Official Organ Of the Slavonic Benevolent Order Of The State Of Texas, Founded 1897. HUMANITY
BENEVOLENCE
VOLUME 57 — NO. 34
BROTHERHOOD
Postmaster: Please Send Form 3579 with Undeliverable Copies to: SUPREME LODGE SPJST, FOB 100, TEMPLE, TEX 76501
AUGUST 20, 1969
FROM THE EDITOR'S OE% Your Editor's Appeal: Could and would our writers please write one or two days earlier? Here is the reason for this request: As part of an economy move on the part of the Post Office Department, beginning Monday, Aug. 11, 1969, our mail service has been cut in half. We have a delivery at 7:30 a.m. and a pick-up at 6 p.m. Consequently, mail that used to arrive Saturday arrives Sunday or one day later. With the cooperation of the print shop we processed five letters or parts of them this Monday morning because they contained dates that would have been too late for the next issue. However, it would be too burdensome to do this every week. A kind and appreciative thanks for your consideration and cooperation from your editor and the printshop personnel. All of us who are interested in speech must pay closer attention to our tools. We need to understand how words acquire meaning, the various reasons for the occurrence of misunderstanding, and the ways in which language can be intentionally misused. Kipling said, "Words are the most powerful drug used by mankind," and Edmund Burke so aptly stated: "A very great part of the mischiefs that vex this world arise from words." Public speaking is a two-way street. Every experienced public speaker feels
BEGIN IT! "Lose this day loitering — 'twill be the same story Tomorrow—and the next more dilatory Then indecision brings its own delays, And days are lost lamenting over days. Are you in ear-nest? Sieze this very minute — What you can do or dream you can, begin it Courage has genius, power and magic in it. Only engage, and then the mind grows heated — Begin it and the work will be completed." --Goethe the response of his audience. Restlessness, unnecessary movement, and illconcealed conversation Deflect inattention and may adversely influence the delivery of the speaker. Conversely, he may rise to his full stature and effectiveness when close rapport is indicated by quiet attention and the lightening of the faces of his listeners as his points go home. The applause that conventionally follows his paper is small reward for its preparation and delivery; but every tired speaker will know whether he has gotten his message across from his own personal reaction. "Communication" has becoMe an important word in modern business. "Speak plainly and to the purpose,"
said Shakespeare, and his advice is still good today. We could add: "speak often." Leap at speaking opportunities at the PTA, your lodge, church groups, etc. You will find yourself gaining in self-confidence. Your command of the language, your articulation will rise as well. Time returns to us in kind what we give. When we give love, friendship, honest work, and thoughtful service. we get back more than we dreamed of. Could you pick out some people in your organization with whom you like to work? Why do you like working with them? Let's turn it around. If other people were making the choice, would they include you in their selections? Have you ever walked down a street, seen a friend coming toward you on the other side and crossed over to say, hello? Why did you cross over? What kind of person makes you want to cross over? Do people want to cross over to greet you? Do you come to your job every morning with a grouch? Perhaps you do have problems at home but must everyone you come in contact with suffer because of it? They may have problems, most do you know, but perfer not to inflict them on others. It's just as hard not to smile when someone smiles at you as not to say "Good Morning" when someone greets you with a "Cloud Morning." A cheer-