HUMBUG OF SPIRITUALISTS.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3483, 11 May 1920, Page 6

HUMBUG OF SPIRITUALISTS.

NOVELIST SCATHING ATTACK.

H EATEST DUPES IN THE \VORLD

Robert. IHughCS, the well-known novelist and playwright, in '-an ad(hess recently on “Ocultism,” characterised scientists, scholars, and men ofi letters, who professed belief in supernatiomx] phenomena as “blitherihg asses.” .

Great as Sir Oliver Lodge 's scientific attainments may be,” he declared, “in occult m-attlers he is a pathetic old clown. Macterlinck has xvi-itten -beautiful poetry and"wondcrful prose-—in the field of liter-ature, of romance, he will live foreover.

" “Men who are known for their scientific achievements are -the great.1 est. dupes in the world in dealing with imecliums. They may be great scientists for one hour of the day, but for the other twenty-three they are plain.hum.an beings. just us foolish as the rest of us. As soon as they take their feet off the ground they are not to be trusted. . “What has baffled me always in these revelations to the other world is that no two accounts of the here-=at'ter‘a-gree. Sir Oliver Lodge says ‘that. persom: in heaven remuin ifhef same age as when they left the earth, ethzit they ‘don't uieiar white gowns and carry harps, that they Wear tweed if they like_—-2_lnd_ they can have their Scotch too, if theyvwant that. Conan Doyle. also claiming to have direct Testimony .t‘rom lheaven, says that isn’t so. On the contrary, he says all persons gratliially approach middle‘ age there——the old become younger, and the yound older. ‘”‘Anoth'er' remarkable aspect is that material things are also translated to the spil‘it..World, according to believers. Ghosts proniehade, carrying the ghosts of swords. I’ve even read the report :of a man who swore he saw the ‘ghost of a train of Pullman cars that had been destroyed in an accident. Why are there no text-bcolks on how to bring the dead to life? “The ideas of occ-ulists tear the heart out of Cllristir2.nit_v ‘as commonly fmcepterl. Sir Olivc-r Lodge hasn’t Lsnid so much about this over on this ~<:i(le. but Conan: Doyle has said that

the Christian Church must change some 0:? its beliefs.

“I’d rather did graves and steal gold teeth from the body of a ten-year-old girl than impose on poor grieving humanity as these humbugs do with fake messages from thesir dcar ones.”