Page:The World's Most Famous Court Trial - 1925.djvu/78

 lice power, the phrase which no man under God's shining sun has ever undertaken to define, what does it mean.

You might talk from now until doomsday and you could not define it; it passes down to the sound discretion of the legislature. They have a right to say and no one else has a right to say, and I say, Your Honor, that in the passage of this act the legislature abused no discretion, but used only th ereasonablethe reasonable [sic] means at hand; they exercised a lawful and legal right that was given them by the constitution, the police power of the state, and I say that they were within their right, and I say that any effort to place any other construction upon this, or to invalidate any other part of the constitution, is an effort to becloud the true issues in the case.

Mr. Hayes—May I ask you a question?

Gen. Stewart—Yes, sir.

Mr. Hayes—Did the state, under the power you have referred to, prescribe the book which Mr. Scopes taught in the schools?

Gen. Stewart—Did they do what?

Mr. Hays—Did the state, under the power you have referred to, prescribe the book which Mr. Scopes taught from, the manual that he was teaching from?

Gen. Stewart—There is no act on that, as I understand it.

Mr. Hayes—I thought you just stated that the state prescribed the school books; did they prescribe the school book that Mr. Scopes was using?

Gen. Stewart—I said they had a right to.

Mr. Hayes—Did they exercise that right?

Mr. Malone—How did he get the book we mean, was it given to him by the state.

Gen. Stewart—That is a matter of proof; we are prepared to show that; do you want to put me on the witness stand?

Mr. Malone—No. I would like to—

(Laughter in the courtroom.)

The Court—We will take a few minutes recess.

(Thereupon a short recess was taken.)

Mr. Darrow—Shall I proceed?

The Court—I will hear you, Colonel.

Mr. Darrow—If the court please.

The Court—Have order in the courtroom. Get seats.

Mr. Darrow—I know my friend, McKenzie, whom I have learned not only to admire, but to love in our short acquaintance, didn't mean anything in referring to us lawyers who come from out of town. For myself, I have been treated with the greatest courtesy by the attorneys and the community.

The Court—No talking, please, in the courtroom.

Mr. Darrow—And I shall always remember that this court is the first one that ever gave me a great title of "Colonel" and I hope it will stick to me when I get back north.

The Court—I want you to take it back to your home with you, colonel.

Mr. Darrow—That is what I am trying to do.

But, so far as coming from other cities is concerned, why, Your Honor, it is easy here. I came from Chicago, and my friend, Malone, and friend Hays, came from New York, and on the other side we have a distinguished and very pleasant gentleman who came from California and another who is prosecuting this case, and who is responsible for this foolish mischievous and wicked act, who comes from Florida.

This case we have to argue is a case at law, and hard as it is for me to bring my mind to conceive it, almost impossible as it is to put my mind back into the sixteenth century, I am going to argue it as if it was serious, and as if it was a death struggle between two civilizations.

Let us see, now what there is