CORRESPONDENCE.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16264, 15 July 1918, Page 9

CORRESPONDENCE.

cpirITUALISM : ITS MILITARY VALUE. " JO THE EDITOR Oi' "THE PRESS." cj r>T _lf you will publish the following: •i will-prove interesting, I think and. iLhasise my former letter:—Sir A. fi?nan Doyle write; in "Light," Mar lltb 191S: ''As un illustration. I quote ' from'ft soldier's letter: 'Those few short knurs 0 f conversation I had with you fSir A. C. I>.) have altered my feelings tri*h regard to death. Tlie description of life over there impressed and pleased _,»■ immensely, it takes away all the? horror of being killed. ... I feel that noaii cau > nto t ' lo and stick •, fetter than 1 could before. It seems to tangle —so natural.' " Hero is .another from a deceased subaltern—his ,-ealisatiori: "If the chaps could realise which they can't, I know —but if they could see the wonderful and miraculous change which comes in a moment to them, ''there would be no fear of death. They would leap into this life, possibly before their task was over. That is irhat makes me hesitate to say moro. 1 They would jump for it which would bo f wrong) f <,r they have got to do their I job first, if they want to find themselves }n the ricrht place over here." So a great military asset is beinor neglected through not disseminating 'the results of modern psychical research.—Yours, CtC '' PETER TROLOVE. SPIRITUALISM. to Ttrr. rditok ok "tub prv.ss " gir—A writer in your paper this morning mentions the death of Kusnpia. Palladino. giving some details of her psychic powers. In referring to these phenomena, he concludes with a curious statement, namely: "It id difficult to see what moral, material, or intellectual benefit is likely to prrceed from any of these performances." Then ho proceeds to doubt whether the performances are genuine. As Ido not happen to suffer from that difficulty, I should like to point out, if you will allow 3Tic, eome of the uses of psychic phenomena. r The phenomena practised by Madame Palladino may not in themselves solve j any world problems, but they have their use in that they provo tho existence in our universe of the operation of laws which havo ..not yet come within our ken, bnt which may bo used by a skilful operator just as eurclv as a wireless telegraph, or an electric light plant can tie bent to the uses of mankind. Tho history of man is a history of ,tho gradual mastery of natural laws, and consequently of a slow but steady progress from ignorance to knowledge; and many leading intelligences believe that he is destined, in the future, to progress beyond tho wildest imaginings of the ordinary man in the streot. This expansion of understanding implies increased usefulness of tho physical, moral* and mental faculties, and the opening un of higher faculties still. I do not necessarily agree that it is always wise to use laws before we understand their nature, but a start must be made, or else we are in the position of the man who would not allow his sons to go near the -water until they could swim. The use of unknown laws may contain elements of danger, but in practised hands this is not necessarily bo, And it is a beginning towards tho solv-ing-of many baffling questions concerning the laws, which affect human welfare and destiny. However that may be, it is crude to doubt or to ridiculo the existence of a thing simply because wo do not understand it. It is as well to keep an open mind on all subjects. We have a lot to learn yet. The world of man groans with ignorance of the commonest laws, physical, moral, and mental, which govern his daily life. "Why should wo deny tfce first cmde at- . tempts to get into touch with those laws which, when moro fully understood, will bo used for our progress?Everything must havo a beginning. "We ore unreasonable; wo expect enlightenment to spring full-formed into . our midst, and it cannot be done. Certainly it cannot by trying to ciuench the first faint efforts towards the attainment of it. We must gropo and work, lot- knowiedge. t. that, is the condition of our progress. Let us try to .hold an unprejudiced attitude towdrds any" attempts,. however feeble they must necessarily be in their beginnings, to move the colossal enemy, Ignorance of Natural Law. -with its consequent train of suffering from our path of progress, —Yours, etc., A. July 12th, 191 S. C 2 MEN*. TO TUB EDITOR OF "THE PRESS." Sir, —Dr. Russel-Rendle's remarks 'bout C2.men in jour issue of Friday ire most uncalled for and unjust, and I wish ■ most emphatically to protest against , such. -abuse. Why should all Cz men be .called cowards'if they do not volunteer for- service in Samoa ? Dr. Russel-Rendle, having himself examined; hundreds of reservists, should know how many classed C 2 have volunteered for service in France or any,€r® ®l se . A great many* not only volunteered once, but several times. Becauw a happens to be afflicted with some physical defect, in some cases ve *7> slmfttj which 'debars' liim from service, 'I see no reason why he ol *lled a coward. Had Dr. Jvnssel-Rendlo confined his remarks to thu -conditions existing in Samoa there . w>wd be no cause for complaint, but as 'it is, I-think he owes C 2 men on apology. He will probably find that tnere will be far more applications from , - ®®u for service in Samoa 'than there axe vacancies. It is lost, sight of bv .a great many people that the C 2 men are . doing good work in this country, and are adapting themselves, to occupations with which before the wa-r they and Russei«endle should remember that they are wii rese, 7 ,S i- S iJ n evor .v sense of the rj? i- a , I,abe to bo called up at take their places in that 1; ; branch of the service in which they havo 1 " people would only ?top to think, they would not be so ™ «all young men, who look welj . and strong shirkers and cowards, when, ™ rC sT stanCos OTer which they Woung men) have no control, they are fey m d £ ln S their bit with tho Expeditionary Forces.—Yours etc FIRST DIVISION, C 2.'