Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1903-04-06
DR.. nEgcHER's SPIRIT.
Hodason Making an Investigation Of
pr. Funk's Peculiar Experiences.

Hodason Making an Investigation OF
pr. Funk's Peculiar Experiences.
New York, April 6.-Having before
him the report of DIR. Isaac K. Funk
and the afiidavits of witnesses, Or.
Richard Hodgson, American head Of the
Society for Psychical Research, said
today in Boston ne was not prepared
to eliminate the possibility of fraud
from the alleged revelations by the
fias.iit fffas..fit slqf1 If HfqnlEK 1Reeeher by
long forgotten Widows Mite" in his
safe.
The deductions of Hodgson are of es-
pecial interest, as he is recognized
authority an psychial matters and with
Frederick w. H. Myers has just COM
pleted a book entitled Human Person
atty and Its Survival of Bodily Death. "
DR.. Funk today not only related his
conversation with DR.. Beecher, but said
that he also talked to the spirit of the
Rev. DR.. George Fl. Hepworth, who
urged him to aid certain spirits in their
concerted effort to communicate with
living men, DR.. Funk and DR.. Hep
worth were friends of twenty-five years
and had made studies of spiritualtsm In
common.
So impressed was DR.. Funk with the
communications that he made arrange
ments for an extensive exploration into
the realm of spirits. He and Professor
John II. Hyslop Of the department of
psychology of Columbia university had
a conference today at the st. Denis, at
which they planned further investiga-
tions into the message about the an
cient coin which was owned by the
late Professor Charles e. West.
DIR. Funk said that a few days ago
there appeared to him the alleged as
trail body of Henry Ward Beecher. and
the spirit told him that they of the
world beyond were uniting in an effort
to communicate with their friends on
the "earth side" and that they So
licited earnest cooperation here.
DR.. Funk said that elaborate exper-
iments with various mediums there
fore would be undertaken for the pur-
pose of demonstrating whether the
spirits could be materialized under test
conditions.
Light on the communications from
DR.. Beecher and from Professor West
was shed today by Joseph p. Jackson,
a student OF spiritualism. who said
that for the last year the two spirits,
who were friends of his on earth, have
been heard in Brooklyn seances. ask
ing that communication be opened with
the world.
Professor West, who died about two
years ago, was we'll known collector
of ancient coins. He had in his po-
session the now famous widows
mite," a copper lepton of Palestine,
intrinsically worth mill, but which Is
now valued at $500. The coin was
borrowed from Professor West for use
in illustrating dictionary by DR..
Funk. who believed that 1t had been
returned.
At a seance which the publisher at
tended in Brooklyn he reports to DR..
Hodgson tha. he was informed by the
spirit of "Rakestraw," that DR.. Beecher,
speaking for Professor West, said that
Funk had the widows mite" BY
series of questions 1t was learned that
the coin was in safe in the office of
the publisher. The coin was found as
the alleged spirit of Beecher described
The spirit had even differentiated be-
tween two similar coins. telling Dr.
Funk to send the darker colored one.