Two Trios of Public Speaking

Department of Holy Trinity

Senior Class Argue Pro and Con

in Interesting Verbal Mill at

Auditorium, Wednesday

Evening. Many Interesting Points Stressed by Both Sides. Teams

Well Trained.–No Decision.

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“Resolved, That Prohibition Is a Success,” was the subject of an interesting debate held at Holy Trinity school auditorium, Wednesday evening of this week, by the public speaking department of the Senior class. The affirmative side was upheld by the Misses Salome Laudon, Josephine Kurth, and Hildegard Henle. The negative side was represented by Rudolph Weber and the Misses Catherine Schaefer and Marcella Forster.

The first speaker of the evening, Salome Laudon, in arguing for the affirmative, gave a short resume of the history of prohibition, asking the question: “Was the eighteenth amendment put over?” A refutation for the present cases of drunkenness was next given. The speaker then proved that prohibition has been a success socially, for drunkenness has decreased, and health conditions have improved. The conditions of the slums, newsboys, and young workers has also been bettered.

The next speaker was Catherine Schaefer, firing the opening gun for the negative. This young lady stated that prohibition has been a failure, and her arguments were based on the fact that prohibition blights human happiness. Drinking abuses are at best as great as ever, the speaker stated, and cited as examples, home brewing, the farmer and his hard cider, rum running, illicit manufacture in our own country, arrests for drunkenness before and after prohibition, the enormous expenses for enforcement.

The second speaker for the affirmative was Josephine Kurth, who gave a short refutation of the preceding speaker’s arguments, and then continued and proved that prohibition has been a success economically. The arguments put forth by the young debater were: It has benefited the business man; it has benefited the working man, and it has increased home building, life insurance policies, banking accounts and even erected labor temples.

Rudolph Weber then gave a refutation on the grounds of economic abuses. He then proceeded to prove that prohibition discredits human laws by giving examples of high officials breaking laws, and the general lawlessness and crime rampant in the country today, which can, in a large measure, be laid at the door of prohibition.

Hildegard Henle was the third speaker on the affirmative, and in a forceful way proved that prohibition has been a success morally, because crime has decreased both among adults and among juveniles. The speaker then graciously continued and showed that prohibition restrains the moral weakness of our natures; that the majority of the people of the United States are law abiding, and that the exceptions do not prove the rule.

The last speaker against prohibition was Marcella Forster, who, in a business like manner, proved that prohibition debases human morals, citing the following arguments: The Volstead act is a despicable statute; prohibition has accentuated social evils and corruption; it has brought all law into disrepute, and has established a system of tyranny.

The rebuttal was given by Salome Laudon who proceeded to attempt to tear apart the arguments of her opponents. No decision was rendered in the contest, and it is safe to state that the judges would have had a difficult time in deciding the winners.

Brown County Journal

March 26, 1926

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