I am deputized by the Christian Students of Beatrice to write to you what to me is a very disagreeable letter, and one that I feel will be unpleasant to you to receive.

What I have to write is this. There is a belief of discord between Mrs. Janet T. Colman and Mrs. E. B. Fenn.

I presume you will think as we do, that this is none of our (students of Beatrice) business, and we should have nothing to do with it.

We would be only too glad to have nothing to do with it. But that is impossible, because it has to do with us. It will not let us alone.

It began in this way. Soon after Mrs. Colman left Council BluffsEditorial Note: Council Bluffs, Iowa last March, we organized a students Christian Scientist Association hereEditorial Note: This was a branch of the Christian Scientist Association in Boston, Massachusetts. with Mrs. Fenn as president. When Mrs. Colman went away from here she said if she were too far away to return at time of organization we should send for Mrs. Fenn.

Mrs. Colman was in Rochester, N.Y.Expanded:New York when the charter arrived here, so we sent for Mrs. Fenn as per Msrs. Colman's direction.

After the organization, thinking Mrs. Colman would be interested to know what we had done I wrote her the particulars.

She immediately wrote to another student asking why it was necessary for Mrs. Fenn to come here to organize the theAs Written:the association when it was already organized. (We had organized among ourselves at the time we applied for a charter, but found, when the charter and constitution and by-laws arrived that it would be necessary to reorganize with at least one member who was also a member of the Boston Association, in order to comply with the conditions contained in the constitutions and by-laws concerning organizations of Students C. S.Expanded:Christian Scientist associations.

The one two whom she wrote answered her question telling her why Mrs. Fenn came here and why it was necessary.

After this, letters came from Mrs. Colman, to different ones of the students telling us to fight malicious animal magnetism that we might not be influenced by it. Then, that some of her students were working against her in under-handed Corrected: underhanded ways. Then, that there was a discord here among the students and it was publicly known.– at Boston I suppose she meant.

There has been no discord among the students here at any time.

We do know and could not help knowing that there is a belief of discord betwen Corrected: between Mrs. C. and Mrs. F. but should not have known of it if so much had not been written us by Mrs. C. and some things Mrs. F. said to some of the ladies here.

I, of course, cannot, nor do I wish to write all that has been said and written on the subject to us. I finally did write Mrs. C. that if she meant me, as one who was working against her I wished her to plainly say so, for if I was in error I would be glad to know it. I also wrote her that there was no discord among the students here but that we all deeply deplored the discord between herself and Mrs. F. That I thought it was not according to ScienceEditorial Note: Christian Science for two ScientistsEditorial Note: Christian Scientists to hold a grudge and not at once to settle all differences.

In answer to this she wrote that she had nothing against Mrs. F. Well, Mrs. F. says she has nothing against Mrs. C. and does not know the cause of the discord.

Four of the Beatrice students have been practicing at KnoxvillCorrected:Knoxville, IllExpanded:Illinois, While they were there Mrs. C. went there from Rochester and held a class. After her class was through three of her students, one a new student who went through her class in Knoxville,– returned here but would not come to our Sabbath service nor to our Students meetings.

Two of them however, did call at the homes of different students and assail them for turning (as they said) against Mrs. C. and going over to Mrs. F.

We then called a special meeting to decide upon some line of action to stop the discord so far as we could.

It came out in the meeting that Mrs. C. thought her students here had turned against her and gone over to Mrs. F. and she warned the students returning here from Knoxville, to keep away from our meetings lest they also fall under the influence of discord that was working here.

After some talk the two returned students who were at the meeting, agreed to attend the Sunday service and have done so since.

We agreed it would be the better way to write you about the matter to have it settled, because it has been dragging along since early last Spring, and instead of growing less has increased in belief.

I have tried to explain the matter as briefly as possible and yet express my meaning clearly.

We all love both Mrs. C. and Mrs. F. and cannot understand whey this belief has not been long ago settled.

I am sorry to have had to write to you of this matter but we could see no other way to get it settled so that it would be justly and effectually settled.

Hoping our action in this matter will meet with your approval I remain