The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1914-05-05
SUBJECTS Of LIVE
INTEREST ARGUED
Marion Ross, of Shelby, Makes
Debate Showing Fine Grasp
of Thought
(By :. X.

Chapel Hill, May 3.-The types Of
subjects chose for inter-society and
intercollegiate debates by the litera-
ry societies of the State University a
quarter OF a century ago and queries
selected today are quite at variance.
With n yearly reinforced interest in
debating in the two literary societies
the query committee has found the
functions Of its office of increasing
Importance in the matter of supply
ing debating queries on lives, every
day topics.
The Old Types Passes.
The old type of subjects Of whether
Retaliation was more Significant than
Contemplation" Oh the commonplace
subject Of whether the advantages
Of the City Boy are Superior to those
Of the Country Boy" is disappearing.
The newer type of subject for debate
calls for questions of current events
of a political nature or otherwise. Or,
maybe q debatable current issue that
concerns campus life will suffice. At
any rate, a subject of ancient thinge
is no longer fit for discussion in the
halls OF the literary societies. Topics
of ancient bearings are being replac-
ell by young c~ollegians. This fact is
considered "a healthy sign in academic
life.
Illustrative of the modern trend OF
- ny 1iSy
was the intersOciety debate held this
week. The subject of the query was
of current interest and the subject
was handled with a th~oroughneSS OF
insight into the nature Of the topic
as to indicate vigorous study of the
question. The query read: "EeSolved
That the true solution of the trust
problem lies in the regulation of com
binatiOnS rather than the breaking uI
of combinations and the restoring OF
competition"
Knowledge of Political Issues.
The negative team represented b,
j.. NJ. Ross, Jr., of Shelby, and j
frank Hacker. Of Sparta, won the de
clSion. The debates of the negativ,
team have been pronounced eXcellen
and their of handling Sucl
It live political question has Gale,
forth highly favorable comment. Brie
quotations from the speeches of tn
winning team will serve to show Z
clutch by which the young collegian
mad gripped their subject and tn
argument produced. Il. Marion Ros:
n, summed up the gist of his argu
ment thus:
Marion Ross
The trusts are artificially fOrme
In three different ways: by specis
privilege from railways. wealth use
coercively. and Observation-Disclosures
10 eliminate lnem by means OF roSU
lation will by the very act itself dis
solve trusts, make monopoly cOntrt
impossible, n restore competition o
a firm basis. We have also seen thu
competition is natural to every phas
Of life, and that out of this principl
of competition comes three great il
dustrial principles; first, industri;
freedom; second, business effcienc
anC third industrial progress. Y
nave also shown by comparisons tn;
competitive business instead of IN,
nopolistic business is the most adval
tageous to the public from the stan,
point of both cheaper production al
cheaper Distribution"
J. r. Hacker presented this sun
mary of his argument: Three thini
make trusts possible: special priv
lege, wealth used c~oercively, al
over-capitaliZation. 1t is obvio
that none of these are natural. Elm
nate freight rate discrimination
favor of trusts, eliminate the using
wealth coercively against the SIN;
producer, eliminate over-capitaliz
zion: in other words, eliminate t
very things that make trusts and IN
nopoly control possible and by t
very act itself you will dissolve truS
make monopoly control impoSSib
and restore competition"