Evening star., 1928-05-08
AUTO TIMER TO SET
LIMITS ON ORATORY
Split Second Device Will Be
Used in The Star Contest
Finals Thursday.

It's a broad span from white sand
stretches at Daytona Beach Fla. where
motor car speed records are set and
shattered over night. 10 academic halls
of oratory here in the Capital. but both
are fields Of competition and in each
time Is an important element
In the fifth National Oratorical Con-
test. each participant is allowed 10
minutes IN which 10 deliver his speech.
and in The Star finals Of the contest
Thursday the time limit will be en-
forced with unwavering rigidity. To
assure each contender for the right 10
represent It's newspaper in the national
finals May IS Of an equal right TO exact
time allowance. the American Automo-
bile Association Stop-watch device used
in timing many of the important speed
records at Daytona Beach vii be oper-
ated at each Of the eight units of the
meet,
George z. Keneipp director of public
relations for the A. A. A., will operate
the time apparatus as the official time
keeper for the contest finals in this
area Mr.. Keneipp has acted in
similar capacity for many of the auto
mobile events staged under the auspices
Of the association, and he knows the
value Of split seconds"
Big Prize at Stake.
With high school orators all over the
Nation competing under identical con-
test rules, and with the high prizes at
stake. it is essential that the time limit
be enforced rlgidly In addition TO the
honor Of representing this entire area
in the national finals. when the best
orators Of six other contest areas and
the local entry compete for the cham
plonShip Of the United States. the eight
rontenderS in The Star finals will be
striving also for an award of $500 in
cash and the grand prize Of an ll-week
tour of Europe
The timing device which Mr.. Keneipp
will operate Thursday is simply box
like apparatus housing two stop watches,
one to check against the other for abSo-
lute accuracy. The machine begins to
function with the pronunciation of the
first word OF a speech proper. and at the
lapse Of the specified 10 minutes a
crisp blast of a whistle will signal the
speaker To silence The timing. as has
already been explained begins with the
speech itself and not with the Salutation
TO the presiding officer and audience.
Must Stop Speaking.
II GbalN1StaHi IL SiSIIa4eG through
this means that his time is over. he
must cease speaking at once. regardless
OF his position in his speech. or even of
his point IN sentence. If the halted
speaker heeds the warning, he is to be
judged on what he has said up TO the
moment ne is stopped but If he con-
tinues to speak. he will be dropped au-
tomatically TO last place in the rating
OF the judges.
TIE eight contenders in The Star
finals Thursday, as well as the vast
host Of participants who have been
eliminated. have operated under the
same time rule since they entered the
contest, and the rule viii be repeated to
each Of the eight finalists at the Begin
ming Of the meetings Thursday
Last year two of the contestants in
The Star finals we're halted when they
failed to complete their speeches on
time. Some Of this year. S finalists have
gone through their group" and dis
trict" competitions almost on the sec
ond Of the allowed time. but not one
OF them had 70 be stopped