Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 36, Number 78, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 May 1904 — Oratorical and Musical Con- [ARTICLE]

Oratorical and Musical Con-

Rensselaer First in Music Second In Oratory. Monticello First in Oratory Second in Music.

The closing scenes of the great field meetand oratorical aud musical oontests. took plaoe in Armory hall Saturday night, and were attended by fully 600 people. The oratorical contestants were: Monticello, Oliver Fauber, a senior, subject “Our Nation’s Heritage.” _:_i Goodland, Mies Leithel Patton, subject, ‘‘The Ethics of the Panama Question.” Fowler, Elsie Cbenowith, subject “A Great Man and a Great Problem.” Rensselaer, Lnoile Marshall a sophomore, subject, “The Negro Problem.” The olasses of the Fowler and Goodland orators were not stated, but were either Juniors or Sophomores.

Only two of the schools, Monticello and Rensselaer were represented in the musioai contest. The selection given by the Rensselaer ohorus was ‘‘The Miller’s Wooing.” That by Montioello, “The Soldiers’ Chorus.” Rensselaer’s ohorus was so manifestly superior that the judges unanimously gave it the first plaoe, before they left tueir seats. The orators all represented their 1 sohools with great oredit to themselves, and in faot all did much better than was reasonably to have been expeoted, and this last remark applies especially to the Rensselaer, Fowler and Goodland representatives, who as compared with Montioello labored under the ditadvaatages of being younger and also girls The grading on thonght, originality and literary oompositioD, counted half in the scale of winning and delivery the other half. The judges on the first three differed so much in their plan of estimating that we give only the average standing of eaob, in theee three qualities, Fauber’s was 8 5-12, Marshall’s 8,1-12, Patton’s 8, Ohenowith 7,2-12,

The judges on delivery, Saturday night, did not stop to leave their scores, but simply announced that Mr. Fauber of Monticello, won the first prize and Miss Marshall of Rensselaer, the second and that there was only one tenth of a point difference between them.

The Oratory and Music Judges. The contestants in oratory in the Northwestern Indiana Oratorical, Musical and Athletic Association, had to run the gauntlet of a very formidable list of judges. The orations of the different school representatives were first sub mitted in type-written copies, to Supt. F. A. Mott, of the Richmond, Ind., schools, Prof. Edward Ayres, of Purdue, and Miss Meyers, of the Crawfordsville schools. They graded the orations on originality, thought and literary merit.

Tho judges at the contest proper, wore State .Superintendent F. A. Cotton, of Indianapolis, Fleet Palmer, an attorney, of Frankfort and Supt. Dickey, of the Lowell schools. They had to grade the orators on delivery. These last three were also the judges in the musical contests.