Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1907-06-29
POWER Of TONGUES
Mrs. Scott NJ. Ladd's Religious
Sect Attracting More Atten-
ton Than it Deserves
CASE OF BAD VENTILATION
Foul Smelling Atmosphere of the Stuffy
Mission Room Believed to Be Re-
sponsibe for Painting and Mysteries
Among Those Who "come Under the
SPELL"

| Speti."
Special TO Times Republican.
Des Moines, June 29.-Whether the
power of tongues religion that has
attracted considerable attention in this
| city is worthy the attention is a debat-
able question with mant who have
followed the newspaper accounts OF
the MISSIONS work The religion is not
new. 1t is reported to have come tc
Iowa from Ohio, tho there is no au-
4 thentic information on that score. II
came to Des Moines with Mrs. Scott
| M. Ladd, wife of Judge Ladd, of the
/ Iowa supreme court, who moved here
about four years ago. Mrs. Laid is
| reported to have conducted similar
mission at their former home in Shell
don, O'Brien county.
| The mission in this city was started
in the southern part of the city on the
bottoms in the section inhabited by the
| poor of the city. Whether it is really
the power of God" that moves the
converts as is claimed, or merely the
supplying atmosphere Of the unventil-
ated room in which the sect meets, is
for people to judge for themselves.
The public has been led to believe that
the courts will settle the question.
This is perhaps not likely. Residents
in the neighborhood of the mission
have sworn out a warrant for Mrs.
Ladd charging her with disturbing the
peace Of the community. When she
returns to the city this will probably
be served and the court will decide
whether or not she disturbed the
peace.
When the converts of this doctrine
meet they gather about an organ,
which is placed in the middle of the
room. There is little or no preaching.
A song or two is sung, and someone
speaks. warning the unsaved to re-
.pent and seek salvation and telling of
the punishment to come if they do not
heed. There is more singing. They
kneel and pray. 1t is during this
prayer that the alleged manifestations
of the spirit" come. The petitioners at
the throne OF grace are loud and emo
tional. Some can not contain their
feelings and they shout and Shrek.
They become nervous and tremble.
The excitement works on all Then
someone falls to the floor unconscious
and his or her limbs twitch and jerk
He is said TO be under the power"
and it is while in this state that they.
have the power Of tongues" They
jabber and no one is able to understand
what they say. They are not able to
understand themselves. They have
been known to lie in this state for for
ty-eight hours. They always come out
OF it intensely weak and must be as
sisted from the place. People who
have gone to the mission as curiosity
seekers have noticed that the rooms
are never ventilated even in warm
weather.
None of the followers of Mrs Ladd
and the strange religion ever claim
any other power than this power of
tongues" There is no claim to heal
ing and no one has ever claimed to
have been healed. There are no mir
acles. They simply get under the
spell. Those who have been under
the .'spelI once seemSanxious to go
again and always return to the mis-
sion.
The critics of the religion would not
be, so severe if the religion did not
seem to have such bad effects on the
physical condition of the persons who
get this power Of tongues" They say
too. that it is wrong to take children
to the mission and allow them to imi-
tate their elders in getting excited
over the prayers and then in poorly
ventilated room sink in a faint and re-
main there for hours without medical
treatment.
Then again they frankly confess that
they would be much more ready to
believe that. God was having some in
fiuence in the matter of their uncon-
scious or semi-conscious condition If
this condition would come over them
in a well ventilated room and If the
converts did not faint just following
a somewhat prolonged state of high
excitement OF shouting and dancing
and shrieking and moaning in connec-
ton with their prayers. In other words
1t is too easy to explain the uncon-
scious condition of the converts by the
rooms and the excite
ment; too easy to explain it by nat.
ural everyday matters to justify at
tributing it to the Almighty.
Persons who have gone to the mis-
sion meetings to get information as to
the meetings and to study them at
close range have been forced to seek
the open air even when they have been
sitting quietly in the room. They ar
que that person highly excited would
be much more likely to faint under
such conditions.
The furtherNcriticism against the re-
ligion is that at these meetings girls
and women are allowed to fall in the
faints and lay about on the floor, in
the aisles and on the platform while
the public meeting is in progress and
that too at a public meeting attended
by many men of not overy strict morals
,r refinement and who are not above
passing comments that cannot be re-
aeata1 here.
The ministers Of Des Moines. how
aver and The church people generally |
rili have pofhing to do with the mat
er They are following the advice Of |
certain wise Jew In Christ's time. !
ha if tiae religion be from God it can
iot be hindered, and il not from God |
I Wills come to naught.
Director ]. r. Sage of the Iowa crop