New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1910-12-05
MRS. STETSON'S CAREER
Built UP Cult, and at First Won
High Praise from Mrs. Eddy.
HER PREACHING FORBIDDEN
Expelled at Last, Not Merely
from Church She Erected, but
from Mother Church.

the continual and always present fear thai
she may reassert herself in the affairs Of
the cult here. are and have been so closely
bound up with the affairs Of the Christian
Science Church as a whole that the an
nouncement yesterday OF Mrs Eddy's
death revived among both her followers
and her opponents the question OF her
future relations to the Church
Admittedly one of tho strongest II not
the strongest. leader OF the cult, apart
from Mrs. EDDY herself, Mrs. Stetson and
her activities have been q constant source
of worry to the board OF directors in Bos-
ton, who have since 1891 practically gov
erned the Christian Science Church
throughout the world:
Beginning as the close friend OF Mrs
Eddy. the friend whom the founder chose
as her representative and en1issary to New
York City in 1885, Mrs. Stetson. apparently
through no wish OF her own, has been
gradually forced further and further away
from Mrs Eddy until at the present time
she is not even q member Of either the
local church or of the Mother Church. IN
Boston, having been expelled from each,
practically by the verdict Of the Christian
Science Board of Directors.
Mrs. Stetson's followers have commended
always that Mrs. Eddy had no reason for
wishing her downfall. and they ascribe 1t
solely to what they call the Vaccinations
of the Boston board
The record of her work they assert. can
| be traced IN the continual passage of by
| laws Of the Mother Church, which they say
have been aimed only at Mrs. Stetson, and
| which eliminated with her trial in the
summer of 1909 by that board on the
| charge that she was disloyal to the teach
! ings of Mrs. Eddy.
Coming here in 1856 Mrs Stetson, after
! a labor of two years. organized the First
Church In this city In 1888 Eleven years
| later on November 90 1899 when the cor
nerstone of the present First Church was
| laid there was placed within 1t this brief
letter from Mrs Eddy to Mrs. Stetson:
| Beneath this cornerstone. in this silent
sacred sanctuary of earths sweet songs,
peaons Of praise and records of iInnpo
| tence, leave my name with thine in unity
and love"
Before that time, however, one rule of
the Church which seemed at the time to
! be aimed at Mrs. Stetson, in company with
several other powerful leaders who had
developed strength in other cities, had been
adopted and enforced Up to April, 1888,
the Christian Science Church, like churches
of other denominations, had preachers.
who expounded their interpretations of
Mrs. Eddy's doctrines
Mrs. Stetson's preaching in the New York
| church had naturally brought her reputa-
! ton and power. In THE Christian Science
| Journal of April, 1896, Therefore, Mrs. Eddy
| announced that preachers would no longer
| constitute a part of the machinery of her
| Church, and that their place would be
filed by a first and second reader. Mrs.
| Stetson, along with half dozen other pre-
| viOusly powerful preachers Of the COM
| paratively new doctrine took this rule dpon
| themselves without dissent, ard retained
| her power by the simple expedient of be-
| coming the reader Instead of the preacher
| Of the local church
Her power, instead of decreasing WITH
her curtailed opportunities. increased in
| spite Of the fact thGt she was bound to
rfgidIy prescribed reading of the printed
words from Mrs. Eddy's book Science and
HEALTH,
In 1902 a bylaw was adopted in the
| Mother Church. which directed that a
| reader should be elected for only one term,
| and with the adoption of that Mrs Stet-
| sons nominal leadership of the local
| church ended. She still remained the &C
| tual leader. however, and in 1903 she de-
monstrated the strength Of her leadership
when it became know that she had formed
| elaborate plans for the erection OF a
| church on Riverside Drive, near 86th street.
| The announcements of this undertaking
J disclosed that the new church would be
| the most magnificent church ediice in the
world. Another bylaw OF the Mother
| Church met this situation with the ruling
| that each branch church should be a branch
Of the Mother Church. and that no branch
| church could have a branch OF its own.
Mrs. Stetson said the proposed church on
Riverside Drive would be organized in &C
cordance with this rifle, but the Mother
Church officials condemned the entire prof.
ect as one that had not been sanctioned
| by Mrs Eddy. and the plans were dropped
In the summer of 1909 another bylaw was
adopted by the Mother Church which provid-
I'D that no teachers or practitioners would
be allowed to maintain Offices or rooms in
the churches. IN the reading rooms or in
the rooms connected herewith.
| In 10 that time Mrs Stetson. together
with her favorite pupils and practitioners.
! Lad maintained offices in the church build
| ing at s6th street and Central Park West,
| and the new bylaw was looked upon as a
direct slap at them
Again Mrs. Stetson capitulated, however,
but she was fighting losing fight, for she
was shortly thereafter charged by the
| Christian Science board of directors with
| malpractice" and with having put per
sonality above principle.
| On these charges the board heard wit
nesses and gave a verdict Of guilty, with
a sentence OF expulsion, and this was fol-
lowed by similar trials, verdicts and SEN
fences for sixteen of her closest followers.
Mrs Stetson's fight against the power
of the Boston board constituted the only
sign Of rebellion within the Christian Sci
ence Church and the followers OF Mrs.
Eddy declare that the New York woman
has been teaching and practising something
that is not true Christian Science.
Within the last month the bylaws of the |
First Church of New York were amended |
by a clause which erectualy blocks any |
possible attempt which might ever be made |
by Mrs Stetson's followers to regain either |
for themselves or for her any part Of the |
power which she once welded here. but the
amendment was passed more by the acqui- |
essence than by the conquest of Mrs. Stet-
sons followers. Nearly five hundred Of
theug which would have been a number
sufficient to have blocked the amendment
stayed away from the congregational meet
ing at which it was passed. and il was
said afterward that their absence had been
due to Mrs. Stetsons order
Her followers insist, as does Mrs. Stetson
herself that she does not contemplate any
move In connection with Christian Science. |
70, +s1a Ifr,rr IN |