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Blue-grass blade (Lexington, Ky.): n. Sunday, November 14, 1909.

Blue-grass blade (Lexington, Ky.): n. Sunday, November 14, 1909. Blue-grass blade (Lexington, Ky.). 400dpi TIFF G4 page images Blade Publishing Co., Lexington, Kentucky 1909 blu1909111401 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, November 14, 1909. Blue-grass blade (Lexington, Ky.). Blade Publishing Co., Lexington, Kentucky 1909 $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. f BLUE GRASS BLADEt V lum8XVIII LEXINGTON IT NOVEMBER 14 1909 Number 21 DEVOTED TO THE PROPAGANDA OF FREEDOM OF THOUGHT jf ffy fitfrfi 3tatmtg SUfrnwjlj lamluium r ii By Mrs J J Fyckes shape to shape by Natures plan rhLifer hurried with the cell began And ended in the complex man tr From simple plastic cella small ff Weak drop of plasm she did call l Through Times eternityLifes all The protoplasm changedanon Into the nobler moneron When this earths youth had scarce begun arrayedtf The wan waves nourish what she made its And next the jelly grown compact Assumed protections it had lacked Within a shells bright pearl lay packed The gray seas teemed with a grotesque And horrid consciousness the breast Of earth lulled nightmare forms to rest J For Life experimenting still Brought forth huge forms to roam at will Fierce hearts small brains and fangs that killxEvolved the eye ear nerve and brain The foot fin wing and from the main Called shapes to tenant hill and plain For life within tho oceans laptiFound origin With honeyed sap Rare plants she filled and hairy nap Gave to their leaves and climbing stems And furnished flowerdiadems Whoso satin petals glowed like gems Then velvetbodied insects she Evolved and through her wizardry f Caused many varied forms to be The venomous and sluggish snake h Tho feathered songsters of the brake The frog who keeps the moon awake irBehindtMen crowned the work she had begun t- In earths dim infancy and on Sped to her goalher work well done For man arose who upright stands The ruler of all seas and lands A reasoning mind and shaping hands f She formed him when a younger suntFor earth its gown of radiance spun Formed sinew vein and ganglion But slowly did her work progress The long years carried to success Her planweaned man from brutishness Evolved in him tho minds white light Gemmed with rare stars the troubled night Of fearremoved its cankering blight True slowly but the heights he won But loyal reason urged him ontTill he scaled stars and weighed the sun Life sees in him her noblest born Whom all her gifts of grace adorn to Truths service has been sworn jlWhO godmade he but shaped to crown moving up not down jNot born in sin but for renown Born to all possibilities- To stand not live upon his knees And placate goblin enemies No talking snake transgressing Eve Forever may our souls deceive Nor may priests pompous word Believe Believe Aye in our heritage In progressnot in Jehovahs rage Or in a books inspired page grandrTho IBut not in Hell as priests command So shall we learn and understand San Francisco Calif i r II 4t oJ u 1jJjQlJf U 2 BLUE GRASS BLADE The Doctrine of Immortality Neither Proof or HopeAn Appalling BeliefChristian Conduct Disprove the Most Ardent Claims Annihilation Alone Brings Rest By Josephine K Henry From too much love of living From hope and fear set free We thank with brief thanksgiving Whatever gods may be That no life lives forever That dead men rise up never That even the weariest river Winds somewhere safe to seaSwinburne The doctrine of immortality in the chief cornerstone of the Christian religion Without it creeds dogmas saviors andschemes of salvation and the clergy whose chief duty is to groom humanity for eternal life would be entirely average Christian says I cannot see what is the object of life unless man is immortal I cannot see how anyone can be happy who does not believe in a future life This is asserted by Christians in fear of the fact that thoiI most devout believers in immortality are not happy make most strenuous efforts to hold on to this mortal life andonly enter upon immortality when they must and when death comes Christians resign their loved ones to immortality with tears fears wailing dirges and all the insignia of woo Paul declared he would be the most miserable of man without the belief in a future life Bitter experiences in this life prompted Pauls groan just as they have planted in the human mind the hope ofa system of relief and rewards The shallow pessimism which we thought the excuse of hardship or prosecution talks lightly of suicide if immortality bo a dream undervalues the most unselfish heroic and enduring forms of human endeavor which are the levers of the worlds progress and looks upon virtue as a worthless investment unless it brings in a neverceasing cent per cent Our estimate of the value and purpose of life must be of life on this particular planet since we have no knowl edge of any other To judge it by tho light ofa hypo thetical future is to admit that the present life is a failure an unpleasant reflection for those who believe the world to be under the guidance of an overruling providence Is it not beyond human knowledge to prove that the purpose for which we were born can be fulfilled only after death There is a sweeping assertion made and generally be l IL 1tionof those they had The Society of Psychical Research constantly sends out circular letters asking all classes of people if they desire life beyond the grave Tho number of emphatic negative replies prove conclusively that a horror annihiliation is not general All human beings hail sleep as their greatest t blessing yet sound and dreamless sleep is virtual anni hilation as long as it lasts If this sleep should last a mil lion years or through eternity tho sleeper could be no worse off Tho most delightful moment of the twenty four hours of each day of mortal life is when sleep blessed sleep tired Natures sweet restorer woes us to profound unconsciousness that shuts out for the time tho struggles a sighs sufferings disappointments cares and responsibili tics of this weary old world and launches us virtually into annihilation There are minds sufficiently logical to accept the idea ofannihilation as far preferable to tho eternal duties and imaginary delights of tho the various heavens holdout as rewards by the religious of the world There is not the slightest proof that immortality is a fact and there is not the slightest proof that immortality is not a fact Tho great offending of the immortal Ingersoll was that he honestly said that ho did not know whether or not there was another life after this one For this ho was perse cuted and maligned and will never be forgiven by Chris tians whose religion teaches forgive your enemies Are our Christian friends deadsure they know Is it not a fact that the opinions of the Pope of Rome the Archbishop of Canterbury and all tho Doctors of Di vinity who claim they are able to pilot saved souls in immortal life are of no more value on this unsolvable question than the opinion of the most unlettered and mys tified questioner What this life is in tho hero and now is mystery what lies beyond this strange existence we call is profoundmystery which no religion or system of theology can solve If we live after this life it is a fact in Nature If we lose our personality and are cast into tho crucible of this wonderful cosmos that is a fact in nature which no belief or unbelief can affect Is the fear of not living forever more sad than that of not having existedalways Is any human being grieving today because ho was not in existence when America was discovered Need wo grieve because wo shall not be in existence tho centuries hence Would wo rather live this mortal life forever than cease to bo It can bo seriously doubted whether tho belief in immortality has a salutary effect on the human race J 11 t 4 m t I BLUE GRASS BLADE 3 If immortality is a fact every moment of our brief span of mortal life should be entirely devoted to prepara tion for immortality Certainly ninetenths of the people who believe in personal immortality fail to lead lives that will secure the rewards promised The fact that human beings are driven to devote all their time and energy to supply the strenuously pressing needs of this life is strongly preparatoryIThe death notices of Christians are now prefixed with the words Fell asleep Entered into eternal rest These expressions certainly give no hint of the activities descrip tive of the Christian heaven Profound sleep andeternal rest are not suggestive of playing harps waving palms and singing praises before the Great White Throne forever- morel but strongly suggestive of annihilation To the writer of this the idea of everlasting personal existence is the most appalling one over offered to the human mind for acceptance yet without an iota of proof to support it it is accepted by many as a fact But wo shouldremember that nothing in the constitution of the universe guarantees humanity against disappointment and illusion The Old Testament is dead silent on the dogman if immortality Solomon claimed as the wisest man of the Christian sys- temt says in Ecclesiastics 319 For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts as the one dieth so dieth the other All have one breath all go into one place all are of the dust and all turn to dust again and the Bible I further says Blessed are the dead for they rest from High Tribute Due the Race for Its Suc cessful Fight Against Superstitions Hosts and Heartless Gods By Dr T Bowles The progress which good men and wom en are now making in driving from tho brains of their fellowmen the awful super stitions that have so long cursed the world is truly marvelous and at the same rate of progress now going on it willrequire only a few more decades until all civilized peoples will rejoice in their complete deliverance from tho tyranny of these heart less monsters It is a high honor for any man or any woman to assist in this glori ous work and long ages after wo have gone the happy children of the centuries yet to come will sing our praises and call us blessed If it was in my power to place before tho civilized world a panorama of tho hun dreds of millions of fathers mothers chil dren oxen lambs and bird that have their labors and their works do follow them What J grander immortality could be desired than that our works our thoughts and our aspirations should live in the livesjof those that follow us l If Solomon is an authority if he means what he says and says what he means immortality is a more pipe dream of diseased imagination But Solomon with all his wisdom knew nothing more of the profound mystery than we of today know Annihilation is perfect rest painlessness freedom from all impressions that rack and torment the corporalor mental being and ardently desired by the writer after the completion of a normal life and upon the appear ance of the unavoidable infirmities of old age There can be no pain in annihilation any more than in the repose of sleep blessed sleep that brings forgetfulness of every pain and sorrow release from every dread and dangerFIs not the plow boy fast asleep more to be envied than the prince wide awake- Eternal rest and profound peace is the creed of the Churchof Annihilation and how many long for these in this weary old world where there is one who laughs there are a million who sigh The prospect of proving the doctrine if immortality is not encouraging and if correct data could be obtainedon this question wo predict that an astonishingly large num ber of the most intelligent persons are firm and consistent in the belief that Death is an eternal rest Versailles Kentucky II Persistence of Superstition been tortured and killed by tho priests of superstition to satisfy and pacify their bloodthirsty God I could bid farewell to earth rejoicing in the happy knowledge that never again would one of my fellow men bo found on his knees worshipping at tho altars of these hideous creatures This panorama if it could be seen by all tho inhabitants of tho earth would in stantly sweep from tho brain of every civ ilized human being every vestige of super stition and if it were possible for inani mate things to weep tho very flagstones on which we walk would sweat great drops of blood One of the ancient gods created mon strous beings called furies tho hair on their heads was composed of venomous ser pents and around their waists grow gir dles of deadly vipers but this panorama would terrify and horrify every human being infinitely worse than swarms of Fur ies in every home- Unfortunately this panorama cannot bo placed on the stage for the immediate cure of superstition and it remains for the brave men and fearless women of all lands to finish tho work so nobly begun by tho immortal heroes and heroines of history Not long ago the Aryan family of people to which we belong filled every nook and corner of tho universe with thousands of terrible Gods and malicious devils but tho beautiful Angel of Science and the lovely Goddess of Reason have banished nearly all these phantoms from the earth and sky and now the idiotic devotees of supersti tion have only the pitifully small number of three Gods and one devil left to com fort and console them The saute fato awaits the Gods and devil that still survive and in duo timo tho brave army of grand men and noble women who are now at work armed with tho bat tleax of love and reason will drive from the brains of all civilizedmen both Jeho vah and his lieutenant the devil and when this happy day arrives our beautiful earth J I BLUE GRASS BLADE will become a more lovely home for all the children of men than the fabled Gar den of Eden Every thing that lives has its enemies and has to struggle for its existence j if it conquers its enemies it demonstrates its right to life but if it fails in the struggle it isa certain proof that it will and should perish miserably from the earth and judged by this infallible test the highest tribute that can be paid to the human race is its successful fight against the priests of superstition and the heartless Gods and devils in the earth and sky When we think of the intellectual food upon which the human race has fed for hundreds of thousands of years we won der how man ever ascended from savagery to civilization Nearly all his mental pab ulum has been plucked from the deadly Upas tree of superstition and one of these choice intellectual dishes that he has been forced to swallow for thousands of years is the absurd and idiotic superstition that there has been four terrible and bloody wars in heaven between the Gods and their wars are all equally well authen ticated for the history of all of them are found in the sacred oracles Holy Books and divine revelations written by the priests of superstition for the information of the human race The first of these wars occurred when Uranos was the supreme ruler of the universe and after a long and desperate conflict great slaughter and the loss of many lives this supreme ruler of the world was finally murdered by one of his sons who was crowned King of the World The reign of Kronos was peaceful and successful for a few thousand years but he finally failed to live peaceably with his children anda second war occurred which like the first terminated in de throning the reigning God and one of his sons Zeus seized his fathers scepter and took charge of the affairs of the universe and for a few thousand years his reign was undisputed and undisturbed but in due time some of his distant kinsfolk declared war against him and this third war in heaven was far more terrible and san guinary than either of the preceding wars for Zeus was a mighty warrior and by his extraordinary skill and strength in using mountains and thunderbolts as weapons he maintained his title and tenure to the throne and the rebels were subdued and cast into deep chasms of the earth and buried out of sight under mountains hurl ed against them by the puissant arm of the mighty Zeus The reign of Zeus continued for a few thousand years and he was succeeded on the throne of the universe by the present reigning God Jehovah Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost and under the joint reign of these three Gods the fourth and last war in heaven occurred In parentheses it will be proper to state that the three Gods who preceded Jehovah on the throne of the universe were all married and they each married their sis ters and besides their wives Kronos and Zeus kept numerous concubines and by these wives and concubines they raised a vast multitude of children all of whom were demigods and heroes but we have HolyBookswas married but the Holy Ghost who was his partner in business had a very serious entanglement and disreputable liaison with a carpenters affianced bride in Palestine But we must return from this digression to the fourth and last war in heaven which was infinitely more disastrous to the human family than any of the previ ous wars When Jehovah ascended the throne of the universe it is not unreasonable to suppose that he came to the conclu sion that the chief cause of the terrible wars in heaven that had occurred during the lives of his predecessors were due to the fact that their children were made of flesh and blood and subject to the infirmi ties of the flesh j and in order to avoid this possible danger he created a vast multi tude of children without flesh or blood or passions called angels and turned them loose in heaven When we reflect that these angels were not made out of any substance and that they were wholly im material and incorporeal it is impossible for a person whose mind is not perverted by superstition to understand what possi ble use that they could make of wings and yet we are informed that some of them hat three pairs and all of them had one pair attached to the points of their should ers The duty assigned to these angels was to execute the will of Jehovah in the government of the world they were his ambassadors and through them he often appeared to men they surrounded tho throne of Jehovah praising his great name and some of them were constantly receiving his commands and flying away to execute his orders The great prince among this vast multitude of angels was one named Michael and he had three pair of wings and in this connection it is prop er to state that Jehovah for some reason never revealed to man decided not to have any female angels in heaven these angels were all pure and sinless they had no flesh or blood and consequently they had no passions they had nothing in the world to tempt them and to a mind not entirely perverted by superstition it is utterly impossible to imagine why the in finitely wise and the infinitely good Jeho vah failed to live in peace with this fam ily of angels created by himself for the express purpose of executing his will and a TrinityInnone of the gods who have occupied the throne ever commenced their reign under such favorable auspices as the present rul er and the students of celestial history will never cease to wonder why Jehovah happyfamilytiful and sinless angels into a devil who from that day to this has been constantly engaged in wrecking the hopes and happi ness of all the children of men About onethird of the angels volunteer ed under the standard of the devil and the other twothirds voluntcrecd under the standardof Michael and the whole uni verse rocked and reeled and trembled while the conflict raged between these ter rible celestial armies but by reason of superior numbers Michaels army finally prevailed and the devil and his angels were cast out of heaven and given permis sion to corrupt the whole human family and to plunge the vast majority of them into an everlasting hell of fire and brim stone prepared for the devil and his thrilling incidents connected with this last war in heaven would deeply in terest the reader but space forbids and I close this chapter by asking every reader of these pages if you are ready to aban don the awful superstition that God creat ed the devil for the express purpose of corrupting and misleading his poor chil dren on earth and finally burning their souls in an eternal hell7 How long 0 how long will it yet be before the pure minds of innocent children will ceaso to be corrupted with the infam ous falsehoods impressed upon their brains by the heartless priests of superstition Muncie Ind- MATERIALIST ASSOCIATION The San Francisco Materialist Associ ation is giving educational lectures every Friday at 8 p m at Auditorium Annex Page and Filmoro Streets Admission Free Program for October OCT 1 President Elliotts New Re ligion by Wm McDevitt LL M OCT 8 History of the Free Thought Movement in England by Fred Stanley OCT 15 Modern Patriotism by Attor ney E E Kirk Past ViceCommanderin Chief United Spanish War Veterans OCT 22 Mysticism and Democracy by Prof H A Overstreet Department of Phil osophy State University OCT 29 Religious Beliefs of the Amer ican Indians by Geo B Benham Attorney t Law j IIBLUEGRASS BLADE 5 IfMaterialism and New Thought and MindHow Ideals and Char IMatter Are FormedThought Waves From a Million Brains By W C Cope What is mindNo matter What is matter Never mind was the old metaphysical quibble we boys used to de light in at college It was a definition that was pleasing alike to the Idealist and the Materialist in its ambiguity Since Bishop Berkeley in the 17th cen tury destroyed this world in two volumes octavo as Sidney Smith puts it the doc trine of Idealism has had numerous advo cates This doctrine the largest number of its adherents today being the Christian Scientists is that we are concerned only with ideas and are ignorant of everything else Idealists argue that what our senses convoy to us is not evidence of an exter nal world but only of our sensation Fur ther we are utterly ignorant andmust ever remain so of matter itself and that it is easier to conceive that God directly causes our sensations than that they are conceived to us through the unknown world of matter i1faterialists aver on the other hand that little as we know about matter in its es sences we are conscious of its existence and that we cannot go back of conscious 1ness Our eyes it is true are only sensi tive mirrors connected with nerves which convey the impressions received by the eyes of the brain the same being true of all the organs of sensation But when the five senses all agree in convoying to con sciousness a coordinate impression the evidence is about as complete as anything can be Take a pot of coffee for example The eyes see it the nose smells it the ear hears it boiling the hand touches it and the tongue tastes it If this is not suffic ient evidence we can call in tiny number of persons and their consciousness will give the same report So tho Materialist claims that the fact of tho material exist ence of the pot of coffee is certain And a further step in the same direction he claims that we really know nothing outside of matter and force the latter being ex erted only by matter Thus thought is a force exerted by the brain find has the power to influence other brains in propor tion to its strength and the resistance of fered by the other brains And if thought finds its analogy in electric force the subtlety of which itso closely resembles tho brain is a material body that hasmany of the qualities of the electric battery though possessing many other qualities if whichno artificial electric battery pos a Materialist I believe that human beings are the sumtotal of their heredity plus their environment Heredity explains those family traits which Theosophists ac cept as proving reincarnation while vironment accounts for the differentiation of the individual from nny of his ances tors Inm a part of all that I have met Tennyson says The thought waves sent out by a million brains acting upon the natural bent received through hered ity form the ideals and the character of each human being There is no such thing as freedom of the will in that large sense in which most new thought advocates ac cept itnnd yet I think there is no real antagonism between Materialism and new my position lot me quote from Thomas Hobbes who was the great est metaphysician of his time and whoso language Macaulay characterizes as more luminous and precise then has ever been employed by any other metaphysical wri ter The question is not whether man is a free agent that is to say whether he can write or forbear speak or be silent ac cording to his will but whether the will to write or will to forbear come upon him ac cording to his willor according to any thing else in his own power I acknowledge this liberty that I can do if I will but to say I can will if I will I take to be an ab surd speech It is true that very few have learned from their teachers that man is not free to will nor do they find it much in books What they find in books that which the poets chant in the theaters and the shepherds on the mountains that which the pastors tench in the churches and the doctors in the universities and that which the common people in tile markets and all mankind in the whole world do assent unto is the same that I assent unto namely that a man tenth freedom to do if ho will but whether he hath freedom to will is a question it seems they have never thought upon A wooden top that is lashed by tho boys and runs about sometimes to one wall sometimes to another sometimes spinning sometimes hitting men on the shins if it were sensible of its own motion would think it proceeded from its own will unless it felt what lashed it And is a man any wiser when ho runs to one place for a benefice to another for n bargain and troubles tho world with writing errors anti requiring answers because ho thinks ho does it without other cause than his VP own will andseeth not the lashings that cause that will Now the question is whence come these lashings spoken of by Hobbes that cause us to will to do or will not to do cer tain acts They come both from within and from without from heredity and from environment Heredity gives us those urges and natural bents that all are con scious of possessing which accentuated by environmentby teaching thought reading and conversation becomes our ideals that govern our conduct by influenc ing our will- Environment is only another name for our everyday surroundings Anything that makes an impression upon us is part of our environment If you live in the coun try the trees the birds the grass the sky outside down to the old kitchen stove in side the house is part of your environment If you are a Spiritualist and believe that you receive messages from a little Indian girl Sunflower or from Little Bright Eyes whether they exist outside your imagination or not does not matterthey are part of your environment and their imaginary messages influence your will A pair of tumblebugs I watched working gether last summer were part of my enjvironment as they gave mo new ideas of cooperation and harmony and influenced my will through accentuating my brother hood ideal t So the now thought ideal N not antagonistic to the Materialistic belief New thought teaches that by dwelling on ones ideals one may in a large measure realize them Is success your ideal Then now thought teaches you that by dwelling upon the thought of success you achieve success Tho intensity of the thought lashes the will to resolve But the suggestion to dwell upon the thought of success comes from withoutfrom your environmentand acts upon your instinctive desire for suc cesssuccess meaning to you that you shall be able to live well have what you desire and possess the approbation of your fellowmen so influencing your will to do the things that produce success Many a man of ability has failed to achieve success through want of concen tration upon it New thought teaches him to concentrate The suggestion from with out given through the now thought book or teacher influences his will He concen trates upon success with the result that he achieves it Rightly he gives the credit to new thought which pointed out a road ho was earnestly seeking But it was not tho Invincible Will but the Invincible Ideal influencing his will that produced the result ho desired Men says Her bert Spencer are rational beings in but a very limited sense Conduct results from desire to the gratification of which reason serves but as a guide t LJLJj I6 BLUE GRASS BLADE Open Letter to a Preacher Blade Writer Takes Issue with a Sky Pilot Who Allowed Prejudice to Run Away with Judgment By A A Iowa Rev C R Powell Little Rock Ark Dear Sir I have read your debate with Col Dick Maple where in you affirm that II Socialism is the twin sister of Infidelity hatched in the pit While I can agree with you that Socialism is a sort of a willothewisp or New Jerusalem j of whose golden streets no foot has ever trod or of whose walls of jasper no eye hath ever seen or ever will see that we have any evidence of yet I think your affirmation was unfair unjust and un true being born of prejudice It casts an undue reflection against the characters of both the founders of Socialism and tho Freethinkers of the world Now there is no reflection cast by denominating Socialism Infidelity unless the expression was intended as a reflection Jesus himself was an Infidel to the exist ing order of things of his day But when the expression is coupled with the phrase born in the pit hell it cannot but cast a terrible reflection on the characters of the founders of the theory of Socialism A company conceives of n scheme of redeeming our western arid regions with their plans they expect to make the desert blossom as the rose But their plans prove inadequate for the undertaking and so re sult in failure But withal might they not be sincere and honest men Would their failure prove that their scheme was hatch ed in some pit where all was crime and de pravity where sincerity and honor were unknown I believe both the founders and votaries of Socialism are at least as sincere and honorable as those of Christ I need not speak in behalf of So cialism as it has had its representative in the person of Col Dick Maple I speak in behalfof the Freethinkers of the world whom you denominate Infidels I ask that they may have their day in court I deny your assertion that Infidelity was born in the pitthat is any pit of crime and depravity Are you willing to defend your assertion as against the Freethinker If you will arrange to write six or a dozen articles to the Arkansas Baptist in defense of your assertion I will reply to them pro vided you allow me as many words to each article as you take Or if you wish me to affirm as I see you state that Infidelity has done nothing I will affirm thatliThe principles of Infidelity have done more for the advancement of humanity than have those peculiar to Christianity Terms to be used as you defined them in your debate with Maple It is no uncommon thing for ministers to speak of Infidels or Infidelity in the most reproachful manner and then prej udice the people against hearing the Infi dels defense But I think charity should be extended them on the ground that their Bible so inspires them but I am dead cer tain of one thing and that is that they and their book cannot both be so excused and its infallibility still maintained I defy the whole Christian world to prove that the Christian is one whit more sin cere and honest in his belief than the Infidel Lineville Iowa THE GIVING OF THANKS What Reason Have Believers For Talking to Food Before Eating By E B Tanner- I would like to have our Christian friends give a good plausible reason for asking a blessing or giving thanks for every meal that is set before them They say a personal god has placed us here If that is true it seems to me that we are entitled to all we can get to sus tain an existence that we are not account able for It almost makes me snicker right out in meetin when compelled to lis ten to a mockery of this kind and I believe no sensible reason can be given for these mummeries either before or after meals Why wouldnt it be just as well besides saving time and labor to give thanks a year in advance and be done with it Like the man who got sick and tired of praying every night so he wrote a prayer and pasted it on the footboard of his bed and when ready to jump in printed at the prayer sayingHO Lord those are my sentiments Many Universalist and Unitarian preachers neglect these ceremon ies while at home with their families but while away on a vacation visiting among friends they are compelled to wear the yoke no matter how much it galls Blessings are something given to us and if tho Lord sends material to feed us it might be proper to return thanks for favors received but when I earn my din ner before I cat it I dont consider that I an under any obligations except to those who prepared it for me Dinners come by work or gift and never by the prayer plan We are told that the Lord causes the earth to bring forth sustenance that we may live In that case it may be proper and right to give partial thanksonehalft- o tho giver and the other half to the one who does the work except where the pro duction is spontaneous It is said that the Lord helps those who help themselves and that is through human hands not heavenly I recently saw a party of Infidels seated around a dinner table trying to look sanc timonious and with bowed heads listening to a preacher giving thanks I thought to myself II 0 Consistency thou art indeed a APOPHTEGMS OF A DISBELIEVER By Dr Henry Fuehrer I would not believe in the Mosaic crea tion fable if it were written on the sky for I would then know that it could not have been done by supernatural but by natural means for sight is a natural phy sical sense and we already have the whole subdepartment of physics dealing with itopticsS- upernaturnl phenomena can be observ ed by supernatural beings only and man is a natural entity hence nothing super natural can be revealed to him or observ ed by him A human being cannot hear a supernatural entity speak for speaking is a natural function of the organs of speech and a supernatural entity not hav ing these natural lalic vessels cannot per form the functions of lalia and if the supernatural entity DOES speak it must bo a supernatural mode of speech and nat ural man cannot hear it Natural man with his natural organs of speech can only hear with his natural aud itory canal natural speechbut not super natural speech- Supernatural action can imply supernatural reflex only and natural action can imply natural reflex action only hence a supernatural entity cannot speak and nat y ural homo could not hear it if it did Hence when the Bible saysHAnd Jehovah j spoke to Moses etc it is uttering an ignorance of natural phenomena of cosmology optics physics anatomy Phy siology yea even tho rudimentary el ements of pholosophy and logic HQuod Brat demonstrandum andHGod spoke to Moses is a contradictio in ver bo ST LOUIS MOI hereby acknowledge the receipt of an issuo of tho Blado of last week also the hearty invitation it has ex tended to all who wish to attend the Con vention in November certainly will at tend tho meeting if nothing serious happens to interfere Yours very trulyMRS- R POPE OPP IfBLUEGRASS BLADE 7 IIThe FairiSee and the SaduSee By John P Clark The Pharisee phoneti for fairIsee was the rpal knowitall and betterthanthou fellow The Pharisee was short the price of a pint at the Publican and Sinners Ranch and the credit side of the slate was turned to the wall He could interpret Moses and the minor prophets in seven dif ferent and divergent ways but could not interpolate a witness into his throat with out spot cash Caesars phiz upon a silver or copper disk stood between him and the loving cup ie the want of So ho hung his shamed head upon his proud bosom and lamented with a loud lamentation A fellow camo along and took pity upon him but as the pity cloud had no silver lining the Pharisee scorned the sympathetic of fer which stimulateth not except it in ebriateth Tho man saidII Brother I am saduseo to see you in such melancholy straits Have you five Lincoln pennies with tho Godly trust for a beer upo iyour personII No brother I changed my raiment before ambling from my humble home and forgot mo to shift tho filthy lucre from the house garment to the street ephod You see I was so much enamored of the beautiful morn and tho sweetscent ed hay that I thought me not of the lucre but of my sympathy draw in abundance Thanks for nothing said the Phari see I know yo not and when the time cometh when thy thirst bo as my thirst I willreturn ye good sympathy for the evil sympathy thou wouldst impose upon me Out upon thee thou dog of a Snduseo Ill have none of thoo nor of thy pity Thus the line was sharply and clearly drawn between tho tents of the Pharisees and the tribes of tho Sadusoes The Pharisee having nothing else to put on took to himself great airs Ho learned to write and become a scribe Ho thus f4learned all the secrets of those who em ployed him to write billy dues and hellos I lettres By dint of writing for pay and by blackmailing ho waxed fat and took to Law and waxed fatter Then it was that tho Publican and Sinner learned to look up to him Foreclosing of mortgages be came rife with him and Sadusees became sadderusee than ever Tims the gulf be came wider every day between tho camp of tho Sadusco and tho hut of tho Pharisee The Saduseo became poorer and poorer un til the ashes of his former greatness was about all ho had to decorate his sackcloth with and powder his hair with Awarp of burlap and a woof of ashes makes n poetical and touching mourning attire and became very popular because of its fitness and its economical status Only queens could use Merry Widow hats and cree gar ments and they were now in the mode of modern bathing suits Tho Sadusees were a kind of a melancholy Friar with a pen chant for frying fish and putting other people in a stew Their first monastery was a place where each one kept to his cell and spoke in monosyllables to himself They were very quiet while there were more cells than monks but when tho monks outnum bered and outvoted tho cells in the precincts there was trouble and throatcutting became an adjunct to peacefulness and still is Then tho brother celibates elected a Father who hired out tho cells to the brothers and instituted the Mendicant Or der to beg the rent from Somebody of Somewhere IDon tGiveaUamnWhero Conventual and conventional fathers have blessed a part of the earth and cursed tho other part over since They are supposed to be fathers only in name butbell dell cell fell hellthats a plenty Ill stop offright here The Pharisees fared somewhat better and invented the preceding orders andorders just what ho wishes whom he wishes and just what how ho wishes and gets it Tho Pharisees then set up the See of Rome and have made Rome howl and oth er places wail The Popo is fairIsee but you pay the faro or you dont see Scot France the eldest daughter of tho church renounced her Papal dad and the Pope al most became a Sadusce and hell see more of it By invoking the parsonic aid of the Chaplain of the Blade I got inspiration enough to make this historical research in to tho dead embers of the forgotten past and as tho Chaplain blowed hot or cold I got a sparkling of the illumined truth and here sho is congratulate myself that the history of the Pharisees and the Sadusees have never had tho justice due them that I have inflicted upon them Great ap plause and rendition by Angelic host Illry Wifes Gone to the Country Hur rah Hurrah Arlington Md OLD GHOSTS IN A NEW COSTUME By Warren S Dean Sometimes a new feature on old things will have a tendency to put us to thinking and then wo make an effort to estimate the true worth the new feature has put on the old being Or in other words to find out if the original being is deserving of the expense and work the new feature en tails on people to uphold Take for instance tho new feature the 114 clergy has proposed in the shape of Bible Study Clubs Perhaps that advice given to others may be tho means of doing far r more than tho clergy intended it to do that is to read the bible in truth for what it actually is and what it hasiidone for truth and progressive thought for this worlds good Maybe the free vice granted others will be much the same as the advice of a kindly school teacher was to the writer About 35 years ago when ho was working out as a farm hand i trying in his small way to help better the conditions for others he was presented with a bible from his old teacher and on tho flyleaf sho wrote tho words Read and Obey Before that he had read the bible but not in the light of a holy divinelyin spired book but simply to learn the hab its and ways of people in old historical times But thinking of the present and the advice given he concluded to give more careful thought and study than when he was simply reading the bible for old his tory sake But when we began to read and realize what ways those godanointed people had what they were commanded to do by a socalled just and loving god his respect for that god took a drop and the system that has been the means of keeping that god before tho people has dropped still lower So in fact it may not be the new feature that will attract tho greatest attention for more likely to thoughtful people it will be What is the true worth to this world of the original being togged out in a new dress reform And that brings to mind the news item that has gone the rounds of the press how some few divines scolded the fair sex for coming to church arrayed in their new hats and finery They seemed to be greatly concerned that the display might turn the minds and heads of the male members away from their own sanctimonious bible wo will venture to say as our candid opinion that there was more true worth for this worlds goods under that finery than possibly could be found in many of the characters that have gone to make up tho Christian bible from tho dreams of the socalled inspired writers of ancient timesRead and Obey says the clergy Armed with the finest gift of speech that can bo made they ask their dear flocks not to investigate for it is a great sin to do so but accept their statement in full It seems to bo natural and pleasing to the human ear to listen to harmonious sounds and tho eye to search for the beautiful so when wo are asked to obey we will make an earnest effort to find out if that com mand is in harmony with truth reason and justice or simply a now dress reform for tho slavish brutal ignorance of past ages Delhi N Y ff nJn Jd 8 BLUE GRASS BLADE BLUE GRASS BLADE Published weekly at Lexington Ky Founded kr Charles Chllten Moore In lIU and edited by him until his death February 101 JAMES E HUGHES Publisher and Manager JOHN CHARLE8WORTH Editor llll N Limestone Street Lexington Ky P Box IJI SUBSCRIPTION RATES man postpaid tlSI per year In advance By Five new subscribers at one remittance Sllt each Five trial subscriptions sent In with one remittance for six months It cents each Trial subscriptions II cents per month Foreign subscriptions postpaid tltt per year ADVERTISING RATES One Inch single column Insertion It centa one month or four insertions lltt six months tltt one year ttlt uarter celumn single insertion tltt one month t4H six mon Half s cSumnTnwh1olrcolumn or larger advertisements at special rates The upen application the right to reject any and all advertisements offered GENERAL BUSINESS RULES SUBSCRIPTIONS to the Blade will be discontinued at the ALL expiration of the term for which the subscription has been paid up advance The address slip on the paper will show scribers the date of expiration of subscription Back numbers or numbers emitted will be sent If asked for upen renewal li cue of dlsclntlnuaace SHOULD ANY SUBSCRIBER change his or her address advise thl office giving both old and new address aa desired TUB OFFICH et publication of the Blade la at Illlli North Lime stone ItreettLexlncton Kentucky to which all Freethinkers will a THB BLADE la enterd at the Postofflce at Lexington Kentucky aa asses Blass mailing matter ADDKBM ILL COMMUNICATIONS TO THB BLUB GUY BLADB P Box lit LexIngtoB Ky OFF FOR THE CONVENTION By the time this issue of the Blade reaches its readers the St Louis Convention will bo in progress and wo venture to express a most fervent hope that the fruition of months of patient labor will bo tile successful organiza tion ofa now national association of Freethinkers for purely Freothought advocacy- In our last previous issue mention was made of the interest manifested in this organization by the public press and while great caro and caution was exercised in the subject matter given for publication once in the hands of newspaper correspondents who were unable to grasp either tho scope of the work or the objects desired presented n confused mass of ideas surrounded by considerable personal speculation drawn from a too imperfect imagination The result has an undesired publicity in some respects and rather too much of a good thing in other directions Per sonal experience in such matters ought to have served as a gentle reminder of the extravagances of newspaper re porters but an ardent desire to cover as wide a field for this publicity as possible led to an unfolding of oui plans Still tho publication may do good as a whole bt bringing tho prospective organization to tho notice of thousands whom the Blade and other Freethought papers would be unable to reach Our principal regret is the per sonal allusions made to the Blades editor tho outgrowtl ofa long personal friendship and a desire to make the notices complimentary Among the larger newspapers coming to our knowledge that have given extensive notices of our convention are the Cincinnati Enquirer the Louisville CourrierJournal Louisville Herald Memphis CommercialAppeal and other papers including the Leader Gazette and Herald three dailies published in Lexington Other correspondents aro writing for further information These are good signs They point a growing freedom of the press and an indifference to tho claims and demands of orthodoxy Tho adoption ofa sound working basis for tho new organi zation and a practical business management will insuro equal publicity after tho organization becomes a fact when it will be more needed and far more desirable as directing public attention to our work From another report given by the Editor printed else where in this issue it will bo seen that wo are enroute to the place of meeting All has been said that can be said before the meeting actually takes place In our next subsequent issue wo hope to have a full report of the Convention with its proceedings- As these are the last lines we are permitted to write before the Convention Ii held we once moro express tho hope that it will be made a representative body resolved upon work of practical good and that once it is launched every element claiming to bo liberal will rally to its born it must not shall not die Rally round tho banner of mental freedom Its bearers aro fighting the good fight We have too long sailed over pathless oceans in quest of golden shores but with a well defined purpose brought forth by organization we are both chart and log book to guide and direct Science attains truth Let us crystallize every germ of truth and carry it with pride among our foHowsIFREE THE SCHOOL AND LIBRARY There are two exceedingly important lines of work whichrthe now national organization can take up as a part propaganda which have for their object a greater freedom in all educational activities so far as ecclesiasticism is concernedIt long been a recognized fact that too great an influence has been accorded the church and its paid ad vocates upon our public schools Innumerable instances are recorded and discussed wherein preachers have been granted full liberty to prescribe the course of studies and oven act as a sort of supervisor over the daily routine of work The mistaken notion prevailed and to some extent still prevails that ministers are among tho best educated of men and from this impression camo tho practice of callingupon tho local preacher for advice and suggestion in educational matters much as a regular medical prac titioner used to call in a consulting physician to assist in diagnosis a patients malady Under such conditions we Llc j BLUE GRASS BLADE 9 can readily understand how religious instruction came to be tolerated in the public schools Bible reading recitals of prayers chapel exercises hymn singing and even lengthy sermons became a part of the school exercises without protest looked upon as a matter of public dutyand children were liberally dosed with theology in order to more easily proselyte them at a time when they could be figured upon to become paying members of some superstitious sect There is still another public institution whore the in fluence of paid preachers has been used withequally serious effectnamely the public libraries In many states where a free public circulating library exists in any of the cities statutory provisions are made for its main tenance and support by liberal appropriations from the public funds and public sources of revenue The library is in fact a public institution And yet in far too many cases preachers have been appointed members of the boards of trustees given a discriminating power and au thority in the selection of books and this has been used with Serious effect upon the character and quality of the literature circulated by these libraries In all suchcases the preacher trustee has not failed or neglicted to use the authority given him in such a direction as to keep out of the library all books ho did not want or did not like and to purchase such books only as would be calculated to subserve the interests of the Christian church and com plete the work begun in the public schools This latter condition is as great an educational evil as the former and equally as disastrous to intellectual freedom in its results Perfect intellectual freedom cannot exist nor can an individual choice be freely made while eccelsiasticism is permitted to retain control or exercise influence upon the public schools and libraries History will show that such control and influence have never been used for the public Igood Selfinterest has always played too prominent a part Granted permission to think for themselves and uninfluenced by superstition in the days of their childhood the people would decline to accept the doctrines of orthodox thefup a r creed instead of being employed for the public good Then in the light of these well known facts the Blade wouldurge upon the coming convention the adoption of some provision among its propagandic policy aiming to secure a greater liberality anda more perfect secular freedom for the institutions herein discussed The larger and more important of the educational institutions of the country have broken theological restraints andsanctions The smaller of such institutions are still in a measure fettered by clerical influences Let the now prganization undertake as a part of its work a campaign ofeducation for the creation ofa healthy public sentiment to the end that all schools and libraries that are essentially ofn public character be freed from priestly control Let the A t fight be against the office not the man Principles not persons bo made the objective of our labors 1 Hero is a field for work in which success will mean more for the generations to come than we can now discern Our workshould be along such lines as will induce a course i of instruction in the public schools that will properly fit the children to meet the actualities of life based on natural sciencoandreason and experience instead of fictions 4 fostered by theology GODWORSHIP Within the memory of many now living god was an l actual personality Being made in the image of man many attributed to him the personality of a human being but endowed him with a series superhuman attributes These attributes were for both good and evil The good it was believed could be secured by prayers of praise the evil avoided by of flattery and supplication The iprayersa may as evitable outgrowth of mans mental babyhood The mystery ofnatural phenomena could be explained in no other t way In this manner every race and every nation independent f of each other had their own mythologicalaccount 1 ofa supposed creation and each in turn invented for itselfa god Around this invention monstrous absurdities t wore built Form and ceremony followed throughwhich t the cunning and crafty reaped large profits from the ignorant and credulous In the course of time only did the character of these gods undergo a change but the priestly cult remained to trade upon the fears and super stitions of ignorance- As advancing intelligence began to exercise any influence upon the wondering human mind many of these gods disappeared but they wore supplanted by other gods of newer design perhaps but retaining many of the char acteristics of the gods that had been discarded It was quite handy and convenient to change from one god to another No man ever yet undertook to worship a god unless ho believed or fancied ho believed ho couldmake his god an object of practical utility Prayers still ascend to the throne of grace Failure to get an answer wrought further doubts and the creature began to seriously question the creator Gods were born used discarded left to perish for lack of believers changed for other gods until multi tudes of gods came across the horizon of faith The most hideous conception of god that over was invented is reflected in the god of the bible born in the brain of semi savage endowed with barbaric attributes and unspeakable cruelties Ho was and is the last of all personal gods that have emanated from the brain of man But a few years ago ho was earnestly believed in worshipped by fear adored by selfinterest Ho is but a name today save with 10 BLUE GRASS BLADE the ignorant few He will be but a memory in the ex ceeding near future Many Christians now profess an adoration for the god ofnature or natures god This is just as mystical a conception as any other god must be During the French revolution both reason and liberty were deified which was one of the mistakes of that day Reason must be used not worshipped Enjoy liberty but do not deify it Reason becomes dynamic to the extent only that wo use it At best liberty can be no more than a mere condition Freethought can have no possible use for deities Free thought is the great giant of intellect a tidal wave of progress It must be capable of both giving andreceiving the treasures of human thought By it and through it the last concept of god the god of nature must follow all the gods that have preceded it into the realm from which there is no returning Man does not need god We believe it was Mathew Arnold a capable critic and commentator who suggested that religion was simply morality touched by emotion and yet in this religion being the child of emotion wo may see the origin of the socalled godidea Without human emotion god would never have been With human reason the gods disappear When godworship ceases to be man will and must bo made the object of mans devotion When this time comes the might andwonder of the universe will jewel each fleeting hour and humanity will become the great shining spot in the infinite palace of nature THE BIGGEST THINGS IN HISTORY Should the question bo put to one of our public school children what constituted the biggest events in history the answer in a majority of cases would be a reference to some mighty war some great battle in which large members of men on both sides lost their lives In any event whether such an answer be given or not it is none the less a fact that the written record of the worlds wars present some of tho most striking pictures to tho mind of childhood and make the strongest mental the experiment still further we would find that with a largo number of men and women conceded to bo ofmature mind similar mental attitudes would prevail and things that are really tho most trivial and fleeting sometimes barren of results are more distinctly remembered Battles unless participation becomes an actual and posi tive necessity are but tho pastime of fools In all tho great worlds history there are exceedingly few wars that were not at all justified or which resulted one way or the other in any material benefit to the race In some rare cases only has war produced beneficial results and oven among these there are some in which those results could have obtained in another and vastly bettor way The impressions then obtained as to what constitute the biggest things in history are the necessary results of a mere partial mental training a sort of onesided arrange ment in which the inadequate judgment of some incapable individual has been the dominant factor Public educa tion has far too long been entrusted to incompetent brains No child can learn more than its teacher is capable of imparting and if the mental status of tutor bo law the mindof tho pupil must as a rule bo kept to tho same standard Only in a few abnormal cases would tho scholar rise superior to environment These have invariably developed into the leaders of tho worlds best thought Aside from tho fact that wo are tho fortunate inheritors of tho intellectual wealth of centuries strong in tho power created by giants of thought in all ages placed upon the summit of an edifice in which untold centuries have been employed in buildings our intellectual education can hardly bo said to bo full worthy of tho times wo live in While it is not the fault of tho individual it is tho fault of the race So little attention is yet given to tho intellectualelements contributing to progress and happiness that have created such epochs of gigantic mental energy that they standout sublime in their strength con stituting the very biggest of all things in human history And yet men can scarce bo blamed Historians as a rule simply record tho great physical conflicts between men ignoring the mental engines of progress While it would be a huge undertaking to chronicle all tho events of in tellectual change and improvement the mode andmanner of their operation and results future generations will learn to judge the march of any particular century by its men andnot by its machines Every decisive improvement in mentality has wrought some decisive victory Every addi tion to the means of intellectual culture and refinement has been the means of some extraordinary harvest True architecture does not consist in the mere build ing ofa structure nor does true science consist in the accumulation of heterogeneous facts True science means the detection and assimilation of the principles which corelate facts and of that order which binds the parts into a whole So the development of true science is after all andmust be the biggest thing in all history This de velopment could not take place all at once Innumerable tiny streams wore pouringconstantly into the whole and each point of contact brought to the general fund of scientific knowledge a now fact and each new fact were andare the biggest things in history In these may be founda record of the steps by which man in his pursuit rises through classifications the last always being more complex than its predecessors but all pointing to great one ness of tho universe When the Freethought elements of the world can be brought into sufficient unity a unity of purpose and rich endeavor they will bo strong enough to produce vast changes in our present methods of imparting knowledge that tho really great accomplishments of the race will bo given precedence and prominence A complete revision of school books will bo necessary to produce this change It may not bo done in our day but we can at least lay tho foundation and point future workers the way to success 0IN Wp ll1h 1J BLUE GRASS BLADE 11 National Organization of American Freethinkers i OFFICIAL CALL FOR CONVENTION In the name of and by the authority of the persons whose names are hereunto affixed Freethinkers of the United States of America who having in writing duly expressed themselves as being in favor ofa new national organization that shall undertake and ttfkitain a systematic and advised propaganda of Freethought pra iples all persons who hold and believe that the doctrines theories and teachings of the orthodox Christian churchregarding the universe and the origin and destiny of mankind are erroneous and who believe that happiness and morality can be better subserved by a study and observance of Natural Law than through the medium of prayer faith or god worship who reject all phases and forms of superstition and idolatry who are free and who desire to be free from orthodox religious restraints in matters affecting human action and con science who believe in a full and complete separation of church and state with all that such separation implies are hereby called to meet in National Convention in the City of St Louis State of Missouri on Sunday November 14th 1909 at the hour of f declarntionand bylaws for its proper and effective management and its systemor shall be pertinent to and shall best subserve and aid in the accomplishment of expressedHotel Arrangements have been made and completed with the management of the Laclede Hotel at Sixth and Chestnut streets in the City of St Louis for the accommodation and entertainment of all Freethinkers attending the convention at fairly reasonable rates This hotel is conducted on the European plan and pro vides sleeping accommodations only There is a well appointed restaurant in connection with the hotel at which good meals can rangefromwhether two occupy the same room The cost of meals will run from 20 cents up The hotel is large and commodious It has ample facilities for the accommodation of all who wish to attend and is situated in the heart of the business district Business and Social Owing to the great distance that some of those attending the convention will have to travel and recognizing the natural desire for sufficient social intercourse during the convention that such nndbusinessand those residing in St Louis and vicinity in the parlors of the Laclede Hotel on the Saturday night after supper preceding opportunityforIn order to facilitate the business of the convention there will also be an informal caucus to prepare an outline of the workof the convention select and appoint the several committees name a temporary chairman and secretary in order to facilitate tin 11itsThe caucus will first designate a temporary chairman anti secretary given due authority the temporary chairman will thereupon appoint the following committees On order of business on organization on constitution and bylaws on membersship and finance on propaganda earlySunday I submission when the convention is properly called to order The Convention proper The oclock on the morning of ConventionItemporary chairman who night caucus Such sessions as may be deemed necessary be held throughout the day The Convention Hall is shaHIELEVENTH AND LOCUST STREETS Organized Societies All organized Freethought societies national state or local now actively engaged in the dissemination of admitted thought principles are invited and requested to send or to FreeIto be sent any number of delegates or representatives Convention in order that the gathering may be made as ally expressive of American Freethought as it is possible to be i All individual Freethinkers will receive a hearty and cordial welcome All persons Freethinkers Charter Memberstciples the constitution and shall attend the convention in person and all persons signifying i their approval acceptance and adoption of the same in writingsaddressed to the Secretary within a time to be specified by tho convention and all those whose names are appended to this call shall be deemed and recorded on the books of the as charter members thereof General Invitation Extending a fraternal caUa fraternal orgnmzahonIfraternal welcome to all who love mankind better gods who believe in tho worship of work and unite and cooperate with us in the work of high and eternal principles of truth as expressed by we are John R Charlesworth Lexington Ky Parker H Sercomb3 Chicago Dr T J Bowles Muncie Ind Helen M Lucas Marietta Ohio William C Cope St Louis Mo Josephine K Henry Versailles Ky T C Jefferies Cleveland Ohio Julia C Coon Bartow Fla J C Watkins Kannwlm Falls W Va E D Northrup Ellicottville N Y George 0 Roberts Dennison Ohio D W Sanders Covington Ind J Atwood Culbertson Pittsburg Pa Carl Baerwalde Cleveland Ohio Charles F Randall Cherokee Okla J M Reed Chicago Ill J M Frost Tampa Fla Wm J Howerton Tularosa Texas James S Davis Wnynesfield Ohio James ONeal Ft Smith Ark E A Fitch Wilmington Vt R G Earle Pine Grove Ark Ella P Hunt Moline Kan Emily C Jones East Lynne Mo Anna 0 Jones East Lynne Mo Mrs Nels Johnson Higgins Texas W L Luce Annapolis Md M H Oberholtzer Los Angeles Cal Miss Elizabeth Wiley St Louis Mo Andrew Jackson Boyer Washington D C E G Nichols Norge Vn Joel M Berry Nnt Mil Home Ohio Harold Banning Mt Vernon Ohio Charles G Brown Ithaca N Y H M Fisk Pella Iowa A J Carson Ardmore Okla George C Bartlett Tollond Conn Moragn Wamsley Cincinnati Ohio Oscar A Janicke Louisville Ky W A Cooper Milo Me Manly A Brigham Rumford Me I 12 BLUE GRASS BLADE ABOUT LOVING GOD God Manufacturers as a Rule Do Not Give Them Good Dispositions By John F Clarke We hear a great deal about reciprocal amatory relations between God and Man Some fellows say they love God because God loves them This is a kind of close communism that sports bughouse fancies God so loved the world that Ho gave His only begotten Son etc If He gave his son the son should be still given but instead they tell us that it was a kind of Aprilfool gift and God got the son back again Ho only loved the world enough to lend his son three days for our salvation Love is a funny thing and to say that one loves is to give very little insight into a thing God is another funny thing No two persons have exactly the same conception of God To love something that has to be conjured up before the minds eye is a feat in lovematics that is beyond the pale of sound sense Crazy people love ideals absolute ideals Loving tangible things is natural but lavishing affection upon suggestive shadows is foolish The capacity to love is limited and the fundof affection also so that when a man draws heavily upon his store of love and then throws it to the gods or the dogs be is short in his fraternal feelings with his fellow man- There is no use in wasting good love upon a god especially upon one that does not exist in fact Why impoverish ones love capacity for a god fad In fact Fad would have been as good a word to repre sent a figment as God is When one marries a Christian the fact that the spouse loves God and Christ first and the mate only in a secondary degree accounts for the failure of the Christian assert that without God there is no marriage but facts show that with God there is a good chance for a di vorce The purported history of God as related by the purported friends of God does not flatter him The ideal set forth in sacred history is not calculated to charm the critical reader Except when baffled by the iron chariots God rode roughshod over men and women who were as good as Gods friends He made war upon women and children therefore he was no gentle man He must have been a Neuter for bo showed no sex any chivalry He was IT Hereafter I shall call God IT The whole theme of the Israeliteiss re ligion was Love me love my God The common paraphrase Love me love my dog is more than synonymous Man is said to have been wonderfully and fear fullymAde but pod seems not to have t been more wonderfully than carefully disposition given God by Its manu facturers is not lovable and we have noth ing else to go by The God of the Scrip tures makes a better target to throw ha tred at than to pile love upon All love wasted upon God is at the expense of man Arlington CONSTRUCTION FOR DESTRUCTION By John F Clark A man there was and chose a mate A man and woman there was elate He was strong as the sturdy tree And sweetly she the clinging vine Two voices as one song flowing free In a melody all divine She leaned upon his trustful care He loved her sweet mind so rare Their loves two tender rills unite And to the gulf of Love do flow And all the singing birds inrite And all their pipes to sweetly blow But Spite was out to spoil Loves plan God and deceitful angel clan Death snatched the bride far away And left an aching aching heart And Gods fell plight fell with full sway Malice hurled the killing dart Neighbors said Say Gods will be done Not I said the bereaved man Be undone if feeling Thou hast By miracle or might or ban Undo undo this blighting blast He asked for bread and got a rock As hard as any black devils mock Then in him rose this thought sublime You took from ho and will not give You have yours and I have mine Her memory will with me love You man your tens of thousands slay You may hurl the whole world away To me you never can gain say Her tender words that fill mine ear No prank that you can ever play Can change my love nor make me fear Arlington Md THE PHILOSOPHICAL BIBLE GLASS UNION OF AMERICA Text BookBiblo Myths and Their Parallels in Other Religions by Donna Nov 7Christ Crisbna and Christ Jesus compared Chap XXVII Nov 14Christ Buddha and Christ Jesus Compared Chat XXIX to page 295Nov 21Christ Buddha and Christ Jesus Compared Chapt XXIX from page 295 to page 305 Nov 28The Eucharist or Lords Supper Chapt XXX PROF A J CLANSEN National Organizer St Ansgar Iowa NEW SOCIETY IN PITTSBURG Through J Atwood Culbertson one of the Blade contributors plans are now being formed for a now locr Freethought So ciety in Pittsburg P Some years ago Pittsburg had a goo strong Secular So ciety and it was one of the favorite stop ping places of the Blades Editor when he was on the lecture platform years ago The very first trip we undertook in America in 1891 Pittsburg was the first stopping place on tho list We are glad there is to be an awakening Mr Culberston now writesI would like to get in touch with some of the Freethinkers in tho Pittsburg dis trict and would be pleased to have you mention the fact in the Blade Phone me during business hours Grant 2400139 evenings Sowickley OOGGJ After the St Louis convention I think we should be able to get a club started here Or is there one I Have never heard of one Fraternally 1013 Penn Ave J A CULBERTSON ROME By the Chaplain Despised by honest men for crimes untold You still continue to enslave and hold Within thy vicelike grip the minds of men Who fear anathema of thy voice and pen Thy breath is noxious with the fumes from hell For thou art rotten Rome with fumes that smell Of all the poisonous things on this great earth Twos viper cobra seed that gave you birth In Full Sympathy CHATTANOOGA TENNI am still living in Chattanoogo and think all the world of your paper the Blade I think you have some brilliant writers on your staff I am in full sympathy with your plan of organization and hope you will meet with success in St Louis on Nov 14 I am going to try to get your Editor John R Charlesworth or somebody else who is a good Freethinker to come hero some time in the future and give a good lecture There are quite a good many Freethinkers in and around Chattanooga although it is chockfull of churches of all denominations ARTHUR STONE 1BLUEGRASSBLADE 13 t 1Cb Blades Correspondence i ORGANIZATION WINNING MANY Dr Foote Sends Donation to Help Along with ExpensesOther Letters on the St Louis Convention Sends a Good Representative NEW YORKI learn from your News of the coming convention in St Louis and I suppose the officers are not yet selected I shall not be able to attend but want o send a substitute or representa tive and will at least help to make the wheels go round As I know no better way I send a check herewith made payable tc you and you can have it apply on the gen eral expense account of the affair Your very trulyE B FOOTE The check which Dr Foote sent is for 1000 Ed Will Attend Convention CHICAGO ILLI observe with some regret that your contributors seem hyster ical lest the memory of Payne and Inger soll be obliterated They are immortal slander cannot reach them but it can ex hibit its malice and other devilish quali ties by monopolistic laws The church is today seeking to have the Constitution amended so that the Bible can be forced into the schools and such men as Judge Grosscup President Taft and other states men are in favor of that move probably for the sake of votes If it is at all pos sible I will attend your St Louis meeting Nov 14 and think I can go down Satur day night and come back Sunday night If you organize I would like to see a big broad proposition instead of a narrow one and I look to you and others to see that such is the product of your efforts Yours truly CHARLES McCORMICK Will Help the Cause TAMPA FLAI note the call for the St Louis Convention I profoundly re gret that my ago and the distance will pre clude the possibility of my attendance but I want to assure the good and bravo men and women who assemble there that I am with them for the great struggle I will become a member and will contribute the last cent I can to maintain an efficient lectureship Good cheer to nil and may unborn generations be grateful for all of our toil SincerelyJ M FROST Wants to Be a Member CIRCLEVILE OPut my name down to your now National Organization as I have been a worker and member of Free thought for years I am not well and cannot attend the convention but I will be there in thought and spirit I hope this will be the grandest time of your life Ac cept my best wishes for its success Yours fraternally ESTHER VAN RIPER MD Must Be Charter Member KANSAS CITY MO Your plan for a National Organization of Freethinkers looks good to me and as I cant be in St Louis I am writing you in order that I may get in as a charter member if pos sible Mr Charles Arlund 2633 Madison avenue Kansas City Mo asks me to so licit the same honors for him If there is any fee kindly notify us 1 have other friends in sympathy with the cause to whom it might be well to send a copy of the Blade or circulars pertaining to or ganization namely M A Stearncs Ward John Starkweather and Dr Shep herd all of Meadville Mo Also Verne Recce Slater Mo Sorry I cant give you more names from Kansas City but my ac quaintance hero is very limited With best wishes for the convention and your success L H REECE Two More Members LOUISVILLE KY Myself and wife j intend to go to St Louis to attend the Frcethought convention We are not mem bers of any Frocthought society but would like to become u member of such so you can count on us as charter members at St Louis Keep up tho good work I work with about 600 men in a shop and talk Frcethought every chance I get I in some hot arguments but always comeIout without a scratchGEO MUNZ PALMER BARBER COLLEGE- WANTEDlien or women to learn the Barbers trade or tellography White or Colored the latest hair and face Beautyi Work This is tho largest college in the United States75 chairs kept constantlyi busy A 25 tuition gives each one a 10 set of new tools Wages while learning and a steady job afterwardst PALMER BARBER COLLEGE 211 Third St LOUISVILLE KY WINTER TOURIST TICKETS TO THE SOUTHand SOUTHEAST ON SALE DAILY VIA QUEEN CRESCENT ROUTE GOOD RETURNING UNTIL MAY 31st 1910 For Particular call or write B C KING P T A Main St Ky i q l 14 BLUE GRASS BLADE Be Sure and Subscribe For Secular Thought t Fortnightly Journal of Rational Criti cism In Politics Science and Religion Organ of the CANADIAN SECULAR UNION AND THE SOCIETYIPublished at 185ft Queen St West To ronto Canada Terms U per annum in advance single copies 10 cents All communications for the Editorial de partment should be addressed J Spencer Ellis Secular Thought Queen St West 1oronto Can All Business communications orders for books printing etc should be addressed C M ELLIs Proprietor and Publisher Secular Thought Toronto Can THE WORLDS BEST WATCHES The Worlds Best Watches Mens Regular 18 size Hampden Special Ry 23 Jewels 26 New Ry 23 Jewels 20 Dueber Watch Co 21 Jewels 15 Dueber Grand 17 Jewels 8 15 Jewels 6 7 Jewels 450 Elgin or Waltham Veritas or Van guard 23 Jewels 29 Father Time or Crescent Str 21 Jewels 2250 B W Raymond 19 Jewels 20 Same A T Premier 17 Jewels 1850 Wheeler or P S Bartlett 17 Jewels nickle 9 Same gilt 7 15 Jewels 6 7 Jewels 5 i all in Silverine screw case In 20year Gold case 3 or in 25year case 5 more Every Watch fresh from factory prepaid with guarantee Send for prices of Watches not enumer ated here or order from any of my old pricelists Chains Fobs Diamonds Jewelry Optical Goods Freethought Badges Ingersoll Spoons i Ring Gauge and my great little tract Theism In the Crucible free OTTO WETTSTEIN- La Grange Cook County ILL The Woman and The Prospector Is the title of a romance every man woman andchild should read It should be in the hands of all who are opposed to supersti tion and graft as it is a protest against vaccination vivisection medical legislation and the administration of drugs to human beings at the same time points out the only method for the cure of the consump tive The booklet is really free but the cost of advertising and postage we figure at 10 cents so if you wish a copy send us 10 cents A M PARKER CANCER AFFLICTED LISTEN I CURE all external Cancers Tumors Wens Carbuncles Fistulas Felons etc Remove Birthmarks and other unsightly growths that disfigure human beings Can cers a Specialty I use liquid remedies I do not use knife or plasters Cure is abso lute unless beyond the power of man If you have a suspicious growth dont wait untilone foot is in the grave and the other caving in Please dont cry Fakir Fraud Graft etc until you investigate Write for free booklet DR H H DOW 858 N Raymond Ave Pasadena Calif WANTED Men or women to learn tho barbers trade or ladies beauty parlor work This is the largest college in the States A 15 tuition includes everything Steady practice wages while learning and position afterwards Write for catalogue PALMER BARBER COLLEGE 305 W Jefferson St Louisville Ky THE PROCESSION PLANETS Ion ihiwitte StitltiA Murrays Clearance Sale 75c for postpaid Byrons Forbidden Fruit Paul Berts Jesuit Morals Tolstois Root of Evil Sil coxs Sacredness of Man Livingston and tho Boers Murrays British Landlord Moses and the Prophets 30 Propositions of a Pagans Religion The Open Challenge Ten Commandments Bible Texts etc etc The total retail price of the lot comes to 75 cents I will send the whole together post paid for 30 cents NORMAN MURRAY 246 St James St Montreal Canada JUST OUT NAMING SONG AND BURIAL SONG FOR FREETHINKERS Each a Duet and a Concert Piece for Piano Also Variations for Violin Flute or Bells PRICE 25 CENTS EACH I have composed these songs for the benefit of Freethinkers or men of Common Sense who do not wish to insult our Cre ator with Bible rot QUIRIN BACHLEB 2277 Fulton St Chicago HI Give Em Fits Thats what THB SCARLET SHADOW Walter Hurts great rad ical novel doas to the forces of bigotry and perstition And the ular press of the country goaded by the churck element Is throwing a over It too No other novel of this decade has been so widely and so bitterly denounced by orthodox critics which Is sufficient proof that it Is all right It has cre ated a sensation In servative circles and aused consternation among the clergy It Is enthusiastically endowed by leading Freelthlnkers throughout the world You know how Hurt can write and In this book he Is at his best It la an elegant volume fit to ornament the finest library containing pages printed on heavy eggshell paper and bound In oxblood cloth Price 160 postpaid BLUE GRASS BLADE Lexington Ky BOOKS BOOKS THE MASTERPIECE LIBRARY Cheap reprints of the Masterpieces of the Great Modern Authors on the Christian Superstition published for Missionary pur poses by the Rationalist Press Association of London England The Riddle of the Universe Haeckel EducatlonSpencerThe the Idea of God Grant Allen Origin of Species Darwin Emersons Essays Herbert Spencers Philosophy Creed of Christendom Greg Spencers Essays Ingersolls Lectures andi Essays in 3 volumes Paines Ago of Reason The above is only a selection out of 75 Complete list mailed on application Price 25c each postpaid Six copies to one ad dress at one time 125- NORMAN MURRAY 246 St James St Montreal Canada 1 I 15tBLUE GRASS BLADE Naumans Orchestra E D NAUMAN Violin ANNA L NAUMAN Piano OTTO S NAUMAN Cornet or Clarinet Other Instruments Added If Desired Over 500 pieces of the best music suitable for any program always on band Phone 128 12 Lock Box 800 SIGOURNEY IOWA A TRIP TO ROME By DR J B WILSON This work is acknowledged to be one of the best descriptive literary efforts of the centuryA Freethinkers view of the old world and what he saw there Cloth125 postpaid BLUE GRASS BLADE Lexington Ky Evolution of the God Idea The Evolution of the God Idea by the late Grant Allen is one of the most remarkable books of the century 63000 copies have been printed and nearly all cir culated by the Rationalist Press Asso ciation of London in cheap form and is now offered for 25 cents postpaid by the American Agent of the R P A NORMAN MURRAY 246 St James St Montreal Canada BILLS fWENUE makes you cheerful and thoughtful It Is a personal department lu the WHEEL a grows on you You find yourself walling with Interest for what has to say next flN flMBRIOflN MflDONNfJI a ser i running byMaryfiction since Grant Allen and Is a beautiful presentation of the essentially modern problem of the Woman in Business THE WHBBL OF LIFEA monthly periodical It deals with OKIQINH the origin of Marriage of Ethics of Kellalon of Brotherhood of the belief In Immortality It treats broadly of Love of Human Instincts and Ideals It takes In the whole Wheel of Lifo treatln all subjects In such a clear plain and spicy way that the dust is shaken out and they become as In teresting as o novel to even the casual reader Bend cents for six months trial subscription or a quarter for a year CONFESSIONS O F fl- D RON Pby Joseph Medlll Patterson author of BROTHER OF TILE HIUII sent without extra charge with months trial subscription to the WHEEL OFLIFK Address LIFE PUB CO Desk A St Louis Mo She SearcHligHt A 20 Page Liberal Monthly Published by J D SHAW Waco Texas Price of Subscription 1 a Year Single Copies 10 Cents Write for a sample copy which will be sent free 1 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL O- FEUGENICS t BearerIFormerly Known as Lucifer the Light The Pioneer Journalin Modern Times an old and almost forgotten science U most important of all sciences a so nee successfully and openly taught and practiced by the ancient Greeks and Egyp tians but ignored defeated scorned by all modern nations vizthe Science of Right Borning the Science of Good Generation The Century Dictionary thus defines Eugenics Tho doctrine of Progress or Evolution especially in the human race through improved conditions in the rela tions of the sexes Its central thought is freedom of Moth erhood tho SelfOwnership of Woman in tho Realm of Sex and Reproductionin telligent and responsible Parenthood This much neglected this tabooed dis graced and almost unknown science was named Eugenics by Francis Galton a cousin of and coworker with the great Charles Darwin and now both in England and in Continental Europe is beginning to receive the attention its importance Journal of Eugenics is now in its 30th year of publication sus tained by a long list of able and well known contributors women and men of national and international reputation it is now published bimonthlystandard mag azine sizeat Los Angeles Calif price 1 a year postpaid single copy 15c Trialsubscribers will receive three back numbers less than a year old also a copy of the booklet Institutional Marriage a lecture by tho editor all for 25o in stamps or coin For salo by newsdealer publisherprices of standard English and American Eugenio publications Address 1319 Krlam Ave Los Angeles Calif h J bit Jl 17 411 r r IIII iOp l Mans Origin and Destiny By Dr A Hausman Alameda California This is the Greatest Book of modern tim s on the theory of Evolution applied to Sociology U will shortly be issued in book form by the Blue Gras Blade making a book of nearly 500 pages The author has dedicated it to Prof Ernst Haeckeland tllJ great Jena philosopher has accepted the dedicationt 5200 200 Subscribe Now and Save Money All charges of postage will be prepaid upon advance subscriptions Thefirst chapters are now in the press and publication in book form will follow its serial publication in the Blade columnsI Sa ascribe Now Subscribe Now JAMES E HUGHES Lexington Ky 1909 1909 Blue Grass Blade Bound volume Containing Fiftytwo Copies of The Blade and all handsomely t bound in Blue Buckram with gold letters 300 Reduced from last years priceM 300Subscribe NOW and get your name on the list in timer- A STILL BETTER OFFERA For Five New Subscribers For Five New Subscribers We will send ONE COPY of the Bound Volume FREE OF COSTITo any person sending us five new subscribers in one club at the regular rates before Dec 31 1909 THE CLUB IS PREFERABLE GET UP ONE SECURE A COPY FREE BLUE GRASS BLADE Lexington Kjr If J+ DJfw Q1mrrJl J 1 J JJ Lw t 1

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