Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1940-08-23
Sir Oliver Lodge Dies, Leaving
Plans for Message Back
Noted SpirituoIist
Finds Death One
More Adventure
Dy the Associated Press.

.VentOr ana SplTltuallSt, UleQ yeSJeT-
day at 80, going on to what he had
called merely one more adventure
and leaving behind a sealed mes
sage announcing his plan to CON-
municate from infinity with those
on earth.
This last challenge OF vigorous
old mind-a mind that had made
notable contributions to physics ana
the natural sciences and had greatly
assisted in the development of WIRE
less and the radio-was left with the
Society for Physical Research. Sir
Oliver, who died as unafraid as he
had lived, promised when he handed
over the message:
80 - When the right people are
sitting with the medium 1 shall try
to give them a message. But it
might take AS long as year I
shall not get anything done in a
hurry
Afraid Of Some knowledge.
His daughter, Norah Lodge, was
with him when he died. at his home
in Wiltshire, Southwest England.
She said the family will, of course,
faithfully observe his conditions
(the conditions by which he hoped
to prove immortality of the earthly
outward personality as we'll as of
the souD. He certainly will conf
municate, although not Immediately.
To prove thing like this will nat
urally take time"
The old metaphysician, tall
figure of man wearing with an
absent casualness his long list of
honors. searched all his life for
knowledge, but in his late years he
had become afraid of some knowl-
edge and of what it could do.
Regretted Wireless Discovery.
1--WE know things that we never
should have known-things of the
devil" he once remarked sadly.
Think of radio-my first love.
never dreamt that an electrical
discovery of mine would ever be
used to send airplanes to bomb in
nocent children.
yet, that has happened. even
though other hands than mine
brought the fulfillment of that idea.
If that is the use science makes OF
the new knowledge, then I wish the
secret of wireless signaling had never
been made known to me"
Sir Oliver was particularly respon-
sible for the discovery of tuning by
which the wireless became intel
ligible
Sir divers message to the Society
for Psychical Research was &C
companied by series of sealed en-
velopes, to be opened one at a time
at seances to be held at stated
intervals.
Discovered Tuning In
It was while professor Of physics
at University College. Liverpool. a
chair he assumed in 1881. that Sir
Oliver began his experiments in
wireless transmission. AS early as
1884 while trying to construct the
best form of lightning conductor ne
made himself familiar with oscilla-
tory electrical discharges.
Three years later he was, to use
his own words, working as the
oscillatory discharges of Leyden jars.
I then found that the waves could
not only be produced, but detected,
and the wave length measured, by
getting them to go along guiding
wires adjusted so as to be OF the
right length for sympathetic reso-
nance"
In this achievement Sir Oliver was
credited with having discovered the
all-important principle Of tuning In.
Then he invented the coherer or
detector-a needlepoint resting on
an aluminium plateau essential
element of wireless and radio.
The German physicist Hertz had
anticipated Lodge in one direction,
but in 1894 Sir Oliver discovered the
defect in the Germans apparatus, in
that it would not generate train OF
waves. Lodge put a coil Of small
self -induction into the Hertzian ap-
paratus and prolonged the oscilla-
lions. Thus was obtained selectivlty,
an important feature OF wireless
communicating with different sta
tons.
Turned to Spiritualism.
After two score years Of practical
research, Sir Oliver turned his at
tention to the spiritual. In a few
wears his investigations led him to
declare his belief as follows con-
corning the so-called spirit world:
Communication is possible. One
must obey the laws and find out the
conditions. I do not say that 1t is
easy. but it is possible and l have
conversed with them as could con-
verse with any one in this audience
I tell you that it is so with all the
strength of conviction I can muster.
We do persist. Man is surrounded
by other intelligences. If you once
step beyond man there is no limit
until you come to the Infinite In
telligence. Once having gone be-
yond man, you go on and must go
on until you come to God.
ut Is no strange land to which I
am leading you. The cosmos is one.
We here on this planet are limited
in certain ways and blind to much
that is going on. but I tell you
that we are surrounded by beings,
working with us, cooperating and
helping, such as people in visions
have had some perception of and
that which religion tells us saints
and angels are. That the Master
Himself is helping us is, I believe
literally true"
After claiming to have commune
Gated with the spirit of his SON
Sir Oliver wrote a book entitled,
RAYMOND, or Life and Death"
Sir Oliver made a tour of sew
eral of the larger cities of the
United States in 1920, lecturing on
spiritualism. Several years after his
American visit he besought an Eng
lish audience mot to be frightened
of the word evolution as they are
In America. I don't know. what they
think it means in America, but 1t is
the hope of the world"
INN - 1910 Cir Oliuor MO G