The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1878-02-21
EXPOSING XPIIeITUALLSIM.


ductive things by the Wiley sharpers which tick:
ledhis eEotlsm wonderfullyA 1naslnuch As the
works ofthese two professional beats were her
truthfuness of spiritualism we have looked In
vain for an account OF their exposure, and re-
nunciatiOn of the whole business in the ADVANCE
thing Journal.
The above is a mild sample of the at
tacks of a newspaper which the st. Paul
Pioneer-Press calls lone of the most
Observation-Disclosures papers in.
the State" So far as the attack con-
Germs us personally we have only to say
that it is false. We never saw Hun
toon at all and never saw Witherford
but once, and never received any Won
derful communications from or through
either of them. The Journals motto,
however, is that "a lie we'll stuck to is
as good as the TRUTH" and We suppose
the ignoramus will continue his appeals
to the bigot in the hope Of injuring the
ADVANCE.
AS to our own investigation of So
called Spiritualistic Phenomena, it has
convinced us that most of the phenom-
ena are genuine, and we would no more
think of condemning the whole move
ment as fraud, than we would think
of condemning all silver money as. b.
gus because an occasional pewter dol
lar is discovered. For daring to look
into these phenomena with a view to
ascertaining whether or not they are
genuine, we have been denounced by
the Journal, assaulted on the street by
a hot-headed Journal adherent and
threatened with mob violence if we dar-
ed, together with other investigators,
to pursue the inquiry. We are assur-
ed on good authority, land the charge
which we have several times made has
not been denied) that several of the
Journal set actually went to one of the
ministers of Worthington to consult
him as to whether or not they should
throw our type into the street.
1t is not our province to advocate
Spiritualism or any other philosop ~ or
religion through our columns, but we
propose 10 investigate whatever we
please, whenever we please and wher-
ever we please. This is our right, and
we shall exercise it despite all the big
otry and intolerance in the universe.
Thousands Of others have investigated
these spiritualistic phenomena and Ell
ther confessed that they were nonpluss-
ed or came out as bold advocates Of the
genuineness of the phenomena. A.
mong these investigators are the En-
perors of Germany and Russia, the late
Louis Napoleon, the Queens Of Eng
land and Holland, the Prince Of Wales,
Professors Crookes and Hare, Doctors
Crowell, Buchanan and McFall, Robt.
Dale Owen and Horace Greeley, Judges
Edmunds, NlcCallister and IIolbrook,
and thousands of others. Among the
great Christian writer's and statesmen
who have Investigated is Gladstone,
who in letter to a Liverpool paper
said:
40 not KNOW OF any commandment Whlch
prohibits to q Christian Investigations of phe
n0mena attributed to supernatu ral force in the
system terme! Spiritualism. Av"i i'd curiosity in
' thing SO serious, and have in view only that
convinced that they Uhc phenomena) will sus-
tain an examination, and that God will yet
cause to grow many a beautiful flower in this
portion Of his garden.
So when we investigate these phe-
nomena we are in good company. the
best company which the world affords.
If the ignorant, the bigoted, thevulgar.
choose to annoy us or threaten us for
so doing, they only class themselves
with all the Satanic prosecutors of all
ages, the class which condemned Socra-
tes to death, crucifed Jesus, put Call
60 to the rack and burned the witches"
of New England.
AS to the respect due to those who
honestly believe in Spirit return and
communion, we cannot express our
views better than to quote from the
charge of Judge Briggs, of Philadelph-
ia, before whom the Bliss Mediums
were tried for fraudulent materializa-
tions. Judge Briggs said:
1t is not q question whether Spiritualtsm is
| true or not, but whether the cxpedients resorted
to by the defendants were true or not This
spiritual belief is just precious to the be-
Levers in it as yours is to you 1t is moi to be
the community who believe in it who are sincere
men, and would no more denounce Spiritual.
ism than would Catholicism. Professionalism or
| Judaism.
1.-THE law OF the country is founded upon there
being no religious test. 1t is SAID there are five
million spiritualists in the Uni cd States. If it
IS so, these very numbers make it respectable,
and therefore they should b., protected from the
iim ,,p Would you not give anything. t.
bring bg back the spirit Of a departed relative?
ed the power. would you not give the world to get
Information: would, though ito no: by any
means say that is my belief. If 1 ala I ico1,ki(
cute should not stop me. | refer to it to show
the enormity OF the crime these defendants have
O. nW5S III y yor NJ them guilty The man
this crime should receive no consideration oi
pai!iating circumstances.
~, This subject has commanded the attention oil
the world. Judge Edmunls. with manly indie
pendence declined l. reorganization rather tina,
sacrifice his spirtutlistic belief. Senator Tai
lnadge was as sincere as any of us can be. Rob
late Professor Hare publicly proclaimed his be
lief in it. We all respect these men, and 1t viii
not do to ri'iculo such belief.
| Religious opinion is a mans own property, aD(
ne should be protected in it. SpirituaIism isno
before you. The sole question IS, Have Mr. ant
Mrs. Bliss, with Captain Harrison and Miss Sny
der. by means Of these exhibi ions, defraudet
their victims? II 50, they are guilty, even i
those victims'' ITO believe in Sptritualisii. Spirit
na'ists are entitled to protection from impos
tors.
AS to the facts, that is, the existence
OF so-called spiritualistic phenomena
that is settled matter with every on,
who has ever pursued the investigation
Just now, we notice, considerable is