Various - McClure\'s Magazine, Vol. 31, No. 1, May 1908

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Again, the by-laws state that "Any member of this church who is found
living with a child improperly, or claiming a child not legally
adopted, or claiming or living with a husband or a wife to whom they
have not been legally married, shall immediately be excommunicated,"
etc.[9] This seems a strange subject for especial legislation.

The Manual, however, is chiefly interesting as an exposition of Mrs.
Eddy's method of church government and as an inventory of her personal
prerogatives. Never was a title more misleadingly modest than Mrs.
Eddy's title of "Pastor Emeritus" of the Mother Church.

_How the Mother Church is Organized_

Next to Mrs. Eddy in authority is the Board of Directors, who were
chosen by Mrs. Eddy and who are subject to her in all their official
acts. Any one of these directors can at any time be dismissed _upon
Mrs. Eddy's request_, and the vacancy can be filled only by a
candidate whom she has approved. All the church business is
transacted by these directors,--no other members of the church may be
present at the business meetings,--and if at any time one of them
should refuse to carry out Mrs. Eddy's instructions, or should grumble
about carrying them out, her request would remove him. The members of
this board, in addition to their precarious tenure, are pledged to
secrecy; they "shall neither report the discussions of this Board,
_nor those with Mrs. Eddy_."[10]

These directors are Mrs. Eddy's machine; they are her executive self,
created by her breath, dissolved at a breath, and committed to
silence. Their chief duties are two--to elect to office whomsoever
Mrs. Eddy appoints, and to hold their peace.

The President of the church is annually elected by the directors, the
election being subject to Mrs. Eddy's approval.[11]

The First and Second Readers are elected every third year by the
directors, subject to Mrs. Eddy's approval, but she can remove a
Reader either from the Mother Church or from any of the branch
churches whenever she sees fit and without explanation.[12]

The Clerk and Treasurer of the church are elected once a year by the
directors, subject to Mrs. Eddy's approval.[13]

Executive Members: Prior to 1903 these were known as First Members.
They shall not be less than fifty in number, nor more than one
hundred. They must have certain qualifications (such as residing
within five hundred miles of Boston), and they must hold a meeting
once a year and special meetings at Mrs. Eddy's call, but they have no
powers and no duties.[14] The manner of their election is especially
unusual. The by-laws state that a member can be made an Executive
Member only after a letter is received by the directors from Mrs. Eddy
requesting them to make said persons Executive Members; and then, Mrs.
Eddy adds, "they shall be elected by the _unanimous vote of the Board
of Directors_."[15]

What, one might ask, is the purpose in having an "executive" body
which can do nothing--they are not even allowed to be present at the
business meetings of the church--elected by a Board of Directors who
have to elect "unanimously" whomsoever Mrs. Eddy names? Why go through
the form of "electing" them, when they are simply appointed? Why,
indeed, elect the church officers, since, behind this brave showing
of boards and bodies, Mrs. Eddy, in reality, simply appoints?

One reason is that Mrs. Eddy likes the play of making boards and
committees; she loves titles and loves to distribute them. Another
reason is that her followers are proud to be placed upon these boards,
however limited their sphere of action may be.

_How Mrs. Eddy Controls the Branch Churches_

With the branch churches the case is much the same. Mrs. Eddy starts
out bravely by saying that they are to have "local self-government."
But on reading the Manual we find that they are pretty well provided
for.

A branch church can be organized only by a member of the Mother
Church.[16]

The services of the branch churches are definitely prescribed; they
are to consist of music, Mrs. Eddy's prayer, and oral readings from
"Science and Health" and the Bible.

Mrs. Eddy may appoint or remove--without explanation--the Readers of
the branch churches at any time.[17]

The branch churches may never have comments or remarks made by their
Readers, either upon passages from "Science and Health" or from the
Bible.[18]

The branch churches may have lectures only by lecturers whom Mrs. Eddy
has appointed in the usual way--through the "vote" of her Board of
Directors.[19] And the lecture must have passed censorship.[20]

After listening to such a lecture, the members of the branch churches
are not permitted to give a reception or to meet for social
intercourse. Mrs. Eddy tells them that it will be much better for them
to "depart in quiet thought."[21] (It seems more than probable that
this by-law was devised for the spiritual good of the lecturer. Mrs.
Eddy had no idea that these gentlemen should be feted or made much of
after their discourse and thus become puffed up with pride of place.)

Since the branch churches, then, have nothing to say about their
services, Readers, or lecturers, there seems to be very little left
for them to do with their powers of local self-government.

Services in the branch churches, as in the Mother Church, are limited
to the Sunday morning and evening readings from the Bible and "Science
and Health," the Wednesday evening experience meetings, and to the
communion service. (In the Mother Church this occurs but once a year,
in the branch churches twice.) There is no baptismal service, no
marriage or burial service, and weddings and funerals are never
conducted in any of the Christian Science churches.

_The Publication Committee_

Included in the Mother Church organization are the Publication
Committee, the Christian Science Publishing Society, the Board of
Lectureship, the Board of Missionaries, and the Board of Education,
all absolutely under Mrs. Eddy's control.

The manager of the Publication Committee, at present Mr. Alfred
Farlow, is "elected" annually by the Board of Directors under Mrs.
Eddy's instructions. His salary is to be not less than $5,000. This
Publication Committee is simply a press bureau, consisting of a
manager with headquarters in Boston and of various branch committees
throughout the field. It is the duty of a member of this committee,
wherever he resides, to reply promptly through the press to any
criticism of Christian Science or of Mrs. Eddy which may be made in
his part of the country, and to insert in the newspapers of his
territory as much matter favorable to Christian Science as they will
print. In replying to criticism this bureau will, if necessary, pay
the regular advertising rate for the publication of their statements.
The members of this committee, after having written and published
their articles in defense of Christian Science, are also responsible,
says the Manual, "for having the papers containing these articles
circulated in large quantities." This press agency has been extremely
effective in pushing the interests of Christian Science, in keeping it
before the public, and in building up a desirable legendry around Mrs.
Eddy.

_The Publishing Society_

The Christian Science Publishing Society is conducted for the purpose
of publishing and marketing Mrs. Eddy's works and the three Christian
Science periodicals, the _Christian Science Journal_, the _Christian
Science Sentinel_, and _Der Christian Science Herold_. It is managed
and controlled by a Board of Trustees, appointed by Mrs. Eddy, and the
net profits of the business are turned over semi-annually to the
treasurer of the Mother Church. The manager and editors are appointed
for but one year, and must be elected or reelected by a vote of the
directors _and_ "the consent of the Pastor Emeritus, given in her own
handwriting." The Manual also states that a person who is not accepted
by Mrs. Eddy as suitable shall _in no manner_ be connected with
publishing her books or editing her periodicals--not a compositor, not
the copy-boy, not the scrubwoman.

_Christian Science Lectures_

Until 1898 any Christian Scientist could give public talks or lectures
upon the doctrines of his faith, but in January of that year Mrs. Eddy
prudently withdrew this privilege. She appointed a Board of
Lectureship, carefully selecting each member and assigning each to a
certain district. In this work she placed several of her most
influential men, among whom was Septimus J. Hanna. Her idea seems to
have been that as itinerant lecturers these men could not build up a
dangerously strong personal following. These lecturers are elected
annually, subject to Mrs. Eddy's approval. Their representative
lecture must be censored by the clerk of the Mother Church. The Manual
stipulates that these lectures must "bear testimony to the facts
pertaining to the life of the Pastor Emeritus."

_Missionaries_

Seven missionaries are elected annually by the Board of
Directors--Mrs. Eddy's usual way of appointing. Indeed, one finds that
the elections of these various boards are simply confirmations of
appointments made by Mrs. Eddy; not, certainly, because her
appointments need confirmation, but rather because it seems to give
these boards pleasure to vote "unanimously" when they are bidden. To
all intents and purposes the Manual might just as well state that
every committee and officer is appointed by the Pastor Emeritus, and
the phrase "elected by the Board of Directors" seems used merely for
variety of expression.

_Board of Education_

The Board of Education consists of three members, the President,
Vice-President, and a teacher. Mrs. Eddy is the permanent
President--unless, says the Manual, she sees fit to "resign over her
own signature." The Vice-President and teacher are elected from time
to time, "subject to the approval of the Pastor Emeritus."

_Obligations of the Individual Christian Scientist_

It is not easy to become a member of the Mother Church. In the first
place, the applicant for admission must read nothing upon metaphysics
or religion except Mrs. Eddy's books and the Bible. In the second
place, his application must be countersigned by one of Mrs. Eddy's
loyal students, who is made responsible for the candidate's sincerity.
There are so many things for which the new member may be expelled
after he is once admitted into the church, that it would seem as if he
can remain there only by very special grace. He is hedged about by a
number of by-laws which seem to relate chiefly to his personal
attitude toward Mrs. Eddy. He may not haunt the roads upon which Mrs.
Eddy drives. He may not discuss, lecture upon, or debate upon
Christian Science in public without especial permission from one of
her representatives. He must not be a "leader" in the church and must
never be called one. He may read only the Bible and Mrs. Eddy for
religious instruction. He shall not "vilify" the Pastor Emeritus. He
is in duty bound to go to Mrs. Eddy's home and serve her in person for
one year if she requires it of him. He may not permit his children to
believe in Santa Claus--Mrs. Eddy abolished Santa Claus by
proclamation in 1904. She brooks no petty rivals. He may not read or
quote from Mrs. Eddy's books or from her "poems" without first naming
the author. She says, in explanation of this by-law: "To pour into the
ears of listeners the sacred revelations of Christian Science
indiscriminately, or without characterizing their origin and thus
distinguishing them from the writings of authors who think at random
on this subject, is to lose some weight in the scale of right
thinking."[22]

A Christian Scientist "shall neither buy, sell nor circulate Christian
Science literature which is not correct in its statement," etc., Mrs.
Eddy, of course, determining whether or not the statement is correct.
He "shall not patronize a publishing house or bookstore that has for
sale obnoxious books."

A Christian Scientist may not belong to any club or society, Free
Masons excepted, outside the Mother Church. His connection with the
Mother Church must be sufficient for all his social and intellectual
needs, and his interest is not to be diverted from its one proper
channel. Mrs. Eddy says that church organizations are ample for
him.[23]

It is indicative of Mrs. Eddy's influence over her followers that when
this by-law was issued, less than twenty inquiries (so her secretary
announced) were received at Pleasant View. Men resigned from their
political, business, and social clubs, women from their literary and
patriotic organizations, without a murmur and without a question.

No hymns may be sung in the Mother Church unless they have been
approved by Mrs. Eddy, and Mrs. Eddy's own hymns must be sung at
stated intervals. "If a solo singer in the Mother Church shall either
neglect or refuse to sing alone a hymn written by our Leader and
Pastor Emeritus, as often as once each month, and oftener if the
Directors so direct, a meeting shall be called and the salary of this
singer shall be stopped."

_Supreme Authority_

But far above all these lesser by-laws Mrs. Eddy holds one in which
her supreme authority rests. A mesmerist or "mental malpractitioner"
is, of course, to be excommunicated, and "if the author of Science and
Health shall bear witness to the offense of mental malpractice, it
shall be considered sufficient evidence thereof."[24] The accused can
make no defense, has no appeal. If any Christian Scientist offends
Mrs. Eddy, if he writes a letter to the _Journal_ and uses a phrase
which does not please her, if he is too popular in his own community,
if it is rumored that he reads upon philosophy or metaphysics, or
medicine, if he in any way wounds her vanity, Mrs. Eddy can expel him
from the church by a word, without explanation, and he can make no
effort to vindicate himself. In the matter of hypnotism Mrs. Eddy's
mere word is enough. She has, she says, an unerring instinct by which
she can detect hypnotism in any creature:

"I possess a spiritual sense of what the malicious mental practitioner
is mentally arguing which cannot be deceived; I can discern in the
human mind thoughts, motives, and purposes; and neither mental
arguments nor psychic power can affect this spiritual insight."[25]

_Actual Size of Mrs. Eddy's Following_

The result of Mrs. Eddy's planning and training and pruning is that
she has built up the largest and most powerful organization ever
founded by any woman in America. Probably no other woman so
handicapped--so limited in intellect, so uncertain in conduct, so
tortured by hatred and hampered by petty animosities--has ever risen
from a state of helplessness and dependence to a position of such
power and authority. All that Christian Science comprises to-day--the
Mother Church, branch churches, healers, teachers, Readers, boards,
committees, societies--are as completely under Mrs. Eddy's control as
if she were their temporal as well as their spiritual ruler. The
growth of her power has been extensive as well as intensive.

In June, 1907, the membership of the Mother Church, according to the
Secretary's report, was 43,876. The membership of the branch churches
amounted to 42,846. As members of the branch churches are almost
invariably members of the Mother Church as well, there cannot be more
than 60,000 Christian Scientists in the world to-day, and the number
is probably nearer 50,000.

In June, 1907, there were in all 710 branch churches. Fifty-eight of
these are in foreign countries: 25 in the Dominion of Canada, 14 in
Great Britain, 2 in Ireland, 4 in Australia, 1 in South Africa, 8 in
Mexico, 2 in Germany, 1 in Holland, and 1 in France. There are also
295 Christian Science societies not yet incorporated into churches, 30
of which are in foreign countries.[26]

In reading these figures one must bear in mind the fact that
twenty-nine years ago the only Christian Science church in the world
was struggling to pay its rent in Boston.

One very effective element in the growth of the church has been the
fact that a considerable proportion of Christian Scientists--probably
about one tenth--make their living by their faith, and their worldly
fortunes as well as their spiritual comfort are in their church; they
must prosper or decline, rise or fall, with Christian Science, and
they prosecute the cause of their church with all their energies and
with entire singleness of purpose. Again, any religion must experience
a great impetus and stimulus from the living presence of its founder
or prophet, and when that presence is as effective as Mrs. Eddy's, it
is a force to be reckoned with. Furthermore, Christian Science is a
novel and sensational presentation of one of the oldest accepted
truths in human thinking, and converts a few time-worn metaphysical
platitudes into mysterious incantations which are quite as effective
by reason of their incoherence and misapplication as because of the
relative truths which they originally conveyed. Optimism is the cry of
the times, and of all the voices which declare it, this is the most
strident and insistent, proclaiming the shortest of all the short
roads to happiness, declaring the secret of a contentment as
impervious of total anaesthesia.

[Note: The next article will deal with Mrs. Eddy's book,
"Science and Health," and will complete this history.]

FOOTNOTES:

[1] This communion was originally observed once each quarter and then
twice a year. Since 1899 it has been observed but once a year, on the
second Sunday in June. No "material" emblems, such as bread and wine,
are offered, and the communion is one of silent thought. On Monday the
directors meet and transact the business of the year, and on Tuesday
the officers' reports are read. As most members of the branch churches
are also members of the Mother Church, thousands of Christian
Scientists from all over the United States visit Boston at this time.

[2] At the 1898 communion there was no invitation from Mrs. Eddy, but
a number of communicants went up to Concord to see her house and to
see her start out upon her daily drive. In June, 1899, Mrs. Eddy came
to Boston and briefly addressed the annual business meeting of the
church. In 1902 and 1903 there were no formal pilgrimages, although
hundreds of Christian Scientists went to Concord to catch a glimpse of
Mrs. Eddy upon her drive.

[3] February, 1899.

[4] Calvin Frye.

[5] In a notice to the churches, 1897, Mrs. Eddy says:

"The Bible and the Christian Science text-book are our only preachers.
We shall now read scriptural texts and their co-relative passages from
our text-book--these comprise our sermon. The canonical writings,
together with the word of our text-book, corroborating and explaining
the Bible texts in their denominational, spiritual import and
application to all ages, past, present and future, constitute a sermon
undivorced from truth, uncontaminated or fettered by human hypotheses
and authorized by Christ."

[6] For the text of these by-laws see Christian Science Manual (1904),
Articles IV and XXIII.

[7] Mrs. Eddy stated in regard to this ruling that it was to have
immediate effect only in the Mother Church, adding: "Doubtless the
churches adopting this by-law will discriminate its adaptability to
their conditions. But if now is not the time the branch churches can
wait for the favored moment to act on this subject."

[8] Church Manual (11th ed.), Article XXXII.

[9] Ibid. (3d ed.), Article VIII, Sec. 5.

[10] Church Manual (43d ed.), Article I, Sec. 5.

[11] Ibid. (43d ed.), Article I, Sec. 2.

[12] Ibid. (43d ed.), Article I, Sec. 4. Ibid. (11th ed.), Article
XXIII, Sec. 2.

[13] Ibid. (43d ed.), Article I, Sec. 3.

[14] Formerly the Executive Members were permitted to fix the salaries
of the Readers, but in the last edition of the Manual this privilege
seems to have been withdrawn.

[15] Church Manual (43d ed.), Article VI.

[16] Church Manual (43d ed.), Article XXVIII.

[17] Ibid. (11th ed.), Article XXIII.

[18] Ibid. (43d ed.), Article IV.

[19] Ibid. (43d ed.), Article XXXIV, Sec. 1.

[20] Ibid. (43d ed.), Article XXXIV, Sec. 2.

[21] Ibid. (43d ed.), Article XXXIV, Sec. 4.

[22] Church Manual (11th ed.). Article XV.

[23] Ibid. (43d ed.), Article XXVI.

[24] Church Manual (43d ed.), Article XXII, Sec. 4.

[25] "Christian Science History," by Mary B. G. Eddy (1st ed.), page
16.

[26] In June, 1907, there were 3,515 authorized Christian Science
"healers" in the world; 3,268 of these are practising in the United
States, 1 in Alaska, 63 in the Dominion of Canada, 5 in Mexico, 1 in
Cuba, 1 in South Africa, 18 in Australia, 1 in China, 105 in England,
5 in Ireland, 9 in Scotland, 7 in France, 15 in Germany, 4 in Holland,
1 in India, 1 in Italy, 1 in the Philippine Islands, 1 in Russia, 1 in
South America, 7 in Switzerland.

[Illustration]

IN CHARGE OF TRUSTY

BY LUCY PRATT

ILLUSTRATIONS BY FREDERIC DORR STEELE

There was a dramatic arrival at the Whittier School one Monday
morning.

The children were gathered in their class-rooms, looking particularly
good and hopeful just after their morning exercises, and Miss Doane
was on the platform in the Assembly Room, when she became aware of a
slight confusion in the outside hall. But, since visitors of
distinction always came in from that particular hall, Miss Doane
merely waited for whatever special form of distinction this might be.
There was a thump on the door, and then, after some slight parleying
and continued confusion on the other side, it opened and two visitors
made their entrance. One was a very large and rather ancient-looking
colored man, the other was a very small colored boy. They both looked
somewhat spent and breathless, and when the man had deposited the boy
before him, with a threatening wave of the stick, he took out a large
bandana and wiped the sweat of honest toil from his brow. Miss Doane,
somewhat uneasy, approached her visitor.

"Yer see, Miss," he explained, with a gesture of triumph toward the
small heap on the floor, "he's ser bad, I'se jes 'blige whup 'im all
de way ter school ter git 'im yere fer sho!"

Miss Doane made some response to the effect that it certainly was an
unusual way of making sure that a child came to school, to which he
joined in:

"Ya-as, Miss, ya-as, _Miss_! Cert'nly is so! Jes 'blige drap all my
wuk 'n' run 'im clean yere. Now, ain't yer 'shame, boy, fer de lady
ter see yer ser bad 'n' hard-haided?"

He was not too ashamed to grumble out an unintelligible answer; but he
looked quite disgusted with life in general, and twisted his head
around in all sorts of directions, and sniffed, and rubbed his
coat-sleeve across his face, and appeared generally ill at ease.

"What is his name?" questioned Miss Doane.

"Trusty--Trusty 'is name," explained the parent. "Trusty Miles. W'y
doan't yer speak up, boy, an' tell de lady yer name?"

Trusty grunted.

"He doesn't seem very glad to be here," suggested Miss Doane mildly.

"No, Miss, dat's de trufe," agreed the parent cordially, "dat's de
trufe! Yer see, he ain't r'ally used ter w'ite folks' school, 'counten
allays gwine ter Miss Pauline Smiff's. Yas'm. He ain't r'ally used ter
w'ite folks, an' he jes seem ter natchelly balk at de idea fum de
fus."

"I see," returned Miss Doane modestly, producing a reader by way of
tactful diversion.

Miss Pauline Smith's ex-pupil looked at it a bit askance, and Miss
Doane proceeded in a somewhat harrowing attempt to discover and lay
bare anything in the least suggestive of knowledge--as such.

"I see," she concluded finally, when there was positively nothing
more left to discover; "I see. Will you follow me, please?"

With unexpected docility, Trusty turned and, with his eyes fixed on a
closed door toward which Miss Doane led the way, followed, he knew not
where.

"Miss North," began Miss Doane, when the door had opened and closed
again, "Miss North, I have a new pupil for you."

Miss North tried to look as if this were the most unexpected bit of
good fortune which could possibly come to her, and glanced around for
an appropriate seat. The children looked pleased at the slight
diversion, and Ezekiel, sitting in a corner seat of the front row,
looked both pleased and intelligent.

"Dat's Trusty," he began smilingly in a low voice to Miss North,
"dat's Trusty Miles, Miss No'th"; and, feeling the cheerful
superiority of former acquaintance, he beamed delightedly on Trusty.

"Yes; and I think you may sit right here," explained Miss North, after
brief consideration.

In lack of anything else to do, Trusty accepted the offered seat.

"And now," continued Miss North, when the children had once more
settled themselves and Miss Doane had gone back to her waiting
visitor, "we will go on with the lesson. Yes, we had just decided that
we all had _bodies_."

Ezekiel glanced at the new pupil, who seemed to be somewhat taken by
surprise at this unexpected development, and was looking curiously
around the room with evident hope of disputing the statement.

"Yes, that is true, is it not, that we all have _bodies?_"

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