Part V of Chapter Four of this Book.

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PERSONAL ATTACKS—COUNTER-CHARGES
The Virgil Rankin Suit
Its Revelations Are Astounding
As the priestly head of his fraternal racket he received a con- fidential communication from the wife of Virgil Rankin, his former advertising agent, and with the gross and unforgivable betrayal of that confidence he used the communication to bring about the arrest and imprisonment of her husband. After the District At- torney investigated the facts of the case he dismissed the charges preferred by the Lewis Hierarchy.
Rankin sued AMORC, Lewis’ fraternal racket, for False Arrest and Imprisonment. The case was tried in San Jose before a jury of his neighbors. His contemptible, obnoxious and disgusting conduct as a priest was fully developed in the trial of the case. We do not know what his neighbors thought in particular as they sat on that jury and viewed his disgraceful acts—unworthy of a man. Perhaps they thought of buzzards and skunks, and other Joathesome things. But we do know what they thought in general, as is clearly indicated by their verdict for $21,000.00 against AMORC, the Lewis Hierarchy, consisting of $10,000.00 com- pensatory or actual damage, and $11,000.00 punitive damages, assessed to punish him for his unforg.vable and abhorrent conduct as a “‘priest’’—or, to be exact, for pretending to be a priest and soiling the vestments of that high office.
A Lewistonian Phantom
(11) This is a phantom born of hatred and revenge, existing only in his imagination. We have never invented and offered for sale “‘strange medicines” that medical and scientific men have proven absurd and ridiculous. True, some of our medical teach- ings and practices have been ridiculed, but they have not been proven to be absurd or unscientific. On the contrary, those teach- ings, methods and remedies ridiculed most have been adopted by the Regular School of Medicine and are commonly accepted practices today.”
Even though our teachings, practices and our conduct as a
2 See our Answer to Mr. Lewis and the A. M. A. Article, heretofore referred to, pp. 39 to 42 inclusive.
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AN ANSWER(‘TO LEWIS WELLE BV?) sbOCGK ea
physician have nothing whatever to do with the case and are in no way connected with the charges against himself, which he pur- ports to answer in White Book D, yet he makes false statements concerning the article to which he refers and gross misrepresen- tation concerning ourselves as a physician for no purpose other than to detract attention from himself and the serious charges he has not and cannot answer. If all he says about us as a physician were true—which is not the case, but absolutely groundless—it would not excuse his culpable acts as a racketeer in brotherly love nor justify his fraternal swindle.
Rosicrucian Authority
(12) Knowing himself to be without Rosicrucian authority, laboring under the sting and disappointment of his complete defeat in the only contest in which he has ever dared to try that issue with us, and being unable to answer or to even make a plausible reply to our recent booklet, The Right to the Exclusive Use of Rosicrucian Names,’ he offers the remarkable statement in the paragraph marked “12” as a bit of ‘‘conscience salve” to soothe his aching heart, and as a substitute for an honest, straightforward reply a
If he had any doubt as to the authenticity of The Randolph Foundation of the Genuine Rosicrucian Fraternity in America or as to our being the legitimate successor of Dr. Randolph as Supreme Grand Master of the authentic Rose Cross Order in America, and if he had the slightest faith in his own pretensions to such authority, why did he not accept our offer for a full, fair and determinative investigation of our respective claims to such authority and our offer to retire from the field if it was found that he rightfully possessed such authority?* The answer is obvious. He possesses no such authority—his fraternal racket is a spurious and fraudulent R. C. Order, he knows it to be such and he does not dare to submit the issue to such an investigation and test as we proposed.’
3 Republished as Book Four, Volume I hereof.
4 Our offer is fully set forth in the Booklet, 4 Challenge and the Answer, republished as Book Three in Volume I. See also Chapter Seven, this Book, where his mosquito- bar subterfuges and apparent devices receive further consideration.
5 Those interested in making investigation into the authenticity of The Randolph Foundation of the Rosy Cross will find interesting material in the Monograph, Brotherhood of the Rosy Cross, or Book One, Volume I; Booklet, The Right to the
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Peo ON ASAT ACKS—COUNTER-CHARGES
Anything to Get Rid of Clymer
(13) It is apparent that Lewis will make any statement, without regard to the truth or of the facts, if he feels that it will injure, discredit or belittle us. In view of his unconscionable determination to destroy and put out of his way the official outer head of the authentic R. C. Order in America, it is astounding that he should admit that we have written and sold even so many as one thousand copies of our Rosicrucian books. “That was a grave error in his technique. Why did he not deny that we had ever written any book on the subject, or on any subject—false or true, in ignorance or with understanding?
As a matter of fact, we have written, published and sold more than forty different books, all cloth bound volumes, dealing with the true philosophy of the Rosicrucians and the authentic Fraternity. Some of them are now in their fourth editions. All in all, more than 500,000 copies of these books have been sold and read by more than three quarters of a million interested students of Rosicrucian philosophy and by the adherents of the true and genuine Order. We had published three editions of The Rosicrucians, Their Teach- ings,° as well as many other Rosicrucian Books, before Lewis fabricated and launched his spurious and fraudulent so-called R- C. Order, on All-Fools’ Day, 1915. Moreover, we have not found it necessary to admit that any part of our writings were in error; that had caused injury to others or that we had made a great mistake. See the Rosicrucian Digest, issue of July, 1936, wherein he expresses the wish that he could retract all that he said about Mount Shasta in his book on Lemuria. We shall have more to say on this subject later.
Rosicrucian Landmarks and Symbols (13) Surely the ignorance of a Rosicrucian concerning the land-
Exclusive Use of Rosicrucian Names, or Book Four, Volume I, and The Rosicrucians, Their Teachings, by the author. It is hoped that all those who are interested will make their own independent investigation of this and all other matters discussed in this book or in these volumes. We ask no one to blindly accept our statements. How- ever, we do ask that they make an honest, careful and intelligent investigation before they reject or ignore them.
6 See Booklet, Rosicrucian Names, Right to Exclusive Use, pp. 72 to 75, or Volume I, pp. 244 to 247. :
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AN ANSWER TO LEWIS’ WHITE (@) BOOK ba
marks, symbols, terms, principles and ideas of the Fraternity cannot be established by the gratuitous and spiteful testimony of a pseudo- Rosicrucian interested in perpetuating a spurious and fraudulent R. C. Order as a commercial enterprise, for which he ‘stole a Rosicrucian name, forged his alleged authority, manufactured, fabricated and plagiarized its so-called teachings; for which he has promulgated and constantly changes its “principles, ideals and landmarks”’ to suit his convenience and necessity. His reputation for truth and veracity as well as his interest and motives disqualify him; besides, his actual knowledge upon the subject has been shown to be entirely wanting by his own utterances and his practices. We prefer anid no doubt you will demand a more learned, understand- ing, honest and impartial judge.
Since he first fabricated his spurious and fraudulent R. C. Order, his pronouncements on matters Rosicrucian have been a loose, conglomerate of plausible falsehoods,. cunning deception, foolish non-Rosicrucian conceptions and contradictory statements made purely as a matter of expediency to suit his convenience or to serve the necessities of the hour, which will clearly appear in Chapter Five, where we will discuss his contradictions and inconsistencies.
He has violated every sacred principle and offended against every ideal of the real Order in the promotion of his commercial enterprise and in the operation of his occult and mystic swindle, fraudulently carried on in the holy name of this sacred Order. Concerning his knowledge of and practices relating to his so-called “Ancient landmarks,” his former Grand Treasurer said to and of him:
“You have attempted to ‘excommunicate’ all
members who questioned your acts without any
Italics Ours. opportunity to be heard or to defend themselves. You have made it an offense to criticise you.
“You glibly speak of ‘ancient landmarks’ when- ever you wish to justify an act. All members of fra-
The King Can ternal orders know what that implies and what its Do No Wrong. limitations are. You do not blush when you know His Changing ““Land- that, whatever these ancient landmarks may be,
marks’ Known to All. you have the sole knowledge and custody of them,
and in your case these ancient landmarks have evi- Accommodating denced the startling quality and pliability of accom- Landmarks. modating themselves to your varying purposes, and
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have often reversed themselves to meet your neces- sities.”
And this is the creature that presumes to pass judgment upon the Rosicrucian knowledge, principles and ideals of real Rosicru- cians! Shakespeare reminds us:
“But man, proud man, Dressed in a little brief authority, Most ignorant of what he’s most assur’d, His glassy essence like an angry ape, Plays such fantastic tricks before high heaven, As to make the angels weep.”
Symbols of Pagan Cults
(14) The reference to our extensive and colossal ignorance of Rosicrucian landmarks, symbols, terms, princip!es and ideals needs no further consideration other than to say with Lavater that: ‘He who gives himself of airs of importance exhibits the credentials of impudence.”
His statement that we have adopted and use ‘“‘symbols of old pagan cults” will be considered later in connection with his “Exhibit No. 2,’° when we shall consider, at some length, these “‘pagan symbols’? and his deep and surpassing understanding thereof. (!) However, when that subject is considered, we will show from his own published articles, compiled from many authentic sources on these “pagan symbols,” that he had the material and the means before him to learn the true significance of such symbols; that he should have known better and that he was not justified in making such a statement.
He believes, or at least asserts, that the official head of the August Fraternity in America “does not know where to contact a single genuine Rosicrucian center in Europe.’’ That would be strange if it were true—but it is not at all strange. It will, of course, be of interest—perhaps of surprising interest—to him to know that we are in constant touch with the genuine and authentic Rosicrucian Orders of Europe and elsewhere; that our fraternal relations with them are entirely satisfactory and wholesome; that
7 Measure for Measure, Act II, Scene 2. 8 Our Reproduction Number 34.
iss yal
AN ANSWER TO "LEWIS WHIDE -(:) sbOCkKe es
the avenues of Rosicrucian communications are kept open; that we are fully advised as to the spurious R. C. Orders abroad, many of which have been inspired or instituted by him, as a part of his gigantic fraternal racket and that the Grand Masters of the Rosi- crucian Orders in other lands have supplied us with evidence and documentary proof from their archives which, taken with that which we had in hand, is quite sufficient to establish the fraudulent nature of his fabricated, so-called R. C. Order.
As proof of these assertions we shall print herein fac-simile reproductions of some of the above-mentioned original documents? supplied from the archives of the fraternity abroad to refute his latest falsehoods and the deleted, manufactured and mutilated documents which he printed as ‘‘Exhibits” to prove (?). those falsehoods and to give plausibility to the rank and gross misrep- resentations set forth in his White Book (!) styled “D.” “D” is a versatile letter and may be the beginning of many words with many meanings. To many of us the ‘‘D” in the title to his latest