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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 15, 1947)
Page Two t jjE BATTALION, College Station (Aggieland), Texas, Tuesday, April 15, 1947 Unanswered... Five out of the six “questions” asked by the VSA in their mass meeting were answered soon afterward by Pres ident Gilchrist. The only one left unanswered, or answered only by inference, was that involving the Exchange store and the profits made on this supposedly non-profit organization. Mr. Gilchrist explained where the profit went to, but he failed to state why the excessive profit accumulated in the first place. Surely, all profits go to the student benefits, but by a rather devious route. Out of the $54,000 net profit for 1945-46, “$18,004.64 (representing one third) was retained by the store for opera tion.” But why was this ever declared as net profit in the first place Is not a reserve set up to cover contingent opera tional expenses? $3,864.21 was set up to pay a 10 per cent dividend to students on sales slips signed and deposited,” according to Mr. Gilchrist’s answer. The Battalion maintains its oft- stated position that “student profit-sharing’ is unfair, in equitable, and bad business procedure. How many of, you have received dividends on your purchases at the exchange store? And look at the generosity of the dividend declared —$3,864.21 out of $54,000 in profits, or approximately 1% of the net sales. “$8,036.26 was transferred to a fund for student recrea tion,” the answer continues. A worthy cause, certainly, but after administrative expenses have sucked the life out of the sum, how much is left for the student? “$24,108.81 was transferred to the Union Building op erating fund,” the report goes on to say. So far, there is lit tle prospect that the Union Building will be completed while any of us are still in school. Not doubt about it; the Union Building will need opera ting funds when it is completed. But we would rather give voluntarily then, from the substantial salaries we hope to be earning, than to have it taken, willy-nilly, during our school days. In conclusion, the statement is made, “This is consid ered a good business operation.” We have no argument to make with this contention. It is true, this is a good, solid, American profit-making business operation. But how the administration can reconcile a $54,000 net profit and its own statement that the Exchange Store is like wise a non-profit organization is beyond us. Can you do it? Too Many Spokeesmen.... The A. & M. faculty seems bewildered by the number of spokesmen who are willing to state publicly the “attitude of the faculty as a whole.” So far, there have been two statements, on opposite sides of the fence. Dr. F. B. Clark in his famous Dallas speech, announced that a majority of the faculty was sym pathetic to the veterans and cadets in their fight against the administration. Who gave Dr. Clark authority to speak for the rest of the faculty? Kilroy, it seems. To counteract the Clark statement, Dr. Arne A. Jak- kula and some friends drew up a form letter which was passed around various departments for signature. This pro cedure enraged many of the faculty to the point where an other campus explosion was momentarily expected. Dr. Jakkula is not a member of the faculty now, but an administrative officer. No doubt he had forgotten that change of status, but the faculty remembered. By what authority did he circulate the letter to the faculty ? Danger was averted by a statement from Dr. Jakkula that the petition was not prepared by the administration and that no pressure was being used to make professors sign against their will. But the sour taste remains. There is only one way that the opinion of the faculty on current difficulties of the college can be found. Let AAUP or the academic council call a meeting, at which secret bal lots can be cast. Let the tallying be done by outsiders, who have no reason to distort the count. Let the questions be fairly expressed, and not of the “have you stopped beating your wife” category. Unless some such proper poll of the faculty is made, let there be no more “spokesmen.” Who Salted the Doughnuts? Those imaginative food-fixers in Good Housekeeping, Home and Garden, etc., etc., who are forever whipping up tasty little combinations of this and that, such as onion and peanut butter sandwiches, olive and molasses hors d’oevres, ought to scout A. & M. for its possibilities as a new culinary experiment station. Why? Well, the DOUGHNUTS at the Aggieland Inn Monday morning were salted! All of them! Thoroughly! So salty that even the saltiest Naval Reservists on the campus could not swallow them. However, this event has deeper significance to A. & M. Consider all those lean and hungry, fat and filled, customers who hang over the white counter once, twice, thrice daily to feed their bodies and souls on that physico-spiritual institu tion of Sinkers-and-Jo, and you will begin to get some idea of the mass frustration that was piled up on the 14th day of April, 1947 on the A. & M. campus. And Blue Monday on top of that! I expect some new wave of discontent to spread over the campus—some new focal point of agitation to arise— or maybe just a revitalized form of the old nervousness, now that this mainstay-cure for ragged nerves and ruffled psy ches, this bulwark against the slings and arrows of the out rageous, that all A. & M. seems for the present to be heir to, now that this panacea has been jerked away so suddenly— even for one day. Yes, look for repercussions. Look for a sociological reaction in the backwash. Watch for it! Now let us consider the causes of this unhappy salting. What could they be? If it had been just two weeks ago— April Fool’s Day—we could have sincerely congratulated the bakers for putting over a good one on us. The possibility that the doughnut makers had a large week end, resulting in this casualty to humanity, loomed before us; but upon inter viewing the sugar-sprinkling union member, we found him to be a family man who spent a quiet week-end at home. There remains only one explanation, and that is easy and obvious. That is, unseen and demonic forces were at work .... invisible powers bringing to bear their influence to work against us. Since President Gilchrist has been blamed for every thing else wrong with this school, we are CERTAIN that he is the culprit. However, before we charge him with this dastardly act, we are going to interview him and ascertain the FACTS a procedure which other accusers might well follow. “WE’RE FROM CALIFORNIA, SARGE!” Count yourself fortunate if, when caught speeding, you can look the cop straight m the eye and say that you’re a Californian. You may even get a medal. Municipal Judge J. J. Quillan, Portland, Oregon, recently sus pended such a speeding fine when he learned that Lee Walker charged with traveling 39 miles an hour in a 25-mile zone, was a former Californian. Said Judge Quillan, “You are the first Californian in this court in the past two months who was going less than 50 miles an hour”. “I would almost say you were deserving of a medal”. Cutting Taxes . . . How It Will Affect You! By A. D. Bruce, Jr. The tax cutting pattern approv ed by the House is likely to be changed again in the Senate. Tax reductions almost surely will ap ply only to income received after July—not as the House proposes, to income for the whole of 1947. However, this much is becoming clear—taxes, when they are cut, will be cut more on a percentage basis, for persons earning small in comes than for those earning med ium and large incomes. Persons in the highest income brackets will get less of a percentage cut than those in the middle and upper-mid dle brackets. On a dollar basis, largest savings will go to higher income people. The idea, this, will be to provide new incentive at high income levels to earn more money and to invest savings. The new plan is a modification of the original offered by Repre sentative Knutson, calling for a 20 per cent tax reduction across the board. Briefly, the new bill provides: A 35% cut for taxable incomes of $1,000 or less (after deductions). A 30 to 20% cut for taxable in comes from $1,000 to $1,395. A 20% cut for taxable incomes from $1,395 to $302,395. A 20 to 10.5% cut for taxable incomes above $302,395. The Senate Finance Committee may reduce the percentage cuts at all levels to reduce the revenue loss. The reason for this may be clarified by noting the effects as listed below: ‘ lowestYncome groups— Those with net incomes of $1,000 or less—make up 14% of the tax payers. They would get 2.8% of the total savings under the House bill. LOWER-MIDDLE INCOME GROUPS—Those with net incomes from $1,000 to $5,000—(comprise 82% of all income tax payers. These groups would get 58.2% of the en tire tax cut proposed by the bill. These two groups, then, with net incomes of $5,000 or less, make up 96% o fall income tax payers. They pay well over half the total amount the Government collects in personal taxes, and the House bill would give them 61% of the total tax re ductions. UPPER-MIDDLE INCOME GROUPS—from $5,000 to $100,000 of net income—include less than 4% of the total number of taxpay ers. They now pay more than 37% of the total revenue from personal income taxes, and the House bill would give them less than a third of the total tax cut. HIGHEST INCOME GROUPS— those above $100,00—make up only about 9,000 taxpayers, who are good for $1 out of every $13 col lected in personal income taxes. These people would get 6% of the total tax saving under the House bill. Breaks for the little taxpayer must keep within relatively n a r- now limits if there is to be any room for cuts at higher income levels. A veto of the tax-reduction bill becomes a real responsibility. Pres ident Truman holds that any bud get surplus now in sight should be used to reduce debt, not to cut taxes. Furthermore, he feels that, if a tax bill is passed, it should provide cuts heavily in favor of the little taxpayer. Taxpayers, thus, cannot yet count on the cuts provided in this bill. The Senate now gets a crack at it. Mr. Truman then may veto it. And it is doubtful whether Re publicans in Congress could find enough votes to override a veto. Second Regular Army Group Ordered Here A second group of 17 regular ar my officers has been ordered to A&M for a year’s postgraduate engineering training, Dr. S. R. Wright, head of the civil engineer ing department, announced today. The incoming contingent will be gin classes June 9, soon after the departure of a pioneer group of 17 Corps of Engineers officers, who will receive Master of Science degrees at the spring commence ment exercises. Dr. Wright indicated that the Office of the Chief of Engineers has expressed approval of the in tensive course in soil mechanics and hydraulic engineering offered the initial group since last June. : Letters to the Editor : VOTE OF CONFIDENCE AND APPRECIATION Dear Editor: I came to Aggieland in the early thirties, graduated from this in stitution after the normal course of time, and have been here most of the time since. Because of my years spent here as an Aggie and a facul ty member, my deep love for A&M College, my interest in the all- around development of Aggies, and the fact that I am a veteran (that seems to make one eligible to express one’s thoughts) I feel that I am fully qualified to express my unsolicited opinion on the fit ness of the administration of A. & M. The year and a half since re turning to work for the college has been the most enjoyable I’vq ever spent. At no time has there been any intimation of intimida tion concerning my freedom of speech or actions by anyone, and I know of no faculty member who has ever been under any duress of any kind. One of the big talking points of the people opposing the adminis tration is that they are not satis fied. Frankly, I’m not satisfied. In fact, I’m not satisfied with any thing and hope I never am. I won der if those 90% of veterans are satisfied with anything. Frankly, again, I hope not. Satisfaction stops progress! The present administration has done an admirable job in housing married vet couples. All one has to do to realize this is to try to buy a stove or refrigerator, try to build a house, or go to the campus of any other college in the area. Naturally, there are many disap pointed house hunters, but that is a nation-wide condition. The fact that the Veteran Stu dent’s Association’s unfortunate meeting was based on the six ques tions which President Gilchrist so easily answered shows the stupid ity of the whole position taken by the association. This stupidity was crowned only by the expression of “confidence” in the Board of Dir ectors, two of whom have just been appointed, and each of whom is an outstanding citizen of Texas and highly successful business or pro fessional men, and by a statement made by one vet that they had “better watch the legislature, too.” Incidentally, the majority of these men are ex-Aggies who love this school as you and I do. As for the Corps of Cadets, I hope we never lose them or the Aggie way of life. I don’t like the way the Corps is being run now— who does? But, I certainly would not have sent my son into many of the “outfits” on the campus the way they were run by the Aggies during the first semester of the year. Let us hope that the good traditions can be restored and the bad removed. I don’t say that haz ing caused 48% of the “Fish” to go home. No one else says that. However, the attrition rate for all the colleges and universities of Texas the first semester was 11%, and I quote from an Associated Press survey article datelined in Dallas. It is reasonable to assume then that the Aggie way of life (1946-47 version) ran off approxi mately 48% minus 11%, or about 37% of the Freshmen class. Even the most died-in-the-wool-Aggie (and I consider myself just that) must admit that something was wrong with the Corps and its meth od of handling Fish. But, all this is past. Please, men, let’s all admit our mistakes in judgement, work to get Aggieland like it should be, and that is a job for the student body and the faculty, not only the administra tion. Stop this terrible publicity we are getting for the school; work for the amendment to get $5,000,- 000 fund for buildings; rebuild the size, spirit and excellence of the pre-war corps; and all relax and enjoy life again. The A&M College of Texas has an enviable record and reputation. Times have changed. Let’s keep A&M abreast of the trends, keep our good traditions, but dispense with our bad ones (many of these old traditions were entirely new to me upon my return to the campus after the war.) NAME WITHHELD BY REQUEST PS: I would gladly have told all the above and much, much more to the Veteran’s Association, but faculty members were barred from participation. (Editor’s Note: The author’s name was withheld by request so critics would not say writer was trying to win favor. How ever, he brought the letter down to the Batt office in person.) Tjfee Battalion The Battalion, official newspaper of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas and the City of College Station, is published tri-weekly and circulated on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday afternoons. Member Associated Colle6*cite Press Entered as second-class matter at Post Office at College Station, (Aggieland), Texas, under the Act of Congress of March 3, 1870. Subscription rate 4.00 per school year. Advertising rates on requeet. Represented nationally by National Advertising Service, Inc., at New York City Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Hen ick Bindley Charles E. Murray . J. K. B. Nelson David M. Seligman Paul Martin Corps Editor Veteran Editor —Tuesday Associate Editor -Thursday Associate Editor -Saturday Associate Editor Sports Editor Goodwyn, Andy Matula, Jack Goodloe, Dick Baker, Earl Grant. Sports Writers Wenddl McClure Advertising Manager D^W^ Springer —_— Circulation Manager d B. English, Franklin Cleland, William Miller, Doyle Duncan" Ben Schrader, Wm. K. Colville, Walter Lowe, Jr., Lester B. Gray, Jr., Carl C. Krueger, Jr., Mack T. Nolen ..Reporters CO-EDUCATION NEEDED! Dear Editor: I am a foreign student and am doing some graduate work here at A. & M. I was a little amused to read your editorial—“Co-Edu cation Needed!”—in the April 10 issue of The Batt. I entirely agree with you in what you have said in this con nection. Not only does A. & M. need Co-education to solve the cur rent problem, but also to raise its status as a school. We who come from distant lands are utterly dis appointed in having made A. & M. our choice of a school. We came to this country not only to get a formal education, but also to get an experience of the American university’s campus life, which you’ll agree, is not complete with out women in the school. No wonder why A. & M. has not been able to attract as many foreign students as other schools like Cornell or Wisconsin! Sincerely, P. M. MATHRANI (Editor’s Note: Bravo!) Musical Silver Tea April 20 The annual Musical Silver Tea, sponsored by the Wo man’s Society of Christian Service of the A. & M. Meth- dist Church, will be held at the church on Sunday, April 20, at 3 p.m., Mrs. G. E. Madeley has an nounced. The Musical Tea is a tradition of the church, having been held for approximately ten years. Origi nally, it was given in the homes of members; among the earliest were those held at the homes of F. I. Dahlberg and F. R. Brison. Having grown in importance with the years, the event now is an out standing affair in the community. Mrs. Ralph Steen, general chair man, has made arrangements for a program which will include Mrs. Albert Goodman, pianist; Miss Betty Jo Cook, reader; Miss Cyn thia Lancaster, harpist; the A Ca- pella Choir of Stephen F. Austin High School, Bryan; and a string ensemble composed of Mrs. C. H. Groneman, Mrs. Earl Vezey, Jr., Tom Leland, and Louis Hauer. 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