The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-10-13
EXCLUSION OF THE
 UNITARIAN CHURCH WHY NOT ADMITTED TO THE INTER-CHURCH CON
 FERENCE,

ssSn made Publie-RegaFd for Ed
 ward Everett Hale, John D. Long and
 Dr. Samuel A. Eliot Acknowledged but the Church is Barred Because
 it Does Not Believe in Supreme Head-
 ship Of Jesus Christ.
 New York, Oct. 12.-At a meeting of the executive committee of the inter- church conference on federation in this city to-day it was decided to make public the correspondence out of which has grown the discussion on the sub Ject of the exclusion of the Unitarian denomination from the conference The, lnter-church conference will be held in this city in November The American Unitarian association, the national or ganization of the denomination elected three delegates to attend the confer ence, namely, Rev. Dr. Edward Ever cit Hale, chaplain of the United States senate; ex-Secretary of the Navy John D. Long of Massachusetts,, and Dr. Samuel A. Eliot Who is a son of Pres ident Eliot of Harvard. ....:
 Members of the executive committee which was presided over by Rev. W. H. Roberts of Philadelphia, declared the original letter of invitation was not sent to the Unitarians, nor to the Uni versalists nor Roman Catholics. Nei- ther of the latter two denominations, it was asserted, has taken any action in the matter.
 The correspondence given out in- cludes the original letter of invitation fIo- of Ioo tween Dr.. Eliot of the Proposed Unita- rian delegation and Dr.. E. B. Sanford, secretary of the National Federation of Churches, who is acting for the inter church conference. Dr. Eliot said that as the Free Christian churches were moulded in the membership of the state federations of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, the Bnitarians had as- sumed the general invitation to the in ter-church conference included that de- nomination, During the summer, how ever, he had learned the Unitarians might not be welcomed and he wrote to ask If these rrnors had any foundation.
 Dr. Eliot declared it was impossible for him to believe that the coming con ference would include the representa- tives of churches that stand especially for the unsectarian principle in Anleri- can religious life Dr. Eliot called at terTtion to the personnel of the Unitar- ian delegations, saying that ex-Secre- tary Long and Dr. Hale were among the most beloved and trusted ofgChris- tan leaders.
 Replying to. this letter Secretary San l ford wrote; < ''The committee of correspondence felt constrained to limit to some extent the sending out of invitations to de- non1inational bodies asking them to ap- point delegates to the coming inter- church conference on federation. This action was taken after very serious consideration, and I am confident that the committee would decline to reopen the discussion of the matter. I need scarcely add that this decision was in no way personal. /G
 Surely there are few persons in our American life whom we all delight to | honor more than those you mentinon. ! Your, regret cannot be more sincere than that of the committee on corre- i spondence that the way did not seem clear to invite your national associa- | ton to appoint delegates to the confer ence."
 It was stated today that the letter of Dr. Sanford had been formally ap- proved by the executive committee. Dr. Roberts made the following statement about the matter: '"The invitations to the conference were issued to churches which it was felt were in sufficient agreement with another to secure efficient results in the line of federation The Unitarian chrches were omitted from the limit. The work of issuing the invitations and organizing the conference has been un- der way for two years. There Is no purpose to antagonize any church, but | to bring together for the discussion of plans of cooperation such churches as are now in close. Christian fellowship and for the attainment of great moral and spiritual ends, The conference rep rcsents 18,0O0,0O0 communicants and at | least 50,000,000 of adherents of the dis tinctly protestat and evangelical group of Christian churches. Unitarians do not belpag to this group. This is suf- 1cient reason why they were not in vited. We respect highly the gentle men appointed by. the Unitarians as delegates, but do not feel that their presence in the conference would be helpful othe interests involved.
 There is no controversy over the matter--in fact it is a, source of real grief to us that such a difference should arise If there were to be merely a conference to discuss certain humani- come these gentlenent, whom we all come these gentlemen. who mwe all 1 honor. But this is not a mere human 1 itaria- conference, It is a conference of evangelical churches which all &C., knowledge the supreme headship of Jesus Christ, This is not a movement to unite all churches whatsoever, but merely to form federation for certain purposes of the evangelical churches that acknowledge that supreme head
 ship. The Unitarian church is not such a church."