Battalion Editorials
Page 2
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 6, 1950
A&M’s 75th Birthday — A Success
Except for an overcast which prevented
Air Force Jet planes from arriving in full
force, the weather and all other factors took
a turn for the best Wednesday to start the
school’s 75th Anniversary in unequaled
fashion. Though 60 planes were scheduled
to take part in the air show, only 12 arrived
because of low hanging clouds which would
have prevented a formation of a larger num
ber.
If the events of the first day are any in
dication of what is to follow, this anniver
sary will be highly successful.
A mass presentation at any school re
quires the combined cooperation of three
factions found there. The faculty, staff, and
the student body is to be commended for
their parts in promoting and carrying out
activities worthy of A&M’s diamond Anni
versary celebration.
The school has entered a great year of
its life. Let’s make the most of it.
Stop Inflation Controls Needed Now
The spectre of inflation is raising its
ugly head higher and higher, and as yet no
action is being taken to control this threat
to our economy. The armed forces are suf
fering severely from this financial “chain re
action.” It seems that the very act of ap
propriating money immediately increases
the cost of the needed materials. The Air
Force claims that inflation has already added
$360 million to the cost of its procurement
program, and the Navy estimates that the
price of a submarine has been added to its
program.
Chairman Carl Vinson (D,Ga), does not
advocate any reduction in equipment to con
form to new higher prices. His opinion is
expressed very pointedly in a recent state
ment : “Congress must control prices or pro
vide more money. There is no need to fool
ourselves.” John McCone, undersecretary
for air, cited specific examples of price
jumps. Crude rubber, for example, has gone
up 128.9 per cent, copper 23.6 per cent, alu
minum 2.9 per cent, and tin 32.9 per cent.
Wage increases must also be considered in
the overall increase, according to McCone
There is one good thing to be said for
inflation, and that concerns the repayment
of borrowed money. For example, if ten
billion “80 cent dollars” are borrowed to
finance a military program, and “40 cent
dollars” are paid back, there is a two for
one advantage in so-called “real” values.
Some people like deficit financing, and others
favor the “pay as you go plan” comparable
to the British “austerity” policy.
The forgotten man in all this theory is,
as usual, Mr. John Q. Citizen. Inflation is
eroding his savings, rising prices absorb
what he could have saved, and taxes are cut
ting down the amount he starts home with.
America is predicated on freedom and oppor
tunity for the “little man”, and if the time
comes when he can’t make a decent living,
our system will be on the verge of failure.
We believe that the time for action is
right now. Rearmament is required, and
controls are definitely needed to halt this
insidious inflation.
Rain and Preservation of Resources
Borne by prevailing winds, a pall of
smoke from smoudering forest fires in north
western Canada has been carried more than
2,000 miles to darken the sun over large cit
ies of the eastern United States. When this
smoke blanket is broad enough to cause af
ternoon baseball games to be played under
lights in Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and New
York, one can imagine what an area of veg
etation must be consumed to form such a
cloud.
The area of the fires, in the northern tip
of Alberta, is described as scrub timber. This
may seem to make it of minor commercial
significance; and the distance from sizable
settlements doubtless makes the blaze diffi
cult to combat. Yet conservationists know
that resources which seemed inconsequential
to one generation can become important to
another.
For this reason—and for others where
woodland fires threaten more inhabited areas
—an event of last July in Whitewater Can
yon, southern California, may come to have
great significance in the history of forest
protection.
There a forest fire had raged for a Week
despite efforts of .100 men to control it. Ev
en with horses and helicopters, the problem
of getting supplies up the side of San Gor-
gonio Mountain was formidable.
The California Electric Power Company
had been experimenting for some time with
rain making on its watershed in that region.
Its pilot, Robert Symonds, found two clouds
at 19,000 feet which he seeded with dry ice,
successfully causing a heavy rain over the
canyon on San Gorgonio which drenched the
fire and ended its menace.
Not always, of course, will rain cloud
formations be found at the time and place
to douse a timber-consuming blaze, but the
success even in one instance holds hope for
many cases in wilderness areas where fire
control heretofore has seemed more than
difficult. For as any fire warden knows,
one good shower can snuff out more fire than
several crews of men.
—Christian Science Monitor
The Battalion
Stassen-Soviet
Policy Debate
Improbable
By JOHN M. HIGHTOWI3R
Washington, Oct. 6——Diplo
matic experts on Russia saw little
chance today that Premier Stalin
would accept Harold E. Stassen’s
proposal for a virtual public de
bate on the course of Sdviet world
policy.
Stassen’s letter to Stalin, made
public Wednesday, was obviously
well received at the state depart
ment as a move which in its propa
ganda effects puts the Moscow gov
ernment somewhat on the spot.
For while the letter calls for
discussion in the full light of pub
licity on Russia’s actions in world
affairs, it is highly critical of Sov
iet policies and makes the point
that in the interest of peace those
policies should be changed.
Stassen’s Proposal
Stassen told Stalin Russia should
stop attacking the churches in the
Balkans, should join in strength
ening the United Nations, should
ring up the iron curtain to let
tourists and traders enter the Sov
iet Union, and should take other
steps in the interest of world peace.
He criticized Russia’s attitude to-
word the Communist aggression in
Korea.
He then offered to prove his
point either in an exchange of cor
respondence or in conferences pro
vided they should be fully disclosed
and reported to the world. In a
news conference Stassen said that
what he really had in mind is a
meeting between Stalin with mem
bers of the politburo and Stassen
with a committee of American pri
vate citizens.
American officials who have
studied Russian conduct over the
years speculated yesterday that
Stalin’s reaction might be either
a propaganda blast at Stassen or
a decision to ignore the whole thing
and give no reply at all.
Letter Broadcast
The state department, to which
Stassen sent a copy of his letter
immediately after it was dispatch
ed to the Soviet embassy, has made
a thorough study of the document
and is using it on its “Voice of
America” broadcasts to foreign
lands including Russia.
Stassen accompanied the copy
he sent to the state department by
a letter to Secertary of State Ache-
son. It is understood that he told
Acheson he felt he could say things
to Stalin which American officials
would not be able to say. Ache-
son, being in New York, had not
seen the letter to Stalin prior to
its release Wednesday.
Other government officials said
Stassen’s move could not hurt and
might help the American position
abroad by putting the Russians
on the defensive in this instance.
A meeting of private citizens with
Russian government leaders could
not commit the American govern
ment to any particular action and
might bring a new point of view
to bear on the Russian high com
mand.
Yet the fact that Stassen sug
gested such a meeting, official on
one side and unofficial on the oth
er, could prove to be in Soviet eyes
a major weakness of his proposal.
What Stalin has always talked
about and publicly encouraged in
recent years is a meeting with
President Truman. The President’s
advisers have assumed the Russian
leader wanted to get the United
States in a position in which by
direct two-power deals he could
wring concessions and break down
the unity between this country and
its allies.
Mr. Truman has repeatedly made
clear that he is not interested—
that in his opinion the place to
work out the bitter issues between
Russia and the West is the United
Nations. He has said he would be
glad to talk with Stalin in Wash
ington; Stalin has said he was sor
ry but his doctors would not allow
him to make a long journey.
NO TIME FOR A GLASS JAW,
The Night Owl . . .
‘Honky-Tonk’ Piano
Revived by Ned Rao
... By Herman C. Gollob
Anyone who happened to be in the basement pool hall
at the corner of Texas and Main in Houston back in 1910 very
likely stopped in the middle of his shot, lifted his ears for a
moment above the dissonant counterpoint of cue-ball clicks
and raucous chit-chat and caught the jaunty tinkle of an up
right piano being fingered into a chorus of “Waitin’ on the
Robt. E. Lee’ by a stocky little maestro with saucer eyes and
a grin that caused even the yellow-stained keyboard to smile
back.
Forty years have chased each other into eternity since
Ned Rao first broke into the entertainment world with his
daily sessions at the pool hall forty-eight. Time and change
have boosted him to such enviable heights in show business
as a two-week engagement at New York’s once-fabulous Pal
ace Theatre, only to force him back to night-club entertaining
when vaudeville expired, and finally to staging benefit shows.
Now the bouncy Mr. Raois back in Houston, owner of the Dixie
land Lounge at the corner of Travis and Pierce. And he’s playing the
kind of honky-tonk piano that earned him his three squares for nearly
half a century. Only one difference—Ned’s his own boss this time.
Still wearing the broad grin, now specked with gold, Ned set at our
table last Sunday afternoon and in a deep, gritty voice, reeled off a
quick autobiography for us: :
“. . . . After I left the poql room I got a job in Houston’s Fourth
Ward, the ‘honky-tonk’ district. I stayed there for five years, then in
1917 I took out to Kansas! City-. Missouri, and, opened at the Gaiety
Theatre with a piano-smger actV M3I |bjptne'r did the singing.
“In 1919 I started a 32 week tour of the states. When I was in
Little Rock I picked up a young colored kid who everybody called
“Lazy.’ He fit right into my act. We changed his name to Stepin
Fetch] t.
“When I got to Lincoln, Nebraska, I ’was on the same bill with
Will Rogers. He was doing rope and magic tricks at that time. We
became close friends. In 1933 L was playing at Colorado Springs
when I got the news of his death. He was a great guy.”
Ned paused here, and threw a long, wistful look out the front door.
Lighting up a cigarette, he went on:
“Ginger Rogers got her start because of me. I gave her the first
job she ever had. She won a Charleston contest in Ft. Worth, and as
a prize I gave her a two-weeks’ engagement. She left and went to
Galveston’s Crystal Theatre.
“I quit the business in 1943: Did my last show at Pueblo, Colo
rado. I came to Houston and opened a spaghetti house, then I went
to Galveston and staged the Policeman’s Ball. It was the biggest show
ever put on in Galveston. A few months ago I bought this place.
Ned-took a last drag on his cigarette, which he had smoked down
to the cork tip. “I just finished writing a song—‘You Taught Me to
Love You, So Teach Me to Forget.’ It’s going to be recorded here
next week.”
Promising to drop in this Sunday and hear the new recording, we
left the Dixieland to catch a college-bound train. And day after to
morrow, you’ll find us right back, leaning on the red-checKered table-
cloth, listening to an old-timer remind himself of a once-gilded era,
pouring his heart out over a keyboard into the songs that used to wow
’em at the Palace.
One on the Aisle . . .
Dallas—October 7-22: State Fair of Texas( Mid-Century Exposi
tion: “South Pacific” starring Janet Blair and Richard Eastham.
Nightly at 8:30. Mat- 2:30, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday. State Fair
Auditorium: “let Cycles of 1951”. Nights, 8:30. Sat-Sun Matinees, 2::30.
Houston—October 7-8: Ringling Bros. Barnum, Bailey Circus.
From the City Desk . . .
Board Offers CS
Power Rates Cut
. . By Joel Austin
Wednesday we reported that no word had come from the
A&M Board of Directors concerning ap decrease in rates for
the electric power which they supply the city with. Well, the
word has come from Chancellor Gibb Gilchrist that the
Board did consider the matter and has offered the decrease.
The Board’s answer to the city’s request for lower rates
was in the form of a 1.1$ charge per kilowatt hour effective
October 1.
Mayor Ernest Langford pointed out that this new rate
would give an average saving of -.646 per month or ....7,752
to be given back to the people in a year s time.
But with the decrease in the charge made by the college,
the city can still secure power cheaper from three other
sources Mayor Langford said a reduction would prabably be
made this month in lieu of the saving offered by the college,
but there is another change in rates coming up if councilmen
decide to accept the offer of the Brazos River Transmission
Cooperative, the City of Bryan, or the Gulf Electric Corpora
tion.
Although nothing will be said at the Monday night coun
cil meeting about the matter, Langford said a called meeting
will be held sometime next week to hear the report of Dr.
F. C. Bolton who has been studying the proposals from the
afore mentioned organizations.
Langford said the meeting would probably be closed,
but the decisions of the council will be released as soon as it
reaches an agreement.
September has been the peak month of the year for
electric consumption in the city. The college was paid $2,825
for 195,700 kwh last month. With the new rate the payment
would have been $2,152—a saving of $673.
However, July was an average month with a total of
162,600 kwh used. This month cost $2,434 for electricity,
but could have been $1,788 or a saving of $646.
With the extra demand charge which the college has
been receiving for their power, the savings are approximately
the same. So, nevertheless, rates for the month of October
will probably bear a noticeable downward trend. And the
possibility of a still lower rate appears to be in the making.
Critical Materials
Now Awaiting Use
By Clarke Beach
Washington—(A 5 )—The long-lag
ging stockpiling program seems at
last ready to speed into hjgh gear.
'The new vigor and haste with
which the Munitions Board is act
ing in acquiring’ a national store
of strategic and critical materials
for use in wartime is revealed in
two recent developments:
• The proposed regular and sup
plemental appropriations for stock
piling for the year ending June 30,
1951, total $1,189,000,000. Last year
the appropriation was only $565
million.
® The board has announced that
hereafter domestic producers of
needed materials might be paid any
amount above the world market
price if such payments were justi
fied “in terms of urgent national
security need.”
The second item is of particular
interest. The stockpiling program
is subject to the terms of the “Buy
American Act” of 1933. That act
requires that when the government
does any purchasing, it shall buy
American goods unless their cost
is unreasonable as compared to for
eign goods. The government has
defined a domestic price as un
reasonable if it is more than
25 per cent above that for the
same material purchased from for
eign sources.
Although the board all along
could have paid American produc
ers as much as 25 per cent above
the world price, actually it has
awarded orders to American bid
ders only when their price was
equal to or below that of foreign
producers. The intent of Congress,
according to the board’s interpre
tation, was that it should pay no
more than the prevailing market
price. , t
Not Even Limited
Now under the new policy, the
board NOT only is prepared to
pay a differential on American
goods, but the differential won’t
even be limited to 25 per cent.
The authority to pay the differ
ential without any limit was con
tained in a recent letter from John
R. Steelman, the assistant to the
President, to Hubert H. Howard,
former chairman of the board.
The reason for the new policy
is the need for steamed-up stock
piling, caused by the present emer
gency. An official of the National
Security Resources Board, which
works closely with the Munition]
Board on stockpiling, says certain
war materials are needed quickly
which would NOT be available soon
enough under policies hitherto fol
lowed. Higher prices for certain
materials will encourage domestic
producers to supply the demand.
He wouldn’t say on what mater
ials the board might pay a differ
ential.
The Munitions Board has no in
tention of paying a general sub
sidy for all materials which can
be produced domestically. It will
pay the differential only in cases
when the payment will enable the
board to fill urgent needs.
Lawrence Sullivan Ross, Founder of Aggie Traditions
"Soldier, Statesman, Knightly Gentleman”
Official Notice
The Battalion, official newspaper of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, is published
five times a week during the regular school year. During the summer terms, The Battalion is published
four times a week, and during examination and vacation periods, twice a week. Days of publication are
Monday through Friday for the regular school year, Tuesday through Friday during the summer terms,
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or $.50 per month. Advertising rates furnished on request.
News contributions may be made by telephone (4-5444) or at the editorial office, Room 201, Goodwin
Hall. Classified ads may be placed by telephone (4-5324) or at the Student Activities Office, Room 209,
Goodwin Hall.
CANDIDATES FOR DEGREES: Any
student who normally expects to complete
all the requirements for a degree by the
end of the current semester should call
by the Registrar’s Office NOW and
make formal application for a degree.
December 1, 1950, is the deadline for
filing applications for degrees to be con
ferred at the end of the current semester.
This deadline applies to both graduates and
undergraduate students. Those who have
not already done so should make formal
application in the Registrar’s Office im
mediately.
The Associated Press is entitled exclusively to the use for republication of all news dispatches cred
ited to it or not otherwise credited in the paper and local news of spontaneous origin published herein.
Rights of republication of all other matter herein are also reserved.
Entered as second-class matter at Post
Office at College Station, Texas, under
the Act of Congress of March 3, 1870.
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DAVE COSLETT, CLAYTON L. SELPH Co-Editors
John Whitmore, L. O. Tiedt Managing Editors
Dean Reed Assistant Managing Editor
Sid Abernathy, Jerry Zuber Campus News Editors
Frank N. Manitzas , Sports Editor
Joel Austin City News Editor
John Whitmore ...
Sid Abernathy
Frank N. Manitzas
Tom Rountree
Today’s Issue
Managing Editor
- Campus News Editor
Sports News Editor
City News Editor
T. M. Fontaine, Carter PRillips Editorialists
Bob Hughson, George Charlton, Tom Rountree, Leon
McClellan. Raymond Rushing, Wayne Davis, Robert
Venable, Herb O’Connell, Norman Blahuta, John
Hildebrand, Jerry Fontaine, Jack Fontaine
' News and Feature Writers
Emmett Trant, Jerry Clement, Bob Hendry Cartoonists
Ray Williams, Roger Coslett Special Assignments
Sam Molinary Chief Photographer
Herman C. Gollob Amusements Editor
Ralph Gorman, Ray Holbrook, Harold Gann, Joe
Blanchette, Pat LeBlanc, Dale Dowell, Jimmy Curtis.
Chuck Neighbors, Fred Walker Sports Writers
Bob Hancock, John Hollingshead,
Tommy Fontaine, James Lancaster Photo Engravers
All students who did not turn in Iden
tification Cards or have photographs made
for one will report to the Photographic and
Visual Aids Laboratory from 8 a.m. until
noon and from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m. daily
from Oct 2 through Oct. 6 and from 8 a.m.
until noon Oct. 7.
As soon as the cards are ready for dis
tribution, notice will be given in The Bat
talion as to the procedure to follow.
Bennie A. Zinn
Assistant Dean of Men
For Student Affairs.
Each Graduate student is required to
suggest the names of members of the
Graduate Faculty whom he wishes to serve
on his committee early in his first semes
ter. The committee is to meet and consult
with the student and outline a complete
course of study for his graduate degree
before the end of the eighth week of his
first semester. This is designed to insure
that the student, the committee and the
Graduate School know what is to be
required of him. The student may then
follow a logical and well balanced pro
gram each time he registers thereafter.
The necessary forms and any suggestions
and help needed may be obtained by call
ing at the office of the Graduate School.
A student wishing to register for any
lerm after his first term of graduate work
must bring his copy of his official grad
uate course Of study to registration with
flotations on it to show the courses al-
teady aken and the grades received.
Ide P. Trotter, Dean
Graduate School
LI’L ABNER
The End of a Beautiful Friendship
By A1 Capp