New-York tribune., 1920-12-14

attention from his distressing stua-
.ion he adopted the ruse of bringing
various charges against our board of
trustees and the beard Of directors Of
the Mother Church, who are now, as
always, engaged in upholding the Chris
tan Science Manual and the organiza-
ton as projected and provided for by
Mrs. Eddy herself"
Mr.. McCulloch gave out the follow
ing reply last night:
II have gone over Mr.. Gilmore's
statement and regard it as a cleverly
strung-together collection of half
preston and in no way affecting the
issues at present on foot.
"As to the statement of the trustees
of the First Church. they are mistaken
as to the status of my resignation.
The law says such a resignation, where
no financial obligation exists, goes into
effect automatically when placed in the
hands of the proper officers. SO far I
have learned of no charges made
against me. Their own bylaws provide
for q definite procedure, no part of
which has been followed.
II have no quarrel with the First
Church, but only desire its continued
welfare"
Investigation To Go On
Following his examination Of the
witnesses, Mr.. Rorke said it had not
yet become apparent that q crime had
been committed, but that the investi- :
CATION would be continued. Certain
important documents relating to the
ecclesiastical affairs of the Christian
Science Church, he said, already have
been located and turned over to his
office, while other correspondence has
been traced into the hands of individ-
uals who have promised to deliver it
to him.
Several witnesses will be examined
tomorrow and more on Wedne sday,"
the Assistant District Attorney CON
tinued. "When they have answered
questions it should be possible to de-
termine whether there is sufficient
legal evidence upon which to predicate
criminal charge in respect to the
matters complained Of by Mr.. MacCul-
ioch. There are certain unique phases
of the case which make it inadvisable
TO state at this time the nature of the
charges or the names of persons
against whom they have been made"
Mr. MacCulloch said when he left
Mr.. Rorke's Office that Mr.. Brisbane
had been examined in relation to CORE
spondence between the writer and him
self which had subsequently fallen
into other hands.
There is too much secrecy about the
affairs of the church," was Mr.. Mac
Culloch's comment. "The sooner all
religious forums are conducted openly
the better it will be for science"
Facts Sought for Public
Mrs. Gilmore in issuing his state
ment concerning the situation said he
believed the public was entitled to the
actual facts and that a great deal of
lnnuendo rejecting upon the present
governing body of the church had been
disseminated in the publicity that has
succeeded the MacCulloch charges. The
statement, dealing almost exclusively
with the controversy originating with
the directors of the mother church
some time ago and now pending in the
Massachusetts, courts, said in part:
I'm 1917 the board of directors, be-
cause of the increasing demands upon
their time as directors, had to give up
activities which had been carried on bv
them individually and for which they
had rightly received remuneration in
addition to their pay as directors of
the Mother Church. By advice of their
counsel it was decided to make their
salaries uniform. John Valentine Ditto
more advocated the readjustment of
salaries, but after his removal from the
board of directors he paid back the
sum he he'd received as a salary in
crease. 1t is understood, however, that
later he asked for its return
Mr.. Dittemore, when asked last night
at the Hotel Chatham concerning the
reference to him in Mr.. Gilmore's
statement, said
81 have frequently invited Mr.. Gil
more and his associates to make public
the entire correspondence between
themselves and me. This statement, so
far as l am concerned, is evasive and
only haif a truth. No one knows this
better than Mr.. Gilmore"
Hope to Maintain Church
Mr.. Dttemore said he did not care to
comment further inasmuch as he is a
litigant in the action now pending be
fore the Massachusetts tribunal. Asked
if he subscribed to the opinion ex-
pressed by some of the opponents OF
the board of directors Of the Mother
Church that the present controversy