Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1907-03-21
Debate Last Evening

Debate Last Evening
The joint debate last even
ing between the Missouri Val
ley and Denison high schools
was an event of the school
year. The opera house was
we'll filled when the entertain
ment begun, and the selection
by the high school quartette
was highly pleasing. The
boys were trained by Mrs. G. S.
Green in her usual thorough
manner. The solo "The Swal-
lows" by Miss Stella Douglas
was received with applause.
After the speaking the girls
chorus sang "In the freight"
and made a decided hit. Miss
May Finley was instrumental
in making the chorus a success.
Some one has said, "Great
teachers do not really teach us
anything; in their presence we
are made different persons" 1t
is an admitted fact that no
more graceful, easy or fluent
speaker than Prof. Beveridge
ever appears before a Missouri
Valley audience and so, by his
presence as we'll as precept, he
has succeeded in imparting
some of these qualities to those
under him. This was never
more in evidence than last
evening. The superintendent
made a few remarks in his
Enthusiastically interesting
manner, stating that the arch
ives of Missouri Valley had
been searched and nosuch event
had new been pulled off" be-
fore Tor words to that effect)
and therefore it would possess
the quality of novelty if not
merit. He said the effort had
been made to teach them to
think, to see and to speak. The
efforts have certainly been re.
warded, judging from the man
ner in which our high school
debating club acquitted them
selves last evening.
The question, Shall the gov
eminent seek the solution of
the street railway problem in
private ownership? was handled
in a masterful manner by Miss
Alice Schollert, Ralph Erick-
son and Worcester Warren,
for Missouri Valley, and by
Miss Grace Bamford, Williams
Harding and Clarence Schooley
for Denison. Genius and
talent are largely a mat
ter of hard work and then
some, and our debators showed
they had not been afraid of it.
How much more sersiba h
meritorious iC is to initiate the
virtues of great men instead
of their vices. Many boys in
order to appear manly think
they must carry a bulldog pipe
and light it as soon as they get
without the confines of the
school grounds or, worse yet,
smoke cigarettes, but the boys
who are really "doing things
at school that count are not i'm
itating great men in those
things, of which these great
men are not proud. Prof. Bev-
eridge is doing much for the
schools of our town and espe-
cially for the boys.
The unanimous decision of
the three Judges, composed of
Principal Thomas of Council
Bluffs, Supt. Hahn of Blair and
Supt. Teller of Onawa, in favor
of Missouri Valley, the affirm
ative side, was received with
loud acclaim and many demon
strations of approval. A curious
thing in connection with the
debate, we'll illustrating the
versatility and research neces-
sary for a debator, was the fact
that Worcester Warren had the
opposite side of the question at
the high school a month ago,
and his side was victorious at
that time. Supt. Fellows, of
Denison, presided in an abso-
lutely just manner. Miss Lis
ter should also be given liberal
credit for her share in getting
the debaters lined up for their
work.
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