Who Was the Other Brother?

The other brother, who wanted to sell his farm, was Kaarlo Harteva, born in 1882. His mother, the daughter of a Lutheran minister, gave him a strict religious upbringing. Kaarlo was intense, sincere, and well versed in languages. He studied engineering, but soon after graduation his religious interest drew him to the Young Men’s Christian Association, where he became secretary, as well as the manager for their Hospitz Hotel in Helsinki.

In the summer of 1909, when on business in Helsinki, Österman met Kaarlo Harteva and gave him a copy of The Divine Plan of the Ages in Swedish. Harteva read it eagerly. He reckoned that he too should preach “this good news of the kingdom.” (Matt. 24:14) So in April 1910, Harteva traveled with Österman to the convention in Örebro, Sweden, where he was baptized. Since there was a need for speakers, both of these new brothers gave talks at that convention. They wasted no time in making themselves useful to God’s organization!

‘Join Us. That Will Make Three’

About that time Harteva met one of his former schoolmates, Lauri Kristian Relander, on a train and witnessed to him zealously about the newfound truths. “And how many are there of you people?” his friend asked. “At the moment there are two of us, a certain Österman and I,” Harteva replied. “But if you join us, that will make three.” However, Relander did not come along. Instead, he pursued politics and became the president of Finland from 1925 to 1931.

What a vast field lay before Brothers Harteva and Österman: three million people spread out in a sparsely populated country. Their first goal was to get the Society’s literature translated into the Finnish language. Diligently, Harteva labored to translate The Divine Plan of the Ages and a variety of tracts from Swedish into Finnish, and Österman in turn financed their printing in the fall of 1910. How elated they were to have more effective instruments for the Kingdom work! Trusting in the help of Jehovah’s spirit, these men courageously started out in the work with their newly translated Finnish literature.

“A Ticket to Hell”

Besides keeping a supply of literature in the shoe shop he owned in Turku, Brother Österman displayed books in the store window as well. He also had his own bookstall in a marketplace. By shouting out slogans, he would immediately catch people’s attention.

He would offer the Hell booklet for two markkaa (the Finnish mark), crying out: “A ticket to hell​—one markka in, and another one out!”

Public Talks Gather Crowds

Next, these two faithful friends decided to start a tour to give public talks. So they traveled to Finland’s industrial center, Tampere, and rented the best hall available. They then ordered handbills for the talk, which was entitled “The Great Reward,” and advertised it in the daily paper. Brother Harteva gave the talk, while Österman served as his assistant. In one of his letters, Brother Österman tells about the results:

“One Finnish sister consecrated herself fully and symbolized it in Lake Pyhäjärvi. Thereafter she went to Vyborg, where she now spreads the good news as a colporteur. A Bible class was organized in Tampere with five or six very interested persons, after which we left it in God’s care. Now we are in Turku, and here our first public meeting in Finnish was held in the auditorium of the Fire Department building, which can seat 1,800 persons. As in other places, here too, just as many had to remain outside.”

Encouraged by such good results, these two colporteurs traveled to Helsinki, the capital, and arranged for a public talk in the auditorium of the People’s House (now Workers’ House) for November 22, 1910. Brother Harteva was well-known in the religious circles of Helsinki, and many ministers and members of various religious organizations out of curiosity came to hear him speak. In his talk Harteva challenged his audience by saying that if anyone knew of a scripture stating that the soul is immortal, he should show it publicly. All eyes turned to the ministers in the front rows of the hall. Total silence prevailed. Then he read Ezekiel 18:4, banged his fist on the speaker’s stand, and exclaimed: “The soul thus dies!” Clearly, the battle lines were shaping up between Finland’s religious leaders and the champions of Bible truth. Thus, the truth was sown in the three largest cities of the country, including the capital.

Office Opens in Helsinki

When Brother Russell visited Stockholm, Sweden, at the end of March 1911, a group of Finns went there to meet him. They continued their trip to the convention held in Örebro, where Kaarlo Harteva rejoiced to see his mother and aunt get baptized. Also baptized was a young man by the name of Johannes Hollmerus, who later became a valuable theocratic asset.

Brother Harteva returned to Helsinki and opened an office for handling theocratic activities. He writes: ‘I managed to rent five rooms at Mikonkatu 27. I obtained a few boards and sawbucks to serve as seats. From the rural site of Mäntyharju, they sent me camp beds and bedding. In the main room, there was a typewriter, a desk, and some chairs and benches. There were three camp beds in one room and one in another room. Two rooms were empty.’ Thus the office started operations, June 1911.

Near the office in the center of Helsinki lay Kaisaniemi Park. Here, on a little hill, Brother Harteva gave a public talk every Sunday that summer. With a sparkle in his eyes, he would humorously call these talks “Sermons on the Mount.” At the end of the talks, he invited to the office nearby anyone who wanted to discuss Bible topics further. Some started to come every week. Thus, a small group of Bible Students developed in Helsinki.

First Tracts and Convention

Right from the start, Brother Harteva realized the value of the printed word. Saarnoja kansalle (People’s Pulpit) was the name of the first tract edited. The next year its name was changed to Puheita kansalle (Talks to the People). Those tracts contained articles from the English Watch Tower, as well as transcripts of talks by Brother Russell translated into Finnish. Advertisements for meetings and for the publications that were available were also included.

In January 1912 Puheita kansalle reported: “When The Divine Plan of the Ages was published in Finnish, it first reached a very great distribution through the colporteurs, through newspaper articles, and by booksellers. But soon after Christmas 1910, a great change took place, as the initial enthusiasm was followed by opposition so strong that it almost choked everything. Fortunately this situation did not last more than some six months. When the help by the press and booksellers seemed to cease completely, God started to invite more workers to the harvest.” The report continued, relating that in Helsinki about 30 Finnish-speaking and 10 Swedish-speaking brothers regularly met together two or three times a week to study the Word of God.

When the first convention was arranged to be held in an auditorium in Helsinki from March 29 to April 1, 1912, about 60 persons attended. Some of them came from Turku, Tampere, Pori, Vaasa, Iisalmi, Kuopio, and Parikkala, which shows that the truth had already reached widely scattered areas in southern Finland.

Brother Russell Visits Finland

When hearing about Brother Russell’s plan to make a trip around the world, Kaarlo Harteva wrote and asked him, please, to include a visit to Finland as well. Brother Russell accepted the invitation and informed Harteva that he would be coming at the end of August 1912.

Brother Russell’s visit was an exciting occasion for this small band of brothers. Tremendous preparation went into advertising the public talk, which was held in the finest hall in Helsinki, the auditorium of the Fire Department House. Elis Salminen, then a ten-year-old boy, who served Jehovah faithfully up to his death in 1981, related how the brothers displayed pictures of Brother Russell that were over one story high. “After that I heard my schoolmates saying that it was that American advertising religion,” reported Salminen.

Brother Russell himself recounted his visit in the October 1, 1912, issue of The Watch Tower: “Two Finnish brothers have been specially active for two years to serve the truth to all the truth-hungry. They have translated three volumes of the Scripture Studies and Everybody’s Paper for free circulation, at their own expense. Now about fifteen colporteurs are carrying the truth to every nook and corner of the land. The public meeting was crowded to the capacity of the hall​—1000—​many standing; some almost in tears because they could not gain admission. . . . The evidence is that God has some true children in Finland to whom his harvest message is now due.”

During his visit, Brother Russell authorized Brother Harteva to publish The Watch Tower in Finnish, starting with the November 1912 issue. The new magazine was recommended to be given as a Christmas gift to relatives and acquaintances.

The Testimony Spreads Out

Brothers Österman and Harteva had the problem of reaching the sparse population in that vast territory, over 600 miles [1,000 km] long and some 300 miles [500 km] wide. How were they to give an efficient witness? In hopes of a solution, at his own expense, Brother Österman published advertisements for the Society’s literature in various newspapers. Harteva, on the other hand, decided to concentrate his attention on giving public talks, which proved to be very successful. But how would he organize the public talks? Let him speak for himself:

“When I had chosen a town as my objective, I wrote to the editor of the best-known newspaper and asked what would be the best hall in the area for a public talk and whom I should contact if I wanted to rent it. When that was clear, I wrote an application, and having received a favorable answer, I made up an advertisement and sent it to the newspaper, asking them to print similar handbills and to put them between the pages of the newspaper so that people would get to know about the public talk. Then I went on my trip with some books. The meeting places were usually filled to capacity. . . . Once when I tried to get in, I was told that it was in vain. Only when I explained that I was the speaker could I make my way through. Another time, so many tried to get in that the hall was filled three times that same night, and the listeners waited patiently for their turn.”

[Picture on page 143]

Kaarlo Harteva, who gave the work a vigorous start