The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1888-11-01
SPIRITUALIsM EXPOSED.

Twenty-Five years ago at Rutland, and
possibly in other places in this State, a
New Yorker gave exposures of spiritual
ism. He was challenged by the Eddy
family t. contest and not only per-
formed everything the Eddys did, but
the succeeding evening gave the same,
with explanations, in open lamp-lIght
and in Town Hall. These circumstances
created profound impression in all this
region. 1t now remains for the original
Fox Sisters to do likewise, and the Mail
and ErpeSS editorially gives the nara
tive. Transfer the scene to Rutland and
turn back ;ha dial of time and the two
accounts would read with wonderful
sameness. But to the story as told
The present generation does not re-
member, perhaps, the sensation that
was caused in this country, and, indeed
throughout much of the CIVILIZED world,
by the spirit rappings" of the Fox sis
ters. They were the first Of the spirit
ualistic rappeIs, and it was their success
that led to so many limitations. Their
journeys through this country and Eu-
rope drew immense crowds, and thou
sands of people believed thoroughly that
through their agency the spirits raped
out answers from the other world to
their questions. or course the majority
of sane persons always believed that the
spiritual manifestations we're dPlu-
sion, but it was not discovered Just how
they were produced by the famous sis
ters.
The secret is now out. One of the sis
tiers, Mrs. Margaret Fox-Kane, has ex-
plIined just how the trick was done and
has performed it in public in the old
way. 1t seems that she and her sister
had a peculiar power in the joints of
their big toes to produce sharp raps on
any wooden surface. They found they
had this power when they were chill
dren, AT first they did it for fun, but
when they found the effect it produced
on their neighbors. they were frightened
and did not dare to tell how they did it.
Then an older sister. who saw chance
of making money. iok them in hand,
and they began their career of deception
and kept it up for thirty years.
At the same exhibition at which Mrs.
Kane revealed her secret, Dr. Rich
mond. who has been tOl twenty years
investigating spiritualistic manifesto
llOIS' gave uutlUtT Vi UlbululnlStlC
tricks as well as any medium could have
done it. He produced slate. writing, he
did some some very clever "mind-read-
ing, he produced answers on pieces of
paper to questions by the audience. and
finally he brought on some spirit paint
ings' fully equal to the best of that re-
nowned artist, Madame Edltha Loleta
Diss Debar. AL these things were done
by sleight of hand, and DIR. Richmond
explained, AS he went along, how they
were done.
These manifestations only add one
more to the already numerous exposures
of spIrituaiislic frauds that have been
made. They are conclusive as 10 the
sort of frauds of which they treat. And
yet such is the capacity and apparent
craving Of a large portion of the human
race for being deceived that the next
clever Diss Debar who comes along will
no doubt find victims. To some, how
ever the DIS Dsbar case. and the volu-
tary confession Of Mrs. Fox Kane, will
be a warning, and there may be fewer
gullS the neXi tine,