10. Strikes help the cause of labor.

II. A trust is necessarily a benefit.

12. The treatment of Shylock was unjust.

13. High-school pupils should read the newspapers.

14. The

is a better automobile than the

15. Pupils of high-school age should receive training in debating. 16. The public library should be open on Sunday.

17. Manual training should be taught in all high schools.

18. Freshmen should be excluded from all high-school teams.

19. Every high school should give instruction in music.

20. Monday is a more suitable day than Saturday for the weekly school holiday.

21. The execution of Major André was justifiable.

22. Napoleon was a greater military genius than Wellington.

23. Longfellow's poetry is more musical than Whittier's (Poe's, Burns's).

24. Hawthorne is superior to Poe in descriptive powers.

25. President

United States:

is worthy of reëlection as chief executive of the

26. United States senators should be elected by popular vote.

27. A high tariff increases wages.

28. Labor-saving machines injure the laboring classes.

29. The truth should always be spoken.

30. Sometimes pupils should report wrongdoings of other pupils to the teacher.

31. Military drill should be compulsory in public high schools.

32. A knowledge of French and German is preferable to a knowledge of Greek and Latin.

33. Interclass athletics are of more benefit to a school than interscholastic athletics.

34. Gymnasium work should be compulsory for boys and girls in the high school.

35. All boys should learn to use ordinary carpenter tools.

36. All girls should learn to cook.

is a more interesting book than ".

school pupil to read.

38. There is more school spirit in private than in public schools. 39. Algebra is a more valuable high-school study than history. 40. It is easier to study two hours in school than it is to study two hours at home.

EXERCISES

THE INTRODUCTION

641. Write an introduction to a brief on one of the propositions in section 191.

642. Be prepared to give a two-minute talk with the aid of your outline.

643. Write your introduction in paragraph form, taking pains to secure coherence.

THE ARGUMENTS

644. Prepare a brief proper 1 on the proposition you have just been discussing, or on another that seems preferable.

645. Prepare a brief proper on two of the following propositions. Consider the use of examples and of cause and effect.

1. Practical jokes should be avoided.

2. Smoking is injurious to boys.

3. Honesty is the best policy.

4. The United States is a friend of weaker nations.

5. Thrift is essential to success.

646. Write in paragraph form the arguments based on one of your briefs. See that your composition is coherent.

647. Prepare a brief proper on two of the following propositions:

1. Children under fifteen years of age should be compelled to attend school.

2. Interscholastic football is injurious to the players.

3. Girls should learn to speak in public.

4. Every boy and girl should learn how to earn a living.

648. By way of proving one of the foregoing propositions, write a paragraph developed by cause and effect.

1 If two or more briefs on the same subject are copied on the blackboard, the class should profit by a comparison of them.

649. By way of proving another of the foregoing propositions, write (1) a paragraph developed by cause and effect, (2) a paragraph developed by examples.

650. As an argument in support of the proposition “ Firearms are an Aid to Permanency of Civilization," does the following seem adequate? Make a brief, and to this add any criticism, favorable or otherwise, about the argument.

The great change introduced into the art of war by the invention of firearms has enhanced still further both the expense of exercising and disciplining any particular number of soldiers in time of peace, and that of employing them in time of war. Both their arms and their ammunition are become more expensive. A musket is a more expensive machine than a javelin or a bow and arrows; a cannon or a mortar, than a balista or a catapulta. The powder which is spent in a modern review is lost irrecoverably, and occasions a very considerable expense. The javelins and arrows which were thrown or shot in an ancient army could easily be picked up again, and were besides of very little value. The cannon and mortar are not only much dearer, but much heavier machines than the balista or catapulta, and require a greater expense, not only to prepare them for the field, but to carry them to it. As the superiority of the modern artillery, too, over that of the ancients is very great, it has become much more difficult, and consequently much more expensive, to fortify a town so as to resist, even for a few weeks, the attack of that superior artillery. In modern, times many different causes contribute to render the defense of society more expensive. The unavoidable effects of the natural progress of improvement have, in this respect, been a good deal enhanced by a great revolution in the art of war, to which a mere accident, the invention of gunpowder, seems to have given occasion.

In modern war the great expense of firearms gives an evident advantage to the nation which can best afford that expense; and consequently, to an opulent and civilized, over a poor and barbarous nation. In ancient times, the opulent and civilized found it difficult to defend themselves against the poor and barbarous nations. In modern times the poor and barbarous find it difficult to defend themselves

against the opulent and civilized. The invention of firearms, an invention which at first sight appears to be so pernicious, is certainly favorable both to the permanency and to the extension of civilization. ADAM SMITH, "Wealth of Nations." 651. Summarize in a single paragraph the argument on page 347.

652. Summarize one of the editorials on pages 331-332, including all the salient points.

653. After preparing a suitable brief, be ready to argue for and against the expediency of one of the following propositions:

1. Smith should be substituted for Brown at first base.

2. A student should study two hours outside of school every day. 3. School buildings should be used for municipal purposes after school hours.

4. The city should furnish free textbooks only to pupils who cannot afford to buy them.

5. All pupils should own the copies of the English classics they read in school.

654. After learning what you can from Webster and Franklin in the selections on pages 343-344, as to methods of convincing an audience, be prepared to talk two minutes on one of the following subjects. You may appeal to the school spirit of your listeners, their self-respect, their pride, their sense of justice, etc.

1. The school paper (debating society, athletic association, musical club) should be strongly supported.

2. Every boy who is physically fit should engage in football practice. 3. The common use of slang is objectionable.

4. Paper and other refuse should not be thrown on the classroom floor (on the city streets).

5. A new street should not be cut through the middle of the com

mon.

THE CONCLUSION

655. The paragraph from Webster on page 343 is an excellent summary of his speech. The following is the paragraph

with which Professor Palmer closes his "Self-Cultivation in English":

Such, then, are the excellencies of speech. If we would cultivate ourselves in the use of English, we must make our daily talk accurate, daring, and full. I have insisted on these points the more because in my judgment all literary power, especially that of busy men, is rooted in sound speech.

With these summaries in mind, write a conclusion to each of the briefs you have prepared under the foregoing exercises. 656. Write out in full the argument of one of the briefs.

REFUTATION

657. Either refute or show the expediency of each of the following statements:

1. Penmanship should be taught in high schools.

2. Novels picture life better than histories do.

3. All the present evils of mankind can be traced to intemperance. 4. Our school should have a library.

5. Every healthy boy and girl should learn to swim.

ASSERTION AND PROOF

658. How many of the following statements are you prepared to accept without proof? How many must you reject? Give your reasons briefly.

1. All men are created equal.

2. Leif Ericson landed on some part of the New England coast.

3. The high school at

is the best in the (city, county, state).

4. Columbus discovered America in 1492.

5. The Indians had an undeniable right to American soil.

6. "Quentin Durward" is an interesting story.

7.

"Treasure Island" is the best story of adventure ever written.

8. The earth is a spheroid.

9. The violet is the loveliest of flowers.

10. Tennis is a more enjoyable game than basketball.