New-York tribune., 1901-07-27
AN AMERICAN ORATOR.
sOUVENIRS OF THE LATE f. J.
PHELPS

oRATIoNs AND Essays OF v FDWTAhRTRP DWgThTPsmAN 53aNS
Edited by g. socGiiough n with tn AZ MeffG arpey sy
& Bros.
This substantial volume is fitting memorial
of Mr. Phelps's many-sided activity In the
higher walks of politics and Jurisprudence The
selection of orations and essays contained In
IL is q cornparativeiy small one from the work
of q lifetime so long and full as Mr.. Pheips1s
was, but II represents the man, his haoits Oh
thought and his field OF work at their pesl
There are twelve orations here reproduced on
subjects relating to Jurisprudence, history ana
the nobler phases Of politics, and hVe essays
chiefly of similar content The reader need not
look In the addresses for oratorical brilliancy.
nor for much OF the eloquence that taxes an
audience captive; but those who value clear
statement cogent argument and the fruits of
wide learning put into good English will not be
disappotnted Through them all there Is made
manifest the sane and dignified point Of view
OF q cultivated thinker. They are, In short nm
fshed and charming examples OF PUBIC speak
ing Mr. Phelps himself was no great friend OF
printed addresses. In his essay on The Age
of Words he quotes Fox's remark, that IL
speech reads well 1t is not good one, and
adds:
The essence OF good speech upon ordinary
occasions is its adaDtation to the tone ana
spirit OF the surrounding atmosphere-ts SYM
pathetic touch with its hearers-the inoescrlpa-
ble magnetism born of time place. circum-
stance and personallty-the charin OF ulueiahSe
the inspiration Of the hour
But we venture 10 think that the dictum is
not generally applicable TO Mr.. Phelps's ad-
dresses Those here reproduced were delivered
for the most part upon occasions that are not
10 be called ordinary. and even in the case OF
those most nearly approaching the ordinary
we feel the distinction that belonged TO every
thing that came from his mind. The first ora
ton In the book is the only one In which there is
much of what is considered "eloquence; II is
the address delivered at the dedication Of the
Bennington battle monument. in 1891 IL is
fuIl of the speakers pride in the achievements
OF his native State. especially in the part it
played in the defeat Of Burgoyne. The tribute
of patriotic affection that he pays TO the State
Of Vermont is in his finest vein:
Gazing forward in the light of the afterglow
of the dying century, we able to discern
with the eye Of faith and Of hope what this SEN
tinel pile shall look out upon in the days that
are before ii. It viii look out upon vermont
on whose valleys and hillsides the seedn1ne
and the harvest shall never fail. land 10
which its people still cling with an aleclioil
not felt for the surface OF the physical earth
by any but those who are born amcng the hllis'
haIlowed to them TO US by its noble tradl-
tons: sacred for the dead who rest in its
hosorn The beautiful name which the
tains have given it viii abide upon the land Tor
Vermont. always Vermont!
The most permanently valuable Of these pa
pers are those in which Mr. Phelps develops
subjects involving the principles Of jurispru-
ID dence In them he shows that peculiarly lucid
= and logical quality Of mind that enables him
to illunnine recondite themes with food of
light Nowhere is this more delightful than in
the address on John Marshall, delivered before
the American Bar Association in 1879, in which
the exposition OF Marshalfs services in estab-
fishing the United States Constitution upon a
firm basis IN the minds Of the people, through
his long line Of remarkable decisions and the
policy he set thereby for the Supreme Court. is
lit UP with the glow Of enthusiasm ma ad-
miration for the man. Mr.. Phelps believed that
II viii be seen in future history that as Wash
ington brought this people through the Reyolu-
ton TO period when they were able to have a
constitution Of their own so Marshall carried
the Constitution through that experimental
period which settled the question whether il
should stand fall
The address the United States Supreme
Court, delivered al the centennial celebration
of the Federal judiciary in 1880. took him
along similar path OF thought. The weight
lest and most elaborate essay in the book is
perhaps that THE Constitution" scholarly
analysis and Interpretation of that document.
IN Inc 1nOice OF fTesllerudl fleClOTS we
have OF the few essays that are of a pos
itively controversial character; IL is devoted to
advocating the system OF choosing Presidential
electors by districts instead of q State
ticket-the earlier systematic motives for de-
parting from which. thinks Mr.. Phelps, have
never been distinctly stated and are not now
apparent" We read his Farewell to England
the address delivered at the Mansion House.
London. in 1889, at the banquet given to him
before his return 10 America from the post of
minister with feeling Of pleasure in its sim
plicity, dignity and good taste-the right word
at the right time. And for the layman
uninstructed in the questions at issue there is
fund of enjoyment OF a different kind in the
argument called Equitable Estoppe" before
the Supreme Court of Vermont. II is urbane
gentleman's employment of polished sarcasm
and rich humor in bringing down the structure
OF his adversary's case, though the subject
itself is a railroad controversy OF dry detail
The specimen is enough to make us wish for
further illustration of this side Of Mr. Phelps's
Intellectual quality.