The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-07-26
CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE.
A Venerable Scientists Theory of the Purpose of All Creation.

London, July 26.-Dr. Alfred Russell Wallace had already celebrated his eigh- tieth birthday last January when he put forth new idea that surprised the seien- tific world almost as greatly as the tre- mendous theory of natural selection-the Darwinian theory-whch Dr. Wallace and Charles Darwin discovered independently of each other almost half a century ago.
 The famous old scientists new theory is that the earth is exactly at the center of the universe and that the whole scheme of creation was planned for the purpose of producing man. Some of the old theo- logians have always maintained this, but pr. Wallace arrived at the idea quite in- dependentlys of theology. When his first announcement of his discovery was made a few months ago scientists in all quarters of the globe arose forthwith and smote him, hip and thigh. They said it was all nonsense just as they had said 1t was madness to suppose man had descended from monkeys-which was the popular way of describing the doctrine put forth by Dr. Wallace and Darwin, and now al- most universally accepted.
 But Dr. Wallace sticks to his guns and in a letter just received from him he writes that he has not orly been able to
 
 brought against him. but that he has found many proofs of his discovery which he will be ready to lay before the world in a month or two.
 Dr. Wallace was living in one of the remote Moluccas islands in 1858 and suffer- ing from a violent attack of fever when the idea of the law of natural selection burst upon him. Fever or no fever he could not rest until he had worked it out and put it upon paper. He sent 1t off to his friend Darwin to ask him what he thought of it, little dreaming that his let ter would be a thunderbolt to Darwin. The latter had worked out the same doc Urine some years before and had shown 1t to Lyell, who told him to publish it at once as someone else would hit on the same idea But Darwin refused to lay his idea before the world until he could gather a vast quantity of facts to support it. When he got Wallace's letter he wrote to Lyell: Your words have come true with a vengeance-that I should be forestalled I never saw a more striking CO., incidence; if Wallace had had my manu- script sketch written out in 1S42, he could not have made better short abstract! Even his terms now stand as heads of my chapters So all my originality what ever it may amount to, will be smashed, though my book if it will ever have any value, will not be deteriorated as all the labor consists in the application of the theory"
 Darwin was a gentleman if ever there was one and he wanted to publish Dr. Wallace's letter-a proceeding which would have deprived Darwin of most of the credit for the great discovery and doubtless would have caused the "Dar- winian theory" to be known today as "the Wallace theory" Lyell and others however pointed out to him that he had made the discovery first and that his own abstract of the doctrine should be given to the world side by side with that of Dr. Wallace.
 Darwin's generosity was appreciated to the full by Dr. Wallace and the two were strong friends rs long as Darwin lived.
 Dr. Wallace has always been a tremen- dous worker He began to earn a living at the age of g as land surveyor. but soon turned his attention to natural his- tory, setting forth to the Amazon on a scientific expedition and going later to the Malay archipelago. where he was when he hit upon Darwin's great idea. He lec- tured in America seventeen years ago and has written many books that take high rank in scientific research.