The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1902-08-22
IN the RgALm OF THE UNcANNy

Dr. Oliver Lodge, the president of the
Society for Psychical Research, recently
delivered his annual address. and it deals
frankly with many Of the alleged pho
nomena Of modern spirituaEsm- He ad-
uits that he has never seen a trustwor-
thy instance of what is called the pas
sage Of matter through matter" or an
example of the fourth dimension Such
phenomena are believed by some investi-
gators 70 have occurred. a solid glass
cube being passed through an oak table;
a billiard ball being extracted from per
manently closed shell and two CLOSED
rings being linked together. Nor has ne
seen satisfactory materializations or ar
pearances Of temporary human forms. o.
the exposure of a human being 10 lire
without harmful results. although these
and othcr things are testified TO BY men
like Sir w Crookes, f. r. 8. former
president of the Psychical Society. Who's
testimony is almost as difficult to resist
as it is to accept the things testified
DR.. Lodge says:
I know of rings being put over things
apparently too large-a ring on the stem
of a wineglass. for instance, or on the
leg of a round table. or on a mans wrist
but / have never seen a permanent and
undenia bic instance OF what may be term
ed physical miracle; and am not aware
that there is such thing on view in the
Joined rings OF different kinds Of wood;
though perhaps the skill of the botan-
ist or the fancier might manage TO ac-
complsh this by constrained growth IN
der favorable conditions. l assume. how
ever that any natural mode Of doing it
could be detected by proper botanical ex-
animation of the result.
Regarding materialism, he says: II
am disposed to maintain that | have my
"a ryifn in a i'm iohf 81 ,aF
abnormal instances of these things; and
am certainly prepared TO entertain 4
consideration of them. Suppose an I'M
touched object comes sailing or hurting
through the air. or suppose an object is
raised or fioated from the ground. how
are We TO regard il? This is just what
live animal could do, and so the first
natural hypothesis is that some living
thing is doing it: (a) the medium himself
acting by tricks or concealed mechanism:
(b) confederate-an unconscious confed-
crate, perhaps, among the sitters; (c) an
unknown and invisible entity other than
the people present If in any such ac-
ton the ordinary laws of nature were
superseded. II the weight of a piece of
matter could he shown to have disap-
peared, or IL fresh energy were intro
duced beyond the recognized categories
of energy, then there would be additional
difficulties; but hitherto there has been
no attempt to establish either of these
things"
DR.. Lodge offers a theory for material
izations. They may he thinks. represent
a singular and surprising modification of
known power in life Somewhat" he
suggests. las a mollusk or a crustacean,
or snail, can extract material from the
water or from it's surroundings where
with to make shell. ora closer analogy
just as an animal can assimilate the
material Of its food and convert it into
muscle. or hair, or skin, or bone. or
feathers process of the utmost mar
vel but nevertheless an everyday oc-
currence-so 7 could conceive it possible
l. the evidence were good enough that
some other intelligence or living entity,
not ordinarily manifest to our senses.
though possibly already in constant touch
with the physical universe by reason
of possessing what may he called an ethe-
rial body. could for a time utilize the
terrestrial particles which come in its
way, and make tor itself a sort of mate
rial structure capable of appealing TO our
ordinary senses. The thing is extremely
unlikely. but it is not altogether unim-
aginable.
Perhaps these temporary semi-material
accretions might be photographed. but
the Judgment OF the president Of the
Psychical Society is against the genu-
ihcHcoS VI spirit PHOTOGRAPHS OIlen
these are made by a simple trick. the
human forms being already depicted on
them in sulphate of quinine. Mediums
who insist on their own conditions. and
will not admit scientific precautions. must
be treated as mere conjurers.
DR.. Lodge holds to the persistence of
human existence beyond bodily death al
though he is unable to give full and COM
plete justification for his belief Yet"
he says, 1T is q belief which has been
produced by scientific evidence; that is.
it is based upon facts and experience;
though l might find it impossible 10 ex-
plain categorically how the facts have
produced that conviction. Suffice it to
say for the present that it is not in
simple and obvious way. nor one that can
be grasped in an hour or two, except by
those who have seriously studied the sub
ject, and are consequently entitled to an
opinion of their own.
The Society for Psychical Research is
often regarded by people with inaccurate
information as an organization devoted
to proving the genuineness of spiritual
istic phenomena, but its object is to make
a rigid scientific investigation Of these
phenomena, and it also inquiries into such
matters as telepathy or thought trans
ference. DR.. Lodges address is a cool
and carefully reasoned exposition Of his
conclusions reached after much patient
inquiry. His cautiousness does him
credit.