McMasters v. State

• Decision Date: 13 June 1922
• Docket Number: 3747.
• Parties: MCMASTERS v. STATE.
• Court: United States State Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma. Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma

207 P. 566

21 Okla.Crim. 318, 29 A.L.R. 292

MCMASTERS v. STATE.

No. 3747.

Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma

June 13, 1922

Syllabus by the Court.

The regulation or suppression of the art, practice, or profession of communicating with departed spirits by a person known as a "medium" while in a state of trance, who imparts such communications for hire, whether it be done pursuant to a system of philosophy, religion, legerdemain, or metaphysical science, is within the police power of the state.

Assuming that the practice of communicating with departed spirits is a part of an established religion, such practice, if inimical to the good order and general welfare of the community or in conflict with the general penal laws, is not within the purview of the provisions of the federal and state Constitutions, relating to the establishment of religion or the free exercise thereof.

Whether the practice of spiritualistic communications should be classified as religious or philosophical, or is a kind of speculative psychic phenomenon or exercise, cannot be conclusively ascertained from this record.

Laws are made for the government of actions, and, while they cannot interfere with mere religious beliefs, they may with practices.

Additional Syllabus by Editorial Staff.

In a prosecution for fortune telling through alleged communication with departed spirits, "religion" has reference to man's relation to Divinity, to reverence, worship obedience, and submission to mandates and precepts of supernatural or superior beings, and in its broadest sense to include all forms of belief in the existence of superior beings exercising power over human beings by volition imposing rules of conduct, with future rewards and punishments (citing Words and Phrases, Second Series Religion).

Appeal from County Court, Oklahoma County; W. R. Taylor, Judge.

Mrs. L. D. McMasters was convicted of fortune telling, and she appeals. Affirmed.

Gustave A. Erixon, of Oklahoma City, for plaintiff in error.

S. P. Freeling, Atty. Gen., and W. C. Hall, Asst. Atty. Gen., for the State.

BESSEY J.

This action is an outgrowth of an alleged spiritualistic "reading" by a "medium" in a state of trance, purporting to convey a message to one Bessie Jones from the spirit of Minnehaha, a legendary Indian girl as found in Longfellow's poem Hiawatha. Bessie Jones, an attaché of the county attorney's office, for the purpose of laying a foundation for this prosecution, went to the residence of the medium, Mrs. McMasters, in Oklahoma City, and there solicited the reading, which was given in consideration of the payment of $1. The medium, after going into a trance, got into communication with the departed spirit of Minnehaha, and conveyed to Miss Jones a message, part of which was as follows:

"Q. What did she say? A. That I wasn't working at the present time, but that I was going to have a job offered me right away, a good job, and that I would take it; and then she said I was going to take a trip right away. And she said I was going to meet a blond fellow--a blond-headed fellow--and also a black-headed fellow, and that this blond-headed fellow would come between me and the black-headed fellow, and that I was going to marry a wealthy man--

Q. Did she make any charge for that information? A. Yes, sir; she did.

Q. State what else she did when you got ready to leave. A. When I got ready to leave she gave me six calling cards.

Q. Did she ask you to do anything with them? A. No, sir. She gave me six calling cards and asked or said for me to give them to my friends."

The statute under which this prosecution was brought (section 1, chapter 59, Session Laws of 1915) is as follows:

"It shall be unlawful for any person or persons, pretending or professing to tell fortunes by the use of any subtle craft, means or device whatsoever, either by palmistry, clairvoyancy or otherwise, plying his or her trade, art or profession within the state of Oklahoma, to make any charge therefor either directly or indirectly, or to receive any gift, donation or subscription by any means whatsoever for the same."

For a violation of this statute a minimum penalty is provided of a fine in any sum not less than $50 and imprisonment for not less than 30 days. In this case the defendant was given the minimum punishment.

It is earnestly contended by defendant's attorney, in an exhaustive and well-written brief, that this sentence should be set aside on the constitutional ground that her arrest and conviction were unlawful, as an interference with the free exercise of her religious beliefs and practices; that for a number of years she had been a member of the National Spiritualist Association, incorporated under the laws of the state of Oklahoma, and that she was regularly licensed to give spiritual advice to others; that many of the tenets, beliefs and practices of this cult are religious in their nature, including the practice of communicating with departed spirits.

The declarations and principles, as contained in the constitution and by-laws of this association, are as follows:

(1) A belief in infinite intelligence.

(2) That the various manifestations of nature's laws, physical or spiritual, are the expression of this infinite intelligence.

(3) That a correct understanding of nature's laws and living in harmony therewith is enjoined upon its members.

(4) A belief in the continuity and individuality of existence after death and the possibility of communication with departed spirits.

(5) A belief in the Golden Rule.

(6) That each individual's happiness and moral responsibility is dependent upon obedience to nature's psychic laws.

(7) That the privilege of reformation is continuous here, as well as in the hereafter.

Other excerpts from the constitution are as follows:

"The objects of said association shall be the organization of the various spiritual societies of the United States into one general association for promoting mutual aid and co-operation in the benevolent, charitable, educational, literary, musical, scientific, religious and missionary purposes and enterprises germane to the phenomena, science, philosophy, and religion of Spiritualism."

"We recognize mediumship as the foundation of Spiritualism, as giving proofs of the continuity of life after so-called death, as furnishing advice and spiritual instruction for our guidance, moral development and physical well-being; and that, to insure the best results, our mediums need protection and encouragement, and, in cases of indigence, financial aid; therefore, special funds should be set aside for such purpose, under the supervision of the board of trustees."

"The ministry of Spiritualism shall consist of three classes, to wit: Pastors, licentiates and associate ministers."

Ever since the dawn of history there have been those who have believed in the influence of good and evil spirits. The devil himself was a fallen angel, cast out of heaven. If, then, both good and evil spirits communicate with men, the character of the spirit messages will necessarily vary accordingly. Women desiring information concerning their amours should consult the spirit of Ruth, of Delilah, or of Cleopatra; men might well inquire of the spirit of King Solomon, of Henry the Eighth, or of Aaron Burr.

The writings of Dante, of Shakespeare and of Milton, as well as of the modern poets, abound with examples of the belief in spirits.

"Aerial spirits, by great Jove designed

To be on earth the guardians of mankind;

Invisible to mortal eyes they go,

And make our actions good or bad below.

They can reward with glory or with gold--

A power they by divine permission hold."

--Hesiod.

"The spirits perverse, with easy intercourse,

Pass to and fro to tempt or punish mortals."

--Milton.

Since both the federal and state Constitutions forbid the abridging of the freedom of conscience and religious liberty, we are confronted with the question whether, as a matter of law, the beliefs and practices of Spiritualism, as shown by this record, constitute a religion within the meaning of the federal and state Constitutions; and whether, if it is a religion, the practice of communicating with departed spirits through a spiritualist medium is within the purview and protection of the Constitution.

It has been held that "religion" has reference to man's relation to Divinity; to reverence, worship obedience, and submission to the mandates and precepts of supernatural or superior beings. In its broadest sense it includes all forms of belief in the existence of superior beings, exercising power over human beings by volition, imposing rules of conduct with future rewards and punishments. Davis v. Beason, 133 U.S. 333, 10 S.Ct. 299, 33 L.Ed. 637; 4 Words and Phrases, Second Series, p. 253; People v. Board of Education, 245 Ill. 334, 92 N.E. 251, 29 L. R. A. (N. S.) 442, 19 Ann. Cas. 220; State v. Amana Society, 132 Iowa, 304, 109 N.W. 894,...