GETTING MATERIAL
The Material of Speeches. So far this book has dealt almost entirely
with the manner of speaking. Now it comes to the relatively more
important consideration of the material of speech. Necessary as it is
that a speaker shall know how to speak, it is much more valuable that
he shall know what to speak. We frequently hear it said of a speaker,
"It wasn't what he said, it was the way he said it," indicating
clearly that the striking aspect of the delivery was his manner; but
even when this remark is explained it develops frequently that there
was some value in the material, as well as some charm or surprise or
novelty in the method of expression. In the last and closest analysis
a speech is valuable for what it conveys to its hearers' minds, what
it induces them to do, not what temporary effects of charm and
entertainment it affords.
Persons of keen minds and cultivated understandings have come away
from gatherings addressed by men famous as good speech-makers and
confessed to something like the following: "I was held spellbound all
the time he was talking, but for the life of me, I can't tell you one
thing he said or one idea he impressed upon me." A student should
judge speeches he hears with such things in mind, so that he can hold
certain ones up as models, and discard others as "horrible examples."
It should be the rule that before a man attempts to speak he should
have something to say. This is apparently not always the case. Many a
man tries to say something when he simply has nothing at all to say.
Recall the description of Gratiano's talk, quoted earlier in this
book.
A speaker then must have material. He must get material. The clergyman
knows that he must deliver about a hundred sermons a year. The lawyer
knows he must go into court on certain days. The lecturer must
instruct his various audiences. The business man must address
executive boards, committees, conventions, customers. The student must
address classes, societies. The beginner in speech training must seize
every opportunity to talk. Certainly the natural reserve stock of
ideas and illustrations will soon be exhausted, or it will grow so
stale that it will be delivered ineffectively, or it will be
unsuitable to every occasion. A celebrated Frenchman, called upon
unexpectedly to speak, excused himself by declaring, "What is suitable
to say I do not know, and what I know is not suitable."
Getting Material. There are three ways of getting material. The first
is by observation, the second by interview, the third by reading.
Observation. The value of securing material by observation is apparent
at first glance. That which you have experienced you know. That which
you have seen with your own eyes you can report correctly. That which
has happened to you you can relate with the aspect of absolute truth.
That which you have done you can teach others to do. That which has
touched you you can explain correctly. That which you know to be the
fact is proof against all attack.
These are the apparent advantages of knowledge gained at first hand.
The faculty of accurate observation is one of the most satisfying that
can enter into a person's mental equipment. It can be trained,
broadened, and made more and more accurate. In some trades and
professions it is an indispensable part of one's everyday ability. The
faculty may be easily developed by exercise and test for accuracy.
Everyone acknowledges the weight and significance of material gained
by observation. In America especially we accord attention and regard
to the reports and accounts made by men who have done things, the men
who have experienced the adventures they relate. There is such a
vividness, a reality, a conviction about these personal utterances
that we must listen respectfully and applaud sincerely. Magazines and
newspapers offer hundreds of such articles for avid readers. Hundreds
of books each year are based upon such material.
With all its many advantages the field of observation is limited. Not
every person can experience or see all he is interested in and wants
to talk about. We must choose presidents but we cannot observe the
candidates themselves and their careers. We must have opinions about
the League of Nations, the Mexican situation, the radical labor
movements, the changing taxes, but we cannot observe all phases of
these absorbing topics. If we restrict speeches to only what we can
observe we shall all be uttering merely trivial personalities based
upon no general knowledge and related to none of the really important
things in the universe.
Nor is it always true that the person who does a thing can report it
clearly and accurately. Ask a woman or girl how she hemstitches a
handkerchief, or a boy how he swims or throws a curve, and note the
involved and inaccurate accounts. If you doubt this, explain one of
these to the class. It is not easy to describe exactly what one has
seen, mainly because people do not see accurately. People usually see
what they want to see, what they are predisposed to see. Witnesses in
court, testifying upon oath concerning an accident, usually produce as
many different versions as there are pairs of eyes. Books upon
psychology report many enlightening and amusing cases of this defect
of accurate observation in people.[1]
The two negative aspects of material secured in this first manner--1,
limited range of observation, 2, inaccuracy of observation--placed
beside the advantages already listed will clearly indicate in what
subjects and circumstances this method should be relied upon for
securing material for speeches.
[Footnote 1: Good cases are related by Swift, E.J.: _Psychology and
the Day's Work_.]
EXERCISES
1. Make a list of recent articles based upon observation which you
have seen or read in newspapers and magazines.
2. With what kind of material does each deal?
3. Which article is best? Why?
4. List four topics upon which your observation has given you
material which could be used in a speech.
5. What kind of speech? A speech for what purpose?
6. Consider and weigh the value of your material.
7. Why is it good?
8. What limits, or drawbacks has it?
9. What could be said against it from the other side?
Interview. If a person cannot himself experience or observe all he
wants to use for material his first impulse will be to interview
people who have had experience themselves. In this circumstance the
speaker becomes the reporter of details of knowledge furnished by
others. The value of this is apparent at once. Next to first-hand
knowledge, second-hand knowledge will serve admirably.
Every newspaper and magazine in the world uses this method because its
readers' first query, mental or expressed, of all its informative
articles is "Is this true?" If the author is merely repeating the
experience of an acknowledged expert in the field under discussion,
the value of the interview cannot be questioned. In this case the
resulting report is almost as good as the original testimony or
statement of the man who knows.
The first requisite, therefore, of material gathered in such a manner
is that it be reproduced exactly as first delivered. The man who told
a woman that a critic had pronounced her singing "heavenly" had good
intentions but he was not entirely accurate in changing to that
nattering term the critic's actual adjective "unearthly." The
frequency with which alleged statements published in the daily press
are contradicted by the supposed utterers indicates how usual such
misrepresentation is, though it may be honestly unintentional. The
speaker before an audience must be scrupulously correct in quoting.
This accuracy is not assured unless a stenographic transcript be taken
at the time the information is given, or unless the person quoted
reads the sentiments and statements credited to him and expresses his
approval.
Signed statements, personal letters, printed records, photographs,
certified copies, and other exhibits of all kinds are employed to
substantiate material secured from interviews and offered in speeches.
If you notice newspaper accounts of lectures, political speeches,
legislative procedure, legal practice, you will soon become familiar
with such usages as are described by the expressions, filing as part
of the record, taking of a deposition in one city for use in a lawsuit
in another, Exhibit A, photograph of an account book, statement made
in the presence of a third party, as recorded by a dictaphone, etc.
The first danger in securing material by the personal interview is the
natural error of misunderstanding. The second danger is the natural
desire--not necessarily false, at that--to interpret to the user's
benefit, the material so secured, or to the discredit of all views
other than his own. It is so easy, so tempting, in making out a strong
case for one's own opinions to omit the slight concession which may
grant ever so little shade of right to other beliefs. Judicious
manipulation of any material may degenerate into mere juggling for
support. Quotations and reports, like statistics, can be made to prove
anything, and the general intellectual distrust of mere numbers is
cleverly summed up in the remark, "Figures can't lie, but liars can
figure."
To have the material accepted as of any weight or value the person
from whom it is secured must be recognized as an authority. He must be
of such eminence in the field for which his statements are quoted as
not only to be accepted by the speaker using his material but as
unqualifiedly recognized by all the opponents of the speaker. His
remarks must have the definiteness of the expert witness whose
testimony in court carries so much weight. To secure due
consideration, the speaker must make perfectly clear to his audience
the position of his authority, his fitness to be quoted, his
unquestioned knowledge, sincerity, and honesty.
Knowledge secured in this manner may be used with signal effect in a
speech, either to supply all the material or to cover certain
portions. If you listen to many speeches (and you should), notice how
often a speaker introduces the result of his interviews--formal or
merely conversational--with persons whose statement he is certain will
impress his audience.
EXERCISES
1. Make a list of five topics of which you know so little that you
would have to secure information by interviews.
2. Of these choose two, define your opinion or feeling in each, and
tell to whom you could apply for material.
3. Choose one dealing with some topic of current interest in your
locality; define your own opinion or feeling, and tell to whom you
could apply for material.
4. Explain exactly why you name this person.
5. Prepare a set of questions to bring out material to support your
position.
6. Prepare some questions to draw out material to dispose of other
views.
7. Interview some person upon one of the foregoing topics or a
different one, and in a speech present this material before the class.
8. In general discussion comment on the authorities reported and the
material presented.
Reading. The best way and the method most employed for gathering
material is reading. Every user of material in speeches must depend
upon his reading for the greatest amount of his knowledge. The old
expression "reading law" shows how most legal students secured the
information upon which their later practice was based. Nearly all real
study of any kind depends upon wide and careful reading.
Reading, in the sense here used, differs widely from the entertaining
perusal of current magazines, or the superficial skimming through
short stories or novels. Reading for material is done with a more
serious purpose than merely killing time, and is regulated according
to certain methods which have been shown to produce the best results
for the effort and time expended.
The speaker reads for the single purpose of securing material to serve
his need in delivered remarks. He has a definite aim. He must know how
to serve that end. Not everyone who can follow words upon a printed
page can read in this sense. He must be able to read, understand,
select, and retain. The direction is heard in some churches to "read,
mark, learn, and inwardly digest." This is a picturesque phrasing of
the same principles.
You must know how to read. Have you often in your way through a book
suddenly realized at the bottom of a page that you haven't the
slightest recollection of what your eye has been over? You may have
felt this same way after finishing a chapter. People often read poetry
in this manner. This is not really reading. The speaker who reads for
material must concentrate. If he reaches the bottom of a page without
an idea, he must go back to get it. It is better not to read too
rapidly the first time, in order to save this repetition. The ability
to read is trained in exactly the same way as any other ability.
Accuracy first, speed later. Perhaps the most prevalent fault of
students of all kinds is lack of concentration.
Understanding. After reading comes understanding. To illustrate this,
poetry again might be cited, for any one can _read_ poetry, though
many declare they cannot understand it. The simplest looking prose may
be obscure to the mind which is slow in comprehending. When we read we
get general ideas, cursory impressions; we catch the drift of the
author's meaning. Reading for material must be more thorough than
that. It must not merely believe it understands; it must preclude the
slightest possibility of misunderstanding.
A reader who finds in a printed speech approval of a system of
_representation_ but a condemnation of a system of _representatives_
must grasp at once, or must work out for himself, the difference
between these two: the first meaning a relationship only, the second
meaning men serving as delegates. When he meets an unusual word like
_mandatory_, he must not be content to guess at its significance by
linking it with _command_ and _mandate_, for as used in international
affairs it means something quite definite. To secure this complete
understanding of all his reading he will consult consistently every
book of reference. He should read with a good dictionary at his elbow,
and an atlas and an encyclopedia within easy reach. If he is able to
talk over with others what he reads, explaining to them what is not
clear, he will have an excellent method of testing his own
understanding. The old-fashioned practice of "saying lessons over" at
home contributed to this growth of a pupil's understanding.
Selecting. Third, the reader for material must know how to select. As
he usually reads to secure information or arguments for a certain
definite purpose, he will save time by knowing quickly what not to
read. All that engages his attention without directly contributing to
his aim is wasting time and energy. He must learn how to use books. If
he cannot handle alphabetized collections quickly he is wasting time.
If he does not know how material is arranged he will waste both time
and energy. He must know books.
Every printed production worthy of being called a book should have an
index. Is the index the same as the table of contents? The table of
contents is printed at the beginning of the volume. It is a synopsis,
by chapter headings or more detailed topics, of the plan of the book.
It gives a general outline of the contents of the book. You are
interested in public speaking. You wonder whether a book contains a
chapter on debating. Does this one? You notice that a speaker used a
series of jerky gesticulations. You wonder whether this book contains
a chapter upon gestures. Does it?
The table of contents is valuable for the purposes just indicated. It
appears always at the beginning of a work. If the work fills more than
one volume, the table of contents is sometimes given for all of them
in the first; sometimes it is divided among the volumes; sometimes
both arrangements are combined.
The table of contents is never so valuable as the index. This always
comes at the end of the book. If the work is in more than one volume
the index comes at the _end of the last volume_. What did you learn of
the topic _gestures_ in this book from your reference to the table of
contents? Now look at the index. What does the index do for a topic?
If a topic is treated in various parts of a long work the volumes are
indicated by Roman numerals, the pages by ordinary numerals.
Interpret this entry taken from the index of _A History of the United
States_ by H.W. Elson.
Slavery, introduced into Virginia, i, 93; in South Carolina,
122; in Georgia, 133; in New England, 276; in the South, 276;
during colonial period, iii, 69, 70; in Missouri, 72;
attacked by the Abolitionists, 142-6; excluded from
California, 184; character of, in the South, 208 _seq_.;
population, iv, 82; abolished in District of Columbia, in new
territories, 208; abolished by Thirteenth Amendment, 320,
321.
Retaining Knowledge. The only valid test of the reader's real
equipment is what he retains and can use. How much of what you read do
you remember? The answer depends upon education, training in this
particular exercise, and lapse of time. What method of remembering do
you find most effective in your own case? To answer this you should
give some attention to your own mind. What kind of mind have you? Do
you retain most accurately what you see? Can you reproduce either
exactly or in correct substance what you read to yourself without any
supporting aids to stimulate your memory? If you have this kind of
mind develop it along that line. Do not weaken its power by letting it
lean on any supports at all. If you find you can do without them, do
not get into the habit of taking notes. If you can remember to do
everything you should do during a trip downtown don't make a list of
the items before you go. If you can retain from a single reading the
material you are gathering, don't make notes. Impress things upon your
memory faculty. Develop that ability in yourself.
Have you a different kind of mind, the kind which remember best what
it tells, what it explains, what it does? Do you fix things in your
brain by performing them? Does information become rooted in your
memory because you have imparted it to others? If so you should secure
the material you gather from your reading by adapting some method
related to the foregoing. You may talk it over with some one else, you
may tell it aloud to yourself, you may imagine you are before an
audience and practise impressing them with what you want to retain.
Any device which successfully fixes knowledge in your memory is
legitimate. You should know enough about your own mental processes to
find for yourself the best and quickest way. It is often said of
teachers that they do not actually feel that they _know_ a subject
until they have tried to teach it to others.
Taking Notes. Another kind of mind recalls or remembers material it
has read when some note or hint suggests all of it. This kind of mind
depends upon the inestimably valuable art of note-taking, a method
quite as worthy as the two just considered if its results justify its
employment. Note-taking does not mean a helter-skelter series of
exclamatory jottings. It means a well-planned, regularly organized
series of entries so arranged that reference to any portion recalls
vividly and exactly the full material of the original. Books and
speeches are well planned. They follow a certain order. Notes based
upon them should reproduce that plan and show the relative value of
parts.
When completed, such notes, arranged in outline form, should enable
the maker to reproduce the extended material from which they were
made. If he cannot do that, his reading and his note-taking were to
little purpose. A speaker who has carefully written out his full
speech and delivers it form the manuscript can use that speech over
and over again. But that does not indicate that he really _knows_ much
about the topic he is discussing. He did know about it once. But the
man who from a series of notes can reconstruct material worked up long
before proves that he has retained his knowledge of it. Besides, this
method gives him the chance to adapt his presentation to the changing
conditions and the new audience.
In using this method, when a particularly important bit of information
is met, it should be set down very carefully, usually verbatim, as it
may be quoted exactly in the speech. This copy may be made upon the
paper where the regular notes are being entered so that it may be
found later embodied in the material it supports. Or it may later be
cut from this sheet to be shifted about and finally fixed when
planning the speech, or preparing the outline (discussed in the next
two chapters). Many practised speech-makers copy such material upon
the regularly sized library catalog cards (3 by 5 inches), some
distinguishing by the colors of cards the various kinds of material,
such as arguments supporting a position, opposite arguments,
refutation, statistics, court judgments, etc. The beginner will find
for himself what methods he can use best. Of course he must never let
his discriminating system become so elaborate that he consumes
unjustifiable time and thought in following its intricate plan.
In all cases of quotations--either verbatim or in resume--the
authority must be noted. Author, official title or position, title of
work, circumstances, date, volume, page, etc., should be clearly set
down. In law cases the date is especially important as so frequently
the latest decision reverses all the earlier ones. For convenience of
filing and handling these items are placed at the top of the card.
Monroe Doctrine--Meaning
W. Wilson--Hist. Amer. People, V, 245
The U.S. had not undertaken to maintain an actual formal
protectorate over the S. Amer. states, but it did frankly
undertake to act as their nearest friend in the settlement of
controversies with European nations, and no President,
whether Rep. or Dem., had hesitated since this critical
dispute concerning the boundaries of Brit. Guiana arose to
urge its settlement upon terms favorable to Venezuela.
The following notes were made by a student in preparation for a speech
upon the opposition to the Covenant of the League of Nations. These
excerpts are from the notes upon the newspaper reports of the debate
in Boston in 1919 between Senator Lodge and President Lowell of
Harvard. Notice how accurately they suggest the material of the
original. The numbers represent the paragraph numbers.
[Sidenote: Monroe Doctrine.]
35. Monroe Doctrine a fence that cannot be extended by taking
it down.
36. Monroe Doctrine a corollary of Washington's foreign
policy.
37. Geographical considerations on which Monroe Doctrine
rested still obtain.
38. Systems of morality and philosophy are not transient,
because they rest on verities.
39. Monroe Doctrine rests on law of self-preservation.
40. Offers a larger reservation of Monroe Doctrine as third
constructive criticism.
SENATOR LODGE
[Sidenote: What a League should provide.]
3. Wants to consider what such a league must contain.
4. Must have provision for obligatory arbitration.
5. Obligation not to resort to war must be compulsory.
6. Compulsion must be such that no nation will venture to
incur it.
7. Nation that does not submit to arbitration must be treated
as outlaw.
8. If decisions of arbitrations are clear and generally
considered just, a nation desiring to wage war should be
prevented.
9. Points of contact are not points of friction except when
made too infrequent.
10. Travel, intercourse, frequent meetings help amicable
adjustments.
11. League should provide councils where men can meet and
talk over differences.
12. Penalty for violating agreements should be automatic.
13. All should be obliged to make war on attacking nation.
PRESIDENT LOWELL.
Using the Library. A reader must know how to use libraries. This means
he must be able to find books by means of the card catalogs. These are
arranged by both authors and subjects. If he knows the author of a
book or its title he can easily find the cards and have the book
handed to him. Very often he will seek information upon topics
entirely new to him. In this case he must look under the entry of the
topic for all the books bearing upon his. From the titles, the brief
descriptions, and (sometimes) the tables of contents upon the cards he
can select intelligently the books he needs. For instance, if he is
searching for arguments to support a new kind of city government he
could discard at once several books cataloged as follows, while he
could pick unerringly the four which might furnish him the material he
wants. These books are listed under the general topic "Cities."
_The Spirit of Youth and the City Streets. Old English Towns.
Municipal Administration. The Modern City and its Problems.
Personality of American Cities. Historic Towns of the
Southern States. Romantic Germany. Cities of Italy. American
Municipal Progress_.
Cross references are also valuable. In addition to books cataloged
under the topic consulted, others grouped under other subjects may
contain related information. Here are three actual cross references
taken from a library catalog.
Land: Ownership, rights, and rent. See also conservation,
production, agriculture.
Laboring classes: Morals and habits. See also ethics,
amusements, Sunday.
Church. See also church and state, persecutions.
The continual use of a library will familiarize a student with certain
classes of books to which he may turn for information. If he is
permitted to handle the books themselves upon the shelves he will soon
become skilful in using books. Many a trained speaker can run his eye
over titles, along tables of contents, scan the pages, and unerringly
pick the heart out of a volume. Nearly all libraries now are arranged
according to one general plan, so a visitor who knows this scheme can
easily find the class of books he wants in almost any library he uses.
This arrangement is based upon the following decimal numbering and
grouping of subject matter.
LIBRARY CLASSIFICATION
000 to 090, _General works_. Bibliography. Library economy.
Cyclopedias. Collections. Periodicals. Societies, museums. Journalism,
newspapers. Special libraries, polygraphy. Book rarities.
100 to 190, _Philosophy_. Metaphysics. Special topics. Mind and body.
Philosophic systems. Mental faculties, psychology. Logic, dialectics.
Ethics. Ancient philosophers. Modern.
200 to 290, _Religion_. Natural Theology. Bible. Doctrinal dogmatics,
theology. Devotional, practical. Homiletic, pastoral, parochial.
Church, institutions, work. Religious history. Christian churches and
sects. Ethnic, non-christian.
300 to 390, _Sociology_. Statistics. Political science. Political
economy. Law. Administration. Associations, institutions. Education.
Commerce, communication. Customs, costumes, folklore.
400 to 490, _Philology_. Comparative. English. German. French.
Italian. Spanish. Latin. Greek. Minor literatures.
500 to 590, _Natural science_. Mathematics, Astronomy. Physics.
Chemistry. Geology. Paleontology. Biology. Botany. Zoölogy.
600 to 690, _Useful arts_. Medicine. Engineering. Agriculture.
Domestic economy. Communication, commerce. Chemic technology.
Manufactures. Mechanic trades. Building.
700 to 790, _Fine arts_. Landscape gardening. Architecture. Sculpture.
Drawing, decoration, design. Painting. Engraving. Photography. Music.
Amusements.
800 to 890, _Literature_ (same order as under _Philology_, 400).
900 to 990, _History_. Geography and travels. Biography. Ancient
history. Modern Europe. Asia. Africa. North America. South America.
Oceanica and polar regions.
M. DEWEY: _Decimal Classification_
Using Periodicals. In the section on taking notes the direction was
given that in citing legal decisions the latest should be secured.
Why? That same principle applies to citing any kind of information in
a speech. Science, history, politics, government, international
questions, change so rapidly in these times that the fact of yesterday
is the fiction of today, and _vice versa._ A speaker must be up to
date in his knowledge. This he can be only by consulting current
periodicals. He cannot read them all so he must use the aids provided
for him. The best of these is the _Reader's Guide to Periodical
Literature_ issued every month and kept in the reference room of all
libraries. In it, arranged under both subject and author's name, are
listed the articles which have appeared in the various magazines. The
December issue contains the entries for the entire year. A group of
topics from a recent monthly issue will show its value to the speaker
securing material.
Eastern Question. British case in the East. H. Sidebotham,
Asia 19:261-1263 Mr '19.--England and her eastern policy. H.
Sidebotham. Asia, 19:158-161. F '19.--Khanates of the Middle
East. Ikbal Ali Shah. Contemp. 115:183-187 F '19.--More
secret treaties in the Near East. L. Stoddard. Maps. World's
Work. 37: 589-591. Mr '19.--Part of the United States in the
Near East. R of Rs 59:305-306 Mr '19.--Should America act as
trustee of the Near East? Asia, 19:141-144 F'19.
By this time the student speaker will have that mental alertness
referred to early in this book. He will be reading regularly some
magazine--not to pass the time pleasantly--but to keep himself posted
on current topics and questions of general interest, in which the
articles will direct him to other periodicals for fuller treatment of
the material he is gathering. The nature of some of these is suggested
here.
_The Outlook_, "An illustrated weekly journal of current
events."
_Current Opinion_, Monthly. Review of the World, Persons in
the Foreground, Music and Drama, Science and Discovery,
Religion and Social Ethics, Literature and Art, The
Industrial World, Reconstruction.
_The Literary Digest_, Weekly. Topics of the Day, Foreign
Comment, Science and Invention, Letters and Art, Religion and
Social Service, Current Poetry, Miscellaneous, Investments
and Finance.
_The Independent_, an illustrated weekly.
EXERCISES
1. Describe to the class the contents of a recent issue of a magazine.
Concentrate upon important departments, articles, or policies, so that
you will not deliver a mere list.
2. Tell how an article in some periodical led you to read more widely
to secure fuller information.
3. Explain why you read a certain periodical regularly.
4. Speak upon one of the following topics:
Freak magazines.
My magazine.
Policies of magazines.
Great things magazines have done.
Technical magazines.
Adventures at a magazine counter.
Propaganda periodicals.
5. Explain exactly how you study.
6. How would you secure an interview with some person of prominence?
7. Is the "cramming" process of studying a good one?
8. Is it ever justifiable?
9. Explain how, why, and when it may be used by men in their
profession.
10. Give the class an idea of the material of some book you have read
recently.
11. Explain how reading a published review or hearing comments on a
book induced you to read a volume which proved of value to you.
12. Can you justify the reading of the last part only of a book?
Consider non-fiction.
13. For preserving clippings, notes, etc., which method is
better--cards filed in boxes or drawers, scrap-books, or slips and
clippings grouped in envelopes?
14. Report to the class some information upon one of the following.
Tell exactly how and where you secured your information.
Opium traffic in China.
Morphine habit in the United States.
Women in literature.
A drafted army as compared with a volunteer army.
Orpheum as a theater name.
Prominent business women.
War time influence of D'Annunzio.
Increasing cost of living.
Secretarial courses.
The most beautiful city of the American continent.
Alfalfa.
Women surgeons.
The blimp.
Democracy in Great Britain compared with that of the United States.
The root of the Mexican problem.
San Marino.
Illiteracy in the United States.
How women vote.
(NOTE.--The teacher should supply additions, substitutes, and
modifications.)