Daily Arizona silver belt., 1909-01-22

Asserting that all spiritualists and uediums are frauds and impostors, Rev. Iohn Reid shannon, D. D., last night be- gan an excorciation against so-ealled aodern spiritualism.
 In anticipation of the pastor s ser mon, hundreds of persons crowded the Metropolitan Methodist Episcopal church and occupied every available seat in the auditorium and galleries. The subject of the third sermon in the series dealt with the 'all-surrounding spirit world. "
 Dr. shannon said, in part:
 Modern spiritualism is fraud, and We no more believe in it than we do u necromaney, astrology, and the old time divination. These professional spiritualists say they offer specimens of spiritualistic photography, and say they can bring up the dead and elothe them in materialistic forms. Come to me, and m open the door of the spirit world, they advertise. They make in visible knuekles rap at the door; make tables move, and promise to make men and women fly over our heads. An es- sentisl in each seance is the dark room. Why do they not conduct their tests in God s open sunshinei
 Spiritualism Is Humbuggery.
 II refuse to believe that my ances- tors can come back to this earth and crawl about under an extension table. Spritualism of this sort is humbuggery, and We cannot find reasonable ereden- tal for it. Those mediums who Haunt their advertisements before us cannot do anything above the natural plane. They should be whipped out of respec- table society. Persons who dig up the bodies of the dead are termed ghouls, but, in my opinion, ghouls are respec table to these men and women, who deal in human tears, heartaches, des- plated homes, and broken hearts.
 Thousands of persons have been driven to insane asylums and as many more have gone down to unhappy graves because of these creatures, who rely on legerdemain to extort money from eredulous people. We believe spir. ltuahsm has in it much honest inter pretation, vast deal of honest self. aeiuslon, and an amount of palpable and unintentional fraud that is simply appalling. All test mediums are con sious impostors; some trance medi- ans and inspirational speakers may be honest but they are self-deluded; they aserlbe natural phenomena to super natural causes.
 Researches into the phenomena of 'pif'ualism show they can be explained on natural principles; they can be per turned by sleight-of hand and rank de- eepiion. The Seybert commission. ap- pointed by the University of Pennsyl- ana 10 investigate spiritualism, is made up of many of the ablest men of our country. They had all the facili- Ne' TOT investigation, and they report ~ mat the so-called communications af- 'Orued by professional mediums are SAs or legerdemain. The commission u''ner declares that all spiritualistic pHenomena can be accounted for with Du' assuming the action of disembodied spirits.
 rfoi. John Fske, the greatest sci .I''' or our age, says that if we were v eOheede the value of the evidence ', messages which come through me
 ' t would seem to point to the OHelu'lon that the grade of inteli- seNce which survives the grave is about p1 r4 par with that which in the present lums. " '""' :" '''
 uu, Flames Unwise Persons The Fox Sisters. with whom mod. Ontr r'PifitualiSm had it's origin, made po.. "o confession of their original i'm 0''ufe, and gave before large audi TS 'es practical illustrations of the same. n.n e real anniversary of modern spirit tba4 'I Is April l, All Fools Day. On o,v y IS formally honored the mem VI the Fox Sisters, to whom through ,Ia;pgs' Irp.ngs' at Hydeville, N. r., as it is ,sna,.' ea' murdered peddler made the ism ',Ons h"S Tn which modern spiritual itD.r aa US origin. The frauds of spir. and @ an. nave been dranatized again s,i,a eaia m the presence of large gath.
 mT, $ o' unwise persons.
 ism xn aI which gives modern spiritual tha, n4IeVer sVer power it has is the truth ton ueatn W is not death--it is transi. have n". see no reason why those who retp,rp passed into larger life may not way. t,aa ana minister to us in helpful
 mat We do not understand now. O