Page 60 - 1901 Pinakidia

imp.ute<llo thi~ feature of the cullegt work, it \\·unld die. ,\ccurdingh·, l'rufessur :-;cab assuw<.:d per-.unal control
and organized two -.ocictiL·s. the fibt of which consi~kd of Fre5hn1en and Sophomor<.:s, the second of Junior~ and
St:niors. lluties were performed umkr the s~me penalties as before. By the Fall of '91 death stared this effort
in the face, and it was succeeded by a ,·oluntary org-amzation comprising those ach·anced students who wished to
attain proficimc\' as speakers Before the close of '<)2 this had gone the way of the others. In the face of all
the": failures another plan was rborted to. Who could haYe witnessed one of those debate-. on Hannibal and
.\lexander and u1tertained the idea that we were Jacking in debating talent' Or those debates in English on the
sanity of llamld an1lnvl han~ recognized extraordinary genius? Xo, it was not by any means time to stop yet.
\\'e had some budding geniuses that were irrepressible, ill\·incible and lllH]Ut:nchable. Accordingly, they sallied
forth on" cool, crisp S:tturdav morning in October, '<)2, to the Prep. to organize two literary societies in
accordance ,,·ith their own ideas. After con5iderable deliberation as to the proper di\'ision of the crowd it was
decide<! that Oli,·er ami Ayer should "choose up. · Ayers penny fell squarely on the crack. So he look
"Scab " and Oliver called fur Ceurge \\'a~hinglOJ.L The choosing process continu~d until all a\·ailahle material
\\ ,\s ah,;orhed This accompli-.hed. the t.vo bodies retired separate!~ and formulated their con~titution and
by laws The names Bema and Forum were suggested by Professor Stewart.
One of the first important questions that arose for mutual consideration wa-.: whether or not a man haYing
become a member of one socidy could withdraw at pleasure and transfer his membership to the other. The di~­
posal of thi~ point called for a joint meeting. Bema was opposed to the motion. Forum was ardently in fa\-or
of it. The discussion waxed hotter and hotter. At one time as many as half a dozen speakers addressed the
chair simultaneously. In the excitement Seah yelled : •· ::\lr. President, I ·,·e beat this crowd up three times, and
each time vou recognized somebody else, and now I 'm not going to sit down till you promise me that the next
time I heat 'em up you 'll gi,·e me the floor.'· Seah 's threat was effecti,·e. The whole morning was consumed by
speeches, and the meeting finally adjourned without the question being brought to a Yote.
The first public debate was held in january, 1 93· The question was : Re oh-ed, That the battle field has
caused more sorrow than the bar-room. The Forum had the affirmati,-e, the Bema the negati,·e. The oratory of
the aflirmatiYe was oyerwhelming. They recited '• The Chariot Race. ' ' '·The Charge of the Light Brigade, ··
'' \\'ebster's Rt!ply to Hayne, " Cicero's Orations against Cataline,' ' and ''The Death of Absalom.'' The audi·
ence was carried away The ladies wawd their handkerchiefs, the gentlemen their hats. The negatiYe was
equally as fen·id . They reeled off sections of the Prohibitionists' platform, portraying all the horrors of the
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