The Texas Aggie. (College Station, Tex.) 1921-current, October 01, 1937, Image 2

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    THE TEXAS AGGIE
BoE. MeQuillen........... 0. Publisher
Published Semi-Monthly at the A. & M.
Press, College Station, Texas, except dur-
ing the summer months when issued
menthly, by the Association of Former
Students of the Agricultural and Mechan-
ical College of Texas, College Station,
Texas.
F. D." Perkins, ’ President
C.-L. “Babeoek, 18... Vice President
E. E. McQuillen, ’ xecutive Secretary
1.8. Locke, *18............ Assistant Secretary
Subscription Price $5.00
Entered as Second Class Matter at |:
College Station, Texas
Directors
H. K. Deason, ’16...................... Port Arthur
Charles L. Babcock, ’18............... Beaumont
Bs Goa PiafE, v0]. 4h bins Tyler
FP. D. Perkins, "9. rte ictntonsi ns McKinney
J. B. Crockett, ’09 Dallas
0. A. Seward, Jr., 07
d.:V. Butler,
Graham GG. Hall,
T. M. Smith, Sr., ’01
Charley K. Leighton,
P.-L. «Downs, Jr., 206. ..2 5 seas Temple
Jd. C.i Dykes, 21... 0... sei Fort Worth
CoH McDowell, 212..............coo in Towa Park
AE. “Hinman, 125%... Corpus Christi
HE B. . fPat’ Zachry, 22: . ins: Laredo
R. S. Reading, ’10 El Paso
G. Dudley Everett, ’15................ Stephenville
G. C. McSwain, ’20 Amarillo
BE. VY. Spence, "11.00 nt Big Spring
E.- Bs Aldridge, ’16..... 5.5... 0. San, Antonio
Penrose B. Metcalfe, 16............ San Angelo
E.R. %Eudaly,” 10... 5 College Station
Ci A. i Thanheisey, 201. 00. 5 Houston
A. P. Rollins, ’06 Dallas
Bo ASSBIrk; CIB. ocr ST ts Wichita Falls
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
F. D. Perkins, °'97 McKinney
C. L. Babcock, ’18 Beaumont
C. A. Thanseiser, *01 Houston
E. R. Eudaly, ’'10............ College Station
Oscar A. Seward, Jr., '07........... Groesbeck
STUDENT LOAN FUND TRUSTEES
FD Perkins, 297... ..ccnscoecodinsiocions McKinney
A.“ F.. Mitchell, *209..........0.5....... Corsicana
E. E. McQuillen, ’20............ College Station
REPRESENTATIVES ON ATHLETIC
COUNCIL
Dallas
Tyree L. Bell, ’13........
Tyler
A. G. Pfaff, ’27
FEELING FINE
Friends and sons of the Texas
A. & M. College are feeling fine
these days over the institution they
love. The greatest enrollment in
its history attests to the high re-
gard in which mothers and fathers
of Texas hold the school. The ad-
dition of many outstanding men
to the faculty and the staff has
improved the quality of the school’s
leadership. The restoration of fac-
ulty salary cuts has raised the
morale of the many fine men who
have so ably served the institution
through its lean years. :
It is believed funds for the con-
struction of additional dormitories
are jpet around the corner. Both
EE uy, STUroq
Enis ~~n fortball pros-
prnsanenetul———. ioc:
ship in the cadet corps seems to
be more conscious this year of both
its authority and its responsibility.
A. & M. Clubs are more active-
and enthusiastic. Membership in
the Association of Former Stu-
dents so far this year has shown
some increase. Individual A. & M.
men seem to be more anxious and
willing to render real and unsel-
fish service to the school and its
students.
The friends and the sons of The
Texas A. & M. College are feeling
fine.
Major Samuel L. Metcalfe, ’17,
224 Federal Building, Hartford,
Connecticut, is recuperating from
a long siege in the hospital. Major
Metcalfe was all set to attend the
twentieth reunion of the class of |
1917 and was taken to the hospital
on May 15, and remained there
until September 1.
Mike Dillingham, ’35, has been
transferred to Corpus Christi as
Division Petroleum Engineer for
the Oil and Gas Division of the
Texas Railroad Commission. For
the past year Mike has been sta-
tioned at Pampa, Texas, acting as
engineer for the Panhandle Dis-
trict. He gets his mail at Box 1111,
Corpus Christi. Mike is a younger
brother of H. E. “Dutch” Dilling-
ham, ’22, of the Electrical Engi-
neering Department at A. & M.
Robert D. Hardcastle, ’31, is
district superintendent of the Wil-
son Supply Company for South
Louisiana and his address is P.
O. Box 152, New Iberia, Louisiana.
A. A. Storey, Jr., ’29, is county
agricultural agent at Rocksprings,
Texas.
A. L. “Dutch” Sebesta, ’32, is
still working for the A. & M. Ex-
tension Service as county agricul-
tural agent of Dimmit County. His
headquarters are at Carrizo
Springs. Sebesta is married and
has one little girl. During his cadet
days, Sebesta was a prominent
member of the Aggie football team.
R. Z. Wilkinson, ’37, is with the
Arkansas Extension Service as
an assistant in agricultural con-
servation and is located at New-
port, Arkansas, Wilkinson states
that he is very well pleased with
his new location.
Thomas Mayo:
His Column
TRENDS IN CONTEMPORARY
LITERATURE
(EDITOR'S NOTE: The following is
the first of a series of five columns,
prepared by Dr. Mayo on ‘Trends in
American Literature’. The other four
will appear in succeeding issues of the
AGGIE. These articles are reproductions
of a series of radio broadcasts made dur-
ing the Summer by Dr. Mayo that were
highly commended and that brought to Dr.
Mayo wide notice.)
¢))
The new books which thrill the
American public nowadays in the
1930’s are very different from the
favorites of the 1920’s. From the
Armistice to the Depression, dur-
ing the Jazz Decade, few books im-
pressed the reading public very
favorably unless they criticized
something. The urge was in the
air to take to pieces and examine,
with a cold, fishy, and chitical eye,
all the things that people used to
take for granted: romantic lice,
for example, patriotism, and all
the “American Ideals.” The Age
of Jazz, from Armistice to Depres-
sion, was preeminently the Age of
Satire. Sinclair Lewis’s widely read
novels showed how our small towns
cramp and narrow the minds and
sympathies of Main Street people;
how the American city makes herd-
minded Babbitts out of its business
men; how American science is
commercialized and cheapened by
the national demand for quick and
showy results; how even the min-
istry itself harbors hypocrites and
scoundrels,—and rewards them
highly, too:
Hk kok ok
Edna St. Vincent Millay, Theo-
dore Dreiser, and Dorothy Parker,
in the 1920’s, took romantic love
to pieces and showed it to us as
a flimsy compound of sex, tommy-
rot, and the hunt for a meal ticket.
“What lips my lips have kissed,”
wrote Miss Millay, “What lips my
lips have kissed and where and
why—I have forgotten”! H. L.
Mencken, meanwhile, was pouring
out of Baltimore a scalding stream
of ridicule on the heads of his
fellow-citizens, whom he delighted
to call “The Great American Boo-
bocracy”.
k kk kk kx ck
These and others like them were
the writers whose satirical novels,
plays, poems, and articles were
eagerly awaited every ycar during
the 1920’s. It was a critical age,
a hardboiled era. In short, it was
an age of ruthless rationalism.
“Let’s use our Reason,” its writers
seemed to say. “Don’t let any emo-
tion like romantic love, or reli-
gious reverence, or sentimental
patriotism blind us to all the non-
sense and all the rascality and
graft that flourish so fatly and
smugly in these United States un-
der the shield of such sacred nam-
es. Be scientific in your thinking,
even about love and religion. Ex-
pose everything. Down with the
sentimentality that clouds our
eyes and hides the truth. Pure
bright Reason forever! Critical
Rationalism is our ticket—critical
rationalism based on scientific
thinking and armed with ridicule
and satire sharp as a razor!”
* ok & ok ok
Such was the temper of the
1920’s, and there’s no denying that
their irritating books did us good.
The thick, stagnant, sweetish air
of American literature undoubted-
ly grew sharper and cleaner. It is
true, of course, that even after ten
years of this sort of thing there
was still plenty of crookedness,
smugness, and plain bunk in this
fair land of ours—there still is,
for that matter. But there isn’t
quite as much of it as there used
to be, and its purveyors are not
quite as smug about it as in the
good old days. :
d ok ok ok ok
But now, since 1929, satires on
this, that, and the other, no longer
seem popular. The best novels,
plays, and poems that come out
each year nowadays are no longer
exposures of nonsense and fraud.
Rather, our chief writers seem try-
ing to express their deep feelings
about something or other. Ernest
Hemingway writes in the 1930s
“A Farewell To Arms”, the best
love story that any American ever
wrote, in which two young lovers,
with their author’s full approval,
give up everything for each other,
and are faithful unto death. Noth-
ing jazzy or critical or analytical
about the story! It is Romantic—
that is, Love, an emotion rather
than Reason, is taken for a guide
to living. Eugene O’Neill, the great-
est American dramatist, writes in
the 1930’s a deeply romantic play
about another great emotion, Reli-
gion. The hero of his “Days With-
oue End” at last falls prostrate at
the foot of the Cross. Romantic
i
for themselves.
again. An emotion, the play tells
us, (religious emotion this time,)
is a better guide to living than
cod Reason. Rationalism it out;
Romance is in. Compare O’Neill’4
fine old priest, who dominates this
play, with Sinclair Lewis’s rascally
preacher, Elmer Gantry, who scan-
dalized us back in 1927.
k kx 3% 3k 3k
The reign of critical reason over
American literature thus seems to
have begun to break down about
1929. Since that year, our most
distinguished novels, plays, and
poems have changed their em-
phasis from merciless analysis to
glorifying the emotions: Love, for
example, and religion, and patriot-
ism.
ok ok k %
Why has this happened? Well,
for one thing, the reliance on Rea-
son in the 1920’s rested upon two
pillars both of which have been
sadly shaken since those days. One
of these pillars of self-confident
rationalism was the general feel-
ing that we had an essentially
sound system of economics. Capi-
1 talism, most writers thought in
the 1920’s, needed only to be crit-
icized and changed about some-
what, in order to make it function
satisfactorily. Capitalism, no mat-
ter how often our critical writers
took it apart and showed us its
faults, was generally felt to be a
going concern. Then came the pan-
ic and the depression. Today thou-
sands of readers, hundreds of writ-
ers, and even dozens of bankers
have felt serious qualms, at one
tizae or another, about the work-
ableness of free capitalism. Now,
if a writer is to trust his reason,
he must feel very sure of his
premises. But how can he be sure
when his economic premises are
rocking and sliding about under
his feet? “Perhaps”, some writers
are likely to think, “Perhaps under
such uneasy circumstances our feel-
ings are the safest guides after
all. We know, at any rate, that
our emotions are real. Perhaps our
emotions, such as love, and pa-
triotism, are more real than the
conclusions that we reach by sci-
entific reasoning. Perhaps, then
romanticism, or trusting the emo-
tions, is safer and saner than ra-
tionalism, or reasoning things out.”
(Personally I disagree violently,
but my personal prejudices are
neither here nor there.)
% ok ok ok Xk
And then what about Science,
the second pillar of the self-con-
fident rationalism of the 1920’s?
Well, just ask any philosophically
minded scientist if he is as sure
today about the fundamental na-
ture of things as he was ten years
ago. As a matter of fact, the most
famous scientific principle since
Einstein’s Theory of Relativity is
called “The Uncertainty Principle.”
k ok kk kk
So here is at least a partial ex-
planation of why so many leading
American writers have gone Ro-
mantic in the 1930’s. Both the pil-
lars of hardboiled Rationalism—
both the unquestioned certainty of
free capitalism and the sureness
of science—have been shaken in
the minds of many a writer.
sk ok sk ok 3k
In four succeeding columns of
this series, we shall take up in
detail some recent novels, plays,
and poems which seem to stand
out as representative of this new
romantic trend. We shall probably
find, by the way, as we explore
the new books, other trends as
well. When critical rationalism col-
lapsed, Romance was not its only
heir. In this first column we have,
let us hope, finished with theoriz-
“1 ing. Hereafter let us allow the new
novels, plays, and poems to speak
Today we have
looked at modern American liter-
ature. From now on, let us listen
to=it.
J. B. Corns, ’27, was a recent
campus visitor enroute to the Uni-
versity of Illinois where he will
teach this year in the Horticultural
Department. He received his doc-
tor’s degree this spring from Cor-
nell University. He will have a
freshman brother in A. & M. this
year. Mr. and Mrs. Corns will make
their home in Champaigne, Ill.
C. E. “Teddy” Maedgen, ’04, pres-
ident of the Lubbock National Bank
and his associates, recently pur-
chased controlling interest in the
First National Bank at Odessa.
Mr. Maedgen will serve as presi-
dent of the bank but will continue
to give his full time to the Lubbock
National Bank, where he has been
an executive officer for 20 years.
HOUSTON AGGIES
HONOR ASHBURN
ON EVE RETURN
“Ike Ashburn Day” was observ-
ed by the Houston A. & M. Club
at its regular Monday luncheon
meeting at the Rice Hotel on Sep-
tember 27. 150 A. & M. men and
their guests were present to pay
tribute to the man who comes
back to Aggieland on October first
as Executive Assistant to the Pres-
ident.
The luncheon was featured by
the presence of many distinguish-
ed guests in honor of Col Ashburn.
Among these were United States
Senator the Honorable Tom Con-
nally, President T. O. Walton and
Dean Ross Marsteller from A. &
M., Alva Carlton, prominent Uni-
versity of Texas Ex, Bill Blanton,
manager Houston Chamber of
Commerce, Ben Warden, '03, Aus-
tin, and others.
Houston Club president G. A.
“Cop” Forsyth, ’17, presided. Splen-
did tribute was paid the honor
guest by Senator Connally, Pres.
Wilton and T. B. Warden, princi-
pal speakers of the occasion. On
behalf of the Houston Club and
following his tribute, Mr. Warden
presented to Col. Ashburn a fram-
ed resolution expressing the regret
of the Houston A. & M. men at
losing Qol. Ashburn, expressing
their pleasure, however, in his re-
turning to A. & M., and affirming
their love and respect for their
honor guest.
Visibly affected by the fine tri-
butes from his friends, Col. Ash-
burn responded with a few words.
“The best tribute that can be paid
me” declared Col. Ashburn, “Is the
respect and confidence of A. &
M. Men. This party is really a
Home-coming event, rather than a
going away party. I hope I can con-
tinue to merit your fine friendship
and your deep respect. Returning
to A. & M. makes me a very happy
man’.
The Houston Club meets every
Monday noon on the mezzanine
floor of the Rice Hotel and extends
a cordial welcome to visiting A. &
M. men. Officers in addition to
President Forsyth are Vice Pres.
Victor Barraco, ’15, and Secretary-
Treasurer M. E. “Dime” Dealey,
195.
Geolge L. Milner, ’31, is owner
and manager of the Home Furni-
ture Company of Pecos and Mon-
ahans, Texas. Milner reports that
business is mighty good.
S.: Fo Clark, ’15, "ist living" at
Greenville, Texas and is looking
forward to the Thanksgiving Game
this fall.
J. W. Godfrey, 37, is a student
engineer with the Texas Electric
Service Company at Wichita Falls,
Texas and is living at 1643 Col-
lins Street of that city. Godfrey
reports that they have had a very
active summer and that he has
gained lots of valuable experience.
He has recently completed a nice
job of rebuilding a 3000 KVA
transformer, which he found to be
a very interesting piece of work.
Herbert E. Kellner, ’27, is with
Swift and Company, 131st St. &
12th Avenue, New York City, New
York. Kellner is very enthusiastic
over the Manhattan-Aggie football
game to be played in New York
City on October 2, as this will be
the first time he has had a chance
to see the Aggies play since 1928.
F. Leo. Gerdes, 28, is with the
U. S. Department of Agriculture
and at the present time is Cotton
Technologist at the U. S. Cotton
Ginning Laboratory, Stoneville,
Mississippi, in charge of the cot-
ton quality work. Gerdes was re-
cently elected to ‘American Men
of Science” as a result of contri-
butions made in the field of cotton
research. Gerdes is married and has
two daughters.
Pinkney E. Cunningham, ’07, is
temporarily located at Lake Vil-
lage, Arkansas where he is work-
ing on the Mississippi River Flood
Control. Cunningham’s permanent
address is 1628 Chambers Street,
Vicksburg, Mississippi.
William W. “Bill’ Coulter, ’36,
is a sophomore medical student at
Louisiana State University Medi-
cal Center, New Orleans, Louisiana.-.
Bill says that he is the president
and member (only member) of
the L. S. U. Medical Center Ex-
Aggie Club.
J. Harry McReynolds, ’33, is
working for the Humble Oil and
Refining Company and is located
at Roanoke, Louisiana, where he
gets his mail at Box 534. McRey-
nolds is still single and is getting
along fine.
Sol Wright, ’22
Rejoins Faculty
Sol R. Wright, ’22, recently re-
signed as supervisor of Public Util-
ities for the City of Fort Worth
and has accepted a position as As-
sistant Professor of Civil Engi-
neering at Texas A. & M. He and
his family have already moved to
Bryan.
Reasons for Wright's resignation
at Fort Worth were termed politi-
cal. “I am primarily an engineer
and not a politician”, Wright told
newspaper reporters. “The two just
don’t go together, so I am getting
out”. He had served as Utility
Supervisor of Fort Worth since
April of 1926, coming to that city
from Waco, where he served for
eight years as assistant city en-
gineer of Waco. Prior to that time
he was a member of the Civil
Engineering Department faculty
at A. & M.
With a wealth of both teaching
and practical experience behind
him, he will make an excellent ad-
dition to the engineering faculty
of the College.
Colonel and Mrs. W. Claude
Washington, ’12, and chicldren, re-
cently left the campus for New
York City, from where they will
sail to the Colonel’s new assogn-
ment, Fort Sherman, Panama
Canal Zone. For the past six years
Colonel Washington has been on
duty with the R. O. T. C. at A. &
M.
Joe A. Ford, ’37, has accepted a
position with the Arkansas Natur-
al Gas Corporation in the Engine-
ering Department, and is located
at Shreveport, Louisiana. This
company, is a subsidiary of the
Cities Service Oil Company and
Ford likes his work fine. Joe is
a brother of Roy R. Ford, ’35, whe
is with the Shell Petroleum Comp-
any, Kilgore, Texas.
L. D. Stephenson, ’35, is sub-
district commander of a CCC camp
located at Tulsa, Oklahoma. His
address is 101 North Delaware,
Tulsa, OKla.
Howard E. Willson, ’37, is living
at 1705 Fairview, Houston. Will-
son is employed by the Humble Oil
and Refining Company.
W. S. Millington, ’30, sends in
his Association dues. Millington is
county agricultural agent of Bas-
trop County. He gets his mail at
Box 421, Bastrop, Texas.
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