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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 18, 1941)
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 ••equest. Represented nationally by National Advertising Service, Inc., at New York City, Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, and San Office, Room 122, Administration Building. Telephone »-A441. Bob Nisbet Editor-in-Chief George Fuermann Associate Editor Keith Hubbard Advertising Manager Tommy Henderson Circulation Manager Pete Tumlinson Staff Artist P. B. Pierce, Phil Levine Proof Readers Photography Department Phil Golman Photographic Editor Jack Jones, T. J. Burnett, G. W. Brown, Joe Golman, John Blair Assistant Photographers Sports Department Hub Johnson Sports Editor Bob Myers Assistant Sports Editor Jack Hollilnon Junior Sports Editor Mike Haikin, W. F. Oxford Sports Assistants SATURDAY’S EDITORIAL STAFF Earle A. Shields Managing Editor T. R. Harrison Assistant Advertising Manager Junior Editors Will O. Brimbcrry W. C. Carter Don Gabriel Reportorial Staff Charles Babcock, Herbert Haile, Paul Haines, Carl Van Hook, J. J. Keith, Z. A. McReynolds, Beverly Miller, Ehrhard Mittendorf, Jack Nelson, L. B. Tennison. Maroon and White Quarters A WORTHY undertaking for a worthy cause is the benefit football game Sunday afternoon. Why before now someone hasn’t thought of a fund for students who are in need of financial aid to take care of illness or accident is a mystery. The proceeds from the game Sunday on Kyle Field will go half to this Student Aid Fund. The other half is to be contributed to Bundles for Bri tain. To put the affair over the cooperation of the entire student body and of Bryan and College Sta tion citizens will be needed. The cream of the in tramural crop of football players will provide a game well worth the time and effort to see, and the patron will get his 25 cents worth as well as contribute to the fund. The Maroons and the Whites need supporters— the Aid Fund needs the sheckels. Bright as a Dollar DON’T COME TO my classes with unshined shoes and towsled hair. That’s what one professor said, and he is not a member of the military department. No boy can do his best work dressed in untidy clothes. That is his theory, and such theory merits consideration. From personal experiences it can t>e shown that the man who wears a dirty collar to work will think of the collar and slight his work. The fact he is not as neat as he could have been will prey on his subconscious mind. Uncombed hair can keep a student from mak ing his best effort on a quiz. Unshined shoes will keep his feet tucked far under his desk. Nothing is more inspiring to the morale than a spick and span personal appearance. With a clean shirt and a fresh press in the pants, a student can defy the world. Otherwise he will hesitate to pash himself forward. Come to my class neat and tidy. Quo ble Quo e3 “WE WHO ARE vitally interested in college ath letics realize that they have not been perfect. Never theless I venture to conclude that out of some thousand colleges and universities in our country there are not more than a dozen where athletics have been over-emphasized.” Herbert Orrin Crisler, head football coadh at the University of Michigan, lays football’s faults to a small minority. “For a Century or more industry has been drawing freely on the stores of scientific know ledge built up over the ages by thousand of name less investigators, and doing so without concern for its exhaustion and without conscious obligation to contribute to its maintenance or replacement. Of late the'margin 'between what we know and what we use has grown alarmingly thin, and while we may expect many significant gains in basic know ledge to' come from industrial research agencies and activities, it still remains true as always that our major reliance must be on the great company of scholars in universities and primary research a- gencies, to whom the advancement of knowledge is not a means to an end but an end in itself.” Dr. William E. Wickenden, president of Case School of Applied Science, reminds industry of its dependence upon educational institutions. —Associated Collegiate Press OPEN FORUM How many books, watches, radios, etc, do you have in “hock” ? If there were a gambling house within a few hundred yards of our campus and it was commonly known that all the decks were “stacked”, all the wheels “fixed”, and all the dice “loaded”, most of us would, nevertheless, patronize it at odd times. But the college, city, and state authorities would soon arrange for its removal. It would be much more sensible and easier, of course, for no one to con tribute their available cash or belongings to the place. But it doesn’t work that w r ay because all of us are “chumps” at various times. Most of our laws are designed to protect people from one anoth er, or to punish them wdien they allow their desires, ambitions, and instincts to overflow. No, we haven’t been afflicted as yet with any out-and-out gambling houses. But we are supporting an establishment that puts the worst gambling dives to shame. We who enter there have not the remotest chance of winning—and admit it. Yes, we mean the local pawn broker. There is little need to discuss the principal ob jection to the institution, but let us just take an example: You decide you must have some cash immediately and the “hock shop” beckons. You take the typewriter the folks gave you for high school graduation down to the “man”. The thing cost around $50 and it is probably still worth at least 25 to a typewriter dealer, who could resell it at a nice profit. The pawnbroker knows that too, but he values it to you at $12.50-and says he might let you have $10 on it. But, of course you have to leave the typewriter there. And when you leave it there, he is going to charge you $1.00 per month storage on it. Of course, that is just a happy solution to the usury laws, but it still costs you $1.00 per month. That’s one good show a week, eight bottles of Muhlbach, or 'about six packs of hard cigarettes. And you didn’t want your typewriter “stored” any way. But you think you need the ten dollars, so you take the cash, and sign a little slip which says that you will pay 10% on the loan per month for “storage”, and will stand nonchalantly by and watch your typewriter sold in the event that you don’t pay the $1.00 “storage” charge each 30 days .... and go on to Houston which you didn’t have any business doing in. the first place, and blow the ten, dollars on beer, women, and Stephen Foster ballads. Then, let us say, you did not get back on your financial feet for four months and six days. By this time you have paid $4 “storage” charges .... or you no longer have claim to a typewriter. To get the machine back, you kick in another $11. That little slip meant 30 days or fraction thereof, re member? So you had the use of $10 for about 17 weeks and it cost you $5 plus the fact that you didn’t have the use of your typewriter. That is about 120% simple interest. Don’t you wish you knew of some investment that paid off like that? A bank wouldn’t have charged you more than 42 cents. Of course, this isn’t the only place afflicted with a pawn broker, but that doesn’t justify his existence. We’ve no more need of such an establish ment than we have of a lot of other things that we do not, and will not, have. Some of us think that there are. times when it is absolutely necessary to pawn something, but toward the end of the year when everything is already pawned, and you have no books, slide rule, ring, or typewriter available, you struggle along somehow. We could struggle along the whole school year in the same way. Why can’t we, through the proper authorities, take the necessary steps to rid ourselves of this blight? Don Andrews, Jr. ’41 Dan Perkins, ’41 WATTAGE IS WATTAGE THE PRESENT College Regulations state in ef fect that the total wattage allowed per room shall not exceed 200 watts, the wattage of any single light bulb not to exceed 75 watts. We value our eyes. Under the best of lighting conditions, studying every night will tend to strain and tax the eyes. The I.E.S. lamps (also specified in College Regulations) are specified to be used with 100 watt globes. The maximum allowable size globe must, then, definitely underpower our lamps and overtax our eyes. Why does it matter if the total wattage per room, 200 watts, is accounted from three under sized bulbs or from two 100 watt bulbs that will produce definitely superior lighting during study? All the bulbs from a given dormitory are on the same line and are lighted by the same generators. The writers are not sympathizing with the use of light globes whose total power is in excess of 200 watts per room. We simply ask that we be allowed to distribute our wattage per room as we please whether it be with Christmas tree bulbs, neon signs, or a single 200 watt bulb in each room. I. N. Hickman, ’41 R. E. Elliot, ’41 C. A. Lilly, ’41 A. V. Reyes, ’41 J. R. Lane, ?41 A1 Hobrecht, ’41 John H. Kenagy, ’41 P. M. Bolton, 7 41 W. J. Donwiddie, ’41 R. W. Olbrich, ’41 R. F. Fox, ’41 J. H. Cain, ’41 R. A. Lynch, ’41 As the World Turns... BY DR. AL B. NELSON SOME SECTIONS OF UNION LABOR continue to hold up, or threaten to hold up, the national defense program by strikes or threats of strikes in the ef fort to profit at the expense of national security. This type of blackmail has been successful in most instances, the government mediators choosing to force the employers to pay extra rather than offend the C.I.O. In a Mediterranean Sea battle between German and Italian dive bombers and a British naval con voy the English fleet was victor ious, driving the attackers away without loss of a single merchant ship which was under guard. One of the British cruisers was severe ly damaged and while being tow ed into port it caught fire and was destroyed by its crew. An Ameri can naval officer was aboard one Nelson of the British ships while the act ion was going on, and this particular ship was bombed for seven hours. The American officer was along as official observer for the U.S. Navy. The action was reported by an American newspaper cor respondent who was also on the same British air craft carrier. Wendel L. Willkie has not only come out pub licly in favor of the President’s plan for complete aid to England, but he has also engaged passage on the trans-Atlantic plane for Europe and is going to England to study the conditions at first hand. The President’s plan to loan war materials to England is expected to pass both houses of Con gress, but the little group of so-called isolationists plan to exert themselves to the utmost to delay the passage of the bill. If the bill can be delayed until Germany carries out its spring attack the services of these isolationists will have been of the utmost value to Hitler. The air and naval bases traded to the U.S. by England in the destroyer deal have now been select ed by the government and troops are on the way to take possession of the base in Newfoundland and to make immediate preparation for its use. BACKWA^ By George Euemwnn COVERING “Backwash: An agitation resulting from some action or occurrence.”—Webster. The Way of Things Germans are real there’s no denying it. . . .These Aggie War Hymn” is an example of humorists; such a song and already three songs are on the way to replace CAMPUStDWDONS with Take the nOM GIIL1S front page of the current Facts it. One, written by Edwin Stead, in Review, for example. There’s a j s particularly good and may soon pic of Adolph wearing an ear-to t 0 p S on the Aggie hit parade. ear smile as he Watch for a public appearance of Rare faces a group of al- this song within the next three 1 e g e d German mo nths. workers-also wear- 0 • ® ing ear - t o - e a r smiles. The cap tion reads, “Not gig Jawn Kimbrough’s fan mail war, but peace! ru ns about a hundred letters a Above is Adolph day during the football season. John Hitler photograph- generally goes through the mail ed when he is hap- personally and attempts to read Fuermann pj es t: with h i s an d answer those which come from workers for peace in a Germany friends. The rest are turned over rid of class divisions. ‘It has never to his close friend, R. C. Couch, been my intention to wage war, Aggie senior from Haskell, who but rather to build up a state with answers as many as possible, a new social order and the finest John’s favorite letter is one possible standards of culture. Every received Jan. 4 from a negro boy year that the war drags on is keep- j n San Angelo^ Here’s the letter, ing me from this work,’ Hitler exa ctly as written: said in a recent address.” Poor “i suppose this is rather rare Mr. Hitler—dogged by this nasty receiving a letter from a negro old war that he doesn’t want. One can’t help but feel an inner glow of satisfaction when one learns that Mr. Hitler has never had any intention of waging war—just a victim of circumstances. . . .The Jan. 13 issue of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch contains a long art icle which centers around the ac tivities of Harvey Trewitt,* an Ag gie-ex, as he goes through the metamorphisis of becoming a lieu tenant in the U. S. Air Corps. The article, incidentally, is accom panied, by six pictures. Harvey’s brother, Manning Trewitt, is an Aggie junior who says he would like to follow in his brother’s air corps footsteps. . .The current ASCAP-BMI feud will result in boy. But I must tell you my opin ion Pf you. I think you are the swellest football player of all football players. The purpose of this letter. I request of you your .phohograph if that’s not asking too much. I play football on the San Angelo High Bobcats. Full back position. You are my ideal player. Say I hope while in your professional career you will get to play against Tom Harmon and give him a good hard tackle. He think he hot stuff. I have listen to you play on the Radio ever since you have been enroll at A. & M .College. Oh I could say a lot about your swell playing but I guess it’s not necessary.” In a manner which was sincere r„^“ g W SOn Alle b n e ^ “ The playoff between regimental football teams is going to come off Sunday afternoon and it will be a good opportunity to see a game played under the new football rules. Of course the rule changes won’t make any major differences in the game but that isn’t the only reason to see the performance either. The most important and conspicuous of the rule changes is that a player may be substituted as many times as desired and may speak in the huddle on the first play. These regimental football teams are going to have a lot of our best friends on them and it is a good chance to go down and see them do their stuff. Because the teams have not had time to practice theih- selves into football machines, there ought to be some fast action and unexpected events. With game time at 2:30 on Kyle Field, the game will be a good way to spend Sunday afternoon, and the gate re ceipts will go to the Student Aid Fund and Bundles for Britain on a 50-50 basis. “SPRING PARADE” seems something like installment eight in the success story of Deanna Dur bin. It shows her as a little peasant girl in pre-World War I Vienna who entrances the Emperor him self with her singing. The person who really entrances her is Robert Cummings, whose role as drummer boy in the emperor’s band fits him pretty well. They have several lit tle lovers spats which Deana car ries off well but of course the worst is bound to happen or it wouldn’t be a show. f The setting of “Spring Parade” is just one World War too late. Gone now are all the waltz centers and emperors. Just what Deanna owes her success to is a wonder because she really isn’t very pret ty. She is attractive and has a light cheerfulness about her that people seem to like. She also has a good knack of introducing her songs without producing the heavy oper atic atmosphere which seems to ac company Jeanette MacDonald when she sings. expressed the sentiments of J 6500 Texas Aggies and a few thous- tion s college song. The firm is also , . . T , • -j 4. n & and Aggie-exes. John, incidentally, ing Co. owns hundreds of the na- sent the picture. • • an ASCAP subsidiary and, as such, many colleges have found them selves in the unique position of be- ^ , ing unable to air their own songs UHcirKSOn on the nation’s radio waves. “The ASCAP vs BMI— (Continued from Page Probably the hardest-hit man in Kyle stadium last season was Texas A. & I.’s great center, Stuart Clarkson, Little All Ameri ca nominee who tried to stop Jawn at a time when the Has- CAP has kept its membership to a minimum. One hundred and for- Hurricane was loping along at ty-one of its members are not a p re tty fair speed, composers, but publishing corp- John hit Steuart so hard that orations, some owned and control- Steuart > s hea d gear turned around led by the movie industry. so ^ a ^. ^g ear f] a p S CO vered his If you are a composer or a song- f aC e. The attempted tackle occured writer, you cannot become a mem- near the sidelines in front of Ag- ber of this exclusive club until gieland’s football sage, Trainer Lil you have had five songs publish- Dimmett, and, as Steuart got to his ed successfully—and not then un- feet, Lil asked him how much in less ASCAP directors let you in. surance he had. When you become a member, “Not enough to tackle that man you sign away all performing rights again,” he replied with a smile, to your past, present and future work for a period of ten years. phrase seems to suggest may be You are guaranteed nothing in seen from the sworn testimony return for that. You serve a proba- 0 f ASCAP’s president during a tionary period as a Non-Partici- 1933 lawsuit. pating Member. During this period, i n 1933 about one-third of AS usually one year, you get no share CAP’s income went to its manage- of the royalties your music has me nt. Of its net income, after ex- earned. What, if anything, you penses and operating costs, about will receive after that depends upon half went, not to creative artists, what a board of directors decides but to a group of 187 publishers— to pay you. (There are no fix- and eight or ten big Hollywood pub- ed rules. You are not paid, for ex- lishing corporations got the lion’s ample, in proportion to the num- share. play- ber of times your music is ed or sung.) The directors are elected by each other. They are a monopoly with in a monopoly. They cannot be replaced or ousted by dissatisfied members, and what they say goes. During the only year for which payments to members have ever been disclosed, song writer mem bers of the board averaged nearly eight times as much for each per formance as they voted to the rest of the song-writer members of AS CAP. ASCAP has only itself to blame tection. for the growing public inquiry And that The remainder (one-third of the total income) went to AS CAP’s “protected” creative art ists, but even here there are some strange facts. Ninety-seven per cent of the creative artists’ share went to about 280 members se lected by the self-perpetuating board of directors) and 8 per cent went to about 825 members! Briefly, then, 187 publishers got 33 cents out of every dollar and 825 creative artists got 1 cent. That is what ASCAP calls pro- W. J. Douglas, Jr. INSURANCE AGENCY General Insurance Commerce Bldg Phone Bryan 160 is the private club about it. By “cornering” the “pop- which has cornered the copyrights ular” music supply, it has made it on “popular music.” virtually impossible for the large Broadcasting stations have been number of composers outside of playing ASCAP music under a li- ASCAP to gain a hearing on the cense which expired December 31, air. It has refused to reach out 1940. Since then they cannot play and take under its “protective” ASCAP music without violating the wing the vast majority of creative copyright law. To renew the li- artists for whom, presumably, it cense, ASCAP demands that every was organized. It has kept a tight radio station in the country pay hold on its monopoly for the bene- ASCAP a substantial percentage of fit of a few—and in so doing it all its income—whether that income has gone a long way toward des- is from music programs or news troying opportunity for tens of broadcasts and other programs thousands of young creative art- which use no music at all. These ists. That ASCAP has changed its original character, is quite obvious. It still boasts that it is “unincorp orated” and “non-profit-making.” The value of being unincorporated is clear enough. It cannot be forced to publish financial statements. Its bookkeeping methods are a closed book. Whether or not it is quite so non-profit-making as the demands exceed $9,000,000 for one year. Unless these demands are met, ASCAP’s music is “to be pull ed off the air.” The issue, as the writer sees it, is clear. It is music monopoly. Should any small group of men anywhere have the vested right to dictate what kind of music America is to hear on the air? Broadcasting wants to give AGGIES, join us in giv ing aid to Britain. See the charity football game and then remember to see us. J. C. Penney Co. Bryan, Texas its radio listeners all of the best of all kinds of music—including music represented by ASCAP. And broadcasting believes that song-writers should be paid when their music is used on the air. That is what copyright laws are for. But broadcasting believes that one of its duties is to keep ra dio’s opportunity an opportuni ty for all composers and au thors. That includes members of ASCAP to whom ASCAP’s man agement is not passing on the royalties radio has been paying. It includes those thousands of composers and authors who have been barred from adequate hear ing simply because they have not been elected to ASCAP’s pri vate club. Meanwhile, broadcasting is pre pared for such an emergency. All of the music of the people who are not members of the ASCAP, all of the music of other licens ing agencies, dozens of whole cata logues of music have been made available to radio’s orchestra lead ers and program directors. And in order to amplify and mjake this music more readily available to the people, broad casting stations have organized Broadcast Music, Inc., which is gathering and publishing a new catalogue of music. A mutual un dertaking by 406 radio stations, Broadcast Music, Inc., will do the job ASCAP has consistently re fused to- do, namely, provide an open door to radio audiences for all composers and song-writers who can claim the right to a hear ing on the air. For Quality Service See Us ADAMS Barber Shop Bryan Make her week-end complete by bringing her here. She will want to come here for she has always heard of HRDLICKA’S Old College Road SALE Of Suits ... Topcoats ... Slacks . . . Sweaters . . . Jackets . . . Shirts . . . Pajamas — Sport Shirts . . . Robes and Kaynee Boys’ Wear. Men’s Suits $19.50 Suits $15.85 $25.00 Suits $19.85 $27.50 Suits $21.85 $29.50 Suits $23.85 $35.00 Suits $27.85 $40.00 Suits $31.85 $45.00 Suits $35.85 Topcoats $19.50 Topcoats $15.85 $25.00 Topcoats „ $19.85 $29.50 Topcoats $23.85 $35.00 Topcoats „ $27.85 Slacks $3.95 Slacks $4.95 Slacks $5.95 Slacks $7.50 Slacks ... $3.15 ._ $3.85 ... $4.85 ._ $5.85 Manhattan Shirts $2.00 Shirts $1.65 $2.50 Shirts $1.85 $3.50 Shirts $2.65 White Shirts Not Included. Shirtcraft Shirts $1.65 Shirts $1.29 $1.95 Shirts . $1.55 Sport Shirts $1.65 Sport Shirts $1.29 $1.95 Sport Shirts $1.55 $2.50 Sport Shirts $1.85 $2.95 Sport Shirts $2.25 $3.95 Sport Shirts $2.95 flTaldropflfo ‘‘Two Convenient Stores” College Station - Bryan % m* 4 « » * * 4 1 *