The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1903-04-11
Fake SpiritUaIism.

ISAAC K. FUNK, D. D., the well
known publisher of New York, is
the latest victim of the spiritual
istic craze He seems to be laborins
/ under the delusion that the spirit of his
/ former friend, Henry Ward Beecher
came to him at the bidding of medi-
UNI and told him where to find a copper
coin known as the widows mite, which
he had mislaid years ago.
This is a fair sample of these mani
! festations. Nothing of true Importance
is ever divulged. The veil which hides
the future is never unfolded. Only
trifies easily learned or guessed at are
| impaired by the spirits. No good is
ever done. The believer is told a few
things he himself or some other person
knows about the past, and is perhaps
startled on finding out that others know
what he supposes is secret. If the
average citizen only knew the amount
of information regarding his personal
affairs that is stored away for future
reference in the brain of an able city
editor he would be just as much taken
aback and would feel a great deal more
uncomfortable about it.
These manifestations are either the
work of the evil one or they are arrant
frauds-chiefiy, if not altogether, the
latter. The prince of darkness probably
knows everything that has ever hap
pened, but to him, as to mortals, the
future is closed book. If these things
be his work this explains why mediums
inspired by him have never yet prophe-
sled successfully But it is not neces-
sary to pursue this line of argument
further.
Fraud explains most if not all such
pretended revelations.
The folly of the whole business is ap-
parent when it is remembered that
wealth beyond the dreams of avarice
would be possessed by any man who
could read the future from day to day.
II would not be necessary to unravel
such tangled skeins as the events to
happen in the life of a man or nation
in time to come. Something that should
be much easier and simpler such as
knowing the price of wheat in Chicago
tomorrow afternoon would be all shat
would be necessary. Yet these mediums
and clairvoyants who claim to look be-
hind the veil want for money and are
glad to get it two bits at time. The
whole business is too absurd for seri-
Gus discussion, yet such is the prone
ness of man to fall into error that hun
dreds are carried off their feet by such
unsupported claims to supernatural
power. Ask the first fakir who claims
such power why he wants dollar
from you when millions upon millions
are within his grasp. His stumbling
explanations will be all the answer nee
essary.
There are many traditional cases in
which the spirits of the departed have
manifested themselves for some great
purpose. The tradition of Joan of Arc
is one of these. But the idea that God
Almighty would permit a vulgar noun
tebank to call back from heaven to
earth a single soul at a dollar throw
is too ludicrous and too impious to be
entertained for moment. Yet DR..
Funk, distinguished scholar some
what in his dotage, is puzzled to ex-
plain the alleged appearance to him of
the spirit of the greatest Protestant
clergyman who has lived on this con-
unent, when the best use this spirit
could make Of his opportunity was to
tel the location of a bogus copper coin.