The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-07-21
FAKE MYSTERIES
PLEASE PEOPLE
Methods of FakirS and Other
Wonder Makers
P. T. BARNUM'S PHILOSOPHY
When He Said the American People
Loved to Be Humbugged He
Seems to Have Stated
Universal Truth.
p. T. BARNUM'S PHILOSOPHY

/ From the Pittsburg Gazette-Times.
| Phineas 7. Barnum was a philosopher
and student of nature as we'll as u show
! m When he said that the American
people loved to be humbugged' he was
| stating truth based upon a well-recog-
nized foible of the race, American as
well as universal There is a peculiar fas-
| cinauoa in mystery to every son of Adam.
| The thing that battles us is the thing that
most attracts US when put before us as
| a sort of challenge to our power of
| understanding. Subconsciously there Is in
| every human mind a sense of some vast
outlying universe of power and of influ
! ence which, when our intention is in
vited, we eagerly long to penetrate. Psy-
chologically this operation of the human
mind may be traced to the religious in
stinct native to all of us. Most of us, L
might say all of u.s. either positively or
tentatively believe in the existence of
the supernatural. that beyond the ken
of human vision lies great realm of
silent and powerful forces that exert in
a thousand ways potent influence upon all
the details of human life, individually and
collectively. This belief serves to mystify
and ave. or else serves to arouse the
most irsstent curiosity. We are ready
m, e for the hand of any person who
will approach us or seem to approach
us from that unseen realm bearing in
even the slightest degree some secret of
its power or some confirmation of its ex-
stence
Success of Fakira
Upon this foundation is built the sue
cess of every rakir and wonder worker,
in 70 dipi fro X a 70
King t, Anna Eva Fay. AS a means of
amusement the conjurer's trick has come
down to us from hoary antiquity In every
age there has always been the covert
or open attempt to assume supernatural
power for the trickster. " .1h our add
vancing civilization and intelligence this
effort Is given less and less respect, but
there are still great numbers of peo-
pie who, because they cannot in a mo-
ment or during an evenings entertain
ment master the intricacies of a sys-
TEN that has taken the performer years
OF study to evolve Immediately jump to
the conclusion that the mystery is due
to some collision with supernatural
forces. There have been innumerable ex-
poses of tn emagic tricks of the con-
Jurers s. Sometimes, as In Hellers case,
by voluntary giving up of the Sc
crets and In other cases by forced or
purchased revelations, as In the case re-
Gently in New York, where Miss Fay's
secrets were given away by a dishonest
assistant. The harmlessness of this means
of public entertainment Is undisputed,
| except in cases where tricks are used
| to delrde and distress innocent persons.
| Reference was made above to Heller.
who, with his sister CD became famous n
| half century ago for some remarkable
| second sight" magic, similar in many re-
! spects to the work of the woman who is
axiY, 10 ~ ~,
| at local theatre. II you are inclined to
! grow excited over these tricks, or to Inn
| agine that this woman. or any other hui
man being, has the power to discover hid
den things by the use of supernatural agen-
Giles, it will be something of a jolt to read
the bare facts. You think some things
you see are absolutely impossible to or
binary human skill. They are. These peo-
pie have extraordinary skill and have
spent years in working out their several
| systems" The systems are different,
and yet they are all based upon human in
| genulty and perseverance, I am not go
! ing to attempt to guess Miss Fay's sys-
| TEN.
Possibilities Immense.
| When we consider the large number of
assistants employed and the possibilities
of telephone aids. the possibilities be-
come immense. l have before me a vol
teresting sdelight on the subject and
will perhaps enable us to get some of the
fog out of our eyes as to the things tina [
battle us so in the present taking, that
may be generally regarded as of similar
kind. In Heller's book we have an inter-
estng chapter on mental or secret tele-
graphy. with illustrations and diagrams.
Here We find the woman. who answers all
the remarkable questions. and blindfolded
describes infinitely the things that he as
sstant touches, seated on a small four
legged cushioned stool There is nothing
around the stool and the stage Is bare,
while the assistant Is down in the audi
ence taking articles and asking questions
The reverse picture shows the leg of
the stool to contain telegraph wires con-
nected with a battery and key manipulate
ed by an assistant, who has a code so
comprehensive that tap of the key gives
a "cue" following which, in a process of
memory culture. she can answer correctt-
ly IS per cent of all the questions asked.
Egyptian Cryptic.
A trick called the Egyptian Cryptic"
Is based on so-called second sight 1t is
the mysterious writing trick in which aa
card marked by one of the audience is put
In a box and another card on which is
written a short sentence is burned in sight
of the audience. The box is locked and
held by the woman, while the manipulation
causes the ashes to pass into the box and
has the woman read what was written on
the card that was originally put into It.
and seemingly locked. In the first place
the box has peculiar spring in one of the
hinges which ordinary examination
would disclose, and for the rest a trap in
the stage under the dress of the woman
and assistant who aids In the manipu-
lation of the cards and box complete the
chain of mysteries. No description here,
nor can any written description, give an
idea of the manner of doing these things
The people who work these tricks are far
more dexterous with their hands than you