St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-04-08
OSCAR EDGERLY-A MEDIUM
Lectures on Spiritualism anu
Bre axis the Heart of the
Skeptie
WITH SOME TEST READING.
Edg erly Is a nationalist Who
Processes Other
Things.

yesterday celeDrdtoC the 1Orty-SeV-
enth anniversary of ti:e advent of
modern spiritualism and the sixth
anniversary of the founding of the
local alliance. The celebration was
held in Cd Fellows hall, corner of
Fifth and Wabasha streets, and con-
tinued throughout the day, from II
o'clock in the morning until after 10
at night, the ladies serving dinner
in the hall at o'clock. Three serv-
ices were held, one at II, one at 2:30
and one at 7:30. The afternoon
service was the most largely at
tended, the hall being packed. AT
this service Oscar A. Edgerly, of
Newburyport, Mass, one of the
leading spiritual mediums and lect-
urers in the country, delivered a
lecture, and the service ended with
test circle. The stage was ele-
gantly decorated with flowers and
plants, and the appearance of the
audience was raised to the point of
mediocrity by the presence of sew
eraI intelligent faces and few pref
ty women.
The evening service was the most
interesting to the skeptic Mr.. Ed
gerly delivered another lecture, at
the conclusion of which he gave
few test readings that would certain
ly, to say the least, excite the specu-
lative philosophy of the intelligent
Skeptic whose only motive was to
find an explanation of the outward
manifestations. AS a lecturer, Mr.
Edgerly is tolerable. His thoughts
are those of the nationalist, pure and
simple, but his arguments are not
as strong as those Of hundredsgo
other rationalists, whose writings
are familiar to every intelligent man
and woman. The peculiar part of
it is that Mr.. Edgerly does not call
himself nationalist, but a spirit
ualist, and he attempts to appropri-
ate to the influence of the teaching
of spiritualism that independence
Of religious thought, inspired by the
writings of such men as Voiney.
Voltaire, Paine and others of that
class. Mr.. Edgerly spoke in part as
follows: .
Forty-seven years ago modern
spiritualism had it's advent, and the
commemoration of that event. is the
commemoration of one of the great
est events in history Selfshness ha S
stood in the way of nlan's iprofttfig
by aT'.7: .g |js- e.-% t~~c7y-
THE SPIRIT LIFE.
Thnro olr
between the spiritual and the mum
dane, but never until 1s4S were the
conditions such as to enable man to
reap the highest results from a sur
render to the spiritual. Spiritualism
has awakened the mind to naturalism,
and that is what spiritualism is. Nat
uralism could never reach the masses
through any other medium. The few
bold, Independent thinkers who; had
in the past championed the cause of
naturalism were martyred. Spiritual
ism may not recognize the existence
of a personal God, but it breaks down
prejudice and bigotry and gives liberty
of thought. Those who have reviled
spiritualism are mentally blind.
CAS- a result of the teachings of
spiritualism we witness a Presbyterian
synod getting together and revising
creed-doing away with the idea
that hell is paved with infant skulls,
and finally wiping out hell entirely.
Spiritualism claims it's devotees by the
millions, but many of them, while
believing in the philosophy, are too
cowardly to declare themselves spir-
itualists. The advent of spiritualism
was the attraction of the attention OF
/ three little children to three peculiar
| sounds that emanated from no mater
| ia1 source. Had these three children
| lived 300 years ago, they would have
! shared the fate of the $4,000 witches
| put to death in enlightened England
| less than 500 years ago-the fate of the
| hundreds of creatures put to death
| for like offenses in our own New Eng
| land less than 300 years ago.
'Spiritualism answers the question
| of the ages-when man dies does he
live again? Spiritualism says he never
dies. Fulton was laughed at when he
| declared his belief that the power Of
steam could be utilized for the pur-
pose of navigation. Morse was laughed
| at when he declared his faith in the
possibility of sending a message be-
| meath the waters of the ocean. Mes
mer was laughed at when he declared
| it possible for one Individual to bring
another completely under his control,
! as we now see done by what we call
| hypnotic influence. These things teach
| us that 81
'-s MEN ARE FORCED + A
to accept as true tomorrow what they
reject as false today. Thus it Is, and
will hn wiz hoe
| ism. IL
"Popes. cardinals and bishops always
| laid claim to the power to con4rnuni-
cate with saints, but denied that lay
men had such power. Spiritaalism
knows no laymen. Hypatia taught
something akin to spiritualisrh. but
she was torn limb from limb in the
vestibule of a church. Bruno followed
the example, ard was reduced to- shes.
| Voltaire taught freedom of relig ioI,s
| thought, and was prosecuted. Volfaire
and Volney and Tom Paine, through
| the medium of the modern printing
press, have done more for humanity
in one year than Christianity did in
1850 years. The Iiberality of the coy
eminent under which we live is d,fe to
1.-The teachings of such men. We don,t
want men to be without religion but
we want them to be without scare
crows-we don't want them driven
| by devil with he'll behind hin, T
believe the time will come when the
Jehovah Of the Bible will be as com
t pietely forgotten as are the gods of
| Olympus, when all men will say: .The
world is my country; to Co good my
i religion =
a Mr.. Dow, of Duluth, followed Mr..
Edgerly in a short talk ct the evening
service, and then the latter proceeded
to give few test readings. In re-
! spouse to a, request, a number. of those
in the audience sent up to the platform
various things taken from their per
sons-one pocketknife, another a
watch, and so on. Picking up a pocket
knife, Mr.. EdgerIy, keeping his ewes
closed, said:
"The person who owns this knife n
of a very stubborn dispesition-not 50
much by nature as from the influence