Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-09-13
CURIOUS BELIEF
STILL SURVIVING
College Professors Investigation
Notes Many Strange
Supcrstitions.

versity are supposed To be vii! nave
failed Of their purpose unless they nave
been safeg,iarded by precautions silch
as were taken by another noteworthy
research worker at the University oi
California some years ago. The latter,
DIR. Fletcher Bascom Dressler, was care,
ful 10 difTer.ntiatc between partial
belief and "full belief" BY the former
was indicated an inclination To believe
which ia dissociated from the will to be-
lieve: il might mean, for example, that
the subject under examination was IN
tellcctuaIly impelled toward disbehei,
vet was controlled by subconscious dread
ri the consequences Of disregardIng the
n,nens There are still individuals whose
rcason tells them that Friday is 20 more
unlucky than any other day Of the week,
yet thev prefer TO be on the safe side and
will not start on journey on that day.
This is true in particular OF superstitious
scn;- -hel,efs which involve disastrous
consequences. The good-luck ofnens seem
destined TO die an easier death. ~
The curious emotional creduifty WHICH
Dr Drcssler saws that he has found IN |
assoo;a.;on with narrow experience, un- |
due nersistence of opinions formed IN |
aorlv life. and the tendency 10 reduce All |
ay ayrv.r,epce to practical rules or Reneraiiza-
.;nna has its roots in rernotest antiquity.
n vonld require whole library 10 con
80, ,be moro catalogue Of beliefs IN signs
vub,.b have been held by men IN All the
ZOOS and another library To hold the
.,ol,,mca which have been written IN the
effort 10 explain them away. fronehess 10
o,norabye from narrow experience, now
ever is confined neither to the anciehts
nor IN men Of lower order OF intelligence
IN tho present day. One need only, 70
| find a modern example, reier 10 tie Vehr
dencv ofsoldiers 10 estimate the success oi
a military campaign by the progress ol
| thc.r own regiment IN hinited secoor' VI
| Of business men 70 apprhss IA'l -
/ s.oat rolicv in accordance with tfeif
na4,,rda,, afternoon sales. 1t is, az sol +
- hos said always unsafe 70 generalize
80 knoyv how unsafe tins Is, from their
s,,,,,.r;ence in attempting TO adjust general
~, -, gnccifc cases Most Of all IS 1T IN
AaI,,s;,,o xhen the generalization is
nade nv one without capacity ior iihae-
;pi,g a different set OF circumstances
So 4boae which surround him st the
ii'' 4 rnod many of the older supcrsti-
.;aa. ,soro based upon reason, but the
raat;ee 49,, survived long after the reasons
e. 4ha,o Rad been forgotten. Receive
NOT . swallow into your house may nave
brcr a relic Of some experence IN Wihch
svvailows Hospitality harbored became
rxate "stir not the ire with SWORD va
eYceIIent counsel when the teihpelibs =
steel was an uncommoniy practiceu Az .
tfSetting forth on q journey tuln ny
-. = s,,as an excellent antidote for m
1aei~;;o, and became absurd only when II
III .ha traveller 10 disregard the best OF
Icons for changing his mind. In the
re;I5ie aoea the tenant farmer was en-
;a;Tad IN take thy swine frst INTO the
Ill that they may root forward ana
- 5ans last. that they may scratch oack-
- ;, This was certain TO BRING pros
.;ty II uas. however, good farming IN
- ,;,ne for the hogs by overturnlng the
.Lhia furnished excellent scratching Tor
sIeao r. s,,yls An apple tree blooming out OF
saasor ~ once was supposed TO be an omen
- eea.b n the family, as unseasonapie
yraather might be IN any country NhoSe
,,er1,SIa r.ere needless of the laws OF health
And one suspects that -when the siilohe
,oes streight upward from the CHIMNEY
? r.,lI rain soon may have lndicated
r,,dinentary sense OIL atmospheric col-
dit;ons such as has since fuli pIoonleu mt
the science of meteoroiogy Lhefe ~
example of this also IN the niIy-ipuLeA ny. =
And ne Sdl1 AnGO
.lo',d arise out Of the West, We say
srs..,,> ~ eoynath a shower: and SO II Is.
W Lnow now that the general courss
- .+o-,, movements is from west 70 east
r. - Quotation furnishes an example o.
sreToraI;zatipn which is accurate becauSS
, 81 based upon a too limited experience
S,,rx;>,al of the wish superstltlons Is du'
-, defni+e will TO believe In them, anC
9 - so,'6r,ns sf anew Schopenhauers dlctun
= - .stbe will and not the intellect gov
s e. bel;es The finding OF tour-les
; oiax5sr docs bring good luck because mos
y f ns are more fortunate than We reahze
i ~ We are in fact, lucky TO nave on
attention fxod upon happy colhc,oeilce
y There is a superstition, honoreo iron
time ;mmemorial, that Ii one, upon seem
4 falling star, will hastily repeat III
# talismanic words h+
First star I've seen tonight;
wish may, wish mlghs
@ uave the wish wish tonlghs,
. ~ .;.b i certain to be fulfilled. Sine
tbe s,e w;sher is quite likely IN ms Tor her
:, baste especially if ungulded by read
u u onstion. to hit upoa wish that IS nc
a. a. d;gsenIt of fulfllment, the law OF probabl
~ - = ali in favor of happy sequel.
u s''IS n cjass seems 70 have been free fror
VI ,->ors, zion in any time, which is to sa
:, tbat the "practice of generahzing fror
al az 81 exDeriencep Is as wide as the rac'
ie Iat' r. far,ners have seemed TO possess MOI
than their share of unreasonlng custom
tb;s Is only because husbandry is the mos
N anc;ent of all pursuits and has elaine
- ,ha attention of more people than an
- business In the world. GovernC
;. W;tbveombe would be interested
II IL l,,nry;nq what the superstition" tn:
~ Er,,a y.owdered and thrown on the sc
n would cause clover to grow where
~ -, never had appeared before is almost as o
* a. the rock-ribbed hills; IL was another
10 tba beliefs which happened TO be bast
"' ,,non the right kind of experience. Al
~ old Scotch notion that part of Il
y farno each wear should be dedicated
- satan" to appease the prince of ev
was perhaps the origin OF summer folio
=, ing in that part of the world. Blu, We he
'Ss -. less OF the practice of carrying piece
~ wood from q coffin that has bee dug
30 INTO an orchard infested with tent cats
1iilars because we have found bett
70 p fnays Of getting rid of horticultural pes
7af II ,s still unlucky In Transylvanla
II count beehives, but distinctly lucky
- Oregon to have many to count. Bel
that if one would dance around the chu
the butter would come faster is 81
ing justified if one is careful to retain hold
II The dasher while performing the mys
~. rite