Editorial August 24, 1907 Issue

THE MASTERS' INTERVIEW WITH MRS. EDDY

Editor

On Wednesday, Aug. 14, Mrs. Eddy was visited at her home by the three masters, who took this step for the purpose of ascertaining for themselves Mrs. Eddy's physical and mental condition. They were accompanied by Mr. Streeter and Mr. Chandler of counsel, also by the official stenographer. The stenographer's report of the interview, which was widely published in the newspapers of the next morning, gave conclusive evidence of Mrs. Eddy's unabated mental vigor and of her ability to manage her affairs, business and otherwise. Of this visit of the masters the Chicago Inter-Ocean says editorially:—

"Whatever the motive behind the proceedings to establish the mental irresponsibility of Mrs. Mary Baker G. Eddy, Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, it will occur to many people, regardless of their religious or medical leanings, as something contrary to the American idea of fair play, to say nothing of the American idea of gallantry, that a woman of her age should be subjected to the ordeal insisted upon by the legal representatives of the interests opposed to her. But since this ordeal was insisted upon, and since it is to be continued, it must be a source of satisfaction to find that an American woman, who has long since passed the Scriptural limit, proves herself upon examination to be the equal, if not the superior, of these legal representatives in intellectual capacity and strength. That Mrs. Eddy is, in the highest sense, a remarkable woman, was never more clearly established than in this inquiry.

"In reality, the question as to whether Mrs. Eddy was or was not mentally sound last Wednesday has nothing whatever to do with the case. The only question is, Was she mentally sound March 1 last, when she appointed trustees to take charge of her fortune? But conclusions will necessarily be drawn from the present state of her mind, and if her mind continues to be as clear at further examinations there will be nothing left for the masters to do but to conclude that this woman of nearly ninety was entirely competent to take care of her affairs last March and is entirely competent to take care of them now. True, much that she talked about during the interview of Wednesday touched upon what the leading attorney for her "next friends' calls a 'delusion'—i.e., the delusion that God can heal the sick. But it will be impossible for either the lawyers or the court to go very far into this phase of the matter without becoming inextricably involved in difficulty.

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