4
THE TORCH OF REASON, SILVERTON, OREGON, APRIL 5, 1900.
out. The interpreters (preacher?) never did anything worth mention­ been our first concern. The little
are not supposed to be infallible, ing, have published weekly the tree we call the Liberal University
and when a member of a Protest­ Torch of Reason; bought the press begins to bear fruit already, and
The Only Paper of Its Kind.
ant church reaches a point in his and other printing apparatus; what gods or devils dare say that
Published W eekly by th e L iberal U n i­ mental development where his bought a forty-four-acre tract of as th e day we eat thereof we shall
versity C om pany, in the In te re sts of
reason contradicts the message of beautiful land as ever lay out of surely die? The day we eat of the
C onstructive, Moral Secularism .
the divine messenger, he becomes doors; built a dining hall and dor­ tree of knowledge we shall surely
J. E. H osm er......................... Editor his own interpreter, creates doubts mitory containing eighteen rooms, begin to live, and know and enjoy
P. W. Geer..........................M anager in the minds of others, who imme­ a small (24x40) gymnasium, and a the unselfish, eternal life of good
diately begin to develope to higher main building that is now success­ works.
This year our tree of knowledge
E ntered a t th e postoffice a t S ilverton, things. Thus we find that the Pro­ fully used for study, recitations and
testant churches have continually office work. This building, when must be carefully cultivated and
Oregon, as second-class m ail m a tte r.
grown more liberal , that more completed, will be 70x90 feet and pruned. As it stands today, with
SU B SC R IPTIO N R A T E S .
liberal churches have been contin­ will accommodate about 300 stu­ its staging still around it, waiting
ually organized from them and that dents. We have also taught all for the carpenter and painter to
One year, in a d v an c e .......................... $1 00
Six m onths in a d v an c e ....................
50 at last in the most civilized centers grades of students while we were put on the finishing touches, it does
T hree m o n th s, in ad v an ce................
25 they are breaking down entirelv doing this, having seventy-six on not look very beautiful excepting
In clubs of five or m ore, one year,
in a d v a n c e ..........................................
75 and Freethought societies and Sun­ the roll at one time, and increased to those who can “see the angel in
Money should lie sen t by registered day Schools are taking their places. our library from a few volumes to it,” like Michael Angelo saw in the
le tte r or m oney order.
This is not the idle fancy of an In- two thousand five hundred. Now, rough stone from which he chiseled
1 fidel brain. It is an actual fact, as if a few of us can do all this in such a most beautiful statue. If we are
Notice!
the following nccount of the doings a short time, what can we accom­ to feel the happiness and receive
of the Methodist church fully plish when all who love liberty, the benefits which come from pro­
A h a n d p ointing to th is notice denotes proves:
justice and truth lend a hand?
gress we must move forward, for
th a t y o u r su b scrip tio n h as e x p ire d .
You are e arn estly requested to re ­
During the vacation, which comes there is no standing still in nature;
The M ethodists observed th e week be­
new so th a t you m ay receive th e pa- ginn in g M arch 25 in penitence and p ray ­
I>er w ith o u t in te rru p tio n . W e have de­ er on account of th e decrease in ch u rch now in a few weeks, we want to we must evolve or dissolve; we
cided th a t it is best for all concerned m em b ersh ip and a tte n d a n c e . T his con­ finish our building and lay off our must advance or retrograde; our
th a t we do n o t send papers longer th a n d ition is recognized by th e bishops as
th e tim e paid for unless so ordered. e x ten d in g to all d en o m in atio n s an d is grounds into a beautiful park. university must now be finished or
T his will p rev en t any loss an d we will a ttrib u te d Io th e sp irit of research and There is nothing too good for our we will at once begin to lose ground.
know ju st w here we sta n d .
d o u b t represented by th e so-called
We have great faith in that high­
We request you to send us th e nam es “ h ig h er c ritic ism ’’.—[F arm and H om e, Freethought students. We want to
of Secularists who m ig h t becom e su b ­ A pril 1, 1900.
truly educate them, and in order to est development of humanity we
scribers and we will m ail sam ple copies.
Our friend, Mr. C. N. Cook, of do this their environment must be call Secularism, and being Secular­
McMinnville, Oregon, to whom we the best we can make it. No one ists ourselves we have faith in our
T hursday , A pril 5, E. M. 300.
are indebted for the above quota­ can do his best when the mind is work and thus we have a true
tion, adds the following very ap­ in other than a free, happy, un­ working faith which is certainly
fettered condition, and we wish to the right kind. We can’t fail now.
ABUSE OF POWER.
propriate comment:
make ell those who come to our We have the best location for our
The
devils
Indieve
an
d
trem
b
le
,
for
It is not safe to give any man, or th ey are in th e ir d eath -stru g g le, and Freethought University free in Secular Home in the world. There
any set of nlfcn, power unlimited. th ey die h a rd .
thought that they may do their is comparatively speaking no sick­
ness here at all. We have been on
The Roman Catholic Church is an
The salvation of the world, like best and the easier vanquish the the Pacific Coast for ten years and
illustration of what slaves men and the education of the individual, isa foes of Liberty in the coming strug­ no such diseases as kill off people
women become when they are matter of growth, and when the gle. Ours is a worthy cause, and by the hundreds in other climates
brought up to believe in the infalli­ great step of the ProtestantReform- such as we have and all that we ever bother us here. The fruit
bility of their priests and popes and ation was taken it broke in two the have we gladly lay upon its altar. trees are now just loaded with blos­
soms. We believe we can raise a
when their earthly and eternal great organized abuse of power
larger variety of fruits, grains and
prosperity is supposed to be de­ which had. grown up under the
vegetables than any other country
OUR HOPES AND PROSPECTS.
pendent on another’s will. But the name of the church of Christ, hut
under the sun.
The winters are not so cold
Protestant is slow to see that an in­ the only good done by this division
With
the
beautiful
spring
weath­
nor are the summers so hot as in
visible pope, whose throne is in the came from the increase of the ele­
er
comes
new
hopes
and
aspirations,
the
North, Central and Eastern
sky, and whose orderR are written ments of Secularism that were then
States. The soil is most excellent,
in a book and interpreted by introduced into the world and and we cast aside all unharmonious being clay and rich loam. Silver-
preachers, is almost if not quite as which have all this time been liber­ thoughts, freely forgive those who ton being close to the mountains is
bad as though this heavenly pope alizing and reforming, until we have injured us, either personally well protected and is away from the
really did exist in the form of a now find many who possess inde­ or as an organization, and bend all damper, river bottom climate. How
man at Rome and issued his orders pendent reason and common sense; our energies to the work of build­ beautiful a place we can make here!
How glorious will be our success
by letters which are in turn given and at last there will be a sufficient ing that which will surely save the and what a great blessing we will
to the people by the priests. The number of these modern pro-test- world from its allegiance to and be to our own and future genera­
Protestant church is younger than ants to finish the protesting busi­ worship of mythical, foreign poten­ tions.
Freethinkers, we have the great­
the Catholic, and we hope it will ness as far as the Protestants are tates. Having cast off every weight
of
superstition,
and
having
a
very
est
privilege, the most sacred duty,
die long before it has become as concerned, and then all together
the happiest life before us that any
corrupt^ but in some respects the we will cleanse the earth from the much increased desire to do our people of the earth ever had. Let
doctrines of the Protestant church­ filth of Roman Catholicism, with little part toward cleansing human­ us try to “act well our part; there
es would be worse in ultimate re­ its humbug virgin priests, its dis­ ity from the blight of ignorance be­ all the honor lies.”
sults, if it were possible for them ease-spreading holy water, its mon­ fore our hearts and brains mix
again in the great sea of inorganic
to have full development.
asterial crimes, its narrow, super­ matter, we are building a univer­ The St. Joseph (Mo.) Gazette, in
The Catholic rulers are supposed stitious, un-American education,
sity which is entirely free from the an account of the Liberal Universi­
to be infallible, but as they live in and its wicked, inhuman abuse of
gods and their agents. Here in a ty this week, states that Mr. Geer
this age they have the power to power.
beautiful valley on the Pacific has already secured $100,000 en­
govern their people better liecause
Coast, the last step before civiliza­ dowment for our school. This
they are on the ground and better TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN.
tion in its westward march must seems almost too good to be true,
know the conditions, while the
again meet the superstitions of the but we anxiously await further de­
Protestant ruler and his message
Perhaps some of our old subscrib­ Orient, we have found a fit place to velopments. If Secularism is the
(the Bible) are aucieut and do not ers and many of the new ones are begin Humanity’s Garden of Eden. only way to bring the true salva­
harmonize with modern ideas. But not yet familiar with just how we In the old mythical garden, where tion of the world, as we honestly
the Protestant religion has in it the are situated and what we have al­ poisonous, talking snakes defiled believe, then why shouldn’t we get
help as well as the Christian
elements of its own destruction, and ready accomplished, therefore we
and degraded, and liberty of thought schools? How many hundred thou­
can never reach the age and cor­ will briefly state that during the
was a crime, the tree of knowledge sand dollars have they received
ruption of the Romish church, for last three years, commencing with
was made a curse; but here in the during the last year? We hope
that the able Freethinkers will re­
its fundamental principle of abso­ nothing, we, the despised Infidels,
beautiful \\ illamette Valley know member us “that the prophecy may
lute authority can never be carried who, according to Christian logic,
ledge is to be a blessing, and it has be fulfilled”.
Torch of Reason