Article October 15, 1904 Issue

The Spead- Tomlinson Case

The Daily Patriot

The decision announced by our Supreme Court Tuesday in the Spead-Tomlinson case is undoubtedly the most important legal victory yet achieved by the followers of Christian Science. The right to practise Christian Science in the healing of disease was practically involved in the suit; for if the contentions of Mrs. Spead's attorneys had been sustained by the court, no Christian Science practitioner could have undertaken the treatment of a patient or expressed to a patient his belief in the efficacy of his system without rendering himself liable to an action for damages in case of failure to effect a complete cure. These contentions are effectually disposed of by the opinion rendered Tuesday, and the right of the Christian Scientist to treat in accordance with his system persons who desire that method of treatment, as well as his right to express his honest belief in the merits of the treatment, is established.

While the question whether a Christian Science practitioner is required to take out a license like an ordinary physician, and the question of the liability of such a practitioner to criminal prosecution under special circumstances, has been passed upon by several courts with results almost uniformly favorable to the Scientists, the fundamental question of the Scientist's common-law right to practise his system of healing as ordinary physicians are permitted to practise theirs, has never before been authoritatively determined. The clear and forceful reasoning of the court's opinion must carry conviction to the minds of the legal profession and the general public alike, and it may be predicted with considerable confidence that Tuesday's decision will be generally followed in other states where the same questions may arise. — The Daily Patriot, Concord, N. H.

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