movement."
With a burst of enthusiasm the sculptor-architect declares: "It is BAHA'O'LLAH'S Temple. I am only the channel through which it came!"
In its general shape the Temple gives one the feeling of a spiritual symbol arising with an inevitable fitness, from the very earth.
The first story breathes the spirit of welcome. It is in the form of a nine-pointed star. Nine circular exedras curve into the building, with a great doorway in the center of each, so that from whatever side one approaches, the structure seems to extend its arms in welcome and embrace. The first story in its simplicity suggests the Greek and Egyptian temples, while the treatment of the doors and windows is Romanesque in form, and the intricacy and beauty of the ornamentation suggests the Gothic and the Arabic.
The second story, beautiful in its windowed elegance, is renaissance in line, but purely Gothic in the interlaced arches of its openings.
The third story is renaissance in feeling, restful and quiet. Above it rises the lovely dome, which suggest the Byzantine, while above the closed top is a unique feature—the beams of the dome arising like hands clasped in prayer, so as to give the feeling of ascension and aspiration found only in Gothic towers.
An intricate system of ornamentation covers the columns, surrounds the windows and doors and comprises the dome itself, and in this one deciphers symbols of all the religions of the world, interlacing and blending perfectly.
Here are the swastika cross, most ancient of all; the circle; the triangle; the double triangle, known as Solomon's seal, the symbol of the sun, the five-pointed star representing the Man-Saviour, be He called Christ, Buddha or Mohammed; the Christian cross; the Greek cross, and finally, the Bahai symbol of the nine-pointed star.
There is a very human side to the modeling of the Temple of Peace. Mr. Bourgeois has had the Temple in mind for nine years, but it never began to take definite form until four years ago, after he had attended the convention of the Bahai Movement in Boston. Then, suddenly, in an hour's time, the architect sketched the lower story of the Temple. At first he thought he could model the structure in three months, but he found that, so colossal was the task, that it took three years.
Now the architect is not rich, and he realized that if he worked at his model the family income would cease. His wife is also an artist, but, sympathizing with his work, she bought a little store in West Englewood, New Jersey, where they live, and while he worked with the plaster, she sold ice cream and candy and other wares to the people of the community.
When he needed plaster for his first carving and was out of money, he went into the garden, filled his wife's clothes basket with Dorothy Perkins roses, which covered the arbor, carried them to New York and sold them for five dollars, with which he bought the needed material.
He says his wife is really the "Temple builder;" for, had it not been for her sympathy and cheerful sacrifice, he never would have carried to completion the gigantic work.
The Bahai Movement will surround the great Temple with a community that will
conform with it in spirit, for on the shore of Lake Michigan, around the beautiful grounds, will be erected a series of buildings devoted to the application of true religion to life—a hospital, an orphan asylum, a hospice or house of hospitality, a guild house and a university, among other enterprises.
As explained by CHARLES MASON REMEY, who submitted a model at the Twelfth
Annual Convention of the Mashrekol-Azkar.AS one becomes familiar with the Bahai Teaching and its principles and as one seeks to apply these in his life it is the most natural thing in the world that he should desire to express these principles and religious ideals in the terms and language of his own art, craft or profession. As with countless others such was my own experience. Since my connection with the Bahai Cause, during the past twenty years, in the pursuance of my study of architecture at home and abroad in many parts of the world, I have had constantly in mind the great Bahai Mashrekol-Azkar, the first of its kind to be erected in America, my desire being that I might be able to express in terms of architecture an offering toward this great temple.
This absorbing interest has led me, during the past twelve years to make a series of architectural studies and preliminary designs for this edifice showing treatments of varying dimensions in nine different styles of architecture. These were offered to Abdul-Baha in the hope that this work might be of some service when the time arrived for the formulation of a building design for the Mashrekol-Azkar.
When the word was received from Abdul-Baha that a choice of designs submitted for the Mashrekol-Azkar was to be made by the delegates seated in this Twelfth Annual Convention of Bahais in America held in New York, April 26-28, 1920, I felt moved to make, in addition to the drawings already mentioned, a set of models of the one of my designs which was done in the Persian-Indian style in order to present to the Convention in as graphic and as concrete a manner as possible the salient features of this design, which, in my estimation, so far as I now understand the matter as viewed from points both practical and spiritual, is, I feel, the best suited of my preliminary studies to meet this present problem. With the exception of this design in the Persian-Indian style, which is of quite modest dimensions, each of my other eight designs are too large in size and of too costly construction to be considered. Moreover, with the exception of the Arabian, Moorish and Persian designs, the others were not sufficiently oriental in character to satisfy the requirements of the problem in hand. Therefore between these practical and aesthetic conditions there seemed to us to be but this one of my designs to feature.
Since Abdul-Baha ordered the Convention to choose one from among the designs which had been offered for the Mashrekol-Azkar, I did not deem it advisable to prepare any new designs, nor to alter those which I had previously made. The models and the large drawings of this Persian-Indian design, which I am offering together with my first drawings, are merely enlargements and developments of the original design. There have been no changes in the style of the design, its treatment or dimensions.
While engaged in this work my concept of an architectural treatment for the Mashrekol-Azkar underwent many changes and modifications. In considering a style for the first design made, the Byzantine then suggested itself to
me as combining in one complete and developed style of architecture, the characters of both the orient and the occident. Later on in the work I made studies in various other styles from the classic to the ultra modern which work included some of the styles of the orient. Toward the close of this study I received an excerpt from a Tablet of Abdul-Baha's addressed to Mrs. Kate Ives in which he mentioned the Mashrekol-Azkar as follows:
"That Divine Form manifested itself in America and entered the great Temple
--PHOTO--
Charles Mason Remey and the model he submitted In the Persian-Indian style of Architecture.
which shall soon be constructed
therein. This glorious Temple resembles
the oriental edifices and soon you
will see it erected there with a most
solid foundation and strongest basis."
Furthermore, I learned it was reported that Abdul-Baha showed a picture of the Taj-Mahal to Mr. P—W—, suggesting that the Mashrekol-Azkar have a similar entrance.
These words of Abdul-Baha quite revolutionized my thought regarding the style for this first great Bahai Temple to be erected here in the west. With time and more study the architecture of the orient has made its appeal more and more to me as being the best suited of all styles as a foundation for, and a first step toward, the universal style of world architecture eventually to find its perfect development in the Mashrekol-Azkar of future generations. I have been pleased to note latterly that the majority of the people who have seen my preliminary drawings have expressed a preference for the Persian and the Persian-Indian styles.
The Persian style of architecture was developed under the influence brought into Persia by the early Moslem civilization. Some of its grandest applications are found in the mosques of Esphahan, Khoum, Kashan, and Khazvin, while the same style is found in these
and other cities, successfully applied to such buildings as bazaars, caravansaries, palaces, colleges, gateways, bridges, and other civic structures.
The lower wall surfaces of the more elegant of these buildings are often revetted with slabs of marble, while the main walls and upper parts are usually in stone, brick, terra cotta, and brightly colored tiles. Though some of these buildings have stood for centuries, the coloring in many instances remains quite fresh and even brilliant.
The richness in color decoration of the domes and minarets of the Persian mosques, rising from a foreground of gardens and silhouetted against a cloudless sky, is memorable and very beautiful. This style of decoration, so in harmony with its oriental environment,
has a charm of its own, to which many Persian writers, as well as foreigners traveling in that country, have testified.
The Indian style of architecture, which is an adaptation of the Persian style, had its development during the Mogul rule in India. Some of the finest examples of this style are found in the vicinity of Delhi, India's ancient capital, while the world-famous Taj-Mahal near the city of Agra, is without doubt the best known and by many the most admired building of the epoch.
The Taj-Mahal is finished within and without with white marble inlaid with jasper, lapis lazuli, and other semiprecious stones. It is surrounded by a garden intersected by waterways separated by richly colored flowers and foliage, and produces an effect of beauty beyond the power of words to describe.
To his honor, Mirza Ahmad Sohrab, New York City—Upon him be BAHA'O'LLAH El-Abha!
He Is God!
O thou servant of the Holy Threshold!
Praise be to God, that the events of the Cause from the East and the West are conducive to the utmost rejoicing. The fame of His Highness BAHA'O'LLAH has encircled the orient and the occident, and the voice of the promotion of the Cause has reached the Supreme Concourse.
According to what they have written from California, you have become fully confirmed in service in that region. This is the result of the promise that I have made to thee. Today, whosoever is a herald of the Covenant, he becomes triumphant and victorious by the cohorts of the Orb of Regions and is honored and the object of the glances of mercifulness. God willing, the event of your wedding, ere long, will likewise come to pass. In Convention this year it must be unquestionably solemnized.
The School of Tarbiat used to receive some assistance from the American friends. Undoubtedly, you have this matter in mind. If a contribution could be forwarded through the Convention, it would be very acceptable.
Thou hast written that if a Persian teacher could come to those states and travel for awhile, it would be most timely; therefore we have written to Persia and ere long a ripened soul with an interpreter will be forwarded, so that for a time he may make a tour throughout America and then return. Undoubtedly in their reception you will demonstrate the utmost magnanimity.
Likewise, yourself, at the opportune time, travel throughout all the states and with the utmost exhilaration and tumult raise the call of the Covenant, thus the favors of the Orb of Regions may encircle the globe.
Upon thee be Baha-El-Abha!
(Signed) ABDU-BAHA ABBAS.
(Translated by Mirza Ahmad Sohrab, March 27, 1920, Washington, D. C.)
[Portion of a Tablet received by Mrs. Ella G. Cooper of San Francisco, California, in regard to Mirza Ahmad Sohrab's trip in the West:]
He Is God!
O thou beloved daughter!
Thy detailed letter, dated December 7th, 1919, written to Shoghi Effendi, was received. Its contents produced the utmost rejoicing for it was indicative of the promotion of the divine teachings and the attraction of the hearts to the Kingdom of the Lord of Hosts. Likewise, the power and might which became manifest from Aga Mirza Ahmad in the diffusion of the teachings and the promulgation of the Word of God. This is purely through the confirmations of God and the help and assistance of His Highness BAHA'O'LLAH.
Consider ye, that a youth from Persia,
who has not studied sciences and arts, nor is he informed of the political, economic and social problems, nor is he acquainted with all the conditions of the east and the west—notwithstanding this, he delivers irrefutable lectures before vast audiences and imparts exhilaration and motion to the souls. This is no other save through the confirmations of His Highness BAHA'O'LLAH. This is
--PHOTO--
BAHAI DELEGATES AND FRIENDS ATTENDING TWELFTH ANNUAL MASHREKOL-AZKAR CONVENTION. Photograph taken on steps of Engineering Societies' Building, New York City.
evident and manifest. No soul can deny it. For the bestowals of His Highness BAHA'O'LLAH, and the power of His Covenant, will make a drop an ocean, the mosquito the eagle soaring toward the Supreme Concourse, the tender plant the blessed tree, the weak child the powerful man, the mustard seed the towering mountain, and the unknown well known throughout all the regions. In short, all these are through the outpourings of His Highness BAHA'O'LLAH, and the power of the Covenant, otherwise what existence have we?
Praise be to God, that California is in motion and attraction and the souls enamored with the Kingdom of Abha!
(Signed) ABDUL-BAHA ABBAS.
To his honor Mirza Ahmad Sohrab and his respected wife—Upon them be BAHA'O'LLAH El-Abha!
He Is God!
O ye son and daughter of the Kingdom!
According to what you have written, spiritual connections are established between you, and you are contemplating to enter the world of matrimony and become each other's associate. It is my hope that this union become eternal; both of you harmonized on the physical and spiritual planes and become one in the exoteric and esoteric realms;—so that you may spend your days together
with the utmost joy and happiness and be engaged in the glorification of His Highness BAHA'O'LLAH, because He has brought into perfect mutual affiliation both the east and the west and has established such a divine communication between Persia and America, that a Persian and an American have become the expression of one soul.
In brief, I supplicate for you confirmation
and assistance so that ideal affinity be unveiled between you, both of you be occupied with the services of the Cause of God and be aided and confirmed. You must strive to establish between yourselves such an affinity and love that you may become the object of envy to all mankind and your wedding may serve as an example, so that similar unions may come to pass very frequently.
Upon ye be Baha-El-Abha!
Recite ye together the following prayer:
O God! O God! We are married for the love of Thy beauty, longing for the fulfillment of Thy good pleasure and yearning to devote our lives to Thy service. O Lord! Suffer our bodies to become one body, our spirits the expression of one spirit and assist us with Thy confirmations—so that we may arise
wholly to perform Thy services, be detached from aught else save Thee, firm in Thy Covenant and Testament and freed from all else save Thy love. O Lord! Assist us with all these Thy favors.
Verily Thou art the Confirmer, the Powerful, the Mighty and the Omnipresent!
(Signed) ABDUL-BAHA ABBAS.
(Translated by Mirza Ahmad Sohrab, May 7, 1920, New York City.)
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.
| Northeastern States: HOOPER HARRIS | Western States: HELEN S. GOODALL. |
| Southern States: | 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. 11 | Nur 1, 76 (June 5, 1920) | No. 5 |
"The School of Tarbiat used to receive some assistance from the American friends. Undoubtedly, you have this matter in mind. If a contribution could be forwarded through the Convention it would be very acceptable."
When the above extract from a recent Tablet to Mirza Ahmad Sohrab was read in the Convention many friends arose to the fulfillment of this suggestion of Abdul-Baha. As our late brother, Joseph Hannen, had so faithfully served this School of Tarbiat in the west, it was suggested that each of the friends contribute one dollar to a memorial fund to be sent in the name of Brother Hannen from the Convention. Those of the friends who wish to join in this memorial may send their dollar to Miss Nellie Lloyd, 104 Wall Street, New York City.
George Latimer.
Words of ABDUL-BAHA in eulogy of and supplication for Joseph H. Hannen.
RECENT TABLET TO PAULINE HANNEN.To the beloved daughter, Mrs. Hannen, Washington, D. C.—Upon her be BAHA'O'LLAH El-Abha!
He Is God!
O Thou Compassionate Lord!
Thou knowest the magnitude of my sorrow as I engage in this following suplication. The favored servant of the Kingdom, Mr. Hannen, that pure and spotless soul, was the first self-sacrificing person in the path of the Merciful One. At night he was restless and during the day he was untiring. Not a moment did he rest and all his lifetime was consecrated to the service of the Kingdom. In the assemblage of Thy friends he was an active member and in the gathering
of Thy favored ones an enkindled torch. In the horizon of guidance he twinkled like a radiant star and in the Abha Paradise he appeared a magnificent palm. He was an illumined soul, merciful, kingly, lordly.
At present that bright candle has been extinguished in the globe of this mortal world that thereby it may shine resplendently in the globe of the Kingdom. That radiant star has set from this world below that it may rise effulgently from the Supreme Horizon.
O Thou Forgiving Lord!
Set up this esteemed soul in Thy glorious Kingdom upon the thrones of everlasting sovereignty and make him a heavenly prince. Help him to soar in the limitless realm and draw him unto the close companionship of heavenly birds in the hidden world. Immerse him in the ocean of Light, and make him the prince over the Realm of Mysteries. Bring him unto the effulgent concourse and help him to attain his object in the realm of Thy presence and the heights of the Supreme Concourse.
Thou art the Forgiver, the Pardoner, and the Compassionate!
O thou daughter of the Kingdom!
This calamity is overwhelming and painful, and undoubtedly its effects are most severe. A thousand times alas, that like unto a star, that glorious personage disappeared from the horizon of the immensity of space. He has arisen from a horizon that knows no setting and has hastened unto a realm that is infinite. He has been detached from this world below and has attained unto Everlasting Life. He has ascended from this gloomy world and hastened to the Center of Light.
Grieve not therefore and be not despondent. Enkindle his lamp and strive that the orchard of his highest wish may abound with fruitful trees. Rest thou assured in the bounties of the Lord of Hosts and endeavor to be confirmed by the favors of the glorious Lord. If he has disappeared from this plane, grieve not, for thou shalt find him in the divine realm. Be not sad at this temporary separation, thou shalt enjoy eternal companionship in the realm above. Be thou therefore patient and forbearing, firm and assured.
Upon thee be Baha-El-Abha!
(Signed) ABDUL-BAHA ABBAS.
(Haifa, Palestine, March 19, 1920.)
DR. CHARLES HALL
To his honor, Dr. Charles Hall, Chicago, Illinois—Upon him be BAHA'O'LLAH El-Abha!
He Is God!
O thou servant of God!
Thy letter was received. Its contents were lofty and sublime and its aim was high and wide-reaching. The world of humanity is in need of a great amelioration for it is a material jungle wherein fruitless trees are flourishing and useless weeds are abounding. If there is at all a fruitful tree, it is overshadowed by the fruitless ones and if a flower grows in its midst it is hidden and concealed. The world of mankind is in need of expert gardeners that they may convert those forests into delectable rose-gardens, may substitute for these fruitless trees, trees that yield fruit and may replace these useless weeds by roses and fragrant herbs. Thus active souls and vigilant people are day and night restless. They strive until they are closely attached to the divine Kingdom and thereby become the manifestations of infinite bounties and the ideal gardeners of these forests. Thus the world of humanity will be wholly transformed and the merciful bounties become manifest.
Upon thee be greeting and praise!
(Signed) ABDUL-BAHA ABBAS.
(Translated by Shoghi Rabbani, Acca, Palestine, July 26, 1919.)
LOUIS G. GREGORY
To his honor, Mr. Louis Gregory, care of his honor, Mr. Hannen, Washington, D. C.—Upon him be BAHA'O'LLAH El-Abha!
He Is God!
O thou who art firm in the Covenant!
Thy letters were received. Verily, thou hast labored hard in this year's Convention and hast served beyond thine own endurance. Thou hast moreover, traveled before and subsequent to the sittings of the Convention, hast served by other ways and means, art ever restless and active and hast, with thy respected wife, consecrated thy life to the service of the Kingdom. Undoubtedly thou shalt be confirmed and assisted.
Strive with heart and soul in order to bring about union and harmony among the white and the colored and prove thereby the unity of the Bahai world wherein distinction of color finds no place, but where hearts only are considered. Praise be to God, the hearts of the friends are united and linked together, whether they be from the orient or the occident, from north or from south, whether they be German, French, Japanese, American, and whether they pertain to the white, the black, the red, the yellow or the brown race. Variations of color, of land and of race are of no importance in the Bahai Movement; on the contrary, Bahai unity overcomes them all and does away with all these fancies and imaginations.
Convey on my behalf to thy fellow-traveler, Mr. Roy Williams, the utmost kindness. I am greatly pleased with him and my hope is that in the future he may be greatly confirmed. Extend on my behalf much kindness to thy respected wife. I never forget her and she is ever in my memory.
Upon thee be Baha-El-Abha!
(Signed) ABDUL-BAHA ABBAS.
(Translated by Shoghi Rabbani, Bahjeh, Acca, Palestine, July 24, 1919.)
Green Acre is turning a new radiant page in its history this summer. The wise and beloved Persian teacher, Jenabi Fazel Mazandarani, whom Abdul-Baha in his love has sent to us in response to the request of the American believers, will be in Green Acre for lectures and conference. His interpreter, Manucher Khan, will conduct a class in Persian. Here is a wonderful opportunity for the American friends to drink from a veritable fountain of knowledge the pure water of the Bahai teaching as it is flowing today so gloriously in Persia. And here is the chance to learn the original language in which the "river of glory" has been renewing the world in these latter days.
There will be many other lectures and study classes and those wonderful meetings for spiritual communion which are so characteristic of this "Green Acca" by the "River of Light". It is in these meetings that we win a new baptism of power to "live the life" which alone can illumine the world.
Mrs. Louise Boyle will conduct a summer camp for Bahai Juniors with classes in arts and crafts. There the great Bahai principles will be taught during many hours of pure joy. A more perfect place for a summer camp devoted to play, study and spiritual education could not be chosen than the one at Willow Cote, Green Acre.
The Green Acre Fellowship has bought the Inn and the surrounding cottages. Now with the Fellowship House, the Pines, Mt. Salvat it is ready for the visitors and the glorious destiny Abdul-Baha has foretold. Full information about the rooms, cottages, the spiritual program, can be had from Mr. William H. Randall, 35 Congress St., Boston.
Albert Vail.
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