Daily capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1896-1899, 1896-05-02
DRIVERS lNFIDEL PIONEERS.

/ IlRlNEk a
DR.. Drivers infdel pioneers are
somewhat of an imaginative charac-
ter. They are arising in their graves
and causing him much trouble IN ms
canvass for the senat0rship. He has
as vet offered no denial or explanation
of his remarkable utterances.
lie named Senator Nesmith as an
indhel who died insane. United
states Senator Nesmith was theist
not an atheist, not an unbelieyer.
He may not have been an orthodox
believer or church member, but he
was Tar from an lnfdel In the sense OF
denying the existence Of God.
When Nesmlth was in the United
States senate he prided himself on be-
ing staunch supporter of Abraham
Lincoln. and voted for every war
measure and every dollar of appropria-
tion to uphold the cause Of the Union,
although Democrat. He has left
sons and daughters who are noble men
and women.
Jesse Applegate was also named as
one who was an infdel and died
insane. lie was very much of
a gentleman and said nothing
about religious matters. Those
who were his associates say he was In
no sense an unbelieyer. He was an
| inmate of the asylum, but 1t was
more because he was homeless than
because Of loss of reason. The author
tiles we're willing to let him go at any
time II he could have found a place to
stay.
Pengree was not sent to the asylum
In his old age, but Is said to have been
a man Of strong emotional nature, and
II DR.. Driver had stated that he was
an exhOrter, IL would have been less
likely to prove untrue. He is said 10
be alive and wei! in Crook county.
Sam COlyer, mentioned as another
lnidel, who went insane and whose
progeny would die out after the
fourth generation, was II rank abo-
litlonist, and that was counted u kind
of religion In itself In those days,
| Just as much s'blmetallism or popu-
llsm Is nowadays.
DR.. Driver lays too much stress on
progeny. George Washington was u
noble man, served the people with
rare patriotism, was the father OF his
country, but never the father OF a
child. DIR. Driver has hard row to
hoe up there In Lane county. He has
Il heavy load TO carry In his candidacy
for the senate, and he should disOwn
the statement attributed TO him about
the lniidel pioneers who all went in.
sane. We still refuse to believe he
ever made such n statement, but II he
did IL was not true.
Following has appeared (slnce the
above was wrltten) In the Roseburg
Plaindealer OF May lst:
The CAPITAL JOURNAL commenting
upon the statement OF DIR. Driver,
which the Plaindealer reported DR..
Driver 10 have made In Roseburg, In
n lecture on "lngersOl and the Devil
Combined" in which lecture he said
Samuel Colver, Jesse Applegate, John
Pengree and Senator Nesmith, noted
lntdels, died Insane after 63 years of
age, says;
"We cannot believe DR.. Driver
made the statement attributed TO
him, but II he did, he certainly owes
the inidel pioneers, IL there were any,
an apology" The Plalndealer re.
ported the remarkable assertion of
DIR, Driver and will vouch for the
correctness Of the statement. The
Plaindealer thought IL an unwar-
ranted statement, even II true, as IL
Is an lndisputable fact that there are
more demented people In our insane
asylums who have gone daft ON the
subject of religion than, perhaps any
other subject, IL Is also fact, that
many intdels die perfectly sane, even
after becoming 63 years old, While
differing with the doctor upon theol-
ogy, we did not think DR.. Driver
would make II false statement with
regard TO those old pioneers, the
memory Of whom Oregonians will