Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-03-22
FAITH OR MIND CURE.
Thought the Causative Power Of the
Universe.

Universe.
POWER OF THE IMAGINATION uLUsrRATEp-
MIRACLES AND cHARMs-THE RECENT ExPERr-
MENTs IN HYPNoTIsM-MENrAL TRANSMISSION
OF NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. FAST AND WEST.
To the Editor Of THE EVENING SrAr:
While the world-renowned regulars" in
surgery and ''materia medica" are engaged in
an almost Kilkenny warfare over diagnoses and
methods. and "quacks' outside of college di-
plomas and scientific education are advertising
results as marvellous" and miraculous
cures in every magazine and newspaper in
the land, it may interest the attentive public
and remove somewhat of the ridicule and OBJ
loquy attached to those who. under the name
of Pray "Faith-cure," ..Mind-cure"
Christian Science" and Mental Science" are
endeavoring to release humanity from the illu-
sions of its belief that man inherits doom of
''sin, sickness and DEATH" to know Just what
basis for their system of healing is granted by
the members of the regular school,"
The seeming absurdity of the new school, or
mental scientists, who affirm health to an APP
parently sick person is somewhat 1essened
when we read in the Nineteenth Century Maya
zine for August, 1888. in an article by Dr.
Burney Ieo, that IAN obervant Frenchman
estimated the cause of the success of a certain
physician in Paris in two words, III Afirme'
adding, The value of affirmation we must
admit and recognize, it is tonic to the feeble
mind"
Several interesting cases of bodily conditions
expressing dominant mental states are given
by DIR. Charles Fayette Taylor, of New York
city, Regular school, physician, whose arti-
Giles on medical science are given place in the
Journals of that school, in an address before
the Science association" of New York. which
was published in a number of the Popular
Science Monthly for 1876. Two he mentions
as coming under his observation are especially
interesting, and give basis for the assumption
that thought is causativc.
A CURIOUS ILLUSTRATION OF THE POWER OF THE
IMAGINATION.
The first case given in DIR. Taylors address Is
that of young man residing in a western city,
DIR. Taylor was appealed to by the surgeons at
tending the case for advice which would aid
them in their efforts to procure the union of
fractured bone. The case was stated to be as
follows About two years previous to this APP
peal the young man had fallen and fractured
the fe.nur, midway between the hip and the
knee. Two or three surgeons were called in,
one OF whom, according to DR.. Taylor. ''had a
national reputation surgeon" The bone
was set and healing occurred. The young man
was soon on his feet and walking about. He
again fell, was taken home and the same sur
geons called. They diagnosed second frac-
ture OF the femur, little below the first. Bone
was set and healing awaited, the failure of which
mad caused the appeal to DIR. Taylor for aid.
Alter some correspondence the young man
came to DIR. Taylor's Office in New York city,
walking on crutches, with his leg hefplessly
swinging. An examination showed that the bones
had softened; the leg was so crooked it could
not be made to lie straight on the examining
liable. and was SO emaclated nothing but the
lntegument covered the bones; that the place
OF the first fracture was easily distinguishable
by Its callous and also showed what DR. Taylor
said he had already suspected that There
had never been second fracture of the bone"
ana yet this young man of twenty-one years of
age, was dragging a crooked and withered
member around under the domination of a
belief in a broken leg" DIR. Taylor's dag
nosis of the case was That the young man.
upon his second fall. took hold of his leg in
mind as a "broken leg and had held it thus
ever since, causing the Withdrawal of all
nervous and circulatory action and consequent
softening of the bone and emaciation OF the
tissues. How to cause him to .'let go' of his
leg, as DIR. Taylor termed it, was the problem,
which was solved by setting him at violent ex-
erclse with the upper part of his body, calling
attention to his arms. and resulted in his COM
plete recovery, as in few days he was walking
without crutches
A woMAN's WEAK ARM
DIR. Taylor presents another case OF a woman
to whom he was called who could not raise her
right arm from loss of power in the shoulder
After examination and diagnosis he decided to
try ''overstretching the muscles with the aid
OF another surgeon. ChforofOrm was given,
the muscles stretched, and after a weeks ILL
ness from the effects of the chloroform, the
woman recovered the use of her arm, and DIR.
Taylor congratulated himself on his successful
treatment of which had baffled other
medical skill. Within two years Dr. TAYLOR
was again called to this woman. who was now
unable to raise her left arm. Again the over
Strlfnhino lial x,,&h H.. -
DIR. March, of Albany. The woman was not
made i'll by the chloroform, and no change in
the paralyzed condition of the arm occurred
Here was another problem, solved by Dr. Tay-
iors deciding that, in the previous instance,
the muscle stretching had not been the curative
factor, as supposed, but the illness caused by
the chl0rotorm had been something of a shock
to the wOman's mind and withdrawn her atten-
ton so she had ''let co. of her arm and that
the failure in the second application of muscle
stretching and chlorofOrm was due to the fact
that the chloroform did not make her sick. and
consequently she was still holding her arm. in
mind. as helpless. Seeing the necessity of pro-
duclng change through some unusual condi-
ton or mental shock DIR. Taylor decided to try
nitrous oxide gas, which he did, putting the
woman under its influence, and when freed
from 1t she had recovered the use of the arm
MAGICAL CHARMS.
Volumes could be filled with accounts of re-
suits called cures which have occurred as at
tendant upon every system of medication and
method of the most contradictory and appar-
entity absurd nature, adopted through the ages
in dealing with diseased appearances from the
magical
ABRAC DABRA
b RACA ID A BR
RACADAB
ACADIA
CAD
A
arranged in pyramidal form and worn about the
neck as an amulet a cure for ague; the touch
of the royal hand as a remeday for Kings
Evil to the burial of split beans as a cure for
warts.
Fichte has said that ''the value of an age is
it's idea" and it has remained for the dawning
of the twentieth century for the idea to take
position before mind; that the Lao underlying
ali the phenomena which has puzzled the phil
osopher and scientist is basic law of the uni
verse, the law OF mind that
THOUGHT Is CAUsATIvE.
This law is the only explanation of the hith-
erto inexplicable mystery OF all so-called
miracles" whether Of Catholic or Protestant
belief. 1t is this law, working through the
in,Gying power of mind, which explains the