•i THE TORCH O F REASON, SILVERTON, OREGON, NOVEMBER 15, E. M. 300 (1900.) a mere u n th in k ab le m yth: th a t man was never free nor equal; th a t he T h e O n ly P a p e r o f It s K in d . was never “endow ed’' by any n a ture or any creator with rights; P u b lish ed W eekly by th e L iberal U ni- he had to fight for all the versity C om pany, in th e In te re sts of which instead of be- C onstructive, Moral S ecularism . rights be ha. , wnicn, instead oi u ing inalienable, are alw ays slipping T. B. W a k em a n ................... Editor away or being forced aw ay from P. W. Geer......................... M anager him . As to “ governm ent,” the ---- very id ea of it is th e verv o p p o site Torch of Reason E n te red a t th e postolhce a t S ilverton, , f . Oregon, as second-class m ail m a tte r. of “ c o n s e n t ,” a n d t h a t V it , has 1 a l ways originated, and haH alw ays subscription r a t e s . been continued by force, etc., etc., One year, in a d v an c e .......................... $1 00 to the end of th a t deistic dream . Six m o n th s, in ad v an ce.................... The answer to all th is ap p aren t 25 T hree m o n th s, in a d v a n c e ................ tru th iB th a t S tatesm en, like beav- In clubs of five or m ore, one year, in ad v a n ............................; ce .......................................... ........ i ers, often “ build wiser than they should be sen t by registered 1 ’ „ , , . .. Money ,n p v order order. know :” th at the conscious motives le tte r or m u oney - and reasons assigned for the col- NotjceJ lective conduct of people, are gen i erally very far from being their complete or even th eir real ones; A h a n d pointing to th is notice denotes th a t your subscription has e x p ire d . and this was evidently the case You are earn estly requested to re with .Jefferson and the F athers. new so th a t you m ay receive th e pa per w ith o u t in te rru p tio n . W e have d e The m etaphysical deism they as cided th a t it is best for all concerned signed were but the drapery and th a t we do n o t send pap ers longer th a n th e tim e paid for unless so ordered. rhetoric of their m ain grounds pre T his will p rev e n t any loss and we will sented in the rest of the docum ents know ju st w here we sta n d . ‘Is it not for We request you to send us th e nam es which sum up thus: of Secularists* who m ig h t becom e su b the interest of the A m ericans and scribers and we will m ail sam ple copies. the world th a t they be a free and independent people? We show the T hursday , N ov . 15, E. M. 300. facts which plainly say, yes! And with a “decent respect” for the The Foundations Broken bp. opinions of m ankind we so declare, and make our appeal for m oral, OUR REPUBLIC ON T R IA L . m aterial and m ilitary su p p o rt!’ T heir main motive was the duty The G reat American Federal Re of looking out for the whole of the public has only existed one h u n Am erican people and their success dred years: Will it be in ex ist ors, th a t d u ty m ade the moral ence a t th e end of another cen tu ry ? rig h t which the D eclaration put it The answ er from the present o u t into a political form ; and the re look is very doubtful. The nam e su lt of the war made th a t moral may be continued, but where are right a fact, political and in te rn a th e people who will or can sustain tional. Now w hat was true of the A m eri th e reality ? The question will press upon every one who reads the cans of 1776 is true of all peoples: strik in g article on “ The Passing of It is the d u ty and therefore the N ational R ights,” on the first page right of all m em bers of a com m uni of this issue. We called atten tio n ty, on the ground of common in te r in the Torch of November 1st, to est and h u m an ity , to respect and “ God, The Basis of G overnm ent” to look out for the life, liberty, as presented by Dr. L ym an A bbott, property and th e chance for welfare and its inevitable consequences and happiness of every other m em against the Republic. T he S en ti ber of the com m unity by laws nel of Liberty of the sam e date dis equally applicable to all. This duty covered the same dangerous d rift; and right was not imposed nor giv and the question is raised; w hat is en by any God or C reator, nor by the n atu re of the difficulty, and a Goddess “ N ature.” It arises out w hat is the remedy? The firstand of the fact , th e actual necessity , m ain difficulty is th a t the old re which compells each to look out ligions, and the deistic basis upon for others as th e condition of his which the D eclaration of Indepen own safety and welfare. All rights dence and th e Republic was based result from the social duties which by W itherspoon, Jefferson and the the common welfare of all imposes F ath ers, has, “ in the course of upon social anim als. “ E ach, for All, events, became washed away. They All for E ach” equally , is the uec- m ust he replaced by a new’ founda- essary condition of th e welfare of tion, or the polity based upon them al ; f >r all have common needs, re- cannot much longer resist th e new quirin g equal protection, and equal and opposing conditions and forces, laws, and as far as possible, equal W hen we drop all Many a College boy is now proud of conditions. showing, th a t every statem ent in Gods, Devils and N ature-M ythology the “ Im m ortal D eclaration’s Pre- M etaphysics, we land on the hard am ble,” is not only untrue, but is bottom where the F ath ers of our exactly the reverse of the the tru th : R epublic re ally stood. H um an It is now scientifically proved th at necessities m ake hum an duties,and m an was never “ created ” at all; they m ake hum an rights. The and th a t a creator and creation is best governm ent is one that best answers to these necessities by the best perform ance! of the duties which it is the com m on right of each to have secured by all. This is the 00111 mon fact and law of hum an necessity and nature. Laws, for the “ benefit of the greatest num ber,” or for “ the governm ent,” or for the “ benefit of the governors” will not do at all. They are ruled out by the said fundam ental fact, th a t the “ A ll” has no actual, n a t ural or social purposes or hum an right or reason for its existence except to protect and secure the liberty and welfare of each , and so of all. No person, however h u m ble or u n fo rtu n ate, can he exclud ed; for the all is not all unless it includes every each . T hus in sociology hum an governm ent stands upon its own bottom of social nec essity. There is not the slightest reason in the world for us to go slopping abput in the m uddy and bloody pools of past Theologies and Religions or the fanciful n atu re.— M ythology abstractions or “ p rin ciples” of m etaphysics to find some origin, sanction or excuse for gov ernm ent which in the order of events cannot help hut he. T he vol cano or th u n d ersto rm , the polity of an In d in tribe or of the U nited S tates, exist as correlative results of th eir past, and the sanctioned law of Gods or Devils are equally superfluous. Nor is Social existence, order and governm ent a m atter of contract or of volu n tary agreem ent, nor were they ever so “ in stitu te d ” am ong men. They are a m atter of sta tu s — th a t is a m atter of social origin and environm ent, th e state of things su rro u n d in g every individual. “ Man is not except in society.” Out of th at he lives but a short tim e in order to die as a very weak and decrepid anim al. W hen he is born he is born as a hum an being, a child, a citizen and a socius a t the sam e tim e. No will or com pact can m ake or prevent these re lations, and their inevitable duties, functions, obligations and con sequently th eir rights , for rights are the conditions and priviliges nec essary to enable him to perform his duties. R ights and duties a l ways go together, for they are co u n terp arts which beget each other aud are reciprocal. The a n a rch ist who argues th at he is going to secede from these social conditions and facts with th eir duties and rig h ts m ight just as well talk of seceding from the solar system , or veto the stellar m otion of the sun. O ur wills are the “ pred eterm in ed” comp emei t and supplem ent of these social facts and laws of n a ture by which we are enabled, bound and com pelled to use them for th e benefit of each and all, be cause for the common benefit n a tu ra l selection operates. The best governm ent is th e one in which they are worked out most effect ively. O ur declaration and consti tution therefore rig h tly says th a t the R epublican-D em ocratic mode of governm ent is the scientific, tru e and best one. The action of the all rests upon and is the action and support, and so the “consent,” of those who are served by the governm ent, which rightfully exists for no other purpose except their protection and service. Nor is there any great difficulty in aiding and applying this n a tu ra l, hum an and necessary process of governm ent. The first consideration of the all is to look for the liberty and highest developm ent and welfare of every “each.” This is done for the child, the young each, by the p aren ts, town school, the state and general all. This is the governm ental en- virom ent which n a tu ra lly judges an d provides in the order nam ed, so th a t the citizen will be able to support each of the public functions of the serving governm ent as they rise above each other from the hearth-stone to the m ighty United States. T h a t the laws by which each is protected in this grow th of education and support should be equal follows as a m atter of course The best clim ate m ust be eqular and regular to all kinds of trees or they could never know how to grow, so equal and reg u lar legal clim ate and in stitu tio n s is neces sary in fam ily, school and state, and is secured by n atu ra l selection for all kinds of people. The first necessity and grand function of governm ent is to secure the liberty and conditions for full develop m ent of each; for th is equal, im p artial and slowly im proving laws and conditions are so n a tu ra l and necessary, th a t nothing more is to be said. The duty of the highest developm ent of each is at the sam e tim e his liberty and fund am en tal rig h t: and th a t rig h t, as Spencer will say, is lim ited only to prevent an encroachm ent of the equal rights of another. Nor is there an y serious diffi culty in applying this n a tu ra l rule to holy days, as the S entinel of L iberty seems to suppose. For all rem n an ts of Despotism«, Theo cracies and O ligarchies are to be abolished aud swept out of the laws of course. Then public holidays or rest days, m ay be declared by the wish of the m ass of the people, as nonbusiness days, like C h rist m as, New Y ears day and the glo- ious F o u rth , and S unday. Only those large forms of business m ay be restrained which compel a large em ploym ent of others, as wholesale m erchants an d m anufacturers, or which cause noise or d isturbance which m ay be a nuisance to others. These m ay need only to he subjected to some tax or fine. Every one else m ight work, so as not to interfere with others, on such holidays, if he so wished. T hus the Hebrews and Seventh day people m ight be h ap py in a real S ecular Republic.