Los Angeles herald., 1906-11-04
CLUMSY CHARLATANS
PREY UPON GULLIBLE
LOS ANGELES PEOPLE
AUTHORITIES TO RID CITY OF SHARKS
Dock Houghton May No Longer Protect in Council
Gang OF Harpies Who Fatten on Feeble
NIinded-Exposure Of Methods of
SpOOk Mediums

OtnerS mad gone there in the hope OF
once more seeing a loved wife or
mother, Some had come with the hope
of gaining advice from the person they
had loved best in the world. They
kissed the ugly, wrinked medium, in
the dim light, and believed they were
kissing a dear one. They wept and
the medium wept with them. They
| spoke soft caressinE words and the
cracked voice Of the medium answered
them In the softest tones a cracked
voice can command.
| The medium came as wife, sister,
daughter, mother, father, or uncle as
her dupes wished. Some times she
donned mustache and some times she
! put on only the trailing gauze robes.
! When she finally fell into the arms
OF detective she came to him as
his sister, in spite Of the fact that he
has no sister who is not living, and
when the lights were turned on she
fought like mad woman.
Even after all this there were people
in the room who believed in her, who
are still her friends and 1t is to some
of these feeble minded ones that she
Will probably bring spirit friends to-
night
Women DenseIy Ignorant
Since the evening Of Mrs. Elsie Rey-
nold's seance I have visited a dozen
of her kind, allowed myself to be part
ed from dozen dollars and have seen
myself as a dozen different persons.
! One told me that l am to marry the
dark man and another the fair man;
| one that l am to be rich and another
''only comfortable" one that 1 should
invest in real estate and another in
| mining stock; one that I should get
| divorce and another that 1. should
stay with my husband.
| Not content with permitting me to
| live one life or even DR.. Jekyll and
Mr.. Hyde existence, 1 must live a
dozen lives, If 1 am to prove that the
clairvoyants, mediums and psychics
swerve not from the truth.
As the foolish girl seeking guidance
in her love affairs l appealed to some,
and as the wronged wife I asked ad-
vice of others. Upon questions con-
cerntng the most sacred things in a
woman's life these mediums, psychics
and clairVoyants were willing to give
me advice for the sum of one dollar.
Nay, not only willing, but anxious.
Assured me that they were doing the
same things all the time for others
and knew they could help me. AS
the lovesick maiden they flattered me
and as the wronged wife they con-
doled with me- What I appeared to
want they were ready to give, and what
| expected 1 received-all for one dol
lar.
In no case did I find a woman of
more than average or of even aver
age, intelligence. The majority of
them are lily educated and not on
speaking terms with the best the Eng
lish language has to offer Some of
them are hopelessly illiterate, each had
left her girlhood far behind her and
was lavish in her use of smiles.
Mrs. Edwards Poor Guesser
i hn1 I,
to once break behind the mask and
tell something that was true about
me they might still have left me with
a vestige of belief In their sincerity.
but alas, 1t was not to be.
Mrs Belle Edwards, psychic me-
alum and clairvoyant life reader who
succeeds when all others fail" accord
| ing to the pasteboards upon which
MRS. Edwards advertises herself, failed
like all the rest
Dear, you are in trouble" said Mrs
Edwards with a tear IN her voice. and
then she smiled. Cheer UP, dear. I
will help you.
you IN the spirit world haven't YOU.
dear?" 49,
l nodded in assent and encouraged
she went on:
Your mother, who is in spirit land.
is lowering aroupd your chair"
This was news to me of a startling
character, but / covered my surprise
and nodded again.
"She says that she will watch Won
and that everything will be all right
You are worrying about a man."
She paused long enough to see what
effect this StupendouS statement would
nave. 1t is such an uncommon thing
for woman to worry about a man.
llIiterate, Slangy and Stupid
You are worrying about two men
and you Will marry one of them. One is
a fair man, amt he? Yes. of course
he is. And he is big. There is another
man and you do not know which one
to chose. You must marry the fair
man, for he is the one for you
you must tear the other man out of
your heart and say skidoo to him. for
you cannot marry them both. 1t will
be hard for him and hard for you, but
you must do 1t, dear, for the fair one
Is the one for you" With each SEN
tence she paused to see the effect Of her
words and the look of submission
which met her gaze evidently convinced
her that she was on the right track.
She was fat, greasy and repulsive. It
was nauseating, but kept at my dis
gusting task
You have never been happy" The
happiest girl In the world jumped at
this statement, and the medium imme-
diately supplemented 1t.
mo, dear. you have not really been
happy. You only think you have"
/ did not stop to argue the difference
between being happy and thinking you
are happy, so she offered the consoIa-
tion that some Gay will be happy"
Tries silly FIattery
She talked more of my mother in
spirit land and told me that II l was
much with mediums / would get Won
derful manifestations. Heaven forbid.
You are quite mediumistic little
body yourself" she said much as il
she were presenting me with a million
dollars. and Immediately | began 10 see