Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1911-01-09
TRICKS OF FORTUNE TELLERs.
Card Index Of Information About Easy
Victims Brings High Price.

1 N'SN'S H'So t'tSh
The palmists are sufficient i'm num-
Der to organize an army corps. They
| can read your thoughts by their Won
derful magnetic qualities. and they
can read the past. present, and future
by merely observing the lines of your
hand. In reality. they read more i'm
| a patrons face than can possibly be
guessed at from the lines of the
| hands. These suavc, long haired gen
try-nost of the palmists arc men.
though "A few women hold hands also
are usually polished and superb spec
in!ens of idle manhood. men who are
too lazy to do actual work. and make
living instead by poses. perfume.
and congratulations. The flattery so
dearly loved by women falls from
their lips like petals from a fading
rose There is no reason why it
shouldn't; they know their "patter"
by heart.
One of the most successful of the
so-called psycbics is khaldah, an af-
fable, polished. clever chap who has
been frequenteI of Atlantic City for
many summers. khaldah. however,
does not claim tn have supernatural
powers. He calls himself an enter
tanner. and has exposed various tricks
OF his profession time and again,
showing to parlor audiences that the
pretended psychic powers Of others
are usually no more than mere adroit-
ness in Sleight of hand ana clever
"patter'' learned by heart. Il could
have made a fortune if l had been
willing to be humbug or a crook
said khuldah. recently. in discussing
the fun he has had in showing how
tricks are done. Il have always been
clever at sleight-of hand work. and
as boy | used to do tricks and in
dulge in parlor magic. l soon learned
that the secret of all psychic success
is that the public loves to be fooled
Women delight i'm believing in the
supernatural They are impressed by
the mystic glamour with which the
frauds surround themselves They
are tho principal patrons of the medi-
ums and the palmists. They want to
believe. and they do believe. in spite
OF tie exposures and the efforts o!
their friends to convince them that
they are wasting their money on
Will-o'- the-Wisp. haze found that il
really is Il mistake to try and con
vince people that the whole thing is
d fraud, except so far as mere clever
ness and dcXtcrity is concerned. They
don't like to believe it. and if one of
tie high priests comes forward and
tells the truth. as | do. they simply
go t. others and are persuaded tiat
the others. AT least, have real psychic
powers that have been denied me-
That there Is a frecmasonory among
tie psychics the palinists. and all the
other seothsayers. which leads them
to protect and aid each other. is
wall-establishcd fact. THIS explains
how it is that a patron of one psy
chic is recommended To try another
someone who does something else.
and gets wonderful results. The ma
terializer will suggest that you might
get results from the slate writer. The
palmist will mention a medium whose
controls" are wonderful and who has
three voices" Thus YOU are passed
or from one To another until YOU are
thoroughly plucked and get tired OF
the game or are quite convinced that
il is all real and make the rounds Gtei
and over again.
The card-index system OF catalogued
Information is used by certain ciiques
and sets of names addresses and
dope" for different cities. commands
a high price when new psychic comes
H. town. This dope" is the result OF
careful, detailed work on the part Of
certain psychics who rope in" new
victims. The majority of the patrons
who are frequent patrons of these
establishments are already recorded
in tie Card-indeX bureau of one of the
psychics, and the information con
tanned therein is transmitted by con
fiGcatial bulletin. once a month. to al
other subscribers to the service. There
are thousand and one WAYS of OBJ
tanning valuable information about any
prospective victim. and there havf
been cases even where mediums and
psycnics. planning to visit some par
ticular town or city. have sent agents
six months ahead into the territory
TO compile gossip and facts about the
people living in the vicinity In the
big cities it is. of course. harder tc
get this detailed information. but OIL
the other hand, victims are far NOR,
plentiful, and if the psychic be- at al
clever. the victim can be pumped
until he himself furnishes all the in
formation desired. Women are espe.
cially loduacious when visiting "a psy-
chic and as he gueSses in the dark
they will instinctively say: That
so" or NO, you're wrong" as he
plunges blindly. but whether he guess
es right or wrong. they smile and pay
the lTice.-Hampton's Magazine.