July. 1928 



EVOLUTION 



Page Nine 



incarnation of its religious spirit. I 

 maneuvered her quietly to a certain comer 

 of the wonderful and beautiful Valhalla of 

 the English nation, and then, as she gazed 

 around, told her to read the brass letter- 

 ing which ttdd on whose grave she was 

 standing. Charles Darwin! 



The day will come when men will raise 

 one of the most superb monuments in the 

 British national mausoleum to Darwin, and 

 pilgrims from all parts of the world will 

 seek that obscure tomb, over which the 

 echoes of psalms and hymns still roll 

 daily. Darwin not only opened a new age 

 for science: he opened up a new and splen- 

 did vista for men. 



* * * 



Everything that is, Evolution says, will 

 pass away. It is, as a rule, a stage to 

 higher things. "Everything flows" was the 

 two-word summary of the teaching of a 

 certain Greek philosopher two tliousantl 

 years ago. There are many things that 

 we want to see flowing into the olilivion 

 of the Middle Ages. But nature is slow: 

 or, rather, it has reached the stage when 

 its finest agencies are the thoughts and 

 sentiments of man. Flowing is not now- 

 good enough. We want something moie 

 rapid. A large and vigorous minority in 

 any civilization could sweep away all these 

 dark old reactionary forces in a few years. 

 Timid compromise with them is useless. 

 They have assured me that they despise 

 it. This will probably be the last chance 

 of crusaders for the merry work of fight- 

 ing dragons. 



A CLERICAL JUGGLER 



By Edwin Tennev Brewster 

 TOOTHING more amazes the simple lay- 

 man. in all this Anti-Evolution fracas, 

 than the fashion in which the clergy jug- 

 gle their verbal formulas quite regardless 

 of the obvious facts of nature. Byron C. 

 Nelson, D. D., for example (Bible Cham- 

 pion, Dec, 1927, p. 640 I regards it as "the 

 strongest reason for rejecting evolution" 

 that: 



"Mendelism teaches that the various 

 forms, i.e., shapes, colors, and other physi- 

 cal characteristics of living organisms are 

 produced by the presence in species of 

 certain things called 'factors." (Of course, 

 Mendelism does nothing of the sort.t 

 These factors descend in the germ plasm 

 from generation to generation, and, as 

 far as is known, they cannot be destroyed 

 without the destruction of the offspring, 

 neither can they be altered." 



Or in other words, according to the 

 Reverend Byron C. Nelson, D. D., there 

 can never be an albino. Normal men 

 have a "factor" for skin pigment. If that 

 is "destroyed," that is the end of that 

 creature. Neither can there be a white 

 kitten or a white rose. You think you 

 see them, but you don't ! Moreover Bur- 

 bank's spinele-ss cactus was just another 

 scientific fraud; and alleged "hornless" 

 breeds of cattle really have invisible horns. 

 For the "factor" ff;r spines or horns can- 

 not drop out "witiiout the destruction of 



the offspring." Moreover, since "factors" 

 cannot be altered, there are really no 

 Baldwin apples, no Concord giapes. no 

 golden bantam sweet-corn, no pink roses, 

 no long-haired or tailless cats, no six- 

 fingered men, nor any of the thousand- 

 and-one "mutants" that we laymen deceive 

 ourselves into thinking that we see! 



Truly, theology is a wonderful science! 



"Not merely what we do, but what we 

 try to do and why, interprets what we 

 are." A. Nielen. 



"Ideals are like stars. You will not suc- 

 ceed in touching them with your hands, 

 but like the sea-faring man on the desert 

 of waters, you choose them as your guides, 

 and following them, you reach your des- 

 tiny." Carl Schurz. 



Anti-Evolution Law Proposed In Arkansas 



TN Arkansas the fundamentalists are try- 

 ing out a new tactic this year in 

 their war upon the teaching of evolution. 

 They will submit the question to popular 

 vote at the next election. The provisions 

 of the initiative and referendum law fur- 

 nish them the opportunity to do this. If 

 eight per cent of the voters sign a peti- 

 tion requesting.it, any proposition has to 

 be printed on the ballot and submitted 

 for decision to all the voters at the next 

 regular election. So the fundamentalists 

 have got the brilliant idea of appealing 

 directly to the people, and settling this 

 question of science by popular majority 



vote. 



Already two months ago they boasted 

 that they had over 20,000 signatures to 

 their petition, nearly twice the number 

 required by law, but they have not yel 

 filed it. A. L. Rotenberry, one of the 

 sponsors of the bill, frankly admits that 

 he is waiting until July to file the bill sc 

 that the campaign may be shortened and 

 the evolutionists have less time for their 

 educational campaign. 



The full text of the petition sponsored 

 by the Arkansas Anti-Evolution Leagut 

 and the .\merican Anti-Evolution Associa- 

 tion, is as follows: 



INITIATIVE PETITION 

 To the Honorable Jim B. Higgins. 



Secretary of the State of Arkansas: 



We, the undersigned legal voters of the Stale of Arkansas, respectfully 

 propose the following law, to-wit: 



Act No 



FOR AN ACT TO BE ENTITLED "AN ACT TO PROHIBIT IN ANY 



UNIVERSITY, NORMAL. PUBUC SCHOOL, COLLEGE OR OTHER 



EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION IN THE STATE OF ARKANSAS 



THAT IS SUPPORTED IN WHOLE OR IN PART. FHOM PUBLIC 



FUNDS, THE TEACHING THAT MAN DESCENDED OR ASCENDED 



FROM LOWER ORDER OF ANIMALS AND PROVIDING A PEN. 



ALTY FOR VIOLATION THEREOF." 

 Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Arkansas. 



Section I. That it shall be unlawful for any teacher or other instructor 

 in any LIniversity, College, Normal, Public School, or other institution of thf 

 State, which is supported in whole or in part from public funds derived by 

 State or local taxation to teach the Theory or Doctrine that mankind ascended 

 or descended from a lower order of animals and also it shall be unlawful for 

 any teacher, textbook commission, or other authority exercising the powef 

 to select textbooks for above mentioned educational institutions to adopt or 

 use in any such Institution a textbook that teaches the doctrine or theory 

 that mankind descended or ascended from a lower order of animals. 



Section 2. Be it further enacted, that any teacher or other instructor 

 or textbook commissioner who is found guilty of violation of this Act by 

 teaching the theory or doctrine mentioned in Section 1 hereof, or by using, 

 or adopting any such textbooks in any such educational institution shall be 

 guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be fined not exceeding five 

 hundred dollars ($500,001 ; and upon conviction shall vacate the position 

 thus held in any educational institutions of the character above mentioned or 

 any commission of which he may be a member. 



Section 3. This Act shall be in full force and effect from and after 

 its adoption by vote of the people of the Slate of Arkansas. 



Section 4. That all laws and parts of laws in conflict herewith be, and 

 the same are, hereby repealed. 



And by this, our petition, order that the same be submitted to the people 

 of said Slate, to the end that the same may be adopted, enacted, or rejected 

 by the vote of the legal voters of said State at the regular general election to 

 be held in said State on the 6th day of November, 1928, and each of us for 

 himself says: 



"7 have personally signed this petition; I am a legal voter of the State 

 of Arkansas, and my residence, postoffice address, and voting precint are 

 correctly written after my name." 



