sight we used to see these heroic volunteers unflinchingly
suffer these indignities for the cause of righteousness, notwithstanding
we had the power to annihilate the entire Apeman species, if we had so
desired. Our chemists could have turned on currents of poisonous air and
asphyxiated whole nations of them at once; our electricians could have
sent an electric shock around the earth that would have left a path of
destruction a thousand miles in width; our scientists could have
concentrated the full force of the sun's rays upon any particular city
they might choose and burn it up instantly; but they did not. We had the
power to destroy, but the courage of forbearance. The highest honor our
nation could bestow upon a man was to allow him to leave his heavenly
country and become a martyr to his own unselfishness in trying to uplift
the Apeman species. And had it not been for the unfortunate catastrophe
which I shall explain to you later, our plans would have succeeded and
the earth today would have been heaven with no such creature in
existence as the Apeman."

CHAPTER XI

"Next to selfishness, religion has been the greatest drawback towards
progress the Apeman has had to contend with in all ages," continued
Arletta.

"Religion is the outgrowth of ignorance and the Apeman, just starting up
the ladder of human knowledge, adopted it as an explanation of things of
which he knew nothing. All religions were created by the Apeman; and
wherein lies the difference between the god built of stone or from the
imagination? In constructing the numberless religions, the Apeman
invariably made them to suit his own habits and customs. He built his
gods to please his own fancy and gave his own ideas as those of his
deities. His own knowledge is likewise the extent of the wisdom
contained by his gods, whom lie manufactured to be twisted and turned in
any direction and made to answer any purpose he might see fit. No one
religion is any worse than all the rest. They are all founded on
ignorance, superstition and selfishness. To believe in any of these
petty religions is to cast insults upon the real Creator of the
universe, for a god created by the Apeman must naturally be a very
inferior being. Each devout worshiper can point out the errors and
absurdities of every other religion excepting his own. He is capable of
utilizing his reasoning powers until directed against himself, and
narrowed down to a few words he feels that he is all righ