FRIDAY, OCTOBER 4, 1940
Readers' Alley—
Italian Writers Present
Fresh Literary Works
. This column conductor is still
searching
,for someone who lies
read a book, praise of which he
has time to record, that others
might share his please.
Three articulate young men of
Italian extraction have recently
-brought some fresh arid vigothus
writing to the attention of the
reading public. They are Pietro
di Donato, J k Pogano, and John
Fante. Donato's "Christ in Con
-crete" -(a novel that topped the
best-seller list for weeks) Pagano's
"Paesanos" (short stories) and
Fante's "Dago Red," juSt off the
'press, are the volumes that evi
dence a new strength from an un
expected quarter.
Having spoken of the first two
works, in earlier columns, we now
present reasons for reading "Dago
_Red," a. group of a dozen short
.stories in an autdbiographical vein
.that will not only delight any one
wh o lived normally rascally
,youth, but add to the colorful pan
orama of family life among those
Latin' immigrants
.and their. chil
dren . who are now loyal and en
thusiastic Americans. (Pogano is
-rabidly anti-fascist, for his broth
er lost his life in an encounter
With Il Duce's minions.)
But getting back to Fante—we
are glad he at last got those two
extraordinary tales, "My Mother's
Goofy Song" and "Altar Boy" in
permanent covers, for we can now
dispose of -those dogeared STORY
magaiine and the -American Mer
cury in which they first appeared
. M." the e . glx,Tllirties. Pante cap
tures tti;ears' and joys, ecstasies
'and terioh-of,nhildhood arid ado-
11e:wen - etc and expresses them in
Strong and pithy idiomatic prose.
- Reared in a -Jesuit school, he re
veals his Struggles with the priest
hood, the faith and the ritual.*
4veninzes-,..in : petty _thievery and
aPostisy,`as well as' other exe - ur-'
sions into realms of rascality sel
dom touclied by the children of
the privileged classes, whip the
reader through page after page of
incident and portraiture. -
His revelations of youth should
.be a part of every child psycholo
gist's library, for. he bores into
those secret recesses of the young
minds to uncover the thoughts of
boys whose waking moments are
full of struggle and competition;
whose relatlonships with their
elders are ever fr . aught - with strain
and misunderstanding. Fante has
a Sense of humor that wavers be
tween irony and hilarity. If you
'ever broke-a - window, got a good
'whiling from an irate father,
snitched things frima a V & X (five
and: ten) or took part- in church
'services,- you will find plenty to
wenn. your' memory and soften
your wrath toward the scamps
who live on your street.
- If You- are not a regular sub
scriber, you- might pick up a copy
of the October HARPER'S. Of
• particular interest to faculty mem
bers is liwin Ross" "The Tempest
'at 'Harvard." Academic watch
birds have long been aware of the
turmoil on the banks of the
• Charles. Other lively articles •give
the low-down on Willkie's educa
tion, (DOrothy Dunbar - Bromley)
on the-new -tabloid 'TM" (Ferdi
man - Lundberg) •and the collapse of
France (Robert de Saint Jean). E.
B. White, in his usual mood, de
bates and berates the author of a
volume on practical farming, chal
lenging the man from his own
ex
periences on a Maine farm. We
leave it to the boys on Ag hill to
settle the scrap.
Indusfry Needs MI Grads
-4‘Coal, petroleum, and steel are
the irreplaceable elements of na
tional defense," says Dean Edward
Steidle of the School of Mineyal
Industries at the Pennsylvania
State College.
The fact that machines, essen
tially a mineral aggregate powered
and lubricated with mineral pro- ;
ducts," are so vital in the present
conflict, emphasizes the value of
trained men . in thejoineral
At Harrisburg Today
Wendell, L. Winkle, Republican
presidential candidate, after mak
ing a major address in Pittsburgh
laSt night will appear before an
expected i ecord crowd in Harris
burg today. A large following of
State College residents and stu
dents - will make the trip to the
capital to hear the speech.
Twining Escapes Death
In Powder Plant Blast
Instructions to report to a new
department saved the life of Wil
mer A. Twining '3B when the solv
ent recovery building of the Ken
vil, New Jersey, plant of the Her
cules Powder Co. blew up in the
tragic' explosion of September 12
a . few •minutes after he had de
parted. - ,
Nearly 50 persons died in the
blast which consumed approxi
mately 30 buildings after the ini
tial explosion occurred in the sol
vent.recovery 'building.
Twining had been working three
and - a -half days in this building
when suddenly the was assigned to
another chemical process 'depart
mentwhich, was_in one • of Abe, few
buildinks left standing: •
Twining is staying a - t - the. Alpha
Zeta fraternity before he leaves
to continue his cothpany training
course.. When he completes his
training, series, Twining will be
sent to Pradford,• Virginia as a
production supervisor.
Prices Have Social filed,
Says Rural Sociologist
A peculiar relationship appears
to exist between price movements
and social problems, Dr. Macklin
E. John, rural sociologist, .com
mented today. •
When prices 'rose rapidly' from
1914 •to 1920, he said, the divorce
rate per 100,000 people in the
United States advanced from 110
to 160. During the ensuing depres
sion; the divorce rate fell. to 128.
An increase in prices from 1932 - to
.1935 was, accompanied -by an in
crease in the number 'of divorces
to 171 per 100,000 of population.
In "hardt times" many people want
divorces who can't afford them,
said Dr. John, although he believes
that financial probleins have 'a
tendency .to bring husbands 'and
wives into closer harmony.
Kappa Sigma President
Bayard Bloom '4l is the newly
elected president of Kappa Sigma.
Other - officers include Walter B.
Blackwood '4l, vice-president, and
Emil A. Akelson '4l, master of
ceremonies. •
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MI NYA Workers Must
Take Allegiance Oath
All NYA workers, regardless
of. whether they took the citizen-
ship affidavit, must take the
—oath of allegianceolt was stated
yesterday by Stanley B. plad
dox, NYA director. -
This ruling applys both to stu
dents previously employed and
to freshman workers, he said.
Today is the last day to take
the oath which will be given in
, Room 403 Old Main from 9 a.
m. to noon 'and from 1:30 to
5 p. m.
"•,'
F .'X' Wq:ii . MMZI m r7T•M
'Self Portraiture'
Is New Art Show
"Self-Portraiture Through the
Ages" is the title of the education
al art exhibit which will open
-Tuesday, October 8 and continue
through October 28 in the College
Art Gallery, 303 Main Engineering.
The exhibition— consists of 54
photographic •enlargements of the
world's greatest masterpieces of
self portraiture. The theme of
the display is developed chrono
logically beginning with the por
trait of an Egyptian . artist of 2650
B. C. and concludes with the self
portraits of contemporary artists.
The photographic- reproductions
will be accompanied by explana
tory literature to interpret their
significance. The exhibit has
been prepared by the Division of
Education of the Philadelphia Mu
seum of Art.
As an added feature of the edu
cational exhibit of art media now
on display in the exhibition rooms,
a large group of plates on Egyp
tian architecture will be placed
on view for Dad's Day on October
5. The new exhibit will be posted
in the hall approach to the current
display of W.P.A. art work illus
trating lithographic, water color,
earborundum, and•etched work.
Soggy Potatoes
Not Cook's fault
If the potatoes are soggy, don't
blame the cook, advises J. Stanley
Cobb, associate professor of agron
omy.
"The housewife can tell how the
outside of a potato looks when she
buys it, but she cannot tell what
the inside quality is unless she
knows the conditions under which
-it is grown," Professor Cobb said
-today. •
Experiments at the College have
shown that potatoes must have
sufficient fertilizer, especially pot
ash; in order to develop a good
cooking quality.
"There should be a greater pro
portion of potash than of nitro
gen," Professor Cobb believes.
"Spraying is also vitally important,
as the quality of the cooked potato
depends on healthy leaves."
Potatoes grown under desirable
conditions are likely to be mealy,
and to have a white or cream col
or, a distinctive flavor, and a high
nutritional value, he explained.
Before buying large quantities,
the housewife would be wise to
cook a small amount and -observe
these 'characteristics, Professor
Cobb concluded.
Metal And Oil Leaders
Meet Here Tomorroi
Leaders from both the •metal and
the oil industries of Pennsylvania
will come here tomorrow to confer
with faculty • technicians , on the
progress • of important research
projects in the College's School of
Mineral Industries. •
One of the leading topics for the
metallurgists, who have attended
similar conferences at the College
for the past five years, is the study
now being made of properties of
metallic materials which are used
in the develOpment of machines
of-national defense.
First New. Equipment
Received By library
The first new-library equipment
received in many weeks—a sup
ply of typewriters—arrived re
cently.
Reason. for the slow arrival of
the typewriters and . other •equip
ment is that the orders have been
split among more than a dozen
bidders, according to Librarian
Willard P. Lewis.
Mr. Lewis also said that the
seminar rooms and faculty studies
have _been assigned and are -now
in use.
Me mushroom industry. of Penn
sylvania has benefitted materially'
b methods . of insect control de-
Speaks Tonight
Dean Harry P. Hammond will
talk on 'The Evolution of Engin
eering education" at an Engineer
ing School Faculty get-together,
sponsored by the ASME and the
SPEE, to be held this evening at
7:30 in Room 219 E.E. it was, an
nounced yesterday by Albert P.
Powell, Secretary of the Penn
State Branch of SPEE.
College Debate Leaders
To Attend State Meeting
The directors, coaches, and man
agers of Penn State's debating ac
tivities will journey to Harrisburg
this week-end to participate in the
annual meeting of The Debating
Association of Pennsylvania Col
leges. At this meeting, the Associa
tion will select the State question
for this year's debating.
Among those to attend the con
clave from Penn State are: Prof.
Joseph F. O'Brien, Prof. H. P.
Zelco, Prof. J. H. Frizzell, Prof.
P. R. Daugherty, William E. Hark
ins '42, and Sarah M. Bailey '43.
Tanner Will Arbitrate
Labor Dispute In Mills
Professor Sheldon C. Tanner, of
the economics department, has
been designated sole arbitrator by
the Jones and Laughlin Steel Cor
poration and the Steel Workers
Organizing Committee to settle a
labor dispute in the Pittsburgh
steel mills.
Earlier in the year Tanner set
tled a strike at Aliquippa. Both
parties have again agreed to accept
his decision as final.
The present Buckhout Labor
atory •is one wing of a projected
largest building.
fili`
CAN YOU BE HAPPY WITH A "PRE-CIVIL WAR'S ,
.. SLIDE RULE? ... READ
IT'S HUMOROUS . .
1 / 1 117
ITS HELPFUL KEUFFEL a ESSER CO,
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ID'S FRE ESAN Fnmicesco • cmICAGO
• gr.
• logtorr •ago 'militia:l4'
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Nibbling
At The News
J. GORDON FAY
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The scene is a huge, smoke-and
noise-filled room, in the center of
which' a heated bridge (spelled
B-L-I-T-Z-K-R-I-E-G) game is go
ing on. The players: Adolf, Ben
ito, John, and Pierre, are fighting
each trick desperately, for the
stakes are high. •
Altogether it is a rather screwy
game. In the last hand Pierre,
John's partner, was set very heay.-
ily, doubled and redoubled. As a
result his clothing is reduced to a
tattered pair of shorts and, fur
thermore, he seems to have gone
over to the side of- Adolf and Ben:•
ito, for, being dummy, he is wan-•
dering about the table, looking at
the hands and telling his former
opponents whether to lead a sup
er-bomb or a battleship.
This doesn't seem like a very
nice thing for Pierre to do, but. on
the other hand it was probably
the only condition under which
he could stay in the game at all.
Besides, even with his help, Ben
ito and Adolf do not seem to be
taking their share of the tricks, at
least in this hand.
Another game, a two handed
one, is being played at the other
side of the room between two
slant-eyed, yellow-skinned gen
tlemen, one of them large and a
bit paunchy, the other small and
wiry. The • smaller has been do
ing rather well up to the present,
but just now his mind. is not on
the game.. He is casting an inter-•
ested eye in the direction of Adolf
and Benito, apparently with - the
idea of doing a little kibitzing.
There is already quite a gallery
of kibitzers around the center
table, some of them in pretty good
shape, others in a worse state than
Pierre. The guy in the battered
wooden shoes and the gentleman
with such a long name seem ex••
ceptionally bad off. Two newcom
ers, both speaking Scandinavian
tongues, have just wandered into
the crowd at Adolf's back.
Seated nearby is a tall, lanky
person called Sam. His sleeves
rolled up, he is anxiously watch
ing Adolf and Benito, seeming a
bit afraid that they will try to
take his quite comfortable seat.
Yes, it is a screwy game, but
the screwiest thing of all is that
the players are not letting each
other, let alone anyone else. know
how they stand. No one knows
what the score is.
"How to Choose
a Slide Rule"
n of water has flown over the dam since
Lieutenant ArmedeiS Mannheim invented
Slide Rule in 1853. In this new book Don llcrold
explains all the new wrinkles and tells you in
simple terms just what kind of Slide Ruin will
make life best for you. The book is handsomely
illustrated with drawings by the master himself.
It takes the mystery out of Slide Ruin forever:
"Row to Choose a Slide Rule" is free as freo
—but only one copy to a customer. Sec your
campus K & E dealer at once.
PAGE THREE
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by DON HEROLD