Whitman College Triumphs in Interstate Debate
After a hard-fought battle against the University of Oregon, students celebrated the win with bonfires and victory yells.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Whitman's victory in the University of Oregon-Whitman debate last night caused great excitement among the students of Whitman college and their joy on receiving such welcome news was demonstrated very forcibly in various ways. A number of Billings Hall residents, while waiting for the returns to come in, kept up a good stock of enthusiasm by serenading the ladies of the hall, 'Prexie' Penrose and the town in general. All had retired to their rooms and quiet reigned once more when the ringing of the hall bells announced that word had come at last. 'Unanimously victorious' was the message that stimulated the great show of hilarity that followed. A large bonfire was quickly made from old boards and rubbish and around this circled a large number of happy fellows making night hideous with their 'college yells' and 'war whoops.' The inmates of the ladies' hall as eagerly expressed their appreciation of the news by 'yells' and songs. The winning of this debate is a strong point for Whitman as the University of Oregon is a very worthy opponent. The question was, 'Is the Incorporation of Labor Unions Desirable?'
“A large bonfire was quickly made from old boards and rubbish and around this circled a large number of happy fellows making night hideous with their 'college yells' and 'war whoops.'”
Intercollegiate debate remains a cornerstone of the Whitman College experience today, though modern students likely swap the 'war whoops' and bonfires of 1904 for digital celebrations. The topic of labor union incorporation, however, remains as politically charged and relevant to current economic discourse as it was at the turn of the century.
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