THE PASTEUR MEDAL

The Pasteur Medal is offered by the Baron de Coubertin for the double purpose of arousing interest in contemporary French politics and encouraging public speaking. Hitherto the medal has been contested for in a formal debate between two teams of three men each. The basis of formal debating is co-operation and consequently an individual prize is hardly appropriate for such a contest. Furthermore, debating has become so highly specialized that it offers little chance of success to the man who has not had considerable previous training. So the competition for the Pasteur Medal has been limited to men who were already debaters, and experience has shown that these men are not the best fitted to discuss a subject which requires a knowledge of French.

Under the new system, a broader topic will be chosen than was possible before, and men may treat it as they see fit. There will be no arbitrary allotment of affirmative and negative, no attempt at concerted action. This will leave greater room for individual effort, and no previous schooling in debating will be necessary. Definitions, statistics, and citations will be less in evidence, while general intelligence and persuasive power will be of greater value than the ability to amass facts and draw fine distinctions.

From the point of view of the audience, a phase of the subject very generally neglected in such things, the change should be most acceptable. The formal debate of today is undoubtedly of great value to the participant, but it is not interesting to the average man. It is too technical, and redundant. The proposed contest will be considerably shorter, more varied, and more comprehensible. The emphasis on the literary quality, the power to please and persuade an audience, should bring out that phase in which our debating is weakest. Altogether, the new arrangements are to the advantage of all parties, and it is to be expected that the Pasteur Medal will assume a position of greater importance than it has previously held.