The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1871-09-28
MR.. GREELEY'S STAB ATT THE sPIR.
ITUALISTS.
From the Golden Age.

From the Golden Age.
! There was a time when the Tribune
gave generous hearing to new ideas, but
that time has passed. One would SUM-
pose that Modern Spiritualism had
already demonstrated its right TO corr
teous treatment by the great public
journals, and particularly by sheet
which, like the Tribune, owes its thrift
and power to its having been so long an
exponent OF the radical ideas of the nine
teenth century But the Tribune has
just taken occasion of the eighth meet
ing or the National Society OF Spiritual
lsts--a body representing directly or in
directly the solemn and sacred beliefs of
several millions of intelligent people-to
speak of Spiritualism asia widely-extend-
ed deluslon, to characterize its phenom-
ena as "mumblings mummeries. and
rawlings" and apply to it the derisive
epithets 'm0nstrous and abnormal"
In addition to it's editorial opinion Tins
otensivaly expressed, the Tribune dresses
up the proceedings of the convention in
the form of report which no serious and
just. minded reader could regard as fair.
1t the World should report Republican
meeting in this way, the Tribune would
rebuke it. No reader of the Tribune
derived correct, but only travestied
idea of the convention from the warped
and biased narrative which that journal
gave Of the proceedings. This accuse
ton is deserved, and one-half of the long,
time and much-attached frierds of the
Tribune will bear us out in making it.
People may entertain whatsoever opiu-
ions concerning Spiritualism their faniI-
iarity with the subjects, or their Ignorance
OF 1t, may inspire In their minds. But to
level an 1ndlscriminate criticism against
the immense body OF Sp;ritualists, both
In this country and in Europe, as fanatics
and madnen; to say (as the Tribune savs)
that "to your real out -and-Out SpirituaI;st
"there is no invisible, all ruling God -
and then to add Gas the Tribune adds)
hat "the venerable Mrs. Mott is piteous
ly out OF place among the wrestling, Gun
thinking throng all this is a greater
bgotry than it is written to condemn.
Our study of Spilitualism has not been
exhaustive nor $50 far as it has gomez
has it been more than partially satisfac-
tory but We could not possibly brine
ourselves TO treat So serious and maoni.
1cent theme with the sardonIc Ievitv
which charact eriZes the IrS6une's later
mood OF mind toward this (and all otherl
progressive ideas
We cannot see how "the venerable
Mrs. Mott" is any more "piteously ont of
place" In a convention of Spiritualists
than the venerable Bishop Simpson
would be in convention of Methods or
the venerable Horace Greeley in q con.
vention OF Universalists.
Among our personal acQuaintances are
persons of high character and gifts who
have freely confessed to US that thew owe
to SpIrltuallsm their belief in the i'm
mortality of the soul. They had been
members of churches; they had been
readers of the Bible; they had been
prayerful devotee and yet, underlying
all their church membership and Bible
reading and humble praying, they had
suffered gnawlng skepGcism concern
ing the souls future existence To these
persons the phenomena of Spiritualism-
coming as they do with written message
from the other world-yea, and attended
not seldom by the visible face of the de.
parted reappearing again to mortal
! sight-we say that to these skeptics
these phenomena have brought a con.
firmed faith more precious than the accu-
mulated treasures which the Queen of
Sheba carried to Solomon.
1t may seem right to others to deride
all such phenomena and their fruits, but
zoe shall not join in the derision. On the
contrary, we desire that the whole, pro-
found, and momentous subject of spirit
agency may receive from all thinking
and candid minds the judicial fairness Of
treatment which any other scientific.
moral or religious question has right to
demand OF the public press Meanwhile
the way in which the Tribune handles il
is simply an outrage to free inquiry.