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, MAY 29, 1941
NUMBER 92
Special Commencement Exercises Scheduled Friday
Cavalry and Field Artillery Seniors Get “"I 11 , 1 *' 1 '"'
Orders to Report for Active Army Duty Agriculturist Head
Cavalry Goes to
Fort Bliss, Field
To go to Fort Sill
Orders for 31 Cavalry and 29
Field Artillery seniors to report for
active duty following their gradu
ation have been received by the
commandant’s office from the
Eighth Corps Area Headquarters
at Fort Sam Houston.
Thirty of the Cavalry seniors
will report for temporary duty with
the First Cavalry Division at Fort
Bliss, Texas, June 20, pending in
structions on permanent assign
ments. One of the Cavalrymen is
scheduled for duty at Pictatinny
Arsenal, Dover, New Jersey, and
is to report June 23.
The Field Artillery seniors were
given permanent assignments in the
Field Artillery replacement cen
ters, 27 going to Fort Sill, Okla
homa, June 20, and two going to
Camp Roberts, California, August
4. All of the assignments for the
Field Artillery and Cavalry groups
are for a period of one year.
The orders for the Field Ar
tillery followed assignments re
ceived last week for 47 graduating
seniors to report to the Field Ar
tillery Officers School at Fort
Sill.
Those seniors going to Fort Bliss
are Robert Warren Alexander,
Dwight Watkins Berry, Olin Find
ley Brewster, Raymond Herbert
Brown, William Hardie Butler,
Wallis Brown Chapman, Robert
(Continued on Pace 4)
Honor Companies
Chosen Wednesday
Yesterday afternoon the honor
organizations within the respec
tive regiments were announced by
the senior military science in
structors. The honor battalions
were also selected as they contain
ed the honor organizations.
In the Field Artillery Regiment
I Battery was selected as the hon
or battery and was honored after
the review Thursday afternoon with
a regimental parade.
E Battery Coast Artillery was
announced as the honor organiza
tion in the Coast Artillery Regi
ment and next year will march be
hind a silver guidon staff and a
special guidon.
A Company Chemical Warfare
Service is the winner of the an
nual Baker Trophy containg the
best-drilled platoon in the Chemical
Warfare Battalion.
A Company Engineers is the hon
or organization of that regiment
and will be awarded two trophies
as a reward.
F Company Infantry, Headquar
ters Company Signal Corps, and
Headquarters Troop Cavalry are
the honor organizations in their
regiments and will be recognized
as such next year.
Ticket Deadline For
Junior Prom is June 4
The deadline for the purchasing
of tickets for the Junior Prom and
Banquet is 6 o’clock, Wednesday,
June 4, Gene Perry, committeeman
in charge of tickets announced yes
terday.
Favors for the dance may still
be ordered until Wednesday, June
4. Seniors may also purchase the
favors if they desire, Pei-ry said.
Separate tickets for the dance
and banquet will not be sold. Tick
ets will sell for $1.85. Admission
for the dance or the banquet will
be the same price, $1.85. Tickets
may be purchased to attend the
dance only up until dance time
Thursday, June 5, Perry also stat
ed.
Tickets for the dance and ban
quet may be obtained from the
first sergeants of each organiza
tion. First sergeants may obtain
tickets from Gene Perry, Room 308
No. 9.
Student Aid Fund
Presents Fuermann
Gift At Banquet
Annual Banquet Precedes
Final Business Meeting
For Committee’s First Year
George Fuermann, retiring
chairman of the Student Aid Fund,
was presented with an engraved
cigarette lighter at the annual Stu
dent Aid Fund committee banquet
at Aggieland Inn Tuesday night.
J. H. Focke, other senior member
of the committee, made the pre
sentation. The gift was presented
as a token of appreciation for the
work Fuermann did in conceiving
the idea for the fund, getting it
authorized and organized, and serv
ing this year as its first chair
man.
The last regular meeting of the
committee for the current year
will be held soon, at which time
all business undertaken during
this year will be ended and Fuer
mann will submit the chairman’s
report of the committee’s activities.
The report will include a financial
statement and a record of activi
ties in administering the fund and
assisting Aggies in obtaining med
ical treatment. The report will be
published after approval by the
committee.
Dr. and Mrs. T. 0. Walton and
E. E. McQuillen, secretary of the
Former Student’s association, were
present at the banquet as guests.
Fuermann and Focke, the two
senior members of the Student Aid
Fund committee, attended the ban
quet as their last meeting. The
other members of the committee
who will return next year include
Secretary Tom Gillis, Skeen Staley,
Executive Secretary Dan Russell,
head of the rural sociology de
partment; E. L. Angell, manager
of student publications; and G. B.
Wilcox, professor of education.
The Student Aid Fund will func
tion during the long session begin
ning in September. Two junior
members will be appointed by the
president as student representativ
es and officers will be elected at
the first meeting next year.
Bride-to-be
Miss Virginia Virle Crow, daugh
ter of Mr. and Mrs. E. E. Crow
of Fairforest, South Carolina, will
become the bride of Alfred Cook
Payne, of College Station on June
21. Payne is the assistant secre
tary, in charge of the south branch
of the Y. M. C. A. at A. & M.
Naval Commissions
Open to Graduates
Graduating seniors will be eli
gible for appointment as Ensigns
in the United States Naval Re
serve upon the completion of a
preliminary training course, offic
ers of the Navy recruiting service
have announced.
To be eligible for a commission,
a candidate must have graduated
from an accredited university or
college. He must have a course in
plane trigonometry in college or
in high school. Applicants must be
native-born, unmarried citizens, not
less than 20 and under 28 years of
(Continued on page 4)
Flight Training
Program Continues
In Summer Session
Barlow Announces
Offering of Primary,
Secondary Courses Here
Flight training in the Civilian
Pilot Training program of the Civil
Aeronautics Administration will
again be available to A. & M. stu
dents this summer according to
information received yesterday by
H. W. Barlow, head of the depart
ment of aeronautical engineering
and coordinator of flight training.
The largest quota ever received
by any institution for a summer
program has been allotted the col
lege and it is believed that ample
opportunity exists for all those
who want to participate. 50 stu
dents have been allotted in the pri
mary and 30 students in the sec
ondary.
The primary course consists of
72 hours of ground school and 35
to 40 hours of flight training. The
ground courses are in the subjects
of civil air regulations, air naviga
tion and airway meteorology, and
will be taught by regular members
of the faculty of the department of
aeronautical engineering. These
classes will be held throughout the
day, for two hours a day, five days
a week for six weeks. The flight
training will be given at the col
lege airport, and flight schedules
will be arranged with the individ
ual flight instructors.
The secondary course consists of
96 hours of ground school and ap
proximately 40 hours of flight in
advanced type training airplanes.
The secondary ground school will
(Continued en page 4)
Bing, Who Succeeds
Power as Editor, Was
Club Manager This Year
Roland Bing, agricultural educa
tional junior from Oakwood, was
elected editor of the 1941-42 Agri
culturist magazine at a meeting of
representatives of the various agri-
cutlural societies, it was announced
Tuesday.
Bing, a member of B Infantry,
and Lee Rice, of A Cavalry, were
the only candidates submitted by
the Student Publications Board as
being eligible for the position.
Bing has been a member of the
Agriculturist staff this year and
has served in the capacity of club
manager. He was one of the orga
nizers and planners of the first
official “Ag” day in the history
of A. & M.
College Plans to
Hold Six Summer
Short Courses Here
Six short courses of the non
college division will be held this
summer. Last summer these
courses were attended by more than
4,500 men and women from all
over the state, and a larger at
tendance is expected this year.
The short course is a part of
that large adult education move
ment which has developed in this
country during the past two dec
ades. Its purpose is to serve the
persons who can not be away from
their business for more than a
week or two at a time. Dean
Winkler said these courses are of
great value because they afford
people the opportunity to discuss
problems with their fellows and
hear lectures by specialists in their
particular field in order to keep
abreast with progress.
The short courses to be offered
this summer are: The Cotton Seed
Oil Miller’s Short Course from
June 16-20 under Dr. J. D. Lind
say; The Annual Conference of
County Superintendents and Rural
School Supervisors from June 23-28
under Professor W. L. Hughes;
Texas School Administration Con
ference from June 23-28 under
Dean T. D. Brooks; Farmers’ Short
Course from July 13-18 under W.
H. Williamson; The Fireman’s
Training School from July 18-23
under Df. C. C. Hughes; and the
Annual Coaching School from
August 18-23 under Coach Homer
H. Norton.
A & M Cooperates in National Defense
Efforts by Early Graduation of Seniors
Ashburn Delivers Commencement Address
To Engineer, Signal Corps, Coast Grads
Red Socks, Green
Slacks Become Reg
“Senior Week” Begins
This can’t be A. & M.! Every
other man looks like a page fresh
out of “Esquire.”
But don’t be alarmed, it’s just
“senior week,” and members of the
class of ’41 are taking full advant
age of it. It’s an old Aggie custom
that seniors should lay aside the
uniform and go non-reg during the
last week of school.
This year is no exception and
seniors everywhere are stepping
out in sport suits, colored slacks,
and two-tone shoes. After four long
years, the senior has a right to
enjoy a bit of relaxation before he
graduates. Also very much in evi
dence during “senior week” are the
little red parking tags which some
how seem to stick on the wind
shield of a senior’s new car.
Walton Speaks to
Medical School Grads
Band Juniors
Elect A. M. Hinds
Head Drum Major
Hinds Is Successor to
Pat Ledbetter; Stewart,
Balagia Are Assistants
A. M. Hinds of Tye, Texas, was
recently elected head drum major
of the A. & M. band for the next
school year, Jack Hendrick, cadet
captain of the Infantry Band, an
nounced yesterday. Claud Stewart
of Waco and Jack Balagia, Austin,
were elected assistant drum majors
to Hinds. Only the junior members
of the band participated in the
election.
The principal duty of the head
drum major is to originate forma
tions to be used at the football
games and with the aid of his as
sistants, lead and direct the band.
An entirely different formation
must be used at each game.
Head drum major for this year
was Pat Ledbetter, who was as
sisted by James Cargile and Tom
Harrison.
Speaker
Willing to cooperate to the fullest with all National Defense
moves, A. & M. College will have a double-header commencement this
year so that the members of the class of 1941 who have been called
to active service as second lieutenants prior to the formal graduation,
Friday, June 6, at 7:30 p. m. can have the pleasure of a formal com
mencement.
Following a meeting of the Academic Council, Dr. T. O. Walton
announced Friday, May 30, as the date set for the special commence
ment exercises honoring the men called to serve their country.
“The Council in its desire to accord all honor to those young men
who, after four years of prepara
tion through the R.O.T.C., are now
subordinating their normal object
ives and ambitions to answer their
country’s call for military service,
hereby sets Friday, May 30, for
special commencement and grad
uation exercises for all such mem
bers of the graduating class who
have completed the requirements
for graduation,” Dr. Walton an
nounced.
Ashburn is Speaker
Following organ music played
by Marion Lyle, the commence
ment program will begin with an
invocation given by Dr. Thomas
Gordon Watts, pastor of the First
Presbyterian Church, Bryan.
Announcements will then be giv
en by President T. O. Walton after
which Lieutenant Colonel Jeff
Montgomery will present his val
edictory address.
Immediately following the val
edictory, Colonel Ike Ashburn will
give the commencement address.
Following this the College Wom
en’s Choral Club will offer two
musical numbers.
Degrees will be presented by
President Walton after which F.
Marion Law, president of the
Board of Directors will present the
diplomas.
After presentation of reserve
commissions by Lieut. Colonel
James A. Watson, Commandant,
Dr. Watts will close the exercises
with the benediction, and organ
music will complete the program.
Assignment of Seniors
The Seniors who have received
their orders and their place of as-
(Continued on page 4)
Colonel Ike Ashburn
Dr. T. O. Walton, President of
A. & M., will deliver an address
to the graduates of the University
of Texas School of Medicine at
Galveston. He will speak on “The
Physician’s Place as a Citizen.”
Dr. Walton has delivered many I jobs around the shipyards. Work
excellent speeches to graduating will be both permanent and tern-
classes in the past. porary in nature.
Summer Jobs Exist
In Shipbuilding Work
Summer work will come in a
wholesale lot today when R. S.
Bergquist, personnel director of
the Houston Shipbuilding corpora
tion, and a representative of the
Texas State Employment Agency
interviews over 150 applicants for
jobs in the shipbuilding industry at
Houston, Texas.
Feeling the need for skilled la
bor on the new defense orders re
ceived by them, the Houston Ship
building corporation is interviewing
all interested sophomore, junior and
senior engineers at A. & M.
The men accepted will be used
for welders, drafters, and other
Seniors in Class of’17 Graduated in Camp
The special graduating exercises 1
to be held here Friday night for a
portion of this year’s graduating
class have brought back memories
of a similar occurrence which hap
pened back in 1917.
Aggie-exes will recall that the
class of ’17 received their diplomas
while attending the officers’ train
ing camp at Leon Springs, which
is now Camp Bullis.
J. W. “Dough” Rollins, now as
sociated with the athletic depart
ment here, was a member of that
graduating class in 1917 which had
its graduation exercises in an army
camp.
“Soon after war was declared,
most of the senior class at school
that year volunteered for active
duty and were sent to the officers’^onel Scott, who was commander+Springs were commissioned as sec
training camp at Leon Springs,”
Rollins recalled. A few men in the
class of ’17 joined the Marines, but
a majority of the class went to
Leon Springs. By May 8, 1917 the
senior class had left the college.
Regular graduation exercises had
been scheduled for June 5, but since
no members of the class were left,
the exercises were not held at
school. The faculty voted to give
degrees to all members of the class
who were passing all their work at
the time they left to join the army.
One Sunday, early in June, Dr.
Bizzell, president of A. & M. and
Mr. Friley, registrar of the col
lege, came to Leon Springs to con
duct the graduation exercises. Col-
of the officers training camp there,
was a former commandant at A. &
M. and served as the commence
ment speaker for the occasion.
After a few words by the Col
onel in which he related some of
his experiences at A. & M. the
members of the class were lined
up in order and the diplomas were
presented by Friley. Friley is now
the president of Iowa State college.
“What was really unusual about
the entire affair was that after we
had received the diplomas, we form
ed another line and handed them
back to the registrar” Rollins ex
plained. “They took our diplomas
back and mailed them to our par
ents at home,” he added.
Members of the class at Leon
ond lieutenants in the army on
August 15, 1917. They had only
been at camp for three months and
were members of the famous “90
day wonders” which the army turn
ed out during the first world war.
The class of ’17 had missed one
thing which was' a tradition for
A. & M. The class had never had
a final review. In 1937, 20 years
after their college career was end
ed, the class of ’17 was invited by
the graduating class of ’37 to par
ticipate in the graduation and final
review to be held that year. About
seventy-five members out of a class
of 143 were able to return to A. &
M. and participate in the official
commencement program and a fi
nal review.
Taylor Elected
Scholarship Honor
Society President
Walton is Guest
Speaker at Banquet
Preceding the Election
Jack Taylor, Field Artillery ju
nior from Aspermont, was elected
president of the Scholarship Honor
Society following its annual ban
quet Monday night.
Ransom Kenny, D battery Coast
Artillery junior from Houston, was
chosen as vice-president. Alton J.
Landua, A company Infantry from
Brenham was elected secretary-
treasurer.
The election was held following
a banquet given for all members
at Sbisa hall. Among the visitors
at the banquet were Dean and Mrs.
F. C. Bolton, Dean and Mrs. R. P.
Marsteller, and Dean T. D. Brooks.
Each of these men made a few
short remarks to the assembled
group.
Dr. T. O. Walton, president of
the college, was the principal
speaker of the evening. Mrs. Wal
ton was also a guest of the so
ciety at the banquet.
At the conclusion of the banquet,
Gabe D. Anderson, retiring pres
ident of the club was presented a
gift by George Taylor, secretary-
treasurer of the club, in behalf of
the members of the society this
year.
Manny Smith Heads
Hillel For 1941-42
At its last regular meeting of
the year last Sunday night in Sbisa
Hall, the Hillel Club elected offic
ers for the coming school year.
The new officers are Manny
Smith, president; Selig Frank,
vice-president; Sammy Rosenstein,
treasurer; David Leventhal, sec
retary; and Buddy Kaufman, par
liamentarian. The three members
who were chosen for the organi
zation’s council are Manny Rosen
thal, Sam Kesner and Jack Foi’-
Open House Planned
For Friday Graduates
Dr. and Mrs. T. O. Walton have
announced that they will hold open
house for the graduating seniors
immediately following the special
graduating exercises Friday night.
Parents of the graduating seniors
are also invited.
Banquet Honors
Intramural Boys
The annual Intramural Banquet,
with W. L. Penberthy acting as
toastmaster, was held in Sbisa
hall Tuesday night, honoring the
Intramural Managers and the In
tramural Board.
Some 125 persons were present
with Dean Brooks, Dean Bolton,
D. W. Williams, chairman of the
Intramural Board and the Intra
mural Managers.
All Intramural Managers will
receive sweaters in the near fu
ture as a reward for their service.
Special awards were made to B.
B. Giffith, Sherman, and D. W.
Simmons, Dallas, who were the
Class A and B Intramural Man
agers of the winning intramural
teams in the form of pen and pen
cil sets. Pen and pencil sets were
also awarded to L. R. Johnston,
Port Arthur, and T. M. Lamberth,
Dallas, who were the managers of
the two intramural teams who went
through the season without a for
feit.
Murray And Dunnam
Made Navy Ensigns
James Gorden Murrey, Merkel,
and P. H. Dunham, Dallas, non
military students received their
commissions as ensigns in the Unit
ed States Navy on May 28 when
they took their oaths as Naval
Ensigns.
They are assigned to special
aviation duty. They received their
appointments as the result of pass
ing before the Naval Examination
Board which has been in College
Station in search of officers to
serve as ensigns in the Navy and
in the Naval Air Corps.
Both are students of mechani
cal engineering in their senior
year at A. & M.