“Men and nations are at their worst or at their best in any great struggle. The spoken word may light the fires of passion and unreason or it may inspire to highest action and noblest sacrifice a nation of freemen.”
“Upon you Four-Minute Men, who are charged with a special duty and enjoy a special privilege in the command of your audiences, will rest, in a considerable degree, the task of arousing and informing the great body of our people …”
“… so that when the record of these days is complete we shall read page for page with the deeds of army and navy the story of the unity, the spirit of sacrifice, the unceasing labors, the high courage of the men and women at home who held unbroken the inner lines.”
“My best wishes and continuing interest are with you in your work as part of the reserve officer corps in a nation thrice armed because through your efforts it knows better the justice of its cause and the value of what it defends.” (Woodrow Wilson, November 9, 1917)
The Four Minute Men, a nation-wide organization of volunteer speakers, was organized June 16, 1917, for the purpose of assisting the various Departments of the Government in the work of national defense during World War I.
They delivered short pro-war speeches, as part of an effort to galvanize public support for the war and suppress dissent. The subject matter was prepared and the speaking was directed from Washington under the authority of the Government. (Four Minute Men, Committee on Public Information, November 25, 1917))
“‘The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth’ – that is the kernel of the messages the Four Minute Men are asked to convey to the American people.”
“The truth about the war, we believe, is such that it need but to be spread clearly in order to convince the public that we must fight on. Those who do not so believe should not attempt to convince others.” (Four Minute Men, Committee on Public Information, 1918)
“Our cause were weak, indeed, if we needed to bolster it up in the approved Prussian fashion by hiding of facts, statements of half truths, exaggerations, and sophistries.”
“Our cause is strong in so far as we can afford to be frank and open, and the speaker who is frank and open ready to concede the contrafacts, willing to admit doubt wherever doubt rightfully exists, and making no claims beyond authentic authoritative knowledge, is powerful, because he. stands on the rock of fairness. His honesty shines through his words.”
“At no time should our audiences be led to feel that Government speakers appear before them to implant thoughts skillfully designed to create some “desired impression.” The public should realize rather that the Government sends its representative to state indisputable facts.”
“To impress others with our honesty we need but to be honest. Then, honesty is the armor, frankness and fairness are the weapons, and the champion of the Right becomes invincible.”
“As a matter of policy, too, we can not emphasize too strongly that the most conservative statement is the most powerful. Calling the Kaiser a devil, condemning everything done in war by the enemy, indulging generally in tirades, may bring applause from partisans, but it does not make a single convert.”
“Our audiences may be divided into three classes – those favoring the war, those in doubt, and those who are so imbued with pacifism or pro-German sentiments that no appeal to the heart to reason or common sense can draw them to us. It is our problem to reach the second class; with the other two classes we are but indirectly concerned.”
“The doubters want reasons and facts, not vituperation. If the speaker shows blindness to common sense, unwillingness to view facts in perspective, if he browses around to find extremest arguments, the purpose of the speech is lost.”
“But if he drives home the facts, the terrible proven facts, then he leaves no loophole for counterargument, and the case against Germany stands out—unassailable!”
In preparing speakers, the program provided the following ‘Four Minute Hints’:
- “Stick to your time allowance. Five minutes means a guess; four minutes makes a promise.”
- “Begin with a positive, concrete statement.”
- “Tell them something at the start.”
- “Use short sentences. The man who can’t make one word do the work of two is no four minute speaker.”
- “Avoid fine phrases. You aren’t there to give them an ear full but a mind full.”
- “Talk to the back row of your audience; you’ll hit everything closer in.”
- “Talk to the simplest intelligence in your audience; you’ll hit everything higher up.”
- “Be natural and direct. Sincerity wears no frills.”
- “Give your words time. A jumbled sentence is a wasted sentence. You can’t afford waste on a four-minute allowance.”
- “Don’t fear to be colloquial. Slang that your hearers understand is better than Latin that they don’t.”
- “Don’t figure the importance of your job on a time basis. Four hours of thinking may go into four minutes of speaking.”
- “You represent the United States of America. Don’t forget it. And don’t give your audience occasion to forget it.”
- “Finish strong and sharp. The butterfly is forgotten as soon as he departs, but you recall the hornet because he ends with a point.”
- “Finally, and always – Stick to your pledge and the four-minute limit.” (Four Minute Men, Committee on Public Information, 1918)
The Four-Minute Men idea was born in Chicago and has grown into a national division of war work; Hawaii participated in the Four Minute Men program.
“The success of the Four Minute Men is assured here, and their opportunities for usefulness are not restricted to patriotic speeches in the motion-picture houses of the city. They have a far wider field where their utterances should be valuable.” (Star Bulletin, December 6, 1917)
“The Four-Minute Men in Hawaii plan to furnish on short notice speakers on patriotic subjects for gatherings or meetings of any nature. It is now aiding the local food pledge campaign by four-minute speeches each evening at the Bijou and Liberty theaters. The organization is to become a permanent one.” (Star Bulletin, December 4, 1917)
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