CHAPTER VIII : MAKING THE OUTLINE OR BRIEF
Orderly Arrangement. A speech should have an orderly arrangement. The
effect upon an audience will be more easily made, more deeply
impressed, more clearly retained, if the successive steps of the
development are so well marked, so plainly related, that they may be
carried away in a hearer's understanding. It might be said that one
test of a good speech is the vividness with which its framework is
discernible. Hearers can repeat outlines of certain speeches. Those
are the best. Of others they can give merely confused reports. These
are the badly constructed ones.
The way to secure in the delivered speech this delight of orderly
arrangement is by making an outline or brief. Most pupils hate to make
outlines. The reason for this repugnance is easily understood. A
teacher directs a pupil to make an outline before he writes a
composition or delivers a speech. The pupil spends hours on the list
of entries, then submits his finished theme or address. He feels that
the outline is disregarded entirely. Sometimes he is not even required
to hand it to the instructor. He considers the time he has spent upon
the outline as wasted. It is almost impossible to make him feel that
his finished product is all the better because of this effort spent
upon the preliminary skeleton, so that in reality his outline is not
disregarded at all, but is judged and marked as embodied in the
finished article. Most students carry this mistaken feeling about
outlines to such an extent that when required to hand in both an
outline and a finished composition they will write in haphazard
fashion the composition first, and then from it try to prepare the
outline, instead of doing as they are told, and making the outline
first. It is easier--though not as educating or productive of good
results--to string words together than it is to do what outline-making
demands--to think.
Professional Writers' Use of Outlines. Professional writers realize
the helpfulness of outline-making and the time it saves. Many a
magazine article has been sold before a word of the finished
manuscript was written. The contributor submitted an outline from
which the editor contracted for the finished production. Many a play
has been placed in the same form. Books are built up in the same
manner. The ubiquitous moving-picture scenario is seldom produced in
any other manner.
Macaulay advised a young friend who asked how to keep his brain active
to read a couple of solid books, making careful outlines of their
material at the same time. One of these should be--if possible--a work
in a foreign tongue, so that the strangeness of the language would
necessitate slow, careful reading and close thinking. All good
students know that the best way to prepare for an examination is to
make outlines of all the required reading and study.
It is just because the making of the outline demands such careful
thinking that it is one of the most important steps in the production
of a speech.
The Outline in the Finished Speech. If the outline really shows in the
finished speech, let us see if we can pick the entries out from a
portion of one. Edmund Burke in 1775 tried to prevent Great Britain
from using coercive measures against the restive American colonies.
Many Englishmen were already clamoring for war when Burke spoke in
Parliament upon conciliating the Colonies.
I am sensible, Sir, that all which I have asserted in my
detail, is admitted in the gross; but that quite a different
conclusion is drawn from it. America, gentlemen say, is a
noble object. It is an object well worth fighting for.
Certainly it is, if fighting a people be the best way of
gaining them. Gentlemen in this respect will be led to their
choice of means by their complexions and their habits. Those
who understand the military art, will of course have some
predilection for it. Those who wield the thunder of the
state, may have more confidence in the efficacy of arms. But
I confess, possibly for want of this knowledge, my opinion is
much more in favor of prudent management, than of force;
considering force not as an odious, but a feeble instrument,
for preserving a people so numerous, so active, so growing,
so spirited as this, in a profitable and subordinate
connexion with us.
First, Sir, permit me to observe, that the use of force alone
is but _temporary_. It may subdue for a moment; but it does
not remove the necessity of subduing again; and a nation is
not governed which is perpetually to be conquered.
My next objection is its _uncertainty_. Terror is not always
the effect of force; and an armament is not a victory. If you
do not succeed, you are without resource; for, conciliation
failing, force remains; but, force failing, no further hope
of reconciliation is left. Power and authority are sometimes
bought by kindness; but they can never be begged as alms by
an impoverished and defeated violence.
A further objection to force is, that you _impair the object_
by your very endeavors to preserve it. The thing you fought
for is not the thing which you recover; but depreciated,
sunk, wasted, and consumed in the contest. Nothing less will
content me, than _whole America_. I do not choose to consume
its strength along with our own; because in all parts it is
the British strength that I consume. I do not choose to be
caught by a foreign enemy at the end of this exhausting
conflict, and still less in the midst of it. I may escape;
but I can make no assurance against such an event. Let me
add, that I do not choose wholly to break the American
spirit; because it is the spirit that has made the country.
Lastly, we have no sort of _experience_ in favor of force as
an instrument in the rule of our colonies. Their growth and
their utility has been owing to methods altogether different.
Our ancient indulgence has been said to be pursued to a
fault. It may be so. But we know if feeling is evidence that
our fault was more tolerable than our attempt to mend it; and
our sin far more salutary than our penitence.
These, Sir, are my reasons for not entertaining that high
opinion of untried force, by which many gentlemen, for whose
sentiments in other particulars I have great respect, seem to
be so greatly captivated. But there is still behind a third
consideration concerning this object, which serves to
determine my opinion on the sort of policy which ought to be
pursued in the management of America, even more than its
population and its commerce, I mean its _temper and
character_.
EDMUND BURKE: _Conciliation with America_, 1775
Reconstructing the Outline. In the preliminary arrangement Burke knew
that he was going to give his reasons against the use of military
force. In his first plan he may not have decided just where he was
going to place his four arguments. So they very likely appeared as
four topic entries:
Against use of force.
1. temporary
2. uncertain
3. damages America
4. no experience
Notice that these are jottings to suggest the germs of the arguments.
When Burke revised this section he may have changed the expression to
indicate more certainty.
Force should not be used against the colonies, because:
1. it is only temporary
2. it is uncertain in its results
3. it would damage the wealth of the colonies
4. it is based on no experience of Great Britain with
colonies
Of course, a practised statesman would not have to analyze farther,
perhaps not so far, but to illustrate for a student how he might build
up his outline, let us analyze one degree farther. Just what is meant
by such terms as _temporary, uncertain?_ Under each statement, then,
might be added a detailed explanation. The finished part of the
outline would then appear somewhat like this.
Force should not be used against the colonies, because:
1. it is only temporary, for
_a._ though it subdue for a time, it would have to
be used again.
2. it is uncertain in its results, for
_a._ Great Britain might not subdue the colonies.
3. it would damage the wealth of the colonies, for
_a._ we would fight to retain a wealthy land, yet
after the war we should have a ruined one.
4. it is based on no experience of Great Britain with
colonies, for
_a._ Great Britain has always been indulgent
rather than severely strict.
Speaking or writing from such a detailed outline as this, consider how
much thinking has already been done. With these entries under his eye
the speaker need think only of the phrasing of his remarks. He would
feel perfectly certain that he would not wander from his theme. Notice
how the ideas can be emphasized. The suggestion of damage can be
expressed in _impair the object_, and in _depreciated, sunk, wasted,
consumed_.
So far this outline--though it covers all its own material--does not
indicate the place at which it shall be used in the speech. It could
be used near the conclusion where Burke planned to answer all the
supporters of plans other than his own. That would be a good place for
it. But Burke found a better one. He separated this from his other
remarks against his opponents, and brought it in much earlier, thereby
linking it with what it most concerned, emphasizing it, and disposing
of it entirely so far as his speech was concerned. He had just
enumerated the wealth of the colonies as represented by their
commerce. He knew that the war party would argue, "If America is so
wealthy, it is worth fighting for." That was the place, then, to
refute them. To introduce his material he had to make clear the
transition from the colonial wealth to his arguments. Notice how
plainly the first paragraph quoted here does this. Having given his
four reasons against the use of force, notice that he must bring his
audience back to the theme he has been discussing. The last paragraph
does this in a masterly manner. He has cited two facts about the
colonies. To make understanding doubly certain he repeats
them--population and commerce--and passes to the next, plainly
numbering it as the third.
This recital of the process is not an account of what actually took
place in Burke's preparation, but it will give to the student the
method by which great speakers _may_ have proceeded; we do know that
many did follow such a scheme. No amateur who wants to make his
speeches worth listening to should omit this helpful step of outline
or brief making. Whether he first writes out his speeches in full, or
composes them upon his feet, every speaker should prepare an outline
or brief of his material. This is a series of entries, so condensed
and arranged as to show the relative significance of all the parts of
the speech in the proper order of development.
Outline, Brief, Legal Brief. An outline contains entries which are
merely topics, not completed statements or sentences.
A brief contains completed statements (sentences).
A legal brief is a formally prepared document (often printed)
submitted to a certain court before a case is tried, showing the
material the lawyer intends to produce, citing all his authorities,
suggesting interpretations of laws and legal decisions to support his
contentions, and giving all his conclusions. It is prepared for the
use of the court, to reduce the labor in examining records, etc.
Practice in the drawing up of such briefs is an important phase of
legal study.
The Outline. An outline may recall to a person's mind what he already
has learned, but it is seldom definite and informative enough to be as
helpful as a brief. A good distinction of the two--besides the one
respecting the forms already given--is that the outline represents the
point of view of the speaker while the brief represents that of the
hearer. Consider again the analyses of Burke in this chapter. Notice
that the first list does not give nearly so clear an idea of what
Burke actually said as the third. A person seeing only the first might
_guess_ at what the speaker intended to declare. A person who looked
at the third could not fail to _know exactly_ the opinions of the
speaker and the arguments supporting them.
Pupils frequently make this kind of entry:
Introduction--Time
Place
Characters
The main objections to such an outline are that it tells nothing
definite, and that it might fit a thousand compositions. Even an
outline should say more than such a list does.
In one edition of Burke's speech the page from which the following is
quoted is headed "Brief." Is it a brief?
Part II. How to deal with America.
A. Introduction.
B. First alternative and objections.
C. Second alternative and objections.
D. Third alternative.
E. Introduction.
F. Considerations.
1. Question one of policy, not of abstract right.
2. Trade laws.
3. Constitutional precedents.
4. Application of these.
The Brief. One of the shortest briefs on record was prepared by
Abraham Lincoln for use in a suit to recover $200 for the widow of a
Revolutionary veteran from an agent who had retained it out of $400
pension money belonging to her. It formed the basis of his speech in
court.
No contract.--Not professional services.--Unreasonable
charge.--Money retained by Def't not given to
Pl'ff.--Revolutionary War.--Describe Valley Forge
privations.--Pl'ff's husband.--Soldier leaving for
army.--_Skin Def't_.--Close.
The following will give some idea of the form and definiteness of
briefs for debate.
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
_Resolved:_ That capital punishment should be abolished.[1]
_Brief for the Affirmative_
I. Capital punishment is inexpedient.
(_a_) It is contrary to the tendency of civilization.
(_b_) It fails to protect society.
(1) It does not prevent murder.
(2) New crimes follow hard on executions.
(_c_) It makes punishment uncertain.
(1) Many criminals are acquitted who would
be convicted if the penalty were imprisonment.
(_d_) It is not reformatory.
II. Capital punishment is immoral.
(_a_) It rests on the old idea of retribution.
(_b_) It tends to weaken the sacredness of human life.
(_c_) It endangers the lives of innocent people.
(_d_) Executions and the sensational newspaper
accounts which follow have a corrupting influence.
III. Capital punishment is unjust.
(_a_) Its mistakes are irremediable.
(_b_) Many men are criminals from force of
circumstances.
(1) From heredity.
(2) From environment.
(_c_) Inequalities in administration are marked.
(1) In some states men are hung, in others
imprisoned for the same crime.
[Footnote 1: Taken from Brookings and Ringwalt: _Briefs for Debate_,
Longmans, Green and Co., where specific references of material for
many of the topics are given, as well as general references for the
entire subject.]
(2) Many jurors have conscientious scruples
against condemning a man to death.
(3) Men of wealth and influence are rarely
convicted.
IV. The abolition of capital punishment has been followed
by satisfactory results,
(_a_) In Europe.
(1) Russia.
(2) Switzerland.
(3) Portugal.
(4) Belgium.
(5) Holland.
(6) Finland.
(_b_) In the United States.
(1) Michigan.
(2) Rhode Island.
(3) Maine.
(4) Wisconsin.
_Brief for the Negative_
I. Capital punishment is permissible.
(_a_) It has the sanction of the Bible.
(1) Genesis ix, 2-6.
(_b_) It has the sanction of history.
(1) It has been in vogue since the beginning
of the world.
(_c_) It has the sanction of reason.
(1) The most fitting punishment is one equal
and similar to the injury inflicted.
II. Capital punishment is expedient.
(_a_) It is necessary to protect society from anarchy
and private revenge.
(1) Death is the strongest preventative of
crime.
(_b_) No sufficient substitute has been offered.
(1) Life imprisonment is a failure.
(2) Few serve the sentence.
(_c_) Its abolition has not been successful.
(1) In Rhode Island.
(2) In Michigan.
III. The objections made to capital punishment are not
sound.
(_a_) Prisons are not reformatory.
(_b_) The fact that crimes have decreased in some
places where executions have stopped is
not a valid argument.
(1) All causes which increase the moral well-being
of the race decrease crime.
(_c_) The objection that the innocent suffer is not
strong.
(1) The number of innocent thus suffering is
inconsiderable when compared with the
great number of murders prevented.
(_d_) The objection that the penalty is uncertain may
be overcome by making it certain.
A few paragraphs back it was said that an outline or brief shows the
relative significance of all the parts of a speech. This is done by a
systematic use of margins and symbols. From the quoted forms in this
chapter certain rules can easily be deduced.
Margins. The speech will naturally divide into a few main parts. These
can be designated by spaces and general titles such as introduction,
body, development, main argument, answer to opposing views,
conclusion. Other captions will be suggested by various kinds of
material. Main topics next in importance are placed the farthest to
the left, making the first margin. A reader can run his eye down this
line and pick out all the main topics of equal importance. Entries
just subordinate to these are put each on a separate line, starting
slightly to the right. This separation according to connection and
value is continued as long as the maker has any minor parts to
represent in the brief. It should not be carried too far, however, for
the purpose of the entries is to mark clearness and accuracy. If the
helping system becomes too elaborate and complicated it destroys its
own usefulness.
It is perfectly plain that such an outline might be made and be quite
clear, without the addition of any symbols at all, especially if it
was short.
Discrimination in the use of words is secured by
The study of synonyms
antonyms
homonyms
and care in employing them.
Symbols. Some scheme of marking the entries is a great help. There is
no fixed system. Every student may choose from among the many used. If
there are many main topics it might be a mistake to use Roman numerals
(I, XVIII) as few people can read them quickly enough to follow their
sequence. Capital letters may serve better to mark the sequences, but
they do not indicate the numerical position. For instance, most of us
do not know our alphabets well enough to translate a main topic marked
N into the fourteenth point. By combinations of Roman numerals,
capitals, usual (Arabic) numerals, small letters, parentheses, enough
variety to serve any student purpose can easily be arranged.
The following are samples of systems used.
_Specimen_ 1
Introduction
Argument
I--------------------------------------------------
A------------------------------------------------
1----------------------------------------------
_a_--------------------------------------------
_b_--------------------------------------------
_c_--------------------------------------------
(1)----------------------------------------
(2)----------------------------------------
(3)----------------------------------------
2----------------------------------------------
B------------------------------------------------
1----------------------------------------------
2----------------------------------------------
II-------------------------------------------------
Conclusion
_Specimen_ 2
A--------------------------------------------------
I------------------------------------------------
_a_----------------------------------------------
1--------------------------------------------
2--------------------------------------------
_b_----------------------------------------------
II-----------------------------------------------
_a_----------------------------------------------
_b_----------------------------------------------
_c_----------------------------------------------
1--------------------------------------------
2--------------------------------------------
3--------------------------------------------
_Specimen_ 3
1--------------------------------------------------
1^1----------------------------------------------
2^1----------------------------------------------
_a_^1--------------------------------------------
_b_^1--------------------------------------------
_c_^1--------------------------------------------
2--------------------------------------------------
1^2----------------------------------------------
2^2----------------------------------------------
_a_^2--------------------------------------------
_b_^2--------------------------------------------
_c_^2--------------------------------------------
3--------------------------------------------------
1^3----------------------------------------------
2^3----------------------------------------------
Tabulations. With unusual kinds of material and for special purposes
there may be value in evolving other forms of outlines. A technically
trained person accustomed to reading tabulated reports with hosts of
figures to interpret might find a statistical statement at times
better suited to his needs. Such tabulations are not any easier to
prepare than the regular brief. In fact to most people they are
infinitely more difficult to get into form and almost beyond speedy
comprehension afterwards. The following is a good illustration of a
simple one well adapted to the speaker's purpose--a report of the
objections to the first published covenant of the League of Nations.
He knew the material of his introduction and conclusion so well that
he did not represent them in his carefully arranged sheet. The form
was submitted as regular work in a public speaking class and was
spoken from during more than forty minutes.
CRITICISMS OF PROPOSED COVENANT OF LEAGUE OF NATIONS
1.--Draft indefinite and loosely written. Lg Lo Sp Tt Br Hu
2.--Should have clause-limiting powers
to those specifically granted. Lo
3.--Proportion of votes required for
action of Council not generally
stated--should be unanimous. Lg Sp Tt Hu
4.--Should have clause reserving the
Monroe Doctrine. Lg Lo Sp Tt Br Hu
5.--Should state that no nation can be
required to become a mandatory
without its consent. Lg Lo Br Hu
6.--Should have provision for
withdrawals. Lg Lo Sp Tt Hu
7.--Jurisdiction of League over internal
affairs (immigration, tariffs,
coastwise trade) should be
expressly excluded. Lg Br Hu
8.--Terms of admission of other nations
too strict. Br
9.--Basis of representation not fair. Br
10.--Provision should be made for
expansion of nations by peaceable
means. Br
11.--Each nation should have right to
decide whether it will follow
advice of Council as to use of
force. Br
12.--Each nation should have right to
determine whether it will boycott
delinquent nations. Br
Note:--items 11 and 12 are apparently
directed against Art.
XVI containing the Ipso Facto
clause and Art. X.
13.--Should not guarantee the integrity
and independence of all members
of the league. Lg Hu
Above criticisms taken from published statements of
Messrs. Lodge
Lowell
Spencer
Taft
Bryan
Hughes
(denoted respectively Lg, Lo, Sp, Tt, Br and Hu).
Authorities in the Brief. Authorities for the statements made in the
brief may be put into parentheses, if they are to be included. Such
further devices will suggest themselves to students. In addition to
such markings as here listed, some men who use many outlines emphasize
upon them details which they may have to find quickly by underlining
the symbol or first word with colored pencil. Such a device is
especially valuable to a technical expert whose system could be
uniform through the outlines of all his reports, etc. Or a lecturer
with so much time to fill may mark upon the outline 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, to
indicate to himself that his material is being covered at a proper
rate to correspond with the time. He might put in _15 min._ or _30
min._ or _45 min._ if he was to speak for an hour. The first division
is the better, for he might be required to condense a twenty-minute
speech to ten.
Selections for Briefing. Before the student makes many briefs of his
own he should work in the other direction by outlining material
already in existence so that he can be assured he knows main topics
from minor ones, important issues from subordinate reasons, headings
from examples. If all the members of the class outline the same
material the resulting discussion will provide additional exercise in
speaking in explanation or support of an interpretation. After the
teacher and class together have made one, the students should work
independently.
EXERCISES
Besides the extracts quoted here others should be supplied. Editorials
from a single issue of a newspaper can easily be secured by the entire
class for this work. A chapter from a book may be assigned.
1. INCIDENTS OF GOVERNMENT TRADING
An expert before the President's street railway commission of
inquiry testified that he disapproved of public ownership and
operation theoretically, but approved it practically, because
it was the quickest and surest way of making people sick of
it. Otherwise he thought that education of the public out of
its favor for high costs and low profits by public utilities
would require a generation, and the present emergency calls
for prompt relief.
New York City has just resolved to build with its own funds a
Coney Island bathhouse, and has on file an offer to build it
with private money at a cost of $300,000, with a guarantee of
15-cent baths. Accepting no responsibility for the merits of
the private bidder's proposal, it does not appear likely that
the city can supply cheaper baths or give more satisfaction
to bathers than a management whose profits were related to
its efforts to please patrons. On the other hand, it is sure
that the city's financial embarrassment is due to supplying
many privileges at the cost of the taxpayers, which might
have been supplied both more cheaply and better by private
enterprise with profit than by the city without profit, and
with the use of ill-spared public funds.
New York does not stand alone in these misadventures, which
are warnings against trading by either local or national
government. Take, for example, the manner in which the army
is disposing of its surplus blankets, as reported from
Boston. A Chicago firm which wished to bid was permitted to
inspect three samples of varying grades, but a guarantee that
the goods sold would correspond to the samples was refused.
The bales could neither be opened nor allowed to be opened,
nor would information be given whether the blankets in the
bales were cotton, wool, or mixed, whether single or double,
whether bed blankets or regulation army blankets. The
likelihood that the Government will get the worth of its
blankets is small. There may be unknown reasons for such
uncommercial procedure, but what shall be said of the fact
that at the same time that these blankets are being sold the
Interior Department is asking for bids to supply 10,000
blankets for the Indians? The reason for buying more when
there is an embarrassing over-supply is that the
specifications call for the words "Interior Department" to be
woven into the blankets. To an outsider it would seem that
the words might be indelibly stamped on the old blankets of
similar description, and that the departure from custom would
be better than the loss on the old blankets and the increased
expenditure for the new blankets.
The reason for mentioning such incidents is that there are so
many more of which the public never hears. Their combined
educative effect would be great, but it is wasted without
publicity. Since the public is not unanimous against public
ownership and operation, there must be a considerable number
of persons who are proof against anything but a catastrophe
greater than the prostration of the railway and utility
industries. That is an expansive way of education, but
perhaps Dr. Cooley, Dean of the University of Michigan, is
right in his view that the method is necessary to prevent a
greater calamity by persistence in the error.
_New York Times_, July 21, 1919
2. Fourscore and seven years ago our Fathers brought forth on
this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and
dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that
nation or any nation so conceived or so dedicated, can long
endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We
have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final
resting place for those who here gave their lives that that
nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that
we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate--we cannot
consecrate--we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men,
living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it far
above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little
note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never
forget what they did here. It is for us, the living, rather,
to be here dedicated to the unfinished work which they who
fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for
us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before
us--that from these honored dead we take increased devotion
to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of
devotion; that we here highly resolve that these dead shall
not have died in vain; that this nation, under God, shall
have a new birth of freedom; and that government of the
people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from
the earth.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN: _Gettysburg Address_, 1865
3. Every thoughtful and unprejudiced mind must see that such an
evil as slavery will yield only to the most radical
treatment. If you consider the work we have to do, you will
not think us needlessly aggressive, or that we dig down
unnecessarily deep in laying the foundations of our
enterprise. A money power of two thousand millions of
dollars, as the prices of slaves now range, held by a small
body of able and desperate men; that body raised into a
political aristocracy by special constitutional provisions;
cotton, the product of slave labor, forming the basis of our
whole foreign commerce, and the commercial class thus
subsidized; the press bought up, the pulpit reduced to
vassalage, the heart of the common people chilled by a bitter
prejudice against the black race; our leading men bribed, by
ambition, either to silence or open hostility;--in such a
land, on what shall an Abolitionist rely? On a few cold
prayers, mere lip-service, and never from the heart? On a
church resolution, hidden often in its records, and meant
only as a decent cover for servility in daily practice? On
political parties, with their superficial influence at best,
and seeking ordinarily only to use existing prejudices to the
best advantage? Slavery has deeper root here than any
aristocratic institution has in Europe; and politics is but
the common pulse-beat, of which revolution is the
fever-spasm. Yet we have seen European aristocracy survive
storms which seemed to reach down to the primal strata of
European life. Shall we, then, trust to mere politics, where
even revolution has failed? How shall the stream rise above
its fountain? Where shall our church organizations or parties
get strength to attack their great parent and moulder, the
slave power? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed
it, Why hast thou made me thus? The old jest of one who
tried to lift himself in his own basket, is but a tame
picture of the man who imagines that, by working solely
through existing sects and parties, he can destroy slavery.
Mechanics say nothing, but an earthquake strong enough to
move all Egypt can bring down the pyramids.
Experience has confirmed these views. The Abolitionists who
have acted on them have a "short method" with all
unbelievers. They have but to point to their own success, in
contrast with every other man's failure. To waken the nation
to its real state, and chain it to the consideration of this
one duty, is half the work. So much have we done. Slavery has
been made the question of this generation. To startle the
South to madness, so that every step she takes, in her
blindness, is one step more toward ruin, is much. This we
have done. Witness Texas and the Fugitive Slave Law.
WENDELL PHILLIPS: _The Abolition Movement_, 1853
4. Until just a few years ago flying was popularly regarded as a
dangerous hobby and comparatively few had faith in its
practical purposes. But the phenomenal evolutions of the
aircraft industry during the war brought progress which would
otherwise have required a span of years. With the cessation
of hostilities considerable attention has been diverted to
the commercial uses of aircraft, which may conveniently be
classified as mail-and passenger-service.
Men who first ventured the prediction that postal and express
matter would one day be carried through the air were branded
as dreamers. Parts of that dream became a reality during
1918, and a more extensive aerial-mail program will be
adopted this year. The dispatch with which important
communications and parcels are delivered between large cities
has firmly established its need.
Large passenger-carrying aircraft are now receiving
pronounced attention. Lately developed by the Navy is a
flying-boat having a wing area of 2,400 square feet, equipped
with three Liberty motors and weighing 22,000 pounds with a
full load. It is the largest seaplane in the world, and on a
recent test-trip from Virginia to New York carried fifty-one
passengers. At the present moment the public is awaiting the
thrilling details of the first flight between Europe and
America, which has just occurred as a result of the keen
international rivalry involved between the various entrants.
The British are now constructing a super-triplane fitted with
six 500 horse-power engines. Originally intended to carry
10,000 pounds of bombs and a crew of eight over a distance of
1,200 miles, the converted machine is claimed to be able to
carry approximately one hundred passengers. It has a wing
span of 141 feet and a fuselage length of 85 feet.
What about the power plants of the future aircraft? Will the
internal-combustion engine continue to reign supreme, or will
increasing power demands of the huge planes to come lead to
the development of suitable steam-engines? Will the use of
petroleum continue to be one of the triumphs of aviation, or
will the time come when substitutes may be successfully
utilized?
For aerial motive-power, the principal requirements are:
great power for weight with a fairly high factor of safety,
compactness, reliability of operation under flying
conditions, and safety from fire. Bulk and weight of
steam-driven equipment apparently impose severe restrictions
upon its practical development for present aircraft purposes,
but who is willing to classify its future use as an
absurdity?
Steam operation in small model airplanes is no innovation.
Langley, in 1891-1895, built four model airplanes, one driven
by carbonic-acid gas and three by steam-engines. One of the
steam-driven models weighed thirty pounds, and on one
occasion flew a distance of about three thousand feet. In
1913 an Englishman constructed a power plant weighing about
two pounds which consisted of a flash boiler and
single-acting engine. This unit employed benzolin, impure
benzine, as fuel, and propelled a model plane weighing five
pounds.
_Power Plant Engineering_, Chicago, June 1, 1919
Making a Brief. The next step after making outlines or briefs of
material already organized is to make your own from material you
gather. Speeches you have already prepared or considered as fit for
presentation will supply you with ideas if you cannot work up new
material in a short time. At first you will be more concerned with the
form than the meaning of the entries, but even from the first you
should consider the facts or opinions for which each topic or
statement stands. Weigh its importance in the general scheme of
details. Consider carefully its suitability for the audience who may
be supposed to hear the finished speech. Discard the inappropriate.
Replace the weak. Improve the indefinite. Be sure your examples and
illustrations are apt.
Be wary about statistics. In listening to an address many people begin
to distrust as soon as figures are mentioned. Statistics will
illustrate and prove assertions, but they must be used judiciously. Do
not use too many statistics. Never be too detailed. In a speech,
$4,000,000 sounds more impressive than $4,232,196.96. Use round
numbers. Never let them stand alone. Show their relationship. Burke
quotes exact amounts to show the growth of the commerce of
Pennsylvania, but he adds that it had increased fifty fold. A hearer
will forget the numbers; he will remember the fact.
Similar reasons will warn you concerning the use of too many dates.
They can be easily avoided by showing lapses of time--by saying,
"fifty years later," or "when he was forty-six years old," or "this
condition was endured only a score of months."
The chapters on introductions, conclusions, and planning material will
have suggested certain orders for your briefs. Glance back at them for
hints before you attempt to make the general scheme. Let two factors
determine your resultant development--the nature of the material
itself and the effect you want to produce.
In argumentative speeches a usual, as well as excellent, order is
this:
1. Origin of the question. The immediate cause for discussion.
2. History of the question.
3. Definition of terms.
4. Main arguments.
5. Conclusion.
Why is the proposition worth discussing at this present time? Why do
you choose it? Why is it timely? What is its importance? Why is a
settlement needed? Any of these would fall under the first heading.
Has the matter engaged attention prior to the present? Has it changed?
Was any settlement ever attempted? What was its result?
Are any of the words and phrases used likely to be misunderstood? Are
any used in special senses? Do all people accept the same meaning?
Good illustrations of this last are the ideas attached to _socialism_,
_anarchist_, _soviet_, _union_.
To illustrate: the question of woman suffrage was brought into public
interest once more by the advance woman has made in all walks of life
and by the needs and lessons of the great war. To make clear how its
importance had increased a speaker might trace its history from its
first inception. As applied to women, what does "suffrage" mean
exactly--the right to vote in all elections, or only in certain ones?
Does it carry with it the right to hold office? Would the voting
qualifications be the same for women as for men? Then would follow the
arguments.
How could this scheme be used for a discussion of the Monroe Doctrine?
For higher education? For education for girls? For child working laws?
For a league of nations? For admitting Asiatic laborers to the United
States? For advocating the study of the sciences? For urging men to
become farmers? For predicting aerial passenger service? For a
scholarship qualification in athletics? For abolishing railroad grade
crossings? For equal wages for men and women?
EXERCISES
Make the completed brief for one or more of the preceding.
Briefs should be made for propositions selected from the following
list.
1. The President of the United States should be elected by the direct
vote of the people.
2. The States should limit the right of suffrage to persons who can
read and write.
3. The President of the United States should be elected for a term of
seven years, and be ineligible to reelection.
4. A great nation should be made the mandatory over an inferior
people.
5. Students should be allowed school credit for outside reading in
connection with assigned work, or for editing of school papers, or for
participation in dramatic performances.
6. This state should adopt the "short ballot."
7. The present rules of football are unsatisfactory.
8. Coaching from the bench should be forbidden in baseball.
9. Compulsory military drill should be introduced into all educational
institutions.
10. Participation in athletics lowers the scholarship of students.
11. Pupils should receive credit in school for music lessons outside.
12. The United States should abandon the Monroe Doctrine.
13. In jury trials, a three-fourths vote should be enough for the
rendering of a verdict.
14. Strikes are unprofitable.
15. Commercial courses should be offered in all high schools.
16. Employers of children under sixteen should be required to provide
at least eight hours of instruction a week for them.
17. Current events should be studied in all history or civics courses.
18. The practice of Christmas giving should be discontinued.
19. School buildings should be used as social centers.
20. Bring to class an editorial and an outline of it. Put the outline
upon the board, or read it to the class. Then read the editorial.
Speaking from the Brief. Now that the brief is finished so that it
represents exactly the material and development of the final speech,
how shall it be used? To use it as the basis of a written article to
be memorized is one method. Many speakers have employed such a method,
many today do. The drawbacks of such memorizing have already been
hinted at in an early chapter. If you want to grow in mental grasp,
alertness, and power as a result of your speech training avoid this
method. No matter how halting your first attempts may be, do not get
into the seemingly easy, yet retarding habit of committing to memory.
Memorizing has a decided value, but for speech-making the memory
should be trained for larger matters than verbal reproduction. It
should be used for the retention of facts while the other brain
faculties are engaged in manipulating them for the best effect and
finding words to express them forcefully. Memory is a helpful faculty.
It should be cultivated in connection with the powers of understanding
and expression, but it is not economical to commit a speech verbatim
for delivery. The remarks will lack flexibility, spontaneity, and
often direct appeal. There is a detached, mechanical air about a
memorized speech which helps to ruin it.
With the outline before you, go over it carefully and slowly, mentally
putting into words and sentences the entries you have inserted. You
may even speak it half aloud to yourself, if that fixes the treatment
more firmly in your mind. Then place the brief where you can reach it
with your eye, and speak upon your feet. Some teachers recommend doing
this before a mirror, but this is not always any help, unless you are
conscious of awkward poses or gestures or movements, or facial
contortions. Say the speech over thus, not only once but several
times, improving the phraseology each time, changing where convenient
or necessary, the emphasis, the amount of time, for each portion.
Self-criticism. Try to criticize yourself. This is not easy at first,
but if you are consistent and persistent in your efforts you will be
able to judge yourself in many respects. If you can induce some friend
whose opinion is worth receiving either to listen to your delivery or
to talk the whole thing over with you, you will gain much. In
conference with the teacher before your delivery of the speech such
help will be given. As you work over your brief in this manner you
will be delighted to discover suddenly that you need refer to it less
and less frequently. Finally, the outline will be in your mind, and
when you speak you can give your entire attention to the delivery and
the audience.
Do not be discouraged if you cannot retain all the outline the first
times you try this method. Many a speaker has announced in his
introduction, "I shall present four reasons," and often has sat down
after discussing only three. Until you can dispense entirely with the
brief keep it near you. Speak from it if you need it. Portions which
you want to quote exactly (such as quotations from authorities) may be
memorized or read. In reading be sure you read remarkably well. Few
people can read interestingly before a large audience. Keep your
papers where you can get at them easily. Be careful not to lose your
place so that you will have to shuffle them to get the cue for
continuing. Pauses are not dangerous when they are made deliberately
for effect, but they are ruinous when they betray to the audience
forgetfulness or embarrassment on the part of the speaker. Anticipate
your need. Get your help before you actually need it, so that you can
continue gracefully.
Results. This method, followed for a few months, will develop speaking
ability. It produces results suited to modern conditions of all kinds
of life. It develops practically all the mental faculties and personal
attributes. It puts the speaker directly in touch with his audience.
It permits him to adapt his material to an occasion and audience. It
gives him the opportunity to sway his hearers and used legitimately
for worthy ends, this is the most worthy purpose of any speech.
CHAPTER IX : EXPLAINING
PUBLIC SPEAKING By CLARENCE STRATTON
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