Debaters Win Regional Tourney, Qualify for West Point Contest

Crimson debaters won the Region Eight Debate Tournament at Wesleyan Saturday and thus qualified for the West Point Invitational Debate Tournament April 26.

It was the first time that the Debate Council entered the four-year-old tournament. Region Eight includes New York and New England.

To qualify for the West Point Tournament, William C. Becker '51 and Richard W. Hulbert 51 had to win five debates, all on the topic: "Resolved, That the U.S. nationalize all basic non-agricultural industries."

After beating New York State Teachers, Dartmouth, M.I.T., and Connecticut in preliminary rounds, Hulbert and Becker defeated Curry to qualify for the West Point finals. Vermont, Wesleyan, and Utica will also represent Region Eight at West Point against regional winners from all over the country.

In the course of the two-day tournament, Hulbert and Becker argued the negative of the question twice and the affirmative three times.

Debating the negative, they claimed that nationalization would not cure the business cycle; on the other side, they held that production for private profit is in the long run not to the public's advantage.