Under the direction of the board of trus tees there have been formed several commis sions to look after the interests of the denomi nation. Of importance is the commission on social service which carries on the study of social problems of the day and distributes a large amount of literature in the interests of church social service. There is the commission on the ministry whose work is to increase the number of students in theological schools. Also the commission on temperance which, through a superintendent, carries on a temper ance campaign and distributes a large quantity of literature.
Associated with the General Convention is the Universalist Historical Society, whose ob ject is the gathering up and the preservation of books, pictures and all facts relating to the history of the Universalist Church and its men.
Connected with the General Convention also is the John Murray Association in Gloucester, Mass., which maintains the house in which John Murray lived, now filled with relics re lating to the life and work of John Murray Very early in its history the Universalist Church became the patron of higher education, believing it necessary to provide for an edu cated ministry. The more important of these schools are Tufts College, Massachusetts, the University of Saint Lawrence, Canton, N. Y., Lombard College, Galesburg, Ill., three acade mies: Dean at Franklin, Mass., Goddard Sem inary in Barre, Vt., and Westbrook Seminary in Maine. These schools and colleges possess buildings and equipment aggregating over $6,000,000.
The theological schools maintained are (1) the Canton Theological School, opened at Can ton, Saint Lawrence County, N. Y., in 1858. Although affiliated with Saint Lawrence Uni versity, the theological school is a separate in stitution in its management and property. (2) Crane Theological School, affiliated with Tufts College, Medford, Mass. This was established in 1868 as Tufts Theological School but was changed to the name of Crane Theological School in 1898, in honor of an endowment from Albert Crane of Stamford, Conn. (3) In 1881
a theological department was opened in Lom bard College, Galesburg, Ill., and in 1890 its name was changed to the Ryder Divinity School, in honor of the late Rev. William Henry Ryder, D.D. In 1910 the school was removed to Chicago, where it became a part of the Uni versity of Chicago, though still retaining its name.
The denomination has a publishing house and a book headquarters at 359 Boylston street, Boston. Here also are the official offices of the General Convention. Other offices are lo cated in Utica, N. Y., and Western headquarters at Saint Paul's-on-the-Midway, in Chicago.
The publishing house puts forth The Univer salist Leader, The Sunday School Helper, The Myrtle, The Onward and the Universalist Reg ister. It owns copyrights to 150 volumes and has net assets of over $200,000. In the South, at Atlanta, is published the Universalist Herald.
In 1919 a great drive for a million dollars was started, to he finished in 1920 when Uni yersalists will hold a series of meetings at Gloucester, Mass., in celebration of the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the landing of John Murray. Great enthusiasih has been stirred by this denomination-wide drive and a large increase in church members and parish funds has resulted in addition to the General Denominational Fund.
Bibliography.— Winchester, 'The Univer salist Restoration' ; Ballou,