Evening star., 1925-07-21
CLIMAX IN DAYTON
AMAZING BEDLAM
Crowd RoarS in Wild Disorder
as Bryan and Oar-
row Clash.
BY ROBERT T. SMALL.

OUT thGt there never was and never
car, again be anything like it In the
air, the earth or the waters under
The earth. Ii has broken out in SO
many different and startling directions
that one is left hewildered at each
days end.
But of all the scenes and all the
circumstances ii remained for the
cat-and-dog fight between Clarence
parrow and William Jennings Bryan
10 furnish the climatic spectacle of
DaSton'S distasteful delrium. All
senblance of legal procedure was
swept aside and pandemonium broke
loose. Both Bryan and Darrow ap-
peared TO have the gift of tongues.
They flew at each other verbally like
=. couple of fishwiVes.
Rebel Yells Fill Air.
And all the while rebel yells filled
the air. Men and women shouted at
the tops Of their lungs. Children
wept. Dogs barked. Automobile
horns honked. Railroad trains went
screeching by Hot-dog vendors called
their wares. Newsboys came hurry
ing through the crowd with the latest
extras.
Every now and then the voice of
the circuit attorney general. young
Tom Stewart, who is so suggestive
OF Senator Borah in his younger days,
could be heard appealing to the judge,
I'm the name Of the law and Tennes-
zee, TO stop the uproar. But the judge
let IL go until at last the epithetS
were being hurled at such q rate and
rhe attitude OF the two vocal COM
natants was such that the court, in
something of panic. banged his gavel
and shouted:
Courts adjourned"
The setting for the scene was as
amazing as the encounter itself. And
the whole affair left most of the in
nocent bystanders gasping and gazing
ar each other as persons do who
awake from some dread nightmare.
Court had been adjourned to the
great out of doors. There had been
the threat all along that this might
happen. A platform or stage had been
erected against one of the courthouse
walls and in front OF it were arranged
rough board benches TO accommodate
several hundreds of Apersons. The
courthouse yard is beautiful grove,
affording plenty of shade and sylvan
coloring. The whole county has not
been able to get into the courtroom
despite the generous hospitality of the
court officials, who permitted the oC
cupation of aisleS, windows and nearly
every inch Of breathing space
Raulston Hospitable.
Judge Raulston is an extremely
kipd-hearted man and ii has dis
tressed him beyond measure to see
any of his friends and voters shut
out from the show of the century.
And so at last. in the belief that the
upstairs courtroom might no longer
he safe under its groaning weight of
sweltering humanity, the judge uu-
tremendously moved the proceedings
down on the lawn. 4 rough table
vas provided as the bench. Most
Of the lawyers ''toted" their own chairs
downstairs and the spectators scram-
oled for all points of vantage. inClud-
ing the limbs of the trees.
Arms and legs dangled down the
courthouse windows overlooking the
east lawn Autos parked all around
he outer railing Of the yard. Re
freshment stands and public comfort
stations loomed in the immediate
foreground. Children and babies we're
everywhere. The atmosphere Of the
old-time camp meeting or the rural
Summer chautauqua which has crept
into the proceedings from the begin
ming took complete possession.
Crowd Roars Approval.
II was in this setting, of all places.
that Clarence Darrow, always dealing
the unexpected, called William Jen-
an expert" for the defense on the
subject of the Bible and it's interpreta-
ton The battle OF bedlam was on.
The crowd, unrestrained by courtroom
surroundings, cut loose and rOared its
head off. A bailitf trying in vain to
get order, vociferated:
This amt TO circus.
But it was, and 4 merry one. The
crowd was almost unanimously for
Hryan and each time he could be
heard shouting louder than Darrou
the applause was uproarious. DarroU
was cheered by minority. more or
less respectful BILE. and at times there
was whooping and bowling for both
the gladiators engaged in their duel
of pitiless publicity.
Mr.. Bryan couldn't sit still in the
outdoor witness chair for long. Half
of the time he was on his feet, ha-
ranguing the crowd. There never was
such a witness" In almost agonized
tones he would cry aloud: Il am pro-
teCting the word of God against the
greatest atheist. or sgnostic, in the
world
Darrow Calmer of Two
70 which Darrow, far the less ex.
cited of the two. would reply in snarl-
ing tones that he was trying to pro-
tect the world against Mr Bryan's
1901 IDEAS Oh renSlOn.
The upshot of the grilling Of Mr..
Bryan was q paraphrase of Deca tur's
classic:
MY country. right OF wrong
With Mr Bryan it was the Bible
lie cared not for seeming contradic-
tions pointed out by Darrow within
the book itself; he cared not for dates
which appeared TO upset some re-
lGious theories OF world history: he
y.n1 hi ff,,. lS all
ing for worldly knowledge, he had
gone beyond the printed word" His
answer invariably was: - If it is in the
Bible, believe it,
Mr.. Bryan consented TO take the
witness chair. he explained, so he
could shut Darrow's mouth, and not
have him going about the country
hoasting to his atheist friends that
Bryan had been afraid TO meet and
answer his questions.
Takes Bible Literally.
Mr. Bryan is as fundamental as the
Rock of Ages. He takes literally
everything In the Bible. To him there
is no allegory. God actually made
the snake in the Garden of Eden to
crawl upon his belly because he had
induced Eve to tempt Adam. Mr..
Bryan did not know how the snake
travelled before God cursed him. MIR.
Bryan believed there was no sun until
the fourth day of creation, but he in
sisted that even without a sun there
were mornings" and evenings" of
the first. second and third days, be
cause the book says So"
In only one respect has Mr.. Bryan
admitted a doubt He says the
days" mentioned in the Bible may
not have been 24-hour cycles. They
NAV have been "ageS" or "Deriods"