Resolved, That the annexation of Cuba by the United States would present the best solution of the Cuban problem. Debating The intercollegiate debates of 1906, with the University of California and the University of Nevada, were among the events which the earthquake took out of human hands. This was a real pity, for not only did Stanford have a pair of good teams, but they were to debate the football question, which was so absorbing last year in all university circles. It is not often that one hears an intercollegiate debate on a subject of vital interest at the time to college men. The interest was increased by the fact that the team chosen to debate against California (consisting of Blair, Herron, and Sales) was to attack football, and that chosen to debate against Nevada (Beardsley, Brennan, and Cunha) was to defend it. The football side of the question was, of course, the more popular, while the opposition was regarded as the stronger for purposes of debate. As it is, we shall never be certain whether football has "done more harm than good," having missed hearing both these debates. It is to be hoped, however, that some future debate can be held on a subject which, like this one, gives college men a chance to talk on a basis of personal knowledge. The Carnot debate, although dealing with subjects about which the audience cannot be expected to get up any excitement, seems to awaken more interest than the intercollegiate,—probably because the glory of victory is concentrated in the person of one man. This year the difficulty in choosing an interesting subject was reduced to a minimum by taking the field of Socialism, which is now attracting so much attention in America, as well as in Europe. The exact topic to be debated ("That the Success of French Socialism Would Make for International Peace") was chosen and announced after the usual form to the debaters only two hours before the time of the debate. Since the first adoption of this plan there has been a good deal of suspicion as to its success in securing genuinely extemporaneous debate, but the doubt seems to have lessened each successive year. The outcome depends on the ability of the committee to find a subject which is fairly within the range of the general field, but at the same time is so stated as to require rapid thinking and extemporaneous phrasing, in order to fit it to the general preparation made by the speakers. This year the question met this requirement more perfectly than ever before, and the result was most gratifying. With the possible exception of a part of one speech, all six speakers appeared to follow the spirit of the rules consistently, and did not show that raggedness of style which may almost always be expected under such conditions. The contest was also close enough to be properly exciting. All the contestants did good work in the general effectiveness of their speaking. Any of the Stanford men (Herron, McColloch, or Shelton) could easily be thought of as winning a medal, under favorable conditions; and the same thing was true of the Berkeley team. But the real contest was between Herron-who had made a decided impression in the Carnot debate of 1906, while still a sophomore--and MacNeil of California. In their apparent mastery of their material and the cogent presentation of their arguments, there was little to choose between these two; but Herron's more forcible style, and the skill with which he condensed a good deal of refutation into a three-minute speech, were sufficient to turn the balance. All this is only guessing what the judges may have thought: for in these games they only announce the score, and no one is quite certain of the way it is counted. The standards set for our debaters were probably never higher than at present. Stanford Quad 1908 |