The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1926-08-29
Ernest HaGCkGI
on last Words
on Evolution"
THE STRUGGLE OVER OUR GEp
EALoGIcAL TREE.
CHAPTER u.
Our Ape-ReIatives and the VerteI
Stem.
CONTINUED from previous ISIS

se most
His life at Wurtzburg was thdfaJs'
brilliant period of virchow's ind took
able scientific labors. A changer IN
place when. he removed to Berlisi
1856. He then occupied himself chiN.
ly with political and social and civic
interests. In the last respect he has
done so much for Berlin and the vel
fare of,the German people that | need
not enlarge on it. Nor will go into
his self-sacrificing and often thank
less political work as leader Of the
progressive party; there are difference
es of opinion as to its value. But we
must; carefully examine his peculiar
attitude, towards evolution, and espe-
cially its chief application, the ape
theory. He was at first favorable to
it, then sceptical, and finally decided
~ hostile.
When the Lamarcbian theory was
brought to light again by Darwin in
1859, many thought that it was Vir-
chow,s vocation to take the lead In
defending it. He had made thorough
study of the problem of heredity; he
had realized the power of adaptation
thru his study of pathological chang
es; and he had been directed to the
great question of the origin OF man
by his anthropological studies. He
was at that time regarded as a de-
termined opponent of all dogmas; he
combated transeendentalism either in
the form of ecclesiastical creeds or
anthropomorphism. After 1862 he de-
clared that "the possibility of tran
sition from species to species was a
necessity of science" When opened
the first public discussion of Darwin
ism at the Stettin scientific congress
in 1868, Virchow and Alexander Braun
were among the few scientists who
would admit the subject to be impor-
tant and deserving of the most care
full study. When l sent to him in 1865
two lectures that l had delivered at
Jena on the origin and genealogical
tree of the human race, he willingly
received them amongst his Collection
Of Popular Scientific Lectures. In the
course of many long conversations
had with him on the matter, he
agreed with me in the main, tho with
/ the prudent reserve and cool skeptic-
ism that characterized him. He
adopts the same moderate attitude in
the lecture that he delivered to the
Artisans Union at Berlin in 1859 on
| Gilman and Anp Sly1iIlc
His position definitely changed in
regard to Darwinism from 1877 on
ward. At the Scientific Congress that
was then. held at Munich l had, at the
pressing request of my Munich
friends, undertaken the first address
| Con 18th September) on Modern
Evolution in Relation to the whole of
Science" In this address. | had sub
stantiallF advanced the same general
views that l afterwards enlarged in my
Monism Riddle of the Universe, and
Wonders of Life. In the ultramontane
capital Of Bavaria, in sight of a great
university which emphatically des-
cribes itself as Catholic, it was some
what bold to make such a confession
of faith.J The deep impression that it
had made was indicated by the lively
manifestations of assent on the one
hand, and displeasure on the other,
that We're at once made in the Con-
gress itself and in the Press. On the
following day departed for Italy (ao-
cording to an arrangement made long
before). Virchow did not come to
Munich until two days afterwards,
when he delivered Ton 22nd Septem-
Der, in response to entreaties from
people Of position and influence) his
famous antagonistic speech on 1.-THE
Freedom. of Science in the Modern
State" The gist of the speech was
that this freedom ought to be restrict
ed; that evolution is an improved
hypothesis, and ought not to be taught
in the school because it is, danger
Gus to the State: 1--WE must not
teach" be said, that man descends
from the; ape or any other animal"
In 1S49, the young Monist, Virchow,
had emphatically declared this con-
yictton, that he would never be in
duced to;deny the thesis OF the unity
of human nature and its consequence
es;" now, : twenty-eight years after.
wards, the prudent Dualistic politician
entirely denied it. He had formelg,
taught that all the bodily and mo- =,
processes in the human organiT, ~.
pend on the mechanism of ~ oo,,
life;a now heSdeclared the $50 30 ~
a special immaterial entity prt .Ss
browning feature OF thig react,onarv
speech was his compr6mise Win me
Church, which fie had fought so Wig
orously twenty Vars before.
(T&e eontinuad,