Page:The World's Most Famous Court Trial - 1925.djvu/91

Rh leave a man free to teach it in a private school. It cannot make it criminal for a teacher in the public schools to teach evolution, and for the same man to stand among the huskies and teach it. It cannot make it a criminal act for this teacher to teach evolution and permit books upon evolution to be sold in every store in the state of Tennessee and to permit the newspapers from foreign cities to bring into your peaceful community the horrible utterances of evolution. Oh, no, nothing like that. If the state of Tennessee has any force in this day of fundamentalism, in this day when religious bigotry and hatred is being kindled all over our land, see what can be done?

Now, your honor, there is an old saying that nits are made of lice. I don't know whether you know what it makes possible down here in Tennessee? I know, I was raised in Ohio. It is a good idea to clear the nits, safer and easier.

To strangestrangle [sic] puppies is good when they grow up into mad dogs, maybe. I will tell you what is going to happen, and I do not pretend to be a prophet, but I do not need to be a prophet to know. Your honor knows the fires that have been lighted in America to kindle religious bigotry and hate. You can take judicial notice of them if you cannot of anything else. You know that there is no suspicion which possesses the minds of men like bigotry and ignorance and hatred.

If today—

The Court—Sorry to interrupt your argument, but it is adjourning time.

Mr. Darrow—If I may I can close in five minutes. I can close in five minutes in the morning, only a few.

If today, your honor—give me five minutes more, I will not talk five minutes.

The Court—Proceed tomorrow.

Mr. Darrow—I shalt not talk long, your honor, I will tell you that.

If today you can take a thing like evolution and make it a crime to teach it in the public school, tomorrow you can make it a crime to teach it in the private schools, and the next year you can make it a aa [sic] crime to teach it to the hustings or in the church. At the next session you may ban books and the newspapers. Soon you may set Catholic against Protestant and Protestant against Protestant, and try to foist your own religion upon the minds of men. If you can do one you can do the other. Ignorance and fanaticism is ever busy and needs feeding. Always it is feeding and gloating for more. Today it is the public school teachers, tomorrow the private. The next day the preachers and the lecturers, the magazines, the books, the newspapers. After while, your honor, it is the setting of man against man and creed against creed until with flying banners and beating drums we are marching backward to the glorious ages of the sixteenth century when bigots lighted fagots to burn the men who dared to bring any intelligence and enlightmentenlightenment [sic] and culture to the human mind.

Tomorrow I will say a few words.

The Court—You gentlemen send down your authorities to my room at the hotel, on both sides, and your briefs, if you have such.

Court is adjourned to 9:00 o'clock tomorrow morning.