Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The Conservative (Nebraska City, Neb.) 1898-1902 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 30, 1902)
< Cbe Conservative * INTO THE LAND OF HOPE. 'Tis well that wo , when trials come , Can lenrn to look beyond , Into the blessed land of hope , Of which we are so fond : For there , the clouds of life disperse , And sunshine will appear , While in the joyous land of hope , Our hearts oft lose their fear , I And revel in some happy dream That thrills xis with delight , And heavy clouds will pass away , 'Neath hope's resplendent light , And thus the skies of life will clear , While brighter dawns the day , As we , into the land of hope Will flnd the cheerful way. MAKTHA SHEPAIID LTPPINOOTT. Moorestown , N. J. , Jan. 25,1002. ELECTRICAL ENERGY. Philosophers and scientists have dis cussed the mysteries of creation , God , existence , life , the soul , thoughts , ideas , immortality and kindred subjects for thousands of years , and have arrived at no rational conclusion in regard to crea tion nor that Almighty power which regulates , governs and controls the uni verse. We all know there is a power that is the cause of all the changes , evolution and activities in the universe , and yet no rational theory has been advanced upon which we can ground our faith as the correct one ; in default of which , mankind has attributed this governing power , some to a spiritual God , some tea a personal God ; in fact , to all character and conditions of God , and these they have ignorantly worshiped. We know that antecedent to the ac tivities of nature , material and imma terial , there is a moving power , for we see and feel its effect on every hand. The effect becomes cause , followed by effect , and this has been so through all the ages of the past. It is this power which causes the pulse to beat , the heart to throb , the winds to blow , the stars to shine , the ocean to roll its waves , the earth to yield its increase , together with all the evolutions and changes of mind and matter manifest to our intelligence , which is still , in this twentieth century , ascribed to unknown deities about whom we know as little as we do of creation. This energy or motive power is as in destructible as matter , the same today as it ever has been. It pervades the universe , it is in the heavens above , in the earth beneath , the air we breathe , the water we drink , the food we eat , generates within us the vital spark we call life ; but our bodies , like any other material form of matter , in time , from continued use , wear out , mental and physical activity cease , and this we call death , although the body resolves itself into its original elements , and the elec trical energy which gave it mental and physical activity has passed into other forms of matter. While we certainly do know some- thing of that all-governing power , from the fact that we see its manifestations on every hand , we have nothing on which to even bottom a belief in regard to creation. All deliverances on this subject , fathered by ignorance and mothered by superstition , have boon the blind leading the blind. The antecedent of every belief is thought , but to make a belief of any value we must have faith enough in it to test it , and try it , in order to ascer tain its truth or falsity. To unverified beliefs may be attributed much of the ignorance of mankind , but after we have tested , tried and experimented on a belief and found it to be true , then it becomes knowledge and is of value to us , but not before. Some minds are so constituted that the more absurd a proposition presented to them is , the more readily they be lieve it , having no hesitancy to declare in the most solemn manner , that laws can double the intrinsic and exchanga- ble value of commodities , that Baalam's ass spoke , that a Modonna made of wood or stone , can wink her eye and kick up her heels , and do so from the simple fact that some one had told them so ; but these are the unfortunates , for whom there is neither help nor hope. The things we know to an absolute certainty are limited , but we are pro gressing and progressing rapidly , and in no department of science more than in electricity ; and from what is already known of this power and its possibili ties , may we not expect that after further test , trial and experience , there will be a verification of the truth , that this power governs , directs and controls the universe. The pathway of civilization has been strewn with failures , by tests , trials and experiments , in order to ascertain knowledge in the arts and sciences , in agriculture and mechanics , in fact in all the fields of human exertion , in which something might be formed and fash ioned for the benefit of mankind. If we disagree in regard 'to the gov erning power of the universe , it does not follow that we should torture or murder one another , as the so-called re ligious world has done in the past when they disagreed in regard to some article of faith or doctrinal dogma that no ra tional mind oould comprehend. There are limits to the boundary of human knowledge , but we have not reached that boundary in regard to electrical energy , and will keep on with further developments no matter how much the heretofore accepted theories and opinions of mankind may be dis turbed and dissipated by the penalties of knowledge. Physical matter is governed by phy sical laws , but if that unseen and un searchable essence , called the human soul , exists after the dissolution of this muddy vesture of decay and death , ; hero is consolation in the hope , that it then returns to the bosom of its father and its God. There certainly can be no unpleasant thought connected with the idea of our entering that other world we have been taught to believe in , where we may join those with whom we lave been connected by the ties of af fection and love , after we have answered to the summons , "Child of the Earth , Oome Away , " however difficult it may be to verify that belief. A. V. L. CONCERNING LEWIS AND CLARK. Mr. M. M. Warner , of Lyons , Ne braska , publisher of the Mirror , writes in approbation of The Conservative's suggestion that local studies be made along the river to locate Lewis and Olark's landmarks , and says : "This is an excellent idea. I have lo cated every camping place and all their travels inland along what is now the boundary of Bnrt and Dakota counties , and have located nearly where the Mis souri river ran at that time. If your project prevails , I will assist in the en terprise if my services can be utilized. The enclosed card will go to show how closely I have traced their route. A piece of this wood was placed in the gavel that was used in the National Convention at Philadelphia. Much in formation is also given on pages 86 and 87 of Warner's History of Dakota County , Neb. " The card mentioned reads as follows : "This piece of wood was taken from a cotton-wood tree , under whose shade Lewis and Clark held a great council with several representatives from the different tribes of Northwestern In dians , on the afternoon of August 18 , 1804 , where the aborigines expressed a willingness to become a part of the government of the United States and where peace generally was established between the warring tribes , this being the first notification of the Louisiana Purchase. The tree at that time was about 84 years old , and five years old when the battle of Bunker Hill was fought. Under this memorable tree many of Nebraska's fearless pioneers have camped as they pitched their tents upon her wild and primeval prairie. Here also , Col. J. F. Warner and party camped for dinner , in the early summer of 1860 while on their way to the great republican convention at Chicago , where Col. Warner , as Nebraska's dele gate , seconded the nomination of Abra ham Lincoln for president , in behalf of the choice of Nebraska's people. " TO CURE A COLD IN ONE DAY. Take Laxative Brome Quinine Tablets. All druggists refund the money if it fails to'cure. E. W. Grove's signature is on each box. 25c.