Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1917-10-02

ton, and the treasurer of the United States. John
Burke.
The speeches of the four-minute men con-
fined exclusively to the Each moving picture
theater on the list gets two speakers a week The
first night the subject is the NEED of Food Con-
servation" the second night it is "Why We Are
Fighting and the next week another speaker gives
a four-minute talk What OFF enemy really is
the German government rather than the German
people," In this way all the facts about the war
are presented to the moving picture audiences by
different speakers who keep the interest of the
pie by ceasing to talk just as they are about to
lose it.
week by the national headquarters at Washington.
which mails the data, we'll a sample speech.
to every four-minute man throughout the country.
He either use the sample speech or invent one
of his own from the information given, with the
assistance of the outline mapped out for him.
Here is the outline of the speech entitled: What
Our Enemy Really Is"
l. We must understand that the German sys-
tenn of government is the opposite of democracy.
2. We must realize that a German victory would
mean the downfall of democracy throughout the
world.
8 We must unmask pro-German arguments that
pretend to be American sentiment and which de-
ceive many well-intentioned Americans.
:. We must develop American sentiment in
harmony with Americas purposes.
From this outline the four-minute man makes
his speech. which is usually from five hundred to
seven hundred words long. 1t usually starts
thing like this: Ladies and Gentlemen: The time
has come when the American people should know
up against in a struggle which will determine
the whole future of this country. BY the courtesy
of the management of this theater | am going to
talk with you few moments that subject
The last sentence of this paragraph, by the way,
needs a few words of explanation. The moving
picture theaters cooperating with the four
minute men in every way possible. They offer their
theaters and their audiences to the four-minute
men free of charge simply to show that they
patriotic citizens anxious to further the cause Of
the war as far as they are able. Very few movie
have refused the courtesy, although perhaps
those few to be excused the grounds that
they have suffered from the effects of former gen.
crosby.
When the Liberty loan was being foated, NOV
ing picture men offered their theaters to govern
ment campaigners who had not been imbued with
to the people in their zeal for inspiring subscrp-
tions, and as result the people yawned, hdgeted
and finally made their escape, never to return. II
was the Red Cross campaigners who first discovered
the efficacy of being brief One of them had heard
the story concerning the late Samuel Cemens,e who
upon going to church pleased with the min
listers sermon that he put five dollar bill In the
collection plate. The sermon went on, and Mr..
Clemens began to regrethis hasty act. It still
going on when the collection plates passed him the
second time at which Mr.. Clemens is said to have
reached out and taken his five dollar bill back.
At any rate. the Red Cross campaigners found
that they could inspire enthusiasm IN four
minutes than they could In twenty-four and from
that time the four-minute speech was here to
stay. The four-minute men already have been very
successssful, according to all reports. They have
aroused interest where. formerly there was indiner-
ence-and why not? Advertising will accomplish
wonders, and the four-minute men are the biggest
verbal advertising campaign that has ever been
launched in America. ..-- .ss