Bethany College - Bethanian Yearbook (Bethany, WV)

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NOVEMBER. 1940 adle tfCLurkini au Dog Patchers Bring High Jinks to Campus Poinporis Mayor of Dogpatch (Proftisor-Mayor Sumpy himself) n-uil the proclamation, whereas, whereas, and therefore be it knouii. that open season on Do patch men nou hes ins. While the Bison football team teas defeating Heidelberf- College uay 01 er in Tiffin, Ohio, on Not ember 2. beJuteon Daisy Mae of Doxpatch {Irene Hntelnson) lustfully uaiteJ iniJenieatI) the niajile tree until — Dogpatch gals caught Dogpatch fellous, and Marrying Sam ' s hitched couples for a swig of cider. But what happened to wistful Daisy Mae? Why she chased handsome Li ' l Abner (Red Neumann) and ketched him good and tight- That night Bethany Dogpatchers ended their first Sadie Hawkins Day by caiorting in Iriin Gymnasium- PAGE FIVE

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NOVEMBER. 1940 HISTORY TELLS US A HISTORY MAJOR CHRONICLES AN EXPANSION TO SOCIALISM By Bert Decker No form of government has been static. Even if legislative bodies do fail to pass new- laws for any length of time, the interpreta- tions of existing laws usually change over a period of years. The development of man- kind, industrially, agriculturally, commer- cially, economically, has been followed by a corresponding development in the legal regu- lations of man in those fields. History reveals that we have tried many kinds of social con- trol from tribal communism to the forms of government today. Government has grown better. Tribal dic- tators maintained their authority by sheer physical prowess; present dictators are forced to convince with ideas and ideals as well as force. Present day democracies are more de- mocratic than Athenian democracy. Athens was really one-third slaves, one-third foreign residents without a vote, while the Athenian vote was controlled to some extent by rich, influential cliques. One reason for better gov- ernments is the spread of authority — the placing of sovereign power in the hands of a bigger percentage of the people. The abolition of slavery, the Magna Carta, nineteenth cen- tury industrial liberalism, woman suffrage — are all indications of that spread. Reason has ruled. This despite the fact psychologists have tried to tell us mind has become a mere survival product enabling men to obtain desired ends. They say our sub- conscious mind supplies us with good reasons for doing that which we desire, and that we rationalize bad desires. But we still have the ability to recognize these rationalizations, to distinguish fact from illusion, to reason to a happy and secure life, and to prefer the values that exalt the rational and humane qualities of man. Man with his lusts, his brutalities, his craving for power, has remained man. But his laws, his conventions for controlling those PAGE FOUR desires, his governments, grow continually better. Another changing force in history is the spread of loyalties. The Greek was loyal to his small city-state, rarely to Greece as a nation. The vassal pledged himself to his lord before his king. Many of our American revolution- ists believed in states rights as stronger than federal sovereignty. Now we have a stronger feeling of loyalty to our nation than we do to our city or our state. Still another expansion is the growth of ed- ucation. While only the feudal lord and clergy had enough leisure to educate himself, the development of industry and commerce gave the newly rich middle class leisure and wealth to edify itself and its children. Time saving machines have brought high standards of liv- ing to the masses. With education comes a broader realization of the rule of reason. More men realize that individual behavior is the de- terminant of the resulting society. More citi- zens are determined to aid themselves by bet- tering society. We are still expanding. Can we logically deny that we are not? Can we fail to see the continuous spread of authority, the influence of the working masses, the power of the labor unions throughout the world in their respec- tive governments? Can we fail to see that the labor laws passed by the United States gov- ernment are but one more step in the spread of authority? Can we not see how the consum- er ' s unions are themselves whittling a big stick to exert pressure on the lawmakers? Was there ever so great a trend towards inter- nationalism, the last step in the spread of loy- alties before interplanet transportation? It is obvious that we are slowly but surely evolv- ing to a new social order, to some form of in- ternational socialism.

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NOVEMBER. 1940 BLACKOUT By Ruth Brae til EDITOR ' S NOTE: For many urcks ihv author of Black- out was iinkiiouir The play, uith tuo others cihlcntly written hy the lame person, lay unclaimed in the wire basket on Professor Roberts ' ilesk- Finally, Joe While recognized the plays as ones written by Miss Braem- Professor Roberts then recalled that the author, who is now studying radio acting and writing at Emerson College, Boston, mailed him the plays for criticsm this summer. At that time Miss Braem had been awarded a schilarshp at the Radio Drama Workshop Milwaukee- She spent two years at Bethany, entering in the fall of 19.58. Scene: — As curtain rises a siren is heard- — A lonely business street can be barely distinguished as all lights are suddenly turned out. A young girl instead ot seeking the nearest air shelter walks the street feeling her way by the touch of the rough brick and scone of the buildings against her hands and body- There is also another one who dares to remain in the dark. — a brusque young man who is in haste to get to his destination. He thaugh is clumsily going about it for he ' s lost. He barely knows his way about in th!s district at ordinary times let alone in black- ness. In a restless hesitant manner he rounds a corner to collide into the young girl- He — 1 beg your pardon, Sir, it ' s so confoundingly d.irk. She — It isn ' t .i Sir — Sir, that you bumped. He — Why don ' t tell me. It ' s a young lady. Will you accept my apologies again. But may I ask why you happen to be out? It ' s dangerous you know. She — If I may be so impertinent, Sir, I think perhaps I should ask what you are doing out. I seem to be managing a little better than you. He — (laughs) — So you are — Say you couldn ' t help me find my way could you? To be truthful I don ' t only run into lovely young ladies, but I ' m lost. She — I should be glad to lead you to where you are go- ing. Name your destination. Sir. He — You really can? Miracles, I guess, will never cease. I ' m h-ading for Waterloo Station. She — Very well — follow me. You ' re an American are you not? A foreign correspondent? (Start walking) He — An American — yes. I guess that ' s obvious but what makes you think I ' m a reporter? She — Just plain surmising. For what other reason would an American be here now? PAGE SIX He — For many reasons I would say. You see I was merely posing as a reporter — . She — Posing — ? At least I am close. He — Yes, I had to get into England somehow but I ' m afraid it was all in vain, because the authorities have discovered my real identity. Tonight I must leave and I haven ' t accomplished what I came over to do. She — You must feel very discouraged. He — If my mission had succeeded someone would have been made very happy. If I could only find but why should I bother you with my troubles? Why here I ' ve been talking to you and I don ' t even know who you are. She — And I don ' t know you but let ' s keep it that way. It seems to fit in with the situation. He — Say, I hadn ' t thought of it that way. Superficial things such as names don ' t count. In the dark just the substantial things seem to count. She — Yes, I should know (cynical manner), but here you are, just walk straight down. He — Thank you so much. But I would like to know who you are. She — Just memcmber me as the Girl in the Blackout. Good-night. He — Good-night. Amazing how she ' s going in such a hurry. (He turns into the station as lights go on, while we see the girl walking the other direction and we realize she is blind. Altho her hearing and feeling senses are extra keen she failed to hear the cablegram the young man sent off as soon as he arrived at the Waterloo station.) His voice — To Mr. Wallace, Hamp- field. New York, New York. Could not locate your blind niece. Must come home at once. Sorry, Clinton Claybrook (Curtain closes with sound of siren.)