PAGE 2
OUR PURPOSE
The following item appeared in the
“Main Street” column of the Wednesday,
April 17 issue of The Bryan News:
“And the boycott still goes on. Every
one is wondering just how long it will last.
Really, Bryan people are not minding the
absence of the Aggies at the shows. For a
little more than a week they’ve been able to
go to the show and really enjoy a picture
without having to put up with facetious re
marks at some dramatic moment, mock cry
ing at some pathetic part of the film, booing
and hissing when the “villain” is up to his
tricks, noisy laughter at the least sign of
humor.
“In fact, Bryan people are enjoying to
the utmost that phase of the boycott.
“Seems though that the boycotting bus
iness has gone past the Aggies and has got
to be more or less a battle between the people
of Bryan and those of College Station.”
•
Well mister, you’re sure assuming a
whale of a lot.
We’d like to point out that your last par
agraph is all wrong. Our movement to secure
first-run shows was, is, and will continue to
be for the single purpose of obtaining first-
rate shows for College Station and equal
rights with the theaters of Bryan. And we
don’t care who at College Station gets to show
them.
Instead of resenting the attitude of the
firm whose policy is responsible for our at
titude in regard to the Bryan theaters, some
few people of Bryan are resenting the Ag
gies.
Most thinking people of Bryan realize
that we are not only out to get our just rights
in the movie situation. As far as this being
a “battle between the people of College Sta
tion and Bryan” we’d like to point out that
it has not and will not be any such thing—
as far as we’re concerned.
Why don’t you get wise to yourself and
realize that it’s people in your own midst
who are hurting you—not us. We’re not out
against any other business of Bryan but its
discriminatory theater business; we never
have been and will not be. But we’re going
to refrain from attending the Bryan shows
for two weeks, two months, or ten years if
necessary to gain our single fixed objective;
equal rights for College Station in the mov
ing picture field.
In speaking for the corps as a whole, we
merely want to see that we of College Station
get a fair deal. By no means whatsoever did
we intend or direct it to be a battle between
vthe two people. We of the cadet corps are
confident that the thinking people of Bryan
will not take this narrow attitude toward us.
We believe that they too realize that in a
Democracy, when certain laws of equality
to all and special privileges to none are not
complied with, certain steps, although they
may not ordinarily be the best ones, must be
taken. Logically the corps has done nothing
•out of the ordinary.
Certainly the People of any community
would not condemn any movement that wants
to uphold the Democratic principles of
EQUALITY and JUSTICE.
★
Keep Up the Good Work!
Army, it’s two weeks now since we ‘co
incidentally’ started refraining the theaters
of Bryan, in our campaign to secure first-
class, first-run moving pictures for College
Station and date-to-date showings with Bry
an. The campaign has received virtually 100
percent support from the student body (only
•a handful of students have attended the Bry
an theaters), and great support from the
college staff and other citizens of Bryan and
College Station.
Army, we ARE going to gain our object
ive—eventually. Of that we feel confident.
Either the management of the Bryan theaters
or the Dallas distributors of moving pictures
will have to forego the discriminatory prac
tices they have imposed on us for so many
years.
You members of the corps can help
further, by letting your family, friends, in
fluential acquaintances, and ex-students all
over the country know the true situation in
The Battalion
STUDENT TRI-WEEKLY NEWSPAPER OP
TEXAS A. t M. COLLEGE
Tha 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
Pranelseo.
Office, Room 122, Administration Building. Telephone
4-8444.
1939 Member 1940
PlssocioteH GoUe&ide Press
BILL MURRAY EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
LARRY WEHRLE ADVERTISING MANAGER
James Crits Associate Editor
E. C. (Jeep) Oates Sports Editor
H. G. Howard Circulation Manager
Tommy Henderson Asst. Circulation Manager
‘Hub’ Johnson Asst. Sports Editor
Philip Golman Staff Photographer
James Carpenter Assistant Photographer
John J. Moseley Staff Artist
Junior Editors
Billy Clarkson George Fuermann Bob Nisbet
A. J. Robinson Earle A. Shields
SATURDAY STAFF
James Crits Acting Managing Editor
Don Burk Asst. Advertising Manager
W. C. Carter Editorial Assistant
R. V. (Red) Myers Jr. Sports Assistant
Senior Sports Assistant
Jimmie Cokin os Jimmy James
Junior Advertising Solicitors
J. M. Sedberry . .. G. M. Woodman
Reportoriai Staff
E. M. Rosenthal, Lee Rogers, Glenn Mattox, W. A. Moore,
Bob Parker, L. B. Tennison
Ed Bobnett, R. M. Shuffler Assistants
respect to Bryan and College Station theaters.
Get them to write their legislators, the
authorities of the movie business, anyone who
may help the cause. And why don’t you write
your congressmen about the situation? They
should be cognizant of it. They are supposed
to represent the people. Six thousand Aggies,
many more thousands of ex-students, and
their thousands of relatives and friends cer
tainly should not be overlooked in this rep
resentation. The moving picture industry is
being investigated in many places: it ought
to be here.
The cadet colonel has expressed confi
dence that we are going to attain our object
ive. So far the campaign has received loyal
support. Just keep up the good work.
★ :
Decency to Visitors
Aggies, Sunday to Tuesday this campus
will be visited by some 2,400 high-school
farm boys and some 600 teachers and other
visitors from all over the state, here for
Smith-Hughes Day.
In the past attempts have been made
each year to terrorize, intimidate, and fright
en the younger of these boys in “kangaroo
courts” conducted by the freshmen of A. &
M.—instead of treating them as visitors
ought to be treated.
It’s time such tactics were discontinued.
In the first place, what was new and fright
ening to these young visiting boys years ago
is no longer new to many of them; too many
of them have heard of it from boys who’ve
been here before, or witnessed it themselves
on previous visits. Secondly, we treat most
visitors to this campus with decent gentle
manly respect—why not these? You once
were young, “green”, inexperienced your
self ; what did you thing then of someone who
acted as a bully or persecutor to you? You
didn’t appreciate it very much—did you?
There’s no sense in deliberately creating a
bad impression of A. & M.'and the Aggies in
the minds of hundreds of boys, most of whom
now are hoping and planning to attend A. &
M. themselves some day.
Some students may think that The Bat
talion is hereby trying to kill “one more good
old tradition” of the Aggies—to spoil a little
more “fun” the “fish” of years past have in
dulged in. Well, fun is fun, and when it’s
right, we believe in it. If any student can gain
innocent pleasure from the visit of these
2,400 boys, all right; but if it comes through
hurting, scaring, or angering them, it’s far
from being right.
Just stop to consider this: These visit
ing boys represent more than 400 high
schools of Texas. At the present time, A. &
M. is sending out representatives to talk to
the graduating classes of most of the high
schools of the state, to impress the graduat
ing boys with the great advantages and ben
efits of attending A. & M. We’re at cross
purposes—we’re defeating our own ends—
we’re antagonizing the very schools we’re
seeking to befriend—when we treat these
boys like “scum of the earth” instead of like
gentlemen.
Upperclassmen, The Battalion can’t pre
vent any of you from sending out your fresh
men to hale the visiting boys into “kangaroo
courts”, and freshmen, we can’t prevent you
from doing it. But we do plead with you to
realize the unfortunate results of what you
might have previously thought just “inno
cent fun”, and we ask you to see to it your
selves that our visitors receive the treatment
any and all visitors to Aggieland merit.
★
Pat Houdine, 25-year-old parrot owned by Mrs.
Harry Houdini of Hollywood, widow of the famed
magician, picked the lock of his cage and flew away.
As the World Turns...
By DR. AL B. NELSON
Did you know that a barrel of crude oil produced
only six gallons of gasoline in 1915 but that today
nineteen gallons are obtained from the same amount
of crude ? That a red dye is now made from the
seed of grapefruit ? That a new treatment for syphi
lis has been found at a prominent hospital which
is said to effect a cure within five
days ?
* * *
Shall U. S. business give ordi
nary commercial credits to the Brit
ish? That question is almost sure to
be raised in the near future for the
following reason: our producers of
tobacco, cotton, corn, wheat, meat,
and other farm products are raising
a big howd because the British have
ceased buying these products from
us. The reason is that our so-called
neutrality legislation prevents the extension of
credit and the English naturally buy from nations
which allow credit. Remember it is only v(ar debts
that the British have failed to pay; they have al
ways paid their commercial debts.
* * *
A contest looms between Ernest O. Thompson,
runner-up for governor in the last election, and Gene
Howe, the Amarillo newspaper publisher, for the
congressional seat made vacant by the appointment
of Congressman Marvin Jones as a judge on the U. S.
Court of Claims.
* * *
Farm organizations, labor unions, and consumer
groups are all uniting to oppose the Patman Bill
which would levy special taxes on the chain stores.
Watch the testimony before the congressional com
mittee for further news. The bill is given little
chance for passage in view of the surprisingly
united opposition.
* * *
The Navy bill has passed the Senate by the
largest majority seen in recent years. The sole
opposition came from a few middle-western senators
who seem to oppose expenditures for a navy solely
because they cannot run the ships up to the back
yards of their states to show them off to the people.
THE BATTALION
-SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 1940
Anson Weeks’ Band, Cavalry
Ball Were Both Top-Notchers
By George Fuermann
The downbeat by Anson Weeks
. . . The music by his twelve
rhythm-making accomplices . . .
The lyrics by Eunice Clark, Wes
Hite, and Bud Prentis, . . The
dancing by Cavalrymen and their
escorteees. In thirty words—too
many to send in a straight wire
without paying an extra charge—
that’s the fourth annual Cavalry
Ball.
And as for Anson, he lived up
to his advertised tag line—“The
Ambassador of Rhythm.” As per
sonable as he is capable, many
cadets rate him the best orchestra
of 1940’s social season, and cer
tainly his is one of the ace-high
bands.
It wasn’t his first time to play
at an A. & M. dance, however.
In 1934 he played here and at that
time his vocalists were the now
famous Bob Crosby and the then-
and-now famous Kay St. Germaine.
In the business sixteen years, his
orchestra is definitely one of su
perlatives. A pianist in his own
right and a composer of merit,
his orchestra plays the nation’s
number one dance spot three
months in every twelve—Holly
wood’s Cocoanut Grove.
Charming twenty-year-old Eunice
Clark was on the ‘okeh’ side in her
own right. Not long with a name
orchestra, she’s a Chicago belle
who formerly did a two-year
stretch on a sustaining radio pro
gram.
Spending the entire Saturday
afternoon making a special ar
rangement of “The Aggie War
Hymn,” Anson "did the first good
job of playing the number that a
swing band has yet turned out.
Then too, the Cavalry Ball was
significant in another light. It
was the first A. & M. dance to hit
the airwaves. From 9:30 until
10:30 station WTAW aired the
rhythms of “Dancin’ With Anson”
Weeks.
Chairmaned by Paul Haines, the
committee included Eli Whitney,
Bob Langford, Randall Henderson,
Bob Alexander, Tom Powers, Keith
Hubbard, George Taylor, Graham
Purcell, Bob Tonkin, and S. A.
McDonald.
BACKWASH
By
George Puermann
"Backwash: An agitation resulting from some action or occurrence.”—Webster.
The way of things ... It can’t
be denied that there are many ad
vantages to a coed college, but
one good thing about a “for men
only” school is that you can scratch
when it itches . . . Dee Stevens,
the College Hospi
tal’s head technic
ian, has her own
claim to distinc
tion: she rates
tops in the flying
world with a
commercial pilot’s
license . . . And—
as Marshall Rob-
Fuermann nett Suggested—
there will prob
ably be many cadets making
the Aggie-U.C.L.A. game in Cal
ifornia next October 12—via box
car . . . John Pasco, designer of
the Aggies’ national championship
football postcards, is now doing a
card honoring the mythical, but
typical, “Aggie Sweetheart.” . . .
Nickname with a punch: An S. M.
U. coed has been dubbed “Whang
brain”' by her Aggie beau . . .
Jitterbugin’ is back on the upgrade
at the past two dances. Best
doers of the rhumba at last week
end’s balls were Mike Soto and
escortee Louise Broadhead ... A
medal for consistency should go
to the Bryan belle who unfailingly
dances in the same spot at every
dance—the righthand corner of the
new bandstand.
•
Keep it up. Army:
The Aggie non-patronization
agreement has not only seen Bryan
completely depopulated as far as
Aggies are concerned but it has
seen a few interesting sidelights
arise... Profs throughout the college
have indicated that the general
grade average of cadets has risen;
Cushing Memorial Library’s circu
lation has jumped tremendously;
and the Post Office has indicated
that the amount of outgoing mail
has jumped astoundingly. The
corps is not only helping itself gain
a long-desired end by the “agree
ment,” but every indication is that
the corps is helping itself to a big
slice of other benefits.
•
What _ _ _ again?
Goldfish dunking went out with
the bustle; now it’s fresh-water
clam eating that claims the at
tention of Aggie freshmen. To win
a $2 bet, freshman John A. Jen
sen ate six of the things alive—
hearts still beating—in a recent
biology class. Latest hospital
reports are that the clams are do
ing as well as could be expected.
•
You may have wondered:
During the past two months
Backwash has endeavored to find
out what wages were paid by the
average “name” orchestra—six of
which have been on the campus
thus far this social season. As
might be expected, the leader is
top salary man, assistant leader
and manager tie for second money,
arrangers third, musicians next,
and—as a general rule—vocalists
last. Musicians average around
$90 a week, vocalists usually col
lect $70 for seven days’ work,
and arrangers average around
$110. Assistant leaders usually
net $135 a week. All leaders have
pointed out, however, that the wage
scale at the present time is on
an upswing but probably will nev
er . again reach pre-depression
heights which were three or four
times what the salaries now are.
While on the road each individual
pays room and board, but the band
pays traveling expenses. Extra
money is made through radio en
gagements (commercial) and re
cordings.
By Tom Gillis
David Niven pretty well solves
the problem of being a gentleman
and a crook and getting away with
both in “RAFFLES”, the show
coming to the Assembly Hall to
night. As the successful gentle
man, he travels in the best circles
of London society and wins the
heart of lovely Olivia deHavilland,
but as the almost successful thief,
his circle gets short-circuited by
his last jewel robbery. In the first
part of the film, David swears off
the life of the thief for love of
Olivia and determines to follow the
path of the righteous. However,
Olivia’s brother gets into some
troubles over gambling debts, and
David once more assumes the role
of the slick gentleman thief to
make a last snatch and save him.
Before the party where he was to
steal a necklace is over, David has
to steal the heavily jeweled item
from another thief. Scotland Yard
does a pretty good job of straight
ening out the situation, but with
his clever witted tactics and Oliv
ia’s help, David almost outwits
them altogether.
The story of “Raffles” is taken
from “The Amateur Cracksman” by
E. W. Hornbung, and the debonaire
gentleman in tails politely lifting
jewelry makes interesting enter
tainment.
Y-cards will be good to attend
the 12:45 show tomorrow of “THE
NIGHT OF NIGHTS”, featuring
Pat O’Brien and Olympe Bradna.
Pat is a Broadway success whose
wife leaves him on the opening
night because of his drunken per
formance. He is unable to find any
trace of her, but learns that she
has given birth to a daughter. Pat
sinks to the level of a hanger-on
in the shadows of Broadway and
remains so for years. He receives
a letter that his daughter, now full
grown, is passing through New
York. His wife is dead. Lacking
the courage to meet the girl, who
is Olympe Bradna, Pat sends a
friend but shows up himself, too.
Olympe recognizes the rundown
condition of her father and decides
to stage a comeback. On the open
ing night of the same play, father
and daughter make a hit perform
ance, and Pat dies in his dressing
room feeling that this night of
nights has righted him with his
wife’s memory and started their
daughter to fame.
m
AMUU
I ASSILVkliLY
HALL
ONE FOR ALL and ALL FOR ONE
... and this beautiful Girl was 11!
Saturday, April 20
12:45
HOW MANY SHIRTS
DO YOU BUY
A YEAR?
We warrant you’ll need less,
if you get the habit of buying
ARROW SANFORIZED
QUALITY SHIRTS. Since
they are tailored to specifica
tions and their fine broad
cloth, it stands to reason that
they will outwear lesser qual
ity shirts two or three times!
The ‘DoodlebugV
Nose Knows, As It
Finds Lost Radium
KANSAS CITY, Mo., April 16.—
Once again Dr. Frank E. Hoecker’s
“doodlebug” has been successful
in locating lost radium.
Dr. Hoecker, a professor at the
University of Kansas City, re
turned today from Bryan, Texas,
where his electrical device located
$1,200 worth of radium in a sewer
near a hospital.
It was the ninth time Dr.
Hoecker had used his “doodlebug”
to locate radium.
These smart ARROW ties will
add zest to your appearance.
You will find the most attrac
tive patterns in ARROW
TIES.
The Exchange Store
“An Aggie Institution ,,