PAGE 4-
To the High School Seniors
THE BATTALION
-THURSDAY, MAY 16, 1940
Collegiate Kaleidoscope 1939-40 Cadet Colonel Has
Set Enviable Record in Many Fields
This issue of The Battalion is dedicated
to the boys now graduating from the high
schools of Texas.
To these seniors we will state frankly
why we dedicate this issue to them—we hope
they’ll come to A. & M.
We hope so for very good reasons, we
believe.
A. & M. is the only men’s senior college
in Texas.
It is the largest military college in the
world.
It has the largest Agriculture School in
the world.
It has the largest Veterinary School in
North America.
It has the second largest Engineering
School in the United States—with but a
handful of students less than the largest.
It has the reputation of being a school
which builds men capable of doing their
work well after graduation.
It has traditions which make life here
interesting during school years and worth
remembering forever.
It has a “school spirit” which is re
nowned.
It has the most famous band and yelling
section in the Southwest.
It is utterly democratic except for the
distinction in classes which all colleges have.
The REAL College
Student
At last a movie has been filmed that, as we
saw it, is giving the real story of today’s college
student.
A March of Time film, entitled “America’s
Youth—1940” is now being released to movie houses
throughout the country. Its purpose is to give a
true picture of the twenty million young people
who fall into one of the following classes: upper
income, “white collar”, college, semi-skilled, farm,
and unemployed. It describes the 1,200,000 college
youths as the “luckiest” in America. But, unlike
the typical Hollywood college flickers, which have
insisted on picturing college youth with a raccoon
coat and a banner in his hand, this film shows that
the American student does not regard his schooling
as a luxury, but as a necessary equipment in the
highly competitive business of finding a job.
It shows furthermore that most college students
must earn all or part of their expenses, and that
an indispensable adjunct of today’s educational sys-
'tem is the college employment bureau which serves
as a clearing house for part-time jobs on and off
the campus. Our own college is typical in this
respect. Our Student Labor Office reports that
more than one-third of A. & M.’s students are
earning all or part of their way.
We are glad that the general public is at last
being shown a film where college students are
being presented as they are, not as some scenario
writer imagines they shall be. Such movies as
“Dancing Coed” and “Pigskin Parade” give such a
distorted picture of present-day college life that
the older generation thinks of us as smartly-clad
collegiates whooping it up on a continual house
party.
Then an antagonistic press gives the older gen
eration another distorted picture of college youth
by its treatment of the American Youth Congress
in Washington, this time a picture so far removed
from the typical movie portrait that a puzzled pub
lic throws up its hands in dismay. They cannot
understand why students should think far enough
ahead to be worried about getting jobs and keeping
the nation at peace. And whatever else may be said
about those Washington crusaders, they showed
without a doubt that they were serious about a
serious situation.
We hope that Hollywood producers will look
twice at this film, and when they start their fall
crop of college movies, remember that the typical
college student spends more time with a textbook
than with a pennant, and more time working at a
part-time job than trotting to a prom.
The Battalion
STUDENT TRI-WEEKLY NEWSPAPER OF
TEXAS A. & M. COLLEGE
Ttv« Battalion, official newspaper of the Agricultural and
Heehanleal College of Texas and the City of College Station, is
pobliahed three times weekly from September to Jane, issued
Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday mornings; and is published
■asliljr 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, S3 a school year. Advertising rates upon
request.
Represented nationally hy National Advertising Service, Inc.,
at New York City, Chicago. Boston, Los Angeles, and San
Francisco.
dILL MURRAY _
Larry wehrle
James Crits
C. (Jeep) Oates
EL O. Howard
Tommy Henderson
’Hub’ Johnson
Philip Golman
James Carpenter
John J. Moseley —
Billy Clarkson
A. J. Robinson
It offers a list of student activities—
run by students alone in most cases—which
would be hard to equal anywhere.
It has more dormitories than any other
college in the Southwest, capable of handling
nearly every prospective student.
It has the greatest cooperative project
house system in the nation, enabling hun
dreds of boys to attend A. & M. who could
not otherwise afford college.
It has the world’s two largest dining
halls, and a mess hall system which is re
markable in its efficiency and economy.
•
We could extend the list for columns
without stepping outside the bounds of truth.
For these reasons, we think the fact
that we would like to have high school
seniors come here next year is pretty sound
ly based.
We hope the 10,000 seniors who receive
this issue will enjoy learning about what we
consider Texas’ greatest educational insti
tution—Texas A. & M.
A Service Institution
A recent article in Time magazine referred to
Ohio State University as a “service station” insti
tution dedicated to the service of people in the
state of Ohio rather than to any particular cultural
pursuits.
It is almost certain that alumni of Texas Agri
cultural and Mechanical College would not object
if this institution were to be called a “service sta
tion”. Organized in the beginning as a college which
would prepare its students to earn a living, the in
stitution has always maintained this objective.
The Schools of Agriculture, Engineering, Arts
and Sciences, and Veterinary Medicine and the
Graduate School are turning more well-educated
men into the world every year. We might say that
A. & M. is this state’s college for the masses. The
college historically leans strongly toward the vo
cational training ideas.
A. & M. is a “service station” for the state of
Texas, and the School of Arts and Sciences is a
“service station” for Texas A. & M. No student
graduates without taking some course in arts and
sciences.
But A. & M. has not lost sight of the fact that
cultural training is necessary in a happy, well-
rounded life. Cultural training, it is believed, can be
of definite economic value.
Work of the Arts and Sciences School is carried
on by a large number of departments, embracing
nearly every field of both the liberal arts and the
sciences. One of its two major aims is the equipping
of students of the other schools with the knowledge
needed by every graduate regardless of his field.
But at the same time, our Schools of Arts
and Sciences has always tried to maintain a happy
medium, instilling a considerable measure of cultu
ral and of general education.
That Arts and Sciences is not entirely a service
school is shown by the fact that a number of
students are enrolled as arts and sciences majors.
A strong arts and sciences school is an in
valuable aid to a campus devoted to vocational
education because it furnishes training that is
needed by every man. Any association with students
preparing for an agricultural or mechanical profes
sion is good for arts and sciences students who
may tend to get too far from the actualities of
life. At least it seems that way to us.
LUMBER USED FORTHE FRAMEWORK OF ICE FIG
URES BUILT ON THE CAMPUS FOR THE CARNIVAL
WOULD HAVE MADE A SIX-ROOM HOUSE /
BETWEEN
40 AND 50
COLLEGES ARE
OFFERED FOR SALE
EVERY YEAR/
A BASKETBALL PLAYER TRAVELS FOUR
MILES DURING THE COURSE OF A GAME /
Weldon Stone
Offloa, Room US, Administration Building. Telephon*
1939 Mem'.-ei 1 1940
Associated GolleStale Press
-EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Junior Editors
George Fuermann
ADVERTISING MANAGER
Associate Editor
Sports Editor
Circnlation Manager
_ Asst. Circulation Manager
Asst. Sports Editor
Staff Photographer
Assistant Photographer
Staff Artist
The Evils of Faulty Diction
We were fortunate enough to be given the
privilege of talking with an executive of a large
corporation a few days ago. During the course of
the conversation we were impressed by several of
his remarks in regard to what business expects
from the college men of today, the gist of which we
pass on to the corps now.
The chief thing which interested us was the
fact that the corporations want men who not only
have a college education, but who also possess the
ability to write, and, more important, speak the
English language well. The mere possession of a
college diploma is not evidence of that ability, as
we ourselves are well aware. The engineer, the
chemist, in fact any professional man, must be able
to put his ideas across in language simple enough
for anyone to understand, and yet polished enough
to show his education.
It is surprising how little emphasis is placed on
that ability at some institutions. Here at A. & M.
considerable stress is laid on the matter, but it
seems that even more is desirable.
Especially is this true in the matter of written
communications and reports. According to this ex
ecutive, very few of the college men he has had
dealings with—and they are a legion in number—
possess enough knowledge of the language to write
a really satisfactory report. It is not a mere ques
tion of spelling or punctuation, but rather one of
composition and form.
Perhaps it would be a good idea if each col
lege boy would try his hand at this sort of com
position and compare it with some of the papers
written by leaders in the different fields.
Another matter of major importance is that of
good letter writing. It seems that the majority of
us, even after four years of college, do not know
what constitutes a good business letter. Since men
in industry have to write interdepartmental letters,
and other types of communications, this point as
sumes great importance.
Finally, he stated that industry wants men
who can take orders, who have initiative, and who
have a broad knowledge of their field. He warned
especially against that to which we are all open,
over-specialization.
Widely-Known Folk Plays by Weldon
Stone Feature Picturesque ‘Whittier’
Thrice winner in playwriting of
the annual Midwestern folk drama
tournament at Cape Girardeau,
Missouri, is Weldon Stone, instruct
or of English at Texas A. & M.
His plays feature one of the
most picturesque folk characters
in the country, the whittler, es
pecially the expert shavings maker
of the Ozark Mountains in Arkan
sas.
Broadway play producers have
considered several of his plays
worthy of production, and it is
probable that one of these days
Stone may reach his goal of hav
ing a number of his works pre
sented on the “Great White Way”.
First of Stone’s “whittler” se
ries and sixth of his plays to be
published was “Devil Take a Whit
tler”. Several other plays of this
series, including “Mammon and the
Whittler” and “That Son of a Whit
tler” have also been published. as the best of the folk drama that
Stone has been at work for some have been Produced in Ireland. It
time compiling all his whittler has imagination and humor. It is,
characters into a full-length book furthermore, if you make except-
entitled “Tall Tales of a Whittler”, ions for the extravagance and fan-
which he expects to publish very tas Y which is a P art of its le S end >
soon a faithful picture of a group of
Stone first won the playwriting dur most c<)lorful citizens.”
contest at Cape Girardeau in 1936 Born in Holland, Bell County,
with “Quarrytown”. He repeated in Texas, in 1902, Stone attended Hol-
’38 with “Sweet Charity”, a play land and Waco high schools. He re
involving a little Italian news ven- ceived his bachelor of arts degree
dor who is going to start free soup from Baylor University at Waco
distribution. and his master of arts degree from
Other plays by Stone which have Southern Methodist University at
been published include “A Dark- Dallas. He also studied at the Uni-
some Furriner”, “All Through the versity of Texas in Austin. He is
House”, and “When the Stars Fall”, married and has one daughter.
No slouch with a knife himself, Enthusiastic as he is about his
Stone spent months tramping playwriting endeavors, Stone is
through the Ozarks to collect his no less enthusiastic over the base-
store of whittler characters. He ball playing of his first cousin,
also spent some time in New York’s Bob Stone, senior third baseman
lower East Side, where he saw the and captain of the Aggie baseball
little Italian news vendor of team this year and considered by
“Sweet Charity” in real life. many as a great major league pos-
“Devil Take a Whittler” was Bibility.
first published in “The Best One-
Act Plays of 1937”, edited by Mar
garet Mayorga, and drew the fol
lowing praise from Sidney B.
Whipple, dramatic critic for the
New York World-Telegram: “This
play ... is unquestionably as fine
Durward B. “Woody” Varner, of Cottonwood, has commanded the
Texas A. & M. College Cadet Corps during the 1939-40 school year
as Cadet Colonel.
Varner has been an outstanding student ever since he enrolled
at Texas A. & M. in the fall of 1936, and has never ifailed to be on
the Distinguished Student list. For most of the time he has been a
straight “A” student. He is val
edictorian of his class this year.
He held the presidency of his
class in his sophomore and junior
years. In addition, he has won the
Danforth Foundation Fellowship
twice; served this year as agricul
tural editor of the Scientific Re
view, a student publication; has
held offices in the Economics and
Marketing Finance Clubs, serving
as president of the latter club
this year.
He won a freshman numeral in
basketball in 1937 Jlnd a varsity
letter this past year and was
elected captain of the cage team
for the past season.
He is majoring in marketing and
finance and will graduate May 31,
1940.
GREETINGS TO ALE
HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES
DROP IN TO SEE US
NEXT FALL
Y. M. C. A. BARBER SHOP
Old “Y”
VARSITY BARBER SHOP
New “Y”
1940 FALL TERM SPECIAL!
$5.00 Fountain Pen—Only $2.98
$2.00 Pen & Pencil Set—Only 98c
These Pens and Pencils made and guaranteed
by Shaeffer
WE STOCK EVERYTHING FOR THE STUDENT.
“Across from Post Office at
College Station, Texas.”
“Greetings to All High School
Graduates ,,
AGGIELAND fHARMACI
THE REXALL STORE
J. T. BURTIS, Manager
Prescription Druggist
Boys May Continue
Scouting After
Coming to A. & M.
Two senior Boy Scout organiza
tions are operating at present on
the A. & M. campus. One, a Rover
Crew, available to men between the
ages of 17 and 25, is sponsored by
the Rural Sociology Department.
This crew is the outgrowth of a
Scoutmasters’ training school which
was held on this campus in 1938.
The second organization is a Rover
crew sponsored by the College Sta
tion Methodist Church. Either of
these crews is available to any
Scout coming to A. & M. who is
interested in continuing his Scout
work and wishes to do so by trans
ferring his membership to an ad
vanced Scouting organization.
In addition to these two groups
there is an active Sea Scout ship
in Bryan which is available to Sea-
Scouts who wish to continue in that
program.
Bob N la bet
Earla A. Shield.
The Nazis are surprised that the Norwegians
won’t accept them as friends. But would Berliners
regard as friends an invading army that sprang up
in their midst overnight and proceeded to run things
its own way without regard to the feelings of the
inhabitants ?
If everyone who was told about
a murder at midnight should tell
two other people within twelve
minutes, everybody on earth would
know it before morning—believe
it or not.
A. and M. College and College Station are nearly
synonymous terms. The community was incorporated in
1939, in order that the needs of its members could be
better served. Its growth depends upon the growth of
A. and M. College. To those who are now in A. and M.
or who have made their decision to come to A. and M.
the Administration pledges its cooperation and the co
operation of its citizens in any enterprise which will
make this community a better place in which to live.
CITY OF
COLLEGE STATION
Incorporated in 1939