The age-herald., 1901-01-10
SKETCHES FROM
 EVERYDAY LIFE

"0ratory is not the power that it once was" said ex-Governor Oates in speaking of the influence which former orators have had on the history of the country. This is due to the fact that people as whole are better educated than they have ever
 been and are more inclnd to do a little thinking their own account. An orator may sway his audience for the time being, but when they have little time to think over what he said unless it is something sensible and forceful they will not be n- fuenced by it long. Formerly people were influenced more by emotion than cold rea- son and the speaker who could arouse thear emotion and inspire them with his oratory was a man of great influence. Such a man was Patrick Henry He was so eloquent and so full of fire that he ig- nited his audience so to speak. and they agreed to what he said without paying much thought to what he did say When Madison was President he paid visit to Jefferson who was then at his home Monticello. Jefferson told him in speak ing of Patrick Henry that he had some- times differed from what Henry said in some of his speeches and on one or two occasions had risen to reply and found himself after he had gotten on his feet mentally inquiring what he did say. Once he could not remember what 1t was he wished to reply to and had to sit down, He mentioned this going to show that with an orator 1t is often not so much what he says that impresses you as the way in which he says it.
 Two of the greatest orators of the south and perhaps of the whole country" continued the Governor, were Wm L.. Yancey and Alpheus Baker. They were entirely different in their manner of speak, ing. Yancey was cool, calm and collected in making a speech. He did not gesticu- late and seldom moved out of his tracks. His gestures were usually confined to a quiet waive of the hand. Most orators have some peculiar gesture trick of manner, and the characteristic movement of Yancey was a motion of his flead. He had long, fine hair which would fall down over his forehead while speaking and he would toss it back with a motion of hds head without touching it with his hand. Baker, on the contrary, was full of action and very dramatic. He had long arms and hands which were constantly moving in striking gestures. He would stoop down and slap both knees with his hands, then straighten up and extend fiis arms in the air. Few if any of the speeches of these men have been preserved. As a rule only extracts from different speeches can be found.
 ''The most effective orator as rule, that is to say, the man whose thoughts are most apt to stick in the minds of his hear CTS, is the slow plodding speaker who has something to say that is worth saying. As I said, people nowadays pay more atten- tion to what says than the way he says it. This is more true at the north than in the south, for the love of oratory still exists to a considerable degree in the south, though we gradually getting more like the people of the north in this respect.
 ''One of the most monotonous orators I know is W. c. P. Breckinridge.' Tn what way is he monotonous, Governor" asked a listener. "Is it his manner of tone of vo!ce?" "No," said the Governor 'it is his eloquence He is always eloquent, so much so that it becomes monotonous Breclkinridge is naturally fluent talker He told me one day that he was never at a loss for word; that the contrary so many words presented themselves to his mind that he had difficulty in making choice as 70 which the best.
 Judge John Cochran of Alabama, was one of the best speakers I ever heard. He understood the art of oratory and knew just when to let down his audience for a rest It will not do to keep them at high tension all the time; they must be relaxed and quieted after some brilliant flight. A good orator understands this just a good musician knows that climax must be followed by something restful Judge Cochran understood this better than most speakers and just as the audience was aroused to the highest pitch and almost on the point of breaking into cheers he would gradually and easily let them down 2S2m quietly and effectively talk to tAG