New-York tribune., 1907-09-30
MRS. BESANT, CRITIC.
AMERICA'S FAULTS B4RED
Theosophist Suggests CORRECTNESS for
Bad Politics and Art.

AT the present time the politics or t1e nitat
States unworthy OF the people OF the great Re-
public. You might as well try build houss
out of rotten bricks as TO build great nation OF
the members OF the nation who at tie present
time dominate politics IN this country. said Mrs.
Annie Besant. president OF the Theosophfcai So
cety. who spoke last night at Carnegie Lycsum.
This subject OF Mrs Besant's lecture The
Value Of Theosophy in the World OF Thought,
and in it Mrs. Besant said few things ABOUT
American politicians and artists that any,
thing but complimentary
Mrs. Besant has changed little since her visit TO
this country in 1897. and has lost none OF her
power OF address. She wore a flowing gown of sott
material. not unlike academic robe. ard around
her neck hung a long chain OF brfliants she be-
gan by declaring that theosOphy distant mes
sage modern thought and then she on
TO point out that modern thought had plunged
from the oldtine religious dogma into the oppo-
site extreme and cared what man thought
long his right
This IS mistake said Mrs. Bssant "Tou
cannot separate mans thought from his deed
Right thought is more important than right
practice Religion. and science are three great
pillars of human activity. and the world Of each
should be upbuiIt by theosophic teachings
Religion is the dsathless search after God Il ts
building upon the sands to attempt TO construct
religion tradition. rites on books Thsoso-
ply holds that man has a spiritual inner being
from which he CLEANS his information about the
spiritual and against which external arguments
may be broken. Theosophy has this message To
all modern thinking: You are Divine
For the building OF nation there must es
a permeation of art throughout human life But
there Is little OF II here. only the very ntssr Bit
Before the English first went to India the
life there was fair. The wife of man earning
a cent day went 20 the well carrying a beautiful
vessel of red pottery engraved copper and her
garments were OF beautiful stuff. What do see
there now where your modern civilization has
reached? In place OF the rich brown pottery or
the carved copper she carries a Kerosene oil can
Will say that that doesn't make any differences
nasmuch as the water IS Just good say that
IL does matter. and when the artistic standard 10
lowered the is degraded.
Look into your sluns and see the degraded ard
distorted women and men, aud compare them VIII
the people OF the East It is. indeed a national
problem that you have here Take the public
buildings In Washington. They are not specimens
of your own art They are copies OF the Greek
architecture Your artists ought 90 be idealists.
copyists. You building great cities but
they are not artistic the high buildings
that your erecting
Mrs Besant went on TO tell Of what theosophv
had say to science She said that the scientific
getting beyond the point where iabors-
tory apparatus OF TO him and that hs
must begin about the unfathonaole
"Theosopny brings clairvoyancs TO science, SAID
Mrs. Besant "and why should science not taxa
the results OF visions Of half dozen cairyoy-
ants and without accepting any OF them as con-
elusive them sisnboard pointing ths
way"
'Theosophy questions at every point the kno"N
edge gained from the vivisected animals con-
tfnued the lecturer. 1T calls degrading the fnje
ton of animal filth into mans body ana tne uSs
OF animal vaccine. They have proved IN Francs
that Imagination make a person believe gaas
ne has been hurt, why can't irnag1nafoa y
used To prove TO the person that he mas o7S
cured, If thought is more powerful tran dfas'
IL would be better give up the lattar ror sna
former
Turning TO politics Mrs Besant said; your pof
flies are like the garden planted IN the sun py VIC
small child They wfther in the sun because tnes
have no roots. You deal only with enects 20
hold that no amount OF lawulakins VIII rnaSo
people prosperous and happy Bad laws ADMIN
tstered by good far better than good Ia"'
administered by bad You are nahlns :
striking experiment I'm democracy that has 1aii70
elsewhere. You trying to see X you can sso"
great when your greatest statesmen. your schoIafS
and YOUR cleanest men refuse place In tne nous
hold of the nation. Your politics are too serious
a thing To be handled by dirty handed men Your
strong clean men must go into politics ana c'eA
out the stables of filth of those whose handS so
soiled by the money that has passed through tlei
You should make your politics so clean tnat tney
will soil nobody's hands tha. have anything 70 o'
with them