J O H N E3 R O W IW .

Xew T hought .MJ. June. 1893. So. 12.

DEATH, AND ITS TO-MORROW,

--- OR----

The Spiritualistic Idea o f D eath , H eaven and H ell.

BY MOSES HULL.

( C on tin ued fro m M ay num ber.)

rewards a n d p u n i s h m e n t s in t h e h e r e a f t e r .

I am som etim es a sk ed if I be l ieve t h a t th e re are r e ­wards for our good w orks, a n d p u n is h m e n ts for our sins, in the great hereaf te r? I answ er , I do no t like the terms reward an d p u n ish m en t . T h e re are consequences here and hereafter , of every ac t of life. You pu t vour hand into the fire and it is burned, not as a punishm ent , but as a result. If you go out improperly clad, when the murcury is below zero, you are frozen, not as a punishment, but as a result. If you neglect education, you remain ignorant, as a resu l t— not as a pun ishm ent; so your education is a result of your studious habits— your industry.

Spiritualist do not generally believe that God goes out of his way to reward or punish anybody. Heaven and hell

re each latently within every one; the former is quick-

530 N E W T H O U G H T .

e n e d in t o a c t i v i t y b y y o u r c o n d u c t — yourself—denvinww o r k fo r t h e e l e v a t i o n o f y o u r fe l low be ings . So 0f [\^ l a t t e r ; y o u h o ld in y o u r s e l f t h e fuel, th e kindling-wood a n d t h e m a t c h ; a n d , if it is e v e r to u c h e d off, you, your­se lf w ill b e t h e in c e n d ia r y w h o will do the job. Every a c t w e do h e r e b r in g s fo r th f ru i t in th e g r e a t hereafter.* As a n i l l u s t r a t io n , le t m e s u p p o s e tw o ch a rac te r s ; one h a s s p e n t h is t i m e in m o ra l , m e n t a l an d spiritual growth. H e h a s g o n e a b o u t d o in g g o o d — h as m ad e the discovery t h a t t h e r e is a n a c t u a l w e a l t h in know ledge of some­t h i n g b e y o n d h o w to m a k e a good t ra d e or how to raise a g o o d co l t o r pig. W h e r e he h a s found it possible to re l ie v e suffer ing , of no m a t t e r w h a t kind, he has done it. H e h a s l e a r n e d t h a t to w o rk for th e elevation of h u m a n i t y is h a p p in e s s ; an d , t h a t he can n o t be happy w hile o th e r s a r o u n d h im a re m ise rab le . He therefore t r ie s to re l ieve th e w o r ld of its aches and pains, whether of th e b ack , h e a d o r h e a r t . S u c h a person works, not w ith th e m e rc e n a ry m o t iv e of a rew ard in the great fu­tu r e ; b u t b e c a u se his o v e r -m a s te r in g love of humanity causes h im to sp e n d his energ ies in an effort to elevate it. Such an individual, by he lp ing o the rs has helped h im se lf— h as e lev a ted himself . D e a th does not put so m u c h as a p u n c tu a t io n po in t in th e existence of such a person as th a t . H e finds h im self on the o ther side reap ing w h a t he has sow n here. Possib ly he spent his last fifty cen t piece in m aking a li t t le o rphan girl wealthy by pu rchas ing a doll for her; or he has given a boy :1 knife, w o r th m ore to his expand ing genius th a n a farm would be w o r th to him in a f te r years. H e thus, in working for the com fort of o thers , kept himself poor in this w orld ’s goods, though rich in good works. The body of such a person, when he leaves it, may be thrown into a pine box and loaded into a dray, and driven off

53in e w t h o u g h t .

the music of a cracking whip and a s o n g : -

“ R attle h is bones, over the stones, b'or lie ’s on ly a poor pauper that nobody owns.”

But, on the o th e r side such will find a wealth—a wealth of sa tisfac tion— a wealth of welcome— a luxury of ease and happiness which has ripened in the work he has done for o thers . T h is is a happiness which cannot be compared to th e w ealth of this world. Such lay up their t reasures in heaven where moth, rust or thieves cannot reach them .

1 he o the r charac te r , in this illustration, spends all his life tying himself to his gold. Gold was his god; at any expenditure of honor, yes, and of happiness too, lie must have gold. W h a t matters it with him who suf­fers? Is som e one afflicted? That is their own lookout. Is some one s tarv ing for bread? That is nothing to him as long as he can pile up his mountains of wealth. lie literally sells himself— his happiness here and in the great h e rea f te r for gold.

W h e n such an individual wakes up in the to-morrow of dea th , he will find that notwithstanding gold overthere is a useless commodity, he is chained to it. lie sp en t his w hole life here forging chains and binding himself to 11 is gold. In this life he was on rapp withno th ing else; now nothing else is on rapport with him. H e is literally in a golden hell. The gold he in this world kept from the poor and the suffering, in the othetworld will serve as an immense weight on his progressand happiness. Me will there count it over and over;

i .-id of enjoying himself h«' lias doomed himself t<> m sica . . ..,(,11 his gold. l ie has not prepared himself for other r ^ ^ n t ; he trusted in “ uncertain riches,’’ and did )( | ay up for himself a “ foundation against the time

N E W T H O U G H T

to c o m e ; ’’ now he r e a p s t h e re su l t .T h e Shylock , w h o sells t h e p o o r m a n 's furniture to

p a y his ren t , m a y find h im s e l f in co ld and very poorly fu rn ished a p p a r t m e n t s in t h e b ey o n d . Truly the road to h ap p in es s in th e o t h e r w or ld , is “ s t ra ig h t and nar­ro w ;” and “ few th e r e be t h a t find i t , ”

OTHER HELLS.

I am n o t su re b u t o u r u n g o v e r n e d a p p e t i te s in this world, m a y c o n t r ib u t e th e i r s h a r e to w a r d making hells for us, in th e g re a t to - m o r r o w . I a m c e r ta in tha t while we are cu l t iv a t in g p as s io n a n d fa lse ap p e t i te s , we are no t cu l t iv a t in g t h e sp i r i tu a l , w h ic h is th e opposite of all such th ings . I h av e , s ev e ra l t im e s in m y life, known of sp ir i ts co m in g back , a n d b eg g in g for, an d using both to b acc o a n d whisky.

I know a m e d iu m — a v e ry re f in ed lady , who, when u n d e r co n t ro l , h a s g o n e to a t o o t h l e s s an d filthy old m an . and t a k e n h is n a u s e a u s o ld p ip e o u t of his mouth, an d sucked it m o re rav en o u s ly 7, a n d e je c te d her saliva m o re carelessly7, t h a n I e v e r k n e w a re g u la r tobacco s m o k e r to do. T h is w as d o n e u n d e r t h e influence of an In d ia n ; an d one th in g s t r a n g e a b o u t it is, it not only did n o t affect t h e lady , b u t sh e d id n o t h a v e th e taste of to b a c c o left in h e r m o u t h , o r t h e sm e l l of it left on h e r b re a th , a f te r t h e in f lu en ce le f t her . W h i le on this su b je c t I will say , t h a t I v e r i ly b e l iev e so m e mediums are m a d e d r u n k a r d s a n d to b a c c o u se rs b v th is class of•sspiri ts .

T h e fac t is an in d iv id u a l c a n n o t be a m ed iu m , in all t h a t w o rd im p l ie s w i t h o u t b e in g n e g a t iv e to w hatever in f luence h e o r she m a y r e p r e s e n t . A m e d iu m must, for t h e t im e be ing , be s w a l lo w e d u p in t h e inf luence of the one th e y w o u ld p e r s o n a t e . O n ly as sp i r i t s can make

X E W T H O U G H T . 533

„„ - Dart of t h e m s e l v e s c a n they fully manifestmedium5 r

iv« to—the w orld . T h u s t h e m o r e n e g a t i v e o n e •hemse1' • •‘_cmes the more p e r fe c t ly d o t h e y r e p r e s e n t t h e sp ir it-vorld, whose se rvan ts t h e y a r e . A n d t h u s , a g a i n , t h ebetter the medium th e m o r e l i a b l e t h e y a r e , w h e n t h e ypass under undesirable in f lu e n c e s , t o fa l l .

Our lives, in the t o - m o r r o w of d e a t h h a v e g r o w n o u tof our lives here— are , in f a c t , m a d e u p of t h a t w h ic hhas been worked in to o u r l ives in t h i s w o r ld . I f allcould realize th is— if all c o u ld k n o w t h a t e v e r v a c t ofthis life contributes to w a r d t h e b u i ld in g of o u r h e a v e n sand hells in dea th s t o - m o r r o w , w e w o u ld , p e r h a p s , bemore careful of h o w w e live t h a n m a n y of us now’ are .

"How careful then ought I to live,With what religious fear,

Who such a strict account must give Of my behavior here.”

Poor undeveloped sp ir i ts a re o f ten fo rced b a c k here L° get the lessons th e y n e g le c te d to le a rn w hile in earth-life, and so m e t im e s to overcom e, th ro u g h m e ­diums, w ha t they failed to o v e rco m e w h en using th e ir own material o rgan ism s as m ed ium s.

I have k n o w n s p i r i t s t o c o m e b a c k a n d b eg , e v e n c ry for to b acco a n d w h is k y . O h , m o r t a l s , c o u ld y o u b u t know, t h a t in t h e use of t h e s e th in g s , y o u a re c u l t i v a t ­ing a p p e t i t e s w h ic h m a y h o ld y ou as s laves , n o t o n ly in this w orld , b u t p e r h a p s for h u n d r e d s of y e a r s in t h e hereaf te r , it s e e m s to m e y o u w o u ld p u t fo r th one g ra n d effort to o v e r c o m e t h e m now .

I t will b e s ee n f ro m th e above , t h a t S p i r i tu a l i s t s do no t be l ieve t h a t d e a th m a k e s an indiv idual e i th e r m u c h m ore h a p p y or m ise rab le t h a n he w as in this life: h«simply e n te r s th e o th e r w o r ld w i th t h e co n d i t io n s he h as m ad e for h im self here. S p ir i tua l is ts do no t believe

5 34 N E W T H O U G H T .

there is a h ea v en su ch as Dr. W a t t s had in mind whhe said:

“ In heaven alone no sin is fours:.And th e re ’s no weeping o.ere.

Indeed , if I c o u ld h a v e m y c h o ic e , I would not go to such a h e a v e n . I w a n t t h e p r iv i le g e of sinning to all e te rn i ty . “ W h a t sa id an o b j e c t o r to m e: “ You mustbe dead in love w ith sin to w a n t to sin to ail eternity

T h e p o o r rnan d id n o t u n d e r s t a n d m e ; I do not want to sin e i th e r h e re o r h e r e a f t e r ; b u t I w a n t to live in e i th e r world , w h e re b o th ro a d s a re o p e n , so th a t I car. do r igh t f rom c h o ic e a n d f rom t h e love of r ight; not be­cause I am c o o p e d up in a h e a v e n w h e re sin cannot en ter . I w a n t to a lw a y s feel t h a t a love of r ight prompts me to do r igh t , n o t t h a t I arn d o in g r ig h t because of an a b -e x tra p o w e r w h ic h h o ld s m e f ro m evil. I think m ore of m y id e n t i ty t h a n I do of a fo rced righteousness. L e t m e th e n , n o t be so c h a n g e d b y d e a t h as to lose the d is t inc t in d iv id u a l i ty t h a t m a k e s m e differ from others in th is world. If t h e re a re th in g s in m y c h a ra c te r here, ca lcu la ted to m a k e m e o r a n y o n e else suffer here orh e re a f te r , now is th e b es t and ea s ie s t t im e to overcome

0

them -the c en t ra l p o in t in S p i r i tu a l i sm is

PROGRESS HERE ANO HEREAFTER

L te rn a l p rogress e t e rn a l g ro w th . H o w pleasing the th o u g h t t h a t we can spend an e te rn i ty add ing to our store of k now ledge—-o f w isdom t h a t th e universe is infinite— con ta in in g en o u g h th a t is n ew and in te res t ing to keep us invest iga t ing as th e e o n s go by.

W h e n I th in k of it, I feel, as I ap p re h e n d Sir Isaac N ew ton m u s t h av e felt w hen ; a f te r looking th rough te l­escope and ge t t ing a fa int g l im p se of the infinitude of the universe, he re t i red from his observa tions , trembling

N E W T H O U G H T

-lit: -otion and sa id : “ I s e e m to m y se i t likePeking up peb b les c n th e b e a c h oi th e o cean .

' ' Iv* whole ocean lies u n e x p lo re d be fo re me..e . .. ~

‘H - ' ^ ra t ion or tw o will sh o w t h e v as t ditrerence %veen the views oi S p i r i tu a l i s m a n d th e views w hich

, -w_=t giving w ay to S p i r i tu a l i s m on th e g reat here- The recently p o p u la r v iew s h ave only tw o

.y.ces in the o th e r w or ld : t h e “ b lo o d -w a sh e d ." h appy • r.2—eternally fe l ic i tous b e c a u se th e y have been y r/ned by the m agic w a n d of a v icar ious a to n em en t , and those who are e te rn a l ly m ise rab le because they co::ld not see th e justice , or a c c e p t th e idea of going to heaven on a c o m p l im e n ta ry t icket .

d ith orthodoxy th e re cou ld be no half way work: ever;, one in th e o th e r w o r ld m u s t e i ther be as happy or as miserable as a n O m n ip o te n t God could make him. Again, no m atter , h o w good a person was, if he had failed to accep t “ th e p la n of salvation . " he must in e te r ­nity be herded w ith th e “ goats on the left hand, and be eternally dam n ed . In th e es t im ation of these same people no m a t t e r how wicked a m an was, even the malefactor and th ief w ho hung the cross a t the same time jesus did, if he could be induced to accept a com­plimentary t icket, he w as a t dea th ushered into a heaven filled w ith b loo d -w ash ed rogues.

T w o cases will sufficiently illustrate this point, and show th e difference in the orthodoxy which is now happily a th ing of th e past, and the Spiritualism of to-day.

Perm it me to in troduce as an illustration two of my

PATRON SAINTS'.

One from the world of politics and statemanship; the other from the world of theology and ethical reform.

53^ N E W T H O U G H T .

As my first saint I will introduce the rail splitter the lawyer, the politician, the statesman, the president. Vr.e patriot, the martyr, Abraham Lincoln. Materialism says this giant among men has crumbled to d tst: Agnos­ticism says, I do not know; while Orthodoxy cannot possibly without deserting their systems, place him anywhere except in a tormenting hell of fire and brim­stone, where he is to forever ‘bite and gnaw his un­chains. If the orthodox people do not put him there it is only another proof that they have out-grown their creeds— they are better than the religion they profess.

Mr. Lincoln did not accept the religions of the day. He did not join the church; he made no profession of faith: was not baptized, did not partake of the commun­ion; in fact, made no pretension to be a Christian. He received his death-wc ind not in the church, or on his bended knees asking God to have mercy on this wicked world but in a theatre, watch ng ungodly people play an ungodly play. In short, he neglected every condition on which orthodoxy proposed to admit people into their heaven and fellowship in the great hereafter, and obeyed the most of the conditions on which they guarantee hirn first class apartments in the hell pre­pared for the devil and his angels.

Again f ask where is Lincoln? If he is in heaven then aii the c urn hero ns machinery invented and operated by the church to save men is useless. If Lincoln can run the quarantine and get into heaven some other way, then your machinery is superceded, half of the inhabi­tants of the infernal regions may get to heaven in the same v/ay; and rents in the brimstone regions must comedown.

If Lincoln is in heaven what is he doing there? Sing- lug Psalms? flattering the a;,probativeness of the boss .vice .css allowed him, un* washed as he was, to enter

n;E W T H O U G H T .

one tbe people with w hom h e never associate : in this That would n o t be one b i t like Lincoln ; he would be

.filv oat o! his e l e m e n t . I t would be more like him to ■ .ve a coterie of t h e m ost un-or thodox saints he could ;s<jf around him a n d engage in telling stories'.

If orthodoxy w e r e t ru e to its creed it would stud Lincoln to h e ll; b u t who dares to send this h on est, patriotic s ta te sm a n to th e regions of “ dark despair: The fact is, th e world h a s out-grown the inhumanities of its th eo logy— no body b u t an ignoramus believes it and the man who, to -day would preach it would , be thought a fit com panion for the dwellers on Blackwell s Island.

Lincoln can neither be in an orthodox heaven or hell, tnen where is he? H e has returned on several occa­sions and told th e m a t te r as it is. He parted with friends, neighbors, soldiers, statesmen, here—he here bade farewell to those interested in the salvation of the country, to m eet exactly the same kind of people on the other shore, ]esus and Paul were not the first to meet him there; they were not so near to him as his mother—had not suffered so m uch for him—had not the same in­terest in him. On the other side, after such greetings as he might receive from his mother, he was met and received by the former patriots of this country—by Clay, W ebs te r , Jackson, Hancock, Jefferson. Paine Washington. Not only by these but by such rnenas John Brown, whose soul had been “ marching on some time; and many of the officers and private soldiers whose blood had been swallowed by the battle-fields of the south. Lincoln had ceased to preside over the des­tinies of the republic here, and joined the cabinet of immortal s ta tesmen on the other side, who are using all their power to bring about a real republic.

538 N E W T H O U G H T .

B es ides th is , L in c o ln , a c c o rd in g to Spiritualism is n e i th e r s inging P s a lm s in h e a v e n n or cu rsin g God in hell H e is w o rk in g — w o rk in g o u t th e p rin c ip a l of a “ govern­m e n t of th e p eo p le , fo r t h e p e o p le and by the people.”

H e h a s s t a t e d t h a t h is s y m p a t h y for poor misguided B o o th w as so g re a t t h a t he cou ld find little rest until he found h im a n d h e lp e d o u t of th e darkness and horror by w hich he w as s u r ro u n d e d . H e took his slayer by the h a n d an d said “ co m e up h i t h e r . ” Thus Lincoln w as his m u rd e re r 's savior. T h is m a k es heaven a place of .p rac t ica l w o rk — p la c e of r e fo rm — of love. Who w ould n o t s tr ive to e n jo y such a h e a v e n as that?

SAINT THEODORE.T h e n ex t sa in t I will in t ro d u c e is T heodore Parker; a

m a n w ho w as e x e c ra te d by th e churches because he believed in, a n d p re a c h e d “ th e revival of religion which we need. — a revival w hich would deal justly by every­one from th e m o s t h u m b le s e rv a n t in th e household to the p re s id en t of th e U n i te d S t a t e s .— which would not allow a poor B urns , or a S im m s to be remanded back to s lavery— a revival w hich w ould cut down the hours of the daily toil from fou r teen to twelve, from twelve to ten from ten to eight, and w'ould keep on cutting the hours dow n unti l th e toil is equally distributed arnon^ those w ho need it. H e p reached of a revival which, while it cu t dow n th e hours of work, would keep up the to ilers wages until those who toil could at least have as m uch of th e results of th e ir labor as those who “ toil not, ne i ther do they spin.

T h i s k in d of p r e a c h i n g c a u s e d a t r e m b l in g among a c lass of r ich san c t i f ied , o v e r - r e a c h i n g sinners . While it w a s p o p u l a r a m o n g s o m e of t h e m to p reach against A fr ican s l a v e r y it w a s t h e m o s t h e in o u s of all often o to p o u r o u t t h e v ia ls of w r a t h a g a in s t New England

N E W T H O U G H ' ! . 539

mritanic robbers. T h is e x c i te d o r th o d o x y u n t i l it prayed not only for th e L o r d to p u t “ h o o k s in T h e o ­dore Parker’s jaw s ,” b u t it is sa id , t h e y a c tu a l ly a sk ed God to kill him.

When Parker passed aw ay , th e y th a n k e d G o d t h a t the world had now g o t te n r id of o n e of o r th o d o x y ’s worst enemies. H o w m is ta k e n ! T h e o d o r e P a rk e r did not die! His voice still r ings as h a rm o n io u s ly and as melodiously in behalf of every re fo rm as w hen , th ro u g h his own organs of speech he used to p o u r fo r th floods of burning and e loquen t t r u t h s in Music hall . P a rk e r is not now sitting down in lis t less sup ineness ; he is still, on the hither side of life, m a rk in g ou t p a th s for o thers to follow, while he follows th e w ay -m ark s of those who have gone still higher. H e hails reform ers on this side, and with im m orta l energy he lps all w ho desire help tobe men and women, m ore th a n they desire to follow dead and ro t ton creeds, on to higher planes of though t and life.

The Spiritualists’ heaven is a place of incessant but untiring work, a place of activity; a place of reform; a place of reaching down to help others up; a place of or­ganization and of eternal progress.

'the beauty of death, when considered as a birth; and the vastness of the th em e,— its to-morrow; the desire toraverse the fields of the beyond, causes me to som e- imes feel almost impatient to join the throng on the

hither side of death’s narrow stream.I do not allow this desire to get the better of me; I

placed here to work and wait; and so I toil on, t now,OK that in due time I shall reap what here I sow.

' .j a shall the harvest be?” Header may you and I iv*. in this world that our fruitage shall be abundant

,nd rich in th e " s w e e t by and bye."

540 N E W T H O U G H T .

E. Bach and The “ Reform ers” Once More

F rien d H u l l :— R e f e r r i n g to m y article, and y0Ur a n s w e r in t h e M a r c h n u m b e r o f N ew T hought, I ain u n d e r o b l i g a t i o n s t o y o u fo r co n f i rm in g what I have sa id a b o u t t h e “ r e f o r m t w a d d l e ” in t h a t article, right o n t h e s p o t , a n d w i t h o u t h a v i n g to w a i t for it. As for t h e m e a n i n g o f t h e w o r d “ t w a d d l e ” which does not s e e m to b e u n d e r s t o o d , I t a k e t h e l ib e r ty of referring y o u to a n a u t h o r i t y b y t h e n a m e of W e b s te r . He says t h a t “ t w a d d l e m e a n s “ S i l ly t a lk ; senseless verbiage; g a b b le ; f u s t i a n ; t w a d d l e . ” I m i g h t s e a rc h the diction­a ry f ro m K e e l s o n to t r u c k , a n d n o t find a word so ex­p re s s iv e ; o r w h ic h d e f in e s t h e c u r r e n t re fo rm talk in a b e t t e r m a n n e r . S o w e will h a v e to call this part of the m a t t e r s e t t l e d . I do n o t c a r e to d iscuss the question a t le n g th , as m o s t of t h e m a t t e r s in it h a v e been settled long ago. Y ou h a v e g r o w n o ld in th e harness . Have w r i t t e n a n d p u b l i s h e d m a n y w o rk s . Y ou speak on many m a t t e r s , a n d Have a w ell d e s e rv e d r e p u ta t io n , and I was rea l ly s u rp r i s e d a t y o u r a r g u m e n t s (so -ca l led ) in answer to m ine , a n d m u s t o n ly c o n c lu d e t h a t you could not a n s w e r m y a s se r t io n s , a n d for s o m e r e a so n you did not feel like a d m i t t in g th e m . I sa id t h a t th e sa loons of the c o u n t ry , in w h ich f rom $ 8 0 0 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 to $1,200,000,000 of d o l la r s a re a n n u a l ly w a s te d , w o rse th a n wasted, are s u p p o r te d by th e p o o r e r c lasses of th e peop le , and that if th o se s to p p e d p a t ro n iz in g th e s a lo o n s th e la t te r would have to sh u t up. You a n s w e r m e t h a t 1 'you do not d rink ." W h a t h as t h a t fac t to do w ith t h e q u es t io n , or the as­se r t ion w hich I m ade? W h e r e is th e connec t ion? In­s tead of a n sw e r in g th e q u es t io n s t r a ig h t forward , and a d m it t in g th e t r u th of m y asse r t ion , you t ry to mislead th e re a d e r by in t ro d u c in g an issue which is no t in the

NEW THOUGHT. 54i

.. n 1 know that you, and perhaps millions of oor men, do not drink, but you know just as well as I

do that if the $1,200,000,000 to $1,500,000,000 which are worse than uselessly spent by the poorer class of people in the saloons of this country, and for tobacco were applied to the comfort of these who spend it and lose their time while they do so; if they educated their families; were sober and trusty, they would be better off; but instead of being a real reformer of a real abuse, and advising those who look to you for guidance to do all possible to overcome this evil, you turn pettifogger for the saloons, and hold me up as a slanderer of the poor. I must tell you that I was taken aback when I read this, and it must have been one of your “ off days” when you wrote this, and I expect you to acknowledge that it was an error to do so.

Then you say further: “ There are millionaries whospend more in one day for rum and tobacco than I would spend in a thousand years.” Who said that you ever spent a cent? And who asserted that the million­aires do not spend such money? You say: “ It hurtsme to be classed with the Lazaruses, because of exces­sive use of rum and tobacco, when I do not use either.” What part of my article gives you the right to ray such a thing? My statement was, (and is now), that the re­form movement was superficial: senseless; idealistic; full of emotional and sentimental vagaries, and not practi­cal, and that I have never seen anything in any of the reform literature, in the reform press, or on the reformrostrum where this question of the poor men spendingthat enormous sum in liquor and tobacco was discussed, and where they were advised by their self appointed Protectors; and to whom I hoped they would listen; to

?42 N E W Tl ; G H T .

charge this enormous out-flov. of their hard money. We live in a real and practical world, will take practical means to better present conditions

fear that it might be forgotten I will r as1 have core many a time that the only r ; ■ .conditions run-, through a practical school ’nr sow. >■,. acquirement of real and practical education for the lower classes; through tl road of eliminating all non- sense . .pen t it ion. credulity, and leaning on some one else, oral to perm ft some one else to do the thinking for them. It lies in the path of such acquirements a- hon­esty; sobriety; ind perseverance; intelli; Now „do not pettifog again and tell rne that I say the poor ho

assess these qualities, because I do not say it, but 1 '-'.an a a ‘hat neither the rich nor the poor possess these qualities to such a degree as they should, and as they w illm the future, and when these qualities are more common, there will be no use for the idealistic and irn-

a! reform shooter, because the conditions which e will be one continued reform mo at.

I believe there was a war for universal liberty (such w as th eo u tec of the war all over the world. It v»ov. forced on to this country when there was no money in the treasury to o; o this war, and like in ail other emergencie- extraordinary, and unusual means were taken to raise mo We used to have an idea that some of tl e purest and greatest minds of any age- were ■ben at the head of our government. Mr, Lincoln I believe to-day; stands bead aud shoulders above any man v. ho was ever horn of woman. not in one- particu­lar on.y, but in ad the attributes which go to make up perfect manhood. In rny estimation he tower a ; far :move the rest of humanity ae ’ h< oak towers above the shrub. Jiuf since the war there have risen a eia . of

N E W T H C r r . 3

whose sole aim of life seems to be to smote: mm-m -feat men, and belittle and besmirch them. They sue-

ir. showing their own littleness only m this. p r . _ ider.ce erred badly in not permitting these men to be bom ooo come or: the scene o: action derma toe t.ooe wbich trieo mens sooIs. A ccordir.a to therr. to . - coo o - try lost v.'riat it can never regain, through not tavm.a the —rent of the results which their gigantic anti unap­proachable minds might have produced. But. alas, it is no’.v too late. \ \ e sha.. have to abide bv the results

ore

which were brought about by the actions of the mferm mines which were then available, and regret that tr.es. reformers came on the stage of action so late They have a great deal to sat' about the mismanagement of the finances of the war. About how such men as Mr Lm-

and his heroic and unselfish co-woruert spent tr.eir time chiefly in plotting with the rich of this and otner ^nds how to manage matters so as to worn r.to .r.c hands of monopolists, and gold bugs, instead of doing their duty towards the rest of the world. But sup­posing that they were right the present reformer vma: food does it do to keep hatcheiling up these conditions.

T h e bitter tears o( even the most comely milkmaidwould not bring the spilt milk bar.- into .ho ..a..do think that these great reform minds should accept thelogic of such events as are beyond recall and try lo m ein the nresent instead of in the past. But their wholestock in trade is the repetition of the mistake- that the„ r leaders who brought one of the most g.gamtc andV no,a wars to a successful conclusion, are said tofar reaching .

. Now supposing these great reformers were have inane. 11 ..there would not yet be any sense in continually

ng * ring up these things. The war closed twenty-seven°ears ago. If they were right; if every dollar borrowed

544 N E W T H O U G H T .

and spent for the prosecution of the war ha- wasted; tha t waste could not now be recalled or fied. Most of these grand men who were leading actors in tha t war, have gone where the slanders of the re­formers cannot reach them. History will do these heroes and unselfish patriots justice, and as time passes on, these men will occupy honored and revered graves when no historian will be foolhardy enough to mention the name of a single one of the present reformers.

W hatever money has been spent during the war is gone, and no amount of “ calamity howling” will ever bring it back. The National debt which was incurred for the prosecution of the war is nearly paid, and permit me to say to the reformer th a t humanity has never in­vested any money during all the past of its history which will bring such rich returns to it during the exist­ence of the race on this globe, and during the eons of eternity, before us as the money which was spent in order to eliminate from this earth the last vestige of human slaver)’, and which proves also one of the great­est element in eliminating the mental slavery under which manhind groans. And so I say, the money which was raised during the war is now spent irrecov­erably, and there is no use to bewail it, (though the writer will put himself on record here, after having tried to study the financial history of this war, and the cir­cumstances surrounding it), tha t his admiration for the men who carried on this war; who had to provide the means to do so under difficulties which cannot be un­derstood by the average reformer; growing greater, and his homage to their genius is unbounded, and grows with time.

You quote some soul harrowing statements in regard to the injustice done to the people by and through the

NEW THOUGHT. 545

\ atl° nal Banks. W. R. English was a god send to reformers. When you get through with him youQ U Q. 1 1 , •/ C l O

& ° aP°theosize him. He has been so very con-\enient for you. In all your writings you assure us that the money made by the National Banks is made through the pri\ ilege of issuing money. 1 do not care to dis­cuss the National Banking system, but will say thus much to show how little real fact underlies “ reform twaddle.”

To prove this let me quote you just one example.The Chemical National Bank of New York is one of the oldest and wealthiest banks in the United States. T h e capital is $300,000.00. In the report of the Com ptro l­ler of the city for 1891, it stated that they had a surplus of $6,000,000.00 and undivided profits to the am ount of $674,208. or a total investment of nearly $7,000,000.00.

It would be one of the easiest things to make a person who knows nothing about banking believe that in or­der to accumulate this amount the profits must have been enormous on its circulation. I know from per­sonal observation that many National Banks do not divide their profits, but leave them year after year as surplus, thus accumulating a capital which seems large—is large. This bank had individual deposits to the amount of $21,296,707.00 on that date, and bank, and other deposits to the amount of $6,095,297.00, making them the custodians for $27,392,004.00 of the peoples’ money, outside of their own capital or nearly $7,000,000.00. Now why do the business people of

fork, and vicinity, and the banks all over this nion entrust that bank with this enormous am ount of >Kmey? Simply from the fact that they have confidence

* e management of it, and because during its long Career tk +• 1 i ”

a bank has honestly and p rom ptly re tu rn e d

54-6 NEW THOUGHT

every dollar to the depositors at any and all times they called for it. And the laws under which the X? tional Banks work has made this condition possible'

There are such safeguards thrown around the deposits of these banks as human intellect and honesty suggests, and the losses on account of failures of National hanks have been reduced to a very small percentage. The I. nited States prohibits the bank from loaning more than (75 > per cent, of these deposits. This bank had loaned out at the time when this report was made the sum of $2 1.142.303.00. Every dollar of this was money which was put into that bank for safe keeping, with the understanding that the bank could loan it it they choose, all the depositor asks is to have the mono) ready when he calls for it, and practically all the Na­tional banks have done this for years. I know tlun have been some failures, but as 1 said before these 'uK so insignificant in comparison to the amount ot husnuo 1 1 ojlt?,transacted that the amount is a very infinitessunai . jjH 000,-

Nowthisbank in question has loaned out o\ ei 4- • f 000.00 of the money entrusted to it. °n ' ^cent, interest, which is probably about what • '

1 a 056,015 ^ the interest amounts to an annual sum 01 4 < -( this nioi'i-and the bank gets this for taking care ot t,curc

and has besides in its coffers $12,346-99 * j*. , , , o.is monoits depositors. And as I said before, I lVe* . i peopwentrusted to the National banks because 1to have a safe deposit place, and e- I sjtork’s

:ire safeof 111

proven that the National Banks are under the law. Now as to th e question^ ^ this money o u t of th e money issuing P1" ^bank has deposited $50,000.00 in govern111

akinfi

id

Tlud

” I45-;to comply with the law, but out of u P°s: '000,00 bank notes which they might issllL

NEW TH O U G H T . 547

ju>t $10,874.00 in National Bank notes. And

iv that the money made by the bank was made by the money issuing privilege, but our reform friends eith er do not know the facts as stated, or they do not care to tell the truth to their dupes about this mat­ter. Nine chances to ten I will be answered that it is wrong to have so much money, when the great bulk belongs to the people, liable to be called for any day, and that it is a boon to the people to have it taken care of.

I do not wish to discuss the National Banking ques­tion. because with reformers it is “ Love's Labor Lost.”

About the poor man who has eight children, work­ing in the streets, at a dollar a day, etc. Triend Hull, how many such cases do you know of? And is that a fair question from a fair minded man? But in an­swer 1 will say that no man has any business to be so iby developed in this countrv where education is lying around as thickly as leaves in the autumn forest.

No m an in this countrv has any business to be so ignorant as th a t he has to work on the streets for $ l . 00 and there are too many to do this work then.

There w ill come a time when the street laborer will be paid more than other employments. simpU because till will he fitted to do other work; no one will care to labor 011 the streets because they are fitted tor bet­ter tilings and then those who eondesccthl to labor on the streets will get better pay than other employ­ments, and those who are now considered more res­pectable, because such hard bodily ineiits to do t his \ me next time.

54? N E W T H O U G H T .

REMARKS BY THE EDITOR.I have neither the time or the disposition for long

controversy, or for epithets. On such things I hope never to be an acept. I will, in the beginning of my remarks grant Bro. Bach all the advantage to be gained by that kind of controversy. Accusingan oppo­nent of being a “ pettifogger, or of “ trying to mislead the readers, is no part of my argument. I do not doubt but that Bro. B., is as honest as I am, but 1 doubt much v. nether his s veeping assertions are calcu­late-': to lead his readers to his understanding of mat­ters. That is a matter, however, of which I may not be a proper judge.

On the very first page Bro. B. Claims the victory; as I never write or speak for victory I will not dispute his claim.

It is always easy to say. --you could not answer my assertion. Perhaps I could not. and did not; I will not discuss tha t point. I believe there is no discussion as to how much money is wasted for whisky and tobacco. And I. for one, hope Bro. B. will use his influence to reform every man who uses either; but to make the charge that tobacco and whisky are the causes of the poverty of the toiling masses, is a direct insult to*over a trillion of pc honest working people, who thoughthey “ touch not. taste not and handle n o t , ! find it im­possible to throw off the burden of poverty. I also £rant Bro. B., all the advantage to be gained by accus- •r'g me of being a “ pettifogger for the saloons. My life

a s Ancient reply to mi tha t kind of argument.1 he r e a re pro b am y f ew “ reformer s w ho d o n o t see

the evils of the use of rum and tobacco; but if there Was not a drop of rum or a pipe full of tobacco in the v'Oric the evils of monopoly, of corrupt legislation and

: -9>’EW T H O U G H !

d cur m onetary and land system would be the same;-d I have yet to learn w hy w e should direct the poor r.ir/5 attention away from the fact that he is being ribbed, because som e of them eat or drink too much. I believe in tem perance, and in lecturing on temperance, but I cannot see how even that could enable the farmer :: mechanic to pay from seven to thirty-six per cent in­terest on an average incom e of three per cent.

I believe in all t h e h on esty and intelligence of which B:o. B. speaks . T h a t is the reason why I am • ‘ petti- fogging’ in b e h a l f of the honest , hard-working man who t'being c ru sh ed under the m onopolistic wheel. I fully a?ree with D anie l W eb ster , that:— “ Liberty cannot *ong endu re w here th e tendency of legislation is to con­centrate w ea lth in th e hands of a few.

I a lways admired h o n es t Abraham Lincoln, and voted for him tw ice , but can n o t depreciate every other man

Mr. B. does. L in co ln was not “ head and shoulders above any o ther man ever born. Hundreds of as toed men w ere born before and since Mr. Lincoln, and ftro. Bach is on e of them . Lincoln only did his duty, Bro. B. w en t to war and did his duty : and if Bro. B. had the sam e op p ortu n ity L inco ln had he would discharge his duties as con sc ien t ious ly . I have no doubt.

‘‘New occasions teach new duties ;Time makes ancient good uncouth.

T h e o c c a s io n c a m e and Mr. Lincoln did his duty, as hundreds of o th ers would have done. Now I ask Bro. B. W h o a m o n g the “ reformers is slandering Mr. Lincoln? I never heard of it before; but supposing they had, are his public acts ab ove public criticism? Is he a fetisch

that I must fall down and worship?W h o has ever said anything about Mr. Lincoln and

his r;o-workers - p l o t t i n g with the rich of this and other

550 NEW THOUGHT.

lands?” Why is it necessary to make such ad captamhtmappeals as that? Bro. Bach knows as well as lie knowsanything, that there was “ plotting with the rich.” Noton the part of Mr. Lincoln, but on the part of others. Ifhe does not, let him read the ringing words of honestold Thaddeus Stevens, when he told of the “ howls thatcame from the salons of Wall street, and finally, withtears in his eyes said:•/

“ There is no g rea t p rospect th a t we sh a ll re tu rn to the system I have indicated, nor do m uch to p ro tec t th e people from their own eager speculations. W hen, a few years hence, th e people shall have been brought to general b a n k ru p tc y by th e ir un regu la ted enterprise I shall have the satisfaction to know th a t I a ttem p ted to prevent it.”

This looks as though there was some “ plotting with the rich,” although Mr. Stevens was not in it. Neither was Mr. Lincoln in it. In a private letter to a friend Mr. Lincoln is reported to have said:—

“ As a resu lt of the w ar co rpora tions have been enthroned and an era of corruption in h igh places will follow, and th e money power of the country will endeavor to p ro long its reign by w orking on the prejudices of the people, un til all w ealth is aggregated in a few hands and the R epublic is destroyed. I feel, at th is m om ent m ore anxiety for the safety of my coun try th an le v e r did before, even in the midst of the war. God gran t th a t my suspicions m ay prove groundless.”

Mr. Lincoln was a prophet, his suspicions were not groundless. Senator David Davis, who was as honest and as intelligent a man as Mr. Lincoln, said: —

“ The rapid growth of corporation power, and the m align influence which it exerts, by a com bination on the N ational and State Legisla­tures, is a well grounded cause of alarm . A struggle is pending in the near future, betw een th is over-grown power, with its vast ramifi­cations all over the union, and a hard g rip 011 ranch of the political m achinery on the one hand, and the people in an unorganized condi­tion, on the other, for control of the governm ent.”

Senator Oliver P. Morton used language stronger than the above but as I do not happen to have his language with me here, in St. Louis, I will forego any attempt to quote it. Suffice it to say, that he

N E W T H O U G H 1 . 5 5 1

.jd never, since the ex istence of na t ions had such aIn.r of thieves, robbers and p lundere rs been gathered If**’®together as were co n cen tra ted in W ash ing ton .

Why “hatchel up th e p as t?” Bro. B. I answer, if we can learn the cause of our present trouble by studying the past, we m ay get lessons which will en­able us to avoid the shoals on which we were wrecked in 1873—80. T he poet has said:—

“ He who h eed s n o t e x p erien ce , t r u s t h im n o t.”

Bro. B. next informs us th a t “ the national debt is nearly paid.” I answer, yes, it has been much moie than paid, in in terest; yet it would take as much wheat, as much beef, pork or hay to pay it to-day us it would have taken a t the close of the war. And il the single s tandard m iners of the country can bring us to a gold basis, it will double the debt again.

1 here was no need of incurring such a debt as we have foi the prosecution of the war. Indeed the banks and money grabbers have caused more of the debt than the war caused. Money could have been issued directly to the soldiers, and sailors and for their food and clothing without contracting a dollar of bonded debt. The Chicago E xpress, after tabulating the expense of the war said:—

“ According to th is s ta te m e n t.th e pay-cost of food and clothing of the volunteers, am oun ted to $i ,767,064,130; while the bond holders to the date of Ju n e 30, 1S79 was, $1,767,246,198, and another year’s in­terest m ust be added to find th e am ount paid to the present date. Thus we find th a t th e bondho lders were paid over fifty m illions more for th e ir services th an the so ld iers were paid for theirs. Not only this hut the bondho lders are to receive back double their principle. d sted__a p rincip le which was loaned in depreciated currency to he"a id V ic k in gold or its equivalent. The soldiers’ principle of health -trengtli or vigorous constitu tion , is gone fore\ er, andofbe repaid . ”

I wish the war had

can never

‘e l iminated the last vestige of

550 N E W T H O U G H T .

lands?” Why is it necessary to make such ad captandum appeals as that? Bro. Bach knows as well as he knows anything, that there was “ plotting with the rich.” Not on the part of Mr. Lincoln, but on the part of others. If he does not, let him read the ringing words of honest old Thaddeus Stevens, when he told of the “ howls that came from the salons of Wall street, and finally, with tears in his eyes said:

“There is no g rea t prospect th a t we shall re tu rn to the system I have indicated, no r do m uch to p ro tec t th e people from their own eager speculations. W hen, a few years hence, the people shall have been brough t to general b an k ru p tcy by th e ir un regu la ted enterprise I shall have the satisfaction to know th a t I a ttem p ted to prevent it.”

This looks as though there was some “ plotting with the rich,” although Mr. Stevens was not in it. Neither was Mr. Lincoln in it. In a private letter to a friend Mr. Lincoln is reported to have said:—

“ As a resu lt of the w ar corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in h igh places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to pro long its reign by working on the prejudices of the people, until all w ealth is aggregated in a few' hands and the R epublic is destroyed. I feel, at th is m om ent more anxiety for the safety of my country than I ever did before, even in the midst of the wrar. God gran t th a t my suspicions m ay prove groundless.”

Mr. Lincoln was a prophet, his suspicions were not groundless. Senator David Davis, who was as honest and as intelligent a man as Mr. Lincoln, said: —

“ The rapid growth of corporation powrer, and the malign influence wdiich it exerts, by a com bination on the N ational and State Legisla­tures, is a well grounded cause of alarm . A struggle is pending in the near future, between th is over-grown power, with its vast ramifi­cations all over the union, and a hard g rip on m uch of the political m achinery on the one hand, and the people in an unorganized condi­tion, on the other, for control of the governm ent.”

Senator Oliver P. Morton used language stronger than the above but as I do not happen to have his language with me here, in St. Louis, I will forego any attempt to quote it. Suffice it to say, that he

N E W T H O U G H T . 55i

said never, since th e ex is tence of nations had such a £ang of thieves, ro b b e rs and p lunderers been gathered together as were c o n c e n t ra te d in Washington.

Why ‘‘hatche l up th e p a s t? ” Bro. B. I answer, if we can learn th e cause of our present trouble by studying the pas t , we m ay get lessons which will en­able us to avoid th e shoals on which we were wrecked in 1S73--80. T h e p o e t has said:—

‘H e w h o h e e d s n o t e x p e r ie n c e , t ru s t h im n o t.”

bro. B. n ex t in form s us th a t “ the national debt 1S nearly p a i d . ” I answer, yes, it has been much more than paid, in in te res t ; yet it would take as much wheat, as m u ch beef, pork or hay to pay it to-day as ^ would h av e tak en a t the close of the war. And if the single s t a n d a r d m iners of the country can bring Us to a gold basis, it will double the debt again.

T here was no need of incurring such a debt as we hu\e the p ro sec u t io n of the war. Indeed the hanks

hioney g ra b b e rs have caused more of the debt than° . •_____ 1 ro o t v toWar cau sed . M o n e y could have been issued direct!)

the soldiers, and sailors and for their food an, l a n d e d debt.

>f thewithout contracting a dollar of bondedj . ^ „ t j.p expense oj

Chicago E xp ressy after tabulating

clothing ofWar said:

paid back mof strength, or vigorous consbe repaid.” , . .e lj 111 i■> =‘*e*I the stige

552 NEW THO UG H T.

human slavery from the ear th ," but, alas, l a m com­pelled to think of Hom estead; of the coal miners east, west, north and south; and of the recent court decisions, which in effect make railroad employes a part of the road. The tendency of events in this coun­try indicate more of feudalism than of freedom.

I have not the space to go into bank question; but I must thank Bro. B. for proving tha t the Chemical National Bank of New York has made a fortune by drawing interest on its debts. Could I draw from six to thirty-six per cent interest on my debts, I would be slower in paying them than I am now.

I hope Bro. Bach's millennium, where “ hewers of wood, and “ drawers of water," will be better paid will soon come. If Bro. B.. instead of talking of “ twad­dle," and throwing out the general charge of drunk­enness. ignorance and crime after the workingmen, will take hold and try to bring this millennium about, I. for one. will thank him.

Mr. B .’s admonition for me to treat him fair next time, is laughable; knowing him to be subject to fits of joking I enjoyed it. I have allowed him to say what he pleases, and as he pleases; have crowded other excellent articles out in order to give him all the room he asked for, and have not taken nearly as much space in my replies as he has in his articles; indeed 1 allowed his first article to go with­out a word of repiy. In none of my replies have I been half as severe and thorough as I would in any other butmy own magazine, and now he asks me to treat him fairly! That is a good joke!!

Bro. B., is an able man. a good man, and a per­sonal friend of mine, but on this subject his head is, for the present, set wrong. I hope to yet see him point his batteries at the oppressors of labor, rather than at oppressed labor, then the fur will fly.

N E W T H O U G H T . 553

Who is to Blame?

BY MATTIE HULL.

Not long since, a d isgracefu l affair c a m e o ff in o n e o f the Spiritualist H alls in th is city, in th e n a m e o f a “Spiritual S e a n c e .” H a d we on ly th e r e p o r ts of n e w s ­papers, I would let it pass as a n o th e r t i rade on m ed ium s, but after listening to th e expressed opin ions of h o n e s t , intelligent Spir i tua lis ts w ho a t te n d e d th e seance, an d to their regrets th a t persons should advert ise ar did th e medium in collection with this affair, I feel c o n s t ra in ed to say som eth ing on the subject .

I have said again and again, publicly and privately , that good physical m anifesta tions , could not ob ta in in large, promiscuous audiences, and as m any t imes have I been censured for th a t declaration, and accused of using my influence against mediumship.

W h e t h e r I h a v e b e e n an e f f e c t iv e w o r k e r on b e h a l f o f S pir i tu a l i sm , t h o s e w h o k n o w m e m a y d e c id e ; o f m y h o n e s ty , love of and in terest in th e ca u se , no o n e ca n k n o w as well as m yse l f , u nder all c i r c u m s ta n c e s , I h a v e held n o n e but the m o s t k ind ly f ee l in g s to w a r d m y c o - w orkers , and the w a rm est s y m p a t h y for m e d iu m s . It has been m y aim to say m y best th o uoht on all o c c a s i o n s and w h en asked m y op in ion , I h a v e g iv e n it h o n e s t l y , accord ing to m y best ju d g m en t , n ev er under fee l in g s o f disl ike or jea lousy; I have a lw a y s en d ea v o re d to c o n - ^uk-r that personal likes or dislikes should w e ig h n o th in g in such matters . No one be l ieves m ore in m e d iu m s h ip than myself; how could I do otherw ise? I c a n n o t re- member when 1 did not feel the presence of th e Sp ir i t world. Before I had learned to use the pen , v i s io n s were presented to me, and p oem s and d iscourse that I had no way of imparting, until I was p ush ed into th e

5 54 new m o r i i i i T .

held as an active medium com m iss ioned to bear tin* glad tidings, to sorrowing, sou l-hungry mortals . That was long ago; but over since those early experiences, to the present time, 1 have believed in, loved, aye, rever­enced nu'diiunship. It is because of this love, that I have always felt pained when I have known medium- ship was p ros t i tu ted to ignoble ends, or fraudulent practices were imposed upon earnest seekers after the truth. 1 tee! to take up this subject once more, and 1 am going a little farther with my pen th an 1 have in the past; 1 declare tha t Spiri tualis ts themselves, are largely to blame, for just such perform ances, as were repre­sented in the hall, on the occasion referred to in the com m encement of this article.

1 know nothing of the medium in question; have heard intelligent persons who know him say, he is a genuine medium, but advertises to do more than could possibly be done by the best medium on earth , in prom­iscuous audiences. If these s ta tem ents are true, who is to blame?

W e hear it said evervwhere, " w e must have test m e­diums in connection with lectures, for the majority want tests.' Nevertheless . 1 note that large audiences crowd the halls to hear our able exponents of Spiritual­ism. and 1 also note, that usually when the lectures are supplemented with seances of a physical phenomenal nature, the meetings break up in confusion; the influence of the lecture is lost, and wrangling and discussion ensue. Every intelligent and candid Spiritualist, is ready to admit the fact, that fraudulent practices are sandwiched in so thickly between the genuine'manifesta­tions, that it is becoming difficult to know the genuine from the spurious. In fact, the more marvellous the feat, the more is the medium sought and the louder Ins

NKW THOUGHT. 555

praises arc sung. W Hat lias brought about this condi­tion of things? Will sonic one explain why it is. tha t in so many instances, persons, who have no kind of con ­ception of Spiritualism, no interest in reform, can, in a few days' time, d e v e l o p ^ so marvellous a mediumship, while others, who love tlu* cause and would make any re a so n a b le sacrifice for its advancement sit for develop­ment, work for it, pray lor it, live for it in every way; and while they may grow strongly inspirational or itn- pressional, never realize anything beyond this? T he answer may be given tha t habit, character, and desire, may have no th ing w hatever to do with physical m e­diumship; th a t may be true in some cases, but when we see so m any unprincipled persons, with something ot mediumship, supplem enting genuine manifestations with ft and, is it not t ime for Spiritualism to go into a sitting process and ought we not to be frank enough to declare the result ot our honest investigations? I haveheatd pm sons say, when rofering to t hose matters, “ yes, so and so, is a good medium, but 1 know he will prac­tice fraud, yet 1 s h a n ’t expose h im ; let others find it out; it they don t, why let them be deccired; the people want just such things, and if they cannot tell the difference, i[ will not harm th e m . ' ’ This method seems little less than criminal. Not only are unprincipled persons a l ­lowed to gather in dollars tha t do not belong to them , but they are trifling with the most sacred feelings of their honest patrons; and in consequence of such deal-

, . t | u> best mediums in the world are held under ban. lngs, *There arc many excellent mediums m every city w ho

llV comparatively idle, in consequence of the great dc-I for something more marvellous, in the way of

matni , * i • i J| l(Ml()inena, than they can give, and which, when ob-* jilt'd, dot's not satisfy the longings of the soul, any

NEW THOUGHT.5$6

more than pictures of food satisfy the appetite of a hungry stomach. The constant and increasing demand for the wonderful in mediumship, has been the cause of trickery and deception, and such demand lias been largely by Spiritualists. Not' content with tender, soul­ful messages, personations, and descriptions, they have urged more and more, at any price, until the tempta­tion has been great; and thus, when only a desire to please and reap a golden harvest has been the object, fraudulent practices have too often been introduced, and Spiritualism has suffered in consequence.

In connection with some phases of mediumship, there have been wagers on the part of mediums and skeptics; this is a feature that does not belong to the Spiritual. I cannot think that our loved ones—those who hold guard over us, desire to convince the world on wagers.

One thing more; of course, mediums are Hocking to Chicago, to do business during the World’s Fair; this is good; Spiritualists will come here from all parts of the world and will naturally expect to find the best there is in the world on the phenomenal line. Why should our mediums advance their prices for sittings until they are beyond the reach of people of moderate means?

I presume this custom has not been generally adopted, but I notice in one instance, a medium has put up her prices for psychometric readings, charging ladies three dollars and gentlemen five; the medium to whom I refer, is one of tin; best in the world; her parlors will be thronged daily, in such case, she will reap a fortune during the season , and many who are anxious to learn of Spiritualism, must be denied the privilege of sitting with this medium; the rich will be favored, but we have never learned that there is “ a poorer grade of grief .”

NEW THOUGHT. 5 5 7

q Spiritualism! thy pure white-souled messengers are with us; in spite of every adverse obstacle they are with us; they strive to minister to our needs, they press near us in our daily walks; could we learn how to make the best conditions, putting away influences that retard us in our progress, and blind our spiritual sense, how clearly would we see and how much more deeply would we feel the significance of the movement.

O, Spirit world! I feel th ine atm osphere About my way, no m atter where I tread;

I toil, nor do I stoop in slavish fear,I know I hold communion with my dead.

And I would live so tha t my every thought May be an opening to some higher sense,

Striving for all things good, sweet love out-wrought And th is shall bring me fullest recompense.

John Brown Sr.t_________

BY MOSES HULL.Tor our frontice piece this month we present a por­

trait of John Brown,— not the John Brown whose “ soul goes m arch ingon ,” in other spheres, but John Brown, familiarly known as “ the medium of the Rock­ies.” John Brown is an octogenarian, and, being a born medium may safely be put down as the oldest, if not the most wonderful medium in the world.

He became familiar with the visits of spirits before he was seven years old; they keep up their regular tete- a-tetes with him yet. At first he did not know who and what they were; soon they told him, and he told his parents and others; of course they attributed it to a de­ranged stomach. He took many a dose of medicine to cure him of seeing and conversing with spirits; the med­icine never cured him, but it did break him of telling it.

\yhen Andrew Jackson Davis was writing “Nature’s

558 N E W T H O U G H T .

Divine Revelat ions,” and when the Fox girls were first introducing spirit rappings to the world, old pioneers in the Rocky Mountains, who were acquainted with John Brown, were staking their bo t tom dollars on predictions made through his lips. A few gamblers learned that John was like a John of whom we read, a prophet; and tha t he was so universally correct in his predictions— that he afforded them “ tips” on which to lay the founda­tion for fortunes. They wanted no better opportunity to win a stake than to find some one who would risk money against his predictions. As his spirit guides would not tolerate this they were compelled at times to cease to use him.

At first the gift of prophecy seemed to be about his only gift; and his prophesies were so true that no power seemed able to prevent their execution. Indeed he came near losing his life several times because of the literal fulfillment of his predictions. It was thought unsafe by some of his associates to mingle with one who was a wizard, or if he was not, was bewitched.

Men determined to break the spell of his predictions, bound themselves with oaths to defeat some of them; and used all their powers to bring ahout a failure. All this had no other effect than to convince his friends that when John’s guides took him away from his body at night and told him a thing was to occur, they might depend upon it.

On one occasion his guide said to him, “ John you will break your riding mule’s leg to-morrow.” In the morning he told his fellow campers; they swore that prediction should fail. In order to defeat the prophesy they imprisoned Mr. Brown in his own cabin, and put a guard to watch it. They were determined this time to break the spell of his predictions. All went well and

N E W T H O U G H T . 559

jjad apparently d e fe a te d h im until about sun down; fben the hunters were in the en joyment of their victory

an alarm was given; the In d ia n s were coming. A rush was made for their mules , to g e t th em ou t of danger as soon as possible. Mr. B ro w n was let ou t of prison and was assisting to drive th e m ules to a p lace of safety, when his mule u n d e r to o k to run back p as t the men. In the effort to prevent it Mr. B ro w n picked up a stone and threw it toward th e m ule to scare him back. The stone flew out of his han d and broke the m ule’s leg. Then his vision flashed across his mind, and all rem em ­bered the prediction they had all been fighting all day. Many other similar incidents are related by Mr. Brown, and his friends.

After a few years of this kind of mediumship another phase was added. I t was th a t of healing the sick. No greater cases of healing were ever performed even by the man of Nazareth than some of those done by John Brown. There are several well-authenticated cases of his raising those said to be dead. These two phases, prophecy and healing accompanied him for years, when other phases were added, among them that of receiving and giving tests, and of teaching the higher truths of Spiritualism.

One very cold night, in what is now called Colorado, he was riding along when, suddenly he saw an angel standing before him. He believes to this day that his mule both saw and heard the angel. He also believes that the mule heard and, by some means understood what the angel said; for as soon as the angel said:“ John go to the river as quick as you can,” the mule voluntarily whirled and started with all possible speed to the river, some three miles distant. When he got in hearing of the river, he heard groans. When he came

5 6 0 N E W T H O U G H T .

to the bank of the river he saw by the light of the moon a man lying on the sm ooth ice. He went to him and found the man had set a beaver t rap under the ice. He had gone to see the trap , had cut a hole in the ice and put his hand down to see if it was properly bated and accidentally sprung the t rap and his arm was fast. As the murcury was below zero the poor man could not have survived an hour. Mr. Brown helped him out of the trap, and took him to his cabin and cared for him. At last accounts the man was living in San Francisco. His arm is crippled but he has never ceased to be thank­ful to some intelligence who sent John Brown to his rescue. How true it is that, “ He shall give his angels charge concerning thee to bear thee up in all thy ways, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone."

On several occasions Mr. Brown’s life and the lives of his friends have been saved by his spirit teachers. His guides have taught him not only of the things of this world, but they have made a most profound spiritual philosopher of him, as any one will learn by reading his book or conversing with him.

John Brown is to-day living in San Diego, California, respected and loved by all his neighbors. His wonder­ful stories are fully believed by those who know him; and as to his prophesies and other marvelous manifesta­tions, there are to-day hundreds of living witnesses of their truth.

Those who would know more about John Brown should send to Moses Hull & Co., and get the book en­titled, “ The Medumistic Experience of John Brown, The Medium of the Rockies.”

Since the foregoing was written the following has been received: The names attached will be found inthe book:

N E W T H O U G H T . 561

I liv, the undersigned, h a v e r e a d t h e 1 ‘M edium is t ic I eriences of John B row n , th e M e d iu m of t h e R c c k - f ,5 "and take pleasure in say in g t h a t all, in re ference to I ,-t and all that we are c o n v e r s a n t with, as r e la ted by I \/ brown in tha t book, is t rue.I Further, we have been in t im a te ly a c q u a in te d with Mr.I brown for many years, and k n o w h im to be a m a n on I whom the reader can rely for t ru th , f Signed, Mrs. E zra S. Parrish,

J. C. Peacock, M. D. ,D. R. D ickey/ M. D. ,James W. W aters,

S a n Berna rd ino , Cal.Nelson W illiamson,

L os Angles, Cal.

Do Animals Talk?

BY D. W. HULL.Quite a discussion is going on upon the question, as

to whether animals have a spoken language, by which they can communica te with each other, and even sc ien­tific men are taking p a r t in it. One man has discover­ed that the simean species, give for th cer tain expressions of the voice to convey to each o ther certa in emotions, and that the monkeys of South America have a differ­ent language from those in Africa, tha t they cannot understand each other, bu t tha t they may learn each other’s language, and somet imes do. An enthusiast has gone to Africa, with the purpose of learning the gorril la language. He will cons truct for himself a gorril la-proof iron cage in a gorrilla neighborhood, and thus fortified against any war-like proclivities from his four-handed cousins, he can observe all their actions, while with a phonograph he catches every sound made by them.

v>2 NICW THOUGH'! .

If Ii'i'i been further claimed, th a t dogs Ulu\ MJ f rru.hi, probably converse, when they place th eu * '''■/‘■'’" ‘■i, fbe speech being inaudible to Hi- , 1 ‘ ‘ ’

' l l i , , ■ " " ■ h ' O H I O ,J hat some animals have a more acute sense of p,.,»»K U,;u) °ther ;, I have no doubt. Loup before a ti,,’’*< ' - >how« - Vm ble o r I t*d is tan t muttering can be heard oy human ears, lucks will show their premotions by “ pooping” showing tha t their hearing is moie acute than ours. Again there are but few of us tha t ever heard a bat scream, yet. there are ears that hear even as high a note as that ,

I therefore believe there are sounds inaudible to us, ;;/id jt is possible t hat some of fie despised insects may -ovc forth such sounds and hea.r them too. Undoubted J/, those insect'; live in a world so different from ours that they scarcely realize our existence any more than 'vc realize the. sounds they run if. I hey neither hear usnor do y/o therm ff beside their own noises, they heard all f hat we hear, tin; confusion would he deadening to them. While there are sounds too shrill for human ears, the re may yet be other sounds too deep to reaefi us. If the whir I mg orbs in then impact ether as t hey fly thra nigh spaoe makes music, it is such that we cannot hern it.

Uobeving m all thesi possibilities, does not make me a believer in the voeal speeeh of animals, I here me different intonations by which animals hnv< s o rm soit of 11 nder st a ruling of eaeli other at a distance apart, but this is not speech.

How then do some species of animals mid in s ' 1 ' sommurnonte with eaeli other if they do oomnmm snd I b' fieve they do. My impiession is, dial /

s of pnyr ho instinct, instinctiveI eats, by

' oinIminleat < by mean' hoimg

p s y eh o m rt r y . 'If,at is, that dogs , horses and cats, plac ing (In n nose s toget ln r, a o enabled to latm aom'

N E W '1 I f O U L ! I I

thin# from the attenae earn iro »ants arid be<

h from the o ther , and thih' inrii heiract in concert.

attenae together, impart to each other >ich inforn ’ ;on as is desired. Sir John Lubbock tells us, tha t vv non ants want assistance from their fellows, they make them know their wants by rubbing their attenae together . Probably their psychometric reading is not so explicit in ■>ome details as that of niirnan psychornedrists, but it convoys all that is necessary for them to know.

As an illustration, 1 will cite the case of a mother cat, which had the unpleasant habit of bringing kit tens to the house a little of tener than we wanted to see them. After she had brought a li tter one day, Mrs. Hull -aid, “ 1 want you to take those kittens a wa y or J will kill them! I he old cat was present, but no one thought of her paying any at tention to the conversation, but the next morning the kit tens had disappeared and no one knew where, we listened for their “ mewing,” hut

b< nr nothing; we watched her leave the house, hut, she was always carefid to start for the fields, but /iot always in the same direction. Several weeks had p'T.scd when Mrs. Hull went near tha t part of the house that, had been ishut. off by a kitchen, behind this had been a cellar-way which had been upon the outside, leaving art apperturo, between the hoarding and the door, and the steps part had been filled with dirt.

|V,., i,,,/ over t his hoarding, from the apperture .she saw one of the kittens. She had hid them there from the time they were helpless kittens until they were large (.noil,,|, to come out themselves. There are persons who would draw an inference, from this circumstance, (| ( )( 1| j(. , ;,j understood what was said. I do not believe ip j believe that in speaking, we gave off in another,

,,( which we are not aware, the same thought we

■r NEW THOUGHT.

expressed in words. There is as much in some - magnetism, as in what they say, and I believe was sensitive tb the emanation that accompanied words, and in that way knew some mischief to > geny was contemplated. We may think it is tark to our dogs, horses and canary birds in an endear

manner, but when we come to understand them bet- ter. we shall learn that they appreciate and apprehend every tender word. They don't understand what we say from any education, but they sense it in their intuition and comprehend more of it than we are aware. Let me say right here by way of parenthesis, that few of our mediums give off the language of a spirit: they read his or her thoughts and give it off in their own language.

In this way the spirit may lecture the same evening through a dozen mediums, a thousand miles apart and no two o: them talk on the same subject. Being a medi­um myself I know I often read the thoughts of the same spirit and hand them to those near me. and it has only been after possibly a thousand observations, that I dis­covered it. I seemed to think the spirit had used rm organs of speech, because when I talk in that condition, I do not seem to be able to avoid it. Just as one can not avoid giving a warning of danger when he see» it- am lead to believe that when we get to the spirit-" °r

shall find mind-reading, will be a chiei mooe of cowe sivernation.

For many years, I have been a skeptic as to ^following the tracks of other animals by scent c

. . . /- ltv. * J

ima^ I coi

not here give all the reasons for my increou ^ pinion is, that they simply sense aura, an r be;ather what was on the animals mind whic ajf

the safest way to go. Thus I believe a p o i a - 5a.

O<)-

point out gameI when it is hid in the bush. ' I ^

NEW THOUGHT

t:ve p«- of a d°K or horse is the nose and mouth. Theprehensile lip of a horse and the n coth of the -'.-7 assurer some of the same offices that the hand f f iT Ttie human, and these advantages thus end wed ....easuperior intelligence to other animals, as a so does -’7

trank of an elephant. When, therefore horses or dogs rub -r.eir noses together or insect their • ; thev each impart whatever thing they would have them kn: ' ■To many readers, I know this v: a; rear speculative.24 po__iul\ I may be mistaken, but I feel tea: the

B ig h ts here offered will open a useful field of inquiry, and there is nothing to lose by investigation. All the

naAe exactness of my theory. It may in­ode too much or too little: but I believe the main

1Gea is true.

The Two Lights.

BY E. IN*. BEEBE.I have stood on a h ill by sunlight illumined;

My wife by m y side and my children around me;I have w alked down the hillside, into the vailey,

Down in to the valley, so dark and so weird.W hen I stood on the hill by sunlight illumined;

My wife by m y side and m y children around me. blot a seraph came n e a r me th e re on the h i..-to .

But bowed in the valley some angels I 've found.

W hen I stood on the hill by sunlight illumined:Mv wife by my side and my children y ’

I th o u g h t it was true light had guilded l^ e ,For “ The Book" th is light, to be true lig **

Alone in the valley, by no light l A ^ ' ^ h e s i d e her: My wife in her grave, and our ch' \ C the summit,.

I rem em ber the ligh t tha t had playe proved. And there it was book lore light, or. .

light ilium 0.Then I saw in the valley by new ig „ her:

My wife in her glory, and o u t < c valley,I know it w as true light that ‘ e

For, three dear ones whomso proved it-

5 66 NEW THOUGHT.

They Are With Us Yet.

BY MATTIE E. HULL.S om etim es I s tan d by a beau tifu l s tream ,

T h a t laves th e sh o re o f th e Border Band;I w atch , for p e rh ap s , o ’er th e w aters gleam ,

I m ay c a tc h a g l im p se o f a shadow y h an d .I k n o w th a t th e loved w h o have pone from sight,

O f t sp eak to m e from the viewless air;W h en m y s ta rs grow dim in the weary n ight,

T hey m eet m y soul by th e M o u n t of P rayer.W hen th e day is o ’e r an d th e sun s inks down

f r o m o u r s igh t, in its b e au t i fu l 'co u c h o f gold, A nd one by one th e s tars sh ine forth,

'T ill the ea r th is tou ch ed with a sh im m erin g fold, T h e n foot* falls gen tly ab o u t us tread ,

And we wait a n d w atch w ith ba ted b rea th ,F o r love gives back ou r beau tifu l dead ,

Now glorified by th e touch o f death .0 ha llow ed sp h ere , w here soul m eets soul,

W here we find the hopes o f ou r weary years;W here we g a rn e r the g ra in th a t we have sown,

A nd to jew els are tu rn e d our crysta l tears.1 th in k o f th e e ’till th y blossom s sweet,

L ike perfum es rare o ’er my life are flung;And m y sp ir i t a language learns to repeat,

T h a t n ev er trem bled on m ortal tongue.O, g lorious th o u g h t , t h a t our loved, not lost,

M ay som etim es to u ch e a r th ’s atm osphere;T h e ir boa ts have only anchored first,

Across th e wav w here the skies are clear,W ith a beau tifu l bridge th e stream is spanned,

And o ’er it our loved ones come and go;W e c a n n o t tell, ye t wc understand,

W hen th e ir presence touches these lines below.IC’er lo n g I know, when the days are long,

W h en th e sunsets glory has touched the hill,I will h e a r the notes of an angel song,

And m y sp irit with new found joy wall thrill; D ear friends m ay weep when I go away,

W h en I cross th e tide of a stranger sea,P u t I shall tu rn back some golden day,

And m y cherished friends shall follow me.

N E W T H O U Ci IL1 .

EDITORS PORTFOLIO.

CLOSE O F T H E V O L U M E .

4 y e a r has dragged its s low leng th along, and volume )Nli 0{ the present ser ies of N ew T h o u g h t is closed. While the proprietors are no t by any m eans asham ed of their work, they have no t m a d e thjp vo lume which closes with this number all t h e y in t e n d e d it should have been. They think, however , t h a t every subscr iber has been satisfied; and th a t m a n y of t h e m will join the ir a rmy of subscribers for a n o th e r year .

It may be a li t t le d i sap p o in t in g to our readers to tell (hern that volume two will n o t begin until October , there are several r ea so n s for this, only one of which need here be given; t h a t is, t h e propr ie to rs are both en ­gaged in c a m p meet ing , t h e senior every day and the junior much of the t im e unt i l pas t the middle of S e p ­tember. T h e m a c h in e ry of the inst i tut ion is not yet so organized t h a t we can look af te r it and do cam p m e e t ­ing work every day, nor have we the t ime just now to adjust m a t t e r s as we would like. W e therefore think it best to suspend th ro u g h the “ hea ted t e r m . ” At the close of s u m m e r we will begin again and for one dollar will give you tw elve n u m b e rs as good, to say the least, as the pas t twelve n u m b e rs have been.

T h e sen io r p a r t n e r of the firm has already an article of near two h u n d re d pages p repared for the next volumeon * * | p a n the Mediumist ie is tin* bes t thing th a t has

I leroine of ( ) r leans,” w Inch ever yet emana ted lroiu his

penMany Ollier Rood tilings arc already written or in in­

cuba t ion for the next twelve numbers.Several of the best and most earnest workers in the

cause have promised us thei r portrai ts and sketches of

FALLACIES OF LEGAL TENDER MONEY AND THE CO-OPERATIVE LABOR EXCHANGE,

Is tlie T itle o f a N ew B ook J u st I ssu e d byW . A T H O M A S ,'• P R l C c , P O S T P A I D , 2 5 c .' *Hen is a book that will go into the By-ways as well

as the High-ways, a book written for the masses. It contains the gist of the Reform question, and appeals to the heart as well as to the head. Co-operation of the Shylocks has placed us in Bondage. Co-operation of the Masses through the Labor Exchange, will lead us out into the broad High-way of Freedom and Indepen­dence. This book shows why the various Labor Or­ganizations have failed, and how they are to be unified and made to conserve one another’s interests; how every man and every woman may become the architects of their own fortune, by having the benefit of all they pro­duce. The author is a deep thinker, a broad and liberal man who has taught in the Public School with marked success during the past ten years. He believes and teaches that “all men and women are brothers and sis­ters, children of one and the same Father.”

------TABbB o f c o n t e n t s :------C h ap te r I. F a llac ies o f leg a l t e n d e r m oney .C h ap te r II . B anks and p r iv a te in d iv id u a ls own an d con tro l our

m edium o f exchange .C h ap te r I I I . T h e c red it system .C hap ter IV . B onded debts.C h ap te r V. G u ern sey m a rk e t house.C hap te r V I. L ab o r ex ch an g e .C h ap te r V II . L abor ex ch an g e .C h ap te r V I I I . T h e R efo rm , we need.C hap ter IX . In i t ia t iv e an d R efe ren d u m . *C h ap te r X . E d u ca tio n .C h ap te r X I . F ro m th e reg ions o f e te rn a l d a rk n ess to th e region

o f e te rn a l sunsh ine .A ddress a ll o rd e rs to

W . A. T H O M A S,p . O. Bo*, 601, E l IvEn s b u r g , W a sh .