Image provided by: Silverton Country Historical Society; Silverton, OR
About Torch of reason. (Silverton, Oregon) 1896-1903 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 19, 1899)
THE TORCH OE REASON, SILVERTON, OREGON, JANUARY 19. 1899. Secular Union W hile th a t the ~ * American >• ............. separate f------ --’ — men l>elieved ' • • ' - - from th e F reethought Federation, earth was the fixed center around and that it should be composed of which sun, moon and stars revolv- delegates from th e S tate Secular ed, and the am azing distance of the Unions. I 0t PHCh stars was as yet unsuspected, space nwnrnniisn of nnnn 111 t h kanQo /Will 1 si kn and write to p rin t the a c c o u i------------ r of the papers containing them to prom inent Secularists throughout -----. ------ x__ OUr great country. W hen enough states have organ- >zl izA n m o w o n t i f i l l z>oll ized to w arran t it, we m will call a n atio n al convention for the p u r pose of electing officers, hiring lec tu rers and devising ways and means of carrying on the c o n st r ic t iv e h work of ’ q q S ecularism . W e wish to warn those interest ed not to neglect placing their state organizations on an ethical basis. Let those who call it narrow’, be long to the broader Freethought Federation, but let these state and national organizations be in perfect harm ony, and be sure to keep out all elem ents th a t will not harm onize with C onstructive M oral Secular ism and our success will be cer tain. We m ust not expect to accom plish all this in a short time. It is the work of earnest, honest work ers, who know no defeat. Take hold, if you are of the right stuff, and if not, m ake yourself what you should be as soon as possible, and help us in this great work. W e must have state organizers and lecturers, who will place organ izations in every place possible. Each state organization m ust have its officers, whose business it is to attend to the business of the Unions and have no other work. Money has been squandered in the past. Secularists, let us go at this w’ork as we should, and it will be easier and we will accomplish a million times more. Secular papers, please publish the idea and join in the work. o very remote. E v ery th in g was very dark to the hum an toad. He was in . m tellectu . v . ivzv . v ally u i . j caged. The discovery by Copernicus t h n t t h e e a r t h a n d f li p n t h p r n l a n . th a t the ea rth and the other plan- ets revolved around the sun, a body m uch larger th an the earth , and located at a vast distance therefrom , dissolved into nqthing- ness the foundations, firm am ents, crystal spheres, and all the metes and bounds of creation and space th a t had been so learnedly and la boriously dream ed out by the a n cients. The m ath em atical dem onstra tion of the distances of the celes tial bodies, and the discovery and application of the telescope set the world thinking. Old beliefs had to be patched up and revised. The space lim its required indefi nite extension to take in the new additions of Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo and Newton. The stars, already being m apped and c a ta logued, began to be m easured and weighed. The way was opening for the study of th eir nature. Cer tain ty was taking the place of child-like guesses. E laborate phil osophical theories fell before the newly discovered scientific facts. I t is ever thus. The opposite is c» evident- j 'vz. * IV pm psition nn/11 ir* MU ill” ’ of »1 trees. 11 O. Those 1 | near me are of gi- ly not ra tio n a lly thinkable, any gantic size; in the distance they more th an the boundary line fence 8ee,n ®ni«ller and sm aller, fading of the universe is optically visible. ^Fa.<luaV-v u n t‘l the utm ost lim it of W ords a •« fail to convey to our clearing is to be seen. The ground _ *1__ - — ___1 _LL - _1 ........... ........ __...........................v ___ We use the words infinite, bound-1 less, lim itless, but to have them ------- ----- - m an t much n u v A n - --- u» us u -•* s - it n r requires e q u i ' r e » a a m e ean to strong m ental effort, a long and w a a r i e n m a I n n m n » , zAr. i if» wearisom e journey on the .-.. swift wings of thought, straig h t outw ard into the im m ense known, and still onward into the vast realm s of the unknow n, universe. Let us think! — [The W ilderness of W’orlds. ¡ h ^ d ^ UeeS’ dead, and the p ro strate1 m oulderine x— ’ » s — • a • a wonderful, ’ - i i u i n i K k tru —a n i fair, but ® r.atural scene. I r a i s e IllV y e y ts and look o u t ward into space. I see the w ilder ness of worlds. The oue on which I stand seems of immense size. The innum erable m ultitude beyond fade in th e distance. I run to the tele scope; my vision is extended a thousand fold; m illions more come into view, and in the thousand )< X X X X < X X X X X X > < X X > < K X > < X X X > < X > ( tim es more d ista n t circle of vision fade g rad u ally until in the outer BOOK NOTICES. lim its only glimpses can be caught > < X X X X X )< X X X X X X X X H X K > < > < > < X X > < > ! of faint points of light. The worlds, The Blue L aw s of C o n n ecticu t, too, are of all ages like the trees’ and the great deep of space is T aken from th e p u b lic records of th e strewn with th eir dust, - » and is puls- e — - — colony of C o n n ecticu t previous to 1666, a t i n g w ith th e p o ten cy of new U za as p rin te d in a com pilation of th e e arliest laws and o rders of th e ° general co --- u rt ---- of C o n n ecticu t, troni th e original records rem ain in g in th e office of th e secretary of s ta te ; and also from Dr. L ew is’ l>ook on S unday leg islatio n ; also an e x tra c t from th e c o n stitu tio n , or civil com pact, en tered in to and ad o p ted by th e tow ns of W indsor, H a rtfo rd an d W ethersfield in 1638-9, as confirm ed by th e general co u rt of C on n ecticu t, an d show ing th e Biblical basis of colonial legislation. Nine illu s tra tio n s specially m ade for th is volum e. Sjjecial cover design in colors. This is a q u ain t and interesting little work, and one very useful to Freethinker?. It shows the great gulf between the past and present and how far we have advanced be yond the ideas of our ancestors. It shows, too, w hat the God-in-the- cor.stitution p arty are trying to get us back to. Everyone has heard of these laws arid seen them quoted, but few know the facts as to them — w hat is real and w hat fabulous, and w hat basis the fabulous ones have. This book is interesting and useful, and will have a large sale. Price, paper covers, 25 cents. Send your orders early to The T ruth- seeker Co., 28 L afayette Place, New York, N. Y. b irth s . “ How grand, com plete ,, and sub- ------ , ---— l-UU- lim e are the works and workings of nature. We stand with bowed heads, entranced an d speechless in the presence of the universe. Held in its all-em bracing arm s, we are of it—one and inseparable.” The W ilderness of W orlds is printed from large clear type, on fine paper, and is su b stan tially bound in brown, silk ribbed cloth, with gilt top and specially designed side stam p. The engraved illu s tra tions add interest and value to the text ; and, to insure a large sale, the price has beeu placed a t $1.00 per copy. P eter Eckler, publisher, 35 F ulton St., N. Y. Ideas of the extent of the space in which we exist were rap id ly en larged. The eyes had before seen w ithout understanding. Thev were Two Parables. now opened in a new sense. They were not only opened, but their vis UNANIMITY. ual powers were greatly extended A l l an g ry mob pelted an aged in every direction by the telescope. m an with heavy stones, while their The new in stru m en t gave d istan t victim faced them with his shield, vision,—a general panoram a of the and defended him self m ightly w ith visible universe. The invention of al. the com pound microscope gave close vision. Space too sm all to be B ut one of meek and tender dis Space. seen by the unaided eye, or too d is position passed by the way; and he wept in sym pathy. Concluded from 1st page. ta n t for its reach, was dilligently L ittle value would attach to the searched. There began to he caught “ Why do ye use him thus u n The Wilderness of Worlds. belief of an anim alcu le to whom a a glim m ering of the overw helm ing fairly ?” sobbed he. “ W hat evil h ath pint of w ater is a world. N either fact of the infinity of space. he done th a t ye m altreatest him A S ecular and U p - to - date S cien should the seeker for tru th tie him so?” The invention and perfecting of tific W ork . self to the dead and com paratively the achrom atic refracting telescope “ Peace!” cried the mob. “ Know- ignorant past. The space required followed, with the construction o f This book is a popular treatise est thou not he is a R ationalist?” to contain the universe is im m eas large reflectors, w ith great light on t h e ‘‘Evolution of M atter from “ \V b a t!” said the meek m an, tir urably beyond th e grasp of the collecting and space-penetrating Nebula to M a n , and the Life Orbit ing up. “ Give me a stone! I ’ll prim itive or in fan t mind. powers. T he bounds of the visible of a S ta r.” e’en have a t him m yself!” ‘ It would be a most egotistical universe were extended m any-fold. The facts given by Mr. G. W. and presum ptious toad, th a t, on Still no lim it was reached. W ith Morehouse are based on the latest ENCO UR AG EMENT. jum ping against a tight fence, our latest telescopes, with greatly discoveries of m odern research; the A hoary sin n er went to ch u rch , * • a a would assum e th a t space in th a t increased light-collecting power,the authorities quoted include the most direction ended there, an d beyond sam e story is told. The old bound- advanced th in k ers and specialists And the p arson fixed him with his of ............-..un the loving k ind- the fence there could be absolutely ary has disappeared, and forever, in the various branches of scientific eye, * ' and spoke ' nothing. ù et, such a conception I he philosopher who reasons th a t if I inquiry; the argum ents used are as ne88 ^’od, and his great affection n e a r l v a at t »111 it 11 t the k o ! o n i n . Z. ___ Î 1 • 9 1 * . I • would h be e nearly par r W with an im aginary lim it to sj ace in any plain and clear as they are concise fer sin n ers, and salvation at the idea of space en tertain ed by men direction is asserted, it m ay legiti and convincing, and the entire vol eleventh hour, and so on, and so who could believe the world to be m ately be asked, what lies beyond? ume is as interesting as it is in forth. T ill the hoary Oiuuvi sinner aiVDC arose, -----— — ••• - — fiat and resting on foundations. . - bas been justified by th e results of structive— as eloquent as it is pro- at length, comforted and refreshed -m tarrassing questions arose as to the grow th of astronom ical science, found. In his preface, the au th o r and entered with a th an k fu l heart what lay beyond the edge, or b e-| So to the philosopher and astrono- says: t ‘ --- - -----w n o uuiaiugue upon next week’s catalogue of sins neath the foundations. m e r alike, space is w ithout lim it. I “ I have in my m ind a wilderness —[E . R. W., in F reethinker.