The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1910-05-21
FINLEY WINS
FIRST HON0RS
Edgar F. Walters Proves
the Best Orator.
ADA LANDS SECOND PLACE
Clyde Deeds Takes Second
Honors.
Paul Il. Maidlow of Ottawa is Award
cd Third Place I'm the Oratorical
Contest Held at the High School
Friday Evcning-Affair a Complete
Success.

A large an enthusiastic audience
greeted the contestants of the Ohio
Northern High School association in
the auditorium Of the high school last
evening Tall palms, fern and green
cry flanked the proscenium, while bril-
liant pennants in scarlet, blues and
yellows draped the interior walls.
Principal Marshall made few re-
marks regarding the contest, after
which he introduced Rev ]. Z. Cur
| rim who responded with opening de.
votion.
Garry Me Back TO Old Virginia"
| by Bland, was sung by the boys Glee
club followed by an encore for
the enthusiastic audience.
| Maurice Parks, president of the
| Marion class of 1910 made the wei
coming address. Mr.. Parks spoke OF
| the great privilege and pleasure of
holding the contest In Marion, and
| personally thanked George King who
won first honors at Kenton last year,
for making the pleasure possible.
Mr.. Edgar f. Walters of Findlay, to
whom. first prize was unanimously
voted, gave the first Grafton of the
evening. Mr. Walters dealt with the
subject, "The Preservation of the
Forests" in a deep and mastery way
His thought was sweeping ana COM
plete and his delivery animated and
easy. The speaker said:
"If the newspapers OF tomorrow
should publish in glowing headlines
the report that a mighty nation was
to make war upon our country, to
destroy our commerce, and devastate
our farms, leaving in their stead a
wasted country, and ruined people,
what would be the state of public
feeling? Every measure would be
taken to check the advance of this
powerful invader. Picture the agita
ton, the excitement of the panic
stricken nation and yet today we live
needless and indifferent with an en-
emy as formidable and dangerous
within our very midst. Our army and
navy are powerless. Only the energy
of an awakened nation can save us.
"The enemy to which reference is
made is the private wastefulness and
corporate greed that are exterminating
the forests of our beloved land. A
century ago our country abounded In
virgin forests. In the eastern part
alone there were one million square
miles of forest, one source of the
wealth and prosperity Of our coun-
try alone.
"Our nation is still the richest on
earth, but let us look into the future
Our mineral wealth has been squan.
dered, and our forest destroyed. That
the lumberman is wasteful is proven
by DR.. Bristol, chief of the section
of wood chemistry. Fifty per cent
of the average trees In the forest is
, wasted before reaching the market
The loss I'm the mills Is from one-third
to two-thirds of the timber sawed
Only three hundred and twenty feet
of lumber are used for the one thou
sand feet that grew in the forest.
"a splendid example of modern
conservation of forests is shown in
} Germany. In beds prepared with the
!, greatest care the seedlings of the fu-
> ture forests are propagated. Planted
/ by one generation, cared for by the
{ next they are harvested by the third
. When part of the forest Is cut, the
clearing rs covered with a forest
growth as soon as possible.
! Years ago northern China was d
prosperous country covered with for
ests However, the timber cutting
was not regulated, and the incessani
destruction soon began to affect the
climate, rainfall ceased and now one
sees only barren hills and white sand
In central Asia and northern Africa
the same despoiling system has ruin
ed the country and cities.
"There must be conservation OF
devastation. There is no middle
! ground"
Mr.. Walters finished with the final
appeal:
Ladies and gentlemen, l appeal
. to you. This problem of the conser-
walton of our resources is ours. Shall
we sell our birthright for a mess OF
pottage? We must arrest the hand
of the despoler. Legislators, patri-
otic and incorruptible, must work to
this end that this fair land of ours
may be transmitted and bequeath-
ed a sacred legacy to our children's
children"
"Man's Destiny" by Clyde Deeds,
of Ada. was awarded second prize,
Mr. Deeds proved himself to be quite
an orator, his delivery. without doubt,
won the medal of the evening. He
said:
, Mature has provided for man a
road to success. Heredity and en-
vironment working together with the
thinking man, have builded the ma
tions of the world. In studying the
, lives of our greatest men, we note
, how faithfully the ancestral lines
have met in the man himself; how
mysteriously the characteristics of
body, mind and soul have blended;
how unexpectedly and yet how per-
fectly natural a reconciliation is the
result. These points are brought out
with the cumulative effect until we
: realize at last how little we are deal
, ing with an independent unit. how
much with survival and reorganiza-
ton of what seemed buried in the
!, ground.
"Heredity and environment have
made us what we are; these forces
are still working in all our lives; he
who has decided how much to allow
to each, he who can regulate new
forces, so directing them to make
i them cooperate and counteract. under
stands the nationals of personal de-