[Editor’s notes: Edith Roller is best known as the member of Peoples Temple who kept an extensive and detailed journal, running several thousand pages in total, during the thee years she was with the group. She also wrote numerous letters which are collected below.
[The letters on this page derive from several sources, principally FBI Section 129 • EE-1 • Letters to Dad (N-Z).]
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EE-1-R-66
Letter to Eugene Chaikin, August 1977
17 August 1977
Dear Gene [Chaikin],
After talking to you the other day about when I might expect to go to Freedom Land, I did some thinking and came up with this idea. See what you think of it.
Since you indicated I might be here for a while, say a couple of months, and since at least part of the rationale is the income I bring in to the Temple, I wondered if it might benefit the cause if I planned to stay definitely until 31 December, and then pull out. It is not that I want to linger here; I would be thrilled if I was told to go tomorrow. But there might be a considerable financial benefit if I waited until the end of the year.
Not only would I be drawing my monthly salary (plus about fifty dollars which would come monthly from the contributions of myself and the company to the retirement plan), but I believe that at the end of the year the company divvies up some of its stock market profits and distributes them to members of the Trust Plan according to their salary range. Of course, I don’t know how Bechtel’s doing on the stock market this year nor what percentage I could hope to get, but in the past the returns have been gratifying.
I am used to being on my own, so I could fit into any arrangement that was made for my livelihood.
To date, as far as I know, my Temple membership is not known, but something is going to blow it someday, I suppose. For instance, the signed letters I have written to the newspaper might get published. It might be advantageous if I did not abruptly leave the company at this time. If I left at the end of the year, I could get a logical cover story and let them know in advance.
There may be all kinds of reasons this is not a feasible plan; but if it would be of assistance to the Temple, I would be very glad to do it. (Just don’t leave me behind forever.) I’ll check with you as to the reception of this proposal.
Love,
Edith Roller
[handwritten note] Irene will spend time with her & take her to lunch etc. while her mom is here—
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EE-1-R-69
Note to Temple in San Francisco, September 1977
15 September 1977
To the Council
From: Edith Roller
This will probably not be news to you, but I wanted to be sure you are aware of the negative remarks which Mabel Johnson is increasingly spreading around among the membership.
The other night (about Sunday or Monday) she was raving and raising Cain because she had been told she would have to move by Chris Kice. She went up one street and down the other about the leadership moving her around like checkers, or musical chairs, or Russian roulette. She said she was going to refuse to move. She went into the injustice of having to stay here and of the way in which decisions were made about her son.
The next day she told me she didn’t trust any of the leadership. She doubted their loyalty. No one did she trust except “my father.” And she was going to compile a written document detailing the malefactions of the Temple workers to turn over to Father when she gets to the F.L. [Freedom Land]
The hearers in the first instance were the people in our apartment, plus Judy Merriam, I believe. I have reason to believe, however, that we were not the only ones who were recipients of her opinion.
On Wednesday I learned before the service that she said Norman Ijames had talked to her, and he said she didn’t have to move.
I know, of course, that there are probably reasons why Mabel has to be pacified. Any person as loud as she is is capable of causing trouble with outsiders, and in my opinion she is venomous and wouldn’t hesitate to say anything. However, her talk is also dangerous among our members, encouraging them in anarchy and distrust.
I have spent nearly a year at 1029 Geary watching Mabel muscle her way ahead of other people and get special privileges. She is pushy, to say the least. I hope, when we get to F.L., that some way will be found to make such individuals take their fair turn.
Wednesday night during service I watched while Mabel visited person after person, no doubt pouring out her insubordinate comments. You can’t say she doesn’t communicate.
With regards,
Edith Roller
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EE-I-R-50
First Letter to Jim Jones, February 1977
15 February 1978
Dear Dad:
I have two confessions to turn in to you today, for which I am very much ashamed.
Last night I was one of those who didn’t raise their hands and volunteer for the test of withstanding pain. I didn’t do it the first time, and I also didn’t do it when you asked again.
I tried to analyze then why I did not. The basic reason is that, although I am not afraid of many things, I have always been afraid of torture. I don’t fret too much, I believe, about pain when I am hurt physically or sick in the course of my natural life, but to be tortured by the enemy is one of my chief dreads. Perhaps because I have a vivid imagination and I have reason to know what the fascists (and the police, and the whole establishment, for that matter) do to people.
I do think that in an actual situation if I were tortured by the enemy, I would not betray my comrades and the cause. I would be so enraged that it would get me through the first effects, and then I would long for the unconsciousness which I would be sure would come.
Nevertheless, I know that I must work on my mind so that I am sure I will be determined to resist, no matter what is done to me.
Thank you, dad. I hope you feel you can trust me when the pinch comes.
Edith Roller
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EE-I-R-51-52
Second Letter to Jim Jones, February 1977
15 February 1978
Dear Dad:
Here is my second confession.
You asked the other night for people to tell you if they had held back money from the cause while in the States.
I was paid by Bechtel each week, and occasionally I cashed one of my checks instead of turning it in.
This started when I lived at 1029 Geary after becoming communal. I had to get up at 6:00 and leave for work at 7:30, and I could not get up to the Temple for breakfast nor to get a lunch. Toward the end breakfast was not even being served until 8:30 or nine o’clock. People who worked picked up a lunch the night before, but these were not available until late at night; and except on meeting nights I was not there after 6.00 o’clock. I did speak to various people in the kitchen and to Rheaviana [Beam] about getting some beans and fruit and making my own lunch, but these plans fell through. I should have persisted in this. One reason I did not was that I felt I should have a great deal of raw vegetables to keep my system in order. These were inexpensive, and I did not feel I was cheating the Temple. Another thing I could have done – maybe I could have got a special allowance for food as many seniors did who were on special diets. But it seemed simpler to manage it myself without any red tape.
The trouble is, that as crime usually does, one thing leads to another; and I started buying snacks to eat at night (nuts, dates, even candy). I also paid for having my Indian films videotaped and fixed with preservative and for such things in connection with my job as farewell presents for fellow-workers, as is the custom in private firms. I was as careful as I could be as I am not an extravagant person, and I gave the Temple my car, two typewriters, the films, a movie projector and so on. I also worked overtime quite often to make extra money.
I did not feel guilty because I knew people who were holding back far more than I, and most of the seniors who received food allowances either through ignorance or design used the money for all the wrong kinds of food. I think some command people did not turn their checks in at all.
The above is no excuse, just an analysis of the way it looked to me then. I believe in karma, and I know I will pay for my misdeeds. As a matter of fact, I am paying now, because adjustment here is more difficult after the comparative luxury I had treated myself to.
One other thing Dick Tropp told me I should tell you about.
At a time when I believed I could not take my books with me nor have them shipped by the Temple, I gave my friend in San Francisco, Lorraine Whittemore (formerly de la Fuente) about $50.00 to mail them to me, which she promised to do. She was glad to do this, as she was more worried about my intellectual deprivation than anything else. She put this money into a special bank account.
At Christmas time, my two sisters, Edna and Dorothy, came to San Francisco to be with me before I went to Guyana. Dorothy, who has been very generous with me as long as she thought the money was not going to the Temple (she thinks she hates religion, but I think she is afraid of Jim Jones), gave me about $62.00, on condition that I would not give it to the Temple. She learned about the fund Lorraine was keeping for me and thought that was a good idea. I am to ask Lorraine to send me anything I need.
I decided to use this entire sum for books to benefit our school program and reading material for our members and have already asked her to send some for the adult education program. Dick Tropp is aware of this and suggested the best way to get them here, in his opinion.
I am quite willing to use the entire sum for books and school material which would be approved by you and the school authorities. I also would like to have the money spent before it loses value while in the bank. I think this is the only way that I can get hold of Dorothy’s money, as I promised her, and it looks as if we can use that much school material and reading material easily.
I will have a small amount of money coming to me from my sister Edna when she manages to sell a funeral plot inherited from my mother’s estate – none of us plan to be buried there.
A suggestion which has nothing to do with what I have written above. It seems a shame to take land out of cultivation by having a cemetery. According to Guyanese law, do we have to have one? I personally would prefer to be burned and have ashes thrown in the sea. Thank you, Jesus!
An unusual coincidence I wondered if you might want to hear about: Several years ago Liz Forman told me something about Tommy Kice (as I remember it, he was around six then) making swastika signs around (I don’t recall whether it was on paper, his school books, or what). Liz interpreted this as indicating that he had been a Nazi in his previous existence and said he was among several Nazis born again in our midst – she thought that was why some of our young people were so mean. I believe she presented this as an insight of hers; you remember that she was intensely interested in all things esoteric. I have never discussed this with anybody, nor will I.
Edith Roller
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EE-1-R-58-59
Letter to Jim Jones, March 1978
27 March 1978
Dear Dad,
I feel that I should write you, in view of what Terri Buford told me today, so that you won’t have to use your revelatory powers, that I have not been in communication with Tim Stoen at any time since I learned he was a traitor. I have not knowingly had anything to do with any other traitor.
One thing I believe I should tell you, because he may make something of it, is that once I showed him a coding system used by the CIA called the OTP, or One Time Pad, which I thought might be useful to the Temple and asked him to tell you about it. I don’t know whether he did or not. The system itself is not secret but the fact that one uses it would of course be suspicious. It is possible that the CIA might try to prosecute me for revealing my knowledge. I have recently spoken to Tom Grubbs about it with the same motive — making it available to the Temple.
I shall of course be glad to answer any questions.
Edith Roller
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EE-I-R-48-49
Letter to Jim Jones, April 1978
8 April 1978
Dear Dad,
My preferences in music – I’d rather not hear rock at all, as it makes me nervous; and I’m sure most of it does not do anyone any good. It’s hypnotic, as so much of the media product is these days, on purpose, I think. I occasionally like a piece or two. In the circumstances, since so many like it, but I’d appreciate not hearing it early in the morning, late in the evening (after 9:00 o’clock), nor in large doses.
My own preference is for symphonic and chamber music. I know that the majority of people are either bored or infuriated by this type of music, but I think it would grow on them if they heard some every now and then. (I myself am an opera enthusiast but I think you have to be familiar with the stories as well as the music. I doubt if we have any, anyway.) By the way, speaking of composers who were for freedom and revolution, Verdi is an outstanding example. Many of his operas are on such themes. Don Carlos is one, for instance, which is about the struggle to free Netherlands from the Spanish. Another rewarding detail about Verdi is that he is unusually sympathetic to the old and racial minorities. Il Trovatore has an old gypsy woman who inspires the audience’s support for her situation.
Another of the classic composers who backed liberation causes was Beethoven. His opera, Fedelio, is about a man and a faithful woman who tries to free him from prison after he is imprisoned for helping in a revolution (can’t remember which one but perhaps Italians from the Austrians – I’ll look it up). Tosca by Puccini also has a revolutionary hero and the story describes the way he and his sweetheart are tricked and he is killed by the enemy.
Beethoven was such a believer in freedom that he followed the victories of the French Revolutionists with intense sympathy. He dedicated his famous Fifth Symphony to Napoleon whom he believed was leading the revolutionary armies. When he heard that Napoleon had made himself Emperor he tore the dedication page up. I think this story is well documented.
I also like folk songs and western songs, Negro spirituals, work songs.
Some other music which might appeal to the people is the light opera or musical comedy or plays (hard to classify) of Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht. Brecht, as I am sure you know, was a playwright who fled the Nazis and lived in various Allied countries during World War II. He returned to live in East Germany after the war and was head of a famous experimental theater there. His numerous plays and musicals all deal with communism and freedom struggles and are full of catchy tunes and lyrics. Weill wrote the music. One of the best is Mother Courage about the Hundred Years War, one of the strongest anti-war plays ever written. The Three-Penny Opera, which has marvelous music and poems to match, is a satire on the wealthy and beggars; also makes its points about loyalty (?) in sex and love. I wonder if anybody brought tapes of these really excellent works. Brecht is a poet of some note, also, and I brought a book of his poems which is in the library. Galileo is a thorough study of the conscience of a man of science, inspired by the explosion of the atom bomb and the responsibility of scientists. My students at Merritt liked it, although it is short on romance (as usually conceived) and is very intellectual (that is, the action is that of the soul). It doesn’t have much music in it, though.
I don’t like musical comedy. I think it’s worse than rock. I mean stuff like The Sound of Music. It’s escapist and feeds the belief that all will be well in the world (if boy and girl can just get together).
I think you will find that most older people hate rock, but they like musical comedy.
I just would be relieved to have a mixture. I think familiarity will teach people to like things they might not have liked before, and hopefully, “good money will drive out the bad,” which I know is contrary to economics but perhaps the case as regards art.
Thanks, sorry I’m so long-winded.
Much Love,
Edith Roller
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Memo to Jim Jones from Edith Roller regarding thefts, September 1978
EE-2-pq-9
10 September 1978
Dear Jim,
I want to report to you a rather strange event which may possibly have security implications – absurd as this may seem.
Yesterday I missed a big blue binder in which I kept the typed copy of the journal I write. It contained a record from August to October 1977 and about 50 pages of blank paper. The last time I used it was last Sunday, 3 September. I never take it out of the cottage and did not do so this time. I looked thoroughly among all my possessions. I kept it in a crate which I had left unlocked a good deal lately, as the lock is beginning to rust and Edith Cordell is in the cottage most of the time. As I checked, I found that another folder was missing, which contained the handwritten notes from August 1977 to August 1978, as I had never thrown any of them away.
My first thought was that somebody just stole the binder (which was a good one) for itself and the paper that was in it. It would have been easy to lift the top of the crate and take the binder, as it might have been near the top. However, the other folder is a different thing – it was buried deeper, it was bulky and would have been harder to walk away with, the paper in it would have been of little value to a thief, as it was all written on.
I don’t think the security danger is very great, no matter who has the notes, as I know no secrets, but these notes contain items on individuals, and I know intelligence agencies consider any information important. It seems unlikely, though, that any agent would have happened on my papers unless Tim Stoen were involved. As you remember, he knew of the journal, as I used to turn it over to him for delivery to Carolyn Layton. That is why I am bringing this to your attention, in case there is a possibility of espionage, rather than just old-fashioned theft.
The paper in the notebook is probably not like any other in Jonestown – good bond, punched for a three-hole binder. I suggest that the tests taken last night be checked for this type of paper and other paperwork which may come to attention – three-hole punch is probably scarce.
Pardon the typing. I got my typewriter fixed, by now something else is wrong with it.
Sorry to bother you with this.
Much love, Edith Roller
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