Image provided by: Silverton Country Historical Society; Silverton, OR
About Torch of reason. (Silverton, Oregon) 1896-1903 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 18, 1900)
T H E T O R C H O F R E A SO N , S IL V E R T O N , O R E G O N , O C T O B E R G O b itu a ry . . ,, v, ,..,.1 The friends of rietlh<*ug».t and L iberalism in Oregon and beyond the state, will learn with regret of the death of Mrs. M aria W est, at her home at Scappoose, on the 10ih in stan t. She was well known for her own virtues and euergetic c h a r acter as a woman and a L iberal, and also as the respected widow of W illiam W. West, who died in 1895, and left a name and ch a rac ter as a m an and a friend and a d vocate of Liberal views, which hit» wife well sustained to the day of her death. Indeed her last re quest was alm ost that of her h u s band: “Let a F reethought lecturer conduct the funeral exercises. 7’ A ccordingly President John E Hosm er, of the Liberal U n iv trsity , went to speak the last words for the deceased. This he did w illing ly, although he was obliged to leave his classes at the University and journey about one hundred miles from Silverton to Scappoose, near Astoria. At the funeial a large assem bly of relatives, I t lends ai.d neigh bors gathered at the house, and followed the procession some two miles to the cemetery where the final address was made. President Hosm er knew of, and for whom he was speaking. He recalled how she was o f solid New E ngland stock and character, hav ing been horn of a respected family in Verm ont 68 years ago. W hen a babe in aim s she was moved to the Ohio reservation, where she It was not until 1861 grew up th a t she removed to this state, Of two She was twice m arried. ch ild ren by her first husband, one still survives. By her second h u s band she had six children. All of them were present at her funeral, all ready to rise up and bless her for the life she had given and m ade a blessing to them . The way she has done so, was by being and living as a consistent and persistent Liberal from her the strange changes of our hum an allo tm en t, assured th a t though we as individuals may pass awav, th e - ” race and the universe will still go onw ard in their developm ent, Men may come and men may go; flowers may fade and warm hearts ceaue their throbing, and genera- tion after generation go down to the sepulcher of ages, but none of the glorious a ttrib u te s of hum anity shall ever cease to be. All th a t is great and good and noble and beautiful in hum an n atu re is se cure frinii the m ouldering to m b of time. No disinterested deed, no genejous im pulse of the heart, no kind word spoken hut w hat shall survive the stars. Let us then live hopefully, with malice toward none, and die w ithout fear, in the full assurance th a t he who most conscientiously and faithfully per formed his duties tow ard his fel low creatures here on earth , am cording to his ability, has done well; and th a t they whose lives are ju st and honorable, no m atter how hum ble or obscure they may be, do leave behind them traces of golden light, which future genera tions may follow with gratitu d e and gladness. Lives of tru e ones all rem ind ns We m ay m ake o u r lives sublim e, And d e p artin g leave behind us F o o tp rin ts on the sands of tim e .” W ith morn, with noon, with night; with changeless stars and changing clouds; with grass, with trees and birds; with leaf and bud; with flowers and and blossoming vines; with all the sweet influences of n atu re, we leave our dead. Farew ell. Lay m e low, my work is done, I am w eary, lay me low, W here th e wild flowers woo the su n , W here the balm y breezes blow. W here th e butterfly takes wing, W here th e willow s d ro o p in g grow, W here th e spring birds c h irp and sing, I am w eary, let m e go. I have striv en h ard and long In th e w orld’s unequal fight, Always to resist th e w rong, Always to m a in tain th e rig h t. Always w ith courageous h e art, youth up. In her words, charac E ver striv in g tru th to know . ter and action, her late husband B rothers, I have done mv p a rt, I am weary let m e go. and all the fam ily found in her th eir best support in all Free- thought works and hopes. She had a veracity of feeling as well as of intellect which would not brook falsehood, deception and a n tiquated nonsense, even in religion, the most sacred and im portant m atters of life ami death, w here so m any seem to think the tru th is not requisite. After President Hosm er had sketched out the life ami the triu m p h an t womanhood of the deceased in her words, works and continuous im m ortality he closed with the following: Our m arvelous and beautiful world is all alive with rich and m ighty m eaning, and by com m un ication with nat ure we are enabled endure with th he highest hope all P re ju d ice and P rin c ip le . C ontinued from 2d page. 18, E . M . 3 0 0 (1 9 0 0 .) ers, than all the other states of the . .F o r s t n e r ’s. . Union. There m ust bg som ething in the air th a t inspires the senti- m ent of Secularism ami of Liberal- IS IN V A LCA BB TO ism, to m ake the sta te ?o bristling with “ Secular C hurches” and Secu- C a r p e n te r s a n d J o in e r s , for m o rtisin g , such as le ttin g in locks, as it tak es tl>e lar Sunday Schools,” and to build place of chisel and gouge; to up the beautiful ami busy Liberal C a b in e t M a k e rs , for inlaid w ork, dow- U niversity, Oregon, “ the only elling, patch in g , rem oving sp lits and k n o ts. In fact, no school of the kind in the w orld,” one which teaches tru th forauthor- W a g o n o r P a t t e r n M a k e r m a n u fa c tu r ity, not authority for tru th , using e r of pianos, organs, sew ing m achines a g ric u ltu ra l im p le m e n ts, sash , b linds no “ thus saith the L ord’’ to deter fu rn itu re , n o r mine m orals, ariv more th an to A n y O th e r W o o d w o rk e r, should be dem onstrate m athem atics. W isd o m cries aloud in the W ill- ' w ith o u t it. am ette Valley and her voice shall AS A MACHINE BIT IT IS UNEQUALED. be “ heard ’round the w orld” as the It '8 th e only round bit in th e world voice of virtue and peace. This | th a t will bore a SQ U A R E H O LE an d do all th a t any o th e r Secular School is no sectional bit will do. school, not a School of Oregon, hut PRICE a School in Oregon, and so it ap Set of five, differen t sizes,p o stp aid . .$2.60 peals to the Liberals of the world Single b it, p o s tp a id .................................. 60 for assistance. There is now prepared the way A ,w ress, LIBERAL SIL V E R T O N O R E G O N . of “ LU O ,” and th e y h u th are flock ing to Silverton, the paradise of real learning, to return atid go W H A T W E HAVE abroad as m issionaries by true TO SELL. righteousness, with the Torch of Reason in hand to light the world University Number of Freethought Magazine W ith P earl W. G e e r’s p o rtra it . 1 5 c to the glory of m an, instead of groping to “ glorify God.” . Epitome of Positive Philosophy “ ’Rah! ’rah! ’rah! ’zip ’rah! By T. B. W a k e m a n ...................... , 5 C boom! Liberal U niversity! give us Freethought: Past, Present and Future. room !” Luo! university co . Prepare a room for me, I am coming soon, to see. Please sing to the tune of “ Corna- tion. All hail the power of h u m an love, W e’i fix o u r faith on facts; Let every h e a rt all h ate above, Reveal th a t love in acts. We are not dazed by m ystery, To Gods no hom age pay ; B ut draw from every h isto ry A lesson for today. Say not, in ate d e p ra v ity W ill m an forever curse, Or th a t by m oral gravity We slide from bad to worse. Such law of co n d em n atio n , so, W ould b u t th e sin prolong; And m ake of all creatio n , too, A m u ltip ly in g w rong. G reat N a tu re ’s C o n stitu tio n may Not ever be im p aired , And each life’s evolution, aye, By certain rule is squared. We stan d by sig h ts convictions, th e n , We d are to use o u r b rain , C areless of false restrictio n , m en, And vote for R eason’s reign. need of the Secular Union and of From highest halls of science, down To lowest grades in school, the Liberal U niversity to teach the “ Church of C h rist” how not to spend other people’s money, but to “ render therefore unto Caesar the ... z . things th a t are Caesar s (the gov- e v ® ernm ents) and unto God the things th a t are God’s. I believe th at Oregon, with its d aughter, W ashington, ’ has more ” . true Liberalism in it to the square 1 mile, than has any J state in the Am erican Union. N ot only that , but . it .. seems to . , be practicing . . . * more L iberalism in proportion to its ' population of professed Freethink- We labor w ith defiance frown To break th e big o t’s rule. ab rea' 8 immensity, I One principle o b tain s, , ; So govern each p ro p en sity ^s Reason’s law ordains, Send 10 cents in silver or stam ps t i Subscription a i • * to the Liberal Agency, m u Locust r . St., a . O ttaw a, t Kas., - "i . 128 and * • j .. receive during the next . m onth By T. B. W akeman , w ith p ictu re and life of th e a u th o r. Price, 12 copies, $1,00; e a c h .......................... iq c Emancipation of Education. An In au g u ral Address, bv T. B. W akeman , Delivered on th e in co r p o ratio n of th e L iberal U niversity. P ric e ...................................................... 5 C Photographs of the Faculty of th e L iberal U n iv ersity , s u it able for fram in g . P ric e ................ 5 0 c Torch of Reason Song Book No. 2. P ric e ................................................ 1 0 c Freethought Magazine for S ep tem b er, Ingersoll m em o rial n u m b e r; O ctober, w ith W a k e m a n ’s sp eech ; N ovem ber, w ith p ictu re of L. U. O. facu lty . P ric e .................................................... | 0 c Forstner Auger Bit. Price, an y s iz e .............................. 6 0 c Liberal and Scientific Books of all k in d s. See a d v ertisem en t elsew here. Send all o rders to T h e L ib e ra l U n iv e rs ity C o , S ilverto n , O r® 9°" 0 0 W orth oT MAGAZINES FREE I “ S ecular S cience and C ommon S e n se ” p o in ts th e w ay to th e g o al of y o u r a m b itio n . A m a g a zine of A dvanced Free T h o u g h t, L ib e ra l and M odern Id e a s of R eform and N a tu r a 1 Law. Devoted to p ra c tic a l d e m o n s tra te d tru th s . H u m a n ity is u n d e rg o in g im p o rta n t ph y sical, in te lle c tu a l, an d social c h a n g e s . P ro g re s s de m a n d s th e re n d in g of s la v e r y ’s c h a in s. T h is m agazine is a ste p p in g -sto n e to success in a ll of life’s u n d e rta k in g s , a s it develops pow er of in te lle c tu a l p e rc e p tio n so th a t la te n t a n d activ e en erg y w ill be p ro p erly d ire c te d , in s u rin g a c le a r head in a sound body. N o th in g lik e it o r h a lf so good a n d p ra c tic a l. T h is ra re tre a t sen u a w hole y e a r, to g e th e r w ith sa m p le s of o v er 50 o th e r v a lu a b le p a p e rs a n d m a g a z in e s of $5.00 v a lu e , fo r o n ly s i.00. Send a t once a s th is otfer is lim ited . S am p le copy w ith an in te re s tin g book of over 1W) pages free fo r 12 c e n ts in «’a m p s . A ddress copies of all leading F reethought. r ug.»«, Liberal and New b o u g h t p ap ers' SECULAR SCIENCE AND COMMON SENSE and magazines. P.E. 532 Atlas BIk, Chicago, 111.