Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1871-08-17
play tunes inside the cage with no .nn.r

play tunes inside the cage with no appar-
ent support Of course, as we have said.
these asserted facts must be taken with
great reserve, unless verified with suffi.
Gent repetition under every guarantee the
scientific world may suggest But should
they be so verified, AID we think the
existing testimony is quite sufficient to
make this hypothesis conceivable, good
many more matters should be carefully
investigated; for instance, whether any
tune could be so played which MIR. Home
himself could not play on the ACCORDION,
or any which none OF those present were
able to play on the ACCORDION, or any with
which none Of those persons were even
acqualnted-or whether, if none of these
cases happened, 1t was only Mr.. Home 8
knowledge of music. or indifferently that
OF any other OF the persons present, which
the tune appeared to represent. One
thing is certain, that if the facts asserted
be true at all, the force moving the &C
cordeon must be in some way connected
with unsteady educated mind. The
wind does not execute even "well-
known sweet and plantive melody" on
the Folian harp.
The movements of the ACCORDION must
clearly have been governed by the mus cal
associations of some mind, and whether
these were voluntary or involuntary
and either the one or the other is quite
conceivable-it would be possible, one
would think, to determine the mind in
which they originated Surprising the
fact established, there is little in it that is
more wonderful than the power of writing
by telegraph SO that specific vibrations
given to the wires at one end cause given
words to be written off at the other, for,
Of course, if there really be "a nerve. atmos-
phere of various intensity round each in
dividual," the vibrations given to such an
atmosphere by distinct action of thought
might produce corresponding contractions
in the ACCORDION. This is, however, pure
ly speculative; but if these things are true
at all, it must be determinable where the
mental source Of the tune played by the
ACCORDION is, and no point could be of
greater interest The analogy would be
close Though there would be one great
difference-with established facts Of the
kind sometimes called electro biological
We have been repeatedly assured by men
of the highest trustworthiness that
the power belongs to men of GER
by strong silent will the action
Of certain other persons, so that
by expanding great deal Of silent effort,
for instance, on the desire that a given
man shall scratch the tip of his left ear,
that man is at last compelled, with no
Knowledge whatever of the reason, to
scratch the tip of his left ear That such
facts as these have been repeatedly veri-
fed is, we believe, certain. And the only
difference in this case may be that the same
kind Of effect is produced on the motions
OF an inanimate object like an accordeon-
certainly most curious, as the facts we
have alluded to are also most curious but
certainly also not more impossible than
the others. What, however, we now wish
to insist on is that there is p71nad fdcie evil
dence. true bill found which ought to be
sent for scientific trial, in relation to this
matter. Even DR. Higgins declares thus
much; and DR.. Higgins is an authority
such as no scientific man will dare for a
moment dispute. Whether there be "a
new force +" on the eve of discovery is not
yet proved: but that there is sufficient
suspicion of the exertion of such force to
render it most desirable that the scientific
world should either confirm or explode
the hypothesis of its existence, and in the
former case, study its laws, is hardly dis
putable.