The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1889-07-30
REAL AND PRETENDED SPEECHES.

The American people have long since
learned that there is great difference
between the real and the pretended
speeches of public men--that is, between
the speeches they make and those they
are reported as making. Members of
Congress often print speeches which are
never delivered at all, or which differ in
every material respect from the one de-
hvered. Again, speakers sometimes fur
nish the press with advance copies of
speech, carefully written. out, polished,
pruned and expurgated, and then go and
deliver something entirely different.
Sometimes the press is a party to this
sort of thing, printing an alleged report
of speech that is to be delivered rather
than take the trouble of reporting it.
All this is demoralizing. Not to speak
of other bad results, it tends to the de-
cay of oratory. Extemporaneous elo-
quence cannot stand this sort of rewrit-
ing, revising, pruning and expurgating.
There is such thing as polishing the
life out of a speech, and revising the
soul out of extemporaueous eloquence.
If this sort of thing continues the race
of political orators will become extinct.
Great speeches should be printed as they
are delivered. That is the honest way,
and the way to encourage oratory.
A notable illustration is the striking>
difference between the Journals report
of Senator Voorhees, Bloomfield speech
and that printed in the Sentinel. The
Journals report was taken down by
stenographer, just as it fell from the
orators lips, while that of the Sentinel
was evidently written out in advance.
One was the speech as delivered, the
other was some written remarks resem-
bling the speech, but entirely devoid of
life, color and character. The advance
copy may have read better than the real
speech, but it lacked the personal ap-
peals, the striking illustrations, the fine
figures, the pictur esque combinations of
statistics and the magnificent disregard
of facts which characterized the real
speech. Here are two or three gems
from the speech as delivered:
said the other day at the breakfast
table at the Terre Haute House. with some
genial Republican friend, that if l had
my way with men like the Carnegies, that
preyed upon the land and sucked peoples
blood like leeches, would hang them. He
seemed shocked about it. j was not, at all.
don't wish to disturb domestic life down
here; don't want to break up any fami-
lies; but what would you think of your
husband, If he was a candid man and an
honest man, and he should come home in
| the evening and say to his wife: Il was in
build my barn, and paid about $165 for a
hundred dollars worth of it, The other
| $65 goes to some great big Republicans up
here in Michigan Think / know what
| the wife would say. His good wife would
| say: Have you lost your sensess What
is the matter with youf What are you
| trying to give met"
On all your house furniture you pay IS
per cent. An old fellow comes home and
|. says: Mother, 1 bought some bedsteads
/b-day; the children are growing up, Sarah
1and Tom. and we needed more, and just
I turned in and bought some; the whole lot
was worth about 500. but paid $135, just
because want to uphold the Republican
party, and / think it is best to do that,
don't your The old woman would look
around for the shovel and tongs, and say:
You better get ont of this neighborhood."
| She would say: 81 can run this ranch bet
ter than both of YOU"
These, and many more like them, did
not appear in the Sentinels expurgated
| report. 1t shows that the only way to
preserve the life of oratOry and the soul
of eloquence is to print speeches just as
they are delivered.