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Cbe Battalion
Page 2
College Station, Texas
Friday, December 10, 1965
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Ranger: Campus Legend;
His Memories Will Remain
CADET SLOUCH
by Jim Earle
The Ag-gies lost a good friend yester
day.
Ranger, often referred to as the
“campus dog,” died at 5:20 p.m. Thursday
after a sudden illness.
He was officially President Earl Rud
der’s pet, but belonged just as much to
the A&M student bodies of the past seven
years.
The story of Ranger will certainly go
down as a Texas A&M legend — a story
filled with humor, love and greatness.
It would definitely include:
—Resistance to confinement. The only
time Ranger was tied up in the Rudder
backyard, he developed a skin disease.
After that episode he made the campus
his home, visiting the Rudder domain oc
casionally to keep in touch with the pres
ident’s family, especially Rudder’s son,
Bob, who was perhaps most fond of the
pet bulldog.
—Self-reliability. Ranger had a way of
taking care of himself in a fashion that
few dogs have ever possessed. He ate
in the mess halls, slept in dormitory lounges
and rooms, attended class when he so de
sired and made friends easily. As a re
sult he was among the best-fed ,well-rested,
highly-educated, dearly-loved animals in the
history of dogdom.
—Self-confidence. Ranger claimed an
air of self-confidence that left him strutting
proudly to the day he died. He never
turned his back on a fight with mess hall
management, janitors or automobiles, be
cause he seemed to know his friends would
come to his aid.
—Courage. The trait which will best
enshrine Ranger in the annals of A&M
folklore is courage. His courage produced
the most laughs, the most admiration from
his friends. His exploits — whether stop
ping cars, appearing underneath girls’ for-
mals, charging basketball officials, romping
on the football field, suffering through kid
napping incidents or parading all over cam
pus with messages — are tales in them
selves.
Ranger lived a dog’s life, but not an
ordinary one.
He was a dog among dogs, a legend in
his own time.
In an effort to preserve this legend
and to pay tribute to a dog that meant
so much to student life at this university,
The Battalion and Yell Leaders have initi
ated a fund to supply Ranger’s grave with
a marker on behalf of the A&M student
body.
Contributions may be made at the Stu
dent Publications Office in the YMCA
Building basement.
It is the least we can do for a friend.
State Capitol Roundup
AUSTIN — Fate of Texas’ 63-
year-old poll tax as a voting
requirement rests in the hands
of a three-judge federal court.
They heard four hours of ar
guments here last week in an
historic case to abolish the levy.
Judges announced that no im
mediate ruling would be made.
They advised Texans who want
to be eligible to vote next year
to pay the $1.75 fee before the
January 31 deadline.
In frequent questions during
the arguments, the judges indi
cated concern over several com
plex legal points.
Circuit Judge John R. Brown
repeatedly speculated on the
court’s earlier position, in asses
sing an apparently-unsupported
congressional finding in the 1965
voting rights act, that the Texas
levy discriminates against Ne
groes.
“How do we go about review
ing the basis for a congressional
finding?” Brown wondered aloud.
“Or does the case come to us
as though Congress had not made
these findings? This is a very
unusual point of law.”
Texas Atty. Gen. Waggoner
Carr maintained that Congress
had made its finding “without
so much as a scintilla of evi
dence.” He pointed out that U.
S. Atty. Gen. Nicholas Katzen-
bach himself had testified before
a Senate committee that he had
no complaints of voter discrimi
nation in this state. Katzenbach
later filed the suit under terms
of the voting rights act.
U. S. Justice Department Atty.
Stephen J. Poliak, ackonwledging
that there is no overt refusal to
give Texas Negroes voting rights,
argued that due to basically-in-
ferior education, income of Ne
groes is lower and the tax, there
fore, falls heavier on them.
One judge wondered, perhaps
hopefully, if the U. S. Supreme
Court might rule on some of the
questions submitted in an earlier
Virginia case before federal
judges in Texas have to hand
down their decision.
Hearing here was the first of
four cases brought by the justice
department, under congressional
direction, to challenge poll tax
validity head-on. Others will be
held in Mississippi on December
10; Alabama on December 20;
and Virginia on January 17.
POLLUTION PROGRAM
Gov. John Connally has advised
John Gardner, U. S. Secretary of
Health, Education and Welfare,
that Texas plans to control pollu
tion on its streams and in its
coastal waters.
Such a certification is required
by the new federal law aimed
at stopping pollution of public
waters throughout the United
States. If states fail to get
pollution control programs in op
eration by June 30, 1967, then
Uncle Sam will take over and
adopt its own programs andi
rules.
Connally’s formal certification
came as the Texas Water Pollu
tion Control took its biggest step
yet. It adopted rules and stand
ards for discharges of munici
pal and industrial waste into
the Houston Ship Channel. In
dustry spokesmen at the public
hearing estimated Ship Channel
industry will have to spend be
tween $50,000,000 and $100,000,-
000 for treatment facilities to
meet these standards.
Even then, Joe G. Moore, Jr.,
Chairman of the Board, estimated
that the new requirements would
eliminate only half the pollution
in the Channel.
Mayor Seaborn Cravey of Bay-
town strongly protested against
the Board plan to allow more
pollution in the mid-Channel area
above Baytown. He fears fish
kills which sometimes make
living unbearable in Baytown
will continue when rains wash
slugs of polluted water down the
Channel.
But the Board unanimously
adopted its three-zone plan, ef
fective immediately.
A seventh member was added
to the Board by Connally’s selec
tion of Howard Rose of Midland,
his former administrative assist
ant. He will represent the public.
NEWS COMMITTEE
A nine-member committee stu
dying the role of the press in
crime and court news coverage
declared its opposition to legis
lation that would restrict news
reporters in covering stories.
Lawmakers and news execu
tives serve on committee set up
b y last Legislature. Group
selected Felix McKnight, Dallas
Times Herald editor, as chair
man.
McKnight said the Committee
hopes to establish guidelines to
protect the rights of individuals
named in court charges; also to
preserve freedom of the press;
and to avoid a fight over legis
lation.
AGGIE COEDS?
Board members of Texas A&M
University denied a report that
they voted to admit girls to the
virtually all-male school on a
non-discriminatory basis.
Chairman later said qualified
women should be admitted if they
could not get degrees at another
university in fields they want to
pursue. He said A&M President
Earl Rudder was asked to study
every coed application in order to
guard against discrimination. He
revealed a committee will report
its findings on the question of
co-education next April.
Attorney General Carr recent
ly declared that present policies
of admitting only women who are
wives, daughters or widows of
faculty members and students
would be difficult to defend in
court. He proposed that A&M
either limit its enrollment to men
only or become fully co-educa
tion al.
LAND PROGRAM ENDS
State Veterans Land Program
ended Nov. 30 when the last
commitment for purchase of
property was issued.
Land Commissioner Jerry Sad
ler said 35,500 Texas veterans
bought over 3,000,000 acres of
land at average price of $81 an
acre. On Nov. 2 Texas voters
turned down a constitutional
amendment proposal designed to
extend the long-term, low-inter
est, land purchase program.
THE BATTALION
Opinions expressed in The Battalion
are those of the student writers only. The
Battalion is a non tax-supported non
profit, self-supporting educational enter
prise edited and operated by students as
a university and community newspaper.
Members of the Student Publications Board are: Joe Buser,
chairman; Dr. David Bowers, College of Liberal Arts; Dr.
Robert A. Clark, College of Geosciences ; Dr. Frank A. Mc
Donald, College of Science; Dr. J. G. McGuire, College of
Engineering; Dr. Robert S. Titus, College of Veterinary
Medicine; and Dr. A. B. Wooten, College of Agriculture.
The Associated Press is entitled exclusively to the use for
republication of all news dispatches credited to it or not
otherwise credited in the paper and local news of spontaneous
origin published herein. Rights of republieation of all other
matter herein are also reserved.
Second-Class postage paid at College Station, Texas.
Represented nationally by National Advertising Service,
Inc., New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
News contributions may be made by telephoning 846-6618
or 846-4910 or at the editorial office. Room 4, YMCA Building.
For advertising or delivery call 846-6416.
Mail subscriptions are $3.60 per semester; $6 per school
er full year. All subscriptions subject to 2%
Texas A&M is
except Saturda
The Battalion, a student newspaper at
published in College Station, Texas daily except Saturday,
Sunday, and Monday, and holiday periods, September through
May, and once a week during summer school.
MEMBER
The Associated Press, Texas Press Association
year; $6.60 per full year. All subeeri
sales tax. Advertising rate furnished on request. Address:
i. Room 4, YMCA Building, College Station, Texas.
The Battalia
EDITOR GLENN DROMGOOLE
Managing Editor Gerald Garcia
Sports Editor Larry Jerden
Photographer Herky Killingsworth
News Editor Tommy DeFrank
Lani Pressuvood
Action Needed
To Curtail
Pet Stealing
“Last week I was countin , th’ days ’til the holidays, now
I’m countin’ th’ major quizzes.”
— Sound Off —
Editor,
The Battalion:
I would like to make a com
ment on the behavior of some of
the Aggies who watched the Ag
gie Talent Show last Friday.
There ought to be a difference
between what a high school bum
says aloud when he attends some
cheap show, and the words of a
college student when he goes to
watch the A.T.S., regardless of
what is on the stage and how
many Go-Go Girls are involved.
That is the difference between
good bull and vulgarity, to say
the least.
There was a 9 or 10-year old
girl sitting right in front of me.
I wonder what she thought of
some of the “expressions of ad
miration” that she heard. There
also were several other children
and several adults, including sev
eral Aggies and their dates, who
had the right to enjoy the show
without having to suffer a num
ber of extremely disgusting
manifestations of irresponsiblity,
which were, perhaps, meant to
express some of the Ole Army
Spirit, but certainly missed their
point.
Fernando J. Martinez, ’67
★ ★ ★
Editor,
The Battalion:
It has recently come to my at
tention that the Corps is no long
er allowed to wildcat in the
mess halls, or to call jodies
en route to morning chow under
the latest Trigon decree. Now,
it seems to me that every year
in the first issue of the Batt we
read some statement from the
Trigon hierarchy to the effect
that the seniors are going to run
the Corp^, but about two weeks
later the Trigon steps in and
takes up where they left off,
handing down its order to make
the Corps a better place in which
to live.
The order banning wildcatting
is, according to rumor at least,
supposed to give a better at
mosphere in which the men may
enjoy their food. If this is the
aim, then there is another part
of our dining hall procedure that
needs to go. Mr. Trigon, Sir,
why don’t you cut out the
“handles” used for the food? You
know, bullneck, stud, baby, etc.
Now, dear Trigon, if you want
to ram me 10 for protesting,
go right ahead. It will never
go through, you see, because I
am a non-reg.
David L. Feray, '67
Mr. Feray,: The order ban
ning wildcatting in the mess
halls came down verbally from
the Corps Commander, not the
Trigon. Or at least that is
what both parties say. Perhaps
your displeasure is directed
against the wrong person.
Man is supposedly the highest
animal but his actions at times
make you wonder.
The organized stealing of pets
to furnish the mills of scientific
research has reached the level of
a national disgrace and the time
has come for meaningful correc
tive action.
If you thing the number of
animals required for reseach is
insignificant, take a loog at these
figures, which come from an ar
ticle in an October issue of Pa
rade:
Laboratories and hospitals
which are partially subsidized by
federal grants spent between $30
and $50 million last year on
dogs and cats. Tax-supported in
stitutions bought over 1.7 mil
lion dogs and 500,000 cats last
year alone.
Biological research is big and
getting bigger. I’m not attacking
the use of animals in this re
search, although reports continue
that the lives of many animals
are being needlessly wasted by
unconcerned researchers.
No, my quarrel is with the
weak statutes which permit the
organized theft of pet dogs and
cats for this research.
How serious a problem is it?
Here’s an excerpt from the Pa
rade article:
“A congressional committee re
cently heard one dog-and-cat
farm described as an animal
‘Dachau,’ as horrifying as the
notorious Nazi gas - chamber
camp. Investigators found 700
dogs jammed into a dozen 10-
foot-square pens. One pen con
tained more than 70 dogs, so
closely packed they couldn’t even
wag their tails for their res
cuers. Some 400 cats were
crammed into stacked chicken
crates. Dead and diseased ani
mals lay among the living.”
Dog and cat rustlers operati
in a variety of ways \
simply snatching a pet from i&
owner’s yard when he’s not loot
ing or using food to lure the aii
mal away from home.
Some of these dealers ii
misery go from door to door beg.
ging for pets “for needy ci
dren” or they actually send ci
dren out to do their dirty wort
for them.
Others pose as dogcatches c:
use the front of kennelkeepen
The kennel racket is especially
vicious. When a vacationer re
turns to the kennel for his pe:
he is told that the animal did
from sickness or escaped.
And there are reports tbit
pounds, animal shelters and era
some humane societies illegal;
sell pets to the dog and cat
peddlers.
Whatever the pet peddler's
source of supply, he disposes of
the animals at actions where til
remuneration for a stolen kitten
or puppy may be as little as ta
cents. But who can meam
in material terms the value of i
cherished pet to a child or n
invalid ?
To combat this sadistic crime
Rep. Henry Helstoski of Ne*
Jersey introduced a bill in tie
last session of the House whitl
would “authorize the Secretary
of Agriculture to regulate tie
transportation, sale, and hard-
ling of dogs, cats and other ani
mals intended to be used for
purposes of research or experi
mentation, and for other per-
poses.”
Similar legislation will likelf
be introduced again at the not
Congressional session. There mar
be opposition to such action bfl
I doubt seriously if it’ll com
from anyone who has ever hai
a dog or cat of his own.
SCONA XI At A Glance
By GERALD GARCIA
Battalion Managing Editor
This is the eleventh Student
Conference On National Affairs
at a glance:
The Memorial Student Center
Food Service Department was
given a vote of approval by most
of the SCONA delegates Thurs
day. Delegates thought the way
the food was prepared for the
Smorgasbord Wednesday even
ing was “terrific.” “I loved it.
“The food was great. It was a de
licious meal.” These were some
of the comments delegates ex
pressed during and after the
event which was sponsored by
The Sears-Roebuck Foundation
of Dallas.
Conference headquarters re
ported 161 delegates had regis
tered for the conference as of
late Thursday afternoon. The
delegates represented colleges
and universities from the United
States, Canada and Mexico. A
delegate — by conference stand
ards — is a person who has been
assigned to a roundtable.
Craig Buck, SCONA XI chair
man, patted all committees on
the back for the excellent work
they have done. He described the
conference as going like “clock
work.”
The Experiment in Interna
tional Living program sent 20
Mexican students to SCONA XI
as delegates. The students are
from the School of Economics
and the School of Political Sci
ences, both of the National Uni
versity of Mexico. The 20 stu
dents are scheduled to visit in
United States homes in Pitts
burg, Pa., and Hackensack, N.J.,
under the leadership of Alfonso
Rey and James Ferara.
John P. Armstrong, vice presi
dent of Pond and Co., Publishers,
in Washington, D. C., thinks that
At the Movies
with Lani Presswood
The worst thing about “King
Rat” is its title.
A label like that hardly serves
as a boxoffice magnet to some
one who knows nothing about the
show in advance.
Actually, title and all, “King
Rat” comes across as a surpris
ingly good motion picture. The
action never slackens and the
audience’s attention is held for
the full two-hours-plus running
time.
A Japanese prisoner-of-war
camp near Singapore during
World War II serves as the
story’s setting.
The camp confines over 2,000
prisoners, most of them British.
PEANUTS
Ry Charles M_ Schulz
PEANUTS
k’OO probable have AMBW3PIA
ex anopsia..the vision in wur
RIGHT EVE IS DIM SO THE DOCTOR
HAS PATCHED THE LEFT onethus
FORCING THE R16HT EV&TO WORK...
actuallv; TREATMENT OF AMBLVOPI A
IS ONE OF THE MOST REWARDING IN
MEDICINE ...WITHOUT MEDICATION OR
SOR6ERVOR HOSPITALIZATION A CHILD
CAN BE 6IYEN EVESI6HT IN AN EVE
lOHICH OTHERWISEMi6HTHA£ NO SIGHT...
VOU DRIVE WE CRA2V'!
There are a few American pris
oners scattered through the camp
though, including one Corporal
King.
King, played skillfully by
George Segal, lives in a state of
near luxury compared to the oth
er prisoners. They eat what the
Japs hand out, King prepares his
own meals. Nearly all are dressed
in rags but King still sports a
sharp uniform.
King keeps his weight up,
never lacks for cigarettes, and is
making money hand over fist.
How?
Simple. He’s a crook.
This apparent nobody in civil
ian life turns an inventive mind
and a burning ambition for pow
er and wealth into a position of
pre-eminence in the camp. He
uses bribery, fraud, theft, just
about anything in the books to
feather his own nest.
Yet through the entire show,
the guy remains vaguely like
able. He seems larcenous but
not vicious, and you’ve got to
hand it to him for his resource
fulness.
King is surrounded by other
characters, each of which has
been affected differently by the
grueling prison camp ordeal.
There’s the British colonel who
accepts money from King for
certain “services.” And two oth
er colonels who also compromise
their principles while imprisoned.
And Peter Marlowe, King’s only
real friend, whose sincere scruples
contrast sharply with King’s
credo.
And the hard-bitten lieutenant
who goes by the book and refuses
to accept the^ reality that men
must occasionally stray from the
rule book to stay alive under cer
tain circumstances.
Then there’s the cynical, em
bittered doctor, the pathetic ser
geant who serves as King’s er
rand boy, the deranged prisoner
who carries on imaginary conver
sations with his wife, and others.
“King Rat” may not have an
all-star cast or a massive pub
licity campaign behind it, but it
contains topflight acting, fast-
paced action, and an absorbing,
meaningful story.
by having Texas A&M ForeifS
students as delegates the sk
dent conference receives an aril’
ed flavor. The students can gift
first hand information durit?
roundtable discussions and thii
helps the other delegates, he saii
“Viet Nam: It’s a Mad War,’
the documentary film by NBC
and narrated by Chet Huntlej,
was well received by the dele
gates Thursday afternoon. Hit
film showed many inside viefi
how the war is fought in tbt
Southeast Asia country. Tit
hour-long color film replaced Hit
second half of the roundtable*
scheduled after the Corps el
Cadets review. Huntley close!
the film by saying: “Theoretical'
ly, the United States is in the
Viet Nam War to defend a fret
country, but actually it is tryin?
to bring one into existence.”
While on the topic of film-'
University Information at Texas
A&M is doing a documentary ®
the university to be released this
spring. The 20-minute cote
movie is being shot by the Sabre
International Film Company arJ
produced by Joe Buser, assista» !
director of University Inform*'
tion. Buser and a camera ere*
took a few feet of film of SCOfW
proceedings Wednesday after
noon. The crew also took in th*
Corps review for the SCONA
delegates Thursday afternoon.
The Review must have s* ;
some record. For the first tin 8
in three years, it did not rain be
fore or during the review. Th*
weatherman tried his best to cot'
tinue the tradition, but he was s
little late. College Station’s O
gressman Olin E. “Tiger
Teague, chairman of the Veter
an’s Affairs Committee, was tbs
reviewing officer. He went o 5
active duty with the infantry $
1940. In combat, Teague was
commander of the First Battalioa
314th Infantry, 79th Division. His
decorations include the Silver
Star with two clusters, tb*
Bronze Star with two clusters,
the French Croix de Guerre with
Plam, the Purple Heart with t*
clusters, the Combat Infantry
man’s Badge and the Army Com
mendation Ribbon.