Image provided by: Silverton Country Historical Society; Silverton, OR
About Torch of reason. (Silverton, Oregon) 1896-1903 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 18, 1897)
% THE TORCH OF REASON, SILVERTON, OREGON, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 1897. Torch Of I^CciSOn °f ^ ‘e ^aw or °* a gw<*’ ^ ° u r“kbedmeof the power to make thusiastic worker would not have poor coward, I cannot help pitying my meaning clear to you? If they been in the work if it had not beeu yon for your weakness. “ But this idea of not being to Published W eekly by th e L iteral U ni blame for our bad actions, ami not versity Com pany, in the In terests ot particularly to he praised for our C onstructive, Moral .Secularism. good conduct, will not do to teach J. E. H o sm e r,....................... Editor’ to children,” is me cry of some who P. W . ( je e r ,....................... M an ager have not yet learned to look into their m inds and see there the E ntered at the jiostoifice at Silverton, product of conditions. We hold, Oregon, as second-class mail m atter. and n<»t without experience, th a t it SUBSCRIPTION RATES. is a benefit to young people to One year, in ad v an ce..........................f l 00 know th a t you feel sorry for all Six m onths in ad v an ce.................... 5C T hree m onths, in ad v an ce................ 25 their weaknesses. If a child is In clubs of five or more, one year, saucy or disobedient, kind treat in a<l v a n c e .............................................. 75 ment for his troubles is more M oney should he sent by registered beneficial than punishment for his letter or money order. crimes ; and again, it. is certain that N otice! as soon as a ch ild ’s mind is capable of knowing the tru th it is capable A pencil m ark here denotes that, your subscription will expire with the next of using th a t tru th to its ow n ad have, we b» g of you to endeavor to for the Liberal U niversity. Then think of this great subject un til we have others with excellent you solve it to your com plete satis- ability, who will soon be ready to faction. It is the great dividing lecture if our friends are friendly line between C hristianity and enough. A num ber of stu d e n ts Secularism. C h ristian ity has »I were added to our school this w’eek god to whom we a re resp o n sib le. He has given us “ free wills” to do and others will he here next M any very valuable as we please and we are responsible Monday. to him . He will bless us if we do books, not less than tw enty, were right and dam n us if we do wrong; added to the lib rary , and every hut Secularism has no gods. We thing seems in a growing, prosper are creatures of evolution and as ous condition. B ut perhaps the best feature of such m an is not accountable at all for what he is. It is not the the whole work is the way the natural desire of m an to do wrong. stu d en ts are working, We wish It is n atu ral for us to want to do our friends everyw here could see those things whieh are beneficial to them digging away for the great us. and if we are not deceived by gems of tru th th a t go to make up evil teachings we would all do a good education, and see th eir num ber. Yon are earnestly requested e an d if the tr u th is n<»t un- . to renew so th a t you may receive the pa v i an . tag i f we have the ic*at note honks with the results of i . i o . i ; right naturally per w ithout in te rru p tio n . We have de derstood there will be no b a rm . .- al _ . «lestre to do right, we can no more earnest, faithful endeavor. As we cided th a t it is best for all concerned , , . , . , , . . , th a t we do not semi papers longer than done. Of course, if , the m atter is I ; h e lp th is d e s ire th a n th e c rim in a l are writing one student comes into th e tim e paid for unless so ordered. presented so as to leave a wrong . . . whose strongest impulse leads him the room and exclaim s, “ 0 , it’s T his will {»revent any loss ami we will impression, or if through an in-1 ° r know ju st w here we stan d . to commit a c ”im«*. Can you help not twelve yet; I will study aw h ile We request you to send us the nam es h erite d w eakness or e a rly m is tra in - your thought at this moment? If before d in n er.’’ The forenoon ses of Secularists who m ight become su b ing, the child m iscom prehends arid sion closes at 11:30 a. m ., you see, scribers and we w ill mail sam ple copies. iiiisappli**« thn tru th then the rau,t j o u d" change it you cannot help and she is now working, of h er rHURSDAY, NOV. 18, E. M. 297 i» not in th e tru th but in the prc. but change it, and to change it ,. t . . again only proves th at the im pulse own free will, with a num ber of vious conditions. We can conceive! . . 1 to again change was the stronger others, th a t she m ay lose no tim e. Do N o t C o n d e m n . of cases where it would he better to There is not much danger of over and prevailed. Every action of In <>ur opinion there is no greater develope great tru th s g radually to ! our lives depends on the thought work, either, for all have two good tru th n<»r one th at, when well certain unfortunates, the sam e as th at impelled th a t action, and periods each day in which th ey learned, will be more beneficial to we would gradually bring the light therefore our actions are w hat they have system atic calisthenic ex er m ankind, than the fact that people to hear upon one who was are, not because we have planned cises, which is the very best thing are not responsible for their receiving treatm ent for the eyes, it thus, we repeat, but because in the world to keep young and old thoughts nor for their actions hut these cases are very rare in our strongest impulses, which are in good health. The Sunday school work is not We are what we are; we do as we deed, and as a rule the sunlight of direct offsprings of our evolved in tru th is what we w ant and no fear to be overlooked. Who can esti do; we think our thought, not be heritances, compel us to thus act. m ate the F reethought work th a t cause we have planned it so but be of evil results need he anticipated. Ah, how kind and gentle and W hen people u n d erstan d what cause conditions compel us to think forgiving we will become when we will be done when the S unday and act a » we do. To he sure, we Robert G. Ingersoll and other great have fully learned this great les School and U niversity students may l ave a desire to do good and thinkers have been trying to im son. You, dear friend, are the reach m anhood and wom anhood? also a counter dt sire to he bad, but press upon our minds, th a t we are sam e as we are. W’e have weak Think of it! We never before have as we must he, then there will he the stronger impulse will decide had trained workers! W hat will nesses th at we may or we m ay not our course, and this impulse comes no capital punishm ent in our be the outcom e? T he C hristian families, in » u rach .-b , nor in our | Oursubseque.it lives not because we have a “free m oral would say, “ O, it will not am o u n t government. Will we never learn W1“ tel1 the an,i wbe‘her we to an y th in g ,’’ hut when he says it agency,’’ but because our brains that the old hickory ruler and the | are a help and a blessing to our- are as they have been made by selves and to our fellow men de- he is shaking in his boots for fear old birch rod of our forefathers is th a t it will, and h a lf wishing th a t conditions over which we have had pends altogether on w hat we are not productive of good? Can we no control. he could he free from su p erstitio n now and w hat our surroundings But can we not, and do we not, never com prehend th a t to hang are to be. And when we are himself. choose what course we pursue, and one’s brother, or his son, or his through, although our work will Eliza Mowry Bliven’s wmrk needs do not some choose the good and neighbor, does not m ake a better live on either for good or for evil, to be remembered. Do you know some th'* bad? Yes, we choose our m an—a better citizen ? Fear is the we will rest, but the great struggle her plan means a great victory course but we cannot help our weapon of ty ra n ts and ty ra n ts do upw ard tow ard the light, will be for freethought? She needs work choice. T h at is beyond our control. not m ake a happy people. Go in carried on by beings a little better, ers to make it a perfect success, We cannot help a single thought. to a school room where the rod is and a little stronger, and a little but she will get them, for we dis You may choose or think vou will most used and you will find one wiser, than we. The n a tu ra l desire cover that she has the staying appear to its ad- think of other things, now th a t vou where it , would , . , * , of man is to do right, and when qualities that are necessary in any vocates to be most needed: but go , , ,, , have read this, hut this is one of . . . . , artificial props and blocks are great enterprise of this kind. the m any things that you have into the same school when the rod once removed. Mother Nature with Don’t underestimate this work. come in contact with, and it makes has been throw n aw ay and love loving hands will lead us to the Just think what it means if it is and reason substituted, and a you think as you do. successful! Let’s all join hands fountain of eternal youth. motion of the hand, a glance of the “ \\ by, if this is true and we are and make it a great success. eve is sufficient. The same is true altogether creatures of circum- Next summer will see the new G ood R e s u lt s . of a nation. Kind treatm ent of stanc* s, w’e will have ju st all the University building completed if the unfortunates, who through in- We do not wish to boast of we all do our best, and we may be fun we can ,’ says some believer in God and the free moral agency herited diseas«* or deformity of the many good results of our work, able to buy the other four acres of idea. “ We will steal and lie and the brain, or who have been warp- but in order that our friends may land before our option expires, Newspapers all over the country drink and do an y th in g we choose.” ed by c«»n<litions they found on know what is being accomplished it Ah, this is your idea of having a their coming to this “vale of tears,” is well to place on exhibition some begin to notice our existence, many The O nly Paper of Its Kind. g< < d, time is it? Well, conditions make a happy, progressive have not been right or perhaps vou PHOI’lp> a,,d eliminate the evils pro- would enjoy doing right , and dueed by the heathenish punish- would not be serving your master olden times. Fear and only refraining from ex- Kind reader, can you grasp my cesso a kinds, because you are, thought, or have had conditions of the many things that the Sec- of them speaking of us in terms ularists of Oregon are doing. of commendation. Add to all this East Sunday we listened to one what we have learned in our year’s of the best lectures ever delivered work and we rejoice with our in Silverton. It was delivered by friends at the bright prospects for Miss Kate De Peatt, and this en-1 our school and our glorious cause.