New-York tribune., 1908-12-28
than in many. other states. but even few cases
are too MANY.
n4RHIN AID ETOLUTIoN

An imnortant feature of the meeting of tue
American Association for the Advancemeh' VI
Science which opens to-day in Baltimore VIII
no n consideration of the value of Charles I'aI-
wins work As his famous book, Origin OF
snecies anpeared on January /, 1859 the nj
tietb anniversary of that event next Fridayl
will he reserved for celebration which VIII IN
son,a sense he a centennial observance also, for
charles DARWIN was born on February II, 1Su9
Final Judgment on the correctness of the great
naturaIist's opinions and on the measure Oh
help which he rendered to his prolessiohai
brethren must be left, of course 10 scientihC
men 1t is permissible however to note that
while popular hostility to these views mas oF
no means disappeared. it is less violent te-ua!
than it was when they first became tue supJecC
of discussion Much of the antagonism excited
hy narwin's teachings sprang no DOUBT from
an imperfect conception of their nature ana
tendency.
For instance Charles Darwin did not orig
mate the doctrine of evolution He accepted IT,
made some startling applications OF 1t ana pre-
sented a good deal of additional teStimon! III
| snpport of it. Still, whatever honor is due Tor
first advancing the idea really belongs to sew
eraI of his predecessors. Liebnitz Bunon. La
marcz and Erasmus Darwin (the father Of
| CharIes) in turn became impressed With Ger
tain characteristic of animal and vegetable life
rocks there was discernible progress from
rude and imperfect development in the older
snecinlens to higher organization In the later
ones That is what the pioneers in natural MS
tory called evolution, but the younger Darwin
did not discover the phenomenon
Resides this somewhat regular advance there
| appeared differences In what the naturaIlsts
were coming to regard as the descendants of
common ancestry. 1t was to account for these
dissmilartties that Charles Darwin first de
voted himself. Both he and Alfred Russeil
Wallace held that the influence which ex-
planned their beginning and perpetuat1on was
natural selection" or. as Herbert Spencer af-
terward put it. "the survival of the nttest'
Well naturalists are not quite sure that the
explanation is the true one, but in the theory
itself there is nothing very appalling.
Darwins most shocking suggestion was that
the human race had been evolved from an AMI
NAL resembling the higher apes. This idea
naturally enough was revolving TO many per
sons and created sentimental protest But
the chief objection to the proposition was that
II seemed TO dispense with the necessity Tor
Creator It is now becoming more and more
evident that the criticism is not valid Many
cIergvmen to-day look upon evolution as the
divine method of procedure, and find no trouble
in reconciling the doctrine with the essential Is
of christianity and with their Interpretation OF
the Mosaic story Of Creation. Darwin himself,
it must be remembered. did not offer evolution
as First Cause. He frankly recognized his
inability to say how the primitive forms OF life
from which he thought the higher ones had de-
yeIoped reached the earth He certainly did not
believe IN spontaneous generation