1. Thinking should precede, accompany, and follow any reading on the question under investigation. In taking up the consideration of any proposition for debate, the first thing is to take an inventory of the contents of your own mind. How does the question strike you as a citizen? What preconceived notions have you regarding it? Have you proof for opinions already formed? How does the question arise as a subject for discussion? What is the meaning of the proposition? What are the issues raised? And what lines of proof are necessary in order to establish the affirmative or the negative side? In other words, first of all analyze the question and your opinion and knowledge of it. Senator Albert J. Beveridge, in an article in the Saturday Evening Post, writes as follows:

The method commonly employed in preparing speeches is incorrect. That method is to read all the books one can get on the subject, take all the opinions that can be procured, make exhaustive notes, and then write the speech. Such a speech is nothing but a compilation. It is merely an arrangement of second-hand thought and observation and of other people's ideas. It never has the power of living and original thinking.

The true way is to take the elements of the problem in hand and, without consulting a book or an opinion, reason out from the very elements of the problem itself your solution of it, and then prepare your speech.

After this read, read, read, comprehensively, omnivorously, in order to see whether your original solution was not exploded a hundred years ago—aye, or a thousand; and also, to fortify and make accurate your own

thought. Read Matthew Arnold on Literature and Dogma and you will discover why it is necessary for you to read exhaustively on any subject about which you would think or write or speak. But, as you value your independence of mind-yes, even your vigor of mind-do not read other men's opinions upon the subject before you have clearly thought out your own conclusions from the premises of the elemental facts.

2. The necessity of studying both sides of the question will be shown more fully in succeeding chapters dealing with direct argument and refutation. The debater must know the strong and weak places in both the affirmative and negative sides; and he cannot know the weak places in his own argument until he knows what can be said against it. The beginner in argumentation is very apt to neglect the study of the other side; not by deliberately avoiding it, perhaps, but by seeking for only such material as will tend to confirm the side of the question that he wishes to establish. On the importance of studying the opposing side of a case, a great lawyer is said to have remarked, "If I have time to study only one side of a question, I study that of my adversary."

Not only should one read arguments on both sides of a question, he should aim to get a comprehensive grasp of the whole field of the discussion, to master the general situation or general principles involved before taking up the details of the issues raised in a particular question. The search for material should be pursued in the following order: (1) Books and periodicals that deal

with the question generally; (2) magazine articles or pamphlets bearing on the particular question, and (3) newspapers and reports-if the question is one in current discussion-for details as to evidence.

Generally speaking, four classes of material will be gathered from reading: (1) Simple facts; that is, facts not disputed by the opposing side, but which, as a groundwork for your argument, it is necessary the hearers should know. As to such facts, then, the main work is to get a clear and orderly statement for use as the basis of your proof. (2) Facts in dispute, whose value will depend upon the source, and whose acceptance by the hearers will depend upon the skill with which you show that the source of your information is reliable. In other words, all the tests of evidence, of witnesses, and of the argument from authority, will needs be brought to bear. (3) The arguments of others opposed to you. Such arguments should be carefully analyzed, and noted for future refutation. (4) The arguments of others in your favor. This class demands the greatest care in its use. The arguments supporting your side should first be examined critically, to see if they are tenable and logical. Then, if accepted, adopt the substance, if you choose, but not the form. Do not borrow en masse, or even paraphrase. Such a method is not only dishonest (unless given as quoted matter), but ineffective: the stamp of the speaker's individuality is lacking. In using the arguments of others, then, avoid compilation and aim for origi

nality; pass the matter through the crucible of your own mind and give it a new meaning, mold it into new forms and stamp it with your individual expression-in short, make it your

own.

The preliminary reading for gathering evidence, therefore, should be (1) wide, so that the whole question, pro and con, is covered; (2) thorough, so that nothing essential is neglected; and (3) thoughtful, so that the matter is not swallowed whole, but mentally assimilated.

The

SOURCES FOR MATERIAL.-As soon as a subject has been assigned or selected, the first question that a student is prone to ask the instructor is, "Where can I find material on this subject?" answer to this question cannot be determined satisfactorily without knowing the nature of the question under consideration and the resources at hand upon which the debater may draw. A few suggestions may be helpful.

First of all the student must search his own mind and take an inventory of what he finds there on the subject. He often has stored away much material gained through observation and experience that will be very helpful. Then, in the second place, he should determine what books and periodicals that are accessible to him bear on the question; and lastly, secure whatever additional information he can from any or all of the following sources:

1. Personal Interviews.-On questions of local import, the debater should interview men and women

in his community who are qualified to speak authoritatively upon the question. Most citizens are glad to aid in this manner, and the information and ideas thereby secured offer a source for material that is often neglected.

2. Personal Letters.-Letters to persons of more than local repute offer a fruitful field for information. And men of national reputation seldom refuse an opinion upon subjects upon which they are an authority. The presidents of state and national federations and associations, such as the American Bar Association, American Federation of Labor, National Manufacturers Association, National Brewers Association, National Woman Suffrage Association, etc., are very generous with their information. Letters addressed to them should be brief, specific, and definite. It is a good plan to number your questions and have them so framed that they can be answered by "yes" or "no." A self-addressed stamped envelope should always be inclosed. It is also a good policy to state the purpose for which you desire the information; for certain organizations are anxious to have their point of view presented to the public upon occasions of public discussion.

3. Books. Consult such books that you think may treat either directly or remotely on the subject, as indicated by the table of contents. An encyclopedia is helpful in starting the investigation of a question. Bliss's Encyclopedia of Social Reform is especially valuable on all social and economic