The Sunday Oregonian., August 09, 1908, Magazine Section, Page 2, Image 44

THE SUNDAY OREGOXIAS, PORTLAND, AUGUST 9, 1903.
y famous msum
DISTINGUISHED If CIENTLTTT !
WHO ARE BRINGING TflEIRl
HIGHLY TRAINED MIMD
TO BEAK ON THE
ABSORBING AND OVSR-
SHADOWING QUESTION
OF AN AFTEH LIFE
r
'8 THERE a spirit-land? Today, many
of the world's moit famous scientists
men who have contributed to the
good and ' advancement of mankind In
countless ways are bringing 'their highly
trained minds to bear on the" great, ab
sorbing and overshadowing question of
an after life. Not to run over the list
exhaustively, Sir Oliver Lodge and Sir
William Crookes. England's leading men
of science; Camllle Flammarion and Pro
' 'feasor Simon Ncwcomb, the noted French
and American astronomers, respectively;
Professor William James, this country's
best known psychologist; Dr. Robert
Koch, discoverer of the germ of tubercu
losis; Roentgen, of X-ray fame; Behrlng.
contributor to mankind of the diphtheria
' serum; Schlaperelll, discoverer of the
: canals of Mars; , Cesare Lombroso, the
criminologist these are a handful of the
more famous of the world's present corps
of highly trained scientific thinkers who
are engaged from time to time in investl-
gating scientifically, as far as such a
thing is possible, this question of a future
existence.
Everything that Is capable of being
placed under the term psychical receives
tha keen scrutiny of these eminent
searchers for a hereafter. That' Is, they
. consider everything occult their proper
field of research, at the present state of
the search. And so It Is no unusual thing
for this or that great man, whose epoch
making discoveries have resulted from
the coldest sort of reasoning, to attend
secret spiritualistic seances, to frequent
clairvoyance parlors, to show keen in-
' terest In the latest stories of telepathy,
and. yes. even to give serious attention
and a lot of valuable time to Investigate
' ing a ghost Incident reported to a society
of psychical research in which he has
membership.
Generally speaking, the sclentlst
aearchers for a spirit-land have been
' led to make their Investigations of psy
chic phenomena through the well-known
scientific dictum that it Is the duty of
science to explain the unexplainable.
whenever and wherever possible. - The
things called psychic phenomena may or
may not be material evidence of the ex
! Istence of a future state; ye.t. when a
noted man of science begins his research
tn this comparatively new field for his
kind ha becomes, perforce, a. searcher
after the splrlt-land.
. .
It Is Interesting to. note the present re-
suits of their investigations on the minds
of the men making them, Camille Flam
marion has conducted researches in
psychic phenomena for 45 years. Usual
ly, he has made his investigations in- the
company ofother noted scientists, some
.tlmes with the aid of such well-balanced
laymen v as the late Bully-Prudhomme,
and? Infrequently, alone. Some time since
he disavowed any belief In spiritualism,
and yet he has placed himself on record
as believing that all scientific investiga
tors of spiritualism have not been made
the dupes of the mediums. What then?
Right here the eminent astronomer halts,
declaring that man's knowledge Is not
yet sufficient to explain these phenomena
which his Investigations have caused him
to hold to be realities.
This, broadly speaking, is the attitude
of Schlaperelll- and Lombroso, of Beh-
ring and Koch. Professor James has
stated that he has discovered from time
tt time In his psychical research things
strangely real. x Sir William Crookes has
expressed rather guardedly his' belief in
the existence of spirits and their abil
ity to communicate with mortals. But as
for Sir Oliver Lodge, he has boldly an
nounced to the world that "communica
tions were received from the dead in se
cret and exhaustive tests" which he and
other members of the Society for Psy
chical Research conducted. '
"Not easily or early do we make this
admission," said Sir Oliver. "In spite
of long conversations with what pur
ports to be the surviving intelligence of
these friends and Investigators,- we were
by no means convinced of their iden
tity by more general conversation,
even when It was of a friendly and In
timate character, such as in ordinary
cases would have been considered amply
sufficient for Identification of friends
peaking, say, through the telephone or
typewriter. We required definite and cru
cial proof, a proof difficult to Imagine
as well as difficult to supply. The os
tensible communicators realize the need
of such proof as fully as we do and have
done their best to satisfy the rational
mind. Some of us think they succeeded.
Others are still doubtful."
This was the statement that recently
astonished an England, coming, as it
d a. from so world-famous a man of
science. Perhaps, as the venerable Gold
win Smith suggests. Sir Oliver, "great
In his own line," has been duped tn this.
And perhaps At any rate. Sir Oliver
not excepting, Camilla Flammarion Is
probably spending more time investigat
ing psychic phenomena than any other
scientist who Includes this among his
other recognized fields of endeavor.
Sir Oliver has long been a leading
spirit in the English Society for Psychi
cal Research, founded to Investigate al
leged material manifestations of another
life and numbering numerous scientists
and laymen among Its members. It was
through his efforts that a national psyr
chlcal observatory was founded In Kng
- land for the scientific investigation of all
piychlcal subjects, and under his direc
tion the observatory's work has been
largely carried out. His Interest In psy
chical matters goes back to hia student
days, when he met and became a friend
of F.'W. H. Myers, known in England
before his death as a critic, poet, psy
chologist and spiritualist. Sir Oliver,
who was then, as he if now. enthusiastic
on the subject of scientific research, saw
in the occult a splendid field for scientific
Investigation, and from that day until re
could begin research under what he con
sidered the most favorable circumstances,
he never lost sight of his desire to look
scientifically into the subject.
Since the death of his friend Myers,
which occurred In 1901. Sir Oliver has
been more than ever Interested In this
Tirf?rviii
J2TtfflT .HON. -ADTHUR
SIR.
OLIVER.
WHO J2tEJLJEVS i7
.HAS NICATED
WITH. aPIRITS .
psychic labor. Myers had longed to
prove communication of spirits with per
sons still in the flesh. To this end. Just
before he died he left with certain
friends a sealed package containing some
writing by him, with instructions not to
break the seal and read the contents un
til he. as a spirit, had revealed half of
the writing to one medium and half to
still another medium. Each half was to
be unintelligible until combined with the
other, when the writing in the package
would be made plain. One of the friends
to whom the package was intrusted was
Sir Oliver. Lodge, who has declared that
Its contents were seemingly revealed In
the way that the dead man had planned.
At any rate, he could ascertain no fraud
In the revelation; still, as a man of sci
ence, he could not hold that this was
proof of the existence of a spirit world,
and since the occurrence of this Incident
his research for splrlt-land might be
called monumental. In this search he
has not lagged, as have many scientific
men; on the contrary, his quest seems to
gain xest as the bald spot on the crown
of his head spreads down toward his
neck.
When all is said and done, it was only
through accident a fortunate one. In
deed, for the world that Sir Oliver be
came a man of science. The son of an
English pottery manufacturer he threw
aside his books and set about to learn
his father's trade when he was 17. For
several mbnths he kept at the work, with
no thought of ever going back to his
studies. Then, one day, in an idle mo
ment, he picked up an old book from a
desk. began reading casually, then with
absorption; and' when he put the book
down It was with the determination to
become a scientist. The book he read
was "The English Mechanic." and from
It he gained his first definite idea that
there was such a thing as a scientific
world.
With his initial savings Sir Oliver
began his self-education as a scientist.
He purchased scientific books and pored
over them assiduously whenever his
duties In the factory . would permit
and sometimes when they wouldn't. He
made all manner of amateur experiments
In chemistry and physics: he became com
pletely wrapped up.in his scientific" pur
pose; and his father; despairing ofre-.
awakening his soa's Interest in pottery
making, let him go to London as a stu
dent In the University College. . '
Lodge was 30 when he .began his real
life's work as a teacher of sqlence in Liv
erpool. His position as hat of profes
sor of physics In the University College.
There he remained fok 19 years, during
which period he built up his 'world-wide
reputation as an authority In mechanics,
electricity and other provinces of science.
Electricity has been his specialty, as Is
pretty generally known; but it is not so
well known that long before Marconi and
other wireless wizards flashed above the
scientific horizon. Sir Oliver Lodge con
ducted extensive experiments looking
towards wireless telegraphy. Electro-magnetic
waves, the basis of wireless teleg
raphy, were practically Jointly discovered
-1
i -
N
bV1
A
. 02OBEri2T JKOCH AND "WIFJJ.
by him and Herts, working independently;
and because of this and his subsequent in
vestigations. Sir Oliver has been called
the father of wireless ielegTaphy, though,
of course, the world probably will never
couple his name with that of Marconi.
Today. Sir Oliver, at the age of 57 ten
der years for one who has accomplished
so much In the name 05 science 4s the
head of the comparatively new University
of Birmingham, which has the backing of
Joseph Cliamberlain, his money and his
wide influence. Though chartered less
than 10 years ago, this educational plant,
under the leadership of Sir Oliver, Is car
rying on scientlilc and technical work on
a far larger scale than any other British
seat of learning. Two years after he be
gan to show his executive ability as uni
versity president he was knighted, an
honor which Sir Oliver took modestly, as
he ever has the praise of the scientific
world, which often has had occasion Jp
praise him liberally.
Personally, no "big" man could be more
pleasant to meet. He not only .attracts
by his modesty; he also has a winning
smiie. and kindliness sits in every line of
his face. Physically, he is patterned after
the giants, standing six feet four, and he
has taken such good care of himself that
he still possesses most of the really phe
nomenal strength for which he was fa
mous among the cronies of his youthful
days. He attributes much of his success
in life to his physical endurance; for it
has enabled him Mo carry on prolonged
research that would have exhausted the
average man early in such a task.
ilis frienda in this country are practic
ally as numerous as the people he has
met; In his native land there is no scien
tist more popular, ' and both because of
this and his position as a scientist any
thing that he says publicly regarding his
search for a Bpirlt-land is listened to with
great respect by the body of the people.
Sir Oliver's popularity at home rests on
his ability to explain abstruse scientific
subjects popularly, and his willingness to
do so.
.-
Universally recognised as the premier
chemist of the British Empire, Sir Will
lam Crookes of late years has attracted
considerable attention to himself by his
search for a splrlt-land.' Indeed, this
search has become a sort of hobby with
him. and he goes to, no end of trouble
to look into the slightest so-called psychic
(3
4.
phenomena. In the hope that thereby he
may be brought a step nearer towards the
ultimate solution of the great problem he
has set before himself in the eighth de
cade of his life. From time to time Sir
William has made public statements re
garding his Investigations-, and all Eng
land, ae .in the case of Sir Oliver Lodge,
listens attentively, even when the great
chemist hints at the probability of com
munication with the dad.
For almost half a century Great Britain
in fact, the entire scientific world has
been giving serious heed to the. pro
nouncements of Sir William Crookes.
He made his Initial scientific hit when
he, Informed mankind of the discovery
of a new element, thallium, which he
had come across in residue from a- sul
phuric acid works. A little later he
announced It as his belief that many of
the so-called elements were capable of
being broken down into other elemen
tal substances: and time has amply
proved the correctness of this then
somewhat revolutionary theory. The
radiometer, measuring the intensity of
solar radiations, is S(r William's in
vention. So is the celebrated Crookes
tube, for lighting; and so is one of the
approved present-day methods of treat
ing gold ore. In short, his important
contributions to the learning and com
fort of the world have been too numer
ous to mention here. J ..
Though he is not generally given the
credit of being one of its Inventors
Just as Sir Oliver Lodge's name is not
popularly connected with wireless tel
egraphy still it is Hrue that Sir Wil
liam was one of the fathers of electric
lighting. His was the first house in
London to be so lighted; and his were
the hands that strung the wires ' and
made the lamps. The filaments in these
lamps were of cellulose, ' treated in a
strong solution known only to the in
ventor; and ten years after he had be
gun using them - they were still giving
light, every one of them. Sir William,
however, was doomed to disappoint
ment in connection with this lamp it
was never put on the market, various
lawsuits among inventors of other elec
tric lights discouraging him in his orig
inal intention of marketing the light.
His friends say that the one regret of
Sir Wllliams life has been the world's
inability to behold in him one of its
pioneers in electric illumination.
Knighted five years before Sir Oliver
Lodge. Sir William has spent practic
ally his entire life in scientific research.
m
m
m
"C2AM-ILLE
As ' a bov In "knee pants" he thus
busied himself. When he was. 17 at
which ago'Sir Oliver Lodge first learned
of the existence of the world of science,
he captured an Important college schol
arship in the Royal College of Chemis
try; and two years before he reached
his majority he mapped out for himself
the course of research that eventually
led him to make many of his. most im
portant discoveries. He was, in short,
a boy wonder. Today some of his emi
nent fellow-workers are wondering
why he has taken up so seriously his
investigation for a spirit-land. To
them fcir William has made this reply:
"Tto stop short in any research that bids
fair to widen the gates of knowledge, to
recoil from fear of difficulty or adverse
criticism, is to bring reproach upon sci
ence." This belief,' says Sir William, has
given him strength to enter upon all the
various research work with which his
name has been connected for five dec
ades. t t
Because of his international fame as
a psychologist. Professor William James
is this country's most famous investigator
for a spirit-land, though, doubtless, he
is not giving as much time to this species
of research as art some other well-known
Americans, for example. Professor James
H Hyslop, of Columbia University and
secretary of the American Society for
Psychical Research. James frankly ad
mits that he has gone into the study of
spiritualism and other so-called psychic
phenomena in the hope that he may find
a truth or a theory that will help man
kind to lead a higher life. "To- find a
balm for men's souls," Is the way he
has put it. To this end he has attended
seances and made other numerous investi
gations; and, speaking of seances he
says that while much that was said by
the mediums was worthless, being a mere
Jumble of words, yet other things that
were said seemed strangely real. For
this reason he Is continuing his research
until such time as he is able to determine
whether these strangely real things were
said by the merest ' chance, or whether
through them a clue may be found that
will lead to the discovery of the balm for
men's souls."
Though h deals In one of the most
abstruse branches of learning known to
men Professor James, according to his
old 'students, has the happy faculty of
making, himself clearly understood. (By
the way, this Is a reputation not pos
sessed in a noticeably large degree by
his famous brother, Henry, the novel
ist.) Unlike a great many very erudite
men', he dearly delights in having his
auditors question his theories and argue
with him. - He has acknowledged this to
be one of the things that made his active
years as professor at Harvard a real
pleasure to him. But once, -when he gave
a course of lectures at. Leland Stanford
university, the class swallowed his
theories without a protest, and the Pro
fessor genial soul that he generally is,
lets his cloud up when he recalls the
Incident. '
James, to the Initiated, Is the daddy
of pragmatism, . which he himself has
described as "a new game for some old
ways or inlnKlng," tne average man
taking his word for it. He is also the
inventor of the laboratory of physiolog
ical psychology. Today this . mode of
studying psychology In connection with
physiological experiments on frogs and
other animals. Is In vogue in most of the
colleges of the land. The laboratory at
Harvard Is the best equipped of its kind
in the world, though when James found
ed It. it consisted of some very simple
jiff
CEOOKES.
MOST
.EMINENT
CHEMIST
T-LAWMAEION tQj
WHO HAS BEEN INVfiiJ.i- ,
(SATING PSYCHIC
.EHENOfrlEHA. TOE. 45"
apparatus and a half dozen or so frogs.
James, by the way, is an interesting
example of a highly successful man who
did not find his true field of endeavor
until after he had tried several things
else. First he determined on a nat
uralist's life and went so far as to accom
pany Louts Agasslz on one of his deep
sea expeditions, - but when he returned
home James announced that he couldn't
be a naturalist the names of fishes and
other naturalistic stuff with which he
came in contact were too difficult to re
member, he said. Then he turned to
medicine and took his degree, and not
until after he had taught anatomy and
physiology at Harvard for several years
did he get started In the line of work
through which his fame has come. He
lacked two years of being 40 before he
struck his gait; he Is now 68.
W. F. Barrett, professor of physics at
the Royal College of Sciji!e, Dublin, and
a former assistant to the late Professor
Tyndall, has been a consistent seeker for
evidence of a splrlt-land since the day,
26 years ago, when he helped to found the
English Society for Psychical Research.
Like Sir Oliver Lodge and Sir William
Crookes, he Is a former president of the
society, which also numbers among its
former heads and psent active mem
bers the Right Honorable Arthur James
Balfour, sometime Premier of the British
Empire. Lord Raylelgh Is another promi
nent English seeker after possible evi
dence of a future life; In the world of
science he has been a big figure since thfc
WHITE CUFFS SANITARY
PROM an aesthetic point ot view the
cuff seems to be an Indispensable
part of the clothing of the neatly and
cleanly dressed Individual. This assumes,
of course, that the cuff is clean and
spotless. Bacteriological refinements are
often dismissed by many people as Inad
missible In the common applications of
life, but the exhibition of a dirty or even
frayed cuff is commonly held to be the
mark of sloveliness and dirt or as an
Indication that the Individual has lost
all regard for his cleanly appearance and
condition. There can be no doubt at all
that when the cuff picks' up. as It Is
prone to do, dirt from the counter, desk
or table, it picks up also a multitude of
micro-organisms.
Dirt so far may be welcomed, inasmuch
as It Indicates an unsanitary state of af
fairs. There is. therefore, a very strong
scientific argument in. favor of the wear
ing of materials which readily exhibit
the signs of soiling. The white dress,
the drills and the ducks must necessarily
be cleaned at regular Intervals, because
they look unsightly or are an offence to
the eye. The demand of the eye thus
encourages the preservation of the hy
gienic state.' It Is so also with the cuff.
No man with any respect for himself
can wear a dirty cuff, and by keeping his
cuffs religiously clean or Vby changing
them frequently he is reducing his
chances of coming into intimate contact
with a collection of bacteriological enti
tles. The adoption of "dark goods" or
of "those materials whicil do not show
dirt may therefore be regarded as a
retrograde step, for it. Is obvious that
such materials muBt get soiled Just as
much as do those which easily show tha
defilement. They, however, are not so
frequently cleansed, because there is no
J&OENT&SN, OF
THETAMOUS CRIMINOLOGIST
late seventies, his- specialty being phys
ics. Professor Simon Nowcomb Is a for
mer president of the oragnlzed research
ers in this country
Here Professor James H. Hyslop is un
doubtedly the moat prominent of the
psychical researchers; he nae got Into
the full glare of the litne-llte from time
to time by hls various announcements
that he has held communications with the
spirits of departed friends. Also, his posi
tion as secretary of the American Society
for Psychkal Research lias frequently
brought hlS Into the public eye.
Professor Hyslop's career as a college
teacher goes back to the eighties. At
present he is pi ofessor of logic and ethics
at Columbia, from which important post
various successful efforts have been mads
to oust him by persons njt at all In love
with hls.connection with psychical mat
ters. Here, then, is an appreciable quota of
the world's leading thinkers most of
them scientists seeking more, or less
fervently for possible evidences of the
existence of a splrlt-land. Some of them
have many years before them in which
to continue their research; others are
drawing to the close of life. Will any 6ne
of them succeed In obtaining, evidence
that will scientifically establish the exist
ence of a failure life? Or will all of them
pass beyond, leaving us In as great dark
nessexcept for faith as that In which
we now walk?
(Copyright, IWiS, by the Associated Lit
erary Press.)
offence to the eye, even after several
days' wear, and thus dirt Is allowed to
accumulate. When a "man finds It con
venient tp wear colored shirts and cuffs
he means in reality that he can carry
dirt for a little longer without giving
offence than if he wore a spotlessly
white material, or at all events a ma
terial whioh readily exhibits .the smear
or dirt or grease.
The washing bill Is of course reduced
and the terrors diminished of the disin
tegrating, process which la Involved In
an oft-repeated visit to the Isundry.
Lastly, It may be mentioned thut from
the point of view of hygienic demand
the colored handkerchief is an abomina
tion when Its color Is merely adopted In
order to avoid frequent washing. Ixn
don Lancet.
Ob, the Summer!
Isabel Ecclesone McKay, in Ainl6e's.
Oh. the Summer! Glowing, blowing
Flowers in the sun!
Oh. the warmth and awetneM, knowing
That the Winter's done!
Spring is Jut behind ua, dying.
Autumn Just before, and flying.
Flying are the days no sighing
Can recall ua one!
Oh. the Slimmer! The swift breaking
Of the early dawo
Comes the udden sun, awaking
All It breathes upon!
Sweet the bob-o-Iink's clear calling.
Sweet, oh. aweet the lark'a note failing
Through the blue, the day lnetalling
With the rite of aong!
Oh. the Summer! The long fading
Of the laggard light!
Crimson, gold and purple ahadlng
Slowly Into night
Where the earth and aky are meeting
Day and dark exchange soft greetings.
Sweetest in their flight!
Perfect momenta! Fleeting, fleeting.
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