The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-06-24
.ORATORY MADE ID ORDER IN AMERICA Many Bright Men Make Living
 Supplying Essays EXAMPLES OF "CRIBBING" One Young Newspaper Woman Makes Good Money by Writing Papers
 For Members of Fashion
 able Clubs.
EXAMPLES OF "CRIBBING"

able Clubs.
 BY FREDERIC j. HASkIN.
 Since the beginning of history orators and authors have been charged with ap- proprlating to their own uses the language of others. It would be unjust to charge that theft and plagiarism play any large part in public debate in the United States, or that much really good American ora- tory Is stolen, but many papers are read and many speeches are made by persons who had no part in their authorship Ready-to-u essays and speeches may be divided into two clasess, those delib- erately "crlbbed" from speeches previous | " made, and those that are made to order | by professional writers who hire out thelr brains to persons who stand in need of , speeches and lack of time, inclination or ability to write them,
 The list of those who use such ma- terial is long. It runs from the girl grad uate who gets help" from one source or another, to the member of Congress who buys a speech from some one who makes business of supplying such demands l Ihere are of course no great regulations l builded upon false foundations, but it sometimes happens that the country con | stftuent who reads a. marked copy of the Congressional Record and wonders at the store of information possessed by a rep resentative who never seemed studious before he was sent to Washington, reads | n far .41E l.! | a stipulated sum-
 i As a rule the purchased speech may be used without danger, but the results are | sometimes unfortunate. Upon one occa- slon member of Congress gave rush 1 order for sheep that required consider able research work. The order was filled acceptably, but the over-worked young man who had taken it took a short cut to produce the oration and led his em- ployer into unsuspected danger. The representative finished his oration with nourish. The galleries applauded and the correspondents of the leading papers in his state telegraphed glowing accounts or the effect produced as we'll as sum maries of the speech itself. The orator took his seat, and mopped the precipitation rom his brow as his nelghbors congrat- ulated him across the desks A number of men from the other side of the House bore down upon him to offer congratula- tions. Among them was a southern sen- ator famous as an orator. The represen- tative rose to his feet to meet the out stretched palms of his colleagues.
 T wish to offer my congratulations to you upon your excellent delivery" said the senator. When I delivered that speech from the stump ten years ago never got half the applause you managed to evoke in Congress-" Of course the warmth of the reception was chilled at once. The humiliated orator learned to his disgust that the man employed to write the speech had run across a bit of I oratory upon which he did not feel that he could improve, and, thinking there was only one chance in a thousand that the plagiarism would be detected, had taken | the chance.
 During the first session of the Fifty ninth Congress there occurred in the Philippines battle between the United States troops and Moros which was dubbed The Mt. Dajo Massacre" by members of Congress who held that the slaughter of the natives was unnecessary. l The event provoked heated debate in | the House. A prominent southerner l famous as an orator and a scholar. was | making speech when a newspaper cor respondent in the press gallery, hit upon
  | Charge of the Light Brigade" sarcastIcal- ly descriptive of the onslaught of the American troops, equipped with magazine flnes ana machine guns, upon the na- lives lighting with speers and bolos l Neglecting other work he dashed off the verses. On reading them over he de- cided that they would exactly suit the speech then being made. The speaker had been his schoolmate thirty years ago | a altUa terms of intimate friendship. Taking the ! liberty of interrupting the orator, he sent the verses to him by a messenger, then l resumed his place in the press gallery to listen to the speech. At an opportune time in the course of the argument the representative read the poem, prefacng it by the statement that a friend had | written it.
 Roars of applause from both sides of the house greeted each stanza and 1t was necessary for the speaker to pause | frequently to wait for order to be re- stored. The press gallery seized upon the verses as something livlier than rou- tine news, and by the following morning every important American newspaper had received them by wire, credited of course. to the representative who rad them. "and modestly disclaimed authorship" The cd itorial writers next handled the verses and the supposed author enjoyed nine | days fame as a poet. The real author enjoyed the effect of his output prodig- iously, If he regretted the public's mis- taken impression as to the authorship of the poem his most intimate friends never | found it out.
 Not long ago Senator Daniel of Virginia was one of the prominent men who were | invited to be judges at an oratorical con- ! test at a school not a great distance l from Washington. After the young ora tors had been heard the judges were in- vited to take a drive in a carriage pro- Vided by the school. During the con 1 versat ton that took place In the carriage, l Senator Daniel asked the other judges | which of the speeches they thought best. They agreed in declaring one to be far better than any of the others. Senator | Daniel said that as he was clearly out voted he would express no opinion. The medal was carried off by boy who had | "cribbed'' speech made by Senator Daniel himself during his college days.
 Two newspaper men residing In a small | city that boasts a university of wide rep | utation felt the pinch of poverty as the l time for the annual commencement was | approaching. They held council of war | and decided upon plan of action. A | small advertisement was inserted in their | paper stating that for consideration | orders for essays or speeches would be l filled if sent to a certain address They l were surprised by receiving eight orders l from students for these, to be delivered | in contest. Both men set to work