•1
THE TORCH OF REASON, SI I, VERI ON. OREGON, THURSDAY, AUGUST 18, J 898.
Torch of Reason
y
<1*8 . OV <*r heard is sofljy playing and ¡t
ago! But many ladies who would inspires us with the hope that /
be frightened at a skeleton open may in someway, before our .
their mouths wide and sing about eease to hear music, ami before oj,'
being in the arms of one whose eves cease to read the printed pa
skeleton, if he ever had one, must or the lessons found in nature^
he pretty badly decomposed. As open hook, and before our mind
far as his breast being gentle is con- ceases to catch the thought of the
Ccrn^d, it seems to us there are noble minded men and women who
many that are gentle enough, wi»h- have labored for truth and right
out trying to call up, or sing up that we may in some way, we re­
the breast of a god, or the son of a peat, help to deprive the robbers
One year, in advance......................... $1 00 wed aH
physical.
Yes, the god. it looks selfish, ladies, an d , of the loveliest and best things of
Six m onths, in advance
50 “survival of the fittest” will at last dear Christian brother, you don’t
T hree m onths, in a d v an c e ..............
earth, of their nefarious use of the
25
conquer, and if Secularism, as now need that kind of a gentle breast to beautiful robes of music with which
In clubs of live or m ore, one year,
75 ' represented, has more character- rest on. Be a man, and see what
in a d v an c e ..........................................
they have clothed their dead skel­
Money should In* sent by registered inti™ w h in h
le tte r or m oney order.
l i t . wmen lit it to exist than kind of devilish nonsense you have etons of ancient myths and their
Christianity, it will live after Chris- been led into. The word “soul” putrifying corpse of a false philoso­
tianity has been “gathered to its means one thing to one and anoth- phy. O brothers and sisters of a
P ro p h e c ie s .
fathers , if not, it will be crowded er thing to another. It thus causes common humanity, let us open our
The prophets of old tried hard to out and the next highest, i. e., the confusion, and better he dropped
eyes to the beauties that we now
make their prophecies come true, type whose summed-up character- from our vocabulary or used in
enjoy beauties that are now pos­
and after their death their follow­ istics come nearest to perfection, such a way as to exclude all doubt
sible for even freethinkers, and re­
ers, and especially the priests,whose will survive
in regard to its meaning.
membering what the thinkers of the
support and power depended on the
What does this teach us if it is
But it is not alone the meaning­ past have done for us, do what we
belief of the people, were very care­ not that we should reach out to- lessness of these songs that does can to help future men and women
ful to see to it “that the propecies ward our perfect ideals? Let us harm. Many of them teach wrong to enjoy the good things of this life
might be fulfilled”. Among the bend every effort to reduce the evil principles that noiselessly creep without danger of being duped,
bled, robbed and left to die’
ranks of the infidels are a few who in our ranks to the minimum. Let over a people and, without their gagged,
by the advocates of the super(sub)-
are unfaithful even to their infidel­ us he good prophets or not proph-1 knowledge, stultify and damn them. natural panacea, known as the
ity, and go about prophesying evil esy. Let us not be over-sensitive For example, take the following Christian Faith.
of our work, and then, of course, nor over-credulous, and above all stanza,which is set to most beautiful
trying to make their prophecies things, let ns be moral and pro- music:
N o w ’s th e T im e .
come true, so as to be able to say, gressive workers in our high call- L,r.
.
A x
°
I “ I h e n ask me not to linger long
\\ e are undertaking a great
“I told you so.” This class of Infi­ ing for humanity.
, Among th is gay and thoughtless throng,
work and just at this time, when we
For I am only w aiting here
dels arc more to he pitied than
. Io hear th e sum ons, Child,com e h o m e.” are bending every effort to get our
blamed, for they know no better;
This teaches people to be slack building ready,we need the help and
but the mischief they do is hard to
S o n g s w ith N o M e a n in g or
. about secular things. It underesti­ co-operation of every loyal Secu­
estimate. Surrounded as we are
W o rs e .
mates the good in humanity and larist.
by an orthodox world, ready to
Many eongs which are song by instead of having a tendency’to el-
What can you do now? We have
shout for joy at any misfortune
Christians
to
please
their
imaginary
evate mankind and inspire them to been delayed so much on account
that might come to our institution,
those who wish the old religions to God have as little sense in them as noble action, it tends to keep them of r.ot getting lumber that the time
give way to the religion of human­ the most heathenish heathen’s pow- ¡n a gtate of waiting — a condition in which to do our work is very
ity and right living, should be very wow to appease the wrath of irnag- which is degenerating and unfits short,and we must hire a large force
careful about joining the ranks of inary devils. These meaningless men and women for this life orany of men in order to get through in
the evil prophets or repeating their songs have more efifect for evil on other, even for wearing wings, play- time. This will cost no more than
it would to hire a few men for a
false prophecies to the detriment of our people, and especially on the ¡ng on g(>l(Ifn harps ,,r weari
the very cause in which they profess young than a person might at first golden crowns. Ma., needs to he longer time; the only thing is that
| taught that the earth is his home, it takes more ready cash, and as this
to be interested. Our workers all 1
1 lace songs of patriotism, songs and then he will begin to fix it up is a very busy time of the year,men
have weak points, to be sure, but
are scarce and it takes money to get
unless they are immoral, thus mis­ of love, songs of virtue and songs as it should he.
them; so, friend, if you intend to
Another song that contains help, dig it up as soon as you can,
representing our great principles, of truth in a community—let the
and we’ll have the huildingenclosed
we ought to be very careful, for we yourig people learn them,and what . wrong sentiment is:
in less than a month. When we
must remember that the work of an inspiration—what an incentive ‘‘.Just as I am , w ith o u t one plea
get the roof on we will he working
moral, constructive Secularism is to higher, nobler thoughts and act­ B ut th a t th v blood was shed for me.
at a great advantage, for we can
very young and cannot stand the ions. But suppose instead of these
1 his throwing oneself onto some then work nights, Sundavs and
storms that it can after a few vears we place in their hands songs that , e else and not trying te get rid o rainy days ou the inside. * Every
mean nothing to them, what is the On® ®ls®
tr-ving
of dollar that comes in now is most
of successful growth.
the dark blot of sin in an honest welcome, for the out go is heavy.
And again, some people, even effect? The music is good, and for
We are very much encouraged,
among skeptics, seem to be very a time, for the music’s sake, the | Way’ is accountab,e for much of the
. . . ------ - ...
„.„nere.
» e " ord9 ,nay •* sun8. b“‘ ‘he ’good ®V,‘ ,h«‘ ^ a i n s in civilized conn- however, and if help keeps coming
credulous in some matters.
We
must learn not to believe without i that “ ight ha’ e b«an d°»°
! heathenish, and the we will be in our new building Oct.
3. According to announcement
,
in
two
in
the
middle
and
even
the
8oonpr
we
try
to
reach
a
higher
proof.
last week, we commend'd on the
1 taste for music is hampered and ,d®al’ and " ot remain “¿UB* as 1 frame work last Monday. We have
There are those who are over
sensitive, and many times just an hindered, for those who have an ani ’ the so<>“er wi|l we reach a a good foreman, who is as thorough
idle word, spoken in jest perhaps, HCUte 8ense»dislike to repeat sense- happy state of progression to high- a Secularist as we ever met.
His name has appeared in the
er things.
....*1.
. vi_
so offends a good worker
that
his or less words over and over again.
Then there is the song“Eternity,” Torch many times, and it is familiar
“
Safe
in
th
e
arm
s
of
Jesu
s,
her work and the good it might do
to all our readers. It stands for
calculated to frighten people into a man who is a worker. H.E.Klein,
Safe
on
his
gentle
breast,
is entirely ruined, and the worst of
T here by his love o ’ershadow ed,
believing the nonsense that the the eX-Catholic, who has donated
Sw eetly my soul shall re s t.”
it is that those of a coarser na­
preachers pretend to know about. money, time and produce and sent
ture delight in thus wounding the
This stanza means simply noth- The mind cannot grasp the idea of his children to the “Infidel” school,
sensitive ones.
( ,g to a philosophic mird.
A eternity, and the way the word is will now bless us further with
of architecture by
But by these facts on the debtor mind that is capable of aualysis, sung — “fi-t-e-r-n-i-t-v! e-t-e m i his knowledge
•
u
the
side °f our account as progress- judgment and reason will at first t-yF’- i s absolutely wicked, for it" overseeing the work
U of
u t erecting
e ^ y i n the*
okers stand, opposing them, endeavor to get something out of worries the weak, imperfectly de- woHd. Now lit us all help what
many things in our favor. \\ e it for future use, but how can one veloped uilnds of the voung and we can so that Mr. Klein will not
have many workers whose experl- get useful timber from such trash drives even to madness" those who lack for men and “ aterlal and we’ll
euce have taught them just the as most of the gospel hymns? Just are unevenly balanced
soon have the stars and stripes
conditions of things ami on who... think of being In the arms of a mat. j As we write, the best music we, Uniive/sity’“
“ L“ * ” 1
• 9
of the enemy or withdrawals of the
Ihe Only Paper of Its Kind.
sensitive will ever turn aside from
the main object. And if, as we be-
Published W eekly by th e Liberal U ni­
versity C om pany, in the In tere sts of
lieve, these have better living and
C onstructive, Moral Secular ism.
growing qualities than even the
J. E. H o sm e r,....................... E ditor most devout worshipper of Chris-
P. W . G e e r,........................M anager tian or Pagan gods, then Secular-
ism will flourish after the weaker
E n te r e d a t th e jtostoffice a t S ilv e rto n , species have become extinct, for the
O regon, as second-class mail m atter.
great law of natural selection holds
subscription rates .
good in the mental and moral as