The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-09-14
THE ELooUENCE OF EARNEsTNEss.

There is no denial attempted by the re-
spectacle press of the country that Presi-
dent Harrison is public speaker of re-
markable power. No man since the war,
unless we except Horace Greeley in 1872,
ever made SO many speeches and made SO
excellent an impression on all classes OF
people, South and North, East and West,
as President Harrison. To speak fluently
is a very common, and usually very fatal
gift; to speak both impressively and at
tractively on all occasions is very rare
gift. man may not possess this gift and
be a very superior man. Washington, JEFF
ferson; very many very able men have
lacked the power of fine public speech;
but it is nevertheless true that the gift of
superior public speech is in itself proof
that its possessor is a superior man.
A very commonplace man can make
what is termed an effective stump speech,
because all that is necessary to partisan
campaign speech is throat of brass and
adamantine lungs; retentive memory; a
good command of sidewalk wit; of the
''horse play" humor and vituperative
genius of the barroom. These gifts are
very common and are generally possessed
| superabundantly by commonplace men.
| So true is this that, as rule, popular
| local stumper is person of mediocre
| standing in his profession. He appears
| when politics became red-hot, just as little
| toads are seen after a heavy raE, and he
| disappears when politics get cool, just
| as the little toads disappear with the
| drouth. The type local campaign speaker
/ always remembers the old advice given
under the caption, How to Behave ut
| Fires" which, summarized, was set forth
in the injunction, "Be sure and holer all
the time" The type stump orator is a
| fustian Bowery actor, full of melodram-
attic mouthing when he attempts pathos;
! full of vulgar vituperation when he tries
| TO deal in invective; full of sneering vul-
| garity when he seeks TO be sarcas-
tic, and full of broad grins and
| smutty stories when he ESSAYS
either Wit or humor: he can generally be
! cassed with those persons whom Lord
Erskine defined as invariably resorting to
their imagination for their facts and To
| their memory for their wit. The kind of
| ability manifested by the average local
| stump talker Is akin to the genius of that
| member of the recent circus parade
| who wore pair Of artificial feet, each as
| big as palm leaf fan, and when he
wigcled them the crowd laughed; never
| theiess this circus contortionist is not A
| humorist. lac is only a clown, a buffoon on
! wheels; and yet his talent. such as il is. is
| Of kin 10 the stump orators capacity TO
| move an audience 10 laughter.
In violent contrast with the popular
stump speaker Is your man of impressive.
superior public speech. who must
have tact, arprehens,veuess, accu-
! racy, vjSor, ciearness. vivacitv. knowl-
edge Of human nature, grace. self
! possession. serenity, and, above all.
| edrnestHess; the very thing that the
| average stumper is sure 10 lack. PreSi-
| dent Harrison is not a man of command
! ing presence; nor clarion voice. nor i'm.
| paSsioned Imagination; but he = a clear
| sound thinker who can state his Thought
| with simplicity, accuracy and strength
| and 10 this he adds the quality OF earnest
ness. which is the next hest thing Ia
| elo4uence, If il he not sometimes in
its depth eloQueuce itself The man
who has something IN say worth saving
that has become part Of the best of hi M
sell, seldom fails to hold an audience from