The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1896-05-16

A@OOA = 49, - OAAs
Nov it eeems toms that IL world
Be far better for tho people Of 1
town having = population of 400
or 5000 to have one church, and
the edffce should be Of nse moi
only on Sunday, but on every d41
Of tho week. In this buildine
should Be the library Of tho town
It should be the club house Of til,
people, where they could find the
principal newspapers and period.
Gals Of the world. Its auditorium
should be like q theater. Play.
should DO presented BY home talent
an orchestra formed, music cult
waited. The people should meet
there ct any time they desire. The
women could carry their knitting
and sewing, and connected with il
should be rooms for the playing o.
games, billiards.. cards and chess
Everything should be made al
agreeable Is possible. The citizeni
should take pride in this. building
They should adorn its inches with
statues and its walls with pictures
It should be the intellectual center
They could employ gentleman Of
ability, possibly of genius, to ad.
dress them on Sundays on subjects
that would be of real interest, Of
real importance. They could say
to this minister:
"We are engaged in business dur.
log the week. While we are work.
ing at our trades and professions
we want you to study, and on Sun.
day tell US what you have found
out"
Let such q minister take for q
series of sermons the history, the
philosophy of the art and the genius
of the Greeks. Let him tell Of the
wondrous metaphysics, myths and
religions of India and Egypt. Let
him make his congregation CONVEX
SAINT with the philosophers of the
world, with the great thinkers, the
great poets, the great artists, the
great actors, the great orators, the
great inventors, the captains of In
dustry, the soldiers of progress.
Let them have a Sunday school in
which the children shall be made
acquainted with the facts of nature,
with botany, entomology, some
thing of geology and astronomy.
Let them be made familiar with
the greatest of poems, the finest
paragraphs of literature, with stories
of the herioc, the self-denying and
generous.
Now it seems to me that such q
congregation in a few years would
become the most intelligent people
in the United States.
The truth is that people are tired
of the old theories. They have lost
confidence in the miraculous, in
the supernatural, and they have
ceased to take interest in "facts"
that they do not quite believe.
"There is no darkness but ignor-
ance."
There is no light but intelligence.
As often as we can exchange q
mistake for fact, falsehood for
a truth, we advance. We add to
the intellectual wealth of the world,
and in this way, and in this way
alone, can be laid the foundation
for the future prosperity and civil:
cation of the race.
blame no one; call in question
the motives of no person; admit
that the world has acted as it must.
But hope for the future depends
upon the intelligence of the present.
Man must husband his resources.
He must not waste his energies in
endeavoring to accomplish the i'm
possible.
He must take advantage of the
forces Of nature. He must depend
on education, on what be can ascer.
tain by the use of his senses, by OBJ
eervation, by experiment and reason.
He must break the chains of pref.
udice and custom. He must be free
to express his thoughts on all ques.
tons. He must find the conditions Of
happiness and become wise eaough
to live in accordance with them.