The Idaho recorder. [volume] (Salmon City, Idaho) 1886-1927, 1907-04-04
SCIENTISTS NOW WEIGHING THE SOUL !!
Claims Put Forth that the Body Decreases in Weight the Instant
the Breath 0aeS--Muth Food for Speculation

A peculiar and interesting dispatch
is printed by the New York World,
under date OF Boston, Mass, March
10. The dispatch follows:
Five Massachusetts, physicians oil
the highest professional standing
have just attained what they believe
TO be decisive results In the inyesti.
CATION, reyerently undertaken, TO de.
termine the existence or non exist.
ence OF soul in the human body,
and to determine also whether the
4 departure of that soul from human
body Is attended by any mainfesta-
I ton OF nature that can be made
evident 10 material senses.
j These Investigations, guarded with
the utmost privacy, have continued
about six seais in sanitarium lie
this state. The results are known to
but half a dozens scientists, although
IL is planned TO make the whole dis
coyery public soon.
4 The physicians say that through
their researches the human soul mas
at last been catalogued upon scientif dc
principles as an actual material
thing, that when this soul hits from
the body II diminishes the weight OF
the pody by a certain measurable
amount and this amount eau be
weighed In actual ounces.
/ The difference between the weig hi
at the live human body and the body
a moment after death. or when the
soul has quit IL, was found to be-
from half an ounce TO one ounce. and
TO this IL is said there can he no 9th.
Ell possible explanation than that II
Is the weight OF the human soul.
In every case the loss was shown
after all known scientific deductions,
such as the loss OF respiratory air, OF
moisture and Of all excretions aud
secretions OF the body had been taken
into consideration.
In order that the experimenting
physician might accurately ascertain
that this unaccountable loss was not
due to some peculiar physical charac.
| teristlc OF sex, both men and women
have been subjects to the expert
ments.
The method of finding this result,
as followed by the doctors, was 10
place the dying patients In bed upon
one of the platforms OF pair OF
scales made expressly for the expert
ments. These scales were so deli.
cately constructed MS to be sensitive
to weight of less than one tenth OF
an ounce.
1t was the desire OF DR.. Duncan
Mac Dougal, OF lIaverhill, to give nc
publicity 10 the facts until they
were established beyond all dout {.
lie expressed surprise that his dis
covery should be known outside the
Research club, but reluctantly con.
scented To an interview.
lie is believer In neither spirit
ualism nor mysterious psychic phe.
nomena except as they can be dealt
with by science, and he began hi,
statement with the declaration that
his experiments were made purel,
with the idea OF establishing scien
( titic facts.
During my practice among hos
pital patients and at the bedside OF
the dying my curiosity was aroused
as to whether there might be som,
material change discoverable by actu
al tests which would throw new
light upon the mystery OF the flight
OF life,n he said
''When a person dies the current
belief is that his spirit. or soul, con
tinues to live. My first thought was
Has continued consciousness and per
} sonal individuality any existence
Can IL exist In space as nothiugY
Is known as force, as personality
, real and actual. II is impossible 4
think Of II as not occupying space
, IL must be spaee-occupving body
With that granted, the next quer
was: Has IT weight Is Ii gIayiate
|, matter or some other form OF uu
known deiinitionY Forthwith be
, gan my experiments.