Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-08-27
NOT SHAKEN BY TESTS.

|
Lily Dale Enthusiasts Still Believe in the
Powers of Mrs. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS oi
Opinion Secured From Number oi
Prominent People.
GFRoM STAFF CORRESPONDENT
LILY DALE, n. Y, July y26.-Considera-
| bic interest has been created in reference to
Mrs. Matteson's failures to diagnose the cases
furnished by THE DIsTAToH. This interest
extends beyond the limits of Cassadaga
Lake, for the lady treats over 10 900 cases a
year and has patients by hundreds in West
ern New York and Pennsylvania and many
in all parts of the country.
| She was born in Baden, Germany, 43 years
ago, is q pretty, modest, unassuming little
| lady, and is President of the Spiritualists'
Club in Brooklyn. She has the utmost conf
dence in her "old DOCTOR" as she calls her
| spirit control. Her friends claim that in her
thousands of cases she has made very few
failures in describing the patients condi-
tion, and hundreds of cases could be gath
cred to prove that she can do all she pro
fesses.
Some mediums are able to give q sort of
philosophy in explanation of their alleged
| powers, but Mrs. Matteson does not seem
to have any idea at all of any philosophy of
| the subject. On being asked by your cor
| respondent how she accounted for her fail
ure in THE DISPATCH cases she said: 81 cam
| not understand the failure unless my doctor
may have got the wrong place. He tells me
that he described what he saw at the place
to which he was directed by his medium"
"Do you agree with some who claim that
| in order to describe q case at O distance that
there should be something pass from the OBJ
ject or person to the medium so as to form
a sort of magnetic linkf'
"No, do not think anything of the kind
is necessary. All that is necessary is for the
patient to be where the old doctor can find
him. Distance is no more q barrier to clair
voyance than it is to thought. 1 have dag
nosed cases at Frankfort-on-the-Ma Main in ten
minutes while at my home in Buffalo, and
the descriptions proved correct in every
case"
A Budget of Opinions.
The opinions of several prominent lee
turers and mediums were solicited. j. W.
Dennis, of Buffalo, says, "I know that
Mrs. Matteson as well as others can diagnose
diseases and describe situations at a dis
tance, but there should be something pass
from the object to be described to the
medium in order to complete the circuit or
form a connecting link-somelhing to carry
the magnetism from the sphere of the object
to that of the medium"
Prof. A. B. French Clyde, o.: 81 hav'nt
the least doubt of the ability of clairvoyants
to describe that which is beyond their
physical vision. The cases are too numer-
Gus and too well authenticated to doubt the
existence of such power, yet the laws con-
trolling it are so little understood as to
make results uncertain"
Prof. Gustin, Ingersoll, Can.,- who is him
self q magnetic healer, says: 81 not only be-
lieve but absolutely know that such pow
ers as Mrs. Matteson claims do exist. am
surrounded by band of spirit doctors and
Of
band goes to look after it and reports to me-
/ can even cure patients at a distance mag
netically, though not so readily as when un-
der personal supervision"
Mrs Cora v. Richmond, of Chicago: "There
is no room longer to doubt the claims of
clairvoyance than there is to deny that there
is such thing as mesmerism;. Nothing is
needed to pass between the medium and the
object she wishes to describe, for frequently
their descriptions are of things they have
neither seen or heard of: Conditions and
surroundings are frequently described w1ths
out anything passing from the person or
thing described by the medium.
One of the Explanations.
On being asked how she would ac-
count for Mrs. Matteson's failures in THE DIS
PATCH cases, she replied: "While we know |
there are laws which govern these subtle |
matters, they are yet SO imperfectly under |
stood that we can not always put ourselves |
en- rapport with them. These tests are fire. |
quently like the best child at baby show. |
When the mother is most anxious for a good |
display tho result is most likely to be disap- |
pointing. 1 have known hundreds of cases |
that would have made most excellent tests, |
but unfortunately the newspaper man was
not interested in them as test cases."
Hon. Sidney Dean, Warren, r. l., who was
a member of Congress from 10 to SO and
prominent Methodist for 40 years. says: 81
fully believe in the powers of clairvoyancy,
or rather 1 should prefer to call it psychom-
etry." He thinks that something, as q lock
the persons influence, should pass to the
medium. He mentions the late Mrs. Bu-
chanan, wife of Prof }. Rodes Buchanan, of
Boston, as the best psychometrist he ever
saw. He says that she would select an un-
sealed letter from package that a man
might have in his pocket, and she would
with eyes closed read the unsenled
a still more remarkable test. A
gentleman when in Jerusalem broke
off piece of stone in an old crypt. and,
ton, and to test Mrs. Buchanans power gave
it to her to read. She described at length
where it was found. and not only that, but
told where it had been quarried and pre-.
as all this may seem, it is not much more
marvellous than the power of the dog to
follow his master through crowded street,
among thousands of footsteps, by the trace
peculiar to his owner.
Judge r. s. McCormick, Fran Kiln, Pa, says:
~ have no doubt at all that such powers as
professed by Mrs. Matteson exist. Until we
understand the laws more fully. however,
that control this power it nay not be pos
sibleat all times and under all situations to
have it manifested. There seem to be Ger
tain conditions necessary to produce slate
writing or table tipping, or naturalization,
and it is not ut all unlikely that some con-
ditions may be necessary TO enable the
to read that yond her physical
vision. believe the time will come when
we shall be enabled to converse with one
another miles apart, without the aid of tele-
phone or telegraph, but by that law of SYM
pathy which one human being has for an
)ther."
THREE REGIMENTS IN REUNION.