The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1922-02-17

If it were not winter, we
would think that the silly season
had set in to hear the long lines
of arguments over the teaching
of evolution in our public schools.
Of course some of the best edu-
cational thinkers are against the
prescription. Kentucky is want
ing to try out the scheme but
the bill is being fought. Lyman
Abbott, who should be able to
speak in a clerical way says
Such an act would be fatal to
the best interests of pupils in
any school on which it could be
enforced. Evolution is correct
ly defined by John F'iske as Gods
way of doing things. Practical
ly all scientists hold it, and most
colleges teach it in some form"
Again Charles S Mcfarland, gen
eral secretary of the Federal
Council of Churches of Christ in
America, says: ANY attempt to
impose legislative restrictions on
the teachers of science is con-
trary to all the principles on
which the American republic has
been founded. While President
Elliot of Harvard says that he
can't believe that any state could
be induced to prohibit the teach
ing of evolution or any other
scientific hypothesis of proven
value. 1t is a curious thing that
in America we should care to
turn the clock backward to the
time when the church ruled the
state, with any of its attendant
evils. 1t doesn't really matter
whether the church or few re-
formers desire to get strangle
I'D upon the teaching Of our
Aoois, the result is the same if
it can be put over. 1t doesn't
seem likely that this will be
more than an intellectual furry.
If Kentucky tries it out, none of
the rest of the states will want
to try it, that's certain.
This day and age doesn't like
capital punishment. We still
enforce it at times but it has
come a long way from being a
day of public sport and general
celebration. We try to do it
privately and decently and
humanely. Nevada is even go
ing further and trying to do it
painlessly for the instrument of
death in that state is to be
lethal gas. The first sentence is
that sometime during the week
in early spring the two con-
demned men shall be put out of
existence while they sleep. AS
far as the physical conditions of
death are concerned, this will be
painless but what about the
mental suffering, knowing that
the fatal day is at hand but the
hour uncertain. They will die a
thousands deaths while the defn-
tie uncertainty hangs over them.
We all know we have to die but
we don't know that it is set for
a certain hour in the first week
of April, for instance. These
murderers would probably suffer
less to steel their minds against
a definite date even with a de-
finite amount of suffering in
volved.
Wonder if they will run out of
jurors on the Arbuckle case if
they should have a third disa-
greement. There is only one
good thing about these success
sive trials, the public gets less
and less interested.
The Miami Herald wants to
know why it is that the northern
papers do not publish Miami's
temperatures when we publish
theirs. 1t is probably because
they are so hanged sick of freez-
Miami"
The Conference means some
thing more than words when
Japan and the United States
order gun orders cancelled and
work on part of the battleships
stopped.
The chairman of the demo-
cratic congressional committee
says that the democratic party |
will regain its lost territory. 1t |
has imitless field for conquest. J