The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, December 03, 1946, Image 2
Page 2 THE BATTALION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 1946 The Good Old Days . . . It seems like everyone around the campus is always crying that A & M, and especially the Corps, should get back “like it used to be”—meaning, of course, that the good old days were the best, and all new traditions and practices are un-Aggie, and perhaps even un-American. We’re inclined to agree at times. There were many things about the old A & M that are preferable to the pres ent one. Then we were exclusively military, and presented a somewhat united student attitude. Yes, it’s fun to think about the good old days. And when A & M does return to its prewar position as an ex clusively military college, some of the aspects of those pre- whr days should return to the campus, though in altered form. Probably the most desirable of the old institutions is that of the Ross Volunteers, the men in white who built up such a reputation as a crack drill team. They were started in the time when Lawrence Sullivan Ross was president of tbe college and were supposed to be a kind of honor guard for the prexy when he entertained visiting notables. The name of the organization was to change whenever a new president was installed, being called Harrington Volunteers, Bizzell Volunteers, and, if the tradition had continued, Gilchrist Volunteers. But this idea was sidetracked, and the Volunteers were named after Ross, and kept this name permanently. Mem bership was open to juniors and seniors only, who were chos en for their military proficiency. A distinctive white uni form was worn on parade occasions, when they displayed flashy drill skill. Also, the RV’s had an annual ball, and incidentally, a rather strenuous initiation. Revival of the Ross Volunteers would bring more of what the military has been straining for this year—soldierly smartness, precision, and bearing. These points should be emphasized in its organization and operation, to prevent it from becoming a social club, with glamorous uniforms, like the Cowboys or the Silver Spurs at Texas. If it upholds the purposes for which it was originally created, the Ross Vol unteers can become a welcome addition to the present A&M from “the good old days.” Shoemaker’s Children .. . Shoemakers’ children, according to the old proverb, nev er have any shoes. And Texas A. & M. College, one of the top engineering schools of the nation, is often the last to take advantage of modern engineering developments. We’re talking about air-conditioning. This may seem a strange time to talk about such matters, with blue north ers sweeping down upon us every few days, but air-cooling cannot be put in over night, and we have to talk about it now if anything is to be done. There are two buildings on the campus, centers of im portant activity, that cry aloud for some form of cooling. They are Guion Hall and the Cushing Library. During the summer we have numerous short-courses held on the campus, many of which meet in Guion Hall. Last year, as visitors sat in that sweat box, they roundly razzed us as the home of engineers who don’t “engineer” things in our own back yard. Although it would be too costly to equip Guion Hall with the movie-theatre type of equipment, which guarantees icicles on the back of your neck during the worst heat waves, it does seem that something could be done less expensively to make the place endurable. The other sweat-box is the Library, full of expensive books which mold and deteriorate every summer despite all efforts of the staff. It is difficult to read in the reading room during the summer; it is almost impossible to work in the stacks for more than a short time. Ducts were in stalled in the building when it was built; it would seem that our engineering brains should be able to figure out some so lution that would not be prohibitive in cost. After all, we are an engineering school, aren’t we. May be the ASHVE’s — only collegiate members of the American Society of Heating and Ventilating Engineers — ought to swarm over these two buildings as work-projects and see what they can draw up. Head Cracking . . . There was a surprising lack of trouble at Austin Wed nesday and Thursday, despite the Daily Texan’s attempts to paint the crudest, rudest, and most juvenile picture of Aggies as was journalistically possible. At the yell prac tice Thanksgiving Eve, the only big fight started there was initiated by men who were students of neither A. & M. nor Texas. And at the various frat houses, attempts to tear down signs condemning the Aggies to hell and suggesting that we choose our Sweetheart from Lower Slobbovia in stead of TSCW, were noticeable by their absence. Of course, there was the usual Austin inhospitability toward Aggies. The battle cry of the Teasippers’ pep rally was not “Beat A & M”, but a simple statement of their senti ments for us—“Aggies Stink!” And the Longhorn Band, which followed the Aggie Band onto the field, at halftime committed what is considered high discourtesy by failing to play any of A & M’s school songs. And after our band had played “Texas Fight” for them. But what can you expect from a bunch of guys who’ll jingle cowbells during Silver Taps? In spite of minor fracases, the football crowd was one of the best behaved in many years. There wasn’t an un common number of drunks at the game, or even at the yell practice. No riot occurred in the stands, though this had been freely predicted. The parade of the Cadet Corps went off uninterrupted by any disturbances whatsoever. There was no organized storming of frat houses, no free-for-alls between rival groups. Reasons for this unexpected docility on the part of both student bodies are rather hard to ascertain. Perhaps it was just postwar indifference. From statements of stu dents in both schools, however, the most likely solution comes. The Teasippers were afraid of the Aggies, and the Aggies were doggone glad of it. Or maybe it was the other way around. PIGSKIN PROTEST . . . Mid-Season Letters to Editor Bitter Over Football Losses In this issue the Battalion prints two letters received earlier, but withheld from publication until the end of the football season. As is the case with all “Letters to the Editor,” the opinions ex pressed are those of the writers and the Battalion staff does not necessarily concur. AFTER ARKANSAS Saturday afternoon November 2, 1946 Dear Editor: I dare you to print this one . . . Whose team is Norton on? Why did he mess up a good crew this afternoon by constant substitu tions? What he needs most of all is a “wet winter.” My suggestion for Homer N. is to move his chair over on the other side of Kyle Field and sit with the opposition. Nuts, R. Bruce Simmons, ’46. AFTER TECH. Dear Editor: We have just turned off the ra dio after listening to the defeat of our Fightin’ Aggin football team at the hands of our'own coach—the great Homer Norton. It has heretofore been the opin ion of the undersigned that col lege football is played by the elev en men on the field, supported by the twelfth man in the stand, and guided only on over-all strategy by the coaches not called to the last detail of every play by the one man on the bench, sending in an endless stream of message bearers who cover more ground to and from the bench than during the play of the game. True, the pill of defeat is a bit ter one, and we are willing to maintain the true American sport ing tradition by being good losers; nevertheless we find it difficult to accept such a needless defeat with out taking steps in a direction leading to rectification of such blunders as were responsible for this chaos. Let us now make specific obser vations of past performances. In being specific, let us re-open the case of the Aggie-Tu game of 1940. The case: We had material rated by all observaters as equal to the best in the nation. Remem ber, our team was undefeated, un tied, and considered the nation’s best team on the eve of our an nual Turkey Day game. It must be admitted that our first string quarterback was in jured and unable to give his usual performance; but in spite of this handicap, it still seemed only rea sonable that our string of victories continue unbroken. The result, unfortunately, is a matter of record. The cause? The “Sideline Quarterback” pulling in the wings of the spread formation as we approached the landing in the end zone after gliding the length of the field, on those wings. Another case: In 1941 we were hosts to Tu here at Kyle Field. Tu responded as a guest of honor and walked away with the foot ball game. Why? Again due to poor judgment on the part of our “Sideline Quarterback”. Ordinarily, we would not con demn a solitary instance of poor judgment, but football and field generalship as it functions today is based principally upon judg ment. Certain people on the staff and faculty of our college should hold it as one of their highest achievements, i.e., always to do the right thing, at the right place, at the right time. This is a dem onstration of consistent good judg ment, for which they receive prop er remuneration. A question: How can a man accept compensation for a job which he knows has not been the best? Back to the latest “Snafu” by our “Sideline Quarterback”. Sub stitutions en masse are sometimes the deciding factor in a ball game; however, is it necessary to pursue such a policy to such an extent that the law of diminishing returns has not only been reached but passed? Then, to continue this item of judgment, let’s examine the final quarter of our game with Texas Tech—to be more exact, the final few plays. This time a substi tution was needed in the closing seconds of the game to stop the clock and thus allow us time for more of the successful plays that were bringing us nearer victory. Finally, the “Sideline Quarter back” awakened from his stupor and sent in the needed substitu tion; but by this time, .... the game was over. Ed Ivey, Jr., ’41. G'eo. A. Whittet ’42. John J. Kane, ’44. Wm. L. Kane, ’45. Hi, Neighbor!... Who stole Tuesday’s Batt from our dormitory mail box ? And I’d better not catch anyone evesdropping! And if you don’t quit telling your children to beat up our children, we’ll keep our children in our backyard! Please, neighbors, don’t unlawfully take our clothes from the liife-i-that is, unless they’re dry. Such are the complaints registered by a veteran’s wife who recently wrote a letter to the Batt editors. It seems that she is justified in her examples of misdemeanor. The scribe, whom we will call “Troubled”, is a damyan- kee, and she likes the fair state of Texas. She likes the love ly campus; Texans are nice folks, too; but she DOES NOT like the strained attitude between the married couples on the campus. Therefore, what say, married students and wives, step across the hall, meet your neighbor, and practice the good- neighbor policy! BAYLOR BEWARE — BETTER WATCH JOSEPHINE Owner of the city market in Superior, Wis., recently inserted a small ad in the Superior Evening Telegram, which read: “Attention hunters! Bear meat wanted. Will pay any price.” A week or so later— before many hunters even had a chance—a reply came on the hoof as there plodded down the street at one a. m. a huge, shaggy bear. Local cops shot the Bear and sold it to the market owner for $100. Who knows, maybe the right kind of ad in the Waco Tribune might bring A. & M. a solution to the meat shortage plus a little pocket money. The Battalion The Battalion, official newspaper of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas and the City of College Station, is published semi-weekly and circulated on Tuesday and Friday afternoons. Member Plssooerfed Cr»(le6iate Press Entered as second-class matter at Post Office at College Station, Texas, under the Act of Congress of March 3, 1870. Subscription rate $4.00 per school year. Advertising rates on request. Represented nationally by National Advertising Service, Inc., at New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco. AUen Self Vick Lindley David M. Seligman Charles E. Murray . U. V. Johnston Paul Martin Jimmie Demopolus Wendell McClure, Peyton Me Knight Gerald Monson Ferd English, L. R. Shalit, Arthur Matula, Claude Buntyn wartz. Cl: A1 Hndeck. j Corps Editor Veteran Editor ..Tuesday Associate Editor Friday Associate Editor 1 Sports Editor Assistant Sports Editor Art Editor Advertising Managers Circulation Manager . — — — — A. R. Hengst, Babe Swartz, Clyde H. Patterson, Jr., J. M. Nelson, Larry Goodwyn Reporters Jndeck. Jack Herrington ] Photographers “PISH” BLOTTO By Pete Tumllnson Letters THANKSGIVING TIMBER Dear Editor: Many people think of inter school rivalries only just prior to great games. Actually men and organized groups of men such as teams, student bodies, institutions, and even nations win in their com petitions in proportion to their forethought in providing the things needful for their purposes. It is my hope that a thousand years from now, a new class of “A. & M. fish” wil be hauling and hewing at a suitable fuel supply for the sacred fire. A thousand years of vandalism would not be a good tradition. We need friends, and indiscriminate chopping makes enemies. We want A. & M. and its surroundings to be beautiful the year round and perennially, and not just while the flame is hottest. Trees play an important factor in our growing beauty. Trees, like men, grow. Since A. & M. is now launching work in forestry, would it not be an act of faith in our future to begin planning a forestry plot where future “Aggies” could with proper ceremony both plant and cut sacred trees, grown in sacred soil, by the loving provi dence of Aggies of yesteryear ? C. C. Doak Head, Biology Dept. Whafs Cooking TUESDAY, Deceber 3 5:30 p. m. Methodist Bazaar, Supper at 6:00 p. m., at Methodist Church. 7:30 p. m. ASCE, CE Lecture Room. DeWitt Greer, Texas Hwy Engineer, speaker. 7:30 p. m. Grayson County A&M Club. 7:30 p. m. Kream and Kow Club, Creamery -Lecture Room. G. G. Gibson, Extension Service, speak er. 7 : 30 p. m. Ex - Servicemen’s Wives Club, Sbisa Lounge. Month ly business. Important that all members attend. 7:15 p. m. Joint Meeting of all Engineering Societies in Chemistry Lecture Room. W. W. Finlay will be guest speaker. Topic: “Nation al Preparedness”. WEDNESDAY, December 4 7:00 p. m, Wilbarger County-A & M Club. 7:00 p. m. Texarkana A&M Club. 7:00 p. m. Latin-American Club, Room 123, Acad. Bldg. 7:30 p. m. Basketball-Texas A & M vs NTSTC. 8:00 p. m. Baptist Student Coun cil, First Baptist Church. There will be a meeting of all members of the Texas A&M En gineer in Room 109, ME Building, at 7:00 o’clock December 4. THURSDAY, December 5 7:00 p. m. Crane County A&M Club, Room 223, Acad. Bldg. Or ganizational meeting. 7:30 p. m. El Paso A&M club, Room 128, Acad. Bldg. 7:30 p. m. Lufkin A&M Club. 7:30 p. m. Hillel Club. 7:30 p. m. Victoria A&M Club, Room 107, Acad. Bldg. 7:30 p. m. Young County A&M Club, Room 125, Acad. Bldg. 7:30 p. m. Brilge Group, Ex- Servicemen’s Wives Club, Sbisa Lounge. 7:00 p. m. Hill County A&M club, Room 308, Academic Bldg. 7:30 p. m. Greenville A&M Club Room 227, Academic Bldg. TUES. and WED. “BAD MAN’S TERRITORY” _ with — Randolph Scott Ruth Warrick BETWEEN THE BOOKENDS . . . Inside Dope on Game Warden Life Revealed in New Book By Wilnora Barton Readers’ Adviser College Library THE EDUCATION OF A COR RESPONDENT by Herbert L. Matthews, Hareourt, Brace and company. The byline of Herbert L. Mat thews has appeared in the New York Times for a good many years and is familiar to thousands of readers. His name signifies the “best in modern journalistic writ ing.” His biography which he has entitled “The Education of a Cor respondent” carries the reader through the formative stages which develop his own concepts and made him the outstanding man he is. Through three wars, Ethiopia, Spain, and World War II, he shows how he was shaken from admitted political indifference in the early 1930’s to become one of the most vehement haters of facism and all that it represents. Mr. Matthew’G experiences could be called the growing pains of a liberal mind, and his book should be on the read ing list of all thinking persons who believe that the last vestiges of totalitarianism are yet to be wiped out. TRUTHS MEN LIVE BY, John A. O’Brien, Macmillan Company. “The Truths Men Live By” is a book suited to our readers of a more serious turn of mind. This is a period of uncertainty and re adjustment for everyone. The world is seeking urgently a living faith to guide it. Dr. O’Brien has written this calm, lucid, and search ing work concerning the repercus- Community Chest Goes Over Top The College Community Chest has gone over the top, Dr. Ralph Steen announced today. Contributions received up to noon totaled $8,930.12, which is $609 more than the committee had set up in its initial budget, Steen said. A few contributions are still to come in, he said. Speaking in behalf of the com munity chest committee, Steen ex pressed appreciation for the as sistance of all those who worked on the campaign and the many who made contributions to it. Contribtuions made by various groups at College Station were as follows: A. & M. College teaching di visions, $5,507.03; Agricultural Ex periment Station, $915.34; Exten sion Service, $900.33; Engineering Experiment Station, $81.38; Tex as Forest Service, $77.53; Veterans Administration, $17.50; A. & M. Consolidated school $93.29; Pro duction and Marketing Adminis tration, $78.00; College Station business men, $1261.72. FRIDAY, December 6 6:00 a. m. Catholic Mass, St. Mary’s Chapel. 2:30 p. m. Foods Group, home of Mrs. H. A. Thomas, 205 Lee St. Demonstration on Foreign Cooking (including English Hi Tea). 7:00 p. m. Houston County A & M Club. 7:30 p. m. Business Society. AGGIES! FOR Cleaning Pressing Alterations IT’S SMITH’S N. Gate — Phone 4-4444 ,*4 IPf .U L /' ^ ~ A ^ C'V 4 ^ v 7 A 'W W EVERYTHING THE BABY NEEDS Crib Sheets, Drawstring Gowns, Knit Shirts— Many others. A limited supply of DIAPERS sold in layettes. THE TINY TOT SHOP In Greyhound Bus Station North Gate Phon e4-7114 sions of modern scientific research upon theistic thought as he sees it. Whether or not you agree fully with all Dr. O’Brien says, his book will help you to orient your own thinking along these lines. Dr. O’Brien has for the last thirty years been teaching philo sophy of religion, and he has drawn liberally from his teaching experience for examples cited in the book. Of especial interest to college students, “Truths Men Live By” is written in such a clear style that the book Will be appreciated by all readers who wish to renew their religious knowledge. NOW LISTEN WARDEN by Ray P. Holland. A. S. Barnes and Company. This is the season when sports men begin dragging out their guns and gear for bigger and better successes. Sportsmen not only polish up their guns, but they also have a tendency to brush up on a few of their favorite hunting yarns. The type of yarn varies, of course, but the ones which are the most fantastic and appeal the most are those about the scrapes with the game wardens. Mr. Holland, a former wild life protector, is cer tainly in a position to tell some tall ones because he was “The War den” to whom these tales were told. So far as we know this is the only book devoted completely to Sportsman-Warden stories. Mr. Holland with his years of exper ience in the field and his success as a writer of hunting stories was the logical choice as compiler of “Now, Listen Warden.” An Announcement to STATE FARM POLICYHOLDERS New cars will soon be here. Many of you will be buying cars out of income on a de ferred payment plan. Old style, costly financing methods are “out”. Arrangements have been made with local banks in this territory to finance cars for State Farm policyholders at reasonable rates. And you can continue to enjoy the benefits of your State Farm Mutual protection. This service is also available to careful drivers, not now in sured with State Farm. In most cases it saves the buyers many dollars. See or call me now. I’ll be glad to give you the details of this money saving plan. U. M. Alexander, Jr. ’40 Rm. 5 Casey-Sparks Bldg. North Gate 4-7269 State Farm Life Insurance WIYH A GARLAND RING "G£MS OF QOAL/rr" You will see the great beauty in. the sparkling Gem that is centered in a mounting of the latest style and finest quality. • Hero is a lovely matched set in 14 Karat Yellow Gold with one diamond in each ring. The set $8750 $125 fl ° Matching sets of 14 Karat Yellow Gold, fine gem quality diamonds in Solitaire and Wedding Ring. Garland Rings are priced from $25.00 to $300.00 with matching Wedding Rings. Convenient terms. 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