6
THE BATT ALIGN
THE LIBRARY PAGE
R. H. SHUFFLER Editor
H. C. GIVENS Asso. Editor
J. R. KEITH Asso. Editor
G. M. WREN Asso. Editor
J. W. RILEY Asso. Editor
It seems to be the custom for
all publications of this sort to carry
in their initial issues some state
ments of the aims, ambitions and in
tentions of the editor and his staff
in presenting the said publications
to the public. In accordance with this
time-honored method of procedure,
we wish here to give you some idea
of the stimuli prompting this ac
tion.
Like many of you, we have found
that books play a very important
part in the process of education, and
that they not only prove useful in
this process, but even at times af
ford the student much pleasure and
satisfaction that otherwise would
have been missed. Many of these
books, we have found, deal in ideas,
some in the abstract and others prac
tical, in which we have become in
terested. With such a common in
terest, an exchange of our findings
in this field has proven a very
pleasurable and helpful pastime.
This page we intend to use, in com
mon with as many of you as are
interested, as a medium of exchange
for these things of interest to us
all.
The new books that come to the li
brary, and many of the old ones
we think will be of interest to the
group, will be reviewed or listed on
this page from time to time, and
space will also be given to any con
tributions, in this or relative lines,
that may come to us at any time.
This page is not the property of
the staff alone, and we do not wish
to do all of the writing that goes
into it. It is published for the bene
fit or pleasure of all members of
the student body who are interest
ed in reading and discussing good
books, and it will be worthwhile
only so long as the readers as a
whole take an active part in its
preparation.
Any member of the staff will be
more than glad to accept any contri
butions you may wish to make, and
it is our desire that as many as pos
sible take a part in the writing of
material. Contributions may also be
addressed to Box 94 Student Ex
change, or left in 94 Leggett.
To the Editor of the Library Page—
Dear Shuffler:
Your request that I suggest some-
good books for the perusal of the
cultivated clientele of THE BAT
TALION, and your graphic picture
of hundreds of stalwart Aggies
crowding thirstily around the foun
tain of knowledge, fill me with mingl
ed emotions of pleasure and scepti
cism. As you will observe, however,
from the length of this response to
your request, I am resolved to ac
cent the picture as a true one, dis
missing any doubts as to the num
ber and zeal of my readers, as be
ing unworthy of one who for twelve
delightful years has enjoyed the
moral and intellectual benefits of
constant association with the Ag
gies aforesaid. At any rate, if I
may venture to quote in so frivo
lous a connection the Bible of Ag-
gieland; whether anyone reads this
or not, and whether or not any of
my readers go so far as to follow
my literary advise, “THERE SHALL
BE NO REGRETS!” I shall have
done my part, and if hereafter the
readers of THE BATTALION con
tinue to drag out an unenlightened
existence, and descend to their graves
with minds still unruffled by one
disturbing idea, I for once, shall
have no qualms of conscience.
But first, will you be kind enough
to warn your readers that in their
headlong intellectual enthusiasm,
they must not neglect the graver
affairs which claim their first al
legiance ? For example, it would give
me immeasurable pain to hear that
some worthy but misguided Aggie
had been found during Yell Prac
tice devouring the flashy pages of
Bertrand Russell or guiltily gulping
the heady wine of Havelock Ellisls
Dance of Life. Or consider, Mr. Edi
tor, what my emotions would be if
it should be brought to my attention
that the Corps trip to Dallas had
been able to lure only a handful of
particularly strong wills from the
furtive delights of Charles Beard’s
“Rise of American Civilization” or
Will Durant’s Story of Philosophy ?
I should feel myself to be a traitor
to that OLD AGGIE SPIRIT of
vhich I have for so long* been such
a fervent and outspoken advocate,
and when Goodbye to Texas Univer
ity next swelled harmoniously from
twenty-seven hundred hairy chests,
r should be forced by my guilt and
hame (if for no other reason) to
hide my head and cover my ears.
So by all means urge your readers
to be temperate in their intellectual
feeding. Was it in one of Jack Lon-
■ion’s stories that the hapless hero
^ied from an imprudent meal taken
■mmediately after long fasting?—-
’■•ut my illustration would seem not
quite polite, and I hastily withdraw
it.
At any rate, since you ask for a
’ist of books, here it is. Taken in
broken doses, it may possibly en-
"ich without unduly upsetting the
'olid Aggie mind. For any rashes,
eruptions, biliousness, or fits that it
nay cause, I must insist on laying
^he responsibility upon the Atlantean
'houlders of yourself and the hospi-
' able EDITOR OF THE BATTAL-
T ON.
Sincerely,
THOMAS F. MAYO,
Librarian.
fP. S. Of course this list does not
'’oncern Seniors, who, as everybody
’-nows, know enough, if not too
much, already).
\ LIST OF SUGGESTED BOOKS
FOR VOLUNTARY READING.
^N. B. All these books are in the
Library. If they are not available
when you ask for them or look them
up, ask the desk assistant to put you
<->n the waiting list for the book
which you want. It will be reserved
? or you when it comes in, and you
will be notified.)
1. The Today and Tomorrow Ser
ies (consisting of some fifty titles).
Each of these little books is an at
tempt by a specialist who is an en-
fwtaining writer, to predict the im
mediate future of the world, with
special reference to his own special
line of development. Among the best
are: Haldane’s Daedalus, an optimis
tic view, and Bertrands Russell’s
Icarus, a somewhat grim prediction
of the future of humanity as affect
ed by modern science. What I Be
lieve, by Bertrand Russel, is a clear
and brief statement of the general
attitude of perhaps the most influ
ential thinker in contemporary Eng
land or America. Garet’s Ouroboros,
is a clever analysis of the causes
that underlie the present intense
competition in advertising, and a
prophecy of what must come of it.
Jenning’s Prometheus is a sane dis
cussion of the relative claims of
heredity and environment to be con
sidered as the chief force in human
affairs. It is written by a distin
guished geneticist, who is yet able
to see the other side of the ques
tion. Dr. Jennings, by the way will
speak to the Science Seminar on this
Campus at some time during the
year. Students are urged to watch
the Bulletin for the announcement
of his coming and to attend his lec
ture, which will undoubtedly be of
absorbing interest to anyone who
has wondered whether to blame his
ancestors or his associates for his
short-comings.
Ask the desk assistant where to
find the Today and Tomorrow Ser
ies, look through the little books,
and select the one which deals with
that phase of the future with which
you are especially concerned. Do not
be alarmed by the queer titles, which
were derived from appropriate Greek
myths. (They all have plain sub
titles, which will tell you what they
are about.)
2. Swan Song, by John Gals
worthy. This is the final story of the
group of novels in which Galsworthy
tries to analyze the Younger Gener
ation. Fleur Forsyte is fairly typi
cal though rather hard. Her young
husband, Michael, is the very best
type of modern young fellow; and old
Soames, Fleur’s father, is the es
sence of the Victorian generation.
You should really go back and read
The White Monkey, The Silver Spoon,
and Two Interludes, to get Galswor
thy’s whole point of view about the
Jazz Generation. But any of the
books may be read separately.
3. Marco Millions, a play by Eu
gene O’Neal. This was so well re
viewed in last year’s Library Page
that it is unnecessary for the pres
ent writer to say very much about
it. He does recommend it highly,
however, because it is a beautiful
thing, full of the slyest and most
stinging humor. O’Neal’s earlier
plays, Emperor Jones, about an es
caped negro convict, who set up an
empire in the West Indies; The
Hairy Ape, a rousing drama of a
rough-neck who refused to accept
the fact of social classes; Anna
Christie; and Different, are all worth
reading, if only as the works of the
one first-rate dramatist that this
country has so far produced.
4. If you have escaped hitherto
from the novels of Sinclair Lewis, it
is high time you read them, for they
are the best satirical mirror of the
American life of today. They will
make you lose your temper, because
they tread on everybody’s toes at one
time or another. Main Street crit
icizes the American small town;
Babbitt makes fun of our city slick
ers; (Babbitt, in the writer’s opin
ion, is Lewis’s masterpiece. It has
already added a word to the Eng
lish language. To call a man a “Bab
bitt” is to label him perfectly.);
Arrowsmith points out the weak
points of the medical profession,
and Elmer Gantry those of the min
istry.
(Additions "to this list will be made
every few weeks, and as new books
are bought for the Library, they
will be mentioned and reviewed in
the Library Page.)
LUCKY FISH.
(“Essays in Liberal Thought,” by
W. H. Thomas and S. S. Morgan).
Presenting a group of essays of
special interest to college students,
Messrs. Thomas and Morgan have
compiled a book that furnishes in
teresting and thought provoking
reading. Including such topics as the
discussion of a world’s championship
prize fight by Katherine Fullerton
Gerould, and tales of a hobo by Glen
Mullin, the book deals with colle
giate athletics, modern philosophy,
American civilization, literature,
grammar, and scientific discoveries.
The authors represented are men
well fitted to present their topics.
We find essays by newspaper men,
scientists, novelists, professors of
philosophy, lecturers, playwrights,
literary critics, historians, English
professors, editors, political writers,
social workers, artists, engineers, and
even an ex-hobo. The many differ
ent subjects in the collection are
treated by men and women who are
well acquainted with their subjects
and are leaders in their fields.
Of course, there is the usual com
ment on American civilization by
a foreigner who has spent a few
months in the United States, and
who is consequently well fitted to
tell all about it. And the author of
“The Plastic Age” is also given
some space.
“Ringside Seats,” by Katherine
Fullerton Gerould, is a relief after
the flood of articles on the brutality
of pugilism and the coarse tastes of
homo Americaus. She views it as
a classic drama rather than a pro
fessional, and her description of the
scene in the stadium and of the
spirit of the crowd is thrilling and
yet analytical. She sees beauty and
dignity where others have seen only
brutality. Her story of the fight is
hardly one that an old fight fan
would enjoy, or the type that the
radio announcer tells, but it is force
ful and makes a moving picture of
the scene, containing a sufficient
amount of emotional stimulus as
well.
“Appreciation of Human Worth,”
by Everett Dean Martin, is good
reasoning presented in a clear man
ner, and it touches a phase of edu
cation that is receiving an increas
ing amount of attention from educa
tional workers—the development of
individuality. It is worth while.
“Frisco, the Tramp,” by Glen
Mullin, makes interesting reading.
The language of the hobo, although
not the best English, is strong and
forceful. Mr. Mullin really asks too
much, however, when he expects us
to let his hobo say “Holy Smokes!”
Those may have been the exact
words of Frisco, but it will be a job
to make me believe it. However,
Frisco’s tale of his travels in a bat
tery-box is everything that it should
be. The entire essay is humorous,
and if the author is as sincere as