Evening star., 1927-04-28
ORATORY CONTEST
IN FINAL STAGES
Thousands of Boys and Girls
Competing in U. S. and
Other Countries.

While the 10 district champions"
OF this region await The Star finals
next Wednesday, literally thousands
of boys and girls throughout the
United States are in the midst OF
their newspaper finals in the fourth
National Oratorical Contest, and
thousands more in other countries
are engaged in their respective ma
tionaIs-all contesting for the ulti-
mate right to come to Washington
The Birmingham, Ala, zone, which
will send one orator to the national
finals in the Washington Auditorium
May 27. will conduct its finals two
days after The Star representative
wilI have been chosen, and the Kan
shs City zone, which also sends one
spokesman to the May q contest,
will stage its final contest three
days after The Star champion is
chosen.
Sponsored by Newspapers.
AS each of those zones is spon-
sered by a group of newspapers, the
State champions who make up the
contestant field in the regional finals
will be chosen in newspaper final
contests. Three of the State cham
ptons in the Birmingham region
then, will be chosen in contests to-
morrow night at Birmingham, Ala;
Pittsburgh, Pa. and Chattanooga,
Tenn. Four State champions of the
Kansas City region will be deter
mined tomorrow night also in con-
tests at Kansas City, Youngstown,
Ohio; Seattle, Wash, and Oklahoma
City. Okla.
Other State champions in the Bir-
mingham region will be chosen at At
lanta, Ga, Saturday night, and at
Louisville, KY, May 4. The North
Carolina champion has been selected
already at Winston-Salem. The cham
pions of Territory X' and of the sec
through Rochester, both units of the
Kansas City region, have been chosen
also.
The Star Region First.
The Star region will be the first to
select its champion, who in turn will
represent this area in the National
contest, May 27. Other regional finals
will be staged as follows: New York,
and Chicago, May 81. The winners at
each of the regional finals will be the
seven contestants in the Washington
Auditorium, May 81.
From Canada comes the news that
little French-Canadian girl, speaking
In French, won the Manitoba provin.
cial championship against II competi-
tors in contest at Winnipeg, which
is entirely outside of the French-Ca-
madam territory. She is Simone Lam
cry.
The son of Hon. w. J.. OHearn, ex-
attorney general of Nova Scotia,
young Walter D. A. O'Hearn, won the
provincial finals, held last night at
Halifax. These provincial champions
and the undetermined winners of
other provincial finals, win compete
next month for the oratorical cham
pionship of Canada. and the victory in
that competition will receive a. trip
through Europe. just as the seven
American regionalistS.
Canadian Coming Here.
The Canadian champion will come
to Washington next October to COM
pete with the champion of the United
States, who will be determined in the
Auditorium May 27, and with the
champions of other competing nations,
Tor the oratorical championship Of the
world
A letter was received today by
Randolph Leigh, contest founder and
director, from John Also, young Japa- |
nese, who was alternate to Herbert |
Wenig, the California champion, who |
won the championship of the United |
States last Spring. and the world |
championship last Fall. John is now |
In Toxic, Japan, and he wrote that |
in the oratoricaI contest in |
that country is very lively this year. |
c. w. Bailey. director of the contest |
In England, wrote TO Mr.. Leigh that |
William Newton, England's champion |
last year, who is now a student at |
Oxford, has just attained an additional
at that institution, known |
as the Goldsmith Exhibition. Newton |
competed in the international contest |
here last Fall with an grafton on '"The |
British Empire"