Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-10-26
PSYCHICAL RESEARCH
What the Society in This City is
Doing.
A TALK WITH REV. ALEX. KENT.
Some Phenomena That Have Come
Under His Observation
THAT ARE INEXPLAINABLE

THAT ARE INEXPLAINABLE.
Only comparatively few people in
Washington know that we have here a
! branch of the American Psychical Society,
and while good many people have heard
of the American Psychical Society, only a
| few OF them know exactly what it was
| formed for and what 1t is endeayoring to
| do.
| The English Psychical Society-the par
| ent body--was formed in 1882 the American
| society being founded some time after Both
| nave for their object the investigation of
| all kinds of phenomena for which ordinary
explanations fail. They deal with hypno-
| tism. telepathy or thought transference
| clairvoyance. clairaudience. phantasms Of
the living, phantasms Of the dead, slate
writing. hand control and all kinds Of
ghosts and CHASTITY matters. The society is
court which tries all this phenomena &C
| cording to the strict rules of evidence and
judges accordingly. No testimony is ad-
| mitted which would not be accepted in a
| court Of law. and owing to the peculiar
nature of its investigations the society
| rules out much which under legal practice
would be admitted. So strict are their
| canons of evidence, as applied to the tes-
| timony Of certain mediums, that some
years ago they caused the secession from
the English society of a number of spirit
| ualists. among them Messrs. Staunton Mo-
ses and Alfred Russell Wallace, who de-
| clare that mo experience based on mere
| eyesight could ever have a chance to be
admitted as true If such an impossibility
exacting standard Of proof were insisted
upon in every case
Some Notable Members.
Among the members of the English So
| ciety are w. r. Stead. editor Review Of
Reviews: Mr.. F. w. H. Meyers, the dis
tinguished essayist: Prof. Sidgewick and a
number Of men we'll known in all walks of
| life. In America Prof. VIM. James, B. o.
Flower. editor Of the Arena: Hamlin Gar
land the novelist; Rev. Minot j. Savage
Rev. r. Heber Newton and Rabbi Saloman
SCHNEIDER. are among the active members
| OF the society. Camille Flammarion, the
distinguished astronomer. although resi-
dent Of France, is also an active member.
The officers Of the Washington branch
are: Rev. Alexander Kent, president; Col
] j. w. Davidson, vice president; N. f. VIII
liams. secretary; DR.. George H. LaFetra,
| treasurer.
Star reporter in quest of information
| about the work of the society interviewed
| Mr.. Kent at his residence $50 street, the
| other day.
The Branch in This City. -.
'Yes. we have branch Of the PSYCHE
cal Society here" replied the reverend gen
| tleman to the reporters question, but we
| have not been able to do as much as we
hoped to accomplish. The great difficulty
We labor under is in getting any one to sit
| for us. We have sent invitations to
most Of the professional mediums in town,
| but they have all declined"
| Are thew afraid n submit n the test
asked the reporter.
They say that the thought of undergo
ing such an ordeal would make them ner-
| vous and disturb the conditions necessary
! for a successful sitting. and that they do
| not care to take the chances"
Then the Washington branch has not
| been very successful"
mo. 1t has not. and in a few days we are
going to hold a meeting to decide upon our
| further steps"
Have you ever observed any phenomena
| which could not be satisfactorily explain
ed?" asked the reporter
Some Phenomena Observed.
| Eyes. a good DEAL" replied Mr.. Kent.
| There are more things in heaven and
earth than can be explained by our phil
osophy. l have noted more than one mex
plicable thing. Probably the most remark
| able case that has come under my personal
knowledge was that Of young lady re-
| siding IN this city. She had a sister who
died a couple of years ago. This young lady
| in question was sitting at a desk one day
with a pencil in her hand when all at once
she felt sharp thrill, like that caused by
| the application of an electric battery, run
| down her right arm. and spontaneously,
| without any impulse on her own part she
| began to write. She rolled off page after
page until she had written several hum
dred words. The matter purported to be a
| message from her sister, and was composed
| OF very elevated thought. expressed in most
| felicitous English. This message was fol-
| lowed by a number Of others at different
| times. the writing of some of which 1 wit
messed. or the genuineness of the phe-
nomena j am satisfied. The young lady and
her parents were Of very practical turn
of mind. They had never had anything to
| do with spiritualistic matters, and were as
much mystified by the phenomena as any
one could be- 1 am certain that the young
| lady, who Is very young, could not produce
work of such a high literary quality. There
| was no reason for fraud, as the people are
| of the highest character and the manifesto
| lions were made known only to a few. Then
! this is by no means an isolated case. Mr..
| Stead gave in his magazine, a few months
| ago. remarkable instance Of how his own
| hand was controlled. and facts which he
could not possibly have known, and which
| were later confirmed, were written by him."
Have you any explanation of this phe-
| nomena. Mr. kent?"
| No Explanation to Offer.
| NO. sir, 1t is for the explanation of this
and similar incidents that the Society for
Psychical Research is seeking. Much yalu-
able work has been done during it's eleven
years of existence. but the best it has been
! able to do Is to esta blish the genuineness
| of certain phenomena. How great its ad-
vance in this direction has been is shown
| by the attitude of Prof. James, who occu-
pied the chair Of philosophy at Harvard
He says that his psychica1 Investigations
| have broken down for his mind the limits
| of the admitted order of nature that SCI
! ence, so far 1t denies such exceptional
| facts lies PROSTATE in the dust for him, and
| that the most urgent intellectual need
! which he feels at present is that science
must be built up again in form in which
| such facts shall have a positive place.
The greatest step in advance made by
| the society,"" continued Mr.. Kent, 'is the
practical establishment OF the simultaneous
| existence of two different strata Of con-
seriousness ignorant of each other in the
same person. To the subliminal conscious
ness as 1t is termed by Mr.. F. w. H. N.Y.
| ers. the consciousness which lies under the
| surface. which only comes to the front
when our habitual consciousness is Sleep
| ing, belongs most of these mysterious pow
| ers we cannot explain. So far as learned
| Investigators have gone this sublimnal
4 IL,