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Darwinian Theory An Error to Suppose It Has Been Finally Accepted by Scientific Men • By L. H. Starkey. E * * dence and a maximum of more or less ingenious but loose and unscientific reasoning. John Girard says, speaking of Darwinism: “In spite of its great name, its success has throughout been popular rather than scientific, and as time went on it has lost ground among the class most qualified to judge. Evolutionists there are in plenty, but very few genuine Darwinists, and among these can by no means be reckoned all who adopt the title, for not a few of them, like Romanes and Weissman, profess doctrines which cannot be reconciled with those of Darwin himself.” Professor Huxley, an ardent exponent of Darwinism, could not unreserv edly accept the theory, and a score or more of scientific men of the first rank could be named who “reject Darwinism altogether or admit it only with fatal reservations.” That higher forms of organic life have been evolved from lower is not dis puted, but that all organic life has been so developed genetically from sub stantially the same form of germ plasm is very far from an accepted scientific fact. Apart from biological research, which cannot be conclusive, all we have to guide us are the fragmentary records of paleontology, which, w T hen critically examined, certainly do not help the affirmative very much. It is not possible without encroaching seriously upon your space to show the many obstacles to the acceptance of the theory in question, but geneially speaking, the fossil records of organic life are fertile with evidences antago nistic to the hypothesis of genetic evolution, while the evidence required to support it is conspicuous at every turning point by its absence, and has to be supplied by the ingenious imagination of its advocates. As M. Fabre says (quoted by Girard): “Let us acknowledge that in truth w*e know nothing about anything as far as ultimate truths are concerned. Scientifically consid ered, nature is a riddle to which human curiosity can find no answer. Hy pothesis, the ruins of theories are piled one on another; but truth ever es capes us. To learn how to remain in ignorance may well be the final lesson The Reasoning Powers of Animals By Albert F Shore, Member American Association for Advancement of Science. r HILE I do not discredit the reasoning powder of elephants or W beavers, however limited it may be, it does not demand ex pert observation to decide positively that at least animals of feline genus and some other carnivorous ones, as for in ====' stance the bear, are wholly destitute of reason. Why? In _ Central Park, New York, the reason is engraved in not Only ha*’d cement, but in the nose of a cinnamon bear. This ani iii,iiii min iJ* mal is fenced in, but he can easily see freedom outside, and he has long ago made up hie mind to secure his freedom by walking outside of this cruel inclosure. Seeing that the broad side of the fence would bar him, the bear made for the front corner; but, seeing this corner impregnable, he naturally turned toward the other unexplored corner quite undaunted. Of course, he is again disappointed, but since the first dis appointment was forgotten by the shock of the second, he hopefully again returns to the said first corner, and so on, hour after hour, days, weeks, and year after year. Lions, tigers, leopards, etc., do exactly as does this bear; but I will say of this particular bear, that although he has worn deep holes in the cement floor in both corners of alternate hope and despair, his nose has become worn by his systematic swing of the head in spurning these really hopeless corners of escape. There is as yet no clear impression on the mind of this bear that his long for freedom is really hopeless. But this un daunted bear can be convinWd, as by cutting off his view of freedom without, and it would also teach us a lesson —that the difference between simple intui tion and reasoning is enormously gre^t. What little reason exists in animals is so feeble, that the slightest intui tive activity on their part will easily hypnotize their reasoning powers. Imita tion, as proved by the monkey or the parrot, and still more so by small chil dren —just because they have a larger brain area-may become so extensive that almost all the product of reasoning minds may be faithfully memorized and imitated, although the minds engaged never themselves ever reason ex cept to a negligible degree. The Brain and Drugs By Dr. William Hanna Thomson. O sensible person believes that drugs do not affect the brain, Nand yet this doctrine seems to fit in with so many facts that some clear demonstration of its fallacy is much need ed. It is the physician who should be asked what he has ____________ to say on the subject, because naturally he is the one best qualified to know whatever is known about both drugs and brain. - Moreover, lately he has made great discoveries I I about the relations of the brain to the mind by observa tions, which he alone could make, of the effects of local in juries to brain matter caused by disease or by accident. But how different the facts about these two subjects are from most people imagine he showj by saying that drugs no more affect the brain than insanity does —that is, rm-. at all! —except alcohol, which does injure the brain, though not at all on of its mental effects, but for the very dif ferent reason that alcohol ham}, chemical affinity for the albumen and fats of the tissues. By this chemicaj it slowly alters and damages brain tis sue, but this result in no wim^filters from similar alterations produced by alcohol in the tissues of the l||\fUnd of Tobacco is a powerful poison, and yet no autopsies „v*sw the* TiksJtofference between the brain of a life-long smoker jtfpAeV-*#' lit a cigar. Likewise, the brain of is *M>n any other brain, and so on for the Magaziij^^* Spirit o\ NewVfapan By George TrumbuE^fa&dd. \ rr\ % T has hitherto been uniquely ew Japan % that, where experience <#t home or \ . S^ sm from abroad - IT 4 has revea l e d deficiencies and gone intelli -4* A % gently and deliberately about the work of dying the de * * ficiencies and of overcoming the difficulties The fear of **-******** the wisest and best of her statesmen at the present time is not so much that Japan will not hold her own, businesswise, *******•*** in the rivalries of commerce and trade; it is rather that she will be overwhelmed and degraded by absorbing the in fluences of the commercial spirit now rife in Great Britain, America and Ger many. To safeguard, expand, elevate and extend to the., whole nation, with its varid classes, that spirit which has characterized in the past their own best types of manhood, is with them their chief concern. —The Century. DWARD DOBSON assumes that “the evolutionary doctrine is no longer debatable except in minor phases.” It is an odd thing that the “evolutionary doctrine” (by which is probably meant the hypothesis of genetic evolution by natural selection), which may be called the Darwinian theory, is popularly supposed to be finally accepted by the scientific world. There could be no graver error. Natural selection Is at best a working hypothesis with a minimum of scientific evi- NIGHT RIDEjt SECRETS Laid Bare by Members of th& Band on Witness Stand. WOMAN TEm Of WHIPPING Mrs. Johnson Tells How She Was Drag ged From Bed and Beaten Until She Promised to Withdraw Divorce Suit. Union City, Tennessee. —The state practically completed its case against the eight alleged night riders, On trial for the murder of Captain Rankin, when it drew from Fehrin ger, a member of the band, a detail ed statement, not only of the murder itself and those w'ho committed it, but a score or more of other out rages. And then, just to add the fin ishing touches, it called to the stand Mrs. Emma Thurman Johnson, one of the two women known to have been whipped by the band, and heard her tell her story. Judge Jones sent the jury out of the room, and said; “There are eight defendants here charged with a capital offense. They are not handcuffed and are under guard of only two deputies. There fore, I order the sheriff to handcuff these men and ask the military to detail ten armed men to serve as guard.” Surrounded by a detail of six sol diers with shotted rifles and revolver holsters open, Frank Fehringer, mem ber of the night riders who has turn ed state’s evidence, was bve-ught into court to testify against his former as sociates of the mask. Fehringer was one of the first mem bers of the band. The oath he took was: “I solemnly swear that I wish to join the society of night riders, and that I will never write, tell or talk about anything that happens up on the risers or in conference.” This is the shorter form of the oath. A large and more blood-curdling one was administered to others. The night rider garb consisted of long black coats, black masks trimmed in white and some had false bottoms at tached to the bottom. Often the rid ers whipped men and women without knowing why except that the captain ordered it. Several prospective witnesses were similarly treated, but few of them will tell of it even now, so great is their terror. On October 19 the riders learned that Rankin and Judge Taylor were at Walnut Log hotel, in the heart of riders’ country. Tid Burton, one of the defendants, told Fehringer to no tify the band to meet that night to attend Rankin and Taylor. The riders met near Johnson’s that night, and it included the eight de fendants, name by name. They pro ceeded to the hotel. Garrett Johnson was the spokes man, wore the rope and whip, and gave the orders to Rankin and Tay lor to dress. On the march to the densely wood ed bank of the slough where Rankin was slain, Johnson did all the talk ing; the others, about fifty in num ber, including the defendants, follow ing silently. As he put the rope on Rankin’s neck, Fehringer said to tiio victim: “Do you want to say anything to the Lord If you do, say it now.” Rankin replied: “I have attended to that.” Just as they pulled the rope, Bob Hoffman shot him, and Sam Ap plewhite said: “I know he is dead for I put a load of bicycle, ball bear ings in him.” When Colonel Taylor jumped into the slough, everybody shot into the water. Meantime the men holding the rope let go and Rankin’s body crumpled up and dropped to the ground. Just before the body fell, a rider, not on trial, emptied six 38-cali ber bullets into the hanging man. Garrett Johnson addressed them be fore they dispersed. “Burn your masks,” he said, ‘and say nothing about this night’s work.” Fehringer was arrested by the mil itary and taken before Governor Pat terson, who was personally in com mand. “Tell the truth,” said Patterson. “If you do, I will give you an absolute pardon.” Then he confessed. Mrs. Joe Johnson told how the rid ers came to the home of her father, where she was staying and told her to withdraw her suit for divorce. Upon her refusal to do as told, Mrs. Johnson, who is young and pretty, but who married an old man, was taken from her father’s home to the woods nearby and fearfully whip ped. She was stripped to the waist and beaten with a buggy trace, the end of which had tbeen split into five strips. In bed with the young mother, when the riders dragged her out into the in her night robe, was her Mrs. Johnson told her strong objections from the* defend!*. She brokfe down as she described how she was torn from her baby by the black-masked men. She pressed her divorce case and won her suit. RIGHTjOF APPEAL For Government Asked by Attorney General Bonaparte. Washington, D. C. —That the United States should have the right of ap peal to the supreme court of the United States as a matter of right, whenever a conviction is reversed on appeal by the defendant to a circuit court of appeals, is the opinion ex pressed by Attorney General Bona parte in his report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1908. In this connection he cites fU case of the reversal of the fine than $29,000,000, ia which an applica tion for the of a writ of certiorari has b<mj& made to the su preme court. v coiuTdestrqy cities. Aeronant Sailed ofpr Los Angeles, Cal., Droppiilh Bombs. Los Angeles, Cal.-#To demonstrate how easily a hostilm force, equipped with a fleet of airshim, might destroy an American city, Fw Knabenshue, the aviator, circled C'Mv Los Angeles in his dirigible ballo(sLand from the darkness above droM?d harmless bombs on the roo: r s oMthe city hall and other public bui]d!? s - Neither Knabenshue nor his crPk t could be seen from the street. vttr. CASTRO’S K ILE OVER. Infuriated Mob Loots Caracas Destroy ing Valuable Property. Caracas, Venezuela. —The people of Caracas arose against President Cas tro. An infuriated mob, unhindered by the police, swept through the city, wrecking the property of his hench men and his closest friends. The people rounded up all the statues and pictures of President Castro from the clubs and other semi-public buildings and burned them with rejoicing on the Plaza Bolivar. Castro's rule in Venezuela probably is ended. In spite of Holland’s warlike activ ity on the coast there have been no demonstrations against the Nether lands; they all have been directed against President Castro and Acting President Gomez. The first building to be attacked and looted was that of the lottei > monopoly. The officers of the state enterprise that has enriched itself at the expense of the people were ran sacked and pillaged. Furniture was broken and thrown into the streets and thousands of lottery tickets were destroyed. . The crowd then moved to the print ing office of El Constitucional, the or gan of President Castro, of which Gumersindo Rivas is editor, and pil laged it completely. A steam laun dry belonging to Senor Rivas also was wrecked. The crowd then turned its atten tion to several drug stores belonging to Senor Thielen, a son-in-law of Gen eral Tello Mendoza, and turned them inside out. The statues and pictures of Presi dent Castro were made into a huge bonfire on the Plaza Bolivar. The crowd cheered as the flames complet ed the destruction of these effigies of the dictator. Numerous inscriptions setting forth the virtues of Castro and extoll ing his powers next attracted the re taliation of the mob, and every in scription bearing Castro’s name was hacked out and erased. Some of these legends were carved on the public buildings of the city. El Constitucional has suspended publication and Caracas is practically without a newspaper. REAL INDIAN PASSING AWAY. None Will Be Left After Three Gen erations. Helena, Mont. —“Three generations more and I don’t believe there will be a real Indian left in the country,’ said Special Agent Cone of the In dian service. Mr. Cone is here as a witness before the grand jury. He has spent the greater portion of his life in the Indian service. “White men’s clothing and houses have signed the death warrant of the Indian,” continued Mr. Cone. “Con sumption and other diseases of a civ ilized people have gotten a foothold on every reservation in the country and the* ranks of the full-blooded In dians are being decimated rapidly. This is particiularly true of the old er Indians who roamed the pla>hs and the. mountains before the crea tion of reservations and who have not been constitutionally fitted for the changed environments.” ELEVEN SOLDIERS DEAD. fctethyl Poisoning Resulted from Drinking Columbian Spirits. Washington, D. C.—General Lasker H. Bliss, in command of the force in the Philippines, has reported the death of eleven enlisted men of the eighteenth regiment, stationed at Camp Keithley, Mindinao, from meth yl poisoning, resulting from drinking Columbian spirits. Plan Air-Ship Express. Berlin, Germany. —The newspapers of Berlin publish details of the plans of a German company, with headquar ters at Frankfort-on-the-Main, which purposes to build seven airships and maintain regular sailings between twenty-four German cities. A number of capitalists and sporting men are said to be interested. The papers, however, treat the idea with scepti cism. Mutiny on British Warship. London, Eng—The third mutiny aboard a British warship within the last few months took place recently on the cruiser Amethyst, where the disaffection of the crew culminated in the men throwing the gun fittings ov erboard. The admiral stopped the shore leave of the Amethyst’s men. Emperor William a Teetotaler. Berlin, Germany.—lt is semi-offlcial ly announced from Potisdam palace that Emperor William has pledged himself to abstain from alcoholic drinks for the rest of his life. He will have a special drink with the sparkle of champaigne, absolute ly non-alcoholic, for use on state oc casions. Cashier Short $85,060. Somersworth, N. H. —An unexpect ed visit of Bank Examiner N. S. Bean at the First National bank here un covered a defalcation estimated by the examiner at $85,000 and immedi ately following the discovery Fred M. Varney, cashier of the bank, was ar rested V Elected President of Haiti. Port au Prince, Hayti. —General An toine Simon, the leader cf the last revolution in Hayti that resulted in the flight of President Nord Alexis from the capital, and who made his triumphal entry into Port au Prince ten days ago has been elected presi dent of the republic President to Produce Evidence. Washington, D. C President Roosevelt’s reply to the the house of representatives denud ing the specific reason governing his annual message to congress as to the abridgement of the secret service powers will be ready for congress as soon as it re-assembles Although the president has not in timated to his callers the exact scope of his reply, he has made it clear that he “will produce the goods’* CALL TO SOUTHLAND So G. Grosvenor Designate* Re cent Southern Congress. A GREAT OFFICE BUILDING This Building wiil be Home of a Per sistant Southern Propaganda at Home and Abroad. 0 Montgomery, Ala. —That the clarion call to the southland, awakening it to anew era of industry and com inercial progress, has been sounded through the recent southern congress, is the ooinion of G. Grosvenor Dawe, director “general of the congress. Mr. Dawe, in an interview with a repre sentative of the Associated Press, said: “The Southern Commercial Con gress was a stupendous project with a complex purpose. It was designed to make the south know itself; to make the south know and utilize the most fitting moment for such a con gress that has never occurred in American history. “The spirit of the congress was not to boast that the south was more gift ed than the north, nor to stir up ani mosity, but simply to declare that the south, with its possessions, needed de velopment in order to bring the na tion to its proper development. The clarion call of the congress to the men of the south was for them to live at the south because the nation needs a greater south. “Hence the stupendous plan of the congress naturally led eager and able minds to evolve a still more stupen dous plan and one that is just as sound and as sane, but wbich could not have been possible except as an outgrowth of the congress which sug gested it. The project is a great of fice building and auditorium in Wash ington, a city in which no satisfac tory auditorium can be found and in which office room is at a premium. This great building will be the home of a persistent southern propaganda at home and abroad, and its rental will be devoted to the furtherance of all commercial projects in the south that will aid in bringing that section into a paritv of development with the rest of the'United States. There will be maintained there an exposition of resources arranged in such a way as to bring immediate results. “In a room devoted to health con ditions would be the great facts of the south’s advancing sanitation, thus demonstrating the pettiness of present fears as to the south. With similar perfection of detail the whole project will be carried out. “We are fully that many men for many years have rendered many services to the south by compil ing statistics, by promoting develop ment along special lines of railroad and by pushing individual enterprises, but never before in the history of the south has there been a long, care fully sustained co-operative effort among the leading business interests. This now promises to come into be ing, and $250,000 is alreadv in sight for the purpose.” RULES FOR SEA WARFARE. Powers Agree on Code of Laws for the International Prize Court. London, England.—The views of the ten powers, the delegates from which are assembled here to decide upon a code of laws for the inter national prize court provided for at the last The Hague conference, make a decidedly bulky volume. Some of the powers, like Japan, have submit ted their proposal in the briefest form, while others, notably Great Britain, support their views with ar guments and references to decisions which British naval courts have giv in historical naval cases. The United States, too, has gone into detail on the various subjects which she thinks should receive con sideration while Germany has sub mitted a draft code of laws. The suggestions of the United States are: Warships of the United States of America can seek asylum during war is a neutral port subject to the limitations prescribed by the port authorities. j* Such ships must the regulations of the port re garding length of interval to be observed before feoing to sea in pursuit of any enemy or after depart ure of the enemy’s ship. Merchant ships, yachts or neutral vessels carrying or picking up bel ligerent wounded, sick or shipwreck ed, should not be captured on ac count of such act\ but should still be subject to capture for any viola tions of neutrality they may have committeed. Merchant ships under escort of warships of their own na tionality should be exempt from the right of search on proper assurances being given by the commander of the convoy. , Great Britain and Japan agree with the-United States on the majority of points.. HELD FOR LIBEL. W. R. Hearst’s Publisher, Sued By John D. Rockefeller, Jr. New York City.—A charge of crim inal libel, made by John D. Rocke feller, Jr., resulted in the arrest of S. S. 'Carvalho, president of the Star Publishing company, publishers of Hearst’s New York American. Mr. Calvalho we-s paroled until De cember 26. for examination. Mr. Rockefeller’s action resulted from an article appearing in the New York American of December 17, un der a Chicago date line, headed, “J. D. Rockefeller, Jr., Originated Peon age in Stockdale, It is Said.” He held that this was libelous and calculated to injure his good name. FLEET NOW ON LONGEST LEG. V _ Through Indian Ocean and Arabian and Reck^Seas. Washington, D. C.—Rear Admiral Charles S. Sperry, commanding the American battleship fleet, cabled the navy department that the fleet had made its departure from Colombo,Cey lon, for Suez. The message was in cipher aiwl very brief. The fleet has begun th% longest single leg of its world cruise through the Indian Ocean, the Arabian and Red Seas. toSr of Im^TTnc , " E Notion! 4 A f! er £ ass mg a bill graatin Southern Pacific Railro f > to % nght of way across th* £° mpa oy ! SUltary reservaUoT inu Bouse of representative, s' 35“* untu urady r wL E del°oted £ Sv, ness. Several messages < V. lslallon were received from°th' * 1% Went, and bills and other i? e were Introduced. The se adjourned until January Because of the general members for their homl ?" * Christmas holidays, the th the house of represeutatt®*^ l " was far short of a quorum theless, a good deal of bush,.- The house of Thursday by unanimous vote 1’" ed a resolution requesting L dent to supply it with any evil that may be in his possessing wiU justify the statement in l annual message in relmion n T attitude of members of congrel ward appropriations for the service of the government RE-UNION SCOTTISH RITE MASONS To Be Held in Atlas's Nevv x lf Next Spring, Atlanta, Ga.—The dedication of it lantas new Masonic Temple, no* about completed, will mark a revival among that branch of the* v? sonic fraternity known as the w tish Rite. * ctK ’ Plans are under way for a serin* reunion of the Scottish Rite to be held in Atlatna next April, which bring to the city many of the distil guished and prominent citizens of % country, including Hon. James D Rich ardson of Tennessee, the grand co ffi . mander of the southern jurisdiction, and the full official divan of the sit preme council, the chief governing body of the rite, whose headquartws are at Washington, D. C. During the reunion the degrees o| the rite, fourth to thirty-second, inch! sive, will be conferred with full cer emonials for the first time in Atlanta, on a dedicatory class of more than two hundred, representing every sec tion of Georgia, and the handsome and perfectly appointed apartments of the rite on the upper floor of the Temple will be dedicated and formal ly opened. The apartments include the largest stage of modern construc tion yet erected in the southeast, Con tracts for the scenery, more than one hundred pieces, necessary to properly exemplify the work, together with a mammoth lighting plant, to cost ap proximately 12,000, have been closed, and will be installed as quickly as the artists can complete the work there on. It is safe to assume that nothing so ambitious as this reunion has ever been undertaken by Scottish Rite Ma sons of the southern jurisdiction, and the indications are that Masonic stu dents from all America will gather at Atlanta to witness the ceremonies and enjoy the w r ork. NEWSY PABMAPHS. The record Christmas gift of tie season was made when David T. Han bury of San Francisco, Cal., turned over to his wife property valued at four million dol lars. Although Mrs. Hanbury as sumes legal possession of the vast holdings, she will not exercise abso lute control until after death of he? husband. President Kellogg of the Metropol itan Psychical Society, an organisa tion which holds that all ghosts are piffle and less, has written a to Dr. Isaac Funk offering to pay Dr. Funk $5,000 if he will produce J ghost—any kind of a ghost, so to* it is not a frazzled thing of rus and nun’s veiling, living medium’s cabinet. Mrs, W. A. McGuire oi Chicago who lost a bag containing money a valuable papers, advertised. -0 r property in these words: . mav keep half the money, or, if -- tue is not its own reward keep the money, but please be 3 enough to return personal oe 8 that can be of no service to , g than the owner. Do not ado* creed finders are keepers.” The British admiralty has deaaw that in future all small nava ■ ‘ shall be constructed to use botn and oil fuel. The oil-burning syst has been used for a consr * time, and r(^lusive torpedo ujlie ly for the oiLbmw modern battleships cr , the navy are also construe either coal or oil. ~ Dr. Birdsong pleaded pr. at Jackson, Mils., to murdering Pitts and was sentenced _ | t prisonment. The plea was of an agreement between _ bu!! . Between one thousand e . ner , died and two thousand union on Paint Creek, Kanav-a !eECfi West Virginia, quit work ing to the strike order by ■ Mine Davis of District v workers. . Governor-elect Lilly of- Jr., has named Theodore G °7 v a of Thompsonville, Conn., a on his staff of military In making the appointment, - aC . says, he was influenced by quaintance with s terli- 2 and admiration for his man. qualities. erf The body of Chief of Po > of San Francisco, Cal., ,pa drowned from the P ollc | , and in S J ; trol,” opposite Alcatraz Francisco bay, on the ni* 1 0 { ber 80. was found by 0 f freight coat. It was Goat island. t 0' Four persons were Klil . tinsburg. W. Va., when a tb* span of the new Potomas river collapsed. 1 eD mjj were Seriously injured. S>- ,^ 0 u were precipitated sixt> river.