Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-01-13

TT was quite by accident that Mrs. Piper,
perhaps the most noted spirtuaistic me-
dunn living, discovered her power.
Il About twenty years ago she had oc-
casion to consult physician because OF
some fears, and he, being somewhat Of a
and he could develop her. She soon afterward
of experimenting her little income.
1t was while this was going that Pro-
fessor James of Harvard University, a leader
in the American Society of Psychic Research,
went with Mrs. James to make trial of the
He gave no names, and though he had
to assume, he says that Mrs. Piper knew
who he from his connection with the
society, he was struck with her peculiar famil-
iarity with the of his family, living
and dead but mostly by her apparent knowl-
edge of an Italian letter which he had
ceived day or two before and which was
known to only two other persons in this
country. The consequence that he set
about some careful experiments that winter.
His method was to have an understanding
of his selection to her unannounced and to take
account of the results at first sittngs, where the
names of sitters not being known there was no
possibility of detective fraud. He sent thirty
persons to Mrs. Piper in that way during that
winter. When he examined their reports of the
results at first sittngs, he came to the conclusion
supernornal knowledge. He so reported to the
American society in the Proceedings of 1885"
Two years later DR.. Hodgson came to this country,
and was introduced to Mrs. Piper by Professor
James. DR.. Hodgson proceeded to the
method as Professor James, and sent some fifty
persons to Mrs Piper under similar conditions. He
came to the same conclusion She was then shad-
owed by detectives precaution against further
skepticisn; but traces of any fraud on her part
were discoverable.
The Greater Experiments
TN 1850 Mrs. Piper was taken to England for
i further experiments out of her own environment.
cannot take the space to detail the methods which
were used to exclude the right to accuse Mrs. Piper
of fraud; but when men like Professor William
James, DR.. Richard Hodgson Sir Oliver Lodge,
Frederick W. H. Myers and Professor Charles Richet
accept the exclusion of the known methods OF fraud
in such phenomena from Mrs Piper case, the pub
lie must consider itself uniformed if it treats the
phenomena lightly.
Mrs Piper goes into what we call trance. In this
condition of Inconsistencies writing pad and pencil
are placed on the table and the hand writes out
statements which purport to come from certain de-
ceased persons, who proceed to prove their personal
identity to those who may be experimenting with
her. Their names and incidents in their past
earthly lives thus written out, though having
previously been wholly unknown to Mrs Piper
The question is to determine the source of this in
formation Before discussing this shall give some
illustrations of what under the circumstances
described.
Itake first an experience of DR.. Richard Hodgson's
His first experiment with Mrs. Piper was about
weeks after his arrival in the United States;
that the circumstances, apart from the proved in
tegrity of Mrs. Piper render it extremely improbable
that she knew anything about him, especially about
such incidents as have to quote here. The result
of the first sitting DR.. Hodgson reported follows
Mother living; father dead; little brother dead;
four of you living besides mother" DR.. Hodgson
says these statements true, and then adds
further pertinent statements made through Mrs
Piper purportlng to come from cousin. quote the
record verbatim:
"'Phinuit' ccontrolO mentioned the name Fred.