Grand Rapids herald. [volume] (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 1892-1959, 1892-03-20
CHECK ON FRAUDS
Only Irregular Physicians 10
aPraetiee Hypnotism.
Evils THAT MAY COME FROM IT
There Should Always Be the Presence Of
Reliable Witness-Ths -neata
Trancs~ 70 save Life.

&~~ prohibit hypno-
tism by any
ether persons
man regular physicisns2 II may be
assumed that the real purpose of the
measure is 70 protect the revenues Of the
regular physicians, v no are disgruntled
BY the thriving practice OF some OF the
~naagnetic hezlers." At the same time.
Tor once the interests OF the doctors
and of the community are IN harmony.
unhzppily, even the restriction pro
p<,sed viii not afford any satisfying as
eurznce that the mysterious and terri
bic power now known as "hypnotism'
will be confined % those capable OF
welding IL intelli gently and worthily.
But IL viii. ar al events. diminish the
scope of Potentially. for mischief.
Legal restrictions upon the practice
of hypnotism already exist IN Italy,
Austria. Switzerland. Denmark, Bel
GUM. France and other European coun.
tries, and must certainly be i'm
posed everywhere, when the real neces-
sity for them Is duly appreciated The
present trouble IL that this psychic
force n ignorantly underestimated by
, very large proportion OF the public.
who, seeing that so many so-called
s'hypnotizers7 and ''mesnerists" are
charlasanS and not few magnetic
healers'' merely imrudent frauds,
hastily assume that the whole bust
ness is humbug and superstition. Not
many generations ago electricity va:
popularly regarded IN much the same
way. Intelligent persons who keep
themselves informed upon the progress
Of science in this age Of mental activity
will not make this mistake They com.
prehcnd that there are in hypnotism i'm
snense dangers, both immediate and
ultimate. for the persons subjected tr
this influence and for the community ae
well through tho irresponsible actions
Of such persons under unworthy con
troi. Hypnotism-which is simply the
scientifc modern name for ami
NAL magnetism the opera
Dor" TO dominate absolutely the viii,
memory. moral perceptions, senses and
sven the physical being Of the sub
ject." All this has, by myriad OF
scrupulously conducted tests, beer
demonstrated beyond the possibility OF
doubt- Well. therefore, might the en-
insnt DR.. C. G.. Rau. in his great work
on Psychology" offer the warning
1hst mo one should allow himself to be
mesmerizcd unless for a good aud noble
end. and not for mere play TO pass time,
sand under no consideration without the
presence OF q reliable witness" And
khis power may be exercised upon psy
nhopathic and neuropathic ''sensitives'
without their consent, or even their con
sciousncss. As long ago as 1870, Baron
Dupotet. in the presence OF Prof. Reca-
inter. ut the Hotel Dicu hospital in Paris,
meAmerized . woman who was in anoth-
6y room and did not even know that he
tRss In tho building. DR.. Hericourt
m 1875 and p. Janet in 1886. hypno
bissd sepsisives at distance respective
AZ Of three hundred and Ave hundred
meters from them and against the de-
nircs Of their subjects. II is even matter
bf record that the power has been sue
oeasfully exerted In many instances at
b~en much greater distances. And not
5uly does IL overcome distance but time
- mental suggestion impressed upon
che hypnotee when ia trance. COMPEL
Eng . recurrence To the trance condition
~ . future time. hour, or even days
instant as determined by the operator.
without his further effort or the con-
pciousncss Of expectancy Of the sensi-
tive.
! It Is not 20 BE- affirmed that any mes
mcrizer has the power 20 magnetic
svery ''subject- presented to him. and
btiIl less that even those susceptible to
fhe influence can all be put into
trance condition against their will. but
unquestiousbiy there are many who do
not possess the strength To resist IL
Both ochorswicz and voisin have hyp-
notified mentally diseased persons