Los Angeles herald., 1892-01-10
Reason? BEEcHAM's PILLS act like magic
LETTER BAG.
DR.. Cooks Performance.


EDITORS HERALD: Will you kindly
allow me space in the columns of your
excellent paper to interview Mr.. Innes
upon his account of DR.. Cooks Sunday
evenings performance at the Los An
geles theater, which appeared in Tues
days issue OF the HERALD?
First, assert that Mr.. Innes, as one
OF the four representative gentlemen on
the platform, was standing for the peo.
pie, called there by them, DR.. Cooke
having requested that well-known skep-
tical gentlemen on the subject of spir-
itualism be placed on the committee"
to sit in judgment for the people, upon
this occasion as upon all similar occa-
sions.
Passing by all the 'tests'' presented
whilst the medium" was tied in the
chair by himself, or otherwise, we take
up the coat test" Fifteen seconds,
the exact time as reported by the COM
mittee, was very short time indeed in
which to "mesmerize Major Toler." re-
move his coat, place it upon himself
bound hand and foot with stout cords
and sealed knots, and re-adjust himself
to his ropes, and the gentleman thus
robbed OF his garment not aware of his
loss until it was pointed out to him. II
an honest trick between the gentlemen,
very clever one, all must admit. Then,
too, when the committee were requested
to sew the coat upon the medium, or
magician, why did they not do it
in such manner that the
bound man could not remove it in the
space of three seconds" leaving the
stitches made by DR.. Wise intact, and
would ask right here, was the Judge
also mesmerized when he lost his watch,
in the same manner that the major lost
his coat?
If the test OF the card was fake, why
did not Mr.. Innes, then and there, pro-
claim it such? 1t seems to me personal
pride would have asserted itself! If
Dr. Cooke "was loosely tied to the
pole," why was it thus, when be re-
and feet, by tying and mailing to the
post which had been securely nailed to
the floor? I'll wager any amount that
four representative women, given yard
of new domestic, hammer and eight
nails, could and would fasten Mr.. Cooke
80 securely to an upright timber, that he
could not nail a board to the bottom of
a chair in the space of ten seconds, nor
place pail upon his head, etc. Again,
why did not the four men against two
keep the table down, after Mr.. Cooke
had emphasized the request for them to
do so, with his clenched fist upon the
table?
Mr.. Innes went into the cabinet for
the purpose of catching and exposing
~ - Al -.
so-called spirit to make his appearance,
had not the courage, or something stood
in the way of making an expose of the
fraudulent trick of placing an iron ring
upon his arm while his hand grasped
the wrist of the medium. Mr.. Innes
would not expect that any one in that
large audience would think for one mo-
ment, that an outsider came in and as
sisted in the presentation of the trick,
for the lights were all on. Perhaps the
gentleman can inform us how the trans
mutation of water was produced in go
many and varied forms?
Laying all sarcasm and badinage
aside, l assert that occult or psychic
science has reached too grand proper
tions for small minds to toy with it in 80
heartless a manner, if toying it were
indeed. One need not hesitate nor
fear to follow intellectually, when Hon.
w. E. Gladstone of England, Richard
Hodgson, LID, of Boston, Rev. Heber
Newton Of New York, and many others,
especially illustrious, make lead. Mr..
Cooke while catering to cosmopolitan
audiences" commits himself time and
again to the eide of psychic science, in
fact he simply suggests an evasion OF
the issue, which might arise from a
typographical error, from his first ad-
vertisement to the end of the entertain
ment. Having done this, readers,
thinkers, the intelligent and curious in
all that great assemblage, naturally ex-
pected the committee to catch or entrap
him if they could. Not having done
this, they were possibly rendered cred
ulous. One WHO WAS 'MYsTIFIED.
Los Angeles, Jan. Z. 1892.
DO you waat helps If so, insert an ad
on our classified page.