Evening star., 1927-04-24

OF Columbia w AT McfleTEti. WHICH oe
gins Monday, May :, and lasts for Ont
week.
the battle of his life, too. John is the
| little fellow" of the contest and il
addition to being the Youngest entranI
| in The Star finals--he's Ia, you re
member-he is the smallest in stature
But his size didn't prevent him
| from whipping everybody who op'
posed him in his school and every.
! body who went against him in the
! group test. as well as the other group
| winners like himself in the Virginia
\ district. for that matter. Nor did il
| hold him in the rank of sergeant III
| the Washington-Lee High School Ca.
| det Corps-for he's a second looey''
now: that's what he said he is, any
way In the jargon of the Army
nearly everybody knows that means
second lieutenant" SO that's his new
rank, and in the regional finals he
will contest as Lieut.. Bell.'
Tutored by Mother.
Johns mother, Mrs. Frances Bell,
is a teacher in the Westinghouse
High School. and even though her
subject is Spanish" she knows thing
or two about oratory. Consequently
John is getting himself groomed
nicely by his own mother for the May
contest. He has just ''puttered"
around during the Easter holiday,
reading little. hiking little-and
Grating" quite q lot. Now he plans
a little speech-making rest and, if
possible, an experimental speech in
the auditorium of the National Mu-
scum, jast to see how his voice goes,
you know. Then--a wait.
Aleck Loker and Johnny Bell, as
representatives of Maryland and Vir-
ginia, respectively, are giving those
two districts nightly good represen-
tation in the National Oratorical Con-
test, in the opinion of the National
headquarters staff members who have
heard each deliver his grafton.
Mixes Work and Pleasure.
For Bessie Cush, 17-year-old cham
pion of Notre Dame Academy, the
past week has been medley OF pleas
ure, spiced here and there with bits
OF work on her speech. Hers is a sin
cere sort of anxiety to win The Star
finals, not only for the reward she
would receive, but for the honor and
prestige that would come to Notre
lame, q paTOClial SGnOOl,
Hence it was not very hard for her
to go back to the academy few times
/ 10 deliver her speech for the critical
| observation of Sister Gertrude of the
! Trinity, teacher of history, and Bes-
sie's earnest coach during the trying
period of school elimination tests.
Bessie said yesterday that when
| the holidays came she relaxed, but
now that school is opening again, the
| finals seem so much nearer, and, she
added. II am getting all nervous
again."
But the nervousness she suffers is
| of the variety peculiar TO speech
makers, and, therefore, probably not
disastrous. AS she herself explains 1t
Forgets to BE Frightened.
Il am scared stiff, until / actually
get up there and begin talking, and
| then / think of what l am talking
| about and then It is all right"
Yes, Bessie, too, fears the boys
| most. 1T is the masculine voice that
wins for them,' she said, and she
makes it understood that that quality
is the only thing she fears from the
young men.
This Notre Dame champion was
one OF those who danced at the Con
1
and she has been TO several dances
| since so that while she pays capable
| tribute to Demosthenes, she worship:
| also at the shrine of Terpischore. Bes
| sic is sure all the pleasure she hds
| enjoyed during the past week wa
lend freshness to her oratofy In Ihs
crucial test.
Catherine Birch, the little 16-year
old winner at Tech, treated her ora
tory with cool contempt during I'M
HOLIDAYS for she, too confesses a feai
of growing stale" through overtraln
ing.
Was Sick Several Days.
Catherine was on the silk list alst
for several days. Hers was q cold
and cold like injured lips is dis
astrous to the effort of oratory, bu
now she is all well again, and qult
ready, she said last night, to take VI
the oratorical work.
During most Of her vacation, Cathe
rine read. She likes history ant
science, and she devoted her atten
ton more particularly to books o.
. those subjects. But she read tn
daily newspapers, too, so as to keel
up to date.
Catherine thinks boys are NOR
dangerous in oratOrical contests, toe
but she does not know just why.
There's no reason for it at all, ye
, they do win most of the time" sh
commented. II suppose they CON
: mand more attention. / know liste
more attentively when a boy talk
than when a girl tries to. Maybe th
difference between the voices explain
it-but / don't see why it should"
Nerves mean nothing TO Catherine
she said last night. So all there Is I
, do is wait.
And that's what all the District wir
ners are doing right now-waitlng 10
2 the biggest finals The Star region ha
! FOR Stanley Segal, the 15-year,ol
c Business High School champion,
= DAYS Off from school wasn't all
. might have been. for he wasn't vel
J. Something went wrong with an IN
0 portant part of his oratorical gear
= as matter of fact, ne had stu
I bornly sore lip.
I. This injury, though not serious, We
Just enough to halt any oratoric;
/ delivery training Stanley might hay
!. done during the vacation, and at Il
same time his leisure for reiaXatlo
z in pleasure was crimped. Howeve
, this youngster didn't allow his no
day to be "A total loss. He mule
S over his manuscript, familiarizlr
Y himself more thoroughly with n
e written thought Then, too, just b
- fore the holidays got under way
!. earnest, Stanley began strenuol
training under Miss Galbraith,
teacher Of English in the Busine
:, High School.
- Mat