The San Francisco call., 1905-06-06
POLICE STILL
HOLD NICHOLS
Youthful Hypnotist Asserts
That He Purchased Goods
to Advertise Tantrikas
BERNARD AFFIRMS TALE
Mystic Occult Tells of the
Boys Who Joined to Study
Fantasies of Ancients

Winfield J. Nichols. the boy arrested
by the police last Saturday on the COM
paint OF several merchants who said they
mad been defrauded by him, Is still con-
fined to cell of the City Prison. No
SPECIFIC charges have been brought
against him. for the youth was very care
fui to give his right name and address
TO the shopkeepers from whom he OBJ
tanned the goods. but Watson d. Fenni-
more, Vice president of the California
optical Company. notified the police this
morning that he had been duped by Mich
OILS. and that he would probably be able
TO swear to a complaint charging the
latter with obtaining goods under false
pretenses. The goods obtained from the
California Optical Company consisted OF
set OF fine opera glasses, valued at $50.
Or. Pierre A. Bernard, the mystic hyp-
notist with whom young Nichols has been
associated. and who was present at many
OF the alleged seances and hypnotisms In
various San Francisco lodging -houses,
came over from Oakland yesterday and
spent the entire afternoon closeted with
Attorney DIV. Burchard, who is In charge
of the affairs of the imprisoned boy. The
hypDotist denies that the club of which
he was the instructor had any other pur-
pose than to delve deep into the mys
teries of the science of occultism, and to
probe the intellectual discoveries of the
ancient people of India. He says that
the band of Tantrikas, of which he was
the teacher and Nichols member, was
never engaged in any kind of criminal
practice, l.or did they ever smoke opium
at any of their meetings. His visit to this
city yesterday, he maintains, was mere
ly to state to Nichols attorney the facts
concerning the relations he had with the
prisoner. He denies the statement THAI
he E1aw ~ Nichols obtaining
goods on credit from trustfll merchants.
WANTS CLIENT RELEASED.
Attorney Burchard has talked with the
parents and friends of his client and says
that unless a specific charge is sworn to
very soon the boys relatives will pay the
debts and Nichols will be released. The
police are still searching for some one
who can bring charge against their
prisoner. They are not investigating the
Tantrikas nor the connection of Hypno-
tist Bernard with the case.
Professor Bernard told a highly inter-
esting story to the attorney yesterday
afternoon and it corroborated the tale Of
Nichols. Bernard is a nervous little man
of light complexion. apparently of superb
education. He is graduate of an
Eastern school of medicine and practiced
for some time at his profession. He had
been a rare student and in his searches
through the DOCKS Oh the dHClenLS ne nrSC
learned of the mysteries of occultism. So
infatuated was he with the study Of
these fanatical rites that he gave UP his
practice as a physician and became
hypnotist
TRIED TO ADVERTISE BUSINESS.
1t was last year that he first met Mich
OILS. The latter came to Bernard with
the proposition that he would do the ad-
vertising for the healer and in return
was to get half of the profits of the busi-
ness. The first move that Nichols made
was the organization of the Tantrikas, a
club whose membership roll contains the
names of the sons of any of the most
prominent people of the city. declares
Nichols. This club hired Bernard to
teach them the PHILOSOPHERS of the East
Indians.
Now come the statements Of Nichols.
The youth says that the profits of the
advertising scheme were not as great as
he expected. In order to increase the in
terest of his business he purchased little
gifts for various young women. 1t was
the non-payment of these debts and the
suspicious actions of Nichols in moving
from place to place that caused his ar
rest on Saturday. He still maintains in
nocence of any attempt to deceive and
1t was enormously reported that
Florin H. Jones was arrested. but the
fact was that he was only questioned
by Chief Dinan in regard to certain
matters and then released.