The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1908-06-20
A DEBATE ON
PRIMITIVE MAN.


eyes, ears or any other perceptive or.
gans for anything else. Indeed, he
was more familiar with the gibbon
prang outang, chimpanxee and gorilla
mans nearest rclntives, than the mem
beers OF his own family. Absorbed IN
dreams Of these klnsmen be would
pass his own children ON the street
without recognizing them.
Kate Edmonds alone or all his chill
dren sympathized with him in his
studies and was consequently his ia
yorite Kate worshiped her father,
and II Is questionable IL her enthusi-
asm for fossils was not assumed for
the purpose OF pleasing the dear old
man. At any rate. when she was
eleven years old her mother met her
one morning on the street with neck
lace Of bones around her neck and or
dered her to 80 home and take on 1.-THE
horrid" thing.
AS Kate grew older she joined her
father In his studies and on one occa-
sion delighted him by discovering a
similarity In the big toe bone or two
animals which he had previously con-
sidered to belong to different species.
From this time forth he made her an
assistant instead Of a pupil, and she
worked with him continuously
But, unfortunately for her father,
Kate became woman. Not that the
professor noticed a change which oc-
Cured In brief season. He took no
note OF changes except those that only
ages could effect When Kate took his
hand and told hfn that she was about
to be married he was thunderstruck.
what have you done with your doll r.
he noaned-
Kate went with her husband to live
IN distant city. For q brief season
after her departure the professors
bones failed TO interest him. Then
some one sent him a bone Of an ami
NAL unlike anything he had ever seen,
and straightway the old man forgot
his daughter In his efforts to construct
the creature OF which it had been a
part. After that the only evidence that
be remembered her at all was occa-
sionaI inquiries why she was not in
her seat at table.
At the end Of year Kate wrote her
mother that she was coming home for
a visit. but asked her not to inform
her father, since she wished to sur
prise him. Kate arrived at the com
meneement season ana at the hour
when the president was holding a re-
ception. with Professor Edmonds In
attendance. So Kate arrayed herself
in reception costume. went over to the
president and, takiag position behind
portiere ia room adjoining the one
where her father was. began to talk
prehistoric man la his hearing.
upon my word" said the professor.
'theFe Is lady in there who knows
more about the tertiary period than
any woman I have ever heard talk.
But she Is making one egregious blum
der. Introduce me to her"
The professor was introduced to his
daughter, but whether he had forgot
ten her entirely or was too deeply en-
crossed in his subject TO recognize her
or had on his reading instead or his
distance glasses doesn't matter He
plunged right into the work OF cor
recting her error.
Il heard you say, madam" be began,
"that evidences OF the existence OF
mans progenitors are not found In the
tertiary period During the eocine sys-
TEN, division of the tertiary. several
orders Of mammals were developed
Including the ancestors OF lemurs,
monkeys. anthropoid or manIike apes"
"But these are only the germs. so to
speak, not man himself" Kate replied.
There Is no beginning, no stop in
development The anthropoid apes are
simply d continuation Ia the develop
ment OF man.
'tAnd do you think, professor, that
man Of the present day viii develop
into something higherY'
Undoubtedly that ia, II our planet
Ii not In the meanwhile knocked into
dust or burned by concussion at meet
ing some one Of those opaque bodies
known to be plunglng through space"
sOr q comet" said Kate, with
twinkle in her eye.
Nonsense, madam. Comets are gas
eous. The earth has passed through
their tails often"
ssTo return to man--man In bis par
ent stage OF development. What would
you think OF father who would for
get his own chiId9H
"Euch q failure OF the faculty OF
memory would undoubtedly be inner
tied from his british ancestors. We
have no evidence that lions, tigers,
cats. dogs and other brutes remember
their cubs after they are grown and |
have passed away from their parents"
DO you refer to man In the present |
stage to yourself, for instance as
brutal and to your child as cub?"
sBy no means. have passed the
brute condition, but now and again
traits. like rudiments Of organs that |
have ages ago become useless and de-
must necessarily crop OUT
''But If the parent forgets the child
why not the child forget the parentY'
I'm the brute state the only use the
offspring has for the parent IL food; |
among us the only use the child has
for the parent is food. raiment and
gewgaws. But while the memory of
the parent becomes impaired with age
that Of the child
-
had for some time been on the eve OF
r...4sz.s-e..~. b---<44 cf... l....S f.a&o 4