Page Two
THE CAMPUS ECHO
Tuesday, December 19, 1939
The Campus Echo
Durham,
Vol. 4
N. C., Dec.
19, 1939
No. 3
Published monthly by the
North Carolina Collkge
Subscription 50 cents for the
school year
EDITORIAL STAFF
Editor-in-Chief Joseph A. Chriscmas
Managing Editor Sylvester L. Carter
Sports Editor Thomas Hardy
Asst. Sports Editor, ^..Burnett Bryant
Contributing Editors
Haskel A. Hudson, Roland L. Allison, Alex
Rivera, Leroy Strong
Reporters and Feature Writers
John Frederic Summersette, Carey Lou Patter
son, Thomas Keller, Edith Parham, La Ruth
Hall, Charles Rogers, Isabella Jeffreys, Anna
Knight, Eloise Oowder, Hattie Hinton.
Secretary. Louise C. Thompson
Faculty Advisers
Dr. W. E. Farrison, Professor C. T. Willis
Peace on Earth
The singing words, “Peace on
earth, good will to men,” have a
strange, unaccustomed sound at this
time of tumult and unrest—With the
fires of hatred sweeping through Eu
rope, it is sometimes difficult to re
member that twenty centuries ago a
Babe was born in a stable in Bethle
hem. It is even harder to remember
that the same Babe, grown older and
sadder, died upon a stormy hill-top
so that all men might be brothers.
And yet—rising out of the chaos
and change—we do own that blessed
assurance! For a Saviour came to
dwell among us, and He drank from
life’s bitter cup so that we might
gain the courage to make a new start.
As Christmas comes again we are
granted the opportunity to see
visions and to dream dreams. As the
visions drift in from the past, we
glimpse a little eastern town with
a star shining white above it. There
are shepherds grouped close together
for warmth. There are angels with
silver voices telling tidings ot great
joy—and there is a very young moth
er, still drawn and white from the
memory of the suffering through
which she has passed, and with a
hint of greater suffering to be!
The dreams we dream? They, for
the most part, have to do with the
future. With a future in which the
hopes of the Christ Child are glo
riously realized—in which Calvary,
that is always a part of war and
discontentment, is swept away—We
dream of a star that shines steadily
across a changing world, painting a
path that is lighted with human
charity and faith.
When Christmas comes again our
dreams and our visions give us a
brief sense of tranquility and of
truce.
By the light of a wood fire in a
humble log cabin of the middle west,
a lanky, ungainly boy spent his
evening poring over the few dog
eared books that came his way. He
was the son of a poor man who could
neither read nor write. The stone
fireplace was the boy’s school, and
his early visions were formed in the
flames of the burning log. He rose
to be a leader of his fellowmen. He
set free an enslaved race and he gave
his life “that government of the peo
ple, by the people, for the people
shall not perish from the earth.”
By the candlelight at night, and
in the early morning hours, another
boy found his schooling in a few
hard-gained books. He was the son
of a poor Scotch immigrant, and he
began life with nothing. From the
lowly job of bobbin-boy in a cotton
factory, he rose to be one of the
greatest iron-masters of the world
and, out of base metal, forged golden
fortunes for himself and his associ
ates. When he retired, his fortune
was so vast that it required the serv
ice of many busy organizations sim
ply to give part of it away. Before
he died he dotted the map of the
United States with free libraries that
made easily accessible to people of
all classes, the wealth of books for
which he longed when a boy.
In a country workhouse a sickly,
hungry-souled boy found his first
home and spent his early years. His
parentage was not only humble but
clouded. With nothing but his own
mental resources and a few good
books to draw on, he sought the
open world, and in the course of
years of splendid enterprise, he be
came the supreme explorer of his
age—the great adventurer who
searched and made known the se
crets of darkest Africa.
Nobodies, all of these in their ori
gin, humble children of the soil, born
of the dust like many who remained
all their lives in the dust, unheard of
and unknown. But in these three, as
in all natures that aspire, there was
kindled a quickening flame. There
was no mystery—^no special call. It
was simply that these men in the be
ginning saw the world as a field of
boundless opportunity, and life as a
span of years in which to grow and
make the most of themselves. It was
such a vision as anyone might have
—and their pathway was such as
many boys might follow.
Their ideals were formed through
reading the right kind of books. In
fact, all that mankind has done,
thought, gained, or been, is lying in
magic preservation in pages of
books.
Read! You have but the enslaving
chains of general unenlightenment
to lose, and a garden of knowledge
to gain.
.Few of us, if any, are important
enough—or strong enough—to have
a part in the juggling of those affairs
which alter the course of nations, but
cacli on^ of us ia strong enough
have a very vital part in rearranging
the affairs which touch his own
boundaries. When Christmas arrives
—with its period of armistice—^we
can try to lay aside the nagging
cares of the day. We can find time
to say the kindly word, to write the
looked-for letter or card, to perform
the small, gracious deed. . . We can
endeavor to give from a sense of
love, rather than from a sense of
duty.
Oh, when Christmas comes again
every street holds a message and a
prayer. . . And every church bell
rings an anthem, and every mother’s
face mirrors a divine look, and every
infant resembles the Christ Child.
And if you see it so, “Peace on
Earth” doesn’t seem out of place.
And “Good will toward men” means
—just that!
—Gentleman Jac
On Books
Books: The pillars of progress
and the inspiration of mankind. How
mighty is thy power and how won
drous thy influence! That which im
mortalizes man on earth and inspires
him like a benediction from on high.
In books we are permitted to as
sociate with the genius of every age.
In them we have the experience, the
inspiration, the thoughts and deeds
of all the “countless dead.”
It’s no wonder that Henry Clay’s
mother saved pennies from her wash
ing to buy her boy books. It’s no
wonder that Abraham Lincoln made
such an effort to secure books. It’s
no wonder that every successful man
in every walk of life is surrounded
by the best books.
The people who have not been
awakened to the great value of books
are the ones who say they have more
books now than they have time to
Judge Not
Friends, we are not as kind as
we ought to be in our judgments of
our fellow students. Often we are
harsh, sometimes cruel. We condemn
much too quickly, without evidence
or mercy. Of course, we form some
kind of opinion of every person we
meet. We cannot help doing so per
haps; but we have only a few basic
facts to go on, no real facts at all.
Besides, we do not know enough to
pass judgment, we may know a fact,
but not what brought about the fact.
We must remember that the whole
life of a person is back of his words
and deeds.
“That person said thus and so, I
heard him say it,” we insist. But do
we know how sorry he was when he
said it, and how he wished he could
have swallowed what he said. It may
have made him miserable all day. It
is not fair to judge him by what he
said.
It is not right to judge man en
tirely by his deeds. We must know
his attitude toward his deeds. Not all
of a man goes into his words and
deeds—not always the best of him.
“I dislike that girl very much,”
we say, “she is so crabbed and
bossy.” But we must look into her
past experiences to find out what
makes her act as she does.
We see a tree all knotty and bent.
It has been made so by the wind. It
grew in an exposed place, and the
storms and rains have bent it out of
shape. Just so it is with people. Some
of them have been handled so rough
ly by the winds of ill fortune that
they have become ugly and bent.
Under like treatments, we would be
crabbed too.
—Lynvia Whitaker
On Christmas
Crowded streets and city mist, pov
erty and tears,
Yet the Christmas story sounds
across the breathless years
Telling in a splendid way oj the
Savior’s birth
Whispering, “Good will to men—
peace on earth!"
Beggars—some who ask for faith,
some who cry for bread—
Lonely folk whose sad eyes cling to
fhe path ahead;
Yet there is a ray of hope, glimmer
ing afar—
Can it be the blessed light of a silver
star?
Crowded streets and city mist, tears
that melt away
When we hear the thrilling words,
"It is Christmas Day!”
We who walk toward Calvary take
new courage when
Angels murmur in our hearts, “Peace
—goodwill to men!”
—Gentleman Jac
read. Refusing to buy new books un
til the old ones have been read is like
refusing to associate with new
friends until everything, good and
bad, has been learned about the old
friends.
It’s coming in touch with great
men, getting a little experience here
and an idea there, that sharpens the
intellect and makes the man. It’s an
assimilation of other men’s success.
It’s the association of the reader with
the greatest of the world’s great.
Through books he is taken out of a
poor environment and ascends to the
highest plane known to man. He is
inspired by the words of the author,
with the experil nee of men who, like
himself, hungered for something
worth while; and the inspiration
which he gets from that half hour’s
reading brings about the discovery
of himself. —Gentleman Jac
What Is Your
Christmas Gift?
It has been customary from time
immemorial for people to give to
their friends and relations tokens of
friendship, love and goodwill on
Christmas Day or during the Yule-
tide season. These gifts are usually
known as “Christmas Presents.”
Some people spare no pains nor
money in the selection and the se
curity of their gifts, others are less
elaborate in their selection; while a
third group may not be financially
strong enough to compete with either
the first or second group, but what
ever they give, they give all of them
selves in their gifts. Their giving is
prompted by a genuine desire to ex
press their entire feelings of love and
goodwill toward men.
This tj^ of giving is symbolic of
the spirit of the “poor widow” men
tioned in the Bible. Though her mite
was small, she gave it wholehearted
ly. She gave her self in the giving.
She gave her all.
Another example of giving is
shown in the story of the birth of
Christ.
In this one gift we have three
parts: Joy, Peace, and Goodwill.
What a gift! Such a gift is a bless
ing to any people.
In a few days we as students shall
bid farewell to each other and turn
our faces toward our several homes.
There we will greet our parents and
relations, friends and acquaintances
in the original Christmas style. But
what are we going to give those
friends? What is your Christmas
gift? There are many things that can
be given, both material and non
material, but the thing that should
be uppermost in all students’ minds
is the idea of giving something that
will not rust, ruin, or decay. Then
what should you give?
I. You Should Give Joy.
When you said goodbye to your
parents and friends last September,
and turned your steps toward the
North Carolina College, you could
see evidences of suppressed emotions
in their actions and half-hidden
tears in their eyes. And yet those
emotions and tears were mingled
with anticipation of future joy. Those
dear fathers and mothers consoled
themselves with the hope that the
sacrifice they were making in allow
ing you to leave them, would be well
paid for in the future, not by con
tributions of gold and silver, but by
your growth into ideal men and
women, and your loyalty to them
(parents), to your friends, and to
your school. W’ith this in mind, they
are willing to endure the pain caused
by your absence now, in order that
they may find joy, through you, in
your worthy contributions to society
in the future.
So, when you get home, and dur
ing the entire Yuletide season, those
dear parents will be expecting to see
evidences of intellectual changes.
They will expect you as college stu
dents to be more active in the home,
church, and community. Do not dis
appoint them. Give them the present
of joy through your activeness. Show
them that you are ideal college stu
dents, and they will be happy.
II. Y bu Should Give Peace.
What a beautiful song it must
have been when on that memorable
morning when the angel heralds sang
“Glory to God in the Highest, and
on Earth Peace, Goodwill Toward
Men.” Here was a Child who had
come into the world to bring Peace.
So, as He came into the world to
bring peace, you should continue to
spread that peace abroad.
You, my friends, must give to
your parents, and friends, during
Do You Agree?
All things come to him who waits,
but the man who goes after them
gets the pick. If we fail to be alert,
and interesting, even our children
will profess affection for us, but they
will not want to be with us.
Fine clothes, big houses, motors,
movies, servants, theaters, gold mesh
bags, diamond rings are not neces
sary to happiness. How terribly we
bore ourselves—agoing places, doing
things, guzzling, gossiping, trying to
keep from being bored.
The secret of being a bore is the
habit of saying everything, said Vol
taire; the picture blurred by petty
details. Tact is telling a person what
you think of him without letting him
know it—knocking him down with a
feather. Happiness is like cake—
something you get as a by-product
in the process of making something
that is needed.
Woman has but one joke—to boss
her husband while all the time he
thinks that he is bossing her; and
this is no joke. What if all men and
women were like you and me, good
readers, what kind of a world would .
this cranky world be? ,
this Yuletide season, peace. Yes,
peace of mind, prompted by your
exhibition of indisputable ear marks
of intellectual growth; peace of
mind, made possible by your volun
tary participation in the various
activities of cultural uplift in your
several communities. You must give,
to those dear parents, peace by the
exemplification of “worthy home
membership,” and by proving to
them through your actions that,
though it is a great sacrifice, their
labors, in keeping you in school, are
not in vain. Make them proud of you
and you have given peace to their
minds.
III. You Should Give Goodwill.
That same angelic host that au
thorized the glorious song on the
first Christmas morning also sang of
“Goodwill Toward Men.” What a
wonderful world this would be if
there existed genuine goodwill to
ward all men! But in our world we
get a picture of hatred, strife and
continued unrest. The lack of under
standing is a prime factor in the
world situation. It is at this point
that you, as college students, should
enter and give your gift. Give under
standing where there is a need for
it. This may be in the home, the
Sunday School, or in the community;
but no matter where it is you should
replace strife, hatred and unrest
with an understanding, and when
this is done GOODWILL will pre
vail.
Again the question comes: What
is your Christmas gift? Then, as if
from a “still small voice,” comes the
suggestive answer—It points to you
and to me and says: “You should
give Joy; you should give Peace;
you should give Goodwill.”
If you make the proper, presenta
tion of these gifts, your “Christmas
presents” will be welcomed by your
parents and friends and sanctioned
by the Great Power who makes your
existence possible.
And now, my friends and fellow
students, I close with this quotation
which is an adequate expression of
my sentiments to you:
“May the blessings of Christmas
Abide with you always.
And each day of the coming
Year bring you Joy, Peace, and
everlasting Goodwill.”
—E. T. Artis
President of Student Forum