Evening star., 1940-02-14
Schultz Seeks
Mediums as
House Inquiry Is
Expected to Start
In Two Weeks

pOSeQ 70 ask TOuCe SupC. Ernest w.
Brown to furnish him with tho
names Of fortune tellers, palmists,
clairvoyants and others claiming
to have psychic powers who could
be called as witnesses when the
Congressional investigation starts
into charges that they are engaged
in fraudulent" practices.
The inquiry will be conducted by
the Police and Fire Subcommittee of
the House District Committee of
which Mr.. Schultz is chairman. No
date has been fixed for beginning
Of the investigation. Representative
Schultz, however, indicated it would
not get underway for at least two
weeks.
First of all I want to look into
the charges Of baby peddling in
Washington" declared Mr.. Schultz.
"The fortune tellers and clairvoyants
will have to wait a while. Mean
while am going to confer with
Maj. Brown about both of these
situations"
Trickery Charged.
The House District Committee or.
dered the investigation by Repre-.
sentative Schultes' special subcom.
mittee after receiving a letter from
U. L. di Ghilini charging that for
tune tellers and assorted practi.
tioners Of psychic arts are fakes.
Ghilini-that Is his professional
name as a psychic Investigator
says no hocus-pocus artists can do
anything that he can't duplicate
and that it is all done by trickery.
This, however, is disputed by local
practitioners of palmistry, clairvoy-
ancy, etc. They claim special pow
ers, which they admit they cannot
explain, and deny that there is
anything illegitimate about their
business.
There are % licensed fortune
tellers" here. They pay fee Of
$3.50 for the license and must have
lived in the District for two years
before applying. They are required
to give 10 references, all of which
are investigated by police.
They are supervised by police,
who say there are few complaints
received about the licensed practi-
TONERS. In the past five or six
years, no licenses have been revoked.
Most of the complaints are made
about wandering, unlicensed fortune
tellers.
Exposed California Racket.
Ghilini says Washington is the
only city in the country, as far
as he knows, where fortune tellers
are licensed. He claims no special
knowledge of the local situation
and his remarks, he explains, are
directed at the practice in general.
But 1t is all a fake, he insists
here or anywhere.
Ghilini has been exposing "psy-
chic phenomena" for many years.
He is a retired physician, who de-
votes his chief attention to the stock
market, art collecting-and magic
1t was Ghilini who exposed a
school of divinity" racket in Cali
fornia. In the course of this he
recalls he got Joe Penner's duck
ordained as the Rev. Drake Goo Goo
at cost of $40. For $50, he says he
could have made the duck bishop.
you don't think these fortune
tellers are living on the 81 or 50
they make reading palms, do you?"
he asks. why half of them
couldn't pay rent with that.
"The fortune telling and spiritual
ist business its used to cloak every
vicious swindle scheme that was
ever conceived"
"The fortune teller or fake spirit
ualist can use his tricks to gain the
confidence of the sucker" he says,
"and then have the person COM
pletely in his power.
Thousand Sides to Racket"
Having convinced the sucker that
the seer knows ALL the fake is in
a position to play on that persons
confidence. Maybe the fake will
advise the client to buy a certain
worthless stock and hold it for three
years. The fortune teller, of course,
owns the stock and has set the
price on it.
Perhaps the fake will get in
formation that will enable him to
blackmail the client. There are q
thousand faces to the racket. 1t is
costing Americans millions Of dol
lars. And very few of the fleeced
ever squawk."
Most Of the local licensed prac-
titioners were "out" or would not
talk when called for an answer to
Ghilini's charge. Some protested
privately, but would not allow them
selves to be quoted.
However, Ivan Marsden, "The Man
Who Knows" seer with offices at
616 Twelfth street NV, undertook
the burden of refutation.
This man can't expose me as q
fake, because I am not one" he
said. HE can watch me any time
and I defy him to see any trick In
what do-because don't do any
tricks.
IF you come into my Office, you
sit down across from me at my
desk. 7 close my eyes and I see cer-
tain things, about which tell
you. don't know what my power Is
or where 1t comes from. I don't
know what he thinks he could ex.
pose about that"
Mr.. Marsden has been In business
In Washington for about IA years,
he says, and has never been in any
sort OF police trouble. He has never
heard Of any fortune teller using
the business to blackmail or swindle.
That's ridiculous. We are repu.
table people. I know the Congress-
men will realize that"
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