The New York "World" points out that legal questions which are bound to arise very early will threaten the very existence of the church, and for the settling of which no provision has been made. The reporter talked with the chairman of the board of directors of the mother church, Mr. Archibald McLellan, and he admitted that —
The situation is very critical, and the points you raise are so serious and important that the board has not yet been able to deliberate on them or to plan a course of procedure.
The difficulty lies in the limitations of the board of directors, who can not perform certain functions without the written consent of Mrs. Eddy. Article XXXV, section 3 of the Church Manual reads:
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 the text-book "Science and Health."
No provision is made in the Church Manual for Mrs. Eddy's death. The Church Manual, under "Church Officers," declares:
The church officers shall consist of the pastor emeritus, a board of directors, a president, a clerk, a treasurer, and two readers.
Mrs. Eddy was the pastor emeritus. She is now dead. No provision is made for a new pastor emeritus.
The same difficulty is involved in the chairman of committee on publication. In his election the consent of the pastor emeritus is required in her own handwriting. Then, too, we are told that no meeting can be called for the election of officers without the consent of Mrs. Eddy. Property held by the church is affected by the same provisions.
And there is still more. A simple, Christian, common-sense community acting on Christian equality and Christian principles would never have become so involved.
The revelations of Mrs. Eddy's will thus far offer no solution. Her property was left mostly to the church, $10,000 to her son Geo. W. Glover, and $10,000 to each of his five children, $5,000 to her adopted son, $20,000 to Calvin Frye, smaller sums to several others, and her crown of Diaz diamond breastpin to Mrs. Stetson.
Diphtheria germs often found in the mouth of children several weeks after they have recovered from the disease
The autocracy is dead. Will a democracy succeed? Or will it be an attempted oligarchy and division?
