Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1910-12-27

cnurCn must De connected W1Cn the
 mother church although such member
 ship is by no means obligatory on the
 individual members. The mother
 church enrolls more than 100000 per.
 sons, all of whom are exceedingly ac
 tive in their devotion to their faith
 The organization is one of the most
 powerful in the religious world, young
 as it is in years, yet it is held to-
 gether by bonds that seem almost tenuous It was the idea of the found.
 CT to minimize the influence and the
 power of personalities and leaders
 a deep sense of personal responsibil- ity.
 Gave Up Leadership.
 Mrs. Eddy announced ;n 1889 that she had retired from the leadership
 and her book contains one of the most remarkable resignations that
 was ever penned for she says she hereby appoints the Bible and | Science and Health" to be the pas tor of the church. On her retirement to Concord, where for many years she lived in isolation like Pope or Grand Llama, she consigned her rule in effect, to a board of directors. s. deperdent, however were the gov erning bodies upon her, and so ;mpli- cit their conf:den in her advice that ,ner title of pastor. emeritus, taking the lay point of view might be regarded aus such only in name. She continuel to rule because her followers would not permit her to withdraw, so firm was her hold upon their fealty.
 All appointments to executive posi- tons were made subject to Mrs. Ed dy's approval, and under her direc- ton the church grew enormously ill the last decade. She held the power of excommunication, through trusted lieutenants, and she suppressed ten deneies to make the personality Of any leader paramount to the. princl- pie on which the church was founded. She was surrounded by able counsel OTIS. yet hers was the directing hand even when it was supposed by many that she kept in secus on in order to hide the decline of her powers. That she retained the full possession of her faculties to the last was amply demonstrated Il the courts when the next friends" vainly brought suit to have guardian appointed for her property.
 One of the clements of strength that Mrs. Eddy impressed upon Christian Science and which its adherents be- lieve will contribute to its perpetra- tion is that there are to be no inter- preters or expounders of her teachings and that the creeping in of that per sonal equation wh' 'ch has been the downfall of similar movements has been minimized.
 Many revisions and years of study have brought the official book of the faith. Science and Health, to such a definite form that there is no need of exposition, while the bylaws and rules. as expressed in the manual have been developed into a complete system of government. She willed the bulk of her property, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to the church and her influence remains to retain the temple in Boston as a perpetual fame.
 It $ believed that the government of the organization in all it's relat oas can he conducted without any mater ial change of bylaws and that the boards may be self perpetuating. un- der the old regime the new members were chosen by those in office, with the approval of the pastor emeritus. With the passing of such an off cer t has been held by civil tribunals that the permission will no longer bel necessary. as the requirement. becomes impossible of fulfillment. The DOOR "Science and Health,' according to Mrs Eddy's intentca. becomes to all intents and purposes the directing force of the organization.
 Left in Able Hands.
 It is to able hands that the founder has left the details of the management of the stronghold i'll Boston. The men who compose the board of direc- tors were chosen by her because ot | their ability and their experience in handling large affairs. They left re- spc,asible position elsewhere. and it i has been said that many Of them made heavy financial sacrifices to ac- cept the posts to which they were es- S signed.
 Mr. Archibald Mcclellan. chairman of the board, had the confidence of