River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1901-11-07
INDIANS WERE KIND.
Received the Early White Settlers
with Gifts of Corn.
And Scientific Research Demon
strntes That Many of the Tribes
Had Attained "a Fair state
of Civilization.
Especial washington Letter.l


United with reasoning faculties
II so well balanced that his analyt-
ical and synthetical mental
processes were equally superb, Au-
guste Compile gave his Positive Sci
ence" to the world as naturally and
easily as a mother gives part of her
life to the wee babe in her arms
1t was Compile who first clearly ex-
planned that Science is fact; philos
ophy the reason or cause of the fact"
1t is one thing to know that the sun
gives light and heat. 1t is another
thing to take philosophic theory
and deduct from it the reason orcause
of that fact. 1t is one thing TO as
certain the facts that the vegetable
and animal worlds interchange car
bon and oxygen. 1t is another thing
to theorize and philosophize concern
ing the rationale of those facts.
There is no augmentation in science.
Philosophy is based upon and abb
sorbed in theses and discussions.
Although the learned men of the
old world and the new have endeav-
ored to follow Compile by keeping
their science and philosophy separate,
they have not been wholly success
full. This is particularly true as TO
the science of geology, which is large
ly also philosophy. This also is true
of archaeology. Delivers in the earth
have not been content to coldly
chronicle their ascertained facts, but
have endeavored to give the reason for
all of those facts. Whatever and
wherever they have sought the ra-
tionale, they have ceased to be posi-
tive scientists and have sought also to
become philosophers.
In our own country and continent
philosophical endeavor has sur
mounted scientific attainment. For
example, discoveries of facts concern
ing the mysterious mounds which
abound in certain localities have
taxed their brains to develop theories
concerning a race called mound
builders. Lapsing into theories they
have become theorists and philoso-
pliers, rather than pure scientists or
fact-getters.
1t is admitted that philosophy has
developed many facts which are now
a part of positive science. Theoriz-
ing is not decried, because from it
knowledge, and philosophy is useful
ence, however, is the higher form of
knowledge and philosophy is useful
only as it develops truths which are
added to science. When a child
burns its finger, it ascertains a fact
concerning heat; the child is then in
the domain of science. But the child
enters upon the realm of philosophy
when it asks why heat burns.
In the tide-water region of the Po-
tomac river, for many miles to the
southwark of our national capital, sci
entists have discovered utensils and
implements of bone, stone, pottery,
iron and copper. They have added
the well-known fact that Indians
originally inhabited this continent,
and they have evolved interesting phi
losophies concerning the habits of
those prehistoric human beings
Books and pamphlets on these topics
fill many shelves of the congressional
library, while the National museum
and Smithsonian institution exhibit
the prehistoric articles concerning
which the numberless works have
been written. There are upwards of
$4,000 specimens of rare relics which
have been gathered by different indi-
viduals during the past half century.
Local archaeologists have uncovered
village sites all along this region;