4
THE TORCH OF REASON, SILVERTON, OREGON, MARCH 1, 1900.
local, narrow. We must fight to who are anxious to injure us and also the fact that we have a great
remove the cause of evil, and thus our cause, will, if they are given a work to do in placing in the hands
bring perfect salvation to millions, chance, use our own weapons with of millions who are still in dark­
The Only Paper of Its Kind.
instead of only trying to help a few which to dash out our brains. ness the true light of the world.
P ublished W eekly by th e L iberal U n i­ who have been badly bitten and ( Sometimes, therefore, we say noth­ Here is the card:
versity C om pany, in th e In te re sts of
are mostly beyond our reach, even ing on subjects that are very inter­ 1
C o nstructive, M oral S ecularism .
A lexts , 111., February 19, 1900.
if they are close by.
esting to us and which we believe
T orch of R eason :
We as heartily condemn, or rath­ would interest many of our friends. E ditor
J. E. Hosmer,...................... Editor
1 was handed a copy of your
P. W. Geer,...................... Manager er deplore, our own weaknesses as Our work is no exception to the paper in Chicago and was much
we do those of others, for we are all general law, however. The same pleased with Mr. Wakeman’s views
on our republic. The balance of
E n te red a t th e postoffice a t Silverton, what we are because of our inherit­ anxiety, the same hard work, the
ed tendencies and their cultivation same doubt as to success, the same the paper is an attempt to make a
O regon, as second-class m ail m a tte r.
God of ignorance, sometimes called
or suppression by environments be­ few who doggedly hold the k r t— “reason,”
sometimes “freethought,”
SUBSCRIPTION RATES.
yond our control, and one of our giving their all and receiving their sometimes “agnosticism” and some­
greatest weaknesses in our past ex­ trouble, if nothing worse, for their times “science.” I have spent
One year, in a d v a n c e ..........................$1 00
Six m o n th s in a d v an c e ....................
50 perience as a teacher has been the pains—has ever been the history of much time in studying the claims
T hree m o n th s, in a d v a n c e ................
25 worry over the individual success progress, science, civilization and of scientists, especially in regard to
In clubs of five or m ore, one year,
If the time humanity. But, ah! what are we evolution and geology, and I find
in a d v a n c e ...........................................
75 or failure of students.
their whole creed founded on as­
M oney should lie se n t by registered and mental force which we have saying?
Excuse us, we did not sumptions, without any foundation
le tte r or m oney o rder.
expended in worrying over unruly mean to make the picture of our of established fact. So I look upon
or dull students had been used in work look dark, dear reader. Al­ your advice to search the Scrip­
Notice!
making the general conditions of low us to put a dash of golden yel­ tures of Science as a step backward
the school better it would have low here, a touch of rose there, and toward barbarism. The “Light of
the World is Jesus.” No other re­
A h a n d poin tin g to th is notice denotes been a great advantage to the un­
then
you
must
hold
the
picture
formers
can improve on his work
th a t y o u r su b scrip tio n h as e x p ire d .
ruly,
the
dull
and
the
progressive
You are e a rn e stly requested to re ­
where the light can strike it prop­ for Humanity. You can’t de­
new so th a t you m ay receive th e p a ­ students alike, and a saving of erly.
throne God.
A. F armer .
p er w ith o u t in te rru p tio n . W e have de­
cided th a t it is best for all concerned mental and physical health to the
Our school is in better condition
Mr. Wakeman would like to
th a t we do n o t send papers longer th a n teacher. We must labor to make
than
it
ever
was
before;
we
have
th e tim e paid for unless so ordered.
know what sense there is in prais­
We must work many more friends than we had a
T his will p rev e n t any loss an d we will conditions right.
ing him for scientifically demon­
know ju st w here we sta n d .
on principles, ard not waste time year ago; a thousand extra copies
We request you to send us th e nam es
strating that the republic is the
of Secularists who m ig h t becom e s u b ­ on the dull and the vicious. If un­ of the Torch are going out now ev­
right thing, and then saying that
scribers and we will m ail sam ple copies. der right conditions a man or wo­
ery month—but ah! perhaps this “Science is without any foundation
man can not do well, there is no is enough of the bright coloring.
and that to search its scriptures is
THURSDAY, MAR. i, E. M. 300. hope for them and time is absolute­ Hold the picture in the light,friend,
a step backward toward barbar­
ly wasted in trying to help them. and if anything seems amiss, please
ism.” If the light of the world is
The selfish, individual salvation o write or call in person and we will
B R O A D IS T H E W A Y .
Jesus and no other reformers can
Christianity is its weakest point, explain.
improve on his work, why go for a
The reason of so much confusion and if we Secularists succeed it wil
Phis much is certain, that every republic at all when the said Jesus
in the world, lack of unity, in fact be because we have the better and worker in the Liberal University said, if he ever said anything, pray
all evil comes from mental weak­ broader idea of entirely purifying movement is in dead earnest and “thy kingdom come in earth as it
ness and the mind’s falling short of the stream of life instead of endeav­ doing all in his or her pow’er to is in heaven.” And that, too, for
that comprehension of things nec­ oring to filter each drop while the make the grand enterprise a suc­ the kingdom of the greatest and
essary for proper action. Mental stream itself is loaded with filth.
cess, and the only thing that can most cruel despot ever conceived
Straight is the gate and narrow possibly prevent rapid growth and
blindness, in other words, causes
of, to wit: The despot of the whole
men to remain in or run into evil. is the way that leadeth unto the unparalleled results for the good universe. That despot was first
Our race, when it was young, con­ selfish, orthodox heaven, and few of our race will be the little weight squarely “retired from politics” by
tracted bad habits, and now that it there be who will get there; but of filthy lucre that is needed with the constitution of the United
has reached what we like to con­ wide is the gate and broad the new, the small income from our young States and thereby “dethroned”
sider an adult age it is very hard scientific way that leadeth to the institution to balance the financial
effectively and forever, so that it is
to shake them off. Among the bad real earthly paradise, and many scales in our favor. Once let us
now useless to nominate him for
habits of thought which seem alto­ there will be who will go in thereat. get our building finished, and then anything.
gether too firmly fixed is the habit
we can and will accommodate
Prof. Wakeman’s idea is cer­
of selfishness. This habitual think­ H O LD T H E PIC T U R E IN T H E
enough truth-seeking students to tainly correct. Mr.(?) Farmer’s
ing of one’s own individual pleas­
L IG H T.
pay our expenses, and our influ­ statements were made by a devotee
ure and profit irrespective of oth­
ence will soon be raised to a power of a mythical savior instead of by
In a letter from one who has in­ that cannot be estimated by those
ers’ good, has brought the great
a lover and understander of
majority of mankind into the nar­ deed been a friend to us in need are who, with minds biased by super­
Science, and therefore his ideas
row, individual way of looking at the following words:
stition or greed, have never held are not true ones. Science is the
things. There are many who pass
“I see the difficulty of raising communion with the great god of truth, and whatever is not true is
as good men and women, and who funds. If you say you are really Secularism—Humanity.
not scientific. Science produced
really suppose that they are good hard up, some will think it’s hope­
the paper, pen and ink with which
themselves, who do but very little less and not want to sink anything
he wrote the card. His knowledge
ONE EFFE C T OF OUR M IS ­
good in the world compared with ■ in it. If you appear too chipper,
SIO N A R Y WORK.
of penmanship and even his ability
they will think you don’t need help.
what they might do if they could i If you say, ‘Hurrahl we have a new
to read about Jesus came from the
only get a broader view of things. friend who gives $1000!’ then that
The thousand extra copies of the same source. Science is certainly
Following such mottoes as,“Charity kind will say, ‘My! but they’re Torch which we are sending out
the true savior of the world.
begins at home,” they use what rich and don’t need any more.* ”
every month are beginning to bear
One of the most evil effects of
power of good they have, trying to
Our friend has struck the nail good fruit at this early date. superstition is its opposition to
cure a few of the mentally diseased, fairly on the head. In our anxiety Among the good effects that they
Reason, Freethought, Agnosticism
instead of trying to rid the world to succeed we want to do just the are producing is the stirring up of
(honest doubt) and Science. This
of the poison which causes the right thing, but it is very difficult many who are so absorbed in their
lover of Jesus and hater of reason
trouble. The work of many so- to know just what is for the best, little creed of “Moses and the
represents a very large class of
called reformers is like one who and of course things look some­ Lamb” that they haven’t yet
people who, having been confused
goes about trying to heal the times brighter and sometimes learned that this is an age of pro­
by a superficial study of “the
wounds of his friends who have darker to us. What we do say gress, and that to Science we owe
claims of scientists” and who by
been bitten by serpents that, rig h t' through the Torch of Reason must everything which civilized people
before his eyes, are biting other' be the truth, but unless the truth think worth having. A card from nature and environment are made
friends as fast as they can. We can be stated clearly j nd in its en­ one signing himself “A. Farmer” very credulous, enlist in the army
should kill the serpents first. That tirety, oftentimes it is better to say will show what this missionary which seems to them to be the
is, our work of reform must not be ' nothing, for many, especially those work is doing along this line, and right one. They are good people;
many of them want to do just
Torch of Reason