Cleveland daily leader. [volume] ([Cleveland, Ohio]) 1865-1873, 1866-05-21
FROM OBERLIN.
Union Exhibition Of the Phi Delta
and Phi Kappa Pi Societies.


IS ties are put into direct competitions and eac
e Of course elects its ablest members, or thos
whom it supposes TO be its abIest, to repre-
sent it, and if possible to achieve victor
foT il, in the contest Of the day. Thi
anniversary, too, stands by itself, instead @
being mixed with the crowded exhibition
: whicE precede Commencement week; ant
this Circumstance not only gives performer
more time for preparation, but also afford
them fresh and undistracted audiences
No wonder then that to be a "Union Elk
speaker" is considered one of the highes
honors of the course, and that "Union Ex.'
is looked forward to By students and towns
people as the most interesting anniversary
of the whole round year.
The fifth annual Union Exhibition trans
pired this afternoon. The following has
the
ORDER OF EKERcIsEs.
Music. FRAZER. Muse
Phi Kappa Pi oratioa-The Fragments Of an Tn
RT. Gross, RiehvilIe. NY.
Discassion-Resolved: That there Is no prObsbil-
ity that the Theatre can be made beneficial to
Society.
Affirmative. Negative.
Phi Kappa ri. Phi Delta.
a. L. BarOer, Geneva, J. NJ, Geery, Madison,
C. +. Dean, Cleveland J. +. Hudson, oberlin.
| Music.
Phi Kappa ri Poem-''The living do not rule this
would. An, mo- It is the dead, the dead -
q. c. Darwin, Burlington, Iowa.
Phi Delta 0rstion-The Cry of the Syracussn,
P. Il. Kiser, Gnsdenhutten.
| Music.
Benediction.
The Grafton Of Mr.. Cross had for its
theme one of the most interesting subjects
for speculation in the domain of psychclo-
gy. 1t rehearsed the mysterious occur
reEces and developments which men call
supernatural, and announced the probabili-
ty that these events were not above, but
regulated by, nature = that they were
the fragments of an unknown law, which
is yet to be demonstrated and established
-glimpes through mist and fog of beau
tiful structure yet to be revealed in its COM
plete msgnifcence. The. unknown is al
ways glorious, and the indefniteness and
suggestiveness of the topic lent it peculiar
charm. Mr.. Cross felt its inspiration. His
oration was able and scholarly, and was
listened to with thorough enjoyment by his
audience.
The debate which followed was pro-
nounced by those who have listened to
College debates in oberlin Tor years one of
the very best which ever took place there.
We have, however, an objection to the en-
tire genus to which ii belongs. 1t was not
-and we believe none of the oberlin ami |
yersary discussions have ever been-a real |
ringing, unaffected, earnest debate: it was
was rather series of spoken essays in re-
ply to each other. Each disputant had
written out his speech and submitted it to
his successor, who wrote his reply to it and
passed both on in turn to the next, and so
to the last. The result of this preparation
may be elegant composition and bril-
liant display of reasoning but
not debate. They do these things better in
some colleges which we wUt af In them
no disputant sees his opponents argument
in advance. He may prepare himself as
carefully as he chooses-he may write out
and memorize his speech but all response
TO his opponents argument must be antici-
pated or lin its words extemporaneous.
This brings out and trains the peculiar
talent Of Observation-Disclosures and clear
ness of perception, Auency and force of ex-
preston, and the faculty Of throwing ones
entire soul into the matter in hand. It also
gives the audience real, hearty debate, not
so polished and symmetrical as memorized
Dratory but vigorous and telling, full Of
ere, instinct with energy and enthusiasm.
Let the Phi Delts and Phi Kaps consider if
they cannot improve their next debate by
forming it on this model.
The discussion of to-day illustrated the
virtues if not the vices of the opposite style.
It's subject-the theatres an old and
one. Inasmuch as the true
object of the disputant is or should be to
and the victory rests with the
side which succeeds in carrying the listen
srs with it, it would perhaps have been well
if question had been chosen which an
Oberlin audience could approach with less
prejudice or 0et us ssy) pre-judgment; but
the selection of a question is of all things
the most difficult, and this one at least af-
forded scope for a most interesting trial of
strength. The first speaker, Mr.. Barber,
argued that the testimony of the wisest, the
purest and the best of mankind was against
theatres, that all attempts to reform them
had failed, and that their corrupting ad-
iuncts are inseparable from them. The
speech was a calm, clear, unimpassioned
written with care, and delivered
with remarkable precision and correctness.
Mr.. Geery is but just recovering from a
sickness, which has not yet left him but
his effort Of to-day was most excellent
,ue, and its delivery forcible and effective
Like his predecessor, however, he wasted
.oo much time on non-essentials. The eopin-
on of Aristophanes upon Greek comedy, of /
Julian the Apostate upon italian theaters,
IT of DR.. johnson upon the English stage
1t the time of its most glaring abuses is
not worth wrangling over. The real es-
;ence of the whole debate-too much lost
,ight of By every speaker-lies in this: Is
here any thing in the drama which is per
&c pernicious7 Neither side brought its
To bear with sufficient directness
md force upon this question. Mr.. Geery
handled his opponents arguments with
great skill, and made the most of the flaws
which he discovered in them. He left him
,elf too little time for his own argument,
but presented it very judiciously and with
much logical clearness and free. His speech
was marked success.
Mr.. Deans effort was an impassioned and
ncisive attack upon the thester, which he
denounced as " evil and only evil continu-
ally" 1t contained many sweeping charges,
half truths, and intemperate if not un-
founded assertions; it had in it also some
striking non seqliturs but it was the most
vigorous speech of the whole debate. Its
was condensed, pointed, framed
in the most foi chile language. It's delivery
TOO, though more liable to criticism than
that of any of his cOmpeers, possessed the
rare and redeeming qualities of intense
..--.-E-a.z a~T oornpIafa OririnaI;f u;, I