The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1891-05-19
Prominent Men Said to Possess
The Power.
A Shaker Doctor Who Has
Studied it For Forty Years
He Says There is no
SpiritualiSm - Some
of the Manifesto
tons.

which Is occupying the attention o.
the scientific minds of the world to
cay, is hypnotism. 1t is one of lhost
things or forces, the existence o.
which, is strongly asserted and as
strongly denied. Be his as it may,
however, there are thousands of per
sons who delight in making it study
and who read everything printed on
the subject.
During The past week there has
been in Sedaiia gentleman, a
Shaker, DR.. Louis Turner, who has
made study of the subject for the
last forty years and is firm believer
in it as a force. While he does not,
as he claims possess it to any great ex-
tent naturally, be has acquired it
sufficiently to be able to give exceed
ing ly creditable and entertaining ex-
hibitions of his power He is what
might be called an enthusiast and In
conversation on the subject certainly
springs some startling information.
He believes that as electricity is recog-
nized as the coming motive power, so
will psychology be recognized as the COM
ing healing power. That the latter is
only in its infancy as yet, and that
We will live to see the day when it
will work wonders in the field of
science and medicine.
"As [ recognize it" said he "there
is no difference whatever between
hypnotism and mesmerism. The latter
force has been known as such, since
1850. 1t was discovered by Swede
named Mesmer, who created q won
derful excitement in his own country
at the time. and finally went to Paris |
where he gave exhibitions tina;
set the whole French capital on fire. |
The King became so much interested |
that he appointed committee to ex-
anime into the thing, and member
Of that committee was our own
Ben Franklin. This commit
tee decided that there was
nothing in it and turned the
laugh on the country. The subject
was allowed to rest in a general way
until 1914, when John Bowie Dodd |
took it up, in this country, and in
1S4S / commenced to investigate it.
This have continued at times ever
since"
"There is nothing in so called spirit
ualism" continued the Doctor. The
force employed is hypnotism and l
stand ready and able to prove it.
One of the most startling exhibitions
of hypnotism, that 1 recall and which
at the time was called manifestations
of spiritualism, was in San Francisco
a number of years ago. Twenty six
people attended sceance at the house
of one of the mediums. They were
reputable people and were nearly all
put under certain stage of hypno-
tism, in which they believed that
they saw the walls of the building
open and the bodies or rather the
spirits of their departed friends appear
in human form in the opening. There
were other manifestations but they
were all produced by the hypnotic
power of the medium"
There are hundreds of men in this
country who owe their success in poll.
tics, law. ministry and craftsmanship
to this power, but in most instances
they did not know it. Take John G.
Calhoun. He, / think, was endowed
with it to greater extent than
any man of his time. Henry Clay
possessed it to a large extent. Our
own James @. Blaine is full of it.
Ex-Gov. Charles p. Johnston of Mis-
souri,, has large amount of this
power in his composition and | attrib-
ute the disagreement of the jury in
the holland case to the hypnotic power
he exercised over those SIX members
of the jury. / have known men of
meager ability to succeed in life while
those who were finely educated in ,
special lines failed, because they did !
not possess hypnotic influence. II
think it will be invaluable to physi- :
clans and / believe it is now used in !
many cases. 1t does BOT have bad
effect on the system as might be sup
posed, In fact if you take a patient !
who as nervous and place him under
hypnotic influence you steady his
nerves and he is better and health. .
Ter man for having been under that
influence. / sometimes think that
the miracles which were performed
in olden times were wrought through
the influence of hypnotism.
"Can habits of long standing be v
cured by the use of hypnotism ?" o
"Most Ger ainly, l have cured hun /
dreds of persons of the tobacco habit.
opium eating and the use of spirituous