Bare-Faced Messiah (PDF) - Apologetics Index

Hubbard stepped from Purcell's chartered aeroplane at Wichita airport wearing a lightweight
tropical suit and a cream silk Ascot, an item of apparel not often seen in Sedgwick County. Purcell
was waiting to greet him, along with a reporter from the Wichita Eagle, to whom Ron delivered a
carefully prepared statement designed to appeal to the good folk of Wichita. After Los Angeles and
Havana, Wichita might have appeared somewhat lacking in glamour, but Hubbard had the good
sense not to make invidious comparisons. 'Dianetics is a pioneer mental science,' he announced,
'therefore it is only natural that we should prefer to centralize where the American pioneering spirit
and cultural interests are still high. It is impossible to take Dianetics to every interested person, so
we have established our headquarters here where those interested can come to Dianetics.'[3] He
also took the opportunity to point out that seventy per cent of insane people throughout the world
could be returned to normality with Dianetics. 'Hope for Insane is Claimed for Dianetics by Founder'
was the headline in the evening edition.
Hubbard checked into the Broadview Hotel, where Purcell had reserved and paid for a suite for him.
Alexis, who was becoming accustomed to a succession of surrogate mothers, remained in the
care of the nurse who had looked after her on the plane from Havana. The two men were soon
discussing plans for the consolidation of Dianetics in Wichita, plans that would be speedily brought
to the attention of the FBI.
On 4 May, 1951, the FBI agent in Wichita received an anonymous letter: 'Investigate No 211 West
Douglas, under the "Hubbard Dianetics Research Foundation", they are conducting a vicious
sexual racket. There are four women and a larger number of men. If they have moved go after them.
They are bad, I know because I am one of the victims . . .' This execrable piece of rumourmongering
was added to Hubbard's FBI file, along with a memo from the special agent in charge in
Wichita noting: 'General gossip at Wichita has it that the Los Angeles branch of the Hubbard
Dianetic Research Foundation went broke and the cost of operation in New Jersey necessitated
establishing headquarters of the organization in the central United States . . .'[4]
Hubbard did not know he had been accused of running a 'vicious sexual racket', which was
probably just as well because he already had so much to worry about that he was finding it
exceedingly difficult to give his full attention to the affairs of the Foundation. The main problem,
entirely of his own making, was that his private life remained in complete turmoil.
While his first wife was pursuing him for maintenance and he was still involved in a messy divorce
from Sara, Hubbard invited his lover in Los Angeles to be his third wife. Almost as soon as he
arrived in Wichita he had telephoned Barbara and asked her to join him, following up with a cable:
'DO NOT THINK I SHOULD OFFER YOU ANYTHING LESS HONORABLE THAN MARRIAGE. SHOULD YOU
CONSIDER IT I MUST DOUBLY CLARIFY EXISTING STATUS TO BE SURE. WITH ALL MY HEART AND MUCH
LOVE. RON.' Barbara realized that Ron remained as paranoid as ever, as a second cable arrived at
her Beverly Hills apartment two hours later: 'BETTER KEEP OUR PLANS A CLOSE SECRET AS I DO NOT
KNOW WHAT THEY WOULD TRY TO DO TO YOU IF THEY KNEW. BE VERY CAREFUL. ALL MY LOVE. RON.'
Barbara had no idea who 'they' were and was understandably concerned about marrying a man
accused of bigamy, kidnapping and torture. 'Darling, yo sho is in a mess o' trouble,' she replied by
letter. 'Do you dare give me any idea of the sort of future awaiting us? God knows I don't want what
could be a wonderful and productive partnership between us to wind up with you in jail or
continually on the lam from the law . . .'[5]
While Barbara was pondering Ron's proposal, Sara filed a further complaint in Los Angeles,
claiming she had been unable to serve divorce papers on her husband because he had fled to
Cuba. To support her petition, she included the letter Hubbard had written to her from Havana and