, 1889-03-21

surance is enormous! This is a fair
specimen Of their logic and donma,is,n
and II You do not accept their assumptions
without any questioning yon will be
charged with camping with Moses, and
being "a century behind your age and all
that, | wonder If this is specimen of the
logic taught In the University of Jena.
where MIR. Hackel isa distinguished pro-
fessor? But promised to give you dem
onstrable proof that the conditions OF life
were not different in prmeval times"
from what they are now so
as TO make spontaneous generation
| possible or even probable. Ia the argument
We are not called on to prove his absurd
negative; but our position is so solid and
invulnerable that we can afford to prove
his negative and we will make Professor
Hackel one of tie witnesses TO overthrow
his own theory. ] quote Hist OF Gre.
division of the organic history of the
earth is formed by the primeyal epoch or
era of the tangled forests. IL comprises
the immense period from the first spon-
taneous generation, from the origin of the
tirst terrestrial organisms, TO the end Of
the Siluian system OF deposits.
During this unreasonable space of
time, which in all probability was
much longer than all the other four epochs
taken together. the three most extensive Of
the Neptunic systems of strata were de-
posted"
Now, gentlemen, get down your 9eolo-
Ries. Hitchcock's and Danas and any
other text book Of repute. and look into
this remarkable assumption of Professor
Hackel. He here assumes (not proves)
that the longest aud first division of the
organic history of the earth Is formed ''by
the era of the tangled forests" and that
this epoch was probably much longer
than al! the other four epoehs taken to-
tervened before the carboniferous
era began. Do not omit to
note, that at least $4,000 900 of years lat
the most moderate estimate of these
scientists) intervened between the era of
tangled forests, and the CarbOniferous
age. all on you gentlemen to note
here especially, that Prof. Hackel. the
most illustrious evoutionist after Chas.
Darwin, has told you that spontaneous
generation" was rem dered possible and
highly probable "by the enormous masses
OF carbon" in the Carbon age. But here
he emphatically tells US that spontaneous
generation took place hundreds of years
before the Carboniferous era hogan when
he says the era of tangled forests
comprises the immense period
from the first spontaneous generation,
tIOn tuc OElkIu VI buc uTSb JtFTGSUTlhl Or
Ranisms to the end of the Silnrian system
of deposits" Thus, he Is guilty of the
bunder. of first assuming that spontaneous
generation occurred In the Carbon age,
when the conditions we're probably favor.
able. and then asserting that it took place
away back millions of years before there
was any carbon. What proof ! ask has
this pretentious scientist for asserting that
there was any carbon as far back as the
tat, kn v,r,kh h ,,~C .
entian era? There are no coal deposits in
those strata to prove his assumption. They
explode his theory ct spon.
taneous generation by carton.
On the contrary we have positive ev-
idence Of life In the Detonian and Laur-
eutian ages, seen in the remains of fishes,
such as Ranoids and mollusks and that too
without any change in their organic struc-
lures. IL we prove this to our evolution
friends by their greatest master, Mr.. Dar-
win, they ought to be convinced that
Hackel's theory OF spontaneous generation
is not only self contradictory but utterly
without foundation. Hear Mr. Darwin
(Origin of Species. pp 293 and 294,:
''Some groups (of mollusks) as we have
seen, have endured from the earliest
known dawn of life to the present
day" I'm the genus lingula
for instance, the species which have success
connected by an unbroken series of gener.
tions frem the lowest silurian stratum to
the present day" Thus we have proved
by the facts of geology and the concessions
of the first evolutionists of the age that
the conditions of life were not different
then from what they are now, seeing that
we have the same animals now without
any change of structure. that lived in
those far distant epochs. If this theory
nj spOntanppuo Upnpration 10 not
ly shivered by these stubborn facts,
then no additional proof could con.
vince those, "who love darkness rather
than light l cannot dispose of Prof.
Hackel's exploded theory of spontaneous
generation better than quoting from an
able pen short caricature of his pet hy-
pothesis. "lf living beings could come
into existence by spontaneous generation,
why could not carbon? Besides, how does
he know but that the earth was visited by
a monstrous comet at the close Of the De.
vonian age. and that it left its carbon tail.
which inauRurated the coal period? "In-
deed, we can positively and with full as.
surance maintain, that since 1.-THE condi.
tions of life" we're ''entirely different" in
those ''primeval tines" it may have been
customary tor comets to visit the earth and
leave their tails as token of friendly
regard, and can even positively assert
than one immense tail was composed en-
tirey of carbon. which in time condensed
into coal, inclosing a few specimens of
vegetation, which have successfully fooled
modern geologists and made them think
the coal mines were of vegetable origin!
The impossibility of such proce IS can,
in fact, never be proved" and of course il
must therefore be accepted as science! [
also positively maintain" and with full
assurance, that diamonds, which are com.
posed of pure carbon, originated in that