Evening star., 1925-04-12
Z SCHOOLS READY
| FOR 0RATORY TEST
Selection of Students for
Finals Made by Eastern
and Armstrong.

Eastern and Armstrong High
Schools have just announced their
preliminary selections In the national
oratorical contest. Eastern narrowed
the competition to six speakers in
series OF meetings ending Friday.
Armstrong selected six students
Thursday afternoon.
The faculty committee on the con-
test at Eastern selected six speakers
after hearing all those who entered
the contest. Among the group Sc
lected is Ruth Greenwood, who rep
resented Eastern last year in the
finals of the District of Columbia
and was Washingtons alternate in
the national finals on the 1924 contest.
The six who will speak in the school
finals April 22 are Lydia Edward, Olin
Everett, Asenath Graves, Ruth Green
wood. Laura Haynie and Durward
Keats.
Armstrong List of Six.
Examinations in the contest at
Armstrong High School left the fol-
lowing to compete for the high school
championship. April 90; Manning
Wheeler, Howard Sprggs, Naomi
Morris and Othello Branson. The
school used its own judging system
and in the scoring, Gaddis, the prize
orator of last year. was half a point
behind Manning Johnson.
An interesting development in the
contest this year has been the wider
range in subject choice, as contrasted
with last year. In the final compe-
tition for the District of Columbia
championship in 1924 all OF the final
lists spoke on the straight subject,
The Constitution" This year the
| only two school representatives so
far designated are speaking on Lin
coin and the Constitution" Further
more, in the groups of six in each
school from which the school spokes-
man Is to be chosen more than half
are speaking on the Constitution in
relationship to one of the seven
designated statesmen, instead of
| simply on the Constitution. The ora
tlon subjects are the same for this
year as they were for last. That il
to say, the orations can be on the
|. Constitution or on the relationship
thereto OF Washington. Hamilton,
Jefferson, Madison, Marshall, Web
ster or Lincoln.
The District of Columbia finals this
year will, therefore, furnish an op-
portunity for a check-up on the COM
parative merits OF simple and a
| compound subject in a brief address.
Contestants this year are evidently
taking up the complex subjects on
the theory that while more difficult
| for treatment, they offer richer pos
! abilities for the introduction of hu-
man interest through the biographi-
cal element. which cax be woven ap-
pealingly into the story Of America s
constitutional development.
Topics Most Popular.
Among the subjects with a bio
graphical factor in them, those re-
| .ating to Lincoln, Hamilton and JEFF
| ferson are proving the most popular.
Although it is too early to &C
curately gauge the reaction of con-
| testants in the various States to the
/ question of the relative desirability
OF the eight subjects, reports and
press clippings from all parts of the
country indicate a greater interest in
| the biographical subjects. 1t re-
| mains to be seen, however, whether
| those who selected such subjects will
be able to win through with them TO
| the national finals or last year
| finalists for the entire Nation, only
| one spoke on a subject other than
| that of The Constitution" He did
| not finish in the money, there being
| only @N,ree prizes offered in the 1924
| finals.