Litchfield enquirer., 1880-01-01


 The Independent is in hot water for having stated that mans evolution from the lower animals is doctrine now held by the most celebrated men of science in the country. Thereupon the presidents of Yale, Prince ton and Amherst and the other orthodox col leges, on being inquired ot deny that any such doctrine is taught in their colleges. To this the Independet answers that such is neverthe- less the belief of the most competent scientific men in the country, and maintains that. s'The scientific authorities the only authori- ties on winch we can depend-are now sub- stantiaIly agreed in holding and teaching cer- tain theories about mans sorigin as well enough estabised, which are quite inconsistent with the story in Genesis of the creation of man and woman. We laymen in science are compelled to allow the now well-nigh unanimous authori- ty of our best teachers that man was physical ly, at least evolved from the irrational animals, and has lived on the earth for scores of thou sands of years. of Christianity and revelation to maintain, is this that even if we have no absolute proof that man was pre- glacial, nor that God fashion ed man out of apes, the evidence is yet so strong Tn these directions that it is gery t7asGs to make a denial of these two positions the foundation of Christianity. A single arrow head from Miocene bank, shot at such 8 theology, is enough to demolish it; and what if we have the stones in our hands now? We warn our apologists that their strict theories of inspiration are in fair way to discredit the whole Blble-which God forbid!'
 all nf tho uor ford Times remarks regarding the financial condition of neighboring community: If the informal ion elicited from a we'll in- formed man of Harwinton is correct, matters are in worse state pecuniarily in that staid community than we are 10th to believe. He says one-half of the farms of that town are mortgaged, and out of twenty three places on one street, running from one end of the town l to the other, only three of the owners of the places are out of debt.
 Will our Harwinton correspondent examine | and report on the correctness of this informa- tion; for, if true, it indicates greater depres- sion of business in our purely farming com. munities than we had supposed possible. | Attention is called to the offer of R. H. White & Co.,, in another column, to forward 1 dry goods by mail or express to customers anywhere in the country They claim to have | larger stock than any other house in New England, and will send samples by mail or request l A contributor sends us very interesting ac count of the Brooklyn Bridge, the greatest en gineering feat of the New World. Friday. Tribune describes the still more remarkable i work begun iittfe more than year ago II Great Britain, to span the Firth of Forth The length of this bridge is to be little ovel | a mile and half, the main track to be 15( feet above the water, and supported by tower' reaching to height of about 600 feet above the sea level There are to be several shor spans and two of 1900 feet, each, from ar l island in the middle of the Frith. Int | Tribune correspondent makes the follow ing comparison between that and the Brook | lyn Bridge:
 1 Let it be supposed that the East River ii double it's present width, and that the easterI tower of the Brooklyn Bridge, instead of stand ing upon the Brooklyn shore, stands on al island in mid-stream. Throw another spar similar to that now overhanging the East Riv CT from the supposed island tower to another tower built on the Brooklyn side; suppose fur ther that between New York and the suspen sion tower on that side wide space of wate of thirty feet in depth at the deepest point in tervenes, and that there is space of dry lant on the Brooklyn side, between the suspension tower and the junction of the roadway of th bridge with that on shore; bridge these space with spans resting upon columns and yer. fair idea may be obtained of the proposed Forth Bridge.
 Nothing seems impossible to the Nineteentl Century Englneer yet,no doubt, our engineer ing wonders will seem petty enough to him o the Twentieth Century.
 P. s. Since writing the above, high bridge
 have had bad fall in pubic estimation con
 sequent upon the fall of the great bridge owe
 the Fay, with the less of eighty lives; so that
 along with the astounding successes of tn
 Nineteenth Century Engineer, must be record
 ed his failures, almost as astounding.
 Washington.
 READING, &o.-On account of the storm O