Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1889-10-01
MONEY IN HvpNofIsM.



Science Pay.
A young man 10 now in custody in
an English town detained till the
authorities can find what to charge
him with. He is in the happy position
Of having committed an offense which
as yet has no name. and 1t Is therefore
difficult to see how he can be indicted.
This individual after study OF mes-
merism. mind reading. hypnotism, and
similar phenomena for his amusement,
being exceedingly hard up. began to
utilize them. This was bis method:
He dropped into store, bought some
petty article. and paid for it with
copper. Then the sh0pkeeper yielding
to an uncomfortable impulse. handed
over the change for q, five dollar bill.
When the day was at an end and he
came to count up his cash he dis
covered u shortage that he was unable
to explain. He had No recollection OF
the mysterious stranger and his deal
ings with him. Thus the hypnotizer
went to the box-office Of theater,
asked for twenty-five cent ticket.
handed a scrap torn from a newspaper.
and got back in change about twenty
dollars Later in the day there was
an uproar in the box-office. and an
innocent boy would have become tho
victim Of natural suspicion If the
police had not by that time gotten
on the trail OF the operator.
The tradesmen OF this particular
town. being perplexed by their con-
slant shortages, and thinking they
must be the victims Of adroit till-tap-
pers. called in the help OF the police.
did some watching. I'D discovered
that when this particular young man
made a purchase he always got too
much change back. and that the man
who gave it was oblivious of the fact
that he had acted in such an unbusi-
nesslike way. So they took in he fell
low. looked up his record. found that
he was ahypnotizer. and have him now
on their hands meditating what they
shall do with him. II the old laws
against sorcerers and magicians had
not been repealed he could easily be
indicted ''for practicing certain dia-
bolical and wicked arts whereby the
minds OF her Majesty's subjects are
iistraught and led astray." But those
laws are no more TO try him for get.
ting money under false pretenses will
hardly do. for there were none. He
deceived no one He just took more
change than he should. and il asked
for it would doubtless have refund.
ed it.
Judging from the small amounts col.
lected by this English hypnotizer he
is probably man OF limited powers.
He could not influence man to give
him more than $50 But supposing
the science were 80 developed that one
of it's adopts could strike man for
SO. 900 or $40. 600. what business could
be more profitable? The expert would
go to bank. hand in bit of dirty pa
per TO the paying teller. and the lat
ter would give him all the cash he
had. The man would depart saying
nothing. The paying teller, having
would be in most unpleasant predic
ament. The bank officers would seno
! for the police. and the teller would BIT
removed to the Jail TO figure as tbs
| principal in a mysterious case of de
falcation or robbery. A still NOR,
powerful operator could attack the
| president of the bank. not with pis
| toll but his cultivated will power. anl
| force him to hand over every cent il
the bank Then there would be an.
| other bank president with no charac
| ter left.
| What shall be done to protect the
financial institutions Sha | the teach
ing and learning of hypnotism be for
hidden, or can some way be discovered
| by which a man can be made hypuot-
| ism-proofe Can not a person be vac
cinated for it as for smallpox? Whel
| Rat is done no one need be empl"ye,
as cashier or teller until he has pre-
scented his certificates. or proved b,
examination that he is himself Il hyp
| notiser of the tirst class, and can no
be thrown into that unconscious stat
in which he will give more than ih
proper change. In the meantime tn
banks are al the mercy OF the profess
ors OF the new art, and /: is hard t.
see what precautions they can take. -
Chicago Tribune.