Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-02-23
FOR MERR|CK MEDAL
Debate of Georgetown Uniyer-
sity Students Last Night.
LARGE AUDIENCE PRESENT
Contestants Discuss Municipal Owner
ship of Public Utilities.
DECISION ANNOUNCED IN JUNE
Justices Stafford, Gould and Duell
Serve as Judges-of5cers
and Committees.



Merrick gold medal was contested for in
debate in CASTOR Hail. Georgetown Univer-
sity, The Merrick debate is one Of the fix
lures of the old university and forms one OF
the most interesting epochs OF the class
year. There is always a team of two de-
baters on side, the contestants being Sc
lected by ballot from the most promising
members of the Philodemic Society. One
of the essential features of the debate Is
that the decision is not given till the grad
uation exercises of the college occur IN
June, SO that there is ample room for specu-
lation especially when, as last night, the
contest was manifestly close.
The subject this year affirmed that Pub
lie utilities should be owned by the munich
palfties.' The advocates of the resolution
were Albert Briscoe Ridgway OF the class
of 'OT and George Rex Frye of the class of
'06: the negative was taken by Gerald
Maurice Egan class of 'O6. and John NC
Hugh Stuart, class of '0T. The judges were
Wendell Phillips Stafford, associate justice
of the District Supreme Court: Ashley M.
Gould associate justice of the District SUI
preme Court, and Chas. H. DUEL, associate
justice of the District Court of Appeals.
Large Attendance.
The hall was filled with the friends of the
debaters and of the university. There was
music at intervals during the evening, and
the applause was about equally divided
among the contestants. though in this par
ticular It may be said that Mr.. Frye SEEM
ed to awaken rather more enthus -asm than
did the Others for his address, aside from
being clear and logical, contained number
of dry turns and twists that amused the
audience. and doubtless would have had
similar effect on jury, for the average ag-
gregation of Americans likes to laugh.
Possibly the best oratorical effort of the
evening also belonged to the affirmative.
Mr. Ridgway, who opened the debate. had
much of the ease OF delivery and the mag
netic personality that characterizes the
natural orator. But whether the audience
was in sympathy with him or not, no one
could deny that the opening of the opposi-
ton, by Mr.. Egan, was effective. His ad-
dress was strong and he gradually warmed
up to his subject, and his thin lips and cold
calculat ting way in which he sized up his
audience Indicated that in few years he
might make a formidable opponent in
criminal case.
At Expense Of the Country.
Mr.. Ridgway took the position for the
affirmative that the city had been growing
at the expense of the country for several
generations past till in the United States
nowthirty-ive out of seventy-five million
people lived In Incorporated towns. How
badly the average American town and city
was governed, he said 1t was not necessary
to say. Unfortunately every one knew.
This state Of affairs he attributed largely
to the rich prizes In the shape Of free
franchises that were a provocation for the
INSCRIPTIONS business man and politician
to debauch the municipal government and
the legislature, and win for themselves the
title to natural monopolies that vastly IN
creased their already great wealth ana
placed them In position to do more moral
rtoj ,lT RI
He said the natural cure for this state OF
affairs is the municipal ownership of such
natural monopolies as street car lines, teie-
phones and lighting plants. He added tnat
the plan had been tried abroad and worked
to perfection; that In the united klhgooni
there was but one municipality that, aitel
adopting municipal ownership. had gone
back to the private corporation. The only
practical method of cleaning up municipal
polittcs In this country. he said, was 10
take the temptation for stealing and bribery
away from promoters of public utilities ana
vest the management OF them where 1t pc
ioneed-with the public that used them Ii
was an exceedingly persuasive argument
well delivered and carried with 1t an ap-
peal that was greeted with hearty APP
plause-
Opens for Negative.
10 tho average auditor 1t looked as If
when Mr.. Egan started he had but little
room for a reply. But he made room and
He said the plea for municipal ownership of
tramways, lighting plants and telephone
lines was but the entering wedge to social
ian, and Maternal government of the most
extreme sort. When one commenced to
talk OF public utilities there was no reason
to say that dairies bakeries and coal yards
were less essential to the public welfare
than the other utilities named. He denied
emphatically that the municipal ownership
of car lines and lighting plants abroad had
uroyed an unqualified success.
Regarding the cleansing effect on munic-
ipal politics MT. Egan said the ownership
OF public utilities added an army OF en-
ployes to the city pay roll and 1t would be
easy to see where Tammany would stand
TODAY IL In addition to its already immense
power it had the swinging OF jobs for all
the employees OF telephone lines, lighting
plants and street railways.
Introduces Statistics.
To this argument Mr.. Frye replied with
an array of figures and careful compila-
ton OF statistics, tending to show that
municipal ownership had been a success
wherever 1t had been fairly tried. The
speakers voice was not naturally so we'll
adapted for delivery as that of either of
his predecessors, but he managed to bring
out more laughs from his hearers and ap-
parently piled more facts together than did
any of the other debaters. For instance,
In speaking of the comparative manage
ment Of private and public enterprise he
said the private corporation was naturally
run for private dividends. for profit was
not without honor in his own company"
The mere fact of removing the tempta-
ton of corruption from municipal govern
ment was enough to justify the change,
"for." he said, this country has found to
it's sorrow that money makes the mayor
go. and when the mayor has a chance to
make the money go the private citizen has
to pay the freight.
Mr.. Stuart closed for the negative with
much the same line of argument against So
cialistic government and the sitting OF pri-
vate enterprise that had been used by his
predecessor.
Judge Stafford made the closing remarks,
in which ne complimented both sides on
their work.
Joseph II. Lawier of the class of 'O6 was
the chairman and introduced the speakers
Of the evening.