The Record-courier. [volume] (Gardnerville, Nev.) 1904-current, 1923-06-08
AXIS ON
SPIRITUALISM

Those of us, who read the San Fran
cisco papers will have noted that Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle, perhaps the fore
most apostle of Spiritism," is lectur-
ing in the Bay cities. Sir Arthur is
the author of the well-known Sherlock
Holmes stories. For this reason he
is attracting more than ordinary at
tention. This is his second invasion
of our country. In one of his lectures
he recently made the statement, that
Hydesville, New York, is not only 'the
greatest thing in America" but also
that this hamlet "is destined to become
become more wildly known than Beth
lehem." Rather startling claims, for
nine-tenths of eur raiders will prob
ably not be able to state Just where
Hydesville is, nor why it has been sug-
gested as deserving distinction. This
claim is rather absurd, because it
states in effect, that the nationally
important places of our country must
shrink in insignificance before the
village in which the notorious Fox sis
ters just three quarters of a century
ago gave their first public exhibition
of their ability to move the joint of
their big toe in such a way, that un-
counted thousands of people in our
country and in Europe believed this
toe-cracking to be spirit rapping and
signals from the departed souls.
And yet, in spite of the fact that
the fraud of the Fox sisters was effect
lively exposed and that they themselves
Joined in confessing that they had
been guilty of cheating and of i'm
position, Sir Doyle honors Hydesville
as the birthplace of new revela-
tion which constitutes by far the
greatest religious event since the
death of Christ" Students of history,
who know that the delusion which
leads people to believe that they can
and should consult the dead, goes back
almost to the cradle days of humanity.
oppose Doyle as well as his own cele-
brated countryman, Rudyard Kipiing.
who penned these striking words:
Oh, the road to Endor is the Oldest
road
And the craziest road of all,
Straight 1t runs to the witch's abode.
As it did in the days of Saul.
What has Science to say about Spir-
itualism? The refrain that reaches
throughout Doyle's lectures is. "All
this is proved beyond the shadow of
doubt" But is it? Ectoplasm
which is supposed to resemble rubber
or putty, and to emanate from the
body of the medium, has been denied
all existence by the Physical Research
Society The Faculty of Science of the
University of Paris conducted a very
extensive examination embracing fif-
teen seances, and stats, "that the re-
SUITS can only be considered as en-
tirely negative"
And how about Sir Arthur's spirit
photographs? Tremendous evidence
OF fraud speaks against them. The
Englfshman Hope, probably the most
successful medium for producing spirit
Photographs, was detected in fraud
Inc Journal for the Society of Physi
cal Research describes this Hone case
as follows: 1T can, we think. hardly
De denied that Mr.. William Hope has
been found guilty of deliberately suh-
stituting his own plates for those of a
SITTER
AS for speaking spirits, our atten-
tion is called to the fact that the me-
dlum in New York who materialized
Doyle's mothers spirit so effectively
that the Englishman was moved to
tears, was. a few days later, arrested
Dy policewoman and fined for fraud
and impersonation of ghosts.
Suicide is the natural result of
Doyle's description of death and the
hereafter. The New York Times" re-
ports suicides in New York. Newark.
and Toronto by persons who had been
reading accounts of spiritualistic theo-
ries. Kipling was right when he is
sued this warming:
And nothing has changed of the
sorrow in store
For such as go down the road to
Endor.
Spiritualism will be discussed at
| Trinity Lutheran church Sunday
morning by Rev. FELTON,. The public
is cordially invited.