Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1914-12-17
AMERICA A NATION
OF PUBLIC SPEAKERS
Are vthe Grand Days of oratory" Gone
Forever2-Changes in the Form and
Style of Eloquence-From Emerson
to "Billy" Sunday.
BY WILLIAM RAIDER
WrINHE grand days Of oratory are 8

sllver-tongued orator himself was an argu-
ment against the statement which he made.
1loquence, In style and form, has under
gone great changes since the days of Daniel
webster and Henry Clay and Charles Sum-
ner but It is still potent factor in the
affairs OF the world. George Herbert defined
Il as that which informs and inhames," and
Phillips Brooks said II was "a good man
speaking we'll"
The prophet of the olden time is conspicu-
GUS by his absence. Usually he has appeared
In a crisis as Patrick Henry did in Virginia,
! or Savonarola when contending with Lorenzo
the Magnificent and Pope Alexander vi, not
J to mention the Hebrew prophets who were
voices of the infinite. Prophecy means
"bubbllng up" like q spring gushing up
| through rock and sand and soil, and over
| flowing just as Patrick Henry did in his
famous outburst Of patriotism. Tolstoy was
a good deal of prophet Not that he made
predictions, but he interpreted the times.
prophet Is seer, revealer Of the events of
the hour, and is associated usually with eo-
quence. He has appeared in wars and revo-
lutous and tumults, and his absence just now
in the European war is significant.
Modern Eloquence
Since Mr.. Dougherty delivered his lecture
on the lyceum platforms of the East orators
eloquence Henry Grady made his famous
speech on the New South" which for i'm
agination, diction and thought will live long
Lincoln's Gettysburg address was scarcely
appreciated in the days of Mr.. Dougherty.
but now 1t stands first In classic eloquence.
Mr.. Bryan's famous speech before the Chi
cago nominating convention showed some-
thing of the old fire which flashed in the
words of our earlier orators Colonel Robert
G.. Ingersoll illustrated the best standards of
popular oratory in speeches that were not in
frequently philpplcs against his theological
opponents. Wendell Phillips, in some re-
spects the most perfect orator America has
produced, may be called the Demosthenes of
the American platform, unless we make an
exception in favor of Sergeant S. Prentiss.
There has just been dedicated in Brooklyn,
N. Y, memorial to Henry Ward Beecher.
Beecher's name is reminiscent OF style of
speech which, as Mr.. Dougherty said, has
passed away. Beecher was not the greatest
preacher in the American pulpit but he was
the greatest orator His addresses before the
excited crowds of Manchester Liverpool,
London and other English cities in defense of
the Union cause. have never been equaled on
either side of the Atlantic in the immediate
effect produced. They involved extraordinary
versatility cool Judgment, great courage and
mastery of situations which would have de-
feated most men. His address read at Fort
Sumter after the war, and the memorial
oration on Lincoln, are masterpieces OF
stately eloquence.
Speaking of clergymen I am reminded Of
three Of Beechers contemporaries. The first
was DR.. Richard S. Storrs, OF the Church of
the Pilgrims, Brooklyn. Doctor Storrs would
have been at home in Athens or the Forum of
Rome in the old days of Demosthenes and
I'll III
perfect his dction. Quite in contrast to
him DR.. t. Dewitt Talmage, who for
years drew crowds wherever he appeared. He
was not an orator, but rather a rushing,
roaring, sparkling mountain stream of i'm
agery vivacity and dramatic expression He
answered to the definition of eloquence given
by one OF the Grecian philosophers, who
said that it was action, action, and more
action.
Phillips Brooks in Philadelphia
Phillips Brooks may be set down as the
greatest preacher OF his times, "a spiritual
splendor," as somebody called Frederick Dem
ison Maurice. Phillips Brooks prepared for
his brilliant career in two Philadelphia pull
pits-that OF the Church Of the Advent and
that OF Holy Trinity. Both these churches
were made famous by his unusual gifts. |
which soon became recognized throughout |
all the laws OF delivery. speaking at the rate
OF 200 words minute-a rapidity of utterance |
that was the despair OF shorthand reporters. |
1t is no disparagement of the richness of his |
thought to say that his personality had |
much TO do with his success. He was a mag |
niiceIit man physically. and compelled atten-
tion by that inscrutable something which we |
call personality. Perhaps 1t is this quality |
this personal something which best explains
the secret of speech. II is the soul quality |
which finds expression through lips trained |
in the use OF words. Eloquenee is a spiritual
matter an exercise OF the highest faculties
1t is a fine art.
Unfortunately, the grand old style has been
Eupplanted by the conversational mode OF
address. Today there is familiarity with the
audiences. Men OF national reputation will
stand with their hands thrust In their pockets
and speak in the familiar way which the
salesman employs In selling goods. Simplicity
has taken the place OF ornateness; and direct
ness OF the rainbow coiOrs OF the imagina-
tion.
George William Curtis ana Ralph Waldo
Emerson would hardly be popular on the
chautauqua platform Rastime is more pop
ular with the masses than Wagner The man
who cracks jokes Is sometimes in greater de-
mand than the speaker who attains 70 the
Greek ideals Of art IN expression. Perhaps
Il is this vitiated taste Of the multitude that
has influenced public speaking in recent
years.
-BilIy Sunday" oratory
We are a country OF speakers. Both men
ana women are ambitious 10 be heard IN pub
he. We meet in congresses ana conventions.
ana sit BY the hour listening 70 what others
have "a say A great taberuaeIa IL con