THE TORCH OF REASON, SILVERTON, OREGON, THURSDAY, JANUARY 2 1 , 1 8 9 7 . S e c u la r News. It Ufa R. D. Allen donated seventeen Teacher in Natural History: volumes of valuable books. —“ What animal has the greatest The Y. P. S. S. C. proves to l>e a affection for man?” source of great amusement and in- Smart little Boy:—“ Woman!' struction. The meeting last Fri- Six-year old Ted to his sister: day was well attended. 1 he de- —“ Let’s plav Adam and Eve.” McMinnville Secular Sunday school elected the following officers Sunday January 17: Mrs. Addie Oleson, supt.; Mabel Hopkins, nssi taut supt.; Maggie Date on fne q u e s t io n ; u n s o lv e d S h e :--“ But how can we d«»*’i*tYo Daniel, secy.; L. Triplett, treas. that Cuba should be free,” was de Ted:—“You tempt me with an Lora Ames was elected secretary cided in favor of the affirmative, apple and I’ll eat it.” of the Silverton Secular Sunday S o m e strong points were brought He:—(Telling a hair-breadth ad- school last Sunday in the place of out. 1 he subject for debate the venture.)—“And in the bright Mrs. Nora Guiss, resigned. 22nd is “ Resolved that the study moon-light we could see the dark The Secularists of Silverton of books is more beneficial than the muzzfes of the wolves.” should have a larger building in study of nature,'’ and promises to She:—( Breathlessly)—“Oh, how which to hold their Sunday school. be interesting. A splendid pro- gja(j yOU must have been that they Those people who say Secularists gram will be rendered. ha<l j , ejr muzzles on.” cannot organize, should pay our All students of the university are —Harpers Bazar. Sunday school a visit. entitled to jointhe society. Others Isaac C. Robison. \\ hen Dr. A. K. Olds made his niay join by being voted in. A fee will he left a certain sum, the in- cents a month will be Died, at his home in Amity, Ore- come from which, is to be given to cbarged. An admission fee o f ten gon, Isaac C. Robison, aged 70 the Secular cause as his daughter f.en^s will be charged people not years. The funeral was conducted Nettie dictates. The result of this members, ho wish to attend the at the home, Nettie A. Olds de is that $20 was paid into the press meetings. livering the oration. Mr. J. K. fund this week. Sears, of whom the deceased had Portland News. We are in receipt of a pamphlet requested the favor, spoke at the Glory to--------the wanderer has entitled •‘Bibleand Church Degrade grave. The ceremony was a touch Women,” written by Elizabeth returned. Everybody felt better ing tribute t* the honor and virtue Cady Stanton and published by IL when she resumed her old place at of the deceased. L. Green, Chicago. The articles the piano last Sunday morning, Mr. Robison was one of our ear- are very well written and should The new innovation in the Sun- liestandm ostavowedLiberals,ad- be read by all women who imagine day school is proving successful, yocating its glorious truth when he the bible is their friend. The Some of the pupils do not like to gtooj aimost alone in the ranks, pamphlets may be had from the come in late, so they are making jqe wa8 a subscriber to the T orch publisher at ten cents each. an earnest effort to be on time. 0F R eason and Truth Seeker and Our business manager goes to We are making great prepara- his hospitality and generous sup- Portland to deliver a lecture at the ' tions for the entertainment, to be port always greeted the lecturers in Paine celebration .January 31. given on the anniversary of the the cause who came within his The Silverton Secular Sunday birth of Thomas Paine, and strain- reach. None knew him but to school will give a Paine celebration ing every nerve to make it a success, respect and honor him. In his at Liberal hall, Sunday eve, Janu- The singing section of the Portland death the cause of Freethought ary 31. A fine program will be ar- Turn-Verein will assist us. loses a staunch supporter, ranged consisting of a lecture by Last Sunday we introduced some L e tte rs from F riends. J. E. Hosmer, vocal and in- new movements in the calisthenic strumental music, recitations, etc. exercises. Miss Edith Kemp is the Jan. 13, 1897.—To the Edi- The Silverton Marine Band orches- leader. tor: Enclosed you will find 25 tra will assist with the music. Mrs. Blanche Wensley has been <*nts f°r which please send me the Admission free. All are invited to seiectej taj.e tj,e position in the T orch of R eason for three months, attend. , musical department at the univer- received a copy of your paper The article, Freethought Ad- sity, lately resigned by Miss Ada ^oni a friend, Michael Johnson, of vance, appearing in this paper, was Dewey. From what we know of Vale, Oregon, and must say it is written by John Leitch, of Mazo Mrs. Wensley (and we are pretty just the thing needed to open the Manie. This old gentleman is well acquainted with her) we think eyes of some of those radical Chris deeply interested in the cause of she will prove to be a thorough tians of these western states and to Secularism. He has donated quite and capable teacher in this and in prove to them that the foolish teachings of the bible are showing liberally to the cause in Oregon vocal music. and has made his will by which We have found a teacher, who is their absurdities more every day. he leaves $1000 to the Liberal so interested in her class, that al- Hoping that the T orch of R eason University. This is the kind of ready she has begun to bring spec- niay^)e s,en and felt over tin* whole enthusiasm it takes to make Secular- imens of reptiles etc., for their country, I remain respectfully, M organ P. G ifford , ism succeed. instruction. “J oebert ” Council Valley, Idaho. U n iversity Notes. Six Sm iles. Attendance is steadily increasing Young Lady:—“Do you believe and everybody is well pleased with in the laying on of hands?” the school. A new building is next Old Lady:—“Most certainly I do, in order. I cured my boy of smoking, A great interest is manifested in the successful experiments before the chemistry class. The university library is growing steadily and now contains some splendid books on scientific, moral and educational subjects. Remem- ber the reading room is open every evening from 7 to 9 o’clock and all day Saturday and Sunday. It is perfectly free to all who wish to way.”—Prog. Age. He:—“What do you think of young Jones?’’ “I think it he lived in bib- lical days, Balaam s ass would never have attained such promi- nence.” Miss Bloomerite:—“ What kind of a tree is that?” Her Companion.:—“ Why, that is a dog-wood. Can’t you tell it read or study. by its bark? ’ '/■ 1 th a t subscript’ons for the T orch . He works seven days in the week and yet has some time to devote to the cause of Secularism. Let others pattern after him and we will swell the subscription list wonderfully.) S cappoose , O r .—Dear Sir: En closed find money order for $7. Two dollars from Mrs. Maria West and $5 from myself. Please send me the P orch of R eason one year and use the rest for paying for the press. Wishing you success, I am yours forFreethought, .J ohn P rice , N. B. I will subscribe $10 for the university fund. J. P. From Zenith. Will some of our friends please answer the following questions? Are our souls made as they are wanted, or does God keep them in stock? If our bodies are only an earthly home for a spirit, does that spirit grow and become wise as our bodies enlarge? Can the spirit of man leave the body and return at will? If so are we to be damned, and cast into that ever-lasting hell because our spirit goes off on a lark while we are innocently sleeping? If a live man (with a soul) should be hermetically sealed in a casket, would that soul leave the body and fly away up to heaven, or would both soul and bodvdecav » » the same as an ox? Or if an infidel, while working in a gold mine to earn bread for his family should be buried alive, would his soul start downward for hell? IL C. P age . t Mr. H. C. Davenport, the great caricaturist has been making a tour of Europe aud while in Rome he wrote to his cousin, P. W. Geer, of the T orch of R eason , as follows: “ What a benefit a sight of Rome would be to you; a sight that you never could forget. You would get so sick of church that I dare sav you would be moved to take great steps in other directions. “The sight of monks and priests grows to be sad—sad to see so many fat monks fed by poor starv ing people who can hardly support themselves. “Yesterday,, we climbed Mt. Vesuvius and our eyes are still full B utte , M ont ., Jan. 13, 1897— of smoke. To see Pompeii makes you feel very modern.” Dear Sir: I here enclose a P. O. order for $3.75 for another club for After death there is nothing. the T orch of R eason . Death itself is nothing— only the I think we ought to have a good most recent arrival, or goal, reached Secular union here, but it seems in the velocity of space. Let the like everyone is after the almighty avaricious ones discard their hopes dollar, and as for me, I can’t do who would expect happiness after verv much in that wav as I am a death aud let anxious ones set poor working man. I am working aside their fears who would fear a smelter seven days a week, so punishment after death. Dost thou you see that lets me out of all the betray any curiosity to know where Sunday school work, but I am thou wouldst rest after death? willing to do what I can. Where do those rest who have not Yours respectfully, come into existence at all? Rapa I). A. K ennedy . cious time swallows us up, and we (M r. K ennedy has sent us ten merge in to chaos.—Seneca (Troades)