New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-06-18
rur DIGS DEB1R CASE.

TIE DISS DEBAR CASE.
II should surprise nobody, not even the mos'
ardent Spiritualists, that the woman VINO calls
horsolf Madame Diss Debar and her companion
have bccn found guilty of consplIlng to de-
f,,ud after a prolonged trial, during which
tbey were afforded every opportunity 10 Vihu'-
cate themselves. The interest SHOWN D! i,ianJ
monument Spiritualists in these deiehuan.S
NAV. nerhaps, be regarded as rather unlolT
mate exhibition of that tendency to accept as
,,,o all nretensions alleged to be Spirltuallstc
which has been for many years the dominant
noto in some Spiritualistic periodicals. In
Tho oosc inst concluded there has been moth
;no in evidence which could not be explained
directly and completely by the most ordinary
and commonplace assumptions OF vulgar ana
clumsy fraud and deception. The one dilhcuIt
question was not as to the manner in which the
a,Iooed shirt pictures were produced; about
49, ,boro was ON the face Of the evidence, no
,,,rstorv at all: but how so experienced and
hitherto so shrcwd and clear-headed man OIL
business as Mr., Luther Marsh could nave Deeh
taken in by such Transparent ana OBVIOUS nc
,,;ces When such lawyer rs Mr., Marsh tcsC-
6es that he believes in the genuneness OF inc
n;ctnres. because on one occasion, having ieiC
,ho room for some minutes, he found COM
.1o.od n;sture on returning, one hardly knows
:,lot 70 think of the witnesses state of mind,
,,,. ono ncrceives instantly that this Is not
valid evidence.
The testimony of Mr. Albert Bierstadt, bow.
ever, was specific in regard TO the method OF
oneration. He having been requested by Mad
anne Diss Debar to hold piece of cardboard on
his head. to the end that a picture should " de-
vclopv on it. declared that he saw "Uene1ai
Diss Debar hand finished picture
to the woman, and saw her SUD,
s,itute it deity for the Cardboard
on his head It is true that this docs not APP
neor 10 have been one of the Marsh pic'uIe''
Int when the antecedents Of Madame Dlss DC
bor oro taken into consideration the inference
Of babitual fraud is really the only one tenabie'
The circumstances under which Mr. MaISh
made over his house to Madame Diss Debar are
moreover. of kind to exclude any other theo'S
than that which the jury finally adopted Inc
common-scnsc significance Of these procccu-
inps in fact, is the only one upon when mum
dane affairs can be conducted 1t is open TO
any one TO assert that the world is full OF as
embodied spirits, who influence mankind LOT
good or evil suggest action ana u'tcrancc' anu
generally busy themselves in meouiihs a""
muddling; but when it comes to hocus-pocus
schemes. the end of which is the acquisition OF
other peoples property without any valuanie
consideration, the world rightly holds that inc
visible. incarnate agents must be made account
ob,o and their motives construed in accord with
merely human experience. In this case the
obvions inference was that the Diss Debars
wanted Mr. Marshs property for themselves
and that in order to obtain it they played upon
his credulity.
When The medium Howe told Mrs. Lyon
that her deceased husband wished her TO se'tlo
fortune upon him the mcdium), MIS-. Lyon
believed the message genuine, and acted upon
Il: but a practical British jury took pieciScly
the same view now taken by practical Amcn-
can iury. and Howe had to surrender the prop
ertv. Just so when a murderer Gas sometimes
banncns> asserts that some evil spirit melted
him to the preparation Of crime "a Philadei-
phia murderer has recently made the same
dcclaIation) juries do not in terms deny the
possibility of such spiritual temptation but
| they take the ground that human justice can
NOT deal with such intangible propositions;
that for the protection of society people must
be Judged by the Obvious meaning and effect
of their acts. 1t might have been thought that
Madame Diss Debar's spirit friends assuming
their existence) would have been glad to vim
dictate her by producing some of the old mas
tiers before Judge Gildersleeve. Perhaps the
conditions were unfavorable; but as the con-
ditions are so generally unfavorablc when any
thing important depends upon them, the fact
may be regarded as a warning to all mediums
not TO drift into entanglements exposing them
TO the inquests of the courts. As it happens
no evidence tending to show that Madame Dlss
Debar has any valid claim to special gifts Of
any kind was produced, and from first to last
she figured as very bIazen adventures,
masquerading awkwardly under impossible
names, leading an immoral life, notorious for
her lying propensities disreputable, untrust-
worthy. and clearly capable Of various kinds of
confidence games" IL would have been a
misfortune had such woman been acquitted,
and sufficiently sharp penalty in this case
will have dcterring effect and may also react
in purifying manner upon the somewhat I'M
wholesome, not to say mephtic, atmosphere
of modern mcdiumship generally.
| CUpTOTTS 1NTTPATHIFS PAST md PRESENT