Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-01-15
Organisms Advance Through
Generations, Says Scien-
fist.
RETROGRESSION LACKING,
MUSEUM EXPERT HOLDS
Some of His Ideas, Presented in
Address Before Academy, Are
New to Savants.
BY THOMAS r. HENRY.

| a whole, the process Of continual change
| appears in a far different light than
| when it is studied in relation to single
| group of plants and animals, DR.. AleS
| Hrdlicka, curator of physical anthro-
| pology at the Nationau Museum, told
| the Washington Academy of Sciences
| last night in the second of series OF
| lectures on evolution by world famous
| authorities.
| lions, DR.. Hrdlicka said, through the
| necessity of adapting themselves to
changes In the environment, through
! the principle of natural selection and
through the gradual fixation Of favor
able adaptations rather than through
the inheritance of acquired characters.
For any single line of development, he
pointed out, these results might seem en-
tirely accidental, due to the chance con-
tact OF organisms in certain condition
of Elasticity with certain environment.
All Life Is Moving Up.
But, he pointed out. by the same me-
chanics all life at widely varying rates
is moving upward from the simpler to
the more complex and efficient, while
there is no evidence at all that evolu-
species would revert to an ancestral
type. Evolution always Is progressive,
apparent retrogreSSions later proving
roundabout steps in the way of prog
reSS.
This universally of progressive evolu-
ton, DR.. Hrdlicka said, makes 1t prac-
tically impossible to apply the term
sary to consider the changes as prede-
termined. Much Of the confusion in
the past, he said, has been due to mix
ing up two separate sets Of phenomena
which are closely related.
The first he designated as limited
evolution or evolution in particular"
the creation Of new species from pre-
viously existing species. The second
Is progressive evolution in general"
Formation Of Organic Kingdom.
Here" he said, sis something far
more astounding than mere speculation.
It is no less than the formation, the
building up Of the entire organic king
dom. What is this something prodi-
gious that has led to development Of or
ganic life from the inorganic and that
within the organic realm has uncreaS-
ingly led from the simplest initial cell
toward ever more complex, sensitive
and effective forms, eliminating in a
conscious. directive, co-creative crea-
ture, man? General organic evolu-
ton, feel strongly. is as natural as
Is the particular or limited evolution OF
species. There Is no evidence within
the process Of anything supernatural.
but, in view of this amazing process and
its realiZations. Nature assumes a far
greater interest and importance than 1t
has hitherto been given"
Some Of the ideas presented by DR..
Hrdlicka last night were new to science
and were considered by scientists pres
ent as notable contributions to one of
the most debated subjects of recent
times. The Smithsonian scientist is
one Of the worlds foremost authorities
on the evolution of man.
Single Cell Is Held Complex.
The single cell, generally considered
the unit Of life, DR.. Hrdlicka said, is
in fact so complex that 1t affords little
clue as to the nature Of life and repre-
sents an enormous progress from still
simpler forms. Science, he said, already
Is familiar with ultra microscopic liv-
ing things whose existence Is known
| only from the evidences of their be-
havior In pathology, since they are too
small ever to be seen. These, he pointed
| out, because of their extreme minute
ness, must be less than single cells. He
designated them as 1.-The suborganic
kingdom" out of which have arisen the
| organic Kingdoms Of plants and ami
mails composed Of combinations Of cells.
Below these ultra microscope crea-
lures. he said, there must be still simpler
and smaller forms upon which evolution
| is working. probably the organic MOLE
| cules. But no scientific procedure has
, been able to discover them. While the
| smallest living things are known only
| from their presence in certain diseases,
| he said 1t is probable that they play
| a large role in the general plan OF ma
| ture.
Simplest Forms Fail to Survive.
But IL evolution Is "a function Of life"
and an integral part Of the complex
| phenomena Of living, DR.. Hrdlicka said,
1t would be assumed that more complex
| forms would still be evolving from the
ultra-microScopic forms and the organic
molecules, continually creating new
lines of evolution. There Is some evil
| dence, he pointed out, that this actually
Is happening, but that the new simplest
forms Of life are unable TO survive the
| extreme competition for food OF the
world into which they are born and do
| not live to develop any further.
| 1t Is possible, however, that some 90
survive and that the living world actual
| ly Is invaded from time to time by
hordes Of creatures from the shadow
borderline between the living and the
| dead who take heavy toll before they
| finally are driven back. Such an ex-
| PLANTATION, he said, might account for
some of the great scourges which have
swept over the world in the past, be-
coming virulent almost overnight and
gradually dying down Of themselves as
already well developed organisms got
the better Of the invaders.
The term evolution" itself, DR.. Hrd.
licka said, Is an absurdity when applied
to the general progression of the organic
world. It means unfolding" and woulc
!. imply that everything that has been &C.
complisheG since was present in tn,
beginning In the organic molecules anc
has simply been drawn out by environ
ment. He proposed the term "biogeny'
as a substitute, indicating the progress.
sive adding of functions which were not
present in the beginning. in accordance
with some law of nature, which Is moi
yet understood.
Some Fail to Progress.
4 All living organisms, he said, are
capable Of evolution yet observations
show that some, such as certain insects
and molluks, have hardly changed as
all since the earliest days of which life
has left any record In the rocks. Others
have made enormous changes In less
than $4,000 years, the notable example
being man. When an organism, he
said, appears to have made o fairly
satisfactory adjustment to all elements
in its environment and the environment