Canadian Forestry Journal, November, ipij- 



253 



appeals to public sentiment. The 

 other is that any sentiment cam- 

 paign, if successful at all, develops 

 successive stages of response which 

 demand progressive treatment. The 

 appeal requisite in a primary stage 

 may be dangerous in an advanced 

 stage. 



All kinds of people exist, in dif- 

 ferent mental states. There can be 

 no best way at all. There may be 

 certain principles you wish to im- 

 press upon all, but different ap- 

 proaches are required to make the 

 strongest appeal to each. More- 

 over, class or vocational sympathies 

 or prejudices vary the original re- 

 ceptiveness toward your proposition. 

 Consequently it is seldom possible 

 to select any single form of appeal 

 to which all effort should be devot- 

 ed. Beware of selecting a plan 

 which strikes you most strongly 

 and abandoning others seemingly 

 less strong. You are always a poor 

 judge, for the man in a house can- 

 not tell how it looks from the out- 

 side. Try your favorite plan by all 

 means, but also try others. 



Feeling and Opinion. 



There is a sharp distinction for 

 publicity purposes between feeling 

 and opinion. Opinion is, or believes 

 itself to be, based upon reason. Feel- 

 ing, or emotion, is not. We can 

 never expect any great unanimity in 

 reasoning, for capacitv and motives 

 very greatly, but fee'ling may be 

 practically universal. A nation can 

 never agree on any opinion, but it 

 can have a common hatred. You 

 can influence opinion onlv by fact or 

 argument and feeling only by feel- 

 ing. This distinction is known by 

 all who successfully sway the crowd. 

 Use logic where opinion is against 

 you and you have favorable condi- 

 tions to present it, but appeal to 

 emotion where conditions do not 

 give_ logic attentive and receptive 

 hearing. 



Furthermore, emotional man can- 

 not reason. Temporary emotion 



prevents even a logical man from 

 reasoning. Hence never try to com- 

 bat a prejudice with logic. Remove 

 the prejudice first, by some counter- 

 appeal of similar nature. 



In dealing with either reason or 

 emotion you must remove any fixed 

 idea, leaving the mind temporarily 

 open, before instilling a conflicting 

 idea. To attack an idea directly 

 with a contrary one produces irri- 

 tation and often impregnable repul- 

 sion. 



Irritation is particularly to be 

 avoided. It causes resentment to 

 the whole subject thereafter. A 

 false appeal by any of us, causing 

 suspicion or resentment toward the 

 kindred things we work for, may 

 destroy other efforts by any of us. 

 Contrary-wise, every favorable 

 stroke makes the next easier, just as 

 hypnosis is easier with each repeti- 

 tion. When one hears a piece of 

 music begun, he is unprejudiced. If 

 it contains a jarring note, he is on 

 guard thereafter; but if it soon de- 

 velops a pleasing bar he is favorably 

 disposed toward what follows. Con- 

 sequently we should conduct all our 

 sentiment-making; whether for for- 

 estry, lumbering or markets; with 

 tact and recognition of each other's 

 special problems. 



The Sense of Justice. 

 It is usually possible to convert a 

 man to any fair point of view in 

 which he originally feels no personal 

 interest. In such a case he is sway- 

 ed almost wholly by outside presen- 

 tation and also inclines, as far as his 

 information permits, to be strictly 

 just. All men like to be just as be- 

 tween others. With themselves they 

 cannot so easily perceive justice or, 

 if they do, accept it. Consequently 

 it is always best to appeal to a hear- 

 er for justice between ourselves and 

 a third element, or between him and 

 a third element, but not between us 

 and the hearer. Usually any appeal 

 can be framed, with a little ingen- 

 uity, in accordance with this prin- 

 ciple. 



