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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 8, 1908)
10 THE BATTALION THE BATTALION Published Weekly by the Students’ Association of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas. C. P. BRANNIN. .Act. Editor-in-chief R. H. Standifer ...Business Manager J. J. CALDWELL.... Asst. Bus. Mgr. O. L. EVERSBERG. . Athletic Editor P. D. CASEY Local Editor D. B. HARRIS ....Exchange Editor C. M. EVANS.. Agricultural Editor J. S. DEAN Alumni Editor M. H. WEINERT . .Y.M.C.A. Editor T. E. HOLLOWAY.. Editorial Writer ASSISTANT EDITORS. Miss Mamie Hutson T. A. Polansky H. Louwien. Entered as second-class matter at Col lege Station, Texas, February 17 1905. Price Per Annum $1.25 NOTICE. All manuscript intended for The Battalion must bear the signature of the writer—no non de plume will be accepted. While the name will not be published, no notice will be taken of pieces if they are not signed. Subscribers desiring the paper sent to a different address should inform the Business Manager at least two weeks before the contemplated change is made. COLLEGE STATION TEX.JUNE 8. FINAL WORD. The last regular issue of The Bat talion came out on the 27th of May and with it the regular work of the Battalion staff ceased. This year The Battalion has been changed in size and many have spoken favorably of the change, thinking it better in its present size than in the old form. We hope that other improvements may be made next year. The editors of the paper wish to thank the stu dent body for its support and cooper ation and especially those, not on the regular staff, who have sent in so many good articles for publication. In behalf of the Students Association we wish to thank the different organiza tions which have aided us and all tt ose who have been in any way help ful in movements relating to the stu dent body. We appreciate the aid that has been given the Y. M. C. A., by members of the Faculty, and we re alize that much of its success is due to their cooperation. Whatever may have been the mistakes of this year’s Battalion, we trust that they will not be atrtributed to a lack rf care b it more to inexperience in the line of work. And whatever success may been gained should not be credited to anyone individual or group of individu als but to the school at large. In getting out the commencement issue of the Battalion the editors pre sent a paper which we hope may be prized as a souvenir of the Commence- nient of 1908. Besides the regular staff thanks are due Messrs. Berg. Sampson and Miller R. F., for articles contributed for this issue. THE AGRICULTURAL ENGINEER On another page appears a story by H. L. Hutson ,96, called “A Half Fin ished Land.” It calls attention to the well known need in South Texas of drainage and irrigation, and suggests that the A. M. College offer a course in “Agricultural Engineering.” At the present time, the agricultural students here are taught the farmers' side of irrigation and drainage. They learn what to do with the water after they get it on the land. They learn to know when tile drains are neces sary and desirable. They learn the best means of pumping and transport ing water, and many are probably able to design satisfactory irrigation systems for a small community. The civil engineering students, on the other hand, study irrigation sys tems and know how to measure water and deliver it to a thousad farms, per haps. But they cannot tell whether or not irrigation is desirable for a given country. Does the civil engin eering graduate know why he should prevent noxious weeds from growing along the sides of his irrigation ca nal? And if he knew, would he think about destroying the weeds before the seed had been distributed over the farms, which he was supplying with water? Does the agricultural gradu ate know enough about engineering to estimate the cost of a great canal? In Mr. Hutson’s story, a civil engi neer is mentioned, who thought that “a scant growth of tall grass would not affect the flow in a canal!” Prob ably his company lost some money through his ignorance. He may have been a good civil engineer, but evi dently he could have learned some thing from an irrigation expert. No doubt an agriculturalist holding the same position would make mistakes as serious, though of a different na ture. “We do need a new breed of engi neers,” says Texas. And A. & M., as the agricultural and engineering col lege of Texas, should supply the State with this new breed—the breed of agricultural engineers. “And He said unto His disciples: There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was ac cused unto him that he had wasted his goods. And he called him, and said unto him: How is it that I hear this of thee? Give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward. “Then the steward said within him self: What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the steward ship. I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. I am resolved what to do; that when I am put out of the steward ship, they may receive into their houses. “So he called every one of his lord’s debtors unto him, and said unto the first; How much owest thou unto my lord? And he said: A hundred meas ures of oil. And he said unto him: Take thy hill and sit down quickly and write fifty. Then said he to another: And how much owest thou? And he said: A hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him: Take thy bill and write fourscore. And the lord commended the unjust steward, be cause he had done wisely; for the chil dren of this world are in their genera tion wiser than the children of light.” Luke 16:1-8.. A PLAN FOR THE ALUMNI. Among the many things that are needed at the A. & M. College at pres ent, there is one which stands out pre-eminent. The thing lacking is a well equipped gymnasium. There are very few large schools that do not have special courses in gymnastic ex ercises, with competent instructors in charge of the students. Of course this kind of exercise may not appeal to the man who is big and heavy enough to play football, or to the man who is skillful and quick enough to make the baseball team, but to the man who can do neither the gymnasi um comes as a means of taking nec essary exercise. No matter how small or weak a fellow may be, he can al ways find some exercise in a gymnasi um that" will suit him. There are the trapezes, the rings, the horizontal bars, the gloves, the foils, the track, aand many other features which are always seen in a well equipped gym nasium. Another building needed at the col lege is an up-to-date Y. M. C. A. build ing. With our Y. M. C. A. in its pres ent flourishing condition, and a sal aried secretary in view for next year, the need of a btiilding is imperative in order that the work of the associa tion may be furthered. Such a build ing should contain reading and rest rooms, and offices for the publications, special rooms for the Alumni, and oth er necessary apartments. It would probably be too great a step to start a movement for both of these buildings now, but a happy medium could be reached by having the two in the same building. A gymnasium really goes with a Y. M. C. A. build ing, since one purpose of the Y. M. C. A. is to furnish means for healthy recreation and exercise; and with one building for both, the results reached would be the same and the outlay would be much smaller. The Alumni of the State University have on foot a movement to build a $75,000 gymnasium at the University at Austin, and we can truthfull say that there is no school in the South with graduates more devoted to their alma mater than the A. & M. College of Texas. Such a movement, gotten on foot among the Alumni, would, in its success, prove to be a source of pleasure and pride to the founders, and also a means of benefit to the in stitution and the State at large. Every Alumnus of this school feels a deep and abiding interest in it, and if such a plan were gotten up and worked for ward ,no doubt liberal subscriptions would be offered. The former gradu ates of A. & M. are all prosperous, rep resentative men in their different walks of life, and there is no doubt about the success of such a movement. Of course all this could not be done in a summer, but if work were com menced at once, the graduating class of 1909 should at least see the founda tions laid for a modern Y. M. C. A. building and gymnasium. We know that the Alumni have the good of the school at heart, as has been shown by their recent efforts to secure an investigation of affairs here, and we feel sure that the proposed plan of a Y. M. C. A. building and gymnasium will meet with their ap proval and final adoption. In a debate recently held at Boulder between the University of Colorado and the University of Kansas, the latter was victorious. The question was. Resolved, That congress should pass a national income tax. Almost immediately after Chicago withdrew from the Northern Oratori cal League, the University of Illinois was admitted to that organization, and will participate in her first contest the latter part of this month. A course has been installed at Chi cago University, the purpose of which is to prepare men for the United States consular service. The course is of five years’ duration, and the work lies mainly in the schools of com merce, administration, and political science. Similar courses will soon be offered at Harvard, Columbia and Yale. Adieu of Class of 1908. The following poem, by T. E. Holloway, originally appeared in the Long Horn for 1908, and was reprinted in the Dallas News, the Hous ton Post, and the Galveston News. In every printing, however, there were typographical errors, and this is the first time the poem has been printed as written. Mr. Holloway was awarded the prize copy of the Long Horn for the best poem in that publication: We’ve spent the last four years—short years—with you, A. & M„ And now the time has come to say “Adieu,” A. & M. We rather hate to leave you, now the hour has come to go. But sometimes we’ll stop to greet you, coming back to let you know That you are not forgotten. Yes, while dwelling here below. We’ll come back to tell you “Howdy,” A. & M. Tho’ we’re sent to unknown places far away, A. & M., And surrounded by strange faces ev’ry day, A. & M., Yet our thoughts will turn to college, to the customs there we knew, And meeting other college men we’ll send ’em back to you. We’ll this last vow remember—“cross my heart and tell you true”— We’ll come back to tell you “Howdy,” A. & M. We hope to see you great in future years, A. & M., (For we know you have but opened your career, A. & M.) We hope to see you prosper, gleaning workers from the mass. And teaching them and training them, until one day at last We shall see among the “old” boys many faces in that class Coming back to tell you “Howdy,” A. & M.
