SPIRIT VOICE

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 3940, 25 March 1930, Page 2

SPIRIT VOICE

"HEARD” BY 1,000

That the “spirit voice” of a dead man had been broadcast, and heard by a thousand people in a distant hall, was claimed by Dr Crandon, the American husband of the English medium, “Margery,” both of whom arc now on holiday in England, says the ‘ Daily Telegraph.’

The “voice” which is often heard at “Margery’s” seances is claimed to be that of her dead brother, Walter. Stimson, Dr Crandon explained. All possibility of the “voice” proceeding from “ Margery ” herself is declared to be precluded by the use of what is known as the “ Richardson voice cnt-ont.” This is a glass “U” tube, partly filled with water, and so connected with the mouth of the medium that any movement of the tongue or lips will at once be indicated by a fall in the level of water in one brancli of the tube. Sometimes, added Dr Crandon, “Walter’s” voice appears to come from as far as 30ft away from the sitters. On the occasion of the broadcast, it was picked up by microphones, amplified, and clearly 7 hoard by the audience in the hall.

“ ‘ Walter ’ sometimes treats mo very badly,” said Dr Crandon. “He refers to me as* ‘ it,’ and many other things equally disrespectful—so much so. in fact, that I have come to be known as the door-mat!”

“ Walter,” he continued, “ has provided what seems to be a clue to that existence of personality after death on which the Crandons base their investigations. He points out that when a man passes out of a small room into a big one he does not after. He is just the same man, with more space to move about in. That, he says, is what happens after death. ‘ ‘We are visiting England primarily on a holiday, and have no intention of submitting Vo any tests or of courting any sensation,” went on Dr Crandon. “Sensational demonstrations are, indeed, utterly opposed to the whole purpose and nature of our work. We are not concerned with ‘ spiritualism ’ in the commonly accepted sense of the word. Our object is scientific psychical research, and that, like all scientific research, is a matter of much work and even drudgery.” “ Of what possible practical value,” he asked, “could be the verdict of any investigating body—however high its individual qualifications—if that verdict was based on the very limited experience to be gained by attending two or three seances? Could such a body visit Edison’s laboratory or the physical laboratories at Cambridge and come away claiming to understand all that they had seen there, and able to pass judgment upon it after one day?” Tlie proper understanding of their psychical research was, he said, a full life’s work, necessitating years of experience and a complete knowledge of every step. Even they themselves, to whom seances were so familiar as to have became almost a part of everyday life, understood but little. Phenomena occurred; but they could not explain why or how. Perhaps at some future time these things might be understood and explicable in the light of some metaphysical law unknown today. At present, however, they were content to study the phenomena without inquiring too deeply into their cause.

Asked whether they had had any experience of those evil forces—“ elementals ” and the like—often referred to by spiritualists, Dr Crandon said that they had only encountered apparently good forces. “But.” he added,' “the Roman Catholic Church is very right in its attitude towards spiritualism. It is not a thing to dabble in, and is best left alone. Unless a man is very levelheaded, and has both feet flat on the ground, firmly and wide apart, spiritualism is apt to prove very disturbing. “Our circle at home consists of very level-headed people, with minds of the most material kind. It includes among its members doctors, engineers, chemists, and business men.”