4
T H E TORCH OF REASON, SILV ER TO N , OREGON, MARCH 23, 1899.
more for prirtciple th an for what
some call success. We care n o th ­
continue to follow one who believed
ing for the suceess(?) th a t comes
1 in spirits, in m iracles, in gods, in
The Only Paper of Its Kind.
through the sacrifice of one of our
in ghosts, in prophecies am i all the
principles or the right of expressing
P ublished W eekly by th e L iberal U n i­ popular superstitions of a very su­
our honest thought.
There are
versity C om pany, in th e In tere sts of
perstitious time.
C onstructive, Moral Secularism .
those who really th in k they are
“ W hat will you do with Jesu s?’’
F rethinkers who dare not say w hat
do
you
ask,
dear
C
hristian?
Our
J. E. H osm er,....................... Editor
they think for fear of not h av ­
answ
er
will
be
to
exam
ine
his
c
h
a
r­
P. W . G e er,....................... M anager
ing success. W hat is success if it
acter carefully and get all the good
does not begin and end in freedom?
we
can
from
the
story
of
his
life,
E n tered a t th e postoffice at Silverton,
Is slavery success?
O regon, as second-class m ail m atter,
hut we m ust not accept and teach
Tell us we m ust not exprees our
by exam ple and precept those
thoughts on this superstition or
SUBSCRIPTION RATES.
things th a t will “ crucify afresh”
th a t
vice!
W ould you place
the
real
savior
of
man.
“
W
h
at
will
the galling irons on our limbs
One year, in a d v an c e .......................... I 1 W
you do with Science? ’ Shall we
Six m onths, in a d v a n c e ....................
as they have been placed on the
T hree m onths, in a d v an c e ................
continue to advocate the foolish
whole race for centuries? No, no;
In clubs of five or m ore, one year,
theories of the past when they are
in advance....................................
for this cause do we live, that we
Money should lie sent by registered in exact opposition to the tru th ?
may free some, if only a few, from
le tte r or m oney order.
But. you say, you can not give
the shackles of policy, hypocrisy,
up
such
a
friend
as
Jesus.
You
Notice!
superstition and crime; and how
w ant some one to go to in tim es of
can we do an y th in g a t th is work if
trouble—
one
on
whom
you
can
cast
A b a n d p ointing to th is notice denotes
our hands are tied?
th a t your su b scrip tio n has ex p ired . all your care and sorrow and feel
Let us all be F reethinkers, and
You are e arn estly requested to r e ­
the
sweet
peace
th
a
t
only
comes
to
new so th a t you m ay receive th e pa­
not slaves to our business or love of
per w ithout in te rru p tio n . We have d e­ those who accept C hrist as th eir all
popularity, as the orthodox are to
cided th a t it is irest for all concerned
in
all.
th a t we do not send pap ers longer th a n
their creeds. Let science but prove
th e tim e paid for unless so ordered.
W ell, so m ight say the heathen
th a t there are gods and spirits, and
T his will prevent any loss and we will
followers
of
any
of
the
heathen
gods.
know just w here we stand.
we will im m ediately accept. Let it
We request you to send us th e nam es They have learned to he dependent
show th a t the use of stim u lan ts and
of Secularists who m ight become sub­
on
their
gods
as
a
child
is
depend­
scribers and we will m ail sam ple copies.
narcotics is beneficial, and we will
ent on its parent. But the tim e
advocate th eir use. Let it prove
has
come
when
men
and
women
T H U R S D A Y , M A R . 23, E. M. 299
th a t a thief is a benefit to society,
should no longer be children. We
and we will work to repeal all laws
must learn to be independent, and
against stealing. Let it show th a t
In th e W oods.
then we shall have fewer troubles to
it is right for parents and teachers
cast on the gods.
Science will
It is no digrace to live in the
to lie to the children and for the
teach us to control conditions in ­
preachers to lie to th e people, and
woods. Many of the greatest bene­ stead of w aiting the pleasure of a
we will at once adopt the plan. But
factors of our race were born and god, and to take whatever comes,
guided by our reason, we m ust
reared in the lim ber. But it is a after we have done our best, in a
search the great encyclopaedias of
fact th a t an ignorant backwoods­ philosophical m anner.
science, for in them we th in k we
Here, then, are two opposing
m an —one who has never seen a
have more ab u n d a n t life and they
railro ad , a telegraph, a telephone ideas offered us as the solution of
are they which testify to the tru th ;
P rin cip le vs. Policy.
or a bicycle— one who is incapable the problem of individual and race
and then we m ust “ hew to the Hue,
of keeping in touch with the world salvation. The one is a savior in
In the work of building our Free- let the chips fall where they m ay.”
by means of our great modern the form of a m an. He lived nine­
new spapers—one who never heard teen hundred years ago. He was thought U niversity we claim , and
I <
A c t W e ll Y o u r P a r t . ”
of the modern theories of light, a Jew, and yet he is represented to will have, the privilege of express­
He died, and ing freely our thoughts. W hile we
of heat, of sound, and is totally ig­ us as being a god.
For a people to educate only the
norant of the application of elec­ yet he is said to live. Living in an do not wish to needlessly h u rt the
tr ic ity — in short, one who is en­ age when the greatest of n a tu re ’s feelings of any or destroy th eir faith intellectual faculties of the youth
tirely unscientific in thought,w ould tru th s were unknow n, he did not in an y th in g th a t is true, yet we are is a great blunder, the effects of
be a poor teacher to choose for the know w hat girls and boys of this not am ong th at class of F re e th in k ­ which is being felt every day and
people of today. And yet m any age know about the hum an body, ers who are “ w illing to let every­ every hour of our national life.
The Liberal U niversity can boast
full grown men an d women who about the stars, about the co n stitu ­ body think as they choose if they
We are not but little as yet in regard to its in ­
have received the advantages given ents of ea rth , air and w ater, about will let us alone” .
to the world by our great m odern the cause of day and night and the willing to let others think wrong, d u strial instruction, for it is not yet
teachers and practical appliers of seasons. He lived in th e woods for th a t injures them and the whole fairly on its feet; but its aim is as
science, are so blinded by th eir in ­ of ancient m yth and m ystery. world. We w ant people to believe, much the education of its students
world not and to do, right. B ut w hat is right? in the ability to work and the de­
herited prejudices and by m odern The great western
priestly p ra ttle th a t they select yet having been discovered, he Never m ind, we will work for w hat velopm ent of their m oral natures
Not by force, as it is to train th eir intellectual
such a one for their teacher, their could not teach about the great j seems rig h t to us.
The com m on methods
A modern but by the use of the best reason faculties.
guide, th eir physician, their savior, Am erican continent.
of our common schools are alto g eth ­
their god, with a decided advantage ship never left its picture on the we possess.
T h at the world is in a bad fix in er lacking in the m ost im p o rtan t
in favor of the m odern backwoods­ re tin a of his eye nor filled his
m ind with adm iration for such a some ways m ust be adm itted by all; branches of education. T he old
m an.
W hen one is fairly out of the w onderful product of brain arid now we bold th a t the reason for B ible-reading, which could not be
woods of ignorant, reason-destroy­ hand. H e was a leader of a few fish -' this is th at selfishness has caused called moral instruction, for it gen­
ing orthodoxy, how childish seem erm en who paddled about in boats men to be guided by policy ra th e r erally had just the opposite effect,
th e old sougs and prayers of praise which would be despised by the work than by principle and th a t people is now prohibited by law and is
to such a crude, ignorant being as ers of our great Am erican in d u stry . have become so confused th a t they largely ex tin ct; and there is, th ere­
Jesus of N azareth m ust have been, He became notorious, as others have cannot detect tru th from error. T he fore, no attem pt to in stru ct the
if he existed a t all. Of course it before and since, by repeating, par- effect is very bad. People are ex ­ young in m orals, unless it be an
was not his fault.
We have no rot-like, the sayings of Pagan phil- actly like children who have been occasional bint of doing rig h t wov­
hard feelings tow ard one who was osophers, by eccentricities and by lied to until they neither believe | en into the class work.
This neglect is wrong. It is a
born an d brought up in the back great pretensions. All th is m ust be the tru th nor trv to tell it.
It is high time those who wish grave error. Young people should
woods of tim e, but we have feeliugs true if such a ch aracter existed
of pity for those who, having been and if the accounts of his life to make the world better, u n d er­ be regularly tau g h t lessons in prop­
brought up in view of the school of given, even by his friends, are true. stand th a t the first step is to care » er conduct and right living. This
Torch of Reason ,DOder"’ 8cieD,ific ,hought’ etin
The other savior, and the one
which we can conscientiously re­
commend to every child of M other
Nature, is not a one-m an savior,
but the combine«! wisdom of all
men of all time. I t is not a fossil,
supposed to live in sp irit way off
with its p aren t fossil, and in some
m ysterious m anner existing here on
earth , but it is a living, growing
gavior—one th a t ad a p ts itself to
hum anity and as fast as our strong­
est m inds become capable of touch­
ing the hem of its garm ent, it heals
them and through their efforts saves
the world. It teaches self-reliance,
notdepem lence; self-respect, not th a t
we are filthy; self-control, not emo­
tional d runkenness; fortitude, not
the cowardly casting of our burdens
upon the shoulders of innocence.
This savior is one th a t appeals to
every hum an being. It has no n a ­
tionality. It has no color. I t has
no sex. Its heaven is here, and its
doors are alw ays open.
Its books
contain thoughts th a t elevate and
inspire to noble action, and m ake
friends instead of contentious in te r­
preters of m ysteries.
W hich savior should we choose?
The one whose doctrine lowers us
to groveling su p p lian ts for m ercy—
slaves in fear of the dungeon of to r­
ture, or the one th a t places the
crown upon the brow of m an? One
degrades ns and calls us fallen crea­
tures who need a sacrifice of blood
for our redem ption; the other ele­
vates us and says we have riseu —
are rising and redeem ing ourselves
from the curse of ignorance and
superstition.