SCOPES FOUND GUILTY.

Taranaki Daily News, 23 July 1925, Page 7

SCOPES FOUND GUILTY.

EVOLUTION TRIAL ENDS. appeal to higher court. DRAMATIC END TO CASE. 'S By Telegraph.—Press Assu.—Copyright. Received July 22, 5.5 p.m. New York, July 21, A verdict of guilty w-as returned against John Scopes, a school teacher, who was charged with teaching the evolution theory and thus breaking the laws of Tennessee. Scopes was fined 100 dollars. 'Scopes was held in five hundred dollar bail pending an appeal in the Supreme Court in September. A Baltimore newspaper offered a bond and was accepted as security for bail. D arm passages were frequent between the opposing counsel at the Scopes trial. Mr. W. J. Bryan, who entered the witness-box, replying to Mr. Darrow’s questions whether he believed the whale swallowed Jonah and whether he believed God made the -whale big enough or Jonah small enough, declared that God could make a fish big enough to swallow man. He believed what the Bible said. One miracle was just as easy t > believe as another. Asked if he believed that Joshua conimanded the sun to stand still, Mr. Bryan said he accepted the Bible story absolutely. Asked what would happen if the world stood still, he replied that God would take care of that. He added: “He is there to protect revealed religion.”

Mr. Bryan and Mr. Darrow were anxious to continue with their avowed purposes, but the judge called a halt and ordered Mr. Bryan's testimony to be expunged from the record, claiming it was irrelevant to the question at issue, namely, did Scopes teach that man was descended from the lower order of animals?

A conference of the prosecution and defence attorneys decided to forego all the closing speeches, Mr. Darrow asking for a verdict of guilty, since the only way to test the law was to take it to the higher court. He said: “We have done our best to turn back the tide that has sought to force itself on the modern world of testing every fact of science by religious dogma.” Judge Laulston's final tribute might be regarded as a tribute to the defence of principle. He said: “A great man is one who has a passion for truth and follows it against all opposition. It takes courage to oppose public sentiment.” The trial came to a sudden dramatic ending following on Mr. Darrow’s short and sharp examination of Mr. Bryan as a Bible expert, causing an attorney (Mr; Gerald) to cry: “What is the meaning of this harangue?” Mr. Darrow' shouted angrily: “To show up fundamentalism and to prevent bigots and ignoramuses from controlling the educational system of the United States.”

Mr. Bryan, springing to his feet and shaking his fist in Mr. Darrow’s face, cried: “To prevent the word of God from the greatest atheist and agnostic in the United States.”

Asked if he had any statement to make before sentence was imposed, Scopes declared: “Your Honour, I feel I have been opposing an unjust law. I will continue to support my ideals.” An exchange of courtesies followed the end of the trial, all in good humour, the defence thanking Tennessee for its hospitality. Judge McKenzie (the prosecution counsel), on behalf of the citizens of the county, said: “We have learned to take a broader view of life since you came. We want to be more broadminded than some give us credit for. Thank you for coming. We respect your attitude and think we have benefited.”