The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1917-09-13
The Four-Minute Men
By Frederick ]. Haskin.
JOANNES.

the Four Minute Speakers has recently
been formed under the auspices of the
government for the purpose of arousing
patriotism throughout the country.
Four-Minute Men, like the Minute
Men of '76, are patriots organized to
meet an emergency, but they are
disciples of Patrick Henry rather than
Ethan Allen. Their task is to arouse
interest in the war by making speeches
about it speeches strictly limited,
confined and restricted to four minutes.
Maybe you consider that a simple
task? Well, it seems that it isn't. The
organization has had the greatest diff
ficulty in procuring men who could make
a speech in four minutes. Many men
who are splendid speakers, if they have
plenty of time in which to tell stories
and get up steam, cannot make good on
a four minute speech at all. And yet
the four-minute feature is absolutely
essential to the success of the organiza-
ton.
For the Four Minute Men speak in
moving picture theatres. At the
end of the big feature, an American
flag is thrown on the screen to attract
the audience. Immediately follows
large-lettered announcement that Mr..
So-and-So will speak for four minutes
on subject of national Importance. He
speaks under the authority of the Com
mittee on Public Information, Wash
ington, D. c." This saves time in in
Productions, which the organization dis
likes for the reason that the introducer
is always tempted to make speech
himself that is apt to string itself out
and tire the audience. And the audience
must not be tired. That is the basic
principle of the four minute idea.
So strict are the Four Minute Men
regarding this principle that visiting
committee, appointed by the organiza-
ton, visits the moving picture theatres
and times the speakers. If a man al
| lows his speech to run one second over
four minutes he is severely called down
by the visiting committee. And, if on
a second occasion, he repeats the of
tense. he is asked for his resignation.
The visiting committee is not lenient in
this matter. 1t is made up of deposed
speakers.
AS further check upon the time in
which Four Minute Man speaks the
organization has enlisted the aid of the
moving picture theatre managers, too.
If at the end of four minutes a man
goes on speaking they are requested to
stop him either by ringing a bell blow
ing horn or, as one member said,
shooting him if necessary.
The four minute idea is the most
up-to- date adaptation of that ancient
principle to the effect that people
will listen to anything just so long
as you don't tire them. Men in public
life have long practiced self-denial in
| the matter of words in order to put
oyer their propaganda more effective
| ly. Politicians-tha is, successful
politicians always make short speech
es; ministers are continually diminishing
the size of their sermons, and some
lawyers have recognized the value of
few words. In combining their speeches
to that four-minute period between the
change of films in the moving picture
shows, the Four Minute Men have not
only succeeded in holding the complete
attention of their audience-the have
actually made those audiences applaud
for encores.
This, of course, means that the Four
Minute Men are really most excellent
speakers. They come from all walks
of life. The organization will accept
anybody from policeman to Cabinet
officer just as long as he can make a
good speech. MIR. McAdoo and Mr..
Lane are both Four Minute Men, al
though in view of their. present heavy
duties they will doubtless be infrequent
speakers. In Washington the chair
man of the local committee of Four
Minute Men is Ira N. Bennett, a law
yer. and the other forty or more speak
ers who make up the rest of the com
nittee are mechanics and professional
men, government clerks and enlisted
men, the two Cabinet officers already
mentioned, the Assistant Secretary of
the Treasury, Byron S. Newton, and
| the Treasurer of the United States,
John Burke.
The speeches of the Four Minute Men
are confined exclusively to the war.
Each moving picture theatre on the
list gets two speakers a week. The
first night the subject is the Need of
Food Conservation the second night it
is why We are Fighting" and the
next week another speaker gives four
minute talk on What our enemy really
is-the German government rather
than the German people" In this way
/ oil tho focto obn,,f Eba