Ruth White’s letter to the High Commissioner of Palestine

To His Excellency
The High Commissioner of Palestine
Jerusalem, Palestine.
October 7, 1930

Your Excellency:

As a victim of a fraud, which is being perpetrated under the Mandatory Power now governing  Palestine, I wish to make a complaint against Shoghi Effendi, of the Persian Colony, at Haifa  Palestine.

Shoghi Effendi is collecting money from the people of the various nations of the world under the  powers granted him in an alleged will which he claims is the will of Sir Abdul-Baha Abbas, and in  which he is appointed successor of Sir Abdu-Baha Abbas. I base my assertion that a fraud is being  perpetrated by Shoghi Effendi on the following facts:

About three months after the death of Sir Abdul-Baha Abbas, in November 1921, typewritten copies of  an English translation of a document were sent to England, America, and other countries, which  Shoghi Effendi alleged is the will of Sir Abdul-Baha Abbas, appointing him his successor. This  alleged will is undated, unwitnessed, unprobated, and unstamped by the Government. It also  contradicts the intent that its alleged maker held during his lifetime. for the alleged will commands people to obey Shoghi Effendi as if he were God, and to pay a tax to him. This is the motive of the fraud–money and power (2)….

I have submitted the photographs of the alleged will to Dr. C. Ainsworth Mitchell, the renowned  English handwriting expert, and editor of The Analyst, at 85 Eccleston Square London, S.W.1. and his  report shows that this document is fraudulent. No part of it was written by Abdu’l-Baha. Shoghi  Effendi ignored my request for permission to send a handwriting expert to Haifa to examine the  original document…. I am not making this complaint merely because of the money I have contributed, as this is small  compared to the expense that I have incurred in collecting evidence against Shoghi Effendi. But I am  making this complaint in order to protect the public from a fraud, and a movement, which under  Shoghi Effendi has become far more subversive than that of Bolshevism. For Shoghi Effendi aims to  become world dictator, and he is establishing enemy states within each state, and collecting taxes  from the people of these enemy states. All this is contrary to the teachings of Sir Abdu’l-Baha  Abbas whose successor he claims to be (2-3)_
_______________________________________________________________________________
Dr. C. (Charles) Ainsworth Mitchell – Certified Copy from the Library of Congress Report on the Writing Shown on the Photographs of the Alleged Will of Abdu’l-Baha. 1930.
http://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/CAMitchell_Report.htm
Report C. Ainsworth MitchellDownload All Documents Deposited by Ruth White at the Library of Congress in one PDF:

http://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/archives/WhiteCDocs.pdf

“That is to say, the writing does not agree with the hypothesis that it was all written by one person.”

“A minute comparison of the authenticated writing with the writing on every page of the alleged will . . . has failed to detect in any part of the will the characteristics of the writing of Abdu’l-Baha, as shown in the authenticated specimens.” –Dr. C. Ainsworth Mitchell


The attempts to discredit Dr. Mitchell and Ruth White have relied on, for over 75 years, slander and ad hominem and are no more convincing now than they have ever been. Note the attempt to shift, from his conclusion and call for an examination of the original, to the man himself. Classic ad hominem.

I ask the reader to reflect on the fact that Dr. Mitchell remains one of the most respected forensic researchers of the 20th century and is still quoted and cited by academics and legal experts. His professional integrity is beyond question as is and was his ability to assess the authenticity of the purported will itself. As the document curator for the British Museum, Dr. Mitchell used techniques and methods still widely used and recognized, whether or not one has a command of the language being scrutinized. Knowledge of a language in and of itself has never been the essential for handwriting experts, and informed people know that to be a fact. Those who seek to conceal the act of forgery hope to confuse the uninformed about what is involved. See the link at the bottom to one of his books available online.

Ruth White placed Dr. Mitchell’s signed Report on the Writing Shown on the Photographs of the Alleged Will of Abdul-Baha with the Library of Congress in 1930. Certified copy below.

A bibliography of Dr. C. Ainsworth Mitchell’s published work is available from the Library of Congress at the bottom of this page.

My Comments on Dr. C. Ainsworth Mitchell’s Report
http://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/CAMitchell_comments.htm

Professional genealogist Will Johnson’s webpage, Dr. C. Ainsworth Mitchell: http://www.countyhistorian.com/cecilweb/index.php/Charles_Ainsworth_Mitchell

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