The Washington times., 1917-03-22

So many notions arise that don't
Work out to anything.
Preface to n Mediums Dope Book.
This volume was put into our hands
by a professional medium who felt
that a change Of scene was, temper
arily at least, to his advantage. He
left town hurriedIy. There was a train
wreck, and he passed over. We have
tried many times since to get into
communication with him for the pur-
pose of asking him what to do with
the book, but without success. One
would think that a mediums ghost
might find 1t easier to get a message
across than any other sort of spirit.
But Mr.. Pedder had nothing to add
after death to the volume which he SO
laboriously compiled during life.
There are explicit directions for
producing nearly every phenomenon
known to psychical research, and
there is a list OF places and persons
from which and from whom the lat
est tricks and apparatus may be pur-
chased. Naturalization was nothing
to Mr.. Pedder (untiE he died, that isl d.
There is a catalogue of some twelve
thousand citizens of various American
communities who believe in spirit
communication, with longer or
shorter entry after each name From
this catalogue one may CLEAN such
information as this: "Mr. and Mrs
Henry Blank, No. - Rosalie Court,
Chicago; well-to-do retired haber-
a IA
life August IS, 1901, aged twenty-one; !;
daughter, Martha, passed over jan
uary 10, 1904, aged nineteen, on eve
of marriage Albert, student Chicago
University; was taking course in
philosophy; has met Plato, Socrates,
Marcus Aurelius in spirit life; etc"
Pedder, before. he passed over him.
self. told us how such explicit infor-
nation was collected by mediums and
passed from one to another. A me-
dium entering a community a strang-
er-and dealing with people about
whom IT was absolutely impossible
he could know anything at ALL
knows a great deal, thanks to his
dope book.
More interesting, TO US. was Pedder
himself. For. in spite of knowing all
the tricks Of the trade he was the most
credulous mortal we ever met. Pedder
would go to seances. not primarily to
admire the technique of some profess
sional brother or sister, but with the
ever recurrent hope OF seeing something
inexplicable by any hypothesis OF trick
cry.
"Gee!" he would say to US after such
an experience. 81 thought for a minute
last night / was UP against the real
thing"
"Well?" we would ask.
1T wasn't" Pedder would say sadly.
Just smooth worker. / watched him
close. hoping all the time 1t was straight
goods. but finally l got hep to how he
done it." Pedder was not always gram
matical.
Il cap do 1t myself with a little prac-
tice." Pedder would say with a sigh
'Listen-here's what he done--and It's
a peach too :" and Pedder would
proceed to demonstrate and explain.
Once he delivered himself to this ef-
feet:
There's gotta be spiritsi I was
talkin' to Eddie Slicker last week. You
know who Eddie is, don't you?
Smoothest worker in the business,
Eddie. l says, do you dItoGys fake
Il? Tom he says. so help me, there's
times when don't know whether I'm
fakin' IL or not Eddie says, don't
bull meP Tom he says, L wouldn't
But SO help me. Tom, there's been
more'n once when these dam sceptics
had me in a corner that something
helped me out Of the hole! Tom, he
says. there's gotta be ghosts Eddie
\ he fhfnp haa hoH
to met"
"But has it?" we asked.
NO" he admitted. 81 was Just
bullIng Eddie. But is that any sign
Eddie was bulling me?"
And then, after much deep thought:
where there's a demand there's
gotta be a supply. Amt that logical,
huh? II there wasn't any ghosts how
would people get the notion OF askIn'
for 'em In the first place? What?
Look at all these scientists-aIl these
psychicaI researchers. Do you mean
to tell me all those educated men are
bein' fooled? Not on your life! There's
gotta be spirits!"
But you've fooled some OF the sci
entists yourself" we reminded him.
What does that prove?" he an
swered us, Indignantly. "JusU be
cause l put across a phony check, is
that a sign there's no good checks?
Not on your life! The trouble with
you skeptics is that you cant believe
nothing"
But Pedder's ghost, in spite of an
agreement that the one who died first
should appear to the other. has never
come back to look for his book. Prob
ably the conditions are not right. We
publish the book In a last effort to
Irear from the author. 1t is the sort
Of a monument Pedder would hate;
anything he can compass to prevent
its issue he will not fail to attempt.
DON MARQUIS.