New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-03-28

qaently and legitimately employed by
commercial and portrait photog-
raphers. But DIR. Princes report
Of the fraud also is a double expo
sure, for in addition to exposing the
fraudulent "spook" photographs he
exposes the fraudulence of some
spirit writing.
To Photograph ''Chosts''
The society became interested
back in 1914, when sixteen Esprit"
photographs were presented for in
spection by Mrs. Marguerite du
Pont Lee, a philathropic woman of
means living in Washington, D. G..
She is member Of the multimil-
lionaire du Point family of Delaware.
Some of the pictures were, Licensees
of the Rev. Mr.. Kemper Bocock, and
Mrs. Lee informed the society that
they had been made several years
after the death of the reverend gen.
tleman. The investigating officers
of the society say they believe Mrs.
Lee honestly thought the pictures
were actually counterparts Of the
ghost of her lamented religious in
structor, who died in 1904.
Mrs. Lee had been associated with
the minister in the conduct of a
charitable institution which she has
caused to be built. They had many
tastes in common and were quite
sympathetic with each other.
In an article based on the sixteen
esprit" photographs written by
James Hyslop, Phi. D., the secretary
of the American Society for PSYCHE
cal Research and which was pub
lished in the proceedings issued in
1915, it was stated:
"He (Mr. Bocock) died a few
years ago and apparently gave rise
to automatic writing by Mrs. Lee
This automatic writing one day told
her she could take photographs"
To Mrs. Lee that meant more than
the ability to take ordinary photo
graphs; it meant that she had the
supernatural power to photograph
the souls Of the dead-in a word,
ghosts.
So Mrs. Lee purchased a camera
and began to experiment. After
three months Of fruitless endeavor
during which she made many photo
graphs of portrait paintings Of her
self and Mr.. Bocock, Mrs. Lees
faith was "rewarded". Balls or disks
of white light began to appear mys.
teriously on her negatives when
these were developed. Unaccountec
for faces appeared in the pictures
Many such phenomena occurred
and according to the article by DR.
James Hyslop, secretary Of the so
ciety, published in the proceedings
Of 1915, they were all Of such /;
character that a Philistine, as DR.
Hyslop calls unbelievers, would at
tribute to light-struck Aims, doubl,
exposures and reflected lights.
In his supplementary report d.
Prince says of that first report b,
his colleague, DR.. Hyslop:
Refused Investigation
while it did not question the per
sonal good faith Of Mrs. Leo an
was scrupulous perhaps to exces
in setting forth all that could b
said In favor of her view Of tn
facts, rendered the Scotch verdic
Of mot proven Some Of tho dat,
had an impressive affirmative APP
pearance; others (such as Mn Keel
er's absolute refusal to submit t.
any expert investigation), pointed
In the other direction. but tho fact.
were not then sufficient in quantity
" sufficiently under control to per
nit a positive conclusion"
"Mr. Keller" was even moro i'm
portant in this case Of psychic phe
nomena than DR.. Bocock's ghost
He is William M. Keller, now about
eighty years old and employed as a
photographer by government bu-
reau in Washington. 1T was he
who took most Of the photographs,
and, incidentally, he has stated that
he took spirit photographs for Pro,
lessor Robert Hare, who died in
1863.
Mrs. Lee, explaining how she got
in touch with Keller, said that she
6rst wrote to DR.. Hansmann, like