causes and results of stammering, and the possibilities of scientific treatment. Drafting the Sense of Touch in the Cause of Better Speech, by Robert H. Gault, treats of the experiments of the VibroTactile Research Laboratory of Smith College in making ears out of fingers for the deaf. Through the use of electrical apparatus, the sense of touch can be used in improving the speech of the deaf and in teaching deaf children. Number 3 (December) of the same magazine is an Ibsen Number. Among the miscellaneous articles, Speech Training and the School Curriculum, by Sara M. Stinchfield, points out the harmful results in our schools of over-emphasizing silent reading and written exercises at the expense of oral expression, and the necessity of speech classes for both normal students and those with speech defects. Modern Tendencies in Intercollegiate Debating, by Frederick W. Anderson, is a brief survey of present tendencies as to choice of questions, types of decisions, and attendance. Dramatics in the Modern College, by Frances K. Gooch, discusses the value of dramatics to the students, and the possibility of raising the standards of the theatre through the influence of the college. MANGUN, VERNON L. The Mind-Bedevilment Caused by Debates. Educational Review, These two articles purport to be a criticism of debating as now organized in the high schools of the country, from the point of view of the educator and the educational-sociologist. Doctor Mangun begins his criticism with an acknowledgment of the training received in debate, and the question: "Is this very effective training the kind of thing that best fits young people for those adjustments that will make society more nearly what it should be?" Such adjustments he considers should be arrived at through the scientific method: the purpose or problem must be determined, materials related to it must be assembled and examined, the problem must be redefined and solved in the light of these materials, and the results formulated. Debate fails entirely to meet this test, for it consists of assigning a conclusion in advance of study; such conclusion to be supported regardless of other conclusions reached after studying the problem! In support of this accusation, the writer cites the requirement of state leagues that teams debate both sides of the question, states that emphasis is on the decision rather than the issue, and quotes articles praising teams for their ability to win either side of a debate. He charges that such methods develop the habit of rationalistic and wishful-thinking argument, rather than straight thinking. At least 3,696 high schools, in thirty-two of our states, are training their students in this dangerous irrational mode of thinking, and the number is rapidly increasing. And yet in the average text on argumentation and debating, "Argumentation is represented as built upon belief as a result of careful unbiased investigation." The second article continues the attack. The prevalent system of judging relegates the question to a place of minor importance. The tournament system appeals primarily to the spirit of emulation. Rules against "scouts" and against new constructive material in rebuttal speeches are contrary to the aim of problem-solving. The emphasis on the decision leads to discrimination against the girls. In order to use the scientific method of problem-solving and to have each speaker express his own belief, an interesting plan is proposed. One or two speakers from each of a half dozen schools offer what to them seems the best solution to the problem under consideration. Audience and speakers may then question each representative; speakers may indulge in informal debate on the various proposals. Then the judges render decision on the basis of who has made the best proposal. (This type of discussion is not new to many colleges, but it seems inexpedient to allow so many speakers in one contest or to try to judge so complex a discussion.) Doctor Mangun considers that in view of present experiments in the colleges, the outlook for improvement is good; and suggests that the colleges should use their positions of leadership to hasten the work. The present writer believes Doctor Mangun has confused the institution with the methods of operating it which he has seen. If debate squads really study the question involved; if debaters who believe in a solution other than that proposed are allowed to uphold their belief on a negative team; if it is a point of honor to use only sound arguments whether for or against one's convictions; if the speeches are extempore products of the student's own thinking-then the more worth-while of these criticisms are met. That such debating can be done and is being done by high-school students the present writer knows from first hand observation. As for the objection against debating a pre-established propositionthat is exactly the type of debate which the citizens meets in the legislature, the town meeting, or the pre-election contest. MACK EASTON, Swarthmore College LITTELL, ROBERT. Voices. The New Republic, LIII, 68; December, 7, 1927. An interesting note upon how the voices of a preacher, a vegetable-man, two teachers, and a singer sound to a non-technical but sensitive observer. The "cultivated" voice of the preacher inspires this excellent description: ... Years of Sunday eloquence, years of careful striving for something just a little bit higher than human speech have been rewarded by an accent which does not exist among ordinary mortals. It is a mixture of bishops he has admired and societydrama English, grafted on to now undecipherable American beginnings. It is round, and mellow, and wilfully precise; it is lubricated, clear, and miraculously obedient; it can be warmly solemn, or gravely inquiring, or eloquently casual, or piously distressed, without exagerrating any of these moods to the point where a sensitive hearer begins to feel discomfort. It is a complicated and ingenious instrument, possessing all the stops save onevox humana. You may think that under all these cultivated notes a real man of some kind lies hidden, but you are wrong.. H. H. H. CAPLAN, HARRY. Rhetorical Invention in Some Medieval Tractates on Preaching. Speculum, II, 3, July, 1927. A scholarly survey of medieval tractates on preaching with special reference to the inventio of clasical rhetoric. NEWS AND NOTES [Items intended for this department-play programs, announcement of new courses, changes in positions, programs of state and sectional meetings, and personals-should be sent directly to Miss Lousene Rousseau, 30 Clinton St., Brooklyn, New York. Normal School items will be received by Carroll P. Lahman, Western State Teachers College, Kalamazoo, Michigan.] Teachers of Speech will be interested in the project of the Linguistic Society of America, just announced, to establish a Linguistic Institute during the summer of 1928. This will take the form of a summer school and research institute, to continue from July 9 to August 18, at New Haven, with the coöperation of the authorities of Yale University, who have placed their facilities at the disposal of the Institute. The administration of the Institute is in the hands of a Committee of the Linguistic Society, consisting of E. H. Sturtevant of Yale, as Director; R. E. Saleski, of Bethany College, as Assistant Director; and R. G. Kent of Pennsylvania, Secretary of the Linguistic Society. To the clientèle of this journal, the most interesting of the courses will be those of a general nature and those in English. We find, in the circular which has just gone out, an Introduction to Linguistic Science, by E. Prokosch of Bryn Mawr; two courses in Phonetics, by G. O. Russell of Ohio State; Semantics, by W. Petersen of Florida; Linguistic Anthropology, by P. E. Goddard of the American Museum of Natural History in New York; Old English, and History of the English Language, by K. Malone of Johns Hopkins; American English, by Miss Louise Pound of Nebraska. There are many other courses, in Sanskrit, the classical languages, Romanics, Celtic, Germanic, Semitics, and even in Turkish, of which descriptions may be found in the circular. New Haven is an agreeable spot for a summer stay, and excellent sea-bathing is in easy reach. Association with scholars and students of kindred interests is another attraction of the Institute. Those who plan to enroll should make a preliminary registration at the earliest possible date, since the Institute cannot be held unless a sufficient demand is manifested early in February. Preliminary registration, which may be cancelled later, and requests for circulars and information, are to be directed to Prof. E. H. Sturtevant, Director of the Linguistic Institute, Box 1849, Yale Station, New Haven, Conn. R. G. KENT, University of Pennsylvania The Eastern Public Speaking Conference will meet with the New England Conference at Yale, April 13 and 14. The Yale School of Drama will act as hosts to the conference. Miss Elizabeth Avery, of Smith College, President of the Eastern Conference, is arranging an interesting program. Professor John Crawford, of Yale, is chairman of the dramatics section; Professor Henrietta Prentiss of Hunter College has charge of the speech section; Professor Parrish of Pittsburgh has the interpretation and Professor Wichelns of Cornell the public speaking. The general committee consists of Professor Stinchfield of Mt. Holyoke, Professor Grosvenor Robinson of Bates, Professor Busse, of New York University, the Secretary of the Conference, Mrs. Harvey, and the President, Miss Avery. The Internatiional Conference on Speech Training was attended by delegates from about thirty organizations and representatives from all parts of the British Isles and the most important countries of Europe. The first day was devoted to the subject of a Physiological Standard, with G. Secombe Hett as chairman; the second day, to a Phonetic and Educational Standard with Sir Hugh Allen, chairman; and the third day to an Aesthetics Standard with Prebendary A. W. Gough as chairman. The moving spirit of the Conference was Miss Elsie Fogerty, who has done more than any other individual to advance the cause of Speech Training in England; she was the instigator of the movement which led to the offering of a Diploma in Dramatic Art and Speech by the University of London, and her work as founder and principal of the Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art has received universal recognition. One of the most important phases of her work at the Conference was the drawing up of a test for Oral English and a resolution that such a test be recommended by the Confer |