The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1884-05-01

Grafton Delivered by Fremont Miller
OF the Normal. 1t the State Con-
test ss Baldwin City
LAT Frvan1no

1
too. There is one which makes Il his
business to prescribe the cut of coat for
the dandies, the style of their canes and
mukt4ches; yes, and even gives them
their commonplace remaTks-the great
er part of their conversalion-and tells
them whether their style for the season
shall be French sang froid or English
dude. This leader will have to do even
more; he will have to give these indi-
vidusls their braIns-if they ever have
any.
There Is another general. that per-
forms q similar service TOR large army
of ladies, and she has name. They call
her Madam Grundy. Whatever she or
ance or comfort. She prescribes the
style Of bonnet, and which ear il shall be
worn over. II she ssys the style this
year shall be Mother Hubbard
or Pe.k-a boo, Mother Hubbard
or Peek a-boo il is. Ii she says the fash
ionable colors are cardinal, or crushed
strawberry, OF crushed elephants breath
those colors must be worn regardless of
cost by her whole army
Then there IL another general, and
strange it IS that he should nave SO many
followers. He issues such commands
as these: "Gei there. Eli" and all the way
| up anu QOMu tue line We near tue OTucT
repeated, SECT there, Eli" Or he says,
81 should smile" and all the members
Of the srmy conclude that they should
smile.
But if this we've all If people were only
copyIsts in drt IS and mHnneIs and con-
versation. We would utter no complaint.
Madam Grundy aud the Others might
command in peace Bot this is not all .
Man has always BEEN a copyist In
| thought, accepting even the erroneous
ideas of leaders on subjecs of the
most vital importance He has
accepted the ideas OF a few as his mis-
sion on earth, and as to what his very
life should be.
Search history and see how the PEG.
| pie have blindly accepted the doctrines of
the few. Going back several centuries
before Christ let US examine the idea of
monarchism. Under the leadership of
| few we find the people all over eastern
1 Europe and western Asia believing that
the highest holiness consisted in deny
| ing themselves the pleasures of lite, in
mOrtifying the flesh, and subjecting the
body TO the severest pain. Accordingly
We find the rocks of Thibet and the
PLAINS of Europe and Asia dotted with
clOisters. We find thousands of people
exiting themselves t. the deserts and
wilderness. 1t is said at one time there
were more people dwelling as hermits
in the deserts of Egynt than lived In all
the cities. TeemIng millions of people
denying themselves the pleasures of
life, when all they needed was to use the
reason God had given them to perceive
that all the blessings OF the world were
prepared and spread out for their use.
| SubiectIng their own bodies to pain in
stead of employing their time in allevi-
ating the sufferiDgs of others. Even
among Christian na'ions we find much
the same idea entertained, ana many
vestIges of it still remain in the Greek
and Roman Catholic churches.
In ancient Egypt We find the people
under the guidance of few priests for
centuries, carrying out quite different
idea. They strove to conquer death, to
preserve the body alter death Ior the re
turn OF the soul. Their greatest care
was to preserve the mummies of their
ancestors The caves and mountain
sides were filed with them; and as a
monument TO their mental bondage we
have the pyramids, built six thousand
years ago, still rearing their lofty peaks
toward the heavens, the admiration and
| wonder of mankind.
In ancient Persia the idea was devel
oped and taught by leaders and accept
ed by the people, that the great aim of
life was conquest. Hence all the ener-
gies of the nation were bent towards the
accomplishment OF this end. The boy
was taken from his mother at the age of
seven and cared for by the state, 10 be
hardened and trained 10 soldier life.
They conquered the surrounding coun-
tries in Asia, then made conquesls to the
north, south, east and west adding
| v,nHfhnrr, A frfra Enrnna 20
their dominions, until finally Xerxes
with one of the grandest armies under
which the earth ever tTembled was con-
quered by the Greeks at Salamis.
But If so numerous have been the fol
lowers of ideas instituted by few lead
ers, still greater has been the number OF
followers of a few men. Mohammed has
for centuries been at the head of horde
J of followers; even at the present time
after the church has been much weak.
ened, one twelfth of the inhabitants Of
the globe are blindly following his teach.
ings. Do you say that this is because
his teachings contain so much truth and
goodness? Is there then so much truth
in a religion that teaches pilgrimage as
one of its most holy rites? And is there
so much goodness in a religion that was
instituted and established by the mos
cruel wars and DlOodshed?
For oyer twenty-four hundred yearG
the Celestial empire with its one hal
thousand millions has been following
the teachings Of single man, nor car
this be accounted for on the theory tina
the philosophy of Coniucius is so SUI
! perior. That his system contains mucf
, that is excellent must be admitted; bu
il also contains IA single pernIcious fea
ture whose effects have far outweigheC
all It's advantages 10 the empire. Tween
ty-five hundred years ago China had ad
) vanced in civilization almost 10 the posi-
, ton we now hold. She had invented
printing, gunpowder, and various man
uiactuTes; in fact she had reached every
thing except our most modern inven
tions. Confucius taught them ancesto
, worship, that they should never do NOR
than their ancestors had don
before them and right Their
3 the march of progress stopped, and eH
D cept the improvements of late year
q sparingly introduced by foreigners, the
I are now Just where they were at til
time of Oonfucius. Had they not thu
blindly followed the teachings of on
man, what might they ere this have az
complishedg With their excellent nat
ural resources and the advancement t
which they had attained two thousan
y
as far in advance of our nation as W
e now stand in advance of them?
: Five hundred aud toTty-three year
4 before Christ there was born in India
man called Budha. He established
religion, his disciples spread in all
rections until they number four hundre
): and eighty millions of people Owe
4 one-third of the inhabitants of the en-
! tire globe submitting in thought to sir
4 gle man. And is this due to the reason
. sbleness of his doctrines? Yes, if ii /
o reason to believe that the soul of ma
a to morrow may have gene from his bod
into that OF dumb brute. or If be res
son to believe that the highest reward I
be hoped for IN the future is To be di,
n solved into that ali-contrOlling spiIi
the Nrvaua.
But we naturally inquire: Are tn
/, people III our commonwealth followin
IS thus blind the thoughts of the few
Il We are glad To find that exam
ination Says nay We mu
. bear IN mind that ther
= are elements in our government condI
e Give to original thought and not foun
q ID that of any other nation hiIherl
mentioned. While those nations di
- courage fIee thought, our country Ell
conrages IL; nay, more, the very GOV
eminent OF our country by the people
based on the theory that the people al
% all capable of thinking for themselve
Furthermore, our free schools tend, I
NJ at least should tend, to develop each Il
b dividual into an independent thinker.
k No nation In the history of the wo.
has ever given. as many privileges
free thought as ours. Bat have we ia
proved those prIYilegesg To some e,
tent We have. Proof of this is seen
e. the great number of religious depomi
II atoms Uniformity of creed is no long
demanded or expected; and differen,
In religious belief is nc longer a eau
OF dissension among our people. Tn