UPHOLDS REALITY OF PSYCHIC EXPERIENCE

"No one who has been confronted with the evidences of psychic phenomena can say that there is no case for investigation," declared Professor William Mc Dougall of the department of psychology at a meeting of the Graduate Schools Society in Phillips Brooks House yesterday afternoon.

He then described the various types of phenomena known as psychic. He said in part: "The first group,-- physical phenomena includes rappings, strange voices, the movement of inanimate objects "hauntings" and other outward manifestations of the supernatural--all the things, in other words, which constitute the stock in trade of an ordinary spiritualistic medium.

Ectoplasm May Lead to Discovery

"Although fraudulence has been proved in many cases, there have been instances of seemingly genuine phenomena. Most authorities still agree that there is a case for investigation. The latest and most fashionable phenomena are those dealing with ectoplasm. It is a subject which has startled some of the most cold blooded investigators. Ectoplasm is the name given to the apparition of some vague white substance, which seems to exude from the body of the medium and then to assume shapes recognizable as the images of deceased persons. Investigation may reveal a new form of trickery or it may put us on the track of the discovery of some new biological theory.

"The second class of phenomena is sharply discriminated from the first. It deals with mental rather than physical manifestations,--which may best be described as the transfer of messages without the ordinary means of sense communication. There have been many famous mediums who have possessed this power., There is one, estimable lady still living in Boston, who while in a trance revealed the most extraordinary knowledge, which seemed to come from some deceased person. Both by hand and voice she was able to transmit messages seeming to come with certainty from persons no longer in the flesh.

Spirit Messages a Most Debated Point

"In explaining this type of phenomenon, there comes a rift in the ranks of the psychic investigators. Some believe that these messages come from the souls of the deceased in the next world. Others, the more rational group, believe that such messages are due rather to the subconscious transmission of thought from the mind of one living person to that of another. The first theory is known as the spiritualistic, the second as the telepathic.

"Both theories may be applied to the same psychic phenomenon; a mother for example, awakes from a dream with the terrifying realization that her son has been drowned in a shipwreck. According to the spiritualist, the soul of the dead man passes over head and conveyed the impression; according to the telepathist, a strong impression in the mind of the drowning man the moment before his death, is communicated to the mind of his mother, thousands of miles away by telepathic thought transference.

"It was to discover how many members of Harvard University had undergone such experiences of 'thought transference' and 'veridical dreams' that the recent questionnaire was sent out to 1500 students. Of that number, nearly 600 replied, and 800 declared that they had undergone telepathic experiences.

"It is our hope to approach these gentleman, and with their cooperation obtain evidence which will help to establish the telepathic theory."