Blue-grass blade., 1891-10-31
Bro. Neal of 'sThe Worker.
and L can not Edit the
Blade Together.

In the last issue of the Blade /
said that Bro. Neal, editor of "The
Worker" and 1 would probably
associate in the editing of the
Blade.
He has been kind and generous
in all that he has said and done
about goingfnto the arrangement,
but l do not now think it would
be best for US to do so, and he says
he will not be put to any incon-
venience by anything that has
been said Or done, if we do not
now consummate the arrange
ment.
l believe he is a good man, and
perhaps have no right to say that
he is not as honest in his religious
convictions as | am. But as an
abstract proposition 1 believe l
would be giving too much of a
sop to the Ecclesiastic Cerberus
to subordinate my opinions to his
when he is my junior in years and
does not claim to be my senior in
theologic or classic scholarship.
The whole country is full of ed
itors of his theological views and
l believe l am the only Rational
istic editor of Prohibition paper,
in the world.
That a revolution in religious
sentiment is brewing among
Christians is, to me, quite as evil
dent as that such revolutionary
sentiment is growing in politics.
These two sentiments are going
hand in hand, and they propose to
accomplish not only Prohibition
but much more for the world.
These sentiments are going to be
immensely more liberal than now.
The religion and politics of the
future will consist in doing good to
our fellow men, and faith, that is
now the great matter in religion,
will be little regarded.
1 The trend of the most compe-
tent religious thought now is to
divert the Christian religion of
the miracle and supernaturalism
that surround the teachings of all
those great masters, and to accept
and practice and inculcate those
moral precepts which it teaches,
which are the outgrowth of ages,
and which now, more than ever
before are pressing their truth
upon our acceptance.
l can not better express myself
on this subject than | have done
in the preface to my book, "The
Rational View, which says; "But
as England and America owe to
Lycurgus and Justinian and
Blackstone debt of gratitude for
the civil law which "naturalis
ratio inter omnes honaines constituit'', ,
which they did not invent. but
only compiled and codified, so do
F we of this most enlightened age
that the sun has shown upon, owe
to Jesus the carpenter of Nazareth,
an inestimable debt of gratitude
for the impress of ideas that stands
stamped upon all of our highest
institutions as plain as the lion and
unicorn trade mark is upon the
; English goods that comes to our
shores"
Unfettered of the ignorance and
bigotry and superstition that an
cient and modern hired priestcraft
. has found it to its interest to throw
around the life of Jesus, his char
acter would, to-day, stand out
fresh and beautiful to every intel
ligent man and woman, as the
picture of some great master, just
cleansed OF the smoke of censers
and whitewash, on the walls of
some ivy-grown cathedral of
Europe.
Not only would Bro. Neal and
) l be uncongenial on the question
Of theology which is daily more
and more asserting itself in Pro-
hibition discussion, and will, be-
! fore great while, "split" the
churches; but he and 1 would be
sadly inharmonious on the ques-
ton of woman suffrage.
= In letter from him that l have
' just received he speaks of woman
! suffrage as ga greater menace to
homes than saloons.
l could not, and would not,
stand one single editorial utter
ance of that kind in any newspa-
q per on which my name was to APP
! pear as editor.
The man who can say that
+ either does not appreciate that
which is ugly in saloons, or that
, which is beautiful in woman, as /
{ do.
!, If there is any merit at all in
my newspaper it is that Isay what,
at the time, honestly believe, alb
, solutely regardless of consequences.
I 1 never saw any other newspaper
, that l thought did that, and !
! think there ought to be one of that
kind in the world.
What may be the outcome as a
' financial, moral or political sue
) cess l do not know; but l would
1 rather 60 down trying to do right
than to succeed by compromise.
= With a conscience void of Of
: Tense toward God or man, 1 can
7 stand before the monument of
the "Great COmmOner' in orr