Arizona republican., 1905-10-13
Their Exclusion From Inter.
 Church Conference
A PROPER PERSONNEL
But it is Concluded that Delegation From that Denomination Would Not be Helpful in Attaining the Object Sought.

New York, Oct. 12.-At a meeting of the executive committee of the inter church conference on federation in this city today it was decided to make public the correspondence out of which has grown the discussion on the subject of the exclusion of the Unita- rian denomination from the confer ence. The inter church conference will be held in this city in November. The American Unitarian association, the national organization of the denomina- tiOn, elected three delegates to attend the conference, namely, Rev Edward Everett Hale, chaplain of the United States Senate, EX-S Secretary of the Navy John D. Long, of Massachusetts, and pr. Samuel Eliot, who is a son of President Eliot of Harvard.
 The members of the executive com mittee, which was presided over by Rev w. H. Roberts of Philadelphia, declare the original letter of invitation was not sent to the Unitarians. Uni- versalistS or Roman Catholics. Neither of the latter two denominations, 1t is asserted, has taken any action in the matter.
 The correspondence given out in cludes the original letter of invitation and the text of tho letters exchanged between Dr. Eliot, of the proposed Unitarian delegation, and Dr. F. B. Sanford, secretary of the National Federation of Churches. Dr. Eliot said that as the free Christian churches were included in the membership of the state federations of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, the Unitarians had assumed the general invitation to the inter-church conference included in that denomination. During the sum mer however, he had learned that the Unitarians might not be welcomed and he wrote to ask 1T these TUmOrs had any justification.
 pr. Eliot declared that it was impos- sible for him to believe that the con ference would exclude the representa- tives of the churches that stand pc culiarIy for the Unsectarian principle in American religious life. Dr. Eliot called attention to the personnel of the Unitarian delegation, saying that Ex- Secretary Long and pr. Hale were among the most beloved and trusted of Christian leaders.
 Replying to this letter, Secretary Sanford wrote: 'The committee of correspondence felt constrained to linn it to some extent the sending out of invitations to denominationaI bodies, asking them to appoint delegates to the coming inter church conference. This action was taken after very se- rious consideration. and I am confi- 1 dent that the committee would decline to reopen the duscussion or the mat ter. need scarcely add that this de- cisiOn is in no way personal.
 Surely there are few persons in our American life whom we all delight to honor more than those you mention. he cfr,aara than that of the committee on cor respondence that the way did not seem clear to invite your national associa- tion to appoint delegates to the con ference"
 It was stated today that the letter of Dr. Sanford had been formally ap proved by the executive committee Dr. Roberts made the following state ment about the matter: "The invita- tiOns to the conference were issued to churches which it was felt were in sufficient agreement with one another to secure efficient results in the line Of federatio The Unitarian church. es were omitted from the list. The work of issuing the invitations and organizing the conference has been under way for two years. There is no purpose to antagonize any church, bEt to bring together for the discussion of plans of cooperation such churches as are now in close Christian fellowship for the attainment of the great moral and spiritual ends.
 "The conference represents eighteen million communicants and at least fifty millions of adherents of the dis tinctly Protestant and evangelical groups of Christian churches. Unita- rians do not belong to this group. This is sufficient reason why they were not invited. We respect highly the gentlement appointed by the Uni tarians as delegates, but do not feel that their presence at the conference would be helpful to the interests in- volved."