+71. Statement of Advantages and Disadvantages.+ An argument is often
concerned with determining whether it is expedient to do one thing or
another. Such an argument frequently takes the form of a statement of the
advantages that will follow the adoption of the course we recommend, or of
the disadvantages that the following of the opposite course will cause.
If a corporation should ask for a franchise for a street railway, the city
officials might hold the opinion that a double track should be laid. In
support of this opinion they would name the advantageous results that
would follow from the use of a double track, such as the avoidance of
delays on turnouts, the lessening of the liability of accidents, the
greater rapidity in transportation, etc. On the other hand, the persons
seeking the franchise might reply that a double track would occupy too
much of the street and become a hindrance to teams, or that the advantages
were not sufficient to warrant the extra expense.
Concerning such a question there can be no absolute decision. We are not
discussing what is right, but what is expedient, and the determination of
what is expedient is based upon a consideration of advantages or
disadvantages. In deciding, we must balance the advantages against the
disadvantages and determine which has the greater weight. If called upon
to take one side or the other, we must consider carefully the value of the
facts counting both for and against the proposition before we can make up
our mind which side we favor.
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