Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1875-04-22
Reading to a jury.

Ihe growing practice anon;
: public men of reading prepare,
, speeches, and the remarkable
innovation made by Gen. Trac,
in the Beecher trial, is thus
strongly and tersely dwelt upol
lin late number Of the Provi.
dence Journal:
'"This practice, it appears, has
now been transferred from the
deliberative assembly to the
forum, and in the most remark
able jury trial in American his
tory we see a leading advocate
opening the defense Of his eli
ent by reading for two or three
days a manuscript statement of
his case. 1t is certainly a nov
city which may we'll attract at
tention. 1t was a case which,
morethan most others, demanded
a thoroughly-prepareda and fer
vid address, without any inter
vcntion of manuscript, to made
directly to the minds Of the jul
rors. Their preposscssions were
to be removed, their good will
was to be conciliated, and they
were to be persuaded in all pos
sible ways to put favorable
construction upon the testimo-
my that is to be introduced
THE work was one which called
for the best effort of true loren
sic oratory. Instead Of this, we
behold for the first time in an
American court Of justice an
advocate reading a written adj
dress which he had coOlly elab-
grated and committed to paper
in his Office many hours, per-
haps many days, before. Should
this example be followed, it is
undoubtedly true that we shall
soon cease to have any great
jury lawyers or anything de-
serving the name Of forensic
eloquence.
"There is no country in the
world III which there is so much
speech-making as here, and
none in which speeches for all
occasions are produced with So
great facility. 1t has long since
ceased to be adistinctiOn for an
American to make a passable
speech. It is what almost eve
~ American can do. 1t is pos
sible that this very facility has
tended to lower the standard,
and as the practice Of public
speakinghas become more CON-
mon, toreducc that speaking to a
lower grade. Itiscertainlynolon-
ger possible to point, in this
country, to such orators as in
former generations adorned
both the forum and the Senate. .
What everybody seems to do
easily, nobody cares any longer
to bestow any labor upon or eX-
Gel in. In the crowd Of speech .
makers the art Of spcech-mak- |
ing has declined. Besides this,
agreat debate isno longer for tie
particular assembly that engages .
in it, but for the whole public.
Reporting has helped to spoil
oratory. Speakers everywhere
now address themselves, not /
to those who are present and
hear, but to those who are abb
sent and read. This is becOm-
ing true even Of arguments in
courts Of law, for causes, though /
they may be decided by Judges
and juries in the courts, are al
so read, and the judgments on
them are reviewed, i'll the homes
of the people. It was undoubt-
edlv 4 consciousness of this that .
led Mr.. Tracy to write out in
full his three days opening ad-
dress, and to read it to the ju-
~. He expects thus to appear
to better advantage before the /
vast multitude who are sure to
read what he has to say. The /
practice of the great masters
of forensic oratory was TO aim
at the jury, and the jury alone.
If the jury were persuaded to
give a favorable verdict, they
not did care for anything fur
ther."