-THURSDAY, NOV. 16, 1939
PAGE 4
THE BATTALION
The Battalion
STUDENT TRI-WEEKLY NEWSPAPER OF
TEXAS A. & M. COLLEGE
The Battalion, official newspaper of the Agricultural 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.
1939 Member 1940
Associated Golle&iate Press
STAFF
BILL MURRAY EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
LARRY WEHRLE ADVERTISING MANAGER
James Critz ..... Associate Editor
E. C. (Jeep) Oates Sports Editor
EL G. Howard Circulation Manager
"Hub” Johnson Intramural Editor
Philip Golman Staff Photographer
John J. Moseley * Staff Artist
THURSDAY STAFF
Ray Treadwell Managing Editor
J. W. Jenkins Asst. Advertising Manager
Don McChesney Asst. Circulation Manager
Phil Levine Editorial Assistant
Junior Editors
Bob Nisbet Billy Clarkson
Senior Sports Assistants
Jimmie Cokinos Jimmy James
Reportorial Staff
Jack Aycock, H. D. Borgfeld, P. H. Brown, R. A. Doak, Jim
Dooley, Walter Goodman, Guy Kane, R. R. Mattox, R. B. Pearce,
R. G. Powell. Walter Sullivan, Delbert Whitaker. D. C. Thurman,
Murray Evans, Dow Wynn, Joe Taylor
“Bad Manners”
A few things for the high school students
who staged a riot downtown the other night to
think about:
Not long ago, several thousand students from
A. & M, College and Texas State College for
Women were in town for a football game. They
won the game, they celebrated, they had a good
time. Yet their conduct was such that Police Chief
Howard later wrote a letter to the A. & M. com
mandant praising the • behavior of the visiting
students.
If some poor, ragged youth had gone into a
store, as the high school students did, and stolen
merchandise—as they did—he probably would have
been arrested, tried and sent to the reformatory
for an advanced course in crime.
The actions of the students who engaged in
vandalism was a reflection on themselves, on their
school, and on the homes in which they are raised.
.—Excerpt from Ft. Worth Press
American Solidification
The war has brought one boon to this hemis
phere—it has immensely solidified the American
republics, all the way from the Great Lakes to Cape
Horn.
The Latin-American countries, like their big
brother,” the United States, are extremely eager
not only to keep out of war, but to take any and
all steps which might help prevent the war from
dislicating their economics more than is necessary.
In this endeavor, they naturally look to us, the
principal military and economic power in the hemis
phere. When Under-Secretary of State Welles
went to the Pan-American parley at Panama, he
was given an extremely enthusiastic welcome by
Latin-American statesmen.
Biggest thing to come out of the parley was the
“safety zone,” which completely surrounds North
and South America (with the natural exception of
Canada) for a width of about three hundred miles.
The warring powers were requested to do their
fighting outside of that tremendous area.
As Life put it, “This bold extension of the
Monroe Doctrine far beyond the traditional three-
mile limit left the world gasping.” And, once the
gasps were over, protests began pouring in. Big
gest and most aggressive protest came from Britain.
The London Times went so far as to say that the
zone has no standing in international law, and that
any attempt to enforce the declaration, by the
United States or another participating country,
would be an act of war. So the future of the safety
zone remains in doubt.—The Daily Texan.
Democracy at Dartmouth
For the first time in the long history of Dart
mouth College, undergraduates there this fall are
actively participating in the determination of the
institution’s academic policies.
For the' purpose of giving students a greater
interest in their own education, juniors and seniors
will work on committees with their instructors to
decide the requirements, curricula and departmental
mechanics of their courses. The academic experi
ment will be tried first in the economics, sociology
and political science departments.
The administration at Dartmouth took this step
because it felt that students would take a greater
interest in their courses should they be allowed to
work with faculty members in formulating them.
It is gratifying to see that an institution ivy-
bound in tradition is yet not so entwined in it as
to mar its vision toward new fields in education.
Other universities will watch the experiment with
interest and incorporate those phases that prove
their worth.
A Tribute to Journalism
“All I know,” said the late Will Rogers, “is
what I read in the newspapers.” But he knew
enough to command a fabulous salary and to win
his way into the hearts of the American public
as no other fnan has done.
This statement, which he made frequently,
was not only the modest ejaculation of a great
man, but a tribute to American journalism as a
whole.
When we consider that the American press is
still in its infancy, we may point with pride to the
cardinal journalistic achievement—the enlighten
ment of the public.
Though the press is young, it is lusty infant.
Its power is growing steadily from day to day.
Any person who reads the newspapers and keeps
abreast of the times may carry on an intelligent
conversation, though he seldom enters a library.
It takes only from three to five hours for
thousands of copies to roll from the presses, yet
a whole book could be written describing the pro
cedure.
It might be well to remind you again of the
eleven words in our constitution that afford
you the privilege of reading “anything that is fit
to print.”
“Man, Your Manners- 99
Now that we have two “Thanksgivings” before
us, let’s polish up our table manners, for their
greatest test will come in the way we behave
when in personal contact with food. Business pros
pects might be lost, or our whole social standing
altered, by a “slip between the cup and the lip.”
An invitation to dinner must be answered
promptly. At dinner, if the hostess does not have
place-cards, she will indicate where each guest
will sit. Stand by your chair until the hostess is
seated. A man draws back the chair for the
lady at his right, pushes it forward for her, then
seats himself from the left of his chair.
At a small dinner, wait until the hostess be
gins to eat. At a large dinner or banquet, wait
until those beside you have been served.
It is not necessary to unfold a large dinner
napkin all the way; leave it folded once in half,
turning the two edges toward you; you will have
the top half to wipe your fingers and your lips
and the bottom half to protect your clothing.
QUESTION: How does one know which silver
to use?
ANSWER: If the table is properly set with
the silver in the order of its use, you should have
no trouble. Start on the outside and work in; the
forks should be on the left and the knives and
spoons on the right, in the order in which they are
to be used.
QUESTION: What is the proper use of the
soup spoon?
ANSWER: Dip the soup from you and sip
from the side of the spoon, not the tip. Foods
eaten from teaspoons such as desserts, cereals, etc.
are taken from the tip end.
QUESTION: What is the difference between
the American and European method of the use of
the fork and knife ?
ANSWER: With the American method, the
fork is transferred to the right hand after cutting
a bite of meat and carried to the mouth prongs
up. With the European method, the fork is retain
ed in the left hand after the bite is cut, and con
veyed to the mouth prongs down. This method
has become somewhat popular in America. Vege
tables are lifted with the work prongs up. The
rule “prongs down” to impale meat, and “prongs up”
to lift vegetables, is a good one to remember. When
finished with the knife and fork, they are placed
side by side on the plate, handles on the right.
As the World Turns...
By “COUNT” V. K. SUGAREFF
Something for nothing:—The country seems
afflicted with “Townsenditis.” Hardly any election
is held nowadays without promising some sort of
Utopia-supported with “ham and eggs,” “$30 every
Thursday,” “$200 every month,” or some such
inducement—to begile the voter.
Ohio and California have just de
feated the pension plans of the
politicians. In New Jersey the
railroads have pooled their forces
together and are pushing a plan
whereby their $50,000,000 deficient
taxes would be reduced to $14,000,-
000. Here in Texas we find our
selves in a financial jam. The state
is around $20,000,000 in the red
with no prospects for an immediate
relief. Over $100,000,000 of prop
erty taxes remain uncollected. Over a billion Cubic
feet of gas are taken from our gass wells with
hardly any tax on it, nor does the original owner
get much for it—around three cents per cubic foot.
Texas is rich in sulphur deposits which are ex
ploited to the limit by eastern capital. The im
mense profits from it go to eastern interests. Sul
phur can be produced for around $6 per ton and
it sells around $18 per ton. Tolerance has its
limits!
The Balkan states are again the bone of con
tention among the European powers. The area
is a gi’eat prize if it can be secured. At the start
of the present war, experts were telling the world
that Hitler after conquering Poland, would strike
through Hungary and Rumania and find himself
a master of the Black Sea. Then, it was thought,
he would turn right, and with the aid of Bul
garia, crush Yugoslavia, and hoist the swastika at
Salonica and Athens. This would give Hitler a
dominant position in the eastern Mediterranean
basin and would compell Turkey to cooperate with
him against the Allies. Such strategy, if it could
be carried out, would assure Hitler of enough
raw materials to wage a five or seven year’s war
as he predicts.
But Russia has occupied eight of the sixteen
Polish counties and stands guard on both the Hun
garian and Rumanian border—a check on Hitler’s
plan for the mastery of the Black Sea. Last April
Italy occupied Albania and watches Hitler’s moves
toward the southeast. Turkey, with the support
of the Allies, has rebuffed Russia’s ambition to
dominate the Balkons. It seems that the Allies are
egging Mussolini on to form a neutral Balkan bloc.
Should this plan be consummated, the Balkan states
would play an important role in ending the war.
To the curious:—Last Thursday appeared in
The Battalion a biographical sketch of this writer.
If you are not inclined to dismiss journalistic en
thusiasm and superlatives with charitable smile,
you likely raised your eyebrows. “Count,” as it
is used locally, is merely a convenience. Nicknames,
good or bad, stick. However, it should be under
stood that this writer has never claimed for him
self any title or honor of social or political distinc
tion.
O ff the Record
seS'
BACKWASH
By
George Fuermann
“Backwash: An agitation resulting from some action or occurrence.”—Webster.
‘‘Doggone, Amelia, you’re home early. I wanted to surprise
you by baking a pie.”
WHAT’S SHOWING
AT THE ASSEMBLY HALL
Thursday and Friday—
“UNION PACIFIC,” with
Barbara Stanwyck, Joel Mc-
Crea, and Robert Preston.
AT THE PALACE
Thursday, Friday and Sat
urday —“HOLLYWOOD
CAVALCADE,” with Don
Ameche and Alice Faye.
A bouquet is due Mrs. Schulmann
and the Bryan Amusement Com
pany on the swell new Queen Thea
ter in Bryan.
Don Ameche and Alice Faye
come to the screen this week at
the Palace in a show that is the
history of the movie industry. It’s
called “HOLLYWOOD CAVAL
CADE.”
Real slapstick comedy came be
fore most of the present genera
tion could appreciate it at its best.
Two of the best-known sets of slap
stick artists appear in this picture.
The Keystone Cops with their orig
inal “Leaping Lena” and Buster
Keaton throwing his famous cus
tard pies ought to account for a
few good laughs.
Don Ameche in the show con
tracts Alice Faye’s services as a
screen star at the rate of $100 a
week and takes her by train to
the West Coast, all at the expense
of his studio. The luck of the
Irish rides with him when she
proves to be a “find” Later when
he has become a big director and
she has become a star, he is crest
fallen when she marries a lead
ing man from one of her pictures.
Ameche is so hurt that his work
begins to slip and he becomes a
has-been. A new menace to his
success pops up with the advent
of the “talkies,” but his old Irish
ingenuity solves that problem, and
the “grim reaper” solves his prob
lem with Alice’s husband.
“UNION PACIFIC” is Thursday
and Friday’s show at the Assem
bly Hall. Y cards for Saturday
night will be good for this show.
Joel McCrea and Barbara Stan
wyck made a long one, to say the
least. Playing time is two hours
and fifteen minutes. The story
is a battle between government
commissioner Joel McCrea, and
Brian Donlevy, manager of the
“End of the Track” saloon, for the
success of the Union Pacific creat
ed by Abraham Lincoln, and for
the hand of the local postmistress,
Barbara Stanwyck.
Homecoming Games Are
Expensive For Alumni
Chicago, 111. — Homecoming
games are expensive luxuries for
college alumni.
That’s the opinion of the Nation
al Consumers Tax Commission,
which has just released a study
which proves that a fan and his
wife or sweetheart spends $23.85
to go back to his alma mater for
the homecoming grid contest.
Here’s the way the bill for two
was figured out: taxi, $3.60; flow
ers, $1:50; lunch, $2.50; cigarettes,
45 cents; train fare, $4; game
tickets, $4.40; and dinner $7.50.
Taxes on all these items amount
to $5.95, the commission estimat
ed.
While College Station gets wet
... A freshman was recently over
heard wondering, “Doesn’t the sun
ever shine here after November
1? . . . Maybe it’s because thus
far we’ve been winning, but foot
ball banners are head and shoulders
above those of
former years this
season . . . “Dunk’.’
Dunklin has his
own idea about
what the most
difficult job in
the world is. If
anyone wants to
try it, here’s the
menu: Take a
mouthful of buck
shot mixed up with an equal
portion of oatmeal; then try to talk
while eating the oatmeal with
out swallowing the buckshot. . . .
Part of the Aggie Band will play
at the opening of Bryan’s new
Queen Theater at its opening next
Tuesday night . . . Sophomore Jack
Hollimon sends Backwash a vig
orous gripe about a recent “Com
munity Sing” short subject seen
at one of the Bryan theaters.
Though this was a college alma
mater sing-song, not a single num
ber was taken from a Southwest
Conference school.
•
Double or nothing—take your
choice:
It was Tom Lewis and Carl Hill
who bought an automobile from a
Houston finance company last
summer. All payments were made
when due, except the last one which
amounted to $10. Too many corps
trips left the pair on the verge
of bankruptcy, but in the mean
time the mailman brought oft-re
peated requests for the final install
ment. With a burst of genius, as
is their wont, the two Aggies set
tled the question last weekend with
a letter to the Houston firm. “Dou
ble or nothing on A. & M.,” the
letter ran; “If Rice wins, we owe
you $20; if the Aggies win, we
are out of debt.”
The finance company hasn’t been
heard from ypt!
Oddity—in the news:
T.S.C.W.-ite Leta Underwood
lives only ten blocks from the Den
ton school, but she still “goes away
to college.” A bet with her broth
er started it all and now Leta on
ly goes home on regular holidays
(Thanksgiving will be her first vis
it since September), writes her
family once a week, and even gets
homesick.
•
A worldly acquaintance—a senior
incidentally—with a total bankroll
of fifty cents, recently made the
trip to Houston for a “date-drink-
and-dance” combination. After
imbibing, and so forth, at a well
known hangout, for what our
friend thought was forty cents’
worth, he was presented with a
check for $2. Upon inquiry he
was informed that there was a
one-dollar-per-person minimum
cover charge. Realizing the pre
cariousness of the situation and
nothing that beer was ten cents
a mug, he replied to the waitress
in a sly “Fm-wise-to-this-minimum-
gag” tone, “Well, in that case,
bring me sixteen more beers.”
There was a scampering of feet
hither and yon and a plaintive
voice could be heard talking with
the manager. Shortly thereafter
the tuxedoed one timidly approach
ed and hopefully inquired, “Couldn’t
we settle this for forty cents?”
“A HAPPY
THOUGHT”
Your Photograph As A
Surprise Present For
Friends & Relatives
Eastman Kodaks
Amateur Supplies
Picture Frames
Aggieland Studio
Joe Sosolik, Prop.
North Gate
For Better
Cleaning
SEE OUR AGENTS
MODEL
CLEANERS
Bryan P. 800
yOU'VE SEEN IT IN
NOW see it
on Yourself . . .
n
iAo uXxl.
THE? TOR MEW
THE
leu/
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STm-M
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Room with Twin Beds
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MAKE YOUR
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II HSil
Empire Room
JOE REICHMAN
—his piano
—and his orchestra
Playing Daily For
Luncheon and Dinner
DANCING NIGHTLY!
GALA FOOTBALL DANCE
SATURDAY NIGHT
Dancing ’Til 2:00 A. M.
Rice Cafeteria
“The South’s Largest”
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Luncheon 11 A. M. to
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DINNER 5:00 P. M.
to 8:00 P. M.
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BRYAN, TEXAS