Faving in 1975-just one of dozens of derly black grandmothers who attend ch meeting of the San Francisco ousing Authority Commission that Jones chairs. The first thing that bothered her was constant requests for money. "After I Walter Jones of San Francisco When Walt Jones, who never believed in the church, followed his wife Carol to Redwood Valley in 1974, Jim Jones 2ded them to take over a home for emotionally disturbed boys. The home belonged to Charles and Joyce Tou-s in some time," she says, "it was ade known to us that we were supchee. Micki Touchette's parents. Walt osed to pay 25 percent of our earnings cox he was told that the Touchettes were he usual sum, according to practically # Cuvant, and that the people who had the former members that we interenced them, Rick and Carol Stahl. Yoë done such a poor job that "the care home, at that time, was under sur see of the authorities because of de poor and tions. Some of the boys dad CaNos due to the filth, wed)." It was called "the commitent. For those who could not meet commitment, she says, there were ernatives, like baking cakes to sell at anday services-or donating their jew. "He said that we didn't need the tches-my best watch. she recalls e the homes, furs, all of the best ngs you own. 74 2nd early 1975. before Walt we were granted a license to Some county checks (of approx. "He said we didn't need homes$325 10 $350 per month for each the keep of the boys were made ocio de Touchettes and cashed member who had their sp of gang. "The checks" said med over to someone in & for the church's the time. The temple Matthes for were sufficient 2nd sadde base and supplied us with inkek 2nd as articles of tes wis the food was AXACA Kiss, and the clothes for dowon pom other temple mem-3 Na kot svarer bow much of the HAUN MAP AND SLA a month of a nek darmo kod for the upkeep Aiy ended up in his A low the Auks But, he AR TAXIer hadeguate." Todo see parted their AbDom the V CAY Pudrion Depan **d low Aws in the 1800PN et a and bis Arquessed that * * **90 song hot of the some blacks gave out of fear-sear they could end up in concentration pps. The money was needed, she was d. to build up this other place uvana the promised land"]. so we uld have someplace to go whenever the fascists in this country] were to destroy us like they did the Jones said] they would put sick people] intration camps, that they would do us like the Jews in the gas ovens." the frisking of temple members (but Laura Cornelious was also bothered er dignitaries) before each service. Ou even were asked to raise up on your toes [to check) your shoes." The final straw, she says, came the night Jones brought a snake into the services. "Viola...she was up in age, in her eighties, and she was so afraid of snakes and he held the snake close to her Jchest) and she just sat there and screamed. And he still held it there." Grace Stoon of San Francisco Grace Stoen was a leader among the temple hierarchy, though she was never a true believer. Her husband Tim was the temple's top attorney, and one of its Arst prominent converts. Later, while still a church insider, he became an assistant DA. of Mendocino County, and then an assistant D.A. under San Francisco D.A. Joe Freitas. Tim resigned to go to Jones's Guyana retreat in April of this year Grace agreed to join the temple when she married Tim in 1970, and gradually she acquired enormous authority. She was head counselor, and at the Wednesday night family meetings, she would pass to Jones the names of the members to be disciplined. She was also the record keeper for seven temple businesses. She paid out from $30,000 to $50,000 per month for the auto and bus garage bills and also doled out the slim temple wages. And she was one of several church notaries, She kept a notary book, a kind of log of documents that she officially witnessed-pages of entries including power-of-attorney statements, deeds of trust, guardianship papers, and so on. signed by temple members and officials. She recalled why Jones decided to aim for Los Angeles and San Francisco, "Jim would say. If we stay here in the valley, we're wasted. We could make it to the big time in San Francisco. And expanding to Los Angeles, Jones told his aides, "was worth $15,000 to $25.000 a weekend." During the expansion in 1972, members would pile into the buses at 5 P.M.. on a Friday night in Redwood Valley, stop at the San Francisco temple for a meeting that might last until midnight and then drive through the night to arrive in Los Angeles Saturday in time for six-hour services. On Sunday, church would start at 11 A.M. and end at 5 P.M.. Then, the Redwood Valley members would pile back on the buses for the long trip home; they would arrive by. daybreak Monday. Some of the inner circle, like Grace, Stoen, rode on Jim's own bus, number seven. "The last two seats and the whole back seat were taken out and a door put across it," she said. "Inside there was a refrigerator, a sink, a bed and a plate of steel in the back so nobody could ever shoot Jim. The money was kept back there in a compartment." According to attendance slips she collected, the other 43-seat buses sometimes held 70 to 80 riders. Jones's goal in San Francisco, Grace said, was to become a political force. His first move was to ingratiate himself with fellow liberal and leftist figures-D.A. Freitas, Sheriff Hongisto. Police Chief Charles Gain, Dennis Banks, Angela Davis. Sometimes Jones nearly tripped up. Once, said Grace, when Freitas and his wife dropped in unexpectedly, temple' aides quickly pulled them into a side room and sent word to Jones in the upstairs meeting hall. Just in time. The pastor was wrapped up in one of his silly little things." said Grace. “He was having everybody shout "Shit! Shit! Shit!' to teach them not to be so hypocritical." When Freitas was shown in, everyone just laughed at the puzzled district attorney. (D.A. Freitas confirms making an unexpected visit to the temple, but does not recall anyone using the word shit.) Jones became impatient at the pace of his success. Eventually Mayor Moscone placed Jones on the Housing Authority Commission, and then intervened to assure him the chairmanship. Strangely, as Jones's successes mounted, so did the pressures inside his temple. "We were going to more and more meetings," said Stoen. "[And] if anyone was getting too much sleep-say. six hours a night-they were in trouble.' On one occasion, she said, a man was vomited and urinated on. In July of 1976, after a three-week temple bus trip, her morale was ebbing Tower, her friends were muttering about her, and there were rumors that Jones was unhappy with a number of members."I packed my things and left [without telling Tim]. I couldn't trust him. He'd tell Jim." She drove to Lake Tahoe and spent the July Fourth weekend lying on a warm beach. She dug her toes in the sand, stretched her arms and tried to relax. "But every time I turned over, looked around to see if any of the church members had tracked me down." It is literally impossible to guess how much money and property people gave Jim Jones in the twelve years since he moved his Peoples Temple to California. Some, like Laura Cornelious, gave small things like watches or rings. Others, like Walt Jones. sold their homes and gave the proceeds to the temple.~ According to nearly all the former temple members that we have spoken with, extensive, continuous pressure was put on members to deed their homes to the temple. Many complied. A brief reading of the records on file at the Mendocino County recorder shows that some 30 pieces of were transferred from individua temple during the years 1968 Nearly all hese parcels were rec gifts. should be launched immediately to determine if any of the money paid for the care of the elderly actually went to the temple aspe Files at the Mendocino County recorder's office show that the temple has sold off a number of its properties. The Redwood Valley temple itself is cur rently for sale for an estimated $225,000. The Los Angeles temple is also for sale. The three Mendocino "care homes" that are still operating are up for sale. Several former temple members believe Jones and a few hundred of his closest fol "lowers may be planning to leave for Guyana no later than September of this year. The ex-members we interviewed had the ability to walk away from the temple once they found the courage to Interestingly, several of the were signed or recorded imprope. deed to a piece of property signed by Grace and Timothy Stoen was notarized on June 20, 1976. Grace Stoen told New He that on that date, when she was supposed to be in Mendocino signing the deed helore a temple notary, she and several hundred temple members were in New York City. Grace Stoen said she signed the deed under pressure from her husband. Tim, months before it was notarized. And similar irregularities appear on a deed the Mertles turned overdo it. Whether the church will permit to the temple. A thorough investigation of the circumstances surrounding the transfers of the properties is clearly. required In the last few issues of Peoples Forum. the temple newspaper, there are several references to the claim that 130 disturbed or incorrigible youths were being sent to the temple's Guyana mission. A church spokesman confirmed that these youngsters were released to the temple by "federal courts, state courts, proba tion departments" and other agencies. An article in the July issue of the temple newspaper on the Guyana mission's youth program repons that, “In certain cases when a young person is testing the cavironment... physical discipline has produced the necessary change." The article goes on to describe a "wrestling match that sounds all too similar to the "boxing matches" some former temple: members described. If there is even the slightest chance of mistreatment of the 130 youths the temple claims to have under its guidance in Guyana, a complete investigation by both state and federal authorities would be required. An investigation of the "care homes" run by the temple or temple members in Redwood Valley may also be in order. Both Walt Jones and Micki Toucheite have stated that anywhere from $800 to $1.000 of the monthly funds provided by the state for the care of the six boys in the Touchette home were actually funneled to the temple. If those figures are accurate, as much as $38.000 to $48,000 may have, been channeled into the church's coffers during the four years the Touchette home was open. His known that at least two other "care homes"for boys were run by the church or its members. In addition, at least six residential homes licensed by Mendocino County were owned or operated by the temple. They housed from six to fourteen senior citizens each, and the county provided upwards of $325 per month per individual. An investigation those who move to Guyana the option of ever leaving is questionable. Jones has been in Guyana for the last three weeks and was unavailable to us as this magazine article went to press. In a phone interview, two spokesmen for the temple, Mike Prokes and Gene Chaikin, denied all of the allegations made by the former temple members we interviewed. Specifically, they denied any harassment, coercion or physical abuse of temple members. They denied that the church attempted to force memhers to donate their property or homes. They also denied that Jones faked healings. They confirmed that the temple's churches and property in Redwood Valley and Los Angeles are for sale, but went on to deny that Jones's closest followers are planning to relocate in Guyana any time soon. Finally, something must be said about the numerous public officials and politi"cal figures who openly courted and hefriended Jim Jones. While it appears that none of the public officials from Governor Brown on down knew about the inner world of Peoples Temple, they have left the impression that they used Jones to deliver votes aï election time and never asked any questions. They never asked about the bodyguards. Never asked about the church's locked doors. Never asked why Jones's followers were so obsessively protective of him. And apparently, some never asked because they didn't want to know. The story of Jim Jones and his Peoples Temple is not over. In fact it has only begun to be told. If there is any solace to be gained from the tale of exploitation and human foible told by the former ~ temple members in these pages, it is that even such a power as Jim Jones cannot always contain his followers. Those who left had nowhere to go and every reason to fear pursuit. Yet they persevered. If Jones is ever to be stripped of his power. it will not be because of vendetta or persecution, but rather because of the courage of these people who stepped forward and spoke out LAH WEEKLY TARGET OF $5 MILLION LAWSUIT," GEORGE HUNTER UKIAH DAILY JOURNAL, AUGUST 23, 1977 Stoen reacts to Grapevine article By GEORGE HUNTER Timothy Oliver "Tim" Stoen, former assistant district attorney for Mendocino County whose beliefs are closely linked to those of the Rev. Jim Jones, pastor of the Peoples Temple Church, is preparing to file a $5 million lawsuit against the Mendocino Grapevine, a Ukiah weekly. Stoen, who flew here last weekend from New York City to confer with Ukiah attorney Pat Finnegan, told the Daily Journal that he would also seek damages of some $13 million from New West, a San Francisco bi-weekly magazine which has carried two "expose" articles relating to Peoples Temple and its pastor. Stoen said that an article appearing in a recent issue of the Ukiah weekly had damaged his reputation. "I intend to practice law here in Ukiah and it is essential that I clear my name," Stoen said. "I must show the world that a newspaper cannot wrongfully hurt innocent people without being brought to account." Noting that he was prepared to do battle on all levels, Stoen said: "I'm a street fighter. People will come to appreciate that fact that I'm a street fighter... "I feel like Alfred Dreyfus," Stoen said, referring to the French Army officer of the 19th century who was convicted by an Army court and imprisoned on Devil's Island for defending his religious beliefs. "I'm experienced enough with our jury system to believe in it. I'll put my trust in the system," Stoen said. 53ven reacteù strongly to inferences that he was "afraid" of Rev. Jones. "I want to dispel that allegation," he said. The former assistant district atLorney also was sharply critical to charges that he had used his public office to spy for Jones. "I've always made known my esteem for Jim Jones," he said. "I have nothing to hide and no one can show a single instance where I ever used my public office to show favoritism toward the church. Stoen charged that the reporting of New West magazine was irresponsible in that the magazine article quoted the Mendocino Grapevine verbatim. Stoen said he would prove the statements to be untrue and malicious in motivation and that the Grapevine violated the newspaper canon of ethics, giving Stoen no chance to reply to the accusations. The demands for retraction and damages will be contained in a complaint filed here. The suit against New West magazine will be filed in San Francisco. Stoen was "loaned" to San Francisco city and county in 1975 to prosecute voter fraud after a large-scale scandal surfaced. Out of 39 indictments returned by the Grand jury, 37 convictions were obtained. Stoen was then asked by San Francisco District Attorney Joseph Freitas to accept the post of special prosecutor with a large staff of attorneys to fight organized crime and public corruption. Stoen accepted the post then resigned when he felt that he was needed in Guyana, a small South American country, to help Jones in establishing a communal-type center, Jonestown, for minorities and the underprivileged.· Stoen has established residence in Manhattan in order that he may be admitted to the New York State bar. "Jones has helped me develop an empathy toward the persecuted," Stoen said. "I intend to develop a national law firm to help people who are prosecuted, on some pretext, for their religious beliefs. Stoen said he was worried about "creeping totalitarialism" that left no room for dissent. Stoen hopes to attract idealistic young attorneys to his organization. "CHARLES GARRY VISITS JONESTOWN: 'I HAVE BEEN TO PARADISE THE SUN REPORTER, NOVEMBER 10, 1977 On Nov. 6 Peoples Temple we Icomed Charles Garry, who represents Peoples Temple as its attorney. Garry has recently returned from a visit to the temple's agricultural project in Guyana. Jonestown (so named by the Guyanese government). He had much in formation to share. "Last Monday night I was on a talk show. he began. "and I had the opportunity to tell that I had seen and I had been in paradise. I saw it. It's there for anybody to see, and I'm hopeful that in the next few day or weeks we'll be able to have a documentary, which everyone will be able to see I saw community where there is no such thing as racism. No one feels the color of his skin, whether he's Black, brown, yellow, red, or white. I also noticed that no one thinks in terms of sex. No one feels superior to anyone else. I don't know of any com. munity in the world today that has been able to solve the problem of male sex supremacy completely. That does not exist in Jonestown. "I also saw something else: "I have never seen so many "There are some 800 pe sons sistently high level of medical care, organized under a doctor who is "thorough, conscientious and dedicated." The medical team has "the latest in medical equipment and books," and "every person who goes to Jonestown is medically thoroughly examined, and charts are prepared." He recalls that he urged Dr. Schacht to start keeping daily. hourly diaries, to put the operation of the medical compound in writing, so that some of our medical schools, and the American Medical Association, can learn from what is being done at Jonestown. A high point of his talk related to the care of senior citizens, which he said moved him deeply. "All of the senior citizens' cottages are built around the immediate vicinity of the medical compound. Every single morning a member of the medical team knocks on the cottage of the senior citizen and inquires. Did anybody have any problem during the night? Do you have any problems here this morning? Can you imagine the security that the senior citizens feel with this kind of care? I'd like to have a representative from a body here that's trying to improve the lot of senior citizens who are left to be beggars and paupers to see what is going on in Jonestown." He spoke of the many agricult- in Jonestown. The area of that will make your blood pre- The project as a whole is de- Teachers are drawn, in part, Does Jonestown lack for er- "Why are those people so And then, as if to reinforce |