Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1926-02-24
Would Protect New
York from Fake
Medium Operations

New York, Feb. 23.-(AP)-Rep-
resentatiye Sol Bloom of New York
is considering placing before Con-
gress bill to protect New Workers
from the operations of fake mediums
and spiritualists. A survey of the
subject by q committee of experts,
recently placed in the Congressman
hands, states that New Workers are
being 'biked' out of millions of dol
lars annually by fake mediums and
spiritualists who cloak their oper
atoms under a ritual of semi-reli-
giouS character"
Representative of the district at
torney's office declared today that
under existing statutes they are
Eowerless to curtail the Objectionable
operations although knowing of their
existence. AT present the mediums
can be arrested only for predictions.
This they avoid by several articles.
Although the shell game is little
more than memory: although the
recent attempts to sell the Brooklyn
bridge have been reported and the
gold brick artists" are hhding the
going little tough, the investigators
ind that large portion of the New
York public strives conscientiously
to prove p. T. Barnums off-quoted
assertion.
Milton Wright, associate editor of
the scientific American. and one of
the investigators, declared he was
unable to find one medium devoid of
tricks. among several examined. He
said that they were all asked to read
a sealed message, and they made 285
different answers. The investigators
branded all mediums as fakes" and
indicated the success of their oper-
atoms here by calling attention to
the $9sO00O and 100000 homes in
which they live.
The cults are divided into nine
classes. it is stated. Chief among
them is the spirit message group"
whose opponents gather the credulous
faithful in a room and proceed,
through spirit controls" to reach
out into cosmic void to extract in
formation. This group and others
engage in a flourishing mail order
business which is also a target for
the Congressman.
Other classes operating here, are
known as automatic writer's" the
trumpet mediums" the "object
readers" the sealed message read
ers,' the flower mediums" and "the
physical manifestation group"
For excellence of showmanship the
trumpet mediums vie with the
physical manifestation group" for
first honorS. The former gather their
clients in a circle, eXtinguish the
lights and the seance is on. In the
center of the circlet wo huge alum
mum trumpets are placed upright in
pans of water. The faithful do not
question the mediums explanation
hnf fll1 t..Iry
room, tapping the heads of those to
receive messages from the beyond.
panic nearly resulted during the
investigation when a spotlight was
turned upon the unsuspecting medi-
I'm and revealed her about to deliver
a spirit message through the trum-
pets which she had joined together
Thus joined the trumpetS afforded
er a light pole about eight feet long
and fully capable of reaching any Of
the faithful for tapping.
The physical manifestation group
causes real arms and legs to float
around in the air. supposedly unat-
tached. They also work in semi
darkness, the investigators found and
light pair of handouts, deity slip
ped over floating wrist, is sufficient
to prove it attached to body in the
usual way.
One of the Investigators was or
dained" four times In different spir-
itualistic schools. The cost was $500
and the course Of instruction varied
from four hours to a week Thus
ordained" the operator declared, Il
can legally perform marriages, off,
ciate at funerals and baptize. In fact
l enjoy all the privileges of minis
ter of any other denomination"
A sucker list of 1000 names was
obtained by one expert from a CEN
trail information bureau. In this
bureau tabulations of the faithful are
kept. When one medium learns any
thing about a client, she commune
Gates it to the information bureau,
and it is noted on the clients card
in the files. Thus working in har-
mony the mediums often perform
seemingly supernatural feats, the in
vestigators declare.
Prices charged by the spiritualists
range from SO up. Some get 500 and
5000 for valued bits of information
concerning business or social activi-
ties. While taking care of the gen.
eral run of customers, the mediums
are always on the lookout for rich