The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 26, No. 19, Ed. 1, Thursday, February 16, 1939 Page: 2 of 4
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Page Two
THE OPTIMIST
Thursday February 16 1939
A Perfect Paper
When earth's last paper is printed
And the forms and metal are cold
" And every last extra is sold
We shall loaf and my how we'll need it
With nothing at all to do
Till the Boss of the perfect paper
Shall call us to work anew.
And then we shall work as we like to
Each on his own machine
And the truth shall be in our copy
And nothing shall intervene
We shall write leal stories about them
Beggar and millionaue
Foi an editor keen and feailessj
A paper that's on the square
We shall work in a rush and hurry
For that is the goodly game
And we shall not dig in the guttei
For stones of filth and shame
And the copyi ciders above us
Shall leave oui features alone
And the stones that fill our columns
We shall recognize as our own.
We shall have no fool assignments
No cruel mission of pam
To torture the brokenhearted
Or blacken the sinners stain ;
We shall scoop and be scooped aplenty;
We shall love the flurry and noise;
We shall fight with the buunoss office
And fuss with the galley boys
But each of us shall be free
To write the thing as he sees it
Foi the paper that ought to be
Berton Braley
We Wonder
A contributor complains because we
corrected a dozen misspelled words and cou-
ple of comma faults in his contribution. "It
spoils my originality" he writes We wondei.
To followers of this sciiool of thought
onginahty means outwmd or mechanical
variations of one kind 01 nnothei They
comb their hair or tie their shoes differently
01 take cold biths in zero weather oi use
gieen ink in then compositions If inclined
to htciature they stuvc for forms that will
look diffeient on the printed pnge or invent
a new sy stem of spelling oi sny things m a
way that nobody will undei stand
These seckeis aftei ongiinlity are a
compaiatively harmless lot unless they feel
the uige to foice then ideas upon otheis
llieio is howeei anothei blanch of these
'originals" which is decidedh dangeious
This bnnch is especiallj noticeable among
college students
It is made up of those indiuduils who
lefuse to follow instructions of any kind If
the teachei requests tint quiz-pipeis be
folded m a ceitiin wa they do it ome
othci wav If instructions call foi papeis
written in ink they write them in lead pen-
cil If regulation theme piper is lequested
the j use niuovv notebook leaves If a leport
is lcquired on Wednesday they prepaie it
foi Tndav If ceitain subjects aie assigned
foi reports they demand that they be gi en
the privilege of choosing then own If told
to choose their own subjects they gripe be-
cause no subjects aie assigned
Their common excuse foi not following
instructions is that to do so would destroy
their originality. We wonder.
Sul Ross Skyhnc
Unsigned Letters
One of the most irritating thorns in the
life of poisons holding public jobs is the
anonymous lcttei. The irregularity in the
mental makeup of persons who are eager to
get then opinions to others yet lack the
courage to take cicdit foi them is a mystery
which should piove an interesting 'study to
the psychologist
The absurdity of such letteis should bo
immediately evident to any thinking poison
The fact that a lettei is unsigned always
mikes the motived of the wntci doubtful
in tho mind of the leceivei The anger and
disgust usually created by an unsigned com-
munication mnkes it difficult for the mitei-
lnl lontmncd to win the appioal oi sympi-
th of tho readei
An opinion wortti 'oeiiig expressed is
w oi thy of the signatuic of its w liter The
weight attached to your name may be al-
most nil but a letter wntten without it has
a negative weight The Pianie
Some people aie bom gieit otheis
achieve gieatness some have greitness
tlnust upon them while still otheis just
grate upon you
-
Don't thiow away that useless object
. get anothei one like it and use them
for bookends
Official Weekly Student Publication of
Abllcno Christian College
Entered as Second Class Matter Juno 20 1029 nt
tho Post Office at Abilene Texas under tho Act
of August 24 1012
Sjg3
NationaIAdvertisingServicelnc.
CtUm PtHliim Rtfiriutliltri
Member of the Texas Intercollegiate Press Assn.
Samuel Blackwcll
. Gaston Cogdell
Editor-in Chief
Business Manngcr
Associate Editor
Women' Editor .
Sports Editor
Faculty Advisor
Nadino Decs
Leon Hcnthorr
Selma Chapmond
Nolan Hotel cr
Paul Southern
Advertising Manager
ASSISTANTS
Ben Bailey Manly Ballard
Afton Walker Hoy Tidwcll
Loyd Blxlor Douglas Snclling
Raymond Skclton Buddy Hart
Aubrey Mercer Gaston Cogdell
Lona Johnson Jack Bishop
Farlene Day Beth Witt
J L Ferguson Monto Keagy
Subscription per vcar one dollar Address all com-
munications to Tho Optimist Station A Abilene
Texas
Campus office of The Optimist is in tho northwest
corner of tho Utilities Building Downtown o'ffico
Is at 1141 South First Street
News of the Day
Through the
Kaleido-
scope By G. D. C.
WnEELS
Some thousands of years ago
before history began to be record-
ed one of the earth's pre-historlc
human denizens discovered that a
log placed under a heavy object
would greatly facilitate the mobil-
ity of this object
From this humble discovery
came tho wheels first a solid
block of wood then later a rim
-with spokes to support It to a hub
How many hundreds or thousands
of years it took slow-witted man-
kind to learn tho simple use of
wheels in making wagons in
drawing water in performing any
of the manifold activities of his
everyday existence we do not
know. But we do know this from
the simple log rollers which tho
prc-hlstoric man placed under his
sled has evolved all the machinery
which civiliiaton boasts of in tho
twentieth century.
Today the wheel enable man to
accomplish in a few seconds what
it would haVe taken him days to
accomplish a few years ago To-
day with a host of iron servants
at his fingertips one indlvdual
can An more work than perhaps
a hundred could do when his grand-
father was a boy.
All over the world and especial-
ly in machine minded America a
tumult of voices reminds the ob-
livious that the wheel is not al-
ways the blessed boon to mankind
that It should be that machines
and automatons not only bring ef-
ficiency and leisure but also un-
employment and ensuing despair.
Politicians scientists psycholog-
ists arid sociologists arc tryng to
solve tho problem wheh modern
day technocracy has thrust Upon
us Is the machne a savior to a
labor-burdened world bringing
freedom to the planets millions of
work-weary inhabitants or is it a
hideous monster a ruthless
Frankenstein which has broken its
fetters and is engaged even now
in a rapid and sure destruction of
civilization and mankind?
As usual) with debatable top-
ics there It much proof which one
can bring to light on both sides
of this question Adherents to one
nida of the question point to the
higher standard of living which
the twentieth centurion and to the
shorter working-hour .which the
modern laborer enjoys all of
which can bo attributed to the
machinet
.Adherents to the other side of
On
Other Campi
The girl that docs everything
under the sun always has shadows
under her eyes (The Prairie)
A prof that comes two minutes
early to class is rare In fact ho
is in a class by himself (Whirlwind)
Poem of the week
It was silent outside
Like snow falling on velvet
The quiet hush of the night
Stole between tho
Transparent moonbeams
Filling my soul
With strange disturbing dreims
And there sat the craz girl
Eating hamburgers and onions
(Voo Doo)
A dramatic critic is a guy who
gives the best jeers of his life to
the theatre (Tho Bison)
A skinflint is a person so cheap
that when he pulls the wool over
your eyes its half cotton (The
Bison)
"Where do bad little girls go?"
' Most everywhere "
Tho man sprang for the build-
ing tall.
He lived through the spring but
died In the fall
Walters and bus boys In Temple
University's grill and cafeteria
celebrate once a year by holding
a Gravy Ball.
"Sadie Hawkins" has taken the
schools over night but she's help-
ing the girls treat the boys right
Maybe the girls in Zcllher and
Chambers should try it some time
St Mary's University of San
Antonio is sponsoring student
trips o tho world's fairs this sum-
mer .
In Texas University 03 per cent
of the students are opposed to
compulsory class attendance Next
thing we'll be taking Public Speak-
ing by correspondence
the question point to millions of
agricultural workers in the south
and hoards of industrial workers
in tho north who have been sup-
planted by machinery They main-
tain that machinery is good yes
but that its use must be controlled
so that humanity can adjust iself
to this comparatively new factor
Whllo bespectacled statisticians
ponder over columns of figures;
while debaters hurl uncompliment-
ary epithets at each other and the
world in general while politicians
pound tables and bellow their
ghost-written messages before a
gullible populace In short while
mankind talks the wheel of tech-
nocracy rolls onward and still on-
ward pulling the half-willing
halffearful civilization behind it.
Extension Department Serves Student Aboard
Battleship In His Desire for College Education
Ono Texas boy has found it
possible to sail the ' seven seas
and still study Bible courses of
fered in ACC nt the same time
He is J C Reed a member of
tho navy aboard the battleship U
S S Milwaukee which is at
present sailing somewhere in the
Pacific ocean His home is Hed
le Texas and he has been enroll
cd in the ACC extension depart
ment for the past nine months
Reed is n ministerial student
studying Bible by correspondence
since the navy noes not offer
such a course He is now taking
courses 321 and 322 six semester
hours of required sophomore Bible
POPLI R SUBJECTS
ACC s extension department is
one of the imin divisions of the
college During the last year 535
enrolled in O different courses
offered in the department Some
of the most popular subjects are
Bible education art English gov
crnment and Amcrlcnn history
The fifteen different fields in
which work is offered ore Bible
art economics business ndmlnis
tration education English for
eign languages home economics
mathematics physical education
psychology social science history
geography and sociology
NEVER HERE IN PERSON
A majority of the people en-
rolled for courses have never at-
tended the college In person Many
of them are teachers In public
schools or students in other col
leges about the country taking
courses by correspondence that are
not offered where they are at-
tending Some of the others en-
rolled arc homemakers hotel
workers ministers and students
enrolled in the college taking
somo of their work in this way
because of conflicts in their sched-
ules Dr G C Morlan present head
of the educational department es-
tablished tho extension division in
1022 handling It until 1032 when
the present head Elizabeth Bax-
ter took charge
At the present students are en-
rolled from Alabama Missouri
Tennessee Oklahoma Kansas
New Mexico Arkansas Louisiann
California Texas and the U S S
Mllwaul ee
Cocdcll Wins Award
The Press Club aw aid for the
February 9 issue of The Optimist
went for the second time to
Gaston Cogdell for his authoiship
of the Kaleidoscope a weekly edi-
torial feature Cogdell member
of the Press Club is the business
manager of The Optimist and a
student of the journalism depart-
ment Bcauchamp Soph V-Pres.
At the after chapel meeting of
the sophomore class Wednesday
Garvin Benuchamp was elected
vice president of the class
Jail Service
Sunday February 18
Theme 13th Chapter of Acts
(Speaker may chooso his own
subject if he desires )
Speakers James Fowler El-
dred Echols Edison Waldrop
First Quartet Billio Yater
Jaxie Lewis James Black Char
les Williams
Second Quartet Emma Sue
Guthrie Mae Watson Frank
Driver Louie Welch
Librarians Give Review of Material
Available On Periodical Shelves
' Do you know how to read a
book? Are you sure You think
you do but do you?" That is
the way that Henry Augustus Sill
professor of ancient history in
Cornell University began his
freshman class and that is the
way Lingard Loud began the first
article in the current issue of The
Popular Educator (This is a
weekly magazine donated to the
library by Charles H Robcrson )
One bright student answered the
challenge "You just open the
book and read that's all there Is
to It" Sounds like a good reply
but you will have to read tho ar-
ticle to find that it was tho wrong
answer.
OTHER ARTICLES
This issue of tho Popular Ed-
ucator contains many other Inter-
esting articles such as the history
and use of the telescope inflation
its effects the World War in outline.
This week's New York Times
gives us a full page picture of
Pope Pius XI in the rotogravuro
section and several interesting
articles about his life and work
In tho picture section you can
preview tho San Francisco Fair
The magazine section shows you
how Abe Lincoln aged ten years
in four
CURRENT SOCIAL SCIENCE
January's issue of The Ameri-
can Journal of Sociology contains
book reviews of current social
science- books- a good aid to those
students making a bibliography on
that subject
There are two short articles on
the beloved Mark Twain in the
January Issue of American Liter-
ature and an artlclo on National-
ism In American Literature which
might prove helpful In cramming
for an exam or writing a term
theme
(Continued on Page 4)
ur
Advertisers
Sometimes the sccmingy most
commonplace things yield the most
Interesting details when an inves-
tigation is made Into their inner
workings Take this business of
carryng people from place to
place for example Now from
all outward appearances there is
nothing particularly interesting
about this service However ono
might be surprised at the many
peculiar and unusual facts con-
nected with a company which is
engaged in the transit business
Here in Abilene the transpor-
tation king is Mr O B Fielder
head of the Abilene Taxi and Bus
Company Mr Tielder has been
in Abilene for nearly fifteen years
and today he practically controls
Abilene s commercial transporta-
tion system
With thirty employees fivo
buses and ten taxis Mr Fielders
organization is one of the city's
largest Just the buses on tho
ACC Elmwood route consume
enormous volumes of fuel and
travel an almost unbelievable
number of miles in a year Each
bus on this run travels 190 miles
a day In ono year's time this
mileage reaches tho breathtaking
total of 130000 miles or tho
equivalent of five and one-fifth
times around the world In this
same year's time these buses will
use about twenty tires 23610
gallons of gasoline and about 52
barrels of oil
And here students Is an inter-
esting side-light. The ACC-Elra-wood
bus run is approximately
ten and threefourths miles in
length For that round each pas-
senger pays only seven cents
which as can bo seen is less than
one cent a mile which the passen-
ger pays for his transportation
Now students it costs at least
five cents a mile to run just a
plain ordinary automobile Of
course It costs a great dial moro
than this to run a bus. Consider-
ing these facts one realizes the
economy of riding the bus system
Connected with tho bus com-
pany Is the Abilene Taxi Com-
pany which will furnish taxi and
chauffeur and transport an ACC
student from the collego campus
to any part of town within tho
city limits for only twenty-fivo
cents Taxis are safe swift and
economical and for banquets ap-
pointments and all other purposes
for which a bus will be too slow
or otherwiso unsuitable taxis are
the student's ideal mcanB of con-
veyance Also connected with Mr Field-
er's activities is tho storage com-
pany which Is located along with
the taxi and bus company right
across the street from the Para-
mount Theatre In this place au-
tomobiles may be stored all night
for only twenty-fivo cents (This
is ths only place In town where
one can store his car all night
for this low a rate Students
(Continued on Page 4)
Titus
and
Timothy
Religious Views and
Notes on the News
By Raymond Skclton
SUNDAY SICKNESS
Let us consider ono another to
provoke unto love and good works
not forsaking our own asstmblying;
together us tho custom of somo
is but exhorting ono another and
so much tho more as yo see the
day drawing nigh (Heb 10 24-
25) And upon the first day of tho
wcik when we were gathered to-
gether to break bread Paul dis-
coursed with them (Acts 20 7
Why must Christians (or so-
called) be continually urged to at-
tend services? Wo study Gods
words in order to become accept-
able In His sight If that bo true
and wo all say wo desire to learn
moro of Him why is tho Blblo-
study so willfully neglected?
People usually do readily what
they want to do A business man
will look after his business in a
manner which is most profitable
to his firm Sometimes however
people who profess to bo Christi-
ans to love the Lord and to servo
Him acceptably are Indifferent.
When time for worship draws nigh
a lack of interest is very notice-
able Sunday sickness a disease pe-
culiar to church members. Tho
symptoms vary but it never in-
terferes with the appetite requires
no physician never lasts moro
than one day and always fatal in
the end to the soul fearfully
prevalent destroying thousands
each year
Tho attack comes suddenly on
Sunday morning no symptoms
felt Saturday night patient sleeps
well wakes feeling fine eats it
hearty breakfast but about church
time tho attack comes and con-
. tinues until services aro over for
tho morning After which tho
patient feels easy and eats a
hearty dinner
In tlio afternoon he feels much
better he is able to take a walk
drive read tho papers or even
play a round or two of golf eats
a hearty supper hut about church
time he again has an attack mnd
stays home
On Monday morning ho arises
refreshed and able to go to work
and docs not have any symptoms
of tho disease until the following
Sunday
Every time an opportunity is
presented to meet with fllow 3
Continued on Page 8 V
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The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 26, No. 19, Ed. 1, Thursday, February 16, 1939, newspaper, February 16, 1939; Abilene, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth91651/m1/2/: accessed July 13, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Abilene Christian University Library.