I obtained copies of the records on Loose which the University of Iowa library retains in its special Chautauqua collections in Iowa City, Iowa. They reveal that Loose was a detective when he first went on the lecture circuit, and that he negotiated with the Lyceum Bureau to make trips around Chicago which he could reach in week-end travel. A contract dated December 11, 1918 offered him $16.66 per engagement.

A letter from W. V. Harrison, the Chautauqua Redpath manager, to W. A. Colledge on December 19, 1919 shows that they would give him $125.00 per week and would provide transportation for his wife to be with him for one week.

Several reports show Loose as very good on the circuit, but somewhat below average in attraction of audience. Several unsolicited letters brought high praise for his informative talk.

In cooperation with the U. S. Department of Justice, Mr. Loose made the investigation, arrest and prosecution of Samuel J. Rosenthal, The Fake Bankruptcy King, recently sentenced to Fort Leavenworth. In cooperation with U. S. Post Office Inspectors, he made the investigation, arrest and prosecution of Dr. Ottoman Zar Adusht Hanish of Sun Cult fame . . .

Much other correspondence shows the activities of Loose on the lecture circuit.

A letter of September 2, 1920 from J. A. Bumstead of the Chautauqua Redpath circuit to W. A. Colledge is highly informative about the practical character and nature of Loose.

Loose: From the committee reports that are in so far, he is ranking eighth place among the seven-day talent. He is just a trifle below the average for all the talent.

It is our opinion that Loose is a mighty good afternoon man, nothing sensational but a good novel lecturer. However, it takes about four good men and a nurse to keep him going and keep him sweet. He is almost as bad as Gusaulus in this respect, for every day he tells someone that he is going home, and finally did leave ten days before the circuit closed without any prior arrangements made for getting someone in his place, except his sister, who did not fill the bill at all. He said that he was sick, but confessed in a letter that it was homesickness more than anything else. Would like to talk with you about this sometime.

He says he lacked companionship but anyone who companioned with him would soon get the same way he is. A fine fellow but a most peculiar disposition.

Then, on November 22, 1920 an event took place which misled Martin Gardner into a serious error, and a pitiful assumption about William Sadler. In a letter dated November 24 Loose states to (Uncle) L. B. Crotty:

I know Sadler. Knew him when he was on the Municipal court Bench years ago. Have had cases before him. Knew he was lecturing but did not know for whom.

According to what is stated in the clipping, (from the Moline Dispatch) he is following the outline of my talk so closely that the possibility of it being accidental or mere change is exceedingly small.

A man must be in great need, be kind of short on brains himself and not be bothered with an oversupply of conscience to deliberately lift another man’s effort and make off with it like this.

Imitation is the sincerest flattery but, from the outline given in the clipping, Sadler can hardly be called imitating in this. A shorter, uglier, name would be more appropriate and probably describe his efforts more truthfully.

(Here Gardner made another bad assumption. He thought this address by Loose to Crotty implied that Crotty was his blood uncle. Actually, the term was one of affection for Crotty’s managerial position; it had nothing to do with blood relationship. )

Loose is reassured not to worry because Sadler is not going to have enough (lecture) dates to bother about.

When Martin Gardner read these letters he immediately jumped to the conclusion that Sadler was William Sadler. The Chautauqua manager had referred to Dr. Sadler. How many Dr. Sadlers were around? Gardner then speculated that this was the trigger event which led Loose to later despise Sadler. Unfortunately, Gardner had it all wrong.

Note that Loose had a copy of the newspaper clipping. There was no confusion on the part of Loose. Richard Preiss, who now works for the Moline Dispatch newspaper, obtained a copy of the clipping, which reads partially as follows:

~226~ The Birth of a Divine Revelation

It is one of those ironies of fate that two men were on the Chautauqua lecture circuit by the name of Sadler, that both came out of Chicago, that Harry Loose knew them both, and that the Chautauqua manager referred to Frank Sadler as Dr. Sadler. How easy it was for Martin Gardner to deduce ill feeling on the part of Loose toward William Sadler when it was nothing but a figment of Gardner’s imagination. Gardner quickly leapt into this assumption because he was emotionally disturbed by the possibility of divine revelation. He should have done the homework for which he is unjustly famous.

On this incident Gardner brought a major indictment against William Sadler — and it was all smoke.

A Book of Chicagoans for 1911 shows this Sadler to be Frank Prather Sadler, a judge in the Chicago Municipal Court from 1907 to 1909. He was born in Springfield, Illinois on June 10, 1872, received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan in 1896, a Bachelor of Law in 1898 and was admitted to the Illinois State Bar the same year. He was a Republican and a Methodist, a member of the law firm of Taylor, Ingraham & Sadler, and gave lectures on subjects related to his profession, including The Criminal in the Making, The Criminal in the Saving, Twentieth Century Unrest — Its Portent, and so on. He also contributed to numerous publications.

17 - A Loose Chicago Detective ~227~

A newspaper article in Elkhart, Indiana on October 16, 1920 noted that Mr. Loose was accompanied to Elkhart by Examiner Lewis of the Bertillion bureau of the Chicago police department, an intimate friend, who assisted the speaker in displaying his interesting exhibits.

As William Sadler indicated, Loose was afraid to travel alone, and usually had someone with him. He called upon his friends on the police force for that assistance, incorporating them into his lecture program. He would display a dramatic assortment of knives, guns, burglar tools, and so on which he had collected over the years. A police officer standing by in full uniform made this even more appealing. This living display was an important adjunct to his lecture, bringing the reality of crime closer to his audience.

But something further was happening emotionally to Loose. He not only felt a need for a traveling companion, he got involved in situations which demonstrated other weakness in character. In a lecture at Holden, Missouri early in 1921 he got carried away with a fervor for the cause of right. As the local newspaper reported:

On this occasion Loose vented feelings that were bottled up in him. The pressures of long travel away from home, the rigor of the schedules, the stress of living audiences — all contributed to this outbreak. But more trouble was brewing.

On March 3, 1921 W. A. Colledge wrote a letter to several ministers in Tipton, Indiana. He had received a report that Loose was seen with a woman in compromising circumstances. The Chautauqua managers believed he was with his wife.

We do not know the outcome of that episode but Loose continued on the lecture circuit. It must have been resolved satisfactorily. Still another problem is recorded in the Chautauqua files. Apparently, Loose failed to pay a taxis driver. The Wever, Iowa Lyceum Committee wrote a letter to the Redpath Vawter Management in Cedar Rapids dated January 26, 1922.

~228~ The Birth of a Divine Revelation

W. A. Colledge thereupon wrote a letter to Loose requesting some explanation. But Loose’s problems were not that simple. Other letters of complaint were received by the Chautauqua managers about Loose failing to fulfill his contract requirements.

Colledge went into several demands upon Loose to express clearly his loyalties to his contract and his bookings, and to consider the impact he had upon the Lyceum reputation. Colledge then states that he is now with-holding my future judgment until I hear from you in regard to the policy you intend to pursue in the future.

Loose responded with a lengthy four-page reply, denying the allegations one by one, and showing reasons why the accusations were false. William Gray was with him and could confirm every point. The letter is sincere in tone, and demonstrates either a great deception on the part of Loose, or high feelings of dissatisfaction in Iowa, with causes unknown.

In further dispute with a deteriorating relationship Loose insisted in several letters that he was contracted until April, 1924, but the Lyceum minutes of meetings

show that they considered cancelling his contract on May 1 and 2, 1922, because of certain things which had happened. Following correspondence shows that they reverted to individual contract dates, rather than a long-term contract, and that Loose, probably upset with his treatment, left a schedule in Kansas for ten days. The Lyceum management felt that was sufficient grounds to discharge him from further contractual obligations. The last letter on record is dated May 11, 1923 to Loose from H. V. Harrison; Harrison had one or two personal matters to discuss with him, but that he should stop by at any time.

Loose then obtained employment with the Chicago Daily News, where he directed their security staff.

As I described in Chapter Nine Loose gave a lecture in Marion, Indiana in 1921 which was attended by Harold Sherman as a reporter for the Marion Chronicle. This led to Sherman becoming a member of the Forum in 1942, and a consequent rebellion among their ranks. This was Sadler’s first real challenge for preservation of the Revelation. Other challenges were to come, but not in Sadler’s lifetime.

In a letter to Sherman dated February 4, 1941 Loose tells Sherman to watch for a tremendous book which will be published in about two years. It has been 35 years in the building. It is not mine but I had something to do with it.

17 - A Loose Chicago Detective ~229~

Loose, of course, is referring to The Urantia Papers. Although I have been unable to locate a record, he apparently became a member of the Forum. By “having something to do with it” he probably meant he was active during the period when questions were being posed and answers received. His attitude is typical of the Forumites who were members during that process. The statement could not mean more than that, although Sherman may have concluded that Loose played a larger role. This statement also led Martin Gardner to assume unreal conditions for changes in the Revelation and of Sadler editing the Papers.

I have been unable to determine the dates of Loose’s attendance in the Forum, or how long he was active. We do know from letters to Sherman that he continued to maintain contact with other Forumites into the early 1940’s. In an undated letter, certainly after Sherman’s contact with Loose in 1941, he mentions  Wanderman, Ronayne, Potter and the other four, apparently individuals who attended meetings and kept him informed of events. He tells Sherman to stay in touch with them. This raises the question of the reasons for his departure from the Forum while he continued to have such an intense interest. Gardner reported that he retired to California in 1934. This would be just before the actual revelation, but at the end of the question and answer episodes. At that time he was a mere 54 years of age. His retirement may have been due to failing health. Gardner reported that Loose in 1941 was then in his seventies, with a severe heart condition. Once again, Gardner showed how his emotions conditioned his thinking. In 1941 Loose was only 61 years of age, not in his seventies. However, it may be that he had a severe heart condition which led to an early death on November 21, 1943.

Loose went deep into psychic phenomena. The path by which he entered those pursuits is unknown. He may have been impelled from limited understanding of the content of The Urantia Papers. In his letters to Sherman he tells a strange story of hybrids. In a letter dated June 14, 1942 he mentions the hybrids and states that they are not midwayers. They were an exception approved on petition of the Ancients of Days. In another undated letter he again speaks of the missing hybrid story, but states, . . . be assured, it was for a good purpose. He does not explain this remark to Sherman.

Sherman picked up on this esoteric notion and made it an important part of his attack on Sadler in his book How to Know What to Believe. I shall discuss this problem in greater depth in the following chapter. Here I note that the discussion on hybrids was due to a confusion in the mind of Loose. Since he had no hard copy of The Urantia Papers available he had to depend on his memory. His ideas of the role of the Staff of the Planetary Prince were faulty. The Staff had been instructed to not mate with the primitive human mortals of those days, but later did reproduce among themselves, after the planetary rebellion, to create the Nodites. Reference to these planetary transactions is in the Bible in Genesis 6, which identifies the Nodites as Nephilim, or Giants.

~230~ The Birth of a Divine Revelation

In his many letters to Sherman Loose repeatedly expressed anger and frustration with Sadler. In a June 9, 1942 letter he attacked Sadler’s personal vanity. He complained that Sadler wouldn’t separate himself from the Revelation. Sadler should make contact and ask the intelligences an authoritative explanation of our truly evidenced psychic phenomena . . . But he cautioned Sherman that The Receiver of this Revelation should be forever shielded.

This last remark shows that Loose was unaware of the miraculous nature of the actual revelation, which did not come through SS, although he respected the reasons for not identifying him. This perceived use of SS may have been the reason he pursued psychic phenomena so relentlessly.

In another undated letter he complained about Sadler not relinquishing control over the Revelation. He wanted greater democracy over it. He stated, It is so sad that Sadler is so blind. He was so well chosen for the part he has had. And he has performed so wonderfully up to the present.

This, too, was part of the psychology developing within the ranks of the Forum, and was eloquently expressed by Clyde Bedell and Robert Burton who later brought attacks against the policies of the Urantia Foundation, Sadler’s autocratic creation. Again, I shall discuss these events in a later chapter. I mention it here merely because Loose had sentiments similar to many other members of the Forum about Sadler’s methods of management of the Revelation. Their views later proved correct.

The manner in which Loose may have pushed Sherman into an unfriendly attitude toward Sadler is demonstrated in other letters. In a letter dated August 14, 1942 he urged Sherman to fight Sadler. He is vulnerable. He reminded Sherman of Sadler’s remark, I am only the custodian of the papers. I do not own them. In September Loose suggested a law suit against Sadler. He felt that Sadler would be greatly fearful. In a later September letter he stated his belief that Something snapped with Dr. S before the death of his wife. He further expressed the hope that Sherman someday would meet SS face to face but first contact would probably be with the wife of the subject. Here Loose showed his first-hand knowledge of the routine for messages to be received from SS. His wife had to notify Sadler before Sadler could be present to receive the messages.

In an October letter he further railed against Sadler for hypnotizing the instrument. He wrote that Sadler should not have done so, because it would have been against the will of the subject, and Sadler wasn’t skilled in this area. He stated that It was Dr. Lena that kept Sadler balanced.

Once again Loose touched on a subject crucial to understanding of the mechanisms within the mind. A person under deep hypnotic trance can be induced to perform acts which he could not do consciously. Thus the act of hypnotism may be a violation of the conscious will. But Loose was not expert in this area, and did not account for the degrees of hypnotism which may be used by medical professionals. Sadler was thoroughly competent in this area, after many years of experience. He did not subject SS to hypnotic trance to cause him to

17 - A Loose Chicago Detective ~231~

perform acts against his will, but rather to probe his subconscious or marginal mind. This was part of Sadler’s investigation into the origins of the revealed material.

These examples illustrate how Loose had an impact on unfolding events, and conditioned Sherman to unfavorable attitudes toward Sadler. Loose may also have feared his social position among the Forumites. In several letters he entered into tirades against G. Willard Hales and his wife. He referred to her as a long standing nuro. He did not trust the Hales, perhaps because they saw through him.