Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1891-11-21
POPULAR nELUSIONS.
George r. Weddings Lecture at
Harper's Theatre.
"A Se"oisr'y address Unde the Auspi.
ces Of the Rock Island lecture
Association Last Eve ming.

was filled with select and appreciatiye
audience to listen TO the famous platform
orator, Hon. George r. Vending. lee
ture on Popular Decisions" The enter
t4inment was under the auspices of the
Rosk Island Lecture association. He is
very pleasant speaker, and handled his
subject last night in mastery manner.
holding mis- audience throughout with
unhaging interest. He began by divid>
Ing popular delusion into three great
classes, namely, political, social and reli
gious. In the first class he mentioned
the great South sea scheme of the Earl
OF Oxford which carried all England into
frerzy OF excitement from which it was
aftetward estimated that its projectors
had cleared nearly S66, O0OO eco. He then
called attention to another disastrous
delnsion in France, that of John
Laws Mississippi scheme and others.
The greatest delusion perhaps the world
has ever known" said Mr.. Vending.
"was witchcraft which fourished in the
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries
which caused in England alone nearly
30 600 to be put to death" 1t permeated
all grades of society, said the speaker,
from the high to the lowly and many of
the brightest int lects of those ages were
victims Of this cruel delusion" He then
said that it was directly tracesble to the
christian religion as it had taken root in
obscure references to witches in the bible
proving conclusively thsti it was not alone
the result of ign orarce.
The speaker then passed 20 the dispel,-
ing of witchcrsft and its causes, claiming
that as it was not the result of ignorance,
not even our free school system
of today could have prevented it.
He then traced the dispelling of WITCH
craft 10 religious and intellectual
movement which began early in the
eighteenth century, and was gradually
dissemin tied, and it was this same love
for humanity that caused the world to
appreciate Florence Nightingale and a
Grace Darling, and that. thank God, the
movement was still growing and would
continue 20 grow. land the child is in the
house tonight" said the speaker. who
will live to see the day when the sword
of war will be be laid upon the altar of
arbitration.
He then smoke at some length upon the
evils of public Office seeking. showing by
statistics hat there is one office seeker to
every 10 voters, or in other words, one
man who wishes to be burden to the
other nine. He then advised the young
men of today to avoid Office seeking. say
ing that more of the financial and moral
failures OF today were due to this than to
intempersnce and gambling combined;
after which he spoke Of the practice of
soliciting votes, and in this connection
said that the day was coming when peo-
pie would lose respect for the man who
asked another for his vote.
Mr.. Vending then spoke of the popu-
lar delusion that the country is in danger
because o. the election Of what are called
small men to office. which fact, said the
speaker, is unquestionsble proof of the
wisdom OF the founders in this great re-
public.
The speaker then passed to the social
delusion which be said was almost as
great US an other; you have not as many
friends as you think you have, said the
speaker. When you count your friends
you begin with mother, sister and wife,
and if you can extend the list beyond five.
said the speaker, you are one person in
10000. In this connection he mentioned
the custom we have of referring to Whist
we call he laboring classes. In this
country, said he, we have no class, class
means cast with privileges belonging to
it, and none exist in this country. The
rich men OF today are but the poor men
of yesterday and the harboring of such
ideas is treason to the very principle of
American liberty. which gives to every
man, no ID after of what station in life.
when he stands at the ballot box, the
rights of an imperial sovereign.
The last subject touched on by Mr..
Vending was the religious delusion, in
which he said that emotion was not reli-
gion; that when we are carried away by
the tones Of an organ Or soul stirring
pulpi, orator, it was all very well as emo
ton. but IL was not religious. BE then
spoke of that one great sympathetic bond
between men which came of true religion:
Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyselfi'
or mutual love for all humanity. which
the speaker contended would bring fa>
ture American civilization which would
combine justice, temperance and moral
ity. and through the general observance
T. -ol % 4ha