New-York tribune., 1918-02-17
Wars Spiritual Casualties STRENGTHEN
Old Quest for Secret OF Immortality

Went INTO monaSteries and converts OF
religious orders devoted to mystical
prayer and mystical living or who at
tempted to carry ON the ancient proc
esses of the mystical life while still
engaged in their ordinary avocations.
And when war broke out this wave
OF orthodox Christian experimentation
quickly spread and grew to great pro
portions. AS it was not fantastic and did
hot BRING about thc startling results
OF splrltualism and occultism, it has
rot attracted the same degree of public
attention. Still. it is we'll known how
IN Lngland, for example, there arose
the practice of erecting war shrincs in
publlc places, asking for prayers for
dead soldiers, q practice which was q
return to the custom of the times when
England was a Catholic country. Pop
ular preachers like Dr.. Campbell, for
mer'y OF the City Temple, boldly bade
the people return to the old belief in
the efficacy Of prayers for the dead.
and English newspapers contained
many such notices as the following,
which, however. with only a change
made in the name. is copied verbatim
from New York paper Of recent date
a beginning of what will be a great
procession Of such notices as the war
goes on:
"JOHNSON- James. son or the late
Joseph II. Johnson and brother of
Mrs. Cornelius Sullivan, who met his
death in the discharge Of his duty
when L. S. steamer Rochester was
torpedocd on November g Solemn
requiem mass at ST. Jerome's Church,
January u, at 10 a. IN. Relatives
and friends respectfully invited"
In England, too. VIC may recall the
strange stories which flew about like
wildtire after the battle of Mons of
angels appearing in the battle to sue
cor the Allies. These stories sprang
out OF fiction story by Arthur Machen
but despite that fact they were be-
llevcd and spread by hundreds of pco-
PIC, soldiers and nurses from France
among them. And if there was a great
revival of belief in various occult
charms and luck pieces so also was
there a continual demand for articles
as.sociatcd with more orthodox forms
o. faith. crosses and scapulars and
"blessed' relics and rosaries.
Perhaps the most curious, and cor.
talnly IN some ways the most ironieal,
circumstance of the whole singular
business, is that science, which only
lew years ago almost absolutely
denied all but the most starkly ma
terialistic explanation Of lifcs phe-
nomena. is now contending with re-
lgion in seeking to give to those
afflicted by the deaths of their loved
ones that consolation which the human
heart finds in belief in personal i'm
mortality. Robert Mountsier, in the
Christmas number of the (American)
"Bookman," in the leading article, de-
clares that to-day Sir Oliver Lodges
book, "Raymond,' "is more popular
than the Bible. in England" and that
"spirltualism, with its frank attemnt
to offer something tangible as to sur
vivai after death. has taken so great
hold on deathstricken England that
people are flocking to spiritualstic
seanccs as they did to the churches at
the beginning of the war"
| shall return later on to the sub
ject of spirtualism; but, first. [ desire
to point out that it is not only to the
stricken relatives of dead soldiers that
the leaders and the practitioners of
the spiritistic revival seek to bring
comfort; for some of them apply an
other form Of the same general faith