Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1905-08-11

DbNidDlHtN anu ftSSDtduNC ttilOnS
sscts, Birds. Brutes and Mankind The Doc.
trine OF the Survival of the fittest Ex-
/ planned in New ught-The Part Played
BY Intelligence in the Realms of Evolution
ary Development - The Lesson Taught BY
I the Brute Creation and Some Barbarou,
Races.
EN BYRON Mlt.LErT.
FAKT /.
/ During the past decade there Ina
( been considerable discussion going OH
i'll the realm of advanced scientifi,
thought with regard to the DarwInlan
! postuiate that the struggle for exist
/ ence among insects, birds, fishes, ami
mails, etc, rs well as regarding man.
! condition since the dawn of historic
! knowledge, is the dominant factor o
growth aud evolutionary development.
ln recent years, respectable coterit
Of thinkers of profound erudltion, after
much toilsome experience and exten
sive research, have been impelled t.
the conclusion that the disciples o
Darwin have attached too much i'm
porsance to this theory of the struggle
tor life in the above fields as being the
prime factor OF such growth; that the
practice of mutual assistance is the
principal factor in such development
This latter class of philosophers con
tend that the matter OF the struggle
for life among individuals and units oi
/ En flt..
ated by those Darwinians, which con
clusion may be readily arrived at BY
careful investigation and deduction.
from known premises; that the prac
ticc Of sociability and mutual helI
finds expression in all sentient life
from the smallest insect up to and in
cluding man. In the works of SiI
John Lubbock and Forell there i,
abundant data to show how ants co
operate i'll constructing their habita.
tions, rearing their progeny, and in
! feeding one another OF those that be
long to the same hest or colony. II
al ant which has its crop supplied
with food refuses to feed cOmrade
| it will be treated as common enemy
by the other ants composing the col
Ony. IL two ants should meet that
belong to hostile nests, they will avoid
each other. Notwithstanding the ter.
rible conflicts in times OF war among
the different species, the mutual aid
principle within the community il
fully recognized and adhered TO. These
insects comparatively construct their
dwellings,, spacious halls, granaries
and paved streets, cultivate their fields
and malt their grain, have their herds
and milk their cows; also combine for
mutual defense, are dreaded by the
larger and more powerful insects
When Forell, one OF the most promi.
nent naturalists in Europe, emptied q
bagful of ants in a meadow, he noted
that the grasshoppers and crickets
fled in all directions; spiders and
beetles forsook their prey in order to
reach places of safety; nests OF wasps,
after u pitched battle, were surren-
dered to the ants though many had
perished in the struggle. We have
the authority of Darwin, who said the
brain of the ant sis one of the most
marvellous atoms Of matter in the
world, perhaps more so than the brain
of man."
DO not the above facts show plainly
that these insects have reached their
high intellectual status through the
practice of mutual aid within the com
munity rather than through individual
struggle among the units? This in.
stinct of mutual help and cooperation
is strong among bees. Leaving out oI
consideration the human family, theiI
honey has many admirers among nu
merous classes of birds and animals
but through this practice OF mutual
assistance these insects are able tO
protect themselves and their accumu'
lations to q marvellous degree. When
ever q swarm OF bees are about to seek
new abode, they send out sentries to
explore the lay of the land several
days in advance before making a
change. There are also bees addicted
to robbery and laziness, prefer to enjoy
that which others produce than work
for themselves. The sentinels that
guard the hives of their industrious
comrades put to death without mercy
the robber bees, which generally ex.
perience greater difficulty in thriving
than the industrious members of the
various colonies. The story is almost
too familiar to be repeated, that the
industrious members of bee colonies
are prone to kill off the drones found
in their midst. The recognition o.
the principle of solidarity tends te
eliminate the shirkers, which are in
dividualistic in their .propensities ant
practices. 1t is recorded by some au'
thorities on bee culture that the mos
industrious and peaceable species O
bees if allowed to feed upon old honey
which they did not produce, or upor
honey which had been forcibly taker
from other bees, such practices will
readily develop vicious and thievinl
instincts among the despoilers; they
will fight other bees, and among them
selves; attack pesceable animals with
out reason or occasion along the high
way and in the pasture. Some Of oul
philosophical readers may be inclinet
to apply the lesson taught by this mar
ration to grafters and parasites coming
so prominently before the public gazt
just now in our commercial life.
Under prevailing conditions with re
spect to the human family, instances
are by no means rare wherein thi
lesson is reversed, in that those indi
viduals who perform the least usefu
labor in the social organism often real
the greatest material rewards, whil'
the less fortunate brethren are com
PEELED to produce the good things o
life, and are not permitted to enjo.
them.
Numerous instances are recorded il
the works Of naturalists wherein tn
smaller birds, such as sparrows, b.
combination keep the larger birds o
prey such rs eagles, hawks, etc, a
bay. A few years ago, the daily pres