Evening star., 1925-07-24
ANTEEVOLUT|ON
SPREAD PREDICTED
Georgia, Kentucky and In
diana to Follow Tennessee's
Lead, Is Belief.
BY ROBERT T. SMALL.

EVANSVILLE, Ind, July ga
Three weeks spent in the atmosphere
of Dayton, Tenn, inclines one to the
belief that his perspective on the i'm,
portance of evolution might be com.
pletely out of line. But 1t is only
necessary to step aboard a through
train to find passengers from all sec,
tions thoroughly absorbed In the sub,
ject, and one quickly gets the i'm
preston that the consensus of opin-
ION is to the effect that the United
States as a whole is in for an anti
evolution bath.
Other States are expected to follow
Tennessee. Georgia and Kentucky
are slated to be among the first and
should not follow suit. The ban
against evolution is expected to fol.
low the political isothermal lines of
prohibition-to spread from the South
to the West and then gradually to In
gulf the North and East. Most people
seem to think that prohibition was
so easily swallowed that not even a
wry face will be made at statutes
which seek to compel a literal accep-
tance of the Bible in all the public
schools and State. universities of the
country.
Predicts Great Spread.
Clarence Darrow has predicted that
IL will be but short step from the
control of evolution in the public
schools to similar control in the pri-
vate institutions, with an attempt
later to close up all museums or to
rob them Of any exhibits which pur-
port to show the existence of the
world prior to 4004 BIC.
Books and newspapers eventually
would be put under the ban II Mr..
Darrow and his associates of the
Scopes defense are to be believed.
making 1t necessary to bootleg the
sciences which deal with evolution
and the descent of man.
Lack of organization among the
modernists and liberals is generally
recognized as the factor which will
permit the spread of laws akin to
that which exists in Tennessee. Mr.
Bryan, on the other hand. contends
there is a hydra a-headed agnostic
conspiracy against the Bible working
under the guise of evolutionary sci
ence.
Curiously enough one finds very
general opinion that even the Su-
preme Court of the United States Is
likely to uphold the constitutionality
of the Tennessee act, despite the
crudity of its wording. The belief
is that the court will go to the In
tent of the law rather than the care
less and perhaps faulty phraseology.
Liberty Left to States.
It is pointed out. furthermore, that
contrary to accepted behef. the pro-
lection of religious freedom is a
State rather than a. Federal affair,
the Supreme Court having once held
in q New Orleans case that The
Constitution of the United States
makes no provisions for protecting
the citizens of the respective States
in their religious liberties; this is left
to the State constitutions and laws. -
II also has been repeatedly held by
the Supreme Court that the individual
has no fundamental rights" against
the sovereignty of the State. In the
final test the person has no rights
whatever against sovereignty. AS to
the fourteenth amendment to the Con-
stttutton It has been held that:
Neither the amendment, broad and
comprehensive as it is, nor any other
amendment, was designed to interfere
with the power. of the State to pre-
scribe regulations to promote the
good order of the people"
: Sunday Labor Ban Upheld.
S#A State may regulate health condi-
tions and may prescribe what physi-
clan may do and may not do. The
Supreme Court has further held: 1.-The
fact that statutes are colored and
nodded by the Christian religion does
not render their prohibitions violative
of religious freedom if primarily they
are civil regulations with a view to
promoting the moral and physical wei
fare of the community, as in the case
of statutes prohibiting Sunday labor. "
The antievoluttonists claim their
statutes are directed to the morals Of
the community, for they believe that
morals depend upon >unquestionable
acceptance of the Bible.
Some of ones fellow travellers see
.n Dayton a ray of hope for the lib
erals of the country as against the
literalists. They say Dayton has
brought the whole subject into the
open. Dayton has been a warning to