Los Angeles herald., 1907-08-20
sPookIsTs MUST PAY LICENSE
OF $50 MONTHLY
EDENDALE CROWD WILL BE HARD
HIT
Supervisors Hear Pleas of District At
torney and President Of Anti
Faker Society and Pass
Ordinance

professions in Los Angeles county must
pay license of $50 month hereafter.
This was decided by the board of super
visors at its meeting yesterday.
While the ordinance is not designed as
a hardship, but only to give the super
visors control over INSCRIPTIONS takers,
it means that DR." II. W. Moore, who
has been fleeing a number of credulous
dupes near Edendale, will have to get
outside the county to practice his wiles
as he was compelled to get out of the
city when the attention of the police
board was called to his nefarious meth
DDS.
l.obert M. Hale, president of the Anti
Faker society, appeared before the board
of supervisors yesterday afternoon and
petitioned that body to pass an ordinance
creating a license of $50 or more, which
should affect all spiritualstic takers
throughout Los Angeles county.
Fredercks Wants Ordinance
| Mr.. Hale was encouraged in his fight
by the fact that recently District At
torney Fredericks wrote to the board rec
ommending such an ordinance be passed
| and put into effect at once.
In his letter to the supervisors the
| district attorney pointed out that as
the city authorities had found such a
mode of procedure advisable owing to the
rank frauds which have been exposed in
| the police courts for the past several
months 1t became incumbent upon the
county to adopt a similar measure in or
der to save unincorporated districts as
we'll as the county at large from the i'm
postures and rapacity of the faker.
In addressing the board yesterday Mr..
Hale said "Your honorable body will
undoubtedly know the reign of terror
which the spiritualistic faker has wrought
in the city of Los Angeles. In the past
few months time and again have in
stances arisen where families have been
broken up, the wife and daughter asked
to give up the pure and loyal lives they
were leading and seek the society of
| other than their father and husband. and
the latter made bankrupt through the ad-
vice of the medium
Are Moral Lepers
You owe 1t to yourselves as guardians
of the public morals of the county to
promote any cause which would lead to
decreasing of the great number of those
moral lepers. Fix a license, raise 1t to
the dignified point where it is beyond the
reach of the many takers to continue
their practice, and you will find 1t the
most efficient means of eradicating the
| evil.
Gentlemen, can conceive of no phase
of graft more heinous than that which
reaps its profits from the victims moral
and material ruin.
"In some instances they have robbed
their victims of entire bank accounts.
"If there is any truth in spiritualsm,
which the, state recognizes by the fact
that 1t grants papers of ordination to
those who are worthy of them and who
exclude naturalization in all it's forms
from their ritual, / say that the mode
of procedure with the services of the
takers, or those who have not these pa
l,1nr f,-Ax,a -tat te ot,1 ch
be treated as such.
"If the well meaning spiritualist be-
lieves in the religion of spiritualism
he must concur with the sentiment of the
Anti-Fakers' society that the bartering
away of his religion through mediumship
in whatever form is the prostitution of
his religion.
SpirtuaIsts Sign Petition
''This, friend of mine who is acquaint-
ed with the tenets of spiritualism claims.
that its followers agree to. Any right
minded spiritualist will tell you he is in
sympathy with the principles of this pc
| tition.
"In fact, some of the signers of this
instrument are spiritualists.
| Gentlemen, I ask you in the name of
| this society and of the citizens of the
county of Los Angeles that the petition
be granted and go into effect at once"
Hardly had Mr.. Hale finished when the
district attorney entered the apartment
and made a statement which coincided
perfectly with the views of Mr.. Hale
Later on several of the supervisors also
concurred in the sentiments expressed by
those furthering the passing of the pc
tition.
Chairman Patterson, who was evidently
| impressed with the drift affairs had
taken, struck his hammer and asked:
'fIs the board ready to take any action
| in this matter?'
One of the board Immediately moved
that the ordinance be passed as submitted
| by the district attorneys office and that
| the license. which should go into effect at
once, be $50 a month.
Driven from City
REV" Hugh w. Moore as he styles
himself. who recently built himself a
cozy fakery just on the other side of
the city limits of the EdendaIe car line,
will now be in trouble again If he con-
tinues his public seances.
Recently he Dragged that he would
never pay q cent toward license fee.
So far his bluff has not been called, but
the real reason he Is not now paying
a fat license fee to the city is because
the police board will not let him. He
applied for a license but was turned
down so hard it hurts yet.
Moore formerly found his dupes in New
Il York, but his methods there became so
crude that the attention of the New
York World and Herald was turned to
him.
Under fire of their heavy guns he was
forced to leave that city In hurry
and he came to Los Angeles last spring.
Here he set himself, his wife and his
two little girls to work giving fake
seances.
The little girls, arrayed in gauze. were
the spirits of departed children. Moore
and his wife were arrested one night
a few months ago and the whole fake
shown up. Moore was caught with a
trumpet in his hand. giving a correct
imitation of ghost in distress, and little
Niobe Moore was seen fitting around in
her little nightie when the glaring elec-
trio lights were switched on by a profane
hand
Mrs Moore was fined $40 for practicing
mediumship without license, but it was
found difficult to make a case against
Moore and he was released.
|