Page:The Social War.djvu/68

 teach sound doctrines, they can nevertheless comprehend what such doctrines imply when presented to their senses by the true naturalist. Therefore they are envious and jealous beyond endurance of the man who dare present sounder and holier teachings than have been advocated and followed by themselves.

Here, then, is a bugbear that must be removed at all hazards, and as the followers of the sectarian creeds are not so wide-awake and apt to comprehend good and evil as the bloody conspirators, the latter find it no trouble at all to control and wheedle these sincere and innocent followers of the believers; hence, in one short week, these four bloody conspirators—Rev. Joe Pier, Deacon Rob Stew, Sister Nancy Clover and Dr. Toy Fancy—have the whole religious community in a blaze of earnest zeal for the rescue of sinners from the infidel and heretical teachings of this vile innovator, who thinks nothing of preaching his profligate doctrines in a play-house on the holy Sabbath day, there to urge on the masses of worldlings to violate the holy Lord's day by running the street cars on the Sabbath.

The following Sunday the great majority of ministers preached special sermons on this man Juno, denouncing him in the most severe terms that it was possible for them to utter and seem saintly. They urged their people to use every means to destroy the influence of this sacrilegious innovator; and also requested their Sabbath school teachers to command and exhort their pupils not to go where Victor Juno was, nor to dare to read or touch any of his books or advertisements.

Any reasonable free thinker, who does his own thinking, may at a glance behold the power that these bloody conspirators were wielding; but this was only a drop in Victor Juno's cup, and truly thus, "Bad begins, but worse remains behind."

Deacon Rob Stew, failing to impress General Washington Armington favorably, when he had a secret