Omaha daily bee., 1921-07-17
Every Family to
Be Able to Talk
ToSpirits, He Says
Delegates to Convention Of
General Assembly of Spirtu.
alists Discuss Future Life
And Disembodied Spirits.
BY MARGERY REX.
lnternational NAws Service.

~ ANEAANSsANA @NA<ss
Intsrnstional Nsws Service.
New York, July l6--On one of the
hottest days of the year. in red
and-gold ballroom. 100 men and wo-
men gather together to discuss the
future life, the disembodied spirits
and the possibility of communication
with them.
The twenty-hfth convention of the
general assembly of Spiritualists Is in
session at the Waldorf. These earn
est people sit attentively while their
leader speaks of the past of their re-
ligion, of the social and business os-
tracism once attendant upon it and
OF the freedom from persecution
which prevails today.
Predicts Family Mediums.
Soon, he AYERS, nearly everyone
will believe in communication with
the dead, and in every family some
one will serve as medium for the
group.
This pronouncement causes no
surprise to the members of the con-
vention, although it is rather start
ling news for outsiders. But the
president OF the gathering, J. F.
Steckenreiter, goes on to tell of the
heavy price believers once paid for
their faith, since any Spiritualist was
considered at one time legitimate
object to persecute. He emphasizes
the difference between the fortune
teller and the medium, distinction
not always conceded.
Various pastors of Spiritualist
churches tell Of the headway made
during the year both financially and
socially. Young peoples societies
are formed, mortgages on churches
paid off, clubs chartered and guilds
maintained.
1t is surprising to learn, when they
arise to speak, that various women in
organdies and silks are ministers of
this particular gospel. Several col.
ored women, good speakers, tell OF
success among their people and IN
their church group.
One of them, Mrs. Hetty Johnson
"a New York minister-relates
stories of her "child-guidc Chatter
box" who aids and advises her. To
one who does not entertain this be-
lief it all is apt to seem trivial.
Noted Adherents OF Faith.
But at once names like those OF
the late w. T. Shead, the late Will
liam James and the living Conan
Doyle come to mind. !.
General acceptance of spiritualism
is delayed, the president of the meet
ing says. Yet few believe now that
it is actual claptrap or device OF
satan. Neither do intelligent min
listers of other creeds denounce it
from their pulpits, he declares.
Later on Mrs. Mable Marie Butler,
of Birmingham, told me that there
was a great difference between
spiritualism and spiritism.
"Spiritualism is as different from
spiritism as college is different from
grammar school," she says.
"Our belief is wonderful, new and
healthy. 1t is holy and wholesome.
II is Gods own love in a practical
form. \.
"But the pearls of occult science
are buried deep in the earth. 1t
takes time to bring them completely
to light. That means we all must
work hard" !.
Young and come1y. she had at
tracted more than one glance by the
intensity of the fervor which shone
from her pleasant face during the
speeches of other members.
Flowers and Spirits Connected.
Mrs. Hetty Johnson tells Of the
connection between flowers and the
spirits. At her Sunday seances
each visitor holds flower, which
makes it easier to get message.
with Gods flower in my hand"
she says. II can always get bet
ter message.
''That is like holding God in my
hand. And we can better realize that
there is paradise waiting for us be-
yond the grave"
Across the tired face of simple
laboring man hope flashes at these
words. Yet at some rather extreme
ideas which are offered now and
then, a few of the audience smile
slightly, as though fellow members
had not reached such a high plane
Of understanding as they themselves.
One raises a lorgnette and smiles
superciliously.
But there is camaraderie between
the old and young, between the more
intelligent and the less intelligent,
between the well-to-do and the poor.
They are held together by mutual
belief in an extremely consoling
fnrr, of rc1ioion