The Washington times., 1922-08-22
.HOUD|N| WILL
GIVE LIBRARY Of
MAGIC To U.S..
Great Liberator' viii Leo
ture at RiaIto This Week. .
Doubts All Mediums.


Harry Houdini. whose motto 10
"Stone walls do not prison make.
nor iron bars a cage" has ,wilied
to the Congressional Library his
library Of magic and occult books,
the largest of It's kind I'm the
world, lie announced today.
The collection is housed In a
four story building in New York
city, devoted exclusively to this
purpose. The books were gathered
by Mr.. Houdini from all corners
OF the world in his thirty years
as n student of magic.
"Some years ago. the librarian
Of the Congressional library wrote
me a letter, requesting that this
library be passed on to the nation"
said MA Houdini. "and have acted
accordingly, Incorporating that pro.
vision In my will" 5.
"Wnl you let the library in on
your secret Of escape?" he was
asked. ,r.-
Mr.. Houdini smiled and shook his
head. -....-..
81 don't intend to-" he replied.
"As far as ] know, that secret Will
die with me. Z am afraid that II
scrupluous persons. who would then
be able to rob banks, break jails
and in other ways defeat the law.
I am jealous Of that one secret. ]
have trained myself not to. talk In
my sleep. and I never have drank
liauor. You see, / might get too
good-natured and talk too much"
He Writes On Magic.
-. Mr.. Houdini is by no means the
average theatrical performer. He
has written a number of books on
magic, mysticism and kindred sub.
jects, and has in preparation a
work on spiritualism, in which he
promises to give a material expla-
nation OF all so-called manifesto
tons" that he has Witnessed.
81 do not say that spiritualism
with emphasis" say that ! have
attended more than 5000 seances
I'm all quarters Of the globe and !
have yet to see an indication of the
supernatural In a spiritist meeting.
] can do anything n medium can
do, with the proper materials, and
I can do a lot of things that no
medium can do"
Mr.. Houdini professed a desire to
interview Mrs. Gladys Murray. the
actress found on the streets here
in a semi-conscious condition. de.
claring she was receiving spirit
messages. Mrs. Murray Is now at
Washington Asylum Hospital and
arrangements are under way today
for an appointment this week, prob
II can tell the Sass of medium
to which she belongs" Mr.. Houdini
stated, confidently. II can tell
whether she is sincere or whether
she Is n plain faker. The only
time ever was fooled by a medium
was when I was a boy OF twelve.
medium how his tricks were per-
formed"
But is there, do you think, a
spirit world?"
Doubts Duty's Selection.
"I do not know, but am open
to conviction. am not at all a
materialist. believe in God, and
I appreciate to the full the value
of religion. Therefore I do not
believe that God, in His infinite
goodness, would entrust messages
from the beyond to dirty slatterns
in back alleys, who bring UP q
mess of stuff that they call an
ectoplasm from their mouths and
tell you II il your grandmother. II
could get a message from my
mother, who In dead, would be
the happiest man alive. But
have sought and sought, and am
still seeking. but have received
no evidence or testimony from
messages from my mother to me.
Perhaps would be happy IL /
did not know so much about the
subject Be that as it. may, I am
the most powerful opponent spirit.
ism has today, and IL ] were con.
vinced Of its genuineness, would
try to be it's most powerful PRO-
ponent."
Mr.. Houdini claims close friend.
ship with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
who recently lectured on spiritual
ism in Washington. He declares
that Sir Arthur is wholly sincere
in his spiritualistic beliefs, and that
there are many others equally sin
cere.
"The Great Liberator," as Mr..
Houdini may be called, is fifty
years old, but doesn't look It. His
muscular, stocky build body: his re.
markably clear and piercing eyes
and his perfect coordination OF
mind and body are those Of man
ten years younger. Sitting back In
an armchair in the Rialto theater
offices, In shirt-sleeves, unpreten-
tiously clothed, he might have been
taken for anything but the presi-
dent Of the American Society of
Magicians and the greatest per.
former of his kind the world has
ever known. His lectures at the
Rialto this week. in connection with
his motion picture, THE Nah From
Beyond. are the first he has ever
delivered.
He doesn't intend to go hack to
jail-breaking or other forms OF
escape, until he has won a victory
over ignorance and delusion in the
world Of spiritualism. ~
do it7"
FINALLY and positively, no." he
smiled. Please don't coax me-"
Houdini Is answering questions
pretaining to the supernatural ad.
dressed to this newspaper during
his stay in Washington. Address
your letters "Houdini, care The
III