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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 23, 1929)
AND THE PART IT PLAYS IN ^kNALYSli o£ our so-ca.ued “Machine Age” civ- iliaatlon would require volumes, but it can be summarized in a few words. The average citizen today enjoys, as a matter of course, ordinary daily necessities that were beyond the reach or even the dreams of Egyptian Pharaohs, the Greeks in their “palmiest” days, or Roman senators in the hey-day of their ascendency. These things are made possible as a result of mass production by the use of machinery—power driven— and our system of communication and distribution which is, of itself, more marvelous than any develop ment of our present-day, complex scheme of things. And that distribution has been made possible by and absolutely is dependent upon our railroads. In any final analysis we come back to first principles. Without the railroads our frontiers could not have been extended, vast reaches of our country could not have been developed—our rural populations, at great distances from the centers of industrial production could not have enjoyed the benefits of this mass production, and our great industrial population centers could not have been supplied with even the raw ma terials of manufacture, to say nothing of food from our farms and the b^sic commodities for clothing and shelter. More than that, if specific examples are sought we need only to look at the spectacle of California products competing with Texas and Florida in New York, and Florida products successfully competing with those of other sections in the middle west and north, while those of Texas compete successfully at the very door steps of both California and Florida. All this is possible wholly and solely because of our railroad transpor tation. All of this progress and amazing development—our “Machine Age” civilization—is based primarily on wide spread general prosperity and the prosperity of each re gion, community and group is vitally dependent on railroad transportation. General prosperity is dependent on purchasing power and that, in turn, again, is depend ent on adequate and dependable transportation by rail. The railroads are willingly and gladly carrying their full share of the burden and cheerfully contributing a full measure of their quota to the whole situation. They expect to continue to do this. And to this end— I solicit your co-operation and support. sides this first award, four more ! weeks I shall still be dazed. Like scholarships were given, smaller in scope than the first. To each state representative was awarded a de luxe radio set, and it was this prize that Evans won. The interesting de tails of the whole contest, speaking for Evans, are as follows: Each boy was selected by his high school principle and sent to Austin Ted Lewis I’m “Walking Around in a Dream” so if I say anything this week in this column that is in correct, out-of-place, extraordinary, or vague, please overlook it and don’t blame the humble author; just lay the blame where it belongs and that is nothing else than the Corps Trip. If you’re not still thinking about it to compete in the state contest. Lit- , , , , tie or no preparation could be made !the " p* human and your temperature is below normal. You for the examinations, since the na- 7 , • , a , . . , - . , . . „ need to be examined by a physician ture of their content was not known. TT , - , . — . . • and let him locate the msismg mech- However, before leaving for Austin, . „ Evans says that he brushed us a bit a ” lsm . of your mdmdual anatomy, on physics and chemistry, and later l Thare 18 s°methmg evidently on was glad that he had done s0 . wtth you if you can t remember. At Austin, the fifty-five boys en- the end ° f U " 3 everything tered in the Texas competition, were examined by a board of three men— Dr. Silvey of Texas A. and M., Dr. Bonar of Texas University, and Dr. Boone of Southern Methodist Univer sity. Written tests were taken in physics, intelligence, general knowl edge, and on technical questions. All but fourteen boys were eliminated, and these fourteen came back later for a second examination in which Evans was chosen to represent Texas in the final competition held at East Orange, New Jersey. On this trip, all expenses—to, from, and while there—were paid by Mr. Edison. One week was spent in East Orange, and the boys were examined in a man ner similar to the state contest, by such famous men as: Edison him self, Col. Charles Lindbergh, Mr. Eastman of Eastman Kodak Com- paiy, Dr. Perry, Henry Ford, and Dr. Stratton. The winner was the repre sentative from the state of Washing ton. The chances are, that he will be regarded at some time or other, with the same gentle skepticism that has characterized the attitude toward Mr. Edison’s now famous plan and idea of choosing the outstanding American boy. The proposition between Evans and his three brother contestants, and A. and M., should be a give and take one. We are honored that they chose our school; they will give us a certain something that every school strives for—prestige. In return, A. and M.. gives them the best techni cal training in the state, and an “esprit de corps” that is found no where else in the world. The ex change should be to mutual advan tage. And by way of comment, on noting that Evans is an electrical engineer, we will say that if he “chases coulombs” half as well as Thomas A. Edison did, then we will again and more forcefully proclaim loud and long to the whole wide world that he is ours. | SLANTS AT I ! THE CROWD ! y jpC It’s all over, Army, its all over. Please note the melancholy tone of the sentence; surely it can easily be seen. But the memory of the corps trip to Fort Worth in 1929 will linger in our minds for many, many moons. The game—the girls— the hospitality of the city in general; all of these combined to form one of the most pleasant experiences in the life of all of the Texas Ag gies. I haven’t fully recovered from the effects of the past week-end yet and I suppose at the end of two more that happened. It’s true that we were disappointed in one thing—that is, we didn’t win the game and this was the one ac complishment we wanted to do. It was too bad, but there’s nothing to do about it except to work harder for the next one—and pull the bris tles out of the Razorbacks Satur day and have pork for supper. Even though we lost the game it did not seem to keep the Aggies from enjoying themselves to the fullest extent. But who could help it? A devout pessimist would have had difficulty in not having an en joyable time. Even a man with two cork legs could havefound some thing to do. It was there for you and if you did not have the suffi cient vitality to find that elusive thing called happiness it was your own darn fault. You didn’t have to go far to find it. Even C. I. A. came up to give the farmer boys a “glad hand” and to pull for that ‘ole Aggie team. That information came from a reliable source so don’t dispute the state ment. If all the student body of C. I. A. is as strong for A. and M. as two young ladies who were so kind as to transport four certain Aggie brothers to the T. C. U. cam pus, this school would need no fur ther backing; it would have a suffi cient amount. We could start erect ing three new dormitories imme diately. We are deeply indebted to Misses Frances Louise Lewis and Harriet Rushing, both of Fort Worth, for such a pleasant journey to the campus. It must have been that friendly Fort Worth spirit at work. It was an obliging reception to say the least and quite different from the one we received at Dallas last year. * * * According to the best statistics available at the present time, only four hundred and twenty-nine dol lars and thirty-two cents worth of collar ornaments and other sundry articles were left in the fair city. The Exchange Store should do a thriving business this week replen ishing the wardrobe of those poor, imposed upon “kaydets” who lost them. Isn’t it sad ? But there, little boy, don’t cry—why you did a good deed; you made a heart glad; you served your school well and upheld all of it’s old traditions in doing such a thing. Be glad that you could do it and if your old blouse looks rather forlorn without the insignas it will be proud of the man that wears it. You should be glad that you did not leave your Sam Browne belt—your Number one cap—your tie—or even your—(Censured by the editor). You can bet your last can of Prince Albert on one thing though: those collar ornaments that you