We publish on pages 641 to 649 of this issue, with permission of the Cosmopolitan, the splendid article by Mr. Charles Klein which appears in the February number of that magazine. The article is, as it purports to be, an impartial estimate of Christian Science, and Mr. Klein, by reason of his experience both before and after embracing this faith, is well qualified to write upon the subject. Christian Scientists should read this article, and we commend to them the advisability of giving a wide circulation among their friends to this number of the Cosmopolitan.
It is as necessary for the person who attempts to write about Christian Science to have a working knowledge of the subject as it is for the person who writes about wireless telegraphy, electric lighting, chemistry, or any other technical subject to have a working knowledge of his theme, and as Mr. Klein is possessed of this knowledge, his article is a valuable contribution to the current discussion of this much-discussed subject. The time when parties to a lawsuit were barred from testifying in their own behalf has long since gone by, and that such a rule ever existed is now a matter for wonderment. The chief trouble with the modern jury system is the exaggerated effort in many cases to find an impartial jury by selecting only those who know nothing of the case in hand, thus obtaining, in many instances, jurymen of less than average intelligence. It has been demonstrated to the satisfaction of most lawyers that the impartiality of witnesses and jurymen depends not upon their ignorance of the subject under consideration, but upon the mental and moral equipment of the individual. Mr. Klein has proved his competency not only as a witness, but also as a member of the great jury of public opinion.
Again, the person who assumes to impart information upon so important a subject as Christian Science should have at least one qualification for his task; viz., a demonstrable knowledge of its teachings sufficient to heal the sick and reform the sinful. This knowledge Mr. Klein possesses through several years of diligent and successful study of the text-book, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mrs. Eddy, and his statement is worthy of the utmost consideration.
