New-York tribune., 1918-06-02
DIFFERING IN HOPES AND AGONY OF WAR STI2ICKEr
Mediums Who Exploit
Credulity of Soldiers
Relatives Get No
Quarter From
Laws Officers
BY F. H. Barkley

BY F. II. Barkley
r Asst week a noted spiritualist here
in New York was tried and con-
vieted, and we read and won
dered "Who on earth goes to spiritual
lists nowadays?" Lots of people, an in
credible number. Every day the court
room was crowded with friends and
sympathzers.
Most of us go about the days work
and don't even know that the New York
front is the scene of mortal combat
between the District Attorney and
soothsayers, fortune tellers, spiritual
lists. gypsies of all sorts. A part, too, of
the great conflict-for this is profiteer-
ing; profiteering with fine sinister
twist to it for the moment-that makes
1t especially w tn while as casus
belli. Not that the police ever loved
fortune tellers. They've been running
down the Romanys for years now, so
the Romanys in struggle to survive
have had to adjust themselves to the
most CALLING restrictions, until they are
but the shadow of the once powerful
conjurers and magicians.
AS soon as we went into the war and
had casualty list on our minds the
mediums about town began a campaign
to establish themselves as a communi-
eating link with the boys cover there"
as we'll as with the boys on the "other
side," term not to be confounded with
cover there"
Visions came to them at first tenta-
tively-"seems to me he's got gun in
his hand" II get him being your son;
got medals over his chest like" They
are only following England's lead, for,
though the British make it an offence
against the law, the demand for some
communication with the "other world"
has grown at an equal pace with their
casualty list, so the first suggestion of
such a campaign to exploit the public
anxiety here made the District Attor-
ney redouble his efforts.
Mediums Camouhaged
In New Nomenclature
In England it has gone too for and
the demand for it is too big at this
time, but here Preparedness will ex-
plain the intimacy between the police
and the spirits.
Just try to find a fortune teller in
this big town. You may run across
the ten lost tribes of Israel, but the
clairvoyant has moved on to parts un-
has given the prosecuted innocents
such a bad name that to even ask q
pretty girl or d. -hir3 shoe clerk
where q fortune teller may be found
is to get yourself in bad. Above all
things, don't ask an undertaken. did,
without any intention Of implying that
he and the clai voyants moved in the
same circles. Don't ask policeman
even under the -tence that you want
one a bazaar. "To my knowledge,
there's not one of 'em operatin' in
my precinct" a mammoth Irishman
told me. 81 tho, t you might know
of some that are operating without
your knowleo -" d to my sorrow.
No, the next generation will read 1bout
fortune tellers as we read about old
witches.
Ser rch 1g for them in the old paths,
it looks as : his picturesque race had
disappeared, but we may be perfectly
sure from England; and Germany's
experience that spiritualism is too
lucrative bu.iness to be so easily sat
upon. All the old f&kers are still with
us-putting new wine in the old bottles
and selling it at war p ces.
About three y rs ago when the
ground was trembling fearsomely un-
der their feet, the spiritualists man.
aged to have law passed establishing
spi-i lism as a recognized religion.
They have now general assembly, q
school and convention centre at Lily
Dale, in the western part of he st. ;e.
To get into touch with clair
voyant one mu5t go to one of their
churche where hymns are sun-, al
ways "Nearer, My God, to Thee" the
Lords Prayer said, the church's char
ter re- and a more or les religious
atmo. maintained. The reader,
usually lady with a f~e fall Of
chins down her front, calls herself
reverend" the negroes being particu-
larly fond of that "reverend." Du- ing
the meeting a newcomer is usually
singled out for message, in which
case it is best to say Eyes, ye," to all
remarks, no matter how wide of the
mark they may be. For none will be
encouraged in ~-ivate seance unless
he is sympathetic" and anyway if you
think long enough you are sure to re-
member having met some one in your
life named Mamie, or Jenn., or Sadie.
After the meeting you mention to the
medium that the message was certainly
the most remarkable you have ever re-
ceived. Would they be kind enough to
grant you a private sitting?
They Have Always
Money for Bail
All the spiritualists are wort;ng thus
in the open, pushed there by the Dis
trict Attorney, who since the begin
ming of the war, with it's increased pos
sibil.ties of mu' ting the ruhl;> ~ +l;.