Evening star., 1927-03-31
VIRGINIA 0RAT0RY
CONTEST TONIGHT
Fourth Group to Hold Last OF
PreIiminaries at Falls
Church School.

| contest Of The Stars National Ora
torical Contest area will be held to-
night in the Madison School building
of Falls Church, when the spokesmen
for the Falls Church. Fairfax. Oakton
and Franklin. Sherman High Schools
will compete for a place in the Vir.
ginia finals. next Thursday.
Two Of the three group winners al
ready chosen are girls, and with two
boys and two girls speaking tonight.
| the "men' will have a chance to tie
| their opponents for places in the
| finals.
Miss Carrie Tracy Lucas OF the Hern-
don High School was victor In the
third group contest, held yesterday at
Leesburg. With her grafton on our
Constitution" the 15-year.old senior
of her school, defeated Miss Evelyn
Berry Of the Lincoln High School and
Miss Sarah Shear of the Ashburn
| High School.
| Finals Reached at Central.
While the Virginia schools are ex-
citing themselves with the selection
of the four entrants for their finals
at Ballston, next Thursday, Central
! High School of this city has reduced
| it's contestants for oratortcal honors
| to four finalists, who Will compete,
April IA, for the Central district cham
pionship and the cash prize or SIoO.
In the elimination contest at Cen.
| trail yesterday 10 students competed
and the four victors and their orations
| were: Ethel Wynde Hine on Ham
ilton's Contribution to the Constitu-
ton; Ruth Markwood, on "The Con-
stitution"; Marjorie Shaw, on Ham
| ilton's Contribution to the Constitu-
tion," and Morris Neufeld, on 1.-THE
Constitution"
The selection of the four contestants
in the Central district finals ended
| the official work Of the Central High
School Judging committee. The mem
bers of that body worked hard driiling
the student.orators and in reducing
| the host of competitors to the maj
| four. Their work from now on until
the Central finals. April II, will con-
sist of further drilling and training
| the sneakers so that the best material
of the big school will fight for the
honor to represent it in The Star area
| finals.
Winner Of Third Contest.
Yesterdays Virginia contest was held
| in the auditorium Of the Lsesburg High
School, and although that institution
did not enter a speaker in the contest
| this year, its facilities were turned
over to the visitors with true Virginia
| hospitality, and scores of it's students
made up the larger part Of the audi
ence which heard the orators. .. l..
| limerick, superintendent Of the Lou
doun County schools, presided. In a
short address he outlined the benefits
and proportions of the National Ora
| torical Contest. He expressed some
surprise at the immensity of the Ma.
tion-wide competition, and in urging
! the Leesburg school to be represented
| next year. he gave the contest his
hearty support.
| Miss Lucas In the daughter OF Mr..
and Mrs. Joseph w. Lucas of Hern-
| don. Allowed 10 minutes for the de-
| livery of her oration. she timed her
| speech to come within 80 seconds of
| the official 'deadline." Her enuncia-
| ton was very distinct and she seemed
| thoroughly self.possesed, without any
evidence of that dread enemy Of stu.
| dent OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
Miss Lucas will have as her op-
| ponests for the Virginia champion
ship, John Oscar Bell, jr., Of the
| Washington-Lee High School; Miss
! Mary s. Pattie of the Manassas High
meeting at Falls Church.
Contestants for Tonight.
Tonight the following orators will
| compete: Vincent Schermerhorn of
| the Franklin-Sherman High School,
| Mclean, Va, on "The Constitution
| and What 1t Means Today: Dwight
Brown of the Oakton High School on
The Constitution; Mary Shreve OF
| the Falls Church High School on
Americas Contribution to Constitu-
| of the Fairfax High School on 1.-THE
Constitution"
| Wilbert Woodson, clerk of the Fair
| fax County School Board, will be the
| presiding officer at the contest and
| the judges will be John r. Bethune.
Falls Church, secretary Of the United
| States Tariff Commission; DIR. Frank
| w. Collier, professor Of philosophy at
American University; r. Walton
Moore, member of the House Of Rep
resentatives from Fairfax and Arling-
| ton Counties and Alexandria; Douglas
| Nackall, Washington attorney. and
| George J. Jones, head Of the history
| department of the District of Co
lumbia public high schools.
Program to Be Given.
! A musical program will be presented
as a feature of the meeting, and the
numbers will include violin solos by
Miss Martha Bowen and vocal solos
| by Mrs. Scott Ryer. Mrs. John T.
| Bowen will be the piano accompanist.
| The orators in tonights contest in
clude the youngest entrants In The
| Stars area of the national contest.
Reba Frances Cupp of the Fairfax
High School and Vincent A. Schermer-
horn Of the Franklin Sherman High
School are 13 years old. Mary Shreve,
| the spokesman for the Falls Church
High School. is IA years old, and
| Dwight Brown Of the Cakton School.
| the oldest competitor, is only Is years
| old. According to the rules governing
| the national contest the age Of eligibil-
ity is 10, and most Of the orators who
| have entered the group meetings have
been nearer that age, although two
| winners, John Bell and Miss Lucas.
are IA and Is, respectively.
| Miss Lucas. who won at Leesburg
yesterday, came to Virginia with her
parents from South Carolina three
| years ago. Her school activities are
| centered chiefly In scholastic work,
although she plays tennis. Latin is
her favorite subject in school and
she hopes to become a teacher Of that
language following her studies at
George Washington University, which
she will begin next Fall.
| Refused Scholarship.
| In an intelligence test conducted re-
Gently by a Washington business col
lege, Miss Lucas was given first place.
! She answered correctly 126 of $50
questions put to her. The victory in
that test brought to her a scholarship
to the business institution. but the
little orator declined that award in
view of her decision to study at
George Washington.
! Following her victory Yesterday she