Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1906-03-07
WILLMAR WINS DEBATE

Seventh District Champions Defeat the
Fergus Falls Team, Champions Of
tho Ninth District.
Willmar people are again rejoicing
oyer another victory won by the
High school debating team, which
now holds the championship of two
districts, the Seventh and the Ninth,
as the result of last Friday evenings
debate at Fergus Falls with the high
school team of that city. The Fergus
Falls correspondent to the Minne-
apolis Journal gives the following
account of the interesting contest:
Fergus Falls, Minn., March 3.-The
interdistrict debate between the
seventh and the ninth districts in the
series of contests for the state
championship and The Journals cup,
was held here last evening and was
won by the Seventh district, repre-
sented by the Willmar high school
team, the decision of the judges being
two for Willmar and one for Fergus
Falls. The defeat of the local team
causes general disappointment here,
but the contest was perfectly fair in
every way, and no one congratulates
the winners more heartily than the
members of the defeated team.
The subject discussed was: Ere
solved, That all elective state, dis
trict, county and city officers should
be chosen by direct primaries"
Fergus Falls took the affirmative of
the proposition and Willmar the
negative.
The Fergus Falls school was repre-
sented by William Bell, Charles
Nyberg and Axel Nelson, and the
Willmar school by Wallace Martin,
Carl jacobson and Victor KnutsOn.
Everyone agrees that the two teams
were evenly matched and we'll bal
anced. There was not weak debater
on either side-in fact, there has never
been debate in the long series held
here where the speakers exhibited
more uniform strength or greater
ability to "think on their feet.' Rev.
W: II. Jordan of Minneapolis pre-
sided, and the judges were Superin-
tendent W. H. Hollands of Sauk Cen
ter, c. b. Payne of Long Prairie and
Bert E. Cooley of Osakis.
The night was stormy and disagree
able, but there was fair audience.
The entire high school occupied the
balcony and livened matters from
time to time with class yells A new
song had been prepared for the occa-
sion, and it was sung with strenuous
spirit. These are the verses:
There's good time coming, help it on;
There's a good time coming, help it on.
Fergus Falls will soon be winning,
All the air with it is dining,
Help it on help it on, help it on, on, on.
The affirmative is right, help it on;
The affirmative is right, help it on.
With our songs and with applause
Well defend the prim'ry laws,
Help it on, help it on, help it on, on, on. :.
When the Fergus high shall win, help it on;
When the Fergus high shall win, help it on;
Then the hot time will begin
For we'll make the welkin ring,
Help it on, help it on help it on on, on.
Fergus did not win, but the welkin
rang just the same and the team made
splendid showing. Nor was the
applause all on one side. The Will
mar boys we're cheered as Justify as
their opponents when they made tell
ing points, and telling points were
numerous on both sides. The Fergus
advocated the primary as the right
Of the American citizen-the right to
nominate his candidates as we'll as to
elect them. The team took the ground
that it was only thru primary cleo.
tiOn laws that the country could
be freed from the rule of the bosses:
that the citizen could gain the rights
Of which corrupt politicians had
deprived him.
The Willmar team, on the other
hand, pointed to the fact that the
American government was represent
ative government; that the caucus and
convention system had grown up as
the most practical plan of ating
candidates, and that it was in every
sense the best plan; that parties were
necessary feature of the American
political system, and the convention
system resulted in the perpetu alton OF
the party and enabled the people thru
their duly elected representatives in
the conventions to declare their wishes
on public questions thru the medium
of the party platform; that in the mul-
tiplicity of candidates under the pri.
mary system the nominee seldom
received a majority Of all votes cast,
and the man nominated was often the
choice of a majority of the people;
that the primary system was a nice
thing in theory, but that it did not
work well in practice. The team held
that the primary did not eliminate
boss rule in cities, but rather tended
to strengthen it, and held up St. Paul
as a striking example of the most
bOss-ridden and misgoverned city in
the northwest.
The affirmative replied that if the
people could be trusted to nominate
delegates to conventions they could
certainly be trusted to nominate the
Candidates; that the present system OF
party platform-making was the merest
farce, the platform being prepared by
a. platform committee and worded with
view to catching the most votes, the
convention merely endorsing the
report of the committee, and going on
with the more exciting work of max
ing nOmin ations. 1t was held that a
better way to frame party platform
would be to have it framed by a cen.
tral committee composed of the chair.
man of the various county committees,
who could meet and act deliberately
with an eye single to the best interests
OF the country and the party. The
team also dwelt strongly on the cor
ruption of conventions, and the buy
ing, selling and trading of votes.
Willmar replied that their oppo-
nents had exaggerated this feature OF