The Oregon weekly., March 30, 1908, Image 4

THE OREGON WEEKLY
Published every Monday during the college
year by the students cf the
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON
Entered at Eugene postoffice at Eugene,
Oregon, as second class matter
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M onday, M arch 30, 1908.
1
T H E P A IN O F D E F E A T
_
It is in» pleasant duty to send the
message out over the state that an
Oregon team has met defeat at the
hands of an opponent. Yet this is
exactly what the Weekly is forced to
do this week. It is with pain that we
are forced to relate on our front page
that our two forensic teams were, on
last Thursday, beaten by their respec­
tive opponents, Idaho and W ashington.
As to excuses which might he offered
we have none. Sufficient it is to say
that while our representatives did well
our opponents must have done better.
However we were beaten fairly and
we can say that we heartily congratu­
late the champions from the University
of Idaho and their splendid coach, Mr.
Edward M. 1 Inline, whose thorough
work has twice brought the champion­
ships to the Idahoans.
The result of Thursday night’s de­
bate gives Idaho the championship by
a good margin. According to the con­
stitution of the league the vote of each
judge counts one point and the decision
one point. Hence, Idaho won two
points on judges and one on decision
at Eugene and three on judges and one
on decision at Moscow, making a total
of seven points. Washington comes
second with four points, three on judg­
es and one on decision. Oregon is a
poor third, with but one point.
The total defeat of our debating
teams is a very bad disappointment to
our debaters who, although trying to
take the situation in happy vein, still
feel the disgrace of defeat very keenly.
It is no happy duty for a defeated team
to explain to four hundred students
and a large faculty, just why their
argum ents did not bring about victory.
It is a situation which had best be for­
gotten and the lesson to be learned
used on our representatives of the fu­
ture.
On the other hand the consoling
words, “You can’t always win, you
know, tell a good deal of truth. East
year we were champions of eight states
and this year we are not champions
of any. Quite a mathematical differ­
ence, yet we are still in the race. All
six of O regon’s debaters will be back
in college again next year and every
on of them is secretly determined to
erase the blot upon his name caused
by the recent adverse decisions of five
judges.
Let us profit by the lesson learned
by these last two debates. Next year
we must show that we can come back
harder than ever. A rubber-ball has
to be thrown down hard before it will
rise very high any way. W e have
been thrown down hard this year, let
us do our rising next year.
F A IL IN G AND* B E E K M A N
For years it has been the custom at
the University of Oregon for orators
from the Senior class who have repre­
sented the University in the intercol­
legiate or interstate oratorical contests
to prepare new orations for commence­
ment at which time they took part in
the Failing and Beekman contests. The
result has been, that handicapped by
the short space of time intervening be­
tween the Intercollegiate and the Fail­
ing and Beekman contests, the men
who have taken the time to represent
the University have usually failed to
get the lucrative prizes offered to the
winners of the oratorical contest in
June. East year both our intercolleg­
iate and our interstate orators took
part in the Failing and Beekman con­
test vet neither won one of the two
prizes offered; it was not because of
lack of ability: but largely because of
lack of time for preparation.
It seems to the editor of the Weekly
that the present policy of the U niver­
sity is altogether unfair. For the past
few years the Failing and Beekman
prizes of $150 and $100, respectively,
have both been won by students who
have never previously even made an
effort to represent the U niversity in
a contest with another college.
If an orator is unselfish enough to
come out and try to win honors for
his university with no financial or oth­
er reward, why should he not be still
allowed to use the same material in the
Failing and Beekman contest in June.
In the past the winning orators in
June have been successful mainly be­
cause of more time put on orations and
our men who have represented the
V arsity in contests with other colleges
have lost because of lack of time for
preparation. By all means there should
be a change in our custom.
T H E S T A N F O R D S IT U A T IO N
Comm enting on the situation at
Stanford, last T hursday’s Oregonian
has the following to say:
“The unfortunate feature of the
Stanford affair is that it will induce a
great many very respectable parents
not to send their sons and daughters
to that institution. So far as Oregon
is concerned, this will occasion no
great loss, for we have in our own
state, institutions which offer students
as good opportunities for securing an
education as can be had at Stanford.
W hile the large college has its advan­
tages, so it has also its disadvantages.
The small college brings its students
into close relations with instructors
and gives them the benefit of this per­
sonal contact. Oregon will not hesi­
tate to compare the records of grad­
uates of the U niversity of Oregon, W il­
lamette U niversity, Pacific University,
or even smaller colleges, with the rec­
ords of graduates of Stanford. Re­
sults are what count. W e have no
need to send our young people to Stan­
ford, whether drunkennes is permitted
on the campus or not.’’
T H E P R O P E R S P IR IT
T hat Southern O regon is strongly
lined up behind the U niversity could
be plainly seen at the recent meeting
of the Roseburg Commercial club
when resolutions were unanimously
adopted favoring the U niversity ap­
propriation bill.
W hen the resolutions were first
proposed, a prom inent citizen of Rose­
burg, an ex-graduate of the University,
arose to speak on the question, but a
second man rose to his feet and yelled,
“You don’t need to talk on that ques­
tion, nobody in Roseburg will vote
against the bill.” From all sides voices
sounded in assent and the result was
that the resolutions carried without a
dissenting vote. Roseburg has the
proper spirit w ithout a doubt. Like al
towns who are located in a progrès
sive com munity Roseburg is lined up
for education. ’ H urrah, for Roseburg.
May more tow ns follow her examp c.
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