SLIGHTLY MIXED

Christefer Morley, in his column in the New York "Evening Post", comments upon a circular which was sent to him by a contrib, advertising the wares of the Public Speakers Society of Harrisburg, puhl, Mr. Morley does not mention the competition which the society offers to public speaking course in colleges, but we must prognosticate upon the threat which arises from the fact that the Society has prepared 220 speeches for all occasions. Where is any need for taking a course which (supposedly) teaches one to think on one's feet, when all that is necessary is memorizing a few hundred speeches? A few good topics for the diploma-in-hand job-seeking world-conquering graduate of a week's standing to be prepared on is "The Door to Success is Labeled Push" (like the gum machine), "A College Education is a greater Asset than a 50-AcreFarm" (Query, what does the phrase "college education" mean?), "Address of a Toastmaster at a Stage Hand Banquet" (D. C. Please note).

This is certainly a splendid idea; stocked with a battery of such speeches, anyone ought to be a leader in his community, as the circular says. And we inevitably link up such inspiring information with the story of Blenkinson J. Smith, commented on in the same paper. This gentleman-whose name, incidentally, reminds us of J. Throckmorton Cush's we leave to the imagination possible similarities implied by both having J. as initial-but, as we were saying, Mr. Smith is reported to have committed in one day more sins than are recorded in a week's series of book-of-etiquette advertisements. It is also reported that he overcame these difficulties and is now a bank president or something; but he would surely have found it much easier if he had had at his tongue's tip a supply of timely speeches on what to do when at dinner you cut yourself with a knife, or how to behave at a mixed theatre party (Query: are we, the theatre, Mr. Smith, or the party mixed?)

At this point we must stop; we have to make our long speech in English 10.