Pleasantville weekly press., 1898-06-08
FRANCIS SCHLATTER
THE DIVINE HEALER. >
The Press "Interviems" him
at Htlantie City.
1 REMARKABLE AAH WITH MIRACULOUS POWERS
HOW HE LOOKS AND TALKS, AND HOW HE
HEALS THE sIcK.-THE CROWDS THAT
COME TO HIM FOR RELIEF.

rdnclS Ocnldbter was nerai0eQ through
out the country until it has become very
familiar to those who read the curren
news of the day. 1t belongs to maj
who has been widely known in the west
as the "Divine Healer" who instantly
cures the sick by the magic of his touch.
His miraculous power bas been attribut
ed to various causes-and his refusal tc
charge anything for his services has
nearly thrown the high-priced doctors
into fits. Some see in his power q
special manifestation of Divine Provi
dence, Others believe it to be the work
Of departed spirits through an earthly
medium while still Others attribute his
cures to hypnotism or animal magne.
tism. The average citizen will not care
very much concerning the source of his
power if he can be relieved of some ol
the aches and ills that flesh is heir to.
Three years ago Francis Schlatter's
marvellous work in Denver, Colorado,
attracted the attention of the country.
Thousands and tens of thousands OF
people came to see him and be healed,
and the railroads were obliged to run
extra trains to accommodate them.
The newspapers all over the Country, at
the time, were filed with detailed
accounts of the Denver crowds and
Schlatter's wonderful cures. Shortly
afterward he suddenly disappeared from
Denver, and later on was reported dead
from different localities. The reports of
bis death were untrue, however, and
Schlatter was again heard of in the
middle western states. One of his
notable cures was that of State Senator
7. c. Snyder, of Columbus, Ohio, who
had been unable to take a single step
without the aid Of crutches, and who
was instantaneously cured in the pre-
sence of President Mckinley and many
other notable men. Two or three weeks
ago Schlatter was in Baltimore where
many more wonderful cures are reported
to have been made, At present be is in
Atlantic City, where he sees all callers,
and gives three exhibitions daily in the
large pavilion on Young's Pier. Desiring
to see and know more about this re-
markable man q representative of The
Press called upon him, last Saturday
afternoon, was courteously received and
granted q personal interview. Schlatter
was born in Dunkirk, France, April 80,
1856, in the province of Alsace, that
is now part of the German Empire
which was captured from France in the
late France Russian war. Iu stature he
is small and spare, being only five feet
six and one-half inches tall, and weigh
ing probably not over one hundred and
forty pounds. He has most kindly ex-
preston, and clear, bright, beautiful
hazel eyes that light up with almost
divine radiance when he is performing
his cures. His face is that of q typical
Alsatian, cleanly shaven, and his long
heavy brown hair falls in graceful rolls
over his shoulders. He speaks good
English but with marked foreign
accent. He talks but little, and cour-
teously refers all visitors to his private
secretary, Mr.. Gilbert, for most of the
information sought concerning him and
his work.
During the time that he devotes to
curing those who call upon him he sits
in large chair upon the middle of the
stage and rises when anyone comes upon
the platform. He asks no questions,
whatever, and makes no talk unless to
answer very bri. fl y some il quiry address
ed to him. He stands squarely III front
of the patient, grasps both wrists with
in his hands, aud holding them ficmly,
turns his face upward, for perhaps ten
seconds, but does not close his eyes. He
is apparently engaged in earnest, silent
prayer, and it is then that his face lights
up with strange beauty. Then be
places the thumb and fingers of his
right hand upon thepatient'sn neck, below
the base of the brain, and holds them
there u few seconds, pressing quite hard,
during which time he seems to be under
much nervous excitement himself. Last
of all he grasps the patients hands
again in front of him, holds them q
moment, and that is all. The whole
time occupies less than minute, and in
some instances not more than twenty
five to forty seconds. During that brieI
time without the utterance of word,
the asking Of a question, or the admins.
tratiOn of drop of medicine, thousands
of people say they have been instantly
cured of bodily ailments that have baffled
the skill of the best physicians. The
lame walk, the crippled throw away
their crutches. and others suffering from
various diseases claim they have been
made well. The man has every appear.
ance of earnestnesS and sincerity and
asks no fee in advance, or afterward, for
any cure that he may perform. He does
not refuse money, however, and the
gratitude that persons cured OF dis
tressing ills should feel ought to prompt
them-to contribute reasonable sum
to pay his necessary expenses. His re-
markable epower-whatever it may be-
was first discovered when he was about
fifteen wears old. His parents moved to