Page 2
THE BATTALION
Tuesday, January 5, 1954
Battalion
They Hide in "Innocence’
And Work for Censorship:
Hiding behind a cloak of “innocence,”
certain people here on the campus are trying
their utmost to censor The Battalion.
The cloak behind which they hide is the
possible establishment of a committee
to the Student Life committee to deal with
The Battalion.
A committee has been appointed to study
the need of such a committee, and if this
committee finds there is a need for one,
members of this group will recommend the
functions and membership of the permanent
committee.
We first learned of an attempt to control
The Battalion immediately following the
John Clark incident. We were told by Fred
Mitchell, colonel of the corps, that the print
ing of the Clark story was detrimental to
A&M College.
Shortly after our talk with Mitchell, we
were approached by him, Carroll Phillips of
the corps staff, and Leonard (Chubby) Ed
dy, commander of the fourth group.
These men questioned u£ as to our inter
pretations of the statement which we run on
our front page each day. It says, “Published
Daily in the Interest of a Greater A&M Col
lege.”
Mitchell and Phillips said they were act
ing as members of the Student Life Com
mittee and representing the student body.
They claimed we had been injuring A&M
with some of the stories and editorials we had
carried, such as the John Clark story, and
such as the editorial on senior boots which
we published at the first of the year.
These seniors said they were going to
try to have us removed from our positions.
Spike White, manager of student activi
ties and secretary of the Student Life
committee, was carrying the ball the next
time the incident arose.
He placed an item on the agenda of the
SLC which involved a standing committee
over student publications and yell leaders.
White said he put this on the agenda af
ter he was visited by “several groups of stu
dents” who protested the present Battalion
editors.
Here’s how we see it:
There are several powers on the campus
which would like to control The Battalion for
their own selfish interests.
This committee, if established, would be
a foothold. It would give them a basis from
which to work.
We will not tolerate such a committee,
and we feel the majority of our readers would
not want us to do so.
If this committee is established, no mat
ter how limited its powers, it could build
from there year after year. After a time,
The Battalion would be a propaganda sheet
for a chosen group of students and a hand
ful of administrative officers.
As it boils down, a few people on the
campus would like to see certain news stories
censored. This censorship would have kept
the John Clark story out of The Battalion
if these people had been in a position to ex
ercise this censorship.
We are putting out a newspaper which
carries the truth, and this truth is slowly
bringing from their holes those people who
would like to conceal things they can’t hide
with a downpour of facts showering into
their comfortable little holes.
There is little need to mention the thous
ands of our countrymen who died in pursuit
of a free press in war after war. There is
little need to elaborate on our cold war with
Russia in which we are fighting the suppres
sion of our basic freedoms.
But it’s high time some of us right here
at home, at A&M, started thinking about
people like this who would sink their power-
hungry claws into a newspaper simply so
that the paper would print only what they
want.
However, our printing of the news is not
the only part of the paper which has been
attacked by various groups on the campus.
Our editorials have been viciously at
tacked. Some students have told us T h e
Battalion’s editorials should “express the
opinion of the student body.”
This is one point which needs clarifica
tion.
The editorials in this paper are the opin
ions of the editors. We do not try in any
way to reflect the opinions of one group or
groups on this campus.
We have at times editorialized on stu
dents, organizations, administrative officials,
ideas, rules and regulations, accepted prac
tices, unaccepted practices and hundreds of
other subjects to numerous to elaborate upon.
But always we have voiced our own opin
ions. We never have bowed to any special
group, and never will.
Are we so different in that we print our
opinions? Every newspaper in the nation
prints its opinions. It is a pity, but some of
these papers are controlled by selfish persons
who use the printed word for their own
selfish reasons.
This paper is free from those influences
which would have us write our editorials for
selfish purposes. And we are fighting a
group such as this now which would like to
wrap its absorbing tentacles around The Bat
talion and suck the life-blood of freedom of
the press from this paper and maintain un
limited censorship over the editors.
The Battalion
Wh a 1 9 s Cooking
Lawrence Sullivan Ross, Founder of Aggie Traditions
“Soldier, Statesman, Knightly Gentleman”
7:15 p. m.—Rodeo club meeting,
A&I building.
The Battalion, official newspaper of the Agricultural and Mechan
ical College of Texas, is published by students four times a week, during
the regular school year. During the summer terms, and examination
and vacation periods, The Battalion is published twice a week. Days of
publications are Tuesday through Friday for the regular school year,
and Tuesday and Thursday during examination and vacation periods
and the summer terms. Subscription rates $9.00 per year or $ .75 per
month. Advertising rates furnished on request.
Sntered as second-class
oaatter at Post Office at
CoUege Station, Texas
under the Act of Con
gress of March 3, 1870.
Member of
The Associated Press
Represented nationally by
National Advertising
Services, Inc., at New
York City, Chicago, Tide
Angeles, and San Fran
cisco.
The Associated Press is entitled exclusively to the use for repabli-
cation of all news dispatches credited 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.
News contributions may be made by telephone (4-5444 or 4-7604) or
at the editorial office room, 202 Goodwin Hall. Classified ads may be
placed by telephone (4-5324) or at the Student Activities Office, Room
209 Goodwin Hall.
JERRY BENNETT, ED HOLDER Co-Editors
Chuck Neighbors Managing Editor
tiarri Baker Campus Editor
Bob Boriskie ......Sports Editor
Jon Kinslow City Editor
Jerry Estes Basic Division Editor
Bob Hendry Feature Editor
Barbara Rubin Society Editor
Jerry Wizig — -....-Associate Sports Editor
Frank Hines, Jerry Ntighhors Bob Bossy, Jim Collins, Ray Wall,
A1 Eisenberg, .^.rnold Goldstein, Bill Parsons, Bill Warren,
Jack Farley, John Einton, King McGowan, Jay Ireland,
Charles Kingsbury, Georgs Manillas, E. B. McGowan Staff Writers
Gardner Collins .' Exchange Editor
Bob Painter, Toth. Skribausk .Advertising Staff
James Earle Stiff cartoonist
Seymour Smith, Will Ho’.laday, John Mcacker ...Staff Photographers
Larry Eightfoot . . Circulation Manager
Poland Baird, Eayii-ii, Moadoa Go-co. a'on Syifcr, Suday w..:. ims,
Raeeeii Eeec, G**ca*awoa o-a-f
Saddle and Sirloin club meeting,
A&I lecture room. Election of of
ficers.
Kream and Kow Klub meeting,
room 3C, MSC.
jrt CVEAN//y 0
Save Your Money!
Save Your Clothes!
CAMPUS
CLEANERS
Editorials
r i
We Must Hare All of News
If News Is To .Be Goo#!
Newspapers and electronic devices offer
us a variety of news. We may read or be
told about the hero who has rescued people
from a burning- building. Or of a medical
discovery that has won another battle in the
long war against disease. A little later we
may become enthused over the story of a
business success or a sports victory.
This is good news. Nice news. Encour
aging news. On another page or station we
might be told of distressing occurrences:
shocking crimes, shady deals, disasters, neg
ligence—unpleasantness of many kinds.
This is not nice news. Because it is not,
we may feel that some of it should be played
down or omitted.
Our reasons may be the best: To prevent
heartaches. To protect young, impression
able readers or listeners. To save innocent
people from undesirable publicity.
Charitable motives, yes. But if trans
lated into strict news policies they might do
as much, or more, harm than good. Take
away the fear of the cold, revealing light of
news publicity, and a lot of persons would
immediately lose interest in maintaining
their honesty, uprightness and efficiency.
Imagine, if you will, how much greater would
be the abuses of power and position if wrong
doing in high places were never published or
aired.
If we are to benefit from the news, or
make corrections as a result of it, we must
have all—not part—of it. Good news only
would not be good news. It would be bad
news. Only all the news is good news . . .
even if, unfortunately, some of it is bad
news. —Phoenix Flame.
Kremlin Wants Good Toys
Rain Hampers
Remodeling
Of Camp us
Remodeling- the besement in the
military science building and new
floors for the classrooms of Bolton
hall were the only construction jobs
not hampered by bad weather dur
ing the holidays, according to
Howard Badgett, manager of the
physical plants department.
Scheduled construction of curb
ing and gutters in the Hart hall
parking lot, completion of side
walks around the Academic build
ing, and laying of a sidewalk
around Bizzell hall were all held up
by rain and continued bad weather.
Curbing and gutters are now be
ing constructed on the Hart hall
lot, and other work will be resumed
within a few days.
The basement of the military
science building was remodeled and
partitioned to allow the publi
cation section of the department
to move from its present location
in the basement of the YMCA.
Installation of new floors in
Bolton hall was completed in only
the class rooms. Offices will be
done at a later date.
The floors were laid by putting
plywood and tile on top of the old
wooden floors. This enabled work
men to do the job quicker and
without tearing out the old floors.
MOSCOW—OP)—Old Grandfath
er Frost is getting some pretty
strict orders these days. He’s be
ing told to pack mama dolls that
really say mama and boys’ games
that won’t fall apart when he
makes his gift-bearing rounds in
Russia on New Year’s Day.
Grandfather Frost is the Soviet
version of Santa Claus. He ar
rives a week before Christmas in
the Soviet Union, which is ob-
Publications Group
(Continued from Page 1)
and Bennet voted against the mo
tion because they felt it might lead
to censorship of the pj-q^s.
C. G. (Spike) White, director of
Student Activities and secretary of
the Student Life committee told
the December meeting that he had
received complaints from people
hei-e concerning Student Publica
tions.
Later it developed that the
complaints had concerned only The
Battalion. White indicated t h a t
some people did not think The Bat
talion co-editors were working to-
wai’d a greater A&M college.
Student Publications, the yell
le^tkyjs the ^ st lidenf cn fei&sw n - - *t o.-hs«« .th.hr-r-q.j.'lec ted i H»-l^t;le>XMa4<
merit' manag-er are supervised by
Student Life. A committee is set
up on student entertainment. Pub
lications and yell leaders have no
special committees.
The Battalion noticed the first
definite action to set up a publi
cations committee after it pub
lished news stories and editorials
on the November student ousting
of Odessa junior John Clark.
the
the
served Jan. 7 in accord with
old Julian calendar used by
Russian Orthodox Church.
But day after tomorrow millions
of Soviet children will gather
around fir trees to r-eceive gifts
and sweets. The grownups ex
change gifts too—and this year the
cry is for quality goods.
Premier Georgi Malenkov’s gov
ernment has promised more and
better consumer goods. Letter col
umns of Soviet newspapers disclose
that the Russian consumer wants
gifts now that holiday buying
in full swing.
A parent who bought a doll for
his daughter hail this indignant
comment:
“The instructions said that this
doll could walk, roll its eyes and
say ‘mama.’ The doll looks very
nice—if you ignore the fact that
its wig is made of rags and cotton
(See ‘KREMLIN WANTS, Pago^l)
LPL ABNER
By A1 Capp
SPENT 30
/EARS LEARNING
MAT OPERATION-
AND TMEY'ISE,
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FOR iTff
By Walt Kelly
P O G O
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By Walt Kelly
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Livestock Judgers
To Compete Iasi. 30
The A&M junior livestock judg
ing team will compete Jan. 30 in
the national livestock judging con
test at Fort Worth.
Team members will be selected
later from a group of 32 now work
ing out for the team.
Any student with junior classifi
cation and certain other qualifica
tions may judge on the team. Hf
must also have taken Animal Hus
bandry 315, not be on scholastic
proha'tmn, an i 'ir-var 'judged in a
major livestock judging contest re
presenting A&M.
The contest has 12 classes of
livestock. Each member will judge
the 12 classes and give oral reasons
on eight of the 12 classes.
Awards will be presented at a
banquet Jan. 31.
The trip is sponsored each year
by the Saddle & Sirloin club and
student' activities office.
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