The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1899-05-13
ANNUAL DEBATE OF
PULLtN SOCIETY
At the A. g. M. College Yes
terday Evening.
hA..g-N ,,,o, r,,r nnro>,
ANNEXATION The QUERY
AND THE ANTI-tMPERIAL ISTS
CARRIED THE DAY.
ORArOR.CAL CUNItST Ar THE CLOSE
Mr.. s, II Bum Wol the p.batn's Medal and
Mr.. Mark squires the Orators N daI.
A Dance Given After
the Exercises.

The. annual debate and orator,cal
contest of the Pullen Literary Socict,
was held in the hall ,of the \. and
NJ. College yesterday evening. These
events have grown in interest ant!
popularity with the people of ralsigh
from year to year and a fine audience
faced the Young orators yesterday
evening the attendance of ladies being
particularly large.
THE PROGRAM.
Address by President, +. L. sloan.
Music.
United States Should Annex the Phil
ippines."
Affirmative: Paul Collins. Of Wake:
ID. Briggs, of Wake: james ii. Bum,
of Vance.
Music.
Orators: O'Kelly w. Myers. Wash
ngton. Modern Education;.' Mark
squires. of Caldwell, Rebels
Judges retire.
Judges Decision and Presentation
CT Medals.
Closing of exercises by President.
+. T., Sloan.
The Judges of the debate ami ora
torical contest were Mr.. w. C.. Doug
lass. of the Raleigh bar; Prof. Mosc.;,
of the city schools; Rev. +. \. O5-
borne. of ST. Mary's.
At the close of the exercises the
Judges. after brief consultation. gave
their decision ON the debata To .he
negative. They awarded the debater's
medal to Mr.. S. II. Bum, Of Vance,
and the orators medal to Mr. Mark
Squires. of Caldwell.
THE DISCUSSION
The young men showed in the dc
bate a thorough acquaintance with the
merits of the question and covered
admirably the reasons that weigh on
either side. The speeches were qui-e
free from the bombast that the vo,m:y
debater is apt to mistake for argument
and equally free from abortive at
tempts at humor. The plain. straight
forward common sense discussion
smoke well for the training the society
gives its members.
SPEECH OF MIR. COLLINS.
Mr.. Paul Collins, of Raleigh. opened
The discussion for the affirmative. Mr..
Collins held by the destiny theory and
declared that it is the destiny of
America to control the course of hui
man progress and the annexation of
the Philippines is step in that di-
rection.
These who are opposed TO expansion
are laboring under a misconception OF
the views and purposes OF carrier
statesmen. Washington never meant
that America should adopt policy
Of isolation. New circumstances have
arisen and traditional policies can no
longer be followed. The fact that a
nation rules over large territory
does not necessarily make it imperial
istic majority of the Filipinos are
not opposed to annexation, and even
If they were the islands should be
annexed because the Filipinos do not
know what they want. They can not
be cast aside and left to tyrants and
adventurers Territorial annexation
has always been our means of growth.
The Philippines are not so far away
as Ayas California when it was annex
ed. The annexation of the Philippines
will bring to America great wealth.
They would fuEnish homes for null
titude of farmers. miners and me-
chanics. We owe a duty to the Fill
niuos and that duty is to give them a
government free from oppression.
MIR. BRIGGS FOR THE NEGATIVE.
Mr.. w. ID. Briggs, also RALEIGH
hoy. spoke first for the negative. he
declared that the assumption that
enough Americans will emigrate to the
Philippines to determine the charac-
ter of the population is mistake.
What. then, shall be done with them:
They can not be organized into States;