THE TENNESSEE TRIAL. MR SCOPES FOUND " GUILTY."
(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)
NEW YORK, JULY 21. I The Tennessee trial was concluded at Dayton this morning, when Mr. Scopes, who was charged with teaching the theory of evolution in a publicly supported school contrary to law was found Guilty and fined $100.7.
Dayton was the scene of the most amazing drama yesterday afternoon, enacted beneath the maple trees in Court House Square, whither the Judge adjourned the Court after lunch as he feared a collapse of the Court House floor owing to the great crowd of spectators. There, with the midsummer sun shining in a cloudless sky, the Evangelist, Mr. Bryan the principal prosecutor, wan called by the defence to enter the witness-box and submit to a prolonged examination in regard to his beliefs by the agnostic, Mr. Clarence Darrow, leading counsel for the defence. It was a masterly stroke on the part of the defence, who summoned Mr. Bryan as an expert on the Bible for the purpose of recording his testimoniy with that of the declarations of the scientific witnesses, the reading of which had occupied the morning session.
The proceedings began with Mr. Darrow's apology to the Court, to which Judge Raulston replied in part "The Saviour died on the Cross pleading with God for the men crucifing Him. I believe in Christ, and in those principles I accept Mr. Darrow's apology. Speaking! for the people of Tennessee, we forgive and commend him to return home and learn in his heart the words of the Man who said: 'If you turn unto Me I will give thee life."'
In the course of a two-hours examination, Mr. Bryan confessed his belief that a big fish swallowed Jonah, though he did not insist on the literal interpretation of "men are the salt of the earth." He accepted the Bible story that Joshua commanded the sun to stand still, though himself believing that the earth revolved round the sun. Asked what would have happened if the earth had stood still, Mr. Bryan replied that God could have taken care of that occurrence. The Flood story he believed literally, with probable date 2348 B.C., when all living things not contained in the Ark were destroyed, excepting, perhaps, fishes. He had not seen satisfactory evidence that there had been civilizations more than 5,000 years ago, though he had never questioned any scientist about it. Mr. Bryan thought Chinese civilizations would not have preceded the Bible creation 6,000 years ago. He had never tried to discover the number of the inhabitants of Ancient Egypt nor read books on primitive religions. Being so well satisfied with Christianity, he had not spent time trying to find arguments against it. From the Bible he inferred that the confusion or tongues began at the Tower of Babel, about 2230 B.C., and that previously all people spoke a single language. The earth's age he would not attempt to guess, nor the date of the last glacial age, but Mr. Darrow's. examination brought out that Mr. Bryan did not believe that the earth was made in six days of 24 hours each. Days there, he said, meant periods, and he admitted that the Creation might have continued for millions of years. He accepted literally the story of Eve's creation from Adam's rib and of the serpent's tempting of Eve with an apple.
In the course of heated exchanges, Mr. Bryan declared that he was simply trying to protect God's word from the greatest agnostic in the United States. Amid prolonged applause, he declared that Tennesseans would not permit agnosticism to be forced on the schools. The sole purpose of Mr. Darrow's examination was to slur the Bible. Mr. Darrow objected, replying heatedly, " I am examining you on your fool ideas that no intelligent Christian believed."
This morning more temperate counsels prevailed. It was agreed to expunge from the Court reports the whole of Mr. Bryan's testimony. The counsel on both sides abandoned the right to address the jury, who had been readmitted into the Court. The Judge then proceeded to deliver his charge. The jury, after an absence of seven minutes, returned a verdict of Guilty, and Mr. Scopes was fined 100 dollars [￡20]. The defence entered notice of appeal, and the trial was over.
Meanwhile all the United States, except the jury trying Mr. Scopes, can read in this morning's newspapers the evidence of eight competent scientists in regard to the validity of the theories of evolution. Despite its tragic-comic interludes, the trial has had the effect of arousing widespread interest in books on evolution, thus accomplishing the main purpose of the defence.
