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Practical Argumentation

by George K. Pattee · English · Gutenberg #6473 · 455,469 chars · public domain (US)

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Title: Practical Argumentation

Author: George K. Pattee


        
Release date: September 1, 2004 [eBook #6473]
                Most recently updated: December 29, 2020

Language: English

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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PRACTICAL ARGUMENTATION ***




Produced by Scott Pfenninger, Charles Franks
and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team.





PRACTICAL ARGUMENTATION





PRACTICAL ARGUMENTATION

BY GEORGE K. PATTEE, A.M.

Assistant Professor of English and Rhetoric
in The Pennsylvania State College





TO FRED LEWIS PATTEE





Preface

The author's aim has been to produce a book that is practical,--
practical from the student's standpoint, and practical from the
teacher's standpoint. The study of Argumentation has often been
criticized for being purely academic, or for being a mere stepping-
stone to the study of law. It has even been said that courses in
Argumentation and Debate have been introduced into American colleges
and universities for no other purpose than to give the intellectual
student the opportunity, so long monopolized by his athletic
classmate, to take part in intercollegiate contests. The purpose of
this book is to teach Argumentation, which is not a science by itself
but one of the four branches of Rhetoric, in such a way as to remove
these criticisms.

Largely by his choice of illustrative material the author has
endeavored to show that this subject is confined neither to the class
room nor to any one profession. He has drawn his illustrations, for
the most part, from contemporary and popular sources; he has had
recourse to many current magazines, newspapers, books, and recent
speeches, hoping to show thereby that Argumentation is a practical
subject. On the other hand, he has carefully avoided taking a majority
of his illustrations either from students' work or from legal
practice, criminal cases especially being seldom used on the ground
that although they afford the easiest examples a writer can give, they
furnish the least help to the average student, who, unless he studies
law, will rarely, perhaps never, have occasion to argue upon such
subjects.

This book cannot justly be called the effort of a single author. It is
rather an outgrowth of the work that for many years has been carried
on by the English department at The Pennsylvania State College. The
book has, in fact, gradually developed in the class room. Every rule
that is given has been tested time and again; every step has been
carefully thought out and taught for several years.

The author wishes to acknowledge especial indebtedness to Professor
Fred Lewis Pattee, who both inspired the writing of the book and
assisted in the work. To Professor A. Howry Espenshade are due many
thanks for invaluable suggestions and advice, and for a careful
reading of the greater part of the manuscript. Mr. William S. Dye is
also to be thanked for valuable assistance. As a student the author
studied Baker's _Principles of Argumentation_; as a teacher he
has taught Laycock and Scales' _Argumentation and Debate_,
Alden's _The Art of Debate_, and Foster's _Argumentation and
Debating_. The debt he owes to these is beyond estimate.

STATE COLLEGE, PA. March 17, 1909




Contents

   I. Preliminaries

  II. The Subject

 III. The Introduction--Persuasion

  IV. The Introduction--Conviction

   V. The Introduction--Brief-Drawing

  VI. The Discussion--Conviction and Persuasion

 VII. The Discussion--Brief-Drawing

VIII. Methods of Refutation

  IX. Debate--Some Practical Suggestions

   X. The Conclusion

 APPENDIX.

A. A Written Argument and its Brief
B. A List of Propositions





PRACTICAL ARGUMENTATION





PRACTICAL ARGUMENTATION

CHAPTER I

PRELIMINARIES


Argumentation is the art of presenting truth so that others will
accept it and act in accordance with it. Debate is a special form of
argumentation: it is oral argumentation carried on by opposing sides.

A consideration of the service which argumentation performs shows that
it is one of the noblest and most useful of arts. By argumentation men
overthrow error and discover truth. Courts of law, deliberative
assemblies, and all bodies of people that engage in discussion
recognize this fact. Argumentation threshes out a problem until the
chaff has blown away, when it is easy to see just what kernels of
truth remain and what action ought to be taken. Men of affairs, before
entering upon any great enterprise, call in advocates of different
systems, and by becoming familiar with arguments from every point of
view try to discover what is best. This method of procedure
presupposes a difference of opinion and belief among men, and holds
that when each one tries to establish his ideas, the truth will
remain, and that which is false will be swept away.

The field of argumentation includes every kind of discourse that
attempts to change man's actions or opinions. Exposition is
explanation when only one theory or one interpretation of the facts is
possible; when views of truth or of policy conflict, and one course is
expounded in opposition to another, the process becomes argumentation.
This art is used not only by professional speakers, but by men of
every occupation. The schoolboy pleading for a holiday, the workman
seeking employment, the statesman advocating a principle of government
are all engaged in some form of argumentation. Everywhere that men
meet together, on the street or in the assembly hall, debate is
certain to arise. Written argument is no less common. Hardly a
periodical is published but contains argumentative writing. The fiery
editorial that urges voters to the polls, the calm and polished essay
that points out the dangers of organized labor, the scientific
treatise that demonstrates the practicability of a sea-level canal on
the Isthmus are attempts to change existing conditions and ideas, and
thus come within the field of argumentation.

The practical benefit to be derived from the study and application of
the principles of argumentation can hardly be overestimated. The man
who wishes to influence the opinions and actions of others, who wishes
to become a leader of men in however great or however humble a sphere,
must be familiar with this art. The editor, the lawyer, the merchant,
the contractor, the laborer--men in every walk of life--depend for
their success upon bringing others to believe, in certain instances,
as they believe. Everywhere men who can point out what is right and
best, and can bring others to see it and act upon it, win the day.
Another benefit to be obtained from the study of argumentation is the
ability to be convinced intelligently. The good arguer is not likely
to be carried away by specious arguments or fallacious reasoning. He
can weigh every bit of evidence; he can test the strength and weakness
of every statement; he can separate the essential from the
unessential; and he can distinguish between prejudice and reason. A
master of the art of argumentation can both present his case
convincingly to others, and discover the truth in a matter that is
presented to him.

Argumentation can hardly be considered as a distinct art standing by
itself; it is rather a composite of several arts, deriving its
fundamentals from them, and depending upon them for its existence. In
the first place, since argumentation is spoken or written discourse,
it belongs to rhetoric, and the rules which govern composition apply
to it as strongly as to any other kind of expression. In fact, perhaps
rhetorical principles should be observed in argumentation more rigidly
than elsewhere, for in the case of narration, description, or
exposition, the reader or hearer, in an endeavor to derive pleasure or
profit, is seeking the author, while in argumentation it is the author
who is trying to force his ideas upon the audience. Hence an argument
must contain nothing crude or repulsive, but must be attractive in
every detail. In the second place, any composition that attempts to
alter beliefs must deal with reasons, and the science of reasoning is
logic. There is no need for the student of argumentation to make an
exhaustive study of this science, for the good arguer is not obliged
to know all the different ways the mind may work; he must, however,
know how it should work in order to produce trustworthy results, and
to the extent of teaching correct reasoning, argumentation includes
logic. In the third place, a study of the emotions belongs to
argumentation. According to the definition, argumentation aims both at
presenting truth and compelling action. As action depends to a great
extent upon man's emotions, the way to arouse his feelings and
passions is a fundamental principle of this art. Argumentation, then,
which is commonly classified as the fourth division of rhetoric,
consists of two fundamental elements. The part that is based upon
logic and depends for its effectiveness upon pure reasoning is called
_conviction_; the part that consists of an emotional appeal to
the people addressed is called _persuasion_. If the only purpose
of argumentation were to demonstrate the truth or falsity of a
hypothesis, conviction alone would be sufficient. But its purpose is
greater than this: it aims both (1) to convince men that certain ideas
are true, and also (2) to persuade them to act in accordance with the
truth presented. Neither conviction nor persuasion can with safety be
omitted. An appeal to the intellect alone may demonstrate principles
that cannot be refuted; it may prove beyond a doubt that certain
theories are logical and right, and ought to be accepted. But this
sort of argument is likely to leave the person addressed cold and
unmoved and unwilling to give up his former ideas and practices. A
purely intellectual discourse upon the evils resulting from a high
tariff would scarcely cause a life-long protectionist to change his
politics. If, however, some emotion such as duty, public spirit, or
patriotism were aroused, the desired action might result. Again it
frequently happens that before the arguer can make any appeal to the
logical faculties of those he wishes to influence, he will first have
to use persuasion in order to gain their attention and to arouse their
interest either in himself or in his subject. On the other hand,
persuasion alone is undoubtedly of even less value than conviction
alone. A purely persuasive argument can never be trusted to produce
lasting effects. As soon as the emotions have cooled, if no reasonable
conviction remains to guide future thought and action, the plea that
at first seemed so powerful is likely to be forgotten. The preacher
whose sermons are all persuasion may, for a time, have many converts,
but it will take something besides emotional ecstasy to keep them "in
good and regular standing."

The proportion of conviction and persuasion to be used in any
argumentative effort depends entirely upon the attending
circumstances. If the readers or hearers possess a high degree of
intelligence and education, conviction should predominate; for it is a
generally accepted fact that the higher man rises in the scale of
civilization, the less he is moved by emotion. A lawyer's argument
before a judge contains little except reasoning; before a jury
persuasion plays an important part. In the next place, the arguer must
consider the attitude of those whom he would move. If they are
favorably disposed, he may devote most of his time to reasoning; if
they are hostile, he must use more persuasion. Also the correct
proportion varies to some extent according to the amount of action
desired. In an intercollegiate debate where little or no action is
expected to result, persuasion may almost be neglected; but the
political speech or editorial that urges men to follow its
instructions usually contains at least as much persuasion as
conviction.

The aspirant for distinction in argumentation should study and acquire
certain characteristics common to all good arguers. First of all, he
should strive to gain the ability to analyze. No satisfactory
discussion can ever take place until the contestants have picked the
question to pieces and discovered just exactly what it means. The man
who does not analyze his subject is likely to seize upon ideas that
are merely connected with it, and fail to find just what is involved
by the question as a whole. The man skillful in argumentation,
however, considers each word of the proposition in the light of its
definition, and only after much thought and study decides that he has
found the real meaning of the question. But the work of analysis does
not end here; every bit of proof connected with the case must be
analyzed that its value and its relation to the matter in hand may be
determined. Many an argument is filled with what its author thought
was proof, but what, upon close inspection, turns out to be mere
assertion or fallacious reasoning. This error is surpassed only by the
fault of bringing in as proof that which has no direct bearing at all
upon the question at issue. Furthermore, the arguer must analyze not
only his own side of the discussion but also the work of his opponent,
so that with a full knowledge of what is strong and what is weak he
may make his attack to the best advantage. Next to the ability to
analyze, the most important qualification for an arguer to possess is
the faculty of clearly presenting his case. New ideas, new truths are
seldom readily accepted, and it is never safe to assume that the
hearer or the reader of an argument will laboriously work his way
through a mass of obscure reasoning. Absolute clearness of expression
is essential. The method of arriving at a conclusion should be so
plain that no one can avoid seeing what is proved and how it is
proved. Lincoln's great success as a debater was due largely to his
clearness of presentation. In the third place, the person who would
control his fellow men must assume qualities of leadership.
Remembering that men can be led, but seldom be driven, he must show
his audience how he himself has reached certain conclusions, and then
by leading them along the same paths of reasoning, bring them to the
desired destination. If exhortation, counsel, and encouragement are
required, they must be at his command. Moreover, a leader who wishes
to attract followers must be earnest and enthusiastic. The least touch
of insincerity or indifference will ruin all. To analyze ideas, to
present them clearly, and as a leader to enforce them enthusiastically
and sincerely are necessary qualities for every arguer.

A debater should possess additional attainments. He ought to be a
ready thinker. The disputant who depends entirely upon a set speech is
greatly handicapped. Since it is impossible to tell beforehand just
what arguments an opponent will use and what line of attack he will
pursue, the man who cannot mass his forces to meet the requirements of
the minute is at great disadvantage. Of course all facts and ideas
must be mastered beforehand, but unless one is to be the first
speaker, he can most effectually determine during the progress of the
debate just what arguments are preferable and what their arrangement
should be. A debater must also have some ability as a speaker. He need
not be graceful or especially fluent, though these accomplishments are
of service, but he must be forceful. Not only his words, but also his
manner must reveal the earnestness and enthusiasm he feels. His
argument, clear, irrefutable, and to the point, should go forth in
simple, burning words that enter into the hearts and understanding of
his hearers.




CHAPTER II

THE SUBJECT


The subject of an argument must always be a complete statement. The
reason for this requirement lies in the fact that an argument can
occur only when men have conflicting opinions about a certain thought,
and try to prove the truth or falsity of this definite idea. Since a
_term_--a word, phrase, or other combination of words not a
complete sentence--suggests many ideas, but never stands for one
particular idea, it is absurd as a subject to be argued. A debatable
subject is always a _proposition_, a statement in which something
is affirmed or denied. It would be impossible to uphold or attack the
mere term, "government railroad supervision," for this expression
carries with it no specific thought. It may suggest that government
railroad supervision has been inadequate in the past; or that
government supervision is at present unnecessary; or that the
government is about to assume stricter supervision. The term affords
no common ground on which the contestants would have to meet. If,
however, some exact idea were expressed in such a statement as,
"Further government railroad supervision is necessary for the best
interests of the United States," an argument might well follow.

Although the subject of an argument must be a complete thought, it
does not follow that this proposition is always explicitly stated or
formulated in words. The same distinction between subject and title
that exists in other kinds of writing is found also in argumentation;
the subject is a statement of the matter about which the controversy
centers; the title is the name by which the composition is known.
Sometimes the subject serves as the title, and sometimes the subject
is left to be discovered in the body of the work. The title of the
speech delivered by Webster in the Senate, January 26, 1830, is
"Webster's Reply to Hayne"; the subject, in the form of a resolution,
is found close to the opening sentences:--

_Resolved_, That the Committee on Public Lands be instructed to
inquire and report the quantity of public lands remaining unsold
within each State and Territory, and whether it be expedient to limit
for a certain period the sales of the public lands to such lands only
as have heretofore been offered for sale, and are now subject to entry
at the minimum price. And, also, whether the office of Surveyor-
General, and some of the land offices, may not be abolished without
detriment to the public interest; or whether it be expedient to adopt
measures to hasten the sales and extend more rapidly the surveys of
the public lands.

The thirteen resolutions offered by Burke form the subject of the
argument known by the title, "Burke's Speech on Conciliation with
America." A recent issue of _The Outlook_ contained an article
entitled "Russian Despotism"; careful reading disclosed that the
subject was this, "The Present Government of Russia has no Right to
Exist." In legislative proceedings the subject of argument is found in
the form of a bill, or a motion, or a resolution; in law courts it is
embodied in statements called "pleadings," which "set forth with
certainty and with truth the matters of fact or of law, the truth or
falsity of which must be decided to decide the case." [Footnote:
Laycock and Scales' Argumentation and Debate, page 14.] In college
debate it is customary to frame the subject in the form of a
resolution, and to use this resolution as the title. The generally
accepted form is as follows:

_Resolved,_ That the United States army should be permanently
enlarged.

Notice the use of italics, of punctuation marks, and of capital
letters.

In all kinds of argumentation, whether the proposition to be discussed
is clearly expressed or not, the arguer must keep his subject
constantly in mind, that his efforts may all be directed toward a
definite end in view--to convince and persuade his audience. In debate
the speaker should plainly state the subject, and constantly hold it
up to the attention of the audience. This procedure renders it
impossible for an opponent to ignore the question and evade the real
issue.

Only those who are debating for practice experience any difficulty in
obtaining a subject. In the business world men argue because they are
confronted with some perplexing problem, because some issue arises
that demands discussion; but the student, generally speaking, chooses
his own topic. Therefore a few suggestions in regard to the choice of
a subject and the wording of a proposition are likely to be of
considerable service to him.

The student should first select some general, popular topic of the day
in which he is interested. He should, for several reasons, not the
least of which is that he will thus gain considerable information that
may be of value to him outside the class room, select a popular topic
rather than one that has been worn out or that is comparatively
unknown. He should, moreover, choose an interesting topic, for then
his work will be more agreeable and consequently of a higher order. Of
this general idea he must decide upon some specific phase which
readily lends itself to discussion. Then he has to express this
specific idea in the form of a proposition. As it is not always an
easy matter to state a proposition with precision and fairness, he
must take this last step very cautiously. One must always exercise
great care in choosing words that denote the exact meaning he wishes
to convey. Many writers and speakers have found themselves in false
positions just because, upon examination, it was found that their
subjects did not express the precise meaning that was intended.

Moreover, in phrasing the proposition, the debater should so state the
subject that the affirmative side, the side that opens the discussion,
is the one to advocate a change in existing conditions or belief. This
method obviously corresponds to the way in which business is conducted
in practical affairs. No one has reason to defend an established
condition until it is first attacked. The law presumes a man to be
innocent until he is proved guilty, and therefore it is the
prosecution, the side to affirm guilt, that opens the case. The
question about government ownership of railroads should be so worded
that the affirmative side will advocate the new system, and the
negative will uphold the old. It should be stated thus:
"_Resolved_, That all railroads in the United States should be
owned and operated by the Federal government." This obligation of
adducing evidence and reasoning to support one side of a proposition
before an answer from the other side can be demanded, is called
_burden of proof_. The "burden" always rests upon the side that
advocates a change, and the proposition should be so worded that the
affirmative will have to undertake this duty.

One more principle must be observed: nothing in the wording of the
subject should give one side any advantage over the other. Argument
can exist only when reasonable men have a difference of opinion. If
the wording of the proposition removes this difference, no discussion
can ensue. For instance, the word "undesirable," if allowed to stand
in the following proposition, precludes any debate: "_Resolved,_
That all colleges should abolish the undesirable game of football."

From the preceding suggestions it is seen that the subject of an
argument is a definite, restricted thought derived from some general
idea. Whether expressed or not, the subject must be a proposition, not
a term. In debate the proposition is usually framed in the form of a
resolution. This resolution must always be so worded that the burden
of proof will rest upon the affirmative side. Nothing in the wording
of the proposition should give either side any advantage over the
other. These principles have to do with the manner of expression;
subjects will next be considered with respect to the ideas they
contain.

A common and convenient method of classification divides propositions
into two groups: propositions of policy, and propositions of fact. The
first class consists of those propositions that aim to prove the truth
of a theory, that indicate a preference for a certain policy, for a
certain method of action. The second class comprises those
propositions that affirm or deny the occurrence of an event, or the
existence of a fact. Propositions of policy usually, though not
always, contain the word _should_ or _ought_; propositions
of fact usually contain some form of the word _to be_. The
following illustrations will make the distinction plainer:--


PROPOSITIONS OF POLICY.

The United States should adopt a system of bounties and subsidies for
the protection of the American merchant marine.

State laws prohibiting secular employment on Sunday should be
repealed.

A city furnishes a more desirable location for a college than the
country.

The aggressions of England in Africa are justifiable.


PROPOSITIONS OF FACT.

Homer wrote the Iliad.

Nero was guilty of burning Rome.

Mary, Queen of Scots, murdered her husband.

The most convenient method of studying propositions to see what
subjects are desirable for student debates is to consider first those
propositions that should be avoided.

1. PROPOSITIONS WITH ONLY ONE SIDE. As argumentation presupposes a
difference of opinion about a certain subject, evidently it is
impossible to argue upon a subject on which all are agreed. Sometimes
such propositions as, "_Resolved_, That Napoleon was a great
soldier," and "_Resolved_, That railroads should take every
precaution to protect the lives of their passengers," are found on the
programs of literary societies and debating clubs. In such cases mere
comment, not debate, can follow. Only subjects on which reasonable men
actually disagree are suitable for argument.

2. AMBIGUOUS PROPOSITIONS. If a proposition is capable of several
interpretations, those who choose it as a subject for an argument are
liable not to agree on what it means, and one side will debate in
accordance with one interpretation, and the other side in accordance
with a totally different interpretation. Thus the opponents will never
meet in conflict except when they explain their subject. For example,
in a certain debate on the question, "_Resolved_, That colleges
should abolish all athletic sports," the affirmative held that only
interclass and intercollegiate games were involved; while the negative
maintained that the term "athletic sports" included all forms of
athletic games participated in by college men. Manifestly the debate
hinged largely on the definition of this term; but as there was no
authority to settle just what was meant, the debate was a failure. It
is usually desirable, and frequently necessary, to explain what the
subject means, for unless it has some meaning which both sides are
bound to accept, the argument becomes a mere controversy over the
definition of words. Another ambiguous proposition would be,
"Republican government in the United States is preferable to any
other." The word "republican" is open to two legitimate definitions,
and since the context does not explain which meaning is intended, a
debater is at liberty to accept either definition that he wishes. A
few alterations easily turn this proposition into a debatable subject,
"Government by the Republican party in the United States is preferable
to any other."

3. TOO GENERAL PROPOSITIONS. It is never wise for a writer or a
speaker to choose a subject which is so general or so abstract that he
cannot handle it with some degree of completeness and facility. Not
only will such work be difficult and distasteful to him, but it will
be equally distasteful and uninteresting to his audience. No student
can write good themes on such subjects as, "War," "The Power of the
Press," "Race Prejudice"; nor can he argue well on propositions like,
"_Resolved_, That wars are justifiable"; "_Resolved_, That
the pen is mightier than the sword"; or "_Resolved_, That race
prejudice is justifiable." These are entirely beyond his scope. But he
can handle restricted propositions that have to do with one phase of
some concrete, tangible event or idea. "_Resolved_, That Japan
was justified in waging war against Russia"; "_Resolved_, That
Bacon wrote the plays commonly attributed to Shakespeare";
"_Resolved_, That the segregation of Japanese school children in
San Francisco is for the best interests of all concerned," are
subjects that can be argued with success.

4. COMBINED PROPOSITIONS. It sometimes happens that several
heterogeneous ideas, each of which by itself would form an excellent
subject for argument, are embodied in a single proposition. The
difficulty of arguing on this kind of subject is apparent. It is none
too easy to establish one idea satisfactorily; but when several ideas
must be upheld and defended, the work is enormous and sometimes open
to the charge of inconsistency. Moreover, the principle of Unity
demands that a composition be about a single topic. The proposition,
"_Resolved_, That Aaron Burr was guilty of murder and should have
been put to death," involves two debatable subjects, each of which is
of sufficient importance to stand in a proposition by itself: "Was
Burr guilty of murder?" and "Should a murderer be punished by death?"
The error of combining in a compound sentence several distinct
subjects for debate is generally detected with ease; but when the
error of combination exists in a simple sentence, it is not always so
obvious. In the case of the subject, "_Resolved_, That foreign
immigrants have been unjustly treated by the United States," there
are, as the same privileges have not been granted all immigrants,
several debatable questions. One who attempts to argue on this subject
must take into consideration the treatment that has been accorded the
Chinese, the English, the Germans, the Italians, the paupers, the
well-to-do, and others. In one case the laws may be palpably unfair,
and in another case, all that can be desired.

When two ideas, however, are very closely related and are dependent
upon each other for interpretation and support, they may and sometimes
should be combined in the same proposition. For example, "Education
should be compulsory to the age of sixteen," involves two main issues:
"Education should be compulsory," and "The age of sixteen is the
proper limit." But in this case the one who advocates compulsory
education is under obligation to explain some definite system, and
this explanation must include the establishing of some limit. To name
this limit in the proposition renders the argument clearer to an
audience and fairer to an opponent. For similar reasons, the
proposition, "The Federal government should own and operate the
railroads in the United States," cannot be condemned on the ground
that it is a proposition with more than one main issue.

Propositions, then, adapted to class room argument, are those which
give rise to a conflict of opinion; which contain a definite and
unmistakable thought; which are specific and sufficiently restricted
to admit of thorough treatment; and which contain a single idea.

Furthermore, the student will do well to select subjects that are as
nearly as possible like the problems which statesmen, educators,
professional and business men meet in practical life. He should try to
remove his argument as far as he can from the realm of pure academic
exercise, and endeavor to gain some insight into the issues that are
now confronting the makers of modern civilization. The student who
takes this work seriously is sure to gain information, form opinions,
and acquire habits of thought that will be of great practical value to
him when he takes his place as a man among men.


EXERCISES

A. Narrow each of the following terms into good, debatable
propositions:--

Election of Senators; Chinese exclusion; woman suffrage; temperance;
compulsory manual training; the honor system; compulsory education;
vivisection; reciprocity; an enlarged army; the educational voting
test; strikes; bounties and subsidies; capital punishment; Hamlet's
insanity; municipal government; permanent copyright; athletics; civil
service; military training; Panama canal; jury system; foreign
acquisitions; Monroe Doctrine; forest reserves; protective tariff.

B. Criticise the following propositions:--

1. The existence and attributes of the Supreme Being can be proved
without the aid of divine revelation.

2. More money is spent for luxuries than for necessities.

3. The growth of large fortunes should be checked by a graduated
income tax and an inheritance tax.

4. The Monroe Doctrine should receive the support of every American.

5. Hard work is the secret of success.

6. Law is a better profession than medicine.

7. College football should be abolished and lacrosse adopted in its
place.

8. Newspapers exert a powerful influence on modern politics.

9. The United States postal system should be under the control of the
Federal government.

10. The shortest distance between two points is a straight line.

11. Immigration is detrimental to the United States.

12. President ----'s foreign policy should be upheld.

13. Canada should not be annexed to the United States.

14. The cruel banishment of the Acadians was unjust.

15. Beauty has practical uses.

16. The democratic policy of government would be for the best
interests of the Philippines.

17. Dickens' novels, which are superior to Scott's, effected reforms.

18. An unconstitutional income tax should not be levied.

19. A majority vote of a jury should not convict or acquit.

20. Edison is a great inventor.




CHAPTER III

THE INTRODUCTION--PERSUASION


Every complete argument consists of three parts: introduction,
discussion, and conclusion. Each of these divisions has definite and
specific duties to perform. The work of the introduction is threefold:
(1) to conciliate the audience; (2) to explain the subject; and (3) to
outline the discussion. As the conciliation of the audience is
accomplished by an appeal to the emotions rather than to the reason,
it is properly classified under persuasion. Explaining the proposition
and outlining the discussion are of an expository nature and will be
discussed under the head of conviction.

As has been stated in a previous chapter, the amount of persuasion to
be used in any piece of argumentative work depends entirely upon the
attending circumstances. The subject, audience, author, occasion, and
purpose of the effort must be taken into consideration. But whether
the amount used be great or small, practically every argument should
begin with conciliation. The conciliation of the _audience_--the
word audience is used throughout this book to designate both hearers
and readers--consists of gaining the good will of those to be
convinced, of arousing their interest, and of rendering them open to
conviction. No argument can be expected to attain any considerable
degree of success so long as anything about its author, or anything in
the subject itself, is peculiarly disagreeable to the people it is
designed to affect. If the ill will remains too great, it is not
likely that the argument will ever reach those for whom it is
intended, much less produce the desired result. In addressing Southern
sympathizers at Liverpool, during the Civil War, Beecher had to fight
even for a hearing. The speech of an unpopular Senator frequently
empties the Senate chamber. Men of one political belief often refuse
to read the publications of the opposite party. Obviously, the first
duty of the introduction is to gain the approval of the audience. In
the next place, interest must be aroused. Active dislike is less
frequently encountered than indifference. How many times sermons,
lectures, books have failed in their object just because no one took
any interest in them! There was no opposition, no hostility; every one
wished the cause well; and yet the effort failed to meet with any
attention or response. The argument did not arouse interest--and
interest is a prime cause of attention and of action. In the third
place, the conciliatory part of the introduction should induce the
audience to assume an unbiased, judicial attitude, ready to decide the
question according to the strength of the proof. This result is not
always easy of attainment. Longstanding beliefs, prejudice,
stubbornness must be overcome, and a desire for the truth substituted
for everything else. All this is frequently difficult, but unless an
arguer can gain the good will of the people addressed, arouse their
interest, and render them willing to be convinced, no amount of
reasoning is likely to produce much effect.

Now the question arises, How is it possible to conciliate the
audience? To this query there is no answer that will positively
guarantee success. The arguer must always study his audience and suit
his discourse to the occasion. What means success in one instance may
bring failure in another. The secret of the whole matter is
adaptability. Humor, gravity, pathos, even defiance may at times be
used to advantage. It is not always possible, however, for the orator
or writer to know beforehand just the kind of people he is to address.
In this case it is usually best for him to follow out a few well
established principles that most arguers have found to be of benefit.

MODESTY. Modesty in word and action is indispensable to one who would
gain the friendship of his audience. Anything that savors of egotism
at once creates a feeling of enmity. No one can endure another's
consciousness of superiority even though the superiority be real. An
appearance of haughtiness, self-esteem, condescension, intolerance of
inferiors, or a desire for personal glory will at once raise barriers
of dislike. On the other hand, modesty should never be carried so far
as to become affectation; that attitude is equally despicable.
Personal unobtrusiveness should exist without being conspicuous.
_The arguer should always take the attitude that the cause he is
upholding is greater than its advocate_.

In the following quotations, compare the overbearing arrogance of
Burke's introduction with the simple modesty of Proctor's:--

Mr. Speaker, I rise under some embarrassment occasioned by a feeling
of delicacy toward one-half of the house, and of sovereign contempt
for the other half. [Footnote: Edmund Burke, House of Commons, March
22, 1775.]

Mr. President, more importance seems to be attached by others to my
recent visit to Cuba than I had given it, and it has been suggested
that I make a public statement of what I saw and how the situation
impressed me. This I do on account of the public interest in all that
concerns Cuba, and to correct some inaccuracies that have, not
unnaturally, appeared in reported interviews with me. [Footnote:
Redfield Proctor, United States Senate, March 17, 1898.]

FAIRNESS. Few things will assist an arguer more in securing a
respectful hearing from those who do not agree with him, but whom he
would convince, than the quality of fairness. The arguer should take
the position of one seeking the truth regardless of what it may be. If
he wishes others to look at the question from his standpoint, he will
have to show that he is willing to consider the question from their
point of view. Everything' in the shape of prejudice, everything which
would tend to indicate that he had formed conclusions prior to his
investigation, he must carefully avoid.

In this connection consider the following:--

I very much regret that it should have been thought necessary to
suggest to you that I am brought here to "hurry you against the law
and beyond the evidence." I hope I have too much regard for justice,
and too much respect for my own character, to attempt either; and were
I to make such attempt, I am sure that in this court nothing can be
carried against the law, and that gentlemen, intelligent and just as
you are, are not, by any power, to be hurried beyond the evidence.
Though I could well have wished to shun this occasion, I have not felt
at liberty to withhold my professional assistance, when it is supposed
that I may be in some degree useful in investigating and discovering
the truth respecting this most extraordinary murder. It has seemed to
be a duty incumbent on me, as on every other citizen, to do my best
and my utmost to bring to light the perpetrators of this crime.
Against the prisoner at the bar, as an individual, I cannot have the
slightest prejudice. I would not do him the smallest injury or
injustice. But I do not affect to be indifferent to the discovery and
the punishment of this deep guilt. I cheerfully share in the
opprobrium, how great so ever it may be, which is cast on those who
feel and manifest an anxious concern that all who had a part in
planning, or a hand in executing, this deed of midnight assassination,
may be brought to answer for their enormous crime at the bar of public
justice. [Footnote: Works of Daniel Webster, Vol. VI, p. 51. Little,
Brown & Co., Boston, 1857.]

SINCERITY. Another quality of paramount importance to the arguer is
sincerity. This he must really possess if he is to be eminently
successful. To feign it is almost impossible; some word or expression,
some gesture or inflection of the voice, the very attitude of the
insincere arguer will betray his real feelings. If he tries to arouse
an emotion that he himself does not feel, his affectation will be
apparent and his effort a failure. There are few things that an
audience resents more than being tricked into an expression of
feeling. If they even mistrust that a speaker is trying to deceive
them, that he is arguing merely for personal gain or reputation and
has no other interest in the case, no desire to establish the truth,
they will not only withhold their confidence, but will also become
prejudiced against him. It is usually inviting disaster to champion a
cause in which one is not interested heart and soul. Of course in
class room work the student cannot always avoid taking a false
position, and the training he receives thereby is excellent, but he
cannot make his persuasion of the highest type of effectiveness unless
he honestly and sincerely believes what he says, and feels the
emotions he would arouse.

AN APPEAL TO SOME EMOTION. One of the strongest forms of conciliation
is the direct appeal to a dominant emotion. If an arguer can find some
common ground on which to meet his audience, some emotion by which
they may be moved, he can usually obtain a personal hold that will
overcome hostility and lack of interest. In deciding what emotion to
arouse, he must make as careful and thorough a study of his audience
as he can. In general, the use of conviction need vary but little to
produce the same results on different men; processes of pure reasoning
are essentially the same the world around. But with persuasion the
case is different; emotions are varied, and in each separate instance
the arguer must carefully consider the ruling passions and ideals of
his audience. The hopes and aspirations of a gang of ignorant miners
would differ widely from the desires of an assembly of college
students, or of a coterie of metropolitan capitalists. Education,
wealth, social standing, politics, religion, race, nationality, every
motive that is likely to have weight with the audience should be taken
into consideration. Remembering that he has to choose between such
diverse emotions as ambition, fear, hatred, love, patriotism, sense of
duty, honor, justice, self-interest, pleasure, and revenge, the
arguer must make his selection with the greatest care, and then drive
home the appeal with all the force and eloquence at his command. The
higher and nobler the emotion he can arouse, the greater and more
permanent will be the result. If the audience is such that he can
successfully arouse no higher feeling than that of self-interest or
revenge, he will, of necessity, have to appeal to these motives; but
whenever he can, he should appeal to the noblest sentiments of
mankind.

A famous illustration of the effectiveness of this sort of
conciliation is found in Wendell Phillips' oration entitled _The
Murder of Lovejoy_. By appealing to their reverence for the past,
he silenced the mob that had come to break up the meeting, and in the
end he won over the house that had been packed against him.

We have met for the freest discussion of these resolutions, and the
events which gave rise to them. I hope I shall be permitted to express
my surprise at the sentiments of the last speaker, surprise not only
at such sentiments from such a man, but at the applause they have
received within these walls. A comparison has been drawn between the
events of the Revolution and the tragedy at Alton. We have heard it
asserted here, in Faneuil Hall, that Great Britain had a right to tax
the colonies, and we have heard the mob at Alton, the drunken
murderers of Lovejoy, compared to those patriot fathers who threw the
tea overboard! Fellow citizens, is this Faneuil Hall doctrine?....
Sir, when I heard the gentleman lay down principles which place the
murderers of Alton side by side with Otis and Hancock, with Quincy and
Adams, I thought those pictured lips (pointing to the portraits in the
Hall) would have broken into voice to rebuke the recreant American--
the slanderer of the dead. The gentleman said that he should sink into
insignificance if he dared to gainsay the principles of these
resolutions. Sir, for the sentiments he has uttered, on soil
consecrated by the prayers of Puritans and the blood of patriots, the
earth should have yawned and swallowed him up. [Footnote: American
Orations, Vol. II, page 102. G. P. Putnam's Sons.]

Specific directions for arousing the emotions are hard to give. The
appeal must suit both the audience and the occasion, and until these
are known, suggestions are not particularly helpful. When no better
plan for conciliating an audience seems practicable, speakers and
writers try to arouse _interest_ in the discussion. There are
several convenient methods for accomplishing this result.

1. IMPORTANCE OF THE SUBJECT. One of the commonest methods of arousing
interest in an audience apathetic and indifferent is to impress upon
them the importance and gravity of the question at issue. Matters
thought to be trivial are apt to receive scant attention. This fact is
so universally recognized that many writers and speakers attempt at
the very outset to show that upon the correct solution of the problem
at hand depend serious and far-reaching results. It is seldom enough
merely to state that a subject is important; its seriousness should be
made apparent. This method is very popular. Whenever one feels it
necessary to open an argument with persuasion, but is at loss to know
how to do so, he may well resort to this device. While it does not,
perhaps, constitute the strongest possible appeal, yet it is eminently
serviceable, since, if handled properly, it does arouse interest, and,
moreover, it applies to many cases.

Several examples will show how this method is commonly used:--

Mr. President, the question now about to be discussed by this body is
in my judgment the most important that has attracted the attention of
Congress or the country since the formation of the Constitution. It
affects every interest, great and small, from the slightest concern of
the individual to the largest and most comprehensive interest of the
nation. [Footnote: J. P. Jones, United States Senate, May 12, 1890.]

No city ever had such a problem in passenger transportation to solve,
and no city of any pretensions has solved it much worse. London is not
in the strict sense a town, but rather a "province of houses." The
county of London, as everybody knows, is only a part of the
Metropolis. The four millions and a half of residents enclosed by the
legal ring-fence of the County are supplemented by two millions more
who live in groups of suburbs included within the wide limits of
"Greater London"; while even beyond that large tract of southeastern
England, with its six millions and a half of inhabitants, are many
towns and villages, populous and increasing, which are concerned with
the question of Metropolitan locomotion. [Footnote: The Fortnightly
Review, Jan. 1, 1902.]

2. TIMELINESS OF THE SUBJECT. To show that a subject is timely is
another effective device for arousing interest. As most people wish to
keep pace with the times and face the issues of the day, it is natural
and forceful to introduce an argument by showing that the subject is
being discussed elsewhere, or by showing how an event or sequence of
events places the problem before the public. The arguer calls
attention to the fact that the question does not belong to the past or
to the distant future, but is of immediate interest and must be
settled at once.

As the day of the Cuban Convention for the framing and adoption of a
constitution approaches, the question of Cuban independence assumes
greater, and still greater, proportions, and the eyes of the American
people are beginning to turn anxiously toward the Pearl of the
Antilles. By the time this article appears in print, delegates to the
convention will have been elected, and interest in the convention
itself will have become widespread. The task I have set before me is
briefly to review the situation, and to discuss the probable results
to be expected from a number of causes, remote as well as
proximate.[Footnote: Charles Warren Currier. The Forum, October,
1900.]

The recent objection made in Germany that American prestige might
suffer should there be diminution in our Berlin Embassy's social
brilliancy has stirred Congress from apathy regarding American
representatives abroad. Congressmen are coming to realize that brains,
not money, ought to form the first passport to a candidate's favor,
agreeable adjunct as the money may be. [Footnote: The Outlook, April
18, 1908, p. 844.]

3. APPEAL FOR ONE'S SELF. The safest method of stirring the emotions
is to make an appeal in behalf of the subject, but occasionally a
writer or speaker who is truly sincere, who is contending against
unfortunate circumstances, and is not seeking personal aggrandizement,
may arouse interest by making an appeal on his own behalf. He may
present some personal reason why the audience should be interested and
give him a respectful hearing; he calls attention not primarily to his
subject, but to his connection with it, or to some circumstance in his
own life. This method is hedged about with several pitfalls: it may
expose one to the charge of egotism, of insincerity, or of false
modesty; and it may draw the attention of the audience away from the
matter in hand. To use this method successfully one should possess
consummate tact and thorough knowledge of human nature.

The following opening of a speech by Abraham Lincoln at Columbus,
Ohio, shows how he used this device to gain the sympathy of the
audience:--

Fellow-citizens of the State of Ohio: I cannot fail to remember that I
appear for the first time before an audience in this now great State,--
an audience that is accustomed to hear such speakers as Corwin, and
Chase, and Wade, and many other renowned men; and remembering this, I
feel that it will be well for you, as for me, that you should not
raise your expectations to that standard to which you would have been
justified in raising them had one of these distinguished men appeared
before you. You would perhaps be only preparing a disappointment for
yourselves, and, as a consequence of your disappointment,
mortification for me. I hope, therefore, that you will commence with
very moderate expectations; and perhaps, if you will give me your
attention, I shall be able to interest you in a moderate degree.
[Footnote: Complete Works of Abraham Lincoln, Vol. I, p. 538. Nicolay
& Hay. Century Company.]

These, then, are the suggestions offered for conciliating an audience:
Be modest; be fair; be sincere; and appeal to some strong emotion. To
make this appeal successfully, study your audience. In case of
inability to arouse any stronger feeling, appeal to the interest of
the people by showing that the subject is important, or timely, or
both; or show that you have some personal claim upon the audience.

These directions are far from complete. Anything like an exhaustive
treatment of this subject would in itself constitute a book. The
advice offered here, however, should be of considerable value to one
who has difficulty in getting a written argument or a debate
successfully launched. The student should supplement this chapter with
careful study of the work of proficient writers. If he will notice how
they have gained success in this particular, and if he will imitate
them, he is bound to improve his own compositions. The principal
dangers to be avoided consist of going to extremes. The conciliatory
part of the introduction should not be so meager that it will fail to
accomplish its purpose, nor should it be so elaborate and artificial
as to hamper the onward movement of the argument. The important thing
is to gain the good will and the attention of the audience, and, other
things being equal, the shorter the introduction the better. Further
directions for the spoken argument may be found in the chapter
entitled _Debate_.


EXERCISES

A. Criticise the following introductory passages for persuasiveness,
pointing out specifically the methods of conciliation used, and any
defects that may be found:--

1. The building of the Panama Canal is a topic of interest and
importance to every American. Not only do we wish to see our country
build the canal successfully, but we also desire to see built the best
canal that the world has ever known. There is no doubt that the canal
is necessary; the great loss of time and money, the annual sacrifice
of ships and lives involved in the passage around the "Horn," not to
mention the expense and congestion of the railroad freight systems
across the continent, plainly show the need of quicker ship
communication between the two oceans.

2. I stand here to raise the last voice that ever can be heard this
side the judgment seat of God in behalf of the personal honor and
judicial integrity of this respondent. I fully realize the
responsibilities of my position, and I shall endeavor to meet them as
best I can. I also realize as deeply as any other man can how
important it is not only to my client but to every American man,
woman, and child that justice shall be done and true deliverance made.

3. The opening of the racing season in New York, at the Aqueduct track
on Long Island, gives a fresh opportunity for observation of the
conditions under which horse-racing, and more especially gambling on
horse races, is carried on. The announcement of the racing managers
that certain "reforms" had been inaugurated in the control of the
gambling makes the opportunity of especial interest.

4. I approach the discussion of this bill and the kindred bills and
amendments pending in the two Houses with unaffected diffidence. No
problem is submitted to us of equal importance and difficulty. Our
action will affect the value of all the property of all the people of
the United States, and the wages of labor of every kind, and our trade
and commerce with all the world. In the consideration of such a
question we should not be controlled by previous opinions or bound by
local interests, but with the light of experience and full knowledge
of all the complicated facts involved, give to the subject the best
judgment which imperfect human nature allows.

5. Each generation has the power to shape its own destinies; and had
Washington and his fellow patriots been governed by warnings against a
departure from traditions, our present form of government would never
have been established, the Constitution would have been rejected by
the States, and untold evils would have resulted. Madison, when
arguing for the adoption of the Constitution, met arguments very like
to those now being made in favor of political isolation.

6. As a race they have withered from the land. Their arrows are broken
and their springs are dried up; their cabins are in the dust. Their
council fire has long since gone out on the shore, and their war cry
is fast dying out to the untrodden West. Slowly and sadly they climb
the mountains and read their doom in the setting sun. They are
shrinking before the mighty tide which is pressing them away; they
must soon hear the roar of the last wave, which will settle over them
forever. Ages hence the inquisitive white man, as he stands by some
growing city, will ponder on the structure of their disturbed remains
and wonder to what manner of person they belonged. They will live only
in the songs and chronicles of their exterminators. Let these be
faithful to their rude virtues as men, and pay due tribute to their
unhappy fate as a people.

7. (During the Civil War England largely favored the South. To
counteract this feeling Henry Ward Beecher spoke in many of the
principal cities in behalf of Northern interests. In Liverpool he met
an audience that was extremely hostile. The following is the
introduction to his speech.) For more than twenty-five years I have
been made perfectly familiar with popular assemblies in all parts of
my country except the extreme South. There has not been for the whole
of that time a single day of my life when it would have been safe for
me to go south of Mason and Dixon's line in my own country, and all
for one reason: my solemn, earnest, persistent testimony against that
which I consider to be the most atrocious thing under the sun--the
system of American slavery in a great free republic. (Cheers.) I have
passed through that early period when right of free speech was denied
me. Again and again I have attempted to address audiences that, for no
other crime than that of free speech, visited me with all manner of
contumelious epithets; and now since I have been in England, although
I have met with greater kindness and courtesy on the part of most than
I deserved, yet, on the other hand, I perceive that the Southern
influence prevails to some extent in England. (Applause and uproar.)
It is my old acquaintance; I understand it perfectly-(laughter)-and I
have always held it to be an unfailing truth that where a man had a
cause that would bear examination he was perfectly willing to have it
spoken about. (Applause.) And when in Manchester I saw those huge
placards, "Who is Henry Ward Beecher?" (laughter, cries of "Quite
right," and applause), and when in Liverpool I was told that there
were those blood-red placards, purporting to say what Henry Ward Beecher
has said, and calling upon Englishmen to suppress free speech, I tell
you what I thought. I thought simply this, "I am glad of it."
(Laughter.) Why? Because if they had felt perfectly secure, that you
are the minions of the South and the slaves of slavery, they would
have been perfectly still. (Applause and uproar.) And, therefore, when
I saw so much nervous apprehension that, if I were permitted to speak
--(hisses and applause)--when I found they were afraid to have me
speak--(hisses, laughter, and "No, no!")--when I found that they
considered my speaking damaging to their cause--(applause)--when I
found that they appealed from facts and reasonings to mob law--
(applause and uproar)--I said, no man need tell me what the heart and
secret counsel of these men are. They tremble and are afraid.
(Applause, laughter, hisses, "No, no!" and a voice, "New York mob.")
Now, personally, it is of very little consequence to me whether I
speak here to-night or not. (Laughter and cheers.) But one thing is
very certain, if you do permit me to speak here tonight, you will hear
very plain talking. (Applause and hisses.) You will not find a man--
(interruption)--you will not find me to be a man that dared to speak
about Great Britain three thousand miles off, and then is afraid to
speak to Great Britain when he stands on her shores. (Immense applause
and hisses.) And if I do not mistake the tone and temper of
Englishmen, they had rather have a man who opposes them in a manly
way--(applause from all parts of the hall)--than a sneak that agrees
with them in an unmanly way. (Applause and "Bravo!") Now, if I can
carry you with me by sound convictions, I shall be immensely glad
(applause); but if I cannot carry you with me by facts and sound
arguments, I do not wish you to go with me at all; and all that I ask
is simply FAIR PLAY. (Applause, and a voice, "You shall have it,
too.")

Those of you who are kind enough to wish to favor my speaking,--and
you will observe that my voice is slightly husky from having spoken
almost every night in succession for some time past,--those who wish
to hear me will do me the kindness simply to sit still; and I and my
friends the Secessionists will make all the noise. (Laughter.)

B. On the affirmative side of the following propositions, write
conciliatory introductions, of about two hundred words each, suited to
the audiences indicated:--

AN AUDIENCE OF COLLEGE STUDENTS.

1. All colleges should abolish hazing.
2. Fraternities tend to destroy college spirit.
3. A classical education is not worth while.
4. All colleges should abolish secret class societies.
5. Intercollegiate athletic contests are harmful to a college.

AN AUDIENCE OF WORKINGMEN.

6. Strikes are barren of profitable results.
7. Unions are detrimental to the laboring man.
8. The concentration of great wealth in the hands of a few men
benefits industrial conditions.




CHAPTER IV

THE INTRODUCTION--CONVICTION


As soon as the persuasive portion of an introduction has rendered the
audience friendly, attentive, and open to conviction, the process of
reasoning should begin. First of all, it is the duty of the arguer to
see that the meaning of the proposition is perfectly clear both to
himself and to all the people whom he wishes to reach. If the arguer
does not thoroughly comprehend his subject, he is likely to produce
only a jumble of facts and reasoning, or at best he may establish a
totally different proposition from the one that confronts him; if the
audience fails to understand just what is being proved, they remain
uninfluenced. The amount of explanation required to show what the
proposition means varies according to the intelligence of the people
addressed and their familiarity with the subject.


DEFINITION.

To begin with, if there are any unfamiliar words in the proposition,
any terms or expressions that are liable to be misunderstood or not
comprehended instantly, they must be defined. At this point the arguer
has to exercise considerable judgment both in determining what words
to define and in choosing a definition that is accurate and clear.
Synonyms are almost always untrustworthy or as incomprehensible as the
original word, and other dictionary definitions are usually framed
either in too technical language to be easily grasped or in too
general language to apply inevitably to the case at hand.

DEFINITION BY AUTHORITY. As a rule, the very best definitions that can
be used are _quotations_ from the works of men distinguished for
their knowledge in the special subject to which the word to be defined
belongs. The eminent economist defines economic terms; the statesman,
political terms; the jurist, legal terms; the scientist, scientific
terms; the theologian, the meaning of religious phraseology. To
present these definitions accurately, and to be sure of the author's
meaning, one should take the quotations directly from the author's
work itself. If, however, this source is not at hand, or if time for
research is lacking, one may often find in legal and economic
dictionaries and in encyclopaedias the very quotations that he wishes
to use in defining a term. It is always well, in quoting a definition,
to tell who the authority is, and in what book, in what volume, and on
what page the passage occurs.

Another convenient way of using definition by authority is not to
quote the entire definition but to _summarize_ it. Frequently an
authoritative definition is so exhaustive that it covers several pages
or even chapters of a book. In such a case the arguer may well
condense the definition into his own words, not omitting, however, to
name the sources used. The following example is an excellent
illustration of this method:--

The bearing of the Monroe Doctrine on all these contentions and
counter contentions is not at once evident to the casual observer....
Of course with changing times its meaning has changed also, for no one
attempts to declare it to be as immutable as the law of the Medes and
Persians. It is applied in various ways to meet varying conditions.
Nevertheless, I may say I believe, after a perusal of the more
important works on the subject, that during the forescore years of its
existence two principles have steadily underlain it: (1) that Europe
shall acquire no more territory for permanent occupation upon this
continent; (2) that Europe shall affect the destinies of, that is
exert influence over, no American state.[Footnote: A. B. Hart,
_Foundations of American Foreign Policy_, chap. VII; J. W.
Foster, _A Century of American Diplomacy_, chap. XII; J. A.
Kasson, _The Evolution of the Constitution of the United States of
America_, pages 221 ff. [Footnote: Nutter, Hersey & Greenough,
Specimens of Prose Composition, p. 218. ] ]

DEFINITION BY ILLUSTRATION. Since the purpose of each step in the
reasoning portion of the introduction is to convey information
accurately, quickly, and, above all else, clearly, a particularly good
method for defining terms is by illustration. In using this method,
one holds up to view a concrete example of the special significance of
the word that is being explained. He shows how the law, or custom, or
principle, or whatever is being expounded works in actual practice.
For example, if he is advocating the superiority of the large college
over the small college, he should define each term by giving specific
examples of large colleges and of small colleges. The advantage of
this method lies in its simplicity and clearness, qualities which
enable the audience to understand the discussion without much
conscious effort on their part. Investigation reveals that the
definitions of great writers and speakers are replete with
illustration. Whenever the student of argumentation has something to
define that is particularly intricate or hard to understand, he should
illustrate it. If he fails to find already prepared an illustrative
definition that exactly fits his needs, he will often do well to learn
just what the term means, and then make his own illustration.

Consider how this method has been used. The Hon. Charles Emory Smith
defines reciprocity as follows:--

Its principle, rightly understood, is axiomatic. Brazil grows coffee
and makes no machinery. We make machinery and grow no coffee. She
needs the fabrics of our forges and factories, and we need the fruit
of her tropical soil. We agree to concessions for her coffee and she
agrees to concessions for our machinery. That is reciprocity.

The following is a definition of free silver by The Hon. Edward O.
Leech, former Director of the Mint:--

It is important to understand clearly and exactly what the free
coinage of silver under present conditions means. It may be defined as
the right of anyone to deposit silver of any kind at a mint of the
United States, and have every 371.25 grains of pure silver (now worth
in its uncoined state about 52 cents) stamped, free of charge, "One
Dollar," which dollar shall be a full legal tender at its face value
in the payment of debts and obligations of all kinds, public and
private, in the United States.

In upholding his opinion that a majority of the members of the House
of Representatives have the right to make the rules governing
parliamentary procedure in the House, The Hon. Thomas B. Reed
carefully defines the term "rights":--

It is the fault of most discussions which are decided incorrectly that
they are decided by the misuse of terms. Unfortunately, words have
very little precision, and mean one thing to one man and a different
thing to another. Words are also used with one meaning and quoted with
another. When men speak of the rights of minorities and claim for them
the sacredness of established law, they are correct or incorrect
according as they interpret the word "rights."

A man has a right to an estate in fee simple, a right to land, and
there is no right more indisputable under our system. Nothing but the
supreme law can take the estate away, and then only after
compensation. The same man has a right of passage over land used as a
highway, but his town or county can take that privilege away from him
without his consent and without compensation. In both cases the man
has rights, but the rights are entirely different, and the difference
arises from the nature of things. It is good for the community, or at
least it has been so thought, that a man should have unrestricted
right over his land. On it he can build as high as heaven or dig as
deep as a probable hereafter. This is not because it is pleasant for
the man, but because it is best for the community. Therefore his right
to build or dig is limited by the right of eminent domain--the right
of the whole people to take his property at any time for the common
benefit on paying its value.

For the same reason the right of a man to walk over the land of a
roadway is an inferior right which may more easily be taken from him;
for if it be more convenient for the whole community that nobody
should walk over that land, each man's right, which is a perfect right
while it exists, is taken away from him, and he alone bears the loss.

It is hardly necessary to multiply examples in order to lay a
foundation for the assertion that the rights, so called, of any man or
set of men, have their foundation only in the common good.


EXPLANATION.

Not only must the arguer define the unfamiliar words that occur in the
proposition, but he must also explain the meaning of the proposition
_taken as a whole_. Since an audience often has neither the
inclination nor the opportunity to give a proposition careful thought
and study, the disputant himself must make clear the matter in
dispute, and show exactly where the difference in opinion between the
affirmative and the negative lies. This process is of great
importance; it removes the subject of dispute from the realm of mere
words--words which arranged in a formal statement are to many often
incomprehensible--and brings out clearly the _idea_ that is to be
supported or condemned.

To discover just what the proposition means, the arguer must weigh
each word, carefully noting its meaning and its significance in the
proposition. To neglect a single word is disastrous. An
intercollegiate debate was once lost because the affirmative side did
not take into consideration the words "present tendency" in the
proposition, "_Resolved_, That the present tendency of labor
unions is detrimental to the prosperity of the United States." The
negative side admitted everything that the affirmative established,
namely, that unions are detrimental; and won by showing that their
_tendency_ is beneficial. In another college debate on the
subject, "_Resolved_, That the United States should immediately
dispose of the Philippines," one side failed to meet the real point at
issue because it ignored the word "immediately." A thorough
explanation of the proposition would have shown the limitations that
this word imposed upon the discussion.

In the next place, the arguer should usually present to the audience a
brief history of the matter in dispute. Many debatable subjects are of
such a nature that the arguer himself cannot, until he Has studied the
history of the proposition, fully understand what constitutes the
clash in opinion between the affirmative and the negative sides. To
understand the debate, the audience must possess this same
information. A history of the idea contained in the proposition would
be absolutely necessary to render intelligible such subjects as: "The
aggressions of England in the Transvaal are justifiable"; "The United
States should re-establish reciprocity with Canada"; "Football reform
is advisable."

In the last place, the arguer must give his audience all essential
information concerning the matter in dispute. For example, if the
proposition is, "Naturalization laws in the United States should be
more stringent," a mere definition of "naturalization laws" is not
enough; the disputant must tell just what naturalization laws exist at
the present time, and just how stringent they are to-day. Again, if
the subject is, "The United States army should be enlarged," the
arguer must tell exactly how large the army is now. If the proposition
is, "The right of suffrage should be further limited by an educational
test," the arguer must state what limits now exist, and he must also
tell what is meant by "an educational test." In a debate the work of
the affirmative and of the negative differ slightly at this point.
Since the proposition reads _an educational test_, the advocate
for the affirmative has the privilege of upholding any sort of
educational test that he wishes to defend, provided only that it comes
within the limits of "an educational test." He may say that the test
should consist of a knowledge of the alphabet, or he may advocate an
examination in higher mathematics; _but he is under obligation to
outline carefully and thoroughly some specific system_. The
negative, on the other hand, must be prepared to overthrow whatever
system is brought forward. If the affirmative fails to outline any
system, the negative has only to call attention to this fact to put
the affirmative in a very embarrassing position.

The following quotations are good illustrations of how a proposition
may be explained:--

The supremely significant and instructive fact, in the dealings of
society with crime in our day, and one which has not been fully
grasped as yet by the legal profession, not even by those who practice
in criminal courts, and who should be familiar with it, is this: We
have now two classes of institutions fundamentally distinct in
character and purpose, both of which are designed by society, erected
and conducted at public expense, for the purpose of dealing with
criminals. The most numerous class of these institutions consists of
prisons, in which to confine men for terms specified by the trial
courts as penalties for their offenses. The laws, under which
offenders are sentenced to these prisons, aim at classifying crimes
according to the degree of guilt they imply, and assigning to each of
them the penalty which it deserves. Thus, to these prisons are sent
men sentenced to confinement for two, five, ten, fourteen, or thirty
years, or for life, according to the name which the law attaches to
the crime proved upon them; and each man, when he has served the
prescribed term, is turned loose upon society. The other class of
institutions includes what are known as "reformatories." The
fundamental principle here is that an offender is sent to them not for
a term, but for a specified work. It is assumed that his character and
habits unfit him for social life. For reasons to be found in his own
nature, he cannot yet be trusted with freedom and the responsibilities
of citizenship. But he may possess the capacity to become an honest,
industrious, and useful citizen. To the reformatory, then, he is sent
to be educated; to be trained to habits of industry; above all, to be
disciplined in the habit of looking forward to the future with the
consciousness that his welfare and happiness to-morrow depend on his
conduct to-day, and that he is constantly shaping his own destiny. He
is expected to remain until it satisfactorily appears that this
training is effective, and he may then go forth with a prospect of
leading an honest and respectable life. This, in brief, is the
distinction between these two classes of institutions.

For a generation past, these two kinds of prisons have been standing
side by side in New York, Massachusetts, and other States. Each of
them has received many thousands of criminals under sentence for grave
offenses. Each of them has sent out thousands of inmates into the
world of human society, with whatever impress the life, teachings, and
associations of the institutions could make upon their natures, as a
preparation for their after career. What is the result?
[Footnote: Charlton T. Lewis, in North American Review, August, 1904.]

Congress has at last decided that the long-talked-of canal shall be
built, and shall be built at Panama. Those issues no longer confront
us. The question now to be decided concerns the kind of canal that
shall be constructed. Two plans have been suggested: the lock-canal
plan and the sea-level plan. The advocates of the lock-canal plan aim
to build a gigantic dam in the valley of the Chagres River; the
enormous artificial lake thus formed being used as part of the
passageway for the vessels. They say that this lake will be at an
elevation of about eighty-five feet above mean sea-level; the passage
to and from it will be made by means of canals at both ends, each
canal containing three locks. Thus there will be, if this plan is
adopted, six locks in the entire system. The canal will be of
sufficient width and depth to accommodate vessels of such size as may
be expected to be built when the canal is completed.

If the canal is built at sea-level, it will be of the same depth and
width as the lock-canal, but it will be at the level of the sea
throughout its entire length. Owing to the fact that the Atlantic and
the Pacific have a difference in extreme level of twenty feet, an
automatic tide-lock will have to be installed. A small lake will also
be built, merely to divert the Chagres and to furnish light and power.

The question that now confronts us is, "Which plan should be adopted?"


ISSUES.

Following the discovery of the real meaning of the proposition, comes
the finding of the issues. Whenever a man in business, professional,
or political life, or in any circumstances whatsoever, must determine
upon some policy or come to some decision regarding theoretical or
practical matters, he formulates his belief and chooses his line of
action in accordance with the answers that he makes to certain
questions either consciously or unconsciously present in his mind. For
instance, if he considers the purchase of a certain piece of real
estate, he says to himself: "Is the price fair?" "Have I the money to
invest?" "Can I sell or use the property to good advantage?" "How much
pleasure shall I derive from it?" If he answers these questions in one
way, the purchase is likely to be made; if in another, it is not.
Again, a board of college trustees may be considering the abolishment
of football. In arriving at a decision, they are confronted with these
questions: "Is the game beneficial or detrimental to the player?" "How
does it affect the college as a whole?" Those who favor the game will,
of course, say that it is a benefit to the player and the whole
college; while those who oppose it will maintain that it is a
detriment to all concerned. But evidently the same questions must be
met and answered by both sides. These questions are called
_issues_.

Issues are subdivisions of the subject under discussion, and are
always essentially the same for any given idea. The first requirement
for the issues of any proposition is that they be comprehensive; that
is, the sum of their ideas must equal the main idea expressed in the
proposition. To those who are carrying on the discussion and to the
audience, if there be one, it must be perfectly evident that these
questions cover the entire field of controversy; that if these
questions are satisfactorily answered in one way or the other, the
discussion is settled and nothing remains to be said. The second
requirement is that the issues consider only disputed matter. A
question that gives rise to no disagreement, that admittedly has but
one answer, is never an issue. _Issues, therefore, may be defined as
the questions that must be answered by both the affirmative and the
negative sides of the proposition under discussion and that, if
answered in one way, establish the proposition, and if answered in
another way, overthrow it_.

The issues of a proposition exist independently of the side that is
being upheld. The affirmative will find the same issues as the
negative, but it rarely happens that two men will divide a proposition
in exactly the same manner and thus state the issues in precisely the
same language. If, however, the work of both has been fair and
complete, their issues will not vary in any important particular. For
example, under the subject, "The Federal government should own and
operate the railroads of the United States," one person might give as
issues:--

1. Has the government the right to take the roads without the consent
of the present owners?

2. Is the government financially able to buy the roads?

3. Does the present system contain serious defects?

4. Will the proposed system remove these defects without bringing in
new evils equally serious?

Another might state as issues:--

1. Is the proposed plan practicable?

2. Will it benefit the people?

The issues in both instances, however, are essentially the same, as
questions one and two of the first list are equivalent to one of the
second; and three and four of the first, to two of the second.

At this point it may be well to mention a common error that must be
guarded against. It often happens that a question is stated as an
issue which is not a subdivision of the proposition at all, but is the
entire proposition itself, framed in slightly different language. Such
would be the error if the question, "Would the change be desirable?"
were used as an issue for the proposition, "All state colleges should
abolish military drill"

It sometimes happens that one is forced to defend or attack what has
been called a "combined proposition," a proposition that contains two
distinct subjects for argument. Such subjects are to be avoided as
much as possible, but when they must be met, it is usually necessary
to have two separate sets of issues. An example of such a proposition
would be, "All American colleges and universities should adopt the
honor system."

The only practicable method of finding the issues of a proposition is
to question it from all pertinent points of view, and then to
eliminate all questions that have no vital bearing on the subject, or
that are acknowledged to have but one answer. The questions that
remain are the issues. In using this method of analysis, one must be
careful to consider the proposition in all its phases and details, and
from both the affirmative and the negative sides. Neglect to give the
subject thorough consideration often results in one's being suddenly
confronted with an issue that he has not previously discovered and
consequently cannot meet. Failure to cast aside all questions that are
not real issues may cause equal embarrassment: an arguer never wishes
to waste time and effort in establishing proof that is not essential
to the argument, or that is admitted by the other side.

It is hardly possible even to suggest all the various kinds of
questions that may be asked about debatable subjects. An arguer must
depend largely upon his own judgment and common sense in analyzing
each proposition that he meets. He may, however, find the issues of
many propositions by carefully questioning them from certain important
and comprehensive points of view. The list of standpoints indicated
here is not exhaustive; only the more important and general
standpoints are considered. The student should bear in mind that the
following instructions are designed to teach him a practical method of
analysis; they do not constitute a formula that can be applied in all
instances.

First, the analysis of propositions of policy will be taken up;
secondly, the analysis of propositions of fact.


PROPOSITIONS OF POLICY.

1. IS THE PLAN PRACTICABLE? Whenever a plan is proposed, first ask
whether or not it is practicable. If those who oppose the idea can
maintain that great obstacles exist which will prevent the undertaking
of the project or hinder its execution, then the question of
practicability constitutes an important issue. For instance, one who
contemplates a thorough argument on the proposition, "The United
States navy should be greatly enlarged," must prove that the plan is,
or is not, practicable. Plainly, such hindrances as enormous expense,
inadequate facilities for building and repairing battleships, and the
increased demand for officers and sailors render questionable the
expediency of such a measure. This issue, however, is not found in
connection with all propositions; it does not concern propositions
that merely approve or condemn existing conditions or assert the
occurrence of an event. For example, practicability does not enter
into such subjects as these: "Strikes are justifiable"; "The present
powers of the Speaker of the House of Representatives are dangerously
great"; "Athletics have been excessively developed in American
colleges and universities." But all propositions that advocate a
change, that propose some new system of operation, usually have this
issue involved. Such subjects are: "American cities should own and
operate public plants for the furnishing of light, heat, and power";
"Military drill should be taught in the public schools"; "Porto Rico
should be given a territorial form of government."

2. WILL THE PROPOSED PLAN BE A MORAL BENEFIT OR DETRIMENT TO THOSE
CONCERNED? Not all propositions, by any means, but many, are of such a
character that they must be considered from the standpoint of
morality. The arguer must ask whether the idea involved in the subject
is morally right or wrong; whether it is morally beneficial or
harmful. This point of view includes more than at first appears. It
takes into consideration justice, duty, honesty, faithfulness,
religion, everything that pertains to what is right or wrong. Under
the proposition, "The treatment of the American Indians by the United
States should be condemned," appears the moral issue, "What is our
_duty_ toward the people of this race?" The proposition, "Public
libraries, museums, and art galleries should be open on Sunday,"
presents this issue, "Is the method of recreation afforded by the
opening of these buildings in accordance with the teachings of the
Christian religion?" The proposition, "Football is an undesirable
college game," must be settled in part by the answer to the question,
"Is the game beneficial or harmful to the player's character?"

3. WILL THE PROPOSED PLAN BE A MATERIAL BENEFIT OR DETRIMENT? In the
third place the proposition should be questioned from a material point
of view, to determine whether the plan is, or is likely to be, a
benefit or a detriment. In some form this issue will doubtless be
found in connection with almost every proposition of policy. In all
systems of government, of business, and even of education, material
betterment is invariably one of the ultimate objects sought. The
question of national expansion presents the issue, "Will such a course
add to the glory, the prestige, or the wealth of the nation?" When a
boy considers going to college, he desires to know whether a college
education is a valuable asset in business, social, or professional
life. An issue which puts to the touch the matter of personal gain is
sure to involve a substantial portion of the controversy. The arguer
who can decisively settle the question of dollars and cents always has
a strong argument. Usually the issue involving the question of
material benefit or detriment is plain and direct; sometimes, however,
it is partially concealed. A man debating on the affirmative side of
the proposition, "_Resolved_, That United States Senators should
be elected by a direct popular vote of the people," may urge as a
reason that such a method will result in purer politics. This
particular line of argument he may carry no farther, taking it for
granted that everyone will recognize the connection between honest
office holders and material gain.

4. WILL THE PROPOSED PLAN BE AN INTELLECTUAL BENEFIT OR DETRIMENT? All
propositions that deal with education or with other matters that
pertain to man's progress and advancement should be viewed from an
intellectual standpoint. No person in discussing a measure bearing
upon the welfare of an individual, of a community, or of a nation, can
afford to neglect questioning its influence for mental advancement or
retrogression. Propositions relating to schools, colleges, and similar
institutions, and propositions dealing with social and industrial
conditions present this issue. Modern theories of government, both
municipal and national, are frequently based to some extent upon the
idea of teaching the people how to live and how to govern themselves.
The policy of the United States in the Philippines and in the West
Indies has been greatly influenced by the query, "How will it affect
the intellectual welfare of the people concerned?"

5. WILL THE PROPOSED PLAN BE A PHYSICAL BENEFIT OR DETTRIMENT? All
subjects that concern the life, health, strength, or in any way bear
upon the physical well-being of man present this issue. An argument on
government ownership of railroads would have to answer the question,
"Under which system will fewer accidents occur?" All such propositions
as, "Eight hours ought legally to constitute a working day"; "State
boards of health should compel all persons afflicted with contagious
diseases to be quarantined"; "Football is an undesirable college
game," give rise to the issue of physical welfare.

6. WILL THE PROPOSED PLAN BE A POLITICAL BENEFIT OR DETRIMENT? If a
plan is of such far-reaching significance that its adoption or
rejection would affect a whole town, state, or nation, then its merits
usually depend to some extent upon its political significance. The
issue may take some such form as, "How will the system affect the
country politically?" "Will the system encourage bribery and graft, or
will it tend to do away with these evils?" "What will be its effect
upon bossism?"

7. HOW HAS THE PLAN SUCCEEDED WHERE IT HAS BEEN TRIED? This question
frequently occurs as an issue in connection with all sorts of
propositions. Its importance and significance are so evident that no
explanation is needed. The value of precedent is known to every one.

8. DOES THE PRESENT SYSTEM CONTAIN SERIOUS EVILS? The asking of this
question is frequently one of the very best ways to get at the heart
of a proposition of policy. To be sure, this question overlaps and
embraces several other questions that have been suggested, but a
comprehensive issue like this is sometimes preferable from the
standpoint both of the arguer and of the audience. It removes from the
arguer the necessity of classifying each evil under the head of
_moral_, _financial_, _intellectual_, etc.; and in many
cases it results in an argument more easily understood by the
audience. In some form this issue applies to nearly all political,
economic, and financial propositions.

9. IF THE PRESENT SYSTEM DOES CONTAIN SERIOUS EVILS, WILL THE PROPOSED
SYSTEM REMOVE THEM? Equal in importance with the question as to
whether the existing system is defective, is the question as to
whether the proposed system will remove these defects, without, of
course, introducing equally great disadvantages. These two issues
almost invariably go together; they set the system advocated by the
affirmative and the system advocated by the negative side by side, and
compare and contrast each with the other.

10. IF THE PRESENT SYSTEM CONTAINS SERIOUS EVILS, IS THE PROPOSED
SYSTEM THE ONLY REMEDY? This last question is very closely connected
with the two preceding questions. The whole discussion may hinge not
on whether evils exist, but on how they shall be remedied. If the
argument takes this turn, the advocates of a certain system must show
that their plan is the only one suitable for adoption, or, at least,
is the best plan, while the negative must introduce and uphold a
totally different scheme. For instance, under the proposition, "The
United States army should be greatly enlarged," the first two issues
would probably be these: "Is the present army adequate to protect the
nation?" and "Is the enlargement of the army the _only_ means of
rendering the nation safe from invasion?"


PROPOSITIONS OF FACT.

1. DOES THE PROPOSITION STATE A POSSIBLE TRUTH? To find the issues of
a proposition of fact, first ask whether the occurrence in question
could have happened or the condition alleged in the proposition could
possibly have existed. This question is so important that if it can
conclusively be answered in the negative the discussion is ended.
Legal proceedings invariably center around some form of a proposition
of fact. In the criminal court a man to prove his innocence has only
to establish an alibi or prove physical inability to commit the crime
with which he is charged. Not always, of course, does the question of
possibility constitute an issue, since frequently the possibility is
admitted. Such would be the case if the following propositions came up
for discussion: "Joan of Arc was burned at the stake"; "Nero was
guilty of burning Rome." In these instances possibility gives way to
probability.

2. DOES THE PROPOSITION STATE A PROBABLE TRUTH? If the question of
possibility has been answered affirmatively or inconclusively, the
issue of probability next arises. In connection with many propositions
of fact this is the most important issue to be encountered. Unless a
condition or an event--its possibility being admitted--can be affirmed
or denied by reliable witnesses who testify from their own personal
knowledge of the matter, the most that any arguer can do is to
establish a balance of probability. Those who believe that Bacon wrote
the plays attributed to Shakespeare try to show how improbable it is
that a man like Shakespeare could have produced such works, and how
very likely it is that Bacon was the real author. Many criminals are
convicted or acquitted on evidence that establishes merely a strong
probability of guilt or of innocence.

3. IS THERE ANY DIRECT EVIDENCE BEARING ON THE PROPOSITION? In the
third place, a person who is trying to prove or disprove a proposition
of fact must consider the direct evidence involved. Indirect evidence
tends to establish the possibility or probability that a statement is
true or false, while direct evidence asserts that it is true or false.
Direct evidence on the question, "Country roads in New England are
inferior to those of the Middle West," would not be a description of
the topographical and geographical features of both regions, for this
information could at its best establish only a strong probability;
direct evidence on this subject would be the testimony of people who
have investigated the roads, and could thus speak from direct personal
knowledge.

This issue of direct evidence has two phases. The arguer must ask, "Is
any direct evidence available?" and "If there is any, what is its
value?" It is easily seen that not all evidence is equally reliable.
Both the man and what he says must be tested: the man for such
qualities as truthfulness, intelligence, and experience; the
statements for consistency and general credibility. The tests of
evidence are given in detail in another chapter.


TESTS FOR ISSUES.

After an arguer has secured his list of issues, he should test his
work by asking the four following questions:--

1. Does each issue really bear upon the proposition?

2. Is each issue a subdivision of the proposition, or is it the
proposition itself formulated in different language?

3. Does each issue comprise only disputed matter?

4. Do the issues, taken collectively, consider all phases of the
proposition?

Several illustrations will show more plainly just what issues are and
how they are used in connection with other parts of an introduction.


SHALL GREEK BE TAUGHT IN HIGH SCHOOLS?

In taking up the discussion of Greek in the high schools, I shall
consider these three questions: First, is Greek more valuable than
other studies in training the mind? Second, does the study of Greek
acquaint us with the best that has been known and said in the world,
and, therefore, with the history of the human spirit? And third, where
shall Greek be taught? [Footnote: W.F. Webster, The Forum, December,
1899, page 459.]


DOES COLONIZATION PAY?

The points to be considered in determining the somewhat mercenary
question, "Does Colonization Pay?" as viewed with regard to the
interests of the colonizing country, are: (1) the market that the
colonies afford for the goods which the colonizing country has to
sell; and whether control gives to the mother-country a larger share
of their market than she would have without that control; (2) the
supplies the colonies are able to furnish for use in the mother-
country; and whether the purchase of these supplies from the colonies
proves more advantageous to the mother-country than if they should be
purchased from other parts of the world; (3) the advantages, if any,
which accrue to the native population of the country controlled.
[Footnote: O. P. Austin, The Forum, January, 1900, p. 623.]

The following passage, taken from Daniel Webster's speech in which, as
counsel for the city of Boston, he argues that a certain piece of land
has not become a public highway, is a good illustration of an
introduction on what was virtually a proposition of fact. Notice with
what skill he cast aside all irrelevant matter and reduced the
proposition to clearly stated and indisputable issues:--

If this street, or land, or whatever it may be, has become and now
is a public highway, it must have become so in one of three ways, and
to these points I particularly call your honors' attention.

1st. It must have either become a highway by having been regularly
laid out according to usage and law; or

2nd. By _dedication_ as such by those having the power to
dedicate it, and acceptance and adoption so far as they are required;
or

3d. As a highway by long user, without the existence of proof of any
original laying out, or dedication.

It is not pretended by any one that the land in question is a highway,
upon the last of these grounds. I shall therefore confine myself to
the consideration of the other two questions: namely. Was there ever a
formal and regular laying out of a street here? or was there ever a
regular and sufficient dedication and acceptance? [Footnote: The Works
of Daniel Webster, Vol. VI, p. 186. Little, Brown & Co., Boston,
1857.]


PARTITION.

In college debate, though not frequently elsewhere, the issues as a
rule are immediately followed by a series of statements that show how
each issue is to be answered. These statements constitute what is
known as the _partition_. When a partition is made, each
statement becomes a main point to be established by proof in the
discussion. The following portion of a student's argument contains
both the issues and the partition:--

In considering, then, whether colleges should adopt the system of
exempting from final examinations all students who have attained an
average daily grade of eighty-five per cent. or over, we have only to
consider the effect such a rule would have upon the students,
individually and collectively. Would the system raise or lower the
standard of scholarship? Would it assist or retard the growth of other
qualities which a college course should develop? The negative will
oppose the adoption of this rule by establishing the three following
points:--

1. Such a system will lower the scholarship both of those who are
exempted from examinations and of those who are not.

2. Such a system will foster dishonesty, jealousy, and conceit.

3. Such a system will deprive those who are exempted from examinations
of valuable discipline in preparing for examinations and in taking the
examinations.

There are several forms in which the partition may be expressed: it
may consist of a single sentence that indicates how the issues are to
be answered; it may consist of the issues themselves turned into
declarative sentences so that they read in favor of the side being
upheld; or it may answer each issue by means of several statements.
The following will illustrate the several methods:--

Proposition: _Resolved_, That football is an undesirable college
game.

Issues:

1. Does football benefit or injure the player?

2. Does football benefit or injure the college as a whole?

Partition (negative):

_First method._

1. We will establish our side of the argument by proving that in each
case football is a benefit.

_Second method._

1. Football benefits the player.

2. Football benefits the college as a whole.

_Third method._

1. Football benefits the player physically.

2. Football benefits the player mentally.

3. Football benefits the player morally.

4. Football benefits the students who do not participate in the game.

5. Intercollegiate football games advertise the college.

The partition is usually found in college debate because in a contest
of this sort absolute clearness is a prerequisite for success. As but
little interest customarily centers around the subject itself, each
debater knows that if he is to make any impression on the audience he
must so arrange his argument that it will, with a minimum amount of
effort on the part of the listener, be clear to every one. To one
reading an argument, a partition, unless of the simplest kind, will
probably seem superfluous; to one listening to a speech in which he is
truly interested, the partition may seem labored. But when the whole
interest centers in the method of presentation, and in the processes
of reasoning rather than in the subject matter, the partition does
increase the clearness of the argument, and should, therefore, be
used.

By way of summary, then, it may be said that the work of conviction in
the introduction is to show the relation between the proposition and
the proof. The arguer accomplishes this task, first, by defining all
words the meaning of which is not generally comprehended; secondly, by
explaining, in the light of these definitions, the meaning of the
proposition taken as a whole; thirdly, by discovering the issues
through a careful process of analysis; and fourthly, by making a
partition when he is engaged in debate and has reason to think that
the audience will not see the connection between the issues and the
discussion.


HOW TO INVESTIGATE A SUBJECT.

A student will hardly have reached this point in the study of
Argumentation before finding it necessary to search for information
that will assist him in the construction of his argument. To one
unfamiliar with a library, a search after facts bearing upon a given
subject is likely to prove tedious. For this reason a few words of
advice concerning the proper way in which to use a library may be of
great help to a beginner. Nothing, however, can be given here that
will even approximate the value of a few hours' instruction by the
librarian of the college in which the student is enrolled. In the
absence of such instruction, one can seldom do better at the outset
than to become familiar with indexes to periodical and contemporary
literature, encyclopaedias, government reports, and the library
catalogue.

The best indexes are the _Reader's Guide, Poole's Index, The Annual
Library Index,_ and the _Current Events Index_. These give
references to all articles published in the principal magazines and
newspapers for many years. In these articles one will find almost
limitless material on nearly every popular topic of the day--
political, economic, scientific, social, educational. The writers,
too, are often of national and even of international reputation, and
the opinions and ideas given here are frequently as weighty and
progressive as can be found. In searching through an index for
articles upon a certain subject, one should invariably look under
several headings. For example, if one is seeking material in regard to
the abolishment of baseball from the list of college sports, he ought
not to consult just the one heading _baseball_; he should in
addition look under _athletics_, _college sports_, and
similar topics.

Other valuable sources of information are encyclopaedias. They often
give broad surveys and comprehensive digests that cannot readily be
found elsewhere. Although they do not, as a rule, discuss subjects
that are of mere local or present-day interest, yet the thorough
searcher after evidence will usually do well to consult at least
several. A fact worth bearing in mind is that in connection with these
articles in encyclopaedias, references are often given to books and
articles that treat the subject very thoroughly.

In the next place, official publications frequently furnish invaluable
help in regard to public problems. Both state governments and the
national government constantly publish reports containing statistics,
the opinions of experts, and suggestions for economic and political
changes. Some of the most valuable of these documents for the purposes
of the arguer are Census, Immigration, Education, and Interstate
Commerce Commission reports, the messages of the Presidents, and the
_Congressional Record_. There are indexes to all these, and one
can easily find out how to use them.

Furthermore, one should not fail to consult the library catalogue. To
be sure, if the books are catalogued only according to titles and
authors, one will probably get little assistance from this source
unless he knows beforehand what particular books or authors to search
for. If, on the other hand, the books are also catalogued according to
the subjects of which they treat, one can see almost at a glance what
books the library has that bear upon the matter under investigation.


EXERCISES

A. Define the following terms:--monopoly, free trade, railway pooling,
income tax, honorary degree, tutorial system of instruction,
industrial education, classical education, German university method of
study, vivisection, temperance, Indian agency system, yellow peril,
graft, sensational, mass play, monarch, civilization, autonomy.

B. Criticise the issues that are given for the following
propositions:--

1. _Resolved,_ That in the United States naturalization laws
should be more stringent.

    a. Are the present laws satisfactory?
    b. Have the results of the laws been satisfactory?
    c. Would a change be wise?

2. _Resolved,_ That in the United States the reformatory system
of imprisonment should be substituted for the punitive.

    a. Is the reformatory system practicable?
    b. Does it reform the criminal?
    c. What has been its success thus far?
    d. Is it in accordance with modern civilization?

3. _Resolved_, That education in the United States should be
compulsory to the age of sixteen.

    a. Is compulsory education practicable?
    b. Will compulsory education benefit the child?
    c. Will compulsory education benefit the public?

4. _Resolved_, That American universities should admit women on
equal terms with men.

    a. Is woman's education as important as man's?
    b. Is coeducation a benefit to both sexes?
    c. Is coeducation a benefit to the college?
    d. Is the desirable system of separate education worth the extra
         money it costs?

5. _Resolved_, That in the United States there should be an
educational test for voting.

    a. Is voting a privilege or a natural right?
    b. Ought illiterates to be excluded from the polls?
    c. Would the test be unfair to any class of citizens?
    d. Could such a test be easily incorporated into our laws?

6. _Resolved_, That vivisection should be prohibited.

    a. Is vivisection of great assistance to medicine?
    b. Is vivisection humane?
    c. Is it right for us as human beings to sanction the many
         forms of needless and excessive cruelty practised by
         vivisectors?

C. Make a brief introduction to each of the following propositions,
defining all words that require definition, explaining the meaning of
the proposition, stating the issues, and making the partition:--

1. All colleges should debar freshmen from participation in
intercollegiate athletic contests.

2. Playing baseball with organizations not under the national
agreement should not render athletes ineligible for college teams.

3. ---- College should adopt the honor system of holding examinations.

4. All colleges should abolish hazing.

5. The climate of our country is changing.

6. Macbeth's wife was the cause of his ruin.

7. The Rhodes scholarships for the United States will accomplish the
objects of its founder.

8. National expositions are a benefit to the country.




CHAPTER V

THE INTRODUCTION--BRIEF-DRAWING


Preceding chapters have dwelt on the essential characteristics of the
introduction and have shown what it should be like when completed. No
one but an expert writer, however, can hope that his argument, in
either introduction, discussion, or conclusion, will attain any
considerable completeness and excellence without first passing through
a preliminary form known as the _brief_.

A brief is a special kind of outline: _it is an outline that sets
forth in specific language all the ideas to be used in that portion of
the argument known as conviction, and that shows the exact relation
these ideas bear to each other and to the proposition_. An outline
in narrative, descriptive, or expository composition is invariably
made up of general suggestions, which seldom indicate the same ideas
to different persons; it is inexact and incomplete. A brief, on the
contrary, fails in its purpose unless it conveys accurate information.
The material composing it is always in the form of complete sentences;
the ideas are expressed in as exact and specific language as the
writer is capable of using. A good brief means as much to the one who
reads it as to the one who draws it. It is, too, a complete work in
itself. It does not deal with persuasion; with this exception,
however, it contains in condensed form all the material to be used in
the finished argument.

There are many reasons why an arguer should first cast his material in
the form of a brief. To begin with, this device enables him to grasp,
almost at a glance, all the material used for the purpose of
conviction; it keeps constantly before him the points that he must
explain, and shows him instantly just how far he has progressed with
the proof of each statement. Furthermore, a brief renders the arguer
invaluable assistance in preserving the fundamental principles of
composition, especially those of Unity, Coherence, Proportion, and
Emphasis. It greatly simplifies his task of assorting material and
assigning each part its proper place and function. It exhibits so
clearly every particle of evidence and every process of reasoning
employed that it affords great convenience for testing both the
quality and the quantity of the proof. In fact, a good brief is so
essential a part of a good argument that a student who neglects to
draw the first is bound to meet failure in the second.

The rules governing brief-drawing logically divide themselves into
four classes: those which apply to the brief as a whole constitute the
first class and are called General Rules; those rules which apply to
each of the main divisions of a brief constitute the three remaining
classes and are called Rules for the Introduction, Rules for the
Discussion, and Rules for the Conclusion.


GENERAL RULES.

In drawing a brief, the student should first divide his material into
three groups, corresponding to the three divisions of the complete
argument: the Introduction, Discussion, and Conclusion. Moreover,
since absolute clearness in every particular is the prime requisite
for a good brief, he should label each of these parts with its proper
name, so that there may never be the slightest doubt or confusion as
to where one part ends and another begins. Hence the first rule for
brief-drawing is:--

Rule I. _Divide the brief into three parts, and mark them
respectively, Introduction, Discussion, and Conclusion_.

A brief, as has been explained, is an outline that contains all the
reasoning to be found in the finished argument. Reasoning processes
are carried on, not with vague ideas and general suggestions, but with
specific facts and exact thoughts. For this reason, only complete
statements are of value in a brief. Mere terms must be avoided. A
statement, it should be remembered, is a declarative sentence; a term
is a word or any combination of words other than a sentence.

The following examples of terms plainly show that no reasoning process
can exist without the use of complete statements:--

Strikes during the past twenty-five years.

Percentage of strikes conducted by labor organizations.

Building trades and strikes.

Since such expressions as these give no information, they are
manifestly out of place in a brief. Each term may call to mind any one
of several ideas. No one but the author knows whether the first term
is intended to indicate that strikes have been of frequent or of
infrequent occurrence, beneficial or detrimental. The second term does
not indicate whether the percentage of strikes conducted by labor
organizations has been great or small, increasing or decreasing. The
third term is equally indefinite. Notice, however, that as soon as
these terms are turned into complete sentences, they may well serve as
explanation or as proof:--

During the twenty-five year period ending in 1905 there occurred in
the United States 36,757 strikes.

Labor organizations directed about two-thirds of these strikes.

The building trades have had more strikes than has any other industry.
This explanation gives rise to the following rule:--

Rule II. _Express each idea in the brief in the form of a complete
statement_.

Moreover, each sentence should contain only one idea. Every thought
expressed has some specific work to do, and it can do it far more
effectively if it stands by itself as a unit. The awkwardness and
impracticability of proving the truth or falsity of a statement that
makes several assertions has been treated under the head of Combined
Propositions. Obviously, there are unwarrantable difficulties in
grouping explanation or proof about such a statement as, "Municipal
ownership has failed in Philadelphia, has succeeded in Edinburgh, and
is likely to meet with indifferent success in New Orleans."
Furthermore, a sentence that contains several distinct thoughts is
very ineffective as proof for some other statement. Since one part of
the sentence may be accepted as true and another part rejected, the
resulting confusion is very great. To avoid all errors of this kind,
the student should use, as far as possible, only _simple_
sentences.

Rule III. _Make in each statement only a single assertion_.

In the next place, one who draws a brief should take pains to frame
all his statements in as concise a form as he can. If he is able to
state an idea in six words, he should not use seven. This principle
does not mean that small words like _a, an_, and _the_
should be left out, or that an obvious subject may be omitted; it does
not mean that the "diary" style of writing is permissible. It means
simply that one should always state his ideas as briefly as possible
without violating any of the rules of Composition. Quotations should
rarely appear in a brief, never unless they are very short. When an
arguer wishes to make use of another writer's material, he should
condense it into his own language, and state from what source he
derived his information. In an expanded argument the full quotation
may appear. The ability to express ideas both concisely and, at the
same time, clearly, is attained only by considerable labor, yet a
departure from the principle of brevity is a serious violation of good
brief-drawing. Hence the rule:--

Rule IV. _Make each statement as concise as is consistent with
clearness_.

Every brief is primarily a process of explanation. From this fact it
is evident that clearness must be sought above all other qualities.
Not only must the idea expressed be understood, but the _relation
between_ ideas, must be perfectly plain and evident. The reader
should be able to see at a glance what material is of co-ordinate rank
and what is of subordinate rank. This perspicuity is especially
necessary in the discussion, where each statement is either being
proved by subordinate statements or is serving as proof for some other
statement. The device ordinarily adopted for exhibiting at a glance
the relation between the ideas in a brief consists of two parts:
first, all subordinate statements are indented farther than more
important statements; and second, numbers and letters are used to
indicate what statements are of co-ordinate importance and what are of
secondary rank. The system of marking most generally adopted is as
follows:--

I.
   A.
      1.
         a.
            1'.
                a'.
   B.
      1.
         a.

II.
   A. etc.

Thus the fifth rule is:--

Rule V. _Indicate the relation between statements by indentation and
by the use of symbols_.

In indicating the relation between ideas, a writer should never put
more than one symbol before a statement. It seems almost superfluous
to mention an error so apparent as the double use of symbols, but the
mistake is frequently made and much confusion results. The numeral I
before a heading indicates that the statement is of primary
importance; the letter A indicates that it is of secondary importance.
If a statement is marked IA, apparently it is both primary and
secondary, clearly an impossibility.

Rule VI. _Mark each statement with only one symbol_.


RULES FOR THE INTRODUCTION.

It has been seen that a brief is a complete composition in itself,
embodying all the material for conviction that will later be found in
the expanded argument. The introduction, therefore, must contain
sufficient information to make the proof of the proposition perfectly
clear. This portion of the brief serves as a connecting link between
the proposition and the discussion; it must explain the nature of the
proposition and then show how the proof which is to follow applies to
it. The exact work that the introduction to a brief must perform is
stated in the following rule:--

Rule VII. _Put into the introduction sufficient explanation for a
complete understanding of the discussion. This explanation usually
involves:--
     (a) a definition of terms,
     (b) an explanation of the meaning of the proposition,
     (c) a statement of the issues, and
     (d) the partition._

Neither an introduction to a brief nor an introduction to a complete
argument should contain any statements not admitted by both sides. All
ideas that savor of controversy or prejudice have no place in an
introduction. The sole purpose of the introduction is to prepare the
way for the discussion; if it contains anything in the nature of
proof, anything which is not admittedly true, it is no longer pure
introduction, but becomes in part discussion. If explanation and proof
are thus thrown together indiscriminately, confusion will result.
Accordingly the following rule is of great importance:--

Rule VIII. _Put into the introduction only statements admitted by
both sides_.

The following introductions to briefs may well serve as models for
student's work:--


FIRST MODEL.

_Resolved_, That England should permanently retain control of
Egypt.


NEGATIVE BRIEF.

INTRODUCTION.

  I. Because of the recent rapid development of Egypt, the question of
       the retention of this country is becoming important.

 II. The following explanations will aid in the discussion of the
       problem:--

     A. Egypt is that strip of country in the northeastern part of
          Africa, drained by the Nile and its tributaries.

     B. England has an army of occupation in Egypt, and governs it
          nominally through the Khedive.

     C. England has never suggested annexation.

     D. England has shut out the interference of France and other
          European nations.

     E. England has practically ruled Egypt as a dependency.

III. The following facts are agreed upon:--

     A. Some nation had to take charge of Egypt, for

        1. The country was heavily in debt.

        2. The people were starving.

     B. It is for the advantage of England to retain control of the
          country.

 IV. The conflicting arguments on the question are as follows:--

     A. Those who favor the control of Egypt by England have certain
          beliefs:--

        1. They believe that the control of Egypt by England is the
             only practical solution of the problem.

        2. They believe that the present status of affairs is
             beneficial to Egypt and to the whole world.

     B. Those opposed to the control of Egypt by England maintain the
          following:--

        1. They maintain that England rules in a selfish manner.

        2. They maintain that Turkey and not England should have
             control of Egypt.

  V. From this conflict of opinion it appears that the points to be
       determined are:--

     A. Is Egypt benefited by the control of England?

     B. Is the suzerainty of England over Egypt the only practical
          solution of the problem?

     C. Is the control of Egypt by England a benefit to the whole
          world?

 VI. The negative will attempt to prove that England should not
       permanently retain Egypt for the following reasons:

     A. English control is harmful to Egypt.

     B. English control is not the only solution to the Egyptian
         problem.

     C. English control is harmful to other nations.


SECOND MODEL.

_Resolved_, That the President of the United States should be
elected by direct popular vote.


AFFIRMATIVE BRIEF.

INTRODUCTION.

  I. The present method of electing the President of the United States
       has been both praised and condemned ever since the adoption of
       the Constitution.

     A. Two methods of electing the President are under consideration:
          the present system whereby the President is elected by the
          electoral college, and the proposed system whereby the
          President would be elected by a direct popular vote.

 II. These two systems may be described as follows:--

     A. The present system has the following characteristics:--

        1. Each state elects a number of electors equal to the whole
             number of Senators and Representatives to which the state
             is entitled in Congress.

        2. These electors are chosen as the Legislature of each state
             may direct.

        3. The electors meet in their respective states and vote by
             ballot for the President.

        4. Since the year 1800 the electors have always voted for the
             candidate nominated by the national party which elected
             them, though the Constitution does not make this
             requirement.

        5. The ballots are sent in sealed packages to the President of
             the Senate, who counts them and declares the candidate
             receiving a majority vote elected.

        6. If the electors fail to elect, the House of Representatives
             chooses a President from the three candidates that
             receive the greatest number of electoral votes.

     B. The proposed system has the following characteristics:--

        1. The people vote directly for the President, the candidate
             receiving a majority of the votes being elected.

        2. If there be no majority, the President is elected as under
             the present system when the electors fail to elect.

III. The real question to be answered is, Should the direct method be
       substituted for the present method?

     A. The comparative value of each method must be judged by the
          following standards:--

        1. Which would be the more practicable?

        2. Which would give the voter fuller enjoyment of his right of
             suffrage?

        3. Which method would have the better effect upon the general
             welfare of the nation?

 IV. The affirmative will uphold its side of the proposition by
       establishing the three following facts:--

     A. The direct popular vote system would be more practicable.

     B. The direct popular vote system would be more democratic.

     C. The direct popular vote system would be better for the general
          welfare of the nation.


EXERCISES.

A. (1) Criticise the following Introduction to a brief, and
   (2) Write a suitable Introduction to a brief on this subject.

 City Location for College.

 Introduction.

 A. This question is important.

    I. The following explanation will aid--

   (a) In the understanding, and

   (b) In the discussion of the question.

       1. Primarily men come to college to study.

       2. Men can study better in the country.

       3. But is this really the case?

 B. A college is an institution of learning higher in rank than a high
     school or an academy.

 C. The issues of the question are the following:

    I. Which college location is more favorable to health and
         intellectual development?

   II. Is the student able to enter athletics?

  III. Does the student in the lonely country college form more
         lasting friendships?

   IV. Which is the cheaper? Which is the better location?

B. Put into brief form the Introduction found above, Chapter 3,
     Exercise #7, dealing with Henry Ward Beecher.

C. Put the following Introductions into brief form:--

(1) HOW TRUSTS AFFECT PRICES.

Perhaps no subject in connection with the Industrial Combinations of
the last few years has been more discussed than that of their
influence upon prices. Opinions have differed widely, the opponents of
the Combinations usually believing that they have increased prices
materially, their defenders claiming with equal positiveness that they
have reduced prices. Differences of opinion have probably originated
largely from the fact that the subject has been approached from
different points of view; and mistakes have also, in many cases, been
made through lack of a careful interpretation of available facts. It
by no means follows that the Trusts have lowered prices because prices
have fallen within a few years after their formation; nor, on the
other hand, that Trusts have raised prices because prices have been
increased. Neither does it follow that, because the Industrial
Combinations might through their economies lower prices, they have, as
a matter of fact, actually done so; nor again that, with the possible
ability to increase prices through the exercise of monopolistic power,
they have not found it advisable under certain circumstances really to
lower them. Any careful discussion of the subject will involve, first,
what the influence of combination would enable the Trusts to do
regarding prices; second, what the Combinations actually have done;
and, third, what effects upon society may be anticipated from any
changes in prices made by Industrial Combinations. [Footnote: Jeremiah
W. Jenks, North American Review for June, 1901, p. 906.]

(2) Mr. Chairman: This bill (H. R. 17019) which I shall ask this House
to pass to-day is one of that general class usually called "private
bills"; and while the usage of this House might catalogue it under
that head, it is in reality a "public bill," because it has to do with
the interests of many people--indeed, an entire city of 75,000
population.

This bill provides that the legal title to a certain tract of land
situated near the city of Tacoma, the title to which is now in the
United States Government, shall be transferred to the city of Tacoma.

However, I wish to assure this House that as a matter of fact the
Government practically loses nothing by the passage of this bill. I
realize that these two statements placed side by side seem to involve
a contradiction. Therefore I will make a brief explanation of this
matter.

Since the year of 1866 the Government has owned a tract of land
adjoining what is now the city of Tacoma; this tract of land contains
637.9 acres. In the year of 1888 the Government gave the city of
Tacoma a right or license to use and occupy this land as a city park,
but retained the legal title in the Government, because it was thought
that at some future time the Government might need to use and occupy
this land for military purposes. Therefore you will observe that the
present condition of the title to this land is that the legal title is
in the Government, with the right in the city to use and occupy the
same. This bill, if it shall pass, will simply reverse and place the
legal title to this land in the city of Tacoma, with the right
remaining in the Government for all time to come to take possession or
use and occupy any or all of this land that it might need for
military, naval, or lighthouse purposes.

I wish to explain briefly to this House why the passage of this bill
and this change in the title is not only fair and just, but the
failure to pass this bill would, in my judgment, be very unfair to the
75,000 people in the city of Tacoma. [Footnote: Speech of Hon. Francis
W. Cushman of Washington, in the House of Representatives, Feb. 28,
1905.]

(3) GOVERNMENT MANAGEMENT OF INDUSTRIAL ENTERPRISES. [Footnote: A. T.
Hadley, _Economics_, pp. 390-393.]

By far the most important part of consumers' co-operation is
exemplified in government management of industrial enterprises. This
differs in two important particulars from the co-operative agencies
already described. In the first place the choice of managers of a
government business enterprise is connected with the general political
machinery of the country, and regulated by constitutional law instead
of by statutes of incorporation. In the second place, these managers
are likely to fall back on the taxing powers of the Government to make
up any deficit which may arise in the operations of a public business
enterprise; or in the converse case to devote any surplus above
expenses to the relief of tax burdens elsewhere. A government
enterprise is managed by the people who represent, or are supposed to
represent, the consumers; but the good or bad economy of its
management does not necessarily redound to the profit or loss of those
who most use it.

In the beginning of history, the government is the power that controls
the army. When tribes were in a state of warfare with one another
defense against foreign enemies was a matter of primary importance. No
man could let his private convenience stand in the way of effective
military operations. The discipline and subordination necessary to
wage successful war were all-important; and all the powers necessary
to maintain such discipline were entrusted to the leaders of the army.

Somewhat later the military authorities undertook the work of
maintaining discipline in time of peace as well as war, and of
defining and enforcing the rights of members of the tribe against one
another, no less than against foreign enemies. This function was not
accorded to them without a struggle. The priests, under whose tutelage
the religious sanction for tribal customs had grown up, tried to keep
in their own hands the responsibility of upholding these customs and
the physical power connected with it. In some races they succeeded,
but among European peoples the military authorities took the work of
enforcing and defining laws out of the hands of the priests, and made
it a function of the state as distinct from the Church. As security
from foreign enemies increased, this law-making power became more and
more important. The Government was less exclusively identified with
the army, and more occupied with the courts, the legislatures, and the
internal police. Its judicial and legislative functions assumed a
prominence at least as great as its military function.

The growth of private property was also coincident with the
development of these domestic functions of government. In fact, the
two things reinforced one another. The production and accumulation of
capital, to which private property gave so vigorous an impulse, placed
the strong men of the community in a position where they had less to
gain by war and more by peace. It put them on the side of internal
tranquility. It thus made the government more powerful, and this in
turn still further increased the accumulations of capital. But along
with this mutual help, which strong domestic government and strong
property right rendered one another, there was an element of mutual
antagonism. The very fulfillment of those functions which made the
accumulation of capital possible, rendered it impossible for the
government to do its work except at the expense of the capitalists. It
was no longer possible to support armies by booty, or courts by fines
and forfeitures. The expense of maintaining order had to be paid by
its friends instead of by its enemies. The growth of private property
was followed by the development of a system of taxation, which, in
theory at any rate, involved the power to destroy such property.

The existence of such a system of taxation, with the machinery for
collecting money in this way, allows the government more freedom of
industrial action than any private individual can command. It can make
up a deficit by compulsory payments; and this gives it a wider range
of power in deciding what services it will undertake and what prices
it will charge--a power which affords almost unlimited opportunity for
good or bad use, according to the degree of skill and integrity with
which it is exercised.

Every extension of government activity into new fields restricts
private enterprise in two ways: first by limiting the field for
investment of private capital, and second, by possibly, if not
probably, appropriating through taxation a part of the returns from
private enterprise in all other fields. The question whether a
government should manage an industry reduces itself to this: Are the
deficiencies or evils connected with private management such that it
is wise to give government officials the taxing power which
constitutes the distinctive feature of public industrial management?

D. Draw an Introduction to a brief on each of the propositions given
     on page 82.




CHAPTER VI

THE DISCUSSION--CONVICTION


It has been seen that one who wishes to establish the truth or the
falsity of a proposition must answer certain vital questions that are
bound to arise in connection with it. Then, as different persons may
answer these questions in different ways, it becomes necessary for him
to convince his audience that his answers are correct. He must always
beware of assertiveness. This defect occurs whenever a speaker or
writer makes a statement but does not establish its truth. As simple
denial is always sufficient answer to mere assertion, an unsupported
statement is worthless. No one can hope to win in debate or change
another's belief unless he can prove that what he says is true; he
must substantiate with proof every statement that he makes, and show
that no possibility for error or deceit can exist. _In argumentation
every statement not commonly accented as true must be proved_.

The following passage is a highly assertive bit of argument; its
worthlessness is apparent.

The decision of Congress to increase still further our already
enormous navy is an injustice to every individual who contributes to
the support of the national government. It is a crime to squander
millions of money on a fleet that we do not need. Our navy to-day is
more than the equal of any foreign armament that floats. Though
second in number of ships, it ranks first in efficiency among all
the navies of the world. No other country can boast of such
marksmanship as our gunners display; no other country can boast of
such armor plate as is to be found on our first-class battleships;
not even England can successfully compete with us in seamanship and
in general efficiency.

Proof is "anything which serves either immediately or mediately to
convince the mind of the truth or the falsehood of a fact or
proposition." [Footnote: On Evidence, Best, p. 45.] Belief in a
specific statement is induced by a presentation of pertinent facts,
and usually by a process of reasoning whereby from the existence of
these known facts, the conclusion, hitherto unaccepted, is reached.
Those facts that have to do with the proposition under discussion are
known as _evidence_. The process of combining facts and deriving
an inference from them is known as _reasoning_. Evidence may be
made up of the testimony of witnesses, the opinion of experts,
knowledge derived from experience, the testimony of documents, or
circumstances that are generally known to have existed. Reasoning is
the process by which men form opinions, render judgments, explain
events, or in any way seek new truths from established facts.

In the following bit of proof, notice the facts that are stated, and
see how, by a process of reasoning, they go to substantiate the idea
that they are intended to prove:--

New York hires two policemen where Nashville hires one, and pays
them double the salary; yet Nashville is as peaceable and orderly as
New York. In Nashville any child of school age can have a seat in the
public schools all through the year; in New York there has been a
shortage of seats for many years. Nashville has a filtered water
supply; New York is going to have one as soon as the $12,000,000
filtration plant can be built at Jerome Park. Street car fares are
five cents in both cities; in Nashville one can always get a seat; in
New York one has to scramble for standing room. The southern city
maintains hospitals, parks, food inspectors, and all other things
common to New York and other large cities. Apparently, Nashville is
giving as much to its inhabitants for six dollars per capita as New
York for thirty-one. These facts can point to but one conclusion--that
Nashville has a superior system of government.

Since the first step in the generation of proof is the discovery of
facts, the arguer should at the very outset become sufficiently
familiar with the various kinds of evidence to estimate the value and
strength of each idea that has a bearing upon the subject.


I. EVIDENCE.

There are two kinds of evidence: (a) direct, and (b) indirect or
circumstantial. If a man sees a gang of strikers set fire to the
buildings of their former employer, his evidence is direct. If,
however, he only sees them stealthily leaving the buildings just
before the fire breaks out, his evidence is indirect. In the latter
case the man's testimony is direct evidence that the men were in the
vicinity of the fire when it started, but it is indirect evidence that
they perpetrated the crime. If a student who has failed to do good
work throughout the term, and who has had little or no opportunity for
special preparation, passes in a perfect paper at the close of an
examination, the presumption is that he has received aid. The evidence
on which this supposition rests is entirely circumstantial. But if
some one saw the student obtaining aid, that fact would be direct
evidence against him.

Direct evidence, as a rule, is considered more valuable than indirect,
but each kind is frequently sufficient to induce belief. The best
possible kind of evidence, the kind that is least liable to contain
error or falsehood, is a combination of both direct and indirect.
Either one by itself may be untrustworthy. The unreliability of
evidence given by eyewitnesses is shown by the conflicting stories
they frequently tell concerning the same incident even when they are
honestly attempting to relate the facts as they occurred. Also, it is
always possible that the inferences drawn from a combination of
circumstances may be entirely wrong. When, however, both kinds of
evidence are available, each confirming the other and leading up to
the same conclusion, then the possibility of error is reduced to a
minimum.

The opportunity of the college student for obtaining evidence in his
argumentative work is limited. A lawyer before entering upon an
important case often spends weeks and months in investigation;
scientists sometimes devote a whole lifetime in trying to establish a
single hypothesis. But the college student in preparing an argument
must obtain his evidence in a few days. There are several sources at
his disposal. The first available source is his fund of general
knowledge and experience. If a man can establish a statement by saying
that he personally knows it to be true, he has valuable proof. Then
the people with whom the student comes in contact constitute another
source of evidence. Anyone who can give information on a subject that
is being investigated is a valuable witness. Especially in discussions
on questions which pertain to college life, the opinions and
experiences of college men and of prominent educators are unsurpassed
as evidence. But the greatest source of evidence for the student of
argumentation is the library. Here he may consult the best thought of
all time in every branch of activity. He may review the opinions of
statesmen, economists, educators, and scientists, and introduce as
evidence their experiences and the results of their investigations.
Here he may familiarize himself with the current events of the world,
and draw his own conclusions as to their significance. In fact, a well
equipped library treats of all subjects, however broad or narrow they
may be, and furnishes evidence for all sorts of debatable questions.

As not all evidence is equally valuable, a large part of the work of
argumentation consists in applying tests to the evidence at hand for
the sake of determining what facts are irrefutable, what are doubtful,
and what are worthless. Moreover, one engaged in argumentation must
test not only his own evidence but also that of the other side. No
better method of refuting an opponent's argument exists than to show
that the facts on which it rests are untrustworthy. Tests of evidence
may be divided into two classes: tests of the source from which it
comes, and tests of the quality of the evidence itself.


A. TESTS OF THE SOURCE OF EVIDENCE.

Since in courts of law, in college debate, and in all kinds of
argumentation, facts are established by the testimony of witnesses,
the sources of evidence are the witnesses who give it. The debater and
the argumentative writer have not the opportunity, as has the lawyer,
of producing the witnesses and permitting them to tell their own
stories to the audience. He must himself relate the evidence; and, in
order that it may be believed, he must tell whence it comes. The
sources of evidence may be common rumor, newspapers, magazines,
official documents, private citizens, or public officials. The extent
to which these witnesses are accepted as trustworthy by the people
before whom they are quoted determines in a large measure whether or
not the evidence will be believed. Tests for determining the
trustworthiness of witnesses will next be given.

The first test of the source of evidence should be:--

(1) _Is the witness competent to give a trustworthy account of the
matter under consideration?_

To answer this question, first determine whether the facts to be
established are such that any ordinary person can speak concerning
them with reasonable accuracy, or whether they can be understood only
by persons who have received special training. A landsman could well
testify that a naval battle had occurred, but only a man with nautical
training could accurately describe the maneuvers of the ships and tell
just how the engagement progressed. A coal heaver's description of a
surgical operation would establish nothing, except perhaps the
identity of the people and a few other general matters; only a person
with a medical education could accurately describe the procedure. The
testimony of any one but a naturalist would not even tend to prove the
existence of an hitherto unknown species of animal life. A witness
without technical knowledge cannot give reliable evidence on matters
of a technical nature.

Then, if it is found that the witness does possess the necessary
technical training, or that no previous training is necessary, still
further test his ability to give reliable evidence by asking whether
he has had ample opportunity for investigating the facts to the
existence of which he testifies. For even a skilled player sitting in
the first base bleachers at a baseball game to criticise an umpire's
decisions on balls and strikes is absurd; the opinion of a transient
visitor to Panama on the methods used in digging the canal is not
valuable; a traveler who has spent a single month in Japan cannot draw
reliable conclusions on the merits and defects of its political
structure. In not one of these cases has the opportunity for
investigation been sufficient to render the witness able to give
reliable evidence.

A current magazine in discussing the weakness of testimony that comes
from incompetent witnesses says:--

Generalizations about the tastes and interests of the age are so
easy that all except the most wary fall into them, and the world is
full of off-hand opinions touching the condition of society and the
state of the world, which are far more conspicuous for courage than
for discretion. There are very few men or women in any particular
period who know it intimately enough, and with sufficient insight and
sympathy, to pass judgment upon it. One hears almost every day
sweeping judgments about Americans, English, French, Germans, Chinese,
and Japanese which are entirely valueless, unless they are based on a
very broad and intimate knowledge of these various peoples, a
knowledge which, in the nature of things, few people possess. The
charming American girl who declared that, since gloves are cheaper in
Paris, American civilization is a failure, may stand for a type of
interesting and piquant oracles, to be heard with attention, but under
no circumstances to be followed. Americans are so familiar with the
European traveler who arrives and makes up his opinion over night in
regard to men, morals, and manners in the Western world and have so
often been the victim of this self-confident critic, that they ought
not to repeat the same blunder in dealing with other peoples.
[Footnote: The Outlook, July 20, 1907.]

In the court room, where witnesses are present and can be carefully
examined by the lawyers on both sides, it is customary to apply both
mental and physical tests. The witness who testifies to knowledge of
some event that occurred a long time before is given a memory test;
the senses, also, through which occurrences are perceived are
frequently examined. But as writers and debaters in general seldom
have the opportunity to apply tests of this sort to their sources of
information, and as these tests are seldom important outside of the
law courts, they are not taken up in detail in this book.

The second test of the source of evidence should be:--

(2) _Is the witness willing to give an accurate account of the
matter?_

One important influence that may cause a witness to give false
evidence is _self-interest_. Not only individuals, but social and
industrial organizations, political parties, communities, and states
are frequently swayed by this emotion to the extent of deliberately
perverting the truth. The evidence found in newspapers and other
publications is often false, or at least misleading, because it has
been tampered with by those who put their selfish interests before all
else. The owner of an industry protected by a high tariff would
scarcely be considered a reliable witness in matters affecting tariff
reform. The opinion of a railroad magnate on the subject of a
compulsory two-cent rate law would not be considered as unbiased. No
disinterested seeker after truth would accept the political
conclusions of a newspaper owned by a politician or recognized as the
organ of a certain party. In all such cases, self-interest may prompt
the witness to make statements not in strict accordance with the
truth. Perjury in the court room is not uncommon; falsehood elsewhere
must be guarded against. The arguer should always carefully scrutinize
the testimony of a witness that has any special interest in the matter
for which evidence is being sought. Though the self-interest is
strong, the witness may be willing to state the matter accurately;
but, as long as human nature remains as it is, this willingness
should not be taken for granted.

The third test of the source of evidence should be:--

(3) _Is the witness prejudiced?_

Another emotion that frequently keeps a witness from telling the exact
truth is _prejudice_. Every one is familiar with instances of how
this passion warps men's morals and corrupts their judgment. If a man
is prejudiced for or against a person or a system, he cannot be
accepted as a trustworthy witness in matters where his prejudice comes
into play. Should an economist known to favor socialism write a
treatise advocating municipal ownership of public utilities, his
evidence and his reasoning would not be convincing; it would be taken
for granted that he looked at the subject through socialistic
spectacles. A person who sets out with the expectation and intention
of finding flaws in anything usually succeeds. Though he is willing to
tell the exact truth, yet because of his prejudice he is sure to see
only that which will coincide with his preconceived opinions. For this
reason, political speeches and intensely partisan books and papers are
invariably unreliable sources of evidence even though they are not
intentionally dishonest.

The fourth test of the source of evidence is:--

(4) _Does the witness have a good reputation for honesty and
accuracy?_

The human conscience is so constituted that many people deviate from
the truth for no apparent reason whatever. Some are given to
exaggeration; some habitually pretend to know that of which they are
entirely ignorant; others are so inaccurate that everything they say
is open to grave suspicion. If a witness is known to have been
repeatedly dishonest or inaccurate in the past, little reliance should
be placed in his testimony. "Yellow journalism," which is largely the
reflection of common rumor, affords constant examples of witnesses
that give questionable evidence.

Ability and willingness to give exact evidence, an unprejudiced
attitude, and a good reputation for honesty and accuracy are the
qualities that should characterize the sources of evidence. If a
writer or speaker is securing testimony from friends or acquaintances,
the application of these tests is not difficult. If, however, the
sources are books and periodicals, his work is harder; but to be
successful, he must not shirk it. When one procures evidence from
books, he should investigate the character and standing of the author.
When one obtains it from signed articles in papers and magazines, he
must consider both the author and the character of the publication. In
the case of newspaper "stories" and editorials, one should find out on
what general policy and principles the paper is conducted. A cautious
arguer will always avoid, as far as he can, the use of evidence that
comes from a doubtful source. If one finds that an opponent has used
the testimony of questionable witnesses, he can, by exposing the fact,
easily refute the argument.

NECESSITY OF STATING SOURCES. It sometimes happens that an arguer
fails to state the source of his evidence. This omission is usually
fatal to success. No one is likely to put much confidence in
statements that are introduced by such flimsy preambles as, "A certain
statesman has declared"; "I have read somewhere"; "An acquaintance
told me." Not only must evidence come from sources that seem good to
the writer, but those sources must be satisfactory to the audience. In
the last analysis the audience is the judge of what is credible and
what is not. Moreover, if the evidence is of great importance, or is
liable to be disputed, the arguer should show in a few words why the
witness is especially reliable.


B. INTERNAL TESTS OF EVIDENCE

(1) _Is the evidence consistent with (a) other evidence in the same
argument; (b) known facts; (c) human experience?_

The requirement that every separate bit of evidence in an argument
shall be consistent with every other bit of evidence in the same
argument is too well understood to need explanation. One familiar with
courts of law knows that a witness who contradicts himself is not
believed. Furthermore, if the testimony of several witnesses for the
same side is inconsistent, the case for that side is materially
weakened. So it is in general debate: the arguer who wishes to succeed
must not use evidence that is self-contradictory. His proof must "hang
together"; his facts must all go to establish the same conclusion.

A flagrant violation of this principle once occurred in a class-room
debate. The speaker for the negative on the proposition,
"_Resolved_, That freshmen should be ineligible for college
teams," said that such a rule would deprive the freshmen of much-
needed physical exercise. Later on, he said that just as many freshmen
would receive injuries under this rule as without it, since they would
take part in equally dangerous contests as members of freshmen teams.
This contradiction ruined his argument.

In the next place, evidence to be of any value whatever, must be
consistent with what is known about the case. If an arguer is so
careless as to make statements contradictory either to well-
established facts or to facts easily proved, he cannot hope to attain
the slightest measure of success. Only one guilty of gross neglect or
absolute falsehood is likely to fall into such an error. At one time
the story was circulated that, during his early life, Lincoln had been
insane. In the following passage Ida M. Tarbell shows that the
testimony on which this belief was founded is inconsistent with the
known facts of the case, and is, therefore, palpably untrue:--

"Mr. Thornton went on to say that he knew beyond a doubt that the
sensational account of Lincoln's insanity was untrue, and he quoted
from the House journal to show how it was impossible that, as Lamon
says, using Herndon's notes, 'Lincoln went crazy as a loon, and did
not attend the legislature in 1841-1842, for this reason'; or, as
Herndon says, that he had to be watched constantly. According to the
record taken from the journals of the House by Mr. Thornton, which
have been verified in Springfield, Mr. Lincoln was in his seat in the
House on that 'fatal first of January' when he is asserted to have
been groping in the shadow of madness, and he was also there on the
following day."

Lincoln himself was an expert at detecting inconsistency wherever it
existed. He won many of his lawsuits by the straightforward method of
showing that the one or two vital statements on which the whole case
of the opposition rested were false, inasmuch as they were
inconsistent with well-established and incontrovertible facts. An
instance of this sort is here described:--

The most damaging evidence was that of one Allen, who swore that he
had seen Armstrong strike Metzker about ten or eleven o'clock in the
evening. When asked how he could see, he answered that the moon shone
brightly. Under Lincoln's questioning he repeated the statement until
it was impossible that the jury should forget it. With Allen's
testimony unimpeached, conviction seemed certain.

Lincoln's address to the jury was full of pathos. It was not as a
hired attorney that he was there, he said, but to discharge a debt of
friendship.... But Lincoln was not relying on sympathy alone to win
his case. In closing he reviewed the evidence, showing that all
depended on Allen's testimony, and this he said he could prove to be
false. Allen never saw Armstrong strike Metzker by the light of the
moon, for at the hour when he said he saw the fight, between ten and
eleven o'clock, the moon was not in the heavens. Then procuring an
almanac, he passed it to the judge and jury. The moon, which was on
that night only in its first quarter, had set before midnight.
[Footnote: The Life of Abraham Lincoln, Vol. I, p. 272. Ida M.
Tarbell. The Doubleday & McClure Co.]

An arguer should also be extremely careful to use evidence that on its
face appears reasonable. Only an extremely credulous audience will
accept ideas that run counter to human belief and experience. To
attribute the occurrence of an event to supernatural causes would
bring a smile of derision to any but a most ignorant and superstitious
person. To attribute to men qualities and characteristics that human
experience has shown they do not possess will bring equal discredit.
No one is likely to accept evidence that contradicts his habits of
thinking, that is contrary to what his life and experience have taught
him is true. For this reason savage people are slow to believe the
teachings of the Christian religion. For this reason it is difficult
to make an audience believe that any one will deliberately and
consistently work against his own interests, or follow any other
unusual line of action. Evidence contrary to human experience may be
true, but unless the exigencies of the argument demand its use, the
arguer will do well to omit it entirely. If he is obliged to use it,
he should make it appear as reasonable as he can, and also
substantiate it with careful proof.

Huxley appreciated the fact that evidence, to be believed, must be in
accordance with man's experience when he wrote the following:--

If any one were to try to persuade you that an oyster shell (which
is also chiefly composed of carbonate of lime) had crystallized out of
sea-water, I suppose you would laugh at the absurdity. Your laughter
would be justified by the fact that all experience tends to show that
oyster-shells are formed by the agency of oysters, and in no other
way.

The ease with which an argument that does not satisfy this requirement
may be overthrown is clearly shown in the following extract from a
student's forensic:--

To say that the Cuban reconcentrados sunk the _Maine_ in an
effort to embroil the United States in a conflict with Spain is the
veriest foolishness. There is not one scrap of documentary evidence to
show that such was the case. Moreover, such an act would be
unparalleled in the annals of history. It is unreasonable, contrary to
all experience, that those oppressed people should have brought
disaster, involving the destruction of property and the loss of many
lives, upon the very nation that they were looking to for assistance.

(2) _Is the evidence first-hand or hearsay evidence?_

It is universally recognized that hearsay evidence is unreliable. A
narrative is sure to become so garbled by passing from mouth to mouth
that unless a witness can testify to a fact from his own personal
knowledge the evidence he gives is worthy of little credence. There is
sufficient chance for error when the person who witnessed the event
relates the account himself; if the story is told by a second, and
perhaps by a third person, it is likely to reflect but little of what
really happened. Every one is familiar with the exaggerations of
common rumor; it distorts facts so that they are unrecognizable. The
works of Herodotus are untrustworthy because he frequently believed
hearsay evidence. Since second-hand evidence both fails to establish
anything worth while, if allowed to stand, and is easily overthrown
even by a very little first-hand evidence, an arguer will do well to
follow the custom of the law courts, and, as a rule, exclude it
altogether.

(3) _Can the evidence be considered as especially valuable?_

(a) _Hurtful admissions_ constitute an especially valuable kind
of evidence. Since men are not wont to give evidence detrimental to
their personal interest unless impelled to do so by conscientious
scruples, any testimony damaging to the one who gives it is in all
probability not only truthful, but also the result of careful
investigation. When a practising physician admits that half the
ailments of mankind are imaginary or so trivial as to need no medical
attention, he is making a statement that is likely to injure his
business; for this reason he is probably stating the result of his
experience truthfully. If a railroad president says that in his
opinion government supervision of railroads will benefit the public in
the matter of rates and service, it may be taken for granted that he
has given his honest belief, and that his natural reluctance to
surrender any authority of his own has kept him from speaking
carelessly. If a member of the United States Senate admits that that
body is corrupt, and selfish, and untrustworthy, he is lowering his
own rank; therefore it is reasonable to believe that he is speaking
the truth according to his honest belief.

The following is an example of this kind of evidence:--

It was stated during the Manchurian campaign that the Jewish
soldiers, of whom Kuropatkin had about 35,000, not only failed to hold
their ground under fire, but by their timidity threw their comrades
into panic. But good evidence can be cited from the correspondents of
the _Novoye Vremya_, an Anti-Semitic organ, to the effect that
among the Jews were found many "intrepid and intelligent soldiers,"
and that a number of them were awarded the St. George's cross for
gallantry. [Footnote: The Nation, June 11, 1908.]

It is hardly necessary to add that one who places especial reliance on
this kind of evidence must be sure that the admission is _really_
and not merely _apparently_ contrary to the interest of the one
who gives it.

(b) Another particularly valuable kind of evidence is _negative
evidence_, or the _evidence of silence_. Whenever a witness
fails to mention an event which, if it had occurred, would have been
of such interest to him that he might reasonably have been expected to
have mentioned it, his silence upon the matter becomes negative
evidence that the event did not occur. For many years no one suggested
that Bacon wrote the Shakespearean plays; this absence of testimony to
the belief that Bacon wrote them is strong evidence that such belief
did not exist until recently, a fact that tends to discredit the
Baconian theory of authorship. The fact that in the writings of
Dickens and Thackeray no mention is made of the bicycle is negative
evidence that the bicycle had not then come into use. That Moses
nowhere in his writings speaks of life after death is negative
evidence that the Hebrews did not believe in the immortality of the
soul. If admittedly capable and impartial officials do not inflict
penalties for foul playing during a football game, there is strong
presumption that little or no foul playing occurred.

The following paragraph, taken from a current magazine, shows how this
kind of evidence may be handled very effectively:--

A sharp controversy has been raging in the European press over the
question whether Gambetta secretly visited Bismarck in 1878. Francis
Laur, Gambetta's literary executor, has published an article asserting
that he did, and giving details (rather vague, it must be admitted) of
the conversation between the two statesmen. But he offers not a scrap
of documentary proof. He is not even sure whether the interview took
place at Friedrichsruh or at Varzin. This is rather disconcerting,
especially in view of the fact that Bismarck never made the slightest
reference in his reminiscences or letters to the visit of Gambetta, if
it occurred, and that the minute Busch never mentioned it. [Footnote:
The Nation, September 5, 1907]


ARGUMENT FROM AUTHORITY.

There is a particular kind of evidence frequently available for
debaters and argumentative writers known as _argument from
authority._ This evidence consists of the opinions and decisions of
men who are recognized, to some extent at least, as authorities on the
subjects of which they speak. An eminent scientist might explain with
unquestioned certainty the operation of certain natural phenomena. A
business man of wide experience and with well recognized insight into
national conditions might speak authoritatively on the causes of
business depressions. In religious matters the Bible is the highest
authority for orthodox Christians; the Koran, for Mohammedans. In
legal affairs the highest authorities are court decisions, opinions of
eminent jurists, and the Constitution. If a certain college president
is considered an authority in the matter of college discipline, then a
quotation from him on the evils of hazing becomes valuable evidence
for the affirmative of the proposition, "Hazing should be abolished in
all colleges." If the arguer wishes to strengthen his evidence, he may
do so by giving the president's reasons for condemning hazing; but he
then departs from pure argument from authority. Pure argument from
authority does not consist of a statement of the reasons involved; it
asserts that something is true because some one who is acknowledged to
be an authority on that subject says it is true.

Argument from authority differs from other evidence in that it
involves not merely investigation but also the exercise of a high
degree of judgment. The statement that in 1902, in the United Kingdom,
two hundred and ninety-five communities of from 8,000 to 25,000
inhabitants were without street-car lines is not argument from
authority; the discovery of this truth involved merely investigation.
On the other hand, if some reputable statesman or business man should
say that street-car facilities in the United States excelled those of
England, this evidence would be argument from authority; only through
both investigation and judgment could such a statement be evolved.

This kind of evidence is very strong when those addressed have
confidence in the integrity, ability, and judgment of the person
quoted. If, however, they do not know him, or if they do not consider
him reliable, the evidence is of little value. Therefore, the test
that an arguer should apply before using this kind of evidence is as
follows:--

_Is the witness an acknowledged authority on the subject about which
he speaks?_

Sometimes a short statement showing why the witness quoted is able to
speak wisely and conclusively will render the evidence more valuable
in the eyes of the audience. In the following example, notice how
Judge James H. Blount used "authority" in proving that the Filipinos
desired self-government:--

Senator Dubois, of Idaho, who was a member of the Congressional
party that visited the Philippines, has since said in the New York
"Independent": All the Filipinos, with the exception of those who were
holding positions under and drawing salaries from our Government,
favor a government of their own. There is scarcely an exception among
them.... There is nobody in the islands, no organization of any
kind or description, which favors the policy of our Government toward
them.

Senator Newlands, of Nevada, also a member of the Congressional party
aforesaid, has declared, in the number of this Review for December,
1905, that practically the whole people desire independence.
Congressman Parsons, also a member of the same party, has since said:
"There is no question that all the Filipino parties are now in favor
of independence."

Captain J. A. Moss, of the Twenty-fourth Infantry, a member of General
Corbin's staff, is quoted by Mr. Bryan, in the "Commoner" of April
27th, 1906, as saying in an article published in a Manila paper while
Mr. Bryan was in the islands, with reference to the wishes of "the
great majority" of Filipinos, that "to please them, we cannot get out
of the islands too soon." [Footnote: North American Review, Vol.
CLXXXIV, p. 136.]


II. REASONING.

As has been said, proof consists of evidence and reasoning. Evidence
has been considered first because this order corresponds to the way in
which proof is usually generated; obviously, the discovery of facts
precedes the process of reasoning which shows their significance. In
some instances, however, this order is reversed: a man may form a
theory and then hunt for the facts on which to base it; but in
general, facts precede inferences.

Since all people when they reason do not reach the same conclusion, it
is very essential for a student to investigate the various processes
of reasoning. Given exactly the same evidence, some men will draw one
conclusion, some another. A current periodical recognizes this fact
when it says:--

How widely divergent may be conclusions drawn from the same source
can be judged by contrasting these two statements: Messrs. Clark and
Edgar declare that "where municipal ownership has been removed from
the realm of philosophic discussion and put to the test of actual
experience it has failed ingloriously"; Professor Parsons and Mr.
Bemis on the contrary assert, to use Professor Parsons' words, "it is
not public ownership, but private ownership, that is responsible for
our periodic crisis and the ruin of our industries," and "it is not
impossible that the elimination of the public service corporations
through public ownership is one of the things that would do more to
help along the process of making our cities fit." [Footnote:
Outlook, July 27, 1907.]

Because of the divergencies in the results produced by reasoning, a
student should study with considerable care the various processes of
arriving at a conclusion, so that he may be able to tell what methods
are strong, what are weak, and what are fallacious.

According to a common classification, there are two methods of
reasoning: the inductive process, and the deductive process.

1. INDUCTIVE REASONING. When one carefully investigates his reasons
for believing as he does, he often finds that he accepts a certain
statement as true because he is familiar with many specific instances
that tend to establish its truth. The belief that prussic acid is
poisonous is based upon the large number of instances in which its
deadly effect has been apparent. The fact that railroad men are
exposed to injury is unquestioned because every one is familiar with
the many accidents that occur each year. The statement that water
freezes at thirty-two degrees Fahrenheit has been proved true by
innumerable tests. This process of reasoning by which, from many
specific instances, the truth of a general statement is established,
is called _induction._

An example of inductive reasoning is found in the following passage:--

Does the closing of the saloons affect appreciably the amount of
drunkenness in the community? A comparison of the same town or city in
successive years--one year under one system, and the next year under
the other--furnishes a basis for accurate judgment. Evidence of this
sort is all one way, and it seems to be conclusive.

The tables prepared by the Massachusetts Bureau of Statistics of
Labor, in 1905, under special instructions from the legislature, show
that in Haverhill the average number of arrests per month under
license was 81.63, under no-license, 26.50; in Lynn, under license,
315, under no-license, 117.63; in Medford, under license, 20.12,
under no-license, 13.25; in Pittsfield, under license, 93.25, under
no-license, 36.75; and in Salem, under license, 140.50, under
no-license, 29.63. Such comparisons might be multiplied, but it is
unnecessary. There is no escaping the conclusion that the closing of
the saloons, under the Local Option system, does sensibly diminish the
volume of drunkenness. [Footnote: Atlantic Monthly, Vol. XC, p. 437.]

In using inductive reasoning, one must always be on his guard against
drawing conclusions too hastily. It is never correct to conclude from
a consideration of only a few instances that a general truth has been
discovered. Further examination may show that the opinion first formed
will not hold. Some people call all men dishonest because several
acquaintances have not kept faith with them. Others are ready to
believe that because they have made money in the stock market all can
do likewise. Most superstitions arise through generalization from too
few instances: those who have several times met misfortune on the
thirteenth day of the month are apt to say that the thirteenth is
always an unlucky day. Such reasoning as this shows the weakness of
inductive argument: a conclusion is worthless if it is drawn from too
few examples.

Professor Fred Lewis Pattee, in writing on _Errors in Reasoning_,
says:--

Children and even adults often generalize from a single experience.
A little boy cautioned me at one time to keep away from a certain
horse, for "white horses always kick." An old Pennsylvania farmer laid
down the law that shingles laid during the increase of the moon always
curl up. He had tried it once and found out. A friend will advise you
to take Blank's Bitters: "I took a bottle one spring and felt much
better; they always cure." Physicians base their knowledge of
medicines upon the observations of thousands of trained observers
through many years, and not upon a single experience. Most people are
prone to judge their neighbors from too slight acquaintance. If a man
is late at an appointment twice in succession, someone is sure to say:
"Oh, he's always late." This is poor thinking because it is bad
judgment. Judgments should be made with care and from fullness of
experience. [Footnote: The Adult Bible Class and Teacher Training
Monthly, May, 1908, page 295.]

The following quotation illustrates how often hasty generalizations
create prejudice and sway public judgment:--

There is an impression shared by many that the relation between the
white and black races in this country is becoming less amicable and
more and more surcharged with injustice. The basis for this impression
is to be found in certain dramatic and sensational events, in
particular the riots in Springfield, Illinois, and in Atlanta,
Georgia. The memory of those events is becoming faint in many minds;
but the impression they created remains. A dramatic event will have an
effect upon public opinion which statistics, more significant but less
picturesque, will altogether fail to produce. In the horror at the
brief work of a mob the diminution in the annual number of lynchings
is forgotten.

The fundamental mistake in this is in the picking out of a startling
episode or a reckless utterance and regarding it as typical. We do not
arrive at the truth in that way. The Black Hand assassin does not
furnish a true index to the Italian character. Aaron Burr is not an
exhibit of the product of American Puritanism. So, if we wish to find
out what American democracy has done with the negro, we do not search,
if we are wise, into the chain-gang of Georgia or into the slums of
New York. [Footnote: The Outlook, April 4, 1908.]

The value of inductive reasoning depends upon the number of instances
observed. Very seldom is it possible to investigate every case of the
class under discussion. Of course this can sometimes be done. For
instance, one may be able to state that all his brothers are college
graduates, since he can speak authoritatively concerning each one of
them. But usually an examination of every instance is out of the
question, and whenever induction is based on less than all existing
cases, it establishes only _probable_ truth.

From the foregoing it is seen that the tests for induction are two:--

(1) _Have enough instances of the class under consideration been
investigated to establish the existence of a general law?_

(2) _Have enough instances been investigated to establish the
probable existence of a general law?_

2. DEDUCTIVE REASONING. Deductive reasoning is the method of
demonstrating the truth of a particular statement by showing that some
general principle, which has previously been established or which is
admitted to be true, applies to it. A stranger on coming to the United
States might ask whether our postal system is a success. The answer
would perhaps be, "Yes, certainly it is, for it is maintained by the
government, and all our government enterprises are successful." When
the metal thurium was discovered, a query doubtless arose as to
whether it was fusible. It was then reasoned that since all metals
hitherto known were fusible, and since thurium was a metal,
undoubtedly it was fusible. Stated in clearer form, the reasoning in
each case would be:--

A. All our government enterprises are successful.

B. The United States postal system is a government enterprise.

C. Therefore the United States postal system is successful.

A. All metals are fusible.

B. Thurium is a metal.

C. Therefore thurium is fusible.

Such a series of statements is called a syllogism. A syllogism always
consists of a major premise (A), a minor premise (B), and a conclusion
(C). The major premise always states a general law; the minor premise
shows that the general law applies to the particular case under
consideration; and the conclusion is, in the light of the two
premises, an established truth.

The strength of deductive argument depends on two things: the truth of
the premises and the framing of the syllogism. The syllogism must
always be so stated that a conclusion is derived from the application
of a general law to some specific instance to which the law obviously
applies. In the next place, the premises must be true. If they are
only probably correct, the conclusion is a mere presumption; if either
one is false, the conclusion is probably false. But if the syllogism
is correctly framed, and if both premises are true, the conclusion is
irrefutable. As premises are facts that have first been established by
induction, the relation between inductive and deductive reasoning is
very close. In fact, deduction depends on induction for its very
existence. To overthrow a deductive argument all that is necessary is
to show the error in the inductive process that built up either one or
both of the premises.

The tests for deduction are:--

(1) _Are both premises true?_

(2) _Is the fact stated in the minor premise an instance of the
general law expressed in the major premise?_

In practical argumentation it is not always necessary or desirable to
express a deductive argument in full syllogistic form. One premise is
frequently omitted; the syllogism thus shortened is called an
_enthymeme_. The reasoning then takes some such form as, "This
man will fail in business because he is incompetent." The major
premise, "All incompetent men fail in business," is understood, but is
not expressed. The enthymeme constitutes as strong and forceful an
argument as the syllogism, provided the suppressed premise is a well-
established fact; but whenever this premise is not accepted as true,
it must be stated and proved. The argument will then consist of the
full syllogistic process.

The following outline illustrates the chief difference between
induction and deduction:--

The game of football benefits the players physically, because

(Induction.)

1. Football is known to have benefited Henry Harvey.
2. Football is known to have benefited Frank Barrs.
3. Football is known to have benefited Penn Armstrong.

(Deduction.)

1. The game affords the players regular exercise.
2. The game takes them out in the open air.
3. The game develops the lungs.

The deductive reasoning expressed in full would be:--

(1) A. All games that afford the players regular exercise benefit them
         physically.
    B. Football affords the players regular exercise.
    C. Therefore football benefits the players physically.

The reasoning given in (2) and (3) may be expressed in similar
syllogisms.

To test the inductive part of this argument, one should determine how
well the three examples show the existence of a general law. To test
the deductive part, he should ask whether the premises, both those
stated and those suppressed, are admitted facts, or whether they need
to be proved.

If all reasoning were purely inductive or purely deductive, and if it
always appeared in as simple a form as in the preceding illustration,
one would have little difficulty in classifying and testing it. But
frequently the two kinds appear in such obscure form and in such
varied combinations that only an expert logician can separate and
classify them. Because of this difficulty, it is worth while to know a
second method of classification, one which is often of greater
practical service than the method already discussed in assisting the
arguer to determine what methods of reasoning are strong and what are
weak. A knowledge of this classification is also very helpful to one
who is searching for ways in which to generate proof. This method
considers proof from the standpoint of its use in practical argument;
it teaches not so much the different ways in which the mind may work,
as the ways in which it must work to arrive at a sound conclusion.


1. ARGUMENT FROM ANTECEDENT PROBABILITY.

_The process of reasoning from cause to effect is known as the
argument from antecedent probability._ Whenever a thinking man is
asked to believe a statement, he is much readier to accept it as true
if some reasonable _cause_ is assigned for the existence of the
fact that is being established. The argument from antecedent
probability supplies this cause. The reasoning may be from the past
toward the present, or from the present toward the future. If an
inspector condemns a bridge as unsafe, the question arises, "What has
made it so?" If some one prophesies a rise in the price of railroad
bonds, he is not likely to be believed unless he can show an adequate
cause for the increase. In itself, the establishment of a cause proves
nothing. A bridge may have been subjected to great strain and still be
unimpaired. Though at present there may be ample cause for a future
rise in the securities market, some other condition may intervene and
prevent its operation. The assignment of a cause can at best establish
merely a _probability_, and yet the laws of cause and effect are
so fundamental that man is usually loath to believe that a condition
exists or will exist, until he knows what has brought it about or what
will bring it about. A course of reasoning which argues that a
proposition is true because the fact affirmed is the logical result of
some adequate cause is called _argument from antecedent
probability_.

Simple examples of this kind of reasoning are found in the following
sentences: "It will rain because an east wind is blowing"; "As most of
our officers in the standing army have been West Point graduates, the
United States military system has reached a high standard of
efficiency." The following are more extended illustrations:--

It appears to have been fully established that, in certain
industries, various economies in production--such as eliminating cross
freights, concentrating the superintending force, running best plants
to full capacity, etc.--can be made from production on a large scale,
or, in other instances, through the combination of different
establishments favorably located in different sections of the country.
It is, of course, not to be expected that any one source of saving
will be found applicable in all industries, nor that the importance of
any will be the same in different industries; but in many industries
enough sources of saving will be found to make combination profitable.
This statement does not ignore the fact that there may be, in many
instances, disadvantages enough to offset the benefits; but experience
does seem to show that, in many cases, at least, the cost of
manufacture, and distribution is materially lessened.

Granting that these savings can be made, it is evident that the
influence of Industrial Combinations might readily be to lower prices
to consumers. [Footnote: Jeremiah W. Jenks, North American Review,
June, 1901, page 907.]

In attempting to prove that operas can be successfully produced in
English, Francis Rogers says:--

We have a poetic literature of marvelous richness. Only the Germans
can lay claim to a lyric wealth as great as ours. The language we
inherit is an extraordinarily rich one. A German authority credits it
with a vocabulary three times as large as that of France, the poorest,
in number of words, of all the great languages. With such an enormous
fund of words to choose from it seems as if we should be able to
express our thoughts not only with unparalleled exactness and
subtlety, but also with unequalled variety of sound. Further it is
probable that English surpasses the other three great languages of
song, German, Italian, and French, in number of distinguishable vowel
sounds, but in questions of ear authorities usually differ, and it is
hazardous to claim in this an indubitable supremacy. It seems certain,
however, that English has rather more than twice as many vowel sounds
as Italian (the poorest language in this respect), which has only
seven or eight. [Footnote: Scribner's, January, 1909, p. 42.]

Since reasoning from antecedent probability can at best establish only
a strong presumption, and since it is often not of sufficient weight
to accomplish even this, an arguer, to be successful, must know the
tests that determine how strong and how weak an argument of this sort
is. He may apply these tests both to his own reasoning and to the
reasoning of others. The first test is:--

(1) _Is the assigned cause of sufficient strength to produce the
alleged effect?_

The significance of this question is at once apparent. In the case of
a criminal prosecution, it asks whether the accused had sufficient
motive for performing the deed. In connection with political and
economic propositions that advocate a change in existing conditions,
this test asks whether the new method proposed is sufficiently virile
and far-reaching actually to produce the excellent results
anticipated. A few years ago the advocates of free silver were
maintaining that "sixteen to one" would be a sure cure for all poverty
and financial distress. A careful application of this test would have
materially weakened such an argument. Believers in reformatory rather
than punitive methods of imprisonment say it is antecedently probable
that kind treatment, healthful surroundings, and instruction in
various directions will reclaim most criminals to an honest life.
Before accepting or rejecting this argument, one should decide in his
own mind whether or not such treatment is adequate to make a released
convict give up his former criminal practices.

If the argument stands the first test, the next question to ask is:--

(2) _May some other cause intervene and prevent the action of the
assigned cause?_

During the spring of 1908 it was generally known that the Erie
Railroad had no money with which to pay the interest that was about
due on its outstanding bonds. Wall Street prophesied that the road
would go into a receiver's hands. This result was extremely probable.
Mr. Harriman, however, president of the Union Pacific, stepped in and
by arranging for the payment of the interest saved the road from
bankruptcy. This was an example of how an intervening cause prevented
the action of the assigned cause. When Congress passed the Fifteenth
Amendment to the Constitution, many people said that this legislation
would inevitably cause the social, political, and financial ruin of
the whole South. Since they did not take into consideration the
intervening action of another cause, namely, drastic measures for
negro disfranchisement by the white inhabitants of the South, their
reasoning from antecedent probability was entirely erroneous.


2. ARGUMENT FROM SIGN.

ARGUMENT FROM EFFECT TO CAUSE. The process of reasoning from effect to
cause is called argument from sign. Since every circumstance must be
the result of some preceding circumstance, the arguer tries to find
the cause of some fact that is known to exist, and thereby to
establish the existence of a hitherto unknown fact. For instance, when
one sees a pond frozen over, he is likely to reason back to the cause
of this condition and decide that there has been a fall in
temperature, a fact that he may not have known before. The sight of
smoke indicates the presence of fire. Human footprints in the snow are
undoubted proof that someone has been present.

In the following quotation, the recent prohibition movement in the
South is said to be a sign that the voters wish to keep liquor away
from the negro:--

What is the cause of this drift toward prohibition in the South? The
obvious cause, and the one most often given in explanation, is the
presence of the negro. It is said that the vote for prohibition in the
South represents exactly the same reasoning which excludes liquor from
Indian reservations, shuts it out by international agreement from the
islands of the Pacific, and excludes it from great areas in Africa
under the British flag; and that, wherever there is an undeveloped
race, the reasons for restrictions upon the liquor traffic become
convincing. [Footnote: Atlantic Monthly, May, 1908, p. 632.]

The strength of this kind of reasoning depends upon the closeness of
the connection between the effect and the assigned cause. In testing
argument from sign, one should ask:--

(1) _Is the cause assigned adequate to produce the observed
effect?_

This test is precisely the same as the test of adequacy for antecedent
probability. One could not maintain that the productiveness of a
certain piece of ground was due entirely to the kind of fertilizer
used on it, nor that a national financial upheaval was caused by the
failure of a single unimportant bank. In each of these cases the cause
suggested may have assisted in producing the result, but obviously it
was not of itself adequate to be the sole cause.

(2) _Could the observed effect have resulted from any other cause
than the one assigned?_

If several possible causes exist, then it is necessary to consider
them all, and show that all the causes except the assigned cause did
not produce the observed effect. If an employer who has been robbed
discovers that one of his clerks has suddenly come into possession of
a large sum of money, he may surmise that his clerk is a thief. This
argument is valueless, however, unless he can show that his employee
did not receive his newly acquired wealth through inheritance,
fortunate investment, or some other reasonable method. But if no other
reason than burglary or embezzlement can explain the presence of this
money, the argument is very strong.

One might greatly weaken the argument (quoted earlier) which assigned
the cause of the recent prohibition movement in the South to the
presence of the negro by showing that this action was not the result
of the assigned cause, but largely of another cause. He might prove
that during the debate in the Georgia Legislature upon the pending
prohibitory bill, the negro was not once mentioned as a reason for the
enactment of prohibition; and that the chief arguments in favor of
prohibition were based upon the fact that the saloon element had
formed a political ring in the South and were controlling the election
of sheriffs, mayors, aldermen, and legislators.

ARGUMENT FROM EFFECT TO EFFECT. Argument from sign also includes the
process of reasoning from effect to effect through a common cause.
This method consists of combining the process just described with the
argument from antecedent probability. A reduction of wages in one
cotton mill is a sign that there may be a reduction in other cotton
mills. Here the reasoning goes from effect to effect, passing,
however, though perhaps the reasoner is not aware that the process is
so complex, through a cause common to both effects. In full, the
reasoning would be: a reduction in the first mill is the result of the
cause "hard times"; it is then antecedently probable that this cause
will produce a similar reduction of wages in other mills.

This method may be represented by the following figure:--

        Cause
         / \
        /   \
       /     \
      /       \
   Effect    Effect

Only one effect is known; the other effect is inferred, first, by a
process of reasoning from a known effect to an unknown cause, and
secondly, by the process of reasoning from this assumed cause to an
unknown effect.

This method of reasoning is sound and legitimate when both effects
have the same cause. Its weakness lies in the fact that it may be
attacked on two sides: on the reasoning from effect to cause, and on
the reasoning from cause to effect. If the connection can be broken in
either process, the argument is overthrown. The tests to be used have
already been given.


3. ARGUMENT FROM EXAMPLE.

Argument from example is the name given to the process by which one
reasons that what has been true under certain circumstances will again
be true under the same or similar circumstances. In using this method
of reasoning one argues that whenever several persons or things or
conditions are alike in some respects, any given cause operating upon
them will in each case produce the same effect; any line of action
adopted by them will in each case have the same result.

There are two divisions of argument from example. When the resemblance
between the things compared is close, the process is called argument
by generalization; when the resemblance is so slight that there can be
no direct comparison, but only a comparison of functions, the process
is called argument from analogy.

ARGUMENT BY GENERALIZATION. If one finds that a certain mastiff
becomes with training an excellent watch dog, he may reasonably take
it for granted that training will produce the same result in another
dog of the same breed. If a college student with certain pronounced
physical and mental characteristics is known to be an exceptionally
good football player, the athletic trainer is sure to reason by
generalization that another student with these same characteristics
would be a valuable addition to the team. Burke in his _Speech on
Conciliation_ uses this kind of reasoning when he says that just as
Turkey and Spain have found it necessary to govern their distant
possessions with a loose rein, so, too, England will be obliged to
govern the American Colonies leniently.

Benjamin Harrison used this method of argument in the following
quotation:--

That we give back to Porto Rico all the revenue derived from the
customs we levy, does not seem to me to soften our dealings with her
people. Our fathers were not mollified by the suggestion that the tea
and stamp taxes would be expended wholly for the benefit of the
colonies. It is to say: We do not need this money; it is only levied
to show that your country is no part of the United States, and that
you are not citizens of the United States, save at our pleasure.
[Footnote: North American Review, January, 1901, p. 17.]

Argument by generalization very rarely constitutes absolute proof. In
dealing with things, it may do so in rare cases; in dealing with human
actions, almost never. The reason why it can establish only a strong
probability lies in a weakness in the process of reasoning.

Notice that while this kind of argument apparently reasons directly
from the example cited to the case in hand, there is in reality an
intermediate step. This step is a general truth of which both the
known fact and the fact to be proved must be instances. When it is
argued that since one mastiff makes a good watch dog another mastiff
will also make a good watch dog, the reasoning passes through the
general statement, "All mastiffs make good watch dogs."

Graphically the process might be represented thus:--

          General Law
              /\
             /  \
            /    \
           /      \
   Known Fact    Fact to be Proved

This method is very much like the method of reasoning from effect to
effect, except that here the intermediate step does not _cause_,
but merely accounts for the facts. In the illustration taken from
Burke, the known fact is that neither Turkey nor Spain can govern
their distant provinces despotically. The general law is that no
country can govern a distant dependency harshly. The fact proved is
that England cannot play the despot with the American Colonies.

The weakness of this sort of reasoning is now easily seen. In the
first place, there are few general laws governing human action that
always hold true. In the second place, unless there is a very strong
resemblance between the cases compared, unless they are alike in all
essential particulars, they will not both be examples of the working
of one general law.

The following quotation points out an error that might be made from
too hasty reasoning by example:--

On August 23d the Southern Railway, which since 1902 had been paying
5 per cent. annual dividends on its preferred stock, voted to reduce
those dividends from a 5 per cent. annual rate to one of 3. Five days
later, on August 28th, the Erie Railroad, which had been paying 4 per
cent ... announced that it would pay no cash dividend this time, but
would issue to the amount of the usual 4 per cent. dividend, what it
called dividend warrants, which were practically notes at 4 per cent.
redeemable in cash in 1907.

It was natural that this action regarding dividends should have
awakened much uneasiness.... To predict a similar cutting of dividends
by other railway companies would, however, be unwarranted. The case of
the Southern Railway and the Erie was peculiar. Each had been classed
among the financially weak railways of the country. Both were
reorganized from absolute railway wrecks, and in each the new scheme
of capitalization was proposed to the markets at a time when recovery
from the depression of 1893 had not made such progress as it had
achieved when the greater companies, like the Union Pacific, were
reorganized. The result was that, with both these railways, provisions
of working capital and adjustment of liabilities to the possible needs
of an active industrial future were inadequately made. [Footnote:
Alexander D. Noyes, The Forum, October-December, 1907, p.198.]

An excellent illustration of how to refute argument by generalization
is found in the following quotation. It has been said that since
England finds free trade beneficial, the United States should adopt
the same policy. Mr. Reed, a leading advocate of protection, points
out the weakness of this argument.

According to the usual story that is told, England had been engaged
with a long and vain struggle with the demon of protection, and had
been year after year sinking farther into the depths, until at a
moment when she was in her distress and saddest plight, her
manufacturing system broke down, "protection, having destroyed home
trade by reducing," as Mr. Atkinson says, "the entire population to
beggary, destitution, and want." Mr. Cobden and his friends
providentially appeared, and after a hard struggle established a
principle for all time and for all the world, and straightway England
enjoyed the sum of human happiness. Hence all good nations should do
as England has done and be happy ever after.

Suppose England, instead of being a little island in the sea, had been
the half of a great continent full of raw material, capable of an
internal commerce which would rival the commerce of all 

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