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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 23, 1940)
Pa#e 2- 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, $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 4-5444. Bob Nisbet Editor-in-Chief Keith Hubbard Advertising Manager George Fuermann Associate Editor Hub Johnson Sports Editor Tommy Henderson Circulation Manager Phil Golman Staff Photographer Pete Tumlinson Staff Artist J. B. Pierce Editorial Assistant T. R. Vannoy Editorial Assistant SATURDAY’S STAFF Earle A. Shields, Jr Managing Editor T. R. Harrison Assistant Advertising Manager Junior Editors W. O. Brimberry R. B. Pearce W. C. Carter Sports Staff Bob Myers Assistant Sports Editor Jack Hollimon Junior Sports Editor W. F. Oxford Sports Assistant Reportorial Staff Bill Amis, Charles Babcock, Don Corley, W. F. Keith, Z. A. McReynolds, Jack Nelson, L. B. Tennison. Unlimited Cuts GOOD IDEAS, while not altogether extinct, are something of a rarity. However, a good idea was presented to the Student Welfare committee at their recent meeting. There has been much discussion, pro and con, about allowing unlimited cuts of classes to various groups on the' campus. Some few go so far as to include the whole school in on the deal. There are two schools of thought on the proposition of un limited cuts. Some feel that class attendance is of secondary importance and that if students be able to get the work from the book alone, then class at tendance is not necessary—that the subject matter is the important thing. Others believe that more than book learning is obtained from class work, and that learning to be punctual and doing daily work is far more beneficial. The question was also raised of the problem of daily quizzes in case unlimited cuts be allowed, and the question of making them up. But the idea that drew favorable comments on both sides was the suggestion that distinguished students be the ones to enjoy the privilege of cut ting class as they see fit. There are many good points to this idea. In the first place it would put a premium on good grades and might possibly encourage more students with “A” ability to do their best work whereas otherwise they might feel satisfied to take lower grades. It would give distinguished students prestige that they do not have now. In the second place the privilege would not be limited to groups. Any boy who is willing to work to distinguish could enjoy the novelty of being ab sent when the need occurs without the excess damag ing his grade. If he takes too many and lowers his grade, he loses the privilege, but probably few would take a chance on that possibility. Third, those who claim the need for the lesson of punctuality would have this point emphasized, in that the student must distinguish under the cut- limit system before being allowed to try the other ^method. Fourth, the unlimited cut idea will teach those Yvho earn the right to use it the principle of deciding for themselves what on their schedule is important, and leaving with the student more personal re sponsibility for his school work. Dean Bolton pointed out that if the whole school were to be given over to unlimited cuts as are many schools in the nation it would mean that a student’s grade, pass or fail, would need be de termined from one final exam. Certainly that is far from the popular train of thought in this section of the nation. But if just distinguished students were allowed the privilege there would be no necessity of re verting to this extreme. These few students could make up quizzes missed without much extra trouble on the part of the instructors, since almost regu larly they give make-up quizzes anyway. The suggestion would serve as a compromise between those who want unlimited cuts for the whole student body and those who do not want them at all. The Battalion recommends that a committee of faculty members and students be selected by Dean Bolton to investigate the proposition as it is quite possible that there is much merit to the idea. U, S. S. R. “RUSSIA,” comments the Daily Kansas at the Uni versity of Kansas, “appears to be simulating a half- asleep bear, able to stick out a heavy paw when the time arrives.” When Soviet Premier-Foreign Commissar Molo tov made the first trip of his life outside Russia to confer with Adolf Hitler at Berlin, new attention was focused on the peculiar status of the Soviet Union in the European cauldron. Recent Axis activ ity in the Balkans has brought forth lengthy specu lation in the nation’s collegiate press. “There could be no question,” says the Univer sity of Minnesota Daily, “but that the newest Axis moves were a direct threat to its militaTy position, yet Russia gave no indication that it would proceed any further than its mild rebuke to Germany for failure to give adequate notice of the occupation (of Rumania). It is exti’emely unlikely that the Soviet Union will risk a war with Germany at the present time; it is not politic to do so. The stalemate with Britain still leaves Germany the opportunity to create an eastern front, and the Red army is not yet sufficiently developed and reorganized to easily defeat the reichswehr.” The Cornell Daily Sun feels that “in the Balkan powderkeg the two most powerful forces on the continent have now reached positions where their interests are irreparably in constant conflict. A situ ation is developing wherein one of the conquerors will either have to retreat or fight. To those of us who have so long been in the dark concerning the nature of the alliance between Hitler and Stalin, this last conflict merely serves to increase the gener al confusion. But who among us would not be will ing to stay in the dark in this respect as long as the conflict which is brewing promises, however slightly, to give light to the world which is sinking ever deeper into darkness?” Russia, sandwiched between the two most active Axis members, “is in a crucial position both as an ally or as an enemy,” declares the University of Michigan Daily. “Already the Soviet has made several agreements with Germany and has shared in the partition of Poland. But the tensity created between the two nations by the occupation of Ru mania has not been lessened by a reiteration of Russo-German co-operation. The Soviet has always shared a mutual hostility with Italy and has re peatedly opposed Italian expansion in the Balkans. Russia’s relations with Japan have been historically belligerent. That the Soviet cannot be ignored in the reconstruction of Europe and Asia is undeniable. Either Russia must co-operate or her vast quantities of food, raw materials and land must be divided among the potential rulers of the continent. “Thus,” concludes the Daily, “another paradox is formed in Europe’s chaotic political free-for-all. The biggest bully of all is neither admitted officially into the gang nor openly marked for liquidation. Unless a secret agreement is made between the four spoilsmen of the Eastern! Hemisphere, one of the two alternatives will break into action soon.” —Associated Collegiate Press FRANK LOVING PRESENTS: / Heard the Preacher Say BY M. L. CASHION General Secretary, Y.M.C.A. THE ABILITY TO be fair and honest in the ap praisal of character and conduct is a true sign of education. There is always some sort of prejudice lurking in the mind which comes out with a mili tant burst when actions and conduct conflict. It is possible to go through college and through life with ignorance and prejudice burdening the spirit of man. How narrow and selfish is most con duct! How unfair and indifferent it is to the great problems of industry, society and race! It takes a large amount of experience and a generous spirit to step around on the opposite side of one’s viewpoint and see how the problem looks to the other fellow. As strange as it may seem the most difficult prejudices to get rid of are those centered about religion. A certain sort of false loyalty is developed from it. It is easier to become loyal to a sect or a creed than it is to a personality. The directing forces in such cases may be unfair, dishonest or cruel. Activities of interest are narrowed to one’s own group while broadminded purposes are entirely ex cluded. One phase of education, then, should be a de termined effort to cultivate interests in society where a responsibility for the whole welfare be comes the motivating power. Grace Horton, an outstanding model for college clothes in newspaper ads, never went to college. As the World Turns... BY DR. AL B. NELSON VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT HENRY A. WALLACE has been named by the President as the official representative of the United States as the inaugu ration of President-elect Manel Avila Camacho at Mexico. The inauguration will take place in De cember. The death of Senator Key Pittman, veteran chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Commit tee and senior Senator from Nevada removed from Washington life a man who has been a powerful and con sistent advocate of a strong foreign policy. His place as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee is very likely to be filled by Senator George of Georgia, whose state once refused to “purge” him at the request of President Roosevelt. While Senator George and the President do not see eye to eye on internal policies they have always been in general agree ment on international problems. A strike in the Vultee plane plant has not yet been settled. This strike of C.I.O. employees is ser iously hampering the armament program. It was this same attitude of union labor in France that brought about the downfall of the French Republic. Now, the French laborers who refused to labor for their own country are doing slave labor for their German conquerers. They deserve no better, but it is a pity that millions of other Frenchmen are con demned to slavery and their democracy destroyed, all because of the selfish, short-sighted opportun ism of French union labor and its selfish leaders. So far neither government nor labor in the United States has taken warning from the fate of France. John L. Lewis, President of the C.I.O., has re signed as a result of the pledge he made previous to the election. It is to be hoped that the new presi dent of the organization will follow more construc tive policies than the former leader. The Communist party in the United States has voted to abandon its open ties with Russia in order to escape the rigors of the Voorhis Act for the strict control of groups with alien connections. However, the members of the-party convention did not even pretend that this move meant a change of policy. British, Dutch, and. American oil companies operating in the Dutch East Indies, at the urging of their governments, are attempting to appease the Japanese by allowing them to increase their pur- chases^pf oil from a total of 494,000 tons per year to 1,800,000 tons a year. This tremendous increase will more than make up for the amount which Japan is unable to purchase in the United States under recent rulings. No wonder the Japanese have noth ing but contempt for the United States and her friends. THE BATTALION -SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 1940 AT QONZA3A U/ ~ ^ ■ r ODDNAM£SRNER, Hale Wellaaet is a STUDENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN. Saturday will be the last chance flight of a skyrocket, starting in for Aggies to help the nation’s pro- the gutter and ending there. “THE Latin American policy by seeing “DOWN ARGENTINE WAY,” but patriotism isn’t the only reason it is worth seeing. Betty Grable and Don Ameche in technicolor are the two main reasons with fine horses and Carmen Miranda thrown in. Carmen is the singer whose pleas ant little ditties have attracted so much attention on Broadway this past season; this show marks her movie debut. National policy is a different thing from forming a nation, the subject dealt with in “THE HOW ARDS OF VIRGINIA.” The show isn’t as heavy as the historical background might suggest because everyone knows that you can’t sup press Cary Grant too much. As the pre-revolutionary commoner hus band of an aristocratic wife he is slowed down a little but only be cause the tone of the times was toward mock-solemnity. As the backwoodsman, Grant marries Martha Scott, a daughter of the old school, and takes her to his backwoods frontier. There they raise three children while the colonists raise a squawk to King George which eventually ends in a revolution. From their difference in upbringing, the parents have different views on the changing social order which are reconciled only after the males of the family have gone off to fight and return victorious. This px’oduction dishes out his tory without the textbook tech nique. It takes some typical char acters of the period, runs them through normal situations against a background of great dates, deeds, and men and ends up with a fine historical novel. It is based on a recent best seller, “The Tree of Liberty.” McGinty was a great fellow whose life was like the soaring GREAT McGINTY” tells how Brian Donlevy begins a political career when he is picked up off the streets to cast 37 votes at $2.00 apiece. This fine work at tracts the attention of the big boss who puts his brawn and fists to work shaking down protection money. He shakes taller and taller trees until even the governorship of the state falls McGinty’s way when hit by the political machine. The force of the skyrocket career has fizzled out by this time and McGinty and the boss both have to flee to South America to keep it from falling on them. WHATS SHOWING AT THE CAMPUS Saturday — “DOWN AR GENTINE WAY,” starring Betty Grable, Don Ame che, Carmen Miranda, and Charlotte Greenwood. Saturday midnight, Sun day, Monday—“THE HOW ARDS OF VIRGINIA,” fea turing Cary Grant, Martha Scott, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Alan Marshal, and Richard Carlson. AT THE ASSEMBLY HALL Saturday 12:45—“FORTY LITTLE MOTHERS,” with Eddie Cantor, Judith Ander son, Ralph Morgan, Rita Johnson, and Bonita Gran ville. Saturday 6:45 & 8:30— “THE GREAT McGINTY,” with Brian Donlevy, Muriel Angelus, and Akim Tamiroff. Monday 3:30 & 7:30 — “MYSTERY SEA RAIDER,” featuring Carole Landis and Henry Wilcoxon. MUS/C/U MEANDERINGS By Murray Evans The lowly trombone is no longer lowly. In the last decade it has come to the fore, and its solo po tentialities are at last being recog nized. Remember back when the word “trombone’ was mentioned you automatically thought of a blatant circus brass band with a smear trombone? Even today the trombonist with a tone under par is told he has a circus tone. Ten years ago the instrument was used merely for a bass accompaniment, but now there are those who be lieve it will outshine the trumpet itself. As a matter of fact, it has a beautiful, smooth tenor quality tone, especially in the upper reg ister. Yet another desirable fea ture is that it is nearly always in tune; when it is not, the player is usually at fault. The slide positions are really difficult to master, but continued practice will enable the player to become as proficient as the trumpet player is on his finger technique. When the trombone is arranged righ in ensemble work it has the knack of making a sweet band sweeter. Headed by Pee Wee Hunt, Glen Gray’s trombone trio can make any saxophone section look to its laurels for sheer sweet tone on ballad numbers. The last six fade out bars of Russ Morgan’s “Blueberry Hill” features a trom bone due in a soft and impres sive ending that actually “makes” the whole recording. Then there is Bobby Byrne who features his five trombyrnes. To say that this band will place first in popularity in a year’s time will not be downright speculation. And do you know why ? Because of his trombones. His theme, “Danny Boy”, (with which we are all acquainted by dent of a radio serial) is about the finest bit of prettiness yet in the sweet tune line. JUST THE THING FOR WEEK-END TRIPS! 16-in. Leatherette Handbag $ .98 16-in. Ruberized Handbags $1.15 18-in. Leatherette Handbags $1.25 18-in. all leather Handbag $3.75 See These at The CAMPUS Variety Store North Gate Chemists Will Be Aided By Discovery Of Important New Research Technique By Dr. W. M. Potts Professor of Biochemistry The rather recent discovery of artificial radioactivity makes it possible to label a number of com mon elements so that they may be followed through various trans formations- Changes involving liv ing matter have been investigated by such labeled elements. Natural radioactive elements have been traced in some of their biological applications, but such elements are not suitable for very extensive study as they are heavy elements and are not normal components of living matter. Labelled sodium, potassium, iron, sulfur, and phos phorous are well adapted to such experimentation while carbon, chlorine, bromine, and iodine have also been used; but their useful ness is limited by rather short half- life periods. Phosphorus has received more at tention in biological investigation than any of the other elements that have been rendered radioactive by artificial means. Phosphorus plays important roles in both in organic and organic processes. It is found in abundance in the teeth and the skeleton, and it is a com mon component of other tissues. It also forms important intermediates in such processes as the absorption of fats by the intestinal mucosa, muscle metabolism, and alcoholic fermentation. Radioactive phosphorous (atomic weight 32) has been prepared by the action of high speed neutrous emitted by mixtures of radium and beryllium and by means of fast moving deuterium (heavy hydro gen) ions produced by a cyclotron of the Radioactive Laboratory in Berkeley, California. One experimenter grew plants in a normal cultural solution until a number of leaves were formed. The plants were then changed to a cul tural solution containing radio active phosphorus. Upon analysis, it was found that the newer leaves contained tagged phosphorus and appreciable quantities were also found in the older leaves. This in vestigation suggests a method of checking up on the utilization of elements in the soil. It seems adapt able to investigations of fertilizers, the mineral requirements and in organic metabolism of both plants and animals. Some organic compounds of phos phorus that are found in living HOLE AGAIN? WHOLE AGAIN! Invisible half sole is the new sensation in shoe re pairing. This invisible half sole is as good as a whole sole . . the same price. HOLICK SHOE REPAIR SHOP North Gate organisms were shaken with radio active phosphorus compounds, and it was found that there was no exchange of phosphorus between these two classes of compounds. This indicates that phosphorus is taken up by syntheses and not in exchange reactions. The following interesting results were obtained by this technique working with human and animal subjects. Phosphorus leaves the blood rapidly. Liver and kidney phosphorus is renewed at a rapid rate while only minute quantities of bone and brain phosphorus are renewed within a four hour in terval. Within ninety-eight days, large quantities of phosphorus are stored in the skeleton while only minute quantities are stored in the brain within this period. Vitamin D causes a flow of muscle phos phorus to the banes, and there is a more rapid turnover of phos phorus to the bones, and there is mal rats- The digestability of different foodstuffs has been investigated by tagged phosphorus. It was found that humans excreted one-eighth of the ingested phosphorus while rats excreted only one-eleventh. The phosphorus excreted was found to come in part from ingested food and in part from the wear and tear of tissues. W. J. Douglas, Jr. INSURANCE AGENCY General Insurance Commerce Bldg Phone Bryan 160 Sack* Even those sturdy hand- knit stockings of the old Puritan days never wore like Interwoven Socks. 350 - 500 to $1.00 CL.ocfcuats College and Bryan VACATION ECONOMY: Send your Luggage home and back by handy .... RAILWAY EXPRESS! Right from college direct to your own front door aud vice versa, without extra charge, in all cities and principal towns. And all you do is phone Railway Express. We’ll call for your trunks, bags and bundles. Away they’ll go at passenger train speed, and be delivered straight to thestreet address. The rates are low, and you can send "collect,” you know, y Railway Express, same as college laundry goes. Yes, it is a vet}’ popular service. So when you re packed, strappe an locked, just phone us and take your train with peace ol mind. AGENCY 'VW INC. NATION-WIDE RAIL-AIR SERVICE V ‘ A > i be 1 ; & t r AS » 6