Page:The World's Most Famous Court Trial - 1925.djvu/147

Rh The primates mean that order of organisms which include the lemurs, the tailed monkeys of this hemisphere, the tailless monkeys, the ape and baboon and so on of the eastern hemisphere and man and also quite a large number of forms of whose—of whom we have a satisfactory fossil record which we may class as apes or may class as men. It is a little hard to say, it is a little hard work to say over half a dozen or so forms about which there can be legitimate differences of opinion as to where they should be classified, whether as man or as ape.

The Court—Col. Darrow, will this extend very much further? It has been a pretty hard day for me.

Mr. Darrow—(After conferring with Gen. Stewart). I might ask three or four more questions for the benefit of counsel.

Q—Will you give us some of the evidences of the evolution of man from a lower organism?

A—The great fundamental series, and I use that word in the plural—of evidences, and there are far more than one series—are found not in man himself, but in the whole organic world. The whole plan of evolution indicated so clearly throughout the whole realm of organic life paralleling as it does the whole plan of evolution seen so clearly in the universe as a whole makes a tremendous probability in favor of the evolution of man. When then we find just such differences among species and different varieties of men as we find among animals and when we find what we may fairly call the more lowly genera, species and varieties of human kind appearing earlier in the geological series just as do the simpler animals, among the lower forms appearing in the lower rocks, that inherent compulsion toward belief in evolution which is found in all of the universe is tremendously reinforced for man. The series is so convincing that I think it would be entirely impossible for any normal human being who was conversant with the phenomena to have even for a moment the least doubt even for the fact of evolution, but he might have tremendous doubt as to the truth of any hypothesis—as to the methods of the evolution which this or that or the other man—even great men of science—might bring up.

Q—And you say that evolution as you speak of it means including man.

A—Surely.

The Policeman—Now, folks, tomorrow we will continue this trial and there is not going to be anybody let in here only to be seated, not going to have any standing room at all, they can go on the outside where they can hear what is going on here right on the lawn.

The Court—We will adjourn until 9 o'clock tomorrow morning.