Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

ADDRESS PREPARED BY WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN JUST BEFORE HIS DEATH (Continued from Last Week) “Our second indictment is that the evolutionary hypothesis carried to its logical conclusion, disputes every vi¬ tal ♦’ruth of the Bible. Its tendency, natural, if not inevitable, is to lead who really accept it, first to ag¬ nosticism and then to atheism. Evo¬ lutionists attack the truth of the Bi¬ ble, not openly at first, but by using weazel words like ‘poetical,’ ‘symbol ical’ and ‘allegorical’ to suck the meaning out of the inspired record of man’s creation. 'We call as our first witness Charles Darwin. He began life a Christian. On page 39, Volume I, of the Life and Letters of Charles Dar win, by his son, Francis Darwin, he says, speaking of the period from jejjy 1828 to 1831 “I did not then in the doubt the strict and literal truth of every word in the Bible.’ On page 412 of volume II of the same publi cation, he says, ‘When I was ing the facts for ‘The Origin’my be lief in what is called a personal God was as firm as that of Dr Pusey ftmself.’It may be a surprise to your honor and to you, gentlemen of the jury, as it was to me, to learn that Darwin spent three years at Cam¬ bridge studying for the ministry. “This was Darwin as a young man ’ before he came under the influence of the doctrine that man came from a lower order of animals. The change wrought in his religious views will be found in a letter written to a German youth in 1879 and printed on page 277 of volume I of the life and let ters above referred to. The letter be gins: ‘I am much engaged, an old ran, and out of health, and I cannot pare time to answer your questions fully—nor indeed can they be an swered Science has nothing to do with Christ except in so far as the habit of scientific research makes a ^Fr nan cautious in admitting evidence, myself I do not believe there ever has been any revelation. As for a future "life, every man must judge for himself between conflicting vague probabilities.’ Science Breeds Atheism “Note that ‘science has nothing to do with Christ except in so far as the habit of scientific research makes a man cautious in admitting evi dence.’ Stated plainly that simply means that ‘the habit of scientific re search makes one cautious in accept ing the only evidence that we have of Christ’s existence mission teachings namely! crucifixion and resurrection, the evidence found in the Bible. To make this interpretation of his words the only possible one, he adds, ‘for myself, I do not believe that there ever has been any revelation’ In re jecting the Bible as a revelation from God he rejects the Bible’s conception of God and he rejects also the super¬ natural Christ of whom the Bible, and the Bible alone, tells. And, it will be observed, he refuses to express any opinion as to a future life. “Now let us follow with his son’s exposition of his father’s view’s as they are given in extracts from a bi ography written in 1876. Here is Dar win’s language as quoted by his son: wii8, <“ ‘During these two years (October, to January, 1839) I was led to think much about religion. Whilst on board the Beagle I was quite ortho dox and I remember being heartily laughed at by several of the officers for' (though themselves orthodox) quoting the Bible as an unanswerable authority on some point of morality. When thus reflecting, I felt compell ed to look for a first cause, having an intelligent mind in some degree ana¬ logous to man; and I deserved to be called an atheist. This conclusion was strong in my mind about the time, as far as I can remember, when I wrote the “Origin of Species; it is since that time that it has very gradually, with many fluctuations, become weaker. But then arises the doubt can the mind of man which has, as I ffrily believe, been developed from mind as low as that possessed by the lowest animals, fee trusted when it draws such grand conclusions? Mystery Insoluble I “ ‘I cannot pretend to throw the least light on such abstruse oroblems. The mystery of the beginning of all things is insoluble by us; and I, for one , must be content to remain an agnostic.’ , “When Darwin entered upon b ; s scientific career he was ‘quite ortho and quoted the Bible as an unan swerable authority on some point of morality.’ Even when he wrote 'The Origin of Species,’ the thought of ‘a first cause, having an intelligent mind in some degree analogous to man,’ was strong in his mind. It was after t^st time that ‘very gradually, with many fluctuations,’ his belief in God became weaker. He traces this decline for us and concludes by telling ug that he cannot pretend to throw the least light on such abstruse problems _the religious problems above refer red to. Then comes the flat state ment that he ‘must be content to re¬ main an agnostic;’ and to make clear what he means by the word agnostic, he says that ‘the mystery of the be ginning of all things is insoluble by us,’—not by him alone, but by every body. Here we have the effect of evo lution upon its most distinguished i exponent; it led him from an ortho dox Christian, believing every word of the Bible, and in a personal God, down and down and down to helpless arid hopeless agnosticism. “But there is one sentence upon which I reserved comment__it throws light upon his downward pathway, ‘Then arises the doubt, can the mind of man which has, as I fully believe, been developed from a mind as low as that possessed by the lowest animals, be trusted when it draws such grand conclusions?’ "Here is the explanation; he drags man down to the brute level, and then, judging man by brute stan dards, he questions whether man’s mind can be trusted to deal with God and immortality! Reason for Fear “How can any teacher tell his stu dents that evolution does not tend to destroy his religious faith? How can an honest teacher conceal from his students the effect of evolution upon Darwin himself. And is it not strang-| still that preachers who advocate evolution never speak of Darwin’s l° ss faith, due to his belief in evo lution? The parents of Tennessee have reason enough to fear the effect of evolution on the minds of their children. Belief in evolution cannot bring to those who hold such a ho lief and compensation for the loss of faith in God, trust in the Bible, and belief in the supernatural character °f Christ. It is belief in evolution that has caused so many scientists and so many Christians to reject the miracles of the Bible, and then give up, one after another, every vital truth of Christianity. They finally cease to pray and sunder the tie that binds them to their Heavenly Father. “The miracle should not be a stumbling block to any one. ft raises but three questions: First, could God perform a miracle? Yes, the God who created the universe can do anything , He wants to with it. He can tempo-1 rarily suspend any law that He has made or He may employ higher laws that we do not understand. I “Second: Would God perform a miracle? To answer that question in the negative one would have to know about God’s plans and ' more purposes than a finite mind can know, and yet some are so wedded to evolution; that they deny that God would perform a miracle merely because a miracle is inconsistent with evolution. If we believe that God can per- ] for m a miracle and might desire to do so, we are prepared to consider w > tb open mind the third question; namely, did God perform the miracles recorded in the Bible. The same evi dence that establishes the authority of the Bible establishes the truth of the record of miracles performed, Romanes’ Confession ! "Now let me read to the honorable court and to you, gentlemen of the jury, one of the most pathetic con-1 fusions that has come to my notice. ; George John Romanes, a distinguish ed biologist, sometimes called the sue- j cessor of Darwin, was prominent , enough to be given extended space in b °th the Encyclopedia Britanica and Encyclopedia Americana. Like Dar-1 win, he was reared in the orthodox faith, and like Darwin was led away from it by evolution (see “Thoughts on Religion,” page 180) for 25 years be could not pray. Soon after he be came an agnostic, he wrote a book entitled A Candid Examination of Theism,” publishing it under the as sumed name, “Physicus. ln this book ^ see P a *? e 29, “Thoughts on Religion) he says: ‘“And for as much as I am far from being able to agree with those wbo affirm that twilight doctrine of the ‘new faith’ is a desirable substi tute for the waning splendor of “the old.” I am not ashamed to confess that with this virtual negation of God the universe to me has lost its s0ld °f loveliness; and although from henceforth the precept to “work while ib is day” will doubtless but gain an intensified force from the terribly intensified meaning of the words that “the night cometh when no man can work,” yet when at times I think, as think at times I must, of the appal ling contrast between the hallowed glory of that creed which once was mine, and the lonely mystery of ex istence as now I find it—at such - THE LEADER-TRIBUNE, PORT VALLEY, GA., THURSDAY, AUGUST, 20, 1925. times I shall ever feel it to avoid the sharpest pang of my nature is susceptible.’ | think “Do of these the crime evolutionists they commit stop I t be y * ake I udb ou t the hearts i n,en and women aad lead them ! ' n ^° 11 starless night? What ! ! can they ‘the find hallowed in robbing glory a human of * n K creed’ that Romances once and in substituting ‘the lonely tery ot existence’ as he found it? Gan tbe fathers and mothers of Ten nessee be blamed for trying to tect their children from such a trage d y ‘ Crimes Compound “If any one has been led to com plain of the severity of the punish ment that hangs over the defendant, let him compare this crime and its mild punishment with the crime for which a greater punishment is pre scr ‘ b ed. What is the taking of a few dollars from one in day or night in comparison with the crime of leading ono awa >' from God and awa >' from christ? “Shakespeare regards the robbing 0, ’ e °f his good name as much more grave than the stealing of his purse, Bllt we have a higher authority than Shakespeare to invoke in this connec tion - He who s I ,ake as never man spake, thus describes the crimes that are committed against the young. It is impossible but that offenses will come; Bub woe unto hin% through whom they come. It were better for b ' m bbat a millstone were hanged about h,s neck - and he be cast lnto the sea - tban that he should offend one of these little ones/ “Christ did not overdraw the pic ture - wbo is able to set a price u l ,on the life of a child—a child into whom a mother has poured her life and for whom a father has labbred. What ,na y a noble life mean to the child it self - to the parents and to the world. “ And , it must be remembered that we can measure the effect on only that P art of life which is spent on earth; we have no way of calculating the etiect on that infinite ciicle of b ^ e °f which existence here is but a small arc. The soul is immortal and religion leads with the soul; the logi eal effect of the evolutionary hy pothesis is to undermine religion and thus affect the soul. I recently re ceived a list of questions that were to be discussed in a prominet eastern school for women. The second question ,n the llst read > Is religion an abso lest 'ent function that should be allow ed to atrophy quietly, without or us in * the passionate prejudice of out worn superstition?’ The real attack of evolution, it will be seen, is not u P on orthodox Christianity, or even upon Christianity, but upon religion— the most basic fact in man’s existence and the moat Practical thing . life, m More Evidence “ But 1 have some more evidence of tbc effect of evolution upon the life of tbose who acce Pt it and try to har monize their thought with it. “James H. Le ba, a professor of psychology at Bryn Mawr college, Pennsylvania, book entitled published ‘Belief a few In years God ago a and Immortality.’ In this book he re * ates bow be secured the . . of opinions scientists as to the existence of a per sonal God and a personal immortali He used a volume entitled ‘Amer¬ ican Men of Science,’ which he says, included the names of ‘practically every American who may properly be called a scientist.’ There were 5,500 names in the book - He selected 1 ’ 000 as representative of the 5, b0 °- and addressed them personally. Most of them, he said, were teachers in schools of higher learning. The were kept confidential. Upon received, ... he asserts , that , answers over half of them doubt or deny the exlstence of a personal God and a ers °nal immortality, and he asserts unbelief increases in proportion prominence, the percentage of un being greatest among the most P rornlner| t- Among biologists, be ’ n a personal God numbered than 31 per cent ’ wbBe believers in a personal immortality numbered 37 per cent. “He also questioned the students in colleges of high rank and from answers received, 97 per cent which were from students hetween 18 arul 2(> ’ foun d that unbelief in from 15 per cent in the fresh class up to 4b to 45 per cpat : ^ the J who graduated. On, 230 of thls - book we read <the | statistics show that young enter college, possessed of the still accepted, more or less ... in the average , home of , an< ^> ana £ r adually abandon the j * na ^ Christian beliefs. This from beBef to unbe]ie f b e at- i to tbe influence of the per- 1 b ' gb cuB ' ur e under whom they Tennessee Patient 'The people of Tennessee have patient enough; they acted none . too soon. How can they expect protect society, and even the from the deadening influence of nosticism and atheism if they the teachers employed by taxation to poison the minds of the youth with j this destructive doctrine? And re 'member, that the law has not here ■ tofore required the writing of the word ‘poison’ on poisonous doctrines, The bodies of our people are so valu able that druggists and physicians must be careful to properly label all poisons; why not be us careful to pro tect the spiritual life of our people from the poisons that kill the soul? “There is a test that is sometimes used to ascertain whether one sus pected of mental infirmity is really insane. He is put into a tank of wa ter and told to dip the tank dry while a stream of water flows into the tank. If he has not sense enough to turn off the stream, he is ndjudg ed insane. Can parents justify them selves if, knowing the effect of belief in evolution, they permit irreligious teachers to inject skepticism and in fidelity into the minds of their chil dren? “Do bad doctrines corrupt the als of students? We have a case in point. Mr. Darrow, one of the most distinguished criminal lawyers in our land, was engaged about a year ago in defending two rich men’s sons who were on trial for as dastardly a mur der as was ever committed. The older one, ‘Babe’ Leopold, was a brilliant student, 19 years old. He was an evo lutionist and an atheist. He was also a follower of Nietzsche, whose books he had devoured and whole philoso i P b y he had adopted. Dr. Darrow ma de a plea for him, based upon the influence that Nietzsche’s philosophy had exerted upon the boy’s mind. Here are extracts from his speech: Defense of ‘Babe - “Babe took to philosophy . . He ’ in this he became grew up way; en amoured of the philosophy of sc he. Your honor, I have read almost everything that Nietzsche ever wrote. A man of wonderful intellect; the most original philosopher of the last century. A man who made a deeper imprint on philosophy than any other m an within a hundred years, whether right or wrong. More books have | )eon written about him than prob ably all the rest of the philosophers in a 100 years. More college profes sors have talked about him. In a way, he has reached more people, and still he has been a philosopher of what we m ight call the intellectual cult. “He wrote one book called ‘Beyond the Good and Evil,’ which was a crit icism 0 f all moral precepts, as we understand them, and a treatise that the intelligent man was beyond good an d evil, that the laws for good and the laws for evil did not apply to anybody who approached the super man. He wrote on the will to power, “I have just made a few short ex tracts from Nietzsche that show the things that he (Leopold) has read, and these are short and almost taken a t random. It is not how this would affect you . It is not how it would affect ine. The question is, how it would affect the impressionable, vi sionary, dreamy mind of a boy—a boy who should never have seen it too early for him. Quotation from Nietzsche: “Why | SO soft, oh, my brethren? Why so so ft, so unresisting and yielding? Why is there so much disavowal and abnegation in your heart? Why is there so little fate in your looks? For all creators are hard and it must .seem blessedness unto you to press your hand upon milleniums and upon | wax. This new table, oh, my breth- | ren, I put over you: Become hard. To be obsessed by moral consideration , low grade , of , . presupposes a very in tellect. We should substitute for mo rality the will to our own end, and j consequently to the means to accom plish that. A great man, a man whom nature has built up and invented in a grand style, is colder, harder, less cautious and more free from the fear of public opinion. He does not pos se ss that virtues which are compati ble with respectability, with being re¬ spected, nor any of those things which are counted among the virtues () f the herd.’ Found in Universities “Mr. Darrow says “That the super¬ ma n, a creation of Nietzsche has per meated every college and university in the civilized world. “‘There is not any university in the world where the professor is not I familiar with Nietzsche, not one . . . Some believe it and some do not be lieve it. Some read it as I do and take it theory, dream, ... as a a a vision, mix ed with good and bad, but not in any i way related to human life. Some take it seriously . . . There is not a uni- j in the world of high stan- ' any ar( j where the professors do not tell you about Nietzsche and discuss him, where the books are not there.’ ll l If this boy is to blame for this ’i did he get it? Is there any blame attached because took Nietzsche’s philosophy and fashioned his life upon it? there is no question in this case what that is true. Then who is blame? The university would be to blame than he is; the scholars the world would be more to than he is. The publishers of world . . . are more to blame than is. Your honor, it is hardly fair hang a 19-year-old boy for the osophy that was taught him at university. It does not meet my of justice and fairness to visit his head the philosophy that has taught by university men for years.’ «. . In fairness to Mr. Darrow, think I ought to quote two more agraphs. After this bold attempt ' excuse the student the ground on he was transformed from a meaning youth into a murderer by philosophy of an atheist and on j further ground that this i was in the libraries of all the and discussed by the some adopting the philosophy 1 some rejecting it—on these grounds he denies that the should l>e held responsible for j the taking scholars of human in the life. universities He charges j j responsible than the boy, more I that the universities were more ponsible than the boy, because furnished such books to the and then he proceeds to | the universities and the leaving nobody responsible. Herp Mr. Darrow’s language: Darrow’s Words << < Now, I do not want to be understood about this. Even for sake of saving the lives of my clients I do not want to be dishonest and tell the court something that I do honestly thing in this case. I do think that the universities are to blame. I do not think they should be responsible. I do not think, ever, that they are too large, and that they should keep a closer watch, if possible, upon the individual. But you cannot destioy thought. because, forsooth, some brain may be deranged by thought. It is the duty of the university, as I conceive it, to be the greatest storehouse of the wis dom of the ages, and to have its dents come there and learn and choose. I have no doubt but what it has meant the death of many, but that- we cannot help.’ This is a damnable philosophy, and yet it is the flower that blooms on the stalk of evolution. Mr. Darrow thinks the universities are in duty bound to feed out this poisonous stuff to their students, and when the stu dents become stupified by it and com mit murder, neither they nor the uni versities are to blame. I am sure, your honor, and getlemen’ of the jury, that you agree with me when I protest against the adoption of any such a philosophy in the state of Tennessee. A criminal is not relieved from responsibility merely because he found Nietzsche’s philosophy in a library which ought not to contain it. Neither is the university guiltless if it permits such corrupting nourish ment to be fed to the souls that are entrusted to its care. But, go a step farther, would the state be blameless if it permitted the universities under its control to be turned into training schools for murderers? When you get back to the root of this question, you will find that the legislature not only had a right to pprotect the students from the evolutionary hypothesis but was in duty bound to do so. Another 1 reposition While on this subject, let me cal! your attention to another proposition embodied in Mr. Darrow’s speech. He said that Dicky i t Loeb, u +v, the younger boy, had read trashy novels, of the blood and thunder sort. He even went so f ar as bo commen d an Illinois sta tute which forbids minors reading stories of crime. Here is what Mr. Darrow said: ‘We have a statute in f /u5 \ f'll-rlD T ex v \ N \ I A u)T-tlE f/ \\ \ AT T E M ' ■ r< // /J i X or 0\ rpet < . Respect your mirror. It will never frown on you if we are given the care of your clothing—Suits, Dresses, etc. Our reputation is maintained by painstaking SERVICE. W. M. JOHNSON Phone 76 this state, passed only last year, if I recall it, which forbids minors read¬ ing stories of crime. Why? There is only one reason; because the legisla¬ ture in its wisdom thought it would have a tendency to produce these thoughts and this life in the boys who read them.’ “If Illinois can protect her boys, why cannot this state protect the boys of Tennessee? Are the boys of Illinois more precious than yours? “But to return to the philosophy of the evolutionist. Dr. Darow said: “I say to you seriously that the par ents of Dicky Loeb are more sible than he, and yet few boys had i better parents.” . . . Again, he says, | I know that one of two things hap pened to this boy; that this terrible crime was inherent in his organism ■ and came from some ancestor or that it came through his education and his training after he was born.” He j thinks the boy was not responsible j for anything; his guilt was due, ac cording to this philosophy, either to heredity or to environment.” “But let me complete Mr. Darwin’s philosophy based on evolution, He says; “I do not know what remote ancestor may have sent down the seed that corrupted him, and I do not , know through how many ancestors ; it may have passed until it reached Dicky Loeb. All I know is, it is true and there is not a biologist in the world who will not say I am right. ’ I From Brute to Man it Psychologists who build upon evo¬ lutionary hypothesis teach that man is nothing but a bundle of character¬ istics inherited from brute ancestors. That is the philosophy which Mr. Darrow applied in this celebrated ( criminal “Some remote ances , case. tor”—he does not know how remote —“sent down the seed that corrupted him.” You cannot punish the ances tor—he is not only dead but, accord¬ ing to the evolutionists, he was a brute and may have lived a million ( years ago. And he says that all the j biologists agree with him—no wonder so small a per cent of the biologists, according to Leuba, believe in a per j I sonal “This God. is the quintessence of evolu tion, distilled for us by one who id¬ lows that doctrine to its logical con elusion. Analyze this dogma of dark ness and death. Evolutionists say that back in the twilight of life a beast, name and nature unknown, planted a murderous ' seed and that the impulse 1 that originated . in . that seed throbs FRESH Tender and Juicy WITH A FLAVOR SO GOOD AT POOLE’S ™ e d r You find them all the time— BARBECUE W EINERS and HAMBURGERS (f JfeB J*' m f iL EV u fJ. m rmiM Jin mi ?pTtl|y B *• i fej'qlnk frii ri i ni j ia j ■a i W f 8 ® •’ki¬ ■ V^ASFALTSLATE ^-^-•SKiaOLES The Shingle That Never Curls ty YT is easy to have a good roof on your home. A roof that will * lay flat, that will withstand the weather, that will always keep its attractive appearance. If you want such a roof, insist upon getting the “shingle that never curls”—the shingle that meets all roofing requirements. Ask us for prices and samples of the Carey Asfaltslate Shingle. It is made in three attractive colors, Blue-black, Red and Green. FORT VALLEY LtlMfSER COMPANY Fort Valley , C >-eorgia forever in the blood of the brutfl’f descendants, inspiring killings innum* erable, for which murderers arc not responsible because coerced by a fate fixed by the laws of heredity. It is an insult to reason and shocks the heart. That doctrine is as deadly as leprosy; it may aid a lawyer in a criminal case, but it would, if gener* ally adopted, destroy all sense of responsibility and menace the morals of the world. Abrute, they say, can predestine a man to crime, and yet they deny that God incarnate in the flesh can release a human being from bondage or save him from ances* sins. No more repulsive doctrine was ever proclaimed by man; if all biologists of the world teach the Mr. Darrow says they may heaven defend the of our land from their impious (Coninued Next Week) ST. ANDREW’S CHURCH Episcopal Holy Communion, 7:30 a. m. Church School, Mr. J. W. Robinson, Mr. William Wood, Asst. Supt. a. m. Morning prayer, 11:00 a. m. Evening Prayer, 7:30 p. m. Welcome all. E. J. Saywell, Pastor THE KIMBALL HOUSE Atlanta’s Best Known Hotel. 400 Rooms of Solid Comfort. The Home of Georgia People. Rooms, Running Water, $1 to $2. Rooms, with Bath, $1.50 to $5. Free Garage Service JACOBS & MAYNARD, Prop. FOR REAL COURTEOUS OPTICAL SERVICE SEE US. Let us examine your eyes. rAOP T/r 'i Gj FRANK H. JOHNSON OPTOMETRIST Macon, Ga. FOR SALE Act ((nick if you want Lot Nine in Block K West End addition for Three Hundred and Fifty Dollars. F. BURNETT Waverly, Fla.