Telegram-herald., 1891-03-23
REMINISCENT REED
The Spirit Postmaster's First Use
Of His Freedom.
CONVICT FOR HIS FRIENDS
ksnnedy's Hall Filled TO the Door Last
Night with . crowd OF sympathetie
Admirers-Iks Doctor Tells the
HistsFy OF His Life.


At last DR.. Reid. "the spirit postmss
ter" has returned home and mas had
his say. Kennedy Hall was completely
filled last night. with standing room
only 10 be had, on the occasion OF the
distinguished mediums first appear
ance before Grand Rapids audience
since his release from prison. The doc
tors personal appearance on the plat
form was not IN any way different from
his appearance in the years of the past.
He has not even "aged." Tie carried
the same peuswe, half-sorrowtul face
so well known to the splritualistic CON-
munity, but his face did not look sad
der for his troubles.
Fred ID. Yale opened the meeting by
asking for music by the choir, and "A
solo was rendered, "Csst thy bread
upon the Waters" When Mrs. Graves,
the chaplain, was called tor, her ab-
sence was announced, and no one could
be found To make the usual invocation.
So that part OF the program was dis
pensed with. Mr.. Yale then made a
brief address, re-lntroducing DIR. Reid
to the chair which he had left year
! ago "tO take a short vacation to the
| beautiful city of Detroit in the eastern
| part of the State" At the conclusion
| of the address, basket of cut flowers
were taken to the platform and pre-.
| sented TO the hero of the evening. In
response TO the request to resume the
char, the doctor stated that forty-foui
| weeks ago he was an inmate OF the
Kent county Jail. After his conviction
| he sent in his resignation OF the presl-
| dency of the society in perfect
| good faith, because he thought it not
right 10 hold II, under the clrcum
| stances. He did not now think that
the time had arrived To resume that pO
sitlon, and positively declined to take
the chair.
| Reads From Manuscript.
| DR.. Reid was then formally an
nounced to deliver his address on HI.
prison life. He stepped forward witt
manuscript, and spoke In his usua
clear and musical voice. From begin
ming to ending, the manuscript wa:
read without any attempt at elOcutlon-
airy effect. Even the pathetic passage:
were rendered IN a firm voice we'll un
der control. He began by saying thai
his address would be the product of hi
cogltatlons during the last few days Ol
his incarceration. The time for liter
ary preparation under such circum.
stances WAS necessarily short. He ther
passed to some thoughts on the
nature Of our earthly life, com
prisIng succession of failures from
the cradle to the grave. Passing To th'
first hours of his prison life, he salC
tnat no dlrge was ever more solemn /,
him than his first experience of tn,
"lock-step" of the prisoners, each con
vict resting his hand on the rIgh
shoulder OF the man ahead of him, il
which performance the coDvic is mad
to feel his utter deadness to the worlG
which he had left. This figure o
death ran continuously throughout tn
whole address. To Doctor Reid, tn
prison was tomb; its life was death
its music and poetry were the dIrge; it
isolation was another world. All sorroy
and discomfort and misery or prison
1 !
deatn-tinger.
why He is n Spiritualist.
Taking a retrospective view of hi
life, the Doctor explained the natura
causes that made him Spirituallsi
and he told the story we'll. He sai,
that both his father and his mothe
died when he was few days old. ii
was taken into the family of an aunt
who concealed his parentage until a
accident revealed 1t. A companion, il
a quarrel, taunted him with having n
father nor mother. and being "a mast
| little nobody" Then the aunt tol,
him the facts of his birth. and tn
knowledge that his father and mothe
wer dead turned his thoughts to
ward Heaven. lie pondered muc
upon the place where he had beel
told his parents were. Then his aun
died. and he thought still more o
those things. lie took his mother
bible, aud resolved to devote his life t
its teachings. One day he discovere'
that his father, although 4 noble man
was not Christian. This revelation
plunged him into the deepest gloon
Tor il was the came TO him as discover
ing that his mother had gone 10 Heave
and his father had gone to hell. Con
to hell for all eternity. lie pondere
on this matter until he became de
perate. The doctrine finally b,
came so obnoxious 20 hrs sot
that when the revulsion came. III
church lost It's charm, and he left j
He tried for years to think that deaf
ends all. He then described the ci
cum.tances that led up to his adoptln
. spiritualism aud of his developing IN,
, diumistic powers. and of MS comm
forward, finally, as a professional m'
dunn.
Treated Well IN Prison
Coming to the time Of hi. arrest.
SAID that the claim had been set up tn,
in his trial spiTltualIsm was on tria
! bat the fact q that the right Of a ma
| to set "a a medium was on trial. II
lost no opportunity 10 express his cot
tempt for the court tbst convicted hin
without giving the opportunity !
. sought to prove his pOser before q
| court. On the subject OK his prison If
he gave nothing new by way of fact
bat lent TO his subject = grave AT
, ! wierd interest by the constantly recur
; Ing figure Of death and tomb. He toe
Ithe OCCASION % thank United Stat,
/. | Marshal Clark for MS kindness. ar
once rose to the enthusiasm OF eyclalr
| ino sft,0d bless him. Ha siso cor