THE HESPERIAN
STATE ORATORICAL CONTEST
T. E. WING WINS FIRST. DEAN, OF DOANE, SECOND.
At Inst we are the winners and no mis
take. Wing won for ns easily and we have
a chance to show our colors in the interstate
contest this year at Columbus, Ohio. The
contest was a good one throughout, but the
oratorical convention which preceded the
contest was nothing short of a disgrace.
The convention and contest described in
their order were as follows :
Delegates to the State Oratorical conven
tion met in Cotner University chapel at 2
o'clock p. m., March 10, 1S93. jRev. J. H.
Bicknell of Cotner University, and president
of the State association, presided at the
meeting. We mentioned in the beginning
that the convention was a disgrace. We
wish to emphasize that fact here and say it
was a disgrace to any institution of learning
claiming the right to be called a University.
It was a disgrace because disorder, pande
monium and almost riot reigned throughout
the convention. Those having credentials,
although it had not been determined whether
these credentials were legally made out or
not, talked one at a time and all at a time ;
they more than talked, they yelled, they
waved their arms and stamped their feet,
and why did they do all this? Because one
person, the chairman, a minister of the
gospel, saw fit to lay asid" his religion, to
lay aside justice to iguore right and to de
cide points of order and parliamentary law
according to J. H. Bicknell instead of ac
cording to "Robert's Rules of Order,"
which book is supposed to govern the Ora
torical association. Were the delegates who
upheld just rulings and fair play to blame
for endeavoring to defeat the arbitrariness of
the chairman? Were they to blame for the
disgrace brought upon an assembly which
ought to be a dignified one ? Certainly ihey
were not. Who then is to blame, someone
must be? We believe, and do not hesitate
to say, that the whole blame falls upon Mr.
J. II. Bicknell, the chairman of the conven
tion. A mail) when given a responsible po
sition, is supposed to use his power villi
justice to all. When he abuses his position,
and makes use of it to defeat the very pur
poses for which he is placed there, he ceases
to be a man and becomes a tool, as Mr. Bick
nell did in the convention last Friday. He
failed to set the example that ought to be set
by one claiming to belong to an institution
of higher education, and set an example that
might be pardoned in a person utterly devoid
of education, and was incapable of forming an
intelligent judgment. We do not wish to
continue this any further, but will submit
the facts in order that Mr. Bicknell may be
judged in a right light by any fair minded
person. After the association came to order,
Harmon of Cotner moved that a committee
on credentials be selected consisting of
Messrs. Oeschger of Cotner; Maxwell of
Wesleyan, and Tallmadge ot the State. The
motion was then amended to constitute the
chairman of each delegation, viz: of Cotner,
Wesleyan, Doane and the State, this com
mittee on credentials. The question was on
the amendment and the suqabbling began.
Points were made that it was customary to
have the chairmen of the delegations act as
the committee, then the question came up as
to who should vote. Chair held that all
claiming to have credentials could vote.
Cotner and the State were represented b
but one delegation each. When Wesleyan
and Doane were called each seemed to have
two delegations. Wesleyan had five dele
gates, of which three were for everything
and two were against. Doane had ten, of
which six were against everything and four
for. Since the president was for everything
he could not allow the six in Doane's dele
gation to be against him, as that might de
feat his plans, so he delegated to the Secre
tary, Miss Bertha Stuhl of Doane, the power
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