Los Angeles herald., 1906-11-25

YIN IlOOdIl YIN VI IOltSSOA
Arthur, as l knew him. is a slick
citizen, whether posing as a city
councilman or a hypnotic faker.
While subject of this self-termed
boy phenomenon 1 learned to doubt
the truth of almost every one claiming
to be a hypnotist. While I believe
there is some hypnotic work being done
in the world today which is genuine,
1 know that the entire work of DR..
Houghton was fake.
He had a press agent who was Sec
ond to none. The press agent spread
his fame abroad as 'the modern Christ
who comes with healing in his hands
and makes the blind see, the deaf hear
and the lame walk
In Chicago there is a regular organi-
zation of professional "horses." or
hypnotic subjects. 1 was a member of
this organization. We were trained for
the various hypnotic stunts and when
we had thoroughly learned our lesson
we We're able to do anything which
Houghton or others of his kind wanted
us to do.
1t was in Chicago that I met Dock
Houghton, alias Professor Arthur. DR..
l.. H. Anderson, who is one of the best
authorities on hypnotism in America,
told me that Professor Arthur. who
was then living on Dearborn avenue,
near Chicago avenue, wanted subjects,
as he was about to give a weeks per-
formance at the Lincoln theater. 1
went to see the doctors manager and
finally was admitted into the sanctum
sanctorum of the man who posed as
the modern Christ"
Houghton Tries Him Out
He asked if I had ever been hypno-
tized, and / answered that / was an old
"horse" in the business. He proceeded
to try me out and after a few expert
mentS he said that / was next to the
business and asked me to send a couple
of 1.-The boys around, which 1 did
called on him a few days later
and while there found some young men
who had answered an advertisement
that he had inserted asking for sub
jects. He kept them waiting in the
hall and admitted them one by one into
his apartments, where he tried them
out to see how much previous expert
ence they had. 1 was present during
part of this trial and on several occa-
sions heard him tell the subjects while
they We're in this so-called trance:
Get that smile off your face; that
will never so with an audience" and
Don't bark that way; that is not the
way a dog barks."
The question of salary was arranged
and plans for the performance We're
completed. l was to receive S1.50 a
performance as were some of the 9TH
ers of the most valuable subjects-that
is to say, the ones who had the most
experience. There was one old man
who is known to hypnotists all over
the country as "Old Man Dean" who
received the same price. He has been
In the business about thirty years or
more. In the early days he was a sub
ject of Carpenter and he had been
with most of the other pioneers of the
business. He was selected to go on
the stage on crutches when the pro-
fessor commenced his healing. The
performance was divided into two
parts-the hypnotic and the healing
Dean was supposed to be an incurable
cripple but when the doctor made
passes, snapped his finger a few times
and rubbed the afflicted parts he would
drop the crutches and walk off the
stage a "well'' man. There were several
other subjects OF this kind-men,
women and children who were all
healed in the most dramatic manner.