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Mr. Judge's wishes concerning his successor were known and would be carried
out.8 It was also announced that the Masters had imposed a condition, namely,
that the name of the new head must be withheld for a year. Presumably this was
to be a trial period during which the new leader was to test his abilities and
readiness to assume the heavy responsibilities borne by Judge. Veiled references
were made to him under the name of "Promise." It was stated that "a new light
had gone out from the Lodge," and that this "Promise" was a person of psychic
gifts and the recipient of messages from the Masters. From a speech made by Mrs.
Tingley at this time we quote:
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"Today the needs of humanity are embodied in one great call: 'Oh God, my God, is
there no help for us?' All people should heed the call of the Master and help to
belt the world within the compass of the 'cable-tow' of the crusaders, for in
their force is the quality of the 'golden promise'-the Light of the Lodge. It
will radiate throughout the world, and with the aid of the widow's mite will
make perfect the Master's plan."
At the end of April, 1896, the Annual Convention of the Theosophical Society in
America met in New York City. Mr. Hargrove was elected President of the
organization. The Path was changed to Theosophy. Mrs. Tingley was present and
spoke. She announced plans for founding a "School for the Revival of the Lost
Mysteries of Antiquity." Money was contributed liberally, and the leaders went
ahead with their plans for the expansion of the movement.
Suddenly, on May 17, Mrs. Tingley announced to her associates that she had been
informed that the New York press had discovered that she was the person referred
to as the new Outer Head, and that they would publish the news the next day. To
avoid such a "leak," Mr. Hargrove, as President of the Society, that morning
anticipated the newspapers and made a public announcement to the effect that
Mrs. Tingley had been designated as Judge's successor. On the following morning,
May 18, 1896, a long article appeared in the New York Tribune on the subject.
Thus the safeguard of anonymity, originally prescribed as a condition of Mrs.
Tingley's appointment, was abrogated.
Meanwhile the leaders had announced their plans for a "Crusade" to carry the
message of Theosophy around the world and more especially to vindicate the
strength and authenticity of Judge's American Society before the eyes of
Theosophists in Europe and India. Accordingly in June Mrs. Tingley, Mr.
Hargrove, Mr. and Mrs. Claude F. Wright, Mr. Pierce, and two or three others,
set sail for a trip around the world. They made numerous addresses at various
points en route defending their cause. They also completed plans for the
establishment of the School for the Revival of the Lost Mysteries of Antiquity
at Point Loma, California, and on the return voyage Mrs. Tingley laid the
corner-stone of the school. Returning to New York early in 1897, they began the
task of consolidating and organizing "The Universal Brotherhood."
But dissension arose almost immediately after their return from the "Crusade." A
group of the leaders became increasingly suspicious that Mrs. Tingley's policies
and practices were not in line with those established by Judge. The forces of
ambition and jealousy also entered into the scene. Whatever the deeper issues
were, the external friction came to a head in the dispute between Mrs. Keightley
and Mr. Neresheimer over the control of the publishing business and the
editorial policy of the magazine, Theosophy. Mr. Neresheimer was supported by
Mrs. Tingley, whereas Mrs. Keightley, Mr. Hargrove, and their friends, took a
firm stand against him. As a result of this disagreement, Mr. Hargrove resigned
the presidency of the Theosophical Society in America, and Dr. Keightley
resigned the presidency of the affiliated Theosophical Society in England. In
January, 1898, Mrs. Tingley called representatives of the Theosophical Society
from different parts of the United States to her home, and they drew up and
adopted the Constitution of The Universal Brotherhood Organization. Meanwhile
some of the friends of Mr. Hargrove proposed a rival plan calling for the
election of Mr. Hargrove as President and Mrs. Tingley as "Corresponding
Secretary" (H.P.B.'s former title). But Mrs. Tingley repudiated this scheme and
in return Mr. Hargrove and his friends rejected Mrs. Tingley's leadership.
At the Annual Convention in Chicago, February, 1898, the whole issue was
decided. Mrs. Tingley proceeded aggressively with her plans for The Universal
182
Brotherhood, which she wished to absorb the Theosophic Society in America. Mr.
Hargrove and his friends, on the other hand, refused to recognize the legitimacy
of the new organization. When the issue was put to a vote, over ninety per cent
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