The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1899-08-23

Mr.. asa mrs. Schley sue1 for Obta1s.
bng Mssey ~ False Pretenses.

Mr.. ana Mss. Schley sue0 for Obte1s.
Bng Msaey ~ False PFetensss.
Spirit land photography. as related to
obtaining money under false pretenses, is
20 be Investigated in court Assistan;
Prosecuting Attorney Hart acknowledges
that great progress has been made Ia the
art OF reproducing images by means OF
lenses. plates and chemicals, but he does
not believe that the time has arrived when
= PHOTOGRAPHERS can see through lens
into the great unknown and take pic
ture Of a spirit.
Mrs. Mary Lynch. a woman OF middle
age. who runs boarding house on Fourth
nsenne Il the ALLEGED Veg victim o. ns a sIr
w. c. Schley. Of this city. OF swindling
her out Of so by taking an alleged picture
OF her beloved son Herbert. who died Sep
TENDER g. 1S98, aged IS months. The 30
picture which Mrs. Lynch has TO show for
her experience represents herself. seated
on . sofa with the dim form Of little
child IN her left arm. She says that Mr..
troduced the form OF her little daughter
into the picture and palmed II OF on her
an that OF her beloved Herbert.
complaint was issued in Justice Cams
court yesterday afternoon, In which Mr..
and Mrs. Schley are charged with obtain
Ing money under false pretenses. Mr.. Hart
said that Z was certainly 2 very strange
case. but that he did not hesitate In say
Ing that spirit photography ought 10 be
relega,ed to the lost arts I'VE have had
several complaints OF like nature" he
continued. and Il In about time this kind
OF work was broken up"
In telling her story Mrs. Lynch said that
some time ago she became acquainted with
Mr.. and Mrs. Schley. who are spiritualists.
inclined to their belief. and in the course
OF her relations with her new friends be-
came their creditor to the extent OF $35.
offered . substitute proposition to the !ef-
feet that they would take picture OF her
little son Herbert. who died september B.
She says that Mr. schley explained that
he had been very successful In spirit land
photography and had produced several
fine pictures Of departed souls. Mrs. Lynch
says that she did not think anything Of
II at the time, but now recalls II az sig.
niicant that Mrs. Schley came to her sew
eral days before the first sitting and OBJ
tanned picture Of her little girl, who bears
Mr.. schley is represented as saying that
spirit photography was very expensive. In
volving the use Of rare and costly chem
icals He would do the work for So which
would leave him little remuneration for his
work above the amount Of his debt. az he
would be compelled to expend $i2 In pur-
chase OF materials.
Two stt.ngs were had. Mrs. Lynch says
that che was placed in front OF a curtain
on a sofa and then the pictures were taken.
She had with her the result OF the Won
derfui process. The picture OF herself was
only fair, and that OF her child In spirit
land was quite dim. She received the pic
tura and discharged the debt
On discovering that the image was that
OF her little daughter the thought came to
her that she had been made the victim of
a swinaie On this theory she placed the
matter in the hands OF the prosecuting at
torney.
Mr. Har; believes that the Schleys re-
sorted To what is known as trick photog-
raphy 10 bring the image OF the child into
tho picture Within the past year ma ga
zines have given many Illustrations COM
bining different figures in unique positions