The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1874-04-25
Acknowledgements:
7TTIoN AND THE ORIGIN
EEoHO OF SPECIES. -. .

With Facte'
,,,,,b article, completing the contrass ogIwe s
me sSSTSWing the action OF the struggle 10
existence
,sI,or. OF the Intelligencer:
In nv last paper 1 endeavored to poin1
- that not only is the hypothesis o.
U oUuscisl creation unsupported by any ia Hre
sslSsteyer, but that such tacs hs or nro
,sAaSwn are seen to be when CLOSELY r. r.
SEniTed. wholly inconsistent with Ine ~
SD,Spsis We not only find when sea ,r "
ptbn domains of nature thonsanus %
p5 t,,res 1rovided with ela0oraIe appI'
Ge *oo Ior ;nflicting pain and death upon
SDS. toIIow beings, but we also f1nd -that
taen .a destructive propensities are by no
psss ss confined to the ravsges OF super1or
nn;mals upon inferior animals.
|rr SUPERIOR PREYED UPON BY THE IN
Ihh FERIOR.
uor the animal kingdom as whole,
- than half the species are parasites.
nol0 lumber OF these parasites" says
IaSe owen, "msy be conceived when it
ft C, that almost every known animal
! s" Ito neculisr species, and generally
mss han one, sometimes as many as, or
mU,' more kinds, than infest the human
s.S iun But we may pass over the evils
Iouy inflicted on lower animals, and con-
tnu' ourselves to the case OF man. There
nuo TOO kinds of tape-worms which take
Ae ,beir thriving residence in the human
:Ip,e.,ines producing great internal
i I.o,Jor and occasionally - insanity.
The The germs OF one OF these when carried
ll S;tsfsrent portions OF the sufferers body,
develop into various parasitlcal species,
inaicting great injury in the brain, the
lungs, the eye, the heart, the liver, &c,
ireG1ently terminating fatally, alter pro-
irscted suffering. Five other species OF
intestinal parasites flourish in human VS.
cpra, all productive OF more or less con-
sIitutional disturbance. Thenthere is the
TricEina spirdlis, living in two forms OF
existence, one in the intestines, the other
a. imbeddcd in the muscles. Omitting
other types of ent0z0G which are less ire
O1ent, will mention. some ep1z0G, or par
ssifes iufesting the external surface OF
"fbe human form divine" "Of the Acdrt
there are two kinds, one OF them inhablt.
ing the follicles of the skin, and the other
inducing the itch. There are other crea-
lures thai bury themselves beneath the
skin and lay their eggs there; and there
are three species OF lice which iniest the
surface Of The body. Nor is this all be-
sides animal parasites, there are sundry
ysgetsl parasites, which grow and multi
riv at our cost. The SarcinG TentrtcnEi
inhsbits the stomach, and produces gas
tic disturbance. The lep:Othri1 6ucedtEs
il extremely general in the mouth, and
nav have something to do with the decay
NJ teeth. And besides these, there are
microscopic fungi which produce ring.
worm, porrigo, pityriasis, thrush, &C.
might also mention numerous parasites
not exclusively dependent upon man.,
such as fleas, ticks, mosquitoes and bugs,
but enough have been cited to show that'
the human body is the natural hablta1on
of come two or three dozen inferior ami
mails, all Of which pray upon it, many OF
them producing in man great suffering,
and some OF them causing death.
THE DOCTRINE OF SPECIAL CREATIONS IN.
COMPETENT TO ACCOUNT FOR. THESE
FACTS. .J|" 20 Il
"What Interpretation is to be put on
these facts, by those who espouse the
hypothesis OF special creaGons2 Accord
ing to this hypothesis, all these parasites
were designed with view to their re-
spectiYe modes OF lie. They were en-
dowed with constitutions fitting them to
live BY absorbing the juices of the human
body; they were furnished with appli-
snces, often of O formidable kind, en-
sbling them to root themselves in and
upon the human body; and they were
made prolific in an almost incredible de-
gree, that their germs might have SUI
ticient number OF chances OF finding their
way into the human body. In short,
elaborate contrivances were combined to
insure the continuance of their respect
i've races; and to make it impossible for
The successive generations of men to
avoid being preyed upon by them. What
shall we say to this arrangement? Shall
ne say that man, the head and crown OF
hings, was provided as habitat for
.hese parasites? Or shall we say that
hese degraded creatures, incapable of
bought or enjoyment, were created that
hey might cause unhappiness to man?
1ne or other OF these alternatives must
)e chosen by those who contend that
very kind OF organism was separately
le7ised by the Creator. Which do they
prefer? With the conception OF q SUI
oreme benef1cence, this gratuitous in
LECTION of misery on man, in common
Nth all other terrestrial creatures capable
# feeling, Is absolutely incompatible"
,HE HYPOTHESIS OF SPECIAL CREATIONS,
MERELY A FORMULA FOR OUR IGNoR+
ANCE.
Viewed in another light, the hypothesis
II special creations shows itself to be ut
erly valueless. To say that God created
ach species, is not to define the method
q which they were created, but it is
Imply to assert that somehow they were
reated, a matter that is not at all ques-
Toned by believers in evolution. What
Oncerns US in an inquiry of this character
J, not remote cauSGtt0n but immediate pro.
:ss. Can conceivable mode of sudden
reation, be given by its advocates l
would not ask for the ascertained mode,
UGH as the evolution theory presents, but
would be content with a possible mode,
With describable mode, with mode of
which we can form any sort of concep-
ion. To assert that the myriads of he
molecules which compose the
'Ody ola complex organism, were lnstan
caused to rush together from
ifferent directions, and that, each one
eeking out its appropriate place, they
nited to form an animal, is not to eX-I
liam the difficulty, but is rather to in
rease the difficulty. Instead OF single
we are given my
lads of incomprehensibilities, Such
proposition cannot be coherently framed
n the mind, as it is simply uathinkGbLe.
It is to employ words without stopping to
lender them into ideas. Says Mr.. Spen-
GER, "The case is one of those where men
DO not really believe, but rather beLte1e