The herald., 1897-04-06
SpirituaIistic Rubbish Used Only
as a Cover
MISS HOLMES AN ACROBAT
AND IN THAT MANNER HOOD
WINKED HER DUPES
n. T. Gage, Esq, Kept Up Running
Fire of Caustic Criticism, While
Senator White Handled the
Heavy Argument

The sayings and doings of Miss jose
phine Holmes have proved so inspiring
to counsel in the Times libel suit that ar
guments have not yet concluded. Hen
nv T. Gage, ESQ.,, occupied the forenoon
Yesterday in the United States Circuit
court in addressing the jury, and Sena-
tor While filled in the afternoon, speak
ing from the reconvening of court at 2
until nearly o'clock.
Under such an overwhelming ava
lanohe of verbiage it might almost be
supposed that the plaintiff was utterly
annihilated And truth to tell neither
of the counsel in their arguments con-
sidered very much either the feelings of
Miss Holmes or the coterie of believers
who have appeared upon the witness
stand in her behalf.
During the entire day the courtroom
was filed by people interested in this
most curious suit who followed with
close attention the words of counsel.
These could afford to be hypercritica.
and note impartially the force and effect
of the arguments advanced by both Mr..
Gage and Senator White. The former
went through the testimony more in de-
tail, while the senator took broader
view of the situation and made the
plaintiff and her actions the subject Of
his arguments, all other testimony be-
ing merely incidental as casting light
upon her actions.
Mr.. Gage thus cleared the ground for
Senator Whie, who. with almost vitu-
perative satire, open denunciation and
scathing sarcasm, pilloried Miss Holmes
for her actions as we'll as her teachings.
To say that the senator held the close
attention of the crowded audience, as
well as the jury, throughout the hours
he spoke is to state the situation very
concisely. Never prosy, his argument
bristled with bright illusions, biting
sarcasm and telling anecdote, and his
indictment of Miss Holmes was, on that
account alone, of the greatest interest
Coming down to the matter or the
argument, however, there were some
points made which seemed rather odd,
and particularly in the light of the testi-
mony adduced. Only once or twice did
Senator White allude to Spiritualism as
a cult. The concession that Miss
Holmes is a Spiritualist in the full sense
of the term would practically throw up
on the defense the onus of proving GER
tain phenomena not only not to be the
result of spirit forces put that Miss
Holmes knew they were not produced in
such manner, and so imposed upon peo-
pie.
MISS HOLMES AS AN ATHLETE.
In avoiding this, or rather in assuming
that Miss Holmes knew that spirits had
nothing to do with her manifestations,
dreams, clairvoyancy, etc, these had to
be explained in another and very odd
way. While the plaintiff and her wit
nesses denied generally that Miss
Holmes jumped about in the manner
described by Mrs. Van Auken, the wit
ness Baisley did state that she twisted
her face, when under the influence of
Abel in a most extraordinary way;
that she did jump onto the shoulder of
George Van Auken etc, etc. AS ex-
planatory of her power to do these
things, Senator White spoke of her as
an athlete and contortionist BY the
strength and fiexibility of her limbs she
was thus enabled to twist herself into
the shape of a hoop and roll around the
room and under the table where, it will
be remembered, Abel left her with her
hair entangled in the leg of the table.
A DRESSING DOWN.
In going through the alleged libelous
article Mr. Gage contended that it was
true, head lines and all, and putting that
forward as a fundamental proposition
he proceeded to analyze the article in
connection with the testimony offered.
With regard to Belmont hall and Its
new breed of fallirs," he argued that the
law of libel held that when a word was
ambiguous and had a double meaning
it was for the other side to give the
harmful sense ascribed to it by the pub
lie generally. He contended that Miss
Holmes was the boss faldr," for she
srrogated to herself occult powers, rep
resented herself as supernatural aud
God-like and taught that she was not of
mortal kind.
Counsel urged that the grand in
spiration" spoken of was a sarcasm. II
was not grand. Miss Conrad had told
how plaintiff represented to her that her
sister was a medium in the hands of
God, and had painted the pictures in
court Mr.. Gage drew the attention cf
the jury to the faces in these pictures,
and claimed that Mr.. Chapman, of coun-
sci for the defense, was blind to the truth
as he was to these shadowy faces in the
pictures which Miss Holmes repudiated.
Col Otis. in inaugurating the investiga-
tion, and Miss Irwin, in carrying it out,
were, he thought, worthy of all praise
in their attempt to rescue q girl from
belmont 0dll. AS lDI y, ne
was in a strange country and didn't
know where to turn, and in those cir
cumstances made representation of the
case as he knew it to be. That Miss
Holmes was "impious'' counsel con-
tended was apparent when she alleged
that she came to finish the work begun
by Christ and that she had seen him in
person and had visited heaven and hell!
Mrs. Taylor thought Miss Holmes
vested with occult powers, but the plain.
tiff herself repudiated teaching any
thing. She said that at the meeting the
theme of the discourse was Gossip AMI
Criticism" and was couched in strong
Anglo-Saxon, in that corroborating
Miss Irwin.
In this manner Mr.. Gage wended his
way through the two Times articles,
criticising the testimony of the plain
tiff's witnesses and reserving his hard
est terms for the plaintiff herself, the
"brazen effrontery" of Mrs. Russell and
George Van Auken.
ANY DOMINATION IMMORAL.
Senator White in beginning his argyll