On Feb. 9, 1950, four Iola Junior College students debated the question: Resolved, that the U.S. government should provide free medical aid for all citizens of the United States.
Presenting the affirmative were Robert Freeman and Phyllis Colwell. Arguing the negative were Helen Handy and Wilford King. The debate was open to the public.
Universal health care provided by the federal government was a hot topic in the United States 60 years ago. President Harry Truman favored it. The Murray, Wagner, Dingell bill was introduced in Congress to provide it. Unsurprisingly, it was attacked by the special interests and defeated.
An interesting difference between now and then is that junior college and high school debates were social functions in Iola in 1950 — and long before that — and were well attended. They always focused on serious current issues. The students who participated learned a great deal, as did those who heard them in the high school auditorium.
Debate, an extracurricular activity, is still an important part of university life in our country, in England and, I suppose, many other nations. As would be assumed, many successful U.S. politicians, and attorneys without number, developed fact-finding and presentation skills on college debate squads.
Debates were judged at the university level on the basis of research done — points were lost for inaccurate statements and for failure to cite pertinent facts — as well as on the persuasiveness of the presentation and the extemporaneous skills displayed in rebuttals. They learned manners, too. No interruptions allowed.
Ah, for the good, old days.
— Emerson Lynn, jr.
