T orch
VOL 1.
R eason .
of
SILVERTON, OREGON, THURSDAY, JUN E 24, 1897.
NO. 34.
At Random Sown.
the papers and keeps up his in­ make tin* people realize the wrong
terest in the reforms for which he of slavery (finally wiped out by the American church aud clergy.”
In those days I carried Garrison’s
I scattered m y rhym es on th e barren worked ably and faithfully so many
war,
the
surgery
of
national
crimed
ground,
Liberator in one pocket and the In­
y ears.
X ight was its barrenness to m e;
were denounced by press and pulpit vestigator in another. The work
Or»east them a d rift on th e vagrant
This veteran worker lived to see as “abolitionists,” “infidels” and
w in d s;
for which the former was establish»
And the sto S n y billow s of th e sea.
' slavery, (against which I heard “fanatic”—all epithets of abuse.
(ed has been accomplished; the work
I never cared, or sought to know,
him hurl his terrible invective when
1 he pro-slavery spirit dominated for Universal Mental Liberty is
W hether like fru itfu l seeds they grew,
W hether they perished as soon as horn, I was a boy) abolished a third of a the theological universities. The still
needed, and will be for
( >r faded away like th e m orning d e w
century ago. Since then he has authority of Prof. M,>8es Stuart, as centuries to come.
W hether m en heeded them o rd isp ised ;
For the light m ust shine, the lark m ust spoken powerfully and eloquently a • defender of slavery or. bible
May the T orch of R eason and
sing,
for intellectual freedom, for liberal grounds, was supreme at Andover
And the rose unfold its blushing buds
the Liberal University at Silverton
religion, and for every progressive The church of Rev. Neheuiiah
To warm em braces of th e spring.
contribute largely to the work of
movement which has needed help. Adams, author o f‘‘The South Side
And yet, though careless of th e flowers
mental emancipation, to complete
That shed th e ir odors on th e air,
The first lecture i ever heard bv View of Slavery,” represented the freedom of thought, and freedom of
1 dream ed a dream th a t grew to a hope,
I arker Pillsbury was delivered in scholarly conservative sentiment of expression, limited only by equal
That as th e thistledow n m ight bear
A living germ in its sm all balloon,
Providence R. I. The subject was Boston. Of that church the eloquent respect for the rights of all.
Some of my fancies, robed in rh y m e,
Might fall perchance upon fru itfu l s o il; “ I he Church and Slavery.” Slav­ Rufus ( hoate was a member and
B. F. U nderwood .
And root and ripen in th e ir tim e —
Alexander
ery was represented as a huge an­ regular attendant.
Ripen in h e arts as y e t u n b o rn ,
To strenghen th e w eak, console th e poor, aconda, its tail coiled under the Campbell, founder of the sect called
Patriotic Address.
To cheer the brave in th e ir conquering pulpit, its body lying over the desk, campbelliies, was a defender of
m arch,
covering Bible and Prayer hook, slavery and a slave holder. The
Rev. W . E Copeland, pastor of
And teach th e w retched to endure.
Life’s h ard battle jierm its no truce,
and its head on the communion American 1 ract Society using a Unity church, Salem, will lecture
And every age needs w arriors stro n g ;
And even a rhym e m ay pierce like table, its eyes glistening among the picture in one of their publications, at Liberal Hall, Sunday evening
a sword
dishes used in serving bread and representing Christ coming to cure .July 4th. Miss Helen Copeland
The arm our th a t protects th e w ro n g !
—C h a r le s M a ck a y .
wine commemorating the Last Sup- the sick, the halt and the blind, and will favor the audience with some
vocal solos before the lecture. Ad-
Z hereby m a ke a p p lica tio n fo r m em bership in, the Oregon, S ta te Secular Union.
J agree to live an, honest, m oral life, to assist th is Union a n d m y local Secular
&
C hurch, an d to do a ll in m y power to advance the cause o f S ecu la rism .
ii
?•
&
N am e.
This application is to lx? accom panied by 25c for th ree m o n th s’ dues,
which is to he refunded in case th e a p p lican t is rejected.
Physical and Mental
Em ancipation.
A tew weeks ago I received a
‘ !tcr from Parker Pillsbury and a
py of his hook “Acts of the
’i->;aVery Apostles.” He was
r""vering from a severe illness
bad confined him to the
*0W9e for months and was just get-
1¡ng out doors again.
Ir. Pillsbury is now eight.v-seveu
y*ars old, and of course, can do no
"
active work; but he still reads
per.
In
It was
fearful picture.
these days the
to release the oppressed, struck out mission free.
churches the part which was intended to in- vited to attend.
generally, even in New England
were on the side of slavery, and
they rigidly opposed the agitation
of the slavery question. Garrison,
N. P. Rogers, Phillips, Pillsbury,
The Grimke Sisters, Henry CL
Wright, Stephen S. and A bby Kel-
ley, Foster, The Burleigh brother,
Gerrit Smith, Birney, Lucritia
Mott, Douglass, and “the Ethiopian
Sybil,” Sojourner Truth, Lucy
Stone and others who helped to,
dicate Christ striking the shackles
from a slave.
Such was the spirit of the times
when Pillsbury and others raised
their voices against human slavery,
and
against “The American
churches, the bulwarks of American
slavery,” to use the title of one of
•ludge Birney’s books—against“The
Brotherhood of Thieves,” as Stephen
Foster, entitled a pamphlet in
which he gave “a true picture of
!
All are kindly in
___________
Notice.
I here will be a business meeting
and election of officers of the Silver-
ton Secular church at Liberal Hall
Saturday evening June 26, at
•S o’clock.
All Secularists and
members of the church are earnest­
ly requested to atttend.
Secretary.
J ohn H icks .