The Vinita daily chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1902-1913, 1912-02-17
Produce the Evidence.

Produce the ENiuenCe.
Editor OF the Chieftain: In your is
sue of yesterday, Captain White says
that if / want to know as TO the truth
or falsity Of the scriptures, Il can find
out as many millions have done" Just
how ] am to do this. am not advised;
but | desire here and now to ask the
Captain to produce some names of the
countless millions that he is always
talking about The Captain deals too
much in generalities, and in this con-
nection | challenge him to produce a
scientist. a preach of any note or any
eminent publicist Of today who is not
tinch'ur with heresy, t. e. does not
believe in the inspiration Of all the
Bible; but throws away parts that
don't meet mis- approval Where are
your Edisons. your Teslas, and your
Curies? Edison the Wizard of Menlo
Park, and the magician of the goth
century, a magician who uses the
AUICCb Vi Hdluit W pClAoihl MS WIZ
ders. is a free thinker. The Historian
Ridpath, whose work is a classic and
not. questioned, by any Of the defend
ers of Superstition was a nationalist;
Taft, the president of the United States
is Unitarian, a belief which denies
the Divinity of Christ, but believes all
men are good. Right here might re-
mark that Unitarianism believes that
Man is too good to be sent to perdi-
ton, and Universalism teaches that
God is too good to damn man, so either
doctrine is a safe one to hitch to.
If my friend Captain White was liv-
ing in Turkey, he would be a devout
Musselman and would have prayers
three times a day standing on the
street corner, and with uplifted hands
proclaim. There is no God but Allah,
and Mohammed is his prophet" 1t
is very easy for a man to express the
generally accepted opinions of his
countrymen and every excuse for him
remaining in the beaten path. Gus
tom greets us at the cradle and re-
mains with us through life. and we are
largely the creatures of circumstance.
have no quarrel with the Captain as
to his beliefs, but ! insist that he must
allow other people the same rights that
he takes, and in answer to his oft-re-
peated dictum that he can not debate
Il question with a hidden foe, | will
say that have no desire to see my
name in print as | am not craving the
notoriety that the Captain seems to
think | do. In answer to his ques-
tions as to why corn produces feathers
when feed to a goose, or hair when fed
to hog, | will gladly enlighten the
Captain on this point This is one OF
the facts that shows to us that the
Universe is governed by law, irrevoc-
able, immutable law-the eternal law
of Cause and Effect, and not the cap.
rice of some 2x4 Jewish God.
Let me illustrate: The Captain be.
lieves that rains come from the heav'
ems, by God opening the windows OF
Heaven and pouring the moisture down
upon US. for he has read that the job
das done this way during the flood
Science steps in and says that the rains
are governed by eyaporation-that the
moisture is gathered in clouds and that
precipitation occurs 5y cold winds sud
denly causing the cloud vtpor to be
come over saturated The precipita
ton then occurs in the form Of rain
Science teaches that the beautiful rain
bow is caused by the reflection and re
fraction of the suns rays on the little
atoms of moisture in the cloud. Cap
tain White knows that this phenome
non is a miraculous affair and a Ger
tificate given by God to his creatures
that he win not drown them again.
Science has proven through the et
forts Of Bruno Copernicus, Calls,
and others that the earth revolves OF
its axis and that the sun is the eentel
Of the Solar system, The Captain
knows this is not true because his
Bible teaches him that the sun moves
and that the earth has ends
No, Captain we are under immut
able. inexorable laws, and We are ai
unable to understand a grain of sant
as we are the stars; but that fact does
not cause us to believe that a mar
should murder his wife because sh'
holds religious opinions differing from
his. Neither does it cause us to be
lieye that the blowing Of rams horn'
caused the Walls of Jericho to fal
down. No doubt, there is great Firs
Cause. but we are as ignorant of tha
as we are of anything else. Ever!
nation on the face of the earth ha
sought to solve these problems an'
they have all failed
The first Nation to offer any ex