The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1883-05-15
FAITH CURES.

George ID. Beard will be deeply re-
GREETED for years to come, especially
because he had given himself o zeal
ously and intelligently to the investi'
CATION of obscure mental phenomens
and their relations to disease. At the
time of his death he thought himself
on the threshold of valuable knowl.
edge respecting the trance state. He
had settled some details, and a unity
ing principle was almost in sight.
Happily he had inspired other men
with a spirit of industrious research,
and the investigations will 60 on. One
of his associates, Professor Thwing,
of Brooklyn. entertained at a private
house in that, city, few days ago, q
company of about thirty literary and
scientific gentlemen with series Of
experiments and explanations of
trance phenomena. The Professor
operated successfully with vitalized
handkerchiefs, ''cured" neuralgia
and rheumatism, and in other respects
initiated without blasphemy the
"faith cures" so boastitully advertised
BY ''the Brooklyn Apostle" A large
number of people are operating in
his kind of medicine for all of them
We may have a kind ofrespect, except
when they degrade religion to make
money. A vitalized handkerchief as
an experiment, or piece of philan-
tbepy, is well enough ; but as ten
dollar piece of religions merchandise
it is an intolerabie nuisance to any
community. Professor Thwing shows
that the handkerchief has nothing to
do with the effects produced, though
it may seem to take feeling out of a
hand or pain out of a tooth. 1t is the
confident expectations of this result
that does the work.
For ages, as a black art, thismes-
merizing, psychologizing, etc, ETC..
has gone on in the world as a money
getting industry. Sometimes the
operator is q Snowman oftener he is
q doctor; occasionally he is bias
pheming quack, using religion to in
spire confidence and get greepbacks.
1t is high time that men of learning,
character and research, whose Office
the public respects. should give the
whole sheet protracted and thorough
study. Professor Thwing has made
especially of curing sea-aickness by
the trance sletp. He is SC successful
that in a few years the steamship COM
panies may be expected to advertise
that they carry trance-producing doc
tiers on all their vessels, has also
shown that this sleep is useful in eur
gical cases, and in some diseases. 1t is
a perfect sleep, not broken or ster.
torous, but quiet and deep as an in
fant's healthisst slumber. The unex-
planned marvels belong not to the
trance sleep but to the trance wake
I've mean no pun), or to that state in
which all the activities Of the BODY
are exercised while the subject
knows nothing of what he is
doing. and is under the complete con-
troll of the operator. The subject
does whatever be is told to do he
would shoot or stab anybody in the
room if told to do it. EIe has no
sense of moral distinctions. He obeys
blindly, cheerfully, innocently. Here
the trance state opens out upon NOR
ais, public justice and religion. 1t
may furnish the long sought clew to
dsmoniacal possession. 1t may open
. door to disembodied existence. 1t
may furnish q new test of criminality
in conduct. If somebody could set as
many honest men at work in the field
- there are rogues making a living
out Of it, and showmen honestly
q livelihood by working won
ders. We might expect some highly
important additions to our knowledge
We could at least get this obscure re-
gion 60 far out into sunshine that
could no longer plumber
n