The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, February 17, 1956, Image 1
( +}i ’i «;-Li 77ze Battalion Number 88: Volume 55 COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 1956 Price 5 Cents RE WEEK Leaders for Forums and Discussion Groups CAPT. ROGERS Dorms G, 8 REV. BOLIN Milner, Leggett Halls REV. CARTER Walton Hall REV. DICKINSON Law, Mitchell, Puryear HOMER REEVES Dorms 14, 17 REV. LITTRICK Dorm 9 RE Week Opens Monday At 11 SDX Initiation To Be In MSC At 5:15 Today The A&M Chapter of Sigma Delta Chi, professional jour nalism fraternity, will initiate 11 new members today at 5:15 p.m. in room 3D of the Memor ial Student Centei\ Present officers of the fraternity will be installed as another part of the ceremony. Those chosen for membership in SDX were Frank Waddell, Barry Hart, Dave McReynolds, Jerry Weatherby, Welton Jones, Jim Neighbors, John West, Connie Fck- ard, Joe Dan Boyd, Jim Bower and Bennie Fichte. In order to qualify for member ship students have to have a grade point ratio of 1.5 or above, work on some publication and show pro fessional attitudes. Officers to be installed are Bill Thomas, president; Jim Collins, vice-president; Bill Hollaway, sec retary; Ed Files, treasurer; Ron nie Greathouse, publicity chairman; and Ralph Cole, parliamentarian. Following the meeting, SDX members and delegates attending the Texas Press Association Me chanical Conference will go to the Journalism Building for a barbecue supper. Rev. Sheridan Will Lead A&M Catholics' RE Week The Rev. Edward A. Sheridan, S.J., member of the Jesuit Order, will be the Religious Emphasis Week leader for the Catholic stu dents next week. There will be Mass and Medita tion at 6:80 each morning in St. Mary’s Chapel; services and in struction each evening at 7:30 and Open Foi’um foi* married students Tuesday and Thursday after serv ices. Traffic Course To Begin Monday The first annual Traffic Engi neering Short Course will be held at A&M next week, beginning Mon day. Traffic engineering problems, organization, laws and regulations, speed studies and zoning will be discussed at the course scheduled to end Feb. 24. Sponsored jointly by the Texas Transportation Institute and the Civil Engineering Department, the course is offered with the aim of assisting- medium, sized • cities in the training of personnel respon sible for the various traffic func tions. D. Grant Mickle, director, traf fic engineering division, of the Automotive Safety Foundation, Washington, will deliver the open ing address. Rev. Sheridan is director of Xa vier Hall Laymen’s Retreat League in the Diocese of Natchez, Miss. He holds a B.A. and also graduate de grees of a Licen tiate in Philoso phy and a Licen tiate Degree in Theology. He is also a Professor of Mental Health at the De Paul Psychiatric Hospi tal, New Orleans. During his stay he will have accommodations at the-MSC. Rev. Sheridan Finalists Picked For Sweetheart The Sweetheart for the First Regiment will be chosen from the following finalists and named at the Ball to be held tomorrow night in Sbisa Hall: Adele Matula, West; Sara Na dine Haws, Brenham; Virginia Ann Richardson, Athens; Judy Oakley, Austin; and Mavis Fries, Fort Worth. The Aggieland Orchestra will provide music for the'dance which starts at 9 and ends at 12 p.m. The dance is open to all A&M students. Picture Plans For Seniors In Corps Set Corps Seniors will have their portrait for the “’56 Ag - - gieland” made according to the following schedule: Feb. 20-21, Corps Staff— first, second and third Regimen tal staffs; A, B, C, D, Infantry. Feb. 23-24, A, B, C Armor; A, B Engineers; A Transportation; A Ordnance; A, B, C, D Field Ar tillery. Feb. 27-28, second Regiment, first, second, third, fourth Battal ion Staffs; A, B, C, AAA; A Signal, A QMC. March 1-2, A Chemical; E In fantry; A, B, Composite; A, B, Athletes; Maroon and White Band. March 5-6, first Wing, first, sec ond, third, fourth Group Staffs; Squadrons 1-12. March 8-9, second Wing, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth Group Staffs; Squadrons 13-25. Portraits will be made at the Aggieland . Studio, between the hours 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on the days scheduled. Executive officers and seniors on staff will also need to have a portrait made in garrison cap. Seniors desiring to have full length (boot) portraits made, should make an appointment with the studio. Annual portraits may be made at the same time as the full length portrait, but by ap pointment only. No unscheduled full length sittings can be accepted. Saucier, Proctor Will Speak Friday Two speakers will be featured at the meeting of the Oceano graphic Society at 7:30 p.m. Fri day in room 3B of the Memorial Student Center. A topic of interest to biologists, chemists and physicists, “The Measurement of Ocean Salt,” will be discussed by Charles Proctor, research scientist. Dr. Walter J. Saucier, author of the textbook “Principles of Me teorological Analysis” will speak on “Thirty Minutes on the Jet Stream”. Both speakers are staff members of the Oceanography De partment. Services Set in Guion; WTA WPlans Broadcasts By JIM NEIGHBORS Battalion Staff Writer The fourteenth annual Religious Emphasis Week at A&M will begin Monday morning at 11 with services in Guion Hall with Dr. Morris Wee as the main convocation speaker. Tuesday’s program is at 10 a.m. Special forums and discussion groups will be held each afternoon and evening in the dormitories where the Relig ious leaders are staying. There are sixteen counselors for the dormitories, the married students, and faculty members. Radio Station WTAW will broadcast the Religious Emphasis week programs from Guion Hall each day Monday through Friday from 5:30 to 6:15 p.m. Those unable to attend the programs will be able to hear them at this hour. Here is the last of the se-+ ries of biographical sketches on the religious leaders. Rev. Carlos W. D a v i s. First Methodist Church Atlanta, Texas, will live in Hart Hall and will lead the forums and disucssion groups for Hart and Biz- zell Halls. ‘v He has worked in Texas . Confer- Rt * v - I>avls ence Summer Assemblies and youth camps, and is a member of the Commission on Christian Vocations Texas Conference. Rev. Davis was director of the Wesley Foundation A&M Methodist Church for two years. Chaplain Gregory J. Lock, div ision chaplain. Fourth Armored Division, Fort Hood, will live in Dormitory 5 and lead the forums and discussion groups for Dorm itories 5 and 7 and be available for conferences during the week. A native o f Ohio, Lock re ceived his degree in Electrical En gineering from University of Cin cinnati, and his B.D., Cuni Laude, Virginia Theological Seminary. He Chap. Lock Deadline Saturday Saturday is the last day stu dents may drop courses with no grade. Those wishing to drop courses must do so be fore then or receive a grade of ‘F”. Last Saturday was the last day for adding new cour ses. No new courses may be added after dropping others. served overseas from December 1942 until Noverber, 1945, in Med- iterranian Theater of Operations. Rev. Kenneth L. Mauldin, Saint Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Dallas, will live in Dormitory 16 and lead the for um and discussion groups for that dormitory and be available for con ferences during the week. A native of Dal- Rev. Mauldin hart, Texas, Mauldin attended Trinity Univei’sity, receiving his B.A. degree there in 1940. He re ceived his B.D. degree from Mc Cormick Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Chicago. Mauldin re turned to Trinity University in 1951 to receive his Doctor of Di vinity. He has been a frequent partici pant in Religious Emphasis Weeks. Presently, he is chairman of the Committee on Presbyterian Stu dents at S.M.U., member of the Board of Trustees of Trinity Uni versity, member of the Board of Directors of Westminster Founda tions for Synod of Texas, Presby terian Church, U.S.A. Students Urged To Pick Up $4. Those students who wish to get their refund for the Gym nasium Clothing and Laundry Service fee must do so by Fri day, Feb. 24. The refund of $4 on the $8 fee can be picked up at the Re quired Physical Education Of fice in the new addition to G. Rollie White Coliseum. Pest-Control To Be Featured At Conference Aerial applicators from all over Texas and adjoining states will be in College Sta tion Feb. 26-28 for the Fifth Annual Texas Agriculutral Aviation Conference and Short Course on Pest Control. They will attend a two-day pro gram, designed to get better re sults for both the applicator and the farmer. Subjects to be dis cussed on the program 1’ange from “Problems of Insect Control with Airplanes” through “The Effect of Herbicide Droplet Size and Other Variables on Mesquite Control” and “A Rice Farmer’s Experiences with Aerial Application” to “Sales Meth ods and Customer Relations.” This annual conference and short course is sponsored by the Texas A&M College System, the Texas Aeronautics Commission, the Tex as Flying Farmers and Ranchers Association and the Texas Aerial Applicators Association. It is designed to bring aerial ap- plicatoi’s and other interested per sons together during what is usu ally a slack period to hear special ists describe developments in both the flying and the pest control phase, and to facilitate discussioius among themselves of their prob lems and solutions. Wilkins May Start Studies Monday Bobby Wilkins is making fine progress after his attack of spinal meningitis Feb. 2 and, if he con tinues to improve, will be allowed to resume his studies Monday. A membe^• of D Infantry and the son of Lt. Col. Taylor Wilkins, assistant commandant, Wilkins was released from the Bryan Hospital earlier this week. He is up and around the house and is doing fine according to his father. Young Wilkins was taken to the Bryan Hospital Feb. 2 and was in a coma from 2 that afternoon un til early Monday morning. Doc tors at the hospital tapped his spine several times to remove fluid collected there as a result of the disease. Readers Express A Few Views On Segregation Dear Mr. Editor: I fully realize that it is an edi tor’s privilege to tack on any snide, degrading, or smart aleck comment to letters to the editors to cover the editor’s ignorance or lack of interest in examining and observing both sides of a case. Ob viously you took advantage of this privilege when you added your ir- revelent remark to Mr. James P. M. Syler’s letter — The Battalion Wednesday, Feb. 16, 1956—which bad a much stronger argument for his side of the case than your ill- written editorial. Mr. Syler should be congratulated for his clearness of thought while it should be rec ommended that the editor write an editorial that appears to be other than hastily written. Charles Beyer, ’58 James Blackmon, 58 Editor, The Battalion: I’m directing this letter toward James P. M. Syler, who seems to have Communism confused with the basic Christian principles. To begin with Mr. Syler,' you state that the recent integration move ments has produced “nothing but a chain of bloody racial riots and a few mixed marriages, the off spring of which are the beginning of a mongrel race.” If you will open your eyes for a moment you may see some of the gratifying re sults of integration here in Texas; San Antonio has desegregated their schools without “bloody riots” or any organized opposition. Num erous other Southeim communities have done likewise. Mixed mar riages are a matter of individual concern; therefore if you feel that you can’t go to school with Ne groes without marrying one, I can understand your personal problem. However, I don’t believe that even you, if you pause to consider the facts, can foresee the great num ber of mixed marriages necessai'y to produce a so-called “mongrel race” capable of presenting a social or intelectual problem. “There have been only three Ne gro governments in the history of the world—all three were dismal failures,” you state. I’m sure the governments of Liberia, Ethiopia and Haiti would find this quite a surprising revelation. How many Caucasian governments have been “dismal failures”? How many will fail in the future ? As a 1’ace we have not been entirely successful, and the Negro has contributed greatly to the government of the United States. Color or other rac ial characteristics have no effect on the ability to govern. If we are to have segregation, why not have it complete ? Why should Orientals or American In dians be allowed the privilege that are ours by right of our general superiority? Because our nation realizes that there is no superior race, and that each race contrib utes to the general welfare. If, during our history, evei-yone had associated entirely with their “own kind” we would be a country di vided into sections, each section speaking its own language, observ ing its own cvistoms, and defend ing its own independence. It is the intermingling of people and the pooling of ideas that has ad vanced us. You say that “it has long been the dream of mankind to make all men equal—IN SPITE OF NATURE”; it is a fundament al of Christianity that nature makes all men equal—in spite of mankind. If this integration movement was originated by the Communists, then I’m sure they welcome your type of publicity, Mr. Syler, just as they welcomed the Alabama U. riots. It is you and your kind that are providing the material that makes their propaganda possible. Were you of any importance nationally, your letter would be front-pag'e news throughout the world. It would not be a praiseworthy thing either, but an example of bigotry that would shame all freedom-lov ing- people. Yours is the cheap, “pseudo-intellectual article” based on phoney facts and careless rea soning. The first two paragraphs of your letter are a shameful ex ample of prejudice in its lowest form; the remainder is melodrama tic nonsense, probably derived from too many movies and paper back novels. I realize that integration pre sents problems, but they are prob lems that must be solved in keep ing with our ideals. They must be solved in such a way as to show the world that we mean “all men are created equal”. We of the South have failed to give equality thi-ough a “separate but equal” doctrine, and if integration is the only path to complete equality, then we must integrate. The soon er our so-called “fellow Americans at Alabama U.” realize this the sooner we, as Americans and Christians, will be able to claim another victory in this war of words. Sincerely, A. O. Hilgers, ’56 Editor, The Battalion: In reply to James Syler’s letter to the Editor of last Wednesday, I would like to bring out some points that clear thinking- people Weather Today SHOWERS Thunderstorms in the northwest will bring scattered rain showers for College Station with no dras tic change in temperatures. Yes terday’s high of 81 degrees drop ped to 69 degrees last night. Tem perature at 10:30 a.m. was 72 de grees. should not overlook. First, I would like to say that Syler’s letter is nothing- but a biased, one-sided, bunch of “baloney” stuffed into sentences. Is suppression of any moral person with an ethical char acter, because he happens to have dark pigment in his skin, the true democratic way of life? Was it not Hitler’s Fascist government that believed that one race was superior to another? Syler insinuates that Negroes should go to separate schools and be segregated in other ways. Seg regation is causing and will con- tine to cause a less unified Amer ica. Is disunion what Americans want or is this what Communists want ? A team .that does not play togethei- does not win many games. I would like to challenge James to prove, according- to scientific facts, that Negroes are any more inferior than any other race of peo ple, either in inherent intelligence or physical body structure. Ne groes, in general, ai-e not as well educated as some other races be cause they haven’t had as many opportunities as other American races. That 'is because of the tre mendous bans placed on them by white people in America. One of the reasons Syler gives for his conclusion that the Negro race is inferior, is that there have been only three Negro govern ments in the history of the world —“all three were dismal failures.” This statement defeats itself. How many governments of other races have been failures ? Under what conditions did the Negro governments operate ? What types of governments were they? I believe that all of these ques tions would have to be answered before a conclusion could be drawn from the above statement. He, Syler, says that desegrega tion is all a Communist plot. I think that desegregation is exact ly opposite to what the Commun ists want. The fact that Negroes and other minority groups are discriminated against in America is one of the major propaganda weapons of the Communists. When integration is accomplished it will help stop such propaganda. I would like to congratulate you, Bill, on the outstanding- editorials you have published. Sincerely, Dale Harvill, ’57 Editor, The Battalion: To Mr. James P. M. Syler, It is a shame that a man like you with some colleg-e education can’t think or just don’t want to accept'the fact that Negroes are equal to whites and always \till be. The only difference is in the pigment of their skin, for they have as much intelligence as you. James, you say that the Negro race is not ready even for the sha dows. I say that you are wrong. Why neglect them; they are hu man beings and should be given a chance and a helping hand. I would not deny help or encourage ment to a person because he has a different colored skin. To me, all men are equal. You can read this in the Bible. Why disci-imi- nate between men because of their race ? Have you ever remembered that many Negroes died fighting to keep that home of yours safe ? Have yovi ever thought of them as your fellow citizens ? Have you ever as sociated with them and tried to give them a helping hand when they needed it ? I’m sure they would help you if you needed it. James, you are a century be hind times, like many others. You are living in a democratic and Christian country. Do you think Jesus Christ would discriminate between people because of their color? You know very well He would not. He loves whites, Ne groes, Indians and all the others just the same. I’m not a Negro-lover; I just respect the laws of human kind. And I’m a Christian. You described the editor of The Battalion as being blind, stupid and naive. I think your nai-row mind needs to be widened and your eyes opened to the world of real ity. You are still living in the age of slavery; you still think Negroes are low and no good. I don’t know how, with such a narrow mind, you consider yourself capable of criticizing the truth. People like you are the ones that are causing America to be criticized. I doubt not at all that you would be opposed if a Negro tried to enter A&M. It’s people like you that are rioting up north. (See SEGREGATION, Page 2)