Part 11 (1/2)

”The devil has gone out of fas.h.i.+on. After a long and

honorable career as truant officer, he has finally

been buried with his fathers. That is why twentieth

century men and women don't attend church.” Such was

Dr. Amos Buckwin's explanation yesterday of the

church-going problem.

=193. Random Statements.=--Emphasis should be laid on the value of playing up in the lead even a random statement if it chances to agree with a specific policy or campaign to which the paper has committed itself. In a non-political address or sermon an unwary statement touching national, state, or city politics makes an excellent feature if it favors the policies of the paper. Its worth lies in the fact that it is manifestly unprejudiced and advanced by the speaker with no ulterior motive. On the other hand, such a statement may well be ignored if opposed to the paper's political or civic views. For example, note in the following lead a feature played up solely because the paper was Democratic in its politics:

”I was a student in one of the cla.s.ses taught by

Woodrow Wilson. Anyone who has ever seen the lower

part of his facial anatomy knows that when he says

'no' he does not mean 'yes,'” said Bishop Theodore

Henderson at the Methodist Church yesterday morning.

It was not a political sermon. Aside from what

political significance the above quotation might

have, there was nothing political about his

discourse. He brought it out in referring to the

President doing away with the inaugural ball in

1915, which he nearly cla.s.sed as a drunken orgy run

by politicians. He was emphasizing the President's

”no,” that his family would not be present even if

he himself had to attend.

As in this story, however, the writer must be careful always to make clear the precise relation of the featured quotation to the speech as a whole.

=194. Indirect Quotation.=--The chief reason for quoting indirectly in the lead a single statement of a speaker is the need of s.h.i.+fting an important point to the very first.

That an inordinate indulgence in mere amus.e.m.e.nt is

softening the fiber of the American nation and

sapping its vitality, was the statement of Allen A.

Pendel, president of the Southwest Press Company, at

the monthly meeting of the Crust Breakers, Sat.u.r.day.

=195. t.i.tle Featured.=--The use of the subject of the speech as a feature is advisable when it is particularly happy or when it expresses the theme of the address.

”The National Importance of Woman's Health” was the

subject of Dr. A. T. Schofield's lecture at the

Inst.i.tute of Hygiene, Wednesday.

Taking as his subject, ”The Tragedy of the

Unprepared,” the Rev. Otis Colleman delivered a

powerful attack in Grace Church Sunday against

unpreparedness in one's personal life and in the

home, the state, and the nation.

=196. Theme Featured.=--The theme may be featured when a single-sentence quotation cannot readily be found and the subject does not indicate the nature of the address.

Condemnation of the twentieth-century woman's dress

was voiced at the Ninth International Purity

Congress by Rev. Albion Smith, Madison, Wis., who

spoke on ”Spirit Rule vs. Animal Rule for Men and

Women.”

=197. Summary Lead.=--Oftentimes the theme lead shades into a summarizing lead and the two become one of indirect quotation. Long summarizing leads of speeches are to be avoided as a rule, since they are liable to become overloaded and c.u.mbersome. When using this lead, the writer must be particularly careful to see that the individual clauses are relatively short and simple in structure and that the relation of each to the other and to the sentence as a whole is absolutely clear.

Stating that the public schools are the greatest

instrument for the development of socialism in this

country, that the socialists must get control of the

courts, that the party is not developing as rapidly

at present as it did a few years ago, and that the

opportunity that exists in this country for the

individual has been largely to blame for the slow

development of the Socialist party in America, John

C. Kennedy, Socialist speaker and member of the

Chicago common council, spoke on ”The Outlook for

Socialism in America” at the Social Democratic

picnic held in Pabst Park on Sunday.

=198. Speaker's Name Featured.=--The speaker's name comes first, of course, only when he is sufficiently prominent locally or nationally to justify featuring him.

Billy Sunday made the devil tuck his tail between

his legs and skedaddle Friday night.

Justice Charles E. Hughes, of the Supreme Court of

the United States, came to New York yesterday as the

guest of the New York State Bar a.s.sociation, which

is holding its thirty-ninth annual meeting in this

city. In the evening at the Astor Hotel he delivered

a scholarly address before that body on the topic,

”Some Aspects of the Development of American Law.”

Then he shook hands with several hundreds of the

members of the a.s.sociation and their friends, turned

around and went right back again to the seclusion of

the Supreme Court Chamber in Was.h.i.+ngton.

=199. Featuring the Occasion.=--Featuring the occasion of a speech or the auspices under which it was given is justifiable only when the speech and the speaker are of minor importance.

Before the first hobo congress ever held in the

world William Eads Howe, millionaire president of

the convention, spoke Monday on the need of closer

union among pa.s.sengers on the T. P. and W.

=200. Featuring Time and Place.=--Only rarely is the time or the place featured. But either may be played up when sufficiently important.

Speaking from the door of Col. Henry Cook's chicken