The San Francisco call., 1899-04-30


"honor." In the forthcoming May num-
ber Of the Arena, however, will appear
a couple of signed articles in which her
claim is contested in favor Of the late
Phineas Parkhurst Quinby. The writer's
insist that the prophecies who demands
honor in her own country is simply an
abject follower and plagiarlst of prophet
who met the proverbial fate of all proph-
cts He was the Columbus who discov-
cred the land of promise. She was the
Amerigo Vespucci who gave it her name
The first of these writer's is Horatio w.
Dresser. whose father was an intimate
friend Of the aforesaid and unhonored
Quimby, and as such has had access 70
the papers of that bene1actor Of his KIND
The second is Josephine Curtis W oodDurN,
who has been an intimate TREND OF Ine
prophecies and writes from the acerblc
view point of one who has been an init
mate friend and is now an intimate en-
emy.
The Leading Facts.
Mr.. Dresser starts out by constituting
these as the facts of leading importance:
Mrs. Mary Baker Eddy, formerly Mrs
Mary Mason Patterson of Sanbornton
Bridge, n. H.. is regarded by many thou
sands of faithful followers as the orig
inator by divine revelation" in 1866 of the
philosophy and practice of mental or
tarian phase as christian science
The folowershof the movement recog-
niZe only the authority of Mrs. Eddy, ana
the Bible as interpreted in her text books;
other literature on the subject is prohlblt-
ed. and her followers are not permitted
TO affiliate with other organizations. Mrs.
Eddy is compared to Christ, whose face is
made TO resemble hers in picture where
the two stand side by side; her words are
deemed the words of the diVinest author
ity. and although she has probably not
been a well woman for over forty years,
she is believed by her disciples to be per
fectly sound and true. The chief tenets
of her doctrine are that there is but one
principle or spirit in the universe, that
"all is mind, there is no matter" all is
good, there is no evil" and that conse-
Queutly by those who know this abstract
truth all seeming evil and disease are
dismlssible as errors of mortal mind.
1t is useless, then, to complain to a be-
lever in this doctrine that one is suffer
ing. or to ask how one shall succor the
poor; for one is emphatically informed
that there is no suffering there are no
poor"
Quimby the Discoverer.
If now we ask. Whence came the truth
in the doctrine, so far as it has proved
helpful as a principle OF cure, and how
does it chance to be intermingled with ir-
nationality and fanaticism? we find that
Christian science had two sources; only
a certain peculiarly worded Interpretation
of the great truths of mental healing is
original with Mrs. Eddy-the truth itself
was rediscovered by DR.. p. P. Quimby
US02-1S66). who not only restored Mrs.
health in the autumn of 1862 after six
years of invalidism, but also freely shared
with her ideas which afterward formed
the element of truth in her special rev
elation'
DIR. Quimby began his researches in the
realm of mind as long ago as 1893. and
Mr. Dresser has in his possession a scrap
book containing newspaper reports of his
wonderful power first as a mesmeriSt
then, for many years before Mrs. Patter-
sOn-Eddy first saw him, as a practitioner
a. bp
widely known as the mind cure.
DR.. Quimby first restored himself TO
health after having been condemned by
the best physicians and then devoted the
remainder of his life to the sick and to
the formulation of the principles which
his remarkable cures illustrated His
manuscripts, all of which Mr.. Dresser has
read and copied, contain, says Mr. Dres-
ser. a complete theory of disease and its
cure, and although they bear evidences
OF pioneer work, are nevertheless clearly
the product of an original mind, of one
in whom the love of truth dominated all
else. Yet. this friend of the sick, whose
remarkable cures were witnessed by
many now living, has been condemned as
an ignorant mesmerist" or magnetic
healer, by the very woman whom he once
restored, although she had publicly
praised the man and his work while his
manuscripts are either called Mrs. Eddys
frst scribblings, or are utterly ignored.
Out OF this first miSStatement have grown
reports. enlarged as they passed from
mouth to mouth. which have caused the
Christian Scientists to brand as deceiv-
ers. incapable of telling the truth " all
who know the facts about Mrs Eddy;
while the Independent followers of men
tai healing and all advocates of the New
Ihoueht have been greatly, hampered in
their labors for humanity by these mis-
statements and by their eXclusiVeness
ana personality worship which all true
lovers of humanity must deplore. 1t is
solely with the high hope of removing
these strained relations, not with the
sllghtest desire to attack Mrs. Eddy's
personality, that Mr.. Dresser makes this
public statement.
Julius A. Dresser Appears.
Mr.. Dresser's father. julius A. Dresser
was a patient and follower of DR.. Quinn,
by i'm Portland. Me. from June 1Se0 and
was in Portland when Mrs Eddy, then
Mrs; PATTERSON, came from Hill, n. H, to
receive treatment He owed the thirty
three years of his life following 1860 to
Or Quimby, whose ideas he ardently es-
poused and often explained to new pa
mention of Mrs. Eddy in NV fathers
journal ID October II, 1852, and nv mother,
Annette 9. Dresser, who was cured BY
DR.. Quimby after six years of homeless
was assisted up the steps to Dr. Quinn
by's office. l have had the acquaintance
Of those who copied all of DIR. Quimby's
manuscripts from the original, and have
recently had access to letters written by
Mrs. Eddy between 1862 and 1866 Mr..
Dresser's facts are, therefore, first hand
leANloi anu 1Ic ltllS us JHdL ne could. If
necessary, substantiate by competent
witnesses and legal testimony all that he
now feels called upon to state.
Nine Indictments.
% Mrs. Eddy was never the secre-
tary of DR. Quimby, this office having
been filled by the Misses Ware and
Mr.. George A. Quimby
(2) DR.. Quimby was not the author
of Science and Health" which was
not published until 1875, nine years
after DIR. Quimbys death His most
ardent friends would claim for him
only the discovery of the truth of
thought power. of causative infiu
ence in the production and cure of
disease and of the method of silent
treatment during the years 1S3S-1S65;
the ideas were his and frequently the
language in which the science was de-
scribed by Mrs. Eddy but the pub
lished writings of Mrs Eddy were
never claimed to have been written by
Dr. Quimby in their final form
(3) Mr.. Dresser's father lent Mrs.
Eddy his copy of the first volume of
Dr. Quimby's manuscripts, which she
may have copied for herself The
articles in this volume We're written in
1S59-1S60 and were followed by articles
written in 1S61-1S65 which Mrs. Eddy
probably never saw, but which the
deponent has been familiar with since
1888 These articles contain a full
statement of DR.. Quimby's theory.
with abundant incidents drawn from