The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-02-16
Search for Truth of PsychicaI
 Phenomena
REQUEST TO UNIVERSITY
Authorizes Further investigation of occultism-Eminent Scientists Be- lieve In Spirit World Manifesto
 tIons-subject Of Research.

Boston. February 15.-tspeeial)-Mod- ern scepticism doesn't seem to lay the ghosts. Belief in "spooks' of one Klno or another. or at any rate in mysterious forces which transcend ordinary experl- ance. is strong in this age of enlgnt- enment Enthusiastic and well trained inouirers are continually discovering phe- nomena which in their judgment can be explained only in case there lie De- vond the world of the senses manifesta- fions of which the human mind is not ordinarily cognizant The bequest, Just made. of a sum of money to Clark uni versity in this state for special inVestl- gation of the claims of spiritism IS new illustration of the modern disposition to- ward the occult.
 The president of the university at Wor- cester. Dr. G. Stanley Hall, eminent as a psychologist of very practical turn of mind is reported to have expressed ms entire willingness to receive the bequest and to live up to it's terms. His desire to do whatever is reasonable in study ing the facts, or alleged facts of oc- cultism is in line with the attitude Of an increasing number of scientifically trained men.
 Whatever investigation, furthermore, is carried on at Clark will be simply an- other contribution to the vast amount Of material of this character that has been brought together in the past 25 or 30 years by earnest students in Europe and America Many Americans, whether rightly or wrongly, still think of the occult simply as an imaginary realm which vulgar faklrs exploit for the sake
 
 conception of the importance of the au- thorites who have ranged themselves on the side of spiritism. or of the number of literary documents by responsible writers dealing with cases which, if not due to deception, must have a bearing on the problems of the nature and des- tiny of the human soul.
 Only this month the civilized world was startled by the declarations of Sir Oliver Lodge, whom many recognize as the most distinguished living scientist, that he has believed himself to be in communication with manifestations from another world. Sir Oliver, say those who agree with the late William E. Gladstone in holding psy- chic research to be "the most important work which is being done in the world" should be no easy victim of the itinerant medium or professional hypnotist As pro- lessor of physics for many years. prin- cipal of the University of Birmingham and enthusiastic first hand investigator in the region of the new chemistry, involving theories of radium and ionization, no man ought to be better equipped to distinguish between fraudulent and true
 Sir Oliver is not alone as all the world knows, among European and American men of high attainments in science whose researches in spiritism and kindred sub jects have led to a belief that we may be about to make fundamental discoy- cries in metaphysics Many of the Eng lshmen of international reputation have for years been active members of the So- ciety of Psychical Research. It's proceed ings number about 20 thick volumes. Of more cosmopolitan caste is the consid- erable group of devotees of psychic re- search whose special organ is the An nals of Psychical Science" published fort nightly in the French language in Paris and in English in London (the Boston publishing firm of Small, Maynard Go. having recently been appointed American agents) and containing contributions by world famous authorities. The directors of this publication are Dr. Dariex and Professor Richet, while on the committee of publication are such men as Sir Will liam Crookes, the Englsh chemist; Ca- mille Flammarion, astronomer, and Caesar Lombroso with whose discovery of the methods of modern criminology every American is familiar
 , In this country the American Society for 2sychical Research continues its interest ing work. Its proceedings" are issued under the editorshin of Prof. James H. Hyshp, formerly of Columbia university. Antedatng them and already becoming classics the subject are the proceed ings of the )d American Society for Psy- cl1cdl RaS6 rpb x.ybi nfain tributions by sich men as Prof William James and Josia- Royce of Harvard uni versity and by tn late Richard Hodgson, the dean of psychicu research in America.
 The three volumes of the newer so- cfety which have been issued up to date cite cases that have attracted widespread interest through their apparent genuine ness. In the last volume of proceedings, for example, Professor Hyslop himself makes remarqable statements of results obtained through a new medium, Mrs. Smead," with powers which he believes to equal or even surpass those of the celebrated Mrs Piper of Boston whose case has been under constant study of exports for many years. Through this medium Professor Hyslop received, among many other remarkable communication. a telepathic message from his deceased wife to the effect that her father was apouI 10 ole Tn ms Piuadelphia home as, indeed, he did die in strict accordance with the prediction. Mrs. Smead is said to be the assumed name of the wife of clergyman living in an interior town who accepts no money for her services and has never appeared in public so that she seems not to have the ordinary motives for deception
 In addition to these volumes of pro- ceedings which give Americans specially interested in the scientific aspects of psychic research an opportunity to keep in touch with the latest happenings in this fascinating domain of investigation an extensive general literature is grow ing up. Professor Ryslop, who has de- voted most of his recent years to a study of the problems of occultism has treated in a clear, popular way such topic as sub-conscious actions, secondary person. ality, crystal gazing, clairvoyance me diumistic phenomena and the like in suc1p works as his "Borderland of Psychkal Researof." "Enigmas of Psychical Re- search and Science and Future Life, Dr. I. B. Funk, the well-known temper ance advocate. has written extensively on kindred subjects.
 Very entertainingly from the popular point of view, Camille Flammarion, he who beyond perhaps any other writer has made astronomy interesting to the newspaper readers of two continents. has been looking into subjects of psy- chical interest for nearly 40 years and has become convinced that while un- deniably a large percentage of fraud