Evening star., 1926-06-04
CHAMPION ORATOR
OF SCHOOLS TO Be
CROWNED TONIGHT
Seven Young Students to Vie
for Honor Before Huge
Crowd in Auditorium.
CHEERING SECTIONS TO
URGE CONTESTANTS ON
Supreme Court Justices to Judge
Speeches-Hall Will Be Packed
to Capacity.

most distinguished audience ever to
pack the Washington Auditorium and
sending their voices into a million
American homes by radio, seven
youthful high school students, chosen
successive eliminations from
1,s00. 900 pupils in every
State of the Union, tonight will
strive for the matchless honor of
being acclaimed national oratorical
champion" carrying with it the su-
preme privilege of defending Amer
ica's laurels in the International Ora
torical Contest to be held in this city
next October.
Sitting inconspicuously in various
portions of the Auditorium, Chief
Justice William Howard Taft and
Supreme Court Justices Willis Van
Devanter, George Sutherland, Pierce
Butler and Edward Terry Sanford,
the official contest judges. will weigh
with the same judicial calm which
they exercise on the Supreme Court
bench the relative merits of the 10
minute speeches of the youthful ora
tors on The Constitution" and its
kindred topics.
NHCCEIHS SCVtlUHS hHItCVA
Swaying with buoyancy of school
spirit, 5000 Washington high school
students as we'll as substantial dele
cations from New York City, Penn
sylvania and Georgia, will occupy
vantage points in the balconies and
on the main floor and will make the
auditorium resound with the cheers
Of seven schools represented, with
the sportsmanlike determination Of
making every one Of the young ora
tors feel he has a crowd with him
who, regardless of partisan predilec-
tions. are content to see the best
young man or woman win.
Tonight's finals in the third annual
National Oratorica1 Contest promises
to be the most significant event in
which the school children of the
United States ever have participated.
Promptly at o'clock, and those
not in their seats at this time will
forfeit them, John. Hays Hammond.
presiding officer. will call the throng
to order. He will make a brief intro
ductory speech and introduce Vice
President Charles G. Dawes. who will
speak Music will be furnished by
the band of the United States Naval
Academy of Annapolis.
First Grafton at Sis.
1t will be approximately SIS when
Thomas p. Cleary of St. Joseph's
College High School of Philadelphia.
the first speaker, will formally open
the series of seven orations. Mr..
Cleary will speak on The Constitu-
ton" His supporters, a sizeable dele
cation from various portions of Penn
~,,l ;a IeAv1lxy fnis him
to triumph as they feel 1T would bring
additional recognition to their city
during their elaborate SesQuicenten-
nial.
Herbert Wenig. representing the
Hollywood High School and the city
of Los Angeles. speaks second. His
subject also is The Constitution" In
the audience TO root for Wenig will
be his grandfather, j. A. Wenig.
member of the New York Stock Ex
change, and a group of his friends.
John. Also. a young Japanese, oratori-
cal companion of Wenig who came
here with him to the coast, also will
be alert to flash back to the Pacific
Coast the result of the contest.
Miss Guita F. Bearman of Mime
apolis, Mimi. the third speaker. will
be the first of the four girls who are
to compete. Miss Bearman
will speak ON Lincoln and the Con.
stitution." Her mother, Mrs. A. n.
Bearrnan. will be in the audience.
Louisville Speaker 16.
Miss Ann Hardin. the fourth speaker
and the youngest girl in the contest,
will talk on Jefferson and the Con.
stitution.' Miss Hardin. who is 16
years old, is from Louisville, Ky. In
a front-row seat will sit Miss Fannie
May Baldridge, her chaperon and
coach.
Fifth on the program comes Miss
Myrtle Posey, 17-year-old Eastern
High School senior and the District
Of Columbia s entrant in the contest.
Miss Posey will take for her subject
Americas Contribution to ConStitu-
tional Government" the newest and
by many the most difficult
of the subjects which will be treated
tonight.
Miss Posey's mother and father Mr..
and Mrs. D. NJ. Posey, will occupy a
nearby box, while hundreds of her
fellow students will render her
snappy Punch and Judy" after she
has concluded her grafton. The East
ern High School cheering section, how
ever, refusing to make their repre-
sentative appear more favored than
the others, has learned the school
wells of the other six contestants and
will render them with the same zest
they do that of their own school.
Many Support Georgian.
Joseph A. Mullarky Of Augusta. Ga,
will be the sixth speaker. He will talk
on 1.-The Constitution" There will be
q delegation Of Mullarky's schoolmates
from the Academy of Richmond
County In the audience as well as
hundreds of Georgians who have evil
denced high interest in his oratorical
ability, It was Mullarky who went
into Kansas City and defeated the best
orators of the section to make him
self the Southland's representative In
the national finals.
Miss Helen Bylund Of New York
City will be the final speaker. Miss
Byiund will talk on Lincoln and the
Constitution In the audience will
be a large delegation Of Wadleigh
High School girls, as. Miss Bylund ID
the president of the general council OF
Wadleigh, which is the largest ell.
girls high school In the world. She
also will have on hand to root for
her Miss Clara L. Carson, her coach.
After Miss Bylund has concluded.
Walter A. Strong, publisher Of the
Daily News, will make
short talk on Newspaper and Citi-
zenship Building" as representative
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