Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1885-05-28
WITHOUT A GOD.
The InfideI Experiment I'm Liberal
Mo.-The True Inyyardness of the
Colony.

The town of Liberal is the only
town in the United States without a
priest, preacher, church, saloon, God,
Jesus, hell, or devil. In a word,
writes a Lexington, Mo. correspon-
Gent to The Pittsburgh Commercial
Gazette, it is a colony of liberal think
ers. For months their papers have
contained glowing accounts of this
earthly paradise. Rev. Clark Brad n,
who has visited the town, was inter
viewed recently, and said: "a knot
of infidels, some of them notorious,
started the town. Flaming announce
ments of the .pew infideI paradise
were made, and all infdels were invit.
ed to flock to this infidel Canaan,
flowing with the milk and honey of
intidelity, The new town had unusual
advantages. The nearest town was
seventeen miles away, and all others
were more than 25 miles distant. 1t
had around it an unusually fertile
country, underlaid with coal and
peopled by unusually intelligent,
thrifty farmers.
After all tie putting and adverts-
ing, gratuitous and otherwise, and
with all the notoriety and eclat of such
an unusual effort, during period of
nearly five years, there are now, with
in one mile OF the depot at Liberal.
about five hundred inhabitants, and
two hundred of these are in the rival
town of Denison. There is not in the
town building that can not be erect
ed for $1,000, not half dozen cost
&, 600, q great majority of them cost
less than 81, 600 There is not a store
with $40, 600 stock, not factory, not
a school>house. The two hotels arc
cheap dens of the lowest character
one IS vacant and the other soon will
be. OF those who have visited the
place prospecting more have left with
out locating than have remained.
Fully as many of those who did locate
have left as now remain.
"Nine-tenths of those now in town
would leave if they could sell their
property. More property has been
lost by locating in the towns than has
been made in it. Public schools and
infdel meetings have been held in
rented buildings, except what were
held in the Universal Mental Liberty
hall, the stupendous title of building
about the size of a smoke house, which
it closely resembles. Property can
not be sold for near its cost. There
are many vacant lots, from which
buildings have been moved, fifteen
have been moved at one time.
George II Walser, one of the or,
iglnators of the Town, is responsible
largely for the failure of the scheme, s"
continued Mr.. Braden. "With great
seeming liberality he told parties pur.
chasing lots that he did not want
them 10 pay for them when they pur-
chased them. He would give them
written contract to make them deed
at the expiration of ten years. The
purchaser could then use all his
money in erecting buildings and start
ing his business. All except the few
sensible ones, who insisted on paying
for lots and having deeds, have, by
sad experience, learned Walser's OBJ
ject. More buildings and better ones
have been erected had the lots been
paid for. Lots and buildings are
really Walser's property, and the
dupes that erected them are his serfs.
They can not sell, for they can give
no deed, and can not rent to anyone,
except with Walser's consent. A more
abiect set OF serfs could not be found
than most of The people in Liberal.
THE liberals Of this intidel town
have always taken special delight In
surrounding Christians who come in
to the town on business and sssailiHg
Christianity and Christians in the
most abusive manner. They will go
into the business houses and even into
the residences of Christians to do such
work Not even guests are spared
such treatment. The worst of social
ostracism has been practiced, and
special pains taken to throw out in
sulting remarks when passing be-
levers in Christianity III their houses,
business places, or on the streets.
Deliberate, persistent attempts have
been repeatedly made to ruin Chris :
tians in character and business and
drive them off.
1.-The boast about the sobriety OF
| the town is false But few of the
/ infidels are total abstainers. Liquor
can be obtained at three different
places in this town of three hundred
/ inhabitants. More drunken infidels
can be seen in a year in Liberal than
drunken Christians among one hun
bred times as many church members
during the same time. Swearing is
the common form of speech IN Llber.
al, and nearly every inhabitant old
and young, swears hahitualiy Girls
and boys srear on the streets, play
ground and at home. Fully half OF
the women will swear and a large
number swear habitually. In no
place in the country are public inset
ings so noisy. Lack of reverence for
parents aud Of obedience 10 them is
the rule. There are more grass wild
ows. g-ass -widowers, and people iv
ing together who have former compan
ions living than in any other town oil
ten times the population Oae often
sees in our cities the sign mlsit car
l.. at,sa