The Elbert County tribune., 1913-10-03
How Diy70lnsA0 Held
bY Veafor


framed persons"
About the middle of the nineteenth century
Professor Won Rechenbach, of Germany, believed
he had found the source of the power exerted
by any one using divining rod in the radiation
of a very fine gas given off by many bodies and
which he called "odyllic force" The Frenchman,
M. E. Cheyreu on the other hand, explained the
whole phenomenon as being selfdeception of
the persons holding the rods, their arm muscles
becoming excessively irritated by the peculiar
way OF holding the rod. and their nervous system
likewise by the straining desire of the diviner
to find something.
4 1t was In the midst of this somewhat general
skepticism concerning the actual power of the
OWNERS and rather lstless search for some real
explanation of the phenomenon that Herr Won
Bueow became interested in search for sub
terranean water supply near the imperial wharf
at the harbor of Kiel. Won Uslar who was called
upon to make the experiment achieved such con-
elusive results. even actually piercing water
veins that Won Buelow brought the matter to the
attention of the emperor and it then that
Won Uslar was sent by the government to south
west Africa.
For two years and half" said Herr Fran
zius to the writer, won Usar traversed that
country in the midst of the hostile Hottentots, in
order to find at once constant supply of water
for the troops and for the farmers in that region
where for the most part water was lacking
When he returned, in the spring of 1908. he
had designated subterranean water in
300 places, and according to the official report up
10 tnat time lbS OF those places mad been 1nveSt1
gated by borings. Seventy-nine per cent of his
designations had proved to be correct. The bor-
Ing continued, and up to June, 1911, according to
an official government report which issued at
that time. total OF 206 of the 800 places had
been investigated and in I'll of them or about
S3 per cent, water had been found.
In Germany many scientists became interest
ed In the art. Beyerhaus believed he had found
the explanation of the phenomenon in electricity.
Blom pinned his faith to radium Professor w.
n roeda hat cArod gto
or great masses of Ice had Just the same fnf1u-
ence on the diviner. The physicist. DR.. G.. Rothe.
attributed the influence to Reichenbachs odyllic
force; the physician, DR.. A. Voll. to electricity.
Dr. Aigner, In Munchen, also practcing physi-
clan, devoted himself closely to an investigation
of the question and is inclined to presume an
altogether unknown kind of rays. terrestrial
currents, as probable sources of the power.
Meanwhile OWNERS In various parts of Ger
many devoted themselves to practicing the art
quite independently of one another and contin-
ued to meet with pronounced successes until in
l9os an effort was made to bring them and all
those interested In discovering the secret of the
power together In sort of convention at Dres-
den. There carefully recorded experiments were
made before number of professors of the tech,
nical schools of Drnden and Munchen by the
OWNERS Won Bueow. Uslar and Dr. voll
Not only were the experiments conclusive but
each of the three men named working indepen-
IDENTIFY of one another. located in the same spot
near Dresden, an extensive subterranean coal
field. After this the of the OWNERS by mine
owners rapidly increased. and In 1911 another
convention, lasting three days, and marked by
more startling successe, held at Hanover
Potash is very abundant in this region, and the
discoveries of deposits of it made by the eight
OWNERS appearing before the convention we're SO
astonishing that the formation OF a permanent
society to collect all available facts concerning
dvining rods and If possible, discover the secret
of their power at once undertaken
The society is seeking to gain the interest of
wider circles for the investigation of the riddle
OF the rods, and Herr Won Uslar and myself have
met with fair success In efforts to arouse the
interest of scientists in this country"
Herr Franzus modest in his claims as to
the accuracy with which the designations of sub
terranean water and minerals could be made
but declared In response to question that this
accuracy quite remarkable
Not only, he says, can the dviner by walk
ing about in a circle, SO that II he crosses a vein
once he must necessarily cross 1t at least sec
ond time. determine the location of substratum
OF mineral or water. but he can also determine
In most cases the depth of the stratum below the
surface even when 1t is several hundred feet
and also the direction in which the vein extends
Herr Won uslar. speaking through his friend
Herr Franzius, cited after case where mine
owners had employed OWNERS to locate new
veins in Germany and railroad directorates had
employed them to find suitable water sunnIv
at their various stations.
The two visitors hope that on their return.
after the Landrats findings In Wisconsin ana
Michigan have been investigated the reauIt. ~
their discoveries in this country of new denos,ts
OF coal, iron and petroleum will rouse ma n,,n,ch
interest In the mysterious power possessed bv
Won Uslar as has already been manifested IN
Germany. 1t. is only by rousing such interest
among scientists everywhere the Iandrat ~
lieves. that the answer can be found N ,ba tar,
that vexes and tantalizes him day bv dav. VIII
Is the true source OF the OWNERS power9