Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1893-09-03
SUNDAY. .SEPTEMBER 3, 1893.
American OratOry.

There is rccurrent disposition on the
part of some Of the northern papers to
,emoan what they are pleased to term
the decadence Of American Oratory or
~eloquonce. Whenever any important
question comes before Congress for de-
,ate it is apt to prove the exciting cause
of comparisons between the "%Oratorical
giants of the days of Calhoun, Web
stcr, Hayne, ct i'll omne genus, and the
"pigmies Of later DAYS. According to
our comparative critics the shrinking
process in ell quenco has been going on
steadily for years. Moreover, when the
victims of this recurrent tendency trace
the decadence down TO the immediate
present they seldom fail to draw a par
allol between the northern and the
southern orators which is to the detrl-
ment of the latter.
The debate in Congress upon the sill
yer question has already evoked a good
Gcal OF literature Of the order mentioned
above, and we may reasonably expect
much more OF this comparative criticism
before the Senate reaches o vote. Butt
il true that American %eloquence or ora
tory is decaying? And is il true that the
decay is greater at the South than at the
North +?
As to the first question it may be re-
marked that there are few things regard
ing which men differ more than the def
milton Of elodueDce or oratory. Ovid
holds that "in an easy cause any man "
may be eloquent Shakespeare has de-
ciared that action is eloquence," and
tluintilian contends, III effect, that no
man can he eloquent who is not truly
Good. Yet there are thousands of edu-
.atcd people who would challenge each
and all Of these authorities. The inspi-
cations OF eloquence now are not what
tIey wcro one or two generations ago.
The arena of polemics has enlarged
with the growth Of the country,
and tie actor in that arena
have multiplied. More men lead and
fewer follow thanin the earlier daysOftho
republic. and independence of thought
j more widespread than OF yore.
Touching many Of the problems that
arise IN our legislative halls and political
cauya -ses il makes with the majority of
persons 10 great difference whether Da-
vus or a hero speaks. In short the
occasion sandtho emergencies demanding
the school of %eioquencc OF the "ante-
bellum' period are lacking but should
they develop We have no doubt the men
would be found to meet them. The
oratory of the day is in large measure
adjusted to the issues of the day, but
what with the considerations We have
noted there are speakers who have as
much influence as had their fathers.
AS regards the second question we
can answer emphatlcally that Sc
far as Virginia is concerned there
never WAS Il tiulS hHCu ouS Cpbll
muster so many good speakers. Only a
day or two ago We heard a gen.
tleman who was at the White Sulphur
Springs when the Virginia Bar Associa-
ton met there declare his conviction
that there were at present as many great
men in the Old Commonwealth as there
htl ever been at any other period in her
u.,.ory. The author of this declaration
- aot u Virginian, and has no southern
a.uliations. He was born in New York
over seventy-fye years ago, repre-
scented q western State in Congress
q number of terms, was a IN EN-
Der Of a most important international
commission, and during his long public
career has been thrown in close contact
with some of the ablest men this country
has ever produced. His judgment was
based upon what he saw and heard in
the meetings of the association, his
observations at Virginia resorts, and his
knowledge of what position Virginia
leaders OCCUPY in the councils of the
nation. Such testimony as this and
the South's record in Congress since
the war in meeting and battling
the assaults of her enemies are
directly an~tagonistic to the assumption
that southern public men would suffer
by contrast, in any respect, with those
of any other section, seeing that what is
true of Virginia is true OF the rest of the
South. If oratory may be judged by
what it has accomplished for the cause
OF good government the southern speak
ers must rank as high as did those of the
palmiest era Of the past. This is most
foFcibly illustrated when considered in
connection with the Republican efforts
to enthrall the South and place her at
the mercy Of the South-haters.