The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-01-07
b n ". 81. Bail0ll.

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EVEB4BODY knows the old stories
df ths giants VINO are supposed ID
have lived On earth onee upon i
time, long 80. And maybe they lived
here and maybe they did not.
But.Ehe discovery In Patagonia recent
y Of q pfshistofie monster That walked
uprign he : man and stood $50 feet
high hls heel % the top 81 his ugly
head proved finally 10 science that
only Ne nstfoWest margin did the
earth eaps real race Of giants.
The Fa1Agonian fossil belonged TO the
family ef dinosaurs, gigantic and gro-
tesque reptiles which lived many millions
of yea 40. From TIE nEeletohs 81 these
creatuI = found Undecided IL the rocks
sciencd hae known Tor SOME years that
there eEs esElaiA klnds Nhieh had giveif
up the Aabit o sDing On I'll foufs and
walked & tn about 6 thefS hind leess
using 81 1ofs l6ek and feet IKE claws
and han. Bit these tvpes were ham
pered b lone and e6nberlonae tails.
The ID oftsusa a. liIe ne discovered
dinosauf 8 thu Il Is clearly FAR aiiz
vanced deyelopment 81 the walking types
heretofore known. Il apparently stood
firmly on it hind feet and Is backbone
was pretty nearly as straight Is mans
certainly far more upright than even
the gorilla or orang-outang.
Now, the science. of evolution teaches
us that the ape-lilxe ancestors Of man
originally went about on their four feet
Ike any other animal. Gradually, as evo-
i;.tion progressed, they began to walk
-'oreaand more upright and to lose their
tails. When at last they stood up straight
and tailless, with fore legs and paws
changed to hands and arms, man was
oorn.,g
1t is that upright position, with It's re-
lease Of the fore limbs to become the ma
chimes" Of his brain In making the tools
whichthe brain coneeives, that has given
mankind domination of earth.
And It is precisely upon that same road
of evolution that the feet Of the dino
saurs were set millions of years before
the first furry ancestor of man began to
struggle up from all fours.
The Patagonian find shows that the
giant reptiles were further along that
road than science has even dreamed,
Fortunately for man, something happened
which, blocked the path of evolution for
the dinosaurs. Had it not, the earth to-
day would probably be ruled by super
reptiles instead of super-monkeys.
In the slow process of evolution it was
to be 10000, 900 years or more before
the ape-like progenitOrs Of man could de-
velop. This is good starting handicap,
even for evolution. Conceivably-no, GER
tainly, during these ages the most adj
vanced of the walking dinosaurs would
have discovered the use of the club. He
would. have found that he could hurl
stones, as well. Even though he had hut
three fingers and a thumb, they would be
enough. The little finger is not much use
to US, to-day. With this discovery he
would have passed, Is mans ancestors
did, to the Invention Of spears and bows
and arrows. With the creation of these
killing machines civilization would have
been begun.
And Just as the monkey tail shrunk and
would have shrunk and ut last have van
ished.
Man would probably never have
evolved. Man won over the rest of ami
mate creation by the development of his
fingers and his brain. No other creatures
had such tools or weapons as mans hands;
therefore, he had little real competition
Claws can tear and .fangs rend, but only
at close quarters. Mans fingers can
make. deadly things that will slay long
before claws or fangs can get close
enough to strike.
Further, 1t must be remembered that
man is the only hfe-Imaking animal solely
because he has hands that can make fires
Out Of fire cDsne all the arts and sciences
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