Page Two — THE BATTALION, College Station (Aggieland), Texas, Thursday, May 22, 1947;
We Love A.&M., But...
“A. & M. forever!”
“Men may come, and men may go, but A. & M. goes on
forever!”
“We have the interests of the school at heart. Our ar
gument is with the President.”
Pretty words. They have been spoken repeatedly by
former students of this institution. Ex-Aggies.
Now look at a newspaper clipping reporting a resolution
passed unanimously by the Ellis County A. & M. Club:
“The club unanimously voted to continue in operation,
but that its members would not make any further contribu
tions to the Former Students Development Fund until the
Former Students Association “is actively doing what it can
to bring about the removal of Gilchrist . . . and the restora
tion of A. & M. to its former standing.”
Everybody knows what the Development Fund is for—
the presentation of scholarships to deserving students and
other worthy enterprises. Many of us have contributed to
it. Gilchrist has no way of using the funds. He isn’t even
connected with its administration. The money is for stu
dents, for A. & M.
The pettiness of the Ellis County Club’s action is read
ily apparent, regardless of whether you are against Gilchrist
or for him. Surely they did not think very deeply about tl^e
action they were taking.
The Ellis County Club, and others as well, would threat
en with failure the most ambitious program ever undertaken
by the former students, merely because of disagreements.
Fight Gilchrist if you will, A. & M. Clubs, but don’t fight
Aggieland while you’re doing it.
Wildcat for Justices...
The Supreme Court has smiled twice on this part of tht,
nation in recent weeks.
By its decision in the freight rate question, the Court
at Washington has fulfilled a long-time dream of those who
wish to encourage Southern industry. The freight dif
ferential, established generations ago, has been swept away,
and the South can now compete with the North—even in the
North!
This development may change Texas greatly in our life
times. The change has already begun, of course, with Hous
ton a major manufacturing center and even so dignified a
city as Dallas, boasting huge factories in its outskirts. But
the trend will surely be greatly accelerated by abolition of
the freight rate differential, long considered the greatest
single handicap a southern manufacturer had to face.
In our rejoicing, Texas, must consider one sobering
fact. If “big manufacturing” succeeds in Texas, we will
also have to get used to “big labor.” You can’t have one
without the other, no matter how hard you try.
The other Supreme Court decision, dismissing the con
tempt case against three Corpus Christi newspaper men, is
also a legal milestone. In the future, judges will not be able
to use contempt actions to gag newspapers. As Justice
Douglas pointed out in the majority opinion, “Judges are
supposed to be men of fortitude, able to thrive in a hard cli
mate. . . . The law of contempt was not made for the protec
tion of judges who may be sensitive to the winds of public
opinion.” Ringing words!
The contempt laws exist for a worthy purpose: to pre
vent newspapers from interfering with the administration
of justice, (a misuse of public service which no reputable
publication would wish to commit.) But in recent years there
has been a tendency for judges to misuse the contempt pro
vision for petty ends. By carrying this case to the highest
authority in the land, Conway Craig, Bob McCracken and
Tom Mulvaney have won a noble victory in the fight for
freedom of the press. Fifteen for them!
Origin of Finals Traced
To Tenth Century Monk
By Ivan Yantis
A group of men squat tensely by
a radiator. Their foreheads glis
ten with beads of perspiration, and
they anxiously consult their watch
es while casting furtive glances
around them. In their clammy
hands are clutched well-thumbed
books and reams of paper. This
as they say in the movies, is it.
A door opens, and they rise ner
vously. As they file through the
entrance, the resignation written
on their faces is plain. Surely the
end of the world is at hand.
These men are not entering a
gas chamber. They are not going
out to do battle with “the shame
less Hun.” They are not giving
their lives in Dengue Fever re
search. These ill-starred crea
tures are going toward a fate more
harrowing than slow death, more
wracking than the “Iron Maiden,”
more trying than boiling oil. Final
exams await them in the chamber
at hand.
That excruciating brand of pun
ishment, the Final, antedates the
infamous Marquis de Sade by sev
eral centuries. It is thought to
be the product of the demented
Monk Echsamis who taught at
Palermo in the tenth century.
Echsamis was given to migraine
headaches which completely un
hinged him, and these toward the
end of the semester when tests of
improvement were given.
Echsamis devised this one last
trial for the students just before
he died in a drunken fit. The trial
bears his name today—Echsamis'
Final, or, sometimes, the Final
Echsamis.. (In English Exams.)
The final exam, as it is used now,
holds a fascination for people of a
morbid bent. Much mental an
guish, weeping, wailing, and
gnashing of teeth accompanies
them.
Only a few professors in Amer
ica know how to administer a real
final, but every school thinks it
has those profs on its rolls. The
students at A. & M. are certain
beyond the shadow of a doubt where
those profs teach.
The valiant little band of men
is inside the room now. In a cage
at the front of the room, frothing
and shouting, is the prof. He
laughs diabolically and tries to
claw at the students on the nearest
seats. At the appointed hour the
cage opens automatically, and he
jet-propels himself out, flailing a
cat-o’-nine-tails. Once out of the
cage his anger assumes a subtler
form, and he passes out mimeo
graphed pages of questions so clev
erly designed that no human can
answer them.
Victims of this torture, during
its entire length, smoke on the av
erage 67 cigarettes apiece, lose 12
pounds, gnaw down 4 lead pencils
or one plastic pencil, and sweat
five and one-half liters of blood.
Exams are the reason so many
people lay out every other semes
ter, to recuperate and recompose
the nerves.
The Battalion
The Battalion, official newspaper of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of
Texas and the City of College Station, ia published tri-weekly and circulated on
Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday afternoon*.
Member
Ptssodded CpUe6icite Press
Entered as lecond-clas* matter at Post Office at College Station, (Aggieland),
Texas, under the Act of Congress of March 3, 1870.
Subscription rate 4.00 per *chool year. Advertising rate* on requeat.
Represented nationally by National Advertising Service, Inc., at New York City
Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Corps Editor
Veteran Editor
—Tuesday Associate Editor
.Thursday Associate Editor
David M. Seligman Saturday Associate Editor
Paul Martin Sports Editor
Larry Goodwyn, Andy Matula, Jack Goodloe, Bill Halcomb, Earl Grant—Sports Writers
Wendell McClure Advertising Manager
Allen Self
Vick Lindley
Charles E. Murray
J. K. B. Nelson
Bill Brown, Maurice Howell
D. W. Springer
Elden W. Golden
Advertising Assistants
Circulation Manager
Hiiuen yy . viuiuen —
William Miller, Ben Schrader, Wm. K. Colville, Walter Lowe, Jr.,
Lester B. Gray, Jr., Carl C. Krueger, Jr., Mack T. Nolen,
Robert P. Ingram, Claude Buntyn, Bruce Hartel, Richard
circulation Manager
.Assistant Circulation Manager
Alterman
-Reporters
•Big Brass’ of Senior Class ’49
Elmo Livingston
President
Joe R. Clark
Yell Leader
Asa Holleman
Yell Leader
N. R. Leatherwood
Social Secretary
Gus Vletas
Historian
Musician’s Symbols Are
‘Worse Than Inadequate’
By Science Service
NEW YORK, May 12.—Those musical notes which con
fuse the beginner on the piano drew fire from another quar
ter today. A scientist termed the musician’s symbols “worse
than inadequate” for scientific use.
M. F. Meyer of Miami, Florida, told the Acoustical So
ciety of America that musical terms in “fractions” are no
help to science, either. He called for a clear, simple numeri
cal system to replace the musician’s present terminology,
Music may be “written for the-f*
soul” but musical experience is a
scientific matter, Prof. Meyer ex
plained.
“The casuality of musical exper
ience can be no other than basic
facts of neurological chemistry,”
he declared.
Although music is used in some
hospitals, more study is needed to
discover how music can be used to
aid healing, a group of scientists
cautioned at the Acoustical Society
meeting.
R. C. Lewis of the War Depart
ment Special Staff, Washington,
D. C., Dr. Harold Burris-Meyer,
Stevens Institute of Technology
here, and R. L. Cardinell of Muzak
Corporation, Hoboken, N. J., said
that “a considerable amount of cir
cumstantial evidence has been ac
cumulated testifying to potential
values in music as a therapeutic
aid.”
Reporting that Russia, England,
and possibly Italy are also doing
some work on music in medicine,
the scientists urged an organiza
tion at the national level for re
search on the problem.
Music in industry also needs
fore scientific study, Mr. Cardinell
and Dr. Burris-Meyer reported.
They said! that the number of peo
ple hearing music while they work
jumped from a few hundred to an
estimated' 5,006,00© in six years.
They warned against “haphazard
approaches” to the use of music,
but added' that increased produc
tion and' better- relations between
employees and employers have been
demonstrated.
Rare Want-Ads Collection
Reveals ‘Gems’ of Humor
By W. K. Colville
“Young man who gets paid on
Monday and is broke on Wednes
day would like to exchange small
loans with a young man who gets
paid on Wednesday and is broke
on Monday.”
This is one of a collection of
rare want ads collected by Lock-
wood Barr, former managing edi
tor of the Wall Street Journal. It’s
Barr’s hobby, collecting these od
dities, and it is surprising the mea
sure of drollery that can be found
in the classified ads. The follow
ing are a few examples.
“Positively no more baptizing
in my pasture. Twice in the last
two months my gate has been left
open by Christian people, and be
fore I chase my heifers all over the
country again all the sinners can
go to purgatory.”
“If J. M., who 22 years ago base
ly deserted his helpless children,,
penniless wife and son, Michael).
will return- home- Mike will take
pleasure im knocking the- hell out
of him:”
“Brown; the furrier-, begs to an
nounce that he will make up coats,
capes, etc.,. for- ladies out of their
own skins:.
“Found: lady’s, purse left in my
car - while parked. Owner can
have same By describing property
and paying for-this 'ad. If owner
can explain to my wife how purse
got into car; will pay for ’ad my
self.”
Ter prove that all editors are not
completely crazy, John Quill, the
editor of a country newspaper, re
cently retired' with a fortune. When
asked the secret of his success he
replied: “I attribute my ability to
retire with $100,000 savings, after
30 years in newspaper work, to dil
igent application to work, pursuing
a: policy of strict honesty, always
practicing rigorous rules of econ
omy, and'to the death of my uncle
who left me $110,000.”
Clues to Early
American Mystery
Found in Diggings
by Z. F. Bettis
Clues in the first great American
mystery case, the disappearance of
the “lost colonists” from Roanoke
Island, North Carolina, have been
discovered in excavations on the
site of Sir Walter Raleigh’s old’
fort.
The Department of Interior has
stated that diggings at the site of
the fort where the English col
onists disappeared more than three
and one-half centuries ago have
revealed the ditch of the fort. Fur
ther probing by archaeologists un
covered near the bottom of the
ditch a hand-made brick and a
large piece of strap iron. Not far
away was found a pit with ex
pertly fired charcoal which probab
ly had been prepared for use in
heating homes or for gunpowder.
Colonists first settled on the is
land in 1587 under the leadership
of Governor John White. Later
White returned to England and did
not return to Roanoke until 1591.
The colonists had completely dis
appeared and the only remaining
trace left behind was the myster
ious inscription, “Croatoan” found
carved on a tree. Continued search
by Sir Walter Raliegh and other
colonists failed to reveal any more
evidence as to the strange disap
pearance of the colonists.
Outlines of the fort have been
reported as late as 1896, but exca
vations now under way may dig
up more clues to help unravel the
historical mystery.
pa
BRYAN, TEXAS
THURSDAY, FRIDAY,
and SATURDAY
. PIONEER J&&ST
for an A-p/us vacation!
HOUSTON |
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—1 CONVENIENT DAILY FLIGHTS
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FtYW GP ASS ENGERS — 5c AIRMAIL —EXPRESS
BARBARA STANWYCK
— In —
“THE TWO
MRS. CARROLL’S”
Coming Preview Saturday
Night, Sun., Mon.,
and Tuesday
JOAN CRAWFORD
— In —
“HUMORESQUE’
Glider That Flies*
A nd Floats Assures
Life-Saving Usage
By Science Service
HOBOKEN, N. J., May 10—A
glider that flies and floats gives
promise of becoming standard life
saving equipment of the future to
rescue the shipwrecked or downed
aircraft crews. Hull tests have just
been completed here in the experi
mental towing tank at Stevens In
stitute of Technology.
As a glider, the 36-foot long life
boat is towed by a searching plane
to the scene of a disaster and re
leased when survivors are spotted.
Wings and tail are ejected when it
rests upon the water. A small gaso
line engine then powers it as a
motorboat. Its guide in locating
survivors is its mother plane which
circles the region, constantly in
touch with the lifeboat by two-way
radio.
Development of this “flying life
boat” is a project of the U. S.
Coast Guard which expects to use
it in rescue work where other
methods fail. It was designed by
Aeroaffiliates, Inc., Tuckahoe, N.
Y. One of the major problems was
the design of a hull to meet land
ing requirements and also be sea
worthy. The tests indicate these es
sentials have been met.
for active men
Here’s a famous B.V.D..
Short for active men. If
fits snugly to give sup
port, and such unusual
comfort features as the
conveniently adjustable
waistband, reinforced
crotch and the seamless
seat make Brev a best
buy.
*Reg. U S. Pat. Ou.
'WeZt -fomyMtf
7 t V
T-\
Wl M B E R LEY • S T O N E • DANS BY
CLOZKIERS
College and Bryan
East Texas Club To
Make Plans For Party
The East Texas Club will meet
Thursday night May 23 at 7:30
in the Ex-Student’s Lounge to dis
cuss plans for its summer party.
All members are urged to be pres
ent so final plans can be made
suitable to all concerned.
NEW
RAZOR
Simplifies Shaving
World’s Newest Razor Gives
Swifter, Smoother, Safer Shaves
Mystic, Conn., Mar.
7, 1947. There’s a
new razor out, sim
pler by far than any
that has ever been
made.
The new Enders
Razor is all one
piece, no moving
parts, no extra gad
gets. All you do is
click the blade in
and shave. And what a shave! The razor
doesn’t clog; it’s easy to clean and keep
clean. Its modern plastic handle is curved
to fit your hand, its shaving angle is so
well set to your face that it reaches easily
all the hard-to-get-at spots—around chin,
ears, nose.
Get this amazing new Enders Razor at
your campus store, at the special intro
ductory price.
SPECIAL OFFER...
RAZOR AND 5 BLADES... 49^
DURHAM-ENDERS RAZOR C0RP., MYSTIC, CONN.
AIR CONDITIONED
Opens 1:00 p.m. Ph. 4-1181
3 BIG DAYS
Begins Saturday
Preview—May 24!
“THE
JOLSON
STORY”
ANOTHER FIRST RUN
Hit for This Area
THURSDAY ONLY
“DRAGONWYCK”
Starring
GENE VINCENT
TIERNEY PRICE
FRIDAY - SATURDAY
— Plus —
BORIS KARLOFF in
“BEDLAM”