The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1897-10-20
HOW TO REFORM MANKIND
COL, ROBERTG. INGERS0LL'S VIEUs
ON THE SUBJECT

Arbitration Instead of War-Labor Re-
form-Churches and Sunday Schools
Prison Reform -Absolute Freedom 70
Woman, Etc.
Colonel Robert Ingersoll, Americas
famous lecturer, delivered one Of his
best lectures at the Hyperion, last eve
ming. His subject was How to Re-
form Mankind Colonel Ingersoll is
too we'll known to New Havenites to
need any introduction and it is suffi-
cient to say that his faultless oratory,
fine rhetoric and elegant style were a
delight to his audience, which was
small but very enthusiastic.
He took as q text the well known
line There is no darkness, but ignor-
ance. HE proceeded first to show the
changes which had taken place in civil
ization since the time of savagey how
muscle once dominated the mind; how
gradually mind gained and body lost,
till now there was harmonious devel-
| opment of mind and body.
He spoke at length on nature as our
standard how man could not rise above
nor fall below nature; how the mother
and destroyer of all was nature. Said
he: Man cannot go beyond the hori-
| Zon of the natural, he never did and he
never will"
| He then spoke Of the essence of wis
dom, declaring that to know the limi-
tations of the human mind was the
beginning of wisdom He showed how
| ;p No tI,,,
| before the laws of cause and effect
ETC.; he spoke of the superstitions Of
the savage and his belief in and reli-
ance on the supernatural as an aid to
all human Ills how in the realm Of
science the first advances were made
and how now we have come down from
the supernatural world to the world of
| fact
He then spoke of morality and de-
clared that it was the consequences of
an act that determined whether or not
it was moral act, and that the super
natural had nothing whatever to do
with religion.
In his opinion we need intellectual
light more than anything else. BY in
tellectual light he meant development
of the brain of man and this he said
was "the only lever with which to raise
mankind"
He compared this life to ship with
destination unknown and ignorant as
well Of our point of departure. He
| wanted to be on favorable terms with
the passengers, didn't know the cap
tain, but was prepared to accept the
fate of the ship with the rest of his
fellow passengers. He then expound-
ed his views of reformation. First he
wanted all waste of wealth, energy and
life stopped. He declared strongly for
an International court of arbitration,
with an army and navy only for the
enforcement of the decisions of such a
court. He pointed out how Christian
nations were armed and waged war
against each other, spending enormous
| sums of money that could be put to
much better use. Then, too, he showed
the great amount of money spent in
churches, temples and missionary work
and instead of these he wanted one
church in each small town where now
| there were four or five. This church
he wanted as sort of club, library
and auditorium for the people, with
| rooms for games, etc. Then he would
suggest that some intelligent, sensible
man be put in charge, whose duty il
should be to familiariZe himself during
each week with certain interesting, i'm
portant and practical things and or
Sunday he should discourse to the as.
sembled multitude concerning the re-
suits of the weeks study and thus edu,
cate the people. He would have 6
Sunday school connected with it, tc
teach the children nature, and the won.
ders and beauties she affords for in
vestigaton. Secondly he proposed thai
instead of the present system of pun
ishment for crime, that the crimina
should be instructed in the prison
should work and be paid for his work
so that at the end Of his term he could
come out and begin life anew with 6
different name and in different land
with money to help him resist tempta
ton He showed the favorable result.
of England's experiment of transport
ing convicts, as in the case of Var
Dieman's Land The prison, he held
should not be for punishment, but fol
the reformation of the criminal and the
protection of society. He advocated
life Imprisonment for the murderer
IF he kills his enemies" he said, mar
| VIII say L nave IL TlSnI 10 XIII IllIS,
and he would do So" The best men
such as good philanthropists, should
have charge Of the prisons and should
teach the prisoner what was right anc
what was wrong. He advocated sepa
ration of men and women ex-convict:
and thus life at it's fountain would no
be polluted.
Then he wanted the home protected
He wanted a nation of homes, and tt
secure this he advocated change ir
the laws, to secure the home to the till.
er of the SOIL exempt from taxes anc
exempt from sale, in such a case as
under judgment. He wanted the lucky
to pay the expenses of the country ant
the tiller of the soil. He would have
the amount of land fixed by law so tina
man could own exempt from the RICH
of eminent domain.
Next he wanted absolute freedom o
women. On this depended the RICH
kind of home He considered mar
rage a contract and only to last al
long as love, the proper terms of thu
contract should be mutual. He woulC
advocate giving man a divorce OF
, reasonable grounds, where the woman
frequently violated the contract, pro
viding for the support of the children
and wife; while he would give wo