• Face 2
STUDENT TRI-WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
TEXAS A. & M. COLLEGE
The Battalion, official newspaper of the Agricultural and
Mashas leal College of Texas and the C ity of College Station,
h published three _imes weekly freon September to Jana, tk
sued Tuesday, Thursday, 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
a request.
Represented nationally by National Advertising Service,
In*., at New York City, Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, and
San Francisco.
Office, Room 122, Administration Building. Telephone
1941 Member 1942
Associated Colle6iate Press
HL M. Rosenthal — Acting Editor
Ralph Criswell Advertising Manager
Mike Haikin ..
W. F. Oxford
Mike Mann _
Chick Hurst -
Sports Staff
Sports Editor
Assistant Sports Editor
Senior Sports Assistant
Junior Sports Assistant
BL D. Wilmoth
Circulation Staff
Circulation Manager
Photography Staff
Jaak Jones Staff Photographer
Bob Crane, Ralph Steneel Assistant Photographer
Tuesday’s Staff
Tom Yannoy Junior Managing Editor
Ken Bresnen Junior Editor
Clyde C. Franklin Junior Editor
Robert L. Freeland Assistant Editorial Writer
V. A. Goforth Assistant Advertising Manager
Reportorial Staff
Calvin Bromley, Kenneth C. Bresnen, Arthur L. Cox, W. J.
Illgantieui. Jr., N. W. Karbach, Jack Keith, Tom B. Joumeay,
Ton Leiand, Charles P. McKnight, C. G. Serugea, John May,
Singapore Falls
With the increase in war Activity in the
United States, due to the developing serious
ness of a situation which had been practical
ly unanticipated in a country filled with the
spirit of a peaceful democracy until a few
short months ago, we are rapidly becoming
conscious that every effort on the part of
every one of us is going to be necessary to
drag an ultimate victory from what has so
far been defeat.
Winston Churchill in his recent message
to the British Empire, following the fall of
Singapore, sounded the note which has to be
come the watchword of all democratic na
tions if they are to win. “The voice of Mr.
Churchill was that of a tired and war-torn
man” one news commentator stated. “But he
spoke of the hardships through which the
English nation had already come and the
hopes that America’s huge war machine and
vast resources would bring once that coun
try could step into the swing of war.”
Frivolities of an easy and wasteful life
must be laid aside by every one of us. Not
only have we a greater responsibility than
ever before but we must realize that to lose
the final battle will not only be death or
worse than death to us but slavery to many
generations to follow.
Democracy cannot dally any longer. Ac
tion must be the watchword. We must not
allow trivialities to come between us and
the goal we must reach. The burden is on
our shoulders. It is not the fault of any of
the leaders of our country that such a situa
tion has come about, but our doing. Now we
must make the most of it.
Espana
One of the countries upon which Herr Hitler
is now casting his eyes from his lofty re
treat of Berchtesgaden as he plans his new
offensives for the summer of 1942 is without
a doubt Spain.
Spain is a large country, compared with
the rest of the European countries, and once
had. the mightiest empire in the world. In
1934 Spain had a population of 24,583,096,
living on 196,607 square miles of land, in
cluding the Canary and Balearic Islands. A
republic was established after the constitu
tional monarchy fell in 1931, but on July 17,
1936 a revolt broke out against the govern
ment under General Francisco Franco, who
set up an insurgent government at Burgos.
A bloody civil war was to follow. The
Loyalist government received aid from the
Soviet Union, and Franco was strongly sup
ported by Germany and Italy. Spain was
really a testing ground for the implements
of war which are now being used. The Ger
mans sent their long, sleek bombers manned
by German pilots over to blast the Loyalists.
The Condor Legion, as the Germany Flying
Unit was called, gave Germany many experi
enced pilots with which to start the present
war. The Italians had several divisions of
Italian “volunteers” in Spain. Each country
sent just enough to keep the war going, and
to test under actual conditions their latest
developments. The actual procedure was
much the same as employed in the last years
of the World War I, with a four or five hour
bombardment of enemy lines by nine inch
guns, planes roaring over to drop their eggs,
tanks then preceding the infantry who oc
cupied the enemy positions.
Franco made good use of propaganda,
and at the end the Loyalists had a revolt
among themselves, with the Spanish fleet
going to French Tunisia to be interned. With
it out of the war, Franco immediately or
dered all ships entering the territorial waters
to be torpedoed without warning. The col
lapse was then quick, although in January,
1939, the Loyalists had an army of 400,000
men, including some youths under 18 years
of age. Planes came over from the Italian
base at Majorca to blast at the crumbling
defenses of the Reds; roads were jammed
with refugees fleeing before the Fascists,
and whole divisions of Loyalist soldiers were
fleeing to France. President Anzana fled into
exile, and the war was declared to be ended
on the 28th day of March, after Madrid fell.
Franco then established a totalitarian
government, with Ramon Serrano Suner as
THE BATTALION -
-TUESDAY MORNING, FEBRUARY 17, 1942
Foreign Minister. The tremendous task of
reconstruction was begun. The cities were in
shambles, Spain’s 8000 miles of railroads and
60,000 miles of roads had been bombed and
used until -they were almost impassable. The
finances of the country were very bad.
Franco immediately strove for self-suf
ficiency, one of his most important meas
ures being to guarantee a 4% profit on all
new industries established which were
judged vital to the nation. Spanish trade
after the war was mostly with Germany, and
to a smaller extent with Italy and the United
States. She exported iron ore, mercury, cop
per, hides, pyrite, olives, and cork. With
these goods she bought manufactured goods,
automobiles and engines, and food with
which to feed her starving populace.
Spain is now at the crossroads: it seems
extremely probable that with the coming of
spring Hitler will launch his all-out Med
iterranean offensive, and to do this he will
need Gibraltar, which could be taken only
by land. The Franco government has been
as good as possible, and is the best thing
for Spain. Franco has kept out of the war
with the exception of aid to German U-boats
and sending a division to fight on the Rus
sian front. The Spanish navy consists of
2 old battleships, 3 cruisers, 19 destroyers,
13 subs, 5 gunboats, and 11 modern torpedo
boats. There are no available statistics on the
Spanish army at present, but it could put up
nothing but a token of resistance to the
German legions. This will probably not be
done, but Spain will grant German troops
free passage for their attack upon Gibraltar
and at the same time allow them to take
Tangier, across from the Rock, in Africa.
This would immediately put Spain in the
war against the United Nations.
Spain’s plight is bad; she has no alter
native except to do what the Fiihrer says,
and Franco, who was appointed by the Grand
Council of the Falangist Party in 1939 as
“Supreme Chief responsible only to God and
to History” must certainly play his cards
carefully and pray to God that his nation
won’t soon become another of the “has-
beens” of Europe, with the Swastika flying
over the Telephone Exchange Building in
Madrid.
Man, Your Manners
PRIVATE BUCK By Clyde Lewis
COVERING
BB Goprl94hKinEFcaturc^yndicatc^Inc^World rights reserved
.SUGGESTED By
PVT. WM. B-DOUGLAS/
KG.. AMD HQ. BAT.
ISIS COAST ARTILLEGy
TORT BARRANCAS, '•FLA.
“My twin brother, Sarge. We flipped the draft board,
double or nothing!”
canps diMows
WITH __
HI TOM VANNOY O]
BACKWASH
BY
Charlie Babcock
“Backwash: An agitation resulting from some action or occurrence.”—Webster
By I. Sherwood
Number 1 military uniform is always proper
for college dances, but if a cadets’ clothing
budget can include a tuxedo, he will find it
very useful, and it is acceptable as formal
attire in other social circles.
Accessories with the tuxedo include a
white shirt with wing of turndown collar;
black or white waistcoat (usually black);
black tie or maroon or dark blue may be
worn. A handkerchief may be worn in the
breast pocket of the tuxedo; it is always
linen and should be white.
A derby or soft hat in gray or black felt
may be worn, but most college men do not
wear any.
Young men usually wear their everyday
topcoats with their tuxedos unless they are
of a lour plaid material.
Strictly speaking summer affairs are not
formal, but here in the South all-white suits
are considered “semi-formal.” A soft white
shirt may be worn with this attire.
In some communities, a dinner invitation
issued for seven o’clock means dinner-dress
for both men and women, but if you are in
doubt, it is correct to ask, when the invita
tion does not state, and the host should
answer definitely.
Important for both the young man and
the young woman, is, that they be dressed
in the same type of clothes—a young man
doesn’t care to be dressed in formal attire
when the young man is wearing a business
suit.
The World Turns On
Along the Trail .... War issue of
the Agriculturist will be distribu
ted this week . . . .Don Spencer,
leading manufacturer of football
program covers, has requested pic
tures of Reveille, along with other
outstanding college mascots, to
place on his grid
- ■ — r programs next
fall. And incident
ally, Reveille has
completely recov
ered from her re-
'' cent illness and
was released from
the local veterin
ary hospital about
two weeks ago. . .
. . On the basis of
meals consumed, Aggies eating in
the mess halls use 1.6 pounds of
sugar each per week . . . Draft
registration stretched its far-reach
ing arm into the confines of the
local hospital yesterday to sign up
six cadets who were seriously ill.
Numbered among the victims (of
illness) were: R. L. Glaze, L. T.
Lacey, R .E. Modlin, W. F. Ox
ford, J. W. Peil, and E. H. Powell.
• • •
In Rebuttal
It is a futile effort at any time
for a columnist to enter in a con
troversy with his readers. But we
Babcock
are inclined not to let the matter
of that Open Forum letter appear
ing in the last issue of The Battal
ion drop out of sight without some
sort of public discussion.
First, let us say that this essay
is addressed mainly to the author
of the letter. Bob Powell, for only
two or three of his endorsers were
present at Cashion Cabin that
night.
'Concerning Elliott’s statement
that night, we were informed by
two competent cadets (who were
there) of its meaning in accurate
entirety. According to these sen
iors, Elliott implied that A. &M.
could do more to help in this war
than they are doing at this time.
Elliott’s contention was natur
ally that A. &M. should contrib
ute financially to those prison
camps in foreign countries. The
worthiness of that item is one of
personal opinion and was not up
for discussion in this column.
Our point was that Elliott want
ed Aggies to expend more effort
in trying to win this war. Accord
ing to Elliott, A. & M. was not
trying to do enough toward the
war cause. We have that statement
from three seniors who WERE
present at the party. Their names
may be had on personal call.
We stand ready for any further
criticism.
Perhaps the reason for Mickey
Rooney’s continued success in the
cinema is the fact that he has been
on the stage since the tender age
of 11 months. He is costarred with
Judy Garland in “BABES ON
BROADWAY” at Guion Hall today
and tomorrmv. His parents were a
well-known vaudeville team. His
film career started on the Metro
lot making shorts. He has ap
peared in all the pictures in the
Hardy Family series and other
hits such as “Captains Courag
eous,” “Men of Boys Town,” and
“Young Tom Edison.”
“Babes on Broadway” is the
story of amateurs who are trying
to crash Broadway and make a
name for themselves on the stage.
It is almost entirely a juvenile pic
ture and the younger stars eclipse
the adults with their remarkable
performance.
This is truly a breath-taking
musical production. The list of
songs performed by the cast is too
lengthy for enumeration. There are
some new ones and some old ones
that have been national favorites
for many years.
The story is not too complicated
as it rightfully should be. In their
efforts to get on Broadway, Mic
key and Judy stage a benefit show
to attract attention of the pro
ducers. One of the most outstand
ing points in the film is Mickey’s
take-off on Carmen Miranda. It
is most realistic.
Judy Garland started out in life
with the name of Frances Gumm
in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Her
parents too were,, in the theater.
With her two sisters, she formed
a trio known as the Gumm Sisters.
Judy won her most prized recog
nition after her appearance in “The
Wizard of Oz” in the form of
statuette given her by the Motion
Picture Academy of Arts and Sci
ences.
For new, novel entertainment on
the screen, go to see “THE RE
LUCTANT DRAGON” at the
Campus today or tomorrow. It is
a combination of Robert Bench-
ley’s droll wit combined with a
tour of the Disney studios in Hol
lywood and the dragon tale make
up one of the most unique pictures
ever.
Benchley’s wife insists that he
sell the story of “The Reluctant
Dragon” to 1 Disney. Sir Robert
goes to the studio and eventually
winds up in the projection room
where he sees on the screen the
story that he was going to sell
to them. It is a very clever film
and one that everyone will enjoy.
Everybody is liable to become
upset over “MEXICAN SPIT
FIRE’S BABY” at the Campus as
the other half of the double fea
ture today and tomorrow. In order
to keep peace in the family,
Charles “Buddy” Rogers and his
wife Lupe Velez agree to adopt a
war orphan.
It develops that the orphan,
Marion Martin, is from the first
World War. Leon Errol tries to
pour some oil on the troubled wat
ers, but nothing important comes
of it. The story is definitely on
the negative side. /
Jack Remelton, erstwhile gunner
on H.M.S. Malaya, created a stir
among coeds when He registered
in the business school of New York
university.
SOPHOMORES!
You Want to Look Your
Best for the Sophomore
Ball
For a Truly
Neat Haircut
Come to
Aggieland Barber
and Beauty Shop
Across from Post Office
(J ampin
Dial 4-1181
Box Office Opens 2 P.M.
Today and Tomorrow
DOUBLE FEATURE
This Collegiate World
ACP
By Dr. J. H. Quisenberry
Singapore has fallen. The allied forces admit
another stinging defeat. Three of Germany’s
major fighting ships have withstood one-
hundred and ten air attacks and thumbed
their noses at the English shore batteries
and aircraft as they passed through the
English Channel last week. Another costly
defeat to the Allied sea power. \
These reverses, to many, are sources of
disappointment and discouragement. When
the world becomes locked in a suicidal clash
of power there must be reverses on both
sides. The peace-loving countries, naturally
unprepared, must suffer the larger portion
of the early reverses in the war.
If we are to win this war, as we all feel
that we must, these early defeats must not
serve as discouragements but as stimuli.
Stimuli to shake us out of our lethargic com
placency and start our adrenalin to flowing.
War calls for emotion. We must become more
emotionally alive to the issues at stake; oth
erwise, defeats bring despondency rather
than determination.
Dr. J. P. Scott of Wabash college report
ed in the last number of the Journal of
Heredity (January 1942) some interesting
observations on the social behavior of inbred
strains of mice. He found that the initially
“pacifist” group later came through to suc
cess by licking the stuffing out of the “ag
gressors.”
Morphologically and physiologically men
are quite different from mice. But, if whole
sale air aggression continues, we shall soon
be running them out of their subterranean
habitat and taking over their nocturnal hab
its. Our battle cry may be “Remember Pearl
Harbor” but our victory cry may well be
“Remember the Mouse!”
Have you ever wondered how
many persons a president of a uni
versity entertains? Here are the
figures for Dr. K. C. Leebrick,
president of Kent State university.
In 27 months 3,045 persons were
guests of Dr. Leebrick at his
home. Of this number, 139
spent the night at the president’s
home.
Teas, receptions, and other func
tions brought numerous students
to Dr. Leebrick’s home. The aver
age attendance at senior teas was
225. Nine hundred twenty-nine
freshmen visited Dr. Leebrick dur
ing 1940 and 1941.
The actual number of different
varieties of figs grown in the
world is still a mystery, even to
scientists, according to the Univer
sity of California experiment sta
tion.
McCaldo and Lafelmere, “college
educated steers,” have added $300
to the student loan fund at the
University of Nebraska Agricul
tural college.
Presented to the agricultural col
lege by interested Nebraskans, the
steers spent several months in col
lege feedlots before they were
sold to provide funds for the edu
cation of worthy students.
WHAT’S SHOWING
AT THE CAMPUS
AT GUION HALL
Tuesday, Wednesday —
“BABES ON BROADWAY”,
starring Mickey Rooney and
Judy Garland.
AT THE CAMPUS
Tuesday, Wednesday —
“THE RELUCTANT DRAG
ON”, with Robert Benchley.
Also “MEXICAN SPIT
FIRE’S BABY,” featuring
Lupe Velez, Leon Errol, and
Zasu Pitts.
J
Shows at 2:28 - 5 :09 - 7:50 - 10:38
YOU’LL LOVE “BABY!"
M*** WOW-WOW-WONDERFUL!
LUPE VELEZ• LEON ERROL
ta-nw
Mexican Spitfire's Baby"
CVAnCS 1IHT SOGERS ZASU PITTS itoiauofi<—
Also Musical
Shows at 3:41 - 6:22 - 9:02
MAKE YOUR
ORDER HOW
FOR THOSE
UNIFORMS
To Insure Prompt
Delivery
UNIFORMS OF
DISTINCTION
- By -
UNIFORM TAILOR SHOP
Mendl & Hornak
North Gate
Movie
GUIONJHALL
Tuesday and Wednesday, Feb. 17 and 18
3:30 and 6:45
FASTEST MUSICAL SHOW ON EARTH!
ROONEY
GdCWD
'MAtWM
r j
c^nf^Hits! It pi with FAY BAINTER . VIRGINIA WEIDLER UW*.
EverythingM 1 RAY MCDONALD • RICHARD QUINE
Ma5 = =r£r_J DONALD MEEK • ALEXANDER W00LLC0TT
Screen Play by Fred Finklehoffe and Elaine Ryan • Original Sfory by Fred Finktehoff#
Directed by BUSBY BERKELEY • Produced by Arthur Freed
News Cartton
^ i