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Spaceways, v. 3, issue 5, whole no. 21, June 1941
4
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4 SPACEWAYS TO MR. FORT by CHRIS E. MULRAIN, JR. Around the middle of February, 1939, there appeared on the newsstands of America a new magazine. Unknown is its name. And Unknown is the name that applies to the stories contained therein. I take it for granted that all readers of scientific fiction have seen and read the first issue. As a friend of mine said, "the first story was a bang-up yarn". "Sinister Barrier" was the title, and the author was Eric Frank Russel. In this foreward, Mr. Russell has this to say: "To these people I acknowledge my indebtedness. To the Fortean Society of America, and to Charles Fort, author of 'The Book of the Damned', 'New Lands', 'Lo!', and 'Wild Talents'." Charles Fort. You must have heard of him or read about him. As Russell wrote, Fort said, "I think we're property." Fort said, wrote, and believed, "we're property". And because this was his principle, he died. Fort died, and the man who published his last two books was murdered. Charles Fort's first book was published in the year 1919 by boni and Liver-right. It was "The Book of the Damned". It has been said that Fort began to gather his material for this, his first book, some time in 1904. Fifteen years of research were spent before he offered his findings to the world. In his review of "The Book of the Damned" for The Chicago Daily News, Ben Hecht had this to say: "I am the first disciple of Charles Fort. He has made a terrible onslaught upon the accumulated lunacy of fifty centuries. The onslaughter will perish. The lunacy survives, intrenching itself behind the derisive laughter of all good citizens." The second book, "New Lands", was published in 1923, "Lo!" in 1931, and his last, "Wild Talents", came out the day after he died in 1932. Charles Fort wrote of many strange things. He wrote of facts that escape the vision of ordinary men. Yet all his facts and findings are based upon the reports of others. He did not make up these strange facts. They were brought to him by the newspapers of the world, such as the appearance over Boston Harbor, on December 21, 1909, of the bright lights of an airship. Andin the following week it was seen nine different times in as many places throughout New England. It was not until 1910 that an airship was flown from Albany to New York. Then there was the strange disappearance of Dorothy Arnold; when she vanished an unearthly swan made its appearance in the Central Park Lake. But it remained for this man small stature and mild manners to bring them together and present them to the world. The world turned its back on him and called him "an impudent little boy". There were those who believed in this man, this bit of human clay that had the courage to stand up to science and challenge the wrath of cosmic demons. And these men stood by him. It is only fitting that we should mention a few of them. Ben Hecht, co-author of "The Front Page", Theodore Dreiser, Booth Tarkington, Tiffany Thayer, and many more. These men met on the night of January 26, 1931, to form the Fortean Society to investigate and substantiate the findings of Charles Fort. Another member of this strange company was Claude H. Kendall, publisher of the last two of Fort's books. Charles Fort often said that anyone who delved too far below the surface would be removed. And so it was to be. Fort died before his last book was released. Then on the morning of November 26, 1937, the newspaper carried the news that Claude Kendall had been found murdered in his hotel room, a bed sheet wrapped around his throat. There was no doubt of murder according to the coroner's report. A strange man was seen to have entered the hotel with Kendall and yet he was not seen leaving. The doors and all the windows in the murdered man's room had been locked on the inside. And the stranger had vanished into thin sir. (concluded on page 9)
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4 SPACEWAYS TO MR. FORT by CHRIS E. MULRAIN, JR. Around the middle of February, 1939, there appeared on the newsstands of America a new magazine. Unknown is its name. And Unknown is the name that applies to the stories contained therein. I take it for granted that all readers of scientific fiction have seen and read the first issue. As a friend of mine said, "the first story was a bang-up yarn". "Sinister Barrier" was the title, and the author was Eric Frank Russel. In this foreward, Mr. Russell has this to say: "To these people I acknowledge my indebtedness. To the Fortean Society of America, and to Charles Fort, author of 'The Book of the Damned', 'New Lands', 'Lo!', and 'Wild Talents'." Charles Fort. You must have heard of him or read about him. As Russell wrote, Fort said, "I think we're property." Fort said, wrote, and believed, "we're property". And because this was his principle, he died. Fort died, and the man who published his last two books was murdered. Charles Fort's first book was published in the year 1919 by boni and Liver-right. It was "The Book of the Damned". It has been said that Fort began to gather his material for this, his first book, some time in 1904. Fifteen years of research were spent before he offered his findings to the world. In his review of "The Book of the Damned" for The Chicago Daily News, Ben Hecht had this to say: "I am the first disciple of Charles Fort. He has made a terrible onslaught upon the accumulated lunacy of fifty centuries. The onslaughter will perish. The lunacy survives, intrenching itself behind the derisive laughter of all good citizens." The second book, "New Lands", was published in 1923, "Lo!" in 1931, and his last, "Wild Talents", came out the day after he died in 1932. Charles Fort wrote of many strange things. He wrote of facts that escape the vision of ordinary men. Yet all his facts and findings are based upon the reports of others. He did not make up these strange facts. They were brought to him by the newspapers of the world, such as the appearance over Boston Harbor, on December 21, 1909, of the bright lights of an airship. Andin the following week it was seen nine different times in as many places throughout New England. It was not until 1910 that an airship was flown from Albany to New York. Then there was the strange disappearance of Dorothy Arnold; when she vanished an unearthly swan made its appearance in the Central Park Lake. But it remained for this man small stature and mild manners to bring them together and present them to the world. The world turned its back on him and called him "an impudent little boy". There were those who believed in this man, this bit of human clay that had the courage to stand up to science and challenge the wrath of cosmic demons. And these men stood by him. It is only fitting that we should mention a few of them. Ben Hecht, co-author of "The Front Page", Theodore Dreiser, Booth Tarkington, Tiffany Thayer, and many more. These men met on the night of January 26, 1931, to form the Fortean Society to investigate and substantiate the findings of Charles Fort. Another member of this strange company was Claude H. Kendall, publisher of the last two of Fort's books. Charles Fort often said that anyone who delved too far below the surface would be removed. And so it was to be. Fort died before his last book was released. Then on the morning of November 26, 1937, the newspaper carried the news that Claude Kendall had been found murdered in his hotel room, a bed sheet wrapped around his throat. There was no doubt of murder according to the coroner's report. A strange man was seen to have entered the hotel with Kendall and yet he was not seen leaving. The doors and all the windows in the murdered man's room had been locked on the inside. And the stranger had vanished into thin sir. (concluded on page 9)
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