T H E TO R C H OF REASON, SILV ER TO N , O REG O N , T H U R SD A Y , D EC EM B ER 9, 1897.
i
purposes hidden in his superlative
For th e S u n d a y School.
p a p a ,” she said, p a r ting an d alm ost
wisdom; then we tu rn from him
out of breath.
“ Now, C lare,” I
E ditor T orch of R eason :
said, “ this will help those children
W hen one looks out over the ail<^ set
solution of moral sal-
\\ ill you kindly do a favor foi • nd thousands of others not yet
world of men, and perceives with vation elsewhere, and then because m y little daughter C lare? I read
born.” “Oh, p apa,” she said, “ you
the eye of knowledge and of his- " e thus tu in , we are heretics to your news and notes in the issue are so funny.
How can it h elp
tory the som ewhat loose and chaot- the fa ith , but none the less do we of Nov. 18th to her and she w as children not yet bo rn ?”
“ I will
quite
interested
and
said,
“
Papa
' tell y o n , dear. Yon see there are
ic state of m orality; the diversified 8ro" " e a ry and disheartened at
let
us
move
to
S
ilverton
so
I
can
¡children horn every uav, and th eir
characters com posing the strug- dnu-s when we find the way rough
attend the Liberal U niversity ami fathers and m others read the T orch
gling m ass of hum anity; the un- a n ^ 1 roH^ hard to keep,
the Secular Sunday school.” “ I of R eason and tell them of all
developed brain of the ignorant, the
to s°tnetim es stop and know it would be nice,” 1 said to these little things and the good de­
semi-wise and the polished hypo- tak e stock and see if we have gain- her, “ but papa is not able to go; I rived from the S unday schools,
crite; the sm ooth and heartless j e<^ or l°st. Let us count up and would if I could.” Then she said, and will send them to the schools
scoundrel; the different classes of cast UP ^ ,e ^ h g e r of the past and “ I would like so much to see those when they are old enough; and
little children because they learn
crim inals; the cranks and intol- 6eevvhere we stand in the present, ju s t what you are teaching me you see the more help we get to
support the S unday schools the
e ja n t fanatics, and harnesses him -j th a t we m ay be wiser in the ever every day, and we ca n ’t help them m errier the children all are. No
self to the car of developm ent and j UI1hdding future.
along unless we live th ere.” “ Oh doubt the little boys and girls of
progression, believing th a t it will
hat have we done th a t has ad- yes, Ulaie, we can do good no m a t­ Silverton all wonder who little
ter where we live, if our motive is Clare Stoll fs and would like to see
move when he tightens on the ded one jot or tittle to ,th e w orld’s such as to be good and help to bet­ you, and perhaps in the near future
traces of his logic, his ethical, m oral m oral progress? If we have done ter the fu tu re .” “ How, dear pa we will move to Silverton and live
or religious code his m agnetic nothing, then indeed are we nonen­ pa?” “ I will tell you, Clare. H ere am ong the people of our own
power and sublim e eloquence, he tities in the great dram a of life— is fifty cents; go to the postm aster belief, and then you can run and
T his play with a lot of children like
may find his belief som ewhat sh ak ­ we would not even show to be fools and get a money order.
is
equal
to
two
cents
a
week
if
you \ ourself.
W on’t th a t he fu n ?”
en by a d ish eartening failure. when its cu rtain was raised, acting gave it every time at S unday school I “ Oh, m y, yes! 1 can h ard ly w ait.”
After years of labor it will seem to the part of fools, but drones, of no for six m onths.
W hen the six
So find enclose«! the money order
use
except
lor
reproduction
of
our
m onths is up, papa will give you for fifty cents, which please give to
him th a t the grand old car has
useless
kind.
fifty cents a;-aii>, and by so doing your S ecular Sunday School and
never budged; th a t its golden
None of us are perfect, nor in­ you will do just the sam e as (hough you will hear from ue again. W ith
wheels have m ired in the sloughs
you lived in S ilverton.” And away good wishes to all th e pupils and
of im m orality; th a t despite all of deed can we be in this stage of our she went on a double-quick t un to teachers of the S unday school, I
But it our lives
bis self-sacrificing and heroic efforts developm ent.
get the money order. “ There it is, am, fratern ally , D r . L. S. S toll .
have
really
been
p
artly
m
oral
—
the world of men and women daily
more moral than wicked — if we
grows worse.
have actu ally tri« d t«» live bv the
Surely there are hours in the . . .
.
, ,
.
dictates of ourconscience, and from
wav-worn tra v e le rs life, who has
. ,
year to year tried to educate our
fought the good right.— who has
conscience to know the right, the
worn away the im pulsive and ch i­
good, the pure and »he true, then
m erical gaze <»f rosy-eyed youth,
have we been doing som ething to­
and now secs with a (dearer vision, ward the elevation of our race and
-w h en the ultim ate civilization have not lived in vain.
But, oh, when we contem plate
and moral reform ation of h u m a n ­
ity seems so far aw ay in the future t i e stupendous ta k o f reform ing
the im m oral dw arfs of hum anity
that the brain grows weary in its
th at breed and foster anm ng us,
contem plation.
we stagger and faint, and fain
T ruly it is alm ost a heartless would rest in oblivion’.« dream to
fight — a weary, d reary stru g g le - aw aken when a b rig h ter day shall
daw n.
b attlin g against the tide of crim e
Yet we fill a niche in the m ighty
and im m orality th a t sweeps over walls of tim e— arc building for tin
o u r fair lan d . T h e th o u s a n d s , ave. fu tu re —and it is best that we trv
m illio n s of ignorant hum an beings, lo build well.
If the task seems
being swirled on and on to their
js
n atu ra l to ‘- " ’uptime?
,
t
stop and sigh and reflect th a t the
m o ral doom m its a p 11 p a llin g 6 v o r f x , ’ m a te ria l i is rough,
.. l onr b i a n d . s ten
, d , er
makes the heart trem ble with the :, nd bleeding, and the building up-
crushing knowledge and to filte r «»o which we lab««r an unending
by the wav of life, aod to ask itself, structure that will take countless
whv the«« awful ih in as ahould bp.
tl> a k " ’* » » -'"p b -w ith in
which gods m av dwell.
There are m en an d women who
A nd th e L ib e ra l refo rm e r is but
belicv- in a god with all power, hum an, a i d bis w av of building
Tliev see these struggling hum an 'different from the way <»f the world,
beings in this revolving vortex of 1 **’ r'
is h ard er and tl.e
.
,
, ,,
, . more disheartening in the extreme.
B u ild in g in C o u rse o f C o n s tru c tio n .
. rim.- and woe, they fall u p o n tb P ir
p u sh e(, fr()[n h js p |.,c„ anf,
knees and p ray to God t h a t crim e ostracised by fanatics and the self-
and m iseiv shall *e mt m ore— »bat praised good men.
Is it world« r
Î
■
9
In sweep it from the land. But when h«J pauses and retie« ts on man - i
tl.pv arise Ihpv Mill hear the w a ils.; h ..m an ity to m an? Is it wonder
,
,
, th a t he is som etimes tem pted t<
th p y rn an s, th p c u rs p s a n d screerb- pl„ „ g(, ¡„ lo
w h irf ,|
es of men an d women still being hum anity and give up the struggle
swept on to m oral d eath anil ever- of reform ; th at he sometimes re­
lasting despair.
solves to look out for num ber one
7
i
regardless of th e rights of his fel-
O, faith, thou art too weak, or the |()Wu:j
Pupils are Given Every Opportunity to Learn Without
C h ristia n ’s god h ath n«» power to
Ah, but he is m ade out of Ini-
Being Hampered by Superstitions and Dogmas.
tu rn backw ard e’en the crooning
n ian itarian clay th a t will not l»e
zephyr’s b reath , though it bore moulded by the
pott« r ’s band of
sweet perfum es interm ixed with
w ro,'K a J crime, and in the da*k-
, . , ,
,
est hour of despair his soul arises
ina arm «eat i
from their sickening depths of
W hen we learn th a t the Chris- gloom and m ounts upon the w iig -
tia n ’s god is powerless to stay the "I love tow anl the undying star "I
tide of crim e, im m orality, and wo •, ¡,nPe
8 ^H’r *ky. and his arm
T h e R e fo rm e rs R e tro s p e c tio n .
LIBERAL
UNIVERSITY
T H E O NLY S C H O O L OF T H E K IN D .
« •
<- e
F re e from S u p e rstitio n
S tric tly N o n -S ectarian
L o c a tio n H e a lt h f u l
S o c ie ty G o o d .
E x p e n s e s M o d e ra te .
or .b a t be wilfully turn« a (leaf par l||()Wg for th „ fi,ia| e ,1|aI),.ipali„„ „•
to th e misery of men. or th at he the ra e e ._ [C . M. Brown, in lode
ordains it or suffers it to he f.>r, pend«*nt Pulpit.
A Splendid Corps of Teachers and Good Facilities for
Teaching.
For information, address
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