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About Yale Alumni Magazine | View Entire Issue (March 31, 1898)
Von. » Vids Wos27.: NEW HAVEN, CONN., THURSDAY, MARCH 31, 1898. »-> Prick Tren Cents. HIGH TEN EYCK STANDARD. Eight Chosen out of Thirty-Six Essays—Speaking ‘To-morrow. The annual Junior Exhibition and contest for the TenEyck prizes will be held to-morrow, Friday afternoon, at 3 o'clock in Battell Chapel. Thirty- six essays in all were submitted to the judges, who chose eight from that num- ber. The decision was not easily reached, as the judges found a very high degree of excellence in most all of the essays. Indeed only one or two were considered bad. The Henry James TenEyck prizes for which the annual competition is held comes from a fund of $2,600 established in 1888, in memory of Henry James TenEyck, ’79. A likeness of each contestant together with a brief sketch and his essay sub- ject will be found in this issue. Robbins Battell Anderson of Duluth, Minn., chose “The Abolitionist Ora- tors” for his subject. He prepared for College at the Duluth Central High School. Since coming to Yale he has had several contributions in the Courant and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, getting his election on a Philosophical Oration. Hiorace Jewell Fenton is a native of Connecticut, being born in Willimantic. He also chose ‘‘The Abolitionist Ora- tors,” as the subject for his essay. Mr. HENRY ROBINSON SHIPMAN. Fenton prepared for College at the Willimantic School. In that school he was Chairman of the weekly paper, Captain of the football team and a mem- ber of his Freshman glee club. George Dana Graves was born in Manchester, N. H., and prepared for College at the Colby Academy, New London, N. H. He was an alternate for the Yale-Harvard Freshman Debate, and won the Wyllys Betts prize for ex-— cellence in English composition in his Sophomore year. His subject for the TenEyck was “Popular American Feel- ing against England.” Alfred Bates Hall of Chester, Conn., took for his subject, “The Trans- Siberian Railway.” He prepared for College at the Middletown High School and also under a private tutor. At the High School he was the Salutatorian of his Class. He was a member of his Freshman glee club, and entered Phi Beta Kappa on a Philosophical Ora- tion last Spring. : Isham Henlerson of Louisville, Ky., prepared for College at the Hopkins Grammar School, New Haven, Conn. He is a present editor of the Yale Lit., and is also the winner of the Lit. prize which was offered for the. best story from an undergraduate in the Academic Department. “Victor Hugo” is the subject of Mr. Henderson’s essay. John Pease Norton comes from Los Angeles, Cal., having prepared at the Los Angeles High School, and the Hartford High School. In Freshman year he won the Herbert Scholarship, the Second Berkeley premium, the De- ALFRED BATES HALL. Forest mathematical prize, and the first McLaughlin prize in English. In his Sophomore year he took the second DeForest prize and received honorable mention for the Wyllys Betts prize. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa on Philosophical Oration. He took “Vic- tor Hugo” as his TenEyck subject. Howard Chandler Robbins, Spring- field, Mass., whose essay is on “The Abolitionist Orators,’ prepared for College at the Hamilton Schoal, Phila- delphia, Penn. He was a substitute on last year’s chess team and is a present editor of the Yale Courant, and a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Philosophi- cal Oration. Henry Robinson Shipman of Hart- ford, Conn., chose ‘The Jesuit Mis- sionaries in Canada” for his subject. He prepared for College at the Hart- ford High School. At the end of his Freshman year he won the Berkeley Premium for excellence in Latin Com- position, and last year was a speaker for the Sophomore Declamation Prize. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. ‘Intercollegiate Gun Clab. A meeting of representatives of the Gun Clubs of Harvard, University of Pennsylvania, Columbia, Cornell, Princeton and Yale was held in New York on March 25th, for the purpose of organizing an Intercollegiate Associa- tion. It was decided to form such an Asso- ciation and to hold two contests an- nually, in the Autumn and Spring. The team is to consist of five men, and the college winning three times to receive a cup. The first match will be held on May 1. The officers elected were: President, Mr. Lunt, Harvard; First Vice-President, Mr. Coffin, Columbia; Second Vice-President, Mr. Payne, Princeton; Secretary, Mr. Oglesbay, University of Pennsylvania; Treasurer, Mr. Spears, Yale. »% i 2 Bequest to Yale. The will of Major John C. Parsons, late of Hartford, admitted to probate, March 21, contains a bequest of $1,000 to Yale University, to be used for general purposes, at the- discretion -of the Corporation. The will is dated August 6, 1897, and appoints Francis Parsons, his son, executor. A NOTABLE VICTORY. Yale Advances Her Standard of De- bate—Prineceton Fights Hard— Accepts Defeat Gracefully. Yale again gave proof of her powers in debate by defeating Princeton in the fourth annual debate held at Princeton March 25th. After the victory over Harvard last December, Yale’s debaters looked forward with unusual interest to the Princeton contest. If they could succeed in winning in this also, Yale’s preéminence in debating for this year would be clearly established. More- over it would put Yale and Princeton on an equal footing; each with a record of two victories. In the light, too, of recent attacks on Yale’s English De- partment, a debating victory was eagerly anticipated, as a proof,—as it was put at the banquet—that they know how at least to speak English at Yale. For these reasons the result of Friday night’s contest was peculiarly gratify- ing. The victory was a notable one in other ways. A tradition had been growing up in debating circles, of late years, that it is impossible for the col- lege supporting the affirmative to win a debate. Never before last Friday has Yale won, on the affirmative. Indeed, in the twelve contests in which Yale has participated this is only the third that has not been awarded to the nega- tive. In ’95, both Princeton and Har- vard won from Yale, though the latter had the negative. Since then, and this means since the debating renaissance at Yale, the negative side has always won. Last year Yale tried to support the affirmative against Princeton; and her chain of three successive victories, which began in 796, was broken. It was, therefore, with a good deal of hesitation that Yale again chose the affirmative. The event proved the wisdom of her choice. Her debaters showed that they have at last learned to set up a positive position and maintain it against all attacks. In fact the whole strength of Yale’s position, as it had been shown in the practice debates, did not come out in the contest. HOWARD CHANDLER ROBBINS. Princeton directed. the brunt of her at- tack, not against Yale’s proposal, but against her interpretation of the ques- tion. ais Still another decided step in Yale's debating progress was marked by the victory. Heretofore, Yale has excelled her ‘opponents in logic and team work, but has been inferior im points of lan- guage and elocution. Her speakers, while arguing well, failed to make a favorable impression on the audience. In. this debate Yale proved herself fully equal and, in the. minds of many, superior to Princeton, in effectiveness of presentation, without losing any of her former strength of argument or team play. About a dozen Yale men accom- panied the team to Princeton. One of the pleasantest features of the debate was the genuine courtesy with which Princeton treated her zuests. A Yale flag was floating on the flag pole in front of the Princeton Inn, where the team was entertained. At the debate each speaker was cheered as he rose; JOHN PEASE NORTON. and the applause at the close was given -as generously to the Yale as to the Princeton representatives. In many other little ways Princeton showed a hospitality which will not soon be for- gotten by those who enjoyed it; a hos- pitality all the more noticeable, because it was not lessened in any degree after defeat. Princeton again showed no less unmistakably than after the football game last Fall, that she can accept de- feat in a spirit of true manliness and courtesy. — The debate was unusually spirited and interesting, despite the failure to meet squarely, owing to the difference of interpretation. Alexander Hall was filled to overflowing. It is estimated that over two thousand were present. The large gallery was entirely filled with students, who whiled away the time before the debate, and pending decision, with cheers and songs. __ Ex-President Cleveland presided. His introductory speech was brief—be- ing only a word or two in explanation of the method of choosing the subject and conducting the debate. Ex-Post- master General W. L. Wilson, Presi- dent of Washington and Lee College, announced the decision of the judges, who were in session nearly an hour. Their decision, he said, had been ex- ceedingly hard to reach, owing to the remarkable closeness of the debate. The other judges were Hon. Everett P. Wheeler of New York, and Prof. J.-F. Jameson of Brown University. THE DEBATE ANALYZED. The subject of the debate was: “Re- solved, That National Party Lines should be Disregarded in the Choice of Councils and Administrative Officials in American Cities.” Yale supported the affirmative. Unfortunately there had again been a carelessness in the wording of the subject; so that it ad- mitted of two quite distinct interpreta- tions. Yale argued on one interpreta- tion, Princeton on the other. Their arguments clashed solely on the ques- [Continued on 6th page. |
