292 



SCIENCE 



[Vol. LV, No. 1420 



LEGISLATION TO SUPPRESS TRUTH 



To THE Editor op Science : "Wlien Professor 

 Morgan stated in his "Critique of Evolution" 

 that the old conflict between science and theo- 

 logy over the question of evolution vs. special 

 creation was ended and that it was unlikely 

 it -would ever again be revived, he was evident- 

 ly not informed of a condition prevalent 

 thi-oughout most of our southern and western 

 states. The newspapers report a bill before the 

 Kentucky legislature making the teaching of 

 evolution an offence punishable by a fine of 

 $500 to $1,000. This action is more than a 

 possibility elsewhere, since the Oklahoma State 

 Baptist Association recently passed a resolu- 

 tion condemning evolution, and appointed a 

 committee to eradicate this "heresy" from their 

 schools in this state. The Texas Southern 

 Baptists in a convention at Dallas recently took 

 the same action. A similar movement was in- 

 augurated in December by a "Congress" of the 

 Disciples of Christ, where in discussion bitter 

 hostility was shown and a committee was ap- 

 pointed to investigate all the colleges under 

 the auspices of that body with a view to with- 

 holding funds from any which may be found 

 to "teach evolution." In both of these de- 

 nominations, the religious periodicals are can-y- 

 ing pages of fulminations against evolution 

 ("Danvinism"), often of the most antequated 

 and puerile matter, but calculated to arouse the 

 firenzy of the uninformed who imagine their 

 religious beliefs to be imperilled by this "damn- 

 able doctrine" ! The secular press in this same 

 region of the country has in several cases car- 

 ried editorials commending the action in Ken- 

 tucky and ui-ging like action elsewhere. 



This is not a time when the scientitie world 

 should regard the situation as a joke, nor mere- 

 ly as a local manifestation. With a "silver- 

 tongued" apostle, the recrudescence of the old 

 conflict bids fair to take on the proportions of 

 a general action. The Moody Biblical Institute 

 of Chicago, it is reported, is sending thousands 

 of Mr. Bryan's addresses through the mails in 

 furtherance of this propaganda. When it is 

 realized that 50 per cent, of our citizenship are 

 known to have the intelligence of mere children 

 the harm that these misguided reformers may 

 do is beyond calculation. X. 



ECOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION ALONG 

 THE RED RIVER 



To THE Editor of Science: On page 127 

 of the February 3, 1922 number of Science 

 you published a news item which included ex- 

 tracts from a letter of the Attorney General 

 of the United States justly commendatory of 

 Professor Cowles "for his ecological investiga- 

 tions along the Red River for use in con- 

 nection with a suit between the states of Okla- 

 homa and Te-sas in the Supreme Court of the 

 United States.*"' 



The reader might gather from this that the 

 suit referred to was strictly a two-sided one 

 between these two states and that the govern- 

 ment of the United States (including the 

 attorney general) were a disinterested, un- 

 partisan referee in the matter. Such an im- 

 pression the attorney general certainly did not 

 mean to convey, for the United States is an 

 intervener in the suit. When the evidence is 

 made available to the scientific public it will 

 have to be read with this in mind. 



Carl Haetman 

 Austin, Texas 



ATOMIC NUCLEI 

 In my address printed in Science on March 

 3 last, the following corrections should be 

 made: 



1. In the last line of page 225, 3 X 10—13 cm. 

 should read 3 X 10—12 cm. 



2. In the fifth line, column 1, of page 226, 

 3 X 10—13 cm. should read 3 X 10—12 cm. 



3. In the twenty-seventh line, column 1, page 

 226, 3 X 10—12 cm. should read 3 X 10—13 cm. 



These errors were made in the copy and 

 inadvertently overlooked by me in the proof. 



J. C. McLennan 

 The Physical Laboratory, 

 University or Toronto, 

 March 7, 1922 



NOTES ON METEOROLOGY AND 

 CLIMATOLOGY 



NEW DISCUSSION OF TEMPERATURES IN 

 THE UNITED STATES 

 Ordinarily^ the dullest portion of a scien- 

 tific paper is that in which tables and charts 



