The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1874-10-29
GheQntslligeurer


A second article from Materials" sp
pears in our columns this morning, in an
swer to Investigators detail Of experience
in the matter olspiritualism. After setting
forth what he conceives to be the rationale
Of tae laws that govern matter and mo,
ton, be comes down to business ant
makes ssquare proposition to "Investiga
tor for "seance" at which beth shall bC
present. BE offers in case the latter shal
introduce him to any manifestations thai
cannot be accounted for by known laws
10 announce the fact to the public and
proclaim himself convert At the sAmt
time he demands that Investigator
shall assume the defence Of spiritualism
and take position equivalent to his own.
This Is coming down TO close range and
putting the controversy where it should
rect, on a basis Of facts. We agree with
our correspondent thatitis matter OF the
utmost importance that the truth should
be fairly known in regard to all such man.
iieststions, If they are supernatural in
their character there ought to be way
OF removing all doubt as to that point.
That point is the essential starting point.
Oace these manifestations are incontesta-
bly, shown tobe supernatural, the contest
is more thsu half won for spiritualism. In
that case We may as well ascribe them to
spirits as 10 any other agency.
There has been q vast amount Of paper
snd ink wasted first aud last in attempts
to convert the world to the truth OF spir.
i.u4lism. We are at loss to see why
this should be the case if indeed It is sus-
cepuible, as claimed, olphysical demon
ntr4tion. Why cannot everybody be con.
yertcd? Our faith is not matter that
We can control against the evidences Of
our senses. When mans eyes and ears,
s1d his sense Of touch, are asssiled with
indubitsble evidence he generally yields
his theories. The astonishing thing, there.
fore, to us has always been why the
scientific world-the large and liberal
minds that are ever ready to receive and
acknowledge truth without prejudice
should be so overwhelmingly skeptical
about the gcnuineness OF spiritual mani
ies!stious. We do not refer TO the discov.
cry Of SO many frauds among those who
profess to be spirituslistic wondCr.wolk-
ers, such ss the DAvENPoRTs, the ELLIsEs,
the KATIE KINGS, &c, but to the long list
o! we'll accredited phenomena vouched for
by such persons as ROBERT DALE OWEN
and ALFRED WALLACE.
Such men as the late Professor AGAs.
slz could not be convinced OF the genu.
ineness OF spiritualism. He and one or
two prominent literary and scientific men
were made committee to witness and
report upon an exhibition of these mys
terious performances. The attempt to
perform in their presence, after they had
taken some pains to preclude deception
or fraud, was fat failure, and 80 pub
liahed to the world. The excuse given
by those who failed was that the "condi.
tons" were not favorable; in other words,
that these men were so positive, so obdu-
rate, 60 predetermined against spiritual
ism, thst they neutrslized the receptivity
OF the atmosphere around them.
This sort Of an excuse was OF
course laughed at By scientific men
throughout the country. They very
naturally replied that if the conditions"
of success forbid unbelievevs to take any
precsution against fraud, then the claim
to supernaturslism is condemned ipso
tacto. And thus the controversy stands
to-day. Meanwhile the believers in spir-
ituslism are as numerous and perhaps as
jealous as they ever were. They have
been decidedly stimulated by the recent
accession Of ALFRED WALLACE, the Eng.
lish scientist, 10 their ranks. He i9 per-
hsps the one single person oil eminent
reputation in science who has given in his
adhesion TO spiritualism, and he is known
rather as specialist than as q man OF
general and large scientific attainments.
Neither the royal acsdemicisns Of Eng
land or France have ever seemed to take
any serious account Of spiritualism, and
they are men who owe their positions
not to conservatism but 10 bold investi.
CATION.
We once heard the late Judge Ed.
MoNDs express the opinion in an address
in New York, that there were not less
than eleven millions Of spiritualists in the
United States, which was one Of the
widest oil several wild things that he said
during the evening. We are aware that
q Catholic Council that met at Baltimore
a few years ago iutimated belief that
there we're several millions Of such per.
son,-we fail to remember just how many,
but a vast number-aud yet, despite all
such expressions Of opinion, it is hard to
find any satisfactory evidence Of even the
approximate truth Of the alleged fact. II
there were even five millions oI spiritual.
ists in the country, it would imply one
out Of every eight persons-almost one
toevery iamily-and common observation
shows such claim to be utterly prepos.
terous. Perhaps the difficulty lies in de.
fning who are spiritualists. Judge Ed.