New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-03-23
LILLE MODEEN EONTErM.

Tho declaration that the art Of oratory IS
docayng has been made 50 often IN recent
wear, and 80 seldom cOntrdlctcd that n j. iair
10 assume the existence o. a general agreement
on the subject. al least among those who do not
claim 10 b.. orators, And Yet We venture 10 say
that champion Of the counter proposition
might easily find all about him abundant ma
,crials from which 70 construct his argument.
He would have 10 start with the admission that
new conditions have destroyed many Of the
ancient use, of oratory. and modified tho-eihat
remain but having thus laid his course straight
at the outset hc would have plain sailing.
Americans kept their car, open 10 mrlia-
mcniary cloqucnce long after the English House
Of Commons, grow tired of Edmund Burke;
and. even now. the multiplicity OF mouiniui
references 10 the days OF Webster and Clay
and other great men, from whom the Congress
men Of this epoch have dcgcncraicd might seem
10 imply that the present generation retains
the taste for rhetorical pabulum. though II has
lost the means Of gratifying 1t. But we sup
bose the truth 10 bc that there are many sen
aiors and Representatives IN every Congress
who could rise with ease to almost any height
of cloqucncc il they really thought IN" flight
worth while The point is that the thing in
which they and their constituents are chiefly
interested is the passage OF bills, good. bad ana
Indifferent; and experience has taught them
that bills are not passed by speeches, fnit iN
indcfatigahlc work in committee, and by vari
Gus lublicating processes which make no special
demand upon the vocal chords. Occasionally
"A great effort like that Of Mr.. Voorhees, on
Thursday and still less often a great speech.
like that of Mr.. Evarts on the day before, IS
made but, with due appreciation of each. It
must be acknowledged that neither changes
many votes. This docs not prove that there Is
no place left for olatory but merely that the
halls of Congress are not the best place.
Where, then. is the appropriate and fruitful
field? II is not the pulpit, in our opinion and
we hope it never may b.. II is not the politi-
cal stump for. though that Institution has been
quite as popular and efficient A. ever in recent
campaigns, a rafting fuslladc and not Il flow
of clouucncc is what its patrons demand. IL
is the dinncr-tabc which is At once the in
spilation and the opportunity OF the orator.
We do not mean TO say BADLY that he mus be
fed before he can be fired, but merely that
around the festive mahogany he always finds
an audience which will respond to wit, to
humOr, 10 pathOs To genuine fcellng Which Is
not afraid to be instructed nor ashamed to be
enthusiastic, since il has assembled in great
part for that special purpose. Few develop
ments of modern life are more remarkable than
the multiplication Of social bodies which exist
with the express intention, if not for the ex-
elusive object of giving periodical banquets.
IL does not follow as a matter of course, by
anv means. that this is distinctly a gluttonous
and bibulous age Indeed, we think it is en-
! tircly safe to say that on every such occasion
the list Of speakers is scanned with far grcntcr
cagcrncss than the list Of yandS. They are
the augurics by which lis fate is settled in adj
vance, the standard by which its place in con
/ vivial history is computed.
OF course since human institutions are i'm
perfect. aftcl-dinncr ofatOry Is often feeble and
sometimes distressing but nobody can reason
ably doubt that the average is high, and that
! it is steadily rising. Furthermore. the main