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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 11, 1951)
Battalion Editorials Page 2 WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11, 1951 Cast Your Ballot Tonight rTHE STUDENT SENATE election com- mittee conducts a campus-wide vote to night. Purpose: to let students voice their ap proval or disapproval of a proposed student government change which would make the Student Senate President one elected by the student body and which would change the name to President of the Student Body. In its meeting last week, the Senate fav ored the change, 20-10, in an unofficial show of hands requested by its president. The Battalion has long supported the idea and considers it a definite step in ad vancement of A&M’s student government, provided proper qualifications are establish ed for candidates for the office. A question-and-answer series on the elec tion might help explain the referendum vote to any student still in the dark, so here it is: Q.—Why do you think we need a Presi dent of the Student Body elected by the students ? A.—The President of the Student Sen ate has actually been serving in this posi tion. His actions and duties call for him to be the topmost representative of the student body. Therefore we believe the students should elect him. Q.—Then, why the name change? A.—Senate President Bill Parse has been at a disadvantage during his term when deal ing with representatives from other Texas colleges. He can only lay claim to the indi rect support of the student body, while most officers from other schools can attribute their selections to a vote of the students. proper Teague Flails Draft’s ‘Suspense, Indecision’ Olin E. Teague is (he member of the House of Representa tives in Washington from Tex as’ Sixth District (which in cludes Brazos County.) The congressman Station and has sent a news release which we think will be of interest to our readers.—The Editor. from College an A&M grad, I agree with the extension of service, but cannot endorse the draft of 18-year olds when, under the present draft of 19-to-26-year olds, only 1.2 million are consider ed as inductable out of a total of eight million in that age group. • What steps should be taken on a long-range, permanent basis to provide adequate military secur- eliminate all this indecision and suspense. . Such a program should inter fere as little as possible with the youngster’s normal pattern of life. As a result of the foregoing, I have introduced a bill which would leave the present draft age at 19 years, although extend the length of service to 26 months. Incorporated in the bill also is a complete UMT program which WASHINGTON, April 11—To- ” day, the House of Representa- The bill introduced by this com- tives is engaged in debating one of mittee recognizes a UMT program, has been "devefoped'Taraely by the the most crucial issues facing the but the details of the program are American Lee-ion as a result of nation since World War Il-our not spelled out in the bill. 1 sin- ycaS S work with this matter aS military preparedness program. cerely believe that UMT is not which was the first UMT bill intro- Basically, two questions arc in- only desirable, but essential to our dimed in the Senate in 1951 by Sen- volved. future security; however, I cannot at oi- Russell of Georgia. • What form should the draft a S re e wit , h such a1 } indefinite pro take in order to meet short-range posal and one which requires six immediate military requirements? months basic training. I believe if we are going to adopt a UMT program, let us pass one which will incorporate as fully as possible all the details of the program and thereby, let the fam ilies and youngsters themselves know exactly where they stand and The Committee on Armed Ser vices bill now before the House has approached this question by re ducing the draft age from 19 to 18 Yz years, and by lengthening the required service from 21 to 26 months. The Battalion Lawrence Sullivan Ross, Founder of Aggie Traditions "Soldier, Statesman, Knightly Gentleman” Entered as second-class matter at Post Office at College Staton, Texas, Under the Act of Con- press of March 3, 1870. Member of The Associated Press The Battalion, official newspaper of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, is published by students 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. Subscrip tion rates $6.00 per year 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. Under this UMT program, the- average youngster would be lia ble for four months basic mili tary training in a special training corps in his eighteenth year. Im mediately upon completion of basic training, he would fulfill the balance of his UMT require ments. Among these alternates are ad ditional active duty; entry into one of the reserve programs; entry into an officer training program (in cluding college ROTC), or entry into a university for military, tech nical, or specialist training. The program would be directed by a civilian commission to be ap pointed by the President. The main advantages of this program would Represented nationally J 36 that ^ is definite and would al- by National Advertising low the youngsters and their fam- Service Inc., at New York jlies to make definite plans. City, Chicago, Los An- It would not be necessary to interrupt a youngster’s educa tion or career since four months basic training could be taken during a summer and an alter nate program selected which would fit in with whatever plans he had. geles, and San Francisco. Q.—What would you consider qualifications?” A.—Probably that he must have been a member of the Senate, a Senate “sitter,” or have attended a sufficient number of meet ings of the Senate to learn its operations. Q.—Do you think this narrows the field too much? A.—Not in the least. The last qualifica tion would make eligible any man who had sufficient interest in the position for a year in advance. And the job should definitely create interest in the under-classes. Q.—Why couldn’t the Senate just set the election without this student body referen dum? A.—The Senate’s constitution, unfortun ately, requires that % the members of that body vote for an amendment before it can be passed on to the Student Life Committee for final approval. At last Thursday night’s meeting, a ma jority favored the amendment, but a % vote couldn’t be reached. The amendment was presented, however, in the form of a resolu tion seeking tonight’s election and was passed. These are but a few of the questions which could—and should arise—when you vote tonight. Circle the “yes” on the ballot. You will be insuring more interest in the colleges student government, as well as giv ing A&M’s top student leader the position he deserves and the student body the vote it needs. From the City Desk Batt Re-Named Official Paper . . . By Joel Austin Y OU MAY HAVE noticed the absence of the" “ear” at the top of our front page designating The Battalion as the of ficial publication of College Station during the past few months. ... This matter came about last summer when the local city council founds that through a ruling from the attorney general of Texas, this newspaper would not qualify as an “official” city newspaper. The technicality in the law stated that any such paper designated as the official paper must be published without fail at least once each week for a period of one year. During examination period of the Fall semester last year (February 1950) publication was suspended for one week in order that staff members might have an opportunity to pre pare for examinations. From that time until last summer when the action was taken, not a single week had been missed by The Battalion in printing at least one paper per week. The paper had not been printed one year with continuous publication each week when the question arose as to the validity of official notices posted in The Battalion by the Col lege Station City Council. After due consideration, the coun cil voted to name a Bryan paper as the “official” paper until such time as The Battalion would qualify. Printing four full-size papers each week all summer and then continuing with a Tuesday-Thursday schedule between semesters, this paper went into the Fall semester with a clear record of not missing a single week of publication. February 1 it was capable of meeting all the require ments of the “official” paper and at Monday night’s meet ing of the new council, The Battalion was again designated as the paper to receive all official publications of the city, which would be valid under the state ruling. Smith Was Not a Candidate In our story on the results of the College Station mun icipal election April 4, there was a sentence that read as follows: “Lloyd D. Smith received five write-in votes to make a weak bid for the position now held by winner W. D. Fitch in Ward III.” Our apologies to Mr. Smith for implying that he might have been a candidate. He asked that we inform our readers that he was not a candidate, but deeply appreciated the vote of confidence given him by a few voters of Ward III. Mr. Smith said, “I was not a candidate. Friends had sug gested that I enter the race but I declined, feeling that I could not devote the time that should be given to the posi tion.” Appreciation Shown for Power Line Purchase The people of College Hills expressed their appreciation in many ways for the city council’s final move in closing a deal with the City of Bryan and REA to buy power lines in that section of town. The city takes official possession April 15 and the lower domestic rates for College Station will be enforced at that time. City officials asked people of College Hills not to be alarmed if their first bill is a little larger than what they may have expected. Dates for reading meters in this city come at a later time than in Bryan and as a result the bill will be for more than a month’s use of electricity. The slightly higher commercial rates in College Station will, of course, go into effect in College Hills. Merchants and commercial consumers of electricity have been promised an adjustment in the charges, however, and council action on the matter should be here by the next meeting. House-to-House Mail Delivery Possible For those of you who are wondering about the possibil ities of house-to-house mail delivery in College Station, there is still a very good chance this service may be established soon. Chamber of Commerce President Joe Sorrels has again asked that all residents of the city return the cards sent them by the chamber asking if they would prefer to have this new mail delivery. Sorrels asked us to urge everyone to get those question cards back to him immediately so a representative figure could be used in determining how the local people feel about home mail delivery. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Editor, The Battalion: Down through the years A&M has always had a few distinct char acteristics which have distinguished it from the general run of colleges throughout the United States. In the opinion of the student+ body here at A&M these differences have made the school just a little bit better than, the rest of the col leges around these parts. One of the most important dif ferences of A&M has been the ab sence, in the most part, of politics in campus affairs. Was it Jeffer son who said “Government of the least is government of the best?” Our federal, state, and municipal governments seem to have forgot ten this theory. Why is it neces sary for us here at A&M to follow the examples of these various forms of government? At most schools the President of the Student Body is considered to be the most honored position on the campus. Here at A&M, how ever, the Colonel of the Cadet Corps and the President of the Senior Class have been considered co-holders of this honored position. In the last few years the Presi dent of the Student Senate has also been elevated to this position, which in our opinion, is fine and proper. Why is it necessary to elevate one of these positions to a rank which may be considered above that of the others, especially since the most convincing argument the advo cators of this proposed change can muster is such a weak one ? They seem to feel that just because the other schools of this area have a President of the Student Body we must have one, too. Here at A&M we have always taken pride in be ing different. Why must we change our policies just to conform to the standard student governing bodies of other schools? The President of the Student Senate, President of the Senior Class, and the Cadet Colonel of the Corps each have their own dis tinct functions, even though it ap pears that in recent yeai’s the du ties and privileges of the Senior Class have been infringed upon and sometimes even blotted out by the activities of the Student Sen ate. Whose fault this is we don’t know, but it is obvious that this transition is taking place. We see no reason why, by elevating the leader of the Student Senate to the position of President of the Stu dent Body, this group (the Stu dent Senate) should become the dominant organization in campus affairs and take over duties for merly done by the Senior Class and the Cadet Corps. The ideas expressed by the var ious campus publications seem to indicate that any additional power given to a student governing body is an improvement of campus af fairs. That idea, in our opinion, is en tirely wrong, and we do not be lieve that we here at A&M should have a president of the student body. If we want to have an offi cial elected at large, let’s make him President of the Student Sen ate, as it is now, not President of the Student Body, which, from the title, seems to elevate him to a po sition above that held by the Ca det Colonel of the Corps and the President of the Senior Class. A1 Rollins ’51 T. E. Flukinger ’51 Reid H. Rogers ’51 (The Battalion firmly believes that a Student Body President is necessary for student government advancement here. Read today’s editorial. (We are not advocates of “gov ernment of the most,” as you have implied. In fact, you seem to be advocating a contrast to Jefferson’s theory by desiring three offices of equal importance. (We cannot agree that A&M must always be different from oth er schools. It is a poor state of affairs when we cannot realize ences” such as the title of its stu- benefits other schools have and dent leader, we would not be en- refuse to follow simply to remain rolled in school here. The school “different.” has gained its reputation by many (If A&M’s pride and recognition more outstanding accomplishments ' is based on such minor “differ- (See LETTER, Page 4) The program would be controlled and directed by civilians; and the The Associated Press is entitled exclusively to the use for republication of all P*’°£iam would build a laigc, tiain- news dispatches credited to it or not otherwise credited in the paper and local news OQ reservoir Ol manpower Oil a pCl’- of spontaneous origin published herein. Rights of republication of all other matter manent, democratic basis. herein are also reserved. I do not know what will come OUt CLAYTON L. SELPH, DAVE COSLETT Co-Editors ^ John Whitmore, Dean Reed Managing Editors does, I feel, will be a decisive fac- Andy Anderson, Bob Hughson Campus Editors tor in determining our future se- Fred Walker 1 Sports Editor curity. Joel Austin City Editor —Olin E. Teague Vivian Castleberry Women’s Editor Phi Eta Sigma Data Due Saturday The cumulative historian’s 1’ec- ord of Phi Eta Sigma is due on or before April 14 in the office of the Faculty Adviser, Room 107 Academic Building, Dr. J. P. Ab bott, Dean of Arts and Sciences announced today. All charter mem bers should attach a recent pic ture, he added. Places have been reserved for all charter members at the Spring Initiation Banquet on May 7. Tick ets may be secured when the histor ian’s record is turned in, he said. Any charter member who did not receive a written invitation should see the Faculty Ad” iser as soon as possible, he advised. Today’s Issue John Whitmore Managing Editor Andy Anderson Campus News Editor Allen Pengelly City News Editor Fred Walker Sports News Editor T. M. Fontaine, Carter Phillips —Editorialists Allen Pengelly ....; Assistant City Editor Leon McClellan, Jack Fontaine, Ed Holder, Bryan Spencer, Bob Venable, Dale Walston, Bee Landrum, Frank DavisJ Phil Snyder, Art Giese, Cristy Orth, James Fuller, Leo Wallace. W. H. Dickens, Fig Newton, Joe Price, Pete Hermann, Wesley Mason, B. F. Roland, Ivan Yantis, Sid Ragsdale, Bill Aaberg, Ide Trotter, John Hildebrand, Chuck Neighbors, Bob Selleck, Bill Strcich, Curtis Edwards, Howard Heard Staff Writers Jimmy Ashlock, Joe Blanchette, Ray Holbrook, Joe Hollis, Pat LeBlanc ..Sports Staff Writers Sam Molitiary, Bob Alderdice Staff Photographers Sid Abernathy Page Make-up Joe Cray : : —Photo Engraving Shop Manager Tom Fontaine, Johnny Lancaster, Charles McCullough, R. R. Peeples, R. D. Witter , Photo Engravers Autrey Frederick Advertising Manager Ru-seli Hagens. Bob Haynis..— : Advertising P-epresentatives Dick Kelly—— ;_Glub Publicity Co-ordinator ‘Nancy O.’ Contest Li'l Abner’s Readers Will Grab Prizes Have you entered your favorite girl’s picture in the “Nancy O.” contest ? You didn’t know anything about it? To you ardent readers of Li’l Abner goes the honor of deciding how the “face on the girl” will finally look after the eminent Dr. Errorsmith performs his face-lift ing operation. You not only will receive the honor of seeing your girl friend’s picture, but you will also win for her a complete Conover Career- Girl course given under the per sonal supervision of Candy Jonds Conover. On top of these many honors, the lovely winner will be presented to the television audience on Can dy’s NBT program “Star Night at the Astor.” The winner will also receive a dozen hats in various colors, which will be flattering to your young lady—whether she be blonde, brun ette or redhead. The contest closes on April 21 so you’d better get those entries in promptly. Just mail them to The Battalion, College Station, Texas. They will be forwarded to the New York offices of United Fea ture Syndicate, sponsors of the “Nancy O.” contest. For M O M A GIFT SURE TO MAKE MOM HAPPY— A Photograph of Your Self VAN DYKE STUDIO Call Us NOW! for an Appointment BRYAN, TEXAS MOTHER'S DAY GIFTS Fenton POTTERY, CRYSTAL VASES & CENTER PIECES TABLE or DRESSER LAMPS HAMMERED ALUMINUM DISHES TRAYS, PITCHERS, PICTURES, FLORALS & SCENES CENTRAL TEXAS CO. Bryan, Texas BATTERY SPECIAL EXCHANGE PRICE GROUP ONE SIZE GOODYEAR-O-MATIC BATTERY CHARGING 'pteC BATTERY INSPECTION AND* ANALYSIS GOODYEAR SERVICE 200 E. 26th — Bryan DIAL 2-1200 DINE AND DANCE at FLAMINGO LOUNGE Weather Permitting, Our NEW Terrace Is Now Open FOR DANCING FINEST FOOD IN TOWN NOTE: We are closing Thursday for the opening of the EMPIRE ROOM of the CLUB AVALON. We especially invite our friends and custom ers of The FLAMINGO to join us there. Come out and see our new club and join in all the fun. BILL KELLEY, Manager Flamingo Lounge Empire Room PHONE 6-1271 PH. RURAL 8532 - F21 LI’L ABNER It Tells Fish Stories By A1 Capp Bible Verse 1 ET your light so shine before "men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Fath er which is in heaven-—Mat 5:16.