Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1894-06-17
THE THEORY OF EVOLUTION.
STATEMENT OF PROF. EDWARDS
OF THE STATE UNIVERSITY.
He Declares Evolution Is Not Inhdei,
But In Accord with Religion
and Faith Recent Comments
on the Professors Views.



Texas, has recently been the subject
OF considerable discussion. owing to
his views Of evolution. A short time
ago tina Chicago Times edltorially com.
mented upon his views, and uned a
Waco date The Gazette published an
Interview with a regent OF the uni
versity concerning Prof. Edwards and
his views These comments have eVi.
IDENTIFY reached Prof. Edwards. and
he has prepared the following state
ment, which he claims IL not inndei'
but In accord with religion and fact;
Austin, Tex, June Ito The Ca
yette: An intricate legal question
would be left for Judgment to the
highest legal tribunal. An obscure pas
sage Of scripture to men most talented
IN biblical exeBensis. Yet In Il question
involving as much or more 9peclaI
knowledge, that OF organic eVoiution;
the most uniformed youth, as wen
ms the older person who has devoted
HE attention almost wholly to other
fields of thought, can give us oithund
Anal judgment. Among the llvink
investigators In biology, with no eN-
ception OF note. the fact of organic evo-
luton Is unqucstioncd. As the law OF
attraction Is for physics so is the law
OF evolution for biology. the accepted
foundation OF the science.
While there are a number OF pcpu-
lar works presenting the facts In proof
or evolution. yet II Is difficult to gain
q clear idea OF the subject without
considerable study Of more or less
technical biology. II will be my en-
deAvor to present IN this article some
OF the more important evidences OF cv-
olutiun. The reader who desires a
more extensive exposition than Is pos
sible In such a necessarily BRIEF sur
L. a I1la,a aHUsfa
THE Origin Of Species" or. perhaps
better for one not a specialist. the re-
cent admirable work OF Romanes, "Dar.
win and After Darwin"
Geology has demonstrated that the
strata Of the earth. the vast pages Of
history, reveal a continuous sue
cessiun from the nebul0us past TO the
organic present. In the individual de-
velopmeut of each Of US is a picture
Of the past life Of our species Every
breeder Of new grades OF cattle IL an
experimental ovOlutonlst.
Upon n general survey Of the king
doms Of life II Is found that plants and
animals are naturally arranged ia
groups related 10 other groups forming
series. from the simplest bit OF pro-
toplnsm, leading an Individual exist
enoe. to man, In fact the best OK
preston of this series is tree. with
the fundamental protoplasm at the
and animal characters In the trunk,
and finally two great branches. lend.
Ing by smaller and smaller divisions
10 the present enormous number OF
species OF living things The only rn-
uonal explanation Of the Relationship
OF all these forms IL n common descent
through tho process OF hercdity. Turn
Ing again 10 the torn pages OF the
earth's history. the successive strata
u Is found that the earlier organisms
were the simpler, the past as well as
the present being thus best pictured
by the tree OF life.
On the theory OF evolution the cbnr-
meters Of plants and animals Inherit.
ed from generation to generation, are
capable Of gradual modification 10 hot.
ter adapt the organisms 10 their an
vironments. Take the case Of seais
anu whales, whose ancestors were or
iginally land mammals. which In the
line OF descent became more and more
aquatic, and the form OF the body
more and more nsh-lilSe. In the seal
the rudimentary hind legs. while Of
no use for walking, form an admirable
tall I'm In the whnle tho hind legs
are not even visible externnIiv tbc
shape OF the body being tust like thnt
OF n nah, but, strange 10 say. within
the body are found In certain apecies
utterly uselesH remnants OF tho nm
cestral hind limbs. SO the bodies on
these anipnls, while becoming fiah-llke
IN nuaptation 10 water environment.
sun retain by the force OF 'heriditv
the essential mammalian characters
Inc arm In the whale becomes IA I'm
Ike nap, the Anger bones present. hut
useless. In bats, adapted for fitpht
the finger bones are greatly enlonrnted
white In man they may become the
WONDERFUL instruments OF n padprety
SKI, yet In all such notifications are
found the same typical bones. Tho IN
born whale has rudimentary teeth ana
the Internal ear IL adapted TO hearing
IN the air. yet neither OF these organs
are uheful TO the whale. and must
nave come from ita terrestrial ancestor
In most snakes there. are not evcn
fuaiments q limbs, but In the python
merest vestigea Of hind limbs connnrt
ms form with other reptiica.
IN comparative cmbryologv IA fo,nd
ane prlnclpal PROOF for evolution. Ali
n,nlmals ana plants are either unieei'
lular undiffcrontiated bits Of nro,n-
plhsm, or atari out az such la ~
FORM OF a single cell. the OWN IN
the development or tho lndfvldunl fron,
a division Of the ovum. and n mniul
pueallon or the cells 20 form the Ia.
az "mu oiEhns or the adult the high.
er FORMS pass through the moro
nnd more complex stages OF ia an
.estrhl limo OF descent. Animate 60
uiuerent as fish. frog. n turtle
uiIu, Jog and man. Mi nass
.nIoush embryonic stages OF tho eIns-
es' Feaemplanoe, possessing structitrrq
III ~, ior instance, flsh-lllse gill niits nnd
~ ".tnrles, only present In tho n,lnlt
isn; Then the proportions OF dlrferr,t
parts or the body are at flrst mnah
the same. attaining the snecinc dirso.
mutations IN later embryonic llfe
IN spite OF the comparativeiv s,n,,,
portion OF the earth explored ana ~.
ulnculty or animals md plnntt ba,n,,
properly preserved, palaeontnlng,, ,a,s,
sss many very complete series OF
,onheeing links from present 10 ances.
me forms Horns OF deer occur fror,
lhose simple and unhranched 10 thn
many pronged horn Of the deor Of ~
.ay, The Archaeoptcfyx is a gonrr9ii,ed
form from which In one directlon Si
nerHeu the reptiles and In tho .o.ha.
me birds. In the case OF the hnrsa
which walks on the tips OF ia tocs ~
nngefs' the connecting links back ~
m ancestor walking on the ualn, ~
ne hands and the soles OF Inc ses,
nave all been found. ''
IN the course OF geological chnpra,
continents and Islands arose frnn, ~
'ea. or We're cut on by tho aea ana
AZ the same time groups az nlsnt. s,,,,
y animals were Isolated ana NM, ~. ~,
,usrsohe peculiar. evolution adapted 10
w Isolated environment, while the
nsinpsrs o. such groups are In general
related, yet the groups Of different ~
xlons are quite distinct. In Austrnilo
.nu New zealand, long ago cut on by