New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-08-27
FREE THINKING At WATKINS.


great commonwealth of ours ought promptly
to present vote of thanks-a real cordial vote
engroSsed on parchment and framed without
regard TO expense TO :" The New York state
Free Thinkers Association" This association
has lust been holding its sixth annual meeting,
and in spite of itself has succeeded for the
sixth time in demonstrating the unqualified
badness of inGdclty. Frec-tlIinking as it eX-
hibtcd itself at Watkins during the past week
must have impressed every intelligent and
candid man who read the report OF the pro-
ceedngs as simply a synonym Tor puerlle ana
purposeless thinking, and therefore entitled To
no rcspect Concerted thinking that leads TO
nothing worth while, that Is not followed by
action for the furtherancc of the public veal,
may be free" Int is not forciblc. What comes
of the free-thinking of "The New-Iork State
Frec-Thinkers' Association Once Il year the
association meets to deny the existence cf IA
personal God, to idolize "humauiy," to adore
reason" to declare that if il man die he shall
not live again, 20 burn incense to Tom Paine,
to revie Christianity, and to poke iun at the
Bible. There are no other exercises OF any
importance Now and then, indeed. desper-
ate effort Is made by the association to formu-
late it's belief, but dismal failure is always
the result The association knows what it does
not believe. 1t has on hand large and varied
assortment of negatiOnS, and 1t has on hand
nothing else And so it blasphemes to its
hearts contcnt-and it takes great deal to
content its heart when IL comes to baSDhemy-
an0 evnces the true inwardness Of It's much
Wanted lberality 10y illibcral illusions To those
VINO fail to see eye to eye with It, And then 1t
adiourns. Pretending to be passonately de-
voted to the brotherhood of the Race, to be-
lieve in "wOrks to the exclusion of faith
it seldom or never gets any further than ill-di-
gcsted talk. Other associations that are not so
free-ccltainly not so loOse-in their thinking.
that believe III God and IA hereafter, are con-
stantly putting their creed into hospitals and
osvlums and reformatOries and schools and
missions at home and in heaJhendom. The
tree OF frec-tlinking bears no such fruit. 1t
bears only talk-a large crop every year.
This years meeting of the association while
retaining all the features which characterized
the preceding ones was marked by an attempt
on the part of one Of the leading frre-thnkers
70 commend to his brethren, presumably in
place of the Bible the gospel according to
Walt Whitman. We read in the report of the
second days session that John Chapel made
some remarks and concluded by saying that
he had Walt Wtman'S book for sale. He
urged all to buy il, take it home and study it
and it would make them better" Following this
tirst-rate notice of Leaves Of Grass" another
member of the association helped on the
Whitman boom by ridiculing the Bible. His
remarks are said to have been quite "humor
GUS" What success Mr.. Chapel met with as
agent for the sale of the new gospel is not
stated. We shall probably have to wait until
the next meeting of the association for full
knowledge of the spiritual Qualification and
cxaltation which have followed the careful
study of the works of Whitman by the menu
bers of the New York State FreeThnKeIs'
Association
An association that listens with equal pleas
ure TO jeers at the Bible and eul0giums upon
Leaves of Grass and which apparently takes
for it's motto, There isn't aLy God and Bob
Ingersol is his prophet" is unconscously aid
ing the very forces which it is arrayed against.
BY all means let the vote of thanks be passed.