Letters home to his parents; paper on religion; and two photographs : Beckwith with friends and Branner Hall

here which I shall certainly take as soon as possible.

I ended up by deciding to take Economics, English History, Spanish and Oral Debate, all of which should be easy for me.

Please don't make many engagements for me as I only wish to play golf & tennis & see one or two good plays in Los Angeles. I went down town to weigh last night but my customary drugstore was locked up.

Burnham

Stanford Vm. April 13, 1923

Dear Father, My banking account is down to $54.25 so you had better send me a check on receipt of this. I have about fifteen dollars in cash. The new quarter is coming on fine. I don't have a class until 9 o'clock but I am so busy I always get up early. I wrote my first humourous article for the Dippy yesterday. If it gets in I will send it to you. We have taken on ten new members so I am not at the foot of the staff any more. We have rehearsed our debate twice this week and will do it twice more before next Wednesday. I have worked up a fair speech but I am too lazy to memorize it. There are going to be eight men on the freshmen interclass tennis team and I am rustling around trying to get somebody to put me on it. I was certainly disappointed in Admiral Sims. He started out in a trucelent manner but spent most of his time telling us that hard work brings success. He omitted all his customary interesting statements about his experiences, his opinions and his knowledge and ventured on to an often heard topic which requires a real orator to make it interesting.

I have bought a very sporty light tan sweater with a Norfolk back and patch pockets I like it very much and it only cost six dollars.

I have also bought a thousand page, four dollar history of England as I am taking that course and thought such a book would always be useful.

Tell Sterling that Webster's new wireless set which cost less than his has enabled us to hear Seattle, Calgary, San Antonio, Catalina, Denver and some Iowa stations besides several in Los Angeles. Webster says K P O, the San Francisco station has been heard in Samoa.

Your loving son, Burnham

B. P. Beckwith 300 words

Freshmen defeat California in dual debate

Stanford's winning streak in debating was given another boost last night when the Card freshmen recieved the decision in the both rounds of the dual debate with California on the subject, "Resolved, That California and Stanford should limit their intercollegiate athletics to contests with each other". Walter Odemar and Leslie Gosslin upheld the affirmative case for Stanford in the Little Theatre against R. W. Chase and C. S. Cressaty of California. The Stanford debaters emphasized professionalism and commercialism as the outstanding defects of the present system and proposed that intramural activities should be more extensively developed. The negative declared that intramural athletics are already well developed at both institutions and that the proposed

B.P. Beckwith - - -2-2-2-2-2-

plan would create a dangerous degree of rivalry between the two colleges. The affirmative won by a two to one decision. Stanley Weigel and Burnham Beckwith made the trip to Berkely and met S.H. Berry and A.E.Weinberger who uphelp the affirmative side. The California team stressed the long trips and large expenditures required by intersectional games and the overemphasis upon the present system of intercollegiate athletics. The Stanford negative pointed out that the affirmative were merely reducing the size of the present system and not remedying its defects. They also attempted to show that the defects of the present system could be done away with by adopting remedies much less radical than that proposed by the affirmative. The decision was unanimous in favor of Stanford. At a recent class meeting the Stanford freshmen voted to give pins to their debaters. The California debaters will be awarded gold numerals by the Forensic Council. The chairman of the debate at Stanford was Professor W.B.Owens of the Law.