-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
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but what a difference
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They’re constructed to
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fully lined sleeves and
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And the all wool fabrics
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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