The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1902-05-02
TIE OLD REPORTERS STORY.


It isn't the fault OF the good among
the s2irituaLsls that so many frauds are
committed in the name of their cult. The
surroundings u spiTiCualism lend them
selves 50 readily 10 deception that in this
fact the sharper finds his best weapon
II was just twelve years ago that the
city editor OF 4 Chicago paper called in
three reporters and q detective from Cen
trail He told them that he wished a case
Tor the detectivce and a good story for
the reporters worked out of some do
lNgs that were going on over IN q fine
residence on ogden avenue.
1t was queer tale that the city editor
hao 70 tell Even police reporters ana a
! detective who knew all about how people
seemed actually TO like TO be sold, -
1 could hardly believe that any person was
icol enough TO be taken IN by such pal
pable fraud as the city editor said had
been perpetrated in the Ogden avenue
house. II seems that a man and his wife
and their daughter and son had opened
a parior for the giving Of seances. The
! wife was the medium. They gathered
nightly IN their large double parlor a
| dozen or so OF the true believers in spirit
! ualisrn- One was a young woman OF q
sensitive temperament ana utterly unused
- ways that are dark.
The city editor told his reporters that
the young woman was well-tO-do; that
/ she had gone 10 the seance one evening
and the spirit of her dead sister was,
through the mediums supposed power,
brought to the parlor. The sisters raj
ment was all slistening. She kept her
head down, however, and recognition on
/ the living sisters part was not complete.
The living. however, believed strongly
enough that her sisters spirit was with
her 10 induce her TO give up a diamond
ring which the spirit promised she would
| 'cematerialize and take TO heaven with
her"
The next night the gullible one was
| again at the seaace. This time the spirit
| of a dead brother appeared in the room.
The wrath declared that his living sister
was showing partiality in the distribution
! OF her gifts. You see, Mary" the spirit
said, Helen has a dematerialized ring.
and If you give her one 1 think YOU
ought TO be willing to do the same thing
| by me-.
So It was that Mary purchased another
/ diamond ring, valued at the amount Of
$50 and gave it to her brother Henry's
spirit to take TO heaven. Some friends Of
/ Mary heard OF the matter and not wish
ing her 10 be swindled any further. tried
| TO induce her to stay away from the spu-
1 rious spiritualists place. She believed,
/ however, and nothing could move her,
and the story coming to the city editor,
he agreed TO get evidence against the
place and get a scoop for his sheet at
the same time.
Nobody but the men employed on that
! job can realize how hard they had TO
work in order TO get into the confidence
OF the people. They went there sepa-
rately on different nights, and each paid
mis- dollar admission. II was ten nights
before one of them succeeded in getting
spirit to come 70 see him. The
ghosts were too foxy.
Every night there were many other
visitors, most of them being believers.
The reporters and the detective, John
Brode-ick had knowledge that back OF
the scenes was bouncer or two who
y ould put UP a stiff fight when an at
tempt should be made 10 seize and hold
one of the spirits and TO light the gas
jets. IT was the duty Of one reporter 70
catch the spirit; OF another when the
howl was made for light 70 ignite every
jet on the chandelier, OF another. with
the detective. to care for the two bouncers
and any of the guests who might want 10
put up fight.
The reporter whose business it was to
catch the spirit was known to The me
dunn and her aids as Mr.. Olds. lie tried
for twelve nights to get a satisfactory
interview with the spirit Of his supposed
deceased sister. This was the spirit that
Odds wanted to grab round the waist as
=
sworn out for the whole gang OF spirit
ualists on the charge Of obtaining money
under false preteases the basis of the
charge being that they had taken pay on
a promise to bring back the dead and
that they had failed to live up to their
obligations. If the spirit was caught and
proved to be flesh and blood the case was
made.
The spirit of Odds sister came out time
after time. but she always kept at arms
length. She wore a glistening crown that
afterward turned out to be Of cheap metal
covered with Illuminating paint.
But the night came AZ last. The sus-
picions of the "showEren" We're lulied-
The spirit of Miss ODDS came out from
the side of the cabinet with the evident in
tention Of at last embracing her brother.
There was an embrace and a rather more
strenuous one than the spirit bargalned
for. ODDS hung on and yelled for light
A fellow reporter lighted every gas jet
in the room and the beams fell on riot
ODDS had a buxom woman. from whose
head a blonde wig had fallen fast Ira
his arms. A buTly bouncer emerged from
the rear Of the cabinet and tackled the
reporter. who until a few months be-
fore had been quarter back on the Prince
ton football team. Detective Sergeant
Broderick showed that he knew how TO
act with two fun hands
After a rough and tumble fight Of ten or
fifteen minutes the medium. who disap-
Feared from the cabinet during the scuf- /
fie, and the rest OF the outfit were taken |
u the police station in blue wagon No !
body who was present that night viii /
ever forget the glare of hatred that came /
from that woman mediums eyes as she /
looked on the men who had called her (
game. She seemed TO bear particular /
hatred for Odds, whom she regarded as /
the chief offender because he had caught (
the confederate spirit" With perfect /
torrent OK vituperative words she called F
down all kinds OF dire troubles on Odds ]
head.
IT the curses or evil doors could be sup +
posed to be of effect one might have {
traced TO the maIedicti0ns Of that woman /
a future mystery. Within . month from +
that time the reporter left for the North /
west on a newspaper r1ssion fer mis- en-
pIoyers. and from that day 70 this TO 4
man. woman or child has been found 70 /
say that he has seen John Oids.-Edward 4
=. Clark.
Random Comment.
The cost Of firing single shot from a
sixteen-inch gun would pay a private sol
der for I'VE years.
r~7t. Ts--r ,-.-~rf~+ e rr~rrs ral miles