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Blue-grass blade (Lexington, Ky.): n. Sunday, February 27, 1910.
Blue-grass blade (Lexington, Ky.): n. Sunday, February 27, 1910. Blue-grass blade (Lexington, Ky.). 400dpi TIFF G4 page images Blade Publishing Co., Lexington, Kentucky 1910 blu1910022701 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, February 27, 1910. Blue-grass blade (Lexington, Ky.). Blade Publishing Co., Lexington, Kentucky 1910 $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. BLUE GRASS BLADEVOLUME xvra LEXINGTON KENTUCKY SUNDAY FEBRUARY 27th 1910 Number 1 i DOUBT HIgh 1 IdrlierSep08 sJdr AND THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION 4Doubt a Bugaboo to Reliion and When 4 Rationally Exercised a Blessing and Benefit to Mankind By Channing Severance Over in Pasadena where pious people and plutocrats predomi nate a preacher recently selected for his sermon that awful crime now so common known as doubt Doubt said he is the dev il or the century and is charac teristic of the modern mindand lie proceeded in a vigorous sermon to condemn it and to pro- testf against its existence To the clergy there is no greater j evil than doubt because it leads to a rejection of Christianity and the twaddle they teach as theologians but no one else can look I upon doubt when rationally exer cised as anything but a benefit and a blessing to mankind for doubt and doubt alone prevents 1the holding of foolish ideas and the acceptance of errors and false hoods tuat would result in noth a ing but evil and injury if believed in Doubt said a noted writer wisdomjis all that is needed to explain the tenmity and the great hatred wjimli plnrey hnvo for tlio wordand its work Christianity cannot thrive and retain its grip on mens minds after they begin to doubt for doubt leads to inves- tigationI and that invariably shows it to be a compound of nonsense and superstition with nothing but a faith basis to rest on Christianity has no evidence to support its claims so it shuns investigation and damns the doubter who refuses to accept it without proof It has always done so and its founders knew its weakness so well and the inevita ble effect of doubt that they de clared in plain words the doubter was doomed but the believer would be saved Par 1900 years that premium has been offered for credulity by Christianity and it still retains its place in the holy scriptures af ter numerous revisions though a greater insult to human intelli gence could not be offered for it is a virtual defense of ignor ance and stupidity As far as known it is the only religion that ever resorted to such indefensible methods to perpetuate itself and that one thing is enough to con demn it without going any fur ther To threaten a man with the endless torments and tortures of hell for daring to think and use his reasoning faculties is an open admission that ignorance and blind belief are the only things Christianity can rely on to keep it alive And they arefor as general intelligence increases that hoaryheaded superstition wanes and peters out It cannot face the light of reason and live so it fights every effort made to force it to verify its claims If Christianity were true if it rested on solid facts that could not be impaired by its opponents it would fear the doubter no more than the mathematician who stands ready to prove any state ment he makes in that department by exact science It is true that hooknosed and baldheaded Jew Saint Paul who wrote so much of the New Testament and has done the thinking for so many millions of Christians once said Prove all things and hold fast that which is good but such a rule has never been applied to Christianity and never will be with the permission of those in authority The man who has demanded proof has always been sat down on and when the clergy I reigned supreme the love of Christ that tilled their hearts led them to see t the doubterthe investigator was either killed or imprisoned Would they do the same today Yes if they had the power for nothing exceeds the intolerance of the Christian cler gy who think they are instruments in the hands of God to con trol mens beliefs and actions They are so inflated with a sense of their own importance in the world that they expect the deference of all mankind and when any person dares to hold views at variance with theirs they feel insulted and consequently revenge ful for the Christian spirit wo read and hear so much about is revealed in a desire to rule and dominate and when unable to do so to inflict injury or some kind 01 ill opponents Let an unbeliever get into a stricty religious community and give expression to his honest thoughts and see how quickly he will be persecuted in some man ner for Christs sake and the good of religion The Christian relig ion can no more be separated from intolerance than matter fin the laws oil gravitation for there is a natural affinity between the two and they work in perfect harmony Believe or burn is the ulti matum of Christianity whose spokesmen are the clergy and in their estimation no punishment is to severe for the person who rejects Jesus and their services in saving souls This fact has been revealed all through the past and where the clergy have not been shorn of their power they are just as tyrannical as they ever were There are lots of people who think Christianity is now a mild form of love compassion and tenderness that the old doctrine of hell fire is dying out and it is mostly a moral force for the up lifting of mankind but let us not be deceived by any of its pro tean forms or its affected meek ness at times for its real nature never changes and it only waits an opportunity to be as tyran nical as ever If Christianity is really discard ing the doctrine of hell which it is freely admitted is not taught and dwelt upon so much as formerly will some one please tell us what it now means when it talks of saving souls What is it saving souls from if hell has been discarded and the bottomless pit no longer yawns for the doubter and the unbeliever To talk of saving souls when no hellexists to bo save from is to talk nonsense and as every orthodox church in existence still pro claims that saving souls is its bus iness this assertion alone is enough to show that hell has not been relegated to the region of discarded things if its reality and its horrors are no longer depicted as vividly as they once were Is not the Bible yet the word of God to all Christians and does not the book assert what it always did in regard to hellfire and brimstone Sure Mike and the doctrine of hell cannot be discarded until the Bible itself is re jected so it causes not only a sense of extreme weariness but strong disgust when told that intelligent clergymen no long er believe in that place or teach the doctrine it embodies Every preacher who baptizes a sinner does so to save him from the agonies of hell fire after death whether he says so in plain language or not and every victim of fear and delusion that he sprinkles or immerses thinks he is being made immune to that awful punishment which is to be visited on those who doubt and fail to be baptized Christianity means what it al ways meant and to disconnect it from hell and its horrors is to destroy it as a religious system or institution If hell is a myth as some people admit whQ call themselves Christians then the death and crucifixion of their Jesus was a needless sacrifice as no necessity can be seen for that supreme tragedy in his career ao to deny hell and to reject a uuuei in it is to cease to bo a Uimstian Ior one must swallow the whole rotten mess or he drifts into that state of unbelief charac terized as infidelity So let us not forgot what Chris tianity really it nor be sidetracked with the idea that it is now a system of moral suasion to make men better in which the fear of hell plays no part When a be lief in hell goes Christianity goes also for the whole structure is built up with that as its basis No one knows this better than the clergy and to perpetuate their graft to continue their bus iness they must prevent doubt if possible and keep society mental ly inactive on questions that les sen faith and destroy confidence in their teachings The decay of uhristiunity begun with the ap pearance of doubt and its death will eventually result from it the same being only a question of time and though the clergy fight against and strive to hold it in check their efforts cannot pre vent the inevitable end While we can not reasonably suppose that the end is very near for all su perstitions die hard and require much time we can and do see its sure and gradual decrease in power and influence So let every doubter express his doubts and hasten the good work by impairing faith wherever possible in the most foolish and absurd religion ever known as well as the most cruel iitfd fiendish in its doctrines and predictions HAS ADAM AND EVE A NAVEL By Andrew J Boyer- I do not know when this question was first submitted but sup pose it is as old as the absurd story of creation itself The question is by no means an improper or foolish one and can not be brushed aside by declar ing it silly It is a physicoquery and as such demands attention It is a scientific fact that every placental animal including map that is born living from a moth ers womb bears externally the distinct sign of its former phy sical connection with the mater nal organism in the form of a navelBefore the advent of modern scientific research heated con troversies arose over this question of a navel for Adam among the early Christians If Adam had a navel then he must have had a mother and hence could not have been the first man If he had no navel the opposition contended then he was no man How thoughtless in the Allwise Jehovah not to have settled this ques tion at the time he made Adam Certain it is the writer of the story failed to explain it and so the matter has como down to us to plague us Science of course waves it promptly aside and at one fell swoop banishes it as outside of the plane of serious consideration by Rationalists of today by utterly rejecting the silly story of creation as recorded in Genesis but during the Dark Ages which Christian superstition brought up on the world it was a very seri oils question It was long and seriously considered by the sev eral Ecumenical Councils of the early church and many bitter quarrels arose over it Like all other difficult ecclesiactical con troversies it was finally decided by the Pope who declared the question impious and ordered its discussion by the faithful to be discontinued But it was never settled and still remains a moot ed question among churchmen Did you ever hear the story of how an ingenious Yankee gained admittance into the realms of bliss by means of this question Jill After contending with Peter at theholderwhichPetered by the Yankee yet upon its solution depended his entrance through the pearly gates Peter proposed to line up the saints and let them pass the Yankee in review and if he succeeded in pointing out which were Adam and Eve he would be admitted to the happy throng The Yankee beganThemission soon pointed out the two antique ancestors of mankind inquiredhowno bellybuttons replied the Yankee and he was duly allowed to cityBut still remains Had Adam and Eve a NaveLWashington D C IGNORANCE AND SUPERSTITION THE GOD IDEA By C E Johnson If we are on the bright side of life and are interested in our selves neighbors and friends we want peace happiness and love Wo want progress and advancement socially and politically We want a better world to live in But if we are on the dark side of life we are apt to blame God for our bad luekour misfortune and just say It is Gods will We get downhearted wretched and miserable we pray God for mercy for help but the answer never comes Probably if we had been devoting our time to something useful needful or beneficial while praying to an imaginary God we would come nearer to getting that which we did not re ceive from God This idea of God a supernatural God born on the banks of th1 Nile in the savage brain of primitive man is the greatest curse and drawback of civiliza tion and progress today It was curse and drawback of civiliza tion and the enemy of progress up to today This idea of God little as it may sound is the bloodiest name ever penned by mortal man Every war of importance in the beginning of history up to now with all the horrors of shot and shell sword and bayonet blood shed and violence have been di rectly or indirectly caused by this idea of God Millions of lives have been lost rivers of blood have been shed countries have been destroyed until this old word is nothing but a clotted ball of blood whose outer edge is Still not dry from the cruel butch eries of the Jewish massacres by Christians in Russia Religion God Ignorance and Superstition is a cruel hydra headed monster which for thou sands of years has been the enemy to intellectual progress Wher ever it has dragged its slimy ill smelling carcass it has left dev astation and ruin in its wake The time is close at hand when Free thought Truth and Intel lect will carry this squirming monster of countless ages which has a record of millions of crimes cruelties and outrages back from whence it cameback to the banks of the turbid waters of the mighty Nile and it never to be resurrected Ilesson to the the agninI to push onward and upward may the progress of civilization be one grand march of all hu manity Modill Okla Joined 20 Churches in One Week San Jose Calif Feb 21Alh- ort Nier of San Francisco has joined 20 churches here in a week and swindled the pastors of each of them on the plea that he hind just moved into the city andwas destitute Nier was arrested and the preachers all seem willing to for give him but today when he confided to the police that the preachers are the easiest guys in the world the ministers be came indignant and stonyheart- ed As a result Nier will have to stand trial tomorrow REASONS WHY HE IS AN INFIDEL Holy Writ Contradicts Itself and Therefore Cannot be LTrue By E C Johnson I have numerous reasons for being an infidel first because the lloly Writ or Holy Lot con tradicts itself and that which contradicts cannot be true Next it does not agree with Astronomy Geology Ueography Mathemat ics and History 1 do not know when it was written I da not know who wrote it or when it was written It has been revised rewritten and translated parts rejected and accepted until it is a conglomerated mess of worth less reiuse which should go in the waste basket 1 do not believe miracles for nature does not perform miracles Neither can a man perform miracles such as changing water to oloodstones to bread raising the dead to life and hundreds of other unbelievable things that 1 might mention but it hardly worth white to do so 1 ottcn wonder why intelligent men and women believe such fool ishness such idiotic nonsense Why it is I can not tell unless it is the lack of courage or knowl edge If you will sit up and take notice of Christian hypocrisy of the ignorance and superstition that has enwrapped the world for two thousand years of the bloody wars of the cruel persecutions performed in the name of Christianity you will see that I have reasons for being an Infidel To those who accept the entire Bible as the literal word of God I would point out that it is nowhere so stated Christ tore asun der the Old Testament precepts the law of Moses and furnished new ones Where the Old Testa ment directed men to hate their enemies the teachings of Chrst were to love ones enemies- Is it not a fact that God was in the habit of punishing the wrong parties Why did God kill the child that Uriahs wife punishingYou say you believe that there is a future life Spiritualist say they know there is Why not go to them and have it demonstrated or do you value belief above knowledgeThe I would not make a good Christian is that I would be asking such questions as the not a mean thing in God toput Jacobs hip out of joint in a wrestling match YIWas it not a mean thing in God to kill Uzza while trying to do God a kindness Was it good in God to slay fiftyfour thousand people with out just cause Could the devil have done worse Vas it not a mean and cruel idea God had in making man and then making the devil with a stronger willpower than man If God is allpowerful allwise so kind and true why did he make moan and a devil uith a hell of fire and brimstone to sand his soul to eternal cruel miserable suffering iMy dear readers would you send your own children to hell when it was in your power to avert it Oh no n thousand times no would bo your answer Yet that is just what orthodox Christianity teaches that God will do with his own children Do you call this justice kind ness love and mercy or have you lived in the caves of ignor ance with the owls and bats of superstition until your linIer has become befogged andcob webbeduntil your life is a bur IniJlj densome loud of misery and fear afraid some little act will cause you to miss climbing tho golden stairs Dear fellowmen if you are so imprisoned throw off yoke of cruel despotic Christianity and step out into the beautiful sunlight of reason and truth and herald the new day the new era the new civilization with the banner of freedom happiness and loveThe fear of hell causes more misery than the hope of heaven produces joy This awful Wlongtthis cruel injustice of fear and misery that has been practiced on the human race for four thousandIyears should be stamped out and buried on the bloody battle fields of the misty past MadilJ Okla PATERNALISM In the January Uth issue of the Blue Grass blade a correspond ent in an answer to an attack on socialism says adoptedSocialism there will be no more capitalists wanting houses built It will be a government then that will pay the carpenters for the erection of our homes I fail to find anything that might lead to such an opinion in the last Socialist platform and doubt if there is at present any such program contemplated The Socialist Party has adopted the initiative and referendum and the right of recall therefore it is quite impossible to declare just what program will be put in effect when Socialism shall have been adopted Changes are from time to time made in the ideals as the majority of the party may decide In this respect Socialism may be seen to be far inferior to Christianity for the latter stands stout ly on the platform Thus saith the Lord Believe or be damned This relieves the followers from anything in the line of brain aef fort and renders presumptuous the very suggestion of progress But Socialism has Thus saith the Lord and is susceptible to very much change as the years go- by Made up to a large extent of the working people a people who since the beginning of history have been kept in ignorance that they might be duped and enslav ed it would be strange if they did not with victory in sight enter tain many extravagant and im practical ideas If the building of houses for everyone by the gov ernment actually be a part of the program as the B G B corre spondene implies it will serve to illustrate Tie great tint or object of cialism is to do away with SoIslavery or the present of paying the workers only a fractional part of what they pro duce If this practice can be abolishedand it can it must be admitted that it will do away with much of the poverty and misery It would not do away with all of it for men would still have the privilege of being tramps drunkards or beggars The only difference would be that they would not be FORCED into being any of these as many are at can be more irration al than the saying The remedy for poor government is more government The race has tried all degrees of government Continued on Page 4 BLUE GRASS BLADE FOUNDED By CHARLES CHILTON And edited by him untilMOOREI February JAMES E HUGHES Proprietor 126128 Uorth Limestone Street Lexington Kentucky- P Box SUBSCRIPTION RATES By mall postpaid 100 pr yr In advance Five new yearly subscribers at one mittance cents each Forelga subscriptions postpaid 160 per year ADVERTISING RATES One Inch single column Insertion cents one month or four Insertions 100 six months 600 one year 800 Quarter column insertion 200 one month 400 six months 2000 on year 3000 Half column whole column or larger advertisements at special rates von ap plication ALL SUBSCRIPTIONS to the Blade wl be discontinued at the expiration of th term for which the subscription ha been paid up in advance The addre slip on Lie paper will show subscribers thn date of expiration o subscription Back numbers or numbers omitted will be sent if asked for upon renewal case of discontinuance SHOULD ANY SUBSCRIBER change hl or her address advise this office giving ooth old and new ddress as desired THE OFFICE of publication of the is at 126128 North Limestone Street Lexington Kentucky to which all Free thinkers will be given a hearty wel come THE BLADE is entered at the roatoOlre at Lexington Kentucky as second claa mailing matter ADDRESS ALL COMMUNICATIONS TO JAMES E HUGHES Box Lexing on Kentucky BIBLE GLASS QUIZ 0The Philosophical Bible Class Book Bible Aiyths and Then Parallels in Other Religions by Doan The Class Reader rat reads the lesson for the day then the Quiz Master begins the Item ory Training of the class the quizinter receiving a satisfactory answer in substance reads the answer in the Quiz If a question has been put to three members of the class without a satisfactory replyI the reader without request proceeds to read that portion of the text covered by the question lhe question is then agate put to the class etc- Singing Cosmian Hymn 13tok Lesson for March 6 1910 The Trinity Chapter XXXV from page 378 to closa ot the Cl apterIQuestionIn the St Petersburg Museum can be seen a medal showing the Trinity in Unity by the Tartars Please describe the mcdalIAnswerIt represents a triple god seated on a lotus QIlow was idle Trinity in Unity represented even on the remotest islands of the Pacific Ocean A God the Father 1iheQ Describe the ancient and Peruvian t rinity- ATezeatlipochtle and Tlaloc one on his left the other on his rightQIn 1545 Bishop DONi Bartholomew de las Casas sent an ecclesiastic Francis Hernandez to the Indians with a catechism of preachWhatthe year followingtlAThut the Indians believed in the God who was in heaventI that this God was the Father these Son and the Holy Ghost and that the Fathers name was Yzo rnaof a virgin and that the Holy H J J Ghost was called IlethallQIn speaking of tho Peruv FlltherIAeosta dIt is strange that the devil after his manner hath brought a Trinity into idolatry for the three inagcs signified the Father and Lord Sun the Son Sun and the Brother Sun Q What did Father Acosta Chu1qtlesmahim that the Indians worshipped an idol called Tangatanga which they said was One in Three laud Three in One A1hat the devil by his in ftnalaud obstinate pride whereby he always pretends to make himself God did steal all he could from truth to employ it in his lying and deceit QThe statue of the principal deity of the New Granadian Indians had three heads on one body and was understood to be what AThree persons with one heart and one will QThe mythology of the whole world shows us what AThat all the people of the earth worshipped a Triad God QWhat did the learned Tho mas Maurice imagine concerning the universal mystery of the Trin ity doctrine JThat it must have been re vealed by God to Adam or to Noah or to Abraham or to somebody else QAfter the followers of the Christ Jesus had made him a god did they venture to declare- e him as God himself in human formA Not until a long time after Q1Vho was the first one to promulgate the opinion that Jesus i Nazareth Son of God was DeityiicenturysQThev7 which reads thus For there are three that bear record in hea venthe Father the Word and the Holy Ghost and these three are one JJis what- AOne of the numerous inters polations which were inserted in to the books of the New Testa theseewere Q Do preachers know that the foregoing passages are forgeries willful and wicked in terpolations AYesQThe mysterious Triad or Trinity were agitated where AIn the philosophical and Christian schools of Alexandria EgyptQDid the Trinity mystery have any part in the established Christian faith ANoQ did the Christians adopt the Trinity JAt the Council of Nice and Constantinople 327 A D QWhere did the Trinitarian controversies first breakout AIn Egypt Q What position did Arius of Alexandria hold in regard to the Sonship of the Trinities Afhat there was a time when from the very nature of sonship the Son did not exist and a time at which he commenced to be asserting that it is nec essaril a condition of the filial relation that a father must be older than his so- nQThe Council of Nice disposed of the conflict over theI Trinity and set forth a formula or creed and attached to it anJ anathema Please state the word of this anathema AThe Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church anathematizes those who say that there was a time when the Son of God wasI and that before he was 1Igotten he was not and that hrI was made out of nothing or out of another substance or essence and is created or changeable or alterable HISTORICAL ACCOUNTS OF CHRISTIAN TEACHINGS By Joel M BerryJ Hundreds of years before our present system of Christian teaching appeared the world was filled with Gospels and Bibles of various kinds Christ and Mirac ulous Conceptions and births was tho order of the day So when is came to write up our present system of Biblical teachings all had to do was to copy from of the original writings I fail to find one statement in our present Bible teachings but what is can find a precedent for it in gospels written from one to one thousand years before its time in 1111 Daring Attempt to Steal Blade Rival Sheet Purloins Our Mail List and Marks Papers AccordIingly- Subscribers Refuse to be Buncoed and CallIthe Game We print below a letter that is simply u sample of many we receive It indicates very clearly the extent to which the effort to steal the Blade outright has gone The Blade has entered into no arrangement with any paper to fill any unexpiredsubscriptions Subscribers who are in arrears for subscriptions to the Blade owe the Blade and no one else The Blade refuses to be stolen You may stab us in the dark but you shall not kidnap us outright Rend this letter MoGojfNELsviLLE 0 February 14 1010 Bn0HUGIiESr 1 This is ground hog day nd like him I am in my hole Now Brother Hughes I have a little something to say to you and it is this Mr Charlesworth sendk me his paper I did not subscribe for it at all but on the wrapperhe has May Now that was the time my subscription was up Now I owe the BladeI and not him Am I not right I enclose wrapper Let from you please J H W The Gospel of Paul in our pres ent system seems to take the lead It is claimed to have appeared in the first century Then there was a man named luarcion a follower of Paul who wrote a Gospel He was a native of Sinope a town of Asia JNiinor on the South shore of the slack Sea 1 could fill pages with the names of the different Gospels then extant but space will not permit it here However I will give the incidents of some of them the first character in Christian history is Jonn the Baptist lie comes preaciimg m toe wilder ness ol dines nut doesnt say a word or even mention tile name oi any Jesus of iNaxaretii The Uos per account of the death of John the baptist is this In Jilatthew and earn it is related that the uaughter of licrodius danced fore Herod and he was so well pleased that he offered her any tiling she would ask She con suited her mother and they re quested the King to give them the head of John the Baptist on a charger The King sent for him and hud him beheaded on the spot Pretty good for the girl but rather rough on the preacher II The next character is Christ himself lie is said to have been begotten of a virgin by the overshadowing of a Holy Ghost This event does not appear to have been mentioned in either heathen Jewish or Christina history until more than a hundred years after is said to have taken place who had already laid the foundation of the Christian struc ture seems to have known nothing of either Christ or his teach ingsMany attempts have been made to write the life of Christ but it a diflicult undertaking for anyone to write up the history of aIman who says I und my father are one IIHe that secth me hath seen the father IIetc Writing up the history of Gods more than we can attempt or even a man of whom his parentage and age at time of death were doubt The very thought of giving the history oft man claim ing an immaculate or miraculous oirih is simply ridiculous We will let tile ministers do that isext in line comes trio Apostle Paul Thousands of volumes have been written concerning this man That he was the one who did the worn is manifest from these wonderful epistles written in the first century and which are still extant the most of which are at the present day considered gen uine and in case any genuine writings are to be found in the Bibic it is our opinion that those of Paul come in first We like them because Paul doesnt claim to have written them under inspiration of any one but himself lie says That which I speak 1 speak it not after the Lord II He also tells us that on one occa sion he tells a lie in order that the grace of God might the more abound But that is nothing allministers are liable to do that Of the life of Paul we know but little It is stated by one writer that Paul was seven times im prisoned and according to the Christian Fathers was martyred at Rome A D 67 or 68 One of the earliest Christian writings was the Acts of Paul and Thecla It was a romance Thecla who was engaged to be married had heard Paul preaching from an upper window fell in love with him deserted the former lover and followed Paul She became a devoted Christian and finally a martyr She was held in high esteem by the Christian Fa thersAnother interesting story is presented of Paul and Perpetua She sees him dragged through the streets of Rome in irons had compassion on him and wept bitterly Paul asked her for her handkerchief She gave it and it was tied around his head She had but one eye The handkerchief was returned bloody When she received it her other eye was restored She was thrown into prison and finally with a great stone tied to her neck was thrown over a great precipice and drowned Paul hud bal luckwith his lovers I T THE BIBLE Iii rftl HOGATEG By Joel M Berry After u careful study of the Bible or the inspired word of God ns it is called for over sixty years we have lung ago como to the conclusion that no being wo could honestly call n god ever spoke wrote or inspired any other being to write a word in the would be limiting his power to that of man to suppose that ho did Man needs help Qod never Tho God we love admiro and believe in is ono who is capable of helping him self and in case any help is needed it is I that needs the help not God The Bible God is in our estimation an entirely too changeable unkind mid revengeful being for us to put our trust in At one time he would seem to be all right then in n jiffy ns it were lie would seem to b1 all wrong Too fluctuating entirely for n God At one time ho is represent ed as a God of lovekind merciful und tenderhearted but at other times ono of the most furious vengeful tyrants the world ever heard of Can we as intelligent beings be blamed and called heretics because we refuse to put our trust in such n changeable God as that Just listen for a moment to what ho says For I am the Lord I change not See Dial 30 Then will right away say Wherefore the Lord God of Israel sayeth I said indeed that thy house and the house of thy father should walk before mo forever But now the Lord sayeth Ba it far from me See 1st Sam 23031 If the above was the only instance in the Bible it would be sufficient to destroy confidence of any honest un prejudiced person in their estimate- of an unchangeable God Then in speaking of his mercy and kindness it says The Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy James 511 Then says I will not pity nor spare nor have mercy but destroy them Jer 1314 Which one of the above are we to believe if either Neither one for us One writer will state that he has seen God face to face while another will state that no man hath seen God at any time One will say that God heIman dict him Verily we say nol We dont charge any being we could call God with falsehood or deception but we do charge the writers of the Bible with lying about God most shame find the same tiling repeated when we come to the New Testament The writers would try to make it pear that it was Jesus himself who was doing the talking while truth is wo dont find either the name Lord God or Jesus signed to a word in the book as author Wo lookup on both the Bible God and Jesus as being nothing more than myths though in the case of Jesus there may have been a person whom they tried hard to make believe was some timing more than mortal and a Savior of men but when it comes his turn to die he objects strenuously and could not even save himself let alone saving others We need to be on the lookout for Saviorsof the world The world has been fullof them from the earliest ages is full of them today but wo have yet to learn that just one poor soul has ever been saved through their they make a fearful mistake when they promise that Jesus is go ing to return again No dead person ever has or ever will come or be raised to life again after breath lies left tho body Natures inviola ble laws are never violated So they may as well decide at once to look up a new Jesus They will never see Jesus of Nazareth again on this earth It is stated in Bible that ifn prophet be deceived I tho Lord hath deceived him See Ezo 149 And as many as 400 prophets are said to have been deceived at one time 1st Kings 220 And Lord said unto him Wherewith And ho said I will go forth and n lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets Tho Lord told him to go and that ho should prevail also See 1st Kings 22dchapter Now in the face of such teaching as the above what is tho honest searcher for truth going to do BeI licvo it all and call it the inspired word of God Some might do it but for our part we would not dare do it for in that case we would bo charging very person we call the God of Truth with deception and lies Then in case the Lord deceives his prophets is it not likely that he ceives the other writers of the Bible also No being that we could honest ly calla God has ever deceived or mistreatedone of his subjects That would slot ho godlike So the best all wo possibly do with our a present system of Gods Bible unit Bible writers is to discard them all and make a lot to suit ourselves The Blade Is Yet Alive SYCAMORE KANSAS The Blade is yet alive and is getting bolter longer it lives You arc the right man in the place tiny you live long and pros peel is my wish and to help keep the wolf from the door I enclose 100 to advance my sub subscription another year I am greatly encouraged at the outlook for Prccthought and Social ism Prom your friend J F MAYO Hopkins Bleaching Gloves rromelt tbtelat slut wloeTa eodClauLNImtt1 Dd1nt2eaoi iui claela- sauorlSEtSBuckbces Full Life Northern Pedigreed have a years a growing behind them It the Specialties BEANSEarliest Valentine Extra Early Strlngless s Imp Wax White Wax Curries Rust Wax PEAS Extra Alaska Early Gradus Horsfords Market Garden Buckbeca Lightning Express fjoo Lettuce Tomato and a line of pricesSendyour and quote stoneyWriteH W BUCKBEE A TRIP TO ROME by DR J WILSON The International Congress of Free thinkers was held In the City of Rome Italy September The author attended that Congress as the American delegate It Is an account of travel and personal experiences that has received an universal encomium from press and people In It religious dogmas and tales of priestly fiction are ruthlessly exposed while the general style Is without parison In American literature of travel Cloth bound pages Illustrated Address orders to SLUE GRASS BLADE Lexington Ky FENNEL In THE ORIENT by Charles Chllton Moore When a young man the author had started out to walk through the Holy Lands on foot Reaching Paris he gave up the journey and returned home He made the trip by rail and boat about three years before his death This book gives an account of what he saw and explodes numerous Christian myths It Is especially suitable for a present Cloth Bound Pages Postpaid 125 Address orders toIBLUE GRASS BLADE Lexington Ky 1000 BOOK for 100 BLUE Iv iASSoBLADEp 120 ishBrSJ III Box Lexington ICYI IIImakes WIIEEIBILL otLlberalactlonpresentation of the essentially modern problem of the Woman in Business LIFEAORIGINS tho orient of Marrlauo of Ktlilrg InImmortalityHuman Instincts and Ideals It taker subject5lusuchdust Is shaken out and they become as In terestlng as a novel to even the casual trialsubscrlptlon fDRONEOF1ffE6itmnntheetrialniibscrlptlontothe OF Address fIFE PUB CO Desk A St Louis Mo J+ T t t Blade Mail Bag t M l Terse and Pithy Comments from Various Readers on Sundry Subjects Celebration of Paines Birthday at Jvlmetta Ohio 1jJTTA OOur miiiusil itut iicctiuy piaue J b iuiii out of our town papers published the program as requested with lames picture The next day the Times printed a good report under the head lines 41aule iviemonul held Good Pro gruuu Presented at Public Meet mg The llegiscerLeader re peated the program and said A rairsized crowd Aias present and greatly enjoyed the intcrisliug program It had a fine little ed itonoi about it being the birthday of two of Americas noted men Thomas Paine the distinguished patriot and William McKinley soldier and statesman late Presi dent of the United States I had told the editor to be sure to mention Mr McKinley us the people might forget him whila there was no doubt about th ir remembering Pain j The edit orin went on to say that Paine memorials of different kinds were being held all over the land The audience was much larger than could have been expected and nearly half were strangers to me which proves that it pays to have the celebrations public IMiss Flossie Reed touched the hearts of the audience with her songs Far Away and the al ways popular Old Kentucky Home II She was accompanied on the piano by Mrs Metcher who also accompanied Mrs Mac Donalds song Thomas Paine which was listened to with in tense interest Her recitations were fine as every one who has heard her will believe When Lucinda Sings parts of Rock of Ages and Swing Low Sweet Uhanot which were given in full tones keyed to exactly suit thersingers voices Angelim a Johnson gave pleasant variety to the program by bringing in dancing tAir Coil who was chair man has had so much to do that 1 had not the face to ask him for a speech He read the last number of The Crisis He is a good reader and showed by appropriate emphasis his high apprecia tion ot Paine s writings At the- close of the printed program he volunteeredan enthusiastic speech for Paine and read some out of the first number of The Crisis He thoroughly understands Paines religion and always explains it to an audience seeming to realize that is where Paine is misrepresented so often All Freethink ers should be grateful to Mr Coil I for his work for Paine It has been so very efficient partly be cause of personal popularity and partly because of the prestige his profession gives wr Follette too has earned our gratitude Being Prosecuting Attorney and County Hum ane Officer he is a very busy man and could get time to read at the conIstitutionon the program and hurrying away to an official meeting in the midst of M Coils reading At- our centennial he eulogized Paine for his humanity a1programwas a me to know him well enough to say something in his praise at the kind of a meeting that would meet his approval so entirely Tune annual Paine day for the newsboys and messengers came on Feb 4th when all went to Pin afore The opera was well done the singing beautiful and the dancing between the acts charm ed every one The presents are always given on Jan 29 This year they were pictures of Paine his name and the date Jan 29 1910 with calendars below HELEN M LUCAS Paino Banquet in the Oity of Brotherly Love PHILADELPHIA Penn The homes Paine Banquet was the litItrarylean Lincoln a student and ad 1rn mirer of the writings of Thomas mute Tne cleatS of ponio a century ago brought into ute jjarwiu Poe Uhopin and otner ramous men in Sci ence statesinanslujpoetry and music at our last banquet we had 85 present tins year j20 covers were spread and as jfaine was a very religious man and to be prepared against the arrival of an exPres ident from Africa three clergy men were present to give the at xoir a sanctimonious appearance The itev Dr Jjrank an cpiscopa nun clergyman delivered a bene diction at the close A few nun utes later tue Sunday was usher ed into existence the program was published in the Ulaae last week and though it was long we commenced early and had a very enjoyable evening There is a constant and increasing interest in Thomas rain as is seen by tae young persons present and the increasing demand for Paine literature 1 enclose for review by Dr Wilson or Mrs Henry the latest pamphlets issued by the Combin ed Paine Associations which the members will receive by sending their names to the Secretary and others by sending 25 cents can have them mailedto them They via give the Blade readers a trip to the beautiful city of New Rochelle NL where Paine was buried a century ago The illus trations are fine halftones of the dedication ceremonies portrait and autographs of M D Conway Wilson lUacUonald the sculptor Mayor Clarke Dr Foote Uapt Lloyd of New Rochelle T B Walcenian Mr Schroeder the clergyman who delivered the ben ediction The monument with lira Elbert Hubbardspeaking and last the compiler of the rpjajnpJblej2ei vo butte a number we will furnish the literary trip to the farm of Paine which was once the property of a Tory that was forfeited and given by the State of New York to Thomas Paine for his patriotic services Excursion rates are 25 cents about 800 miles trout the Blade office Very truly JAMES B ELLIOTT Sec 3515 Wallace St Enclosed please find 100 to help keep the Blade sharp Sent a Thrill Through Him ABILENE TEXYour Blue Grass Blade surprised me in its old familiar garment It sent a thrill through my whole system so just send it along I am yours CrulyIt LILIUS Doubling Up for Missions iST LOUISDear Old Blade I promised to read the news and send you some comments occa sionally but I have been oh so busyand you know what becomes of good intentions The most interesting thing that I have seen lately is the plan of the Protestants to take 140000 this year out of St Louis instead of 66697 and spend it on Foreign Missions thus more than doubling their donation of last year This means that there will be more hungry mouths in St Louis in 1910 than in 1909it means that workers must do with out some of their luxuries 1 that we will get along with fewer city improvements for you can rest assured that the rich of this city are not going to cut down on any of their luxuries They are going to cut business expenses or perhaps turn in less taxes However this Laymens Mis sionary Convention is not going to stop at St Louisnot permanently but just long enough to raise 14000 more or lessthen they will push on further to other cities with hungry poor until they have secured from this Uni ted States 40000000 to be used to befuddle the brains of the RusIsiaAmerica They say this fund is to be used among the heathen andI pagan people but as you the countries above named lire 0 t + N ++ t + t + + ++VV 1 i 19091909 I- y t i Blue Grass Blade Bound volume i 2 t Containing Fifty tw o Copies of The Blade and all handsomely ii bound in Blue Buckram with gold letters i Y 2 300 Reduced from last years price 300 i 2 Subscribe NOW and get your name on the list in time t 4- i P A STILL BETTER OFFER 21 For Five New Subscribers For Five New Subscribers We will send ONE COPY of the Bound Volume i 3FREE OF COST i tToany person sending us five new subscribers in one club at the regular rates before Dec 31 1909 t THE CLUB IS PREFERABLE GET UP ONE SECURE A COPY FREE y L fBLUE GRASS BLADE Lexington Kr i 9 2+ largely Catholic What does all this mean Are they forming a trust to fight the Catholics or are the heathens really increasing so rapidly as to attract attention I think it is the former I think that the Catholics are making more money out of their graft than the Protestant churches and the latter are combining for a last fight in their desperation- Is it not about time that Infi dels should awake and loosen up- their purse strings Can you find a city in the United States with ten Infidels who will give 1000 each in 1910 and pledge themselves to secure 30 other men to do likewise tb raise a fund to drive Christian power out of Russia Italy Mexico and Latin America If we had such a fund we could civilize the above named nations and leave them without a beggar or jobless man Ten business men of this city have pledged themselves to give each 1000 in 1910 and each man lots pledged himself to find three other men to do like wiseBut does not this allmean that the church realizes that it is lading power Prof H T Sutton says that One church takes an hour to raise 60 for foreign mis sions but raises 600 for a soloist in five minutes Does this not prove that the people want loists and dont want foreign missions Does it not prove that after all we are becoming civilized and when we see the shivering and hungry at our doors we think best to spend our monew at home Is it not a shame that these Catholic countries referred to who are now suffering from too much religioncompulsory religion must yet have more re ligion crammed down them when what they really need is a full days pay for a full days work and the privilege to spend it as they please Wake up ye Rip Van Winkles wake up and with the object lesson of your opponents before you spend your money NOW to fur ther the cause of Freedom and Justicespread Light and Wis dom and dont leave your dol lars piled up for some Christian relative to turn over to the Church after you have crossed over You will have enough to worry over in the lower region to which you have been consigned without swearing over the way John and Mary are spending your wishes to you and yours friend Hughes and if you want to use any of this in The Blade do so if not toss it out Just wianted to let you know we are religious over here E IZABFJlITVlLEY Likes the Nev Blade FRANKLIN PENN Brother Hughes I have been aware for some time of my position in the D L Class but trusting in your forbearance longsuffering and mercifulness in deserved wrath have left settlement of your due until all other acts were squashed Now this is the last I 0 U t f tt 2 2 t 517 ett t ti Searchlight 4 2 A 20Page Liberal 4 Monthly 0 s Y 1Published by J D SHAW Waco Texas t r j W i Price of Subscription STa Year tx x t 2 Single Copies 10 Cents i I so 2i Write for a sample copy which will be sent free yIff H H H N H N NON N N K H N N N N N H N N NQN OONO + + 144 t i in my calendar I like the new dress of the Blade better than the old and the tone and contents of each number is an inspir ation that I greatly appreciate living as I do in a strenuous Godly community ana not one Thinker in sight or within miles of me and to vary the monotony of nothingness I attended a Meth odist protracted effort made to increase the number of the lambs and line them up for shearing The skypilot an olltimer gave them hell in heavy jolts modify ing or shifting some responsibility by declaring These are Gods words not mine There are several old grayheads in the neighborhood that the SP and his friends were anxious to have brought into the fold They said that if Bowman started they would follow The SP asked mo if I could not make a move to help them1 start the ball said that if 1 would even rise for the prayers of the church it would be so much help I told them they could pray for me if they cared to but I would pray to my hat and get as much results as they would by praying to the God of Moses They said I was a cow ard afraid to join the praying circle One old simler a very ig norant man in poor health and afraid to die in his sins asked me if I would go with him to the bench if he came to church I told him I would So I went and four or five old Rebels some of them backsliders lined up Then there was a hullabaloo They told mo how to pray and what to for They had visions of prayI their belts and stars in crowns some were gloriously blest and the house rang with shouings and hallelujahs and they told of the goodness of God washing all their sins away and Brother Bowman must tell what Continued on Page 4I If you want to be of ser= vice to the cause you es= pouse and at the same time help some of your friends you can have The Blade sent to ten of them one year for Five Dollars WINTER TOURIST TICKETS TO THE SOUTHand SOUTHEAST ON SALE DAILY VIA QUEEN CRESCENT ROUTE GOOD RETURNING UNTIL MAY 31st 1910 For Partlculu call on or write a KING P T A101 Hiln St t tBlade Mail Bag h TTTY + + + + + Continued from Page a God had done for him 1 told them I was not seeking religion- or salvation but if their Goi would hear their prayers and reveal himself to me in any way according to their declaration and his will i would acknowledge him before all men but it made little dilterence to me whether they prayed for salvation or damna tion The latter might be the most fitting and the easiest to comply with and show forth more fully his power and goodness The they told me how sorry Id b e when I came to die I told then how glad Id ue to die three o r four times to please them an 3 gratify the vengeance of their Lord If this had been a century tury ago I would have been cole ashes before midnight I am past 70 and have lived for years with out any fear of God or Hell and no hope of salvation through Christ and no desire for a place in the heaven of the Unknown God With best wishes for your success in the cause of truth am as ever yours for right closed find 1 to apply on acct J W BOWMAN Glad to See Old Blade Again BRUNSWICK MAINEMr James E Hughes I am very gla- to see the old Blade back again the old form with Bro Moores familiar face in the Northwest corner I lost heart when youI dropped the old form but seeing it again brings back the old times when Charley used to put on his war paint and kick over the beegums and whoop her up for scalps and he used to get em Most Freethought papers are too easy on those fellows of the cloth They dont let up on us fellows whenever they get the chance and I hope you will hand it to them hot and fast as you used to Once when I tried to get some subscribers for it an old woman said her cow gave bloody milk for three weeks after she read it and another one said that reading such a paper it was no wonder I went blind Well I can see again and I will continue to risk it i you will keep her a coming Enclosed please find 1 Hoping you will have success I am yours etc WM L HAM Enjoys the Blade JasjEfind 500 as I am due you on my subscription to the Blue Grass Blade for a year or more Let me know when this is out as I enjoy your paper very much having always been a Freethinker myself Yours trulyW D COLLIER Go On With Your Noble Work MADILL OKLA Dear Sir I am sending you herewith a short article for the Blade which you may publish if you deem it wor thy of the space I am preparing- an article for the Blade The Bible What Is It which I will submit for publication pretty soon if you can use it May the grand old Blade go on with its noble work Yours in Free thought C E JOHNSON Paper Will Still Come To You QjUASQUETOAVN IOWA J E Hughes Dear Sir My time I see has expired on the Blade and just at the present time I am not financially fixed to renew but I do not want the paper to stop coming for I would almost as P soon think of going without my regular meals as to think of miss ing the weekly issues of the Blade Now the reason I am fi nancially embarassed is that my berry crop was almost an entire failure last season I have al most four acres in small fruits and put in nearly if not all my time attending to them and ex pect to make a living for wife and I off of that four acres but the last season was terribly dry here just when the berries needed plenty of rain We had 65 days of dry weather That put my berry crop on the dry side and I came out financially behind So you see Bro Hughes where I am But if nature does what is right this season I will be able to make ends meet so that I can pay up for the paper provided you con tinue to send it to me I thought v at one time the Blade was going to wind up but now I think different and hope it will continue in the good work and will be able to testify every week at the meet ing it and I will have for when I used to belong to the M E church we were asked to give in our experiences or testimony at every Thursday night meeting Now I have quit that and am reading all the Freethought pa pers I can get which is four and would take more of them if I was able In reading them I dont hear the same humdrum story every week of my life like the class meeting was but something different every weeksomething I can learn that is new and inter esting Now Mr Hughes it is up to you whether you will send me the Blade and I will remit as quickly as finances will admit With best wishes for success to the Blade I am truly yoursA D STONEMAN IFrom Old Bro Coffin SPRINGFIELD OMr J E Hughes Dear Sir Enclose- find one dollar in payment for my ond have made in your paper It makes me feel good and recalls old times to see the picture of my old friend Chas C Moore at the head of your paper as it was orig inally designed by that noble hearted grand old man Respect fully yoursE G COFFIN Old Friend Heard From MARIETTA OHHOMy Friend Hughes As it has bee some time since you have hear from me I thought I would drop you a line or so to inform you that I have not forgotten you together or the cause for which you are struggling By the opera tion that has taken place in the Blade it will not hurt her to yof0 many hard storms to be wrecked by a squall of these dimensions As far as wearing crepe for th death of the Blade is concerned- we dont intend to do so And now to a little business The lis of names I sent to the Blade will have to be revised I will payout of my own pocket the last names for the last year fro time fact they both told me to have the paper stopped at the end of the year and as I did not do so I will make the matter right and I am going to send you a bunch of new names as soon as I can find time to do a little extra work And by the way if the next is sue is a Paine Issue I hope you will resurrect my poem to him which appeared in the issue of Jan 26 1908 Reprint it and credit me with it As it appeared there is no name signed or no tell ing who wrote it and I think this is due me and I hope you will straighten this matter out Will write you again soon andremit what is due you from a financial standpoint So wishing you and the Blade the greatest success I am your friend WM H COX tNONOT DEAD By J H Whitaker They said the Blade was dying I knew somebody was lying It is now out in its old clothes And may live forevermorewho knows Some people would like for it to die But I assure you it is not I It had a small financial chill And really was a little ill But now its health is very good For it has had the best of food And again it does appear In many a home far and near Its pages four are clean and bright Its Freethought principles are just right It will enlighten and amuse For it is edited by Mr Hughes Now let us help this gentleman And do our part wheneer we can If its only the widows mite Send ittwill be all right + + N + + + 1Jt fA t Mans Origin and Destiny egi I Dr A Hausman Alameda California A IBy 0 of modern times on the theory of Evolution applied to Sociology tItill be issued in book form by the Blue Gras Blade making a book of nearly 500 pages Time author has Z dedicated it to Prof Ernst Haeckel and tiz great Jena philosopher has accepter the dedication I t 200 2 OOo ISubscribe Now and Save Money I Allcharges of postage will ho prepaid upon advance subscriptions The first chapters are now in the press and publication in imme follow its serial publication in tho blade columnsISuoscribe Now Subscribe Now I IJAMES E HUGHES Lexington Ky i + + A + + And now to Editor and subscrib toodyou a fond adieu May happiness prosperity and love- Descend upon you It like a dove McConnelsville 0 THE GREATEST WONDER OF THE WORLD +By A Lutterman The greatest wonder of the world is that people otherwise intelligent confess that a dead Jew can take away all their sins onlyla Last week I noticed an illustra tion in the M E Church by a magic lantern show that a moral man could not enter into heaven unless he plunged himself into the blood of Jesus The illustra walkinguout on g about sixteen feet from the shore over the great lake filled with the seeethe New its splendor but his plank gootworks wOl not a in heavenBut looked upon that great andmwomen who crimes of all shadesthieves murderers liars rascals and rogues who were all hurrying to that great city where they were being admitted as qualified citi zens And as I looked upon that picture I thought to myself This is a true illustration of modern Christianity and it but served to strengthen my belief that a Christian cannot be a moral man THE TRUST OF THE PRESENT TIME By A Lutterman In God We Trust our Dollar says But no we trust just what it pays And he who has no ready cash Will find his trust to be but trash Your house and home is to be sold When trust demands his trust in gold In God We Trust the parson says But still its true they want their pay In dollars or cents or glittering gold To buy their bread and save your soul They preach for pay and trust in you And not in Godno that wont do In God We Trust and in our guns We trust in warships of a thous and tons We trust in armies and enlarge them still To nurse our trusts but not to kill All this we do with willing hands To spread the truth in other lands In God We Trust we still obey When trust will tell us what to say True speech and press will not b e known When God and trust are on the throne The last farewell the trust will say In God we trust thou hast thy way- LYING itABOUT INGERSOLL By George MacDonald Last June it came to our notice that David Eugene Olson an evangelist had repeated from the pulpit and published in the re ligious preSs East and West the affidavit of one Arclie E Berry of St Johns Oregon that his father Joehiel S Berry was the brother of Mrs It G Ingersoll and received the dying confession and recantation of Colonel Inger soll in the presence of his daughter Maud R Ingersoll Berry also affirmed that Mrs Ingersoll was a strict Baptist and that Col Ingersoll advised his daughter to live the life of her mother Every statement in the affidav it was untrue No one named Berry was near Col Ingersoll at Ingedr she had no brother named Berry she was not and is not a Baptist nor did Miss Ingersoll receive any such advice from her father Colonel Ingersoll did not con fess or recant and to have advised his daughter to live the life of her mother would have been to recommend that she should live that of himself since their lives were the same Mrs Ingersoll being like her husband a FreethinkerThe was exposed in the Truthseeker of June 19 and that the facts reached Evangelist Olson there can be no doubt Nevertheless while conducting revival services in Silverton Or egon during the present month Evangelist Olson repeated th falsehoods of the affidavit an when local Freethinkers challenged its truth he brought the affiant to Silverton placed him in the pulpit and had him reiter ate the statement that he is a nephew of Mrs Ingersoll and that Miss Maud Ingersoll was present when her father made his confession to Joehiel Berry Time Freethinkers next came out with a fourpage publication called the Agnostic issued as a supplement to the Silverton Leader in which our article of June 19 entitled Lying Extraordinary is given in full with other matter appropriate to the issue The Lender announces that Evangelist Olson has purchased a page in which to reply A subscriber in Silverton ap plied to the Truthseeker for a re statement of the denial and we are glad fo be able to forward the following My Dear Mr Mac onnld I most emphatically deny that Mr Archie E Berry or his fath er heard my father recant in my presence or in the presence of any other person Neither Mr Berry nor his fath er is known to me or to any mem ber of my family My father never recanted to anyone and any person who says that he did or abets him in such an assertion wilfully cruelly and maliciously lies- Sincerely yours MAUD R INGERSOLL New York Dec 8 1909 My Dear Sir MacDonald I wish to deny most emphatic bytheie Berry is my nephew My fa thers name was Parker my mo thers name was Lyon and I have no knowledge of any one by the name of Berry in any branch of either family I will give the Rev David Olson one thousand dollars if he proves that Arohie Berry is my nephew and one thousand dollars more if he proves that he or his father or anyone else heard my husband recant on his deathbed or at any other time The whole recanta tion story is a monstrous lie Last June I exposed the Rev David Olson and I wish to declare that every time he tells his story he knows himself to be a malicious falsifier He and his tool Berry should be shunned by every rep utable person EVA A INGERSOLL New York Dec 8 1909 Here is an inducement for Evangelist Olson and the fellow Berry to furnish time proof that they are not conscientious liars If Berry is a nephew of Mrs In gersoll the fact can be easily sub stantiated If Mrs Ingersolls name was Berry that also is sus ceptible of proof If Joehiel Ber ry was present at Ingersolls dy ing bedas the affidavit states somebody must have seen him and yet three persons have sol emnly affirmed before a notary that Colonel Ingersoll died sitting in a chair that only members of the family were there these be ing Eva A Ingersoll Sue Shark ey and Sue M Farrellandwe understand that Miss Maud In gersoll was absent that Colonel is dependent upon collections and opporlthe trouble of passing the hat for a few months When the Editor of the Truthseeker compiled and published Ingersoll As He Is he exhorted the readers when they heard a preacher accuse In gersoll of anything discreditable to at once challenge the state ment and offer to wager one hun dred dollars that the accusation could not be proved The Editor promised to cover the preachers money This promise is still good Mr Berry and Rev Olson san have one hundred dollars from the Truthseeker on each of the propositions concerning Col Ingersoll contained in the affida vit of Berry that they will show to be true- Friends Colonel Ingersoll have spoken in accents of despair possibilityers and other Christians to cease promulgating the volume of falsehoods they have invented about or adapted to the great Ag nostic Some are so trusting as evangelistsstories and if the public is made acquainted with the truth the ly ing will cease We indulge in no such bright anticipations The fabrications are an essential part of the body of the Christian faith and as true as the rest of it Re futing them is only a detail of the work of Freethinkers a part of the task which includes show ing that the whole system is fab ulous and fraudulent from its mythical creation and fall ofman to its ghostparented Redeemer and thence onward through its miracles and legends creeds credentials and falsified history There have been Berrys and Olsons in every generation some of them accounted inspired and each has made his contribution to Christian mythology Those of our day are after all perhaps performing an unintendedservice for truth We know that they are unreliable we prove them to be untruthful we expose them in their bas eprevarications their absolute and unfounded fictions and when we have done this we are justified in asking why we should place any trust in their spiritual and religious predecessors when the evangelists ofour own day are such unmitigated liars Since we must suffer these afflictions we should turn them to profit as far as we can learn ing from them the lesson that the champions of religion tell what they wish were true though it be the exact opposite of the truth and that they have done so from the beginning and will do so to the ond1lhe New York Truthseeker PATERNALISM Continued from Page 1 slack mild medium paternal and severe and so far as giving any degree of justice peace or happiIness to the majority is concerned each and all have proved signal failures Time problem of a gov ermnent which shall extend these things to the majority is yet be fore the world paternalismhave we ought to recognize that we have nothing to hope for in that direction To tax all to build houses for all would be a most unnecessary undertaking as well as an extravagant and unsatisfactory one There is a tendency on the part of all new parties to attempt too much and drift into paternalism Government ownership of mines quarries oil wells forests and waterpower sufficient to insure against famine and of two or three transcontinental lines of transportation and communication would go far toward pre venting the concentration of wealth that is proving so disastrous to general welfare By a majority vote time Socialist Par ty it has been decided not to in clude all lands in the public do mainBut nothing can eradicate wage slavery so quickly as the lowering of the rate of interest to 2 per cent fixing the salaries of nil publie officials so that they shall not exceed tho income of an average worker and exempting all actual homes from taxation There is no necessity for child labor laws compulsory insurance laws old ago pensions a graduated income tax or an inheritance tax Parents are not so inhuman as to put their children in sweat shops unless compelled to When every one is paid what ho really competencyfortried out taxation and has nothing to hope from JULIA c COON