Life — April 29, 1920 — page 11: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

“LIFE Current Spiritism URRENT spiritism is worth looking at by people who like to live up to the times. The mass of it has come to be considerable. Ouija boards are sold by the crate; professed communicators with the departed, some of them well known and entirely reputable people, write many books and get them printed. The literature of the sub- ject fills long shelves and covers tables at the book stores, and a good deal of it is more astonishing than Nick Carters. The whole matter gets due share of intelligent investiga- tion from individual observers, but it also gets a lot of current criticism which is not intelli- gent because it is so imperfectly informed, The average people who write newspaper editorials about it are very incompletely aware of what is going on. They hear about the ouija boards, they read one or two books maybe, they see the agitated surface of the movement with most of the objections bobbing about on it, but the deeper imports of it they do not reach to. People say current spiritism is dangerous. So it is, but new knowledge is apt to be danger- ous, All sailing on uncharted seas is more or less risky. Columbus took chances, Searching for the North Pole was mighty dangerous; ditto the South Pole. Going up in the air six miles to test the atmosphere is dangerous. The investigation of X-rays was dangerous and destroyed a good many people. Galileo risked his life and lost it, but won im- mortality. Lister was laughed at, of course. But martyrs go cheerfully to the stake, and scientists will take any risk in a search for truth that they believe ia A brave doctor took the chances of yellow fever to test the theory that it came from mosquito bites, and he died, but he got something. If there is anything really important in spiritism it is not a very weighty argument against it that it is dangerous and upsets some people's minds sometimes. It does, but if it is important enough, it is worth some upsets. About once a week professor somewhere confides to the newspaper that it is all bunk. The Jewish mind, espe- cially, seems inhospitable to it. The doctors look at it from afar off. The more prudent ones smile, the less prudent ones go up in the air. The really great ones who are aware of the limitations of medical knowledge do neither, but usually they are very busy men who cannot e time or thought for unhurried contemplation of fishy-looking phenomena not directly connected with their professional duties. The clergy are more attentive, but of course they are wary. They have responsibilities of office. They must not encourage heretical activities, nor mislead their flocks. They are less free than the laity to take chances in a quest for spiritual truth. They like to have the clear endorsement of respected authority for w they preach. Some of them, especially some of the Catholic clergy, fulminate against ouija boards and mediums as devices of the Adversary. They prefer that their people should come to the Church for information about the next “OH, MOTHER! THERE'S A GHOST DOW? “ WELL—ER—TELL HIM I'M NOT AT HOME! The Spirit of the Times | V sleeping last night, mamma, and I dreamed about myself. It was such a nice dream, mamma “You did, dear? Well, what did you dream?” “1 dreamed, mamma, that I was an angel, and had wings, and I flew all about the sky, and I could carry peo- ple up with me. And, mamma, I charged them a dollar \ ride.” OKUS: Pneurich certainly makes a vulgar display of his wealth. Pokus: That's right. Why, at the wedding of his THE PLEASANT SENSATION OF TAKING AN EXAMINATION daughter they actually threw real rice at the bride. FOR A DRIVER'S LICENSE comicbooks.com