Page:The World's Most Famous Court Trial - 1925.djvu/310

306 you please. Of course, I am not at all sure that Mr. Bryan's testimony would aid the supreme court, or any other human being, but he testified by the hour there and I haven't got through with him yet.

Mr. Stewart—I understand the court has ruled on this and I think it is entirely out of order unless you are making an exception.

Mr. Darrow—I want to make my exception.

Gen. Stewart—Make your exception and don't begin an argument about it.

The Court—Confine your remarks to the exception, Mr. Darrow, please.

Mr. Darrow—I will, your honor. I want to except to the ruling of the court and so I might understand perfectly, does your honor mean this will not be certified to in a bill of exceptions containing Mr. Bryan's testimony?

The Court—That is what I mean. I mean I will strike it from the record.

Mr. Darrow—We want to take an exception to that. Of course, when we make up the bill of exceptions we will ask to have it included.

The Court—Yes, sir.

Mr. Darrow—I suppose the only remedy we could have if your honor holds that way is to have the writ sent down if we want it in the record.

The Court—Yes, sir, a writ from the higher court to have it certified up.

Mr. Darrow—Let me suggest this. We have all been here quite a while and I say it in perfectly good faith, we have no witnesses to offer, no proof to offer on the issues that the court has laid down here, that Mr. Scopes did teach what the children said he taught, that man descended from a lower order of animals—we do not mean to contradict that, and I think to save time we will ask the court to bring in the jury and instruct the jury to find the defendant guilty. We make no objection to that and it will save a lot of time and I think that should be done.

Gen. Stewart—Your honor, may I suggest that the court has not been formerly opened yet.

The Court—Yes, sir, it was before you came in.

Gen. Stewart—Well, I thought your honor came in with us.

The Court—No, sir.

Gen. Stewart—I thought that it might just have been an oversight.

The Court—I thank the attorney-general.

Gen. Stewart—We are pleased to accept the suggestion of Mr. Darrow.

Mr. Hays—Before we do that, may I get my record straight on the offer of proof by having the court rule on this offer of proof and permit me to take an exception? We have offered to prove what was said yesterday, where we have filed statements which were scientific testimony, as well as Biblical testimony, I assume from what your honor has said that you deny us the right to put in that evidence.

The Court—Yes, sir.

Mr. Hays—We take an exception. We further offer to prove—we have offered proof by Biblical students whose statements I read, the real meaning of the Bible and translations into the Bible. We offer to prove by Mr. Bryan that the Bible was not to be taken literally, that the Bible was 1,000,000 years old and we had hoped to prove by him further that nothing in the Bible said what the processes were of man's creation. We feel that the statement that the earth was 1,000,000 years old and nothing said about the processes of man's creation that it was perfectly clear that what Scopes taught would not violate the first part of the act. I assume from what your honor said that that is not permitted.

The Court—No, sir.

Mr. Hays—Your honor will permit me an exception?

The Court—Yes, sir.

Mr. Hays—In order to be perfectly clear the evidence that I offer is the evidence of Maynard M. Metcalf, Jacob G. Lipham, Wilbur Nelson,