Evening star., 1927-10-14
President Greets Champions
of Five Nations at
White House.
AUDIENCE AROUND 5000
EXPECTED AT CONTEST
Second International Affair Will
Be Held in Washington
Auditorium.

oratorIcal champions OF five nations
this afternoon are anxiously awaiting
the stroke of when the curtain Of
the Washington Auditorium will rise
on the Second International Oratorical
Contest.
President Coolidge shook hands with
the orators in his office at 1915. They
are: Miss Dorothy Carlson OF the
United States, Georges Guiot -Guillsin
Of France, James Keith Watson. Eng
and Arturo Garcia -Fermenti, Mexico,
and Frederick p. Hotson. Canada
The President declared he remembered
the orstorical contest of last year, and
expressed pleasure at meeting the
champions of the foreign countries. rs
we'll as the American entry, again.
Chiffon Will Speak.
Following the greeting in the Presi.
dents office. the young orators went
to the White House lawn, where the
President Joined them, for photo
graphs
The contest tonight will be inter
The contestants themselves,
each OF whom has been adiudged the
best orator his country can produce
in long series of closely fought com
petitions. will deliver their contending
speeches from a stage occupied by
the ENJOYS of all the foreign coun.
tries represented here, officials Of the
United States Government and promi-
nent journalists of several nations. A
half hour concert of international airs
by the United States Marine Band
will precede the opening of the CON
test and other selections will be played
during the course of the meeting.
Henry Getty Chiffon. acting coun.
seilor of the British emba ssy. will de.
liver the formal address at the open
ing Of the meeting and therea fter only
the speeches of the contestants viii be
delivered. Even verbal introductions
for the young orators win he absent
from the program. as each will be pre-
sented by the vocal and Instrumental
rendition of the national anthem OF
his country. Sir Esme Howard, Am.
bassa dor Of Great Britain to he
United States. who was to have deliv-
cred the opening speech, win he pre-
vented from attending the contest b,
A recurrence, though in milder form,
OF the illness which overcame him
several months ago while he was
speaking in Kansas City.
Specially Designed Setting.
The novel introduction OF the con-
testants will be staged in a specially
designed setting, and the vocalists are
among the best known singers in the
eastern part of the country.
Capt. Charles Trowbridge Tittmann
will sing ''The Star Spangled Ban
ner" by way of presenting Miss Carl
son. the American entry and the only
girl in the contest. The other orators
will! he presented by solos of woman
vocslists. and these, with their reSpec.
tive airs. are Flora McGill Keefer.
u "a Marseillaise." for M. Guiot Gull
lain; Ruby Smith Stahl. 'Oh, Can
ada" for Mr.. Hotson; Gretchen Hood,
Rule Brittania," preceded by the
Marine Bands rendition of God Save
the King" for Mr.. Watson. and
Sonora Milla. de Dominguez. ''Himmo
Nacional." for the young Senior Fer
menti.
In the delivery of the five ora tions
the audience will have an excellent
to judge four quite dis
similar methods of selecting spokeS-
men. The speaker for the United
States was chosen under the widely
known plan of the National Ora torical
Contest in which 10-minute speeches.
memorized, are delivered
before judges who are not
allowed 10 see the manuscripts, hut
who must pass upon composition and |
delivery from the rostrum.
Mexican Is ExtempOraneOus.
The Mexican speaker was selected
in contest based from start to finish
On extempore speaking. with no mem
OriZing or manuscript work. The
Canadian contest was a combination
Of prepared speeches and eXtempore
addresses on suddenly presented topics
Of general interest. The French and
English contestants were selected on
q strictly manuscript basis, which
plan has its counterpart in the Ameri
can district "X,'' in which each school
selects it's best speaker and then sub
mits that students Grafton to manu-
script judges. Tonight. therefore, the
five speakers will operate for the first
time under absolutely identical condi-
tions.
An audience OF more than 5000 per
sons is anticipated for the contest. 1t
will be instructed that no applause
during the delivery of an grafton will
be permissible. because. under the
rules Of the contest. each speaker will
be allowed 10 minutes. and If part OF
this time is usurped by applause. the
injustice is at once apparent. Follow
ing the singing Of the national an.
thens of the orators. during which the
audience will stand. applause for the
singers is forbidden also, because OF
the delay incurred for the contestants
In Native Tongue.
As each speaker will deliver his ora
ton in the language of his native
country, three languages - English,
French and Spanish-will be heard in
the contest. Consequently, jury of
multilineuists will be the ruling body
in the selection of the world cham.
piOn. The judges are DIR. Guillermo
Rivera. professor of Spanish at Har-
ward University; DIR. Richard Fled
erick Antoine MoIler. Belgian engi'
neer and author; DR.. Richard Henry
Wilson, head Of the department of
romance languages Of the University
OF Virginia. DIR. Herman G. Van
Royen, Minister Of the Netherlands to
the United States. and DIR. Glen J..
Swiggett lecturer in the Foreign
Service School of Georgetown Univer-
sity.
Immediately after the individual
ballots of the judges have been com.
piled by contest officials, the winner
will he announced as world champion
by Main johnson, editor of the To-
ronto Star and chairman of the pub
fishers contest committee Of Canada.
Following the verbal announcement.
of the Navy Wilbur will
present the winner with the silver cup,
trophy of the Second international
Contest,