Monmouth College - Ravelings Yearbook (Monmouth, IL)

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man who has something to say and knows how to say it. Mr. Wishart was as the sturdy oak of the forest, or the majestic mountain peak, towering above its surroundings. His applause was ' prolonged and loud. The judges, as well as audience, voted him the first prize of $75. Mr. Wishart will creditably represent the state in oratory at Indianapolis ne, t May. ' ' The third speaker was W. W. Whitmore, of Wesleyan University His oration was entitled, American Arena. He seemed rather timid and embarrassed. Lack of good strong voice and energy in delivery was a great drawback to the general effect of Mr. Whitmore ' s production. The piece was written more in essa than oratorical style. ' 1 he theme was perhaps not so interesting as some others, though it was the vital question of to-day. His delivery was somewhat marred by a relapse of memory. This was perhaps due to stage fright. His introduction was one of the best. The judges awarded him sixth place. G. F. Ekins, of Knox, was the fourth orator of the evening. His subject, A Plea for Organized Charities, ' was a worthy one. His sentiment was one to which none took exception. The speaker seemed to have honest convictions in all he said. His style of delivery was at first too dramatic for an orator. He seemed to sacrifice force for artistic delivery. Reserve force is a good thing, but reserve it all and you loose convincing power. Mr. Ekins was perhaps the most graceful man of the evening. His manner of leaving the stage was especially easy. By some of the audience his rank was nearer first, but the judges fixed it at fourth. The Illinois orator, J. A. Barber, was next, and delivered his oration entitled: The Master Spirit ofthe French Revolution. This master spirit was Gen. Mirabeau. Mr. Barber treated his subject in a very natural, forcible style. His delivery was very impassioned, the gestures being too quick and nervous. His earnestness if tempered with a little graceful- ness, would make him an impressive speaker. A treacherous memory gave Mr. Barber a lower rank than perhaps he would otherwise have obtained. He ranked high on piece but low on delivery, receiving fifth place in final rank. The last speaker, J. A. Benson, of Blackburn University, had for his subject, ' Cheap Citizenship. ' Mr. Benson has a large, mellow voice. His bearing was dignified and easy. He weighed every word, giving each its proper emphasis and inflection. Perhaps he carried deliberation to a fault, thus weakening his delivery somewhat. His oration wis well received by the audience, many ranking him second. This is Mr. Benson ' s second effort on Inter-Collegiate contest. He received third place both times. ' The judges on thought and composition were Dr. W. F. Black, Judge Collins and T. D. Coglin, all of Chicago. Those on delivery were Hon. Geo. P. Merrick, Chicago; Dr. Geo. Zellar, Peoria, and Hon. Chas. Valraith, Chicago. The com- bined markings of these six judges awarded the first prize at $75 to Charles F. Wishart. of Monmouth College, and the sec- ond prize of $50 to A. P. Bourns, of Lake Forest University. While the audience was awaiting the decision of the judges, it seemed to be the prevailing opinion that first place lay with Mr. Wishart. As for the Monmouth delegation, they were sure of it as was evidenced by their bright faces. There seemed to be an unwarrantable delay in figuring up the grades. As time wore on some of us began to work up a little temper lest an adverse decision be drawn up as a result of incompetent judging. Finally it came and with it an indes- cribable whirl of enthusiasm which endangered the roof. With difficulty did we keep our seats until the jame of Wishart

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VictoFy at the InteF-GollEgiatE. INTER-COLLEGIATE Contest £or ' 93 was full of interest for Monmouth students. Some pretended to see a favorable significance in the fact that it was to he held at Galesburg. Monmouth has always stood up well in a contest at Gales- burg. But the chief source of interest was in the fact that we had a contest man to send up, one who had always made it a matter of business to take all contests which he had occasion to enter. Inter-Collegiate of ' 93 occurred on the 6th of October, at Galesburg. A Urge delegation accompanied our orator. The advance guard went up early Thursday morning The various athlstic events demanded their attention for the first day. On Friday came the remainder with the girls and a fair majority of the faculty. It was an enthusiastic crowd and we did feel as though we had gone up to win. Union Hotel was made the rendezvous and the time passed pleasantly until the appointed hour for the Contest wnich was to be h2ld in Galesburg ' s fine Auditorium. Through the kindness and foresight of some one, the north section of the parquet and dress circle were reserved for the Monmouth delegation. The middle section was held by the Knox students. Other delegations being small were seated in various parts of the house. It is a mortifying statement, but itisclaimed that every Monmouth student, so far forgot his accustomed gallantry, as not to take a girl to the Contest. There may have been some good reason for this, but it is hard to put a plausible face upon the matter. Of course the girls did not care personally, but the appearances of things were mortifying. The following taken from the Anne.x for October loth, will give a truthful idea of the program in detail : The first orator of the evening, A. P. Bourns, of Lake Forest University, was then introduced. His theme was: ' Henry W. Grady and His Negro Policy. Mr. Bourns style of treating his subject was more that of an argumentative essay than of an oration. His frequent use of the expression, ' he said, ' was rather monotonous. Although his movement upon the stage was easy, it seemed to savor of affectation. He used good variety of expression and was well applauded by the audience, though he was not backed, as were some other orators, by a large and enthusiastic delegation. He was awarded second mciney, $30. The audience, however, seemed much divided in its opinion as to what orator should have had second place. ' Our home orator, C F. Wishart, was the next man to the front. We had entertained great expectations in the direc- tion of our orator, and we were not disappointed. He talked about The Policy of Richelieu. In grandeur of thought and style of composition, Mr. Wishart ' s oration as such was not equaled by any performance of the evening. Though we do not claini gracefulness for him in delivery, we do claim that which is better, force and magnetism, which go to convict one of a 51

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left the chairman ' s lips. He made the mistake of announcing the award of first place before he did the second, and it was with difficulty this was made known Fortunately a convenient side door lent aid to the impatient exit of the happy students, eager to get hands on the triumphant orator. They soon found him at the Union, and seating him on strong shoulders, they filed back past the Auditorium, which wa; emptying itself of its large audience. How strong and clear came the old College yell from many throats. Many felt it their duty to keep the town awake for the rest of the night, if not by vocal noise, at least by all manner of wind and stringed instruments But tired nature would assert herself, and besides we realized that we had a day ' s work before us in the Athletic Contests of the to-morrow. It seemed policy to go to bed. Enthusiasm did not end with the night however. Througho t the next day, as we scored this and that point fn athletics and made a successful issue for 2nd place, as we proudly marched to the depot, made our noisy leave-taking, obtained the privileges of a car by ourselves where we spent the time telling the best jokes on one another, and everybody grew jubilant as we made our triumphal passage from the Monmouth depot to the College where our girls had prepared an elegant reception. It was one increasing tide of enthusiasm and let us hope that it was an enthusiasm which had in it a strong undercurrent of genuine loyalty — loyalty to our Faculty our Piesident and to our Inst ' tution, loyalty to the best interests of Monmouth College. i . 4