Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1908-04-28
YORK MAN WINS.
j. c. Hardin of Glover, Victor In State
Oratorical Contest.

s o'clock tonight the doors of the Lam
der college auditorium were closed and
the tenth annual state oratorical con-
test was commenced. After song of
welcome by the Lander College Chorus
club and prayer by the Rev. Robert
Adams, president of the Presbyterian
College of South Carolina, Mr.. Hardin,
of Wofford college, being the first
speaker Of the evening spoke, the sub
ject Of his grafton being "The Battle
Against ignorance" Then followed the
other speakers. the following pro-
gramme being carried out: THE
Handicaps of the South r. S. Owens;
The Spirit of the Age" T. C. Hey
ward; THE Small College," j. B.
Brown; christian Citizenship-The
Hope of Democracy" B. E. Petrea;
"In Defence Of the Flag ]. F. Nohr-
den; "The American Shibboleth," ]. w.
Hicks: THE Menace of MammOn," G.
N. Mccormick: "The South and Her
Heroes" r. F. Gonzales.
At intervals music was rendered by
the faculty Of Lander college and the
Lander College Chorus club. After
the speeches a wait Of few minutes
was made necessary for the judges,
who were the Hon. j. c. Otis of Gaff-
ney: the Rev. j. r. Green Of Green
wood, and the Rev. ]. Phillips Werner
| of Columbia, to make their decision.
These few moments were moments Of
suspense, and anxiety was plainly
written in large letters on the contes-
tants faces.
But when the judges announced that
Mr. j. c. Hardin Of Wofford, had won
| first place the welkin was made to
ring by the students from WOfford,
and their presence was made known by
yells and Haunting and waving of
their college colors. Mr.. j. w. Hicks
| of Furman. was announced winner OF
second place, and his supporters cheer
ed him to the echo.
The contest was a battle royal so
far as thought, oratory and elocution
were concerned. For gracefully and
Ntl uN lilC youllS WI
to hold up the reputation of the COL
| leges they represented. Indeed, as the
| judges expressed it, it was a hard
matter to pick the winner but all are
agreed that the right man, Mr.. Har-
din. won. Mr.. Hardin's speech was
one of the best ever delivered by a
college man in Greenwood, and he de-
serves great credit for the mastery
thought and beautiful composition of
ideas he injected into his speech.
However, all the speeches were good
and taking; them as whole they have
never been excelled. and many thought
never equalled, at any of the previous
contests held here.
Mr.. ]. &. Hardin, the representative
Of Wofford college in the state orator.
| ical contest, is 21 years old, is from
Glover, s. c., and is a member Of the
junior class of Wofford college. Soon
latter entering college Mr.. Hardin won
a reputation for himself as a speaker
and because Of his thorough literary
work He has served as president of
his class during his sophomore year.
The same year he was elected second
censor, corresponding secretary and
monthly orator in the Preston society,
During the present year Mr.. Hardin is
serving as chief marshal, assistant ex-
vice president of the Y. M. c. A. He
IL NNl h 1iG. co
| ciety on the preliminary Emory de-
bate and the junior debate. Mr.; Har-
dis is a brother Of the Rev. f. K. Har-
din, who won the state contest at
Greenwood in 1904 for Wofford college.
Mr. Hardin has as his subject THE
Battle Against ignorance" He spoke
as follows:
Mr.. Hardn's Speech.
In reviewing the history Of our proud
old state Of South Carolina it is but
natural that we should be impressed
with the deeds Of our forefathers and
become in a great measure satisfied in
| mind that she has reached the highest
| point of development in statehood. We
realize that our public men of the past,
| cur Pinckneys, our CalhounS and
Hamptons, had their trials in state
craft, but is there no danger of our
reaching that state of mind in which
we think all such problems are matters
| OF the far distant past, and that we
| now only have to reap the rewards OF
| the labors Of our ancestors? If such be
| the case never were Il people more
cruelty deceived, for we have before
| us for solution in the very near future
| IL problem that is seemingly old to
some. but one which is vital in every
respect, and which should be held fresh
| in the minds Of our citizens until it is
| rightly settled, and settled forever
We refer to the state of illiteracy so
prevalent in great part of our citi-
zenship.
| Our state has always carried heavy
percentage Of illiteracy in proportion to
| her popu lation and continues to suffer
Humiliation in comparison with her
sister Commonwealths; for in all of
the fOrty-six years of the Union in
numbers of natural born illiterates
North Carolina, Tennessee and South
Carolina, yes, your own South Carolina
stand at the very bottom, holding in
their hands the black flag of illiteracy
ID condition to make us blush with
shame.
We are accustomed To refer to a
period in our history as before the
war;" and we revel in stories OF the
Opulence of our own state and or the
entire south at that time; but there
are phases in the history Of that period
| of which we have been taught little
and in which we can take little pride.
Our land owners were living in splen-
dor, educated abroad in the best uni
versities of Europe, but there was a
poorer class, Of which we hear moth
ing, born in poverty spending their
lives in miserable toll, scoffed at by
the slaves themselves, and finally dy-
ing in squalor. There is no system
of education, properly called, which
does moi include all classes, and in ig-
noring the poorer whites at that time
we were but sowing the seeds which
have produced this harvest of ign0r-
ance AMI illiteracy which we are reap
ing today. The fundamental princi-
pie in the educational system OF a
democracy must be che education OF
the children of all classes, and this we
seem to have forgotten while trying to
solve other problems. And at present
the citizens of South Carolina are un-
yelling monuments to honor and COM
ImemOrate the glorious lives of our he
roes and at the same time we are rear
ling children who cannot read the IN
| lcc,intinnS thereon tneN grasp