MAN WHO HEARD FROM HOUDINI

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 37, 27 February 1937, Page 7

MAN WHO HEARD FROM HOUDINI

-Pje3S ApBoCfstion.l

American Spiritualist Af Auckland CODE WAS C0RRECT

*(By Teleprapb"

AUCKLAND; Last Night. ,The man who, in 1929, elaimed po have "received'' and transmitted to Mrs Beatriee Hoddini, widow of the famous magician, a code message from her husband, pasped through Auckland thip morning, He is Bey. Arthur Fqrd, clergyman pf |hg American Episcopal Church, lecturer and medium, and is rfigarded aa ofte of thp Jeaders pf the spiritualist mQvtment. This morning Mr Ford detsiled how he had received the message and show* ed a facsimile of an acknowledgment by Mrs Houdini that $he had xedeived it and that it 'was correct. He told Imtfi ipr ygarg before his death, gondini had expiegsed his dMbeiief in psychfc phenomena, and how bpfprp his dgath he had givpn to Mrs Houdihi a pode message, whieh he had deplared he would try to .transmit ,tp her* After his death ahe was the only oue who had the code. Mr Ford; said that latpr, while he was giving a private peanqe to the editor of the Scientific American, Mr John Stafford, he had heard strange words. They had been repeated to him again and again during the cpurse of the week. "At that time. Mrs Houdini was being inundated with messages of onp sort and another and was disclaiming them all,'? said Mr Fprd. "Frankly X doubted whether I had the correct mesr sage and I did not wish to be drawn into the matter. However, I sent the message to Mrs Houdini, and phe admitted that it was correct." Later, he said, Mrs Houdini had tried to get a message herself, Shp had gone to the top fof a vpry high bgilding in the United States and, in the presence of about 200 people, including newsreel photographers and reporters and wijth? o'ut the eid of a medium, had tried tp get into touch with her late hutband. "She violated all the rqles qf a seance,?? he said, "and I don't know why she did it. She claims now that shg herSelf has not had the messagi from Houdini."