THE CRISIS THAT AMORC HAD IN 1918 NARRATED BY RALPH LEWIS

About this event, Ralph Lewis, the son of Harvey Spencer Lewis, in his book "Cosmic Mission Fulfilled" wrote the following:

 

« The publication of the first AMORC magazine “The American Rosae Crucis" in January 1916 drew applause from members and non-members who were lucky to get a few of its few copies, but again the specter of the economic problem arose.

 

The Supreme Council of AMORC decided that funds should be raised to purchase the necessary equipment for printing and binding. That should be achieved by issuing substantial interest-bearing bonds to members, bonds that would mature within ten years.

 

After the legal proceedings were completed, these bonds were sold to the members and a considerable sum of money amounting to several thousand dollars had been obtained.

 

(Cid's remark: at that time that was a lot of money, but Lewis did not issue those bonds to buy the material to produce his magazine, but to buy the property where he had installed his AMORC organization.)

 

Then came the calamity that had far-reaching repercussions on Lewis's life.

 

A certain member had been responsible for the direction of the funds, that is, the deposit and payment of the accounts that were presented, but several days passed and this guy did not show up.

 

Alarmed, Lewis tried to contact him at his home, but to his dismay he discovered that this member had left his home permanently for several days without saying where he was going. All indications pointed to this individual having appropriated the funds. Efforts to locate him were futile. Later, an extensive investigation showed that the alleged offender had left for Canada without announcing his intention to do so. He was never heard from again, nor was a lead on the lost funds.

 

AMORC's financial future was made more embarrassing by these circumstances. The bonds earned 6% annual interest for those who held them. It was a moral and legal obligation for the Order to support that gain. Besides, they were to be paid off in full in ten years, and the debts had not yet been paid off and looked as if they would never be paid off. This situation hindered the continuation of the establishment of the printing press and the spread of the activities of the Rosicrucian Order, AMORC,

 

(Cid's remark: this is false because the magazine "The American Rosae Crucis" continued to be published without problems until February 1917.)

 

 

Furthermore, when the United States declared war on Germany, Germany had a large passenger ship belonging to one of its companies moored at the New York docks. This ship was one of the numerous German ships that made the crossing of the Atlantic.

 

Immediately after the formal declaration of war, and in accordance with established practice, the United States confiscated German properties in the country, and one of those properties was the gigantic German ocean liner called the Imperator.

 

(Cid's remark: this is false because this ocean liner was called Vaterland.)

 

 

 

The word "Imperator" on that particular occasion only had a meaning for certain simple, naive, misinformed and often jingoistic individuals. For them the term implied a connection with Germany. And from there it turned out that the word "Imperator" for this type of people seemed to them to be a link between AMORC and the nation with which the United States was at war.

 

In their enthusiasm, and hoping to prove their zeal to their superiors, the NYPD obtained a search warrant and seized AMORC's main offices, all due to the title "Imperator".

 

Imperator Lewis was brought before the district official whose ignorance had allowed this gross violation. The press took up the incident and publicized it in the heat of war fervor and fever.

 

But it was a simple thing to explain the history of the word "Imperator" and how it had been used for centuries by the Order, and had nothing to do with the war with Germany.

 

Presented with the facts, the officials, no doubt embarrassed, verbally apologized to Lewis and the files that had been confiscated were immediately returned.

 

It should have been clear to the authorities then that a subversive organization should not be so naive as to openly use a name that had a military significance.

 

Newspapers had thought they had uncovered an espionage organization and had taken a long-standing turn against the Order, but fell silent when indicted on the stupidity of the act . »

(Chapters 10 and 11, excerpts)

 

 

 

 

 

 

OBSERVATIONS

 

Here Ralph Lewis tells several falsehoods and the main one is that Harvey Spencer Lewis was brought before the district official because his title of Imperator made ignorant people believe that he was a German spy, but in reality Spencer Lewis was brought to justice because several AMORC members accused him of scamming them.

 

And that is what the newspapers reported (see link).

 

I have not seen any newspaper that talked about espionage, which is a lie invented by Ralph Lewis.

 

And before this fact one wonders:

 

Why did Ralph Lewis invent that?

 

Why didn't he tell the truth?

 

That makes me doubt even more about his story that an AMORC member took all the money and gives me the impression that Ralph Lewis wanted to hide what really happened.