, 1885-02-08
SENATOR'S oRAToRY.
THEIR DIFFERENT METHODS or PREP
ARATioH AND DELIVERY.
The 1mpefuosity OF Logan and the sar-
easm of Ingalls, conklinE's Sentences
= Hoar's Looking Glass
acknowledgements


ANA $3.50 WIS.,
puts as speakers, IL will DO found that a great
difference exists botween them IN respect to
their method OF preparing a speech Of conse
quence. Mr.. Carpenter spent days In the
most exhaustive study Of his subject matter.
He has boen known TO spend flfty-eight hours
at a time In hislfhrary, matching but a few
moments sleep. Books and all other author
tiles were ransacksd, and he studied his sub
ject from all sides. But he nsyer gave a
moments shought 10 the arts OF oratory.
After writing out a complete syllabus. no
regarded himself as thoroughly prepared.
Very much after the same manner Senator
Conkiing prepared his speeches
Senator Edmunds' sols preparation for a
speech Is the reading OF authorities. He sal
dom makes any notes except Of the refer
ence to the authorities, and never writes out
a speech, either In full or in part Mr..
Thurman's method OF preparation was al
most Identical with that OF Senator Ed
mundA Mr.. Blaine, on the other hand, not
only very carefully prepared himself by ex-
haustive study Of the subject matter. but
also weighed his sentences, writing and re-
writing some Of them many times. Many Of
his speeches were fully written out before
delivery. although he did not always confine
himself TO his notes when on the door Mr..
Garfield took infinite pains with his speeches,
preparing them as much with a view to their
rhetorical effect as TO their subject matter.
Mr.. Carlisle owes his prominence in the
house to the infinite pains with which he
prepared himself for his speeches, especially
that on the ~refunding bill four years ago.
which put him In the front rank, and that
sn tho tariff. This preparation, however,
vent no further than an exhaustive study Of
the original data He accepted no mans
figures, but prepared his own from the Off
q - l.
spent every night at his desk computing,
comparing. figuring. and making his own
deductions. He never gave q thought to his
dieton. his gestures, or to any OF tho arts Of
rhetoric.
Mr.. Hewitt and Mr.. Cox carefully
prepare all their speeches The most
careful and elaborate preparations are
made by Senator Hoar when he purposes the
delivery of an important speech Having
thoroughly arranged his line OF thought,
after having his subject matter at hand, Mr..
Hoar, with most laborious pains, writes his
speeches out, turning sentences, twisting
words, rubbing and polishing until the die
ton and style are perfect in his estimation.
Next the speech is carefully committed, and
finally practiced, with a view to perfecting
tho g~esticulation- Mr.. Hoar generally prac-
tees before a full-length mirror, and though
the witty Senator Vance always insists that
Mr.. Hoar got the idea from the famous
scene in the aRivals." where Bob Acres
strives TO perfect himself in the nt Of dane
ing by practicing before a glass, yet Mr..
Hoar's method IS precisely identical with
that practised by one Of the great
est Of American orators, William Pinckney.
In style and diction, the most noted OF re-
cent senators greatly differ. Mr.. Edmund's
style is that OF absolute simplicity. His sen
fences are short. his words express the exact
had OF meaning he desires to convey. He
uses no metaphors, no Illustrations. His
speech is as clear and as cold as ice. He mover
Is animated, never but once betrayed emo
ton, but stands like a man in a witness-box,
his hands clasped together, occasionally
lifting the foreiinger Of his right hand.
Everyone listens, everyone understands.
many are convinced, but none are impressed,
and he never made a hearers pulse beat a
stroke quicker than usual, nor had All au-
ditor1 who held his breath. Mr.. Thurman,
somewhat like Mr. Edmunds in his
utter simplicity and freedom from or.
nament n his clearness, unlike Ed
munds, became heated, and at times veho-
ment, and thon would saw tho air with
vigorous right-hand blows. Mr.. Carpenter
trampled the traditions OF tho schools under
bis feet when he spoke. His style at times
was exceedingly embellished; metaphors
suggested themselves to him as uniquely and
appropriately as they did to Carlyle, his
diction was pure and his sentences rhythmi-
cal, 30 that at times be seemed almost to DO
repeating blank verse. His high-pitched
voice was singularly pleasing, and was mod
ulated with great skill With his long, white
locks scattered all over his head, and some
times over bis eyes. frequently with one or
both hands thrust in his pockets, sometimes
franticaly gesticulating, he followed none
Of the lessons of elocution. Yet he was 10
garded as a singularly graceful speaker.
Mr.. conkling seemed to delight TO play
with his sentences He spoke slowly, with
long pauses between his sentences, with a
most remarkable information, which tho curl
Gus enunciation Of Henry Irving most nearly
suggesta Mr.. Conkling delighted In in
volved sentences, the more labyrinthine the
better. Parting witt his subject, he would
frequently insert parenthetical sentences.
with which be would travel over all the
parts Of the speech, taking involutions within
~involutions, until, just as he seemed to have
become lost in the labaryinth, he would
emerge plumb in tho predicate for the orig
inal sentence. This very dangerous habit
never tripped Mr.. Conkling: and though
with any other man il would lave been
tedious, he was able to mako his hearers
rather like it
Mr.. Bayard labors with n voice that Is
weak, almost effeminate. Yet he is regarded
as ono OF the most graceful speakers in the
senate. He Is more diffuse in his style than
some others, but no mans diction is superior
TO his. Mr.. Bayard follows the traditions "
tho schools His oratory and gestures are
accurately proper, and no nsvor violates the
rules in this respect Mr.. Vest is a nowery
speaker. He has something OF Mr.. Carpen-
ter's style OF bedecking a legal argument
with rhetorical flowers, and as he sometimes
gets hot with conviction and the desire Of
impressing IL; he seldom speaks without hay
ing the entire senate for listeners Two OF
the most entertaining speakers of the senate
are Logan and Ingalls,. and for precisely OPP
posite reasons. Logan Is fierce, often when
there seems to be no call for ferocity. Ingalls,
Is cold as an icicle. Logan easily works up
TO white heat No one ever saw
Ingalls, when he seemed to have
an emotion. Logan wanders in his enthu-
siasm all over the fields Of rhetoric, and
sometimes gets mired In the swamps; Ingalls,
Is always classically correct Logan Is Of.
fective when delivering sled ge-hammer
blows. and absurd whom he essays sarcasm;
ingalls, never attempts to WELD the slcdgs
hammer, but his SARCASM cuts as keenly,
quickly and as deeply as a Japanese hari-
kari knife. Ingalls, stands like a statute.
like the zero point personihsd, Logan dances
and prances over the chamber lks a hot
bloode savage at n war-dance. Both Of
aud command the attention Of the senate
and fbo rallnrtaa