Spirit Detectives and Human Violence
By Editor
Delvers in the spirit realms, clairvoyants, seers, psychics, message readers, and visionists in every section of the country have offered their services in the quest of the dynamiters of the Times plant in Los Angeles. It is said that some have described the dynamiters, their traits, temperaments, and mannerisms. Their haunts have been told by others, and their friends, relatives, and associations. Their every-day lives have been depicted so true to type that the detectives, who through material routes had previously gained the same information, were moved to wonder and amazement. We would not be surprised if these “spirit detectives” should lead to the very lair of these criminals be they hiding, and be able to expose in detail the plan and plot which led to the explosion of the bomb in the Times office. But we do seriously question whether such “revelation” would come from a divine source; not that God is disinterested in the awful crime that has been committed and the conviction of its cowardly perpetrators; but He permits the outworking of human motives which are in rebellion to His holy law, to show what such rebellion will lead to in the violence, and crime, and bloodshed that are witnessed throughout the whole earth. Trouble which has grown out of the lynching and burning at the stake of Antonio Rodriguez, a Mexican who murdered the wife of an American ranchman, is demonstrated in outbreaks of violence toward Americans, and insults to the American flag, in Mexico City, Guadalajara, and elsewhere. Many of the United States citizens, becoming alarmed, have fled across the border. Two have been killed in mob outbreaks; and altho the Mexican government is preserving order in the metropolis, reports of mob violence from rural towns come in. A pathetic sight is that caused by the garment workers’ strike in Chicago when more than 2,000 men, women, and children stood in a long line at the office of the treasurer of the local union awaiting the weekly sum allowed during the lock-out. Hundreds of strikers crowded every approach of the building, awaiting a chance to get into line, while crying children clung to their mothers’ dresses. Eight Christians have been killed in a native outbreak against foreigners on the west coast of Gulf Davao, South Bolton, according to cable despatches received at the War Department from Major-General Pershing, commanding the military forces in the Philippines. Military protection has been asked, and it is thought now that the situation is not serious. At Saginaw, Michigan, twenty have died of a most virulent form of smallpox within a month, and forty-five other victims are lying at the point of death. The mayor has issued a proclamation closing all theaters, schools, churches, and other public meeting places, in an effort to check the spread of the disease. Secretary of War Jacob M. Dickinson, following his return from a tour of the world, announced that while in Europe he had purchased fifty aeroplanes for the use of the United States Government in the event of war. The representatives of thirty-seven nations at the International Prison Congress recently held in Washington announce their unanimous opinion that the probation system in dealing with criminals is right and wise. United States Senator Alexander Stephens Clay died suddenly of heart disease November 13, at Atlanta, Georgia. Governor Hoke Smith may be chosen for the seat made vacant by Senator Clay’s death. Imperial Valley in this state is yielding a great cotton crop, many tracts producing one and one half to two bales to the acre. The cotton is of fine fiber, and brings top price. Six gins are at work. Sixteen lives are reported lost November 3, in a cyclone which raged along the coast of Italy, north of Naples, as far as the Gulf of Genoa.