The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-04-14

| feet and teach the melody Of life. The
| those to be The marbles Of the Greek.
| like strains Of music, suggest the per-
great poems. paintings, inventions, the
cries and PHILOSOPHERS enlarge and mold
the mind of man. All that is natural
All is naturally produced. Beyond the
| horizon of the natural man man can
| not go.
Yet for many ages man IN all direc-
tons has relied upon and sincerely be-
lieved in the existence of the superna-
tural. He did not believe in the unifor-
nifty Of nature. He had no conception
Of cause and effect. Of the indestructi-
bility Of orce.
For many centuries his only con-
ception of morality was the idea Of ODE
dience. not to facts as they exist in ma
ture, but to the supposed command of
some being superior to nature. During
all these years religion consisted in the
praise and worship of the invisible and
infinite, Of some vast and incomprehens-
ible power-that is to say, of the SUPER
natural.
''By experience, by experiment, posi-
bly, by accident, man found that some
diseases could be cured by natural
means: that he could be relieved in
many instances of pain by certain kinds
Of leaves or bark. This was the begin
ming. radually his confidence fncreas-
ed in the direction of the natural and be-
gan to decrease in charms and emulets
The war was waged for many centuries,
but the natural gained the victory Now
we know that all diseases are naturally
produced, and that all remedies, all cur
atives, act in accordance with the facts
in nature. Now we know that charms
magic, amulets and lamentations are
just as useless in the practice of medi-
cine as they could be in solving a prob
lem in mathematics. We now know
that there are no supernatural RENE
dies
$50 our ideas Of morality have chang
ed, and millions now believe that what
ever produces happiness and well-being
is in the highest sense moral. Religion
does not consist in believing without
evidence or against evidence. 1t does
not consist in worshiping the unknown
or in trying to do something for the in
finite. Ceremonies, prayers and in
spired books, miracles, special provi-
dence and divine interference all belong
to the supernatural and form no part
of real religion"
1S4AOi aAiOe DtluS OdTR0eSS.' COlOnel
Ingerson continued. what we need Is
tellectual light Being satisfied that
the supernatural does not exist, man
should turn his entire attention 10 the
affairs of this worl1, to the facts in
nature. And, first of all, he should
avoid waste-waste of energy, waste
Of wealth. Every good man, every
good woman, should try to do away
with war and stop the appeal TO savage
force. For 1.S00 years peace has baen
preached, and yet the civilized nations
are the most warlike of the world.
There are in Europe today between IL
100000 and 1000. 900 Of soldiers ready 10
take the field, and the frontiers of every
civilized nation are protected bv breast
work and fort. The sea is covered with
steel-clad ships filed with misseIs OF
death. The civilized world has impoy-
crushed Itself, and the debt of Christen-
dom. mostly for war, is now nearly $50
OV0'OOO,ooO. The interest on this vast
sum mas TO be paid. It has TO be paid
by laoor-much Of 1t by the poorly
those who are compelled to deny them
selves almost the necessities Of life.
There must come a change or. Christen-
This debt is growing year by wear.
dom viii become BANKRUPT"
As remedy for war arbitration was
suggested. There is another dirac- !
ton, the colonel said. "in which the
wealth and energies of man are wasted. |
rom the beginning Of history until |
now, man has been seeking the aid ~ |
the supernatural For many centuries
me wealth OF the world was used 10 1
propltiate the unseen power. in orr
own country the property dedicated IN 4
inns purpose Is worth al least 81. 00O. 600 - /
900. The interest on this sum : so /
100000 a year. and the cost OF employing
persons whose business II Is 70 seek tba 1
aid OF the supernatural and 10 main /
taln the property IS certainly as much /
more. so that the cost IN our conn /
try IS about S2.eo0000 a week. and count
ing ten hours a day, this amounts 70 /
about 5000 a minute.
The returns are remarkable s,,,,1, .,
sa!d he. The good accomplished does /
not appear 70 be great. There Is no 4
great diminution in crime The a.
crease OF immortality and povor-v =
hardly percepuble.' In towns of .090 /
10 5000 people Colonel Ingersou would
have all churches combined in one. IN
a general building. IN this building
should be the library OF the town. Il
should be the club house of the people.
rooms Tor billiards. cards and ches,
should be arranged. I; should be the
intellectual center. They could en-
ploy j gentleman OF abIIity-possIhly OF
genius" said he TO address them on I
sundays on subjects that would De OF /
real interest. Of real Importance. He
should base his sermons On history. phi
osophy, ART and the genius % the Greeks
Let him make his congregation CONVEX
ant win the PHILOSOPHERS % the world.
With the great thinkers, the CREST poets.
ne great artists, he grea actors. ora
.ors. inventors captains OF Industry
he soldiers n progress Let them have
/ Sunday school in which the children
hall he made acquainted with the facts
II nature. with botany. etomo,cgy. some
hing Of geology and astronomy.
AS a means . iessening crime Colonel
tentiarleS into schools; the education OF
advocates the turning Of pen
onyicts and the colonization on islands |