The herald., 1894-08-12
WOMAN'S WORLD.
THE WINNER OF THE woopFoRp
PRIZE AT CORNELL UNIVERSITY.
baseball Women-The Reversible Pomn,er.
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This Coming Fashion?--A New Club For
Women-Items of Interest.

e"o ot 'irSania's Historic Shrines-,
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Women-Ite,ns of Interest.
Inc recent commencement at Corne
was the most remarkable Of any in tn
unlverslty's history for one reason
woman took the Woodford prize in ora
tory, the highest honor that can come {
any Cornellian. She is Miss Harriet
Cliedle Conner of Burlington, Ia.
slender, pretty girl, but unmistaxabl,
an orator She had five male competi
TORS. 1t was because Miss Common is al
orator that she won the prize. Her sub
| Ject was THE. Letter and the Spirit. >
and 1t dealt exclusively with the growth
OF tolerance and hberality in religious
thought
women competitors for the Woodford
prlze--founded % years ago by General
Woodford OF Brooklyn and consisting of
gold medal or 500 in gold-are not
uncommon. The men students outnum-
Der the women at Cornell by about four
or nve to one, and frequently and for
several years in succession a woman has
competed for the Woodford. In the
early eighties there were two women
competitors for the prize in one class.
and one Of them secured honorable
mention" Until this year no one has
ever considered the women seriously as
competitors, and o place has been given
to them in tho contest largely out of
compliment to the unusually good work
they always do at Cornell.
This year it was generally recognized
that Miss Common would be dangerous
competitor for the men. She had won
her way to the highest honors in Cornell.
had obtained Phi Beta Kappa key and
was regarded as one of the best speakers
that had ever come to Cornell She had
proved her capabilities long before the
Woodford prize subjects were an
nounced.
The young men Of 'o4 knew, therefore.
who and what they had to meet when it
was announced that Miss Connor would
try for the Woodford, but when it be-
came known that Miss Connor was
dancing at the senior ball the night be-
fore the competition and staying late,
too, while most Of her competitors were
IN their beds, the young men g supporters
took heart and said they guessed Miss
Conner was done for
The usual critical audience was in the
armory. The young men came and went
They spoke we'll and received the usual
applause. All, however, were self con-
sclous They showed their nervousness,
as they always do. They were not OK.
perienced speakers, although most Of
them were polished. But the polish was
plainly artificial and studied.
Miss Connor's name was called. She
was dresss5 entirely in white-proba.
bly, her ball gown-and as she stepped
upon the platform and the audience
saw her ease and the almost wonderful
~ pretty picture she made a tremendous
had won nafI the 'cacoe isfs @ sci1s
O word. When she started to speak, her
voice was somewhat unsteady. She was
tired from her social pleasures, and she
showed it. She pulled herself together
quickly, and then all traces Of self con-
seriousness disappeared. She had views
to present, and she seemed more DESTROYS
Of convincing the audience of the seri-
BUSINESS and truth Of what she was say
ing than Of winning the prize. The
prize was secondary matter apparent
ly. She was earnest and not artificial.
Her few gestures seemed spontaneous,
and she had quite forgotten her gown
and whether she stood on her right foot
while she delivered this paragraph or on
her left foot while she spoke the other
The audience was absolutely
still. There was no turning, no whis-
pering
Mrs. Lease and Mrs. Foster never had
more attentive listeners. Every syllable
was heard by every person in the audi
ence Of nearly 1000 persons. Her voice
filled the place, and her infection and
emphasis seemed perfect. When she fin
ished, storm Of applause shook the
building. The audience declared her the
winner without waiting for the follow
ing competitors, and the judges tried to
hold themselves impartial to the end.
When the decision was announced
finally, the applause was tumultuous.
Then Miss Conner became self conscious.
She was in a whirl Of congratulations,
the people were excited, and she became
the most marked girl that ever entered
or graduated from Cornell. New York
Sun.