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The Battalion
STUDENT TRI-WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
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; also it 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, $8 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.
Bob Nisbet Editor-in-Chief
(Keith Hubbard Advertising Manager
George Fuermann Associate Editor
Hub Johnson Sports Editor
Bob Myers.. Senior Sports Assistant
Tommy Henderson : Circulation Manager
Phil Golman Staff Photographer
Pete Tumlinson Staff Artist
Earle A. Shields Managing Editor
Billy Clarkson Managing Editor
Editor’s Note: Staff organization will be completed after
the first staff meeting, and the masthead will carry the complete
staff as soon thereafter as is possible.
College Station
GIVING BIRTH TO a city is no painless task. The
problems which a newly organized city government
is faced with appear to be almost insurmountable.
They’re a veritable nightmare of financial, utility,
public improvement, taxation, sanitation, and a
maze of other puzzles.
And, to make the job even tougher, the ever-
ready and double-sharp knife of public criticism is
constantly cutting a swatch of undoing which only
serves to make the already difficult task even more
exacting.
But since that day in October, 1938, when the
citizens of College Station almost unanimously voted
to incorporate—and later, in November, when they
elected their first city officials—the birth and eartj
childhood of the City has been capably managed
and competently guided by those men in whose
hands the responsibilty of administering city gov
ernment has fallen.
Utilities are being installed in the various sur
rounding additions as rapidly as possible . . . The
key rate of fire insurance has been reduced from
one dollar to thirty-two cents . . . Improvements
in sanitation facilities are being made as speedily
as possible . . . The tax rate of the City is still lower
than that of other localities of corresponding size
despite the tremendous financial burden of a newly
incorporated municipality . . . And so The Battalion
says, “the birth and childhood of the City has been
capably managed and competently guided by those
men in whose hands the responsibility of administer
ing city government has fallen.”
The Mayor of the City of College Station and the
members of its City Council are deserving of a great
take precedence over his party affiliation,
done . . . For the patience and tact which they
have used in handling the innumerable problems that
have come before them in the past year and a half . .
For devoting a considerable part of their time—and
unsalaried, at that—to the performance of their
respective civic duties.
The foundation of a successful city government
at College Station has now been laid. What’s to
come is a matter of speculation, but one thing in
particular everyone realizes—that the life-struggles
of the new city aren’t yet at an end; that there
are many more problems to be faced in the future.
But so long as College Station is blessed with
officials such as it now has, a successful future for
the city is assured.
America Changes
IN THE UNSTREAMEDLINED post-bustle era of
the early part of the twentieth century—say from
1900 to 1920—American voters, for the most part,
were bound by finely drawn political ties. In that
twenty-year period, if a voter’s father was a dem
ocrat, then the voter also was a Democrat. As a
general rule, if a voter lived in the South he was
a Democrat, because the South has been near-one
hundred percent Democrat since the 1860’s.
It was just the thing to do. Political ties dic
tated that a person do none else. The finely drawn
political lines became tradition. Voter’s didn’t cast
their ballots for a candidate—they cast their bal
lots for the banner under which the candidate stood.
But that was until 1920.
•
In 1940 it’s not so easy for a candidate to give
a voting citizenry the old party affiliation razz-ma-
tazz. There’s a new creed now — one that’s
gaining more and more supporters with every new
political campaign. ’
It's a healthy creed, and a simple one. The idea
being: A candidate needs more than just party
affiliation to win votes, because the voting public
is getting to be a curious one. Especially those vot
ers who have recently graduated from one of the
nation’s colleges or universities. They’re beginning
to ask questions. A candidate’s qualifications are
more important than they used to be. A candi
date’s past performance—if any—is beginning to
deal of praise for the fine work which they have
And, as mentioned above, this is a healthy
creed—a good sign.
•
There’s evidence by the basket-full that this
new creed is fast catching hold throughout the
nation. If you want to see it, take a look around
you wherever you are.
Here on the campus of the Texas A. & M.
College a skeptic would become a believer over
night. Hundreds of Aggieland’s seven thousand are
voters. Amazingly few of them, considering that
Texas has long been a Democratic stringhold, dis
cuss the candidates for States and national offices
on the basis of party affiliation. The conversa
tions are usually arguments in respect to what
a particular candidate has or has not done in the
past. Like a thoroughbred race horse, a can
didate’s past performance is at least partly indica
tive of what may be expected of him in the
future.
•
So America changes . . . And for the better.
It didn’t come overnight; the transition isn’t
complete yet. Nor can it be said that party affilia
tion will ever become a thing of the past. It’s an
important part of our American way of things.
The Battalion’s point is merely this: Party affili
ation has been stressed too much in the past. But
America is getting wise—the nation’s voting public
is striking a balance between party affiliation and
candidate’s qualifications.
Book's You Will Enjoy
By DR. T. F. MAYO
As a simple and rapid test of the breadth of
your reading, you are offered the following ten
words. If you can explain the meaning of each of
them, if each of them represents an idea which you
use habitually in your thinking, if you can intelli
gently attack or defend those which name disputed
theories or concepts, then it would seem that you
are a reasonably well-read person. If, on the other
hand, there is even one of these words which means
nothing at all to you, or about which your notions
are hopelessly vague and cloudy, there is apparent
ly a serious blank spot in your reading.
Now nobody maintains that an understanding
of what these ten words stand for will automatically
make you wise. It also seems obvious that you may
be a fairly wise person in spite of not knowing any
thing much about several of them. There have al
ways been ignorant philosophers of merit, and ev
erybody knows that there are plenty of well-read
fools.
If, however, you agree with most people that
to be well-read, beside making life more interest
ing, it is also at least a help toward wisdom, you
may like to measure with this home-made yard
stick the breadth of your own reading. In con
nection with each word, a book is suggested which
will at least begin (but only begin) the process of
informing you on the subject.
1. Evolution (Biology) Read: “How We Came
by Our Bodies”, by C. B. Davenport.
2. Socialism (Economics and sociology) Read
“Selected Articles on Capitalism and Its Alterna
tives”, edited by J. E. Johnsen.
3. Electron (Physical science) Read: “Man and
His Universe”, by J. Langdon Davies.
4. Inferiority Complex (Psychology) Read:
“Psychology”, by E. D. Martin.
5. Conditioned Reflex (Psychology) Read
“The Ways of Behaviorism”, by J. B. Watson.
6. Instrumentalism (Philosophy) Read: “Hu
man Nature and Conduct”, by John Dewey.
7. Realism (The Arts) Read: “The Later Real
ism”, by W. L. Myers.
8. Economic interpretation (of History) Read:
“The Devil Theory of War”, by C. A. Beard.
9. Hellenism (Culture) Read: “Greek Ideals”,
by C. D. Burns.
10. Renaissance (Culture History) Read “The
Civilization of the Renaissance”, by J. W. Thompson.
As the World Turns...
By Y. K. SUGAREFF
Total war has not yet confronted the American
people, but our national defense program has
met opposition from many quarters. Congress, af
ter three months of debate and deliberation, has
appropriated billions of dollars and passed the
Conscription Act in preparation
of our national defense. Now that
the Congressional delay has pass
ed, there remains the carrying out
of the preparedness program. Here
a varied interest clash; such as
the cost of plant expansion, pro
fits, and wages. Dictatorial powers
are necessary to overcome some
of these interests. And Congress
has authorized the president to
use such powers if he deems it
advisable to speed up our national
defense activities.
Assistant Secretary of War, Judge Patterson,
a Republican, has stated that “the same obliga
tion that takes the soldier into the field for train
ing takes industry into the production of military
equipment.” The Administration, however, would
hardly undertake to draft industry on the same
basis as the individual. Plant expansion is a costly
undertaking. Nearly a billion dollars would be re
quired for plant expansion to meet our present
needs and eventually even go far beyond that
amount. The RFC has been given powers to make
loans to essential industries for expansion of their
plant facilities.
The matter of profits has also been disposed of
by two acts—Army and Navy. These acts put limits
on profits that can be made from defense orders.
If a contract is made between the government and
a company by direct negotiation, the ceiling profit
is 7 per cent of the estimated cost of the order.
Aircraft and naval vessels contracts, which are
made by competitive bidding, is limited to 8 per
cent profit of cost. Other than aircraft and naval
vessels the contracts have not been limited under
the competitive bidding. However, Congress is now
considering an excess profits bill which will take
care of profiteers.
The cost of living is a serious problem to the
wage-earner when prices of commodities are rising.
Organized labor is advocating a scale of wages to
meet the rising cost of living. Besides, the Wage and
Hour Act of 1938, Congress has passed the Public
Contracts Act (Walsh-Healey Act) empowering the
Secretary of Labor to fix the minimum wage and
enforce a time and half pay for all time in excess
of 40 hours per week.
Under such agreements as these between the
government and interested parties, our national de
fense program should make a speedy progress. In
fact, the jam in the defense program is already
broken. Last week the defense contracts amounted
to nearly $4,000,000,000.
Total preparedness, however, involves spiritual
as well as material elements. To that end about
500 scientists, theologians, and teachers are, at this
writing, discussing in New York City the formula
tion of idealogy of the American Democracy. Al
ready text books for the grade schools are ap
pearing in which the merits and the demerits of To
talitarianism and Democracy are explained. “If
you want the people to know anything”, Napoleon
used to say, “put it in the schools.” We may have
started late in teaching the benefits of Democracy,
but we are on the way of total preparedness.
V. K. Sugareff
THE BATTAHO^
-THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, !\940
lan, and Harold Hausman in par
ticular—possess the added spice
of almost always being according
to fact. It wasn’t unusual, for
example, for the men at the Edge-
wood Arsenal, Maryland camp to
week-end in either New York City,
Washington, D. C., Philadelphia,
Atlantic City, or Baltimore and,
to the Aggies at least, the attrac
tions of the eastern “metropoli”
were many. Quoth one reminiscing
cadet, “In Atlantic City the restau
rants and bars were open all night
and once we went bowling at 5
a. m. And, incidetitally, those
Damnyankee girls can’t compare
with our Texas femmes.”
Red and green neon lights have
been installed under water at fed
eral fish hatcheries to be used for
insect lures.
Better Vision
means
Better Grades
See
J. W. PAYNE
Optometrist
109 South Main
Bryan, Texas
‘Would you mind taking this soup back and dip that ox-tail in
it once more?”
BACKWASH
Bu
(eorge fuermann
“Backwash: An agitation resulting (ram same action ar occurrence.”—Webster.
Fuermann
Once Over Lightly . . . Out of
the groove of probability was the
letter received by the Registrar’s
Office from a Dallas freshman-
to-be who wanted complete infor-
mation about A. &
M.’s home econom
ics department . . .
One of the Sugar
Bowl Association
officials, recently
visiting on the
campus, was defi
nitely on the money
when he said, “Tex
as A. & M. is easily
the nation’s most
colorful college
where football fans
are concerned.” . . An Infantry jun
ior, buying some civilian clothes
in a Bryan haberdashery, “Sure
I’m still an Aggie—I’m just get
ting non-regged up!” . . . Believe-
it-or-nots of A. & M. roommates
last year, where names were con-
cerned, was the ball-bearing com
bination of the two Houston then-
freshmen, David Ball and Conrad
Bering Jr. . . . Aggieland Orches
tra’s ex-maestro, Jack Littlejohn,
who turns the reins over to Ed
Minnock, will soon be salarying
with a major tobacco firm . . The
stories that Ed Aldrich—who was
an information booth employee
throughout freshman registration
day—is telling in respect to uni
que, and sometimes foolish, ques
tions are well worth repeating.
There’s the case of a freshman’s
father, for example, who asked—•
and seriously, too—“Where do I
pay my son’s radiator fee?” Then
there’s the one about the freshman
who wanted to know where he could
apply to be a room orderly, rfe
came back an hour later, and a lit
tle dismayed: “I found out in a
hurry,” he said.
•
Life’s Minor Tragedies. To wit:
The Texas University student—
valedictorian of his high school
graduating class a year ago—who,
by way of showing that his is
the “whole-hog-or-none” route,
managed to stumble and falter
along the paths of T. U.’s scho
lastic endeavor to the non-vale
dictory tune of passinge NONE of
his freshman work the past spring
term.
One of A. & M.’s summer school
enrollees this past summer, he was
here to try and recuperate his high
er education. Quoth a fellow fra-
ternity-ite, “He’s really brilliant;
it’s just his motto that flips his
studies—‘pleasure before busi
ness’!”
•
See America First. Tales being
told by R.O.T.C. camp-returning
Aggies have smacked a bit of the
Muncausenic raves of Jack Pearl,
but those coming from the Chem
ical Warfare Service cadets—and
John Carson, W. D. “Red” McMil-
FRESHMEN! Here’s One Rule
Not In The Book
"%7"ou may have to wear a freshman cap, but
X there’s no rule against wearing Arrow
shirts. No doubt you’ve discovered by this
time that more college men wear Arrow shirts
than any other brand shirt. There are reasons:
The superb Arrow collar, the Mitoga cut, the
anchored buttons, and the permanent fit (San-
forized-Shrunk, fabric shrinkage less than
1%). All these extra values plus authentic
styling are yours for the small sum of $2.
Buy a stack of Gordon oxfords as a starter
—you’ll never regret it.
ARROW SHIRTS
WHATS SHOWING
AT THE ASSEMBLY HALL
Thursday: “IRENE,” star
ring Anna Neagle, Ray Mil-
land, May Robson, and Ro
land Young.
Friday: “EARTHBOUND,”
with Warner Baxter, Andrea
Leeds, and Lynn Bari.
AT THE CAMPUS
Thursday: “YOU’RE NOT
SO TOUGH,” with the Dead
End Kids, Nan Grey, Billy
Hallop, and the Little Tough
Guys.
Friday, Saturday: “DAN
GER ON WHEELS,” with
Richard Arlen, Andy Devine,
and Peggy Moran.
Look For LUKE’S
specials
IN THE
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Battalion Every Week
Beginning Next Thursday
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GUY H. DEATON
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Across From Post Office
Phone 254J - Bryan
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