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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 12, 1940)
rs*sat' Page 2- THE BATTALION -TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 1940 The Battalion STtTDENT TRI-WEEKLY NEWSPAPER TEXAS A. & M. COLLEGE The Battalion, official newspaper of the Agricultural and Hechanic&l College of Texas and the city of Coiiege Station, is published throe 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 Aet 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 Francisco. Office, Room 122, Administration Building. Telephone 4-M44. Bob Nisbet EdItor-in-Chief Keith Hubbard Advertising Manager George Fuermann Associate Editor Hub Johnson Sports Editor Tommy Henderson Circulation Manager Phi) Oolman ; Staff Photographer Pete Tumlinson Staff Artist J. B. Pierce Editorial Assistant T. R. Vannoy ; Editorial Assistant Tuesday Staff Bill Clarkson Managing Editor Jack Hendrick Assistant Advertising Manager Junior Editors Lee Rogers E. M. Rosenthal Sports Staff Bob Myers Assistant Sports Editor Jack Hollimon Junior Sports Editor Reportorial Staff Jack Aycock, Don Corley, J. M. Ruling, Ralph Inglefield, Tom Leland, W. A, Moore, J. M. Speer, Jack Decker. Let's Get a Bargain FIFTY-FIVE AGGIES paid the ultimate price for their country and for a cause they thought was just and right. Whether or not their cause was right is not doubted, but the need for laying their lives on the alter can be doubted. Europe today is an answer to that question. Now 22 years since the end of that tragedy, this country faces a new peril. It is said our country is in danger. If it is, there are thousands of Aggies today who are ready and. willing to go at the drop of a hat to insure the safety of this our country we love so well. There are millions of other Americans who feel the same way. If our country is at stake, there is no sacrifice too great that we would not make in order to preserve and protect it. The 55 Aggies who died in the World War thought their country was at stake when they died. They belived they gave their life that this country might live. If they had it to do over again, and not knowing more then about the causes of the war but just that their country was in danger, they would gladly die again. That 55 were real Aggies. Some 2,000 other Aggies served through the • war as officers, proof that .A. & M. is a great mili tary institution. But here is a point that is emphasized by our annual services to the World War dead. Before we lay the lives of 55 or more Aggies on another alter in another war, let’s make doubly sure that the cause is worthy. There is no amount of money that could pay the loss of those boys’ lives. One life would be a high price for all of Wall Street’s millions. It is said that our hemisphere is endangered by the covetous dictatorships of Europe. Perhaps we are. Who are we to say? But it is we, who cannot know all the intricacies of the foreign situation, who will pay for the decisions of those who do know and who will decide the graveness of the situation. We pray in the name of those who have gone before and in the name of those yet to go that our leaders consider the causes and realize the value of the lives that will be the medium of exchange in the bargain of war. “Save the world for democracy” was considered a good cause then. They fought in vain. What a poor bargain they made. Students and ex-students beg and pray that the leaders of our country make sure they are right before they go ahead. If we desire to pay the price, let’s get a bar- :gain for our expenditure. Smile, Darn Ya, Smile A SMILE is worth a thousand words. Confucious said the same about a picture. Who it was that first thought of putting the two together remains un known. But whoever it was laid the cornerstone for all advertising. Think back over the countless ad vertisements in magazines and on billboards. Re member how many showed the picture of a smiling face? Then you begin to get the point. A smile is a universal language. Everyone knows its meaning. There is no country but a smile is recognized as a gesture of proposed friendship, of good will, of rightful intentions. A smile has saved the lives of many pioneers and explorers, who, knowing not the language of native tribes, knew the countless value of a smile. Once there was a card that hung over the desk of a big business executive that read, “It takes 83 muscles to frown, but only 18 to smile.” Politicians have learned the lesson of smiles. Take Big Jim Farley or President Roosevelt as examples. Who has seen them frown in any public appearance. Of course they know better. In fact, go to any individual who deals with people. Ask him about the value of a smile. He will tell you a smile is the secret of success. The “million dollar smile” didn’t get its name from the money the song brought. There was once a man who lost his job and re turned home to break the bad news to his wife only to discover upon reaching home that his house and garage had burned with nothing except the lives of his wife and daughter saved from the flames. A quick check into his coat pocket reminded him that he forgot to pay the last installment on his in surance. He was cleaned out to his last cent, but he had one asset worth all he had ever owned. He still had left the power and the wjll to smile. He didn’t give up and quit, but he went to work with his hands and his smile. Before long he was back again at the top. The old saying about keeping that last nickel so you will never be broke is a humorous suggestion, but many have discovered that if you can smile, you can spend that nickel and still be rich. NEWS ITEM: “University of Maryland sophomores rounded up several hundred freshmen and made them ‘pray for rain.’ A rainstorm struck the campus a few hours later.” This higher education is really great stuff. OPEN FORUM DURING THE PAST two or three years the trad ition of speaking to other Aggies on and off the campus has practically dropped from the minds of everyone. This tradition was one of the best trad itions of the old A. & M. It seems that many of the old traditions of the Aggies have been done away with in the past few years, but let’s try to keep this one alive. You Sophomores try to remember this and also remind the Freshman about it at your next meeting. Mike Florence Dear Sir: October 19th was my first trip down to Col lege Station. I was much impressed with the trad itions and customs of the Cadets. I appreciate most of all the fine reception that the T. C. U. students received. If all of the Cadets are as thoughtful as a certain senior mechanical engineer—then A. & M. is fulfilling its purpose of producing fine young gentlemen. Needless to say, you really have a fine ball club. M. Hopkins A T.C.U. backer and staunch supporter of A. & M. Man, Your Manners BY I. SHERWOOD EVERY YOUNG MAN is seeking the perfect girl, the one above reproach, whom he can be proud to introduce to his parents and friends—to this end he continues to have dates until he finds her. In a man’s column it shouldn’t be necessary to say what a man desires in a woman, but it might be a good idea to mention some of the things that a woman desires in a man. A Woman Likes A man who makes her feel that she is the one woman on earth for him. She loves small attentions and courtesies, and having her birthdays and anniversaries remembered. Until engaged, suitable gifts are flowers, candy, or books. No woman wants to be thought of as helpless or fragile, but she does like the idea of being protect ed. Most women are more conscious of details than men. They like things done correctly and are apt to be critical about formalities. No matter what she says, she enjoys having men rise in her pres ence, hold doors open, and pull her chair out for her. Casualness and poise are intriguing in a man, but conceit and smugness are out. Every girl likes a man to be polite to her fam ily, respectful to older people, and courteous be cause it is a pleasure, not a duty. Dates It is the man’s privilege to ask for dates, and no matter how slow he is doing it, no girl should hint or suggest one herself. In asking for a date a man should state what he has in mind. This gives a girl a chance to decide whether she has right dress or not. (That is important to a girl.) A man should never break one date for another. This holds true for the girl, also. Blind Dates Accept blind dates with your eyes wide open, and through those people whose friends are the same type as yourself. In this way you will avoid people you do not care to know. It is best to be pessimistic about a blind date, and then you may be agreeably surprised. Never for one moment let the young lady know that she doesn’t come up to your expectations. Double Dates Serve their purpose for the one who is having a blind date, thus transforming a difficult situation into a pleasant ' foursome. Among four people enough ideas should be produced to insure a good time for all. As the World Turns... BY DR. R. W. STEEN THE TWO TERM tradition was shattered in rather convincing fashion last Tuesday. The Roosevelt pop ular majority was impressive, while the electoral majority will be overwhelming. However, the re sults can not be described as a landslide. A great portion of Mr. Roosevelt’s majority of 4,500,000 votes was built up in the solid south. The vote in most sections of the coun try was very close. So close, in fact, that a shift of 500,000 votes properly distributed would have resulted in the election of Mr. Will- kie. On the other hand, a shift of 200,000 votes, properly distributed would have given Mr. Roosevelt a unanimous vote in the elector al college. The electoral vote will be: Roosevelt 449; Willkie 82. President Roosevelt has just announced that Britain is to re ceive fifty per cent of defense items produced in this country. As the industries here swing in pro duction at higher rates American aid to Britain will become constantly more important as an item in fluencing the outcome of the war. Meanwhile Ger many’s attempt to blockade England by means of sea and air attacks upon her commerce has reach ed a high point. There are plenty of ships as yet, but losses have been large and it seems that a new system of defense will have to be instituted to guar antee England against want. There is some indication that the United States is planning to take over French islands in the Carib bean. The Vichey government has become so thor oughly subservient to Berlin that it takes some im agination to consider it an independent government. There have been many reports of German “inspec tors” making their way to the islands, and the United States seems to feel that they are there for no good. Some Washington opinion indicates that American intervention may come before De cember, while other sources indicate that there will be no intervention unless it is made necessary by an attempt to transfer ownership of the islands. Armistice Day was celebrated in America, but little attention in Europe. The present condition of the world makes it significant that the day celebrat ed in relation to the last war was Armistice day— not peace day. Perhaps what the world had was not peace at all, but merely a twenty-one year breathing spell. R. W. Steen BROTHER-PRESIDENTS DR.. GEORGE M. SMITH \S PREXY AT SUSQUEHANNA UNIVERSITY WHILE HIS BROTHER.CHARLES J. SMITH IS PRESIDENT OF ROANOKE COLLEGE/ Chemical Industry Ready To Play Its Part In National Defense Program BY DR. E. B. MIDDLETON Associate Professor of Analytical Chemistry America’s problems todays is de fense. All the terrors of war are loose in the world, and we must be prepared to resist any assaults on our freedom. The personnel of the chemical industries are well equipped to do their part in ans wering this urgent challenge. The year 1940 has not found the United States in the serious plight that it was twenty-five years ago at the outset of World War I. Conditions now are different, and perhaps the most surprising differences are to be found in fields related to chem istry. It can truly be said that we are living in a chemical age. A quarter of a century ago chem ists were not numerous, and their activities were circumscribed. Chemical processes in industry, which give employment to great numbers of chemists today and provide incentive to great num bers of others, were relatively few; and the chemical industry was yet to begin its phenomenal growth. Membership in the American Chemical Society, which may be taken as a suggestive gauge of the chemical profession, was held by 7170 persons in 1914. By 1940 this number has increased to 25,060. It is not likely that chemically train ed personnel will be a serious problem in any reasonable pro gram of preparedness. It is true that the chemical in dustry at present has not large in stalled capacity for the production of purely military explosives such as TNT, picric acid, mustard gas, and other similar materials. How ever, the production or nitro cel lulose has grown as a result of the constant demand for it in the manufacture of plastics and lac quers. While present producing plants might not be immediately convertible to smokeless manufac ture, yet they would be able to furnish highly trained technicians and workmen to form nucleus groups in new plants and to pro vide modern experience closely re lated to powder manufacture on which producing units can be based. Similar situations exist with respect to the other chemica wea pons of war. Mercury for fulminate to be used in detonators has been largely im ported from Spain, but disturbed conditions there have curtailed this supply. Chemical ingenuity has provided substitutes for this, and the situation in regard to this re quirement has been relieved. Our production of motor fuel is ample to meet any possible need so far as can be foreseen. Aviation fuel, if used in ‘blitzkrieg” quanti ties is amply available, provided special plant capacity is increased. This is reported to be relatively easy to accomplish. Platinum, vital in 1917-18 for its catalytic action in sulfuric acid manufacture has been largely re placed by anadium oxide catalysts. New deposits, worked by improved methods, are supplementing accu mulated stocks of manganese, chro mium, tungsten, and antimony. Tin is classed as a strategic ma terial in that the United States, the major consumer, produces none, while the major producers con sume little. About three quarters of all the metal has been obtained from a relatively small geographic area which includes the Federated Malay states, the Netherland In dies, Siam, Burma, Indo China, and lower China. The United States is more completely dependent on far away sources of supply of tin than is the case with any other mater ial. The rubber situation is more complex, largely because the sny- thetic rubber-like plastics com- mony called “synthetic rubbers” are in such active development. While no one possesses all the desirable characteristics of crude rubber, each has some advantage over natural material for special uses. We have neoprene, Thiokol, and Koroseal in experienced pro duction. American made Buna is around the corner, Butyl rubber has been announced by the Stan dard Oil Company of New Jersey, and the B. F. Goodrich Company’s synthetic Ameripol is replacing 50 to 100 per cent of natural rubber in some tires. More research and more development are needed. Things would look very gloomy if some catastrophe would cut off our rubber importation and leave us with only a few months’ supply on hand. This is an extremely impor tant part of our defense program. It is something that cannot well wait. Our needs for strategic material such as activated carbon, nitrogen, potash, optical glass, and acetone can be readily satisfied. Our na tion is particularly well provided with snythetic drugs, which now represent such a large proportion of medicinal products. An emer gency in the supply of drugs and pharmaceuticals does not exist. BRAIN TWISTER We omitted part of one of the Brain Twisters published a week ago. Here is the correct version: Take your age, multiply by 2, add 5, multiply by 50, subtract 365, add the change you have in your pocket (less than a dollar), add 115. Then the units and tens digits give the change you have in your picket, the hundreds and thousands digits give your age. Here are two more problems to be solved by setting up and solving sets of simultaneous equations. Each letter represents a dif ferent number and each number is represented by a different letter. First, a problem in subtraction. PAY ME NOW Second, a problem in long divis ion. DO | THIS | ONE NT El EJ IS IS Answer to addition problem. 14 | 6398 | 457 56 79 70 98 98 Answer to subtraction problem. 234 56 178 Technicolor is used to enter a ing to the Paramount Publicity new field of “UNTAMED” at the Department, is “ah - KEEM tam- Assembly Hall Wednesday. It is EAR - off” with the accent on used to invade the north woods the capitalized syllables. It is much of the Arctic and it looks pretty easier to just name it and take it good with the swirling snow of a because he ends up dead by tech- blizzard and other outdoor shots, nicolor. “Untamed” is based on Technicolor has previously been Sinclair Lewis’ novel “Mantrap.” used to bring all the colors of the tropics and gaudy scenes of an cient costumes, but nature’s colors aren’t as much subject to the same color exaggeration by the camera as artificial tones, all of which looks extremely bright and heavy. “Untamed” concerns a rest cure which society doctor Ray Milland takes in the north woods and be fore he gets cured he has stolen his guide’s wife. Akim Tamiroff, the guide, very conveniently gets frozen to death in the blizzard. Some other things take place dur ing the show which lend atmos phere to the Arctic setting. Milland is still a doctor even if on a vacation and he finishes an operation for the local medico after he has collapsed. And then there is considerable dashing around through the blizzard in search of a valuable serum which is finally brought in by guide Tamiroff’s dog team with him frozen stiff on his sled. Just as a point of general infor mation, the correct pronunciation of Akim Tamiroff’s name, accord- Topography and geography of Texas makes rural line construction much less expensive than had been expected in early surveys at the time the REA was created. : ***** m m mmmm Get them on these new VICTOR AND BLUEBIRD RECORDS “I Can’t Get Started With You” Bunny Berigan “Keeping Myself For You” Artie Shaw “Five O’clock Whistle” Glenn Miller “Pumptom Turnpike” Charlie Barnett “You’ve Got Me This Way” Tommy Dorsey Ask about the new RCA Victoi Long Life Needle HASWELL’S Bryan m 1 WHATS SHOWING AT THE ASSEMBLY HALL Tuesday 3:30 & 7:30—“RHY- 4 THM ON THE RIVER,” - T ; starring Bing Crosby, Mary Martin, and Basil Rath- bone. Wednesday 3:30 & 6:45— “UNTAMED,” featuring Ray Milland, Patricia Mor rison, Akim Tamiroff, and William Frawley. AT THE CAMPUS Tuesday & Wednesday— “HENRY GOES ARI ZONA,” with Frank Mor gan, Virginia Weilder, Guy Kibbee, Slim Summerville, and Douglas Fowley. For Active Sports Or Quiet Hours— GANTNER SWEATERS You can live without one—but you’ll enjoy life with one! Gantner styles their sweaters for active sports, for all types of outdoor men who want the best in wear and comfort. Coats, Jackets, slip-on with sleeves, or sleeveless. Combinations of leather and wool or all wool. $1.00 - $2.00 to $7.50 Ti T V/IMBERLEY STONE DANSBV W-N-J. jlz CXOCKIERS COLLEGE and BRYAN Why not be comfortable for your foot ball games and cold, wet weather. WE ARE FULLY EQUIPPED TO FULFILL YOUR EVERY NEED Woolen Socks Jackets Shoes Sweaters Trench Coats Mufflers THE EXCHANGE STORE AN AGGIE INSTITUTION 4 » t » > A ■<* » * t * •• , 4 . i'V ' % * .