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Part of the importance of the problem can be seen through the value of speech contests. One of the various means of realizing the purposes of speech education is through the speech contest, the practice of getting together with others for the comparison of formal speaking activities. The value of the speech contest was recognized centuries ago by the Greeks. “Speech contests are old devices; that stimulate a student to his greatest endeavors by a desire to win approval or victory over his fellows in not a product of this mad, modern naturalistic age.” From that early beginning contests have had an eventful history, hitting many rough spots on the way. From the depression to the post-war period of World War II there was a trend toward abandoning speech contests.