Occult, Psychic and Spiritual Realms - The Emma Hardinge Britten ...

PSYCHICAL RESEARCH
SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA
Paper read by Chas. L. Hyde, of Pierre, South Dakota, U. S. A., before the South
Dakota Academy of Science, at the Annual Meeting in Huron, South Dakota,
U.S. A., October, 1922.
This is in no sense a theological discussion; Philosophy and Theology may quarrel
but Science is not vitally concerned with either Philosophy nor Theology except
to ascertain what are the actual facts contained in their theories.
Throughout all history, psychic phenomena has been before the peoples of the
world demanding a hearing, but only of recent times, have great minds of the scientific
field of thought, cared o-r dared to- take it up for serious consideration.
A little more than fifty years ago, there appeared on the scene, a young man,
Daniel Dunglas Home, whom many have termed the most wonderful of all physical
phenomena generators of modern times.
This person, of rather delicate and frail physique, had a competency come to
him, and while desirous of demonstrating the truth and reality of phenomena he
developed, he persistently refused to accept at any time, any money consideration
for such demonstrations as he gave; this relieved him of much of the censure that
otherwise would have followed him; being a person of education, culture and refinement,
he was taken into many homes of high repute and gave demonstrations in
many of the royal palaces and governmental homes throughout Europe, where the
possibility of fraud was greatly lessened; men of scientific and literary attainments
were invited to these demonstrations among them Sir William Crookes, one of the
World's most noted Scientists, who was so impressed by the phenomena he saw, that
he undertook a thorough and careful investigation of the subject.
In the years 1871-1872 and 1873, Sir William Crookes, devoted much D'f his time
to this subject; he took Mr. Home, also a remarkable young girl psychic, Florence
Cook, and other psychics, at different times, into his home, where they lived for days
and weeks at a time with his family, and where possible elements of fraud would
be most easily detected, as well as most difficult to promulgate; he invited in many
of his scientific friends and associaJtes to witness the demonstrations and every
possible effort was made to detect fraud or prevent illusion.
In 1874 Sir William made public announcement of his conclusions and findings,
which at that time required even more moral courage than it would today, which
most of us know is not small, for the creeds of' theology and especially, the great
Catholic church, have ever seemed ready to attack from every possible angle, such
scientific discovery as they thought interferred with their theories of salvation and
education.
His . conclusions were full and complete acceptance of the reality of the wonderful
phenomena of levitation of the human body and other material objects, without contact,
and of the yet more wonderful phenomena of materialization and of communication
with spirit intelligencies.
About this time came the investigations of Professor Robert Hare, D'f the University
of Pennsylvania, a graduate of both Yale and Harvard, who afterwards became
the author of "Spiritualism Scientifically Demonstrated," his report, covering 450
pages, was complete and so brilliant a writer as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, commenting
upon it, says in one of his books: "I say deliberately that from the hour of the Hare
report, there has been no excuse for the human race refusing to recognize the reality
of psychic phenomena, and it has been nothing but ignorance and prejudice, with the
constant misrepresentations of those who should have been its leaders, which has
stood in the way of this greatest of revelations."
Prof. Hare gave many details and his report was most convincing to those who
could read it without prejudice, or who were more interested in ascertaining facts
than in substantiating preconceived theories .
.Soon after this, another very great man of science, Dr. Alfred Russell Wallace,
co-discoverer with Charles Darwin of the origin of species, devoted his time and
thought for a time almost exclusively to the investigation of this subject.
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