Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1909-06-10
PSYCHIC HEALING TEST
MethodistS Grant Rev. A. 7. 0s-
bron a Year For His Plan.
COMPLAINTS LED TO ACTION.

! SOnICTCHSC VI ohh @oJ''S'
| Will Pass Judgment on Missouri
Clergyman at End of His Test-Camp
In Ozark Mountains Will Be Opened
For Patients.
An Ozark mountain beauty spot, near
new town named Mount View, In
Howell county, Mo-, is to be the scene
Of a prolonged test of the value OF
psychic healing" for the use of min
| listers of the orthodox churches. II
the test is successful. Methodist min
listers throughout Missouri may be au-
thorized to practice psychic healing
whenever they see fit The Rev. DR.,
Andrew T. Osbron, pastor of the Ben
nington Heights NJ. L. church of Kan
sas City, Mo-, is to make the expert
| ment. The decision Of the conference
was to suspend judgment upon DR.. Os-
bron and his methods until the next
annual conference.
The conference did not indorse DR..
! Osbron's endcavors to mix metaphys-
les and preaching. He had not asked
| for Endorsement - only a chance to
make a test, and that was granted. Al
ready seventy-fye patients have ap-
/ Piled TO him, and in less than 4 month
the Ozark camp may be opened.
The Emmanuel movement in Kan
/ sas City as led by DR.. Osbron had
reached such proportions few months
ago as to cause complaints that the
! leader could not take care of 1t and
I &
! So. actuated by complaints made to
| him in mass meeting held in his
| church and by the warnings of certain
| of his colleagues in the ministry, Dr.
! Osbron handed in his resignation, and
| when the state conference met at Sc
! dalia in last April he asked that body
| just what attitude the church was go
ing to take toward mental science and
its allied branches. The ministers and
leading laymeu of the church answer
! ed in effect, I'VE do not indorse you,
but we will stand by you as interested
! spectators and watch you for a year
before we render judgment"
! In 1905 this same minister while
! stationed at Jackson, Mo, stirred the
| NJ. Z. Church South with a similar
| question ard was censurcd. then vim
/ dicatcd. His own account of that af
| fair is that ever since his boyhood he
has been Il student of psychology,
| psycho-therapy mental science. spirit
| ualism and even of the tricks Of thc
conjurer and that he prepared lee
ture on "AIind and Mystery" embody-
ing the results of his studies and Civ
ing practical demonstrations of the
fakes that are often practiced.
He announced that he would give
the lecture and set the date. The
| board of directors of his church asked
him not to do so, saying that they did
! not wish to antagonize n strong COM
munity of spiritualists living near
Jackson. in the town Of Millerville
DR.. Osbron's answer was brief. II will
! give the lecture"
| He did and Immediately afterward
was asked to resign With the CON
| sent of his bishop he left his charge.
! then spent the summer continuing TO
| give the lecture that had caused the
trouble. In September be had tired of
| dress suits and kerosene footlights and
asked to be given a charge. This was
| refused. SO when the NJ. r. Church
! South met in conference at Blrming-
! ham. Ala. he went there to petition
| the committee on episcopacy. Though
he tried several times to get a hear
ing. he was shut out. What TO do next
under such circumstances puzzled him
The problem finally was solved for
I,yrn n l,n IN, ho1
n dozen other newspaper men and told
DR.. Osbron to detail TO them the cir
cumstances of his case. The follow
ing day the minister got q hearing
without delay. The bishop who had
been most prominent in the attack
was censured. and DR.. Osbron was
| given the desired credentials. He used
| these papers to gain entrance to the
main body Of the NJ. T.. church.
| He went to Kansas City in August,
| 1907, after two years in southern Mis-
souri,. In the spring of 1908 he again
began giving the lecture on Mind and
Mystery" and made. it is said u num-
Der of cures by psycho-theraphy and
suggestion. His fame spread until
the patients-by his own confession
took up almost as much time rs the
paStorate.
Then trouble began Some of the
congregation pointed ont that in their
day Methodist ministers didn't study
conJurer's tricks or dabble in hypuotism
or expose the act of the Bangs sis.
ters, and they said they didn't intend
to have the name of the Bennington
] Heights church used in connection
( with such things. And when it be
came necessary to hire n deaconess to
help Or. Osbron with his church rou-
tine and patients began to come in
from out Of town to be treated the
dissatisfied members grumbled tlouder
and louder.
So many patients came after n few
more weeks that DR.. Osbron prudently
trained some assistants to help him
treat-"slarted a school," his enemies
said Thru came the mass meeting
and the res slation.-New York World
Cuadrupedal Chicken.
Edward Richardson Of East Orange
n. j., is the owner of four legged
chicken, hatched few days ago Each