Show SMATTER THE HEALER the west has been watching the rising star etar of the so called healer who made himself famous this winter with considerable interest the last see seen or heard of him was in southwestern south western new mexico heading apparently for central america from time to time we have satisfied a popular clamor to know something 0 of the man b by Y publishing all information obtainable relating to him in any way concerning his apparent power it ignot is not easy to form a judgment L indeed his power over the ills I 1 s to which flesh is heir is undoubted by those hose who have seen the exhibitions and his reputation as a healer is established by numerous reputable witnesses that he has effected a lar large e number of remarkable cures the facts as to the man himself so far as they appear to be established says city and country are substantially as follows ile he is an alsatian Al gatian peasant fairly well educated and intelligent tell igent who came to this country a few years ago and settled in Jame jamesport sport long island as a shoemaker his record in jamesport Jame sport was good ile he was addicted to no bad habits made excellent shoes paid liis his way vay and saved money he was in love with a young woman who however refused to marry him in the society of the village age he was sized up as a good fel law with queer views who could talk like a book he had visions also and had bad much to say about the great questions of life and destiny but at this time he made no pretensions to the possession of any unusual powers last year he be went to new mexico and was next heard of as a wonderful new messiah with in an extraordinary power of curing diseases he went to denver a few mouths months ago ga and since then his career has been closely followed by the public had these thase cures been wrought under the auspices rf ef tile the church which claims still to exercise the power of miracle conferred on the apostles of jesus we wa should be able to classify them with such phenomena as lourdes and other shrines or had gained a foll owing of ignorant ino and superstitious people the whole matter might be dismissed as unworthy of notice but the healer appears to be working independently of any re religious derrion demonstration strati oil and if the accounts of him are trustworthy lie claims some erous mission from the father presumably god by virtue of which he be says he is able to do what he does moreover he has been exercising his vocation in a city whose citizens are perhaps less given to credulity dulity and superstitious illusions than any other community in the world not only that but the people who W ho testify to the reality re a lity of his cures giving names and dates capable of verification are hardheaded hard bard headed men of al faire raire whose veracity cannot be impeached find and many of whom at first looked upon as an ordinary humbug Is he indeed what he ap apparently par ertly con considers siders himself to be or is he be merely laboring under delusions due to some borne form of insani insanity tv on the other hand band excluding the theory that his is divine should we say that he only does what all men might do if their natures were purified from the dross of materialism or is the whole thing a passing phase of credulity built upon the inherent weakness and fickleness of the human mind and therefore destined soon to be forgotten along with so many similar phenomena to these questions at present there can be no satisfactory answer the two established facts are the man and his sudden favie fame |