Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-02-03
SPIRIT PICTURES
Photographs Of Departed Taken in
Any Attitude.
SEAECBS, CIRCLES AND POSES
Wives and Families Manufactured
to Order and at Short Notice.
EXPERIENCES OF REPORTERS

Washington is becoming something of
mecca for frauds.
Here at the national capital charlatans
ply their trade without fear of interruption,
and hundreds of people are victimized.
Cloaking their methods under the guise of
religious belief, many escape detection and
reap rich harvests from the creduious.
They claim everything; agree to do any
thing and fix their price according to the
| financial status of the victim. Their pat
rons come from all walks of life; the do
lar of the ignorant servant girl being as
eagerly sought as that of the rich senator's
wife. Investigating these people from
disinterested standpoint, one is Immediate
ly impressed with the holiness of their
work and its pueriie simplicity. They go
away wondering if the race Is degenerating
that people can be SO easily humbugged
Not very long ago The Star exposed the
chicanery Of Professor wilson and his
fair partner, the Lady karina, two individ-
| uals who packed up their spirit belongings
and skipped town the day after the article
appeared.
But there is a still more interesting indi-
vidual in the city. and for some time he
has been permitted to practice his art
although even he has once been exposed by
| The Star. 1t is Professor ]. Emner, jr,
Spirit Photographer and Physical Med
ium.'' 1107 9TH street northwest. He has
the effrOntery to claim the power of photo
graphing spirits, and for the small sum of
| 81 paid in advance agrees to take your
picture with the pictures of your friends
| from the neither gloom lowering around. In
| this he is assisted by Mrs Julia Warneke,
| Trance Medium 122S l street northwest,
| an able ally. who makes speciality of ar
! ranging engagements with your spirit
| friends to meet you at Emner S. where the
| latter will take you, sitting, standing,
i Hi of
| ethereal faces mingling in the ambient at
| mosphere. 1t is a matter of small moment
| whether you have friends in the spirit
world All that is necessary is to say you
/ have and Mrs. Warneke will tell you all
| about them, while Emner presses the but
| ton and does the rest.
| Spirit photography is nothing new. 1t
has been known for years as a simple trick
| of the camera. Yet there are people in this
| city, and intelligent ones. too, who will
| swear there is no deception practiced and
| uphold the trick even when 1T is explained
| to them. These are ready victims and
| fancy. All spiritua lists do not accept spirit
| photography genuine, and in the inves-
| tigation of the Emner method the reporter
| found many who would not indorse 1t.
1t was in response to several complaints
| from people who had been victimiZed that
The Star sent me out last week to make
an investigation of the subject. 1 looked
about for an assistant and selected as my
| confederate a bright young lady who had
| given the subject of spiritualisn much
| thought and was somewhat of a believer
Satisfied that she would not overdraw the
| incidents of her experience, l outlined my
plan, which started with trip to the En-
| ners', | explained how several years ago
| with the aid of a little ink taken from my
| fountain pen, / had besmeared the arm
| of a materialzed friend from the spiri
| world at one OF the Emner seances, anG
| found. after the lights were turned up the
ink mark upon the arm of Mrs. Emner
| no
terrain the spirits in their nightly gam.
| bols. and the male member of the firm took
up the more practical business of street
car conductor. But, according to the story
| of one of the Emners' friends, the spirits
| returned and beckoned Emner back to theil
revelries- Be that as it may, he suddenly
ceased to register fares on street car
and when next heard from was in the
gressive and has added the spirit phOtog
| raphy to his line, as well as his little
| daughter to the company.
| Having explained my former visit to EN-
| ner. and cautioning my fair assistant to b,
cautious. she started of. Let her tell he
| own story.
She Investigated.
my investigation of Prof Emner covere,
a period Of several days, and were it no
important to get my experiences in a givel
space, might have been going yet. for tn
| ramincations of the detail carried me l.
| several mediums. AS II was, / attende
three circles, one seance and had my pic
ture taken with spirits lowering round me
Prof. Gmner said they were spirits an
surely he would not deceive, although tn
photograph presented me for 50 containe
only one recognizable face. and that wa
my own. There were other faces, how
ever, which, it was explained by Mrs. War
neke, Were those of my mother and littl
baby, and my guiding spirit. Mrs. South
worth. the weii-known authoress. Their
were other faces, too, but they crowded /
| as Emner explained spirits would do be
| taken. Before writing another word,
want to say emphatically that I am nc
married, have no little baby, and that m
darling mother Is sim of this beautff,
world. As for my guiding spirit win NJ