The Battalion
Number 82: Volume 55
COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 1956
Price 5 Cents
Great Issues Speaker
Asks Faith In Mankind
Story on Speech Written
As Personal Impressions
By BILL. FULLERTON
Norman Thomas, in oponing - his
talk at last night’s Great Issues,
indicated that a nation to remain
strong must have faith. And then
this great American, backed with
the warmth of a highly apprecia
tive audience and bothered toward
the close by a persistently itchy
nose, proceeded to demonstrate by
word and eloquent sincerity the
type of faith that can fulfill the
promise of American life.
Great Issues
Announces
More Speakers
Three outstanding- speakers
have been scheduled to speak
on controversial subjects dur
ing this semester for Great
Issues programs. The speak
ers are pi'esented by the Memorial
Student Centei’’s Great Issues Com
mittee.
Norman C. Thomas, political
philopsophei’ and ordained Pres
byterian minister, spoke last night
on “A Faith for Our Times”.
Hodding Carter, liberal editor of
the Greenville, Miss., Delta-Demo-
ci-at Times, will speak Feb. 29 on
the problem of desegregation. Car
ter, called the “Hot Middle” editor,
is in the middle of the school de
segregation fight since he has
chosen to fight both sides at once.
In his editorial he has denounced
both sides of the issue for then-
approaches to inter-racial issues.
T. V. Smith, called the “Sage of
Syracuse”, will be the next speak
er in the seines April 20. He is a
native Texan and a graduate of the
University of Texas, and is now a
professor at Syracuse University.
Jjinith will speak on the subject,
“Capitalism Unbloated”. His pub
lic service has been quite varied
and has included radio and TV
programs, State senatorship in Il
linois, Illinois congressman - at-
large, and authorship of some 20
books.
The Great Issues Committee has
tentatively planned a program with
Harold Stassen on May 1, as well
as one or two others who will be
announced later.
His was not a. political speech,
nor was it an ideological oration:
he did not try to convert anyone
to Socialism.
Thomas preached, for this is the
medium of faith, social or religious,
on the need for a unified social
faith in America—a faith that he
saw lacking in our modern times.
Did Thomas describe this faith?
Tie said what it was: a faith in the
worthfulness of effort, in the sin
cere belief that man hasn’t done
all he can to bring about the peace
that the world so desperately
wants, a faith for the validity of
faith in mankind and faith in the
validity of all religions.
But he could not give to the au
dience such a faith; oiily the indi
vidual can realize faith. Thomas
could not give to us what we want
ed; he could only describe in words
and in the sincerity that was so
obvious in his person what was his
own. The closest his talk could
come was in describing the nega
tive effects which accompany a
lack of faith.
This description was the main
part of his speech, a description
that ranged in subject matter from
a lack of crusading zeal in the
younger generation—in my genera
tion—to the pressing problem of
d e s e gre ga ti on.
Thomas drew on facts, just a
few of which I might mention were
the millions of displaced persons
in the world, the cold and almost
brutal fact of our thermonuclear
weapons, incidents such as the vio
lence in Auburn College over the
presence of one Negro woman who
wanted to pursue higher and bet
ter education, and others. But this
man, humanized by the deepness of
his own faith, interpreted the facts
in relation to mankind. An inter-
pretation, I might add, that is all
too often forgotten in an era of
cold objectivity. And an interpre
tation that-prevents me from try
ing to give an entirely objective
report of his speech.
The main fact you might say that
Thomas denied was the present
prosperity of America. He re
minded us that ours was not a
well-distributed prosperity. He also
reminded us that ours is an econ
omy pulled out of a depression by
a major war effort and sustained
since this rise by huge expenditures
(See WRITER’S, Page *2)
Bait Coverage
To Include All
College View
Starting- today, 260 families
in College View will receive
The Battalion every day in
stead of just on Thursday as
it has been in the past.
Until the Student Publications
hoard met yesterday and voted the
change, there were 2<>0 families
who had the paper delivered to
them only on Thursday. This sit
uation existed because of the
higher cost involved when these
persons didn’t pay their activity
fees.
The business department of The
Battalion received a letter in No
vember from Stanley Duitscher
pointing out the interest and de
sire the residents of College View
have in receiving the paper daily.
After a survey was made to de
termine just what the cost would
be, the publication board members
unanimously agreed that The Bat
talion should be delivered to all of
College View even though it will
cost the paper more money.
The extra cost will run around
$600 pel’ year to serve those who
don’t pay their activity fee.
Ross Strader, student publica
tions manager, said that he hoped
the voting of the board would serve
as an answer to the letter from
Duitscher since he couldn’t give a
satisfactory answer until the cost
survey had been made.
TYPICAL AGGIE LOOK—James McNaughten, freshman from Milam, gives out with
the typical Aggie or any other College, expression when paying for books. All of the
local bookstores have had a busy week as students prepare to DS during the coming
semester.
Town Hall, Feb. 15
Houston Symphony To Play
By THE MUSIC EDITOR
Town Hall will continue its roai--
ing pace of entertainment next
week when it presents the Hous
ton Symphony Orchestra with Sir
Thomas Bee.cham conducting. The
program will open at 8 p.m. Feb.
15 in White Coliseum.
Sir Thomas is one of the great
figures of the music world, com
bining an audience-winning per
sonality with outstanding music
ianship. The appearance here is
one of only three he will make in
Texas, and the Town Hall staff
feels that his appearance here
with the Houston Symphony is a
rare opportunity for the people of
this area.
He has done what he pleased and
said what he pleased and, by un
orthodox methods and speech, has
accomplished more for the musical
life of his country than any con
temporary. His jokes between
numbers and singing during them
has won him endearment with Tex
as audiences.
Civilian Weekend
A&M Goes Western
“The Daddy of Westeim Swing”,
Bob Wills with his Texas Play
boys will storm Sbisa Hall March
10 as A&M goes western with the
second annual Civilian Student
Weekend.
During the past 20 years Bob
Wills has remained at the top of
the list as America’s number one
western dance and show band.
The celebrated radio, television
and motion pictui'e star is still the
most-copied western band leader in
the nation. Having introduced more
than 400 songs, he has received
gold recoi’ds for million-record
sales for tunes such as “Home in
San Antone,” “Trouble in Mind,”
“Iowa Jima Isle,” “Steel Guitar
Rag,” “Take Me Back to Tulsa”
and “San Antonio Rose.”
His Western Dance Music in all
its native vigor and authenic
sound has attracted a large fol
lowing over a period of years, and
has earned him the title of “Daddy
of Western Swing.”
The name of Bob Wills and His
Texas Playboys as a box office at
traction is attested by the fact
that the biggest turnout ever to
attend a dance on the West Coast,
8,808, were on hand recently when
the Texas Playboys were in Los
Angeles.
Wills hails from a family of
famous fiddlers. Both his grand
fathers had won the hearts of Tex
ans who had seen them walk off
with the highest honors from prac
tically every fiddle contest they
entered. His father was known as
a champion fiddler and great show
man. There were 17 close relatives
in his family who were prize-win
ning fiddle players.
Also to be featured at the Civil
ian Weekend and barbecue will be
Buster Satan and his Rhythm and
Blues band who currently are fea-
tui’ed at the Three by Twelve Club
in Dallas.
Manning Smith, local square
dancer and president of the Square
Dancing Association of. Texas, will
be master of ceremonies.
Boh Wills and His Texas Playboys
To Be Here For Civilian Weekend
Hob^ood Named
To Farm Research
Price Hobgood of the Depart
ment of Agricultural Engineering
has been named to the Farm and
Home Equipment and Structures
Research Advisory Committee by
Secretary of Agriculture Ezra
Benson.
In a letter to Professor Hobgood.
Secretary Benson said, “Member
ship on this committee offers real
opportunities for you to aid the
Department (USDA) in solving
some of the problems facing farm
ers and farm homemakers in re
gard to farm buildings, farm ma
chinery, and household equipment.
“The advice and counsel of the
Farm and Home Equipment and
Structures Research Advisory
Committee aid us in developing
needed research on all aspects of
farm structures and farm machin
ery reseai’ch.”
First meeting of the committee
which Professor Hobgood would be
expected to attend will be held in
Washington, D-C., Feb. 29-March
The Houston Symphony Orches
tra can hold its own in the field
of greatness, too. High regard for
the orchestra is held in Houston
and in the many cities where it has
appeared on tour. Guest conduc
tors and soloists have had warm
praise for the ensemble.
Sir Thomas himself, who appear
ed with it during the 1954-55 sea
son, has called it one of the finest
orchestras in the United States,
and Leopold Stokowski, now its
music director, Ernest Ansermet,
Bruno Walter and other eminent
conductors who have in recent
years appeai’ed with the Houston
Orchestra have been equally en
thusiastic about its quality.
The average age of the music
ians in the Houston Symphony is
30, well under that of many other
orchestras, and is one reason for
the vitality and extra zest for
which the group has been acclaim
ed.
A typical season includes: 16
student conceits, five “Pops” con
certs, 20 subscription concerts, 24
broadcasts heard throughout the
Gulf Goast area, 21 summer park
conceits and 20-40 out-of-town
concerts. This orchestra was the
first southern one to tom* above
the Mason-Dixon line. Regional
tours are frgquent, and many cities
of the Southwest which do not have
their own orchestra have “adop
ted*’ Houston’s as their own.
In the spring of 1955 Stokow
ski, in accepting the invitation of
the Houston Symphony Society to
become music director for the
Houston Symphony Orchestra,
said, “I see in Houston the possi
bility of building one of the great
est orchestras of the world.”
A rare chance indeed to see and
hear one of the fine orchestras of
our nation conducted by one of the
greatest men in the world of mu
sic.
Bobby Wilkins
Improved After
Spinal Attack
Bobby Wilkins, freshman
A&M student and son of Lt.
Col. and Mrs. Taylor Wilkins,
is reported improving in Bry
an Hospital after an attack
of spinal meningitis last week.
Wilkins entered the hospital last
Friday afternoon, and was in a co
ma for several hours. Doctors at
the hospital have tapped Wilkins
spine to remove fluid collected
there as a result of the disease.
Also reported improving w a s
John Lynn Barkley, a veteran stu
dent majoring in Pre-Veterinary
Medicine, who was stricken with
internal hemorrhages and a col
lapsed lung during final week.
Mrs. G. W. Pollan of College
Station has received a letter from
Barkley’s wife who said a tube had
been placed in her husband’s side
to drain fluid from his body. The
lung has started functioning again
and he is breathing much easier.
Doctors have started exercising
Barkley but there has been no di
agnosis as to what his trouble is
as yet. Barkley is in McClosky
Hospital in Temple. He was first
taken to the College Hospital
where blood transfusions were ad
ministered before he could be
moved to Temple.
Cvl. Seniors, Etc.
Can Get Pictures
Civilian seniors, graduate and
veterinary medicine students
should have class pictures for the
1956 Aggieland made Feb. 6 thru
Feb. 17.
Civilian students growing beards
may have their pictui-es made dur
ing the week of March 12-16.
The schedule is as follows:
Feb. 9-10—H-N
Feb. 13-14—O-S
Feb. 16-17—T-S
Portraits will be made between
8 a.m. and 5 p.m. at the Aggieland
Studio in North Gate.
Physics Assistants
Wanted For Spring
Laboratory assistants are need
ed in the Physics Department for
the spring semester’. Students who
have completed sophomore physics
courses with superior records are
needed to assist with instruction,
grading and handling of appara
tus in the laboratories.
Compensation is 90 cents per
hour for new assistants and $1
for experienced assistants. Ap
plications should be turned in to
J. G. Potter in the Physics Depart
ment.
Weather Today
CLEARING
The light rain will clear off
around 4:30 this afternoon leaving
the temperature lower from a
slight cold front. Tomorrow is
forecasted as clear. Yesterday’s
high was 66 degrees with a low
at 7:30 this morning of 55 de
grees. Temperature at 10:30 a.m.
today was 56 degrees.
SNOWBOUND—Many A&M students like T. L. McMordie
Jr. from Odessa were forced to register late due to the
severe cold w T ave which gripped Texas late last week and
is still hanging on. One advantage of registering late is
you don’t have to fight the crowds—or do you ?