Book Reviews : "Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen" — Reflections on Public Speaking. By NORMAN THOMAS. (New York: Hermitage House. 1955. Pp. 128. $2.75.)
| Date | 01 March 1956 |
| Published date | 01 March 1956 |
| Author | Robert J. Alexander |
| DOI | 10.1177/106591295600900149 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
219
"Mr.
Chairman,
Ladies
and
Gentlemen" —
Reflections
on
Public
Speaking.
By
NORMAN
THOMAS.
(New
York:
Hermitage
House.
1955.
Pp.
128.
$2.75.)
A
book
by
Norman
Thomas
is
always
worth
reading.
The
current
small
volume
presents
America’s
&dquo;Mr.
Socialism&dquo;
in
a
somewhat
novel
light.
Looking
back
on
his
fifty
years
of
public
speaking,
the
author
has
many
things
to
say,
not
only
about
his
own
experiences,
but
about
the
techniques
of
oratory,
the
effects
of
new
mass
media,
and
the
condition
of
freedom
of
speech
in
present-day
America.
Mr.
Thomas
cites
his
own
experience
to
show
the
occasional
need
for
writing
out
a
speech,
and
the
constant
need
for
thinking
out
what
one
wants
to
say
before
getting
the
floor.
He
laments
the
tendency
of
trying
to
conduct
a
meeting
&dquo;without
parliamentary
procedure,&dquo;
and
many
may
find
his
disquisition
on
how
to
conduct
a
public
meeting
to
be
one
of
the
most
interesting
parts
of
this
little
book.
Norman
Thomas
warns
against
&dquo;exhibitionism,&dquo;
and
the
desire
to
talk
merely
to
make
oneself
heard.
He
looks
at
the
problem
of
the
average
American
audience’s
cynicism
towards
political
oratory.
Fundamentally,
this
is
due
to
the
nature
of
that
type
of
public
speaking.
Yet
he
also
warns
that
despite
their
cynicism,
many
American
audiences
fall
for
specious
oratory.
The
raising
of
the
level
of
public
speaking,
he
says,
lies
to
a
considerable
degree
with
the
audience.
For
them,
Mr.
Thomas
has
two
simple
rules
for
judging
the
orator,
be
he
spell-binder
or
not.
These
are:
&dquo;Is
that
so&dquo;
and
&dquo;So
what?&dquo;
However,
Thomas
is
fundamentally
optimistic
about
the
future
of
democracy
and
free
speech
in
the
United
States.
This
is
not
because
we
have
any
militant
program
or
policy,
because,
as
Mr.
Thomas
says:
&dquo;We
lack
a
confident
and
adequate
social
philosophy
and
program.
We
cling
to
old
clich6s
and
the
slogans
of
political
and
economic
creeds
which
we
do
not
carry
out
in
action.&dquo;
In
spite
of
this,
&dquo;the
end
has
always
been
victory
for
comparative
reason
and
decency.&dquo;
Mr.
Thomas
does
not
think
that
the
liberals
in
the
United
States
are
living
up
to
their
obligations.
He
notes
that
too
many
of
them
took
too
long
to
see
the
dangers
of
communism
to
liberal
democracy.
Once
they
have
understood
this,
however,
they
have
not
thought
through
the
whole
problem
of
civil
liberties
and
security.
He
condemns
the
action
of
the
liberal
leaders
in
the
Senate
in
the
summer
of
1954
in
taking
the
lead
in
declaring
the
Communist
party
illegal.
They
thus
sacrificed
&dquo;principle
and
statesmanship
to
smart
politics.&dquo;
Nor
are
the
liberals
bold
enough
in
their
own
belief
in
civil
liberties.
Current
liberalism,
Mr.
Thomas
says,
&dquo;is
flaccid,
emotional,
lacking
in
depth
or
consistency,
itself
prone
to
conformity.&dquo;
He
is
critical
of
some
of
those
who
use
the
Fifth
Amendment.
He
says:
&dquo;The
right,
under
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