The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1915-05-26
UNTTARIANS NOT
TO CHANGE NAME
DR.. Eliot Reads Report of Commission
Chosen to Investigate ACCESSIBILITY
of Change.

BOSTON, May 26.-The Unitarians
will not change their name. The sub |
Ject has been under consideration for
a year and was decided emphaticaIly at
the annual meeting of the American
Unitarian association here yesterday
When DR.. Charles w. Eliot stepped
ON to the Temple platform yesterday
morning to make the report, the entire
assembly rose to do him honor He
represented a commission of 10, APP
pointed to carry out a suggestion made
by the secretary of the American Uni
tartan association in his last annual re-
port that the work of the denomina-
ton would advance if the members
were enrolled under more inclusive
name. Interest in the question has
| been widespread and, while it was ru-
mored that the report would be adverse
| to a change, none but the members of
| the commission knew the contents of
the paper which the president emeritus
of Harvard university held in his hand
until he spoke.
It's wording was as follows: Gin
view of the great number of commu-
nications which have appeared in print
concerning the proposition to change
the name Unitarian or to adopt some
equivalent term for practical use, and
in view of the fact that these commune
cations represent al phases of our de-
/ nominatiOnal life and clearly indicate
an almost unanimous Discrimination to
substitute another for our present
name, the commission has considered
it unnecessary TO ascertain the opinions
Of the individual churches and life
members belonging to the association.
''The commission desires to call the
attention of this meeting to the his
2 torical fact that such individual names
of Incorporation as Echurch of On
I Father, Brotherhood church, etc, as
used among the Unitarians Of Great
. Britain, and such corporate names il
our own country as First church. al
/ 60 to show that our Unitarian fellow
ship has not adopted an exclusive at
f titude toward other denominations an,
it desires togempbasize the fact tha
in the general usc of the name Unita
rian our fellowship does not wish to h
s understood as assuming spirit Of mar
row sectarianism.
E 1.-The commission observes that on
denomination is not infrequentlv refer
" red to by such expressions as FIRE
churches. church of the moder
II spirit. and while the name is techni
caliv inadequate to represent the rel
q gious movement which Is designate
by it, and while, as indicated by tn
l. secretary in his annual report of 1911
it is not name attractive to out
II siders Of the present generation in tn
Judgment of the commission it is inc,
- pedient to make any deliberate attemI
to abolish it or to supplant it by an
II name which has vet been suggested
If at any time it should appear that
er change of name would contribute /
= the establishment of larger instit1
tional union Of liberal religious thinl
ers, the commission has no doubt tn,
II the Unitarian denomination as a who
3 would be disposed to consider careful
z any promising suggestion to that end.
81 Frequent bursts of applause punct
81 ated Dr. Eliot IS reading and when
B said that he and his associates of Il
Is commission deemed it inexpelient
B abolish or supplant the name Unitarie
II the enthusiasm reached its climax, ar
q it was evident that all the delegat
B to the annual meeting were Of OF
II mind on this subject.