TH E TORCH OF REASON, SILV ER TO N , OREGON, T H U R SD A Y , N O V EM BER 4, 1897 Torch of Reason The Only Paper of Its Kind. Published Weekly by the Literal Uni versity Com pany, in the In te re sts of C onstructive, Moral Secularism . J. E. H osm er,....................... Editor P. W. G eer,....................... Manager E ntered at the postoffice at Silverton, Oregon, as second-class m ail m atter. SUBSCRIPTION RATES. Three m onths, in a d v a n c e .. . . -5 In clubs of five or m ore, one year, 75 in advance Money should be sent by registered letter or im,in v order. Notice! A pencil m ark here denotes th a t your subscription will expire w ith th e next num ber. You are earn estly requested to renew so th a t you may receive th e pa- per w ithout in te rru p tio n . We have de cided th a t it is best for all concerned th a t we do no t send papers longer th an th e tim e paid for unless so ordered. T his will p revent any loss and we will know ju st where we sta n d . W e request you to send us th e nam es of Secularists who m ight become sub- scribers and we will mail sam ple copies, THURSDAY, NOV. 4, E. M. 297 We A dvance Our school opens again this week, and we are so very busy that we scarcely have tim e to write editor- ials. No one can im agine with what interest our little band looks forward to the coming year’s cam- paign. Everything seems in our f. vor. We have secured another building, which is ju s t w hat we tieed for our present work. It gives us two mole study rooms an d three tine recitation rooms. This, with the Liberal H all for the . . music wora, society, entertain- m enu, reading room, etc., gives ue a great advantage over last year, Then, some of us boys are talking of titling up the dining hall for a gym nasium , as we have concluded to remain in our present quarters, there being am ple room, when we m ove th e p rin tin g o u tfit in to a n of- ,. . fice nearer the school. In this way ... , . * we will he prepared to exercise our bodies and m inds this w inter to good advantage. And now if we have friends enough to give us the much needed support, financial and otherwise, we will deal old . , , .. . ... , Ignorance a blow th a t will m ake him stagger. Our S u n d ay S c h o o l. We wish th a t our Liberal friends everywhere could have had an eye in Liberal Hall last S unday, and have seen the work of our splendid Secular Sunday school; and how we wish th a t there w ere enough Sec ular teachers to establish one equally as good in every city and town in the U nited States. But we must lie patient, and do what we can, and when these young people are educated in the work Secular Sunday schools will n in i- tiply muco more rapidly. Above as fact; to be exactly right and an t and superstitious, who are at strike wrong with all our m ight; to a jj tim es and in all places so ready give 5 ankee rum , H olland gin, and anxious to be hoodwinked out Germ an beer. B ritish ale, Irish of their reason ami their cash. I w hisky,and C hristian wine n o q u a r-j knew full well th at I was quite un- ter. But in the righteousness of able to give our dear brother. Eli reason, the fidelity of soberness, let Emerson, the proof he desired, and us think freely, deal justly, love to refund the money I have taken wisely, and leave the gods to look J frnln him bv false pretenses was out for them selves, by being loyal quite out of the question, as no and helpful to mankind. preaeher of respectability is ex- J ohn P rescott G uild . j pected to give; no, no. “ Take all you can get and keep all you have,” The Licensed Preacher. is our motto, and how can I be ex same m istake th a t the orthodox pected to violate this old-tim e law By K h v Old Mortality people have, and think th a t if the My little ones, circum stances of our church ? Hence I w a> nigh y o u n g people o n ly confess and be-1 force me to forego my usual inimi- distracted, and for six d a \s and lieve th a t th a t makes them whole. table, interesting serm on, but when seven nights I could neither eat L ittle by little in their every day you have learned of the things th a t nor sleep. 1 finally telegraphed have recently ¡Rev. Mrs. Roxey Ja n e M ortality, conversation they learn to be true circum stances all things, we must teach in our schools the purest kind of m orality, so th at these students, when pre p a r e d to do the scientific p art of the Work, will he fit examples for the young. it would be well for our teachers to supplem ent the lessons given in the L ittle Candle each week by stories and conversation illu stra t ing some moral tru th which will impress on the young peoples’ m inds the great principles of right ,nen an(] w om en , or to be d eceitfu l, brought into existance, you will no " b n was over on the W etw ater cruel and corrupt, doubt rejoice as 1 rejoice. I have creek, visiting the rich widow, Mrs. lately received a very th reaten in g j Helen kishfin, for the purpose of epistle from a redhot gentlem an , °i?ling her into m aking o \e r her “ Don’t be F rightened.’’ who is now going into cold storage, property to our tabernacle, ere she “ M any in C h ristia n citiz e n sh ip became an angel. (S ister Fishfin , . . , , . I will read it to you: can he frightened who cannot be R ev . O ld M ortality . Sir: I write was quite sick of a fever.) W hen fo o |e(J ancJ m any fooled who never you this in order to apprise you Rev. Mrs. Roxey Ja n e had perused ’ frighten. We n e e d more patriotic that after being hum bugged by you this th reaten in g epistle she medi- C hristians who are too well inform ed for nearly forty-seven years, my for a mom ent, and then hast- know their rights under the eyes have now opened to your .. ... , . . A. J ilv withdrew' from mv presence. • r law, ami their grave responsibilities; schemes. During these m any vears J you huve taken my har.l-'eirned The following day she returned and too courageous to be turned aside dollars, and in return you have 1 informed me th a t we had entered by th reats of boycott in business, or given me naught but Jew ish fables, into partn ersh ip with B rother of personal violence, and too earnest selected from the most questionable Em erson, had given him $650, and consecrated to compromise with hook that ever em inated from the and he had im m ediatelv taken pas sin at a single point. We are not develish brain of m an. Now, sir, sage for the K londike. She then to strive to be u ltra radical, but to to the im portant object of this let handed me Bro. E m erson’s receipt ter. In looking over my ledger, I be wholly right. And in the right- find that 1 have paid you $2,393.67. ! in full for $2,393.67. eousness of God let us have unwav- For w hat? For telling me about a 1 My little ones, so much pleased ering faith and add to it an un god an,I a heaven a devil and a j hiB u n |o „ k(jd fnr redera . . swerving loyalty.”— Keystone En- hell; and a Jesus C hrist and his . silly plan of salvation, which, sir, H°n, th a t I cried for joy, and then deavorer. you do not believe. As for God, wound up by acting the fool. I few verbal changes in this Jesus C hrist, the Devil and hell, kissed her; yes, I kissed Roxey he- exhorIation wou]., nillcll im prove you can know no more about them , caUHe she got me out of it so very . . than a newly born babe. This be- ! , , T , .. , it, and m ake it servicable for becu- mg the case, I look upon you as a r •; ,. conniving sw indler, who has taken ^ r0- Em erson had been reading larist’s encouragement, m any of my hard earned dollars by false several Liberal papers and rrutga- whom stand as much in need of pretenses. And now, sir, unless zines, in which he made the discov- moral backbone as do any whiftle- you produce proof of the existence | ery th a t gky piiotp were a parcel God, heaven, the devil, „ „„ who . . 1 live ««».* whaffling C hristians. How will of , x 1 • t 1. r 11 • and • 1 also! . of e religious bunco steerers, locate his hell, I will, inside of this do, wabbling Secularists? th irty days, bring suit against you 1 ®o^eLv on the gulhbleness of the It also appears M any in Secular citizenship can for the recovery of $2,393.67; unless l world a t large. be frightened who cannot he fooled, you tee fit to im m ediately refund th a t his law yer advised him to * , , , . .. . , a n d m any fooled who never frig h ten , th at am ount, which you have taken ^ r jng suit against me for the recov- / . . , 7 . from me during the m any vears I ... ___ . . e .. • , • , R J • n ery of the am ount set forth in his We need m ore p a trio tic S e c u la rists was under your persuasive lnnu- J , who are too well informed not t o 1 ei.w s. Your i«>,>r victim, threatening letter. Little ones. E li E merson . keep this story from your parents, know their rights under the consti My little dears, when I had read for should they learn of it, they too tution, to«» self-respecting not to insist upon them under the law, this threatening letter, I was nigh might want to go to the Klondike, and too honorable not to know and distracted with grief. For I know We now have all the p artn ers we fulfil, their natural responsibilities naught of this god I talked so very care for at present, in th a t far oft 1 to every Kai y ; who are too eon rage glibly about, and I acknowledge God-forsaken land of cold storage, On F riday evening I learned th at ons to be sidetracked bv bigotry or that I know no more about the bulldozed by hypocrites; too sensible devil and his hell th an a newly Sister Fishfin had willed all of her to halt at the half-way house of born babe. As for .Jesus C hrist, money and vast dom ains to our “ liberal C h ristian ity .” and too con- there is no proof w hatever th a t tabernacle. Her heirs are out of it. servative of knowledge to sell it for such a ch aracter ever existed, ex- She was a proud and vain woman, rags and pottage; too earnest and cept in the brains of the w riters of and told Roxey th a t she was afraid straightforw ard to com prom ise with the new’ testam ent, and who these th at A braham would notice the superstition at any point, and too men were is not known, even unto unsightly protuberance on the left Kersey Graves, in his side of her nose, and not adm it her American to yield a n inch of our this day. blood-bought soil, or give the pro- work on gods and eaviors, tells us to his bosotn. But Roxey assured lection of our battle-rent flag, to the th at we have hail sixteen crucified her th a t St. Peter would meet her thieving cu tth ro ats from over the saviors, and forty-two men and at the paarly gates with a stick of sea, or the slavish worshippers of a women who called them selves the heaveulv lu n ar costic and remove man-god, who is prisoner in his sons and daughters of God. All of the unsightly object in the tw ink- governm ent-confiscated palace at these personages died violent deaths, ling of an eye, and ever after she Rome. We should strive to he as ami all were schemers, whose work would be a favorite belle with all radical as tru th and as persistent was to ogle a living out of the iguor-, the old bachelor and young m ar-