Page:Johnson v. State.pdf/8

] Mrs. Cooper and Horton testified that the language they quoted was all appellant said.

Johnson testified that at the time the trouble occurred he had been studying literature published by Jehovah's Witnesses and comparing it with the Bible. He bad concluded it was not right "in the sight of God" to salute the flag.

Psalm 115 was appellant's authority:—"Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for Thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake. Wherefore should the heathen say, where is now their God. But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. Their idols are silver and gold, the work of man's bands. They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes they have, but they see not. They have ears, but they hear not, noses have they, but they smell not. They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not. "

Interpreting the psalm and other biblical authority, appellant thought he was commanded to bow to God and to God only:—"That was my sincere belief. The Bible says not to even salute your friend, but to call him only by name. It says, 'Claim thy friend by name.'

"It was my conviction that to salute the flag or any other like emblem would be contrary to the Bible. I did not show disrespect for the flag. I believe in everything it stands for. I was born in this country and have always lived here, and I am in sympathy with our form of government and its laws. I love the laws of this country and love to obey them, and I appreciate our land.

"The morning this trouble came up I went to the commissary early. Several people were sitting around. Mrs. Cooper was not there. She soon came and went in. I went to her desk and asked if my commodity slip had run out. She asked, 'Are you taking these groceries to these Jehovah's Witnesses?' I told her I was not: that I was only drawing for the actual members of my family. I didn't have time to fully answer her. I about halfway shook my bead. Before I bad time to finish she said 'Prove yourself and salute the flag.' It stunned me so that I just stood there. She again said, 'Prove whether