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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 6, 1926)
THE BATTALION He’s Still Telling the Judges C. M. Laffoon “The speaker for the affirmative, ladies and gentle men, will be Mr. C. M. Laffoon.” That line was not unfamiliar to stu dent groups at the University of Mis souri a few years ago. Now the undergraduate debater of other days is the Design Engi neer in the Turbo-Generator Sec tion of the Power Engineering Department. He is in his eleventh year at the Westinghouse Company. Laffoon today is the builder of the fastest things that go, electri cally. For those intricate high-speed machines, he must not only act as designer, but must often assist in selling, and must look after the service when problems arise in operation. Because the designer is the man who knows, he is the “speaker for the affirmative.” “Honorable judges” are fact-seek ing engineers of electric light and power companies. dRC 'I'.he question sometimes is asked: Where do young men get when they enter a large industrial organi zation? Have they opportunity to exercise creative talents? Or are they forced into narrow grooves? This series of advertisements throws light on these questions. Each advertisement takes up the record of a college man who came zvith the Westinghouse Company within recent years after graduation from his uni versity. Out of a clear sky one day West inghouse called for a high-speed generator for use in commercial transmission of radio messages. There was no such machine. Laf foon designed one. Then, through an unexpected change in a trade situation, the machine was not used. Did it go to the scrap heap? Read and see. Industry had been seeking a better way to melt expensive metal of high heat resistance—aluminum, platinum, certain alloy steels, and the like. Ordinary smelting meth ods couldn’t be used. Properties had to be kept unchanged; and the great heat liquefied the ordinary crucible as well as the metal. Laf- foon’s discarded radio-generator was found to offer an ideal appli cation to a new high- frequency induction furnace for melting those special metals; and so Laffoon de signed that machine. You can measure the advance in high-speed turbo-generator ap paratus by comparing the models of 1918 (when Laffoon entered the particular field to which he has contributed), with those of 1926. Then 25,000 KVA was some ma chine. Now, at 62,000 KVA, no limit is set on the future. High-speed machines must be fitted to the individual needs of customers. After understanding what the customer wants, the de sign engineer must determine the size, weight, dimensions and per formance, depending on voltage, frequency and speed of the instal lation. Then he m u s t “follow through.” Men who “follow through” in any phase of electrical engineering may have confidence in their ca reers at Westinghouse. Westinghouse SAY AGGIE (Continued from Page 1) Wanted! The concession for water tower paint! Will pay reasonable price. Black, green, yellow, and white are the colors required. Want ed even more! A good painter to take black and white paints and re-touch the tower so that it will be a credit to the institution instead of a bill board for energetic Freshmen and Sophomores. You’ve heard the say ing about all fools’ names and all fools’ faces? That rule is somewhat reversible. “When in doubt look on your neighbor’s paper.”—Chem. Dept. ♦;* .j. .j. J. W. PAYNE Optometrist and Optician Refraction and Glasses Masonic Building Phone 35 ♦J*- ^ ^ ■•Jt ♦Jt- ■*$••■»$«■ <§► “I love to see a man chew tobacco.’ -Mrs. Emily Post. %-* DR. LAMAR JONES DENTIST * ❖ •i* Second Floor City National Bank <1 ►F Building <j <t+ Phones: Office 693; Residence 464 it ❖ X-RAY 4 ❖ BRYAN TEXAS 4 4* 4 •i* 4* 4* 'J* 4* 4* ■4* ♦F ^ *F 4* 4* ♦F 4* 4* - “Spare the rod and spoil the Fish. —Col. Turner. I