CORRESP ONBENCE. 



55i 



CORRESPONDENCE. 



THE PROHIBITION LAWS OF IOWA. 



Editor Popular Science Monthly : 



SIR: In the May (1890) number of the 

 Monthly Dr. W. A. Hammond, in his 

 article on Sumptuary Laws, makes state- 

 ments with reference to the prohibitory 

 liquor laws of Iowa which are not only mis- 

 leading but incorrect. 



It is not an offense under our law " for 

 one person to ask another to take a drink." 

 It is not contrary to law in Iowa to give in- 

 toxicating liquor to an adult person not in- 

 toxicated nor in the habit of becoming so, 

 when such gift is made without any consid- 

 eration being received or expected in return, 

 and without subterfuge or attempt to evade 

 the provisions of the code. The act of giv- 

 ing intoxicating liquors, except to minors or 

 habitual drunkards, is not prohibited by 

 statute, and the Supreme Court has decided 

 that the simple act of giving is no offense 

 (State vs. Hutchins, 74 Iowa Rep., p. 20) ; and 

 so in the case supposed by the doctor there 

 is neither a violation of the letter nor the 

 spirit of the law. 



It may be added, however, as pertinent 

 to the point made by the doctor, that Iowans 

 may legally obtain all the liquor they want 

 by importation from other States ; and that, 

 notwithstanding the most stringent laws 

 against its manufacture and sale within the 

 State, it is not difficult to purchase any kind 

 of liquor either by the drink or by the bot- 



tle ; and that it is at least doubtful if the 

 drink habit is decreasing. 



James H. Trewin. 

 Lansing, Iowa, May 12, 1S90. 



EVIDENCES OF GLACIAL ACTION IN 

 VIRGINIA. 



Editor Popular Science Monthly : 



Sir : The interesting article in your June 

 number, by the Hon. David A. Wells, on 

 evidences of glacial action in southeastern 

 Connecticut, recalls to my recollection the 

 fact of similar evidence in the State of Vir- 

 ginia. Slightly north of latitude 38°, in the 

 extreme southeast corner of Orange County 

 (my native county), on a farm — originally, 

 and I presume still, known by the name of 

 Wood Lawn, or -the Minor Farm — are two 

 large bowlders, similar to those described by 

 Mr. Wells. One of these bowlders is split 

 in half ; one half retains an erect position, 

 while the other lies prostrate, forming a 

 large, flat table. I speak of them as they 

 appeared many years ago, although I pre- 

 sume their appearance is the same to-day. 

 There are other bowlders of a like character 

 in that vicinity, and, if they were visited and 

 described by one competent to do so, a very 

 interesting article might be written, and 

 perhaps prove a valuable addition to the 

 science of glacial action. 



Francis Minor. 

 St. Louts, June, 1890. 



EDITOR'S TABLE. 



MR. SPENCER'S PLACE IN PHILOSOPHY. 



AS we had occasion not long ago to 

 remark, the philosophy of evo- 

 lution is a great stumbling-block and 

 rock of offense to transcendentalists — 

 that is to say, to people who want a 

 philosophy founded on emotion and 

 soaring beyond all experience into the 

 region of the absolute. If such people 

 do not like the evolution philosophy, it 

 is natural that they should dislike the 

 evolution philosopher par excellence, 

 Mr. Spencer. His name seems to send 

 a chill through those whose ambition it 

 is to discover truth by some royal road 

 of a priori assumption ; and now and 

 again these persons take courage to ex- 



press all the repugnance they feel to 

 what they regard as his desolating doc- 

 trines. Occasionally, also, though not 

 very often, an attempt is made to show 

 that Mr. Spencer is not so much of a 

 philosopher after all — only a kind of 

 all-round writer on a great variety of 

 subjects, in not one of which he has 

 any superior competence. Many of our 

 readers will remember that some weeks 

 ago a certain person wrote to the New 

 York Times to express his own low 

 estimate of the value of Mr. Herbert 

 Spencer's philosophical work, and his 

 grave doubts as to the rank assigned 

 to hi in in the world of thought by 

 really competent judges. This gentle- 



