DR. FRANK CRANES DAILY EDITORIAL

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 37, 6 May 1927, Page 14

DR. FRANK CRANES DAILY EDITORIAL

TRUTH IS NO INVALID (Copyright, 1927.) npHE real enemies of truth are the ones who seek to “protect” it. The;' are the ones who suppress argument, ward off attacks, sit on th? controversial lid. They speak of truth in a reverent voice, and hand:: it with gloves. Truth is no invalid. It does’t need to be pampered or kept in * wheel-chair. Mollycoddling hinders its growth. Let it out. Let it mix. It can hold its own. One of the points of greatness about the late Charles W. Eliot ** his understanding that truth is’nt an empty sack that crumples as soo: as the wind strikes it. When he was president of Harvard University, one of his cherished plans was challenged as unwise. Instead of suppressing opposition, he gave free use of the universe press to the faculty minority that wished to make their side public. He said that he was confident that if the whole matter were thrashed out publicly, the side with the most truth would win. The touchstone of truth is its ability to overcome opposition. The scientist who doesn’t mollycoddle his conclusions is the me? accurate and trustworthy. He invites attacks. He subjects his ideas t hardships. He lets them get buffeted about. He lets them take care & themselves, admitting that if they can’t defeat all opposition they not true. The staunch old Scotchman, Carlyle, preached the doctrine of lettln* an enemy of truth have full rein. Let it preach,” he wrote, “and pamphleteer, and fight, and to utmost bestir itself, and do, beak and claws, whatsoever is in it, very B®* that it will in the long run conquer nothing that does not deserve to & conquered.” Fight for your beliefs, but don’t shelter them from opposition. Make them face all the facts. If they can’t stand up under tjjj bludgeoning of attacks, something is wrong. There is alloy mixed *h e ir pure metal, and they need refining.