Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1874-12-30
SPIRITCAIlSM.

1t is asserted that eleven millions of
the people of this free and enlightened
Republic believe, if not in the mate
rial or grosser manifestation, at least
in the theological tenets of the spirit
ualistic doctrine, and it is argued that
a belief held by so many persons, in
GLIDING some of the wise and schol-
arly, must necessarily have some foun-
dation of truth in it. This, at first,
certainly appears plausible, but It is by
no can conclusive. 1t is true that
the phenomenon has been accepted by
some of the representative men Of the
country-gentlemen of culture. integ-
rity and experience, who would be as
unwilling to be deceived in this as
they are incapable of being deceived
in other matters, and it is argued that
it is easier to accept the testimony of
their careful judgment than to believe
that they have been duped. And yet.
great as we'll as little minds have been
wrought upon and influenced by
glamour. Such men as Dr.. Clilds
and Robert Dale Owen candidly con-
fess that what they accepted. as evil
dence of their senses as well as their
judgment, was but a piece of well
conceived and dexterously executed
deception. Had the former. when his
fleshy hand gra>ped the disital ex-
tremities of the supposed disembodied
spirit OF Katie King. but frightened his
grasp, the naturalization theory would
have been settled at once. and the
good Doctor spared the humiliating
confession that he had been duped bv
q hundred and fifty pound specimen
of mundane femininity, whose tinsel
dresses We're made by a theatrical cos
tuner and who herself lived in a
cheap clearinghouse. ona back street,
consuming her rations regularly, and
otherwise deporting herself in accord
ance with the customs of ordinarily
gross humanity. But the exposure of
the Katie King fraud is not conclusive
evidence of the fal>ity Of ever the ma
terial manifestations of spirisuali>m.
1t only proves that she was a clever
imposter. who worked her jugglery so
finely as to impose upon and deceive
some remarkably astute men. The
strongest evidence, to u mind, of the
fallaciousness of the doctrine is the
fact that the spirits have never been
able to make a communication of any
public benefit. They can make a table
dance a Jig when they feel i'll a lively
mood, or smash any amount of crock
cry in their ghostly fits of anger: but
they a not tell the whereabouts of
little Charley Ross, or Small and Me
Donald, who robbed the Palisade stage.
They can, sometimes, describe our re-
lations who have gone L the spirit
land, but they can not tell US anything
about our friends on earth, in regard
to whose Whereabouts and welfare we
perhaps feel a greater interest than for
those who have passed beyond the
need of mortal solicitude. 1t has been
claimed, and perhaps truly, that spir-
itualism has benefited many persons,
.~consoling them in their sorrow by the
assurance of a common immortality;
but, on the other hand, has it not also
wrought untold misery to others-es-
peeially some of its parasitical tenets-
"a the breaking up of families, and
other doplorable misfortunes incident
TO the doctrine of affinity" which is
20 closely allied to modern spiritual
ism that it is difficult to discern where
one ends and the other commences?
We believe in giving the advocates of
every doctrine q fair hearing, and
there can certainly no harm accrue to
any one from a calm and impartial in
vestgation CT the subject. The 6oc-
trine Itself, stripped of its surround
ings, is not ar obnoxious one, and per-
haps not more improbable than some
of the more orthodox beliefs of the
present day. Its Objectionable features
are the jugglery and isms to which it
Is allied.