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.
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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
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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
.
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,
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
,
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,
,
.
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- ! ,
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T ,
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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
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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-
/
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7 .
from me during the m any vears I
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. 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-