Death Won’t Be Resting
As Students Take Holiday
A&M students will begin a much-anticipated vacation
Thursday, but death will not be resting. In fact, death has
been on vacation for the entire school year, at least as far
as Aggies are concerned.
Thursday, and throughout the two-week Christmas
holiday, death will indeed be present. Predictions by the
Texas Department of Public Safety indicate 92 Texans
will lose their lives during the holiday period. Many more
will die across the nation, where 37,600 persons lost their
lives during 1961.
Death will also show no favorites—we all should realize
that. Aggies already have been fortunate in that no student
has been killed in an auto accident during the present school
year. This is not the case during most years—last year, for
example, four A&M students had been killed in traffic acci
dents prior to the Christmas holidays.
This small statistic brings to light another very vital
point. Persons in the college-age group seem to be a particu
lar favorite of death. National statistics show that 18.4 per
cent of the nation’s drivers are under 25 years of age, yet
28.7 per cent of all fatal accidents involve persons in this
same age group.
For this statistic there can be no excuse. College-age
persons are more physically and mentally alert than other
drivers. The fault must rest with some form of carelessness
—neglect, speeding, drinking or a thousand and one other
“little” things that can add up to something big.
College-age drivers are all too familiar with this “some
thing big.” We know of a few students who have not seen
a classmate or close friend killed in a traffic mishap.
Even with all these odds looking us in the face, Aggies
are being accorded every opportunity for safety during this
holiday. Most students will be en route home Thursday and
Friday, not over the weekend when traffic will hit its heaviest
peak. Also students will not have to report back for classes
until Jan. 3, not Jan. 2 when traffic again will be at its
heaviest.
Endless rules could be listed for traffic safety, but we
feel the situation is best summed up by the following phrase
from the safety code of a nationwide bus company:
“Our drivers think like professionals. They know acci
dents can happen, and they respect the machine at their
control.”
?i»
\ /
Despite Chinese Priority
By J. M. ROBERTS
Associated Press News Analysi
President Kennedy, in his sum
mary of affairs Monday night,
gave Red China priority over the
Soviet Union as a threat to world
peace.
But he did not downgrade the
danger from the two countries in
their combined objective of
spreading Communist domination
to the rest of the world.
And he did not forget that the
experienced hunter is both alert
and cautious in approaching a
bear which has been shot, no mat
ter how dead it may appeal’.
Red China talks of force to con
quer the world, but doesn’t have
it. The Soviet Union talks of
peaceful competition, but has the
force.
in a little nudging- on her own?
She has just reminded Moscow
that the legal status of Berlin re
mains the same as in 1948.
She has just sponsored transfer
of the long-standing Hungarian
question in the United Nations to
the Secretary-General from the
hands of a special representative
who has, by the nature of the
matter, been handcuffed. A visit
by U Thant to the Eastern Eu
ropean satellite area is being
discussed. Instead of letting the
issue of Soviet colonialism and
brutality drop, this may open it
up again.
At any rate it is a time when
pushing the Soviet government,
already of balance both at home
and abroad, might produce divi
dends.
The Kaiser Steel Corp. has fe
en another step on a fundang
tal labor-management probisj.
the effort to establish somestas
ai d for equitable division of int
trial profits between those w:
invest their money and those wa
invest labor and skill. Work
are to share the profits of ai
• mation while those who mayiej
displaced are retrained for
try into the resultant expand-.
The U. N. General Assent
voted 101-0 with four abstention,!
against setting a fixed timeii
the worldwide end of colonial:
The abstainers were all coloaf
or former colonial pokers. Map
grief is building up a certainn.)
turity among some of thenem:
independents. 'AsMl
... at least it’s worth a try!’
Professional Drivers
Cut Auto Injury Rate
Death Hides Real Meaning
Doubtless, many of the scenes and stories in this issue
of The Battalion will be shocking - to some of our readers. We
wish that this would not be so, but the facts are clear and
simple—many of the scenes that will be enacted on our na
tion’s highways during the Christmas holiday period will be
far more shocking.
This seems to be one of the odd quirks of reality—
people choose to kill themselves en masse on the nation’s
highways during a time for celebrating. In far too many
cases, holiday fatilities spell ruin to well-planned excursions
or much-anticipated reunions.
The Battalion hopes its readers will exercise care over
the holidays, but still keep in mind the real message of
Christmas. Despite the fact that the holidays have become
so commercialized, Americans and the world are pausing
to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ.
Perhaps it would be best if the world celebrated Christ
mas as in the far-removed “good ’ole days.” Surely there
was less sorrow then and, quite likely, more real sincerity.
Irreg*ardless, the holiday is set up to note the birth of a
saviour who came to lead the world from sin.
How each student wishes to note the occasion is his own
business. We only hope that Aggies and all citizens will
pause to realize that there is far more to Christmas than
giving and receiving.
And a safer, more sane holiday will insure opportunity
to reap the rewards of this greatest of all holidays.
Professional drivers have been
called responsible for a slight
decrease in the U. S. auto per
sonal injury rate for 1961.
In 1961 37,600 Americans died
and 3,057,000 were injured on
our nation’s highways, represent
ing a one per cent drop over the
figures of a year ago.
Even though the over-all fi
gures dropped and professional
drivers were involved in fewer
accidents, passenger cars were
involved in slightly more person
al injury accidents in 1961 than
in 1960.
About 80 per cent of all re
gistered vehicles are classified
as passenger cars, but these autos
are involved in more than 80 per
cent of all personal injury acci
dents.
On the surface this seems about
normal, with commercial vehicles
accounting for about 20 per cent
of these accidents. However, what
really should make us think is
the fact that the average com
mercial vehicle has been found
to travel up to four times as
many miles per year as the
average passenger car — yet
their accident frequency is less!
Perhaps we should take a les
son from the pro’s.
The Manchester Guardian said
Tuesday discussing the Skybolt
missile, that the British govern
ment is “continuing to pursue a
fictitious independence” when in
terdependence with the United
States “ought to be our aim, and
interdependence does not require
Britian to keep with a separate
nuclear force.” Dean Acheson and
other Americans have not put it
that bluntly.
High Birth Rate Becomes
Factor In Auto Accidents
The high birth rate of the
late 1940’s is a powerful factor
that enters into the grim pic
ture of death and injury on our
highways and must be considered
in an analysis of the expected
toll for the next few years.
For 15 years the general pat
tern has been for the West to
react against pushing from the
East. Is the United States now
beginning to take the initiative
This point was made in a study
iof what happened during the pre
ceding year on our highways
every year since 1931, with the
exception of the war years.
Truck Driver Has Answer:
Always Drive Defensively
523 Were Killed
Last Christmas
Christmas 1961 gave death to
523 persons and disabling injuries
to more than 24,000 persons.
Cost to the nation was approxi
mately $130 million. On a com
parable, non-holiday weekend 342
were killed and 16,000 disabled.
The cost was $85 million.
Bulletin Board
-+c +
Safety Effort Merits Motorists' Caution
Wee Aggieland Kindergarten
will meet at 5 p.m. Wednesday
in the MSC Ballroom. A pro
gram, “Toy Shop Window,” will
be presented.
Dallas Hometown Club will
meet at 8:30 p.m. Dec. 28 in the
Statler-Hilton Hotel in Dallas.
By BRAD H. SMITH
Director, Governor’s Highway
Safety Commission
AUSTIN (A>) — A few days
ago, I asked one of my friends
among Texas’ commercial truck
drivers:
“How have you managed to
drive more than two million miles
in the past 20 years without be
ing involved in a collision and
without getting a ticket?”
His answer:
“I always let the other fel
low have the road and the right-
of-way, especially if he seemed to
want it so much worse than I
did that he would challenge me
for it. Furthermore, I always
tried to figure out what he was
going to do before he did it.”
His answer condenses all the
warnings about dangerous driv
ing, all the suggestions for care
ful driving and all the require
ments for legal driving. He
practiced driving defensively.
This could well be the answer
to prevention of many of our
Texas highway crashes, but it
depends on the knowledge of the
driver about driving a car, his
willingness to be courteous, and
his adaptability to unpredictable
emergency conditions.
Texas now has more than five
million drivers.
Records at the Texas Depart
ment of Public Safety show 1,-
986,000 drivers were licensed in
Texas 20 years ago, and most
of them were licensed without
training or tests. Since that time,
probably most of those drivers
have done nothing to improve
their driving.
A few thousand have volun
tarily attended driver refresher
courses, but the majority have
not improved their skill except by
experience.
There must be some 1.5 million
drivers of the originally licensed
group who are still on the road,
or about 30 per cent of all driv
ers.
Of the remaining 70 per cent,
all have had to pass the stand
ard Texas driver’s examination.
When I drive, I remain keenly
aware that about 30 per cent of
all the unknown drivers I meet
have had little training in driv
ing an automobile, have done
little or nothing to improve their
skill and can be expected to do
unexpected things.
I drive defensively by watch
ing closely every car near me,
and by being prepared to make
an emergency move. I do my
best to keep my mind on driving.
One yai’d or a few seconds can
mean the difference between life
and death. I do my best to a-
void even the nearness of a col
lision.
It’s best to do nothing but
drive while you are driving.
W e a; t h e r conditions should
never surprise a driver. Every
body can see a wet pavement a-
head, and no wet paving provides
nearly as good traction as a
dry one.
One could complain: “There
are too many things to do, de
fensively, in driving a car.”
There are two answers: learn
ing to drive defensively will save
you possible death, possible in
jury, much time and consider
able money. The second answer
is: just drive any old way, and
you will undoubtedly see plenty
of trouble.
The report states that accort
ing to state licensing authority
about 15 per cent of all fe
ed drivers are under 25 years::
age. During 1961, this grco
was involved in 27.3 per r. l |
of all fatal accidents and %
per cent of all non-fatal adder:
— nearly twice what their i»
bers would indicate.
There is no question that t
is the age group with the«:
driving record and that it is frc
this age group that we can loci
for our largest number of ne’
drivers in the 1960’s. Unlesstki
group can discipline itself ti
drive more safely, it can be «•
pected to be responsible for a
ever-increasing share of the hif
way casualties.
The other extreme in the ap
group, those drivers over
whose numbers can also be ei
pected to increase rapidly, didri
do much better during 19(1
These drivers were involved
7.2 per cent of the fatal accident
as compared to 6.5 per centi!
year ago. They make up aboi
6.5 per cent of all licensed driver.]
It constitutes a two-prong
problem that must be solved
our slaughter on the higbvnK
is to diminish.
Christmas Messa§
President Earl Rudder Wednes
day wished for the entire A0
family a “bright Christmas i
the true tradition of its meaning 1
“As you join loved ones
home, Mrs. Rudder and I sincere,
hope that your Christmas will 1
most meaningful and that yt
enjoy the richest blessings of tl
season,” he said.
“Let us hope that peace «
earth and good will to men
become our creed not only 1
Christmas, but throughout, tl«
New Year.”
The problems of forcefully coordinating a state-wide
safety drive are staggering, but we still view in awe the
effectiveness of Texas’ present-day holiday safety campaigns.
Sound Off
While many states regularly exceed the grimmest of
death predictions, Texas for the past few years has been
consistently coming out with an enviable record.
Last Christmas, for example, 8^ traffic deaths were
predicted. The actual final death total was 80—still quite
high, but nevertheless under the prediction.
The efforts of Governor Price Daniel and the Texas De
partment of Public Safety toward safer holiday driving have
been monumental. The least motorists can do is exert half as
much as effort and Texas would record its safety holiday yet.
Editor,
The Battalion:
THE BATTALION
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profit, self-supporting educational enterprise edited and op
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Publications at Texas A&M College.
Members of the Student Publications Board
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School of Agriculture; and Dr. E. D. McMurry,
Veterinary
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After reading your many let
ters on the spirit and seeing the
gap between civilians and the
Corps increase, I composed this
epic peom to express the mean
ing of our spirit. Many overlook
the fact that numerous Aggies
have given their lives for our
country and impressed the world
over by their actions.
We all should uphold our
spirit, at least for the great men
who created it.
Tribute to the Spirit
Reconstruction of the South in
full swing;
Morrill Act; carpetbaggers; co
lored sing;
Bryan; banks of the Brazos; A&M
College.
The birth of a spirit; 1876;
knowledge.
Aggieland, home of the fighting
Texas Aggies.
Men who built and carry a
spirit . . . Aggies.
Europe, the Kaiser comes to
power.
One by one proud countries afire,
All Europe engulfed by the grow
ing fire.
Americans; victory on the Rhine,
Germans fall, the Pershing on the
line,
Gave praise to the Aggies of this
time.
start,
Aggies; spirit; courage; vic
tories to be.
Now young Aggies, do you see,
You are this spirit, so let it be.
World War II; Pearl Harbor;
overnight.
Twenty thousand Aggies show
their might,
Rome, Midway, Normandy, Guam,
they fight.
Many die;- many fall; but the
rest come through,
Their victories many, their de
feats few.
Which for the Aggies was nothing
new.
Medal of Honor and purple heart,
Bestowed on the Aggies for their
part.
Korean War and wars yet to
Non-regs; Corps; unite one
Carry this spirit; praise it with
all your might,
Bonfire; yell practice, Silver
Taps on a cold night.
Elephant Walk; Muster; 12th
Man, all a part
Beat TU; old Sully; the War
Hymn; keep them in your
heart,
Yell practice; 52 trees; the end;
all a part.
Spots Davis, ’63
★ ★ ★
Editor,
The Battalion:
Tuesday, Dec. 11, I left my
briefcase containing’ several text
books and notebooks with all the
data for a research project in
the Department of Biochemistry
and Nutrition. When I returned
for the briefcase after about 45
minutes in the fountain room of
the MSC, it was missing.
All notes on my research pro
ject are lost.
I am hearby appealing to the
person who took my briefcase
with the hope that he will re
turn the case, books and papers
to me. If I don’t get them back
I cannot continue with the re
search project.
Please return the material to
the Department of Biochemistry
and Nutrition.
Carlos Noriega
★ ★ ★
Editor,
The Battalion:
Please permit me to express
by appreciation to you and The
Battalion’s staff for the excell-j
ent publicity you have given this]
year’s Christmas Seal drive.]
Much of the success of the drivel
depends upon the publicity given!
it, and both Mrs. Miller and la
are indeed grateful for the &
work of The Battalion in cot
nection with our campaign,
We are also indebted to
James Lindsey and Mrs. Ceci l;i
Prihoda for furnishing us wt*
the names of the students for o®
mailing list. We appreciate ^
much their getting the names 1
us so promptly.
We especially want to ths®
the student body for its wool®'
ful, warm response to our &'
paign letter. It is always grata?"
ing to see young people assn®*
the responsibilities of good t "
tizenship, and the splendid $
ample set by the Aggies hit® 5 ]
drive should be an inspiration
all of us.
May each of you have a r f
Merry Christmas and a Hap
New Year.
Mrs. W. E. McCune,
Chairman,
1962 Christmas Seal
Campaign
sing
York
Mail spl
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ALAN PAYNE ...
Ronnie Bookman
Van Conner
EDITOR
.. Managing Editor
Sports Editor
Dan Louis, Gerry Brown News Editors
Kent Johnston, Glenn Dromgoole Staff Writers
Jim Butler, Adrian Adair Assistant Sport Editors
Ronnie Fann Photographer
Cuba, the Spanish-American War
and here are they,
Abrest Roosevelt’s Rough Riders
in early May.
Wounded and weary ever ready
are they,
On the hills of San Juan the
Spanish they meet
The Aggies charge; the Spanish
retreat.
The battle long, the victory sweet.
PEANUTS
By Charles M. ScM 1 1
5HE SAID ITS ABOUT TIME
SHE STARTED TO RAISE A
FAMILY OF HER ODN...
I ASKED HER IF SHE CONSIDERED
THIS A STEP FORWARD OR A STEP
BACKWARD, B0TJD6T THEN THE BELL
RAN6, AND INE1/ER 60T AN ANSWER
IT (COULD MAKE A 600D TOPIC
FOR A PANEL DISCUSSION