The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1876-10-18
A Good Suggestion.

The Boston Post in an article upon the re-
cent exposure of spiritual mediums concludes
with the following sensible advice:
A word of advice however, can be offered to
honest spiritualists at this point. If they are
fully convinced that disemboded spirits not
only present themselves to mortal eye, but as
sumo material shape after their fashion 10 the
flesh, and If they think that dissemination of
that belief would be of profit to those who are
LETT behind they should cooperate with the
sceptics so far as they expose the frauds of
tfose who are desecrating the new temple with
money-changing, for active opposition is
not nearly as fatal to truth as is fslsehood that
stalks abroad in the semblsnce of truth to at
last disgrace it,
The opponents OF Spirituaism are becoming
aggressive, and do not content themselves with
the calm aod inoffensve scepticism that for
merly marked their position on this question
IL must be confessed that, in a large number
OF conspicuous tests of late, this aggression has
been Justified by the results. The most sur
prising exposure was that of the Katie King
business in Philadelphia which so astounded
Robert Dale Owen and other worthy and in
telligent people, But that did not furnish
permanent obstacle to outrageous impositions
OF IKE character. For months the familiar
spirit OF Molly Molssses was supposed to bring
back from the farther Shore through q Port
land medium, the materialized spirits of dead
relatives, even being so exhaustive, in some
cases, as to start at the roots of the family tree
duu WOih UP W Iuo tOpLuOSG QraDCleS. a DaQQ
of doubling spectators organized little COZ
spiracy against Mollie Molasses. and found that
the Indian familiar was simply the swaddng
Clothes false hair, lights and shadows and 9th
er deceptive devices of the swindling medium.
Recently we have been furnished with q reva-
lation OF similar imposture in our city, and the
story of Mr. and Mrs. Bennett and their
house on Mclean street, with the deftly
constructed trap-door, and the secret Of
the paraffine cast Of hands and feet aud
facial features, has been told with faithful mi.
suteness by local contemporary, and this is
not the first, though perhaps the most co.,
spicuous, case th 1t has failed to stand the test
of thorough scrutiny, But Dr. Slade has Jared
the worst of all After running the gauntlet
of Yankee acuteness be went TO London, per-
haps expecting that Minister Pierrrepont, who
was interested in his profession, wo1ld help
him to run of custom among the nobility or
even royalty. He succeeded reasonably we'll
for time, but at last he too had bis day, and
was detected in writing the messages that he
claimed came from the spirit land, and for
which he charged a guinea apiece, which was
almost as dear as cable notes. These revela-
tions are helping the truth, whatever that may
prove to be- People are becoming less toler-
ant of clever deception than formerly, and one
of the results will be that spirituaIism must
prove its citadel. If it rests upon the rock of
truth, of course it will stand; if it is simply
a veneered sham, the brisk reconnaissance now
going on will soon show It's weakness aud its
deformity.