Herbert V. Prochnow Quotes
A visitor from Mars could easily pick out the civilized nations. They have the best implements of war.
Prochnow, Herbert V. Speaker's Handbook of Epigrams and Witticisms. Harper, 1955.
It certainly did.
Although Great Britain had abolished slavery, British economic interests during the Civil War suffered because of the northern blockade of the South. Much political opinion in England was hostile to the blockade policies of the Union. Bright, a great admirer and supporter of the United Sates and the Union cause was concerned that the United States might drift into War with Great Britain. His letter to Senator Sumner was written with the understanding that it would be in shared with President Lincoln, and it was actually read at a cabinet meeting.
Herbert Victor Prochnow was a U.S. banking executive, noted toastmaster, and author during the middle 20th century. As Vice President of the First National Bank of Chicago, Prochnow wrote several popular books on public speaking. He also wrote epigrams and anecdotes that appeared in The Saturday Evening Post and Reader's Digest. In the 1930s, he rose in the foreign--later international--department at First National Bank. In the mid-1940s, Prochnow was a member of the Office of Strategic Services, recruiting and training American spies for an organization viewed as a predecessor of the CIA. A decade later, U.S. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles asked Prochnow to come to Washington to serve as deputy undersecretary of state for economic affairs, a position he held for two years. He also served as secretary of the Federal Advisory Council of the Federal Reserve System for more than 40 years.
