B. It is immoral in its influence. For

1. It imperils the lives of innocent people wrongfully accused of murder.

2. It destroys the idea that human life is sacred. For

a. It takes human life.

3. If an innocent man is convicted and hanged the mistake cannot be corrected.

4. The penalty is not applied impartially. For a. Much depends on the skill and eloquence of the defendant's lawyer.

b. Men of great wealth are rarely convicted while the friendless criminal is rarely

acquitted.

5. There is no reforming influence in capital

punishment.

For

a. It takes no account of heredity and environment as causes of crime.

C. Its abolition has been followed by good results. For 1. In Michigan, Maine, and Wisconsin, murders have decreased since it has been abolished.

2. People have turned their thoughts to reforming criminals instead of killing them.

99. The Proposition. That his hearers may know precisely what they are expected to believe or to do, the maker of an argument expresses his theme in the form of a definite proposition; thus, not "The right way to elect senators," but "United States Senators should (or should not) be elected by a direct vote of the people in the several States." The proposition is the exact statement of the conclusion which the writer or speaker has reached in his own mind, and to which he hopes to bring his audience by means of his argu

ments.

In formal debate the situation requires that the exact proposition be made known beforehand and that the precise meaning of the terms of the proposition, what it includes and what it does not include, be agreed to by both sides and explained at the outset. In less formal argumentation this is not usually deemed necessary. Nor is it always advisable; for if the audience is thought to be hostile to the speaker's views, the full statement of the proposition may best be deferred until his hearers have been prepared to receive it. Thus, in Burke's speech on Conciliation with the Colonies, you are made aware in the very first paragraph that Burke desires to conciliate the colonies somehow; in the ninth paragraph you learn that Burke's proposition is peace; that he proposes, by a simple plan, somehow to remove the ground of the difference between the colonies and the mother country; but it is not until the ninety-first paragraph that he lets his audience know precisely what he proposes: namely, that Parliament should establish, by passing certain resolutions, the principle of raising money in the colonies by voluntary grants of the colonial assemblies rather than by imposing taxes. Burke knew his audience to be out of sympathy with his proposition, and so he deferred its full and exact statement until he was ready to present his resolutions. For similar reasons, doubtless, the writer of the paragraph quoted on page 80, delayed announcing the full statement of his proposition until the very end of the paragraph had been reached. By this delay he was able to discourage opposition that would inevitably have been offered had the proposition been stated boldly at the outset.

Whether the proposition is stated at the beginning or is reserved until necessary explanations have been made, it is kept definitely in mind by the writer all of the time. He knows exactly what it is before he begins to write and holds it before him while writing.

(a) Read the following and write out the exact proposition that was in the father's mind on the subject of shooting birds.

He went hunting the very next Saturday, and at the first shot he killed a bird. It was a suicidal sap-sucker, which had suffered him to steal upon it so close that it could not escape even the vagaries of that wandering gun-barrel, and was blown into such small pieces that the boy could bring only a few feathers of it away. In the evening, when his father came home, he showed him these trophies of the chase, and boasted of his exploit with the minutest detail. His father asked him whether he had expected to eat the sap-sucker, if he could have got enough of it together. He said no, sap-suckers were not good to eat. "Then you took its poor little life merely for the pleasure of killing it?" - HOWELLS: A Boy's Town, p. 154.

(b) Is the first sentence, or the last, or a combination of the two, the exact proposition in the following?

When men strike, the side which can afford to be idle the longest will win. The masters are usually rich enough to live on their accumulated property for some time. The men often have no savings, and rarely, if ever, have large ones. They may belong to a trade-union which will supply them with means of subsistence for some time, but the small funds of such a society, divided among a number of men, cannot go far. The masters must have the men work

in order to have their capital yield them anything, but the men must work in order to live. It is plain that the masters can, as a rule, stay idle the longest.

-LALOR AND MASON: A Primer of Political Economy.

(c) A debate on the proposition, "The present policy of the administration in the Philippines is right" was unsatisfactory to everybody because the two contending sides could not agree, before the debate, as to the meaning of the first three words. One side argued this proposition: "The present policy aims at establishing law and order"; the other side argued this: "The present policy results in oppression, cruelty, and land-grabbing." Can you phrase a proposition on this question so as to obviate the difficulty? It must be a proposition that will mean the same thing to both sides. Is the word "right" perfectly clear as used in the proposition? Try modifying the word "right" by some adverb.

(d) Criticise the wording of one of the following propositions. The words that are ambiguous or in need of definition or modification are printed in italics.

1. The Nicaragua route is better than the Panama route for an interoceanic canal. (For what purpose better? —commercially? cheaper? more sanitary ?)

2. Monday is better than Saturday for the weekly schoolholiday. (Better for whom?-pupils, teachers, community, parents?)

3. Trusts should be prohibited by law. (What is meant by trusts in this proposition? Will a dictionary definition serve the purpose?)

4. United States senators should be elected by direct vote of the people. (Should all of the people vote for all of the senators, state lines being ignored?)

5. Immigration should be further restricted. (How much further? Would it not be clearer whenever possible to discuss some measure that is pending before Congress? thus, House Bill No. should be passed without amendment.)

6. Sunday recreations are morally wrong. (What is included in the term recreations, and what would you personally exclude if arguing the proposition?)

7. Pope was not a true poet. (What is a true poet ?)

8. Thoreau was an anarchist.

anarchist?)

(What makes a man an

9. A high school education does not insure success in life. (Is a high school education the same thing everywhere and for everybody? What is success in life?)

10. The study of Latin is more important than the study of botany. (More important to everybody? What is meant by more important?)

101. Arguments for the Proposition. Whatever helps to persuade others to accept a proposition as true is an argument for the proposition, a reason for believing it. The fact that A is a financier long accustomed to the safe management of large funds, is an argument for the proposition that "A should be elected city treasurer." The absence of any accusation affecting A's integrity or ability to perform the duties of the office, is a further argument for the same proposition. As an argument for the proposition that "revenue by voluntary grant of the colonial legislatures is the most productive means of obtaining money from the colonies," Burke cited the fact that the colonies had granted voluntarily more than two hundred thousand pounds sterling for his Majesty's service. As a further argument for the same proposition, he pointed to the absence of revenue from imposing taxes on the colonies. A pertinent fact and the absence of a pertinent fact are alike arguments for a proposition.

The mayor of a city, a candidate for reëlection, was accused of unfriendliness to the working classes because