Page 2
Battalion Editorials
MONDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1950
IVs Time to Stop . . .
W HY KEEP telling a man he is going to
Korea ?
What will it benefit him?
These questions we ask our Ross Hall
military personnel, particularly the instruc
tors.
Since the Chinese Communists attacked
United Nations forces five weeks ago, we
have heard nothing but “ you don’t have to
worry about a job in June, Uncle Sam is go
ing to get you.”
“Well, it’s the truth,” you say.
So what?
Every student knows by now that he
may have to go into service almost any
time. No other group knows or thinks
about it more than Cadet Corps seniors, who
are trying to plan their post-college life.
They don’t have to be told day after day
that all their plans may be for naught.
And what about the answers to our first
two questions?
Does it help him study better ?
Does it help him sleep sounder at night?
Does it help him concentrate on class lec
tures ?
It does none of these. And if what var
ious college personnel tells us is true, it is
hurting him—badly.
Some boys, we have been told, have plain
ly given up. They have all but quit study
ing. Their attitude is “what’s the use.”
To us, that is serious.
Perhaps military science profs are saying
things day after day, unawares of the ef
fect their words may have.
Indeed, we believe that is so.
If it is, then The Battalion asks that
they give the matter a deal of thought before
pressing the “you’re going to Korea.” issue
any further.
For Our Welfare, ‘Let Us Pray
66TTOW COULD HE!” moaned many a
in. Democratic politician, crying into his
beer last Saturday night.
“How could he!” moaned American
statesmen as they tried to mold this country
into a fighting force against world Com
munism.
The cause of all the groaning was, of
•
There is, and there always will be,
only one answer to brute force. .
Auto Death Toll Drops,
But Injury List Mounts
A MERICA’S death toll from motor vehicle
accidents dropped again in 1949.
In their 1950 book of street and highway
accident data, The Travelers Insurance Com
panies record a total of 31,800 fatalities last
year, compared with 32,200 in 1948. The
decrease is encouraging in view of an in
crease of about eight percent in the number
of cars on the road and an increase of about
five percent in gasoline consumption.
A closer look at the accident facts, how
ever, is not so encouraging. There were
93,000 more persons injured last year than
in 1948. A decrease in deaths in 1949 af
fords scant satisfaction with the realization
that more than a million and a half Amer
icans were hurt during the same period. No
one knows how many of these injuries would
have been fatalities except for prompt, ex
pert medical attention. Nor does anyone
know how many of those who were injured
will spend the rest of their lives under phy
sical handicaps that rival death itself as
tragedies.
We who drive—and walk—along the na
tion’s streets and highways are responsible
for the record. We are the record. We must
accept this awesome responsibility by driv
ing and walking carefully.
course, that great leader of the Fair Deal,
and incidentally president of the United
States, Mr. Harry S. Truman. By writing
a letter last Friday to Paul Hume, critic for
the Washington Post, Mr. Truman practic
ally cinched the title of “Champion of the
Ill-timed Speech.”
Hume turned thumbs down on Margaret
Truman’s music recital last Tuesday night.
“I have just read your lousy review bur
ied in the back pages. You sound like a
frustrated old man who never made a suc
cess, an eight-ulcer man on a four-ulcer job,
and all four ulcers working,” said Truman
to Hume.
“I never met you, but if I do you’ll need
a new nose and plenty of beefsteak and per
haps a supporter below.
“Westbrook Pegler, a guttersnipe, is a
gentleman compared to you.”
Commented Pegler, master of the acid
tongue, “It is a great tragedy that in this
awful hour the people of the United States
must accept in lieu of leadership fhe nasty
malice of a president whom Bernard Ba
ruch in a similar incident called a rude, un
couth, ignorant ham. Let us pray.”
Mr. Truman used quite vigorous language
in this little gem letter. He proved that if
provoked he could get rather nasty. He ev
en threatened the use of personal force.
But after five days of discussion with
Prime Minister Attlee on a topic of so much
more importance, the world situation, and
what we intend to do about Korea, Truman
wasn’t fired up enough to say anything
much—just that we will keep on doing what
we’re doing now.
We agree with Mr. Pegler, “Let us pray.”
»
Some businesses succeed in spite of
the methods and manners in vogue.
Defeaiest Philosophy: Doing work
ahead of time means that you get
more work to do.
The Battalion
Lawrence Sullivan Ross, Founder of Aggie Traditions
''Soldier, Statesman, Knightly Gentleman”
, 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,
and Tuesday and Thursday during vacation and examination periods. Subscription rates $6.00 per year
or $.50 per month. Advertising rates furnished on request.
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 arc also reserved.
News contributions rnay 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.
Entered as second-class matter at Post
Office at College Station, Texas, under
the Act of Congress of March 3, 1870.
Member of
The Associated Press
Represented nationally by National AdJ
vertising Service Inc., at New York City,
Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
DAVE COSLETT, CLAYTON L. SELPH._„ Co-Editors
John Whitmore, L* O. Tiedt Managing Editors
Frank N. Manitzas.. ! Sports Editor
Bob Hughson, Jerry Zuber..... Campus Editors
Joel Austin City Editor
Today’s Issue
John Whitmore Managing Editor
Jerry Zuber Campus News Editor
Frank N. Manitzas Snorts News Editor
Leon McClellan City News Editor
T. M. Fontaine, Carter Phillips Editorialists
liob Hughson, Andy Anderson, George Charlton. Tom
Rountree. Allen Pengelley. Leon McClellan. Wayne
Davis. Bob Venable. Bill Streich, Norn»an Blahuta,
.fob's Hildebrand, Bryan Spencer, Bay Williams,
Herb O’Coimell. Jim Audyrspn. Ori James, J. P.
Stern. Kaymoii Swan, Robert Ball. Bert Hardaycay.
Edward Holder, Richard Ewing. News and Feature Writers
Roger Coslett Quarterback. Club
P.osa Maiia Zuber : .Society Editor
Jack Fontaine, Jerry Fontaine Special Assignments
Sid Abernathy L Campus News Editor
Sam Molinary 1 Chief Photographer
Herman C. Gollob Amusements Editor
Ralph Gorman. Ray Holbrook, Harold Gann, Joe
Blanchette, Pat LeBbanc, Dale Dowell. Jimmy Curtis,
Qhuck Neighbors. Fred Walker Sports Writers
Bob Hancock, John HoMingsbead,
Tommy Fontaiue, James Lancaster Photo Engravers
Emmett Trant. Jerry Clement, Bob Hendry Cartoonists
Autrey Frederick Advertising Manager
Kuioell Hagens, Frank Thurmond Advertising Representatives
WANTA MAKE SOMETHING OF IT ?
Flip of the Wrist . . .
Jet Fighters Get Into Act
With Push Button Flying
tno8.fi/.
Letters To The Editor
Breach of Etiquette?
Not Us. Look Closer
Editor, The Battalion:
I refer to the picture on page
one of the Friday December 8 Bat
talion in which Alice Bauer is
putting the ball while Marlene
Bauer looks on.
One item of golf etiquette is
that no player cast his (or her)
shadow across the path of the ball
being putted.
Was your photographer at fault,
making us think Marlene is. so
thoughtless, or was it just too cold
that day for anyone to think?
Jerry P. Breen, Jr. ’51
(Editor’s Note: There was some
thing wrong with our picture of
the Bauer sisters, but the breach
of etiquette you noted, we had
nothing to do with. First, the pic
ture was not posed. Second, our
photographers have no powers by
which they can make the sun cast
shadows in any given direction.
So Mariene must have been at
fault.
(You may have noted, however,
that Alice was putting left-handed.
She is right-handed. The picture
was reversed accidentally in the
engraving process.)
Aggieland Advertising
Editor, The Battalion:
Seniors, Are you ashamed of
your woman ? Do you walk her
along Jark alleys so your friends
won’t sec her?? NO? Then show
her off! Prove to your friends she
is a queen. Enter her in Vanity
Fair and Senior Favorites, and
show how proud of her you are.
The deadline for Vanity Fair and
Senior Favorites has been extend
ed to Jan. 20 so that gives her
plenty of time to get those pic
tures taken.
All you need- are three pictures.
One in formal dress full length.
One bust shot in informal attire—
sweater, suit, blouse, etc. And one
full length shot in sports attire—
bathing suit, play suit, etc. All of
these pictures should be 5x7 glossy
prints. There is a slight fee of
$1.50' for every entry in Vanity
Fair and Senior Favorites. This
is a small sum compared to the
happiness you will give the little
woman
Win fame, fortune, and a two
page spread in the Aggieland for
your best gal. Have her presented
at the Military Ball, the biggest
ball of them all. Enter your woman
now in the Vanity Fair. Remember
the absolute dead line is Jan. 20.
Jim Modlin
Associate Editor
Aggieland 1951
(Editor’s Note: Be it known that
the Aggieland 1951 shall be limit
ed to just one such free advertise
ment, via the Letters to the Editor
column, per semester.)
Lost Letter Denounces
Battalion Editors
(Editor’s Note: We have to
apologize again today. We found
another letter last night that is
almost three weeks old. We
found it in our desk drawer
among other ancient items while
hunting for something else. Ap
parently, someone had put it.
there some time ago for our at
tention, not knowing that we
didn’t take lime out every day
to read our old fan mail.)
Editor, The Battalion:
About 19 years ago I learned
how to read. During this; interval
and during the six years, off and
on, that I have been on this cam
pus, I have read countless articles
iu magazines, in newspapers, in
books, in all kinds of publications,
and in The Battalion.
Although many, many times I
have thought of writing to the au
thors of some of these articles,
either to express my complete
agreement or my violent dissent,
I have felt that my efforts would
not be rewarded in a manner that
would justify the time that I have
taken to make my sentiments
known.
1 am informing you of this fact
so that you may explicitly bear in
mind the greatness of the motivat
ing force, which, at long last, fur-.
nislied the necessary stimulus to
prompt me to waste my valuable
time ant], write, to you. that force.
Gentlemen, was your “editor’s
note” to Mrs. York, whom I am
certain you remember.
How the present editors of The
Battalion, who arc occupying what
supposedly is a coveted post, could
have manufactured such an asi
nine, prosaic, trite, and insiped re
ply to that lady is beyond my pow
er to comprehend.
It is also beyond my mental ca
pacity to fathom how you ascended
to the position of editors, because
the journalistic capabilities that
you have not yet shown are the
greatest 1 have ever had the dis
pleasure to perceive.
If you wrote that reply to Mrs.
York because you lacked material
with which to fill the pages of the
Batt and so wished to cause some
letters to be written to you, then
you were successful, for mine is
only one of several you have re
ceived regarding Mrs. York. If
you did it merely to emulate the
editorial comment of Life, then I
believe it is to your advantage to
take up journalism for fifty years
and try again.
If I were remotely interested in
your type of endeavor and had the
necessary time, I would go down
to the Batt office for a week and
show you boys how to produce a
good paper.
My suggestion to you is that you
exhibit a little respect and a little
less stupidity in making editorial
comments by letters directed to
you, particularly those from well-
meaning Aggie mothers.
Washington—fd?)— Push button
flying has caught up with the jet
era of aerial warfare.
A new automatic pilot, already
in production, will take the
“swoosh” planes smoothly through
good or bad weather, guide them
safely through “soup” to the run
way, and may even fire their guns
aimed by radar.
The Air Force Air Materiel
Command (AMC) said in a state
ment the new F-5 autopilot “is
the first mechanism developed
which which can meet the high
speed and maneuverability re
quired to fly today’s jet fighters.”
The device was developed by
Lear, Inc., Grand Rapids, Mich.,
in coordination with the AMC,
which has headquarters at
Wright-Patterson Air Base,
Dayton, Ohio. The autopilot has
won the Robert J. Collier trophy,
rated aviation’s top honor, for
William P. Lear, chairman and
research director for the com
pany. The award will be present
ed next Saturday.
Automatic pilots are customary
in bombers and transport planes,
but not in fighters. Problems of
size and weight, combined with
high sensitivity of control and
relatively short endurance of fight
ers, has delayed autopilot applica
tion to single-engine planes. The
Lear device meets all the requirc-
G. S. Trevino, ’|6
WhaFs Cookin’
A&M FILM SOCIETY, Monday,
7:30 p. m., YMCA Chapel.
BELL COUNTY CLUB: Mon
day, 7:30 p. m., Room 123, Aca
demic Building. Christmas dance
will he discussed.
CAMPUS STUDY CLUB: Tues
day, 3 p. m., YMCA. Arthur Ste
wart, Department of Business Ad
ministration, to. speak. Scholarship
loan fund to be discussed.
COLLEGIATE 4-H CLUB: Mon
day, Room 2-A MSC, 7-15 p. m.
Bruce Gibson to make talk on
his recent trip to Chicago.
INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION
WIVES CLUB: Tuesday, 7:30 p. m.
South Solarium YMCA. Christmas
gifts to be exchanged.
RURAL SOCIOLOGY CLUB:
Tuesday, 7 p. m. Room 208, Agri
culture Building. Program: Report
on White House Conference.
TAU BETA PI: Wednesday, 5
p. m. Initiation in Chem Lecture
room. Banquet 7:15 p. m., Sbisa
Hall.
Hume May Sell Truman
Letter to Aid Charity
Washington, Dec. 11 — UP) — If
music critic Paul Hume sells the
letter in which President Truman
threatened to beat him up for writ
ing a “lousy” review of Margaret
Truman’s singing, the proceeds
may be turned over to charity.
Hume disclosed in reply to a re
porter’s inquiries today that he
has received a number of offers
for the letter
At Mount Holly, N.C., Henry
H. Ryan, a cotton broker, said
he had phoned Hume last night
•suggesting that the note he sold
for charity. Ryan said he be
lieved that it would bring a big
ger price if it were sold for
some such charity as the Damon
Runyan Cancer Fund or the Gold
Star Mothers of the Korean War
instead of privately—if Hume
decided to sell.
Hume said he and his wife had
already thought that they would
give the proceeds to charity if they
sold the letter.
Hume had not yet received a
“substantial” offer which Jake
Zeitlin, a Los Angeles dealer in
rare books and manuscripts, an-
DVER5-FUR STORAGE HATTERS
[DIALJ
2-1584'
ymmmvvLKms
Loupot’s Trading Post—Agents
ments, however, and has been
built in a small model used even
in personal aircraft.
AMC said the F-5 “brain” is a
system of gyroscopes and electri
cal (circuits which automatically
cjompensate for over-controlling;
due to the high speed of the plane;
major elements have been reduced
in number, made simpler and
smaller, and adjustment in flight
has been eliminated. It added the
control can be installed in almost
any airplane.
Once off the ground, the pilot
can point his plane toward his
goal and relax—straight and level
flight will be maintained no matter
how rough the weather, the AMC
said.
To turn right or left, climb
or descend, the pilot needs only
two tiny controls. By moving the
two together, using only one
hand, he can perform all simple
flying maneuvers, such as “fig
ure 8’s.” The pilot can over
ride the autopilot with his man
ual controls at any time.
An accessory known as the auto
matic approach coupler permits
the pilot to link the F-5 with the
electronic “blind flying” aid known
as the instrument landing system
(ILS) and be guided accurately
to a runway he cannot see.
The Air Force avoided mention
of the prospects of tying in the
F-5 with the Sperry A-1C radar
gunsight, but it is no secret that
such a step is in prospect.
The A-1C solves all the fire
control problems for the jet fight
er pilot. He needs only to keep a
circle of light appearing on his
windshield over a target. The gun-
sight—it works also with bombs
Maim Street
and rockets — tracks the target
automatically, figures the angles of
deflection and prediction and fires
when the target is at the proper
range.
By coupling the radar sight
and the autopilot, the human
pilot will need only to flick a
switch to make an attack.
Development of the F-5 began in
1945 when Air Force officials
sought a means of relieving pilots
during the strain of high speed
flight and providing highly depend
able guidance for flights through ♦
turbulence and low visibility. The
device was proved satisfactory last
year and has gone into produc
tion. in recent months. F ;
It will be used primarily in all-
weather fighters used for night
and bad weather operations. Such
planes carry a two-man crew, one
being assigned to radar and navi
gation.
Lear is one of aviation’s most
colorful personalities. He was
born at Hannibal, Mo., June 26,
1902 showed an interest in elec- '
tricity at the age of 5 and set
up a telegraph line to a friend’s
home when he was 10.
Lear has continued his interest *
in radio since childhood and has
invented numerous devices used in
aircraft. Having left home when
he was 14, his only formal school
ing was two years in high school-
one at Chicago and one at Tulsa, t
Okla.
He learned to fly in Quincy, Ill.
Since then he has had businesses
in Chicago, New York, Piqua, Ohio, \
and Grand Rapids. Lear, Inc., has
a research center at Los Angeles
as well as at Grand Rapids.
by Ralph Stelr
nounced he had telegraphed. The
critic presumed that it probably is
waiting for him at the office of
the Washington Post. He had a
couple of concerts to attend and
didn’t plan to go into the office
during the day.
Hume said he hasn’t made up
his mind whether he will sell the
letter.
The letter, signed “H.S.T.,” fol
lowed Hume’s review of Miss Tru
man’s concert here Tuesday. Hume
wrote that she sang flat.
Hume was accused of bring
“autocratic” in a letter addressed
to him bearing the name of Irl
Allison of Austin, Texas, presi
dent of the National Guild of
Piano Teachers. A copy also
was made public.
“President Truman yielded to his
parental instinct,” this letter said,
“but the public too resents such
attacks upon defenseless people
who propose to entertain. Yours
is but an example of the tendency
nationwide for critics to pan the
artists. It is an autocratic status
that the unsympathetic music crit
ic has reached much out of pro
portion to his importance.”
Give Citrus for Christmas
Get your package TODAY at the
Free Horticulture Show in the
Banquet Room of Sbisa Hall or
call the Horticulture Department,
4-7614.
Prices from $1.95 to $8 fier Package
(F. O. B. McAllen)
IJ’L ABNER
The Eyes of Fleagie Are Upon You
By A1 Capp