The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1893-08-19
THE UNKNOWN WORLD.

On Monday next the Psychical Depart
ment of the Worlds Exposition at Chicago
VIII hold a congress TO enable believers
and unbelievers to compare notes, and to
complete the work which Mr.. Seibert's
committee of experts left unfinished. 1t
IS to be hoped that the members will pre-
pare themselves for their task by a care
full study of the most recent works of
psychic literature, notably with the dis
course on Ghosts and Their Photo
graphs" by the Rev. II. r. Haweis in che
FOrtnightty for January last, and the arti-
cles on psychical research by Mr.. d. O.
Flower in the arena for January and
February. These writers are men of can
dor and honesty. La Mr.. Haweis' own
words they have realized that the broad
backs of those patient beasts - Fraud,
Credulity and Hallucination-haye at last
refused to bear any more loading.
III man says that he saw a cow with
five legs flying through the air we do not
meet him by arguing that cows do not
wear i've legs and that their structure is
not fitted for aerial navigation. We call
upon him to demonstrate the truth of his
assertion by affirmative testimony. That
Is the way we should deal with the profess
sors of spiritualism. We should REQUIRE
them TO prove that their ghosts are ghosts );
that their miracles are in accordance with
the known laws of creation, and il they
cannot prove these things we should rest
there in comfortable attitude of un-
belief.
Going further. we should require their
evidence to be such as would be allowed
by Judge in court of law to be presented
to jury. That is not the case with the
evidence which is collected in records o.
psych ology. Psychologists give US i'm
pressions and differences. They think they
see visions which can be explained as the
fruit OF disoIdered digestion, as they hear
sounds which proceed from nervous over
excitement. The morbid mind, struggling
10 account for these sights and sounds,
identifies them with spiritual phenomena.
mother mourning for the loss of a son
fancles she hears an unexpected sound !;
she connects the sound with the thought
which is ever-present to her wounded
spirit, and she declares that she has heard
the voice Of the dead calling to her. Her
story would not stand the test of a cross
examination by a lawyer. but 1t goes on
the psychological record as a fact. A
man, glooming over his separation from
the lady he loves hest, revolves in his mind
the agony he would feel if she died; pres
emily. his fancy getting to work, he thinks
be sees her in the spirit bidding BIN adieu
ii turns out that she does die, and he testi-
fees that her death was simultaneous with
her apparition. In fact. there was no con-
nection between the two in point Of time,
but TO give point to the story, he persuades
himanlf that than
events.
The appetite for the supernatural and
the sensational is so strong in the human
breast that even IN cases In which spirit
ualism cuts no figure violence is often done
to the calendar TO give dramatic point to a
story. In several books of history, and
notably in on which has recently ap-
peared, we are told that Olympic Mancini.
having been driven out of France under
suspicion OF having poisoned her husband.
repaired to Spain. where her homicidal
instincts led her to poison the Queen. The
story Is taught in the schools, and no
doubt existed OF its truthfulness till It &C.
CURED to some one to look into chronol-
Ogy. 1t then appeared that the Queen of
Spain. whether poisoned or not, died five
years before Olympe's hus band.
The ghost stories with which spiritual
lists befuddle their wits would, if investi-
gated, prove generally as unreliable as the
tale of Olympic Mancini. Mr. Stead of the
ReUieoc Of Rerie,cs has persuaded himself
that ghosts exist. and may be talked to
like Hamlets father. The public may be
more inclined to agree with him when one
single instance of post-mortem life has
been proved by evidence which. in a court
If law, would send prisoner to the peni-
Tertiary.