The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 36, No. 15, Ed. 1 Saturday, November 6, 1948 Page: 2 of 8
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Two
THE THRESHER
economic issues
paramount today
The vote of the American people this past
Tuesday was an explicit approval of the policies
of Harry Truman and his attempts to follow the
"Nety Deal" pattern laid down by his predecessor,
Franklin D. Roosevelt. With the backing of a
Democratic Congress, Mr. Truman may be expected
to press for the enactment of more legislation put-
ting the national government mox-e into business,
and increasing the size and powers of the national
government beyond its present scope.
With such a mandate from the American peo-
ple, demanding that something be done to correct
the inequities in the existing system of American
Capitalism, it will be inevitable that the government
must accept more regulatory powers over the lives
of its citizens. As the surrender of such powers
is always ill-advised if it is done hastily—and as it
is usually very difficult to persuade even the most
democratic governments to contract—such a sur-
render to, or creation of, powers for the govern-
ment must be attended with careful analysis of the
likely results of every course of action, not only
in the immediate future, but on the lives of future
generations.
The questions that will be decided by the 81st
Congress will not largely be administrative ones, or
ones concerning the form of law-making. Instead
they will deal largely with the economic life of
America, and the correct relationships of the govern-
ment to the business world of America. Paramount
in consideration will be the oft ignored moral ques-
tion that is present in any economic question that
deals with the possessions and happiness of the
citizens of a nation.
The present students of Rice, as the leaders of
tomorrow, must understand the 'issues involved now.
They must not be drawn into hasty condemnations
or approbations of blanket programs involving many
and varied points, but must give each separate mat-
ter consideration worthy of its importance, and
judge it separately in the light of political, moral
and economic principles.
Economic theories long accepted are under at-
tack, and new ones are being proposed. Radical
changes are in the air as the trend towards the
socialization of American life continues. No one
can afford to ignore study of economic issues and
principles under the present conditions. Freedom
is secure only when its citizenry is alert and well-
informed.
0
what
is a campus
There is much unstated disagreement on this
campuv as to the exact nature and function of a
collegc education. Many confusions and clashes
of opinions arise out of these differences, and so it
is fortunate that the Rice Forum will have a pro-
giam designed to present the differing views of
what a college education should be. This program
will be Wednesday night, the 10th of November, in-
stead of the usual Thursday night.
Some students, and some faculty members, feel
that college is designed to equip its students to earn
a good living in the business world, and to compete
successfully with other.men of like occupations.
These men feel that a campus is designed to teach
a trade, and to provide the background for further
learning in a specific field.
Other students, and faculty members, feel that
a college's prime purpose in existing is to provide
its students with the intellectual foundation upon
which to build a well-rounded philosophy of life.
These believe that a college education should be
all-inclusive, and should attempt to give the students
a taste of the truths, so that they might live in
harmony with the rest of the world and not become
narrow and self-centered.
These two main views, with plenty of variations,
and other main views too, deserve the attention
of all students. Someday as alumni and citizens,
the present students will have a hand in directing
the policies of this and other schools in this nation.
o
A Heartwarming Story;
-Truman, The Man Who Won
by Abraham .Nad
It's a heartwarming story. Ralph Waldo Emerson would
have called it "compensation." Horatio Alger couldn't have
found a more perfect example. The plain, unvarnished fact
remains for all to see: Harry Truman, a product of the grass-
roots American tradition, has pulled the political miracle of
the decade, if not of the cen-
SATURDAY EDITION
Managing Editor Finis Cowan
Assistants Ruey Boone, Georgia Hinks,
Jeane Lewis
7HEX/CE m 7WKESHEK
Editor Brady Tyson
Assistant Robert Mcllhenny
Business Manager Nancy Hood
Sports a David Miller
Assistant Howard Martin
tury.
What happened? The Republicans
are wondering, too. Everyone, from
the professional, super-charged poll-
sters through the party hacks of
both the Democrats and the GOP to
the man in the street had known
for a long time that Tom Dewey had
better get ready to enjoy the porch
Harry Truman built for himself at
the White House.
The Man's Got Guts
Harry Truman has had his ups
and downs in the past three years.
Looking back, it seems as if his
"downs" were deeper than his "ups"
were high. This very fact shows the
"rags-to-riches" character of his
administration. And the fact that he
ended up on a peak shows one un-
mistakable trait of Harry Truman.
He's got C O U R A G E—courage
enough to make up for the little
men who were sux-rounding him in
his hours of need beginning last
July.
And if anyone doubts that courage
is the stuff Harry Truman is made
of, just let him go over the history
of the U.S. since April 12, 1945.
Harry Truman has made a lot
of mistakes. He has been criticized
for an enlarged sense of loyalty to
friends, some of whom didn't deserve
his loyalty. He has been criticized
for him method of administration.
He has been criticized for some al-
most fantastic blunders. And there
hstoe been innumerable petty criti-
cisms hurled at him. And there have
been some grounds for many of the
accusations.
But.his belittlers have overlooked
the fact that Harry Truman has
been President in exceptionally try-
ing times. He did not have time to
bother with details, such as learning
whether he should receive the Su-
preme Court in formal attire or in
a business suit. A football coach
doesn't expect the star quarterback
on the freshman team to step into
the varsity lineup in the year's most
crucial game and give an Ail-Amer-
ican performance. Harry Truman
hasn't given an All-American per-
formance, but he has given one that
all America should consider worthy
of a pat on the back and "fifteen
cheers for Harry."
This matter of personal loyalty—
or lack of it—has been one of the
chief obstacles Mr. Truman has had
to face, When the Democratic na-
tional convention assembled in Phil-
adelphia in July, the party's situa-
tion was so critical that many people
were wondering whether this was
the beginning of its complete dis-
integration.'To say the least, there
was an atmosphere of complete de-
featism pervading the convention.
Like rats deserting a sinking ship,
Democratic stalwarts were frantical-
ly casting about for some other can-
didate. In the face of caustic com-
ments from the libei'al Americans
for Democratic Action, even more
violent attacks from outraged
Southerners, and hard-boiled, behind-1
the-scenes talks with big city bosses
.who told him that he didn't have
a Chinaman's chance of winning the
election—in the face of a party com-
ing apart at the seams, Harry Tru-
man took the nomination and made
up his mind that he was out to win.
Injected Fighting Spirit
American politics has never be-
fore seen such a change occur in a
party in such a short time as we
have just witnessed. No one knew
exactly what was going on, but the
first sign of it lay • Truman's fight-
ing acceptance speech at the con-
vention. Standing on a platform be-
fore the same delegates who just a
few hours before had been trying
desperately to dump him, he injected
a spirit into that gathering, a spirit
which recognized that Harry Tru-
man meant to make this campaign
a real battle for Governor Dewey
and his party.
Yet the spell didn't last long. The
doubters were not convinced. To
them the walkout of the Southerners
seemed to seal positively Harry Tru-
man's political coffin. As a result,
their "support" of him was as per-
functory as it could have gotten and
still make the race deserve the title
"campaign."
Still Harry Truman's courage did
not fail him. He conducted an almost
single-handed campaign. Newspaper
after newspaper—even traditionally
Democratic ones-—came out for
Dewey. And the stronger the oppo-
sition seemed to become, the harder
Harry Truman worked. Faced by the
appalling fact that only three of his
cabinet members were giving him
any help to speak of, he continued
campaigning even more vigorously.
People came to see and hear Harry
Truman talk. Inevitably his manner
of speaking was compared with De-
wey's. Harry Truman didn't have
the dignity and smooth delivery that
Governor Dewey had. He didn't
have overpowering eloquence and
personality which Franklin Roosevelt
used so forcefully. But Harry Tru-
man started drawing bigger and big-
ger crowds. The "experts" were
puzzled. They concluded that peo-
ple just wanted to see the Presi-
dent and that it wouldn't mean a
thing on Election Day.
The American Dream
But the people that came to see
and hear Harry Truman went away
impressed, whether or not they had
attended out of curiosity. They were
impressed by his appearance of be-
ing one of them, and they could tell
that the appearance was more than
skin deep. For he was one of them.
He was the very personification of
the American Dream, the small-
town boy that grows up to become
President.
Truman spoke with a feeling, a
feeling he communicated to his lis-
teners, even those who heard only
by radio. It was easy to tell that he
really did consider the 80th Con-
gress the second worst in history. He
believed that the Republicans' ac-
tions since 1946 deserved the "Give
'em hell" type of campaign, an^
that's what he followed.
A Liberal Democratic Party
And Harry Truman was right.
ABSOLUTELY RIGHT, as evidenc-
ed by the astounding results of last
Tuesday. Harry took into the elec-
tion a liberal Democratic party, shed
of the ultra-conservative Southern-
ers and the too-far-left Wallaceites.
This is perhaps the most signifi-
cant result of the 1948 election, the
emergence of a party which "con-
fused liberals" can enthusiastically
support.
It has been said that the Pres-
ident is now in a unique position. He
appears to owe "nothing to nobody."
After such a lone-wolf campaign,
Truman is really free to go ahead
and put his convictions into ^opera-
tion. For the first time in many
moons, he can exert his authority
and make it stick.
wcbster on study; or why
■" I " ' ' " \ { . ; • ^ ■ L T
con over 4 conover?
by Camilla Grobe
Noah Webster, the man who has been writing
dictionaries since 1783, defines "study" in the fol-
lowing manner, "to examine closely in order to
learn thoroughlyj cover; devote one's thoughts to."
It may come as a shock to some of us to learn
that when we have sat patiently by the hour reading
the stirring tale of Socrates' last highball, that as
a matter of fact we have been "conning over philo-
sophy." However the men may not be surprised
to learn that "con over" means to study, as they
doubtless have associated the term with Conover—
the New York gentleman who makes his living by
studying pretty girls. These are the same boys
that if asked how the like intellectual girls try to
dodge the issue by saying, "I like a girl with a
good head on my shoulder."
coeds "study" senior engineers
Some pretty coed who has been "devoting her
thoughts" to that clever senior engineer, will not
realize she has been studying said engineer. Now will
the party • of the first part see any relationship
between her ability to understand the theory of
proportionate quadratics and "devotion."
"Examining closely in order to learn thoroughly"
is sometimes donevin groups. Such groups should
be planned thoughtfully. The student who is weak-
est in a given subject generally organizes the meet-
ing, and carefully invites the brain of the class,
the eager beaver with the best notes and one or
more other weak ones, so that this last class can
always control the meeting by their majority. Girls
even plan refreshments of various kinds for such
an evening.
Strange as it seems, when the men form such
a group they never serve any food, but always have
a few roses—four to be exact. This is probably
due to a superstition among them that four roses
bring luck.
rich, poor, on-the-cuff
Students can be classified by the same terms
that Dunn and his room-mate Bradstreet use in
describing a business man's financial rating—rich,
poor, and on-the-cuff. A student is rich when he
has a good capital, protected by the frontaes, two
parietals, sphenoid, ethmoid, two temporals, and
the usual number of occipital bones. These bones
vary in thickness from one-quarter to one-fifth of
an inch; but in some students they are thicker and
therefore it is difficult for them to add to their
capital. One pre-med student, however, placed the
blame on a dismal professor, who, he claimed,
embalmed the subject and let his students view the
remains. The "on-the-cuff lad" trys to get the easy
way—by hear-say. In order to make sure, he has
a minimum of facts. He expends a lot of effort col-
lecting last year's test questions and memorizing
the answers. Those who believe that this is the
only way to study are as wrong as a Gallup Poll.
Such a student will occasionally stumble over the
truth, but when he does he always picks himself up
and hurrys on as if nothing had happened.
But all of us know that by hard study we can
fell that we have just stepped off Plymouth Rock,
and that the ignorant have just crawled out from
under it.
0
a modest proposal
Today as Rice Institute moves onward to new
heights of glory and approaches the epitome of
scholastic achievement, we wish to make a modest
proposal. We sincerely hope that this proposed
change will not be considered radical and emphasize
that- it is made in best faith and in the finest
tradition of liberal progressiveness.
We wish to suggest that book shelves be placed
in the men's rooms of the campus. Did you, sir,
ever attempt to wash your hands holding your books
in one hand and holding the water faucet with the
other? Bid you, sir, ever try to button a string of
small and tenacious buttons with one hand?
In the solemn realization that we may be ac-
cused of sporting pernicious and red communist
views, we here make this modest proposal.
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The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 36, No. 15, Ed. 1 Saturday, November 6, 1948, newspaper, November 6, 1948; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth230770/m1/2/: accessed April 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.