Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1918-07-31
A sAs the ou,IA BOARD.

A peculiar lawsuit is in progress in
New York where Mark Twain's pub
fishers and owners OF the Clemens
copyrights are suing to prevent pub
ltcation and circulation of novel
which its publisher and it's authoress
claim was dictated by Mark Twain thru
the ouija board. The ouija board is
another name for the common planchet.
It is by some esteemed as the instru-
ment wherewith the departed write
messages to the home folks who are
still eating beans and substitutes here
on the mundane sphere. It's sort of
three cornered piece Of shingle with
three legs, one of which is pencil.
You put finger tips on it and stick
around until some spirit that learned
to write comes along to say, "Hello,
here's a ouija board. Better drop a
few words to let them all know that
1 am well and hope these few lines
will find them the same" In Iowa OF
course communications. unless of
strictly private nature. must be written
In the English language. A German
ouija board is an alien and should be
interned. Well. that's about all. The
ouija board operator simply takes die
tation without knowing how it Is done
and there we are with first hand STUFF
right from headquarters. That's the
way Mrs. Whatsername worked Mark
Twain for a new novel. Harper Bros,
however, set up that first, it isn't 80
and anyhow IL Mark Twain 10 to make
more books he must make them over
their ouija boards. So the supreme
court is to pass upon the dispute.
It is to be hoped that the court will
enjoin the departed from using the
ouija board unless in strictly private
communications. II the spirits are to
have free hand this way some Of
them win write book of "reminiscences
that will make the hair Of some of us
curl Certain politicians erstwmle
pretty strong here in Iowa might got
busy with the ouija in moments Of re-
Taxation and tell it all. Suppose some
fellow 'fn the know" years ago started
in with column Of spicy stun like the
Memoirs of Madam Dubarry' but
things that happened
and went on right here at home thirty
or forty years or later for the matter
of that. 1t would be worse than old
files or the court records.
He'd be able to tell SO much more.
Suppose that a departed business part
ner of years yonder got into his head
that the complete story of what led up
to the failure and how the bankruptcy
proceedings were conducted. would be
mighty good reading for summer
weather and started something with the
ouija board. Imagine, il Old Doc So
andso found time hanging heavy on his
spirit hands and began to contribute a
column day of unexpurgated "Recol-
lections of a Family Physician" Say,
this thing is dangerous. It ought to
be nipped in the bud.
Nobody is going to kick on informa-
ton slipped to the folks back here pri-
vately and not for publication: but
when a spirit, immune from libel suits
and inpalpable to a punch in the nose,
begins to write novels and indulge in
it is time something were
done and done right away. Who knows
where and on whom the blow may fall?
II the oupa board from harmless
and amusing plaything has become a
monster of schrecklicheit then down
with the ouija board.
In onrnal times France makes &c.
000, 900 pairs Of gloves year.