The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1913-05-01
THE PEOPLES FORUM.
SpiritualiSm.
To the Editor of The Republican,:

nave Deen greatly interested IN
reading, in Golfers Weekly of April
18th, the confession of an ex-spiritualist.
1t is entitled "A Narrative for the
Credulous, Told by One Who Learned
the Ease of Trickery"
1t is said that spiritualiSm throws
light on the future. What light, may
be asked, that we do not already have
in the revelation of God in His word,
and that word. be it remembered, posi-
lively forbidS recourse to witches, ne
cromancers, familiar spirits or wizards,
which includes modern mediums. :"
Spiritualistic mediums and their dupes
are willful violaters of the command of
God. They can live by their abOminable
fraud and its tricks, but it will not give
them peace in death nor open the way
to heaven. Darkness they love now.
and gross darkness shall be their habi-
tation through eternity, unless they give
up their senseless and wicked folly and
return to God.
Leading spiritualists have confessed
the deceit they have used. 1t fouriShes
by deception and fraud. Investigators
have exposed the tricks of mediums
time and again. yet these tricksters
have perpetrated their senseless frauds
year after year on those who are willing
to be duped
But to return to the confession in
Golfers Weekly. The author shows
how he innOcentlY at first came to adopt
their methods, for he soon saw through
their tricks and could play them as well
as the medium. He came to be re-
garded as good medium, and though
he laughed at the supposed miracles and
rldiculed the entire propaganda, those
who could not see the tricks raved over
its wonders. When he consented to Join
In seance, to make the number com
plete, he tells what was done. Around
table, hands on it, palms down, silence,
so that the spirit could give a message
through the table Think of it! A spirit
passing living beings by, to give the
message through a table. If that
doesn t verge on materialism, what is
1t? How can people who are possessed
of thimble full of good brains and
have a smattering of common sense
allow themselves to be imposed upon by
such senseless tomfoolery is beyond
comprehension. ! can only think of one
answer. ''Given up to strong deuslon
to believe a lie" Well. the message
was alleged to come by the table, lifting
1t up and tapping upon it, each bang to
represent letter, though they usually
satisfied themselves with yes and no.
The man treated it as a joke, laughed
at their solemn faces and tried to get
them to see the righteousness of the
affair. They insisted ne be quiet, as
the least sound or lack of concentration
hindered them. The table moved. He
thought Of the explanation, acted on
the suggestion and said that presently
he had the table rocking 1t was cleo
tricity. He says, AN electric current
runs through human bodies and when
manipulated by one Of sufficiently con-
centrated mind can be controlled and
made to rock the table. He deceived
them by his tricks. They would not
listen to his explanation. How true IT
IS that when people want to believe anv
old thing they can easily persuade them
selves of the truthfulness of it. They
tried to convince him by the argument
Of his own frauds. He played the
crowd, worked on their duplicity and
continued bossing the moving man
Job. He admits that most of the
messages and ideas were the inspiration
Of the movement. He was regarded
as a wonderful medium sought out,
battered, honored. yet all the time CON
sciOuS of playing tricks on his admirers,
who regarded him as having supernat-
ural power. When he tried to explain
that spirits had little or nothing to do
with it, people would try to argue him
into BELIEVING it. Oh, the perversity of
human nature! 1t is the creduitv of
people that leads them to accept such
nonsense. If they would exercise a
bit of good judgment and common sense
they would see differently. But there
is streak in human nature, that,
rather than admit it is wrong, will de-
fend itself and its beliefs, lest they be
Inundated by the sense of error in
judgment and practice. The author
says he could more easily convince the
intelligent. He called up Dickens, and
made them believe there was no one
present to whom the great writer would
condescend to speak. He then spelled
his own name and told the message to
himself, He affected amaZement but
played the role of a modest person, and
embarrassed.
Then he sent committee. of which
he was one, on a wild goose chase, all
the while knowing the trickery and
fraud of the whole thing.
One after another was called up.
Goldsmith. telling of his first hand |.
some suit of clothes and of the girl he /
loved so well. He had Goethe spout
ing poetry that must have made him
turn in his grave" "A crazy man who
claimed to be each of the great prophets
from Moses to DowIe, fiirted with
every pretty girl in the room. until
each blushed, and he had to send him
away" Beau Brummel gave his com
ments on the STYLES of the dav and
shocked US all when he declared the
harem skirt was his idea of the ideal
dress for women" Other communica-
lions as senseless as these were re
celved, yet the crowd accepted all as
from spirits, all unconscious of the fact
that everything emanated from the me-
dunn. He went on playing with their
credullty yet at times having com
Functions of conscience He wanted to .
end the farce and tell them how he had /
been duping them. He wanted to tell .
them how he had been having fun at .
their expense, and ask them to come .
back and be sensible, but they would .
not allow him. Yet this man is only .
one of scores who have exposed the du- .
phclty and fraud of the thing, but peo-
pie will not believe well authenticated,
trustworthy evidence that would be re-
celved in any court of justice.
They would rather believe a lie be-
cause they cannot catch on to the tricks .
perpetrated on them.
Yet the claim is made that it is
ennobling, makes men better. elevates
them. 1t does nothing of the kind. II
leads to duplicity and lying; it degrades
and debases character; it will lead to
free loveism, in short it will DESTROY
both soul and body of its dupes in hell, /
for it is od-dishonoring and Christ-re
jecting in theory and practice.
If deSniSpS the word of Cod ;,r,oror