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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, $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
THURSDAY STAFF
George Fuermann Acting Managing Editor
George Woodman Assistant Advertising Manager
Junior Editors
Tom Gillis D. C. Thurman
Sports Staff
Bob Myers Assistant Sports Editor
Jack Hollimon Junior Sports Editor
W. F. Oxford Sports Assistant
Reportorial Staff
Z. A. McReynolds, L. B. Tennison, J. M. Speer
Just Ask Any Aggie;
They’re Still No. 1
TEXAS IS A STATE famed for battle cries, the
most famous of which are the immortal “Remember
the Alamo" and “Remember Goliad" chants of Sam
Houston’s men when they won the state’s indepen
dence at the battle of San Jacinto 104 years ago.
Today, the Texas Aggies have a double-cry of
their own; battle cries with just as much “heart" in
them as the fiery words of 1836—“Remember 1938
. . . Remember 1940”!!!
On Thanksgiving Day of both years an under
dog Texas University football team slapped down a
fighting Texas Aggie eleven; both years Texas U.’s
victory was clean cut and decisive; both years Texas
U. stopped the Cadets fairly and squarely—there
wasn’t any luck in the deal, they just had a better
team for a day.
But 1938’s 7 to 6 victory was more nearly “just
another football game" where Southwest Conference
and post-season honors were concerned. It wasn’t
so hard to take—the team and the Twelfth Man had
seen tough breaks before. That was just one more
to add to A. & M.’s collection of tough breaks, the
same that every college is cursed with.
Not so in 1940!
When grown men by the hundred cry like babies
because their football team loses a game, there’s
probably a reason. When 6,500 men feel “sick inside"
for half a dozen days following their college’s grid
iron defeat, there’s probably more to the situation
than a stranger might readily understand. One ca
det (married and the father of a two-year-old baby)
expressed it thus: “I’ve been an Aggie for four
years and there’s no one who loves the college or
the sport more than I do, but when I looked at the
score board after the final gun sounded last Thurs
day there was only one thought that came to me
from deep down inside—at least, I still had my wife
and child.”
Sounds a little foolish, doesn’t it? But if you
think so, you don’t know much about Texas A. & M.
college.
You see, there’s a spirit here—we call it the
Aggie Spirit—that’s without parallel anywhere
else in the world. Not because the Aggies are any
different than other collegians and not because they
eat more spinach or beans than other collegians.
Maybe you’d call it the environment.
Most colleges have a few hundred coeds for the
men to escort; many colleges are located in or near
large cities where there is entertainment by the
hatful; but at A. & M. it’s different.
The corps doesn’t have an opportunity to have
many “outside interests." It has its yell practice
four times a week. That’s when the corps get to
gether and talks things over; that’s when the
Twelfth Man gets in shape for the next inter
collegiate contest. It doesn’t make .any difference
whether the game is football, baseball, water polo
or jacks, the Twelfth Man backs its team all the
way—that’s all it knows how to do; that’s the Aggie
way of doing things.
So that defeat in Memorial Stadium last Thurs
day went a little hard with the Aggies. They weren’t
over confidant; they knew that any Southwest Con
ference game provided a tough row to hoe. They
knew, too, that Texas U. is double-tough in its home
stadium. But the Aggies weren’t prepared for a
defeat. Nineteen consecutive victories don’t make
for a very good defeatism psychology.
It’s all over now and, although the heart-ache
is severe, remember that the team did its best, that
no other Southwest Conference college ever before
won 19 consecutive victories, that no other South
west Conference college ever before as much as
even tied for the conference championship after
winning it the previous year, and, most important
of all, that the Aggies have said since the college
was founded in 1876 that their teams were first in
th^ir hearts always; win, lose or draw. That’s the
way it is today ... As far as the Twelfth Man is
concerned, the Aggie gridiron machine is still the
nation’s No. 1 team
It’s a little difficult for the corps to say “Thank
you” to the team, because that doesn’t express in
even a small way the feelings of the Twelfth Man
toward a group of men who brought the college
untold renown in the sport world for two years.
But in particular does the corps want to express its
appreciation and admiration to the 17 seniors who
never again play in a Southwest Conference game.
Coach Homer Hill Norton put it pretty well when
he said, “They’re the finest group of men I’ve ever
known; not in mere football ability but as real men.”
That’s the way the corps feels about it.
The Aggies will have a chance to even the score
another year . . . Just remember that battle cry—
“Remember 1938” . . . “Remember 1940”!!!
—By George Fuermann
Compensations
SUPPORTERS of the Texas A. and M. College foot
ball team were filled with gloom following the defeat
Thursday by the Longhorns of the University of
Texas, ending a string of victories that included 19
consecutive games. They saw their hopes of a South
west Conference championship for two years in suc
cession, of a Rose Bowl invitation and of upsetting
the tradition that the Longhorns cannot be defeated
by the Aggies in Memorial stadium all dissipated.
Today the most of these supporters are reviewing
the game, trying to figure out just why victory
was not won and what might have been done that
was not, to bring about a different result. On the
streets, in offices and in places of business the up
set of the Aggies was the predominant topic of
conversation.
Yet sight should not be lost of the fact that
Texas A. & M. College is the same institution it
was before Wednesday or the day the Aggies chased
the Rice Owls all over Kyle Field, and it still offers
the same opportunities to thousands of young men
of Texas and the Southwest. As a matter of fact,
looking at the college as an educational institution
and not just as the home of the nation’s No. 1 foot
ball team, one might be able to figure out, without
a great deal of difficulty, that advantages will ac
crue from defeat.
The eleven, its schedule and the possibility of
continuing its winning streak has been an absorbing
interest in the case of hundreds and thousands of
students, as well as of its supporters who are not
connected with the institution. It is entirely possible
that many students have given so much thought to
the eleven that classroom work has dropped to a
secondary place.
There is no question that an athletic program
has a place in every college or university. But it is
a question if too much emphasis has not been placed
in many schools, on a winning team and too much
worry over the inability of a team to win. Great ef
forts are made by those in charge of athletics and by
alumni to secure first class high or prep school ath
letes, and coaches doing the best they can have been
fired with little ceremony. The fact that no such
efforts are made to attract outstanding students in
high or preparatory schools—students who might
bring honor to an institution in other fields—serves
to demonstrate the emphasis that is placed on athle
tic programs.
And Aggie supporters should not lose sight of
the fact that the members of the team who car
ried through for 19 consecutive victories are the
same sterling young men that they were on the eve
of the Thanksgiving game, nor that the coaching
staff which has piloted the team through this long
series of gridiron battles are just as competent to
day as they were when they were puttting the boys
in shape for this contest. And all of the members
of the student body, including the members of the
team, who have been living under a high and steadily
increasing pressure all season, now will have an op
portunity to relax and, perhaps, give a little more
attention to the primary purpose of Texas A. & M.
College.
—Bryan Eagle
As the World Turns...
BY “COUNT" Y. K. SUGAREFF
HITLER’S RECENT DIPLOMATIC MANEUVERS
have proved to be only partially successful. The in
clusion of Slovakia, Hungary, and Rumania within
the orbit of the Axis awaited only an official an
nouncement. These three countries were already
under Hitler’s domination. The fan
fare which accompanied their join
ing the Axis powers was meant to
blind the German people to a lack
of bigger successes. The failure to
include Bulgaria, Spain, and Turkey
as partners of the Axis powers must
be considered a definite, even if
temporary, check to Hitler’s plans
in the Mediterranean basin.
This German diplomatic de
bacle has heartened the Greeks.
They have driven the Italians from
the invaded Greek territory and are now dealing
them heavy blows on all fighting sectors. They have
occupied strategic positions in Albania. The Greeks,
like the Finns, have won the admiration of the
world for their fighting. The United States and all
other democracies of the world should render all
possible aid to the Greeks to enable them to drive
the Italians from Albania.
This military fiasco in the East has been ag
gravated by a series of insubordinations to Nazi rule
in the occupied territories. The large scale sabotage
in Norway, the rioting of students in Holland, Bel
gium, and France are mere indications of what
might take place if an opposition should gain some
momentum.
National Defense Progress—The United States
infantry has revised its manual. The new manual
takes into account recent changes in warfare and
makes provisions for training to meet these changes.
Maj. Gen. George A. Lynch describes these changes
as “revolutionary”. As an example of the changes
Gen. Lynch says, “A rifleman can no longer shoot
his way forward." He must coordinate his move
ment with the fire or artillery and aviation.
The continued bombing of industrial centers in
England and attacks on British shipping is looked
upon by Washington as serious. Every crippled
factory limits the production capacity of England
and every merchant ship sunk destroys not only the
means of transportation, but also some essential
materials for the prosecution of the war. If Ger
many intensified her attacks on English ships and
shipbuilding, we shall be confronted with a situation
similar to that in 1917—the question of who is to
control the seas. We have the facilities to aid Eng
land in the building of ships and planes, and we
can supply munitions, but sooner or later we must
face the question of total war aid to England. It is
a question of our national defense.
Labor is an important factor in our national
defense. This is no time for government officials to
antagonize labor by trying to pass legislation to
prohibit strikes. Sidney Hillman, labor member of
the national defense council, is trying to settle labor
disputes by negotiation and arbitration rather than
strikes. Labor’s share in the benefits of our defense
program should not be disregarded.
V. K. Suprareff
THE BATTALION
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“Backwash: An apritation resulting from some action or occurrence.”—Webster.
A Bird’s Eye View . . . The lime
light which the college’s 1939 and
1940 gridiron teams have received
has also resulted in widespread
publicity for many other aspects of
the college. In particular have the
several A. & M.
songs received air
ings via national
radio networks.
Since November 1
“The Aggie War
Hymn” has been
played 23 times
I that the writer
BBBMMmB knows of, “The
Spirit of Aggie-
Fuermann ]and „ four times
and “I’d Rather Be A Texas Aggie"
twice; all of these, incidentally, on
coast-to-coast networks . . . Grand
mother used to think she had a
day’s work on hand when it came
time to cook the Thanksgiving
turkey for a family of 14, but she
should have tried doing the job for
the Aggies.
If she wanted to find a single
bird large enough to feed the en
tire corps, the thing would have
to weigh 4,500 pounds because
that’s the amount of turkey the
cadets ate at their annual Thanks
giving Day Supper November 26.
Like the turkey, the rest of the
menu came in super-quantities.
Seventeen hundred pounds of can
died yams went down the collective
Aggie gullets at that meal, and it
took 138 gallons of green peas to
go around.
The combination salad contained
720 heads of lettuce, 448 pounds of
tomatoes, three bushels of green
peppers, and 360 stalks of celery.
The mixed nuts and fruit ran a
little high, too. Thirteen boxes of
apples, eight boxes of oranges, 420
pounds of grapes, 700 pounds of
bananas and 900 pounds of mixed
nuts were necessary to satisfy the
Aggies’ mass hunger.
Five hundred and sixty loaves
of bread and 1,245 pumpkin pies
contributed their share toward the
cadets’ stomachs. Where the bev
erages were concerned the corps
took care of 300 gallons of coffee
and 2,012 quarts of milk.
9
Louisiana Purchase.
You may have heard this story,
but either way you’ll probably give
it first rank among the irony
squibs of the year. It concerns the
time when the Post Office Depart
ment at Washington, searching the
titles to post-office sites in Loui
siana, was dissatisfied with one be
cause it went back no farther than
1803. To the Department’s request
for earlier information, the at
torney for the owner replied as
follows:
Please be advised that the Gov
ernment of the United States ac
quired the Territory of Louisiana,
including the tract to which your
inquiry applies, by purchase from
the Government of France, in the
year 1803.
The Government of France ac
quired title by conquest from the
Government of Spain.
The Government of Spain ac
quired title by discovery of Chris
topher Columbus, explorer, a res
ident of Genoa, Italy, who, by
agreement concerning the acquisi
tion of title to any land he discov
ered, traveled under the sponsor
ship and patronage of Her Majesty,
the Queen of Spain.
The Queen of Spain had received
sanction of her title by consent of
the Pope, a resident of Rome, Italy,
an ex-officio representative and
vicegerent of Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ was the son and
heir apparent of God.
God made Louisiana.
I trust this complies with your
request.
•
Colonel Ike’s Letter.
A recent letter from Colonel Ike
Ashbum to every member of the
great Aggie football team express
es well the sentiments of the en
tire cadet corps. An excellent letter
which was written to the finest
group of football players any
where, any time, here it is in its
entirity:
“Over in Havana, Cuba, there
is a statue in one of the many
plazas and this particular piece
of statuary is devoted to the
memory of a man who killed him
self. He set as the objective of
his life the amassing of a for
tune of twenty-five millions of
dollars. The first twenty he ac
cumulated in due time but furth
er than that he could not go.
In great mental stress and em
barrassment because he could
gain a fortune of only twenty
million dollars instead of the
coveted twenty-five, he hanged
himself.
“Our loss last Thursday, bring
ing hurt, as it did to all of us
is not nearly so important as our
reaction to that disappointment.
Let us not get our viewpoint
. warped—as for me I am tre
mendously proud of you boys
on the club for the nineteen fine
victories you won—giving us a
new high in continuous victories
for this conference and area.
You did a fine job. The college,
cadets, officers, faculty, and
supporters generally are proud
of you and are indebted to you
for two successive seasons of
most exceptional football. That
pride and that gratitude sur
passes by great extremes, our
disappointment of last Thurs
day’s loss.
“We have been and still are
sincerely proud of you. To all
of us and to Texans generally
you are definitely TOPS in the
football world. I hope that on
January first, we may have an
opportunity for you boys who
are completing your competition
to round out that competition
in a manner which will leave a
happy taste in your mouths. It
is vitally important for your
selves that you recall your suc
cesses, take what lessons you
You Must Dance....
YOU can learn to dance or modernize your dancing
easily and quickly, in most enjoyable lessons ....
JOIN OUR NEW BALLROOM CLASS
Private or class instructions. Also classes in
Tap, Ballet, Acrobatic and Toe Dancing
JOSEPHINE ROVELLO DANCING
SCHOOL
Tuesday and Wednesday of each week
K. C. Hall — Phone Bryan 536
Attention
Aggies!
CLOSING OUT 100
Famous Marathon
CAMPAIGN HATS
In order to clear out stocks before inventory we offer
you our MARATHON campaign hat, pure fur felt,
regulation shade and permanent brim at the low
price of—
Regular $5.00 Value - - - Now $2.75
Buy a fresh new one for the holidays.
J.C.PENNEY CO.
“Aggie Economy Center”
BRYAN, TEXAS
Bus fare refunded with purchase.
-THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 1940
can from your one defeat, but
recognize that from every angle
your play in behalf of the Agri
cultural and Mechanical College
has been superlatively superior.”
Cowpunchers in certain areas use
electric branding irons. The brands
remain at uniform temperature and
beef critters can be marked as fast
as brought up.
Have You A
Christmas Gift
For Her?
The gift that will please
her the most is a picture
of you.
Come by today and make
arrangements for this
ideal gift.
AGGIELAND
STUDIO
Joe Sosolik
North Gate
Leather Coats
and Jackets
Styled by
Albert Richards
A smart way to say
Merry Christmas to
yourself . . . treat your
self to a smartly tailor
ed leather coat. Warm,
serviceable, and smart to
wear. See our line of
cape skins, horsehide,
suede and calf skins in
new belted models.
$7.95 to $19.50
CLOZtxlZRS
COLLEGE and BRYAN
,—
VICTOR AND
“Ferryboat Serenade”
Leo Reisman
“Only Forever”
Tommy Dorsey
“A Nightingale Sang In
Berkley Square”
Glenn Miller
“Down Argentine Way”
Dinah Shore
“Keeping Myself For You”
Artie Shaw
“You’ve Got Me Thinking”
Tommy Dorsey
“We Three”
Bob Chester
“I Give You My Word”
Mitchell Ayres
“Beat Me Daddy”
Glenn Miller
“Our Love Affair”
Bea Wain
HASIELL’S BOOK STORE
BRYAN
HI
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_ TJ-147
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