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 While the name will not
be published, no notice will be taken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.