The news & observer., 1905-10-22

BY DR. r. B. KINGSBURY.

late Prof Louis AgassiZ. He was
great man of science, a native OF
Switzerland, and long resident in the
United States. He was for many
years Professor in Harvard University,
and without any rival in America in
his department.. Indeed, it is probable
that up to now, there has been no
man of science in our country who
really equals him. So great is he IN
the estimation of the North that but
few days ago he was chosen by
large majority of votes to have place
in the Hall of Fame in New York city,
while three very eminent Southern
born citizens were rejected and one
born in North Carolina. That is how
ever, quite like the North. One of
their small mean, corrupt men is quite
equal, ii thinks, TO any of the great
men of the South. How we apples
swim Hamilton was put in by a
greater majority than any other man.
There is a fitness in that for he can
keep company with certain men of low
morals already chosen, much bet
ter than the noble, pure, honest and
honorable men of the South could.
About the year 1856 or 1857, Prof.
Agassiz delivered a lecture in which
he presented views. soon after the
war and in the devilish era of Recon-
struction, that must have set the
degenerate day to shaking and their
eyes to winking and blinking. In that
novel lecture he discussed the physical
differences in the white and black
races Whether his lecture made any
impression upon the New England
negrophiists and the laundering, ram
pant legislators in the North, i am not
informed, but / suppose not, for the
blunders and evil legislation and the
fanatical blindness has continued all
through the subsequent years, and
even in 1905, there are fools and
fanatics just as obtuse and absurd AS
to the negroes, in New England and
other sections in the North, as they
were in the early years just following
the great war Even an AgasSiz,
great and learned as he was, could not
cure the cancerous disease which
cursed and devoured the fanatical
crowd. There are many great differ
ences between the African negro and
the Aryan race. No one can take a
view Of the external appearance OF
the white man and the negro without
observing the differences between the
two. If the outward looks of each Is
so peculiar and striking, may not the
observer conclude that there are diff
fcrcnces as to tho physiological get
up OF each that are hidden, are within?
The great man of science was too OBJ
servant not to note all this. and the
result was he set it forth clearly AMI at
length. Prof. AgasSiz, like dozens of
other scientific investigators and au-
thors have done, set forth the very
marked differences, and held as re-
suit of his careful and extended in
vetSigations that the negro and the
white man were really not of thra
same original stock, but distinct ana
separate.
II; .Nf a,.lx nttxr x-flr, r,.S
ago. Prof Agassiz said this. 1t is
long and it appeared in the Medical
and Surgical Reporter of Philadel-
phia, in May, 1867. The passage j
give shows clearly the convictions of
a most eminent scientist, and | repro
ducc it without comment-either of
approval or dissent:
Il have pointed out over II hundred
specific differences between the bonal
and nervous systems of the white man
and the negro Indeed, their frames
are alike in no particular. There is
not a bone in the negrOs body which
is relatively the same shape, size ar
ticulation, or chemically Of the same
composition. as that Of the white man.
i he negro's bones contain far
greater percentage of calcerOuS salt
than those of the white man: even
the ncgros blood is chemically u very
different fluid from that which courses
in the veins of the white man. The
whole physical organism of the negro
differs quite as much from the white
mans as it does from that of the
chimpanzee-that is. in his bones,
muscles. nerves and fibreS, the chin
panzcc has not much further to pro-
gross to become d negro than d negro
has to become a white man. This fact
science inexorably demonstrates. :
Climate has no more to do with
the difference between the white man
and the negro, and chimpanzee
than it has between the horse and the
ass, or the eagle and the owl. Each
is a distinct and separate creation.
The negro and white man were Great
ed as different as the owl and the
eagle. They were designed to fill diff
ferent places in the system of nature.
The negro is no more a negro by ac-
cident or misfortune, than the owl is
the kind of bird he is by accident or
misfortune. The negro is no more the
white mans brother than the owl is
the sister of the eagle or the ass is
the brother of the horse
That ought to make inquirers in
quire farther and thinkers do more
of thinking. Consult Principal Daw-
sons large work on the races and
"Anthropology" by a Southern di-
vine
There are two nicely bound and ex-
cellently printed one-volume editions
of TennySon's poems They are from
the long established houses of Hough-
ton. Mifflin & Co, Boston, and Mac
milan & Co, New York. And yet
there arc two omissions of parts of
interest and importance-one in each.
The Boston edition omits 54 pages
that are found in Macmllan's edi-
ton. These pages contain the very
interesting play entitled THE Forest
crs. in which Robin Hool, Earl of
Huntington. is the leading character
1T also has the poets last volume call
cd THE Death of Aenone." "Akban' s
Dream and Other Poems, some Of
them of rare beauty. impressiveness,
felicity and interest making u pages
Some of them are of tender pathos
and rare excellence, and were written
when the great poet was very near the
end of his earthly career. among them
Doubt and Prayer Faith "Thc
Silent Voices. which was sung at
his funeral, Lady Tennyson compos
ing the music. She died not very long
afterwards. The poet died i'm 1893.
God and The Univeritsy" and Gross