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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 31, 1942)
OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE CITY OF COLLEGE STATION DIAL 4-5444 The Battalion OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE CITY OF COLLEGE STATION DIAL 4-5444 ROOM 5 ADMINISTRATION BLDG. - VOLUME 42 COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS, THURSDAY MORNING, DEC. 31, 1942 2275 NUMBER 82 M/ss Nancy Swinford Shown above is Nancy Swinford, outstanding soprano of the Southwest and former vocalist with the Houston Symphony orchestra. She has become popular at Aggieland by her previous excellent performances at Guion Hall, and will appear here again Tuesday night, January 5. Swinford On Town Hall January 1 Houston Soprano To Give Third Aggie Concert Next Week Nancy Swinford, outstanding soprano of the Southwest, will again entertain the Aggies Tues day January 6, at Guion Hall. She has been very popular with the corps since her first appearance as a singer with the Houston Sym phony Orchestra. She will sing many favorite songs with Ernest Hoffman as her accom panist. Hoffman, conductor of the Houston Symphony Orchestra, is a well-known pianist to the people of Texas and the Southwest. The two are expected to present one of the most popular and cultured programs in the Town Hall series. Since last spring Mrs. Swinford has devoted full time to her sing ing, even practicing rather regul arly four hours a day. She is the choir director of the second Pres byterian Church of Houston in addition to her other achievments. Navy Recruiters To Be On Campus Monday, Jan 11 The Naval Recruiting party which was scheduled to appear on the campus Wednesday, January 6 will not be here until the follow ing Monday, January 11, according to F. C. Bolton, dean of the college. At that time all students who are under eighteen years of age will have the opportunity to join the V-l program of the Navy. Those students should have their papers filled out completely before the arrival of the enlisting officers. Special mention was made by Bol ton of the fact that parental con sent in writing must be witnessed by a notary public before the sign ature will be valid. At a future date the time and place of the recruiting party’s lo cation on the campus will be an nounced. Editor’s Note: This is the com plete story as released by the Associated Collegiate Press con cerning the War Department’s plan for college students. Not able in all releases upon this subject is the lack of mention of the status of junior advanced ROTC contract men. This point was cleared yesterday afternoon. After months of uncertainty the Army and Navy, with the approval of the War Manpower Commission, last week announced their long- awaited plan to utilize the facili ties of many colleges for training of thousands of young selectees as specialists in the armed forces on a “broad, democratic basis.” Four More Aggies In Navy Air Corps Naval Aviation Cadet Selection Board at Dallas, Texas has an nounced that four more A. & M. students, C. H. Fields, Floyd C. Dodson, Jr., G. A. White and John Herman Goad, have been selected for training as Naval Aviation cadets and will be ordered to ac tive duty shortly. When ordered to active duty, those boys will report to the Uni versity of Georgia for pre-flight training lasting for three months, after which they will be sent to one of the Navy reserve bases for pri mary flight training. Scholarship Honor Society Will Hold Banquet Friday Members of the Scholarship Honor Society will hold their an nual banquet Friday night in the Sbisa Banquet room. J.T.L. Mc- new, head of the Civil Engineering Department, will deliver the main address. The banquet will start at 7:30 p.m. Membership in the Scholarship Honor Society consists of the highest ranking eight per cent of the seniors in each school and four per cent of the juniors in each school. Deans of the various schools have been invited to at tend the banquet tomorrow night. Classes As Usual Friday and Saturday Classes will definitely be con ducted as susal Friday and Satur day and all students are urged by the Academic Council to make classes as usual. Therefore New Year parties will not be allowed on the campus, stated Walter Card- well, cadet colonel, and extra C. Q. passes are not to be issued. Pointing out that the lower draft age will “eliminate the prin cipal source” of male students, Secretaries Henry L. Sitmson and Frank Knox in a joint statement said they would shortly enter into a contract with “selected” schools to provide courses “prescribed by the military services for the in struction of “qualified young men” in academic and military subjects. The program is expected to get under way about February 1. The institutions will be selected according to “facilities available” for training and the trainees will be chosen on the basis of certain qualifications and without regard to their financial resources, it was stated. The youths will be placed in uniform on active duty, will be housed, fed and paid by the serv ices and will be subject to military discipline. Neither the number of schools nor the numbers of stu dents to be selected was revealed. Secretary Stimson conceded that the plan would temporarily de stroy liberal education as now en joyed by able-bodied men of draft age but promised it would not suffer in the long run. He said that a plan was under study for the restoration of liberal educa tion after the war. “The imme diate necessity,” he said, “is to win this war, and unless we do that there is no hope for liberal education in this country.” (See NEW PLAN, Page 4) Mother Asks Aggies Help In Recovering Family Heirloom The Battalion has received a let ter from an Aggie’s mother solic iting the help of the corps in re covering an Elgin wrist watch which means more to the family than just its cash value. The watch disappeared from her Ag gie son’s room about a week be fore Christmas. Said Mrs. Ardis Colbert, 205 Kennedy, San Antonio, “This watch means much to us as it had belonged to our oldest son, who died in a plane crash with Billy Randolph (Air Corps Captain and son of the flier after whom Ran dolph Field is named) nearly two years ago. Billy, our son, had this watch on in the crash. His father and I ^ad given it to him when he graduated from high school, and when Gene (the Aggie) graduated I gave it to him. It had the in scription “To Billy, 1937, Gene, 1940 from Mom and Dad” and its recovery means much to us all.” No questions will be asked and its return will very muchly appre ciated.” WAACs Need More Recruits From This Area-Sgt Janney “Because of the expansion of the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corp by executive order additional ap plications from women of this dis trict are required to fill the ranks of those who are doing their part for victory in the uniform of the W A AC’s”, states Sgt. Carl E. Jan ney, Substation Commander, U. S. Army Recruiting Station, Bryan, Texas. Both white and colored women between the ages of 21 and 44, inclusive, are eligible for enroll ment in the Women’s Army Aux iliary Corp Janney said, and full information can be secured by call ing 2-1220 in Bryan, Texas, or writing U. S. Army Recruiting Station, Bryan, Texas. Applica tion blanks will be mailed upon request of same. The Army needs the skill and civilian experience of women of the nation, as it needs those of the men. Members of the WAAC’s have an important job to do. Their work releases soldiers for fighting jobs, and their contribution is vi tal. Previous specialized exper ience is helpful in work with the army, but it is not a requirement in the WAACs except in certain categories. Ring Dance To Be January 15; Junior Prom Week Later Barney Rapp Orchestra To Play For Seniors And For Corps Dance Climaxing the end of the ’42-43 year will come the Senior Banquet January 16, followed by the Senior Ring ceremony and dance. A corps dance will follow on January 16. January 21 the Junior Prom will take place and the Final Ball will be January 22. Rocky Sutherland, president of the senior class, said Wednesday that the Senior Banquet and dance committee have made final ar rangements for the affair and have selected Barny Rapp’s or chestra for the dance. Heads of the various committees for the banquet and dance are: Ed Gordon, head of the committee board; Jack Baird, head of the favors committee; Moffet Adams, head of the decorations; John Law rence, head of the program com mittee; Adolph Specia, head of banquet plans; and Bobby Ste phens, head of the dance arrange ments. Freshman Ball To Be Held January 9 With Aggie Orch Dormitory for Girls Will Be Opened; Either Tuxedo Or Number One Regulation January 9, from 8 to 12 in Sbisa hall the Freshman Ball will take place with the Aggieland Orchestra furnishing the music. C. E. McWilliams, president of the Freshman class, says a dor mitory will definitely be obtained for freshmen’s dates, but no part icular dorm has been selected yet. The usual charge of 50c per night will probably be charged each preshman whose date wil Istay in the dorm. Tuxedos may be worn or the number one. All night passes are up to the individual and their respect ive military organization. ^ A. R. Orsinger, vice president of the freshman class, is in charge of tickets and has issued them to a freshman in each dorm, who in turn will sell them to the freshman Frogs at $1.10. Cooperation Asked By State Officer In State Capitol Dr. Geo. W. Cox, state health officer, stated today that he be lieves that it would be a worth while idea for every Texan to take a health inventory at the begin ning of the New Year. “In the true spirit of the New Year, we should give some thought to the mistakes we have made dur ing the past year, and a great deal of thought to planning some way of improving our health conditions during the coming year,” Dr. Cox said. “The American people are very fortunate. We have scientific knowledge of cummunicable dis eases; we have already made im portant conquests in the warfare against infectious diseases. We have material wealth to make knowledge work; we have capable leaders in the sciences of life processes that see great oppor tunities for public good health measures that unite effectively the resources of medicine, education, finance, and government. We are probably the most realistic and practical of all people. We should be capable of even a more vital national health program and noth ing can be of greater help to our country at this time than the con servation and promotion of good health,” Dr. Cox asserted. Army and Navy Flans Provide College Training of Draftees * — - ■■ — Awarding of NewContractS Keys and Honors to t t cu'ii it j *j j Be Given at Press In January Still Undecided ci u b Annual Feast Juniors Will Go to Replacement Training Center in May; Then Get Commissions “Aggie Pickin’s” Marks First Year Of Entertainment Conrad Bering, Jr., Acts As Master of Ceremonies “Aggie Pickin’s”, the Aggie hit parade radio program marks it’s first year of continous running tomorrow when a special program will be heard on WTAW during the last thirty minutes of the Aggie Clambake at 5:00. The idea for the show was put forth by Conrad Bering, Jr., WTAW News Editor, who also acts as master of ceremonies for the program. “Aggie Pickin’s” endeavors to present the favorite songs on the campus and in a manner similar to the famous Lucky Strike Hit Par ade. Passes to the Campus theatre are given to those who correctly guest the names of the top three tunes. Guesses may be turned in at room 54 Mitchell, or room 253 Bizell. Parents Day Fete Cancelled Because Of Transportation Parents’ Day, annual A. & M. festivity in honor of the fathers and mothers of the Aggies, has been cancelled this year, follow ing a meeting of Rocky Souther land, president of the senior class, and Walter Cardwell, cadet colonel, early this week. E. I. Angell, exe cutive assistant to Dr. Walton, said that the two senior class lead ers had reached that decision be cause of war-time transportation difficulties. Few parents would be able to be present at both the Parents’ Day and the graduation exercises, ad vised Angell, and both the senior class president and the corps com mander felt that the parents of the graduating student? would rather be present at the graduation exer cises. He also stated that awards normally made on Parents’ Day would be given at Final Review. A & M Graduate Gets Curtis Wright Job Roger Pierce Scott, 20, son of Mr. and Mrs. L. H. Scott of De Queen, Arkansas, and graduate of A. & M., has accepted a position as junior engineer in the Buffalo plants of Curtis-Wright Corp., Air plane Division. He will be assigned to the service department. A grad uate of DeQueen High school, Scott was active there and at col lege he was a member of S.A.E. and Y. Ae. S. Home Town Clubs To Pay Balance on Pages All student and home-town clubs must pay the balance of their page reservation fee by January 1, said John Longley, Longhorn Editor. The Longhorn is going to press now and all bills are. requested to be paid by the first to avoid com plications. Some of the clubs who have paid their $5 down still owe as much as $20 or $25 for their page in the annual. Waltons Hold Open House New Years Day President and Mrs. T. O. Wal ton will entertain at an open house tomorrow afternoon from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. This is the annual New Year’s Day reception held at the presi dent’s home on the campus at which all faculty members and friends are cordially invited to attend. Present Juniors enrolled in first year advanced ROTC training, regardless of the academic course they are tak ing, will be called to active duty at the end of this semes ter and reassigned here for one more semester as enlist ed men at regular army pay rates, according to a directive received here and released late yesterday through the office of the Dean of the Col lege. College authorities are expecting definite information on whether new contracts will be awarded this January as usual. Juniors, after their next semes ter’s work here, will be sent to re placement training centers for what, as far as present informa tion goes, would be the approxi mate same instruction present Seniors will receive at their branch school upon their graduation in January, the directive further stated. This directive was from the Ad jutant General’s office of the War Department in Washington, and does not actually constitute an of ficial order, Bolton emphasized, but it does indicate that the War Department has definitely decided what they are going to do with A. & M. Cadets. The directive did not actually state what uniform would be worn by the present Juniors during the next semester nor what remunera tion would be given them, but in formed sources here believed that a regular enlisted man’s uniform would be worn since those con cerned would be in the army and possibly other soldiers will also be assigned here for similar train ing, also the same pay rates that apply to soldiers would be in ef fect. Obtainable Today Senior Ring Dance favors will be given out this afternoon in the Corps Headquarters office. All seniors who have paid deposits on their favors may obtain them be tween 2 and 6 today, according to Jack Baird, chairman of the com mittee. Extra favors which were ordered this week will not be distributed until a later date. Only original orders will be filled at this time, Baird stated, so that these may be completed before any extras are given out. By Mike Haikin The “thumb method” of trans portation is still very much alive despite gas rationing, especially down at Aggieland, where hitch hiking has become sort of a tra dition. While the majority of cadets travelled by trains, buses, etc. for the Christmas holiday excursion, many of the students were left “out in the cold” as transporta- tional facilities were definitely filled to capacity. So, there was one thing to do, the unfortunate cadets piused—the highway. Hundreds of Aggies filed out to the East gate where each group took out for points north, south, east and west. They travelled everywhere—from the icy plains of Amarillo, 600 miles northward, to the elaborate climate of Hous ton, only 95 miles southward. And, surprisingly, many of the thumbers arrived at their destina tion in record time. One Amarillo lad made the precarious sojourn of 600 miles in the amazing time Walton, Bolton, Angell and Others WiH Speak; Staff Writers Are Invited January 7 in Sbisa hall the an nual Press Club banquet will be held with speakers and programs. Press Club keys will be presented to all members, and perhaps spe cial awards, according to their years of service. Dean Bolton, Dr. T. O. Walton, E. L. Angell, and other executives will make short addresses at the banquet, said E. A. Gordon, pres ident of the Press Club and ed itor of the Engineer. All students taking active part in any student publication are members of the club. According to previous banquets, members of the club will not have dates. WTAW Moves Into New Studios In Adm Bldg Soon WTAW, The A. & M. College broadcasting station will move into its new home on the third floor of the Administration building in about three weeks, provided that priorities can be obtained on es sential materials, according to Phil Norton, college architect. Norton stated, that the work on the station is well started and that when finished, the studios will be atractively furnished at a cost of over $4000. In addition to this, bet ween $2500 and $3000 worth of radio equipment has been purchased from the Gates Radio Supply Com pany. When the new station is com pleted, it will be one of the- most modem and best-equipped broad casting stations in Texas. Dr. and Mrs. T. O. Walton will hold the annual Senior Reception next Monday night, January 4 in their home here on the campus. Invitations for the reception are extended to all members of the Senior Class, and it is hoped that every senior will attend this annual function given by the president and his wife. Seniors may drop around at any time from 8 p.m. until 10 p.m. and are free to leave when they are ready. Uniform will be number one. of 14 hours. Another trekked to El Paso, 450 miles away, in—it’s really unbelievable—11 hours. As for gas rationing, well, it didn’t hold up a few hundred Ca dets going down Houston-ways. One group had been on the high way no more than thirty minutes when a truck came along and whisked the highwayers to their destination within two hours and a half. Just to prove that hitch-hiking was definitely a success, here’s an interesting tale that happened just before the Christmas holidays. Two roommates from Houston bid each other adieu as one took the noon-day bus for the Bayou City. Imagine the latter’s utter surprise and bewilderment when he arrived at Houston only to be greeted by his roommate who had taken the journey via the thumb! Yes, gas rationing may have se riously dented hitch-hiking in oth er parts of the country but down at Aggieland the phrase “going my way, buddy” is still very much, in existence. Ring Dance Favor! Senior Reception s To Be Held Monday At Prexy’s Home Rationing Notwithstanding Ags Travel Far Via Thumb