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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 19, 1939)
PAGE 2 THE BATTALION ■TUESDAY, DEC. 19, 1939 The Battalion STUDENT TRI-WEEKLY NEWSPAPER OP 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 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 i-6444. ^ - 1939 Member 1940 Associated Golle&iate Press EDITOR-IN-CHIEF fjARRY WRHRT/R ADVERTISING MANAGER Associate Editor Sports Editor Circ.nlation Manager Intramural Editor _ Staff Photographer Staff Artist TUESDAY STAFF Managing Editor Bam Davenport C. A. Montgomery Asst. Advertising Manager Editorial Assistant Junior Editors Don Andrews Senior Sports Assistants Junior Advertising- Solicitors Bill Fitch, H. S. J. L. Morgan, Jerry W. Reportorial Staff Hutchins, W. D. C. Jones, Joe Leach, Rolnick, J. C. Rominger, E. A. Sterling, P. Walker, R. J. Warren Christmas, 1939 Big guns are drowning out carols in war-torn Europe today, and December 25 “over there” will find homes broken by strife. Today in a land of holly and mistletoe, toys and warm clothes, we have only to feel a generous impulse and spend a few dollars to bring the Christmas spirit by giving to the needy; but Europe’s money, like freedom, is *so “red-taped” that any burst of generosity falls on barren soil. Europeans today are thankful to be alive— Americans are thankful not to be Europeans. However, in this much-gifted country of ours we too often forget others. Too often we think only of receiving, not of giving. In Europe Santa Claus will soon be bringing happiness to thousands of children—but hundreds may be passed up. Let’s enjoy a merry American Christmas. Make it a birthday for all the unfortunate on the most famous birthday of the year! Better Play Safe As “going home” time draws near, it is well to give the annual warning to ‘Be careful,’ while on the road home. Crowded automobiles, steamed windows, and wet roads are hazards to driving while on the homeward way. Parents naturally want their children to come home for the holidays. They want to see them happy after the close of the term, free from anxiety and suspense of the past hectic weeks. But they want their sons and daughters to come home healthy and happy. So, be careful while going home. Your parents would rather have you stay in College Station for the holidays than have you injured or worse on the way home. Taxi Ordinance The Battalion congratulates the City Council of College Station on its decision to enforce in full the taxi ordinance. Main provision of this ordinance, and the one that has been most often evaded, is that limiting the total passenger load for each taxi to six people besides the driver. Other provisions include pay ment of insurance, mechanical inspection of ve hicles, and obedience of all traffic laws of the city. The whole intent and purpose of the ordinance is to insure the safety, comfort and convenience of all passengers of College Station students as well as citizens. The student of A. & M. can do a great deal to assure its complete and successful operation. In the past it has been customary for taxis to be crowded with passengers above the maximum capacity for safety and comfort. In the past it has been common at the same time for students to “gripe” about the over-crowding. People inquire, “Well, if the Aggies don’t like to ride in a crowded cab, why do they do it?” If you’ve been waiting on a corner a quarter or a half hour or so for a taxi to come by, aren’t you willing to accept—reluctantly, but anyhow, accept—a ride in the first taxi that comes along, crowded through it may be? Well yes. It’s human nature. But if we want to eliminate crowding, we must all cooperate to do so. And it’s up to the taxi com panies to see that enough cabs are sent out here to take care of the crowds when people are waiting for rides. Aggies can do their part by refusing rides in crowded cabs and by reporting to the city govern ment any violation of the ordinance. If a driver in following the terms of the law refuses to admit more than the legal number Of riders, don’t blame him. He and his company will have to pay the penalty if caught violating the ordinance. Aggies should cooperate to see that the ordinance is respect ed, for the drivers and students themselves are the ones ultimately responsible for maintaining safety and comfort in the cabs. It’s to our own good that we respect this ordi nance. Let’s do our part. Ag-gies, Ask Yourselves An excerpt from a letter lately received by The Battalion from an ex-Aggie now on the cam pus: “I’ve a real complaint, one that demands strong action. It concerns the study periods allowed fresh men at A. & M., especially in the new group of dormitories. “When I went to this school, not so very long ago, freshmen were required to study from Re treat until Taps, whether they wanted to or not. This year I’ve had freshmen from the new dorms swear that they have been run on detail at all times of the day, from before breakfast until Taps. I heard one freshman offer to prove that he had been sent to the North Gate five times, from the new dorms, between six p. m. and eight p. m. Is that sort of thing in the Aggie tradition?” Underclassmen, what do you think about this? Such cases certainly are not in the Aggie tradi tion; they are a gross violation of college regula tions; and they form a chief cause for the large number of freshmen deficiencies. Are such practices to be allowed to continue ? Psychologist says head waiters know more of human nature than professors. That is because they get tips. Homegoing Time Wednesday is not Homecoming time to the Alma Mater but rather homegoing time to the Mater. Or is it? It is no sin to kiss mother a fond hello and to give dad a brisk handshake. Even the little members of the family would enjoy some recogni tion when you arrive in all your Yuletide splendor. It might not be bad at all to spend at least a couple of evenings at home, just talking to the family. 'They are greatly interested in you, interested -enough to spend plenty of money to keep you in school and bring you home at vacation time—so you may breeze around in the family car, sport your newest “college slang,” and talk about the football team A. & M. has this year. Why not be just a little bit different when you are home this time, and show your folks you really appreciate and love them? Don’t let them be among the parents of re turning collegians who say, “1 think son must be back from college; the car hasn’t been in the garage since Wednesday after noon.” —The T. C. U. Skiff. Has Your Watch Stopped? “At the sound of the next musical note it will be exactly one o’clock.” HcKv often we have heard that sentence broad cast, and quite as often we have glanced at our watches to see if they were set correctly. Then, too, when we are passing a jeweler’s guaranteed cor rect time, we check our watches with the jeweler’s clock. In one of his poems, Christopher Morely tells of such an incident—people stopped in front of the window to ad.jist their watches. He wonders if, instead of clocks, some great poem telling perfect truth or beauty were displayed, how many people would pause to adjust their minds. What better time is there to set our “mental watches” than this month preceding the New Year? This is the time to set our thoughts in tune with those high ideals and aspirations that we have lost sight of in the hurry and din of modern living. It is the time to set our life to ticking for the things that count. Set the alarm to ring on New Year’s Day with love, faith, courage, hope, and joy! There is no better time than now to wind up our minds again and set them in harmony with those principles that we knew will fill every minute of the New Year with noble, victorious living. —The H.—S. U. Brand. As the World Turns... By DR. R. W. STEEN The first major naval battle of the new war took place last week, well within the neutrality zone designated by the American nations. This zone, designed to protect shipping in American waters from the war vessels of the belligerent nations, ex tends three hundred miles to sea. The battle between the Graf Spee and the three British cruisers began about two hundred miles at sea and lasted for fourteen hours—or until the Spee could gain the protection of a neutral port. Uruguay is contending that the fighting did not come to an end un til the Spee was within the three- mile limit. It is probable that a protest will be made, but it is difficult to see what effect this can have. The Brit ish are now searching for the Spec’s two sister ships, the Sheer and the Deutschland. When they are found, the fighting will begin immediately, re gardless of the 300-mile zone proclaimed by the American states. The German press is proclaiming the battle as a German victory. It is difficult to follow this rea soning. The Germans lost fewer men than the British, but on the other hand the Germans lost one of their three ships, while the British lost none of their many ships. It would seem that prop erly handled the Spee with the great range ad vantage of its eleven-inch guns should have been able to destroy all three of the British attackers. After being ordered to leave port the Germans had three possible courses open to them: They could have interned the vessel; they could have made a run for it—which would probably have been a concentrated form of suicide; or they could have destroyed the Spee and interned the crew. They chose the latter course. This raises an interesting question. Has Hitler come to the conclusion that Germany will lose the war? If the ship had been interned she could have been reclaimed by Germany at the end of the strug gle—provided Germany won. If Germany hopes to win, it would seem that internment would have been a far wiser course. As it is she can certainly hope to gain nothing. There is one other possi bility: it may be that the move was psychological. The German navy was scuttled at Scapa Flow fol lowing the World War. This act wag hailed as a victory in Germany. The scuttling of the Spee may have been an appeal to remember Scapa Flow. If this was the idea, and if it works, it was worth the $20,000,000 Spee. BACKWASH By George fuermann "Backwash: An agitation resulting from some action or occurrence.’*—Webster. Out of the groove ... A new high in campus organizations, the A. & M. Wool Shirts, claim some special distinctions for themselves —and in no small way! Self-styled as “The Cracked Mil itary Drill Unit Fuermann of the Texas Ath letic and Military C o 11 e g e,” the Wool shirts have an imposing ar ray of sponsors including Dr. John R. Brinkley as company phy sician, “Count” Y. K. Sugareff as company chaplain, M. L. Cashion as supervisor of the Cashion Opera House and chairman of the enter tainment committee, J. C. Hotard as chairman of the refreshment committee, and J. B. Lauterstein as the Wizzard of Ooze. All members of the organiza tion hold the rank of major gen erals with the exception of corporal Charles Hamner and second lieu tenants Allen Erck and Bill Mur ray. Included among the organiza tion’s group of major generals are Buster Keeton, “Foots” Bland, Rolan Dunkerly, George Noyes, Fred Nichols, John Ball, W. A. Ball, Mack Duncan, Bill Conatser, Bill Dawson, “Bubba” Reeves, Joe Slicker, Paul Haines, A1 Innocenti, Bodie Pierce, Bert Burns, Gat Gar rison, and Ernie Stephens. Each member, by the way, has a title, samples of which are Women’s Home Companion — Buster Keeton; Executive Director- in-Chief and Supreme Commander of the Foreign Legion—Mack Duncan; American Boy—Joe Snow; and Blackout—George Noyes. • From the classroom: Chem prof W. G. Huey is telling the one about a freshman student who came across, for the first time, the chemical formula U IL O—the simplest of carbohy drates. Momentarily puzzled, the freshman finally asked, “Is this the formula for sea water?” And a story that Dr. J. H. Quisenberry recently told one of his classes concerns the great ora tor William Jennings Bryan. In one of his many presidential cam paign speeches, Bryan addressed a gathering of farmers from the rear of a wagon containing fertilizer. “Well, gentlemen,” Bryan began, “In my career as a politician I have made speeches under every imaginable circumstance, but this is the first time that I have ever spoken from a Republican plat form!” • Tomorrow night’s the night: “Texas Forever” will be Fred Waring and his Pennsylvanians’ salute to TSCW when the Chester field radio program comes on the air Wednesday evening at 6 o’clock over WFAA. Ex-students of the college liv ing in or near New York City have been contacted and asked to be on hand at the Vanderbilt Theater where the program will be broad cast. These students will be seat ed together and their pictures will be made with Fred Waring and the orchestra after the broadcast. The Vanderbilt Theater will be decorated in the school colors of red and white and will feature a facsimile of the college seal. • Last Friday afternoon marked the first in The Battalion’s series of Friday afternoon newscasts. And the first program was off to a flying start with the inter viewing—via the air waves—of three of Tulane’s representatives on the campus to officially wel come the corps to New Orleans. Commander J. M. Lewis of Tu lane’s naval R. O. T. C.; W. J. Reese, vice-president of the Tulane School of Law; and Carolyn Rob- bert, attractive and blond Sophie Newcomb sophomore, were the three on the program. Following the yell practice, Carolyn—who is a yell leader in her own right—pointed out that, “I’ve never seen anything like the sight I have witnessed tonight. If that bunch of boys comes to New Orleans the city will be treat ed to a sight which it will long remember.” • And here’s one from Tess Charl ton’s T. S. C. W. column, “Nib- blings;” it’s a letter written by a proper young miss back in 1873: Dear Sir, Your kind invitation to accom pany you to the opera tomorrow evening has been received. Under ordinary circumstances, I would be delighted to go with you, believing you, at heart, to be really a most excellent gentleman. I regret to add, however, that I have undoubt ed evidence of the fact that you are becoming addicted to the use of the wine-cup. I regard it en tirely unsafe for any young lady to continue an intimacy with a young man who is growing the habit of intemperance. With an earnest prayer for your reforma tion, ere it is too late, I beg you to consider our intimacy ended. —Helen Sanford. • So this one winds up the deal for 1939. Backwash takes time out, to wish you all a gay and debauched holiday season, the merriest of Christmases, and the best of luck during the coming new year. Ly Dob Nisbel A last-minute run of letter quizzes has put a crimp in the time available to most of us to go to the movies, but for those who are fortunate enough to have drawn a “bye 1 ” on the quiz deal a couple of shows are still left on the calendar to chew on. “REMEMBER?” is on at the Palace Wednesday night, but as most of us will be long gone by that time, we’ll pass over that one and get to one that is on Tuesday night. “BROADWAY SERENADE,” showing at the Assembly Hall is one of Jeanette MacDonald’s lesser attempts, but a good one even so. She plays the part of Mary Hale, half of a down-and-out song and dance team in a New York cafe. She makes good with a big-time producer, but loses the affection of her husband when his best efforts fail. At the end, of course, he makes good and the two rejuvenate their misguided affections. The complete cast includes the following: Hary Hale....Jeanette MacDonald James Seymour Lew Ayres Larry Bryant Ian Hunter Cornelius Collier Jr Frank Morgan Judy Tyrrell Rita Johnson The show, that is on at the Queen Tuesday night, “BARRI CADE,” is an attempt to put War ner Baxter on the comeback trail to class A pictures from the West erns he has been doing for the past few years, by using Alice Faye’s box-office pull to draw the crowd. Personally, I don’t think so much of it. As the story goes, Alice is a singer on an international hotel circuit who witnesses an assassi nation in northern China. She meets a newspaper man assigned to cover the story, Warner Baxter, and in the midst of a bandit at tack and a war, the two fall in love. Thrilling, isn’t it? I’ll give it just one grade-point. WIIATS SHOWING AT THE ASSEMBLY HALL Tuesday and Wednesday— “BROADWAY SERENADE” with Jeanette MacDonald and Lew Ayres. AT THE PALACE Tuesday — “ON DRESS PARADE,” with the Dead END KIDS, Frankie Thomas, and John Litel. AT THE QUEEN Tuesday and Wednesday— “BARRICADE,” with Alice Faye and Warner Baxter. New York City in the next six years will spend $5,000,000 improv ing the buildings of its municipal colleges. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year AGGIES ! ! We wish to take this op portunity to thank you for your generous pat ronage during the past season and to wish you everyone a most pleasant holiday vacation .... 7 t r t^. WIMBERLEV ■ STONE DANSBY v'n/. rr/ CLOCKIERS R ECENT ECORD ELEASES kJ-JWV ASKKjVVKLY HALL Billy Hill and Peter De Rose combined their distinguished tal ents in writing ON A LITTLE STREET IN SINGAPORE. The melody like the title is flavored with the East, and Zurke’s presen tation, delightfully scored by Fud Livingston, is pleasant to the ears as well as provocative to the feet. Claire Martin sings the lyrics in this medium slow recording. CUBAN BOOGIE WOOGIE, in contrast, is a medium swing com position depending mainly on en semble phrases and two superla tive piano solos for its appeal. Bob Zurke demonstrates his pianistic capabilities in admirable fashion. The various Victor records con taining examples of the late Beiderbecke’ cornet playing cur rently available have continued to sell extremely well over a period of several years. I’LL BE A FRIEND WITH PLEASURE was recorded by a pick-up band under the direction of the famous cornetist. The exact personnel of the group, with the exception of the pianist and the bass player who are unknown, appears on the label. The tune was a sweet com position but this did not handicap Bix who recorded a 16-bar solo of thrilling proportions. The compan ion piece, MARY, was recorded by the famous Paul Whiteman Or chestra in 1927-1928 vintage. The selection is an excellent number, and in it may be heard Beider becke leading the ensemble in ex tensive passages as well as play ing an eight bar solo. Bing Crosby is vocalist and Henry Busse the trumpet soloist in the first chorus. BROADWAY SERENADE ££ LEW AYHES IAN HUNTER aj FRANK MORGANIIll" 1 ' 1 1 - my hr CHARIJ5 LEtaoum TUESDAY & WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 19 & 20 6:30 & 8:30 You’d be surprised how telephone engineers put them to work for you How to put more and more wires into a telephone cable without increasing its diameter is an ever present problem at Western Electric — manufacturing unit of the Bell System. Existing ducts beneath city streets limit both the number and the diameter of cables—but demand for tele phone service continues to grow. Until recently, the largest cable contained 3636 wires in a diameter of 2% inches. Years of study led to an en tirely new insulating process that saved 3/1000 of an inch per wire. Multiply this tiny fraction of an inch by 3636, and you provide enough space to place 606 more wires in the same size cable! — a total of 4242. With such resourcefulness. Bell System engineers meet countless problems. Result: you can talk to almost any one, anywhere—quickly, at low cost. A telephone call home would be appre ciated. Rates to most points are lowest any time after 7 P. M. and all day Sunday. ♦ * # l ■* t » #