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Frances PerkinsFrances Perkins
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because in private conversations and discussions he's a charming person - delightful, humorous, witty, sometimes saying quite frank and almost shocking things. He is regarded as quite alert. But when he started out on the campaign, he took with him, as a campaigner, his court manner. He's a corporation lawyer. A corporation lawyer's court manner is quite different from a criminal lawyer's court manner. A corporation lawyer is dealing in logic, quietly, effectively, separating this from this, and making the thread he's arguing come out clearly. Any emotional appeals or any hifalutin' talk goes against you as a corporation lawyer. That isn't what the judge is listening for. Whereas, in criminal law you get your dramatic appeal, your appeal to the jury, and that's the person who makes a good campaigner, if they ever do turn their attention to campaigning. But John W. Davis, although a delightful raconteur and personal acquaintance and conversationalist, when he went to campaign just took his court manner with him. His manner was cool, logical, uninteresting to the man in the street. It would have undoubtedly been very interesting to Judges of the Court of Appeals. I daresay that if you read over his speeches now, they will prove to be well-reasoned, but nothing of the slightest interest to anybody.





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