John Temple Graves

              "He is the most Eloquent Southerner of To-day." Henry Watterson. "He has the Most Phenomenal Eloquence I ever heard." Henry w. Grady. "He is a born Orator if ever one came into the world." Boston Globe. "He Surpasses Ingersoll in Rhetoric and Delivery." Robert Irving Fulton. "A Brilliant and Beautiful Speaker." Wm. McKinley, Jr.
JOHN TEMPLE GRAVES
OHN TEMPLE GRAVES
"THE   MOST   ELOQUENT SOUTHERNER OF TO-DAY."
LECTURES,
1.    A REUNITED COUNTRY.
2.    THE REIGN OF THE DEMAGOGUE.
3.    THE NEW WOMAN-AND THE   OLD.
4.    THE LAST HOPE OF THE NEGRO.
5.    AARON BURR.
THE GRAVES LECTURES.
Seven years upon the platform have securely established MR. JOHN TEMPLE GRAVES as one
of the permanent and foremost figures of the American Lyceum.   His lectures are standard everywhere.
As each of the leading men of the modern platform represents some especial excellence, so Mr. Graves stands pre-eminent.
FIRST:—As The Master of English, using language so rich, so clear, and yet so virile and so vivid that literary folk speak of his orations as "a liberal education in our Mother tongue."
SECOND:—As The Master of an Oratory so simple and fervent, and yet so perfect, that the distinguished Professor cf Greek in the University of Wisconsin has declared it more like that of the Greek Demosthenes than the method of any other speaker of the time.
But above all, these lectures, wrapping themselves about the vital issues of citizenship, are so broadly patriotic and so nobly inspiring, that this Bureau does not hesitate to commend them to its patrons as a notable feature of any really great lecture course in the country.
The Bureau directs especial attention to Mr. Graves' two new lectures, "A RE-UNITED COUNTRY," and "AARON BURR," which, it is believed, will be fully abreast of the best work this gifted author and thinker has ever produced.
SOME DISTINGUISHED TRIBUTES.
FROM LECTURE COURSES.
STAR COURSE, BOSTON.—GEO. A.FOXCROFT, MGR.: —•'Mr. Graves' lecture in Tremont Temple was simply magnificent. He will be a leading figure in next year's Star Course."
UNITY COURSE, CINCINNATI.—A. W. WHELPLEY, MGR :—"Mr. Graves gave us a glorious lecture. I engaged him on the spot for the next Unity Course."
CHAUTAUQUA (N. Y ) ASSEMBLY HERALD OFFICIAL:—" Mr. John Temple Graves is a grand-nephew of John C. Calhoun. His great-grandfather was a distinguished colonel in the Revolutionary War. He comes from a race of orators. He has spoken from the same platform with the greatest orators of the present day. His rhetoric reminds one of that of Burke, and his oratory is the most superb ever heard here. No utterance from our platform was ever more largely discussed."
GAZENONIA (N. Y.) COURSE.—GEORGE E. LOOMIS: —"Never has our critical audience been so royally entertained. His earnest patriotism, coupled with his superb and incomparable eloquence, makes him the most masterly orator ever heard in this cultured town."
STATE UNIVERSITY, IOWA CITY, IOWA.:—"The greatest lecture of a great course, and the finest oration ever heard by the University."
COLORADO SPRINGS (COLO.) GAZETTE.:—"Witt. Wendling, Watterson, Ingalls, Conwell, Willets, et al., on our platform this winter, the most thrilling and important utterance made there was the Negro lecture of John Temple Graves."
DR. THOS. R. FILBEN, PACIFIC GROVE ASSEMBLY, (SAN FRANCISCO.):—"Graves superb, unapproachable nothing ever equalled him on this platform."
NEW YORK WORLD:—"The most eloquent, striking and sensational utterance made on the Chautauqua platform in years was the lecture by John Temple Graves, of Georgia, on the Negro problem, It is the topic of the hour at Chautauqua. The old amphitheater rang with applause as the brilliant Georgian took his seat."
COMMITTEE NATIONAL REFORM ASSOCIATION:— •'John Temple Graves* Negro lecture is a bold, fearless and eloquent application of the law of Christ to the greatest problem of our government."
THE TEACHER, (ORGAN PENNSYLVANIA TEACHERS INSTITUTE:—"John Temple Graves' proposed solution of the negro problem in 'Uncle Tom's Last Cabin' made the distinct and unquestioned hit of the Chautauqua season of 1893. It is more talked of than any utterance made during the season."
ROCKY MOUNTAIN LYCEUM BUREAU (J. M. DICKEY MGR.):—"John Temple Graves has left a trail of glory. in the Great Wtst.   His visit and his lecture here arc remembered as an inspiration.   He is indeed a states man and an orator."
KEOKUK 'IA.) DAILY CONSTITUTION:—"The student of oratory should study John Temple Graves, as the student of art studies John Ruskin."
SPIRIT LAKE (IA.) CHAUTAUQUA HERALD:—"NO American of this generation has created a more profound impression as a platform orator than this gifted son of the South."
RARE PLAUDITS OF THE PRESS
PORTLAND (OREGON) CHAUTAUQUA:—" You cannot advertise Graves too highly. He is by common consen¬sus of opinion regarded the greatest man who ever spoke in Northern Oregon."
Brilliant Endorsement.
FROM STATESMEN AND AUTHORS. HENRY WATTERSON :—" He is the most eloquent Southener of to-day.
THOMAS NELSON PAGE •—" His speech is a mosaic of eloquence."
GROVER CLEVELAND :—" He is the most brilliant and statesmanlike orator heard in New York in years."
PRESIDENT WM. MCKINLEY :—"One of the most brilliant and beautiful speakers I ever listened to."
HENRY W. GRADY :—" John Temple Graves has the most phenomenal eloquence I ever heard.
"PUBLIC OPINION":— "John Temple Graves may be called the successor of Henry W. Grady."
FRANCES WILLARD :—"John Temple Graves lecture on the " Twentieth Century Woman " is the most biilliant argument for suffrage I ever heard from man or woman."
DAVID B. HILL :—"In John Temple Graves I have heard Henry Grady surpassed."
GOVERNOR NORTHERN OF GEORGIA :—" His eloquence is beyond all praise."
WHITE'S ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY :—" Public opinion has unanimously called him to take Henry Grady's place as the voice of the New South."
GENERAL FITZ JOHN PORTER :—"He has inspired eloquence and can do mighty good."
PRESIDENT J. P. D. JOHN, OF DEPAUW UNIVERSITY, IND :—"His lectures are expressions of marvelous eloquence and are brimful of fundamental truth. All young men should hear him."
HENRY M. TURNER, BISHOP AFRICAN M. E. CHURCH :—"I regard John Temple Graves as one of the ablest and noblest of Americans, and one of the best of the living friends of the negro race."
-BISHOP JOHN W. BECKWITH :—" I never heard a more remarkable oration than 'The Reign of the Demagogue' by John Temple Graves."
CASSIUS MERRILL :—"Graves' 'Grady Memorial' is the finest short speech in the English language. It is simply a miracle of oratory."
GENERAL JOHN B. GORDON :—"Graves' 'Grady Memorial' oration is the finest piece of eloquence written or spoken within my knowledge."
JOHN H. VINCENT:—"I thank you for the magnificent service you have rendered Chatauqua."
CHAS. F. CRISP, SPEAKER HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, U. S. :—"John Temple Graves is an orator whom you will not hear surpassed."
HON. BENJ. H. HILL, UNITED STATES SENATE :— 1'He has the finest gift of oratory I ever heard."
FROM ROBERT IRVING FULTON (DEAN OHIO WESLEYAN SCHOOL OF ORATORY):—"The brilliant rhetoric of Ingersoll's oratory is surpassed by that of John Temple Graves, of Georgia, while in excellence of delivery the palm clearly belongs to the great Southern orator. I bad rather have my students take him as a model than any orator I know."
FROM EMINENT PROFESSIONALS.
From Geo. R. Wendling. (Distinguished on the platform.) "I recently heard Mr. Graves in his lecture on the Negro Problem. He impressed me as an orator whose gifts are not surpassed by those of any man on the American platform to-day. I was not only charmed and delighted by his manner and style, but I was also pro¬foundly stirred by his brave, lofty and original presen ation of a great question Here is a voice from the South which I hope this whole nation will hear.
GEORGE R. WENDLING." WASHINGTON, D. C, May 15, 1895.
From Leland  T.  Powers.
(America's greatest dramatic reader.) " If you wish to give the people of Boston an opportunity to hear eloquence unsurpassed even in the days ot Sumner and Philips, you place on your Star Course in Tremont Temple the name of John Temple Graves, of Georgia. I have heard him in 'The Reign of the Demagogue,' and he is wonderful. I had never before in all my life heard such beautiful and forcible English, or had seen the influence or such an electric personality. It was power visible ; a force by which the audience was bowed and swayed like a field of grain before a strong wind.           Yours sincerely,
"LELAND T. POWERS."
From Thomas C. Trueblood.
(Professor Oratory and Elocution, Ann Arbor, Mich.) " I had the pleasure of listening to the great speech of John Temple Graves on ' Uncle Tom's Last Cabin' last August at Chautauqua. It was the most eloquent oration it has ever been my lot to hear. This statement is but an echo of the sentiments of the thousands who hung on his very word. Other speech s there were soon forgotten. This was the theme of conversation everywhere for days afterward."
From Col. L. F. Copeland.
(The veteran lecturer.) "I heard John Temple Graves in his matchless oration, ' The Reign of the Demagogue,' at the Kentucky State Chautauqua, July 7. I have listened to nearly every great speaker of two continents, but never in my life did I listen to any deliverance from the platform so thoroughly pungent in thought, so scholarly in diction, so elegant and classical in composition, so matchless in eloquence as 'The Reign of the Demagogue,' by John Temple Graves. Every living American should hear it. It is beyond all praise.      Yours,   "L. F. COPELAND."
From Dr, Chas. Foster Smith, (Professor Greek, Wisconsin University.) " No speaker of the  nineteenth  century, within my observation, more nearly resembles  the Greek Demosthenes, in  method  of expression and in inspiration of delivery than John Temple Graves, of Georgia.
From Geo. W. Bain. (Kentuckey's brilliant orator.) " I consider 'The Reign of the Demagogue,' by John Temple Graves the finest oration in the language.
"GEO. W. BAIN.
RARE PLAUDITS OF THE PRESS
NEW YORK WORLD. [Editorially]:—"Georgia has produced many silver-tongued orators, but not even the lamented Grady was more captivating and effective than John Temple Graves, whose eloquence and brilliant wit have charmed the Metropolis."
NEW YORK SUN. [Editorially.]:—NO Southerner has delighted more with his brilliant eloquence than John Temple Graves, of Georgia."
BOSTON HERALD. [Editorial.]:— "He surpassed every expectation, and proved himself in every way a worthy successor of Graay."
BOSTON GLOBE.[Editorially.]:—"Seldom indeed has any orator gained such instant success in Boston as that which was won on Saturday evening by Editor John Temple Graves, of Atlanta. It was not so much the brilliant diction of his speech, nor the fervor of his appeal that aroused enthusiasm, though these were note¬worthy in every way. What made Mr. Graves' address so peculiarly effective and interesting was its great frankness, its absolute sincerity, and the spirit of lofty patriotism which manifested itself throughout. There is no danger that oratory will ever become a lost art while there are men like this eloquent Southron to appeal to the heart and soul of the people of America."
SPRINGFIELD [MASS.] REPUCLICAN:—"His address was magnificent, and proved him in every way a worthy successor of Henry W. Grady."
AUGUSTA [GA.] CHRONICLE:—" He is 'facile prin-ceps' the orator of the South."
NEW ORLEANS TIMES-DEMOCRAT:—"Though ex¬pectation had been wrought to the highest pitch by the lavish encomiums of the press, yet in the realization of bis matchless eloquence the half had not been told. From first to last John Temple Graves held his audience spellbound by the magic of his magnificent lecture."
CHICAGO INTER OCEAN:—"Nothing more beautiful was ever written than John Temple Graves' description of Eve. A great audience listened to his 'New Woman' with intense delight."
NASHVILLE AMERICAN:—"For style, elegant dic¬tion and opulent vocabulary he has scarcely an equal in the South, and it may be doubted, if for brilliant, old-time oratory of the Calhoun-Yancy school he has a superior in any section of the country."
INDIANAPOLIS JOURNAL:—"The most brilliant lect¬ure of a very brilliant course."
RICHMOND [VA.] DAILY TIMES. [Editorial.]:—"The Hon. John Temple Graves, of Georgia, made one of the greatest hits ever made by an orator at the University of Virginia, where a long line of speakers of national fame have appeared. Coming from the State of the gifted Grady, it was almost inevitable that he should be com¬pared with him, especially as Grady delivered here only hve years ago his wonderful oration on the 'Gospel of Democracy;' but the unexpected happened when many good judges declared Mr. Graves' oration to day on 'Demagogues' as better than Grady's. No man ever commanded more attention."
CINCINNATI COMMERCIAL GAZETTE:—"Mr. Graves is an orator in the truest sense of the word. At the same time he is a patriot filled with the lofty love of his coun¬try.   His lecture was splendid beyond measure."
JAMESTOWN [N. Y.] DAILY JOURNAL:—"Never has a number of Y. M. C. A. lecture course given greater satisfaction."
CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER:—"An oration graced by choice flowers of rhetoric, burning with fervid elo¬quence, and breathing exalted patriotism. John Temple Graves is indeed an orator."
UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI.—COLUMBIA HERALD: —"Among platform speakers who have appeared in Columbia within this year John Temple Graves is easily chief."
JACKSONVILLE [FLA] DAILY METROPOLIS:—" Un¬doubtedly the finest lecture ever delivered in this city."
LEXINGTON [KY.] DAILY PRESS:—"Without the least disparagement of the other renowned and illustrious Americans who have spoken at our great Chautauqua, the ablest and most eloquent utterance ever heard from that platform came from the lips of John Temple Graves. For more than an hour he held the audience enthralled with the wondrous spell of his burning eloquence. 'The Reign of the Demagogue' is simply magnificent. 'The Daughter of Eve' is a prose-poem of surpassing beauty.
ATLANTA CONSTITUTION:—" Every speech, Mr. Graves fixes his fame as the orator of Georgia."
ATLANTA JOURNAL:—" He is undoubtedly the South's most gifted orator."
BUFFALO[N. Y] DAILY COURIER:—"He held a vast audience spell-bound for an hour; a wonderful oration."
NORFOLK [VA.] DAILY NEWS:—" Mr. Graves is a statesman. His lecture last evening was sublime. He rose above the mere platform orator and seemed in¬spired. Those who failed to hear him last night will never again miss such a treat when they hear the uni¬versal praises sung to-day to the wonderful Georgian."
THE CORNELLIAN, MT. VERNON, IA.;—"The finest piece of oratory ever heard in this land of orators was •The Reign of the Demagogue,' by John Temple Graves.
AUGUSTA [GA.] NEWS:—" He is the finest orator since Thomas Emmett."
GRAND RAPIDS [MICH.] DEMOCRAT:—"Mr. Graves is to-day the foremost leader of the New South. Usually he is mentioned as the successor of Henry Grady in elo¬quence and influence. BUT HE IS GREATER THAN GRADY. For, with the eloquence and poetic tempera¬ment and devotion of the now dead orator Mr. Graves combines a force of logic which Grady did not possess."
MARYSVILLE [MO] NEWS:—"His eloquence equals that of any mortal man."
PINE BLUFF [ARK.] GAZETTE:—"We will not say that John Temple Graves is a second Henry Grady. He is simple John Temple Graves. He can have no imitators.    He can have no equals and no superiors."
OSKALOOSA [IA.[ HERALD:—"Assuredly this man Graves has the divinest touch of the art of the orator— the truest tribune of the people—and he has a message that is weighty with matters of greatest and direct im¬port to all who love their country—the leech who cares nothing about such matters would not be interested. Such natural eloquence—that seemed to be individual¬ized to each in the audience—powerful, logical, scath¬ing, earnest, sincere—has never been equalled on our lecture platform. Much was expected—but expectation was more, and very much more, than realized from first word lo last."
UNIVERSITV OF ILLINOIS.—CHAMPAIGN GAZETTE: —" The most instructively memorable literary effort made in Champaign this season."
MERIDIAN [MISS.] DAILY NEWS:—"It was the sub-limest thing that ever fell from human lips in this city —that appeal to the young manhood of Mississippi to do patriotic service in behalf of the land and govern¬ment which they love."
TEXAS BAPTIST STANDARD:—"Never in the history of Waco was there a more polished, forceful and ornate oration. It is side by side with Beecher's 'Reign of the Common People."
NOTE—Mr. Grave’s Home Address is College Park (Atlanta), Georgia.