The New York herald., 1874-12-22
The Deceptions OF spirituaIism.

We lay before our readers this morning
detailed and very carefully prepared account
of some of the impostures of so called spirit
ualism. 1t is a matter in which all classes OF
society will be interested. for both the relig-
ious and irreligious join hands in their un-
willingness to be deceived For several weeks
our correspondent has been on the track of
the men whose not always clever jugglery he
describes. What makes his work still more
significant is the fact that when he began his
Investigations, though not confirmed be-
lever in the mysteries of table tipping, his
predictions and prejudices were entirely on
the side of the medium. But quick eye and
considerable knowledge of the tricks of
straightforward soon led him to suspect that
these gentlemen who are on such intimate
terms with the hereafter that they need only
to beckon and troops of angels will come
around them like flock of doves when you
throw crumbs on the ground were practising
on his credulity. He followed the clew pa
tiently until he succeeded in unearthing the
whole thing and the result of his labcrs we give
our readers in the hope that those who still
insist on throwing five dollars away will do it
with their eyes open.
1t is argued by some very wise men that
what eleven million citizens of this free and
enlightened Republic believe must of necessity
have some foundation of truth in it. This is
certainly very plausible argument, and at
first sight seems to be conclusive Some OF
the representative men of the country, men of
large experience and culture, men as unwill-
ing and as incapable of being deceived as the
veriest sceptic, have accepted these phenom-
ena as facts, and it is easier, we are told, to
believe the testimony of their careful judg-
ment than to believe that they have been
duped. This has been iterated and reiterated
as q conclusive method OF dealing with the
subject And yet Robert Dale Owen and DR..
Childs confess, with q readiness and candor
which is very graceful and gratifying, that
what they accepted on the evidence of their
senses, as we'll as their judgment, is piece of
cruel but we'll conceived and well managed
deception. Even great men are Influenced by
glamour. When Katie King put her spirit
hand within the feshly hand of Dr. Childs,
if his molecular forces had tightened
his grasp he could have settled the materiali-
zation theory at once But firmly believing
that he was holding the haud of an angel,
how could he be so discourteous as to doubt
or detain her? He is left to the modification
Of knowing that the tinsel dresses OF his
angel were made by Philadelphia milliner,
and that the seraph herself boards in the
second story back of a brick house on side
street. What fall was there, my country
men The envious Oasca who pursued the
damsel who took in sewing during the day.
time and whispered to believers in the night
season made an awful rent in the garment of
spiritualistic faith.
1t is said, further, that spiritualism 1--WE
spell it with small because it is in disgrace
Just now) has been Of immense benefit to a
large class of the community, consoling them
in their sorrows and assuring them of our
common Immortality, and that, therefore, il
ought to be encouraged. This is partly true
and partly false. No man can long receive
benefit from deceit and lie, in whatever
guise it comes. A lie always weakens the
mind; while truth, however unpalatable it
may be, invariably strengthens it. The i'm
mediate work Of spiritualism may be to con-
firm and increase faith, but in the end it is
sure to take away not only what it gave, but
everything else also.
It is not little curious that the spirits
have never been able to make communca-
ton of any public benefit. Why, for instance,
can they not discover the hiding place of
Charley Ross? A broken hearted family are
looking through their tears tor the lost child.
The spirits know where he is, and if they had
mind to tell he could be found in twenty
four hours. Now these spirits can rattle their
senseless knocking all over table, they can
take the table itself into the air and hold it
there, they can write on slate which is
deftly held in the right position, but they
cannot tell word about Charley Ross. The
conditions are not right, you know; the
magnetism is weak, and all that sort of thing.
This is the weakest whip syllabub that ever
passed current for common sense. An edu-
Gated and thoughtful community ought not to
require any process of law to rid themselves
of such cheats an enlightened public opinion
should trample them beneath the feet of its
contempt and scorn. We hope that the full
expose which has been made of the iugglers
of New York and the tricksters of Phila-
delphia will serve to keep the tables in their
place and to silence the knocks for time at
least.
Mr.. Wickham and Rapid Transit.
We presume Mr.. Wickham, who has lived
in New York for long time, understands the
difficulty of getting up town. It was very