Commerce High School - Commerce Yearbook (Cleveland, OH)

Page 86 text:

84

Page 85 text:

tion, and the topic she presented for discussion was: Resolved, That the powers of Europe in conference should declare Albania a neutralized state. We chose to defend the affirmative. Our team was still intact, as Ralph Mullen, Emil Greenhut, and Ben Goldman, were again chosen by the coach. Libraries were searched for every particle of information on the subject. The material was then carefully worked up into argument, and the walls of the auditorium re-echoed with the forceful addresses. Our boys also had the good fortune to have personal conversations with Norman Angell and C. Telford Erickson, authorities on the Albanian situation, as well as men of world-wide reputation. There was much rivalry displayed between the two schools. Tech was determined to win, and we were equally confident of defeating West Tech in the same manner that we had defeated East Tech upon a previous occasion. Our fellows put up a stone-wall argument, and delivered it with such force and earnestness that it carried conviction to the judges, as well as to the entire audience. When the direct arguments were over the negative attempted to reply to our contentions, but failed. Whereas our fellows in three short, five-minute rebuttals did refute the supposed arguments of our opponents. A brief interval of suspense, and then the decision was announced. It was what the school and team had worked and hoped for: a unanimous decision over West Tech. Thus we finished the debating year with a perfect record. Two clean-cut, unanimous decisions, one over East Tech, and the other over West Tech. One of the most important factors in the success of our team was the able direction and keen criticism of our coach, Mr. H. T. McMyler. It was his guiding spirit that spurred us on to victory. And it is our fond hope that he may in the future coach many a High School of Commerce debating team with the same success that he attained with the team of 1914. BEN GOLDMAN. HIS school, realizing the importance of a course in. debating, has organized a class which will be held the first term of each year. Up to the present time, we have had the best success in debating of any school in the city, and it is our intention to retain our record, and, if possible to raise our standard. Members of this class participate in class debates, and famous speeches are learned and delivered with the view of promoting case and fluency in talking. This is also in line with the rest of our commercial education, for we must be impressive and convincing in our talk when we go out into the business world. ENGLISH CLASS IN DEBATE. RALPH MULLEN. S3

Page 87 text:

FOOTBALL. AT the beginning of the year of 1914, the problem that the Faculty and Athletic Association had to solve was, “Shall we have a football team?” The school wanted a football team very badly, so all the boys that could and wanted to play football made up a list which was handed in for inspection. The list was studied carefully by Coach Evans, and his decision was that the boys were too light and inexperienced to stack up against the teams put out by other high schools of the city. The only veterans were: Krauss, Kirian, and Fischer, all of whom had played on the last varsity football team. OUR COACH. MR. D. M. EVANS, who is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University, coached the Commerce teams this year, and will continue to do so next year. Mr. Evans is a star in all branches of sport, having played on the football, basketball and baseball teams of his college, along which lines he certainly is a hustler. Although a star in every sport, he is modest of his grand record at Wesleyan. Mr. Evans has gained the good will of all the fellows, and never has a coach been so popular and so close to the student body. At Commerce he is making a reputation for himself, as being among the best coaches in the city, as well as an official second to none. SUMMER SCHOOL BASEBALL. COMMERCE HIGH’S summer baseball team was a success. The students of Central and Commerce formed teams to play for the summer school championship. Central had one advantage over Commerce, and that was that all the pupils from the other Academic Schools went to Central during the summer and that gave Central more students for a selection of players, while Commerce had only its regular students. The two schools planned to play a series of five games, the school winning the most games to claim the championship. Commerce won three out of the five games.