Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-03-21
FOUR COUNTRIES
TO Be VISITED ON
ORATOR|CAL TOUR
England, France, Italy and
Switzerland Named on
itinerary.
WINNERS WILL SAIL
FROM GOTHAM JULY is
Seven Entries in Contest Here May
% Will Get Long
Journey Free.

The 1881 prize tour of the National
Oratorical Contest, arrangements for
which have just been completed, will
be an attractive one.
Under rules of the contest, now en-
tering its eighth year, the tour, with
all expenses paid, will be awarded to
each of the seven participants in the
national finals, to be held in Wash
ington May %.
The winner Of the championship in
the Washington Virginia Maryland
area. sponsored by The Evening Star,
will be entitled automatically to place
on this tour, this division counting as
one of the seven major national zones
of the entire nation. That arrangement
also gives the Washington winner a
place in the national finals and a
chance to advance to the international
competition.
Preparatory Study.
An important feature of this years
trip will be a preparatory study of the
history and art of the chief countries
to be visited prior to the commencement
Of the tour. The winners will be given
list of helpful readings in June. On
the steamer the party will be further
instructed relative to the chief points
to be visited by the director of the
tour, DR.. Glen Levin Swiggett.
DR.. Swiggett, who has lectured for
years in leading universities in the
United States as well as in Europe and
Latin America, Is considered particularly
competent for such work. He has, fur
thermore, conducted the oratorical
tours for the last three years and is
thoroughly familiar with the interests
and needs of the members of such a
party. Mrs. Swiggett, also widely
Travelled, accompanies DR.. Swiggett and
assists in looking after the students,
giving her attention particularly to the
girls. incidentally, there are almost
always two or more girls among the
sevent contestants who win a place in
the national finals.
The party will sail from New York
on the steamer America of the United
States Lines July Is, reaching South
in England, with London as headquar-
tiers, and with many attractive side
trips to oxford, the lake district, the
Shakespeare country, etc.
August the party will enter France
by way OF Calais, making Paris is head
quarters. Side trips will include the
chateaux country, Versailles, Fontaine-
bleu, the battlefields, etc. Thereafter
the south of France will be visited.
In Italy the party will travel by
private motor vehicles, visiting Florence,
Milan and Rome.
Switzerland Tour.
In Switzerland the chief stops will be
at Interlachen, Montreux and Geneva.
Upon leaving Switzerland the party will
re-enter France, stopping for a day in
Paris before proceeding to Cherbourgh,
from which port it will sail on the
steamer George Washington, reaching
New York September 16
The prize tour will differ from the
ordinary sightseeing party in many
respects. One of these is the arrange
ment whereby, except for few basic
stops, the itinerary is kept flexible If
some particular village proves espe-
cially enchanting to the party the stay
there may be heightened. If it develops
that more points can be visited-for
which most tourists have not the
strength-the itinerary may be ex-
panded accordingly.
In short, it is more like a tour by a
family or a group Of friends than by
clients Of a travel bureau. No tour
details are entrusted to such an agency,
everything being provided for by the
director of the tour, with a view to the
needs and interests Of the party itself.