Page Two
The Campus Echo
Vol. 3 No. 3
Durham, N. C., Dec. 22, 1938
Published monthly by the
North Carolina College
Subscription 50 cents for the
school year
EDITORIAL STAFF
Faculty
President James E. Shepard,
C. G. O’Kelly, J. T. Taylor, A.
Heningburg, Miss Ruth G. Rush,
Miss Pauline Newton, Miss Cee
Vee Harris, Miss Parepa H. Wat
son, C. T. Willis, Charles L.
Holmes, Miss Diana S. Dent, Mrs.
Julia W. Harris.
Students
Howard Alston, Charles M.
Black, William A. Tuck, Miss
Ruby F. Chisolm, Miss Geneva
Harper, Joseph Christmas, Lau
rence Lightner, David B. Cooke,
Miss Dorothy Whitted, Miss
Christine Harrington.
Work or Play?
Floreta Irma Hunter
“All work and no play makes
Jack a dull boy.” Don’t we all
smile as we hear that old adage?
Isn’t too much play just as bad
for us? Perhaps the student ac
tivities—debating club, forum,
literary club, choir, orchestra,
sororities, fraternities and Y. M.
C. A. and Y. W. C. A.—were
mixed in to give the college stu
dent the wholesome fun needed
as a relaxation from studies.
This idea appeals to me, but
it seems as though the student
activities have won first place.
This is not as it should be; our
academic work is SUPPOSED
to be first. Lo and behold we
have the question arising—What
is the most important thing in
college anyway? IS it knowl
edge, culture or the ability to
socialize? I won’t attempt to
answer that question now, but I
will assume that we agree it is
knowledge: that is, of books.
If it is books, then we must bud
get v, iiiiitj caretuiiy so as to
get in as many student activities
as we can after we have done
our classroom work. Then you
will say if we do our school
work first and other things last
we won’t have time. If such
were the case, you would be
forced to choose for yourself
the course during your college
days which you thought most
important, or make for yourself
a new budget. Luckily this is
not the case for most of us and
we are therefore bright chil
dren according to the adage.
Why? Because we have work
and play.
Prexy Charles Says-
Students, I have been accused
of being drastic and radical on
one hand and super-conserva
tive on the other. You see, I
couldn’t be guilty of both accu
sations, they being of opposite
meanings.
I’m going to make an honest
confession. I’m neither one.
When I say I believe in a sane,
cautious, well planned method
of solution to the problem,
they call me conservative and
afraid. When I say certain ob
jectives can be reached only
with a fight, I’m called a radical.
Fellow students. I’m going to
tell you just where I stand. I’m
not a radical and I’m not a con
servative. I’m wholly interested
in results. The method used to
ascertain these results is not
important to me, as long as the
method is ethical. The boys from
down East tell me that there
are numerous ways a cow is
milked, and you have to use the
one the cow will submit to. Re
gardless of what method you
use to milk the animal you get
the same product—milk.
I repeat, I’m interested in re
sults. If it takes a sane and cau
tious approach to the problem,
that’s the method I’ll use. If
that’s conservatism—I’m con
servative. If it takes a drastic
approach to the problem to
reach the desired solution, that’s
the method I’ll use. If that’s rad
icalism—I’m a radical. Students,
whether you know it or not,
I’m first in justice, first in mor
ality, and first in defense of the
students of North Carolina Col
lege. —Charles M. Black,
President Student Body.
THE CAMPUS ECHO
Can Democracy Survive?
Do You Possess Charm?
By Evelyn M. Jones
“That indefinable thing we
call charm is the least cumber
some and the most useful item
in the baggage of assets we take
with us on the journey of life.”
This is a statement taken from
“Your Voice Is Your Charm”
by Lisa Sergio in the February
1939 issue of Forecast.
Charm is so very useful that
those of us who feel that it was
left out of our make-up are will
ing to go to any extreme to ac
quire it. Many women believe
that charm comes wrapped up
in a new set of clothes, or in a
box of powder, cream, and lip
stick.
No doubt good clothes are
factors of charm, says Miss Ser-
igio, but I do not believe that
any of them are as important
as a good speaking voice. Voice
is something that we have with
us all the time. It doesn’t
change, as style does. Neither
does it forsake us, as our con
versational ability sometimes
does.
Always, in all circumstances,
i-cice sl-xould be a true expres
sion of self, and of personality.
Miss Sergio writes that “charm,
indefinable as it may be, is the
expression and emanation of
personality.” I think that that
is true because nothing reflects
personality as readily as the
speaking voice, and voice, there
fore, should be considered the
outstanding factor of charm.
Haven’t you found yourself,
when listening to the radio, or
phonograph, trying to form a
mental picture of the person to
whom you are listening? The
article refers to these objects—
radio, telephone, and phono
graph — as “faceless voices,”
points out the fact that person
ality of the individual will be as
we have imagined it. And so,
these faceless voices are helps
in your becoming voice-con
scious, and therefore, possessors
of charm.
Imagine a telephone operator,
a saleswoman, or anyone who
must meet the public without
that essential of voice. A voice
that conveys an eagerness to
work, a good will to learn, or
intelligence will most likely
catch the prospective employ
er’s attention quicker than will
a voice possessing none of these
things.
Miss Sergio concludes her ar
ticle with this statement :
“Charm is the expression and
emanation of personality, and
personality is reflected in the
speaking voice.”
Attempt to improve your
voice just as you try to improve
your hands. The article suggest
ed yawning, relaxation of the
nerves and vocal cords as aids to
voice cultivation.
In the January 14th issue of
the Liberty in the article, “The
Outlook for Freedom,” Mr. An
thony Eden, formerly Secretary
of State for Foreign Affairs of
Great Britain, implies this very
vital question, “Can Democracy
survive?” He points out the fact
that the survival of democracy
is doubtful when he says, “To
day we have to face the tragic
fact that their attempt, if it has
not completely failed, is in ever-
increasing jeopardy, while the
doctrine of force is once again
openly avowed, and wins fresh
champions or apologists with
every success it can proclaim.”
Mr. Eden traces the attempts
of the various nations to arrive
at some guarantee of peace and
security after the close of the
World War. He places the re
sponsibility of the failure on
two things, the failure of the
United States to enter the
League of Nations, and the lack
of firmness of Great Britain in
standing behind France. Also
the fact that the League of Na
tions dealt more with enforcing
certain peace treaties rather
than adhering to its original
purpose, that of peaceful arbi
tration of international disputes,
is another underlying cause of
its collapse. In this regard Mr.
Eden says, “Another mistake
was the association of the
League with peace treaties.
Geneva in consequence came to
be looked upon by them—“the
vanquished nations—”as the ob
durate guardian of certain defi
nite clauses of the peace trea
ties, instead of as the means of
applying methods of arbitration
and negotiation for the peaceful
settlement of international dis
putes.” The former secretsrv ad
vances the foregoing as the
causes of the collapse of the
League and as the cause of the
present set-up in Europe. How
ever he fails to include the facts
that the harsh terms of peace
forced upon the losers of the
war, such as the partition of
Germany and Austria-Hungary,
the large indemnities forced
upon the German nation, the
disarmament of Germany, and
above all the creation of Czecho
slovakia as a buffer state in
Middle Europe, as more or less
major contributing causes to the
collapse of the League, and the
rise of the dictators and totali
tarianism in Europe today.
The author next discusses the
fact that the nations are real
izing that modern methods of
communications have lessened
geographical distances, result
ing in an increased interdepend
ence of the nations of the world.
If one asks the question, “Who
is your neighbor?” the answer
is, “The world is my neighbor.”
In Europe today in the auto
cratic states there is a spirit of
unity or nationalism which
brooks no opposition. According
to Mr. Eden, the leaders con
tinually drum into the individ
ual that the state is supreme
and that the individual exists
merely for purposes of the
state. Says Mr. Eden, “He or she
is a cog in a machine, and in
most cases is well content to be
so.” No individual, institution,
religion, nor even the army
dares to “buck” or offer oppo
sition. So as a result, a spirit of
nationalism exceeds the pre-war
spirit.
In contrast in the democratic
Wednesday, March 8, 1939
states, according to the article,
such a spirit of national unity
is lacking. This is due largely to
the fact that the people in the
democracies move about, think,
and act without restraint. But
on the other hand, the writer
states that in the event of a na
tional emergency there is no
doubt that such a spirit of unity,
as is now manifest in the dic
tator states, can not be achieved.
He says further, “In the Great
War it was the democratic na
tions which best withstood the
strain.” Unless there is an
about-face of conditions in the
democratic states on the ideal
of national unity, the democra
cies of the world face a fight for
the survival of their principles.
To quote Mr. Eden, “Unless the
democracies of western Europe
can revive their own faith, they
cannot hope either to achieve a
national unity within, or to up
hold their point of view with
such courage and steadfastness
as to insure that it shall pre
vail.” The writer continues his
very masterly dissertation on
the fate of democracy with a
discussion of the lack of per
sonal freedom in Europe today.
He dejilores the fact but states
that it should serve as a stimu
lus to the democratic nations to
formulate a national spirit and
a strong policy so as to insure
that the ideals of democracy,
freedom, toleration, and peace,
will not give away to the doc
trine of force. The article con
cludes with this assertion,
“Without the establishment of
some rule of law, nations will
not attain to the measure of
prosperity which would other
wise be within their reach. If
present tendencies persist, the
nations will continue to move
with ever increasing momentum
toward another world confiict.”
Mr. Eden ably presents the
situation as it stands today and
his recommendations are very
timely; but unless the demo
cratic nations present a firm,
united, unequivocal stand
against the dictator states with
out further concessions on any
point, they can not hope to sur
vive.
—Sylvester Carter.
others are worshipped and
praised today—men who had in
them the ability to advance civ
ilization through the medium of
inventions.
We find that the Ages set off
in history are according to in
ventions and discoveries. The
progress of a nation is measured
in their ability to invent tools,
improve machines and to adjust
themselves to their places of
living. This is shown by the use
of such items as stone age,
bronze age, iron age, steam and
electric ages. In the East tools
are very few; in the West the
tools are very numerous; this is
the main difference between the
two civilizations. The West has
left the East far behind in mak-
ing of tools, and has left them
likewise behind in the growth of
their civilization. The Orient
still does most of its work by
'hand, and the West has long ago
launched into the use of steam
and electricity.
The Eastern civilization is
based on man, while ours is
based on machinery. The strik
ing ratio concerning machines
as stated by Hu Shih will clarify
this statement. With all the
speedy labor-saving devices, we
ourselves can not help but be
speeded up; this is one reason
I give for the slowness and back
wardness of the East. Machines
have no place as yet in the old
world as they remain backward.
Man is becoming more and
more miserable in his idleness
as a result of the machines. Ma
chines are causing more unem
ployment than we know what to
do with. Artificial pastimes suf
fice for a short while, but they
soon become very unbearable.
Machines have become so pow
erful that they are ruling the
Western world; this condition
grows worse day by day. In the
East, in contrast, there are no
such problems. The men are the
rulers, not the machines.
Of all the things men have done,
For the progress of many civ
ilizations;
Machines their throne long since
have won,
And now rule all the nations.
The East Versus the West
In Hu Shih’s article, “The
Civilization of the East and the
West,” I don’t think he has done
justice to Western civilization
as I have been given to under
stand it. The Western civiliza
tion as explained by Hu Shih
is becoming a product of loose
thinking. The Orient seems to
be based on spiritual principles
still. The people in the East say
everything whether good or bad
comes from the Gods. The peo
ple in the West on the other
hand attribute all things to their
intelligence.
A purely material civilization
does not exist; although man
uses his intelligence to make
tools out of matter, there is
some supreme being which
seems to govern it all. Hu Shih
says that it is the invention of
the telescope, the steam engine,
the discovery of radio activity
and other discoveries and inven
tions that have made the world
what it is at the present time.
As the priests and the Gods
were worshipped in the olden
ages, Ford, Edison, Bell, and
Reading Hu Shih’s article has
given me a different view on the
whole situation. I agree with
him in every respect, but I have
not been given to understand
our civilization in such a radi
cal manner. I thought religious
beliefs were the bases of the
growth of a people followed by
the intelligence and the ability
on the part of the people. I can
not come to a final conclusion
in my mind as to which group of
people is better ofif, but many
things will have to be done for ■
both to place them where they
ought to be.
—Florice Holmes.
Note; The article criticized is
from Topics for Freshman Writ-
ing by John Crowe Ransom.
Snapshots Wanted
Students, if you have made
snapshots on the campus during
the year and they are really
good, why not let them be used
for the snapshot pages of the
annual. Leave them at the an
nual office or give them to the
snapshot editor, Charles Rogers.
Amateur work will be judged
on the same basis as profession
al and will be paid for in the
same way. “Thank you.”