PAGE TWO
THE .CAMPUS ECHOj
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17, 1958
Campus© Echo M
Member
ASSOCIATED COLLEGIATE PRESS
The CAMPUS ECHO, official student publication at
North Carolina College at Durham, is published monthly dur-
vng the vegulciT school yeav. S'ubscriptioti rates, $1.50 per
school year. . , i. rt
Second class mail privileges authorized at Durham, North
Carolina.
THEODORE E. GILLIAM
T PAMERON — Munaffing EditoT
FLORA SNIPES, SAMUEL C. FLOYD Literary Editors
Los!: Restraint, Dignity, Honor
is compelled to call attention to the unfortunate ending ot
the 28th Carolina Classic game between this college and
A. & T. College of Greensboro. The annual Thanksgiving
r’la5sic has been a friendly rivalry between the two schools
for 2Tyears a^d to the rlgret of"^the ?AMPUS ECHO and
sensitive people on both sides, it turned out this year to be a
hot bed of strident animosity over a few collegiate pranks,
some of which were too flagrant and damaging to be termed
good natured. . „ ,
The “abduction” of the A. & T. “Aggies” (mascot) was an
occasion for mirth and a bit of chest swelling as long as the
ultimate intent was to return the mascot to its owners. But
marking up the A. & T. campus with paint and damagii^ one
of the campus’ buildings were deplorable acts, if not down
right criminal ones. Certainly those students of A. & T. were
justified in threatening to retaliate, though they are to be
commended for not carrying out a threat which could have
ended in much damaged relationships between the schools
and possible personal injuries to individuals on both sides.
To say the least, the short fight which ended what had
been a splendid athletic contest was expected, perhaps un
avoidable, but senseless. Who started the fight is unimportant.
But what was gained by it, other than a reputation for un
sportsmanlike behavior in the face of defeat or victory? Was
this action representative of supposedly mature, educated in
dividuals or of the self directed beasts of the mob? ^ ^
Winning, in any contest, whether athletic or not, is im
portant. But in some instances losing is even more im
portant; one must consider what, why, and how one is
losing. Losing all sense of restraint, dignity, honor, all
or any of the traits that distinguish humans from lower
animals becomes a much more important matter even for
college students—even for Eagles and Aggies—than the
outcome of athletic contests. Let’s hope that we (both
sides) are disgusted enough at the recent violence, to re-
— solve and illustrate in future behavior, to not lose sight
of the fact, that we are humans.
Exit: Railroad Passengers
Earlier indications that the nation’s railroad passengers
would become insignificant numbers of a once-great body of
travelers continue to gain a saddening strength as the year
ends. , T 1 • 1 TT 11
During this month, two companies, the Lehigh Valley
and Lackawanna railroads, have resigned their efforts to ac
complish the near-impossible. In the face of dwindling
passenger revenues, the Lehigh Valley has abaildoned pas
senger service, and the» Lackawanna has announced its in
tention to do so. Thus, these systems have joined many of
the nation’s rail companies for whom an unprecedented use
by Americans of air, bus, and automobile travel facilities has
signalled the end of a proud tradition and profitable business.
Few observers can maintain that the nation’s railroads
have succumbed without a struggle. Several years ago, fol
lowing the fat, prosperous period of war-time travel and its
demands upon public carriers, danger signals cast by a sharp
increase in air travel and in the use of automobiles for inter
city travel sent rail executives into conference rooms and de
signers to their drawing boards. More attention to passengers
and their wishes was urged and offered. Lightweight coaches,
thought to be the answer to problems born of the need to re
place outmoded passenger coaches, were proposed and de
bated. A trimming down of the production of Pullman cars
and a sprucing up of the railroads’ workhorse, the coach, were
effected. Deferred pay plans, family fare days, and package
vacations were instituted.
Still, passenger traffic continued to leave the railroads.
Among the rail carriers’ remedies for the contagious economic
ailment which gripped the industry was the lopping off of
‘secondary’ routes in the companies’ systems. Luxury extra-
feire trains on east-west runs were sharply curtailed. The in
dustry sought fare increases, which, granted, did not begin to
balance the losses in income occasioned by fewer patrons.
Since the early 1950’s, conditions have grown worse, and
prospects have grown dimmer. During 1957, railroads sus
tained a drop of nearly 2V2 per cent in their share of intercity
passengers. Since 1920, moreover, revenue per passenger
mile has increased only from 2.76 to 2.84 cents. In the same
period, however, operating expenses have increased from 5.9
of 8.3 billion dollars. Nonetheless, efforts to bolster a sagging
industry—especially through proposals involving federal sub
sidies — have been singularly unsuccessful. Nor has an in
tensive advertising campaign intended to gain the support of
the public met with encouragement.
While the nation’s railroads continue to carry much of
the country’s freight, therefore, an era of unique excitement
and service passes. The businesslike, workaday freight cars
which lumber across the land seem safe for a time. Their
bellies carry the stuff and material of mountains of goods
and products dumbly awaiting transportation. — R. F.
THE POWER OF AN IDEA
MERRY CHRISTMAS to you.
As I say these words to you, my
friends, they are being said and
sincerely meant by many mil
lions of people throughout the
world.
In wishing others ’a Merry
Christmas, we do so with the
idea in mind that they will be
transformed into happier and
healthier persons m e re 1 y
through the power of our desire
for their well being. And, so
they are, surprising as it may
seem. Suddenly, before our eyes
during the Christmas season the
world is transformed into a bet
ter and morel
beautiful placel
in which to live I
through the!
power of ani
idea. Old enmi-i
ties are parti-^
ally if not total
ly put aside by|
the amazing
force of this hu-i"
man desire to
create an atmosphere of good
will and brotherhood.
The people we see at Christ
mas are in most cases the same
people that we have seen
throughout the year; yet, in
many ways they seem to be dif
ferent. And they are different as.
long as the twinkle in their eyes;
continues to radiate their belief
in the power of the idea of good
will. If you should ask to be
shown a miracle, there is one
here before your eyes, ready
made — the transformation of
EDITOWS CHOICE
Dr. Elder
the world at Christmas through
the power of an idea.
“And suddenly there was with
the angels a multitude of the
heavenly host praising God, and
saying:
Glory to God in the highest
and on earth peace, good will
toward men.”
If we can make so great a
change in the attitudes and be
haviors of men at Christmas
through a sincere belief in an
idea, why do we not transform
the world at other times through
the power of ideas, such as the
ideas of justice, honesty, equali
ty of opportunity, and the re-i
spect for the dignity and worth
of every individual? Perhaps
people, with exception of a few
extremists, believe that condi
tions are not really very bad and
that it is wise or more comfor
table to let conditions remain
as they are. But, will they stay
as they are? Doubtless not.
Ideas can change conditions
for evil as well as for good.
There are many ideas being dis
seminated and translated into
action today that are evil.
It is a very good thing, we
may conclude, that the idea of
good will exists at Christmas
and that its irresistible power to
change our lives is so apparent.
Knowing this miracle of Christ
mas, therefore, who can doubt
the power of other ideas for
good to transform the world.
Sincerely,
A. Elder
Roach Writes Timeless Thoughts
By Theodore Gilliam
old, something Archy is not strong enough to
press the shift key for capitals.
Says Archy:
expression is the need of my soul
i was once a vers libre bard
but i died and my soul went into
the body of a cockroach
it has given me a new outlook
upon life
i see things from the under side
now
And, indeed, Archy’s rumin
ations have the string of an in
sect but occasion a good natured.
smile or chuckle.
a man thinks
he amounts to a lot
but to a mosquito
“Something
new; something borrowed, some
thing blue” could very well ap
ply to an excellent little book
for holiday reading fare: the
lives and times of ..archy and
mehitabel by Don Marquis
(latest copyright 1950, Double
day & Co., Inc.) Really three
books in one- arcny and mehi-
tabel, archy aces his part, and
archy’s life of mehitabel—which
began as a newspaper column
(Sun Dial), the series was first
published in 1916, became popu
lar and was reprinted several
times up to 1950. Much of the
philosophy is borrowed, but
overcast with Marquis’s special
kind of blues and wit.
The book is the gay, sad,
giddy, grim, witty, all these con
tradictions and more collection
of the timeless thoughts, tales
and reflections of Archy, a cock
roach with someps
rather ' appeal-? ^
ingly truthfulv
observations ol,.
the world and^-- f
its creatures.,, ^
Add Archy’s'f
companion Me-'
hitabel, a cat
with a knack;
for shady esca- Gilliam
pades and you have a touch of
gutter sophistication which runs
like a spicy motif throughout the
book.
Archy is a believer in the Py-
thayorean theory of the trans-
who writes for art’s sake. The
peculiar thing about Archy is
that he types out his pieces by
jumping up and butting his head
on the keys of the typewriter in
the office of his “boss” Marquis.
He does his work at night for
bread crumbs and sandwich
leavings left in the waste bas
ket. In case you wondered why
the office of his “boss”, Marquis.
a man is
merely
(continued on page 11)
LETTER TO
EDITOR
Dear Editor,
In an upperclassmen’s assem
bly in November, Jerome Dud
ley, President of the Student
Governmenit, issued an ultima
tum asserting that either you
(student body) support us (Stu
dent Government), put us out
of office, or we will resign.
Throughout his speech Dudley
emphasized the fact that the
students of North Carolina Col
lege are not supporting the Stu
dent Government. According to
Dudley, a meeting, called to re
organize the football team, was
ignored by the student body, and,
the card-checking system used
in the cafeteria went unsupport
ed.
I think one of the most impor-
ant reasons that the program of
the Student Government is not
supported is that the student
body is uninformed. Students
The Razor’s Edge
By Flora Snipes
“Peace on earth; goodwill to
men.”?
It is about this time of year
that men from all walks of life
make the ancient plea for peace
on earth and goodwill to men.
Yet one wonders how much
thought and sincerity is put into
this plea. In retrospect, one can
recall few efforts that have
been made to bring about rap
port among mankind.
Let us first look at the con
ditions on our own campus
Throughout the year (And this
is not untrue of previous years.),
there have been consistent fac
tions of students against stu
dents, students against faculty,
organization against organiza
tion, and principle against prin
ciple. We have not yet learned
to band together and use our ef
forts and thoughts, diverse
though they be, for the common
good of our institution.
The national scene paints no
prettier picture than the local.
One moment a man bombs a
school because he hates the
members of the Negro race. The
next moment, he prays for peace
on earth and goodwill to men!
One moment, a man worships in
his church; the next moment,
he bombs the temple of another
religious sect. Yet he dares to
pray to God for the peace and
goodwill which he is unwilling
to foster.
On the international level,
each little nation is trying its
best to produce a weapon super
ior to that of any other nation’s
weapon. Surely, these weapons
will not be used to bring about
peace or goodwill on earth.
“These are the implements of
war and subjugation!” How sin
cere is the world in its expres
sions of goodwill and peaces?
Let us hope that the express-,
ion “Peace on earth; goodwill to
men!” will cease fo be a thought
less phrase bereft of purpose or
sincerity. Let us hope that men
will learn to be considerate and
tolerant in their dealings with
one another. Let us hope that
men will henceforth prefer the
joy of giving to the joy of re
ceiving. Most of all, let us hope
that the New Year will bring
“Peace on earth; goodwill to
men!”
should make it their business to
know about the affairs of the S.
G. Therefore, if President Je
rome Dudley expects his pro
gram to be supported, he will
have to bring it before the stu
dent body often, so that they
will be thoroughly familiar with
it.
What happened to (1) the
lockers in the women’s gymna
sium, (2) the book rental sys
tem, and (3) the redraft of the
constitution? The majority of
the students are uninformed
about these projects of the S. G.
There would be more support if
the students were informed as
to what they are expected to do.
I am cognizant of the prob
lems confronting our present
Student Government and with
this in mind I suggest (1) hav
ing periodic business meetings
between the entire student body
and S. G., (2) using all of the
bulletin boards on campus to
publicize S. G. activities, and
(3) attaining representatives
from the various organizations
who can do an effective job of
reporting the affairs of the S. G.
I do not know if my suggest
ions will completely alleviate
this problem of student non
support of the S. G., but I do
know that the ultimatum Dud
ley gave is definitely not the so
lution to the problem.
Charles Thomas McNeil
Sophomore