Show I 1 room better than their company new york oct 12 at a meeting ot the executive committee ot the interchurch inter church conference on federation her today it vas decided to public the correspondence velch has grown out of the discussion on the subject of the exclusion of the labida irom the conter ance the interchurch inter church conference will bo held in this city in november the american association the national organization of the denomination elected three delegates to attend the conference namely rev edward hale chaplain ot the united states senate ex secretary of the navy john D long of massachusetts and dr samuel A eliot who Is a son of president eliot of harvard members of the executive committee which was preside over by rev W H roberts of philadelphia declared the original letter ot invitation was not sent to the unitarians or roman catholics neither of the latter two denominations it was asserted have taken any action in the matter the correspondence given out includes the original letter of invitation and tho text of letters exchanged between dr eliot of the proposed delegation and dr E B sanford secretary of the national federation of churches who Is acting for the interchurch inter church conference dr eliot said that as ano tree christian churches were included la the membership of the state federations of massachusetts and rhode island the unitarians had assumed the general invitation to the interchurch inter church conference included that denomination during the summer however he baad learned that the might not be welcomed and he wrote to ask if these rumors had any justification dr eliot declared it was impossible for him to believe that the coming conference would exclude representatives of the church that stand peculiarly for principle in american religious alfe dr eliot called attention to the personnel of the larian delegation saying that ex sec detary long and dr hale were among the most beloved arad trusted ot christian leaders replying to this letter secretary wrote the committee of correspondence feels constrained to limit to some extent the sending but of invitations to denominational bodies asking them to appropriate delegates to the coming interchurch inter church conference on federation this action was taken after very serious consideration and I 1 am confident that the committee would decline to reopen the discussion of the matter I 1 need scarcely add that this decision w as in no way personal surely there are few persons in our american life who we all delight to honor more than those you mention our regret more sincere than that of the committee ou correspondence that the way did not seem clear to invite your national association to appoint delegates to the conference it was stated today that the letter of dr sanford had been formally approved by the executive committee dr roberts made the following statement about the matter the invitations to the conference were issued to churches which we felt were in sufficient agreement with one another to secure efficient results in the line of federation the lan churches were omitted from the limit the work of issuing the invitation and organizing the conference has been under way for two years there is no purpose to antagonize any church but to bring together for tho discussion of plans ot operation cooperation co such churches as ara now in close christian fellowship and for the attainment of great moral and spiritual ends the conference represents communicants muni cants and at least of adherents of the distinctly protestant and evangelical groups of christian churches unitarians do not belong to this group athla la sufficient reason why they were not invited we respect highly the gentlemen appointed by the unitarians as delegates but we do not feel that their presence in the conference would be helpful to the interests involved |