Evening star., 1925-06-21

Continued from First Pasel
each of these has an individual his
tory.
If YOU look AT the upper side nf
your hand and note your finger naus
YOU might let the nail of the thumb
represent man and the other nails
mans nearest existing relatives as
stated above-the picture YOU will oh.
tam somewhat expresses the rela
tlonships to man of somewhat manlike
animals in form or other character.
lst1cs as the biologist sees it, The Sc
nails are not joined laterally. but thew
are the termination of our five fingers.
The fingers are joined together in the
palm of the hand. This represents
well our concept of mans relationship
to the somewhat nanlike animals in
form or other characteristics. Some.
where in the humerus. the first bone
OF our arm. probably near the shoul-
der. continuing the compa arison. would
ne found a common ancestor of the
five groups.
The term missing link is not a
scientific term. but a popular ex-
preston used by the same group of
ill-informed writer's that talk about
monkey ancestry. Fossil evidences
from time to time speak for addi.
tional nails and fingers or toes rather
than bridging elements, or parts of
tree"
DR.. George r. Merrill.
, DR.. George P. Merrill. professor
emeritus of geology, George Washing
ton University. and head curator of
geology, United States National Mu.
scum:
What is evolution as applied to
scienceso
Evolution in the world of various
living things is but form of change
incidental to a change of conditions.
1t may be progressive or retrogres-
sive"
Are you a believer in evolution
Il am. 1t is the fundamental. the
underlying. principle of an entire uni
verse in which nothing is permanent
and Interchangeable. From the very
beginning of history pertaining to
land or earth changes have been in
progress. The rocks have undergone
changes and decomposition. level
lands have become mountains, noun
tains degraded to plains, plains have
become sea bottoms and sea bottoms
again dry lands. Throughout all this
series of changes-millions and mill
lions of years in conception and exc
developed to meet the changed con-
ditions.
Change i'm Forms.
"A form suitable for one period of
earth's history proves unsuitable for
another. Else why did not man in
our earliest geological periods appear
with the earliest and most widely
known fossils, the trilobites, which
have head, thorax, pygidiunl, anten-
nae and very slender feet, rather than
appear at very late geological peri
cd? He developed with the changing
conditions and reached his present
stage of perfection only when those
conditions were such as to render him
adaptable to them. To insist that
each and all of the millions upon mil
lions of forms of animal and vege-
table life that appeared through this
vast lapse of time were a product of
special creative acts is to belittle the
creative power. Those who advocate
1t lack imagination-the power to
grasp the vast period of time involved
and the cumulative results of slight
and seemingly insignificant changes.
No more magnificent picture Of prog
ress can be conceived than that of
earth history and the development of
life incidental therato.''
m. Harvey w. Wiley.
In discussing the theory Of evolu-
tion in connection with the Scopes
case in Tennessee. DIR. Harvey w.
Wiley. former head of the Bureau of
Chemistry, said:
Il am asked to. express my opinion
in regard to the legislation now in
force in Tennessee. and proposed in
other States, forbidding the teaching
of the principles of evolution in
schools. high schools and colleges
supported wholly or in part by taxa
ton of the people. Theoretically, the
state has the right to regulate the
character of instruction given in all
schools supported by public funds.
To deny, the state this privilege would
be an unwarranted interference with
the rights reserved to the State by the
Constitution of the United States.
ut is different question. however,
il put in this form: is it wise to have
legislation of this kind? My answer
to this question: y decidedly in the