Image provided by: Silverton Country Historical Society; Silverton, OR
About Torch of reason. (Silverton, Oregon) 1896-1903 | View Entire Issue (July 12, 1900)
T H E TORCH OF REASON, SIL V E R T O N , OREGON , JU L Y 12, E. M. 300 (1900.) 2 I passed : other in paying com plim ents to our nectious for Buffalo I m ust leave soon on the road north. through Lowell and then followed work. The president, Mr. Holmes, Lowell th a t evening. I regretted up the M errim ac river to N ashua, took a great interest in the work leaving Lowell in such a h u rry , but BY P E A K I. W . G E E R . N. H. There 1 met B rother Guild and called next day to assist in es- couldn’t help it very well. Mr. G uild took me to see several very Liberals are, as a rule, well ac and Mr. W ellm an and fun com- cortlng me to the train, After the m eeting was over, nice people, but I could only ex- quainted with the name and work menced once more. G uild wrote I went change greetings with them and of E lizur W right. One of rny plea poetry, W ellm an talked politics, G uild, \\ ellm an and “ strolling around the tow n” and move on. Lowell is a very nice sant experiences in New E ngland and I did neither. W e arrived at rounded up a lunch wagon, which city, and I am certain th a t two or was a visit at his old borne and the our destination towards evening fed us on sandwiches, coffee and three days there m ight have been home of his son, W alter W right. and soon found our way to the office of Mr. Anson Osgood, where m ilk for th irty cents. Then we spent very pleasantly. I had the I left Boston on S aturday evening, and after a delightful the F reethinkers’ Association meets, went in search of a hotel. We pleasure of m eeting Mrs. S. A. trolley ride of half an hour or We found no one present so we de- found one th a t “ looked like th irty Bates, who says the Torch of Rea- so I was in the little historic town cided to take in the town for a ¡cents” and ventured in. \\ ellm an son is the best paper th a t ever en- of Medford, a suburb of m etropoli while. G uild’s quick ear caught made a bargain with the pro- tered her house. the sound of tam bourine and Well- prietor to keep us over night, I know Mr. G uild is disgusted tan Boston. A few m inutes’ walk m an declared he could smell brim- and we sought out our rooms, with me for leaving Lowell so up a road, lined on either side were connected by a ab ru p tly , b u t when he comes to with beautiful trees and com fort stone, and I, being well versed in which This allowed free access, Oregon in the fall 1 will make able-looking homes, brought me to such m atters, assured them th a t a door. the house of M r. W right, where I Salvation Arm y must be in the and W ellm an paraded back and am ends for all I have done to dis- found Mrs. W right and her daugh- , neighborhood. G uild w anted some forth and gave some more of his ap p o in t him . He says he is going ter on the front porch fighting inspiration for poetry and W ellman cam paign speeches, and finally to do all he can for th e Liberal m osquitoes, and they were ap p ar wanted to learn some tactics for wound up with some ghost and U niversity, and since he can do ently pleased to see reinforcem ents sensational oratory in the cam paign spook stories, which he can tell to more at short range th an at a dis- coming. A t any rate they gave me speeches he is going to make for the queen’s taste. Then we all tauce, he is coming to Oregon and hearty hand-shakes ami a right Bryan this year, so we all set out snored. I awoke in the m orning take up a position right in sight of royal welcome. Mr. W right soon in search of the source oi the m akers in tim e to see W ellm an m ake his our building. Come on, B rother came to assist in the battle, but in of the noise. We “ rounded ’em u p ” exit. It was an hour before train G uild, you can help the editor in spite of all we bad to retire into in the City Ila ll and there we sat time, hut he said he was in a h u rry his sanctum , the teachers in the the house and dare the long-billed for some tim e and heard the “ Belles to get to N ashua and would rath er school, the printers in the shop insects to come through the screens. of New Y'ork” tell all about “ Jesus get to the depot in time to see the allj B rother W akem an in the gar- Then we chatted and visited in and him crucified;” hut the average train arrive than to see it depart, den. peace till supper was called, when m an would ra th e r follow the I wanted him to give another ghost O rig in of Good. story, hut he had gone and th a t is ( “ belles” than follow Jesus. we were more social still. The G uild showed his inspiration by the last I saw of him . He left his custom of baked beans S aturday BY DUREN J . II. WARD. evening and Sunday morning still composing the following piece of ¡subscription for the Torch of R ea son and he also left a pleasant bolds good in New England, and I poetry:— The feeling of wrong or sin has memory of a jolly time. am glad it does, for nowhere but in A religion w hich fights, A religion which d am n s, Mr. Guild an d I snoozed along poignantly affected life. Hence the New E ngland do people really m any theories of its origin. This Is a religion w hich b lig h ts; until later in the m orning and then u n derstand all there is to be un d er A religion of sham s. consciousness of wrong is increased arose and went forth to seek w hat stood in beanology. They are A religion to save we m ight devour. The first th in g with intelligence. The more man alw ays cooked just right with the All whom it can, we found was a breakfast, which . k,10w9 th e more consciousness of Is th e religion to have— proper shade of brown, especially The religion for m an. p u t us in a better hum or to tak e in sin is P ^ h l e . There is not neces- a t W rig h t’s. T h at is the kind of religion G uild the beautiful sights around t h e ; «arily mOre sin, but there is more Some relatives called in the h a s - t h e Religion of H u m an ity , town. M anchester is a beautiful thought concern.ng m oral relat.ons. evening and we had a pleasant W ellm an showed his inspiration little city anu seems to he up-to- » ha9 '’een the entgm a of the ages, tim e at games and conversation date. I 'called at the office of Mr. Men have reasoned over this prob and reviewing books. In the m orn later in the evening at the Free R. H. H assam , where I had a very lem u n tirin g ly . “ W here dtd the ing Mr. W right took me for a walk th in k ers’ Association, where he p leasant conversation and received evil and sin coaie from? The good over his domain and th a t of his warmed up in great shape and a donation of five dollars for the God collld "Ot and would not have fath er’s, and we also called on two proved his efficiency at cam paign m ade them. I f he is all-powerful U b e ra i U niversity. of Mr. W right’s sisters. Then we speaking. After a visit with the Osgoods, he would not let a had being m ake By the time we reached the law w ert out through the woods h u n t Mr. G uild and I took the train for them - Hence th e y “ u8t come b-v ing ‘‘G ipsy M oths.” W e found office again, Osgood B rothers were inheritance from wicked ances- them in trap s set for the purpose, there and we had a good conversa- N ashua, where we arrived in tim e tors.” an d we m ade way with m any of tion before time for the m eeting to for d in n er at a wayside ‘‘feed But in their reasoning the men them . I had trapped for m any begin. The Osgood B rothers a r e s t a b l e ” and feasted on turkey and of the past have m ade two mis anim als and birds in my boyhood very enthusiastic in th eir work for such stuff. Then we went to see takes. They as’s um ed perfec days, b u t this is the first tim e I F reethought, and are bright, intelli- Mr. E verett a t his drug store on tion behind them and they h u n t ever went hunting for caterpillars. gent young men, who are bound to Canal Street. Mr. E verett is a very ed for the wrong thing. They 'Phe state has appropriated th o u he a credit to any cause. The | clever m an and is deeply interested persistently asked: How did sin sands of d c ’lars for the purpose of father of these boys is a splendid in m atters L ib eral. H e subscribed and evil enter the world? while exterm inating these pests. They gentlem an to meet, and he gave for the Torch and en tertain ed us they all the time assum ed a state tie strips of cloth around the trees me some fine specim ens of clay with conversation and books until of original perfection. We now and the caterpillars don’t have any drippings from the C onnecticut we decided it was tim e to depart, and hade him a relu ctan t farewell. see that sin and evil did not enter better sense than to hide there. river bottom We missed the first electric car the world. It was the good that Then the people kill them . No Mr. F W. Wilson of M anchester was the speaker of the evening, hut for Lowell, so we decided to walk Crtme> the £ooi^ th a t ^entered tli bounty is paid for their scalps. Mr. W right has a beautiful so earnestly requested th a t I take out to the bridge and take a picture w orld- 11 was the idea1’ ,he hiSher New E ngland home and with his his place and give some facts con of the M errim ac river. G uild han- conception th a t was new. E v e ry bright, intelligent wife and ch arm cerning the aim s and objects of the died the baggage while I handled tllin R wa8 ri«ht be,orP> L e - r '* ht to the consciousness of the indi ing daughter, he ought to he happy. Liberal U niversity, th a t I consent- the cam era, and the tem ptation vidual. The good is the only re-1 I wish I could have stayed longer, ed and occupied half an hour or so was po great th a t I fired one shot aiitv. Evil is onlv a co ntrast be- hut after a lunch at uoon, I had to in explaining our work on the op- at him and caught him , silk hat, tween g o o d s. Actions become evil or bad only if belter ones are real- baggage and all. hasten on to New’ H am pshire, where posite side of the continent. We had a lovely ride to Lowell »zed as possible. In general, self I had a date with friend G uild th a t The Osgood brothers, Mr. Guild, ishness was not bad until the evening a t M anchester. Mr. W ellm an, Mr. W ilson, Mr. through the green trees on a per-: . , ,, j i i neighbor-regarding feeling became Mr. W right, with his daughter Rosenau and others, whose nam es feet day. We called at the office congciou?> Then the m oral reason and his niece, drove me to the s ta escape my memory j u s t now, fol- of Mr. Chas. A. Durfee, where I dis decided against selfishness or self- tion at West Medford and I was ¡lowed me, and each vied with the covered th a t in order to m ake con- centeredness as the narrow er view T ravels.