San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1897-05-16
SPIRITUALISM.
The Humbug of the Age.
'itten for the Light.

written LOT the Light
All religions are based on miracles
and when these miracles are sifted
carefully they are found to be the same
in kind and quality as those of modern
| spiritualism.
Many people, perhaps the most of
| them have a faint of superstition and
! it is on this that religions feed and
flourish. First appeal to a persons
superstitiOus fear, and then do some
thing or show something that he does
not understand and 1t will at once i'm
press him as being a work of either a
God, the devil or spirits.
Spiritualism is the warp and wool
within whose meshes are lodged all
the dogmas and creeds of all religions.
But once prove spiritualism to be false
and all religions are deprived of their
original support.
Spiritualism is about the same
whether in Buddhism, Christianity or
modern spiritualism. 1t advances
claims that can not be supported. 1t
thrives better among superstitious peo-
pie than anywhere else.
Spiritualism and it's more metaphys-
ical mate theosophy are arrant humbug
that no one will give assent to them.
Because we do not know it all there
are those who by claiming to have a
gift of spiritual power, seek to make a
living by explaining the unexplaina-
BILE and solving the unknowable. These
spiritual fakirs whether preacher,
priest or medium claim to have some
kind of word or communication from
the gods or ghosts and they make
a living by working on the supersti-
tons of the people and at the same
time they teach a philosophy that fos-
tiers their own interests.
Who knows how a thought is born?
No one. Why should we believe it has,
spirit back of it any more than the
blade of young corn or flower? When
any one tells me how by will power l
cause the arms to do as 1 wish. then 1
will explain the workings of the HUI
man mind.
Does anyone know the limits of the
mind? Can any one truthfully draw a
line and say Here ends the mental
and all beyond is SPIRITUAL" Mind
reading in hypnotic states is now aC-
knOwedged and yet no one knows how
far the mind can reach.
AS long as no one can say what the
mental limit is no one can truthfully
say that mental phenomena are proofs
of spirits for it all may be due to some
unknown or yet not understood mental
action. Then too these mental states
of sO-called mediums are very nearly
like the mental states of those who are
deranged by alcohol, OPT
UNI, etc. Perhaps the means used to
develop" mediums produces the same
mental and nervous arrangement as
drugs.
Independent slate writing and mater
ialization may be set down as frauds
because they are never done unless
there is a chance of fraud. When
there is no chance for fraud the CON
1itiOns" are so bad as to preclude any
thing but when you leave chance for
triCkery you will be astOnished to see
how powerful the spirits" really are.
Let me suggest a perfectly fair test |
for the slate writer and materializer. |
These tests do not destroy the harmon |
ious conditions but do prevent any |
chance of fraud.
For independent slate writing sug- |
gest the following. Take a long neck |
per and slate and piece of lead pencil |
and slate pencil; then take the bottle |
and heat the neck with a blow pipe till |
it becomes soft and then twist the |
neck into a spiral. After this is done |
note the air bubbles in the bottle and |
take a plaster or wax cast of the neck |
and turn it over to the medium. You
now have it so he can not trick you
and you can rest assn. ed that the
tricksters will leave it alone.
For naturalization try the following:
Put the medium in a chair and cover
him over with a cylinder made of rab-
bit wire with small meshes. This fix
es him so that 4.e can not do any
sleight of hanu work when it is spiked
solidly ~ the floor. To cut off confed-
crates make another cylinder large
enough to cover the first and leave
sufficient space between the two for
the spirits to appear. Then wait for
ghosts. If these tests do not knock
out the mediums then they are gen
uine but be sure and see that you are
not imposed on.
OF course no such tests can be APP
piled to the older religions because
they place their phenomena in the
past but a careful reading of the So
called holy books will show the fraud
ulent character of the whole thing.
AS science has undermined the
churches the people instead of becOm-
ing reasonable are turning to the par
ent humbug again and hence modern
spiritualism is on a boom. 1t must be
downed or we will have another crop
of vile superstitions.
G.. S. LINCOLN.
THERE is NOTHING so GOOD.
There is nothing just as good us
DR. KINGS Now Discovery for Con-