Image provided by: Silverton Country Historical Society; Silverton, OR
About Torch of reason. (Silverton, Oregon) 1896-1903 | View Entire Issue (July 8, 1897)
* THE TORCH OF REASON, SILVERTON, OREGON, THURSDAY, JULY 8, 1897. Coming to The Light. ordinary; through a day and a sleepless night it raged with un abated virulence.” It seems strange that full grown men can believe that such intem perate, and repulsive men as the priests often are, can become in fallible through such a disgraceful performance. If our work was ouly for the pur pose of correcting the blunders of orthodoxy, we would not be so en thusiastic, for people will think in spite of the priest’s endeavors to do all the thinking for them, and they will gradually become more and more liberal without our help; but there is another and better in Deacon Brown, Please Pass centive for us to work, and that the Hat. is the prevention of the ruin of those, especially the young, who are We have sent out a little holder having the artificial prop of Chris containing a hat into which each tianity taken away from them. Liberal is asked to drop 26 cents. Our young people must have soci If each one to whom the hat comes ety and if we organize and furnish carefully follows the directions it them and each other with ennobling will mean thousands of dollars for surroundings that will lead us all our work and only 25 cents from to high and philanthropic endeav each Liberal. Each one who re ors, how much happier will we be ceives a hat is to enclose 25 cents and how much better will the world and forward to* us and then make become for our having lived. two other similar hats and send When we left the old stranded them to two <»f their Liberal friends, wreck of orthodoxy, there was no enclosing a letter requesting them place for us to go. Our former to do likewise. These friends are companions, whom we still loved, to do the same, and if no one al looked upon us with horror; at lows the work to stop in their hands leaet we felt that they did for we it will soon amount to a large remember how we once looked upon sum; for it will double every time. those who denied the “blessed sav \V hen it has been through twelve changes, it no one breaks the ior” even when they were enjoying chain, i. e., fails to send us 25 blessings that we supposed all came cents and the two letters and two trom his hand. Being married, hats to their two friends, it will however we had our own society amount to 4*1024 and the next and after a number of years we change will make it $2048 and the next $4096. found many other friends who had Now friends, if you are prompt also had their eyes opened to the and no one fails to do ids part and terrible follies of the old myths; is careful to select staunch Liberals, but every one is not married, and we can soon place the T orch of many that are, would be better off if R eason and Liberal University on solid footing. Liberals do not they were not, and we believe that in a pass the hat very often and we a majority of cases when the band hope now that we have, all will age of the medicine man is taken take pleasure in helping a little. off of one’s eyes, he needs friends, At the Soldiers’ Home. for the light is to strong and the poor lonesome one is often driven E ditor T orch of R eason : into other depths of darkness. Every week we have one or more Yes, for the sake of those who funerals at this home. I was high are coming to the glorious light of ly entertained at one last week, which causes queer reflections. The liberty and truth, let us organize corpse was lowered into the grave societies that they may be instruct-! all right. A man with a long rone ed and sustained in the right chan on stood at one end of the grave. nel in the religion of human Another man with an ordinary ity —in helping others and build-1 barn shovel stood as attendant. After the corpse was fixed in po i»g for themselves brave and noble sition, the attendant scooped up characters. some ashes on the shovel and handed it to the man who wore Infallible. the robe, who sprinkled them on the coffin. H e then received from Lius the Second in his auto the attendant a squirt gun on the biography, has left the following end of which was a nick le or silver account of how a man may be made plated garden-sprinkler nozzle; he then flirted some liquid on the infallible and placed at the head of coffin. There were undoubtedly the Church: men present who believed (didn’t “W e adjourned to luncheon, and know) that the water was holy; from that moment, wnat cabals! that the man with the robe on was I he more powerful members of the holy, and that the squirt gun and shovel were sacred implements. Of ' ■'ilege, whether their strength lay course the man with the shovel be II imputation or wealth, beckoned lieved enough glory reflected on others to their side. They prom- him to make him sacred at least. I his belief is caused by the '■= d, they threatened. There were of men being perverted and v<‘n some who without a blush, it minds has become a curse to humanity. without a Rhred of modesty, plead- W hy does man believe? Because their own merits, and demanded he is too indolent to learn the the supreme pontificate qualifica truth concerning the thing he says be lielieves. Belief is simply a tions. an orthodox excuse to Each man baosted of his quali scape-goat, screen absolute imbecility under fications. The bickering of these pretense of saving souls. r aimants was something »*xtra- A. R. T. dorch of Ift'easen S o n g Book R© i. “ Keep the Torch of Reason Burning.” * Price,- Ten cents. The above shows the exact size of the little song book we have just completed. It contains thirty-two pages. The songs are set to familiar tunes and should be in every Freethought home and Sunday school. Send us an order. Price, 10 cts. -- «3>o The Liberal University The O n ly School of the K inJ In the W orld STRICTLY NON-SECTARIAN S ilv erto n , Oregon. Tor te rm s an d p a rticu lars address J. E. HOSMER, President, Silverton, Ore. A n nouncem ents will lie out th e first of A ugust. T h e 'P o r c h o f R e a s o n Issued every week. T he only S ecular p ap er p ublished on th e P a cific Coast. A fearless advocate of C o n stru ctiv e, E d u catio n al, Moral Secularism . S u b scrip tio n price, $1.00 per year. T h e U ittle C a n d le A weekly pap er for th e young people. E n tirely free from su p erstb tion. Devoted to Secular Sunday-school work, and c o n tain in g les sons for each Snndav. P er year, 25 cents.