Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1853-11-17
Constitution pf a new Society to be
called the State of Iowa Self
Examining Society,

/ III view ol the great Importance
of union of effort for the suppress
ion of vice, immortality, drunken
: ness and evil speaking, one of an
other, by busy bodies meddline
themselves al Yout other peoples S mat
ters, and for the especial benefit o
all othd + soei ieties, that they may
the better be enabled DO do good BY
being Of a meek and quiet disposi-
tion toward Of theirs, by first examih-
ing their own hearts to see that no
beam exists ia theiro own eyes before
they begin to meddle with the affairs
Of Others, SC, sc.
A convention for the above pur-
pose was caleb by some of the friends
Of order at f FFemont, Mahaska coun-
ty, Iowa, ON the memorial 18th SD
of July, 1852, at which Old Man
Morrow was chosen President, Little
Billy Morrow, Vice President, and
William NJ. Morrow, Secretary Of
! the Convention.
! / This Society shall be called the
Estate of Iowd SelfExamining Socle-
| ty, and mdy be composed of as
many members in all the counties as
may feel the Importance of examin-
ing their own hearts, of bridling
their own td dngues, and correcting
their own vices, by casting the beam
Tout Of their own eyes before attempt
ling to cast the mote out of the eyes
Iof others. |
2. 1t shall be the duty of all the
members, male and female, Ole and
young, from snowy white to sooty.
! black, to watch themselves. to mind.
their own BUSINESS and let the bust
ness Of others alone.
Sd. All the members shall have
full liberty To follow any honest occu-
patton for a living; may buy or sell
as articles of merchandise, any and
every thing in common use, with the
bare exception of the wine OF Baby
lon, which article, shall be kept only
by religious bigots and modern
Pharisees, to- Be retailed out by them
4. The N embers may embrace
what religion they please, or none, if
they please; but as many of them as
choose to do so, shall hhFe full liber-
ty to Worship God as bed suits their
views, withou t being tor hented with
nonsenslcal ld dctures byglazy drones
hunting tashi enable places in which |
to lecture a4l live vii bout work.
5! They sEIall not form any society
as auxiliary to the State Society,
thus avoiding the necessity of col
lecting funds to hire beggars and I
subscription runners to wheedIe and
whine around the women aud little /
children to throw in their dimes and
dollars, and dollars and dimes, to
support gang Of lazy sell-conceit
ed bigots having more bowels than
brains.
G. They 81 bali not stand at@the cor
ners Of the streets, and public high
ways thanking their gods that they
are better thE I'm other men, but shall .
learn to look upon all men -togeth-
cr with the rest of mankind-and
themselves IN particular, as being
full of purifying sores, from the sole
to tie CROWN there being no sound
ness in them
Z. There shall be no public meet
ing Of this society to hear lectures
from others; but it shall be the es-
pecial duty of all the members to de
liver lectures to their own hearts in
secret, so that He which seeth in Sc
cret shall rd ward them openly. In
giving aims it shall be to the poor.
the blind, the b fatherless ind the wild
ow, and to bill in low and distressed
circumstances, not letting their right
hand know what their lelt hand doeth,
not publishing it on the house tops,
or in the n ewspapers, 10 be seen of
men.
s. All th : members Of this society,
though living in "a free State, shall
not consider themselves as being
more righteous or as having better
religion, than their more southern
neighbors. but shall consider all the !
white males and females holding
slaves as being their equals, and
treat them as beloved brethren; nei-
ther shall they hire negroes to run
away, nor steal them from Their osfn-
cFs, buL on the contrary, advise them