Palestine daily herald. [volume] (Palestine, Tex.) 1902-1949, 1905-01-14
A BELIEVER IN SPIRITS
Rev. DR.. Heber Newton De-
clares They Greet the Living.
CLAIMS MEN MAY POSSESS HALos

Many So Called superstitions, Minis
Il ter Says, Are Being Proved to BE
Scientific Facts-Cites Instances In
Which Persons Have shown Powers
That Cannot BE Set Aside.
persons who have not studied care
fully in the line of psychics." said the
Rev. DIR. X. Heber Newton of New
York in an address before the Ameri-
can Institute for Scientific Research
have no idea of the marvellous
ness OF the finds which are being
made in this new realm. The most
striking feature Of our present day is
! that one after another of the beliefs
| Of the far past. spread wide among
men. which have been supposed to be
mere superstitions, have been strangely
yindicating themselves before the bar
of reason, at least giving ample cause
to warrant a scientific investigation.
"A generation ago nobody but a fool
would have been inclined to believe in
the claims OF the dowser The plain
people have persistently believed that
certain men were gifted with a power
of locating springs of water. Now the
Psychical Research society. after care
full investigation, reports that there is
little question as to the fact, though
no theory has yet sutficed to interpret
it.
1.-THE middle ages believed that the
saints were surrounded by halos. Again
the scientist laughed in his sleeve-if
he was courteous enough not to laugh
openly. Yet Baron Reichenbach show
ed that certain scientists recognized
luminousness in magnets. and since the
earth is now known to be great mag
net man may also be good sized one.
THE middle ages also believed that
saints received the imprint of the
wounds of Jesus on their hands and
feet-a beautiful superstition, said our
scientists. Now medical scrutiny con-
fesses that the stigmata are facts.
though exceptional facts, to be explain
ed naturally, of>course, as every other
marvel is to be explained.
"Clairvoyance was nothing but will
o. the wisp but it also is now con
Mollie Fancher over in Brooklyn. has
proved stronger than the incredulity of
our savants. Read that charming pic
ture of Joan of Arc by Mark Twain,
and you will admit with him that this
peasant girl. with her powers. of rlai-
audience, hearing her mystic
fact which defies explanatio
knowledge up to date.
81 know a woman of fine cul
high character who will not tt
gift for commercial purposes.
has that most remarkable
known as psychometry-the
'e.--sd letter in her nana ana
giving !. Gllagnosis OF the physical con-
dition Of the writer 2pd a picture of
his character; of taking bit Of stone
from an ancient villa of Cicero, for ex-
ample the nature of which is entirely
unknown to her. and calling up a
vision of the villa as it existed in Gle
eros time and of its owner She is in
capable of fraud, and her case is but
one of others which I know
"Mesmerism was duly laughed out
Of court at the opening of our century.
and, 10. it is back again, in good stand
ing. under the alias of 'hypnotism.' So
one may run on through list of
strange. unaccountable, mysterious and
most unbelievable powers Of man lead
Ing up to that nightmare of the dog
matte scientist, spiritism. The belief
in the existence of unseen spirits and
hnf,. Of ion.
us in the flesh is one Of the oldest.
most widespread and most insistent be-
liefs of man, and it has revived strange
ly in our day.
''For the first time in the history OF
man these powers have been scien-
tifcally investigated In our day, Al
ready the result is that conside able
number of eminent men of sci ne
have had the courage to avow that
sr allowing for illusion, fraud and ev-
cry possible hypothesis Of interpreta-
ion, they have been driven up to the
Ultimate solution of the problem-the
belief in the actual communication OF
he spirits Of those whom we call dead
With the living.
81 make bold to say that there Is no
eld for human investigation half so
romising as this, none which should
o appeal to educated, intelligent, phil
nthropic men to support and endow.
ANY one who walks with his eyes
pen, ready to hear what men have to
Eli. will find stories pouring in upon
i'm from men whom he cannot mis-
'ust as liars and whom he knows to be
lne and sensible, which will stagger
i'm.
Now. here is a dark continent de-
landing exploration, promising the
chest finds. Already we find a new
agent at work in our midst
not new, but newly realized and
orking revOlutionizing influence in
odern medicine. The possibilities OF
entail medicines are only being open
|. Its application to the most dis
essing form of human malady, insan-
=, is full of benefcent results It's po-
ncy in character reform and the cure