Kansas Physician Confirms Howard Report

[TradeName]

Lees Hosts Anti-Vivisection Meetings

The Animal's Defender and Zoophilist, Volumes 14-15, February 1, 1895, Pages 137-138
by National Anti-Vivisection Society (Great Britain)


HOME INTELLIGENCE.

LONDON.

The Peckham and Dulwich Society held its annual conference on Friday, 22nd January, in the handsome drawing-room of the People's League, High Street, Peckham. There was a very large attendance of members and friends of the Cause. Bishop Mitchinson, the President, who was to have taken the chair, having been prevented, Robert Lees, Esq. (of the People's League), very kindly consented to do so. The Chairman gave a strong and vigorous opening address. Mrs. Herbert Philips (of Manchester), who, being in London, had kindly offered to be present, then read a most interesting paper in which she gave a historical sketch of Vivisection, touching eloquently upon all its main features. She was followed by Mrs. Henry Lee, who gave a very effective address. After this questions were invited and answered. Miss Sanders, Mr. Lester Reed, Mr. Cyril M. Drew, Mr. Westcott, Mr. John Chare, and Mr. Rundell also spoke. A unanimous vote of thanks was given to Mrs. Herbert Philips, and the conference ended with an enthusiasm which promises well for the work of the present year.


March 1, 1895, Page 149


HOME INTELLIGENCE.

LONDON.

A numerously-attended public meeting was held, by the kind permission and assistance of Mr. R. J. Lees, in the People's Hall, Peckham, on Monday evening, Feb. 11th. Dr. Edward Haughton acted as the Chairman. Addresses having been delivered by the Rev. R. C. Fillingham, Mrs. Henry Lee, Mr. B. Bryan and Mr. Arthur Westcott, the following resolution was agreed to without dissent :—"That vivisection is unjustifiable on moral grounds, cruel, and practically resultless to humanity, and ought to be prohibited."—Mr. R. J. Lees proposed a vote of thanks to the Chairman and speakers, and it was heartily agreed to.

[sleekviper]

Hello Stephen!
Sorry that I missed this until now, I was being sarcastic about his claims of Ripper visions, sorry.

[TradeName]

Lees Fined for Want of License

He doesn't seem to have received any special consideration from the police.

The Law Journal, Volume 30, March 2, 1895, Pages 146-147

PLACES OF PUBLIC ENTERTAINMENT.

Recently the London County Council made an onslaught on dancing academies. Last week it proceeded against concert-rooms of the People’s League, and on February 15, at Lambeth Police Court, Mr. Robert James Lees was summoned before Mr. Hopkins for having kept open the Central Hall, High Street, Peckham, as a. room of public resort, for the purpose of public music, without having obtained the grant of a certificate in writing under the seal of the London County Council (contrary to 41 & 42 Vict. c. 32).--Mr. Chilvers appeared in support of the summons, and Mr. Horace Avory appeared for the defence.-—Mr. Chilvers said the defendant was described as the ‘president and founder of the People’s League,’ which seemed to have been established for the purpose of providing Peckham with popular concerts on Saturday evenings, and with dancing classes on Friday nights. Threepence was charged for admission, and one penny per week as a subscription.— Mr. Avory: The admission is for membership of the league. —Mr. Chilvers proceeded to state that concerts were held in the all, and were open to the public, who obtained admission by purchasing a ticket at a neighbouring newsagent's or by buying a programme at the doors of the hall. The defendant had applied to the council for a certificate on more than one occasion, but the council had declined to grant one, because they considered the place was not structurally fit for a place of public entertainment. Moreover, the defendant had applied for a music and dancing license, but that was also refused on the ground that he had not obtained a. certificate. The defendant had been told that if he kept the hall open for public entertainments he would be liable to prosecution, but notwithstanding that the concerts had been continued, and the Commissioner of Police brought the matter under the notice of the council.-—John Percival, an architect and surveyor in the service of the council, gave evidence as to the dimensions of the building.--Cross examined : He did not know whether it was a fact that the place was licensed for public worship. He could not remember any case in which the council had proceeded against a Nonconformist chapel for holding entertainments.—-Ernest Harry Richardson, an inspector appointed by the council for the purpose of visiting public entertainments, said he visited the hall on November 17. There was a notice posted up to the effect that no money would be taken at the doors, but that tickets could be obtained at a newsagent’s shop opposite. He went there and purchased a ticket for 6d. He found about 400 persons in the hall. A concert Was in progress.——Cross-examined: He saw an announcement on the back of the programme that religious services were held in the hall on Sundays.-—Inspector Cowell, of the P Division, said he visited the hall on December 8. A man in uniform was selling programmes. There was a refreshment bar at which tea and other refreshments were being sold. About 800 persons were present. There was a stage at the north end of the building upon which a band was performing.—Robert Rycroft, one of the council's inspectors, gave evidence as to a visit he paid to the hall on January 12. He was not charged for admission, but was asked to buy a programme, for which he paid 3d.—Mr. Avory remarked that, if the defendant had erred at all, he had done so in ignorance. At places licensed for public worship, as this building was, such as Nonconformist churches and chapels, it was the habitual practice to hold sacred or secular concerts from time to time, and it had never been suggested by the authorities that those places came within this Act and required the certificate of the council. If the council were right in this case, then there was no reason why they should not logically say that every place where religious worship was conducted with music also required their certificate. It would be very difiicult to distinguish between a religious service with a great deal of florid music and a sacred concert. He asked his worship to say that this place stood upon the same footing as a Nonconformist chapel at which concerts were given. —John Nisbett, the secretary of the People’s League, said the last card of membership was numbered 1,731. The hall was certified for public worship, under 18 & 19 Vict. c. 91.-— Mr. Hopkins said the defendant was carrying on a very praiseworthy, a very attractive, and, he hoped, a very successful work. In the course of carrying on that work, he used this hall for the purpose of entertaining the people. Nothing could be more praiseworthy than giving the people good and innocent entertainments, and the defendant appeared to be engaged in that work. The public were admitted to the entertainments, and he (his worship) was bound to hold that the hall was used for the purpose of public entertainments within the meaining of the Act. It was the duty of the council to protect people attending entertainments from the dangers of fire and from the danger of panics, and it was very necessary that they should be so protected. He ordered the defendant to pay penalties amounting to 5l., together with 5l, 5s. costs.

[TradeName]

PSYPIONEER Article

A journal with an interesting article about Lees by Stephen Butt is available online. The article includes a transcription of an account by Lees which appeared in 1886 and which Butt proposes as a source for the Chicago article. I have excerpted a few passages below. Is the "Mr. B" in the 1886 account indeed the Fred C. Beckwith mentioned in the Chicago article?

PSYPIONEER JOURNAL, Volume 5, No. 12, December, 2009, Pages 384-395, link (PDF file)


ROBERT JAMES LEES AND THE REVD THOMAS ASHCROFT
By Stephen Butt


LIGHT, Saturday, May 22nd 1886

[...]

Since my residence in London, business has prevented me giving such active attention to the subject as formerly, but I have never ceased to follow up the inquiry, without any change of opinion until November, 1884. During that month the question was introduced by a gentleman in a company where I was present, and a somewhat lively debate resulted. I advanced my theory, and offered to prove it, which was immediately accepted by a Mr. S., a gentleman of some scientific standing, who was also a Spiritualist. Another of the company, Mr. B., wished to join us, the latter being an Atheist. An arrangement was made to sit a certain number of times, under conditions to which we all agreed, and at the termination of our investigation we were to compare notes. The sittings took place in the rooms of Mr. B., and commenced with table movements, but were, after the fourth sitting, principally devoted to the trance, I myself being the medium.

Of the first three séances I have nothing particular to record except that I was perfectly satisfied. At the fourth the name of Samuel B. was given, and claimed to be an uncle of Mr. B., who laughed at the idea, as, he said, he never had an uncle of that name. Still, the correctness of the statement was maintained and additional details given by which to identify the spirit if Mr. B. would write home. Let me here say both these gentlemen were Americans. In answer to further inquiries, Mr. B. was told to re-open the workings of a certain mine which he bad closed, as it contained valuable mineral, further details of which were promised at the next sitting. This promise was redeemed by my drawing, when in the trance state, a diagram of the mine, appending very detailed measurements and instructions as to where a new opening was to be made. The particular attention given even to the smallest matters considerably interested and surprised me, although I still anticipated having a laugh at the confidence Mr. S. expressed in its correctness.

In the meantime In the meantime, inquiries had been set on foot respecting Samuel B., and shortly afterwards a letter was received confirming the communication as far as possible, but it appeared he went West with some early settlers and bad not afterwards been heard of, so that his death remained an open question. With respect to the mine, I may say that some months later, when it was too late for the tidings to have any weight in influencing my opinions, I learned from Mr. B. that he had found, so far as he had been able to investigate the truth of the statement, that the information was quite correct.

I will only refer to one of the many other matters I could relate of these sittings. Mr. S. had obtained (to himself) satisfactory evidence of the communicating intelligences being acquainted with some of his friends in America, but it was no evidence to me. At one sitting he expressed a wish to learn the exact address where a cablegram would reach Judge T. the next day, as that gentleman was travelling at the time, and it was most important to communicate with him at once. After a slight pause, an address was I given where the judge was to arrive at a certain hour the following day, corresponding with eight p.m. English time. Mr. S. despatched a cablegram to the address given, but ordered it to be repeated to the New York address of the judge. At my suggestion we arranged to sit that same night, and about twenty minutes past eight Mr. S. was told his cable had been received, and a reply had been sent: consisting of three code words, which were given. The receipt of the message next day confirmed the communication in every detail.

Of course such evidence was far beyond anything I had [anticipated] but I did not by any means accept it as conclusive, and I began to look into the question again at home; but here I speedily found the results far more startling. Let me give one case, which I received at this time, that did more than anything else to convince me that it was spirit agency at work. I was returning home one night by bus, about 7.30, and had reached the Marble Arch, when a voice, speaking quite distinctly, told me to return to a certain hotel and see a Mr. R., who was stopping there. I returned, thinking this time I should find my spirit friend at fault, but was considerably astonished to find Mr. R. was there, and occupying the room which had been mentioned. Determined to follow it out, I sent up my card, and shortly afterwards was explaining the reason of my visit to the smiling stranger. He had heard of Spiritualism, but knew little about it; still, having a short time to spare before his departure for the Continent, he acceded to my request to sit for a short time.

[...]

---end

[TradeName]

Beckwith Mentioned in Treadwell Lawsuit

Google Books contains some legal papers relating to a suit filed by George A. Treadwell, prominent in the U.S. mining industry, to recover 100 shares of stock in the United Verde Copper Company Treadwell had given in pledge to a London grocer in 1888. The stock had ended up in the possession of Senator William A. Clark. There are some references to Beckwith in the case.

Supreme Court [New York], link
Appellate Division--First Department

GEORGE A. TREADWELL, Plantiff-Appellant

against

WILLIAM A. CLARK, AND OTHERS
Defendants-Respondents

1901

Testimony of George A. Treadwell

Page 30

I visited London, England, in 1885 up to 1888. 1 was living in 40 Middleton [sic] Square. This temporary visit of mine at London was continuous from 1885 to 1888. I leased the house I occupied. Others who occupied the house were Mr. Beckwith, Mrs. Porter and her family of six daughters, Miss Clarie Porter, Miss Minnie Porter, Miss Bella Porter. There were six of them; I don't recall their names. Miss Clarie Porter is here today. That is she sitting here. Her name now is Mrs. Francis H. Hill.

Page 59

This Exhibit L was contained in a letter received by me from Mr. Beckwith. He and I had a good deal of business, mining business. Mr. Beckwith was F. C. Beckwith, formerly the company's bond resident for London for about ten or twelve years. Mr. Beckwith was in London at the time I received this letter from him.

Pages 136-137


Defendants' Exhibit 1C.

Red Hill Limited
of Glasgow, Scotland,
G. A. Treadwell, Manager.
Nevada City, Cal., March 22, 1896.

Wm. A. Clark, Esq.,

Dear Sir:

I have enclosed a letter for you to Sir John Lubbock, 15 Lombard St. Hope you will see him. I have written him of you so he will expect you.

Also enclosed a letter to F. C. Beckwith, 31 Nicholas Lane, London. He is the man I operate with in London, he is from Colorado been in London 12 years. He is a large owner in Buster Copper Mine 30 miles south of Verde Co. I hope you will meet Miss Minnie C. Porter at his office also, as she & friends have heard so much of you & the Verde they expect to develop the Buster on a big scale. She has been to America and is a personal friend of Erwin Davis & Walter S. Logan and she is quite a mine owner. Do call on them if you can.

Yours truly,
Geo. A. Treadwell.

[TradeName]

Bio Sketch of George A. Treadwell

Prominent and Progressive Americans: An Encyclopædia of Contemporaneous Biography (New York: New York Tribune, 1902), Volume 1, Pages 340-342
compilied by Mitchell C. Harrison

GEORGE ARTHUR TREADWELL, the eminent metallurgist, and a naturalist who has been closely identified with the development of the copper-mining industry in America, is descended from Thomas Treadwell, who came from England in 1635 and settled at Ipswich, Massachusetts, and from a succeeding line of ancestors, all of whom lived in New England. His father, Thomas H. Treadwell, was at first a farmer at Garland, Maine, later a merchant at Bangor, and for the last twenty-two years of his life a successful merchant of New York and Brooklyn. His mother's maiden name was Martha Ann Emery, and she was a native of Hampden, Maine. It may be added that his brother John B. Treadwell was the pioneer developer of the oil-fields of California, and that his cousins John and James Treadwell gave their name to the great Treadwell Mine of Alaska.

The subject of this sketch was born at Bangor, Maine, on March 6, 1837. He was educated at the Hampden Academy in Maine, and afterward studied mineralogy, metallurgy, and chemistry under the illustrious Dr. John W. Draper of the University of the City of New York. He came to New York with his father's family in 1852, and was for a time a clerk in his father's office. Then for some years he was connected with the Metropolitan Bank. During these years he was diligently studying under Dr. Draper, and was cultivating a friendship, which proved lifelong, with Professors James D. Dana and Benjamin Silliman of Yale College.

His connection with the copper industry began in 1858, when, at the request of his father, who was considering an investment in them, he went to Michigan to examine the Lake Superior copper-mines, and made a thorough investigation of the whole field. Three years later he was advised by Professor Silliman to "go West and look for copper, for copper is the coming metal." And Professor Dana added: "Yes; but try to find copper with a lot of gold in it." He acted upon their advice and went to California. He did not find much copper there, though it has since been discovered, so he turned his attention to gold-mining, and also operated successfully in the silver-fields of Utah and Nevada. Thus he spent his time until 1878. In that year he became superintendent of the famous Vulture Mine in Arizona, and there built an eighty-stamp mill, then the largest in the world. Before that time fifty stamps were the most any mill could boast; but now the chief mill at the Treadwell Mine in Alaska has six hundred. Although the ore of the Vulture Mine was of very low grade, he operated it at a fine profit.

In Arizona, in 1882, he found that copper for which he had so long been searching in the United Verde Mine. This mine had been discovered by others, who did not realize its value and could not develop it. It remained for Mr. Treadwell to open up to the world its marvelous riches. At the beginning he secured for his friends many shares of stock at a dollar a share. The par value is $10, and the market value of it has in recent years been $300 a share. The principal ownership of the property finally passed into the hands of William A. Clark, now United States Senator from Montana. Then, leaving United Verue to Mr. Clark, Mr. Treadwell secured a vast tract of land near by, comprising what he believes to be the richest part of the copper belt, and upon it organized a company of his own, the George A. Treadwell Mining Company. Meantime he was attracted by the prospects of copper-mining in Mexico just over the border, and organized the Greene Consolidated Copper Company in northern Sonora. He also brought to public attention the San Luis mines at Durango, Mexico.

Mr. Treadwell's success as a practical mineralogist and metallurgist led to his appointment as lecturer on assaying and metallurgy in the Dexter School of Mines in London, England, and his next three years were consequently spent upon the other side of the ocean. From that engagement he derives his title to be called Professor Treadwell. He was at that time the first to introduce fire-assaying into Europe, all assaying there having formerly been done by the tedious chemical wet process.

Professor Tread well has also attained much prominence as a naturalist. Since boyhood he has been a close student of the various forms of animal life, and for many years has been a close friend and co-laborer of the distinguished British naturalist Sir John Lubbock. He was the discoverer in Arizona, in 1878, of the Gila monster, that hideous poisonous lizard which is found nowhere else in the world than in the extreme southwest of the United States and northwest of Mexico. He sent specimens of it to all the principal museums of the world as examples of the last surviving species of the Jurassic period. Professor Tread. well also found in Arizona a new species of rattlesnake, and sent specimens to all parts of the world through the mails, although that was contrary to the postal laws. One of the reptiles got loose in the New York Post Office, created a panic there, and led to an attempt to arrest Professor Treadwell. But as he was out in the Arizona desert, four hundred miles from civilization, amid rattlesnakes, cacti, and Apaches, the writ was not served, and the case was compromised on his promise to send no more live snakes through the mails.

He was married, in 1857, to Miss Mary Eliza Gardner. Of his five living children, the three sons, Erwin D., Malcolm M., and Herbert, are successful miners, the first-named and eldest being superintendent of the George A. Treadwell Mining Company, above mentioned. Professor Treadwell has now retired from the strenuous life of the mining-camp, but is as active as ever in the direction of the various mining properties in which he is interested. He makes his home in New York at the WaldorfAstoria Hotel, and has his offices at No. 27 William Street.

[Jenni Shelden]

This stuff about mining is interesting. Where is it coming from?
Jenni

[TradeName]

This stuff about mining is interesting. Where is it coming from?
Jenni

The Fred C. Beckwith mentioned in the Chicago Times-Herald article seems to have been an agent for George Treadwell. I also wonder if Beckwith is the "Mr. B." mentioned in Lees' account in Light in 1886. Haven't seen anything to confirm that Beckwith actually knew Lees.

[Jenni Shelden]

The implication has always been that they are indeed the same people - time will tell...

[TradeName]

Claimed Healings by Lees

Light (London), December 20, 1890, Page 617

Spiritual Healing: By One Who Has Been Healed.

Sir,—While the newspapers are yet full of the great discovery of Dr. Koch, and are discussing the possibility of curing a disease which, up to the present, has resistad all efforts to overcome it, I should like to draw the attention of your readers to the wonderful manner in which I myself have been healed of an affliotion which is as intractable to the efforts of the ordinary physician as consumption itself.

The above heading indicates the means by which my affliction—that of cystic tumour in the neck of twenty years' standing—was overcome; and it seems to me that "spiritual healing," if universally known, would be an even greater boon to mankind than the discovery of Dr. Koch. His discovery applies to consumption, but the "spiritual healing" power is applicable equally to the most varied cases of disease, and the most out of the way afflictions to which human flesh is unfortunately heir. Allow me to give a few particulars.

I will commence by stating that I am not a Spiritualist, and that up to five months ago I thought Spiritualism and everything connected with it so absurd that I would never give it serious consideration. That which led me ultimately to change my opinion was a visit 1 paid to Winchester Hall, High-street, Peckham, S.E.

After the service Mr. Audy, the secretary, fell into conversation with me, and after a time kindly inquired concerning the tumour in my neck. In this Mr. Audy was only like the majority of those with whom I have talked, for my tumour was so conspicuous that I could go nowhere without being the object of much unpleasant observation. I told Mr Audy how that from a child I had attended doctors and hospitals of all kinds, endeavouring to get rid of my misfortune. Besides being under treatment by private doctors, I have attended Guy's Hospital, St. Thomas' Hospital, and the Homoeopathic Hospital, in Great Ormond-street, W.C,

Under the care of these various institutions I have had my neck painted with iodine for weeks, so that I was in constant pain from the burning. That failing, I had the tumour tapped four times, but the only result was that each time it came up quicker and larger than before. Finally, all the doctors with whom I have conversed at the above-mentioned institutions came to the conclusion that they could do nothing more for me unless I went into the hospital and underwent a long and dangerous operation. This, from personal and business reasons, I would not do, and so for about twenty years I have borne my increasing affliction as best I could. To my surprise Mr. Audy stated confidently that he knew a man who, he was sure, could cure me; and before we parted he gave ine the address of a Mr. R J. Lees, in Dulwich, who, he said, to his knowledge, had cured complaints quite as serious as mine, and he earnestly pressed me to give Mr. Lees a trial. Well, I thought that as I had tried all ordinary modes and failed, I might as well try an extraordinary one, for if that also failed I should then be in no worse position than before.

I accordingly wrote to Mr. Lees, who replied that he could not guarantee a cure until he saw me. "Guarantee a cure!" I said to myself, "that is a confident way of putting it, I think I will give him a trial." Without more ado, then, I placed myself under Mr. Lees' care, seeing him twice a week, once at his residence and once at Chepstow Hall, High-street, Peckham. From the commencement Mr. Lees stated positively that he could cure me, and he has kept his word.

There is, probably, no need for me to describe how Mr. Lees magnetised my tumour week by week, as all your readers are doubtless aware of the mode of procedure in such cases. Suffice it to say that after magnetising my neck for some time, he stated that the roots of the tumour were shrunk and killed, and that being the case there was nothing more for him to do than to let out the fluid which filled the cavity in the neck. This he skilfully did by pricking it with a needle, and now, for the first time that I can remember, I go about like an ordinary person unhaunted by the consciousness of being a curiosity to the beholders. I might dilate on this much further, but I fear trespassing on your space.

Let me, however, just mention two remarkable cases of healing, under Mr. Lees' treatment, which I witnessed at Chepstow Hall. First, that of a little girl who some, years ago struck her knee and injured it in some way, which the doctor could not exactly determine. A great swelling arose all over the knee, which not only prevented the child moving her leg, but pained so much that she could not bear to touch it with her own finger. The mother told me she had taken the child to various hospitals, but they all failed to do anything for her. Mr. Lees' magnetism seemed to act like magic. The third time he magnetised it nearly all the pain was gone, the fourth time it got so well that the child was actually able to bend her leg, and kneel down on the knee which before she could not bear touched.

The second case is even more remarkable. It is that of a little girl who for ten years has been a confirmed and helpless cripple. Both her legs were shrivelled like ticks [sic] and both her feet were drawn inwards like crabs' claws. She had to be carried if she went any distance, and could not move at all without the aid of a crutch and iron supports to her boots.

In this case the doctors had treated her from birth, but entirely failed to effect a cure. After four months of Mr. Lees' treatment she became so well that she could dispense with the crutch, leave off the special iron supported boots, whilst her feet were so straight that when she had her boots on no one could see there was anything the matter with them. I met the father the other day and he told me that the girl is so well that she runs about playing all day long and will not sit down to give herself rest.

In the above incidents I have confined myself rigidly to that which I know, but I could tell of many more which I have heard on unimpeachable testimony.

What I have stated, however, is sufficient confirmation of what I said above that here we have evidences of a healing power of even wider applicability than Dr. Koch's discovery, and far surpasses his method in the simplicity of the treatment and the sureness of the results.

For my part I am so overjoyed with the result of spiritual healing in my own case, and have such a conviction of its applicability to the cases of thousands who now suffer from ills which all the skill of the medical faculty cannot cure, that I feel I ought to proclaim everywhere and in every manner the blessing I have found, and endeavour to induce all who have need of such aid to try for themselves the agency by which I have been cured.

In conclusion I may say that I shall be only too pleased to give anyone any further information, and confirmation, of my cure, regarding which I have taken special precaution by having my tumour photographed before Mr. Lees operated on it.

S. J. Richards.

44, Bird-in-Bush-road, Peckham, S.E.
December 4th, 1890.

[TradeName]

Norman Albert Lees

Here's a link to a page on Lees' son, Norman Albert Lees, and his connection to Harry K. Thaw at Stephen Butts' site.

Not sure if either Norman or Harry were aware of this, but Thaw's half-brother Alexander Blair Thaw (maternal grandfather of CIA agent Cord Meyer) participated in seances conducted by Mrs. Piper, the American medium that W. T. Stead said he sat with in the "Directory of Mediums" article in Borderland. (See A. B. Thaw's obit NYT, October 6, 1937, Page 25.)

Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research, Volume 13 (1897-1898), Pages 536-582, Page 284 (first)

A Further Record of Observations of Certain Phenomena of Trance
by Richard Hodgson, LL.D.


APPENDIX IV.

The following series of sittings with Dr. and Mrs. A. Blair Thaw and several of their closely connected relatives and friends are quoted in full as a specimen series, owing to the completeness of the record. Some weeks before the date of their first sitting, Dr. and Mrs. Thaw, who had heard that Mrs. Piper had been reported upon favourably in our Proceedings, called on Mrs. Piper at her house in Arlington Heights, Mass., and requested a sitting, without giving their names. Mrs. Piper was ill at the time, and not giving any sittings, and referred them to me. They called on me, and expressed their desire for a sitting, and finally gave me their address in New York. They were previously entirely unknown to me and were not members of our Society, and did not give me their names till the end of our interview. I told them that Mrs. Piper expected soon to visit one of our members, Dr. Anna Lukens, living in New York, and a sitting might be arranged for them there. In consequence they had their first sitting at the house of Dr. Lukens, to whom they were previously unknown. Their next three sittings were at Mrs. Piper's house in Arlington Heights, and the May sittings were in New York or its vicinity, where Mrs. Piper was their guest. The sitting of January 16th, 1893, was at a friend's house in Boston. The omitted portions of the sittings, marked by asterisks, and all of which I have seen, consist, for the most part, of references to living persons, showing an intimate knowledge of their character. The record of one sitting, which came between the numbered sixth and seventh, is omitted altogether, at the request of the sitter, as being too intimately personal, and containing much very private matter concerning the deceased.

[...]

--end

[TradeName]

Guenther Libel Trial

Norman Lees testified as a defense witness in a libel action by a Louis Guenther against The Ridgway Company, publishers of Adventure magazine. Here's a couple of excerpts of Lees talking about his employment and about his time in Matteawan.

Supreme Court [New York]

Appellate Division-First Department.

Louis Guenther,
Plaintiff-Respondent

against

The Ridgway Company,
Defendant-Appellant

(New York: The Reporter Co., 1915)

Pages 455-456

[October 22, 1914]

Defendant's Witness, Norman A. Lees, Direct

NORMAN A. LEES, called as a witness on behalf of the defendant, being duly sworn, testified as follows:

Direct-examination by Mr. Sheehan:

Q. Mr. Lees, where do you reside? A. Brooklyn, New York.

Q. What has been your occupation, say, for the last five years or so? A. Inquiry agent.

Q. And what was your occupation before that? A. Advertising manager.

O. With whom were you connected as advertising manager? A. Franklin Miles Medical Association first; Nutriola Company afterwards.

Q. Can you tell us about when it was you were connected with the Franklin Miles Medical Association? A. From 1901 until 1903.

By the Court:

Q. Will you tell us what an inquiry agent is? A. Making private, confidential inquiries for—

Q. Detective? A. You wouldn't hardly say that it is. It is making inquiries. I wouldn't say detectives, your Honor.

Q. Making inquiries about what? A. Oh, legal work,—private matters.

[...]

Pages 511-512

[October 26, 1914]


RE-DIRECT EXAMINATION by Mr. Sheehan:

0. Now, Mr. Lees, will you please state the purpose of your getting yourself committed to Mattcawan; state all the circumstances? A. Allegations had been made against the Matteawan State Hospial people and I decided that it was possible, after investigating the subject—that it was possible to get committed, investigate it from the inside and expose it, and I went in and did it; and for what I did, I was paid.

Q. Will you please state how long you stayed there? A. About five and one-half months.

Q. And during that time, what did you do there? A. Oh, I had pretty well the free run of the building most of the time.

Q. And during these five and one-half months, what was your purpose—to acquire this information? A. To acquire that information.

Q. And then after you had acquired this information, what did you do? A. Well, I had a writ of habeas corpus for my release applied for; came down before one of the Supreme Court Justices, and he let me go; said that I had,—well, just discharged me as sane; and the Assistant District Attorney of Kings County immediately afterwards quashed the indictment for arson on the ground that they had no evidence.

Q. As a matter of fact, did you commit arson? A. No, sir.

Q. Did you burn down anything? A. No, sir.

[...]

[TradeName]

Nutriola

Bio sketch of Hanson, founder of the Nutriola Company for which Norman Lees worked as advertising manager.

History of the City of Belfast in the State of Maine (Boston: Houghton, Miflin and Co., 1913), Volume 2, Page 14

1895. Edgar Filmore Hanson was chosen Mayor, a Citizens' prevailing over a Republican ticket by a vote of 674 to 505.

Edgar Filmore Hanson was born in Lincoln, Maine, 11 March, 1853, and is the son of Clark and Nancy (Hatch) Hanson. He attended the public schools, and when a young man followed the sea for three years. Coming to Belfast, he engaged in the carriage business, and afterwards in company with Kilgore and Wilson, manufactured Dana's Sarsaparilla, being manager of the company. Later he organized the Cream Company for publishing the magazine "Cream," and the Nutriola Company, for the manufacture and sale of patent medicines. He was Mayor, 1895-96. He married (1) Flora E. Nickerson, who died in 1890; and in 1895, he married (2) Georgia Geraldine Lord, daughter of Henry Lunt Lord, of Belfast. Mr. Hanson left Belfast in 1903, returning in 1906, and has since been elected Mayor for seven consecutive terms.

--end

Newspaper association's view of Nutriola as an advertiser:

American Newspaper Pubishers Association Bulletin No. 1148 (New York), March 40, 1904, Page 122

NUTRIOLA COMPANY, 802 West Madison St., Chicago, Ill.

Incorporated for $500,000 under the laws of the State of Maine. Placing on the market a proprietary medicine.

E. T. [sic] Hanson, President and Manager. M. W. Lord, Secretary. Hanson formerly lived in Belfast, Me., where he was interested in the patent medicine business. They claim not to be doing any advertising except through the Morgan Agency, Stock Exchange Bldg., Chicago. The stock of the company which they are endeavoring to sell, seems to be regarded as of no value. The company has a small office located in an outlying district, where they employ four or five stenographers who seem to be sending out advertising matter. The company is not considered to have any financial standing and Credit N is deemed advisable.

--end

Nutriola ad:

Sunset, Volume 14, April, 1905, Page 736

[TradeName]

Ad for Franklin Miles

Norman Lees testified that he worked for the "Franklin Miles Medical Association" from 1901-1903.

The Saint Paul Globe (Minnesota), January 25, 1903, Page 8, Column 3

Free! A $2.50 Treatment

A Bona-fide Offer by a Wealthy
and Successful Physician to
Prove the Efficancy [sic] of His
New Treatments.

During- the last few years very great
improvements have been made in treating
disease. Cases formerly considered
incurable now yield readily to
new remedies. The wealthy specialist,
Franklin Miles, M. D.,LL. 8., founder
of the Grand Dispensary and Sanitarium,
of Chicago and Elkhart, will
give away $10,000 worth of his new
Individual Treatments.

This liberal offer is for the purpose
of demonstrating their unusual curative
powers. They are the result of
twenty-five years of careful study, extensive
research and remarkable success
in treating diseases of the heart,
stomach, liver, kidneys and nerves
which complicate each case.

They are prepared expressly for each
patient, as the res_ult is much more
certain. Each free treatment consists
of a curative elixir, tonic tabloids,
eliminating pills, and usually a compound
hyoscyamic plaster, together
with a diagnostic chart and valuable
personal advice. Extensive statistics
clearly demonstrate that Dr. Miles'
Treatments are at least three times as
successful as those usually employed.

Few physicians have such confidence
in their remedies, and there is no reason
why every afflicted person should
not avail himself of this liberal offer.
Thousands die unnecessarily each year
because physicians do not understand
such diseases.

A thousand testimonials from Bishops
Clergymen, Bankers, Farmers, etc sent
free on request. These Include many who
were cured after from five to twenty
physicians failed.

Send at once to Dr. Franklin Miles,
201 to 219 State street, Chicago, Ill.,
for $2.50 free treatment before it is
too late (Mention St. Paul Globe.)

[Cogidubnus]

Bloody Hell Trade...I'm not sure I'd fancy someone applying deadly nightshade plasters to my afflicted parts!

All the best

Dave