CIRCULATION 5,400 OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE CITY OF COLLEGE STATION LIBRARY IfrMwal & Mechaniarf Cnflw* ** The Battalion DIAL 4-5444 STUDENT TRI-WEEKLY NEWSPAPER OF TEXAS A. & M. COLLEGE VOL. 39 PHONE 4-5444 COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS, THURSDAY MORNING, FEB. 22, 1940 Z725 NO. 54 GENERAL COLLINS STRONG IN PRAISE OF U. S. RESERVE ARMY AS TYPIFIED BY A. & M. R.O.T.C. HIGHLIGHTS OF ARCHITECTS’ BALL ^General Addresses Local Chapter Of Reserve Officers Declares United States Army In Far Better Shape Today Than Ever Before “The United States Army is in far better shape today than ever before,” declared Brigadier-Gener al J. L. Collins in his address Tuesday night to the Brazos Coun ty chapter of the Reserve Officers Association. Speaking before the three hundred persons who attend ed the banquet—including two hun dred-odd seniors who are members of the Junior R. O. A.—General Collins opened his address on Na tional Defense by pointing out that adequate national defense did not necessarily constitute a large army. Following this, he traced a brief history of previous American wars, showing the nation’s lack of ade quate preparation in all former wars from the Revolutionary War to the World War. However, in respect to the World War, General Collins declared that, “The United States’ achievement in the World War was the equal of any previous military achieve ment in the history of warfare.” From this point General Collins discussed the nation’s attempts since the World War to maintain an adequate national defense. He particularly stressed the impor tance of the National Defense Act of 1920 and the United States Mil itary Academy at West Point in our present national defense make, up. “Materiel is now the most im portant factor in warfare,” he de clared. In p‘’ace-time all efforts are now being made to create great speed and efficiency in the manu facturing of materiel in case of (Continued on page 4) Shown above are a group of the frolickers at the recent annual Architects’ Ball, all garbed as famous characters from history. At the top, from left to right, are some of the faculty couples who at tended as ghosts from the past: R. L. “Satch” Elkins, Mrs. O. R. Simpson, W. L. Penberthy, Mr. Simp son, Mrs. Elkins, and Mr$. Penberthy. Lower left: Carroll Martin and Mary Louise Griesenbeck. Lower right: Vernon Smith and Alice Tho- Sophomores, A. S. C. E. Swing Out In Festivities This Weekend By Thomas Gillis The two dances being held this week will fully usher in the so cial season on the Aggie campus. The Architects’ Ball last week be gan the social whirl and the dances this week are the further begin nings of the social entertainment which will dominate campus activi ties each Friday and Saturday from now until final review. The Student Chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers will have its first dance on Friday, February 23, followed on Saturday night by the Fourth Annual Sophomore Ball. The dance being given by the Student Chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers is the first dance given here by the stu dent chapter of any engineering society. The Aggieland Orches tra has been engaged to play ffrom 10 till 1 on Friday evening for the dance. Attending the dance will be all civil engineering stu dents and all engineering adminis tration students who are mem bers of the club and their friends. Non-members may get bids to the dance for $1.00 from any member. The chapter has arranged for a number of girls from Huntsville to attend the dance which will be held in the banquet room. Jack Doran and Carl Schneider are in charge of decorating the room, and they plan to show some of the work of the society. A life-size picture of a surveyor and a large A. S. C. E. shield will be part of (Continued on page 4) J. H. Holt Selected As Champion At First Little Southwestern Contest Freshman J. H. Holt of Big Lake-fent departments won a blue ribbon. was chosen as the champion fitter and showman of A. & M. Monday night in the Animal Husbandry Pavilion before 400 spectators as the Saddle and Sirloin Club stag ed the first annual Little South western Livestock Show. As trophies of his victory over 65 other contestants, Holt, who was a member of the Reagan County 4-H Club Livestock Judging Team which won first place at the In ternational Exposition in 1939, re ceived a pair of hand-made cow boy boots donated by the Central Boot Company, and a purple ban ner presented by R. B. Dana of the A. H. Department and faculty, sponsor of the show. Holt was champion of the sheep department with a fat lamb, and went on to win the grand cham pionship over the champions of the cattle, horse and swine depart ments. Runner-up in the contest was Gordon Grote of Mason, cham pion of the cattle showmen with his Hereford steer. Grand champion of the horse showmen was E. T. Rafferty of In the sheep department, H. D. Brown of Rocksprings won first in the Rambouillet Ewe class, and was defeated by Holt in the run off for champion sheep showman. Lee Rice of San Antonio won the blue ribbon in the Percheron Stallion class, with Rafferty win- (Continued on page 4) SATURDAY CLOSES SALE OF PLATES The sale of the traditional Ag gie dinner plates will positively be closed Saturday. According to E. L. Angell, when this sale closes, there will probably be no more plates sold at all, at least not for an indefinite time. Four A. & M. students are in charge of sales, and report a thriving business. Anyone else desiring to place orders for a set or any part of a set should con tact one of the following: Jack Calhoun, dormitory 12; J. G. Wortham, project house 12; Roy Deadline Set For Annual Oratorical Contest Entries Entries in the annual Battle of Flowers Oratorical Contest may be submitted to C. O. Spriggs, R. M. Weaver, or George Summey Jr., of the English Department as late as noon Friday, Dr. Summey, head of the depart ment, has announced. As usual the speeches will deal with subjects taken from research in Texas history. Students inter ested in participating will find a reading list and a specimen list of speech topics posted in the Col lege Library. Copies of these lists will also be posted on bulletin board 19 near the English office. This contest in oratory is held annually in San Antonio under the auspices of the Battle of Flow ers Association at the San Pedro Playhouse, students from colleges and universities of Texas partici pating. Contestants to the Battle of Flowers are sponsored by their respective English departments and are subject to receive prizes of $100, $50, $35, and $15. The first tryout will be held in room 316 Academic Building after sup per on Wednesday, March 13. Town Hall Scores Again With 4-Slur Program Friday Night Prima Donna of Grand Opera Hi Gladys Swarthout, movie and screen star and famous singer of the Metropolitan Opera Company, will arrive here tomorrow to appear for a Town Hall Program tomorrow night. Season tickets are good for the program; tickets for non-season ticket holders will be $1.00 for students and $2.00 for others. City Commission Rules Out Increased Telephone Rate Sufficient evidence for a proposed raise in telephone rates in Bryan and College Station was presented by the Southwest Telephone Company according to a report made Friday night to the Bryan City Commission by the committee appointed to study the matter. A hear ing has been set for February 27 at which time the company must present additional information. On the committee to study the prob lem are City Manager W. W. Scott, City Attorney F. L. Henderson and Finance Commissioner Mills.*. P. Walker. Contained in the report of the committee was: 1. The application as presented, together with the accompanying data, is not sufficient to be used as a basis to fix said telephone rates. 2. The rates having been re cently fixed by a contract under franchise granted to said company by the city, there must be facts shown to show a change in condi tions, which of necessity require an increase in rates. These con ditions must also have occurred since the franchise has been grant ed. 3. The data to show the neces sity for the increase in rates must under the franchise, the Charter and the Law, be present and ex isting, and not based upon an esti mate or on what might occur in the future. 4. The city has the right in passing on the rates of a utility to inquire into the service (by the law and by the contract); conse quently, the City should be appris ed of which service is contemplat ed under the proposed rate struc ture. Hence, we believe that the application is premature, and that (Continued on page 4) 306 New Students Register at A. & M. For Second Term With 306 new students register ed for the second semester, approx imately half of whom have enter ed A. & M. for the first time, the total enrollment for the 1939-40 long session reached a high mark of 6,391 by Wednesday, February 1. Almost 5,500 students are ex pected to be in attendance at A. & M. after the deadline for regis tration, Monday, February 26. There was a total of 5,413 students attending classes Wednesday, March 21. Compared with the 5,413 in at tendance today there were only 5,095 in classes on February 21, 1939, an increase of over 300 for this year. There was a grand total of 5,856 students last year against 6,391 for 1939-40. Approximately 40 or 50 more students are expected by February 26, according to Registrar E. J. Howell. Gladys Swarthout To Give Season’s Top Performance Reception Committee To Greet World-Famed Star Upon Her Arrival Friday Tomorrow noon will witness the arrival of Gladys Swarthout, for whom Texas A. & M. has waited some five months. It is expected that the entertainment to be offer ed by this great singing star of Metropolitan Opera, Paramount Films, stage, and radio will sur pass all that has been presented to the Aggie student body in the past; and probably, Miss Swarthout will live up to all expectations, for hers is an exuberant person ality, she has unusual beauty of both face and figure, and she has actually a wonderful mezzo-so prano voice. The train bearing Miss Swarth out into Aggieland will arrive at 12:02 p. m. Friday, when she, ac cording to tentative plans, will be met by Dr. and Mrs. Walton, Col. Ike Ashburn, E. L. Angell, and W. W. Sullivan. A crowd is expected, and all are invited to join in the reception. Miss Swarthout’s program of Friday night, which will take place at 7:30 in Guion Hall, will con sist of the more familiar semi classics and popular selections taken from the best musical pro ductions of stage and screen. Ticket sales indicate that Guion Hall will be filled to capacity, with the community interest for an individual performance being great er than ever before. The perform ance will be over in plenty of time for the Civil Engineers to make their annual hop, and there are still seats available at the Y. M. C. A. Jack Littlejohn of " Pd Rather Be A Texas Aggie” Fame Takes Over Aggieland’s Baton Grobe in 26 Post Graduate Hall; Gruver, with his Percheron mare.! or Edgar Butschek in project house Champion swine showman was R. | 16. R. Callaway of Glen Cove. The | Each plate carries a border bear- champion of each department won | ing college traditions and an indi- a medal, and the winner of each! vidual picture of some one of 12 individual class within the differ-1 dormitories. By George Fuermann There’s been a small change made in the name of the Aggieland Orchestra, but Tommy will soon I go to work in near-by Houston, which is the cause of the small change. The change is brother Jack—so now it’s Jack Littlejohn’s Aggieland Orchestra. Twenty-five years old, a market ing and finance student, and—like Tommy—a Tulia boy who made good, Jack was formerly the or- I chestra’s tenor saxophonist; that is, before he became director. As for Tommy; “I’ll miss the orches tra more than anyone will ever know, but I’ve got to go to work some time, and this is my chance.”; j Tommy, who can play second tenor sax and do vocal chores be-- sides directing, graduated last summer but was in college the first semester of the current long ses sion to do graduate work. Jack—of “I’d Rather Be A Texas Aggie” fame—is one of the most versatile members of the orchestra. Besides playing the previously- mentioned first tenor sax, he is a vocalist, arranger, and composer. “Plans? Well ... I’m a little new at the job of directing to have very many of those yet,” said Jack. “However,” he went on, “I will do all in my power to be as good a director as my predeces sors. Specifically, I intend to call more frequent rehearsals and to leave no stone unturned in an ef fort to get our orchestra on Fitch’s N. B. C. program, the Summer Band Wagon.” The change of semester witness ed one other loss to the orchestra. TO J