a a m e-4 D Ue6iate Press John F. Spragins, Jr Editor-in-Chief Sam A. Nixon, Jr Managing Editor REPORTERS Clyde C. Crittenden, S. A. Wells, M. C. Kury, R. W. Simms, B. W. Cantrell, R. G. Reese, H. A. Pate, F. D. Baca. R. M. Wren, O. J. "'Hbert. Welcome Home, Coach . . . Coach Homer Norton’s recent return to our midst has been felt by each and every Aggie, and to him the entire corps of cadets has extended its heartiest welcome. Scarcely had Coach Norton’s touching and inspiring note of thanks for the flowers reached the campus, but what he had re joined us in Aggieland. His very presence caused a sudden increase in football temperatures around A. & M., and im mediately spirits and fond hopes for the forthcoming foot ball season rose. The whole of the corps is looking forward with the greatest anticipation to seeing its coach “back in the sad dle” once more. The Aggies’ chief interest is that he return to his position in the prime of health to lead us on to a vic torious season of football. The Twelfth Man will be here as always to do its share of the fighting, and the corps wants everyone, especially Coach Norton, to know that it will be ever ready to spur the team on to victory. So, in behalf of the entire corps, it’s WELCOME HOME COACH NORTON!!! A Criticism of the Aggies . . . From time to time, A. & M.’s shortcomings, some of which are petty and others of which are not so trivial, are brought forth to the attention of the corps and the public in an onrush of criticism. Usually, the source of the criti cism is appeased by the alleviation or the complete exterm ination when possible, of the contention. Sometimes, the process of elimination of shortcomings is somewhat difficult to achieve; and other times, the process progresses un dauntedly and expeditiously. Current among the criticism of the Aggie corps is the overwhelming prevalence of profanity and obscene language among the cadets of A. & M. Elaboration on the fact that this habit has flourished here for years is unnecessary, for we are all conscious of its existence. Fortunately for the Ag gies, very few ladies mingle with us during the week; and therefore, we escape much criticism on that account. A dif ferent situation presents itself on week-ends, however, for that is the time when we encounter women, both here at Aggieland and off the campus. The greatest criticism reg istered so far by friend and foe alike regards the language of the Aggies when away from the campus. Aggies riding the bus to Bryan, Aggies en route to Dallas and Houston via trains, Aggies in group conversation in various cities— all of these occur off the campus and present a vile and appalling situation to outsiders who form their opinions of A. & M. not from our virtues, but from our shortcomings. Not only has the situation off the campus served as a basis of complaint, for the semi-public places around the campus such as the mess hall, the post office, and the eating estab lishments, which are a continual host to women, have brought a deluge of bad reports. Being Aggies, our uniform serves as a target of atten tion. Seldom do we receive credit for the good things we do, and always do we attract criticism for the few shortcom ings we possess. There is always someone waiting to pounce upon us and rip us wide open with malicious attacks. When we allow our profane language to fall upon their ears, they have been invited by us to commence their attack. If we want those attacks and criticisms to cease, it is up to every one of us as individuals to curtail our obscene language. Then there will be no basis for their criticisms. For each of those who do not know A. & M. and its many fine virtues, we will have an opportunity to win one more friend by our conduct. Since we are forever in the limelight, we can allow our conduct to create a wonderful impression upon the public if only we strive to eliminate a few undesirable habits such as cursing at the wrong place and time. WHEN GLADYS WROTETO HER BOY FRIEND.TOE, IN THE NAVY- HER LETTERS HAD EVERYTHING THEY WERE JUST THE KINO OF LETTERS TOE LIKED TO ffET- FULL OF LOVE AND CHEERFULNESS AND IN HER MINO, GLADYS PICTURED ODE READING- HER LETTERS WITH EXPRESSIONS OF LOVE AND HAPPINESS ON MIS FACE. -joe NEVER RECEIVED HER LETTERS / POSTAL SYSTEM TO BLAME P /VOP£f )> (( GLADYS NEVER.NEVER,WROTE JOE WORRY LETTERS-ONTHE CONTRARY HER LETTERS HAD VvARMTH AFFECTION-EVERY- THlNfr IN THEM TO MAKE JOE GLAD GLADYS ALWAYS POSTED TOES LETTERS PROMPTLY AND EVERYTHING- WAS CTUST PERFECT EXCEPT ONE THING — GLADYS ADDRESSED TOE'S LETTERS LIKE THIS III Ii— II I■ ■ 1 —— ——TPl sSrlkv m Toseph Jackson Tones SJe INSTEAD OF THIS BACKWASH Backwash: “An agritation resulting from some action or occurence.”—Webster. By The Collaborators During the hot summer months, which are very uncomfortable in College Station and vicinity, al most everyone tries to “beat the heat” in some manner. A good way to do this, especially when it comes to eating, is to eat cool and appetizing looking food. Perhaps the effect is more psychological than real, but just the same it helps. “Backwash” wishes to ex press the opinion of certain peo ple that the food in the messhall is a bit unappetizing and a little flat. Possibly this is due to the fact that the food is prepared in large quantities and then again it might be because the menu is not changed enough to embrace the summer season. The salad, which is com monly known as “rabbit”, is not fresh and looks definitely wilted by the time it is to be eaten. The “bullneck”, which started out as perfectely good meat is cut and prepared so as to be very greasy and slightly tough. Yes, we know that the menu is made out so that everyone gets a balanced diet, and the correct number of vitamins and such, but that doesn’t mean we like to eat it. Maybe some in fluential person will read this and eat a few meals in the mess hall. They won’t be able to appreciate this unless they eat in the mess hall over a period of time. Let it not be said that we are not mind ful of the fact that we do get plenty to eat, while other people go hun gry, but it seems a shame for good food not to be presented at its best. 0 Five hundred beautiful women— soft, dreamy music—a starry sum mer sky—and five hundred soft, flowing evening gowns to show off their occupants to the very best advantage—an Aggie dream come true. By name it is the Fresh man Ball and the first formal of the summer. And to top it off there will be also be a dance Saturday night—with orchestra. Maybe an estimate of five hundred is too conservative, for what Aggie could resist this chance to have a date down, unless it might be some of the seniors and—but why go into that? After all it is the Freshman Ball. Five years ago one Pat Perry, a T. C. U. coed, wrote the following letter to BACKWASH. “Being a thing of many words and few brains I couldn’t resist telling you that there’s a lot about an Aggie that gets a girl. I could write vol umes on the subject of manhood on the Brazos, but I’m afraid the cadets would be thrown into the last stage of epileptics trying to figure out the point. When an Ag gie gazes at a girl in the sex- starved way and slings a powerful ‘line’ of bull—guaranteed to be sure-fire stuff by a brother fresh man—a girl knows that anything in a skirt would bring forth the same exultations of delight. You fellows can’t fool us.” Speak for yourself, Miss Perry. 0 Oh, The injustice of it all! For two hours now we, the Collabora tors, have been sitting here trying to figure out something to write about. Why don’t people do odd and amusing things any more ? What is the world coming to ? Don’t crazy things happen to Ag gies just the same as always? If they do we certainly haven’t heard of them. You got us beat if you know where all the good “bull’ has escaped to. 0 The mis-adventures that can hap pen in one week-end. It seems that Bill Ray went to Huntsville this weekend. To start off with, it took him four hours to get there, and when he finally did, he was put out no end to find that his girl friend was out of town. Then he went out to the college only to find it was between semesters and not a female was in sight. After sweating the personnel of the local hashery all to, no avail he rented a hotel room and got a nice restful sleep. The next day he came back to school and rushed to the Post Office only to find a card, mind you not a letter but a measly pastcard, from his lady love in Fort Worth to the effect that she was leaving almost imme diately for Washington to go to work for the Navy. At the last re port Ray was in a vile and nasty mood and would speak to no one. Oh well, Ray, things are tough all over. .Good Neighbors Venezuela Land of Oil By Ruben R. Caro-Costas Venezuela lies in the northern extreme of the continent of South America. It is bounded on the north and northeast by the Caribbean Sea along a coast that extends some 1,750 miles, on the east by British Gnian, on the southeast by Brazil and on the west and southwest by Colombia. Geographically, Venezuela can be divided into four regions; the Guayana highlands, the central plains or llanos, the mountainous region of the Andean and Coastal ranges, and the Maracaibo low lands. The Guayana highlands, the largest region, comprises the southern half of the country. They are rich in wood and minerals. The llanos are very low and make up the principal grazing section of the country. This region covers ap proximately 100,000 square miles. The mountainous region comprises the principal agricultural section, where mose of the population is concentrated. The fourth and last of Venezuela’s region is the coastal region, which produces most of Venezuela’s large petroleum pro duction. The Orinoco River is the only true river system in the country. In common with other tropical countries, Venezuela knows but two seasons—the rainy and the dry. The rainy season, May through November, is the time of torren tial rains, when many parts of the llanos are inundated. The atmos phere is often hot and humid. The dry season, which last from De cember through April is more com fortable. The wind, which blows from the north, is dry and refresh ing. Little Venice The Spanish Conquistadores, by the sight of native villages built on piles along the swampy shores of Lake Maracaibo, were reminded of Venice; so they called that region “Venezuela” or Little Venice. Birthplace of Bolivar Venezuela was the scene of one of the earliest revolts against Spain. They started their separatist movement around 1749, and until 1813 met with failure after fail ure. Then came the man who some years later was to be known as the “Great Liberator”—Simon Bolivar, who was destined to be the great leader o fthe independence move ment not only of Venezuela but of all of South America. For twelve years this man who had dreamed of a free and independent western world fought against the Spanish crown in his determination to free not only Venezuela but all South America from the yoke of absentee rule. In 1823 he entered Puerto Cabello, driving out the last rem nants of the Spanish forces, and the country at long last was as sured of its freedom. Before liber ating his homeland, Bolivar freed Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and Panama. All these countries were at that time a big state under the name of “Greater Colombia”, but a few years later they separated into different countries. Simon Bolivar gave his fortune for in dependence and died in poyerty af ter liberating South' America; he is considered the greatest man ever given by an Latin American re public. Bolivar called for the first inter-American conference held at Panama in 1826 in which he called for unity among the American countries, but his vision of a unitel free New World never came a reality. Venezuelan Industry Venezuela is an agricultural country with about 20% of the total population engaged in agri culture. Coffee is the major agri cultural export, and is second only to petroleum in total export. Cocoa is another important crop grown as well as corn and sugar. These last crops are the most extensive ly raised, and are consumed domes tically practically in their entirety. Among the many other products are included: cotton, wheat, tobac co, bananas, fruits, oats, potatoes and plantains. Minerals — especially precious minerals—have played a leading part in Venezuela since its be ginning. A wide variety, scattered over most of the country, can be found, although relatively few are under active development. Gold, apart from petroleum, is the most By Edna B. Woods Things, like people, can be ex tremely conspicuous by their ab sence. When the record player and loud speaker were taken from the Music Room for complete over hauling several weeks ago, we hardly anticipated the volley of in quiries about where it was and when it would be back and play able. Since the record player (in fine condition, with several new tone controls) has been returned to the library, it is played almost every hour during the day and eve ning. Almost 1200 classical and semi- classical records are played in the Music Room, where a collection of books about music and composers occupies a special shelf. There are scores, biographies of composers, stories of operas and operettas, histories and evaluations of music in its various forms. FROM MADRIGAL TO MOD ERN MUSIC; a guide to musical styles, by Douglas Moore is a very readable book which interprets the great periods of music—Renais sance, Baroque, Classic, Romantic, and Modern. Not a history of mu sic, this book introduces each per iod, lists the principal composers, and gives examples of the import ant types of compositions charac teristic of the period. FROM MA DRIGAL TO MODERN MUSIC is designed to be read with the re cordings at hand, providing a back ground of musical understanding. At the same time, it is general enough to be usable and specific enough to furnish read information. David Ewen, who has written many good reference books on mu sic and musicians, published MEN OF POPULAR MUSIC in 1944, which “traces the evolution of our popular music during the last forty years .... That evolution is told through the careers, achievements, aspirations and personalities of a dozen or so men who gave our popular music its shape and form.” Heretofore, Mr. Ewen’s contribu tions to the literature of music have been concerned with serious music; however, he approaches this study without condescension, “but with an evaluation of popular ex pressions in music as a different, but not a lower form of art.” Such persons as Irving Berlin, W. C. Handy, Paul Whiteman, Ferde Grofe, George Gershwin, and Ben ny Goodman fill the pages of MEN OF POPULAR MUSIC. Not at all new, but quite im portant, is Carl Sandburg’s AMER- Your City BY W. L. HUGHES Seventh of a Series HISTORY OF A. & M. CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL: PART II. It must be kept in mind that for many years after its organization, the school was not consolidated legally. The districts pooled their finances and children but it was only by a gentleman’s agreement. Rural people were reluctant to cut loose entirely from their old school districts. « During the first year of the school, 304 pupils were enrolled with an average daily attendance of 74%. Actual enrollment was in excess of the census tabulation. During its second year the school enrolled 342 pupils with an average daily attendance of 80%. The greatest problem to be solved was retardation. More than 57 % of the children from the rui’al schools were retarded due to the character of the schools they had attended. After a year or two, how ever, this situation was eased, and at the end of the second year the school was put on the accredited list with 13% units of affiliation. Health Program Emphasized Primary duty of any school is to make good animals of its pu pils. This should be the duty of the homes in any community but is often neglected, particularly in the rural homes. A health survey was made by the Red Cross nurse for Brazos county. Of the 240 children studied, 90% were found defective. This did not include such diseases as malaria. During the first year of the school it be came necessary to provide a bed in the principle’s office for malaria patients, and it was used almost daily. The school carried on a vigorous health campaign and by the end of the second year malaria was almost stamped out. The child ren were taught the relation be tween the mosquito and the disease, and this knowledge was carried home with the result that greater use was made of mosquito nets. Progress was made in over coming such defects as bad ton sils, poor teeth, and malnutrition. Each teacher made it a part of her valuable among the minerals. The production of petroleum has also taken a prominent place among Venezuelan enterprises, and Vene zuela has risen to a leading posi tion among the petroleum producers of the world. She rates second only to the United States in the export of this product. The petro leum furnishes the government of Venezuela with a large income, and provides most of the foreign exchange. Ports Are Important The ports, first line of communi cation with the outside world, play an important part in Venezuela’s transportation. Her 1,750-mile-long coast contains numerous inlets and natural harbors. The nearness of her ports to the track of the great stream of traffic which passes through the Panama Canal has made Venezuelan ports of a great importance. La Guaira is the most important port while Maracaibo is by far the leading port in the* value of its foreign and coastwise com merce. A heavy majority of this (See GOOD NEiGBORS, Page 3) regular work to instruct her pu pils in the importance of clean teeth, clean bodies, and proper diet. By the end of the second year the results were very noticeable. At tendance improved and much bet ter progress in school was made. Extra-Curricular Activities The school was large enough to set up a program of athleitcs. Many matched games with other schools were played and good school spirit was created. A di’ama- tic club was organized and much interest was aroused in amateur performances. These home talent plays were given in different parts of the county, creating a very favorable impression and showing what a rural school could do. In cidentally, these performances' brought in sufficient money to aid in starting a good library. Al though the school was the youngest in the county, by the end of two years it had more library books than all the rest of the rural schools of the county combined. A parent-teachers club was or ganized • and served to bring the parents into closer touch with the organization and work of the school. The mothers aided in se curing library books and in securing for the school many needed im provements. During the first years of its able existence the school made re- mai’kable progress. It showed signs of becoming the type of school that will meet the needs of the community. The high school course of study was shaped to con form to both college entrance re quirements and to vocational life work. During the first years, the high school department was called the “Hayes High School”. There was no graduating class the first year, but at the end of the second year, May, 1922, a class of six was granted diplomas. A Practical Curriculum All students of the high school were required to take English, American history, and civics, with other subjects elective. In the low er grades, civics was taught inci dentally with such work as health and the various school activities. Agricultural arithmetic, agricul tural composition, as well as agri cultural science and practice, were taught. Traditional courses in mathematics were offered and a large number of students elected to take them. One of the very finest assets of the school was its home economics department. Girls were taught the essentials of home- making in all its various aspects. Home projects in home economics and agriculture sought to make instruction in these subjects as near a life situation as possible, and such courses as English and mathematics were correlated with them in every possible way. We have Brown Rubber Heels Any Size Holick’s Boot Shop ICAN SONGBAG, an outstanding collection of 280 songs, ballads, and ditties, brought together from all the regions of America. The mu sic includes not merely the airs and melodies for each song but complete piano accompaniments, THE AMERICAN SONGBAG comes from the hearts and voices of thousands of men and women. They made new songs, they changed old songs, they carried songs from place to place, they resurrected and kept alive dying and forgotten songs. “A big bandana bundle of bully ballads for big boys and their best girls,” was the comment of one who read its table of contents. Many of the books in the Music Room contain the lives and works of the great composers. MANUEL DE FALLA AND SPANISH MU SIC, by J. B. Trend is the story of a composer who wrote music which was intended to be felt. Maurice Dumesnil’s life of CLAUDE DE BUSSY, master of dreams, is an enjoyable story of an exceptional artist, exceptional also since he became famous and received at least partial recognition for his art before he died. MOZART; the man and his works, by W. J. Tur ner is an attempt by the author to “present a sufficiently full and accurate account of the man re vealed as far as possible in his own words.” This book is carefully done and contains a complete cata log of Mozart’s works. SUPERIOR DRY CLEANING LAUTERSTEIN’S PHONE 4-4444 ampu\ Air-Conditioned Opens 1:00 P.M. — Ph. 4-1181 THURSDAY LAST DAY SSSSSRSSWRKSSBSSfBSSfcWSSBSSK %umil COIDWYH if; Lmighinglvpresents •aughmtlvpr'SMts 3 UiiMt'd by DAVID SimCft • 'ZZZZu R»lea>«d tnrou a h RKO Rod* fWts Im. Also Color Cartoon FRIDAY and SATURDAY Double Feature Attraction No. 1 ‘DOUBLE EXPOSURE’ starring JEAN CHESTER PARKER MORRIS Attraction No. 2 EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS W B,.«daJOYCtlohnn^g^^ , , Produced by SOLLKSW^^ Associate Producer and Director: KURT NEUMANN ScrMn PUy by HANS JACOBY and MARJORY L PFAELZER SUNDAY and MONDAY FAYE EMERSON RAYMOND MASSEY “HOTEL BERLIN’ Also Color Cartoon TUBS. - WED. - THURS. “PRIDE OF THE YANKEES” — starring — GARY COOPER