The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-01-27
WAR OVER Mind READING
TWO EMINENT PROFESSORS WITH
DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSITE
VIEWS ON 1T
SAW THE SAME EXPERIMENTS
One Says the Test Was n Fraud
While the Other Is Con-
WINGED of Its Cen
rineness.

This is the TALE of the Mind Reader
end the Two Gentlemen of Columbia
You are not asked to credit the mani
festations' of the telepathist. Neither
are you required to catch up the cudgels
in defense of the view of either of he
ColumbianS. You are simply invite TO
enjoy the spectacle of learned pair
of professors from our cOllcse Oh the
hill simultaneously witnessing certain
experiments and emerging with in1Lres-
sions totally at variance the with
the other.
Says our always entertaining James H
Hyslop, professor of psychology: The
whole affair was a transparent fraud
Hear also what his brother master
says, DR.. John D. Quackenbos, emeri-
tus professor of psychology: 81 consid
or the tests clear and indisputabie proof
of the theory of subconscious sugges-
ton"
It is very pretty controversy
and really worth examining into by the
gentle and unbiased reader, the Cincin-
natl Enquirer says.
The entertainments took place in New
York, ia the presence of not less than
thirty PEOPLE besides those Immediately
interested. so that any suspicion of trick
cry on the part of the test would seem
absolutely impossible.
The mind reader on this occasion was
Il
markable powers, a foreigner and stu
dent of psychic phenomena IN various
countries and under various conditions
TIE experiments are interesting in them
selves. but doubly so in connection with
the rather pessimistic report made by
Prof Hyslop to the Society Of Psychical
Research, from which his observations
are herewith compiled. and the radically
optimistic views of his conferee, DR..
Quackenbos.
EXPERIMENTS WITH NUMBERS.
The medium requested Prof. Hyslop
TO write three numbers on paper and to
reverse the same, subtraCtins the lesser
from the greater. The professor did so
in another room. He returned, standing
fifteen feet from the medium, who placed
his hands over his eyes and then read
a number which proved incorrect. The
second trial was a success, the number
PSI being read correctly. Again there was
a failure, then again a correct answer
given to a new combination. This time
the figures increased to five digits. The
sixth was also given without a tiaw or
undue hesitancy. The seventh was an
instant success, the transference of
thought being given by a young lady,
whose images seemed to be more clearly
defined than the others, the reading be-
ing quicker.
The other number of experiments were
largely successful. For instance the
medium left the room and one of the
party held up the number a. written
on q pad for the company to memoriZe.
When the medium returned he stood in
the center of the room and received the
combined mind suggestion of the COM
pany, giving the correct number prompt
ly. A second trial-'32' to cause
the medium great mental strain; but
oft I1n NUito
eyes closed and hands over face, standing
amid the company. third trial, with
three figures, resulted in failure of the
last figure, the mediums mental progress
seeming unable to grasp more than two
TRANSPARENCY OF PORTRAITS
AND NAMES.
A lady wrote the name Grace" on a
pad, memorizing the image. Mind reader
covered his face, and then leaned for
ward, fully ten feet away, spelling out
the letters "G-r-a-c-e" with some men
tai effort. Another lady wrote William
Mckinley upon the pad, turned down
upon the table, then projected the pic
ture as nearly as she could recall it,
upon the others mind. The medium
drew a very accurate portrait of the
president, signing the name underneath.
Another lady was requested to write
the name of some gentleman present,
which was done, and from his own fea-
lures across the room she memorized
his profile, projecting it thence into the
medium mind. The medium Immediate
1y drew a very good portrait of the man.
writing his name beneath. A young lady
was asked to order the medium mentally
to perform some other test office, the lat
ter taking the lady's hand. After a mo
ments hesitation the medium crossed
the drawing room, seized a rose from a
vase, turned about, still holding the
lady's hand and traversed the length OF
two rooms, when he presented the rose
to an elderly lady seated there. This
performance was admitted by the young
woman to be the correct test.
MEDIUM UNDER GREAT MENTAL
STRESS.
There were a number of other expert
ments, with the usual large percentage
of successes. Some minds seemed more
stubborn and some more responsive
than others to the mediums mind. One
of the final tests was the visualizing OF
a portrait of Abraham Lincoln by Prof
Hyslop. The medium seemed to find the
professors mind peculiarly negative, but
upon holding the latters hand with his
left while he drew the portrait with hi:
right the medium managed to draw the
correct face and speak the name with
assurance. This was one of the most
difficult OF the experiments, for the rea.
son that, as the medium explained, he
received little help from the agent;
mind and the INSTALLATION was none toe
clearly defined.
Throughout the experiments the med
fun seemed to labor under great men.
tai stress, frequently dashing cold water