Arizona weekly citizen., 1888-05-05
FIRM BELIEVERS.

The sdherents of spiritualism are. as a rule. happy in the possession of A faith which could move mountains if if were applied ID that direction. So firmly convinced are they of the super natural character of the phenomena and manifestations which form so large s part of their stock in trade that they positively decline to accept any other solution. even though 1t is shown them that the same things can be accom- plished by purely human agency.
 In the notorious Diss Debsr case in New York it IS clesrly proven that the woman is a fraud and 6 humbug; that she used legerdemsin and various con- turing tricks to produce the effect which she attributed to spiritual interposition, and thst she is merely B vulgar trick ster and confidence woman; and yet we venture to say that there are people right here in San Francisco who will declare that the whole thing IS a con spirscy against Mme. Debsr; that no evidence has been produced that she is fraud, and that Luther Marsh is only a poor, miserable bsckslider who turns back after having put his hand to the blow, and who has matched up 8 vile plot to ruin 6 noble and good woman.
 We are confident that such will be the views of this affair taken by some people here, for the reason that We have received 8 number of communications on this subj ect-some srgumentstive, some declsmstory, soue abusive, but all framed on the same theme, the Bbso- lute integrity of Mime. Debsr and the entire truth of spirItuslism. To each and all those communications we offer the same reply-nHmely, that We neither affirm nor deny the truth of spiritualism, but that We do most strenuously deny that in the Marsh-Debsr episode any thing has been sho~n which could con vince reasoning person that any but 6 hdA OCcA nN HOAh n to produce the effects there produced.
 The mental altitude of the believers in spiritualism IS a much more curious and interesting study thsnthe rspping or ssble-iipping or spirit-photogrsphy or any of the other manifestations. We find lot of earnest, good, sincere peo- pie who believe SO strongly snd SO firm LSthst nothing. positively nothing can 8ske their belief They actually pre- fer to discredit their own senses rather than to doubt in the slightest degree she truth of spiritual interference In human affairs. For example, some such cunning, sleight-of-hsnd performer ss Hermann or Keller does the very things which the mediums do; protesting that he does them entirely by human agency and yet the genuine believer in spiutu- alism VOWS that the magician is 8 per iurer and a tslsifier, end that he per forms bis feats by spiritual aid but will not admit it,
 This, say, is an extraordinary mental coalition or attitude, sn1 it obviously IS not suited to the accurate observation or examination Of any veIed question, whether of mind or matter. It Is impOi- sibIe to convince any one vho will look 4t @ question in but one light, apd so +rsument with spiritusl.st IS sheer waste of time and breath, even though one should pile up facts ss high ss Olympus for if your adversary will in- si-t that all your facts strengthen bis case, the presentation of fleets becomes worse than useless.-S F. Chronlcl'.