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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 10, 1939)
PAGE 2 The Battalion STUDENT TRI-WEEKLY NEWSPAPER OF TEXAS A. & M. COLLEGE The Battalion, official newspaper of the Agrricnltural and Mechanical College of Texas and the city of College Station, is published three times weekly from September to June, issued Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday mornings; and is published weekly from June through August. Entered as second-class matter at the Post Office at College Station, Texas, under the Act of Congress of March 3, 1879. Subscription rate, ,$3 a school year. Advertising rates upon request. Represented nationally by National Advertising Service, Inc., at New York City, Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Office, Room 122, Administration Building. Telephone 4-6444. STAFF BILL MURRAY EDITOR-IN-CHIEF LARRY WEHRLE .... ADVERTISING MANAGER James Critz Associate Editor E. C. (Jeep) Oates Sports Editor H. G. Howard Circulation Manager ••Hub” Johnson Intramural Editor Philip Golman Staff Photographer John J. Moseley Staff Artist TUESDAY STAFF Charlie Wilkinson Managing Editor Sam Davenport Asst. Advertising Manager C. A. Montgomery Editorial Assistant Junior Editors George Fuermann Earle Shields Senior Sports Assistants Marshall Kennady Jimmy Cokinos Reportorial Staff , XVpin LUX lill OlUXX , D. K. Andrews, Alfred Fischer, H. S. Hutchins, W. D, C. Jones, J. C. Rominger, Sidney Smith, E. A. Sterling, W. P Walker, R. J. Warren, L. B. Williams, G. W. Williams Hospital Substation Needed To judge by the consensus of opinion, the fre quency of requests for a hospital substation at the new halls and the number of complaints because there isn’t one, a disinterested observer might easily ascertain that such is considered one of the most badly needed facilities on the new campus at pres ent. Believing that the consensus of opinion is a good indication—at least, the best one possible— The Battalion, an interested observer, comes to the fore to champion the cause and the claim of some 2,600 boys who ask that a hospital substation be set up at the new dormitories. Certainly it’s true that we have a good hospital, good medical equipment and a good medical staff. But these are all located at the opposite end of the campus from the site upon which more than half the campus students are now residing. To reach the College Hospital involves a walk of fifteen minutes, more or less. And as one commentator so aptly put it, “If a boy is really sick, he won’t be able to make the long hike over to the hospital—and if he just has a cold or cough, which are the commonest com plaints among the student body, then he won’t make the walk anyhow.” Though this may seem a sad commentary on human nature, it’s true nevertheless. Trifling as a cold or cough may seem, it may easily develop serious complications. But a person notwithstanding, will not make such a long walk except for some pressing reason; and a cold or cough, at least superficially, does not strike most boys as pressing ■enough a reason. If this observation were not true, then what is the use of constructing a post office substation at the new halls ? What then the need for a confec tionery or barber shop at the new dorms? We already had these facilities—at the other end of the campus. If we needed substations for these facilities—and we do—we certainly meed a medical substation. Med ical assistance is of primary importance. If boys won’t make a long trek to get medical aid, then the medical aid should be brought to the boys—to para phrase an old proverb. Of course, as in so many other cases, lack of money may be a primary reason for not having established a hospital substation already. But it wouldn’t take such a great expenditure—and to us it seems very necessary. The Battalion therefore urges that a hospital substation, equipped with those things necessary to take care of all the com mon complaints, be established at the new halls just as soon as provision can be made for it. Action on Airport Advisable One of the fundamental reasons for the estab lishment of an airport to serve Bryan and Texas A. & M. College is that the addition of this facility would make possible the designation of the college as a base for a civilian pilot training program, al though the college proposes the establishment of a course in aeronautical engineering, when and if an airport is made available on a location close enough to the college to serve this purpose. The Civil Aeronautics Authority has designated 55 more colleges as civilian pilot training points, raising the number to 355. Southwest Texas State Teachers College at San Marcos was the only Texas institution in this latest list, and it is reported that the C.A.A. will added a few more colleges to the list. When the list would be finally closed and how many more schools are to be designated is not known, but it is certain there will be a limit to the number and that the list -will be closed sooner or later. Recently officials from Texas A. & M. met with the Bryan city commission to discuss the matter of an airport. The Board of Directors of the College has set aside approximately 500 acres of land, within little more than a mile of the academic building, for airport purposes. This land is ‘a little more than five miles from Bryan. The plans of the college were tentatively ap proved by the city commission, and a committee was named to discuss details of the participation of the city in this project. The college is interested in the city aiding in the improvement of the land, in view of the fact that it has $8,500 voted for this purpose and also has land purchased for airport purposes that might be sold and, possibly, some if not all this money also made available for this purpose. One of the questions to be decided is that of maintenance, after the airport is established and in operation. There is a growing opinion, on the basis of a contract that the airport will be available to Bryan and be regarded as a public field, as well as serving the particular needs of college, that arrange ments should be made for college to care for main tenance, since most air traffic will be to that insti tution, rather than to Bryan, and the college also will make a greater daily use of the facility, in view of the plans for training students in engineering and, in all probability, as civilian pilots. In view of the fact that the C.A.A. has not yet closed its list of colleges, designated as civilian pilot training points, but may do so soon, the speediest possible action by Texas A. & M. College and Bryan to arrange for the improvement of this site, if cooperation is decided on by the city— as it is expected will be the case—should be sought. If Bryan and college are to have an airport, there is no reason for further delay, in view of the government program, and the aid that might be obtained in further improvement, once the field is established and approved' by federal aeronautical authorities. —Bryan Daily Eagle Get Your Telephones! Last year telephones were installed in the dor mitories, in response to a popular demand on the part of students. For the first time since this school was founded, the student body then had proper facilities for communication on the campus, and for receiving long-distance calls. The telephones, though not perfect in location or accommodations, nevertheless gave far better communication service than the Aggies had ever before had. And this year, with the greatest student body in history, the need for telephones is even greater. It’s time they were being installed. M. C. Atkins, district manager of the South west Telephone Company, stated September 28 that telephones were then available for the old dormi tories, and soon would be for the new ones. Service charges are only $2.50 a month. Requests for in stallation should be turned in to the Commandant’s Office by organization commanders. Units desiring phone service are urged to file their applications as soon as possible, in order to secure quicker instal lation. Some organizations have already taken up the matter; but many have allowed it to lag. Why? The cost of maintaining a telephone is only five to fifteen cents a boy a month—certainly not a prohibitive price. The telephone service may not be as ideal as could be desired, because of the expense it involves for the telephone company—but at any rate, think how much greater the advantages of telephonic communication facilities are than of doing without. Don’t you think it’s worth a nickel or a dime a month to be able to call anywhere on the campus without additional charge, and without having to make the long walk which would other wise be necessary? Don’t you want to be able to get phone calls from home at your hall? Locations of the phones will be better this year, Mr. Atkins has assured. In other ways the service should be superior to last year’s. Provisions have been made for eight phones in each of the new halls. One phone per hall is scarcely enough. To climb two or three flights of stairs for a phone call is not very pleasant. Why not get from two to four phones in each of the new halls— or one for each company, battery, or troop ? It won’t cost much—and the added convenience will certainly be worth it. If your organization hasn’t already taken steps to secure telephone service—why not do so? IT REMAINS TO BE SEEN WHETHER HIT- ler has sufficient grit to polish off the Poles. “THE OPEN SKY IS THE BEST SORT OF roof,” declares a camping enthusiast. The trouble is that it leaks so badly. As the World Turns... By DR. RALPH W. STEEN The fight to repeal the arms embargo goes mer rily on, with all signs pointing to an administrative victory. The opposition Senators must be given ample time to make speeches for public consumption—but even these Senators seem to realize that they are doing little more than shadow-boxing. Hitler’s peace proposal—if it can properly be called a peace pro posal—has received very cool recep tion from the British press. Musso lini, erstwhile friend of Hitler, has refused to deliver the proposal. Meanwhile the German press is en thusiastically supporting a proposal that President Roosevelt mediate be tween the warring powers. Hteen The possibility of American mediation is remote at this time. England and France seem to think that Poland and Czechoslovakia should be restored. Hitler doesn’t think so. Hence it would seem that there is little to be gained from peace negotiations at this time. No country likes to spon sor a peace conference that produces nothing in the way of peace. A special session of the Texas legislature is daily becoming more probable. The session, in case there is one, will have to wrestle with numerous financial problems, one of the most pressing of which is the plight of the old-age pension fund. The Normandie, flagship of the French lines, seems to have been parked at her New York pier for the duration of the war. Fourteen barrels of mothballs were used in packing away the furnish ings of the luxury liner. The vessel would prove a most tempting target to German bombing planes if returned to a French port. The warning received from the German admiral ty that the American liner Iroquois would be sunk near American shores constitutes one of the most bizarre episodes of the current war. The warning is probably part of a German attempt to convince Americans that Britain instead of Germany was responsible for the destruction of the Athenia. The Iroquois is being escorted at the present time by an undisclosed number of American warships. The library has just received two copies of the San Antonio guidebook prepared by the Federal Writers’ Project of the W. P. A. The guide is well arranged and has some excellent illustrations. The number of places listed as being of historical interest would doubtless surprise a resident of San Antonio, and the list completely startles one not well ac quainted with the lesser places of interest in the old city. THE BATTALION “Certainly I have a soul—but I tell you this bench is damp!” Cyirt&ur E>y Bob Ni/beh “SERGEANT MADDEN”, star ring Wallace Beery, is next run at the Assembly Hall, showing Tues day and Wednesday. Tom Brown, Alana Curtis, and Loraine John son share top billing with Beery. It’s a strange coincidence that both the Palace and the Assembly Hall should have a Wallace Beery pic ture at the same time. “Thunder Afloat”, which showed Sunday and Monday at the Palace, is to be held over Tuesday. “The Women” will take up the rest of the week there. Shaun Madden is an Irish cop on the New York police force, one of the old school. He has two sons, Dennis and Albert, one his own son and the other an adopted boy. Even when Dennis, his own son, was a child, Madden had had ambi tions for him to be a cop too. Den nis, however, now in young man hood has other ideas about the matter. His interest in boxing leads him to believe that he has the makings of a champion. He finds that he hasn’t. Madden sends him to the Police Academy for training as an officer, but Dennis is a surly pupil with a chip on his shoulder. Even so he graduates with honors and is assigned to his father’s old beat. It is not long be fore he gets caught drunk while a store is being robbed, and he is sent to prison, where he imme diately escapes. Knowing where the boy will go, Madden sets out to bring him back, dead or alive. Part of a New York cop’s rou tine is protecting recently-arrived immigrants from “leather-drop pers”. Know what a leather-drop per is? Well I’ll’tell you. Leather- droppers are crooks who drop a wallet containing a counterfeit bill and then pounce on the wallet just as the victim is about to do the same. They offer to split “fifty- fifty,” giving him the bill for whatever change he may have in his pockets. He finds about the counterfeit part later on, by which time it is too late. Yeah, that was a new one on me, too. Rather than rate shows as “ex cellent”, “good”, “fair”, “poor”, and “bad”, from now on, in order to save time, and in order to be different, I’m going to grade shows as we are graded in school here. For instance “Sergeant Madden” gets a rating of one grade point or a “C”. If the idea stinks, let me know. As mentioned before the show at the Palace Theater now show ing is “Thunder Afloat”, which picture also stars Wallace Beery, but this time as the skipper of a tugboat. His boat is sunk by the Germans in the World War, and he joins the navy to seek revenge. His experience nets him a job as an ensign. On his first trip out he disobeys orders and is “busted”. Later he displays his valor and his old job is restored. Chester Morris and Lynn Gray are co-starred with Beery in this picture. “Thunder Afloat” seems to be a little better picture, so it gets two grade points. Better than the feature, however, is the little merrie-melody comedy that goes along with it. It’s about a little owl who pops up in the most unexpected places and goes “hoot?” r* ^ WHAT S' SHOWING AT THE ASSEMBLY HALL Tuesday and Wednesday— “Sergeant Madden”, with Wallace Beery, Tom Brown, and Alan Curtis. AT THE PALACE Tuesday — “Thunder A- float”, with Wallace Beery, Chester Morris, and Lynn Gray. Wednesday, Thursday, Fri day and Saturday — “The Women”, with Norma Shear er, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell, Paulette Goddard, and Virginia Weidler. AGGIES ASK YOURSELF— Should two per cent of the stu dent body give the school a bad name by doing something such as was done the other night to the Southern Pacific coaches as they left with the team ? Making the railroad company have to clean its cars of red paint won’t get us many privileges. A couple of weeks ago, some freshmen left home with high ideals and ambitions. How many fresh men still have them ? What part have you played in this matter? What is wrong with a captain telling his organization’s freshmen to go to the library at least twice a week for valuable outside read ing and study? SEND your laundry home by convenient Railway Express Thrifty idea, this: It saves you bother, and cash too, for you can express it home "collect”, you know. So phone our agent tod%y. He’ll call for your weekly package, speed it away by fast express train, and when it returns, deliver your laundry to you — all with out extra charge. Complete and handy, eh? Only Railway Express gives this service, and it’s the same with your vacation baggage. For either or both, just pick up a phone and call SOUTHERN PACIFIC DEPOT Phone 9 College Station, Texas tU* . . • A Century •/ Service. .. 1939 Railway Express AGENCY. INC. NATION-WIDE RAIL-AIR SERVICE TUESDAY, OCT. 10, 1939 BACKWASH By George Fuermann “Backwash: An agitation resulting from some action or occurrence.”—Webster. Three down and seven to go . . . Aggies — 53, opponents — 3 . . . and our goal line is still uncrossed. . . . After listening to last Friday night’s telegraphic report of the Santa Clara game, one of the junior yell lead ers has suggested that announcer “Dutch” Dillingham play “On The Road To Mandalay” in stead of the usual swing numbers dur ing time-out Coast Artillery’s B Battery again has the best football banner, but many other outfits have some good ones this week . . . The History Department’s Dr. A1 Nelson re ceived the following in answer to one of his daily quizzes yesterday: “I was taken by surprise—com pletely!” . . . T.S.C.W. estimates that more than 2,000 of its stu dents will make the Fort Worth corps trip . . . And here’s one for the records: A Mr. Albert W. New man, a statistician, recently em phasized the facts that America’s Average Man lives somewhere in Indiana with .864 of a wife, who has born him 1.897' children. Mr. Newman is serious about this, too. • The All-American game: No proofreading will be done on this item, because it won’t make any difference whether the names are spelled correctly or not. When the Aggies tangle with Villanova next Saturday, here’s just a few of the tongue-twisters which radio an nouncers will have to unravel from the Pennsylvania school’s line-up: Korisky, Kolenda, Gogolinski, Yan- kauskas, Napoletano, Urbelis, Ga- buzda, and Sabrinsky. •» Last Friday night’s midnight yell practice was the biggest and most successful in Aggieland’s his tory. Nearly 4,000 cadets turned Barber Shop La Salle Hotel O’Conner - Jones Bryan, Texas SKATE Afternoons— 3:45 p. m. Week Days 2:30 p. m. Saturday and Sunday Nights— 7:30 p. m. Blue Bonnet Roller Rink College Road — Highway 6 out at one o’clock in the morning to celebrate A. & M.’s victory over Santa Clara. And, according to the word most cadets are passing around, Bodie Pierce, Bert Burns, “Foots” Bland, and Buster Keeton are doing a fine job leading the corps this year, ft History is made at night—or why have blind dates anyhow? There is a story worthy of all men to hear and concerns one A. & M. sophomore who visited the campus of our Denton sister school this past weekend. A blind date had been arranged for him with a girl who wears glasses—she could barely see without them. But woman-like, she decided to meet her date without glasses. If she liked him, she would remain glass less; if not, she would trot back up to her room and put them on. The hour arrived, she met, was unim pressed, and so went back for her glasses. Returning to the sopho more, she was startled:—he too had put on glasses. • From an A. & M. English class comes one freshman’s definition of the word “geese.” “Geese,” the freshman knowingly points out, “is a low, heavyset bird which is most ly meat and feathers. He ain’t got no between-your-toes and he’s got a balloon in his stummick to keep him from sinking. Some geese, when they get big, has curls on their tails and is called ganders. Ganders don’t haff to sit and hatch but just eat and loaf and go swim ming. If I was a geese I’d rather be a gander.” ASSEMBLY HALL Screen Play by Wells Root Directed by Joseph von Sternberg. Produced by J. Walter Ruben Tuesday, Wednesday Oct. 10 — 11 In your voyage through life, you will drop anchor in many investments. By choos ing one that is safe you will protect all the others. SEABOARD Life Insurance Company Houston, Texas Ford Mannerlyn, ’26, District Manager Associates: H. E. Burgess, ’29 Sidney L. Loveless, *38 O. B. Donaho Paul L. Martin, *39 /