We received a number of very interesting comments from well known Americans on the subject of "Science vs. Witches--in the Schools." Some are from physicians, professors, educators, writers, and just plain everyday citizens.

October 31 a Fertile Day for Witches.--On Hallowe'en teachers and parents encourage, and children indulge their whole hearts and minds in celebrating this event. Doubtless very few teachers, certainly not very many parents, and hardly any youngsters know anything about the feast they thus celebrate. If it was originally a pagan rite, are we but little different--or can we throw it off next year, and forget it forever?

All of them go to no end of trouble to cut out black cats, witches, and by their fantastic dress, mock a day that the educators have told us they will "banish from the schools!" Well, why don't they?

Some tell us that the way it is celebrated today is just a "mockery" of the past! What is the point in it? Many of the silly things of today are "mockeries of the past." In the midst of all this tom-foolery there are some children who get "notions" about witches and superstitions that they will never forget to their dying day.

If they were never to hear of these things, they, when they arrive at manhood and womanhood, especially parenthood, would never need, nor could they transmit these foolish ideas to their off-spring. We have all too many games and friendly arguments, started "all in fun," ending in disaster. We have seen little tots scared almost stiff at fantastic false-faces; what good can come from these festivals?

Thoughts of witches and the like, whether referred to in the Bible, or in ordinary conversation, are not always taken too lightly, even on festive occasions.

Whistling in the dark, for instance, is one form of driving away fear; denial of witches by some may be an outward and spoken manifestation of non-belief, but our people do not always tell, or act, the truth, and the reader knows this only too well.

One may observe this on Easter and Christmas, when we deliberately make up characters--legendary--for those occasions--so that we all know that much which is told to children is not true--and it is safe to say that many things the children tell their folks--are short of the truth! If little white lies are justifiable on those occasions, are they not suitable on other occasions. And what about the black ones?

Fears Come Easy to Children.--Fear, as of thunder and lightning, may be acquired in the natural course of life, but youngsters too often get such fears from solicitous, or nervous, and superstitious parents, generally the mother, who is the nearest thing on earth to being a Diety that any child can have.

Fear, as of things in the dark, when one is alone, is as old as Jewish, or even pagan history. Where two or more are together in the dark, witches cannot do any harm! In this idea we see the birth of "misery loves company."

The demand of youngsters that some one "turn on the light," or "light a lamp, or candle," before they enter a dark room, is just as much a terror to those of today as it was in the author's day. Some of us demanded that a light be allowed to burn all night. What could we be afraid of, except "evil spirits" in the dark? We weren't afraid of "angels!" A fear of "something in the dark," is almost universal!

Modern Hallowe'en Witches.--Now witches, in the flesh, or in the spirit, are always out to do harm, or so it would appear. Take youngsters, or grown-ups around the time of Hallowe'en; they can write on walls, windows, automobiles, and sidewalks, and the words they spell out are rarely used by nice people (in public).

Much property is damaged, some carted away to be found weeks later; men and women get drunk, and celebrate orgies not unlike the eve of Mayday in England and Scotland, a century ago, or festivals in ancient Rome.

None of the devilment of this season is at all necessary, so one has the right to feel that "witches" do live and cause all kinds of trouble; they rarely are caught. They may be only embryos now, but give them time, they'll grow--and their off-spring annoy others! And the school system helps, aids and abets!

Physicians Uphold "Pow Wow" Doctors.--Science may claim to stand on its own feet, and may agree with the history of past ages in certain cases, but there must be a parting of the ways sooner or later, if science attempts to destroy some of the fondest pets of the Christian civilization.

Even the medical profession took a hand in the matter recently when some of their learned authorities upheld the psychology that certain practices of the humble "pow wow" doctor have virtues that cannot be attained by either physician or priest!

Educators perhaps fail to appreciate the wisdom of Horace, who says: "Mingle a little folly with thy wisdom." They think (or do they?) that a child can play with fire, and, if burned, learn to stay away from fires. But "witches" and their kind are different kinds of fire. These children ought to grow up to be men and women--but how many of them do? How many of our adult population pass through life with 'teenage minds? If you want statistics on this, read the reports resulting from conscriptions for military service.

It is not our purpose to suggest to school authorities that they cease their attempts to discredit witches and the like; rather, it shows them what we think they have confronting them. But between "hex" and "sex" problems, we believe that the latter is the big job, and one they will have trouble to solve, if you gather what we mean.

When I was a child . . . I spake, understood, and thought as a child . . . but when I became a man . . . when I became a man . . . I put away childish things (I Cor. 13:11). When do boys become men . . . when do they forget the things they learned in their formative years? Do they forget . . . and cast them aside? . . . they do not! They pass them along to their sons and daughters . . . and they, in turn, to their sons and daughters . . . the superstitions and hexerei . . . and parts of the Ten Commandments . . . and the golden rule . . . whatever it may be . . . as they have for thousands of years . . . and when they grow up they will use modern science for what it will bring them in dollars and cents . . . but not as a rule to their faith and guide to their actions . . .

Who can look back over the years and say . . . "on that date I became a man!" . . . or, "then I became a woman!"

Students Afraid of This Subject.--Our interest in preparing this account is merely to "clear the atmosphere." A discourse dealing with the subject of witchcraft in Pennsylvania has been wanting for years.

We find ourselves in a pathetic sort of state, being associated with mature men and women who are actually afraid to delve into a subject as important as this is, because of a personal fear that something might "happen" to them! Conversation with many persons has borne out this conviction.

An interesting phase of this business of witchcraft, so far as it pertains to Pennsylvania, is just a lot of talk. In view of what has been said thus far, it might be good policy to illustrate what is meant when we say that witches and a belief in them will be hard to suppress.

First--There is no law against a belief in witches, or a practice of witchcraft--religious or civil;

Second--If there was a law, it would at once acknowledge that which many seek to deny really exists--witches--whether in the flesh, in spirit, or merely in mind.

Our Witches and Those of the Voodoo.--We should not confound the "witches" which our forefathers brought to America, with those under control of the witch-doctors and voodoos in the half-civilized areas as, in Africa, or the islands of the Caribbean, or South Seas; i. e., not too direct.

Our witches definitely have come to us through an association with emotions of good and bad, as we know them, through affiliates of the Christian church of all denominations--Protestant, Catholic (Roman and Greek, or Eastern), and the Jews--or even the non-christian whose philosophies, in part, are like unto the Mosaic, in origin, viz: pagan. Perhaps, then, we have just bettered our very early ideas, and justified them for want of courage to change them! Is it reasonably safe to look at the customs, folklore, and superstitions of the African, and say to ourselves: "Well, that's about the way our folks looked at life not so very many generations ago!"

And yet, with all of this in mind, the witches of our time, and of the past, and those of the half-civilized native of Africa, Asia, and the islands, must have come from the same early pagan source--therefore we think it so strange that the Christian religion (of all religions) has given them any place at all--if there are no witches! All this despite the effort to destroy all books pertaining to the subject, as they tried to, at Ephesus.

The half-civilized, as well as the civilized, have a knowledge of, and emotions, which may be expressed by a reaction to favors received from good spirits, or bad spirits.

Do we have witches in Pennsylvania only among the Germanic people; not the English, Italian, Irish, Slav, Welsh, Hungarian, and the other races? How about the races in the forty-seven other states? Yes, how about them? And of more than two billion religious people in the world, not including the nonreligious? You say there are no witches today!!!

"Lord's Prayer" Says "Deliver Us From Evil."--Catholics and Protestants alike, in saying the Lord's Prayer, recognize something closely akin to everything in the catalog of the evil-spirit-world, no matter what name one may be pleased to call it--for do we not pray: "Deliver us from EVIL" . . .

This petition from the heart and mind of a Christian applies to the evils he or she concedes to be of any or every sort which might conceivably cause harm. Neither priest, preacher or scholar can explain this meaning "away" if the layman wants to believe it has a personal power for him!

Many "Witch" Cases Never "Ripen."--While we have not recorded the complete history of witchcraft in Pennsylvania by any means, the reader will surely have attained some new slants on this vague subject. We cannot prove the existence, or non-existence, of either angels, or witches--neither can you!

Neither time, nor space, in a paper of this kind, will permit going into the highways and byways for all the rich, original accounts of past and present-day evidence of practices coming under this head. But we can offer just one or so, that have made their way to our "sanctum santorum."

Our Prize is from Dauphin County.--There is the Millersburg case. It is one of an old man who wanted to purchase a book, which he said would "break the spell on me." Claiming he already had several books which "could be used to break spells," none of them would work for him, and could we help him by providing the one he wanted? (Since we write, publish and sell books, it was a legitimate question). Perhaps we could, but first, "what seems to be the main trouble?" we inquired.

He told us he was "highly bewitched;" that "if she doesn't leave me alone I'll kill the son-of-a-----!"

We disliked seeing any person killed for no valid reason, yet set forth, worthy of death, so we inquired as to "Why do you want to kill some one--who is it?"

We could get no more out of him than the information that some woman, about middle age, was responsible for his "bewitchment."

We surmised he was a bachelor, and that he lived alone, which he subsequently confirmed; further, we deduced that the old fellow had not had much of nature's mating privileges. We had a "hunch" that he, being sex-starved, had "notions" concerning the woman, who was a widow; that, under the line of reasoning used by Benjamin Franklin, he was hopeful, she might, in her declining years prove more friendly, and eventually yield; failing to gain his point, his friendship turned to hate.

At long last we suggested we "might have" the right book, (which he seemed so anxious to own), if he would confide to us the nature of his complaint.

To the writer it seemed as if he was weighing our offer, and so in a few moments he bluntly replied: "Well, the old witch has me so fixed that I can't s----- (defecate) on Sundays and holidays!"

The reply was the "best" we had heard in a long while, but too good to laugh at, in his presence.

Assuming a rather "professional look," then a sort of secretive one, we said we could sympathize with him under such circumstances. He was serious, very serious, and we felt that he should be treated accordingly. Had we felt as he did (or had you), we would have wanted sympathy and--what he eventually got!

To sell him a book would have been the average dealer's plan, but not our's--not with a story like that to "tell around."

We proceeded to give him his "money's worth," without taking it from him. We made him promise, in the event that we suggested a cure, that he would never tell either a doctor, or a lawyer, since either or both might seek to prosecute us on the grounds of having violated the "medical practices act."

Then we told him seriously, that on Saturday nights before retiring, or on the night preceding a holiday, at which time he suspected the "witch" might cause him trouble, he should take an average-size waterglass, fill it to within an inch from the top with castor oil, retire and let the "old witch" do her damndest--and to let nature take its course!

We suspected he was too old, or too lazy to get much exercise; that on Sundays and holidays he just loafed, failing to induce the proper action; thereupon we "sympathized and agreed" with him, and ordered the "prescription" accordingly!

Up to this time, years later, we have neither heard of a "witch murder" in the upper end of Dauphin county, nor have we thus far been prosecuted for our "violation" of the medical practices act. The "case" apparently was well "attended to."

Doctors tell us the dosage was just about right!

Lawyers just laugh about the matter!

Judges, too, wink their eye, and laugh out aloud!

Wherever we've told it, the public likes it . . .

Yet, in spite of it's humor, it is all too true . . .