Evening star., 1925-04-28
Miss Asenath Graves Unan-
imousIy Chosen by Judges
for The Evening Star.
BUSINESS HIGH WINS
CHOICE FOR ALTERNATE
Miss Edith Raphelson Is Selection
After Hearing All Contestants,
Who Receive Checks.

Miss Asenath Graves. 16-year-old
senior at Eastern High School. was
unanimously chosen today as the Dis
trict of Columbias representative in
the grand finals of the national ora
torical contest to be held at the New
Washington Auditorium May s. Miss
Edith Raphelson, 17-year-old junior at
Business High School. was named
alternate.
The winning Grafton was on The
Constitution" The decision was made
by the board of judges, composed of
the United States commissioner of
education, j. }. Tigert: Judge Nc
kenzie Moss, Assistant Secretary Of
the Treasury, and Mrs. Harry A.
Colman, national president of the
League of American Pen Women.
after hearing eight embryo student
orators. champions in the schools they
represent deliver their carefully pre-
pared orations before the students of
their respective schools.
Checks to Contestants.
Special exercises were held in all of
the schools visited by the judges.
They were climaxed in each case With
orator. 1t was upon the delivery of
that speech that the contestants We're
judged. Immediately after the com
pletion of the speech each contestant
was presented with a check for 500
from The Evening Star for winning
the school championship.
The judges started their tour at
Eastern High School at 9 o'clock
where Miss Graves, the District win
I,
judges then moved TO Armstrong
Manual Training School, where they
heard Manning Johnson, 17-year-old
Junior, deliver his Grafton.
The third school visited was West
ern High School, where the judges
listened to the oration of its champion
orator, Samuel Levering. Central High
School was next visited. Bradford
Abernethy, son of Rev. DR.. w. 5.
Abernethy, pastor of the Calvary Bap-
tist Church, and Centrals champion
orator, spoke on John Marshall and
the Constitution"
Visit Business High.
The judges then went to Business
High School and heard Miss Raphel-
son deliver her Grafton on Lincoln
and the Constitution" which gave
her second place in the District finals
The judges next went to Dunbar
High School and heard Robert c.
Weaver speak on Lincoln and the
Constitution" Thence to Gonzaga
High School, where Raymond Raedy,
champion of the private and parochiaI
schools of the District, spoke on The
Constitution"
Winner Chosen Unanimously.
At Mckinley High School the
judges completed their tour and
heard Warren Magee, the schools
champion orator deliver his Grafton
on The Constitution" Mckinley
manifested greater school spirit than
any of those visited The school or
the student body gave Magee three
cheers when he completed his ad-
dress
Miss Graves, the District champion,
will receive. in addition to the $1OO
school prize, the District prize of
$500, which will be awarded May
l. She also is assured one of the
national prizes which range from $500
TO $4,000.
The judges made, independently of
one another. careful eValuation of
each contestant and summarized with
out consulting one another on a bal
lot which indicated the relative rating
of all eight of the speakers. The rat
ings were one, two. three, four, five,
six, seven and eight. The three ballot
sheets of the judges were then totaled
and the one with the lowest total was
declared the winner. The decision,
which was rendered Immediately after
the close of the Mckinley High
School exercises, was unanimous in
favor of Miss Graves.