4
THE TORCH OF REASON, SILVERTON, OREGON, JUNE 14, 1900.
lives, our fortunes and our sacred wind! Then, when they are blown [ here is a “touch of reason”—try it,
honor to this great cause of all up by the roots, our work is only dear Christian:
causes, is somewhat different than begun. We must burn up every
The Only Paper of Its Kind.
You ask us what better guide we
selling all that we have and dis­ old spook notion, root and branch, can find than “God’s holy word”.
P u b lish ed W eekly by th e L iberal U n i­ tributing it among the poor. To and come back to mother nature W ell, in the first place, the Bible is
versity C om pany, in the In te re sts of
help an unfortunate brother into a and be taught as her children al­ not the word of a god; and in the
C onstructive, M oral S ecularism .
position in which he can help him­ ways should have been taugbi—to second place, there are no gods. (Of
self, and in turn help the helper or plant the seeds of truth i f we would course we are tools for saying
J. fc. H osm er,........................Editor
some one else who needs help, is not reap the poisonous fruits of but let it pass.) But let all this go
P. W. G eer,........................M anager
certainly a noble act; but it is falsehood. “Do men gather grapes as mere assumption on our part, as
nothing to be compared to the far- of thorns or figs of thistles?” But we haven’t space to give our reasons
E n tered a t th e poetoffice a t Silverton,
reaching work of throwing one’s the ground must be prepared by the for making the statements, and pro­
Oregon, as second-class m ail m a tte r.
whole weight against the spears of bright new implements of science ceed with our “touch of reason”.
SUBSCRIPTION RATES.
the enemies of mankind, thus mak­ first. Ah! there is work ahead!
It is acknowledged that we can
ing way for liberty. I t is nothing The harvest may truly be plenteous, not serve two masters, and if we
One year, in a d v an c e .......................... $1 00
Six m o n th s, in a d v an c e ....................
50 like using one’s whole fortune of but as yet the trained laborers are serve a god in heaven, doesn’t that
T hree m onths, in a d v an c e ................
25 energy, knowledge and coin to tear few.
take our hearts (minds) away from
I n clubs of five or m ore, one year,
away
the
decaying
prison-walls
of
Humanity and the things of this
in a d v a n c e ..........................................
75
the
old
world
of
superstition,
crime
M oney should be sent by registeret
A ID FROM A H IG H SOURCE.
life, and isn’t that an injury to our
U tte r or m oney order.
and hate, in which the world still
race? Would not such a doctrine
finds itself, and planning, laying
We are surprised, delighted and necssarily degenerate us and make
Notice!
the foundation and at least begin enthused to find that the Mr. Spen­ the people of the world unfit for
ning to build the jaspar walls of cer of Brighton, England, who some earth and unfit for any kind of a
A h a n d p ointing to th is notice denotes the New Jerusalem of Secularism.
weeks ago sent us a money dona­ heaven? “Take no thought for
th a t y o u r su b scrip tio n has e x p ire d .
The
noble
men
and
women
who
You are e arn estly requested to re ­
tion for the Ingersoll Chair, is no your life, what ye shall eat, or what
new so th a t you m ay receive th e pa­ have worked in the past have had
other than the world-famed Herbert ye shall drink; nor yet for your
p er w ith o u t in te rru p tio n . W e have de­
less
advantage
than
wc.
They
al­
cided th a t it is best for all concerned
Spencer, the great philosopher. body, what ye shall put on.” Would
th a t we do n o t send p ap ers longer th a n most thought alone; they wrote in
In a recent communication, Mr. G. this make people, as conditions are
tlie tim e paid for unless so ordered.
solitude
ar.d
in
danger;
they
work­
T his will p rev e n t any loss and we will
J. Holyoake writes: “My friend, now, well-to-do, or would it lead
know ju st w here we sta n d .
ed while bowed down with the Mr. Spencer, who seut you a sub them into poverty, and does not
We request you to send us th e nam es
of Secularists who m ig h t becom e su b ­ weight of the heavy chains of social scription, is Mr. Herbert Spencer poverty lead to crime? All is van­
scribers and we will m ail sam ple copies. ostracism, and many times with the
It is an honor to your University to ity, saith the preacher. Is it really
actual iron chains of the law gall receive his support.”
so, or is life real and earnest?
T hursday , J une 14, E. M. 300. ing their limbs. But today there
Friends of the L. U. O., our in Which idea is the better guide? “O
are many of us; we can think to­ stitution was never more highly think of the home aver there!”sings
W H A T S H A L L T H E H A R V E S T BEP gether; we can write what once honored, and personally we feel the Christian, and he gets his in­
would have been rewarded with that our reward for “hewing to the spiration from his good-god guide­
“Sell all that thou hast and dis­ death sentence; we can speak with­ line” in the advocacy of our honest book. But should we think of an
tribute it unto the poor,” saith “the out fear and even call God a priest­ thought is great indeed.
imaginary home to the neglect of
book” in one of its fables. But how ly earth-worm, with which the
Mr. Spencer to ns is the personi­ the real home here? Is it not true
many Christians are following the “fishers of men” catch suckers.
fication of scientific truth, and Mr. that where our treasure is there will
divine instruction? Would it be
But between the dark past and Holyoake, the father of Secularism, our hearts (minds) be also? Can
wise to do so? If not, then Jesus the bright future, we stand in the personifies the humanitarian part we afford to neglect making this life
was not wise; and if so, his follow­ wilight of the present, and whether of our noble Religion of Science a success?
ers are very unwise; and if mis­ we shall use the advantages we now and Humanity. When such men
And now in conclusion, remem­
taken in this respect, how easy it lave and at once begin to realize as these have so earnestly endorsed bering that we are not trying to
would be to suppose that they he beauties of a glorious morning, our Liberal University, how can it reason—just trying to give those a
might possibly be mistaken in the or whether we shall let the work help becoming a great, grand, glor­
“touch of reason” who are too weak
whole story about a god, a virgin our noble Freethought predecessors ious go ? Everyone admits that
for a full dose, let us ask, what
and a holy ghost. If rich men so bravely inaugurated die for the “nothing succeeds like success,” and
could be worse as a guide for one’s
would follow Jesus’ advice they want of men and women as inter­ the help of Herbert Spencer and
life than a book which is so full of
would soon be poor and then an­ ested, as faithful and as noble as George Jacob Holyoake is success such false ideas as are mentioned
other exchange would be necessary; they, all depends upon what we are in itself. Let us follow up our above, that teaches the abominable
lies we call miracles, that is full of
but if all would use their surplus,as or what we become. The many, or, victories with victory!
obscene stories which,when separat­
some are really doing, to make con­ comparatively speaking, the few
ed
from the book,are not allowed to
ditions such that there would be no who now know the truth and real­
pass through the U. S. mails, and
A “ TO U C H O F R EA SO N ” .
poor so low in the scale of human­ ize that for humanity to longer
that teaches the cruel, unjust and
ity as to accept gifts, all would soon wait for the “home over there,” or
unlawful doctrine of the innocent
Ridicule is good for patients who suffering for the sins of the guilty,
feel ashamed to offer alms to a to put nothing in the place of the
are unable to reason, for it often and the fearful, mind-destroying,
fellow-citizen.
old system, is simply suicide for stimulates the mental liver to throw priestly-hold-up doctrine of an
Jesus, or the priest who wrote our race, can with the advantages
off some of its bile (gall), if noth­ eternal damnation?
the story, and all the people of that we now have, if they only will, be­
ing more; but whenever a supersti-
crude age seemed to have no con­ come a cyclone that will level every
tiously sick mental stomach can
DO N A TIO N D A Y FOR T H E L IB ­
ception of any better social condi­ old, decaying dogma and spook re­
assimilate
a
dose
of
reason
it
is
al­
E R A L U N IV E R S IT Y .
tion, on earth at least, than the ligion to the ground.
ways
best
to
administer
it,
being
poverty-stricken on the one hand
These ghostly figures must be re­
The Liberal University is in great
and the extremely rich on the moved. They stand like tall, dead, careful to give it in small doses at
first,
for
it
is
rather
rich
for
those
need of funds, and as a “day of
other; and these doctrines of the fruitless trees, which have had
who have taken nothing but faith prayer” would be behind the times,
so-called son of God have petrified during some great forest fire the
since they were born (at least since we have concluded to appoint July
the world. They have turned the life burned all out of them. They
they were born the second time).
20, 1900, as a Day of Donation.
active, progressive living tissue of will decay in time, but it may be
Some dear brothers in Christ and
W e earnestly request every Lib­
society into an orthodox fossil. No too late even for our race, but if re-,
one can imagine the evil of our moved now oy tha magic o f science some nothingites try now and then eral in America to send us a remit­
time which comes directly from there will be room for a more ver­ to get us to take a dose of ridicule. tance on that day, if it is no more
basing society on the old rotten dant growth, whose leaves will at They call our paper “Touch of Rea­ than twenty-five cents. The name
principles of an ignorant, supersti­ once be for the healing of the na­ son”, or “Torch of Treason”, etc., and address of each donor, with the
but such medicine as that does not amouut given, will be published in
tious age.
tions. Shall we remove them? It act as a narcotic on a real Free­ the Torch of Reason. “ In union
To consecrate one’s all to the takes momentum. We have a nu­ thinker. Most Infidels have learn­
cause of humanity is certainly a cleus of the storm that is already ed to take great doses of such with­ there is strength.”
wise thing to do. But to give our being felt. Let each help raise the . out being poisoned at all. But' Address, J. E. H osmer , Presi­
dent L. U. O., Silverton, Oregon.
Torch of Reason