Image provided by: Silverton Country Historical Society; Silverton, OR
About Torch of reason. (Silverton, Oregon) 1896-1903 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 23, 1899)
THE TORCH OF REASON, SILVERTON, OREGON, NOVEMBER 23, 1899. 4 ence means to our struggling insti- tutjon Yes, true Liberals will never for- The Only Paper of Its Kind. get this, the first lesson of the Lib- Published W eekly by th e Liberal U ni- eral University—to be faithful to versity C om pany, in the In terests of their convictions, neither turning C onstructive, Moral Secularism . this way nor that w’ay for the sake Editor a 8hort-lived advantage. Let us J. E ’ ’ Mamo-er “hew to the line, let the chips P. W. Geer......................... Manager fall where they may.” Torch of Reason E ntered at th e postoffice at Silverton, Oregon, as second-class m ail m atter. SUBSCRIPTION RATES. One year, in ad v an ce..........................$1 00 Six m onths, in ad v an ce.................... 50 T hree m onths, in ad v an ce................ 25 In clubs of five or m ore, one year, in ad v an ce.......................................... ^5 Money should lie sent by registered le tte r or m oney order. Notice! A h a n d pointing to th is notice denotes th a t your su b scrip tio n has expired. You áre e arn estly requested to re new so th a t you m ay receive th e pa per w ith o u t in te rru p tio n . We have de cided th a t it is best for all concerned th a t we do n o t send papers longer th an tlie tim e paid for unless so ordered. This will prevent any loss and we will know just w here we sta n d . We request you to send us th e nam es of Secularists who m ig h t become su b scribers and we will m ail sam ple copies. THURSDAY, NOV. 23, E. M. 299. OUR R E W A R D . not want to help this great work along are not forced to do so, and those who think that it will ruin the eternal prospects of the souls of the coming generation are expected to fight us; but the chronic kickers, grumblers and fault-finders in our own ranks are invited to take a back seat for a while, as time is too precious to waste on trifles. Come on now, Freethinkers, do as a few of the very best representatives of our cause are now doing! Isn’t the fact that Dr. Foote, N. F. Griswold, Susan Wixon, Mrs. M. M. Turner, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, B. F. Un derwood, T. B. Wakeman, George Jacob Holyoake and other well and very favorably known workers are doing what they can, sufficient to arouse us all to action? “Let us now hang together” and build up along the main line, and forget all the little side issues and petty notions. Don’t find fault but help us to build! guards as they mount to their perch (the pulpit) and shoot with their old blunderbusses (the Bible) every poor soldier who dares to reach be yond the (leadline of his cried. yc Ti Talk but a moment with some of these poor w’retches and discover that mental gangrene has set in and that the strong right arm of thought (the reason) has been shat- tered and that the remaining part, unattended, has become a disgust- IN N A T E C U SSE D N E SS. ing and a pitiable sight. We are building a fort. We are There exists in the minds of in earnest. It is liberty or death many people what some call innate with us. We need palmetto logs, bales of cotton, sand, rock, powder, cussedness. They seem to care to lead, hard-tack, beans, socks, blan do nothing excepting to keep oth kets, canteens, and a letter from ers from doing something to make home. We need the sinews of war. the world better, and it is re We have stopped bushw’hacking markable w’hat great pains these and are building a fort, we repeat anarchistic human harpies will —an arsenal—a strong tower; and by the gods that die young, we will take in order to destroy the good hold the fort as long as a drop of works of others. emancipated blood circulates When Prof. Wakeman was mak through our Freethought veins. ing preparations to leave his home For the love of Humanity, we in New York and join the great must not let our thoughts of free W HAT W E W ANT. hegira of Secularism that is gath dom, our labor of love and our ering force in Silverton, he received If we do not, in some wav, make fight for the right be in vain. letter after letter from these poor children of destruction warning our wants known to our friends, him not to come. The president how can we ever expect to get help? MUSIC IN TH E L. U. O. of the University was represented The Torch of Reason is our letter as a bad man, as narrow, as unjust, to our friends, and to let them Perhaps nothing drives away our as selfish, etc., etc. know what we want is our duty. cares and puts us into the heaven It seemed strange that such in So here we go again! We want of harmony as well as good music, terest should he taken in a perfect stranger, as Prof. Wakeman was to our building finished; we want our and therefore our University would the writers of these letters, and he debts paid; we want more black not be complete as a Secular Heav concluded to “stay by the people boards and other apparatus. en-builder unless it puts much em who were doing the work”, and in There are other wants, but these phasis on the art of music. Now spite of false prophesies and warn are very pressing, and it seems to ings of many disinterested(?) us that they are imperative. We in order to get this great work friends(?) he came, and now those care not for money, only as it can started we have, in addition to who have read the Torch since his be used to make our University a special lessons, organized a brass arrival know his opinion. Free success. “Our (school) days are band, an orchestra and a choir, all thinkers must investigate for them gliding swiftly by”, and if we don’t composed of members of the L. U. selves if they want to know the hurry up our long vacation will O. Our plan is to eventually have truth. Come and See! come before we get our alphabet the University own all the instru learned, let alone the great ability to conjugate such a great verb as ments of music, so that when a U N JU ST CR ITICISM S NOT W ANTED. Luo (I set free). Students of the player goes away it will not break Universal University of Secular up the band or orchestra, and we Many of the so-called Liberal Thought, we must help each other fee^ sorry that we are not able to people in the United States have;learn to open the doors of the old buy a full outfit at once; but we Friends of the Liberal University know it to be a fact that we have never temporized or catered to the opinions of any one. We have done our very best to “hew to the line,” and now our reward for not being hypocritical begins to come in. And what is the reward we most highly prize? It is recogni tion, help and sympathy in build ing up such an institution as will be what the Liberal University is fast becoming—a perfect terror to the old orthodox world of thought and “glad tidings of great joy to honest, progressive thinkers. Read Mr. H. L. Green’s communication in this issue regarding an Ingersoll Fund. Is not this a reward for our stick-to-itive-ness? become cbromc entice. They have , have instruments and those who The following, taken from a pri gotten into the hah it of criticizing Andersonville prison, in Great J have been Hble to borrow wi>l have vate letter, speaks for itself:— the church until they know but Rebellion times, is what orthodox regular practice. “ I adm ire your p ersistency, and I little else. institutions are to the minds of men ^he brass band is composed en- hope you will succeed w ith o u t lowering T< our educational and ethical ideals. T einponzing is, th e business of sm all S h a ll w e h e ln th e m ? Others are Da of young men, hut the choir is m inus. High ideals will win in th e long is not up for criticism, especially ®han we n e ip m e n u Miners me j & ’ run. Cordially, . fo„it finJi tk «• being captured and forced into its composed of both ladies and gen- B. F. U nderwood .” that spee.ee of fault-find.ng th at j crow8 edPand fl,(hy This should teach us all a lesson on^y annoys and does h a rm . M e that the Liberals of the world have want kind advise and help. We been long in learning. We should may differ on minor points, but no not try “to be popular” but try to Freethinker can say that a Univer- be honest; we should not try to sity built on the broad basis of secure aid by pretending to be liberty of thought will not be a everything, but we should take our good thing, and therefore we must stand and “stand firm,” only chang stick to this fact and build it. All ing when convinced that we are on these minor points of difference can the wrong track. If we had not and will be settled and adjusted followed this plan from the begin- after we have succeeded in getting ning we would never have been the school firmly established on blessed with a Prof. W aketnau; and our platform as outlined in our in- just see what his ability and influ-corporation papers. Those who do ghaU | Uemen. we help them to escape? Some have gone insane. How long, 0 how long must the tender minds of our youth be driven into confusion, recklessness and debauchery by the dark and dreary doctrines of the gods? How long? How long? W’e must all do all we can, and we all know that will be little enough. Look into any prison house of superstition and see the poor victims drinking of the filthy stream that is polluted by the waste matter of ancient myth! See the We wish all of our friends could be in Silverton tonight,attend the Thought Exchange at Liberal Hall and listen to the Secular mu- s'c a8 from piano, violin and the throats of young Freethinkers peal forth the anthems of the free. But we can’t all be here, and the next best thing is to be here in thought So we have written this that all the members of our great Free- thought family may know that we are not neglecting the great factor of music in our grand march to Universal Mental Liberty.