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PART IV
THE NEW WEST “BREAK-IN”
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INTRODUCTION
The New West magazine has alleged that members of Peoples Temple broke into their offices Thursday night, June 16, 1977. They notified both the San Francisco Police Department and all the local media of the alleged event. The so-called break-in of their office was played up extensively in the print and electronic media. Peoples Temple found out about the allegations when a San Francisco Examiner reporter called the church asking for “our side of the story.” We know nothing of it, although for several days the media continued to cover the “break-in,” insinuating that Peoples Temple members would be the only ones interested in acquiring documents the magazine was said to have filed on our church.
We called for an investigation by the police. Their report follows. It is clear from the report that the “break-in” in fact did not occur, and that if any tampering was done, it was done by one of the magazine’s own employees. We seriously question who engineered this stunt and the entire media barrage that followed. This whole episode, we believe, was an attempt to impugn Peoples Temple, and it was done in a highly sophisticated, highly questionable manner.
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(Editor’s note: This report also appears here.)
San Francisco Police Department
Intra-Departmental Memorandum
Property Crimes Division
Wed 06/29/77
Clement de Amicis
Deputy Chief of Investigations
Attempted Burglary at New West Magazine Office, 325 Pacific
Sir:
The following is the body of the supplemental report as it will appear when entered into the system. I have reviewed the investigation and conclusions arrived at by the members investigating and concur with them.
On Friday, 06/17/77, Mr. Tracy of the New West Magazine was notified by his secretary, Kathy Whelan, of the damaged window lock. Ms. Whelan said the window was down and the lock was in place although the slide bolt was broken when she first noticed it. When Officer Duffy of Central Station arrived, the window and lock were still in the same condition. Officer Duffy was told by Mr. Tracy that nothing was missing from the office. Mr. Tracy further stated that one or two other folders in a file cabinet containing information on the Reverend Jim Jones appeared to be an inch or so higher than the rest of the folders. After inspecting the premises and interviewing Mr. Tracy, Officer Duffy concluded entry had not been made.
On Monday, 06/20/77, Inspector Evans of the Burglary Detail, responded to 325 Pacific and conducted the follow-up investigation. After inspecting the premises and interviewing the concerned persons, Inspector Evans also concluded that entry had not been made.
On Monday, 06/20/77, Inspector Michael Byrnes of the Crime Lab, responded to 325 Pacific. The window lock had been removed and replaced with a new lock by that time. Because of the time lapse, physical condition of the building and the number of persons that have visited the scene, Inspector Byrnes was unable to determine if the pry marks on the window frame and sill were of recent origin. After being given a description of the position and condition of the window lock, Inspector Byrnes concluded that if entry had been made the lock would have had to be pieced together after the window was closed and the exit made through the front door. It would seem logical that if someone made entry and pieced
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the lock together, they would also have made sure that any folders they touched would have been returned to the file cabinet exactly as found and not an “inch or so higher than the rest of the folders.” No other files were disturbed.
The only useable physical evidence were palm prints and fingerprints located on the outside of the lower windowpane. A search of our files was started immediately. Meanwhile, fingerprints were requested of all the New West employees to determine if they have touched the window. On Friday, 06/24/77, Mr. Jon Carroll of the New West Magazine, responded to the Hall of Justice to be printed. His prints match those on the window. Mr. Carroll was interviewed by Inspector Evans and stated that he had been working late on Monday, June 13, 1977, finishing an article for the magazine. He went to the men’s room and locked himself out of the New West office. He then proceeded to the third floor and located Mr. Tom Cook, Sedway and Cook, who suggested he use the fire escape to get back into the office. According to both Mr. Cook and Mr. Carroll, Carroll went down the fire escape, found the window unlocked and let himself into the New West office. This accounts for Carroll’s prints being on the window.
From the indentations on the window frame and sill, it is apparent that someone used a pry tool on the window but it cannot be determined how recently.
It is the conclusion of the investigating officer that because of the lack of physical evidence entry was not made to the New West office between 06/16/77, 1830 hours, and 6/17/77, 0900 hours.
The investigating officer recommends that the classification of this remain as attempted burglary.
Respectfully submitted,
[signed] John A. Mahoney
Captain John A. Mahoney
Commanding Officer
Property Crimes Division
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x-4-e-5 – e-11
[Newspaper coverage of the New West “break-in”]
e-5 – e-6: “New West is burglarized,” San Francisco Examiner, June 17, 1977
e-7: “[Police Chief Charles] Gain orders probe of New West burglary,” San Francisco Examiner, June 18, 1977
e-8: “Break-In at Magazine,” San Francisco Chronicle, June 18, 1977
e-9 – e-10: “Cops Dubious of Magazine Break-in,” San Francisco Chronicle, June 30, 1977
e-11: “Police say no break-in at New West,” San Francisco Examiner, June 30, 1977
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PART SIX
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND INFORMATION TO THE MEDIA/GOVERNMENT ALLIANCE IN THE SMEAR CAMPAIGN AGAINST PEOPLES TEMPLE
II. SECTION 1
ORIGINAL NEW WEST ARTICLE AND CHRONICLE/EXAMINER FEATURES USING “YELLOW JOURNALISM”
III. SECTION 2
MEDIA CAMPAIGN AGAINST PEOPLES TEMPLE TIME TO AUGMENT CONSERVATIVE ATTACK ON MAYOR GEORGE MOSCONE’S ADMINISTRATION
IV. SECTION 3
MEDIA ATTEMPT TO IMPUGN PEOPLES TEMPLE THROUGH INSINUATION IN WRONGDOING IN A SUICIDE CASE AND IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS
V. SECTION 4
DIRECT LINKS BETWEEN MEDIA CAMPAIGN AND CONSERVATIVE/REACTIONARY FORCES
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VI. SECTION 5
MORE ARTICLES DESCRIBING HOW THE PRESS PUSHED STATE AND LOCAL AUTHORITIES TO INVESTIGATE THE TEMPLE
VII. SECTION 6
FALSE MEDIA ALLEGATIONS THAT TEMPLE MEMBERS HAD “ABDUCTED” CHILDREN
VIII. SECTION 7
ARTICLES THAT HAVE APPEARED IN SUPPORT OF REV. JONES AND THE TEMPLE MINISTRY
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INTRODUCTION
For months a frenzied, bizarre campaign has been carried on in the local press portraying Peoples Temple as a “cruel, exploitative organization.” The accusations against the Temple and Jim Jones have been rehashed a hundred times. Those who have closely followed the attacks have recognized, in the words of one noted columnist, that there is “a lot of smoke, but no smoking gun.” What has become evident, behind the smokescreen of flimsy, unsubstantiated accusations that pose as “news”, is a well-orchestrated and well-financed effort to destroy Peoples Temple.
This conspiracy has employed, in our experience, a tactic that was used extensively in the McCarthy period and that was borrowed from a man who brought it to a state of great refinement several decades ago: Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels. According to Goebbels, the first step in destroying an individual or organization is to use the press to lay down a relentless, brutal barrage of bad publicity. The tactic is to create, through almost daily repetition of the “despicable
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acts” or “crimes” of the person or group (usually in the form of unsubstantiated charges) a prejudicial requirement of public disfavor, tearing down trust, reputation, sowing confusion. The flimsier the charges, the more they are rehashed: this is the special quality of McCarthyism. (Senator Eagleton, in speaking of the Lance Affair, called it “guilt by accumulation.”)
Throughout, people are given to believe that they have been “used” or “tricked” or “really didn’t know” what was “going on inside the Temple… behind those locked doors.” The press becomes a kind of preliminary tribunal in which the target is accused, given the aura of guilt, tried and convicted in the court of “public opinion,” as manipulated by the collaborators in the media who are pursuing the “investigation.” Through the form of innuendo, faceless accusers, coerced testimony, distortions, and lies, a form of “judgment” is pronounced. The public has been treated to this travesty hundreds of times over the years.
Peoples Temple, perhaps the most progressive and active church congregation in the nation, is being attacked by reactionary forces using this tried-and-true methodology. The campaign is, as previous chapters have shown, sparked by agents and operatives in the government, along with the collaboration of several persons in the media. (An article in the October 20, 1977, Rolling Stone sheds more light on the
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use of reporters as agents.)
The section will attempt to document, by use of a few of the articles that appeared in local and national press from late July up to the present, how extensively the print media has been used to unjustly accuse, try, and condemn Jim Jones and Peoples Temple. We are still looking into the connections with government agencies and funding from reactionary sources that these few reporters and their collaborators have.
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Section 1
This section includes the original New West article on Peoples Temple by Marshall Kilduff, Phil Tracy and George Klineman. The New West article was followed within two weeks by a major five-page “smear” in both the San Francisco Chronicle and Examiner. By August 9, an article appeared in the Religion Section of Newsweek. The final article in this section is an editorial by Carlton Goodlett, medical doctor, newspaper publisher (San Francisco Sun Reporter), and President of the National Newspaper Publishers’ Association. He critically analyzes the totally unsubstantiated allegations made by a sensationalistic and irresponsible press.
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x-4-e-18a – 18f
[Editor’s Note: The New West article in both PDF and text formats appears here.]
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x-4-e-19a – 22
[Post-New West article coverage of Peoples Temple.]
e-19a – 19e: “Rev. Jones: The power broker,” San Francisco Examiner & Chronicle, August 7, 1977
e-20: “Temple Trouble,” Newsweek, August 9, 1977
e-21-22: “Inside The Peoples Temple ‘Expose’,” The Sun Reporter, July 21, 1977
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Section 2
The New West article was held for publication until just two weeks before the August 2 District Elections of Supervisors, a new referendum in the City of San Francisco. A fierce political battle was waged between Supervisor John Barbagellata and other incumbent supervisors and Mayor George Moscone. The New West article portrayed Peoples Temple and Rev. Jones as “politically potent” and as “power brokers” in the City, and pictured Rev. Jones with Mayor Moscone and other dignitaries from both city and state levels. The release of the article was deliberately timed to discredit Mayor George Moscone; the Mayor had appointed Rev. Jones to a seat on the San Francisco Housing Commission. The politically conservative or reactionary ties of the authors of the New West article further reinforces the evidence that the press attacks have been well-planned and coordinated, well-financed, and highly questionable in their origins.
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x-4-e-24 – 25
[“Politics Behind New West Attack on Peoples Temple,” Berkeley Barb, July 22-28, 1977]
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[Letterhead of the Office of the Mayor, San Francisco]
Contact: Corey Busch, 415-558-3755
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 26, 1977
San Francisco Mayor George R. Moscone today issued the following statement concerning recent allegations against the Rev. Jim Jones:
“I have read the recent well-publicized article concerning the Rev. Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple and find it to be a series of allegations with absolutely no hard evidence that the Rev. Jones has violated any laws, either local, state, or federal.
“I will not comment upon the alleged practices of the Temple, as it is not my habit to be a religious commentator. If anyone in San Francisco or anywhere, and that includes the authors of the article and political leaders who expressed concern about the matter, have any evidence that the Rev. Jones has broken the law, then it is his or her absolute obligation and duty to bring that to the attention of the appropriate law enforcement officials.
“The Mayor’s Office does not and will not conduct any investigation into the Rev. Jones nor the Peoples Temple. We are not equipped nor inclined to conduct such investigations, and those who call for us to do so know that.
“Insofar as the Rev. Jones’ appointment to the Housing Authority is concerned, let me say that I asked him to serve on that board because I believe he would work hard on behalf of the City and that he would be fair in dealing with the important matters that come before that body. He has done just that in his tenure on the Commission.
“Furthermore, he was confirmed for that post by the Board of Supervisors who had the absolute responsibility under the advise
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JULY 26, 1977
and consent doctrine to satisfy themselves as to the Rev. Jones’ ability to serve this City prior to their voting unanimous confirmation.
“I see no reason to take any action in the light of allegations which carry with them no proof that any laws have been broken.”
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x-4-e-27 – 30
[Additional news articles on political influence of Peoples Temple in San Francisco.]
e-27: “Mayor rejects demand to probe Rev. Jones,” San Francisco Examiner, July 26, 1977
e-28: “Kopp wants a check on Rev. Jones,” San Francisco Examiner, July 26, 1977
e-29 – e-30: “Propositions A and B: An Editorial,” San Francisco Progress, July 27, 1977
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Section 3
The New West “break-in” story has not been the only attempt to impugn Peoples Temple through media attacks. Included in this section are two press stories which insinuated wrongdoing in which both pushed for and eventually led to investigations. The first issue, pick up by Phil Tracy in New West and carried on by Marshall Kilduff in the San Francisco Chronicle, concerned a young man who was never a member of Peoples Temple and who was never more than remotely involved with church services or programs. He knew of the Temple because his family lived in the Ukiah area. Members know him as a sensitive though troubled youth. He had received $10,000 from an insurance policy after a serious motorcycle accident which he donated to the Temple ministry. In October, 1975, the young man committed suicide. Two years later, under the pressure from press agents who were attempting to find something to “pin” on Peoples Temple, a second inquest was held in Los Angeles. Witnesses to the tragic event and medical examiners were summoned to court purely because of press agents’ insistence. October 20, the coroner’s jury upheld the death was by suicide. The “Strange Suicide” story was covered for the Chronicle by “Our Correspondent” from Los Angeles. The correspondent was Marshall Kilduff.
Another story given heightened media coverage in local papers was that Temple high school students “dominated” the school most of them attended. The articles were ludicrous,
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but nonetheless maligned the Temple in the public eye. As with the other such trumped-up allegations, the rebuttal statements were given low-key, low priority coverage.
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x-4-e-33 – 39
e-33: “A prophet heads south with profit,” Toronto Star, September 4, 1977
e-34: “Inquests in Death of Peoples Temple Man,” San Francisco Chronicle, October 4, 1977
e-35 – e-36: “Mysterious suicides may be linked to Peoples Temple,” Santa Rosa Press-Democrat, August 9, 1977
e-37: “Death by Suicide Finding is Upheld,” San Francisco Chronicle, October 21, 1977
e-38 – e-39: “Temple dominated city school,” San Francisco Progress, August 3, 1977
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[Undated press statement by Yvonne Golden, Coordinator, Opportunity II Senior High School. A more legible version of this statement appears below at x-4-e-56.]
The vendetta against Reverend Jim Jones is not a new story. History is replete with examples of the persecution of those who challenge the status quo. At one level, Reverend Jim Jones should feel a sense of pride in being immersed into the ocean of a most distinguished community of humanity – or justice, and not expediency, is the good to be pursued; where the legitimate interests of the many, and not the whim of the few, is the mandate of the day; where truth, and not consistency, is the goal to be achieved, and where courage is one of the exacting prices for peace of mind.
No less a stalwart than Martin Luther King found his entry into the so-called political arena, by speaking out against the US involvement in the Vietnam War, invoked the absolute wrath of the well-organized army of apologists for the status quo. Only the blind, deaf, the dumb, and the apologists fail to see the compulsive relationship between the latest avalanche of inconsistencies, half-truths, and outright lies against the Reverend Jim Jones and the upcoming elections in San Francisco.
We who support Reverend Jim Jones will continue to stand by him. We find solace in the eloquence of Thomas Paine:
“Tyranny like hell is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.”
/s/ Yvonne S. Golden
Yvonne Scarlett Golden
Coordinator, Opportunity II Senior High School
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[“Temple Students Favoritism Denied,” San Francisco Chronicle, August 18, 1977]
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Section 4
Other articles we have received point directly to a conspiracy behind the attacks on the Temple. The Toronto Star and the London Observer both carried a highly libelous article (included here) about Peoples Temple, Rev. Jones, and the mission in Guyana. The intensity of the articles is alarming enough, but the fact that they were printed in the two cities where the largest populations of Guyanese are located outside the country leads to one conclusion: a well-coordinated effort is being made to discredit and run interference with the Temple’s Guyana project.
In the article carried in the Sebastopol Times, the identity of George Klineman, former Star editor and recent co-author with Kilduff and Tracy in the New West and subsequent articles, is revealed. We have learned that Mr. Klineman’s connections are highly questionable. His involvement with the Ku Klux Klan and American Nazis was made imminently clear several years ago when he was one of the persons involved with the Nazi assault on Ms. Yvonne Golden, member of the San Francisco School Board and Black Teachers’ Caucus. Mr. Klineman’s further connections to the anti-Temple campaign are revealed in the Art Silverman article to the Berkeley Barb.
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In his own investigation of our claims that a conspiracy lies behind the media attacks on the Temple, Art Silverman came up with some alarming evidence. In his article “A Conspiracy Behind Peoples Temple Expose?” Silverman revealed that Joseph Mazor (see Part V) was first employed to investigate the Temple in November, 1976, eight months before the publication of the first New West article. Mazor refused to say who had retained him. Mazor did say he is currently employed by “several” former Temple members, including Elmer and Deanna Mertle, the original sources for the New West article (see Part I).
Silverman also learned that Mazor hired one of the largest public relations firms in San Francisco and asked them to coordinate a publicity campaign against the Temple and Jim Jones. Bob Kenney, an account executive at Lowry, Russom and Leeper, confirmed that he has been working for Mazor “on this Peoples Temple project, showing him how to handle the media.” Kenney’s work for Mazor reportedly included sending out letters to selective journalists, offering them – through Mazor – exclusive material of an incriminating nature against Peoples Temple. Silverman also learned that David Conn and George Klineman (both of whom were involved with the writing of the New West article and the subsequent press conference), also approached various police and governmental agencies last fall, offering
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them witnesses and documents with which to attack Peoples Temple.
A question of overriding importance must be raised: a high-powered public relations firm, attorneys, reporters, and a highly questionable private investigator have all been working on this “project” as early as November of last year. The only source name for the retention of their services has been Deanna and Elmer Mertle, who in turn accused the Temple of “taking all they had.” WHO HAS COORDINATED AND WHO HAS FINANCED THIS ELABORATELY ORCHESTRATED SMEAR CAMPAIGN?
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x-4-e-45 – 52
[Newspaper articles on attacks on Peoples Temple, with Temple responses]
e-45: “Opinion: Ernest V. Joiner,” [publication and date illegible]
e-46 – e-48: “Charles Garry: The Streetfighter Of The Courtroom Tells His Story,” Berkeley Barb, August 26, 1977
e-49a – e-49c: “A Conspiracy Behind Peoples Temple Expose?” Berkeley Barb, September 23, 1977
e-50: “Conspiracy to destroy Peoples Temple?” Ukiah Daily Journal, September 9, 1977
e-51: “Attack on Peoples Temple hit,” People’s World, September 17, 1977
e-52: “Herb Caen: Pocketful of Notes,” San Francisco Chronicle, September 1, 1977
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x-4-e-53
[Editor’s note: This letter also appears at LL-2-c-1 – c-3 on this page.]
[California Lieutenant Governor letterhead]
October 27, 1977
Honorable Forbes Burnham
Prime Minister
Georgetown, Guyana
South America
Dear Mr. Burnham:
I want to share with you a matter of great concern to me.
The concept of a politically motivated conspiracy directed against an individual or organization in an attempt to discredit and destroy one’s effectiveness in the political and social arena should be utterly foreign to a democratic society. Unfortunately, however, such is not the case.
Having myself been the subject of an ungrounded attack by the media and other agencies, I have first hand experience as to how such campaigns against outspoken persons are launched and carried forward.
Recently, the Lieutenant Governor of Colorado, Lieutenant Governor George Brown, and I joined the National Association of Human Rights Workers to announce the publication of an exhaustive study of organized efforts in the United States to discredit black elected officials. In looking at the extensive body of data compiled after two years of careful research, the picture is unmistakably clear that conspiracies against black and third world people are very real and serve to blunt the effectiveness of any person trying to represent the interest of third world people.
One such person to whom the media and several agencies of government have deliberately and concertedly focussed their resources is one of the most committed activists and finest human beings I know — Reverend Jim Jones. Reverend Jones is the leader of a multi-ethnic, multi-faceted, many thousand member organization known as Peoples Temple. It is one of the most significant forces today in the area of human rights, social change and concrete service work.
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Page two
October 27, 1977
It is my belief that by the year 1980 the minority population in California alone will reach the 60% mark. Peoples Temple is a working solution to the problem that California can anticipate in the not so far distant future. Peoples Temple has managed to effectively organize minority and caucasians as well, into a viable, progressive force.
A noteworthy feature of the Temple’s program is its compassionate emphasis on the needs of the ever growing senior population. This emphasis accurately reflects the shifting age curve of the future and meets that need with kindness not condescension.
Beyond that, Reverend Jones and Peoples Temple have helped every person who in recent years has been oppressed or jailed fundamentally because of his or her political beliefs. Jim has never been reticent to speak his beliefs in non-violent causes.
It is my confirmed opinion that this outspoken stance coupled with the undeniable size and effectiveness of his organization, has made him a target of the most gruelling and vicious conspiracy yet witnessed.
That which I know to be obvious, lies and frame-up, are presented to the public as thoroughly proven facts. Interestingly enough, the scurrilous nature of these lies were meted out to papers in those cities throughout the world which has the highest concentration of Caribbean and, in particular, Guyanese residents. By doing so, the organizers of this conspiracy hoped to have such information filter into Guyana where Reverent Jones has established a remarkable and highly successful model community which I personally have visited. I found that visit to be one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.
One of the key figures in this cruel scenery is a man with a well documented criminal background who has been described by several correctional specialists as a “con man” with an insatiable desire for money and notoriety. Also involved is a high priced public relations firm whose job is to map out campaigns to discredit Reverend Jones and feed information prepackaged to a supposedly free and “objective” press.
It is clear to me that a phenomenal amount of money is being spent by this conspiracy in an attempt to destabilize the agricultural project in Guyana and to apparently, bring about the elimination of Reverend Jones.
Evidence currently being gathered points clearly to right wing forces of the first magnitude. One such force is known to have political affiliation with those remnants of the Nazis who continue
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Page three
October 27, 1977
to permeate the fabric of American society to a degree that would shock people unfamiliar with the growing move to radical right in the United States.
In fact, the last time I visited the San Francisco Headquarters of the Peoples Temple several weeks ago, a large Nazi rally was taking place in the nearby city of San Jose. It was covered extensively by all media. Klu Klux Klan chapters continue to grow and flourish in all parts of the United States. It is likely that the Panama Treaty will be defeated as a result of the well financed campaign against its passage. These are but a few examples to give you some idea of the current trend.
As a native of Trinidad, my bonds with the Caribbean are close and everlasting. I feel a certain responsibility to apprise you of my thoughts on Jim Jones and my interpretation of what I have seen of the attack on him and his organization in the past months. Jim is a deeply loyal and sensitive person and he is a man who stands by his word and by those who look to him for guidance and leadership. It is this kind of loyalty that makes him a man to be trusted. I know for a fact that he will stand by his commitment to Guyana just as firmly as he now stands by his commitment to any one of his children.
I look forward to future visits to Guyana and extend to you my warmest personal regards.
Sincerely,
[signature]
Mervyn M. Dymally
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x-4-e-56
[Undated press statement by Yvonne Golden, Coordinator, Opportunity II Senior High School.]
The vendetta against Reverend Jim Jones is not a new story. History is replete with examples of the persecution of those who challenge the status quo. At one level, Reverend Jim Jones should feel a sense of pride in being immersed into the ocean of a most distinguished community of humanity – or justice, and not expediency, is the good to be pursued; where the legitimate interests of the many, and not the whim of the few, is the mandate of the day; where truth, and not consistency, is the goal to be achieved, and where courage is one of the exacting prices for peace of mind.
No less a stalwart than Martin Luther King found his entry into the so-called political arena, by speaking out against the US involvement in the Vietnam War, invoked the absolute wrath of the well-organized army of apologists for the status quo. Only the blind, deaf, the dumb, and the apologists fail to see the compulsive relationship between the latest avalanche of inconsistencies, half-truths, and outright lies against the Reverend Jim Jones and the upcoming elections in San Francisco.
We who support Reverend Jim Jones will continue to stand by him. We find solace in the eloquence of Thomas Paine:
“Tyranny like hell is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.”
/s/ Yvonne S. Golden
Yvonne Scarlett Golden
Coordinator, Opportunity II Senior High School
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x-4-e-57
[Letterhead of Peoples Temple San Francisco]
November 16, 1977
Reg Murphy, Editor
The San Francisco Examiner
110 Fifth Street
San Francisco, CA. 94103
AN OPEN LETTER TO THE EDITOR OF THE SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER
Dear Mr. Murphy:
Since July, 1977, with the onset of a rash of media attacks from a New West magazine article, the Peoples Temple has been subjected to a harassment campaign by some of the media which is almost unprecedented in its intensity and viciousness. The malicious, unsubstantiated charges have been proven to be the work of an orchestrated, well-organized and premeditated campaign to destroy a politically progressive church. We know McCarthyism when we see it, and we have no cause for shame. We are being attacked because of our egalitarian beliefs, because of our socialist lifestyle, and most of all because of the immense effectiveness Jim Jones and the Temple have had in championing human rights and social justice. We have helped practically every political prisoner in the United States, reached out to everyone who is oppressed, organized the poor and given them a voice. For the first time we have given some corporate power to the little man and that’s an unforgiveable sin to the corporate elite. Thus, we have become the object of relentless pressure from some of the media and targeted by a government/media conspiracy for-destruction.
As a congregation we are no strangers to persecution. Our church has been burned to the ground twice, our animals viciously maimed and killed, our senior members suffered
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– 2 –
prank calls night after night, and our very lives threatened with bombs under a bus, firebombs and attempted assassinations on our leader himself. Despite all this, and despite the outrageous charges of the press, we have remained thoroughly intact and more determined than ever to show both here and in Guyana that racial, social, and economic equality can and does work.
The attacks by some of the media have been low and sickening from the start. We who have championed a free press and supported the media in their hour of need, are tired and utterly sickened at what we feel to be an outrageous abuse of media responsibility. We have refused to believe that we could not get fair play from the press. But this latest article has all but convinced us that in your paper, at least, we will only be misrepresented and maligned. Peoples Temple, too, mourned the death of a good person in Bob Houston. He was a devoted member of our church who contributed his earnings because he believed in the work the Temple does. He was not a “yes man” but an articulate leader, a member of the Board of Directors, and respected. It is this very article that smears the memory of a good person and what he stood for.
Your “news” story bears only the slightest resemblance to truth. In your zeal to portray Peoples Temple in a bad light, you printed an outrageously biased article which offends those of us who knew Bob Houston well over the past seven years. For one thing, he worked two jobs from the time he was in college, several years before he had any association with the Temple. In fact, when he continued to do this years later, it was Rev. Jones who encouraged him to give up one of his jobs to reduce the strain upon him. It was Bob’s desire to persist. The Houston grandchildren are another case in point. They have been writing their grandparents faithfully. The grandparents can visit the children, who are happily residing in Guyana with their mother’s full approval, any time they please. That is a matter of record, a record of which the reporter was aware but chose not to print. Charles Garry, the Temple’s attorney, talked with the reporter for a full hour, and Phyllis Houston, the children’s mother, talked to him for a half-hour about the fullness and security of life the children are leading in Guyana. A few short statements, lost amidst scurrilous allegations, are all that found their way into print.
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x-4-e-59
-3-
When a ruthless conspiracy was exposed at the source of the media attacks against the Temple, the Examiner itself reported some of the details. Light was shed on some of the devious and unscrupulous individuals who engineered this travesty of truth that some of the media was attempting to pass off as fact. Friday, September 9th, the Examiner wrote: “Indian leader Dennis Banks produced an affidavit in which he claimed he was approached by a man named David Conn, who said he was working with government agencies, and who advised him to denounce Jim Jones in exchange for favorable consideration in his extradition troubles.” Conn identified himself as working with the Treasury Department and the IRS. The Progress and the Berkeley Barb reported that Conn was identified as a close friend of Elmer and Deanna Mertle, the latter (aka Jeanie Mills) whom the Examiner felt free to quote as a source in the Houston article this weekend. The plot has evidently sucked in many. It is by no means a new tactic. Sacco and Vanzetti, the Scottsboro Boys, the Rosenbergs, Martin Luther King and numerous Black elected officials – the list goes on and on – all have known what it is to be tried, convicted and hung in the “court of public opinion”.
In Guyana, we have the new society which progressive leaders in this country have gone down for. We have equality, dignity, and renewed purpose. We have the best of food, housing, and education, and the most sophisticated medical clinic and doctor’s care, and a challenging and productive job for everyone. No one handed it to us on a silver platter. We worked for it and our leader, especially, Jim Jones has worked so hard day and night throughout the years that a small fraction of it could not be told. We have “the better life”, a visible solution to economically and racially torn America, on our own land, for our own people. What Charles Garry and hundreds of officials from America and many nations who have visited the agricultural project have said is unequivocally true: It is paradise. It is a model to be emulated around the world.
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x-4-e-60
– 4 –
If this good news were given as much attention and publicity in the press as the negation of our work has received, we wonder then who would win in the court of public opinion. .
We deny all the distorted allegations, half-truths, “innuendoes, and outright lies made against us.’ We, the undersigned, represent the members of Peoples Temple who demand that an apology is in order. If reason does not succeed, then we will begin litigation.
Signed,
S.L. Bradshaw, member
Jim McElvane, member
Timothy Clancey, member
Yvonne Golden, supporter
Christine Vasquez, supporter
——
x-4-e-61
Section 5
This section includes more articles demonstrating the persistence with which media pushed state and local officials into investigating Peoples Temple. Mayor Moscone was pressured by Supervisor Quentin Kopp to conduct an investigation, and the press threw suspicion on Rev. Jones’ record as Housing Commission Chairman. Jones’ record as Housing Commission Chairman.State Department of Health was prompted to look into the allegations; Elmer and Deanna Mertle (see Part I) filed suit in Superior Court accusing the Temple (which had fed, housed and supported their family for over six years) of “ending up with everything I had.” Allegations of care home mismanagement and property “swindles” pushed San Francisco and Mendocino County District Attorney Offices to investigate. State-level investigations were also activated.
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x-4-e-62 – e-67
[Newspaper articles]
e-62 – e-63: “Jones quits housing board: Churchman sends message from Guyana,” San Francisco Examiner, August 4, 1977
e-64: “SF Temple accused of home care offenses,” San Francisco Examiner, July 20, 1977
e-65: “$1.1 Million Suit Against Rev. Jones,” San Francisco Chronicle, August 31, 1977
e-66: “DA Probing Rev. Jim Jones, Peoples Temple,” San Francisco Chronicle, illegible date
e-67: “Herb Caen: Bay Area Rapid Turkey,” San Francisco Chronicle, September 9, 1977
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x-4-e-68
Section 6
Articles have persisted in accusing the Temple of abducting children and taking them away from their parents or guardians to Guyana. As Bob Graham of the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office stated, however, “Every case referred to us for investigation had someone giving consent, parents or guardians.”
Of those children mentioned in the attached articles, Earnestine Glazier was living in San Francisco and her grandmother’s custody. The court had determined the mother unfit. The press, however, chose to champion Lanie Martin as a mother deprived of her daughter’s custody by the Temple.
Larry Tupper Jr. is with his mother in Guyana. Mark Sly is with his father. Vincent Lopez, also cited by the press as a questionable custody case, was abandoned by his guardian and left on the Temple premises for months with no word or financial assist from the “anonymous” warden. Paul and Patricia Petit are with their mother in San Francisco.
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x-4-e-69 – e-70
[Newspaper articles]
e-69: “Judge’s Order To Peoples Temple Chief,” San Francisco Chronicle, July 20, 1977
e-70: “Members Leave SF Commune,” Monterey Peninsula Herald, August 18, 1977
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x-4-e-71
Section 7
Included here are some articles which came out in defense of the Temple. There was actually a very large number of leaders from religious, political and community organizations who spoke out on behalf of Rev. Jones and Temple human service works in the community and abroad. However, very few of these statements, even when issued to all print and electronic media, were carried before the public. When Triple press releases or letters were published, they were largely abridged. Our only recourse for making our own side of the story was through our own newspaper, the Peoples Forum.
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x-4-e-72 – e-85
[Newspaper articles]
e-72: “Guyana Commune A Startling Success,” Barstow Desert Dispatch, August 10, 1977
e-73: “Pastor a Charlatan to Some, a Philosopher to Wife,” New York Times, September 2, 1977
e-74 – e-78: “Strong Support Shown For Peoples Temple,” The Sun Reporter, August 11, 1977
e-79: “Peoples Temple Families Complain,” San Francisco Chronicle, August 11, 1977
e-80 – e-81: “Temple children back with guardians,” San Francisco Progress, August 12, 1977
e-82 – e-84: “An exodus of children?: Peoples Temple Communes Look Empty,” San Francisco Progress, July 31, 1977
e-85: “Ex-Peoples Temple Member: Grim Report From Jungle,” San Francisco Chronicle, June 15, 1978
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x-4-e-86
[Letterhead of law offices of Charles Garry]
May 27, 1978
Editor
San Francisco Examiner
110 Fifth Street
San Francisco, California
Re: Libel and Misrepresentation of the Peoples Temple
Dear Editor:
This is a demand for a retraction of your headline on page 5 Friday, May 26, 1978, your three-star edition, which states: “REPORT OF PEOPLES TEMPLE TERROR.” This entire headline, which in itself is libelous and scandalous, has been reported in a very careless and reckless manner. It is malicious per se. You completely ignored for the actual and true facts were.
On Friday afternoon a representative from the Temple called your paper and asked for Mr. Reiterman, and when she was told that he was not in, the representative from the Temple said “give me a reporter.” A reporter responded and would not give his name, and he said, “I’m a reporter.” We attended to give him the following quote by Minister Vibert Mingo, Minister of Home Affairs of Guyana:
“We investigated and found her statements to be totally untrue, and that she lied to gain entry into the country, which is a violation of our law.”
The representative from the Temple told the reporter, who did not seem to be interested, that the above information was received by telephone from Georgetown, Guyana.
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x-4-e-87 – e-90
[Newspaper articles]
e-87: “Report of Peoples Temple terror,” San Francisco Examiner, May 26, 1978
e-88 – e-89: “The Wrath of Peoples Temple,” San Francisco Chronicle, August 19, 1977
e-90: “TV station probes 7-year-old suicide,” Ukiah Journal, July 29, 1977