The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1897-11-30
CRAzED BY TRILBY
Drawing Teacher in the She
bOygan Public Schools
Is Discharged for Practising
HypnOtfsm on Pupils.
GIRLS HIS SUBJECTS.
Kept Them in After School for
Experiments
And Use.3 Them in Giving Ex-
hibitiOns Before Others.
PARENTS RAISE A ROW
School Board is Flooded With
Complaints.
The Professor Must Now Look
for Another Place.
And UsEa Them in Giving Ex-
hibitiOns Before Others.
PARENTS RAISE A ROW
School Board is Flooded With
Complaints.
The Professor Must Now Look
for Another Place.

Sheboygan, Wis, Nov. 3O.-Prof. C.
w. Ferguson, instructor in drawing in
the public schools of this city, who was
charged with practicing hypnOtism on
a number of pupils at a private exhl-
bition has been dismissed from the
school by the board of education. The
evidence presented showed that Fer
guson had been exercising his power in
the school buildings, keeping the little
girls until 5 o'clock in the evening.
His work was confined to girls of
very tender age exclusively, but there
was no evidence of any evil intent.
Only recently has it be ascertained
that ShebOygan has a SvengaH in its
public schools. He has used pupils as
subjects for his experiments. Parents
discovered the situation and complained
to the school board.
Sheboygan's Svengai is Professor C.
W. Ferguson, art instructor. He went
from ShebOygan to Paris to study art
and arrived just at the time when Du
Maurier's famous hypnotic novel,
Trilby,' was in the height OF its pop
ularlty. Professor Ferguson read the
book while a resident of the Latin
quarter, and the local color of the sto-
~ fascinated him. From interest in the
story he became so fascinated with the
hypnotic side of it that he began to
study the science Of suggestion. From
study he progressed to experiment. He
found that he possessed the power
and has been cultivating it ever since.
Upon his return to his home in She
bOygan Professor Ferguson secured the
position of art instructor in all the
ward and high schools. This placed
several thousand children under his in
structiOn- The opport unity for contin-
uing his hypnotic experiments was too
favorable to be lost. Boys and ecirs of
school age are good subjects, and Pro-
fessOr Ferguson at once proceeded to
| make the most of his opportunities.
Adolph Kuhlmann, superintendent of
the MattOOn Manufacturing COMPANY
was the first to discover the situation.
He has a daughter who attends the
Fourth ward school. He became SuS-
piciOus that something unusual was
going on and began an investigation.
The result was that he went to the
school board and preferred charges
against Professor Ferguson.
Mr.Kuhlmann claims that his daugh-
ter has been under Professor F'ergu-
sons control more or less, for several
weeks. He expresses alarm at the pro-
feSSOr'S control over the girl and de-
| clareS that her health is suffering from
! the repeated experiments to which she
! has been subjected at his hands. It is
understood that the girl is one of a
number of Fourth ward school pupils
| who have been taken to the residence
! of Mr. and Mrs. Bowman for the pur-
pose of experiment and used as sub
| jects to demonstrate the professors
power.
But if the parents were slow to dis
cover Professor F'erguson's hypnotic
practices, his pupils were not. Many of
| the older boys in the schools found out
early what was going on. Their in
structOr's mysterious power excited
their unbOunded admiration, and it was
not long before they were endeaVOring
to initiate him. They operated on
younger pupils, and some of these
youthful SVengaliS are understood to
have developed cOnSiderab Bile ability in
the direction of influencing subjects
It is likely, however, that a good
many parents were suspicious that
something queer was going on. At any
rate, as soon as Mr.. kuhlmann'S action
was known there was g. general invest
igatiOn. The result was that a large
number of parents were so alarmed
that the school board was deIuged with
complaints.
Nobody seems to know much about
the true inwardness of the situation.
Very few people know anything about
hypnOtism, and even the most liberal
minded usually regard it with dis
trust, if not actual fear. Operators
| maintain that it cannot be used to
harmful ends, but the general public
| look upon it much as people of a few
| generations ago did upon the black
art Therefore it is not yet known
how much harm, if any, has been done
by Prof. Ferguson and his imitators
There seems to be no doubt, howev-
er, that there has been a great deal of
hypnotic experimenting. Superinten-
| dent Heller of the school board admits
! this.
These hypnotic practices and exper-
| iments have undoubtedly prevailed to
! an alarming extent" he said. THAT
much is certain. A deIuge of com
| plants has poured in upon the board
| following Mr.. Kuhlmann's charges
On the other hand, Prof Ferguson
| does not seem to regard the situation
| as at all serious. He admits that he
has made pupils the subjects of his
| experiments, and defends his action
! I am interested in the science of
| hypnOtism," said he, 'and have devot-
| ed considerable time and attention to
/ it. I have used pupils as subjects My
| experiments on them, however, have
I all been outside of school hours 1
have taken pupils from the Fourth
ward school to the residence of Mr.
\ and Mrs. Bowman and used them there
/ as subjects. These experiments have
| been simply for my own amusement
and that of my friends, and have never
| been of dangerous character"