The Art of Public Speaking Part 42

(_a_) The governments of this section constantly repudiate just debts

(_b_) They insist that the final decision about claims shall rest with their own corrupt courts

(_c_) They refuse to arbitrate sometimes.

Third speaker--Dennett

3. _Armed intervention is beneficial in its results_, because

(_a_) It inspires responsibility

(_b_) In administering custom houses it removes temptation to revolutions

(_c_) It gives confidence to desirable capital.

Among others, the following books were used in the preparation of the arguments:

N. "The Monroe Doctrine," by T.B. Edgington. Chapters 22-28.

"Digest of International Law," by J.B. Moore. Report of Penfield of proceedings before Hague Tribunal in 1903.

"Statesman's Year Book" (for statistics).

A. Minister Drago's appeal to the United States, in Foreign Relations of United States, 1903.

President Roosevelt's Message, 1905, pp. 33-37.

And articles in the following magazines (among many others):

"Journal of Political Economy," December, 1906.

"Atlantic Monthly," October, 1906.

"North American Review," Vol. 183, p. 602.

All of these contain material valuable for both sides, except those marked "N" and "A," which are useful only for the negative and affirmative, respectively.

NOTE:--Practise in debating is most helpful to the public speaker, but if possible each debate should be under the supervision of some person whose word will be respected, so that the debaters might show regard for courtesy, accuracy, effective reasoning, and the necessity for careful preparation. The Appendix contains a list of questions for debate.

25. Are the following points well considered?

THE INHERITANCE TAX IS NOT A GOOD SOCIAL REFORM MEASURE

A. Does not strike at the root of the evil

1. _Fortunes not a menace in themselves_ A fortune of $500,000 may be a greater social evil than one of $500,000,000

2. _Danger of wealth depends on its wrong acc.u.mulation and use_

3. _Inheritance tax will not prevent rebates, monopoly, discrimination, bribery, etc._

4. _Laws aimed at unjust acc.u.mulation and use of wealth furnish the true remedy._

B. It would be evaded

1. _Low rates are evaded_

2. _Rate must be high to result in distribution of great fortunes._

26. Cla.s.s exercises: Mock Trial for (_a_) some serious political offense; (_b_) a burlesque offense.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 25: McCosh's _Logic_ is a helpful volume, and not too technical for the beginner. A brief digest of logical principles as applied to public speaking is contained in _How to Attract and Hold an Audience_, by J. Berg Esenwein.]

[Footnote 26: For those who would make a further study of the syllogism the following rules are given: 1. In a syllogism there should be only three terms. 2. Of these three only one can be the middle term. 3. One premise must be affirmative. 4. The conclusion must be negative if either premise is negative. 5. To prove a negative, one of the premises must be negative.

_Summary of Regulating Principles_: 1. Terms which agree with the same thing agree with each other; and when only one of two terms agrees with a third term, the two terms disagree with each other. 2. "Whatever is affirmed of a cla.s.s may be affirmed of all the members of that cla.s.s,"

and "Whatever is denied of a cla.s.s may be denied of all the members of that cla.s.s."]

[Footnote 27: All the speakers were from Brown University. The affirmative briefs were used in debate with the Dartmouth College team, and the negative briefs were used in debate with the Williams College team. From _The Speaker_, by permission.]

CHAPTER XXIV

INFLUENCING BY PERSUASION

She hath prosperous art When she will play with reason and discourse, And well she can persuade.

--SHAKESPEARE, _Measure for Measure_.

Him we call an artist who shall play on an a.s.sembly of men as a master on the keys of a piano,--who seeing the people furious, shall soften and compose them, shall draw them, when he will, to laughter and to tears. Bring him to his audience, and, be they who they may,--coa.r.s.e or refined, pleased or displeased, sulky or savage, with their opinions in the keeping of a confessor or with their opinions in their bank safes,--he will have them pleased and humored as he chooses; and they shall carry and execute what he bids them.

--RALPH WALDO EMERSON, Essay on _Eloquence_.

More good and more ill have been effected by persuasion than by any other form of speech. _It is an attempt to influence by means of appeal to some particular interest held important by the hearer._ Its motive may be high or low, fair or unfair, honest or dishonest, calm or pa.s.sionate, and hence its scope is unparalleled in public speaking.

This "instilment of conviction," to use Matthew Arnold's expression, is naturally a complex process in that it usually includes argumentation and often employs suggestion, as the next chapter will ill.u.s.trate. In fact, there is little public speaking worthy of the name that is not in some part persuasive, for men rarely speak solely to alter men's opinions--the ulterior purpose is almost always action.

The nature of persuasion is not solely intellectual, but is largely emotional. It uses every principle of public speaking, and every "form of discourse," to use a rhetorician's expression, but argument supplemented by special appeal is its peculiar quality. This we may best see by examining

_The Methods of Persuasion_