,,the ,,making ,,of ,,arguments ,j4,h4 ,,gardiner ,,formerly ,,assistant ,,professor ,,of ,,english ,,in ,,harvard ,,university #aiab ,,to ,,my ,,friends ,,and ,,colleagues ,,on ,,the ,,staff ,,of ,,english ,a ,,preface ,the object of this book is to lay out a course in the writing of arguments which shall be simple enough for classes which give only a part of the year to the work1 and yet comprehensive enough for special classes in the subject4 ,it is especially aimed at the interests and needs of the student body as a whole1 however1 rather than at those of students who are doing advanced work in argumentation4 ,though few men have either the capacity or the need to become highly trained specialists in the making of arguments1 all men need some knowledge of the art4 ,experience at ,harvard has shown that pretty much the entire freshman class will work with enthusiasm on a single argument2 and they get from this work a training in exact thought and a discipline that they get from no other kind of writing4 ,accordingly ,i have laid out this book in order to start students as soon as possible on the same kind of arguments that they are likely to make in practical life4 ,i have striven throughout to keep in mind the interests and needs of these average individuals1 who in the aggregate will tread such a variety of paths in their passage through the world4 ,not many of them will get to ,congress1 there to make great orations on the settlement of the tariff1 and the large majority of them will not go into the law2 and even of the lawyers many will have little concern with the elaborate piecing together of circumstantial evidence into the basis for a verdict4 ,but all of them will sooner or later need the power of coming to close quarters with more or less complicated questions1 in which they must bring over to their views men of varying prepossessions and practical interests2 and all of them all their lives will need the power of seeing through to the heart of such questions1 and of grasping what is essential1 though it be separated by a hair's breadth from the inessential that must be cast to one side4 ,it is for this training of the powers of thought that a course in the making of arguments is profitable1 even when pursued for so short a time as can be given to it in most schools and colleges4 ,in laying out the book ,i have had these three purposes in mind3 first1 that the student shall without waste of time be set to exploring his subject and running down the exact issues on which his question will tarn2 second1 that as he collects his material he shall be led on to consider what part of it is good evidence for his purpose1 and how to test his reasoning from the facts2 third1 that with his material gathered and culled and his plan settled he shall turn his attention to presenting it in the most effective way possible for the particular occasion4 ,throughout ,i have tried to lay stress on the making of arguments1 not as an end in themselves1 and to fit certain more or loss arbitrary formulas1 but as the practical kind of appeal that every young man is already making to his fellows on matters that interest him1 and that he will make more and more in earnest as he gets out into the world4 ,the tendency of some of the books to treat argumentation1 especially in the form of debating1 as a new variety of sport1 with rules as elaborate and technical as those of football1 turns away from the subject a good many young men to whom the training in itself would be highly valuable4 ,the future of the subject will be closely dependent on the success of teachers in keeping it flexible and in intimate touch with real affairs4 ,i have made some suggestions looking towards this end in ,appendix ,,ii4 ,my obligations to earlier workers in the field will be obvious to all who know the subject4 ,in especial1 ,i1 like all other writers on the subject1 have built on foundations laid by ,professor ,george ,pierce ,baker1 of ,harvard ,university4 ,for permission to use the articles from ,the ,outlook ,i am indebted to the courtesy of the editors of that journal2 for the article on ,the ,transmission of ,yellow ,fever by ,mosquitoes1 to the kindness of ,general ,sternberg1 and of the editor of ,the ,popular ,science ,monthly4 ,j4,h4 ,,gardiner ,,the ,,making ,,of ,,arguments ,,chapter ,i ,,what ,,we ,,argue ,,about1 ,,and ,,why #a4 ,what ,argument is4 ,when we argue we write or speak with an active purpose of making other people take our view of a case2 that is the only essential difference between argument and other modes of writing4 ,between exposition and argument there is no certain line4 ,in ,professor ,lamont's excellent little book1 ,specimens of ,exposition1 there are two examples which might be used in this book as examples of argument2 in one of them1 ,huxley's essay on ,the ,physical ,basis of ,life1 ,huxley himself toward the end uses the words1 as ,i have endeavored to prove to you2 and ,matthew ,arnold's essay on ,wordsworth is an elaborate effort to prove that ,wordsworth is the greatest ,english poet after ,shakespeare and ,milton4 ,or1 to take quite different examples1 in any question of law where judges of the court disagree1 as in the ,income ,tax ,case1 or in the ,insular cases which decided the status of ,porto ,rico and the ,philippines1 both the majority opinion and the dissenting opinions of the judges are argumentative in form2 though the majority opinion1 at any rate1 is in theory an exposition of the law4 ,the real difference between argument and exposition lies in the difference of attitude toward the subject in hand3 when we are explaining we tacitly assume that there is only one view to be taken of the subject2 when we argue we recognize that other people look on it differently4 ,and the differences in form are only those which are necessary to throw the critical points of an argument into high relief and to warm the feelings of the readers4 #b4 ,conviction and ,persuasion4 ,this active purpose of making other people take your view of the case in hand1 then1 is the distinguishing essence of argument4 ,to accomplish this purpose you have two tools or weapons1 or perhaps one should say two sides to the same weapon1 conviction and persuasion4 ,in an argument you aim in the first place to make clear to your audience that your view of the case is the truer or sounder1 or your proposal the more expedient2 and in most arguments you aim also so to touch the practical or moral feelings of your readers as to make them more or less warm partisans of your view4 ,if you are trying to make some one see that the shape of the hills in ,new ,england is due to glacial action1 you never think of his feelings2 here any attempt at persuading him1 as distinguished from convincing him1 would be an impertinence4 ,on the other hand1 it would be a waste of breath to convince a man that the rascals ought to be turned out1 if he will not on election day take the trouble to go out and vote2 unless you have effectively stirred his feelings as well as convinced his reason you have gained nothing4 ,in the latter case your argument would be almost wholly persuasive1 in the former almost wholly a matter of convincing4 ,these two sides of argument correspond to two great faculties of the human mind1 thought and feeling1 and to the two ways in which1 under the guidance of thought and feeling1 mankind reacts to experience4 ,as we pass through life our actions and our interest in the people and things we meet are fixed in the first place by the spontaneous movements of feeling1 and in the second place1 and constantly more so as we grow older1 by our reasoning powers4 ,even the most intentionally dry of philosophers has his prejudices1 perhaps against competitive sports or against efficiency as a chief test of good citizenship2 and after childhood the most wayward of artists has some general principles to guide him along his primrose path4 ,the actions of all men are the resultant of these two forces of feeling and reason4 ,since in most cases where we are arguing we have an eye to influencing action1 we must keep both the forces in mind as possible means to our end4 #c4 ,argument neither ,contentiousness nor ,dispute4 ,argument is not contentiousness1 nor is it the good-natured and sociable disputation in which we occupy a good deal of time with our friends4 ,the difference is that in neither contentiousness nor in kindly dispute do we expect1 or intend1 to get anywhere4 ,there are many political speeches whose only object is to make things uncomfortable for the other side1 and some speeches in college or school debates intended merely to trip up the other side2 and neither type helps to clear up the subjects it deals with4 ,on the other hand1 we spend many a pleasant evening arguing whether science is more important in education than literature1 or whether it is better to spend the summer at the seashore or in the mountains1 or similar subjects1 where we know that everybody will stand at the end just where he stood at the beginning4 ,here our real purpose is not to change any one's views so much as it is to exchange thoughts and likings with some one we know and care for4 ,the purpose of argument1 as we shall understand the word here1 is to convince or persuade some one4 #d4 ,arguments and the ,audience4 ,in argument1 therefore1 far more than in other kinds of writing1 one must keep the audience definitely in mind4 ,persuade and convince for our purposes are active verbs1 and in most cases their objects have an important effect on their significance4 ,an argument on a given subject that will have a cogent force with one set of people1 will not touch1 and may even repel1 another4 ,to take a simple example3 an argument in defense of the present game of football would change considerably in proportions and in tone according as it was addressed to undergraduates1 to a faculty1 or to a ministers' conference4 ,huxley's argument on evolution 7p4 #bcc71 which was delivered to a popular audience1 has more illustrations and is less compressed in reasoning than if it had been delivered to the ,american ,academy of ,arts and ,sciences4 ,not only theoretically1 but in practice1 arguments must vary in both form and substance with the audiences to which they are addressed4 ,an argument shot into the void is not likely to bring down much game4 #e4 ,profitable ,subjects for ,arguments4 ,to get the best results from practice in writing arguments1 you must choose your subjects with care and sagacity4 ,some classes of subjects are of small value4 ,questions which rest on differences of taste or temperament from their very nature can never be brought to a decision4 ,the question whether one game is better than another--football better than baseball1 for example--is not arguable1 for in the end one side settles down to saying1 ,but ,i like baseball best1 and you stick there4 ,closely akin is such a question as1 ,was ,alexander ,pope a poet2 for in the word poet one includes many purely emotional factors which touch one person and not another4 ,matthew ,arnold made a brave attempt to prove that ,wordsworth stood third in excellence in the long line of ,english poets1 and his essay is a notable piece of argument2 but the very statement of his thesis1 that ,wordsworth left a body of poetical work superior in power1 in interest1 in the qualities which give enduring freshness1 to that which any of the others has left1 shows the vanity of the attempt4 ,to take a single word--interest--from his proposition3 what is the use of arguing with me1 if ,wordsworth happened to bore me1 as he does not1 that ,i ought to find him interesting4 ,all ,i could do would be humbly to admit my deficiency1 and go as cheerfully as might be to ,burns or ,coleridge or ,byron4 ,almost all questions of criticism labor under this difficulty1 that in the end they are questions of taste4 ,you or ,i were so made in the beginning that the so-called romantic school or the so-called classical school seems to us to have reached the pinnacle of art2 and all the argument in the world cannot make us over again in this respect4 ,every question which in the end involves questions of aesthetic taste is as futile to argue as questions of the palate4 ,other questions are impracticable because of vagueness4 ,such questions as1 ,should a practical man read poetry1 ,are lawyers a useful class in the community1 ,are the ,american people deteriorating1 furnish excellent material for lively and witty talk1 but no one expects them to lead to any conclusion1 and they are therefore valueless as a basis for the rigorous and muscular training which an argument ought to give4 ,there are many questions of this sort which serve admirably for the friendly dispute which makes up so much of our daily life with our friends1 but which dissolve when we try to pin them down4 ,some questions which cannot be profitably argued when phrased in general terms become more practicable when they are applied to a definite class or to a single person4 ,such questions as1 ,is it better to go to a small college or a large one1 ,is it better to live in the country or in the city1 ,is it wise to go into farming1 all lead nowhere if they are argued in this general form4 ,but if they are applied to a single person1 they change character3 in this specific form they not only are arguable1 but they constantly are argued out with direct and practical results1 and even for a small and strictly defined class of persons they may provide good material for a formal argument4 ,for example1 the question1 ,is it better for a boy of good intellectual ability and capacity for making friends1 who lives in a small country town1 to go to a small college or a large1 provides moderately good material for an argument on either side2 though even here the limiting phrases are none too definite4 ,in a debate on such a subject it would be easy for the two sides to pass each other by without ever coming to a direct issue1 because of differing understanding of the terms4 ,on the whole it seems wiser not to take risks with such questions1 but to choose from those which will unquestionably give you the training for which you are seeking4 ,roughly speaking1 subjects for an argument which are sure to be profitable may be divided into three classes3 7#a7 those for which the material is drawn from personal experience2 7#b7 those for which the material is provided by reading2 and 7#c7 those which combine the first two4 ,of these there can be no question that the last are the most profitable4 ,of the first class we may take for an example such a question as1 ,should interscholastic athletics be maintained in---- school8 ,here is a question on which some parents and teachers at any rate will disagree with most boys1 and a question which must be settled one way or the other4 ,the material for the discussion must come from the personal knowledge of those who make the arguments1 reenforced by what information and opinion they can collect from teachers and townspeople4 ,in ,chapter ,,ii we shall come to a consideration of possible sources for material for these and other arguments4 ,there is much to be said for the practice gained by hunting up pertinent material for arguments of this sort2 but they tend to run over into irreconcilable differences of opinion1 in which an argument is of no practical value4 ,the second class of subjects1 those for which the material is drawn wholly from reading1 is the most common in intercollegiate and interscholastic debates4 ,should the ,united ,states army canteen be restored1 ,should the ,chinese be excluded from the ,philippines1 ,should the ,united ,states establish a parcels post1 are all subjects with which the ordinary student in high school or college can have little personal acquaintance4 ,the sources for arguments on such subjects are to be found in books1 magazines1 and official reports4 ,the good you will get from arguments on such subjects lies largely in finding out how to look up material4 ,the difficulty with them lies in their size and their complexity4 ,when it is remembered that a column of an ordinary newspaper has somewhere about fifteen hundred words1 and that an editorial article such as on page #bfh1 which is thirty-eight hundred words long1 is in these days of hurry apt to be repellent1 because of its length1 and on the other hand that a theme of fifteen hundred words seems to the ordinary undergraduate a weighty undertaking1 the nature of this difficulty becomes clear4 ,to put it another way1 speeches on public subjects of great importance are apt to be at least an hour long1 and not infrequently more1 and in an hour one easily speaks six or seven thousand words1 so that fifteen hundred words would not fill a fifteen-minute speech4 ,this difficulty is met in debates by the longer time allowed1 for each side ordinarily has an hour2 but even then there can be no pretense of a thorough treatment4 ,the ordinary written argument of a student in school or college can therefore do very little with large public questions4 ,the danger is that a short argument on a large question may breed in one an easy content with a superficial and parrotlike discussion of the subject4 ,discussions of large and abstract principles are necessary1 but they are best left to the time of life when one has a comprehensive and intimate knowledge of the whole mass of facts concerned4 ,by far the best kind of subject1 as has been said1 is that which will combine some personal acquaintance with the facts and the possibility of some research for material4 ,many such subjects may be found in the larger educational questions when applied to your own school or college4 ,should the elective system be maintained at ,harvard ,college1 ,should the ,university of ,illinois require ,latin for the ,a4,b4 degree1 ,should fraternities be abolished in----,high ,school1 ,should manual training be introduced in----,high ,school1 are all questions of this sort4 ,a short list of similar questions is printed at the end of this section1 which it is hoped will prove suggestive4 ,for discussing these questions you will find considerable printed material in educational and other magazines1 in reports of presidents of colleges and school committees1 and other such places1 which will give you practice in hunting up facts and opinions and in weighing their value4 ,at the same time training of your judgment will follow when you apply the theories and opinions you find in these sources to local conditions4 ,moreover1 such questions will give you practice in getting material in the raw1 as it were1 by making up tables of statistics from catalogues1 by getting facts by personal interview1 and in other ways1 which will be considered in ,chapter ,,ii4 ,finally1 such subjects are much more likely to be of a size that you can bring to a head in the space and the time allowed to the average student1 and they may have some immediate and practical effect in determining a question in which your own school or college has an interest4 ,arguments on such subjects are therefore less likely to be academic discussions1 in the sense of having no bearing on any real conditions4 ,when every college and school has plenty of such subjects continually under debate1 there seems to be no reason for going farther and faring worse4 ,the main thing is to get a subject which will carry you back to facts1 and one in which you will be able to test your own reasoning4 #f4 ,suggestions of ,subjects for ,practice4 ,many of the subjects in the list below will need some adaptation to fit them to local conditions2 and these will undoubtedly suggest many others of a similar nature4 ,other subjects of immediate and local interest may be drawn from the current newspapers2 and the larger1 perennial ones like prohibition1 woman suffrage1 immigration laws1 are always at the disposal of those who have the time and the courage for the amount of reading they involve4 ,the distinction between a subject and the proposition to be argued will be made in ,chapter ,,ii4 ,,suggestions ,,for ,,subjects ,,of ,,arguments ,,to ,,be ,,adapted ,,to ,,local ,,and ,,present ,,conditions #a4 ,admission to this college should be by examination only4 #b4 ,the entrance requirements of this college set a good standard for a public high-school course4 #c4 ,admission to this college should be by certificate from the candidate's school1 such as is now accepted at----,college4 #d4 ,the standards for admission to this college or to the ,state ,university should be raised4 #e4 ,the standard for graduating from this college should be raised4 #f4 ,attendance at chapel exercises should be made voluntary4 #g4 ,the numbers of students in this college should be limited by raising the standard for admission4 #h4 ,a reading knowledge of ,french or of ,german1 to be tested by an oral examination1 should be substituted for the present requirements for entrance in those languages4 #i4 ,no list of books should be prescribed for the entrance examination in ,english4 #aj4 ,freshmen should be required to be within bounds by eleven o'clock at night4 #aa4 ,freshmen should not be elected to college societies4 #ab4 ,students who have attained distinction in their studies should be treated as graduate students are1 in respect to attendance and leave of absence4 #ac4 ,arrangements should be made by which the work done on college papers should count toward the degree4 #ad4 ,the honor system in examinations should be introduced into this college4 #ae4 ,the course of study in this college should be made wholly elective4 #af4 ,coeducation should be maintained in this college4 #ag4 ,secret societies should be prohibited in----,high ,school4 #ah4 ,the business course in----,high ,school should be given up4 #ai4 ,compulsory military drill should be introduced into----,school 7or1 into this college74 #bj4 ,greek should be given up in----,school4 #ba4 ,all students in----,school1 whether in the business course or not1 should be required to study ,latin4 #bb4 ,athletics have had a detrimental effect on the studies of those who have taken part in them4 #bc4----,school should engage in athletic contests with two other schools only4 #bd4 ,the school committee in----should be reduced to five members4 #be4 ,the school committee in----is at present too large for efficient direction of the schools4 #bf4 ,the principal of the high school in----should report directly to the school committee and not to the superintendent of schools4 #bg4 ,this city should assign a sum equal to----mills of the whole tax rate to the support of the public schools4 #bh4 ,the high school of this city should have a single session each day1 instead of two4 #bi4 ,this city should substitute a commission government on the general model of that in ,des ,moines1 ,iowa1 for the present system4 #cj4 ,the commission form of government has proved its superiority to government by a mayor and two legislative boards4 #ca4 ,this city should elect its municipal officers by preferential voting4 #cb4 ,this city should establish playgrounds in the crowded parts of the city1 notably in ,wards----and----4 #cc4 ,boys should be allowed to play ball in unfrequented streets4 #cd4 ,this city should set apart----mills on the tax rate each year for building permanent roads4 #ce4 ,the laws and regulations governing the inspection and the sale of milk should be made more stringent4 #cf4 ,this city should buy and run the waterworks4 #cg4 ,this city should build future extensions of the street railway system and lease them to the highest bidder4 #ch4 ,this city should buy and operate the street railway system4 #ch4 ,the street railway company in this city should be required to pave and care for all the streets through which it runs4 #dj4 ,a committee of business men should be appointed by the mayor to conduct negotiations for bringing new industries to the city4 #da4 ,this city should establish municipal gymnasiums4 #db4 ,this city would be benefited by the consolidation of the two street railway systems4 #dc4 ,this state should adopt a ballot law similar to that of ,massachusetts4 #dd4 ,this state should adopt the short ballot4 #de4 ,this state should tax forest lands according to the product rather than the assessed value of the land4 #df4 ,the present rules of football are satisfactory4 #dg4 ,this college should make soccer football one of its major sports4 #dh4 ,unnecessary talking by the players should be forbidden in games of baseball4 #di4 ,coaching from the side lines should be forbidden in baseball4 #ej4 ,summer baseball should be regarded as a breach of amateur standing4 #ea4 ,an intercollegiate committee of graduates should be formed with power to absolve college athletes from technical and minor breaches of the amateur rules4 #eb4 ,this college should make an effort to return to amateur coaching by proposing agreements to that effect with its principal rivals4 #ec4 ,this university should not allow students with degrees from other institutions to play on its athletic teams4 #ed4 ,the managers of the principal athletic teams in this college should be elected by the students at large4 #ee4 ,the expenses of athletic teams at this college should be considerably reduced4 #g4 ,the ,two ,kinds of ,arguments4 ,with the subject you are going to argue on chosen1 it will be wise to come to closer quarters with the process of arguing4 ,a large part of the good results you will get from practice in writing arguments will be the strengthening of your powers of exact and keen thought2 ,i shall therefore in the following sections try to go somewhat below the surface of the process1 and see just what any given kind of argument aims to do1 and how it accomplishes its aim by its appeal to special faculties and interests of the mind4 ,i shall also consider briefly the larger bearings of a few of the commoner and more important types of argument1 as the ordinary citizen meets them in daily life4 ,we may divide arguments roughly into two classes1 according as the proposition they maintain takes the form1 ,this is true1 or the form1 ,this ought to be done4 ,the former we will call1 for the sake of brevity1 arguments of fact1 the latter arguments of policy4 ,of the two classes the former is addressed principally to the reason1 the faculty by which we arrange the facts of the universe 7whether small or great7 as they come to us1 and so make them intelligible4 ,you believe that the man who brought back your dog for a reward stole the dog1 because that view fits best with the facts you know about him and the disappearance of the dog2 we accept the theory of evolution because1 as ,huxley points out at the beginning of his essay 7see pp4 #bcc1 #bce71 it provides a place for all the facts that have been collected about the world of plants and animals and makes of them all a consistent and harmonious system4 ,in ,chapter ,,iii we shall come to a further consideration of the workings of this faculty so far as it affects the making of arguments4 ,arguments of policy1 on the other hand1 which argue what ought to be done1 make their appeal in the main to the moral1 practical1 ,or aesthetic interests of the audience4 ,these interests have their ultimate roots in the deep-seated mass of inherited temperamental motives and forces which may be summed up here in the conveniently vague term feeling4 ,these motives and forces1 it will be noticed1 lie outside the field of reason1 and are in the main recalcitrant to it4 ,when you argue that it is right that rich men should endow the schools and colleges of this country1 you would find it impossible to explain in detail just what you mean by right2 your belief rises from feelings1 partly inherited1 partly drawn in with the air of the country1 which make you positive of your assertion even when you can least give reasons for it4 ,so our practical interests turn in the end on what we want and do not want1 and are therefore molded by our temperament and tastes1 which are obviously matters of feeling4 ,our aesthetic interests1 which include our preferences in all the fields of art and literature and things beautiful or ugly in daily life1 even more obviously go back to feeling4 ,now in practical life our will to do anything is latent until some part of this great body of feeling is stirred2 therefore arguments of policy1 which aim to show that something ought to be done1 cannot neglect feeling4 ,you may convince me never so thoroughly that ,i ought to vote the ,republican or the ,democratic ticket1 yet ,i shall sit still on election day if you do not touch my feelings of moral right or practical expediency4 ,the moving cause of action is feeling1 though the feeling is often modified1 or even transformed1 by reasoning4 ,we shall come back to the nature of feeling in ,chapter ,v1 when we get to the subject of persuasion4 ,an important practical difference between arguments of fact and arguments of policy lies in the different form and degree of certitude to which they lead4 ,at the end of arguments of fact it is possible to say1 if enough evidence can be had1 ,this is undeniably true4 ,in these arguments we can use the word proof in its strict sense4 ,in arguments of policy on the other hand1 where the question is worth arguing1 we know in many cases that in the end there will be men who are as wise and as upright as ourselves who will continue to disagree4 ,in such cases it is obvious that we can use the word proof only loosely2 and we speak of right or of expediency rather than of truth4 ,this distinction is worth bearing in mind1 for it leads to soberness and a seemly modesty in controversy4 ,it is only in barber-shop politics and sophomore debating clubs that a decision of a question of policy takes its place among the eternal verities4 ,with these distinctions made1 let us now consider a few of the chief varieties of these two classes of arguments1 dealing only with those which every one of us comes to know in the practical affairs of life4 ,it will be obvious that the divisions between these are not fixed1 and that they are far from exhausting the full number of varieties4 #h4 ,arguments of ,fact4 ,among the commonest and most important varieties of arguments of fact are those made before juries in courts of law4 ,it is a fundamental principle of the common law under which we live that questions of fact shall be decided by twelve men chosen by lot from the community1 and that questions of the law that shall be applied to these facts shall be decided by the judges4 ,accordingly in criminal trials the facts concerning the crime and the actions and whereabouts of the accused are subjects of argument by the counsel4 ,if the prisoner is attempting to establish an alibi1 and the evidence is meager or conflicting1 his counsel and the prosecuting officer must each make arguments before the jury on the real meaning of the evidence4 ,in civil cases likewise1 all disputed questions of fact go ordinarily to a jury1 and are the subject of arguments by the opposing lawyers4 ,did the defendant guarantee the goods he sold the plaintiff8 ,was undue influence exerted on the testator8 ,did the accident happen through the negligence of the railroad officials8 ,in such cases and the countless others that congest the lists of the lower courts arguments of fact must be made4 ,other common arguments of fact are those in historical questions1 whether in recent or in ancient history4 ,macaulay's admirable skeleton argument 7p4 #aee7 that ,philip ,francis wrote the ,junius ,letters1 which so grievously incensed the ,english government about the time of the ,american ,revolution1 is an example of an argument of this sort2 the part of ,lincoln's ,cooper ,institute ,address which deals with the views of the founders of the nation on the subject of the control of slavery in the territories is another4 ,another question concerning facts is that which a few years ago stirred classical archaeologists1 whether the ,greek theater had a raised stage or not4 ,in all such cases the question is as to facts which at one time1 at any rate1 could have been settled absolutely4 ,the reason why an argument about them becomes necessary is that the evidence which could finally settle the questions has disappeared with the persons who possessed it1 or has been dissipated by time4 ,students of history and literature have to deal with many such questions of fact4 ,a somewhat different kind of question of fact1 and one often extremely difficult to settle1 is that which concerns not a single1 uncomplicated fact1 but a broad condition of affairs4 ,examples of such questions are whether woman suffrage has improved political conditions in ,colorado and other states1 whether the introduction of manual training in a certain high school has improved the intelligence and serviceableness of its graduates1 whether political corruption is decreasing in ,american cities4 ,the difficulty that faces an argument in such cases as these is not the loss of the evidence1 but rather that it consists of a multitude of little facts1 and that the selection of these details is singularly subject to bias and partisan feeling4 ,these questions of a broad state of affairs are like questions of policy in that in the end their settlement depends thus largely on temperamental and practical prepossessions4 ,still another and very important variety of arguments of fact1 which are often conveniently described as arguments of theory1 includes large scientific questions1 such1 for example1 as the origin of our present species of plants and animals1 or the ultimate constitution of matter1 or the cause of yellow fever4 ,in such arguments we start out with many facts1 already gained through observation and experiment1 which need the assumption of some other fact or facts attained through reasoning from the others1 to make them fit together into a coherent and intelligible system4 ,every important new discovery in science makes necessary arguments of this sort4 ,when the minute forms of life that the layman lumps together under the name germs were discovered there was a host of arguments to explain their manner of life and the way some of them cause disease and others carry on functions beneficent to mankind4 ,a notable example of the arguments concerning this kind of fact is that at page #bea concerning the cause of yellow fever2 and another is ,huxley's argument on evolution 7p4 #bcc71 where he points out that the question is a question of historical fact4 ,the element of uncertainty in the settlement of such questions is due to the facts being too large or too minute for human observation1 or to their ranging through great ages of time so that we must be contented with overwhelming probability rather than with absolute proof4 ,furthermore the facts that are established in arguments of this sort may have to be modified by new discoveries3 for many generations it was held to be a fact that malaria was caused by a miasma2 now we know that it is caused by a germ1 which is carried by mosquitoes4 ,arguments of this type tend to go through a curious cycle3 they begin their life as arguments1 recognized as such2 then becoming the accepted explanation of the facts which are known1 for a longer or shorter time they flourish as statements of the truth2 and then with the uncovering of new facts they crumble away or are transformed into new and larger theories4 ,darwin's great theory of the origin of species has passed through two of these stages4 ,he spoke of it as an argument1 and for a few years it was assailed with fierce counterarguments2 we now hold it to be a masterful explanation of an enormous body of facts4 ,when it will pass on to the next stage we cannot foresee2 but chemists and physicists darkly hint at the possibility of the evolution of inorganic as well as organic substances4 ,in arguments of fact1 it will be noticed1 there is little or no element of persuasion1 for we deal with such matters almost wholly through our understanding and reason4 ,huxley1 in his argument on evolution1 which was addressed to a popular audience1 was careful to choose examples that would be familiar2 but his treatment of the subject was strictly expository in tone4 ,in some arguments of this sort1 which touch on the great forces of the universe and on the nature of the world of life of which we are an infinitesimal part1 the tone of the discourse will take on warmth and eloquence2 just as ,webster in the ,white ,murder ,case1 dealing with an issue of life and death1 let the natural eloquence which always smoldered in his speech1 burn up into a clear glow4 ,but both ,huxley and ,webster would have held any studied appeal to emotion to be an impertinence4 ,in ordinary life most of us make fewer arguments of fact than of policy4 ,it is only a small minority of our young men who become lawyers1 and of them many do not practice before juries4 ,nor do any large number of men become scholars or men of science or public men1 who have to deal with questions of historical fact or to make arguments of fact on large states of affairs4 ,on the other hand1 all of us have to weigh and estimate arguments of fact pretty constantly4 ,sooner or later most men serve on juries2 and all students have to read historical and economical arguments4 ,we shall therefore give some space in ,chapter ,,iii to considering the principles of reasoning by which we arrive at and test conclusions as to the existence of facts1 and the truth of assertions about them4 #i4 ,arguments of ,policy4 ,when we turn from arguments of fact to arguments of policy it will be noticed that there is a change in the phraseology that we use3 we no longer say that the assertions we maintain or meet are true or not true1 but that the proposals are right or expedient or wrong or inexpedient2 for now we are talking about what should or should not be done4 ,we say1 naturally and correctly1 that it is or is not true that woman suffrage has improved political conditions in ,colorado but it would be a misuse of words to say that it is true or not true that woman suffrage should be adopted in ,ohio2 and still more so to use the word false1 which has an inseparable tinge of moral obliquity4 ,in questions of policy that turn on expediency1 and in some1 as we shall see directly1 that turn on moral issues1 we know beforehand that in the end some men who know the subject as well as we do and whose judgment is as good and whose standards are as high1 will still disagree4 ,there are certain large temperamental lines which have always divided mankind3 some men are born conservative minded1 some radical minded3 the former must needs find things as they are on the whole good1 the latter must needs see vividly how they can be improved4 ,to the scientific temperament the artistic temperament is unstable and irrational1 as the former is dry and ungenerous to the latter4 ,such broad and recognized types1 with a few others like them1 ramify into a multitude of ephemeral parties and classes1--racial1 political1 social1 literary1 scholarly1--and most of the arguments in the world can be followed back to these essential and irremovable differences of character4 ,individual practical questions1 however1 cross and recross these lines1 and in such cases arguments have much practical effect in crystallizing opinion and judgment2 for in a complicated case it is often extremely hard to see the real bearing of a proposed policy1 and a good argument comes as a guide from the gods to the puzzled and wavering4 ,but though to be effective in practical affairs one has to be positive1 yet that is not saying that one must believe that the other side are fools or knaves4 ,some such confusion of thought in the minds of some reformers1 both eminent and obscure1 accounts for the wake of bitterness which often follows the progress of reform4 ,modesty and toleration are as important as positiveness to the man who is to make a mark in the world4 ,arguments of policy are of endless variety1 for we are all of us making them all the time1 from the morning hour in which we argue with ourselves1 so often ineffectually1 that we really ought to get up when the clock strikes1 to the arguments about choosing a profession or helping to start a movement for universal peace4 ,it would be a weariness to the flesh to attempt a classification of them that should pretend to be exhaustive2 but there are certain major groups of human motive which will be a good basis for a rough1 but convenient1 sorting out of the commoner kinds of arguments of policy4 ,in practical affairs we ask first if there is any principle of right or wrong involved1 then what is best for the practical interests of ourselves and other people1 and in a few cases1 when these other considerations are irrelevant1 what course is dictated by our ideas of fitness and beauty4 ,i will briefly discuss a few of the main types of the argument of policy1 grouping them according as they appeal chiefly to the sense of right and wrong1 to practical interests1 or to aesthetic interests4 ,there are many arguments outside of sermons which turn on questions of right and wrong4 ,questions of individual personal conduct we had better not get into2 but every community1 whether large or small1 has often to face questions in which moral right and wrong are essentially involved4 ,in this country the whole question of dealing with the sale of alcoholic drinks is recognized as such4 ,the supporters of state prohibition declare that it is morally wrong to sanction a trade out of which springs so much misery2 the supporters of local option and high license1 admitting and fighting against all this misery and crime1 declare that it is morally wrong to shut one's eyes to the uncontrolled sales and the political corruption under state-wide prohibition4 ,the strongest arguments for limiting by law the hours of labor for women and children have always been based on moral principles2 and all arguments for political reform hark back to the ,ten ,commandments4 ,one has the strongest of all arguments if he can establish a moral right and wrong in the question4 ,the difficulty comes in establishing the right and wrong1 for there are many cases where equally good people are fighting dead against each other4 ,the question of prohibition1 as we have just seen1 is one of those cases2 the slavery question was a still more striking one4 ,from before the ,revolution the feeling that slavery was morally wrong slowly but steadily gained ground in the ,north1 until from #ahej it became more and more a dominant and passionate conviction4#a ,yet in the ,south1 which1 as we must now admit1 bred as many men and women of high devotion to the right1 this view had only scattered followers4 ,on both sides tradition and environment molded the moral principle4 ,in arguing1 therefore1 one must not be too swift in calling on heaven to witness to the right2 we must recognize that mortal vision is weak1 and that some of the people whom we are fighting are borne on by principles as sincerely held to be righteous as our own4 ,nevertheless1 a man must always hold to that which to him seems right1 and fight hard against the wrong1 tolerantly and with charity1 but with unclouded purpose4 ,in politics there are still in this country many occasions when the only argument possible is based on moral right4 ,the debauching of public servants by favors or bribes1 whether open or indirect1 injustice of all sorts1 putting men who are mentally or morally unfit into public office1 oppression of the poor or unjust bleeding of the rich1 stirring up class or race hatred1 are all evils from which good citizens must help to save the republic2 and wherever such evils are found the moral argument is the only argument worthy of a decent citizen4 ,by far the most numerous of arguments of policy1 however1 are those which do not rise above the level of practical interests4 ,the line between these and arguments of moral right is not always easy to draw1 for in the tangle of life and character right and advantage often run together4 ,the tariff question is a case in point4 ,primarily it turns on the practical material advantage of a nation2 but inevitably in the settling of individual schedules the way opens for one industry or branch of business to fatten at the expense of another1 and so we run into the question of the square deal and the golden rule4 ,in general1 however1 the great questions on which political parties divide are questions of practical expediency4 ,shall we1 as a nation1 be more comfortable and more prosperous if the powers of the federal government are strengthened and extended8 ,shall we have better local government under the old-fashioned form of city government1 or under some form of commission government8 ,should we have more business and more profitable business if we had free trade with the ,dominion of ,canada8 ,shall we be better off under the ,republican or the ,democratic party8 ,all these are questions in which there is little concern with right and wrong3 they turn on the very practical matter of direct material advantage4 ,in some of these cases most men vote on one side or the other largely through long habit2 but there constantly arise1 especially in local matters1 questions which cross the usual lines of political division1 so that one1 willingly or unwillingly1 must take the trouble of thinking out a decision for himself4 ,not infrequently one is a good deal puzzled to decide on which side to range himself1 for the issues may be complex2 then one reads the arguments or goes to meetings until one side or the other seems to present the most and the most important advantages4 ,when one is thus puzzled1 an argument which is clear and easy to understand1 and which makes its points in such a way that they can be readily carried in mind and passed on to the next person one meets1 has a wonderful power of winning one to its side4 ,the arguments of policy which1 after political arguments1 are the most common1 are those on questions of law4 ,as we have seen a few pages back1 such arguments are settled by the judges1 while questions of fact are left to the jury4 ,in the ,white ,murder ,case1 in which ,daniel ,webster made a famous argument1 it was a question of fact for the jury whether the defendant ,knapp was in ,brown ,street at the time of the murder1 and whether he was there for the purpose of aiding and abetting ,crowninshield1 the actual murderer2 the question whether his presence outside the house would make him liable as a principal in the crime was a question of law4 ,this distinction between questions of fact and questions of law is one of the foundation principles of the common law4 ,from the very beginning of the jury system1 when the jury consisted of neighbors who found their verdict from their own knowledge of the case1 to the present day when they are required carefully to purge their minds of any personal knowledge of the case1 the common law has always held that in the long run questions of fact can best be settled by average men1 drawn by lot from the community4 ,questions of law1 on the other hand1 need learning and special training in legal reasoning1 for the common law depends on continuity and consistency of decision2 and a new case must be decided by the principles which have governed like cases in the past4 ,nevertheless1 these principles1 which are now embodied in an enormous mass of decisions by courts all over the ,english-speaking world1 are in essence a working out into minute discriminations of certain large principles1 which in turn are merely the embodiment of the practical rules under which the ,anglo-,saxon race has found it safest and most convenient to live together4 ,they settle in each case what1 in view of the interests of the community as a whole and in the long run1 and not merely for the parties now at issue1 is the most convenient and the justest thing to do4 ,mr4 ,justice ,holmes1 of the ,supreme ,court of the ,united ,states1 wrote before his appointment to that bench3 ,in substance the growth of the law is legislative4 ,and this in a deeper sense than that what the courts declare to have always been the law is in fact new4 ,it is legislative in its grounds4 ,the very considerations which judges most rarely mention1 and always with an apology1 are the secret roots from which tine law draws all the juices of life4 ,i mean of course considerations of what is expedient for the community concerned4 ,every important principle which is developed by litigation is in fact and at bottom the result of move or less definitely understood views of public policy2 most generally1 to be sure1 under our practices and traditions1 the unconscious result of instinctive preferences and inarticulate convictions1 but none the less traceable to views of public policy in the last analysis4#b ,in some cases it is obvious that the question of law is a question of policy1 as in the so-called political decisions of the ,united ,states ,supreme ,court4 ,such were the decisions formulated by ,chief ,justice ,marshall on constitutional questions1 which made our government what it is4 ,the difference between the strict construction of the ,constitution and the free construction was due to a difference of temperament which has always tended to mark the two great political parties of the country4 ,so with the ,insular cases1 which determined the status of the distant possessions of the ,united ,stales1 and which split the ,supreme ,court into so many pieces3 the question whether the ,constitution applied in all its fullness to ,porto ,rico and the ,philippines was essentially a political question1 though of the largest sort1 and therefore a question of policy4 ,finally1 there are the arguments of policy which deal with matters of taste and aesthetic preference4 ,the difficulty with these arguments is that they do deal with questions of taste1 and so fall under the ancient and incontrovertible maxim1 de gustibus non est disputandum4 ,artists of all varieties and some critics are given to talking as if preferences in color1 in shape1 in styles of music1 were absolutely right and wrong1 and as if they partook in some way of the nature of moral questions2 but any one who has observed for even twenty years knows that what the architects of twenty years ago declared the only true style of art is now scoffed at by them and their successors as hopelessly false4 ,the cavelike forms of the ,byzantine or ,romanesque which superseded the wooden ,gothic have in turn given way to ,renaissance classic in its various forms1 which now in turn seem on the point of slipping into the rococo classical of the cole des ,beaux ,arts4 ,in painting1 the violent and spotty impressionism of twenty years ago is paling into the study of the cool and quiet lights of the ,dutchmen of the great period4#c ,and at each stage there are strenuous arguments that the ideas of that particular live years are the only hope for the preservation of the art concerned4 ,the essential difficulty with all such arguments is that the aesthetic interests to which they appeal are personal1 and depend on personal preferences4 ,most of us in such matters1 having no special knowledge1 and liking some variety of differing styles1 modestly give way to the authority of any one who makes a profession of the art4 ,in the laying out of a park a landscape architect may prefer single trees and open spaces1 where the neighbors and abutters prefer a grove4 ,in the long run his taste is no better than theirs1 though he may argue as if they were ignorant and uncultivated because they disagree with him4 ,in all such cases1 unless there is some consideration of practical expediency1 such as letting the southwest wind blow through in summer1 arguments can do little except to make and keep everybody angry4 ,their chief value is to make us see things which perhaps we had not thought of4 ,in practice these three kinds of arguments1 which turn on moral1 practical1 and aesthetic considerations1 tend to be much mingled4 ,the human mind is very complex1 and our various interests and preferences are inseparably tangled4 ,the treacheries of self-analysis are proverbial1 and are only less dangerous than trying to make out the motives of other people4 ,accordingly we must expect to find that it is sometimes hard to distinguish between moral and aesthetic motives and practical1 for the morality and the taste of a given people always in part grow out of the slow crystallizing of practical expediencies1 and notions of morality change with the advance of civilization4 ,furthermore1 one must never forget that an argument of policy which does not involve and rest on subsidiary questions of fact is rare2 and the questions of fact must be settled before we can go on with the argument of policy4 ,before this country can intelligently make up its mind about the protective tariff1 and whether a certain rate of duty should be imposed on a given article1 a very complex body of facts dealing with the cost of production both here and abroad must be settled1 and this can be done only by men highly trained in the principles of business and political economy4 ,before one could vote intelligently on the introduction of a commission form of government into the town he lives in he must know the facts about the places in which it has already been tried4 ,it is not too much to say that there is no disputed question of policy into which there does not enter the necessity of looking up and settling pertinent facts4 ,on the other hand1 there are some cases of questions of fact in which our practical interests deeply affect the view which we take of the facts4 ,in all the discussions of the last few years about federal supervision and control of the railroads it has been hard to get at the facts because of the conflicting statements about them by equally honest and well-informed men4 ,where there is an honest difference of interest1 as in every case of a bargain1 the opposite sides cannot see the facts in the same way3 what is critically significant to the railroad manager seems of no great consequence to the shipper2 and the railroad manager does not see the fixed laws of trade which make it impossible for the shipper to pay higher freight rates and add them to the price of his goods4 ,it is not in human nature to see the whole cogency of facts that make for the other side4 ,in all arguments1 therefore1 it must be remembered that we are2 constantly swinging backward and forward from matters of fact to matters of policy4 ,in practice no hard-and-fast line separates the various classes and types2 in the arguments of real life we mingle them naturally and unconsciously4 ,yet the distinction between the two main classes is a real one1 and if one has never thought it out1 one may go at an argument with a blurred notion of what he is attempting to do4 ,since argument after school and college is an eminently practical matter1 vagueness of aim is risky4 ,it is the man who sees exactly what he is trying to do1 and knows exactly what he can accomplish1 who is likely to make his point4 ,the chief value of writing arguments for practice is in cultivating a keen eye for the essential4 ,to write a good argument means1 as we shall see1 that the student shall first conscientiously take the question1 apart so as to know exactly the issues involved and the unavoidable points of difference1 and then after searching the sources for information1 he shall scrutinize the facts and the reasoning both on his own side and on the other4 ,if he does this work without shirking the hard thinking he will get an illuminating perception of the obscurities and ambiguities which lurk in words1 and will come to see that clear reasoning is almost wholly a matter of sharper discrimination for unobserved distinctions4 ,,exercises #a4 ,find an example which might be thought of either as an argument or an exposition1 and explain why you think it one or the other4 #b4 ,find examples in current magazines or newspapers of an argument in which conviction is the chief element1 and one in which persuasion counts most4 #c4 ,give three examples from your talk within the last week of a discussion which was not argument as we use the term here4 #d4 ,show how1 in the case of some current subject of discussion1 the arguments would differ in substance and tone for three possible audiences4 #e4 ,find three examples each of questions of fact and questions of policy from current newspapers or magazines4 #f4 ,find three examples of questions of fact in law cases1 not more than one of them from a criminal case4 #g4 ,find three examples of questions of fact in history or literature4 #h4 ,find three questions of a large state of affairs from current political discussions4 #i4 ,find three examples of questions of fact in science4 #aj4 ,find from the history of the last fifty years three examples of questions which turned on moral right4 #aa4 ,give three examples of questions of expediency which you have heard argued within the last week4 #ab4 ,give an example from recent decisions of the courts which seems to you to have turned on a question of policy4 #ac4 ,give two examples of questions of aesthetic taste which you have recently heard argued4 #ad4 ,in an actual case which has been or which might be argued1 show how both classes of argument and more than one of the types within them enter naturally into the discussion4 #ae4 ,name three subjects which you have lately discussed which would not be profitable subjects for a formal argument4 #af4 ,name five good subjects for an argument in which you would draw chiefly from your personal experience4 #ag4 ,name five subjects in which you would get the material from reading4 #ah4 ,name five subjects which would combine your own experience with reading4 #ai4 ,find how many words to the page you write on the paper you would use for a written argument4 ,count the number of words in a page of this book2 in the column of the editorial page of a newspaper4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,planning ,,the ,,argument #aj4 ,preparations for the ,argument4 ,when you have chosen the subject for your argument there is still much to do before you are ready to write it out4 ,in the first place1 you must find out by search and reading what is to be said both for and against the view you are supporting2 in the second place1 with the facts in mind you must analyze both them and the question to see just what is the point that you are arguing2 then1 in the third place1 you must arrange the material you are going to use so that it will be most effective for your purpose4 ,each of these steps ,i shall consider in turn in this chapter4 ,as a practical convenience1 each student should start a notebook1 in which he can keep together all the notes he makes in the course of his preparations for writing the argument4 ,number the pages of the notebook1 and leave the first two pages blank for a table of contents4 ,a box of cards1 such as will be described on page #ca1 will serve as well as a notebook1 and in some ways is more convenient4 ,from time to time1 in the course of the chapter ,i shall mention points that should be entered4 ,for the sake of convenience in exposition ,i shall use as an example the preparations for an argument in favor of introducing the commission form of government into an imaginary city1 ,wytown2 and each of the directions for the use of the notebook ,i shall illustrate by entries appropriate to this argument4 ,the argument1 let us suppose1 is addressed to the citizens of the place1 who know the general facts relating to the city and its government4 ,in creating this imaginary city1 let us give it about eight thousand inhabitants1 and suppose that it is of small area1 and that the inhabitants are chiefly operatives in a number of large shoe factories1 of ,american descent1 though foreign-born citizens and their offspring are beginning to gain on the others4 ,and further1 let us suppose that this imaginary city of ,wytown now has a city government with a mayor of limited powers1 a small board of aldermen1 and a larger city council4 ,the other necessary facts will appear in the introduction to the brief4 #aa4 ,reading for the ,argument4 ,the first step in preparing for an argument is to find out what has been already written on the general subject1 and what facts are available for your purpose4 ,for this purpose you must go to the best library that is within convenient reach4 ,just how to look for material there ,i shall discuss a few pages further on2 here ,i shall make some more general suggestions about reading and taking notes4 ,almost always it pays to give two or three hours to some preliminary reading that will make you see the general scope of the subject1 and the points on which there is disagreement4 ,an article in a good encyclopedia or one in a magazine may serve the purpose2 or in some cases you can go to the opening chapter or two of a book4 ,if you have already discussed the subject with other people this preliminary reading may not be necessary2 but if you start in to read on a new subject without some general idea of its scope you may waste time through not knowing your way and so following false leads4 ,in your reading do not rest satisfied with consulting authorities on your own side only4 ,we shall presently see how important it is to be prepared to meet arguments on the other side2 and unless you have read something on that side1 you will not know what points you ought to deal with in your refutation4 ,in that event you may leave undisturbed in the minds of your readers points which have all the more significance from your having ignored them4 ,one of the first reasons for wide reading in preparation for an argument is to assure yourself that you have a competent knowledge of the other side as well as of your own4 ,in using your sources keep clearly and constantly in mind the difference between fact and opinion4 ,the opinions of a great scholar and of a farseeing statesman may be based on fact2 but not being fact they contain some element of inference1 which is never as certain4 ,when we come to the next chapter we shall consider this difference more closely4 ,in the meantime it is worth while to urge the importance of cultivating scruples on the subject and a keen eye for the intrusion of human1 and therefore fallible1 opinion into statements of fact4 ,a trustworthy author states the facts as facts1 with the authorities for them specifically cited2 and where he builds his own opinions on the facts he leaves no doubt as to where fact ends and opinion begins4 ,the power to estimate a book or an article on a cursory inspection is of great practical value4 ,the table of contents in a book1 and sometimes the index1 will give a good idea of its scope2 and samples of a few pages at a time1 especially on critical points1 which can be chosen by means of the index1 will show its general attitude and tone4 ,the index1 if properly made1 will furnish a sure guide to its relevance for the purpose in hand4 ,half an hour spent in this way1 with attention concentrated1 will in most cases settle whether the book is worth reading through4 ,an article can be sized up in much the same way3 if it is at all well written the first paragraphs will give a pretty definite idea of the subject and the scope of the article2 and the beginnings1 and often the ends1 of the paragraphs will show the course which the thought follows4 ,though such skimming cannot be relied on for a real knowledge of the subject1 it is invaluable as a guide for this preliminary reading4 #ab4 ,taking ,notes4 ,in reading for your argument1 as for all scholarly reading1 form early your habits of taking thorough and serviceable notes4 ,nothing is more tantalizing than to remember that you once ran across a highly important fact and then not be able to recall the place in which it is to be found4 ,one of the most convenient ways to take notes for an argument is to write each fact or quotation on a separate card4 ,cards convenient for the purpose can be had at any college stationer or library-supply bureau4 ,if you use them1 have an ample supply of them1 so that you will not have to put more than one fact on each4 ,leave space for a heading at the top which will refer to a specific subheading of your brief1 when that is ready4 ,always add an exact reference to the source--title1 name of author1 and1 in case of a book1 place and date of publication1 so that if you want more material you can find it without loss of time1 and1 what is more important1 so that you can fortify your use of it by a reference in a footnote4 ,when you find a passage that you think will be worth quoting in the original words1 quote with scrupulous and literal accuracy3 apart from the authority you gain by so doing1 you have no right to make any one else say words he did not say4 ,if you leave out part of the passage1 show the omission by dots2 and in such a case1 if you have to supply words of your own1 as for example a noun in place of a pronoun1 use square brackets1 thus 4 ,on the following page are examples of a convenient form of such notes4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,results ,,in ,,des ,,moines ,the streets have been kept cleaner than ever before for #ce1jjj4 ,the rates for electric lights have been reduced from #ij to #fe4 ,gas rates have dropped again from #bb to #ag4 ,water rates have dropped from #cj to #bj per #ajjj gal4 ,the disreputable district has been cleaned up and bond sharks driven out of business4 ,the ,des ,moines ,plan of ,city ,government1 ,world's ,work1 ,vol4 ,,xviii1 ,p4 #aaecc4 ,,president ,,eliot',s ,,views ,now city business is almost wholly administrative and executive and very little concerned with large plans and far-reaching legislation4 ,there is no occasion for two legislative bodies1 or even one1 in the government of a city4444 ,now and then a question arises which the will of the whole people properly expressed may best settle2 but for the prompt and conclusive expression of that will the initiative and referendum are now well-recognized means4 ,c4 ,w4 ,eliot1 ,city ,government by ,fewer ,men1 ,world's ,work1 ,vol4 ,,xiv p4 #idai4 99 99 99 99 99 ,in making notes1 whether for an argument or for general college work1 it is convenient1 unless you know shorthand1 to have a system of signs and abbreviations and of contractions for common words4 ,the simpler shorthand symbols can be pressed into service2 and one can follow the practice of stenography1 which was also that of the ancient ,hebrew writing1 of leaving out vowels1 for there are few words that cannot be recognized at a glance from their consonants4 ,if you use this system at lectures you can soon come surprisingly near to a verbatim report which will preserve something more than bare facts4 ,in your reading for material do not cultivate habits of economy or parsimony4 ,you should always have a considerable amount of good fact left over1 for unless you know a good deal of the region on the outskirts of your argument you will feel cramped and uncertain within it4 ,the effect of having something in reserve is a powerful1 though an intangible1 asset in an argument2 and1 on the other hand1 the man who has emptied his magazine is in a risky situation4 #ac4 ,sources for ,facts4 ,in the main1 there are two kinds of sources for facts1 sources in which the facts have already been collected and digested1 and sources where they are still scattered and must be brought together and grouped by the investigator4 ,obviously there is no sharp or permanent distinction between these two classes4 ,let us first run through some of the books which are commonly available as sources of either kind1 and then come back to the use of them4 ,to find material in books and magazines there are certain well-known guides4 ,to look up books go first to the catalogue of the nearest library4 ,here in most cases you will find some sort of subject catalogue1 in which the subjects are arranged alphabetically2 and if you can use the alphabet readily1 as by no means all college students can1 you can soon get a list of the books that are there available on the subject4 ,on many subjects there are bibliographies1 or lists of books1 such as those published by the ,library of ,congress2 these will be found in every large library4 ,for articles in magazines and weekly journals1 which on most current questions have fresh information1 besides a great deal of valuable material on older questions1 go to ,poole's ,index to ,periodical ,literature1 which is an index both by title and subject to the articles in important ,english and ,american magazines from #ahjb to #aijf1 and to ,the ,reader's ,guide to ,periodical ,literature1 which began in #aija and includes more magazines1 and which is brought up to date every month4 ,for other material the works listed below will be serviceable2 they are the best known of the reference books1 and some of them will be found in all libraries and all of them in large libraries4 ,the books on this list by no means exhaust the number of good books of their own kind2 they are good examples1 and others will ordinarily be found on the same shelves with them4 ,,dictionaries ,,the ,,new ,,english ,,dictionary 7,,murray',s7 ,unfinished3 to have ten volumes1 of which nine have now been published4 ,this gives the history of each word for the last seven hundred years1 with copious quotations1 dated1 to show the changes in its use4 ,,the ,,century ,,dictionary1 ,,cyclopedia ,,of ,,names1 ,,and ,,atlas ,new edition1 #aiaa1 in twelve volumes4 ,this has fuller information about the meanings of the words than is usually found in a dictionary4 ,,the ,,new ,,international ,,dictionary 7,,webster',s7 ,new edition1 #aiaj1 enlarged1 with copious and exact etymologies4 ,,roget',s ,,thesaurus ,,of ,,english ,,words ,,and ,,phrases ,a standard book of synonyms4 ,,fernald1 ,,english ,,synonyms1 ,,antonyms1 ,,and ,,prepositions ,with illustrations and expositions of the differences in meaning4 ,,encyclopedias ,,encyclopaedia ,,britannica ,very full2 highly authoritative2 #aath edition1 #aiaj4 ,,new ,,international ,,encyclopedia ,briefer2 reedited in #aijd4 ,,la ,,grande ,,encyclopidie2 ,,brockhaus1 ,,konversations-,,lexikon ,both copious and authoritative4 ,,allusions ,,and ,,quotations ,,cruden',s ,,concordance ,an index to every word in the ,bible4 ,,bartlett',s ,,concordance ,,to ,,shakespeare ,an index to every word in ,shakespeare4 ,,bartlett',s ,,familiar ,,quotations ,an index to a very large number of the quotations most frequently met with4 ,,brewer',s ,,dictionary ,,of ,,phrase ,,and ,,fable ,this explains a great quantity of common allusions in words and phrases4 ,,dictionaries ,,of ,,proper ,,names ,,century ,,cyclopedia ,,of ,,names ,this includes not only names of real persons1 but also those of many famous characters in fiction4 ,,lippincott',s ,,universal ,,pronouncing ,,dictionary ,,of ,,biography ,,and ,,mythology ,,dictionary ,,of ,,national ,,biography ,revised edition4 ,confined to ,english biography1 and to persons dead at the dale of publication of ,supplement 7#aiji74 ,the articles are full1 and of the highest authority4 ,in the index and epitome is a convenient summary of dates and facts4 ,,appleton',s ,,cyclopedia ,,of ,,american ,,biography ,six volumes1 #ahhg-aija2 with supplement 7unfinished71 bringing it down to date4 ,,who',s ,,who ,an annual publication2 ,english1 but with some ,american names2 living persons only4 ,,who',s ,,who ,,in ,,america2 ,,wer ,,ist',s2 ,,qui ,,tes-,,vous ,corresponding works for ,america1 ,germany1 and ,france4 ,,debrett',s ,,peerage ,a repository of a great mass of facts concerning ,english families of historical distinction4 ,,for ,,current ,,or ,,historical ,,facts ,,the ,,statesman',s ,,year ,,book ,arranged by countries2 contains a great mass of facts2 has a bibliography at the end of each country or state4 ,,the ,,world ,,almanac2 ,,the ,,tribune ,,almanac ,examples of annuals issued by large newspapers1 which contain an enormous mass of facts1 chiefly ,american4 ,,whitaker',s ,,almanac ,much miscellaneous information about the ,british empire and other countries4 ,,the ,,annual ,,register2 ,,the ,,new ,,international ,,yearbook2 ,,the ,,american ,,yearbook ,these three give information about the events of the preceding year4 ,,index ,,to ,,the ,,london ,times ,,miscellaneous ,,works ,,lippincott',s ,,new ,,gazetteer ,a geographical dictionary of the world4 ,,the ,,century ,,atlas ,with classified references to places4 ,,the ,,handy ,,reference ,,atlas ,small size 7octavo72 a most useful book for the desk or library table4 ,,ploetz',s ,,epitome ,,of ,,universal ,,history ,a very compact epitome of history1 with all the important dates4 ,,notes ,,and ,,queries ,a periodical devoted to notes and queries on a multitude of curious and out-of-the-way facts2 yearly index volumes are issued4 ,,bibliographies ,,issued ,,by ,,the ,,library ,,of ,,congress ,,sonnenschein',s ,,the ,,best ,,books ,a guide to about fifty thousand of the best available books in a great variety of fields1 classified by subject4 ,make yourself familiar with all of these books which are within your reach4 ,get into the habit1 when you have a few minutes to spare1 of taking them down from the shelves and turning over the pages to see what they contain4 ,and whenever a question of fact comes up in general talk1 make a mental note of it1 or better1 one in writing1 and the next time you go to the library hunt it up in one of these reference books4 ,you will be surprised to see1 when once you have made the habit1 how short a time it takes to settle disputes about most facts2 and at the same time you will be extending your general knowledge4 ,in learning the use of these and other books1 do not forget the most important source of all1 the librarian4 ,the one guiding principle of modern librarianship is to make the books useful2 and it gives every proper librarian active pleasure to show you how to use the books in his charge4 ,in using books and magazines scrutinize the character of the source4 ,is it impartial or partisan8 ,is its treatment of the subject exhaustive and definite1 or cursory and superficial8 ,does the author know the subject at first hand1 or does he rely on other men8 ,on such points the second book or article will be easier to estimate than the first1 and the third than the second2 for with each new source you have the earlier ones as a basis for comparison4 ,in any case do not trust to a single authority3 no matter how authoritative it is1 sooner or later the narrow basis of your views will betray itself1 for an argument which is merely a revamping of some one else's views is not likely to have much spontaneity4 ,in many subjects1 and especially those of new or local interest1 you will not find the facts gathered and assimilated for you2 you must go out and gather your own straw for the making of your bricks4 ,such are most questions of reform or change in school or college systems1 in athletics1 in municipal affairs1 in short1 most of the questions on which the average man after he leaves college is likely to be making arguments4 ,to get decisive facts on such questions as these you must go1 in the case of local subjects1 to the newspapers1 to city and town reports1 or to documents issued by interested committees2 for college questions you go to the presidents' reports and to annual catalogues or catalogues of graduates1 or perhaps to ,graduates' ,bulletins or ,weeklies2 for athletic questions you go to the files of the daily newspapers1 or for records to such works as the ,world or ,tribune ,almanacs2 for school questions you go to school catalogues1 or to school-committee reports4 ,you will be surprised to find how little time you use to get together bodies of facts and figures that may make you1 in a small way1 an original authority on the subject you are discussing4 ,it does not take long to count a few hundred names1 or to run through the files of a newspaper for a week or a month2 and when you have done such investigation you get a sense of surety in dealing with your subject that will strengthen your argument4 ,here1 as in the larger discussions of later life1 the readiness to take the initiative and the ingenuity in thinking of possible sources are what make you count4 ,such sources you can often piece out by personal inquiry from men who are conversant with the subject--town or city officers1 members of faculties1 principals of schools4 ,if you go to such people hoping that they will do your work for you1 you will not be likely to get much comfort2 but if you are keen about your subject yourself1 and ready to work1 you will often get not only valuable information and advice1 but sometimes also a chance to go through unpublished records4 ,a young man who is working hard and intelligently is apt to be an object of interest to older men who have been doing the same all their lives4 ,,exercises #a4 ,name those of the sources on pages #cd-cf1 which are available to you4 ,report to the class on the scope and character of each of them4 7,the report on different sources can be divided among the class47 #b4 ,name some sources for facts relating to your own school or college2 to your own town or city2 to your own state4 #c4 ,report on the following1 in not more than one hundred words1 naming the source from which you got your information3 the situation and government of the ,fiji ,islands2 ,circe2 the author of ,a man's a man for a' that2 ,becky ,sharp2 the age of ,president ,taft and the offices he has held2 the early career of ,james ,madison2 the ,american amateur record in the half-mile run2 the family name of ,lord ,salisbury1 and a brief account of his career2 the salary of the mayor of ,new ,york2 the island of ,guam3 some of the important measures passed by ,congress in the session of #aiaj-aiaa4 7,this exercise a teacher can vary indefinitely by turning over the pages of reference books which his class can reach2 or the students can be set to making exercises for each other47 #ad4 ,bibliography4 ,before starting in earnest on the reading for your argument1 begin a bibliography1 that is1 a list of the books and articles and speeches which will help you4 ,this bibliography should be entered in your notebook1 and it is convenient to allow space enough there to keep the different kinds of sources separate4 ,in making your bibliography you will use some of the sources which have just been described1 especially ,poole's ,index1 and ,the ,reader's ,guide1 and the subject catalogue of the library4 ,make your entries so full that you can go at once to the source2 it is poor economy to save a minute on copying down a title1 and then waste ten or fifteen in going back to the source from which you got it4 ,on large subjects the number of books and articles is far beyond the possibilities of most courses in argumentation1 and here you must exercise your judgment in choosing the most important4 ,the name of the author is on the whole a safe guide3 if you find an article or a book by ,president ,eliot on an educational subject1 or one by ,president ,hadley on economics1 or one by ,president ,jordan on zoology1 or one by any of them on university policy1 you will know at once that you cannot afford to neglect it4 ,as you go on with your reading you will soon find who are authorities on special subjects by noting who are quoted in text and footnotes4 ,if the subject happens to be one of those on which a bibliography has been issued either by the ,library of ,congress or from some other source1 the making of your own bibliography will reduce itself to a selection from this list4 ,keep your bibliography as a practical aid to you in a very practical task4 ,do not swell it from mere love of accumulation1 as you might collect stamps4 ,the making of exhaustive bibliographies is work for advanced scholarship or for assistant librarians4 ,for the practical purposes of making an argument a very moderate number of titles beyond those you can actually use will give you sufficient background4 ,notebook4 ,enter in your notebook the titles of books1 articles1 or speeches which bear on your subject1 and which you are likely to be able to read4 ,illustration4 ,bibliography for an argument on introducing commission government of the ,des ,moines type into ,wytown4 ,,books ,,woodruff1 ,c4 ,r4 ,city ,government by ,commission4 ,new ,york1 #aiaa4 ,bibliography in appendix4 ,,hamilton1 ,j4 ,j4 ,the ,dethronement of the ,city ,boss4 ,new ,york1 #aiaj4 ,,articles ,from ,reader's ,guide to ,periodical ,literature1 ,vol4 ,,ii 7#aije-aiji74 7,there are thirty entries here under the heading1 ,municipal ,government1 and the subheading1 ,government by ,commission4 ,of these ,i omit those dealing with cities in ,texas1 as not bearing directly on the ,des ,moines plan1 and select seven of the most recent47 ,another ,city for ,commission ,government1 ,world's ,work1 ,vol4 ,,xviii 7,june1 #aiji71 p4 #aa1fci4 ,city ,government4 ,outlook4 ,vol4 ,,xcii 7,august #ad1 #aiji71 pp4 #hfe-hff4 ,,bradford1 ,e4 ,s4 ,commission ,government in ,american ,cities1 ,national ,conference on ,city ,government 7#aiji71 pp4 #bag-bbh4 ,,pearson1 ,p4 ,m4 ,commission ,system of ,municipal ,government 7bibliography71 ,intercollegiate ,debates1 pp4 #dfa-dgg4 ,,allen1 ,s4 ,b4 ,des ,moines ,plan1 ,national ,conference on ,city ,government 7#aijg71 pp4 #aef-afe4 ,des ,moines ,plan of ,city ,government1 ,world's ,work1 ,vol4 ,,xviii 7,may1 #aiji71 p4 #aa1ecc4 ,,goodyear1 ,d4 ,the ,example of ,haverhill1 ,independent1 ,vol4 ,,lxvi 7,january1 #aiji71 p4 #aid4 ,from ,reader's ,guide 7#aiaj74 7,seven entries1 of which ,i select the following47 ,,goodyear1 ,d4 ,the ,experience of ,haverhill1 ,independent1 ,vol4 ,,lxviii 7,february1 #aiaj71 p4 #dae4 ,rapid ,growth of ,commission ,government1 ,outlook1 ,vol4 ,,xciv 7,april1 #aiaj71 p4 #hbb4 ,,turner1 ,g4 ,k4 ,new ,american ,city ,government1 ,mc,clure's1 ,vol4 ,,xxxv 7,may1 #aiaj71 pp4 #ig-ajh4 ,organization of ,municipal ,government1 ,american ,government and ,politics2 pp4 #eih-fjb4 #ae4 ,planning for a ,definite ,audience4 ,before setting to work on the actual planning of your argument there are still two preliminary questions you have to consider--the prepossessions of your audience1 and the burden of proof2 of these the latter is dependent on the former4 ,when you get out into active life and have an argument to make1 this question of the audience will force itself on your attention1 for you will not make the argument unless you want to influence views which are actually held4 ,in a school or college argument you have the difficulty that your argument will in most cases have no such practical effect4 ,nevertheless1 even here you can get better practice by fixing on some body of readers who might be influenced by an argument on your subject1 and addressing yourself specifically to them4 ,you can hardly consider the burden of proof or lay out the space which you will give to different points in your argument unless you take into account the present knowledge and the prepossessions of your audience on the subject4 ,where the question is large and abstract the audience may be so general as to seem to have no special characteristics2 but if you will think of the differences of tone and attitude of two different newspapers in treating some local subject you will see that readers always segregate themselves into types4 ,even on a larger scale1 one can say that the people of the ,united ,states as a whole are optimistic and self-confident in temper1 and in consequence careless as to many minor deficiencies and blemishes in our national polity4 ,on a good many questions the ,south1 which is still chiefly agricultural1 has different interests and prepossessions from the ,north2 and the ,west1 being a new country1 is inclined to have less reverence for the vested rights of property as against the rights of men1 than the ,eastern states1 where wealth has long been concentrated and inherited4 ,as one narrows down to the immediate or local questions which make the best subjects for practice the part played by the audience becomes more apparent4 ,the reform of the rules of football is a good example3 a few years ago an audience of elderly people would have taken for granted the brutality of the game1 and its tendency to put a premium on unfair play2 the rules committee1 made up of believers in the game1 had to be hammered at for several years before they made the changes which have so greatly improved it4 ,so in matters of local or municipal interest1 such as the location of a new street car line1 or the laying out of a park1 it will make a vast difference to you whether you are writing for people who have land on the proposed line or park1 or for the general body of citizens4 ,differences in thy prepossessions of your audience and in their knowledge of the subject have1 therefore1 a direct and practical effect on the planning of your argument4 ,suppose you are arguing in favor of raising the standard of admission to your college2 if your argument is addressed to the faculty you will give little space to explaining what those requirements now are2 but if you are sending out an address to the alumni you must give some space to telling them clearly and without technicalities what present conditions are and explaining the changes that you propose4 ,theoretically an argument should change in form and proportions for every audience which you address4 ,the theory may be pushed too far2 but in the practice of real life it will be found nearly true4 ,with different audiences you will unconsciously make different selection of material1 and you will vary your emphasis1 the place of your refutation1 and the distribution of your space4 ,notebook4 ,enter the audience for whom your argument might be written1 and note what you think would be their knowledge of the subject1 and their prepossessions toward it4 ,illustration4 ,the citizens of ,wytown4 ,they are convinced that there should be a change in the city government2 but they are not yet familiar with the ,des ,moines plan4 ,,exercises #a4 ,bring to class editorials from different newspapers on the same local subject1 and point out differences of attitude which they assume in the audiences they address4 #b4 ,suggest three different possible audiences for your argument1 and show what differences you would make in your argument in addressing each of them4 #af4 ,the ,burden of ,proof4 ,the principle which underlies the responsibility for the burden of proof may be summed up in the adage of the common law1 ,he who asserts must prove4 ,at the law this principle has been elaborated into a large and abstruse subject2 in ordinary arguments where there is no judge to make subtle discriminations1 you must interpret it in the broadest way4 ,the average man lacks both the interest and the capacity for making keen distinctions2 and when you are writing for him you would make a mistake if you were to stickle for fine points concerning the burden of proof4 ,in general1 the principle as it bears on the arguments of everyday life implies that any argument in favor of a change shall accept the burden of proof4 ,this application of the principle is illustrated in the following extract from an editorial article in ,the ,outlook some years ago1 on a proposed change in the law of ,new ,york concerning the safeguards of vivisection4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the real question is not as to the merits of vivisection1 but as to the proper safeguards with which the law should surround it4 ,at present the law of ,new ,york state applies to experiments upon animals the same principle that it applies to surgical operations upon men1 women1 and children4 ,it does not attempt to prescribe the conditions under which either experiments or operations should be conducted2 but it does prescribe the standards of fitness which every person who may lawfully engage in surgery and which every person who may lawfully engage in animal experimentation must meet4 ,it penalizes with fine or imprisonment or both the unjustifiable injuring1 mutilating1 or killing of animals2 and it confines to regularly incorporated medical colleges and universities of the state the authority under which animal experimentation may be conducted4 ,the burden of proof rests upon those who would have the state abandon this principle and substitute for it the principle of prescribing the conditions of scientific investigation4 ,it rests upon them to prove1 in the first place1 that the present law is inadequate4 ,it is not sufficient for them to produce lawyers who give opinions that the law is not efficient4 ,there are lawyers of the highest standing in the state who declare that it is efficient4 ,the only adequate mode of proof would be by the prosecution of an actual abuse4 ,so far as we have been able to learn1 only one authentic case of alleged unjustifiable experimentation has been brought forward by the supporters of the bills4 ,this is certainly not proof that the present law is inadequate4 ,in the second place1 the burden of proof rests upon them to show that legal restrictions on the methods of science would not vitiate investigations1 and would not1 therefore1 entail upon human beings greater suffering than would otherwise be inflicted upon animals 444 ,it is because ,the ,outlook is convinced by overwhelming evidence that the practice of vivisection has not increased suffering but has rather widened immeasurably the merciful ministrations of medicine and surgery that it regards as dangerous unintelligent interference with vivisection1 and urges the maintenance of the principle underlying the present ,new ,york law4 99 99 99 99 99 ,so with other questions of policy1 the burden of proof would be on any one who proposed a change from a policy long established1 such as free trade in ,england1 and to a less extent protection in this country1 the elective system in many ,american colleges1 the amateur rule in school and college athletics4 ,always1 one must remember that the burden of proof depends on the prepossessions of the audience1 and that on the same question it may change within a moderately small number of years4 ,ten years ago1 on the question of the popular election of senators the burden was clearly on the side of those who advocated a change in the ,constitution4 ,by this time 7#aiab7 the burden of proof has for a majority of the people of the ,united ,states probably swung to the other side4 ,in the state of ,maine1 where prohibition had been embodied in the state constitution for a generation1 the burden of proof was on those who in #aiaa argued for its repeal2 whereas in ,massachusetts1 which has done well for many years with local option and high license1 the burden would still be on those who should argue for state prohibition4 ,in the discussions of the game of football a few years ago the burden of proof before an audience of athletes would have been on those who declared that the game must be changed2 with college faculties and men of like mind the burden of proof would have been on those who defended the old game4 ,in each case that comes up1 you cannot place the burden of proof until you know whether the people you are trying to convince have any prepossessions in the matter3 if they have1 the burden of proof is on him who attempts to change those prepossessions2 if they have not1 the burden is on him who is proposing to change existing views or existing policies4 ,in no case1 however1 with a popular audience is it very safe to depend much on the burden of proof2 almost always it is better to jump in and actively build up the argument on your own side4 ,in argument1 as in strategy1 take the offensive whenever you can4 99 99 99 99 99 ,notebook4 ,note whether the burden of proof is with you or against you1 taking into account the probable prepossessions of the audience you have selected4 99 99 99 99 99 ,illustration4 ,in the argument for the introduction of the commission form of government into ,wytown the burden of proof is on the affirmative to show that the ,des ,moines plan of city government will cure the evils of the present government of ,wytown4 ,with the audience assumed 7see p4 #dc71 there is no burden of proof on the affirmative to establish the need of a change4 ,,exercises #a4 ,in three subjects which you might choose for an argument show where the burden of proof would lie4 #b4 ,in the case of one of these arguments show how the burden of proof might change with the argument4 #ag4 ,the ,brief4 ,when you have settled these preliminary questions of the audience you wish to win over to your view1 and of the way their prepossessions and knowledge of the subject will affect your responsibilities for the burden of proof1 you are ready to begin work on the brief1 as the plan for an argument is called4 ,this brief it is better to think of as a statement of the logical framework of the argument1 which you are constructing for the purpose of clearing up your own mind on the subject1 and especially to help you to see how you can most effectively arrange your material4 ,it differs from the usual brief in a case at law in that the latter is ordinarily a series of compact statements of legal principles1 each supported by a list of cases already decided which bear on that principle4 ,the brief you will be making now will consist of an introduction1 which states whatever facts and principles are necessary to an understanding of the brief1 and the brief itself1 which consists of a series of propositions1 each supporting your main contention1 and each in turn supported by others1 which again may each be supported by another series4 ,such an analysis will thoroughly display the processes of your reasoning1 and enable you to criticize them step by step for soundness and coerciveness4 ,i shall first explain the several steps which go to the making of the introduction to the brief2 and then come to the making of the brief itself4 #ah4 ,the ,proposition4 ,the first step in making the introduction to your brief is to formulate the question or proposition 7the two terms are interchangeable in practice74 ,until you have crystallized your view of the subject into a proposition you have nothing to argue about4 ,commission form of government is a subject1 but it is not arguable1 for it gives you no hold either for affirming or denying4 ,commission government should be adopted in ,wytown1 or ,commission government has improved political conditions in ,des ,moines1 are both propositions which are arguable 7though not yet specific enough71 for it is possible to maintain either the affirmative or the negative of either of them4 ,the proposition must be single4 ,if it be double1 you have what the lawyers call a squinting argument1 that is1 an argument which looks in two directions at the same time4 ,for example1 the proposition1 ,commission government would be a good thing for ,wytown1 but the initiative and referendum are wrong in principle1 involves two separate and unconnected principles1 since commission government as first embodied at ,galveston does not include the initiative and referendum4 ,many people1 including those of ,galveston and other places in ,texas1 would accept the first half of the proposition1 and disagree with the second half4 ,on the other hand1 ,wytown should adopt a commission government on the ,des ,moines plan1 would not be a double proposition1 though this plan includes the initiative and referendum2 for the proposition makes the issue that the plan should be adopted or rejected as a whole4 ,in some cases a proposition may be grammatically compound1 and yet carry a single assertion4 ,municipal government by commission is more economical and efficient than municipal government with a mayor and two chambers1 is really a single assertion of the superiority of the commission plan of government4 ,in this case there is no danger of getting into a split argument2 but even here it is safer to reduce the proposition to one which is grammatically single1 ,municipal government by commission has proved itself superior to municipal government with a mayor and two chambers4 ,a predicate wholly single is a safeguard against meaning two assertions4 ,the proposition must not be so abstract or vague in terms that you do not know whether you agree or disagree with it4 ,macaulay summed up this difficulty in one of his speeches in ,parliament3 99 99 99 99 99 ,surely my honorable friend cannot but know that nothing is easier than to write a theme for severity1 for clemency1 for order1 for liberty1 for a contemplative life1 for an active life1 and so on4 ,it was a common exercise in the ancient schools of rhetoric to make an abstract question1 and to harangue first on one side and then on the other4 ,the question1 ,ought popular discontents to be quieted by concession or coercion1 would have been a very good subject for oratory of this kind4 ,there is no lack of commonplaces on either side4 ,but when we come to the real business of life1 the value of these commonplaces depends entirely on the particular circumstances of the case which we are discussing4 ,nothing is easier than to write a treatise proving that it is lawful to resist extreme tyranny4 ,nothing is easier than to write a treatise setting forth the wickedness of wantonly bringing on a great society the miseries inseparable from revolution1 the bloodshed1 the spoliation1 the anarchy4 ,both treatises may contain much that is true2 but neither will enable us to decide whether a particular insurrection is or is not justifiable without a close examination of the facts4#d ,in other words1 though the word insurrection seems to be plain in meaning1 yet when we make it one term of a judgment of which the other term is justifiable1 we find that we do not know whether we agree or not4 ,the terms of the proposition are so vague that there can be no meeting of minds4 ,if we limit the subject to a specific case1 insurrection in ,venezuela1 or insurrection in ,cuba1 then we have made a beginning toward making the proposition arguable4 ,in these particular cases1 however1 it would probably be necessary to go further1 and specify which insurrection in ,venezuela or in ,cuba was intended1 before the average ,american would be prepared either to affirm or to deny4 ,wherever the terms of a proposition are too vague to provoke profitable discussion they must be narrowed down to a specific case which will draw forth affirmation and denial4 ,a common case where the vagueness of the proposition leads to difficulties in the argument is described in the following passage3 99 99 99 99 99 ,an equally common form of argument1 closely allied to the argument by analogy1 and equally vague1 is that which is popularly known as the objection to a thin end of a wedge4 ,we must not do this or that1 it is often said1 because if we did we should be logically bound to do something else which is plainly absurd or wrong4 ,if we once begin to take a certain course there is no knowing where we shall be able to stop with any show of consistency2 there would be no reason for stopping anywhere in particular1 and we should be led on1 step by step1 into action or opinions that we all agree to call undesirable or untrue4444 ,for it must not be forgotten that in all disputes of this kind there are two parties opposed to each other1 and that what divides them is precisely their lack of agreement on the question what principle is really involved4 ,those who see a proposal as a thin end of a wedge always see the principle as a wider1 more inclusive one1 than those who make the proposal2 and what gives them freedom so to see it is merely the fact that it remains indefinite4#e ,as a practical example of this confusion1 consider the following extract from a speech in the ,united ,states ,senate opposing the popular election of senators3 99 99 99 99 99 ,every intelligent student of the present rapid trend toward popular government must see what would happen when this sentimental bar of the ,states being represented by two ,senators instead of by the people in the ,united ,states ,senate is thrown down4 ,the initiative1 the referendum1 and the recall are but symptoms of the times4 ,that the people will have their way1 because they1 and they alone1 are the government1 is the underlying spirit of our institutions1 of our newest ,state ,constitutions1 and of our progressive laws4 ,skillful agitation seizes upon every pretext and eagerly grasps and enlarges every opportunity for appeal to the passions in an advancement of its purposes4 ,the next cry will necessarily be1 ,why not elect the ,supreme ,court of the ,united ,states by popular vote8 ,why not elect the ,federal ,judiciary everywhere by popular vote8#f 99 99 99 99 99 ,here the proposition1 ,that the people will have their way1 because they1 and they alone1 are the government1 is the underlying spirit of our institutions1 of our newest state constitutions1 and of our progressive laws1 is not only obscure in terms1 but it is wholly vague1 for it does not define how far the progressive party propose to carry popular direct government4 ,until the two sides agree on that point they have nothing definite enough for profitable argument4 ,it is surprising to notice how often in political debates this fallacy is committed4 ,it is human nature to believe for the time being that the other side will do the worst thing that the circumstances make possible4 ,fortunately1 human nature just as constantly refutes the error4 ,to make clearer this necessity of having a definite proposition to argue1 let us take one of the subjects suggested on page #aj which is not yet in a form for profitable argument1 and amend it4 ,the standard for graduation from this college should be raised1 is a subject that can be discussed1 but as it stands it would not be a good proposition for an argument1 because it is vague4 ,how much should the standard be raised8 ,by what method should it be raised8 ,these and other questions you would have to answer before you would have a proposition definite enough to be argued with profit4 ,the proposition could be made definite enough by such amendments as the following3 ,the standard for graduation from this college should be raised by requiring one eighth more hours of lecture or recitation in each of the four years2 or1 ,the standard for graduation from this college should be raised by increasing the pass mark in all courses from fifty per cent to sixty per cent2 or1 ,the standard for graduation from this college should be raised by allowing no student to have his degree who has fallen below sixty per cent in one fourth of his work1 and has not attained eighty per cent in at least one eighth of his college work4 ,in each of these cases the proposition is so definite that you could find exactly how many students would be affected4 ,a proposition which involves a definite body of facts is arguable2 one which involves an indefinite and incalculable body of facts is not4 ,to take another example from the brief we shall be working out in this chapter1 the proposition1 ,wytown should adopt the commission form of government1 is not definite enough1 for there are various forms of commission government1 such as the ,galveston plan1 the ,des ,moines plan1 and by this time a considerable variety of others2 and citizens who are at all particular in their voting would want to know just which of these was proposed for their approval4 ,the proposition1 therefore1 would have to be limited to1 ,wytown should adopt a commission government after the ,des ,moines plan4 ,the exact form of your proposition will not always come to you at the first try4 ,it may easily happen that you will not see the exact issue involved in the argument until you have gone some way with the processes of analysis which we shall be considering in the rest of this chapter4 ,always hold yourself ready to amend your proposition1 if you can thereby come closer to the question4 ,notebook4 ,enter the exact proposition which you are to argue4 ,illustration4 ,wytown should adopt the commission form of government1 in the form now in practice at ,des ,moines1 ,iowa4 ,,exercises #a4 ,make three arguable propositions on the subject1 ,entrance examinations for college4 #b4 ,criticize the following propositions and amend them1 if necessary1 so that they might be argued with profit3 a4 ,freshmen should be required to keep reasonable hours4 b4 ,the honor system should be introduced everywhere4 c4 ,this city should do more for its boys4 d4 ,the street railway companies in this city should be better regulated4 e4 ,the amateur rules for college athletes are too stringent4 f4 ,intercollegiate football is beneficial4 #ai4 ,definition of ,terms4 ,making a proposition definite is chiefly a process of defining terms which are found in it2 but when these are defined you may still in your argument use others which also need definition4 ,in general the definition of terms1 whether in the proposition or not1 implies finding out just what a term means for the present purpose4 ,almost every common word is used for some variety of purposes4 ,commission1 for example1 even within the field of government1 has two very different meanings3 ,as applied to state and national administration1 the term commission government is used in connection with the growing practice of delegating to appointed administrative boards or commissions--the ,interstate ,commerce ,commission1 state railroad commissions1 tax commissions1 boards of control1 etc4--the administration of certain special or specified executive functions 444,from the standpoint of organization1 then1 commission government1 as applied to the state1 connotes decentralization1 the delegation and division of authority and responsibility1 and the disintegration of popular control 444,as applied to city administration1 however1 commission government has a very different meaning4 ,in striking contrast to its use in connection with the state1 it is used to designate the most concentrated and centralized type of organization which has yet appeared in the annals of representative municipal history4 ,under so-called commission government for cities1 the entire administration of the city's affairs is placed in the hands of a small board or council--commission--elected at large and responsible directly to the electorate for the government of the city4#g ,furthermore1 even the term commission government for cities is not wholly definite1 for there are already several recognized types of such government1 such as the ,galveston type1 the ,des ,moines type1 and recent modifications of these4 ,if you are making an argument for introducing a commission government1 therefore1 you must go still further with your definitions1 and specify the distinguishing features of the particular plan which you are urging on the voters1 as is done in the definition on page #ei4 ,in other words1 you must make exactly clear the meaning of the term for the present case4 ,your first impulse when you find a term that needs defining may be to go to a dictionary4 ,a little thought will show you that in most cases you will get little comfort if you do4 ,the aim of a dictionary is to give all the meanings which a word has had in reasonable use2 what you need in an argument is to know which one of these meanings it has in the present case4 ,if you were writing an argument on the effects or the righteousness of the change wrought in the ,english constitution by the recent curtailment of the veto power of the ,house of ,lords1 and wished to use the word revolution1 and to use it where it was important that your readers should understand precisely what you intended it to convey1 you would not burden them with such a definition as the following1 from an unabridged dictionary3 ,revolution3 a fundamental change in political organization1 or in a government or constitution2 the overthrow or renunciation of one government and the substitution of another1 by the governed4 ,such a definition would merely fill up your space1 and leave you no further ahead4 ,a dictionary is studiously general1 for it must cover all possible legitimate meanings of the word2 in an argument you must be studiously specific1 to carry your readers with you in the case under discussion4 ,moreover1 words are constantly being pressed into new uses1 as in the case of commission 7see p4 #ed72 and others have entirely legitimate local meanings4 ,only a dictionary which was on the scale of the ,new ,english ,dictionary and which was reedited every five years could pretend to keep up with these new uses4 ,in an unabridged dictionary dated #aijg1 for example1 the full definition of amateur is as follows3 ,a person attached to a particular pursuit1 study or science1 as to music or painting2 especially one who cultivates any study or art1 from taste or attachment1 without pursuing it professionally4 ,of what use would such a definition be to you if you were arguing in favor of strengthening or relaxing the amateur rules in college athletics1 in which you had to follow through the intricacies of summer baseball and of reimbursements for training table and traveling expenses8 ,such a definition hardly comes in sight of the use of the word which is most in the mouths of college students in ,america4 ,words mean whatever careful and accepted writers have used them to mean2 and the business of a dictionary is so far as possible to record these meanings4 ,but language1 being a living and constantly developing growth1 is constantly altering them and adding to them4 ,what a dictionary can do for you1 therefore1 is merely to tell you whether in the past the word has been used with the signification which you wish to give to it2 but there are very few cases in which this will be much help to you1 for in an argument your only interest in the meaning of a term is in the meaning of that term for the case under discussion4 ,there are two quite different kinds of difficulty in putting the right interpretation on a statement1 and a dictionary can only remove one of these1 and by far the less important one4 ,when you meet with a statement containing an unfamiliar word--say1 the word parallax1 or phanerogamous1 or brigantine--and when you understand all the rest of the statement except that word1 then as a general rule the dictionary will help to make the meaning clear4 ,but when the difficulty is caused1 not by a word being unfamiliar1 but by its being used in a certain context1 then the best dictionary in the world is1 for your purpose1 of no use at all4 ,the nature of every dictionary is necessarily such that it entirely leaves out of account all doubts about meaning which are of this second kind4 ,the most that a dictionary can do is to tell us the meaning of a word in those cases where the context in which it is used is not such as to make the meaning doubtful4#h ,in practice the words which most often need definition are those which are1 as it were1 shorthand symbols for perhaps a very extensive meaning4 ,unless the limits of this extended meaning are clearly marked out you cannot tell whether the minds of your readers are1 as the lawyers say1 running on all fours with your own or not4 ,this extended meaning may be of various sorts3 for example1 it may be a large general principle1 as in the case of evolution or culture2 or it may be a general system or practice1 as in the case of commission government1 honor system1 or high standards for graduation2 or it may be a general class of things1 persons1 or events1 as in the case of secondary school1 professional coach1 or murder4 ,when you use any such term in an argument1 it is essential that your readers shall have the same set of details1 ramifications1 or instances in mind as you have yourself4 ,for this purpose you must define the term2 or1 in other words1 you must lay out or display the ramifications and limitations of the principle1 the details of the system or practice1 or the exact kinds of things1 persons1 or events1 which you have in mind when you use the term4 ,a few examples will make this practical meaning of defining clear4 ,sometimes the definition proceeds by careful and specific limitation of the general signification of a word1 as in the following example from ,bagchot3 ,i should say that except where it is explained to the contrary1 ,i use the word toleration to mean toleration by law4 ,toleration by society of matters not subject to legal penalty is a kindred subject1 on which if ,i have room ,i will add a few words2 but in the main ,i propose to deal with the simpler subject1 toleration by law4 ,and by toleration1 too1 ,i mean1 when it is not otherwise said1 toleration in the public expression of opinions2 toleration of acts and practices is another allied subject1 on which ,i can1 in a paper like this1 but barely hope to indicate what seems to me to be the truth1 and ,i should add that ,i deal only with the discussion of impersonal doctrines3 the law of libel1 which deals with accusations of living persons1 is a topic requiring consideration by itself4#i ,sometimes the definition is rather an unfolding and displaying of the implications 7from the ,latin1 implicare1 to fold in7 of the term4 ,huxley1 near the beginning of his three ,lectures on ,evolution1 made sure by the following definition that his hearers should have a precise idea of what he meant by the term evolution3 ,the third hypothesis1 or the hypothesis of evolution1 supposes that1 at any comparatively late period of past time1 our imaginary spectator would meet with a state of things very similar to that which now obtains2 but that the likeness of the past to the present would gradually become less and less1 in proportion to the remoteness of his period of observation from the present day2 that the existing distribution of mountains and plains1 of rivers and seas1 would show itself to be the product of a slow process of natural change operating upon more and more widely different antecedent conditions of the mineral framework of the earth2 until1 at length1 in place of that framework1 he would behold only a vast nebulous mass1 representing the constituents of the sun and of the planetary bodies4 ,preceding the forms of life which now exist our observer would see animals and plants not identical with them1 but like them2 increasing their differences with their antiquity and1 at the same time1 becoming simpler and simpler2 until1 finally1 the world of life would present nothing but that undifferentiated protoplasmic matter1 which1 so far as our present knowledge goes1 is the common foundation of all vital activity4 ,the hypothesis of evolution supposes that in all this vast progression there would be no breach of continuity1 no point at which we could say1 ,this is a natural process1 and ,this is not a natural process1 but that the whole might be compared to that wonderful process of development which may be seen going on every day under our eyes1 in virtue of which there arises1 out of the semifluid1 comparatively homogeneous substance which we call an egg1 the complicated organization of one of the higher animals4 ,that1 in a few words1 is what is meant by the hypothesis of evolution4#aj ,here ,huxley has laid out1 in compact form the principal ramifications of the great principle of evolution1 giving his hearers something like an outline map of it with its limits and principal divisions4 ,where you have a practice or system to define1 you will be more likely to do it by specifying the chief and essential details of the system1 as in the following definition of commission government for cities4 ,it will be noticed that this narrows down the meaning of the term to something like the ,des ,moines system1 as distinguished from the ,galveston plan4 ,a straight commission form of municipal government1 in the judgment of ,dr4 ,charles ,w4 ,eliot1 one of its most active advocates1 requires a commission composed of five members elected at large1 one of whom is called the mayor1 acting as chairman of the commission1 but with no veto power1 or any other special power not shared by the other members of the commission4 ,the commission so elected is the source of all authority in the city1 makes all ordinances1 appoints all officials1 collects taxes1 and makes all appropriations4 ,as set forth by its advocates1 the significant features of the plan1 in addition to those already mentioned1 are3 ,assignment of the important divisions of the city government to individual members of the commission1 or their election thereto by the voters1 each being directly responsible for the conduct of his particular department2 adequate compensation to the commissioners for their time and labor1 the city employing all the commissioners at living salaries1 thus elevating the dignity of municipal service and making it a public career1 and not a mere avocation2 regularity1 frequency1 and publicity of the meetings of the commissioners2 all employees above the class of day laborers selected from eligible lists based on examinations1 oral and written1 carefully devised to develop merit and fitness2 recommendations after examination by an independent civil service commission2 provision for the retention in office of all employees so appointed during good behavior2 the power to initiate legislation reserved to the people1 this right being known as the initiative2 the power to call for a public vote on any measure adopted by the commission before being given effect as law reserved to the people1 this being known as the referendum2 the power at any time to make any member of the commission stand for reelection reserved to the people1 this being known as the recall2 the granting of public franchise always to be submitted to the approval of the electors4 ,there are two other important features3 the introduction of the principle of the short ballot and the elimination of ward lines4 ,in the matured judgment of municipal students these are considered1 together with the concentration of authority1 as the most effective features of the system4#aa ,here is a pretty complete display of all the essential details of the system which the author of this definition intended to mean by the term commission government for cities4 ,where the term which is to be defined is the name of a general class1 whether of persons1 things1 or events1 the definition must show just what persons1 things1 or events are to be included under the term for the present purpose4 ,lincoln gave a famous example of this sort of definition in the opening of his address at ,cooper ,institute1 ,february #bg1 #ahfj4 ,he took for the text of the first part of his speech a statement of ,senator ,douglas4 ,in his speech last autumn at ,columbus1 ,ohio1 as reported in the ,new ,york ,times1 ,senator ,douglas said1 ,our fathers1 when they framed the government under which we live1 understood this question just as well1 and even better1 than we do now4 ,i fully indorse this1 and ,i adopt it as a text for this discourse4 ,i so adopt it because it furnishes a precise and an agreed starting point for a discussion between ,republicans and that wing of the ,democracy headed by ,senator ,douglas4 ,it simply leaves the inquiry3 ,what was the understanding those fathers had of the question mentioned8 ,what is the frame of government under which we live8 ,the answer must be1 ,the ,constitution of the ,united ,states4 ,that ,constitution consists of the original1 framed in #aghg1 and under which the present government first went into operation1 and twelve subsequently framed amendments1 the first ten of which were framed in #aghi4 ,who were our fathers that framed the ,constitution8 ,i suppose the thirty-nine who signed the original instrument may be fairly called our fathers who framed that part of the present government4 ,it is almost exactly true to say they framed it1 and it is altogether true to say they fairly represented the opinion and sentiment of the whole nation at that time4 ,their names being familiar to nearly all1 and accessible to quite all1 need not now be repeated4 ,i take these thirty-nine1 for the present1 as being our fathers who framed the government under which we live4 ,what is the question which1 according to the text1 those fathers understood just as well1 and even better1 than we do now8 ,it is this3 ,does the proper division of local from ,federal authority1 or anything in the ,constitution1 forbid our ,federal ,government to control as to slavery in our ,federal ,territories8 ,upon this1 ,senator ,douglas holds the affirmative1 and ,republicans the negative4 ,this affirmation and denial form an issue2 and this issue--this question--is precisely what the text declares our fathers understood better than we4 ,let us now inquire whether the thirty-nine1 or any of them1 ever acted upon this question2 and if they did1 how they acted upon it--how they expressed that better understanding4 ,here as will be seen1 ,lincoln took every important word and phrase1 and showed exactly what persons and things were included under them4 ,then he went ahead with his argument with the assurance that his audience and he were treading the same path4 ,somewhat similar are the definitions in many cases at law1 where the issue is whether the agreed facts in a case come under a certain term or not4 ,the ,constitution of the ,united ,states provides that direct taxes shall be apportioned among the states in proportion to their population1 but makes no such restriction on the levying of duties1 imposts1 and taxes4 ,when ,congress establishes a new form of tax1 therefore1 such as the income tax or the corporation tax1 the ,supreme ,court is pretty sure to be called on to decide under which of these large constitutional classes it falls4 ,in such cases as the ,income ,tax cases1 which decided that the income tax laid in the ,act of #aijd was unconstitutional1 and in the ,corporation ,tax cases1 which upheld the ,act of #aiji1 both the arguments of counsel and the decision of the court deal wholly with the definition of the term direct tax4 ,here the definition takes the form of an examination of previous cases which involved the term1 to see whether the present case is like those that have been held to be within it1 or like those which have been held to fall outside it4 ,from this comparison of the two sets of cases the essential characteristics of the direct tax are brought to the surface4 ,a good example of the careful distinctions which must be made in defining a legal term is found in ,daniel ,webster's famous argument in the ,white ,murder ,case1 of which an extract will be found below4 ,the question here is just how far the term murder shall be extended4 ,there are two sorts of murder2 the distinction between them it is of essential importance to bear in mind3 7#a7 murder in an affray1 or upon sudden and unexpected provocation2 7#b7 murder secretly1 with a deliberate1 predetermined intention to commit the crime4 ,under the first class1 the question usually is1 whether the offense he murder or manslaughter1 in the person who commits the deed4 ,under the second class1 it is often a question whether others than he who actually did the deed were present1 aiding and assisting therein4 ,offenses of this kind ordinarily happen when there is nobody present except those who go on the same design4 ,if a riot should happen in the court-house1 and one should kill another1 this may be murder1 or it may not1 according to the intention with which it was done2 which is always matter of fact1 to be collected from the circumstances at the time4 ,but in secret murders1 premeditated and determined on1 there can be no doubt of the murderous intention2 there can be no doubt if a person be present1 knowing a murder is to be done1 of his concurring in the act4 ,his being there is a proof of his intent to aid and abet2 else1 why is he there8 ,it has been contended1 that proof must be given that the person accused did actually afford aid1 did lend a hand in the murder itself2 and without this proof1 although he may be near by1 he may be presumed to be there for an innocent purpose2 he may have crept silently there to hear the news1 or from mere curiosity to see what was going on4 ,preposterous1 absurd6 ,such an idea shocks all common sense4 ,a man is found to be a conspirator to commit a murder2 he has planned it2 he has assisted in arranging the time1 the place1 and the means2 and he is found in the place1 and at the time1 and yet it is suggested that he might have been there1 not for cooperation and concurrence1 but from curiosity6 ,such an argument deserves no answer4 ,it would be difficult to give it one1 in decorous terms4 ,is it not to be taken for granted1 that a man seeks to accomplish his own purposes8 ,when he has planned a murder1 and is present at its execution1 is he there to forward or to thwart his own design8 ,is he there to assist1 or there to prevent8 ,but curiosity6 ,he may be there from mere curiosity6 ,curiosity to witness the success of the execution of his own plan of murder6 ,the very walls of a court-house ought not to stand1 the plowshare should run through the ground it stands on1 where such an argument could find toleration4 ,it is not necessary that the abettor should actually lend a hand1 that he should take a part in the act itself2 if he be present ready to assist1 that is assisting4444 ,the law is1 that being ready to assist is assisting1 if the party has the power to assist1 in case of need4 ,it is so stated by ,foster1 who is a high authority4 ,if ,a happeneth to be present at a murder1 for instance1 and taketh no part in it1 nor endeavoreth to prevent it1 nor apprehendeth the murderer1 nor levyeth hue and cry after him1 this strange behavior of his1 though highly criminal1 will not of itself render him either principal or accessory4 ,but if a fact amounting to murder should be committed in prosecution of some unlawful purpose1 though it were but a bare trespass1 to which ,a in the case last stated had consented1 and he had gone in order to give assistance1 if need were1 for carrying it into execution1 this would have amounted to murder in him1 and in every person present and joining with him4 ,if the fact was committed in prosecution of the original purpose which was unlawful1 the whole party will be involved in the guilt of him who gave the blow4 ,for in combinations of this kind1 the mortal stroke1 though given by one of the party1 is considered in the eye of the law1 and of sound reason too1 as given by every individual present and abetting4 ,the person actually giving the stroke is no more than the hand or instrument by which the others strike4 ,the author1 in speaking of being present1 means actual presence2 not actual in opposition to constructive1 for the law knows no such distinction4 ,there is but one presence1 and this is the situation from which aid1 or supposed aid1 may be rendered4 ,the law does not say where the person is to go1 or how near he is to go1 but that he must be where he may give assistance1 or where the perpetrator may believe that he may be assisted by him4 ,suppose that he is acquainted with the design of the murderer1 and has a knowledge of the time when it is to be carried into effect1 and goes out with a view to render assistance1 if need be2 why1 then1 even though the murderer does not know of this1 the person so going out will be an abettor in the murder4 #bj4 ,definition through the ,history of the ,case4 ,in some cases the easiest way to put before your readers the precise details or limitations implied in a term is through a brief review of the history of the question4 ,in the ,lincoln-,douglas debates ,lincoln was constantly showing that ,douglas's use of the term popular sovereignty must be understood in the light of the whole history of the slavery question2 that it meant one thing--what ,douglas intended it to mean--if the history of the question before #ahej were left out of sight2 but that it meant a wholly different thing if the steady encroachment of the slave power from the ,missouri ,compromise of #ahbj on were taken into account4 ,and ,lincoln showed that in reality popular sovereignty had come to mean a power oh the part of the people of a territory to introduce slavery1 but not to exclude it4#ab ,in our own day progressive has a different meaning when applied to a ,republican from ,kansas and to one from ,massachusetts or ,new ,york4 ,to know just what is involved by applying the term to any given public man1 one must go back to the recent history of his party in his own state1 and to the speeches he has made4 ,in political discussions popular phrases are constantly thus blurred in meaning through being used as party catchwords2 and to use them with any certainty in an argument one must thus go back to their origin1 and then dissect out1 as it were1 the ambiguous implications which have grown into them4 ,if you were arguing any question concerning the elective system or the entrance requirements for your own college1 you would often do well to sketch the history of the present system as a means of defining it1 before you go on to urge that it be changed or kept as it is4 ,so if you were arguing for a further change in the football rules1 your best definition of the present game for your purpose would be a sketch of the way in which the game has been changed in the past few years1 at the urgent demand of public opinion4 ,such a sketch you could easily get by running through the back numbers of such a magazine as ,outing1 or the sporting columns of some of the larger weeklies4 ,or again1 if you were arguing that the street railway systems of your city should be allowed to combine1 your best description or definition of the present situation might well be a sketch of the successive steps by which it came to be what it is4 ,here you would go for your material to the files of local newspapers1 or1 if you could get at them1 to sets of the reports of the railway companies4 ,the definition of terms through the history of the question has the advantage that1 besides helping your readers to see why the terms you use have the meaning you give them for the present case1 it also makes them better judges of the question by giving them a full background4 ,ambiguous definitions1 which do not distinguish between two or more meanings of a term for the case under discussion1 are usually avoided by going back to the history of the case4 ,in ,chapter ,,iii we shall consider more fully the fallacies which spring from ambiguous use of words4 ,here ,i shall insist briefly on the necessity of searching into the way terms have come to be used in specific discussions4 ,the first of these is the danger which arises when a word in general use takes on a special1 almost technical meaning in connection with a particular subject4 ,here you must take some pains to see that your readers understand it in the special sense1 and not in the popular one4 ,a crass instance1 in which there is little real possibility of confusion1 is the use of words like democratic or republican as the names of political parties2 even with these words stump speakers sometimes try to play on the feelings of an uneducated audience by importing the association of the original use of the word into its later use4 ,there are a good many words used in the scientific study of government which are also used loosely in general talk4 ,federal has a precise meaning when used to distinguish the form of government of the ,united ,states from that which usually binds together the counties in a state2 but we constantly use it in a sense hardly distinguishable from that of ,national4 ,the following extract from an editorial on the ,philippine question is a good illustration of this precise and semitechnical use of words1 and the loose1 not very accurate use of everyday speech3 ,on the other hand1 it is said that this policy of the ,united ,states toward its dependencies is insincere2 that it is a covert plan of exploitation2 that1 as it is practiced1 it is a denial in act of a mere promise to the ear2 and that if it were genuine the ,united ,states would bestow self-government upon its dependencies by granting independence4 ,this criticism is obviously based on a confusion of independence with self-government4 ,russia1 is independent1 but in only a very slight degree are its people self-governing4 ,turkey has long been independent1 but until the recent revolution the people of ,turkey were self-governing in no sense at all4 ,on the other hand1 ,canada1 though not independent1 is self-governing4#ac ,many an argument goes to wreck through carelessness in the use of words of this sort4 ,wherever the subject under discussion has grown into the partial possession of a special field1 but still uses words drawn from everyday life1 you must be careful that not only you1 but your audience also1 understand your terms in the more precise way4 ,closely related to this kind of ambiguity1 and in practice still more insidious1 is the ambiguity which arises from the connotation or emotional implications of words4 ,the use of republican and democrat cited above runs over into this kind of confusion4 ,in collegiate athletics professional has come to have almost an implication of moral inferiority1 when it is often dependent on pretty technical considerations of expediency4 ,in politics1 to one class of temperaments conservative1 to another radical1 or at any rate liberal or progressive1 carries the implication of the salvation or the ruin of the country4 ,all such words introduce a sure element of obscurity and confusion into an argument4 ,if a word stirs your feelings in one way and those of some of your readers in another1 you cannot use that word safely2 in spite of the most careful definitions and disclaimers the emotional bias will creep in and twist the effect of your words in the minds of some of your audience4 ,this emotional ambiguity is the most insidious of all ambiguities in the use of words4 ,the danger from it is so real that ,i shall return to it at greater length 7see p4 #aeh74 ,in a good many cases the necessity of defining the terms to be used1 whether in the proposition itself1 or in the argument1 changes with the audience4 ,if you begin a movement to introduce a commission form of government into the town or the city in which you live1 at first you will have to repeat the definition of commission government a good many times1 in order that most of the voters may know exactly what you want them to do4 ,if the town once wakes up1 however1 and gets interested1 you and every one else will be using such technicalities as ,galveston plan1 ,des ,moines plan1 recall1 initiative1 and the like with no danger of leaving darkness where there should be light4 ,so even more obviously with school and college questions3 if you are sending memorials urging the introduction of the honor system or of student self-government1 one to the trustees of your college1 and another to the faculty1 and at the same time addressing an appeal to your fellow students through a college paper1 in each of the three cases your definitions might differ4 ,you could probably assume that both students and faculty would be more or less familiar with the question1 so that your definitions would be of the nature of precise specifications of the plan you were urging4 ,with the trustees your definitions would probably have to be longer and your explanations more detailed1 for such a body would start with only a vague knowledge of the situation4 ,as in all other steps in making an argument1 so in defining1 there is no formula for all cases4 ,in each case your knowledge of your audience must guide you1 and your own sagacity4 ,unnecessary definitions will make them think you a prig2 insufficient definition will let them stray away from your meaning4 ,notebook4 ,enter any terms which need definition for the audience you are addressing4 ,illustration4 ,commission form of government after the ,des ,mouses plan4 ,the essential features of this plan are as follows3 ,the entire affairs of the city are conducted by a mayor and four councilors1 elected at large for two years2 they are nominated at a primary election2 at neither primary nor final election are party designations allowed on the ballot2 these officers are subject to the recall2 the mayor is chairman of the council1 but has no power of veto2 the executive and administrative powers are divided into five departments1 each under the charge of a member of the council--7#a7 public affairs 7under the charge of the mayor71 7#b7 accounts and finances1 7#c7public safety17#d7 streets and public improvements1 7#e7 parks and public property2 all other offices are filled and their duties prescribed by majority vote of the council2 recall2 grants of franchises must be approved by popular vote2 initiative and referendum2 a summary of city affairs must be published and distributed once a month4 ,recall1 ,on petition of twenty-five per cent of the voters at the last election the mayor or any of the councilmen must stand for reelection at a special election4 ,referendum4 ,on petition of twenty-five per cent of the voters any ordinance must be submitted to popular vote at a special election2 no ordinance goes into effect until ten days after being passed by the council4 ,initiative4 ,on petition of twenty-five per cent of the voters a proposed measure must either be passed by the council or else submitted to popular vote4 ,,finding ,,the ,,issues ,,exercises #a4 ,write definitions of the system for choice of studies by undergraduates which is in force at your college2 of the terms for admission to college2 of the requirements for the degree4 #b4 ,write a compact description or definition of the form of city government in your own city or town1 like that of the ,des ,moines plan of commission government on page #gj4 #c4 ,write a definition of the requirements for entrance in ,english1 according to those set forth by the ,conference on ,uniform ,entrance ,requirements in ,english4 #d4 ,write a definition of the present system of college societies in your own college1 using the history of their development1 for your fellow students2 for an article in a popular magazine4 #e4 ,write a definition of summer baseball for an audience of undergraduates2 for the trustees of your college4 #f4 ,write a definition of professional coach4 #g4 ,write a definition of squatter sovereignty1 as used by ,lincoln4 #h4 ,write a definition of the mutation theory4 #i4 ,write a definition of the ,english system of government4 #aj4 ,write a definition of the romantic spirit in literature4 #ba4 ,finding the ,issues4 ,your preparation for your argument should now have given you a clear idea of the interests and prepossessions of your readers1 it should have left you with a definite proposition to support or oppose1 and it should have made you sure of the meaning of all the terms you are to use1 whether in the proposition or in your argument4 ,the next step in working out the introduction to your brief is to note down the chief points that can be urged on the two sides of the question1 as direct preparation for the final step1 which will be to find the main issues4 ,these main issues are the points on which the decision of the whole question will turn4 ,they will vary in number with the case1 and to some extent with the space which you have for your argument4 ,in a question of fact1 which turns on circumstantial evidence1 there may be a number of them4 ,in the ,white ,murder ,case1 in which as we have already seen1 ,webster was the chief counsel for the prosecution1 he summed up the main issues in the following passage4 ,the essential facts needed to understand the case are that the defendant was ,franklin ,knapp1 that his sister-in-law1 ,mrs4 ,joseph ,knapp1 was the niece of ,captain ,white1 that by removing and destroying the will of ,captain ,white the defendant and his brother ,joseph supposed that they had made sure that she would inherit from him a large sum of money1 that ,richard ,crowninshield1 the actual perpetrator of the murder1 had killed himself in prison4 ,to convince the jury of the guilt of the prisoner1 ,webster had to carry them with him on the following seven main issues3 ,gentlemen1 ,i have gone through with the evidence in this case1 and have endeavored to state it plainly and fairly before you4 ,i think there are conclusions to be drawn from it1 the accuracy of which you cannot doubt4 ,i think you cannot doubt that there was a conspiracy formed fur the purpose of committing this murder1 and who the conspirators were3 ,that you cannot doubt that the ,crowninshields and the ,knapps were the parties in this conspiracy3 ,that you cannot doubt that the prisoner at the bar knew that the murder was to be done on the night of the #fth of ,april3 ,that you cannot doubt that the murderers of ,captain ,white were the suspicious persons seen in and about ,brown ,street on that night3 ,that you cannot doubt that ,richard ,crowninshield was the perpetrator of that crime3 ,that you cannot doubt that the prisoner at the bar was in ,brown ,street on that night4 ,if there1 then it must be by agreement1 to countenance1 to aid the perpetrator4 ,and if so1 then he is guilty as ,principal4 ,similarly1 in most arguments of policy there are a number of considerations that converge in favor of or against the proposed policy4 ,if you were writing an argument in favor of keeping the study of ,latin in the commercial course of a high school1 you would probably urge that ,latin is essential for an effective knowledge of ,english1 that it is the foundation of ,spanish and ,french1 languages which will be of constantly increasing importance to ,american business men in the future1 and that young men and women who go into business have an even stronger right to studies which will enlarge their horizons and open their minds to purely cultivating influences than those who go on to college4 ,indeed1 in very few questions of policy which are doubtful enough to need argument is there any single consideration on which the whole case will turn4 ,human affairs are much complicated by cross interests1 and many influences modify even one's everyday decisions4 ,to find the main issues--which are really the critical ones on which your audience will make up their minds--is a matter largely of native sagacity and penetration2 but thorough knowledge of your whole subject is essential if you are to strike unerringly to the heart of the subject and pick out these pivotal points4 ,a simple and very practical device for getting at the main issues is to put down on paper the chief points which might be made on the two sides4 ,then with these before you1 you can soon1 by stating them and rearranging them1 simmer down your case into arguable form4 ,in the argument on introducing a commission form of government into ,wytown this noting down of the chief points which might be urged on the two sides would be about as follows3 ,contentions on the ,two ,sides4 ,on the affirmative the following points might be urged3 #a4 ,the plan would make the individuals who hold the power directly responsible at all times to the citizens4 #b4 ,it would make the responsibility for all municipal action easy to trace4 #c4 ,it would get abler men to serve the city4 #d4 ,it would take municipal government out of politics4 #e4 ,it would hold municipal administration up to the same standards of honesty and efficiency as private business4 #f4 ,it would make it difficult to elect representatives of corrupt interests4 #g4 ,it would make possible advantageous dealings with public-service corporations4 #h4 ,it would make possible the immediate removal of an unfaithful official4 #i4 ,it would tend to interest the citizens intelligently in municipal affairs4 #aj4 ,it has worked well wherever it has been tried4 ,on the negative side the following points might be urged3 #a4 ,the plan is a complete departure from the traditional ,american theory of government4 #b4 ,it throws away a chance for training in public affairs for a considerable body of young men4 #c4 ,it might put very great power in the hands of unworthy men4 #d4 ,corrupt interests1 having a larger stake1 would work harder to control the city4 #e4 ,past experience gives no reason to expect the constant interest on the part of citizens which is necessary to make so great concentration of power safe4 #f4 ,with further increase in the foreign population of the city there will be danger from race and religious clannishness4 #g4 ,a return to the old-fashioned town government1 or some such modification of it as has been tried at ,newport1 would enlist the active interest of more citizens4 #h4 ,the system is still an experiment4 #i4 ,the present success of the plan in various places is largely to be ascribed to its novelty4 #aj4 ,the present system has in the past given good government4 #aa4 ,the liability to recall will keep public officials from initiating advantageous policies if they would be detrimental to part of the city1 or if they were unpopular because of novelty4 ,in most cases1 as here1 you will get too many points to argue out in the space which is at your disposal4 ,fifteen hundred or two thousand words are very soon eaten up when you begin to state evidence in any detail1 and arguments written in school or college can rarely be longer4 ,you must look forward1 therefore1 to not more than four or five main issues4 ,in going over and comparing the points which you have jotted down in this preliminary statement you must consequently be prepared to throw out all that are not obviously important4 ,even when you have done this you will usually have more than enough points left to fill your space1 and must make some close decisions before you get at those which you finally decide to argue out4 ,you must also be prepared to rephrase and remold some of the points in order to get at the most important aspects of the case4 ,this noting down of the points which might be urged you should therefore regard entirely as a preliminary step1 and not as fixing the points in the form in which you will argue them out4 ,in the main issues for the argument on introducing commission government into ,wytown1 as they are worked out below1 it will be seen that main issue #d for the affirmative is derived in part from the points marked #a1 #b1 #f1 and #h of those for the affirmative1 and those marked #c1 #d1 and #e for the negative4 ,furthermore1 it is obvious that the main issues you choose will vary somewhat with the side of the question which you are arguing4 ,you will almost surely have to leave out some of the points which might be urged1 and there is no sense in letting the other side choose your ground for you4 ,points which from one side may be of no great consequence1 or not very practicable to argue1 may on the other be highly effective2 and in arguing you should always take what advantage can fairly be gained from position4 ,the phrasing of the main issues1 too1 will vary with the side on which you are arguing them4 ,here1 again1 you must take every fair advantage that is to be gained from position4 ,in the main issues of the question ,i have been using for an example1 as they are stated below1 it will be seen that main issue #a on the affirmative and main issue #c on the negative cover very nearly the same ground2 but if you were arguing on the affirmative you would direct attention to the shortcomings inherent in the system of government1 if on the negative1 to the temporary and removable causes of them4 ,whichever side you were arguing on there is no reason that you should lose the advantage of so phrasing the issue that you can go directly to your work of establishing your contention4 ,in the argument on introducing commission government into ,wytown the main issues might be as follows3 ,the main issues as chosen by the affirmative3 #a4 ,is the admitted inefficiency of the city government at present due to the system of government8 #b4 ,will the adoption of the plan result in more economical administration8 #c4 ,will the adoption of the plan result in more efficient service to the city8 #d4 ,will the direct responsibility of the mayor and councilors to the citizens be a sufficient safeguard for the increased power given to them8 ,the main issues as chosen by the negative3 #a4 ,is there danger in putting such large powers into the hands of so few men8 #b4 ,will the new plan1 if adopted1 permanently raise the standard of public servants8 #c4 ,is the inefficiency of the city government at present due to temporary and removable causes8 #d4 ,has the plan succeeded in other places largely because of its novelty8 #e4 ,will the liability to recall keep officials from initiating new policies for fear of unpopularity8 ,in some cases it will be hard to reduce the number of issues to a manageable number2 in others1 for special reasons1 it may be possible to treat a part of them only at length4 ,in such cases one can always adopt the device of an imaginary next chapter or to be continued in our next4 ,in considering how many issues you can deal with satisfactorily1 however1 you must not leave out of account contentions on the other side that must be refuted2 and in choosing among the possible main issues you must always exercise judgment4 ,many points which might be argued are not worth the space it would take to deal with them2 but not infrequently you will have to let points that have some weight give place to others that have more4 ,it is not to be expected that the points made by the two sides will always exactly pair off1 for the considerations which make for a course of action may be different in kind from those which make against it4 ,sometimes one side will contribute more to the final number of main issues1 sometimes the other4 ,ordinarily your own side will give you the larger number of points that you think worth arguing out1 for an affirmative and constructive argument usually makes more impression than a negative one4 ,notebook4 ,enter the chief points which might be made on the two sides of your question4 ,then1 after studying them and comparing them1 enter the main issues which you decide to argue out4 7,the contentions on the two sides and the main issues for the model argument will be found on pages #gd-gg47 ,,exercise ,take one of the questions on pages #aj-ab1 with which you have some acquaintance1 and obtain the main issues by noting down first the points which might be urged on the two sides4 ,,note4 ,this exercise is a good one for class work4 ,let the class suggest the points1 and write them1 as they come1 on the blackboard4 ,then call for criticism and discussion of them1 in order to come to the main issues4 #bb4 ,the ,agreed ,statement of ,facts4 ,now that you have compared the points on which the two sides disagree1 you can pick out the points on which they agree1 and decide which of the latter will enter into the discussion4 ,you are therefore in a position to draw up the agreed statement of facts1 in which you will sum up compactly so much of the history of the case1 of the origin of the present question1 and other relevant facts and necessary definitions1 as will be needed to understand the brief4 ,the style of this statement should be strictly expository1 and there should be nothing in it to which both sides could not agree4 ,it should be similar to the statements of facts in courts of law1 which are sent up with the briefs when a case is appealed on a point of legal principle4 ,since this agreed statement of facts is not argument1 it will make small use of such conjunctions as because1 for1 hence1 and therefore4 ,if you find any of them in your agreed statement1 it is better to rearrange it1 so that you will not seem to be giving reasons before you have begun your argument4 ,in the making of this preliminary statement and to a certain extent in the framing of the main issues1 it is convenient and advisable1 wherever both sides of the question are to be presented in arguments1 whether in writing or in debate1 for the two parties to work together4 ,in this working together they should aim to agree on as many points as possible4 ,if they meet in a carping and unyielding temper1 the result will be in the end that the patience of the audience will be tried and its attention dispersed by lengthy arguments on preliminary details4 ,in making an argument one should never forget1 even in school and college work1 that the aim of all argument is to produce agreement4 ,few people have much interest in a contest in smartness2 and it is a bad habit to care too much about the mere beating of an opponent on a question where there are real and serious issues4 ,any question which is worth arguing at all will have far more ground to cover1 even when everything possible has been granted by both sides1 than the average student can cover with any thoroughness4 ,notebook4 ,enter those of the essential facts and definitions in the case which would be agreed to by both sides1 and which are needed for an understanding of the brief4 ,illustration4 ,agreed ,statement of ,facts4 ,for many years the tax rate in ,wytown has been high1 and in the last ten years has not fallen below twenty-four dollars on one thousand dollars4 ,the city water supply is of doubtful purity1 and nothing has been done to improve it1 chiefly because the city debt is now close to the limit allowed by law4 ,the police service has been inadequate1 especially in the region known as ,south ,corner4 ,though two hundred thousand dollars have been spent on the streets in the last five years1 the main street of the city is still unpaved1 and none of the other streets are macadamized4 ,though under the local option law the city has uniformly voted for no license1 yet there is much liquor selling4 ,the city officials have regularly been nominated at ,democratic and republican conventions4 ,the question has arisen at the present time because of quarrels between the mayor and aldermen1 because of the petition of the city government to the legislature to issue bonds for new waterworks above the authorized debt limit1 because the tax rate last year was higher than ever before in the history of the city1 and because of the formation of a citizens' association which has been instrumental in securing from the legislature a bill authorizing the citizens to vote on the adoption of the proposed plan4 ,points which are not discussed here will be taken up in succeeding papers4 ,the definitions on page #gj are to be taken as part of this agreed statement4 ,,exercises #a4 ,criticize the following sentences for their fitness as parts of introductions to briefs3 a4 ,it is agreed that the commission form of government has succeeded in ,des ,moines because it is simple and easily controlled by the people4 b4 ,summer baseball is to be understood as playing baseball for money1 for a man who is given his board and lodging by a hotel for playing is taking the equivalent of money4 c4 7,as one of the contentions for the affirmative on the question whether a street railroad should be compelled to build a certain new line1 which would not be immediately profitable47 ,the convenience of the public should be considered before large dividends1 since the public grants the franchise4 #b4 ,make an agreed statement of facts for an argument on one of the subjects in the list on pages #aj-ab4 ,,note4 ,this is a good exercise for class use3 let the different members of the class propose facts to be agreed on1 and then put them before the rest of the class for criticism4 #bc4 ,arrangement of ,material4 ,for the arrangement of the material in a brief1 it is not possible to give much general advice1 since this arrangement would change with the space allotted to the argument1 and especially with the audience4 ,on this point knowledge of your readers1 of their acquaintance with the subject1 and of their prepossessions will count as much as knowledge of the subject when you come to the arguments of practical life4 ,in general1 if your audience is likely to be lukewarm or indifferent1 begin with a point which will stir them up4 ,in the argument on the introduction of commission government into ,wytown1 for which ,i have constructed a brief1 ,i assumed that the citizens were already aroused to the need of some change1 and therefore began by showing that the evils of the present administration can be traced chiefly to the present system of government4 ,if ,i had assumed that the people needed first to be aroused to believing a change to be necessary1 ,i should have put at the beginning an exposure of the corruption and inefficiency of the present city government1 with specific cases to establish the point4 ,likewise for the close of your argument be sure that you have a strong and effective point4 ,in the case of commission government for ,wytown1 by refuting the objection that too much power is given to the councilmen ,i provide a chance to show at the same time how completely the commission government keeps the control in the hands of the people2 and the latter point is the strongest that can be made for the commission form of government4 #bd4 ,the ,place of the ,refutation4 ,the place of the refutation and its extent also differ greatly with the audience4 ,sometimes it may occupy practically the whole space4 ,a few years ago ,the ,outlook published an editorial opposing a change in the laws of ,new ,york relating to vivisection 7for a part of it1 see p4 #dd71 in which it refuted the two arguments urged for the change1 and then pointed out that the burden of proof still rested on the other side4 ,here the refutation occupied almost the whole of the argument4 ,huxley1 in his three ,lectures on ,evolution1 of which the first is printed on page #bcc1 gave the whole of this first lecture to a refutation of the alternative theories of the origin of plants and animals2 since it was necessary to dispose of accepted theories before the new theory could get a hearing1 he put his refutation first4 ,where there are no such special reasons1 it is safe to follow the principle that you should not draw more attention than necessary to the arguments on the other side4 ,refutation of less important statements and contentions will naturally come at the point of the argument which deals with that part of the subject4 ,state them fairly always1 but do not magnify their importance by dealing with them at too great length4 ,it is not often wise to lump the refutation at the end of your argument4 ,the last impression on your audience is the strongest3 it is good strategy to keep it for your own best points4 ,sometimes1 as in the brief worked out on page #ij1 it is possible to combine the refutation with positive argument which will be effective2 but do not forget that negative argument makes much less impression than that which is positive and constructive4 #be4 ,the ,brief ,proper4 ,we have seen on page #dg that the brief is in essence a statement of the logical framework of your argument4 ,its purpose is to lay out your reasoning in such a way that you can scrutinize each link and make sure that each assertion and each group of assertions is attached to a firm support4 ,for this reason the brief for a written or spoken argument is best thrown into the form of tabulated statements marked with a series of numbers and letters which will show at a glance the exact place of each statement or assertion in the whole system of reasoning4 ,when you can thus1 as it were1 strip your argument to its bones and tendons1 you can go ahead with the confidence that your reasoning is logically coherent4 ,when you get out into the world you will work out your own way of making briefs for any arguments that fate imposes on you4 ,the value of practice now is in being able to get at the work then without wasting time4 ,the rules below are offered to you as the result of long experiment and study lay the best authorities4 ,moreover1 if you are working in a class you should remember that you will get a great deal more out of your teacher if you save his time by sticking closely to uniformity in outward form4 ,i shall first show how a brief is constructed1 by following through part of the process for the argument on the introduction of commission into ,wytown2 then ,i shall give the rules1 with some explanation of their working and of their practical expediency4 ,we have just seen that the brief is essentially a display of the logical framework of the argument3 it should consist1 therefore1 of the main contentions in support of the proposition1 with the reasons urged in support of these contentions1 and of the facts and reasons brought forward in support of these reasons1 this successive support of reasons being carried down to ultimate facts1 wherever possible4 ,when you come to the working out of your brief you start with your main issues1 stated now as assertions4 ,then for each of them you give one or more reasons4 ,in the brief for introducing commission government into ,wytown1 let us start with the main issues for the affirmative1 transforming them from questions into assertions4 ,the first main issue would then read3 ,the admitted inefficiency of the city government at present is due to the system of government4 ,the next step is to assign reasons for making this assertion4 ,accordingly we should add a since or a for to the assertion1 and then underneath arrange these reasons in order4 ,let us suppose that we put down three reasons3 ,i4 ,the admitted inefficiency of the city government at present is due to the system of government2 for ,a4 ,partisan politics determine nominations to office2 ,b4 ,advantageous contracts cannot be made2 ,c4 ,the responsibility for expenditures is scattered4 ,each of these assertions clearly needs to be supported before it will be accepted4 ,let us follow out the support of the first one1 and set down here the reasons and facts which will make it incontestable4 ,a4 ,partisan politics determine nominations to office2 for #a4 ,the organization of the national parties is permanent4 #b4 ,there has been bargaining between parties to reward political services with city offices4 ,of these points the first is an obvious fact2 in the argument it will need only slight development and specification to make its bearing on the case effective4 ,the second1 on the other hand1 must be supported by evidence2 and in the brief1 accordingly1 we should refer to the facts as stated in newspapers of specified dates from which full quotation would be made in the argument4 ,here then1 in both cases1 though in different ways1 we get down to the bed rock of fact on which the reasoning is built up4 ,at the same time1 each joint in the framework of the reasoning has been laid bare1 so that no weak place can escape detection4 ,these are always the two main objects of making a brief--to get down to the facts on which the reasoning is built up1 and to display every essential step in the reasoning4 #bf4 ,rules for ,briefing4 ,the rules given below are divided into two groups3 those in the first group deal chiefly with the form of the brief2 those in the second go more to the substance2 but the distinction between the two groups is far from being absolute4 ,i #a4 ,a brief may be divided into three parts3 the ,introduction1 the ,proof1 the ,conclusion4 ,of these the ,introduction should contain noncontentious matter1 and the ,conclusion should be a restatement of the proposition1 with a bare summary of the main issues in affirmative 7or negative7 form4 ,the introduction has already been dealt with at length 7see pp4 #dh-ha74 ,the conclusion brings the main points of the argument together1 and gives an effect of workmanlike completeness to the brief4 ,it should never introduce new points4 #b4 ,in the ,introduction keep each step of the analysis by itself1 and indicate the several parts by such headings as ,the following terms need definition1 ,the following facts are agreed on1 ,the following points will be left out of consideration in this argument ,the chief contentions on the two sides are as follows1 ,the main issues on which the argument will be made are as follows4 ,it is not to be expected that all these steps1 with the appropriate headings1 will be necessary in every brief4 ,the only use of a brief is to aid you to construct a specific argument1 and you must consider each case by itself4 #c4 ,follow a uniform system of numbering throughout1 so that each number or letter used will show whether the statement is one of the main supports of your case1 or in what degree it is subordinated4 ,in other words1 the numbering should show at a glance whether a given assertion is a main reason1 a reason for a reason1 or in still more subordinate degree of support4 ,the system of numbering in the brief on page #ij is convenient4 ,whatever system is adopted1 it should be followed by the whole class4 #d4 ,the refutation should have a distinct set of symbols4 ,these symbols may well be uniform with the others1 but with the prime mark to distinguish them 7see p4 #ic74 #e4 ,in briefing the refutation always state first the assertion that is to be refuted1 with such connectives as1 ,although it is urged 4441 yet the contention is unsound1 for 4441 ,although the case is cited1 444 yet the case is irrelevant1 for 444 ,these connectives will vary with the nature of the assertion to be refuted2 the important thing is to state the assertion so clearly that your critic can judge the relevancy and force of your refutation4 7,for examples1 see pp4 #ia-ic47 ,,ii #f4 ,a brief in all its parts should be phrased in complete sentences2 mere topics are of no value4 ,in the brief on page #ij1 if the headings under ,i were ,a4 ,party politics1 ,b4 ,waste in contracts1 ,c4 ,no responsibility for expenditures1 neither the maker of the brief nor the critic of it could know with any certainty the course of the reasoning4 ,it is undoubtedly true that many lawyers and other men of affairs use only topic heads when they are planning an argument2 but it is to be remembered that they are men who have been training their powers of thought in hard earnest1 and their ability to work out and stick to a train of reasoning with so little written aid has not much bearing on what is the best practice for young men who are in the process of gaining this ability4 ,to make a full outline of the reasoning in a few arguments is the best way to get the sense for logical and coherent structure4 #g4 ,each heading should contain a single assertion only4 ,the reason for this rule is obvious3 if under each assertion you are going to set the reasons for that assertion1 you will get into trouble if your assertion is double-headed1 since what is a reason for one part of it may not be a reason for another4 ,if in the brief on page #ij heading ,i ,b should read1 ,advantageous contracts cannot be made1 and the responsibility for expenditures is scattered1 subheading ,i ,c #b1 ,accounts are submitted to separate committees of the two boards in which no members have special responsibility1 would have nothing to do with the making of contracts1 and subheading ,i ,b #a1 ,contracts must be passed on by both aldermen and common councilmen and the mayor1 would have nothing to do with expenditures4 #h4 ,in the body of the brief the assertions should be arranged as follows3 ,each main heading should embody one of the main issues as stated in the ,introduction2 and each of the subordinate assertions should stand as a reason for the assertion to which it is subordinate4 ,the connective between an assertion and one subordinate to it will therefore be for1 since1 or because1 or the like1 not hence or therefore1 or the like4 ,a brief thus arranged lays out the reasoning in a complete and easily scrutinized form4 ,thus in the brief on page #ij for the assertion in the first main issue1 ,the admitted inefficiency1 of the city government at present is due to the system of government1 three chief reasons are given3 ,a4 ,partisan politics determine nominations to office1 ,b4 ,advantageous contracts cannot be made1 and ,c4 ,the responsibility for expenditures is scattered4 ,then for each of these secondary assertions reasons in support are adduced2 thus for ,b4 ,advantageous contracts cannot be made1 the reasons are ,i4 ,contracts must be passed on separately by aldermen1 common councilmen1 and the mayor1 and #b4 ,bargains are made between the aldermen representing different wards4 ,in this case final references are given for each of these subordinate assertions1 so that we get down to the ultimate foundation of verifiable fact on which the argument is to be built up4 ,the advantage of this form is that if you have set down several assertions as reasons for another1 and you are doubtful whether they all belong there1 you can test them separately by putting them one by one after the main assertion they are intended to support with a for or a since between4 ,you put the assertion first and the reason for it afterwards1 because when there is more than one reason in support1 if you have the reason first you must then repeat the assertion with each reason1 or run the risk of confusion4 ,if under ,i in the brief on page go1 for example1 you began with the reason1 ,in the present system partisan politics determine nominations to office1 and then added the result1 ,therefore the city government is inefficient1 you would have to repeat the result with ,b and ,c2 and when you came to the third degree of support1 the repetition would be intolerably clumsy and confusing4 #i4 ,headings and subheadings should not have more than one numbering4 ,the reason for this rule is also obvious3 each heading or subheading marks a step in the argument1 and what belongs on one step cannot be on another at the same time4 ,in the brief on page #ij the assertion that ,partisan politics determine nominations to office is stated as a chief reason for the assertion in the first main issue1 that ,the admitted inefficiency of the city government at present is due to the system of government4 ,it would confuse a reader to mark it ,a ,i1 as if it wore a support also in the second degree4 #aj4 ,the brief should give references to the evidence or authorities relied on to support assertions4 ,general references to articles and books which will be constantly referred to should be put at the beginning of the brief4 ,references to specific statements of fact or quotations of opinion should be added as they occur in the brief 7see the brief on p4 #ij74 ,,exercises #a4 ,criticize the following portion of a brief3 ,this college should have a longer ,christmas vacation1 for ,i4 ,college life tends to break up family life2 ,a4 ,father and son2 ,b4 ,younger brothers and sisters2 ,c4 ,intimate friends4 #b4 ,criticize the following detached portions of a brief on the proposition1 ,this city should double its appropriation for the public library1 and amend them if necessary3 a4 ,,ii4 ,the funds for the purchase of books are insufficient and the staff is inadequate4 b4 ,b4 ,the reading room is crowded to suffocation1 therefore #a4 ,many people avoid the library4 c4 ,,iii4 ,those who oppose the increased appropriation declare that ,a4 ,the library is a luxury for the rich2 hence #a4 ,the rich should support it2 but #b4 ,this is not true1 for a4 ,most of the borrowers of books are people of moderate means2 therefore b4 ,the city should support the library4 d4 ,,iv4 ,a4 ,the city is able to double the appropriation2 for #a4 ,it has spent largely for parks1 a4 ,which are also for the pleasure and improvement of the citizens2 b4 ,hence it can pay for additions to the library4 e4 ,,vi4 ,it is not true ,a4 ,that the readers want only recent fiction and that they should buy these books for themselves2 for #a4 ,they mostly are not able to buy books2 hence #b4 ,they should be encouraged to read other books4 #c4 ,give an example of an argument and an audience where it would be necessary to put the refutation first2 of one in which it would be necessary to stir up the interest of readers at the start4 #d4 ,suggest methods for gaining the interest of the readers in the last case4 ,,specimen ,,brief ,wytown should adopt a commission government like that of ,des ,moines1 ,iowa4 ,general references3 ,c4,r4 ,woodruff1 ,city ,government by ,commission4 ,new ,york1 #aiaa2 ,j4,j4 ,hamilton1 ,the ,dethronement of the ,city ,boss1 ,new ,york1 #aiaj2 ,city newspapers of various dates2 draft of proposed charter1 published by the ,citizens' ,association4 7,the successive steps of the introduction will be found on pp4 #dc1 #ec1 #gj1 #gd-ge1 #gf-gg1 #gi-hj47 ,i4 ,the admitted inefficiency of the city government at present is due to the system of government2 for ,a4 ,partisan politics determine nominations to office2 since #a4 ,the organization of the national parties is permanent1 and that of any citizens' movement temporary4 #b4 ,there has been bargaining between the parties to reward political services by city offices4 ,daily papers1 ,march #ab-bj1 #aiji2 ,march #c-ae1 #aiaj4 ,b4 ,advantageous contracts cannot be made2 for #a4 ,contracts must be passed on separately by aldermen1 common councilmen1 and the mayor4 ,present city charter1 sections #ai-ba4 #b4 ,bargains are made between the aldermen representing different wards4 ,daily papers1 ,october #c1 #aijh2 ,january #be1 #aiaj4 ,c4 ,the responsibility for expenditures is scattered2 for #a4 ,heads of departments are responsible to the two boards and not to the mayor4 ,present city charter1 section #ae4 #b4 ,accounts are submitted to separate committees of the two boards in which no members have special responsibility4 ,present city charter1 sections #bb-bc4 ,,ii4 ,the adoption of the plan will result in important economies2 for ,a4 ,the administration of city affairs will be made simpler2 since #a4 ,the councilmen will both lay out the work and be responsible for the execution of it4 ,draft or charter1 sections #e and #ac4 #b4 ,plans for work in all departments will be considered together4 #c4 ,a small body with full powers can make better bargains than two larger ones acting independently4 ,b4 ,the plan has resulted in economies where it has been tried2 for #a4 ,in ,des ,moines1 ,iowa1 the first year under the new charter showed a relative saving of #ahb1idi4fe as compared with the year before4 ,c4 ,r4 ,woodruff1 as cited1 p4 #bej4 #b4 ,in ,haverhill1 ,massachusetts1 in the first year of commission government a deficit of #gi1deb was turned into a surplus of #cf1eaa1 after paying off indebtedness to the extent of #acc1jjj4 ,c4 ,r4 ,woodruff1 as cited1 p4 #bgh4 #a'4,though a despatch in a daily paper 7,april #c1 #aiaa7 declares that the city of ,haverhill has been forced to borrow1 yet the report is untrustworthy without further evidence2 for a'4 ,in itself it is contradictory and confused2 and b'4 ,it is known that professional politicians and other enemies of the plan have often spread false reports about it4 ,mc,clure's ,magazine1 ,vol4 ,,xxxv1 p4 #ajg4 ,,iii4 ,the adoption of the plan will result in more efficient service to the city2 for ,a4 ,a better class of citizens will be drawn into office2 for #a4 ,city officials can plan and carry out their policies without petty interference2 #b4 ,in ,cedar ,rapids1 ,iowa1 the commission1 employed a civic-service expert1 and carried out his recommendations4 ,j4 ,j4 ,hamilton1 as cited1 p4 #ahj4 #c4 ,in ,galveston1 ,texas1 citizens of a better grade have taken office1 and the tone of the city administration has been raised4 ,w4 ,b4 ,munro1 in ,the ,chautauquan1 ,vol4 ,,li1 p4 #aaj4 ,b4 ,commission government has resulted in better administration where it has been tried2 for #a4 ,galveston and ,houston1 ,texas1 ,des ,moines and ,cedar ,rapids1 ,iowa1 have all reported better police administration1 improvements in streets and parks1 more advantageous dealings with public-service corporations4 ,c4 ,j4 ,woodruff1 as cited1 pp4 #bdb-bhg4 #b4 ,no city which has tried the plan has yet given it up4 ,c4 ,j4 ,woodruff1 as cited1 p4 #caj4 #a'4;,although ,chelsea1 ,massachusetts1 is cited as having given up a commission government1 yet the case is not parallel1 since a'4 ,the commission under which the city had lived was appointed by the governor after a disastrous conflagration2 and b'4 ,the form of government substituted has most of the essential features of the3 commission government except the size of the council1 which has four members elected at large1 and five by district4 ,,iv'4 ,although it is urged that the corrupt element in politics would have unlimited power if they should capture the commission1 yet the direct responsibility to the citizens will be a safeguard for the enlarged power1 for ,a'4 ,every act of the city government will be known2 since under the charter--sections #bd1 #be1 #bi1 #cc-- #a'4 ,the meetings of the council will be public4 #b'4 ,all resolutions are to be in writing and recorded4 #c'4 ,all votes are to be recorded4 #d'4 ,an itemized statement of receipts and expenditures must be printed and distributed every month4 #e'4 ,ordinances making contracts or granting franchises must be published one week before final passage1 and on petition may be referred to the people4 #f'4 ,in ,des ,moines under the new charter the newspapers give much space to the doings of the city government4 ,mc,clure's ,magazine1 ,vol4 ,,xxxv1 p4 #aja4 ,b'4 ,the provisions for a recall will be a check on corrupt officials2 for #a'4 ,in ,des ,moines a chief of police was retired on the suggestion of a recall for the commissioner who was responsible for his appointment4 ,mc,clure's ,magazine1 ,vol4 ,,xxxv1 p4 #aja4 #b'4 ,in ,seattle a mayor who made terms with the vicious element1 and was in league with public service corporations1 was recalled4 ,daily papers1 ,march1 #aiaa4 ,,conclusion4 ,wytown should adopt a commission government like that of ,des ,moines2 since ,a4 ,the admitted inefficiency of the city government at present is due to the system of government2 ,b4 ,the adoption of the plan will result in important economies2 ,c4 ,the adoption of the plan will result in more efficient service to the city2 and ,d4 ,the direct responsibility of the mayor and councilmen to the citizens will be a safeguard for the increased power given to them4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,evidence ,,and ,,reasoning #bg4 ,evidence and ,reasoning4 ,we have seen in the last chapter that the chief value of making a brief is that in the first place it lays out your reasoning so that you can scrutinize it in detail2 and that in the second place it displays the foundations of your reasoning on facts which cannot be contested4 ,in this chapter we shall consider what grounds give validity to evidence and to reasoning4 ,where the facts which you bring forward come from persons with first-hand knowledge of them1 they are direct evidence2 where you must establish them by reasoning from other facts they are indirect evidence1 and in the latter case reasoning is an essential part of establishing the facts4 ,in this chapter1 therefore1 ,i shall speak first of direct evidence1 then of indirect1 and then pass on to consider a few of the simpler principles which govern reasoning4 ,in ordinary usage the word evidence is pretty vague1 and means anything that will help to establish one side or another of any question1 whether of fact or of policy4 ,the word1 however1 comes ultimately from the law1 where it is used for the testimony1 either oral or written or material1 which is brought in to establish the truth of assertions about fact3 evidence is set before the jury1 which under the common law decides questions of fact4 ,in almost any argument of policy1 however1 we use facts as reasons for or against the policy which is in question1 and therefore inmost cases we must use evidence to establish these facts2 in many cases1 when the facts are established there is no further disagreement about the policy4 ,for example1 in arguments for and against state prohibition of the liquor trade1 it is an essential fact to determine whether in status where prohibition has been tried it has failed or succeeded1 and another essential fact whether under similar conditions a combination of high license and local option has or has not produced less drunkenness4 ,both are extremely complicated and difficult facts to decide2 but if clear evidence can be brought forward to establish them1 reasonable-minded people would generally hold as settled the question of the policy which should be adopted4 ,similarly1 an argument for the popular election of senators would undoubtedly make large use of the alleged fact that1 in elections by the legislatures1 there has been much undue interference by special interests and rich corporations2 and the assertion of this fact would have to be supported by evidence4 ,if this fact were thus clearly established1 it would be recognized as a strong reason for a change in our present policy4 ,in the interest of clearness of thought it is worth while to remember this distinction2 for1 as we shall see1 it is only by so doing that we can determine when the ordinary rules of logic do and when they do not apply to the processes of reasoning on which argument is based4 ,i shall speak here1 therefore1 of the evidence for facts1 and of the reasons for or against a policy4 ,it may be said in passing that the highly complicated rules of evidence at the common law have practically nothing to do with our present subject1 for they spring from very special conditions1 and have been molded by very special purposes4 ,their object is to establish1 so far as is possible1 principles which will apply to all cases of a like nature2 and they therefore rule out many facts and much evidence which outside the court we all use without hesitation in making up our minds4 ,the jury system has had a curious and interesting history3 and judges have built up hedges around juries which seem to the layman merely technical1 and unnecessary for the ends of justice4#ad ,yet though the sweeping away of many of these rules from time to time shows that there has been and perhaps still is justice in this view1 one must remember that the whole common law is based on the application of principles already established by earlier cases to new cases of like character2 and that great care must therefore be used not to establish principles which may interfere with the even distribution of justice in the long run 7see on this point ,s4,r4 ,gardiner1 p4 #ajc74 ,even if in single cases the rule of evidence that forbids hearsay evidence works an injustice1 yet in the long run it is obvious both that1 if hearsay were allowed1 litigants would take less trouble to get original evidence1 and that much hearsay is thoroughly untrustworthy4 ,another reason why the rules of evidence at the common law have little bearing on the arguments of everyday life is like that which makes it unwise to dwell much on the burden of proof3 there is no one either competent or interested to enforce the exclusion4 ,assertion and rumor must be more than palpably vague before the ordinary man will of his own initiative take the trouble to scrutinize it2 and even in refuting such material you must make its untrustworthiness very patent if you expect to make ordinary readers distrust it seriously4 #bh4 ,direct and ,indirect ,evidence4 ,when we come now to consider how we establish facts1 whether single or complex1 we find that1 both to aid our own judgment and to convince other people1 we rely on evidence4 ,we have seen that evidence falls roughly into two classes3 either it comes from persons who testify out of their own observation and experience1 or it comes indirectly through reasoning from facts and principles already established or granted4 ,the two kinds of evidence run into each other1 and the terms commonly used to describe them vary3 direct evidence is not infrequently1 as in ,huxley's argument 7see p4 #bdj71 called testimonial1 and indirect evidence1 as in the same argument and in the opinion of ,chief ,justice ,shaw1 quoted below1 is called circumstantial4 ,on the whole1 however1 the opposition between the two classes1 so far as it is of practical importance1 may best be indicated by the terms direct evidence and indirect evidence4 ,the distinction between the two classes is made clear in the following extract from the opinion of ,chief ,justice ,shaw of the ,massachusetts ,supreme ,court4 ,it will be noticed that it is the same doctrine as that laid down by ,huxley 7see p4 #bdj74 ,the distinction1 then1 between direct and circumstantial evidence is this4 ,direct or positive evidence is when a witness can be called to testify to the precise2 fact which is the subject of the issue in trial2 that is1 in a case of homicide1 that the party accused did cause the death of the deceased4 ,whatever may be the kind or force of the evidence1 this is the fact to be proved4 ,but suppose no person was present on the occasion of the death1--and of course no one can be called to testify to it1--is it wholly unsusceptible of legal proof8 ,experience has shown that circumstantial evidence may be offered in such a case2 that is1 that a body of facts may be proved of so conclusive a character1 as to warrant a firm belief of the fact1 quite as strong and certain as that on which discreet men are accustomed to act in relation to their most important concerns4444 ,each of these modes of proof has its advantages and disadvantages2 it is not easy to compare their relative value4 ,the advantage of positive evidence is1 that you have the direct testimony of a witness to the fact to be proved1 who1 if he speaks the truth1 saw it done2 and the only question is1 whether he is entitled to belief4 ,the disadvantage is1 that the witness may be false and corrupt1 and the case may not afford the means of detecting his falsehood4 ,but in a case of circumstantial evidence where no witness can testify directly to the fact to be proved1 you arrive at it by a series of other facts1 which by experience we have found so associated with the fact in question1 as in the relation of cause and effect1 that they lead to a satisfactory and certain conclusion2 as when footprints are discovered after a recent snow1 it is certain that some animated being has passed over the snow since it fell2 and1 from the form and number of the footprints1 it can be determined with equal certainty1 whether it was a man1 a bird1 or a quadruped4 ,circumstantial evidence1 therefore1 is founded on experience and observed facts and coincidences1 establishing a connection between the known and proved facts and the fact sought to be proved4#ae ,under the head of direct evidence1 as ,i shall use the term1 would fall the evidence of material objects3 in an accident case1 for example1 the scar of a wound may be shown to the jury2 or where the making of a park is urged on a city government1 the city council may be taken out to see the land which it is proposed to take4 ,though such evidence is not testimony1 it is direct evidence1 for it is not based on reasoning and inference4 #bi4 ,direct ,evidence4 ,direct evidence is the testimony of persons who know about the fact from their own observation3 such is the testimony of the witnesses to a will that they saw the testator sign it1 the testimony of an explorer that there are tribes of pygmies in ,africa1 the testimony of a chemist to the constituents of a given alloy1 or of a doctor to the success of a new treatment4 ,every day of our lives we are giving and receiving direct evidence2 and of this evidence there is great variety in value4 ,in the first place1 no one should place too much reliance on his own casual observations4 ,it is notorious that we see what we expect to see2 and no one who has not deliberately set himself to observe the fact can realize how much of what he thinks is observation is really inference from a small part of the facts before him4 ,i feel a slight tremor run through the house with a little rattling of the windows1 and assume that a train has gone by on the railroad below the hill a hundred yards away3 as a matter of fact it may have been one of the slight earthquake shocks which come every few years in most parts of the world4 ,the mistakes that most of its make in recognizing people are of the same sort3 from some single feature we reason to an identity that does not exist4 ,of recent years psychologists have set themselves to getting some accurate facts as to this inaccuracy of human observation1 and various experiments have been tried4 ,here is an account of one3 ,there was1 for instance1 two years ago in ,gttingen a meeting of a scientific association1 made up of jurists1 psychologists1 and physicians1 all1 therefore1 men trained in careful observation4 ,somewhere in the same street there was that evening a public festivity of the carnival4 ,suddenly1 in the midst of the scholarly meeting1 the doors open1 a clown in highly colored costume rushes in in mad excitement1 and a negro with a revolver in hand follows him4 ,in the middle of the hall first the one1 then the other1 shouts wild phrases2 then the one falls to the ground1 the other jumps on him2 then a shot1 and suddenly both are out of the room4 ,the whole affair took less than twenty seconds4 ,all were completely taken by surprise1 and no one1 with the exception of the president1 had the slightest idea that every word and action had been rehearsed beforehand1 or that1 photographs had been taken of the scene4 ,it seemed most natural that the president should beg the members to write down individually an exact report1 inasmuch as he felt sure that the matter would come before the courts4 ,of the forty reports handed in1 there was only one whose omissions were calculated as amounting to less than twenty per cent of the characteristic acts2 fourteen had twenty to forty per cent of the facts omitted2 twelve omitted forty to fifty per cent1 and thirteen still more than fifty per cent4 ,but besides the omissions there were only six among the forty which did not contain positively wrong statements2 in twenty-four papers up to ten per cent of the statements were free inventions1 and in ten answers--that is1 in one fourth of the papers--more than ten per cent of the statements were absolutely false1 in spite of the fact that they all came from scientifically trained observers4 ,only four persons1 for instance1 among forty noticed that the negro had nothing on his head2 the others gave him a derby1 or a high hat1 and so on4 ,in addition to this1 a red suit1 a brown one1 a striped one1 a coffee-colored jacket1 shirt sleeves1 and similar costume were invented for him4 ,he wore in reality white trousers and a black jacket with a large red neck-tie4 ,the scientific commission which reported the details of the inquiry came to the general statement that the majority of the observers omitted or falsified about half of the processes which occurred completely in their field of vision4 ,as was to be expected1 the judgment as to the time duration of the act varied between a few seconds and several minutes4#af ,another type of cases in which our direct testimony would be valueless is legerdemain3 we think that we actually see rabbits taken out of our neighbor's hat1 or his watch pounded in a mortar and presently shaken whole and sound out of an empty silk handkerchief2 and it is only by reasoning that we know our eyes have been deceived4 ,it is obvious1 therefore1 that to question a man's evidence is not always to call him a liar2 in most cases it is rather to question the accuracy of his inferences from such part of the facts as he actually grasped4 ,in science no important observation is accepted until the experiments have been repeated and checked by other observers4 ,indeed1 most of the progress of science is due to the repetition of experiments by observers who notice some critical phenomena which their predecessors have missed4 ,with this qualification1 that human observation is always fallible1 good direct evidence is on the whole the most convincing evidence that you can use4 ,if you can establish a fact by the mouths of trustworthy witnesses1 making your readers recognize that these witnesses had good opportunities of observation and a competent knowledge of the subject1 you will generally establish your point4 ,in case of an accident in a street car it is the custom of many companies to require their conductors to take down immediately the names of a few of the most respectable-looking of the passengers1 who may be called as witnesses in case of a lawsuit4 ,all the observations of science1 and most of the facts brought before juries in courts of law1 as well as the multitude of lesser and greater facts which we accept in everyday life1 get their authority from this principle4 ,in the arguments of school and college you may not make much use of direct evidence1 for they do not often turn on single1 simple facts4 ,even here1 however1 cases arise where you must call in the direct testimony of witnesses4 ,if you were arguing that secret societies should be abolished in a certain school1 and wished to show that such societies had led to late hours1 playing cards for money1 and drinking1 you would need direct evidence4 ,if you were arguing that the street railroad company of your city should be obliged to double track a certain part of its line1 you would need direct evidence of the delays and crowding of cars with a single track4 ,when you are using direct evidence you should make it clear that the person from whom it comes is a competent witness1 that he has been in a position to know the facts at first hand1 and that1 if necessary1 he has had the proper training to understand their meaning4 ,in the case of an automobile accident a man who had never run a car would not be the best sort of witness as to the actions of the chauffeur1 nor a man who had never sailed a boat as to what happened in a collision between two sailboats4 ,in a scientific matter the observations of a beginner would not carry weight as against those of a man who had used a microscope for many years4 ,the witness1 too1 must be shown to be free from bias1 whether practical or theoretical4 ,it is a well-known fact that men differ greatly in the clearness of their eyesight in observing the stars1 and that men who are gifted with exceptional eyesight may make valuable discoveries with inferior instruments2 but if such a man has espoused a theory1 say1 as to the nature of the rings of ,saturn1 and is known to defend it passionately1 his evidence concerning what he had seen is bound to be somewhat discounted4 ,even official reports cannot be trusted without scrutiny4 ,the fact is that many things conspire to make an official report constrained and formal4 ,there is the natural desire of every man to put the best face on things for himself as he sets his case before the government and the world2 subordinates must be let off leniently2 you must live with them1 and it impairs comfort to have them sullen4 ,to make a statement unpleasant to a superior might be construed as insubordination4 ,the public welfare makes it imperative to tell a flattering tale4 ,the temptation is constant to tell not quite the whole truth1 and nothing but the truth4 ,there are important suppressions of fact in the official records1 none more so1 perhaps1 than as regards ,chancellorsville4#ag ,if you happen to be dealing with a historical matter1 where the testimony comes from a more or less remote past1 and the evidence is scrappy and defective1 you must be still more careful4 ,the great ,english historian1 the late ,s4,r4 ,gardiner1 in his examination of the evidence on the ,gunpowder ,plot of #afje1 wrote as follows about the difficulties of dealing with historical evidence3 ,it seems strange to find a writer so regardless of what is1 in these days1 considered the first canon of historical inquiry1 that evidence worth having must be almost entirely the evidence of contemporaries who are in a position to know something about that which they assert4 ,it is true that this canon must not be received pedantically4 ,tradition is worth something1 at all events when it is not too far removed from its source4 ,if a man whose character for truthfulness stands high1 tells me that his father1 also believed to be truthful1 seriously informed him that he had seen a certain thing happen1 ,i should be much more likely to believe that it was so than if a person1 whom ,i knew to be untruthful1 informed me that he had himself witnessed something at the present day4 ,the historian is not bound1 as the lawyer is1 to reject hearsay evidence1 because it is his business to ascertain the truth of individual assertions1 whilst the lawyer has to think of the bearing of the evidence not merely on the case of the prisoner in the dock1 but on an unrestricted number of possible prisoners1 many of whom would be unjustly condemned if hearsay evidence were admitted4 ,the historian is1 however1 bound to remember that evidence grows weaker with each link of the chain4 ,the injunction1 ,always leave a story better than you found it1 is in accordance with the facts of human nature4 ,each reporter inevitably accentuates the side of the narrative which strikes his fancy1 and drops some other part which interests him less4 ,the rule laid down by the late ,mr4 ,spedding1 ,when a thing is asserted as a fact1 always ask who first reported it1 and what means he had of knowing the truth1 is an admirable corrective of loose traditional stories4 ,a further test has to be applied by each investigator for himself4 ,when we have ascertained1 as far as possible1 on what evidence our knowledge of an alleged fact rests1 we have to consider the inherent probability of the allegation4 ,is the statement about it in accordance with the general workings of human nature1 or with the particular working of the nature of the persons to whom the action in question is ascribed8 ,father ,gerard1#ah for instance1 lavishly employs this test4 ,again and again he tells us that such and such a statement is incredible1 because1 amongst other reasons1 the people about whom it was made could not possibly have acted in the way ascribed to them4 ,if ,i say in any of these cases that it appears to me probable that they did so act1 it is merely one individual opinion against another4 ,there is no mathematical certainty on either side4 ,all we can respectively do is to set forth the reasons which incline us to one opinion or another1 and leave the matter to others to judge as they see fit4 ,it will be necessary hereafter to deal at length with father ,gerard's attack upon the evidence1 hitherto accepted as conclusive1 of the facts of the plot4 ,a short space may be allotted to the reasons for rejecting his preliminary argument1 that it was the opinion of some contemporaries1 and of some who lived in a later generation1 that ,salisbury contrived the plot in part1 if not altogether4 ,does he realize how difficult it is to prove such a thing by any external evidence whatever8 ,if hearsay evidence can be taken as an argument of probability1 and in some cases of strong probability1 it is where some one material fact is concerned4 ,for instance1 ,i am of opinion that it is very likely that the story of ,cromwell's visit to the body of ,charles ,i on the night after the king's execution is true1 though the evidence is only that ,spence heard it from ,pope1 and ,pope heard it1 mediately or immediately1 from ,southampton1 who1 it is alleged1 saw the scene with his own eyes4 ,it is very different when we are concerned with evidence as to an intention necessarily kept secret1 and only exhibited by overt acts in such form as tampering with documents1 suggesting false explanation of evidence1 and so forth4 ,a rumor that ,salisbury got up the plot is absolutely worthless2 a rumor that he forged a particular instrument would be worth examining1 because it might have proceeded from some one who had seen him do it4#ai ,while it is rare to find a man of whom it may justly be said that there is no partition between his memory and his imagination1 yet there are few of us who can be sure of facts in past matters which touch our feelings4 ,we cannot help to some degree reconstructing events as they fade away into the past3 we forget those parts of an event which did not at the time sharply touch our imagination1 and those which did move us take on an overshadowing importance4 ,therefore the further away the events which the evidence is to reconstruct1 the more care we must take to scrutinize it to see if there are signs of bias4 ,to test the value of direct evidence1 therefore1 as to single and simple facts1 consider whether the evidence comes from a specifically named source1 whether there is any likelihood that the witness may have been honestly deceived in his observation1 whether he had a good opportunity to know the facts and a sufficient knowledge of the subject about which he is giving evidence1 and1 finally1 whether he was reasonably free from bias in the matter4 ,whenever you use direct evidence1 however1 it must be direct4 ,to assert that every one knows that secret societies in a certain school have led to immoral practices1 is not direct evidence1 nor to declare that the best authorities in the city are agreed that the company should lay double tracks on a certain street4 ,such assertions are apt to be the most roundabout sort of hearsay4 ,try cross-examining the next man you hear make this kind of sweeping assertion1 in order to see what he really knows of the facts1 and you will soon find how recklessly such assertions are made4 ,you constantly hear grave statements of facts whose ultimate basis is the imagination of some enterprising newspaper reporter2 yet careful and truthful people pass them on as if they were indubitable4 ,the news columns of the papers are largely written by young fellows just out of high school1 who will declare the whole gospel on subjects with which they have a half hour's acquaintance1 yet most people never question their statements4 ,the printed page1 whether of a hook1 a magazine1 or a newspaper1 casts a spell on our judgment4 ,such floating assertions1 with no one to father them1 are of no value whatever4 ,if you have to use statements in a newspaper as direct evidence1 either take them from a newspaper which is recognized as careful about facts1 or else look up the matter in two or three papers1 and show that their testimony agrees4 ,on the other hand1 a specific name1 with a specific reference to volume and page1 will go a long way to give your readers confidence in the evidence you adduce4 ,and rightly so1 for one man with a name and address is worth hundreds of unnamed highest authorities2 and the more specifically you refer to him and to his evidence1 the more likely you will be to win over your audience to your view4 ,a famous and effective example of the use of specific names to give authority to an argument1 and the incidental refutation of a vague and loose assertion1 is found in ,lincoln's address at ,cooper ,institute1 in the first part of which he took up ,senator ,douglas's statement that our fathers1 when they framed the government under which we live1 understood this question just as well as1 and even better than1 we do now1 with the implication that they intended to forbid the federal government to control slavery in the federal territories4 ,lincoln showed that our fathers who framed the government under which we live must be the makers of the ,constitution3 and then he proceeded to show just what action each one of them1 so far as record had been preserved1 had taken on the question4 ,here is a passage from his argument3 ,the question of ,federal control in the ,territories seems not to have been directly before the convention which framed the original ,constitution2 and hence it is not recorded that the thirty-nine1 or any of them1 while engaged on that instrument1 expressed any opinion on that precise question4 ,in #aghi1 by the first ,congress which sat under the ,constitution1 an act was passed to enforce the ordinance of #aghg1 including the prohibition of slavery in the ,northwestern ,territory4 ,the bill for this act was reported by one of the thirty-nine--,thomas ,fitzsimmons1 then a member of the ,house of ,representatives from ,pennsylvania4 ,it went through all its stages without a word of opposition1 and finally passed both branches without ayes and nays1 which is equivalent to a unanimous passage4 ,in this ,congress there were sixteen of the thirty-nine fathers who framed the original ,constitution4 ,they were ,john ,langdon1 ,nicholas ,gilman1 ,william ,s4 ,johnson1 ,roger ,sherman1 ,robert ,morris1 ,thomas ,fitzsimmons1 ,william ,few1 ,abraham ,baldwin1 ,rufus ,king1 ,william ,paterson1 ,george ,clymer1 ,richard ,bassett1 ,george ,read1 ,pierce ,butler1 ,daniel ,carroll1 and ,james ,madison4 ,this shows that1 in their understanding1 no line dividing local from ,federal authority1 nor anything in the ,constitution1 properly forbade ,congress to prohibit slavery in the ,federal territory2 else both their fidelity to correct principle1 and their oath to support the ,constitution1 would have constrained them to oppose the prohibition4 ,again1 ,george ,washington1 another of the thirty-nine1 was then ,president of the ,united ,states and as such approved and signed the bill1 thus completing its validity as a law1 and thus showing that1 in his understanding1 no line dividing local from ,federal authority1 nor anything in the ,constitution1 forbade the ,federal ,government to control as to slavery in ,federal territory4 ,no great while after the adoption of the original ,constitution1 ,north ,carolina ceded to the ,federal ,government the country now constituting the ,state-of ,tennessee2 and a few years later ,georgia ceded that which now constitutes the ,states of ,mississippi and ,alabama4 ,in both deeds of cession it was made a condition by the ceding ,states that the ,federal ,government should not prohibit slavery in the ceded country4 ,besides this1 slavery was then actually in the ceded country4 ,under these circumstances1 ,congress1 on taking charge of these countries1 did not absolutely prohibit slavery in them4 ,but they did interfere with it--take control of it----even there1 to a certain extent4 ,in #agih ,congress organized the ,territory of ,mississippi4 ,in the act of organization they prohibited the bringing of slaves into the ,territory from any place without the ,united ,states1 by fine1 and giving freedom to slaves so brought4 ,this act passed both branches of ,congress without yeas and nays4 ,in that ,congress were three of the thirty-nine who framed the original ,constitution4 ,they were ,john ,langdon1 ,george ,read1 and ,abraham ,baldwin4 ,they all probably voted for it4 ,certainly they would have placed their opposition to it upon record if1 in their understanding1 any line dividing local from ,federal authority1 or anything in the ,constitution1 properly forbade the ,federal ,government to control as to slavery in ,federal territory4 ,in the end this exact statement of names1 for which he had prepared himself with such laborious care1 enabled ,lincoln to sum up with absolute conclusiveness3 ,the cases ,i have mentioned are the only acts of the thirty-nine1 or of any of them1 upon the direct issue1 which ,i have been able to discover4 ,to enumerate the persons who thus acted as being four in #aghd1 two in #aghg1 seventeen in #aghi1 three in #agih1 two in #ghjd1 and two in #ahai-ahbj1 there would be thirty of them4 ,but this would be counting ,john ,langdon1 ,roger ,sherman1 ,william ,few1 ,rufus ,king1 and ,george ,read each twice1 and ,abraham ,baldwin three times4 ,the true number of those of the thirty-nine whom ,i have shown to have acted upon the question which1 by the text1 they understood better than we1 is twenty-three1 leaving sixteen not shown to have acted upon it in any way4 ,here1 then1 we have twenty-three out of our thirty-nine fathers who framed the government under which we live1 who have1 upon their official responsibility and their corporal oaths1 acted upon the very question which the text affirms they understood just as well1 and even better1 than we do now2 and twenty-one of them--a clear majority of the whole thirty-nine--so acting upon it as to make them guilty of gross political impropriety and willful perjury if1 in their understanding1 any proper division between local and ,federal authority1 or anything in the ,constitution they had made themselves1 and sworn to support1 forbade the ,federal ,government to control as to slavery in the ,federal territories4 ,thus the twenty-one acted2 and1 as actions speak louder than words1 so actions under such responsibility speak still louder4 ,when you come to evidence about a large and complex state of affairs1 which is the kind of fact that so many of the arguments of practical life deal with1 though you will still be dealing with a fact1 yet the very nature of the fact changes the value and the character of your evidence4 ,it is a comparatively simple matter to determine whether a certain woman faced forward or backward as she was getting off a street car1 or whether the eggs of a sea urchin do or do not begin to germinate under the influence of a certain chemical substance2 but it is far from simple to determine whether a free elective course has or has not inured to greater intelligence and cultivation in the graduates of a certain college1 or whether the graduates of another college where the classical course is maintained have keener and more flexible minds and more refined tastes as a result of their study of the classics4 ,in such cases as these the citing of direct evidence brings on you difficulties of a different kind from those you face when you are establishing a single1 simple fact4 ,here you will usually depend on two main sources of evidence3 statistics1 and the evidence of recognized authorities on the subject4 #cj4 ,statistics4 ,statistics1 which are collections of figures1 are notoriously treacherous4 ,on many important subjects1 such1 for example1 as the practical effect of the elective system1 it is impossible to get them2 and on many other subjects1 such as the effects of a protective tariff1 they must be had in so enormous masses1 if they are to be trusted at all1 that only profound students can handle them4 ,where the facts are complicated1 and interests are tangled1 moreover1 many sets of figures may enter into the question1 as notably in the case of a tariff2 so clearly is this difficulty now recognized that ,congress has authorized a tariff board made up of distinguished students of economics and men of long experience in dealing with tariff matters to collect and study the facts and make recommendations based on them4 ,similarly1 with the investigation into the liquor question made fifteen years ago by the ,committee of ,fifty3 the whole question had been so tangled by assertion and counter-assertion that it became desirable to have an investigation into the facts by men of recognized ability and impartiality4#bj ,in general1 to use statistics safely you need a wide acquaintance with a subject1 especially where the question is in any way mixed up with men's feelings1 whether through politics or not4 ,all the statistics we have make dead against great armaments and preparation for war2 yet while human nature is what it is1 necessary prudence seems to require every nation of any size to have them4 ,a very little human nature will upset a very great body of statistics4 ,furthermore1 in most human affairs results are produced by a multiplicity of causes2 and though statistics may throw light on three quarters of all the causes that are potent in any given case1 yet the other quarter which are irreducible to definite statement may wholly alter the result4 ,if you are using statistics in your argument1 therefore1 as evidence of some large and complex fact1 you should usually justify them to some extent by showing that there are no counteracting forces which they do not cover4 ,with this precaution1 however1 statistics are the foundation of most arguments on large questions4 ,if you were arguing in favor of the purchase of local waterworks1 you would present figures showing the number of houses using the public water supply1 the rates paid1 the profits of the company1 the exact points at which public control could work economies4 ,if you were arguing for a rule that no man shall play on a university team until he has been registered a year at the university1 you would need statistics to show how many men would be affected by the rule4 ,if you were arguing for a single session at a school instead of two1 you would show exactly how many students in the school live more than a mile away from the building4 ,in every case where statistics can be presented in such a way as to make clear that they fairly cover the ground1 they are most valuable evidence4 ,they give the argument the effect of being founded on a rock4 ,if it be obvious that the statistics have been freshly gathered1 and are not merely casual and second-hand gleanings1 they have still greater effect1 for then they have a secondary force in testifying to the personal knowledge that the witness has of the subject4 ,we shall see later the danger of the fallacy of generalizing on too narrow a basis3 a generalization based on a good body of statistics runs no danger of this fallacy4 #ca4 ,the ,opinion of ,recognized ,authorities4 ,the other chief source of evidence to establish a fact which consists of a large and complex state of affairs is the opinion of recognized authorities on the subject4 ,the strength of such evidence depends on whether the audience will accept the person you cite as having authority on the matter4 ,most of us read some newspaper or periodical in the opinions of which we have confidence1 because they seem to be based on investigation and competent knowledge4 ,the annual report of the ,secretary of the ,treasury is excellent evidence on the state of the national finances4 ,the reports of presidents of colleges are excellent evidence from authorities on such questions as the value of the elective system or the effect of raising the standard of admission4 ,the report of a dean or of a schoolmaster on the value of organized athletics is effective if the audience knows that he likes out-of-door sports and takes time to see the games4 ,evidence drawn from an authority who is likely to be used by the other side is doubly effective1 since your readers recognize that his competence is admitted4 ,if a man has given his life to the study of a subject and has published books that are of recognized authority1 his evidence will be of especial weight4 ,mr4 ,bryce's opinion on all questions concerning a state of affairs in this country would be recognized at once as weighty1 for he has given time and study to collecting the multitude of small facts which constitute the large fact4 ,his opinion that political honesty is increasing with us has brought comfort to many good citizens who had grown despondent over the accounts of recurrent rascality in the newspapers and magazines4 ,this is a typical case for the citation of authorities2 for the facts are enormous in number1 very widely scattered1 and often contradictory4 ,only a man who has taken the pains to keep himself constantly informed1 whose judgment has been trained by long consideration and comparison of the facts1 and who is born with the judicial temperament can attain the authority of ,mr4 ,bryce4 ,there will be cases on which you will have the right to put yourself forward as an authority1 for on many subjects which fall within the range of undergraduates their knowledge is first-hand4 ,on all questions of athletics1 especially1 an undergraduate is apt to have freshly in mind a considerable mass of facts4 ,in the same way1 on the results of certain requirements for admission to college1 you can speak from recent experience4 ,in matters concerning your own city1 too1 you may have original knowledge4 ,if you are going to put yourself forward as an authority1 however1 you must round out your knowledge of the facts by extending it beyond your own personal experience4 ,if it is a question of entrance requirements1 you cannot stop with your own experience1 or even with that of your own class at school4 ,you must go back to the records of a number of classes before and perhaps after your own1 and talk them over with the principal of the school1 to see whether there are any special circumstances which affect any of them4 ,if you are arguing for or against a change in the present rules of football1 you would have to go beyond the games of your own college team1 and beyond those of the present season4 ,if1 for example1 it were a question of amending the rules concerning the forward pass1 you could not speak with full authority unless you had looked up the accounts of the principal games for two or three years at any rate4 ,if you put yourself forward1 then1 as a witness on one of these cases of complicated facts1 you must make it clear to your readers that you have a right to be considered such4 ,if you have the right1 it would be folly to hide your light under a bushel4 ,an example of the care which is taken by men who have made themselves authorities on their subjects is to be found in the following passage from ,president ,eliot's address1 ,a ,wider ,range of ,electives in ,college ,admission ,requirements4#ba ,notice how broad a basis he lays for his conclusions both in facts and in the opinions of other authorities4 ,what should be the grounds of a just valuation of all the subjects that can be presented at admission examinations which include numerous options8 ,that question introduces us to a difficult inquiry4 ,it is1 of course1 not an intelligent method to attribute a value to each subject in accordance with the time devoted to the examination in that subject4 ,what clue have we toward a better mode of determining the value which ought to be attributed to each of the numerous electives1 when the young men cannot present all the permitted subjects1 and hardly three fifths of them1 indeed1 if the range is adequately widened8 ,i believe that the best criterion for determining the value of each subject is the time devoted to that subject in schools which have an intelligent program of studies4 ,the ,committee of ,ten#bb examined the number of subjects used in about two hundred of the best secondary schools in this country1 and the time-allotments for the several subjects4 ,they found a great variety of practice as to both selection of subjects and time-allotments4 ,you can hardly say that there is an accepted time-allotment in these secondary schools for any subject--not even for the old traditional subjects4 ,the time-allotments differ widely in different parts of the country1 and even in different schools in the same part of the country4 ,if1 then1 we are to determine by school time-allotments the valuations of the different subjects1 prescribed and elective1 which may enter into admission examinations1 we must have some sort of standard programs for secondary schools4 ,at present 7#ahif7 ,i know no programs which can answer that purpose1 except the provisional programs of the ,committee of ,ten4 ,they may fairly be said to be the best-studied programs now before the country1 and to represent the largest amount of professional consent1 simply because they are the result of the work1 first1 of ninety school and college teachers1 divided into nine different conferences by subject1 and secondly1 of ten representative teachers combining and revising the work of the conferences1 with careful reference to the present condition of ,american schools4 #cb4 ,indirect ,evidence4 ,the term indirect evidence may be used for all evidence as to fact in which reasoning consciously plays a part4 ,without it we should be helpless in large regions of our intellectual life1 notably in science and history1 and constantly in everyday life4 ,clearly the line between direct and indirect evidence is vague and uncertain2 it is one of the first things learned in psychology that our perceptions and judgments of things about us are almost never based exclusively on the testimony of our senses1 and that we are all the time jumping to conclusions from very partial observations4 ,professor ,mnsterberg gives the following example from his own experience of this unintentional substitution of indirect evidence for direct3 ,last summer ,i had to face a jury as witness in a trial4 ,while ,i was with my family at the seashore my city house had been burglarized and ,i was called upon to give an account of my findings against the culprit whom they caught with part of the booty4 ,i reported under oath that the burglars had entered through a cellar window1 and then described what rooms they had visited4 ,to prove1 in answer to a direct question1 that they had been there at night1 ,i told that ,i had found drops of candle wax on the second floor4 ,to show that they intended1 to return1 ,i reported that they had left a large mantel clock1 packed in wrapping paper1 on the dining-room table4 ,finally1 as to the amount of clothes which they had taken1 ,i asserted that the burglars did not get more than a specified list which ,i had given the police4 ,only a few days later ,i found that every one of these statements was wrong4 ,they had not entered through the window1 but had broken the lock of the cellar door2 the clock was not packed by them in wrapping paper1 but in a tablecloth2 the candle droppings were not on the second floor1 but in the attic2 the list of lost garments was to be increased by seven more pieces2 and while my story under oath spoke always of two burglars1 ,i do not know that there was more than one4#bc ,constantly in everyday life we make offhand assertions in the full belief that we are giving direct evidence1 when as a matter of fact we are announcing inferences4 ,the distinction is of importance in many ways1 and not least as a means of avoiding heat in argument2 for to question a man's inference is much less likely to make him angry than to deny his statement of fact4 ,for the practical purposes of argument we may let the distinction between observation and inference1 and consequently that between direct and indirect evidence1 turn on whether the inference is a conscious and readily distinguishable part of the judgment or not4 ,though bringing to light an unconscious inference is often an essential part of the detection of false reasoning1 where there is no such practical consequence1 we need not be too curious here about the line between direct observation and inference from observation4 ,for the rough and ready purposes of everyday arguments it is exact enough to say that where you recognize that you are basing your conclusion as to a fact on some process of reasoning1 then you are resting on indirect evidence2 where you do not recognize the inference without reflection1 you are resting on direct evidence4 ,in the following discussion of reasoning ,i shall sometimes be dealing with proving a fact1 sometimes with arguing forward to a policy4 ,in many cases the two processes are practically identical1 for if the fact is established the policy follows as a matter of course3 in these cases1 therefore1 for the sake of convenience ,i shall use the terms interchangeably1 and keep them separate only where there is danger of confusion4 #cc4 ,reasoning4 ,though the various forms of reasoning and the principles which they follow are the concern rather of psychology and logic than of a practical work on the writing of arguments1 yet these sciences help us to understand the processes of the mind by which we convince first ourselves1 and then other people1 of the existence of facts1 when for one reason or another direct testimony is wanting4 ,psychology describes the processes of reasoning as part of the activity of the mind1 analyzes them into their parts1 and shows their working4 ,logic is concerned rather with the forms of reasoning3 its aim is to establish principles and rules the application of which will insure correct reasoning4 ,i shall first briefly and very simply sketch the underlying nature of the reasoning process as it is described by psychologists2 then ,i shall pass on to a practical application of the principles thereby attained2 next ,i shall set forth a few of the simplest and clearest of the processes of reasoning which have been worked out by logic2 and1 finally1 ,i shall discuss each few of the best-recognized forms of false reasoning4 ,from both the psychological description and the rules of logic we shall derive practical suggestions for establishing facts which may be needed in an argument4 ,the essential feature of the process of reasoning is that it proceeds from like to like1 by breaking up whole facts and phenomena1 and following out the implications or consequences of one or more of the parts4#bd ,for example1 if ,i infer1 when my dog comes out of a barnyard with an apologetic air1 and with blood and feathers on his mouth1 that he has been killing a hen1 ,i am breaking up the whole phenomenon of the dog's appearance1 and paying attention only to the blood and feathers on his head2 and these lead me directly to similar appearances when ,i have caught him in the act4 ,if ,i reason1 ,every student who can concentrate his attention can learn quickly1 ,george ,marston has a notable power of concentration1 ,therefore ,george ,marston can learn quickly1 ,i again break up the abstraction student1 and the concrete fact ,george ,marston1 and pay attention in each to the single characteristic1 concentration of attention4 ,thus by means of these similar parts of different wholes ,i pass from the assertion concerning the class as a whole to the assertion concerning the concrete case4 ,this process first of analysis and then of abstraction of similars is the essential part of every act of reasoning4 ,in intuitive or unreasoned judgment1 on the other hand1 we jump to the conclusion without analyzing the intermediate steps4 ,if ,i say1 ,i have a feeling in my bones that it will rain to-morrow1 or1 it is borne in on me that our team will win1 the sensations and ideas that ,i thus lump together are too subtle and too complex for analysis1 and the conclusion1 though it may prove sound1 is not arrived at by reasoning4 ,the difference between such intuitive and unreasoned judgments1 and reasoning properly so called1 lies in the absence or the presence of the intermediate step by which we consciously recognize and choose out some single attribute or characteristic of the fact or facts we are considering1 and pass from that to other cases in which it occurs4 ,the skill of the reasoner therefore consists of two parts3 first1 the sagacity to pick out of the complex fact before him1 the attribute or characteristic which is significant for his present purpose2 and second1 the large knowledge of the subject which will enable him to follow it into other cases in which it occurs with different circumstances1 or1 in other words1 to follow a similarity through diverse cases4 ,darwin's great achievement in establishing the principle of evolution lay first in the scientific sagacity which flashed home on him1 after years of patient study1 that the one common fact in all the multitude of plants and animals is that in the struggle for existence by which all living beings persist1 those who are best fitted to their circumstances survive2 and second1 in his rich knowledge of the world of nature1 which made it possible for him to follow out this characteristic in all kinds of plants and animals1 and so to reach the general law4 ,but whether it be so world-sweeping a conclusion as his1 or my conclusion that my dog has killed a hen1 the process is the same3 analysis or breaking up of the complex fact1 and following out the consequences or implications of some selected part of it into other cases4 ,all reasoning thus reduces itself in the end to a process of passing from like to like3 we notice that the present case is like other cases which we already know3 then1 since these cases have always in the past been accompanied by certain circumstances or consequences1 we believe that the present case will also show these same circumstances or consequences4 ,whenever my dog has killed when the cases have been similar in the blood and feathers on his mouth2 in this case he has blood and feathers on his mouth2 therefore he must have killed a hen4 ,individual plants and animals survive which are fitted to their environment by special characteristics1 and those which are not so fitted die2 species of plants and animals1 as well as individuals1 show special adaptation to their environment2 therefore species have survived through the same process of natural selection4 ,it follows that reasoning1 whether it results in a general law or in concrete judgment1 depends on the assumption that nature--and in nature we mean here the whole universe as we know it is uniform2 that there are ties between facts which make it possible for us to be certain that if a given fact occurs1 then another fact always occurs with it as an effect1 or as a cause1 or connected with it in some other manner4 ,without this certainty of the uniformity of things there would be no reasoning1 and therefore no argument from indirect evidence4 ,huxley sets forth this fundamental truth clearly and impressively at the beginning of the first of his ,lectures on ,evolution 7see p4 #bcd74 ,for practical purposes the various types of this inference from similarity can be conveniently thrown into three groups4 ,as will be obvious1 there is no fixed and impassable line between them4 ,if an inference relies upon a resemblance that is newly seen1 rare1 or doubtful1 it is called an inference from analogy2 if it is made upon the basis of an established classification1 it is called a generalization2 if it involves a variety of resemblances so combined as to bear upon a single point1 it is usually or frequently called an inference from circumstantial evidence4#be ,i will take up each of these types and show how we use them in the practical work of argument4 ,it will be seen that they vary greatly in certainty of results4 #cd4 ,reasoning from ,analogy4 ,analogy in its most tenuous form is weak as a basis for an actual inference1 though it is often effective as a means of expressing an intuitive judgment where the reasons are too subtle and diffused for formal explanation4 ,when ,lincoln in the middle of the ,civil ,war said that men do not swap horses while they are crossing a stream1 the analog1 though subtle1 was felt to be real4 ,popular adages and proverbs are common modes of expressing such deep-lying analogies3 for example1 ,where there is smoke there is fire2 ,the slothful man saith1 ,there is a lion in the way4 ,poetry too is full of these subtle1 pregnant similarities which link things in some one aspect1 but fail for all others4 ,to die2 to sleep2 ,no more2 and by a sleep to say we end ,the heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks ,that flesh is heir to4 ',tis a consummation ,devoutly to be wish'd4 ,to die2 to sleep2-- ,to sleep8 ,perchance to dream6 ,ay1 there's the rub2 ,for in that sleep of death what dreams may come1 ,when we have shuffl'd off this mortal coil1 ,must give us pause4 ,but1 as in this case of ,hamlet's1 poetical analogies will not bear much strain2 the aspect in which the similarity holds is usually the only aspect the two cases have in common1 and to take poetry as a precise formulation of fact is to sin against both humor and sound reasoning4 ,in daily life we are constantly reasoning by analogy4 ,if you argue that a certain man who has been successful at the head of a railroad will therefore make a good president for a college because that also is a complex institution1 or that because self-government has worked well in a certain school it will probably work well in a college1 or that because a friend has been cured of sleeplessness by taking a walk just before going to bed therefore everybody who sleeps badly can be cured in the same way1--in all these cases you are reasoning by analogy4 ,in each case it will be noticed you would pass from a similarity which exists in a single case or in a small number of cases to the conclusion4 ,the reasoning is sound1 however1 only in so far as the similarity bears on the actual purpose in hand3 in the first example1 if the success of the railroad president arises from the power of understanding men and of philosophic insight into large problems1 the reasoning will probably be valid2 in the last example1 if applied to insomnia due to overwork1 it might be bad4 ,in practical affairs it is easy to find examples of reasoning from analogy1 especially in arguments of policy4 ,the first trial of city government by commission depended on such reasoning3 when ,galveston1 ,texas1 was devastated by a storm it was reasoned that in business matters a small body of picked men with absolute powers are most efficient in an emergency1 and that since the reconstruction of the city was essentially a matter of business1 such a body would best meet the emergency4 ,so the extension of commission government in other states at first followed reasoning by analogy3 government by commission worked well in ,galveston2 it would probably work well in ,des ,moines4 ,in the same way with the arguments for a parcels post3 they proceed from the analogy of the present postal service1 which has been successful so far as it goes1 and from the success of the parcels post in almost all the countries of ,europe4 ,if you were arguing that ,association 7or soccer7 football should be made one of the major sports at your college1 you would reason from the analogy of its great popularity with ,englishmen all over the world that it would also probably be popular in ,america4 ,when you use the argument from analogy1 however1 you must make sure that the similarity between the two cases runs to the point you wish to establish4 ,in the following extract from an argument in favor of commission government for all cities1 the author explicitly limits his reasoning from the analogy of ,washington to the point of the extension of the system to large cities4 ,if we look for successful governments by commission in this country1 it is not difficult to find them in our largest cities4 ,the city of ,washington is governed by a small commission1 and is acknowledged to be one of our best-governed cities4 ,while this commission originated in an entirely different way from that of the commission form of government1 successful administration under its rule is a valid answer to the argument that small commissions are suited only to the administration of small cities4#bf ,whenever you use this type of reasoning1 it is wise thus to limit its bearing4 ,if in an argument in favor of allowing secret societies in a high school you rely on the analogy of college life1 take pains to show that the resemblance covers the social life of a school4 ,if you were arguing that your city should establish a municipal gymnasium1 and relied on the reasoning from the analogy of a family1 in which all the members have a direct interest in the health of the others1 show that this interest has practical grounds of welfare1 and does not rest wholly on affection4 ,in every case1 unless the limits of the analogy are obvious1 specify them in order to carry your readers safely with you4 #ce4 ,false ,analogy4 ,a peculiar danger of the argument from analogy is the fallacy which is known as false analogy1 or reasoning to a conclusion which the similarity does not support4 ,arguments in which there are many figures of speech1 especially when the style is at all florid1 are apt to slop over into this fallacy4 ,to liken education to the unfolding of a flower is all very well1 if you do not go on to argue that because the lily of the field neither toils nor spins1 therefore a child should do no work in school4 ,it is said that ,m4 ,stolypin1 the late premier of ,russia1 once half apologized ,in the ,duma for the slowness of his reforms1 saying that he ,was like a man shooting with a flintlock musket2 to which one of the ,liberal members replied that it was not a question of weapons1 but of aim1 and that if his ,excellency was to go on shooting at the people1 it would be better if he went on using flintlocks4 ,under the auspices of the ,carnegie ,institution an expert in business administration made an inquiry into the methods of teaching and research in physics at various ,american universities1 and made recommendations based on the conduct of business establishments4 ,a professor of physics in answer showed in how many ways the analogy between a business concern1 whose end is profit1 and a physical laboratory1 whose end is the advancement of knowledge1 is false and misleading4 ,the expert had suggested a general research board to correlate researches2 the professor cited the cases of ,airy1 the astronomer royal of ,england1 who by his dominating position held back astronomical research in ,england for a generation1 and of ,sir ,humphry ,davy1 who discouraged the work of ,faraday1 when the latter was his assistant4 ,the expert suggested that apparatus could be passed on from one investigator to another3 the professor replied that few men can use apparatus designed for some one else's purpose1 and that the cost of reconstruction would exceed the cost of new machines4 ,in short1 he completely riddled the argument from analogy set up by the expert4#bg ,a notable example of conclusive refutation of an argument based on a false analogy is to be found in ,william ,james's ,ingersoll ,lecture on ,immortality4 ,he took up the ordinary argument against the immortality of the soul1 which1 starting from the accepted physiological and psychological formula1 ,thought is a function of the brain1 reasons that therefore when the brain dies and decays1 thought and consciousness die1 too4 ,this1 then1 is the objection to immortality2 and the next thing in order for me is to try to make plain to you why ,i believe that it has in strict logic no deterrent power4 ,i must show you that the fatal consequence is not coercive1 as is commonly imagined2 and that1 even though our soul's life 7as here below it is revealed to us7 may be in literal strictness the function of a brain that perishes1 yet it is not at all impossible1 but on the contrary quite possible1 that the life may still continue when the brain itself is dead4 ,the supposed impossibility of its continuing comes from too superficial a look at the admitted fact of functional dependence4 ,the moment we inquire more closely into the notion of functional dependence1 and ask ourselves1 for example1 how many kinds of functional dependence there may be1 we immediately perceive that there is one kind at least that does not exclude a life hereafter at all4 ,the fatal conclusion of the physiologist flows from his assuming offhand another kind of functional dependence1 and treating it as the only imaginable kind4 ,when the physiologist who thinks that his science cuts off all hope of immortality pronounces the phrase1 ,thought is a function of the brain1 he thinks of the matter just as he thinks when he says1 ,steam is a function of the teakettle1 ,light is a function of the electric circuit1 ,power is a function of the moving waterfall4 ,in these latter cases the several material objects have the function of inwardly creating or engendering their effects1 and their function must be called productive function4 ,just so1 he thinks1 it must be with the brain4 ,engendering consciousness in its interior1 much as it engenders cholesterin and creatin and carbonic acid1 its relation to our soul's life must also be called productive function4 ,of course1 if such production be the function1 then when the organ perishes1 since the production can no longer continue1 the soul must surely die4 ,such a conclusion as this is indeed inevitable from that particular conception of the facts4 ,rut in the world of physical nature productive function of this sort is not the only kind of function with which we are familiar4 ,we have also releasing or permissive function2 and we have transmissive function4 ,the trigger of a crossbow has a releasing function3 it removes the obstacle that holds the string1 and lets the bow fly back to its natural shape4 ,so when the hammer falls upon a detonating compound4 ,by knocking out the inner molecular obstructions1 it lets the constituent gases resume their normal bulk1 and so permits the explosion to take place4 ,in the case of a colored glass1 a prism1 or a refracting lens1 we have transmissive function4 ,the energy of the light1 no matter how produced1 is by the glass sifted and limited in color1 and by the lens or prism determined to a certain path and shape4 ,similarly1 the keys of an organ have only a transmissive function4 ,they open successively the various pipes and let the wind in the air chest escape in various ways4 ,the voices of the various pipes are constituted by the columns of air trembling as they emerge4 ,but the air is not engendered in the organ4 ,the organ proper1 as distinguished from its air chest1 is only an apparatus for letting portions of ,it loose upon the world in these peculiarly limited shapes4 ,my thesis now is this3 that1 when we think of the law that thought is a function of the brain1 we are not required to think of productive function only2 we are entitled also to consider permissive or transmissive function4 ,and this the ordinary psychophysiologist leaves out of account4#bh ,the question of the validity of an analogy in reasoning is always1 as here1 whether the similarity on which the reasoning rests really runs between the two cases in hand1 or is not merely a general resemblance expressed by some phrase or word which seems to mean more than it does4 ,in other words1 when you are testing an analogy1 whether your own or an opponent's1 make sure that the similarity is real for the present case4 ,a picturesque figure of speech may add life to an argument1 but it may also cover a gap in the reasoning4 #cf4 ,reasoning by ,classification or ,generalization4 ,obviously the strength of reasoning from analogy increases with the number of cases which you can point to as showing the similarity on which you rely1 for you can then begin to generalize and classify4 ,analogy expresses our natural tendency to assimilate the new to the old1 to interpret what is strange and unfamiliar in the light of what we already know4 ,it may therefore be described as classification in the making4 ,the resemblances which guide us are called analogies so long as they are newly seen1 rare1 or doubtful2 but as the number of cases increases1 analogy passes by insensible stages into established classification4#bi ,an excellent example of this transition may be seen in the present state of the argument in favor of commission government3 at first1 as we have seen1 it depended chiefly on reasoning from analogy2 by this time enough cities have adopted the plan to make it possible to classify them1 and so reason by generalization4 ,generalization and classification1 it may be noted in passing1 are two aspects of the same process of thought4 ,when one passes from the individual facts to the larger fact which brings them together1 as in the assertion1 ,members of the ,phi ,beta ,kappa are good scholars1 one makes a generalization2 when one asserts of an individual the larger fact1 as in the assertion1 ,my brother is a good scholar 7,my brother belongs to the class ,good ,scholars71 one makes a classification4 ,when a classification or generalization is constant and familiar1 it brings forth1 by the natural economy of language1 a name for the class or the principle2 federation1 deciduous trees1 emotion1 terminal moraine1 are all names of classes2 attraction of gravity1 erosion1 degeneration1 natural selection1 are names of principles which sum up acts of generalization4 ,almost always these names begin as figures of speech1 but where they are used accurately they have a perfectly exact meaning4 ,darwin has given some account of this process of language3 ,it has been said that ,i speak of natural selection as an active power or deity1 but who objects to an author speaking of the attraction of gravity as ruling the movements of planets8 ,every one knows what is meant by such metaphorical expressions1 and they are almost necessary for brevity3 so1 again1 it is difficult to avoid personifying the word ',nature4' ,but ,i mean by ,nature the aggregate action and product of many laws1 and by laws the sequence of events as ascertained by us4#cj ,when the facts intended to be meant by a phrase are thus carefully specified and delimited1 the phrase ceases to be a figure of speech1 and becomes the name of a class or of a principle4 ,generalization and classification always take place for purposes of reasoning2#ca and reasoning which is dependent on them rests on the assumption that things are uniformly correlated in nature2 when we throw things together into classes we assume that what is true for one member of a class1 so far as it is a member of that class1 is true to the same extent and for the purpose for which the class is made for all other members of that class4 ,in practice a large part of our reasoning is through generalization and classification2 and as we have seen1 it has a more substantial basis than when we rest on an analogy4 ,if you hear that your brother has been elected to the ,phi ,beta ,kappa1 you reason from the generalization that all members of the ,phi ,beta ,kappa are high scholars to the inference that your brother must have taken high rank4 ,when ,i see a gang of carpenters knocking off work at four o'clock in the afternoon1 ,i infer that they must belong to the union1 because ,i know that unions as a class have established an eight-hour day4 ,if you were arguing that the standards for graduation from your college should be raised1 you would try to show that each year enough men are graduated with low intellectual attainments to make a class large enough to generalize from4 ,if you were arguing that your city should establish a municipal gymnasium1 you would try to show that of the boys and young men brought before the police courts for petty mischief and more serious offenses almost all have lacked the chance to work off their animal spirits in a healthy way4 ,wherever you can thus establish your special case in a class which has known characteristics or consequences1 you can then apply the characteristics and consequences of the class to your special case4 ,where the class is recognized as having definite characteristics or consequences1 you can make your inference by showing that your case falls within the class4 ,sometimes the stress of your reasoning will come on making it clear that the consequence or characteristic on which your reasoning depends really belongs to the class4 ,if1 for example1 you were arguing1 as did the ,class of '#he at ,amherst ,college1 that your college should return to something like the old-fashioned classical education1 you would try to establish the fact that men who have had the old-fashioned classical education are as a rule characterized by intelligence1 liberal culture1 and open-mindedness4 ,in such cases it is the generalization on which the class is based which is the difficult part of your task4 ,in general1 however1 if you can show your readers that the present case belongs in a class of cases which can be recognized as belonging together by virtue of definable characteristics1 you have established an excellent foundation for an inference based on those characteristics4 #cg4 ,reasoning by ,causal ,relation4 ,reasoning by generalization rises greatly in certainty1 however1 whenever you can show the workings of cause and effect4 ,if a college receives every year from a certain school a number of boys who are slack and lazy students1 the dean of that college may come to generalize and expect most of the boys from that school to be poor timber4 ,if1 however1 he finds that the master of the school will take and keep any boy who lives in the town1 he is able to argue from this as a cause to the conclusion that the standards of the school are low1 and then from these low standards as a cause to the poor quality of the graduates of the school4 ,here is another example1 from ,professor ,james3 ,i am sitting in a railroad car1 waiting for the train to start4 ,it is winter1 and the stove fills the car with pungent smoke4 ,the brakeman enters1 and my neighbor asks him to stop that stove smoking4 ,he replies that it will stop entirely as soon as the car begins to move4 ,why so8 asks the passenger4 ,it always does1 replies the brakeman4 ,it is evident from this always that the connection between car moving and smoke stopping was a purely empirical one in the brakeman's mind1 bred of habit4 ,but if the passenger had been an acute reasoner 444 and had singled out of all the numerous points involved in a stove's not smoking the one special point of smoke pouring freely out of the stove-pipe's mouth1 he would probably 444 have been immediately reminded of the law that a fluid passes more rapidly out of a pipe's mouth if another fluid be at the same time streaming over that mouth4#cb ,here the passenger's certainty that the smoking would stop would have been much increased if he had1 as ,professor ,james suggests1 reasoned to the cause1 instead of trusting to the brakeman's generalization from experience4 ,in scientific matters search for cause and effect the chief mode of progress4 ,general ,sternberg's article ,yellow ,fever and ,mosquitoes 7p4 #bea7 is an admirable account of this advance from probability to certainty1 which comes from demonstrating the necessary sequence which we call cause and effect4 ,when ,major ,reed and his associates had shown that in cases where mosquitoes were kept away there was no yellow fever1 but that in cases where infected mosquitoes were allowed to bite patients yellow fever followed1 they turned the probability that mosquitoes were the transmitting agent of the fever into a certainty4 ,likewise with the glacial theory3 it had already in the time of the elder ,professor ,agassiz been established that certain regions of northern ,europe and ,america could be classed together by the occurrence of certain phenomena--rounded hills1 ledges of rock smoothed off and marked with scratches running more or less north and south1 deposits of clean gravel and sand1 boulders of various foreign kinds of rock scattered over the surface of the country2 when he showed that glaciers in their movements produce all these phenomena1 he laid bare the cause of the phenomena1 and so demonstrated with practical certainty the theory of the former existence of a huge glacial sheet in the northern hemisphere4 ,wherever you can show that your case not only belongs to a recognized class of cases1 with recognized characteristics1 but also that in those characteristics there is a necessary sequence of cause and effect1 you have proved your point4 ,in the example above1 of an argument for the establishment of a municipal gymnasium1 if after showing that all the boys and young men who get into the courts have no normal and healthy way of working off their natural animal spirits1 you can show that in places where through settlements or municipal action gymnasiums have been provided1 the number of arrests of boys and young men has greatly fallen off1 you have established the grounds for an inference of cause and effect which gives your argument a wholly new strength4 ,in the case of the argument for a return to a classical course in a college1 this sequence of cause and effect would be very difficult to establish1 for here you would be deep down in the most complex and subtle region of human nature4 ,wherever it is possible1 however1 lead the inference from a classification or generalization on to an inference of cause and effect4 #ch4 ,induction and ,deduction4 ,our next step is to consider how we get the generalizations on which we base so much of our reasoning4 ,as we have seen1 the science which deals with the making of them1 with their basis1 and with the rules which govern inferences made from them is logic4 ,logicians generally distinguish between two branches of their science1 inductive and deductive reasoning4 ,in inductive reasoning we pass from individual facts to general principles2 in deductive reasoning we pass from general principles to conclusions about individual facts4 ,the distinction1 however1 draws less interest in recent times than formerly1 and logicians of the present generation tend to doubt whether it has any vital significance4#cc ,they point out that in practice we intermingle the two kinds almost inextricably1 that the distinction between facts and principles is temporary and shifting1 and that we cannot fit some of the common forms of inference into these categories without difficult and complicated restatement4 ,nevertheless1 as deductive logic and inductive logic are ancient and time-honored terms which have become a part of the vocabulary of educated men1 it is worth while to take some note of the distinction between them1 ,i shall not attempt here to do more than to explain a few of the more important principles4 ,i shall begin with inductive logic1 since that is the branch which deals with the making of generalizations from individual fact1 and therefore that which has most concern in the arguments of the average man in his passage through life4 #ci4 ,inductive ,reasoning4 ,in inductive reasoning we put individual facts and cases together into a class on the basis of some definable similarity1 and then infer from them a general principle4 ,the types of inductive reasoning have been reduced by logicians to certain canons1 but these reduce themselves to two main methods1 which depend on whether in a given piece of reasoning we start from the likeness between the instances or the differences between them4 ,on these two methods1 the method of agreement and the method of difference1 hang all the processes of modern science1 and most of our everyday arguments4 ,the method of agreement has been defined as follows3 ,if two or more instances of the phenomenon under investigation have only one circumstance in common1 the circumstance in which alone all the instances agree is the cause 7or effect7 of the given phenomenon4#cd ,a few examples1 which might easily be multiplied1 will show how constantly we use this method in everyday life4 ,suppose that a teacher is annoyed at somewhat irregular intervals by whispering and laughing in the back of the schoolroom1 for which he can find no cause1 but that presently he notices that whenever a certain pair of boys sit together there the trouble begins2 he infers that these two boys are the cause of the trouble4 ,in the old days before it had been discovered that the germs of malaria are carried by mosquitoes1 the disease was ascribed to a miasma which floated over low ground at night2 and the innkeepers of the ,roman ,campagna1 where malaria had almost driven out the population1 urged their guests never to leave their windows open at night1 for fear of letting in the miasma4 ,in the lights of those days this was good reasoning by the method of agreement1 for it was common observation that of all the many kinds of people who slept with their windows open most had malaria4 ,we are constantly using this method in cases of this sort1 where from observation we are sure that a single cause is at work under diverse circumstances4 ,if the cases are numerous enough and diverse enough1 we arrive at a safe degree of certainty for practical purposes4 ,as the case just cited shows1 however1 the method does not establish a cause with great certainty4 ,no matter how many cases we gather1 if a whole new field related to the subject happens to be opened up1 the agreement may be shattered4 ,the method of difference1 which in some cases does establish causes with as great certainty as is possible for human fallibility1 works in the opposite way3 instead of collecting a large number of cases and noting the single point of agreement1 it takes a single case and varies a single one of its elements4 ,the method has been stated as follows3 ,if an instance in which the phenomenon occurs1 and an instance in which it does not occur1 have every circumstance in common save one1 that one occurring only in the former2 the circumstance in which alone the two instances differ1 is the effect1 or the cause1 or an indispensable part of the cause1 of the phenomenon4#ce ,the principle is clearer and more apprehensible in the concrete example than in the abstract statement2 as a matter of fact it is applied in every experimental search for a cause4 ,the ,agricultural ,college of ,new ,york1 for example1 in the course of certain experiments on apple orchards1 bought an orchard which had not been yielding well1 and divided it into halves2 one half was then kept plowed and cultivated1 the other half was left in grass2 otherwise the treatment was the same4 ,when the half which was kept cultivated gave a much larger yield than the other1 it was safe to infer that the cultivation was the cause of the heavier yield4 ,dr4 ,ehrlich1 the great ,german pathologist1 is said to have tried six hundred and five different substances before he found one which would kill the germ of a certain disease2 in each experiment he was using the method of difference1 keeping the conditions the same in all except a single point1 which was the addition of the substance used in that particular experiment4 ,wherever the conditions of an experiment can be thus controlled1 the method of difference gives a very accurate way of discovering causes4 ,with advancing knowledge a supposed cause may be in turn analyzed in such a way that each of its parts can be separately varied1 in order to come more closely to the actual sequence involved4 ,it has been pointed out#cf that the two methods are really statements of what is required for the verification of a theory at two stages of its growth3 when we are first getting a glimpse of a causal connection between two facts we collect all the cases in which they occur in as much variety as possible1 to see if the connection is really universal2 then1 having established the universal sequence1 we come to close quarters with it in a single critical instance1 varying the conditions singly until we run down the one without which the effect cannot take place4 ,no neater and more illuminating example of this relation between the two methods and the successful working of them can be found than that in the article by ,general ,steinberg1 ,yellow ,fever and ,mosquitoes 7p4 #bea74 ,in that case first ,dr4 ,carlos ,finlay of ,havana1 and then ,dr4 ,sternberg himself1 had become convinced by comparing many cases of yellow fever that there was some intermediate host for the bacillus that caused the disease4 ,this conclusion they reached through the method of agreement4 ,dr4 ,finlay's experiments by the method of difference had failed1 however1 indisputably to establish the cause1 since he did not see that it was necessary to allow the bacillus at least twelve days for incubation in the body of the mosquito4 ,the final and definitive proof1 which came through the splendid self-devotion of the surgeons in charge of the experiment and of certain enlisted men who volunteered to be made the subject of the experiment1 was by the method of difference4 ,these brave men allowed themselves to be exposed to mosquitoes which had already bitten patients suffering from the fever1 and they promptly came down with the disease2 one of them1 ,dr4 ,lazear1 gave his life for his devotion to the cause of his fellow men4 ,then other men were exposed in a mosquito-proof room to clothes and other articles brought directly from yellow-fever patients1 and showed no ill effects4 ,thus it was absolutely proved1 though the bacillus itself had not been found1 that yellow fever is carried by mosquitoes1 and is not carried by ordinary contagion4 ,the unsuccessful experiments of ,dr4 ,finlay and the later success of ,major ,reed show how science advances by refinement of analysis in the use of the method4 ,the hypothesis on which the former worked was that all mosquitoes who had bitten a yellow-fever patient can carry the disease4 ,dr4 ,reed and his associates analyzed the phenomenon more closely and tried their experiments on the hypothesis that only mosquitoes who have lived twelve days after biting the patient are capable of passing on the disease4 ,this refinement of analysis and observation is the chief mode of advance in the sciences which depend on experiment4 ,scientific arguments1 therefore1 make constant use of both methods4 ,medical research frequently begins with the gathering of statistics from reported cases1 and the theory or theories suggested by the method of agreement working on these facts leads to the application of the method of difference through some series of critical experiments4 ,in general the conclusions of science where experiment cannot be used depend on the method of agreement1 especially in the larger theories in biology and geology1 where the lapse of unnumbered centuries is necessary to bring about changes4 ,in physics1 in chemistry1 in medicine1 on the other hand1 critical experiments are generally possible1 and so progress is by the method of difference4 ,in such subjects as political science and government1 where experiment is out of the question1 one must depend chiefly on the method of agreement1 except in such cases as will be mentioned below where a change in policy has the same effect as an experiment4 ,here1 however1 one must not forget that in all matters human the incalculable clement of human nature enters to complicate all results1 and that emotion and feeling are always irrational4 ,it is by the same processes that we get most of our explanations of the world as we go through it1 and most of the facts on which we base judgment and action4 ,when the same sort of thing happens in a number of fairly different cases1 we begin to suspect that there is a reason2 and if we are going to make an argument on the subject1 we take note of the cases and try in some way to arrange and tabulate them4 ,the supporters of a protective tariff collect instances of prosperity under such a tariff1 the supporters of free trade cases of prosperity under free trade1 the believers in the classical education cases of men trained in that way who have attained to eminence1 believers in the elective system cases of men who are the products of that system who have attained equal eminence4 ,in most cases such collection of instances does not carry you far toward a coercive argument2 the cases are too complex for you to assert that any one factor is the cause of the result4 ,in another kind of case you can come a little nearer4 ,in an argument for the establishment of a commission form of government in a given city or town there are now enough cases of this type of government in practice to make possible a good argument by the method of agreement2 the places are scattered over the country1 north and south1 east and west1 and range greatly in size and environments2 and all of them so far 7#aiaa7 report improvement in efficiency and honesty of government4 ,accordingly it is a fair presumption that the improvement is due to the introduction of the new form of government1 since in all other respects the places which have tried it have little in common4 ,a more important result of the inquiry is to lead us on to an application of the method of difference4 ,starting with this strong probability that the improvement is due to the new form of government1 we can go a step further and examine a single case1 in order to establish more clearly the sequence of events which we call a cause4 ,in the case of any given town which has adopted the commission government the material for the application of the method of difference is ready to our hands1 if nothing else has been changed in the town but the form of government4 ,the inhabitants and the voters are the same1 the physical conditions are the same4 ,if now we seek for the cause of an admitted improvement in the administration of the city affairs1 we are driven to ascribe it to the only factor in the case which has been changed1 and this is the form of government4 ,such an argument1 if supported by figures and specific facts1 is obviously strong4 ,the same kind of argument is constantly used in the discussion of prohibition and local option as a means of reducing the amount of liquor consumed in a community1 for the frequent changes both in states and in smaller communities provide material for the application of the same method of difference4 ,here1 however1 the factors are more complex1 on account of differences in the character of the population in different places1 and their inherited habits as concerns the use of wine1 beer1 and other liquors4 #dj4 ,faulty ,generalization4 ,both generalization through the method of agreement1 and the assignment of causes through the method of difference1 however1 have their dangers1 like all forms of reasoning4 ,a discussion of these dangers will throw light on the processes themselves4 ,the chief danger when you reason through the method of agreement is of jumping to a conclusion too soon1 and before you have collected enough cases for a safe conclusion4 ,this is to commit the fallacy known as hasty generalization4 ,it is the error committed by the dogmatic sort of globetrotter1 who after six weeks spent in ,swiss-managed hotels in ,italy will supply you with a full set of opinions on the government1 morals1 and customs of the country4 ,in a less crass form it affects the judgment of most ,englishmen who write books about this country1 for they come over with letters of introduction to ,new ,york1 ,boston1 ,chicago1 and ,san ,francisco1 and then generalize about the rest of the country and its population4 ,we are all in danger from the fallacy1 however1 for it is a necessary law of the mind that we shall begin to make opinions and judgments on a subject as soon as we become acquainted with it4 ,the only safeguards are1 in the first place1 to keep these preliminary judgments tentative and fluid1 and in the second1 to keep them to one's self until there is some need of expressing them4 ,the path to wisdom in action is through open-mindedness and caution4 ,when one has to refute an argument in which there is faulty generalization1 it is often easy to point out that its author had no sufficient time or chance to make observations1 or to point out that the instances on which he relied are not fair examples of their class4 ,in practice the strength of an argument in which this error is to be found lies largely in the positiveness with which it is pronounced2 for it is human nature to accept opinions which have an outward appearance of certainty4 ,a not uncommon form of faulty generalization is to base an argument on a mere enumeration of similar cases4 ,this is a poor foundation for an argument1 especially for a probability in the future1 unless the enumeration approaches an exhaustive list of all possible cases4 ,to have reasoned a few years ago that because ,yale had beaten ,harvard at rowing almost every year for fifteen years it had a permanent superiority in the strength and skill of its oarsmen would have been dangerous1 for when the years before the given period were looked up they would have shown results the other way4 ,and an enumeration may run through a very long period of time1 and still in the end be upset4 ,to an inhabitant of ,central ,africa fifty years ago1 no fact probably appeared to rest on more uniform experience than this1 that all human beings are black4 ,to ,europeans not many years ago1 the proposition1 ',all swans are white1' appeared an equally unequivocal instance of uniformity in the course of nature4 ,further experience has proved to both that they were mistaken2 but they had to wait fifty centuries for this experience4 ,during that long time1 mankind believed in an uniformity of the course of nature where no such uniformity really existed4#cg ,unless you have so wide and complete a view of your subject that you can practically insure your enumeration as exhaustive1 it is not safe to reason that because a thing has always happened so in the past1 it will always happen so in the future4 ,the notorious difficulty of proving a negative goes back to this principle4 ,so closely like hasty generalization that it cannot be clearly separated from it is faulty reasoning that arises from neglecting exceptions to a general principle4 ,all our generalizations1 except those that are so near truisms as to be barren of interest1 are more or less rough and ready1 and the process of refining them is a process of finding exceptions and restating the principle so that it will meet the case of the exceptions4 ,darwin is said to have had the power of never letting exceptions pass unnoticed4 ,every one notices a fact as an exception when it is striking or frequent1 but he had a special instinct for arresting an exception4#ch ,it was this instinct which made him so cautious and therefore so sure in the statement of his hypotheses3 after the idea of natural selection as an explanation of the origin of the species of the natural world had occurred to him1 he spent twenty years collecting further facts and verifying observations to test the theory before he gave it to the world4 ,a generalization that the republican form of government produces greater peace and prosperity than the monarchical would neglect the obvious exceptions in the ,central ,american republics2 and to make it at all tenable the generalization would have to have some such proviso as1 among peoples of ,germanic race4 ,even then the exceptions would be more numerous than the cases which would fall within the rule4#ci ,one must cultivate respect for facts in making theories3 a theory should always be held so tentatively that any new or unnoticed facts can have their due influence in altering it4 ,of the errors in reasoning about a cause none is more common than that known by the older logic as post hoc1 ergo propter hoc 7after this1 therefore on account of it71 or more briefly1 the post hoc fallacy4 ,all of us who have a pet remedy for a cold probably commit this fallacy two times out of three when we declare that our quinine or rhinitis or camphor pill has cured us2 for as a wise old doctor of two generations ago declared1 and as the new doctrines of medical research are making clear1 in nine cases out of ten nature cures4 ,of the same character are the common superstitions of daily life1 for example1 that if thirteen sit at table together one will die within the year1 or that crossing a funeral procession brings misfortune4 ,where such superstitions are more than playfully held1 they are gross cases of calling that a cause which has no relation to the event4 ,here is another example1 from a letter to ,the ,nation3#dj ,in the last volume of the ,shakespeare controversy1 the argument presented ,to the ,reader seems fairly to be summarized as follows3 ,the plays are recognized as wonderful2 scholars are amazed at the knowledge of the classes in them1 lawyers at the law1 travelers at the minute accuracy of the descriptions of foreign cities2 they show a keen critic of court etiquette and ,french soldiery2 the only possible man of the time with this encyclopedic outlook was ,francis ,bacon4 ,both in the original and in the summary there seems a casual connection implied1 namely1 that the plays are wonderful because of the knowledge1 and because of the knowledge ,bacon is the author4 ,but1 stated thus baldly1 the fallacy is obvious4 ,it is not because the author had by study obtained nearly all the learning that could be gained from books that the ,elizabethans went to see the plays1 or that we to-day read them2 but it is because there is to be found in them wonderful characterization expressed dramatically1 namely1 before an audience4 ,and this audience is what the scholars seem to forget4 ,for by it is the dramatist limited1 since profundity of thought or skill in allusion is good or bad1 artistically1 exactly in proportion as the thought is comprehended or the allusion understood4 ,sometimes this fallacy is caused by assuming that because a certain result followed an event in the only case known1 therefore there was a causal connection4 ,in a hearing before a committee of the ,massachusetts legislature on a bill to establish closer relations between ,boston and its suburbs1 the question was asked of a witness whether he believed that in the case of ,london the ,london police would have been as efficient as they are now if there had been no annexation of the surrounding towns2 he very properly replied3 ,that's a hard question to answer1 because we have only the existing side to look at4 ,we don't know what it would have been as separate communities4 ,wherever multiple causes are possible for a phenomenon it is unsafe to argue from a single case4 ,another form of error in reasoning to a cause is to assume that a fact is simple1 when it is really complex1 as in the following example3 ,i do not think ,i am overstepping the bounds when ,i say that the headship of no corporation1 or state1 or even the headship of the ,united ,states1 requires greater general ability1 force of character1 or knowledge of administration than the head of administration of a great city like ,new ,york or ,berlin4 ,the latter we know to be well administered1 the former--well1 let us say1 less so4 ,the whole difference is in the systems4 ,apply the ,berlin system to ,new ,york1 and you will get ,berlin results4 ,here the writer wholly ignores all sorts of active causes for this difference3 ,berlin has a tolerably homogeneous population1 ,new ,york the most heterogeneous in the world2 ,germans by nature respect law and authority1 and hanker for centralization2 ,americans make and break laws light-heartedly1 and are restive under authority2 and one might easily go further4 ,arguments that national prosperity has followed a higher or a lower tariff are especially apt to be vitiated by this error4 ,it is not that the tariff has no relation to the prosperity1 but that there are other causes intermingled with it which may have had more immediate effect4 ,a bad grain crop or a season of reckless speculation may obliterate all the traceable causes of a change in the tariff4 ,arguments from motive1 too1 are apt to fall into this error4 ,it is notorious that human motives are mixed4 ,if you argue that a whole class of business organizations are evil because they have been formed solely for the purpose of making inordinate and oppressive profits1 you leave out of sight a motive which is strong among ,american business men--the interest in seeing a great business more efficiently managed1 and the desire to exercise power beneficently2 and your argument suffers from its illegitimate assumption of a simple cause4 ,so in the same way if you are arguing for or against the advantages of the elective system in a school or a college1 or of a classical education1 or of athletics1 it would be folly to assume that any one cause or effect covered the whole case4 ,whenever in an argument you are trying to establish any such large and complex fact1 you must be wary lest you thus assume a single cause where in reality there are a legion of causes4 #da4 ,deductive ,logic--the ,syllogism4 ,deductive logic1 as we have seen1 deals with reasoning which passes from general principles to individual cases4 ,its typical form is the syllogism1 in which we pass from two propositions which are given to a third1 the conclusion4 ,of the two former one is a general principle1 the other an assertion of a particular case4 ,the classic example of the syllogism1 which started with ,aristotle and has grown hoary with repetition1 and so venerable that it is one of the commonplaces of educated speech1 runs as follows3 ,all men are mortal1 ,socrates is a man1 ,therefore ,socrates is mortal4 ,here there is the general principle1 ,all men are mortal1 and the assertion about the particular case1 ,socrates is a man4 ,the two have one term in common1 men 7or more strictly1 the class ,man71 which is known as the middle term1 through which we reach the conclusion that the characteristic of mortality in which all men are similar is true also of ,socrates1 by virtue of his being a man4 ,of the other terms1 mortal1 which is the more inclusive1 is known as the major term1 and ,socrates1 the less inclusive1 as the minor term4 ,the first two propositions are the premises1 that which contains the major term being known as the major premise1 and the other as the minor premise4 ,the validity of the syllogism lies1 as ,i have said1 in the assertion of a general principle1 and the bringing of the particular case in hand under that principle3 if the principle is granted as incontrovertible1 and the special case as really coming under it1 the conclusion is inevitable4 ,on the syllogism in its various forms deductive logic has built up an imposing structure of rules and conclusions4 ,in practice the value of the syllogism is largely indirect4 ,the trouble with it in itself as a mode of progress in reasoning is twofold3 in the first place there are very few general principles which1 if you are cautious1 you will accept without reservations2 and in the second place the crucial question in another set of cases is whether the given case really falls under the general principle4 ,the syllogism1 ,all great statesmen are farsighted1 ,daniel ,webster was a great statesman1 ,therefore ,daniel ,webster was farsighted1 sounds simple2 but two generations have disagreed on the question whether ,webster was a great statesman2 and both great statesman and farsighted are such vague and inclusive terms that one would either accept a general principle of which they are terms as a harmless truism1 or else balk at being asked to grant a proposition which might have unexpected meanings thrust into it4 ,this double difficulty pursues the syllogism as a device for forwarding knowledge3 either it sets forth a truth so large and vague that you cannot say whether you accept it for all cases or not1 or else the disagreement comes on one of the premises1 and unless both the premises are granted1 strictly syllogistic reasoning does not get under way4 ,nevertheless1 the syllogism has great practical value for the reasoning and arguments of everyday life3 in the first place it affords a means of expanding and scrutinizing the condensed forms of reasoning which are so common and so useful2 and in the second place it can be used to sum up and state the results of a course of reasoning in incontrovertible form4 ,i shall examine and illustrate both these uses of the syllogism2 but first ,i shall give certain rules which govern all sound reasoning through syllogisms4 ,they were invented by ,aristotle1 the great ,greek philosopher4 #db4 ,the ,rules of the ,syllogism4 7,a term is said to be distributed1 or taken universally1 when the proposition of which it is a part makes a statement about all the objects included in the term4 ,in the proposition ,all men are mortal1 the term men is obviously distributed1 but mortals is not2 for no assertion is made about all mortals but only about those that are included under all men4 ,in the proposition ,no hens are intelligent1 both terms are distributed2 for the assertion covers all hens1 and also the whole class of intelligent beings1 since it is asserted of the class as a whole that it contains no hens47 ,i4 ,a syllogism must contain three terms1 and not more than three terms4 ,this rule is to be understood as guarding against ambiguity1 especially in the middle term2 if the middle term1 or either of the others1 can be understood in two ways1 the syllogism will not hold water4 ,,ii4 ,a syllogism must consist of three and only three propositions4 ,the reasons for this rule are sufficiently obvious4 ,,iii4 ,the middle term of the syllogism must be distributed at least once in the premises4 ,if it were not thus distributed or taken universally1 the two premises might refer to separate parts of the middle term1 and so there would be no meeting ground on which to form the conclusion4 ,in the syllogism1 ,all good athletes lend a clean life1 ,these men lead a clean life1 ,therefore these men are good athletes1 the fallacy lies in the fact that in neither premise is any assertion made about all men who lead a clean life4 ,this fallacy1 which is not uncommon in practice where the terms are complicated1 is known as the fallacy of the undistributed middle4 ,,iv4 ,no term must be distributed in the conclusion unless it was distributed in at least one of the premises4 ,in other words1 if you have premises which deal with part of a class only1 you cannot reach a conclusion about the whole class4 ,in the syllogism1 ,all newspaper editors know how to write1 ,all newspaper editors are paid1 ,therefore all men who know how to write are paid1 the fallacy is obvious4 ,but in the following1 ,all bitter partisans are dangerous citizens1 ,this man is not a bitter partisan1 ,therefore this man is not a dangerous citizen1 one may have to scrutinize the reasoning a little to see that the fallacy lies in the fact that dangerous citizen is taken universally in the conclusion1 since a proposition with a negative predicate makes an assertion about the whole of its predicate1 but that it is not taken universally in the premise in which it occurs4 ,a fallacy which thus arises from not noticing that a negative predicate distributes its term is apt to be insidious4 ,v4 ,no conclusion can be drawn from two negative premises4 ,in other words1 if both the major term and the minor term lie outside the middle term1 the syllogism gives us no means of knowing what their relation is to each other4 ,the following example will make the reason clear3 ,no amateur athlete has a salary for playing1 ,john ,gorman is not an amateur athlete1 ,therefore ,john ,gorman has a salary for playing4 ,,vi4 ,if one of the premises is negative1 the conclusion must be negative4 ,if of the major and minor premise one is negative1 then either the major or the minor term does not agree with the middle term1 and the other does2 therefore the major and minor term cannot agree with each other4 #dc4 ,the ,syllogism in ,practical ,use4 ,the practical value of the syllogism and its rules comes in the first place1 as ,i have said1 when we expand a condensed form of reasoning into its full grounds in the form of a syllogism4 ,our reasoned judgments ordinarily take the shortened form1 ,socrates is mortal1 because he is a man2 ,the ,corporation ,tax ,bill is constitutional1 because it is a tax on a way of doing business4 ,in each of these cases we are reasoning from a general principle1 which is previously established1 and from a particular way of conceiving the special fact before us1 but we assume the general principle as understood4 ,in the cases above the meaning is clear without declaring at length1 ,all men are mortal1 or ,all taxes on a way of doing business are constitutional4 ,at any time1 however1 when you find a piece of reasoning in this condensed form1 whether your own or some one else's1 which seems to you suspicious1 if you expand it into a full syllogism you will have all its parts laid bare for scrutiny4 ,take1 for example1 the assertion1 ,robinson ,crusoe must be a true story1 for everything in it is so minutely described3 if you expand it into the full syllogism1 ,all books in which the description is minute are true1 ,robinson ,crusoe is a book in which the description is minute1 ,therefore ,robinson ,crusoe is true1 you would at once stick at the major premise4 ,so where you suspect an ambiguity in the use of terms1 you can bring it to the surface1 if it is there1 by the same sort of expansion4 ,in the argument1 ,bachelors should be punished1 because they break a law of nature1 the ambiguity becomes obvious when you expand3 ,all law breakers should be punished1 ,bachelors break a law of nature1 ,therefore bachelors should be punished2 at once you see that law is used in two senses1 one the law of the land1 the other the statement of a uniformity in nature4 ,in the argument1 ,these men are good citizens1 for they take an interest in politics1 the expansion to ,all good citizens are interested in politics1 ,these men are interested in politics1 ,therefore these men are good citizens1#da shows that the reasoning contains a breach of the third rule of the syllogism 7see p4 #adh7 and is therefore a case of the fallacy of the undistributed middle4 ,whenever you make or find an assertion with a reason attached by such a word as since1 for1 or because1 or an assertion with a consequence attached by a word like therefore1 hence1 or accordingly1 you have a case of this condensed reasoning1 which1 theoretically at any rate1 you can expand into a full syllogism1 and so go over the reasoning link by link4 ,sometimes1 however1 the expansion is far from easy1 for in many of the practical exigencies of everyday life our judgments are intuitive1 and not reasoned4 ,in such judgments we jump to a conclusion by an inarticulate1 unreasoned feeling of what is true or expedient1 and the grounds of the feeling may be so shadowy and complex that they can never be adequately displayed4 ,over immense departments of our thought we are still1 all of us1 in the savage state4 ,similarity operates in us1 but abstraction has not taken place4 ,we know what the present case is like1 we know what it reminds us of1 we have an intuition of the right course to take1 if it be a practical matter4 ,but analytic thought has made no tracks1 and we cannot justify ourselves to others4 ,in ethical1 psychological1 and aesthetic matters1 to give a clear reason for one's judgment is universally recognized as a mark of rare genius4 ,the helplessness of uneducated people to account for their likes and dislikes is often ludicrous4 ,ask the first ,irish girl why she likes this country better or worse than her home1 and see how much she can tell you4 ,but if you ask your most educated friend why he prefers ,titian to ,paul ,veronese1 you will hardly get more of a reply2 and you will probably get absolutely none if you inquire why ,beethoven reminds him of ,michael ,angelo1 or how it comes that a bare figure with unduly flexed joints1 by the latter1 can so suggest the moral tragedy of life4444 ,the well-known story of the old judge advising the new one never to give reasons for his decisions1 'the decisions will probably be right1 the reasons will surely be wrong1' illustrates this4 ,the doctor will feel that the patient is doomed1 the dentist will have a premonition that the tooth will break1 though neither can articulate a reason for his foreboding4 ,the reason lies embedded1 but not yet laid bare1 in all the previous cases dimly suggested by the actual one1 all calling up the same conclusion1 which the adept thus finds himself swept on to1 he knows not how or why4#db ,the small boy who said that he could not keep step because he had a cold in his head was relying on a sound general truth1 ,colds in the head make one stupid1 for his major premise1 but his condition prevented his disentangling it2 and all of us every day use minor premises for which we should be incapable of stating the major4 ,a second practical use of the syllogism is to set forth a chain of reasoning in incontrovertible form4 ,if you have a general principle which is granted1 and have established the fact that your case certainly falls under it1 you can make an effective summing up by throwing the reasoning into the form of a syllogism4 ,conversely1 you can use a syllogism to bring out some essential part of the reasoning of an opponent which you know will not commend itself to the audience1 as did ,lincoln in his debate with ,douglas at ,galesburg4 ,douglas had defended the ,dred ,scott decision of the ,united ,states ,supreme ,court1 which decided that the right of property in a slave is affirmed by the ,united ,states ,constitution4 ,lincoln wished to make the consequences of this doctrine as glaringly evident as possible4 ,he did so as follows3 ,i think it follows1 and ,i submit to the consideration of men capable of arguing1 whether as ,i state it1 in syllogistic form1 the argument has any fault in it4 ,nothing in the ,constitution or laws of any ,state can destroy a right distinctly and expressly affirmed in the ,constitution of the ,united ,states4 ,the right of property in a slave is distinctly and expressly affirmed in the ,constitution of the ,united ,states4 ,therefore1 nothing in the ,constitution or laws of any ,state can destroy the right of property in a slave4 ,i believe that no fault can be pointed out in that argument2 assuming the truth of the premises1 the conclusion1 so far as ,i have capacity at all to understand it1 follows inevitably4#dc ,lincoln knew that this doctrine that no state could interfere with slavery would be intolerable to the people of ,illinois1 before whom he was carrying on his campaign2 and this syllogism made clear to them the consequences of the decision of the ,supreme ,court4 ,or you can use a syllogism to make obvious a flaw in the reasoning of your opponent1 as in the following example3 ,in view of the history of commission government in this country so far as it has been made1 the burden of proof rests with those who attempt to show that a government which has been so successful in cities of moderate size will not be successful in our largest cities4 ,the syllogism they are required to prove runs briefly thus3 ,commission government is acknowledged to have been successful in cities as large as one hundred and thirty thousand inhabitants1 but ,it has not been tried in cities containing more than one hundred and thirty thousand inhabitants2 ,therefore1 it will not be successful in cities of four hundred thousand or larger1 which is a reductio ad absurdum4 ,the folly of the attempt is shown by the very statement of the conclusion4#dd #dd4 ,the ,dilemma4 ,one special form of the syllogism is at times so strong an argument that it deserves special mention here1 namely1 the dilemma4 ,this is a syllogism in which the major premise consists of two or more hypothetical propositions 7that is1 propositions with an if clause7 and the minor of a disjunctive proposition 7a proposition with two or more clauses connected by or74 ,in the course of the ,lincoln-,douglas debate a question was put by ,lincoln to ,douglas1 as follows3 ,can the people of a ,united ,states territory in any lawful way1 against the wish of any citizens of the ,united ,states1 exclude slavery from its limits1 prior to the formation of a state constitution8 ,the question may be viewed as the source of a dilemma1 both in the practical and in the syllogistic sense of the term4 ,in fact it involved a situation which1 syllogistically1 comprised more than one dilemma4 ,they may be stated as follows3 ,i4 ,if ,douglas answers yes1 he offends the ,south1 and if he answers no1 he offends the ,north2 ,but he must answer either yes or no2 ,therefore he will offend either the ,south or the ,north4 ,,ii4 ,if ,douglas offends the ,south1 he loses the nomination for the ,presidency in the next convention2 and if he offends the ,north1 he loses the election to the ,united ,states ,senatorship 7and his chances for the ,presidency72 ,but he must offend either the ,south or the ,north2 ,therefore he loses either the ,presidency or the ,senatorship4 ,or1 ,,iii4 ,if ,douglas offends the ,south1 he cannot become ,president2 and if he offends the ,north1 he cannot become ,president2 ,but he must offend either the ,south or the ,north2 ,therefore he cannot become ,president4#de ,the dilemma1 if it leaves no hole for the other side to creep through1 is an extremely effective argument in politics and in competitive debate4 ,if you can thus get your adversary between the devil and the deep sea on a point that in the eyes of your audience is interesting and critical1 you have crippled his case4 ,but if the point is not momentous1 though your audience may find the dilemma amusing1 you run the risk of the reproach of smartness if you crow very loudly over it4 ,on the other hand1 a dilemma that is not exhaustive will hold no one4 ,many of the arguments against the imposition of a federal tax on corporations assumed that if the tax were imposed it would soon be made unreasonable in amount4 ,most arguments that the other side will abuse any power that is given to them may be regarded as falling into the class of incomplete dilemma4 ,a speaker who uses a leaky dilemma must have great confidence in the unintelligence of his audience1 but it is surprising to see how often such dilemmas occur in political debates4 #de4 ,reasoning from ,circumstantial ,evidence4 ,the third type of reasoning from similarity named on page #abj is reasoning from circumstantial evidence4 ,the term is familiar to every one from murder trials and detective stories4 ,webster's argument in the ,white ,murder ,case1 from which ,i print a short extract on page #aeg1 is a famous example of an argument on circumstantial evidence2 and in fiction ,sir ,conan ,doyle has created for our delectation many notable and ingenious cases of it4 ,but reasoning from circumstantial evidence is far from being confined to criminal cases and fiction2 as ,huxley points out 7see p4 #bda71 it is also the basis of some of the broadest and most illuminating generalizations of science2 and the example below from ,macaulay is only one of innumerable cases of its use in history4 ,reasoning from circumstantial evidence differs from reasoning from analogy or generalization in that it rests on similarities reaching out in a number of separate directions1 all of which1 however1 converge on the case in hand4 ,this convergence is pointed out by ,macaulay in the following admirable little argument on the authorship of the ,junius ,letters1 which were a series of pseudonymous and malignant attacks on the ,british government about #aggj3 ,was he ,francis the author of the ,letters of ,junius8 ,our own firm belief is that he was4 ,the evidence is1 we think1 such as would support a verdict in a civil1 nay1 in a criminal proceeding4 ,the handwriting of ,junius is the very peculiar handwriting of ,francis1 slightly disguised4 ,as to the position1 pursuits1 and connections of ,junius1 the following are the most important facts which can be considered as clearly proved3 first1 that he was acquainted with the technical forms of the secretary of state's office2 secondly1 that he was intimately acquainted with the business of the war office2 thirdly1 that he1 during the year #aggj1 attended debates in the ,house of ,lords1 and look notes of speeches1 particularly of the speeches of ,lord ,chatham2 fourthly1 that he bitterly resented the appointment of ,mr4 ,chamier to the place of deputy secretary-at-war2 fifthly1 that he was bound by some strong tie to the first ,lord ,holland4 ,now1 ,francis passed some years in the secretary of state's office4 ,he was subsequently chief clerk of the war office4 ,he repeatedly mentioned that he had himself1 in #aggj1 heard speeches of ,lord ,chatham2 and some of these speeches were actually printed from his notes4 ,he resigned his clerkship at the war office from resentment at the appointment of ,mr4 ,chamier4 ,it was by ,lord ,holland that he was first introduced into the public service4 ,now1 here are five marks all of which ought to be found in ,junius4 ,they are all five found in ,francis4 ,we do not believe that more than two of them can be found in any other person whatever4 ,if this agreement does not settle the question1 there is an end of all reasoning on circumstantial evidence4#df ,here the five points or marks of similarity between the writer of the letters and ,philip ,francis are of such diversity that it would be an extraordinary coincidence if there had happened to be two men whom they would fit3 where so many lines converge so closely at a single point it would hardly be possible for them to meet on more than one person4 ,the following brief extract from ,webster's argument in the ,white ,murder ,case shows the same sort of convergence of similarities3 each circumstance in itself is hardly strong enough to furnish ground for an argument on analogy1 but taken all together they point irresistibly in one direction1 namely1 to the fact of a conspiracy4 ,let me ask your attention1 then1 in the first place1 to those appearances1 on the morning after the murder1 which have a tendency to show that it was done in pursuance of a preconcerted plan of operation4 ,what are they8 ,a man was found murdered in his bed4 ,no stranger had done the deed1 no one unacquainted with the house had done it4 ,it was apparent that somebody within had opened1 and that somebody without had entered4 ,there had obviously and certainly been concert and cooperation4 ,the inmates of the house were not alarmed when the murder was perpetrated4 ,the assassin had entered without any riot or any violence4 ,he had found the way prepared before him4 ,the house had been previously opened4 ,the window was unbarred from within1 and its fastening unscrewed4 ,there was a lock on the door of the chamber in which ,mr4 ,white slept1 but the key was gone4 ,it had been taken away and secreted4 ,the footsteps of the murderer were visible1 outdoors1 tending toward the window4 ,the plank by which he entered the window still remained4 ,the road he pursued had thus been prepared for him4 ,the victim was slain1 and the murderer had escaped4 ,everything indicated that somebody within had cooperated with somebody without4 ,everything proclaimed that some of the inmates1 or somebody having access to the house1 had had a hand in the murder4 ,on the face of the circumstances1 it was apparent1 therefore1 that this was a premeditated1 concerted murder2 that there had been a conspiracy to commit it4#dg ,the strength of reasoning from circumstantial evidence lies in the number and the diversity of the points of similarity to the point in hand4 ,if there are few of them1 the possibility of coincidence increases1 as it also does when the points of similarity come from the same source or are of the same nature4 ,this possibility of coincidence is a good rough test of the value of reasoning from circumstantial evidence3 where the theory of a coincidence would stretch all probabilities one may safely leave it out of account4 ,in practice the argument from circumstantial evidence is more frequent in the experience of lawyers than in that of other men2 but sooner or later everybody has to pass on such reasoning1 for wherever direct evidence is out of the question it may be necessary to piece the situation together by circumstantial evidence4 ,there is some prejudice against such evidence1 springing from reported cases of miscarriage of justice in convictions based on it4 ,such cases1 however1 are very rare in reality1 and probably do not equal in number the cases in which mistaken or false direct testimony has caused injustice4 #df4 ,some ,pitfalls of ,reasoning--,ambiguity4 ,i have already spoken of some of the dangers to which reasoning is subject--false analogy1 faulty generalization of various kinds1 and various sins against the rules of the syllogism4 ,there are still a few general dangers to speak about4 ,it should be noted that the various kinds of fallacies run into each other1 and not infrequently a given piece of bad reasoning can be described under more than one of them4 ,of all the sources of faulty and misleading reasoning1 ambiguity is the most fruitful and the most inclusive4 ,it springs from the facts that words1 except those which are almost technically specific1 are constantly used in more than one sense1 and that a great many of the words which we use in everyday life are essentially vague in meaning4 ,such common words as liberty1 right1 gentleman1 better1 classic1 honor1 and innumerable others each need a treatise for any thorough definition2 and then the definition1 if complete1 would be largely a tabulation of perfectly proper senses in which the words can be used1 or a list of the ways in which different people have used them4 ,besides this notorious vagueness of many common words1 a good many words1 as ,i have already shown 7p4 #ed71 have two or more distinct and definable meanings4 ,strictly speaking1 the ambiguity does not inhere in the word itself1 but rather in its use in an assertion1 since ambiguity can arise only when we are making an assertion4 ,it has been defined as the neglect of distinctions in the meaning of terms1 when these distinctions are important for the given occasion4#dh ,suppose1 for example1 you are arguing against a certain improvement in a college dormitory1 on the ground that it makes for luxury3 clearly luxury is a word that may mean one thing to you1 and another to half of your audience4 ,by itself it is an indefinite word1 except in its emotional implication2 and its meaning varies with the people concerning whom it is used1 since what would be luxury for a boy brought up on a farm would be bare comfort to the son of wealthy parents in the city4 ,indeed the advances of plumbing in the last generation have completely changed the relative meanings of the words comfort and luxury so far as they concern bathrooms and bathtubs4 ,in the case of such a word1 then1 the weight of the definition above falls on the last clause1 when these distinctions are important for the given occasion2 here is a case where the occasion on which the word luxury is used determines nearly the whole of its meaning4 ,in practice1 if you have a suspicion that a word may be taken in another sense than that you intend1 the first thing to do is to define it--to lay down as exactly as possible the cases which it is intended to cover on the present occasion1 and the meaning it is to have in those cases4 ,for good examples of this enlightened caution1 see the definitions on pages #ed-fe1 especially that from ,bagchot4 ,a similar difficulty arises with the words which1 in the somewhat slipshod use of everyday life1 have come to have as it were a sliding value4 ,we may raise no difficulty about understanding the assertions that ,brown1 and ,jones1 and ,robinson are honest1 but when we come to the case of ,smith we discover a difficulty in placing him clearly on either side of the line4 ,that difficulty is nothing less than the difficulty of knowing the meaning given to the word in this particular assertion4 ,we might1 for instance1 agree to mean by ,smith's honesty that no shady transactions could be legally proved against him1 or that he is honest according to his lights1 or again that he is about as honest as the majority of his neighbors or the average of his trade or profession4#di ,that this is not a fanciful case can be shown by noticing how often we speak of transparent honesty1 or of absolute honesty3 this is notably one of the words for which we have a sliding scale of values1 which vary considerably with the age and the community4 ,political honesty has a very different meaning in the ,england of to-day from that which it had in the eighteenth century4 ,to get at the exact meaning of honesty1 then1 either for ,mr4 ,sidgwick's ,brown1 ,jones1 ,robinson1 and ,smith1 or for ,mr4 ,asquith and ,mr4 ,balfour as compared with ,walpole or ,pitt1 we need a good deal more than a dictionary definition4 ,what has already been said 7p4 #fe7 on the use of the history of the case to get a preliminary understanding of the question which is to be argued1 and the terms to be used in it1 applies all through the reasoning involved in the argument4 ,scrutinize all the terms you use yourself1 as well as those used in arguments on the other side4 ,i have already pointed out the ambiguity there is in the emotional implications of words2 but the danger from it is so subtle and so besetting that it will be worth while to dwell on it again4 ,there are many cases in which there is no doubt as to the denotation of the word1--the cases which it is intended to name1--but in which the two sides to a controversy use the word with a totally different effect on their own and other people's feelings4 ,before the ,civil ,war pretty much the whole ,south had come to use the word slavery as implying one of the settled institutions of the country1 more or less sanctified by divine ordinance2 at the same time a large portion of the ,north had come to look on it as an abomination to the ,lord4 ,here there was no doubt as to the denotation of the word2 but in a highly important respect it was ambiguous1 because it implied a totally different reaction among the people who used it4 ,in a case where the contrast is so glaring there is little danger of confusion2 but there are a good many cases where a word may have very different effects on the feelings of an audience without the fact coming very clearly to the surface4 ,liberal is to most ,americans a term implying praise1 so far as it goes2 to ,cardinal ,newman it implied what were to him the irreverent and dangerous heresies of free thought1 and therefore in his mouth it was a word of condemnation4#ej ,aesthetic to many good people has an implication of effeminacy and of trifling which is far from praiseworthy2 to artists and critics it may sum up what is most admirable in civilization4 ,if in an argument on abolishing football as an intercollegiate sport you describe a certain game as played with spirit and fierceness1 football players would think of it as a good game1 but opponents of football would hold that such a description justified them in classing the game with prize fighting4 ,when one of the terms you use may thus stir one part of your audience in one way1 and the other part in just the opposite way1 you are dealing with an uncomfortable kind of ambiguity4 ,it is easy to get into the way of thinking that the denotation of a word--the things which it names--is the only part of its meaning that counts2 but with many words the connotation--,i use the word in the rhetorical rather than in the logical sense1 to include its implications1 associations1 and general emotional coloring--has more effect on human nature4 ,there is a good deal of difference between telling a man that his assertion is incorrect1 untrue1 or false2 if you use the last and he is at all choleric you may bring on an explosion4 ,in argument1 where you are aiming to persuade as well as to convince1 the question of the feelings of your audience and how they will be affected by the terms you use is obviously of great importance4 ,and if you are using such terms as gentleman1 political honesty1 socialist1 coeducation1 you must not forget that such words have a definite emotional connotation1 which will vary largely with the reader4 #dg4 ,begging the ,question4 ,the fallacy of begging the question consists of assuming as true something that the other side would not admit4 ,it is especially insidious in the condensed arguments of which ,i spoke a few pages back4 ,a common form of the fallacy consists of slipping in an epithet which quietly takes for granted one's own view of the question1 or of using some expression that assumes one's own view as correct4 ,for example1 in an argument for a change in a city government1 to declare that all intelligent citizens favor it would be begging the question4 ,in an argument for the protection of crows1 to begin1 ,few people know how many of these useful birds are killed each year1 would be to beg the question1 since the argument turns on whether crows are useful or not4 ,a gross and uncivil form of this fallacy is to use opprobrious epithets in describing persons who take the other view1 as in the following sentence from an article in a magazine on the question of examinations for entrance to college3 ,as for interest and variety1 what could destroy and taboo both more effectually than the rigid and rigorous demands of a formal set of examinations prepared1 as a rule1 by pedantic specialists who know practically nothing of the fundamental problems and needs of the high school4 ,begging the question is often committed in the course of defining terms1 as in the following passage from ,cardinal ,newman's ,idea of a ,university3 ,it is the fashion just now1 as you very well know1 to erect so-called ,universities1 without making any provision in them at all for ,theological chairs4 ,institutions of this kind exist both here ,ireland and in ,england4 ,such a procedure1 though defended by writers of the generation just passed with much plausible argument and not a little wit1 seems to me an intellectual absurdity2 and my reason ,for saying so runs1 with whatever abruptness1 into the form of a syllogism3--,a ,university1 ,i should lay down1 by its very name professes to teach universal knowledge2 ,theology is surely a branch of knowledge2 how then is it possible for it to profess all branches of knowledge1 and yet to exclude from the subjects of its teaching one which1 to say the least1 is as important and as large as any of them8 ,i do not see that either premise of this argument is open to exception4#ea ,the obvious answer is that university is a vague term and that there may be many kinds of universities1 as indeed there are in this country2 moreover1 the importance of theology is an arguable matter even among church members4 ,a well-recognized1 but often subtle1 form of begging the question is what is known as arguing in a circle4 ,usually the fallacy is so wrapped up in verbiage that it is hard to pick out4 ,here is a clear and well-put detection of a case of it3 ,there is an argument in favor of child labor so un-,american and so inhuman that ,i am almost ashamed to quote it1 and yet it has been used1 and ,i fear it is secretly in the minds of some who would not openly stand for it4 ,a manufacturer standing near the furnace of a glasshouse and pointing to a procession of young ,slav boys who were carrying the glass on trays1 remarked1 ,look at their faces1 and you will see that it is idle to take them from the glasshouse in order to give them an education3 they are what they are1 and will always remain what they are4 ,he meant that there are some human beings--and these ,slavs of the number--who are mentally irredeemable1 so fast asleep intellectually that they cannot be awakened2 designed by nature1 therefore1 to be hewers of wood and drawers of water4 ,this cruel and wicked thing was said of ,slavs2 it is the same thing which has been said from time immemorial by the slave owners of their slaves4 ,first they degrade human beings by denying them the opportunity to develop their better nature3 no schools1 no teaching1 no freedom1 no outlook2 and then1 as if in mockery1 they point to the degraded condition of their victims as a reason why they should never be allowed to escape from it4#eb ,in a diffuse and disorderly argument there is always a chance to find some begging of the question which may consist either of getting back to an assumption of the original proposition and so arguing in a circle1 or of simply assuming that what has been asserted has been proved4 ,the fallacy of the invented example1 in which a fictitious case is described as an illustration1 and presently assumed as a real case1 is a not uncommon form of begging the question4 #dh4 ,ignoring the ,question4 ,this is a closely allied error in reasoning that is apt to be due to the same kind of confused and woolly thinking4 ,it consists in slipping away from the question in debate and arguing vigorously at something else4 ,a famous exposure of the fallacy is ,macaulay's denunciation of the arguments in favor of ,charles ,i3 ,the advocates of ,charles1 like the advocates of other malefactors against whom overwhelming evidence is produced1 generally decline all controversy about the facts1 and content themselves with calling testimony as to character4 ,he had so many private virtues6 ,and had ,james the ,second no private virtues8 ,was ,oliver ,cromwell1 his bitterest enemies themselves being judges1 destitute of private virtues8 ,and what1 after all1 are the virtues ascribed to ,charles8 ,a religious zeal1 not more sincere than that of his son1 and fully as weak and narrow-minded1 and a few of the ordinary household decencies which half the tombstones in ,england claim for those who lie beneath them4 ,a good father6 ,a good husband6 ,ample apologies indeed for fifteen years of persecution1 tyranny1 and falsehood6 ,we charge him with having broken his coronation oath2 and we are told that he kept his marriage vow6 ,we accuse him of having given up his people to the merciless inflictions of the most hot-headed and hard-hearted of prelates2 and the defense is1 that he took his little son on his knee and kissed him6 ,we censure him for having violated the articles of the ,petition of ,right1 after having1 for good and valuable consideration1 promised to observe them2 and we are informed that he was accustomed to hear prayers at six o'clock in the morning6 ,it is to such considerations as these1 together with his ,vandyke dress1 his handsome face1 and his peaked beard1 that he owes1 we verily believe1 most of his popularity with the present generation4#ec ,in an argument for woman suffrage on the ground that suffrage is a right which ought not to be denied1 it would be ignoring the question merely to enumerate the various ways in which the responsibility of a vote might help to better the condition of women4 ,to ignore the question by trying to lead the public off on a false scent is a constant device of officials who are accused of misconduct4 ,a ,united ,states senator whose election had been questioned gave in his defense a full and harrowing account of the struggles of his boyhood4 ,a board of assessors who had been charged with incompetence ended their defense1 in which they had taken no notice of the charges1 as follows3 ,criticism of the ,board of ,assessors comes with poor grace from those whose endeavors for the common good are confined to academic essays on good government4 ,it savors too much of the adroit pickpocket1 who1 finding himself hard pressed1 joins in the chase1 shouting as lustily as any of the unthinking rabble1 ,stop1 thief6 ,the curious thing is that this trick of crossing the scent does lead so many people off the trail4 ,the so-called argumentum ad hominem and the argumentum ad populum are special cases of ignoring the question3 they consist of appeals to the feelings or special interests of the reader or the audience which run away from the question at issue4 ,they are not uncommon in stump speeches1 and in other arguments whose chief purpose is to arouse enthusiasm4 ,an argument on the tariff1 for example1 sometimes runs off into appeals to save this grand country from ruin or from the trusts or from some other fate which the speaker pictures as hanging over an innocent and plain people4 ,an argument for the restoration of the classical system of education which should run off into eulogies of the good old times might easily become an argumentum ad populum2 an argument in favor of a new park which should dwell on selfish advantages which might be gained by the abutters without regard to larger municipal policy would probably be an argumentum ad hominem4 ,obviously these two forms of shifting the issue trench closely on the element of persuasion in an argument1 and in making the distinction you must apply common sense4 ,your adversary may reprove you for an argumentum ad hominem or ad populum1 when you believe that you are keeping well within the bounds of legitimate persuasion2 but in general it is safe to guard your self-respect by drawing a broad line between dodging and unworthy appeals to prejudice and justifiable appeals to feeling and personal interest4 ,,exercises #a4 ,name a question of policy which would be settled by the establishment of some controverted fact4 #b4 ,find in the daily papers an account of a trial in which evidence was declared inadmissible under the rules of law which would have been taken into account by the average man outside the court in making up his own mind4 #c4 ,name three questions in which the evidence would be affected by temperamental and other prepossessions of the witness4 #d4 ,name a scientific question in which some important fact is established by reasoning from other facts4 #e4 ,cite a case1 either from real life or from fiction1 in which a fact was established by circumstantial evidence2 analyze the evidence and show how it rests on reasoning from similarity4 #f4 ,give a case in which what you believed to be direct observation of a fact deceived you4 #g4 ,give an example from your own experience within a week where vague authorities have been cited as direct evidence4 #h4 ,what would you think of the writer of the following sentences as a witness to the numbers and importance of the participants in the woman suffrage procession he is reporting8 ,fifth ,avenue has seldom1 if ever1 been more crowded than on ,saturday afternoon1 and never anywhere have ,i seen so many women among the spectators of a passing pageant4 ,throngs1 many tiers deep1 flanked the line of march1 and these throngs were overwhelmingly composed of women4 ,as ,i passed from block to block ,i could not get away from the thought that the vastest number of these were sick of heart and ashamed that they1 too1 were not in line behind the kilted band that headed the procession1 the historic symbolic floats1 and the inscribed banners1 along with their three thousand or more sisters4 ,here were women1 fighting a good fight for the cause of women--for the underpaid factory workers and the overfed lady of fortune who is deprived the right of voice in the government over her inherited property4 7,report in a daily paper1 ,may #h1 #aiaa7 #i4 ,find an example of historical evidence in a case where there are no direct witnesses to the fact2 discuss it according to ,s4 ,r4 ,gardiner's tests 7p4 #ajc74 #aj4 ,find two examples from the daily papers where statistics are used to establish a complex fact4 #aa4 ,name two subjects on which you could gather statistics1 and the sources from which you would draw them4 #ab4 ,bring to class the testimony of a recognized authority on some complex fact1 and explain why his testimony carries weight4 #ac4 ,name a subject on which you can speak with authority1 and explain why your testimony on that subject should carry weight4 #ad4 ,give an example from your own experience of a case in which it is hard to distinguish between direct and indirect evidence4 #ae4 ,find in the daily papers or current magazines an argument based on reasoning by analogy2 one based on reasoning by generalization2 one based on circumstantial evidence2 explain the character of each4 #af4 ,find an example of an argument based on reasoning from a causal relation4 #ag4 ,find an example of an argument from enumeration of like cases which might be easily upset4 #ah4 ,in the proposition1 ,a gentleman ought not to become a professional baseball player1 what meaning could be given to the word gentleman8 #ai4 ,distinguish between the meanings of law in the phrases moral law1 natural law1 and law of the land4 #bj4 ,what different meanings would the word comfort have had in the days of your grandfather1 as compared with the present day8 #ba4 ,give1 two examples of words with sliding meanings4 #bb4 ,give two examples of words whose denotation is fixed1 but whose connotation or emotional implications would be different with different people4 #bc4 ,find an example of false analogy4 #bd4 ,criticize the reasoning in the following extract from a letter to a newspaper urging ,republican and ,democratic tickets at the municipal election in a small city in the country4 ,it is an acknowledged fact that competition in the business life of our city is beneficial to the consumer4 ,if that be so1 why will not competition in city affairs bring equally good results to the taxpayer8 #be4 ,give an example you have recently heard of hasty generalization2 explain its weakness4 #bf4 ,give an example of your own of the post hoc fallacy4 #bg4 ,give an example of false reasoning based on assuming a complex fact to be simple4 #bh4 ,criticize the reasoning in the following extracts3 a4 ,dispatch to a daily paper4 ,haverhill1 ,march #cj1 #aiaa4 ,opponents of commission form of government are deriving no little satisfaction from the development of testimony borne out by figures taken from the auditing department of the city of ,haverhill that this method of administering municipal affairs has proved thus far to be a costly experiment there4444 ,the total amount of bonds issued during the past twenty-seven months1 covering the period of operation of commission form of government1 was #egf1jjj2 the present borrowing capacity of the city is only approximately #ce1jjj2 that the city's bonded debt has increased from #dda1bfd to #a1aha1cad in the past five years2 the net bonded debt has more than doubled within three years2 that the assessed valuation has increased #e1jjj1jjj2 and the tax rate has been raised from #ag4dj to #ai in five years4 ,the borrowing capacity of #cda1fif on ,january #a1 #aijf1 has decreased to #ie1jjj on ,january #a1 #aiaa4444 ,commission form of government went into effect in ,haverhill on the first ,monday in ,january1 #aiji4 b4 ,from an article in a magazine1 opposing the plan of the postmaster-general to increase the postage on the advertising sections of magazines3 consider especially the word censorship3 ,we see two grave objections to the postmaster-general's plan4 ,first1 it requires a censorship to determine what periodicals are magazines whose advertising pages are to be taxed1 and what are the educational and religious periodicals which are to continue to enjoy what the ,president calls a subsidy4 ,such a censorship would be a new feature in postal administration1 and it would seem to be a thing very difficult to work out on any fair basis4 #bi4 ,in a newspaper report of an inquiry made by the director of the ,columbia ,university gymnasium into the effects of smoking1 the following sentences occur3 ,in scholarship the nonsmokers had the distinct advantage4 ,the smokers averaged eighty per cent in their studies at entrance1 sixty-two per cent during the first two years1 and seven per cent of failure4 ,the nonsmokers got ninety-one per cent in their entrance examinations and sixty-nine per cent in their first two years in college1 while only four per cent were failures4 ,in this respect ,dr4 ,meylan thinks there is a distinct relation between smoking and scholarship4 ,of the same set of students forty-seven per cent of the smokers won places on varsity athletic teams1 while only thirty-seven per cent of the nonsmokers could get places4 ,if the next to the last sentence had read1 ,smoking therefore seems to be a cause of low scholarship1 what should you think of the reasoning8 #cj4 ,criticize the reasoning in the following portion of an argument for prohibition3 ,dr4 ,williams says1 ,we find no evidence that the prohibition laws have in the past been effective in diminishing the consumption of alcoholic beverages4 444 ,the absence of logic in ,dr4 ,williams's conclusion will be readily seen by substituting the homicide evil and the greed evil for the liquor evil in his argument4 ,since its establishment the ,united ,states has sought to remedy with prohibition the homicide evil4 ,every state has laws with severe penalties prohibiting murder4 ,and yet the number of homicides in the ,united ,states has steadily increased until the number in #aiaj was eight thousand nine hundred and seventy-five4 ,since1 then1 homicides have steadily increased during the past hundred years under a law with severe penalties prohibiting them1 a prohibitory law has not been and cannot be a remedy for homicide4 #ca4 ,criticize the reasoning in the following extract from an argument for the electrification of the terminal part of a railroad3 ,it is true that locomotive smoke and gas do not kill people outright2 but that their influence though not immediately measurable is to shorten life cannot1 ,i submit1 be successfully combated4444 ,a few years ago ,i made some calculations based on the records of ten years' operation of the railroads in this state1 and found that if a man should spend his whole time day and night riding in railroad trains at an average rate of thirty miles an hour1 and if he had average good luck1 he would not be killed by accident1 without his fault1 oftener than once in fifteen hundred years1 and that he would not receive any injury of sufficient importance to be reported oftener than once in five hundred years4 ,i ask you to estimate how long a man would1 in your opinion1 live if he were obliged continuously day and night to breathe the air of our stations without any opportunity to relieve his lungs by a breath of purer and better air4 #cb4 ,give an example in which you yourself have used the method of agreement in arriving at a conclusion in the last week4 #cc4 ,give an example1 from one of your studies1 of the use of the method of agreement4 #cd4 ,give an example1 which has recently come to your notice1 of the use of the method of difference4 #cf4 ,criticize the following syllogisms1 giving your reasons for thinking them sound or not3 a4 ,all rich men should be charitable with their wealth2 ,charitable men forgive their enemies2 ,therefore all rich men should forgive their enemies4 b4 ,every man who plays baseball well has a good eye and quick judgment2 ,every good tennis player has a good eye and a quick judgment2 ,therefore every good tennis player is a good baseball player4 c4 ,whenever you find a man who drinks hard you find1 a man who is unreliable2 ,our coachman does not drink hard2 ,therefore he is reliable4 d4 ,all the steamships which cross the ocean in the quickest time are comfortable2 ,this steamship is slow2 ,therefore she is not comfortable4 e4 ,all dogs who bark constantly are not bad-tempered2 ,this dog does not bark constantly2 ,therefore he is not bad-tempered4 f4 ,all cold can be expelled by heat2 ,john's illness is a cold2 ,therefore it can be expelled by heat4 7,from ,minto7 g4 ,the use of ardent spirits should be prohibited by law1 seeing that it causes misery and crime1 which it is one of the chief ends of law to prevent4 7,from ,bode7 h4 ,rational beings are accountable for their actions2 brutes not being rational1 are therefore exempt from responsibility4 7,from ,jevons7 #cf4 ,expand the following arguments into syllogisms and criticize their soundness3 a4 ,the snow will turn to rain1 because it is getting warmer4 b4 ,the boy has done well in his examination1 for he came out looking cheerful4 c4 ,we had an economical government last year1 therefore the tax rate will be reduced4 d4 ,lee will be a good mayor1 for men who have energy and good judgment can do incalculable good to their fellow citizens4 e4 ,there is unshaken evidence that every member of the board of aldermen received a bribe1 and ,george ,o4 ,carter was a member of that board4 f4 ,the candidate for stroke on the freshman crew came from ,santos ,school1 therefore he must be a good oarsman4 #cg4 ,criticize the reasoning in the following arguments1 pointing out whether they are sound or unsound1 and why3 a4 ,it costs a ,nebraska farmer twenty cents to raise a bushel of corn4 ,when corn gets down to twenty cents he cannot buy anything1 and he cannot pay more than twelve or fifteen dollars a month for help4 ,when it gets up to thirty-five cents the farmer gives his children the best education possible1 and buys an automobile4 ,therefore the farmer will be ruined if the tariff on corn is not raised4 b4 ,for many years the ,democratic platforms have declared explicitly or implicitly against the duties on sugar2 if the ,democrats should come into power and reduce the duties1 they would lose their strength in the states producing cane sugar and beet sugar2 if they do not reduce the duty1 they admit that their platforms have been insincere4 7,condensed from an editorial in a newspaper4 ,march1 #aiaa7 c4 ,i hardly need say that ,i am opposed to any such system as that of ,galveston1 or to call it by its broader name1 the commission system4 ,it is but another name for despotism4 ,louis ,,xiv was a commissioner for executing the duties of governing ,france4 ,philip ,,ii was the same in ,spain4 ,the ,decemvirs and ,triumvirs of ,rome were but the same sort of thing1 as was also the ,directory in ,france4 ,they all came to the same end4 ,says ,madison1 in ,no4 ,,xlvii of ,the ,federalist3 ,the accumulation of all powers1 legislative and judiciary1 in the same hands1 whether of one1 a few1 or many1 and whether hereditary1 self-appointed1 or elective1 may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny4 ,mr4 justice ,story said1 ,whenever these departments are all vested in one person or body of men1 the government is in fact a despotism1 by whatever name it be called1 whether a monarchy1 an aristocracy1 or a democracy4 d4 ,the procedure of ,berlin has in it an element of fairness worthy of our consideration2 those representing large property interests have a surety of being at least represented4 ,some such system must be devised if the holding of properly at all be regarded as moral and necessary to our civilization4 ,remember that you are1 in a large sense1 but a chartered joint-stock corporation4 ,can you imagine the control of any other joint-stock corporation delivered over to those who have no stock or the least stock in it8 ,can you imagine the ,new ,york ,new ,haven ,railroad1 for example1 controlled by the passengers1 to the exclusion of the stock holders8 ,now this1 to a very great degree1 is what has happened in many of our cities4 ,we have deprived the true stockholders1 in some cases1 of any representation whatever4 ,i thus hold that to give property some voice in the control of a municipal corporation is but sense and justice4 e4 ,we have tried commissions in ,buffalo in branches of our city government4 ,they have tried them in nearly every city in this country4 ,we have governed our police by commissions1 our parks by commissions1 our public works by commissions4 ,commission government was for many years a fad in this country1 and it has become discredited1 so that of late we have been doing away with commissions and coming to single heads for departments having executive functions and some minor legislative functions1 such as park boards1 and police boards1 and have been trying to concentrate responsibility in that way4 ,in ,erie ,county and throughout ,new ,york a commission elected by the people governs our counties4 ,the board of supervisors is a commission government4 ,it has never been creditable--always bad1 even as compared with our city governments4 ,to be sure1 it is not just that kind of commission government4 ,it is a larger commission2 it is not elected at large1 but by districts1 but it is an attempt at the same thing4 ,so ,i say there is nothing new about this idea of government by a commission4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,the ,,argument ,,written ,,out #di4 ,the ,brief and the ,argument4 ,if your brief is thoroughly worked out1 and based on a careful canvass of the evidence1 the work on your argument ought to be at least two thirds over4 ,the last third1 however1 is not to be slighted1 for on it will largely depend your practical results in moving your readers4 ,even a legal argument rarely goes to the court on a written brief alone2 and the average reader will never put himself to the effort of reading through and grasping such a brief as we have been planning here4 ,furthermore1 if your complete argument is merely a copying out of the brief into consecutive sentences and paragraphs1 you will get few readers4 ,the making of the brief merely completes what may be called the architectural part of your labors2 the writing of an argument will use all the skill you have in the choice of words and putting them together4 ,we saw in ,chapter ,i that argument has two kinds of appeal to its reader3 on the one hand1 through its power of convincing it appeals to his reason2 on the other1 through its persuasive power it appeals to his feelings and his moral and practical interests4 ,of these two kinds of appeal the convincing power is largely determined by the thoroughness of the analysis and the efficiency of the arrangement1 and therefore in large part hangs on the work done in making the brief2 the persuasive power1 on the other hand1 though in part dependent on the line of attack laid out in the brief and the choice of points to argue1 is far more dependent on the filling in of the argument in the finished form4 ,even the severest scientific argument1 however1 is much more than the bare summary of the line of thought which would be found in a brief2 and in an argument like the speeches in most political campaigns a brief of the thought would leave out most of the argument4 ,wherever you have to stir men up to do things you have only begun when you have convinced their reason4 #ej4 ,the ,introduction of the ,argument4 ,much depends on the first part of your argument1 the introduction4 ,its length varies greatly1 and it may differ largely in other ways from the introduction to your brief4 ,if the people you are trying to convince are familiar with the subject1 you will need little introduction2 a brief but clear statement of fundamentals will serve the purpose4 ,for such an audience it is chiefly important to make the issues stand out1 so that they shall see perfectly distinctly the exact points on which the question turns4 ,then the sooner you are at work on the business of convincing them1 the better4 ,in such arguments the introduction will perhaps not differ greatly in substance from the introduction to the brief1 though it must be reduced to consecutive and agreeable form4 ,at the other extreme is such an argument as that of ,huxley's 7p4 #bcc71 where he had to prepare the way very carefully lest the prejudice against a revolutionary and unfamiliar view of the animate world should close the minds of his hearers against him before he was really started4 ,accordingly1 before getting through with his introduction he expounded not only the three hypotheses between which the choice must be made1 but also the law of the uniformity of nature and the principles and nature of circumstantial evidence4 ,where one shall stop between these two extremes is a question to be decided in the individual argument4 ,one thing1 however1 it is almost always wise to do2 indeed1 one would not go far wrong in prescribing it as a general rule3 that is1 to state with almost bald explicitness just how many main issues there are1 and what they are4 ,in writing an argument it is always safe to assume that most of your readers will be careless readers4 ,few people have the gift of reading closely and accurately1 and of carrying what they have read with any distinctness4 ,therefore make it easy for your readers to pick up and to carry your points4 ,if you tell them that you are going to make three points or five1 they are much more likely to remember those three or five points than if they have to pick them out for themselves as they go along4 ,huxley1 perhaps the ablest writer of scientific argument in the language1 constantly practiced this device4 ,in his great argument on evolution1 he says 7see p4 #bce73 ,so far as ,i know1 there are only three hypotheses which ever have been entertained1 or which well can be entertained1 respecting the past history of nature2 and then1 as will be seen1 he takes up each in turn1 with the numbering first1 second1 and third4 ,in the same way in his essay ,the ,physical ,basis of ,life he says1 not far from the beginning1 ,i propose to demonstrate to you that1 notwithstanding these apparent difficulties1 a threefold unity--namely1 a unity of power or faculty1 a unity of form1 and a unity of substantial composition--does pervade the whole living world4 ,burke1 in his great speech ,on ,conciliation with ,america1 said1 ,the capital leading questions on which you must this day decide are two3 first1 whether you ought to concede2 and secondly1 what your concession ought to be4 ,it is hardly too much to say that those writers whose sense of style is most developed are most likely to state the issues with the baldest and most direct precision4 ,the statement of the issues will bring out the importance of closely limiting the number of main issues4 ,there are few subjects of argument which do not conceivably touch the interests and beliefs of their audiences in many directions2 but out of these aspects some obviously count far more than others4 ,if in your introduction you try to state all these issues1 small and great1 you will surely leave confusion behind you4 ,very few people are capable of carrying more than three or four issues distinctly enough to affect their judgment of the whole case2 and even of these some will not take the trouble to do so4 ,if you can simmer down the case to one or two or three critical points1 you are making a good start toward winning over the minds of your readers4 ,a good statement of the history of the case is apt to be a useful and valuable part of an introduction1 especially for arguments dealing with public policies4 ,if you remind readers of what the facts have been1 you can more easily make clear to them the present situation from which you make your start4 ,an argument for raising or lowering the tariff on some article would be apt to recount the history of the tariff so far as it concerned that article1 and the progress in importing it and manufacturing it within the country4 ,in writing out the argument from the brief on page #ij one would almost inevitably include the recent history of the city government4 ,in general it is best to make this preliminary statement of the history of the case scrupulously and explicitly impartial4 ,an audience is likely to resent any appearance of twisting the facts to suit the case2 and if on their face they bear against your contentions1 it is wiser to prepare for your argument in some other way4 ,there are more ways of beginning an argument than by a statement of facts2 and resource in the presentation of a case goes a long way toward winning it4 ,it is often wise to state your definitions with care1 especially of terms which are at the bottom of your whole case4 ,the definition from ,bagchot on page #eh is a good example4 ,here is the beginning of an address by ,president ,eliot1 in #ahif1 on ,a ,wider ,range of ,electives in ,college ,admission ,requirements3 ,as usual1 it is necessary to define the subject a little4 ,a wider range of electives in college admission requirements4 ,what field are we thinking of when we state this subject8 ,if we mean the ,united ,states1 the range of electives is already very large4 ,take1 for example1 the requirements for admission to the ,leland ,stanford ,university4 ,twenty subjects are named1 of very different character and extent1 and the candidate may present any ten out of the twenty4 ,botany counts just as much as ,latin4 ,there is a wide range of options at admission to the ,university of ,michigan1 with its numerous courses leading to numerous degrees2 that is1 there is a wide range of subjects permissible to a candidate who is thinking of presenting himself for some one of its many degrees4 ,if we look nearer home1 we find in so conservative an institution as ,dartmouth ,college that there are three different degrees offered1 with three different assortments of admission requirements1 and three different courses within the college4 ,i noticed that at the last commencement there were forty-one degrees of the old-fashioned sort and twenty-seven degrees of the newer sorts given by ,dartmouth ,college4 ,here in ,harvard we have had for many years a considerable range of electives in the admission examinations1 particularly in what we call the advanced requirements4 ,we therefore need to limit our subject a little by saying that we are thinking of a wider range of admission electives in the ,eastern and ,middle ,state colleges1 the range of electives farther west being already large in many cases4#ed ,professor ,william ,james1 in his essay ,the ,will to ,believe1 in which he argues that it is both right and unavoidable that our feelings shall take part in the making of our faiths1 begins with a careful definition and illustration of certain terms he is going to use constantly4 ,next1 let us call the decision between two hypotheses an option4 ,options may be of several kinds4 ,they may be 7#a7 living or dead2 7#b7 forced or avoidable2 7#c7 momentous or trivial2 and for our purposes we may call an option a genuine option when it is of the forced1 living1 and momentous kind4 #a4 ,a living option is one in which both hypotheses are live ones4 ,if ,i say to you1 ,be a theosophist or be a ,mohammedan1 it is probably a dead option1 because for you neither hypothesis is likely to be alive4 ,but if ,i say1 ,be an agnostic or be a ,christian1 it is otherwise3 trained as you are1 each hypothesis makes some appeal1 however small1 to your belief4 #b4 ,next1 if ,i say to you1 ,choose between going out with your umbrella or without it1 ,i do not offer you a genuine option1 for it is not forced4 ,you can easily avoid it by not going out at all4 ,similarly1 if ,i say3 ,either love me or hate me1 ,either call my theory true or call it false1 your option is avoidable4 ,you may remain indifferent to me1 neither loving nor hating1 and you may decline to offer any judgment as to my theory4 ,but if ,i say1 ,either accept this truth or go without it1 ,i put you on a forced option1 for there is no standing place outside of the alternative4 ,every dilemma based on a complete logical disjunction1 with no possibility of not choosing1 is an option of this forced kind4 #c4 ,finally1 if ,i were ,dr4 ,nansen and proposed to you to join my ,north ,pole expedition1 your option would be momentous2 for this would probably be your only similar opportunity1 and your choice now would either exclude you from the ,north ,pole sort of immortality altogether or put at least the chance of it into your hands4 ,he who refuses to embrace a unique opportunity loses the prize as surely as if he tried and failed4 ,per contra the option is trivial when the opportunity is not unique1 when the stake is insignificant1 or when the decision is reversible if it later prove unwise4 ,such trivial options abound in the scientific life4 ,a chemist finds an hypothesis live enough to spend a year in its verification3 he believes in it to that extent4 ,but if his experiments prove inconclusive either way1 he is quit for his loss of time1 no vital harm being done4 ,it will facilitate our discussion if we keep all these distinctions well in mind4#ee ,in some arguments the working out of the definitions of a few principal terms may occupy much space4 ,matthew ,arnold1 a famous critic of the last generation1 wrote as an introduction to a volume of selections from ,wordsworth's poems an essay with the thesis that ,wordsworth is1 after ,shakespeare and ,milton1 the greatest poet who has written in ,english2 and to establish his point he laid down the definition that poetry is at bottom a criticism of life2 that the greatness of a poet lies in his powerful and beautiful application of ideas to life--to the question1 ,how to live4 ,to the development of this definition he gave several pages1 for the success of his main argument lay in inducing his readers to accept it4 ,many legal arguments are wholly concerned with establishing definitions1 especially in those cases which deal with statute law4 ,the recent decisions of the ,supreme ,court of the ,united ,states in the ,corporation ,tax cases and the ,standard ,oil ,case are examples3 in each of these what was at issue was the exact meaning of the words used in certain statutes passed by ,congress4 ,in the common law1 too1 there are many phrases which have come down from past centuries1 the meanings of which have been defined again and again as new cases came up4 ,we have seen 7p4 #fc7 how careful definition the word murder may need4 ,malice aforethought is another familiar instance3 it sounds simple1 but when one begins to fix the limits at which sudden anger passes over into cool and deliberate enmity1 or how far gone a man must be in drink before he loses the consciousness of his purposes1 even a layman can see that it has difficulties4 ,in such cases as these a dictionary definition would be merely a starting point4 ,it may be a very useful starting point1 however1 as in the following extract from an article by ,mr4 ,e4,p4 ,ripley1 president of the ,atchison1 ,topeka1 and ,santa ,fe ,railway ,company1 on ,the ,railroads and the ,people3 ,there is one point regarding this matter that many forget3 this is that in all affairs there are two kinds of discrimination4 ,there is the kind1 which1 as the dictionary expresses it1 sets apart as being different1 which distinguishes accurately1 and there is the widely different kind which treats unequally4 in all ordinary affairs of life we condemn as undiscriminating those who have so little judgment or fairness as not to distinguish accurately or set apart things that are different--who either treat equally things that are unequal1 or treat unequally things that are equal4 ,now1 when the railway traffic manager sets apart things that are different1 and treats them differently1 he simply does what it is the duty of every one to do4#ef ,then he goes on to develop this definition by showing the facts on which it has to bear4 ,on the other hand do not bore your readers with dictionary definitions of words whose meaning no one doubts2 that is a waste of good paper for you1 and of good time for them2 and we have seen in ,chapter ,,ii the futility of the dictionary for cases in which there is real disagreement over the meaning of a word4 ,it will be seen1 then1 that the analysis you have made in preparation for the brief may spread out large or small in the argument itself4 ,it is wise1 therefore1 to look on the work done for the introduction to the brief as work done largely to clear up your own thought on the subject2 when you come to writing out the argument itself1 you can go back to the introduction to the brief1 and see how much space you are now going to give it4 ,in a college or school argument you will usually follow it rather closely2 and you do well to do so1 for you will thus fix in your mind a useful model4 ,but when you get out into the world1 you will have to consider in each case the needs and prepossessions of the particular audience4 ,here as everywhere in the argument you must exercise judgment2 there is no formula which will fit all cases4 ,the scheme of analysis of the case which has been expounded in ,chapter ,,ii has stood the test as the best means yet found of exploring a subject and insuring clarity of thought and certainty of attack2#eg but ,i know of no single fixed scheme for the argument itself which will not be racked apart by the first half dozen practical arguments you apply it to4 #ea4 ,the ,body of the ,argument4 ,in the main body of the argument the difference from the brief will be largely a matter of expansion3 the brief indicates the evidence1 the argument states it at length4 ,here again you cut your argument to fit your audience and the space at your command4 ,in an argument in the editorial of a newspaper1 which is rarely longer than a long college theme1 there is little space for the statement of evidence4 ,in ,webster's argument in the ,white ,murder ,case1 which has some thirteen thousand words and which must have taken two hours or more to deliver1 the facts are studied in minute detail4 ,most people are surprised to see the way in which a full statement of evidence eats up space2 if the facts are at all complicated1 they must be analyzed and expounded one by one and their bearing on the case laid out in full4 ,this necessity of using space in order to make facts clear is the reason why it is so hard to find adequate and convincing arguments which will print in less than fifteen or twenty pages4 ,the trouble with a swift and compact argument like that of ,macaulay's on the authorship of the ,junius ,letters 7see p4 #aee7 is that unless you have gone into the question for yourself1 you do not know whether to accept the stated facts or not4 ,if you do accept them1 the conclusion is inevitable2 but if you happen to know that scholars have long held the decision doubtful1 you want to know more about the facts in detail before surrendering to ,macaulay's conclusion4 ,for an average reader to-day1 who knows little of the facts1 this argument would have to be greatly expanded4 ,in this expansion comes the chance for all the skill in exposition that you can muster1 and for that subtle appeal to your readers' feelings which lies in vividness and precision of phrasing1 considerations with which ,i will deal separately further on4 ,questions of proportion of space we may consider here4 ,the only rule that can be laid down for the distribution of your space is to use your sagacity1 and all your knowledge of your subject and of your audience4 ,in a written argument you have the advantage that you can let your pen run on your first draft1 and then go back and weigh the comparative force of the different parts of the argument1 and cut out and cut down until your best points for the purpose have the most space4 ,in a debate the same end is gained by rehearsals of the main speeches2 in the rebuttal1 which is best when it is spontaneous1 you have to trust to the judgment gained by practice4 ,other things being equal1 however1 brevity carries an audience4 ,if you can sum up your case in half the time that it takes the other side to state theirs1 the chances are that your audience will think you have the right of it4 ,above all1 beware of boring your readers by too exhaustive explanation of details or of aspects of the case which they care nothing about4 ,i suppose there is no one of us who has not a worthy friend or two who will talk through a whole evening on whether a lawn should be watered in the evening or the early morning1 or whether the eighth hole on the golf course should not be fifty yards longer4 ,one must not be like the man who in the discussion of bimetallism a few years ago used to keep his wife awake at night expounding to her the iniquities and inequalities of a single standard4 ,it is safer to underestimate than to overestimate the endurance and patience of your audience4 #eb4 ,the ,refutation4 ,the place of the refutation will1 as we have seen in the chapter on planning 7see p4 #hb71 vary greatly with the argument and with the audience4 ,its purpose is to put out of the way as effectively as possible the main points urged by the other side4 ,in an argument of fact this is done both by exposing weak places in the reasoning and by throwing doubt on the facts cited1 either through proof that they are contradicted by better evidence1 or that the evidence brought forward to establish them is shaky or inconclusive4 ,in an argument of policy the points on the other side are met either by throwing doubt on the facts on which they rest1 or by showing that the points themselves have not coercive force4 ,where there are really strong points on the other side1 in either kind of argument1 it is often sound policy to admit their strength4 ,this is especially true in arguments of policy where the advantages are closely balanced4 ,if you are trying to convince a boy that he should go to your college rather than to another1 you do not gain anything by telling him that the other college is no good2 if he is worth gaining over he will know better than that4 ,and in general if you have given a man to understand that there is nothing to be said for the other side1 and he afterwards finds that there are strong grounds for it1 your argument will have a fall in his estimation4 ,in the manner of your refutation lean towards the side of soberness and courtesy4 ,it has been said that the poorest use you can put a man to is to refute him2 and it is certain that in the give and take of argument in active life the personal victories and defeats are what are soonest forgotten4 ,if after a while you have to establish a fact in history or in biology1 or to get a verdict from a jury or a favorable report from the committee of a legislature1 you will think a good deal more about the arguments of your opponents than about them personally4 ,there are few arguments in which you can afford to take no notice of the strong points of the other side2 and where the burden of proof is strongly with you1 your own argument may be almost wholly refutation2 but it is always worth bearing in mind that if it is worth while for you to be arguing at all1 there is something1 and something of serious weight1 to be said on the other side4 #ec4 ,the ,conclusion4 ,the conclusion of your argument should be short and pointed4 ,gather the main issues together1 and restate them in terms that will be easy to remember4 ,mere repetition of the points as you made them in your introduction may sound too much like lack of resource2 on the other hand1 it helps to make your points familiar1 and to drive them home4 ,in any event make your contentions easy to remember4 ,most of us go a long way towards settling our own minds on a puzzling question when we repeat to some one else arguments that we have read or heard4 ,if you can so sum up your argument that your readers will go off and unconsciously retail your points to their neighbors1 you probably have them4 ,on the other hand1 when you have finished your argument1 if you start in to hedge and modify and go back to points that have not had enough emphasis before1 you throw away all you have gained4 ,in arguing nothing succeeds like decision and certainty of utterance4 ,even dogmatism is better than an appearance of wabbling4 ,it is the men like ,macaulay1 who see everything black and white with no shades between1 who are the leaders of the world's opinion4 ,sum up1 then1 wherever it is decent to do so1 as if there were only one side of the case1 and that could be stated in three lines4 #ed4 ,the ,power of ,convincing4 ,the convincing power of an argument depends on its appeal to the reason of its readers4 ,to put the same fact in another way1 an argument has convincing power when it can fit the facts which it deals with smoothly and intelligently into the rest of the reader's experience4 ,if an argument on a complicated mass of facts1 such as the evidence in a long murder case1 makes the reader say1 ,yes1 now ,i see how it all happened1 or an argument for the direct election of ,united ,states senators makes him say1 ,yes1 that is a plain working out of the fundamental principles of popular government1 then he is convinced4 ,in this aspect argument merges into exposition4 ,it is significant that1 as has already been noted1 ,matthew ,arnold's argument that ,wordsworth is the greatest ,english poet after ,shakespeare and ,milton1 and ,huxley's argument that the physical basis of animal and plant life is the same1 are both used in a book of examples of exposition4#eh ,the essential difference between argument and exposition from this point of view lies in the emphasis3 normally an explanation covers the whole case evenly2 an argument throws certain parts and aspects of the case into relief4 ,if1 therefore1 to be convincing1 your argument must provide a reasonable explanation of the whole state of affairs to which the case belongs1 you can use all the devices there are for clear and effective explanation4 ,i will therefore briefly review a few of these4 ,of the value of an introduction which lays out the ground to be covered ,i have already spoken4 ,the more distinct an idea you can implant in your readers' minds of the course you are going to follow in your argument1 the more likely they will be to follow it4 ,since the success of your argument hangs on carrying them with you on the main issues1 let them know beforehand just what those issues are1 and in such a way that they can hold them with a minimum of effort4 ,the value of a clear and1 as it were1 maplike introduction is even greater in an argument than in an exposition4 ,in the second place1 use your paragraphing for all that it is worth1 and that is a great deal4 ,the success of any explanation or argument springs from the way in which it takes a mass of facts apart1 and rearranges them simply and perspicuously2 and there is no device of composition which helps so much towards clearness as good paragraphing4 ,accordingly when you come to make your final draft1 make certain that each paragraph has unity4 ,if you have any doubts see if you can sum up the paragraph into a single simple sentence4 ,then look at the beginnings of the paragraphs to see whether you have made it easy for your readers to know what each one is about4 ,macaulay's style is on the whole clearer and more effective for a general audience than that of any other writer in ,english2 and his habit of beginning each paragraph with a very definite announcement of its subject is almost a mannerism4 ,incidentally there is no better rough test of the unity of your paragraphs than thus to give them something of the nature of a title in the first sentence4 ,often1 too1 at the end of an important paragraph it is worth while to sum up its essence in pithy form4 ,mankind in general is lazy about thinking1 and more than ready to accept an argument which is easy to remember and repeat4 ,the end of a paragraph is the place for a catchword4 ,in the third place1 bind the sentences in your paragraphs together4 ,when one is building up a first draft1 and picking facts from a variety of sources1 it is inevitable that the result shall be somewhat disjointed4 ,in working over the first draft1 really work it over1 and work it together4 ,make all the sentences point the same way4 ,pronouns are the most effective connectives that we have2 therefore recast your sentences so that there will be as little change of subject as possible4 ,then use the explicit connectives in as much variety as you can4 ,it is not likely that you will make your paragraphs too closely knit for the average reader4 ,in the fourth place1 bind your argument together as a whole by connectives at the beginnings of the paragraphs and by brief summarizing paragraphs4 ,in the present generation of schoolboys a good many have groaned over ,burke's speech ,on ,conciliation with ,america2 but if the first time that one of these sufferers must make an argument in real earnest1 he will go back to ,burke for some of the devices used to bind that argument together1 he will be surprised to see how practically e efficient those devices are4 ,and none of them counts more for clarity and thoroughness than the conscientious way in which ,burke took his hearers by the hand at the beginning of each paragraph1 and at each turn in his argument1 to make sure that they knew just how they were passing from one point to another4 ,from the doctrine of clear explanation1 then1 we may carry over to the making of clear arguments the habit of laying out the ground at the beginning1 of making the paragraphs do their full work by attending to unity1 to emphasis1 and to coherence1 and of binding the paragraphs together into a closely knit whole4 #ee4 ,the ,power of ,persuading4 ,finally1 we have to consider the question of how an argument can be made persuasive--probably the most difficult subject in the range of rhetoric on which to give practical advice4 ,the key to the whole matter lies in remembering that we are here dealing with feelings1 and that feelings are irrational and are the product of personal experience4 ,the experience may be bitter or sweet1 and to some degree its effects are modified by education2 but in substance your feelings and emotions make you what you are1 and your capacities in these directions were born with you4 ,if the citizens of a town have no feeling about political dishonesty1 reformers may talk their throats out without producing any result2 it is only when taxes get intolerable or the sewers smell to heaven that anything will be done4 ,many people die for whose deaths each of us ought to feel grief1 but if these people have never happened to touch our feelings1 we can reason with ourselves in vain that we should feel deeply grieved4 ,feeling and emotion are the deepest1 most primitive part of human nature2 and very little of its field has been reduced to the generalizations of reason4#ei ,when you come1 therefore1 in the making of your argument to the point of stirring up the feelings of your readers on the subject1 do not waste any time in considering what they ought to feel3 the only pertinent question is what they do feel4 ,on your shrewdness in estimating what these feelings are1 and how strong they are1 will hang your success as an advocate4 ,tact is the faculty you need now--the faculty of judging men1 of knowing when they will rise to an appeal1 and when they will lie back inert and uninterested4 ,this is a matter you cannot reason about2 if you have the faculty it will be borne in on you how other men will feel on your subject4 ,the skill of politicians1 where it does not confine itself to estimating how much the people will stand before rebelling1 consists in this intuition of the movement of public opinion2 and the great leaders are the men who have so sure a sense of these large waves of popular feeling that they can utter at the right moment the word that will gather together this diffused and uncrystallized feeling into a living force4 ,lincoln's declaration1 ,a house divided against itself cannot stand1 ,i believe that this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free1 brought to a head a conflict that had been smoldering ever since the adoption of the ,constitution1 and made him the inevitable leader who was to bring it to a close4 ,it will be noticed1 however1 that the time had to come before the inspired word could make its appeal4 ,the abolitionists and antislavery men had long been preaching the same doctrine that ,lincoln uttered1 and the folly and wickedness of slavery had been proved by philosophers and preachers for generations4 ,until the time grows ripe the most reasonable doctrine does not touch the hearts of men2 when the time has ripened1 the leader knows it and speaks the word that sets the world on fire for righteousness4 ,the same faculty1 on a smaller scale1 is needed by every one of us who is trying to make other people do anything4 ,the actual use of the faculty will vary greatly1 however1 with different kinds of arguments4 ,in certain kinds of scientific argument any attempt at persuasion as such would be an impertinence3 whether heat is a mode of motion1 whether there are such infinitesimal bodies as the ions which physicists of to-day assume to explain certain new phenomena1 whether matter consists of infinitesimal whirls of force--in all such questions an argument appeals solely to the reason2 and in such ,bacon's favorite apophthegm has full sway1 ,dry light is ever the best4 ,in ,huxley's arguments for the theory of evolution feeling had some share1 for when the theory was first announced by ,darwin some religious people thought that it cut at the foundations of their faith1 and ,huxley had to show that loyalty to truth is a feeling of equal sanctity to scientific men3 hence there is some tinge of feeling1 though repressed1 in his argument1 and a definite consciousness of the feelings of his audience4 ,at the other extreme are the arguments where the appeal to feelings is everything1 since it is clear that the audience is already of the speaker's way of thinking4 ,examples of such arguments are most apt to be found in speeches in political campaigns and in appeals for money to help forward charities of all kinds4 ,it is probable that most of the conversions in political matters are through reading2 consequently the purpose of the speeches is to stir up excitement and feeling to such a heat that the maximum of the party voters will take the trouble to go out to the polls4 ,arguments directed to this class1 accordingly1 are almost wholly appeals to feeling4 ,the famous debate between ,lincoln and ,douglas in #aheh was of this character2 of the thousands of people who heard them in one or another of the seven debates most had taken sides already4 ,in such a case as this1 however1 where a change in general political opinion was impending1 the reasoning of the debates had more force than in ordinary times1 and probably helped many voters to a clearer view of a very distressing and harassing situation4 ,between times1 however1 in politics1 where there are no great moral or practical differences between parties1 the purpose of speeches is almost wholly persuasive4 ,success one way or another is a question of getting out the voters who more or less passively and as a matter of habit hold to the party4 ,party speakers1 accordingly1 use every device to wake up their voters1 and to make them believe that there is a real crisis at hand4 ,every attempt is made to attach moral issues to the party platforms1 and to show how the material prosperity of the voters will fail if the other party wins4 ,roughly1 therefore1 we may say that persuasion tends to play a small part in arguments of facts1 and a larger part in questions of policy4 ,this is a rough generalization only1 for every one knows what eloquence and efforts at eloquence go into the arguments before juries in capital cases1 and how dry and abstract are the arguments before the judges on points of law1 or on questions of public policy in books of political economy4 ,but in the long run1 the less feeling enters into decisions of questions of fact1 the better4 ,of the factors which make for the persuasiveness of an argument ,i will speak here of three--clearness of statement1 appeal to the practical interests of the audience1 and direct appeal to their feelings4 ,there can be no doubt that clearness of statement is a powerful element in making an argument persuasive1 though the appeal that it makes to the feelings of the readers is slight and subtle4 ,in practice we mostly read arguments either to help make up our minds on a subject or to get aid in defending views for which we have no ready support4 ,in the latter case we do not need to be persuaded2 but in the former there can be no question that an argument which clears up the subject1 and makes it intelligible where before it was confusing1 does have an effect on us over and above its aid to our thought4 #ef4 ,the ,practical ,interests of the ,audience4 ,of directly persuasive power1 however1 are the other two factors--the appeal to the practical interests of readers1 and the appeal to their emotions4 ,of these the appeal to practical interests has no proper place in arguments on questions of fact1 but a large and entirely proper share in most arguments of policy4 ,henry ,ward ,beecher's speech on the slavery issue in the ,civil ,war1 before the cotton operatives of ,liverpool1#fj is a classic example of the direct appeal to the practical interests of an audience4 ,they were bitterly hostile to the ,north1 because the supplies of cotton had been cut off by the blockade2 and after he had got a hearing from them by appealing to the ,english sense of fair play1 he drove home the doctrine that a slave population made few customers for the products of ,english mills4 ,then he passed on to the moral side of the question4 ,arguments on almost all public questions--direct election of senators1 direct primaries1 commission form of government1 tariff1 currency1 control of corporations1 or1 in local matters1 the size of a school committee1 the granting of franchises to street railroads or water companies1 the laying out of streets1 the rules governing parks--are all questions of policy in which the greatest practical advantage to the greatest proportion of those who are interested is the controlling force in the decision4 ,at particular times and places moral questions may enter into some of these questions1 but ordinarily we come to them to settle questions of practical advantage4 ,in arguments on all such questions1 therefore1 the direct appeal to the practical interests of the people you are addressing is the chief factor that makes for persuasiveness4 ,will a change to a commission form of government make towards a reduction of taxes and towards giving greater and more equitably distributed returns for those that are levied8 ,will the direct primary for state officers make it easier and surer for the average citizen of the state to elect to office the kind of men he wants to have in office8 ,will a central bank of issue1 or some institution like it1 establish the business of the country on a basis less likely to be disturbed by panics8 ,will a competing street-car line make for better and cheaper transportation in the city8 ,in all such questions the only grounds for decision are practical1 and founded in the prosperity and the convenience of the people who have the decision4 ,to make arguments in such cases persuasive you must show how the question affects the practical interests of your readers1 and then that the plan which you support will bring them the greatest advantage4 ,generalities and large political truths may help you to convince them2 but to persuade them to active interest and action you must get down to the realities which touch them personally4 ,if you are arguing for a commission government in your city on the ground of economy1 show in dollars and cents what portion of his income the owner of a house and lot worth five or ten thousand dollars pays each year because of the present extravagance and wastefulness4 ,if you can make a voter see that the change is likely to save him ten or twenty-five or a hundred dollars a year1 you have made an argument that is persuasive4 ,the arguments for the reformation of our currency system are aimed directly at the material interests of the business men of the country and their employees2 and the pleas for one or another system attempt to show how each will conduce to the greater security and profit of the greatest number of people4 ,to make such arguments count1 however1 you must deal in concrete terms4 ,a recent argument#fa for the establishment of a general parcels post in this country presents figures to show that for the transportation of a parcel by express at a rate of forty-five cents1 the railroad gets twenty-two and one-half cents for service which it could do at a handsome profit for five cents4 ,of the validity of these figures ,i have no means of judging2 but the effectiveness of the argument lies in its making plain to each of its readers a fact which touches his pocket every time he sends a parcel by express4 ,it is this kind of argument that has persuasiveness1 for the way we spend our money and what we get for it come close home to most of us4 ,of all practical interests those of the purse are of necessity the most moving for all but the very rich4 ,money interests1 however1 are far from being the only practical interests which concern us3 there are many matters of convenience and comfort where an individual or a community is not thinking of the cost4 ,such questions as what kind of furnace to set up1 whether to build a house of brick or of cement1 which railroad to take between1 two cities1 are questions that draw arguments from other people than advertising agents4 ,of another sort are questions that concern education4 ,what college shall a boy go to2 shall he be prepared in a public school1 or a private day school1 or a boarding school8 ,shall a given college admit on certificate1 or demand an examination of its own8 ,shall a certain public school drop ,greek from its list of studies2 shall it set up a course in manual training8 ,all these are examples of another set of questions that touch practical interests very closely4 ,in arguments on such questions1 therefore1 if you are to have the power of persuading and so of influencing action1 you must get home to the interests of the people you are trying to move4 ,the question of schools is very different for a boy in a small country village and for one in ,new ,york ,city2 the question of admission is different for a state university and for an endowed college2 the question of ,greek is different for a school which sends few pupils on to college and for one which sends many3 and in each case if you want to influence action1 you must set forth facts which bear on the problem as it faces that particular audience4 ,except perhaps for the highest eloquence1 there is no such thing as universal persuasiveness4 ,the questions which actively affect the average man usually concern small groups of people1 and each group must be stirred to action by incentives adapted to its special interests4 #eg4 ,the ,appeal to ,moral ,interests4 ,still further from the interests that touch the pocket1 and constantly in healthy and elevating action against them1 are the moral interests4 ,the appeal to moral motives is sometimes laughed at by men who call themselves practical1 but in ,america it is in the long run the strongest appeal that can be made4 ,we are still near enough to the men who fought through the ,civil ,war1 in which each1 side held passionately to what it believed to be the moral right1 for us to believe without too much complacency that moral forces are the forces that rule us as a nation4 ,mr4 ,bryan and ,mr4 ,roosevelt have both been called preachers1 and the hold they have had on great1 though differing1 parts of the ,american people is incontestable4 ,if any question on which you have to argue has a moral side1 it is not only your duty1 but it is also the path of expediency1 to make appeal through the moral principle involved4 ,the chief difficulty with making an appeal to moral principles is to set them forth in other than abstract terms1 since they are the product of a set of feelings which lie too deep for easy phrasing in definite words4 ,in most cases we know what is right long before we can explain why it is right2 and a man who can put into clear words the moral forces that move his fellows is a prophet and leader of men4 ,moreover1 it must be remembered when one is appealing to moral principles that upright men are not agreed about all of them1 and there is even more doubt and disagreement when one comes to the practical application of the principles4 ,we have seen in ,chapter ,i what bitter division arose in our fathers' time over the right and the righteousness of slavery2 and how in many states to-day good and ,god-fearing people are divided on the question of prohibition4 ,but even where the two sides to a question agree on the moral principle which is involved1 it by no means follows that they will agree on its application in a particular case4 ,church members accept the principle that one must forgive sinners and help them to reform2 but it is another thing when it comes to getting work for a man who has been in prison1 or help for a woman who has left her husband4 ,how far is the condoning of offenses consistent with maintaining the standards of society8 ,and in what cases shall we apply the principle of forgiveness8 ,in a business transaction how far can one push the ,golden ,rule8 ,life would be a simpler matter if moral principles were always easy to apply to concrete cases4 ,one must use the appeal to moral principles1 therefore1 soberly and with discretion4 ,the good sense of readers will rebel if their moral sense is called on unnecessarily2 and even when they cannot explain why they believe such an appeal unsound1 yet their instincts will tell them that it is so4 ,the creator whose right hand is always rising to heaven to call ,god to witness disgusts the right feeling of his audience4 ,on the other hand1 where moral principles are really concerned there should be no compromise4 ,if in a political campaign the issue is between honesty and graft in the public service1 or between an open discussion of all dealings which touch the public good1 and private bargaining with party managers1 the moral principles cannot be kept hidden4 ,if a real moral principle is seriously involved in any question1 the debate must rise to the level of that principle and let practical considerations go4 ,and every citizen who has the advantage of having had more education than his fellows is thereby placed under obligation to hold the debate to this higher level4 #eh4 ,the ,appeal of ,style4 ,finally1 we have to consider the appeal to the emotions1 which is the distinguishing essence of eloquence1 and the attempts at it4 ,in part this appeal is through the appeal to principles and associations which are close to the heart of the audience1 in part through concrete and figurative language1 in part through the indefinable thrill and music of style which lies beyond definition and instruction4 ,the appeal to venerated principle we have considered already1 looked at from the side of morals rather than of emotions4 ,but morality1 so far as it is a coercive force in human conduct1 is emotional2 our moral standards lie beyond and above reason in that larger part of our nature that knows through feeling and intuition4 ,all men have certain standards and principles whose names arouse strong and reverent emotions4 ,such standards are not all religious or moral in the stricter sense2 some of them have their roots in systems of government4 ,in a case at law1 argued purely on a question of law1 there does not seem much chance for the appeal to feeling2 but ,mr4 ,joseph ,h4 ,choate1 in his argument on the constitutionality of the ,income ,tax of #ahid1 before the ,supreme ,court of the ,united ,states1 made the following appeal to the principle of the sanctity of private property1 and the words he used could not have failed to stir deep and strong feelings in the court4 ,no longer ago1 if the ,court please1 than the day of the funeral procession of ,general ,sherman in ,new ,york1 it was my fortune to spend many hours with one of the ex-,presidents of the ,united ,states1 who has since followed that great warrior to the bourne to which we were then bearing him4 ,president ,hayes expressed great solicitude as to the future fortunes of this people4 ,in his retirement he had been watching the tendency of political and social purposes and events4 ,he had observed how in recent years the possessors of political power had been learning to use it for the first time for the promotion of social and personal ends4 ,he said to me1 ,you will probably live to see the day when in the case of the death of any man of large wealth the ,state will take for itself all above a certain prescribed limit of his fortune and divide it1 or apply it to the equal use of all the people1 so as to punish the rich man for his wealth1 and to divide it among those who1 whatever may have been their sins1 at least have not committed that4 ,i looked upon it as the wanderings of a dreaming man2 and yet if ,i had known that within less than five short years afterwards ,i should be standing before this tribunal to contest the validity of an alleged act of ,congress1 of a so-called law1 which was defended here by the authorized legal representatives of the ,federal ,government upon the plea that it was a tax levied only upon classes and extremely rich men1 ,i should have given altogether a different heed and ear to the warnings of that distinguished statesman4#fb ,our emotions do not rise1 however1 anymore surely in the case of our veneration for the basal principles of religion and government than in that of more personal emotions4 ,the appeal to the ,constitution is worn somewhat threadbare by the politicians who call on it at every election1 small or great1 as is the appeal to the principles of the ,pilgrim ,fathers4 ,it takes eloquence now to rouse our feelings about these principles4 ,if you have a case important enough to justify appeal to such great principles and the skill in language to give your appeal vitality1 you may really arouse your readers4 ,but1 on the whole1 it is sound advice to say1 ,wait a few years before you call on them4 ,the second mode of appeal to the feelings of your audience1 that through concrete and figurative language1 is more within the reach of advocates who are still of college age4 ,this is particularly true of the use of concrete language4 ,it is a matter of common knowledge that men do not rouse themselves over abstract principles2 they will grant their assent1 often without really knowing what is implied by the general principle1 and go away yawning4 ,on the other hand1 the man who talks about the real and actual things which you know is likely to keep your attention4 ,this goes back to the truth that our emotions and feelings are primarily the reaction to the concrete things that happen to us4 ,the spontaneous whistling and humming of tunes that indicate a cheerful heart rise naturally as a response to the sunlight in spring2 the fear at the terror that flies in a nightmare is the instinctive and physical reaction to indigestion2 we sorrow over the loss of our own friends1 but not over the loss of some one else's4 ,the stories that stir us are the stories that deal with actual1 tangible realities in such terms that they make us feel that we are living the story ourselves4 ,stevenson has some wise words on this subject in his essay1 ,a ,gossip on ,romance4 ,the doctrine holds true for the making of arguments4 ,even where as in ,burke's speech ,on ,conciliation with ,america1 abstractness is not vagueness1 the style would be more effective for the richer feeling that hangs over and around a concrete vocabulary4 ,the great vividness of ,macaulay's style1 and its bold over so many readers1 is largely due to his unfailing use of the specific word4 ,if you will take the trouble to notice what arguments in the last few months have seemed to you especially persuasive1 you will be surprised to find how definite and concrete the terms are that they use4 ,accordingly1 if you wish to keep the readers of your argument awake and attentive1 use terms that touch their everyday experience4 ,if you are arguing for the establishment of a commission form of government1 give in dollars and cents the sum that it cost under the old system to pave the three hundred yards of ,a ,street1 between #abth and #acth streets4 ,the late ,mr4 ,godkin of the ,new ,york ,evening ,post1 in his lifelong campaign against corrupt government1 to bring home to his readers the actual state of their city government and the character of the men who ran it1 used their nicknames2 ,long ,john ,corrigan1 for example 7if there had been such a personage72 and ,bath-house ,john ,somebody has been a feature of campaigns in ,chicago4 ,the value of such names when skillfully used is that by their associations and connotation they do stir feeling4 ,likewise if you are arguing before an audience of graduates for a change from a group system to a free elective system in your college1 you would use the names of courses with which they would be familiar and the names of professors under whom they had studied4 ,if you were arguing for the introduction of manual training into a school1 you would make taxpayers take an interest in the matter if you gave them the exact numbers of pupils from that school who have gone directly into mills or other work of the kind1 and if you describe vividly just what is meant by manual training4 ,if your description is in general terms they may grant you your principle1 and then out of mere inertia and a vague feeling against change vote the other way4 ,a rough test for concreteness is your vocabulary3 if your words are mostly ,anglo-,saxon you will usually be talking about concrete things2 if it is ,latinate and polysyllabic it is probably abstract and general4 ,most of the things and actions of everyday life1 the individual things like walls and puppies1 summer and boys1 buying and selling1 praying and singing1 have names belonging to the ,anglo-,saxon part of the language2 and though there are many exceptions1 like tables1 and telephones1 and professors1 yet the more your vocabulary consists of the non-,latinate words1 the more likely it is to be concrete1 and therefore to keep your readers' attention and feelings alive4 ,use the simple terms of everyday life1 therefore1 rather than the learned words which would serve you if you were generalizing from many cases4 ,stick to the single case before you and to the interests of the particular people you are trying to win over4 ,to touch their feelings remember that you must talk about the things they have feelings about4 ,the use of similes and metaphors and other figurative language raises a difficult question4 ,on the whole1 perhaps the best advice about using them is1 ,don't unless you have to4 ,in other words1 where a figure of speech is a necessity of expression1 where you cannot make your thought clear and impart to it the warmth of feeling with which it is clothed in your own mind except by a touch of imaginative color1 then use a figure of speech1 if one flashes itself on your mind4 ,if you add it deliberately as adornment of your speech1 it will strike a false note2 if you laboriously invent it the effort will show4 ,unless your thought and your eagerness for your subject flow naturally and inevitably into an image1 it is better to stick to plain speech1 for any suggestion of insincerity is fatal to the persuasiveness of an argument4 ,the value of the figure of speech is chiefly in giving expression to feelings which cannot be set forth in abstract words1 the whole of whose meaning can be defined3 in the connotation of words--that indefinable part of their meaning which consists in their associations1 implications1 and general emotional coloring--lies their power to clothe thought with the rich color of feeling which is the life4 ,at the same time1 they serve as a fillip to the attention4 ,there are not very many people who can long keep the mind fixed on a purely abstract line of thought1 and none can do it without some effort4 ,professor ,william ,james is a notable example of a writer whose thought flowed spontaneously into necessary figures of speech3 ,when one turns to the magnificent edifice of the physical sciences1 and sees how it was reared2 what thousands of disinterested moral lives of men lie buried in its mere foundations2 what patience and postponement1 what choking down of preference1 what submission to the icy laws of outer fact are wrought into its very stones and mortar2 how absolutely impersonal it stands in its vast augustness1--then how besotted and contemptible seems every little sentimentalist who comes blowing his voluntary smoke wreaths1 and pretending to decide things out of his private dream4#fc ,one cannot go to sleep over a style like that1 for besides the obvious sincerity and rush of warm feeling1 the vividness of the figures is like that of poetry4 ,on the either hand1 one must remember that it is given to few men to attain the unstudied eloquence of ,professor ,james4 ,fables and anecdotes serve much the same purpose1 but more especially throw into memorable form the principle which they are intended to set forth4 ,there are a good many truths which are either so complex or so subtle that they defy phrasing in compact form1 yet their truth we all know by intuition4 ,if for such a truth you can find a compact illustration1 you can leave it much more firmly fixed in your readers' minds than by any amount of systematic exposition4 ,lincoln in his ,springfield speech1 for example1 threw into striking form the feeling which was so common in the ,north1 that each step forward in the advance of slavery so fitted into all earlier ones that something like a concerted plan must be assumed3 ,we cannot absolutely know that all these exact adaptations are1 the result of preconcert4 ,but when we see a lot of framed timbers1 different portions of which we know have been gotten cut at different times and places and by different workmen1--,stephen1 ,franklin1 ,roger1 and ,james1 for instance1--and we see these timbers joined together1 and see they exactly make the frame of a house or a mill1 all the tenons and mortises exactly fitting1 and all the lengths and proportions of the different pieces exactly adapted to their respective places1 and not a piece too many or too few1 not omitting even scaffolding1--or1 if a single piece be lacking1 we see the place in the frame exactly fitted and prepared yet to bring such piece in1--in such a case we find it impossible not to believe that ,stephen and ,franklin and ,roger and ,james all understood one another from the beginning1 and all worked upon a common plan or draft drawn up before the first blow was struck4 ,on the other hand1 there is the danger of being florid or of playing the clown if you tell too many stories4 ,whether your style will seem florid or not depends a good deal on the part of the country you are writing for4 ,there is no doubt that the taste of the ,south and of a good deal of the ,west is for a style more varied and highly colored than suits the soberer taste of the ,east4 ,but whatever part of the country you are writing for1 just so soon as your style seems to those special readers overloaded with ornament it will seem insincere4 ,in the same way1 if you stop too often to tell a story or to make your readers laugh1 you will produce the impression of trifling with your subject4 ,in both these respects be careful not to draw the attention of your readers away from the subject to your style4 ,the ultimate and least analyzable appeal of style is through that thrill of the voice which in written style appears as rhythm and harmony4 ,certain men are gifted with the capacity of so modulating their voices and throwing virtue into their tones that whoever hears them feels an indefinable thrill4 ,so in writing3 where sounds follow sounds in harmonious sequence1 and the beat of the accent approaches regularity without falling into it1 language takes on the expressiveness of music4 ,it is well known that music expresses a range of feeling that lies beyond the powers of words3 who can explain1 for example1 the thrill roused in him by a good brass band1 or the indefinable melancholy and gloom created by the minor harmonies of one of the great funeral marches1 or1 in another direction1 the impulse that sets him to whistling or singing on a bright morning in summer8 ,there are many such kinds of feeling1 real and potent parts of our consciousness2 and if we can bring them to expression at all1 we must do so through the rhythm and other sensuous qualities of the style which are pure sensation4 ,how is that to be done8 ,the answer is difficult1 and like that concerning the use of figurative language3 do not try for it too deliberately4 ,if without your thinking of it you find yourself becoming more earnest in speech1 and more impressed with the seriousness of the issue you are arguing1 your voice will show it naturally4 ,so when you are writing3 your earnestness will show1 if you have had the training and have the natural gift for expression in words1 in a lengthening and more strongly marked rhythm1 in an intangibly richer coloring of sound4 ,in speech the rhythm is apt to be shown in what is called parallel structure1 the repetition of the same form of sentence1 and in rhetorical questions4 ,in writing1 these forms more easily tend to seem either excited or artificial4 ,sustained periodic structure1 too1 can be carried by the speaking voice1 when it would lag if written4 ,every one recognizes this incommunicable thrill of eloquence in great speakers and writers1 but it is so much a gift of nature that it is not wise consciously to cultivate it4 #ei4 ,fairness and ,sincerity4 ,in the long run1 however1 nothing makes an argument appeal more to readers than an air of fairness and sincerity4 ,if it is evident in an argument of fact that you are seeking to establish the truth1 or in an argument of policy that your single aim is the greatest good of all concerned1 your audience will listen to you with favorable ears4 ,if on the other hand you seem to be chiefly concerned with the vanity of a personal victory1 or to be thinking of selfish advantages1 they will listen to you coolly and with jealous scrutiny of your points4 ,accordingly1 in making your preliminary survey to prepare the statement of the facts that are agreed on by both sides1 go as far as you can in yielding points4 ,if the question is worth arguing at all you will still have your hands full to get through it within your space4 ,in particular waive all trivial points3 nothing is more wearisome to readers than to plow through detailed arguments over points that no one cares about in the end4 ,and meet the other side at least halfway in agreeing on the facts that do not need to be argued out4 ,you will prejudice your audience if you make concessions in a grudging spirit4 ,likewise1 wherever you have1 to meet arguments put forward by the other side1 state them with scrupulous fairness2 if your audience has any reason to suppose that you are twisting the assertions of the other side to your own advantage1 you have shaken their confidence in you1 and thereby weakened the persuasive force of your argument4 ,use sarcasm with caution1 and beware of any seeming of triumph4 ,sarcasm easily becomes cheap1 and an air of triumph may look like petty smartness4 ,in short1 in writing your argument1 assume throughout the attitude of one who is seeking earnestly to bring the disagreement between the two sides to an end4 ,if you are dealing with a question of fact1 your sole duty is to establish the truth4 ,if you are dealing with a question of policy1 you know when you begin that whichever way the decision goes1 one side will suffer some disadvantage2 but aim to lessen that disadvantage1 and to discover a way that will bring the greatest gain to the greatest number4 ,an obvious spirit of conciliation is a large asset in persuasion4 ,with the conciliation make clear your sincerity4 ,a chief difficulty with making arguments written in school and college persuasive is that they so often deal with subjects in which it is obvious that the writer's own feelings are not greatly concerned4 ,this difficulty will disappear when you get out into the world1 and make arguments in earnest4 ,a great part of ,lincoln's success as an advocate is said to have been due to the fact that he always tried to compose his cases and to make peace between the litigants1 and that he never took a case in which he did not believe4 ,if you leave on your audience the impression that you are sincere and in earnest1 you have taken a long step towards winning over their feelings4 ,on the whole1 then1 when one is considering the question of persuasion1 the figure of speech of a battle is not very apt4 ,it is all very well when you are laying out your brief to speak1 of deploying your various points1 of directing an attack on your opponent's weakest point1 of bringing up reserve material in rebuttal2 but if the figure gets you into the way of thinking that you must always demolish your opponent1 and treat him as an enemy1 it is doing harm4 ,if you will take the trouble to follow the controversies which are going on in your own city and state over public affairs1 you will soon see that in most of them the two sides break even1 so far as intelligence and public-spiritedness go4 ,in every transaction there are two sides2 and the president of a street railroad may be as honest and as disinterested in seeking to get the best of the bargain for his road as the representatives of the city are in trying to get the best of it for the public4 ,there is no use going into a question of this sort with the assumption that you are on a higher moral plane than the other side4 ,in some cases where a moral issue is involved there is only one view of what is right2 if honesty is in the balance1 there can be no other side4 ,but1 as we have seen1 there are moral questions in which one must use his utmost strength for the right as he sees the right1 and yet know all the time that equally honest men are fighting just as hard on the other side4 ,no ,american who remembers the case of ,general ,robert ,e4 ,lee can forget this puzzling truth4 ,therefore1 unless there can be no doubt of the dishonesty of your opponent1 turn your energies against his cause and not against him2 and hold that the proper end of argument is not so much to win victories as to bring as many people as possible to agreement4 ,,exercises #a4 ,compare the length of the introductory part of the argument of the specimens at the end of this book2 point out reasons for the difference in length1 if you find any4 #b4 ,find two arguments1 not in this book1 in which the main points at issue are numbered4 #c4 ,find an argument1 not in this book1 in which a history of the case is part of the introduction4 #d4 ,find an argument1 not in this book1 in which the definitions of terms occupy some space4 #e4 ,in the argument on which you are working1 what terms need definition8 ,how much space should the definitions occupy in the completed argument8 ,why8 #f4 ,in the argument on which you are working1 how much of the material in the introduction to the brief shall you use in the argument itself8 ,does the audience you have in mind affect the decision8 #g4 ,how do you intend to distribute your space between the main issues you will argue out8 #h4 ,how much will explanation enter into your argument8 #i4 ,find an argument1 not in this book1 in which the explanation chiefly makes the convincing power4 #aj4 ,in which of the arguments in this book does explanation play the smallest part8 #aa4 ,examine five consecutive paragraphs in ,huxley's argument on evolution1 or ,the ,outlook argument on the ,workman's ,compensation ,act1 from the point of view of good explanation4 #ab4 ,find two examples of arguments1 not in this book1 whose chief appeal is to the feelings4 #ac4 ,find an argument1 not in this book1 which is a good illustration of the power of tact4 #ad4 ,name an argument which you have read within a few months which made a special impression on you by its clearness4 #ae4 ,find an argument in the daily papers1 on local or academic affairs1 which makes effective appeal to the practical interests of its audience4 ,analyze this appeal4 #af4 ,name three subjects of local and immediate interest on which you could write an argument in which you would appeal chiefly to the practical interests of your readers4 #ag4 ,name two current political questions which turn on the practical interests of the country at large4 #ah4 ,name two public questions now under discussion into which moral issues enter4 ,do both sides on these questions accept the same view of the bearing of the moral issues8 #ai4 ,find an argument1 not in this book1 in which the eloquence of the style is a distinct part of the persuasive power4 #bj4 ,what do you think of the persuasive power of ,burke's speech ,on ,conciliation with ,america8 of its convincing power8 #ba4 ,find an argument1 not in this book1 in which the concreteness of the language adds to the persuasive power4 #bb4 ,find two examples1 not in this book1 of apt and effective figures of speech in an argument4 #bc4 ,find an example of an apt anecdote or fable used in an argument4 #bd4 ,in ,lincoln's address at ,cooper ,institute1 what do you think of his attitude towards the ,south as respects fairness8 #be4 ,in the argument on which you are at work1 what chance would there be of inducing agreement between the two sides8 ,,chapter ,v ,,debating #fj4 ,the ,nature of ,debate4 ,the essential difference between debate and written argument lies not so much in the natural difference between all spoken and written discourse as in the fact that in a debate of any kind there is the chance for an immediate answer to an opponent4 ,quickness of wit to see the weak points on the other side1 readiness in attacking them1 and resource in defending one's own points make the debater1 as distinguished from the man who1 if he be given plenty of time1 can make a formidable and weighty argument in writing4 ,the best debating is heard in deliberative bodies which are not too large1 and where the rules are not too elaborate4 ,perhaps the best in the world is in the ,british ,house of ,commons1 for there the room is not so large that hearing is difficult1 and skill in thrust and parry has been valued and practiced for generations4 ,the military figure for argument is more apposite in debate than anywhere else1 for in the taking of the vote there is an actual victory and defeat1 very different in nature from the barren decision of judges in intercollegiate and interscholastic contests4 ,it is undoubtedly rare that a particular debate in any legislative body actually changes the result2 but in the long run the debates in such bodies do mold public opinion1 and within the body amalgamate or break up party ties4 ,the resource and the ready knowledge of the subject under debate necessary to hold one's own in such running contests of wit ,is an almost essential characteristic of a party leader4 ,it is on these two qualities that ,i shall chiefly dwell in this chapter4 #fa4 ,subjects for ,debate4 ,debate almost always deals with questions of policy4 ,in trials before a jury there is something approaching a debate over questions of fact2 but the rules of evidence are so special1 and within their range so strict1 that even though the arguments are spoken1 they can have little of the free give and take which makes the life and the interest of a real debate4 ,accordingly ,i shall draw my illustrations here from questions of policy1 and so far as is possible from the sort of question that students are likely to turn their attention to4 ,the later years of school and the whole of the college course are often the molding years for a man's views on all sorts of public questions4 ,it has been said that a man's views rarely change after he is twenty-five years old2 and though one must not take such a dictum too literally1 yet unquestionably it has truth4 ,at any rate it is certain that a student1 whether in high school or college1 if he is to do his duty as a citizen1 must begin to think out many of the questions which are being decided in ,congress1 in state legislatures1 and in smaller1 more local bodies4 ,at the same time1 in every school and college questions are constantly under discussion of a nature to provide good practice in debate4 ,some of these questions must be decided by school committee1 principal1 faculty1 or trustees1 and most of them call for some looking up of facts4 ,they would provide admirable material for the development of judgment and resource in debating1 and in some cases a debate on them might have effect on the actual decision4 ,the choice of subject is even more important for debating than for written argument4 ,in a written argument if you have a question which has two defensible sides1 it does not make much difference whether one is easier to defend than the other3 in a debate such a difference might destroy the usefulness of the subject4 ,though to some older minds the abolition of football is a debatable question1 before an audience of undergraduates who had to vote on the merits of the question the subject would be useless1 since the side which had to urge the abolition would here have an almost impossible task4 ,so in a debate on the closed shop1 in most workingmen's clubs the negative would be able to accomplish little1 for the other side would be intrenched in the prejudices and prepossessions of the audience4 ,in political bodies unevenness of sides is of common occurrence1 for a minority must always defend its doctrines1 no matter how overwhelming the vote is certain to be4 ,in the formal debates of school and college1 on the other hand1 where the conditions must be more or less artificial1 the first condition is to choose a question which will give the two sides an even chance4 ,a fair test of this evenness of sides is to see whether the public which is concerned with the question is evenly divided3 if about the same number of men who are acquainted with the subject and are recognized as fair-minded take opposite sides1 the question is probably a good subject for debate4 ,even this test1 however1 may be deceptive1 since believing a policy to be sound and being able to show that it is so are very different matters4 ,the reasons for introducing the honor system into a certain school or college are probably easier to state and to support than the reasons against introducing it2 yet the latter may be unquestionably weighty4 ,in general1 arguments which rest on large and more or less abstract principles are at a disadvantage as against arguments based on some immediate and pressing evil or on some obvious expediency4 ,arguments for or against a protective tariff on general principles of political economy are harder to make interesting and1 therefore1 cogent to the average audience than are those based on direct practical gains or losses4 ,this difference in the ease with which the two sides of a question can be argued must be taken into account in the choice of a subject4 ,in the second place1 the subject should be so phrased that it will inevitably produce a head-on collision between the two sides4 ,if such a proposition as ,the present city government should be changed were chosen for a debate1 one side might argue it as a question of the party or of the men who happened to be in control at the time1 and the other as a question of the form of government4 ,so on the question of self-government for a college or school1 unless the type of self-government were carefully defined1 the two sides might argue through the debate and not come in sight of each other4 ,what was said in ,chapter ,,ii about framing the proposition for an argument applies with even more force to finding the proposition for a debate2 for here if they do not meet on an irreconcilable difference1 there is little use in their coming together4 ,in the third place1 it is desirable that the proposition should be so framed as to throw the burden of proof on the affirmative4 ,unless the side which opens the debate has something definite to propose1 the debate must open more or less lamely1 for it is hard to attack or oppose something which is going to be set forth after you have finished talking4 ,here1 however1 as in the case of written arguments1 it must be remembered that burden of proof is a vague and slippery term2 he who asserts must prove is a maxim that in debate applies to the larger issues only1 and the average audience will give themselves little trouble about the finer applications of it4 ,if you are proposing a change in present conditions1 and the present conditions are not very bad1 they will expect you to show why there should be a change1 and to make clear that the change you propose will work an improvement4 ,it is only when conditions have become intolerable that an audience thinks first of the remedy4 ,in the ordinary school or college1 for example1 there is little reason in current conditions for introducing the honor system in examinations3 in such a case the burden of proof on the affirmative would be obvious1 ,if1 however1 as occasionally happens1 there has been an epidemic of dishonesty in written work1 then the authorities of the school and the parents would want to know why there should not be a change4 ,but it would both bore and confuse an audience to explain to them at length the theory of the shifting of the burden of proof2 and the chances are that they would say1 ,why doesn't he prove his point1 and not spend his time beating about the bush8 ,finally1 the proposition should1 if possible1 give to the negative as well as to the affirmative some constructive argument4 ,if one side occupies itself wholly with showing the weakness of the arguments on the other side1 you get nowhere on the merits of the question2 for all that has been shown in the debate1 the proposition put forward by the affirmative may be sound1 and the only weakness lie in its defenders4 ,moreover1 where the negative side finds no constructive argument on the merits of the question1 or elects to confine itself to destructive1 arguments1 it must beware of the fallacy of objections2 that is1 of assuming that when it has brought forward some objections to the proposition it has settled the matter4 ,as ,i have so often pointed out in this treatise1 no question is worth arguing unless it has two sides2 and that is merely saying1 in another way1 that to both sides there are reasonable objections4 ,where a negative side confines itself to destructive arguments it must make clear that the objections it presents are really destructive1 or at any rate are clearly more grave than those which can be brought against leaving things as they are4 ,and if they confine themselves to destroying the arguments brought forward by the affirmative in this particular debate1 they must make clear that these arguments are the strongest that can be brought forward on that side4 ,on all questions as to construction of terms and burden of proof1 it should be understood beforehand that the judges of a formal debate will heavily penalize anything like pettifogging or quibbling4 ,the two sides should do their best to come to a head-on issue2 and any attempt at standing on precise definition1 or sharp practice in leading the other side away from the main question1 should be held to be not playing the game4 ,where the judges are drawn from men of experience in affairs1 as is usually the case1 they will estimate such boyish smartnesses at their true value4 #fb4 ,technical ,forms4 ,the formal debates of school and college have certain forms and conventions which are partly based on parliamentary procedure1 partly have been worked out to make these debates more interesting and better as practice2 and there are certain preliminary arrangements that improve debating both as intellectual training and as fun4 ,i shall speak first of the forms and conventions4 ,in debates in school and college it is usual to have two or three on a side1 and for good reasons4 ,in the first place1 the labor of working up the subject is shared1 and it is better fun working with some one else4 ,then1 in the debate itself there is more variety4 ,in class debates there are usually two speakers on each side1 with provision of time for several four- or five-minute speeches from the floor before the closing speeches in rebuttal4#fd ,if there are as many speakers as this a two-hour period must be allowed4 ,this allotment of time will naturally be adapted to special conditions2 as1 for example1 where it is desirable that there shall be more speakers from the floor1 or where it is desired to give the whole time to the regular debaters4 ,in important intercollegiate debates there are usually three speakers1 each of whom has ten minutes for his main speech and five minutes for rebuttal4 ,this arrangement varies greatly1 however1 in different places1 and not infrequently there is only one speech in rebuttal4 ,the affirmative is usually given the last speech1 on the theory that it is a disadvantage to have to open the debate4 ,obviously1 however1 in practice the reverse may often be true1 since a skillful speech in opening may largely determine the course of the debate2 and for this reason many debating societies and colleges allow the closing speech to the negative4 ,it is wise not to look on any of these rules as inviolable4#fe ,the distribution of the points between the speakers on a side should be made beforehand1 but always with the understanding that the exigencies of the debate may upset the arrangement4 ,we shall see presently the advantage there is in having each member of a team prepared to defend all the points on his side4 ,the only speech for which a fixed program can be made beforehand is the first speech on the affirmative3 obviously this must at any rate expound the main facts which the audience must know in order to understand the speeches that follow4 ,after that each speaker should be prepared either to answer directly what has just been said or to explain why he postpones the answer4 ,at the same time1 unless his hand has been forced1 he must make the point or points which have been committed to him in the preliminary plan of campaign4 ,each speaker after the first generally takes a minute or two to sum up the position as his side sees it2 and the final speaker on each side ought to save time to recapitulate and drive home the main points that his side has made and the chief objections to the arguments on the other side4 ,beyond these suggestions1 which should not be allowed to harden into invariable rules1 much must be left to the swift judgment of the debaters4 ,it is a good test of skill in debating to know just when to stick to such rules1 and when to break away from them4 ,a debater uses certain forms which have long been established in parliamentary law4 ,to begin with1 he never uses the name of his opponent3 if he has to refer to him he refers indirectly in some such form as the last speaker1 the first speaker for the affirmative1 the gentlemen from ,wisconsin1 our opponents1 my colleague who has just spoken4 ,this is an inviolable rule of all debating bodies1 whether a class in school or college or one of the ,houses of ,congress4 ,in a formal debate the subject is stated by the presiding officer1 who is usually not one of the judges1 and he also introduces each of the speakers in the order agreed on beforehand4 ,in class debates the subject is usually given out by the instructor1 who may assign the speakers1 or may call for volunteers1 or may let each member of the class take his turn in regular rotation4 ,this distribution will usually work itself out to suit the class and the circumstances4 ,in interscholastic and intercollegiate debates the subject is generally chosen by letting one side offer a number of subjects from which the other selects one4 ,sometimes the team which does not have the choice of subject has the choice of sides after the other team has picked the subject4 ,in a triangular debate two or three subjects are proposed by each team1 and then one is selected by preferential voting of all the contestants1 first choice counting three points1 second two1 and third one4 ,in such a contest each institution has two teams1 one of which supports the affirmative1 and the other the negative2 and the three debates take place on the same day or evening4 ,in class debates the two sides should unite in preparing an agreed statement of facts1 which shall contain so much of the history of the case as is pertinent1 facts and issues which it is agreed shall be waived1 and a statement of the main issues4 ,furthermore1 it is highly desirable that the sides should submit to each other outline briefs covering the main points of their case4 ,with such preparations there is little probability that there can be any failure to meet4 ,the same preparations would be useful in interscholastic and intercollegiate debates1 wherever they are practicable4 ,anything which leads to a thorough discussion of identical points and to the consequent illumination of the question makes these entertainments more valuable4 ,for intercollegiate and interscholastic debates it is wise to have some sort of instructions for the judges1 which should be agreed on beforehand4 ,these instructions must make clear that the decision is to turn not on the merits of the question1 as in real life1 but on the merits of the debaters4 ,among those merits the substance should count much more than the form4 ,of the points that count in judging the substance of the debate the instructions may note keenness of analysis1 power of exposition1 thoroughness of preparation1 judgment in the selection of evidence1 readiness and effectiveness in rebuttal1 and grasp of the subject as a whole4 ,for form the instructions may mention bearing1 ease and appropriateness of gesture1 quality and expressiveness of voice1 enunciation and pronunciation1 and general effectiveness of delivery4 ,sometimes these points are drawn up with percentages to suggest their proportionate weight2 but it is doubtful whether so exact a calculation can ever be of practical value4 ,in most cases the judges will decide from a much less articulate sense of which side has the advantage4#ff #fc4 ,preparations for ,debating4 ,since the chief value of debating1 as distinguished from written arguments1 is in cultivating readiness and flexibility of wit1 the speaking should be as far as possible extemporaneous4 ,this does not imply that the speaking should be without preparation3 on the contrary1 the preparation for good debating is more arduous than for a written argument1 for when you are on your feet on the platform you cannot run to your books or to your notes to refresh your memory or to find new material4 ,the ideal debater is the man who so carries the whole subject in his mind that the facts flow to his mind as he talks1 and fit into the plan of his argument without a break4 ,to the rare men who remember everything they read1 such readiness is natural1 but to far the largest number of speakers it comes only through hard study of the material4 ,daniel ,webster declared that the material for his famous ,reply to ,hayne had been in his desk for months4 ,in so far as debating consists in the recitation of set speeches written out and committed to memory beforehand1 it throws away most of what makes debating valuable1 and tends to become elocution4 ,we shall consider here1 therefore1 ways in which speakers can make themselves so familiar with the subject to be debated that they can confidently cut loose from their notes4 ,in the first place1 each debater on a team should prepare himself on the whole subject1 not only on the whole of his own side1 but also on the whole of the other side4 ,it is usual to divide up the chief points that a team is to make among its different members2 but in the sudden turns to which every debate is liable such assignment may easily become impossible4 ,if the other side presents new material or makes a point in such a way as manifestly to impress the audience1 the next speaker may have to throw over the point assigned to him and give himself immediately to refuting the arguments just made4 ,then his points must be left to his colleagues1 and they must be able to use them to effect4 ,likewise a team should know the strong points on the other side as well as on its own1 and come to the platform primed with arguments to meet them4 ,in intercollegiate contests1 to insure this fore-knowledge of the other side the speakers as part of their preparation meet men from their own college who argue out the other side in detail and at length4 ,in a triangular contest each team from a college has the advantage of having worked up the subject in actual debate against the other4 ,the more thoroughly you have worked up both sides of the question1 the less likely are you to be taken by surprise by some argument which you do not know how to meet4 #fd4 ,on the ,platform4 ,when it comes to the actual debate experience shows that speeches committed to memory are almost always ineffective as compared with extemporaneous speaking4 ,even when your confidence is not disturbed by a slippery memory there is an impalpable touch of the artificial about the prepared speech which impairs its vitality4 ,on the other hand1 especially with the first speeches on each side1 you cannot get to your feet and trust entirely to the inspiration of the moment2 you must have something thought out4 ,one of the most notable lecturers in ,harvard ,university prepares his lectures in a way which is an excellent model for debaters4 ,he writes out beforehand a complete analytical and tabulated plan of his lecture1 similar to the briefs which have been recommended here in ,chapter ,,ii1 with each of the main principles of his lecture1 and with the subdivisions and illustrations inserted4 ,then he leaves this outline at home and talks from a full and well-ordered mind4 ,some such plan is the best possible one for the main speeches in a debate4 ,often the plan can be most easily prepared by writing out the argument in full2 and this expansion of the argument has the added advantage of providing you with much of your phrasing4 ,but it is better not to commit the complete argument to memory3 the brief of it1 if thoroughly digested and so studied as to come readily to mind1 is enough4 ,then practice1 practice1 practice1 will give the ease and fluency that you need4 ,the rebuttal should always be extemporaneous4 ,even if you have foreseen the strongest points made by your opponent and prepared yourself to meet them1 you cannot foresee just the way he will make the points4 ,nothing is more awkward in a debate than to begin with a few obviously extemporaneous remarks1 and then to let loose a little speech which has been kept1 as it were1 in cold storage1 and which just misses fitting the speech to which it should be an answer4 ,it is better to make the rebuttal a little less sweeping than it might be and have it fall pat on the speech which it is attacking4 ,ready and spontaneous skill in rebuttal is the final excellence of debating4 ,at the same time the skill should be so natural that wit and good humor may have their chance4 ,if from the beginning you practice making your speeches in rebuttal offhand1 you will constantly gain in confidence when you are called on to speak4 ,whether to take notes on to the platform or not is a somewhat disputed question4 ,if you can speak without them and hold without stumbling to the main course of your argument1 so much the better4 ,on the other hand1 most lawyers have their briefs when they are arguing on points of law1 and some sort of rough notes when they are arguing before a jury2 and when unassumingly and naturally used1 notes are hardly observed by an audience4 ,only1 if you do have notes1 do not try to conceal them3 hold them so that the audience will know what they are1 and will not wonder what you are doing when you peer into the palm of your hand4 ,if you have passages to quote from a book or other document1 have the book on the table beside you2 its appearance will add substance to your point1 and the audience will have ocular proof that you are quoting exactly4 ,for purposes of rebuttal it is usual to have material on cards arranged under the principal subdivisions of the subject1 so that they can readily be found4 ,these cards can be kept in the small wooden or pasteboard boxes that are sold for the purpose at college stationers4 ,if the cards have the proper kind of headings1 you can easily look them over while your opponent is speaking and pull out the few that bear on the point you are to meet4 ,examples of these cards have been given in ,chapter ,,ii4 ,the important thing for their use in a debate is to have the headings so clear and pertinent that you can instantly find the particular card you want4 ,naturally you will have made yourself thoroughly familiar with them beforehand4 ,when you have to use statistics1 simplify them so that your hearers can take them in without effort4 ,large numbers should be given in round figures1 except where some special emphasis or perhaps some semihumorous effect is to be gained by giving them in full4 ,quotations from books or speeches must of necessity be short3 where you have only ten minutes yourself you cannot give five minutes to the words of another man4 ,keep your audience in good humor2 if you can occasion ally relieve the solemnity of the occasion by making them laugh1 they will like you the better for it1 and think none the worse of your argument4 ,on the other hand1 remember that such diversion is incidental1 and that your main business is to deal seriously with a serious question4 ,the uneasy self-consciousness that keeps a man always trying to be funny is nowhere more out of place than in a debate4 #fe4 ,voice and ,position4 ,the matter of delivery is highly important1 and here no man can trust to the light of nature4 ,any voice can be made to carry further and to be more expressive1 and the poorest and thinnest voice can be improved4 ,every student who has a dream of being a public speaker should take lessons in elocution or in singing or in both4 ,the expressiveness as well as the carrying power and the endurance of a voice depend on a knowledge of how to use the muscles of the chest1 throat1 and face2 and trainers of the voice have worked out methods for the proper use of all these sets of muscles4 ,a man who throws his breath from the top of his chest and does not use the great bellows that reach down to his diaphragm can get little carrying power4 ,so with the throat3 if it is stiff and pinched the tones will be high and forced1 and listening to them will tire the audience nearly as much as making them will tire the speaker4 ,finally1 the expressiveness of a voice1 the thrill that unconsciously but powerfully stirs hearers1 is largely a matter of the resonance that comes from the spaces above the mouth and behind the nose4 ,a humorous singing teacher once declared that the soul resides in the bridge of the nose2 and the saying is not so paradoxical as it sounds4 ,lessons in the use of all these parts1 and faithful practice in the exercises which go with them1 are essential for any man who wishes to make a mark in public speaking4 ,with the use of the voice1 though less essential1 goes the position and bearing on the platform4 ,it is not necessary to insist that the more natural this is1 the better4 ,if you can wholly forget yourself and think only of your points1 the chances are that your attitudes and position will take care of themselves4 ,only1 before thus forgetting yourself1 form the habit of talking without putting your hands in your pockets4 ,you ought to need your hands to talk with1 if not as much as a ,frenchman or an ,italian1 yet enough to emphasize your points naturally4 ,the mere physical stimulus to the eye of an audience in following your movements will help to keep their attention awake4 ,every one who has tried lecturing to a large class knows how much easier it is to hold them if he stands up and moves a little from time to time4 ,learn to stand easily and naturally1 with your chest well expanded1 and your weight comfortably balanced on your feet4 ,if it comes natural to you1 move about the stage slightly from time to time2 but be careful not to look each time you move as if a string had been pulled4 ,in attitude and gesture the only profitable council is1 ,be natural4 ,for all these matters of preparation1 both of what you are going to say1 the use of your voice1 and your attitude and action on the platform1 be prepared for hard practice with competent criticism4 ,it is a good plan to practice talking from your outlines with your watch open1 until you can bring your speech to an end in exactly the time allowed you4 ,the gain in confidence when you go to the debate will in itself be worth the time4 ,again1 practice speaking before a glass to make sure that you have no tricks of scowling or of making faces when you talk1 and to get used to standing up straight and holding yourself well4 ,what you see for yourself of your own ways will help you more than the advice of a critic4 ,but in all your preparation think beyond the special debate you are preparing for4 ,what you are or should be aiming at is habit--the instinctive1 spontaneous execution of rules which you have forgotten4 ,when the habit is established you can let all these questions of voice1 of attitude1 of gesture1 drop from your mind1 and give your whole attention to the ideas you are developing1 and the language in which you shall clothe them4 ,then the tones of your voice will respond to the earnestness of your feeling1 and your gestures will be the spontaneous response to the emphasis of your thought4 ,you will not be a perfect debater until all these matters are regulated from the unconscious depths of your mind4 ,in your attitude towards the debaters on the other side be scrupulously fair and friendly4 ,in class debates the matter is finished when the debate is over2 and what you are after is skill1 and not beating some one4 ,in interscholastic and intercollegiate debates victory is the end2 but even there1 after the debate you will often go out to supper with your opponents4 ,therefore demolish their arguments1 but do not smash their makers4 ,if the first speech falls to you1 set forth the facts in such a way that not only your opponents will have no corrections or protests to make1 but that they will be wholly willing to make a start from your foundation4 ,yield all trivial points3 it is a waste of your time and proof of an undeveloped sense of proportion to haggle over points that in the end nobody cares about4 ,you have won a point if you can make the audience and the judges feel that you are anxious to allow everything possible to the other side4 ,if your opponent trips on some small point of fact or reasoning1 don't heckle him2 let it pass1 or1 at the most1 point it out with some kindly touch of humor4 ,if his facts or his reasoning are wrong on important points1 that is your opportunity1 and you must make the most of it4 ,even then1 however1 stick to the argument1 and keep away from any appearance of being personal4 #ff4 ,the ,morals of ,debating4 ,there is a moral or ethical side to practice in debating which one cannot ignore4 ,it is dangerous to get into the habit of arguing lightly for things in which one does not believe2 and students may be forced into doing this if great care is not taken in the choice of subjects and sides4 ,the remedy lies in using1 so far as they can be kept interesting1 questions in which there is no moral element2 but still better in assigning sides to correspond with the actual views and preferences of the debaters4 ,where a question of principle is involved no one should ever argue against his beliefs4 ,the better class of lawyers are scrupulous about this3 they will not accept a brief which they believe to be in a cause which ought not to win4 ,if you have clearly made up your mind on a question of public policy1 you are in a false position if you argue1 even for practice1 against what you believe to be the right4 ,the formal debates of school and college are of necessity barren of practical result2 yet even here your discussions have a potent effect in molding your opinions4 ,it is a habit of mankind to start idly talking on a subject1 and as idly taking sides2 then1 when the talk grows warmer1 in the natural desire to carry a point to talk themselves into belief4 ,this is a human1 though not a very reasonable way of framing your views on public questions2 and it does not make either for consistency or for usefulness as a voter4 ,it is not good to back one's self into opinions of what makes for the common weal4 ,furthermore1 debate is something very different from dispute3 to talk round and round a subject1 contradicting blindly and asserting without bringing forward facts1 has its place in our life with our friends1 so long as it is good-natured2 but it does not bring illumination4 ,the essence of debate1 whether in a classroom1 in a city council1 or in ,congress1 should be to throw light into dark corners1 and to disentangle the view that most makes for the general good4 ,for us in ,america noblesse oblige applies to every educated man4 ,the graduate of a high school1 and1 even more1 the graduate of a college1 has taken exceptional benefits from the community4 ,this obligation he can in part repay by helping all citizens to a better understanding of the issues on which the progress of the nation turns4 ,finally1 debating should share the zest that comes of any good game that means hard work and an honorable struggle with opponents one respects and likes4 ,it is preeminently a social occupation4 ,the ,house of ,commons has long been noted as the best club in ,england2 and this sense of fellowship1 of continuing friendship and intimacy1 gives a charm to ,english parliamentary life which is hardly possible with the unwieldy numbers and huge hall of our own ,house of ,representatives1 but does spring out of the smaller and continuing membership of the ,senate4 ,a class in debating should have the sense of comradeship which comes of hard work together and the trying out of one's own powers against one's equals and betters1 and from the memory of hard-fought contests2 and intercollegiate and interscholastic contests should be carried on in the same spirit of zest in the hard work1 of a sane desire to win1 and of comradeship with worthy opponents4 ,,exercises #a4 ,name three questions in national affairs which have been debated within a month1 on which you could profitably debate2 three in state affairs2 three in local affairs4 #b4 ,name two subjects affecting your school or college which are under debate at the present time4 #c4 ,name two subjects on which you could write an argument1 but which would not be profitable for debate4 ,explain the reason4 #d4 ,name two good subjects for a debate drawn from athletics2 two from some current academic question2 two from local or municipal affairs4 #e4 ,find a proposition in which the two sides to a debate might in good faith pass each other without meeting4 ,make it over so that the issue would be unavoidable4 #f4 ,frame a proposition in which the burden of proof would not be on the affirmative4 ,make it over so that the burden of proof would fall on the affirmative4 #g4 ,draw up a scheme for a debate on one of the propositions in ,exercise #d1 with a tentative assignment of points to three debaters on a side4 #h4 ,draw up a set of instructions to judges for an intercollegiate or interscholastic debate1 so framed as to produce a decision on the points which seem to you the most important4 #i4 ,prepare yourself for a five-minute extemporaneous speech on a subject on which you have written an argument4 #aj4 ,name three questions on which you could not1 without violence to your convictions1 argue on more than one side4 ,,appendix ,i ,,examples ,,of ,,argument ,,the ,,three ,,hypotheses ,,respecting ,,the ,,history ,,of ,,nature#fg ,,thomas ,h4 ,,huxley ,this is the first of three lectures which make a continuous argument1 which were delivered in ,new ,york4 ,september #ah1 #bj1 and #bb1 #ahgf4 ,it should therefore be regarded as the introductory part of the argument2 and as a matter of fact it does not get to ,huxley's positive proof1 but is occupied with disposing of the other theories4 ,this refutation finished1 ,huxley was then at liberty to go ahead with the affirmative argument1 as he indicates in the last paragraph of the lecture4 ,the argument is a notable piece of reasoning on a scientific subject1 in terms which make it intelligible to all educated men4 ,when ,huxley spoke1 the heat which had been kindled by the first announcement of the theory of evolution in ,darwin's ,origin of ,species was still blazing2 and there were many church people who held that the theory was subversive of religion1 without giving themselves the trouble to understand it4 ,this timid frame of mind explains ,hurley's mode of approach to the subject4 ,we live in and form part of a system of things of immense diversity and perplexity1 which we call ,nature2 and it is a matter of the deepest interest to all of us that we should form just conceptions of the constitution of that system and of its past history4 ,with relation to this universe1 man is1 in extent1 little more than a mathematical point3 in duration but a fleeting shadow3 he is a mere reed shaken in the winds of force4 ,but1 as ,pascal long ago remarked1 although a mere reed1 he is a thinking reed2 and in virtue of that wonderful capacity of thought1 he has the power of framing for himself a symbolic conception of the universe1 which1 although doubtless highly imperfect and inadequate as a picture of the great whole1 is yet sufficient to serve him as a chart for the guidance of his practical affairs4 ,it has taken long ages of toilsome and often fruitless labor to enable man to look steadily at the shifting scenes of the phantasmagoria of ,nature1 to notice what is fixed among her fluctuations1 and what is regular among her apparent irregularities2 and it is only comparatively lately1 within the last few centuries1 that the conception of a universal order and of a definite course of things1 which we term the course of ,nature1 has emerged4 ,but1 once originated1 the conception of the constancy of the order of ,nature has become the dominant idea of modern thought4 ,to any person who is familiar with the facts upon which that conception is based1 and is competent to estimate their significance1 it has ceased to be conceivable that chance should have any place in the universe1 or that events should depend upon any but the natural sequence of cause and effect4 ,we have come to look upon the present as the child of the past and as the parent of the future2 and1 as we have excluded chance from a place in the universe1 so we ignore1 even as a possibility1 the notion of any interference with the order of ,nature4 ,whatever may be men's speculative doctrines1 it is quite certain that every intelligent person guides his life and risks his fortune upon the belief that the order of ,nature is constant1 and that the chain of natural causation is never broken4 ,in fact1 no belief which we entertain has so complete a logical basis as that to which ,i have just referred4 ,it tacitly underlies every process of reasoning2 it is the foundation of every act of the will4 ,it is based upon the broadest induction1 and it is verified by the most constant1 regular1 and universal of deductive processes4 ,but we must recollect that any human belief1 however broad its basis1 however defensible it may seem1 is1 after all1 only a probable belief1 and that our widest and safest generalizations are simply statements of the highest1 degree of probability4 ,though we are quite clear about the constancy of the order of ,nature1 at the present time1 and in the present state of things1 it by no means necessarily follows that we are justified in expanding this generalization into the infinite past1 and in denying1 absolutely1 that there may have been a time when ,nature did not follow a fixed order1 when the relations of cause and effect were not definite1 and when extranatural agencies interfered with the general course of ,nature4 ,cautious men will allow that a universe so different from that which we know may have existed2 just as a very candid thinker may admit that a world in which two and two do not make four1 and in which two straight lines do inclose a space1 may exist4 ,but the same caution which forces the admission of such possibilities demands a great deal of evidence before it recognizes them to be anything more substantial4 ,and when it is asserted that1 so many thousand years ago1 events occurred in a manner utterly foreign to and inconsistent with the existing laws of ,nature1 men1 who without being particularly cautious1 are simply honest thinkers1 unwilling to deceive themselves or delude others1 ask for trustworthy evidence of the fact4 ,did things so happen or did they not8 ,this is a historical question1 and one the answer to which must be sought in the same way as the solution of any other historical problem4 99 99 99 99 99 ,so far as ,i know1 there are only three hypotheses which ever have been entertained1 or which well can be entertained1 respecting the past history of ,nature4 ,i will1 in the first place1 state the hypotheses1 and then ,i will consider what evidence bearing upon them is in our possession1 and by what light of criticism that evidence is to be interpreted4 ,upon the first hypothesis1 the assumption is1 that phenomena of ,nature similar to those exhibited by the present world have always existed2 in other words1 that the universe has existed from all eternity in what may be broadly termed its present condition4 ,the second hypothesis is1 that the present state of things has had only a limited duration2 and that1 at some period in the past1 a condition of the world1 essentially similar to that winch we now know1 came into existence1 without any precedent condition from which it could have naturally proceeded4 ,the assumption that successive stales of ,nature have arisen1 each without any relation of natural causation to an antecedent state1 is a mere modification of this second hypothesis4 ,the third hypothesis also assumes that the present state of things has had but a limited duration2 but it ,supposes that this state has been evolved by a natural process from an antecedent state1 and that from another1 and so on2 and1 on this hypothesis1 the attempt to assign any limit to the series of past changes is1 usually1 given up4 ,it is so needful to form clear and distinct notions of what is really meant by each of these hypotheses that ,i will ask you to imagine what1 according to each1 would have been visible to a spectator of the events which constitute the history of the earth4 ,on the first hypothesis1 however far back in time that spectator might be placed1 he would see a world essentially1 though perhaps not in all its details1 similar to that which now exists4 ,the animals which existed would be the ancestors of those which now live1 and similar to them2 the plants1 in like manner1 would be such as we know2 and the mountains1 plains1 and waters would foreshadow the salient features of our present land and water4 ,this view was held more or less distinctly1 sometimes combined with the notion of recurrent cycles of change1 in ancient times2 and its influence has been felt down to the present day4 ,it is worthy of remark that it is a hypothesis which is not inconsistent with the doctrine of ,uniformitarianism1 with which geologists are familiar4 ,that doctrine was held by ,hutton1 and in his earlier days by ,lyell4 ,hutton was struck by the demonstration of astronomers that the perturbations of the planetary bodies1 however great they may be1 yet sooner or later right themselves2 and that the solar system possesses a self-adjusting power by which these aberrations are all brought back to a mean condition4 ,hutton imagined that the like might be true of terrestrial changes2 although no one recognized more clearly than he the fact that the dry land is being constantly washed down by rain and rivers and deposited in the sea2 and that thus1 in a longer or shorter time1 the inequalities of the earth's surface must be leveled1 and its high lards brought down to the ocean4 ,but1 taking into account the internal forces of the earth1 which1 upheaving the sea bottom1 give rise to new land1 he thought that these operations of degradation and elevation might compensate each other3 and that thus1 for any assignable time1 the general features of our planet might remain what they are4 ,and inasmuch as1 under these circumstances1 there need be no limit to the propagation of animals and plants1 it is clear that the consistent working out of the uniformitarian idea might load to the conception of the eternity of the world4 ,not that ,i mean to say that either ,hutton or ,lyell held this conception--assuredly not2 they would have been the first to repudiate it4 ,nevertheless1 the logical development of their arguments lends directly towards this hypothesis4 ,the second hypothesis supposes that the present order of things1 at some no very remote time1 had a sudden origin1 and that the world1 such as it now is1 had chaos for its phenomenal antecedent4 ,that is the doctrine which you will find stated most fully and clearly in the immortal poem of ,john ,milton1--the ,english ,divina ,commedia1--,paradise ,lost4 ,i believe it is largely to the influence of that remarkable work1 combined with the daily teachings to which we have all listened in our childhood1 that this hypothesis owes its general wide diffusion as one of the current beliefs of ,english-speaking people4 ,if you turn to the seventh book of ,paradise ,lost1 you will find there stated the hypothesis to which ,i refer1 which is briefly this3 ,that this visible universe of ours came into existence at no great distance of time from the present2 and that the parts of which it is composed made their appearance1 in a certain1 definite order1 in the space of six natural days1 in such a manner that1 on the first of these days1 light appeared2 that1 on the second1 the firmament1 or sky1 separated the waters above1 from the waters beneath the firmament2 that1 on the third day1 the waters drew away from the dry land1 and upon it a varied vegetable life1 similar to that which now exists1 made its appearance2 that the fourth day was signalized by the apparition of the sun1 the stars1 the moon1 and the planets2 that1 on the fifth day1 aquatic animals originated within the waters2 that1 on the sixth day1 the earth gave rise to our four-footed terrestrial creatures1 and to all varieties of terrestrial animals except birds1 which had appeared on the preceding day2 and1 finally1 that man appeared upon the earth1 and the emergence of the universe from chaos was finished4 ,milton tells us1 without the least ambiguity1 what a spectator of these marvelous occurrences would have witnessed4 ,i doubt not that his poem is familiar to all of you1 but ,i should like to recall one passage to your minds1 in order that ,i may be justified in what ,i have said regarding the perfectly concrete1 definite picture of the origin of the animal world which ,milton draws4 ,he says3 ,the sixth1 and of creation last1 arose ,with evening harps and matin1 when ,god said1 ',let tine earth bring forth soul living in her kind1 ,cattle and creeping things1 and beast of the earth1 ,each in their kind6' ,the earth obeyed1 and1 straight ,opening her fertile womb1 teemed at a birth4 ,innumerous living creatures1 perfect forms1 ,limbed and full-grown4 ,out of the ground uprose1 ,as from his lair1 the wild beast1 where he wons ,in forest wild1 in thicket1 brake1 or den3 ,among the trees in pairs they rose1 they walked2 ,the cattle in the fields and meadows green2 ,those rare and solitary2 these in flocks ,pasturing at once1 and in broad herds upsprung4 ,the grassy clods now calved2 now half appears ,the tawny lion1 pawing to get free ,his hinder parts--then springs1 as broke from bonds1 ,and rampant shakes his brinded mane2 the ounce1 ,the libbard1 and the tiger1 as the mole ,rising1 the crumbled earth above them threw ,in hillocks2 the swift stag from underground ,bore up his branching head2 scarce from his mould ,behemoth1 biggest born of earth1 upheaved ,his vastness2 fleeced the flocks and bleating rose ,as plants2 ambiguous between sea and land1 ,the river-horse and scaly crocodile4 ,at once came forth whatever creeps the ground1 ,insect or worm4 ,there is no doubt as to the meaning of this statement1 nor as to what a man of ,milton's genius expected would have been actually visible to an eyewitness of this mode of origination of living things4 ,the third hypothesis1 or the hypothesis of evolution1 supposes that1 at any comparatively late period of past time1 our imaginary spectator would meet with a state of things very similar to that which now obtains2 but that the likeness of the past to the present would gradually become less and less1 in proportion to the remoteness of his period of observation from the present day3 that the existing distribution of mountains and plains1 of rivers and seas1 would show itself to be the product of a slow process of natural change operating upon more and more widely different antecedent conditions of the mineral framework of the earth2 until1 at length1 in place of that framework1 he would behold only a vast nebulous mass1 representing the constituents of the sun and of the planetary bodies4 ,preceding the forms of life which now exist1 our observer would see animals and plants not identical with them1 but like them3 increasing their differences with their antiquity1 and at the same time becoming simpler and simpler2 until1 finally1 the world of life would present nothing but that undifferentiated protoplasmic matter which1 so far as our present knowledge goes1 is the common foundation of all vital activity4 ,the hypothesis of evolution supposes that in all this vast progression there would be no breach of continuity1 no point at which we could say ,this is a natural process1 and ,this is not a natural process2 but that the whole might be compared to that wonderful process of development which may be seen going on every day under our eyes1 in virtue of which there arises1 out of the semifluid1 comparatively homogeneous substance which we call an egg1 the complicated organization of one of the higher animals4 ,that1 in a few words1 is what is meant by the hypothesis of evolution4 99 99 99 99 99 ,i have already suggested that in dealing with these three hypotheses1 in endeavoring to form a judgment as to which of them is the more worthy of belief1 or whether none is worthy of belief--in which case our condition of mind should be that suspension of judgment which is so difficult to all but trained intellects1--we should be indifferent to all a priori considerations4 ,the question is a question of historical fact4 ,the universe has come into existence somehow or other1 and the problem is1 whether it came into existence in one fashion1 or whether it came into existence in another2 and1 as an essential preliminary to further discussion1 permit me to say two or three words as to the nature and the kinds of historical evidence4 ,the evidence as to the occurrence of any event in past time may be ranged under two heads1 which1 for convenience' sake1 ,i will speak of as testimonial evidence and as circumstantial evidence4 ,by testimonial evidence ,i mean human testimony2 and by circumstantial evidence ,i mean evidence which is not human testimony4 ,let me illustrate by a familiar example what ,i understand by these two kinds of evidence1 and what is to be said respecting their value4 ,suppose that a man tells you that he saw a person strike another and kill him2 that is testimonial evidence of the fact of murder4 ,but it is possible to have circumstantial evidence of the fact of murder2 that is to say1 you may find a man dying with a wound upon his head having exactly the form and character of the wound which is made by an ax1 and1 with due care in taking surrounding circumstances into account1 you may conclude with the utmost certainty that the man has been murdered2 that his death is the consequence of a blow inflicted by another man with that implement4 ,we are very much in the habit of considering circumstantial evidence as of less value than testimonial evidence1 and it may be that1 where the circumstances are not perfectly clear and intelligible1 it is a dangerous and unsafe kind of evidence2 but it must not be forgotten that1 in many cases1 circumstantial evidence is quite as conclusive as testimonial evidence1 and that1 not unfrequently1 it is a great deal weightier than testimonial evidence4 ,for example1 take the case to which ,i referred just now4 ,the circumstantial evidence may be better and more convincing than the testimonial evidence2 for it may be impossible1 under the conditions that ,i have defined1 to suppose that the man met his death from any cause but the violent blow of an ax wielded by another man4 ,the circumstantial evidence in favor of a murder having been committed1 in that case1 is as complete and as convincing as evidence can be4 ,it is evidence which is open to no doubt and to no falsification4 ,but the testimony of a witness is open to multitudinous doubts4 ,he may have been mistaken4 ,he may have been actuated by malice4 ,it has constantly happened that even an accurate man has declared that a thing has happened in this1 that1 or the other way1 when a careful analysis of the circumstantial evidence has shown that it did not happen in that way1 but in some other way4 ,we may now consider the evidence in favor of or against the three hypotheses4 ,let me first direct your attention to what is to be said about the hypothesis of the eternity of the state of things in which we now live4 ,what will first strike you is1 that it is a hypothesis which1 whether true or false1 is not capable of verification by any evidence4 ,for1 in order to obtain either circumstantial or testimonial evidence sufficient to prove the eternity of duration of the present state of nature1 you must have an eternity of witnesses or an infinity of circumstances1 and neither of these is attainable4 ,it is utterly impossible that such evidence should be carried beyond a certain point of time2 and all that could be said1 at most1 would be1 that so far as the evidence could be traced1 there was nothing to contradict the hypothesis4 ,but when you look1 not to the testimonial evidence--which1 considering the relative insignificance of the antiquity of human records1 might not be good for much in this case--but to the circumstantial evidence1 then you will find that this hypothesis is absolutely incompatible with such evidence as we have2 which is of so plain and so simple a character that it is impossible in any way to escape from the conclusions which it forces upon us4 ,you are1 doubtless1 all aware that the outer substance of the earth1 which alone is accessible to direct observation1 is not of a homogeneous character1 but that it is made up of a number of layers or strata1 the titles of the principal groups of which are placed upon the accompanying diagram4#fh ,each of these groups represents a number of beds of sand1 of stone1 of clay1 of slate1 and of various other materials4 ,on careful examination1 it is found that the materials of which each of these layers of more or less hard rock are composed are1 for the most part1 of the same nature as those which are at present being formed under known conditions on the surface of the earth4 ,for example1 the chalk1 which constitutes a great part of the ,cretaceous formation in some parts of the world1 is practically identical in its physical and chemical characters with a substance which is now being formed at the bottom of the ,atlantic ,ocean1 and covers an enormous area2 other beds of rock are comparable with the sands which art2 being formed upon seashores1 packed together1 and so on4 ,thus1 omitting rocks of igneous origin1 it is demonstrable that all these beds of stone1 of which a total of not less than seventy thousand feet is known1 have been formed by natural agencies1 either out of the waste and washing of the dry land1 or else by the accumulation of the exuviae of plants and animals4 ,many of these strata are full of such exuviae--the so-called fossils4 ,remains of thousands of species of animals and plants1 as perfectly recognizable as those of existing forms of life which you meet with in museums1 or as the shells which you pick up upon the seabeach1 have been embedded in the ancient sands1 or muds1 or limestones1 just as they are being embedded now1 in sandy1 or clayey1 or calcareous subaqueous deposits4 ,they furnish us with a record1 the general nature of which cannot be misinterpreted1 of the kinds of things that have lived upon thy surface of the earth during the time that is registered by this great thickness of stratified rocks4 ,but even a superficial study of these fossils shows us that the animals and plants which live at the present time have had only a temporary duration2 for the remains of such modern forms of life are met with1 for the most part1 only in the uppermost or latest tertiaries1 and their number rapidly diminishes in the lower deposits of that epoch4 ,in the older tertiaries1 the places of existing animals and plants are taken by other forms1 as numerous and diversified as those which live now in the same localities1 but more or less different from them2 in the ,mesozoic rocks1 these are replaced by others yet more divergent from modern types2 and in the ,paleozoic formations the contrast is still more marked4 ,thus the circumstantial evidence absolutely negatives the conception of the eternity of the present condition of things4 ,we can say with certainly that the present condition of things has existed for a comparatively short period2 and that1 so far as animal and vegetable nature are concerned1 it has been preceded by a different condition4 ,we can pursue this evidence until we reach the lowest of the stratified rocks1 in which we lose the indications of life altogether4 ,the hypothesis of the eternity of the present state of nature may therefore be put out of court4 ,we now come to what ,i will term ,milton's hypothesis--the hypothesis that the present condition of things has endured for a comparatively short time2 and1 at the commencement of that time1 came into existence within the course of six days4 ,i doubt not that it may have excited some surprise in your minds that ,i should have spoken of this as ,milton's hypothesis1 rather than that ,i should have chosen the terms which are more customary1 such as the doctrine of creation1 or the ,biblical doctrine1 or the doctrine of ,moses1 all of which denominations1 as applied to the hypothesis to which ,i have just referred1 are certainly much more familiar to you than the title of the ,miltonic hypothesis4 ,but ,i have had what ,i cannot but think are very weighty reasons for taking the course which ,t have pursued4 ,in the first place1 ,i have discarded the title of the doctrine of creation1 because my present business is not with the question why the objects which constitute ,nature came into existence1 but when they came into existence1 and in what order4 ,this is as strictly a historical question as the question when the ,angles and the ,jutes invaded ,england1 and whether they preceded or followed the ,romans4 ,but the question about creation is a philosophical problem1 and one which cannot be solved1 or even approached1 by the historical method4 ,what we want to learn is1 whether the facts1 so far as they are known1 afford evidence that things arose in the way described-by ,milton1 or whether they do not2 and1 when that question is settled1 it will be time enough to inquire into the causes of their origination4 ,in the second place1 ,i have not spoken of this doctrine as the ,biblical doctrine1 ,it is quite true that persons as diverse in their general views as ,milton the ,protestant and the celebrated ,jesuit ,father ,suarez1 each put upon the first chapter of ,genesis the interpretation embodied in ,milton's poem4 ,it is quite true that this interpretation is that which has been instilled into every one of us in our childhood2 but ,i do not for one moment venture to say that it can properly be called the ,biblical doctrine4 ,it is not my business1 and does not lie within my competency1 to say what the ,hebrew text does1 and what it does not signify2 moreover1 were ,i to affirm that this is the ,biblical doctrine1 ,i should be met by the authority of many eminent scholars1 to say nothing of men of science1 who1 at various times1 have absolutely denied that any such doctrine is to be found in ,genesis4 ,if we are to listen to many expositors of no mean authority1 we must believe that what seems so clearly defined in ,genesis--as if very great pains had been taken that there should be no possibility of mistake--is not the meaning of the text at all4 ,the account is divided into periods that we may make just as long or short as convenience requires4 ,we are also to understand that it is consistent with the original text to believe that the most complex plants and animals may have been evolved by natural processes1 lasting for millions of years1 out of structureless rudiments4 ,a person who is not a ,hebrew scholar can only stand aside and admire the marvelous flexibility of a language which admits of such diverse interpretations4 ,but assuredly1 in the face of such contradictions of authority upon matters respecting which he is incompetent to form any judgment1 he will abstain1 as ,i do1 from giving any opinion4 ,in the third place1 ,i have carefully abstained from speaking of this as the ,mosaic doctrine1 because we are now assured upon the authority of the highest critics1 and even of dignitaries of the ,church1 that there is no evidence that ,moses wrote the ,book of ,genesis1 or knew anything about it4 ,you will understand that ,i give no judgment--it would be an impertinence upon my part to volunteer even a suggestion--upon such a subject4 ,but1 that being the state of opinion among the scholars and the clergy1 it is well for the unlearned in ,hebrew lore1 and for the laity1 to avoid entangling themselves in such a vexed question4 ,happily1 ,milton leaves us no excuse for doubting what he means1 and ,i shall therefore be safe in speaking of the opinion in question as the ,miltonic hypothesis4 ,now we have to test that hypothesis4 ,for my part1 ,i have no prejudice one way or the other4 ,if there is evidence in favor of this view1 ,i am burdened by no theoretical difficulties in the way of accepting it3 but there must be evidence4 ,scientific men get an awkward habit--no1 ,i won't call it that1 for it is a valuable habit--of believing nothing unless there is evidence for it2 and they have a way of looking upon belief which is not based upon evidence1 not only as illogical1 but as immoral4 ,we will1 if you please1 test this view by the circumstantial evidence alone2 for1 from what ,i have said1 you will understand that ,i do not propose to discuss the question of what testimonial evidence is to be adduced in favor of it4 ,if those whose business it is to judge are not at one as to the authenticity of the only evidence of that kind which is offered1 nor as to the facts to which it bears witness1 the discussion of such evidence is superfluous4 ,but ,i may be permitted to regret this necessity of rejecting the testimonial evidence the less1 because the examination of the circumstantial evidence leads to the conclusion1 not only that it is incompetent to justify the hypothesis1 but that1 so far as it goes1 it is contrary to the hypothesis4 ,the considerations upon which ,i base this conclusion are of the simplest possible character4 ,the ,miltonic hypothesis contains assertions of a very definite character relating to the succession of living forms4 ,it is stated that plants1 for example1 made their appearance upon the third day1 and not before4 ,and you will understand that what the poet means by plants are such plants as now live1 the ancestors1 in the ordinary way of propagation of like by like1 of the trees and shrubs which flourish in the present world4 ,it must needs be so2 for1 if they were different1 either the existing plants have been the result of a separate origination since that described by ,milton1 of which we have no record1 nor any ground for supposition that such an occurrence has taken place2 or else they have arisen by a process of evolution from the original stocks4 ,in the second place1 it is clear that there was no animal life before the fifth day1 and that1 on the fifth day1 aquatic animals and birds appeared4 ,and4 it is further clear that terrestrial living things1 other than birds1 made their appearance upon the sixth day1 and not before4 ,hence1 it follows that1 if1 in the large mass of circumstantial evidence as to what really has happened in the past history of the globe1 we find indications of the existence of terrestrial animals1 other than birds1 at a certain period1 it is perfectly certain that all that has taken place since that time must be referred to the sixth day4 ,in the great ,carboniferous formation1#fi whence ,america derives so vast a proportion of her actual and potential wealth1 in the beds of coal which have been formed from the vegetation of that period1 we find abundant evidence of the existence of terrestrial animals4 ,they have been described1 not only by ,european but by your own naturalists4 ,there are to be found numerous insects allied to our cockroaches4 ,there are to be found spiders and scorpions of large size1 the latter so similar to existing scorpions that it requires the practiced eye of the naturalist to distinguish them4 ,inasmuch as these animals can be proved to have been alive in the ,carboniferous epoch1 it is perfectly clear that1 if the ,miltonic account is to be accepted1 the huge mass of rocks extending from the middle of the ,paleozoic formations to the uppermost members of the series1 must belong to the day which is termed by ,milton the sixth4 ,but1 further1 it is expressly stated that aquatic animals took their origin upon the fifth day1 and not before2 hence1 all formations in which remains of aquatic animals can be proved to exist1 and which therefore testify that such animals lived at the time when these formations were in course of deposition1 must have been deposited during or since the period which ,milton speaks of as the fifth4 ,but there is absolutely no fossiliferous formation in which the remains of aquatic animals are absent4 ,the oldest fossils in the ,silurian rocks#gj are exuviae of marine animals2 and if the view which is entertained by ,principal ,dawson and ,dr4 ,carpenter respecting the nature of the eozon be well founded1 aquatic animals existed at a period as far antecedent to the deposition of the coal as the coal is from us2 inasmuch as the eozon is met with in those ,laurentian strata which lie at the bottom of the series of stratified rocks4 ,hence it follows1 plainly enough1 that the whole series of stratified rocks1 if they are to be brought into harmony with ,milton1 must be referred to the fifth and sixth days1 and that we cannot hope to find the slightest trace of the products of the earlier days in the geological record4 ,when we consider these simple facts1 we see how absolutely futile are the attempts that have been made to draw a parallel between the story told by so much of the crust of the earth as is known to us and the story which ,milton tells4 ,the whole series of fossiliferous stratified rocks must be referred to the last two days2 and neither the ,carboniferous1 nor any other1 formation can afford evidence of the work of the third day4 ,not only is there this objection to any attempt to establish a harmony between the ,miltonic account and the facts recorded in the fossiliferous rocks1 but there is a further difficulty4 ,according to the ,miltonic account1 the order in which animals should have made their appearance in the stratified rocks would be this3 ,fishes1 including the great whales1 and birds2 after them1 all varieties of terrestrial animals except birds4 ,nothing could be further from the facts as we find them2 we know of not the slightest evidence of the existence of birds before the ,jurassic1 or perhaps the ,triassic1 formation2#ga while terrestrial animals1 as we have just seen1 occur in the ,carboniferous rocks4 ,if there were any harmony between the ,miltonic account and the circumstantial evidence1 we ought to have abundant evidence of the existence of birds in the ,carboniferous1 the ,devonian1 and the ,silurian rocks4 ,i need hardly say that this is not the case1 and that not a trace of birds makes its appearance until the ,tar later period which ,i have mentioned4 ,and again1 if it be true that all varieties of fishes and the great whales1 and the like1 made their appearance on the fifth day1 we ought to find the remains of these animals in the older rocks--in those which were deposited before the ,carboniferous epoch4 ,fishes we do find1 in considerable number and variety2 but the great whales are absent1 and the fishes are not such as now live4 ,not one solitary species of fish now in existence is to be found in the ,devonian or ,silurian formations4 ,hence we are introduced afresh to the dilemma which ,i have already placed before you3 either the animals which came into existence on the fifth day were not such as those which are found at present1 are not the direct and immediate ancestors of those which now exist2 in which case either fresh creations of which nothing is said1 or a process of evolution must have occurred2 or else the whole story must be given up as not only devoid of any circumstantial evidence1 but contrary to such evidence as exists4 ,i placed before you in a few words1 some little time ago1 a statement of the sum and substance of ,milton's hypothesis4 ,let me now try to state as briefly1 the effect of the circumstantial evidence bearing upon the past history of the earth which is furnished1 without the possibility of mistake1 with no chance of error as to its chief features1 by the stratified rocks4 ,what we find is1 that the great series of formations represents a period of time of which our human chronologies hardly afford us a unit of measure4 ,i will not pretend to say how we ought to estimate this time1 in millions or in billions of years4 ,for my purpose1 the determination of its absolute duration is wholly unessential4 ,but that the time was enormous there can be no question4 ,it results from the simplest methods of interpretation1 that leaving out of view certain patches of metamorphosed rocks1 and certain volcanic products1 all that is now dry land has once been at the bottom of the waters4 ,it is perfectly certain that1 at a comparatively recent period of the world's history--the ,cretaceous epoch--none of the great physical features which at present mark the surface of the globe existed4 ,it is certain that the ,rocky ,mountains were not4 ,it is certain that the ,himalaya ,mountains were not4 ,it is certain that the ,alps and the ,pyrenees had no existence4 ,the evidence is of the plainest possible character1 and is simply this3--,we find raised up on the flanks of these mountains1 elevated by the forces of upheaval which have given rise to them1 masses of ,cretaceous rock which formed the bottom of the sea before those mountains existed4 ,it is therefore clear that the elevatory forces which gave rise to the mountains operated subsequently to the ,cretaceous epoch2 and that the mountains themselves are largely made up of the materials deposited in the sea which once occupied their place4 ,as we go back in time1 we meet with constant alternations of sea and land1 of estuary and open ocean2 and1 in correspondence with these alternations1 we observe the changes in the fauna and flora to which ,i have referred4 ,but the inspection of these changes gives us no right to believe that there has been any discontinuity in natural processes4 ,there is no trace of general cataclysms1 of universal deluges1 or sudden destructions of a whole fauna or flora4 ,the appearances which were formerly interpreted in that way have all been shown to be delusive1 as our knowledge has increased and as the blanks which formerly appeared to exist between the different formations have been filled up4 ,that there is no absolute break between formation and formation1 that there has been no sudden disappearance of all the forms of life and replacement of them by others1 but that changes have gone on slowly and gradually1 that one type has died out and another has taken its place1 and that thus1 by insensible degrees1 one fauna has been replaced by another1 are conclusions strengthened by constantly increasing evidence4 ,so that within the whole of the immense period indicated by the fossiliferous stratified rocks1 there is assuredly not the slightest proof of any break in the uniformity of ,nature's operations1 no indication that events have followed other than a clear and orderly sequence4 ,that1 ,i say1 is the natural and obvious teaching of the circumstantial evidence contained in the stratified rocks4 ,i leave you to consider how far1 by any ingenuity of interpretation1 by any stretching of the meaning of language1 it can be brought into harmony with the ,miltonic hypothesis4 ,there remains the third hypothesis1 that of which ,i have spoken as the hypothesis of evolution2 and ,i purpose that1 in lectures to come1 we should discuss it as carefully as we have considered the other two hypotheses4 ,i need not say that it is quite hopeless to look for testimonial evidence of evolution4 ,the very nature of the case precludes the possibility of such evidence1 for the human race can no more be expected to testify to its own origin1 than a child can be tendered as a witness of its own birth4 ,our sole inquiry is1 what foundation circumstantial evidence lends to the hypothesis1 or whether it lends none1 or whether it controverts the hypothesis4 ,i shall deal with the matter entirely as a question of history4 ,i shall not indulge in the discussion of any speculative probabilities4 ,i shall not attempt to show that ,nature is unintelligible unless we adopt some such hypothesis4 ,for anything ,i know about the matter1 it may be the way of ,nature to be unintelligible2 she is often puzzling1 and ,i have no reason to suppose that she is bound to fit herself to our notions4 ,i shall place before you three kinds of evidence entirely based upon what is known of the forms of animal life which are contained in the series of stratified rocks4 ,i shall endeavor to show you that there is one kind of evidence which is neutral1 which neither helps evolution nor is inconsistent with it4 ,i shall then bring forward a second kind of evidence which indicates a strong probability in favor of evolution1 but does not prove it2 and1 lastly1 ,i shall adduce a third kind of evidence which1 being as complete as any evidence which we can hope to obtain upon such a subject1 and being wholly and strikingly in favor of evolution1 may fairly be called demonstrative evidence of its occurrence4 ,,the ,,transmission ,,of ,,yellow ,,fever ,,by ,,mosquitoes ,,george ,m4 ,,sternberg1 ,m4,d41 ,l4,l4,d1 ,,surgeon-,,general ,u4,s4 ,,army#gb ,this article is a scientific demonstration of a new fact4 ,it shows clearly the processes of scientific reasoning based on the methods known to ,logic as the ,methods of ,agreement and ,difference4 ,the theory that the germs of the disease are carried by mosquitoes seems first to have suggested itself to ,dr4 ,sternberg and to ,dr4 ,finlay through noticing a similarity of phenomena in many cases under different conditions4 ,yet1 however plausible1 the theory1 neither of them could declare that he had discovered the fact until the experiments carried on under rigorous precautions had been tried4 ,by these experiments all other causes were ruled out of consideration4 ,the discoveries which have been made in the past twenty-five years with reference to the etiology#gc of infectious diseases constitute the greatest achievement of scientific medicine and afford a substantial basis for the application of intelligent measures of prophylaxis4#gd ,we know the specific cause 7germ7 of typhoid fever1 of pulmonary consumption1 of cholera1 of diphtheria1 of erysipelas1 of croupous pneumonia1 of the malarial fevers1 and of various other infectious diseases of man and of the domestic animals1 but1 up to the present time1 all efforts to discover the germ of yellow fever have been without success4 ,the present writer1 as a member of the ,havana ,yellow ,fever ,commission1 in #ahgi1 made the first systematic attempt to solve the unsettled questions relating to yellow fever etiology by modern methods of research4 ,naturally the first and most important question to engage my attention was that relating to the specific infectious agent1 or germ1 which there was every reason to believe must be found in the bodies of infected individuals4 ,was this germ present in the blood1 as in the case of relapsing fever2 or was it to be found in the organs and tissues which upon post-mortem examination give evidence of pathological changes1 as in typhoid fever1 pneumonia1 and diphtheria2 or was it to be found in the alimentary canal1 as in cholera and dysentery8 ,the clinical history of the disease indicated a general blood infection4 ,as my equipment included the best microscopical apparatus made1 ,i had strong hopes that in properly stained preparations of blood taken from the circulation of yellow fever patients my ,zeiss #a-ah oil immersion objective would reveal to me the germ ,i was in search of4 ,but ,i was doomed to disappointment4 ,repeated examinations of blood from patients in every stage of the disease failed to demonstrate the presence of microorganisms of any kind4 ,my subsequent investigations in ,havana1 ,vera ,cruz1 and ,rio de ,janeiro1 made in #ahhg1 #ahhh1 and #ahhi1 were equally unsuccessful4 ,and numerous competent microscopists of various nations have since searched in vain for this elusive germ4 ,another method of attacking this problem consists in introducing blood from yellow fever patients or recent cadavers into various culture media for the purpose of cultivating any germ that might be present4 ,extended researches of this kind also gave a negative result1 which in my final report ,i stated as follows3 ,the specific cause of yellow fever has not yet been demonstrated4 ,it is demonstrated that microorganisms1 capable of development in the culture media usually employed by the bacteriologists1 are only found in the blood and tissues of yellow fever cadavers in exceptional cases1 when cultures are made very soon after death4 ,since this report was made1 various investigators have attacked the question of yellow fever etiology1 and one of them has made very positive claims to the discovery of the specific germ4 ,i refer to the ,italian bacteriologist1 ,sanarelli4 ,his researches were made in ,brazil1 and1 singularly enough1 he found in the blood of the first case examined by him a bacillus4 ,it was present in large numbers1 but this case proved to be unique1 for neither ,sanarelli nor any one else has since2 found it in such abundance4 ,it has been found in small numbers in the blood and tissues of yellow fever cadavers in a certain number of the cases examined4 ,but carefully conducted researches by competent bacteriologists have failed to demonstrate its presence in a considerable proportion of the cases1 and the recent researches of ,reed1 ,carroll1 and ,agramonte1 to which ,i shall shortly refer1 demonstrate conclusively that the bacillus of ,sanarelli has nothing to do with the etiology of yellow fever4 ,so far as ,i am aware1 ,dr4 ,carlos ,finlay1 of ,havana1 ,cuba1 was the first to suggest the transmission of yellow fever by mosquitoes4 ,in a communication made to the ,academy of ,sciences of ,havana1 in ,october1 #ahha1 he gave an account of his first attempts to demonstrate the truth of his theory4 ,in a paper contributed to ,the ,edinburgh ,medical ,journal in #ahid1 ,dr4 ,finlay gives a summary of his experimental inoculations up to that date as follows3 ,a summary account of the experiments performed by myself 7and some also by my friend1 ,dr4 ,delgado71 during the last twelve years1 will enable the reader to judge for himself4 ,the experiment has consisted in first applying a captive mosquito to a yellow fever patient1 allowing it to introduce its lance and to fill itself with blood2 next1 after the lapse of two or more days1 applying the same mosquito to the skin of a person who is considered susceptible to yellow fever3 and1 finally1 observing the effects1 not only during the first two weeks1 but during periods of several years1 so as to appreciate the amount of immunity that should follow4 ,between the #cjth of ,june1 #ahha1 and the #b;d of ,december1 #ahic1 eighty-eight persons have been so inoculated4 ,all were white adults1 uniting the conditions which justify the assumption that they were susceptible to yellow fever4 ,only three were women4 ,the chronological distribution of the inoculations was as follows3 seven in #ahha1 ten in #ahhc1 nine in #ahhe1 three in #ahhf1 twelve in #ahhg1 nine in #ahhh1 seven in #ahhi1 ten in #ahij1 eight in #ahia1 three in #ahib1 and ten in #ahic4 ,the yellow fever patients upon whom the mosquitoes were contaminated were1 almost in every instance1 well-marked cases of the albuminuric or melanoalbuminuric forms1 in the second1 third1 fourth1 fifth1 or sixth day of the disease4 ,in some of the susceptible subjects1 the inoculation was repeated when the source of the contamination appeared uncertain4 ,among the eighty-seven who have been under observation1 the following results have been recorded3 ,within a term of days1 varying between five and twenty-five after the inoculation1 one presented a mild albuminuric attack1 and thirteen1 only acclimation fevers4 99 99 99 99 99 ,while ,finlay's theory appeared to be plausible and to explain many of the facts relating to the etiology of yellow fever1 his experimental inoculations not only failed to give it substantial support1 but the negative results1 as reported1 by himself1 seemed to be opposed to the view that yellow fever is transmitted by the mosquito4 ,it is true that he reports one case which presented a mild albuminuric attack which we may accept as an attack of yellow fever4 ,but in view of the fact that this case occurred in the city of ,havana1 where yellow fever is endemic1 and of the eighty-six negative results from similar inoculations1 the inference seemed justified that in this case the disease was contracted in some other way than as a result of the so-called mosquito inoculation4 ,the thirteen cases in which only acclimation fevers occurred within a term of days varying between five and twenty-five after the inoculation appeared to me to have no value as giving support to ,finlay's theory2 first1 because these acclimation fevers could not be identified as mild cases of yellow fever2 second1 because the ordinary method of incubation in yellow fever1 is less than five days2 and1 third1 because these individuals1 having recently arrived in ,havana1 were liable to attacks of yellow fever1 or of acclimation fever as a result of their residence in this city and quite independently of ,dr4 ,finlay's mosquito inoculations4 ,for these reasons ,dr4 ,finlay's experiments failed to convince the medical profession generally of the truth of his theory relating to the transmission of yellow fever1 and this important question remained in doubt and a subject of controversy4 ,one party regarded the disease as personally contagious and supposed it to be communicated directly from the sick to the well1 as in the case of other contagious diseases1 such as smallpox1 scarlet fever1 etc4 ,opposed to this theory was the fact that in innumerable instances nonimmune persons had been known to care for yellow-fever patients as nurses1 or physicians1 without contracting the disease2 also the fact that the epidemic extension of the disease depends upon external conditions relating to temperature1 altitude1 rainfall1 etc4 ,it was a well-established fact that the disease is arrested by cold weather and does not prevail in northern latitudes or at considerable altitudes4 ,but diseases which are directly transmitted from man to man by personal contact have no such limitations4 ,the alternate theory took account of the above-mentioned facts and assumed that the disease was indirectly transmitted from sick to well1 as is the case in typhoid fever and cholera1 and that its germ was capable of development external to the human body when conditions were favorable4 ,these conditions were believed to be a certain elevation of the temperature1 the presence of moisture and suitable2 organic pabulum 7filth7 for the development of the germ4 ,the two first-mentioned conditions were known to be essential1 the third was a subject of controversy4 ,yellow fever epidemics do not occur in the winter months in the temperate zone and they do not occur in arid regions4 ,as epidemics have frequently prevailed in seacoast cities known to be in an insanitary condition1 it has been generally assumed that the presence of decomposing organic material is favorable for the development of an epidemic and that1 like typhoid fever and cholera1 yellow fever is a filth disease4 ,opposed to this view1 however1 is the fact that epidemics have frequently occurred in localities 7e4g4 at military posts7 where no local insanitary conditions were to be found4 ,moreover1 there are marked differences in regard to the transmission of the recognized filth diseases--typhoid fever and cholera--and yellow fever4 ,the first-mentioned diseases are largely propagated by means of a contaminated water supply1 whereas there is no evidence that yellow fever is ever communicated in this way4 ,typhoid fever and cholera prevail in all parts of the world and may prevail at any season of the year1 although cholera1 as a rule1 is a disease of the summer months4 ,on the other hand1 yellow fever has a very restricted area of prevalence and is essentially a disease of seaboard cities and of warm climates4 ,evidently neither of the theories referred to accounts for all of the observed facts with reference to the endemic prevalence and epidemic extension of the disease under consideration4 ,having for years given much thought to this subject1 ,i became some time since impressed with the view that probably in yellow fever1 as in the malarial fevers1 there is an intermediate host4 ,i therefore suggested to ,dr4 ,reed1 president of the board appointed upon my recommendation for the study of this disease in the island of ,cuba1 that he should give special attention to the possibility of transmission by some insect1 although the experiments of ,finlay seemed to show that this insect was not a mosquito of the genus ,culex1 such as he had used in his inoculation experiments4 ,i also urged that efforts should be made to ascertain definitely whether the disease can be communicated from man to man by blood inoculations4 ,evidently if this is the case the blood must contain the living infectious agent upon which the propagation of the disease depends1 notwithstanding the fact that all attempts to demonstrate the presence of such a germ in the blood1 by means of microscope and culture methods1 have proved unavailing4 ,i had previously demonstrated by repeated experiments that inoculations of yellow fever blood into lower animals--dogs1 rabbits1 guinea pigs--give a negative result1 but this negative result might well be because these animals were not susceptible to the disease and could not be accepted as showing that the germ of yellow fever was not present in the blood4 ,a single inoculation experiment on man had been made in my presence in the city of ,vera ,cruz1 in #ahhg1 by ,dr4 ,daniel ,ruiz1 who was in charge of the civil hospital in that city4 ,but this experiment was inconclusive for the reason that the patient from whom the blood was obtained was in the eighth day of the disease1 and it was quite possible that the specific germ might have been present at an earlier period and that after a certain number of days the natural resources of the body are sufficient to effect its destruction1 or in some way to cause its disappearance from the circulation4 ,this was the status of the question of yellow fever etiology when ,dr4 ,reed and his associates commenced their investigations in ,cuba during the summer of #aijj4 ,in a ,preliminary ,note1 read at the meeting of the ,american ,public ,health ,association1 ,october #bb1 #aijj1 the board gave a report of three cases of yellow fever which they believed to be direct results of mosquito inoculations4 ,two of these were members of the board1 viz41 ,dr4 ,jesse ,w4 ,lazear and ,dr4 ,james ,carroll1 who voluntarily submitted themselves to the experiment4 ,dr4 ,carroll suffered a severe attack of the disease and recovered1 but ,dr4 ,lazear fell a victim to his enthusiasm and died in the cause of science and humanity4 ,his death occurred on ,september #be1 after an illness of six days' duration4 ,about the same time nine other individuals who volunteered for the experiment were bitten by infected mosquitoes--i4e4 by mosquitoes which had previously been allowed to fill themselves with blood from yellow fever cases--and in these cases the result was negative4 ,in considering the experimental evidence thus far obtained1 the attention of the members of the board was attracted by the fact that in the nine inoculations with a negative result the time elapsing between the biting of the mosquito and the inoculation of the healthy subject varied in seven cases from two to eight days1 and in the remaining two from ten to thirteen days1 whereas in two of the three successful cases the mosquito had been kept for twelve days or longer4 ,in the third case1 that of ,dr4 ,lazear1 the facts are stated in the report of the board as follows3 ,case #c4 ,dr4 ,jesse ,w4 ,lazear1 ,acting ,assistant ,surgeon ,u4,s4 ,army1 a member of this board1 was bitten on ,august #af1 #aijj 7,case #c1 ,table ,,iii7 by a mosquito 7,culex fasciatus71 which ten days previously had been contaminated by biting a very mild case of yellow fever 7fifth day74 ,no appreciable disturbance of health followed this inoculation4 ,on ,september #ac1 #aijj 7forenoon71 ,dr4 ,lazear1 while on a visit to ,las ,animas ,hospital1 and while collecting blood from yellow fever patients for study1 was bitten by a ,culex mosquito 7variety undetermined74 ,as ,dr4 ,lazear had been previously bitten by a contaminated insect without after effects1 he deliberately allowed this particular mosquito1 which had settled on the back of his hand1 to remain until it had satisfied its hunger4 ,on the evening of ,september #ah1 five days after the bite1 ,dr4 ,lazear complained of feeling out of sorts1 and had a chill at #h ,p4,m4 ,on ,september #ai1 twelve o'clock noon1 his temperature was #ajb4d1 pulse #aab2 his eyes were injected and his face suffused2 at #c ,p4,m4 temperature was #ajc4d1 pulse #ajd2 #f ,p4,m41 temperature #ajc4h and pulse #ajf2 albumin appeared in the urine4 ,jaundice appeared on the third day4 ,the subsequent history of this case was one of progressive and fatal yellow fever1 the death of our much-lamented colleague having occurred on the evening of ,september #be1 #aijj4 ,evidently in this case the evidence is not satisfactory as to the fatal attack being the result of the bite by a mosquito while on a visit to ,las ,animas ,hospital1 although ,dr4 ,lazear himself was thoroughly convinced that this was the direct cause of his attack4 ,the inference by ,dr4 ,reed and his associates1 from the experiments thus far made1 was that yellow fever may be2 transmitted by mosquitoes of the genus ,culex1 but that in order to convey the infection to a nonimmune individual the insect must be kept for twelve days or longer after it has filled itself with blood from a yellow fever patient in the earlier stages of the disease4 ,in other words1 that a certain period of incubation is required in the body of the insect before the germ reaches its salivary glands1 and consequently before it is able to inoculate any individual with the germs of yellow fever4 ,this inference1 based upon experimental data1 received support from other observations1 which have been repeatedly made1 with reference to the introduction and spread of yellow fever in localities favorable to its propagation4 ,when a case is imported to one of our southern seaport cities1 from ,havana1 ,vera ,cruz1 or some other endemic focus of the disease1 an interval of two weeks or more occurs before secondary cases are developed as a result of such importation4 ,in the light of our present knowledge this is readily understood4 ,a certain number of mosquitoes having filled themselves with blood from this first case after an interval of twelve days or more bite nonimmune individuals living in the vicinity1 and these individuals after a brief period of incubation fall sick with the disease2 being bitten by other mosquitoes they serve to transmit the disease through the intermediate host to still others4 ,thus the epidemic extends1 at first slowly from house to house1 then more rapidly1 as by geometrical progression4 ,it will be seen that the essential difference between the successful experiments of the board of which ,dr4 ,reed is president and the unsuccessful experiments of ,finlay consists of the length of time during which the mosquitoes were kept after filling themselves with blood from a yellow fever patient4 ,in ,finlay's experiments the interval was usually short1--from two to five or six days1--and it will be noted that in the experiments of ,reed and his associates the result was invariably negative when the insect had been kept less than eight days 7#g cases74 ,having obtained what they considered satisfactory evidence that yellow fever is transmitted by mosquitoes1 ,dr4 ,reed and his associates proceeded to extend their experiments for the purpose of establishing the fact in such a positive manner that the medical profession and the scientific world generally might be convinced of the reliability of the experimental evidence upon which their conclusions were based4 ,these conclusions1 which have been fully justified by their subsequent experiments1 were stated in their ,preliminary ,note as follows3 #a4 ,bacillus icteroides 7,sanarelli7 stands in no causative relation to yellow fever1 but1 when present1 should be considered as a secondary invader in this disease4 #b4 ,the mosquito serves as the intermediate host for the parasite of yellow fever4 ,in ,an ,additional ,note read at the ,pan-,american ,medical ,congress held in ,havana1 ,cuba1 ,february #d1-g1 #aija1 a report is made of the further experiments made up to that date4 ,in order that the absolute scientific value of these experiments may be fully appreciated ,i shall quote quite freely from this report with reference to the methods adopted for the purpose of excluding all sources of infection other than the mosquito inoculation3 ,in order to exercise perfect control over the movements of those individuals who were to be subjected to experimentation1 and to avoid any other possible source of infection1 a location was selected in an open and uncultivated field1 about one mile from the town of ,quemados1 ,cuba4 ,here an experimental sanitary station was established under the complete control of the senior member of this board4 ,this station was named ,camp ,lazear1 in honor of our late colleague1 ,dr4 ,jesse ,w4 ,lazear1 ,acting ,assistant ,surgeon ,u4,s4,a41 who died of yellow fever1 while courageously investigating the causation of this disease4 ,the site selected was well drained1 freely exposed to sunlight and winds1 and from every point of view satisfactory for the purposes intended4 ,the personnel of this camp consisted of two medical officers1 ,dr4 ,roger ,p4 ,ames1 ,acting ,assistant ,surgeon ,u4,s4,a41 an immune1 in immediate charge2 ,dr4 ,r4 ,p4 ,cooke1 ,acting ,assistant ,surgeon ,u4,s4,a41 nonimmune2 one acting hospital steward1 an immune2 nine privates of the hospital corps1 one of whom was immune1 and one immune ambulance driver4 ,for the quartering of this detachment1 and of such nonimmune individuals as should be received for experimentation1 hospital tents1 properly floored1 were provided4 ,these were placed at a distance of about twenty feet from each other1 and numbered #a to #g respectively4 ,camp ,lazear was established ,november #bj1 #aijj1 and from this date was strictly quarantined1 no one being permitted to leave or enter camp except the three immune members of the detachment and the members of the board4 ,supplies were drawn chiefly from ,columbia ,barracks1 and for this purpose a conveyance under the control of an immune acting hospital steward1 and having an immune driver1 was used4 ,a few ,spanish immigrants recently arrived at the port of ,havana were received at ,camp ,lazear1 from time to time1 while these observations were being carried out4 ,a nonimmune person1 having once left the camp1 was not permitted to return to it under any circumstances whatsoever4 ,the temperature and pulse of all nonimmune residents were carefully recorded three times a day4 ,under these circumstances any infected individual entering the camp could be promptly detected and removed4 ,as a matter of fact1 only two persons1 not the subject of experimentation1 developed any rise of temperature2 one1 a ,spanish immigrant1 with probable commencing pulmonary tuberculosis1 who was discharged at the end of three days3 and the other1 a ,spanish immigrant1 who developed a temperature of #ajb4f ,f4 on the afternoon of his fourth day in camp4 ,he was at once removed with his entire bedding and baggage and placed in the receiving ward at ,columbia ,barracks4 ,his fever1 which was marked by daily intermissions for three days1 subsided upon the administration of cathartics and enemata4 ,his attack was considered to be due to intestinal irritation4 ,he was not permitted1 however1 to return to the camp4 ,no nonimmune resident was subjected to inoculation who had not passed in this camp the full period of incubation of yellow fever1 with one exception1 to be hereinafter mentioned4 ,for the purpose of experimentation subjects were selected as follows3 ,from ,tent ,no4 #b1 #b nonimmunes1 and from ,tent ,no4 #e1 #c nonimmunes4 ,later1 #a nonimmune in ,tent ,no4 #f was also designated for inoculation4 ,it should be borne in mind that at the time when these inoculations were begun1 there were only #ab nonimmune residents at ,camp ,lazear1 and that #e of those were selected for experiment1 viz41 #b in ,tent ,no4 #b1 and #c in ,tent ,no4 #e4 ,of these we succeeded in infecting #d1 viz41 #a in ,tent ,no4 #b4 and #c in ,tent ,no4 #e1 each of whom developed an attack of yellow fever within the period of incubation of this disease4 ,the one negative result1 therefore1 was in ,case #b--,moran--inoculated with a mosquito on the fifteenth day after the insect had bitten a case of yellow-fever on the third day4 ,since this mosquito failed to infect ,case #d1 three days after it had bitten ,moran1 it follows that the result could not have been otherwise than negative in the latter case4 ,we now know1 as the result of our observations1 that in the case of an insect kept at room temperature during the cool weather of ,november1 fifteen or even eighteen days would1 in all probability1 be too short a time to render it capable of producing the disease4 ,as bearing upon the source of infection1 we invite attention to the period of time during which the subjects had been kept under rigid quarantine1 prior to successful inoculation1 which was as follows3 ,case #a1 fifteen days2 ,case #c1 nine days2 ,case #d1 nineteen days2 ,case #e1 twenty-one days4 ,we further desire to emphasize the fact that this epidemic of yellow fever1 which affected #cc4cc per cent of the nonimmune residents of ,camp ,lazear1 did not concern the seven nonimmunes occupying ,tents ,nos1 #a1 #d1 #f and #g1 but was strictly limited to those individuals who had been bitten by contaminated mosquitoes4 ,nothing could point more forcibly to the source of this infection than the order of the occurrence of events at this camp4 ,the precision with which the infection of the individual followed the bite of the mosquito left nothing to be desired in order to fulfill the requirements of a scientific experiment4 ,in summing up their results at the conclusion of this report the following statement is made3 ,out of a total or eighteen nonimmunes whom we have inoculated with contaminated mosquitoes1 since we began this line of investigation1 eight1 or #dd4d per cent1 have contracted yellow fever4 ,if we exclude those individuals bitten by mosquitoes that had been kept less than twelve days after contamination1 and which were therefore probably incapable of conveying the disease1 we have to record eight positive and two negative results--#hj per cent4 ,in a still later report 7,may1 #aija7 ,dr4 ,reed says1 ,we have thus far succeeded in conveying yellow fever to twelve individuals by means of the bites of contaminated mosquitoes4 ,the nonimmune individuals experimented upon were all fully informed as to the nature of the experiment and its probable results and all gave their full consent4 ,fortunately no one of these brave volunteers in the cause of science and humanity suffered a fatal attack of the disease1 although several were very ill and gave great anxiety to the members of the board1 who fully appreciated the grave responsibility which rested upon them4 ,that these experiments were justifiable under the circumstances mentioned is1 ,i believe1 beyond question4 ,in no other way could the fact established have been demonstrated1 and the knowledge gained is of inestimable value as a guide to reliable measures of prevention4 ,already it is being applied in ,cuba1 and without doubt innumerable lives will be saved as a result of these experiments showing the precise method by which yellow fever is contracted by those exposed in an infected locality4 ,some of these volunteers were enlisted men of the ,united ,states ,army and some were ,spanish immigrants who had recently arrived in ,cuba4 ,when taken sick they received the best possible care1 and after their recovery they had the advantage of being immunes who had nothing further to fear from the disease which has caused the death of thousands and tens of thousands of ,spanish soldiers and immigrants who have come to ,cuba under the orders of their government or to seek their fortunes4 ,the experiments already referred to show in the most conclusive manner that the blood of yellow fever patients contains the infectious agent1 or germ1 to which the disease is due1 and this has been further demonstrated by direct inoculations from man to man4 ,this experiment was made by ,dr4 ,reed at ,camp ,lazear upon four individuals1 who freely consented to it2 and in three of the four a typical attack of yellow fever resulted from the blood injection4 ,the blood was taken from a vein at the bend of the elbow on the first or second day of sickness and was injected subcutaneously into the four nonimmune individuals1 the amount being in one positive case #b cc1 in one #a4e cc1 and in one ,o4#e cc4 ,in the case attended with a negative result1 a ,spanish immigrant1 a mosquito inoculation also proved to be without effect1 and ,dr4 ,reed supposes that this individual probably possesses a natural immunity to yellow fever4 ,dr4 ,reed says with reference to these experiments3 ,it is important to note that in the three cases in which the injection of the blood brought about an attack of yellow fever1 careful culture from the same blood1 taken immediately after injection1 failed to show the presence of ,sanarelli's bacillus4 ,having demonstrated the fact that yellow fever is propagated by mosquitoes1 ,dr4 ,reed and his associates have endeavored to ascertain whether it may also be propagated1 as has been commonly supposed1 by clothing1 bedding1 and other articles which have been in use by those sick with this disease4 ,with reference to the experiments made for the solution of this question ,i cannot do better than to quote in extensa from ,dr4 ,reed's paper read at the ,pan-,american ,medical ,congress in ,havana4 ,this extract from ,dr4 ,reed's paper describes in careful scientific detail the experiments which finally established the fact that the contagion came through mosquitoes1 and in no other way4 ,into a small house1 thoroughly air-proof1 were brought bedclothes1 clothing1 and other articles which had been contaminated by yellow fever patients4 ,then for twenty days men who were nonimmune to the fever slept in this building1 with no evil effects4 ,this experiment was repeated several times4 ,then in another building similar1 except that it was ventilated by mosquito-proof windows1 and had been thoroughly disinfected1 another volunteer was bitten by mosquitoes which had first bitten patients suffering with yellow fever2 and he developed the disease4 ,the last paragraph of the extract is as follows3 ,thus at ,camp ,lazear1 of seven nonimmunes whom we attempted to infect by means of the bites of contaminated mosquitoes1 we have succeeded in conveying the disease to six1 or #he4ga per cent4 ,on the other hand1 of seven nonimmunes whom we tried to infect by means of fomites cloth and other material generally capable of carrying germs under particularly favorable circumstances1 we did not succeed in a single instance4 ,it is evident that in view of our present knowledge relating to the mode of transmission of yellow fever1 the preventive measures which have heretofore been considered most important1 that is1 isolation of the sick1 disinfection of clothing and bedding1 and municipal sanitation1 are either of no avail or of comparatively little value4 ,it is true that yellow fever epidemics have resulted1 as a rule1 from the introduction to a previously healthy locality of one or more persons suffering from the disease4 ,but we now know that its extension did not depend upon the direct contact of the sick with the nonimmune individuals and that isolation of the sick from such contact is unnecessary and without avail4 ,on the other hand1 complete isolation from the agent which is responsible for the propagation of the disease is all-important4 ,in the absence of a yellow fever patient from which to draw blood the mosquito is harmless1 and in the absence of the mosquito the yellow fever patient is harmless--as the experimental evidence now stands4 ,yellow fever epidemics are terminated by cold weather because the mosquitoes die or become torpid4 ,the sanitary condition of our southern seaport cities is no better in winter than in summer1 and if the infection attached to clothing and bedding it is difficult to understand why the first frosts of autumn should arrest the progress of an epidemic4 ,but all this is explained now that the mode of transmission has been demonstrated4 ,insanitary local conditions may1 however1 have a certain influence in the propagation of the disease1 for it has been ascertained that the species of mosquito which serves as an intermediate host for the yellow fever germ may breed in cesspools and sewers1 as well as in stagnant pools of water4 ,if1 therefore1 the streets of a city are unpaved and ungraded and there are open spaces where water may accumulate in pools1 as well as open cesspools to serve as breeding places for ,culex fasciatus1 the city will present conditions more favorable for the propagation of yellow fever than it would if well paved and drained and sewered4 ,the question whether yellow fever may be transmitted by any other species of mosquito than ,culex fasciatus has not been determined4 ,facts relating to the propagation of the disease indicate that the mosquito which serves as an intermediate host for the yellow fever germ has a somewhat restricted geographical range and is to be found especially upon the seacoast and the margins of rivers in the so-called yellow fever zone4 ,while occasional epidemics have occurred upon the southwest coast of the ,iberian ,peninsula1 the disease1 as an epidemic1 is unknown elsewhere in ,europe1 and there is no evidence that it has ever invaded the great and populous continent of ,asia4 ,in ,africa it is limited to the west coast4 ,in ,north ,america1 although it has occasionally prevailed as an epidemic in every one of our seaport cities as far north as ,boston1 and in the ,mississippi ,valley as far north as ,st4 ,louis1 it has never established itself as an epidemic disease within the limits of the ,united ,states4 ,vera ,cruz1 and probably other points on the ,gulf coast of ,mexico1 are1 however1 at the present time1 endemic foci of the disease4 ,in ,south ,america it has prevailed as an epidemic at all of the seaports on the ,gulf and ,atlantic coasts1 as far south as ,montevideo and ,buenos ,aires1 and on the ,pacific along the coast of ,peru4 ,the region in which the disease has had the greatest and most frequent prevalence is bounded by the shores of the ,gulf of ,mexico1 and includes the ,west ,india islands4 ,within the past few years yellow fever has been carried to the west coast of ,north ,america1 and has prevailed as an epidemic as far north as the ,mexican port of ,guaymas1 on the ,gulf of ,california4 ,it must be supposed that ,culex fasciatus is only found where yellow fever prevails4 ,the propagation of the disease depends upon the introduction of an infected individual to a locality where this mosquito is found1 at a season of the year when it is active4 ,owing to the short period of incubation 7five days or less71 the brief duration of the disease and especially of the period during which the infectious agent 7germ7 is found in the blood1 it is evident that ships sailing from infected ports1 upon which cases of yellow fever develop1 are not likely to introduce the disease to distant seaports4 ,the continuance of an epidemic on shipboard1 as on the land1 must depend upon the presence of infected mosquitoes and of nonimmune individuals4 ,under these conditions we can readily understand why the disease should not be carried from the ,west ,indies or from ,south ,america to the ,mediterranean1 to the east coast of ,africa1 or to ,asiatic seaport cities4 ,on the other hand1 if the disease could be transmitted by infected clothing1 bedding1 etc41 there seems no good reason why it should not have been carried to these distant localities long ago4 ,the restriction as regards altitude1 however1 probably depends upon the fact that the mosquito which serves as an intermediate host is a coast species1 which does not live in elevated regions4 ,it is a well-established fact that yellow fever has never prevailed in the ,city of ,mexico1 although the city has constant and unrestricted intercourse with the infected seaport1 ,vera ,cruz4 ,persons who have been exposed in ,vera ,cruz during the epidemic season frequently fall sick after their arrival in the ,city of ,mexico1 but they do not communicate the disease to those in attendance upon them or to others in the vicinity4 ,evidently some factor essential for the propagation of the disease is absent1 although we have the sick man1 his clothing and bedding1 and the insanitary local conditions which have been supposed to constitute an essential factor4 ,i am not aware that any observations have been made with reference to the presence or absence of ,culex fasciatus in high altitudes1 but the inference that it is not to be found in such localities as the ,city of ,mexico seems justified by the established facts already referred to4 ,as pointed out by ,hirsch1 the disease stops short at many points in the ,west ,indies where the climate is still in the highest degree tropical4 ,in the ,antilles it has rarely appeared at a height of more than seven hundred feet4 ,in the ,united ,states the most elevated locality in which the disease has prevailed as an epidemic is ,chattanooga1 ,tennessee1 which is seven hundred and forty-five feet above sea level4 ,it will be remembered that the malarial fevers are contracted as a result of inoculation by mosquitoes of the genus ,anopheles1 and that the malarial parasite has been demonstrated not only in the blood of those suffering from malarial infection1 but also in the stomach and salivary glands of the mosquito4 ,if the yellow fever parasite resembled that of the malarial fevers1 it would no doubt have been discovered long ago4 ,but1 as a matter of fact1 this parasite1 which we now know is present in the blood of those sick with the disease1 has thus far eluded all researches4 ,possibly it is ultramicroscopic4 ,however this may be1 it is not the only infectious disease germ which remains to be discovered4 ,there is no doubt a living germ in vaccine lymph and in the virus from smallpox pustules1 but it has not been demonstrated by the microscope4 ,the same is true of foot and mouth disease and of infectious pleuropneumonia of cattle1 although we know that a living element of some kind is present in the infectious material by which these diseases are propagated4 ,in ,texas fever1 of cattle1 which is transmitted by infected ticks1 the parasite is very minute1 but by proper staining methods and a good microscope it may be detected in the interior of the red blood corpuscles4 ,drs4 ,reed and ,carroll are at present engaged in a search for the yellow fever germ in the blood and in the bodies of infected mosquitoes4 ,what success may attend their efforts remains to be seen1 but at all events the fundamental facts have been demonstrated that this germ is present in the blood and that the disease is transmitted by a certain species of mosquito--,culex fasciatus4 ,at the end of the article ,general ,sternberg reproduces the general orders issued to the army in ,cuba with directions for the precautions to be taken against the disease4 ,,the ,,workman',s ,,compensation ,,act#ge ,this is a good example of the high quality of argumentative writing which is being turned out by daily and weekly journals in great quantities throughout the year4 ,this article1 being from a weekly journal1 is longer and more searching than the editorial in a daily paper1 and to some extent partakes of the nature of an essay4 ,it is notable for the thoroughness of the analysis of the question1 for the careful review of the history of the case1 and for the precise statement of the points at issue4 ,there is little space for the presentation of evidence1 though the specific statement of facts and the quotations from authorities1 so far as they go1 serve as evidence4 ,we purpose in this article to give to our readers an interpretation of the recent decision of the ,new ,york ,court of ,appeals declaring that the ,workman's ,compensation ,act is unconstitutional4 ,we regard this decision as of very great importance1 because1 if the ,court has correctly interpreted the ,constitution of the ,united ,states1 that document prevents ,america from adopting an industrial reform which has been adopted as just and necessary by practically the entire civilized world4 ,we do not believe that the interpretation of the ,court is correct4 ,it is1 in our opinion1 in conflict alike with the progress of civilization1 the spirit of democracy1 the principles of social justice1 and the analogies and tendencies of law4 ,and we believe that this unconscious attempt to fasten upon the workingman an unjust and intolerable burden from which all other civilized nations1 with one exception1 have relieved him1 will ultimately prove as futile as was the conscious and deliberate attempt of the ,united ,states ,supreme ,court1 under the lead of ,chief ,justice ,taney1 to halt the movement for the emancipation of the slaves4 ,in the earlier stages of industrial development1 when industry was unorganized1 machinery hardly existed1 and labor was an individual handicraft1 the courts naturally assumed that accidents occurring to a workman were probably due to his own negligence4 ,if he were mowing in a field and cut himself with his scythe1 if he were digging a ditch and sprained his ankle1 if he were cutting down a tree and it fell upon him and broke his leg1 he could recover from his employer only on proof that his employer was at fault4 ,nor could he recover if the accident were due to the carelessness of a fellow workman4 ,there was always a natural presumption that he could better guard against such carelessness than could the probably absent employer4 ,if he were turning a grindstone and his awkward fellow workman so held the scythe as to cut him1 if he were in the forest and his fellow workman gave no notice of the falling tree1 it was natural to presume that the carelessness was shared between the two1 and the law would neither attribute blame to the employer nor levy the damage upon him when he was not blameworthy4 ,but the organization of labor and the creation of elaborate machinery has destroyed this presumption of the common sense1 and therefore in all civilized countries has destroyed this presumption of law4 ,when a railway train runs off the track because of a misplaced switch or a defective rail1 there is no presumption that the engineer was careless or could have guarded against the carelessness of the switch tender or of the manufacturer of the rail4 ,when a fire breaks out in a room where scores of shirt-waist makers are confined at their work and a hundred and forty of them are burned to death1 there is no presumption that the impossibility of their escape through narrow passageways and a locked door was due to their carelessness1 or that they were to blame because the tables at which they were working were wood1 not metal1 or that they could have prevented the careless fellow workman from throwing his cigarette down in the inflammable material which surrounded them4 ,in fact1 only a very limited number of modern accidents are due to the carelessness of the injured party2 probably a somewhat larger number are due to the carelessness of some other employee2 while a very considerable proportion are incidents of the trade and due to no definite culpability which it is possible to trace home either to the employer or the employed4 ,the ,christian nations of the world have1 with singular unanimity1 recognized this change1 and have changed their laws to meet the new conditions4 ,the change which they have made was indicated to them by their maritime laws1 which in this respect have been alike in all civilized nations and from a very early period4 ,an accident occurring to a sailor on shipboard has always been regarded as an accident to the ship2 and the ship has always been required to bear the burden of his care and keep and cure4 ,this right to be cared for does not rest on any assumption that the master of the ship has been negligent1 nor is the seaman deprived of his right to care and keep and cure by proof that the accident was due in part1 or even altogether1 to his negligence4 ,he is not debarred from recovery by proof of his carelessness2 he is not given larger damages upon proof of the negligence of the master4 ,his right to be cared for rests1 says ,mr4 ,justice ,story1 upon the fact that seamen are in some sort co-adventurers upon the voyage4 ,modern jurisprudence throughout ,christendom recognizes that under modern industrial conditions the workman in the railway1 the mine1 and the factory is a co-adventurer in the enterprise1 and that the hazards incident to his employment should be borne1 not by the individual1 but by the industry4 ,this principle is now recognized and incorporated in their legal1 systems by every country in ,europe 7including ,russia but not ,turkey7 with the single exception of ,switzerland4#gf ,the justice and importance of this reform have been recognized by such statesmen as the ,president of the ,united ,states and his predecessor in office1 by such lawyers as ,elihu ,root1 by workmen who desire some better insurance against accident than is furnished them by a right to sue their employers1 by employers who desire to be protected from vexatious lawsuits and the peril of verdicts for great sums1 and by about half a dozen states1 including ,kansas1 ,new ,jersey1 ,massachusetts1 and ,new ,york1 all of which have passed ,workmen's ,compensation ,acts4 ,such an act1 shifting the responsibility for the risks which are incident to the trade in organized industry from the individual to the organization1 the ,new ,york ,court of ,appeals declares no state in the ,union has authority to enact1 because the ,constitution of the ,united ,states forbids its enactment4 ,the ,court recognizes the need for a change in the ,law4 ,we desire1 says the ,court1 to present no purely technical or hypercritical obstacles to any plan for the beneficent reformation of a branch of our jurisprudence in which1 it may be conceded1 reform is a consummation devoutly to be wished4 ,it presents forcibly1 appreciatively1 and apparently with entire approbation1 the arguments which have brought about this reform in other lands3 ,there can be no doubt as to the theory of this law4 ,it is based upon the proposition that the inherent risks of an employment should1 in justice1 be placed upon the shoulders of the employer1 who can protect himself against loss by insurance1 and by such an addition to the price of his wares as to cast the burden ultimately upon the consumer2 that indemnity to an injured employee should be as much a charge upon the business as the cost of replacing or repairing disabled or defective machinery1 appliances1 or tools2 that under our present system the loss falls immediately upon the employee1 who is almost invariably unable to bear it1 and ultimately upon the community1 which is taxed for the support of the indigent2 and that our present system is uncertain1 unscientific1 and wasteful1 and fosters a spirit of antagonism between employer and employee which it is for the interest of the state to remedy4 ,to these considerations the ,court suggests no reply1 and upon them it offers no criticism4 ,on the contrary1 it in terms concedes the strength of this appeal to recognized and widely prevalent sentiment4 ,it declares that no word of praise could overstate the industry and ,intelligence of the ,commission which prepared the ,new ,york law1 and it apparently agrees with the conclusion of the ,commission1 based on a most voluminous array of statistical tables1 extracts from the works of philosophical writers1 and the industrial laws of many countries--the conclusion that our own system of dealing with industrial accidents is economically1 morally1 and legally unsound4 ,but all these considerations of public policy1 social justice1 and world-wide conviction are set aside as subordinate to the primary question whether they can be molded into statutes without infringing upon the letter or spirit of our own written ,constitution4 ,the countries which have adopted this desirable reform1 it is said1 are so-called constitutional monarchies in which1 as in ,england1 there is no written constitution1 and the ,parliament or lawmaking body is supreme4 ,in our country the ,federal and ,state ,constitutions are the charters which demark the extent and the limitation of legislative power4 ,in brief3 ,the change in the law is just3 it is demanded by the change which has taken place in our industrial system2 it is all but universally desired2 the experience and the conscience of the civilized world call for it2 but ,america is powerless to make it under her present ,constitution4 ,other countries can make it because they are monarchies3 ,america cannot make it because she is free4 ,the clause in the ,constitution which1 in the opinion of the ,court of ,appeals1 prohibits the legislature from making this wise and just reform in our law is the clause which provides that no person shall be 444 deprived of life1 liberty1 or property without due process of law--a prohibition which occurs twice in our ,federal ,constitution 7,amendments ,v and ,,xiv71 and is to be found in many1 very probably in most1 ,state ,constitutions4 ,we believe that the ,court of ,appeals1 in its contention that this clause in our ,constitution prohibits this just and necessary reform in our industrial laws1 is sustained neither by the spirit nor by the letter of this clause in the ,constitution1 neither by the history of its origin and significance nor by the course of judicial interpretation which has been given to it by the ,united ,slates ,supreme ,court4 ,let the reader stop a moment here and reflect upon the principle involved in the law enacted in other civilized countries and proposed in ours4 ,it is not that an employer should be mulcted in damages when he has been guilty of no fault4 ,it is not that he should be compelled to pay for his carelessness without an opportunity to prove to the court that he has not been careless4 ,it is that accidents occurring in the course of organized industry should be held to have occurred1 not to the individual1 but to the industry4 ,in everything within the sphere of human activity1 says the ,court of ,appeals1 the risks which are inherent and unavoidable must fall upon those who are exposed to them4 ,the jurists of all the civilized countries of ,europe agree that in modern organized industries it is the industry1 not the individual1 that is exposed to the accidents4 ,the law applies to the factory hand for the future the principle heretofore applied to the seaman in maritime law4 ,the factory hand is henceforth to be regarded as a co-adventurer with the employer in the industry4 ,nor is due process of law denied by the ,workman's ,compensation ,act4 ,no damages can be recovered from the employer against his consent without a suit at law4 ,the statute in terms provides that any question which shall arise under this act shall be determined either by agreement or by arbitration as provided in the ,code of ,civil ,procedure1 or by an action at law as herein provided4 ,and what is provided is that1 if the employer fail to make compensation as provided by the ,act1 the injured party or his guardian or executor may sue for the amount4 ,the law does not deny the employer his day in court4 ,but it redefines the question for the court to decide4 ,it has not to decide whether the employer is guilty of fault4 ,his liability does not depend on his fault4 ,the court has simply to decide whether the accident occurred in the due course of the business1 and1 if the employer chooses to raise the question1 whether it was caused in whole or in part by the serious and willful misconduct of the workman4 ,if not1 the workman is entitled to recover1 and the amount which he is entitled to recover is fixed by the statute4 ,the question1 then1 is this3 ,does a law which1 for accidents in certain carefully defined and especially dangerous employments1 transfers the liability from the individual to the organization1 and which carefully preserves the right of the employer to submit any questions which arise under the law to the courts for adjudication1 deprive the employer of his property without due process of law8 ,the ,court of ,appeals of ,new ,york ,state affirms that it does4 ,the ,outlook affirms that it does not4 ,to state this question appears to us to answer it4 ,certainly there is nothing in the ,workman's ,compensation ,act which violates the letter of the ,constitution4 ,it does not in terms take the property of the employer without due process of law4 ,how any one can find in the act a violation of the spirit of the ,constitution we find it difficult to conceive4 ,and that difficulty is enhanced1 not relieved1 by a careful study of the opinions of the ,court4 ,for in those opinions it is assumed that on its face the law is unconstitutional1 and the ,court devotes all its intellectual energies to an attempt to show that the authorities cited in opposition are exceptional4 ,that the law and the ,constitution are not inconsistent is1 however1 established both by a consideration of the object and intent of the ,constitutional provision and by judicial decisions interpreting it4 ,to these two considerations we now direct the attention of the reader4 ,the provision in the federal ,constitution that no person shall be 444 deprived of life1 liberty1 or property1 except by due process of law 7,fifth ,amendment71 and the provision1 nor shall any state deprive any person of life1 liberty1 or property without due process of law 7,fourteenth ,amendment71 are derived from the ,great ,charter wrested from ,king ,john by the ,barons in #abae4 ,no freeman shall be taken or imprisoned1 or disseized1 or outlawed1 or banished1 or any ways destroyed1 nor will we pass upon him1 nor will we send upon him1 unless by the lawful judgment of his peers1 or by the law of the land4 ,this is perhaps the most important of those general clauses in the ,great ,charter which1 says ,hallam in his ,history of the ,middle ,ages1 protect the personal liberty and property of all freemen by giving security from arbitrary imprisonment and arbitrary spoliation4 ,hume gives some intimation of the abuses that led to this provision3 merchants had been subjected to arbitrary tolls and impositions2 the property of the dying had been seized and their lawful heirs dispossessed2 officers of the ,crown had levied on horses and carts in time of peace for their own or the public service4 ,green1 in his ,history of the ,english ,people1 gives the picture of ,john's despotism and of the growing spirit of liberty in the ,english common people with greater detail ,the ,king's exactions drove the ,barons into alliance with the people4 ,illegal exactions1 the seizure of their castles1 the preference shown to foreigners1 were small provocations compared with his attacks on the honor of their wives and daughters4 ,the demand of the common people to substitute due process of law for wager by battle1 and to be secure in their lives1 their liberties1 and their property from acts of lawless and irresponsible power1 the ,barons made their own1 and by the same act claimed for others what they claimed for themselves4 ,the under tenants were protected against all exactions of their lords in precisely the same terms as they were protected against the lawless exactions of the ,crown4 ,from such a provision for the protection of the fundamental rights of person and property it is a far cry to the conclusion that the people cannot remedy the injustice which inflicts all the consequences of accidents which occur in extrahazardous trades upon the individual who1 in practicing that trade1 happens to be subjected to the peril4 ,common sense1 as well as frequent decisions of the courts1 sustain ,daniel ,webster's definition of the scope of the ,constitutional provision embodying in our law this provision of the ,great ,charter3 ,the meaning is that every citizen shall hold his life1 liberty1 and property and immunities under the protection of general rules which govern society4 ,that society can never make new rules for the better protection of life1 liberty1 and property and immunities1 is a doctrine as repugnant to reason as it is to social progress4 ,it is equally repugnant to the principle of interpretation laid down by the ,supreme ,court of the ,united ,states3 ,the law is perfectly well settled that the first ten amendments to the ,constitution1 commonly known as the ,bill of ,rights1 were not intended to lay down any novel principles of government1 but simply to embody certain guarantees and immunities which we had inherited from our ,english ancestors4#gg ,and it seems never even to have occurred to ,english law makers that the ,workman's ,compensation ,act is inconsistent with this provision of their ,great ,charter--a charter which is as much a part of the ,british constitution as the ,fifth and ,tenth ,amendments are of ours4 ,in the ,english ,constitution1 as in the ,american1 the principle is carefully defined in writing4 ,the only difference is that in ,england the ,parliament is the final judge of its meaning2 in the ,united ,states that final judge is the ,supreme ,court of the ,united ,states4 ,at least it ought to be4 ,but the ,new ,york ,court of ,appeals does not allow that it is the final authority4 ,in this particular case it is not1 for no appeal lies by the plaintiff in this case from the state to the national court4 ,but an appeal does lie by the public4 ,the ,outlook takes such an appeal4 ,and it declares without hesitation that the decision of the ,new ,york ,court of ,appeals is in conflict1 not only with the trend of judicial decisions in that ,court1 but also with its very explicit statement of the fundamental principles to be applied in interpreting the ,constitution4 ,we have already noted the fact that maritime law regards a seaman as a co-adventurer with the shipowner1 and therefore makes the ship liable for his care1 keep1 and cure in case any accident occurs to him1 even though it be produced by his own fault4 ,we now add that the ,supreme ,court of the ,united ,states has decided that such a law does not take the shipowner's property without due process of law4 ,that1 says the ,court of ,appeals1 is different1 for the contract and services of seamen are exceptional in character 444 ,when he is sick or injured he is entitled to be cared for at the expense of the ship1 and for the failure of the master to perform his duty in this regard the ship or the owner is liable4 ,no doubt there is a difference between a seaman on a ship and a factory hand in a factory4 ,very probably that difference ought to weigh with the representatives of the people in determining what difference there should be in their respective treatment4 ,but if making a ship liable for accidents happening to a seaman does not take the shipowner's property without due process of law1 then rendering a factory liable for accidents happening to a factory hand does not lake the factory owner's property without due process of law4 ,the ,constitution of the ,united ,states is precisely the same on sea as on land2 but to the ,constitution of the ,united ,slates the ,court of ,appeals gives one meaning on shipboard and another meaning in the town4 ,the right of the legislature to impose new responsibilities upon property is not confined by the ,united ,states ,supreme ,court to the sea4 ,it is equally sustained upon the land4 ,the ,state of ,oklahoma provided for an assessment on all banks in the ,state in order to create a fund for the purpose of guaranteeing the depositors in all banks in the ,state4 ,the ,noble ,state ,bank brought suit against the ,state to prevent it from collecting this assessment1 on the ground that it was taking property without due process of law4 ,the ,supreme ,court1 without a dissenting opinion1 held that the act was constitutional1 on two grounds3 first1 because it is established by a series of cases that an ulterior public advantage may justify a comparatively insignificant taking of private property for what in its immediate purpose is a private use2 and1 second1 because it may be said in a general way that the police power extends to all the great public needs4 ,it may be put forth in aid of what is sanctioned by usage or held by the prevailing morality or strong and preponderant opinion to be greatly and immediately necessary to the public welfare4 ,a similar case coming before the ,court from the ,state of ,kansas was decided with the same unanimity by the ,court at the same time4#gh ,this definition of ,constitutional law by the unanimous opinion of the ,supreme ,court of the ,united ,slates1 if accepted1 clearly determines the constitutionality of the ,workman's ,compensation ,act4 ,that this ,act is sanctioned by usage and held by the prevailing morality and strong and preponderant opinion to be greatly and immediately necessary to the public welfare is proved by the fact that it is demanded alike by employer and employee1 that it has been approved by the general public1 that it is apparently regarded by the ,court of ,appeals itself as a reform much to be desired1 and that it has been adopted by every civilized country in ,europe except ,switzerland4 ,the ,new ,york ,court of ,appeals can find only one escape from this declaration of principle by the highest tribunal in the land1 in these two cases1 namely1 a repudiation of the authority of that tribunal in these cases3 ,we cannot recognize them as controlling our construction of our ,constitution4 ,in this review of the decision of the ,new ,york ,court of ,appeals we have passed by without comment some extraordinary statements which should not be passed by in any complete review--the statement that practically all of these ,european countries are so-called constitutional monarchies in which1 as in ,england1 there is no written constitution1 whereas1 in fact1 practically all of the ,european nations have written constitutions2 and the statement that the ,workman's ,compensation ,act does nothing to conserve the health1 safety1 or morals of the employee1 whereas1 in fact1 it is aimed and purposed to accomplish all three results1 and was urged in the ,english ,house of ,lords by ,lord ,salisbury specifically on the ground that to my mind the great attraction of this bill is that ,i believe it will turn out a great machinery for the saving of human life4 ,but we have deliberately neglected all minor details in an endeavor to put before our lay readers a true interpretation1 and what we hope they will generally believe to be a just criticism1 of this decision of the highest court of the ,empire ,state4 ,in that decision1 in our opinion1 the ,court has disregarded all considerations of social justice and public policy1 has set itself against the conscience and judgment of the civilized world1 and in its forced interpretation of the ,constitution has disregarded alike the history of the ,constitution's origin and of its judicial interpretation by the highest court in the land4 ,,appendix ,,ii ,,some ,,suggestions ,,to ,,instructors ,what is the purpose of a course in the writing of arguments8 ,the arguments which it turns out cannot convince any one1 since there is no one for them to convince2 so that the immediate and tangible product of the course must be looked on as a by-product1 and a by-product from which there can be no salvage4 ,what products1 then1 can teachers aim to produce8 ,first1 a vital respect for facts and for sound reasoning therefrom2 second1 the power so to analyze and marshal the facts in an obscure and complicated case as to bring order and light out of confusion2 and third1 the appreciation of other men's point of view and training in the tact which will influence them4 ,incidentally a good course in argumentation should leave with its students an acquaintance with certain effective and economical devices for going to work that should serve them well in later life4 ,i will take up each of these points in order1 and speak of a few methods which ,i have found useful in practice4 ,in the first place1 how can a teacher establish and strengthen the veneration for fact and the suspicion of all unsupported assertion and a priori reasoning8 ,partly by judicious exercises1 partly by quiet guidance in the choice of subjects4 ,let a class cross-examine each other on their exact knowledge of the ultimate facts on some familiar subject4 ,on the question of the value of ,latin1 for example1 just how many of the class know no ,latin8 ,in a piece of their own writing1 how many of the words are derived from the ,latin8 and what kind of words are they8 ,of the leaders in scholarship in the class how many know ,latin8 ,of the best writers8 ,of the authors whose works they are studying in ,english literature1 how many were trained in ,latin8 ,of the authors of the textbooks in science how many8 ,a few such questions as these will suggest others2 and the members of the class should keep a record of how many such questions they can answer with precision4 ,very few people have any exact command of facts on subjects about which they talk freely and with authority2 and a young man who has had this truth borne in on him by personal examination will come to writing an argument with more modesty and scrupulousness4 ,then a class can be guided away from the large subjects where of necessity their knowledge of facts is second-hand1 and in which their arguments1 being of necessity short1 can touch only the surface of the subject4 ,here1 ,i think1 is where much of the ineffectiveness of courses in argument is to be found4 ,judges should be elected by direct vote of the people1 ,the right of suffrage should be limited by an educational test1 ,corporations engaged in interstate commerce should be required to take out a federal license1 are samples of propositions recommended as subjects for arguments of two thousand words or less4 ,no undergraduate has the practical knowledge of affairs to judge the value of facts adduced in support of such propositions1 and except for the members of debating teams1 who spend time on their contests comparable to that given by athletes to their sports1 no undergraduate can make himself acquainted with the vast fields of economics and governmental theory covered by such subjects4 ,to write an argument of twelve hundred words on such a subject will weaken rather than strengthen the respect for facts4 ,what sort of subjects1 then1 can be used8 ,this is1 ,i confess1 a question not altogether easy to answer2 but ,i have had a try at an answer in the list of ,subjects which is given in ,chapter ,i1 which can be adapted to special conditions of time or place4 ,in general a question which a student would discuss of his own accord and with some warmth is the best subject for him4 ,there are many such subjects in athletics3 at this date the rules of football seem not yet settled beyond amendment1 and the material for hunting facts in the records of past games is large2 ,dean ,briggs of ,harvard is making an appeal to players to raise the level of manners and of ethics in baseball2 do all your students agree with him8 ,should the universities be allowed to use men in their graduate schools as members of their teams8 ,and what are the facts about the playing of such men in the universities in which your students would be interested8 ,then there are various educational questions1 on which the views of students have real value1 especially if they are based on some examination of facts in the course of writing an argument4 ,president ,lowell of ,harvard told a body of students whom he was consulting that it did not make much difference what they wanted1 but that their views when set forth for the purpose of helping the authorities of the college were of great value4 ,the views of your class on examinations for entrance would be based on knowledge which a member of the faculty cannot have at first-hand4 ,what is the estimate of the relative difficulty of getting into various colleges1 and on what figures from schools is the estimate based8 ,for how many boys are languages easier or harder than history or mathematics or science8 ,does admission by certificate provide sufficient safeguard for the standards of the college8 ,does a rigid prescription of subjects for examination distort the course for the high school8 ,how many boys1 who can be named1 had their education injured by such prescription8 ,should the standard for entrance or for graduation be raised1 or lowered1 at your college8 ,should honor students be excused from final examinations8 ,should they have special privileges8 ,should freshmen be required to be within college bounds at a fixed hour every night8 ,should class rushes be abolished8 ,here are only a few suggestions of subjects which can be adapted to the needs and the knowledge of special classes4 ,they are of no value1 however1 unless the students are driven to gather facts1 and to reason from these facts1 not from general impressions4 ,school catalogues1 college catalogues1 informal censuses1 reports of presidents and of committees1 and other printed or oral sources will help in the gathering of facts4 ,then there are the innumerable local and state questions that touch the fathers of at least half of any class1 and that the sons may be in the way of hearing discussed at home1 or may be sent to hear discussed in legislatures and city councils4 ,every instructor who takes a daily newspaper will be provided with more of these subjects than his class can use4 ,for their facts the students can go to the newspapers1 to printed reports1 to the persons who are concerned with the questions which they are going to argue4 ,in some cases the students will get valuable interest and advice from the older men who have the active charge of the questions under discussion2 and it is not inconceivable1 that if some of the latter happen to be graduates of the college or school1 they will even read the arguments and make helpful criticisms on them4 ,the grateful interest of graduates is a source which has not been overdrawn for aid in the processes of instruction4 ,many of the subjects which ,i have here offered as suggestions can be discussed in part1 at any rate1 within the space of an editorial article2 and that ,i conceive to be about the length which most arguments written by students1 except those in special courses1 will run to4 ,in so short a space1 it is hardly necessary to point out1 evidence cannot be presented and discussed with the detail1 say1 of ,webster's ,speech in the ,white ,murder ,case4 ,it would be a good separate exercise to call for such detailed presentation of evidence on some single point in the argument4 ,with most classes1 however1 the instructor cannot do much more than rule out wholly unsupported assertion1 and insist that the distinction between fact and inference from fact shall be kept in sight4 ,the second of the results which an instructor in a course in argumentation should aim for is the power to analyze complicated masses of facts and so arrange them and present them as to bring order out of confusion4 ,president ,taft has said that ,justice ,hughes won his reputation at the bar by his gift of boring to the innermost core of a subject2 and that is what the drill on the introduction to the brief should to some degree impart to students4 ,the orderly analysis of the question1 step by step1 according to the admirable scheme devised by ,professor ,baker1 cannot help implanting some understanding of what it means to go to the heart of a question4 ,every man sooner or later1 must face complicated and puzzling questions2 and the ordinary man will give himself a long start if he will thus put down on paper the points that can be urged on the two sides of a question1 and then study them until the real points at issue emerge4 ,then the drill in laying out the logical skeleton of an argument1 so plainly that no false or broken connection can escape detection1 will strengthen the conscience for clearness and coherence of thought2 and the necessity for getting back to ultimate facts for every assertion1 and putting down the source from which the facts are derived1 will help to implant a wholesome respect for facts as something different from assertion4 ,since the argument written out is the final test of the thinking1 some care must be taken that students do not obscure by careless paragraphing and slovenly sentences such clearness of thought as they have attained in their brief4 ,i have found it useful to prescribe marginal titles to the paragraphs3 a student who has struggled to find a single phrase that will cover all of a sprawling paragraph will have learned some respect for firmness of paragraphing4 ,in general1 an instructor has a right to insist that his class shall apply in practice all that they have learned about the ordinary devices for getting clearness and emphasis4 ,in the third place1 this practice in writing arguments ought to leave with students a more developed idea of how to make readers look favorably on a proposition which they are urging4 ,i have insisted1 at the risk of seeming repetitious1 on the need of considering the audience whose minds are to be won over2 for what persuasiveness can mean apart from specific persons to persuade ,i cannot conceive4 ,much of the perfunctory emptiness of the textbooks when they get to this part of the subject comes from neglecting this very practical and obvious side of making an argument4 ,the difficulty it raises for arguments written in class work is just as obvious2 more than most kinds of composition written for practice1 arguments run the risk of having no touch with reality4 ,something may be done1 however1 if an instructor guides his class toward the kind of questions ,i have suggested above3 an argument on the rules of football would be addressed to the ,rules ,committee1 and most youths would know something of the prepossessions of so famous a man as ,mr4 ,camp2 an argument on a college question would be addressed to the faculty or the president1 and it may be assumed that students have some idea of their general attitude on such matters4 ,i have followed the practice in my own sections of freshmen of requiring them to put at the head of their brief and of their argument the audience which they had in mind4 ,then when one comes to criticism and conference one can by a little cross-examination bring home to them the very practical nature of this matter of persuasion4 ,one must be careful not to insist too strictly on the model and the scheme of work laid down here1 and in practically the same form in other books4 ,it is the best that has yet been devised1 but any student who is set to making a brief of one of the examples of argument at the end of this book will see for himself that there is no one infallible way of making an argument4 ,each argument must adapt itself to its occasion and its audience2 and an instructor will be wise to keep himself awake to this truth by noting divergencies from the model4 ,the rules which are here set forth and the model which is built on them are serviceable just so long as they are serviceable1 and no longer4 ,their chief service is done when they have set up in the minds of students a standard of effectiveness in singling out and emphasizing the critical issues of a question4 ,as to the exercises which should accompany the work in argument my experience with classes of five to six hundred freshmen leads me to think that their value to the student can hardly be overestimated4 ,i will speak here of a few of them4 ,the exercises in the use of reference books is something that every student ought to be put through4 ,i found it simple and not too extravagant of time to take my sections to the library in squads of ten or a dozen1 and show them and let them handle the principal books on the list4 ,then on the spot ,i gave each of them a sheet of theme paper on which ,i had written some sort of fact drawn from one of these books1 and told them to look up that fact and report on it4 ,my object was to convince them that most ordinary facts can be looked up in less than five minutes4 ,the material for this exercise ,i got by turning over the reference books and jotting down almost anything that caught my eye4 ,one can in this way get a great variety of facts in a very short time4 ,in some libraries it might be possible to get members of the library staff to share in this instruction2 in all libraries one will find active cooperation4 ,for the preliminary work on the argument we found that it was often practicable and advisable to let the students pair off on the two sides of the question1 and work together through all the preliminaries4 ,two men thus working together often discuss themselves into the liveliest kind of interest in their question2 and almost always they come closer to the important issues involved by sharpening their wits against each other4 ,their arguments1 too1 are better1 especially in the refutation1 from their knowing just what points can be made on the other side4 ,it is excellent practice1 not only for the brief and the argument1 but also for all other college work1 to set the students to making briefs of parts or wholes of the arguments printed here as examples1 or of other arguments found outside4 ,not only lawyers1 but other men of affairs1 constantly have to digest and summarize papers2 and skill in picking out essential facts and the thread of thought from a document is a highly valuable asset for practical life4 ,the exercise is sometimes irksome to students1 for it is hard work at first and calls for concentration of mind3 but it can be sweetened and made livelier by the competition of classroom discussion4 ,all through the work on the argument students may well be set to watching the daily papers and the magazines for examples of arguments1 and of good and bad reasoning4 ,very often an instructor can get1 at the cost of a cent or two apiece1 a set of arguments printed in a newspaper for his class to analyze4 ,senators and representatives in ,congress are notably willing to send copies of speeches1 and these sometimes furnish good examples of both sound and unsound reasoning4 ,if time serves1 instructors will do well to give a grounding in logic4 ,i have inserted a brief discussion of the subject with the hope that it will furnish a basis for a short study2 it can be reenforced by a few weeks on such a manual as ,jevons's ,primer of ,logic1 or ,bode's ,outline of ,logic if there is time4 ,whatever be one's view of the positive value of deductive logic1 there can be no doubt that every student should have some knowledge of the canons of inductive logic1 and that a study of propositions and syllogisms is a mighty sharpener of the discrimination for the real meaning of words and sentences4 ,the short chapter on debating ,i have added for the use of classes where a moderate amount of training in this most useful of exercises is practicable4 ,debating may be looked at in two ways1 either as training in alertness and effectiveness in discussion1 or as a form of intercollegiate or interscholastic sport4 ,on the latter aspect a recognized authority has said3 ,formal debate is a kind of game4 ,in the time limit1 the order of speakers1 the alternation of sides1 the give and take of rebuttal1 the fixed rules of conduct1 the ethics of the contest1 the qualifications for success1 and the final awarding of victory1 debate has much in common with tennis2#gi and he develops the likeness through a page of rather fine print4 ,from this point of view debating has keenly interested a small body of students2 in some colleges it has been recognized by hatbands or other emblems of distinction for the successful teams2 and it has developed an elaborate apparatus of rules and of coaches4 ,with the game in this full bloom ,i have not space to deal in this small book2 for such elaborate work of analysis and preparation one must go to special manuals which deal with it at length4 ,i have confined myself to an application of the general principles of the subject to the spoken argument1 and to a few suggestions for preparing for and carrying on the not very formal discussions which the average man gets into in the ordinary run of life4 ,even where there is not time for systematic practice in debating1 much may be done by extemporaneous five-minute speeches4 ,there is unquestionably an active movement among the best teachers of ,english for more stress on oral composition2 they recognize that the power to stand quietly and at one's ease on one's feet and explain one's views clearly and cogently will help any man in his life work4 ,in some cases there may be local or academic subjects under discussion at the time the class is working on argument on which they can prepare themselves to speak4 ,it may be possible to interest graduates of the school and college1 so that they will give help in getting material1 and perhaps in judging and criticizing4 ,occasionally1 perhaps1 a man who has the actual settlement of a local question or a share in the settlement may be willing to hear the discussion4 ,any aid of this sort that will bring the debate within the bounds of reality will add zest to it4 ,for the use of this book when a comparatively short time1 perhaps six weeks1 is at the disposal of the instructor1 my advice1 based on the practice worked out with my colleagues in the freshman course at ,harvard1 would be to begin with ,chapter ,i1 and at the same time ask the class to hand in subjects for approval4 ,this should be done a fortnight ahead of the main work1 in order to allow changes of subject1 after consultation if necessary4 ,in connection with ,chapter ,,ii would come exercises in making briefs of one or more of the arguments in the back of the book or of others provided for the purpose4 ,then would come the preliminary work on the brief1 the introduction to the brief4 ,this it is profitable to treat as a separate piece of work1 with a grade of its own4 ,at this stage would be the place for the exercises in the use of reference books1 which will lead naturally to looking up the material for the brief4 ,if possible a conference should be given on the introduction to the brief4 ,then comes the next main step in the work1 the brief4 ,the work for this would naturally be accompanied by study of ,chapter ,,iii1 and by such exercises in the correction of bad briefing and in correction of fallacies as the instructor finds time for4 ,there should be another conference on the brief1 and it should be rewritten if necessary4 ,instructors who have been through the subject will know from sad experience that one rewriting and one conference may be only starters4 ,then comes the argument itself3 this should be the climax1 and not merely a perfunctory filling out of the brief4 ,if it be at all possible1 the argument should be rewritten after a conference1 and the conference can hardly be too long4 ,if the argument is fifteen hundred or two thousand words long1 a half an hour will be found a short time to go over the whole with any thoroughness4 ,no instructor in ,english needs to have it pointed out that conferences are his most efficient means of education4 ,,footnotes3 ,footnote #a3 ,see ,lincoln's speech at ,galesburg and at ,quincy1 in the ,lincoln-,douglas debates4 ,footnote #b3 ,o4 ,w4 ,holmes1 ,jr41 ,the ,common ,law1 ,boston1 #ahha1 p4 #ce4 ,footnote #c3 ,for such changes of fashion in literature see ,stevenson's ,gossip on ,romance and ,a ,humble ,remonstrance in ,memories and ,portraits1 and ,the ,lantern ,bearers in ,across the ,plains4 ,footnote #d3 ,from the speech on the ,repeal of the ,union with ,ireland2 quoted by ,w4 ,t4 ,foster1 ,argumentation and ,debating1 ,boston1 #aijh1 p1 #ij4 ,footnote #e3 ,a4 ,sidgwick1 ,the ,application of ,logic1 ,london1 #aiaj1 pp4 #dj1 #dd4 ,footnote #f3 ,from the speech of ,senator ,depew1 ,january #bd1 #aiaa4 ,footnote #g3 ,c4 ,r4 ,woodruff1 ,city ,government by ,commission1 ,new ,york1 #aiaa1 p4 #aa4 ,footnote #h3 ,a4 ,sidgwick1 ,the ,application of ,logic1 ,london1 #aiaj1 p4 #bdh4 ,footnote #i3 ,w4 ,bagchot1 ,the ,metaphysical ,basis of ,toleration1 ,works1 ,hartford1 ,connecticut1 #ahhi1 ,vol4 ,,ii1 p4 #cci4 ,footnote #aj3 ,from ,huxley's first ,lecture on ,evolution 7see p4 #bcc74 ,footnote #aa3 ,c4,r4 ,woodruff1 ,city ,government by ,commission1 ,new ,york1 #aiaa1 p4 #f ,footnote #ab3 ,see ,lincoln's speech at ,ottawa4 ,footnote #ac3 ,the ,outlook1 ,november #bj1 #aiji4 ,see also the example quoted on page #ahj1 from ,william ,james's ,will to ,believe4 ,footnote #ad3 ,a full and very readable account of the growth of the law of evidence and the changes in the system of trial by jury will be found in ,j4 ,b4 ,thayer's ,preliminary ,treatise on the ,law of ,evidence1 ,boston1 #ahif4 ,footnote #ae3 ,george ,bemis1 ,report of the ,case of ,john ,w4 ,webster1 ,boston1 #ahej1 p4 #dfb4 ,quoted in part by ,a4,s4 ,hill1 ,principles of ,rhetoric1 p4 #cdj4 ,footnote #af3 ,h4 ,mnsterberg4 ,on the ,witness ,stand1 ,new ,york1 #aijh1 p4 #ea4 ,footnote #ag3 ,the ,nation1 ,new ,york1 ,vol4 ,,xci1 p4 #fjc1 ,in a review of ,j4 ,bigelow1 ,jr4's ,campaign of ,chancellorsville4 ,footnote #ah3 ,mr4 ,gardiner was answering ,father ,gerard's book on the ,gunpowder ,plot4 ,footnote #ai3 ,s4 ,r4 ,gardiner1 ,what ,gunpowder ,plot ,was1 ,london1 #ahig1 pp4 #d-aa4 ,footnote #bj3 ,wines and ,koren1 ,the ,liquor ,problem4 ,published by the ,committee of ,fifty1 ,boston1 #ahig4 ,footnote #ba3 ,reprinted in ,educational ,reform1 ,new ,york1 #ahih4 ,see p4 #cha4 ,footnote #bb3 ,a committee appointed by the ,national ,educational ,association to recommend a course of study for secondary schools4 ,footnote #bc3 ,h4 ,mnsterberg1 ,on the ,witness ,stand1 ,new ,york1 #aijh1 p4 #ci4 ,footnote #bd3 ,w4 ,james1 ,psychology1 ,new ,york1 #ahij1 ,vol4 ,,ii1 p4 #ccj2 ,b4,h4 ,bode1 ,an ,outline of ,logic1 ,new ,york4 #aiaj1 p4 #baf4 ,footnote #be3 ,b4 ,h4 ,bode1 ,an ,outline of ,logic1 ,new ,york1 #aiaj1 p4 #agj4 ,footnote #bf3 ,c4 ,r4 ,woodruff1 ,city ,government by ,commission1 p4 #ahd4 ,footnote #bg3 ,professor ,john ,trowbridge1 in the ,harvard ,graduates ,magazine1 for ,march1 #aiaa4 ,footnote #bh3 ,w4 ,james1 ,human ,immortality1 ,boston1 #ahih1 p4 #aa4 ,footnote #bi3 ,b4 ,h4 ,bode1 ,an ,outline of ,logic1 ,new ,york1 #aiaj1 p4 #afb4 ,footnote #cj3 ,the ,origin of ,species1 ,london1 #ahge1 p4 #fc4 ,footnote #ca3 ,there is only one aim in all generalization--the finding of signs that are fit to be trusted1 so that1 given one fact1 another may be inferred4--,a4 ,sidgwick1 ,the ,process of ,argument1 ,london1 #ahic1 p4 #ajh4 ,the whole object of any class name is to group together 7for the purpose of making general assertions7 individual members which are not only alike but different2 and so to give unity in spite of difference4--,a4 ,sidgwick1 ,the ,use of ,words in ,reasoning1 ,london1 #aija1 p4 #afe4 ,footnote #cb3 ,w4 ,james1 ,psychology1 ,new ,york1 #ahij1 ,vol4 ,,ii1 p4 #cdb4 ,footnote #cc3 ,see ,b4 ,bosanquet1 ,the ,essentials of ,logic1 ,london1 #ahie1 p4 #afb2 ,a4 ,sidgwick1 ,the ,process of ,argument1 ,london1 #ahic1 chap4 vi2 ,b4,h4 ,bode1 ,an ,outline of ,logic1 ,new ,york1 #aiaj1 p4 #bcd4 ,footnote #cd3 ,a4 ,sidgwick1 ,fallacies1 ,new ,york1 #ahhd1 p4 #cdb4 ,footnote #ce3 ,a4 ,sidgwick1 ,fallacies1 ,new ,york1 #ahhd1 ,p4 #cde4 ,footnote #cf3 ,a4 ,sidgwick1 ,the ,use of ,words in ,reasoning1 ,london1 #aija1 p4 #ia4 ,footnote #cg3 ,j4,s4 ,mill1 ,a ,system of ,logic1 ,book ,,iii1 chap4 iii1 sect4 #b2 quoted by ,e4,h4 ,bode1 ,an ,outline of ,logic1 ,new ,york1 #aiaj1 p4 #aji4 ,footnote #ch3 ,quoted by ,a4 ,sidgwick1 ,the ,use of ,words in ,reasoning1 ,london1 #aija1 p4 #bh1 note4 ,footnote #ci3 ,see also the next to last paragraph of the argument on ,the ,workman's ,compensation ,act1 p4 #bfh4 ,footnote #dj3 ,new ,york1 ,march #i1 #aiaa1 p4 #bda4 ,footnote #da3 ,b4 ,h4 ,bode1 ,an ,outline of ,logic1 ,new ,york1 #aiaj1 p4 #ga4 ,footnote #db3 ,w4 ,james1 ,psychology1 ,new ,york1 #ahij1 ,vol4 ,,ii1 p4 #cfe4 ,footnote #dc3 ,abraham ,lincoln1 ,complete ,works1 edited by ,nicolay and ,hay1 ,new ,york1 #ahid1 p4 #dde4 ,footnote #dd3 ,c4 ,r4 ,woodruff1 ,city ,government by ,commission1 ,new ,york1 #aiaa1 p4 #ahf4 ,footnote #de3 ,b4 ,h4 ,bode1 ,an ,outline of ,logic1 ,new ,york1 #aiaj1 p4 #hf4 ,for another example see ,luke ,,xx1 ,i #h4 ,footnote #df3 ,from the ,essay on ,warren ,hastings1 ,the ,works of ,lord ,macaulay1 ,london1 #ahgi1 ,vol4 ,,vi1 p4 #efg4 ,footnote #dg3 ,the ,works of ,daniel ,webster1 ,boston1 #ahea1 ,vol4 ,,vi1 p4 #fb4 ,footnote #dh3 ,b4,h4 ,bode1 ,an ,outline of ,logic1 ,new ,york1 #aiaj1 p4 #cj4 ,footnote #di3 ,sidgwick1 ,the ,use of ,words in ,reasoning1 ,london1 #aija1 p4 #aib4 ,footnote #ej3 ,see1 for example1 his ,apologia pro ,vita ,sua1 ,london1 #ahfd1 pp4 #aib1 #cbi4 ,footnote #ea3 ,newman1 ,the ,idea of a ,university1 ,london1 #ahge1 p4 #bj4 ,footnote #eb3 ,felix ,adler2 quoted by ,foster4 ,argumentation and ,debating1 ,boston1 #aijh1 p4 #afh4 ,footnote #ec3 ,from the ,essay on ,milton1 ,the ,works of ,lord ,macaulay1 ,london1 #ahgi1 ,vol4 ,v1 p4 #bh4 ,footnote #ed3 ,c4,w4 ,eliot1 ,educational ,reform1 ,new ,york1 #ahih1 p4 #cge4 ,footnote #ee3 ,w4 ,james1 ,the ,will to ,believe1 ,new ,york1 #ahig1 p4 #c4 ,footnote #ef3 ,the ,atlantic ,monthly1 ,vol4 ,,cvii1 p1 #ad4 ,footnote #eg3 ,it was invented and developed by ,professor ,george ,p4 ,baker in the first edition of his ,principles of ,argumentation1 ,boston1 #ahie4 ,footnote #eh3 ,lamont1 ,specimens of ,exposition4 ,footnote #ei3 ,see the passage from ,james's ,psychology1 p4 #aej4 ,footnote #fj3 ,reprinted in ,baker's ,specimens of ,argumentation1 ,new ,york1 #ahig4 ,footnote #fa3 ,world's ,work1 ,vol4 ,,xxi1 p4 #adbdb ,footnote #fb3 ,from the stenographic report of the argument2 reprinted in the author's ,forms of ,prose ,literature1 ,new ,york1 #aijj1 p4 #caf4 ,footnote #fc3 ,w4 ,james1 ,the ,will to ,believe1 ,new ,york1 #ahig1 p4 #g4 ,footnote #fd3 ,see ,baker and ,huntington1 ,principles of ,argumentation1 ,boston1 #acje1 p4 #dae4 ,footnote #fe3 ,fuller discussion of the rules for the distribution of the speakers and the time will be found in ,baker and ,huntington1 ,principles of ,argumentation1 p4 #dae2 and an elaborate1 almost legal1 set of instructions to judges1 and the agreement of a tricollegiate league1 in ,foster1 ,argumentation and ,debating1 ,boston1 #aijh1 pp4 #dff1 #dfh4 ,footnote #ff3 ,suggestions of points for the judges to consider will be found in ,pattee1 ,practical ,argumentation1 p4 #cjj2 and format instructions in ,foster1 ,argumentation and ,debating1 ,boston1 #aijh1 p4 #dff4 ,footnote #fg3 ,lecture ,i of three ,lectures on ,evolution4 ,from ,american ,addresses1 ,london1 #ahgg4 ,footnote #fh3 ,the diagram1 which is not reproduced here1 gives an ideal section of the crust of the earth1 showing the various strata lying one under the other4 ,the strata are divided by geologists into three groups3 the ,primary1 which is the oldest and deepest2 the ,secondary1 above that2 and the ,tertiary and ,quaternary on top4 ,the ,cretaceous is the lowest stratum of the ,tertiary4 ,footnote #fi3 ,one of the upper strata of the ,primary rocks4 ,footnote #gj3 ,the ,silurian rocks occur about the middle of the ,primary formations4 ,the eozon was formerly supposed by some geologists to be a form of fossil4 ,the ,laurentian rocks are the lowest strata of the ,primary formations4 ,footnote #ga3 ,the ,jurassic formation occurs about the middle1 the ,triassic1 just below it1 in the lower half of the ,secondary rocks4 ,the ,devonian occurs just above the middle of the ,secondary1 between the ,carboniferous above and the ,silurian below4 ,footnote #gb3 ,from ,the ,popular ,science ,monthly1 ,july1 #aija4 ,footnote #gc3 ,knowledge of the cause4 ,footnote #gd3 ,prevention4 ,footnote #ge3 ,the ,outlook1 ,april #bi1 #aiaa4 ,footnote #gf3 ,probably the reason why it has not yet been adopted by ,switzerland is because her organized manufacturing ,industries are so few that no pressure has been brought upon the state to change the law4 ,footnote #gg3 ,robertson vs4 ,baldwin1 ,united ,states1 #bha4 ,footnote #gh3 ,noble ,state ,bank vs4 ,haskell2 ,shallenberger vs4 ,bank of ,holstein1 ,january #c1 #aiaa4 ,lawyers' ,cooperative ,publishing ,company1 ,rochester1 ,new ,york4 ,footnote #gi3 ,foster1 ,argumentation and ,debating1 p4 #bha4