South Bend News-Times, Volume 32, Number 327, South Bend, St. Joseph County, 23 November 1915 — Page 4

TLUSPAY, .()Vi:.MHi:U 23, 1V13

THE SOUTH BLIND NLYVS-'lMEb.

The Astonishing Phenomenon of "War Lies" Explained by a Psychologist

How One Person's Vision or Delusion Becomes ' Epidemic and Spreads Into a Wide Popular Hallucination in a Time of Grfeat Public Excitement. By Dr. .James E. Lough, hioTcssor of Experimental Psychology, New York Unlvertlty,

THE war lie! It punctuates the mind of the civilized world vith an exclamation point. In the impenetrable cloud of rumor, of accusation and counter-accusation, of horror tale and denial, how is the truth-seeking faculty to function? If you permanently confuse the .ense of truth the whole social structure atrophies. How can wo keep falsehood from bewildering us In our Judgment? For centuries wo have been trying to train the human mind to distinguish truth from error. Truth is the base rock of all science, of all religious law, of all pedagogical efforts, , of the principles of commerce and trade. It Is, therefore, vital to analyze every new epidemic of untruth to discover if possible the causes and effects. There are innumerable examples of what we call the war lie. One of the most spectacular has teen the "war babies" scare. hn the , whole history of the Invidious art of fouling one's own nest there has probably never been to complete a masterpiece," says the Manchester Guardian (England). This opinion Is based upon the evidence recently furnished on the "war baby" by the report of the British National Union of Women Workers. This committee made-an immediate investigation of the rumors which spread llke-wlldflre acrosi the civilized globe to the effect that the British army was guilty of great Immorality In the neighborhood of the training camps. The newspapers were full of the story for weeks. It was discussed seriously everywhere. A psychologist suggested to me that he believe.:: the war had produced a new instinct an Instinct rooting in the primal force of nature Itself, for the continuance of the human species. This Instinct he thought eitner new or at least a fresh demonstration or adjustment of tho old instinct of a man to perpetuate himself. Here, he suggested, wa3 not an individual, not even a tribal instinct, but a stupendous national force to l.eep tho world inhabited. The sociologists gave the rumor Immediate attention. In the civilized world or at least a presentable part of it society is built upon the unit of the family, and the family is constructed upon a strlct'marriage law which has to do with the legitimate birth of children. If this "war baby" irregularity was to bo accepted as a military necessity, what effect wa:; It to have upon our old family unit? Tho moralists were equally puzzled. It did not take any great profundity of thought to picture a military condition an extreme need where the "war baby" might be necessary, but had England reached that point? So the "war baby" gave us opportunity for porno very learned discussions. I think we were Just about ready to arrive at some kind of a conclusion when the British National Union of Women Workers came forth vsith the truth about the "war baby." Here are a few extracts from their report: "We wore told that the Government was making large additions to the lying-in wards of the infirmaries. Not a single new bed has been ordered. We were told that In a well-known maternity hopltol preparations were being made to add fifteen c?w wards. The additions were begun in 1913. ' "We heard that in an important place the lying-in ward of the infirmary whs Mil and that they were contemplating a new ward. Thera was not a single case in the ward and no new ward was contemplated. .. . . Flace after place reports nothing abnoivnal, no increase expected." The wide acceptance of this war He makes It of special Interest to the psychologist. How did the mind of man start such a rumor &nd why was the world so ready to accept it as the truth? Of course, at bottom we have the old blighting influence of the emotion of excitemenr upon tho intellect upon our ability to Judge. At a time when Europe, Asia and Africa are In a state bordering upon madness, human emotion is, of course; running rampant. Notwithstanding the long battle of the intellect to control the emotions, there has been little headway. A moment or an episode of intense excitement, and the spark has been struck to the emotions. In the upheaval which follows no one knows Just where to search for the pieces of those old human standbys judgement and horse sense. This cxploslvo effect of excitement upon the Judgment is Illustrated every day. We do not need a world war to demonstrate the fact. In vour own experience you probably can remember the time when you were startled by the cry of fire in the night. You Jumped from bed and threw on the lUhts. Your first idea was to save yourself. You saw that the avenue of escape was still open. Then you turned to your property your treasured possessions. Ten minutes later, when the fire was out and you were creeping about your front lawn gathering up the treasures you threw from tho window, you discovered to your horror that you had saved a toothbrush, a comb, an old hat, one hoe and a buttonhook The first uinuta of excitement had blasted your Judgment Into fragments. Your mind was left helpless la Its attempt to recognize values. When the mind Is put in this condition Illusion and hallucination find fcrti'e oll. After the first blast of emotional excitement a weak intellect is paralyzed and a itron mind Is crippled. TJ".e perrr..menc of tli Injury ia reflated by tho Intensity of the emotion and the shock. The mental rroc minus tho ability to welsh and Judj.j evidence, to com--r values, aro in a stat whr they mlsht BIG GUNS SENT TURKEY kVill Ik- I'M-il in Oivration at the Dardanelles. ZUIUCH. Nov. 22. A trlrgram rum iiucharcftt rtes that tho Ger

create almost any kind of a lie and BELIEVE It. The psychology of hallucination and Illusion offers innumerable examples. For the purpose of psychological analysis the war He could probably be separated Into two divisionsJles which are the direct result of officianntrlgue and lies that arise from the vapors of rumor and misunderstanding and hallucination. Tho He of the Official . Government Press Bureau for purposes of deceiving the enemy is easily understood. Tho official lie for purposes of home consumption to maintain aspirit of optimism or to work up a sustained patriotism we can at least recognize the motive of this pernicious form of untruth. Perhaps the Government press bvireaus salve their consciences by falling back on the clever definition that "a He is telling an untruth to one who has the RIGHT to know the truth." Evidently In many Instances tho home people in Europe have not the right to know the truth of victories and defeats. The lie which rises from the disturbed mental condition of the countries at war Is the really significant He. How they come flooding In stories of oppression and affliction. We hear of the starvation of populations, the destruction of works of art, the use of prohibited bullets. We hear that Germany Is in a state of revolution, that the economic situation Is on the point of collapse; or we learn Just the opposite, that the marvel of the ectfSXmic world is the present ability of Germany to finance her war without dangerous strain. In one paper we read: "Berlin reports that British soldiers taken prisoners on the Western front are tired and undisciplined, and complain of the Inefficiency of their officers. Many of them said they had practically been forced to enlist, had only been drilled in marching before leaving Great Britain, where they had been drilled only with wooden rifies, and had fired their first shots after entering the trenches. They said their losses had been fearful and their whofo army front' brcken up by the German machine guns." In the same issue of this paper the follow Ing was discovered: "A new kind of gas 13 beins used by the Germans fighting in Champagne. Sufferers in Paris hospitals spy they were surrounded for p. few seconds by clouds of deep green gas of a, pleasant odor. Soldiers who wore no masks were soon suffocated, while those with masks lost con-r-ciousnoss for different periods. On regaining consciousness In the hospitals they suffered convulsive seizures resembling epileptic fit3. They had weak pulses, I ut showed none of tha symptoms heretofore attendant on gas poisoning. It is believed that prussic acid is used as the basis of the new gas." An editorial writer commenting upon these conflicting rumors thinks this a typical contrast of the war He. He compares them with such stories as the four dummy Kaisers. After the beginning of the war it was reported that four or more automobiles were built in Germar which in every respect were exact . duplicates of the royal car. The chauffeurs ind attendants were dressed In the royal blue livery, and Inside of each car was a soldier selected after painstaking search because of his close resemblance to the Kaiser. The few featural dissimilarities the dummy may have possessed were removed by a clever make-up man. These dummies were then scattered between Riga and Switzerland to encourage the Germans and puzzle the allies. There are also stories of how King George has threatened to -abdicate and that the Crown Prince has lost his mind. Many of these rumors are undoubtedly due to spontaneous emotional combustion. Hallucinations, individual and collective, are recognized in psychology. Take the recent reports of thousands of Russian troops marching through England. The fact has been denied time and again. Military experts can see little motive for such procedure; yet. evidently, there must have been thousands who believed that they saw such troops. Edmund Parrish, In his book on "Hallucinations and Illusions" (page SOS), quotes a number of similar incidents from Biblical and scientific records. Ho says: "Although such phenomena are not exactly of frequent occurrence, yet a series of more or less trustworthy accounts exists. Thus we find in Maccabees v., 2, 3, Through all the city, for tho space of almost forty days, there were seen horsemen running in the air. In cloth of gold and armed with lances, like a band of soldiers. And troops of horsemen In array, encountering and running one against the other, with shaking of shields, and multitudes of pikes, and drawing of swords, and casting of darts, and glittering of polden ornament and harness of all sorts These apparations are said to have preceded the plundering of the temple of Jerusalem by Antlochus, and Josephus also narrates that portents of the same kind appeared before the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus. Perhaps these and similar cases mlsht be referred to peculiar atmospheric and meteorological conditions. , "Thus the astronomer Hels has explained the army seen at Büderich on January 22, 1854, as arising from a fog bank and a mirage. "Such an origin is also Indicated by the circumstance that these apparitions are often mentioned as showing themselves at sunset, after a thunderstorm. Thus, la September, 16S0, at Chemnitz, a protocol was-drawn up from the sworn testimony of witnesses, tvho asserted that immediately after sunset they had seen armlei fighting and firing at each other in the sky. In the Summer of 1571 many Inhabitants of Prague saw a visionary troop

mans are sending two 42 centimeter puns to Turkey for use at the Dardanelles. Th se are the most powerful guns in the world and were used by the Germans to reduce the great fortresses f F.urope. The tirst consignment of grain from Rulguria nas rcachetypermny.

HAS KNIFE IN Chicago Woman is Taken For Operation.

CHICAGO. No 23. While a typhoid fever patient in the county hospital. Mrs. üliiabeth Hochberger took

cr norsemen enter the New Town after & heavy storm. Perhaps Braid's narrative of a delusion 'affecting a number of people on the banks of the Clyde below Lanark, In the year 1686, may be explained-in the same way. These people collected on several successive days la that place, and saw the ground and the trees covered with bonnets, guns and swords, while at the same time one company of soldiers after another marched along the river bank in such a manner that one company passed through the other, whereupon the soldiers feb to the ground and disappeared. Immediately afterward new companies appeared, marching In the same manner. According to the account which has been handed down, two-thirds of tho persons present testified to their conviction of the reality of these apparitions, and this conviction was shown not only In their words, but in the dread and terror shown in their face3. "Similarly In 1655, In Upland, Sweden, many people saw a right at sea and one on land take place simultaneously. Parrish refers also to Perty, who quotes a number of similar cases of war hallucination In his work, "Die mystischenErscheinungen der mcnschl. Natur" (2nd ed.). "On a cold Winter's day in 1748 a noise was heard at Solothurn like a distant cannonading in the air, and a few minutes later the strains of a full Turkish band, so that all the inhabitants rushed out of doors. Drums and fifes could be quite clearly distinguished. Some listeners even stated that they heard the second parts of the wind instruments." Though some "popular hallucinations," says Parrish, "may be partially explained, as in the above instance, by unwonted natural phenomena, in many cases the chief factor must be sought in the emotional excitement, and, generally, in the mental predisposition of the percipients. . . . To this same category belong also many of the religious 'epidemic' hallucinations." So we see we can have a collective or popular lie with no intent to fraud. Frank Podmore, In his. book, "Apparitions and-Thought Transference" (page 207), says: "Until recent years the tendency of even well-instructed opinion has been to regard a sensory hallucination as necessarily Implying "some physical or mental disorder." Mr. Podraore denies this, and goes on to explain-that an hallucination Is simply a hypertrophied thought the last member of a series, whose intermediate terms are to be found in the mind's eye pictures of ordinary life, ln'which the vivid images which some artists can summon at will, and In the faces In the dark which many persons can see before passing into sleep, with its more familiar and abundant imagery. We have, then, tWb kinds of war lies to deal with. First, the war lie which Is manufactured with an exact motive to mislead the enemy, the home consumer and the neutral country. There is nothing new in this to the psychologist except marvel at the ingenuity of .the human mind for intrigue. Second, we have the lie which rises almost spontaneously from what cause we are not certain. In a, period of world horror, excitement has blasted Judgment, and hundreds of thousands of minds are at .the mercy of their emotions. Is it popular hallucination which is responsible for so many phantom armies and atrocities? If, as a number of experimental psychologists think, popular hallucination may become epidemic in a time of collective excitement, we have plenty of opportunity for experimentation In the present war situation. The whole problem of thought transference is opened to us. Does one person have the vision of the phantom army, and then through a mysterious process of telepathy pass It on to receptive minds, until the idea, and the vision become objectively real? Do times of common emotion and excitement prepare the human mind for popular hallucination? In terms of the wireless telegraph, can the common mind be tuned or keyed to a common telepathic message? "There are indications," says Ppdmore (page 391), "that the consciousness which lies below the threshold, with which the activity of telepathy is constantly associated, may be rewded as representing an earlier stage In the consciousness of the Individual and even It may be an earlier stage in the history of the race. . . . Telepathy is perchance the relic of a once serviceable faculty, which eked out the primitive alphabet of gestiire, and helped to bind our ancestors of the cave or the tree In as yet Inarticulate community." Podmore quotes Dr. Jules Herlcourt (Annales des Sciences Psychlques, Vol. I., page 317), aa going even farther. Hericourt suggests that we find In telepathy traces of the primeval unspecialized sensitiveness which preceded the development of a nervous system a heritage shared with the amoeba and the sea anemone. How much this may have to do with epidemic untruth and with popular hallucination we do not know. The scientist keeps'an open mind to all erldence. Certainly no subject would offer core fascinating experimentation than the spread of a particular war lie and its ready acceptance. If common emotional stress does attune the popular mind to common hallucination through the process of telepathy we psychologists have much to learn. If we still have traces of a prima! sensitiveness in common with the amoeba, primal emotional conditions may bring it to function from an individual phantom or illusion Into a common objectivity. The psychology of the mob we are Just beginning to understand. We know that common emotions fear. hate, patriotism, revenee can be sent through a mob as we can 'shoot a current of electricity through a copper wire. Is it Just possible that we can by another process visualize an illusion cr- an haliaclnation? Out of the mass of war lies cannot we gather some material which will help us approach Hericourfs primal sensitiveness?

STOMACH a silver table knife from a tray and swallowed it. She was discharged from the hospital as cured of typhoid last April. During the last few days she complained of peculiar pains in her stomach. An x-ray photograph showed the presence in her stomach of the 10-inch piece of cutlery. She was taken back to the hospital todxy for an operation to Hospital

IN THE RED AND GOLD CONFESSES TO MURDER Quarrel Over Woman . Lends to Fatal Shooting. PROVIDENCE, R. I., Nov. 23. A murder mystery that had puzzled the police for two days was .solved early today when Peleg E. Champlin, a general inspector for the Rhode Island Co., confessed that he killed Frederick H. Bishop in the latter's home Sunday morning-. Bishop was shot three times and his head battered. lie had been employed as a motorman by the Rhode Island company. In his confession Champlin said that he had quarreled with his victim over Mrs. Bishop, but absolved the widow of blame for thö murder in every respect. KIDNEY DISORDERS QUICKLY RELIEVED Hundreds of people have been relieved of the agronies caused by weak, diseased or elog-ged-up kidneys by using olvax, tho new remedy that quickly reaches the source of all kidney complaints. If you suffer with pains In your back and sides or have any signs of kidney or bladder trouble such as rheumatic pains, puffy swellings under the eyes or in the feet and ankles, if you are nervous, tired and rundown, or bothered with urinary disorders, Solvax will quickly and surely relieve, you of your misery. Solvax is the motJt potent remedv yet devised for ridding the system of uric acid and driving out all the poisonous impurities ivtylch cause such troubles. It neutralises, dissolves and retakes the kidneys sift out all the uric acid and poisons left by the blood and renders the kidneys and urinary organs clean, vigorous and healthv. Wettick's Original Cut Rate Medicine Store, the popular druggist, says that no medicine ought to be paid for unless it does the user some good, lie therefore sells golvax under a positive guarantee to quickly relieve the worst cases of kidney trouble or - refund the money. Try Solvax today and if you cannot see and feel a decided change for the better just go to Wettick's Original Cut Rate Medicine Store and tell him you want your money back and he will return it without question. This is the strongest argument that can be offered in behalf of any medicine. Advt. A Suggestion made at the proper time may be worth its weight in gold. To the young man or woman with a limited income, saving may fecm impossible. Yet a dollar a week saved during the past twelve months would now give you a balance of $5 2. CO earning 4 per cent interest. Don't hesitate to start a savings account of one dollar. After you have secured a St. Joseph County Savings Bank pass book, you will find yourself unconsciously planning a bigger savings account. Make every 3ay for the next twelve months real savings days. 11 Sift IM IB M ST. JOSEPH COUNTY SAVINGS BANK. ST. JOSEPH LOAN & TRUST COMPANY. I

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