THE TORCH OF REASON, SILVERTON, OREGON, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 1898.
4
Torch of Reason
The Only Paper of Its Kind.
Published Weekly by the Literal Uni­
versity Company, in the Interests of
Constructive, Moral Secularism.
J. E. Hosm er,.................... Editor
P. W . Geer........................ Manager
E ntered at the postoffice at Silverton,
Oregon, as second-class mail m atter.
SUBSCRIPTION
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Three m onths, in a d v a n c e ................
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75
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Notice!
A pencil m ark here denotes th a t your
subscription will expire w ith the next
nu m b er. You are earnestly requested
to renew so th a t you m ay receive th e pa­
per w ithout in te rru p tio n . We have de­
cided th a t it is te s t for all concerned
th a t we do not send papers longer than
th e tim e paid for unless so ordered.
T his will p revent any loss and we will
know ju st wfiere we sta n d .
We request you to send us th e nam es
of Secularists who m ight become sub-
s c rite rs and we will m ail sam ple copies.
hi order to develop Ihe horse fo
a nobler, more useful animal, we
do not catch him wild and all at
once put him into the harness of
the modern .haft horse. The small,
agile limbs of the wild deer could
not be made to do the service ot the
camel unless little by little it be
trained and cultivated for the pur­
pose, and this would require a slow
process, under right conditions, for
ages. Missionaries worked bard
with the American Indians for
years,but we fail to know of one full-
blooded Indian who occupies any­
thing but a very common position
in the scale of civilization, and the
forced civilization of a few has been
at the expense of nearly the whole
race. Leave the heathen to live
and die in his own native shade,
only treating him kindly, trading
with him justly, keeping from his
body and brain the liquid hell of
rum, and he wqll grow as fast as it
will be good for him. Contact with
honest (not Christian) traders and
truthseekers (philosophers) will
leave its mark on his feeble mind
and this will be transmitted to his
offspring, and in nature’s own good
time he will come up to a higher
standard of life.
lie had better trade places with a
d« vil and hereafter take off his
murderer’s mask.
It is not true. There is 110 such
god. It was the devil known to
science by the name of “Disease
Germs” that killed the little girls,
and instead of building missionary-
con fide nce-god Imuses, we must es­
tablish Liberal Universities, in or­
der to draw the attention of our
people away from the imaginary
gods, which do us no good, long
enough to kill the re a l devils which
do us much hurt.
“ Let the heathen rage and the
people imagine a vain thing,’’ hut
let us w ho are rede« med by Science
and honest thought, love and serve
Humanity.
T w e n ty
F o re ru n n e rs .
It is quite a question with us how
best to get our scattered forces to­
gether so as to do the best work
possible for the cause of Secularism.
We are «letermined that nothing
will keep ns from our purpose, and
if one plan doesn’t work we will
not be discouraged but try again.
Our plan at present is to find
twenty Secularists who will gel the
T H U R S D A Y , SEPT. 22, E. M. 298
thing started by each buying an
If by some act of divine Nature acre of land lying next to the Lib-
•
I the Martians should come to earth
Let the H e a th e n R age.
eral University tract, each building
and try to teach us a new way of
a neat little house. These twenty
A minister once asked a little hoy
navigating space, they would cei-
will he the pioneers who are willing
whose pants were out at the seat,
tainly he unwise to take us up to a
to sacrifice for the cause—make or
why he didn’t go home and have
great height and, giving us good
break, sink 01 swim, live or die.
his mother mend them. The little
advice in regard to the use of wings,
What will it cost ? It will cost
fellow said, with a woe-be-gone
give
us
a
good
send-off
toward
terra
look: ‘‘Oh, ma, she ain’t at home;
each of the twenty just five hundred
firma;
and
yet
this
is
what
the
she’s gone to soci’ty to sew for the
dollars to buy the acre of land and
poor
heathen
are
suffering
at
the
heathen.” How true an illustra­
build a fine little home, all com­
hands
of
the
orthodox
missionaries,
tion this is of many mothers and
plete, painted, striped and var­
ami
the
poor
boys
with
ragged
grandmother-men of our home of
nished. We can get lumber, win­
pants
and
degenerating
morals
are
the saint and land of the priest.
dows, doors, nails, paint, etc., very
paying
the
hills.
While our heathen tax-collectors,
cheap on account of buying in large
the preachers,are gathering the pen­ In a sermon a short time since quantities. Thus we can make
nies, the dollars and eagles in order the agent of one of the gods (we beautiful little homes for this small
to force the p >or Hottentots into think it was the one that once or­ amount. Now the twenty pioneers
the unnatural, galling, destroying dered one of his servants to murder will have many advantages, for the
clothing of Christianity, many of all the men, women and children land will be cut up into lots, and as
our own children are forced by neg­ taken in battle) told a story about soon as they get things started they
lect into a condition worse than a Christian man who failed of doing can sell part of their lots for as
heathen.
his duty in giving for the support much or perhaps more than their
The wild people of the world if of the missionaries. The man was house and land both cost. In this
let alone do not suffer when in a a good man. He loved his family way it will not be a poor invest­
normal condition. It is onlv • dur- and seemed never so happy as ment from a financial standpoint,
ing famine or pestilence, the same when taking them to some instruc­ and as far as h«* *lping our cause
as it is with Christians during very tive entertainment or buying some­ along is concerned it will do more
hard times, that they suffer. When thing for their comfort and happi­ than can be done in years and
in a state of nature they are as ness, but when asked to help in the years of scattered cross-firing. Sev­
happy as the birds and the squir­ missionary work he always offered eral of these little homes could be
rels, and it is absolutely wicked, “hard times” as an excuse. Final­ rented right now to parties who
unjust, cruel to force them all at ly fever entered his home and his wish to attend or send their young
once into the artificial ways of the two little girls, the pride and joy of folks to the University.
more advanced races. It is as the poor man’s home, were taken
As soon as the twenty forerun­
wrong to compel a Bushman of away. “And do vou know,” said ners get nicely located we will start
Australia to live in a fine house, the preacher, “that I sometimes industries that we know will pay
eat at a first-class hotel, or try to think that God in his mercy sent good dividends, and then otherR
understand the meaning of a Meth­ this affliction on this man to teach will buy lots, build homes and help
odist hymn as it would be to make him that ‘hard times’ is not a good to build up our University, Secular
a wild goat wear pants, eat saw­ 'excuse for not carrying the gosjiel Church and a happy community of
dust and sing like a nightingale. of Jesus to a lost world.” What workers for the greatest cause on
The heathen are in a state of nature, doctrine to try to stuff down the earth.
and are happier thus, lor it takes mental throats of thinking people!
Who will he the tweuty to put
ages and ages of slow growth to If a god has no better way of teach­ their names on this roll of honor to
bring any auimal from a lower to a ing people good lessons than to be handed down to a Freethinking
higher state of being.
|foully murder their little children,\ posterity ?
A n o th e r S h o t fro m th e E n e m y .
Our readers will remember that
a few weeks ago we mentioned in
the News and Notes that certain
parties had visited us and would
send their children to school the
coming year. Of course it pleased
our friends that people from distant
cities would patronise out iiiBlitu-
tion, thus helping us with their
money and influence, but of course
there are people whose selfishness
and liver-complaint together causes
them to have overflow of the gall,
so they immediately look about
for some means of striking us in
the hack, and this is what they did:
they crept around in a manner best
known to those who are afraid to
stand erect and got word to our new
found friends that the members of
our faculty are very profane, and if
the little boys are sent here they
will be taught to swear.
Now this, like all the useless
spitework against our school, ie ut­
terly false. Of course some of us
were brought up in orthodox fami­
lies and orthodox Sunday schools,
and old habits are hard to break,
but by the grace of good common
sense we will help the young people
to avoid the use of such foolish or­
thodox slaug as can be heard all
over this great Christian laud.
How we wish we could have been
sent to a Liberal University when
we were young! We might have
been taught the true motive for us­
ing good language, instead of being
lied to about “an awful hell for bad
boys”. When orthodox boys are
old enough to know that this hell
story is false, they begin to swear,
not having been taught true mo­
tives for using good English. Well,
we wish to inform our friends that
the “lyre bird” has been “headed
off’; our new found friends are our
friends still, and the boys will he
on the deck of the great Liberal
University steamer October 3rd,
sailing toward the fair harbor of a
liberal education.
Abroad.
Baker City is the great mining
center of Eastern Oregon, as well as
an important shipping point to the
interior. These advantages have
caused Baker City to become a
town by no means small. I staid
over night and a part of next day,
visiting friends and making new
acquaintances. The Spiritualists
are quite numerous, and most of
the Liberal work has been done
under their auspices, and the Ma­
terialists hold back and do not
identify themselves with the work.
There is some chance and a great
need for Secular work
As I was strolling along the
streets in the evening I saw a
crowd gathered on the corner, and
supposed it must he a religious
gathering, but upon nearing I dis­
covered a young man standing
upon a dry goods box addressing