The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1909-02-12

dates-not only a western man, but
man lacking i'm book learning and
the polish of the schools. No other
American president has ever so clear
ly owed his elevation to his oratory.
Washington, Jefferson and Jackson,
the presidents usually mentioned in
connection with him, we're all poor
speakers.
"In analyzlng Ltncoln's character
istics as a speaker, one Is impressed
with the completeness of his equip
ment. He possessed the two things
that are absolutely essential to ef-
fcctive spealSing-namely, informa-
tion and earnestness. II one can be
called eloquent who knows what he
is talking about and means what he
says-and I know of no better defini-
tion-D,ncolns speeches were elo-
ouent. He was thoroughly informed
upon the subject; he was prepared
to meet his opponent upon the gen.
eial proposition discussed or upon
any deductions which could be drawn
from IT, There were no unexpiored
field into which his adversary could
lead him, he had carefully examined
every foot OF the ground and was
not afraid of pitfall or ambush, and,
what was equally Important he spoke
from his own heart to the hearts OF
those who listened. While the print
ed page can not fully reproduce the
Impressions made by voice trem-
bling with emotion or tender with
pathos, one can not read the reports
OF the debates without feeling that
Lincoln regarded the subject as far
trnnscending the ambitions or the
personal interests of the debaters.
1t was OF Little moment he said,
whether they voted him or Judge
Douglas up or down, but It was tre-
mendously important that the ques-
tion should be decided rightly His
reputation may have suffered in the
opinion of some, because he made
them think so deeply upon what he
said that they, for the moment, for
got him altogether, and yet, is this
not the very perfection of speech?
II Is the purpose of the orator to
persuade and to do this, he presents,
not himself bait his subject. Some
one i'm describing the difference be-
tween Demosthencs and Cicero said
that ''when Cicero spoke people said,
how we'll Cicero spcal,s, but when
Demosthenes spoke, they said, let us
go against Philip" In proportion as
one can forget himself and become
wholly absorbed in the cause which
he is presenting does ihe measure up
10 the requirements of oratory.
ain addition to the two essentials.
Lincoln possessed what may be called
the secondary aids to oratory. He
was master of statement. Few
have equalled him I'm the ability to
stniD a truth of surplus venblage and
present IL In its naked strength. In
the Declaration of Independence we
read that there are certain seIf-evi-
dent truths which are therein enum-
Grated. If were going to amend
the proposition, would say that
all Truth is self-evident. Not that
amy truth will be universally ACCEPT
| ed, Tor not all are In a position or
III an attitude 10 accept any given
truth. In The Interpretation OF the
parable of the sowcr, we are told
that 'the cares of this world and
| the deceitfulness OF riches choke the
TRUTH and 1t mrst be acknowl
edged that every truth has these or
other difficulties to contend with.
But tiruth may be so clearly stated
tllsrt IT will commend itself TO any
one who has not some special reason
for rejecting Il.
mo one has more clearly stated
the fundamental objections to slavery
than Lincoln stated them, and he had
great advantage over his oppo
nent in being able to state those OBJ
jections frankly, for Judge Douglas
neither denounced nor defended slay-
cry as am institutbon-his plan en-
bodied q compromise and he could
not discuss slavery upon IT'S merits
without alternating either the slave
owner or the abolltionist.
siBreWlty Is the soul of wit. and
part ,'of LinGoln's reputation for
wit lies In his ability to condense
great deal lnto a few words. He
was epigrammatic. A moulder of
Thought is not necessarily an orig
lnator OF the thought moulded. Just
as lead moulded into the form OF
bullets has it's effectiveness Increased,
SO Thought may have its propagating
power enormously increased by being
moulded into a form that the eye
catches and the memory holds. Lin
coin gave expression to the thought
Of his followers and gave that
Thought felieltious expression.
''lils Gettysburg speech is not sur
passed, VI equalled, In beauty, sim
plicIty' force and appropriateness by
any speech Of the same length OF
any language, II Is the worlds mod
el IN eloquencc, elegance and con-
densation. He might safely rest his
reputation as an orator on that
speech alone,
Nfie was apt In illustration-no
one more SO. A simple story or
lIaa u