The Washington times., 1920-11-23

The speaker was the Rev. Charles
M. de Heredia, s. j., OF Holy Cross
College, Worcester. who has thrown
bombshell into the scientific world
by his ability to reproduce by scien-
tific legerdemain all the spiritistic
phenomena produced by the greatest
mediums in the world. Returning
from a series Of spiritistic expo
sures" before scientific bodies in Eng
land, Italy, and Mexico, Father de
Heredia reached Washington today
to prepare for . lecture and perform
ance in Gonzaga College Theater on
Thanksgiving night. Cardinal Glib
bons, eminent theologians, and psych-
ical scholars are to be present at
Father de Heredia's performance.
At his performance on Thursday
night the priest will reproduce one
by one all the phenomena of the lead
ing spiritists, from the "raps" of the
Fox Sisters to the levitation of Daniel
Douglass Home, and will prove. he
declares. that more than 90 per cent
OF spiritism Is fraud.
DOESN'T DENY PHENOMENA.
genuine phenomena" said Father de
Heredia. in an exclusive interview
granted representative OF The
Times today. but I do question the
explanation given by the spiritists
and the advocates of the "diabolic'
theory. Lightning was phenomenon
since the beginning of the world. and
yet for sixty centuries civilized and
uncivilized nations explained it by
the devil. the gods, or some other pre-
ternatural powers. Then came an
American. Ben Franklin. with his
kite, and proved it to be electricity.
IA l. "a Ill l.
phenomena, only we are still waiting
for an adequate explanation.
"When you see a field in the cine
matograph, and a storm, wreck, or
flood, you are not able easily to dis
tinguish between the scenes that
were taken in the studio and those
taken from real nature. In the same
way spiritistic phenomena can be pro-
duced so easily by trickery and in
such a mystifying manner that even
learned people are deceived. For an
ordinary person II is practically i'm
possible to distinguish the true from
the false.
LACK OBSERVATION.
mime. Blavatsky. champion trick
ster and most shrewd woman, de-
clared once that she had never met
more than two or three men who
knew how to observe and sec and
remark on what was going on around
them. 1t is simply amazing. At least
nine out Of every ten people are en-.
tirely devoid Of the capacity OF OBJ
servation and of the power Of re-
membering accurate what took place
even a few hours before"
But" asked the interviewer, "isn't
there the authority of scientists to
attest the genuine character Of
spiritistic phenomena"
"Please tell me who are these
scientific men," replied Father de
Heredia. THE names OF twenty or
twenty-five so-called scientific in
vestigators OF psychism are repeated
in every spiritistic book ad nauseam.
Because Conan Doyle, a novelist, or
Sir Oliver Lodge, a physicist, or
Hyslop, a retired professor OF phiioso-
ply. or Crooks a chemist, tell us
that the phenomena exist and are
wrought by departed souls many feel
bound to admit their testimony a. up
to-date. But go to Harvard. go to
Yale, TO Columbia, or to Stanford,
and 10 YOU ask real scientists whether
the bulk Of scientists admit spiritism
they will laugh at the question"
When Father De Heredia was
say that a certain mlnd-reader was in
oollusion with the Old Boy" The
next night the theater was jammed.
Eery one wanted to zee how the
devil worked. Young Hcredia a little
later performed at a public lecture
the same wonders" that had been
performed by the "mind.reader.'
KNOWS ALL FAKES AND TRICKS.
THAT was thirty years ago" said
the priest. "Since then, on account Of
a great attraction FOR tricks and some
familiarity with the method OF their
performance. have been in almost