The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1900-03-13
Mas. BROWN OBJECTS
To the Intelligencer's Expose Of Ne
dunn Stephens.

~
dunn Stephens.
TO the Editor of the 1ntelligencer.
s1R-1 see in this mornings 1ntelll-
gencer and Register an article purport-
ing to expose Mr.. Stephenson, Of Elm
Grove, who held q seance on Market
street Sunday evening. Mr.. Editor,
there is not to my knowledge any me-
dium by the name Of Stephenson resid-
ing at Elm Grove, and am pretty thor
oughly known In spiritualistic circles
and would certainly have heard Of him
had such been the case. The entire ar
ticle Is a bundle Of falsehoods with Just
a grain Of truth here and there.
It is true there was a seance held on
Market street, but It was not held in
Behren's hall, but in the privacy Of our
own home.
Mr.. Ernest Stephens, Of Columbus,
o., who is well known in this city as a
thoroughly honest and reliable medium,
conducted the seance. It Is true there
were two aluminium trumpets about
three feet In length, and the usual ma
neuvers Of seating in the circle before
turning out the gas was gone through.
1t "a also true that i've men wearing
the garb of gentlemen came to our
home unlimited, and through misrep-
resentatlon gained admlttance to the
seance.
Mr.. Editor, anyone Of ordinary INTEL
llgence who has ever attended q seance
or who has read intelligently on the
subject knows that a spirit does not
need to be called for. II 1t is possible
for them to communicate with their
friends they are only too glad to do so.
The writer Of the above mentioned ar
tlcle says there were Ave skeptical ones
who attended the seance. / have met
many skeptlcs before, Mr., Editor, and
/ respected them. He says they at
tended the seance to expose the fake;
that when the darkness was relieved by
n sudden burst Of light from pocket
lamp carried by one Of the doubters
there was the professor in the center Of
the circle with the trumpet at his
mouth. Mr.. Editor, It Is nm utter false
hood from beginning to end. When the
light was flashed the trumpet fell to
the floor from the ceiling, where, by
the first rays Of the light. It could be
seen plainly floating. Furthermore, Mr..
Stephens WINS scented between two Of
the sltters, also skeptlcs, Just as he wns
when the seance started, and not In
the center Of the circle, us stated by the
honorable skeptics. as eighteen OF the
twenty-three slttrrs can ana are WILL
ing to testify. The skeptlc in his article
has been very elaborate in his details
OF what the rays Of the little lamp re-
vealed 10 him. md now. Mr.. Editor, I
viii tell what they revealed to us as
/ can prove, not by Ave, but by eighteen
honorable people. The rays showed us
flve OF the smallest big men 1t was ever
our lot to see, who after starting the
disturbance were 20 frightened at the
possible Termination that they acted
more like demented beings than ratlon-
nj men. Surely the spirit of madness
was rife. One OF the splrItualIsts
crossed the room to light the gan and in
their guilty terror must have thought
no was going to strike them (Which
they richly descrvcd). Their terror and
frightened pleadlngs of Don't strike
moi" Don't strike mel" and their an
tics Ms they jumped around the room
win long be remembered m one OF the
most disgusting Ms we'll ms one OF the
most ridiculous episodes ever witnessed
Of n mans cowardlce II there was a
pollceman's load-hllcd club (Which I
doubt) It WIS not ilourlshed, as stated,