The Savannah morning news., 1902-08-24
SUPERSTITION, A. d., 1902.


Is it not strange that in this year
Of grace and enlightenment, when
churches, schools and colleges dot the
land and millions of dollars are being
raised and expended annually for the
saving of the heather who sits in outer
darkness, in foreign countries. that
there should be among our own people
numbers of those who believe in and
tremble at witchcraft, sorcery, fortune
telling and ghosts? And yet we have
such persons in what ought to be con-
sidered an incredible number, not only
in isolated rural districts but in the
great centers of population.
We printed the other day the story
of lawsuit instituted in an Illinois
town against an alleged witch. The
prosecuting witness, a woman, swore
that the so-called witch visited her
a coffee pot seven times with her fin
ger, pointed that finger at her head
and said, 20, see the beautiful hair. ="
And a few days thereafter all of the
beautiful hair" fell out The charge
was that witchcraft had been perform
ed, and the prosecuting witness want
ed the protection of the court. The
wonder is that she did not shoot an
effigy of the witch with silver bull
let.
Following this there were reports in
the papers, only a few days ago. of the
operations at Brookdale, N. Y, of a
doctor" who cured" his patients with
lamentations and the manipulation of
a small mirror before their faces. The
fakir reaped a rich reward of dollars
from among his dupes before he
skipped out between suns. The two
foregoing cases, however, were in small
communities, and some allowances
Of ignorance. But how is it when sup
erstition stalks in the heart of the
great city of New York, and causes
CONSERVATION at one of the most fash
ionable watering places in the world,
Atlantic City?
In the. house No. 232 East Forty-sec-
ond street New York, a woman com
mitted suicide some time ago. Sub
sequent to the suicide the place was
occupied by an artist as a studio. Dur
ing three nights last week the street
in front of the house was at times
jammed with people, all with staring
eyes, eager to see 1.-The ghost that had
been discovered there. In one of the
windows there appeared white-draped
and ghastly-looking female figure. AS
the lighted street cars passed the fig
ure would seem to move. At length
the uncanny thing so worked upon
the sensibilities of the gaping masses
that they stoned the house, smashing
windows and doing other damage.
And then it was discovered that the
ghost" was a plaster lay-figure that
had been used as a study by the art
list, and which had been left standing
on it's pedestal near one of the win
dows. That is all there was to the
cause an outbreak of superstitious
fear.
Two weeks ago an ignorant negro
prophet" and preacher. named Jones
predicted that Atlantic City, N. j.,
would be swept by a devastating tidal
wave on Aug. IS. Now, Jones knows
no more about the phenomena of earth
and sea and air and their causes than
he knows about the composition of the
interior of the sun; nevertheless the
educated, refined and wealthy sojourn-
ers at Atlantic City were much dis
turbed until the 18th was safely pass
ed, and their fears are not yet dissi-
pated. They think Jones possibly
missed his date by a few days and that
the tidal wave may yet come and work
destruction. Some of the Philadelphia
papers have even gone to the length
of printing long dispatches about Jones
and his prediction, illustrating them
with his portrait. It is impossible. of
course, that these newspapers took the
matter seriously, but it cannot be
questioned that many of their other
wise intelligent readers did so. If one
of these latter were accused of being
superstitious, the charge would no
doubt be denied Indignantly; and yet
they have been worried because of the
''prophesy" of an ignorant and fanat-
ical negro.
-S-e-S
AGENTS OF GODs
1t is not to be wondered at that the