4
T H E TORCH O F REASON, S IL V E R T O N , OREGON , M ARCH 22, 1900.
Torch of Reason
can he engaged to teach a public
school unless we have “ eternal
vigilance.” In fact, it is so now in
m any places, and this, too, where
the C hristians are not in th e m a­
jo rity . There is not a F reeth in k -
ing teacher of any note in the
United States who has not felt the
“ laying on of h an d s” th a t the
churches are continually engaged
in. W hen Prof. W alker was teach­
ing in Albany he felt it, and it was
not the hands of the Romish
church, either. T he C hristians
a fiend’s hate.
W hy tru s t in world, even after m illions have
Gods and th e ir children any longer? begged him to do so on th eir knees
The Only Paper of Its Kind.
Ignorance, or the fact th a t we have and with teats in th eir eyes. If
not yet evolved to a higher state, there is a God, he is ju st of no
P u b lish ed W eekly by th e L iberal U n i­
is the cause of our sufferings. We ea rth ly use; and it is absurd longer
versity C om pany, in th e In te re sts of
m ust learn more about ourselves to depend on any help outside of
C onstructive, Moral S ecularism .
and a b o u t th e world in which we ourselves. The old adage th at
live if we would know the causes of “ God helps him who helps him self”
J. E. H osm er,........................Editor
evil and how to prom ote the good, is only wrong in introducing the
P. W. G eer,........................M anager
There is no personal, intelligent word God into it at all. M an, by
being above the skies who is direct- his own exertions, m ust save him-
E n tered a t th e postoffice a t S ilverton,
O regon, as second-class m ail m a tte r.
ing things, or he would let us know self. If all good men and women
for sure, give us better proof than will now join together and work to-
SUBSCRIPTION RATES.
the old, m ythical w ritings called gether, with th eir united efforts the
ARE ORGANIZED.
the Bible th a t he really does exist, world will soon lie m etam orphosed
One year, in a d v an c e ..........................$1 00
In a little city in Oregon a m in­ and let us help him save the world from a slave pen to a veritable
Six m onths in a d v an c e ....................
50
T hree m o n th s, in a d v an c e ................
25 ister’s wife, who really, from an
if he isn ’t able to save it him self, garden of Eden. Now’ is the time,
In clubs of five or m ore, one year,
in a d v a n c e ..........................................
75 educational stan d p o in t, is not tit “ We can do nothing w ithout G od’s for our opportunity will soon be
Money should be sent by registered for the position, is the principal of h elp ,” says the preacher, but it gone. We m ust work fasti Every
le tte r or m oney order.
the public school. Not long ago seems th a t most preachers do very hour is precious! We m ust drop
two boys were quarreling on the little, even with his help, and th a t w hat we do not know an d use w hat
Notice!
school grounds, and a th ird hoy all do fully as w’ell when they de­ we do know, through Science, to
said: “ If any one called me such pend on th eir own resources.
build up our new heaven and new7
A h a n d pointing to th is notice denotes
nam
es,
I
’d
knock
him
dow
n.”
Of
Our
early
ancestors
were
very
earth. All objections and h in ­
th a t your su b scrip tio n h a s e x p ire d .
You are e arn estly requested to re ­ course, the poor hoy had a wrong superstitious and credulous, and it drances m ust count for nothing.
new so th a t you m ay receive th e p a ­
per w ithout in te rru p tio n . W e have de­ conception of things, but how much is very plain th a t we who have If we do not do som ething worthy
cided th a t it is best for all concerned better was the C hristian teacher, come
from
such
stock have of our high office of a m odern citi­
th a t we do n o t send pap ers longer th a n
th e tim e paid for unless so ordered. who beat him most unm ercifully? tendencies in the sam e direction. zen of the world, we are a failure.
T his will p rev en t any loss and we will The lad received
over eighty How easy it is, therefore, for m any We m ust plan our work. We must
know just w here we sta n d .
We request you to send us th e nam es stripes and was taken down with a people to believe the doctrines of pull together.
We m ust be in
of Secularists who m ight becom e sub- fever, from which he narrow ly es­ the church! And this is especially earnest. We m ust learn to enjoy
ecribers and we will m ail sam ple copies.
caped with his life. The father true of those who are surrounded our labors. We m ust u n d erstan d
had to pay the doctor’s hill and by orthodox people and who are th a t we live in an age of great o p ­
T hursday , M arch 22, E . M. 300. the whole fam ily had to stan d the n a tu ra lly a little cow ardly, or
portunities, and learn to feel u n ­
m ental anxiety and loss of time, whose em otional n atu re is more happy uuless we are rig h t in the
but they cannot get justice because highly developed than th eir in tel­ front ranks and doing our best.
W E A R E F R IE N D S OF TH E
PU BLIC SCHOOLS.
the C hristians of th a t citv are o r­ lect. This is why the young people W hen we all w’ake up the world
ganized. The prosecuting attorney are about the only C hristian con­ will move indeed.
The Liberal U niversity is not will do nothing, and when the verts and why there are so m any
opposed to an y th in g th a t is for the higher court convenes the C hris­ E pw orth Leagues, C hristian En
TO BE A L IB E R A L ONE M UST
upbuilding of the hum an race, and tian lady will probably be “sp ir­ deavorers, Y oung M en’s and Y oung
WORK.
although some, who are anxious to ited ” aw ay u n til the court has ad W om en’s C hristian A ssociations,
find som ething amiss in us, have journed.
etc. This also accounts for the
W hen an y organism fails to a d ­
hoped we would oppose the public
The Liberals are the only people success of the Salvation Army
ju st itself to a new environm ent, it
schools so they could have some­ who can free the schools from this am ong the ignorant classes and
soon dies.
This law' holds good
th in g to use against us, we are in kind of religious fanaticism , and why, as the laws of m ind are better
with L iberals as well as with every­
sy m p ath y with every public school, they have heretofore stood back understood, the old-tim e revivals
thing else. If in our struggle to
every public school student and and done little, excepting to growl. ists
and
cam p-m eeting
are L iberalize the world we fail to u n ­
every public school teacher. We \\ e m ust organize and oppose rapidly passing away, and intellec­
derstand w hat Liberalism means,
know ju st what the public schools strength with more strength. The tual m orality and cu ltu re are ta k ­
and get side-tracked by some Chris-
have to contend with, and one of days for concerted action have ing th eir place.
tian-born idea, wTe soon die, as far
the main reasons th a t our U niver­ come! Our cause is ju st! The
D uring the last fifty years there as our cause is concerned, and cease
sity was founded, is th at we wished Rom an wolf and its whelps have
has been a great change in religious to be real L iberals. The notion
to free these public organizations, had their way long enough. It is
beliefs, and the next fifty years will th a t Liberalism is to let everybody
which should be strictly Secular, our tu rn now, and if we know
see a greater change. In the back- enjoy their own belief w ithout any
from the dom ineering and ruinous enough to improve our chances, we
woods d istricts of the W est, in the attem p t on our p a rt to get them
influences of the Roman C atholic can free the public schools, and
non-progressive districts of old, onto the right track, is sim ply to
and narrow P ro testant religions. with th eir aid free the world from
conservative New E ugland, and in do nothing and to be nothing.
We have tau g h t nearly all our life the O riental blight of su p ern a tu ral
the illitera te d istricts of the South, Now surely, a Liberal can not be a
in the public school, beginning in a r e lig io n s .
there will, for m any years to come, “ do-nothing”.
Of all men we
little log school house in cold,
be a chance for orthodox preachers should be the most active. We un­
northw estern Wisconsin, and we
to ply their trad e; but in the more derstand the awful effects of the old
know for a fact th a t the religious HOW T H E W O RLD M UST BE
SA V E D .
enlightened centers of civilization, erroneous beliefs, and we should
dom inations and
controversies,
where the great libraries, u n iv ersi­ not hesitate a m inute.
coupled with petty jealousies and
I he C hristian sufferers have ties and easy modes of com m unica­
“ Don’t be too ra d ic a l,” is the
spite work of those in control, often
learned to say “ G od’s will be done” tion and trav el are found, the G od­
advice of cowardice. How can one
m ake public schools worse th an no
until they think there is no rem edy dess of L iberty already counts her
be too rad ical? The word “ radical
schools at all. But this is no rea­
for the evils they suppose their hosts by the m illions, and soon the
m eans “ ro o t”, and we ought to get
son why the great public school
kind, heavenly fath er sends us. believers in spooks of every kind
rig h t to the root of things ju st
system should not be protected and If good men and women had the
will be as scarce as are now the be­ as soon as possible.
Those
made free as fast as possible.
power, they certainly would at lievers in w itchcraft.
who are w orking the C hristian con­
Prof. W alker, in his able article once stop the crim e and m isery in
As soon as people learn th at if fidence game care nothing for those
on another page in this issue of the the world. \\ ho is there th a t
there is a God he is of no earthly who are afraid of being radical.
Torch, shows the dangers from the would lin t cure e v e r y sm allpox,
good; th a t he d o n ’t help the good They take no notice of such; but
Roman C atholic church, and we tuberculosis or appendicitis sufferer
wish to say “ Am en!” to w hat he in the world if he only could? And nor punish th e bad; th a t the uni- as soon as we “ do som eth in g ” they
says, and add th a t the danger from yet God, who can do it ju st as well verse goes on ju st as though it was will begin to w hine, boycott and
the P rotestant churches m ust not as not, will let us suffer on. They ru n n in g itself (as indeed it is), and use force where they can to down
be overlooked. There will come a s a y , “God is love,” but if there th a t nothing can be expected from us. But th is is only a sign th a t we
a living who will not lend a h a n d are doing som ething.
To prove
tim e when no one hut a C hristian c o u ld be a (rod, his love is ju st like
to stop the crim e and m isery in the I
Concluded on 5th page.