DIAL 4-5444
STUDENT TRI-WEEKLY
NEWSPAPER OF
TEXAS A. & M. COLLEGE
The Battalion
DIAL 4-5444
OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER
OF THE CITY OF
COLLEGE STATION
VOL. 40
122 ADMINISTRATION BLDG.
COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS, THURSDAY MORNING, OCT. 17, 1940
Z725
NUMBER 14
Dance Saturday
Will Open Social
Season At A&M
Gather ’round. Gather ’round. The
crisp fall weather ushers in the
social season as it gets under way
with the first conference game of
the year. Once again the campus
will flash with color as twenty
thousand will invade the campus.
An undercurrent of excitement,
chrysanthemums, the smell of the
wind in the air, Kimbrough’s un
nerving plunges, the brilliance of
the flag-raising ceremony, the feel
ing of kindred spirit, the smell of
leather, a sore throat, a happy
surge of feeling at the victory—
that’s the coming ball game.
And then the dance Saturday
night with lovely girls in sleek
gowns, sweet moody music, the
tinkle of laughter, new boots, and
hot glittering music. Then the
quiet of the night with the band
music hushed and subdued with
the enveloping shadows, romance—
the first corps dance holds some
thing that can never be repeated.
So, press that outfit and shine
those boots, for the blood surges
hot during these crisp days and the
week-end promises much.
Cosmopolitan Club
Enrolls 104 Members
American students and faculty
members as well as citizens in
general are welcome to join the
Cosmopoliton Club which has in its
membership most of the foreign
students of A. & M.
At present there are 104 stu
dents on the rolls of the club.
The club meets in the Y. M. C. A.
parlor Sunday afternoon at 3.
There is a social planed with re
freshments and plans for the elec
tion of officers at the next meet
ing will be brought up.
The Cosmopoliton Club is an
experiment in International good
will and fellowship conceived to
promote friendship and agree
ment between all of the students
at A. & M., and particularly with
those students of foreign countries.
The cabinet committee on the
Cosmopolitan Club consists of Paul
Stach, Charles W. Brown, Vincent
D. Hagen, Robert E. Nisbet, Al
bert D. White, Robert G. Powell,
and Clayton Collins.
Dairy Team Places
Twelfth In Contest
The following telegram has been
received by the dairy department:
“Placed 12th in contest out of
twenty-five teams competing. Dar
nell.”
The dairy judging team which
has been in competition at the
National Dairy show held at Har
risburg, Penn., is composed of
B. B. Fowler, J. K. Adams, N. B.
Yarling, and C. F. Baird. The team
was coached by A. L. Darnell, pro
fessor in the dairy department.
Hill Will Command
RV Platoon as 2nd Lt.
In a recent article about the R.
V. election and the new officers
for the coming year, the name of
Tommy Hill was omitted. Hill, who
is captain of E battery, Coast Ar
tillery, was elected second lieuten
ant and will command one of the
R. V. platoons.
Scenes From Last Year’s Rodeo
n
818!!
i ^ ^
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*
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Purcell And McKeller Reign As King
And Queen of Annual A & M Rodeo
With King Graham B. Purcell4-in the grand entries in Madison^—no professionals being allowed
Jr. and Queen Mollie McKeller
reigning, this year’s annual Texas
Aggie Rodeo, to be held October
18 in the Animal Husbandry Pav
ilion, promises to be one of the
best and fastest rodeos ever to be
staged by A. & M. students.
The only one of its kind in the
world, the rodeo is sponsored by
the Saddle and Sirloin Club, one of
the largest clubs on the campus,
which has grown from a handful
to number now more than 200 ac
tive members. The rodeo is held
each year to send A. M’s Inter
national Livestock Judging team
to take part in the annual Chicago
livestock show and judging con
tests, in which the Aggies gener
ally place high. No person pro
moting the rodeo profits by it fin
ancially; the promoters being a
group of boys interested in live
stock and majoring in animal hus
bandry—and interested, too, in
putting on the best performance
of a rodeo of which college stu
dents ai’e capable.
The president of the Saddle and
Sirloin club each year is named
King of the rodeo and he in turn se
lects his queen. This year’s king is
Graham B. Purcell, Jr., from Arch
er City, and the queen is Miss Mol
lie McKeller, from San Antonio.,
who is considered to be one of
the finest equestrians in the south
west. Miss McKeller, who was “bom
and raised” in Mexico, has ridden
Yehudi Works Ice Box Light;
Kerns Cleans Water in Natatorium
By Mike Speer
Fourteen years ago a man pro
fessionally versatile, magnetic in
character and strictly down-to-
earth sort of a fellow came to Tex
as A. & M. college for the first
time. Assistant electrician, me
chanic, maintenance engineer, and
general anything-you-want-man,
his name is A. H. Kerns.
Among the various duties Kerns
has to attend to is one that stands
out far beyond the others not only
in importance but in -the manner
in which he performs it. That is
keeping the water in the College
swimming pool in a fit physical
condition. Through an intricate sys
tem of drainage and filteration, of
which Kerns is the originator, he
has saved the college an immense
water bill as well as greatly im
proving its usable condition.
At the age of 12 through an un-
•ffortunate split in Kerns’ family
he was thrown out on his own to
fare to the best of his ability.
In 1908 Kerns entered Kansas
State Teachers College, Fort Hays,
Kansas, and graduated from there
in 1913. He then taught school for
one year; was director of Ashland
High School, Ashland, Wisconsin;
worked in a bank for two years;
worked for five years in Fort Hays.
Kansas experiment station. In 1924
he entered Kansas State Univer
sity. He attended school both sum
mer and fall terms studying elec
trical engineering and graduated
from there in 1926. During the
same year Kerns came to A. & M.
and accepted a position of instruct
or in the Electrical Engineering
Department.
While acting as instructor in the
Engineering Department Kerns be-
(Continued on Page 6)
Square Garden and many other
rodeos, but has never entered the
various contests as a profession
al. Miss McKeller rode in the Cov-
alry Horse Show last year where
she was acclaimed by the student
body as an excellent rider.
Purcel, who was general manager
last year, has participated in sev
eral rodeos, having entered the A.
& M. Rodeo his sophomore year.
Together with Purcell and Miss
McKeller will reign the Dukes,
R. L. Caperton and M. S. Callihan.
Caperton is from Bronte, Texas,
and is vice president of the Saddle
and Sirloin Club, while Callihan is
from Conway, Texas. They have
chosen as their Duchesses, Miss
Lucille Yeagre, a Baylor Univers
ity co-ed from Bryan, Texas, and
Mis Margaret Helen Pryon, a T.
C. U. sophomore from Panhandle.
The royal party will make their
grand entry at the beginning of the
rodeo.
So far entries have totaled about
110 in the various contests. The
contests are about the same as last
year except for the acts which
promise to steal the show. The
wild mule scramble and the clown
acts featuring Duke Harrison,
Greenville, Texas, and Jupe Allen,
Beaumont, Texas, assisted by Mil
ler Barrier, are the side-splitting
highlights of the show.
Raymond (Shorty) Fuller is gen
eral manager of the rodeo this
year with Johnny Hardin handling
the advertising. Directing the calf
roping is Jake Hess with Trav
is Richardson and W. L. Pendle
ton handling the bareback bronc
riding and steer riding. Bill Huff
man is handling the bronc rid
ing and Tommy Stewart is tak
ing care of the programs. Victor
Loeffler is in charge of ticket
sales.
The rodeo is a truly western
affair. The entrants, chiefly boys
from Texas ranches, are just as
non-professional as the promoters.
to participate—but many of them
ride and rope better than exper
ienced rodeo hands.
There will be two performances.
A matinee in the afternoon at 2
p.m. for twenty-five cents, and
the evening performance starting
at 8 p.m with general admission
tickets selling for fifty cents and
reserved seats for seventy-five
cents. Tickets may be purchased
at the gate or from any member of
the Saddle and Sirloin Club.
Yentzen Promoted
To Junior Editor
On Battalion Staff
V. A. Yentzen of Nederland has
been promoted from a reporter to
a junior editor on the staff of the
Battalion. Yentzen is a third year
student in the dairy husbandry de
partment and was a transfer from
L. S. U. last year. His promotion
came about as the result of par
ticularly outstanding work on The
Battalion staff throughout the past
year and a half.
200 Sheep And Goat Raisers Here
For Quarterly Three-Day Meeting
Governor W. Lee O’Daniel will
be present for the ceremony and
also for the game following. Other
guests at the game will be 250
members of the Texas Sheep and
Goat Raisers Association and their
ladies who will conclude a three-
day quarterly meeting at the col
lege by attending the game in a
body.
Pennants Honoring Football Team
To Flutter Over Scoreboard Saturday
Or
A pennant reading “Southwestfappropriate flags are raised.
Conference Champions 1939” and
another reading “Nation’s No. 1
Team 1939”, will be raised above
the scoreboard in the south end of
Kyle Field when the Texas Aggies-
meet the Texas Christian Homed
Frogs on Kyle Field here Saturday,
October 19, to open their South
west Conference season.
In an informal dedication cere
mony just before the game Gover
nor W. Lee O’Daniel will raise the
American flag on the new flag
pole erected for that purpose.
President T. O. Walton will raise
the flag, “Nations No. 1 Team”,
and Dean Kyle will raise the one
reading “Southwest Conference
Champions for 1939”. The last two
flags will be placed at each end
of the scoreboard. The board of
directors and the athletic council
will also be present to take part
in the ceremony. The ceremony
will start at 2:15. The kick-off in
the Texas Aggie-T.C.U. Horned
Frong tussle will be at 2:30.
During the raising of the flags
the Texas Aggie 210 piece band
will play the National Anthem and
the “Spirit of Aggieland” as the
Entertainment
Planned For Wives
Sheep and Goat Men
Mrs. J. M. Jones has been named
chairman of a committee which
will entertain the Ladies Auxiliary
attending the Texas Sheep and
Goat Raisers Association here on
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
Assisting on this committee are
Mrs. E. J. Kyle and Mrs. D. W.
Williams.
Thursday night a banquet will
be held in Sbisa Hall and will be
followed by an Informal reception.
Friday’s program will consist of a
tour of College Station and Bryan,
followed by the attendance of a
cavalry drill and polo exhibitions.
During an evening the group will
attend the rodeo which is being
held by the Saddle and Sirloin club.
The program will be concluded
grimage to Old Independence and
Old Washington on the Brazos.
Hostesses that have been named
for the occasion are: Mesdames
Roy Snyder, A. L. Smith, George
Bares, J. H. Jones, J. D. Prewitt,
W. I. Glass, B. L. Warwick, J. C.
Miller, Fred Hale, N. J. Schuues-
sler, R. J. von Roeder, Jr., V. H.
Melass, P. B. Parsons, F. I. Dahl-
berg, E. C. Martin, J. K. Reggs,
T. O. Walton, E. J. Kyle, A. B.
Conner, H. H. Williamson, D. W.
Williams, J. M. Jones, Stanley
Davis, Walker Nisbet, E. C. Mur-
phey, C. H. McDowell and Jack
Shelton.
“Heil Hitler” Sounds
As Aggies Register
With Their Uncle Sam
Yesterday, from seven o’clock
in the morning until nine o’clock
at night, the Administration build
ing resembled a beehive. Approxi
mately 1500 students registered
under the provisions of the Burke-
Wadsworth bill.
Forty-two student assistants
aided the regular registrar’s force
of nine to make possible an order
ly registration. Those students,
who registered were obviously
surprised with the ease and speed
with which they were registered.
It differed from the usual reg
istration period in that there were
no long lines and no one had to
wait very long to have his name
put in the pot for Uncle Sam. Per
haps the most frequent saying on
this particular occasion was “Heil
Hitler”. This was not said in a
depreciating way, but rather in
a spirit of comraderie and friend
ship. For the most part the Aggies
didn’t seem to mind the registra
tion. Another question that was fre
quently voiced is “What is going
to be the status of the students
who have had the two years of ba
sic military training under the Con
scription Act?”
These, and other questions, will
be answered in the near future.
Entomology Club To
Hold Meeting Tonight
The publication of the Texas Ag
gie Entomologist is the most im
portant question to be brought be
fore a meeting of the Entomology
club tonight at the Science Hall.
Discussion of whether to change the
publication into a semi-annual in
stead of an annual is to be dis
cussed, President Milton Rethke
said.
The club has been making prog
ress in its work toward the United
Science Clubs organization and is
planning to have J. O. Barton and
Edward Batte to present articles
on the Entomology club program
soon.
World Premiere of Aggietone News Generally Pleased
Capacity Audience; Poor Sound Rated Most Criticism
Potts To Judge Crops
In Brazos Valley Fair
R. C. Potts, assistant professor
in the department of Agronomy,
will judge the community and crop
exhibits at the Brazos Valley Fair
which will be held in Waco on Oct
ober 18. Potts handles the instruc
tional work in identification and
judging of Field Crops and is
the coach of the team sent each
year to the Kansas City and Chi
cago contests.
By Tom Gillis -<
And to the waiting audience was
unreeled the first issue of Aggie
tone News. The college officials
were there and the house of the
Campus theatre was filled with
students Tuesday night as the first
public showing of the “Aggies Own
Story on Celluloid” was run.
By 7:15 the house was crowded
and standing room only was avail
able. Yell leaders E. R. (Buster)
Keeton and C. J. (Foots) Bland
led a short informal yell practice,
at which Dean E. J. Kyle spoke.
Then the lights went out and
the show began.
Opening with a prologue which
asked the audience’s indulgence for
the first trial at such a huge task,
the newsreel then launched into
pictures of registration day. Some
seconds later, the sound of the com
mentator’s voice followed. Through
out the remainder of the first
showing, the sound and the pic
ture were not synchronized. Shots
followed concerning fish drill,
the annual bath of Sully’s statue,
football plays, and college night;
however, the sound created humor
the voice stated “Pugh picks up 6-fterest and the suggestions offered
yards at tackle” while the picture
showed Della Parker strutting in
front of the Bryan High School
Band at the half. The photography
of the newsreel was generally
good.
This trouble with the sound was
improved during the second show
ing, and after having the sound
system examined during the night,
Wednesday’s performances came
in almost perfectly. The defect was
a purely technical one, but it caus
ed most of the adverse comment
on the newsreel. The remainder
of the production was a pleasant
surprise to most of the audience,
as shown by their reaction writ
ten on criticism and suggestion
slips which were passed out. These
slips showed almost unanimous
approval of all points except the
sound. The comment on the contin
uity was good and the points most
enjoyed by all was the sports sec
tion and the additions which were
included in the film. Taken as a
whole, the audience reaction show
ed the newsreel to be of interest
to Aggies for many reasons. The
by either lagging or racing ahead, criticism slips showed without ex-
Ripples of laughter rolled back as | ception that the feature was of in
will be of help in improving subse
quent issues of the Aggietone
News.
Among those present for the
world premiere of the student made
newsreel were: Dr. and Mrs. T. O.
Walton, Dr. and Mrs. F. C. Bol
ton, Dean and Mrs. R. P. Mars-
teller, Dean and Mrs.- Gibb Gil
christ, Dean and Mrs. E. J. Kyle,
E. L. Angell, Mr. and Mrs. G. B.
Winstead, Mr. and Mrs. H. G.
McElroy, Lt. and Mrs. J. E. Dav
is, and Harry Boyer.
Congratulatory telegrams to the
staff were received from numerous
movie stars and key men in the
movie industry. "Congratulations
on newsreel production” read one
signed Deana Durbin, Marlene Die
trich and W. C. Fields. Cleverest
among the lot was a telegram
from the R. E. Griffin Theatres
which read “Congratulations and
success for your new baby—Ag.
gietone News.” The Columbia Pic
tures Co. wired “Congratulations
to you, your staff on first showing
of Aggietone News. Understand
this is first time any college ever
presented a newsreel and positive
(Continued on Page 6)
Delegates Will
Visit Campus and
Witness TCU Game
Today marks the beginning of
the quarterly meeting of the Texas
Sheep and Goat Raisers Associa
tion which will be held here during
the next three days. This meeting
is the first to be held here at A. &
M. for the association and was ins
tituted primarily to visit points
of interest on the campus and sur
rounding territory.
President of the Texas Sheep and
Goat Raisers Association is E. S.
Mayer of San Angelo. Mayer has
been prominent in civic matters
and for a number of years has
been one of the directors of the
National Wool Growers’ Associa
tion. A. K. Mackey, formerly of
the animal husbandry department,
is the new secretary and will be
here to talk to the group.
Two hundred directors, their
wives, and friends will arrive dur
ing the day and will register dur
ing the afternoon in the animal
husbandry library. The meeting
will officially begin with a banquet
at 7:30 in Sbisa Hall. Colonel Ike
Ashburn will be toastmaster for
the evening and will introduce Dr.
T. O. Walton, who will be the prin
cipal speaker.
A business session will be held
Friday morning in the Animal In
dustries Building and will fea
ture short talks by E. J. Kyle,
Dean of Agriculture; R. P. Mars-
teller, Dean of Veterinary Medi
cine, D. W. Williams, professor
in the animal husbandry depart
ment, and A. B. Conner, director of
the Agricultural Experiment Sta
tion. Following the meeting all
visitors will be escorted individually
by students and will eat with the
student body in the mess halls.
Points of interest such as the
wool scouring plant, wool labora
tory, nutrition laboratory, experi
mental grass plots, meats labora
tories, herds and flocks, museum
and the F. & B. station will be visit
ed. Of considerable interest will
be the exhibits which will be held
in the scouring plant located in the
old Textile building. Here U. S.
Government grades of wool and
mohair will be on exhibition. On
display will be samples of mo
hair grades made in several of the
warehouses of southwest Texas.
This display is the result of the
effort of mohair people to sell mo
hair on its merits. Formerly, it has
been the custom to dispose of mo
hair in two grades of adult and
kid. This spring has seen the in
troduction of the new classifi
cation. There will be samples of
the new mohair upholstery fabrics
which have become popular during
recent years.
The wool exhibits will consist
of an attractive exhibit prepared by
the Arlington Mills of Lawrence,
Mass. Samples of raw wool taken
from the various operations in the
manufacture of worsted and wool
en goods will be on display. Of con-
continued on Page 6)
Valley Products
To Be Featured At
Horticulture Show
Committees have been appoint
ed and plans are under way for the
ninth annual Horticulture Show
which is to be held on November
25 and 26. Arangements for se
curing the various exhibits and ex
tra features of the show are being
made.
A larger and more educational
exhibit is being planned for this
year, including a date exhibit from
Arizona, and other out-of-state
exhibits of fruit and vegetables.
As a special attraction, the com
mittees are arranging for a ship
ment of appl'e cider from Arkansas.
The show has been an annual af
fair for a number of years, but
it has been only in the last few
years that people have realized
the educational aspects of such
shows. With their records of in
crease in interest and attendance,
the Horticulture Society is striv
ing to maintain and raise the stand
ard of their shows in regard to hu
man interest and educational value.