Page:The World's Most Famous Court Trial - 1925.djvu/325

 TEXT OF BRYAN'S PROPOSED ADDRESS IN SCOPES CASE.

As a member of the counsel of prosecution in the Scopes evolution case in Dayton, William Jennings Bryan had prepared an address in defense of Tennessee's law against the teaching of evolution in the public schools. This address was not delivered during the trial because arguments to the jury by counsel on both sides were dispensed with by agreement. Arrangements for publication of it were made by Mr. Bryan only a few hours before his death. The text of the address follows:

May It Please the Court, and Gentlemen of the Jury:

Demosthenes, the greatest of ancient orators, in his "Oration on the Crown," the most famous of his speeches, began by supplicating the favor of all the gods and goddesses of Greece. If, in a case which involved only his own fame and fate, he felt justified in petitioning the heathen gods of his country, surely we, who deal with the momentous issues involved in this case, may well pray to the Ruler of the universe for wisdom to guide us in the performance of our several parts in this historic trial.

Let me, in the first place, congratulate our cause that circumstances have committed the trial to a community like this and entrusted the decision to a jury made up largely of the yeomanry of the state. The book in issue in this trial contains on its first page two pictures contrasting the disturbing noises of a great city with the calm serenity of the country. It is a tribute that rural life has fully earned.

I appreciate the sturdy honesty and independence of those who come into daily contact with the earth, who, living near to nature, worship nature's God, and who, dealing with the myriad mysteries of earth and air, seek to learn from revelation about the Bible’s wonderworking God. I admire the stern virtues, the vigilance and the patriotism of the class from which the jury is drawn, and am reminded of the lines of Scotland's immortal bard, which, when changed—but slightly, describe your country's confidence in you:

"O Scotia, my dear, my native soil! For whom my warmest wish to Heaven is sent, Long may thy hardy sons of rustic toil  Be blest with health, and peace, and sweet content!

"And, oh, may Heav'n their simple lives prevent From luxury's contagion, weak and vile! Then, howe'er crowns and coronets be rent,  A virtuous populace may rise the while, And stand, a wall of fire, around their much-loved isle."

Let us now separate the issues from the misrepresentations, intentional or unintentional, that have obscured both the letter and the purpose of the law. This is not an interference with freedom of conscience. A teacher can think as he pleases and worship God as he likes, or refuse to worship God at all. He can believe in the Bible or discard it; he can accept Christ or reject Him. This law slices no obligations or restaintsrestraints [sic] upon him. And so with freedom of speech; he can, so long as he acts as an individual, say anything he likes on any subject. This law does not violate any right guaranteed by any constitution to any individual. It deals with the defendant, not as an individual, but as an employee, an official or public servant, paid by the state, and therefore under instructions from the state.

The right of the state to control the public schools is affirmed in the recent decision in the Oregon case,