The morning times., 1896-01-26
HUMOP OF STUMP SPEAKERS
Some Funny Stories Told to Un,
decided Voters.
MAKE THB HEARERS LAUGH
Views of William E. Mason, One
of the Most Successful CAM
paign Speakers of Today.

Old men who recall the log cabin and
coon skin campaigns of their early days
are given to the assertion that the po-
litical stump speaker died with the last
generation. They complain that the pub
lie becomes SO saturated with facts ard
statistics printed in newspapers and cir
culated by bureaus that the muscular fer
vid eioquence OF the days OF '.fifty-four,
forty or fight no longer attracts. .yoters
want facts" is the argument; ''they don't
want entertainment" 1t is not SO. Men
go to mass meetings to be amused, not to be
convinced Neither is the first proposition
correct Stump orators of today are as
popular as they ever were.
The Wit OF the speaker OF today may be
shade sharper and finer than in the
rnbustuous days OF old, but the happy al
lusion and the weIl-pointed anecdote still
catch the crowd. Tile boy and the blind
puppy story, the woodcbuck and circuit
rider fable make as big hits now as they
did before the hero OF Tippecanoe had a
grandson, and long prior to the day when
Senator Cullom first trimmed his wbiskers
to resemble Lincoln.
Perhaps william E. Mason is the most sue
cessful Illinois campaign speaker of today.
He is naturally story-teller, ma agnetic and
of as great dra wing power as circus. His
anecdotes are told with the ease and natural
ness OF an actor reciting hts lines, and to the
campaign crowds he is a Joy and delight
Mr.. Mason has In a marked degree the un-
falling attribute of a successful public
tslker. He Is at ease with himself and his
sGiicnce.
= wsii rccan my first practical lesson
speaking." said Mr.. Mason to
tt.- - Tnes-Herald man. 1T was given
ne twenty years ago. / was making
spesCb-s through an Ohio district with
Judge Morse. candidate for the bench.
He heard the talk once or twice, and the1
gave me some advice.
HUMoR BETTER THAN ANELOQUENCE
Mason he said, you're young yet, and
Observation-Disclosures alibefore you. Don't
try toemulate Demosthenes or Cicero, or any
OF those boys, as see you're pointing out
to do; you'H surely fall down. Talk to
your crowds as If you had one man alone
and had BIN by the lapel OF his coat. Don't
talk over their heads. Get down among
'ern. and Jolly them up. Tell 'em stories,
Bill; that's the winning play. Tell 'em
stories. Make your point, and then make
'em laugh
II started in my speech by compliment
ing the gathering on their intelligence.
as is customary, and then led up to my
story like this: I see the Democrats are
getting pretty gay over their prospects,
and are doing a good deal of boasting
and a whole lot of laughing over the way
they are going to lick US election day.
They remind me of the Irishman ard the
bull and then 1 gave it to them. Remem-
ber the story was twenty y-five years younger
then. They not only stood it, but acted as
if they liked. it. told a few more in the
course of my speech, and then gave way
to Judge Morse, who had finished his hand
shaking outside and had come in toward
the close of my talk.
he said he was glad of the opportunity
to talk to such IN intelligent gathering.
i have Observed he went on, that the
Democrats are getting very gay and chip
per, ard are doing a great deal OF laugh
ing over the licking they are going to
give us at the polls. My friends and neigh
bors.' he said. they remind me OF story-a
little story about q Irishrnan and bull
Then he started in with the yarn and the
crowd began to laugh. The judge was
pleased, q nd as the laughter increased with
every sentence, he took advantage OF one
of the stops for the applause and yelling
to subside TO turn to me and say in an
aside: i told you there was nothing like
a story, Bill. 1t always gets them
" But. judge L said, In whisper, 4
told
a. 'Hushr he said, waving me back to my
seat, don't interrupt me- So he went
on. and before he had finished half the
crowd was exhausted with the fun they had.
All through the rest of his speech there
were outbursts of laughter at the recollec-
ton of the ball story, and when he finished
he got such an outbreak of applause as 10
man before or since received from house
Of the same size"
YAWNING WITNESS ES.
As an illustration OF the difficulty found by
political opponents in testifyiug to the good