The River Falls journal. (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1857-1861, 1859-07-27
Is HENRY WARD BEECHER
A SPIRITUAL MEDIUM!
HIS OWN STATEMENT.
From the independent.

A great many people there are who do
not know what they believe, on many in
tricate subjects. There are many, prob
ably, brought up to believe great many
things, which, if keenly examined, they
do not believe. But, neither of these po-
sitions is so pcrplcxing as that Of finding
ones self believing firmly and religiously
what he had always supposed himself to
reject, so that he is living in donble
state, running parallel; state of uncons
cious belief, and n state of conscious dis
belief, upon the very same subject. These
remarks are suggested by the paragraphs
which are flying about the country papers
as to our belief IT, Modern Spiritualism.
1t seems q Mr.. Chase declared that we
were real spiritua! medium, and preach
ed by help obtained of spirits. We have
seen this quoted scores Of times, and we
lave before us a Michigan paper in
which Mr.. Everts, in some explanations
about his remarks on Mr.. Chase, says:
81 am myselfa medium, and always
know when | am in magnetic state, and
if Mr.. Beecher is one, it would be impos-
sihle for him to go into that state unknow-
ingly. Mr.. Beecher breaches about the
same doctrines as other Spifitualsts, and
so doing is medium. If he believes as
he breaches, he certainly is believer in
Spiritualism."
And, again:
''If Mr.. Beecner, then, is a medium,
and his conditions are such that he can
hold direct communion with the spirits of
departed men, and that said spirits do
influence him to speak as he does speak,
he certainly must be conscious of such q
fact"
We are sorry to inform Mr.. Everts
that we are quite unconscious Of having
had any personal intercourse with depar-
I'd spirits of men; nor, from fruits of such
alleged intercourse in other cases, have
we any particular desire to do SC. We
have noticed, attentiyely. for some years,
the messages sent hither, as is said, from
the other world, from some of the most
eminent of names, and we are satisfied
that, if they are genuine, then either death
has been great Injury to them, or else
their wisdom is much damaged by rofrac-
ton in being transmitted to this sphere.
We are far from denying that these
messages did not come from the disembod-
led spirits of Jefferson, Franklin, Wash
ington, Jonathan Edwards, Napoleon,
Bacon, VoItaire, Webster, Calhoun, &c.
But we may be permitted, We hope, to
mourn over the results to which greatness
comes. and to throw a new and melan-
cho'y light upon the meaning Of the Scrip
ture which says the first shall be last
Certainly, if there is lower depth of in
anity than that out of which these new
spiritual philosophers speak, our surprise
must wait for some augmentation of be-
ing before it can gain any further express
son.
But we do not interfere with other PEG
pies business. We do not attack the
faith of any man in modern Spiritualism
But when they insist upon it that we dc
believe in Spiritualism ourselves; nay
that we are mediums, and, unless dishon
est, conscious mediums, we do think tha
we ought to overhaul our faith, expert
ence and consciousness, to see what WI
are. Now, if any spirit, or any corps o
associated spirits, are employing us as
line by which to telegraph truth from tina
sphere to this, they are doing it withou
our knowledge or consent. We protes
against the operation. And, as we cal
imagine no way in which to take the Law
against them for trespass, we take tn
newspaper. And we here bring no rail
ing accusation against any or sundry spir
its that have quizzed Mr.. Chase or Mr.
Everts; but we expostulate with thos
mischieveus sprites that amuse themselve
at the expense of these sober and homes
gentlemen. It is not fair. 1t would no
be regarded as square in the body, an
we don't believe it is so out of the body
And, rs for using us as a go-between c
such ludicrous errands, the spirits kno'
very well that it is on the sly, if at ALL
Aud, fit is not stopped Immediately, "
we will find out some way to cut the wires
The only thing that connects us wit
Spiritua!isn is the publication Of eyer