Texas A and M University - Aggieland Yearbook (College Station, TX)

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DEDICATION To That Indomitable Aggie spirit

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FOREWORD WAR—as ancient as history—a periodic curse that sweeps the nation like a raging tornado. Soldiers, converted by false patriotism from creators to destroyers, march to gay tunes— spectators cheer as the parade progresses—brave mothers, fathers, and sweethearts try to smile as they hid farewell—willing to give everything, sacrificing all their liberty, hoping to gain . . . what? WAR—everybody’s enemy—its purpose, nobody knows—its good, nobody shares—its cause, nobody cares. Some attribute its cause to cabinet officers, others to diplomats, and still others condemn the capitalist. But no public official wishes to see his followers and supporters mowed down by barking machine guns. No president, dictator, or ruler wishes to send his people to war. No capitalist, however great be his lust for money, wishes consciously to gain his wealth at the expense of his fellow men. War is a development of defective institutions, follies, prejudices, and misconceptions common to mankind. It cannot be attributed to any clique or evil interest. The last war was supposed to have been a war to end war, yet millions of dollars are expended daily for armaments. Deadly gases, submarines, long range guns, and high explosives have no friends—everyone is using them for ’’defense.” If we wish to be at peace with our neighbor, need we place a machine gun on our doorstep to caution him lest he forget ? If we must fight, let us wage our battle against disease, poverty, and injustice. Let us take the millions spent for war and use them to better living conditions, to make life more pleasant during peace times. Why wait for the outbreak of war to become united? Let us replace our tanks with locomotives, the deadly gases with anaesthetics, the bombers with passenger and mail planes. Let us attack peace-time problems with war-time vigor. World peace will never he realized through congresses or peace conferences, but must have its origin in the city, in the small community, in the home, and in the college—at A M. Edu¬ cation can pave the way to the establishment of world peace. That world peace was chosen as the motif for a year hook published by students of a military college may seem strange. But military schools have not been established to train men for war; the special instruction im¬ parts a physical development, a mental discipline, a promptness in obedience that are highly desirable. Our school presents a picture of two thousand college youths with different religions, creeds, beliefs, and wealth, representing every type of home in the state and nation—all eating the same food, wearing the same kind of clothes, living in the same environment, all enjoying the same privileges, and aiding each other. When more communities of this type begin to develop throughout the nations, the world will be assured of peace.

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The Aggie Spirit is real but indefin¬ able. It is impossible to describe it and unnecessary to do so to anyone who has ever attended a football game on Kyle Field. But the Spirit of Aggieland goes deeper than athletics —it is found wher¬ ever Aggies are together, in school or out. Buildings decay and are replaced, stu¬ dents and officials come and go, but there are institutions and traditions peculiar to A M that are permanent. They are changing in that they grow and expand; they have helped make the College what it is today—they will aid its development in the future. In this section are presented, as well as the camera permits, a few of the fac¬ tors instantly familiar to every Aggie, old and new, which make A M dif¬ ferent from any other school.