Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 14, 1942)
Page 2 THE BATTALION - SATURDAY MORNING, FEBRUARY 14, 1942 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, h published three jimes weekly from September to June, & sued Tuesday, Ptrarsday, ana Saturday mornings; and is pub lished 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 3, 1870. 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 4-644-4. 1941 Member 1942 Dissociated Cotle6iate Press E. H. Rosenthal Acting Editor Ralph Criswell Advertising Manager Sports Staff Mike Halkin Sports Editor W. F. Oxford Assistant Sports Editor Mike Mann Senior Sports Assistant Chick Hurst Junior Sports Assistant Circulation Staff E. D. Wilmoth Circulation Manager Photography Staff Jack Jones Staff Phohographer Boh Crane, Ralph Stenzel Assistant Photographer Saturday’s Staff Lee Rogers : Managing Editor Keith Kirk Junior Editor Robert L. Freeland , Assistant Editorial Writer Jack Lamberson Assistant Advertising Manager Reportorial Staff Calvin Bromley, Kenneth C. Bresnen, Arthur L. Cox, W. J. Hamilton. Jr., N. W. Karbach, Jack Keith, Tom B. Joumeay, Tom Laiand, Charles P. McKnlght, C. G. Serugsa, John May, Douglass Lancaster. ' Kadet Kapers Tonight there will be a christening, the christening of a child which is already on its way to fame. This will be the child’s fourth appear ance in public. At first few paid any atten tion; by the third appearance more than 2,000 gathered to see what was being hailed all over the campus. Again tonight a capac ity crowd is expected in the Assembly hall to see the fourth showing and public naming of Richard W. Jenkins’ new hit, Kadet Ka pers, Jenkins deserves much credit. He is pro viding entertainment each Saturday night for the entire corps at a cost of nothing to free don’t think for one moment that it isn’t first class. The tickets for some of the pro grams planned would sell at a minimum of $1.10 each in a large city. All of the pro grams would be first class entertainment for any Town Hall show. But what makes the show so popular with the corps is the informal manner in which Jenkins acts as master of ceremonies. He has the ability to put his audience strict ly at ease and makes them feel like part of the show. In fact this is what they are, for the people on the other side of the footlights provide half of the laughs which are so numerous throughout most of the perform ances. For the corps, a hearty vote of thanks, Richard Jenkins, to you and all of those stu dents who have made Kadet Kapers possible. We sincerely appreciate what you are giving us. Radio Censorship Recently adopted by the office of censorship in Washington, the new radio censorship code is designed to prevent spreading infor mation that might be of value to the enemy and to exercise careful control over certain programs that might be used as espionage tools. Radio presents many problems that were never met by George Creel and his board of censorship during the first World war. Magazines and newspapers can be cen sored as they leave our borders, but many stations can be heard in foreign countries; yet no control can be exercised over pro grams after they are broadcast. The radio code follows the lead of news paper censorship in permitting no material to be sent out that might be of aid to the enemy. Weather reports are banned; news of troop movements, ship sinkings, defense production and casualties are limited to gen eral information or official release. Greatest changes in censorship arise in special programs where the radio may be used as an espionage tool of the enemy. Quiz programs, ad lib speeches, panel dis cussions and interviews present special dif ficulties because it is impossible to pre-cen sor the material. Enemy agents may be able to use man- in-the-street interviews, quiz and similar programs in making reports to espionage headquarters if precautions are not taken. The radio code specifies that programs using impromptu speakers must choose the participants from large enough audiences so that no one person is reasonably sure of be ing able to speak on the radio. Foreign lan guage broadcasts come under special consid eration. Scripts are to be carefully checked for information that might be harmful to the war effort. Furthermore, station man agers are to check scripts carefully during broadcasts so that no deviations from the originals are possible. Even the request program is to be changed under war conditions. The code says that stations are to grant no telephone re quests for musical pieces. All mail requests are to be held for an unspecified length of time to prevent effective use of musical codes over the air. The office of censorship emphasized that the code program is based largely on com mon sense. The code aims to allow stations the widest possible freedom without endan gering the war effort. American radio’s posi tion as the most free in the world will not be threatened. 1 ■ / Maintenance of American radio’s free- Open Forum Not So Fast, Mr Babcock It was with amazement that I read in Tues day’s Battalion Charlie Babcock’s insulting attack upon Roland Elliot. I felt highly indignant over this verbal blasting of a speaker of the calibre of Mr. . Elliot—even by the honorable Mr. Babcock. I have talked with numerous ones present at Cashion Cabin last Friday night and all heartily agreed that his article in Backwash was at best uncalled for. They did not hear Mr. Elliot say “And what is A. & M. going to do to help America win this war.” They couldn’t have, because he didn’t say it! I also attended the eleven o’clock lecture and talked to him personally for about an hour and I repeat that he did not at any tiijne make such a statemept! For Mr. Babcock’s information Mr. El liot wasn’t even discussing or thinking of total war effort at Cashion Cabin. He did explain the program that the Y.M.C.A. has undertaken of furnishing text books for those students of occupied countries in Eu rope and for prisoners of war; a program that has already worked wonders in the morale of those people, principally in that it shows them there are other people some where in the world who consider them yet a part of society—even though Adolf, and perhaps Charlie, doesn’t. In conclusion he asked if A. & M. students and faculty would care to help in this program. I for one think it an excellent opportunity to do “a good turn”! But he didn’t ask what we’re going to do to win the war. And now in view of the fact that Mr. Babcock has either (1) unknowingly serious ly misrepresented some important facts or (2) he has out and out lied, I suggest that he hasten to apologize to the student body for writing such “tripe” and to Mr. Elliot for such an unjust scolding. How can we expect to get good men to come here to lec ture to us if they must be subjected to malicious attacks such as this? BOB POWELL, ’42 This letter approved and endorsed by: J. J, Neu, ’42 Paul J. Wolfe, ’42 W. A. Massey, ’42 Clarence M. Cunningham, ’42 Sam Kisner, ’42 Harold C. Ballard, ’42 C. C. Sprinkle, ’42 D, L. Duncan, ’42 J. W. Thompson, ’42 Fred Smitham, ’42 J. W. Clayton, ’42 D. C. Clark, ’42 L. M. Pearson, ’42 v The World Turns On =By Dr. R. W. Steen: The British in Singapore are still fighting, but London has already conceded that the hours of the great base are numbered. The ease with which the Japs gained a foothold on the island came as a shock to most Amer icans who had looked upon Singapore as an almost impregnable position. The base was intended to be impregnable if attacked from the sea, but the Japs did not attack from the sea. Its defenses against land attack were not so good. The garrison on the island is apparently giving a good account of itself, but it is simply a new version of the old story: Too little and too late. The striking successes of the Japs leads one to think in terms of enormous armies. In fact they have used very few men. Their forces in the Philippines, Malaya and the Dutch Indies probably number well under 500,000 men. They have won for two chief reasons: In the first place they have en joyed air superiority in practically every engagement. In the second place the Allied forces have been even smaller than the forces of the Japs. The British seem to have had no more than 60,000 men at Singapore. The American force in the Philippines has made a remarkable stand, but it is little more than a token force. The Dutch force has never been large. Americans want to win, but before America can begin an offensive the Japs must be stopped. The chief question now is whether or not the Dutch islands can be held. It will be much better to begin an offensive from Java than to begin it from Australia. So the question is: What will it take to hold Java? The first requirement is, obviously, planes. After planes must come men. And after planes and men must come naval vic tories. The Allies can win, but it is going to take able leadership and determination to win. They will first have to kick out their old friends Too Little and Too Late. The loss of the Normandie is a serious blow. Publicly, 'at least, the navy is con vinced that the loss of the vessel was due to an accident and that no sabotage was in volved. Some of the New York papers are convinced that carelessness would be a better term for what happened than accident, and a few of them insist that the possibility of sabotage should not be lightly cast aside. There is much talk of salvaging the vessel, but salvage will be a long and tedious proc ess. If it can be salvaged, it will probably be at least a year and a half before it is ready to put to sea again. It is to be hoped that by that time we will not need it as a troop transport. dom is essential to an Allied victory, radio is a direct link between the heads of govern ment, the centers of war and the people. It is essential that the voice of radio speak both wisely and calmly.—Minn. Daily. AGP COVERING campus dimous WITH ^ Otom vannoy (H Editors Note: The absence of Backwash column was unavoidable due to cir cumstances which prevented the author from writing it today. The column will be back in its usual place at the next publi cation. AHIfHAL ODDITIES BY Tex Lynn Modern design does not stop at cigarettes. Even zoological gard ens! are going modern these days. In the very near future we may have a chance to walk open-mouth ed into a building housing the world’s greatest insect collection! It all started when curator Ray mond Ditmars of the Bronx Zoo in New York City brought back from South America some 5000 colonists, unlike any that had ever set foot upon the American shore. These colonists are the rare, and highly sought “Parasol Ants” from Columbia, and they are ultra-mod ern as tomorrow. They will strike in true com munistic style when all is not to their liking, kill off their weaker fellows in the subtle manner of the Nazis during food shortages, and participate in scientific farming along true Aggie principles. Ditmars daily serves a doz en, specially selected hot-house roses to this fastidious horde. The ant workers are seen to break the petals into convenient sizes, and to carry the pieces “parasol fash ion” back to their underground city. Here the gaily colored petals are chewed up by still further spe cialized ants into standard sizes. The staple food of this species, a type of fungus, is grown on the mass of rose petals. Trained work ers reap, cut, and transplant this “forage crop” in order to secure maximum yields. The habit of these ants to carry bits of the colorful petals over their heads as the belles of the gay nineties carried their parasols led to the name. The zoo of tomorrow will soon house many other interesting in sects, such as the South American bird-eating spider who, in fighting form, can boast of a tentacle spread of half a foot! The giant electric light bug, powerful enough to fasten onto a frog and* suck out all his blood, will be there, in- cadescent bulbs and all. Ferocious, blood-thirsty ant lions will evoke shudders from visitors as they lie in wait at the bottom of their crater-like traps for some harm less little ant who might venture too close to the trap’s treacherous edge. These, and many other exotic in sects will become more common in our zoos if the present shortage of zoological animals increases to any extent. Already some zoos can see the handwriting on the wall, and unless something is done to alleviate the situation our chil dren will think lions, zebras and giraffes only figments of *the warped minds of their parents. This Collegiate World AGP; What happens to a collegiate guest star after a trip to New York and a $200 cash award for appearing on Fred Allen’s radio hour? Well, at latest reports all of the 16 or 17 who have already appeared have returned to their respective colleges or universities, and a good time was had by all. But the story isn’t over at this point. Nearly every one of the students has won the attention of either radio officials or movie talent scouts, and one of them had the remarkable experience of being called to the White House for a “command performance.” Back of the story is Fred’s per sonal insistence that no one drop his planned course of study for the ephemeral possibilities of a career in Hollywood, on Broadway, or over the radio. Alonzo Squires, mimic from North Carolina, caused a flood of wires when he brought to the “mike” a fourfold imitation of the Joe Louis-Tommy Farr fight as described by Clem McCarthy and Edwin C. Hill, with interviews of the two pugilists at the end of the battle. Word reached Washington of Alonzo’s ability to mimic the Pres ident and the Big Man invited him to the White House where he did a “take-off” of a Roosevelt polit ical speech to the great amusement of F. D. R. It is characteristic of Fred Al len that no mention was made on the air of the fact that Alonzo Squires is blind. Romance and music the way that Deanna Durbin does it in variably means the best in mo tion picture entertainment. “IT STARTED WITH EVE” is no ex ception. Charles Laughton and Robert Cummings are costarred in this Cinderlella tale of a hatcheck girl at the Campus tomorrow and Monday. Now that Deanna has acquired a husband, she has been given a more mature role and her singing is just as grand as ever. Charles Laughton has passed his three score years and ten about ten years ago' and is about ready to die. In fact, he is supposed to be on his death bed; He wants to meet his nephew’s fiancee. The nephew is Cummings. But the fi ancee can’t be located anywhere and as time grows short, Robert gets Deanna, the hatcheck girl to stand in for the fiancee just to please the old man. But the aged uncle does not pass on, and somehow recovers. The necessity of continuing the mas querade and keeping everyone hap py is what makes the story a real ly enjoyable one. It is calculated to make your hair stand on end. Basil Rathbone as “THE MAD DOCTOR” loves them and leaves them—dead. Ev erything goes along fine for the doctor, that is, until Ellen Drew, John Howard’s sister, falls under his spell. This super-blood chiller L S U, Yale Profs Find Substitute For War Denied Product BATON ROUGE, La. — Dis covery of a new source for nat ural musk, a rare and extremely valuable ingredient of expensive perfumes, is announced by scien tists at Louisiana State university and Yale university. Formerly obtained only from the musk deer of Asia and the civit cat of Abyssinia—sources now cut off by the war—musk now can be produced from the muskrat by a process just developed. Muskrats are found in large numbers throughout North America, espec ially in Louisiana, but also in Penn sylvania and Canada. This dis covery may open up new markets for trappers, who up to now have been discarding the carcasses of millions of muskrats after obtain ing their fur pelts. Dr. J. L. E. Erickson, associate professor of organic chemishry at L. S. U., and Dr. Philip G. Stevens, instructor of chemistry at Yale, announced the results of their col laborative research in the Journal of the American Chemical society. Preliminary work on various nat ural musks began as early as 198 l 5 and is now being furthered at both L. S. U. and Yale. will be at Guion Hall today. As far as murder mysteries go, this is a fine one. But if you do not care for this morbid type of entertainment, then “The Mad Doc tor” is not the picture for you. Don’t overlook the Saturday night goings-on at the Assembly Hall tonight at 8 o’clock, Jenk ins and the Singing Cadets are go ing to do their best to provide a little distraction for the campus, and it will be great fun. Leon Errol has to have an alibi, but the one he chooses backfires, and in more ways than one in “HURRY, CHARLIE, HURRY,” at Guion Hall Monday. It’s some thing about inviting the Vice-Pres ident of the U. S. A. to a party and three phonies plus the real one show up. The whole thing is rather slow and too drawn out to be very entertaining. Mildred Coles, a newcomer to the ranks of leading players, plays the part of Errols daughter. The only real funny thing about the whole show is the way that Errol’s legs fold up on all occas ions. WHAT’S SHOWING AT THE CAMPUS Saturday — “THE LIVES OF A BENGAL LANCER,” featuring Gary Cooper and Franchot Tone. Saturday prevue, Sunday, Monday — “IT STARTED WITH EVE,” with Deanna Durbin, Charles Laughton and Robert Cummings. AT GUION HALL Saturday — “THE MAD DOCTOR,” starring Basil Rathbone, Ellen Drew, and John Howard. Monday — “HURRY, CHARLIE, HURRY,” with Leon Errol and Mildred Coles. ( Rambus \ . # Dial 4-1181 Box Office Opens at 2 p. m. LAST DAY “Lives of a Bengal Lancer” Gary Cooper — Franchot Tone Merrie Melody—Porky Pig NEWS OF BURNING “NORMANDIE” • • • PREVIEW TONIGHT 11:00 P.M. SUNDAY AND MONDAY “It Started With Eve” with DEANNA DURBIN ROBERT CUMMINGS CHARLES LAUGHTON Go in at 9:30 p.m. and see both shows ir=innr [=]□□[ ii—innr %/ Ml Gel the Newest in Both Styles on VICTOR and PS UFRIRD RECORDS VICTOR RECORDS 50e BLUEBIRD RECORDS »Sc KEEP ’EM FLYING by Glenn Miller SOMEBODY NOBODY LOVES by Lillian Lane CANCEL THE FLOWERS by Mitchell Ayres ST. LOUIS BLUES by Maxine Sullivan RECORD SESSION by Harry James HAS WELL’ S □□□E 3GJG3E Movie GUION HALL Saturday, February 14 1:00 P.M., 6:45 and 8:30 Ellen Drew Basil Rathbone John Howard in “The Mad Doctor” SELECTED SHORTS -Coming-- Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday Mickey Rooney Judy Garland in fr Babes On Broadway” Comedy News Cartoon V
