New-York tribune., 1919-12-22
London Is Insane
Over Spiritualisrn,
Says Stage Beauty
Eva Balfour, English Film
Star, Asserts Asylums Will
Be Filled; Sir Oliver
Lodge Duped, She Ayers

When Sir Oliver Lodge arrives in
this country to explain his views on
spiritualsm, he will! find an experienced
but disbelieving psychic here before
him, who thinks Sir Oliver is chasing
spiritualist rainbows." She is Miss Eva
Balfour. formerly CT Sir Herbert Trees
Shakespearian tneater and one Of
England's foremost motion picture
actresses. Miss Balfour arrived here
last Saturday on the Baltic with the
intention, she declared yesterday at the
Hotel Majestic, of remaining. Except
for brief stay two months ago on a
professional visit, it is her first visit
to Americn. Miss Balfour has fire.
quently been mentioned as England S
most beautiful actress"
"Sir Oliver Lodge is being imposed
upon" declared Miss Balfour yester-
day, in describing the spiritua.ist craze
in England. "Or else he is deceiving
himself" she added, "as hundreds Of
people have since the war. People are
literally going mad in London over
spirits. At the present rate our lunatic
asylums will soon be filled and the
whole race will be affected
II disagree frankly with Sir Oliver,
with no desire to be impolite, because
] have not only been what people call
psychic since was eight years old, but
also because have thoroughly investi-
gated spiritualism since the craze
struck England. If you had spent as
much time as have in darkened rooms
trying to catch the toy balloons on the
end of stick which are used to tap
you on the head in the dark, you would
agree with me-"
"Did you ever catch one of them ?''
she was asked.
time they tapped me-" she said.
Miss Balfour ascribes her own
psychic abilities to having lived so
much by herself in the hills of New
Zealand, where she was born. She has
refused repeatedly to be used as q
medium by English experimenters, be-
cause of her theory concerning So
called spiritualist manifestations.
Before leaving England Miss Balfoul
posed as model for Venus executed
by Dora Ohlfson, the Australian
sculptor. Asked how her measure
ments compared with those of the Venus
OF Milo, Miss Balfour said they were
identical, except that her wrists and
| ankles were slightly smaller.
Princes Screen Favorite
MISS BdlIOur mas Deen away IRON
New Zealand for more than eight
years. Four of these she spent witt
Sir Herbert Tree, her favorite role
being Catherine in "The Tanning of the
Shrew." In the last four years she
had devoted most of her time to the
movies, and is said to be the screer
favorite Of the Prince of Wales
According to Miss Balfour, the movies
are displacing the legitimate drame il
England because of the preponderanct
of Stupid plays pandering to SEX
Her favoritc American dramatists are
David Belasco and George NJ. Cohan
she said. A short visit to Greenwich
Village. she declared, had convinced
her that it is inhabitated by 40,
OF Bohemians, who use art as an ex-
cuse for late evenings"
Mss Balfour is brunette with &
mass of black hair, trimmed Green.
wich Village style. She paints and
favors the establi ishment here of ar
art center such as Chelsea in Eng
land for the development of serious
work. American women are the best
dressed in the world, she says, anc
carry themselves most gracefully.