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Blue-grass blade (Lexington, Ky.): n. Sunday, October 21, 1906.

Blue-grass blade (Lexington, Ky.): n. Sunday, October 21, 1906. Blue-grass blade (Lexington, Ky.). 400dpi TIFF G4 page images Blade Publishing Co., Lexington, KY 1906 blu1906102101 These pages may be freely searched and displayed. Permission must be received for subsequent distribution in print or electronically. Blue-grass blade (Lexington, Ky.): n. Sunday, October 21, 1906. Blue-grass blade (Lexington, Ky.). Blade Publishing Co., Lexington, KY 1906 $IMLS This electronic text file was created by Optical Character Recognitio n (OCR). No corrections have been made to the OCR-ed text and no editing has be en done to the content of the original document. Encoding has been done through an automated process using the recommendations for Level 1 of the TEI in Librar ies Guidelines. Digital page images are linked to the text file. r r s t S BLADE I IIIghni a1cor d ishlatISeic WE AIM TO OUT DOWN ER R AND ESTABLISH TRUTH Sde i VOLUME XV NUMBER 29 LEXINGTON KY SUNDAY OCTOBER 21 1906 PUBLISHED WEEKLY srso A YEAR IN ADVANCE ET TU OH ESPANIOLAI Another Violent Blow Falls Upon the t Vatlcan From Spain This Time Former Friend Has Turned Even As Brutus J RESULT OFF A LONG FIGHT KtFOR SUPREMACY C When Julius Caesar defending him self as best ho could against tho spiratorsr saw Brutus whom he little thought was one of them advanco to I strike him ho said Et Tu Brutusl and then burst his mighty heart expiringfeAnd you too Oh Brutus i The full meaning of thl above t strange headline is t And you too Oh Spalnl rr Hlspanlola being being the ancient name of that once great nation y The Catholic superstition has been getting some awful hard knocks f late from the most Catholic countries Italy and France As I have explain ed in my Rome book the government of Italy tho very seat of the Catholic power is closing monasteries and oth or institutions and turning them Into J secular use The schools of Ithly are Jig1 rapidly becoming secularized The Freethinker Garibaldi is the nations b Idol and the principles for which he K stood are rapidly being adopted The Kv common people are organizing for themselves The Pope has been pitch gf ed out ot politics Those under his Rv severest ban are those most promi- nentE i in shaping the present and futuro- ZofthatII benighted land iHl The same conditions prevail T France one of the prau wiKikj astcongbolds The P laTelY come l1n an encychcut threatening war if his position Is toI buncombejlt is all he Is likely to get And now comes Spain poor oldI Spain the dearestchlld of his heart She too Is up In arms against the fsway of a foreign potentate It has her a long time to come to her senses but she is getting there The outside pressure Is too great At last her eyes are open to tho proIgress made by the Freethinking publics of the western world Moro and more wo dally perceive tho spread of tho contagion of tho exam plo tho United States of America name flrstuttered by Thomas Paine over all the world And more and more looms up the names of those great Freethinkers Thomas Paine Benjamin Franklin Thomas Jefferson George Washing ton James Monroe James Madison and Samuel Adams In time they will bo claimed by the Republic of tho world The seed sown by them Is sprouting today oven In the Castllllan valleys of proud old Papal Spain and Freethought is blossoming on the Audaluslan hills But all this Is only introductory to h the good newsI have hero to report Tho Parliament of Spain has been up In arms against the church for sev oral years Ono of the Spanish delegates at tly Itoma Ereethought Con gress told all about It and whllo I have been looking for this to come I did not think iUwould come so soon In my Rome book I said that within fifty years Spain would bo complete ly secularized I now place It at twen tyfive But to tho good news An Associated Press dispatch In to days paper gives the following pro cedlngs of tho Spanish Parliament Madrid Oct 10Tho new law of associations according to the Heral- do will contain tho following provisions FirstNor religious order shall bo 0established without tho authorization of Parliament Second Tho State shall accord sup port to any member of n rellpou3 t der desiring to renounco tho vows taken ThirdThe minister of Justice Is k empowered to withdraw the nuthorl Ifzation of any religious order found roto be inimical to morality or public tranquility Fourth Tho cabinet shall forthwith examine tho authorizations previous I ly granted to religious orders and can eel those which are illegal l 7 l t r4ro F Fifth us orders whose members ar foreigners or whoso rector resldeTibroad shall bo dissolv ed The authorities aro empowered- to enter monasteries without eccles IIiastical san n Sixth Rellous orders fall not be allowed to h d property in excess of tho objectstr which they were stituted IgF Seventh Tlis sums of money nated by of religious orders to such institutions In their admis sion and o sums derived by orders from charltabfr subEcrlptlons shall bo strictly llmlte Eighth Alljgacles tdirellglous orders or demist stc j iJrs by living persons orbyt test1 ntsor through Intermediaries Sure formally prohibited Ninth Rclilfeus orders engaging in trade or Industry shall the regular taxes v ttTenth Re iations for the dissolution of religiofe orders will be estab lisped w Eleventh lSe law of 1887 concern- Ing the registjHplng of religious orders remains in fojjce This isceriflnly the most drastic purge ever gl jn the old lady on the Tiber and t bound to result In a chronic conditin Let us It again as I believe I can makelt First The Is not allowed to found any fi VI such as the Franciscans without applying to Parllani i This means that no more will 08 n Theso numerous orders have rqbblng the poor for centuries and are morally degrading SecondIf priest or nun or monk wants to quit tho church they may do so Hereto ore they dared notIThird =Tho nlnlster of Justice is empowered to abolish order found to be inimical tomorality or to public tranquillity ls is the same as say ing that the cKarch has been fostering Immoral socleVfes FourthrjThqjicablnet proposes e laeIBtoa he orders and cancel leG JZ mf j 4 quarters Jn other ries are to be dissolved Thly Is prodding the hind of Jesuitism with a rei hot pok er and hereafter monasteries are to be inspected without asking any leave the holy fathers All this will have to be done here some of these days SJxth Tho church will no longer be allowed to own big farms and cor Continued on page Four MARK YE WELL THE DIFFERENCE Sharp Comparison Between the Last Words of Socrates and Christ as Each Was About to Suffer Death Only In the face of grave and se rious bodily danger Is the mental and moral courage of men forcibly portrayed At such times under such fearful pressuro the true character Is revealed History tells of two men sentenced to dlo for opinions sake Their last words are said to have been recorded Tho coward and the hero are made to appear Mark well difference between the following My God My God why hast thou forsaken me Jesus Christ The difficulty my friends Is not In avoiding death butjq avoiding unrlghtousness for that runs faster than death I am old and move slowly and the slower runner has overtaken me and my accusers are keen and quick and the faster runner Who Is unrighteousness has overtaken them and now I depart hence condemned by you to suffer the penalty of death and they go their ways demned by tho truth Ito suffer the penalty of wrong and Injustice and I must abide In my reward let them abide by theirs Socrates AN UNSOLVED RIDDLE Truthseeker Bradford Eng I never could understand the rea son why in a socalled Christian country beautiful Buildings called churches and chapels with plenty of air space with cushions to kneel on should be erected to pray in a few times a week while at tho same time peoplo should bo allowd to live seven days a week outside these churche- and chapels In slums reeking with filth where It Is absolutely Impossi ble to live clean healthy sober lives Peter Plalnspoech i 8tfA r twi STRAWS THAT PLAINLY SHOW Which Way Libertys Wind is Blow ing Agnostic Opposition In Kan sas City Worries the Gospel- S ops on Salvation Row SHARP RIVALRY PREDICTED IN A PLACE OF PEACE Freothought may not be making tj self felt In a general way in America but it is constantly growing stronger in spots and it seems that nowhere is this shown so much as In Kansas City There is nothing like aggression when one hfj truth on his side It constitutes worful weapon In an intellectual tourney Its lance may bo broken its champion unseated but you know truth crushed to earthfcwlll rise again Every American knows of the street evangelists from the Salvation to the Damnation army and this is a privilege they onjoye since the dawn of the rpiibllc Discretion Is sometimes cast to tho four winds for Jesus sake but it all counts In the name of religion It appears that In Kansas City by custom accident or design a partic ular locality had become set apart forI nightly or dally meetings of the sev eral gospel shops and this locality had In tho course of time come to be known as Salvation Row Wheth or the Row was able to furnish or guarantee Salvation the Blade is not informed but It was preached for the usual privilege of passing tho hat The Salvation boats were sailing on with wind and tide floating over fair seas amid purple Isles of spice and lo at last a change came A band godless creatures opened a shop in opposition to them right among these laborers of tho Lord and cause them to be sorely grievous Ings The people loved to hear wha- they had to say and flocked to them leaving the gospel shops empty and the contribution boxes were forsaken and forlorn Cobwebs must bo formed upon them by this time and the gen eral gloom growing deeper Theso conditions illustrate what can bo done when there Is a will to do The situation may be better derstood by the following account of what tools place which is taken from the Kansas City Star It has been sent to us by a valued friend and reads as follows- SALVATION ROW IS WORRIED A Group of Agnostics Has Starte Nightly Meetings There More trouble in Salvation row tha part of Eleventh street between Vial nut street and Grand avenue group of Agnostics has begun to nightly meetings Tho members of the band have proclaimed themselves fol lowers of Voltaire and Ingersoll They hay begun to make Inroads on the crwods of the other gospel meetings Tho Agnostics had tho largest crowd last night Tho listeners strag gled from the other gospel meetings In twos and threes and paused on the edge of tho circle around the box from which the agnostic speaker was addressing his hearers The other bands saw tho crowd slipping and started lively hymns or put up fresh speakers to hold the crowd Therell be trouble a big police Itmanthis place of peace there is sharp rivalry Im watchln this crowd of sky pilots Walt till they begin talk about each other just wait Then Ill send for the wagon THE CHRISTIAN WAY Truthseeker Bradford Eng A bllever Is ono who takes for granted anything sense or nonsense while he who examines for himself Into tho truth or falsehood of any statement and has the courage to avow his conclusion Is by the igno rant and prejudiced designated a infidel Such were In their the great reformers the great re thse best men of past times who were severely persecuted as Aristotle Descartes Socrates Vlrglllus Trlthe mlus Pythagoras and othorsAnon Idr r WHAT ISr OIMINALLY OBSCENE thabsurdities e to Obscenity Published 1latlng by Request AUSPICESJ ho following article which Is one ho best and most exhaustive ever aw ten on this subject was originally pu Ishd In the Albany Law Journal of uly Its copious legal referfonsand annotations matte It a vale att contribution to our American life IcalJurlsprudcnce It la being wl y disseminated by the Free Sp ich League of New York as strlk atJ basis of the socalled obscenity pr ecutlons of recent times which re sit din the Incarceration of the late edl ir of this paper C Moore am the pending imprisonment of Mo ses Harmon fa editors of all professional Jour are requested to give publication to article and a copy was sent to thlade for that purpose Its author isttit a lawyer and a physician bo ms member of th 1ledtco Legal So cle of the Now York bar The art Jo Is too long to appear In full In one Issue of the Blade It will bo pub lish d serially from weep to week until con feted In Its original form It wa aS ssay delivered before the fifteenth Co jress International do Medicine Lej lo held at Lisbon Portugal April 100 Ed 4 3y THEODORE SCHROEDEftB e English Parliament the gr of tho United States and all th taxes of the American Union ajf penalized lewd indecent anda ne literature and art All this iid+t2i3 jdk M2inter t tasunlption false assumption as I be llovojtbal such words as obscene stand for real qualities of literature such as are sense perceived and therefore permit of exact general de finition or tests such as are capable of universal application producing absolute uniformity of result no mat ter by whom the definition or test Is applied to overt boot of questionable BpurityUnder these laws as administered In England and America overy medi cal book which treats of sex and many which do not aro declared acriminal and their circulation even among professionals Is a matter of andnot a Is Tho Infamy of such a statute has In duced some American courts under tho of to tt exempt some medical book other 1wise obscene from being crimin al if cjrculated only among some pro it fesslonal men What tho Judicial legislation will be must always dom pend In each case upon the court If an accurately definable character of the word obscene is not implied In all our laws penalizing tho Inde cent then they do not prescribe a uniform rule of conduct and are therefore beyond the power of any English or American legislature to enact That such Is tho assumption Is further evidenced by the fact that no legislative definition or test Is fur nlshed and tho courts assert that none Is necessary since these are matters of common knowledge 96 N Y 410 That assertion I believe Is based up t0on the lack of psychologic Intelli gence and It Is hero Intended to out lino an argument to demonstrate it falsity Be It remembered that thisI Is a question in the science of psychology It Is not a question of eth leSnor law nor legislative expedi ones but over and always a matter of science which must underlie nIl these Jf my contention Is correct then present obscenity laws aro a nullity for want of definition of tho crime and for tho nonexistence 0 tathat which the statute seeks to pu nIsh I will prove that obscenity Is over and always the exclusive prop erty and contribution of tho reading mindNothing will be herein contended for which will preclude the passage nn compllsh some tot the same end i J which some people think Justify our present laws against Impure lIter- ature To Illustrate Except when done by parents guardians et al it could bo made a crime to sell or transmit etc to any person under tho age of consent any boot contain- Ing such word as sex or any pic taro of the sxual mechanism In such a law all trio conditions or the crime would easily bo prescribed with that exactness which leaves no room for such objections as I am now ng to make against the existing stat a law would not and should not assume to decide nor authorize jury to decide what Is good or bad literature It would simply assume Incompetence 0 children to judge or themselves what information they desired and at the same time accord that rightful liberty to adults In tho learned Sir Matthew Hale a person than whom no one was more backward to condemn a witch without full evidence used this language That there are such angelsas witches it is without Continued on page Four BELIEF NOT A MATTER OF CHOICE Belief Is But a Mere Probability Ex isting In the MindNo Specula tion On Demonstrated Facts INGERSOLLsMEMORIAL BEACON Tho Idea that there Is virtue In be lief that belief Is a voluntary act and that ho who does not bellevo Is guilty and deserves punishment Is common to all religions Including Christianity ut ono must not himself chooso what ho will believe If hhopes to escape the penalty for the blackest of all sins If one hopes to keep out of hell reach heaven ho must Relieve certain statements Dad by m who tie III6 3tdtr CtIrI nd by the same rule the chit ren of those yet unborn are already doomed unless they are lucky enough ot have parents who will see to it that these doctrines are drilled into them during all their earlier years for by no other means can believers In supernatural religion be made of Intelligent peo ple But why should one be compelled to believe In order to savo himself elief at best Is only a probability existing In the mind of the believer and lilts the clouds It may bo dis sipated by tho full light of truth But when applied to religion it Is not even probability but becomes simply blind submission to authority copda demonstrated doubt of necessity gives place to knowledge and belief has no meaning when applied to the case No one now would think of saying I believe a machine can bo made that will haul peoplo at the rate of sixty miles an hour or I believe possible to construct an apparatus by means of which people a hundred iles apart can carry ou a conversa tion as easily as though speaking faceI to lace These things aro demonstrated facts and for ono to say he believes they can done is to com fess his ignorance that they are ac complished facts now If ho says he believes in a god he unconsciously assumes the agnostic position and an nounces his lack of knowledge But theso Ideas of a God asoul a future life they tell us are estab fished by overwhelming proof It can bo had In unlimited quantities and in all styles of binding But It consists of words only words with no facts for support Suppose that a thousand years ago his Infallibility tho pope had asserted amshad been made a part of the creed and all the faithful since that time had declared their unbounded faith In the Idea of what use could It be In tho creed now since no ono could dis believe If he tried Creeds It will be observed aro made up of things not known to bo trueWhen ono says ho does not believe matter of plain fact we say he Is Whetnhe says ho does not bellevo a creed that is disproved by plain facts wo say ho is a heretic and should be damned Tho believer does not know that Is why he believes ho can find no proof If ho had proof ho would not believe ho would know t DEATH BUT ETERNAL SLEEP In Which Man Finds a Friendly Rest From a Life of Pain and Woe Personal Immortality Impossible UNCONSCIOUS REST NO LESS SWEET THAN PRENATAL REST By J FRANCIS RUGGLES Man finds himself in the sea of life without knowing why ho was launch ed Into existence lives a life he did not choose whose meaning he cannot comprehend is carried over tho dowry fields of childhood hurried through tho enchanted meadows of fnndsceptro of his vigor for a staff of weakness the glory of his prime fades Into old ago which soon metamorphoses Into death From tho roseate glow of lifes bright morn to tho Dark ened sunset of dissolution he Is the sport of circumstances tho victim of Inexorable destiny Nature ushers us Into the world without our knowledge or permission remorselessly allows even the sinless to bo burdened with sorrow the good to grieve every day and then tyrannically forces us out of the world Some travel only a short distance on tho road of life others proced much further on the mysterP ous Journey but whether long or short our sojourn We all sooner or later have to pass through the dread valley of death All the streams no matter how they wander turn and curve amid hills and rocks must sometime join the sew drop that slips into tho shining sea or the weary wavelet that returns to the welcom ing ocean Everything In Natures domains Is subject to change waves change to ripples and ripples evolute- to waves asteroids uggreto faunan- d ana suns resolve tnemselvs into flora which dissolve into airy ether Thus rolls through all ages 1the music of tho spheres and all things are but modulations of its rythm Everything whether animal or vegetable must obey the demand Mother Earth and return from whenco It camo for death Js an In herent principle of all organized life Wo are all children of fulfilling fate life is but a temporary triumph over death and wo must ovsntuallly sur render to the InovltableIFrom time poets and philosophers have illuminat ed with their dazzling dreams frag mentary leaves that they profess to have divined from the great unpub lished Book of the Future while oth ers are confident no such volume has ever been composed All the brain struggles of all tho dreamers pala and sicklied oer with thought have failed to banish death from the world and the grim monster still wields his supremacy He is no hocus pocus myth but a dread and sad reality that conquers each and all and it is esti mated that the whole surface of the globe has been dug over one hun dred and twentyeight times to bury his victims Through all the tides of times to tho farthest shore of eter nlty his shadow has followed the tracks of all organized existences Why then should we fear this visits tion of Nature that comes to every one In one sense death may bo regard ed as the real friend of humanity for ho comes to tho bed of suffering when all other remedies fall and laying calm hand on the brow of writh ling pain or struggling weakness bids the distress or care depart forever Thus all the woes and Ills of lifeare swallowed up In death and thus la solved the great problem of equality that has puzzled thinkers of all ages to unravel for neither wealth of in tellect wordly riches or goodness of Heart any more than the humblestJIdiocy forlorn est premest depravity can long survive tho triumphal march of tho great eler Howsoever nobly we may have performed lifes duties while on earths stage or richly hopa may have blossomed we all have to take our parts In the culminating act of tho great drama that ends In tragedy until tho Impenetrable curtain falls In silence beforj our faces and our sun sinks beneath tho horizon Af ter lifes fitful fever Is over our bodies pass Into the low green tent whoso l Continued On Page iif z I yF l II THE BLUE GRASS BLADE Published at Lexington Kentucky Every Sunday Founded 1884 and edited by Charles Chilton Moore up to his death February 7 1000 JAMES E HUGHES Editor and Publisher SUBSCRIPTION BATES By mail postpaid 150 per in advance Trial subscription 15 cents per month All foreign subscription postpaid 200 per year Five new subscribers sent with one remittance at 100 per year each ADVERTISING RATES ALL ADVERTISEMENTS of whatsoever character accepted will be published at the rate of 100 per inch month unless by special contract when other and better rates will be quoted upon application The pub Ushers have the right to reject any advertise ments offered GENERAL BUSINESS RULES ALL SUBSCRIPTIOINS to the Blade will be discontinued at the expiration of the term for which the subs-criptiochits been paid up in advance The address slip oil the r show subscribers the date of expiration of subscription Back numbers or numbers omitted be gent if asked for upon renewal in case of discontinuance MAKE ALL money orders drafts checks etc payable to JAMES E HUGHES Lexington Ky as this w il facilitate collection SHOULD ANY SUBSCRIBER change his or her address vise this office giving both old and new and the Blade will be sent to the new address as desired THE OFFICE of publication of the Blade is at 55 West Short Street Lexington Kentucky to which all Freethinkers will be given a hearty welcome TIlE BLADE is entered at the Postoffice at Lexington Ken tucky as second class mailing matter ADDRESS ALL COMMUNICATIONS to THE BLUE GRASS fiBLADE P 0 Box 303 Lexington Ky Help to push the Blade It is better to laugh than to weep Our friends must not get weary of well doing The bread of charity goes down with a sour flavoring f Freethought is joy but orthodoxy furnishes only despair The Christian religion has been an inveterate trouble breeder t In America there should be no such things as ablebodied pauperism o i If orthodoxy be true man would never hay amounted to much if woman had not steered his t t1 nrrflinKt tlio tri nf Jmnwlflflofi Jjfc Jfr Would 1 it not be better for plutocracy concede even a portion while it may instead of all when the time comes that it must It is impossible to properly measure the moral courage of man or beast until we know the moral code applicable to the civilization of his kind Reading may be the nurse of culture but it takes reflection to produce genius Columbus scorned the schools but he managed to discover a world Paine denied militant Christianity and built a republic Money is lord paramount in the land of plutoc racy and Mammon is its prophet Yet it has wrecked the altar of innocence and polluted the fanes of the people It has broke the sword of jus tice and bound golden chains about the feet of the goddess of liberty r In the appendix of a patient a Colorado surgeon is said to have found a nugget of gold That nothing In Lexington we can go one better We have surgeons here who in appendicitis and other cases have been known to discover and utilize a regular gold mine s Many of our modern preachers possessed of too seldom brains in their efforts to distort Free thought principles very closely resemble the little boy who put his trousers on the tother side to and couldnt tell whether he was going to school or coming home a Since Mrs Closz assured us that the Pope ha gone into the millinery business we learn that a Newark N J rector cautioned the woman of his congregation that they must not attend church hat less even in summer and a Patterson antivice crusader placed a ban on peekaboo waists and II endless gloves Why waste our gloat strength upon childish trifles f Here stands Freethought There lie Christianity Between them you see the false an and the true the good and the evil all that is beautiful and much that is debasing in the world of human life We are all traveling the same way and feeling the same heartbeat that bears us across Times narrow sands into the broad bosom of that great which hath no shorejHe that butchered thousands to glut his greed for what fools call glory shines no brighter through the murky centuries then he that made a worthier conquest of himself Men may preach reform of this and teach reform of that until nightmares plow corn and United States Senators earn their salaries but we must have a reform of men before we can have any other reform that is worth the price of the paper 7jr t Ccd i1iI DELAY IN PUBLICATION The Blade is compelled to offer an apology or the delay in mailing this week For the past few days we have been moving our office from its old quarters to 126 North Limestone street Lexihg putrup in place no the Blade will be printed on time hereafter Whe writing to the Blade note change in address a j THE EDUCATION A BOY NEEDS That a man cannot learn too much and that one never gets too old to learn are to be considered truthful maxims for no man ever suffered from too much education This proposition ought to capable of deciding the issue that is now contro versy between the educational factions of ntha country some of which propose to reduce the cur riculum of the common public schools and con centrate the student mind upon the elementals while others would crowd into the course of study thepuadditionalpils education While there is a great deal that could be said on both sides it would seem that the wider rung given the better provided the elemental principals of education are not sacrificed thereby True in deed it would be far better for a young man or young woman to know a little and know it thoroughly than to delve into a multiplicity of subjects and have only a superficial knowledge of any A person of the latter class is naturally thrust into the world in an incomplete condition without sufficient educational foundation Public school pupils of today teach from two to three times as many subjects as they did a few yearsngo and there is no doubt but what some of them could be eliminated without injury to the education of the pupils Many of these studies are but super fluons trimmings engrafted upon the curriculum at the instigation of certain business influences that hope to profit thereby What we most need is an educational methofl that will assist the boy or girl to some extent and assist the parents in determining as early in lif as is possible what he is best fitted for and then toprep are the child for the special school wherein he may get the special instruction desired The only question involved in this use of the schools js how far the public school should bo used for special lines and whether or not it should confine its course to the fundamental only The latter course would spare more prudent and spec ial schools can be entered for special studies af terwards s RELIGIOUS FREEDOM MUST RESULT FROM PRESENT CONFLICT IN EUROPE eThe whole of Europe seems to be in the throes rlof a religious struggle which in the very nature of things must soon spread to this continent With i8mili bLGkt1ho church has entered upon its period en and the dawn of an absolute religious7ndFpendenc- is o eminentNot very long ago the church had power to mold legislation a fact still existing largely in America and no law could be enacted contrary to the expressed wishes of the clerics In a little while e the support of the religious party for any legislative measure will be certain to encompass its de feat Freethinkers can hasten the day by standing together in this struggle and presenting a solid front to the enemies of progress The Blade has made previous reference to the religious struggles that are taking place in France but it is not in France alone that a fierce conflict is raging between governmental and sacerdotal au thority It appears that even puritan England though not to such an acute degree is at present torn with similar dissension and there is trouble brewing between the government of Alfonso of Spain and the Vatican On a very jJu the conflict rages It is a battle for supremacy between the people and the church and in the end the peoples are bound to win Hasten the day when orthoacxy shall be bound in chains strong than those she forged for socalled heretics in the Inquisitorial daysFrom the latest reports of the conflict in En gland we learn that the church schools are being disestablished in that Parliament has decreed that schools shall be civic institutions not clerical and the church or the aggregation of churches is joining with all the forces of reaction in order to baffle the government It is a well known fact that the church of England controls an immense voting power and a movement is now on foot to churrisuendIt to appear the arc o form a political party of their own and make their voting power in every constituency turn only on the church question All other issues arts to be ignored Religion is the primary issue and every thing else is made of a secondary import Peace- or war freedom civic righteousness and vital mat ters of internal policy aye all to be subordinated to the one issue the church prinnesadrenounce where the people are ignorant and incredibly su perstitious the Cortes has concluded to reduce the constant drain on Spanish resources to the tune of several millions of pesetas ps r annum which have been extracted from the kingdom for the sole bne of the Vatican Naturally the Popc registered a big sized kick and objected in a rather forcible manner to this worldly interference with his graft As a result the young King Alfonso haj boon threatened by the heirarphy of Rom Unit he will stand in danger of its declared hostility if he gives this measure his support which has been proposed in relief of his poverty stricken subject In other words the Pope will strive to plunge the nation into disastrous and bloody war by instigating an other Carlist uprising with its atttendanh loss of tijYn ft 1Ji human life and all for the glory of God and the pecuniary profit of the Vatican The power of the Vatican in Spain even today and the conflict between it and the civil govern ment is portrayed in its opposition to Spanish legal forms The Spanish government as at present constituted approves civil marriages and freedom positiveln y forbidden by Rome is a slight experience of religious freedom which indicates a tendency to break away from Papal rule and the fact that some civil marriages have been consummated suggests that the power of the church is on the wane Alfonso may find abundant courage in resisting the demands lit the Pope The latter threatened France upon the adoption and enforcement of the Separation act issued n foolish encyclical and had to recall it Should Pius get his dander up at Alfonso the latter will have at least the moral if not the physical support of both France and England There can be no doubt that the intellectual spirit of the twentieth sentry not yet seven years old is decidedly iconoclastic as concerns matters rrigi ous It is the reaction from a depressing religious brutality It is the rebound from a condition of tyranny which has been gradually creeping every where It is not possible that France will suffer at the hands of the Vatican and the bloody religious vars which dyed her soil with human blood daring the sixteenth century will not be reenacted There are too many intelligent Frenchmen nov all of one way of thinking Yet we find that th church has drifted into a bitte hostility towns the re public The proclivities of the churchmen axe al of a monarchial tendency for they finn no word as republic in sacred writ On tho other hand all the best politicians in France are as a rule fiercely anticlericii Th1struggle then t between the church and tin state between th Pope and the republic Th issue is not in doubt The Pope replies non possumus to the proposi tion of the republic and the latter is inclined to adopt the short and conclusive measures VIIIeThe curious spectacle arises then of a determined conflict in England France and Spain between organized Christianity and those very governments professedly based upon the ethics of ihat philoso phy The church flatly ignores the claims of the people to intellectual freedom and the people through their duly elected legislators are severing themselves from that heterogeneous body known a the church Thus the conflict wages May tho fight continue until there is not a remaining vestige of that great political power so freely exer cued and indulged by and to the church Only the destruction of the church power can freedo reign FOR SALEA WOMAN TO THE vg BIDDER FOR OAS H Matrimonial rights may be expected to strike a fair and just balance so that the Chicago girl tvh has advertised herself for sale in marriage to th highest and best bidder for cash wont be long i the market As a matter of fact Chicago has way of doing things that is all her own There none of the prosaic or prude about the Wind City Of course almost any kind of a girl cnn Ibutcommendable course There is a true and ancient gag which runs There never was a goose so gray But some old gander came that way It is a well recognized feet that the shorter route to matrimony is publicity Only let a woman do something that gets her name into the newspapers and she will be overwhelmed with offers of marriage It does not matter so much what it is that she does She may commit murder save a drown ing man personally chastise a persistent masher appear as correspondent in a divorce case so this it is enough to shock the exalted male intelligent out of his habitual dullness and she will receive a proposal by maiL that very day This particular girl did none of these things but she caused her name to be published through the medium of a paid advertisement and the result will be just the same The man proposing may be a fool as most men are in such matters but that doesnt matter in a husband And why should not a woman have a right to offer herself for sale on the matrimonial bargain counter Did not Abraham purchase Rebecca for his son Isaac Did not Jacob give seven years of labor for each of his wives Have not other women sold themselves Do not women sell selves every day And are there not men loig who arc willing to buy f Have we not brought marriage to the commercial plane Do we not regard as aII good match one that catches a bunch of the long green f Of course it is not every woman who can mash a man cold and get his palpi tat ng heart on a fiddle string but most of them can any old time Even the Father of his coun try became entirely too popular with the ladies for a man who was unable to lie Then again theres a heap of difference between a kiss sent by mail and one taken by moonlight It is not every maid who can throw a storeteeth smile does it for mans sake alone In short having thrown out her challenge to the great heworld that Chicago woman should have her picture published that even the Blade might get a chance to determine whether it wants to take a chance in the bidding ornotSpeaking of marriage the Blade previously re marked that it is about the only game of chance in which it is possible for both sides to lose It shouldnt be so but it is It is a curious fact that a man will live in daily association with a good woman for years a woman who is pretty nttrac tive who is smart and capable of making a good wife and yet is as blind as a bat to her qualities IImaidthe Chicago to more offC1l1of marriage than would paper a dozen divorce courts True indeed she is no woman She is perfectly frank even and cynical She has evidently lost commonj feminine illusions of love it she ever had cant cook and she is frank enough to say doesnt want to and yet she can tall more good stories by way of entertainment than Schoraxade She cant sew but she says she can design and can wear stunning fetching costumes She has dis covered that working for a living is a tedious pro ceas from which she would be gladly eniajciputcd into a world of ease and silk lingerie And there are thousands more just like her The Blade has no doubt but what this girl will finally get married and that we shall hear from her again She may be married then unmarried and married again before many months have passed for they have a way of doing such things in Chi cago It is to be hoped however that she will not embark upon that attractive but impossible strug gin of trying to elevate the stage TRUTH MUST FIND ITS JUDGMENT IN HUMAN AUTHORITY By what standard shall man judge truth The Christian worshipper declares with enthusi static belief that religion is truth What religion Which Are all religions true f If not which ofIthe contradictory cults can be true After all it must be left absolutely to the judgment of tho authoritytIt necessarily follows then that if the ultimate test of truth is the individual judgment and if judgmentIfallible there is no decisive criterion concerning religion Christian or pagan realm of scientific thought all demon i1stable facts become veritable truth Facts are facts because they can be nothing else Once fully demonstrated they are made truth We cannot signifyingSleave the realm of fact for the realm of speculation that the true and the false begin to touch each other and difference of opinion arises No one will dispute that water will always find the lowest hovels or that a straight line is the shortest distance be tween two given points Denial of these is made an impossibility because they are facts well estab fished and recognized by all But when we are withoutmthe deadcame back to life ate and supped Oj1that human beings men refuse to or credence difference of opinion on l1eculatv subjects only never because of any Jener or disbelief in a fact All truth is eternal Ttuth is the same yesterday today and forever IJIt is only our understanding and knowledge ofnhassfaithtrettreat a matter of truth there is no safe retreat for it and in the calcium light of science it must submit to the inevitable destruc tion Assuming that religion is godgiven for the sake of argument what authority have wo that it is soY None absolutely none but a purely human authority Turn back the pages of history to civilizations early dawn and follow the march of human advancement to the present and man is the sole authority for all things Selfstyled ministers of god who undertake to offer explanations con oxprcsslliefs and these are acquired through a peculiar bl1thumangods word and offer it as an authority But the Bible is the work of man and we have no means of knowing whether they honestly believed what they wrote or knowingly perpetrated a fraud upon humanity This is but another human authority and in the days of Bible construction men were more liable to error than now for they were more ignorant and superstitious Had Bible building been left until the present age a better book would have been produced than the fetich now held in sacred awe by Christian worshippers societyhinterests into which it is divided has done much to distract the human intellect and prevent it from dwelling upon subjects which a less occupied peo ple would be inclined to deem of paramount im portance The accummulations of science in this day and age are far superior to those of any former age and they offer suggestions of a surpassing in terest to the thinkers oil over the world Turbo lent polemics have torn the church asunder and men of an inferior moll are found within its per tals The time for reconstruction en ginc by The people have thought themsiTCis away from the church and theological interests have cfapcl to tIbe supreme Despite the opposition of the clergy the spirit of scepticism grows apace and where the people of ages gone by believed too much con cerning religion the people of this age know This difference between belief and knowledge is the difference between Freethought and orthodoxy The Freethinker knows because he accepts demonstrated facts The orthodox believes and refuses to recognize a fact when confronted with it Present a fact to a Christian believer which seems to contradict his god theory and he will iguoro the fact refusing even to investigate his theory Tho dIfferI x az m tPr1c rrx i I ence suggested is no bad measure of thoir relative underIIor ANOTHER VALIANT HERO GONE With a heavy heart filled with a loving sympa thy for those whose deep sorrows we now rowriently share and touched by the geode sympathy for the old heroes in Froeloms cause filled with a gratitude that words are inadequate to express we mourn the Slut death of Dr E B Foote Sr of Larchmont Manor Now York Hew as a Freethinker of all types embracing the old and the new In his giant heart and Intel lect were combined the elementals that makcfor liberty and human progress Ever did he appear a bright beacon to underneath posterity lighting up the pathway to a higher and a nobler state of human progression There was no compromise between his intelligence and the powers of ortho doxy and his life will stand as an examplar rich with heroic endeavor through all the ages yet to lie No son of Rome when the Imperial city sat upon her seven hills and ruled the world had need to feel more proud than he for the part he has pinned in the worlds greatest struggle There was room r in his great warm heart for all the sons of men of whatsoever creed or clime He was hospitable to a degree generous even to a fault cThe present management of the Blade wasnever in a position to know him personally intimately We only know of him through hw writings through his correspondence his personal communi cations to us He was one of the first to write an approval of the Blades course in raising the priced of its subscription but little did we think when we read that letter of encouragement and praises from his pen that at this time we would have to record J his death Yet such it is One day as we are here the next we are gone and forever As stated in the Blade last week in the taking of Dr Foote the grim reaper has reached a rich harvest And Still Another In tho death of M J Cunning of Cincinnati the Blade as well as the cause loses another valu r able friend To his bereaved wife wo extend our heartfelt sympathy and condolence He was over an active worker in the ranks though possessing all the qualifications of a Jeader Where the fray was thickest and dangers greatest Mr Cunning was to be found As a business man he was a suc cess As a working member of the Ohio Liberal Society he rendered valiant service When our late editor and the present editor with him were arrested at the instigation of the religions Meddle some Matties Mr Cunning was on of the Com mittee of Defense and took up the fight with vigor and earnestness In his ease it seems that the good has to go first f P t EFFECT OF EDUCATION AND- RELIGIONr ON THE NEG07 i The race problem which many believe to bo a serious imminent factor in American life is not to be solved by any sentimental slopping oer anent the negro for when it roaches his ears it only makes him worse and more daring in his crimes against the moral and statutory law While the we makes this assertion it does not undertake topro- pose a solution for it has none knows of none and is unequal to assuming such a burden And it is a burden a burden that is ever pressing against the margin of the race and it must be left to the wiser heads of the nation to determine what shall be done The problem must not be left to work itself out and furnish its own solution for in such a working only sorrow and shame will result Even Freethinkers at least some of them as J well as Christians fall into serious error when discussing this subject The former ever friends to education profess the belief that education properly applied will accomplish the desired re sult while the preachers prate of the love God and the power of Christ as the balm to be applied Both are wrong In this connection wo are bound to confess that education has failed to bring the negro race to that ideal standard which its promoters had fondly hoped for Enough facts are furnished every day in the South to prove the truth of this statement The trouble is that some of our Freethought writers discussing the sub ject at a distance are fighting simply at shadows never grasping the substance The Christian who 4offers his religion is in even a worse muddle The negro if he is anything is extremely relig ious This is true of both sexes It is no uncom mon sight to the South for a negro church to be crowded to the doors the entire crowd being visi bly moved by the power of the spirit and when meeting breaks uporgies of Bacchic revelry and brawls begin The male negro plans a raid on the white mans chicken coop and the female senegam bian announces a price upon her honor What the result Look at your criminal courts compare the number of negroes convicted of crime and there you are Many of these convicts are II educatednegroes the products of two genera tions of educational instruction Tho slightest in vestigation will reveal the fact that it is the educated negro who will not work The old time dar key is yet a model but he is rapidly disappearing and in his place arises a mulatto combination bear I ing tho complexion of a new made saddle There is a sad revelation confronting us and the white man is to blame for it all Religion has been unable to stem this unholy traffic and education has led the negro to assume a social as well as a political equal ity with the superior race Np one can doubt that the spasmodic uprising in various parts of the country are destined to be the forerunners of a more serious conflagration hese are not of the South alone The Atlanta race riots are not special or sectional Similar tragedies have occurred in the north and Massachu setts Ohio Indiana and Illionois of the north a 1 can furnish recent evidences of brought about by racial differences however that in the south the disturbancej worse than in the north for condo in abundance and almost a One thing the Blade can confidently assert name ly that much of the crime perpetrated by theI black man comes by imitating the white man It in a large measure a matter of example The shallowness and hypocrisy of the Christian religion has had a sinister influence upon him The openly committed crimes and minor offences by church members of the superior race has induced him to do much the same His crimes for the most part are invariably of the more brutal type for the reason that he has not yet reached that in tellectual altitude or financial standing that can furnish him with the opportunity to become a defaulting bank president an insurance company president or the purloiner of a railroad His condition bars him from it Ho may steal the pennies out of the Sunday school box but he is not en trusted with the investment of anothers cash He may steal a dozen or more chickens at night but he is not in a position to bull the stock market andI hunch the price of beef He may break into a clothing store to be able to rig himself up to at tend a cullud pahty but he cannot secure the enactment of tariff legislation to enrich himself at the expense of the people Education has made the negro wise to such things and religion has made him indolent and lazy One half of the negroes in the south are living to gether on the installment plan and it is the female who has to take in washing to support the male When payday comes she gives him a few nickels and he goes off to shoot craps x COULD HE ONLY HAVE DIED POOR I In the name of all the poets past and present heaveninspired or of the earth earthy the Bla e enters a mild protest against the action of the sur viving heirs of the late Bloodgood Havilaid Ciu ter who are contesting his last will and testament on the ground of testamentary incapacity and who seek to prove their cases solely on the theory that the testator believed himself to be a real poet Every poet every verse writer every mau woman or child who has written any kind of dog gerel in rhyme whether with or without syntax or meter have believed their inspirations to be genuine and the work of their fancy the real thing Sometimes the muses got out of joint and slipped a trolleypole but they produced some thing In the olden times poets were supposed to be born not made and bright indeed was that age considered which could boast of at least one true son of song This however is what we call a progressive age and it is merely a trifling mat ter with us to circumvent a niggard nature Today we simply drop a nickel in the slot and receive machine made poetry and prose If a poet did not believe himself or herself inspired he or she would not be a poet Other people may differ as to the merit of the product but the author is just as serene as Byron Shelley or Wadsworth in the con viction that he or she is great Just imagine that a poet should be accused after he is dead and left a large estate to be administered upon of being of unsound and nondispos ing mind incapable of saying what ought to be done with the money he leaves behind him simply because he believed himself to be a real poet Tine enough the deceased was only the poet lariat of the great American humorist Mark Twain but is he to be condemned for that Why there can be found at least ten men who will de clare that Peter Bell by Wadsworth is simply trash for one who has found fault with the verses of the poet lariat His verses may be irregular but so are Brownings or Walt Whitmans and they are not half so obscure as either Moreover it can be said of him that he was a careful and prudent business man and managed to accumulate threequartersEhis fancy would never have been assailed If all poets had manifested half as much business sense us Cutter fewer poets wives would be taking in boarders to eke out a living If more poets left threequarters of a million when they died more of them would be assailed with postmortem intima tions of being of unsound mind One reason why so few poets wills are contested is that they usually possess nothing fit to be disposed of by will Cutter insane well so were many other verso writers from Homer to Whitcomb Riley Cutters muse did not carry him high He never soared into the Empyrean which is fortunate t Doubt is the mother of progress It is necessary to doubt in matters of religion and in matters of politics Men must learn to doubt before they con begin to tolerate Progress demands that they opinionsIWhen we can learn to judge the character of men by their acts not by their religious professions then shall we have reached that altitude of liberality which in every age glimpses have been granted to but few gifted minds S t Minus any feeling of personal vanity vain glory or pretentious boasting yet the Blade feels and be lives that it is doing more in the active warfare against Christian superstition than any other Free thought agency and believing this it solicits the support and encouragement of all Freethinkers Its mission is to resist nt every step the encroach ment of orthodoxy The latter lies legislation imical to freedom and specially favoring religion that has been a prolific source of hypocrisy It has had laws enacted for the ostensible purpose of subserving truth which have only encouraged per jury It is for your readers to say whether or not the Blade shall succeed in its mission i iJItt OUR LETTER +i i t+ ++WILSON IDESit is cheering to receive such a letter as that of yours and we only wish that moro of our readers would take a similar view Wo cannot all see through the same glass E W SHIRLEYWe appreciate your kindly expressions There Is no doubt about the Blades ability to push its own cause provided Its readers would follow the example of preceptor Mr Hilton We beg to callIJ your attention however that the Blades clublng rates have been clforthe lubscrIptiontE L CLARKE It Is Impracticable- for the Blade to atttempt such as you puggest We will give you an ad vertisement however and await re suits Send us copy of ad H YT S LARCH M DThe mat- tel you speak of has been referred to Dr Wilson that he might answer you In person preferring to take this course rather than assume the respon slbllfty of speaking for him Your intellectual ability or professional standing has never been questioned by us and wo doubt the wisdom of your comment although wo give pub lication to your letter W W HOWARDEvery man Is entitled to his opinion and we are en titled to ours It Is evident that the Blade has cut somewhere We may be guilty of an irreparable sin by falling to consult you concerning the manner In welch the Blade should be conducted Of course when a man does not want the Blade he doesnt have to take It Suppose you try the Now Jerusalem Gazoot It might suit you better We will send you this and one more copy because we want to comment on what you say and then why good bye H W CHALFANTThanks for your encouraging letter- J E MARSHALL The clippings- are good Thanks- E H BURNHAM Thanks for the correction The matter you speak about Is certainly an error which es taped our notice at tho time H J M DALTONIf you will read- a communication In this column from an erstwhile subscriber you will read ily see that the Blade has very read ily cut Into some people- E LEWISThe Blade will appreciate any things from Mr Dows pen as our aim Is put arguments into the mouUjR ofotrreaders Thanks for your own article 14 I443 d 3M3iId1FF WHAT OUR FRIENDS SAY t How the Blade Helps Itself Mathers Ga J E HughesI am the fortunate recipient of a few copies of your most welcome The Blue Grass Blade and as have been a free thinker for the last thirty years I wish to help you tinue the good work I wish to say that the Blue Grass Blade is the best free thought paper ever read Enclosed find two dollars 200 for which I ask you to send tho Blade to the following subscribers for one year on your clublng rates is at 250 for five subscribers however I have only got four at present but will get more I must not forget to tell you that one Mr Hilton of Cannon Ga Is the gentleman who placed your paper in my hands for which I kindly thank him Yours with kindest regards for the futureE W Shirley Approves Blades Course Blackwell Okla Bro HughesI enclose draft for 100 to apply on the now rate My subscription does not exPire until June 1907 but as I cant get any new subscribers I am willingI to pay 200 for myself verY generous to let those who really are not able to pay continue as sub RcrlbersI would not complain of that but It Is a shame for those who are able to neglect paying Fratern ally Wilson Ides Corrects a Glaring Error Holcombo Wis Jas E Hughes Will you kindly allow me a tow Inches of space to take exception to a por Lion of an article that appeared in your Issue of October 7th I refer to tho article headed Thoughts On a Funeral Sermon In tho main the article Is good and the writer and I agreo on most all of the points taken but there Is one to which I wish to Christmilhimself at the crucifixion not once recognized his own mother Has the brother read John 19th Chapter 25 t 27 verses inclusive If not I would advise him to do so Let us as Free- Thinkers be careful when we make statement that It is wholly Incorrect lest we fall Into the same error that tho others have of making false statements in order to prop up our case Thodoctrine of Free Thought Is a ra i f ft fjiJ f tkmal one and will stand the test after all that the other side can say to disprove It Their characters are ban enough dont try to make them look worse than they areE H Burnham Wants Blade and Moore Book Linn Creek Mo Bro HughesI am just In receipt of the Blade and note Its Improved appearance and I am sure that I must be behind some on your books I enclose my check for 150 In payment of one years subscription to the paper and I wish you would let mo know whether thero Is thing due yet as I desire to keep account square with this grand old paper It Is worth many times what It costs me You may put me for a copy of tho Moore as I was a great admirer of grand old man Yours for truthH W Chalfant Tell Dow To Send It Pasadena Gal Jas E Hughes Find 20 cents for Blades of September lath 190C for distribution among friends to help the cause along I am delighted with the Blade I have Just read Wilsons Trip to Rome It is splendid in every sense thoroughly enjoyable a good educator My neighbor H H Dow sent In a letter on the end of the world as taught by Jesus In the new testament DowC will furnish some interesting reading for tho patrons of the Blade If ceptable Is a Bible studentE LewisCA Rather Sharp Criticism Athens Ohio Jas E Hughes This letter so far as I am concerned not for publication for tho simple reaI son that you have failed to compi with my request on two previous oc caslons Why I do not know It maybe due to one of several causes or money causes combined Bt it as it may my last request was one pertain ing to a very serious matter not much in regard to myself as my progeny and the cause of Free Thought It Is useless to go over the ground again as you are familiar with It What matters to me the ultimate sults of future generations Nothing whatever you may consider mo Ignorant Illiterate and unworthy what your reason or reasons may be I should like to know We are Ignorant so far as the term Is concerned the babe knows as much of the future as you or I and It knows nothing Death Is inevitable and knowing such to be the case and realizing the need of conduct over the remains of many yes thousands of nonbeUeveajwho were honest conscientious with the moral courage to stand by their con victions even in the face of death and having spent their three score and ten In an orthodox community toler ating the will harshness and boy rotting of hypocrites then to know the last rites should be left In the hands of such people causes heart ache which Is hard to endure I now have left my case In the hands of 011Ience all Is well providing he succeeds me In years Consequently I am not dependent on you or Dr J B son While I am not a Rockefeller am not a pauper and also hold degrees from recognized institutions as In good standing as determined by the state boards of examiners Re spectfully Holt S Larch Got His Feelings Hurt Dixon Mo James E HughesI- have been a subscriber to your paper for some years There are some things about the Blade I like but as a whole I can not Indorse it so have made up my mind to discontinue the paper smacks too much with anarchy to suit me If you would stick to Liberalism and let politics alone you would do better You are all the time trying to find fault with Mr Roosevelt or Mr Taft or something that is entirely out of line with your calling If you want to talk politics why dont you tell us something about the Kentucky kind The darkest spot In Russia does not compare with tho rottenness of Kentucky politics Why dont you con demn tho administration of Kentucky for the Inhuman and murderous deedsvIn the Eastern Insane Asylum Why laX dont you say something about the murder of poor Ketterer In that stitution You sit there like a knot on a log and never open your head but you can criticise Mr Tafts course in Cuba and his election law ought to tell us about your election law In Kentucky that leaves nothing to chance but Is a sure skin game for your own side In nssly every Issue of your paper you are trying to Intiamp the labor- Ing man against his employer If over there was a time In the history of the world that the laboring man to be happy it Is right now You know ho receives the highest wages that was ever known at any time or in any country I am no angel myself but your pa f per Is too rotten for mo Very truly W W Howard A VERY GOOD SUGGESTION Editor BladeHere is my plan offer a premium for those sending In the first second and third largest number of subscriptions during the 1findequivalent to one subscription lish a list of the names with theAnumber of subscriptions opposite that each person has sent in That will create a friendly rivalry each lone striving to do as much as he can increase the circulation of the Blade As Mr Thurston intends to be oneyof one hundred to pay 1000 per year I intend to be ono of fifty to pay 25 r per one year Now when the other 99 and 49 step forward and pledge themselves for the tiHughesVery truly 1 NOTE REDUCTIONS W P MURRAY0I ilHampden 18 size Special R r Way 23 Jls 2600 New RWay F 23 Jls 24 Deuber Watch Co 21 Jlfl f17 same 17 Jls ij Elgin Vcrltas 23 Jla 29 Father Time 21 Jls 2260 B W Raymond 19 Jls 20 B W Ray mond 17 Jls 1860 Waltham Vanguard 23 Jls 29 Crescent Street 21 Jls 2260 Ap pleton Tracey Co Premier 17 Jls 1850 same not Premier 18 The above guaranteed to pass R Way Inspectors Sundries Waltham P S Bart lett or Elgin Wheeler 17 Jls ad justed nickel same gilt same Hampden nickel 800 same not ad justed 7 Elgin Waltham or Hamp i den nickel 16 jls Elgin or Wal tham nickel noncatchable hair spring 7 Jls 5 Hampden 7 Jls gilt 460 Standard or Century 7 Jls Al tho above In 2 3 or 4ounce all verlno case prepaid In silver or gold filled screw case accompanied by manufacturers and my guarantee for 20 years or In hunting case more In 25 year screw case or In hunting case 850 more than In all verine case In solid gold case 10 to 50 more 1LADIES GOLD WATCHES ILarge size Elgin Waltham or Hampden 20year gold filled latest style artistic handchased Jls 16 Jls 16 Jls adj 15 small t size 7 Jls 1150 15 Jls 16 16 Jls adj 18 Riverside extra fine 24 In 26year case more In 14k solid gold case 10 to 50 more Latter with diamonds all In plush box prepaid with guarantee Send for prices of Watches not list ed Jewelry Rings Sliver and Plated Ware Optical Goods and My Tract Theism in the Crucible free OTTO WETTSTEIN La Grange Cook Co JOB PRINTINGiWe have a complete Job De partment and are prepared to do firstclass work at reasonable prices Send us your next order Satisfaction guaranteed BLUE GRASS BLADE 153 W Short St Lexington Ky GREATEST DISCOVERIES OF SCIENCE EVER MADE GOD SATAN AND HOLY GHOST ARE NOTHING BUT CREATIONS OF FICTION HEAVEN AND HELL ARE ONLY MYTHS CON SCIOUS LIFE IS EXTINGUISHED AT DEATH The Church of Humanity teaches these great discoveries through 1U organ The Truth About God which It publishes monthly and Its school The Central Kansas Business College which teaches Stenography Type writing Bookkeeping Commercial Arithmetic Penmanship and Spelling and The Truth About God In a general course of study giver by the tea porary International Instructor for the church oThe Church has 100 LIFE MEMBERS It wtnts 900 more to formally Iorganize and Incorporate The brat thousand members will be the founders of the CHURCH OF HUMANITY- If you have loved ones you wish rescued from the Idolatry of worship ling a dead man named Jesus any a myth named God you should Join this Church and it trill aid you In freeing them and In saving your posterity from becoming Idolaters by teaching them The Truth About God Write to W H KERR 2210 Broadway Great Bend Kan for blank ap i plication for meinbersblt Information about the college and send 25 seats for a years anbsorlptloc to the TRUTH ABOUT GOOfDo It law rI j Ji4j l il I FORCOTTE N I IS CRAVE OF GALVI Murderer of Servants Finds No Abld Ing Place In the Hearts of His Countrymen His Church Cold and Forbidden g t VOLTAIRE REMEMBERED IN A FAR DIFFERENT WAY Calvins father was a notary and showed some of the characteristics of his son Ho was excommunicated w from the Catholic church for Nfus Ing to show his private accounts to the priests at Noyon Calvins broth cr was also an apostate refused the sacrament on his deathbed and i burled In unconsecrated ground Calvin came to Geneva an un known Inexperienced young man 27 years old but before ho had betn there five years he had brought the people und r what he consider t propr spiritual and moral disciplh Weifrall In body dominated everything He sbnt tho richest men In Geneva to prI3on for flirting with their mallservant he placed the gamblers of the town In tho pillory with packs of cards hung around their necks he piuiis ed hairdressers for Including their patrons to use dye and for trying to improve their appearance by artificIal means He stopped tho tonguea t local kickers and knockers by riding them around town on the backs of donkeys carrying placan upon which apologies to the iJUbllc were Inscribed A man named Amea1 f who under the Influence of drink ac cused Calvin of being a despot was paraded through the streets in hIs shirt with bare legs and bare feet a lighted torch In his hand and was compelled to ask on bended knees the pardon of God of the city count and especially of Calvin a man named Cruet who forgot himself so far as to compose scandalous verses about Calvin was punished by being tortured every day for a month and then beheaded And I told you yes I terday how he ordered Bonlvard co wife to be sewed up alive In a sack and thrown Into the river JThat sort of discipline soon brought the citizens to a reallzic sense of their sine and made them behave themselves Tho statutes ot- 1ft r Geneva prepared by Calvin In 154 4and strictly enforced by him con- talned some extraordinary provision The penalty for profanity was kissln tie ground for the first oft use for the second offense a fine of 3 shilling was added for the third oftan e a fine of threescore shillings for the fourth offense three days iicprlsoi ment on bread and water white the filth offenso wa punished by banish ment from Geneva for a year and a dayEverybody of whatever estate quality condition was lorbldden to wear ornaments of gold sliver or precious stones or pay a penalty of shillings for each offense and If the Jewelry was Imitation the fine was doubled Women were forbidden to wear verdingales gold upon thei heads quolses of gold bllllments or such like neither any manner of em broidery upon their sleeves No person at dinner shall serve above three courses and to every course not more than four dishes Vain dishonest and ribald songs dancing and mummeries play act- Ing were punished by three days must be at his home at 9 oclock at night upon the pain of Indignation of the Lord everybody was required to say grace before and after meat or pay a fine of four shillings for each offense The minutes df the consistory or city council of which Calvin was the presiding officer have been preserved i and may be read at th public library and they show how strictly these1 and other ordinances were enforced certain woman was punished for vanity because she wore her hale hanging loose over her shoulders It was long and beautiful and she want ed people to see it a man was pun ished for offering a snuff box to a neighbor In church during one of Calvins sermons another was fined for addressing a neighbor concerning a matter of business In the vestibule of the church a third for calling his wife By the scriptural name Rebecca another was fined four shillings for comparing the reading of tho psalms by the clerk In Calvins church to the braying of a donkey several citi zens were sent to prison for neglect Ing their aged parents while Clement Marot the leading merchant of the place was sent to prison for playing a game of backgammon on Sunday Two lads caught pitching quoits on Sunday were handed over so says the entry In the minutes of the con slstory to M de Bez In order that he may cause them to be given such iJiIi tf a fustigation as will prevent them from doing It again To those who complained Calvin said Go and build another city If you want to be freo to live In your sins but as long as you live In Geneva It will be vain for you to try and shake oft the yoke of the gospel His war against heresy was equally vigorous and those who differed from him in opinion were treated In a manner that would have been approved by the Spanish inquisition Calvin never thought of love he never coveted the comforts of a home or the happiness of family lIfe but he wanted an heir He wanted a son to Inherit his name and carryon his work but until he was more 30 years old ho had no time to thanI of getting married While he Strassburg In 1640 engaged In a vlo lent theological controversy ho wrote a friend saying- In the midst of theso excitements I have found sufficient leisure to think about getting married I was offered as a wife a young lady of noble family and better means than mine Two reasons have preventedI m from accepting her She does not know my language and I am afraId that she thinks too much of her birth and breeding Her brother a man of great piety and actuated by no tive except affection for both of us pressed mo to take her So did his wife And I should have had to give way If the Lord had not come to my rescue My answer was that I would go no further In the matter until the lady understood my language She replied that she must have time to think It over Thereupon I sent an honest man of my acquaintance to look for another lady suitable to be my wife The envoy found the woman In the person of Idelette de Bure but It was in unwise selection She understood Calvins language she did not thin too much of her birth and breeding the was a sincere virtuous modest economical and industrious woma but was infirm in body spirit and state Ho testifies to her virtues In a most respected manner in letters to ils friends but he speaks of her as he night have spoken of a servant or a piece of furniture and we cant he lp pityIng the poor unloved woma whose mental acquirements did not permIt her to sympathize with her husbands career or share his thoughts or aspirations She bore hIm a son and died The child survive her only a short time and we wonde It Its brief and loveless life could lave been spared whether Its affe Ion might not have modified John Salvlaa views regarding Infant amnion ETTU Continued from page One ner lots as In this country They are prohIbited from occupying any more pace than Is needed for church and resIdence purposes Look how Archbishop Ireland worked McKinley by trading the Catholic vote and got several thousand square miles of rich Minnesota lands for the church and owns It today and it goes untaxed Look at the big farms everywhr wned by the Catholic orders in this country And what a strange fate cKinley got shot by one of them because of the blow given the churcl by the Spanish war But that war opened the eyes of Spain and nov look at the hot shot she Is pouring Into the Old Lady Somehow with all the adversities of Freethought everythIng ts working In a round about way rIght Into our hand- sSeventhThe Stat proposes to protect the people from the priest Ir railing the amount of money they are to get from donations Heretofore the priest could got around man In his dying moments and tet- all his money and his wife and dren could go begging Hereafter the- priest can get only so much for pray jng people out of purgatory or for charity Tho graft Is to be strictly llmlted This also means an enforc of wine and porter hQusesIEighth Legacies and donations all orders through IntermedIaries that Is through the bishop or prIest- are strictly prohibited Hereafter the money must go to the trustees I suppose and the holy papas will no longer have the sweet privilege of lIsten- Ing to the jingling of the guineas Ninth All religious orders which titivate lands or which engage any Industry must pay regular taxes Around Cincinnati great farms an owned and cultivated by the church The monasteries convents childrens and womens homes all run factories Some have laundries knitting factories clothing and shirt factories and I dont know what all and all this last spring tho Ice companies of this city went into a pool and put up the price of Ice A great howl was- made about It and It became a burn Ing political question It developed that the Catholic church la also run r ning an Ice factory and Is in the pool and as soon as this was made known both parties pulled in their horns and not a single paper In the city could be induced to publish the fact up went the price of Ice and tho poor were made to suffer I state these matters because they are aU coming home to us and they wlll have to be dealt with as poor old Spain is now dealing with them when at last they become intolerable TenthPreparations to dissolve lIgious orders such as the Jesuits and others with headquarters in Rome are to be established at once Also for the dissolution of many which are of no practical use but a burden on the people It is plain that Spain Is on the wane and she has at last resole to attain a prestige among nations and to do this realizes that sho must put her foot on her worst enemy and keep t there This Is a mir to the HOi Roman church Its effect will be felt especially in all Spanish spealdng countries It means the subordli tIon of the church all over the wurld and her final separation from the State and her ultimate relegation to the rear in all tho affairs of men Heretofore every citizen of SpaIn on applying for marriage had to state his religion Sometime ago tho Span- Ish parliament abolished that law Now any one there as in AmerIca may be married by a civil magIstrate The Pope raised a mighty howl which went unheeded And so the leaven is Is all this liberty due Who has brought It about WhY none other but those who have always stood In the vanguard of Liberty The Great Freethinkers of Spalnl All honor to the heroic editors of the Spanish Freethought press many of whom have been mobbed Imprl oned tortured and put to deatJiThelr stories will never be known to us but could we know their sufferings and struggles for the last thirty years tile tears would flow from every eye All honor to Prof Salmoran and others of the leading scientists and scholars of Spain Et tu Oh Hlspanlolal JB W WHAT IS Continued from page One question Then ho made acorivln Ing argument from Holy Writ and ded It is also confirmed to 119 bi laily experience of the bower and ergy of these evil splrltsNJn wItches md by them Annals of Witchcraft by Drake preface XL With the same assurance and no greater ignorance of science as we hope to showour courts now affirm hat the differential tests of obscen- Ity are matters which fall within the range of ordinary Intelligence and therefore everyone who uses the malls must take notice of what In this enlightened age Is leant by decency purity and ella ity in social life and what must be eemed obscene lewd and laclvlous U S vs Rosen 1C1 U S 42 This appeal to tho consensus of has been made In support of ever superstition that has over paralyze the human Intellect It would be more reassuring if judges had give or would give us a test of obscenity In terms of the objective sense per jived qualities of literature by whIch test alone we could uncrrlngl and with unavoidable uniformity draw tho same exact un shifting line of partition between what Is obscene and what Is puro in literature no matter who applies the test Unti they furnish such a test to us theIr dogmatic assurance that this enlightened age possessed such undisclosed knowledge of standards Is ndt very satisfactory Without such test there is no uniform law to trol our conduct nor that of au courls or juries- Whenever one affirms that obscenity Is not a quality of literature art but solely a contribution of the unhealthy reading mind and therefore opposses the obscenity prosecu tlons or questions any other sex au jrstltion ho is promptly cowed rote silence by an avalanche of vituperation such as Impure immoral 3mutdealermoral cancerplanter Such epithets may be very satisfy Ing to undeveloped minds but they wlll not commend themselves very hIghly to any person wishing to lighten his intellect upon the real icslion at issue Again we say ThIs Is a matter of science which quires fact and argument and cannot be disposed of by question begging lllficatlon The courts are more refined though not more argumentative nor convinc- Ing in thir manner of denouncing dls senters The Judicial formula Is this When such matters are said to only Impure to the overprudish but Illustrates how familiarity with deIpraves i t Again we ask for fact and argument not qucstion begging dogmatism The statute furnishes no standard of sex sensitiveness nor is it possible for anyone to prescribe a general rulo of Judgment by which to determine where is the beginning of the criminal blunted sensibilities or the limit of good taste and the lawmaking pow er could not confer this legislatli authority upon a Judge though In those cases all courts are uncons iously presuming to exercise it Furthermore It is not clear that blunted sensibilities are not a good condition to be encouraged in the mat tor of sex Who would be harmed If all men ceased to believe In the obscene and acquired such blur cd sensibilities that they could dls cuss matters of sex as we now dls cuss matters of liver or digestion with an absolute freedom from a lascivious feelings Why Is condition preferable to the diseasedI lauded when parading in the verb 1I age of purity If preferable and socalled obscene literature wlll help to bring about such blunte sensibilities would it not be better to encourage such publications It requires argument and fact rather than virtuous mine which is the more healthymlndI ed attitude toward these subjects I plead for scientific research not theL brute force of blind andI cruel authorItyIAssuming its existence as a qual ty of literature the judicial for detecting the presence of obscenl1 ty manifest such extraordinary Ig norance of sexual psychology that no man who is accused can reasonably expect to escape conviction by denying the character of his bool The unfailing verdict of guilty not as some flatter themselves due to the wisdom of the prosecutors but is wholly duo to the judicial orance of science and to the undefined and indefinable nature of the ffense Let us reason togethe about this If in spite of the argument by vl uperatlon a person refuses with humble prostration of intellect to submit to the demands of moral snobbery he is cast from the temple of good society Into Jail Then the boo lighted act as though by their ques ion begging epithets or jail commIt- ment they had solved the sclentlfll problem which is Involved Let us examIne if It Is not as true of obscen- Ity as of every witch that It exist only to those who really believe in My contention Is this ObsenIty not an objective fact nota sense perceIving quality of literature or art rut is only distinguishable by by the lIkeness of distinguishable by likeness of particular emotions associated with an Infinite variety of menta mages Therefore obscenity Is only a quality or contribution of the vIew- Ing mind which being associated with some ideas suggested by a book or pIcture is therefore read Into It This may be proven In many ways and among these by the resultant act that obscenity never has been nor can be described In terms of any unIversally applicable test consisting of the senseperceived qualities of a book or picture but ever and always It must be described as subjective that Is in terms of the authors suspected motive or In terms of dreaded motions of speculative existence in the mind of some supposititious read cr To be continued DEATH Continued from page One curtain never outward swings and is mlnxlike and speechless After all it would appear that life- and death are but differentiations of destructible atoms and we can no whero discover mind force or action ot any kind whatever except as the expression or manifestation of ever Uvlng matter so when the weak lungs cease to respire the diseased Uver falls to secrete the wornout omach stops digesting the faint heart refuses to pulsate and the tlSUed brain drops asleep the philosopher thinks surely its mentation has ceased forever and that death sues in dead earnest Thus Individual existences pass away yet matter and the Inherent properties and laws that govern It are iperlshable for having had no origin It will have no death and like timed space is self existent Infinite and eternal Death Implies not an anni hllatlon of essence but simply a dlf ferent combination into now forms of beauty and therefor the senseless clay lives In the waving corn the bloomIng flowers and our distant scendants for Nature is unceasingly active as well in the pathetic dust- inas the palpitating protoplasm and though we cease as Individuals the race and the universe which Is beginning and unending will go on unfolding and the great tide of life sweep onward forever This so far as wo know Is the history of human i f Is not then the desIre for the eter nal prolongation of individual con sclous exIstence a species of consul Ing personal vanity or avaricious seU Ishness and ought not one birth one life and one death be as much as wo can reasonably ask for or expect Still We stand in awo before deaths mysterious presence and with flick erlng torch fruitlessly essay a solu tIon of the Whence and Whither But We cannot read the riddle of exls tence and frankly confess that we can reveal nothing more than has been known felt end hoped for In tho ages agony Wo have no power to turn science into lowIng speech and bring welcome message from tho cold lips of death in whoso presenco our eyes are as unseeing as ar those of the dead When lifes electric lllumlni Lion has been extinguished we Imow not where la tho Promethean heat that can that light reHlume Ovetthe- Saharaot death Ignorance ever gazes within Its boundaries Reason cannot penetrate and from thenco Revel tlon has not come From the mamas when birth brinks a Jay to tho hour when the grave claims a tear life Is a mysteiry Truly every cradle asks us whence and every coffin whither Knowing so little of lIfo what can I know of death despairing exclaImed the Chinese sage Confucius Who over discovered In his menu alembic an absolutely certain solution of the enigma of the Universe Who has unearthed even a tithe of this worlds mysteries Who comprehend Tully the simple laws governing the domain of human thought Who has unraveled the intricacies of one man mind Standing tiptoe In the foggy mountain tops of transltor thought whoso etherial substance evades analysis in the finest crucIble of logic In vain we try to push our vision beyond the psychologic ram parts In vain we essay a discovery of the controlling force that moves tho wonderful panorama of life as It mockingly eludes our subtlest quizzing In metapsychics our knowl edge is but a rivulet our ignorant is the sea Nay Nay say the modern Spirit Jallsts for we have daily proof pal pable of Immortality To which we reply once demonstrate the existent jf an entity termed spirit and Its possible and altogether probable er and desire to communcate with persons In earth life will necessarily follow We have been deluged witl your lIteratuer and witnessed some curIous tests with much transparen raud The tneory or telepathy we pine easily explains some of your genuine pbenomena whIle the balance we think Wilt eventually ound to have Its origin In certain ai yet occult powers of the bodies md brains of individuals who stil have the cheerful habit of resIding In this world Whether then our golden dreams are to bo waking realities who can divine Why then undertake the establishing of any all embracini reed concrning things of which none of us know anything with any certain t y about For who can predicate but hat the basic facts of today may resent themselves as the transparent allacles of the near future Therefore all that it is practicable for us to ngago in is a quiet Interchange ot pinions and an exercise of our brains lth clever guessing Still it is much better to sometimes err and think til we tiro of thinking than to discredit Reason and attempt no thought at all Surely the anxloms and aphorisms of the past are not ilnallty and out itellectual horizon was not fixed forever by any or all the thinkers that aro deceased The barbaric belief an eternal jailer superintndlng an everlasting in quisltlon for the pun- Ishment of those who have honestly missed their guess should find no come In any benignant bosom It may- for all wo know require the services of a million deities aside from ture to run the Universe but we dont find room for oren one Mr tan Moreover it would sem useless to banish reforming souls to his do minions for they very likesly would peellly Inaugurate lively revolt tIon for the reclamation of oven the tha dark plutonian regions Casting our vision adown the dim and misty vista of the swift receding past we discern that the human scIence like the human reason Is older than any book more ancient than any cult more venerable than any philosophy and is the origin and basis of morality in Its pristine purl ty We learn that a moral life is the highest attainment to human perfect abIllty and that In lifes garden cry virtue is a fragrant flower The present alone Is our the time to be happy is now and the place happy is here where cheering springs usher In golden summers where radiant autumns their splendors shed and blissful winters wel como us to rest Then let us do our honorable part while we live pass honest and us llves that always make for righteous nesil and let the Inevitable run Its course Let us remember that light and darkness summer and winter heat and cold growth and decay tire f j Jt l L the decree ot Nature and that though flowers may fade hearts cease thir thrdbblngs the generations go down Into the sepulcher of the ages still none o fthe glorious attributes of hu manity shall ever cease to be but shall surely survive the stars and that the dead will still live In the a good they have done and the benefi cent actions will be added to the memories of the great and good who have passed on before so that a noble life never lost a virtuous action docs not die a kind deed is not for gottn While science may attempt an explanation of life and death it cannot tako away all tho pangs of separation Fruitlessly tho visionaries essay to engolden a poignant grief that mocks at weeping with cheerless crumbs of ephemeral comfort but in the night of death the shadows fall and fill the eyes with the pellucid dews of melan choly At such times philosophy offers the consolation tact tho departed have in all probability experienced all their trouble while In this sublunary sphere so we do not mourn because of any supposed danger awaiting them on the other side of life for we have no knowledge of any being ever enter ing a condition of endless misery and know of no Eden where crawls the slimy serpent of etornal pain We believe that the unoonscjous rest of th departed durlng the coming ages cannot be less sjveefcthan was the dramlcss lumber of the un regretted past Wo nope for but peaceful Nirvana nail anticipate eter nal rest HOARY MONUMENT TO INJUSTICE Is th Standing Army of America and Retainers of Reverential Pre rogative One Step From Bayonet to Bludgeon SHARP CRITICISM ON ORDER TO ISOLATE ARMY POSTS By HARRIET M CLOSZ It Is said that the U S Army posts are to be isolated from the cities that the soldiers may be secure from demo 1oral zlng influences Shade of American virtue and de encyi Long hast thou been affrght ed into seclusion In the shadowy Iilepths of these same cities by drunk m roystering soldiery but relealelsJat hand Rise and spread a 1ing wing over the Innocent and peace1 oving Inspire the debased to rise trrom their fallen estate Whisper a new song of hope on the parental ear For the army post is to be Iso tJ ated from the cities The people have good cause for ret a olclng and Thanksgiving But since iho recent ordering of soldiers to be ready for service in Cuba there has been the usual sentimental slopping over by tho populace and especially by young ladles for these uniformed pstarts who are being trained In it the art of killing Is it any wonder i hat men becoming accustomed to Being and hearing of the atrocities Ofiwar should get busy and butcher heir wives and families IAn unoffending people may be mas acred by an army of supposedly in clllgent and peaceloving men andJ 1- yet we are horrified at the deeds ofdevilish violence perpetrated by mobs The possibility of a change rom the use of a clubbed rifle abroad to a bludgon at home or from the to the butcher knife is not tTherutal activities among us extends In idIther direction only to more vllaln tlons oUs lawful depredations and usurpa lJ Yes by all means Isolate the army osts from the cities and do not stop the good work there but eliminate t them entirely A citizen soldiery has and always will be most efficient In defense of our country Standing armies are a menace to morals They are a living monument to the injustice t power They are the hoary aIners of reverential prerogatives which has pauperized the people all is nations but of one thing we are certain they are a safeguard against peace We do not seta fuse to blast and expect no explosion neither enn an Idle unquiet element conserve ps peace in a community or nation and the United States would do well take the initiative In practical dls l Jlrmament Cuts Into Some People Sioux Falls S D Mr Jas E ughes Enclosed you will find mytsubscription for one year for the Blade The Blade docs cut into some after digesting same which may have the effects of constipation in the Individual that reads same nextJreadIng the trip to Rome and much interested With best of and will say the paper Is bettcr than ever YoursH J Dalton I i1 7t fI

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