Daily Kennebec journal., 1893-09-05
RELIGIONS
Represented in the Great Co
lumbar Congress.
These Congresses a Most Successful
Feature Of the Fair.
Papsss fraaslass1 iats EaslisA aa1 Read ID
Thai language.

Aod all around Chicago must be credited
with getting up the Worlds Congress
Auxiliary, now proving silch a brilliant
success, as far as its r4gilarioa can be
credited to any one nlaa- The scheme was
20 all-embraeing, IL may coin a word,
and the subjects covered - large terri
tory that he had some difficulty at first in
getting the newspaper public to take it
at aught else than huge joke; but
when scores of real leaders in many de-
partments Of thought come and gave their
views the food set in the opposite direc-
tion and there WAS danger apparently that
the scheme would be swamped in popu-
larity.
Today the much talked Of Congress Of
Religions begins and the frreverent per.
sist in looking on it a. . sort of-well. I
will not say burlesque, but something
like that. The greatest trouble, however,
was in the Congress on Psyehical Re
search, which occupied the last week in
August and attracted cranks as Q mag
nate draws iron filings. The general Inn
preston was that the whole week was to
be given up to matters Of soul and spirit,
ghosts, second sight, mind reading and
the like, whereas this was but one Of
eleven congresses, all sitting at the same
time. In spite of repeated publications
that there were to be no manifestations"
and no attempts at any, and that this was
simply a gathering Of people who take q
scientific interest in psychical phenomena
just as they do in electricity or ocean cur
rents, the impression got abroad that two
or three thousand clairvoyants, "medi-
ums," "seers," faith healers," ''levita-
tors" and other supersensuous "diakkas"
and "mehatmas" were to raise high jinks
and other spirits.
To the Sadducees Of course this was like
shaking red rag at bull and they were
on hand with "tests." As the programme
was made out far in advance, the list Of
lectures and each ones time strictly linn
tied and all general discussion forbidden,
all these fellows were subjected to the
dreadful punishment Of sitting still and
listening to papers written in the cool dry
light of science by venerable old Dryas-
dusts who look at the soul very much as
they would at o chemical residuum. One
man, however, astonished and partially
demoralized the congress and It was no
less man than Dr. Ernest Hart, editor OF
the British Medical Journal. In defiance
Of all rules he took the platform and pro-
posed as test for mind readers that any
one Of them might have q certified check
for 81 900 which he would conceal in a
box, IL said mind reader would in forty
eight hours give the number and wording
of the check. There was an uproar for a
few minutes and the British doctor was
forced off the stand, red with rage.
The motto Of the congress organization
Is mot Things, but Men; Not Matter but
Mind" c. G. Bonney is president, Thomas
B. Bryan, vice president; Lyman j. Gage,
treasurer, and Benjamin Butterworth and
Clarence f. Young, secretaries. It is Of
ficially branch Of the Worlds Columbian
exposition, which Is organized under the
laws of Illinois as corporation to man
age the Worlds fair. The meetings are
held in the Memorial Art palace of the
Chicago Art institute, q rather odd look
ing building on the lake front at the foot
Of Adams street. 1t is wonderfully COM
modious inside, and there Is ample room
for dozen congresses at once and for all
who desire to attend the general meetings
In the large hall. In short, this is entirely
too big an affair to be laughed at or cap
tured by cranks, though occasionally the
dryest and gravest loo...nc. old fellows in
spectacles get off theories which to men OF
my sort sound like learned lunacy.
There is a world wide interest In the
Congress of Religions. which nominalIy
began yesterday, but as That was Sunday
the active scientific discussion begins to-
day. My first thought was to give out
lines of the points to be made, but as 1t is
TO last three weeks and each phase Of faith
is to be set forth by one or more able ex-
ponents, discovered that 1t would take
dozen of the best theologians In the United
States to do the subject justice in a report.
do not feel able to get up a cyclopedia
this month, and religion Is not my strong
point anyhow. Suffice it to say that
twenty-three Christian denominations will
be represented and that the list very ap-
propriately begins with Adventist and
ends with Universalist. II the Winner
brennarians, Zoarites and three others
could have come we should have the al
phabet complete. The Jews, Mohamme-
dams, Buddhists, Parsees and Brahminical
sects will also be represented by men Of
great ability, so this will doubtless be the
Oecumenical Council Of Humanity, the
greatest religious congress over held in
this world. All the papers will be trans
lated into English by competent scholars
under the supervision Of their authors,
and read in that language of course, but
as English is now the worlds language in
a sense, and as England rules more Mo
hap.snedans than the Sultan of Turkey
and more Buddhists than any power ex-
cept China, all the Parsees and nearly all
the Brahminicals, it is expected that only
four or five Of the lecturers will be I'M
able to read their papers In the local
tongue. The Chicago wits have not failed
to remark that this Is one Of the very few
meetings at which Mayor Carter Harrison
will not speak. He is not in this combina-
| tion. As I said cranks were barred out,
| but in the little / heard of the papers on
psychieal research there were occasional
passages which sounded queer TO man
| who is of the earth earthly. For instance,
here is. paragraph taken literally from
one lady's production:
"There Is no possibility Of doubling that
humanity il on the threshold Of life SO
much higher and more potent than the
! present, that to enter on its realization
| will make a new heaven and a new earth.
| The change will be as great as that from
| the grub to the butterfly. Humanity will
| find its wings. Mental and psychic power
| will assert their sway. The entire scenery
Of life will be transformed. unsupported
| stores of energy will be liberated.
Mankind will live in exaltation and en-
| tn asiasm. There will be bounding life,
| not ploddiDg existence Life will be what
| Emerson says it should be, an ecstacy.s
What on the natural claim would
seem miracle becomes al simple as the
most everyday occurrence"
That is too rich for my blood
Almost every day now we see what a
month ago very few expected--a crowd in
various places about jackson park so dense
as to be uncomfortable. Every third day
on an average is special day for some
large class and about the middle of the af-
ternoon one sees odd sights. All the seats
In every building. state or general, are oc-
capiefl; on all the lounges women and
| children are stretched out regardless OF
the posted notices, and IN almost
every secluded piece Of greensward are
groups Of ladies' taking their rest Ike
hunters in camp. There Is no pretense Of
senteel "rec.infng." 1hey are lying fat
| down with light shawl, sometimes only
handkerchief under the head, and often
sound asleep. Even in the rather uncon-
Portable chairs in the main aisle Of the
Manufactures building Il see thsm sprawled
In ali sorts of restful attitudes. It looks .
little odd ut first, but custom soon relieves
l 49,