The news=record. [volume] (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Oregon) 1907-1910, 1907-11-21
Oratory Contest
Among Schools

Principal w. E. Moore of the county
high school has proposed county
declamatory contest among the schools,
the idea being to. divide he county into
five or six districts and hold contest
in each district some time this winter.
Later in the spring have the winners
of the district contests engage in a final
test to be held in the county high
school, gold and silver medals to be
awarded to the winner and second best
by the high school board. This prop
osition will be submitted to all the
schools OF the county and it is hoped to
hold the first contests this winter.
County High School Notes.
Vance Thomas of Paradise enrolled
in the first year class Monday.
The bookkeeping books have arrived
and the regular class work was begun
Tuesday.
The class in physics is wrestling with
some ''perplexing" :, problems these
days.
The literary society has been reg
ularly instituted and is known as the
Avant Courers. The temporary officers
are as follows: Presideht, Eula For
sythe; vice president, Vernon Corkiiss J;
secretary, Amy Olmsted; treasurer.
Asa Craig; sergeant-at-arms. Fred
Holmes. The question for debate next
Friday is Resolved, that the Japanese
should be excluded from the United
States"
On Decent er 20 the Pendleton high
school debating team will meet the
Wallowa county highs in the first
debate OF the season. The final arrange
ments are not quite completed.
The students are plan ing to begin the
publication of high school paper next
spring, similar to those issued by other
high schools.
The course of study has been ap-
proved by the state board.
State High School Debating League.
There is considerable interest being
manifested in the State High School
Debating league. The following schools
are represented in the Eastern Oregon
division: Hood River, Pendleton,
Wallowa County High School, Ontario,
Baker City, The Dalles.
The schools, paired as follows, are to
meet in the first preliminaries Dec. 20:
Hood River debates with The Dalles,
Pendleton debates Wallowa County
High School, Ontario debates Baker
City.
The Inter-High School ebates have
been carried on in the state of
Washington for the past two years and
have proven successful. This is the
first year that Oregon has taken hold
OF the work.
These debate awaken interest, arouse
enthusiasm, cultivate school patriotism
and home loyalty. They offer good
mental discipline and bring into use
the power of logic, the command OF
language and self possession. To stand
before an audience and not feel touch
Of the "stage scare" is an accomplish.
ment that few people possess. The
only way to become a successful public
speaker is to speak before the public
not only speak but have control of the
thinking powers. Good debates will
II
cultivate this habit and give the boys
and girls who have natural talents along
THIS line chance to develop. Not
only this but deb ites properly managed
will arouse a spirit Of activity through
out he school and exert an influence
the tendency of which is to "wake up
and "be doing" This influence does
not stop with the school but is felt by
the entire community. The people
soon take pride in their debating team
and will give the school loyal supper
that it may have strength and efficienc,
TO cope with other schools.