Evening star., 1922-10-14
''Our American Adventure"
Meeting of ''Sherlock Homes' and William J. Burns
Feature of Impressive Arrival From England
Described in First of Series of Articles.
BY SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE.

| II you are perfectly frank you are
| safe. but they are not men whom
would care to bamboozle. They have
seen too much of men and of life.
these sentries at the gut of the strait
who challenge all who pass.
Well, they were very good to me.
| Their questions were SO clean cut and
intelligent that l saw signs Of organ
lied preparation. They got to the
heart of things at once. ! asked
nothing better. and SO we had a lively
! hour together while the Baltic slowly
| made for her moorines. They are
America, those men. The first word
| of your mission is sent from end TO
end of that great continent as il is
| impressed upon their minds. II is
worth all the courtesy and charity
that you can command. / am told
that 1t was all very favorable and
that their reports were both good and
accurate.
l had prepared one. or two vital
| headings for their reference. and
I may as well hand them to the reader
| as TO the pressman, that he may have
| more intelligent idea of what was
| my line of thought.
/ Spiritism and Religion.
Making every allowance" said this
aide -meInoire. "for fraud. which has
been greatly exaggerated. aud for
| mon. there remains a great residuum
| of proved fact which makes this psy-
chic movement the most serious at
tempt ever made to place religion up
on a basis of definite proof. 1t is the
| one great final antidote to material
Ism, which is the cause Of most of
| our recent world troubles.
III We can only make this good
i and the case has only to be clearly
stated to carry conviction-then surely
| america has good cause to be proud
| that this great restatement of the
fundamentals Of religion should have
had Its origin upon her soil. 1t has
been degraded by some who believed
in II, and derded by all who did not.
| the vital good that is in il and to free
1t from sordid influences. High spirits
| did not descend upon earth to tell
| fortunes or to advise on business
| matters. Such uses bring a curse
| with them. The true aim of COM
| knowledge Of spiritual matters. In
| cluding conditions of life after death,
=, and. above all. self improvement.
Far from being antagonistic to re-
ligion. this psychic movement is des-
tined to revivify religion. which has
/ formality. This new knowledge
! makes 1t real and sure and enables
one for the first time to understand
| the actions and views of the early
Christians and of their great Leader.
Without this psychic knowledge
| comprehensive. With it one has re-
newed assurance of its essential
| truth.
"It unites real science and real re-
| ligion. each supporting the other"
| Such was my keynote, and II was
4
| get 1t across in these. my opening
interviews.
Doyle Censors Film.
The interviewers and later the
| photographer are familiar incidents,
but the cinema man adds something
new to the final difficulties of the
, traveller. 1t is very real test of
patience and temper when one is
weary and unkempt. With the inter-
viewer one can help oneself by the
reflection that one is advocating and
advancing ones cause. but one does
not hope to gain much on ones per-
| sonal appearance The cinema ordeal
was once the occasion of a comic cpl
| sode when my wife, seeing a machine
erected before me. and thinking that
| I was showing more curved walStcoat
than was good, darted forward and
readjusted me. unaware that the
cinema handle was hard at work.
Then. when I shouted word of
| warning. she made matters worse by
throwing up her hands and gaspine.
It was a delicious piece of natural
comedy, as 1t came out upon the
screen. but insisted upon a private
performance and carried Off that part
of the roll for my use in the future.
So we passed the dragons at the
gate and those other dragons OF the
customs house. being greatly helped
in all things by the presence of an
old friend. William ]. Burns. the
great secret service agent. II may
sound sinister to admit that a famous
detective was the first to accost you
mighty useful friend in any tight
corner. / found him the same as
ever-quiet. gentle. efficient. with i'm
passive face and eyes which miss
nothing. He is now. understand, in
very special command of the secret
Immediate encourage of the President
Late that night weary and be-
draggled party drove through the
deep-cliffed canons with the thou
sands of twinkling lights. which cut
their way through the city. Tired as
they were. the children watched
with wondering eyes. for it is 4
scene which never can be forgotten
by European. There is a rush and
roar with a brilliancy and sense OF
motion and power such as can no.
where else be found At last our two
cabs pulled up at the famous Am
bassador Hotel, where | found the
manager. Mr.. Kroel. to be an old ac.
quaintance from the Berkeley Hotel
in London. We had reached that do
mestic stage where mans troubles
end and a woman's begin. But We
were all happy, for we were safe In
our headquarters and the second ac,
of our adventure was about to begin
Note: The second of Conan Doyle's
articles will be published tomorrow
in the Editorial Section of The Sun.
day Star.