The Battalion
Number 84: Volume 54
COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 1955
Price Five Cents
Students Planning Activities
For Civilian Weekend In May
THE CHORALETTES ARE COMING — Lamar high school of Houston will send its 130
member all-girl chorus to the talent-studded variety show, “In the Pink,” scheduled for
8 p.m. Thursday in the G. Rollie White coliseum. The Lamar Choralettes are under
the direction of Lee S. Keding and feature Carol Kinney at the piano. Given in appre
ciation of P. L. (Pinky) Downs jr., the two hour show will present top-flight talent to
the crowd expected to fill the coliseum.
By Next September
Library Change Announced
By next September, the library
frill be rearranged for the conve-
Sjenee of the students, according
to Robert A. Houze, librarian.
The changes are being made
gradually, in conjunction with the
air conditioning that is being in-
Lions Sponsor
Circus Here
Saturday
Hagen Brothers three-ring
circus, featuring clowns, ac
robats, a band, pretty girls,
elephants, lions, apes and
chimpanzies, will be here Sat
urday.
The matinee will start at 3 p.m.
In order that A&M students taking
part in the Militax-y day parade
may attend.
The circus is sponsored here by
the College Station Lions club and
will be held at the traffic circle
on Sulphur Springs Rd. on prop
erty donated by J. C. Culpepper,
Bi'yan real estate man.
Admission will be 50 cents for
school children and $1.20 for adults.
Tickets may be obtained from any
Lions club member.
Profits from the show will go
into the club fund for crippled
children, boy scout work, school
awards, and other Lions club proj
ects.
Clowns featured with the circus
include Speed Hart, producing
clown; John Maseno, Shorty Blair
and Fx-anky King.
The cix-cus will be hex-e one day
only, with the afternoon matinee
and an evening show starting at
7:30.
stalled, he said. Houze estimated
it would be about Apxnl 1 befoi’e
the air conditioning is complete.
One of the changes in the bxxild-
ing will be the moving of the re
serve and x'equii'ed reading to the
fii'st floor. This is where people
go the most, Houze said.
Also on the first floor, there will
be one lax’ge loom for popular pe-
xfodicals, and the newspapers will
be left in the lobby, he said.
“There will be all new furniture
on the fii'st floor much like the
Memox-ial Student Center,” he ex
plained. “We want to make it in
viting.”
Houze said the worn out furni
ture in the building will also be
replaced, and the total cost of the
furniture will be $23,000.
On the second floor, after the
project is completedy will be the
main loan desk and the reference
room. There will be an annex to
the reference room for the scienti
fic and agricultural periodicals, he
said.
The thix’d floor will be for the
cataloging and order department,
and also for the browsing room.
which is there now, Houze said.
Study tables and more stuffed
chairs will be added to the brows
ing room, making it into “an air
conditioned study hall,” accoi’ding
to Houze.
“We have been planning these
changes for a number of years,” he
said. “We are getting them done
gradually while things are tom up
for the air conditioning installa
tion.”
After the project is finished,
thei’e will be a seating increase of
about 150 chairs for the readers,
Houze said.
“And with the air conditioning,
we’ll need the extra chairs,” he
added.
CS Kiwanians
Hear Choir
From
Bry
an
Etiquette Program
Is At 7:30 Tonight
The second of the series on
etiquette, “Table Manners and
Food Techniques,” will be given
at 7:30 tonight by Mrs. Ross
Sherwood of Bryan in the Me
morial Student Center ballroom.
The program will be a demon
stration on a buffet dinner, for
mal dinner and other occasions
which come up when one Ls a
guest.
The etiquette series is present
ed by the MSC’s “Mind Your
Manners” committee.
The Acapella choir from
Kemp high school in Bryan
entertained the College Sta
tion Kiwanis club at their
luncheon yesterday in the Me
morial Student Center. Songs in
cluded “Hallelujah, Praise Ye the
Loxd;” “Hallelujah Choxais,” fi-om
“The Messiah;” “Shortening
Bi’ead;” and “Dry Bones.”
Next Tuesday, the club will have
as its guest the governor of the
Texas-Oklahoma district of Kiwa
nis clubs, J. N. Walker, and the
Lieutenant governor of the district,
Jess Petty, who is superintendent
of schools at Burnett.
For the meetixxg the local club
will host visitors from Kiwanians
of Navasota, Conroe, Huntsville,
Bx-yan, Cameixm and Temple.
Price for the pancake supper
project, jointly sponsored by the
College Station Kiwanis club and
the Bx-yan Kiwanians April 16, was
announced as 50 cents by W. E.
Bx-iles, co-chairman of the supper.
The Bryan co-chairman is R. J.
Holmgi-een, with B. J. Lloyd and
D. S. Hammonds to assist him.
Tickets will go on sale next
Tuesday, and may be bought from
any Kiwaniaxr. The supper will be
held in the Biyan Country club
fx*om 12 noon to 9 p.m.
SILVER TAPS — Silver
Taps was held last night
for Billy John Mount, sen
ior accounting major from
Crystal City, who was killed
Sunday night when he ap
parently fell asleep at the
wheel of his car.
Barbecue, Two Contests
Included in Festivities
Definite plans were proposed yesterday for the Civilian
Student weekend May 12-14 by representatives from each of
the civilian dormitories.
The group decided to have two contests during the fes
tivities—an ugly man contest and the beard growing contest.
Committees were formed to draw up definite rules for the
contests and were instructed to report at the group’s next
meeting, Tuesday.
The weekend will begin Thursday, May 12, with a “yell
practice’’ which will serve as a kickoff for the other activities.
It will be held from 7:15 to 7:30 p.m.
Hugh Lanktree, chairman of the group, said there was
♦a possibility that a tug-of-war
over a mud puddle would be
held. Dr. David H. Morgan,
president of the college has
approved of the idea, accord
ing to Lanktree.
Barbecue Friday
Friday night, May 13, a civilian
bai’becue will be held from 6:30 to
7:30. Sevex-al groups have agx*eed
to furnish entertainment for the
bai'becue, Lanktree reported. Also
at this time, the beard growing
contest will be judged.
Stax-ting date for the beai’d grow
ing contest was set as April 6.
Dance Saturday
The first Civilian ball will be
held Satuxday, May 14, in the
Grove. This dance, which was pro
posed by the Civilian Student Coun
cil, has been set for 9 p.m. to mid
night, and music will be furnished
by the Capers Combo.
The ugly man contest will also
be judged at the dance, and the
committee will select judges. En
trants fox’ the ugly man contest
will be selected fi’om each civilian
dormitory, and the winner will be
picked fi'om the finalists.
Ten Present
Pi’esent at the meeting and the
dox-mitory each represented were
R. M. Hillman, Hai-t; H. C. Wilcox,
Mitchell; R. M. Putnam, Milner;
W. M. Kax*r, Walton; H. Weaver,
Leggett; Stew Coffman, Pur-year;
and Louis McCarthy, Bizzell.
Also px-esent from the Civilian
Student Council besides Lanktree
were John Jones, president, and
John Cozad, vice-president.
House Passes Bill
For Building Fund
The proposed constitutional
amendment that would give A&M
and the Univei’sity of Texas more
building money passed the Texas
house yestei-day with flying colors
—a vote of 136 to 6.
The preposed amendment, which
will now go to state senate, calls
for broadening the base on invest
ment for the permanent fund. The
income frem the permanent fund is
xrsed for buildings for the two
schools, one-third of it going to
A&M and two-thii'ds to the uni
versity.
E. L. Angell, system vice-chan
cellor, said that the senate would
probably consider the proposal in
about 10 days.
News of the World
By The ASSOCIATED PRESS
MOSCOW—The Soviet government named Vassily Kuz
netsov as replacement for the late Andre Vishinsky as first
deputy foreign minister. Kuznetsov worked at the Ford
plant in the Detroit area in the early thirties as one of thous
ands of exchange students.
★ ★ ★
HAWAII—A big navy transport plane ferrying
passengers from Japan to California crashed in
Hawaii, killing all aboard—66 persons—including a
woman and a child.
★ ★ ★
LONDON—British Prime Minister Winston Churchill
has described as “chatter in the press” reports that he is
being urged to retire by his fellow conservatives.
Combat Ball
Slates Invasion
Of Sbisa Hall
A force of about 800 A&M
students, their dates, and Mil
itary day guests will invade
Sbisa hall Friday night for
the fourth annual Combat
ball.
The Aggielaixd orchestra, featur
ing Rocky Arnold as vocalist, will
play for the dance fx-om 8 a.m. un
til 12.
Admission to the dance will be
free to all members of the combat
aims.
Air force and service seniors may
get passes to the dance outside
Duncan and Sbisa halls after Wed
nesday evening meal formation for
a $1 contribution to the combat
aims fund, said Dave Williams,
ticket chairman.
The program committee will se
lect a group from the artillery,
axmor, infantry, and engineer units
to perform for a 40-minute inter
mission show stax-ting at 9 p.m.
Military guests will dress as
prisoners of war, and civilian
guests as displaced persons. Ca
dets will wear fatigues and helmet
liners. Combat and jump boots
are optional. Their dates will dress
as French peasants.
The amendment, if passed by the
senate then the people of the state,
would allow 50 per cent of the
permanent fund to be invested in
corpox-ate stocks, as it is now, and
the other 50 per cent in specified
stocks of other types, w-ith a higher
interest rate.
The increase in interest is esti
mated at about 1 per cent, or about
$2 million a year.
The amendment also calls for
A&M and the university taking
over support of the four schools in
their systems, instead of these
schools being supported by the 5
cent ad valox-em tax. Then two
schools would be added to the ad
valox-em tax supported group, mak
ing 12 schools there instead of the
px-esent 14.
The higher education institutions,
W'ho px-oposed the amendment, be
lieve it would px-ovide increased
suppox-t for all colleges.
Soph Sweetheart
Deadline Nears
Fxiday is the last day that sopho
more’s can turn in jxictures for
Sophomore Sweetheart. They
should be turned into student ac
tivities office, second floor of
Goodwin hall, before 5 p.m.
Pictux-es may be any size, and
all will be returned. Five finalists
will be picked from the group, and
the sweetheax-t will be chosen at
the dance.
All sophomores who have not
made their class donation of $1
should do so, said Durward Thomp
son, genex-al chairman for the
dance. Seniors with dates who
wish to attend may donate $1 to
the class fund at the student ac
tivities offce, he said.
The dance will be in the Grove,
April 2 and Buddy Brock’s orches-
tx-a fx-om Houston will play from 8
p.m. to 12.
Chainnen for the dance and
their committees are Jack Steele
and Carl Wagner, sweetheart;
Glen Chandler, ticket; Leon Curtis,
program; L. E. Sheppard, guest;
Jon Cobb and Bob Yeager, decor
ations; and Buck Williams, pub
licity.
To Be Honored Tomorrow
No Aggie Will Ever Forget ‘Pinky’
By HARRI BAKER
Battalion Co-Editor
No Aggie will ever fox-get him
at All-College nights — the big
^white hat, the bright x-ed shirt, and
the tie tox-n off and thrown out to
the crowd.
Then he stax-ts talking about
A&M, and no one has a doubt that
the Aggies are indeed going to wdn
the next one, and all the following
ones.
That’s Pinky — P. L. Downs jx-.,
official greeter, former member of
the board of dii-ectoi-s, and the man
to be honox-ed tomorrow night by
the “In the Pink” variety show at
8 p.m. in the White coliseum.
Pinky has been called “the most
enthusiastic Aggie of them all,”
and he will talk about A&M at the
drop of a hat. Besides being the
main speaker at All-College nights
and the annual Thanksgiving bon
fire, he has spoken to countless
A&M club meetings thi-oughout the
state. “Just get me there,” he says,
bx-ushing aside any prepared talk.
He once spoke over a national
broadcast hookup — on the spirit
of Aggieland, of coxu-se—and he
x-eceived $83.33 a minute for the
talk.
Pinky also does many good deeds
out of the public light. Each year
he collects fi-uit from the students
and faculty and sends it to the
patients at the Temple veterans
hospital. He also is responsible
for bx-inging as many of these vet-
ex-ans as possible to A&M football
games.
Weather Today
CLEAR and COOL
The w-eather outlook for today
is continued fair w-ith little change
in temperature.
Yestei'day’s high was 59, low 39.
The temperature at 11 this morn
ing w as 61.
And he has quietly helped a lot
of Aggies stay in school.
A descendent of the pioneer
Downs family of Temple, Pinky
entex-ed A&M in 1902. After four
years here, he went back to Temple
to work in his uncle’s bank.
He w-as a member of the board
of directors fx-om 1923 to 1932. The
pi’esent board passed a x-esolution
honoring him on his 71st birthday,
Feb. 26, 1955.
On the campus, he has worked
for the fiscal department, the ath
letic department, and the informa
tion and publications department.
His present job is official gx-eetex-.
Legends about Pinky are —
there’s the one about the ma
roon and white radishes he grows
in the gai'den behind his house,
just a stone’s throw fx-om the cam
pus.
Then there’s the story about the
state’s largest indoor swimming
pool, the P. L. Downs jr. natator-
ium. It was originally planned to
be 100 feet long, but Pinky heard
that the pool at the University of
Texas w-as 100 feet long. So he
had the blueprints of A&M’s pool
changed to make it 101 feet long.
And the time he was attending
a funeral. “Does anyone have any
thing to say about the deceased?”
Sigma Xi To Have
Lecturer Thursday
Sigma Xi will meet Thursday at
7:30 p.m. in the Biological Sciences
lecture x-oom.
Daniel Mazia of the Universit3’
of California will discuss “The Life
History of the Cell.” He is a na
tional lecturer for the society, and
is on a lecture tour of a number
of colleges and universities.
All faculty members, staff and
graduate students are urged to at
tend. The meeting is open to the
public.
asked the minister. No one said
anything. Then Pinky spoke up:
“If no one has anything to say
about the deceased, I’d like to say
a few- woi*ds about Texas A&M.”
The thumbs-up “Gig ’em. Ag
gies” admonition is said to have
been invented by Pinky, and cer
tainly he is the leading exponent
of its use. The cry is a throw
back to the old days here, when de-
mei-its, now called ‘Tams, wrere
called “gigs.”
Mi's. Dowms is a charming,
mothex-ly, aristocratic w-oman; she
and Pinky have a daughter Grey,
who was Miss Texas Centennial in
1930, and is now employed at the
Exchange store.
is also a ^lason and a
member of the Methodist church.
“I pray,” he says.
Before going to bed at night, he
says he utters this prayer, “Lord,
take care of the Aggies tonight—
P. L. (Pinky) Downs jr.
‘Most Enthusiastic of All’