New Britain herald., 1929-08-09

proofs that the living can communi- cate with the other side withou, Se use of a scientific instrument. mere are the statements of so many hon. ora ble and distinguished persons who | assert to us that they have poken to relatives who have passed away
 After all some of the greatest scientists in the world, great men of letters and others were spiritualists. for instance, Charles Richet, Crooks. Victor Hugo, Thiers and among others who live among us today, Sir Oliver Lodge. .
 "But spiritualism is developing. It is undergoing a process of evolution. like our world itself did. according to Darwin. And just as we are told that man has descended from the monkey, so from the visible phenomena of early days-when spiritualiss commenced table-lifting and other like eXperiments-we are now changing to something higher, something more intelligent. There is. for instance. clairvoyance. That is spiritualism on higher plane
 Asked whether he believed that science was proceeding along proper lines to seek the scientific eXplana- ton of psychic phenomena, Sir Arthur replied with the question:
 First tell me what you mean by science What is q scientist? There h is the man who studies beetles or other insects. There are students of light rays. Some study medicine. Some study psychic phenomena. Draws Analogy on Beetles "Thc man who studies beetles col lects thousands of facts, conducts experiments then when he has what he considers sufficient evidence to prove whatever point he wants to make. he gives his opinion or in terprets the result of his work. The chemist does the same in his labora tory He tries formnla after formula until he thinks he has the right one. But why put a man such as the beetle expert against one like my self who has studied psychic phen- omena for more than 30 years? He knows more about his beetles than I claim 10. l accept his evidence on whatever claims he may advance with regard to these beetles. But I don't see why I should he expected 10 accept his opinion on spiritualism. It is not he who has studied the phenomena involved. it is l. So I ought to know more about it than | he.
 True occasionally we have found
 fraud. But that is not only true in i psychic experiments. There are | frauds in other lines of scientific re- search. The trouble is that many 1 people refuse to examine our evil dencc. or try 10 judge spiritualism 1 on cases which spiritualists them 1 should psychic research not be placed on a plane with other scien- l tific research? When, for instance, a chemist working in his laboratory 1 secures a negative result in an eX- l pertinent. he disCards it. He only re- tains the positives. Upon these posi- | tive results he is judged. But he would not like you systematically 10 l ignore all his posltiVes and merely point out all his failures. would he?" Asked whether he could explain
 why some persons are psychic" and
 others not, Sir Arthur replied in stantly: Certainly ... ." and after
 a brief pause he added smilingly: 'It
 anybody can explain why some peo-
 pie are musical and I myself an
 not"
 Traces Interest in Spirits l. Then it was that Sir Acthur -ex tplained how he first became inter. 1 ested in spiritualism. It was, T1e said ! memoirs of Judge Edmunds, of New
 in 1886. He happened to read the York. When he had finished the book. the famous creator of Sherlock
 Holmes who at the time, he explain
 ed. was an agnostic. didn't believe
 what the judge said about spiritual ism:
 At first" he said, q thought i
 funny that the Judge should write such rubbish Later. however,
 began to figure that this distinguish
 ed gentleman, after all, must knov