ISiHi^^ 
 
 Vital issues m 
 /hristian Science 
 
 With Facsimile Letters 
 
 of 
 
 Mary Baker Eddy 
 
 wYork City Christian Science Institute 
 Au0usta E , Stetson , C.S.D., Principa , 
 
LIBRARY OF THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 
 
 PRINCETON, N. J. 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 Division 
 
 Section 
 
 C- 
 
Vital Issues In Christian 
 
 X$S^ OF nil 
 cience /v 
 
 M/Cf 9 li 
 
 A Record ^^^^gicals; 
 
 of Unsettled Questions which arose in the Year 1909, 
 
 between the Directors of The Mother Church 
 
 The First Church of Christ, Scientist 
 
 Boston, Massachusetts 
 
 and 
 
 First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City 
 
 Eight of its Nine Trustees and Sixteen 
 
 of its Practitioners 
 
 New York City Christian Science Institute 
 Augusta E. Stetson, C.S.D., Principal 
 
 With Facsimiles of Excerpts and Letters of 
 Mary Baker Eddy 
 
 Third Thousand 
 
 G. P. Putnam's Sons 
 
 New York and London 
 
 Cbe Ikntcherbocfter press 
 
 1914 
 
Copyright, 1914 
 
 BY 
 
 AUGUSTA E. STETSON 
 
 TTbe tkniclierbocfier preee, t\cw l^orft 
 
Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained 
 you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should 
 remain : that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name. He 
 may give it you. 
 
 These things I command you, that ye love one another. 
 
 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. 
 
 Christ Jesus, John xr., 16-18, 
 
 He takes away mitre and sceptre. He enthrones pure and undefiled 
 religion, and lifts on high only those who have washed their robes white 
 in obedience and suffering. 
 
 Mary Baker Eddy, Scieace and Health, pages 571, 572, 
 
 Note; The references to the Manual of The Mother 
 Church are taken from the 83rd Edition (1909), unless 
 otherwise specified. 
 
 The New York City Christian Science Institute was 
 incorporated under the laws of the State of New York 
 in the year 1891, and its activities have since continued 
 without interruption. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAPTER 
 
 I. Preliminary Statement . . . i 
 
 II. The Mother Church Manual and 
 
 Branch Church Government . . 7 
 
 III. Mrs. Stetson before the Directors 
 
 OF The Mother Church ... 25 
 
 IV. Beginnings of the Controversy . 30 
 
 V. Decision of Trustees after Boston 
 
 Conference 47 
 
 VI. Findings and Orders of September 25, 
 
 1909 ...... 50 
 
 VII. Nature and Scope of the Inquiry by 
 
 THE New York Trustees . . 56 
 
 VIII. Why the Committee of Inquiry was 
 
 Formed 69 
 
 IX. Report of THE Committee OF Inquiry . 76 
 
 X. Mrs. Stetson's Resignation from the 
 New York Board of Trustees and 
 from the Branch Church . -95 
 
 XI. Secret of a Great Church Work . 104 
 
 XII. Practice OF Healing in First Church . 113 
 
 XIII. Editorial Criticism of First Church 
 
 OF Christ, Scientist, New York City 120 
 
vi Contents 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAPTER 
 
 XIV. Material Concept of Composite 
 
 Letter ...... i34 
 
 XV. The Composite Letter — How Origi- 
 nated AND What It Was . . • i47 
 
 XVI. The Physical versus the Spiritual 
 
 Personality i57 
 
 XVII. Treatment of Sixteen Practitioners 
 
 BY The Mother Church Directors i66 
 
 XVIII. Position of the Sixteen Practition- 
 ers ...... 184 
 
 XIX. The Mother Church Admonitions of 
 
 Sixteen Practitioners . . . 210 
 
 XX. Admonitions by First Reader of New 
 
 York Church .... 230 
 
 XXI. Practitioners before the New Trus- 
 tees 235 
 
 XXII. The Sixteen Practitioners Make a 
 
 Public Statement .... 245 
 
 XXIII. Two-Count Complaint to the Di- 
 
 rectors OF The Mother Church 
 Analyzed ..... 248 
 
 XXIV. Do Not Orders of April Fourth 
 
 Violate Law and Justice? . . 253 
 
 XXV. Practitioners' Answers to the Two- 
 Count Complaint .... 259 
 
 XXVI. So-called ' ' Admonitions ' ' by the First 
 Reader of The Mother Church to 
 THE New York Trustees Compris- 
 ing the Committee of Inquiry . 280 
 
Contents 
 
 vu 
 
 XXVII. Analysis of the Seven Findings 
 
 XXVIII. 
 
 XXIX. 
 XXX. 
 
 Self-Defense in Christian Science as 
 Taught by Mary Baker Eddy . 
 
 Summary ...... 
 
 303 
 
 348 
 356 
 
 Defense of Spiritual Facts in Divine 
 Law and Order .... 360 
 
Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 PRELIMINARY STATEMENT 
 
 This Record is prepared by the New York City 
 Christian Science Institute for the information of 
 Christian Scientists in particular, and for all others 
 throughout the Christian world who may Purpose of 
 be interested. It is intended to be a plain tws Record 
 statement of facts regarding the issues between the 
 Directors of The Mother Church, The First Church 
 of Christ, Scientist, Boston, Massachusetts, and First 
 Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, eight of 
 its nine Trustees, including Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson, 
 C.S.D., and sixteen of its practitioners. 
 
 During the months of October and November, 1909, 
 the Committee of Inquiry of the Board of Trustees of 
 the New York church in office prior to^^^^^j^^^^^^^^ 
 January 18, 19 10, thoroughly investigated vindicates 
 alleged conditions and practices said to exist 
 in First Church, New York, including the teachings and 
 practices of Augusta E. Stetson, C.S.D., Principal of 
 the New York City Christian Science Institute. This 
 Committee's comprehensive report thereon, entirely 
 vindicating Mrs. Stetson, was made to the church at a 
 
 X 
 
2 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 specially called meeting on November 4, 1909, and at 
 that meeting said Report was accepted and approved 
 by the church. 
 
 Notwithstanding this act of approval by the church, 
 
 which Mrs. Stetson had built up through 
 
 drop twenty-five years of consecrated spiritual 
 
 Mrs. stetson ^grk, the Dircctors at Boston within two 
 
 from The ' 
 
 Mother wccks thereafter, viz., on November 18, 1909, 
 ""^ " dropped Mrs. Stetson's name from the roll 
 of membership of The Mother Church. 
 
 At the Annual Meeting of First Church of Christ, 
 Scientist, New York City, held January 18, 1910, the 
 retiring Trustees were by express vote of 
 New York qj^ opposing majority prevented from reading 
 vented from their rcports, except that of the Treasurer, 
 revolts ^^ from making any statements as they were 
 
 prepared, accustomed to and desired to do. 
 Thus all opportunity was finally cut off for bringing, 
 in the usual way, before the membership and attendants 
 of this church any statement of the facts in regard to 
 the issues involved. For that reason this Institute 
 deems it to be its duty to its members, to those who 
 have confidently relied upon the wisdom and integrity 
 of the Principal and the eight Trustees of First Church 
 of Christ, Scientist, New York City, as well as to those 
 who have differed with them, to add to what has al- 
 ready been published, a candid, fair, and just accotmt 
 of the acts and relations in this controversy. 
 
 This Record is not made solely for the justification 
 of the position taken in defense of the rights and con- 
 stitutional guarantees of this branch church. 
 
 Duty to make .,..,, 
 
 public There are deeper considerations involved, 
 
 statement Among thcse is the vindication of the faith- 
 ful practitioners whose names have since been dropped 
 
Preliminary Statement 3 
 
 from the membership roll of First Church, New 
 York City, and from The Mother Church, The First 
 Church of Christ, Scientist, Boston, Massachusetts, 
 because they upheld the teaching and practices of 
 Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson, C.S.D., as being in accor- 
 dance with the writings and teachings of Mary Baker 
 Eddy, the revered Founder and Leader of Christian 
 Science. 
 
 Primarily this Record is made in defense of that 
 purity of spiritual teaching without which the Christian 
 Science movement itself, sooner or later, 
 would suffer the seeming arrest which comes practitioners 
 with the materializing tendencies in every ^""^ p""*^ 
 
 . . .0^ teaching 
 
 distinctly spiritual awakening in religious 
 life. Adherents to the scientific conception of Christian 
 Truth, as represented in branch churches throughout 
 the world, should be made aware of the peril which 
 we are persuaded has come to the Cause through the 
 overriding of spiritual freedom by ecclesiastical self- 
 assertion tending to stamp out a conviction of Truth 
 as enduring as the consciousness of man's oneness 
 with God. 
 
 Christian Scientists both here and elsewhere have 
 had little or no opportunity to learn through genuine 
 Christian Science channels anything compre- 
 hensive about the facts in these matters, as xhf Mother 
 they came to our knowledge. It is but just, church 
 
 therefore, to all concerned, that it should been misled? 
 be declared openly that, in our judgment, 
 grievous mistakes have been made, not only in the 
 procedure followed by The Mother Church authori- 
 ties, but also in the conclusions reached regarding the 
 teaching and practices prevailing in First Church of 
 Christ, Scientist, New York City. 
 
4 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 Christian Scientists throughout the world should 
 
 know whether or not the Board of Directors was led 
 
 into a mistaken course of official conduct, 
 
 Was there a jj^ j^g relations with the New York City 
 
 mistaken 11 
 
 course of branch church, through reports accepted and 
 c^duct? acted upon by it in violation of Section 
 13 of Article XI. of The Mother Church 
 Manual. The section reads as follows: 
 
 Members of Branch Churches. Sect. 13. A member 
 of both The Mother Church and a branch Church of Christ, 
 Scientist, or a Reader, shall not report nor send notices to 
 The Mother Church, or to the Pastor Emeritus, of errors 
 of the members of their local church; but they shall strive 
 to overcome these errors. Each church shall separately 
 and independently discipline its own members, — if this 
 sad necessity occurs. 
 
 This Record is furthermore undertaken in order that 
 
 all may have the opportunity of learning whether or 
 
 not the teachings and practices of Mrs. 
 
 Were Mrs. Augusta E. Stctson, C.S.D., and the sixteen 
 
 Stetson and . . . _, i -nt at i 
 
 practitioners practitioucrs lu First Church, JNew York 
 wSi*? City, were in accordance with the teachings 
 
 and writings of Mary Baker Eddy. They 
 should know to what extent the personal animosities 
 engendered by the spiritual demands for higher meta- 
 physical attainments resulted in those antipathies 
 which have kept alive unsettled questions that long 
 since would have ceased to interest, were it not for 
 the fact that the issues involved are not a question 
 of temporal belief, but of eternal Truth. 
 
 We therefore submit: 
 
Preliminary Statement 5 
 
 1. Did not The Mother Church Directors condemn 
 teacher and practitioners for adhering to their scientific 
 understanding of divine metaphysics, as 
 
 taught in the Christian Science textbook, Mother 
 
 Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Church 
 
 and in the other writings of Mary Baker penalize 
 
 Eddy? This imderstanding had for years i«»di'iduai 
 
 •' . conviction? 
 
 enabled them, and is still enabling them, to 
 
 do the works of healing the sick and reforming the 
 
 sinner. 
 
 2. We are impelled to protest against the action 
 taken by the Board of Directors as being in our judg- 
 ment subversive of the fundamental right „. ^, ^ 
 
 . Right of 
 
 of individual spiritual interpretation of spiritual in- 
 the writings of our beloved Leader, Mary *"^i"^oVved 
 Baker Eddy; and we furthermore protest 
 against any effort to compel any one to subscribe to 
 any other than the spiritual interpretation of her 
 writings. 
 
 3. We affirm the position that loyalty to the teach- 
 ings of our beloved Leader, Mary Baker 
 
 Eddy, and fidelity to our own spiritual Lerdel*and 
 understanding of divine metaphysics as set fidelity to 
 forth in the Holy Bible and in her writ- are first 
 ings, must take precedence as a source of 
 authority over any scholastic conception and materi- 
 alistic interpretation. 
 
 4. We affirm that unless official conduct be based 
 upon justice and governed by Love, it will be impossible 
 to maintain spiritual cooperation and unity. 
 
 rr^i -1 /^ -I • • • 1 OflScial con- 
 
 ine right, as God gives us to see it, is always duct must 
 dearer than any possible human cost of de- ^J^ governed 
 
 ■J ^ by Love 
 
 fending it; and a proper regard for what is 
 
 right and just is the sole ground upon which any church 
 
6 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 authority can justify its claim to the peaceful pursuit 
 of official functions. 
 
 5. In our judgment, Tenets and By-Laws of The 
 Mother Church, as set forth in its Manual, have been 
 Did Th ^^* ^^ naught in this controversy by the 
 
 Mother Directors of The Mother Church, whose 
 Directors set privilcgc and duty it was to manifest the 
 at naught high Standard of Christian Science as set 
 
 the Manual? 
 
 forth by our revered Leader, Mary Baker 
 Eddy. 
 
 We, therefore, in the succeeding chapters, set in 
 order this Record, following the footsteps of our re- 
 vered Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, who says: 
 
 The law of the divine Mind must end human bondage, 
 or mortals will continue unaware of man's inalienable 
 rights and in subjection to hopeless slavery, because some 
 public teachers permit an ignorance of divine power, — an 
 ignorance that is the foundation of continued bondage and 
 of htunan suffering {Science and Health, p. 227). 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 THE MOTHER CHURCH MANUAL AND BRANCH 
 CHURCH GOVERNMENT 
 
 When any controversy arises between civilized men, 
 those concerned instinctively recognize and admit that 
 all affairs are governed by law. So in this 
 
 ° . The Mother 
 
 controversy, which seems to mvolve a conflict church Man- 
 of authority between The Mother Church d.^fj^/"^';; 
 and one of its branches, all interested have 
 turned to the fundamental church law of the Chris- 
 tian Science denomination, the Manual of The Mother 
 Church, to find rules to decide the questions at issue. 
 
 It is clear that in genuine Christian Science there can 
 be no conflict between The Mother Church and one of 
 its branches, and to understand the Rules of 
 the Manual aright, one must find a basis 'L''^^ ^°*'^^! 
 
 ° ' Church and 
 
 of interpretation for these Rules that shall branches are 
 
 • /•..I •, 11 1*1 coordinate 
 
 manifest the unity and harmony which p^jg 
 
 should exist between The Mother Church 
 and its branches, for in Truth they are one. The 
 Mother Church, as the type of the Universal 
 Spiritual Church, does not exist for itself, but as the 
 Parent Vine it exists that it may have branches, that 
 the branches in turn may bring forth fruit. And while 
 it is true that the Parent Vine bears fruit, through its 
 branches, yet the branches bear no fruit of themselves, 
 but by the life derived from the Parent Vine. In this, 
 
 7 
 
8 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 one may discern the spiritual import of the advice of 
 our Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, contained in her letter 
 of November 13, 1909:, 
 
 Abide in Truth, in fellowship with and obedience to The 
 Mother Church, and in this way God will bless and prosper 
 you. This I know, for He has proved it to me for forty 
 years in succession {Christian Science Sentinel, vol. xii., 
 p. 270). 
 
 Evidently the Leader had a deeper perception of 
 
 The Mother Church than merely an ecclesiastical 
 
 organization; for the present Church organi- 
 
 All must . , , . . 1 1 
 
 " Abide in zation has been m existence, as such, only 
 '^'"*'^" since 1892, at which date the Church (which 
 
 was originally chartered in 1879) was reorganized. 
 (See Manual, p. 18.) To be "in fellowship with 
 and obedience to The Mother Church" it is necessary 
 to "Abide in Truth" for, in the words of our Leader: 
 
 The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, 
 
 Mass., is designed to be built on the Rock, Christ; even 
 the understanding and demonstration of divine Truth, 
 Life, and Love, healing and saving the world from sin and 
 death; thus to reflect in some degree the Church Universal 
 and Triumphant (Manual, p. 19). 
 
 It may be stated, therefore, as a fundamental propo- 
 sition, that the law governing The Mother Church 
 in Truth is the divine law, and the only 
 Law of church ]q„{^{-^^iq interpretation of the laws or Rules 
 
 government ° -^ 
 
 must be of The Mothcr Church, as expressed in the 
 intTrpi"ed Manual, is the spiritual, which recognizes 
 these Rules as based on divine law. " Law 
 constitutes government, and disobedience to the laws 
 of The Mother Church must ultimate in annulHng 
 
Manual and Branch Church Government 9 
 
 its Tenets and By-Laws" (Manual, Art. I., Sect. 9). 
 This law may be considered as finding its expression 
 in two ways: 
 
 1. The fundamental or common law, which is the 
 divine law, as found in the Bible, and stated in the 
 precepts of Christian Science as in Science Law revealed 
 and Health with Key to the Scriptures, and ^^^^1^^;°^ 
 in the other writings of Mary Baker Eddy. writings 
 
 2. The statutory law, comprising rules applicable to 
 particular occasions only, and found in the Law applied 
 Rules and By-Laws of The Mother Church under Rules 
 
 •t. r ■, of Manual 
 
 Manual. 
 
 The question arises, to what extent, if any, do the 
 By-Laws limit or broaden the fundamental 
 rights and duties inherent in individual per- duties of 
 sons or in individual churches? Our Leader branches and 
 
 members 
 
 has stated (quoting extract from letter in 
 Miscellaneous Writings) that these Rules and By-Laws 
 
 were not arbitrary opinions nor dictatorial demands, . . . 
 They sprang from necessity, the logic of events, — from the 
 immediate demand for them as a help that must be supplied 
 to maintain the dignity and defense of our Cause; hence 
 their simple, scientific basis, and detail so requisite to 
 demonstrate genuine Christian Science, and which will do 
 for the race what absolute doctrines destined for future 
 generations might not accomplish {Manual of The Mother 
 Church, 1910, p. 3). 
 
 It is clear from this statement that the By-Laws in 
 no sense limit or repress the individual in his search 
 for the divine law, but rather are destined „ , 
 
 By-Laws ara 
 
 " as a help" to the individual in his effort aids to seek 
 to demonstrate divine law. Thus, as any divide law 
 particular problem of government presents itself, if 
 
10 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 one is not clear as to the meaning or application of the 
 absolute rule of Christian Science, as stated in Science 
 and Health, he may find a By-Law indicating the specific 
 application of the general rule. 
 
 The following questions present themselves : 
 How far are I . To what extent are the individual mem- 
 ™r a nc*h e s s ^if - ^^^^ ^f ^^^^ MothcT ChuTcli also the individual 
 governing? bvanch chuTches self-governing? 
 
 Our Leader has stated in Science and Health, page io6: 
 
 God has endowed man with inalienable rights, among 
 which are self-government, reason, and conscience. 
 
 And again, in The Christian Science Journal, June, 
 1904 (p. 184) : 
 
 The Magna Charta of Christian Science means much, 
 mtdtum in parvo, — all-in-one and one-in-all. It stands for 
 the inalienable, universal rights of men. Essentially demo- 
 cratic, its government is administered by the common con- 
 sent of the governed, wherein and whereby man governed 
 by his Creator is self-governed. 
 
 And again, in Science and Health'. 
 
 Reflecting God's government, man is self-governed 
 
 (p- 125)- 
 
 The heavenly law is broken by trespassing upon man's 
 individual right of self-government (p. 447). 
 
 Thus, as relating to individual man, it is fundamen- 
 tally established that it is the function of law to enable 
 man to realize self-government according to reason and 
 conscience. 
 
 In relation to the church affairs, the individual finds 
 expression of the law of self-government in his associa- 
 tion with other individuals in the government of the 
 particular church to which he belongs. Our Leader has 
 
Manual and Branch Church Government ii 
 
 expressed this truth in explicit terms in the By-Laws 
 relating to the government of The Mother Church and 
 the branch churches: 
 Article XXIII. Mother Church Unique. " ^he Mother 
 
 . . , _, . , Church 
 
 Sect. 3. In its relation to other Christian stands alone " 
 Science churches, in its By-Laws and self-gov- '° '*^ ^°^" 
 
 ernment 
 
 ernment, The Mother Church stands alone. . . . 
 
 Article XXIII. Local Self-government. Section i. 
 The Mother Church of Christ, Scientist, 
 
 Branch 
 
 shall assume no general official control of other churches 
 churches, and it shall be controlled by none govern 
 
 themselves 
 
 other. 
 
 Each Church of Christ, Scientist, shall have its own 
 form of government. . . . 
 
 Article XXIII. Manual. Sect. 5. Branch churches 
 shall not adopt, print, nor publish the Manual of The 
 Mother Church. See Article XXXV, Sect, i . 
 
 Article XXXV. For The Mother Church Only. Section 
 I. The Church Manual of The First Church of Christ, 
 Scientist, in Boston, Mass., written by Mary Baker Eddy 
 and copyrighted, is adapted to The IMother Church 
 only. . . . 
 
 From the foregoing By-Laws, it is clear that The 
 Mother Church is unique and stands alone, both in its 
 form of government and in its relation to the 
 
 ^ . . . Self-govern- 
 
 branch churches. From this it follows logi- ment the goal 
 cally and harmoniously that each branch asslTcTa^ion 
 church must work out its own problem of 
 government, both as a right and as a duty under the 
 Manual. And further, this must be not only in form 
 but in substance, as appears from the following extracts 
 from the By-Laws: 
 
 Article XXIII. Local Self-government. Section i. 
 (See reference above.) 
 
12 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 Article XXIII. Organizing Churches. Sect. 6. . . . 
 The branch churches shall be individual, . . . 
 
 Article XXIII. No Interference. Sect. io. A mem- 
 ber of The Mother Church . . . shall not be a member of 
 
 both a branch church and a society ; neither shall 
 of^'b'ra^nch *™ ^^ cxercisc supcrvision or control over any other 
 churches church. In Christian Science each branch church 
 Manual** shall bc distinctly democratic in its government, 
 
 and no individual, and no other church shall 
 interfere with its affairs. 
 
 Article XI. Members of Branch Churches. Sect. 13. 
 A member of both The Mother Church and a branch Church 
 
 of Christ, Scientist, or a Reader, shall not report 
 church disci- ^°^ ^^^^ notices to The Mother Church, or to 
 piine and the Pastor Emcritus, of errors of the members 
 d'fvelopment ^f their local church; but they shall strive to 
 
 overcome these errors. Each church shall separ- 
 ately and independently discipline its own members, — if 
 this sad necessity occurs. 
 
 We find, then, a fundamental rule of Christian Science, 
 declared both by our textbook and by the Manual, that 
 the individual reflecting God, must work out his own sal- 
 vation, and solve the problems of self -control, self-govern- 
 ment, and discipline, in so far as they affect the individual 
 only, according to his own understanding of divine law. 
 
 2. To what extent, if any, do the duties arising under 
 the dual membership in The Mother Church and in this 
 branch church conflict? 
 
 In Truth there is no conflict of duties, because there 
 is no conflict in the relationship. The two member- 
 ships are, in fact, one, just as the branch 
 beTshMn." is one with the vine. The branch, in its 
 voivesno function of fruit-bearing, finds no conflict 
 with the vine from which it draws its life 
 energy. 
 
Manual and Branch Church Government 13 
 
 As The Mother Church is unique, so also is one's 
 membership in The Mother Church unique. Member- 
 ship in The Mother Church is typical and symboli- 
 cal of the membership in the "Church Universal and 
 Triumphant" (Manual, p. 19). Membership in the 
 branch church represents one's individual place in the 
 church organic. This distinction is carefully preserved 
 by our Leader in the scheme of government established 
 by her for the churches. 
 
 An individual member of The Mother Church, as 
 such, finds no expression for the detailed ^he Mother 
 activities and duties which the practice and church mem- 
 application of Christian Science makes neces- ^'^ 'fruiTin 
 sary : but these all find expression in his work branch church 
 
 111 activities 
 
 as a member of the branch church. 
 
 As a member of The Mother Church, the individual 
 is not required to be present at the Annual Meeting. 
 Only the officers need to be present (Article XIIL, 
 Section i); he has no vote or voice in the election 
 of the Board of Directors and other church officers, 
 or of the Readers (Article I., Sections i, 2, 3, 4). 
 The church business is entirely in the hands of the 
 Board of Directors (Article I., Sect. 6), which is a 
 perpetual and self-perpetuating body. (See Deed of 
 Trust, paragraph I., and also By-Laws, Article I., 
 Section 5.) 
 
 While it would seem at first glance that as a member 
 of The Mother Church the individual forfeits all 
 the duties and rights of democratic self-govern- 
 ment, this however is not the fact, and furthermore 
 all these duties and rights are accorded to him as a 
 member of the branch church, and as such, the 
 individual votes and participates in all the forms of 
 church activities and in such branch membership the 
 
14 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 actual work of the Christian Scientist is brought to 
 fruition. 
 
 3. What jurisdiction has the Christian Science 
 Board of Directors over members of The Mother Church 
 who are also members of a branch church ? 
 
 To answer this question, we must examine the source 
 
 and extent of the authority of the Board of Directors. 
 
 As we have seen, the fundamental rule in 
 
 Individual's Christian Science is that each individual is 
 
 right to 
 
 demonstrate responsible for his own demonstration in self- 
 ment^"'^*^"" government, and it follows that no person 
 or body of persons has control or authority 
 over another unless the same is specifically conferred 
 by some statute or law prescribed by a recognized 
 authority. Christian Scientists recognize such author- 
 ity as vested in our Leader in her right to make or 
 approve By-Laws binding upon the church body. This 
 unusual power has been vested in our Leader, not 
 through any arbitrary or dictatorial assumption of 
 authority by her in derogation of the natural rights of 
 the members of the church, but rather with the loving con- 
 sent of the members in voluntary recognition of the spir- 
 itual perception of divine law possessed by Mrs. Eddy. 
 
 4. The Board of Directors has no general or implied 
 power, authority, or jurisdiction. 
 
 The Board of Directors was created by our Leader 
 in the " Deed of Trust," and in the By-Laws the Rules 
 prescribing and limiting the powers of the 
 equluy sub-^ Board are specifically set forth. To the 
 ject to By- By-Laws alone, therefore, can we look for 
 such Rules. That the Board of Directors is 
 not to go beyond the By-Laws, Mrs. Eddy has made 
 plain in "Take Notice," in the Sentinel of October 16, 
 1909: 
 
Manual and Branch Church Government 15 
 
 TAKE NOTICE. 
 
 I approve the By-Laws of The Mother Church, and re- 
 quire the Christian Science Board of Directors to maintain 
 them and sustain them. These Directors do not act 
 contrary to the rules of the Church Manual, neither do 
 they trouble me with their difficulties with individuals in 
 their own church or with the members of branch churches. 
 
 My province as a Leader — as the Discoverer and Founder 
 of Christian Science — is not to interfere in cases of disci- 
 pline, and I hereby publicly declare that I am not personally 
 involved in the affairs of the church in any other way than 
 through my written and published rules, all of which can 
 be read by the individual who desires to inform himself of 
 the facts. 
 
 Mary Baker Eddy. 
 Oct, 12, 1909. 
 
 Therefore the individual, as a duty and right, may go 
 to those By-Laws to determine what Rules govern. 
 
 It is important to notice that our Leader has recog- 
 nized that to understand divine law sufBciently to 
 make a By-Law in conformity thereto, is a 
 spiritual quality which cannot be delegated ^chu^rm- 
 to another person or to any body of persons, rectors not a 
 and for that reason Mrs. Eddy has protected body 
 
 The Mother Church and the branch churches 
 from the disintegrating influence of man-made laws 
 by reserving to herself the law-making power. The 
 Board of Directors has no power to make, amend 
 or annul a By-Law, but on the contrary must be gov- 
 erned by those already made by Mary Baker Eddy. 
 
 In Article XXXV., Section i, the Church Manual 
 is referred to as "written by Mary Baker Eddy and 
 copyrighted." (It is significant that in 1895, and prior 
 thereto, the copyright was taken out by the Christian 
 
i6 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 Science Board of Directors, and in the succeeding years 
 to 1 901, by James A. Neal and Thomas W. Hatten; 
 but beginning with 1903, the copyright is in the name 
 only of Mary Baker G. Eddy.) In the same section 
 we read: 
 
 This Manual shall not be revised without the written 
 consent of its author (Article XXXV., Section i). 
 
 And again: 
 
 No new Tenet or By-Law shall be adopted, nor any 
 Tenet or By-Law amended or annulled, without the written 
 consent of Mary Baker Eddy, the author of our textbook, 
 Science and Health (Article XXXV., Sect. 3). 
 
 Thus we must conclude that the Christian Science 
 Board of Directors, officially and individually as mem- 
 bers thereof, is under the same duty of obedience to 
 the By-Laws as any other member of the church, and 
 that the Board's authority and powers are no broader 
 than the clear meaning of the By-Laws expressly 
 bestows ; and if there is any doubt as to the meaning 
 of a By-Law, it must be determined according to the 
 rule of Christian Science, as found in the textbook, 
 Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary 
 Baker Eddy. 
 
 It is important also to note that our Leader has 
 
 provided against any possible future en- 
 
 pe°Jetu°ate croachmcut upon the independence of the 
 
 branch branch churches by the following provision 
 
 church ■' . 
 
 government found in Article XXIII., Section 6: 
 
 If the Pastor Emeritus, Mrs. Eddy, should relinquish 
 her place as the head or Leader of The Mother Church of 
 Christ, Scientist, each branch church shall continue its 
 
Manual and Branch Church Government 17 
 
 present form of government in consonance with The Mother 
 Church Manual. 
 
 5. The Manual is not a mere code-book of human laws, 
 not merely rules of procedure governing a human eccle- 
 siastical organization. 
 
 To consider the Manual merely as a code-book of 
 laws framed to govern a human ecclesiastical organiza- 
 tion, is to mistake the nature and import 
 not only of the By-Laws, but also of the The Manual 
 
 -' "^ a means or 
 
 organization of The Mother Church itself, demonstrating 
 The object of the By-Laws is to enable us * t'lve 
 to put into practical demonstration the 
 divine law of Love. If one seeks to find in the Manual 
 merely rules of procedure for indictments, complaints, 
 and trials, not only will such rules not be found, but 
 the Manual itself will become a closed book to such an 
 inquirer, because the spiritual interpretation has been 
 lost. To the Christian Scientist, seeking the applica- 
 tion of divine law, the Manual, with our textbook 
 and the Scriptures, sufficiently covers every exigency. 
 
 6. Was the action of the Board of Directors in pro- 
 mulgating its " Findings and Orders " of Sep- d^ Directors 
 temher 25, igoQ, affecting Mrs. Stetson, in observe By- 
 
 _ ^ Laws in 
 
 accord with the By-Laws f "Findings 
 
 The following facts are to be noted: *"'* orders"? 
 
 (a) On August 3, 1909, Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson, 
 
 C.S.D., received the following telegram: 
 
 August 3, 1909, Boston, Mass. 
 
 Mrs. Augusta E, Stetson, 
 
 I W. 96 St., N. Y. 
 
 Charges against you dismissed. Will write more fully 
 
 later. 
 
 (Signed) J. V. Dittemore, Sec'y. 
 
1 8 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 On August 5, 1909, Mrs. Stetson received the follow- 
 ing letter: 
 
 The Christian Science Board of Directors 
 
 OF 
 
 THE FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST, 
 Norway, Falmouth & St. Paul Sts. 
 Boston, Mass. 
 
 Office of the 
 
 Secretary 
 
 August 4, 1909. 
 Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson, C.S.D., 
 7 West 96th St., 
 
 New York, N. Y. 
 
 Dear Mrs. Stetson: — Because of the concluding portion 
 
 of Section 13 of Article XL, ' of the By-laws of The Mother 
 
 Church, the charges against you recently filed 
 
 against with this Board have been dismissed, and the 
 
 Mrs. stetson entire matter is now left with the branch church 
 
 dismissed , , . , 
 
 of which you are a member. 
 Sincerely yours, 
 The Christian Science Board of Directors. 
 
 By (Signed) J. V. Dittemore, Secretary. 
 
 From that date until the receipt of the "Findings and 
 Orders" of September 25, 1909, Mrs. Stetson had no 
 official knowledge of any complaints or proceedings 
 pending against her, and as late as five o'clock p.m. of 
 September 24, the New York Trustees in conference 
 with the Directors of The Mother Church at Boston 
 were advised by Clifford P. Smith, First Reader of 
 The Mother Church: "This inquiry has been instituted 
 
 ' Article XL Members of Branch Churches. Sect. 13. A member 
 of both The Mother Church and a branch Church of Christ, Scientist, 
 or a Reader, shall not report nor send notices to The Mother Church, 
 or the Pastor Emeritus, of errors of the members of their local church; 
 but they shall strive to overcome these errors. Each church shall 
 separately and independently discipline its own members, — if this sad 
 necessity occurs. 
 
Manual and Branch Church Government 19 
 
 under a certain section of the By-Laws, and not against 
 any person.'' (See page 38.) 
 
 {h) Mrs. Stetson was not present nor invited to be 
 present at any of the hearings held at Boston during 
 September, 1909. 
 
 (c) Other persons than members of the Board 
 of Directors were present at these hearings, i. e. 
 Judge CHfford P. Smith, V. O. Strickler, 
 
 . 1 . Directors 
 
 Stenographer, etc. conducted 
 
 According to the statements of CHfford investigation 
 
 without 
 
 P. Smith and Archibald McLellan at the notice to 
 Boston "Conference" on September 24, 1909, ^x^s^ees 
 the inquiry of September, 1909, was made 
 under Article XII., Section 2 of the Manual. 
 
 Article XII. bears the general caption, "Teachers," 
 and is composed of two sections, one entitled "Proba- 
 tion," the other " Misteaching ; " but the two sections 
 must be read together to be understood, and must be 
 read in conjunction with Article XI., Section 4, which 
 is specifically incorporated in Section 2 of Article XII. 
 
 Article XI., Section 4, reads as follows: 
 
 No church discipline shall ensue until the requirements 
 according to the Scriptures, in Matthew i8: 15-17, have 
 been strictly obeyed, unless a By-Law governing the case 
 provides for immediate action. 
 
 No admonition in accordance with Matthew xviii., 
 15-17, was given to Mrs. Stetson, and the „, „^. ^ 
 
 , ' ' ° ' Were "Find- 
 
 Directors, at the "Conference" in Boston ingsandor- 
 with the New York Trustees on September pUneind^I 
 24, 1909, in answer to direct questions on regard of 
 
 ,. . 1 .. 1 Manual? 
 
 that point, declined to answer, except to 
 
 declare that they had done all that " they felt required 
 
 to be done under that section." 
 
20 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 The "Findings and Orders" of September 25, 1909, 
 were an infliction of discipline. They were an attempt 
 to deprive a teacher, with twenty-five years of success- 
 ful practice and teaching under the continuous super- 
 vision and endorsement of Mary Baker Eddy to her 
 credit, of the right to practise and teach Christian 
 Science — a right conferred on her by our Leader herself. 
 In calling this an " admonition " (see page 22) was it 
 not a perversion of the By-Laws, and a disregard of 
 the Christian rule laid down in Matthew xviii., 15-17? 
 
 The terms of the "Findings" themselves explicitly 
 set forth that it is the infliction of the penalty prescribed 
 in Article XIL, Section i, and what the Directors did 
 was done without complying with the directions in 
 Section 2 of Article XIL, which provides that in such 
 a case "it shall be the duty of the Board of Directors to 
 admonish that member according to Article XI, Sect. 4." 
 
 Was not this action of the Board of Directors in 
 utter disregard of the spirit and letter of the By- 
 were ordin- ^■'^^^ referred to, and repugnant to common 
 ary rules justice, in that punishment was inflicted after 
 observed? ^ hearing of which the person suffering the 
 punishment had no notice, at which she was 
 not present and had no opportunity to defend herself? 
 
 7. Was the action of the Board of Directors relating 
 to Mrs. Stetson, residting in her "trial" and expulsion 
 in November, iqoq, in accord with the By-Laws ? 
 
 After the telegram of August 3, and the letter 
 Nocommuni- of August 4, 1909, dismissing the "charges" 
 cation with against Mrs. Stetson no further communi- 
 befor"pr^ cation from the Board of Directors of The 
 nouncing Mothcr Church was received by her until 
 
 judgment 
 
 their letter of September 25, 1909, enclos- 
 ing the " Findings and Orders." These " Findings and 
 
Manual and Branch Church Government 21 
 
 Orders," promulgated without a trial of any sort, 
 were as follows: 
 
 FINDINGS AND ORDERS 
 
 1. That Mrs. Stetson teaches her students, or those 
 with whom she has been holding daily meetings, that the 
 branch Church of Christ, Scientist, of which she is a mem- 
 ber, is the only legitimate Christian Science church in 
 New York City; and she teaches her students, or said group 
 of students, not to regard the other branches of The 
 Mother Church which are in that city as Christian Science 
 churches. 
 
 2. That a considerable number of the witnesses whose 
 testimony the Directors have heard, exhibit as Mrs. Stet- 
 son's teaching an erroneous sense of Christian Science, 
 particularly in regard to the application of Christian Science 
 to human needs and conditions; the witnesses whom the 
 Directors have heard being with one exception her students, 
 and being a select body of students chosen by her, or a 
 board of which she was a member, to be representative 
 practitioners of Christian Science. 
 
 3. That Mrs. Stetson endeavors to exercise a control 
 over her students which tends to hinder their moral and 
 spiritual growth. 
 
 4. That Mrs. Stetson endeavors to obtrude herself upon 
 the attention of her students in such manner as to turn 
 their attention away from divine Principle. 
 
 5. That Mrs. Stetson practises and teaches pretended 
 Christian Science contrary to the statement thereof in 
 "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," 
 particularly by treating persons without their request or 
 consent, and by teaching a select body of her students to 
 do likewise. 
 
 6. That Mrs. Stetson attempts to control and to injure 
 persons by mental means; this being utterly contrary to 
 the teachings of Christian Science. 
 
22 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 7. That Mrs. Stetson has so strayed from the right way 
 as not to be fit for the work of a teacher of Christian Science. 
 
 The letter of J. V. Dittemore, Secretary, read: 
 
 Letter. Enclosure (i) 
 The Christian Science Board of Directors 
 
 OF 
 
 THE FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST, 
 Norway, Falmouth & St. Paul Sts. 
 Boston, Mass. 
 Office of the 
 
 Secretary 
 
 September 25, 1909. 
 Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson, 
 
 7 West 96th Street, 
 
 New York, N. Y. 
 
 Dear Mrs. Stetson: — By order of the Board of Directors 
 
 I am sending you herewith a copy of the Findings and 
 
 Orders concerning yourself this day made by them. 
 
 The copy of their action is sent you in order to inform 
 
 you thereof and in order to admonish you concerning errors 
 
 on your part therein pointed out. 
 
 The Board directs me to express the hope that you will 
 
 accept this admonition and desist from a repetition of the 
 
 errors which they have pointed out. 
 
 Very sincerely, 
 
 (Signed) J. V. Dittemore, 
 
 Secretary for THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE BOARD OF 
 
 DIRECTORS. 
 
 {a) Article XII., Section 2, provides that after being 
 
 admonished, "Then, if said member persists in this 
 
 offense, his or her name shall be dropped from the roll 
 
 of this Church." That is to say, after a 
 
 No probation- . , ., , 
 
 ary period mcmbcr has been admonished, there must be 
 allowed proof that thereafter he continued or persisted 
 in the offense. There is no evidence, nor is it the fact. 
 
Manual and Branch Church Government 23 
 
 that Mrs. Stetson's name was dropped from the roll of 
 the Church, because of offenses alleged to have been 
 committed between September 25, 1909, and the time of 
 the filing of the Complaint {i. e. November 6, 1909). 
 On the contrary, the evidence before the Board of 
 Directors in support of the Complaint (as appears by 
 statement in the Christian Science Sentinel, November 
 27, 1909) consisted of affidavits, letters by Mrs. Stetson 
 to her students, and the Composite Letter' to Mrs. 
 Stetson, all of which concerned matters that occurred 
 prior to September 25, 1909, and were inadmissible, 
 except as they might be coupled with proof that the 
 offenses were persisted in after admonition. 
 
 The provisions of Article XL, Section 6, give The 
 Mother Church Directors jurisdiction over a member 
 of The Mother Church only in case ''said member 
 belongs to no branch church.'' It must be remembered 
 that at this time (November, 1909), Mrs. Stetson was 
 still a member of the branch church, and so 
 continued until her voluntary resignation on ^g^°^^pj"tJ" 
 November 22, 1909, but she had already tion of branch 
 been declared deposed by the Board of " ""^^e^Jsmp 
 Directors as a teacher and practitioner, and, 
 therefore, as far as the Directors were concerned, she 
 had no other or different standing from any other 
 member of The Mother Church who was also a member 
 of a branch church, and every Rule and By-Law should 
 have been, and in fact was, for her protection. 
 
 The branch church (First Church of Christ, Scien- 
 tist), at its meeting on November 4, 1909, vindicated 
 Mrs. Stetson. 
 
 A complaint against Mrs. Stetson was filed by the 
 First Reader of The Mother Church with the Board of 
 
 ' See pages 134-165. 
 
24 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 Directors on November 6, 1909 (see Sentinel, Novem- 
 ber 27, 1909), and the orders of the Board of Directors 
 on that day fixed November 15, 1909, as the day for 
 her "trial." 
 
 {h) Article XI., Section 5, provides that "Only the 
 members of this Board shall be present at meetings for 
 the examination of complaints, . . ." 
 
 Was not this provision violated by the presence of 
 
 the First Reader of The Mother Church at the "trial" 
 
 of Mrs. Stetson, November 15-17, 1909? 
 
 \76r6 Dir6c~ 
 
 tors' meetings It IS to be notcd that whcn the By-Law of 
 'cmstftuted? "^P^^ ^9 appeared (see Sentifiel of April 26, 
 1900) this privilege was specifically granted 
 to the First Reader, and continued until 1903, when 
 the By-Law was amended by Mary Baker Eddy, and 
 the words "and the First Reader" were omitted; thus 
 affirmatively taking away the privilege, so that the 
 By-Law now reads: 
 
 Article XI. Authority. Sect. 5. . . . Only the mem- 
 bers of this Board shall be present at meetings for the 
 examination of complaints against church members; and 
 they alone shall vote on cases involving The Mother Church 
 discipline. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 MRS. STETSON BEFORE THE DIRECTORS OF THE 
 MOTHER CHURCH 
 
 The first charges against Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson, 
 C.S.D., were considered in a disciplinary manner by the 
 Board of Directors, during July, 1909, and 
 
 Mrs. Stetson 
 
 resulted in the dismissal of the charges on refutes only 
 August 3. At this hearing Mrs. Stetson was f^^^^^Z 
 present in person and was confronted by one 
 witness, Mrs. Maude Kissam Babcock, who was ex- 
 amined in Mrs. Stetson's presence by the Directors and 
 was cross-examined by Mrs. Stetson herself. The 
 result was the refutation of the testimony as originally 
 given by Mrs. Babcock, and the receipt of a telegram 
 by Mrs. Stetson from the Directors reading : 
 
 August 3, 1909, Boston, Mass. 
 
 Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson, 
 I W. 96 St., N.Y. 
 Charges against you dismissed. Will write charges dis- 
 more fully later. missed 
 
 (Signed) J. V. Dittemore, Sec'y. ^"^''* 
 
 In September, 1909, twenty-five members of First 
 Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, were 
 summoned to a " Conference," so-called, and questioned 
 by the Directors. At this inquiry Mrs. Stetson was 
 
 25 
 
26 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 not present nor represented, and in fact was not even 
 advised that she and her teaching were the subject 
 of investigation. No provision was made 
 hearings for counscl to represent either Mrs. Stetson 
 held in her qj. ^j^g practitioncrs who had been called for 
 
 absence ^ 
 
 conference but who were instead treated as 
 witnesses. The day following the conclusion of this 
 examination of the practitioners, the Directors issued 
 their "Findings and Orders" of September 25, 1909, 
 against Mrs. Stetson. 
 
 Mrs. Stetson's "trial" of November, 1909, was 
 begun on the 15th day of that month and continued 
 
 three days. Mrs. Stetson was present in 
 Her accusers person during this time but no witnesses 
 
 absent m her ^ f 
 
 November appeared against her for examination. The 
 affidavh^" cvidcncc against her was presented by 
 
 means of affidavits of which she had no pre- 
 vious knowledge nor opportunity to examine. Not 
 one witness confronted her nor was one cross-examined 
 by her, and no opportunity for any cross-examination 
 was offered. The result of this "trial" was the drop- 
 ping of Mrs. Stetson's name from the roll of church 
 membership. Was not this a signal miscarriage of 
 justice? 
 
 John H. Wigmore, Professor of the Law of Evidence 
 in the Law School of Northwestern University, and 
 Wigmore on ^^® leading authority in this country on 
 essentials of that subjcct, statcs thc fundamental rules 
 
 governing the introduction of evidence by 
 the testimony of witnesses in the following language 
 (see Wigmore's Pocket Code of Evidence, Sect. 910) : 
 
 RULE 134. General Principle. Every human assertion, 
 offered testimonially, i. e. as evidence of the truth of the 
 fact asserted, must be subjected to two tests: 
 
Mrs. Stetson Before Directors 27 
 
 (i) The person making the assertion must be subjected 
 to cross-examination by the opponent, i.e. must make it 
 under such circumstances that the opponent has an ade- 
 quate opportunity, if desired, to test the truth of the asser- 
 tion by questions which the person is obHged to answer ; 
 
 (2) The person making the assertion must be confronted 
 with the opponent and the tribunal, i. e. must be in their 
 presence when making the assertion. 
 
 That the foregoing are not mere technical rules of 
 procedure, but rather go to the very tap roots of proper 
 administration of justice, is apparent to any person 
 giving the subject thought. This is most aptly shown 
 by Prof. Wigmore's explanatory note which follows the 
 statement of the above rules: 
 
 Reason and Policy. The test of cross-examination is 
 found by experience to provide the most powerful means 
 of ascertaining the circumstances which affect 
 the trustworthiness of the witness' assertion. The '°^nado*inf 
 mere assertion of the witness, especially when accusers 
 
 . . . • f J ■ 1 J * indispensable 
 
 he IS a partisan, leaves undisclosed innumer- 
 able details which may affect his grounds of knowledge, 
 his interest, his bias, his character, and the supplementary 
 and qualifying facts of the issue. The mere assertion is 
 related to all these possible facts much as a fiat outline 
 drawing is to a painting with lights, shadows, perspective, 
 and color. These additional elements can often be sup- 
 plied by cross-examination only. . . . 
 
 Professor Wigmore in his book gives a practical 
 illustration of the value and importance of intelligent 
 cross-examination in bringing out the truth in reference 
 to allegations of witnesses. The example given also 
 serves to bring out the truth that a statement of words 
 to a certain extent may appear true, and yet may not 
 
28 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 be the whole truth, and that the statement of a half 
 truth is just as misleading and false, and often more 
 so than an absolutely false statement of fact. We 
 quote as follows: 
 
 Illustration. Breach of warranty of a horse; the plaintiff 
 alleged that the horse was not "kind" and could not be 
 shod. The defendant called two witnesses. The first was 
 
 a blacksmith who had shod the horse often; he 
 nature of answercd that "he had no difficulty in shoeing 
 half-truths him," that "he stood perfectly quiet." The 
 
 second witness was an old man who had formerly 
 owned the horse ; when asked whether he had any trouble 
 in getting the horse to a blacksmith's shop, he replied that 
 he "never took him to a blacksmith's shop, while he owned 
 him, for shoeing." The jury found for the defendant. The 
 next day, the blacksmith explained awa5^ to an attorney- 
 friend, the witnesses' apparently convincing testimony: "I 
 told the attorney that the horse stood perfectly quiet while 
 I shod him ; so he did; but I did n't tell that I had to 
 hold him by the nose with a pair of pincers to make him 
 stand. The old man said he never took the horse to a 
 blacksmith's shop while he owned him ; and no more did he ; 
 but he had to take him out into an open lot and cast him, 
 before he could shoe him." Here a proper cross-examination 
 would have exposed these facts and shown the real value 
 of the testimony for the defendant. 
 
 The foregoing is an illustration of the falsity of a 
 judgment based upon the acceptance as truth of state- 
 ments which present only a portion of the facts relat- 
 ing to an issue. In Mrs. Stetson's "trial " by the Board 
 of Directors in July, 1909, they confronted her with 
 but one witness. This witness, Mrs. Maude Kissam 
 Babcock, was a former student of Mrs. Stetson, and 
 at one time a practitioner associated with First Church 
 
Mrs. Stetson Before Directors 29 
 
 of Christ, Scientist, New York City. Whatever value 
 the Board of Directors may have given to Mrs. Bab- 
 cock's testimony after she had been confronted by 
 Mrs. Stetson with denial and explanation, the Directors 
 dismissed the charges against Mrs. Stetson within the 
 next week, as shown by their telegram of August 3, 
 1909. 
 
 After this experience in confronting the accused with 
 the accuser, the truth being thereby brought out 
 through the questioning of the witness, it is p^^j^^jg^tai 
 significant that in other subsequent proce- right not ofifer- 
 dure when the witness testified, the accused^ 
 was not summoned, and that when the accused was 
 summoned, the witnesses were absent. 
 
 It is noteworthy that the only instance where the 
 usual order of procedure was observed, in which the 
 accused was permitted to face the accuser, it resulted in 
 the dismissal of the charges: and that, in the subsequent 
 proceedings of September and November, 1909, in 
 which Mrs. Stetson was adjudged guilty by the Directors 
 of The Mother Church the fundamental right in the 
 order of procedure was not accorded. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 BEGINNINGS OF THE CONTROVERSY 
 
 The first official notice which the Board of Trustees 
 of First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, 
 had of what was being done by the Board of Directors 
 of The Mother Church, in matters affecting the New 
 « . ..« York church, was disclosed in the "Conference" 
 
 Boston "Con- ' 
 
 ference" with of September 24, 1909, in the Board Room of 
 Tr^JItees The Mothcr Church, to which, by request of 
 September thc Secretary of the Board of Directors, most 
 of the members of the New York Board of 
 Trustees had been called at forty-eight hours' notice. 
 All those invited were present except two — Mr. Edwin 
 F. Hatfield, Chairman of the Board, and Mrs. Isabelle 
 C. Dam. The former was unavoidably detained, and 
 the latter did not receive the notice. Mrs. Augusta 
 E. Stetson, C.S.D., then a regular member of the 
 New York Board, was not invited, as was afterwards 
 learned. The six members present were Mrs. Suzanne 
 S. Thomas, Messrs. John Franklin Crowell, John D. 
 Higgins, Adolph Rusch, William H. Taylor, Joseph B. 
 Whitney. Every member of the Board of Directors 
 of The Mother Church was present, namely, Archibald 
 McLellan, Allison V. Stewart, Ira O. Knapp, Stephen 
 A. Chase, and John V. Dittemore; and in addition to 
 these there were present Clifford P. Smith, First Reader 
 of The Mother Church, Virgil O. Strickler, First 
 
 30 
 
Beginnings of the Controversy 31 
 
 Reader, and Miss Ella Garrison Young, Second Reader, 
 of First Church of New York City, and a stenographer 
 representing the Board of Directors and the New York 
 Trustees respectively. 
 
 This meeting, as soon as it was called to order, by 
 Archibald McLellan, Chairman of the Board of Direc- 
 tors, proved to be for the purpose of stating to the 
 Trustees of the New York church then present such 
 of the results of a so-called investigation by The Mother 
 Church Directors as they elected to impart. 
 
 The presiding officer, Archibald McLellan, in intro- 
 ducing the business of the " Conference," stated that the 
 Board of Directors had been making an in- 
 vestigation based upon "a widespread im- Amnvestiga- 
 
 c> J- x- tion aSecting 
 
 pression," and on the story of a travelling First church, 
 salesman, about conditions said to exist in ^ (^'ty 
 
 First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York 
 City. It was disclosed furthermore that, with Clifford 
 P. Smith, First Reader of The Mother Church, acting 
 in the capacity of examiner, some time had been spent 
 in making inquiry of practitioners as well as in hearing 
 statements by both Readers of First Church, New York 
 City. All this had been done without any communica- 
 tion with the Board of Trustees in First Church, New 
 York City, and without in any way advising ^^^ ^^^^ 
 them of the extraordinary procedure in the Trustees en- 
 examination of some twenty-five practitioners *"* ^ *^'***'^^ 
 from First Church, New York, upon conditions alleged 
 to have existed there. 
 
 The following extracts from stenographic notes of 
 the interview speak for themselves: 
 Mr. Taylor: Are you sitting as the Board of 
 
 Directors? 
 Mr. McLellan: I will say we are sitting informally. 
 
S2 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 Mr. Taylor: Then this is not a matter of regular 
 business? 
 
 Mr. McLellan : It is a matter of the members of the 
 Board of Directors' meeting with these ladies and 
 gentlemen here present. We have asked them 
 to come here, and Judge Smith will make any 
 statements for the Board of Directors. 
 
 Mr. Taylor: In what capacity are we here? 
 
 Mr. McLellan: Because you are Trustees and offi- 
 cers of First Church, New York. 
 
 Mr. Taylor: Are we called as officers and Trustees? 
 
 Mr. McLellan: You are called here as individuals. 
 
 Mr. Taylor: I simply want to get our own position 
 
 Under what right in the matter. Under what pro- 
 
 "c^nflrrni"^^^^^^ °^ ^^^ By-Laws are we called 
 
 convened? hcrC? 
 
 Mr. McLellan: The provision of the By-Laws under 
 which this investigation has been conducted is 
 the one that Judge Smith has here. 
 
 Judge Smith: Section 2, Article XII., was the section 
 under which these witnesses were heard. 
 
 Mr. Taylor: Section 2, Article XII. That is "Mis- 
 teaching." 
 
 Judge Smith: There are a number of By-Laws 
 involved. 
 
 Mr. Taylor: May I ask when this inquiry was 
 started? 
 
 Mr. McLellan: The witnesses, or those named, 
 have been examined in the last two weeks. 
 
 Mr. Taylor: Was that the first that the inquiry was 
 started? 
 
 Mr. McLellan: I do not think I quite get your 
 meaning. The present inquiry was started 
 about two weeks ago, I think. 
 
Beginnings of the Controversy 33 
 
 Mr. Taylor: The present inquiry was started two 
 
 weeks ago? Was that based on a complaint 
 
 made to the Board? 
 Mr. McLellan: No. 
 Mr. Taylor: Then on what was it based? 
 Mr. McLellan: On the duty of the Board to make 
 
 an investigation. 
 Mr. Knapp : I think if you will read the By-Law that 
 
 will explain the matter. 
 
 (Mr. Taylor reads Section 2, Article XII.) 
 
 Mr. Taylor: Has Article XL, Section 4, been com- 
 plied with? 
 
 Mr. McLellan: What is that? 
 
 Mr. Taylor: Article XL, Section 4, reads "Prelimi- 
 nary Requirement." I asked the 
 question whether that requirement By^Law^was 
 has been complied with, in accord- Directors' 
 
 . 1 , . . 1 1 • 1 investigation 
 
 ance with this section under which made? 
 
 you say you have been acting? 
 Mr. McLellan: No discipline has ensued. 
 Mr. Taylor: I ask you whether the action to be 
 
 taken as set forth in Section 2, Article XII., 
 
 which refers to Section 4, of Article XL, has 
 
 been conformed to by yourselves? 
 Mr. McLellan: Mr. Strickler, has Mrs. Stetson 
 
 been admonished? 
 Mr. Strickler: Well, I can only say that about two 
 
 months ago Mrs. Stetson was brought up here. 
 
 I know from what Mrs. Stetson told me herself 
 
 as to what took place here. She told me that 
 
 Mr. Taylor: I do not think you ought to tell that 
 in her absence. 
 
34 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 Mr. Strickler: I can only say that I received a 
 letter from the Board of Directors calling my 
 attention to the matter and referring me to my 
 duty under the section of the By-Law. 
 
 Mr. Taylor: Have you that letter? 
 
 Mr. Strickler: It referred to me as First Reader, 
 in charge of the church matters. 
 
 Mr. Taylor: Do I understand that the Board of 
 Directors deputized Mr. Strickler to do certain 
 work for them in this matter? 
 
 Mr. McLellan: My answer is no. 
 
 Mr. Taylor: I imderstand that Mrs. Stetson was 
 here. 
 
 Mr. Strickler : About two months ago. 
 
 Mr. Taylor: I understand that this investigation 
 started two weeks ago. Is it not a fact that the 
 charges to which you refer of some two months 
 ago were dismissed, Mr. McLellan? Is not that 
 a fact? 
 
 Mr. McLellan: Yes, that is a fact. 
 
 Mr. Taylor: Have you under this present pro- 
 ceeding conformed to the terms as laid 
 
 Did Directors ^q^^ {^ Scction 2 of Article XIL, or done 
 
 conform to . . * • i -« 
 
 Art. XII., what is required in Section 4, Article XL, 
 
 of^Manuli?^ '* — givcn the preliminary requirements, which 
 you are obliged to do? 
 
 Mr. McLellan: Well, Mr. Taylor, you misunder- 
 stand the matter just a little. The By-Law 
 says that no discipline shall ensue until this 
 has been done. 
 
 Mr. Taylor: I am asking you have you done 
 that? 
 
 Mr. McLellan: We have done all that the By-Law 
 requires. 
 
Beginnings of the Controversy 35 
 
 Judge Smith: It is possible that there may be a 
 misunderstanding between you gentlemen, owing 
 to your understanding of Section 4, Article XI. 
 As I understand Section 4, Article XL, it does 
 not require the Board of Directors to give that 
 admonition. It may be given by any person ; so 
 this cross-examination by the visiting brother is 
 possibly based upon misunderstanding of that 
 By-Law. Permit me also to raise the point of 
 order as to whether it is in order for these 
 visitors whom we have invited to an informal 
 conference to start in with a cross-examination 
 of this Board. As I understand the occasion, 
 it is an informal meeting between the Executive 
 Board of The Mother Church and the Executive 
 Board of a branch church. 
 
 Mr. Taylor: Mr. Chairman, I will answer. It is 
 simply that we may know just where we 
 are at at this time. We do not know at 
 all. 
 
 Judge Smith: If any explanation is desired on that 
 point it may be made. 
 
 Mr. Taylor: We feel that all of these things should 
 be done in the Hne of law and order; for if this 
 thing is being done in any other way than the 
 right way, I am sure you gentlemen will be the 
 first to join me in correcting it. 
 
 Mr. McLellan: Permit me to say, Mr. Taylor, 
 that you mistake your position entirely. The 
 Board has asked you to come here informally, 
 and you have asked that question, and it was 
 said — informally and as individuals. 
 
 Mr. Taylor: The question that I want to raise is 
 this 
 
36 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 Mr. McLellan: Now, will you raise that question, 
 and then we will go ahead. 
 
 Mr. Taylor: I will ask the question simply whether 
 you have performed the act, or caused to be 
 performed the act in Section 4, Article XL, 
 which the section under which you are acting 
 provides shall be done? 
 
 Mr. McLellan: It will be sufficient for me to state 
 that we have done all we felt was required to be 
 done under that section. Just as Judge Smith 
 said, I think you have a different concept. 
 Now, if you will just go ahead and let it be stated 
 that the Board of Directors did all they felt they 
 were required to do under that section, then if 
 at any time in the future it becomes neces- 
 sary 
 
 Mr. Taylor: Without in any manner admitting 
 that it has been done, we are perfectly willing 
 
 Explanations that the Statement as made by the Chairman 
 
 unsatisfactory ^^ ^^^ BosLvd of Dircctors shall be made a 
 part of this record. 
 
 Mr. Dittemore: Mr. Taylor inquired in what capa- 
 city we were here, and it might be appropriate 
 to say that first of all we are here as Christian 
 Scientists. 
 
 Mr. Taylor: That goes without saying; but you 
 have called me here under a message from the 
 Clerk of the Church, therefore I am entitled to 
 know, and I ask the question whether you are 
 in executive session, so to speak, or other- 
 wise. 
 
 Mr. McLellan : No, we are here informally. 
 
 Mr. Taylor: If you will allow me just a minute to 
 speak to the other Trustees, 
 
Beginnings of the Controversy 37 
 
 (Mr. Taylor confers with Mr. Higgins, Dr. Crowell, 
 Mr. Rusch, and Mr. Whitney.) 
 
 Mr. Taylor: We accept your offer, with the distinct 
 understanding that all of our rights are reserved 
 to us and that we consider this as an informal 
 meeting, but that you have a statement which 
 you wish to make to us voluntarily. 
 
 Dr. Crowell: I should like to have a little more 
 definite statement, so far as I am concerned, 
 as to one particular feature. Is any particular 
 member of First Church of Christ, Scientist, 
 New York, under investigation? 
 
 Judge Smith : The Board of Directors cannot deter- 
 mine in advance what the inquiry will lead to. 
 The inquiries are conducted under a certain 
 section of the By-Laws. 
 
 Dr. Crowell: There was some name mentioned 
 which led me to infer that you had some par- 
 ticular member of First Church of Christ, Scien- 
 tist, New York, under investigation. The letter 
 gives me no information as to what I am called 
 here for, and for that reason I am not here as 
 a member of the Board of Trustees, collectively 
 speaking, and I would like to get an intelligent 
 understanding as to what the subject of the 
 investigation is before we proceed. I claim the 
 right to know what I am here for, and if any 
 particular individual is under investigation in 
 this matter. I understand that the . presiding 
 officer had mentioned the name of Mrs. Stetson 
 in his preliminary question. 
 
 Mr, Strickler: That name was mentioned when I 
 spoke to Mr. Taylor. 
 
38 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 Dr. Crowell: Then, as I understand it, it is with 
 
 reference to the church as a body? 
 Mr. McLellan : It is an investigation as to what are 
 
 the teachings and practices which obtain there. 
 Dr. Crowell: And without any particular regard 
 
 to any individual? 
 
 Mr. Taylor: In view of the fact that we 
 
 Augusta E. 1 1 AT* • 
 
 Stetson ai- havc bccn called here as Trustees, m 
 TrTstee^ot ^n individual capacity, however, may I 
 invited to ask why all of the Trustees were not 
 
 "Conference" 
 
 called? 
 Mr. McLellan : Because it did not seem the proper 
 
 thing to call all of the Trustees. 
 Mr. Taylor: As I understand it, all of the Trustees 
 
 have been called here except one. Am I right 
 
 in that? 
 Mr. McLellan: Yes. 
 Mr. Taylor: And your reason for that, that one 
 
 being Augusta E. Stetson? 
 Judge Smith : I wish to raise a point there. This 
 
 inquiry has been instituted under a certain sec- 
 tion of the By-Laws, and not against any 
 Judge Smith pQYSon. Our brother's assumption is a mis- 
 
 disclaims in- •^ i- • 
 
 vestigating take. This is an inquiry prehmmary to any 
 
 any^particular ^^^.^^ ^^^^ ^-^j^^ ^^ ^^^^^^ ^j^^ g^^^.^ q£ 
 
 Directors of The Mother Church considered 
 that it was proper to call in, as individuals, 
 most of the members of the Board of Trustees 
 of First Church, New York. The Board of 
 Directors considered it wise and advisable to 
 call in most of the members of that Board of 
 Trustees for the purpose of communicating 
 certain information to you as such Board of 
 Trustees, and the Board of Directors of The 
 
Beginnings of the Controversy 39 
 
 Mother Church is here as well. Those who do 
 not belong to the Board of Trustees, at this time 
 are here by invitation as individuals. This 
 request was made for the purpose of discussing 
 the matter in a perfectly informal way. This is 
 a matter of interest to the Board of Trustees of 
 that church, and also to the Directors of The 
 Mother Church. There is no disposition on the 
 part of the Directors to force this question on 
 you. I may say that I am greatly surprised 
 that any one should come here with questions, 
 as though it were a court-martial. Now if it 
 be true that there is that attitude; if it be true 
 that you do not wish to hear these things, I am 
 sure the Board of Directors will be glad to desist. 
 They do not wish to force anything on you. If 
 you wish to withdraw, I am sure it will be satis- 
 factory all around. 
 
 Dr. Crowell: Mr. Chairman, may I say that, for 
 myself, and I speak only as an individual, I have 
 had no direct information as to what this inquiry 
 pertained to and what its nature was, and I 
 understand that those who have appeared before 
 you have pledged themselves to secrecy. 
 
 Mr. McLellan: No one has been pledged to secrecy 
 in any particular whatever. 
 
 Dr. Crowell: I am glad to be corrected, because 
 that is the impression which has been given me, 
 and therefore we came with the idea of under- 
 standing definitely just what the subject of the 
 inquiry is. In my experience with legislation, 
 you cannot get an appropriation without stating 
 definitely what the object is. You ought to 
 credit us with reasonable and just motives, and. 
 
40 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 even if it takes a little time to do that, we want 
 to act intelligently. Therefore I wish it dis- 
 tinctly understood that, for my part, I am entitled 
 to know, and not to be told that if I ask too 
 many questions I may be invited to leave the 
 room. 
 
 Judge Smith : I did not invite any one to leave the 
 room. 
 
 Mr. Taylor: Mr. Chairman, I also desire to say 
 that I fail to realize any sense of the spirit of 
 hostility in the inquiries which we have made, 
 believing them to be right under the circum- 
 stances; therefore I disclaim for myself any 
 hostility toward either the Board of Directors 
 or any member of the Board, or anybody as- 
 sisting it; but the purpose of this inquiry, as 
 has already been stated by Dr. Crowell, is that 
 we may intelligently understand the situation. 
 As I said before, we are ready to listen. 
 
 Mr. McLellan: Judge Smith is ready to make the 
 statement which I have asked him to make. 
 
 Judge Smith: Much of what I have to say relates to 
 the letter to Mrs. Stetson, and I assume for 
 that reason she has not been invited to be here. 
 What I have to say relates also to some twenty- 
 five in number, who, until lately, have been the 
 practitioners with offices in the church edifice 
 of the branch church in question. The proceed- 
 ings were not, however, taken against any of 
 those persons; we are not proceeding against 
 them, and I have no object to make any accusa- 
 tions against all or any of them, but wish to 
 communicate to the individuals present some- 
 thing of what has been developed in this inquiry. 
 
Beginnings of the Controversy 41 
 
 (** Conference " in Boston, September 24, 1909, 
 from stenographic report.) 
 
 The essential points to be kept in mind as to the 
 foregoing "Conference' ' are that it occurred on September 
 24, between the hours of three and five p.m., ^^^ McLeiian 
 and that the Directors stated that the inquiry states no 
 
 1 • 1 T-> 1 complaint 
 
 was not based on a complaint to the Board. pending 
 (From stenographic notes.) "^"'"steuon 
 
 Mr. Taylor: The present inquiry was started two 
 weeks ago. Was that based on a complaint 
 made to the Board? 
 
 Mr. McLellan: No. 
 
 Charges 
 
 They also stated that the charges pre- against her 
 viously brought against Mrs. Stetson had ^"t^ssed 
 been dismissed by them. August 3 
 
 Mr. Taylor: I understand that this investigation 
 started two weeks ago. Is it not a fact that the 
 charges to which you refer of some two months 
 ago were dismissed, Mr. McLellan? Is not 
 that a fact? 
 
 Mr. McLellan : Yes, that is a fact. 
 
 Mr. Taylor: As I understand it, all of the Trustees 
 have been called here except one. Am I right 
 in that? 
 
 Mr. McLellan: Yes. 
 
 Mr. Taylor : And your reason for that, that one being 
 Augusta E. Stetson? 
 
 Judge Smith: I wish to raise a point there. This 
 inquiry has been instituted under a certain 
 section of the By-Laws and not against any 
 person. 
 
42 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 Nevertheless, on the very next day after this "Con- 
 ference," namely, on September 25, 1909, at a meeting 
 of the Directors adjourned from the 24th, the 
 disciplined "Findings and Orders" against Mrs. Augusta 
 Sept 25 with- E_ Stetson, C.S.D., were officially and for- 
 
 out admoni- . 
 
 tions or mally promulgated, accusing her, a member 
 and Trustee of First Church of Christ, Sci- 
 entist, New York City, of seven distinct disciplinary 
 offenses, revoking her license to teach and removing 
 her card as teacher and practitioner from The Christian 
 Science Journal. 
 
 The character of the investigation by the Directors 
 Disclosures of The Mothcr Church as brought out at 
 ei,c'e^"°or the "Conference" of September 24, 1909, 
 Sept. 24 disclosed the following : 
 
 1. That twenty-five members of First Church of 
 Christ, Scientist, New York City, who were practi- 
 tioners, had been summoned to the Directors' 
 
 oMFkst' "^ Room at The Mother Church as conferees 
 Church ]-,^^ were examined separately in the presence 
 
 examined 
 
 of the Directors; Judge Smith, First Reader 
 of The Mother Church, conducting the investigation 
 under their direction. A copy of the stenographic 
 notes then taken was refused to those practitioners 
 who requested a copy of the record of his or her exam- 
 ination. 
 
 2. That during this so-called investigation of two 
 weeks' duration, upon request of the Directors of The 
 
 Mother Church, the First Reader of First 
 Rerders' Church, Ncw York City, Virgil O. Strickler, 
 present. No ^^g present much if not all the time; but 
 
 Trustees -^ 
 
 invited no Trastcc of First Church, New York, 
 
 or apprised ^^^ ^^^^ invitcd or apprised of what was 
 
 going on. 
 
Beginnings of the Controversy 43 
 
 3. From the nature of the testimony given it was 
 deemed proper by the Board of Directors, at the end of 
 the investigation, to call certain members of 
 
 the New York Board of Trustees into their Trustees 
 presence informally, to make a statement investigation 
 to them of what was said to have been de- ^^^ «°'^^'* 
 veloped in the investigation. 
 
 4. That this investigation centered upon certain 
 expressions or words alleged to have been used within 
 the preceding nine months or less, by Mrs. 
 Augusta E. Stetson to a group of advanced use of words 
 Christian Science practitioners, her students, sions ques- 
 mainly at their noonday devotional meetings *'<"'** 
 in the New York church. 
 
 5. That Judge Smith was greatly surprised that 
 any considerable portion of the witnesses, simUarity 
 who had been taught by the same teacher ®* answers 
 for several years, "gave the same answer to a certain 
 question." 
 
 6. That the so-called examination of these twenty- 
 five practitioners seemed to be an effort to prove that 
 Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson, C.S.D., in her 
 
 , . . , EfiEorts to 
 
 talks to her students at the practitioners prove alleged 
 meetings, used certain words and expressions motives 
 alleged to be contrary to Christian Science. 
 
 7. That although the alleged expressions of Mrs. 
 Stetson's were not regarded by Judge Smith as having 
 any force, and even though Mr. McLellan 
 referred to them as an occasion of amusement ances by 
 to him; nevertheless, the Board of Directors, ^'"ridlelud 
 the very next day after making these state- 
 ments to the Trustees, formally issued the "Findings 
 and Orders" attempting to deprive Mrs. Stetson, a 
 Trustee of the New York church, of her status as a 
 
44 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 practitioner and teacher, because of these alleged 
 utterances. 
 
 8. That the refusal of some of these twenty-five 
 practitioners to answer only yes or no to certain com- 
 plex questions (which as appears later did 
 
 some to an- Hot truthfully admit of a single alternate 
 swer complex a^swer) was construcd by the investigator 
 
 questions ^ ' ■' " 
 
 as highly culpable demeanor. 
 
 9. That the particular By-Law of The Mother 
 Church Manual under which this investigation was 
 
 conducted, was declared by Mr. McLellan 
 XII., Sects, and Judge Smith to be Article XII., Section 
 Mlnui'°* ^' entitled "Misteaching," and reading as 
 
 observed? folloWSI 
 
 If a member of this Church is found trying to practise 
 or to teach Christian Science contrary to the statement 
 thereof in its textbook, Science and Health with Key 
 TO THE Scriptures, it shall be the duty of the Board of 
 Directors to admonish that member according to Article 
 XI, Sect. 4. Then, if said member persists in this offense, 
 his or her name shall be dropped from the roll of this Church. 
 
 The above section, which is one of the only two 
 sections in the Church By-Laws relating to teachers, 
 comes under "Discipline" and requires the Board of 
 Directors to admonish an offending member according 
 to due form of law prescribed in Article XL, Section 4, 
 which reads as follows: 
 
 Preliminary Requirement. Sect. 4. No church disci- 
 pline shall ensue until the requirements according to the 
 Scriptures, in Matthew, 18: 15-17, have been strictly 
 obeyed, unless a By-Law governing the case provides for 
 immediate action. 
 
Beginnings of the Controversy 45 
 
 We quote in full the scriptural passage referred to: 
 
 Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go 
 and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he 
 shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. 
 
 But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or 
 two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every 
 word may be established. 
 
 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the 
 church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto 
 thee as an heathen man and a publican (Matt, xviii., 15-17) . 
 
 On the day following the Boston "Conference," 
 discipline of Mrs. Stetson ensued without trial and 
 without admonition having been administered, and 
 in disregard, as it seems to us, of the provision in the 
 section on " Misteaching " under which, according to 
 the Directors' own statement, they had conducted the 
 proceeding. 
 
 By their own account, therefore, the Board of Di- 
 rectors, without any notice to the Trustees of the New 
 York church summoned twenty-five mem- 
 bers of this branch church to their presencCj^^^j^^J'^^J^^® 
 at Boston and conducted an inquiry for two Directors 
 
 < . , . , r j^i T-> 1 riava.de branch 
 
 weeks mvolvmg a member 01 the Board 01 church rights? 
 Trustees of the New York church. In 
 doing so, we believe they invaded the rights of a branch 
 church. First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York 
 City, in direct violation of the Manual of The Mother 
 Church, Article XXIII., Section 10, which reads as 
 follows : 
 
 No Interference. Sect. 10. A member of The Mother 
 Church may be a member of one branch Church of Christ, 
 Scientist, or of one Christian Science society holding pubHc 
 services, but he shall not be a member of both a branch 
 
46 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 church and a society; neither shall he exercise supervision 
 or control over any other church. In Christian Science 
 each branch church shall be distinctly democratic in its 
 government, and no individual, and no other church shall 
 interfere with its affairs. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 DECISION OF TRUSTEES AFTER BOSTON 
 CONFERENCE 
 
 After the Boston "Conference " of September 24, the 
 New York Trustees were unanimous in beHeving that 
 it was their duty to make an inquiry as to 
 the alleged conditions in the New York ^°i"''J*'f 
 
 ° New York 
 
 church, and to make it thorough and com- Trustees 
 prehensive, for the following reasons: 
 
 1. Most of the information given at the Boston 
 "Conference" impressed the Trustees as be- statements 
 ine quite at variance with what they knew seemed con- 
 
 ° ^ . trary to facts 
 
 to be the facts regarding certam members 
 
 of First Church, of whom they had had intimate 
 
 personal knowledge for many years. 
 
 2. They were further impressed with the advisabil- 
 ity of such an inquiry by the fact, which then for the 
 first time became known to them, that during ^^^ ^^^^ 
 the summer between July 24, and September Reader dis- 
 
 . H < 1 -r-<- T-% 1 J? obeys Manual 
 
 24, Virgil O. Stnckler, the First Reader ot 
 this branch church, in utter disregard of the Board of 
 Trustees of the New York church, had been in repeated 
 conference with the Board of Directors of The Mother 
 Church, or their representatives, during which period 
 he carried complaints as to members of this local 
 church to The Mother Church in direct violation of 
 
 47 
 
48 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 the Manual oj The Mother Church (Art. XI., Sect. 13) 
 which reads: 
 
 Members of Branch Churches. Sect. 13. A member of 
 both The Mother Church and a branch Church of Christ, 
 Scientist, or a Reader, shall not report nor send notices to 
 The Mother Church, or to the Pastor Emeritus, of errors 
 of the members of their local church; but they shall strive 
 to overcome these errors. Each church shall separately 
 and independently discipline its own members, — if this 
 sad necessity occurs. 
 
 These reports were there received and considered 
 by the Directors of The Mother Church, even though 
 the foregoing By-Law included in our judgment the 
 obHgation on their part not to receive such reports. 
 
 3. The issuance of the "Findings and Orders" of 
 the Directors of The Mother Church, attempting to 
 
 depose Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson, C.S.D., 
 
 "Findings ^ , ^ ^ . . . ' 
 
 and Orders" as tcacncr and practitioner, concerned the 
 Trule of ^^w York Board of Trustees officially, be- 
 New York cause of her membership on that Board. 
 These "Orders" likewise affected the mem- 
 bership of this branch church as a whole; although 
 they were directed only against that particular member, 
 who had always justly been held in the highest affection 
 and esteem among them. 
 
 4. Finally, there was a metaphysical reason for an 
 inquiry into the local situation. The question, what 
 
 is the true teaching of Science and Healthy 
 questions of had to bc answcrcd both with respect to 
 teaching what the teaching had been under Mrs. 
 
 involved ^ 
 
 Stetson s instruction, and also whether or 
 not that instruction involved a departure from the 
 essential teachings and practices authorized by the 
 
Trustees' Decision after Conference 49 
 
 writings of Mary Baker Eddy, the Founder and head 
 of the Christian Science Church. The question must 
 be met and answered as to whether or not the funda- 
 mental principle of Protestantism, known as the right 
 of individual interpretation of the Scriptures, also the 
 correlative right of interpreting the denominational 
 writings of Mary Baker Eddy, elucidating the Scrip- 
 tures, shall be the rule of the Church. 
 
 The Board of Directors of The Mother Church, in 
 our judgment, is not and it cannot be the source 
 of ultimate authority in interpretation and 
 
 n-vi • • J- 1 • "J. Spiritual 
 
 teachings. Ihe criterion 01 teaching is to understand- 
 be found in the spiritual understanding of >ng the true 
 
 ^ ° criterion 
 
 the teacher, within the limits of the Leader's 
 written exposition of Truth, and the individual spiritual 
 interpretation of the Christian Science textbook and 
 the other writings of Mary Baker Eddy. 
 
 The interpretation and definition of Christian Science 
 must not be dependent upon the dictation of any five 
 men who at any time might compose a self -perpetuating 
 Board of Directors of The Mother Church, nor can the 
 aspirations of the Founder and Leader of Christian 
 Science, Mary Baker Eddy, be defeated by the passing 
 of the scepter of authority from the spiritual to the 
 material. Christian Science as promulgated by its 
 Discoverer and Founder, Mary Baker Eddy, has come 
 to the world as a permanent dispensation. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 FINDINGS AND ORDERS OF SEPTEMBER 25, 1909 
 
 Within forty-eight hours after the Boston "Confer- 
 ence," the New York Board of Trustees began prepara- 
 tions for an immediate inquiry into the alleged 
 
 Immediate . . . , . , , ^, , f 
 
 inquiry by conditions m the local church. The subject 
 Trnltees*^ came formally before them on September 
 into alleged 26, IQOQ, in the following letter from Mrs. 
 Stetson, addressed to the acting Clerk: 
 
 7 West 96TH St., New York, 
 September 26, 1909. 
 
 Dr. John Franklin Crowell, 
 Acting Clerk, 
 
 First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City. 
 Dear Dr. Crowell: — 
 
 To-day I received a letter signed "J. V. Dittemore, 
 Secretary," containing enclosures which purport to be 
 Mrs stetson copies of findings and orders by the Board of 
 herself re- Dircctors of The First Church of Christ, Scien- 
 
 Quests inquiry ^-^^^ -^ BostOU, MaSS. 
 
 As a member of the Board of Trustees of First Church 
 of Christ, Scientist, New York City, I request that you 
 call a meeting of that Board at the earliest possible time, 
 in order that the documents referred to may be laid before 
 the Board for such action as may be proper. 
 
 Faithfully yours, 
 (Signed) Augusta E. Stetson. 
 50 
 
Findings and Orders of Sept. 25, 1909 51 
 
 This request was complied with, and a meeting of 
 the Board was held on October i, 1909. The First 
 and Second Readers were present, in addition to every 
 member of the Board excepting Mrs. Augusta E. Stet- 
 son, C.S.D. At that meeting the following letter and 
 enclosures mentioned were laid before the Board of 
 Trustees: 
 
 First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, 
 Central Park West and 96TH Street, 
 September 28, 1909. 
 
 To the Board of Trustees, 
 
 First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City: 
 
 I hand you herewith a letter, and the enclosures therein 
 referred to, dated Boston, Mass., Sept. 25, 1909, and pur- 
 porting to be written on behalf of the Christian jj^.^^ stetson's 
 Science Board of Directors. About six weeks letter of 
 
 ago I was advised by those Directors that a ®^*' ^^' ^'°' 
 charge then pending against me had been dismissed. Since 
 which time I have had no direct communication from them, 
 until the documents herewith handed you were received 
 by registered mail on Sunday morning, Sept. 26, 1909. I 
 immediately requested that a meeting of our Board be 
 called to hear these documents read, and to take such 
 action as may be proper. As the matter affects me indi- 
 vidually, in a way that may make my presence undesirable, 
 if not improper, I am absenting myself from the meeting. 
 
 I rest in the firm conviction that our Father- Mother 
 God will guide your every action — even that divine Mind 
 which is now manifested in glory in our beloved Leader, 
 Mary Baker Eddy, through whom I became acquainted 
 with her God — Life, Truth, and Love. This God I have 
 endeavored to present and to represent to you, even as I 
 have heard and seen while following my forever Leader, 
 Mary Baker Eddy. 
 
 Let nothing separate you from divine Principle or from 
 
52 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 your Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, who will bring us all into 
 the kingdom of our God and His Christ; "But every man 
 in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they 
 that are Christ's at his coming" (i Cor. 15:23). 
 
 (Signed) Augusta E. Stetson, C.S.D. 
 
 The enclosures referred to in the above letter were 
 (i) a letter dated September 25, 1909, addressed to 
 Mrs. Stetson by J. V. Dittemore, Secretary of the 
 Christian Science Board of Directors, and (2) a copy 
 of the "Findings and Orders" of said Board of Directors, 
 dated September 25, 1909. The letter referred to read 
 as follows: 
 
 Enclosure (i) 
 The Christian Science Board of Directors, 
 
 OF 
 
 THE FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST, 
 Norway, Falmouth & St. Paul Sts. 
 Boston, Mass. 
 Office of the 
 
 Secretary 
 
 September 25, 1909. 
 
 Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson, 
 
 7 West 96th Street, New York, N. Y. 
 Dear Mrs. Stetson: — By order of the Board of Directors 
 I am sending you herewith a copy of the Findings and 
 Orders concerning yourself this day made by them. 
 
 The copy of their action is sent you in order to inform 
 you thereof and in order to admonish you concerning errors 
 on your part therein pointed out. 
 
 The Board directs me to express the hope that you will 
 accept this admonition and desist from a repetition of the 
 errors which they have pointed out. 
 
 Very sincerely, 
 
 (Signed) J. V. Dittemore, 
 Secretary for THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE 
 BOARD OF DIRECTORS. 
 
Findings and Orders of Sept. 25, 1909 53 
 
 The "Findings and Orders" referred to as enclosed 
 in the foregoing communication were unsigned and 
 unauthenticated by any form of certification Directors' 
 as to genuineness. They read as follows: !'^'"J*''*^ 
 
 ° •' and Orders " 
 
 of Sept. 35 
 
 Enclosure (2) 
 
 Saturday, Sept. 25, 1909. 
 
 The Board of Directors of The First Church of Christ, 
 Scientist, in Boston, Mass., met pursuant to their adjourn- 
 ment of yesterday. Present; all of the Directors. 
 
 The Directors took up and considered the case of Mrs. 
 Augusta E. Stetson, a member of this church and an author- 
 ized teacher of Christian Science, as presented by her 
 statements recently made before the Directors and the 
 testimony of twenty-five witnesses whose examination was 
 concluded yesterday; namely, 
 Richard P. Verrall Mrs. A. Aikman 
 
 Miss Marion Stephens Hayne Davis 
 
 Arnold Blome Harry Fink 
 
 Miss Sarah Hathaway Miss Margaret Duncan 
 
 Miss Jessie Col ton Miss A. E. Ensworth 
 
 Mrs. Kate Remer Miss Ida Pope 
 
 Mrs. Margaret Beecher White Arthur Overbury 
 Mrs. Mary Freshman Miss Mary E. Pearson 
 
 Mrs. Amelia Rowbotham Mrs. Anna Holden 
 
 Steuart C. Rowbotham Mrs. Letitia Greene 
 
 Miss Ella Young Miss Mary Pinney 
 
 Miss Sibyl Huse Mrs. Catherine B. Gillpatrick 
 
 V. 0. Strickler 
 
 After having carefully considered the evidence, the 
 Directors decided and unanimously agreed as follows: 
 
 I. That Mrs. Stetson teaches her students, or those 
 with whom she has been holding daily meetings, that the 
 branch Church of Christ, Scientist, of which she is seven 
 
 a member, is the only legitimate Christian Science Findings 
 church in New York City ; and she teaches her students, or 
 
54 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 said group of students, not to regard the other branches 
 of The Mother Church which are in that city as Christian 
 Science churches. 
 
 2. That a considerable number of the witnesses 
 whose testimony the Directors have heard, exhibit as 
 Mrs. Stetson's teaching an erroneous sense of Christian 
 Science, particularly in regard to the application of 
 Christian Science to human needs and conditions; the 
 witnesses whom the Directors have heard being with one 
 exception her students, and being a select body of stu- 
 dents chosen by her, or a board of which she was a member, 
 to be representative practitioners of Christian Science. 
 
 3. That Mrs. Stetson endeavors to exercise a control 
 over her students which tends to hinder their moral and 
 spiritual growth. 
 
 4. That Mrs. Stetson endeavors to obtrude herself 
 upon the attention of her students in such manner as to 
 turn their attention away from divine Principle. 
 
 5. That Mrs. Stetson practises and teaches pretended 
 Christian Science contrary to the statement thereof in 
 "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," parti- 
 cularly by treating persons without their request or consent, 
 and by teaching a select body of her students to do likewise. 
 
 6. That Mrs. Stetson attempts to control and to injure 
 persons by mental means; this being utterly contrary to 
 the teachings of Christian Science. 
 
 7. That Mrs. Stetson has so strayed from the right way 
 as not to be fit for the work of a teacher of Christian Science. 
 
 After having considered these facts in view of the By- 
 Laws of this Church applicable to them, the Directors 
 unanimously determined and ordered as follows: 
 Directors re- ^- That the Card of Mrs. Stetson be removed 
 move Mrs. from the Christian Science Journal, and that the 
 fro^m^/Lma" Trustccs of the Publishing Society be directed 
 and forbid not to advcrtisc her as a teacher or prac- 
 titioner of Christian Science without first 
 obtaining the approval of the Directors. 
 
Findings and Orders of Sept. 25, 1909 55 
 
 2. That Mrs. Stetson's license or authority to teach 
 Christian Science be and it hereby is revoked, and that 
 she be and hereby is forbidden to undertake the 
 work of a teacher of Christian Science until her fitness 
 for such work shall have been proved and decided accord- 
 ing to Article XII., Sect, i, of the By-laws of this Church. 
 
 3. That in order to inform Mrs. Stetson of the action 
 now taken by the Directors and to admonish her concerning 
 the things now pointed out by them, the Secretary of the 
 Board shall send to her by registered mail a copy of these 
 findings and orders. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 NATURE AND SCOPE OF THE INQUIRY BY THE 
 NEW YORK TRUSTEES 
 
 With these documents before the Trustees, the situ- 
 ation called for prompt official action. To have 
 Sixteen acccptcd without question any of the con- 
 
 practitioners clusions amvcd at by an outside inquiry, 
 involving the veracity and the metaphysical 
 understanding of several of their own church members, 
 including a member of their own Board, would have 
 been an unthinkable shirking of their duty as Trustees. 
 
 The question, therefore, no longer was whether or 
 not there should be an inquiry, but by what method it 
 should be conducted. The members of the Board of 
 Trustees were men and women occupied with their 
 private pursuits and duties. Nevertheless it was 
 regarded as a call to official duty that the inquiry 
 should be immediately undertaken, and that the Board, 
 as a whole, with the exception of Augusta E. Stetson, 
 C.S.D., should assume responsibility for prosecuting 
 it to a conclusion. 
 
 The scope of the inquiry was primarily determined 
 by the communications and documents already before 
 it. It was deemed neither pertinent nor 
 in general ^^ ncccssary to extend an investigation to the 
 held in high- membership of the church as a whole, of 
 whom words of the highest praise had been 
 spoken by at least three of the members of The Mother 
 
 56 
 
Nature of Trustees* Inquiry 57 
 
 Church Board of Directors. The following extract from 
 the stenographic record of the Boston " Conference " is 
 a sufficient indication of the estimation in which the 
 membership of this branch church was then held : 
 
 Mr. McLellan: . . . The statement is often made in 
 my hearing, and I have made the statement myself, 
 I think, that the body of people in First Church, 
 New York, have been referred to many times as 
 the finest lot of people on the face of the globe. I 
 think the rest of the Directors will bear me out in 
 this, that this is the feeling they have had. 
 
 Mr. Stewart: I think I have made that same statement 
 myself. 
 
 Mr. Knapp : We all agree to that, I am sure. 
 
 Naturally, the scope of inquiry under these circum- 
 stances centered in the testimony of practitioners who 
 were most familiar with the teachings and practices 
 called into question. The inquiry included the per- 
 sons mentioned in the "Findings and Orders" given 
 above, all of whom had been called to Boston to give 
 testimony on local church matters to The Mother 
 Church Directors. 
 
 In the hope of avoiding the possible necessity of 
 duplicating the Boston testimony in the Trustees' 
 inquiry, and having had the assurance expressed by 
 The Mother Church Directors of a desire on their part 
 for a closer understanding, it was decided to formally 
 renew the request made at the Boston "Conference" for 
 a copy of the testimony taken during the two weeks' 
 hearing there, at which twenty-five members of the 
 local church were questioned. 
 
 With this end in view, the following letter (i) was 
 addressed, and the succeeding reply (2) was received: 
 
58 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 Letter (i) 
 
 First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, 
 I West 96TH Street, October i, 1909. 
 
 The Chairman of The Board of Directors, 
 The First Church of Christ, Scientist, 
 Boston, Mass. 
 Gentlemen: — On Friday last, when six of this Board of 
 Trustees had the pleasure, upon your invitation, of meeting 
 New York ^^^ Board of Directors of The Mother Church 
 Trustees ask informally in Boston, it transpired that a great 
 monies at^ '" ^^^^ ^^ testimony had been taken from some 
 hearings in twenty-five of the practitioners who had been 
 *'^**"* associated with this branch church. This testi- 
 
 mony, as outlined by Judge Smith, appeared to be of 
 a serious nature; but as a bare outline of only some of 
 the testimonies was given by him, you will recall that a 
 request was then made for a copy of all the testimonies. 
 Judge Smith said he would rather not let it be given out 
 until further action was determined upon. Since then, 
 action has been taken by your Board, involving one who 
 is not only a member of this branch church, but a member 
 of this Board of Trustees. Therefore, having in view our 
 duty in the premises to properly consider this matter, we 
 now make request that this Board be promptly furnished 
 with copies of the examination of and testimony given (in 
 any manner) by each and every member of this church 
 who was called upon to appear before the Directors in the 
 investigation relating to "the teachings and practices in 
 First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City," or in 
 any manner relating to the teachings and practices of any 
 of its members. 
 
 In view of your recent assurance that it is your desire, 
 as it is surely ours, to come into closer understanding with 
 each other, we feel no doubt but that you will see the wisdom 
 and justice of granting this, under the circumstances, 
 most reasonable request. 
 
Nature of Trustees' Inquiry 59 
 
 Judge Smith said on Friday last, "Let the present occa- 
 sion be taken as an overture made on the part of the Direc- 
 tors of The Mother Church towards the branch church in 
 New York City. Let nothing in the way of formahty, or 
 form, or anything of that sort, interfere with the endeavor 
 to come into closer understanding." Anticipating, there- 
 fore, an early and favorable response, we are, 
 Sincerely yours, 
 
 The Board of Trustees of 
 First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City. 
 By (Signed) E. F. Hatfield, Chairman. 
 
 John D. Higgins, Clerk. 
 
 The foregoing request was not granted, as is shown 
 by the reply of October 4, which reads as follows: 
 
 Reply (2) 
 The Christian Science Board of Directors, 
 
 OF 
 
 THE FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST, 
 Norway, Falmouth & St. Paul Sts. 
 Boston, Mass. 
 Office of the 
 
 Secretary 
 
 October 4, 1909. 
 The Board of Trustees of First Church 
 of Christ, Scientist, of New York City, 
 I West 96th Street, New York City. 
 Gentlemen: — We are in receipt of your letter of the ist 
 inst., and regret the attitude which it reveals. Your letter 
 seems to indicate that you think you have no duty to 
 perform unless it be to review and pass upon the action of 
 this Board. 
 
 You have been informed of certain irregular practices 
 of members in your church, disclosed by an ^j^^^ Mother 
 investigation conducted by this Board, and these church Direc- 
 
 !■ . . ,1 , tors decline 
 
 same tacts are as open to you as they were to request 
 
 us; moreover, the lamentable conditions which 
 
 exist and which have existed for a long time are within the 
 
6o Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 personal knowledge of the Chairman of your Board, the two 
 Readers, who are ex officio members thereof, and many- 
 other persons whom we did not summon. What you 
 should do is to obtain the testimony of these people and 
 do your duty. Under the circumstances this Board calls 
 upon you to wake up to the seriousness of the situation, 
 make your own investigation and act without fear or 
 favor. 
 
 Very respectfully, 
 THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE BOARD OF DIRECTORS, 
 By (Signed) J. V. Dittemore, Secretary. 
 
 Further correspondence with the Board of Direc- 
 tors, during our Inquiry follows: 
 
 Letter (3) 
 
 First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, 
 Oct. 21, 1909. 
 
 The First Church of Christ, Scientist, 
 Boston, Mass, 
 
 Dear Sirs: — ^The committee of inquiry, appointed by 
 the board of trustees of First Church of Christ, Scientist, 
 New York city, to inquire into conditions, teachings, and 
 practices in said church, has before it certain evidence to 
 the effect that members of this church have sent you 
 complaints or notices regarding errors alleged to have been 
 manifested by members of this church. 
 
 The committee of inquiry requests that you will forward 
 to me, as its chairman, the names of members of this church 
 who have done this, and also the nature of the errors com- 
 plained of. Unless there be some reason why this would be 
 improper, the committee would like to have the letters 
 themselves, or copies, and at your earliest convenience, 
 in order to expedite the inquiry now in progress. 
 Very truly yours, 
 
 E. F. Hatfield, Chairman. 
 
 ^ Christian Science Sentinel, volume xii., page 170. 
 
Nature of Trustees' Inquiry 6i 
 
 Reply (4) 
 
 Boston, Mass., Oct. 23, 1909. 
 
 Mr. E. F. Hatfield, Chairman, Board of Inquiry, 
 
 First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City. 
 
 Dear Sir: — 'We do not know of any complaints or notices 
 from members of your church, such as are described in your 
 letter dated Oct. 21 ; the evidence received during 
 the inquiry recently held by this Board was given deny knowi- 
 orally. Since then we have received many ^^^^ °* 
 
 letters from members of your church, but none 
 of them could properly be called complaints, and the most of 
 them only express the writer's satisfaction at the prospect of 
 a house-cleaning in your church. 
 
 The absence of such complaints need not, however, 
 hamper your inquiry; there are plenty of witnesses, both 
 within and without the present membership of your church, 
 who can furnish the evidence for which your committee 
 is seeking, or ought to be seeking. Their names should be 
 known to you by reason of your presence for many years 
 in the inner circle of Mrs. Stetson's students. And if your 
 committee would permit the First Reader of your church 
 to take part in the inquiry, as provided by Article III., 
 Sections 7 and 8, of the Manual, he is able and willing to 
 furnish the names of witnesses, and to aid in obtaining their 
 testimony, unless your committee has resolved itself into 
 a committee solely for the defense of Mrs. 
 Stetson. The fact that your committee has ^uestL" 
 excluded Mr. Strickler from this function, and good faith 
 the fact that your committee has appointed in °^ ^or^^^li^ 
 his stead a person whose card has been removed 
 from The Christian Science Journal, and to whom this 
 Board recently gave an admonition that is as yet unheeded, 
 ■ — these facts are circumstances tending strongly to impeach 
 the good faith of the inquiry now being conducted by your 
 
 * Christian Science Sentinel, volume xii., page 171. 
 
62 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 committee. Nor do these facts stand alone; for instance, 
 when the persons who now constitute a majority of your 
 committee were in our room in The Mother Church on 
 Sept. 24, 1909, and we were inviting them to Hsten to a 
 statement of the conditions disclosed by our investigation, 
 their sole purpose appeared to be the defense of their 
 teacher, whom their spokesman referred to as "the teacher." 
 
 During the recent inquiry held by this Board, it was 
 put in evidence that you had on three different occasions 
 spoken to Mr. Strickler of Mrs. Stetson's practice in regard 
 to treating persons without their consent, as being contrary 
 to the teachings of Christian Science. According to the 
 entries in his diary, you had a conversation with him on 
 Feb. 13, 1909, in which you referred to her practice in this 
 respect as "shocking;" you also said to him, on 
 referred to March 22, 1909, whilc referring to the audible 
 the power of treatments which she gave in the "practitioners 
 thought-force meetings" held in your church, edifice, that it 
 as a shock to fairly made you tremble to hear her make those 
 mind"™^" attacks against persons; and on March 26, 1909, 
 you showed him extracts from the writings of 
 our Leader, Mrs. Eddy, to prove that Mrs. Stetson's practice 
 was contrary to Mrs. Eddy's teachings. ^ If these statements 
 are true — and we have not heard them denied — your position 
 as the writer of the letter now before us is quite anomalous. 
 
 The membership of your church includes a large number 
 of splendid people, and we hope that your committee will 
 not subordinate their interests and the actual interests of 
 all parties concerned to a "mere personal attachment" 
 (Church Manual, Article VIII., Section i). 
 
 Sincerely yours, 
 THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE BOARD OF DIRECTORS, 
 John V. Dittemore, Secretary. 
 
 ^" The inaudible voice of Truth is, to the human mind, 'as when a 
 lion roareth.' ... It arouses the ' seven thunders ' of evil, and 
 stirs their latent forces to utter the full diapason of secret tones." 
 Science and Health, page 559. 
 
Nature of Trustees' Inquiry 63 
 
 Letter (5) 
 
 New York, N. Y,, Oct. 29, 1909. 
 The Christian Science Board of Directors, 
 
 The First Church of Christ, Scientist, 
 Boston, Massachusetts. 
 
 Dear Sirs and Brethren: — ^The gravity of the situation 
 produced by your letter of Oct. 23, together with other 
 occurrences, has made any reply impossible until the com- 
 mittee of inquiry of First Church of Christ, Scientist, New- 
 York City, could give such consideration to the conditions 
 thus created as their importance demanded. 
 
 The board of trustees of First Church of Christ, Scientist, 
 New York City, can alone speak officially for this branch 
 church, but this committee of inquiry seems to have a duty 
 in this matter while still engaged in the performance of the 
 duties imposed by the By-Laws of The Mother Church, and 
 of this branch church, in view of the authority vested in 
 this committee by the resolution which created it. 
 
 This committee regards as fimdamental the following facts : 
 
 1. The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, 
 Massachusetts, is The Mother Church, and First Church 
 of Christ, Scientist, New York City, is a loyal branch of 
 The Mother Church. 
 
 2. Different jurisdictions are granted to The First 
 Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Mass., and to the 
 several branch churches of Christ, Scientist; committee 
 these jurisdictions being defined in the Church of inquiry- 
 Manual of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, '*^ position 
 of Boston, Mass., in connection with the laws of the several 
 states. 
 
 3. The Board of Directors of The Mother Church, and 
 the boards of trustees of branch churches, have distinctive 
 duties. Among these duties are the enforcement of church 
 by-laws within their respective jurisdictions, and the scru- 
 pulous respect for the rights of each other. 
 
 ' Christian Science Sentinel, volume xii., pages 190, 191. 
 
64 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 4. The fulfilment of these duties includes not only the 
 full and fearless administration of just discipline within 
 their respective jurisdictions by each of said constituted 
 authorities, but also non-interference with the other in the 
 performance of its duty. 
 
 5. This duty of non-interference extends not only to 
 the boards of The Mother Church and of the branch 
 churches in their official capacities, but to each and every 
 member of said boards. 
 
 6. Furthermore, the textbook of Christian Science, 
 "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by 
 Mary Baker Eddy, Discoverer and Founder of Christian 
 Science, imposes permanently upon all persons concerned 
 the duty of realizing and declaring that every one 
 charged with a duty in the conduct of the church's busi- 
 ness, and in the administration of its by-laws, is an indi- 
 vidual manifestation or reflection of the divine Mind, and 
 is governed by that Mind. 
 
 The daily papers have been conspicuous in the publica- 
 tion of erroneous reports tending to mislead the uninformed 
 regarding the proceedings of this committee, and the pur- 
 pose and outcome of this inquiry now in progress under the 
 authority of the board of trustees of this branch church. 
 These reports were manifestly the work of enemies of 
 Christian Science, and they were properly answered by the 
 publication of this committee's announcement of Oct. 18, 
 copy of which was sent you in our letter of the 21st instant. 
 
 Notwithstanding the facts above set forth, your letters 
 continue to charge this committee, as they previously 
 charged the board of trustees of this branch church, with 
 not knowing and not doing and not intending to do its 
 duty under the conditions which now exist. 
 
 The facts are, that the board of trustees of this branch 
 church instituted this inquiry as soon as possible after 
 being informed of the conditions alleged to exist among its 
 members, and that this committee has not ceased since its 
 
Nature of Trustees' Inquiry 65 
 
 appointment to devote itself to the duties thus imposed 
 upon it. 
 
 According to our understanding of Christian Science 
 there is only one Mind, and this Mind is manifested in and 
 through all that really exists. To acknowledge any other 
 mind as existent or as operating, is to deny the fundamental 
 spiritual fact declared and emphasized in our beloved 
 Leader's writings, and constituting the comer-stone of all 
 Christian Science churches. 
 
 In the name of Christian Science, this committee takes 
 this occasion to call upon you, and each of your members to 
 know that every one connected with this inquiry, 
 
 ■' -1 J ' statement 
 
 or with the constituted authority of this branch of Principle 
 church, is a reflection of and is subject only to 
 the one infinite Mind, and is faithfully fulfilling the action 
 which this fact makes possible and imperative under the 
 operation of divine Principle, which our beloved Leader, 
 Mary Baker Eddy, has once for all discovered, effectually 
 declared, and continues to demonstrate for the salvation 
 of the whole world from sin, sickness, and death. 
 
 Error cannot separate this branch church from The 
 Mother Church, any more than error can separate man 
 from God, idea from Principle. In the assurance of this 
 fact, and of power, under our beloved Leader's divine 
 guidance, to know and do our duty, we remain, 
 Faithfully in truth. 
 The Committee of Inquiry of 
 First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City. 
 E. F. Hatfield, Chairman. 
 John Franklin Crowell, Secretary. 
 
 Reply (6) 
 
 Boston, Mass., Nov. 3, 1909. 
 The Committee of Inquiry of First Church of Christ, 
 Scientist, New York City. 
 Beloved Brethren: — ^"Your letter dated Oct. 29 is before us. 
 ' Christian Science Sentinel, volume xii., page 191. 
 s 
 
66 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 With respect to your protest against what you call interfer- 
 ence on our part, we beg to say that the jurisdiction of 
 this Board extends to every matter affecting 
 claim plenary the Causc of Christian Science as a whole, 
 —entire— Also, that this Board may deal with such matters 
 
 jurisdiction ,. , . 
 
 directly, or take them up with the officers of 
 branch churches, according to the exigency of each case, and 
 in accordance with the by-laws of this church. The relation 
 between The Mother Church and its branches necessarily 
 gives to this Board such supervision over the branches as 
 may be necessary to preserve the purity and integrity of 
 the Christian religion which it represents. 
 
 We must, in Christian fellowship, call your attention to 
 the fact that your concept of Christian Science as expressed 
 
 in your letter is erroneous, and of itself shows 
 to consider ^^® difficulty under which you are laboring, 
 the issues Your Statement that you call upon the members 
 uai"tandpoint °^ ^^^^ Board " to kuow that every one connected 
 
 with this inquiry, or with the constituted author- 
 ity of this branch church, is a reflection of and is subject 
 only to the one infinite Mind, and is faithfully fulfilling the 
 action which this fact makes possible," etc., etc., is nothing 
 more nor less than a claim on your part that mortals are 
 the reflection of infinite Mind. Of such a claim Mrs. Eddy 
 writes, on page 572 of Science and Health, "In Science we 
 are children of God; but whatever is of material sense, or 
 mortal, belongs not to His children, for materiality is the 
 inverted image of spirituality;" and again, on page 27 of 
 "No and Yes," "Mortal man is the antipode of immortal 
 man, and the two should not be confounded." The logical 
 effect of your demand is to require us to attribute to you, 
 as mortals, the infallibility of divine Mind. ^ 
 
 * In this statement the members of the Board of Directors show that 
 they considered themselves and others as mortals. The Board of 
 Trustees of the New York church adhered strictly to the teachings of 
 Mary Baker Eddy that man is immortal. The Trustees understood 
 that the claim of materiality or mortal so-called man is the false image 
 
Nature of Trustees' Inquiry 67 
 
 Finally, brethren, we assure you of our hope that you 
 do know and will do your duty; but this will be disclosed 
 by your report; for, as Christ Jesus said, "By their fruits 
 ye shall know them." 
 
 Very sincerely, 
 The Christian Science Board of Directors, 
 
 John V. Dittemore, Secretary. 
 
 To determine whether the position of the Board of 
 Directors or that of the New York Trustees in the 
 letters of October 29 and November 3 was 
 
 ^ '-' Directors' 
 
 the correct one, read what our beloved Leader position in- 
 says in regard to the premise from which with i°ead/r°s 
 Christian Scientists should work, viz., im- '^"e"" o"* 
 
 man's immor- 
 
 mortality which destroys mortality. taiity 
 
 INSTRUCTION BY MRS. EDDY. 
 
 We are glad to have the privilege of publishing an extract 
 from a letter to Mrs. Eddy, from a Christian Scientist in 
 the West, and Mrs. Eddy's reply thereto. The issue raised 
 is an important one and one upon which there should be 
 absolute and correct teaching. Christian Scientists are 
 fortunate to receive instruction from their Leader on this 
 point. The question and Mrs. Eddy's reply follow. 
 
 " Last evening I was catechized by a Christian Science 
 practitioner because I referred to myself as an immortal 
 idea of the one divine Mind. The practitioner said that 
 my statement was wrong, because I still lived in my flesh. 
 I replied that I did not live in my flesh, that my flesh lived 
 or died according to the beliefs I entertained about it; 
 but that, after coming to the light of Truth, I had found 
 
 of spirituality, therefore no image — a myth. They did not confound 
 mortal and immortal man. They recognized the immortal individu- 
 ality of every one as the only man. 
 
68 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 that I lived and moved and had my being in God, and to 
 obey Christ was not to know as real the beliefs of an earthly 
 mortal. Please give the truth in the Sentinel, so that all 
 may know it." 
 
 Mrs. Eddy's Reply. 
 
 You are scientifically correct in your statement about 
 yourself. You can never demonstrate spirituality until 
 you declare yourself to be immortal and understand that 
 you are so. Christian. Science is absolute; it is neither 
 behind the point of perfection nor advancing toward it; it 
 is at this point and must be practised therefrom. Unless 
 you fully perceive that you are the child of God, hence 
 perfect, you have no Principle to demonstrate and no rule 
 for its demonstration. By this I do not mean that mortals 
 are the children of God, — far from it. In practising Chris- 
 tian Science you must state its Principle correctly, or you 
 forfeit your ability to demonstrate it. 
 
 Mary Baker Eddy. 
 Christian Science Sentinel, September 3, 1910. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 WHY THE COMMITTEE OF INQUIRY WAS 
 FORMED 
 
 At the beginning of the Inquiry by the New York 
 Trustees, both Readers, as well as Mrs, Stetson, recog- 
 nized the propriety of not sitting with the 
 Board which was conducting these hearings, were^exdude" 
 Both Readers had been material witnesses fro™ serving 
 
 , „ ^ on Committee 
 
 at Boston, and were to be called to testify 
 as to the alleged conditions which it was proposed 
 to investigate. Notwithstanding the fact that both 
 Readers had expressed the propriety of their not sitting 
 with the Board during the Inquiry and also their 
 willingness to absent themselves, under the circum- 
 stances, from the meetings of the Board at these 
 hearings, nevertheless as soon as the hearings had 
 begun, by the calling of witnesses for instruction and 
 announcement of arrangement, Mr. Strickler (First 
 Reader) protested in writing against the Board's 
 proceeding with the Inquiry in the absence from the 
 meetings of both Readers. 
 
 In order to get the benefit, at the outset, of all that 
 Mr. Strickler might have to say, he was called as the 
 first witness on Tuesday, October 12, 1909. Notwith- 
 standing the protest which he had made, Mr. Strickler 
 appeared before the Board and began to give his testi- 
 mony. Before the meeting of the following day, and 
 
 69 
 
70 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 before the conclusion of Mr. Strickler's testimony, a 
 second written protest was made by him against the 
 further progress of this Inquiry without the presence of 
 both Readers at these hearings held by the Board. 
 
 In order that there might be no doubt whatever as to 
 the regularity of the proceedings it was deemed best 
 to call a meeting of the Board of Trustees to consider 
 this matter. Such a meeting was held on October 14, 
 all the members of the Board except Mrs. Stetson being 
 present. Mr. Strickler and Miss Young were also 
 present. Thereupon the Board of Trustees appointed 
 a Committee of Inquiry composed of all the members of 
 the Board excepting Mrs. Stetson. The Committee 
 thus appointed was composed of the following persons: 
 
 Mr. Edwin F. Hatfield, Chairman, 
 John Franklin Crowe! 1, Secretary^ 
 Mrs. Suzanne S. Thomas, 
 Mrs. Isabelle C. Dam, 
 Joseph B. Whitney, 
 Adolph Rusch, 
 
 William H. Taylor, 
 John D. Higgins. 
 
 Something should here be said regarding the legality, 
 as well as the propriety of this course. As to the pro- 
 priety, the members of the Board of Trustees 
 pnfp^ri^^of were unanimous in desiring to conduct the 
 Committee of Inquiry so as to procure all testimony that 
 
 Inquiry , ^ , ^ . - . - . , 
 
 would lead to a just and nghteous judgment. 
 The course pursued accomplished this purpose. Mrs. 
 Stetson and Mr. Strickler were both fully heard at the 
 beginning of the Inquiry. The Committee then had 
 the benefit of all of Mr. Strickler's testimony before 
 proceeding with examination of the other witnesses. 
 
Why Committee of Inquiry was Formed 71 
 
 As to the legality ; the by-laws of this branch church 
 vested in the Board of Trustees, and in the First Reader, 
 coordinate rights (Article XL, Section i) in the admin- 
 istration of the church discipline. Either the First 
 Reader or the Board of Trustees might initiate action 
 with a view to discipline. Mr. Strickler had been in 
 possession for many months of the chief allegations 
 upon which this Inquiry was initiated by the Board 
 of Trustees on October i, which was only a few days 
 after certain members of the Board were informed of the 
 things complained of. Having initiated the action, the 
 Board of Trustees had the right to prosecute the Inquiry 
 according to its judgment. 
 
 Mr. Strickler did not, as was his duty, bring the 
 alleged conditions to the attention of the Board of 
 Trustees of this branch church at any time, ^. „ , . 
 
 -' First Reader's 
 
 although he attended many of their meet- dereliction of 
 ings prior to the time when the Directors of "*^ 
 
 The Mother Church began the investigation per- 
 taining to the branch church without any notifi- 
 cation to its Trustees. Indeed, Mr. Strickler never 
 brought the matter to the attention of the Board 
 of Trustees officially. It came before the Board by 
 Mrs. Stetson's initiative, taken September 26, the day she 
 received the letter above referred to from the Secretary 
 of the Christian Science Board of Directors, of Boston. 
 The New York Trustees were criticized by Clifford 
 P. Smith, the First Reader of The Mother Church, for 
 not employing the First Reader of the local j^.^ uaiified 
 church as counsel in this Inquiry. The from serving 
 
 I- it' iii" ii'' as Commit- 
 
 reasons tor not doing so and also tor declining tee's counsel 
 to permit either the First or Second Reader 
 of the New York church to become members of the 
 Committee of Inquiry were as follows : 
 
^2, Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 1. The recently ascertained fact that Mr. Strickler 
 had for months been secretly compiling hostile criti- 
 cisms toward Mrs. Stetson and some of the practitioners 
 who assembled in their noonday meetings. 
 
 2. Because, during the two weeks' investigation at 
 Boston, Mr. Strickler had been an important if not the 
 chief witness, furnishing the substance of the material 
 on which that investigation was based. 
 
 3. According to his own evidence Mr. Strickler, on 
 July 24, 1909, took the initiative that resulted in his 
 subsequent activity in connection with the investiga- 
 tion conducted at Boston as to alleged conditions in the 
 New York church. 
 
 In view of these circumstances, no impartial inquiry 
 could have been conducted with Mr. Strickler as counsel. 
 
 For the same reasons, it was not considered possible 
 to conduct a fair inquiry with him present at the hearings 
 for the examination of witnesses against most of whom 
 he had previously taken an antagonistic attitude at the 
 Boston investigation. To have employed him as 
 counsel the Trustees believed would have vitiated the 
 independence of the Inquiry and discredited the sin- 
 cerity of the Board. 
 
 Finally, Mr. Strickler had failed to present to the 
 Board of Trustees the letter of August 4, 1909, sent to 
 him as First Reader by the Directors of The Mother 
 Church notifying him that the charges against Mrs. 
 Stetson had been dismissed, and the entire matter 
 referred to this branch church as the proper place for 
 investigation according to The Mother Church Manual, 
 Article XI., Section 13, reading as follows: 
 
 Members of Branch Churches, Sect. 13. A member 
 of both The Mother Church and a branch Church of Christ, 
 
Why Committee of Inquiry was Formed 73 
 
 Scientist, or a Reader, shall not report nor send notices to 
 The Mother Church, or to the Pastor Emeritus, of errors 
 of the members of their local church; but they shall strive 
 to overcome these errors. Each church shall separately 
 and independently discipline its own members, — if this sad 
 necessity occurs. 
 
 We have always regarded the failure on the First 
 Reader's part to comply with the request of The Mother 
 Church Directors and follow out the direc- 
 tions of this By-Law of The Mother Church, consequences 
 as being largely responsible for this contro- °* °®*=**' 
 versy. Seldom has a single neglect of duty 
 been fraught with such lamentable consequences as 
 firose out of this instance of the failure of a church 
 official to cooperate, according to the plain letter of the 
 law, with his coordinate authorities. 
 
 The letter from The Mother Church Directors to Mr. 
 Strickler, of August 4, was as follows: 
 
 The Christian Science Board of Directors 
 
 OF 
 
 THE FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST, 
 
 Norway, Falmouth & St. Paul Sts. 
 
 Boston, Mass. 
 
 Office of the 
 Secretary 
 
 August 4, 1909. 
 
 Mr. Virgil O. Strickler, First Reader, 
 
 First Church of Christ, Scientist, 
 I West 96th St., New York City. 
 Dear Mr. Strickler : 
 
 Enclosed herewith please find copy of a letter just writ- 
 ten by this Board to Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson, C.S.D., a 
 member of the church of which you are First Reader. 
 
74 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 You are respectfully referred to Sect. 7, of Article III., 
 of the By-laws of The Mother Church. 
 Very sincerely, 
 The Christian Science Board of Directors. 
 
 By (Signed) J. V. Dittemore, Secretary. 
 
 The Christian Science Board of Directors 
 
 OF 
 
 THE FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST, 
 Norway, Falmouth & Sx, Paul Sts. 
 Boston, Mass. 
 
 August 4, 1909. 
 Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson, C.S.D., 
 7 West 96th St., 
 
 New York, N.Y. 
 Dear Mrs. Stetson: — Because of the concluding portion 
 of Section 13 of Article XL, of the By-laws of The Mother 
 Church, the charges against you recently filed with this 
 Board have been dismissed, and the entire matter is now 
 left with the branch church of which you are a member. 
 Sincerely yours, 
 The Christian Science Board of Directors, 
 
 By (Signed) J. V. Dittemore, Secretary. 
 
 Section 7 of Article III. of the By-Laws of The 
 Mother Church to which the letter of August 4 refers 
 reads : 
 
 Enforcement of By-Laws. Sect. 7. It shall be the 
 duty of every member of The Mother Church, who is a 
 First Reader in a Church of Christ, Scientist, to enforce the 
 discipline and by-laws of the church in which he is Reader. 
 
 The by-laws of this branch church, enforcement of 
 which is enjoined upon the First Reader by the above 
 First Reader By-Law of The Mothcr Church Manual, 
 and Trustees placed the duty of discipline upon the First 
 
 had joint au- _,^ . . . • ^ l^ -m ^ e 
 
 thority under Reader, m conjunction with the ijoard or 
 by-laws Trustees. See Article XL, Section i, of 
 local church by-laws, entitled "Discipline:" 
 
Why Committee of Inquiry was Formed 75 
 
 Any member of this Church, who in the judgment of the 
 First Reader or of the Trustees, is disloyal or disobedient to 
 the principles of Christian Science, the Pastor Emeritus 
 of The Mother Church, the First Reader of this Church, his 
 or her loyal teacher, or the Constitution and By-laws of this 
 Church, shall be admonished by the First Reader, and if 
 refractory, shall be called before the Board of Trustees for 
 further admonition. Failing to manifest a proper spirit of 
 repentance, his or her name may, at the request of the First 
 Reader, be dropped from the Roll of Church membership 
 by the Board of Trustees, or said member may be suspended 
 from membership for such period as may be determined 
 upon by the First Reader and the Board of Trustees. . . . 
 
 It is well to note here that Mr. Strickler's reply to 
 the letter of the Directors of The Mother Church, 
 dated August 4, was as follows: 
 
 August 6, 1909. 
 Mr. J. V. DiTTEMORE, Secretary, 
 Board of Directors, 
 
 The First Church of Christ, Scientist, 
 Boston, Mass. 
 Dear Mr. Dittemore: — I beg to acknowledge receipt of 
 your favor of August 4th, and to say that if any charges 
 are preferred they will receive due and prompt attention. 
 Yours sincerely, 
 (Signed) Virgil O. Strickler, First Reader. 
 
 The Second Reader, Miss Ella G. Young, had also 
 taken part in the proceedings of the Board of Directors 
 of The Mother Church, without the knowledge of the 
 Trustees of First Church, and had there been a witness 
 against Mrs. Stetson. 
 
 For these reasons the Committee of Inquiry was 
 formed as a special committee, in the appointment of 
 which it was believed to be necessary, just, and proper 
 not to include the First and Second Readers. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF INQUIRY 
 
 An inquiry was undertaken at once and prosecuted 
 with the greatest practicable expedition. The conclu- 
 ^ ..,,• J sions arrived at were presented to the New 
 
 Two "Find- -"^ ^ 
 
 ings" of Com- York chuFch at a special meeting held on 
 Sqllry"' Novembcr 4, 1909. They embodied two 
 
 "Findings, " one of which was voted upon and 
 approved by the church, while the other was referred 
 back to the Board of Trustees for further consideration 
 and subsequent report. 
 
 The first of these two "Findings" related to the 
 teachings and practices of Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson, 
 
 C.S.D., and of the practitioners regularly 
 vindicated by identified with the practice of healing in the 
 fhuTch"^'^ Reading Room. This part of the Report 
 
 was accepted and approved by the church, 
 and it stands on record as such. 
 
 The second of these two "Findings" embodied the 
 Report of the Committee of Inquiry so far as it related 
 Second "Find- ^^ ViTgil O. Stricklcr, the First Reader, and 
 ing" reported was, on that date, referred back to the 
 
 Committee of Inquiry of the Board of 
 Trustees for further consideration and report. This 
 latter Report was prepared for presentation to a church 
 
 76 
 
Report of the Committee of Inquiry 77 
 
 meeting which was specially called and convened on 
 November 15, 1909. 
 
 The part of the Report vindicating Mrs. Stetson and 
 the practitioners, as submitted, accepted, and approved 
 November 4, 1909, was subsequently printed in pam- 
 phlet form for the use of the members of the church. 
 The conclusions were as follows: 
 
 REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF INQUIRY 
 
 First Church of Christ, Scientist, 
 
 New York City. 
 
 This Committee was appointed by virtue of the reso- 
 lutions approved by the Board of Trustees at a meeting 
 held October 14, 1909, all the members of the Board 
 being present; also Mr. Virgil O. Strickler and Miss 
 Ella G. Young, First and Second Readers, respectively, 
 of this branch church. The Committee organized on 
 the day of its appointment, by electing Mr. Edwin 
 F. Hatfield as Chairman, and Dr. John Franklin 
 Crowell as Secretary. The Committee has not ceased 
 since that day to devote itself to the duties that de- 
 volved upon it; though the members of the Committee 
 were all preoccupied with their personal and business 
 problems, it was found possible to hold two sessions 
 daily except Sunday. Some sessions were held on 
 Sunday, there being in all thirty-five ses- 
 
 , . , . , Committee 
 
 sions, durmg which over 1,000 pages of type- held thirty- 
 written testimony were taken. Every member and took^rooo 
 of the Committee was present at practically pages of tes- 
 all the sessions, except Mrs. Suzanne S. ™°°^ 
 
 Thomas, whose residence is not in New York City, and 
 whose family ties imposed upon her certain duties of an 
 imperative character during the progress of the inquiry, 
 
78 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 which made it impossible for Mrs. Thomas to attend 
 the sessions regularly. 
 
 statement of '^^^ Committee is unanimous in the follow- 
 f acts deduced ing Statement of facts, deduced from the 
 
 from evidence „ • i u £ -j. 
 
 evidence before it: 
 
 I. First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York 
 First Church City, is a loyal branch of The Mother Church, 
 '°^*' and is an organic part of The First Church 
 of Christ, Scientist, founded by Mary Baker Eddy, and 
 of which she is the perpetual head. 
 
 II. Error cannot work through any person to sep- 
 arate this branch church from The Mother Church, or 
 to separate loyal members of this branch church from 
 our beloved Leader or from any one who is conquering 
 error and manifesting the Christ-mind more and 
 more. 
 
 III. This branch church derives its existence and 
 also its rights from the action of Mary Baker Eddy, and 
 recognizes her as supreme in spiritual leadership. 
 
 IV. This branch church has grown, in a little 
 more than two decades, from a small beginning to its 
 present proportions, notwithstanding the fact that a 
 number of Mrs. Eddy's students, who were members at 
 its organization or in the early days of its existence, 
 withdrew from its membership, and formed other 
 branch churches in this city, while this branch church 
 was still young in years, few in numbers, and apparently 
 feeble in power. 
 
 V. The same character of opposition which mani- 
 fested itself toward this church through those who with- 
 drew from its membership and formed other branch 
 churches in this city, subsequently manifested itself in 
 other parts of the country and has widened and inten- 
 
Report of the Committee of Inquiry 79 
 
 sified itself up to this present time. Proof of this fact 
 is in the possession of this branch church. 
 
 VI. This opposition persistently formulated and 
 assiduously circulated false reports regarding this 
 branch church, Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson, and other 
 of its members. This circulation of falsehoods still 
 continues. 
 
 VII. These reports were given currency, even in 
 Christian Science circles. When directed against Mrs. 
 Stetson they included charges of personal ambition, per- 
 sonal control, malpractice, hypnotism, mesmerism, etc., 
 even to the extent of disloyalty to the Cause and to 
 Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of 
 Christian Science, by entertaining the expectation 
 of robbing Mrs. Eddy of her position as the Leader of 
 Christian Science. When directed against this church, 
 these reports were more vague, but were of a corre- 
 sponding character, such as love of material wealth 
 and power, ambition to overshadow The Mother 
 Church, subjection to personal control, mesmerism, 
 hypnotism, etc. These reports periodically re- 
 embodied themselves during the past two decades, 
 varying from time to time, but never losing their 
 false character of holding Mrs. Stetson, this branch 
 church, or some of its members in error, more or less 
 grave. 
 
 VIII. These false reports were engendered and 
 developed by malicious animal magnetism, which is 
 the opposite and the opponent of Christian 
 Science, and they were circulated by persons members cir- 
 who did not properly protect themselves "^"'^'^^g^^^tg 
 against aggressive mental suggestion, as en- 
 joined by our beloved Leader in The Mother Church 
 Manual, Article VIII., Section 6. 
 
8o Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 IX. The widespread circulation of these unwar- 
 ranted reports throughout the Christian Science Field, 
 
 has kept many persons away from this 
 
 Field preju- , 11 ,1 
 
 diced against branch church who would otherwise have 
 chich*""^ come to its services and extended the right 
 hand of Christian Science fellowship to its 
 members. 
 
 X. Loyal to our beloved Leader and to the truth 
 of being, this branch church and its loyal members have 
 fought the good fight of faith, and have not despaired 
 of the day when the members of this branch church will 
 all be recognized by their brothers of other Christian 
 Science churches, as made in the image and likeness of 
 God, and as manifesting the Christ-mind, instead of in 
 subjection to error in its aggressive and hideous forms. 
 
 XL It is the purpose of this branch church to obey 
 the By-Laws that have recently been promulgated, also 
 all By-Laws that may hereafter be lawfully promul- 
 gated, even as it has heretofore obeyed the existing 
 By-Laws, as understood by the constituted authorities 
 of this branch church. 
 
 XII. Although this inquiry included general con- 
 ditions prevailing in this branch church, it soon became 
 Noond apparent that the conditions alleged in evi- 
 meetings of dcncc taken were almost entirely confined 
 prac oners ^^ what had bccn done and said in practi- 
 tioners' meetings, and to their effect upon the general 
 body of the church. For this reason the hearings were 
 preeminently occupied with the part played by the 
 persons directly participating in these meetings. 
 
 XIII. This assemblage of practitioners appears 
 never to have had any formal authorization. It simply 
 grew up out of the common desire of persons similarly 
 occupied to benefit by regular association for mutual im- 
 
Report of the Committee of Inquiry 8i 
 
 provement, and we find that there is quite general agree- 
 ment among witnesses as to what took place in these 
 meetings, but that there is a fundamental difference in 
 the attitude of witnesses toward statements made and 
 occurrences that took place at said meetings. During 
 the past year Mrs. Stetson made numerous mental de- 
 fenses against hostile manifestations toward ^ „ ^ , 
 
 " Self-defense 
 
 this branch church, as well as toward herself, against mental 
 With regard to these defenses, practitioners ^ser^ssion 
 appear to have grouped themselves into two classes. 
 Nineteen practitioners consider them as justifiable, 
 defensive declarations in handling error. Four or five 
 now appear to have regarded this kind of defense as 
 amounting to malpractice upon persons whose names 
 were mentioned. To the smaller group of witnesses the 
 use of persons' names without knowledge or consent is 
 the distinguishing mark of malpractice ; the larger group 
 insists that self-defense against mental aggression of 
 known personal agency is a legitimate and indispensable 
 method of maintaining their position against mental 
 assassination and as efficient practitioners in Christian 
 Science. The evidence plainly discloses that Mrs. 
 Stetson's teaching and practice were clear on the funda- 
 mental differences between treatment and self-defense 
 against aggressive mental malpractice. 
 
 XIV. All practitioners agree that the treatment 
 of a person in whose relations to them the aggressive 
 mental attitude is wanting is always conditioned upon 
 the person's knowledge or consent, and that unless this 
 consenting condition is present, the attempt is mal- 
 practice. This has been their uniform teaching. 
 
 XV. This Committee finds, therefore, that there 
 are these two conceptions extant in this church of what 
 constitutes proper self-defense in the handling of error. 
 
 6 
 
82 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 A large majority of the witnesses called are positive in 
 their statements : — 
 
 (i) That the use of names of absentees was con- 
 fined to the handling of aggressive mental suggestion in 
 the effort to defend this branch church organization and 
 its members against malpractice from without its fold. 
 
 (2) That in no case where mental aggression was 
 wanting, were the names of persons ever used by Mrs. 
 Stetson in handling error in these meetings. Nor did 
 she teach such uses. On the contrary, she taught that 
 such use of names would be unwarranted invasions of 
 the mentalities of innocent persons, and hence mal- 
 practice. Although one or two of the witnesses testified 
 that the aggressive mental relation was wrongly as- 
 sumed by Mrs. Stetson to exist, a majority of witnesses 
 agreed that Mrs. Stetson had ample knowledge of 
 aggressive mental suggestions, attacks or hostile acts 
 on the part of persons where names were taken up by 
 her in defense of this branch church and of herself. In 
 view of the widespread hostility generally pervading the 
 Field, resulting from misrepresentations regarding this 
 branch church, and the activity of disaffected ex- 
 members of the church, the fact of aggressive mental 
 attitude was placed beyond dispute. 
 
 XVI. We find that Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson has 
 Mrs, stetson not manifested resentment nor malice toward 
 did not show ^ q£ ^j^g Directors or officers of The 
 
 malice in -^ , , „ . 
 
 self-defense Mothcr Church or the Publishing Society, 
 or toward any other person. 
 
 XVII. We find that Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson has 
 manifested in a marked degree the divine 
 
 Christian love . . - , ^ /~m • 
 
 toward ene- lovc cnjomcd by Jcsus Christ, and by our 
 "^'^^ beloved Leader, which loves enemies, prays 
 
 for those that despitefully use and persecute you 
 
Report of the Committee of Inquiry 83 
 
 and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for 
 Christ's sake. 
 
 XVIII. Personal control, as alleged in our hear- 
 ings, appears in most complaints to amount to nothing 
 more than advice given against or in favor of 
 courses of conduct, acts or relations that were sonai control 
 deemed prejudicial or otherwise to the in- ^as advice or 
 
 ^ •' _ warning 
 
 dividual's welfare. The habit had grown, 
 upon the other hand, among some, of bringing to Mrs. 
 Stetson such personal matters as had no reasonable 
 ground for any proper claim to her attention. Prac- 
 titioners are repeatedly appealed to for advice in domes- 
 tic and business affairs, and acting on such advice is 
 sometimes characterized as "personal control. " In the 
 treatment of patients, such cases have been reported as 
 advising persons to leave their employers, on the ground 
 that the relation stood in the way of the person's spirit- 
 ual safety or of the patient's recovery. In other cases, 
 it was alleged of some that they were not entirely free 
 in selecting their places of abode, because of being 
 warned against associating with others who were 
 opposed to the teachings of Christian Science, or were 
 known to be disloyal to this church. Several objected 
 to the rule which discouraged absences or lateness 
 at practitioners' meetings as being personal control. 
 There were a few complaints at not feeling free to visit 
 other churches in this city during times of service in our 
 own church. Finally, there was the allegation that 
 undue influence was attempted, although the allega- 
 tions are not wholly in accord with statements in other 
 parts of testimony given. 
 
 XIX. Practically all of the cases of alleged control 
 were not regarded as objectionable at the time, but ap- 
 pear to have been so viewed later. The attitude of the 
 
84 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 complainer, in probably no individual case, amounted 
 to an abdication of personal responsibility by reason 
 of any attempt at control, of which the facts are known. 
 On the contrary, the net weight of evidence is pre- 
 eminently to the effect that so-called control by prac- 
 titioners and by Mrs. Stetson was welcomed rather 
 than resisted. To persons of spiritual discernment, 
 the intuitive foresight of the competent practitioner, 
 balanced by common sense in regard to human matters, 
 has undoubtedly had the effect in this church of develop- 
 ing the moral fibre and strengthening the moral force 
 of individual character. Instances of actual personal 
 control are comparatively insignificant in proportion to 
 the advantages derived from the mental and moral 
 cooperation of practitioner and patient, or of teacher 
 and student in this church. 
 
 XX. This church has always borne its share of the 
 
 burden of establishing and extending the Cause of 
 
 Christian Science in this city and State. 
 
 c^usrhefore Whatever its shortcomings may have been or 
 
 Courts and g^j.^ j^q^ [^ j^g^g j^qj^ sulkcd in its tents when 
 
 Legislature 
 
 the enemies of Truth made attack. It 
 has neither been niggard with its energies nor its re- 
 sources in defending its fellow workers under prosecution 
 for exercising the rights and liberties of the sons of God 
 in the healing ministry. Notably, as its official records 
 show, it has contributed liberally to such expensive 
 prosecutions as the White Plains case, in which Mr. 
 John C. Lathrop, of Second Church of Christ, Scientist, 
 New York City, was the defendant in one case, and 
 John M. Goodwin in another; also more recently to 
 expensive litigation in a neighboring portion of New 
 Jersey, where the local membership was ill prepared to 
 bear the burden alone. 
 
Report of the Committee of Inquiry 85 
 
 XXI. This defensive service extended to the halls 
 of the State Legislature, to which, whenever occasion 
 required, men and women from among our 
 
 ^ . . Field under 
 
 membership were ready to give unsparing obligation to 
 efforts to guarantee to Christian Scientists ^''J^^J^Y^'^fk' 
 their constitutional rights as God-fearing 
 citizens of this state and nation. The battles fought in 
 legislative committees by representatives of this branch 
 church were fought in behalf of the entire Field, because 
 of the lead which this State has long taken in legislative 
 progress on new issues such as are raised by the advent 
 of a new-old religious power in the life of the people. 
 Not boastingly, therefore, but rejoicing in the privilege 
 of service, has this branch church caused public opinion 
 to respect its voice in demanding the recognition of the 
 rights of religious worship and spiritual workers in 
 Christian Science. 
 
 XXII. In the relations of the membership of this 
 church with nearby churches in Christian Science, the 
 measure of fellowship, according to evidence 
 presented, has been somewhat limited by the with nearby 
 fact that, to no inconsiderable extent has the churches 
 
 ' lagged 
 
 membership of other local branch churches 
 been made up of persons who, for reasons deemed 
 sufficient to themselves, have withdrawn from this 
 church. Where those reasons were of a protesting 
 character, the conditions of further fellowship were not 
 entirely favorable on account of the attitude of out- 
 going members. Finally, there is no doubt that es- 
 trangements of membership from this church have 
 contributed a considerable contingent of disaffected 
 brethren to the other branch churches of Greater New 
 York and vicinity. Under the circumstances, what- 
 ever the causes may have been, it is in evidence that the 
 
86 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 progress of Christian fellowship was from this particular 
 source not generally strengthened. 
 
 XXIII. Among the complaints alleged for with- 
 drawals of disaffected persons, were criticisms of teach- 
 ing, undue personal control, favoritism, and similar 
 representations of an unofficial character, which were 
 never brought to the attention of the authorities by 
 any one willing to vouch for them as charges. There is 
 probably no large religious congregation where similar 
 conditions are not constantly present. It must needs 
 be that offenses come, and where the standard of spirit- 
 ual growth and the requirements of individual effort 
 are such as to demand little for self but much for the 
 Cause, there is apt to be a falling away where faith and 
 strength are not vital enough to hold the members in 
 unity of purpose and spiritual power. 
 
 XXIV. We find, therefore, that it has been always 
 assumed that every member of this branch church has 
 
 had ample work within the fold of its own 
 
 Ample work ^ 
 
 for all within body to occupy the attention of any one 
 one old desiring to grow. For that reason, occasional 
 visits to other church services were discouraged. Instead 
 of being a fault to discourage fellowship of this particular 
 character, general religious judgment would no doubt 
 regard it as a proof of fidelity to the vows of membership. 
 
 XXV. In more particular respects, one of the chief 
 complaints is that the members of this church have been 
 ^ .,. , taught that this is the only legitimate Chris- 
 
 Legitimacy of ° ./ o 
 
 other branch tian Scicncc ChuTch in New York City. 
 The denials of this allegation compare with 
 the affirmations of it as about four to one. The actual 
 relations likewise disprove the truth of the claim that 
 such is the view accepted in general among our members. 
 On the contrary, there could be no such measure of good 
 
Report of the Committee of Inquiry 87 
 
 will as actually exists, if such a view as that were 
 current in the members' conception of relations with 
 other churches. The Committee therefore finds that 
 any such allegations affecting church relations have not 
 been sustained. 
 
 XXVI. In the testimony taken by this Committee 
 a class of allegations occurs of a rather different charac- 
 ter from those involving malpractice, personal 
 control, and relations to other churches, teaching and 
 These allege the existence of wrongful human reia- 
 
 '^ _ ° tions 
 
 attitudes towards human relations, particu- 
 larly the marriage relation, the parental relation, and 
 the relations of the sexes generally. In teaching the 
 spiritual precepts of the Christian Scriptures, emphasis 
 has been laid upon certain aspects of the human rela- 
 tions with a disquieting effect upon some hearers. But 
 it is impossible to teach Christian Science without some 
 such attendant effects. Indeed, the rule in Christian 
 Science which must govern the efforts of individuals to 
 spiritualize their characters and purify their relations, 
 requires that they emerge out of the consciousness 
 occupied with the minding of the flesh which leads 
 to death, and into that minding of the Spirit which 
 demonstrates Life eternal. 
 
 XXVII. We find that the teachings relating to the 
 human relations, as such teaching has been given in 
 practitioners' meetings, have not been in any essential 
 respect different from those presented in the Chapter 
 on Marriage in Science and Health with Key 
 
 to the Scriptures, by our beloved Leader, human 
 
 Mary Baker Eddy, and in other writings '^'^'gp^'.^^a 
 of hers, in her books and periodical articles. 
 There is no evidence presented that Mrs. Stetson's 
 teaching to her classes, in her public addresses in the 
 
88 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 church, or in her associations with the congregation, has 
 departed from Christian Science teachings, nor has 
 her influence been anything other than an encourage- 
 ment to the moral and spiritual improvement of men 
 and women as individuals in their dutiful relations one 
 with another under rightful human arrangement. And 
 the Committee does so find. 
 
 XXVIII. The effect of Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson's 
 teaching and example upon persons who are now mem- 
 bers of this branch church is proven to be as 
 
 t^achin'T°°'^^*^^^°^^* ^^^ '^^ promote in a marked degree 
 loyal and fruit- the moral and spiritual progress of the 
 fuun^spirituai jnembcrs of this branch church, (b) To 
 free great numbers of them from sickness and 
 sin to which they were in bondage previous to their 
 coming in touch with her. (c) To enable many of them 
 to acquire such an understanding of Christian Science, 
 such a love and loyalty to Mary Baker Eddy, and such 
 consecration and obedience to God, divine Principle, 
 that they too have been enabled to free many of their 
 fellow men from sin and sickness in their various phases. 
 (d) To secure for those who heeded her teaching and 
 example, present liberation from previous personal 
 contagion or control, and an ever increasing exercise of 
 the freedom of the sons of God — those who realize that 
 they are really made in the image and likeness of Spirit; 
 and are therefore not material, but spiritual; not mortal, 
 but immortal. 
 
 XXIX. First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York, 
 First Church, ^^ the outgrowth in the main of Mrs. Stetson's 
 New York, efforts toward the establishment of the Cause 
 
 mainly the .... 
 
 outcome of m this City, in cooperation with persons who 
 her efforts j^^ye bccn tumcd by her influence and that 
 of her students into the path of Christian Science. 
 
Report of the Committee of Inquiry 89 
 
 No words seem more appropriate than those in the 
 two following letters, one addressed to Mrs. Augusta E. 
 Stetson personally, for placing in the corner-stone of 
 this building ; the other addressed to Mrs. Stetson, Mr. 
 Hatfield, and others, when the labors of building this 
 church edifice were successfully ended, and the necessity 
 for its proper protection had come: 
 
 Pleasant View, Concord, N. H. 
 To Mrs. A. E. Stetson: 
 
 Beneath this corner-stone, in this silent, sacred sanctuary 
 of earth's sweet songs, pseans of praise and Leader's two 
 records of Omnipotence, I leave my name with messages 
 thine in unity and love. 
 
 (Signed) Mary Baker G. Eddy. 
 November 30th, 1899. 
 
 Pleasant View, Concord, N. H., 
 December 3, 1903. 
 
 Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson, first First Reader; Gentlemen, 
 
 Edwin F. Hatfield, Adolph Rusch, William H. Taylor, 
 
 Steuart C. Rowbotham, John D. Higgins. 
 
 Beloved Students: — ^Your telegram in which you present 
 
 to me the princely gift of your magnificent church edifice 
 
 in New York City is an unexpected token of your gratitude 
 
 and love. I deeply appreciate it, profoundly thank you for 
 
 it, and gratefully accept the spirit of it ; but I must decline 
 
 to receive that for which you have sacrificed so much, and 
 
 labored so long. May divine Love abundantly bless you, 
 
 reward you according to your works, guide and guard you 
 
 and your church through the depths; and may you 
 
 "Who stood the storm when seas were rough. 
 Ne'er in a sunny hour fall off. " 
 Lovingly yours in Christ, 
 
 (Signed) Mary Baker G. Eddy. 
 
 ' The Christian Science Journal, volume xxi., page 587. 
 
90 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 In conclusion, your Board of Trustees desires to 
 
 assiire the congregation that at all times the interest of 
 
 this branch church will be fully protected, 
 
 pie"dgerto and that all questions which have arisen in 
 
 church's pro- regard to the proper practice of Christian 
 
 tection ° , . , , , , -n i ^ 11 
 
 Science m this branch church, will be nnally 
 and properly settled, in accordance with our beloved 
 Leader's, Mary Baker Eddy's, teaching and practice of 
 Christian Science, before the Board of Trustees of this 
 branch church ceases to take every possible step for the 
 accomplishment of this end. 
 
 (Signed) Edwin F. Hatfield, 
 
 Chairman. 
 
 (Signed) John Franklin Crowell, 
 
 Secretary. 
 For Committee of Inquiry. 
 
 The foregoing Report was submitted by said Com- 
 mittee to the Board of Trustees on the 4th day of 
 November, 1909, and duly approved by said Board, and 
 ordered presented to the meeting of the church held on 
 said November 4, 1909. 
 
 (Signed) Edwin F. Hatfield, 
 Chairman of the Board of Trustees. 
 
 (Signed) John D. Higgins, 
 
 Clerk. 
 
 The foregoing contained only that portion of the 
 Report of the Committee of Inquiry which related to 
 Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson and the practi- 
 churchon tioncrs, as both read and approved at the 
 Nov. 4. 1909 gpg^j^i Meeting, of church members and 
 regular attendants, held in the church edifice, i West 
 
Report of the Committee of Inquiry 91 
 
 96th Street, New York City, on Thursday, November 
 4, 1909, at two o'clock in the afternoon. 
 
 Certain unscientific statements and expressions, 
 alleged to have been made by Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson, 
 C.S.D., were thoroughly investigated by the Committee 
 of Inquiry. 
 
 In some cases the names of those who were reported 
 to have made such allegations were refused to the 
 Committee, But every witness who appeared before 
 the Committee was closely questioned and the truth or 
 falsity of these allegations thoroughly probed, without 
 any evasion whatsoever on the part of the Committee. 
 
 The result was that some of the statements in ques- 
 tion were shown, even by the witnesses opposed to Mrs. 
 Stetson, never to have been made at all; and that in 
 cases in which it was agreed that alleged statements 
 were made, it was proved they had been given a signi- 
 ficance entirely different from their normal intent and 
 connection. 
 
 The other portion of the Report of the Committee 
 of Inquiry, as laid before the church at the meeting of 
 November 4, 1909, and then referred back to 
 
 . Action on 
 
 the Trustees for further consideration and second "Find- 
 report, dealt primarily with the action of *°|y Jeld^r't 
 Virgil O. Strickler, First Reader of the utter of 
 church, in carrying complaints to the Di- 
 rectors of The Mother Church, contrary to The 
 Mother Church Manual. The Trustees were prepared 
 to resubmit and substantiate this portion of the Report, 
 at the meeting called for November 15, 1909. 
 
 In this emergency came a letter from the revered 
 Founder and Leader of the Christian Science movement, 
 Mary Baker Eddy, addressed to the Board of Trustees 
 of First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City. 
 
92 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 This letter was delivered only two hours before the time 
 set for the special church meeting, when it was handed 
 to Mr. Edwin F. Hatfield, Chairman of the Board of 
 Trustees of the New York church, at his residence, by 
 Mr. Eugene R. Cox, Publication Committee. 
 The letter read as follows: 
 
 Brookline, Mass., Nov. 13, 1909. 
 To the Board of Trustees, First Church of Christ, 
 Scientist, New York City. 
 Beloved Brethren: — 'In consideration of the present 
 momentous question at issue in First Church of Christ, 
 Scientist, New York city, I am constrained to say, if I can 
 settle this church difficulty amicably by a few words, as 
 many students think I can, I herewith cheerfully subscribe 
 these words of love : — 
 
 My beloved brethren in First Church of Christ, Scientist, 
 New York city, I advise you with all my soul to support 
 the Directors of The Mother Church, and unite with those 
 in your church who are supporting The Mother Church 
 Directors. Abide in fellowship with and obedience to The 
 Mother Church, and in this way God will bless and prosper 
 you. This I know, for He has proved it to me for forty years 
 in succession. 
 
 Lovingly yours, 
 (Signed) Mary Baker Eddy. 
 
 The foregoing letter was first published in the 
 Christian Science Sentinel of November 20, 1909, and 
 "Abide in ^^^ republished by request of Mrs. Eddy in 
 Truth, in the Christian Science Sentinel of December 4, 
 1909, with a single change — the phrase "in 
 Truth," was inserted after the word "Abide" at the 
 beginning of the next to the last sentence, the changed 
 form reading as follows: "Abide in Truth, in fellowship 
 
 ' Christian Science Sentinel, November 20, 1909. 
 
Report of the Committee of Inquiry 93 
 
 with" etc. No attention was directed by the Editor 
 to the important words added by Mrs. Eddy. 
 
 In prompt compliance with the spirit of the Leader's 
 letter, immediately on its receipt the Board of Trustees 
 of the New York church convened and decided to 
 defer the presentation of their Report as to the First 
 Reader, and on their motion, promptly after the letter 
 was read to the church, that meeting was adjourned. 
 Although this was done it simply deferred for future 
 solution this and any other questions which had not as 
 yet received adjudication. The Board of Trustees in 
 their answer to the letter of our Leader, 
 Mary Baker Eddy, clearly implied their ex- ^^l^'/'^^l JJ'^t 
 pectation of further steps being taken by her settle the 
 to settle the questions at issue. That letter Tn^oived 
 as it appeared in the Sentinel of November 2^, 
 1909, signed by the Chairman of the Board of Trustees 
 of First Church, was as follows: 
 
 First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, 
 Central Park West and 96TH Street, 
 
 November 15, 1909. 
 
 Mrs. Mary Baker Eddy, 
 Brookline, Mass. 
 
 Beloved Leader : — 
 
 It is with deepest gratitude that we acknowledge and 
 thank you for your earnest letter of the 13th inst., with its 
 words of love and benediction. 
 
 As at all times, this board of trustees cheerfully complies 
 with the advice you give, prompted by the obedience of love, 
 and confidence in the sure guidance of the beloved Leader 
 whom God has so highly honored. 
 
 Your letter was read to our church at its meeting to-day, 
 and all were blessed with its happy and healing influence. 
 
 In quiet assurance, we await any further leadings that 
 
94 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 your wisdom may indicate, in view of the importance of the 
 questions involved. 
 
 In unswerving loyalty, 
 
 Yours faithfully, 
 
 (Signed) E. F. Hatfield, 
 
 Chairman of Trustees. 
 
 In the concluding paragraph of the foregoing letter, 
 reference is made to the pending issues in the church. 
 The Trustees said: "In quiet assurance, we await any 
 further leadings that your wisdom may indicate, in 
 view of the importance of the questions involved." 
 It was expressly stated in the discussion which preceded 
 the formulation of this letter to the Leader that her 
 letter to the Board had not removed the questions which 
 were the source of the trouble. 
 
 The New York Trustees then in ofiQce have never 
 admitted the right of The Mother Church Directors to 
 set aside the constitutional privileges of branch churches 
 as defined in The Mother Church Manual. The duty 
 of these Trustees to defend these rights and immunities 
 of this branch church were co-equal with their duty to 
 cooperate with The Mother Church Directors, 
 rights and"" Branch church rights, although settled in 
 The Mother 1^^ ^y ^^g Manual, were in our iudement 
 
 Church duties jo 
 
 Ignored, m fact, by the acts of The Mother 
 Church Directors. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 MRS. STETSON'S RESIGNATION FROM NEW 
 YORK BOARD OF TRUSTEES AND FROM 
 THE BRANCH CHURCH 
 
 On October i6, 1909, Mrs. Stetson tendered her 
 resignation as a member of the New York Board of 
 Trustees in the following letter: 
 
 7 West 96th Street, New York City, 
 October i6, 1909. 
 
 The Board of Trustees, 
 
 First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City. 
 
 Beloved Brethren: — I hand you herewith copy of my letter 
 of this day to our revered Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, 
 which is self-explanatory. I hand you also j^^.^ ^^^^^^^ 
 my resignation as a member of your Board. resigns as 
 
 I desire to repeat here what I said yesterday pjr^t^churc'h 
 to the Committee which you have appointed 
 to make an investigation regarding conditions, practices, 
 and teachings in this church. I depend upon no one but 
 God and my Leader. I desire no human sympathy. I do 
 not need it. 
 
 Hold to your fidelity to God and to our Leader, as I 
 have taught you, and follow me only as far as I follow my 
 Teacher, Mary Baker Eddy. "Upon the rock, Christ" 
 {Science and Health, p. 484), spiritual understanding, I have 
 built this church, with the aid of your steadfast, loyal devo- 
 tion to Principle and to our dear Leader, "and the gates of 
 hell shall not prevail against it." 
 
 95 
 
96 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 Rise to the height of "wholly spiritual"' building, and 
 wait for the glory prepared for those who love God. My 
 love is ever flowing to you. 
 
 Your faithful co-worker, 
 
 Augusta E. Stetson, C.S.D. 
 
 On the same day Mrs. Stetson sent to Mrs. Eddy 
 
 the following letter: 
 
 7 West 96th Street, New York City, 
 October 16, 1909. 
 
 My precious Leader, Teacher, and Guide: — I have heard 
 your dear voice in your letter which appeared in the Sentinel 
 of October i6th. I shall withdraw from personal participa- 
 tion in my church management, for the present. 
 
 In carrying out this decision, I am to-day sending in my 
 resignation as a member of the Board of Trustees of First 
 Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City. I am also 
 notifying the Secretary of my Students' Association that I 
 shall not attend the approaching Annual Meeting. I am 
 requesting the Secretary to notify my students that I desire 
 them to assemble as usual, in accordance with the By-Law, 
 Article XXVI., Section 6, as published in the Sentinel of 
 October i6th, and to be governed thereby. 
 
 I shall strictly not oppose the orders of the Board of 
 „ e* * Directors of The First Church of Christ, Scien- 
 
 Mrs. Stetson 
 
 offered no tist, in Boston, Mass., as officially communicated 
 ITlhr^^ to me by the Secretary of that Board on Septem- 
 
 Directors' bcr 25th, I909. 
 
 orders j ^^ apprehending more and more the mean- 
 
 ing of "wholly spiritual" building, which you enjoined upon 
 me and my church in your letter in the Sentinel of January 
 1 6th. Thus I shall be able to draw nearer to you spirit- 
 ually, and rise with you to the demonstration of im- 
 mortal consciousness — my oneness with infinite Love, "And 
 I, if I be lifted up . . . will draw all" whom the Father 
 giveth me. 
 
 • Christian Science Sentinel, volume xi., page 390. 
 
Mrs. Stetson's Two Resignations 97 
 
 It is your wisdom and love expressed in your words 
 
 following : 
 
 Love looseth thee, and lifteth me, 
 
 Ayont hate's thrall: 
 There Life is light, and wisdom might, 
 
 And God is All. 
 
 My gratitude and love for my precious Leader are beyond 
 all that human language can express. 
 
 Your faithful child, 
 
 Augusta. 
 
 Having been fully vindicated by the New York 
 church and following the instructions given by her 
 Leader, Mrs. Eddy, to build "on a wholly spiritual 
 foundation," Mrs. Stetson, on November 22, 1909, sent 
 the following letter: 
 
 7 West 96th Street, New York City, 
 November 22, 1909. 
 
 The Board of Trustees, 
 
 First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City. 
 Dear Brethren: — You concluded recently a comprehensive 
 inquiry, and your report made my continued membership 
 in this branch church seem suitable and proper. 
 Since then I have been advised that my name i^^opped from 
 
 11 1 1 r 1 1 /• 11 The Mother 
 
 has been dropped from the membership roll church mem- 
 of The Mother Church. As this may place the ''ership and 
 
 resigns in 
 
 members of your Board, of which I am a member. New York 
 in an embarrassing position, I have decided to 
 resign from membership in First Church of Christ, Scientist, 
 New York City, and I now request that my name be dropped 
 from the membership roll. I shall continue to make it my 
 sole effort to obey Principle and to follow our beloved 
 Leader, Mary Baker Eddy. 
 
98 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 In taking this step, I desire to thank the members of the 
 Board of Trustees for all they have done, during past years, 
 " There is ^° serve God and our Leader, through the up- 
 no robbery in building of this church. There is no robbery 
 divine Mind " -^ (j^yine Mind. Goodness is its own paymaster. 
 Therefore you are already abundantly recompensed for 
 past services, and can never lose the reward of well 
 doing. 
 
 I am informed that some objection was made, during the 
 recent inquiry, to the continued payment of the annual 
 sum voted to me in recognition of my services to this 
 church. Money is neither useful nor desirable to me 
 unless it comes as a grateful recognition of services rendered 
 to those from whom it comes. It was my purpose, there- 
 fore, at a suitable time, to suggest the discontinuance of 
 this payment. In view of the recent action by the Directors 
 of The Mother Church, it would seem undesirable that 
 this payment be continued; even though all the members 
 of this branch church were united, as in former years, in 
 giving this proof of gratitude for what I have done, and am 
 doing for them and for this church. 
 
 For establishing this branch church more securely as a 
 part of the Mother Vine, and for making it even more 
 fruitful than in the past, greater consecration on the part 
 of all the members is necessary. This greater consecration 
 "Sufficient '^^^^ t)e manifested in higher realization and 
 guide to demonstration of Truth and Love. In this work, 
 eternal Life " ^^^ -g -^^^^ Scietice and Health, The Mother Church 
 Manual, and the other writings of our beloved Leader, 
 Mary Baker Eddy, are a "sufficient guide to eternal Life" 
 {Science and Health, p. 497). 
 
 I make this simple request, that the Trustees, and also 
 
 the members of this church, will constantly listen for 
 
 our Leader's voice, impersonally, through 
 
 JJj^;^J**^°°'Mevout prayer and through the proper 
 
 study of her writings. Following her "as 
 
 she follows Christ "{Message for 1901, p. 70), you cannot 
 
Mrs. Stetson's Two Resignations 99 
 
 lose the way to heaven, harmony, eternal oneness with 
 God. 
 
 Faithfully in Truth and Love, 
 
 (Signed) Augusta E. Stetson. 
 
 In response to the requests of Mrs. Stetson, the New 
 York Trustees at their meeting of November 
 24, 1909, reluctantly accepted her resigna- acceTi«r7 
 tions as a member of the church and of the stetson's 
 Board of Trustees, and adopted the following '7eiu°tant°y 
 resolution and expressions of appreciation: 
 
 Resolved, That we accept with unfeigned regret, and 
 only at her urgent request, the resignation of Mrs. Augusta 
 E. Stetson, C.S.D., as a member of this Board of Trustees. 
 
 In her official relations, Mrs. Stetson has given us service 
 for nearly a quarter of a century in the effort to further the 
 Cause of Christian Science in this community, unswerving 
 Whoever knows anything of the progress of the loyaity to 
 movement, in the period covered by these years, ^^^ Leader 
 is aware that, so far as this branch church is concerned, she 
 has been beyond all comparison the foremost contributor 
 to the labors required for the results accomplished, and 
 that the cardinal precept of her teaching and example has 
 always been, as it is now, that of unswerving loyalty to our 
 beloved Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, and to her teachings. 
 
 Both from the standpoint of material achievement, as 
 well as from that of spiritual attainment, she has left the 
 evidence of her untiring devotion, in the structure which 
 houses this congregation, in the large body of adherents 
 which assembles here regularly for worship, and above all 
 in the spiritual growth of the membership of this church. 
 
 But for the inspiration of her faith and the stimulus of 
 her high and earnest purpose, none of these results would 
 have been attained in any such measure. For Blessings 
 ourselves, therefore, as Trustees, we rejoice in from official 
 the work which she has done, we are grateful association 
 in that we have been permitted to share the work with her 
 
100 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 as co-laborers, and we desire to record our recognition of 
 the great spiritual blessings which have come to us in official 
 association with her. 
 
 The following is a copy of the letter advising Mrs. 
 Stetson that her name was dropped from the member- 
 ship roll of The Mother Church. 
 
 The Christian Science Board of Directors 
 
 OF 
 
 THE FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST, 
 Norway, Falmouth & St, Paul Sts. 
 Boston, Mass, 
 Office of the 
 
 Secretary 
 
 November i8, 1909, 
 Mrs. Augusta E, Stetson 
 7 West 96th Street 
 New York, N. Y. 
 Dear Mrs. Stetson: — Enclosed you will find a copy of the 
 judgment and order made by the Board of Directors in 
 your case last night. 
 
 Permit us, while informing you of this judgment, to 
 express the sincere hope that your future course of action 
 may show your desire to again become eligible for member- 
 ship in this church. 
 
 Very sincerely, 
 THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE BOARD OF DIRECTORS, 
 By (Signed) J. V. Dittemore, Secretary. 
 
 Enclosure 
 November 17, 1909. 
 
 After the evidence in support and in defense of the com- 
 plaint against Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson had been completed 
 "Judgment ^^^ ^^^ Complainant and the accused and her 
 and order" couuscl had retired, the Board of Directors of 
 of^Nov. 17. rpj^g p.^g^ Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, 
 Massachusetts convened alone for the final 
 examination of the case presented by said complaint and 
 evidence. All the Directors were present. 
 
Mrs. Stetson's Two Resignations loi 
 
 After fully considering the evidence introduced by the 
 respective parties, including the statements made by the 
 accused in her own behalf, the Directors unanimously find 
 and conclude that each and every count of the complaint 
 filed by the First Reader against Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson 
 on November 6, 1909 is established by the evidence and is 
 substantially true. 
 
 Also, that the filing of said complaint was preceded by 
 admonitions duly given to Mrs. Stetson, in accordance with 
 the Scripture in Matthew xviii: 15-17, and that the com- 
 plaint was filed from Christian motives. 
 
 Wherefore, it is unanimously adjudged and ordered by 
 the Board of Directors of said Church that the name of 
 Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson be and hereby is dropped from 
 the roll of membership of said Church. 
 
 The truth of the statement that said " complaint was 
 preceded by admonitions duly given to Mrs. Stetson, 
 in accordance with the Scripture in Matthew xviii: 
 15-17, and that the complaint was filed from Christian 
 motives," can be ascertained by reading the following 
 By-Law of The Mother Church Manual, and Mr. Ditte- 
 more's letter of September 25, 1909. 
 
 Article XI. Violation of By-Laws. Sect. 2. A mem- 
 ber who is found violating any of the By-Laws or Rules 
 herein set forth, shall be admonished in consonance with 
 the Scriptural demand in Matthew 18: 15-17; and if he 
 neglect to accept such admonition, he shall be placed on 
 probation, or if he repeat the offense, his name shall be 
 dropped from the roll of Church membership. 
 
 This Scripture, in regard to admonition, reads as 
 
 follows : 
 
 Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go 
 and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he 
 shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. 
 
102 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or 
 two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses 
 every word may be established. 
 
 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the 
 church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be 
 unto thee as an heathen man and a publican. 
 
 The letter and spirit of this By-Law were ignored, no 
 admonition having been given by any member of the 
 Board of Directors of The Mother Church. 
 
 Mrs. Stetson was tried, judged, and disciplined by 
 the Board of Directors and Clifford P. Smith without 
 admonition. The reader can judge for himself by 
 reading Mr. Dittemore's letter whether or not " admo- 
 nitions," according to Scriptural injunction, were given 
 Mrs. Stetson. Sentence was passed upon her in the 
 seven " Findings" for which the Directors revoked her 
 license and forbade her to teach or practise Christian 
 Science. An infliction of discipline cannot be miscon- 
 strued as " admonition." Mr. Dittemore's letter 
 follows: 
 
 The Christian Science Board of Directors 
 
 OF 
 
 THE FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST, 
 Norway, Falmouth & St. Paul Sts. 
 Boston, Mass. 
 
 Office of the 
 
 Secretary 
 
 September 25, 1909. 
 
 Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson, 
 7 West 96th Street, 
 New York, N. Y. 
 Dear Mrs. Stetson: — By order of the Board of Directors 
 I am sending you herewith a copy of the Findings and 
 Orders concerning yourself this day made by them. 
 
 The copy of their action is sent you in order to inform 
 
Mrs. Stetson's Two Resignations 103 
 
 you thereof and in order to admonish you concerning errors 
 on your part therein pointed out. 
 
 The Board directs me to express the hope that you will 
 accept this admonition and desist from a repetition of the 
 errors which they have pointed out. 
 
 Very sincerely, 
 (Signed) J. V. Dittemore, 
 Secretary for The Christian Science Board of 
 Directors. 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 SECRET OF A GREAT CHURCH WORK 
 
 Unity of purpose and spiritual power had heretofore 
 
 been the characteristic manifestations of the Hfe of 
 
 First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York 
 
 A. C0QS6Cr&tGd 
 
 body of City, as had been evident to those coming 
 
 practitioners ^^^^^ ^-^g range of its influcncc. Prior to 
 the dissensions which began in the summer of 1909, 
 there was probably no other branch church in the de- 
 nomination where more of spiritual cooperation and 
 unity was to be found. These qualities prevailed 
 generally throughout its membership and in every 
 department of the church's activities; but its most 
 effective expression was found in the consecrated body 
 of practitioners who devoted their entire time to 
 spiritual development and to the practice of Christian 
 Science Mind-healing. 
 
 In the pioneering stages of the Christian Science 
 Cause, and at the request of Mary Baker Eddy, Dis- 
 coverer and Founder of Christian Science, 
 '^wUhTne Augusta E. Stetson, C.S.D., came to New 
 accord in York, and gained adherents one by one for 
 
 one place" „ i c i 
 
 the Cause, from among whom was formed a 
 congenial group of workers and healers. As the healing 
 work went on, patients became church members and 
 then practitioners, with their activities centering at the 
 church. Year by year this continued, until the small 
 
 104 
 
Secret of a Great Church Work 105 
 
 group of workers and worshippers expanded into a 
 substantial congregation, filled with the sense of 
 strength which comes from being in "one accord in 
 one place." 
 
 As here and there an individual member of a family- 
 embraced the healing truth, households were gradually 
 drawn into the fellowship of the new joy of spiritual 
 dominion. Thus individuals came to bring in house- 
 holds, and they again their hundreds, until thousands 
 of the community, both inside and out of the church, 
 were blessed by the Christlike ministry of a consecrated 
 woman. The growth in numbers necessitated more 
 thorough training and greater spiritual power to meet 
 the demands of the healing work. Because of a con- 
 stantly increasing need of capable practi- Healing work 
 tioners, the plan of treating patients at the required 
 
 ' ^. ^ ^ spiritual 
 
 church Reading Room naturally became training 
 established. In the changes from one place of worship 
 to another, treatment of patients under this form of 
 organization continued. 
 
 When the new church at 96th Street and Central 
 Park West was planned, special provision was made for 
 the work of the practitioners. Some twenty-five or 
 more of these met their patients in separate rooms 
 utilized for that purpose in the church edifice. Practis- 
 ing thus under the same roof, the custom of patients 
 coming to the Reading Room to await their 
 turn with the practitioner, gave rise to a Church Read- 
 reception committee of several church mem- maintained 
 bers, each to serve during the morning, * direct^ion 
 afternoon, or evening on each day of the 
 week. The object of this arrangement was to facilitate 
 the division of labor by which waiting patients could 
 be cared for in the Reading Room, thus relieving the 
 
io6 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 practitioners by allowing them to be occupied with 
 their spiritual work. The Reading Room of this 
 church was maintained in its church edifice under 
 a written direction' of Mary Baker Eddy as follows: 
 
 Pleasant View, 
 
 Concord, N. H. 
 
 Oct. 25, 1903. 
 
 Mrs. A. E. Stetson, 
 
 My beloved Student: I did not get your letter in time 
 to reply before you left N. Y, — to your question on selling 
 my books down town in your city. That movement would 
 be unwise in many ways and would not prosper, abandon 
 such a thought. You have fulfilled the By-law in our 
 Church relation to a Reading Room; and it only remains 
 for you to carry on your Reading Room and for the down 
 towners to unite and have a Reading Room that is centrally 
 located. This is what must be done. I hope the Teacher's 
 Association will be harmonious and my rules for their best 
 interest will be unitedly adopted and followed. 
 
 (Signed) With love M B G Eddy. 
 
 The Trustees frequently, in their discussions and 
 deliberations, had occasion to see that this branch of 
 _ . ,. ,. the church work was in no unnecessary way 
 
 Specialization -^ -^ 
 
 in spiritual cncroachcd Upon by appointment of practi- 
 ^^'°^ tioners to other duties. On the contrary, 
 
 the purpose was guardedly to carry out the plan of 
 spiritual speciaHzation by differentiating the function 
 of spiritual heaHng from the more material duties. 
 In this way it was beHeved that the most substantial 
 attainments could be reached in the healing work 
 which distinguishes this denomination from all other 
 religious bodies. 
 
 * This letter is here given in facsimile. 
 
Concord N H. 
 
 Oct. 35,1908 
 
 frs. A. E. Stetson, 
 
 My beloved Student 
 
 I did not get your i-trJ' 
 
 letter in time to reply b,efore you left K,Y,-^ 
 
 to your question on selling my bocks donn town 
 
 in your city. That movement would be unwise in 
 
 many ways and would not propper, abandon such a 
 
 thougbi. You have fulfilled the By-law in our 
 
 Church relation to a Reading Boom; and it only 
 
 remains for you to carry on your Eeading Room 
 
 ^ • 
 
 Facsimile letter from Mrs. Eddy to Mrs. Stetson. 
 
and for tlie down towners to unite and have a 
 
 Reading Room that is centrally located* Thie h 
 
 what must be down. I hope the Teacher's Associa 
 
 tion will be harmonious and my rules for their 
 
 best interest will be unitedly adopted and foil 
 
 lowed. 
 
Secret of a Great Church Work 107 
 
 The presence of a body of such spiritually minded 
 practitioners in the application of Truth to the over- 
 coming of evil was regarded as a most essen- 
 tial element of strength in the influence of minded prac- 
 this church upon the community at large. titioners a 
 
 '■ ^ o great power 
 
 This type of individual attainment was 
 confined to a group of regular practitioners of probably 
 forty or more persons, the majority of whom prac- 
 tised healing work during the day at the Reading 
 Room, while others met their patients regularly at 
 their homes or offices elsewhere. But the entire group 
 was properly regarded as a imit in the effort to deal 
 with the difficult problems of sin, disease, and death 
 which were constantly presented. 
 
 For the handling of their cases effectively, confer- 
 ence and counsel came to be a regularly established 
 part of the daily routine of the Reading 
 Room practitioners. From this arose the on healing 
 necessity of practitioners' meetings, at which ^ natural 
 naturally the one who had given instruction 
 to nearly all of the practitioners acted in a presiding 
 capacity. Mrs. Stetson's relation to the greater num- 
 ber of practitioners in the church was such as to impose 
 upon her the duty of cooperating with and guiding her 
 students in their efforts to master the difficulties of 
 their practice, according to Article XXVI., Section 2, 
 of the Manual of The Mother Church: 
 
 . . . The teacher shall hold himself morally obligated to 
 promote the progress of his pupils, not only during the 
 class term but after it, and to watch well that ^ teacher's 
 they prove sound in sentiment and practical in duty to 
 
 Christian Science. He shall persistently and students 
 patiently counsel his pupils in conformity with the unerring 
 wisdom and law of God, and shall enjoin them habitually 
 
io8 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 to study the Scriptures and Science and Health with 
 Key to the Scriptures. 
 
 Although from the very beginning of Mrs. Stetson's 
 
 pastorate in this city she cooperated with her students, 
 
 nevertheless she insisted constantly that 
 
 students . "^ , 
 
 taught reii- they must work out their own salvation to 
 anceonGod ^^^ utmost of their ability before they were 
 entitled to call for assistance. The quality of direct 
 dependence on divine power was thus developed in the 
 type of practitioner found here, conjointly with the 
 cooperative capacity to take up and work out the most 
 difficult problems of sin, disease, and death scientifically 
 and according to the rules of Christian Science, or the 
 Christ Mind-healing. 
 
 Nothing could be more natural, more orderly, or 
 more consistently devised to meet conditions than that 
 the practitioners should meet to work out the newer 
 and more difficult problems of their profession under 
 the guidance of their instructor. It is doubtful whether 
 as a result of this method of maintaining a high stand- 
 ard of practising efficiency to which comparatively few 
 could aspire, because of its exacting demands 
 
 High standard ' . ^ , ^ . 
 
 of healing and sclf-sacrificing surrender to the dommat- 
 efficiency -^^ Spiritual purposc of it — it is doubtful, 
 we say, whether anywhere else in the denomination of 
 Christian Science or out of it, there could be found a 
 more competent and consecrated body of men and 
 women in dealing with matters affecting the spiritual 
 welfare of their fellow men. 
 
 To begin with, the practitioners' meetings were first 
 of all devotional. They opened with the reading of 
 the current week's Bible Lesson from the Bible and 
 Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary 
 
Secret of a Great Church Work 109 
 
 Baker Eddy, as found in the Christian Science Quar- 
 terly, and with silent prayer, which was followed 
 ordinarily by the statement of some pertinent experience 
 in practice or by considering some particular case of 
 healing, as to the best method of handling it. In other 
 words, there was a mental clinic as well as religious 
 exercise in their proceedings. How helpful these 
 meetings were is borne witness to by practically all 
 who testified from actual experience. 
 
 Yet even among the small number thus privileged 
 to participate, there inevitably came to be some to whom 
 the demands of progressive growth in spiritual attain- 
 ment made it necessary either to check the rate of 
 advancement, or for them to fall out of the ranks 
 because of incapacity to go forward. 
 
 One of the practitioners began early to cavil at and 
 criticize the incisive methods of handling the animal 
 impulses, and apparently forgot that the Holy Scrip- 
 tures, especially in their description of the immorality 
 of Roman life, used terms which by contrast made the 
 language of the practitioners' meetings seem moderate 
 indeed. It was not, however, so much the 
 
 1 11 • r 1 • Incision of 
 
 challengmg of language, as it was the burn- spiritual truth 
 ing incision of spiritual truth into the »'^°"eht revolt 
 strongholds of mortal belief that gave rise to the 
 charges against the character of these meetings. 
 
 The revolt of carnal nature, like that which drove 
 Jonathan Edwards out of Northampton, reasserted 
 itself to displace a teacher whose instruction, as it 
 progressed from day to day, demonstrated here and 
 there in one or another the unwillingness or the inability 
 to keep on climbing the hill of divine Science. 
 
 The practical bearing of this work is well described 
 in an extract from Mrs. Stetson's letter to the Committee 
 
no Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 of Inquiry, dated November 3, 1909, in which she 
 declares: 
 
 For twenty-five years I have practised Christian Science 
 Mind-healing. I am a Christian Science Doctor, with a 
 degree of C.S.D. I have healed all manner of 
 explains^ need diseases through understanding the illusion of 
 of practi- material phenomena. My practising students 
 m°eel[ngs ^^® mental metaphysicians. I was shocked at 
 the development of cancer, tumor, and other 
 diseases, which seemed to be increasing, and which the 
 practitioners were not healing satisfactorily. 
 
 I detected in the students this, — that while they admitted 
 there was "no life, truth, intelligence, nor substance in 
 matter,"' they had not made unreal their belief in the 
 organs of the material body. I saw that thoughts, floating 
 in the mental atmosphere, such as malice, fear, envy, 
 jealousy, revenge, lust, and hypocrisy found "unsuspected 
 lodgment" {Science and Health, p. 235) in different organs 
 of the human belief. To point out these receptacles for 
 diseased beliefs, to talk them up to talk them down and 
 out, and make them unreal as matter, was my object. 
 
 I therefore began to take up the names that Adam gave 
 to his mechanism, and to rob mortal mind of its hidden 
 lodging places for propagating and bringing forth disease 
 and the creations of material sense. I attacked these 
 false concepts and showed them that, in their places, were 
 qualities of God. I declared for the nothingness of material 
 generation and the greatness, allness of the spiritual man 
 and the spiritual universe. 
 
 My object was to destroy these time-honored gods of 
 material generation, and to lift the students' thought to 
 the spiritual idea and spiritual generation, which is the 
 substance idea back of the false consciousness embodied 
 in organic matter. 
 
 * Science and Health, page 468. 
 
Secret of a Great Church Work in 
 
 The complete justification for the holding of these 
 noonday conferences between teacher and students 
 is found in the words of our beloved Leader, Mary 
 Baker Eddy, in Retrospection and Introspection, page 85 : 
 
 Teachers of Christian Science will find it advisable to 
 band together their students into associations, to continue 
 the organization of churches, and at present ^^g ^^j^ 
 they can employ any other organic operative authorizes 
 method that may commend itself as useful to ^^'^^ methods 
 the Cause and beneficial to mankind. 
 
 The following letter from Mrs. Eddy evidences her 
 attitude towards the work of Mrs. Stetson and the 
 practitioners and her approval of the estab- p^jgin^yg „, 
 lishing and continuation of the Reading header's auto- 
 Room in this church. ^^* 
 
 Pleasant View, 
 
 Concord, N. H. July 2, 1905. 
 
 Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson C.S.D. and the practitioners 
 in the R. R. of her church. N. Y. N. Y. 
 
 Dearly beloved: Words fail me, they are insufficient to 
 tell my gratitude for your remembrance of me. I love 
 you — I deeply appreciate your love for me, — and your mag- 
 nificent gifts for my room in church. The silver ice sett, and 
 gilt onyx table. More than a cup of cold water in His 
 name, even, is the love that overflows it all — that you feel 
 and constantly demonstrate for me. Darlings, it blesses 
 you, it blesses me, and the whole world ! Your love re- 
 flects the divine Love which heals the sick, conquers sin 
 and the sinner. 
 
 Here let me assure you that I never said or thought I 
 should remove female Students from their sacred office of 
 Readers in our churches ! 
 
 The evil one or one evil, is ramified just now in attempts, 
 but God, good, is all, and you have nothing to fear — since 
 
112 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 evil is nothing and you are a great somethings in God's dear 
 sight. He will uphold you with the right arm of His 
 rightness. I pray for you daily. God loves you and I 
 love and you are the sheep of His pasture. Rest my 
 darling Augusta in peace God is with you. Ever lovingly 
 thine own 
 
 (Signed) Mary Baker Eddy 
 
 The gifts above referred to were publicly acknowl- 
 edged by Mrs. Eddy in the Christian Science Sentinel, 
 of July 8, 1905 (volume vii., page 724). 
 
Pleasant View. 
 
 Concord. N H 
 
 ^y^j /^^ 
 
 
 
 Facsimile letter from Mrs. Eddy to Mrs. Stetson. 
 

 V 
 
 
 
 ^A^U,^^^ 
 

 

 
 ■y^^^^C^^-^:^ 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 PRACTICE OF HEALING IN FIRST CHURCH 
 
 An entirely erroneous impression has gone forth 
 regarding the circumstances and conditions under 
 which the practitioners conducted their work in First 
 Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City. 
 
 It was wrongly alleged that the practitioners' noonday 
 meetings were more in the nature of a secret 
 gathering, about which the Trustees and the meetings en- 
 members of First Church knew practically dorsedby 
 
 ■^ -' Trustees 
 
 nothing. There may have been many mem- 
 bers in a church of 1800 persons who knew little about 
 what meetings occurred, when and where they were 
 held, and who were in attendance. The general mem- 
 bership of any church knows comparatively little of 
 the gatherings of its officers, its committees, and 
 its other workers. But its ignorance of the fact 
 is no justification for assuming that something is 
 wrong. 
 
 The fact is that the Reading Room Committee and 
 the various employees of the church who were members 
 knew of the practitioners' meetings, and were, in a 
 general way, aware of what was taught therein. It is 
 also true that the Trustees, some of whom more or less 
 frequently attended these meetings, were not only 
 aware of what was being taught, but were convinced that 
 
 8 . 113 
 
114 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 the spiritual effectiveness of the practice of healing 
 was maintained at its high standard, by virtue of 
 Daily confer- ^^® training, counsel, and cooperation of 
 encesof tcachcr and practitioners in those noonday 
 students" meetings. Nor were these practitioners, who 
 later fell under the displeasure of The Mother 
 Church Board of Directors, lacking in adequate 
 equipment for the sacred work. They were with- 
 out exception persons of training and capacity in 
 their knowledge of the practice of Christian 
 healing. 
 
 By their acquaintance with the Scriptures, and by 
 their knowledge of an ability to apply the teachings 
 Brought ^^ ^^^^^ Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, in diagnos- 
 great spiritual ing and dealing with mental conditions, and 
 
 ciency ^^ their consecration to the Cause in giv- 
 ing their entire time to the work of Christian Science 
 Mind-healing, they had demonstrated the power which, 
 to those of us who knew them in our every day rela- 
 tions, seemed truly like a restoration of the Apostolic 
 days, when the deaf were made to hear, the lame to walk, 
 and the blind to see. Their ability to handle effectively 
 mental conditions, out of which, according to their 
 instruction, physical disease and mental disorders 
 arose, was no ordinary spiritual attainment. Profi- 
 ciency in this work was recognized as the most important 
 attainment which the members of the denomination 
 could achieve. It is quite certain that the degree of 
 proficiency among this particular group of practitioners, 
 who were cast out of the church by the Board of Direc- 
 tors, represented study and practice for periods ranging 
 from seven to twenty-two years, in First Church, New 
 York. 
 
 It will no doubt be of interest to Christian Scientists 
 
Practice of Healing in First Church 115 
 
 and others to learn how the work of heaHng, carried 
 on under the church roof, was organized, and in 
 what spirit it was regarded by those in ^ow healing 
 charge. The Annual Report of the Chair- work was 
 man of the Reading Room, for the year 1908, 
 submitted in the beginning of 1909, presents the 
 following as the view-point of the practitioners: 
 
 When we consider that every ill of human experience 
 has been brought about by wrong thinking, we are ready 
 to acknowledge how vital to the interests of the individual 
 and of the community is the ability to think rightly. The 
 Christian Science Reading Room offers a place, provides 
 an environment where the habit of wrong thinking may be 
 dropped, and the new or real thinking may be acquired; 
 where human opinions and human experiences do not 
 obtain; where the spiritual perceptions are exercised, 
 instead of physical sense; where Mind speaks, and matter 
 is silent; where Love reigns, and self has no kingdom. 
 
 No ordinary standard of spirituality is here set up. 
 No disloyal, undisciplined, disobedient or personally 
 controlled thought had any abiding place 
 here in this self-governing group. From the governing 
 " Rules Governing Practitioners in the Read- P^'^t't^''''^" 
 ing Room," we quote the requirements of their calling, 
 as embodied in this same Annual Report. 
 
 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE CHAIRMAN OF THE 
 READING ROOM 
 
 ARTICLE I 
 QUALIFICATIONS OF PRACTITIONERS 
 
 I. Practitioners in the Reading Room of First Church of 
 Christ, Scientist, of New York City, shall be elected from 
 the members of this church and appointed by the Board 
 
ii6 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 of Trustees. They shall also be members of The First 
 Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Mass. 
 
 2. Practitioners shall not pursue other vocations or 
 professions, and shall hold themselves in readiness to 
 respond, as far as possible, to special calls at any time, 
 upon notice from the Chairman of the Reading Room 
 Committee. 
 
 ARTICLE II 
 
 ORGANIZATION 
 
 1. The practitioners shall appoint from among their 
 number a committee of five, to be known as the Practi- 
 tioners' Committee. This committee shall be organized 
 with a Chairman and a Secretary, both of whom shall be 
 elected by the practitioners at their annual meeting. 
 
 DUTIES OF CHAIRMAN 
 
 2. It shall be the duty of the Chairman to organize a 
 committee for the reception of visitors and patients; said 
 committee to be known as the Reading Room Reception 
 Committee, and shall be composed of members of this 
 church. Vacancies shall be filled from a waiting list, the 
 names of which shall be approved by the Board of Trustees. 
 
 Under this Article there has been organized a Reception 
 Committee consisting of one hundred and forty-eight 
 members. I quote from "Rules Governing Reception 
 Committee:" 
 
 ARTICLE III 
 ORGANIZATION 
 
 I. The Reception Committee shall be presided over 
 by the Chairman of the Reading Room Committee, who 
 shall organize the members into 14 working committees — 
 one committee for each half day in the week, and two 
 evening committees. 
 
Practice of Healing in First Church 117 
 
 The Annual Report continues as follows: 
 
 The church has grown as a body in all directions, in all 
 its parts. It has therefore been found necessary to increase 
 the Reception Committee. These faithful sentinels and 
 messengers are baptized hourly by the love and gratitude 
 of practitioners, by fellow church members, and by all who 
 visit the Reading Rooms. 
 
 Some faint idea may be had of the amount and nature 
 of this work when we consider that this committee, during 
 the year, received 52,555 visitors, and saw that The year's 
 they were properly cared for. This is an increase visitors 
 
 of 22.7 per cent., or very nearly 10,000 over the preceding 
 year. This increase is due in part to the opening of the 
 Reading Rooms two evenings in the week, — Tuesday and 
 Friday. 
 
 A very beautiful phenomenon followed the extension of 
 the work into the evening hours — reading lamps were 
 placed on every table, thus bringing the light 
 nearer to each student of our beloved Leader's atmosphere 
 works. Many a care-worn man or woman has °* Reading 
 
 Room 
 
 taken deep draughts of the healing atmosphere 
 of these Rooms ; many an apathetic nature has been quick- 
 ened by the mental activity here; many a sorrow-darkened 
 heart has been irradiated by the glory of the spiritual life; 
 many a suffering sense has been destroyed, and many a sin 
 laid bare and forsaken. 
 
 Whence this atmosphere, this activity, this light? 
 Thought is force, Mrs. Eddy says, and the mighty force 
 of healing is going on in these Rooms every minute. A 
 continuous battle is being fought against sin, disease, and 
 death by trained soldiers. Hate and fear and resentment 
 and criticism are being momently destroyed by Love; 
 hypocrisy and deceit are going out before irresistible Truth ; 
 malice and ignorance are yielding to the sweet influence 
 of pure Mind. The world calls these sins, rheumatism 
 and neurasthenia, cancer and consumption, headache and — 
 
ii8 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 but the name is legion. Every day, however, these ills are 
 being driven out, and healthy conditions are appearing. 
 
 Before giving these statistics of healing, it is my duty to 
 report that three practitioners have recently resigned from 
 the Reading Room. I also announce that Mr. Hayne 
 Davis and Mr. Arthur E. Overbury have been appointed 
 by the Board of Trustees to serve as practitioners in the 
 Reading Room. 
 
 SUMMARY OF REPORTS 
 OF PRACTITIONERS OF READING ROOM 
 
 Patients treated 3,004 Increase over 1907 417 
 
 Diseases " 4.704 " " " 188 
 
 Children treated.. 183 " " " 9 
 
 A single Diseases healed. .. 3,331 " " " 153 
 
 year's record Had failed under 
 
 medicine 1,659 " " " 178 
 
 Patients passed on 4 Decrease under " 2 
 
 The flexibility of the organization, and the ready response 
 to meet any new conditions that may arise, were strikingly 
 evidenced this summer, when, on account of repairs in the 
 Reading Rooms, the auditorium was temporarily used for 
 that purpose. Not a jar or inconvenience or annoyance 
 was felt. All went smoothly and naturally. 
 
 I take this opportunity to reply to a question often put 
 to me: "How can I contribute to the work of the church? 
 How each ^^^ cau I help the Reading Rooms?" Every 
 was taught earnest, loving, disciplined Christian Scientist 
 ° ^ ^ who enters these Rooms and will quietly read 
 
 or think into consciousness the great message of Science 
 and Health, or the noble truths of the Bible, is meeting 
 and destroying the evils of ignorance or malicious thinking. 
 Much has been accomplished on this line, but infinitely 
 more can be done by each member of the church in contri- 
 buting to the poise, balance, serenity, and joy that comes 
 from conquered self and quiet communion with God. 
 
 (Signed) Sibyl Marvin Huse, Chairman. 
 
Practice of Healing in First Church 119 
 
 The foregoing Report was not an unusual one. On 
 the contrary, it was truly representative of what First 
 Church, New York City was, up to that time, accom- 
 plishing year by year through the efforts of a well- 
 trained body of Christian workers. 
 
 We appeal to the judgment of Christian Scientists 
 in particular, and to Christian people in general, 
 whether or not the above Report, which wastws 
 describes the work of Christian Science work right 
 practitioners in the Reading Room of First o'^rong? 
 Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, represents 
 a sound or an unsound condition of religious life. 
 
 There can be only one answer. There is not a church 
 in Christendom that would not rejoice to be able to 
 manifest the Christ power implied in the Must be 
 healing of 3,331 cases of disease in a single judged by 
 year. It is certain that, excepting the three ^" '*" ^ 
 years of the blessed Master's ministry, there never 
 was a larger benefit bestowed in a similar period any- 
 where else in the world in the history of the Christian 
 Church. If so, the annals of Christian history do not 
 disclose anything approaching this wonderful healing 
 capacity of less than twoscore persons. Yet this very 
 work, and these very workers, within a few months 
 after this Report was read, became objects against 
 whom condemnation was directed. 
 
 Mrs. Eddy says in Science and Health, page 254: 
 
 If you launch your bark upon the ever-agitated but 
 healthful waters of truth, you will encounter storms. 
 Your good will be evil spoken of. This is the cross. Take 
 it up and bear it, for through it you win and wear the 
 crown. 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 EDITORIAL CRITICISM OF FIRST CHURCH OF 
 CHRIST, SCIENTIST, NEW YORK CITY 
 
 During the latter part of 1908, the Board of Trustees 
 
 of First Church, New York, learned that one of the 
 
 members of this branch church had made an 
 
 index alphabetically classified index of all cases 
 
 of healing that had been reported in The 
 
 Christian Science Journal and Sentinel. 
 
 Believing that this might prove to be helpful to the 
 practitioners connected with this church, and of service 
 in answering inquiries of others, the author generously 
 offered to put the results of her labors at the service of 
 this church. The Trustees, after being duly satisfied 
 with the reliable and important character of the work, 
 passed a vote of thanks, and presented a nominal 
 , . . honorarium for the time spent. Not long 
 
 Inquiry from _ ^ ° 
 
 Publication after this, a letter was received by the Clerk 
 Society ^£ ^j^^ church from Clifford P. Smith, Secre- 
 
 tary of the Christian Science Publishing Society, in 
 Boston, stating that it had been represented to them 
 that it was the purpose of First Church, New York, 
 to publish said compilation of cases of healing, and 
 inquiring whether this church had been properly 
 represented in such allegation. 
 
 A denial of any such purpose was promptly sent, 
 and request made for the name of the alleged informant. 
 Confidentiality was urged in reply by Secretary Clifford 
 
 120 
 
Editorial Criticism 121 
 
 P. Smith. Following this, and in view of the fact that 
 First Church had repeatedly suffered from misrepresen- 
 tation, this latest instance led the Board of 
 
 Assurance 
 
 Trustees of First Church to reassure the and warning 
 Christian Science Publishing Society of its "^igop.to 
 fidelity to the Rules of the Manual regarding Publishing 
 
 , ,. . ^ , . . . . Society 
 
 publications, and also to warn it against giving 
 credence to unverified allegations against First Church, 
 New York. This was embodied in the following letter : 
 
 First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, 
 Central Park West & 96TH Street, 
 February 7, 1909. 
 
 The Christian Science Publishing Society, 
 Clifford P. Smith, Secretary, 
 
 Falmouth & St. Paul Streets, 
 Boston, Mass. 
 Dear Friends: — Your favor of the 29th ult. is received. 
 
 We are glad to believe that your original letter of inquiry 
 indicates a purpose to refer to us direct regarding matters 
 pertaining to this church or its work, before giving credence 
 to reports of criticism, and we thank you for it. By such 
 cooperation we can at all times prevent harm being done 
 to our beloved Cause through malicious or ignorant persons 
 claiming to be Christian Scientists. 
 
 Our experiences of the past furnish evidence that all 
 Christian Scientists have not exemplified the practice of 
 that courtesy and justice in this regard which even the 
 world usually observes. 
 
 We are and always have been strict observers of the 
 Rules laid down in The Mother Church Manual. 
 Sincerely yours, 
 BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF 
 FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST, OF 
 NEW YORK CITY. 
 
 By (Signed) E. F. Hatfield, Chairman, 
 John D. Higgins, Clerk. 
 
122 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 The letter of Clifford P. Smith, Secretary, to which 
 the above is a reply, is the only instance in which 
 a matter of this character was called to the Trustees' 
 attention affording an opportunity for correcting mis- 
 statements. 
 
 Toward the close of 1908, the official church periodi- 
 cals began to contain statements reflecting on this 
 branch church. In the Sentinel of December 
 
 Sentinel's „ ^ j_ i -i • 
 
 editorials 5» iQoS, an opcn attack was made m an 
 criticize editorial entitled "One Mother Church in 
 
 First Church 
 
 Christian Science." It should be stated 
 in advance that the occasion of this attack was the 
 proposal originating among members of First Church, 
 New York, to organize and build, on a location on 
 Riverside Drive, a branch of The Mother Church, The 
 First Church of Christ, Scientist, Boston, Massachusetts. 
 The public press had announced the purchase of a 
 lot there by persons identified with First Church, New 
 
 York, who had, as individuals, obtained an 
 
 Purchase of . . -i i i i i •. r 
 
 lot on River- option to purchasc, m order to hold it tor 
 side Drive ^^^j^ ^ branch church purpose if needed. 
 The work in First Church, New York, had prospered 
 to such an extent that at last there were as many as 
 two or three hundred people standing during the morn- 
 ing service on Sunday. During the earlier months of 
 1908, this condition was met by providing an overflow 
 service in the Reading Room of the church building. 
 Some time during that year, in obedience to the fol- 
 lowing By-Law duly promulgated and incorporated 
 in The Mother Church Manual, prohibiting overflow 
 meetings, this remedy providing for the excess of 
 attendance was promptly discontinued: 
 
 Article XVII. Overflow Meetings. Sect. 4. A Church 
 
Editorial Criticism 123 
 
 of Christ, Scientist, shall not hold two or more Sunday- 
 services at the same hour. 
 
 Within the New York church itself, the view was 
 entertained all along, and especially after overflow 
 services were forbidden, that as the true r« « 
 scientific method, it rested upon First Church meetings 
 to send out some of its members for the 
 building of another branch of The Mother Church, 
 The First Church of Christ, Scientist, Boston, Massa- 
 chusetts, and that this should be located in some part 
 of the city which was not already preempted by exist- 
 ing Christian Science churches. The matter of meeting 
 this problem had been discussed among the church 
 members, and repeatedly at the meetings of the Board 
 of Trustees. Every thought and purpose was subor- 
 dinate to the strictest loyalty to the Cause, to The 
 Mother Church, and to the development of Christian 
 Science work in this city. 
 
 Nevertheless, however good and pure the purpose 
 of this effort, it developed most unexpectedly that 
 there were those who took the unwarranted unwarranted 
 view that the purchase of a lot on Riverside *ss"™p"°° 
 Drive, — close to the University and Colleges with 
 their thousands of students, and in one of the most 
 beautiful and rapidly developing portions of New York 
 City, — involved a desire for material aggrandizement 
 and the gratification of an ambition for prominence. 
 
 This view was apparently not long in finding expres- 
 sion in the official organs of the church. The Riverside 
 Drive lot was secured late in November, 1908. In the 
 Christian Science Sentinel, of December 5, 1908, occurred 
 the following editorial entitled "Consistency," signed 
 by Archibald McLellan: 
 
124 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 CONSISTENCY. 
 
 Is matter real? 
 
 No; there is no matter. God is All, and God is Spirit; 
 Another therefore they that worship Him, worship Him 
 
 editorial in Spirit and in truth. 
 
 criticism jg Q^^ gp.^^p 
 
 He is. 
 
 Then, do you make God, who is real, supreme in your 
 affections, or are you making matter, which you admit is 
 not real, supreme? 
 
 Are you striving, in Christian Science, to be the best 
 Christian on earth, or are you striving to have the most 
 costly edifice on the earth? 
 
 Are you striving to make the most possible of matter, 
 which you admit is unreal, or are you striving to make 
 most of Spirit, which you admit is All, and that there 
 is none beside Spirit? 
 
 Let every Christian Scientist answer honestly to his God 
 the above questions, then obey the command, "Choose 
 you this day whom ye will serve." If it be Spirit, let it 
 be Spirit; and if it be matter, let him acknowledge it, and 
 remove his name from the list of Christian Scientists. 
 This he must do, and will do if he is honest. 
 
 The more modest and less imposing material super- 
 structures indicate a spiritual state of thought; and vice 
 versa. 
 
 The house Mrs. Eddy now occupies is larger than she 
 needs, because she could not find exactly what she wanted ; 
 but it is a plain house, and its furnishings are not extrava- 
 gant. Mrs. Eddy has continued to declare against the 
 display of material things, and has said that the less we 
 have of them the better. Since God has taught her that 
 matter is unreal and Spirit is the only reahty, any other 
 position would be unscientific. 
 
 (Signed) Archibald McLellan. 
 
 Is it not an unscientific statement to say that "The 
 
Editorial Criticism 125 
 
 more modest and less imposing material superstructures 
 indicate a spiritual state of thought; and vice versa'' '^ 
 If that were true, then instead of The Mother unscientific 
 Church with its Extension Building, em- i'»f««°<=^^ 
 bodying an inspiration of exalted ideals, there should 
 be substituted the log-cabin type of the pioneer as a 
 means of indicating a superior state of spiritual thought. 
 
 The attempt at apology for the kind of house which 
 our beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy, then occupied was 
 not only uncalled for, but was certainly not in accord- 
 ance with the finer feelings of the membership at large, 
 who always felt that nothing was too good for the one 
 who had brought to the world the priceless blessings 
 of Christian Science. 
 
 Let us place before the reader a correspondence 
 which passed between Mary Baker Eddy and Augusta 
 E. Stetson in April, 1908, the same year in Leader's 
 which the foregoing editorial appeared. The attitude of 
 correspondence in question related to a 
 minor material gift, the spiritual significance of which 
 was clearly set forth in both communications. Let 
 us contrast Mr. McLellan's conceptions of mental 
 phenomena with Mrs. Eddy's spiritual interpretation 
 of and gratitude for a gift expressive of unselfed love, 
 and her benediction to "you and your students," that 
 came with her reply to Mrs. Stetson's letter as given 
 below, from the Christian Science Sentinel, of April 18, 
 1908: 
 
 New York, N. Y., April 8, 1908. 
 
 My Precious Leader and Teacher: — Since you have 
 moved into your new home, I have greatly desired to send 
 you an expression of my love, but I have been unable to 
 find anything which I thought would be pure and perfect 
 
126 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 enough to offer to my precious Leader. Nothing I ever 
 could get would express my deep love and loyalty, and my 
 ever-increasing gratitude to you, so I ceased my search, 
 and settled upon this flower holder, which I send to you, 
 dearest, as a reminder of my affection for you, and of nearly 
 twenty-four years of your patient, unselfed watch-care of 
 me and mine. I trust it will speak to you of my constant 
 appreciation of your Christly love for me, and mine, and all 
 mankind, and of my earnest endeavor to continue to follow 
 and obey your consecrated life and sublime teachings. My 
 heart is overflowing with gratitude to God for such a 
 Leader, and Teacher, and Guide to eternal Life. 
 Ever your loving child, 
 
 (Signed) Augusta E, Stetson. 
 
 Mrs. Eddy's Reply. 
 
 My Beloved Student: — Your gift to me — a "flower holder" 
 — is a dream of beauty. I thank you. God give you and 
 your students the beauty of love in the highest, peace and 
 good will to men. 
 
 Lovingly, 
 
 Mary B. G. Eddy. 
 
 Hitherto no official organ of the church, so far as we 
 are aware, had ever adversely criticized a proposal to 
 build an additional branch of The Mother Church in 
 this or any other city. It was therefore difficult to 
 understand why a publication of the denomination, 
 such as the Christian Science Sentinel, should be used 
 to discourage this effort to provide for the growth of 
 the Cause in the building here of another branch of 
 The Mother Church. 
 
 But this was made clear by another editorial in the 
 Christian Science Sentinel of December 5, 1908, also 
 
Editorial Criticism 127 
 
 signed by Archibald McLellan, the Editor-in-Chief, 
 and entitled " One Mother Church in Christian Science," 
 in which he quoted from an unwarranted, 
 
 , . ^ . Groundless 
 
 inaccurate, and unauthorized statement irom fear of rivalry 
 a New York daily paper of November ^ en'^attack 
 30th, without any attempt to verify it by 
 communicating with the New York Trustees. This 
 editorial read as follows: 
 
 ONE MOTHER CHURCH IN CHRISTIAN SCIENCE 
 
 A newspaper of Nov. 30 announces, on information said 
 to have been received from First Church of Christ, Scientist, 
 of New York city, that: "It is proposed to 
 have a church edifice, rivaling in beauty of VasedTn 
 architecture any other religious structure in newspaper 
 America. . . . Mrs. Eddy is known to be '^"™*"^ 
 
 profoundly pleased at this new evidence of growth and 
 prosperity in the faith of which she is Founder. ... It 
 was learned last night that Christian Scientists here have 
 aspired to build another and more splendid edifice, ever 
 since the Boston Christian Scientists erected the $2,000,000 
 Mother Church." 
 
 Concerning these news items, it is to be said that Mrs. 
 Eddy was not "known to be profoundly pleased" with 
 what purports to be the plans of First Church of Christ, 
 Scientist, of New York city, for she learned of this proposed 
 rival to The Mother Church, for the first time, from the 
 daily press. 
 
 Three leading facts remain immortal in the history of 
 Christian Science, namely: 
 
 1. This Science is already established, and it has the 
 support of all true Christian Scientists throughout the world. 
 
 2. Any competition or any rivalry in Christian Science 
 is abnormal, and will expose and explode itself. 
 
 3. Any attempt at rivalry or superiority in Christian 
 
128 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 Science is unchristian; therefore it is unscientific. The 
 great Teacher said: "As ye would that men should do 
 to you, do ye." 
 
 Thoughtful Christian Scientists are profoundly grateful 
 to their beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy, because in her far- 
 seeing wisdom she has ordained The First Church of Christ, 
 Scientist, in Boston, Mass., already famous for originating 
 reforms, as The Mother Church of Christian Science, and 
 all other churches in the denomination as branches of the 
 parent Vine. Says the Church Manual: "In its relation 
 to other Christian Science churches, in its By-laws and 
 self-government, The Mother Church stands alone; it 
 occupies a position that no other church can fill" (Article 
 XXIII., Sect. 3). It is a fact of general observation that 
 in proportion as branch churches adhere loyally to The 
 Mother Church, and obey implicitly its By-laws, they 
 bear abundant fruit in healing the sick and sinful. 
 
 In many of our large cities, when a congregation has out- 
 grown its church building, then other branch churches are 
 organized and new edifices erected to accommodate the 
 increasing numbers ; but each new branch at once becomes 
 an individual church, and has immediate connection with 
 The Mother Church, so that the later organizations are as 
 directly attached to the parent Vine as are any of the earlier 
 branches. The members of each new organization are in 
 no wise connected or affiliated with their former church, 
 except in the bonds of that Christian fellowship which 
 should characterize all true followers of the Master. 
 
 The Christian Science movement is in accord with 
 Jesus' words: "The branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except 
 it abide in the vine." Were one branch church to depend 
 upon a neighboring branch for training and support, this 
 action would tend to sever its connection with The Mother 
 Church. The essential condition for fruit-bearing is undi- 
 vided attachment to the parent Vine. On the other hand, 
 no branch church, however large, is privileged to oversee 
 or supervise another branch. Such action would violate 
 
Editorial Criticism 129 
 
 a fundamental rule in Christian Science. The Church 
 Manual declares : "The branch churches shall be individual" 
 (Article XXIII. , Sect. 6). Thus far the larger churches 
 have resisted the temptation to organize or foster branches 
 of their own, and any failure to adhere strictly to this rule 
 would be a serious departure from the universal practice 
 of the denomination and a flagrant violation of the By-laws 
 of The Mother Church Manual. 
 
 The Master said: "I am the vine, ye are the branches: 
 He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth 
 forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing." 
 
 Archibald McLellan. 
 
 Can an editorial criticism of such an unwarranted 
 character, holding up to unprecedented public rebuke 
 a branch of The Mother Church without proper effort 
 at ascertaining the facts, be designated by those who 
 understand Christian Science as any thing less than 
 mental malpractice? 
 
 In order to show how groundless this criticism was, 
 the following letter, containing the essential facts in 
 the matter, was prepared and forwarded by the New 
 York Board of Trustees: 
 
 First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, 
 
 Central Park West & 96TH Street, 
 
 December 14, 1908. 
 
 Archibald McLellan, Esq., Editor, 
 The Christian Science Periodicals, 
 Falmouth & St. Paul Streets, 
 Boston, Mass. 
 Dear Mr. McLellan: — Out of regard for the truth, and 
 in justice to ourselves and to Christian Scientists j^^pjy ^^ ^^ 
 generally throughout the world, we, the Board undeserved 
 of Trustees of First Church of Christ, Scientist, ''" 
 New York City, feel in duty bound to set forth the facts, 
 
130 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 and to disown the motives and purposes imputed to us as 
 a branch church in the editorial allegations and inferences 
 contained in the Sentinel of December 5, 1908, page 270, 
 columns one and two, in the article entitled "One Mother 
 Church in Christian Science." 
 
 In that editorial, this particular church is, with apparent 
 animus, singled out for attack and held up for reproach 
 Protest before the public on assumed grounds, which 
 
 against unjust the facts in the case do not truthfully justify, 
 assault Inferences are also drawn which, in our 
 
 view, constitute an assault upon the fundamental rela- 
 tions of Christian Science churches. Against both of 
 these we respectfully protest as unwarranted and 
 unjust. 
 
 The facts are these: First Church of Christ, Scientist, 
 New York City, as the result of twenty-one years of un- 
 broken loyalty to The Mother Church and to Mrs. Eddy, 
 its beloved head, has, in common with many other Christian 
 Science churches, for many months found its capacity 
 inadequate to accommodate the people attending. An over- 
 flow service was resorted to until The Mother Church By- 
 Law, whose wisdom was never questioned, terminated that 
 mode of relieving the situation. 
 
 Oiu" only remaining recourse was then to make more com- 
 prehensive survey of the local field, in order that those of our 
 members who might at the proper time be will- 
 for growing ing of their own accord to form a new branch of 
 were in line 'pj^g Mothcr Church, might not only have regard 
 to the past achievements of the Cause in this 
 field, but also might look well to its future requirements. 
 With this in view a provisional committee of outgoing 
 members was named, and steps were taken to secure an 
 option on one of the few available tracts in a portion of this 
 city where there is no Christian Science church, and where 
 there are from 7,000 to 10,000 adults engaged in educational 
 pursuits. This tentative selection of a site so appealed to 
 the strategic sense of our membership, that they contributed 
 
Editorial Criticism 131 
 
 $93,000 at a single meeting towards the price of $390,000 
 at which the plot had been secured. 
 
 The high value of the property and the prominence of 
 location led to exaggeration and wholly unwarranted 
 statements in the public press, of which the one here com- 
 plained of in the Sentinel of the date mentioned is among 
 the most glaring examples of misstatement and misrepre- 
 sentation. So great has been the mischief, however, from 
 this perversion of fact, that out of loving regard for the 
 present and future peace of the Church in general this 
 transaction has been promptly cancelled, the property 
 transferred to a waiting purchaser, and the contributions 
 refunded without loss to any one. 
 
 On the above statement of facts, which to the best of 
 our knowledge and belief are the essential truths in the 
 matter we submit : 
 
 1. That the editorial in question shows an unjustifiable 
 use of a damaging newspaper statement by proceeding on 
 the assumption of its accuracy to make disci- 
 plinary strictures of a nature utterly at variance basfdon fact 
 with the actual facts, and contrary to the fine 
 
 spirit hitherto always exemplified in our periodical 
 literature. 
 
 2. That there is no warrant whatsoever, either in the 
 Scriptures or in the Manual of The Mother Church, for the 
 exercise, as in this case, of any act of discipline 
 
 to an individual church in good standing, through undertook 
 the medium of editorial utterances. Disci- *"* exercise 
 plinary authority is vested solely in the Board of 
 Directors of The Mother Church (Manual, Article XI., 
 Sect. 5) ; and then only as to individuals, and any attempt 
 to shift that center of authority and responsibility, or to 
 usurp it under any pretext, is an act in subversion of Chris- 
 tian Science church polity. 
 
 3. That inasmuch as "The Mother Church of Christ, 
 Scientist, shall assume no general official control of other 
 churches" (Manual, Article XXIII., Section i), each 
 
132 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 branch church within the limit of obedience to the Manual 
 of The Mother Church, and to the laws of the State, is 
 Interfered in ^^ liberty to meet and work out its problem 
 local church by its own ways and means without being 
 problems called to account for not proceeding as other 
 localities or branch churches may have done. 
 
 4. That in justice to First Church of Christ, Scientist, 
 New York City, and in order that the wrong may rightfully 
 Publication ^® Corrected, it is but fair and proper that this 
 of disclaimer communication in its entirety be given, with 
 requested reasonable promptness, equal publicity in the 
 official organs in which the editorial in question appeared, 
 so that whatever things are true, and just, and of good re- 
 port, may have sway in the upbuilding of the Church — " The 
 structure of Truth and Love" {Science and Health, p. 583). 
 Faithfully yours in Truth, 
 (Signed) E. F. Hatfield, 
 
 Chairman of the Board of Trustees. 
 
 This communication of December 14, in which funda- 
 mental grounds were taken for the protection of a branch 
 church against unauthorized statements, never received 
 the courtesy of so much as an acknowledgment. In 
 The New York World of December 15, 1908 (ten days 
 after Mr. McLellan's editorial above quoted), appeared 
 the following statement by J. V. Dittemore, then the 
 PubHcation Committee for the State of New York, 
 and now a member of the Board of Directors of The 
 Mother Church, Clerk of that Church, and Secretary 
 of the Board of Directors: 
 
 It is not true that the Christian Science Church is facing 
 
 a crisis, and the charge that Mrs. Augusta E. 
 
 Publication s^g^sQn is about to scize control of the denomi- 
 
 Committee _ _ /-< • 
 
 denies ab- nation is as absurd as it is impossible. Chris- 
 surd rumor ^-^^ Sciencc has never been in a more flourishing 
 and prosperous condition than it is to-day. 
 
Editorial Criticism 133 
 
 ... no effort has ever been made by The Mother 
 Church to pry into the affairs of any of its branches. 
 
 It was felt by many who comprehended the spiritual 
 significance of our action toward extending the service 
 of the Cause in this community that our beloved 
 Leader's message (published in the Christian Science 
 Sentinel, of January 16, 1909), was more than ample 
 reward for the sacrifice. We recognize that this was 
 a message to us pointing out the real path of progress, 
 and it lifted us unto a larger realization of her unerring 
 leadership. In that message, expressed under the 
 title, "The Way of Wisdom," she sent the following 
 immortal words: 
 
 When my dear brethren in New York desire to build 
 higher, — to enlarge their phylacteries and demonstrate 
 Christian Science to a higher extent, — they ^eajer enjoins 
 must begin on a wholly spiritual foundation, " wholly spiri- 
 than which there is no other, and proportion- *"* "* ^"** 
 ably estimate their success and glory of achievement only 
 as they build upon the rock of Christ, the spiritual founda- 
 tion. This will open the way, widely and impartially, to 
 their never-ending success, — to salvation and eternal 
 Christian Science. 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 MATERIAL CONCEPT OF COMPOSITE LETTER 
 
 In the issue of the Christian Science Sentinel of July- 
 Si, 1909, appeared the following editorial by Archibald 
 McLellan: 
 
 "NONE GOOD BUT ONE." 
 
 Christian Science teaches, as did Jesus, that "there is 
 none good but one, that is, God;" and when students of 
 Christian Science are not so taught they are defrauded of 
 the pure teachings of Mrs. Eddy. That some students have 
 been thus defrauded is shown by the following excerpts 
 from a composite letter written by a representative number 
 of students to their teacher, which letter has secured the 
 commendation of this teacher. We quote as follows: — 
 
 " Dear teacher, your teaching has revealed to me that, 
 to be a true Christian Scientist, is to so purify my own 
 thought that I can be subject to the Head of the Body of 
 God, as reflected by you. Gratitude is expressed only as 
 we become instantaneous in our response to your mental 
 touch. ' God spake, and it was done."* 
 
 " May a purified life attest the endless gratitude 
 
 Editorial ex- . . . 
 
 cerpts from I fccl for the manifestation of the Christ you have 
 " Composite given US, while, with Mary of old I cry, Rabboni — 
 Teacher." 
 "In grateful acknowledgment of your example and 
 ^ 134 
 
Material Concept of Composite Letter 135 
 
 teaching, we, as members of your body, desire to offer this 
 evidence of our intelligent loyalty." 
 
 "Your unselfish life, fast approaching the perfect idea of 
 Love, is to my hungry sense of Truth, ' the bread of heaven 
 and the water of Life.' Eating this bread and drinking 
 this water is to me eating the body of Christ, and drinking 
 his blood." 
 
 "And you, our blessed teacher, as the manifestation of 
 Truth. . . . Our hearts are filled with gratitude and awe 
 as we see in you Christianity demonstrated." 
 
 "The voice of the Father-Mother God is ever speaking 
 through you." 
 
 "Ever on upward wing, your flight in supernal order has 
 been so far above all touch of the finite, " etc., etc. 
 
 "Your teaching, demonstrated by us, your body, con- 
 stitutes the true furnishing of the 'upper room,' at this 
 paschal meal, in 'the dawn of a new light' (Science and 
 Health, p. 35) — the appearing of the masculine and feminine 
 of God's creating, — the spiritual idea, the perfect man. " 
 
 "You are known to us, our beloved teacher, by words 
 which make ' our hearts burn within us,' and we, your body, 
 quickly and gratefully respond." 
 
 "We recognize the wealth of inspiration that you have 
 imparted to us from the highest plane of consecration 
 and discernment of Truth, the radiation of the Sun of 
 Righteousness." 
 
 This is emphatically not Christian Science, and Christian 
 Scientists will note in these quotations phrases for which 
 they can find no warrant either in the Scriptures scientific and 
 or in any of Mrs. Eddy's writings, phrases which scriptural va- 
 are inexplicable to them from the standpoint of '"*'*^ denied 
 true Christian Science, and also expressions which, in the light 
 of the Scriptural text we have quoted, no human being should 
 address to another and no human being should receive. 
 
 A real Christian Scientist has no concept of God or Christ 
 other than as the one infinite God and the one Christ of the 
 
136 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 Scriptures. A human individual is not God nor His Christ, 
 and no mortal on earth today can be Christ. Christ is the 
 true idea of the one and only God, therefore no mortal can 
 be the idea of divine Principle. 
 
 Mrs. Eddy teaches nothing in private that is not set 
 forth in her books, and thousands of her students will attest 
 this. ^ She claims to be nothing more than the Discoverer 
 and Founder of Christian Science, and of herself she has 
 written in the Preface to Science and Health (p. ix.) , "Today 
 though rejoicing in some progress, she still finds herself a 
 willing disciple at the heavenly gate, waiting for the Mind of 
 Christ." There is no uncertainty about Mrs. Eddy's 
 teachings concerning personality, as will be seen from 
 quotations from her published writings. We quote from 
 "Miscellaneous Writings" as follows: — 
 
 "Christian Scientists should beware of unseen snares, 
 and adhere to the divine Principle and rules for demon- 
 stration. They must guard against the deification of 
 finite personality" (p. 307). 
 
 " He that by reason of human love or hatred or 
 
 Deification 
 
 of physical any other cause clmgs to my material personality, 
 
 personality greatly crrs, stops his own progress, and loses the 
 
 path to health, happiness, and heaven" (p. 308). 
 
 "Christian Science is taught through its divine Principle, 
 which is invisible to corporeal sense. A material human 
 likeness is the antipode of man in the image and likeness of 
 God. Hence, a finite person is not the model for a meta- 
 physician. I earnestly advise all Christian Scientists to 
 remove from observation or study the personal sense of any 
 one, and not to dwell in thought upon their own or others' 
 corporeality, either as good or evil" (p. 308). 
 
 "God's interpretation of Himself furnishes man with 
 the only suitable or true idea of Him ; and the divine defini- 
 tion of Deity differs essentially from the human" (p. 258). 
 
 Again we read, in Science and Health, "Mortals are not 
 like immortals, created in God's own image" (p. 295). 
 
 ' See page 368. 
 
Material Concept of Composite Letter 137 
 
 "Earnestly seek the spiritual status of man, which is 
 outside of all material selfhood" (p. 476). 
 
 "Man is the likeness of Spirit, but a material personality 
 is not this likeness" (p. 544). 
 
 "In founding a pathological system of Christianity, the 
 author has labored to expound divine Principle, and not to 
 exalt personality" (p. 464). 
 
 It is time for these students and their teacher, and other 
 students and other teachers, if there be any in practitioners 
 the same belief, to awake from the mesmerism of called victims 
 
 1.1,, , 1 • J • J i_j_- • J of mesmerism 
 
 which they are the victims, and, putting aside 
 the mistaken views of personality which have intervened 
 to obscure their clear understanding of the teachings of 
 Christian Science, follow "the true Light, which lighteth 
 every man that cometh into the world. " 
 
 Archibald McLellan. 
 
 The "Composite Letter" of which the above editorial 
 contained only certain detached excerpts was written in 
 the language of those who, in strict accordance ^ . . . 
 
 ^ ° ' Spiritual 
 
 with the teachings of Mary Baker Eddy, language 
 regard their Leader, Mrs. Eddy, their teacher, j^^e^'prtld 
 Mrs. Stetson, themselves, and all men, not as 
 mortals but as spiritual children of God, as immortal 
 ideas of the one divine Mind ; not meaning thereby that 
 mortals are the children of God, but referring to the 
 spiritual individuality which is the real man. Their 
 language is not therefore to be judged from a material 
 standpoint. 
 
 In the use which Mr. McLellan, as Editor of the 
 Christian Science Sentinel, made of quotations from 
 these letters, we regard his selections as inadequate to do 
 justice to the meaning and intent of the writers, and 
 that by taking the excerpts apart from the letters, a 
 prejudicial significance was given to the portion quoted. 
 
138 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 The reader may judge for himself to what extent 
 this criticism appHes by the following parallel arrange- 
 criticismof "lent of the letters and the excerpts used 
 use of excerpts by Mj-. McLcllan in writing the editorial 
 entitled, "None Good but One." 
 
 The reader should also notice to what extent certain 
 words are separated from their context, and how brief 
 an excerpt is used in some cases to do duty 
 ra"gement"of ^OT the wholc letter. It will furthermore be 
 letters and noticcd that whilc most of the letters made 
 reference to their beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy, 
 yet in not one of the excerpts does Mrs. Eddy's name 
 appear. 
 
 Individual letters from 
 which Mr. McLellan made 
 excerpts : 
 
 Beloved Teacher: — In 
 
 grateful acknowledgment of 
 
 your example and teaching, 
 
 we, as members 
 
 Mrjerrall's ^f your body [stu- 
 
 dent-body], de- 
 sire to offer this evidence of 
 our intelligent loyalty. For 
 many years you have been 
 fitting us to fill our respec- 
 tive places in our Leader's 
 (Christ's) body, and during 
 the past six months you 
 have daily fed us with the 
 bread of heaven and the 
 wine of inspiration which 
 
 Excerpts used by Archi- 
 bald McLellan in the Chris- 
 tian Science Sentinel of July 
 31, 1909: 
 
 In grateful acknowledg- 
 ment of your example and 
 teaching, we, as members of 
 your body, desire to offer 
 this evidence of our intelli- 
 gent loyalty. 
 
Material Concept of Composite Letter 139 
 
 you have inherited from 
 your Teacher, Mrs. Eddy. 
 
 We bring you our first- 
 fruits in this joyous harvest 
 hour, knowing that, as we 
 bring our tithes into the 
 storehouse, God will pour 
 out His unlimited blessing. 
 As the children of Israel 
 stood, staff in hand, ready 
 for their journey out of 
 Egypt, on the paschal night, 
 so we have been prepared 
 and equipped through your 
 discipline and instruction for 
 the final journey out of the 
 house of bondage of material 
 sense into the promised Land 
 of spiritual freedom. I 
 
 (Signed) Richard P. Verrall. 
 
 The word "body" to which Mr. McLellan apparently 
 took exception is employed in the usual sense as in such 
 phrases as "student body," or "body politic." Web- 
 ster defines the word "body" as "a mass of individuals 
 spoken of collectively, usually as united by some 
 common tie, or organized for some purpose." Mr. 
 McLellan himself used it in the Boston "Conference," 
 when he said: "I have made the statement myself, I 
 think, that the body of people in First Church, New 
 York, have been referred to many times as the finest 
 lot of people on the face of the globe. " 
 
 You have led us to heights 
 Mrs. Hoiden's of Spiritual un- 
 letter derstanding 
 
 where, as our beloved Leader 
 
140 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 tells us, "the mortal concept 
 ... is obliterated" (Mes- 
 sage, 1902). May a puri- 
 fied life attest the endless 
 gratitude I feel for the 
 manifestation of the Christ 
 you have given us, while, 
 with Mary of old I cry, 
 Rabboni — Teacher. 
 (Signed) Anna A. Holden. 
 
 May a purified life attest 
 the endless gratitude I feel 
 for the manifestation of the 
 Christ you have given us, 
 while, with Mary of old I 
 cry, Rabboni — Teacher. 
 
 Here the objectionable word, presumably, was that 
 of "Rabboni," used by Mrs. Holden in the Biblical 
 sense of spiritual and intellectual guide or teacher in a 
 school of thought. 
 
 Mr. Blome's 
 letter 
 
 Your unselfish life, fast 
 approaching the perfect idea 
 of Love, is to 
 my hungry sense 
 for Truth, "the 
 bread of heaven and the 
 water of Life. " Eating this 
 bread and drinking this 
 water is to me eating the 
 body of Christ, and drinking 
 his blood. Loving obedience 
 to your guiding thought as 
 my teacher has given me 
 our precious Leader, the 
 forever presence of the liv- 
 ing God. In this I have 
 found my life "with Christ 
 in God," as a whole mem- 
 ber of His body. My 
 gratitude to you is the 
 
 Your unselfish life, fast 
 approaching the perfect idea 
 of Love, is to my hungry 
 sense of Truth, "the bread 
 of heaven and the water of 
 Life." Eating this bread 
 and drinking this water is to 
 me eating the body of Christ, 
 and drinking his blood. 
 
Material Concept of Composite Letter 141 
 
 burning lamp I lovingly 
 and joyfully tend. 
 (Signed) Arnold Blome. 
 
 If Mr. Blome saw in his teacher enough of the " Mind 
 . . . which was also in Christ Jesus," he was en- 
 titled to speak truly of her in these terms; because, 
 as we realize one another's sonship in God, we are 
 aware of each other as "heirs of God, and joint-heirs 
 with Christ." Mr. McLellan's objection to this 
 language is apparently based on scholastic conceptions, 
 in which God is made manlike. The scientific concep- 
 tion which Mr. Blome uses makes man (the spiritual 
 individuality) Godlike; and this is always Hable to 
 bring with it the risk of the charge of deification of the 
 human. In the excerpt, the very sentence is omitted 
 which is necessary to prevent such misleading. 
 
 In this hour of revelation, 
 
 the life of Truth and Love, 
 
 which you have 
 
 Mrs. Greene's n j. j j. 
 
 letter reflected to us, 
 
 has so illumined 
 our consciousness that "the 
 real heaven and the real 
 earth" are appearing. We 
 behold our beloved Leader, 
 Mary Baker Eddy, revealed 
 to our waking thought as 
 eternal life, and you, our 
 blessed teacher, as the mani- 
 festation of Truth. We 
 behold each other " born, 
 not of blood, nor of the 
 will of the flesh, nor of the 
 will of man, but of God," 
 
 And you, our blessed 
 teacher, as the manifesta- 
 tion of Truth. . . . Our 
 hearts are filled with grati- 
 tude and awe as we see in 
 you Christianity demon- 
 strated. 
 
142 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 even the " ' male and female ' 
 of God's creating" {Science 
 and Health, p. 249), and the 
 whole universe as the com- 
 pound idea of Spirit, each 
 individual member partak- 
 ing of the whole nature of 
 God, "in which passion has 
 no part" (Science and Health, 
 p. 64). "Old things are 
 passed away: behold, all 
 things are become new." 
 Our hearts are filled with 
 gratitude and awe as we see, 
 in you, Christian Science 
 demonstrated. "This is the 
 new understanding of spirit- 
 ual Love. It gives all for 
 Christ, or Truth. It blesses 
 its enemies, heals the sick, 
 casts out error, raises the 
 dead from trespasses and 
 sins, and preaches the gos- 
 pel to the poor, the meek 
 in heart" {Science and 
 Health, p. 33). 
 (Signed) Letitia H. Greene. 
 
 Here, "with the upper 
 chambers of thought pre- 
 pared for the re- 
 ception of Truth" 
 (Mary Baker 
 Eddy), the voice of the 
 Father- Mother God is ever 
 speaking through you. 
 Every one that is of the 
 
 Mr. Davis's 
 letter 
 
 The voice of the Father- 
 Mother God is ever speak- 
 ing through you. 
 
Material Concept of Composite Letter 143 
 
 Truth heareth and answer- 
 eth with increasing joy and 
 gratitude. Thus the light 
 of Life, Truth, and Love 
 illumines not only us but the 
 entire universe, unto the 
 perfect day of Christ, "of 
 the increase of his [whose] 
 government and peace there 
 shall be no end." Thus is 
 fulfilled the prophecy and 
 promise of our beloved 
 Leader — "never-ending suc- 
 cess" in demonstration of 
 Emmanuel. 
 (Signed) Hayne Davis. 
 
 In the excerpts from the letters of Letitia H. Greene, 
 Hayne Davis, and Edwin F. Hatfield, it will be noted 
 that certain words only were taken from the letters and 
 separated from their context. 
 
 Mrs. Fresh- 
 man's letter 
 
 Ever on upward wing, 
 your flight in supernal order 
 has been so far 
 above all touch 
 of the finite, that 
 I hear the echo of response 
 through the invisible choir 
 singing, "Well done, good 
 and faithful " teacher; "enter 
 thou into the joy" prepared 
 by our Leader for you, — a 
 patient, steadfast watcher, 
 "watching out." 
 (Signed) Mary H. Freshman 
 
 Ever on upward wing, 
 your flight in supernal order 
 has been so far above all 
 touch of the finite, etc., etc. 
 
144 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 Miss Young's 
 letter 
 
 Your teaching, demon- 
 strated by us, your body 
 [student-body], 
 constitutes the 
 true furnishing 
 of the "upper room," at 
 this paschal meal, in "the 
 dawn of a new light" (Sci- 
 ence and Health, p. 35) — 
 the appearing of the mascu- 
 line and feminine of God's 
 creating, — the spiritual idea, 
 the perfect man. 
 (Signed) 
 Ella Garrison Young, 
 Second Reader. 
 
 You are known to us, our 
 beloved teacher, by words 
 which make "our 
 hearts burn with- 
 in us," and we, 
 your body [student-body], 
 quickly and gratefully re- 
 spond. In the words of our 
 beloved Leader, " Glory be to 
 God, and peace to the strug- 
 gling hearts! Christ hath 
 rolled away the stone from 
 the door of human hope and 
 faith, and through the reve- 
 lation and demonstration of 
 life in God, hath elevated 
 them to possible at-one-ment 
 with the spiritual idea of 
 man and his divine Prin- 
 
 Miss Ens- 
 worth's letter 
 
 Your teaching, demon- 
 strated by us, your body, 
 constitutes the true furnish- 
 ing of the "upper room," at 
 this paschal meal, in "the 
 dawn of a new light" (Sci- 
 ence and Health, p. 35), — 
 the appearing of the mascu- 
 line and feminine of God's 
 creating, — the spiritual idea, 
 the perfect man. 
 
 You are known to us, our 
 beloved teacher, by words 
 which make "our hearts burn 
 within us," and we, your 
 body, quickly and gratefully 
 respond. 
 
Material Concept of Composite Letter 145 
 
 ciple, Love" {Science and 
 
 Health, p. 45). 
 
 (Signed) 
 
 Antoinette L. Ensworth. 
 
 Dear teacher, your teach- 
 ing has revealed to me that, 
 
 to be a true Chris- 
 utt'ef'^'^ tian Scientist, is 
 
 to so purify my 
 own thought that I can be 
 subject to the head of the 
 body of God, as reflected by 
 you. Gratitude is expressed 
 only as we become instan- 
 taneous in our response to 
 your mental touch. "God 
 spake, and it was done." 
 (Signed) Harry E. Fink. 
 
 In the unity of Love, as 
 
 children of the one Father^ 
 
 members of the 
 
 Mr. Hatfield's • • j. i 
 
 letter ^^e spiritual 
 
 body, we recog- 
 nize the wealth of inspiration 
 that you have imparted to us 
 from the highest plane of con- 
 secration and discernment 
 of Truth, the radiation of 
 the "Sun of righteousness." 
 Nothing can measure the sub- 
 lime importance of the real, 
 the contact with "the deep 
 things of God," the under- 
 standing of Man's relation 
 with the divine Principle. 
 
 Dear teacher, your teach- 
 ing has revealed to me that, 
 to be a true Christian Scien- 
 tist, is to so purify my own 
 thought that I can be sub- 
 ject to the Head of the 
 Body of God, as reflected 
 by you. Gratitude is ex- 
 pressed only as we become 
 instantaneous in our re- 
 sponse to your mental touch. 
 "God spake, and it was 
 done." 
 
 We recognize the wealth 
 of inspiration that you have 
 imparted to us from the 
 highest plane of consecra- 
 tion and discernment of 
 Truth, the radiation of the 
 Sun of Righteousness. 
 
146 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 You bear always the stand- 
 ard of Christian Science 
 
 aloft, and urging our advance 
 
 into more light and greater 
 
 attainment, so following our 
 
 Leader "as she follows 
 
 Christ." ^ Our sincere appre- 
 ciation of your grand work 
 
 of self-sacrifice and devotion, 
 
 steadfast courage and power 
 
 is slightly expressed in the 
 
 accompanying offering 
 
 which we ask you to accept 
 
 with our warmest love and 
 
 loyalty. 
 
 (Signed) Edwin F. Hatfield, Chairman of Board of 
 Trustees, First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York 
 City, and Mrs. Stetson's student for twenty-one 
 years. 
 
 Finally, it should be said that these letters were the 
 expression of those who were striving to follow the 
 injunction of our beloved Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, 
 to build "on a wholly spiritual foundation," — that 
 " Spirit is infinite ; therefore Spirit is all.'' ^ From that 
 intimate view-point they are entitled to be judged. 
 
 ^ Message for 1901, page 70. 
 
 » Christian Science Sentinel, volume xi., page 390. 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 
 THE COMPOSITE LETTER— HOW ORIGINATED 
 AND WHAT IT WAS 
 
 In the early part of July, 1909, it was proposed 
 among the practitioners who attended the twelve 
 o'clock meetings, to unite in presenting to o • • f 
 Mrs. Stetson some gift of an appropriate "Composite 
 character as a slight expression of their 
 appreciation of her work. This suggestion met with a 
 ready response. In the most natural way it was 
 proposed to make the gift one of gold. 
 
 This being agreed upon among the practitioners, the 
 suggestion was made that each should also put in 
 written form some expression of his or her ^^ jj^ ^^^ ^^ 
 appreciation of the benefits derived from expression of 
 attendance upon these meetings. The tan- s"^^ ' " ^ 
 gible contribution of gold was thus very appropriately 
 supplemented by a brief statement, in the form of 
 letters, indicative of what these meetings had meant 
 to them. All this was done without any intimation 
 to Mrs. Stetson that such a testimonial was in prepara- 
 tion. The proposal was made at a meeting, at which 
 Mrs. Stetson was not present, and carried out in the 
 course of less than half an hour, late in the afternoon of 
 Friday, July 9, 1909. The expressions which each 
 practitioner used in his or her letter to Mrs. Stetson 
 were entirely impromptu, and it is apparent that in the 
 
 147 
 
148 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 wording of these letters they were influenced by the 
 thought of the Communion service which was to be 
 held on the following Sunday, July 11, 1909. The 
 whole matter was a spontaneous manifestation of 
 devotedness to a Cause in which teacher and student 
 had worked together for years. 
 
 The expressions used in each letter are peculiar, in a 
 
 number of instances, to the language of Christian 
 
 Science, and in other respects the phraseology 
 
 tions of is indicative of a high degree of benefit 
 
 teacher and (Jerivcd from advanccd spiritual instruction. 
 
 student ^ ^ _ -^ 
 
 To this is to be attributed the quality mani- 
 fested in some of the contrasts and comparisons; for 
 instance, where the expression is used, "May a purified 
 life attest the endless gratitude I feel for the manifesta- 
 tion of the Christ you have given us," there is no 
 intimation that Mrs. Stetson was regarded in the place 
 of Jesus the Christ, but that in her work, with them as 
 practitioners, she was manifesting the spiritual con- 
 sciousness, or what St. Paul calls the "Mind of Christ." 
 Likewise when Arnold Blome refers to the Truth as the 
 "bread of heaven and the water of Life," and says: 
 "Eating this bread and drinking this water is to me 
 eating the body of Christ, and drinking his blood," the 
 consciousness of life "with Christ in God" is the 
 dominating thought. 
 
 Mrs. Mary H. Freshman, one of Mrs. Stetson's 
 earliest students, used the expression: "Ever on upward 
 wing, your flight in supernal order has been so far 
 above all touch of the finite, that I hear the echo of 
 
 response through the invisible choir singing, 
 of spiritual 'Well done, good and faithful' teacher; 
 exaltation 'enter thou into the joy' prepared by our 
 Leader for you, — a patient, steadfast watcher, ' watch- 
 
The Composite Letter i49 
 
 ing out. ' " As a declaration of the spiritual exaltation 
 in which these practitioners frequently dwelt at their 
 noonday meeting, the foregoing can be readily under- 
 stood. 
 
 The judgment of the Christian world may find in 
 these expressions the very quahties which are hardest 
 to develop, namely, gratitude for help rendered, 
 appreciation for the exposition of the Truth that has 
 brought freedom and spiritual might, and assurance of 
 unmeasured benefit, in return for which the complete 
 practitioners were now making a loving ac- remaTning 
 knowledgment to a beloved teacher. The practitioners 
 following are the letters of the remaining practitioners 
 which were not quoted in the editorial : 
 
 First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, 
 I West 96TH Street, July 10, 1909. 
 
 Your dear love has led us to the "upper chamber" where 
 we rest with you, our guide — and there we hear our beloved 
 Leader's voice saying: 
 
 "Beneath the shadow of His mighty wing; 
 
 In that sweet secret of the narrow way, 
 
 Seeking and finding, with the angels sing: 
 
 ' Lo, I am with you alway, ' — watch and pray." 
 Miscellaneous Writings, page 389. 
 (Signed) Margaret Beecher White. 
 
 "And afterward shall they come out with great sub- 
 stance" (Gen. XV., 14). Through your teaching as the 
 reflection of the Word given by our beloved Leader, Mrs. 
 Eddy, we are gaining the substance of joy and gladness, and 
 the liberty of the sons of God. With purified hearts we 
 offer you our love and gratitude. 
 
 (Signed) M. Augusta Aikman. 
 
I50 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 You have revealed to us our beloved Leader and man in 
 God's image. Let us express to you, in the new tongue that 
 you have taught us, a love that will manifest the substance 
 that brings understanding of the endless more and more. 
 (Signed) Sarah W. Hathaway. 
 
 "The incarnation of Truth, that ampHfication of wonder 
 and glory which angels could only whisper and which God 
 illustrated by light and harmony, is consonant with ever- 
 present Love," our holy Leader, Mrs. Eddy, tells us in 
 Science and Health, page 501. This ever-present Love has 
 been expressed through your spiritual understanding and 
 demonstration of man. You have taken us back into the 
 real garden of Eden where we can hear God's voice and 
 answer with rejoicing. 
 
 (Signed) Kate Y. Remer. 
 
 The freedom gained by the recognition of true unity, 
 one with Principle, which separates from finite personality, 
 has led us up to the wholly spiritual idea of man, the Christ 
 consciousness, which gives us dominion over all the earth. 
 The joy of radiating this light of spiritual understanding is 
 heaven, and the gratitude to you, dear teacher, which we 
 feel for this revelation of our loved Leader's body, and our 
 individual membership therein, is beyond expression. 
 
 (Signed) Catherine B. Gillpatrick. 
 
 Again "the morning stars sing together" in this "high 
 morn" {Christ and Christmas). Truth has knocked and 
 has entered, for the ideal man has appeared, and divine 
 Science is demonstrated. 
 
 (Signed) Jessie Tuttle Colton. 
 
 Jesus said, "Blessed are the pure in heart [thought]: 
 for they shall see God. " Our beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy, 
 tells us, "The seed within itself is the pure thought emanat- 
 ing from divine Mind" {Science and Health, p. 508). You, 
 dear teacher, have enabled us to realize the God-given 
 
The Composite Letter 151 
 
 purity of the complete man, worked out through these two. 
 Thus we discern you as the fruit of the true seed. 
 
 (Signed) Margaret Duncan. 
 
 We, as conscious members of the divine body, in response 
 to the Hving Christ, the head, radiate individual thoughts, 
 eternal substance, which comprise the rich furnishing of the 
 "large upper room," a mansion in the Father's house, 
 spiritual building made without hands, eternal things 
 brought to light by this living, ever-present Christ. 
 
 (Signed) Ida Constance Pope. 
 
 Your marvelous teaching has revealed to my listening 
 ear the melody of heaven, and I lose the finite sense of self, 
 and find my "sense in Soul." Thus as I respond to your 
 infinite touch, in the words of our holy Leader, the divine 
 Mind sends forth "its own sweet harmonies. " 
 
 (Signed) Mary Reno Pinney. 
 
 Organist. 
 
 Your wonderful reflection of divine Love has given me a 
 clear sense of my place in the body, the wonderful law and 
 order of spiritual generation, wherein we find our heritage 
 as sons of God. It also has revealed the necessity of a 
 ready response to the outpouring of this Love, in order to 
 receive and partake of the substance bread, which alone 
 can sustain and refresh, and to drink the wine of inspiration 
 for our daily work. 
 
 (Signed) Amelia S. Rowbotham. 
 
 The baptism of Spirit has descended upon us, washing 
 away the impurities of mortal belief. You have illumined 
 thought with the light of Love, feeding us with the bread 
 of heaven. We have walked and talked with our beloved 
 Leader, Mrs. Eddy, through you. Our Christ consciousness 
 is lifted up and strengthened with Truth and Love, and we 
 are made a law to ourselves. 
 
 (Signed) Steuart C. Rowbotham. 
 
152 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 In glorious splendor from seven-hued white, 
 
 Our Leader is rending the chaos of night. 
 
 She has called in the desert, Come, faithful and true, 
 
 And I will reveal you in heavenly hue. 
 
 Then forth came our teacher, who knows only right, 
 
 With armor and sword of the Spirit made bright. 
 
 Though tempest-tossed oft, always loyal to good, 
 
 Ever close to our Leader has faithfully stood. 
 
 Thus bringing her lambkins and sheep from the wold, 
 
 She has blended our hearts in Christ's loving fold. 
 
 (Signed) Arthur E, Overbury. 
 
 Jesus said, "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall 
 make you free. " We, your students, are diligently striving, 
 with your help, to attain to that understanding of Truth, 
 revealed to humanity in this age of our great Leader, as will 
 enable us to prove its divine Principle by living the life and 
 doing the works of our Master. 
 
 (Signed) Virgil Ormond Strickler, 
 
 First Reader. 
 
 By the operation of Spirit, our blessed Leader, through 
 you, dear teacher, has called the body and we respond. 
 Thus Life, Truth, and Love, in utter union, is manifested as 
 the "Adorable One" {Science and Health, p. 16). Here 
 man appears as neither male nor female, but as compound 
 idea, occupying infinity, and crowned with immortality. 
 
 (Signed) Sibyl Marvin Huse. 
 
 My heartfelt gratitude to you, my blessed teacher, who has 
 led me safely through the wilderness of sin and sorrow, and 
 has shown me the path of holiness which leads to the 
 heights where our beloved Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, 
 lives. 
 
 (Signed) Mary E. Pearson. 
 
The Composite Letter i53 
 
 When the gift, accompanying their written expression 
 of appreciation, was presented to Mrs. Stetson on the 
 morning of July lo, it proved to be an en- ^^^^^ ^^^^^_ 
 tire surprise to her. These letters, replete ances of ad- 
 with assurances of loyalty to both Leader ^u°"ejg7andrng 
 and teacher, led Mrs. Stetson to the spon- were sent to 
 
 , the Leader 
 
 taneous suggestion that the letters be copied 
 
 and forwarded to Mrs. Eddy, together with the gift of 
 
 gold which had been collected for Mrs. Stetson. 
 
 In doing this, Mrs. Stetson stated that she felt it 
 
 would be a satisfaction to her Leader and Teacher to 
 
 read these expressions of loyalty to the Cause of 
 
 Christian Science and its Discoverer and Founder, 
 
 Mary Baker Eddy, to which Cause Mrs. Stetson and 
 
 this group of practitioners were consecrated by training, 
 
 study, and spiritual demonstration of divine Truth. 
 
 The gift of gold and the letters, accompanied by the 
 
 following letter of transmittal from Mrs. Stetson to the 
 
 Leader, were accordingly sent by special messenger that 
 
 same evening: 
 
 I West 96TH Street, New York City, 
 July 10, 1909. 
 
 My precious Leader: — I have just this morning received 
 these letters and the box from twenty-five practitioners in 
 our church Reading Room. They were a great .. oemonstra- 
 surprise to me, and were written hurriedly at tion of the 
 the suggestion of one student. No one knew 
 what the others had written. I have had Mr. H. . . copy 
 these letters and the students have signed them. Thus 
 you may read them more readily. They make a letter 
 which you will appreciate as demonstration of the one 
 Mind; all "of one accord in one place." They were sent 
 to me as expressions of loving gratitude the day before our 
 Communion service. I feel they belong to you, dearest, 
 and are your fruit; for without your divine instruction and 
 
154 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 Christly guidance I should not have had them, so I send 
 this copy of the dear letters to you, with the type of the 
 gold of human character which is fast melting into spiritual 
 understanding in each of these students. 
 
 You asked me years ago this question, "Augusta, lovest 
 thou me?" I answered, "Yes, beloved Leader, I love you." 
 "These are Again you repeated the query, "Lovest thou 
 thine, Holy me?" and again I repHed, "Yes, I love you, my 
 °°®" Leader, Teacher, and Guide to eternal Life." 
 
 Then you said, "Feed my sheep." I have earnestly and 
 prayerfully endeavored to do this. These are thine, Holy 
 One; I trust they are all strong in Christ, and are ar- 
 mored with spiritual understanding and love to meet the 
 tests that are before them in this crucial hour. They are 
 daily going forth to battle with the beast and the false 
 prophet, confident that Christ goes before them to de- 
 stroy the claim of lust and hypocrisy, and to reveal God 
 and His body — the spiritual universe. May none fall 
 away ! They desire to honor you, our great forever Leader; 
 they have come up out of great tribulation, and have 
 washed their robes. 
 
 I feel that my prayers and my alms are come up before 
 God. We are observing your advice in the Manual, Article 
 XXX., Section 7, and are rejoicing that "the devils are 
 subject unto us through thy name. " These are evidences 
 of the preparation made in "the large upper room," where 
 the last supper may be eaten, when we are ready to 
 receive the ascended One coming to his-her own never to 
 depart. 
 
 During our Communion service to-morrow we shall look 
 for the "reappearing" of our Lord, and shall silently 
 "commune with the divine Principle, Love" (Science and 
 Health, p. 35). 
 
 Precious Leader, my love for you is inexpressible. God 
 grant my constant prayer that I may be worthy to be called 
 Your faithful, obedient, loving child, 
 
 Augusta. 
 
The Composite Letter 155 
 
 How Mrs. Eddy received this gift is told in the same 
 kindly Christian spirit in which the gift and let- 
 ters were sent. Her response, dated Brook- j^^.^ ^^^ .^ 
 line, Mass., July 12, 1909, and published Wndiy ac- 
 in the Sentinel of July 17, is given below: °°^ ^ ^°^^^ 
 
 Box G, Brookline, Mass., 
 July 12, 1909. 
 
 Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson, New York City. 
 
 Beloved Student: — I have just finished reading your 
 interesting letter. I thank you for acknowledging me as 
 your Leader, and I know that every true follower of 
 Christian Science abides by the definite rules which 
 demonstrate the true following of their Leader; there- 
 fore, if you are sincere in your protestations and are 
 doing as you say you are, you will be blessed in your 
 obedience. 
 
 The Scriptures say, "Watch and pray, that ye enter not 
 into temptation." You are aware that animal magnetism 
 is the opposite of divine Science, and that this 
 opponent is the means whereby the conflict ***^j^*°» 
 against Truth is engendered and developed. 
 Beloved! you need to watch and pray that the enemy of 
 good cannot separate you from your Leader and best earthly 
 friend. 
 
 You have been duly informed by me that, however much 
 I desire to read all that you send to me, I have not the time 
 to do so. The Christian Science Publishing Society will 
 settle the question whether or not they shall publish your 
 poems. It is part of their duties to relieve me of so much 
 labor. 
 
 I thank you for the money you send me which was given 
 you by your students. I shall devote it to a worthy and 
 charitable purpose. 
 
 Mr. Adam Dickey is my secretary, through whom all my 
 business is transacted. 
 
156 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 Give my best wishes and love to your dear students and 
 church. 
 
 Lovingly your teacher and Leader, 
 
 Mary Baker Eddy. 
 
 The so-called "Composite Letter" was completed 
 and sent to the Leader with the gift of gold on Saturday, 
 July 10, 1909. They were delivered at the home of Mrs. 
 Eddy at Brookline, on Sunday morning, July 11. On 
 the 1 2th, Monday, the Leader acknowledged their re- 
 ceipt in the letter set forth above. In that letter of 
 Mrs. Eddy's, the appreciation and kindly counsel of the 
 head of the Church to a devoted band of followers 
 found expression. The motive of the several writers 
 and of the sender was in no sense miscon- 
 Loyaity to strued, bccause Mary Baker Eddy knew too 
 
 Leader, the . , , - 
 
 keynote of wcll the testcd integrity of the one whom she 
 Le^tte'^-'*'''^ addressed in that letter as "Beloved Student," 
 and through whom she sent "best wishes 
 and love to your dear students and church. " That was 
 the normal attitude of the Leader toward followers in 
 whom loyalty was the keynote of their character. 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 
 THE PHYSICAL VERSUS THE SPIRITUAL 
 PERSONALITY 
 
 The Leader's letter of July 12, 1909, to Mrs. Stetson, 
 brought out a clear line of cleavage among adherents to 
 Christian Science into two great divisions of thought. 
 One of these was fittingly expressed in the Leader's 
 letter as referred to above. Mrs. Eddy took the spirit- 
 ual view of these letters which were written from the 
 premise of a wholly spiritual consciousness and man 
 as spiritual idea. From the spiritual standpoint this 
 "Composite Letter" was a normal expression of spirit- 
 ual advancement away from the human concept of 
 physical personality and personal relation. 
 
 From that view-point the Leader saw no occasion for 
 warning teacher or students to any further extent than 
 to say "Beloved ! you need to watch and pray 
 that the enemy of good cannot separate you port of the 
 from your Leader and best earthly friend," Leader's 
 at the same time expressing her confidence 
 in Mrs. Stetson by the recognition that "You are aware 
 that animal magnetism is the opposite of divine Science, 
 and that this opponent is the means whereby the 
 conflict against Truth is engendered and developed." 
 Did not this signify that Mrs. Eddy knew that Mrs. 
 Stetson was alert to the working and subtlety of 
 animal magnetism? 
 
 157 
 
158 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 There can be no doubt that the majority of students 
 of Mrs. Stetson shared the spiritual understanding of 
 ^ ^. ^. the scientific relation of teacher to student. 
 
 Connictiag 
 
 concepts of Out of the twcnty-five practitioners, nine- 
 personaity ^^^^ ^£ them wcrc SO clcar in their own 
 thought on this subject that their understanding of this 
 spiritual relation could not be reversed. On the secure 
 foundation of spiritual personality or individuality 
 they were enabled at every turn of the controversy and 
 in every condition of mental experience, not only to 
 distinguish between what was false and what was real, 
 but also to be prepared to withstand any attempt at 
 reversal of Truth. 
 
 On the other hand, there were six of Mrs. Stetson's 
 students among the contributors to the "Composite 
 Letter" who, failing to observe the distinction between 
 the material and the spiritual personality, were not 
 prepared to protect themselves against confusion. 
 
 They, under the test which came later, fell 
 concept a back upou the material concept, and from 
 source of ^j^g^^ vicw-point sat in judgment adversely 
 
 on their own contributions to the "Composite 
 Letter." It was for them that Mr. McLellan's edi- 
 torial had a meaning and a reason for existence ; because 
 they, whether consciously or unconsciously, discovered 
 themselves adhering to a human concept of their 
 teacher, from which the Leader deemed it wise to call 
 them to awake, in the letter of July 23, 1909 {Chris- 
 tian Science Sentinel, October 16, 1909). That letter, 
 though addressed to Mrs. Stetson as the Leader's 
 student, was intended both for her as teacher, and for 
 her students, because of the Leader's foresight that, if 
 the human concept of personality in the teacher- 
 student relation were allowed to exist, it must involve 
 
Physical vs. Spiritual Personality 159 
 
 danger to all concerned. The letter read as 
 follows: 
 
 Brookline, Mass., July 23, 1909. 
 
 My Dear Student: — Awake and arise from this temptation 
 produced by animal magnetism upon yourself, allowing 
 your students to deify you and me. Treat your- 
 self for it and get your students to help you rise ^^*^/f.'^"g^' 
 out of it. It will be your destruction if you do and arise" 
 not do this. Answer this letter immediately. 
 As ever, lovingly your teacher, 
 
 (Signed) Mary Baker Eddy. 
 
 The above letter points out with remarkable direct- 
 ness the kind of error to which the human concept of 
 personality leads. The primary object of 
 
 "l 1 TV T Perilous 
 
 Mrs. Eddy s letter was to release Mrs. undertow of 
 Stetson, her own student, from the perilous deig^aUon 
 undertow of any tendency to deify the human 
 on the part of Mrs. Stetson's students. It really adds 
 substance to what was contained in the second para- 
 graph of the Leader's letter of acknowledgment of 
 July 12, and defines more clearly the specific form of 
 temptation which has to be resisted to avoid the fatal 
 consequences of subordinating the spiritual to the 
 human concept of personality. 
 
 Mrs. Stetson's answer, which the Leader's letter 
 called for "immediately," went by the mail of July 24, 
 or the same day on which the Leader's letter of the 
 previous day was received. This answer was never 
 published in any of the official organs of The 
 Mother Church, but is given in complete form here- 
 with. 
 
i6o Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 In this letter Mrs. Stetson states her own under- 
 standing: (i) The relation of her Leader to herself, 
 (2) the relation of herself as teacher to her 
 
 Threefold . i/ni ,- r rr^ 1 
 
 aspect of Mrs. stuQcnts, and (3) the relation of Truth or 
 stetson's Spiritual power, as she understands her 
 
 answer ^ . 
 
 Leader's teachings, in its bearing on human 
 conditions. This letter is vital with obedience in every 
 line: 
 
 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, 
 July 24, 1909. 
 
 Reverend Mary Baker Eddy, 
 
 Chestnut Hill, Brookline, Mass. 
 
 My precious Leader: — Your dear letter of to-day is before 
 me. I thank you for your continued watch-care during 
 this perilous passage (through material sense to Soul) from 
 the will of the flesh, or human energy, which embodies itself 
 in physical personality, to the will of God, or divine energy, 
 which dissolves finite personality together with all the 
 phenomena of the carnal mind, and reveals Spirit, God, as 
 the only creator, and man as His image and likeness, the 
 compound idea or divine personality, the reflection of the 
 infinite Person. 
 
 In your Message to The Mother Church for 1901, page 41, 
 I read: 
 
 "Do Christian Scientists believe in personality? They do, 
 " Personality ^^^ their personality is defined spiritually, not 
 is defined materially — by Mind, not by matter. We do not 
 spintu y y^^ ^^^ ^j^g material race of Adam, but leave all 
 sin to God's fiat— self -extinction, and to the final manifes- 
 tation of the real spiritual man and universe. We believe, 
 according to the Scriptures, that God is infinite Spirit or 
 Person, and man is His image and likeness: therefore man 
 refiects Spirit, not matter. " 
 
 I have always tried to teach my students to differentiate 
 
Physical vs. Spiritual Personality i6i 
 
 between finite and infinite personality, between the physical 
 personality, which is the image of the beast or so-called 
 mortal mind, specifically named animal magnetism, and 
 the divine personality, which is the image of God — the 
 spiritual idea or Christ. By failing to discern For lack of 
 this difference some of my students in the past spiritual 
 
 ,, ,, , discernment 
 
 have lost the way. Jesus demonstrated some lost 
 
 Christ" (Science and Health, p. 332). He the way 
 
 showed the way by which humanity could escape from the 
 bondage of fleshly personality; he designated the Christ as 
 " the way" when he said, " No man cometh unto the Father, 
 but by me," and " He that hath seen me [the spiritual idea 
 or my individuaHty] hath seen the Father." 
 
 The sensuous world refused, and continues to refuse, to 
 follow and obey the impersonal Christ which Jesus and you, 
 my beloved Leader, have declared. They held 
 
 1 • • 1 1 1 r 1 ^1 • " They do 
 
 him m the bonds of personal sense. The wise not deify 
 see you to-day as the Messiah, or the Anointed y"""" ^""""^ 
 
 personality " 
 
 of God to this age, fulfilling the law of Love. 
 They do not deify your human personality, but will not lose 
 sight of your spiritual individuality, or God with us. 
 Although all of my students have been taught this, 
 doubtless some have not assimilated it. 
 
 In your letter to me, which was published in the Sentinel 
 of July 17th, you thanked me for acknowledging you as 
 my Leader. I have always delighted to revere, ., j ^^ ^^^^_ 
 follow, and obey you as my Leader, to whom I ing by the 
 pay loving, loyal allegiance. I am abiding by 
 the divine rules laid down in your writings, and am following 
 your Christly example so far as Love reflected in love 
 illumines the way. This sincere endeavor to possess the 
 Mind of Christ must bring its blessing. Your comforting 
 assurance that I am ''aware that animal magnetism is the 
 opposite of divine Science"^ gives me renewed courage to 
 wield the two-edged sword of Truth and Love with intent 
 
 'See page, 155. 
 II 
 
i62 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 to decapitate this opponent, the beast and false prophet; 
 for the He, lust, and hypocrisy, which contend against 
 innocence and truth — ^the Lamb of Love, shall not continue 
 to engender and develop, for God worketh with us. 
 
 Precious Leader, I am watching and praying that "the 
 enemy of good" cannot "separate"^ me from you, my 
 Cannot be Leader and Teacher. "For I am persuaded, 
 separated that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor 
 rom ea er pj-{ncipalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor 
 things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other crea- 
 ture, shall be able to separate us [me] from the love of God, 
 which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" — and Mary Baker Eddy, 
 my beloved Leader, "and best earthly friend."^ 
 What Mrs "'• ^^^^ always taught my students to love and 
 
 stetson taught reverence you as the one whom God has ap- 
 her students p^i^ted to voice His Word to this age. 
 
 My students know that I am endeavoring to obey your 
 teaching and demonstrate Christ, and for this reason they, 
 in turn, have confidence in me as a teacher and 
 deavoring dcmonstrator of Christian Science. For twenty- 
 to obey your f^yg years, "the enemy of good" has been using 
 every subtle suggestion to separate me from the 
 Christ which you represent, and are demonstrating, but it 
 has signally and utterly failed. If my students have shown 
 more zeal than wisdom in expressing their love for their 
 Leader, and for their teacher, I will try still further to 
 warn them of the danger of deifying physical personality. 
 I believe, however, that they are clear on the fact that "none 
 is good, save one, that is, God," and His idea, and that "I 
 can of mine own self [material self] do nothing," "But the 
 Father that dwelleth in me [in my spiritual individuality], 
 He doeth the works." 
 
 As you continue to demonstrate the "infinite calculus 
 defining the line, plane, space, and fourth dimension of 
 Spirit" (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 22), may wisdom enable 
 
 « Mrs. Eddy's letter, July 12, 1909. See page 155. 
 
Physical vs. Spiritual Personality 163 
 
 me to maintain, through you, God's idea, the consciousness 
 of my unity with Him. This I beheve I have always done 
 in the letter, and in an ever increasing degree in the spirit. 
 I have taught my students to look straight at and through 
 the brazen serpent of false personality, and to behold the 
 immortal idea, man, where the mortal seems to be. Mali- 
 cious animal magnetism still persists in its efforts, by its 
 indiscriminate denunciation of personality in general, to 
 slay the spiritual idea, Christian Science, to which you have 
 given birth. I understand your teachings to mean that 
 we must judge righteous judgment, and discern between the 
 false and the true, so that, when bidden by the Lord of the 
 harvest, we may bind the tares into bundles to be burned, 
 while we gather the wheat into the garner. No man can serve 
 two masters, but every man must serve one master, Christ. 
 
 The Scriptures show us that in every age God has spoken 
 through a person. Abraham, Moses, Samuel, David, 
 Jesus, and Mary Baker Eddy, are some of the human names 
 by which God's chosen representatives have been known 
 in history. You refer to this fact in Miscellaneous Writ- 
 ings, page 308, "personal revelators will take their proper 
 place in history, but will not be deified." 
 
 Beloved Leader, you are ever speaking to my heart, 
 "Awake!" and I reply, 
 
 "I will listen for Thy voice, 
 
 Lest my footsteps stray; 
 I will follow and rejoice 
 
 All the rugged way."* 
 
 Your loving child, 
 
 Augusta. 
 
 The Leader's continued affection for and confidence 
 in Mrs. Stetson, as a loyal and obedient stu- Leader's 
 
 J. /.I 1 ^ ' ' 1 • ^ expression 
 
 dent or her teachmgs, is expressed m her of continued 
 letter of August 30, 1909, in which Mrs. confidence 
 
 * Miscellaneous Writings, page 398. 
 
i64 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 Eddy directs that "The Holy Bible, Science & 
 Health, and The Mother Church Manual" shall be 
 followed as "safe guides." 
 
 Box G, Brookline, Mass. August 
 
 Thirtieth, 
 
 1909. 
 Mrs. Augusta Stetson, C. S. D. 
 7 West Ninety-sixth Street, 
 New York City. 
 
 My Dear Student: 
 
 Your kind letter was duly received. You know that I 
 love you and you know that God has made, and is making 
 His ways and works manifest through Divine Science. I 
 trust He will direct your path in the footsteps of His flock. 
 The Holy Bible, Science & Health and The Mother Church 
 Manual are your safe guides, follow them. 
 
 I have not the time to think of the Students in all their 
 varied duties of life, but I have the faith to leave them in 
 the hands of God, who giveth to all men liberally and 
 upbraideth none. 
 
 As ever yours in Christ, 
 
 Mary Baker Eddy. 
 
 The issue as to the Leader's teachings on the ques- 
 tion of immortality versus mortality continued to be 
 ^^ , ^ so misunderstood by many as to call forth 
 
 The Leader's . T->i-r i- 
 
 "Instruction" irom Mrs. Eddy the following clear enuncia- 
 i'mro^ruiity ^^°^ ^^ published in the Christian Science 
 Sentinel, September 3, 1910: 
 
 INSTRUCTION BY MRS. EDDY. 
 
 We are glad to have the privilege of publishing an ex- 
 tract from a letter to Mrs. Eddy, from a Christian Scientist 
 in the West, and Mrs. Eddy's reply thereto. The issue 
 raised is an important one and one upon which there 
 should be absolute and correct teaching. Christian Scien- 
 
Box G. Brookline, MaM. 
 
 August 
 
 Thirtieth, 
 
 1909. 
 
 Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson, C.S.D. 
 7 West Ninety-sixth Street, 
 New York City. 
 
 My Dear Student: 
 
 Your kind letter was duly re- 
 ceived. You know that I love you 
 and you knoiw that God has made, and 
 is making His ways and works msml- 
 fest through Divine Science. I 
 trust He vvill direct your path in 
 the footsteps of His flock. The 
 Holy Bible, Science & Health and 
 The Mother Church Manual are your 
 safe guides, follow them. 
 
 I have not the time to think 
 of the Students in ail their varied 
 duties of life, but I have the faith 
 to leave them in the hands cf God, 
 who giveth to all men liberally and 
 upbraideth none. 
 
 As ever yours in Christ, 
 
 C_.^^i>^/^ 
 
 Facsimile letter from Mrs. Eddy to Mrs. Stetson. 
 
Physical vs. Spiritual Personality 165 
 
 tists are fortunate to receive instruction from their Leader 
 on this point. The question and Mrs. Eddy's reply follow. 
 
 "Last evening I was catechized by a Christian Science 
 practitioner because I referred to myself as an immortal 
 idea of the one divine Mind. The practitioner said that 
 my statement was wrong, because I still lived in my flesh. 
 I replied that I did not live in my flesh, that my flesh lived 
 or died according to the beliefs I entertained about it ; but 
 that, after coming to the light of Truth, I had found that I 
 lived and moved and had my being in God, and to obey 
 Christ was not to know as real the beliefs of an earthly 
 mortal. Please give the truth in the Sentinel, so that all 
 may know it." 
 
 Mrs. Eddy's Reply. 
 
 You are scientifically correct in your statement about 
 yourself. You can never demonstrate spirituality until you 
 declare yourself to be immortal and understand that you 
 are so. Christian Science is absolute; it is neither behind 
 the point of perfection nor advancing toward it; it is at 
 this point and must be practised therefrom. Unless you 
 fully perceive that you are the child of God, hence perfect, 
 you have no Principle to demonstrate and no rule for its 
 demonstration. By this I do not mean that mortals are 
 the children of God, — far from it. In practising Christian 
 Science you must state its Principle correctly, or you 
 forfeit yoiu" ability to demonstrate it. 
 
 Mary Baker Eddy. 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 
 TREATMENT OF SIXTEEN PRACTITIONERS BY 
 THE MOTHER CHURCH DIRECTORS 
 
 During the two weeks preceding September 24, 
 twenty-five of the New York practitioners were called 
 The Mother to Boston by The Mother Church Directors 
 Church for a "Conference." All of them responded 
 
 Directors _ ^ 
 
 summon and attended at the time and place desig- 
 practitioners ^^^^^ -^ ^-^^ rcqucst. The accounts by the 
 
 practitioners themselves of their reception and treat- 
 ment on this occasion are given in the following 
 statements. 
 
 In recording his relations with the Directors of The 
 Mother Church in this alleged "Conference," Mr. 
 Arnold Blome declares: 
 
 When called as a witness in September last, the Directors 
 said: "Mr. Blome, we do not need your testimony." As 
 Mrs. stetson •'• ^^^ been at the twelve o'clock meetings I 
 already should havc been an important witness, but I 
 
 con emne realized then that the whole proceedings were 
 but a form, and Mrs. Stetson was already condemned by 
 the Board of Directors. 
 
 Mr. Dittemore said on this occasion, "Mr. Blome, is it 
 not a fact that mostly all of the practitioners are glad the 
 time has come that they should be free from the domination 
 of Mrs. Stetson, and that fear alone has held them to the 
 conditions in First Church, New York?" This was new 
 to me, and an evil suggestion. 
 
 166 
 
Treatment of Practitioners 167 
 
 Mr. Allison V. Stewart said, "Mr. Blome, why don't 
 you open your heart to us — we are your friends — as Mr. 
 Verrall who testified before you." The spirit and fruits 
 of Mrs. Stetson's teachings were carefully avoided in the 
 taking of testimony. Motives, acts, and occasions which 
 prompted certain sayings and defenses in the practitioners' 
 meetings were not considered, and all stress was laid upon 
 words and names used. This could, under the circum- 
 stances, only lead to false conclusions and distorted concepts 
 of Mrs. Stetson's teaching and practice of Christian Science. 
 
 The Directors manifested no divine love in the taking of 
 testimony. The whole proceeding was cold, and official 
 in the extreme, and the witnesses answered under these 
 difficulties. 
 
 Below is Miss Colton's written account of her experi- 
 ence. After a careful preparation for her appearance 
 before The Mother Church Directors she responded 
 to their call on September 19, but was actually called 
 on September 20, 1909. She says: 
 
 From shortly after 1 130 p.m., I was alone in the room. 
 My thoughts were so far away and out from 
 the evidences of the senses that the hours had ^'^^ Coiton'g 
 
 account 
 
 not dragged nor was I weary. I certainly re- 
 sisted in no degree whatever the summons before the 
 Directors of The Mother Church. 
 
 It seemed a great privilege to find myself within those 
 walls, a member of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, 
 Boston. It was not a material organization, but a state 
 of spiritual consciousness proved to our Leader "for forty 
 years in succession;" which she has since told us of in her 
 letter of November 13, 1909.' 
 
 This consciousness I felt in a degree that day, — it was 
 the consciousness of immortality. I remembered that I 
 was there at the Directors' own request to "confer" with 
 
 ' See page 92. 
 
i68 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 them, therefore it was with spiritual cooperation that I gave 
 my hand to each of the Directors in turn before I was seated. 
 Astonished On lookuig from face to face before me, I was com- 
 at Directors' pletelv astonishcd at the hard cold expressions. 
 
 manner L,, . . , 
 
 This was especially noticeable in Judge Smith. 
 
 The "interview" took place on September 20, 1909, and 
 was in substance as follows : 
 
 Judge Clifford P. Smith addressed me by name, and read 
 to me from the Church Manual the following By-Laws: 
 Article XL, complaints. Authority. Sect. 5. "The 
 Christian Science Board of Directors has power to disci- 
 pline, place on probation, remove from membership, or to 
 excommunicate members of The Mother Church. ..." 
 Also, Article XIL, teachers. Misteaching. Sect. 2. 
 "If a member of this Church is found trying to practise or 
 to teach Christian Science contrary to the statement thereof 
 in its textbook. Science and Health with Key to the 
 Scriptures, it shall be the duty of the Board of Directors 
 to admonish that member according to Article XI, Sect. 
 4. Then, if said member persist in this offense, his or her 
 name shall be dropped from the roll of this Church." 
 
 Judge Smith then asked me — Had I been to Pleasant 
 View? I answered that I had, as they all must know. (I 
 had been examined as to my standing in Christian Science 
 by this same Board of Directors, with the exception of Mr. 
 Allison V. Stewart and Mr. John V. Dittemore, in July of 
 1906, on my way to Pleasant View.) 
 
 Judge Smith continued: "Did you repeat at the twelve 
 o'clock meetings certain things as having come from Mrs. 
 Eddy?" 
 
 I replied: "Mrs. Eddy told me certain things to tell 
 my teacher, and to the practitioners." 
 _ . Judge Smith asked me what these things 
 
 Declines to . . . ^ 
 
 divulge were. I replied that I did not consider I had a 
 
 Leader's per- right to tcU them there. No further reference 
 
 sonal messages 
 
 was made to Pleasant View. 
 Judge Smith then asked me a series of questions com- 
 
Treatment of Practitioners 169 
 
 prised In one sentence of much length and requested me to 
 reply by either "Yes" or "No." They were questions of a 
 most serious nature, being in part open charges against 
 Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson — and anything less than a positive 
 "No" would be false — while the remainder of the questions 
 demanded as equally a decided "Yes." I hesitated, and 
 Judge Smith said: "I will repeat the question." 
 With the second hearing of the questions (not make mis- 
 " question"), I was aroused to the situation that leading 
 
 answers 
 
 I was being asked to reply m such a manner 
 
 that in either case of "Yes" or "No," Mrs. Stetson would 
 
 be falsely condemned. 
 
 I made a protest, saying that I could not reply to a num- 
 ber of questions when more than a half required the opposite 
 answer. 
 
 Judge Smith raised his hand in protest, and in a voice 
 loud and imperative, he said: "Answer yes or noV 
 
 "Judge Smith," I said, "it would he false evidence if I 
 replied to these questions as a whole, yes or wo!" 
 
 His anger increased, and he said I was unlawful, or to 
 that effect. I said I did not wish to be, and would answer 
 each question at a time to the best of my ability, wherewith 
 he paced the floor before me in unmistakable anger and 
 demanded "' Fe5 ' 07- ' A^o '! " 
 
 I replied again — in no undecided way — that by answer- 
 ing those questions by a single "Yes" or "No," 
 
 . . ... . OflScial exam- 
 
 it would be impossible for him to obtain honest iner's conduct 
 
 evidence ! 
 
 "Miss Colton," he shouted, and he raised his hand with 
 the papers in them, "proceedings shall cease in your case, 
 and you will have given no evidence. Do you refuse to 
 answer these questions?" 
 
 I replied, " I do. I refuse to answer these questions!" 
 
 The sense of the error at this point swept over me. No 
 words can convey any part of what this scene was, as having 
 occurred in the Board Room of The Mother Church. 
 
 The investigation continued. In not one single instance 
 
170 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 was I allowed to explain a metaphysical point, from which 
 basis the statements quoted were given. I was not per- 
 mitted to use an illustration, references from the Bible or 
 the Christian Science denominational textbook, Science 
 and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy. 
 This brought out an erroneous conclusion on every question, 
 exactly the reverse of the truth. 
 
 Before an ordinary court of justice such procedure 
 on the part of an examiner of a witness would call for 
 protection from the Bench against the violation of the 
 ordinary rights of witnesses. Nor was there any neces- 
 sity for resort to such tactics with a witness who was 
 willing and ready to answer to the extent of her knowl- 
 edge and belief. Preparation of the mind for bearing 
 witness to the truth was certainly admirably exempli- 
 fied in this case, yet all that exalted purpose to cooperate 
 with The Mother Church authorities was apparently 
 set at naught. 
 
 Miss Mary Reno Pinney's accoimt of the September 
 hearings at Boston is brief, but much to the point in 
 revealing the conditions and purposes which she re- 
 garded herself as confronting in the Directors' Room 
 at The Mother Church in Boston. In her statement 
 below is given the judgment of a capable practitioner 
 upon the capacity of her examiners to understand the 
 subject with which they were dealing: 
 
 Miss Pinney's On September 22, 1909, I received the follow- 
 account jj^g telegram: 
 
 " Boston, Mass. 
 " Miss Mary R. Pinney, 
 . . . "New York City 
 "Directors wish to confer with you Friday morning at 
 nine o'clock. 
 
 "J. V. DiTTEMORE, Secretary." 
 
Treatment of Practitioners 171 
 
 Accordingly I went to The Mother Church in Boston, 
 Massachusetts, at the appointed time. I was not called to 
 appear before the Board of Directors until twenty minutes 
 after one. Judge Clifford P. Smith and Mr. Virgil O. 
 Strickler were present in addition to the entire Board. 
 
 I was in the Board Room twenty minutes, during which 
 time I was severely catechised regarding the teachings of 
 Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson, C.S.D., special refer- 
 
 1 • 1 1 1 , f 1 • Severely 
 
 ence bemg made to the twelve o clock practi- catechised 
 tioners' meetings held in First Church of Christ, regarding 
 
 . Mrs. Stetson 
 
 Scientist, New York City. The character of 
 the questions asked, the method of conducting the ex- 
 amination, and the absolute reversal of Mrs. Stetson's 
 teachings, evidenced either an unwillingness or an inability 
 to comprehend divine metaphysics. 
 
 The discussions in our twelve o'clock meetings were 
 carried on by trained mental workers, who were dealing 
 with high metaphysical points from a purely unfriendly 
 Christian basis, such as could not be understood spirit of 
 
 or viewed from a material standpoint, or inter- ^^^™>°^*»o'» 
 preted by minds unprepared spiritually. During this 
 examination, I was forced to observe the lack of brotherly 
 love, and the absence of a Christian spirit. Article VIII., 
 Section i, and Article XXIV., Section 5, of The Mother 
 Church Manual, provide that all members of The Mother 
 Church shall manifest the spirit of brotherly love. Also in 
 Retrospection and Introspection, page 72, Mrs. Eddy says, 
 "In the practice of Christian Science one cannot impart a 
 mental influence that hazards another's happiness, nor 
 interfere with the rights of the individual." 
 
 Another witness. Miss Antoinette L. Ensworth, in 
 describing her experience at this hearing, Miss Ens 
 makes the following statement, as of record: 
 
 worth's 
 account 
 
 When I was finally called to the Board Room, I was much 
 surprised to find besides the Directors, the First Reader of 
 
172 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 The Mother Church, and the First Reader of First Church 
 of Christ, Scientist, New York City. It was said by the 
 Directors that they were there by invitation. A By-Law 
 from the Manual was read, Article XII., Section 2 (Mis- 
 teaching) , and then the First Reader of The Mother Church 
 began a series of questions. 
 
 The entire examination, for it was not a "conference," 
 being all on one side, was carried on from a standpoint of 
 a material basis. I was told to answer " Yes " or 
 whelmed by' " No " to two or three questions in one, where 
 the manner the answcr, to be corrcct, must be "Yes and no." 
 authority" -^^^ any explanation on my part, or any state- 
 ment of Truth declared was ruled out. Con- 
 stantly declaring God's omnipotence, and knowing the 
 powerlessness of hypnotism and mesmerism, understanding 
 the law of reversal and how to handle the false claim of 
 malicious animal magnetism, I tried to hold to the spiritual 
 fact and to what I knew to be the truth of the situation. 
 My answers were somewhat confused, for I was over- 
 whelmed by the manner of those in authority. 
 
 Miss Sibyl M. Huse, another practitioner who re- 
 sponded to The Mother Church Directors' request to 
 appear for a "conference" with them in 
 
 Miss Huse's _^ , , . 
 
 account -Doston, also bore witness to the manner m 
 which the Board sought to get information 
 on the subject of this inquiry. In refusing to allow such 
 explanations as would give to answers their true mean- 
 ing, these practitioners were put in the position of being 
 liable to bear false witness imintentionally, and of which 
 technical advantage might be taken in the misuse of 
 their statements. Miss Huse, in reviewing her experi- 
 ence as a witness in the Directors' Room at Boston, 
 says: 
 
 On September 20, 1909, 1 received a letter from the Clerk 
 
Treatment of Practitioners 173 
 
 of The Mother Church, saying: "We wish to confer with 
 you. ..." I obeyed the call and was in the Clerk's 
 Room in Boston, at the appointed hour. As 
 others were in "conference" with the Directors, preparation 
 I spent the entire day in silent communion with 
 God and in earnest study of our Leader's writings, so that I 
 might be consciously under the law of Spirit, and respond 
 to every spiritual demand. The next day I was called 
 before the Directors. Instead of a "conference," I found 
 I was to be questioned as to the teaching and practices of 
 my teacher, Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson. I felt at once that 
 Judge Smith, in the role of questioner, had taken his posi- 
 tion in absolute opposition to Mrs. Stetson. 
 
 The questions asked me were of such a nature that an 
 immediate answer of "Yes" or "No" would have given 
 an erroneous impression — would have been no 
 answer. The only answer desired, or required, answer by 
 or permitted, was " Yes " or "No," as to whether ™"® "J^^ " 
 statements had been made by Mrs. Stetson. 
 Unless the setting, the occasion, the motive, the intent 
 and spiritual content of such statements were given, it 
 would be impossible to convey the truth by saying "Yes" 
 or " No." In view of all this, I refused to answer the ques- 
 tion, "Have you ever heard Mrs. Stetson say that the 
 church of which she is a member is the only legitimate 
 branch church in New York City?" This question cannot 
 be answered "Yes" or "No." It is both "Yes" and "No." 
 
 Mrs. Stetson was considering the spiritual foundation 
 and superstructure or Church. I perfectly well understood 
 this, for the accompanying conversation and setting of the 
 declaration induced such understanding. She had taught 
 me that in order for a church to be a legitimate branch, it 
 must be of like nature with the Vine, of which Mrs. Eddy 
 said, it is "the superstructure of Truth, reared on the 
 foundation of Love, and pinnacled in Life." 
 
 First Church of New York was struggling to maintain a 
 firm foothold in this great city, when a number of its mem- 
 
174 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 bers went out from it to form another church. The Cause 
 was not growing so rapidly as to justify or necessitate this 
 movement; it was not in obedience to the divine law, 
 "Multiply, and replenish the earth;" it was division — in 
 other and clearer terms, it was schism not unity. As legally 
 chartered branches of the Boston organization, Mrs. Stet- 
 son never failed to recognize all the Christian Science 
 churches. Those churches, however, that had been the 
 outcome of rivalry and ambition, she knew, and I know, 
 are not legitimate branches of that Mother Vine which 
 shall fill the earth with its branches laden with fruit. 
 
 In refusing to hear such explanation, and in making it 
 impossible to convey our teacher's teaching, I consider 
 that our questioners were not "impelled by an 
 ^lusa° °' honest purpose to arrive at the truth, the whole 
 truth, and nothing but the truth in relation to 
 conditions and practices in First Church of Christ, Scientist, 
 New York." In which case they were not obedient to 
 Article VIII., Section i. "Neither animosity nor mere 
 personal attachment should impel the motives or acts of 
 the members of The Mother Church. ..." 
 
 In the course of Miss Sarah W. Hathaway's exami- 
 Miss Hatha- natioH beforc the Board of Directors in 
 way's account Boston, shc iccounts the following: 
 
 At one time Judge Smith said to me: "I want you to 
 answer 'Yes' or ' No' to my question. Answer it at once! " 
 
 (Stamping his foot.) I said: "Judge Smith, I 
 Ma^i^ner havc givcn you no right to speak to me in that 
 
 manner, and I refuse to answer you under those 
 circumstances." He made no apology, but he tried the 
 question in another way and I answered it. He said, 
 "Now you can ansv/er my question in your own way if 
 you choose." I answered him, and then he put on his hat 
 and went out of the room. He never questioned me 
 again. Mr. McLellan and Mr. Dittemore did the rest. 
 
Treatment of Practitioners 175 
 
 Miss Hathaway was asked: "Were any of their 
 questions of such a nature that it was impossible to 
 answer by 'Yes' or 'No' as demanded by 
 
 . , Should have 
 
 them ? " She repHed : ' ' Every question that had to ue if she 
 was given to me, for they would give one °*'^/'.7i^o " 
 question, and to that I would have ans- 
 wered 'Yes,' and then they gave me questions that 
 were so utterly impossible that I should have had to 
 lie if I had said 'Yes' or 'No.'" 
 
 Mrs. M. Augusta Aikman's recital of her experience 
 at the September hearings in the Board 
 
 ^ Mrs. Aikman's 
 
 Room at Boston, mdicates the mental at- account 
 
 mosphere there encoimtered: 
 
 On the twenty-second of September, 1909, I received a 
 note which read as follows: "Dear Mrs. Aikman: We 
 wish to confer with you in the Directors' Room of The 
 Mother Church, on next Thursday morning, Sept. 23rd, at 
 nine o'clock. Please arrange to be present at that time." 
 Signed, "Christian Science Board of Directors." 
 
 In compliance with this request I appeared before the 
 Board at the appointed time, and was told that Judge Smith, 
 who was present as First Reader, would question me. He 
 then told me that I was there to be examined on Article 
 Xn., " Misteaching," Section 2, which he read to me as 
 follows : 
 
 "If a member of this Church is found trying to practise 
 or to teach Christian Science contrary to the statement 
 thereof in its textbook, Science and Health with Key to 
 THE Scriptures, it shall be the duty of the Board of Di- 
 rectors to admonish that member according to Article XI, 
 Sect. 4. Then, if said member persists in this offense, his 
 or her name shall be dropped from the roll of this 
 Church." 
 
 As Judge Smith questioned me in connection with this 
 By-Law, it became apparent that I was there to testify 
 
176 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 or witness as to Mrs. Stetson's teachings. I was told 
 that questions must be answered "Yes" or "No," and not 
 Seeming in the " f ourth dimension," but as a "mortal to 
 determination mortals." I felt that I was being dealt with 
 by a lawyer who was merciless in his determi- 
 nation to convict, through my testimony, one who had al- 
 ready been judged guilty. The questions were many of them 
 personal and irrelevant. There seemed to be a desire to catch 
 or trip me, to intimidate and cause me to contradict myself. 
 Finally Judge Smith said to me, "You act as if you thought 
 some one was already prejudged." I replied, "I certainly 
 do. Judge Smith." 
 
 I was soon dismissed, feeling that I had been entirely 
 misunderstood, although I had answered the questions 
 truthfully and correctly, according to my understanding 
 of our Leader's teachings. The First Reader of First 
 Church, New York, was also present at this conference. 
 
 It can hardly be said that the witnesses, who were 
 examined under such trying circumstances and who 
 were subsequently not allowed a copy of their testimony, 
 were justly treated. In not a single case, so far as 
 our information goes, were the witnesses permitted to 
 see a transcript of what they were recorded as saying 
 under the examination of Judge Smith before the 
 Board of Directors. In at least two known cases, 
 direct application was made to the Board of Directors 
 for a copy of their testimony. The letter from Miss 
 Mary E. Pearson to the Board, and Mr. Dittemore's 
 reply follow; 
 
 New York City, 
 April 3, 1910. 
 
 Mr. J. V. DiTTEMORE, Secretary, 
 
 Dear Mr. Dittemore: — Will you kindly send me a copy of 
 
Treatment of Practitioners 177 
 
 my testimony, given before the Board of Directors in 
 Boston, at your earliest convenience? 
 Very sincerely yours, 
 
 (Signed) Mary E. Pearson. 
 
 The Christian Science Board of Directors 
 
 OF 
 
 THE FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST, 
 
 Norway, Falmouth & St. Paul Sts. 
 
 Boston, Mass. 
 
 Office of the 
 
 Secretary 
 
 April 4, 19 10. 
 Miss Mary E. Pearson 
 
 New York City 
 
 My dear Miss Pearson: — The record of testimony taken 
 
 before The Christian Science Board of Directors 
 
 . Miss Pearson 
 
 IS never given out. Similar requests to yours refused copy 
 have always been refused, and it is, therefore, °^ ^^^ *^^*^" 
 
 1 1- • 1 • • mony 
 
 necessary to decline m this instance. 
 Very sincerely, 
 
 (Signed) J. V. Dittemore, 
 Secretary of The Christian Science Board of Directors. 
 
 We also insert Mr. Arnold Blome's request for his 
 testimony, and Mr. Dittemore's reply: 
 
 New York City, N. Y. 
 To the Directors of 
 
 The First Church of Christ, Scientist, 
 Boston, Mass. 
 Mr. John V. Dittemore, Sec'y. 
 
 Gentlemen and Brothers in Truth: — Lovingly and prayer- 
 fully I ask you to kindly send me a copy of my 
 
 ^ /. . . , ^ , T^. Mr. Blome 
 
 testimony given recently before the Direc- requests 
 tors of The Mother Church in regard to the copy of his 
 teachings of Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson, C.S.D. 
 I might state various reasons all of which are to bring out 
 
178 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 facts and truths concerning my own and others' well being 
 in Christian Science. 
 
 Hoping you will grant my request, I remain, 
 Yours lovingly, 
 
 (Signed) Arnold Blome. 
 Nov. 14th, 1909. 
 
 The Christian Science Board of Directors 
 
 OF 
 
 THE FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST, 
 Norway, Falmouth & St. Paul Sts. 
 Boston, Mass. 
 
 Office of the 
 Secretary 
 
 November 24, 1909 
 
 Mr. Arnold Blome, 
 New York City 
 
 Dear Mr. Blome: — Please pardon my delay in acknowl- 
 edging your letter of November fourteenth. 
 Request I regret to say that I will be unable to comply 
 
 denied ^j^}^ y^^j. j-gquest as the Board of Directors 
 
 has denied similar requests before hearing from you. 
 
 There is only one Christian Science and if you practise 
 according to the teachings of our Leader, Mrs. Eddy, you 
 will make no mistakes. "It is Christian Science to do 
 right, and nothing short of right-doing has any claim to 
 the name." (Science and Health) 
 
 Very truly yours, 
 J V D— W (Signed) J. V. Dittemore, Secty. 
 
 Notwithstanding that Secretary J. V. Dittemore 
 
 stated in his letter of April 4, 1910, that "The record of 
 
 testimony taken before The Christian Science 
 
 Portions of ^ ^ - ._,^. . . 
 
 testimony had -Board oi Dircctors IS never given out, yet 
 b^^otheTs*^ it is a fact that at least a portion of this very 
 testimony was in the possession of V. O. 
 Strickler of New York City, and that such portion as 
 he elected was made public by him. 
 
Treatment of Practitioners 179 
 
 Soon after the foregoing " Conference," sixteen of 
 these practitioners were "admonished," by a letter, and 
 the cards of eight of them were removed from The 
 Christian Science Journal by order of the Board of 
 Directors. The remaining eight had no cards in the 
 Journal. 
 
 Was the action of the Board of Directors in removing 
 the cards of the practitioners {in October, 
 igog) from The Christian Science Journal, By-Laws 
 in accord with the By-Laws? in "emo7ing 
 
 This action was presumably taken imder practitioners' 
 
 •^ cards? 
 
 Article XXV., Section 9, which reads as 
 follows : 
 
 No cards shall be removed from our periodicals without 
 the request of the advertiser, except by a majority vote of 
 the Christian Science Board of Directors at a meeting held 
 for this purpose or for the examination of complaints. 
 
 Members of this Chiu^ch who practise other professions 
 or pursue other vocations, shall not advertise as healers, 
 excepting those members who are officially engaged in the 
 work of Christian Science, and they must devote ample 
 time for faithful practice. 
 
 Action against these practitioners of First Church, 
 New York City, was taken without previous notice to 
 them, and no trial was accorded them prior to the 
 infliction of this ptmishment. 
 
 Examining the By-Law referred to, the question 
 arises: Is the removal of a card a matter of church 
 discipline under the meaning of Article XI., Section 4? 
 In this case, no other than an affirmative conclusion is 
 possible ; for a penalty was inflicted tending to discredit 
 those involved before the Christian Science Field and 
 the world. The removal of these cards was an attempt 
 
i8o Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 to take away their status as recognized Christian Sci- 
 ence practitioners, — that being their profession and 
 sole vocation. 
 
 This action cannot be taken "except by a majority 
 vote of the Christian Science Board of Directors at a 
 Removal meeting held for this purpose or for the 
 of cards examination of complaints." This action, 
 discipline therefore, is an official church action involv- 
 ing discipline and the requirements of Article 
 XI., Section 4, we believe, should "have been strictly 
 obeyed." If the action was taken as the result of a 
 complaint, the requirements of Article XL, Section 4, 
 certainly are binding; but if not, it must be action 
 taken at a "meeting held for this purpose," which 
 makes the action the official action of the Church, and 
 it is idle to say that this is not the infliction of discipline. 
 To hold otherwise is, in our judgment, a clear evasion 
 of the spirit as well as of the letter of the By-Laws. 
 
 This is still more clear when this By-Law is con- 
 sidered in the light of its history and context as it was 
 originally framed. The provision as to the removal 
 of cards first appeared in the Church By-Law published 
 in the Sentinel of April 26, 1900, which reads as follows: 
 
 Church By-law. 
 
 BY MARY BAKER G. EDDY. 
 
 Only the Christian Science Board of Directors, and the 
 First Reader of the Mother Church shall be present at 
 meetings for the examination of complaints against Church 
 members. Only the Board of Directors, and the First 
 Reader shall confer, or vote on cases of complaints and 
 church discipline. A complaint against a member of the 
 Mother Church [a\ shall be laid before this Board; and 
 within thirty days thereafter the clerk of the Church shall 
 
Treatment of Practitioners i8i 
 
 address a letter of inquiry to the member complained of, 
 as to its validity. If the previous Christian character of 
 the accused member is good, his reply to the clerk contra- 
 dicting the accusations, or his confession thereof, and com- 
 pliance with our Church Rules shall be sufficient on behalf 
 of said member for the Board to dismiss the subject, and 
 the clerk of the Church shall immediately so inform him. 
 [b] The complainant, on a second offence of this kind, shall 
 be subject to discipline and dismissal from this Church. 
 No cards shall be removed from our periodicals except by 
 a majority vote of the Christian Science Board of Directors, 
 and First Reader — at a meeting of the Mother Church 
 held for this purpose — or for the examination of complaints. 
 No Church discipline shall ensue until the requirements 
 in [i] Article XXVI., Section 6, of our Manual have been 
 strictly obeyed. 
 
 In the Twenty-fourth Edition of the Manual, pub- 
 lished in 1901, the above appears as Article XXII., 
 under the general title "Discipline," and see Manual 
 under the sub-title "Complaints," and it is Art. xxii., 
 to be noted not only that this provision as 
 to the removal of cards is made a part of the By-Laws 
 relating to "Discipline," but, in the original By-Law, 
 is followed immediately by the provision that, — "No 
 Church discipline shall ensue until the requirements in 
 [i] Article XXVI., Section 6, of our Manual have been 
 strictly obeyed." 
 
 Our Leader, Mrs. Eddy, therefore, considered the re- 
 moval of cards from the Church periodicals as "Church 
 Discipline." This By-Law continues to ap- 
 pear under the general title of "Discipline" garded re- 
 imtil the Seventy-third Edition, published '°o^a|.«>^"^ds 
 
 •' ' jr as discipline 
 
 in 1908, when the By-Laws were rearranged, 
 
 and it then appeared under the general heading "The 
 
i82 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 Christian Science Publishing Society," as Section 9 of 
 Article XXV., but the substance of the By-Law is the 
 same. It cannot reasonably be said that the mere 
 arrangement of order in the By-Laws relieved the Di- 
 rectors from the Christian duty enjoined by our Master 
 in Matthew, and reaffirmed by our Leader in the By- 
 Laws (see Article XL, Sections 2 and 4, 1909), of first 
 Were not goi^g privately to a fellow church member 
 By-Laws and telling him of his fault, before publishing 
 that fault to the world. The By-Laws, we 
 believe, were clearly violated, both in letter and in 
 spirit. 
 
 This By-Law, published April 26, 1900, was again 
 pubHshed in the Sentinel of May 10, 1900, in substan- 
 tially the same form, but with the following important 
 changes, to wit: 
 
 (a) After the words "A complaint against a member 
 of the Mother Church," appear the words in italics, 
 **^J said member belongs to no other church." 
 
 (b) The words "The complainant, on a second offence 
 of this kind, shall be subject to discipline," are changed 
 to read, "Also, the complainant shall cease to speak ill 
 of him, or be subject to discipline and dismissal from 
 this Church." 
 
 (c) The following new paragraph is added : 
 
 "A member of the Mother Church, and a member 
 or the Reader of a Branch Church of Christ, Scientist, 
 shall not send to the Mother Church a complaint 
 against another member of a Branch Church. Each 
 Church shall separately and independently discipline 
 its own members, — if this sad necessity ever occurs." 
 
 In the Manual, Twenty-fourth Edition (1901), the 
 above appears as Article XXIL, under the general 
 caption "Discipline" and sub- title "Complaints;" 
 
Treatment of Practitioners 183 
 
 in the Twenty-ninth Edition (1903) the same appears 
 under Article XXL ; in the Fifty-seventh Edition (1906) 
 the arrangement differs and "First Reader" 
 does not appear as qualified to be present at ^"^l^f^^^H 
 Board Meetings, etc. ; in the Fifty-seventh present at 
 Edition, the By-Law, "Removal of Cards" Meetings 
 appears under Article XXL, under general 
 caption "Discipline" and sub-title "Complaints," 
 but is a separate section. Section 4. 
 
 1908 — Sixty-eighth Edition is the same. 
 " — Seventy-second Edition is the same. 
 " ' — 'Seventy- third Edition is the same. 
 
 (Note. This is the official authorized Edition — see 
 Article XXXV., Section 2, of later Editions.) In this 
 Edition appears a new arrangement, and "Removal of 
 Cards" is placed under Article XXV., Section 9, under 
 general heading: "The Christian Science Publishing 
 Society," but no change is made in its substance. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII 
 POSITION OF THE SIXTEEN PRACTITIONERS 
 
 Out of the twenty-six practitioners who had had 
 their offices in First Church of Christ, Scientist, New 
 York City, nineteen adhered to their original position 
 in supporting the teachings which they had received 
 from Mrs. Stetson, as being in accord with the writings 
 of the Leader, Mary Baker Eddy. 
 
 The relations of this group to the First Reader and 
 
 the Directors of The Mother Church may be divided 
 
 . into four separate stages in the order of time. 
 
 Four stages in ^ ° ' 
 
 treatment of cach of which dcvclopcd Something of the 
 practitioners ^ttitudc of The Mother Church authorities 
 towards those who could not be swerved from their 
 iinderstanding of Truth. 
 
 The first of these relations came with the questioning 
 of the practitioners before The Mother Chiu-ch Di- 
 se tember Tcctors at Boston, after invitation to enter 
 hearings into a " Conf crcncc " with them. What 
 occurred at these September hearings is 
 described in the previous chapter, entitled "Treatment 
 of Sixteen Practitioners by The Mother Church 
 Directors." 
 
 The second arose from the dealings of the Directors 
 with the practitioners three months later, through the 
 asking of " Three Test Questions " as set forth in the 
 
 184 
 
Position of Sixteen Practitioners 185 
 
 Directors' letter of February 12, 1909. In this 
 official act the Directors undertook to examine into 
 the convictions and the personal conduct 
 
 **ThrGG Test 
 
 of nineteen practitioners of First Church, Questions" 
 New York City. 
 
 The third of these relations was concerned with a 
 series of three " admonitions" to sixteen of„.^ .,. „ 
 
 "Admonition" 
 
 these practitioners, one "admonition" on the of practi- 
 part of the First Reader of the New York 
 church, and two by the First Reader of The Mother 
 Church. 
 
 The fourth of these relations was marked by drop- 
 ping from membership in First Church of Christ, 
 Scientist, New York City, fifteen of those practitioners 
 practitioners. This action by the new Trus- dropped from 
 tees of this branch church was followed by 
 the "Two-Count Complaint" against the practitioners 
 by the First Reader of The Mother Church to the Board 
 of Directors, after which their names were dropped 
 from The Mother Church membership. 
 
 All of these four experiences — the "September 
 Hearings," the "Three Test Questions," the "Three 
 Admonitions," and the "Two- Count Com- 
 plaint," are described separately in these church^ro- 
 pages in order to bring out the facts in the *^*'* '*^ "'"' 
 
 members ? 
 
 dealmgs of The Mother Church Directors 
 with this group of practitioners who were members 
 of a branch church. These details are further in- 
 tended to throw light on the important fact that the 
 newly elected Board of Trustees of the New York 
 church, in our judgment, failed to protect members of 
 that church by settling their own church difficulties 
 as enjoined by the Manual of The Mother Church, 
 Article XL, Section 13. 
 
1 86 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 THE THREE TEST QUESTIONS 
 
 The Board of Directors, under date of February 12, 
 1 910, sent three test questions to each of 
 oJe's'tlonl^^' these practitioners. The following com- 
 munication addressed to Mr. Hatfield gives 
 the form used. 
 
 The Christian Science Board of Directors 
 
 OF 
 
 THE FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST, 
 Norway, Falmouth & St. Paul Sts. 
 Boston, Mass. 
 
 Office of the 
 Secretary 
 
 February 12, 1910. 
 Mr. Edwin F. Hatfield, 
 
 . . . New York City 
 Dear Mr. Hatfield: — Now that a half year has elapsed 
 since the end of the daily practitioners' meetings held in 
 First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, under 
 the direction of Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson, and the events 
 of this period have at least given you cause for reconsider- 
 ing what went on in those meetings. The Christian Science 
 Board of Directors request you to answer the following 
 questions : 
 
 1. Do you believe that what Mrs. Stetson taught and 
 practised as Christian Science in said meetings between 
 December i, 1908, and the end of said meetings was in 
 accordance with Christian Science, or contrary thereto? 
 
 2. Are you living and working in Christian fellowship 
 with the present officers of First Church of Christ, Scientist, 
 New York City? 
 
 3. What, if anything, have you done in order to comply 
 with the request of our Leader, Mrs. Eddy, which was read 
 at the meeting of said branch chtuch on November 15, 
 1909? 
 
Position of Sixteen Practitioners 187 
 
 Please let us have plain and direct answers to these 
 questions at your earliest convenience. 
 Very sincerely, 
 The Christian Science Board of Directors, 
 
 By (Signed) J. V. Dittemore, Secretary. 
 
 Has the Board of Directors any right to interfere 
 with the affairs of any branch church? (See Manual 
 of The Mother Church, Article XXIII., Sect. 10.) 
 
 Was not each one of these three questions and espe- 
 cially the second and third an iinauthorized investiga- 
 tion by the Directors of internal conditions 
 in a branch church? As shown by the fol- que^JfonsTnt 
 lowing letters each practitioner met these ^^"^^ ^.'■^"'^'^ 
 questions squarely. Their replies were ad- 
 dressed to the Christian Science Board of Directors at 
 Boston and related directly to the three questions given 
 above. The answers are characterized by brevity, 
 directness, and firmness of conviction. The spirit of 
 their replies is not that of uncertain and vacillating 
 thought, but rather shows a firm grasp of the truth 
 in Christian Science. 
 
 Reply of Mr. Arnold Blome 
 
 New York City, 
 February 14, 19 10. 
 
 The Christian Science Board of Directors, 
 
 The First Church of Christ, Scientist, 
 Boston, Mass. 
 John V. Dittemore, Secretary. 
 
 Dear Mr. Dittemore: — Your letter of February 12th inst. 
 at hand. In reply I will say to Question I : 
 
 I firrnl}'- believe that Mrs. Stetson taught and practised 
 true Christian Science in the meetings you refer to, and 
 
i88 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 that her teaching is in perfect accord with Science 
 and Health, our textbook. This is my honest conviction, 
 Mr Biome ^^ conccpt and spiritual interpretation of 
 endorses Mrs. Stctson's teaching and practice, and I 
 Mrs. stet- cannot accept anybody else's interpretation 
 
 son's teaching i. ^ j r- 
 
 thereof. I believe and understand that the 
 Board of Directors of The Mother Church is misinformed 
 and erroneously influenced in regard to said practitioners' 
 meetings under the direction of Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson, 
 and have a mistaken sense of her teaching and practice. 
 I can no more deny the teaching, as I have received it, 
 than I can deny the Principle of Christian Science to be 
 Love. Denying one, I should deny the other also. 
 
 Answer to Question II: 
 
 I am living and working in Christian fellowship with the 
 present officers of First Church of Christ, 
 
 Is working t, . . 
 
 with those Scientist, New York City, in so far as said 
 who follow officers are living in the spirit of Christian 
 Science and thereby follow our dear Leader, 
 Mrs. Eddy, as she follows Christ. 
 
 Answer to Question III : 
 
 I am supporting The Mother Church Directors, and 
 
 abide "in fellowship with and obedience to The Mother 
 
 Church,"^ by living a life more consecrated to 
 
 Supports the ^ j ^ ^ . 
 
 Directors by God and suiiering humanity. I have no resent- 
 consecrated mcut, love all, and reaHze that the Directors of 
 
 living 
 
 The Mother Church are my best friends, in so 
 far as they take all false trust from me and leave me to 
 have trust in Truth only. 
 
 Lovingly yours in the Truth of Christian Science forever, 
 
 (Signed) Arnold Blome. 
 
 * Christian Science Sentinel, volume xii., page 270. 
 
Position of Sixteen Practitioners 189 
 
 Reply of Miss Antoinette L. Ensworth 
 
 New York City, 
 February 14, 19 10. 
 
 The Christian Science Board of Directors, 
 J. V. Dittemore, Secretary. 
 Dear Mr. Dittemore: — During the half year that has 
 elapsed since the end of the daily practitioners' meetings, 
 held in First Church of Christ, Scientist, New- 
 York City, under the direction of Mrs. Augusta ^^^'J^ g °^g 
 E. Stetson, C.S.D., I have considered and re- practitioners' 
 considered earnestly and prayerfully all that Aspiring 
 took place in those most helpful and, to me, 
 inspiring meetings. My interpretation of what Mrs, 
 Stetson taught and practised in those meetings was then 
 and is now in exact accordance with Christian Science, 
 and what I find in my daily study of Science and Health, 
 and the other writings of our beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy. 
 Understanding this teaching through an awakened spirit- 
 ual sense has made me a better woman, a more successful 
 practitioner, living more for God and less for self, "seeking 
 his [my] own in another's good" {Science and Health, p. 
 
 518). 
 
 A Christian Scientist or a student of divine metaphysics, 
 working from the basis of the allness of Spirit, ^ ^^.^^ 
 cannot live nor work with those who do not standpoints 
 work from the same standpoint. . . . 
 
 I feel that I have complied with our Leader's request 
 of Nov. 13, 1909, for I have daily, yes hourly, all these 
 months striven to make good real and all the claims of 
 evil unreal. I have been abiding in, and demonstrating 
 Truth, knowing that justice, Truth, and Love govern all 
 and must prevail. My hope of salvation is in a life conse- 
 crated to God, in attaining, retaining, and utilizing the 
 qualities of the Christ-mind, which alone make man 
 
 immortal. 
 
 Very sincerely, 
 
 (Signed) Antoinette L. Ensworth. 
 
190 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 Reply of Miss Sibyl Marvin Huse 
 
 New York City, 
 
 Febraary 14, 1910. 
 
 The Christian Science Board of Directors, 
 J. V. Dittemore, Secretary. 
 
 My dear Mr. Dittemore: — In my letter to you dated 
 February 10, 1 claimed that my right to be called 
 poskion"^^^ a Christian Scientist antedated my having at- 
 tended any Christian Science service. 
 
 After having had class instruction from Mrs. Augusta 
 E. Stetson, C.S.D., and thus becoming a student of a loyal 
 Questions studcnt of Mrs. Eddy, I applied for membership 
 Directors' in The Mother Church. In becoming a member 
 ng o as ^£ rpj^g First Church of Christ, Scientist, Boston, 
 Mass., I automatically accepted The Mother Church 
 Manual as the law governing me in all my relations with 
 that organization. It has been my earnest desire and 
 effort to abide by its By-Laws, and I have studied them 
 carefully, particularly during the last year. I fail, however, 
 to find any intimation of any right being vested in the 
 Directors to enquire as to my conduct in reference to my 
 relations with any branch church of which I might be a 
 member. The second question in your letter, therefore, 
 seems to me to pertain to matters outside the jurisdiction 
 of the Directors of The Mother Church. I shall, however, 
 be glad to comply with your request and answer it as intel- 
 ligently as I may be able. 
 
 ... I find obedience to our Leader's wish for liberal 
 government in the branch churches interferes with my 
 living in fellowship with the present officers of First Church 
 of Christ, Scientist, New York City, for they do not repre- 
 sent such government as I understand it. I regret this, 
 but I cannot do otherwise than thoroughly disapprove of 
 what seems to me constant violations of the principles of 
 self-government, and of the many evidences of arbitrary 
 and despotic control. I have in consequence withdrawn 
 
Position of Sixteen Practitioners 191 
 
 from all church activity except attendance at the services. 
 
 The third question, gentlemen, seems to me to be of a 
 most personal nature and very difficult of answer, for it 
 involves a clear understanding of our Leader's exhortation 
 and an ability on my part to meet a spiritual demand. I 
 am striving earnestly to catch the spiritual import of her 
 words and to follow her directions. I desire to "support" 
 rightly all that our Leader supports and to "Abide in 
 Truth "^ always. By so doing I shall be able to dwell in 
 fellowship with all who are so endeavoring. 
 
 For the answer to your first question, I refer you to my 
 letter of the loth inst. 
 
 Very sincerely yours, 
 
 (Signed) Sibyl Marvin Huse. 
 
 Miss Huse's letter of February loth, 1910, to which 
 she refers above, contains the following paragraphs: 
 
 In all the "teachings and practices of Mrs. Augusta E. 
 Stetson," I have never found anything at variance with 
 the teachings of Mrs. Eddy as shown in Science ■J^^^Q^^^^^J^,^ 
 and Health and in her other writings. These teaching 
 writings planted a seed in my consciousness 
 and the subsequent "teachings and practices of Mrs. 
 Augusta E. Stetson" have encouraged and enriched this 
 planting. 
 
 I am rejoiced to have the opportunity so graciously 
 accorded me by divine Love to make this statement to 
 you, the Directors of The Mother Church, who I feel have 
 been subjected to continuous misrepresentation of one who 
 has done much to upbuild the Cause of Christian Science 
 in the hearts of the people. It would take more than 
 human power to offset the malpractice of such misrepre- 
 sentation and reversal, and it is for this reason that no 
 feeling of resentment is possible. 
 
 Very sincerely yours, 
 
 (Signed) Sibyl Marvin Huse. 
 
 ' Christian Science Sentinel, volume xii., page 270. 
 
192 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 Reply of Mrs. M. Augusta Aikman 
 
 New York City, 
 
 February 15, 1910. 
 
 The Christian Science Board of Directors, 
 
 J. V. Dittemore, Secretary. 
 
 My dear Mr. Dittemore: — ^Although I feel that I might 
 question your right to ask of me the questions contained 
 in your letter of February the twelfth, I am glad of the 
 opportunity thus afforded me of stating to you my position 
 as a student of Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson, C.S.D. 
 
 Considering the events that have occurred during the 
 past half year, wonderful and interesting as they are, I 
 find myself supremely grateful for the spiritually 
 adheres to advanced teaching of Christian Science worked 
 Mrs. stetson's Qy^^ by Mrs. Stctsou in the practitioners' meet- 
 ings in First Church of Christ, Scientist, New 
 York City, during the year prior to this time. Those 
 teachings have enabled me to be a more consecrated 
 Christian, to do more Christly healing, and to meet more 
 intelligently the demands of Christian Science contained 
 in the writings of our beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy, as 
 I interpret and comprehend them, and to handle with 
 a clearer understanding the claim of malicious animal 
 magnetism. I see more clearly than ever before that Mrs. 
 Stetson is following with wonderful spiritual insight the 
 teachings of our Master, Jesus the Christ, and of her 
 Teacher, Mary Baker Eddy; and that her demonstration 
 of these divine metaphysics will prevent her from ever 
 being separated from her Leader and Teacher, in accord- 
 ance with Mrs. Eddy's instructions to her. 
 
 At the Annual Meeting held in our church the eighteenth 
 of January last, ... I felt the house of God was desecrated. 
 Condemns ^^"^ ^ ^"^ ^^^^ ^^^ °^^ belovcd Leader known of 
 Annual Meet- thcsc proceedings and conduct, she could not 
 mg methods ^^^^ approved of them, and would have con- 
 demned them as absolutely unscientific. I have, therefore, 
 found no occasion or opportunity for "Christian fellowship 
 
Position of Sixteen Practitioners 193 
 
 with the present officers of" the church. I am daily striv- 
 ing to comply with the request of our beloved Leader to 
 "Abide in Truth, "^ and to be able to say as she does in 
 Miscellaneous Writings, page thirteen, "The only justice 
 of which I feel at present capable, is mercy and charity 
 toward every one, — just so far as one and all permit me to 
 exercise these sentiments toward them, — taking special 
 care to mind my own business." 
 
 Very sincerely, 
 (Signed) M. Augusta Aikman. 
 
 Reply of Mrs. Amelia S. Rowbotham 
 
 New York City, 
 
 February 15, 1910. 
 
 The Christian Science Board of Directors, 
 J. V. Dittemore, Secretary. 
 My dear Mr. Dittemore: — In replying to your letter of 
 February 12, 1 believe that what I received from my teacher, 
 
 Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson, C.S.D., in the meetings „ „ 
 
 ° 1 r J Mrs. Row- 
 referred to, was in absolute and perfect accord botham says 
 with Christian Science as revealed in Science she received 
 
 . pure teaching 
 
 and Health with Key to the Scriptures, and the 
 lesser writings of my revered Leader, Mrs. Eddy, 
 
 It is to Mrs. Stetson's spiritual teaching that I owe my 
 ability to intelligently handle aggressive mental suggestion, 
 and all the false claims of animal magnetism; to gain step 
 by step that understanding of divine metaphysics which 
 is enabling me to "lay hold on eternal life," and to build 
 in my consciousness the "house not made with hands, 
 eternal in the heavens," — the true Church. 
 
 As I do not approve of, and therefore cannot endorse, 
 the methods employed at the Annual Meeting on January 
 18 last, . . . I will answer Question 2, by quoting 
 from Scripture, as follows: "Can two walk to- ing^criticfsed 
 gether, except they be agreed? " (Amos 3:3.) To 
 my sense that meeting was conducted with an utter dis- 
 
 » Christian Science Sentinel, volume xii., page 270. 
 13 
 
194 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 regard of all that should characterize a Christian Science 
 meeting which has been called to work out in harmony the 
 welfare of a Christian body of people. . . . However, 
 our Leader has given us this comforting assurance in Science 
 and Health, page 239, line 12: "Let it be understood that 
 success in error is defeat in Truth." 
 
 In replying to Question 3, I will say that I am striving 
 daily and hourly to "Abide in Truth, "^ as my beloved 
 Leader requested me to do; to support the Directors of 
 The Mother Church, by gaining that Mind " which was 
 also in Christ Jesus," and endeavoring to rise higher and 
 higher in the apprehension of that divine Principle which 
 alone will enable me to accomplish the greater works, thus 
 bringing forth the fruits of Spirit, and gaining my inherit- 
 ance as a child of God. 
 
 Let me close by referring you to the words of our beloved 
 Leader, on page 40, line 19, of Science and Health: "If a 
 career so great and good as that of Jesus could not avert a 
 felon's fate, lesser apostles of Truth may endure human bru- 
 tality without murmuring, rejoicing to enter into fellowship 
 with him through the triumphal arch of Truth and Love," 
 Yours truly, 
 (Signed) Amelia S. Rowbotham. 
 
 Reply of Mr. Edwin F. Hatfield 
 
 New York City, 
 
 February 16, 1910. 
 J. V. Dittemore, Esq., Secretary of 
 
 The Christian Science Board of Directors of 
 
 The First Church of Christ, Scientist, Boston, Mass. 
 Dear Mr. Dittemore: — I have the pleasure to acknowledge 
 receipt of your favor of the 12th instant, calling attention 
 to the time that has elapsed since the end of the practi- 
 tioners' meetings in our church, and asking certain questions 
 pertaining thereto. 
 
 * Christian Science Sentinel, volume xii., page 270. 
 
Position of Sixteen Practitioners 195 
 
 The past six months have indeed furnished the oppor- 
 tunity for a great deal of very serious thinking, so fraught 
 have they been with occurrences of an extraordinary 
 character and momentous significance, which have taught 
 many useful lessons. 
 
 It seems unnecessary to ask me where I stand, when it 
 has been my privilege to occupy so prominent a position 
 in recent public utterances, and to so openly declare my 
 gratitude and allegiance to Mrs. Stetson. 
 
 In response, however, to your first inquiry, let me say, 
 in regard to Mrs. Stetson's teachings at such of the meetings 
 of our practitioners as I attended last year, that ^^ Hatfield's 
 the general effect of them was to me promotive estimate of 
 of spiritual growth, uplifting in their character "eeSn^s 
 and highly metaphysical, "But the natural man 
 receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are 
 foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because 
 they are spiritually discerned" (I Cor. 2: 14). Many 
 misinterpretations of these teachings have been corrected 
 in the evidence before our Committee of Inquiry last fall. 
 
 After twenty-two years' experience in Christian Science, 
 and constant association with Mrs. Stetson in religious 
 work during all that time, I see no reason to change my 
 strong and unwavering conviction of her absolute sincerity 
 and earnest devotion to the Cause of Christian Science; 
 faithful, brave, self-sacrificing, always teaching her students 
 to be loyal to Mrs. Eddy and her teachings, and stimulat- 
 ing them to further progress and attainments by her con- 
 secrated and exemplary Christian life. 
 
 To the second inquiry, I would reply, that I observe 
 Christian fellowship with the present officers of our church, 
 endeavoring to hold them in the purest concep- 
 tion as "God's perfect image and likeness," endorse 
 and to "think no evil," to "bear all things, methods 
 believe all things, hope all things, endure all ooiden^Ruie 
 things," knowing that "Love never faileth" 
 (I Cor. 13: 5, 7, 8). But I cannot endorse those methods 
 
196 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 which do not meet my views of real democratic govern- 
 ment, and the proper conduct of church matters in ac- 
 cordance with the Golden Rule and the Sermon on the 
 Mount. 
 
 My answer to your third question is, that my loyalty 
 to Mrs. Eddy teaches me to seek strength and spiritual 
 power, so as to develop good qualities spontane- 
 Leader" ously and impersonally. "Let another man 
 praise thee, and not thine own mouth" (Pro- 
 verbs 27: 2). Mrs. Eddy's beautiful ideal of the mission 
 of The Mother Church to "reflect in some degree the 
 Church Universal and Triumphant,"^ governed and gov- 
 erning by the law of divine Love and Truth, inspires me 
 to hope and work for the confirmation of her desire that 
 our church may "Abide in Truth, in fellowship with and 
 obedience to The Mother Church,"^ and that true unity, 
 peace, and healing power may result from this perfect 
 realization. 
 
 Yours very truly, 
 
 (Signed) E. F. Hatfield. 
 
 Reply of Mrs. Kate Y. Remer 
 
 New York City, 
 February 16, 19 10. 
 
 My dear Mr. Dittemore: — I want to thank the Christian 
 Science Board of Directors for giving me this privilege and 
 opportunity of stating plainly and as directly 
 deciares^Mrs; ^^ possiblc my position as a student of Mrs. 
 stetson taught Augusta E. Stctson, C.S.D. I believe every- 
 tian^scl'ence thing that Mrs. Stetson has taught and practised 
 to be pure, true Christian Science. After care- 
 ful and consecrated study, I can not find anything in Mrs. 
 Stetson's teaching that is not in exact accord with the Bible 
 and our beloved Leader's writings. I attended the daily 
 practitioners' meetings of my own free will, and consented 
 
 ' Manual of The Mother Church, page 19. 
 
 ' Christian Science Sentinel, voliirae xii., page 270. 
 
Position of Sixteen Practitioners 197 
 
 to everything that was done and said by Mrs. Stetson. We 
 were a holy priesthood, with no thought of personality, 
 with but one desire, — the purification of sense and self, 
 and the destruction of the belief in impersonal evil, both 
 within and without. Malpractice has tried to do every- 
 thing in its power to reverse our motives and the spiritual 
 import of the work done; but God, who knows the hearts 
 of men, will bless those unselfed hours of consecration and 
 holiness in His own time and in His own way. 
 
 You ask whether I am living and working in Christian 
 fellowship with the present officers of First Church of 
 Christ, Scientist, New York City. I am living objects to 
 up to my highest standard of what Christian methods of 
 fellowship means, and am in favor of democratic oncers 
 
 government, but not with . . . methods such as were 
 used ... at our Annual Meeting. That meeting was 
 neither democratic nor scientific in its character, and called 
 forth from me all the high spiritual, metaphysical teaching 
 I had received to make these conditions unreal ; and I know 
 many men of unquestionable business and professional 
 reputation felt the same way. I thanked God and was 
 grateful beyond words at that time that I had been taught 
 to handle the false claims of malpractice and animal 
 magnetism. 
 
 As I follow faithfully the Sermon on the Mount and 
 the Golden Rule, praying with all my heart for that same 
 Mind "which was also in Christ Tesus," I am t- • • 
 
 Living in 
 
 living in Christian fellowship with all God's Christian 
 children, and am helping to establish the king- fellowship 
 dom of heaven on earth. On page 476 of Science and 
 Health we read: "Jesus beheld in Science the perfect man, 
 who appeared to him where sinning mortal man appears 
 to mortals. In this perfect man the Saviour saw God's 
 own likeness, and this correct view of man healed the sick." 
 I am trying just as earnestly and prayerfully as I know 
 how to comply with the request of our beloved Leader, 
 Mrs. Eddy, to "support the Directors of The Mother 
 
198 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 Church, and unite with those in your [our] church who are 
 supporting The Mother Church Directors."^ My sincere 
 desire is to "Abide in Truth, in fellowship with and obedi- 
 ence to The Mother Church." ^ I know "in this way God 
 will bless and prosper" me. My desire to do right is so true 
 and honest that I know divine Love will remove from my 
 consciousness everything unlike the pure "white Christ,"^ 
 and will give me the strength and the love to endure the 
 chastening. "This is the law of Truth to error, 'Thou 
 shalt surely die.' This law is a divine energy. Mortals 
 cannot prevent the fulfilment of this law; it covers all sin 
 and its effects" {Miscellaneous Writings, p. 208). 
 Believe me. 
 
 Sincerely yours, 
 
 (Signed) Kate Y. Remer. 
 
 Reply of Mrs. Anna A. Holden 
 
 New York City, 
 
 February 16, 191 o. 
 
 The Christian Science Board of Directors, 
 Boston, Mass. 
 Gentlemen: — I am in receipt of your letter of February 
 12, and complying with your request to give "plain and 
 direct answers" to the questions asked, will say: 
 
 I have prayerfully considered the talks given in the practi- 
 tioners* meetings; have weighed them in the balance of 
 Truth and Love; have held them in the clear 
 
 Mrs. Holden ,.,...,.,, , 
 
 says Mrs. hght 01 Spiritual unfoldment, and as a result, 
 stetson fjj^(^ i\^Q life-work as well as the daily example 
 
 was right . . , . . i -n x 
 
 and practice m the meetings of my teacher, Mrs. 
 Augusta E. Stetson, C. S. D., coincide with and emphasize 
 all our beloved Leader's, Mrs. Eddy's, teachings in Science 
 and Health and all her other writings; therefore they are 
 in accordance with Christian Science. 
 
 I am endeavoring to keep the faith in true Christian 
 
 ' Christian Science Sentinel, volume xii., page 270. 
 'Miscellaneous Writings, page 212. 
 
Position of Sixteen Practitioners 199 
 
 fellowship with the officers of First Church of Christ, 
 Scientist, remembering Mrs. Eddy's advice, given on 
 page 138 of Miscellaneous Writings: "For students to 
 work together is not always to cooperate, but jj^g j.^^ 
 sometimes to coelbow! Each student should defines 
 
 seek alone the guidance of our common Father — cooperation 
 even the divine Principle which he claims to demonstrate, 
 — and especially should he prove his faith by works, ethic- 
 ally, physically, and spiritually." 
 
 I am complying with the request of our Leader, Mrs. 
 Eddy, by "acknowledging pure Mind as absolute and 
 entire, and that evil is naught, although it seems to be;" 
 also that, "Pure Mind gives out an atmosphere that heals 
 and saves" {Miscellaneous Writings, p. 260). 
 Very sincerely, 
 
 (Signed) Anna Airman Holden. 
 
 Reply of Miss Mary E. Pearson 
 
 Atlantic City, New Jersey, 
 
 February 16, 1910. 
 Mr. J. V. DiTTEMORE. 
 
 Dear Mr. Dittemore: — Your letter dated Feb. 12th inst. 
 was forwarded to me here and has just been received. I 
 trust the delay caused through the mail will not Miss Pear- 
 cause you any inconvenience. Notwithstanding ^*>°'^ answer 
 the fact that you inferred in your letter to me, dated Oct. 
 8th, 1909, that I testified falsely when before the Board of 
 Directors, I submit the following answers to your questions: 
 
 First let me say, I can only testify of what I have seen 
 and heard myself and cannot condemn any one on hearsay 
 evidence. 
 
 I. Do you believe that what Mrs. Stetson taught and 
 practised as Christian Science in said meetings ^^^ Q^^^_ 
 between December i, 1908, and the end of said son's inter- 
 meetings was in accordance with Christian vpas'spi'r^irua'i 
 Science, or contrary thereto? 
 
 Ans. All that I heard taught by Mrs. Stetson at said 
 
200 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 meetings when I was present, I consider to be in strict 
 accord with the spiritual interpretation of the Bible and 
 all Mrs. Eddy's writings, therefore, with Christian Science. 
 
 2. Are you living and working in Christian fellowship 
 with the present oflScers of First Church of Christ, Scientist, 
 New York City? 
 
 Ans. I am. 
 
 3. What, if anything, have you done in order to comply 
 with the request of our Leader, Mrs. Eddy, which was read 
 at the meeting of said branch church on November 15, 
 1909? 
 
 Ans. I have done and shall continue to do, as it has 
 always been my endeavor, to "be subject unto the higher 
 powers," for "the powers that be are ordained of God" 
 (Rom. 13: i). 
 
 Should you wish to communicate with me during the 
 next few weeks, I can be found at the above address, or 
 any communication sent to my New York address will be 
 forwarded to me. 
 
 Most sincerely yours, 
 
 (Signed) Mary E. Pearson. 
 
 Reply of Miss Margaret Duncan 
 
 New York City, 
 February 16, 1910. 
 
 To The Christian Science Board of Directors. 
 
 Gentlemen: — Your communication of February 12th is 
 at hand, and in reply I submit the following answers to 
 
 your questions. But before doing so, allow me 
 can's te^j ^^ ^^y> ^°^ °^^y ^^ justicc to mysclf but to you, 
 
 that I feel in requesting these answers you have 
 gone beyond the privilege of your office. However, I am 
 very glad that you have afforded me the opportunity 
 of giving "a reason of the hope that is in [me]" (I Peter 
 3:15). 
 
Position of Sixteen Practitioners 201 
 I. 
 
 Not only during the past six months, but for over eighteen 
 years, I have studied carefully and prayerfully the writings 
 of our beloved Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, and Eighteen 
 I find nothing in those writings that would lead years o( 
 me to believe I was ever taught anything by e^p«"^°*=® 
 my teacher, Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson, C.S.D., not in ac- 
 cord with Mrs. Eddy's teaching. On the contrary, all 
 that I have read and studied confirms my conviction that 
 I have been taught true Christian Science by Mrs. Stet- 
 son. Also that her talks to her students, in the practition- 
 ers' meetings, were based on our Leader's words and works. 
 
 My adherence to Mrs. Stetson's teaching has never been 
 from "a mistaken sense of personal loyalty." The correct 
 application of her teaching has healed me, and 
 has been a blessing, enabling me to heal others ^y pers^au^ty 
 of sin and disease. I never for a moment for- 
 get that all any Christian Scientist has, is that which has 
 come from Mrs. Eddy. She is the Discoverer and Founder 
 of Christian Science and its only Leader. Mrs. Stetson 
 taught me this and I am loyal to it and grateful for it. 
 
 II. 
 
 In I Kings 3: 9, we read that Solomon asked for an 
 understanding heart that he might "discern between good 
 and bad." I also have prayed for the same An under- 
 understanding, and I trust that God has given standing 
 me discernment in proportion as I have made 
 practical the teachings laid down in the Bible and in our 
 Leader's writings. . . . 
 
 III. 
 
 I have done all that a consistent Christian Scientist 
 could to follow our Leader's advice given to Abiding in 
 First Church in New York on November 15th "^'"^^ 
 
 last. I have endeavored to take out of my own 
 
202 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 thought all belief in the reality of evil and to "Abide in 
 Truth.'" 
 
 Sincerely, 
 (Signed) Margaret Duncan. 
 
 Reply of Mr. Steuart C. Rowbotham 
 
 New York City, 
 
 February i6, 19 lo. 
 
 The Christian Science Board of Directors, 
 J. V. Dittemore, Secretary. 
 Dear Mr. Dittemore: — Although I question your pre- 
 Mr. Row- rogative to demand of me an answer to these 
 
 botham's . ,, t 1 
 
 statement questions, I herewith comply : 
 
 I. I not only believe but know that my teacher, Mrs. 
 Augusta E. Stetson, C.S.D., has taught me the divine 
 Mrs stetson mctaphysics of Christian Science as found in 
 taught divine the writings of our great Leader, Mrs. Eddy, 
 metap ysics ^^^ j ^^^ know that the spiritual discussion 
 and explanation of Christian Science practice, — the de- 
 struction of malicious animal magnetism and malpractice, 
 with Truth, received in "said meetings," has been and is of 
 great benefit to me in my work with patients. 
 
 II. I am honestly endeavoring to reflect and demon- 
 strate divine Love. The Scriptures say: "Where the Spirit 
 Cannot ap- ^^ ^^^ ^o^*^ i^' ^^^^^ ^^ liberty" (II Cor. 3: 17). 
 prove wrong Mrs. Eddy says: "Love and Truth make free, 
 "^^ ° ^ but evil and error lead into captivity" {Science 
 and Health, p. 227). It is, therefore, impossible for me to 
 affiliate with the undemocratic methods in evidence at the 
 public meetings held in my church, ... or to agree with 
 the unjust and untruthful allusions to myself, which have 
 not been denied by our . . . Publication Committee. 
 
 III. I have always been taught absolute and instant 
 Was taught obedicncc to the requests of my beloved Leader, 
 obedience to Mrs. Eddy, and her sweet loving message 
 
 brought to my consciousness joy and spiritual 
 uplifting, and with sincere and prayerful effort I have 
 » Christian Science Sentinel, volume xii., page 270. 
 
Position of Sixteen Practitioners 203 
 
 striven to destroy the false claim of malicious animal 
 magnetism, and "Abide in Truth." ^ 
 Yours truly, 
 (Signed) Steuart C. Rowbotham, C.S. 
 
 Reply of Mrs. Catherine B. Gillpatrick 
 
 New York City, 
 February i6, 1910. 
 
 The Christian Science Board of Directors, 
 
 Boston, Mass. 
 
 Gentlemen: — In reply to your communication of Febru- 
 ary twelfth, by your Secretary, Mr. John V. Dittemore, 
 I have to say : 
 
 1st. That as you have stated, the events of the past 
 six months have indeed given much food for reflection. 
 Weighed in the scales of divine Love, your mode Mrs. Giii- 
 of procedure seems to me to have been most patr'ck deems 
 
 . .» T • f 1 • Mrs. Stetson 
 
 unchristl}^ and unscientific. In view of this, amply 
 
 I feel that my teacher, Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson, justified 
 C.S.D., has been amply justified, both in her estimate of 
 the exigencies and her method of handling them with the 
 practitioners, and in so doing has acted in accord with the 
 spirit and practice of our revered Leader when she, Mrs. 
 Eddy, has had to meet the stress of conflicting mental 
 forces in certain great crises. Hence Mrs. Stetson has 
 worked in accord with Christian Science. 
 
 2nd. I am striving to live in fellowship with Truth and 
 Love, and so am "living and working in Christian fellow- 
 ship with the present officers of First Church of Christ, 
 Scientist, New York City," and with all Christian Scientists 
 in the degree that they are doing the same, since there is no 
 separation in the one Mind. 
 
 3rd. I have tried to live and work as much as possible 
 in accord with the spirit of our beloved Leader's Leaves oth- 
 teachings, knowing the true "support" to be ers to their 
 the "foundations of Truth and Love," as our "'"' '^ 
 textbook expresses it on page 558. When the means and 
 
 ' Christian Science Sentinel, volume xii., page 270. 
 
204 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 methods of the present administration have not appealed 
 to my spiritual sense, I have willingly given a free hand 
 personally, to those in authority, recognizing their right to 
 work out conditions according to their own light and lead- 
 ing, while reserving to myself my inalienable rights of 
 "self-government, reason, and conscience," guaranteed me 
 by Christian Science (Science and Health, p. io6). 
 Faithfully in Truth and Love, 
 (Signed) (Mrs.) Catherine B. Gillpatrick, C.S. 
 
 Reply of Miss Jessie Tuttle Colton 
 
 New York City, 
 February 17, 1910. 
 
 The Christian Science Board of Directors, 
 The First Church of Christ, Scientist, 
 Boston, Mass. 
 Mr. J. V. Dittemore, Secretary. 
 
 Dear Mr. Dittemore: — In order to answer at your request 
 
 the three questions contained in your letter of February 12, 
 
 1910, I am obliged to use letter-form, as the 
 
 Miss Colton's 1 . • j j.* r r^r. ' j.' o • 
 
 response explanation and practice of Chnstian Science 
 by Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson in practitioners' 
 meetings as reported to you is, and always will be, erroneous. 
 Therefore, to reply from that basis would be an impossi- 
 bility. Had things been true such as you in the past and 
 present accept as true and thereon base your judgment, 
 inquiries, etc., I also would thus judge. But, as the case 
 stands, 7, not you, was the personal witness at these meet- 
 ings, and in that capacity I reply to your questions. 
 
 I. I believe the teaching of Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson, 
 
 C.S.D., during the ten years of my association with First 
 
 Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City 
 
 Mrs. Stetson ., , _ , ,' ^ . .. . 
 
 taught true (iiicludmg the period you name) , is divme meta- 
 Christian physics and the true interpretation of the Chris- 
 
 Science 
 
 tian Science textbook. Science and Health with 
 Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy, Discoverer 
 and Founder of Christian Science, therefore our forever 
 
Position of Sixteen Practitioners 205 
 
 Leader. I believe the practice of Christian Science by Mrs. 
 Stetson in accordance with her teachings is the scientific 
 proof of her having correctly received the divine imparta- 
 tion of this Truth from her Teacher, the Rev. Mary Baker 
 Eddy. The occurrence of events of the past year confirms 
 this to me, substantiates the statements of my teacher, 
 Mrs. Stetson, coincides with those in our denominational 
 textbook, and corroborates the promises of the Scriptures. 
 What is more, I believe and understand from deep study 
 of Christian Science that by no other way will spiritual 
 cooperation be reached and the demonstration of the text- 
 book be possible; while if obeyed in the absolute, and un- 
 adulterated in its substance, the spiritual light which follows 
 is Christian Science — the unity with our Leader, who first 
 received the Word of God, and by whom the working out of 
 eternal ends must be revealed. 
 
 2. This being my understanding, the spiritual coopera- 
 tion with officers and members of First Church of Christ, 
 Scientist, of New York City, — also with the spiritual 
 Directors of The Mother Church in Boston and cooperation 
 its members from every land and clime, is my ^f^ '*°p^ 
 
 -' and prayer 
 
 hope and earnest prayer. 
 
 3. Therefore through scientific adherence to and daily 
 study and practice of Christian Science, I am understand- 
 ing more and more how to comply with the understand- 
 words of our beloved Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, ing bow to 
 of November 13th, 1909. """^'^ 
 
 For the privilege of assuring you of my loyalty against 
 the false evidence borne to you, which has caused all this 
 misrepresentation of words and deeds, I am gratefull 
 Impersonal evil against impersonal good cannot succeed — 
 though it strike at the heart of God's work — the unity of 
 the followers of Christ, members and co-workers of The 
 Mother Church — they will unite and the one Mind will 
 reign! 
 
 Yours most sincerely in the bonds of Christ, 
 
 (Signed) Jessie Tuttle Colton. 
 
2o6 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 Reply of Miss Mary R. Pinney 
 
 New York City, 
 
 February 17, 1910. 
 
 The Christian Science Board of Directors, 
 
 Boston, Mass. 
 Mr. J. V. Dittemore, Secretary. 
 
 My dear Mr. Dittemore: — In reply to your letter of Feb- 
 ruary the twelfth, I desire to answer your last question first. 
 
 I am earnestly striving to comply with the request of 
 our beloved Leader, Mary Baker Eddy. I know that Mrs. 
 „. „. Eddy is safely guiding consciousness through this 
 
 Miss Pinney • j r , , . -, , , 
 
 loyal to period of moral revolution, and her words are 
 
 Leader and luminous with the light of ever-present Love. 
 Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson, C.S.D., who has been 
 taught, counselled, guided, and commended publicly and 
 privately by our great Leader, Mrs. Eddy, for many years, 
 is my teacher. I find her teaching in perfect accord with 
 the Bible, the writings of Mrs. Eddy, the Manual and Tenets 
 of the Christian Science Church. For me to repudiate Mrs. 
 Stetson and her teachings would be for me to repudiate my 
 Leader, Mrs. Eddy. I esteem it a privilege, therefore, to 
 declare myself a loyal student of Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson, 
 C.S.D. 
 
 I am uniting with and supporting all in our church who 
 are abiding in Truth, — the truth that man is the image and 
 Unites with li^cncss of God. I find it necessary to handle 
 those who the falsc claim of malicious animal magnetism as 
 Truth "'"* ^^ tries, to usurp the rights and privileges of man, 
 in his efforts to attain and maintain spiritual 
 freedom, the "liberty of the sons of God."^ 
 
 I am grateful for my present understanding of Christian 
 Science, and I wait on God, who is the justifier of all good, 
 to make plain His way of salvation from all error, and 
 awaken the world to the spiritual reality of being, that God's 
 
 ' Christian Science Sentinel, volume xii., page 270, 
 'Science and Health, page 315. 
 
Position of Sixteen Practitioners 207 
 
 will may be done, His kingdom come on earth as it is in 
 heaven. 
 
 Very sincerely, 
 
 (Signed) Mary R. Pinney. 
 
 Reply of Mrs. Letitia H. Greene 
 
 New York City, 
 February 17, 1910. 
 
 The Christian Science Board of Directors, 
 
 The First Church of Christ, Scientist, 
 Boston, Mass. 
 J. V. Dittemore, Secretary. 
 
 My dear Mr. Dittemore: — In reply to your letter of the 
 twelfth inst., asking me to state my views in regard to the 
 teaching of Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson, C.S.D., j^^.^ 
 
 as seen in the light of recent as well as past Greene's 
 events, and also to state my position in respect position 
 
 to First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, I 
 would say: 
 
 First: Recent events have strengthened my previous 
 impressions in regard to the instruction given me by my 
 teacher, Mrs. Stetson. I came into Christian practitioners' 
 Science desiring a practical religion, and when I meetings 
 can see the statements in Science and Health christian 
 and the Bible proved in daily living, through Science 
 
 their practical application, and I do see it, it is to my sense 
 like proving an example in mathematics. What was ' ' taught 
 and practised" at the practitioners' meetings was in accord 
 with Christian Science, and I find its basis in Science and 
 Health with Key to the Scriptures, by our beloved Leader, the 
 Rev, Mary Baker Eddy. When what was heard at those 
 meetings is decried and condemned by a small percentage 
 of those present, I am led to infer that it was misunderstood 
 and therefore misapplied. 
 
 Second: While my desire and endeavor is to reflect the 
 
2o8 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 Christ-mind to the members of First Church, and to 
 see God's idea in each one, I can neither approve nor 
 endorse the methods used at our Annual 
 endorsed'^"* Meeting in putting the present officers in 
 their positions. 
 Third: I am striving to hold to the good in others, as 
 well as in myself; to separate myself from every mortal 
 thought in my own consciousness; every "sup- 
 the go° V° position of error" {Science and Health, p. 503, 
 line 11), and to unite in Truth and Love with the 
 universal body, of which we are all members. 
 Very sincerely yours, 
 (Signed) Letitia H. Greene. 
 
 Reply of Mrs. Mary H. Freshman 
 
 New York City, 
 February 19, 1910. 
 
 The Christian Science Board of Directors, 
 J. V. Dittemore, Secretary. 
 My dear Mr. Dittemore: — In reply to your questions re- 
 lating to my teacher, Mrs. Stetson, I can only reiterate 
 Mrs. Fresh- what I Said to you in Boston, that I find no fault 
 man says. "I jj^ j^gj. teachings, admonitions, or example. 
 
 find no fault _. , . , . . ^ 
 
 in her Dunng the twenty-two years m which I have 
 
 teachings" bccn closcly associatcd with her in building up 
 the Cause of Christian Science in this city, she has always 
 been firm in her adherence and faithful allegiance to God, 
 to her Teacher (our revered Leader) and to the Cause of 
 Christian Science. Her words and works have inspired my 
 understanding of our Leader's writings, that clearly inter- 
 pret the Bible as our only guide to eternal Life. 
 
 In regard to the present officers, God will guide wisely, 
 as He has always done, the affairs of First Church in New 
 York City, and I am earnestly striving to make error unreal 
 both in myself and others. 
 
 To your third question I can only reply, that I shall 
 
Position of Sixteen Practitioners 209 
 
 always be submissively obedient to my beloved Leader's 
 desires, hoping to more clearly interpret their spiritual 
 meanings "through. . . . growth" and "loving 
 God supremely" (Miscellaneous Writings, pp. ^''e^ob^edient 
 355, 328), which Mrs. Eddy says is necessary in 
 order to understand the Way-shower who is going before us 
 and has already scaled the steep ascent of Christian Science. 
 Very sincerely yours, 
 
 (Signed) Mary H. Freshman. 
 14 
 
CHAPTER XIX 
 
 THE MOTHER CHURCH ADMONITIONvS OF 
 SIXTEEN PRACTITIONERS 
 
 In the third relation of The Mother Church Directors 
 
 with the practitioners of First Church of Christ, Scien- 
 
 ^ ., tist, New York City, CUfford P. Smith, 
 
 Judge Smith ' >-( i i 
 
 " admonishes" First Rcadcr of The Mother Church, became 
 Mr. Hatfield ^^^ admonishcr of sixteen of the practitioners 
 in the branch church. Here he meets with denials 
 from the practitioners of various assertions made in his 
 " admonitions." Note, for instance, his attitude in the 
 following "admonition" of Mr. Edwin F.Hatfield, on 
 March li, 1910, at his residence in New York City. 
 Judge Smith had brought with him as a witness a Mr. 
 Jackson. There were four persons present, including 
 the stenographer. 
 
 "Admonition" of Mr. Edwin F. Hatfield 
 
 Judge Smith: Mr. Hatfield, I come to you under the 
 By-Law of The Mother Church and according 
 to the Scriptures, but how you will receive me 
 will be your own affair. You do not need to 
 receive me at all. 
 
 Mr. Hatfield: We want always to receive you in 
 your official capacity as well as socially. 
 
 Judge Smith : I ask you to see me alone [referring to 
 stenographer's presence], but I don't raise any 
 protest to your receiving me any way you please. 
 
 210 
 
Admonitions of Sixteen Practitioners 211 
 
 But I wish to make it clear that I do come to 
 you in accordance with the Scripture. What I 
 wish to say is that I want to admonish you to 
 desist from violating Section 2, of Article XII., 
 of the Church Manual, also Section 12, of Article 
 XI. 
 
 Mr. Hatfield: What are those? 
 
 Judge Smith: If you will let me have your Manual 
 I will read them to you. 
 
 Mr. Hatfield: Give me an idea of what they are. 
 
 Judge Smith: One of them is entitled "Working 
 Against the Cause" — working against the in- 
 terests of The Mother Church. 
 
 Mr. Hatfield: Of course I deny that I am ^ . 
 
 •^ Denies work- 
 
 working against the Cause, or have ing against 
 
 -I the Cause 
 
 ever done so. 
 
 Judge Smith : I admonish you also in regard to acting 
 with those who are violating the By-Laws of 
 The Mother Church, and to heed Mrs. Eddy's 
 request to unite with those who are supporting 
 The Mother Church Directors. And in regard 
 to this matter of teaching and practice, you still 
 maintain your allegiance to the sort of teaching 
 and practice which was exemplified in those 
 practitioners' meetings from December, 1908, 
 to the end of those meetings. 
 
 Mr. Hatfield: I should say in regard to that, you 
 make no specification. Of course I am not at 
 liberty to deny what is not specified. 
 
 Judge Smith : One of the important specifications is — 
 this practice of treating people without their 
 request or consent. 
 
 Mr. Hatfield : I do not believe in treating Denies treat- 
 people without their consent. consent 
 
212 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 Judge Smith : You know Mrs. Stetson did and exem- 
 plified it in those practitioners' meetings. 
 
 Mr. Hatfield: I did not understand it so. She 
 taught how to handle animal magnetism and 
 defend one's self against aggressive mental 
 suggestion. 
 
 Judge Smith : The Directors find she was in the habit 
 of going much beyond the rule in that regard. 
 Instead of being a law unto herself, she endeav- 
 ored to be a law unto others, and taught her 
 students so to be. 
 
 Mr. Hatfield: I do not imderstand that Mrs. Stet- 
 son or any of her students have any desire to do 
 anything but what is in accordance with Mrs. 
 Eddy's teachings. If we are wrong in any way 
 we want to be set right. 
 
 Judge Smith: Do you want to be set right, Mr. 
 Hatfield? 
 
 Mr. Hatfield: Certainly. 
 
 Judge Smith: Are you not fully assiu-ed that you are 
 right now, and that the Directors are wrong? 
 
 Mr. Hatfield : We want to do everything that is right 
 and in accordance with Mrs. Eddy's teachings. 
 
 Judge Smith: Have you done what she asked in 
 regard to uniting with those who are supporting 
 The Mother Church Directors? 
 
 Mr. Hatfield: We have done so as far as we could 
 see our way. 
 
 Judge Smith : Your letter did not read as though you 
 did. 
 
 Mr. Hatfield: If you specify any sin of omission or 
 commission — I suppose if you take the sins of 
 omission, there might be many. Has any one 
 made any charge against me? 
 
Admonitions of Sixteen Practitioners 213 
 
 Judge Smith : Not yet. 
 
 Mr. Hatfield : If there is any charge, we can take it 
 up; but there should be certain speci- uo specific 
 fied charges. ^^"''^^ 
 
 Judge Smith : I have no wish to condemn any person, 
 — that is not the purpose of an admonition. 
 It is to warn and to urge and to counsel and 
 advise, and so on — not to condemn nor to 
 punish. 
 
 Mr. Hatfield : I will accept that. If there is anything 
 wrong we are doing, we shall be very glad to 
 correct it. There is some room for difference of 
 opinion, I presume? 
 
 Judge Smith : I do not think there is any room for the 
 practice of remanding people six feet under the 
 ground, nor treating people on the basis of their 
 being devils, or so full of evil that their bodies 
 must go out. 
 
 Mr. Hatfield: Judge Smith, I have never done that. 
 
 Judge Smith : You believe in one who does that. 
 
 Mr. Hatfield: I believe in Mrs. Stetson's sincerity. 
 
 Judge Smith: You are throwing the weight of your 
 influence in the scale in upholding her in what 
 she does. 
 
 Mr. Hatfield: I am not upholding her in anything 
 but what is right. 
 
 Judge Smith : You know, Mr. Hatfield, that she does 
 treat people in that way. 
 
 Mr. Hatfield : I have not so understood it. 
 
 Judge Smith: Well, I suppose that is about all that is 
 necessary to say. / have admonished ..^^^ ^^^ 
 you, and you can throw it out of the tbioyr it out ot 
 window or heed it, just as you choose. 
 
 Mr. Hatfield: I do not throw anything out of the 
 
214 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 window. All I want is a specific charge as to 
 what I have done. 
 JtTDGE Smith: If you wish to hear that, I shall be glad 
 to go over it with you. 
 
 (Judge Smith then arose and departed of his own 
 accord.) 
 
 "Admonition" of Mr. Arnold Blome 
 
 Mr. Arnold Blome was admonished on March 7, 19 10, 
 at two o'clock P.M., at his residence in New York City. 
 „ , ,^ According to a stenographic record, Mr. 
 
 Mr. Arnold . o x- 
 
 Biome " ad- Blomc cvinccd a desire to have Judge Smith 
 monished" pQ^j^^ q^^ whcrcin hc was regarded as in 
 error. But that purpose Judge Smith mistook for a 
 desire to argue with him. After the courtesy of intro- 
 duction, Mr. Blome said: 
 
 Mr. Blome: I received your letter on Saturday and 
 I suppose you got my answer. 
 
 Judge Smith: Yes! I come to you under 
 No specific the provisions of the By-Law, to ad- 
 
 charges monish you. 
 
 Mr. Blome: Well, Judge, you came to admonish me 
 for what.f* 
 
 Judge Smith: To admonish you individually; first, 
 because you adhere to the teachings and prac- 
 tices which are not Christian Science and which 
 are entirely repudiated by the Leader. 
 
 The second thing is that there has been a very 
 marked opposition to the By-Laws of The 
 Mother Church — the section of the By-Law 
 entitled, "Working Against the Cause. " 
 
 We had hoped you would have seen the error 
 
Admonitions of Sixteen Practitioners 215 
 
 of your ways, as long as some six months have 
 passed since the practitioners' meetings in First 
 Church. 
 
 Mr. Blome: According to Article XII., Section 2, 
 of the Church Manual, to which you refer in 
 your letter, what is the specific charge against me 
 that I need to be admonished? 
 
 Judge Smith : Your general conduct, mental attitude, 
 and adhering to the teachings and practices 
 which are contrary to Christian Science. 
 
 Mr. Blome: Have I been tried? It seems to me that 
 I should be tried first before I receive an ad- 
 monition. 
 
 Judge Smith: The object of an admonition is not to 
 punish a man, but to prevent him from taking 
 the wrong course. 
 
 Mr. Blome: But must there not be a specific charge 
 and some one to make it which demands an 
 admonition? 
 
 Judge Smith : The time for charge has not come and 
 I hope it will never come; but as man to man, as 
 member to member, as First Reader to a member, 
 I want to admonish you. 
 
 Mr. Blome: In my last letter received from the 
 Directors — from Mr. Dittemore — he said, " Come 
 out from the domination under which , 
 
 Not following 
 
 you are labormg. I have been finite per- 
 thinking this over quite considerably, sonahty 
 
 and am wondering whether the Directors ex- 
 pect me to come out from under the supposed 
 domination of Mrs. Stetson and come right 
 under the domination of the Directors of The 
 Mother Church. Judge, I care not to follow finite 
 personality either here in New York or in Boston. 
 
2i6 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 Judge Smith: Oh, is that your attitude 
 Mother Church toward the highest tribunal of Chris- 
 
 Directors ^ian Scieiice? 
 
 highest tn- . . 
 
 bunai of MR. Blome: I must msist upon my mdivid- 
 
 sdence? ^^^ Hghts. I think I have a right as 
 
 an American citizen and Christian 
 
 Scientist to my own conviction of Truth. 
 Judge Smith : Are you then supporting the Directors 
 
 of The Mother Church? 
 Mr. Blome : I beheve I am in the true sense of support. 
 Judge Smith: Are you aware that Mrs. Stetson's 
 
 teachings are very different from Mrs. Eddy's 
 
 in her writings? 
 
 Mr. Blome: That depends on the spiritual 
 Mrs. stet- interpretation. I do not believe 
 
 son's teach- 
 ings in accord that her teaching is wrong. I believe 
 
 ^lT£ltl" firmly her teaching is in accord with 
 
 Science and Health. 
 
 Judge Smith: In that composite letter, where Mr. 
 Fink said, "I am obedient only as I am respon- 
 sive to your mental touch," do you beheve that 
 is right? 
 
 Mr. Blome: Yes, perfectly right, in the sense that 
 Mr. Fink wrote it. He has learned we are 
 
 "We are mental beings; that we are either channels 
 
 mental fop the mortal thought, or channels for 
 
 beings" ° 
 
 the immortal thought. We must be chan- 
 nels at all times. Now does not Mr. Fink 
 mean he is responsive to the touch of Love 
 reflected? 
 Judge Smith: He did not say, I am responsive to 
 Love. He said, I am responsive to Augusta E. 
 Stetson. No human being reflects a divine 
 touch, and that is what we all are. I see I can- 
 
Admonitions of Sixteen Practitioners 217 
 
 not convince you. You can accept admonition 
 or leave it. 
 
 (Getting up to leave.) 
 
 Mr. Blome: Please sit down. I am asking for infor- 
 mation. I have been studying to find where I 
 am wrong and do not find it. In Science and 
 Health, page 560, line 10, we read: 
 
 Heaven represents harmony, and divine Science 
 interprets the Principle of heavenly harmony. The 
 great miracle, to human sense, is divine 
 Love, and the grand necessity of existence and idea 
 is to gain the true idea of what constitutes 
 the kingdom of heaven in man. This goal is never 
 reached while we hate our neighbor or entertain a 
 false estimate of anyone whom God has appointed 
 to voice His Word. Again, without a correct 
 sense of its highest visible idea [note visible, Judge], 
 we can never understand the divine Principle. 
 
 I interpret this to mean that Mrs. Eddy, our 
 Leader, is the " highest visible idea " of Principle 
 and that Mrs. Stetson is appointed to voice His 
 Word. 
 
 Judge Smith: So you get not your response directly 
 from divine Mind, but through Mrs. Stetson. 
 
 Mr. Blome: I go to Principle, but Principle always 
 manifests in idea; through my Leader, Mrs. 
 Eddy, and my teacher, Mrs. Stetson, and any 
 one who manifests Principle. 
 
 Judge Smith : Do you consider Moses as God's mani- 
 festation? Do you think you are responsive to 
 Moses' touch? 
 
2i8 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 Mr. Blome: Moses is God's idea and was God's voice 
 
 to his age. 
 Judge Smith : I see there is no way of getting you into 
 
 the kingdom of heaven. 
 
 (Getting up again to leave.) 
 
 Mr. Blome: Then have I no right to ask you ques- 
 tions? 
 
 Judge Smith : If I can help you I will be glad to, but 
 you want to argue me out of it. 
 
 Mr. Blome: No, I want to learn from you. In 1902 
 Message to The Mother Church our dear Leader 
 says, "unity of God and man is not the dream 
 of a heated brain; it is the spirit of the healing 
 Christ, that dwelt forever in the bosom of the 
 Father, and should abide forever in man." 
 How shall I interpret that? 
 
 Judge Smith: It is for you to interpret. What has 
 that got to do with taking up names and treat- 
 ing people? 
 
 Mr. Blome: We have not spoken about that. We 
 were speaking about the mental touch. 
 
 Judge Smith: That is one of Mrs. Stetson's basic 
 errors. She constantly speaks of herself as 
 
 herself as an an idea of Principle, the manifestation of 
 
 Prlncfie" God, and that God can only be seen or 
 reached through her. 
 
 Mr. Blome: She never taught me that. 
 
 Judge Smith : Why can't you go to God directly? 
 
 Mr. Blome: I do, but I find my Leader, Mrs. Eddy, 
 and my teacher, Mrs. Stetson, so far in advance 
 of me in realization that it is easier for me to 
 hear and see God through them. 
 
Admonitions of Sixteen Practitioners 219 
 
 Judge Smith: I say He has a manifestation, but I do 
 not say we have to follow the manifestation. 
 
 Mr. Blome: Mr. Fink did not say he was responsive 
 to the mental touch of a human being, 
 
 ,_,,., . TT The absolute 
 
 but to the Christ consciousness. He truth 
 
 was speaking in the absolute; so did 
 I in that letter. 
 
 Judge Smith : We are told to speak the truth. 
 
 Mr. Blome: Is not that speaking the truth when I 
 say that God and His idea are All-in-all? 
 
 Judge Smith: Now, Mr. Blome, if you have a sincere 
 desire to do what is right — a sincere desire to 
 put yourself right, why did you not do so when 
 you had a good opportunity in Boston? The 
 whole fact of the matter is, Mrs. Stetson since 
 that time has put out a promulgation here in the 
 newspapers. Mrs. Stetson has not taught Chris- 
 tian Science, but hypnotism, by addressing people 
 and treating them without their consent. You 
 deny what Mrs. Stetson herself has admitted 
 was wrong. She knows she malpractised in 
 those meetings. 
 
 Mr. Blome: Judge, I deny that. Mrs. Denies that 
 Stetson merely defended herself ^^^- ^^*^^j!^°° 
 against evil working through individual 
 humans. 
 
 Judge Smith: Ask Mr. Davis and find out that 
 Mrs. Stetson admitted she was wrong in 
 this. 
 Mr. Blome: Still I would not be convinced that she 
 
 malpractised, but merely defended herself. 
 Judge Smith: Do you call that Christian Science? 
 Mr. Blome: Absolutely, because the Church Manual 
 says so in two places. 
 
220 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 Judge Smith: The Church Manual says to be a law 
 unto yourself and not unto others. 
 
 Mr. Blome: Am I not a law unto myself when I 
 defend myself? Statements which Mr. McLel- 
 lan made through the Sentinel, was it not an 
 attack upon us individually? 
 
 Judge Smith: That did not call for mental attack. 
 
 Mr. Blome: I did not attack him mentally and Mrs. 
 Stetson did not. We simply took up the error. 
 
 Judge Smith : She took him up by name. 
 
 Mr. Blome: If I fill my thought with Truth and Love 
 and see the individual as God's idea, can I hurt 
 the individual human that makes itself a channel 
 for evil? Is that not my duty to do, to clear 
 my own thought of the suggestion that the 
 individual is not God's idea? 
 
 Judge Smith: Not by a long shot. You are going 
 on here arguing. 
 
 Mr. Blome: You came to admonish me 
 
 "I must stand ^nd I must stand for what I know 
 
 for what I 
 
 know of of Truth. 
 
 ^'"*'*" Judge Smith: You are trying to admonish 
 me. 
 
 Mr. Blome: I am not trying to admonish you, but to 
 learn from you. I have no other desire in my 
 heart but to learn where I am wrong. You have 
 to think of me when you write and address me. 
 
 Judge Smith : That is a different thing. I have never 
 said, "Go six feet under the ground." 
 
 Mr. Blome: Mrs. Stetson never said that to an in- 
 dividual. She has said, " Adam goes there. " 
 
 Judge Smith: The Directors of The Mother Church 
 and Mrs. Eddy have warned you against this 
 false teaching. Mrs. Eddy has squarely said to 
 
Admonitions of Sixteen Practitioners 221 
 
 you, Arnold Blome, to come out from the mes- 
 merism and personal domination. 
 
 Mr. Blome: When did Mrs. Eddy say that? 
 
 Judge Smith: When she asked you to support the 
 Directors of The Mother Church. 
 
 Mr. Blome: I do not understand it that way. 
 
 "Admonition" of Mrs. Letitia H. Greene 
 
 On March 8, 1910, at her residence in New York City, 
 Judge Smith met by previous engagement Mrs. Letitia 
 H. Greene for "admonition;" Mrs. Greene relates in 
 substance as follows: 
 
 Judge Smith spoke about the practitioners' meetings 
 and what went on there as not being scientific ; that she 
 thereupon denied promptly the truth of that ^^^ Greene 
 statement ; that Judge Smith spoke about her denies false 
 working against the Cause of Christian * ^gaions 
 Science, and that she straightway denied that she had 
 been so doing. Judge Smith then asked her whether she 
 wanted him to go on, thus manifesting an unwillingness 
 to give any one "admonished" the right to protest 
 against the falsity of what amounted to a charge and 
 a reflection on her Christian character. She replied: 
 " Yes, but I want my position understood as well as 
 yours, and I want to hear the truth. " 
 
 In this particular "admonition" of Mrs. , ^ , 
 
 ■■^ Interference 
 
 Greene, the following colloquy occurred with locai 
 between her and the First Reader of The 
 Mother Church: 
 
 He asked me if I had changed my mind in regard to the 
 way I had voted at the last church meeting (our Annual 
 Meeting). I said I had not, and that as I was here on the 
 
222 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 spot, I was a much better judge of the situation than he 
 was. 
 
 This quotation shows very clearly how the First 
 Reader of The Mother Church had come to interfere 
 with local church affairs. Because Mrs. Greene had 
 voted as she thought she should have voted at a meet- 
 ing of a branch church, therefore she was called into 
 judgment by the First Reader of The Mother Church. 
 Mrs. Greene further stated that Judge Smith expressed 
 regret at her not having changed her views, 
 
 Misrepresen- . , , , 
 
 tation caused saymg that he knew she wanted to do right, 
 SinTinr' ^^^ ^^^^ ^^^ replied that she knew he did too, 
 but that things had been misrepresented to 
 him and had caused misunderstanding. Mrs. Greene 
 concluded: 
 
 As he left, I said I wanted him to thoroughly understand 
 that I had denied all these charges. He said he did. 
 
 His second admonition occurred on March 1 1 , three days 
 later; then he came, accompanied by Mr. Jackson. . . . 
 Neither sat down. In all it took about three minutes. 
 
 "Admonition" of Miss Mary R. Pinney 
 
 Miss Mary R. Pinney was one of those whose two 
 " admonitions " were crowded into the short space 
 of ten minutes. Miss Pinney relates that when Judge 
 Smith called on Friday, March ii, he was accompanied 
 by a Mr. Jackson, and that Judge Smith first said in 
 part that "I am instructed by the Christian Science 
 Board of Directors to admonish you in compliance 
 with the Manual, Article XII., Section 2, and Matthew 
 xviii., 15-17." Miss Pinney says that Judge Smith 
 said the Directors had found the practices in the prac- 
 titioners' meetings in First Church, New York City, 
 not in accord with Christian Science. 
 
Admonitions of Sixteen Practitioners 223 
 
 She also says, "After my denial of the charges, Judge 
 Smith said: 'I will now give you a second admonition 
 in the presence of a witness.' Mr. Jackson 
 was then presented to me, after which Judge "admon- 
 Smith said: ' I have admonished Miss Pinney, . 'shed" twice 
 
 ^ "^ la ten minutes 
 
 and she has denied the charges. I admonish 
 her again in your presence.' " These two "admoni- 
 tions" were administered within ten minutes' time, 
 and Judge Smith was frank enough to say that they 
 were a "formal observance" of Matthew xviii., 15-17; 
 but, as Miss Pinney observes, "It could not be re- 
 garded as a Christianly scientific admonition." 
 
 The interview was further marked by Miss Pinney's 
 insisting upon her individual right of interpreting Mrs. 
 Eddy's words and teachings according to the dictates 
 of her own conscience and to think and act accordingly. 
 On that ground she disputed the right of „, ^ . 
 
 ^ . ^ ° Right to inter- 
 
 The Mother Church Directors, through the pret Leader-g 
 First Reader, to impose upon her an inter- writings 
 pretation of their own. When the authority of the 
 Board of Directors was thus challenged. Miss Pinney 
 says, "Judge Smith made a statement to the effect 
 that Mrs. Eddy had never expressed so much active 
 interest in any issue since the Woodbury trial. I quoted 
 the Manual, Article XXIL, Section 7, that Mrs. Eddy 
 is not to be consulted in cases of discipline. Judge 
 Smith replied, 'Mrs. Eddy has made an exception in 
 this case.' " Miss Pinney cites the Leader's state- 
 ment in the Sentinel of October 16, 1909, four months 
 prior to the date of this "admonition," in which Mrs. 
 Eddy declared over her own name : 
 
 ... I hereby publicly declare that I am not personally in- 
 volved in the affairs of the church in any other way than 
 
224 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 through my written and published rules, all of which can 
 be read by the individual who desires to inform himself 
 of the facts. 
 
 "Admonition" of Mrs. M. Augusta Airman 
 
 Eight minutes on two different days (March 7, and 
 Mrs.Aikman's ii)» Were all the time given to Mrs. Aikman's 
 two " admoni- ^wo " admonitions." Her statement of the 
 
 tions" In eight 
 
 minutes occurrence nins as follows: 
 
 Monday, March 7, 1910, Judge Smith came to admonish 
 me "according to Matthew" as he said, and was sent by 
 the Directors. The interview lasted just five minutes, he 
 himself stating that "It was a mere matter of form;" the 
 Directors having found me unfit to bear the name of a 
 Christian Scientist; and that if I did not change my views 
 I could not remain a member of The Mother Church. 
 
 The second admonition took place the following Friday, 
 in the presence of Mr. Jackson, and lasted three minutes. 
 Dared to differ ^ ^as simply askcd if I had changed my mind in 
 with ecciesias- any particular, and regret was expressed that I 
 aut onty ^^^^^^ ^q differ with the ecclesiastical authority 
 of The Mother Church. 
 
 "Admonition" of Miss Sibyl M. Huse 
 
 On March 11, 1 910, according to previous arrange- 
 ment, as advised by Judge Smith, Miss Huse states that 
 Miss Huse ^^ Called to " admonish " her, alleging her 
 explains her refusal to answer questions in the September 
 position hearings at Boston as the cause. Miss Huse 
 explained her position in this matter as that "It was 
 neither from impulse nor premeditation, but rather of 
 a conviction that under the circumstances it was ut- 
 terly useless for me to try to reply to the questions put 
 
Admonitions of Sixteen Practitioners 225 
 
 to me." As the interview proceeded Miss Huse 
 records the following conversation: 
 
 Miss Huse: Judge Smith, before we proceed any further, 
 I should like to call your attention to letters that 
 I have received from you and Mr. Dittomere. This 
 first letter is your recent letter to me of March 4, 
 in which you say: "I am instructed by the Christian 
 Science Board of Directors to comply with Article 
 XII., Section 2, of The Church Manual, by admonish- 
 ing you as therein provided." In referring to the 
 Article you quote, which occurs on page 55 of the 
 Manual, I find this, under the heading of "Teachers." 
 Do I understand. Judge Smith, that you are ad- 
 monishing me as a teacher? 
 
 Judge Smith: No, Miss Huse, this admonition refers 
 only to practising and not to teaching. 
 
 Miss Huse: (Quoting from Manual) "If a member of 
 this Church is found trying to practise or to teach 
 Christian Science contrary to the state- 
 ment thereof in its textbook, Science and tisfng'conl 
 Health with Key to the Scriptures traryto 
 . . . ." I wish to make this statement, ^'"^h^oi 
 Judge Smith, that I am not either 
 teaching or practising contrary to the statement 
 of Christian Science in Science and Health with 
 Key to the Scriptures. I make this statement 
 simply in order to make the statement. Not 
 that I think it will influence you in your present 
 action, but I wish simply to make the statement that 
 I am not practising contrary to Christian Science as 
 laid down in Science and Health. 
 
 From the next letter that I have in hand here I 
 quote: "The textbook of the religion you profess 
 declares the rule that ' It is Christian Science to do 
 right, and nothing short of right-doing has any claim 
 to the name. To talk the right and live the wrong 
 15 
 
226 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 is foolish deceit, doing one's self the most harm' 
 
 {Science and Health, p. 448). Your conduct before 
 
 the Directors did not conform to the standard in 
 
 Christian Science, and they have admonished you 
 
 not to be found again having the name without the 
 
 Hfe of a Christian Scientist (Church Manual, Article 
 
 XI., Section i)." 
 
 Judge Smith: That is Mr. Dittemore's letter. Miss 
 
 Judge Smith Huse, I am not responsible for Mr. Ditte- 
 
 shifts respon- morc's letter, he is responsible for his own 
 
 "'""^ letter. 
 
 Miss Huse: The Church Manual, Article XI., Section 
 I, I find to be this, — it is entitled "Departure 
 Has not de- f^om Tenets:" "If a member of this Church 
 parted from shall depart from the Tenets. ..." I wish to 
 say. Judge Smith, that when I signed my appli- 
 cation to join The Mother Church, I endorsed the 
 Tenets of The Mother Church. If I were making 
 my application to-day, I should sign those same 
 Tenets in all sincerity as I did then. I therefore 
 deny the charge that I have departed from the Tenets 
 of the Church. 
 
 In the next letter, also from Mr. Dittemore, 
 there is a reference made to Article XXVI., Section 
 Is not a law 3, of The Mother Church Manual. I find that 
 unto others ^q ^g entitled: "Defense against Malpractice." 
 I quote in part — "never to return evil for evil, but 
 to know the truth that makes free, and thus to be a 
 law, not unto others, but to themselves." I wish 
 to state here that I understand that in the practice of 
 Christian Science it is impossible to destroy evil with 
 evil, and that the only possible way of destroying 
 evil for one's self is to do it with good, and that I 
 cannot be in any sense a law to another, and that 
 all I can do is to be a law unto myself, therefore I 
 deny that Article XXVI., Section 3, can refer in any 
 way to me. 
 
Admonitions of Sixteen Practitioners 227 
 
 Judge Smith: Miss Huse, that gives me an opportunity 
 to speak of that Article from which you quote, 
 "mental malpractice." Do I understand that you 
 follow the teachings of Mrs. Stetson and handle 
 names for the purpose of treating people without 
 their knowledge or consent? 
 
 Miss Huse : Judge Smith, I wish to say that I am following 
 as understandingly as I may be able, the teachings 
 of Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson, and I wish you to 
 distinctly understand that I separate the last part 
 of your question which refers to treatment and 
 handling of names. It is useless for us to discuss 
 that question, for you and I understand this subject 
 very differently. My afhrmative answer then ap- 
 plies only to the first part of your question, in 
 which you ask me if I am following the teachings of 
 Mrs. Stetson. 
 
 Judge Smith: But, Miss Huse, as to the handling of 
 names? 
 
 Miss Huse : Judge Smith, you have come for the purpose 
 of admonishing me. 
 
 Judge Smith: Yes, Miss Huse, and I do so now. I am 
 commissioned by the Board of Directors to admonish 
 you according to Matthew xviii., which I now do. 
 May I now call in Mr. Jackson? 
 
 Miss Huse: Certainly, Judge Smith. Do I understand 
 that the first admonition is closed, and Two"admo- 
 that the second admonition is to ensue? nitions " in 
 
 _ -. ^7- the same visit 
 
 Judge Smith: Yes. 
 
 (Judge Smith then summoned Mr. Jackson.) 
 
 Judge Smith: Miss Huse, this is Mr. Jackson. Mr. 
 Jackson is to witness that I admonish you the second 
 time according to Matthew xviii. I admonish you 
 in accordance with Article XH., Section 2; and also 
 Article XI., Section 12. 
 
228 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 Miss Huse: Judge Smith, I feel that these Articles should 
 be read in Mr. Jackson's presence, and that Mr. 
 Jackson should witness their having been read to 
 me. Have you a Manual? 
 
 Judge Smith : No. 
 
 Miss Huse: Here is a Manual. 
 
 (Judge Smith then read the Articles from the 
 Manual. I listened quietly, then turning and look- 
 ing at Mr. Jackson, I said to him:) 
 
 Miss Huse: Mr. Jackson, you are a witness that Judge 
 Smith has read to me these Articles from The 
 delves all* Mother Church Manual. You are also a wit- 
 charges in ness that I deny individually and collectively 
 wUnesr ° ^^^ charges as contained in those Articles, sin- 
 cerely, emphatically, and finally. Good after- 
 noon, gentlemen. 
 
 Still another aspect of the attitude of the First 
 Reader of The Mother Church toward the New York 
 Mr, Rowboth- practitioners is revealed in the "admonition " 
 am's account ^f y^^^ Steuart C. Rowbotham at New York 
 City. Mr. Rowbotham is a gentleman of liberal edu- 
 cation, and had then been a practitioner of some eleven 
 or more years' highest standing in Christian Science. 
 He could, therefore, be expected to have a reasonable 
 grasp of the subject of which he had long been recognized 
 as a representative exponent. 
 
 Mr. Rowbotham says: 
 
 In further explanation of my understanding of Mrs. 
 Eddy's writings as a "revelation," and my spiritual con- 
 Examiner's ception of God, Mr. Smith interrupted me with 
 disrespectful the Sneering remark, "That is your Pickwickian 
 sense." I protested that I was endeavoring 
 to give him a logical, practical statement. Such lack on 
 
Admonitions of Sixteen Practitioners 229 
 
 his part of spiritual dignity and courtesy to a fellow member 
 of The Mother Church, whom he was supposed to assist, 
 was deplorable, and was an attempt to confuse and belittle 
 my evidence. 
 
 The merely formal character of these "admonitions" 
 is at times self-evident. With the apparent purpose 
 of disposing of the matter quickly, Judge Smith called 
 on each practitioner separately, announcing his pur- 
 pose and the authority under which he acted in giving 
 the first ' ' admonition. ' ' Then, in a number of instances, 
 having disposed of the first "admonition" in a few 
 sentences, he called in a witness whom he had brought 
 for that purpose and repeated the "admonition." 
 
 The two "admonitions" in some cases occupied so 
 short a space of time as necessarily to preclude any 
 opportunity for reflection which might lead 
 to a change of view on the part of the one spirit of the 
 "admonished." In this proceeding, we be- oYs^tl^^? 
 lieve the First Reader disregarded the spirit 
 of Matthew xviii., 15-17, in which he professed to come 
 on his "admonitory" mission. 
 
CHAPTER XX 
 
 ADMONITIONS BY FIRST READER OF NEW YORK 
 CHURCH 
 
 Of the three personal "admonitions" given to the 
 group of practitioners who refused to repudiate the 
 metaphysical instruction received from Mrs. 
 of'New^York Stctson, two of the "admonitions" were ad- 
 church "ad- ministered by the First Reader of The 
 
 nionishcs" 
 
 practiuoners Mothcr Church, and one by the First Reader 
 of the New York church. The first of these 
 occurred on the 8th and nth of March, 1910. Of the 
 " admonitions " which the First Reader of the New York 
 church gave, the one given Miss Mary E. Pearson at 
 Atlantic City, New Jersey, March 25, 1910, as related 
 below, by her, will suffice to show their character: 
 
 Mr. Virgil 0. Strickler called at 11: 30 a.m. and remained 
 about forty minutes. After asking if I had moved here, 
 I replied, "No; I am visiting here." 
 
 Then he began: "Tell me what do you think of this 
 whole situation? You know it is a great problem. Here 
 Miss Pear- ^^ ^^® Board of Directors of The Mother Church, 
 
 son's " admo the highest ecclesiastical body in the organi- 
 
 *"''°° zation, responsible for the organization, and 
 
 they have examined the teachings of Mrs. Stetson and 
 judged them to be all wrong. Outside of twelve or 
 thirteen and possibly a handful, the whole Field of Christian 
 Scientists all over the world consider her teachings and 
 
 230 
 
Admonitions by First Reader 231 
 
 practices to be false. I want to find out just what you 
 feel about it, and where you stand." 
 
 I said: "Mr. Strickler, there is nothing for me to say. 
 We have been over this whole ground together many times, 
 and you know my views. It is useless to enter into any 
 discussion on the matter." 
 
 He replied: "That is so; but the Board of Trustees of 
 First Church in New York feel that, as some seven months 
 have elapsed since the Findings of the Board ^^ ., . ,, 
 
 ^ , , , . Should loyalty 
 
 of Directors of The Mother Church, and it is to the organi- 
 a serious question they have to confront, as to ^^**°° ^® 
 whether they should allow any one to remain a 
 member of the church who is not loyal to the Board of 
 Directors and the organization, it is their duty to find out 
 how the members stand, and they have commissioned me, 
 as First Reader, to see you and admonish you." 
 
 Then he produced a paper, said to be Mrs. Remer's 
 testimony, and said he had Miss Ensworth's with him, 
 and would have brought others but did not 
 think it necessary. He said, "I want to know Practitioners' 
 if you consider these statements, made at the ..gro^Iy ^s- 
 practitioners' meetings and testified to by most represented" 
 of the practitioners, are Christian Science?" 
 
 I do not recall word for word the statements as quoted, 
 so will not quote them. I said, "Mr. Strickler, you know 
 as well as I do, that two persons can hear the same state- 
 ment and put an entirely different meaning upon it. All 
 that I ever heard said, when rightly understood, could 
 never be construed as the Board of Directors and you have 
 construed them. I consider that what has been reported 
 as said in those meetings has been grossly misrepresented and 
 misconstrued.'' 
 
 He then said, "I see your attitude. I am mighty sorry 
 for you ! Do you realize what this means to you, claims of 
 to stand out against the whole organization? ecclesiastical 
 There is no appeal beyond the Board of Direc- ^" °" ^ 
 tors. They correspond to the Court of Appeals, and are you 
 
232 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 going to pit your opinion against theirs? Mrs. Eddy has 
 authorized them as a body, and they must act in accord- 
 ance with their judgment, and we must accept their judg- 
 ment in order to be Christian Scientists." 
 
 I said, "Mr. Strickler, if I had not worked this all out 
 alone with God I would not be ready to meet or to talk with 
 you to-day. I am ready, if needs be, to stand 
 to^G^ "^*' for my convictions absolutely alone with God. 
 I am loyal to God, to Mrs. Eddy, to my under- 
 standing of the teaching I have received through Mrs. Stet- 
 son, and I have my Bible and Science and Health, with the 
 Manual and all Mrs. Eddy's writings, and neither you, 
 the Board of Directors, nor any one, has any right to 
 attempt to coerce me into changing my convictions of 
 Truth into their way of believing. 
 
 Then he said, "No! You have a right to your convic- 
 tions, as we all have; and no one wants to coerce you into 
 any other way of thinking; but listen to this." Then, 
 reading another statement from Mrs. Remer's testimony, 
 "Did you hear Mrs. Stetson say that when Mrs. Eddy 
 made her demonstration she would have some one to talk 
 through, and Mrs. S. was that one?" 
 
 I said, "I never heard that statement and do not believe 
 Mrs. Stetson ever said it." Mr. Strickler said, 
 thlse*stat*e-* " ^^^ ^^^' ^^^ incidentally I tell you it is spiri- 
 ments to do tualism." He then wanted to read more state- 
 mo^Z.*?**" inents, but I said, "Mr. Strickler, what have 
 these statements to do with my admonition? I 
 am responsible only for what I say and do." 
 
 He replied: "That is so. I only want to hear what you 
 think of these statements." I said, "Mr. Strickler, to 
 pass just judgment on what another has said or done, I 
 would have to be present when the statement was made, 
 and know what led up to the statement, and the person's 
 motive for making it." Then he put the papers back in 
 his pocket and left them there. 
 
 Mr. Strickler then remarked: "What do you think of 
 
Admonitions by First Reader 233 
 
 the telegram Mrs. Eddy sent in reply to one from us 
 and which referred to the conditions, 'I rejoice with 
 you in the victory of right over wrong, of Truth over 
 error'?" 
 
 I replied, "Mr. Strickler, I can truthfully and honestly 
 say to you or any one, ' I rejoice with you in the victory of 
 right over wrong, of Truth over error' [Mary 
 Baker Eddy, Christian Science Sentinel, January "Mrs. Eddy 
 
 I1&.S never 
 
 29, 1910]. Mrs. Eddy has never said that Mrs. said that 
 Stetson's teaching is wrong. On the contrary, Mrs. stetson's 
 
 . , teaching is 
 
 she has called this controversy a personal wrong" 
 
 conflict' [Christian Science Sentinel, December 
 18, 1909], and said she has written all she has to say in 
 her writings, or something to that effect, and that each in- 
 dividual must interpret these writings for himself. Ami 
 to disobey Mrs. Eddy, and take the Board of Directors* 
 interpretation? " 
 
 He said: "But they are the highest authority, ^ gg^ous 
 and their judgment is final. It is a serious matter if the 
 
 ,, Directors are 
 
 matter. mistaken 
 
 I replied, " It is a very serious matter. If the 
 Board of Directors find they have been mistaken in their 
 judgment, what will become of the organization?" 
 
 He said: "They cannot revoke what they have done 
 now, under the Manual; it would be years before they 
 could reinstate Mrs. Stetson." Then he said, 
 "If you had more time, would you reconsider are mistake" 
 it, and change your attitude?" I said, " Never, what will be- 
 Mr. Strickler, never! I am working out my Jga'^^jJi*^? 
 problem according to my understanding of 
 Principle, and cannot do otherwise." Then he said, "What 
 do you intend to do? Do you think with these views you 
 ought to remain a member of the organization? You 
 cannot ride two horses." 
 
 I said, " Mr. Strickler, I am not riding two horses. Mrs. 
 Eddy says : ' Follow your Leader, only so far as she follows 
 Christ' [Message for 1902, p. 78], and I am willing 
 
234 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 to follow the Board of Directors in so far as they 
 follow Christ. As to the organization, that is a question 
 
 for the Board of Trustees to decide. The 
 foiiow^the organization can get along without me. Jesus 
 Directors as and his followcrs needed no organization, and 
 follow Chrkt ^ must stand by what I understand to be 
 
 the spiritual interpretation of the Bible and 
 Science and Healthy 
 
 To sum up the facts as to these "admonitions:" 
 
 Conclusions . ^- "^^^^ ^^^^ ^°> ^^ ^^ judgment, de- 
 as to these Hvcred in the spirit of the Scripture, as 
 tions"''""' specifically provided in the Manual of The 
 Mother Church. 
 
 2. They were coercive in their method, because 
 they were administered with appeals to fear of authority 
 rather than to loyalty to Truth as the standard of 
 conviction. 
 
 3. They, in our judgment, either expressly or im- 
 pliedly involved unwarranted charges without speci- 
 fication, against which the ones "admonished" had no 
 adequate opportunity of denial or defense, and to that 
 extent they were unjust to the practitioners. 
 
CHAPTER XXI 
 
 PRACTITIONERS BEFORE THE NEW TRUSTEES 
 
 Only fifteen of the sixteen practitioners of the New 
 York church appeared before the newly elected Board 
 of Trustees of First Church of Christ, Scien- „ ,.,. 
 
 ' Practitioners 
 
 tist, New York City, in response to their caiied for 
 call late in March or early in April, 1910. iscipme 
 Mr. Hatfield declined to respond to their call, and 
 resigned from the New York church for reasons which 
 are given in the following letter which was published 
 in part in the New York Herald of April 4, 19 10: 
 
 New York City, 
 
 April 3, 1910. 
 To the Editor of the New York Herald: — 
 
 In this morning's papers in the articles regarding First 
 Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, allusion is 
 made to the fact of my being asked to come before the 
 Trustees of that church in answer to their summons, and 
 that, instead of doing so, I sent to them a letter of resigna- 
 tion from the church. 
 
 Allow me to explain the reason for my resignation. I 
 had been for about five years Second Reader of First 
 Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, -^^^ -^^^ ^^t. 
 and subsequently for three years its First Reader, field declined 
 I had been an active worker in the church for ° respon 
 twenty- two years and Chairman of the Board of Trustees 
 for almost nineteen years. I therefore stood in a measure 
 
 235 
 
236 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 as the representative of these important oflfices and it 
 seemed to me proper to protect them from any record of 
 injustice and indignity in view of my high appreciation 
 of their sacred character. 
 
 I took this action the more readily because of my appre- 
 hension of the utter incompetency of those who called me 
 before them to intelligently, justly, and in a Christly manner 
 pass upon the questions involved, because of their lack of 
 understanding of divine metaphysics, which is true Christian 
 Science. 
 
 As an individual, I was perfectly willing to appear before 
 the Trustees and defend my own position, and did not 
 Is loyal to shirk my duty in any respect. It cannot be 
 Leader and charged that I had not the courage of my convic- 
 tions, for my position of loyalty to my beloved 
 Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, and to my teaclier, Mrs. 
 Augusta E. Stetson, has been so constantly and publicly 
 declared as to be beyond question. 
 Yours truly, 
 
 (Signed) E. F. Hatfield. 
 
 What was publicly characterized in the press of that 
 date as "The inquisition of the fifteen practitioners," 
 was among the earliest acts of the newly elected Board 
 of Trustees. These practitioners were called individu- 
 ally into the Board Room of the New York church 
 in the presence of the Trustees, where Charles A. Dean, 
 the Chairman, read to them the following statement : 
 
 You have heretofore been admonished by the First 
 Reader of this church, and because of your attitude respect- 
 ing that admonition, you have been requested to meet the 
 Trustees at this time. 
 
 The First Reader has reported to the Board that you 
 stated to him in response to his questions, that you fully 
 approved and endorsed the teachings and practice of 
 
Practitioners before New Trustees 237 
 
 Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson as being correct Christian 
 Science, and especially that you approved her teaching 
 and practice in the twelve o'clock practitioners' 
 meetings held in this room on and prior to Adherence to 
 
 INTrs Stetson's 
 
 July 31, 1909, and that you declared that teaching a 
 your views with respect to such teaching and disquaiifica- 
 
 . . . , ^ , , . tion to mem- 
 
 practice were m no wise altered by the fact bership 
 
 that the Christian Science Board of Directors, 
 of Boston, had revoked the license of Mrs. Stetson as a 
 teacher because she was teaching and practising "pretended 
 Christian Science." Also that you stated that you, your- 
 self are practising in the manner taught and practised 
 by Mrs. Stetson, and that it is your intention to continue 
 to do so, notwithstanding that such teaching and practice 
 have been adjudged by such Directors as being contrary 
 to Christian Science. 
 
 The nature of the interviews with the New York 
 Trustees is distinctly shown in detail in Miss Duncan's 
 account as given below: 
 
 Miss Duncan's Interview 
 
 As I went into the Board Room the Trustees bowed, and 
 Mr. Strickler motioned me to a seat at the head of the 
 table. Then Mr. Dean said that he would read 
 the by-law of First Church in regard to the ^^^''L^"": 
 
 J o can s answers 
 
 situation. The by-law was to the effect that a per- 
 son brought up for an offense should be admonished by the 
 First Reader, then if that admonition were not heeded, he 
 should come before the Board of Trustees. Mr. Dean 
 said that as I had not heeded Mr. Strickler's admonition, 
 it was necessary to call me before the Board. He then 
 asked the following questions : 
 
 I. "Were you one of the students of Mrs. Augusta E. 
 Stetson who met in the daily twelve o'clock practitioners* 
 meetings, held in this room on and prior to July 31, 1909?" 
 
238 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 I answered, "I was." 
 
 2. " Do you still believe and maintain that the teachings 
 and practice of Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson were correct and 
 in accord with the textbook, Science and Health with Key 
 to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy?" 
 
 I answered, "I do." 
 
 3. "Do you approve as being in accord with true 
 Christian Science the teachings and practice of Mrs. Stet- 
 son in the twelve o'clock practitioners' meetings?" 
 
 I answered, "Absolutely." 
 
 4. "Do you beHeve that the findings and judgment of 
 the Christian Science Board of Directors, 'That Mrs. 
 Stetson practises and teaches pretended Christian Science 
 contrary to the statement thereof in Science and Health 
 with Key to the Scriptures,' and 'revoking her license as a 
 teacher of Christian Science,' were necessary, just, and 
 right?" 
 
 That question I refused to answer directly. I said, "I 
 think the answers to the previous questions covered the 
 ground." 
 
 Mr. Dean said: "Will you answer the question?" I 
 repeated, "I feel that the question has been answered." 
 Then Mr. Dean went on to ask the next question. 
 
 5. " Do you practise Christian Science according to the 
 way Mrs. Stetson has taught in the twelve o'clock practi- 
 tioners' meetings?" 
 
 1 said, "I do not consider that Mrs. Stetson taught in 
 those meetings, — they were talks." Mr. Dean said, " Well, 
 according to the way she talked?" I said, "I do." 
 
 6. " Is it your intention to continue to practise accord- 
 ing to the way she taught?" 
 
 I replied, "It is." 
 
 Mr. Strickler said: "Now, Miss Duncan, is there any 
 possibility of your changing your mind, or of thinking any 
 differently from what you have?" 
 
 I said, "I don't see how it is possible, Mr. Strickler, 
 because I have been taking the stand I have for my con- 
 
Practitioners before New Trustees 239 
 
 victions, and that is the reason I am standing where I am 
 to-day — because of my convictions." 
 
 Mr. Blome's Interview 
 
 In appearing before the new Board of Trustees, Mr. 
 Blome took the precaution to prepare himself with a 
 written statement, so that there might be 
 
 Mr. Blome 
 
 no doubt as to what his words actually were, protects him- 
 He did this in self-protection (i) because seifbywru- 
 
 ^ ^ '' ten statement 
 
 The Mother Church Directors had refused 
 to allow him to see a copy of his testimony given in 
 Boston, and (2) because it had been reported that in his 
 Boston testimony he had been disrespectful to the 
 Directors — an allegation which he promptly denied. 
 For these reasons Mr. Blome was reluctant to answer 
 questions, but finally consented, after which he relates 
 that the following interview ensued: 
 
 The first question was repeated — whether or not I was a 
 student in those meetings. I said, "Yes." Then they asked, 
 Would I continue to practice that teaching? I said, "I 
 most certainly shall." "And disregard the Findings of 
 the Directors?" I said, "I will have to." Then they 
 asked me whether I thought that the Directors' judg- 
 ment was not right. I told them that I most certainly 
 thought it was not right — that it was unjust and unfair. 
 Then Mr. Dean asked me to read my statement. It is as 
 follows : 
 
 '' Ladies and Gentlemen, Brethren: — 
 
 "In answer to your call for further admonition, I have 
 prepared a statement, after careful consideration and study 
 of our dear Leader's, Mrs. Eddy's, writings, which I will 
 ask you to kindly accept. I find my teaching, as I have 
 received it from Mrs. Stetson, the correct interpretation 
 of Science and Health, our textbook. I find nothing in 
 
240 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 our Church Manual which has been disobeyed as the result 
 of Mrs. Stetson's teaching. I am striving to live the truth 
 which she has taught me as far as I can, and demonstrate 
 it in putting off ' the old man with his deeds' and putting 
 on the 'new man.' I hope always to demonstrate this 
 teaching and follow the example of Mrs. Stetson, 
 teaching de^ ^ Her teaching demonstrated has proved itself 
 monstrated by ^y j^^g fruits, and Jcsus Said, 'By their fruits ye 
 '^ "" ^ shall know them. ' I beHeve in so doing I follow 
 my beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy, as she follows Christ. I 
 do not follow finite personality, nor am I under any 'per- 
 sonal domination,' but stand by my Principle, because 
 Principle has a firm grip on me, and 'I can do no 
 otherwise. ' 
 
 " I have for fourteen years stood in my place as a member 
 of the organization of First Church of Christ, Scientist, 
 New York City ; have tried to do all I could in healing the 
 sick and reforming the sinner through Christ, Truth, and 
 although it has been but a humble benefit to mankind, it 
 has blessed me and mine in unselfish deeds and loyalty to 
 our Cause and its beloved Leader. 
 
 "I have no resentment, and shall be of more usefulness 
 to the Cause of Christian Science as I study Science and 
 Health and the Bible more, and love my neighbor better. 
 In this way I will get a better reaHzation of the Church of 
 Christ as a 'structure of Truth and Love' {Science and 
 Health, p. 583), and obey my revered Leader, Mrs. Eddy, 
 to build 'wholly spiritual' {Christian Science Sentinel, 
 January 16, 1909). I shall always love First Church of 
 Christ, Scientist, New York City, as I have lived for it, 
 and this church will always stand as a milestone 'from 
 sense to Soul' {Science and Health, p. 266) of self-sacrifice 
 and unselfish love of Mrs. Stetson and her loyal students 
 in obedience to our Leader. 
 
 "I know of no better way to express my gratitude to 
 Mrs. Stetson for her untiring labors for me and humanity 
 than to be loyal to Principle and our dear Leader, Mrs. 
 
Practitioners before New Trustees 241 
 
 Eddy, and to rise to see the spiritual import of this momen- 
 tous hour. 
 
 "With my heart full of love and gratitude, I trust God, 
 'the strong deHverer' {Science and Health, p. 226), to guide 
 us all in His own way and in His own time." 
 
 (Signed) Arnold Blome. 
 
 Following the reading of this statement, Mr. Strickler 
 said, "Under those conditions you defy constituted author- 
 ity and disobey the By-Laws of the Church 
 Manual and of our branch church." To this I "^^^e'cou"! 
 replied, "I would like to read these few words and that is 
 in which I have lived the last few days: 'There * ^Heaven" 
 is but one Law and that is the Law of God, 
 There is but one Court and that is the Court of Heaven. 
 It is a court of Absolute Justice, whose decision is final. 
 Human concepts and opinions have been formulated into 
 laws, and human courts administer these laws; but God is 
 the final arbiter, the Supreme Judge' " {Christian Science 
 Sentinel, vol. II., p. 87). 
 
 Mr. Dean, Chairman of the new Board of Trustees, at 
 the meeting said, "Well, Mr. Blome, as long as you say 
 that the Directors' decision is not just, you are judging the 
 Directors." I said, " I believe the Directors' decision un- 
 fair and unjust." Then he said, "You cannot be a 
 Christian Scientist, you cannot be a Christian Science 
 practitioner." I did not answer that. They said, " That 
 is all." I said, " Good-night." 
 
 Mr. Dean presumed to tell these practitioners that 
 they could no longer be Christian Science practitioners, 
 and because they were found to be "judging the Direc- 
 tors" by questioning their decision as to Mrs. Stetson 
 and themselves, therefore they could not be Christian 
 Scientists. But the practitioners knew nothing of 
 this new teaching, — that the decisions of the Directors 
 16 
 
242 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 of The Mother Church had taken the place of the 
 Tenets and By-Laws of the denomination. These 
 practitioners were taught, and rightly taught, 
 decisions that a Christian Scientist is one who follows 
 supersede ^j^g tcachings of the Holy Bible and of 
 
 Tenets and . . 
 
 By-Laws? Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, 
 by Mary Baker Eddy, and who lives in 
 obedience to the Tenets and By-Laws as set forth in 
 the Manual of The Mother Church. 
 
 Miss Pearson's Interview 
 
 The same standard of judgment was reasserted 
 when Miss Mary E. Pearson appeared before the new 
 Board of New York Trustees. Miss Pearson states 
 that the following occurred: 
 
 Mr. Dean : Then you mean to set yourself up as a judge 
 
 over the Board of Directors? 
 Miss Pearson: No, only I am judging from what I have 
 
 seen and heard myself. They are responsible to 
 
 God for their judgment, and I for mine. 
 Mr. Franciscus: But you have not seen all the evidence 
 
 they have. 
 Mrs. Bain : And Mrs. Stetson herself was before the Board 
 
 of Directors. 
 
 (Another one, I think it was Mr. Dean, said: "Do you 
 think the Board of Directors' judgment right or wrong?") 
 
 Miss Pearson: That is not for me to say; that rests 
 between them and their God, I can only judge for 
 myself what I think and say and do. 
 
 Miss Pearson continues: "Then Mr. Dean read an- 
 other form of 'admonition,' stating they could not 
 allow any one to be a member of the church who was 
 
Practitioners before New Trustees 243 
 
 disloyal or divided in his allegiance, and I could not be 
 allowed to practise Christian Science any longer. If 
 after sufficient time had elapsed I proved worthy to be 
 again admitted into the church the Board would do so." 
 
 Miss Pearson: I protest, I am loyal to Mrs. Eddy and 
 The Mother Church and am not divided in my 
 allegiance. Mrs. Eddy has said, "Follow ^isa 
 
 your Leader, only so far as she fol- Pearson 
 
 lows Christ" [Message for IQ02, p. 78], gianceto 
 and I am perfectly willing to follow the christiy 
 
 Board of Directors and this Board just so 
 far as they follow Principle, the Mind which was 
 in Christ Jesus. 
 
 Mr. Franciscus: Do you still set yourself up as a judge 
 over the Board of Directors? 
 
 Miss Pearson: God is their and our Judge, and Mrs. 
 Eddy has written " God is above your teacher, your 
 healer, or any earthly friend" [Christian Science 
 Sentinel, December i8, 1909], and that each one 
 must interpret her writings for herself. 
 
 Miss Pearson then turned to Mr. Dean and said, "I 
 want to say right here, that neither this Board nor any 
 mortal on the face of the earth has any right 
 
 .No human 
 
 or power to hinder me from obeymg God and power can 
 healing the sick according to my own under- „be°yinVGod 
 standing of Christian Science." 
 
 Mr. Franciscus: If you had more time given you would 
 you change your views? 
 
 Miss Pearson: Never! How can I change my convic- 
 tions? Science and Health says, "God has endowed 
 man with inalienable rights, among which are self- 
 government, reason, and conscience." I cannot go 
 against my conscience. 
 
244 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 In practically every interview of the practitioners 
 before the new Board of New York Trustees, the meta- 
 physical understanding of the accused practitioners of 
 Christian Science was not enquired into. The burden 
 of the questioning seemed to be as to conformity to 
 the interpretation and decisions of the Board of Direc- 
 tors. They were further told by the Chairman, Mr. 
 Dean, that they could not be permitted to practise 
 Christian Science or even be a Christian Scientist. In 
 one of the latest of these interviews Mrs. Rowbotham 
 states that when so addressed by the Chairman, she 
 replied : 
 
 Mr. Dean, I am a loyal Christian Scientist, and no one 
 has any right to say I am not. Because the Directors are 
 the Directors does not make them infallible, 
 herns^not*** ^^^ ^^^^ cannot dictate to me as to how I shall 
 the gift of interpret Mrs. Eddy's works. No one has the 
 Trustl^e" "' ^ght to say that I cannot be a Christian Scien- 
 tist and cannot practise. I have practised for 
 twelve years, and shall continue to do so. 
 
CHAPTER XXII 
 
 THE SIXTEEN PRACTITIONERS MAKE A PUBLIC 
 
 STATEMENT 
 
 On April 2, 1 9 10, the same date on which the "Three 
 Test Questions"' were applied to the last of the practi- 
 tioners, the new Board of New York Trustees 
 
 " • PfflctitioiiGrs' 
 
 sent out letters notifying these practitionerSnanies dropped 
 that their names had been dropped from the 'ro™ church 
 
 membership 
 
 roll of church membership. There were 
 
 only fifteen so dropped, Mr. Edwin F. Hatfield having 
 
 previously resigned from this branch church. 
 
 At this time it was thought best by these practitioners, 
 acting as a unit, to publish a statement setting forth 
 their position. This was made all the more necessary 
 because there had been such misrepresentation extant 
 in the public press. In some of the public prints it was 
 wrongly stated that, once dropped from the roll of 
 membership, practitioners could no longer practise 
 Christian Science. In others it was reported that these 
 sixteen practitioners had been found to entertain 
 mistaken conceptions of the teachings of Christian 
 Science. Their answer is as courageous as it is con- 
 clusive on these points. Their letter said: 
 
 ^ The charges brought against us, experienced demonstra- 
 tors of Christian Science, by the new and untried Trustees 
 
 'See page i86. 
 
 'This letter appeared in part in The Sun (New York) April 4, 1910. 
 
 245 
 
246 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 of the church, indicate on the part of these Trustees 
 a lamentable ignorance of the mission of Christianity as 
 Public state- interpreted by Jesus, and a dangerous miscon- 
 ment by ception of the teachings of Mary Baker Eddy as 
 practitioners ^y^^ [^ Science and Health and her other writings. 
 
 We, one and all, subscribe to the Tenets of Christian 
 Science as set forth in our textbook. Science and Health, 
 page 497. The last of these Tenets is as follows: 
 
 "And we solemnly promise to watch, and pray for that 
 Mind to be in us which was also in Christ Jesus; to do unto 
 others as we would have them do unto us ; and to be merciful, 
 just, and pure" (Mother Church Manual, p. 16). 
 
 This Mind that was in Christ Jesus we understand to be 
 the law of Truth to error. The operation of this law neces- 
 sarily destroys error of every name and nature. This law 
 is not man made; it is the irresistible, inevitable law of 
 being and never fails of fulfilment. Christian Science 
 teaches that sin, disease, and death are error, therefore. 
 Truth is the destroyer of these enemies of man. It is the 
 right, privilege, and duty of man to declare the law and 
 to execute judgment upon everything that is opposed to 
 his health, happiness, and prosperity. 
 
 Christian Science calls all that is opposed to this law of 
 good "animal magnetism," and also clearly points out that, 
 as this is neither God, nor emanates from God, it is not 
 power, but merely a false belief in power. This false 
 belief has held the world in bondage and is the cause of 
 every ill known to man. It is against this belief, this illu- 
 sion, this despotic fear, that we have worked and prayed. 
 
 This is the teaching we have received from Mrs. Augusta 
 E. Stetson, C.S.D., which we have followed and 
 Mrs. stetson's ^j-q continuing to follow. It has enabled us to 
 enabled us heal the sick and sinning, and we shall continue 
 to heal the gQ ^q (Jq j^ would havc been impossible, un- 
 sinning" dcrstandiug such teaching, for any of us to 
 have sent out, at the twelve o'clock meetings, 
 or at any other time, any such thing as a "death thought," or 
 
Sixteen Practitioners Make Statement 247 
 
 to have malpractised on any one, nor was there anything 
 of this character done at said meetings. 
 
 We have never committed any act which abrogates 
 our right to practise Christian Science. We shall continue 
 to follow the teachings of Science and Health, .,„ 
 
 ° . Have never 
 
 to heal the sick and sinning according to our committed 
 understanding. This is our inalienable right. ^JJ^/J^J^'^^^^ 
 Mrs. Eddy says, in The People's Idea of God, right to prac- 
 
 tise Christian 
 
 page one: Science" 
 
 "The beatings of our heart can be heard; but 
 the ceaseless throbbings and throes of thought are unheard, 
 as it changes from material to spiritual standpoints. Even 
 the pangs of death disappear, accordingly as the under- 
 standing that we are spiritual beings here reappears, and 
 we learn our capabilities for good, which insures man's con- 
 tinuance and is the true glory of immortality." 
 
 (Signed by) 
 Kate Y. Remer Mary E. Pearson 
 
 Mary H. Freshman Catherine B. Gillpatrick 
 
 Sibyl Marvin Huse Steuart C. Rowbotham 
 
 Jessie Tuttle Colton Mary R. Pinney 
 
 S. Margaret Duncan E. F. Hatfield 
 
 Letitia H. Greene Arnold Blome 
 
 Anna A. Holden M. Augusta Aikman 
 
 Antoinette L. Ensworth Amelia S. Rowbotham 
 
 The foregoing document is well worthy of a place in 
 the annals of denominational history. 
 
CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 TWO-COUNT COMPLAINT TO THE DIRECTORS 
 OF THE MOTHER CHURCH ANALYZED 
 
 Under date of April 4, 1910, the First Reader of 
 
 The Mother Church submitted the first complaints 
 
 against these same sixteen practitioners 
 
 pJ^Thf Mother whom he had "admonished" on the 7th and 
 
 Church files J ith of March, 1910. The New York branch 
 
 charges after , , , < . m i • 
 
 New York church, through its new Irustees and its 
 prTctitfonfrr ^^^^t Reader, on April 2, 1910, only two days 
 prior to the submission of these complaints 
 had gone through the form of dropping from member- 
 ship in that church fifteen of these same practitioners. 
 After this final step was taken in the New York church, 
 Clifford P. Smith, as First Reader at Boston, submitted 
 the following complaints under "Coimt One" and 
 "Count Two." The "Complaint" against Miss Ens- 
 worth is given below as showing the form of papers 
 which each of these practitioners received. 
 
 Complaint 
 
 To The Board of Directors of 
 
 The First Church of Christ, Scientist 
 in Boston, Massachusetts: 
 As the First Reader of said Church, having the duty to 
 enforce its discipline and By-laws, I submit the following 
 complaints against Miss Antoinette Ensworth, who is a 
 
 248 
 
Two-Count Complaint 249 
 
 member of this Church. These complaints refer to offenses 
 concerning which she has been admonished according to 
 the Scripture in Matthew xviii: 15-17, and they are made 
 from Christian motives. 
 
 COUNT ONE 
 
 That Miss Antoinette L. Ensworth has been found trying 
 to practise Christian Science contrary to the statement 
 thereof in its textbook, Science and Health with Key to the 
 Scriptures, and admonished to desist from such practise, 
 as provided in Article XII, Sect. 2, of the By-laws of this 
 Church; notwithstanding which she persists in this offense. 
 
 COUNT TWO 
 
 That Miss Antoinette L. Ensworth persists in working 
 mentally and otherwise against the interests of the members 
 of this church who are not personal adherents of Mrs. 
 Augusta E. Stetson. 
 
 Dated April 4, 19 10. 
 
 (Signed) Clifford P. Smith, First Reader. 
 
 "Count One" does not state the act which consti- 
 tutes the offense alleged. This "Count" contains 
 merely a general allegation of the commission Allegations 
 of an offense. If considered in a legal sense, °°* specific 
 it refers to a statute (Article XII., Section 2), and 
 states that the accused has violated the rule specified; 
 but it fails to state or specify any particular act com- 
 mitted by the accused which constitutes the alleged 
 violation. 
 
 The duty so to do is not a mere technical require- 
 ment, but an expression in law of a requirement funda- 
 mental to the common rules of justice, that when a 
 person is accused of an offense, the facts should be so 
 stated that the accused should be sufficiently advised 
 
250 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 of the particulars thereof to enable him to prepare a 
 defense. 
 
 "Count Two" does not state the By-Law violated, 
 nor does it state the acts constituting the alleged offense. 
 
 The practitioners would have been legally justified 
 in treating the "Complaint" and "Orders" of April 
 4, 1 9 10, as a nullity. It does not appear, however, 
 that they in any way consulted or considered their 
 legal rights; they acted according to the ordinary 
 course of persons accused, — by answering the "Com- 
 plaint" as directly as possible. Each of the answers 
 denies the charges directly and positively. 
 
 It should be noted that the copies of this "Com- 
 plaint" as served were not actually signed by CHfford 
 , J ^„ P- Smith, First Reader, but were in type- 
 
 " Complaint" ' ' •' ^ 
 
 and "Orders" Written form throughout. Likewise the copy 
 defective ^£ ^j^^ " Dircctors' Ordcrs Governing Trial," 
 was not signed, but was also submitted in typewritten 
 form throughout and was sent without any accompany- 
 ing letter. Technically, neither the "Complaint" nor 
 the "Orders" of the same date reached the practi- 
 tioners in due form. Below is given a copy of these 
 " Orders," as transmitted to the New York practitioners : 
 
 Directors' Orders Governing Trial 
 
 April 4, 1910 
 
 Special meeting of the Board of Directors of The First 
 Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts, 
 duly called by the Clerk. 
 
 Present: all of the Directors. 
 
 Trial by Complaints against Mr. Arnold Blome, Mrs. 
 
 affidavit yi Augusta Aikman, Miss Jessie T. Colton, 
 
 Miss Margaret Duncan, Miss Antoinette Ensworth, Mrs. 
 
Two-Count Complaint 251 
 
 Mary H, Freshman, Mrs, Catherine Gillpatrick, Mrs 
 Letitia H. Greene, Mrs. Anna A. Holden, Miss Sibyl 
 Huse, Miss Mary E. Pearson, Mrs. Kate Y. Remer, Mrs. 
 Amelia S. Rowbotham, Mr. Steuart C. Rowbotham, Mr. Ed- 
 win F. Hatfield, and Miss Mary R. Pinney having been laid 
 before this Board by the First Reader of this Church, it was 
 thereupon ordered by the Board of Directors of The First 
 Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts, that 
 the evidence in support or defense of said complaints shall be 
 presented in the form of affidavits or documents ; provided 
 that this Board may, at the request of either party based 
 on sufficient reasons, require the maker of any affidavit 
 to appear before this Board for oral examination; and in 
 such case the affidavit shall not be received as evidence if 
 the affiant does not appear and give his evidence subject 
 to cross-examination. 
 
 It was also ordered by the Directors that the evidence 
 in support of the complaints shall be filed with the Clerk 
 of this Church on or before April 14, 1910; that inadequate 
 the answers to the complaints and the evidence time allowed 
 in defense thereof shall be filed with the Clerk 
 on or before April 18, 1910; that any evidence in rebuttal 
 shall be filed with the Clerk on or before April 20, 1910; 
 after which the cases shall be decided by this Board in 
 accordance with the By-laws of this Church. 
 
 It was further ordered by the Directors that the Secre- 
 tary of this Board shall send a copy of the complaint against 
 him or her and a copy of these orders to each of jj^^j ^^ ^^ 
 the accused persons by registered mail ; that the Boston to see 
 accused persons shall have the right to examine *" ^'^'^^ 
 the evidence against them as soon as it has been filed, such 
 examination to be made in the office of the Clerk of this 
 Church; and that each of the accused persons may have 
 the assistance of a member of this Church as his or her 
 counsel. 
 
 These orders were adopted by unanimous vote of the 
 Directors. 
 
252 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 It should be of interest to Christian Scientists 
 throughout the Field to know for themselves by what 
 rules these trials were to be conducted on the part of 
 the Directors of The Mother Church. 
 
CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 DO NOT ORDERS OF APRIL FOURTH VIOLATE 
 LAW AND JUSTICE? 
 
 Critical analysis of the "Orders" of April 4, in 
 
 which the Directors of The Mother Church laid down 
 
 the rules of procedure, show that these 
 
 Procedure " Qrders " do not provide for a trial, but 
 
 failed to . , - , . , . 
 
 provide for simply prescribc an order of date withm 
 ing to*Mant"ai which the filing of affidavits shall take place. 
 This, in our judgment, directly violates that 
 part of The Mother Church Manual which requires 
 that "the offender's case shall be tried" (Article XL, 
 Section i). We consider that the Manual was again 
 violated, in that the Clerk of The Mother Church paid 
 no attention to the Rule of the Manual which requires 
 him to "address a letter of inquiry to the member com- 
 plained of as to the validity of the charge" (Article 
 XL, Section 6). 
 
 Finally, the "Complaint," comprised in "Count One" 
 and "Count Two," does not charge any specific offense, 
 but simply states in general words that they have 
 violated the Manual. 
 
 These "Orders" purport to determine the following 
 matters relating to procedure: 
 "Orders" I. Limit evidcncc to affidavits or docu- 
 
 of April 4 jnents. 
 
 2. The Board may require the maker of an affidavit 
 to appear for oral and cross-examination. 
 
 253 
 
254 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 3. Limit the time within which testimony may be 
 filed. 
 
 (a) Evidence in support of "Complaint" on or 
 before April 14, 19 10. 
 
 (b) Answers to "Complaint" and evidence in de- 
 fense on or before April 18, 19 10. 
 
 (c) Evidence in rebuttal on or before April 20, 
 1910. 
 
 (d) Cases then to be decided by Board. 
 
 4. Compel accused persons to go to Boston to 
 examine affidavits said to have been filed against 
 them. 
 
 5. Limit right of coimsel to "a member of this 
 Church." 
 
 Do not these *' Orders'' as to procedure offend the com- 
 mon law of justice and are they not therefore defective, for 
 the following reasons: 
 
 I. Evidence by affidavits is not the best evidence, 
 and deprives the accused of two fundamental rights : 
 
 (a) To face his accuser and to hear the testimony 
 in the presence of the witness. (See pages 26-28.) 
 
 (b) Right to cross-examine the witness. 
 
 The Directors reserved the right to themselves to 
 determine whether or not a witness should be called 
 for oral examination, thus entirely depriving 
 bJ'fffidTvit the accused of what is imiversally accorded 
 robs accused ^^ j^jg fundamental right, namely, to be 
 confronted by his accuser, with the right to 
 cross-examine. 
 
 The "Orders" read: "this Board may, at the request 
 of either party based on sufficient reasons, require the 
 maker of any affidavit to appear before this Board for 
 oral examination." 
 
 The decision on this point is plainly with the Board, 
 
Were Law and Justice Violated? 255 
 
 who alone under this wording may decide what are 
 sufficient reasons; and if the Board "may," it follows 
 that it "may not," if it so decides. 
 
 Furthermore, no person is qualified to appear as a 
 witness unless his affidavit shall have been previously 
 filed on or before April 18, 19 10. Also the oral exami- 
 nation is by the Board and not by the accused nor in 
 his behalf or presence, because no day is set for any 
 hearing. April 20, 1910, is the last day for evidence in 
 rebuttal {i. e. in support of the "Complaint") to be 
 filed, "after which the cases shall be decided by this 
 Board." The accused is denied the right of calling 
 any witness whose affidavit has not been first presented 
 to the Directors within a prescribed limited time. 
 
 2. The right of a regular trial is denied. Article 
 XI., Section i, of The Mother Church Manual provides 
 that "the offender's case shall be tried." ^. . . 
 
 Right of 
 
 Although the Manual fails to set out the regular trial 
 rules of procedure governing trials, never- *^ demed 
 theless it is the right of an accused member to have a 
 trial conducted according to such reasonable rules as 
 shall be consistent with the common law of justice. 
 A fundamental rule is, that there shall be such a trial 
 as shall give opportunity to the accused (i) of being 
 fairly advised of the offense charged, and (2) of fairly 
 presenting his defense, which includes being faced by 
 his accuser, and the right to cross-examine. 
 
 3. The rules prescribed by the "Orders" of April 4, 
 are oppressively burdensome to the accused. 
 
 (a) The accused is compelled to go to Ryjes of trial 
 Boston to examine the affidavits unfair to 
 
 , , . accused 
 
 agamst mm. 
 This is a burden that the Board had no right to 
 impose. The accused is compelled to go to Boston 
 
256 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 to determine even the alleged facts of the "Complaint," 
 because the "Complaint " contained no specifications. 
 (b) Sufficient time to prepare defense is not given. 
 
 The affidavits in support of the "Complaint" may- 
 be filed on or before April 14, 1910, although April 18, 
 1910, is the last day on which the accused may file 
 coimter affidavits. This allows but four days within 
 which the accused must go to Boston, examine evi- 
 dence against him, determine his defense, procure wit- 
 nesses and reduce their testimony to the form of 
 affidavits and file the same in Boston. Such a proce- 
 dure would be unconscionable in any Court of Justice. 
 
 The course pursued by the Christian Science Board 
 of Directors of The Mother Church in arriving at their 
 Procedure conclusions regarding persons accused before 
 uiustrated by them, may be gathered from the correspond- 
 Hatfleid '* ^^^c with Mr. Edwin F. Hatfield, one of the 
 former Trustees of the New York church. 
 Mr. Hatfield received advice from the Assistant Secre- 
 tary of the Board of Directors on April 13, 1910, 
 stating that "a large quantity of evidence in support 
 of the complaint against you has been filed in this office, 
 where it may be examined." 
 
 When Mr. Hatfield received the above advice of April 
 13, he wrote to the Secretary of the Christian Science 
 Board of Directors (Mr. J. V. Dittemore), as follows: 
 
 There cannot be any such "evidence" except my public 
 official acts, which it was my duty to perform, and any 
 inferences derived from them in support of the 
 for ropy°of**° complaint of Judge Smith against me must be 
 alleged "evi- as Unwarranted and unjust as the complaint 
 against him itself . At the Same time I have to request that 
 you will furnish me a copy of any "evidence" 
 that may have been filed with you in support of his com- 
 
Were Law and Justice Violated? 257 
 
 plaint, as I would like to know if the facts are correctly- 
 stated and I think I am entitled to this without incurring 
 the expense and trouble of going to Boston to see them. I 
 enclose my check for ten dollars, which should cover the 
 cost of making such copies and sending them to me, for I 
 only want the copies of the affidavits themselves, and not 
 of any papers to which they may refer. ... If the cost 
 of making such copies should be a little more than the ten 
 dollars please advise me so that I can remit the difference. 
 
 The next day Mr. Hatfield received from the Secre- 
 tary of the Christian Science Board of Directors (Mr. 
 Dittemore) the following telegram : 
 
 It is not practicable to furnish copy of evidence in time. 
 Your evidence, if any, must be filed by Monday. See copy 
 of orders sent you. 
 
 In a letter of identical date, confirming the above 
 telegram quoted, the Secretary writes: 
 
 Permit me also to assure you that the few decisions which 
 the Directors have been obliged to make in such cases have 
 always been based on adequate evidence. 
 
 April 15, 1910, was on Friday. The telegram above 
 quoted required evidence, "if any," to be filed by the 
 following Monday. There was no way of knowing 
 what the affidavits on which "Complaints" were based 
 contained nor by whom they were filed, except by 
 going to Boston. Mr. Hatfield that same day (April 
 15, 1 9 10) sent the following letter: 
 
 New York Crrv, 
 April 15, 1910. 
 Dear Mr. Dittemore: — I am in receipt of your telegram 
 of this date, for which I am obliged, but I beg to renew 
 17 
 
258 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 my request for copies of the affidavits or other statements 
 filed as evidence to support Judge Smith's complaint 
 against me, whether in time to answer or not. 
 
 There can be no evidence to submit in defense of the 
 false charges of Judge Smith, except the unqualified denial 
 of them which I have made, and I also deny the inferences 
 sought to be made in support of them, in any evidence he 
 has submitted or may submit. 
 
 Yours very truly, 
 (Signed) E. F. Hatfield. 
 P. S. 
 
 If you still decline to send me copies of the papers and 
 affidavits asked for, then, in all fairness, they certainly 
 should be sent to the Publication Office here, to be examined 
 and answered, and the time should be extended for this 
 purpose. 
 
 (Signed) E. F. H. 
 
 To this no reply whatever was ever received by Mr. 
 Hatfield. In view of the fact that the copy of evidence 
 His lea for ^^^ rcfuscd Only on the ground that "it is 
 papers and not practicable to furnish copy of evidence in 
 time Ignored ^jj^^g^" -^j^g^ the Dircctors posscssing the "evi- 
 dence" had themselves fixed the date for the hearing, 
 it would have been but a simple act of justice to have 
 delayed the hearing as requested by Mr. Hatfield and 
 given the accused an opportunity to prepare for defense. 
 Without the information requested there was no way 
 
 of knowing even what the line of accusation 
 Christian was. Under the circumstances, the method 
 ^ nd'io e ? °^ arriving at decisions amounted practically 
 
 to the exclusion of evidence from the accused, 
 and to trial without hearing and in his absence. This is 
 certainly not our concept of Christian justice and love. 
 
CHAPTER XXV 
 
 PRACTITIONERS' ANSWERS TO THE TWO-COUNT 
 COMPLAINT 
 
 Notwithstanding the fact that the "Complaint" 
 and "Orders" as to procedure mailed to the New York 
 practitioners were embodied in typewritten Every practi- 
 form only and lacked any official written ,«°°" f ^.'^/f, 
 
 •' "^ _ " Complaint " 
 
 signature or other authentication, and were 
 not accompanied by any letter of transmittal, yet the 
 practitioners named in the "Two-Count Complaint" 
 in every case made prompt reply thereto by a direct 
 communication sent by each one to the Board of Direc- 
 tors of The Mother Church. 
 Their replies are as follows: 
 
 Mrs. Remer's Reply 
 
 New York City, 
 Friday, April 8, 1910. 
 
 To The Board of Directors of 
 
 The First Church of Christ, Scientist, 
 in Boston, Mass. 
 I, Kate Y. Remer, answering the complaint of Judge 
 C. P. Smith (dated April 4, 1910) deny each and every 
 allegation contained in said complaint, and also 
 deny that the complaint or the charges therein ^J'^f^^JJ^J 
 made are made from Christian motives. charges were 
 
 I have never practised or tried to practise "ct^jgJJ'a'^ 
 Christian Science contrary to the statement motives 
 
 thereof in its textbook. Science and Health with 
 Key to the Scriptures, and never having done so, I, of course, 
 do not persist in this offense. I have never mentally or 
 
 2^9 
 
26o Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 otherwise worked, nor persisted in working mentally or 
 otherwise against the interests of the members of The 
 Mother Church or any of its branches who are not personal 
 adherents of Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson, C.S.D. I refer you 
 to my letter of February i6, 19 lo, which I now reiterate. 
 I do not expect to be in Boston this month. 
 
 Very truly yours, 
 
 (Signed) Kate Y. Remer. 
 
 Miss Duncan's Reply 
 
 . . . Count One: . . . The First Reader has admon- 
 ished me to desist from practising what is his and others' 
 concept of my practice. Article XII., Section 
 Duncan: 2' °^ ^^® Church Manual, mentioned in his 
 "These Complaint, provides for those who are found 
 
 faise^"^ "^ violating the By-Laws or Rules therein set forth. 
 I deny most emphatically that I have ever vio- 
 lated any of these Rules or By-Laws, consequently there was 
 no occasion for the First Reader to admonish me. Fiu"ther- 
 more, I do not persist in any offense I never committed. 
 
 Count Two: I deny most emphatically that I work, or 
 persist in working, mentally and otherwise, against the 
 interests of the members of The Mother Church who are 
 not personal adherents of Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson. These 
 charges are false. Under the circumstances which have 
 given rise to the charges lodged against me, I deny they 
 were made from "Christian motives." 
 
 Mrs. Rowbotham's Reply 
 
 I have received a very impersonal communication dated 
 Mrs. Row- April 4th, containing complaints purporting to 
 botham: ^omc from Judge Clifford P. Smith. ... I 
 
 Complaints , , , , 1 • ■ 
 
 " cannot be hereby assert that these complaints were not 
 substantiated made in accordance with the Christian spirit of 
 ^^'°° Matthew xviii., 15-17. To quote from Science 
 
 and Health, page 458, line 23, the words of our Leader, 
 Mrs. Eddy: "The Christianly scientific man reflects 
 
Answers to Two-Count Complaint 261 
 
 the divine law, thus becoming a law unto himself. He does 
 violence to no man. Neither is he a false accuser." 
 
 I absolutely and finally deny that there is any truth in 
 said complaints, and I also positively declare that they 
 cannot be substantiated by proof. . . . 
 
 Mr. Blome's Reply 
 
 Mr. Arnold Blome denies categorically each of the 
 
 "Two Counts." He says, in his communication to 
 
 the Board of Directors: 
 
 New York City, N. Y., 
 April 9, 1910. 
 
 To The Board of Directors of 
 
 The First Church of Christ, Scientist, 
 Boston, Mass. 
 
 Gentlemen: — Your communication, without accompany- 
 ing letter, of April 4th received. The complaint made by 
 Judge Clifford P. Smith is a mistaken sense of 
 my practice of Christian Science, and I deny that ^^^^^^ having 
 I have been admonished "from Christian mo- offended 
 tives." I deny in "Count One" that I practise oMhe°church 
 Christian Science contrary to the statement in 
 our textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, 
 and have committed no offense against the By-Laws of 
 The Mother Church. 
 
 In "Count Two" I deny emphatically that 1 am working 
 against the interests of the members of The Mother Church, 
 or the members of its branch churches, either mentally or 
 otherwise. The repeated remark "personal adherents" 
 is unscientific and therefore not worthy of consideration. 
 In this, my final say, to this Board, I shall again declare 
 my conscientious and honest convictions and shall no longer 
 silence my heart and better judgment but speak the truth 
 as Spirit gives utterance. Our dear Master said to all 
 Christians: if ye judge at all, "Judge righteous judgment." 
 This has not been rendered in the case of Mrs. Stetson's 
 
262 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 teaching and practice of Christian Science. To my sense 
 it is our dear Leader's teaching and the teaching of Science 
 and Health which is on trial, for that is what Mrs. Stetson 
 has taught me. Although I feel that I should end here 
 with Jesus' words: "If I tell you, ye will not believe," I 
 must state to you what I gathered from the proceedings in 
 Boston when called as a witness in September last. All 
 steps that have been taken following this proceeding, have 
 been governed by the same erroneous sense and have not 
 only been unchristian, but cruel and despotic. 
 
 Having been with Mrs. Stetson in daily work for the 
 Cause of Christian Science a number of years, and attended 
 the practitioners' meetings of First Church in New York 
 for some ten years, it is my great privilege to know her, 
 not only as a Christian Scientist, teacher and practitioner, 
 but as a friend and loving sister. In her home life I have 
 found her a loving, practical and economical Christian 
 woman, in her active life as a Christian Scientist, a con- 
 sistent, loyal, faithful and obedient student of Mrs. Eddy, 
 our revered Leader. She has often quoted from Science 
 and Health, the words of our beloved Leader: "the demands 
 of God must be met." Her standard of Christian Science 
 has been too high for many of her students and a number 
 of them have maligned and persecuted her because of her 
 realization of Truth; and her consistent demonstration 
 thereof has been a rebuke to error. Her position as a 
 Field worker has been unique and has borne good fruit. 
 Like our beloved Leader, Mrs. Stetson has many so-called 
 enemies, but she knows she has none. Her love is univer- 
 sal and divine. Disgruntled, disloyal, and undisciplined 
 students have turned from what they consider personal 
 control of Mrs. Stetson to their own self-will and human 
 energy as their guide "from sense to Soul,"^ and have 
 named this "blind guide" Principle. 
 
 The fact is that these students were imwilling to come 
 
 * Science and Health, page 566. 
 
Answers to Two-Count Complaint 263 
 
 under the "rod of Love," and suffer out of sense and self, 
 but rather hold on to all of their luggage of belief, self, and 
 sin. These students handled by revenge, envy, and jealousy 
 have for years plotted and planned to destroy " troublesome 
 Truth," ^ reflected by this unselfish and untiring student of 
 Christian Science, and have finally found a response in our 
 present Board of Directors to act upon accumulated reports, 
 hearsay, distorted concepts of Mrs. Stetson's teaching, utter 
 falsities and prejudices. Her trial in Boston was a mere 
 form, and well have the Directors said to me when I was 
 called as a witness, " Mr. Blome, we do not need your testi- 
 mony." " If my testimony is not needed, why was I called, 
 and why am I called this day ? " The statements of disloyal 
 and undisciplined students of Mrs. Stetson were put into a 
 form of questions dealing purely with the words which Mrs. 
 Stetson used and names of persons she named ; — to this the 
 practitioners who attended the twelve o'clock meetings in 
 First Church, New York, were asked to say "Yes or No," 
 even though some questions involved from three to five 
 individual meanings. 
 
 They were also told to speak humanly truthfully and not 
 from the "fourth dimension of Spirit."^ It sounded to me 
 like this: Answer "Yes or No," and we will make error a 
 part of Truth. The subtle suggestion to be "humanly 
 truthful" and speak as a human was the voice of the "one 
 evil," 3 using truthfulness in the name of error for a means 
 to an evil end. The practitioners, having been taught by 
 a Christian Science teacher who teaches the spirit of Chris- 
 tian Science and lives in accordance with her teaching, were 
 thus put in a position to answer "Yes or No" to a mistaken 
 sense of Mrs. Stetson's teaching. 
 
 The frequent admonition to speak humanly and not 
 from the "fourth dimension of Spirit" brought confusion 
 and made Christian Science metaphysics void. The wit- 
 nesses were not allowed to speak about the occasion and 
 
 ' Science and Health, page 542, 
 
 'Miscellaneous Writings, page 22. ^Science and Health, page 476, 
 
264 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 motive that prompted certain sayings and actions. The 
 spirit of the teachings and practices of Mrs. Stetson was 
 carefully left out of it all. It was naturally confusing to 
 the witnesses who are used to work out all problems in 
 Christian Science metaphysics and are taught pure Christian 
 Science, i.e., "Spirit is All-in-all, and matter nothing." 
 St. John says, "Beloved, now are we the sons of God." 
 Most of the time was taken up to make the witness a liar 
 by questioning him about time, date, place, names of per- 
 sons and words used, whereas the witnesses went to Boston 
 expecting to meet holy men — a spiritual and metaphysical 
 court — and went with reverence of the Directors and re- 
 spected their position as the constituted authority. Mrs. 
 Stetson always taught us to respect and obey implicitly 
 constituted authority. Her students realize in a degree 
 and live in accordance with their realization that the in- 
 dividual is spiritual, and that finite personality is shadow 
 — no thing — but a claim to something. 
 
 In Unity of Good, page 47 (pocket edition), we read: "The 
 evil, accompanying physical personality, is illusive and 
 mortal ; but the good attendant upon spiritual individuality 
 is immortal." It was impossible for loyal students of Mrs. 
 Stetson to answer the questions correctly, as the questions 
 were formed by a material concept of Mrs. Stetson's sup- 
 posed teaching, and left nothing of the real meaning and 
 the metaphysical import. Any answer under these condi- 
 tions of "Yes or No" would lead to one of three errors, or 
 to all three — i.e., make Mrs. Stetson a malpractitioner, the 
 witness a liar or a disloyal student thus revealing not a 
 spark of real Truth as Mrs. Stetson has taught it. A 
 material court can scarcely judge honest metaphysical 
 and spiritual teaching nor practices of Christian Science. 
 A disloyal student cannot give a correct statement of a 
 loyal teacher. No loyal student of Christian Science can 
 make a disloyal one understand his motive and concept so 
 long as the disloyal is satisfied with his position. Mrs. 
 Stetson has never malpractised and cannot harm any one 
 
Answers to Two-Count Complaint 265 
 
 as she has no faith in evil but all faith in good. The mental 
 impression of a word decides the motive and character. 
 In Miscellaneous Writings, page 31, our dear Leader says, 
 in regard to mental malpractice, — "Its claim to power is 
 in proportion to the faith in evil, and consequently to the 
 lack of faith in good." I fail to see justice in the decision 
 of the Directors of The Mother Church and deny that Mrs. 
 Stetson has taught "pretended Christian Science," but 
 taught me the Christian Science of our textbook. 
 
 As a Christian Scientist and member of the Church of 
 Christ, I shall work harder to "put o£E the old man with 
 his deeds ; and . . . put on the new man," to help burst this 
 cloud of prejudice and misunderstanding, and wait patiently 
 on God as He is unfolding to us the spiritual purport of this 
 hour. My trust in God and His Christ can never be taken 
 from me, and with St. Paul I say, from Romans viii. : "For 
 I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, 
 nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things 
 to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, 
 shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is 
 in Christ Jesus our Lord." 
 
 I find also much comfort and assurance in the words of 
 our beloved Leader, "There is but one Law and that is the 
 Law of God. There is but one Court and that is the Court 
 of Heaven. It is a court of Absolute Justice, whose de- 
 cision is final. Human concepts and opinions have been 
 formulated into laws, and human courts administer these 
 laws; but God is the final arbiter, the Supreme Judge." 
 
 Sincerely yours in Christ, 
 (Signed) Arnold Blome. 
 
 Mr. Hatfield's Reply 
 
 New York City, 
 April II, 1910. 
 
 To The Board of Directors of 
 
 The First Church of Christ, Scientist, 
 in Boston, Mass. 
 Dear Brethren: — On the seventh instant, I received a 
 
266 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 registered document, on the outside of which appeared the 
 name of J. V. Dittemore, Secretary, but, on opening 
 
 it, there was no letter, only two typewritten 
 fi^ds^a*^e*rs* P^pers, One without any signature, and the 
 in question othcr, headed "Complaint," having the printed 
 caTd''^''*'' signature of "CHfEord P. Smith, First Reader." 
 
 These unauthenticated papers announced the 
 action of your Board upon complaints by Judge Smith 
 against some of our New York practitioners, including 
 myself. 
 
 There are two counts in this complaint against me, of 
 an astounding character, and 1 deny them both in the most 
 
 positive terms. For twenty-two years I have 
 " Counts » been a diligent student of Christian Science, 
 as ridiculous loving its tcxtbook and its revered Leader, and 
 
 those who know me would laugh at the imputa- 
 tion that I now am "trying to practise," or ever have tried 
 to practise "Christian Science contrary to the statement 
 thereof in its textbook," or that I now work, or ever have 
 worked "mentally and otherwise against the interests of the 
 members of" The Mother Church "who are not personal 
 adherents of Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson." It is absurd on 
 the face of it. What does it all mean? 
 
 The Church Manual says, in Article XI., Section 5: — 
 "The Christian Science Board of Directors has power to 
 
 discipHne, place on probation, remove from mem- 
 Questions bcrship, or to excommunicate members of The 
 
 right to en- '^^ . . , . 
 
 force uni- Mother Church." Their authority is therefore 
 formityof undisputed, and it is not to be assumed that 
 
 opinion f ' .■,■■,■ 
 
 they are unaware of the crucial responsibihty 
 of this sacred trust, neither to be negligent of their duty, 
 nor to abuse the power placed in their hands. They are 
 the custodians of the rights of each member of the Church, 
 and they cannot escape the obligation to defend these rights 
 vigilantly and impartially against misrepresentation and 
 calumny, to preserve the peace of the Church, and wisely 
 to administer its affairs and promote its highest interests. 
 
Answers to Two-Count Complaint 267 
 
 It is not therefore my province to criticize or condemn 
 them. They are accountable for their own acts to their 
 Leader, to the Church at large, to the verdict of public 
 opinion, to the searchlight of their own higher conscious- 
 ness, and "to God the Judge of all." 
 
 But are they fallible or infallible? Does submission 
 to their findings involve approval of them? Is there no 
 room for difference of opinion, and can we, without hy- 
 pocrisy, violate our convictions? Should the anathema of 
 excommunication be the medium for an enforced unity? 
 
 Sixteen faithful practitioners have been arraigned before 
 your Board, falsely accused. They are the consecrated 
 exponents of the Truth, loyal to their beloved Exponents of 
 Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, and true to their Truth faiseiy 
 teacher, Augusta E. Stetson. The issues in- accused 
 
 volved are momentous. You stand in the lime-light of the 
 public gaze. What will you do with the opportunity before 
 you? The world has no interest in Christian Science as a 
 sect, or in any war of creeds. It is hungering for the de- 
 monstration of the omnipotence of Love, the unreality of 
 evil; for the triumph of Spirit over matter, the healing 
 benediction attending the wonderful revelation of Truth 
 that Mrs. Eddy has taught in its purity and power. Is this 
 great Cause to be obstructed and materialized, or conserved 
 in its grandeur and strength? 
 
 "God give us men! A time like this demands 
 Strong minds, great hearts, true faith, and ready hands; 
 Men who possess opinions and a will; 
 Tall men, sun -crowned, who live above the fog: 
 For while the rabble, with their thumb-worn creeds, 
 Their large professions and their little deeds, 
 Mingle in selfish strife, — lo! Freedom weeps, 
 Wrong rules the land, and waiting Justice sleeps!" 
 
 (J. G. Holland.) 
 Very sincerely yours, 
 
 (Signed) E. F. Hatfield. 
 
268 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 Mrs. Holden's Reply 
 
 New York City, 
 April II, 1910. 
 
 To The Board of Directors of 
 
 The First Church of Christ, Scientist, 
 Boston, Mass. 
 
 Gentlemen: — In defending my position, as to my teachings, 
 I am but standing for the great truth taught by our beloved 
 Leader, Mrs. Eddy, and striving to advance the 
 characterizes ^^-^se of Christian Scicncc by accentuating the 
 complaints truth givcn in the twelve o'clock meetings, and 
 uLIwf^^*"^ practised by my teacher, Mrs. Augusta E. 
 Stetson, C.S.D. 
 
 Mrs. Eddy tells us that "God made Man immortal and 
 amenable to Spirit only" {Science and Health, p. 434). 
 She also tells us in her word in the Sentinel, January 16, 
 1909, "The Way of Wisdom: " 
 
 "When my dear brethren in New York desire to build 
 higher, — to enlarge their phylacteries and demonstrate 
 Christian Science to a higher extent, — they must begin 
 on a wholly spiritual foundation, than which there is no 
 other. . . . 
 
 "Spirit is infinite; therefore Spirit is all. 'There is no 
 matter' is not only the axiom of true Christian Science, 
 but it is the only basis upon which this Science can be 
 demonstrated." 
 
 To obey this injunction, it was necessary for the old 
 Adam, the mortal sense of man to be dissolved; and the 
 solvent of love was applied. The sword of Spirit was 
 wielded fearlessly, and through the understanding of the 
 fact that the law of Christ supersedes all other law — the 
 man of God's creating — "The compound idea . . . the 
 spiritual image and likeness of God" {Science and Health, 
 p. 591) was mentally perceived by all who had spiritual 
 discernment to follow where Truth was leading. 
 
 Our church. First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York 
 
Answers to Two-Count Complaint 269 
 
 City, was built on the Rock, Christ, and as a tribute of love 
 and gratitude to our beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy. In her 
 letter to us, of November 28th, 1903,' she says: 
 
 "The letter of your work dies, as do all things material, 
 but the spirit thereof is immortal." 
 
 And again, 
 
 "The tender memorial engraven on your grand edifice 
 stands for human self lost in divine light — melted into the 
 radiance of His likeness. . . ." 
 
 " ... as truth urges upon mortals its resisted claims" 
 {Science and Health, p. 223), the church, of course, felt the 
 upheaval, and the present chemicalization is the result of 
 this growth Spiritward — for all error must be uncovered and 
 destroyed ere the Church of Prophecy — in Mind — where 
 it has always stood, can be revealed. 
 
 The present conflict will but hasten the time when the 
 spiritual consciousness, which is a "present possibiHty" 
 {Science and Health, p. 574), will reveal the church whose 
 substance is divine Mind, whose attendants are congregated 
 ideas, not mortals, but immortals, and where spiritual law is 
 the only code, Life, Truth, and Love the government. 
 
 Our Leader, Mrs. Eddy, tells us, "The Mother Church 
 seemed type and shadow of the warfare between the flesh 
 and Spirit, even that shadow whose substance is the divine 
 Spirit, imperatively propelHng the greatest moral, physical, 
 civil, and religious reform ever known on earth" {Pulpit 
 and Press, p. 20). To be faithful and loyal all branch 
 churches must follow The Mother Church in this Hne of 
 light. "The day star of this appearing is the light of Chris- 
 tian Science — the Science which rends the veil of the flesh 
 from top to bottom" {Miscellaneous Writings, p. 165). 
 
 I now emphatically deny the charges in "Count One." 
 They are made from erroneous postulates; therefore the 
 conclusions are wrong. 
 
 "Count Two" shows you are not following the rule laid 
 
 » Christian Science Sentinel, volume vi., page 227. 
 
270 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 down by our beloved Leader. I therefore deny all charges 
 therein contained. . . . 
 
 Mrs. Eddy tells us "The great miracle, to human sense, 
 is divine Love, and the grand necessity of existence is to 
 gain the true idea of what constitutes the kingdom of 
 heaven in man. This goal is never reached while we hate 
 our neighbor or entertain a false estimate of anyone whom 
 God has appointed to voice His Word" {Science and Healthy 
 p. 560, line 11). 
 
 Sincerely, 
 
 (Signed) Anna A. Holden. 
 
 Miss Huse's Reply 
 
 To both of the " Counts " Miss Huse answers 
 identically: 
 
 I hereby distinctly and finally deny all charges, from 
 whatever source, that I have been or can be "found trying 
 to practise Christian Science contrary to the 
 denies &\C Statement thereof in its textbook. Science and 
 charges from Health with Key to the Scriptures." . . . 
 TourcT" '^^^ constant, earnest study of this text- 
 
 book, and application of its teaching enable me 
 to understand, in a degree, why our great Leader found it 
 necessary to state on page 457: "Since the divine light of 
 Christian Science first dawned upon the author, she has 
 never used this newly discovered power in any direction 
 which she fears to have fairly understood. Her prime 
 object, since entering this field of labor, has been to prevent 
 suffering, not to produce it." As a Christian Scientist, I 
 am a follower of my Leader, Mrs. Eddy, and I recognize 
 that this must be the prime object of my life and work. 
 
 I distinctly and finally deny all charges from whatever 
 source, that I have worked or am now "working mentally 
 and otherwise against the interests of the members of this 
 church who are not personal adherents of Mrs. Augusta E. 
 Stetson." 
 
Answers to Two-Count Complaint 271 
 
 The term "personal adherents of Mrs. Augusta E. Stet- 
 son," simply signalizes those among the members of The 
 Mother Church who have been taught by this teacher, 
 either by precept or example or both, and who have had 
 enough of the spirit to receive her high interpretation of 
 divine metaphysics. I am grateful for the privilege of 
 numbering and classifying myself among those of Mrs. 
 Stetson's students who are adhering closely to her teaching. 
 By so doing we shall always be found blessing all whom 
 our thoughts rest upon. 
 
 Very sincerely yours, 
 
 (Signed) Sibyl Marvin Huse. 
 April II, 1910. 
 
 Miss Colton's Reply 
 
 In her denial of April 12, Miss Colton called the 
 Directors' attention to the absence of evidence to 
 sustain the complaints. She says: 
 
 As no evidence under The Mother Church Manual has 
 been found, given, or proven, that I have "been found 
 trying to practise Christian Science contrary to 
 the statement thereof in its textbook. Science ^° evidence 
 
 has been 
 
 and Health with Key to the Scriptures," by found. 
 
 Mary Baker Eddy, it is impossible for me to " ^"''^p'**'*^" 
 
 -' ■' ^ . . ,, are unfounded 
 
 admit the charge or heed your admonition of and unjust 
 October 4th, 1909. . . . 
 
 I, Jessie T. Colton, declare these charges, each and all, 
 unfounded and unjust, and because false, untrue, and 
 unwise, they must each and all be accounted for. 
 
 I declare myself a true witness, a Christian Scientist 
 according to the Church Manual of The First Church of 
 Christ, Scientist, Boston, Mass., and therefore obedient to 
 constituted authority in their various jurisdictions. . . . 
 
 Miss Ensworth's Reply 
 Miss Antoinette L. Ensworth, under date of April 
 
272 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 13, meets these "Complaints" of imscientific practice 
 by quoting "the practice of divine metaphysics is the 
 utiHzation of the power of Truth over error; its rules 
 demonstrate its Science" {Science and Health, p. III). 
 She then continues in more comprehensive denial 
 declaring: 
 
 ... I therefore deny positively the complaints in Counts 
 One and Two rendered against me and submitted to the 
 Board of Directors by the First Reader of The 
 wth^T-' Mother Church. He is entertaining a mistaken 
 Clares charges scnse when he accuses me of trying to practise 
 poweriess Christian Science contrary to the statement 
 thereof in its textbook, Science and Health, or 
 of working mentally, or otherwise against the interests of 
 any one. 
 
 I deny also all similar charges, from whatsoever source 
 they may come. They are absolutely false, therefore 
 powerless. 
 
 Mrs. Freshman's Reply 
 
 Mrs. Freshman says, objecting to the form, purport, 
 
 and spirit of the so-called "'Complaint* 
 
 mande'nfes" against me," and protesting against the 
 
 every aiie- alleged action in hearing and acting on said 
 
 gation «_j <-> 
 
 "Complaint," as appears in the extracts of 
 minutes sent to her with said "Complaint:" 
 
 ... I deny each and every allegation contained in 
 said Complaint, and furthermore declare that the Bible, 
 Science and Health, and all other writings of my beloved 
 Leader, Mrs. Eddy, as heretofore, will always be my 
 inspired guides to eternal Life. 
 
 And I will also add that this has been the radical teach- 
 ing of Augusta E. Stetson. 
 
Answers to Two-Count Complaint 273 
 
 Miss Pearson's Reply 
 
 New York City, 
 April 14, 1910. 
 
 To The Christian Science Board of Directors 
 of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, 
 Boston, Mass. 
 Dear Sirs: — Your communication dated the 4th inst. 
 is before me. 
 
 ... I can truthfully say in reply ... I do 
 not "practise Christian Science contrary to the reaffirms 
 statement thereof in its textbook, Science and loyalty and 
 
 TT 1 1 • 1 t;^ . _, . ,, obedience 
 
 Health with Key to the Scriptures. 
 
 I do not "mentally" or "otherwise" work against any 
 member of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, Boston, 
 Mass., or any member of any of its branch churches. 
 
 I am honestly striving daily and hourly to obey the com- 
 mand of our Master, "Whatsoever ye would that men 
 should do to you, do ye even so to them," Matthew vii., 12. 
 Also the command in Science and Health by Mary Baker 
 Eddy, page 447, line 10, "heal the sick when called upon 
 for aid, and save the victims of the mental assassins." 
 
 After much prayer and consideration I can only reaffirm 
 what I have already stated, viz., that all I have ever heard 
 said or taught by Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson of Christian 
 Science, when rightly understood, is in strict accord with 
 the spiritual interpretation of the Bible, Science and Health, 
 and all of Mrs. Eddy's other writings. 
 
 Trusting the Board of Directors will fully realize the 
 solemn responsibility resting upon them, I am. 
 
 Sincerely, 
 (Signed) Mary E. Pearson. 
 
 Miss Pinney's Reply 
 
 Miss Mary R. Finney briefly disposes of the "Com- 
 plaint" against her as follows, in her letter of April 14, 
 
 to the Directors: 
 18 
 
274 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 The undersigned, as is well known, is not guilty of any 
 of the charges which have been made against her, and answer- 
 ing the complaint denies each and every allega- 
 
 Miss Pinney . . . . 
 
 is "not guilty tion. The Bible, Science and Health with Key 
 of any oMhe ^q ^j^g ScHptures, by Mary Baker Eddy, and the 
 Manual of The Mother Church, will always be 
 her sufficient guide to eternal Life, Truth, and Love. Fol- 
 lowing these it would be impossible ever to be disloyal or 
 disobedient to the great Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, or to 
 Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson, C.S.D., who is a faithful, loyal 
 student of Mrs. Eddy, and a true teacher of divine meta- 
 physics, which is Christian Science. 
 
 Mrs. Greene's Reply 
 
 ... I deny, most emphatically, each and every charge 
 contained in the two counts mentioned, and also charges 
 
 of like nature coming from any other source, 
 denies every I reaffirm my instant and constant allegiance 
 charge and to my bclovcd Leader, the Rev. Mary Baker 
 obedience Eddy, and my loyalty and obedience to the 
 
 teachings of Christian Science as set forth in its 
 textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, and 
 other writings of Mary Baker Eddy, the Bible, and The 
 Mother Church Manual. . . . 
 
 Taking such avowal of fidelity at its word, could any 
 cause ask for more than the straightforward declaration 
 and denial given above? In all ages of the world 
 loyalty and obedience have been the cardinal virtues 
 of every period of great religious advancement. 
 
 Equally explicit are the disclaimers contained in the 
 following letters. 
 
 Reply of Mr. Rowbotham 
 
 Mr. Rowbotham not only notes the form of the 
 communication, which lacked the marks necessary to 
 
Answers to Two-Count Complaint 275 
 
 show its validity, but he also recalls what the Board of 
 Directors seemed to have forgotten, that as a student 
 of Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson, C.S.D., Principal of the 
 New York City Christian Science Institute, there is 
 an institutional relation under which Mrs. Stetson's 
 teaching work became incorporated more than twenty 
 years ago. Mr. Rowbotham's denials read as follows: 
 
 New York City, 
 April 14, 1910. 
 
 Gentlemen: — I am in receipt of registered envelope con- 
 taining two papers, the only address being on envelope. 
 
 In one paper, purporting to be from Mr. 
 Clifford P. Smith, First Reader, he submits ,. ^'- ^°:''"'- 
 
 ' ' tham questions 
 
 complaints against me and adds that they refer motives and 
 to offenses concernins: which I have been ad- refutes 
 
 ° charges 
 
 monished according to the Scripture in Matthew 
 
 xviii., 15-17, and they are made from Christian motives. 
 
 I emphatically deny this statement; also the assertion 
 that the motive is Christian, because while trying to answer 
 Mr. Smith's questions, and explain my understanding of the 
 spiritual sense of God, and the teachings of our Leader, 
 Mrs. Eddy, he interrupted me by saying, "That is your 
 Pickwickian sense." Such criticism is not in accord with 
 the spirit of Christian motives. I say with St. Paul: 
 
 "For our exhortation was not of deceit, nor of unclean- 
 ness, nor in guile: 
 
 " But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with 
 the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but 
 God, which trieth our hearts" (i Thess. ii., 3, 4). 
 
 Mrs. Eddy says: 
 
 "Abuse of the motives and religion of St. Paul hid from 
 view the apostle's character, which made him equal to his 
 great mission. Persecution of all who have spoken some- 
 thing new and better of God has not only obscured the 
 light of the ages, but has been fatal to the persecutors. 
 
276 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 Why? Because it has hid from them the true idea which 
 has been presented. To misunderstand Paul, was to be 
 ignorant of the divine idea he taught. Ignorance of the 
 divine idea betrays at once a greater ignorance of the divine 
 Principle of the idea — ignorance of Truth and Love. The 
 understanding of Truth and Love, the Principle which 
 works out the ends of eternal good and destroys both 
 faith in evil and the practice of evil, leads to the discern- 
 ment of the divine idea" {Science and Health, p. 560, line 22). 
 
 In answer to "Count One," — I hereby declare that I am 
 practising Christian Science in strict accordance with the 
 demands of its textbook, Science and Health with Key to 
 the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy, — as required in 
 Article XII., Section 2, of the Church Manual. 
 
 In answer to " Count Two," — the statement that I persist 
 "in working mentally and otherwise against the interests of 
 the members of this church [or any person or persons] who 
 are not personal adherents of Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson," . . . 
 I have never been, and am not now, working mentally or 
 otherwise against the members of this Church. Mrs. Eddy 
 tells us: 
 
 "Whoever practises the Science the author teaches, 
 through which Mind pours light and healing upon this 
 generation, can practise on no one from sinister or malicious 
 motives without destroying his own power to heal and his 
 own health. Good must dominate in the thoughts of the 
 healer, or his demonstration is protracted, dangerous, and 
 impossible in Science. A wrong motive involves defeat. 
 In the Science of Mind-healing, it is imperative to be honest, 
 for victory rests on the side of immutable right" {Science 
 and Health, p. 446, line 11). 
 
 Also on page 447, line i : 
 
 "The heavenly law is broken by trespassing upon man's 
 individual right of self-government. We have no author- 
 ity in Christian Science and no moral right to attempt to 
 influence the thoughts of others, except it be to benefit 
 them. In mental practice you must not forget that erring 
 
Answers to Two-Count Complaint 277 
 
 human opinions, conflicting selfish motives, and ignorant 
 attempts to do good may render you incapable of knowing 
 or judging accurately the need of your fellow-men. There- 
 fore the rule is, heal the sick when called upon for aid, and 
 save the victims of the mental assassins." 
 
 I further absolutely deny that I am an "adherent" of 
 Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson, C.S.D., in any "personal" sense; 
 but I am a student and member in good standing 
 of the New York City Christian Science Insti- ^^N^^Yor^k 
 tute, of which Mrs. Stetson is the Principal, and City Christian 
 which was incorporated at the direction of Mrs. institute 
 Eddy in 1891 , — and as such am striving "to keep 
 the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Eph. iv., 3), 
 and, as my beloved Leader tells me, 
 
 "To-day I pray that divine Love, the life-giving Principle 
 of Christianity, shall speedily wake the long night of 
 materialism, and the universal dawn shall break upon the 
 spire of this temple. The Church, more than any other 
 institution, at present is the cement of society, and it 
 should be the bulwark of civil and religious liberty. But 
 the time cometh when the religious element, or Church of 
 Christ, shall exist alone in the affections, and need no or- 
 ganization to express it. Till then, this form of godliness 
 seems as requisite to manifest its spirit, as individuality 
 to express Soul and substance" {Miscellaneous Writings, 
 pp. 144, 145). 
 
 Yours in Truth, 
 (Signed) Steuart C. Rowbotham, C.S. 
 
 Mrs. Gillpatrick's Reply 
 Mrs. Gillpatrick declares in part: 
 
 ... I wish, first, to record my objections to the phrase- 
 ology of "Count Two" of the charges brought against me, 
 viz.: working against those "who are not personal ad- 
 herents of" Mrs. Stetson. The issue, so far as I am 
 
2'/8 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 concerned, is not one of personality. I stand for the 
 correctness of the teachings and practice of Mrs. Stetson, 
 
 and of myself as her student. She has always 
 Patrick objects ^^^Sht me that, to cherish and foster a false 
 to phrase- conccpt of any one was malpractice, and that 
 " Count Two "^ should always strive to see the error as 
 
 unreal, but not omit to handle the serpent — 
 the false claim. . . . 
 
 During the twelve years that I have been Mrs. Stetson's 
 student, I have many times known of our beloved Leader's 
 
 approval of her work and that of her students, 
 
 Says Leader 
 
 has approved expressed m words of love, warnmg, cheer, and 
 Mrs. stet- encouragemcnt. Our gifts have been graciously 
 
 son s work o j 
 
 accepted and acknowledged. Mrs. Stetson has, 
 in turn, always practised and enjoined the most prompt and 
 loyal obedience to our Leader, Mrs. Eddy, and our church 
 services have ever reflected this spirit. . . . 
 
 Mrs. Airman's Reply 
 
 In her letter of April 15, 1910, Mrs. Aikman writes: 
 
 ... In reply I would say, concerning "Count One," I 
 positively affirm that I have not "been found trying to 
 practise Christian Science contrary to the 
 Mrs. Aikman statement thereof in its textbook, Science and 
 is a loyal Health with Key to the Scriptures." That 
 follower of through eamcst and prayerful study of this 
 
 Mary Baker r- ./ -j 
 
 Eddy textbook, which healed me of pronounced 
 
 incurable troubles twenty-three years ago, I 
 have striven with increasing effort, and consecration to 
 practise Christian Science according to its teachings, so far 
 as I could interpret, and spiritually understand those 
 teachings; and that during that time I have been and now 
 am a loyal, faithful follower of our beloved Leader, Mary 
 Baker Eddy. For the past twenty years my study of 
 Christian Science has been immeasurably aided by my 
 teacher, Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson, C.S.D. . . . 
 
Answers to Two-Count Complaint 279 
 
 I therefore again positively affirm that I am not guilty 
 of the charges preferred against me in "Count Two," 
 namely, that I persist "in working mentally and otherwise 
 against the interests of the members of this church who 
 are not personal adherents of Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson." 
 I wish it clearly understood by the Board of Directors, that 
 I absolutely and finally deny these charges, and protest 
 against them, and all evidence that may be brought in 
 support of them at any time. 
 
 Very sincerely, 
 
 (Signed) M. Augusta Airman. 
 
 The sequel to this remarkable series of letters was 
 not disclosed until nearly three months later, 
 when the Clerk of The Mother Church sent dropped from 
 to each of the sixteen practitioners a letter ^church rou 
 of which the following is a copy : 
 
 THE FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST, 
 
 Norway, Falmouth and St. Paul Sts. 
 
 Boston, Massachusetts. 
 
 July 8, 1910 
 
 Miss Sybil Marvin Huse 
 New York City 
 Dear Miss Huse: This is to advise you that your name 
 has this day been dropped from the membership roll of 
 The Mother Church, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, 
 in Boston, Massachusetts. 
 
 Very sincerely, 
 
 (Signed) J. V. Dittemore. 
 
 Clerk. 
 
CHAPTER XXVI 
 
 SO-CALLED "ADMONITIONS" BY THE FIRST 
 READER OF THE MOTHER CHURCH TO THE 
 NEW YORK TRUSTEES COMPRISING THE 
 COMMITTEE OF INQUIRY 
 
 During December, 1909, the First Reader of The 
 Mother Church, Judge Clifford P. Smith, called upon 
 those members of the New York Board of 
 of members of Trustccs who had participated in rendering 
 S*"^"^* °' ^^® Report of the Committee of Inquiry, 
 vindicating Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson, C.S.D., 
 which vindication was confirmed by the New York 
 church. The purpose of his call was as stated in the 
 following letter to admonish each of them. 
 
 The action, in our judgment, was without warrant 
 of fact or law and without any justification under the 
 Manual of The Mother Church. The result of this 
 attempt on his part is set forth in the interviews 
 hereafter related. 
 
 The Christian Science Board of Directors 
 
 OF 
 
 THE FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST, 
 Norway, Falmouth and St. Paul Sts. 
 Boston, Mass. 
 Office of the 
 
 Secretary 
 
 December 23, 1909 
 Mr. . . . 
 
 New York City. 
 My dear Mr. . . . : — It appears to have become neces- 
 sary for me as First Reader of The Mother Church to 
 
 280 
 
Admonitions to Committee of Inquiry 281 
 
 admonish you, as required by its By-laws. I will be in 
 New York City next Monday and Tuesday and wish to 
 see you during that time for this purpose. If you wish to 
 appoint a time and place for the interview, I shall be glad 
 to accept your convenience ; and if you prefer to call on me, 
 I will receive you at the Manhattan Hotel, or at the office 
 of the Christian Science Monitor, Room 2092, Metropolitan 
 Building. A note addressed to me at either place will 
 reach me. 
 
 Sincerely yours, 
 
 (Signed) Clifford P. Smith. 
 First Reader of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, 
 in Boston, Massachusetts. 
 
 This letter was addressed to the following seven 
 Trustees then in office: 
 Edwin F. Hatfield, 
 
 John Franklin Crowell, 
 Mrs. Isabelle C. Dam, 
 Joseph B. Whitney, 
 Adolph Rusch, 
 
 William H. Taylor, 
 John D. Higgins. 
 These Trustees now singled out for "admonition" 
 were the same persons whom the Board of Directors 
 of The Mother Church called upon in their letter of 
 October 4, 1909, to "make your own investigation 
 and act without fear or favor," and who had so 
 done. Within the next few days the interviews pro- 
 posed in the foregoing notice of December 23, were 
 held. 
 
 The interviews were held with each Trustee sepa- 
 rately at different times and places, and were begun by 
 either the First Reader's reading or handing to each 
 one an identical letter of "admonition," on several of 
 
282 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 which one or more of the specifications had been can- 
 celled before being handed to the recipient. The fol- 
 lowing is the "admonitory" letter and communication 
 then used as hereafter set forth. 
 
 New York, December 27, 1909. 
 Mr. . . . 
 
 New York City. 
 My dear Mr. . . . : — During the last few months you 
 have had a special opportunity either to serve the cause 
 of Christian Science or to work against it. Dur- 
 
 An "admom- 
 
 tory " letter lug this crucial pcfiod the right course for you 
 of unfounded ^q pursue may not always have been clear to you, 
 
 assumptions 
 
 because you had become accustomed to accept 
 the directions of one who was your teacher and who had 
 herself strayed from the way of Christian Science. Endeav- 
 oring to make all due allowances, I am nevertheless con- 
 strained to believe from the evidence furnished by your 
 works that you have greatly neglected your duty to God, 
 to our Leader and to mankind. 
 
 As the First Reader of The First Church of Christ, 
 Scientist, in Boston, Mass., having the duty to enforce 
 its discipline and by-laws, I therefore admonish you as 
 follows : 
 
 1 . To stop asserting and maintaining as genuine Chris- 
 tian Science the false teaching and practice of Mrs. Augusta 
 E. Stetson; 
 
 2. To correct your attitude and conduct toward those 
 members of The Mother Church who do not accept the 
 teaching of Mrs. Stetson; 
 
 3. To correct your attitude and conduct toward The 
 Christian Science Board of Directors. 
 
 4. To discontinue aiding and abetting Mrs. Stetson 
 and her followers in their misrepresentation of our Leader, 
 Mrs. Eddy, their misinterpretation of Mrs. Eddy's letters 
 
Admonitions to Committee of Inquiry 283 
 
 and writings, and their opposition to The Mother Church 
 and its officers. 
 
 5. To desist from working against the interests of the 
 loyal members of The Mother Church and the accomplish- 
 ment of what our Leader, Mrs. Eddy, has defined in her 
 writings to be advantageous to this Church and the Cause 
 of Christian Science. 
 
 Hoping that you will heed and accept these admonitions, 
 I am, 
 
 Sincerely yours, 
 
 (Signed) Clifford P. Smith, 
 
 First Reader. 
 
 It is here to be carefully noted that inasmuch as each 
 of those thus "admonished" was a member of a branch 
 church, and was not charged with mental malpractice, 
 this action of the First Reader of The Mother Church 
 was in direct violation of Article XL, Section 6, of 
 The Mother Church Manual, which we quote in 
 full: 
 
 Article XL Members in Mother Church Only. Sect, 6. 
 A complaint against a member of The Mother Church, if 
 said member belongs to no branch church and if this complaint 
 is not for mental malpractice, shall be laid before this Board, 
 and within ten days thereafter, the Clerk of the Church 
 shall address a letter of inquiry to the member complained 
 of as to the validity of the charge. If a member is found 
 guilty of that whereof he is accused and his previous charac- 
 ter has been good, his confession of his error and evidence 
 of his compliance with our Church Rules shall be deemed 
 sufficient by the Board for forgiveness for once, and the 
 Clerk of the Church shall immediately so inform him. But 
 a second offense shall dismiss a member from the 
 Church. 
 
284 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 The further fact that Judge Smith stated plainly to 
 Joseph B. Whitney, it was in their position as Trustees 
 Does First that he felt they were wrong, as individuals. 
 Reader of e^c., makes it evident that he also violated 
 Church violate that part of Article XXIII. , Section 10, of 
 Manual? r^^^ MothcF ChuTch Mauual which reads: 
 
 In Christian Science each branch church shall be distinctly 
 democratic in its government, and no individual, and no 
 other church shall interfere with its affairs. 
 
 The five items of the above "admonition" may be 
 
 condensed into the double injunction "to drop Mrs. 
 
 Stetson," a student and for twenty-five 
 
 A demand . . -i -» t 
 
 " to drop years a teacher and practitioner under Mary 
 Mrs. stetson "g^j^gj. j^^^^^y'g personal direction and ap- 
 proval, and endorse the Directors, but two of whom — 
 viz., Ira O. Knapp and Stephen A. Chase, were ever 
 students of Mrs. Eddy. 
 
 ' ' Admonition ' ' Analyzed 
 
 Item I. Item I is based on a wrong premise, and for 
 the New York Trustees to have attempted to 
 follow such an " admonition" would have been to 
 surrender their right, not only of individual inter- 
 pretation of the Bible, and the writings of Mary 
 Baker Eddy, but to have stultified their convictions 
 based in some cases on over twenty-four years of 
 experience and association with their teacher, 
 Augusta E. Stetson, C.S.D., and to have surren- 
 dered their individuality. 
 
 Item II. No proof was, nor could be produced that 
 would warrant any "admonition," "To correct 
 your attitude and conduct toward those members 
 
Admonitions to Committee of Inquiry 285 
 
 of The Mother Church who do not accept the 
 teaching of Mrs. Stetson." 
 
 Item III. The attitude of every one of the New York 
 Trustees towards the Christian Science Board of 
 Directors at Boston is well set forth in the follow- 
 ing statement made to Clifford P. Smith, by Wil- 
 liam H. Taylor (one of the Trustees) on December 
 2^], 1909. "Mrs. Stetson has taught me that it 
 was my duty to stand by The Mother Church, to 
 stand by our own church, to see every one as 
 God's idea no matter whether they seemed to 
 differ or not, and to reflect all the love possible to 
 every member of the church and, if I held any 
 malice, or anger, or hate toward the Directors of 
 The Mother Church, or toward any member of 
 our own church, it would react upon myself and 
 I would be the one to suffer." 
 
 Item IV. In the Fourth Item the question of inter- 
 pretation was raised, as if there were no latitude for 
 individual interpretation of the Leader's writings. 
 Here again there was no quotation of what part 
 of the writings, teachings, letters, or whatsoever 
 it was claimed to have been misinterpreted or 
 misrepresented. It was all assumption and no 
 specifications. 
 
 Item V. Finally, in the Fifth Item, the Trustees were 
 "admonished" "To desist from working against 
 the interests of the loyal members of The Mother 
 Church," etc. When it came to questioning 
 Judge Smith as to the time, place, and circum- 
 stances to which these official claims of his applied, 
 he failed to sustain his allegations. In the case 
 of Mr. Joseph B. Whitney, each "Item" was gone 
 over separately and the absence of fact shown. 
 
286 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 As a result of this test, in which insistence upon 
 proof of specific deUnquency was demanded, Mr. 
 Whitney states: "Judge Smith said that he had 
 no special charges to press against me individually 
 as separate from my membership as one of the 
 Trustees of the Board. He also said that these 
 'admonitions' as a whole expressed the attitude 
 of all the Directors, and concluded by saying, when 
 asked to specify : ' I cannot form it into a phrase, 
 and you must take the whole paper as the basis of 
 the charge, which is not so much for the past as 
 the future.' " 
 
 Note the fact: no definite complaint, and no 
 definite cause for complaint; only a warning for 
 the futiue! The above statement was written 
 down in Judge Smith's presence, read over to 
 him, and admitted by him to be correct. The 
 following parallel gives the resulting contrasts: 
 
 Judge Smith's 
 "Admonition" 
 
 Mr. Whitney's 
 Refutation 
 
 1. To stop asserting and 
 maintaining as genuine 
 Christian Science the false 
 teaching and practice of 
 Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson. 
 
 2. To correct your atti- 
 tude and conduct toward 
 those members of The 
 Mother Church who do 
 not accept the teaching of 
 Mrs. Stetson. 
 
 Mr. Whitney said, " I 
 must interpret according to 
 my understanding of Science 
 and Health, and cannot ac- 
 cept the interpretation of 
 another." 
 
 To this "admonition" 
 Judge Smith actually had 
 no fact whatever to sustain 
 it, and passed it as being 
 without foundation. 
 
Admonitions to Committee of Inquiry 287 
 
 3. To correct your atti- 
 tude and conduct toward the 
 Christian Science Board of 
 Directors. 
 
 4. To discontinue aiding 
 and abetting Mrs. Stetson 
 and her followers in their 
 misrepresentations of our 
 Leader, Mrs. Eddy; their 
 misrepresentations of Mrs. 
 Eddy's letters and writings, 
 and their opposition to The 
 Mother Church and its 
 officers. 
 
 5. To desist from work- 
 ing against the interests of 
 the loyal members of The 
 Mother Church and the ac- 
 complishment of what our 
 Leader, Mrs. Eddy, has de- 
 fined in her writings to 
 be "advantageous to this 
 Church and to the Cause of 
 Christian Science." [Man- 
 ual, Art. xi., Sect. 7.] 
 
 Mr. Whitney disagreed 
 with Judge Smith, that he 
 had been, or was then, wrong 
 in his attitude and conduct. 
 
 To this "admonition" 
 Judge Smith was not able 
 to cite any special proof, and 
 upon these claims being posi- 
 tively denied, Judge Smith 
 said," We will pass that also." 
 
 As if to make a final stand 
 on the 5th "admonition," 
 the First Reader held this 
 to contain the gist of all the 
 accusations. When pressed 
 to specify, his reply was, as 
 quoted above ; that he could 
 not form the accusations 
 into a phrase, and that the 
 whole " admonition" in these 
 five items should be accepted 
 as the basis of a charge, 
 in the nature of a warning 
 not so much against what 
 had been done, as to what 
 might be done in the future. 
 
 The interview with Mr. Joseph B. Whitney on 
 December 29, 1909, extended from 10 A.M. interview with 
 to 1:15 P.M. In describing what occurred ^° **°^^ 
 on that occasion, Mr. Whitney recorded the following 
 immediately afterwards : 
 
288 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 The whole burden of Judge Smith's "admonition" was 
 the charge that we were aiding and abetting Mrs. Stetson 
 in opposition to the Board of Directors of The Mother 
 Church by our "Findings" in opposition to theirs; in not 
 forwarding Miss Ensworth's and Miss Colton's testimony 
 when requested; by pubHshing our letter of regret and 
 endorsement of Mrs. Stetson at the time of our accepting 
 her resignation from the church and Board of Trustees; by 
 sending out Col. Dean's letter, and by our general attitude 
 toward the Board of Directors of The Mother Church since 
 the time that we first went to Boston in September, 1909, 
 and up to the present time, December 29, 1909. 
 
 He denied my right in my capacity as a Trustee to endorse 
 my faith and confidence in Mrs. Stetson and the correct- 
 Denial of '^^^^ °^ ^^^ teaching and interpretation of Science 
 individual and Health and Mrs. Eddy's other works, in 
 "^ '^ opposition to the decision of the Board of Direc- 
 
 tors of The Mother Church. That Mrs. Eddy, in Article 
 XII., Sections i and 2, of the Manual had delegated the 
 right to interpret what was correct teaching of Christian 
 Science to the Board of Directors, and I had no right to act 
 in my capacity as a Trustee contrary thereto. That in so 
 doing, I brought ridicule and discredit upon the Board of 
 Directors, by setting them at defiance, and thus would be 
 likely to destroy the benefit of Christian Science to the 
 world for a generation, a thing that Mrs. Eddy has said in 
 the Manual was an offense worthy of the severest criticism, 
 or something to that effect. 
 
 I suppose he referred to Article XI., Section 7, "Working 
 Against the Cause." I asked him to formulate this into a 
 sentence, and after starting to do so, he said he did not think 
 he could do it satisfactorily, but that I might take the 
 whole paper as the basis of "admonition," etc., etc. He 
 said I was not to take the "admonition" so much as relat- 
 ing to what had occurred in the oast, but more to govern 
 myself in future conduct, and to take the paper as a whole, 
 and to change my attitude toward the Board of Directors 
 
Admonitions to Committee of Inquiry 289 
 
 of The Mother Church, as they were the supreme authority 
 in the Church, and were so constituted by Mrs. Eddy. 
 
 I said: "Suppose it should happen — and this is a suppo- 
 sitional case,— that we should disagree as to some inter- 
 pretations, and I should force myself to accept yours and 
 to give up my own conscientious convictions of what was 
 right, and it should afterwards turn out that your views 
 were wrong and mine were right, what respect do you think 
 I would have for myself?" He said: "Yes, that is all 
 right regarding yourself, but you should not give it out to 
 the world as a Trustee in opposition to the Board of Direc- 
 tors of The Mother Church, and thereby bring disrespect 
 and ridicule upon the whole society, as you have done by 
 publishing your endorsement of Mrs. Stetson and her 
 teaching after she had been excommunicated (he used this 
 word) by the Board of Directors of The Mother Church." 
 I replied that there was no such intention in anything that 
 we did. We acted up to our highest understanding of what 
 was right, in recognizing the work that Mrs. Stetson had 
 done here: that she had never taught me wrong, so far as 
 I knew, neither did the testimony that we took in the "In- 
 quiry" indicate to me that she had; that I had been con- 
 scientious in all that I had done, and that no man could do 
 more. 
 
 On the question of the right to individual interpreta- 
 tion of the religious teachings of the Bible, or of Mrs. 
 Eddy's writings, and on other matters in the procedure 
 of the New York Committee of Inquiry, Mr. Whitney 
 states that the following colloquy occiirred between 
 him and Judge Smith: 
 
 Mr. Whitney: I would not delegate my individual 
 right to decide a question of what was right and 
 what was wrong to any man, and could be 
 governed only by my own conscience as to the 
 
 19 
 
290 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 meaning or interpretation of any sentence in 
 Science and Health or any of Mrs. Eddy's writ- 
 ings, or the Bible, where there was a doubtful 
 meaning, or two or more interpretations could 
 be given. 
 
 Judge Smith : Conscience is a doubtful word. 
 
 Mr. Whitney: I should rather say conscience is 
 your highest God-given understanding. I use 
 it in that sense. 
 
 Judge Smith: Then we are a unit in that respect, 
 
 The offense but you had no right to send those pamphlets 
 
 of publicity ^£ your dccision broadcast over the land. 
 
 Mr. Whitney: We did not, we sent them only to 
 the church members. 
 
 Judge Smith : Then why did you have four or five 
 thousand printed? 
 
 Mr. Whitney: We thought at first we should send 
 them to our friends everywhere, and left it to a 
 committee to have them printed; but decided 
 afterwards to limit them to the church members, 
 and so informed the people who were sending 
 them out. 
 
 Judge Smith : I commend you for that, but how did 
 they get to California and Mexico, even Canada 
 and Europe? 
 
 Mr. Whitney: I do not know. If individuals sent 
 them to their friends, we could not prevent it. 
 
 Judge Smith: Well, we have heard from it every- 
 where, commenting upon it and bringing ridicule 
 and discredit upon the Board of Directors. 
 
 Mr. Whitney: I did not know anything about that, 
 as I had not seen any of the comments. 
 
 Judge Smith : We take clippings from an agency and 
 we have received over a bushel of clippings from 
 
Admonitions to Committee of Inquiry 291 
 
 all parts of the world in regard to it. That 
 letter of Col. Dean's, why did you send that 
 out? 
 
 Mr. Whitney: We did not send it out. 
 
 Judge Smith: Who did it? 
 
 Mr. Whitney: I do not know. 
 
 Judge Smith: Have you not seen it? 
 
 Mr. Whitney : Oh yes, I received a copy of it through 
 the mail, but that was the first time I had seen it. 
 
 Judge Smith : We get clippings commenting upon that 
 from everywhere, just the same as we did on 
 your "Report." Why did you give 
 out your letter to Mrs. Stetson at iTtter^o 
 the time of accepting her resigna- ^^^- stetson 
 tion as a Trustee? That was a 
 direct slap at the Directors. 
 
 Mr. Whitney: I did not so understand or consider 
 it; we said just what we felt, and that was all 
 any man could do. 
 
 Judge Smith : Well, you need not have given that out. 
 
 Mr. Whitney: I felt that it was due her, in justice 
 for what she had done. 
 
 Judge Smith : You had no right to do it. Why did 
 you not send on the copies of Miss Ensworth's 
 and Miss Colton's testimony when I wrote for 
 them? 
 
 Mr. Whitney: They were given in confidence, and 
 we referred it to our counsel as to our right to 
 do so in justice under the circumstances. 
 
 Referring to the refusal of the Board of Directors 
 of The Mother Church to grant the New York Trustees 
 the privilege of a copy of the testimony of the New York 
 practitioners taken at Boston, Mr. Whitney further- 
 
292 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 more states that he said, "As to Miss Ensworth's and 
 Miss Colton's testimony, I felt that if any were to be 
 given over, I thought all should be given by each side 
 to the other: that a fair judgment of the situation could 
 not be determined by any one individual testimony. 
 Judge Smith then said: 'There you go again! That is 
 the way with all the Stetsonites. You think you have 
 equal rights with the Board of Directors of The 
 Mother Church in deciding all such matters. ' Judge 
 Smith further said, that it was in our position as Trus- 
 
 Nothin ^^^^ ^^^^ ^® ^^^^ ^® were wrong. As indi- 
 
 against Trus- viduals hc thought wc wcrc all men of high 
 all/ ' ' character, and he had nothing against us: 
 that he had nothing against me personally. 
 As no complaints had been made, and it was only 
 for my actions as a member of the Board of Trustees 
 that he wished to admonish me, etc." 
 
 Judge Smith advanced rather peculiar views as to 
 what the Committee of Inquiry should have done. 
 He said, according to Mr, Whitney's record, it should 
 have supported Mr. Strickler and called in those who 
 had testified against Mrs. Stetson. Mr. Whitney 
 replied, "We asked each person if he had the names of 
 any persons to give us who had any charges to bring, 
 or could give us any further information in regard to 
 the practice and conditions existing in our church, 
 and no one gave us any additional names, neither did 
 the Board of Directors of The Mother Church, when 
 we inquired of them, nor did they allow us to see 
 the testimony they took. We examined every prac- 
 titioner, except Harry Fink, who was absent from the 
 city." 
 
 The interview concluded by Judge Smith inviting 
 Mr. Whitney to go to Boston and see the Directors. 
 
Admonitions to Committee of Inquiry 293 
 Interview with Mr. Hatfield 
 
 Mr. Hatfield makes the following statement regarding 
 Judge Smith's interview with him on Decern- ^r. Hatfield's 
 
 ber 28, 1909: statement 
 
 He read his "admonition" as to our Trustees' attitude 
 towards The Mother Church, and stated that our acts did 
 not indicate obedience to their decisions as to Mrs. 
 Stetson, but directly contrary thereto in our "Resolu- 
 tions" commending Mrs. Stetson; also, in not acting 
 to see that the Sunday School children were not 
 taught by those who believed as Mrs. Stetson did, also by 
 our not sending to the Board of Directors, as requested, 
 the testimonies of Miss Ensworth and Miss Colton before 
 our Committee of Inquiry. 
 
 He claimed that we could not decline their request, but 
 must obey them absolutely. He said that if we thought 
 Mrs. Stetson had been taught by Mrs. Eddy to do what 
 they had condemned, as she claims, we were misrepresent- 
 ing Mrs. Eddy. That Mrs. Eddy says she has never taught 
 privately anything different from her public utterances.' 
 
 He affirmed that it is never right to speak to the person, 
 mentioning their names, in self-defense; that it was mal- 
 practice, if without their consent. 
 
 When asked if there were no room in Christian Science 
 for the law of love and loyalty to a teacher who had been 
 the channel through whom we had learned the 
 beauty and power of its beneficent ministry, he ° lovra'nd 
 replied that no other teacher's students talked loyalty to 
 that way, for that was her personality separating teachers 
 us from Principle. 
 
 When told that the writers of what is known as the 
 "Composite Letter" had no idea of deifying uo ..(jeifica- 
 Mrs. Stetson, he said then Mrs. Eddy was wrong tion " 
 
 in rebuking Mrs. Stetson. 
 
 • See page 368. 
 
294 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 Interview with Mr. Taylor 
 
 The most extended interview by Judge Clifford P. 
 Smith, First Reader of The Mother Church, was that 
 Mr. Taylor's with Mr. William H. Taylor, on December 
 account 27, 1909, at the latter's office in New York 
 City. At this interview the Directors' position as to 
 the alleged falsity of the teaching and the practice of 
 Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson was gone into rather fully. In 
 answer to the direct question by Mr. Taylor, "Wherein 
 were the teaching and practice of Mrs. Augusta E. 
 Stetson false?" Judge Smith answered: "The first 
 basic error is that she puts herself between her students 
 and God, and, as a noticeable instance of this, she is 
 quoted as having said at a Thanksgiving service in 
 1908, 'We are journeying onward, — your hands are 
 in mine and mine in God's. ' That a number of people 
 were so shocked at this statement that they wrote it 
 down at the time." 
 
 Mrs. Stetson having been charged with wrong teach- 
 ing in " the application of Christian Science to human 
 Unable to ex- nccds and conditions," Mr. Taylor asked 
 plain charge what this meant, stating to Judge Smith 
 that Virgil O. Strickler during the "Inquiry" had been 
 asked as to the meaning of it and he said he did not 
 understand what was meant. Judge Smith was imable 
 to explain what it meant further than to say that it 
 was a "matter of balance." 
 
 He stated, as his personal view, however, that "Mrs. 
 Stetson teaches her students to act and speak as though 
 they were not human beings but divine ideas. I think 
 that the effect in many cases is to produce hypocrisy 
 and self-deception, which has a bad moral effect upon 
 the student and hinders demonstration of Christian 
 
Admonitions to Committee of Inquiry 295 
 
 Science, — or rather the appHcation of Christian Science 
 to human needs." 
 
 On neariy every page of the Christian Science text- 
 book the divinity of man is persistently urged, nor can 
 it be shown anywhere that Mrs. Stetson, or Man is 
 
 her students, ignore the human. It was God's idea 
 true that she taught the divinity of man as supreme, 
 and immortahty as the only verity of the universe, 
 including individual man. It is also true that because 
 of the purity of Mrs. Stetson's teaching and practice, 
 both she and her students have demonstrated the 
 power of the Christ-mind to "meet every human need" 
 {Science and Health, p. 494). 
 
 Judge Smith further explained that the fault found 
 with Mrs. Stetson's teaching and practice jg jj rig^t t,, 
 was that of treating persons by name. He ""^e names » ? 
 went so far as to say, "I do not think it is necessary 
 to even use a patient's name in treating." 
 
 Did Jesus malpractice when he said, "Lazarus, come 
 forth ' ' ? Did Peter malpractice when he said, ' ' Tabitha, 
 arise"? Did Jesus malpractice when he used jesus' 
 
 Peter's name, saying, "Thou art Peter," or example 
 when he said, "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, 
 hypocrites " ? This would appear to be divine authority 
 for using names. 
 
 Mr. Taylor further states as follows: 
 
 Judge Smith held radically different views from the New 
 York Trustees as to the relations between The Mother 
 Church and the branch churches. Judge Smith c^ujch mem- 
 brought out the point that a relative of his in bership and 
 Pittsburgh refused to join the beautiful church residence 
 there but insisted on maintaining membership in First 
 Church of New York. That this was contrary to Principle; 
 that there was a Mother Church, and the party should not 
 
296 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 live in one place and belong to a branch church in another 
 place. I then asked him why there was not a By-Law to 
 that effect — he said, they had tried to frame a By-Law to 
 cover that situation but were unable to do so as there were 
 many times when it would seem proper such a condition 
 shovdd exist. I told him that that was an individual ques- 
 tion and that I would not presume to judge lest I did so 
 erroneously. 
 
 In response to my question as to his third " admo- 
 nition," "To correct your attitude and conduct toward 
 . ^ The Christian Science Board of Directors," Judge 
 
 Ignores rights lu^r-i • • ^ o 
 
 of branch bmith Stated, You do not recognize the proper 
 churches un- relation of The Mother Church Board of Di- 
 
 der Manual it-. 
 
 rectors over the Board of Trustees of branch 
 churches. That," continued Judge Smith, "was a relation 
 implied between the greater and the lesser; that the Board 
 of Trustees of branch churches must respond to any request 
 of the Board of Directors of The Mother Church." On 
 this I took a square issue with Judge Smith, stating that 
 in so far as the Board of Directors acted within the consti- 
 tution, which both Judge Smith and myself agreed was the 
 Manual of The Mother Church, we would always promptly 
 obey. 
 
 A vital point in the First Reader's interview was the 
 
 claim, "That it was thought by many people that the Board 
 
 of Trustees of this church had been making a 
 
 No such record which Mrs. Stetson could use at any 
 
 move contem- . . , -r> 1 r -i-n- r 
 
 plated at that futurc time agamst the Board of Directors of 
 time, but later The Mother Church, and that it was done for 
 
 was found r • 1 • tv «■ r-v • 1 • 
 
 necessary the purposc of aiding Mrs. Stetson m this 
 respect." I told him that the record was a 
 statement of facts; that there was no such thought in the 
 mind of any member of the Board of Trustees. I asked 
 him whether he really thought that Mrs. Stetson had any 
 such idea in view ; that I wanted to tell him that under the 
 existing situation Mrs. Stetson had told me that it was my 
 duty to stand by The Mother Church ; to stand by our own 
 
Admonitions to Committee of Inquiry 297 
 
 church, and to see every one as God's idea, no matter 
 whether they seemed to differ or not, and to reflect all the 
 love possible to every member of the church; that if I held 
 any malice or anger or hate toward the Directors of The 
 Mother Church, or toward any member of our own church, 
 it would react upon myself, and I would be the one to 
 suffer. 
 
 This throws some light on what Mrs. Stetson's actual 
 advice was to those who were on the same official 
 Board with her. 
 
 The interview closes with Judge Smith stating that 
 he was glad to have seen Mr. Taylor; that they knew 
 each other better; that after Mr. Taylor's explanation 
 of the letter to Mrs. Stetson, and of other things, he 
 saw things in a different light. 
 
 The interview lasted from 2:45 to 6:15 p.m. 
 
 Interview with Mr. Higgins 
 
 Mr. John D. Higgins gave the following report of 
 his interview with Judge Smith, on December Mr. ffiggins* 
 28, 1909: """""^ 
 
 Judge Smith said: "Are you not now making or tamper- 
 ing with the records of your proceedings?" I replied, 
 "No, the record is made and completed." Judge Smith 
 said, it was suggested that we were deliberately making 
 a record favorable to Mrs. Stetson, so that when Mrs 
 Eddy died, she (Mrs. Stetson) might be fortified to in- 
 stitute an independent movement, tending to substantiate 
 her claims. Judge Smith again came back to this ques- 
 tion in his interview with me, when he brought up the 
 matter of Miss Ensworth's and Miss Colton's testimony. 
 He (Judge Smith) particularly stated there Desired to 
 that what he wanted with Miss Colton's testi- suppress 
 mony was, "to suppress it, so that there would testimony 
 not be extant any misrepresentations of Mrs. Eddy's state- 
 
298 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 ments or teachings that might be promulgated when she 
 [Mrs. Eddy] was not here to review them." 
 
 Miss Colton's testimony referred to her residence at 
 Pleasant View, during which time the Leader on different 
 occasions referred, approvingly, to Mrs. Stetson as a favorite 
 student, and in other complimentary ways. At the con- 
 clusion of the interview, he asked me to come and see him 
 when in Boston — that he was most of the time at the Pub- 
 lishing House. He had previously asked me to take dinner 
 with him, which I had to decline on account of getting 
 ready to leave town. 
 
 Interview with Dr. Crowell 
 
 Another of the "admonitions" to the New York 
 Trustees occurred in the interview between Judge 
 Dr. croweii's Clifford P. Smith and Dr. John Franklin 
 statement Crowell, in the first week of 1910. When 
 the two met in the Hotel Manhattan, the usual pro- 
 ceeding of reciting the "admonitory " letter was inaugu- 
 rated by the First Reader. In reply to it Dr. Crowell 
 said: 
 
 ' ' For forty years I have striven to live a Christian life. 
 
 I am old enough to welcome the counsel of any one who 
 
 , , would point out my failings, with a view to the 
 
 Charges Judge . ^ r -i , x • , 
 
 Smith was improvement of my conduct ; but I am convmced 
 " erroneously ^^isLt in this wholc matter, you, as First Reader, 
 
 influenced" . / , / , 
 
 m your relation with me have been erroneously 
 influenced.' " 
 
 To this Judge Smith replied, as if irritated by my attitude : 
 "Then you proceed to admonish me, instead of my admon- 
 ishing you." I replied that I was convinced 
 refusesTo t^Sit he was misinformed in practically every- 
 pass on ran- thing that had been assumed in this "admoni- 
 mentf**^" tion." He then drew from his pocket a slip of 
 paper and read a sentence or two, asking me 
 whether I thought that was true Christian Science teaching? 
 
Admonitions to Committee of Inquiry 299 
 
 I told him that I knew nothing about what he was reading, 
 whose statement it was, nor where it came from, and that 
 I was not there to pass on an anonymous statement of any 
 sort, and that I could not understand why he was attempt- 
 ing to put me in the r61e of passing upon other people's 
 utterances. To this he answered, "You consider then 
 that the business in hand is between yourself and myself 
 solely?" I said, "Decidedly so." 
 
 Judge Smith attempted in this interview to show that 
 the analogy of the Federal to the State government applied 
 to the relation of The Mother Church and the virtues and 
 branch churches. To this I replied that the vices of 
 
 idea had all the virtues and vices of any other *°* °^ 
 
 analogy. As a matter of fact. Judge vSmith's theory of the 
 unlimited powers of The Mother Church Directors in 
 dealing with branch churches, even to the most local mat- 
 ters, left no room for any such balance of power as pertains 
 to the Federal and State governments of the American 
 Union. 
 
 Judge Smith alleged that an interview published in 
 several New York papers and credited to Dr. Crowell 
 contained several utterances which were accepted as 
 his (Dr. Crowell's) attitude towards the Directors. 
 Dr. Crowell denied that any such interview expressed 
 his attitude. Judge Smith asked him why he did not 
 contradict it. To this Dr. Crowell replied, that there 
 was little use to attempt to correct such a statement. 
 The Board of Directors had written him, asking whether 
 or not the interview correctly reported his attitude 
 towards them, and he replied, stating that it did not, 
 in many essentials. Dr. Crowell says: 
 
 I tried to assure him that in my judgment the Cause of 
 Christian Science was not in any danger of suffering from 
 the people who composed First Church, New York, but 
 
300 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 that on the other hand they were as loyal to the Cause as 
 I believed any people could be. "I take it that is the 
 impression you wish to leave with me as the result of this 
 interview," said Judge Smith as I rose to leave. 
 
 As I stood in the doorway to depart, Judge Smith said 
 Controversy Something about the work of Mr. Cox, of the 
 a discredit State Publication Committee, in correcting 
 wrong impressions in the public thought. I 
 told him that the Publication Committee had a big task 
 before it, — that this controversy had done an immense 
 degree of discredit to Christian Science in the community. 
 
 Interview with Mrs. Dam 
 
 Mrs. Isabella C. Dam's interview with Judge Smith 
 Mrs. Dam's was held in the Ladies* Parlor of the Hotel 
 account Manhattan, New York City. Mrs. Dam 
 states: 
 
 Judge Smith handed me a paper. I asked him if he 
 wished me to read it. He said, "No, take it home and 
 look it over." Judge Smith commenced his interview 
 by teUing me that my teacher, Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson, 
 was all wrong; that she did not teach true Christian 
 Science, and that the Trustees of First Church, New York, 
 were working against the best interests of Christian Science 
 by opposing the Directors of The Mother Church. 
 
 I said that was not so; that Mrs. Stetson never taught 
 anything but absolute Christian Science as 
 Trustees sup- taught by Mrs. Eddy; that we always would 
 port Directors support the Directors when they worked in 
 obe^y" Manual obcdicnce to the Manual of The Mother Church. 
 He then asked me if I had ever heard Mrs. 
 Stetson say, "No student can get to God except through 
 
 Defends Mrs. ^^^' *^^^ ^^^ ^^"^ ^^^^ O'^ ^^ ^O^' ^^^ ^^^^ 
 
 Stetson's the student was the little finger." I replied 
 teaching ^^^^ j ^^^ never heard Mrs. Stetson say such 
 a thing; that she always held her students to Principle, and 
 
Admonitions to Committee of Inquiry 301 
 
 I never heard her teach anything that was not true Christian 
 Science, as we find it in the textbook, Science and Health 
 with Key to the Scriptures, and other writings by Mary 
 Baker Eddy. 
 
 Judge Smith then brought up the question of using 
 names. He asked me if Mrs. Stetson taught that we could 
 handle names without the consent or knowledge 
 
 Unheard of 
 
 of the persons. I said, "Never, unless in self- rule about 
 defense from mental attack . " He said we should "oida^ce of 
 
 names 
 
 never take up names. I asked, "Not even for 
 patients?" and "If a person comes to me for treatment, 
 am I not to mention his name in treating him?" He said, 
 "Certainly not." I said, "I never heard of such a thing. 
 If you give a person a treatment you must think of the 
 person's name. If you entered a room filled with people 
 and you wanted the attention of some particular person in 
 the room, would you merely say, 'Come here,' without 
 mentioning any one's name? Who would respond to such 
 a call? Would you not call that particular person by name? 
 In treating a patient, would you not call him to awake to a 
 knowledge of his reality, and in doing this would you not 
 mention his name?" 
 
 Judge Smith replied, "No, that is all wrong. You must 
 never take up names. Your treatment must be impersonal . ' ' 
 He then cited a case of a patient of his own, who had written 
 to him for a treatment; but for certain reasons this lady 
 did not give her name, or state what the disease was, saying 
 she would let him know later all the circumstances. He 
 said he treated her impersonally, and that he heard from 
 her afterwards that she had responded to his treatment. 
 
 Judge Smith said that he wanted to make it clear to me 
 that he had nothing against me personally, but only as a 
 member of the Board of Trustees of First Church of Christ, 
 Scientist, New York City. 
 
 In regard to working against the interests of the loyal 
 members of The Mother Church, I said, in substance, that 
 Mrs. Stetson and her loyal students and church members 
 
302 Vital Issues In Christian Science 
 
 have never worked "against the interests of the loyal 
 
 members of The Mother Church," but, on the contrary, 
 
 they had always worked with all their spiritual 
 
 Mrs. stetson ^ . . . , , . , r ■, 
 
 and students undcrstandmg, for the accomplishment of what 
 worked for q^ Leader, Mrs. Eddy, has defined in her 
 
 the Cause 
 
 writings to be " advantageous to this Church and 
 to the Cause of Christian Science." 
 
 I did not read the paper handed me by Judge Smith until 
 I arrived at home. The conversation here recorded, or 
 the "admonition," if it can be so called, terminated with 
 the visit of Judge Smith, and no further "admonition" 
 has been administered. 
 
CHAPTER XXVII 
 
 ANALYSIS OF THE SEVEN FINDINGS 
 
 Whoever has taken the trouble to follow the account 
 up to this point will have realized the efforts made by 
 the Directors of The Mother Church to secure ^he real 
 a disavowal of Mrs. Stetson's instruction as a '^sue 
 
 teacher after they had sent to her their letter of 
 September 25, 1909, enclosing a copy of the seven 
 "Findings" and their "Orders." It will also appear 
 to the reader that the Directors met with a serious 
 obstacle in the nature of the convictions held by a large 
 number of Mrs. Stetson's students, that the truth, as 
 expounded by their Leader, Mrs. Eddy, had been 
 correctly taught to them by their teacher, Mrs. Stetson. 
 
 The issue, therefore, ceased to be one between the 
 Directors in Boston and Mrs. Stetson, and became 
 a clear-cut issue as to what really was the true teach- 
 ing of Christian Science, — whether the views held by 
 the Directors were correct, or whether Mrs. Stetson's 
 teachings were correct. 
 
 The two view-points were essentially different in 
 method as well as in doctrine. The line of cleavage 
 between the Directors' conception of Chris- 
 tian Science and that of Mrs. Stetson and her authority vs. 
 adherents was fundamental. The effort to spiritual 
 
 dominion 
 
 secure disavowal of Mrs. Stetson's instruction, 
 and avowal of the Directors' conception has generally 
 
 303 
 
304 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 been regarded by those to whom the test was put as a 
 demand to sacrifice the spiritual conception of Christian 
 Science to the material conception thereof. 
 
 It was taken as setting up a standard of institutional 
 authority based on material concepts, as against the 
 standard of spiritual dominion. Spiritual dominion 
 and the capacity to assert it had always been a feature 
 of the instruction which Mrs. Stetson emphasized in her 
 classes and in her public utterances. In fact, it was 
 the vigorous assertion of the right to exercise spiritual 
 power in mental self-defense, that brought her into 
 conflict with the Board of Directors. 
 
 Mrs. Stetson, from the very beginning of her work 
 
 in Christian Science, put primary emphasis on the 
 
 healing capacity and the spiritual ability 
 
 stetson em- to deal with sin as well as its manifestation, — 
 
 phasized in gickncss, — in whatcvcr form it might present 
 
 her work ° ^ 
 
 itself in opposition to the progress of the 
 kingdom of God. In other words, the spiritual power 
 to destroy sin and its effects was the test of the spiritual 
 effectiveness of service to God and man. This singled 
 out Mrs. Stetson's teaching and healing, and to a great 
 extent gives it a place by itself. 
 
 As the governing head of The Mother Church, the 
 Founder and Leader of the Cause, Mary Baker Eddy, 
 deemed it wise in the Manual of The Mother Church to 
 hedge in with protective provisions the branches of 
 The Mother Church. Under these wise provisions, 
 First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, 
 
 enjoyed some twenty years of peaceful, pro- 
 liberty in grcssivc, and influential growth. The secret 
 spiritual q£ j^g nrfowth, as suggcstcd in an earlier 
 
 achievement ° °° 
 
 chapter, was due to the emphasis which 
 was put, not upon ecclesiastical authority, but upon 
 
Analysis of Seven Findings 305 
 
 liberty of individual achievement in things spiritual. 
 The development of the spiritual sense, and the handling 
 of the claims of hypnotism, mesmerism, animal mag- 
 netism (malicious, ignorant, or innocent, conscious or 
 unconscious) through the power of Truth and Love, was 
 the essential feature of Mrs. Stetson's teaching year in 
 and year out. 
 
 The truth or falsity of every position taken by the 
 Directors against Mrs. Stetson and the New York 
 Trustees depends upon which of the two 
 view-points above described the question is spirituality 
 considered. If each of the seven ' ' Findings' ' .. ^P^}]^'^ *° 
 
 cs Findings " 
 
 promulgated by the Board of Directors 
 against Mrs, Stetson on September 25, 1909, be tested 
 by this standard, we believe, it will be found that from 
 the spiritual standpoint the Board of Directors was 
 misled and was wrong; while from the standpoint of 
 material laws they had some show of justification. For 
 instance, "Finding" No. i declared: 
 
 That Mrs. Stetson teaches her students, or those with 
 whom she has been holding daily meetings, that the branch 
 Church of Christ, Scientist, of which she is a member, is 
 the only legitimate Christian Science church in New York 
 City; and she teaches her students, or said group of stu- 
 dents, not to regard the other branches of The Mother 
 Church which are in that city as Christian Science 
 churches. 
 
 This raised the question, What is a legitimate 
 Christian Science church? In the spiritual sense, it 
 is "The structure of Truth and Love" (Science and 
 Health, p. 583), and no legitimate branch church, other 
 than a First Church, can be formed which is not an 
 overflow from some church, the membership of which 
 
3o6 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 has been harmoniously working together in brotherly 
 love for its upbuilding and the advancement of the 
 Cause of Christian Science. 
 
 Therefore, a legitimate branch church cannot be the 
 
 outgrowth of dissent, discord, and personal ambition. 
 
 But if elements representing these qualities 
 
 Institutional , . , , . , - , 
 
 legitimacy of go out and Organize a formal society, and ob- 
 branch ^^^^ ^ charter from the State, and then apply 
 
 churches none ' r-i- j 
 
 the less for rccognition on the part of The Mother 
 sma ic Church authorities, these very elements thus 
 constituted could be recognized as a legitimate Chris- 
 tian Science church, according to institutional standards 
 and regardless of the Individual attitude towards the 
 church from which they seceded. Such secession, 
 nevertheless, constitutes a schism. 
 
 The impelling factor in the secessions from First 
 Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, was the 
 chemicalization resulting from the radical spiritual 
 teaching and practice which Mrs. Stetson constantly 
 insisted upon. What must have been the consequences 
 of constantly pouring into the mentality of a congrega- 
 tion of Christian people this oil of spiritual healing 
 power? The most natural thing in the world, as the 
 legitimate outcome, was the chemicalization' among 
 the individual members of such a body. 
 
 Results of • • I- TV T o > 
 
 spiritual From the beginning of Mrs. Stetson s con- 
 growth gregational experience, this insistence of 
 
 spiritual growth as a proof of capacity to engage in 
 the healing work had the effect of causing a process 
 of separation among incompatible elements. 
 
 It is from this view-point that Mrs. Stetson, who knew 
 
 ' " By chemicalization I mean the process which mortal mind and 
 body undergo in the change of belief from a material to a spiritual basis " 
 {Science and Health, pp. i68, 169). 
 
Analysis of Seven Findings 307 
 
 the quality of thought which had brought about the 
 withdrawal of members to form churches of their own, 
 spoke of such churches, and of those which were off- 
 shoots from these churches, as schismatic in their 
 character. A schism in the ecclesiastical sense is 
 properly defined as "A permanent difference or separa- 
 tion in the Christian Church, occasioned by diversity 
 of opinions or other reasons." 
 
 Christian Science is a religion of Love, as the Founder 
 and Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, defines it. There- 
 fore branch churches originating in qualities 
 other than unity and love cannot properly ^°^® "°<* "°'*y 
 
 ■I - ^ . - . . , , . . the only spir- 
 
 be regarded m the spiritual sense as legiti- uuai basis of 
 mate Christian Science churches. On the . „*'''"':'' 
 
 fellowship 
 
 other hand, if formal compliance with cons- 
 titutional requirements in the legal sense be used as the 
 test, then such branch churches are quite as regular as 
 any other; but Mrs. Stetson's statement that First 
 Church of Christ, Scientist, New York, "is the only 
 legitimate Christian Science church in New York City, " 
 is, in a spiritual sense, true. 
 The second "Finding" read: 
 
 2. That a considerable number of the witnesses whose 
 testimony the Directors have heard, exhibit as Mrs. Stet- 
 son's teaching an erroneous sense of Christian christian 
 Science, particularly in regard to the application Science and 
 of Christian Science to human needs and condi- **"™*ditions 
 tions; the witnesses whom the Directors have 
 heard being with one exception her students, and being 
 a select body of students chosen by her, or a board of which 
 she was a member, to be representative practitioners of 
 Christian Science. 
 
 Following the line of the spiritual, as distinct from 
 
3o8 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 the material concept of Christian Science, it becomes 
 easy to see wherein the Directors were, in our judgment, 
 misled in holding that Mrs. Stetson's teaching involved 
 "an erroneous sense of Christian Science, particularly 
 in regard to the application of Christian Science to 
 human needs and conditions." Brushing aside any 
 disposition to evade the meaning of this charge, the 
 reader should know that it referred to the relations of 
 the sexes. 
 
 From the spiritual view-point, which is essentially 
 
 that of Christian Science, and was essentially that of 
 
 Mrs. Stetson, carnality must necessarily 
 
 fan's Caching ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^^ ^^ ^^c quick, with the effect 
 at war with of unscttHng human relations based on the 
 mindedness Carnally minded concept thereof. The ap- 
 plication of the spiritual import of Christian 
 Science to human relations in domestic, in civil, or in 
 public life is bound to impair the foundations which are 
 laid in the animal nature. On this point, and the 
 inevitableness of its application to human society, the 
 Board of Directors knew, or should have known, if 
 they know anything of the vital import of Christian 
 Science, that the leavening of human conditions with 
 spiritual understanding must carry with it, as part 
 of the cost of progress, some disturbing changes, 
 because of the impossibility of reconciling Spirit 
 and the flesh. Yet this is the very teaching for 
 which Mrs. Stetson was condemned under this second 
 "Finding." 
 
 Mrs. Stetson's teaching of Christian Science, as 
 enunciated and taught to her by Mary Baker Eddy, 
 brought about the inevitable result which the teachings 
 of Jesus the Christ produced in his time, when he 
 said: 
 
Analysis of Seven Findings 309 
 
 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: 
 I came not to send peace, but a sword. 
 
 For I am come to set a man at variance " ^ "™® °°* 
 
 • 1 *•* send 
 
 against his father, and the daughter agamst her peace " 
 
 mother, and the daughter in law against her 
 mother in law. 
 
 And a man's foes shall be they of his own household 
 (Matthew X., 34-36). 
 
 "Finding" three read: 
 
 3. That Mrs. Stetson endeavors to exercise a control 
 over her students which tends to hinder their moral and 
 spiritual growth. 
 
 One of the witnesses, whom the Directors, etc., 
 claimed had given confirmatory evidence of the above 
 "Finding," bore quite the contrary testimony at a 
 Wednesday evening meeting in First Church, New 
 York, on September 29, 1909. In referring to the 
 instruction of Mrs. Stetson, Mrs. Kate Y. Remer said: 
 
 Not only was I healed physically, but I felt the touch of 
 the Christ love which gave me spiritual birth. Afterwards 
 my dear practitioner [Mrs. Stetson] became my 
 teacher in Christian Science — teaching me the '^iestimony 
 Truth as found in our textbook. Science and 
 Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy, — 
 also how to handle hypnotism, mesmerism, spiritualism, 
 and the other claims of mortal mind. As the result of this 
 teaching we are enabled to know and prove that man is 
 immortal, thus redeeming our birthright as children of the 
 living God. 
 
 We beg to ask, does this sound like control which 
 tends to hinder moral and spiritual growth? On the 
 face of it, evidently not. Within a week Mrs. Remer 
 
3IO Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 was called to account by The Mother Church Directors 
 in the following letter: 
 
 The Christian Science Board of Directors 
 
 OF 
 
 THE FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST, 
 
 Norway, Falmouth & St. Paul Sts. 
 
 Boston, Mass. 
 
 Office of the 
 
 Secretary 
 
 Oct. 4, 1909. 
 Mrs. KA.TE Y. Remer, 
 New York, N. Y. 
 
 Dear Mrs. Remer: We have been informed that you 
 gave a testimonial in First Church of Christ, Scientist, 
 Directors call ^^^ York City, last Wednesday night, in which 
 Mrs. Remer you Stated, among Other things, that your 
 to account tcachcr Mrs. Stetson had never taught you 
 anything but true Christian Science and that you had been 
 properly taught, etc. etc. 
 
 In view of your recent testimony before this Board, in 
 which you repeated treatments and stated the teachings of 
 your teacher, which were far from being in accord v.'ith 
 Christian Science, and which you yotirself denounced as 
 wicked, this Board requests you to state your position by 
 return mail. 
 
 This Board wishes to know at once why you gave this 
 testimonial directly contrary to your testimony here and 
 they further wish to know immediately whether you now 
 approve of the things taught and done by Mrs. Stetson as 
 related, or whether you now deny that those things occurred. 
 
 Very respectfully, 
 CHRISTIAN SCIENCE BOARD OF DIRECTORS 
 By (Signed) J. V. Dittemore, 
 
 Secretary. 
 
Analysis of Seven Findings 311 
 
 Mrs. Remer's answer defines her position squarely 
 
 in the following words addressed to Mr. J. V. Dittemore, 
 
 Secretary, etc.: 
 
 New York City, 
 October 6, 1909. 
 
 My dear Mr. Dittemore: — Replying to your letter of the 
 4th, I hand you herewith a copy of my testimony given last 
 Wednesday evening at First Church of Christ, 
 
 Takes stand 
 
 Scientist, New York City. I am convinced that in support of 
 the teaching I have received from my teacher, ^'^- stetson's 
 Augusta E. Stetson, C.S.D., is in exact accord 
 with Christian Science as taught by our beloved Leader, 
 Mary Baker Eddy, in her writings and practice. I am 
 persuaded also that anything said by me to the contrary 
 was a result of my failure to do properly the daily duty 
 enjoined by our beloved Leader in Article VIII., Sect. 6, 
 of the Church Manual, — "It shall be the duty of every 
 member of this Church to defend himself daily against 
 aggressive mental suggestion, and not be made to forget nor 
 to neglect his duty to God, to his Leader, and to mankind. 
 By his works he shall be judged, — and justified or con- 
 demned. " Please say this for me to the Board of Directors. 
 Believe me, 
 
 Faithfully yours in Truth, 
 
 (Signed) Kate Y. Remer. 
 
 The Secretary replied to this as follows: 
 
 The Christian Science Board of Directors 
 
 OF 
 
 THE FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST, 
 Norway, Falmouth & St. Paul Sts. 
 Boston, Mass. 
 Office of the 
 
 Secretary 
 
 October 8, 1909. 
 
 Mrs. Kate Y. Remer, 
 New York, N. Y. 
 Dear Mrs. Remer: Your very extraordinary letter and 
 
312 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 enclosure are at hand. The Directors of The Mother 
 Church now ask you whether the testimony which you 
 recently gave before them is true or false. Please let me 
 have your answer to this question at once. 
 Very sincerely, 
 
 (Signed) J. V. Dittemore, 
 Secretary of the 
 CHRISTIAN SCIENCE BOARD OF DIRECTORS. 
 
 Mrs. Remer answered as follows: 
 
 New York City, 
 October lo, 1909. 
 My dear Mr. Dittemore: — In so far as my testimony given 
 in Boston may conflict with the statements in my last 
 w . . letter, and in the enclosure sent therewith, that 
 
 Mental con- . ' 
 
 fusion and testimony was not true, due to great mental 
 facts"*' °' confusion and reversal of the facts. My testi- 
 mony given Wednesday night, Sept. 29th, in 
 First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, was 
 true. 
 
 Yours very tnily, 
 (Signed) Kate Y. Remer. 
 
 One of the chief witnesses upon whom we understand 
 the Board of Directors relied for evidence as to Mrs. 
 Stetson's exercising a hindering control over her 
 students in their moral and spiritual growth, was 
 Richard P. Verrall. His testimony before the Com- 
 mittee of Inquiry of the New York Trustees speaks for 
 itself. At these Committee hearings Mr. Verrall was 
 asked : * 
 
 18. Q. What has been the efTect of Mrs. Stetson's 
 influence on your moral and spiritual progress 
 
 Mr. verraii's duHng thosc fourtccn years? 
 
 testimony A. Well, I think that is rather a diffi- 
 
 cult question to ask. I can't answer that ques- 
 
 ' The testimonies quoted are from the stenographic records. 
 
Analysis of Seven Findings 313 
 
 tion in that form, because I know enough of 
 Christian Science to know that people do not 
 affect us. 
 
 19. Q. Then Mrs. Stetson has not affected you either 
 
 injuriously or favorably? 
 A. No, sir. 
 
 20. Q. What has been the effect of your coming into 
 
 a knowledge of and association with Mrs. Stet- 
 son, in so far as your moral and spiritual progress 
 is concerned? 
 A. To the extent that Mrs. Stetson has been the 
 voice of Christian Science to me, it has been 
 helpful. 
 
 21. Q. Will you state the extent to which 
 
 Mrs. Stetson has been the voice of Mrs. stet- 
 
 TruthtOyOU? son's help- 
 
 •^ fulness 
 
 A. To the extent that she has adhered 
 to the teachings of Mrs. Eddy. 
 
 22. Q. What has been the extent? 
 
 A. Well, I cannot tell you — it is rather an ex- 
 tensive subject. 
 
 23. Q. Then you are not able to tell the Committee — 
 
 though you have been associated with Mrs. 
 Stetson as a student and as a practitioner in this 
 church — you are not able to state whether that 
 has impeded your moral and spiritual progress? 
 A. Before answering that question, I would like 
 to state that the reading of Science and Health 
 was my only practitioner, and it healed me, and 
 I have never had any other — I have never had a 
 practitioner in Christian Science. 
 
 24. Q. Mrs. Stetson has never been your practitioner? 
 A. She has given me about three treatments, and, 
 
 with only one exception, at her own request. 
 
314 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 25. Q. After making this explanation, I will restate 
 
 my question: Will you kindly state the effect 
 upon your moral and spiritual progress from 
 your having come to know and to be associated 
 with Augusta E. Stetson as a student and in your 
 capacity as a practitioner in First Church of 
 Christ, Scientist, New York City? 
 A. That depends upon the fidelity with which 
 I have adhered to the teachings of Christian 
 Science. 
 
 26. Q. What we are trying to get, Mr. Verrall, is a 
 
 statement from you as to whether, according to 
 your experience, Mrs. Stetson has impeded or 
 stopped your moral and spiritual progress. 
 A. That is an impossible question for me to 
 answer. 
 
 Mrs. Margaret Beecher White, one of those who testi- 
 fied at Boston, also testified before the Committee of 
 Inquiry as follows: 
 
 30. Q. Will you state to this Committee whether 
 ,, „,^.. . Mrs. Stetson, during this time, has endeav- 
 
 Mrs. White's . 
 
 conception of orcd to cxercisc such control over you 
 control*"^ as to hinder your moral and spiritual 
 growth? 
 A. Mrs. Stetson has not, until the last year and a 
 half, and then I think she has. 
 
 31. Q. In what manner did this control express itself? 
 A. We were all more or less under that control, 
 
 in the sense that we couldn't be absent from 
 certain meetings without her permission: we 
 couldn't be late, and we couldn't go out of town 
 without her permission. I know I was not ex- 
 pected to go to see my boy in boarding-school 
 
Analysis of Seven Findings 315 
 
 without her permission, and at times that was 
 very reluctantly given. 
 
 32. Q. Will you state just what she said? 
 A. No; I don't think I can state just 
 
 what she said; but it was the sense Absence from 
 
 meetings dis- 
 
 that it was more important for me to couraged 
 
 be here and not miss a meeting, than 
 
 to go and see my boy and take care of him. 
 
 33. Q. Then she didn't tell you not to go? 
 
 A. No; she didn't tell me not to go, but it was 
 the sense that we were always to take any idea 
 of hers as a leading on the subject. She would 
 state her ideas, and we could take it as a leading. 
 
 34. Q. Did she say that? 
 
 A. No, she didn't say that ; it was always implied. 
 
 35. Q. Then you felt you were not going right if you 
 
 went against what you call her leading? 
 A. I didn't feel that at all. I felt that I should 
 follow my own ideas on that point, so far as my 
 children were concerned, and I always did. 
 
 36. Q. Then she didn't, as a matter of fact, exercise 
 
 an improper control over you? 
 A. Not in that particular. 
 
 37. Q. In any other particular did she? 
 
 A. Yes; I think I had a sense of fear 
 of not being at the practitioners' tendance a 
 meetings, or of being late. '*"*^ 
 
 Here is a clear sense of the decided preference of a 
 teacher for regular attendance and punctuality at the 
 place of meeting for mutual benefit, construed into a 
 charge of personal control. Recognizing the difficulty 
 of securing uniform development among the practi- 
 tioners, on the subject of discussion, emphasis upon 
 
3i6 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 regularity and promptness was perfectly natural under 
 the circumstances. The insistence on this point was 
 the same as that of a demonstrator in clinical exercises 
 insisting on the presence of each one who has been 
 admitted to the privilege of attendance. 
 
 These practitioners' meetings were mental clinics. 
 Practitioners who attended them were representatives 
 of the practice of Christian Science, authorized to 
 practice under the church roof, with the privilege of 
 protection of such position. It was their duty to work 
 together, and if feasible to be present at all regular meet- 
 ings. Regular attendance as far as practicable was the 
 result of a common imderstanding among the practition- 
 ers themselves. 
 
 Miss Ella G. Young, another witness before the Board 
 of Directors, testified as follows on the same subject 
 before the Committee of Inquiry: 
 
 24. Q. What has been the effect of Mrs. Stetson's 
 
 influence upon your moral and spiritual growth.^ 
 A. It varied. 
 
 25. Q. In what particulars? 
 
 A. Why, it has been very helpful in many ways, 
 but not so helpful in other ways. 
 
 26. Q. Will you mention the ways in which it was 
 
 helpful, and the ways in which it was otherwise? 
 
 A. Mrs. Stetson has taught me to obey 
 
 appreciation hcr implicitly, and she has taught me 
 
 son^"'^*^*' ^° ^°^^ Science and Health. I am very 
 
 thankful for that. 
 
 27. Q. Anything else? 
 
 A. Well, on the other side she taught me — I have 
 been held under a great deal of personal control, 
 
Analysis of Seven Findings 317 
 
 which I did not think was according to the 
 teaching of Mrs. Eddy ; a good deal of fear, and 
 in that respect it has been harmftd to me, 
 
 Q. In what particular have you been under the 
 control of Mrs. Stetson? 
 
 A. In the question of not being a perfectly free 
 agent. 
 
 Q. In what ways did that manifest itself? 
 
 A. In the question of whether I could move, or 
 whether I could not move, and whether I could 
 go, and whether I could not go, and not being at 
 liberty to go away when I felt the leading to go 
 off entirely. I was commanded to be here at 
 the tick of the clock, year in and year out. It 
 doesn't seem to me that that is the freedom of 
 the sons of God. 
 
 Q. Will you mention to the Committee some 
 instance of the kind that you describe in this 
 way, and what Mrs. Stetson said? 
 
 A. Well, it is the question of my home very 
 largely. I made a choice of a home, and it is not 
 at all according to the liking of Mrs. Stetson. 
 
 Q. When was this? 
 
 A. This was about five years ago, I think. 
 
 Q. What was the objection that she made to 
 it? 
 
 A. She objected to the people that lived in the 
 house with me. 
 
 Q. What objection did she make to the people? 
 
 A. She objected, I suppose to their mental 
 influence. 
 
 Q. I know, but what objection did she state? 
 
 A. The mental influence. 
 
3i8 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 40. Q. How long after giving her approval, did 
 Ignored advice she tell you shc thought it was not de- 
 
 in selecting . 1 1 -^ 
 
 a home Sliable? 
 
 A. The subsequent three years she was continu- 
 ously telling me. 
 
 41. Q. But you did stay? 
 A. Yes. 
 
 Mr. Arthur E. Overbury, when questioned under this 
 head, gave a series of answers which showed that his 
 „ ^ ^ objection was rather to the rules which the 
 
 Mr. Overbury "^ _ _ 
 
 objects to practitioners had laid down among them- 
 selves in the Reading Room committees, 
 than to anything which Mrs. Stetson had done. For 
 example, in question 1 1 of his testimony, he was asked : 
 
 11. Q. What has been the effect, Mr. Overbury, 
 
 upon your moral and spiritual growth, from yoiu* 
 having become a member of this church and a 
 Christian Scientist? 
 Mrs. stet- ^ j^. j^^g ^^qq^j ycry beneficial — my 
 
 son's influence •' -^ 
 
 beneficial conncction with Christian Science. 
 
 12. Q. Then you have grown morally and spiritually 
 
 since you became a member of this church? 
 A. Since I came into Christian Science. 
 
 13. Q. What has been the effect of Mrs. Stetson's 
 
 influence upon this moral and spiritual growth? 
 A. Her metaphysical teaching has been beneficial ; 
 the ethical teaching I consider to have been very 
 detrimental. 
 
 14. Q. Has this ethical teaching injured you morally 
 
 or spiritually? 
 A. It has tied me at times into a very tight 
 mental condition, which my normal scientific 
 sense has enabled me to get out of. 
 
Analysis of Seven Findings 319 
 
 15- Q- Well, now, will you state what you understand 
 to be ethical teaching, — the ethical teaching of 
 Mrs. Stetson which was injurious? 
 A. The ethical teaching that took the personal 
 domination of the church relationship that I 
 came in contact with. 
 
 16. Q. In what way did this matter affect you in 
 
 your activities as a member of the church and as 
 a practitioner? 
 A. It affected me, — first my practice 
 was interfered with by the system of Room control 
 control of the practitioners of the "'terfered 
 
 ^ with practice 
 
 church. 
 
 17. Q. You mean of the Reading Room? 
 A. The Reading Room. 
 
 Mr. Strickler also found it difficult to define in what 
 particular respect Mrs. Stetson had exercised any 
 control over him of a hindering character to his moral 
 and spiritual growth. In the testimony given before 
 the Committee of Inquiry, on October 12, 1909, and 
 thereafter, Mr. Strickler was asked : 
 
 66. Q. What was the influence upon your practice 
 in Christian Science — upon your health and your 
 morals — as a result of your relationship with 
 Mrs. Stetson? 
 A. My relationship with Mrs. Stetson was agree- 
 able and helpful until I became a ^^ strickler 
 practitioner and attended the practi- found asso- 
 
 I , . . J . . . . ciation helpful 
 
 tioners meetings m this church. 
 
 71. Q. What was the effect of your taking class 
 instruction with Mrs. Stetson? 
 
320 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 A. That is a difficult question for me to answer. 
 I would say that the benefit I got from going 
 through class with Mrs. Stetson was more a 
 stimulus to my own endeavor to learn Christian 
 Science — I think she helped me in that very 
 much. I began the study of Christian Science 
 quite earnestly and vigorously after that time. 
 
 72. Q. You don't think you learned much about 
 
 Christian Science from Mrs. Stetson's instruc- 
 tions? 
 A. Yes, Mrs. Stetson taught me a good deal of 
 the letter of Christian Science, but a 
 
 Reiterates ^ , - . , , .,. 
 
 appreciation gooQ deal oi the ability to demonstrate 
 of Mrs. stet- £|. qq^^q through my own efforts. I do 
 
 son " -' 
 
 not want to detract one iota from the 
 benefit I got from her, but I do think that the 
 real benefits I have obtained came through my 
 own attempt to apply what she taught me. 
 
 73. Q. In the intercourse that you had with Mrs. 
 
 Stetson before you became a practitioner, was 
 the subject of Christian Science chiefly the 
 matter discussed, or was your relationship on 
 some other basis? 
 A. I do not recall that I ever spent very much 
 time with Mrs. Stetson except about Christian 
 Science matters. 
 
 74. Q. You think that what you know of Christian 
 
 Science came principally through your studies 
 individually, and not through your connection 
 with Mrs. Stetson? 
 A. I would not say that — I learned a good deal 
 from Mrs. Stetson — it would be impossible for 
 me to say what proportion, but Mrs. Stetson 
 has helped me very much. 
 
Analysis of Seven Findings 321 
 
 Q. Have you at any time expressed your appre- 
 ciation for these benefits? 
 
 A. Many, many times — I am expressing them 
 now. 
 
 Q. And this expression of your appreciation 
 would be the evidence that what you have 
 received from her has helped you? 
 
 A. Mrs. Stetson has helped me very much, and 
 I appreciate it very deeply, and have expressed 
 my appreciation many times, and always shall. 
 
 Q. What was the effect upon your moral and 
 spiritual progress of your relationship with Mrs. 
 Stetson up to the time that you became a prac- 
 titioner in the Rooms? 
 
 A. I have answered that question once — I never 
 saw anything but good in Mrs. Stetson — never 
 heard anything that I could disapprove, until 
 I began to meet with the practitioners. 
 
 Q. What words did Mrs. Stetson use in teaching 
 that it was right for her to exercise mental 
 control over her students? 
 
 A. She taught it and practised it in such a 
 multitude of ways that I could not say what 
 her precise words were. 
 
 Q. Will you give the best recollection you have 
 of the things Mrs. Stetson said from which you 
 have drawn that conclusion? 
 
 A. Her declaration that a student could not 
 progress in Christian Science who became dis- 
 loyal to her, and could not be a successful healer 
 or a successful Christian Science practitioner, 
 was one of the forms that that doctrine took in 
 her teachings. 
 
322 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 450. Q. You said there were a multitude of ways in 
 which Mrs. Stetson taught this by example as 
 well as precept — will you kindly mention the 
 particular instance in your experience in which 
 Mrs. Stetson exercised mental control over you? 
 A. The way she attempted, you mean, — I do 
 not consent to the proposition that she exercised 
 mental control over me, but she attempted to. 
 
 461. Q. You mention one other instance? 
 
 A. On the night before her Students' Association 
 last year, when there were a good many stu- 
 dents in the Wednesday evening meeting, and 
 she was sitting in the balcony to my right in 
 the front row — just before I finished reading the 
 second hymn, my attention was called to Mrs. 
 Stetson, and I found her looking at me, and 
 bobbing her head at me, and frowning and going 
 through the most tremendous bodily move- 
 ments, and showing the most violent displeasure 
 at something that I was doing — it almost discon- 
 certed me — I stopped in the midst of the reading 
 of the hymn and was nonplussed for an instant — 
 then I realized that I must go ahead regardless 
 of what I was doing wrong, that I could not stop 
 in front of the audience — and for five or ten 
 minutes afterwards every time I looked at her 
 she exhibited the most violent displeasure. 
 After the meeting was over I went up to her and 
 gave her an opportunity to tell me what it was, 
 but she spoke very pleasantly and never re- 
 ferred to the incident and I did not — it had 
 apparently passed out of her mind. I might go 
 on and mention numberless instances of where 
 
Analysis of Seven Findings 323 
 
 she has exercised or has attempted to exercise 
 her control in the manner of the church services 
 and of my discharge of my part of the duties in 
 the services. 
 462. Q. Don't mention the general statement with- 
 out giving the particulars — please state par- 
 ticulars. 
 A. I don't think I have anything more to say 
 on that point, unless you ask me some question. 
 
 The date at which Mr. Strickler began, according to 
 his own testimony, to resist the ideas expressed by Mrs. 
 Stetson at the twelve o'clock meetings of the 
 
 . . 1 • T Records Mrs. 
 
 practitioners was early m January, 1909. stetson's 
 About the same time he began to make a utterances 
 
 ^ _ in diary 
 
 record in his diary, as he says, of certain ut- 
 terances of Mrs. Stetson, "In order that I might study 
 them, to be sure whether I understood right or not. " 
 
 80. Q. When did you begin to attend those meetings ? 
 A. Mrs. Stetson did not ask me to attend those 
 
 meetings for some months after I became Reader 
 — I think it was September or October, 1908, 
 before I was admitted to the twelve o'clock 
 meetings. 
 
 81. Q. What was the influence of the twelve o'clock 
 
 meetings upon your moral and spiritual progress? 
 A. The influence of the treatments that Mental op- 
 Mrs. Stetson gave had a frightfully position 
 bad effect, unless they were neutralized. 
 
 82. Q. I asked you, what was the effect upon your 
 
 moral and spiritual progress? 
 A. The effect of many of those treatments was 
 to cause me to work as hard as I could to prevent 
 them from entering my thought. 
 
324 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 83- Q- When did you begin to work against, instead 
 of working with, Mrs. Stetson in the twelve 
 o'clock meetings? 
 A. I commenced in the early part of January of 
 this year to make notes of the things that Mrs. 
 Stetson said in the twelve o'clock meetings in 
 order that I might study them to be sure whether 
 I understood her aright or not — prior to that 
 time I did not keep any record, but since Janu- 
 ary of this year I began to arrange full and 
 complete records of what transpired in the 
 practitioners' meetings, and the opinions that 
 I formed of the things that went on there were 
 based upon my close and careful study of those 
 things outside the practitioners' meetings, as 
 well as there. 
 
 84. Q. When you first began to make those notes, 
 
 is that the time that you began to work against 
 Mrs. Stetson? 
 A. I never worked against Mrs. Stetson — I 
 simply declared that many of the things that 
 were said there could not operate through my 
 consciousness, and that I refused to accentuate 
 the things she said. 
 
 85. Q. What would be the effect of your making a 
 
 written memorandum of those statements — 
 would it be to help you to prevent those things 
 from entering your consciousness? 
 A. In order that I might not be mistaken 
 myself as to what did actually take place 
 there. 
 
 86. Q. I understand that at some time during your 
 
 attendance at the twelve o'clocks you did take 
 steps to do what you call nullifying, as far as you 
 
Analysis of Seven Findings 325 
 
 were concerned, the effects of Mrs. Stetson's 
 treatments? 
 A. I did that mentally, while her audible treat- 
 ments were being given — when she would make 
 a statement that I couldn't stand for, I mentally 
 denied it. 
 
 Instead, therefore, of Mr. Strickler being "controlled" 
 by Mrs. Stetson, he resisted her teaching to such an 
 extent as to offset it as described in his own 
 
 Self evident 
 
 testimony. In answer to a question as to resistance 
 the effect of this attitude upon his relations tSer 
 
 to Mrs. Stetson he testified as follows: 
 
 100. Q. From that time there was a sort of separa- 
 tion between you and Mrs. Stetson? 
 A. There was mentally a constantly widening 
 separation — Mrs. Stetson and I advised to- 
 gether after that about many matters, but in 
 respect to these matters, there was never any 
 lessening of my objection. 
 
 loi. Q. You did not disclose to Mrs. Stetson at any 
 time this condition of mental separation? 
 A. Mrs Stetson spoke of it herself in the prac- 
 titioners' meetings a number of times — that I 
 was not in sympathy. 
 
 In this as in the other "Findings" against Mrs. 
 Stetson, The Mother Church Directors, we Directors 
 believe, failed signally to get the spiritual ^pfrUual 
 significance of what was said and done. import 
 
 Mrs. M. Augusta Aikman, who during a period of 
 eighteen years has been closely associated Mrs. Aikman 
 with Mrs. Stetson in Christian Science fetching 
 practice, was asked: beneficial 
 
326 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 7. Q. What has been the effect of Mrs. Stetson's 
 
 influence upon your moral and spiritual progress? 
 A. It has been most uplifting in every way. 
 
 8. Q. And what has been the effect of Mrs. Stetson's 
 
 influence upon the moral and spiritual progress 
 of those of your patients who came in touch 
 with her? 
 A. Absolutely uplifting. My patients have all 
 had the greatest regard and admiration for her, 
 from the understanding of Christian Science. 
 
 9. Q. And has Mrs. Stetson's teaching and influence 
 
 been beneficial and helpful to them? 
 A. Always; always, in the very highest sense. 
 
 Miss Ida C. Pope was asked : 
 
 7. Q. State the effect of Mrs. Stetson's influence on 
 
 your moral and spiritual progress. 
 A. The highest and the best that I have known. 
 
 8. Q. Do you mean by that, that Mrs. Stetson's 
 
 influence has been higher than the influence 
 upon yourself of any other person that you have 
 known? 
 
 A. If I may explain what I mean this 
 capacity for Way — that the teaching which I have 
 good in- received from her has enabled me to do 
 
 creased 
 
 more good than I have ever been able to 
 do before. 
 
 9. Q. Please state the effect of Mrs. Stetson's in- 
 
 fluence on the moral and spiritual progress of 
 your patients that have come in direct personal 
 touch with her. 
 A. Always for the better. 
 ID. Q. Please state whether or not Mrs. Stetson has 
 
Analysis of Seven Findings 327 
 
 endeavored to obtrude her personality upon you 
 in such a way as to take your thought away 
 from Principle and from Mrs. Eddy. 
 A. Never. 
 
 11. Q. State whether Mrs. Stetson has exerted or 
 
 has endeavored to exert personal control over 
 you. 
 A. Never. 
 
 12. Q. Has she endeavored to exert or has she ex- 
 
 erted personal control over the members of this 
 church with whom you are well acquainted? 
 A. Not to my knowledge. 
 
 Mrs. Amelia S. Rowbotham was asked and answered: 
 
 8. Q. What was the effect of Mrs. Stetson's influence 
 
 on your moral and spiritual progress? 
 A. It was to show me how to purify my thought 
 and to lift me above the reality of sin, disease, 
 and death, and to help me to work out my life 
 problem scientifically. 
 
 9. Q. What was the effect of her influence upon the 
 
 moral and spiritual progress of those of your 
 patients who came directly in touch with her? 
 A. It was the same effect ; to uplift them. 
 
 13. Q. Please state whether Mrs. Stetson exerted 
 or endeavored to exert personal control over you. 
 A. Never. She never did. She always Mrs. Row- 
 advised me ; gave me a great deal of her ^^^^^^ ^is- 
 
 ° ° . avows 
 
 time, and her love and her patience and •■ personal 
 her best advice, but she never con- co^fo' 
 trolled me. She always left it to me to decide. 
 
328 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 Miss Mary R. Pinney was asked: 
 
 7. Q. Please state the effect of Mrs. Stetson's in- 
 
 fluence on your moral and spiritual progress. 
 A. Mrs. Stetson's influence has been 
 says influence wholly Spiritual and beneficial in every 
 benefidi^^ Way. She has always upheld the highest 
 standard of moral and spiritual life. 
 
 8. Q. What has been the effect of Mrs. Stetson's 
 
 influence on the moral and spiritual progress 
 of the members of the church with whom you are 
 well acquainted? 
 A. The very highest and best. 
 
 Mrs. Mary H. Freshman was asked: 
 
 9. Q. What has been the effect of Mrs. Stetson's 
 
 influence upon your moral and spiritual progress? 
 A. It has been marvellous. It has de- 
 man learned veloped me and brought me a full under- 
 howtowork standing of how to work my problem 
 
 scientifically ^ ^ ^ 
 
 scientifically. 
 
 10. Q. In accordance with the teachings of Mary 
 
 Baker Eddy, as given in Science and Health 
 with Key to the Scriptures, and her other 
 writings? 
 A. Yes. 
 
 11. Q. What has been the effect of Mrs. Stetson's 
 
 influence upon the moral and spiritual progress 
 of your patients and of other persons in First 
 Church, New York, with whom you are ac- 
 quainted? 
 A. All of the patients that I have ever had that 
 Mrs. Stetson has taken through class have been 
 perfectly satisfied, and have never complained 
 
Analysis of Seven Findings 329 
 
 to me but that their teaching was all that they 
 desired. 
 
 12. Q. What was the effect of the influence on their 
 
 moral and spiritual growth? 
 A. Well, as far as I know, it has been excellent. 
 
 13. Q. Well, of those who have remained in the 
 
 church so that you could follow their career, 
 what has been the effect of Mrs. Stetson's 
 influence? 
 A. To-day, as far as I know, they are growing 
 beautifully in Science. 
 
 14. Q. And is that true of the members of the 
 
 church, in so far as you know of those who are 
 and continue to be associated with Mrs. Stet- 
 son and obedient to her teaching? 
 A. Good. 
 
 Miss Jessie T. Colton bore witness as follows: 
 
 185. Q. Will you please state to the Committee 
 
 whether, since you became acquainted with 
 Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson, you have progressed 
 or retrograded morally and spiritually. 
 A. I have progressed. 
 
 186. Q. What has been the relation of Augusta E. 
 
 Stetson's influence to that progress? 
 A. It has been the means of making the progress 
 — the means of understanding the textbook, in 
 order to attain it. 
 
 187. Q. Then the moral and spiritual progress which 
 
 you have made since you became a member of 
 this church has been due primarily to Mrs. 
 Stetson's influence? 
 A. Yes. 
 
330 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 1 88. Q. Do you know of any one in this church whose 
 Miss coiton moral and spiritual progress has been im- 
 whriere"""' P^ded by Mrs. Stetson's influence? 
 
 hindered A. I do nOt. 
 
 Mr. Steuart C. Rowbotham was asked: 
 
 2. Q. Are you a member of this church? 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 3. Q. How long have you been a member? 
 A. About twelve years. Nearly twelve. 
 
 4. Q. And did you go through class with Mrs. Stet- 
 
 son? 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 5. Q. And what year? 
 
 A. Over eleven years ago. It will be twelve years 
 next spring. 
 
 6. Q. And how long have you been engaged as a 
 
 practitioner, and given your entire time to it? 
 A. Well, pretty near all, after that. I began to 
 come into the work in that year of 1897. 
 
 7. Q. During that time, have you been closely 
 
 identified with Mrs. Stetson? 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 8. Q. What has been the effect of Mrs. Stetson's 
 
 influence upon your moral and spiritual growth, 
 as a result of that close intercourse? 
 „ „ A. It has been of incalculable benefit to 
 
 Mr. Row- 
 botham derived me. 
 incalculable 
 benefit 
 
 25. Q. Has Mrs. Stetson in any manner ever as- 
 sumed or attempted to assume any personal 
 control over your actions? 
 A. No, none whatever. 
 
Analysis of Seven Findings 331 
 
 Miss Antoinette L. Ensworth was called as a witness 
 and testified: 
 
 100. Q. Has Mrs. Stetson ever attempted to control 
 your personal movements? 
 A. Never. 
 loi. Q. Have you always felt perfectly free to do as 
 you please? 
 A. I have. 
 
 Miss Ensworth was asked further: 
 
 107. Q. It has been said that Mrs. Stetson allowed no 
 
 freedom of thought in the practi- MissEns- 
 tioners' meetings when it was con- worth refutes 
 
 . attempted 
 
 trary to her thought ; is that true or •< control " by 
 false? ^"- ^*"*'°° 
 
 A. It is false. Everybody had freedom of 
 speech in those meetings. 
 
 Mrs. White's claim that lateness at the practitioners' 
 meetings was met with a rebuke, is offset by Miss 
 Ensworth's answer. 
 
 108. Q. It has been said that unless the practitioners 
 
 were there on the moment they were all rebuked. 
 
 A. No, there was no one rebuked, ^ever rebuked 
 
 I have rebuked myself for being late. *<"■ lateness 
 
 no. Q. State whether Mrs. Stetson was right or 
 wrong in insisting on the practitioners being on 
 time. 
 A. I think she was right. 
 
 "Finding" four read: 
 
332 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 4. That Mrs. Stetson endeavors to obtrude herself upon 
 Personal the attention of her students in such manner as 
 obtrusion ^q ^^j-jj their attention away from divine Prin- 
 ciple. 
 
 Miss Margaret S. Duncan was asked: 
 
 40. Q, Have you observed Mrs. Stetson obtruding 
 
 her personality upon yourself, or any of the 
 practitioners or members of this church, 
 Mw^no ob-*° ^° ^^ ^° turn them away from Principle, or 
 trusion from our Leader, Mary Baker Eddy? 
 
 A. Never. 
 
 41. Q. And supposing that Mrs. Stetson's teachings 
 
 are properly followed by her students, would 
 that, or would that not connect them effec- 
 tively with Principle and with Mrs. Eddy? 
 A. Her teaching would connect them with 
 Principle and with Mrs. Eddy — her teaching 
 properly followed. 
 
 Miss Sibyl M. Huse being questioned on the point 
 involved in "Finding" four, said as follows: 
 
 69. Q. Has Mrs. Stetson obtruded her personality 
 
 upon you, so as to turn you away from Principle 
 or from our Leader, Mary Baker Eddy? 
 A. Never. 
 
 70. Q. Has she obtruded herself upon you in such a 
 
 way as to in any manner attempt to control your 
 personal movements? 
 „. „ A. Never. I have been singularly free 
 
 Miss Huse _ . 
 
 found perfect in my movcmcnts in every way, and have 
 
 ree om ^^^ evcn thought of its being necessary to 
 
 consult her in any personal matters whatsoever. 
 
Analysis of Seven Findings 333 
 
 Mr. Rowbotham was questioned in regard to the same 
 point as follows: 
 
 24. Q. Has Mrs. Stetson obtruded her personality 
 upon you so as to turn you away Mr. row- 
 from Principle or from our Leader, , botham 
 
 ■^ ' denies any 
 
 Mary Baker Eddy? such claim 
 
 A. No, decidedly not. 
 
 Mrs. Catherine B. Gillpatrick, in her testimony before 
 the Committee of Inquiry, answered as follows : 
 
 66. Q. Has Mrs. Stetson obtruded her personality 
 
 upon you; has it turned you away Mrs. om- 
 from Principle, or from our Leader, Patrick 
 
 Mary Baker Eddy? obtusion 
 
 A. I answer that distinctly in the «=harge false 
 negative. 
 
 67. Q. Has she attempted to control your freedom in 
 
 any way? 
 A. No. 
 
 68. Q. Has she delivered you from any bondage of 
 
 any kind to which you were previously subject? 
 A. Yes, many times. 
 
 69. Q. Do you feel that she has assisted you to ob- 
 
 tain the freedom of the children of God? 
 A. I do. 
 
 70. Q. In an increasing degree? 
 A. Certainly. 
 
 A statement that Mrs. Stetson is alleged to have 
 made at one of the Thanksgiving services is apparently 
 made the occasion for "Finding" four. She was re- 
 ported to have said, "We are journeying onward," 
 referring to her students and herself, as well as to the 
 
334 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 members of the congregation present. "Your hands 
 are in mine, and mine in God's." Even if Mrs. Stet- 
 son did use this expression, to those who know how far 
 she had advanced beyond any of her students in matters 
 spiritual, this mode of indicating the relation of a 
 teacher to students, of which there were many in the 
 congregation, would not ordinarily awaken criticism. 
 
 The superior attainments of an instructor, compared 
 with those of his students, in the scientific world, might 
 readily justify a professor in a university in saying to a 
 body of students, "We are journeying onward; your 
 hands in mine, and mine in the hands of science, leading 
 us on from truth to truth." Huxley, Du Bois, Rey- 
 mond, or Ostwald might conceivably have spoken thus 
 to their students without any council of scientific men 
 ever thinking of calling them to account on the charge 
 of the teacher obtruding himself between his students 
 and scientific truth. In this light, the absurdity of this 
 particular "Finding" becomes transparent. "Find- 
 ing" five is as follows: 
 
 5. That Mrs. Stetson practises and teaches pretended 
 
 Christian Science contrary to the statement thereof in 
 
 " Science and Health with Key to the Scrip- 
 
 "treatment" tures," particularly by treating persons without 
 
 without their request or consent, and by teaching a select 
 
 consent t -, r 1 1 1 i-i • 
 
 body of her students to do likewise. 
 
 What is "pretended Christian Science"? In "Find- 
 ing" five, the Board of Directors made the statement 
 that by "treating persons without their request or 
 consent, and by teaching a select body of her students 
 to do likewise," "Mrs. Stetson practises and teaches 
 pretended Christian Science contrary to the statement 
 thereof in ' Science and Health with Key to the 
 
Analysis of Seven Findings 335 
 
 Scriptures.' " This specification is one of the few found 
 in all their claims and allegations. 
 
 Did Mrs. Stetson treat persons without their request 
 or consent? The treatment of persons without their 
 request or consent, except in certain specified ^^^^ ^^^_ 
 cases, such as parental consent for children sent is not 
 treated, or the consent of relatives for treating 
 one who is incapacitated, is undoubtedly contrary to 
 the teachings of Science and Health with Key to the 
 Scriptures. 
 
 What is the nature of a treatment of persons in Chris- 
 tian Science? A treatment assumes a mutual, volun- 
 tary relation between practitioner and patient 
 for the patient's benefit. A wholly different .. t^el^^eU"? 
 relation ensues when a hostile thought enters 
 into conflict with another without the consent of the one 
 attacked. Unwarranted attack assumes the respon- 
 sibility of spiritual mental defense. The relation calls 
 for a defensive response in self-preservation. 
 That defensive response is not treatment differs from 
 although it resists the attacking mentality ^it'dttllll 
 without its consent or request. It is this 
 relation to which Mrs. Eddy refers in Science and 
 Health, page 442 : 
 
 Christian Scientists, be a law to yourselves that mental 
 malpractice cannot harm you either when asleep or when 
 awake. 
 
 Mrs. Stetson's students, from the testimony which 
 they gave before the Committee of Inquiry, 
 were remarkably clear on this subject. At against maiic© 
 least nineteen out of the twenty-five witnesses ""* indispen- 
 
 ■' _ sable right 
 
 who gave evidence at these hearings were 
 unanimous in recognizing the difference between 
 
336 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 self-defense and treatment of another person. Mrs. 
 Aikman, for instance, was asked: 
 
 13. Q. Do you recognize any essential difference, 
 
 Mrs. Aikman, between treating another person 
 and defending yourself against aggressive mental 
 malpractice by handling error? 
 A. Certainly. 
 
 14. Q. Suppose another person voluntarily and of his 
 
 own accord and without request concerns him- 
 self with a Scientist's problem, does this give the 
 Scientist a right to speak, when necessary, 
 directly to that person and by name, in properly 
 defending himself? 
 A. I think so. I could cite an incident here, that 
 I think Mrs. Dam will remember, and Mr. 
 Hatfield. A number of years ago Mrs. Stetson 
 was called to Concord by Mrs. Eddy, and it was 
 at the time that a good deal of criticism was being 
 made against Mrs. Stetson by the other students 
 of Mrs. Eddy's here. When Mrs. Stetson came 
 home from that visit, she told a few of us about it. 
 She said that when Mrs. Eddy told her about the 
 things that had been said about her, she started 
 to defend herself, and she then said: "Mother, 
 if I say what is true about myself, about this, 
 you will say it is self - justification. " Mrs. Eddy 
 replied: "No, my child, there is a difference 
 between self -justification and self-defense, and 
 you have a right to defend yourself. " 
 
 15. Q. Would you consider, that if you were men- 
 
 tally attacked by another person, and you be- 
 came aware of the fact, you would have a right 
 to audibly address that person by name, and 
 
Analysis of Seven Findings 337 
 
 speak to him or her in the second person, in 
 defense of yourself? 
 A. I should feel that, and I have done it. 
 
 1 6. Q. Have you heard Mrs. Stetson use the name, 
 
 and speak directly to various persons during 
 the practitioners' meetings? 
 A. Yes, I have. 
 
 17. Q. State whether in doing so, Mrs. Stetson 
 
 used these names and spoke to these such defense 
 persons in such a way as to malprac- neither mai- 
 
 ^^ practice nor 
 
 tise upon them. treatment 
 
 A. Not at all. 
 
 18. Q. Or in such a way as to treat the persons? 
 A. No, I should not consider it treatment. 
 
 19. Q. State whether or not, in your judgment, Mrs. 
 
 Stetson in doing this in the way she did, was 
 making a proper defense of herself, this church, 
 or the Cause, against malpractice. 
 A. That is what it was. She was making a 
 defense. 
 
 20. Q. Mrs. Aikman, from your intimate knowledge 
 
 of this church, and of Mrs. Stetson's relation to 
 it, and remembering that most of its membership 
 is composed of either the students of Mrs. Stet- 
 son, or the patients of her students, and remem- 
 bering further that most of these people know 
 nothing about the power of mental malpractice 
 or how to defend themselves against it, — I ask 
 you if Mrs. Stetson had not done as she did in the 
 practitioners' meetings in defense, would she 
 have fulfilled her duty? 
 A. I don't think she would. I think many of the 
 people would not be here to-day if she had not 
 done the work she did. 
 
338 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 Here the right of self-defense is clearly asserted in a 
 way that does not admit of contradiction. 
 Mrs. Anna A. Holden was asked: 
 
 22. Q. Suppose a person voluntarily and of his own 
 accord concerns himself with a Christian Scien- 
 tist's problem, does this entitle the Scientist to 
 speak to that person directly by name, if neces- 
 sary, in proper self -protection and self-defense? 
 A. Absolutely. Mrs. Eddy insists upon that. 
 
 Mrs. Hoiden's Very neccssary to defend one's self against 
 
 testimony on , i i r i 
 
 this distinction the crToneous thought of others. 
 
 24. Q. State whether or not you have heard Mrs. 
 
 Stetson speak directly to any person during the 
 practitioners' meetings. 
 A. Yes, I have. 
 
 25. Q. State whether in doing so Mrs. Stetson used 
 
 these names and spoke to these persons in such a 
 way as to malpractise upon them. 
 A. Never to malpractise upon them. 
 
 26. Q. State whether she spoke the name and to the 
 
 person in such a way as to treat the person. 
 A. No, not to treat them. To protect herself 
 against the error working through them. 
 
 Mr. Arnold Blome was asked: 
 
 20. Q. Do you recognize any difference between 
 
 treating another person and defending yourself 
 
 Mr Blome ^g^i^st aggrcssivc mental suggestion by 
 
 on mental Speaking to the person that is the avenue 
 
 defense _r _ . -> 
 
 of error to yon? 
 A. I do. 
 
Analysis of Seven Findings 339 
 
 21. Q. Suppose a person voluntarily, of his own 
 accord, concerns himself with a Scientist's prob- 
 lem, — does this entitle the Scientist to speak to 
 that person directly and by name, in proper self- 
 protection and defense? 
 A. If we recognize the evil to be impersonal, and 
 the individual making himself a channel. 
 
 From Miss Pearson's testimony the following passage 
 is taken as pertinent to the point in question : 
 
 60. Q. Has a Christian Scientist a right 
 
 to speak directly to another person makes clear 
 who sends aggressive mental sugges- 5^*,^^^"^^°^ 
 tions to him? 
 A. Why certainly he has. 
 
 61. Q. Has a Christian Scientist a right to speak to 
 
 any person, for instance, a judge who necessarily 
 concerns himself with that person's affairs? 
 A. If a person is injuring me, and I know that 
 person is trying to injure me, I have a right to 
 take up that person's name and declare that 
 malicious mortal mind has no power to work 
 through that person. 
 
 62. Q. Does the same rule apply where a person, 
 
 without malice, or from necessity owing to his 
 position, voluntarily concerns himself with your 
 affairs; have you a right to speak to that person? 
 A. I should not speak directly to a person who 
 was working ignorantly or innocently. I should 
 declare that neither ignorant nor innocent nor 
 malicious mortal mind could work through that 
 person. 
 
 63. Q. But if they were sending aggressive or mali- 
 
340 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 cious mental suggestions to you, then would you 
 speak directly to them? 
 
 A. Only as a last resort. 
 64. Q. Were you taught that by Mrs. Stetson, or did 
 you read that in any of Mrs. Eddy's writings? 
 
 A. I have read it in Retrospection and Introspec- 
 tion. 
 
 (Witness reads from Retrospection and Introspection, 
 pp. 63, 64.) 
 
 We attack the sinner's belief in the pleasure of sin, alias 
 the reality of sin, which makes him a sinner, in order to 
 destroy this belief and save him from sin; and we attack 
 the belief of the sick in the reality of sickness, in order to 
 heal them. When we deny the authority of sin, we begin 
 to sap it; for this denunciation must precede its destruction. 
 
 Sin ultimates in sinner, and in this sense they are one. 
 You cannot separate sin from the sinner, nor the sinner from 
 his sin. The sin is the sinner, and vice versa, for such is the 
 unity of evil; and together both sinner and sin will be de- 
 stroyed by the supremacy of good. This, however, does not 
 annihilate man, for to efface sin, alias the sinner, brings to 
 light, makes apparent, the real man, even God's "image and 
 likeness." 
 
 Now, I learned from that, as well as from 
 Mrs. Stetson's teaching, that we must attack the 
 sin and the sinner, because they are one. 
 65. Q. Have you any other quotations on the same 
 general line? 
 A. I have, in Science and Health, where Mrs. 
 Eddy speaks of the mental assassin. 
 
Analysis of Seven Findings 341 
 
 (Witness reads from Science and Health, pp. 444, 445.) 
 
 The teacher must make clear to students the Science of 
 heaHng, especially its ethics, — ^that all is Mind, and that the 
 Scientist must conform to God's requirements. ^^3^^^ ^g^ns 
 Also the teacher must thoroughly fit his students against men- 
 to defend themselves against sin, and to guard 
 against the attacks of the would-be mental assassin, who 
 attempts to kill morally and physically. . . . Teach the 
 dangerous possibility of dwarfing the spiritual understanding 
 and demonstration of Truth by sin, or by recourse to mate- 
 rial means for healing. . . . 
 
 Christian Science silences human will, quiets fear with 
 Truth and Love, and illustrates the unlabored motion of 
 the divine energy in healing the sick. Self-seeking, envy, 
 passion, pride, hatred, and revenge are cast out by the 
 divine Mind which heals disease. The human will which 
 maketh and worketh a lie, hiding the divine Principle of 
 harmony, is destructive to health, and is the cause of disease 
 rather than its cure. 
 
 The foregoing clearly teaches the duty of self-defense 
 as an essential feature of Christian Science. 
 "Finding" six read: 
 
 6. That Mrs. Stetson attempts to control and to injure 
 persons by mental means; this being utterly Attem ted 
 contrary to the teachings of Christian Science. injury by 
 
 mental means 
 
 Against this claim the testimony of one of the 
 witnesses opposed to Mrs. Stetson's views is eminently 
 in point. Miss Ella G. Young, in her testimony before 
 the Committee of Inquiry, speaking of Mrs. ^^^^ young 
 Stetson's attitude, testified as follows : refutes charge 
 
 216. Q. And measuring her [Mrs. Stetson] by the 
 standard of other Christian Scientists whom you 
 
342 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 know, and considering the wrongs that have been 
 done to her by others, would you say that she 
 has risen above or fallen below the best Christian 
 Scientist you know, outside of Mrs. Eddy, in 
 the manifestation of divine forgiveness and love 
 toward those who have attempted to injure her? 
 A. I think Mrs. Stetson has been Christlike 
 on that point. She has been kind, and made 
 every effort, I think, to be forgiving. 
 
 In Miss Jessie T. Colton's testimony before the 
 Committee of Inquiry, she was asked: 
 
 165. Q. Was it Mrs. Stetson's habit at the twelve 
 
 o'clocks, in giving the audible treatment, to 
 Miss coiton declare the spiritual facts, including her re- 
 
 describes Mrs. _ "^ 
 
 Stetson's lation to God and the relation of those who 
 meet^g's" wcrc being protected by this treatment, — 
 whether the practitioners or this church in its 
 membership — was that her custom? 
 A. Always. 
 
 166. Q. Do you ever remember Mrs. Stetson having 
 
 concluded her part in the practitioners' meetings 
 without doing that? 
 A. No 
 
 167. Q. When Mrs. Stetson handled error during 
 
 these practitioners' meetings, and in doing so 
 spoke directly to persons, using their names, did 
 she not, before breaking up the meeting, state 
 the spiritual facts, even in regard to those 
 persons so directly addressed? 
 A. Yes; but a treatment is always the declara- 
 tion of the truth and the denying of the error 
 for the one who has requested the treatment — 
 
Analysis of Seven Findings 343 
 
 the handling of error in giving a treatment is 
 scientific; but when one is attacked by error, 
 and defends oneself, that is not a treatment. 
 168. Q. In all of these twelve o'clocks have you ever 
 detected any resentment in Mrs. Stetson toward 
 
 any persons 
 A. No. 
 
 179. Q. Do you understand that Mrs. Stetson's 
 handling of error, where she men- 
 
 ° ' Mrs. stetson 
 
 tioned the names of these persons handled error 
 
 olden 
 Rule 
 
 or any others, was in accordance with """^^^ Golden 
 the Golden Rule, — "Do unto others 
 as ye would have them do unto you"? 
 A. It was. 
 
 180. Q. Do you remember that after the audible 
 
 treatments which Mrs. Stetson considered un- 
 usual, because not having been customary prior 
 to the first of January this year, that she fre- 
 quently asked the practitioners whether they 
 would like to be done by as she was then doing? 
 A. Yes. 
 
 181. Q. Did you reply "Yes" or "No"? 
 A. I replied "Yes." 
 
 182. Q. In every case? 
 A. Yes. 
 
 183. Q. Do you wish this Committee to understand 
 
 that in your judgment Mrs. Stetson complied 
 with the Golden Rule in the way she handled 
 error in the twelve o'clocks? 
 A. Yes. 
 
 184. Q. Every time? 
 
 A. Yes; according to the teachings of Christian 
 Science, by Mary Baker Eddy. 
 
344 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 On the question of attempts to control and injure 
 persons by mental means, presumably through the use 
 of names, Mrs. Mary H. Freshman was asked: 
 
 23- Q. You heard Mrs. Stetson speak the name of 
 persons in the practitioners' meetings, and 
 man defends spcak dircctly to them, I believe you said? 
 
 Mrs. stetson ^ y^g 
 
 24. Q. State whether in doing so, Mrs. Stetson used 
 
 these names and spoke to these persons in such a 
 way as to malpractise upon them. 
 A. No. 
 
 25. Q. State whether or not Mrs. Stetson, in using 
 
 the names and speaking to the persons, was 
 making proper defense of herself, this church, 
 and the Cause, in defending against malpractice. 
 A. Yes. 
 
 2^]. Q. Knowing Mrs. Stetson's relation to this 
 church, and remembering also that the member- 
 ship is composed largely of her students; and 
 remembering also that a large number of these 
 people have no knowledge of malicious mental 
 malpractice, or how to defend themselves against 
 it, — would Mrs. Stetson have fulfilled her duty 
 
 ^ , . , had she not done just as she did in those 
 
 Duty of de- _ / 
 
 fense against practitioncrs' mcctings? 
 
 malpractice ^ She WOuld nOt. 
 
 28. Q. Now, will you define malpractice? 
 
 A. Mrs. Eddy says, in Miscellaneous Writings, 
 that malpractice is to argue to harm, to destroy a 
 fellow being, physically, morally, and spiritually. 
 Now, that, of course, never was done. Then, 
 she says to handle malpractice and protect our- 
 
Analysis of Seven Findings 345 
 
 selves from its destructive forces we must re- 
 linquish oiu" faith in evil ; we cannot be harmed, 
 darkened, nor misguided if we know what is 
 at work, and oiu" power. We sometimes know 
 this by spiritual perception, and sometimes it is 
 an open attack through a person. We must then 
 protect ourselves by spiritualizing our thought; 
 then we can say, "John Smith, I come to you 
 clad in the panoply of Love ; you come to me in 
 the name of Love. There is nothing but God, 
 good, and His perfect ideas. Spiritual Love and 
 Life forever reign, and we are immortal. Im- 
 personal evil in all its false sense of hypnotism, 
 mesmerism, animal magnetism, or malpractice 
 has no mind to voice evil to me, or make me 
 believe a lie. No one can attack me nor harm 
 me; for evil is neither person, place, nor thing. 
 Love and Love's perfect work is all there is." 
 
 Before the Committee of Inquiry, on October 2"], 
 1909, Mrs. Kate Y. Remer answered as follows: 
 
 219. Q. During the time that you have been a 
 practitioner in this church, have you had any 
 means of knowing what the attitude towards 
 this church is throughout the Field of Christian 
 Science? 
 A. Yes. 
 
 222. Q. From various quarters, then, during the 
 twelve to fifteen years that you have 
 
 1 • /^t, • ^- o • 1- Hostile atti- 
 
 been m Christian Science, you have tude toward 
 heard of this attitude so often that it Fi'^t church. 
 
 New York 
 
 has become an accepted fact with you 
 
 that the Field regards this church as in error? 
 
346 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 A. Yes. 
 
 223. Q. What would you consider the greatest cause 
 
 for the existence of such a feeling throughout 
 
 the Field? 
 Mrs Remer ^' ^ would Say it was the same thought 
 lays it to envy that crucificd Jcsus — cnvy and jeal- 
 
 and jealousy 
 
 ousy. 
 
 224. Q. What would you say was the channel of its 
 Newspapers most general distribution throughout the 
 helped to Fields 
 
 poison the ^ itJlU. 
 
 ^'^'•^ A. I should say the newspapers. 
 
 225. Q. Supposing that this condition of erroneous 
 
 thought toward this church existed pretty 
 generally throughout the Field, and an article 
 was published in the Christian Science Sentinel, 
 such as that which is to be found in the issue 
 of December 5, 1908, entitled "Consistency," 
 following a newspaper account of the action of 
 this church in regard to building an overflow 
 church, — what would be the effect of such an 
 article in either dispelling or extending and 
 intensifying that erroneous attitude toward 
 this church? 
 A. I think it would poison the whole Field 
 toward this church. 
 
 226. Q. Would you call this malpractice on First 
 
 Church, New York? 
 A. I certainly would. 
 
 227. Q. Then you think that wherever an erroneous 
 
 thought toward this church already existed, the 
 publication of that article would intensify it? 
 A. Yes. 
 
 228. Q. ... Then take persons who had not before 
 
 then become subject to that malpractice upon 
 
Analysis of Seven Findings 347 
 
 this church and upon Mrs. Stetson, through 
 private circulation of error, — what effect would 
 this article, coming out in the periodicals of 
 Christian Science and with the authority of the 
 editor, have? 
 
 A. I think it would poison them against this 
 church. 
 229. Q. How would that have to be met, in order to 
 prevent this? 
 
 A. Those in charge of this church would have 
 to know how to defend themselves against this 
 malpractice, by handling animal magnetism and 
 mental malpractice. 
 
 This may be regarded as a remarkably clear piece of 
 evidence, as to how malpractising thought has to be 
 met. It shows also why attacks on First Church, 
 New York, were met as they were from within. 
 
 The simple facts in the case of the controversy be- 
 tween First Church, New York, and the Board of 
 Directors, are, that the branch church was 
 attacked publicly through the columns of the New York! 
 ofBcial organs of the church. That attack attacked and 
 
 o ... defended 
 
 by editorial utterances, prejudicial to the 
 peace and good standing of First Church, New York, 
 was met by metaphysical defense on the part of Mrs. 
 Stetson and the students working with her. 
 
 From all of the foregoing the reader can well judge 
 for himself whether or not the Directors were right in 
 judging, as in "Finding" seven: "That Mrs. Stetson 
 has so strayed from the right way as not to be fit for the 
 work of a teacher of Christian Science." 
 
 It is evident that Mrs. Stetson performed her duty 
 in handling scientifically mental malpractice. 
 
CHAPTER XXVIII 
 
 SELF-DEFENSE IN CHRISTIAN SCIENCE AS 
 TAUGHT BY MARY BAKER EDDY 
 
 There is possibly nowhere else in religious literature 
 
 a page of testimony like that which describes the 
 
 method of self-defense on the part of Mrs. 
 
 Self-defense ^ ^ . . . 
 
 a condition of otctson and the practitioners m their effort 
 peilr*' to withstand unjust criticism. The right to 
 self-defense is not only fundamental in hu- 
 man relations, but it is also a primary dictum of our 
 spiritual nature. The failure to recognize this fact, 
 allowing evil suggestion to invade consciousness, is the 
 source of untold torment to those who permit the thief 
 of error to break into the house of their mentality, and 
 to rob it of peace and possessions. 
 
 Unless the Christian Scientist knows how spiritually 
 to defend his mentality against assault from without, 
 there is no possibility of the peace of God dwelling 
 therein, because he is not found clothed with the armor 
 of God. In fact, spiritual mental self-defense in Chris- 
 tian Science is the veritable "whole armoiu- of God" 
 divinely provided to defeat error. For want of it, 
 unrighteous, unjust, or unholy suggestion may steal 
 its way into one's consciousness and reverse the whole 
 contents by the denial of Truth ; but with this defensive 
 capacity well in hand, there is no fiery dart of evil which 
 cannot be effectively turned. 
 
 348 
 
Self-Defense in Christian Science 349 
 
 In the testimony taken before the Committee of 
 Inquiry, it was made evident that most of the practi- 
 tioners who were called as witnesses had a 
 clear distinction between mental self-defense defense^and 
 and treatment of a person without his or her treatment 
 
 . are different 
 
 consent. The duty of meeting aggressive 
 mental suggestion had evidently been carefully taught 
 to them, as Mary Baker Eddy directed should be done. 
 Their grasp of the rule involved in the distinction is 
 clearly brought out in such testimony as that of Mrs. 
 Amelia S, Rowbotham. 
 
 Mrs. Rowbotham testified as follows on November 
 I, 1909: 
 
 19. Q. Do you recognize a difference between treat- 
 
 ing another person, and defending yourself 
 against aggressive mental suggestion by jy[jg_ r^^_ 
 speaking directly to the person that is botham 
 the avenue for the malpractice? difference 
 
 A. Yes. A very great difference. 
 
 20. Q. Have you heard Mrs. Stetson speak directly 
 
 to any person during the practitioners' meetings.'* 
 A. I have heard her speak in self-defense. Yes, I 
 have heard her speak, always in self-defense. 
 Never unless it was absolutely necessary, — 
 when she felt there was a necessity for it. 
 
 21. Q. State whether in doing so, Mrs. Stetson used 
 
 the names and spoke to the persons in such a 
 way as to malpractise upon them. 
 A. She spoke the names, but she never mal- 
 practised. 
 
 22. Q. And did she speak the names and speak to 
 
 the persons in such a way as to treat the persons? 
 A. No; it wasn't a treatment — it was a defense. 
 
350 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 23. Q. Knowing the conditions confronting her and 
 this church, and knowing the scientific method 
 of defense against malpractice, state whether in 
 your judgment Mrs. Stetson would have ful- 
 filled her duty if she had done otherwise. 
 A. No, I don't think she could have. I think it 
 was absolutely necessary for her to do what she 
 did. 
 
 What the The Manual of The Mother Church spe- 
 
 Manuai says: cifically cnjoins sclf-dcfense upon its mem- 
 Art. VUl., A • 1 
 
 Sect. 6 bers. Article VIII. , Section 6, says: 
 
 It shall be the duty of every member of this Church to 
 defend himself daily against aggressive mental suggestion, 
 and not be made to forget nor to neglect his duty to God, 
 to his Leader, and to mankind. , . . 
 
 The argument was repeatedly made by Clifford P. 
 
 Smith, First Reader of The Mother Church, that an 
 
 audible use of names without a person's 
 
 Use of names ^ _ '■ 
 
 without consent, in mental work, is malpractice. The 
 question of whether or not a given mental 
 operation as related to another is malpractice is by no 
 means determined by the presence or absence of the 
 name of that other person. Any Christian Scientist 
 who knows even the elemental truths of the teachings 
 of Christian Science recognizes that the exercise of 
 thought toward another, in which the thinker has in 
 mind a particular person, but does not actually men- 
 tion the name of that person audibly, is in precisely 
 the same category of mental relationship as if the name 
 had been mentioned from the housetops or in public 
 print. 
 
 If it be malpractice to "take up names audibly with- 
 
Self-Defense in Christian Science 351 
 
 out consent," it is also malpractice to hold in thought, 
 without mentioning names, any given person or persons, 
 against whom, without consent, a mental operation is 
 directed. 
 
 Where any person makes or circulates an untrue 
 statement giving such detail as would cause the hearer 
 or reader of that statement to apply it to some particu- 
 lar person or organization, the fact that the name of 
 the person or organization is not mentioned does not 
 thereby exonerate the person, making or circulating the 
 imtrue statement, from the guilt of malpractice. 
 
 The fact is that the determining criteria of malprac- 
 tice in Christian Science do not lie within the question 
 whether names are used or are not used. Mrs. Eddy 
 says: 
 
 Every Christian Scientist, every conscientious teacher of 
 the Science of Mind-healing, knows that human will is not 
 Christian Science, and he must recognize this in xeachers to 
 order to defend himself from the influence of teach students 
 human will. He feels morally obligated to open s®"-*^^*^'^^® 
 the eyes of his students that they may perceive the nature 
 and methods of error of every sort, especially any subtle 
 degree of evil, deceived and deceiving. All mental mal- 
 practice arises from ignorance or malice aforethought. It 
 is the injurious action of one mortal mind controlling an- 
 other from wrong motives, and it is practised either with a 
 mistaken or a wicked purpose (Science and Health, p. 451). 
 
 It is absurd to assume that a known purpose and 
 intent to injure one should disarm him from every 
 available means of effective spiritual mental 
 
 . . . Not to bo 
 
 self-defense. Nothing in Christian Science used indis- 
 forbids this. On the contrary, one has only "immateiy 
 to study the analysis of evil which our revered Leader, 
 
352 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 Mary Baker Eddy, has set forth in the various editions 
 of Science and Health, to show that, while she regards 
 it unsafe to resort indiscriminately to defensive methods, 
 there is complete justification in meeting every attack 
 with divine love, the Word of God, which annuls the 
 power of malicious animal magnetism to penetrate the 
 armor of true Christian Scientists, This spiritual men- 
 tal defense protects the one attacked, and in reality 
 would deliver even a mental assassin from impersonal 
 evil, if his mind be not closed entirely to the voice of 
 Truth and Love. 
 
 The Committee of Inquiry had testimony bearing 
 upon self-defense which illustrates the necessity of 
 Defense a maintaining a spiritually defensive mental 
 requisite of attitudc as a conditiou of spiritual effective- 
 
 ec iveness ^^^^ -^ rcHgious cffort. This was well brought 
 out in the testimony of Mrs. Mary H. Freshman, one of 
 Mrs. Stetson's students, who was the first to introduce 
 Christian Science in London, England, after having 
 received instruction from Mrs. Stetson in New York 
 City, in the early days of her (Mrs. Stetson's) ministry 
 here. 
 
 As a successful practitioner of over twenty-two years' 
 standing, Mrs. Freshman's statements should have 
 special force to all Christian Scientists. At a session of 
 the Committee of Inquiry, held October 31, 1909, in 
 First Church, New York City, Mrs. Freshman testi- 
 fied as follows: 
 
 21. Q. Do you recognize a distinction between giving 
 
 a treatment to a person and defending yourself 
 
 against aggressive malpractice working against 
 
 you through another person? 
 
 A. Yes. When I give a treatment, the person 
 
Self-Defense in Christian Science 353 
 
 allows me to go into her consciousness, and I 
 would say, "You are not sick,' and I use the 
 word "you;" but in defending myself it would 
 be different. I would recognize that whoever it 
 was, — if it was malpractice, and I thought it was 
 malpractice, I would try to get into Mrs. Fresh- 
 a spiritual consciousness and know °»an makes 
 
 ^ 1 distinction 
 
 absolutely that there was no such 
 person attacking me, and I would know 
 that there was no evil that they could use. 
 22, Q. And would you address them by name? 
 
 A. Well, it depends upon circumstances. As 
 Mrs. Eddy says, if it is a mental assassin, de- 
 fend yourself against him. I would say, "John 
 Smith, I come to you in love, and clad in the 
 panoply of Love, hate cannot find me." Mrs. 
 Eddy said, years ago a man came into her pres- 
 ence with a revolver, and she said to him, "You 
 cannot shoot me, God is all," and he dropped 
 the revolver to the floor. I don't think she 
 knew his name. 
 
 Captain Linscott visited me some time ago 
 on his way to see Mrs. Eddy; he was having a 
 great deal to meet, as he was at that time the 
 Pastor of First Church in Denver. 
 
 . .. ,_ T-«ii ^° instance 
 
 The reason of his visit to Mrs. Eddy, from the 
 was because he was not able to han- Leader's 
 
 experience 
 
 die the malpractice that was keep- 
 ing him from filling properly his position 
 there. When he was at my house on his 
 way to Mrs. Eddy, he was very ill. A few 
 days later he came back to my house per- 
 fectly healed. I said to him, "How did she do it?" 
 He said, "She came into the room, and said to 
 23 
 
354 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 me, 'You are drunk with animal magnetism,* 
 and she shook me. She stood very erect and 
 turned from me; uplifting her hand, she said, 
 with great force: 'I see you, begone!' speaking 
 audibly the name of a man in the West. She 
 further said that if I had understood and done 
 that, I would not have had to come so far to be 
 healed." That was a good many years ago. 
 
 The distinction between mental malpractice and self- 
 defense against malpractice is clearly taught in the 
 writings of the Founder of Christian Science, 
 Distinction Mary Baker Eddy. From the Founder, Mrs. 
 
 clear in •' ■' 
 
 Leader's Stetson Icamcd the true distinction, and in 
 tlachings^°*^ a communication published in a New York 
 paper of November 8, 1909, she restates the 
 Principle as it was taught by her to the practitioners and 
 students in First Church, New York. Mrs. Stetson 
 says: 
 
 I will give as an illustration what I understand to be the 
 difference between mental malpractice and "Indispensable 
 defence" or self-protection {Science and Health, pp. 451, 
 452). 
 
 If I felt sure that I was being attacked, either ignorantly 
 or maliciously by any person, I should fill my thought with 
 the qualities of God, Truth, and Love, which alone render 
 one invincible to the entrance of evil in any 
 explanation of form — fear, doubt, envy, malice, jealousy, re- 
 scientific vcngc, and whatever proceeds from the so-called 
 carnal mind. From this fortress of defense I 
 should speak to the person, addressing him by name, and 
 should declare God's omnipotence and ever-presence, and 
 that there is no other power nor presence. 
 
 In other words, I should come to him reflecting Truth 
 and Love, and should declare that he is God's image and 
 
Self-Defense in Christian Science 355 
 
 likeness, a spiritual being, perfect and immortal. I 
 should then speak to the error, which might be operating 
 through the human mind, for which he has been an avenue. 
 I should endeavor to see him as our Leader writes on page 
 476 of Science and Health, "Jesus beheld in Science the 
 perfect man, who appeared to him where sinning mortal 
 man appears to mortals." 
 
 Then I should declare that so-called malicious animal 
 magnetism in all its phases and forms was powerless to work 
 through his human personality using him as an avenue to 
 injure me or any one, or to hinder the progress of Christian 
 Science. This could only bless the corporeal man, and is 
 doing unto others what we would be willing to have others 
 do unto us. It would heal the sick by casting out the evil 
 thoughts which produce mental and physical disease. It is 
 the superiority of spiritual power over material sense, and is 
 not malpractice. 
 
 Mental malpractice is the influence of one so-called mortal 
 mind over another, and may be either innocent, ignorant, or 
 malicious. 
 
 Innocent malpractice: A mother is often an innocent 
 malpractitioner upon her child. With her own thought 
 filled with the fear of disease or accident, apprehensive of 
 danger for her little one, she produces these impressions 
 upon the child's mind, to be afterwards manifested on the 
 body in the form of disease or discord. 
 
 Ignorant mental malpractice is constantly in operation 
 among those who are ignorant of the power of thought, and 
 who exercise their human wills to obtain that which they 
 desire. 
 
 Malicious mental malpractice is any thought entertained 
 or expressed with intent to govern erroneously or to injure 
 another. 
 
 True Christian Scientists, admitting but one Mind, 
 striving to have no other mind but the Mind of Christ, to 
 have one God and to love their neighbor as themselves, can 
 only bless all upon whom their thoughts rest. 
 
CHAPTER XXIX 
 
 SUMMARY 
 
 This record is the result of a sincere sense of duty to 
 speak the truth in love. 
 
 The issues raised include five of vital importance 
 
 in the perpetuation of genuine Christian 
 
 Vital issues: Scicncc. Thcv havc come to the front in 
 
 Church gov- - . . , , . , 
 
 ernmentand this era of spintual awakcning because they 
 telcWng ^^® inevitable in the application of Truth, as 
 it is in Christian Science, to the conditions 
 of this age. Taken collectively they form a declara- 
 Deciaration tion of fundamentally inherent rights. These 
 of rights issues are : 
 
 I. The right of branch churches to local self- 
 Right of local government as guaranteed to them by the 
 self-govern- Manual of The Mother Church. 
 
 inent . . . , 
 
 2. The right of individual spintual inter- 
 pretation of the Scriptures and of Science and 
 Health with Key to the Scriptures^ and the other 
 writings of Mary Baker Eddy. 
 3. The right, as taught by Mary Baker Eddy, in the 
 spirit of love, directly to address persons in self- 
 T,- vx . « defense against mental attack by suggestion 
 
 Right of self- ° •' °° 
 
 defense Or othcrwise. We have ample documentary 
 against attack ^^.^^^^^ in Mrs. Eddy's own handwriting 
 
 that this method of spiritual mental defense was 
 taught by her. 
 
 356 
 
Summary 357 
 
 4. The right of every one to a fair trial, with full 
 
 specifications of any charges or complaints, 
 including the nature, times, and places 
 of the acts complained of, and ample fair trial on 
 time to examine the same; and the definite 
 
 charges 
 
 further right to be confronted by 
 and to cross-examine the witnesses in person, 
 and not to be tried simply by affidavit. Also 
 the right of exemption from discipline on any 
 question of adherence to teaching or practice, 
 pending the adjudication by a fair trial of the 
 person on the issues raised. 
 
 5. The right and duty to maintain the spiritual 
 
 purity, sublimity, and healing power of genuine 
 Christian Science, thereby averting jug,it „, 
 the peril of this denomination's be- maintaining 
 
 spiritual 
 
 coming a mere sect, like many another purity and 
 which has perished from loss of vital- *"*'"" 
 
 izing Truth and Love. 
 
 It will appear that these issues involve the essential 
 aspects of church government and of divine metaphysics 
 or spiritual teaching. 
 
 On the question of church government our beloved 
 Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, has instructed us in the 
 Manual of The Mother Church: 
 
 Article I. Duties of Church Officers. Sect. 9. Law 
 constitutes government, and disobedience to the laws of 
 The Mother Church must ultimate in annulling ^^^ ^^ ^^ 
 its Tenets and By-Laws. Without a proper disregarding 
 system of government and form of action, na- By-^awa 
 tions, individuals, and religion are unprotected; hence the 
 necessity of this By-Law and the warning of Holy Writ: 
 " That servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared 
 
358 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be 
 beaten with many stripes." . . . 
 
 The reader will be enabled, from the facts herein 
 presented, to determine for himself whether or not The 
 Mother Church Directors have upheld the By-Laws as 
 set forth in The Mother Church Manual — the consti- 
 tution of this Church. Because we have seen and 
 understood the danger so clearly pointed out by Mrs. 
 Eddy, that "disobedience to the laws of The Mother 
 Church must ultimate in annulling its Tenets and By- 
 Laws, " and because also of the spiritual significance of 
 the issue involved in these events; therefore, we have 
 been impelled to prepare and publish this Record. 
 
 In their spiritual aspect the issues lie still deeper. 
 Spiritual heal- Thcy involvc the ultimate question of perpet- 
 ing shall uating and developing in its purity and 
 
 survive 
 
 effectiveness that spiritualization of thought 
 which finds expression in the divine healing power as the 
 essential characteristic of Christian Science, as taught 
 by its Discoverer and Founder, Mary Baker Eddy. 
 
 This Record further shows that by virtue of loyal 
 obedience to the teachings of Mary Baker Eddy the 
 
 achievements of this branch church, First 
 brought spiri- Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, 
 tuai power j^^^^ through many years of constant growth, 
 given convincing proof of its power to meet human 
 needs, by an unparalleled record of spiritual healing; 
 and that it therefore demonstrated the correctness of 
 its understanding of her teachings. 
 
 It must be equally evident that these abundant results 
 
 were primarily due to the spiritual teaching 
 whom honor and guidance of one of Mrs. Eddy's loyal 
 '^'^"^" students, Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson, C.S.D., 
 by whom, with others, this branch church was organized. 
 
Summary 359 
 
 It was she who taught its classes; instructed these 
 successful practitioners in genuine Christian Science; 
 and developed its healing ministry from the very 
 beginning of the Cause in this city to which she was 
 sent by the Leader herself for that express purpose. 
 "Ye shall know them by their fruits" (Matt, vii., 16). 
 
CHAPTER XXX 
 
 DEFENSE OF SPIRITUAL FACTS IN DIVINE LAW 
 AND ORDER 
 
 For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, 
 because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his 
 reward. — Mark ix,, 41. 
 
 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness 
 and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness. — 
 Romans i., 18. 
 
 We live in an age of Love's divine adventure to be All-in-all. . . . 
 . . . The burden of proof that Christian Science is Science rests on 
 Christian Scientists. — The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscel- 
 lany, p. 158. 
 
 The general thought chiefly regards material things, and keeps Mind 
 much out of sight. The Christian, however, strives for the spiritual; 
 he abides in a right purpose, as in laws which it were impious to trans- 
 gress, and follows Truth fearlessly, — The First Church of Christ, Scientist, 
 and Miscellany, pp. 159, 160. 
 
 As Principal of the New York City Christian Science 
 Institute and in recognition of the scientific stand for 
 immortality and spiritual mental defense against 
 mental malpractice, which sixteen advanced Christian 
 Science practitioners have understandingly maintained, 
 I feel morally obligated to endorse and commend their 
 unswerving adherence to the spiritual facts of being and 
 the scientific demonstration of divine metaphysics or 
 Christian Science Mind-healing as taught by Mary 
 Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian 
 Science. 
 
 360 
 
Defense of Spiritual Facts 361 
 
 There are hundreds of my students in New York 
 City and throughout the world and also many Christian 
 Scientists in the Field who have risen to the under- 
 standing and demonstration of the spiritual interpreta- 
 tion of the Holy Bible and the textbook of Christian 
 Science, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures^ 
 by Mary Baker Eddy. 
 
 Since my name was dropped from the roll of member- 
 ship in The Mother Church — my license to teach and 
 practise Christian Science was revoked and I was 
 "forbidden to undertake the work of a teacher" and 
 practitioner of Christian Science, — repeated inquiries 
 from the Field have come to me as to the facts regard- 
 ing my version of the case, since but one side had been 
 presented. I acceded to these demands and stated 
 the facts of the controversy in a volume entitled 
 Reminiscences, Sermons, and Correspondence, published 
 by Messrs. G. P. Putnam's Sons. 
 
 In that book of over twelve hundred pages the justice 
 of the charge made against me by the Board of Direc- 
 tors of The Mother Church of teaching ''pretended 
 Christian Science"^ is left to the reader to decide. 
 
 Five years have elapsed since the beginning of the 
 disturbed conditions. During that time I have not 
 taken advantage of autograph letters of my Leader's 
 endorsement of me as a teacher and demonstrator of 
 divine metaphysics or Christian Science. I have 
 waited on God to vindicate me to the world in His own 
 time and way, which I have every evidence that He 
 has now done. 
 
 I now feel that I should no longer withhold from 
 Christian Scientists the proofs I have of Mary Baker 
 Eddy's sanction of my spiritual interpretation of her 
 
 * See page 54. 
 
362 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 teaching and her faith in my ability to demonstrate 
 the power of spiritual Mind-healing, and to defend true 
 Christian Science as taught by her. 
 
 During the past five years of continued denunciation 
 of my teaching and practice by the constituted author- 
 ities of the material organization, as reported by the 
 Field, I have withheld this testimony of our revered 
 Leader imtil all had been tested as to their faith and 
 understanding of genuine Christian Science. Those 
 who met and overcame material concepts and adhered 
 strictly to the spiritual facts of being, as taught by Mrs. 
 Eddy, — who were willing to suffer with Christ that 
 they might reign with him, — these rose to the spiritual 
 apprehension of Mrs. Eddy's writings, and are building 
 on a "wholly spiritual foundation" {Christian Science 
 Sentinel, vol. xi., p. 390). They are demonstrating 
 genuine, operative Christ Mind-healing. As a reward 
 for their intelligent defense of the Christianity of 
 Christian Science, which Mrs. Eddy has enjoined me to 
 perpetuate, I am publishing these autograph excerpts 
 from a few of her letters to me. 
 
 Years ago the pioneer students of Mary Baker Eddy 
 took up the cross and began the demonstration of 
 spiritual sense over the so-called material senses. They 
 healed the sick by destroying the false claim of animal 
 magnetism or the so-called carnal mind, which is the 
 foundation of all discord physical and mental. As 
 they followed the teachings of their God-inspired 
 Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, their spiritual power in- 
 creased ; followers were added to the Cause of Christian 
 Science; churches arose in every part of the world, 
 and prosperity in Truth was manifested in Israel after 
 the Spirit. 
 
 As Truth made Her authoritative demands upon 
 
Defense of Spiritual Facts 363 
 
 Christian Scientists, some rose to spiritual heights of 
 demonstration over materiah"ty, others resisted the 
 requirements of Christ, and fell back into the material 
 senses, verifying the Scripture, I John ii., 19: 
 
 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if 
 they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued 
 with us: but they went out, that they might be made mani- 
 fest that they were not all of us. 
 
 Mrs. Eddy refers to this phase of mortal mind in the 
 following words: 
 
 Jesus sent forth seventy students at one time, but only 
 eleven left a desirable historic record. Tradition credits 
 him with two or three hundred other disciples who have 
 left no name. "Many are called, but few are chosen." 
 They fell away from grace because they never truly 
 understood their Master's instruction {Science and Health, 
 p. 27). 
 
 Gradually it became apparent that materiality and 
 reversal of divine metaphysics were creeping into the 
 ranks of Christian Science. Love of ease, in personal 
 sense, pride of place and power, and an unwillingness 
 to handle the claim of malicious animal magnetism, 
 manifested in self-love, self-will, self-justification, the 
 lust of the fleshly mind, and the pride of material 
 existence, with their earthward gravitation, were evi- 
 dent and Christian Science Mind-healing, with many, 
 dropped to the level of so-called mental healing on a 
 human will basis. 
 
 Of Jesus' followers it was said, "Many are called, 
 but few are chosen." Of Mrs. Eddy's students and 
 followers it may also be said, few have been able 
 
364 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 to stand every day in the front of battle and with 
 the two-edged sword of Truth — spiritual thought-force 
 — face the enemy of good, and rise superior to the so- 
 called pains and pleasures of the discordant mortal 
 belief. 
 
 The God-inspired — the true Christian Scientist — is 
 willing to rise with Christ through the abnegation of 
 human personality and the sufferings which destroy 
 the fleshly mind and restore the "dominion" of the 
 Christ-mind over sin, sorrow, and death. Mrs. Eddy 
 says: 
 
 In the dark hours, wise Christian Scientists stand firmer 
 than ever in their allegiance to God. Wisdom is wedded 
 to their love, and their hearts are not troubled {Miscel- 
 laneous Writings, pp. 276, 277). 
 
 Those who, during the testing time, have fallen away 
 from Mrs. Eddy's spiritual teaching, Im^e the weak and 
 the vacillating who also become the opponents of good. 
 Throughout the Christian Science movement, the war- 
 fare between Truth's exponents and demonstrators, 
 and error's mouthpieces, who adhere to material con- 
 cepts of spiritual facts, is described in the following 
 words of Mrs. Eddy: 
 
 Whosoever proclaims Truth loudest, becomes the mark 
 for error's shafts. The archers aim at Truth's mouthpiece; 
 but a heart loyal to God is patient and strong. Justice 
 waits, and is used to waiting; and right wins the everlasting 
 victory {Miscellaneous Writings, p. 277). 
 
 For twenty-five years Mrs. Eddy cooperated with 
 me in the work of First Church of Christ, Scientist, 
 New York City. During that time she publicly en- 
 
Defense of Spiritual Facts 365 
 
 dorsed the scientific demonstration made by me and 
 my students and members of my church. She has 
 continued to cooperate in her spiritual influence as 
 impersonal idea, while I build on a "wholly spiritual 
 foundation."^ 
 
 I am asked, why do I stand so imflinchingly for my 
 convictions and teaching? I reply: 
 
 I. Because I believe Mrs. Eddy's written and spoken 
 statements to me to be "the truth, the whole truth, 
 and nothing but the truth." Any statement attributed 
 to her that has appeared over her name and which 
 denies or contradicts her statements to me, that were 
 written in her own handwriting and which covered a 
 period of twenty-five years, I do not believe. 
 
 Just before the beginning of the controversy, engen- 
 dered by the opponents of good, Mrs, Eddy wrote me 
 asking if I were willing to come out from the material 
 world and be separate. 
 
 My reply was that I had really never participated in 
 the pleasures and social functions of the material world 
 since I came into Christian Science, but that all my 
 time had been devoted to preaching the gospel of Christ, 
 healing the sick, and reforming the sinner. That the 
 joy and peace, health, strength, and prosperity in 
 Truth which I derived from serving God and hu- 
 manity had been vastly more than I had ever experi- 
 enced when I participated in the religious ceremonies 
 and social functions of the material world, or false 
 mentality. 
 
 I also replied, that I thought I was quite ready 
 to follow her example and rise to more impersonal 
 Christ-mind healing. This answer brought forth the 
 following letter: 
 
 ' Christian Science Sentinel, volume xi., page 390 
 
366 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 Pleasant View, 
 
 Concord, N. H. July 20, 07. 
 
 My darling Student^ 
 
 Your dear letter assuring me of your compliance with 
 the strict demand — "Come out from the world and be \^e 
 separate" — in the sense of Science — comforts me. O for a 
 closer clearer nearer view of the divine Science of being that 
 we all may be perfect even as our Father the Principle 
 thereof is perfect This we must be in order to be Christian 
 Scientists 
 
 True Christian Scientists realize to-day that they 
 must come out from the material world- worshippers, 
 if they would gain the spiritual power (the Mind of 
 Christ) which will deliver from sin, disease, and death, 
 and bestow health, holiness, and immortality. 
 
 2. Because Mrs. Eddy asked me to stand by her 
 during her "crucifixion" and not yield to the attempts 
 of the evil one — malicious mortal minds arrayed against 
 her — to turn me away from her ; thus looking to me to 
 defend genuine, legitimate Christian Science, which she 
 had suffered and struggled to bequeath, in its purity, to 
 humanity. Mrs. Eddy wrote me: 
 
 ^ (Do not allow the evil one in your midst to turn you away 
 from me in this hour of crucifixion, or history will repeat 
 itself, and Christian Science will once more be lost as 
 aforetime 
 
 The leading students must not allow this attempt of the 
 enemy to overcome them, and you yield to it! The lies 
 that are told about me or what I say of you are not worth 
 your notice nor mine 
 
 3. Because, from the first, I discerned that Mrs. 
 Eddy was the God anointed of this age to lead human- 
 
 ^ See pages 377, 378. 'See pages 379, 380. 
 
Defense of Spiritual Facts 367 
 
 ity out of sin, sickness, and death, and to demonstrate 
 her teachings, by fulfilHng the law of Love, which 
 conquers death. I recognized her as the "present 
 highest idea of love." She assured me that 
 
 ^ ... by adhering to His lonely, present highest idea of 
 love you will hold to its Principle and be safe O ! I thank 
 Him, love Him, and love my Augusta. 
 
 Lovingly and everlastingly yours 
 
 M B Eddy 
 
 In this letter she referred to herself as idea, not 
 physique. It is by perceiving and following the spirit- 
 ual idea, or man, which leads us to Principle, that we 
 are safe for, "Principle and its idea is one" {Science and 
 Health, p. 465). 
 
 4. Because, nothing could change my confidence 
 in the wisdom, Christly compassion, and divine love 
 which constituted her a spiritual Leader and demon- 
 strator of divine Mind, Love. Let me quote her words: 
 
 Pleasant View Concord. 
 N. H. 
 
 My darling Student^ 
 
 I have a few moments to myself and my heart turns to 
 you, with such gratitude for your strength in carrying out 
 measures so important to the cause, that I must tell you 
 how much I love you and that all of earth and hades could 
 never blind me to this fact. 
 
 No student no being on earth can change my true sense 
 of an individual. No matter what is said to me it cannot 
 move me 
 
 Therefore no argument possible to the carnal mind 
 could induce me to believe that Mrs. Eddy would 
 change her concept of me. 
 
 == See page 381, » See page 382. 
 
368 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 Mr. Archibald McLellan, in an editorial entitled 
 "None Good but One" {Christian Science Sentinel, July 
 31, 1909), says: 
 
 Mrs. Eddy teaches nothing in private that is not set 
 forth in her books, and thousands of her students will 
 attest this.^ 
 
 In refutation of this statement by Mr. McLellan I 
 quote the following extract from one of Mrs. Eddy's 
 letters to me: 
 
 * . . . come directly to me I must tell you something about 
 mental practice that can not be written and involves all 
 for time and eternity 
 
 With great love to you 
 
 Ever thine 
 
 M B G Eddy 
 Come without fail 
 
 Whatever is attributed to Mrs. Eddy, and is the 
 opposite of her teaching and character, I immediately 
 discredit. Her Directors, or in other words, those 
 whom she, as Leader, directs to carry on the spiritual 
 work in Christian Science are her Christian followers, 
 who respond to her divine influence as impersonal idea, 
 and these, under the operation of Spirit, which she 
 reflects, move humanity outward, onward, upward, 
 out of the thraldom of materialit}^ the effects of which 
 are sin, sickness, and death. They rise with Christ 
 into the understanding of man's relation to eternal 
 Life and Love and their radiation in idea — spiritual 
 man. These Mrs. Eddy directs. 
 
 They are obedient to God and His impersonal repre- 
 sentative to this age, our revered Leader, Mary Baker 
 Eddy. 
 
 * See page 136. ' See page 383. 
 
Defense of Spiritual Facts 369 
 
 Pleasant View, 
 
 Concord, N. H., April 20 
 
 My precious Student,* 
 
 We always unite on one point, viz., that no supposed 
 power can ever separate the eternal friendship and Chris- 
 tian love that exists between me and you — 
 
 With oceans of love 
 
 M B G Eddy 
 
 The following letter from Mrs. Eddy will solve the 
 question as to why I did not unite with the local 
 churches? 
 
 Pleasant View 
 
 Concord N, H, March 21, 
 1905. 
 My precious Student:^ 
 
 Yes, you are conscious of God's care and love; and that 
 I will stand by you, will warn and comfort you and help 
 you onward and upward. ... Be patient humble loving 
 full of faith and good works and all will be well with thee 
 Be of good cheer darling, you are supported by a strong 
 arm, — your students are loyal. Now take my advice. 
 Do not counteract any movement for churches or for the 
 unity of two in one — even if it seems best to do so — but 
 let the students learn from experience, and God direct 
 them. You are entrenched, and had better be left out than 
 mixed with what cannot mix. So be wise and wait on God 
 and He will direct thy path. 
 
 Lovingly faithfully thine 
 
 Mary Baker Eddy 
 
 At this time I had to meet severe condemnation from 
 the local Christian Scientists which soon spread through- 
 out the Field because I would not unite in the proposed 
 movement made by the churches, all of which were the 
 outcome of schisms. 
 
 ' See page 384. " See pages 385-387. 
 
 24 
 
370 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 I had written to Mrs. Eddy telling her that if it were 
 her desire I would unite with them. Later, after the 
 Directors of The Mother Church had decided that I 
 was unfit to undertake the work of a teacher and prac- 
 titioner of Christian Science, I was glad to see the will- 
 ingness of these churches to unite with each other after 
 their long separation, and I hoped that they might 
 finally demonstrate "unity of the Spirit in the bond of 
 peace" (Ephesians iv., 3). There is no unity except 
 in spiritual cooperation. Later, Mrs. Eddy approved 
 the union of those churches in the following words: 
 
 This proof that sanity and Science govern the Christian 
 Science churches in Greater New York is soul inspiring 
 {The First Church of Christ. Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 363). 
 
 Schisms, imagination, and human beliefs are not parts 
 of Christian Science; they darken the discernment of 
 Science; they divide Truth's garment and cast lots for it 
 (The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 206). 
 
 Those of my students who, with me, were ' ' entrenched ' ' 
 in spiritual understanding and demonstration stood 
 firmly on the rock, Christ. 
 
 The extract which follows is from an article written 
 by me and published in The Independent, October 9, 
 1913: 
 
 In case your readers may be in doubt as to the meta- 
 physical position which I occupy, and the twentieth 
 century student of divine metaphysics be, for a while, 
 misled, I feel that I would not be true to the desire and 
 efforts of Mrs. Eddy to establish Christian Science in 
 its "orderly" line of demonstrators of Truth, if I did not 
 state the scientific fact in regard to my relation to my 
 church, which her words authorize me to defend. I 
 
Defense of Spiritual Facts 371 
 
 therefore am moved to place in your hands an extract 
 from a letter from Mrs. Eddy written to one of the 
 former Directors of The Mother Church at the time 
 she gave her Church the name in the deed, "Mary 
 Baker G. Eddy's Church, The First Church of Christ, 
 Scientist, Boston, Massachusetts." The entire letter 
 in Mrs. Eddy's handwriting is in my possession, the 
 part which bears directly on the subject being repro- 
 duced below. 
 
 ' One thing in my haste was forgotten, namely, the des- 
 signation of The First Church of Christ Scientist as my 
 church. The question will be, is, asked whose church is it? 
 We cannot say it is Mr. Herring's or the Board of Directors 
 church, for it surely is not. It was my church in the begin- 
 ning as much as Mrs. Stetson's church is hers. We must 
 be orderly in these things or it will lead into difficulties 
 that you do not see but / do see them 
 
 Lest there already has arisen a question as to whom 
 The Mother Church belongs, I am convinced that this 
 is the psychological moment in which her words should 
 decide the question, since it has been raised, "to whom 
 is due credit for the achievement of a visible demon- 
 stration of adherents to Christ's Christianity, and an 
 edifice in which the people assemble to worship the 
 Father in spirit and truth." 
 
 Christ Jesus said: "Upon this rock [spiritual under- 
 standing of the allness of divine Mind, and the nothing- 
 ness of the human mind and of matter] I will build my 
 church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against 
 it" (Matthew xvi., 18). Christ Jesus was authority 
 for Mrs. Eddy's claim to her own demonstration, viz., 
 a body of adherents to Christ's teachings, and a church 
 
 ' See pages 388-390. 
 
372 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 edifice or symbol of the Church Triumphant. This 
 demonstration was the result of her faithful obedience 
 to the law of God as taught by Christ Jesus, which 
 builds character on a "wholly spiritual"' basis. 
 
 Mrs. Eddy is the head of the Christian Science move- 
 ment or Church of Christ, Scientist, symboHzed in The 
 Mother Church edifice, The First Church of Christ, 
 Scientist, Boston, and her followers, who are loyal to 
 Principle, God, and Christ's teaching. 
 
 Christ Jesus recognized his demonstration of a church 
 or body of followers whom he taught to build on the 
 rock of spiritual understanding when he said: "I have 
 manifested Thy name unto the men which Thou gavest 
 me out of the world" (John xvii., 6). 
 
 The following letters and extracts have, under fear- 
 ful attempts of the enemy of good to reverse and mate- 
 rialize Christian Science Mind-healing, strengthened my 
 endeavors to be faithful to the trust and confidence 
 reposed in me by my revered Leader, Mrs. Eddy. 
 
 Augusta, darling;* 
 
 What shall I say to a good child like you — to a Chris- 
 tian Scientist such as you? this — well done good and 
 faithful thou shalt be made ruler over many things enter 
 thou into the joy of doing good 
 
 Do not you feel happy in clothing her who loves you 
 prays for you watches for you waits for you to be with 
 her here and in Heaven 
 
 Yes darling child mother appreciates your footsteps of 
 the flock whom the great Shepherd are calling who hear 
 and follow and none shall be able to pluck them out of his 
 hands 
 
 ' Christian Science Sentinel, vol. xi., p. 390. ' See pages 391-393. 
 
Defense of Spiritual Facts 373 
 
 You will hear from me soon through the newspapers on 
 the Episcopal Congress It will help you dear one to meet 
 the armaments of concealed warfare 
 
 Again darling I say mother loves you and appreciates 
 your scientific demonstration over my other students and 
 the "enter thou" that God is speaking to you 
 With love thine 
 
 Mary B Eddy 
 
 My precious Child ^ 
 
 There was a preceding page, but of no special value. I 
 am trying to do the most good I can in my place and so 
 have to economize my time, or I should write longer to you 
 and see you oftener. Darling, Have your students done 
 as much for our cause as you have done? Well you were 
 my student, and what is best no other one ever taught you. 
 
 My students are doing more for, and against, C. S. 
 than any others can do. They are the greatest sinners on 
 earth when they injure it; and are doing more good than 
 all others when they do the best they know how. 
 
 Here I must leave it; but the fruits of my awful experi- 
 ence in preparing the hearts of men to receive Chris. Scie. ; 
 is patience in tribulation, hope, and faith; — before these 
 graces of the Spirit evil must fall May you, my faithful 
 dear one be strengthened and upHfted by the errors of 
 others — by seeing sin and so avoiding it in your own dear 
 
 self. 
 
 Lovingly Ever 
 
 M B G Eddy 
 
 Pleasant View, 
 
 Concord, N. H. Dec. 17, 1904. 
 My darling Student:* 
 
 I have tried to reply sooner but could not. Do not doubt 
 
 my love for you, my faith in you, and my faithful rebuke if 
 
 need be. Above all dear one, know that God knows your 
 
 good works and will reward them, that He loves you and 
 
 ' See pages 394-396. » See pages 397-399- 
 
374 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 her whom He has called loves you just as tenderly in giv- 
 ing you His rod as His staff and by them both — the rod 
 and support — you cannot doubt His care and love for you, 
 my precious one. Now be of good cheer be not afraid for 
 such are God's proofs to all his own that they are His and 
 none can pluck them out of His hand. 
 
 Your explanation is so comforting to me that I thank 
 Him and you for it with tears of joy 
 
 ' I am fixed and more and more in my confidence in your 
 strength to stand, & "having done all to stand" If you 
 will pardon me I will tell you one of my pet names for you 
 when speaking of you to my household ^^my %var horse'^ 
 
 Oh dearest, precious child, how much you have done and 
 will yet do for our cause, none knows but me 
 
 Pleasant View. 
 
 Concord, N. H. Oct. 13. 
 
 My beloved Student " 
 
 Your prompt obedience to me shows a wisdom that will 
 crown your life with success. You evidently have learned 
 this from God, universal Truth, versus error. 
 
 Pleasant View. 
 
 Concord. N. H. Oct. 3 1904 
 My dearest Student 3 
 
 I sent to you a 20 dollar gold piece not as money, 
 for that can neither express nor pay for your kind- 
 ness in helping me to outside wear or apparel. It was 
 simply saying. " You keep the Golden Rule in this way; 
 and my gratitude is golden beyond words. 
 
 Darling rise each hour; now is the resurrection morn 
 and I want Augusta to be my Mary. 
 
 Lovingly ever thine 
 
 M B Eddy 
 » See page 400. 'See page 401. 3 See pages 402, 403. 
 
Defense of Spiritual Facts 375 
 
 ^ Darling, I did not see your pretty present till my letter 
 was written 
 
 Thanks More precious than silver or gold is your love. 
 
 Accept mine in big gross tons 
 
 MB E 
 
 "^ Now darling I entrust you with another momentous 
 move namely Our memmorial of Christian Science, that the 
 ages will look upon and be lifted up. 
 
 Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the 
 Father: but he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father 
 also. — I John ii., 23. 
 
 Until the majesty of Truth should be demonstrated in 
 divine Science, the spiritual idea was arraigned before the 
 tribunal of so-called mortal mind, which was unloosed in 
 order that the false claim of mind in matter might uncover 
 its own crime of defying immortal Mind. — Science and, 
 Health, page 564. 
 
 I See page 404. * See page 405, 
 
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384 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
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402 Vital Issues in Christian Science 
 
 
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 403 
 
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 405 
 
 
 
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Jl Selection from the 
 Catalogue of 
 
 G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS 
 
 Complete Catalogue sent 
 on application 
 
Poems 
 
 Written on the Journey from 
 Sense to Soul 
 
 By 
 
 Augusta E. Stetson, C.S.D. 
 
 8°. Illustrated. Full gilt edges. Net $2.00 
 
 These poems were dedicated to 
 Mary Baker Eddy in the following 
 words : 
 
 As a student to the Teacher 
 As a follower to the Leader 
 As a child to the Mother 
 
 G. P. Putnam's Sons 
 
 New York London 
 
Reminiscences, Sermons, and Corre= 
 
 spondence, Proving Adherence 
 
 to the Principle of 
 
 Christian Science 
 
 As Tan^ht by 
 
 Mary Baker Eddy 
 By 
 
 Augusta E. Stetson, C.S.D. 
 
 {Second Editioa Third Thousand) Revised and Enlarged 
 
 8°. With 9 Illustrations in Photogravure. Bible Paper. Full 
 Gilt Edges. Over 1200 Pages. 55.00 net. By mail, $5.25 
 
 Out of her religious activities of twenty-nine 
 years under the instruction and leadership of 
 Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and 
 Founder of Christian Science Mind-healing, 
 Mrs. Stetson, in this volume, has contributed 
 a book of rare worth in the demonstration of 
 divine metaphysics. There are set forth the 
 author's experiences in the demonstration of 
 Truth as contained in Science and Health with 
 Key to the Scriptures by Mrs. Eddy; also a valu- 
 able collection of sermons, addresses, and 
 letters which elucidate the Principle of 
 Christian Science. 
 
 New York G. P. Putnam*S Sons London 
 
Date Due 
 
 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^iAm 
 
 •f^'-n 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 m 
 
 PRINTED 
 
 IN U. S. A. 
 
 
BP931.N53C.2 
 
 Vital issues in Christian Science : a 
 
 Princeton Theological Semmary-Speer Library