Evening star., 1925-05-06
ORATORY F|NAL|ST
MAKES LONG TRIP
Contestant From Los An
geIes, Due Here Tomorrow,
to Be First to Arrive.

The first finalist to arrive in Wash
ington for the final meeting of the
National Oratorical Contest, Friday
evening, will be the one who has to
travel the longest distance, Eugene +.
McElmeel of Los Angeles. He will
reach this city tomorrow morning at
20 o'clock. He will be accompanied
by Prof. A. F. Blanks of the Uni
versity of California, manager of the
contest in southern California. The
Pacific Coast champion will stay at
the Raleigh Hotel.
Shortly thereafter the Southern
zone champion, Robert Sessions of
Birmingham, Ala, Ghe youngest of
the national finalists), will arrive with
a party of five relatives. They will
stay at the Wardman Park Hotel.
Max N. Kroloff of Sioux City. Iowa,
Midwestern champion, will arrive late
tomorrow afternoon, accompanied by
George Whitaker of Sioux City and
contest manager for the State OF
Iowa. The Iowa party will be at
the Washington Hotel.
George Stansell Of Chicago. Central
States champion, will arrive tomorrow
night, ACCOMPANIED by c. B. McKin-
ney, oratorical contest manager for
that territory.
Miss Flora Longehecker, lion, \. Y,
Northeastern Zone champion, will ar
rive Friday morning and will be ac-
companied by members of her family.
They will stay at the Washington
Hotel.
SeventyFive in Party.
Philip Glatfelter of Columbia, Pa,
Eastern champion, will drive down
with a party of IS friends and fellow
tTxr zI,,y tlro Nri-
day morning. Other members of the
Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jer-
sey delegation backing Glatfelter will
arrive throughout the day. Senator
George Wharton Pepper of Pennsyl-
vania and w. L. Mclean, publisher
of the Philadelphia Bulletin. will be
among the 700 Pennsylvanians who
will attend the meeting.
Miss Asenath Graves, District of
Columbia champion, will continue her
work up to noon Friday, rehearsing
her speech occasionally in leisure mo-
ments.
II. Dean Fitzer. oratorical contest
manager for the Kansas City Star, in
general charge of the contest in the
States between the Mississippi River
and the Rocky Mountains, will arrive
early tomorrow morning. although his
own paper will have no representative
in the national finals. The Kansas
City Star attaches so much Importance
to the contest that, in addition to its
regular Washington correspondents.
ii is sending Mr. Filter as its staff
correspondent here to cover the final
meeting.
Time Limit Rigid
Special Importance will be attached
to the time-keeping at the final meet
ing in the Washington Auditorium
Friday night. There will be an abso-
lutte time limit of 10 minutes. No ex-
tension will be granted in ca sc con-
testants are interrupted with ap-
plause, unless the chairman attributes
such interruption 70 malice. The pro.
gram will be broadcast by WCAP.
President Coolidge will be introduced
by the chairman of the meeting and
will make an address.
The judges, Chief Justice William
Howard Taft and Associate Justices
Willis Van Devanter, Pierce Butler,
Edward Terry Sanford and Harlan F.
Stone, will be seated in different parts
Of the auditorium and will rate the
contestants without consulting one
another.
The national finalists will be the
guests of the District of Columbia
champion at 1890 Friday at Eastern
High School for luncheon. They will
rest throughout the afternoon in prep
aration for the contest that night.
Saturday the contestants will be
the guests of the Evening Star in a
series of entertainments, including a
sightseeing trip over Washington and
its environs.