PAGE 2
THE BATTALION
■TUESDAY, DEC. 12, 1939
We’re Still Wondering—When? marchTiT
A BEAUTIFUL MODERN AIR-CONDITIONED
morion picture thertre
WILL BE ERECTED HERE
By the BRYAN AMU SEMENT CO
- ' i
tm
*
N
Well Done
Bars to Education
On behalf of A. & M. students, ex-students,
friends of the college, The Battalion extends con
gratulations to that fine A. & M. football team and
its coaches. Champion of the tough Southwest Con
ference, number one team of the Nation, undefeated
for the season and playing in a major Bowl game,
the 1939 Aggie team has covered itself, its coaches
and its institution with glory. All Texas is proud of
the Aggies and the eyes of the nation are upon them
and upon Texas A. & M.
The season has been a personal triumph and vin
dication of Head Coach Homer Norton and every
member of the coaching staff.
To both coaches and players, to reserves and
scrubs as well as to regulars, to freshmen and to
the seniors, to the business office and to the plant
maintenance force, to every member of the Athletic
staff and to every player, The Battalion says, “Well
Done!”
Congratulations, Woody!
In the December 10 issue of The Houston Post
Lloyd Gregory reprints a lengthy letter written him
by Cadet Colonel Durward B. “Woody” Varner,
answering Mr. Gregory’s repeated criticism of the
Aggie yelling section.
In last Saturday’s issue The Battalion made an
editorial reply to Mr. Gregory; and though we don’t
want to keep harping on anything as continuously
as Mr. Gregory has been doing, we wish we could
reprint Varner’s letter. However, there simply isn’t
space; but we do recommend that those of you who
haven’t read that letter, secure a copy of the Post
and do so. \
, In his discussion of the subject, Varner ex
pressed the same sentiments we feel. We commend
him on his written expression of the corps’ feeling.
In closing the letter, Varner stated:
remain silent while Tulane is in the huddle at the
Sugar Bowl—not because of what you have said or
written, Mr. Gregory, but because it is now, and
“Now, let me say this. Our rooting section will
always has been, the aim of the Texas A. & M.
cadets to go far more than half way in being fair.
If there is the suspicion that opposing teams are
confused in their signal calling by our yelling, we
are more than glad—we are anxious—to stop it of
our own accord. We are not at all chagrined by your
articles, because on my desk I have a letter from
every town and school we have visited this year,
with the exception of Houston and Rice Institute,
<commending the Aggies on their general conduct
.and wishing us well.”
Congratulations, Woody. Those are our senti-
iments exactly.
Man, Your Manners—
QUESTION:' When seated in the theater and
someone passes in front of me, which is proper,
to turn my knees sideways or stand while they'
pass ? » ■
ANSWER: It is better, if there is room, to
turn the knees sideways; to stand will obstruct the
view of those behind you, but if you must stand,
do it quickly.
The Battalion
STUDENT TRI-WEEKLY NEWSPAPER OP
TEXAS A. & M. COLLEGE
The Battalion, official newspaper of the Asrricultural 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 8, 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
1-5444.
1939 Member* 1940
Pissocioted CoUe&iote Press
BILL MURRAY _
LARRY WEHRLE.
James Critz
E. C. I Jeep) Oates
H. G. Howard
“Hrih” Johnson
Philip Golman
John J. Moseley
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
ADVERTISING MANAGER
Associate Editor
Sports Editor
Circulation Manager
Intramural Editor
Staff Photographer
Staff Artist
TUESDAY STAFF
Charlie Wilkinson Managing Editor
H.™ Davenport Asst. Advertising Manager
C. A. Montgomery — Editorial Assistant
Junior Editors
Earle Shields Don Andrews
Senior Sports Assistants
«- Cokinos Jimmy James
Junior Advertising Solicitors
L. J. Nelson A. J. Hendrick
Reportorial Staff
Bill Fitch, H. S. Hutchins, W. D. C. Jones, Joe Leach.
J L Morgan, Jerry Rolniek, J. C. Rominger, E. A. Sterling,
W. P. Walker, R. J. Warren
“Frankly, I’d rather address convicts than col
lege students.”
This statement was made by Henry N. Peters,
professor of psychology at the University of Mis
souri, in a newspaper interview recently. Professor
Peters went on to say:
“Not long ago, I spoke to an audience of 2,000
convicts. You could have heard a pin drop in the
auditorium. On the other hand, take a class of
200 college students and—well, you know.”
To be perfectly honest, we don’t know—since
pins hardly ever drop in college classrooms. But
it does seem to us that the professor has made a
sweeping statement that is hardly justified.
As a psychology expert, he should certainly
have realized that the environment of the convict
—the idle hours and loneliness and discipline—
makes him an ideal subject for listening. After
being bored for several years, almost anything is
worth hearing. And if No. 477289 doesn’t like the
lecture, he is probably too polite to say anything
about it (unless he relishes the idea of living on
bread and water for several days).
That Professor Peters could have overlooked all
these elements is startling. Here is another example
of his naivete:
“It is surprising indeed to note that the average
convict reads more than any other group—with the
exception of teachers.”
That statement, if it is intended as a bombshell,
fails to impress. Surely Professor Peters cannot
fail to take into account the fact the prisoners have
hours and hours of nothing to do except read. As
far as we are concerned, the only surprising ele
ment is the fact that teachers read even more.
Perhaps one of the best ways to convince Pro
fessor Peters of the fallacy of his statements would
be to release his two thousand convicts, and have
them reconvene in Mitten Hall Auditorium six
months later when he would lecture to them again.
The results might be interesting to watch. We are
fairly sure that the convicts—both of them that
show up—would no longer be the fair-haired boys
Professor Peters cherishes.
As the World Turns...
Steen
By DR. R. W. STEEN
The election of 1940 is beginning to claim news
paper headlines. One of the slogans already coined
by both Republicans and conservative Democrats is
“Back to Normalcy.” As a slogan “back to nor
malcy” has certain intrinsic merits, but it is to be
hoped that the trip will be less fatal than that of
1920. The Republicans used the slo
gan in that year, and have never yet
been able to explain why it was
necessary that they go so far below
normalcy as they did in palming off
Harding on the country.
Incidentally, a jinx of long stand
ing is at stake in 1940. Beginning in
1840 every president elected in a year
divisible by 20 has died in office. Har
rison, elected in 1840; Lincoln, first
elected in 1860; Garfield elected in
1880; McKinley, elected in 1900; and
Harding, elected in 1920, are the five
men who established the tradition. Two of them
died natural deaths, and the remaining three were
assassinated. In spite of this jinx there seems to be
no lack of candidates.
The progress of the Garner boom seems to indi
cate that conservative sentiment is more pronounced
that at first thought. It is difficult to believe that
a man from the solid South can be nominated, but
his backing is at least assuming impressive propor
tions. Garner has served the New Deal nobly on oc
casion, and at other times has aided materially. in
the defeat of New Deal moves. That he is a shrewd
politician, all will admit.
Garner headquarters are located in Dallas, and
the Vice-President is taking the move with suf
ficient interest that he is telling his friends that
unless he receives the nomination he will retire from
politics. On the other hand he seems determined to
support the nominee of the Democratic convention.
This is in marked contrast to the statement by
President Roosevelt that he will bolt the party
unless a liberal is nominated. To say the least,
politics will provide an abundance of headlines dur
ing the coming year. One of the peculiar features will
be the well-organized attempts of conservative Dem
ocrats to make their party more conservative, and
of Republican liberals to make their party more
liberal.
The attitude of the United States toward the
Russian invasion of Finland has been expressed in
numerous ways. One of the cleverest statements of
that attitude appears in the statement that the
R.F.C. is lending Finland $10,000,000 in the form of
credits with which to purchase surplus American
agricultural products. That act might also indicate
an opinion on the part of the administration that
Finland will survive the invasion.
BACKWASH
By
George Fuermann
“Backwash: An agitation resulting from some action or occurrence.”—Webstar.
Well all right . . . Now that the
football weather is over, a short
session of good weather has set
different persons
still claim that
they saw it—Mor
ris Hooton find
ing his way to
class recently
with the aid of a
compass. . . Soph
omore Tom Cul
pepper optimist
ically and hope-
fully pointing
out, “There’ll be a
full moon on December 26” . . .
The veteran coach, “Pop” Warner,
declared over a coast-to-coast NBC
network Sunday that “Texas A.
& M. is definitely the best football
team in the nation.”. . . Best pun
your writer has heard on the name
of the column came from Dutton
Williamson last week. While mak
ing up his laundry, Dutton’s room
mate, Phil Levine, remarked that
the laundry was an exceptionally
large one. “Yeah,” answered Dut
ton, “Backwash.”
•
They’ve got some “tricky” devils
in Hart Hall:
Charles “Red” Kirkpatrick was
the victim of one of the year’s
best pranks. One end of a string
was attached to the screen on
Red’s corner window facing Hart;
the other end of the same piece
in . . . Three
Fuermann
of string was attached to Hart
Hall’s E ramp. A skyrocket was
then attached to the string by
means of paper clips, and Red’s
return from Bryan was awaited.
Somewhat sleepy, Red entered
his room and began undressing for
bed shortly after midnight. Just
as he was putting his pajamas on
a terrifying “whooooosh” was
heard followed by the entrance of
a flaming sky rocket into the
room. Under the dresser, over his
desk, and around the room twice
before exploding, the startling oc
currence half-paralyzed Red be
fore he could scamper out of the
room to safety.
Alexander C. Jones is listed as
the “Rocket’s” next victim.
•
Evidently the “old” generation
wasn’t so backward after all.
A rather timid young man of the
current generation of collegians
was waiting at the gate. The lady
of the house saw him and asked
him what he wanted. Replying, he
told her, “I want to see your
daughter, Mary.”
“Humph,” said the woman,
“you’ll never do. When Mary’s
pa was courtin’ me, he broke down
the fence, strangled the watch dog,
smashed in the door, locked my
father in his room, and said to me,
‘We’re gettin’ married right now.’
That’s the kind of a man we want
for our little Mary.”
Credit where credit is due goes
to the fine list of pictures that
has been and is to be shown at
the Palace currently. It begins to
look as though Bryan and College
Station will get some early re
leases for a change.
This weekend “BEAU GESTE”
will be shown. While this particu
lar show is far from an early re
lease, the shows for the past week
and for the next week are still
“wet.”
The cast for “Beau Geste” is as
follows:
Beau Geste Gary Cooper
John Geste Ray Milland
Digby Geste ........Robert Preston
Sergeant Markoff, Brian Donlevy
When I saw this show, I thought
it was one of the best I had ever
seen, but after remembering that
I had read and thoroughly enjoyed
the book, I began to wonder just
how much any member of the audi
ence would appreciate the picture
without having read the book. The
show doesn’t explain many of the
small details from the book that
they tried to show on the screen.
Beau Geste, in order to shield
his aunt, steals the famous “blue
water” jewel, runs away and joins
the Foreign Legion. His brothers
follow after him, and the three of
them encounter countless hair-
raising experiences. In a fight
against a band of desert maraud
ers, Beau is killed. He gives a
leter to John to deliver to the
aunt. The letter explaining the
situation finally reaches the aunt
still in John’s possession, but not
before Digby is also killed.
“STANLEY AND LIVING
STONE’ is the Tuesday-Wednesday
show at the Assembly Hall. In it
are starred Spencer Tracy, Nancy
Kelly, and Richard Greene. Spen
cer Tracy plays the famous news
correspondent of the New York
Herald, Harry Stanley, who is
sent to Africa to find Dr. David
Livingstone. Stanley succeeds where
others have failed; he finds Liv
ingstone, but when he returns to
civilization, no one will believe his
story. Livingston’s death and the
evidence in his last will and testa
ment proves Stanley’s point, but
Stanley’s interest is no longer in
his story, but in carrying out Liv
ingstone’s work where his tragic
death had cut it short. Both shows
get three grade-points.
WHATS SHOWING
AT THE ASSEMBLY HALL
Tuesday and Wednesday—
“STANLEY AND LIVING
STONE,” with Spencer
Tracy, Nancy Kelly, and
Richard Greene.
AT THE PALACE
Wednesday, Thursday, Fri
day and Saturday—“BEAU
GESTE,” with Gary Cooper,
Ray Milland, and Robert
Preston.
AT THE QUEEN
Tuesday, Wednesday and
Thursday—“THE SECRET
OF DR. KILDARE,” with
Lew Ayres and Lionel Bar
rymore.
^ Musical Meanderings ^
By Murray Evans
Jimmie Lunceford and his Band
Many swing band leaders have
adopted musical degrees, but upon
Jimmie Lunceford, such a degree
has been actually conferred by the
membership of Kappa Alpha Psi
fraternity. “Jimmie Lunceford,
Doctor of Swing,” is what the
parchment declares, “accorded in
consideration of your contributions
to Music, Mirth, Swing, Dance and
Song.”
Lunceford uses the longest baton
in musical circles. A six-footer,
Jimmie wields a baton 36 inches
long. Closest approach to the size
of Lunceford’s baton is Paul White
man’s, 32 inches. The average size
of a baton is 22 inches.
Like you, you and you, Jimmie
Lunceford has annual visions of
winning a sweepstakes prize. This
year Lunceford had an unusually
strong belief in his luck, and strok
ing a rabbit’s foot, bought whole
books of sweeps tickets. Lunce
ford’s manager, Harold Oxley,
purchased a solitary ticket, stored
it away and went about his busi
ness. If you haven’t already guess
ed the result, Jimmie Will try again
next year, while Oxley is basking
over a $4,000 prize.
In addition to his four college
degrees obtained at Fisk Univer
sity, Lunceford is about to achieve
an honorary degree. This will be
for the King of the Recording field.
Record sales of “Tain’t What You
Do,” “White Heat,” “I Want the
Waiter,” “Well, All Right Then”
and several others are primarily
the reason for Jimmie’s royal
raiment of the record realm.
The first football broadcast was
made from Stagg Field at the Uni
versity of Chicago on October 28,
1922.
Using special sounding balloons,
University of Rochester students
are studying sun rays at altitudes
of 80,000 feet.
Dr. Allen Goldsmith, *37
Dentist
Office Greenwood Court
Corner Washington & 26th St.
Bryan, Texas
With Dr. W. H. Lawrence
Phone Bryan 348
Collegiate Kaleidoscope
Texas U. Student—
(Continued from page 1)
on the upper end of the east side
stands was filled by a cadet, and
the sights of these 6,000 cadets
cheering in a body puts tingles in
your spine. ...
Photographers, both professional
and amateur, are multiplying like
rabbits. Each game sees a big
ger turnout, and one wag said,
“Watch where you step so you
won’t hurt a photographer. They’re
everywhere.” Governor O’Daniel
and his family did their setting-up
exercises standing up for photo
grapher after photographer.. It
was enough to make the Governor
wonder whether the life of a flour-
man wasn’t more pleasant aftdr
all. . . .
We can imagine how the soldiers
loved the mud in France during
World War I after attending the
game. It was not just moderate
slush—it was positively swampy.
One man remarked disgustedly,
“Look at Jack Crain taking a row
boat around right end.” . . .
Best known man in the stadium,
probably, was ponderous, genial
Col. Ike Ashburn, a giant of a
man in stature, and his friends
say, in heart, too. It seemed like
everybody knew Col. Ike, and also,
Col. Ike seemed to know every
body. As A. & M.’s public rela
tions man, he’s an ace. . . .
Jesse Jones and Irvin S. Cobb
vied for first place as the most
prominent visitor. Jones probably
gets the nod because he was honor
guest for the day, inasmuch as
with the game dedicated to him,
the state that day accepted a string
of dormitories built with RFC
money loaned by Jones. . . .
And to the keepers of the press-
box: Thanks a million for the hot-
dogs, coffee, and cokes which were
supplied free to the cold and
hungry newspapermen.
Among the rain-drenched spec
tators: Bascom Timmons, brilliant
Washington correspondent and
Jesse Jones confidant; President
Homer Rainey of the University
of Texas; Austin managing editors
Frank Adams and Charley Green;
Mike Hogg, son of the famous
governor who bears a great re
semblance to his father. . . .
The new antenna for the Iowa
State College radio station weighs
15 tons.
Eddie La France of Brockton,
Mass., teeing off in a golf game,
overshot his mark. The ball land
ed in Roy Drew’s pocket, broke
his pet pipe, and set him on fire
by igniting his matches.
GREATER - PALACE
WED. - THURS. - FRI. - SAT.
The Screen’s Biggest Thrill!
Gary Cooper /
..TOtww /
U
QUEEN
Tues., Wed., Thurs.
new -41
ff Romantic Adventure!
The SECRET OF
DR. KILDARE
j LEW AYRES-LIONEL BARRYMORE |
NEW DIXIE
Tues., Wed., Thurs.
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