MATERIALIST’S COLUMN
REPLY TO MEV. MR. PHELPS
Mr. I’hclpN ilovHn't like my vocab­
ulary, thinkn it I h nut claHHical. Well,
to uhc nice woh I h one must have n
nice Hubject to talk ubout. Neither
h<i Emerson nor u .Mutthew Arnold
voultl be cluuHical without ii Hubject
worthy of their lofty p»wera. Mr.
I'helpa I h not a nice subject, but he
ban to be ileult with. It I h true that
I have ni>i*lie<l Nome pretty pluin
woh I h to Mr. Phelps, but I got them
out of n cliiNHieul dictionary, mid they
fit their subject uh neatly hn his own
hide. I Haiti that he published false­
hood* about the Freethinkers of Sil­
verton. These Hume falsehoods were
intended to "alander” the dead and
dishonor the living. 1 »aid also that
one of Mr. Phelp’ii main articles of
traffic ia the urtiutic fallacy. Just
one Hiimp'e: Mr. Hull hud argued
thut since Nnlure is cruel Lnd hcurt-
leuH in countleu ways, no Mr. Phelpa’
(¡<xl must be cruel. It I n the great
unHidved problem of evil, a problem
before which Milton mul Tennyson
paired mute and buffed; but how easy
to Phelpa: “Did you never eat an oys­
ter stew or sell unything to the but­
cher?” If Mr. Phelpa hud only
thought to add: “Did you never mur­
der your infant nor’ boil your wife
in brimstone?” he would huve proved
i hi» case and fully demonstrated the
goodneHH of his God. I ulso said thut
Mr. Phelps’ method win one of “mis­
representation.” Twice he accused me
of calling Lincoln n Muterialist, when
he well knew that he was misrepre­
senting me. In his Intent he asserts
thut I huve culled his “Beat Friend
u bastard.” Will Mr. Phelps please
state in what issue of The Journul ?
On muny occasions he has misrepre­
sented the uttitude of Huxley on
evolution. Once in a quotation from
the Fortnight Review he garbles Hux­
ley's languages and makes him say:
"I believe in immortality." Again he
misrepresented Alfred R. Wallace on
evolution, saying that Wallace hud
completely repudiated thut doctrine.
I showed that Wallace in one of the
very last letters he ever wiote af­
firmed n full belief in the natural
origin and evolution of life. Once
again he tried to palm off the state­
ment that the British Association had
repudiated evolution, when he ought
to have known thut that Association
issues only the opinions of individuul
members. Mr. Phelps says that he is
"careful" — yes, careful to muke
white black anil black white. Yes, it
is true thut I called Mr. Phelps a
“liar” and 1 have backed my asser­
tion with one hundred dollars. It is
quite evident that Mr. Phelps con­
siders himself a member of the Trin­
ity. Just let any one expose his
crooked methods in debate or his
fullucious reasoning and he at once
screams: “A bunch of bitter un­
reasoning God haters.”
Phel| h makes much udo about the
Lincoln case; claims he "accepted”
my challenge and that I "showed
the white feather," etc. He admits
that he left out the part about Lin­
coln joining liny church, but says
that 1 am in honor bound to meet
him on his challenge. I accepted his
new challenge on condition that a
perfect jury could be found. And Guy
claims the right to select that Jury —
a jury that will not lie. Now what
do you think of that? Phelpa tries
to muke out a moral case against
me; that I have knowingly and “will­
fully slandered the fuir name of Lin­
coln,” by insisting that he ought to
have been an actual Christian in or­
der that Chrisians might have the
right to claim him as one. Now I
think I know as much about Lincoln's
Christianity as Mr. Phelps does. I
know quite well where he got his
story of the pious Christian lady who
received Lincoln's confession of faith.
The preacher who gave out that
story was like Mr. Phelps: he was
"careful,” he gave no name, and that
pious Christian lady remuins name­
less even unto this day. 1 have read
what Holland said about Lincoln’s
Christianity; and what Lamon said;
and what Herndon (25 years Lin­
coln's law partner) said; and what
judge Davis (Lincoln’s executor) said;
and I know that Lincoln’s widow said:
Mr. Lincoln had no faith and no hope
in the usual acceptation of those
words. He never joined a church.”
But Mr. Phelps feels very certain
that he has won this case already.
And what a generous magnanimous
guy Phelps is I He offers to give
twenty-five dollars of my money to
The Journal just as soon as the case
is decided. But how many dollars of
his own wi 1 he give if I win? Come
Guy, aute up, let us see what kind
of n liver you have got any way.
Once again we come to that mouldy
old l’helpsian falsehood about the
Freethinkers of Silverton. Mr. Phelps
confesses thnt he sometimes uses fig­
urative language. I have noticed that
in quoting other authors his beauti­
ful figures of speech quite frequently
completely destroy the original mean,
ing of the sentence quoted. In his
latest he says: “I said that I was
informed by one whom I fully trusted
uh to truth und know thut a majority
of those who were prominent sup­
porters of the school and backers of
the League there hud gone out of the
world by the back door.” Now turn
to The Journul of November 27th and
reud the Rev. Phelps in the original:
"Mont of the leaden of that old In­
fidel Club huve blown their heailH off
with shot guns. The record shows
for itself.” (juite an elogunt figure
of Hpeech! Of course, Mr. Phelps In­
tended this to be u death blow to
infidelity; a slander on the dead and
u warning to the living. Now the
serious question is, would uny man
of honor publish such a statement
without first being absolutely and
eternully certain of each und every
one of hiH facts? And would any
man of decency respect this state­
ment ufler it hail been questioned
without flrnt going in person and
thouroughly investigating the entire
ground? Not u week has passed since
Phelps first published this falsehood,
but he could < have written to Mr.
lloHmer or the Muyor or Postmaster
of Milverton und learned thut it reHts
on not u shred of evidence or fact.
Hua Guy put forth a hand to cor-
rec himself? Not on your life! Even
u blind man cun Hee thut the whole
wretched fabrication originated in
the fertile, “figurative,” poetic brain
of Guy Fitch. The gentleman who
“once lived in Silverton" and the
“prominent minister” are simply “fig­
urative men for Guy to hide behind.
Mr. Phelps complains that I have
"introduced the word official” into
my remurkH. Just ignore thut word,
Guy, and come down to Silverton,
prove your original Htatement and
get your $100. Or, for each and
every name of those “leaders” that
you will print in The Journal as hav­
ing committed suicide I will pay you
$20 each. It is not necessary that I
should say anything further to or
ubout Mr. Phelps in The Journal.
The entire issue is now up to him.
Now, I freely und frankly admit
thut it is u genuine Christian virtue
to lie ubout the Infidel providing the
Christian prevaricator has sense
enough to get his lie through and
muke it stick. But when a man of
God lies us crudely, unscientifically
and inurtisticully uh Brother Phelps
hus, I think thut it is only right that
he should lie exposed, and moreover
I think that every Christian ought to
thank me for exposing, not indeed his
falsehood, but his utter lack of skill
and foresight. S. H. VAN TRUMP,
Mt. Angel, Ore.
FREE
PICT! RES AT THE
POSITION
EX­
All of the communities along the
lines of the Southern Pacific will be
represented on the motion picture and
lecture program being given free to
the public at that Company’s building
in the Panama Pacific International
Exposition. Competent speakers, each
day, ut intervals of ubout one hour
apart, are explaining to visitors from
the Eust und Middle West, as well as
from Coast points, what a land of
wealth and opportunity is to be found
West of the Rocky Mountains. The
motion pictures have been taken
mostly for this special purpose and
from their variety are of the liveliest
interest to both tourist and prospect­
ive settler.
No charge whatever is made for
admission. The Southern Pacific’s
object has been only to render a ser­
vice by exploiting the advantages
of the communities it traverses, be­
lieving that by encouraging visitors
to see the natural advantages of the
West, it has thereby sufficiently serv­
ed its own interest.
Sunset Theater seats 350 persons.
The programs start every hour, be­
ginning at 11 in the morning and
ending at 6 in the evening, when all
exposition buildings are closed for the
night il'uminations.
Besides the theater the Southern
Pacific is building houses, ticket and
validiftion offices, capable of rendering
any service on the exposition grounds
that could be given by the largest
down town city ticket office. The vis­
itor may safely have his mail sent
to the information bureau to he there
held until he calls for it. The bureau
will also give him any data he may
need both on the fair and on the
cities nearby.
There are 21 rules to observe in
the proper observance of High Mass.
• • •
Frnnce does not permit the nuns
and priests to bunch in that country.
• • •
The priests trappings consist of
the amice, alb, girdle, maniple, stole,
chasuble and plenty of gall.
• • •
Catholics claim a membership of
66,450 in Oregon. That is about
1 to 13 of the population, — not
enough to make a politician throw a
fit when made to face Americanism
in handling Catholic institutions.
• • •
The historian says that among the
small number of really virtuous
Popes not one lasted long on the
throne of St. Peter, and the assassins
were always Cardinals and monks.
SOCIAUSTS,’COLUMN
Should Shoot Their Officers and Go usnmnmmmnmmmmmmmmmmmmummmmmmmmmnmnmmnu:
Home
By George Bernard Shaw
Edited by E. W. R ons
The
Poor
Man’s Valentine
By Murguerite Head
Oh, my Icve is a dear, little, sweet,
little girl,
But the secret is stored in my heart;
For although she is charming and
pure as a pearl,
My secret I cannot impart.
By the light that illuinineH the beau­
tiful skies,
My love is unflinching and true;
And I read the return of my love in
her eyes —
But ten dollars a week won’t do.
Shall I auk for her hand when I can’t
meet the rent.
And 1 know her hair will grow gray
With the burden of worry and dis­
content
She must carry along the way?
No, 1’11 wait — but I’ll fight for the
Socialist Cause —
The hope of the ten-dollar clerk —
And our dreums will come true with
a new set of laws
In a commonwealth won by work.
Stirring Days For Living Men
By Eugene V. Debs
These are stirring days for living
men. The day of crisis is drawing
near and the Socialists are exerting
all their power to prepare the people
for it.
The old order of society can sur­
vive but little longer. Socialism is
next in order. The swelling minority
sounds warning of the impending
change. Soon that minority will be­
come the majority and then will come
the co operative commonwealth.
Every workingman should rally
to the standard of his class and has­
ten the full-orbed day of freedom.
Every sympthiser with labor,
every friend of humanity, should sup­
port the socialist party as the only
party that is organised to abolish
industrial slavery, the prolific source
of the frightful evils that afflict the
people.
Classes and class rule and their
attendent progress and poverty, mon­
ey and misery, turmoil and strife, are
inherent in the capitalist system.
Why? Simply, because one set of
men owns the tools with which wealth
is produced, while another set uses
them, and there is an irrepressible
conflict over the division of the
product.
The capitalist owns the tools he
does not use; the worker uses the
tools he does not own. The principal
tools of production and distribution
in the United States — mammoth
machines, complex social instruments,
made and used co-operatively by mil­
lions of workingmen, their very lives,
their wives and babes being depend­
ent upon them — are the property
of a few hundred capitalists, and are
operated purely to make profits for
these capitalists, regardless of the
poveity and wretchedness that ensue
to the masses.
Six Millions Unemployed in Past
Winter
Six millions unemployed in United
States constitutes national menace.
Government should relieve situation
immediately by building more roads,
pushing work on reclamation, irriga­
tion and reforesting projects, opening
more mines, and inaugurating public
enterprises and industries.
Six Million Jobless Could Manufac­
ture 24 Billion Dollars Worth
of Gooda
The Junker caste of Germany is
np better, no worse, than the Junker
caste of England.
Commanding,
troops is the only aristocratic pro­
fession. The German people hate the
military caste as do the English peo­
ple — and for the same reasons. In
noth armies the soldiers should shoot
their officers and go home, the agri­
culturist to hia land and the towns­
man to his painting and glazing!
England and Germany are a couple of
exteremely quarrelsome dogs gripped
in a bitter determination to do rival
incurable mischief. Each has the
same pretension to naval or military
supremacy, the same instinct for
empire, the same creed of force and
of arrogant hypocrisy. “Weltmacht ,
oder Niedergang" (Empire or Down­
fall), says the Prussian war party.
"World Dominion or Ruin," says the
English jingo. Each holds the other
a great robber state. England today
holds one-fifth of the globe merely
by priority robbers. Britishers be­
lieve Germany a country that wants |
restraining. With England destroyed, ■
Germany would burst into world do- I
minion. Therefore England’s mission ■
in the world is to destroy Germany.
We must never forget that as an un­
popular and ill-mannered nation our
existence depends on our being pre­
pared to fight the entire human race.
While we so waste and degrade hu­
man life that the residuum of unem­
ployable* runs into millions, the less
said about the horrors of making a
man a soldier the better. Our in­
dustrial chaos murders more souls in
a year of political peace than any
military system murders men in war.
Ackley, Iowa, March 24, 1915.
Editor Silverton Journal.
Dear Sir: I admire your grit as
you hammer away at the Catholics
not knowing that you can not reason
with religious people. You might as
well try to stop the wind blowing
as to stop a Catholic from his
folly. Religion is grafted upon hu­
manity and when once set it is there
to stay. The wise king said, “Train
up a child in the way he Bhall go and
when he is old he will not depart
from it.” A Catholic priest made this
remark: “Give me a child for ten
years and I don’t care who has him
the rest of his life." The church has
but one point in view, and that is
to train the youth in their religious
belief and their future prosperity is
assured.
In order to reform mankind we
must turn over a new leaf and send
our children to our public schools
during their school years and teach
them reasonable things without rel­
igious confusion, and within fifty
years the church would fall of its
own weight for want of support. I
don’t believe that a man can go to
sea in a belly of a whale and be del­
ivered on dry land at the third day
all well preserved, because my reason
won’t let me, and those people whose
reason faculty is not deranged won’t
believe it either.
Our public schools are for the pur­
pose of rearing good citizens; any one
who takes his children out of our
public school and trains them in a
religious institution is an outlaw and
an enemy to this country.
The first amendment to our con­
stitution in part says. “Congress
shall make no law respecting an es­
tablishment of religion, — or abridge
the freedom of speech or of the press
— and to petition the government
for a redress of grievances.” Why
then should the church have our res­
pect and why should we grant her
special privileges and let her property
go free of tax, and let her children be
trained in their religious belief respect­
ing their church in preference to our
government. Where are we drift­
ing? There is no use stirring up
strife amongst the churches, for all
aim at the same thing, and what the
one does the other would do if it had
the power. Therefore we can not
draw a line, but must take them all
and send their children to our public
schools and train them to respect our
country instead of their church and
the battle is won.
Yours very truly,
A. LUTTERMAN.
The United States census takers
of 1910 found that 6,468,964, or 22
per cent of all the workers, were un­
employed at some time during the
year to a sufficient extent to make it
worthy for them to report.
Since the census did not reach the
great mass of the transient unem­
ployed, it is certain that this figure
is far too small. Moreover, is was
taken in a year of what is commonly
called prosperity. Had it been taken
in 1907 or 1895, or if it could be
taken now, this number would cer­
tainly have been doubled.
It is therefore conservative to de­
clare there are now Bix million work­ •
less in the land. It is also far within
the limits of fact when we say that
in any average year there are at
least four million able-bodied work­
ers, whose only labor is that most
nerve-racking toil known as looking
for work.
Statisticians tell us that if the six
million unemployed this winter could
be equipped with good machinery,
then they could produce in one year
24 billion dollars’ worth of goods.
That* would certainly be enough to
take every human being out of the
bread line. It would be enough to
comfortably feed, clothe and shelter
every man, woman and child in the
nation. Help put the jobless to work.
Our Objects and our Plan of Cam­
paign for a Free Press
—
We have been browbeaten, maligned, assaulted, boy­
cotted, denied our righta in Court, imprisoned and robbed
of the privilege of editing our paper while in jail, all for
trying to make the world better by publishing the truth.
Thia only makes uh stronger in the fight! But, as we
have been robbed through boycott of the where-with-all
to continue our work, we are forced to change our plans,
and this advertisement is to let the lovers of liberty, jus­
tice and truth know that they are hereby given the
privilege to help in our Campaign. Are you in favor of
our continuing in this work? Here are our objects:
In order to make the world better for our having
lived, and with malice toward none and charity for all,
we wish to make public:
1. The doings of individuals who are posing as good
citizens, but who are continu lly committing crime se­
cretly.
2. The grafting schemes and self protecting syc­
ophancy of .our public officials.
3. The hypocritical and absurd pretentions and con-
fidence games of all humbug religious fakers.
4. The effort to destroy our public schools, our other
American institutions of civil and religious liberties, free
thought, free speech and free press, by the foreign power
known as the Roman Hierarchy, and its treasonable
efforts to destroy the American government and prevent
our progress in perfecting “a more perfect union.”
5. The cause of poverty and crime and the remedy
by the destruction of political trickery and false hero
worship and how to establish universal knowledge of the
true principles of government on the basis of equality
and opportunity and the inalienable right of every citizen
to an equal chance to life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness.
6. The awful effects of the use of stimulants and nar­
cotics on the human race and the best methods of eman­
cipation from their destructive slavery.
7. The principles of the universal (genuine Cath lie)
religion of righteousness, and a true, progressive and
modern Protestant faith of destroying ancient errors,
which have held us in bondage; and that the salvation
of our race depends on the solid rock of “the brother­
hood of man.”
We have faith that there are enough thinking people
in the United States to save our work from the destroy­
er's hands, and we are using this space, formerly oc­
cupied by advertising which made it possible to publish
our paper, to call on all who are interested to join us in
the work. Do you believe in a free press? Do you
believe in our objects? If so, help us establish
M
M
H
H
;
A Fund for Defensive and Agressive
Warfare
Do all you can and get others to help !
Send us facts that should be published!
That we are alive and willing to work is
our opportunity. Do not wait!
Previously acknowledged .............................................. $204.65
Friend from our Chiidhoxi Home (Durand) ___
1.00
James Gilbert ________________ _ __ ___ ______ _ 2.50
Harney Friend ___________________________________ 50
Mrs. Addie L. Foster __________ _______________
1.00
Mr. and Mrs. W. C. Mott ......
5.00
W. H. Morrison ..._.........
2.50
George Barron, Wapato, Wash. —____ _________
.50
John L. A. Hawthorne___________________ __________ 25
................ . ......
THE CASCADE REAL ESTATE CO.
Silverton, Ore., Journal Bldg., has the following property for Sale:
Seven-room House and Lot in Gei­
ser Addition on installment plan.
Four-room House and Lot, 70x210,
on Mill Street. Good location, only
$1750. $200 essh, good investment.
Do you want a man to work?
Lady, how would you like to buy
a dandy little business in Silverton.
We have it for sale. Write to Cas­
cade Real Estate Company, Silverton,
Oregon.
Fine lot between Portland and Ore­
gon City on car line for sale for $800,
$50 down, $15 1 er month. T’.Js is a
large lot 50x138% feet It will in­
crease in value.
Buy a lot in Geiser’s Addition—
best buy in Silverton—must sell and
you get the advantage of the forced
sa’e. You can pay for this lot and
the CASCADE RFAL ESTATE CO.
will bui'd you a bunglow—pay for it
in tead of paying rent to the other
fellow.
Do you believe in dreams? Your
dream of a home will come true if you
«ill let the CASCADE REAL ES­
TATE COMPANY tell you how to buy
a home on the installment plan.
FORTY LOTS for sale in South
Salem—high and dry, fine location,
cheap end on easy terms.
$250 buys the furniture etc. in a
small hotel—six bedrooms, dining
rooms, bath, good kitchen and par'or,
SILVERTON TIME TABLE
*
everything goes if taken soon—P.ent.
only $12.50, excellent location.
Arrive from Portland 8.25 A.M.
$1050 buys 5-acre tract, 2 miles
44
M
11.05 A.M.
from town, new house and bam.
44
M
«/
4.15 P.M.
Four acres in cultivation. See Cas­
44
H
8.20 P.M.
cade Real Estate Co.
44
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Salem 10.59 A.M.
Fine Large Lots in Salem, sightly
44
44
««
5.00 P.M.
location, low price, small payment
Arrive from Albany
down and small monthly payments.
9.15 A.M.
via Lebanon
Dandy building lot in Davenport
Addition on very easy terms. Will
take a good cow or a horse or both,
Depart for Portland 7.30 A.M.
44
a little cash, and $5.00 per month
M
9.15 A.M.
44
M
for balance.
2.00 P.M.
«
44
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$1200 — Three acres in Southern
5.00 P.M.
M
« Salem 8.25 A.M.
Calofomia, water for irrigation,
44
44
H
3-*oom house. $300 cash, balance to
1.00 P.M.
cuit purchaser at 7 per cent.
•
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Business Chance: A saw mill that
will cut 700 rail road ties in a day,
250,000 feet of logs cut, 50,000 feet in
the pond; all you have to do is to fire
up and go ahead. Price only $1100,
half cash, chance to buy 500,000 feet
near the mill.
Grants Pass property, lot 150x200,
5- room house, big barn, city water,
lights, etc., only $1500. Terms.
$2000 buys a nice little farm near
Amsville, of 15 acres, all cleared.
Fruit, berries, house and bam; all
fenced. This is a bargain. Will ex­
change for farm property near Silver-
ton.
A 54-acre farm, 12 acres hops, fruit
trees, berries, garden, grain land,
fine house, hop house, bam and mac­
adam road, fine water, plenty of
pasture. Call in and get full partic­
ulars.
$2,500 buys one of the finest homes
you ever saw. There are eight lots,
lots of fruit, ten room house, etc.,etc.,
paved streets, city water—one of the
best places in a town that has a future,
Scotts Mills, Ore.
FOR SALE — 1500 lb. Draft H< rse.
Buy a dandy home in Oak Grove.
Oregon. Four-room house, 22 frur.
trees, lawn, on car line, good garden,
e'ese to church, school and depot. $200
down, balance $20 per month. Price
$1800. Beautiful location.
8 1-3 acres right in the city with
one of the best houses you ever saw.
fine barn, chicken houses, all kinds of
fruits, grapes, berries, walnuts, etc.,
cement side walk, paved streets, e’ec-
tric lights, sewer, city water. Can oc
subdivided. Close in. A dandy bar­
gain at $7600. Half down. Long time
on balance.
$3000 buys an improved place of
10 acres near Watsonville, Cs!
6- room house and a good bam. Fruit
and Nut Trees, Berries, Garden
All cleared and in cultivation; goo ’
spring. Will exchange for Willamett
Valley property or will accept $10*
as first payment with reasonable time
on balance.