The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1910-12-13
Ie Eddy hotisshold d statement read.

ing:
Another report that / am dead is
widely circulated. l am in usual good
health and go out in my carriage every
day."
This was signed. MARY Baker G.
Eddy"
The belief that Mrs. Eddy was near
ing the end, however, grew. In March
Of the following year bill in equity
to obtain an accounting of her hnan-
cial affairs was filed in the superior
court Of Merrimack county by her son,
George w. Glover of Deadwood, s. D.;
bis daughter, Miss Mary Baker Clio
yer, and George w. Baker Of Bangor,
Me-, a nephew and next friend" Of
Mrs. Eddy. Defendants in the suit
were Calvin A. Frye and Lewis c.
Strang Of Concord, Mass, Mrs. Ed
dy's two secretaries; Alfred Farlow.
Irving G. Tomlinson, Ira c. Knapp,
W. B. johnson and Stephen A. Chase,
directors Of the Christian Science
church, and Herman s. Herring, first
reader of the church in Concord.
Mrs. Eddy was reputed to be worth
about $2,000O00. All the royalties
from her many publications went to
her personally, and her relatives be-
lieve that those who had associated
themselves so closely with her should
make an accounting of her finances.
The charge was made that her prop
erty had been sequestered.
Son Reported She Had Decisions.
The suit followed visit to ConcoIW
by Mrs. Eddy's son. At the time he
gave out an interview, saying he was
only permitted to see his mother for
a few minutes at a time, but these
meetings convinced him that she hsN
many decisions.
One Of the papers filed by the de-
Tense in the suit was to the effect that
Mrs. Eddy was worth $971,S61, be-
sides her real estate. The defendants
alleged that she was sound in mind
and body and well able to protect her.
self and her interests in spite of the
fact that she was then eighty-six years
old.
The case was referred to three mas
ters-Judge Edgar Aldrich of the Unit
ed States court, DR.. George F. Jolly
Of Boston and former Congressman
Hosea w. Parks of Claremont. Aft
err an extended hearing of the case
these masters called upon and inter
viewed Mrs. Eddy at Pleasant View.
Shortly afterward, on Aug. q, 1907,
the counsel for the next friends" an
nounced the withdrawal of the suit,
a settlement having been reached
whereby a fund of 100000 was set
aside for her relations.
A board of three trustees. known as
Mrs. Eddy's personal trustees, was ap-
pointed, with the consent of the court,
to attend to her personal finances.
They are Archibald Mcclellan, who is
chairman Of the board of directors of
the mother church; Adam H. Dickey,
also a mother church director, and Jo-
siah Fernald, cashier of the National
bank Of Concord, N. III.
It was while the litigation Instituted
by George Glover and others was pend
ing that Mrs. Eddy moved her house
hold from Concord to Brookline, on
the outskirts of Boston. She made
the journey on special train, in front
Of which ran pilot engine
Mrs. Stetson's Humiliation.
The upheaval caused by the suit was
not entirely over before another SEN
sation came. This was an alleged at
tempt upon the part of Mrs. Augusta
d. Stetson, leader Of the First Church
of Christ in New York city, to usurp
the power of Mrs. Eddy and proclaim
herself as Mrs. Eddy's successor to the
leadership Of Christian Science.
Mrs. Stetson had built up a large per-
sonal following both in the First Church
Of Christ and elsewhere. Her students
were to be found in many parts of the
United States. Many of her persona!
following were practitioners who held
licenses from the mother church. In
the summer Of 1909 charges against
her and her practitioners were lodged
with the mother church officials by
Virgil 0. Stricken, first reader of the
First Church of New York, and by
others in the church.
1t was widely published at the time
that Mrs. Stetson and her students had
broken away. from the mother church
domination and were teaching u
"brand" of Christian Science which
which was not In keeping with the
rules laid down by Mrs. Eddy Also
1t was broadly asserted that Mrs. Ed
dy and her board of directors feared
the growing influences of Mrs. Stetson
and that drastic steps would be taken
to put an end to Mrs. Stetsons popu-
larity.
One Of the first steps in this direc-
ton was the calling to Boston of Mrs.
Stetson and a large number of her stu
dents. Hearings were held before the
mother church board of directors. It |
was testified that Mrs Stetson and her
followers had taught malicious animal
magnetism and that sometimes the so
called death thought" had been d.
rected against Alfred Farlow and 9TH
ers close to Mrs. Eddy.