Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1914-08-21
HAS STRANGE GIFT
Polish Peasant Seemingly Works
Miracles Of Healing.
Absolutely lIIiterate, His Cures Hava
Been SO Marvellous That Thous- I
ands Visit Him In His Hum
BILE Home at Topoica.

stanislaus Ratajczyk, Polish peas.
ant living in the hamlet of Topolca,,
near the ancient town Of Leneczycai
has won fame In Russia. Germany andl
Austria for his strange cures. Thsi
patient, who may be in New York;
Vladivostock or Warsaw. sends byf
mail or wire his Christian name, within
exact date of birth. That is all. On
getting his data, Stanislaus puts thei
letter, message or card before him onl
a table, sits down In front Of It, drinksI
a glass Of cognac and goes into
short trance. Then he says to his sect
rotary: .
II see such and such thing In thel
patients body. He must do SO and
So"
The secretary writes down thel
medicines and treatment, and the ad-,
dress sent, with the Christian name
and date.
Stanislaus can neither read nor
write, but his cures bring him enor1
nous crowds, as well as stacks OF
letters and dispatches. Though To-
pclca Is more than thirty miles from!
the nearest railway depot, patients OF
all sorts and conditions, from the poor
peasant who can pay nothing to thef
rich in their cars and furs. When they
come to him instead Of sending their
names by post he does not ask themF
details, but goes into a trance and
tells them what Is the matter.
His fee ranges from a few cents tot
IS, according to the patients purse.l
He also leyies a toll Of bottle OF
French brandy from all except thet
very poor. Many scientists Of Europes
have vainly sought to solve the mys1
terry Of the peasants strange power.
The New York Worlds Warsaw corr
respondent made the tedious Journey
to Topolca to investigate. When het
arrived at the healer's house Stanis1
laus was saying to Russian ofaciaI
who was suffering from alcoholism:
what Is the use of your coming tol
see me? can only heal the body; IL
is your soul that Is Ill. Control that
and you will be WE'LL"
Turning to the correspondent, he,
grumbled: '~
"You are not sick. You have comet
to find out whether am fraud or
not. You are not from these parts
but cannot tell where you come.
from, as my gift only applies to the!
sick, not to the healthy" ..
stanislaus admitted that he drinks
a great deal Of brandy; sometimes
two bottles a day when he Is very
busy.
On being urged to tell his history
Stanislaus said:
"I began when was a boy Of eleven
A nefghbor came into my fathers
cottage and said he felt bad. l heard|
a voice whisper inside me that he
must take a particular herb and GER
tain baths. All laughed at me, but the!
neighbor got worse and made up his;
mind to take my refhedies, which
cured him. My father knew all the
herbs in the forest, and their uses.
He taught me what he knew and my
gift, or the voice that whispers, does
the rest. I don't know what 1t means
either, but must do people good, for
they keep on coming" And he pointed
t. the next room, full OF patients, ana
to the crowd outside the cottage.
II am nearly eighty now" he went
on. land I can do no more than thirty
frances in the morning. In the after
noon I attend to the letters and teie'
grams"