Evening star., 1927-04-08
JOHN OSCAR BELL
WINS IN ORATORY.
Diminutive Cadet Sergeant
of BalISton Carries Off Vir-
ginia District Prize.

He's only 80 big" but he's the
champion orator of the Virginia dis
trict in the fourth national oratorical
| contest-Sergt. John Oscar Bell, Jr.
The wish his sister made upon his
mothers Chinese jade bracelet might
have helped. or perhaps the rabbit S
foot that he himself carried into bat
tie had something to do with 1t, but
| anyway this diminutive cadet sergeant
| of the Westinghouse High School
of Ballston last night talked his way
to victory over strong opposition in
| the Virginia district finals, held in his
school. Thus young Bell became the
| first of 10 district champions who will
compete in The Stars area for the
right to represent this newspapers
territory in the national contest
| May q.
While the little fellows victory was
emphatic, it was not overwhelming
| for his opponents, the champions of
| three Virginia group meetings, bid for
victory with unusual orations. Miss
Carrie Tracy Lucas of the Herndon
High School presented a truly fine
Grafton on Our Constitution" that
| won for her a close second place in the
composite judgment of the jury of
three. Then Dwight Brown of the
Oakton High School and Miss Mary
S. Pattie of the Manassas High School
delivered orations that could not have
been rated very far beneath the win
ming speech by any jury of judges.
Whole Families Present.
Fully 1900 men, women and chill
dren-Whole families with many babes
in arms-were jammed into the dec
grated auditorium of the Washington
Lee Building to create a high-strung,
enthusiastic audience that was trans
formed into q veritable bowling mob
by the victory of the little sergeant.
Stirring music by the student or
chestra of the Langley Junior High
| School, under the direction of George
E. Hurt. and vocal selections by Miss
Anna Mandel added to the melee OF
spirit that fairly bristled from the
school building, while hearty school
yells capped the climax that defled
verbal recording.
The difficult task of determining the
| winner of the contest rested upon the
shoulders of jury of three, COM
| posed of Judge Fenton Whitlock Booth
of the United States Court of Claims,
Mrs. William Wolff Smith. president
of the Washington branch of the
League of American Pen Women, and
Huston Thompson, Washington at
torney.
These three persons sat in ind1-
vidual seats in different sections OF
the auditorium. Each recorded his
decision on a separate ballot without
comforting with the other two. and
the written ratings were compiled by
the official referee Of the contest, Miss
Louise b. Proctor, contest manager
for The Star. The judges votes were
closely placed, but the respective
rating of each of the young orators
was sufficiently definite to obliterate
any possibility OF confusion in the
final composite ballot.
First Contestant.
The first contestant to take the
stage was Miss Lucas, the Herndon
High School entrant. She was greet
ed with noisy applause, but when the
little blond reached the center of the
platform and appeared ready to speak,
silence prevailed. The little lady
talked exactly minutes in clear
tones that commanded attention, and
when she concluded she bowed ever
so slightly but gracefully while the
audience cheered.
Fleming Newbold, business manager
of The Washington Star, who occu-
pied a place on the platform with
the chairman and the contestants,
walked to the little 15-year-old girls
chair and grasped her hand in COM
pliment for her performance.
Dwight Brown, also 10 years old,
and the spokesman from the Oakton
High School, was the second orator.
With the conclusion of the applause
that greeted him, this young Webster
lashed into his subject and into the
hearts of the crowd with a fire that
seemed 10 still even the breathing. An
occasional cough from one section or
another of the big hall seemed almost
choked by the unhappy person who
sought to maintain silence despite a
cold. Dwight came within Is seconds
of the "dead-line" and seemed a
worthy contender for the honors, and
he, too, was congratulated by Mr..
Newbold.
Received With Cheers.
The third speaker was little Mary
S. Pattie, 17-year-old senior of the
Manassas High School. She also was
received with cheers. and when she
spoke in her quiet, matter-of-fact
tones, the quality Of her oration's
content was made the subject Of
praise. Her delivery demanded re-
spect. At the conclusion of her grafton
The Stars business manager was be-
side her to grasp her hand.
And lastly came John Bell. AS in
his group contest at Alexandria. the
little fellow wore his cadet uniform.
When he was seated in his chair
while the preceding speakers battled
John looked small enough, but when
he marched out into the center OF the
stage, vast in comparison with his
little figure, he somehow seemed too
| tiny for the task ahead of him. The
din that greeted him, too, seemed 10
| dwarf him at the outset of his speech.
But when at last silence reigned, and
! the 14-year-old lad began speaking, he
| became at once Sergt. Bell. contestant
| for the Virginia championship, 500
and place in The Star finals.
| Bells subject was THE Dement'S OF
| the Constitution" and during most or
| the eight and one-quarter minutes that
| he spoke he stood erect and quiet.
! In the tense moments of his Grafton,
however, he stepped out to the edge
| of the stage, clenching his fists ana
pumping them up and down in front
of his audience with real Vehemence