Image provided by: Silverton Country Historical Society; Silverton, OR
About Torch of reason. (Silverton, Oregon) 1896-1903 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 15, 1898)
IIIE TORCH <11- REASON, SILVERTON, OREGON. DECEMBER, 15. JS!,«. f O fC ll Of F e U S O Il The Only P aper of Its K ind. wu,dd by being blind leaders of tage over the m asses, still teach, or pri. >t’.-v. i,e is heard or »lien the the blind, and departing leave a re- I cord th at a forlorn and ."hipwrec'ked t h e « a U t X « and u, b e ’ led A ^ v l ^ i " s m‘p ,a t ' X n t h X e " " brother seeing m ay lose h u rn e a i r t1“ aw "7 ay “ ” *----- • • . . . 1 the . more • F intelligent class ’ m ere like is — -— from 1— true principles which who Published W eekly by the l.lls-ral I'n i- , a g a in a n d b eco m e „ „ „ of „ have been dug out of the mines of the monkey, .can perform other vereity Com pany, in the In te re sts of 1 C onstructive, Moral Secularism . h ap p y c re a tu re s th a t, like a prowl tru th by tru e philosophers and the tricks, such as aeling as deacons ing beast, only knows s e l f and self- gn at benefits alw ays follow ing their talking in a verv affecting m anner J. E. H o s m e r,.........................E d ito r gratification, with the addition of m astery, by stories of the prophets, in praverm eeting, etc. The train- P. W. G eer,...................... M anager enough intellect to m ake more mis- ,, , ,, . pr,esl8 and preachers who could era are the priests, and of course ery than a beast ts capable o f , nak- only guess at the causes of things, j know enough of the philosophv of E ntered at th e postoffice at Silverton, ing and do a lasting harm ,»»■> because Tk„o„ i . i _.i- • |n u d i » n.o .o |i „keys n 01 These ~ old religious e n th . u . sia sts,; .. life Io make * the h ears'an Oregon, as second-class mail m atter. of his influence over the young and because of I heir ignorance, w hen dance or they w ouldn’t dance, those who are on a balance between knowledge SUBSCRIPTION R^TfcS. was dem anded of E l i d i n g , cruel and tyran n ical success and failure. them , were led into gross de- the priests have in the pa-t tau g h t One year, in ad vance.......................... $1 00 In the struggle of the hum an Six m onths, in ad v an ce.................... 50 cepim ns whose evil tain t still hi,,- the bears and ......k e v s o flh e hu- T h r e e m o n th s , in a d v a n c e .................. 25 family toward the light, there has ders the highest form, the most I mail race Io dance very well, and In clubs of live or m ore, one year, perhaps been no doctrine more det wonderful and most om nipotent large crowds of the children of in advance............................... 75 Money should he sent by registered rim ental than th at life is a thing— c h a n g e of a l l — h u m a n th o u g h t. Freethought enjoy looking tin and le tte r or m oney order. a thing th at can exist separate from some even drop money into the bat the body—a spirit; and there has to help carry on the show. But the Notice! T im e . never been a greater 8tep forward w eather is growing cold; the bears than will be taken when this erro- Tim e js the only wealth we have, A pencil m ark here denotes th a t your • i „ , . and m onkeys are dying off, and the subscription will expire w ith th e n ex t n e o u s lc*e a an c * t h e m any false the hut we are using this precious Dago tra ile rs m ust move to the num ber. You are earnestly requested p r ie s built thereon takes its d a c e ‘‘stuff” to the very best of our ab il to renew so th a t you m ay receive the na- .» ,, , f w arm er clim ate of heathen lands p er w ithout in te rru p tio n . We have tie- a In o n g th e old ru b b ish left from ity. \\ e teach all day; look over or change their occupation. They cided th a t it is best for ah concerned th e erection of the tem nle of ci vil exam ination papers; read proof; can not all become m issionaries, th a t we do not send papers longer t h a r • - - ” th e tim e paid for unless so ordered. write editorials, etc., etc. We have and we suggest th at the best in This will p revent any loss ami we will Structure, not tim e to do more, and our col formed seek some honest em ploy know ju st w here we sta n d . , . We request you to send us the names j 1 iie *)eatn ig of 1 he h e a rt, th e ac- leagues are ju st as busy doing sim m ent and join the earnest band of ■of Secularists who m ight become sub- tion of the liver or of the b r a i n __ ilar work. If we only had more a m b e r s and we will m ail sam ple copies. . , ‘ educators who are breaking down 1 none of these changes which all to- tim e we could do better, but the the barriers between the world as THURSDAY, DEC. is, E. M. 308 7 « li,e’is P°s’ ible separ- only way we can accom plish great- it is and the world as it is to be. j ale from theiro rg an s,an d tliechang- er results is to get you to give the . 1 es of each organ are dependent on cause a little more of your time T h e N a tu re of Life. I the changes of each of the other or- C an’t you drop a few shin in g m i» ' T he R eal Cause. H erhert Spencer, in his work, I ^a,1S* 1 “ e actH t h a t make up the utes, or their equivalent, into the I be cause of F reethought is no Synthetic Philosophy, says th a t I 7®®“*’° " are .n iu t,,all>' dependent, great F reethought contribution box cause at all if it only stan d s for the life is the definite com bination o f T '™® comPo8l"S a ,ra in of reason- this week? idea of everyone th in k in g just as ing are in close connection. And he chooses. \\ e believe th a t every heterogeneous changes, both simul- generally, it is to be rem arked of one should have this privilege. We T h e H o ly S h o w . taneous and successive, in corre- vital changes, th a t each is made thoroughly believe in it, but there spondence with external co-exist- , possible by all are affected - all, and -------------- - A few days ago there appeared is no danger of anyone th in k in g enceB and sequences. Life, then, by each. R espiration, circulation, upon the streets o f Silverton a fatn- ,s not a thing, but the certain absorption, secretion, in their m auy Gly of Italian s. They had with otherwise, and those who are only changes th a t the m atter of which a j subdivisions are brought up togetli- them a monkey, three black bears m aking a big shout about liberty living being is composed undergoes. I er. M uscular contraction involves , and a cinnam on hear. The ani- are working for “ w hat there is in I'here are changes in m atter which chem ical change, change of tem per- mals (th e bears and the m onkey) it,” and some of them are fooling wo do not call life, but Mr. Spencer ature, and change of excretions, j danced sn d performed tricks at the those who think they are p retty cleaily shows the difference b e - ! Active thought influences the oper-j com m and of th eir harsh cruel mas sm art. The cause of F reethought, tween these simple changes and th e ; ations of the stom ach, of the heart, te, -g. It m ade us feel verv sad as we conceive it, is the idea of get wonderful, sim ultaneous and sue- of the kidneys.” j when we saw one of the young bears ting people to th in k right and do cessive changes we call life. Won- The action of the heart is more ' flogged because he failed to suit h is the right which comes from Free- derful, wonderful are the tru th s he com plicated and less understood, ugly tra in e r and when we thought thinking. We hold th a t a C hris has revealed to th e world. W onder perhaps, than some other less com- of the cold, cruel, ignorant life of tian th in k s just as he chooses, hut if he wasn t tied by orthodox chains ful? Yes, and no. After learning plex organ, and the action of the the little children; but this wander and w asn’t afraid to think in any a lew of the great laws governing brain, with its rapid and wonderful ing band of ignorant bim ana anc m atter and its changes, it seems changes, may be still more complex q u ad ru m an a set into action a train ' other way he would become a Free wonderful in one sense, but th at and less understood. Yet the ac- of thought th a t m ay serve our thinker. \\ hat we w ant is to edu kind of wonder th at tills our minds tion of the brain, or the resultant readers as m ental food, and thus cate, so th a t people will find the when totally ignorant of these laws of that action, which we call mind, these w anderers may do more good real tru th — not ju s t continue to think as they choose in their pres is gone; and we learn th . at the more lb n° lnore to be supposed to exist than the fact of m erely existing i Real Free- we learn the more we have of th a t separate from its organ than is the Bears - m onkeys - men The ent ignorant state. k.nd of wonder w ind, ,s akin t o ! heating of the heart, the secretion bears dance when the tam bourine thought has more enemies than just the orthodox religion. E v ery th in g love and sym pathy. We are thus of the bile, or the em ptying of the is played and when the t ah er th a t ties up our thoughts, w hether b-ought w o sym pathy with ail o f 1 colon. sings hid it be spirit, god, devil, or a n y Mo her N atu res works; despise the The changes which we call life ch an t, hut the m onkeys can do thing which robs us of the power to violation of her laws; take pleasure are not perfectly understood, y e, more; they can dance s'nd perform th in k . It certainly looks silly for Free n learning and teaching the tru th ; m u d . has been learned since ll,e tricks th a t the clum sy bodies and thinkers to spend all their energy live longer and happily become a heathen Jews of two thousand b rains of the bears wifl no. perm it in trying to get people to think as essing o our fellow men, and years ago, w common with m any then, to do. The men can do still they choose when they do so a l depart,ng, leave behind us foot ¡other heathen people who were to- ready, or to shout very much about more. They can dance, perform iberty or the nine dem ands of Lib p n m s on the sands of tim e.” B u t ; tally ignorant of the laws govern- . . . u tsach tricks and teach th eir tricks to eralism , unless they put forth ev . 1,1 J." " “ "" d e r which is ing these changes, form ulated th eir bears and monkeys ery effort to educate the young so tdeas of religious philosophy; and Now there seems to be three class- „ they .u will know how to „ use liberty women to worry; jum p at conclus the most cruel, localise the most es of men w h o fo llo w il i " when hen they get it. The Hie F reethought ions; hate life; become supersti injurious, thing iu our present civ- show » h e h r ' “ “V “"“ a edueatio^ »«‘b- iliz u t.» » i ,» l- • . »how which are here fairly repre- >»*g short of it and success will come tious; look beyond nature for a ....... .v r u e r a n g e m e n t. caused bv o ti % * 7 T '* 7 ° 'd 8®"‘®d T h ®'® are thofw " h °> '¡ke wh«n Freethinkers find this out. remedy for derangem ents caused by “ ............................... .... . ................................................................ i s J X ..... ■