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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (May 14, 1940)
PAGE 2 THE BATTALION -TUESDAY, MAY 14, 1940 The Battalion BTUDENT TRI-WEEKLY NEWSPAPER OF TEXAS A. & M. COLLEGE Th* Battalion, official newspaper of the Agricultural and Heehanie&l College of Texas and the City of College Station, is published three timee weekly from September to June, issued Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday mornings; and is published weekly from June through August. Sintered as second-class matter at the Post Office at College Station, Texas, under the Act of Congress of March 8, 1879. Subscription rate, 98 a school year. Advertising rates upon request. Represented nationally by National Advertising Service, Inc., M New York City, Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Office, Room 122, Administration Building. 4-8444. Telephone 1939 Member 5 1940 Pissocioted GoUe&ide Press BILL MURRAY „ LARRY WEHRLE James Grits RL O. (Jeep) Oates H. G. Howard EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ADVERTISING MANAGER Associate Editor Sports Editor Circulation Manager Tommy Henderson •Hub’ Johnson Philip Golman Staff Photographer James Carpenter Assistant Photographer John J. Moseley Staff Artist Junior Editors Billy Clarkson George Fuermann A. J. Robinson Earle Asst. Circulation Manager Asst. Sports Editor Bob Nisbet A. Shields TUESDAY STAFF Charlie Wilkinson Managing Editor Sam Davenport Asst. Advertising Manager C. A. Montgomery Editorial Assistant R. V. (Red) Myers Jr. Sports Assistant Senior Sports Assistant Jimmie Cokinos Jimmy James Junior Advertising Solicitors K- W. Hubbard _ ..v. J. D. Smith ... And a Good Time Was Had by All Well, another weekend is past in the history of the 1939-40 session and of the soon-to-depart class of ’40. And it was one of the biggest and most successful weekends of them all. To all those who took any part in planning, preparing, and staging the Parents’ Day program, the Engineers’ Day show, and the senior festivities of the weekend we extend for the corps our con gratulations and thanks for a marvelous time. To the thousands of parents and friends who visited the campus we extend the hope that you learned much about Aggieland, that you had a fine time and that you enjoyed your visit fully as much we enjoyed having you. the City Council used to be broadcast over a local radio station, and there was a good deal of high- flown oratory which caused sessions to last two or three hours. Then it was decided to remove the radio microphones. The first meeting after their removal lasted exactly 23 minutes! Students Scorn ‘Ghosts’ “Ghost writing,” the practice of preparing themes and reports for some one else’s class work, gets a thumbs-down expression of opinion from three-fourth of American college students. What may be more surprising, however, is that the other fourth is either indifferent or open ly in approval. These are the results of a poll con ducted by the Student Opinion Surveys of America, collegiate sampling organization of the undergra duate press, of which The Argonaut is a member. “What is your opinion of the practice of stu dents paying ghost writers to prepare themes and term papers for them?” was the question presented to a scientific cross-section from coast to coast. Disapproving were 75 per cent; indifferent were 10 per cent; approving were 15 per cent. Significantly, it may be noted that a majority of students, 54 per cent, is the strongly-opposed class. Also, the trend of approval dwindles down to a mere 7 per cent strongly in favor. The chief argument of those who favor ghost writing is that in effect it often helps students by giving them more time to study for more impor tant and pressing courses. On the other hand, the majority of those op posed condemn it as plain scholastic dishonesty. Editor’s Letter to Himself To the editor: I read your editorials. Sometimes I enjoy the style and I like those that deplore the things I hate. But I got to thinking the other day, and I won der what good it does to deplore Hitler or Stalin. I wonder what good it does to counsel right and just courses to politicians who are practical human beings. I wonder what good it does to urge me to do this or that, since neither you nor all the others of your readers will have much effect on the course of the world. I think I could read your editorials with greater interest and faith if you’d tell me just what your goal is. • Alexander Pope was a trenchant critic and Intellectual English poet of the Classical Age of English Literature. It was he who said: “A little learning is a dangerous thing.” Our poet’s words come more near the universal truth today than they did in his time. There are more people today who have a little learning. And there are more people today who are supplying them with material to reason with, and that material is propaganda. “People have enough education to be susceptible to propaganda,” says Bertrand Russell, the political philosopher. In the face of sincerity, our purpose is to try to get you to think. We are trying to get you to be skeptical. Be just as skeptical of that which appears in our news columns and of these editorials as of that which appears in other editorials, news columns, books. pamphlets, or that which you hear on the radio, in the lecture hall, on the soap box, over the desk of the big executive, or in the church pulpit. We would not have you put too much faith in these editorials or in any other words printed or uttered by a member of the human race, until by searching after the truth, you have a conviction which stands up in most cases under the search light of a sincere and searching philosophy evolved by skepticism and investigation. One should respect all men’s utterances, or as near to that great ideal as is humanly possible. Whatever we counsel, we do because we believe it the right and just course. But we are not the fountainhead of wisdom. Examine other words, thoughts, and deeds, and evaluate ours in the sum- total of your findings. Then maybe you will think as we do—maybe not; but yours will be a more sure, sincere, and courageous conviction. —The Daily Texan R. W. Steen Psycholopy At Work F. L. Thomasson, I os Angeles psychology in structor, was strolling down a dark street at mid night with $200 in his pockets, when a roughly dress ed man who had been following him came for ward threateningly. Thomasson was certain he was going to be held up. Heading straight for the man, the psychologist said: “Hi, buddy—can you spare a dime for a cup of coffee? I haven’t eaten since. ...” The would-be holdup man gave a startled ex clamation. “Well, I’ll be . . . Here I was goin’ to hold you up!” Thomasson got his dime and walked away, his bankroll saved. * * * Another example of applied physochology was boted in New York City recently. Proceedings of BACKWASH By George Fuermann “Backwash: An asritation resulting from some action or occurrence.”—Webster. Time To Commence Commencement is less than three weeks away. Within less than a month, what are now A. & M. seniors will be men of the world—competing with other men of the world for a limited number of jobs. There won’t be, so we are told, enough jobs to go around. There never have been. But the men who have applied themselves for four years at Texas A. & M. will find jobs. The men who have applied themselves are ready to commence. Those who have taken college life as a joke, barely passing required work, are apt to find that college work and working for a living are not too remotely separated. The man who has made the most of four years at college will, very likely, make the most of anything that he may do. For a college is more than a place to spend four years in simply learning things. Every day of college life presents an opportunity to DO something. Those seniors who have done something will probably not find it hard to commence. Prospective employers cannot ignore the record of what the man who asks for a job has done during the past four years. BOOKS YOU'LL ENJOY AMERICAN EARTH, by Carleton Beals GIDDY MINDS AND FOREIGN QUARRELS by Charles A. Beard MAN AGAINST MICROBE, by J. W. Bigger JANE EYRE, by Charlotte Bronte HEREDITY AND SOCIAL PROBLEMS, by L. L. Burlingame TROUBLE IN JULY, by Erskine Caldwell THE AMERICAN STAKES, by John Cham berlain BOOKS THAT CHANGED THEIR MINDS, by Malcolm Cowley PHILIOSOPHER’S HOLIDAY, by Irwin Edman MY LIFE, by Havelock Ellis THE HOSPITAL, by Kenneth Fearing As the World Turns... By DR. R. W. STEEN The rise to importance of fifth-column tactics simply indicates that war has reached a new low. “Trojan horse” tactics are bad enough, but the fifth column is worse. The fifth column is made up of sympathizers who aid the enemy in every way possible. Some have come into the betrayed coun tries in recent years, but many have been residents of the country for many years. Traitors and spies there have always been, but not in the numbers suddenly appearing in Hol land. Between the lines . . . Quoth an elderly woman as Sunday’s review of the corps got under way, “My day will be spoiled if Reveille isn’t here.” . . . Within a week Back wash’s poll to learn the rating of ' the various orches tras on the campus this year will be completed and the results announced. > In order to insure lHk A accuracy and fair ness in the voting, Fuermann a committee has been appointed which is composed of those Aggies who have worked at the various corps dances. This committee will meet and send ballots to those cadets whom it believes have at tended a representative number of corps dances and are therefore in a position to compare the sev eral orchestras. The committee includes social secretary Charles Hamner, Everett Morehead, Jimmy Cokinos, Fred Sandlin, Bruce Cloud, Jack Nelson, Bob Little, Ed Felder, and four representatives of the corps-at-large—“Greek” Mitchell, Bill Conatser, Derace Moser, and Ray Wink el. . . . It’s six-two-and- even that Aggies would vote for Captain Phil Enslow for any old office he might want to run for. On two consecutive weekends that he has been in charge of so-called “tour duty,” he has called the roll and immediately dismissed the of fenders. Last Saturday he and Mrs. Enslow went a step further by going out of their way to drive several cadets to the central part of the campus. • A fine art: From “The Texas Parade,” a magazine published by the Texas Good Roads Association, comes the following item which was promi nently featured in a recent issue: “Hitchhikers in general may be in disrepute in Texas, but few seasoned Texas travelers ever pass up a Cadet from Texas A. & M. College if they can find room to squeeze him in somewhere. For this there’s a reason. “One of the unwritten rules of the hitchhiking Cadets is that they never leave a motorist in trouble. If a tire needs repairing, they are the first ones out of the car and the first to grab a jack or a tire wrench. If the motor goes dead, chances are one of the boys can tinker it back to life again. If a motorist runs out of gaso line, a cadet will fetch him an emergency supply. “The cadets of A. & M. have reduced hitchhiking to a fine art. They always are courteous and gentlemanly. On entering a ve hicle each extends his hand and in troduces himself. He doesn’t butt into the conversation, but gives courteous and complete answers when questions or statements are directed his way. On leaving the motorist who has befriended him he hands him a card on which is written the cadet’s name, the mil itary unit to which he is attached at the school and an invitation for the motorist to come by to visit him if he ever passes through his home town.” • On Russ Morgan: Songstress Carolyn Clarke broke the date-request record when she “noed” 104 Aggie hopefuls Sat urday night. Lovely Claire Nunn and lovelier Eunice Clark former ly shared the record with 93 re quests each . . . For the first time in 1940 “Tuxedo Junction” is not the Aggie hit parade leader. Step ping aside to make way for Russ’ theme song, “Does Your Heart Beat For Me ? ” the twelve-week leader in most oft-requested songs went into second spot and the old American folk song, “Stardust,” hit the list of Aggie favorites in third place . . . “If I couldn’t talk very well at the corps dance,” Russ said, “it’s because I did so much yelling at the Aggie-Baylor base ball game this afternoon.” His on ly regret was that he didn’t get a chance to swim in the Aggie pool. • Favorite-sayings-of-profs-depart- ment: Here’s a few of the well-groov ed, always-to-be-expected quips and otherwise of several A. & M. profs. How many can you recog nize? . . . “We’ll be using a new textbook in this course which was written by the head of the depart ment and myself.” . . “It’s a cork ing good thing.” . . . “Get your feet down! You’re not an execu tive yet.” . . . “Life’s short, chalk’s expensive, but don’t let that wor ry you.” . . . “But by and large, gentlemen.” . . . “Check me on that.” “We’ll check the role by counting the holes in the atmos phere.” . . . “We’ll have an an nounced pop quiz next time.” . . . “I am beginning to suspect that some of you gentlemen are not studying.” . . . “It’s just one of those cases.” . . . “My wife’s in a very bad humor this morning, so we’ll have a little quiz.” . . .“You stink!” . . . “This is really an easy course if you’ll just study it every day.” By TOM GILLIS Wide Recognition Gained By A. & M. Petroleum Club The A. & M. Petroleum Club has gained wide recognition this year for the large size of its member ship as an affiliated student chap ter of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engin eers. The membership of the local chapter is the second largest of any of the chapters, lacking but one of tying the Colorado School of Mines for first. Recognition of the size of the various student organizations was given in the official publication of the A. I. M. E., Mining and Met allurgy, for May, 1940. The Colo rado school has ranked first for the past seven years, but the ar ticle points out that the up and growing A. & M. club will be a strong contender for first place in the next few years. The member ship in the Aggie club ranked eleventh in 1938, third in 1939, and is now second. From another point of view, the student organization here has the best record of any of the schools, having increased its membership by 91 last year, more than any other school. The record As unusual as a tree in the desert is a musical with any de gree of continuity in its story. Nonetheless, “BROADWAY MEL ODY OF 1940” is one of them. It works in the dancing stars and their rhythms in at least fairly plausible situations and gives the players some chance to act as well as dance. Fred Astaire, Eleanor Powell, and young George Murphy do the tapping and rhythm fol lowing. They are well supported by Frank Morgan, Ian Hunter, and Florence Rice in their more serious acting moments. Nimble Fred Astaire has long since proved his ability in both fields, and all Eleanor Powell lacks of making him as good a partner as Ginger Rogers is some of Ginger’s looks. George Murphy is no slouch as a dancer either, and he and Eleanor do some good rountines. The 'story which is so well in corporated with the dancing num bers concerns a night club and a case of mistaken identity. George Murphy, by mistake, gets a job as dancing partner for Eleanor, but gets so swell headed about it that Fred has to take his place for several performances. Then comes love, and the new dance team is made permanent. Cole Porter has written several of the tunes used in this musical. “I’ve Got My Eyes On You” is one of them, and the grand finale to the tune of “Begin the Beguine” is really outstanding. Dance routines are well performed throughout the show, and since it has a somewhat logical plot and Cole Porter’s music, it rates a lit tle better than the average mu sical. The Campus is . introducing something else new for their thea ter. Tuesdays will be bargain day with the price being 15 cents day and night. First show to be brought there under this rate is “DOWN ON THE FARM.” This is also the first run on that show in these parts. It brings the fur- seems still more important when it is realized that petroleum engi neering students here are not re quired to join the A. I. M. E. Fur thermore, only juniors and seniors are eligible for membership. It is believed that at the Colorado school the students are required to join the Institute. There are seventy-seven colleges with stu dent chapters, making a total mem bership of 3456 students. ther adventures of the Jones fam ily when they are forced to move to the country because one of the little Joneses blows up their city home while trying a chemistry ex periment. They take to farm life with a good spirit, and Pa Jones finds himself entered in a corn husking contest. The contest be comes so important that the win ner is sure to receive the vote of the farm bloc in the election for senator from that district, and pop has to beat a crooked politi cian to win. There is a little rural romance mixed in between Ken Howell and the farmer’s daugh ter, Dorris Bowden. Louise Fazenda has a part as Aunt Ida, whose perennial suitor is the hired hand. Jane Withers in “HIGH SCHOOL” will perhaps be a bit juvenile for some Aggies, but it will interest lots of the San An tonio boys because the high school in question is none other than Thomas Jefferson. Jane hasn’t quite outgrown hqr childish tactics, and at first she makes everyone at the school despise her for her know-it-all attitude. She redeems herself though and finally becomes a member of the Lasso Girls. Pop Shaw Still Making ’Em Best! College Campus Sandwich Shop Back of Legett Hall The fifth column did its work in Czechoslovakia and in Poland, but it remained for the leader of the fifth column in Norway to provide a name for his cohorts. Blackguard, spy, traitor, quisling. These are words of opprobium in order of pro gression, and the last one is the new one. Holland and Belgium find that many of the re fugees from the Hitler Terror who they befriended last year and the year before are now aiding the invading forces in every way possible. To make the matter even worse, German residents of Holland who have lived there for as long as twenty years are joining in the attempt to overthrow the little kingdom. Many, perhaps most, of the Germans in Holland are doubtless aiding their adopted country, but the fact that some are not makes the presence of any members of this race a serious matter for Holland. England and France are taking drastic steps to prevent fifth-column activities. England has order ed that all Germans living in the eastern half of the country be placed in concentration camps. This will doubtless be unjust to many of the Germans so arrested, but fifth-column activity being what it is, a country at war has little choice in the matter. England has also ordered that aliens other than Germans report every day to police authorities. They are not permitted to be outside their homes after nightfall, and will be subjected to numerous other restrictions. These acts are contrary to British traditions, but the British now face a con dition and not a theory. They, too, have opened their doors in recent years to German refugees. They do not wish to be paid for their hospitality in the way that Holland is now being paid for hers. Your hat will be stored absolutely free during the Summer months if you have it cleaned and blocked. So why go to the trouble of carrying it around in your trunk when you can store it where it will be free from dust and moths. Cleaning & Blocking $1.00 Pay Next Fall • STANDARD HAT WORKS North Gate GOOD NEWS FOR HUNGRY STUDENTS Before and after the ball visit our new “pink room”. No cover charge. The perfect spot to say hello and good-bye to your best girl friend. Good food and cold drinks at reasonable prices. Open all night on Friday and Saturday. We also cater to special parties and banquets. COLLEGE INN CAFE AND AMUSEMENT CLUB Brunswick Standard Equipment North Gate Phone College 333 C. E. McMULLAN W. H. McMULLAN In 1896 two Norwegians actually rowed all the way across the At lantic Ocean, from New York to France. College men tend to marry earl ier and in larger proportion than college women, according to a sur vey. WHAT’S SHOWING AT THE ASSEMBLY HALL Tuesday 3:30 and 6:45— —“HIGH SCHOOL,” featur ing Jane Withers and Joe Brown Jr. Wednesday, 3:30 and 6:45 — “BROADWAY MELODY OF 1940,” starring Fred Astaire, Eleanor Powell, George Murphy, Frank Mor gan, Ian Hunter, and Florence Rice. AT THE CAMPUS Tuesday — “DOWN ON THE FARM,” with Jed Prouty, Louise Fazenda, Ken Howell, Spring Byington. Wednesday, Thursday — “ROSE OF WASHINGTON SQUARE,” starring Tyrone Power, Alice Faye, and A1 Jolson. snninER UIIKIES Look your Best in GANTNER WIKIES Choose from smart new, wool knit Wikies .... or from those knit with wool and lastex, the mir acle yarn, to fit you like a second skin. Or slide through the water in Sa tin Lastex Wikies and enjoy that nude-swim feel. Because of the rubber core of Lastex yarns, these new Wikies are al most waterproof — dry 50% faster! Look to Wikies for the new “Freedom-Cut” leg- hole . . . free-breathing lastex belt and self-ad justing, non-chafe sup porter. $1.95 to $5.00 7 t r f* WIMBERLEY STONE DANSBY W-O-L/ CiOCKXERS