The Vinita daily chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1902-1913, 1912-03-29
INeERsoLL. The MAN.

] notice in yesterdays Chieftain that
my distinguished opponent, the Rt.
Reverend Marcus. has finally got Moses
reconciled to Science dn his mind)
and he is now ready for new worlds TO
conquer In order to get himself prop
erly wound up, be starts off by claim
ing that my feeble efforts have been
only reflection of Ingersoll, and then
manufacturers a falsehood in endeav-
oring to weaken the admiration peo-
pie have for the famous agnostic He
makes the statement that lngersoll
fought the Christian system because
he failed to secure the nomination for
governor of Illinois. In order to show
this pious prevaricator that he has
either been misinformed, or is know
ingly perverting facts, will give facts
and my authority Col Robert G.
lngersoll, was a doubter from early
youth but the first time he had any
serious difficulty on account of his
beliefs, /or rather non-beliefs. was.
when in his teens he was teaching a
subscription school in Illinois and was
boarding round The Baptist brethren
were holding a revival in his neigh
borhood and there were some five or
six of those webfooted elders stopping
at the same boarding house with him,
and in a discussion he was pointedly
asked by one of the aforesaid depu-
ties for Christ what he thought of
baptism IngersolI replied, that he
thought Baptism with soap and water
would be a good thing. This remark
caused him to lose his school as the
people in that vicinity lived in the
actual. presence and such remark
from a stripping school teacher was
blasphemy and could not be tolerated
by the descendants of the Christian
Gentlemen who came over in the May.
flower. Perhaps Ingersoll's first pub
lie utterance against Orthodox religion
which he called Superstition, and
which by the way is term that can
not be improved on, was his lecture on
Progress in 1860, delivered again in
1864. and ! quote from that lecture
the following paragraph:
I'VE are standing on the shore Of
an infinite ocean whose countless
waves, freighted with blessings, are
welcoming our adventurous feet. Pro,
gress has been written ON every soul
The human race is advancing. For
ward, oh sublime army Of progress
forward until law is justice, forward
until ignorance is unknown, forward
while there is a spiritual or temporal
throne, forward until superstition is
forgotten dream, forward until the
world is free, forward until human
reason, clothed in the purple of au
thority, is king of kings"
This lecture was delivered in 1860
and in 1864, while the republican con
vention at which time Ingersoll failed
to secure the nomination for governor
was in May, 1868, so the P.ous ap stle
Marcus, is off on his dates. Ingersol
once remarked that his opponents al
ways had two arrows left in theil
culver, Slander and Falsehood, and il
seems that in this case the Judgment
of the Colonel is correct. But more oi
that governorship race Hon. Clarh
E. Carr, (ex-minister to Denmark)
who was intimately and personally ae
quainted with the political history oi
Illinois for fifty years. said in mem
orial address in Chicago, August 6
1S99-an IngersolI memorial address:
I'VE remember how, on account o.
his splendid services, and his sublime
patriotism, we in Knox county and II
our part of the state, united in seeking
to place him in the chief executives
office, and we remember that by modi
flying certain views he held, he coulC
have been nominated by acclamatior
and elected to the high Office of gov
ernor of Illinois, which would have
opened the way to even higher emolu
ments and positions; and we remem
Der with what tenacity and firmnesl
he held to his convictions, and tha
neither public sentiment, the appea
of friends, nor the allurements Of posi-
tion, could move him to accept as tru'
what he could not believe
In other words my dear Marcus, h
was net a hypocrite. DO you know O
any orthodox preachers who would b,
as true to their convictions? Look in
to your mirror aud ask the one yol
see there what would have happenei
If the same Mess Of Pottage" had beer
held out to you as there WAS to IngeI
& soll OF course the paid defenders Q
SilDerefition feel called upon as 4 mat