The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1926-08-21
Ernest HaGCkeI
on Last Words
on Evolution"

Continued from previous issue.)
In view of the great influence that
catholicism still has on public life in
Germany, thru the center party, this
change of front should be a great gain
to education. Virchow demanded as
late as 1877 that the dangerous doe
trine of evolution should be excluded
from the schools. The ministers of in
struction of the two chief German
states gratefully adopted this warning
from the leader of the progressive
party, forbade the teaching of Darwin
an ideas, and made every effort to
lbeck the spread of biological knowl-
cdge. Now, twenty-five years after
wards, the Jesuits come forward, and
demand the opposite. They recognize
openly that the hated theory of evolu-
ton is established, and try to recon
Gle it with the creed! What an irony
of history! And we find much the
same story when we read the strug-
gles for freedom of thought and for
The recognition of evolution in the
5ther educated countries of Europe
In Italy, its cradle and home, edu-
Gated people generally look upon the
papacy with the most profound dis
dain. l have spent many years in
Italy, and have never met an educated
Italian of such bigoted and narrow
views as we usually find amongst edu
Gated German catholics-represen
with success in the reichstag BY the
center party 1t is proof enough of
the reactiOnary character of German
catholics that the pope himself de-
scribes them as his most vigorous sol
diers, and points them out as models
to the faithful of other nations. AS
the whole history Of the Roman church
shows, the charlatan of the Vatican is
the deadly enemy of free science and
free teaching. The present German |
emperor ought to regard it as his most
sacred duty to maintain the tradition |
of the reformation, and to promote the |
formation of the German people in the |
sense Of Frederick the Great. Instead |
of this we have to Took on with heavy |
hearts while the emperor, badly ad. |
vised and misled by those in influence |
above him, suffers himself to be caught |
closer and closer in the net Of the /
catholic clergy, and sacrifice to It the |
intelligence Of the rising generation |
In September 1904, the catholic jour |
nails announced triumphantly that the |
adoption of catholicism By the EN-
peror and his chancellor was close at |
hand.f
The firmness of the belief in conven- |
tional dogmas, which hampers the
progress OF rational enlightenment in
orthodox protestant circles as well as
catholic, is often admired as an ex.
preston of the deep emotion OF the
German people. But its real source is
fWhile these pages are In the press the
journals announce q fresh humiliation Of
the German empire that viii cause great
grief. on the 9th Of May the nation
celebrated the centenary Of the death Of
Friedrich Schiller. with rare unanimity
all the political parties OF Germany, and
All the German associations abroad, came
together 20 do honor 10 the great poet ~
German ideallsm. Professor Theobald
Zcgler delivered a very fine address at
Strassburg University. The emperor,
who happened to be In the town, was
invited but did not attend; instead Of
doing so, he held a military parade in the
vicinity. A few days afterwards he sat
&C a table with the German Catholic car
dinals and bishops, amongst them being
the fanatical Bishop Benzler, who de- |
clared that n Christian cemetery was
desecrated by the lnterment OF Pro-
testant. AZ these festive dinners Ger
man Catholics always gave the first toast
10 the pope the second 60 the emperor, /
they rejoice az present TINT the papacv
and the pope are allies But the whole
history of the papacy Ga pitifu caricature
of the ancient Catholic faith) shows
clearly that they are natural and irrecon-
Table eno'lics Either emperor must
.io or pope.