The record-union., 1893-06-09
A " MEDIUMS" MINHAP.
Her Trickery and Her Ankles Sinful
taneousIy Exposed.
How the Pitches Played the Stockton
ians-Their Failure Here
The Slate Fake.


The "mejums," the so-called Mr.. and
Mrs. Fitch, have gone from Sacramento
to hunt for another community where
| they may be able to practice their swim
ding tactics by posing as spirituallst
mediums for the holding of communica-
ton between people of this world and
the spirits Of departed friends or rela-
tives, and incidentally raking in the PEN
MES by giving fake slate writing tests.
The RECoRD-U UNION was warned few
days ago by resident of Stockton that
"Mr. and Mrs. Fitch" had been driven
out of that city by the exposure of their
fraudulent practices and might undertake
to swindle people here. The writer said:
EDS. RECoRD-U MON: l have noticed in a
Sacramento paper an advertisement OF q. L.
| Fitch and wife, and | want to say they are
great frauds and should be exposed. Send
4 good strong reporter to have sate-wrtting,
| and when Fitch has washed and piled up his
states, have the reporter pick them up, and on
| the under side of some of them will he found
| all the writing and pictures that Will ever be
on them. They are all prepared before the
| sitting begins.
send you clipping from the Stockton m
| depc4dett. This viii give you a good idea OF
| the frauds. ! trust you will expose them and
save many dollars for people who are easily
duped. a. l.. FOREMAN.
THE "INDEPENDENT's" EXPOSE.
Following is the article referred to in
the letter:
John York's experience with the lovely
medium whom he embraced during the
seance the other evening proved con-
| clusively that She was fraud, but DR.. A.
| l.. Foreman ACCOMPLISHED the same re-
suit without adopting method appeal
ing so strongly to young men. MIR. Ork
reached for her, thinking she was ghost,
and found that he had in his arms warm
and palpitating flesh not unlike that of
any other woman. DIR. Foreman, on the
other hand, sought the woman, hoping
| that she was sufficiently cOnversant with
| the ways of the spirits to cause them to
| inscribe messages from the dear departed
with an unseen pencil on common
slate. He found, though that she was
merely the delightful confederate in an
old-tashioned swindling game.
"'Ihey are Frauds said the doctor last
night. 1 am a believer in sDiritualism,
| but | trap nearly every medium that
comes to this town. l have Endorsed but
two of them, and it is getting nowadays
that mediums look upon me as hard
game. These Pitches came around to me
to investigate their power. L did so and
| concluded they were frauds
The doctor described his experience at
a private slate-writing seance. Mrs. Fitch
sat close to her husband, who was on the
opposite side of the table from the iRves-
! tigator. Fitch then took a slate, washed
| one side carefully, turned that side over
and pressed the slate level with the table
| while he washed the other side. Having
done this, he put the slate in the center OF
the table, and DIR. Foreman rested his
hands upon it for some time. The slate
was then turned over, and on the side
that had been next the table was a mes
sage signed ID. Foreman.
"Dr. Foreman had seen through the
| trick, and he offered to bet the medium
! Fitch 500 that he could not make any
! thing on a slate that he DIR. Foreman
| might wash. The medium said the
/ spirits did not permit him to bet. DR..
! Foreman then asked Mrs. Fitch why she
| sat so close to her husband, and she said
| she had to give him power.
DR.. Foreman says the Fitch slate-writ-
ing is done this way: The slate is first
| secretly prepared-sometimes with a
! picture and sometimes with a message
| Each slate has false Switchboard fitted
over the SIDE on which the spirit writing
| has been placed. The medium washes
| the Switchboard first. Then he turns the
slate over, puts it level with the table,
and washes the other side, letting the
Switchboard drop into his lap, from which
place Mrs. Fitch removes it. Finally,
the slate Is turned over and the writing
| exposed. The names of dead relatives
are written by the victims on tablet
provided by the medium, which has
! black impression paper between the
| leaves. Inc man goes oil with the names
| written on a sheet of paper in his pocket,
| little dreaming that the medium has a
copy in the tablet.
IN othing has been heard of the Pitches
since their sudden departure from this
city,"
THE SAME HERE.
| 1t seems the Pitches had been here
couple of weeks and were quietly con
! Quoting their so-called "seancesH and
! systematically sWindling a few dunes
who knew no more than to believe this
! couple were what is termed mediums
| On Tuesday night they gave their last
| seance at a residence in the eastern mart
| of the city, when Mrs Richardson. of
! 1872 Eighth street-who attended for the
! purpose of exposing the Mediums and
| thus opening the eyes of friend who had
! fallen under their spell-created sensa-
| ton that threw the spiritualistic portion
| of the audience almost into spasms.
! While spirit" was passing out cake
| in the darkened room to those present
Mrs. Richardson bolted into the cabinet
used by Mrs. Fitch, which was of course
empty. She gathered up the clothing
dropped by the female medium when the
/ latter stole out in the dark to personate
the spirit, and scattered them among the
astonished auditors.
| The lights were turned on and the
clothing of the disrobed spirit" was
| readily recognized, while the spirit her
| self, in very transparent uniform. made
break for the cabinet to get out of sight
! 1t is needless to say that there were not
so many believers in spiritualistic gym
nastlcs among those who left the scene as
| when they entered.
| Mr.. and Mrs. Fitch will probably soon
NO from Il,nt,
coarse 10 long deceive any intelligent and
! level headed person