Evening star., 1921-11-24
CHRISTIAN science
DIRECTORS UPHELD
Court Rules They Have Pow
er to Remove Trustee OF
Publishing Society.
BY the Associated Press.

BOSTON, November 24.-The su-
preme court has handed down its de-
cision in the litigation concerning the
governing boards of the Christian
Science Church and its publications
It held that the directors of the First
Church of Christ, Scientist, OF the
Boston (the mother) church have the
power to remove a member OF the
board of trustees of the Christian
Science Publishing Society. 1t dis
missed the bill brought by the trus-
tees to prevent the directors from in
terfering with the affairs or the
society.
The decision in other respects con-
irmed the report Of Judge Frederic
Dodge, who sat as master in the con-
troversy, except that 1t made no rui-
ing on the question whether John V.
director by his fellow. members. or
Mrs. Annie NJ. Knott, who was elected
by them to succeed him, was a director
legally. The latter question was de-
clared to be at issue in a separate
report taken by Mrs Emile B. Hulen
of Brooklyn, N. Y, having been
waived, were not considered by the
court The appeals of Mr.. and Mrs.
Edwin A Krauthoff of Washington,
-
Suit Filed in 1919.
In it's ruling as to the power of the
directors to remove trustees, the
court held that the removal by them
of Lamont Rowlands as a member OF
the board of trustees was effectual.
The finding, contained in a docu-
ment Of thirty-one pages, came almost
the case for consideration at the con-
clusion Of extended arguments on the
masters report. The suit was filed
originally on March 25, 1919. Judge
Dodge filed his report year later.
The court dismissed a suggestion of
Attorney General ]. Weston Allen
that the court was without jurisdic-
tion to determine the issues raised, or,
in final decree, on the ground that
the suit related to a public charitable
trust or trusts. and the attorney gen.
eral, as representative of public bene-
ficiaries, was a party essential to jur-
isdiction. The court held that the
absence of the attorney general as
party did not affect it's jurisdiction to
proceed to a final determination on
the merits of the issues raised be-
tween the immediate parties"
"Such decision" the court held, will
not directly pass upon interests OF
which the attorney general in his OF
fcial capacity is the representative.
Church Not Incorporated.
After explaining Ine DdSlC question
was whether the defendants directors
had power to remove one Of the trus-
tees. the court said the answer de-
pended on the true Interpretation OF
the two deeds of trust executed by
Mrs. Mary Baker Eddy, the founder
of Christian Science, and upon what
ever other matters might rightly be
considered. The decision continued
with a discussion of the provisions of
the deeds Of trust, including the pro-
vision that the first members, to-
gether with the directors of 'the
church. should have the power to de-
clare vacancies in the trusteeship for
such reasons as to them might seem
expedient.
"The master has found" said the
court, "that the church has never be-
from the first an incorporated reli-
gious association. The First Church
OF Christ, Scientist, in Boston, was or
ganized on September %. 1892, by
eleven persons. among whom were
the four named as trustees and con-
stituted directors in the deed of Sep
tember 1, 1892. -
1.-The board of directors. as those
words are used in the trust deed of
January 25, 1890. do not, in our opin-
ion, refer to the board established by
the deed of September I. 1892, but to
the officers constituting the board of
directors under the policy of the
church. 1t Is unnecessary to
determine in this connection whether
the board of directors conti-
tuted a corporation or not. For the
purpose of this decision the finding OF