4
Torch of
T H E TORCH OF REASON, S IL V E R T O N , O REG O N , OCTOBER 1, E. M. 300 (1900.)
Reason
i
FOUR ST EPS.
woman of nursery rhym es and get
T H E B E G IN N IN G OF T H E F IF T H
YEAR
tossed up in our F reethought bas
■ — ■
The Only Paper of Its Kind.
ket ninety times higher th a n I Ideas are w hat we w ant and not
It ca n ’t he im agined with w hat
the
moon
flu n a (tic )n o n se n se j too much controversy over the d er
we, who are at the
Published Weekly by the Liberal Uni and with the new broom of ivation of words. There seems to an x iety
versity Company, in the Interests of
helm of our new F reethough ship,
Science sweep the cobwebs out of be two ideas in regard to the
Constructive, Moral Secularise
the L. U. O., w atched for the be
H u m a n ity ’s sky? O thers will soon m eaning of the word liberal. ginning of the fifth y e a r’s work.
J. E. H osm er,, , . , „ ...........Editor ask, “ may I go with y o u ?”— Aye, One is, th a t liberal m eans in d e M any times we asked ourselves if
pendence of thought and the w ill the novelty of the idea of a Free-
P. W. G eer,,^..................M anager bye an d bye.
ingness to let others have th eir
thought university had not worn
a — _------- .----------------- - --------------
thoughts
w
ithout
try
in
g
to
force
O, Y E GODS!
off; if those who had patronized us
Entered at the postoffice at Silverton,
_______
them into believing som ething else. had not after all given up the ship
Oregon, as second-class mail matter,
W hen independent th in k ers be The other idea is th a t liberal
and if others seeing our small n u m
gin to see the great evil th a t grows m eans free, and th a t a Liberal is
bers, would not he discouraged, etc.
o u t of every little seed of evil and one who is free from all supersti
We had said th a t we expected to
subscription rates .
w hat a vast am ount of good may tion. These ideas are both good
have enrolled this year, over one
come from only a little thoughtlet and we w ant both.
In fact hundred students, for we had in
One year, jn advance..................... ■ $1 M
Six months, in advance.................
50 of good, they begin to enjoy that we m ust have the one before we creased ever year since we started ,
Three months, in advance..............
25 which is pure, wholesome and ele have th e other, but most people
and judging from the past we
In clubs of five or more, one year,
in advance....................................
"5 vating. If the hum an fam ily couid now a days in most civilized com thought th a t one hundred stu
Money should be sent by registered be tau g h t th a t th a t which m akes a m unities are, in the broad sense of
dents for E. M. 300-301, was a con
Utter or money order.
habit, thought or custom had is the the term , independent of thought.
servative estim ate.
But to begin
fact th a t it does not bring them But this is not enough, and there
w ith, on account of the Oregon
selves
nor
others
bappiuess,
they
seems
to
be
a
t
least
four
stages
of
Notice!
people being very busy with m an
would be more careful to do those evolution through which everyone
ual labor at this time of the year, we
things which do help them have a m ust pass before he or she is a full
finally prophesied th a t we would
A hand pointing to this notice denotes
that your subscription has expired. good time. If one will watch care fledged Liberal i. e., before he is a have about th irty the first day.
You are earnestly requested to re fully the conversation of most genuine Secularist.
T hat kind of W hat was our surprise when we
new so that you may receive the pa
per without interruption. We have de C h ristian -b red people, he will dis Liberalism which we have called counted noses last M onday, to find
cided that it is best for all concerned cover th a t when they keep from do independence of thought is lh e flrs t
that over forty students were ready
that we do not send papers longer than
the time paid for unless so ordered. ing wrong it is for the sam e reason Rtep. The second is a good know l to enroll in the “ only school of
This will prevent any loss and we will th a t a child is good who is alm ost edge of the universe— of the great
ITS KIND IN THE WORLD.”
know just where we stand.
We request you to send us the names crazy to get into the jam hut fears laws and facts of n atu re, which re
Forty-four was the exact n u m
of Secularists who might become sub- the promised w hipping; he is pos sults in the th ird , the com plete
ber, and several have enrolled
acriliers and we will mail sample copies.
itive the jam is good, hut is told freedom from all supernaturalism .
since. This is indeed encouraging.
it is wrong to eat it and th a t he But the fourth is the cap-sheaf of
According to this we will have
all
and,
being
scarce,
is
“
more
pre
will
get
whipped
or
locked
up
if
he
T hursday , O ct . 4, E. M. 300.
over one hundred studcntsjthisjyear
goes near it.
cious th an gold, yea, th an m uch
— more th an m any colleges th a t
Remove for a m om ent the fear of fine gold.” It is so very ap t to fol
have been ru n n in g m any years.
GET INTO T H E B A SK E T .
hell or of an angry God, and w hat low the th ird th a t it m ight alm ost
H u rrah for the noble work of sav
becomes of a child of C hrist?
No be considered a p art of it.
ing h u m an ity ! W ho can estim ate
The preachers th in k th a t the wonder th a t m any who suddenly
I t is like this:
W hen one i» w hat this M oral, F reethought, Sec
people are fools, b u t th ey are not; become Infidels become reckless independent in thought, has know
ular educational work m eans?
they are just as sm art as most and do as bad things as God, and ledge of n a tu re ’s laws, and has be
Think of the near future resuli!
preachers, the only trouble being Moses, and A braham and David, come entirely free from supersti
Can you see self controled ladies
th a t m any of them lack a little in and Solomon did! God w on’t pun tion, he can scarcely help seting
and gentlem en of cu ltu re going out
ju st th e sam e way as does Mr. ish them ; why not have a “ good w hat a great effect for good it
from the L. U. O by the h u n d re d s
D om inie; th a t is, each one thinks tim e?” But those who are tau g h t would have on h u m an ity if all
and thousands, arm ed with th a t
th at other people d o n ’t know th a t sin is not jam , th a t it is not men could come into the sam e
which puts to flight the owls and
m uch.
To
see people going forbidden fruit , but ra th e r the light.
Thi8 soon leads him to de bats, which still flourished in the
around patronizingly pretending to briars and thorns of life, will not sire it to be so; the desire grows
tw ilight of our generation?
Even
give others credit for believing th a t be anxious to eat thereof as the and finally his whole hope and joy
we, who ought to be tam ed som e
the popular lie of orthodoxy is C hristian does when his god h ap is centered in saving his fellow
w hat by this tim e, (b u rn in g th e
true and at the same tim e believing pens to be out of sight.
m an from ignorance and its awful m idnight oil) are fairly taken off
In the late war w ith th e F ilip
them fools if thev do believe it—
results— in bringing about a New our m ental feet by the th o u g h t of
pretending to believe it them selves, inos, the C hristiau-bred soldier H eaven— a New E arth . He c a n ’t
the m ighty effect of educating these
yet knowing it is a mess of foolish hoys by the thousands were ruined shut out the visions of history, uor
workers, whose sm ooth pebbles of
fabrications, is a sight which is by foul diseases contracted by ex the present day sufferings, crim e
tru th will surely slay the great
enough to m ake a decent angel cesses w hile in M anila and Ja p a n . and degradation which his know
G oliah of superstition.
A nd how
These diseases will be scattered
vomit.
ledge gives him; and knowing the happy we feel to be even a ja w
Look here, Mr. Preacher, the broadcast over our country. They rem edy, he wishes it to be applied.
bone to down the thousands of P h il
people don’t believe your old sto will go on and on, blighting the He is fully converted to the Relig
istines of orthodox falsehoods and
ries any more; they are only p re lives of the fairest and purest of ion of Science and H um anity. He
p u t in th eir place the great tru th s
tending to, ju st like you are doing. e a rth . It is sim ply appalling to
despises everything th a t robs men of the C hildren of Science.
The
W hy try to keep up the farce any think of! Young, beautiful, inno
longer? L et’s be honest. Lying cent girls will m arry “ brave soldier of their independence of thought, “ good time com ing” is surely com
ing. W hy not?
The problem is
is a bad habit to break, but th in k hoys” only to find their lives of the knowledge of the world in solved.
Every one will see it as
of the awful in ju ry the old, rotten ruined . C hildren will be born 1 al- which they live, and th eir freedom soon as they will look. The “ braz
And w hat is re from superstition. He lives in the en serp en t” of “ infidelity” has
creeds
are
responsible
for. ready ruined.
been set up and the diseased will
And, dear lay m ember,
why sponsible for this long ch ap ter of
heaven of the good which will re soon have strength enough or serse
not stop pretending to believe m isery? Is it the C hristian God
enough to look at it.
B runo
w hat you know the preachers all who tau g h t our ancestors the lie sult from his labors. He learns to and Galileo and Paine and Inger-
know to be false. It is wrong to th a t evil is only forbidden fruit ? love the idea of complete rest sol and m any o th er grand workers
let people think you believe in holy Is it the men and womeu of our which he knows will come after are not here to know how th eir no
ghosts etc., etc., when you don’t. tim e who, for gain, allow these evil his work.
H is life has been ble work is blossom ing into U n i
W h a t’s the use of playing the fool doctrines to flourish and keep the the w orld’s gain -and though versal Common Sense, into Scien
tific T ru th , into the Religion of
any longer?
Y our com m unity children believing th a t a god who
he dies yet does he live in the ever Science and H um anity; but th eir
needs ju st the kind of an honest ordered war and its awful practices
honest thoughts and deeds are
w
idening
circles
of
his
beneficent
is
a
god
of
love?
O,
war!
O,
lies!
roan or woman you are capable of
m arching on to greater and greater
victories.
influence.
being.
W hy not be like the old O, ye gods!