The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1910-06-24
THE PRICE OF TALK.


how in the eyes of its possessor ordinary talent
gains the look of exceptional genius
Pretacing his remarks with the original OBJ
servation that this is the season of commence
ments", and that even the high schools are now
engaged in the pleasing task of gddily round
ing up year of labor with the INVESTIGATION of
annual addresses and baccaaureate sermons, this
wordy individual makes the complaint that the
selfsacritcing orators of these occasions are paid
Ionly with applause and not with dollars He es-
teens II shame that, after making Journey
at the end of which he is given high seat amid
the doctors, or the muslin, as the case may be;
after setting forth before youth all the banquet
of noble example and high ideals by which they
can attain perfection in citizenship, the genius
who delivers these pearls of uplift and morality
is given for his priceless gift merely the sour
mash of empty thanks, including in some in
stances the insult of payment of actual expenses
incurred
The commencement orator, the correspondent
asserts, Ought in all common decency to have at
least an "Honorarium" in cash as a something
more than formal appreciation of his services.
The schools and colleges forget how valuable is
the time of the man of whom they make use,
and value it, in fact, worth exactly nil, when
they stop at the payment of expenses. Accord
ing to the States correspondent the practice is
IAN abuse of good nature and an insult to
gentlemen of worth and prominence Not all
institutions, he says, offend. In some instances
he has known of the payment of as much as $3.50
an Grafton. and he does not consider that at this
figure the gentleman with the bundle of com
mencement platitudes overpaid.
While il is true that certain established Chata-
qua speakers, such Bryan, LaFollette, Till
man, IN his palmy days, John Temple Graves,
at the flood tide of his golden eloquence, and
other celebrities of high brow" equipment have
been accustomed to turn passion for speech
making into profession of bread and butter. the
proposal to pay all of this class of people would
involve a total expenditure sufficient to make
an average Rockefeller donation shrink TO the
proportions of pittancc. The time when the
orator was rora ariS has long since passed
Under the stimulating impulse of imitation the
time has come when eloguence is locked behind
every grim and thoughtful face that we pass
along the streets. There has been no race suicide
among the disciples of Demosthenes, and it re-
mains true that talk, like virtue is its own re-
ward. Only give him an audience csmped
down, make the hearing of his speech prere-
quste TO the receipt of diploma and your com
mencement orator is in the seventh heaven of
delight. Indeed, SO far from paying him for
species OF performance that is drug upon an
overloaded market, we do not doubt but that a
discreet campaign for the sale Of invitations to
speak would make pin money for many an insti-
tuition of learning For not all passions are of
the grosser sort. Talk Is one of the cheapest of
them, but 1t is one to CRAFTY which the orator
Will spare neither time, nor labor nor even such
ready money as he happens to have to souander
upon his pet indulgence. Talk. in fact. is cheap
only to those to whom it is presented; to the
man who delivers the goods, it is dear indeed.
In fact, it is in this department. of effort that
can be found the one best practical illustration
of the truth that it is indeed more blessed to
give than to receive.