Page 2-
THE BATTALION
—TUESDAY, MAY 13, 1941
The Battalion Man > Your Manners
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
4-6444.
1940 Member 1941
Associated Golle6iate Press
Bob Nisbet Editor-in-Chief
George Fuermann Associate Editor
Keith Hubbard Advertising Manager
Tom Yannoy Editorial Assistant
Pete Tundinson Staff Artist
J. B. Pierce, Phil Levine Proof Readers
Sports Department
Hub Johnson Sports Editor
Bob Myers Assistant Sports Editor
Mike Haikin, Jack Hollimon
W. F. Oxford Junior Sports Editor
Circulation Department
Tommy Henderson Circulation Manager
VT. G, Hanger, E. D. Wilmeth Assistant Circulation Manager
F. D. Asbury, E. S. Henard Circulation Assistants
Photography Department
Pbil Golman Photographic Editor
James Carpenter, Bob Crane, Jack Jones,
Jack Siegal Assistant Photographers
TUESDAY’S EDITORIAL STAFF
Billy Clarkson Managing Editor
George Woodman Assistant Advertising Manager
Junior Editors
E. M. Rosenthal Lee Rogers
Reporters
Tommy Leland, Tom Vannoy, Charlie Babcock, Dow Wynn,
Jack Decker.
Ending Fish Year
SINCE THERE ARE to be no more official fish
days, why doesn’t every organization drop “handles”
on names now after Parent’s Day?
It has always been customary for such an event
to occur after fish day in different organizations,
but even without fish days, it is important that the
Aggie reputation of friendliness be maintained. And
it is time the freshmen and upperclassmen became
better acquainted with each other on equal terms.
For nearly nine months now the Class of ’44 has
served in the capacity of freshmen, by far the
greater part of future contact between the classes is
to be on the equal terms of upperclassmen, and
dropping Mister and Fish from names would do
much to promote the unity of the classes.
This is the last month that all these freshmen
and upperclassmen will be together on the cam
pus, and the seniors want to know their room-order-
lies and other fish by a more appropriate term than
just Fish So-and-so when they happen to meet again
during life. This will be their only chance to gain
such close friendship before they are called by other
duties. The upperclassmen other than seniors also
want to begin to know their freshmen more inti
mately before another fish class arrives in all its
seemingly uncontrollable numbers.
Dropping handles will make easier the task of
next year’s cadets who have begun to take over their
positions now. In many organizations it regularly
happens at this time of year that each class is pre
pared for the responsibilities they will bear next
year by giving them those responsibilities now.
This gives the futui’e officers and upperclassmen
experience in their positions while still under the
watchful and helpful eyes of the seniors. And if
this year’s freshmen are to consider discharging
their responsibility as sophomores for next year, it
would be well if they became more informally ac
quainted with other upperclassmen now and con
sidered their duty of leading future freshmen.
It would not be contrary to any traditions to
drop handles on names at this time of year. On the
other hand, it would be in keeping with a tradition
which is now non-existent. This last month is a
valuable time during which next year’s upperclass
men should become more intimately associated as
friends without the formality which regular fresh
man conduct .equires.
Dropping handles could be accomplished simply
by a ruling of the organization commander. Many
organizations have already given the freshmen
their customary privileges since the Parents’ Day
review. The others should do so.
BACKWASH
Annual Engineer’s Review
THE ENGINEER’S DAY MUSICAL REVIEW was
another “first” event for this year that should be
come an annual feature of that day. It is an ex
cellent addition to an already packed day because
it provides entertainment of a different sort and an
opportunity for student development.
Credit for the idea of the show itself and the
parts of the show belongs to the cadets. With the
exception of the dean of the school of engineering,
all the actors were students who originated and pre
sented their acts. Such an opportunity for student
initiative and the display of their talent should not
be passed up in later years, particularly after seeing
what excellent talent was presented at their show
this year.
Considerable originality was shown in the pre
sentation of the acts by all the engineering depart
ments, and all was coordinated and directed by stu
dents. The review demontrates that engineers do
many things that can’t be worked out by a slide rule
formula, and should be a permanent part of the
Engineer’s Day show.
Five mathematics courses at University of Tex
as have been rearranged to tie in more closely with
problems relating to defense.
The music library at Mills college contains more
than 6,000 phonograph records.
Forty first additions of Joel Harris are the
latest addition to the Harris Memorial room in the
Emory university library.
BY I. SHERWOOD
CADETS AT A. & M. are carefully trained in
discipline and in the official and social duties of
a military school, but many of the Seniors will be
entering the Army of the United States as officers,
in June, and a thorough knowledge of the social
customs of the Service is essential; such a know
ledge will give the young officer confidence in him
self and save him from embarrasing situations.
The following is taken from Official Courtesy
and Customs of the Service.
Calls: For all posts in the United States call
ing hours are from 8:00 to 9:00 in the evening, it
is permissible to call on Sunday afternoon between
three and five o’clock. This practice differs from
civil life where calls are usually made in the after
noon.
An officer arriving at a post at which he ex
pects to remain longer than twenty-four hours
should call on the post commander. If assigned to
duty there, he should call on all his intermediate
commanders. If unable to wear a uniform, an ex
planation should be made. This official visit to the
post and intermediate commanders should be repeat
ed at their residences within twenty-four hours af
ter arrival. If the commander is married, it is the
custom for the officer making the visit to be ac
companied by his wife. The calls are formal and
should not last longer than ten minutes.
It is not necessary for the new arrival to make
other calls until officers of the battalion, regiment
or garrison have called on him.
It is customary for officers to call on a new
arrival as soon as he is situated. If the newcomer is
married, ladies call with their husbands.
Calls should be returned within ten days.
Calling Cards: In the service do not neglect
the conventions in the use of visiting cards. At re
ceptions, teas or similar functions it is customary
to leave a card for each person in whose name the
invitation is extended and for the guest of honor,
if there is one.
A bachelor, or a married officer not accom
panied by his wife, leaves one card for the officer
called upon and one for each adult member of the
officer’s household.
Social Functions: It is customary for officers
of all grades to dance or chat with the wives of the
senior officers of the unit.
A member of a dinner party later attending a
dance should not fail to dance with the hostess and
the guest of honor.
Invitations to dinners and private functions,
when accepted, constitute social obligations and
should be returned.
By
George Fuermann
'ERING
“Backwash: An agitation resulting from some action or occurrence.”—Webster
Quotable Quotes
A history student, roaming through the halls
of Centenary college, found an inscription that Cen
tenary was founded in 1825.
“Fear keeps many teachers, none too bold at
best, from voicing what they know to be true about
the society that surrounds them, or the history they
are supposed to interpret. Most of them are not
fighters. They are experts on information, with
a desire to be let alone in their work. So when their
opinions are disapproved, their position and exper
ience are not such as can resist intimidation. The
young scholar learns early he can succeed best by
silence. There is little academic freedom in the
sense of the right to teach without institutional
coercion or censorship of personal faiths.” Author
Leon Whipple, in his “Story of Civil Liberties in
the United States”.
—Associated Collegiate Press
As the World Turns.
BY R. W. STEEN
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT WILL ADDRESS THE
AMERICAN PEOPLE on Wednesday evening. There
was a time when these talks were described as
“fireside chats” but conditions have now become so
serious that no such matter of fact title will serve.
The way for Mr. Roosevelt has been carefully pav
ed, and it is to be expected that he
will tell the American public some
thing about the immediate part to
be played by America in the war.
Three weeks ago Secretary Hull
declared that American aid to
Britain must reach its destination.
On the same day Secretary Knox de-
i dared that we could not permit
American goods to be sunk in the
Atlantic. A week later Wendell Will-
kie called for the use of American
convoys. A few days later Secretary
Stimson called for the use of the
American navy in making the seas safe for the de
livery of war materials to Britain. Late last week
Senator Pepper, who is frequently an administrative
spokesman, made an address to the Senate in which
he urged that America “get tough” with the dicta
tors. He proposed that such strategic bases as
Dakar, the Azores, and Singapore be immediately oc
cupied.
With these speeches as a background it will be
surprising if President Roosevelt does less than
announce that American naval vessels will be used
in an effort to guarantee the arrival of planes and
supplies in Britain. Public opinion has moved so
far in the past few weeks that the opponents of
convoying are now apparently afraid to bring the
issue to a vote in the senate.
The race for the Senate seat left vacant by the
death of Morris Sheppard is attracting much atten
tion. Twelve candidates have announced their will
ingness to serve, and most observers are still of
the opinion that Governor O’Daniel will soon add
his name to the list. The biggest splash of the past
week was made by Hal Collins of Mineral Wells,
who began his campaign in Waco. He was not con
tent with a hillbilly band, but had a whole medicine
show. There was a master of ceremonies who intro
duced musical numbers, singers, and comedians. To
cap it all a mattress was given to the largest family
attending the meeting. The winning family marched
fourteen children onto the platform. Mr. Collins
doubtless wishes that children could vote.
8t«n
Fuermann
reins. The
Backwashin’ Around . . . Unique in
the realm of Mothers’ Day tele
grams was the one sent by an
Infantry senior which read, “The
Italians believe that Benito is; the
Squareheads swear by Adolph, but
here’s one country American who
knows darn well
that his mother is
the greatest per
son in the world.”
. . . Backwash,
under its current
by-line, goes to
press for the last
time Saturday.
When the writer
signs ‘30’ that
day, Charles Bab
cock will tenta
tively take up the
column’s full-time
writer for the forth-coming long
session will not be announced un
til late this month when editor-
elect Tom Gillis names his new
staff ... As predicted here last
week, the first annual Engineers’
Musical Review was a tremendous,
howling success. Packed with gags
and giggles, it sent a near-capacity
audience away hungry for more
and was easily a top-notch item in
the current college year’s list of
Aggie-talent entertainment events.
The show was so successful that
tentative plans call for an encore
late this month, a possible per
formance at Texas U. and, most
important of all, one enthusiastic
witness (who has the ways and
means to back him up) says that
he’ll place next year’s review on
the stages of the largest theaters
in Houston and Dallas. Producers
Walter Sullivan and Ben Elliott,
plus a capable, ambitious staff,
did an All-American job on the
show which now takes a well-
deserved place among the college’s
annual and much-to-be-looked-for-
ward-to events . . . Watch for
T. S. C. W. freshman Connie Bind
ley (she was queen of this year’s
Cotton Ball) to go a long way in
the Aggie world during her re
maining three years in college. She,
and Fort Worth’s attractive Dor-
othey Hamm, were pointed out by
Maestro A1 Donahue this past
week end as “the two most attract
ive girls I’ve seen in many a
dance.” . . . Still another addition
to the fast-growing list of Aggie
hitch-hiking benches is serving ca
dets. The McLennan County A. &
M. Mothers’ club (Waco) has made
and painted two benches, each 20
feet long, which they have placed
at the intersection of the Waco
loop.
• O •
A. Donahue - Tops
Seldom is cadet opinion so thor
oughly grooved where a ‘name’
swing band is concerned as during
the past week end. There’s little
question but that A1 Donahue’s
outfit will ride the No. 1 spot on
the A. & M. orchestra poll when it
is tabulated Thursday night.
An all-the-way success at both
the Senior Ring dance and Satur
day night’s corps dance, many of
the seniors felt that Al’s band was
the finest to hit the campus in the
past three years.
A graduate of Boston U.’s law
school, his career as a band leader
has been an off-and-on affair. He
led his first band in 1929 and, until
four years ago, crossed his baton
with Blackstone and a law practice
. . . which makes his success as an
orchestra leader something more
than just unique.
Thirty-six years old (he first
said 27), he formerly owned 37
so-called ‘unit’ bands which played
on ocean-going passenger vessels.
The current war situation, of
course, has gigged him out of most
of these and, today, only five are
in service.
Are Ya, or Aren’t Ya?
Vocalist Dee Keating was also
tops in Aggie opinion.
Twenty-two years old, she told
different stories about her private
life. To Sophomore Charles Walk
er she said she was married; to
Jimmy Joy she said she wasn’t.
Back of that is a much fixed-up
affair, and your guess is as good
as anyone else’s. Maestro A1 point
ed out that two weeks before the
orchestra arrived at A. & M. Dee
and one of his three trombonists
(Hank Maddelena) were secretly
married.
Al’s story sounds like the truth—
because he was much-worried as
to whether or not her marriage
would hurt the band’s drawing
power.
At any rate, the situation re
sulted in one of the best gags of
the year at the Senior Ring ban
quet.
Joe Bourn was without a date
but, not wanting to miss going
through the traditional ring cer
emony, he explained to Dee his
plight and asked her to go through
with him.
Dee agreed and, as the pair were
standing in the middle of the ring,
Dee kissed Joe in the best-approv
ed ring ceremony manner. No
sooner done than from trombonist
Maddelena’s instrument came a se
ries of notes not at all in harmony
with the music the rest of the
orchestra was playing.
Quoth Joe: “Anyway, I didn’t
get shot with lead!!”
• • •
Hit Parades
Two newcomers are riding the
mythical Aggie Hit Parade this
week.
First in Aggie requests is, as Al
termed it, “a new oldie,” “Apple
Blosson.” No. 2 is “Intermezzo”,
and, for the tenth consecutive week,
“Star Dust” rides the hit parade,
this time in last place.
Al’s playing of the “Aggie War
Hymn” was plenty popular with
cadets as was his two best novelty
numbers, “The Volga Boatmen’s
Song,” and a gagged-up “Anvil
Chorus” as Mr. Verdi never imagin
ed it.
Al and all of the men in his
orchestra were much interested in
the ring ceremony.
“We’ve never seen anything like
this,” he said. “As a matter of fact,
this is the first great military col
lege at which we have ever play
ed.”
From here the band goes on a
series of one-nighters which in
cludes two dances at Missouri’s
Stephen’s college May 16 and 17.
With 13 men in his band, two
vocalists, two arrangers and a
manager, his men average $100 a
week—which sounds a little truth-
stretched to the writer.
with
l-TOH GILLIS
Graduate School
Planned for Prairie
View State Normal
The Board of Directors of Tex
as A. & M. disclosed plans last
Saturday for a graduate school in
arts and sciences and two years
of instruction in basic medicine for
Texas negroes at the Prairie View
State Normal and Industrial Col
lege at Prairie View, Texas.
Announcement for additional ed
ucational advantages for Texas
negroes came from F. M. Law, of
Houston, president of the A. & M.
Board of Directors, in commenting
on items totaling $53,600 in the
appropriations bill for the Prairie
View institution.
“The Board of Directors of A.
& M. college endorses 100 per
cent the items in the House bill
setting up $28,600 for each year of
the coming biennium for a grad
uated school at Prairie View”, Law
said. “While the graduate school
will be set up primarily in the field
of arts and sciences, $10,000 of
the funds provided will be used
for purchase of books for the li
brary, which is used by all the
men and women students at Prai
rie View.
“In addition to this amount,
there is included $25,000 yearly
for the first two years of basic
medicine study, which we can give
by addition of three or four new
courses at Prairie View.
“While the House bill does not
at this time provide for it, the A.
& Me Board of Directors favors
establishment of an additional
$10,000 annual fund for out of
state aid for Texas Negroes.”
Another picture named for a
state is coming to the Assembly
Hall Wednesday and Thursday, but
this one does not have enough
horse flesh in it to make it the
kind of show the others were.
“VIRGINIA” is the story of a so
phisticated young woman, south
ern born but northern reared, who
returns to her family plantation
in the South with intentions of
selling it.
Beautiful, blonde Madeline Car-
roll is the sophisticated miss. A
rich northern business man, Stir
ling Hayden, does his worst to
persuade Madeline to sell the old
place and marry him, but poor
southern gentleman Fred MacMur-
ray shows her there is more to
southern traditions than can be
bought by a northern checkbook.
The accents used in the picture
show a strange mixture of old
southern and yankee lingos, but
it is interesting to listen to. The
authentic Virginia scenery shown
in technicolor puts a great deal of
emphasis on the traditions and
beauty of the old Southland.
Two people well worth watch
ing, for their parts in this show
and others to come, are Marie Wil
son and five-year-old Carolyn Lee.
Marie is a very shapely blonde
who plays a gay, rich playgirl to
perfection. And Carolyn Lee, the
youngest star signed by a major
studio since Baby LeRoy, shows
that all comediennes don’t have to
be over 21. This show is a more
than pleasant treat for the eye, be
cause of the technicolor and beau
tiful actresses, and for the ear be
cause of good dialogue and south
ern accents.
If Pat O’Brien ever gets in a
show where he takes the girl away
from the other fellow don’t fail
to see it, but “COWBOY FROM
BROOKLYN” at the Campus to
day and tomorrow is not the one.
(pampas
15^ to 5 p.m. — 20^ After
Priscilla Lane is the girl in this
one, but Dick Powell pulls the
inevitable and gets away with her.
On the double feature bill with
this slapstick is another one of
these crime mystery thrillers,
“BEHIND THE NEWS”. Lloyd
Nolan, who ought to be king of
the underworld for all the shows
like this that he’s been in, has the
lead here too. Helping him he has
Doris Davenport. Frank Albert
son and Robert Armstrong, none
of which are partciularly outsand-
ing. The story runs Nolan around
behind the news picking up crime
stuff.
During such a busy week-end,
probably very few Aggies had the
opportunity to see the decent show
now at the Assembly Hall. De
cent is not exactly the proper
word, because it is a crime story
in which Humphrey Bogart even
betters his former thug roles.
“HIGH SIERRA” shows him as a
hardened gunman but a softie in
human ways. Without a moment’s
hesitation, he shoots his way out of
traps, yet he is tender and gentle
to a mongrel pup he picks up. He
goes out of his way to help a lit
tle crippled girl. There is finally a
trap in the high sierra mountains
however, that he doesn’t shoot his
way out of. The mighty mountains
add good background to this crime
story.
■AT4WEI
AmLVVKLY
HALL
LAST DAY
TUESDAY - WEDNESDAY
BIG DOUBLE FEATURE
No. 1
“Cowboy From
Brooklyn”
Shows at 2:15, 5:03, 7:50,
10:27
No. 2
i-xtr* ***** "77
wnim
VOL.nfeNCHnS'T a MPPBHC HCTPBl
Km LLOYD NOLAN
"4-xr DORIS DAVENPORT
FRANK ALBERTSON • ROBERT
ARMSTRONG • PAUL HARVE.Y
SsSSSk
Shows at 1:00, 3:17, 6:20,
9:07
THURSDAY
FRIDAY and SATURDAY
PRWMES
A UNIVERSAL PICTURE
Andrews Sisters and
Abbot and Costello
THE
ONLY
THING HIS
BULLETS
COULDN’T
CONQUER
WAS...
tlarring | Q/\
LUPINO
A gun-moll with a heart
HUMPHREY
BOGART
A dreamer with a gun!
- ALAN CURTIS
ARTHUR KENNEDY
i JOAN LESLIE
- HENRY HULL
HENRY TRAVERS
CARTOON - NEWS
ORCHESTRA
3:30 and 6:45
WHATS SHOWING
AT THE CAMPUS
Tuesday and Wednesday
“COWBOY FROM BROOK
LYN”, featuring Dick Pow
ell, Pat O’Brien, Priscilla
Lane, Dick Foran and Ron
ald Reagan. Also “BEHIND
THE NEWS”, with Lloyd
Nolan, Doris Davenport,
Frank Albertson and Robert
Armstrong.
AT THE ASSEMBLY HALL
Tuesday - 3:30 and 6:45
“HIGH SIERRA”, starring
Humphrey Bogart and Ida
Lupino.
Wednesday - Thursday
3:30 and 6:45
“VIRGINIA”, feautring Ma
deline Carroll, Fred MacMur-
ray, Stirling Hayden, Caro
lyn Lee, Helen Broderick and
Marie Wilson.
Assembly Hall
Wednesday - Thursday
3:30 and 6:45
REFRESHING — ENTERTAINING
"VIRGINIA"
Madeline Carroll - Fred MacMurray
(Technicolor)
Cartoon Orchestra
ADMISSION 150