The San Francisco call., 1905-05-21
MINING ENGINEER WHO HAS
WON FAME IN FRANCE AS AN
AUTHOR
Special Dispatch to The Call.

PARIS, May 20.-Louis Lucien Bacle
is one OF the foremost mining en-
gineers in France. and his books on
his speciality are held in the highest
esteem by experts. But when public
attention was attracted the other day
by the appearance of a book entitled
The Future Life" by Louis Elbe, it
occurred to no one to suspect Louis
Bacle OF the authorship. The names
of all theologians and scientists were
suggested, since every one was con-
vinced that Louis Elbe must be a
nom plume, no inexperienced man
being capable of writing such a VOL
ume. And when it was discovered that
the author of The Future Life" was
none other than the Paris representa-
tive of the Loire Iron Works and man
ager of the Franco Russian Manufac-
tories Society, it is hard to say which
expressed the most amazement-scien-
lists, theologians or engineers
The necessity for reeonciling sci
ence and religion has long been in my
mind" said Bacle recently, but
may consider that the genesis of nv
present work lies in Henry Drum
mond's book, Natural Law in the
Spiritual World which l read when
1t was first translated into French. AS
every one knows it had a popularity
almost unprecedented and started a
wave of religious feeling the world
over. The idea was in a sense a CON
tinuation of Darwin's survival of the
httleSt and might be expressed as con-
dltlonal Immortality But there were
weak points in the line of argument.
notably the principle of limiting i'm
mortality on purely religious ground;
and, furthermore, the book sometimes
lacked method
IMMORTALITY OF THE SOIL.
In addition to these drawbacks 7
appreciated another, which is found in
the works of all theclogians. the fact
that they write from the purely re-
lglous point of view, and their state
ments consequently have no weight
with non-beiievers. The general oues-
tlon OF the immortality of the soul
seemed worth treating in its broad
aspect as referring to all men, what
ever their personal beliefs, and his
torlcal and scientific reasons appeared
TO me in the support of the theory of
an after-life"
80 this is what you prove in your
book?' was asked.
Il do not like to say nrova - ), ;a
Bacie, but 1 have certainly found much
interesting evidence. Take the historical
consideration, to which 1 devote the first
part of my work. Without execution. all
the primitive races who have left on
monuments traces of their thought be-
leved in the Immortality of the soul.
could this uniformity be mere coinci-
dence Where, as with the Greeks and
romans, negation came, it was intro
duced as the fruit of culture in a few
peculiarly constituted minds.
''All this is significant hut II x.,o,,I5 I .
disregarded nowadays if experimental
evidence were lacking. However. experi-
nents decidedly tend to confirm the ex-
istence Of the SOUL So-called realists on
pose the Christian theory of a soul. vet
it has as much probability as other sci
entific facts.
EXISTENCE OF THE SOUL.
The physical scientist on perceiying
the light ray believes in ether, which he
does not see. Experiments in demonstra
tons of energy, of the colloidaI state of
the odic fluid. of spontaneous or exneri-
mental telepathy. ETC.. all tend to prove
the existence of a soul. The experiments
conducted in Paris by Colonel de Rochas
the noted scientist have been particu
larly conclusive. The sensitiveness of the
odic fluid radiating from the human hodv
mas been shown upon screens, and these
last have been seen to become suddenlv
n.
furthermore, sleep, anaesthesia and tor
lure are accompanied by a complete sep
aration OF the odic fluid and the astral
body"
In what condition do you then believe
the soul to exist?" was asked.
mat science Is powerless to prove.
Just as we find the positive proof that
1uture life must exist, we find the mega
tive proof that science is checked In
seeking to establish particulars. But the
soul appears to be a force and for this
very fact 1T must be immortal. In ma
ture no force is created and none lost. II
is only transformed and preserved.
therefore the soul must be permanent
like all other forces
Such are few of the many areu-
ments which advance in detail to recon
Gle science with religion. realize that
II religion is to live it must hive science
on Its side. What 1 have sought to es-
tablish without appeal to dogma or
prejudice Is that science is in accordance
with the broad lines Of religion"
CRITICS ARE FRIENDLY.
Then no theolcgians have objected 10
your treatment of the subject?'
II have been surprised and grati6ed Nv
the friendly sentiments expressed in most
of the religious papers which have re-
viewed my book naturally expect that
some objections win be raised by those
who like to argue from the purely re-
lgious standpoint. but evidently there are
others, and thoroughly orthodox Chris
tans, who find nothing blameworthy In