The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-04-10
OUR PRESIDENT ORATORS.

OUR PRESIDENT ORATORS.
President Roosevelts first appearance as
a public speaker since his accession TO Of
fee furnishes conclusive proof that we
have another orator President Mr.. Roose-
welt had previously demonstrated his abil-
ity as a campaign speaker, but it remained
to be seen how he might be affected by
the environments and limitations of the
presidential office. The head of a great
government and the chosen ruler Of seven
ty-six millions of people cannot speak with
the freedom Of ordinary citizen. The
realization that he has an immense and
critical audience and that the least slip
of the tongue will be more than ordnar-
lily embarrassing must be somewhat of
handicap to the most practical speaker.
Comparatively few of our Presidents have
been noted as happy extemporaneous
speakers. and all Of these in comparatively
recent years. Among the earlier Presi-
dents only one or two were at all noted
as speakers. The first and greatest of
ALL Washington, rarely ever attempted to
speak in public. y contemporary writer
who heard him deliver his inaugural adj
dress says: This great man was agitated
and embarrassed more than ever he was
by leveled cannon or pointed musket. He
trembled and several times could scarce
make out to read He made a flourish
with his right hand which left rather an
ungainly impression" This writer, who
was a senator at the time, said he wished
Washington had read his address without
taking his eyes off the paper. for L felt
hurt that he was not first in everything"
Both of the Adamses were good speak
ers, according to the standard of that day.
but none of the other Presidents down to
/ the civil war period had the gift of oratory
and some of them never attempted to
| speak i'm public at all. Abraham Lincoln
was a powerful debater and was often elo-
quent. After his election as President
he scarcely left Washington except to go
TO the front or to Gettysburg, but he ad-
/ dressed many committees and delegations
at the capital, and always effectively. His
| Gettysburg grafton is immortal. But the
/ custom of presidential tours and rear plat
/ form speeches was not yet inaugurated.
| and Mr.. Lincoln had little opportunity to
| show his powers as an off-hand speaker.
/ Grant made no pretensions to oratory,
/ though the little he did was always ap-
propriate. Hayes was a good speaker, and
| on a railroad trip across the continent INF
| 1877 he inaugurated the custom of rear
platform speaking and made good i'm
preston. Garfield was a genuine orator,
| but he did no speaking after his Inaugural
ton as President. If he had lived to make
a railroad tour of the country he would
have furnished some fine specimens of
| rear platform extemporaneous speaking.
Cleveland could speak with preparation,
| but his style was heavy and he had no
imagination and no warmth. OF all our
Presidents the two greatest orators were
Harrison and Mckinley. The former set
! the highest standard of preside atial ora
tory ever known, and the latter made a
good second. They both stumped the cOun-
try by telegraph before they were elected,
and after their election whenever they
spoke the Nation listened There never
were such campaign speeches or such rear
| platform speeches as those made by Har-
rison and Mckinley. They never will be
surpassed, and it will always be great
praise of a President to say that. as an
orator, he belongs in their class. Oratory
IS not an essential requisite of statesman
ship, but it adorns and Eliminates other
qualities. Washington would have been
none the worse for being a fluent speaker,
and Daniel Webster would scarcely be
known in history at all but for his
| speeches. President Roosevelt's style is
that of scholar who is also clear think
err and who has a rare gift of expression
Though he has not had large experience
as a speaker he possesses some of the first
requisites of an orator-as personal mag
netism, warmth of feeling. an imagina-
ton that is both productive and repro
ductive. and the knack of putting him
self in touch and sympathy with an audi
ence. He belongs among our President
/ orators