Malone states theory of the Defense
The purpose of the defense will be to set before you all available facts and information from every branch of science to aid you informing an opinion of what evolution is, and of what value to progress and confort is the theory of evolution, for you are the judged of the law and the facts, and the defense wishes to aid you in every way to intelligent opinion.
The defense denies that it is part of any movement or conspiracy on the part of scientists to destroy the authority of Christianity or the Bible. The defense denies that any such conspiracy exists except in the mind and purpose of the evangelical leader of the prosecution. The defense maintains that the book of Genesis is in part a hymn, in part an allegory and work of religious interpretations written by men who believe that the earth was flat and whose authority cannot be accepted to control the teachings of science in our schools.
The narrow purpose of the defense is to establish the innocence of the defendant Scopes. The broad purpose of the defense will be to prove that the Bible is a work of religious aspiration and rules of conduct which must be kept in the field of theology.
The defense maintains that there is no more justification for imposing the conflicting views of the Bible on courses of biology than there would be for imposing the views of biologists on courses of comparative religion. We maintain that science and religion embrace two separate and distinct fields of thought and learning.
We remember that Jesus said: "Render unto Ceasar's the things that are Caesar's and unto God the things that are God's."
The Prosecution attacks the defense's theory
McKenzie--This is wholly improper, argumentative. It is not a statement as to what the issues are. Your honor has already held that this act is constitutional, it being the law of the land, there is but one issue before this court and jury, and that is, did the defendant violate the statute. That statute interprets itself, and says that whenever a man teaches that man descended from a lower order of animals as contradistinguished from the record of the creation of man as given by the word of God, that he is guilty. Does the proof show that he did that, that is the only issue, if it please the honorable court, before this jury. My friend is talking about a theory of evolution that it took him two years to write, that speech, (laughter.) That is not proper, if your honor please, if it is proper, it would be like a couple of gentlemen over in my country, where they were engaged and were trying a lawsuit before a justice of the peace, and they had a large number of witnesses. Finally one lawyer said, "let us have a conference," and they went out to confer, and they came back in and said, "if your honor please, the witnesses in this case, some of them are not very well, others are awfully ignorant, and we have just agreed among ourselves to dispense with the evidence and argue the case." That is what my good friend Malone wants to do. (Loud laughter and officer rapping for order.)
Testimony of a student of Scopes
Direct examination by General Stewart:
Q--Your name is Howard Morgan?
A--Yes, sir.
Q--You are Mr. Luke Morgan's son?
A--Yes, Sir....
Q--Your Father is in the bank here, Dayton Bank and Trust company?
A--Yes, sir.
Q--How old are you?
A--14 years.
Q--Did you attend school here at Dayton last year?
A--Yes, sir.
Q--What school?
A--High School.
Q--Central High School
A--Yes, sir.
Q--Did you study anything under Prof. Scopes?
A--Yes sir.
Q--Did you study this book, General Science?
A--Yes, sir....
Q--Were you studying that book in April of this year, Howard?
A-Yes, sir.
Q--Did Prof. Scopes teach it to you?
A--Yes, sir.
Q--When did you complete the book?
A--Latter part of April
Q-When was school out?
A--First or second of May.
Q--You studied it then up to a week or so before school was out?
A--Yes, sir.
Q--Now, you say you were studying this book in April; how did Prof. Scopes teach that book to you? I mean by that did he ask you questions and you answered them or did he give you lectures, or both? Just explain to the jury here now, these gentleman here in front of you, how he taught the books to you.
A--Well, sometimes he would ask us questions and then he would lecture to us on different subjects in the book.
Q--Sometimes he asked you questions and sometimes lectured to you on different subjects in the book?
A--Yes, sir.
Q--Did he ever undertake to teach you anything about evolution?
A--Yes, sir....
Q--Just state in your own words, Howard, what he taught you and when it was.
A--It was along about the 2d of April.
Q--Of this year?
A--Yes, sir; of this year. He said that the earth was once a hot molten mass too hot for plant or animal life to exist upon it; in the sea the earth cooled off; there was a little germ of one cell organism formed, and this organism kept evolving until it got to be a pretty good-sized animal, and then came on to be a land animal and it kept on evolving, and from this was man.
Q--Let me repeat that; perhaps a little stronger than you. If I don't get it right, you correct me.
Hays--Go to the head of the class....
Stewart--I ask you further, Howard, how did he classify man with reference to other animals; what did he say about them?
A--Well, the book and he both classified man along with cats and dogs, cows, horses, monkeys, lions, horses and all that.
Q--What did he say they were?
A--Mammals.
Q--Classified them along with dogs, cats, horses, monkeys and cows?
A--Yes, sir.
Cross examination by Mr. Darrow:
Q--Let's see, your name is what?
A--Howard Morgan.
Q--Now, Howard, what do you mean by classify?
A--Well, it means classify these animals we mentioned, that men were just the same as them, in other words--
Q--He didn't say a cat was the same as a man?
A--No, sir: he said man had a reasoning power; that these animals did not.
Q--There is some doubt about that, but that is what he said, is it? (Laughter in the courtroom.)
The Court--Order.
Stewart--With some men.
Darrow--A great many.
Q--Now, Howard , he said they were all mammals, didn't he?
A--Yes, sir.
Q--Did he tell you what a mammal was, or don't you remember?
A--Well, he just said these animals were mammals and man was a mammal.
Q--No; but did he tell you what distinguished mammals from other animals?
A--I Don't remember.
Q--If he did, you have forgotten it? Didn't he say that mammals were those beings which suckled their young?
A--I don't remember about that .
Q--You don't remember?
A--No.
Q--Do you remember what he said that made any animal a mammal, what it was or don't you remember?
A--I don't remember.
Q--But he said that all of them were mammals?
A--All what?
Q--Dogs and horses, monkeys, cows, man, whales, I cannot state all of them, but he said all of those were mammals?
A--Yes, sir; but I don't know about the whales; he said all those other ones. (Laughter in the courtroom.)
The Court--Order....
Q--Well, did he tell you anything else that was wicked?
A--No, not that I remember of....
Q--Now, he said the earth was once a molten mass of liquid, didn't he?
A--Yes.
Q--By molten, you understand melted?
A--Yes, sir.
Q--After that, it got cooled enough and the soil came, that plants grew; is that right?
A--Yes, sir, yes, sir.
Q--And that the first life was in the sea.
Q--And that the first life wsas in the sea.
Q--And that it developed into life on the land?
A--Yes, sir.
Q--And finally into the highest organism which is know to man?
A--Yes, sir.
Q--Now, that is about what he taught you?
Q--It has not hurt you any, has it?
A--No, sir.
Darrow--That's all.
Testimony of F. E. Robinson
F.E. Robinson, a witness in behalf of the prosecution having been first duly sworn, testified as follows:
Direct examination-by Mr. Stewart.
Q--You are Robinson, known as Robinson's drug store?
A--Yes, sir
Q--Where all this thing started?
A--Yes, sir.
Q--Did you have any conversation with Scopes along about the time that this trial started with reference to his teaching the theory of evolution?
A--Yes, sir
Q--Just state what that was, if you remember it.
Darrow--Get the date of it.
Q-- That was along-about May 4 or 5?
A--I don't remember what date; it was the next week after school was out. Scopes said that any teacher in the state who was teaching Hunter's Biology was violating the law; that science teachers could not teach Hunter's Biology without violating the law.