The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, September 4, 1898, Page 22

THE SaM FRANCISCv CALL, SUNDAY, SEPTEM BER 4, 1898 WHY HE WAS CONVERTED T0 THE SPIRITISTIC Dr. Richard Hodgson, President of the JAmerican Society of Psychical Research, Has Just Filed His Report After a Long Investigation of Alleged Spirit Phenomena. PPEOEOOE ® (O] ) ® Q ® © © ® ©® ism during recent years has just Hodgson, president of the search. For seven yea what is called spirit manif tations. ton, whose seances have been the occasions of spiritistic phenomena. Dr. Hodgson at different stages of concelvable by them was done to and duplicity. Dr. Hodgson now convinced that spiritism is a reality and not a s the guard declares that am. land made* a number of very interesting tests with R. RICHARD HODGSON is the latest eminent convert to the spiritistic theory. He is a man of thorough scientific training, and for some years past has been at the head of the American branch of the Society of Psychical Re- gearch in Boston, and it is through an American human instrument, Mrs. Pi- per of Arlington—a Boston suburb— William at sor chology [oXoJoXoJONOROROXOROJOXOROXOJOROROROROROROROKO] HE most startling report on the scientific investigation of spirit- been made by American Soclety. of Psychical rs he has been specially investigating During that period of time he has applied his scientific methods to what he considers a most thorough investigation of a remarkable medium, Mrs. Piper of Bos- some astonishing Tried friends and keen witted men ass investigation. against fraud, he liam James, the eminent pyschologist of Harvard Univers joined the others in the tests, frankly admits that the Piper phe- nomena are “the most absolutely bafiling things” he knows of. Eminent members of the Soclety of Psychical Re result being various opinions, the only point of entire agreement be- The gist of his report will be found [oXoXoXORCXOYOROKOJOROROROROROKO) | that Dr. Hodgson has made his experi- @© ing that the woman had ‘‘supernormal powers.” ® Dr. Hodgson was speclally appointed by the American society to ® conduct the investigation. He took up his residence in Boston and @® spent seven years at the work. ® below. ® ® [CXoJoJOoJOXOXOXOROROXOROXO} ody interested in psychic mat- ters—and who is not in these days?— has heard something about how Mrs. | Piper came upder the notice of Profes- | ames, instructor of psy- | Harvard; and how, later, the Soclety of Psychical Research in | England had her go over there and stay | THEORY Richard Re- Dr. sted Everything deception is thoroughly Professor Wil- ty, who OJOIOTOIOYOTOYOTOTOIOIOIOIOIOOIOC] ) @® arch of Eng- frs. Piper, the o PEOEOOE® Fesy { she gave the supery sor Lodge, D Myers, etc. ghty-three si cn of such m r. Walter Le: Even the fam and pre chical Research, studied ena. ion, tentative rather than | that the powers.” | Dr. Leap thought this woman had cept thou, ters. ght transference or lved than t und himself athy. But telepathy t at one could not ma frum dec cept but a scng m. ible und | vision exercised—wh |in absolute even to their names. On Mrs. Piper's return the sccie: to reside in order to devo' experiments begun by Prc gentleman to c Dr. Hodgson's » from 1891 up to the pr sittings number thirty of ih- to Dr. names, entirely ested par movements: of these who infor Asa records kept and rece Hodgson to the Soc! Research ‘“Pro ding the most curious reading Adopting the inductive Hodgson, in this report tc omits nothing. and of whom the b< discourses on how even more than the succes ence of spirits trying und. to make themselves know: to the general reader is th: or who suicid cannot time In the other life of suicide, more or less kr nothing could be obtained. found abi afterypassing out. desirou o rens= of their enviro At times thes { his end of the machine. | "When Dr. Hodg | ments the spirit boss—so his earthly career. to take a side s&at while dominant personality TEe-FiNan All these great men gavi the wi ignorance of her and which time would not pe wation from unlocked for s sult of his untirir tl son finds himself constrained to b e that those who die of mental disorder, | to communicate imme All, however, s of doing so after they came ttings, under en Profes- ap, F. W. H. nous Sir the phenom- e forth opin- assertive, the only point of entire agreement being “supernormal supernormal element consisted in the ability to ac- that his could ex- forced to be- to America y sent Dr. Hodgson to Boston r. The One hundred and | e were persons introagosd Hodgson, mnot by their own | from the fall of 1889 till the spring of | front. the following year, during which time i Wil- | his death | llam Crookes, inventor of Crookes tubes sident of the Society of E | to_reveal the from the sit- | beiieved medium was tch upon the might b giv of Ps; orm some o ever penned method, D » the society, He glves as much space to the failures as to the succ the fai es, and res prove es the pres- er difficultie n. But perhaps the most curious point at Dr. Ha communicate until, possibly, after they are a long From eight cases | Furthermore, inter- | d set a wa nown to him, | No one was come nment. efforts remind on2 of telephoning, with the medium for an in- strument, and a scramble to get a hear- ing before the earthly operator leaves »m began experi- to speak— | called himself Phinuit, and claimed to | have been a French physician. | research has failed to find a record of Much In 1892 Phinuit found himself obliged and the a new to HOW THE FRENCH WILL EXPLORE THE SAHAR@. HREE officers f the army of France are preparing to cross the Sahara Desert by means of a balloon. They have studied out the problem and feel confi- dent of success. At any rate they declare they will not get lost. It is their idea to start from the coast of Tunis and be wafted by air currents to the mouth of the Niger. This sounds simple enough, but they will meet many perils on the way. The balloon used will be of the usual pear shape that has been tried and known . to be reiiable under certain conditions. But this balloon will not be allowed to drift about at the wind’'s sweet will, but i{s to be guided by steel cables arranged to trail on the ground. Nor will the balloon ascend very high into the air unless gers make it necessary. certain dan- As well as acting as steering ropes the steel cables will also be made instruments of defense. erful electric battery the aeronauts will be a paralyzing shock to the earth. tive forcibly reminded that it is not a good thing Arrangements have also been made to gu expedition that may scon follow on the trai loon, This is to ba accomplished by dropping By means of a pow- able to send Should any curious na- ke a notion to investigate the wire rope he will be to fool with. ide the relief 1 of the bal- leaden bottles painted a bright red at frequent intervals along the country over which the balloon passes. Iief expedition can find the lost aeronauts by following | whisper.’ the trail of red bottles. Thus the re- | I | not be quoted because of thelr extreme- | of Pelham, This personality is designated throughout as George Felham, or G. P., though that was not his real name, | which is well known to many in New | York and Bc a young | | literary man of acceic in New York in that same year. well {n an in- ad had long talks and who met Hodgson knew G. P. tellectual way, ancé h v him 1 »sophy fe couid not accept its credibility,” Hodgson writes in his repor vowed that if he should die before I | did and found himself still existing he would ‘make things lively’ in the effort fact.” He does not appear to have succeed- ed—though opportunity was given him —for ahout fi then it 1 “‘emo- is vow him Hart (not the T name) 1 H n for a sitting to 11l knowledge of him be- m the medium. 3 nnounced himself as P., and gave some concerning the re- cent death of a relative of the s Soon the G. P. personality got the better of what had been known as the Ph voice, called a name like “Howard” and also gave his own in| ull. Then followed a correct account of a ocket presented by the sitter, and all about its different owners, followed by the full name of George Pelham. The sitter, produced a pair of studs he had been wearing.” G. P. promptly in- forms him that the studs had been his own; that they had been taken from | his dead body. | ‘Mother gave them to father and‘ father sent them to vou. to keep them. aid the voice. Mr. Hart subsequently admitted that hey had been sent him by Mr. Pelham | n e meme I will them to yuu,"’ to of George. | | antally and instantane- | the | ife, in which G. P. | ‘and | like telephoning—by long distance tele- pk 2 ne? not surprised If living?’ ‘“‘Perfectly so, greatly surprised. I did not believe in a future life. It was beyond my reasoning powers. Now it is as clear as daylight. We have an astral fac-simile of the material body. *AY: Jim, what are you writing now? “[G. P., when living, would probably have jeered at the association with the | word “astral.’—Dr. H.] “*‘Nothing of importance.’ ““Why don’t you write about this?' ] should like to, but the express n I want you ' of my opinion would be nothing; I must have facts.’ * “These 1 will give you, and to Hodg- too.” 1l people know about this pos- son, onse to his own request for a |sibility of communication? *“They are sure to in the end. It is In the midst of this information the |only a question of time.’ names of James and (Mr. and Mrs.) were called for, also | Katharine, adding, “Te her she'll| know. T will solve the problem, Kath- arine.” Mary Howard This had no significance for any one | you’ present—thus precluding all chance of | thought transference. Not until a rward did Mr. Howard, an Intimate friend of G. P., explain| that George, when he had last stayed | with them, had a long talk with his| daughter Katharine, a girl of fifteen. | on such bjects as time, space, God | and eterni and after pointing out| sfactory was the commonly | accepted solution, added that he would | solve the problems and let her know. This and much more at the first com- ing of G. P. purported to bé through the intermediary, Phinuit, as if G. P.| hi 1f had not got used to the ma- | chinery of communication. Much other information unconnected with the sit- ter, but which others subsequently proved correct, was also shouted forth before the close of the sitting, as if the intelligen whatever it was, desired to give whatever came to mind. Dr. Hodgson makes this comment: “The most personal and convincing | references made at these sittines can- | ly private nature. They were regarded by J. H. as profoundly characteristic and in minor matters es- pecially, where my notes were Inade- quate, such as in words of greeting and occasional remarks, the manner of ref- erence to his mother, with him in spirit; to his father and stepmother, living, etc., the sitter was strongly im- pressed with the vraisemblance of the personality of Pelham."” Before passing on to Dr. Hodgson's own opinions of the difficulties in the way of communications between this world and the region of the disincar- nate, it may interest the reader to have a sample of how G. P. met the How- ards. After a few words at the be- ginning, we are told Phinuit gave way altogether, and the personality of G. P. controlled voice and hand. “The statements made were inti- mately personal and characteristic. Common friends were referred to by name, inquiries were made about pri- vate matters, and the Howards, who were not predisposed to take any inter- ert in psychical research, but who had been induced by the account of Mr. Hart to bave a sitting with Mrs. Piper, were profoundly impressed with the| feeling that they were in truth holding a conversation with the friend whom they had known so many years. the references to persons and viduals are correct.” The report goes on: “‘Jim (Jim is Mr. Howard) 1s that you? Speak to me, quick. I am not ead. Don’t think me dead. Can't you see me? Don’t ou hear me? Give my love to my father and tell him I want to see him. I am happy here, and more =0 since I find T can communicate with yoy. I pity those people here who can’'t speak. * * * I want you to know I think of vou still. I spoke to John about some letters.’ * “What do you do, George, where you are?’ *‘I am scarcely able to do anything vet. I am just awakening to the reality of life after death. It was like dark- ness; I could not distinguish anything at first—darkest hour’s just before day, yous=gnow that, Jim. I was puzzled, confused. I shall have an occupation soon. Now I can see you, my friends. Your voice, Jim, I can distinguish, with your accent and articulation, but it sounds like a big bass drum. Mine would sound to you like the faintest “Our conversation then is something som | remembered. ““What is Rogers writing?" “ ‘A novel. “‘No, not that. Is he not writing ething about me?’ Yes, he is preparing a memorial of ““That's nice, It is pleasant to be He was always kind to me. Martha Rogers (deceased daugh- ter) is here. 1 have talked with her several times.”” Here follows an account of the girl's peculiarities, also many inquiries and remarks about friends still in existence, and regrets that it would be so hard to make his father believe—with his mother it would be easier. “All references in the conversation,” adds Dr. Hodgson, “proved absolutely correct.” We are also told that trying to look into this world is much like looking through a kevhole to learn what people are doing within a room. Although great numbers of people had sittings, and G. P. never failed to recognize everybody whom he had ever seen before and seemed never weary of assisting strangers, no one had more perscnal intimacy imparted than the Howards. Here is a description of a rather dramatic scene for a “spirit” to lay: r M’r, Howard (says Dr. Hodgson) was supporting Mrs. Piper’s head, 1 was following the writing and Mr. Howard was sitting some distance away smok- ing a long pipe, when the following conversation ensued: “G. P.—Now, what will I do for you? Dr., H— asks for any special message he may think desirable; anything about philosophy, etc. “Mr. Howard—Well, George, before you go to philosophy—you know my opinion of philosophy—- “G. P,—It is rather crude, to be sure. “Mr. H.—Tell me something. You must be able to recall certain things that you and I know. cause several things I have asked you have failed to get hold of. “G. P.—Why did you not ask me this before? Do ycu doubt me, dear old fel- low? “Mr. H.—I simply want something— you have failed to answer certain ques- tions that I have asked—now I- want you to give me the equivalent to those answers in. your own - terms * o ‘What does Jim mean? “G. P.—Do you mean our conversa- tion on different things, or do you mean something else? “Mr, .—1 mean anything. Now, George, listen for a moment—listen— listen— G. P.—I know. “Mr. H.—I mean that we have spent many summers and winters together and talked on a great many things, and had a great many views im com- mon—went thrcugh a great many ex- periences together., Now— (G. P., commencing to write)—Hold on a min- ute. “G. P.—You used to talk to me about—" Dr. Hodgson goes ¢n to explain: The transcription here of the words written by G. P. conveys, of course, no proper impression of the actual eir- cumstances. The inert mass of Mrs. Piper's body turned away from the right arm and sagged down, as it were, limp and lifeless over Mrs. Howard's shoulder, but the right arm, and espe- cially hand, mobile, intelligent, depre- catory, then impatient and fierce in the persistence of the writing that followed, which contained too much of the per- sonal element in G. P.’s life to be re- produced here. ¥ ‘“‘Several statements were read by me and assented to by Mr. Howard, and then was written ‘private’ and the | Mr. Howard took my place to find | 257 ‘i.‘/_/.’"ri/",’xf 0 8 i A hand gently pushed me away. I re- tired to the other side of the room and close to the read the hand, writing. where he could read He did not, of course, | it aloud, and it was too private for my perusal. The hand as it reached the end of each sheet tore it off from the block book and thrust it wildly at Mr. Howard and then continued writing. “The circumstances narrated, Mr. Howard informed me, contained pre- eisely the kind of test for which he had asked, and he sald he was ‘per- fectly satisfied, perfectly.”” The number of things said and done is indeed bewildering. Dr. Hodgson | | has not yet got into shape for the pub- | lic eye his convincing testimony. That | ‘Is likely to be forthcoming at the end | of this summer. He complains, naturally, that the most convincing part of his investigations he is debarred from giving, owing to their ex- treme personality, and he inti- mates a promise that some of this restriction will be lifted and in the near future he be per- mitted to give out his more con~ vincing facts. He makes his plea for the spirit hypothesis only after testing all others and finding they do not fit in with the facts, and he makes no dogmatic clalm that his spirit theory is yet conclusive, his claim rather being that it is the only scien- tifically reasonable one in face of indisputable phenomena. The failures and confusions by being due to naural causes he finds the | strongest proof of the spirit hypothesis. He pictures several persons trying to hold a conversation with one who is forced to spell out his words instead of speaking them in the natural way. “Let the reader imagine himself in- terrupted at every two or three words by interlocutors who tell him they did | not catch his last word and ask for it | to be repeated several times. Further, suppose that it is so difficuit for him to hear that he hears only part of what is said. Having made this experiment let the reader then suppose that in- stead of using his own voice to spell | his words with he is placed on one| side of a machine (the medium) so con- | structed that the thoughts running in | his mind have a tendency to be reg- istered in writing on the other side of the machine, not so fast as he thinks | them, but at the rate of writing, and that it is only by reading this writing that his interlocutors know what he has to tell them. “Let him further suppose that one or more persons are standing near him, on | | the other side of the machine, and talk- I ask you be- | ing to him or to one another within his hearing, so that the words which they say tend to be registered in the writ- ing; and let him further suppose that he is unfamiliar with the machine and that the writing produced has a tend- ency to vary somewhat from the words actually thought by him, owing to im- perfections in the machine. “Let him further suppose that the HODGSON. part of the machine in which he ig placed is filled with a more or less sufe focating gas, which produces a partial loss of consciousness; that scmetimes this gas is much more poisonous than usual (weakness or ill health of 1 dlum)], and thgt its effects are usually cumulative while he remain cumaleh s in the “The important failures of G@. B, were due primarily, I believe, to the ignorance of sitters that he was com- municating under such conditions as these. And I cannot too strongly em- ]jhnslze my conviction that unless the ‘L ’tz‘nf‘e of such conditions is con- lhti‘smfu (}_re(-ugnlzt—dhhy the investigator rther researches in this fi v B Foare s fleld will He also show logical for peopl, tirely successful communications when !I?—}' approach in a spirit of hostile doubt as it would be to lock for satisfactory inter- course with hum. beings whom ¥ approached in similar man- that it is as il- to look for en- 2 5 8 3 @ 3 & w 2 @ ® B < B 8 v spirits should be ex- cted to possess equal talents communicators. show the yet tenta- on of the problem: ion of Dr. Hcdgson to ks a critical passage in ory of the Society for Psychical | Research, as well as in Dr. Hodgson's |own career. * * * Surely there never before was such a conjunction of a good medium with a thorough investi- and in this result the report s an epoch in our knowledge of trance states. “Dr. Hodgson considers that the hy- pothesis of fraud cannot be seriously entertained. I agree with him abso- lutely. The medium has been under observation as to most of the condi- tions of her life by persons eager, many of them, to pounce upon any suspiciouy circumstance for fifteen years. “The scientist who is confident of fraud here must remember that in Science as well as in common life a hypothesis must recelve some positive specification and determination before it can be profitably discussed, and fraud which is no assigned kind of fraud, but simply fraud at large, can hardly be regarded as an especially scientific ex- planation of specific concrete facts. “No; Mrs. Piper's trances are phe- nomena sui generis. Mr, Hodgson, ad- mitting the element of supernormal knowledge in them as a fact, weighs against each other as two theories of its origin telepathy from the sitter and spirit communication. He finds the latter theory to offer, on the whole, the least resistance. * * ¢ “If T may be allowed a personal ex- pression of opinion at the end of this summary I would say that the Piper phenomena are the most absolutely bafling things I know. Any definitely known form of fraud seems out of the question; yet undoubtedly, could it be made plausible, fraud would be by far the most satisfying explanation, since it would leave no further problem out- standing. “The spirit hypothesis exhibits a va- cancy, triviality and incoherence of mind painful to think of as the state of the departed. “Mr. Hodgson has to resort to the theory that although the communica- tors probably are spirits, they are in a semi-comatose or sleeping state and only half aware of what is going on. The habits of Mrs. Piper's neutral or- ganism largely supply the definite form of words, etc.,, in which the phenomena are clothed. “Then there is the theory that the subliminal extension of Mrs. Piper's own mind masquerades in this way, and plays these fantastic tricks before high heaven, using its preternatural powers of cognition and memory for the basest of deceits. Many details make for this view, which also falls well into line with what we know of automatic writing and similar sublim- inal performances on the public at large. “But what a ghastly and grotesque eort of appendage to our personality is this from any point of view! “Finally, we may fall back on- the notion of a sort of floating mind stuff |in the world, Infrahuman, yet pos- | sessed of gleams of superhuman cog- | nition, unable to gather itself together | except by taking advantage of the | trance states of some existing human | organism, and there enjoying a para- ‘smr existence which it prolongs by | making itself acceptable and plausible \undor the Improvised name of spirit control.” BISMARCK PLAYED COUSIN FOR A FRIEND. An old Swedish lady recounts the fol- lowing particulars of Bismarck in his youth, before his name_had become known beyond his neighborhood and university. “Fifty-six years ago,” she says, “when I was a very young girl, I was to spend some time in Rome. Accompanied by an old companion and two maids I set out on my journey, It was settled that I should stay a short time in Berlin. A sister of my father had married a German, and their son, the German cousin, as we called him, studied at that time in Berlin. I had never seen him, A few days before I set out on my journey my father sent him ‘a letter asking him to look after me a little. “I arrived in Berlin and was most heartily received by my German cousin. He was a tall youth, with a large mus- tache and peculiarly sparkling eyes; he seemed to me even somewhat uncanny. But no; for three days he was my faithful companion. Certainly he could not agea.k a word of Swedish,” but he talked elegant French, I never had such an agreeable cavalier. I was quite proud of my German cousin. The hour for my departure arrived only too soon. * ‘Cousin,’ he sald, just as I was about to leave, ‘look, cousin, I should like to tell you that I am not your cousin. My friend, your German cousin, the right one, is so greatly occupied with the pre- paration for his examination that he begged me to fulfil in his place your father's wish. My name is Otto von Bismarck.’ s 4 stared at him, quite taken aback; the carriage maved on, and there was. an end to my adventure. Many years passed over. The unknown Bismarck had become Chancellor and Prince and had played with crowns and lands. I came again to BRerlin in 1880, an old woman, married nearly forty years I Wrote a few words on my card and sent. it to the Prince. An hour afterward I Teceived his invitation, went tc his pal- ace and we were soon in a most lively conversation, Bismarck being in the best of humor. ‘I have to thank you,’ . he said among other things, ‘that I was able to visit the Berlin museums. Since then I have never had a chance.'” —_————— The cheapest rate of postage in Bu- rope is that of France.