Battalion Editorials
Page 2 FRIDAY, AUGUST 18, 1950
All lor One; One Against All ...
There is a growing demand for an ulti
matum to Russia concerning further ag
gression by direct or indirect methods.
Some advocates of this countermeasure
are Harold Stassen, Senator Lodge, and
Representative Coudert. Stassen is ap
parently trying to reduce the conflict to
its fundamentals. His proposed ultimatum
included the threat that further Com
munist aggression would mean that “war
will come to Moscow, to the Urals and to
the Ukraine.”
Many people have the idea that such
an ultimatum would present a united ad
ministrative opinion that Russia could not
fail to consider. Stassen was particularly
outspoken on the Soviet policy of indirect,
piecemeal aggression. He also said: “We
must not permit Uncle Sam to be chopped
down finger by finger, arm by arm, by
preliminary fights for which he is not pre
pared.”
With another indirect attack pending
in Indo-China, the question comes up as
to whether we are in a position to send
ultimatums to any country. The Korean
war makes armed assistance in this new
trouble spot almost impossible—we just
don’t have the men. Until we are ready
to “whip the wildcat on his own log” our
diplomatic moves will carry very little
weight.
Responsibility for the present state of
affairs has been placed on the public which
condoned the frantic demobilization with
no regard for our new political responsi
bilities. Senator Morse (R-Ore) believes
that there have been some “grave mis
takes in judgment” by government offi
cials regarding the sale of war surplus
material since World War II. He has
called for a Congressional investigation of
their activities.
We are in favor of a definite policy or
the drawing of a definite line to contain
Russia. If conventional forces are inade
quate to carry out “police actions” we also
favor Stassen’s idea of placing the matter
before the United Nations. If necessary,
the Security Council could then rule on the
use of atomic weapons.
This plan would place the moral and
humanitarian considerations o n other
shoulders. One thing is certain—past mis
takes cannot be corrected, and decisive
action is needed immediately.
g the Rails To Nationalization
'b
The proposed “token” railroad strike
involving 300,000 trainmen could either
be an attempt to gain an increase in pay
to compensate for a rising cost of living,
or it could be an attempt to use the crit
ical international situation for personal
gain.
, Negotiations have so far proven to be
fruitless, and the Unions have appealed to
President Truman to take over the rail
roads. The argument for this appeal is
that the operators have taken a “defiant,
high-handed attitude.”
President Truman apparently does
not want to take this step unless it proves
to be his only alternative in the interest
of-our national security. Definite plans
should be made to arbitrate disputes of
this nature in order to arrive at a just
conclusion in the shortest possible time.
If strikes should strangle a major war
effort, free enterprise would cease to
exist. Government controls in such an
event would border on Fascism. Military
defeat, on the other hand would really
put an end to freedom as we know it now.
This proposed strike is a challenge to
the flexibility of our system to arrive at a
satisfactory solution and achieve the unity
that will be required to face what appears
to be a major threat to our fundamental
freedoms.
Both union leaders and operators
should be cautious about forcing President
Truman to take drastic action since it may
not be possible to relinquish such controls
at a later date. “Nationalizing” a major
industry is frequently easier than “de-na-
tionalizing” it when the appropriate time
comes.
‘ Silent Service” and Its Importance . . .
Warfare in 1950 is conventional in
every respect with the exception of sub
marines. With the advent of the “snorkel”
breathing device and submarine launched
missiles the scope of offensive and defen
sive operations has increased considerably.
The Navy is still conducting a frantic
research program in order to effectively
counter the submarine fleet of Soviet Rus
sia. It is estimated that at least 300 subs,
several factories, and staffs of technical
personnel were captured by the Russians
in the Baltic area.
While our submarine men like to fore
go the glamour and recognition received
by other services, we cannot afford to ne
glect our submarine program. We now
have about 70 of the underwater craft in
active service with an equal number in
reserve. Men, however, are the critical
problem because they age faster in the
“silent service.” Most veterans are now
old men in their thirties. There are now
less than 300 men in training for this
highly specialized work, and facilities can
not be increased rapidly enough to prevent
a long period of need for adequately train
ed personnel.
Atomic powered submarines are on the
drawing boards, and this new stage of
naval warfare will make even greater de
mands on the training and stamina of our
crews. Even though other services see
more action in the present type of police
action, the undersea war could begin on
a moments notice.
Production of subs can be stepped up
faster than crews can be made available.
The Navy reports that men between the
ages of 19 and 23 are very enthusiastic
about the submarine service, and we are
in favor of beginning now to give them
the best training that is possible.
We cannot afford to be lax with any
of our perspective fighting forces for in
the future they may be the decisive factor
in our retention of freedom.
The Battalion
Lawrence Sullivan Ross, Founder of Aggie Traditions
"Soldier, Statesman, Knightly Gentleman”
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ABERNATHY, DEAN REED Co-Editors
Feature Editor
fanitzas Sports Editor
,n City Editor
*er Society Editor
Amusements Editor
Photographer
. i Hites, John Hoilingshead,
?ter Photo Engravers
Frank Davis, Bert Hardaway, Bob Hughson,
Louise Jones, Bill Mebane, B. F. Roland,
Dale Walston Staff Reporters
Carter A. Phillips Editorial Assistant
BROADCASTING HIS BREAD UPON THE WATER Behind the Scenes
Interpreting the News . . .
Indo-China Tops List
For Possible Threats
By J. M. ROBERTS, JR.
AP Foreign Affairs. Analyst
With Britain and the United
States in a stew over Formosan
policy and all sorts of talk- and
threats about a Communist inva
sion of the island, people keep ask
ing why I put Indo-China at the
head of the possibly emergency
list.
Well, there are a number of
reasons involving both positions
which seem valid, although I
learned long ago not to get in too
deep when trying to ligure out
any situation in which Russia has
a hand.
The Formosan situation, as I
get it, is this:
The Chinese Communists are not
equipped with modern vessels for
an overwater attack. Even without
the U. S. Seventh Fleet which is
under orders to stop any invasion.
The enemy would have to land in
the face of a well-trained and well
equipped Nationalist Army of sev
eral hundred thousand men. And
the Seventh Fleet is being rein
forced rapidly. The Chinese also
would have to face airpower from
Okinawa as well as Formosa, and
what a bunch of attack planes
could do to a big fleet of junks
would be terrific.
Those are military angles. More
important, I think, is that an at
tack on Formosa at the present
time would be an attack on the
United States. Formosa could hard
ly be worth it to the Communists.
WTAW
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‘Cargo to Capetown ’ Shows
Well-Worn Eternal Triangle
In Indo-China there is an entire
ly different situation, and one
which seems to be coming to a
head, while Communist attention
on Formosa appears to consist
mostly of talk.
The Communists can conduct an
important military campaign in
Indo-China without becoming di
rectly involved with the United
States, which has no troops there
and could not send any now. Such
a campaign can be conducted by
infiltration and supply, as the Rus
sian satellites conducted their cam
paign in Greece, and so possibly
avoid international war.
In Indo-China the Communists
have the same situation they had
in China itself, with most of the
people preferring Communist rule
to their present French puppet
regimes.
No important native troops can
be improved in Indo-China, beyond
what use can be made of native
troops who may not be to stable.
The Communists would be fight
ing a popular war.
It would seem that 200,000
French troops equipped by the Unit-
ted States, as they are being, would
be able to handle the situation. But
for five years 150,000 of them have
not been able to handle even the
forces which Ho Chin-Minh could
produce without Chinese aid. The
best they have been able to do is
maintain a stalemate.
Conquest of Indo-China also
would give the Communists a
spearhead into the whole Malay
Peninsula and a commanding posi
tion in Southeast Asia, the impor
tance of which was fully recog
nized by the Japanese when they
began their attempt to conquer
that area. Formosa is just an is
land, of no strategic value except
as against the American defense
line in the Pacific, especially the
Philippines, in case of a global
war, and that it not yet believed
to be a part of the Communist
book.
From the standpoint of maxi
mum opportunity at minimum risk,
Indo-China (with Burma and Tibet
on the side) might look very good
to the Communists if they seek to
create a diversion from the Korean
thing.
Official Notice
NOTICE TO NEW STUDENTS
AH undergraduate students who enrolled
as “new students” at A. and M. College
this summer and who expect to continue
in A. and M. College during the 1950-51
long session must obtain clearance from
the Registrar before registering for the
Fall semester. This should he done imme
diately and can only be accomplished by
the individual concerned reporting in per
son to the Registrar’s Office.
H. L. HEATON, Registrar
(Cargo To Capetown: Colum
bia; now showing at Palace, Wed.
through Sat.; Starring Brode
rick Crawford, John Ireland, El
len Drew.)
By FRED WALKER
Spiritual, physical, and symbolic
conflicts combine forces in “Car
go To Capetown” as a leaky tanker
provides the stage for a leaky ex
ploitation" of the not-so-new Eter
nal Triangle.
Captain Steve Conway (John Ire
land) legitimately shanghais a
crew, including friend Johnny
(Broderick Crawford), and takes
command of a sea-going coffin,
the Mokara. Kitty (Ellen Drew),
Steve’s former girl-friend, and now
Johnny’s fiancee, attempts to re
trieve her lover before embarka
tion, but is physically dissuaded
by S and ends up taking the trip.
Open hostility is declared by J
and S when the former learns of
the past affair. K then realizes her
true affections when S would sac
rifice his command by changing
course to save the life of a native
boy, who is in desperate need of
immediate surgery.
But both heroically suppress de
sire, and, as Captain, S marries J
and K. When a fire starts in an
after tank, S saves J’s life; light
is shed upon true love; J decides
on an annulment; hero and heroine
embrace madly.
Publicity Misleading
The picture is publicized in
Crawford’s name (Academy
Award, “All The King’s Men,”) but
the picture must have been made
before Crawford’s triumph, and
released after “All The King’s
Men”, for he definitely plays sec
ond lead to Ireland.
The cast doesn’t have to strain
much, for the dialogue, in many
spots, is trite and foolish. On the
other hand, a good bit of the
scenes prove the cast’s worth.
Comment: Strictly a “B” pic
ture riding on Crawford’s laurels.^"
A Little Experiment
I tried a little experiment when
reviewing “The Furies” the other
day. The entire review was premed
itated plagiarism. The real writer
was Charles Franke of the Motion
Picture Daily, New York City, who
is considered a better-than-average
critic.
The object in this criminal act?
A good many of my friends have
been saying, “Walker, you have
been seeing too many movies;
you’re getting bitter.” The object
was not to prove that I write with
the same virility and craft as
these gentlemen; 1 wanted to see
how many people really read into
something.
What reaction did I expect?
Well, maybe something like,
“Walker, are you actually learn
ing something about sentence struc
ture, and acquiring two and three
syllable words in your vocabu
lary?”; or, “OK, Walker, whose
column have you been reading?”
“Still Bitter, Eh.”
What reactiops did I really get?
“Still bitter, eh. You better lay
off Mencken for a while.”; and
“Good Lord! Walker, have you
even seen a movie you liked!
Every day, the same old stuff.”
Le style, e’est I’homme! Nuts.
What does this prove? Nothing,
and I guess I’ll remain ame damnee
for the rest of the summer.
By the way, if you don’t already
know it, the Campus will be closed
from August 26 to September 9.
The first picture to be shown at the
opening will be the much herald
ed Swanson-comeback, “Sunset
Boulevard.”
to
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JON HALL
in
“ARABIAN
NIGHTS”
LPL ABNER
You Tahe the High Road
By A! Capp
IR7 •the benefit of
our scientifically;
minded readers, the
Federal Bureau of
Climate Investigation
has prepared this,
map explaining' the
amazing' differ
ences in the climates
of those two ad
joining’ countries —
El Fhfsionato and
El Tabasco.
LP LABNER
And He Took Another Load
By A1 Capp
-ah doubts ef th'
GOOMEO WILL AFFE.CK
ME—'ON ACCOUNT AH
A HUNDETkD PERCENT
red-blooded
AMERICAN BOY/T-