Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1920-07-24
For Short Political Speeches.

Editor Morning Journal;
During the first state campaign
| in 1910 and the first nationai7 cam :
paign in which New MeXicot par
ticipated, that of 1912, it was fated
that | should listen 10 much ora
tory of the long winded sort that
tires audiences TO the limit of en-
durance. AS editor of the Journal
until you took the paper over IN
April, | set myself to the task Of,
inducing shorter and better
thought-O speeches. -. ..-,.,H
Now that the conpaign of 1920
will soon loose a flood of oratory,
want to again call attention 10
this tenuOus abuse.
5fIt wa urged by my old college
president that when making a
speech the speaker should, first of
all, "have something to say, say
it, and quit" About the time my
class was receiving such wise and
terse instruction, l was fortunate
enough to read the address of
Lord Brougham, on his installation,
in 1860, as chancellor of the Uni
versity of Edinburgh, who said:
THE speaker who utters accord
ing to the dictates of his feelings,
may now and then achieve a sue
cess; but the loose and slovenly
dictiOn, the want of art in COM
bining and disposing his ideas, the
inability to bring out many of his
thoughts, and the incompetency to
express them in the most efficient
form, would reduce the speaker to
an ordinary talker. His diction is
sure to be incorrect-unlimite in
quantity, but of no real value"
Further in his address, he says
of the eXtempore speaker that he
is never in want of a word, and
rarely has one that is worth hear
ing"
But Lord Brougham makes it
clear that he is not favorable to
addresses that are read from man
uscript. More strongly still is his
condemnation of m @ m or ize d
speeches; but he says all should
be written out in full in order
that there may be studied prepa-
ration of the subject matter, or
derby arrangement of the points
to be brought out and knowledge
of the best verbal expression.
Then he advises the tossing aside
of the manuscript SO that delivery
Of the speech may be free from
straining after set phrases.
The man who delivers an "off-
hand" harangue usually precedes
it with an apology for lack of
preparation. As he Stumbles on
he finds it difficult to quit when
he has finished, but says, possibly
q dozen times zone more thought
ana 1 am, done" BY the time he
has repeated that a half dozen
times his unfortunate hearers
would like to throw things at him.
What right has any man to take
up the time of q hundred people,
possibly a thousand, with a ramb-
ling talk about something he has
not had enough interest in to think
out in logical order?
The campaign managers of both
political parties in New Mexico
should see to it that long-winded,
half-baked- speeches are not in
flicted upon New Mexico audiences
this year. No man who has not
carefully thought out what he is to
say should presume to speak. If
he has studied the subject he
should not attempt to tell his audi
ence all he knows about it. 1t
takes a gallon of milk to make
pound of butter. -"' w
The greatest address ever de-
livered in America, that of Abra-
ham Lincoln at Gettysburg, was
less than five minutes. President
Wilson is the greatest orator of
the present day, but he has rarely
spoken more than thirty minutes.
Thomas b. Reed delivered but one
speech that was more than thirty
minutes long, Benjamin Harrison
usually spoke about twenty min