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.
♦
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