Thus it would appear that of the four eminent men whose names have made
famous the investigation, there is reason to believe one, _Zoellner_,
was of unsound mind at the time, and anxious for experimental
verification of an already accepted hypothesis; another, _Fechner_, was
partly blind, and believed because of Zoellner's observations; a third,
_Scheibner_, was also afflicted with defective vision, and not entirely
satisfied in his own mind as to the phenomena; and a fourth, _Weber_,
was advanced in age, and did not even recognize the disabilities of his
associates. No one of these men had ever had experiences of this sort
before, nor was any one of them acquainted with the ordinary
possibilities of deception. The experience of our Commission with Dr.
Slade would suggest, that the lack of such knowledge on their part was
unfortunate.
A consideration of all these circumstances places, it seems to me, this
famous investigation in a somewhat new light, and any estimate of
Zoellner's testimony, based merely upon the eminence in science of his
name and those of his collaborateurs, neglecting to give attention to
their disqualifications for this kind of work, cannot be a fair or a
true estimate.
In concluding this Report, I give sincere thanks to all of these
gentlemen for their courtesy and frankness--a frankness which has alone
made it possible for me to collect this evidence; and which, considering
the nature of the evidence, must be regarded as most generous. To
Professor Scheibner, especially, my thanks are due for the trouble he
has taken in helping me to make my notes exact and truthful.