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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 17, 1940)
TUES T - DIAL 4-5444 OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE CITY OF COLLEGE STATION The Battalion DIAL 4-5444 STUDENT TRI-WEEKLY NEWSPAPER OF TEXAS A. & M. COLLEGE VOL. 40 122 ADMINISTRATION BLDG. COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS, TUESDAY MORNING, SEPT. 17, 1940 Z725 NO. 1 fiv i? A P L Ferguson Buys Campus Theatre; $40,000 Is Prio i f lk 4iets Late Class A Pictures By » ee ^iary 1; Lewis Retained As Manager Cj a i n Station’s Campus Thea--"' YMCA Remodels School For Use As South Branch 6,300 e Students Predicted tert j iied last May 2 and bank rupt since August 1, was pur chased last Friday by Ben S. Ferguson, Dallas and Hamlin theater operator. The announced price, of the theater was $40,000. Ferguson had been receiver of the theater since its bankruptcy. immediately following the pur chase of the theater Ferguson an nounced that, “I will do every thing in my power to cooperate with A. & M. College and with its .‘student body.” Although he would make no def inite committal in respect to re- c< ' ing late class A picture shows, he said, “I will do everything in my power to get them as soon as possible. Further than this, I beh.eve that it is safe to say that thejfe is a reasonable possibility of securing these recent releases of class A picture Shows before January 1.” Ferguson further pointed out thrt there would be no immediate chiange in the theater’s policy. C. i-Ej Lewis, manager since bank ruptcy, will remain as manager. L^'is, whose home was in Okla homa City befoi’e coming to Col- leg'e Station, has had a wide ex perience in theater work. Ferguson, whose home was for merly .in Dallas, will divide his time between Dallas and College St-ition, making his home here. Battalion Staff Meeting There will be a meeting of the entire Battalion Staff Thursday night at 7:30 in room 122 Administration ; building. All artists, adver tising men, magazine writers, proof readers and reporters from last year including those who wish to join for the first time are requested to attend. This meeting is of extreme importance. Improvement in the local plant of the Y. M. C. A. have been the object of a building program car ried on by that institution. The bleacher behind the bowling alley in the basement of the “Y” has been removed and seats built in its place. The old Consolidated school building has been renovated and between $1,000 and $1,500 have been spent in making it into what will be called the South Branch of the “Y”. In putting in seats behind the bowling alleys the Y. M. C. A. has erected seats both' for the players and for the spectators. These seats were taken from the rear of the Assembly Hall, and ones that were not in use. Eighteen seats for players and 35 seats for spectators have been erected. The new South Branch will be used as an office for the new sec retary, Alfred Payne, for a recrea tional program, for club meeting rooms, and as a meeting place for the Y cabinet. In spending the $1500 on the building the Y.M.C.A. has put in a recreation room with seven billiard tables, a parlor, a reading room, a game room for shuffleboard and ping-pong, an office, and five meeting rooms. These meeting rooms will provide a place for about 60 students to get together at one time. Two of these, however, can be converted to one that will accommodate 120. In a statement from J. Gordon Gay, assistant secretary of the Y. M. C. A., he stated, “Me regret that no bowling alley could be put in, but the building just wasn’t made so we could get them in.” As yet no action has been taken on construction fvork to convert Guion Hall into a suitable place for showing motion pictures. Student Executive Positions To Be Limited By Approval of Point System Ten Points To Be Maximum Allowed A Single Student; Ruling Passes Faculty Unanimously Student executive positions imtstudent jobs be distributed among t he corps will be limited in the future as a result of a new ruling pa ssed by the faculty at its meet- injg last June 6. The distribution of student jobs wi II be regulated by a specific point system outlined below in detail. Originally recommended by th Student Activities Committee la^ t spring, the new>,ruling is one of which‘has been followed by m uiy other major American col leges and universities years ago. Ar-ts and Science Dean T. D. Brooks declared that the move ment for rulings of this type had •b sen in effect for moi’e than 20 yfiars. The » original recommendations oi the Student Activities Com mittee provided that the various as many students as possible, and, at the same time, prevent any one student from being engaged in more activities than time would permit. The basis for this limi tation, as recommended by the committee, would be a point system whereby each job would be judged by the importance it car ries and weighed accordingly. The maximum number of points to be allowed a single student would be ten. These recommen dations were accepted by the fac ulty and the new ruling has been set up with these essentials as a foundation. Cadet Colonel William A. Beck er was the cadet most vitally ef fected by the new ruling this year. The ruling forced - Becker to re sign as editor-in-chief of the Long- (Continued on Page 2) New Enrollment Record Will Be Set By Thursday An official prediction by Regis trar E. J. Howell of an enrollment of 6,300 and numerous unofficial prediction ranging from 6,500 to 7,200 clearly indicate a new enroll ment record for Texas A. & M. College. As the 65th long session gets under way, an expected 2,500 freshmen will register tomorrow. Following the freshman registra tion, upperclassmen will register Thursday. Detailed information in respect to registration may be found in the Official Schedule of Classes and Directions for Regis tration booklet published by the Registrar's Office. Military Office Will Be Moved To Place In Ross Reconditioning of Ross Hall was begun last week in order to make office rooms for the Military Science department and the Com mandant’s office. This work is ex pected to be completed in a few weeks, and the move will be made some time after the registration rush. Plastering work on the walls and painting and cutting doors in order to combine the dormitory rooms into suitable offices will render the old hall practically new on the inside. Because the walls form the support for the roof, they cannot be torn out to make larger rooms; for that reason offices will be rather a suite of rooms. Few buildings today are constructed in such a manner. It is expected that the Com mandant’s office will occupy the first floor with also a room de signated as headquarters for the officers of the day. This head quarters will serve as a campus information booth staying open during the day and part of the night. A student and faculty dir ectory will be kept in this room with also a file of each students schedule of classes. This will make locating students for parents and friends an easy task. The office of the professor of Military Science and Tactics, and the offices of the Military depart ment will occupy the second floor. Also on this floor and on the third floor will be the offices of the var ious units. Classes in Military Science will still be held in the rooms on the first floor of the Academic build ing because rooms large enough to hold classes cannot be made in Ross. Some of the department is expected to be moved by the open ing of school, and the rest will be moved a^ quickly as is convenient. This move will not only give the Military department more room, but will also provide more space for classes in other subjects to be held in the Academic building. Becker Is Cadet Colonel For 1940-41 Long Session It Can Be Done... ilLt. Col. James A. Watson Succeeds Moore As Commandant And P.M.S. & T. By George Fuermann As the Battalion goes to press for the first time of the 1940-41 long session, a time-out is in order to greet A. & M.’s returning football players on behalf of the Twelfth Man. Sports writers and commentators from coast to coast have said that you can’t win the national championship in 1940. Public opin ion says you can’t do it. Even tradition says that a team can’t re peat as champion of the rock-lined Southwest Conference. On every hand the word is “can’t.” But you can! • You were a team without a peer last season . . . The best in the nation by any measure. The victorious season of 1939 was a welcome present to ex-students throughout the world, and it re sulted in untold renown for Texas A. & M. College, its mighty football machine, its coaches, its band, the yelling section—the Twelfth Man, and for those intangible traditions that we Aggies know so well. From Timbuctoo to Kalamazoo, Americans know that Aggies stand and yell throughout all games. They know, too, that every member of the squad is gi’eeted by his teammates when he leaves the field—no matter whether his efforts have produced a touchdown or put the team “in a hole.” • But that’s ajl history ... You football players know how you did it'. . . . The question is, can you do it again? The Twelfth Man believes that you can, and although none of us Aggies possess the wisdom of Socrates, the fact is evident that the pressure is on you to do so—and especially to destroy a tradition next November 28 in the annual Texas U. battle which will be fought this year in Austin.. • For you to repeat as Southwest Conference champions would be more than just winning another championship—it would be a great thing for the thousands of Aggie-exes, for the student body, for the faculty, for the coaches, for the state, but most of all— for you, and especially for those twenty-odd football men who will be ending their careers as Aggies next June. Another A. & M. championship team would not be made up of just the eleven men who start the game ... Or the eleven men who finish the game. It would include these, of course, but the sub stitutes who ride the bench, the members of the traveling squad, the “Blue Boys” who stay home, the ineligibles, the transfers, and the freshman squad that takes a lot of head-knocking—they’ll ALL be members of that great team. They’ll ALL share equally in the honors. You haven’t got anything to worry about, though, if the same spirit prevails this year as was evident throughout the 1939 season. There was a will to win, but there was more than just that. There was a spirit of woi’king together; a desire to cooperate with the coaches and each other; a spirit which said “play these games one at a time”—it was a healthy spirit, the kind that makes champ ions. And you’ve come back with the same spirit this year. Observers say that your mental and physical condition is excellent. You’ve more than done your part throughout the past summer. • As far as the Twelfth Man is concerned, you don’t have to be champions of anything to be the nation’s number one football team. Win or lose, Aggie Spirit will always be staunch behind you. But the point is . . . The Twelfth Man beleives you can repeat. The Twelfth Man beleives that there is no such word as “can’t” where you are concerned. It can be done The Twelfth Man beleives that it WILL be done! Tentative Promotion List As Made By Commandant For 1940-41 Session With the approval of the President of the College, partial and ten tative appointments and assignments in the Corps of Cadets for the 1940-1941 session are announced herein. All promotions are subject to change and are contingent upon classification and enrollment in the Department of Military Science and Tactice, either as a member of the R. O. T. C. or as an elective. Permanent and additional promotions and assignments will be announced at the earliest practicable date. CORPS, FIELD, AND STAFF Colonel Lieutenant Major Major Major Major Becker, W A. Colonel Haines, P \G. Duce, T. E. Walker, J. J. Thomason, J. N. Clay, J. A., Jr. Major Master Sergeant Master Sergeant Master Sergeant Colgin, C. H., Jr. Gillis, T. S. Wright, O. W. Pena, W. M. (Continued on Page 2) Corps Commander Executive Adjutant Personnel Officer Intelligence Officer Plans & Training Officer Supply Officer- Sergeant Major Supply Sergeant Intelligence Sergeant Commandant fgMMM \\ Lt. Col. J. A. Watson Cadet Colonel ' -I W. A. Becker Famous Detective Visits Mar stellar To Discuss Horses Eighty year old Frank Norfleet, modern “Dick Tracy,” is retiring from the sleuthing business after- tracking down his 100th criminal and returning to his first occupa tion of breeding horses. The super detective paid Texas A. & M. College a visit this week end and conversed with Dr. R. P. Marsteller, dean of the school of Veterinary Medicine, on the latest developments of fine breed ing horses. Just to show how active and hardy he is at the age of 80 years, he recently participated in a marksmanship match at the World’s Fair and took first place over 103 other entrants. He will retire to his new business at Hale Center, Texas. Frank E. Norfleet, son of the famous detective, graduated from Texas A. & M. College in 1922, being awarded a degree in ag riculture. Promotion List Reveals Other High Cadet Military Officers William A. Becker, Kaufman, has been named cadet colonel and corps commander for the 1940-41 long session. The college’s highest student executive, Becker has long been outstanding in collegiate ac tivities. Elected editor-in-chief of the college annual, The Longhorn, he was forced to resign this posi tion to become cadet colonel be cause of the new maximum point system effected this past summer in respect to student activities. Last spring Becker was also elected president of the Market ing and Finance Club and vice- president of the A. & M. Press Club, both of which he will resign as the new cadet colonel. In addition to his other activ ities, Becker has been a member of A. & M.’s national collegiate pistol team for the past two years. He is a member of C Battery Field Artillery and brings to that reg iment its second cadet colonel in three years. Lieutenant Colonel James A. Watson, Infantry, succeeds Colonel George F. Moore as Commandant and Professor of Military Science and Tactics. Colonel Watson began his mili tary training with the National Guard of West Virginia in 1916. During the World War he went to France with 60th Infantry of the Fifth Division and was with this unit as part of the Americar Army of Occupation in Germany. Then on July 1st, 1920, he entered the regular Army as a Major of the Infantry. (Continued on Page 2) Payne Will Assume Position In YMCA Vacated By TYiriit A new secretary, Alfred C. Payne, has been added to the staff of the Y. M. C. A. filling the place vacated by David Thrift when he left for Wisconsin to do graduate work. Payne came to A. & M. from Yale where he was studying the ology and sociology. He is a grad uate of Clemson. Foi’merly his home was in Cartersville, Georgia. In filling Thrift’s place Payne will take charge of work with freshman and will have his of fices in the new South Branch of the “Y”, located in the old Con solidated schoolhouse. An interesting sidelight on Payne’s career comes from the fact that it was he who first conceived the idea of carrying cards of ap preciation on hitch-hiking trips. The A. & M. “Y” cabinet conceived the idea from one that Alfred Payne originated in Clemson. Payne was selected for work at this school without the Y. M. C. A. officials here knowing that he was responsible for the idea, or he knowing that this school had been using it. Registration — You’ll Soon Be Doing It Too V- : a i i BO o* r 1 P J ' W. [ft, r i P-# If f He m r§j fi* ) - i V c V ii - ■//> I vd