Vou. Vike: 38
NEW HAVEN, CONN., THURSDAY, APRIL 7, 1898.
Prick Tren Cents.
THE TEN EYCK WINNER.
Extracts From Mr. Graves’s Oration—
His Strength Discovered Late.
The TenEyck winner of Ninety-
Nine is George Dana Graves of Man-
chester, New Hampshire. It was not
until just before the speaking that the
knowledge of Mr. Graves’ strength in
the competition became _ generally
known. In the old days of unre-
generate Yale, there used to be a good
deal of quiet hazarding of coin of the
realm on the issue of this contest. If
things were now as they were then, the
men of speculative disposition would
have ~uietly but literally expressed their
faith in Graves just before the competi-
tion began. The quality of the address
is indicated elsewhere and also by the
quotation given below.
As already recorded, Mr. Graves is
from Manchester, New Hampshire, and
was prepared at the Colby Academy,
New London. He has been actively
interested in debate and won _ the
Wyllys Betts prize for English composi-
tion in Sophomore year. Mr. Graves is
one of the many men who have done
outside work to aid in meeting the ex-
penses of the College course. His re-
putation in the Class is excellent.
A TYenEyck prize is given to each
man whose essay is accepted for the
Junior Exhibition. The prize in each
case amounts to eight or ten dollars.
The winner of the exhibition, who is
called the TenEyck man of his Class.
receives a prize approximating sixty
dollars. The Henry James TenEyck
fund, from which these prizes are
drawn, was established in 1888, by the
Kingsley Trust Association, in memory
of Mr. TenEyck of the Class of Seventy-
Nine. Before that the winners of the
contest, which was called the Junior
Exhibition, was given a prize of thirty
dollars.
The following is the substance of Mr.
Graves’ oration:
Popular American Feeling
Against England,
The outgrowth of Jeffersonian trust
in the people is a system of statesmen
abnormally sensitive to public sounds.
These acute nerves catch the prevailing
tones in the public currents and speedily
translate them into political action. A
popular sentiment is accordingly
fraught with great significance. That
England is the object of such a feeling |
is proved by a steady flow of discussion
forced at times into whirlpools of agi-
tation. The nature, extent and signifi-
cance of this feeling, however, must be
sought in the web of events and condi-
tions whch establish Anglo-American
relations.
The conditions in which are embedded
the interknitting fibres of the race are
blood and language. As a common
blood has eternally turned our in-
stincts into one channel, so a common
language has determined forever the
banks which direct their flow. A per-
fection of intercourse means a common
level of all great basal ideals.
This kinship furnishes other special
bonds of sympathy. America and Eng-
land are collaborators in all great
human activities. Although they work
together in church and in literature;
upon social, economic, scientific prob-
Jems no bond is stronger than the com-
merical tie.
History shows the primary reasons
for American dislike to England.
The pre-Revolutionary wrongs were not
forgotten before the new outrages of
1812 crystalized the national disposi-
tion. The events of the Civil War
clustering about the Trent and Ala-
- ternational
bama form the nucleus of all causes of
American dislike. The sympathy of
the common people and the grand ac-
tion of Queen Victoria, but form a con-
trast to the hostile government.
There is a strong opposing minority
who believe in the present friendships
of England and that she is doing more
than all other nations to spread the
highest ideas of civilization.
This animosity has great significance.
In peace it checks commercial and in-
dustral growth, hinders the extension
of principles governing international
relations and the establishment of an in-
court of arbitration. By
war it would depose both nations from
the commercial leadership of the
world, destroy their great mutual trade,
remove support from millions of
laborers, create a great war debt and
degrade both nations to mediocrity.
GEORGE DANA GRAVES.
Russia would take advantage of this
war to advance her claims in China,
India and the Balkan-peninsula; she
would become the leading nation of the
world, replacing democracy by autoc-
racy, and English ideas of civilization
with the civil and religious barbarity of
the middle ages. The expansion of a
half-century would bring her into con-
flict with America, which would then be
forced to fight to a doubtful issue de-
prived of her sole natural ally.
Mr. Graves closed as follows:
How supremely desirable, then, is the
moral unity of the English race!
“Oh, two such silver currents when
they join,
: Do glorify the banks that bound them
in.
How can we verify this sentiment of
our greatest man? not bv education
alone. It is not enough to emphasize
the identity of the race in _ source,
character and destiny; it is not enough
to prove the race industrially and com-
mercially inseparable; let teacher and
preacher be both wise and earnest; all
agencies of international friendship as
active as may be, and war is still a
possibility. Our herculean effort to
restrain press and politician must be
aided from without. England must
furnish the basis for this work. Let her
know the whole truth: she has forfeited
the friendship of the American people
by acts of state, by acts of state must
she regain it. A large class may re-
spond to the friendship of a large class
as in the past, but our people will
respond only to the friendship of the
British government. Let her seize the
opportunities of the future, conscious
that America’s wise and strong men will.
support the work she begins. In the
solution of this problem we discover
the solution of all political problems:
let us bend to it earnestly. Let us
educate the people; let candor mark all
our relations; let our patriotism be
broad; let our statesmanship be lofty,
then shall our deeds hasten our Anglo-
Saxon dream—a “Parliament. of Man,
the Federation of the World.”
(HE TEN BYCK SPEAKERS,
Strong Papers Badly Mangled in
Delivery. ee
The TenEyck prize speaking in Battell
Chapel, on the afternoon of April 1,
which was won by George Dana Graves,
as is elsewhere announced fulfilled, in
the subject matter which was offeréd
by most of ‘the speakers, the high
opinions put upon the work of. this
year’s competition. Several of the
speakers had papers of very unusual
merit. A decision for any one of three
would have been considered quite justi-
fiable.
The Exhibition also justified every-
thing that has been said in criticism of
the lack of training in platform service
in the regular curriculum of Yale.
With one or two exceptions, the form
of the speakers was lamentably awk-
ward. It is unfortunate to have to say
this, but it is true. It was particularly
painful to see some compositions of
peculiar merit so horribly handled in
delivery. Some attempts to gesture
were pathetic. Criticism was heard
that it was unwise to pick out the con-
testants for this oratorical contest
purely on their literary merit.
The attendance was very meager.
One wondered less at some of the
shortcomings in the form of the
speakers when he considered the vast
expanse of empty pews. A mere hand-
ful of people, mostly bunched under
the rear gallery, were listening to these
addresses. It showed that practically
no interest was taken in the speech-
making itself by the students or
the college community of New Haven.
The members of the Faculty them-
selves were more conspicuous by their
absence than by their presence.
The question was raised in any
thoughtful man’s mind whether it is a
very fair method of decision for this
important prize, to leave it to a chance
handful of the general Faculty who
happen to take enough interest in the
proceeding to be present and who may
include those who are not particularly
used to judgment of this sort of
thing. Expression of opinion on this
point has not been based on_ the
awarding of the prize in recent years,
but suggested by the nature of the case.
as rather an irregular and a haphazard
affair.
About ten years ago, rhe Chapel was
filled for these exercises and the Fa-
culty attended in very large numbers.
The speakers felt the inspiration of the
general interest in their efforts by the
college community. It was something
more than speculation as to who might
win a coveted college honor and thus
become couspicuous in his class. The
conditions were then much as they are
in other colleges in respect to oratorical
contests.
The management of the contest was
not particularly good in allowing such
a considerable disturbance at the be-
sinning of every piece; as people came
and went. The first minute or so of
each man’s adress was hardly distin-
euishable at the end of the hall.
THE SEVERAL SPEAKERS.
John Pease. Norton of Los Angeles,
Cal. spoke first. -His subject was
“Victor’ Hugo.” The piece was well
written and was straightforward in ex-
pression, but semed to lack perspective.
Its force was not gathered effectively
at any particular point. This may have
been due to the method of delivery,
which was not all that could be de-
sired.
Horace Jewell Fenton of Williman-
delivery.
tic, Conn., followed with an address on
the: “Abolitionist Orators.”. His gen- —
eral stage presence was fairly good, but
his gestures were entirely forced. |
The “adress .on:.*- Victor Hugo, By
Isham Henderson, was a compact, well-
knit, well constructed oration, clear and
to the point. Mr. Henderson was al-
most the only speaker of the after-
noon who showed anything like grace
and naturalness in his gestures. For
the best oratorical work, Mr. Hender-
son’s voice would need a great deal of
training. om at ey bess
_ In .spéaking -of the . “Abolitionist
Orators,” Mr. Robbins Battell Ander-
son of Duluth, Minn., suffered con-
siderably from a lack of confidence.
This was illustrated by his resort to
the prompter on several occasions, and
it added to the difficulties of indistinct
The impression which Mr.
Anderson’s speech left was not up to
the character of his composition or to
the standard of ability which he had
shown in other lines, which has been
of an excellent order.
“A Trans-Siberian Railroad’ was an
unusual subject for such an exhibition
as the TenEFyck. It was handled ina
very simple and straightforward way by
Mr. Alfred Bates Hall of Chester. The
paper was informing and left an
excellent idea of the strategic and in-
dustrial importance of this vast enter-
prise. The criticism on a subject of
that sort is that it calls for views. of in-
ternational affairs which one can hardly
frame for himself in his undergraduate
days. Mr. Hall spoke clearly and was
closely followed.
. Mr. Howard Chandler Robbins ot
Springfield, Mass, was another speaker
who chose the ‘“Abolitionist Orators.”
His composition was, from a literary
standpoint, a very able thing and it was
also well adapted for an effective ora-
tion. In voice and inflection, Mr.
Robbins made it effective. In his
gestures, he showed the same disad-
vantage from which nearly all of his
fellows suffered, of insufficient train-
ing,—not especially for this contest, of
course, but through their college course.
Mr. Robbins’ peroration made a strong
and beautiful close for a piece. of very
unusual merit.
George Dana Graves of Manchester,
N. H., was the next to the last speaker.
His subject “Popular American Feel-
ing Against England,” gave an oppor-
tunity for some original reflections on
current events and the nature of Ameri-
can people, as well as an opportunity
for some lucid statements of interesting
historical episodes. Mr. Graves took
advantage of this opportunity in an un-
usually able way. He showed a strong,
sturdy grasp of current feeling and a
very wholesome attitude toward sophis-
tries and narrowness, coupled with a
thorough appreciation of how such
sentiments took root. The address was
practical and had many a very well
_ turned passage which made it particu-
larly effective for delivery, without aim-
ing towards the galleries. Mr. Graves
voice was fairly good. His gestures
were very bad. That he won the prize
in the face of such bad form shows the
peculiar merit of his piece. _
These two pieces of Mr. Robbins and
Mr. Graves had been followed by an
enthusiastic applause and increasing 1n-
terest in the competition. The closing
piece of the afternoon only added to
this interest and made the outlook more
dubious.
Henry Robinson Shipman of Hart-
ford, Conn., was the last speaker. On
the subject of “The Jusuit Missionaries
in Canada.” he delivered the most fin-
ished oration of the afternoon. It was
also a piece which showed fine feeling
and strong feeling. His stage presence
was better than that of any speaker of
the afternoon. In some respects, the
gestures might have been improved,
but hey were more natural than any
. 9
others excepting Mr. Henderson s.
His personal carriage was easy afl
graceful.
