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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 21, 1940)
-THURSDAY, MARCH 21, 1940 PAGE 2 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 4-5444. 1939 Member 1940 Associated Golle&iate Press 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 — Asst. Sports Editor Philip Golman Staff Photographer John J. Moseley Staff Artist Junior Editors Billy Clarkson George Fuermann Bob Nisbet A. J. Robinson Earle A. Shields THURSDAY STAFF Ray Treadwell Managing Editor J. W. Jenkins Asst. Advertising Manager Don McChesney Asst. Circulation Manager Phil Levine Editorial Assistant V. R. (Red) Myers Jr. Sports Assistant Senior Sports Assistants Jimmie Cokinos Jimmy James Junior Advertising Solicitors L. J. Nelson A. J. Hendrick Reportoria! Staff Jack Aycock, Jim Dooley, Walter Sullivan, D. C. Thurman, Murray Evans, Joe Taylor, Thomas Gillis, Don Corley, Bill Amis. BATTALION RADIO STAFF George Fuermann Battalion Announcer Charles A. Montgomery Associate Ed Robnett, R. M. Shuffler Assistants Southwest Has Its Own Literature and Folklore We like the suggestion of author J. Frank Dobie that it would be well for Texas schools and colleges to stress the literature and folklore of the Southwest. The American educational institutions, prob ably more from habit than anything else, have taught young Americans all of the interesting facts about the Pilgrim Fathers and the Indians of Mass achusetts and New York. They have taught them little about the adventurous white man who first came to Texas and the Comanches and Apaches and other Indians here at that time. Much of our everyday knowledge of the colon ial history of New England was gained from our school histories, but much more came from our being required to read New England literature. The Yankee literature naturally used New Eng land for locale and New Englanders for charac ters. As Dobie pointed out recently, Texas school children should learn more about the early mis sionaries, the concfuistadors, Cabeza de Vaca’s years as a slave of the Karancahua Indians and his epic journey afoot to the Pacific Coast, the adventures and romances of the first Americans in Texas. There is no dearth of literature on the South west. Some very able writers have turned out books of fiction and non-fiction. In the non-fic tion list we find such writers as Cunninghame Graham, H. E. Bolton, Eugene C. Barker, E. Douglas Branch, Albert Bigelow Paine and Marquis James. The books they have written of Texas and the Southwest are worthy of study by any Eng lish class. Fiction of the Southwest, including Texas, has been capably written by Willa Gather, Oliver La Farge, Stanley Vestal, Andy Adams, Will C. Barnes, George Patullo, O. Henry, Eugene Manlove Rhodes, Stewart Edward White, Alfred Henry Lewis, and many, many others. Our own literature should come first with us because it should contain more to interests us. The scenes and the people, the customs and the culture with which we are familiar should be taught in our schools. Texas children should not be taught Texas lit erature and folklore and history exclusively, but the emphasis should be placed here. Next they should be taught those subjects of the entire Southwest, since Texas is .a part of the Southwest and our history and culture is inextricably bound up with that of Mexico, New Mexico, Arizona and Cali fornia, and, to a lesser extent, with that of Okla- home, Kansas, Colorado, Louisiana and Utah. No other section of the country, not even New England, has a richer history than the Southwest. The white man came to Texas nearly a century before the Pilgrims landed in New England. Since that day the state has produced the material for thousands of stories of adventure and romance, a wealth of material that can be equaled by no other state.—Houston Chronicle. ★ NEW RADIO WONDER Experiments which experts predict will lead to a revolution of the radio industry in a few years were successfully carried out by stations in the East within the last few days, using what is known as “frequency modulation” broadcasting. This new system, the invention of Major Edwin H. Armstrong, which is said to do away with static and man-made interference with radio reception, is being rapidly perfected and is pronounced com pletely successful. A new development demonstrated in the recent experiment mentioned was the re-radiocasting of programs taken directly from the station of origin by other stations, without the aid of telephone wires. At present all network programs are carried by telephone from the place of origin to the indi vidual stations on the hook-up. In the latest test, a program originating at the frequency modulated stations in Yonkers, N. Y., was re-broadcast and relayed by similar stations in Alpine, N. J., and Meridian, Conn., without the use of wires. This feat, while not easy to understand by the layman, was described by radio experts and scientists as “amazing.” K. R. Warner of the American Radio Relay League enthusiastically de clared : “I thought it was technically impossible with three relays, yet the program was still better by far than the present ordinary system at the best.” O IP E IV FORUM LEADERSHIP Leader: One that leads; as the Reading per former of a group.—Webster. A very deceptive term that is often misin terpreted and misused. When someone mentions the word leadership what is the first thought that enters your mind? Usually it is the name of some person who is above you either physically or mentally. The way I am using it at this present time is in reference to our student leaders here on the campus at A. & M. I believe that the majority of our leaders are men who were carefully picked by a staff of experts that are usually very good at their given job. But at times even the experts make mistakes. It is these mistakes that I aim to point out. Many of our students would make excep tionally good leaders if they would go a little out of their way to correct their mistakes. They should at all times remember that—it is never too late to correct a wrongdoing. It is impossible to lay down a set of rules that would govern all leaders but it is possible to outline the general characteristics that every good leader should possess. In my opinion, the first and most important characteristic is that he should win the admiration of his men. No group of men are going to put forth their best if they do not ap prove of and hold admiration for their leader. He should at all times be willing to do whatever he would ask his men to do. He should be a per son capable of setting a pace for the rest of his men to follow. In all probability the leader’s hard est job is never to show partiality to any one per son but to treat all of his men the same. A good leader should have and will have tact enough to keep things running smoothly at all times. To be able to accomplish this it will be necessary for him to command respect from his men. He should show his men from the start that he has sound judgment and a level head. Until he has shown his men this he will be able to accomplish nothing. He should recognize the extent of his authority and stay within its bound. The leader should be well acquainted with every man’s position and know to whom to assign certain jobs. The last qualification that I am listing is one that is often overlooked as trivial factor but it is one that I consider very important—a leader should use the term “WE” more often than “I”. In writing this article I have made an at tempt to set forth the principles of leadership. I hope that they will be taken in the right spirit and be of some benefit to the leaders of our society of tomorrow. —BOB PARKER*. ★ Asked by his kindergarten teacher which letter comes after A, a bright tot replied: “All of them.” ★ We read that each of the Dionne quintuplets has a typewriter. We’d hate the job of changing all those ribbons. As the World Turns... By “COUNT” Y. K. SUGAREFF Peace is being widely discussed in the Eu ropean capitals, but the world will not know defi nitely what the chances for peace are until Mr. Sumner Welles reports his findings to President Roosevelt. Even then the possibilities for peace negotiations may be remote, if the press reports from Europe con vey any truth. Hitler is said to want a “New Order” in Europe, based, of course, on what he con siders the “New Order” should con sist of. Hitler does not intend to step down from power, which the allies demand as a preliminary step to peace negotiations. * * * Prime Minister Chamberlain ap- Sugareff peared before Parliament last Tuesday carrying a sword instead of the familiar umbrella, symbolizing England’s determination to win a physical as well as moral victory. Whatever may be the nature of the Hitler-Mussolini talk at Brennero, “we are not likely to be diverted from the purpose for which we entered this war,” he stated. Should both sides remain adamant to their original aims of the war, there are four possible fields of action by either side: (1) “lightning war” on the western front; (2) the Low Countries—Bel gium and Holland; (3) the Scandinavian countries; and (4) the Balkans and the Near East. A lightning war, such as Germany carried on in Poland, might bring either side to terms but neither the Allies nor Germany have dared to undertake such tactics. Since both sides claim to be ready for such an at tack, it would be expensive and would result in many casualties. Many military experts claim that the decisive battle of the war might be fought on any one of the remaining three fields. Should the war spread to any one or all of these fields, Ger many would have to take the initiative, since it is the policy of the allies not to attack any of the small neutral countries. However, the allies may be forced to spread the war to other countries in order to make their blockade effective. * * * Our “good neighbor” policy toward Latin Amer ica is bearing some fruit—not of the palatable sort, however. We have been concerned about the Latin American commerce and have taken some steps toward improving our relations with the Latin Amer ican republics. We have concluded reciprocity treat ies with some of them, have made new arrange ments about their old debts to American citizens, and have made good-will trips to some of the countries. And now, reports come that Argentina has just concluded a commercial treaty with Japan that gives her most-favored-nation-clause privileges in Argentina. Mexico has sent a group of her ex perts to Japan to arrange trade relations with her. Moreover, several Latin American republics have hinted that they, like Mexico, intend to appropriate the properties of American citizens. Such tactics are not conducive to cultivating and maintaining the policy of “good neighbors.” Off the Record \ ^BobNisbei ^7)^ “Take me up to the thirteenth floor and then down to the seventh. I’m doing a problem in my arithmetic homework.” lUfKWA^U- By v n \ i\ j} n j n George Fuermann “Backwash: An asritation resulting from soms action or ocearranco.”—Webstar. Between the lines . . . The past two organization and corps dances have seen the appearance of tails, in a few instances, rather than the more Aggie - conventional straight tux or uniform. Twenty- five cadets from varying parts of the campus were asked what their opinion was in respect to tails; twenty-three vig- orously denounc- Klr ^ SI ec ^ them, one 1 1 — heartily favored them, and one Fuermann ^ just don , t give a damn-—they can go naked as far as I'm concerned.” .... Many Aggies, after hearing their voices recorded at the North Gate, swear that they will never talk again. . . . Oomph is on the way out and blond coeds no longer rule the masculine hearts of Rice Insti tute; at least, that’s according to a recent poll taken on the Rice campus. Rice men, God bless them, prefer brunettes with intel ligence, beauty, and personality; they turn up their nose at jitter- bugging; think there are too many swing bands; and twenty-five per cent of them neck on the first date—they claim . . . There’s never been a poll taken on it, but Aggies seem to be partial to blondes, bru nettes, and red heads. • Sauce for the goose, and all that sort of thing: An Infantry sophomore, sorely in need of money, sent the follow ing letter a few weeks ago to his uncle in nearby Bryan: “Dear Uncle: If you could see how I blush for shame while I write, you would pity me. Do you know why ? Because I have to ask you for a few dollars, and I don’t know how to express my self. It is impossible for me to tell you. I prefer to die. I send you this by a freshman who will wait for an answer. Believe me, my dearest uncle, your most obedi ent nephew. “P. S. Overcome with shame for what I have written, I have been running after the freshman in order to take the letter from him, but I cannot catch him. Heav en grant that something may hap pen to stop him, or that this letter may get lost.” The uncle was naturally touch ed—in more ways than one—but was equal to the occasion as he came back with: “My Dear John: Console your self and blush no more. Providence has heard your prayers. The fresh man lost your letter. Your af fectionate uncle.’ • Life’s minor tragedies: An Engineer freshman, who’s wondering where the silver lining can be found, sends the following woeful and tear-stained letter: “Sir: It is not for spite, re venge, or even personal satisfac tion that I write this letter; its only purpose is to let Aggies everywhere know of the gross wrong-doings of womankind to poor, helpless, defenseless cadets. A Temple High School senior was my date to the recent Engineers’ Ball. I gave my all, the better that she might have an enjoy able weekend here. I hooked my radio, my electric razor, and four of my roommate’s textbooks. Noth ing was spared which might en liven and enhance her weekend. Why am I bitter, you say? Here’s why—first she late-dated me, then she “stood me up,” and, finally, she generally walked all over me. Never again . . . Never again!” • Holidays are here again . . . The Ross Volunteers will swing and sway to the rhythm of A1 Kavelin . . . The student body as a whole looks forward to seeing “the girl back home,” and then it’ll be the last round-up until Final Review. A fine spring holiday season to you all. “OF MICE AND MEN”, the second picture made recently from novels written by John Steinbeck, is not nearly so radical as “THE GRAPES OF WRATH”, but is a better show because of that fact. Life is full of its vulgarities and profanities, but there is no rea son for glorifying them. Our best source of entertainment—books— shouldn’t be made to drag us through all the depths of mire just to be modern or realistic. That is my opinion on “The Grapes of Wrath” as a book. The show is minus this objection and presents an urgent message to an uninform ed public. So much for that; the original purpose was to discuss “Of Mice and Men”, and so away. Here is a show in a new and dif ferent medium with unusual di rectional treatment. The adapta tion of the theatrical production to the screen was difficult because the story is without much action. The whole story takes place around one bunkhouse and a ranch. On the stage it was a wonderful char acter study, but in the theater the play suffered from the same old fault that Hollywood seems to run into at every turn—overem phasis. By this time, though, I, for one, have rather grown used to the overplaying of parts on the screen and have come to take RUTH TAUBENHAUS SOON TAKES BARNARD OFFICE Miss Ruth Taubenhaus, daugh ter of Mrs. J. J. Taubenhaus of College Station, recently elected president of the Under-graduate Association at Barnard College in New York City, will be installed formally on April 16 at a required assembly of the student body, ac cording to officials of that school. Miss Taubenhaus, who will be next year’s president in her senior year, is serving as undergraduate treasurer and floor counselor in the dormitories in this, her junior year. She was undergraduate sec retary and a member of the camp committee as a sophomore, and was Greek Games chairman in her freshman year. it for granted. Lon Chaney Jr., playing in his first major film production, is the outstanding star in the show. He is Lennie, a big, powerful brute of a man with the strength of a horse and the feeble mind of a child. Well-meaning and innocent as a babe, Lennie gets into trou ble with the police because no one understands his plight. He be comes a hunted man, and it is all that Burgess Meredith can do to hide him and keep him' out of fur ther trouble. Lennie is doomed because he is “out of phase” with the rest of the world—a misfit. His end is inevitable. WHATS SHOWING AT THE ASSEMBLY HALL No shows during the holi days. AT THE PALACE Beginning Sunday—“THE BLUEBIRD”, with Shirley Temple. AT THE QUEEN Friday and Saturday— “SEVENTEEN”, with Jackie Cooper. Dr. Grady Harrison DENTIST North Gate WORK-LOAN PLAN ADOPTED BY EX- STUDENTS’BOARD Aggie Field Force Is Postponed at Meeting Approval and inauguration of the Work-Loan Award plan for as sisting worthy and outstanding students, by which as many as 25 boys, otherwise unable to attend school, may enter A. & M., was the principle accomplishment of the meeting of the Board of Direc tors and the Student Loan Fund Trustees of the Association of Former Students, held here recent ly. The meeting was the best-at tended ever held by the organiza tion. The loan fund seeks to make pos sible the attendance at A. & M. of boys who have made outstanding high school records, yet do not possess the means to further their education. The Aggie Field Force, a pro posed organization, was ordered held in abeyance, due to the strain already put on the Association by the newly-established Place ment Bureau. Proposed changes in the manner of election of the directors of the organization, which would have included the election of a repre sentative of the junior and senior classes of the college to a place on the Board, were considered, but no action was taken, and the ques tions were left for further con sideration. Twenty-one directors and all of the loan fund trustees were pres ent at the meeting. LUCE IS NUMBER ONE GOLFER AT UNIVERSITY AUSTIN, March 8.—Buck Luce, low man in 72-hole qualifying by 20 strokes, again is the No. 1 golfer at The University of Texas. The slender Austin junior was six under par at the end of the four- day marathon. Other team members, in order, are Andrew Chilton, Tommy Tay lor, Len Spitzer, Wayne Middle- ton and David Belew. First matches were with Colorado U. in Austin March 19. LA SALLE HOTEL BRYAN, TEXAS 100 Rooms - 100 Baths Fire Proof R. W. HOWELL, Mgr. Class ’97 Secretary Wallace, so it reads in the paper, is menaced with an other heavy production of pigs, with tails curled in the form of an interrogation. The pig farmers just won’t let Mr. Wallace alone. Don’t forget to fill up with Flop Colson before you leave for R.V. holidays. HUMBLE GAS * OIL East G Cool Off, Mister! They Weigh Far Less! MEN’S Tropical Worsted SUITS 17.50 Dress to beat the heat— but dress in style! These tropicals look ex actly like your regular suit, fit as precisely, drape as immaculately— but what a difference their lighter weight makes! They’re constructed to hold their shape, too— fully lined sleeves and slightly padded shoul ders. And the all wool fabrics give you far richer colors and texture than the low price indicates! ALSO— Marathon Hats 2.98 Towncraft Shirts 1.49 Armourfoot Sox 25c J.CPENNEY CO. “AGGIE ECONOMY CENTER” BRYAN, TEXAS