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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 24, 1940)
LIBRARY AgFleatturai & Mechanical College of Texas College Station, Texas. CIRCULATION 5,400 OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE CITY OF COLLEGE STATION The Battalion DIAL 4-5444 STUDENT TRI WEEKLY NEWSPAPER OF TEXAS A. & M. COLLEGE VOL. 39 PHONE 4-5444 COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS, SATURDAY MORNING, FEB. 24, 1940 Z725 NO. 55 I I It 1 1 Faculty Modifies ‘E’ Quiz Ruling Graduates Until September, 1940, To Be Allowed Quizzes Secretary of the Faculty E. J. Howell announced yesterday that on February 19, the general fac ulty adopted a new rule permitting seniors, under certain conditions, to take special examinations. This action is to make less abrupt the transition from the former system allowing seniors to take not over two special exams to the proposed method eliminating reexaminations entirely which becomes effective in September, 1940. The latter plan was passed last October. The new ruling embodies the fol lowing: A senior who, on April 1, lacks only one subject for graduation may be allowed a special examina tion in that subject provided: (a) the subject was taken in class subsequent to his jun ior year, (b) the student is passing all the work of his current schedule with grades which will give him a mathemati cal chance to graduate at the end of the semester, (c) only one special examination may be given any student. These special examinations are to be scheduled for a designated Saturday afternoon early in April. A similar privilege of taking one examination about the middle of their final summer term will be extended to seniors who are to graduate in summer school. Petroleum Club To Hear Talk On Work In South America “Exploration in South America” will be the subject of an address to be made by J. E. Brantly, presi dent of the Drilling and Explora tion Company, Inc., of Los Angeles, California, to the Petroleum Engi neering Club Tuesday. Mr. Brantly, a native of Georgia, studied geology and mining engi neering at the University of Ala bama, where he later became an instructor. He subsequently be came assistant state geologist of Georgia and wrote numerous re ports published by the Geological Surveys of Georgia and Alabama. After completing his army exper. ience, Mr. Brantly located in the mid-continent at the end of the World War, setting himself up as a consulting geologist. Later, as chief geologist for the Atlantic Refining Company, he devoted much attention to geological and geophysical surveys in Mexico and South America. In 1929 he organized, and has since been president of, the Drill ing and Exploration Company, Inc., and has engaged in geological and geophysical surveys, diamond cor ing and drilling operations on a substantial scale in Columbia, Venezuela, Trinidad, eastern Can ada, Pennsylvania, Texas, and more recently in California, Peru and Brazil. Placement Bureau Carrying on Work In Effort To Place A. & M. Graduates The Placement and Personnel Di-ting the work have been printed and vision of the Former Students As sociation is carrying on its work in cooperation with employers and students in its efforts to place A. & M. men. Monday and Tuesday of this week W. B. Gracey, manager of the Dallas office of the Aetna Casualty and Surety Corporation, was on the campus interviewing seniors in the School of Arts and Sciences and the School of Agri culture. Mr. Gracey interviewed 21 seniors while here, looking for men to enter a line of sales pro motion work. No decisions from Mr. Gracey have been received here. S. L. Stark, the Director of Technical Employment of the Dow Chemical Company, Midland, Mich igan, was on the campus Wednes day and Thursday interviewing engineering students. The Placement and Personnel Di vision was opened here November 15 of last year by the Former Stu dents Association to establish a centralized placement service and to develop and maintain personnel records for A. & M. men, both graduates and non-graduates. Lucian Morgan, ’35, is heading the work of the division. Under his direction 1,100 leaflets concern- 250 Attend Annual Water Works Meet Approximately 250 men, repre senting 75 cities, attended the 22nd Annual Water Works Short Course held at A. & M. Monday through Friday. Ashley G. Classen, superinten dent of the City Water Works De partment of El Paso, presided at the meetings. D. B. Dickson, super intendent of the Filter Plant of Wichita Falls, was elected as the new president. The objective of the course was to give fundamental training in the management of city water pumping and distribution, and in the management of sewage. A banquet was held Thursday night with Dr. George W. Cox, of the State Health Department, Dean Gibb Gilchrist, and V. M. Eh- lers, Chief Sanitary Engineer of the State Health Department, as main speakers. The Rio Grande Water Works Association won the attendance prize for the second consecutive year. If won by them next year it becomes their permanent pos session. Baptists To Observe Evangelist Week Here Southwide student Evangelist Week will be observed by Baptist students here February 24th to March 1st. Each day will be be gun with a prayer service at 6:15 a. m. in room 10 of the Civil Engi neering Building. Two classes in “Soul Winning” will be taught daily by the pastor at the First Baptist Church from 6:45 to 7:30 p. m. and 7:45 to 8:30 p. m. The regular evening prayer meeting will be held between the class periods. All Baptist students are being urged to attend and others are cordially invited to attend services at the Baptist Church Sunday. The pastor will bring appropriate mes sages for the beginning of this week’s special program. John C. Burns, Former Head of A. H. Department Here, Has Multiple Duties John C. Burns of Fort Worth- aptly has been called the steer arbiter of the nation, because in recent years his services have been in demand in judging livestock at leading expositions throughout +1 -- country. In addition to t. Fabra^y duties, he is superi Gft n ffi a ftie department of carloads of fat steers at the Southwestern Exposi tion and Fat Stock Show. Burns, a native Texan, was born of ranch parents in DeWitt County in the heart of the Southwest cat tle breeding area, where, as he grew to manhood, he gained through practical experience in ranching. He made his first visit to the stock show here 37 years ago, just one year before he grad uated from Texas A. & M. He was a member of the first livestock' judging team that represented the college in 1904 at the International Livestock FYr. os jtion in Chicago. 1920 he was head Husbandry Depart- . .... oz M. In 1920 Burns enlarged his service in the livestock realm when he became field representative of the American Shorthorn Breeders’ Association in Texas and Louis iana while serving as secretary of the Texas Shorthorn Breeders’ As sociation. From 1922 to 1926, he served as secretary of the Texas Hereford Association and did field work for the Texas and American Hereford Association. (Continued on page 4) distributed to prospective employ ers to acquaint them with the program and the fields of work in which A. & M. men are prepared to work. From time to time prospective employers are brought to the cam pus to interview students in at tempts for placement. Seniors this year have been asked to have personal leaflets printed which are being used to acquaint prospective employers with the qualifications of each individual senior. The Placement Bureau makes no charge to the student for its work. Dunn To Conduct First Number At Bandmaster Meet Lt. Col. Richard J. Dunn, Texas A. & M. bandmaster, has accepted an invitation to conduct the open ing number at the annual conven tion of the American Bandmasters’ Association which will be held in Hagerstown, Md., March 10. The band which Col. Dunn will conduct will be the Hagerstown Municipal Band which will be sup plemented with instrumentalists from the Army, Navy, and Marine bands. The selection he will con duct will be “Welcome” written by Peter Buys, president of the Association, especially for this con vention. Col. Dunn is one of two original charter members of the organiza tion in Texas, Everett McCracken Baylor University bandmaster, be ing the other Texan so honored. At present there are six members from Texas but all who gain ad mission to the association must pass an examination before they can become members. The organization, formed in 1929 is the outgrowth of an idea pro posed by the late John Phillip Sousa, who was first honorary life president. In forming the Ameri can Bandmasters’ Association, he was joined by other outstanding bandmasters, including Taylor Branson, U. S. Marine Band; Wil liam Stannard, U. S. Army Band; Charles Benter, U. S. Navy Band; and P. H. Egner, West Point Mili tary Academy Bandmaster. It now has about 100 members. Texas members, in addition to Col. Dunn and Mr. McCracken, in clude: R. A. Dhossche, San An tonio Public Schools; Col. G. E Hurt, University of Texas; E. D Irons, North Texas State Teach ers, College, Arlington; and D. O. Wiley, Texas Technological Col lege, Lubbock. T.S.C.W.--A.&M. Featured In Art Section of Paper Brother and Sister Schools—the title of a whole page in the Art Gravure Section of Sunday’s Hous ton Chronicle. Everyone knows that that title could refer only to Texas A. & M. and T. S. C. W. In the story told by pictures were depicted various customs carried on by the students in the two schools. Writing to “blind boxes” or boxes corresponding to that of the writer is a custom long known to Aggies and T.S.C.W.-ites. Doris George of Ardmore, Okla homa, was shown at her box in Denton receiving a letter from Saxp Crews of Crowell, whose re sponse to her letter started a warm friendship. Another picture showed the newer and more modem method of correspondence between the two schools, the shortwave radio. Sta tion W5AAN in Denton contacts Bryan and College Station Mon days, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 5 p. m. Operator in Denton is Tra vis Tittle. Other pictures showed the joint meeting of A. & M. and T. S. C. W. junior classes at Fort Worth on the corps trip this year, with C. J. “Foots” Bland and Eli Baggett dancing with T. S. C. W. girls; and Band major Tommy Balmer escorting the Aggie Sweetheart, Edna Clarke, to receive her flowers as the Aggie Band played between halves. CADET PLAYERS FILL PARTS FOR PRODUCTIONS Group Will Present “The Drums of Oude” and “A Question of Principle” The Cadet Players, A. & M.’s re cently organized dramatic club, swung definitely in the direction of the accomplishment of its dra matic goal last Thursday afternoon when rehearsals were begun on two plays, “The Drums of Oude,” and “A Question of Principle.” The characters selected for the parts of “The Drums of Oude” were Dorothy Doane, a guest play er, as Mrs. Jack Clayton; J. M. Piester as Captain Gregor; T. A. Reiner as Lieutenant Hartley; Al bert Murray as a stuart; A. J. Vicevich as Sergeant McDougal; S. H. Cooper and Leonard Darnell as servants, and A. F. Timmons as a private. The name of the feminine play er in the play “A Question of Principle” will not be announced until immediately before the pre sentation of the play. The other characters for the play will be J. C. Braden as the banker; C. C. Anderson as clergyman; C. R. Brown as judge; Jerome Rosen- feld as a communist; and K. W. Huffman as a policeman. For those interested in dramatics who have been unable to attend the previous meetings, a second tryout for the selection of parts for a third play and radio dramas will be held. Students who are interested in joining the dramatic movement are urged to report to C. O. Spriggs, Wednesday after noon, from 4-6 p. m. in room 316 Academic Building. Sophs Import T.S.C.W.-ites For Annual Class Activities Astronomy Takes Interesting Air As Five Planets Gather Near One Another May 14-15 Date Of R.O.T.C. Inspection The annual Corps Area Com mander’s inspection of the A. & M. R.O.T.C. units will be headed by Col. E. A. Keyes, Cavalry, and Col. T. K. Spencer, Infantry, on May 14 and 15, Col. Moore has announced. On the morning of May 14 and 15 the inspectors will visit various classes of their respective units. On the afternoon of the 14th the inspection will cover the activities of practical instruction and drill of the various units. The following afternoon a review of the entire cadet corps will be held. The inspection group will visit all senior units of the eighth corps area and compare the efficiency of each school with those standards set by the War Department. COLLEGE PARK GETS MAXIMUM FIRE CREDITS AUSTIN.—Fire Insurance Com missioner Marvin Hall has an nounced that College Station has been awarded a 15 per cent fire insurance credit, with estimated savings of $3,277. College Park addition was given a 25 per cent credit, the maximum, with estimated savings of $550. All five of the planets which are* easily visible without the aid of a telescope have now gathered near each other in an unusually close group and appear in the western sky just after sunset. In order of increasing altitude above the hori zon, they are Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn and Mars. The whole group is scattered over an arc of the sky about 45 degrees in extent. Actually, Uranus is near by, too, but it is a much less con spicuous object than the others. Of course, this gathering togeth er of the planets is only apparent. They are really separated by enor mous distances, each revolving in its own practically circular orbit about the sun. On a six-lane circular track, the earth is running a counter clockwise race against the five planets, under the rule that each contestant must keep to his own lane. Mercury has the pole. Run ning in the next lane is Venus. Then come Earth, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. The earth has a slight lead on Mercury. Venus and Mars are about a quarter of a lap and Jupiter and Saturn about a half a lap behind. As earth looks back over her left shoulder, she sees the others just as they appear to us in the sky. During the next few weeks, the apparent motion of the planets will take them westward. One aft er another, they will disappear in to the blinding light of the sun, to emerge on the other side as morning stars. The best time to observe this planetary display is during the few days immediately preceding and following Thursday, February 29. Students who are taking the course in astronomy will meet at the Physics Building at 7 o’clock that evening for an hour of “star gazing.” Any others who would like to join them and view the planets with a telescope are cordi ally invited to do so. Convention Broken as Film Club Shows Movies In Chemistry Building By Bob Nisbet Sacrilege! Imagine showing mo vies in the Chemistry building. It could just never happen, but it did. Charles Boyer and the French actress, who is now known in this country as Dannielle Darrieux, cavorted for over two hours a- cross the screen in the lecture room. They called the picture “Mayerling”, and it was present ed as the grand opening of the spring program of foreign movies being sponsored by the Campus Film Club. About 150 faculty members saw the film, but now that the facilities of the Chemistry lecture room have been made available, the of ficers of the club announce that there is room for still more mem bers if they wish to join. The film, being printed on 16 mm. rills, necessitated the use of a special projector, and that kept the picture from being shown in the Assembly Hall. Except for lack of space, however, the Chem istry lecture room proved quite satisfactory. - French scholars were in their glory because they certainly un derstood more of the picture and received more of the intended ef fect than those in the audience not familiar with the language. Never theless the picture was by no means lost to the non-French- speakers, since the trend of the conversation was printed at the bottom of the film, Then, too, French pictures do not depend on dialogue for effect; they seem to be quite adept at mixing in pan- tomine. The interesting and educational feature of the whole show was due (Continued on page 4) Annual A.S.C.E. Ball Held Friday Night Seniors Will Be Guests Of Sophomores Tonight At 5 o’clock this afternoon sev eral busloads of T.S.C.W. girls will arrive at Aggieland to attend the class of 42’s Sophomore Prom, which is to be held tonight in Sbisa Hall. A list of T.S.C.W. girls who could attend the dance was submit ted to the second year men sev eral days ago for the purpose of obtaining blind dates for the dance. The dance will begin at 9 o’clock and end at 12. The Music will be furnished by Jack Littlejohn and his Aggieland Orchestra featuring Dorothy Thames, feminine vocalist, who is now with the orchestra. Decorations for the dance will consist of an arrangement of plants around the walls. In the back of the bandstand, there will be a giant drawing of an Aggie with his date. The entire senior class has been extended an invitation to attend the ball. The party planned at the Bryan Country Club after the dance, however, is said to be exclusive of everyone but sophomores. Last night the A.S.C.E.’s had their annual dance, which proved to be a success. The decorations consisted of a life-sized surveyor and a replica of the society’s shield placed in the back of the bandstand. Around the walls were placed var ious types of surveying instruments and drawings made by students. The music for the dance was furnished by the Aggieland Or chestra. Danger—Keep Off! Captain B. S. Shute of the Engineers’ regiment has again issued notice that the Engineer R.O.T.C. unit will be firing high explosive charges on the north side of the R.O.T.C. drill field, in the vicinity of the old Engi neers’ Lake on Tuesday, Wed nesday, and Thursday, February 27, 28, and 29, between the hours of 1:00 and 3:00 each afternoon. All persons are being warned to remain out of this area dur ing the period stated. A. & M. Postmaster Urges Box Rentals An urgent request was made to day by Mrs. Anna V. Smith, post master, for all cadets using the South Station Post Office to rent the new boxes as quickly as possi ble. The reason for this is because a record must be made and type written of each boy’s name, ad dress, and old box number to he put on file. “This will take a great deal of time and will take lots more in a last-minute rush,” said Mrs. Smith, “which will slow down the service considerably when the new boxes are put into use on March 1.” The organization boxes will be discontinued entirely when the boxes go into effect, and all those not having a box will have to go to the North Station Post Office. The cost of the boxes will be 75 cents for the rest of the semes ter. Each may be shared by two roommates or students. One Goes and One Stays, But the Popular Aggieland Orchestra’s Still in the Family He leaves.. . TOMMY •f- The familiar phrase “Tommy-f. Littlejohn and his Aggieland Swing Band,” which has appeared in orchestra publicity for the past year and a half, has ceased to be. The reason for this change is that Tommy, a graduate student in Marketing and Finance this year, has gotten a job out of town and will no longer head the orchestra. However, the position of leader will be kept in the family. Jack Littlejohn, Tommy’s brother, has taken over the post. He has also been a prominent name with the orchestra due to his song hit “I’d Rather Be A Texas Aggie” and his vocal renditions with the orch estra. Jack was previously a vocalist, sax player, and arranger for the orchestra. His greatest ambition now is to get the orchestra on the Fitch Company’s “Summer Band Wagon” radio program. He takes over... 9 JACK MICHIGAN STATE PROF INSPECTS VET MED SCHOOL Dr. E. T. Hallman, head of the Department of Veterinary Pathol ogy of the school of Veterinary Medicine at Michigan State Col lege, was a visitor at A. & M. Friday, and was being entertained by Dr. R. P. Marstellar, dean of the school of Veterinary Medicine at A. & M. Dr. Hallman is a member of the committee on education of the American Veterinary Medical As sociation and is on the campus to inspect the facilities and work of the Texas A. & M. School of Vet erinary Medicine, preparatory to a report he is to file with the Amer ican Veterinary Medical Associa tion, Dr. Marstellar pointed out. Dr. Hallman is a native of Ala bama and a graduate of the School of Veterinary Medicine at Alabama Polytechnic Institute, (Auburn). Kemmerer Named As Referee on Carotene By Chemical Society Dr. A. R. Kemmerer, chemist at the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, has accepted an appoint ment as associate referee on carotene for the Association of Official Agricultural Chemists in cooperation with the general ref eree in feeding stuffs, Mr. L. S. Walker of the Vermont Agricul tural Experiment Station. Dr. Kemmerer is already associate ref eree on riboflavin, in cooperation with the general referee on vita mins, Dr. E. M. Nelson of the Food and Drug Administration, Washington, D. C. Carotene is an important com pound which supplies vitamin A potency in feeds and foods, while riboflavin is another important vitamin. The duty of Dr. Kem merer as associate referee is to study methods for the determin ation of the quantity of carotene anf of riboflavin in foods and feeds and to recommend methods of an alysis to the Association of Offi cial Agricultural Chemists. In testing the methods proposed, Dr. Kemmerer will have the coopera tion of official chemists, investiga tors, and chemists connected with various industries.