nearly everyone among the student body who was ever known to
have written anything or who was ever heard to say that he
thought that sometime he might write something. We think that
this state of affairs should not be repeated- another term.
It has been brought forward as an argument that the reason
why State did not win the recent debate with Franklin and
Marshall was that one could not expect a technical school with
practically no instruction in oratory to compete with a classical
institution whose students have all the facilities in that line.
While this instruction certainly is an advantage, how little it
really counts was shown in that debate. F. and M. did not win
that contest on form. They were all experienced men and knew
exactly what points to touch on, which would influence the
judges. Had the State team, by means of a scrub, been able to
get some practice on rebutting, the result might have been differ
ent ; but, as usual, the men had practically no help or encourage
ment from the student body. When a man enters here he usually
takes an interest in debating affairs. He did it in his prep,
school, and thinks it is the proper thing here. He makes liis class'
team, perhaps in his Sophomore year he makes the college team'
and participates in an inter-collegiate debate. Then he gets the
notion that he has too much college work to do to permit him to
participate in any more debating, and thus when he has becbme
a valuable man, flunks out. That has been the way it has gone in
the past, and it is up to the present Freshman class to see that it
does not go on in the future. There can be no question but that
the men in State College have lots of work to do. But what train
ing can be of more value to an engineer, a chemist, or any pro
fessional man, in fact, than to be able to think connectedly and
express his thoughts logically on his feet? Few things are more
so. 'Cut out some of the 'card playing and other time-wasting'
amusements and go around to the Debating Club on Friday even
ing for an hour or so. It is being reorganized. Get to work there
and train a debating team systematically. State is in this debating