Texas A&M
C~x
The B
College
alion
OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER
OF THE CITY OF
COLLEGE STATION
DIAL 4-5444
ROOM 5, ADMINISTRATION BLDG. — VOLUME 42
COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS, SATURDAY MORNING, FEBRUARY 27, 1943
2275
NUMBER 104
Corps Dance Tonight; New
Aggieland to Make Debut
Hop Lasts From 8 Until 11:30 in Sbisa;
Number One, Tux Reg; Civies for Seniors
Sbisa Hall will be the scene of the first Corps Dance
in the new Aggie streamlined social program tonight at 8
p.m. with Jack McGregor and the new Aggieland orchestra
giving out with the jive. Rodney Brauchle, social secretary
of the senior class, said that the dance would end at 11:30
in order to conform with C.Q. regulations and that uniform
for the dance would be number one or tux for fish, sopho
mores, and juniors, while civies will be “reg” for seniors.
Due to gas rationing, the war*
Aggies Tackle Pace-Setting Owls Tonight
In DeWare Field House; Tilt Starts at 7
Win for Rice Cinches Tie
For SW Conference Crown
Jessica Dragonette Refuses
To Make Town Hall Appearance
effort, and the army, there will
be no vacant dorm for the girls to
stay in this week-end, according
to Major J. E. Davis, assistant com
mandant.
This corps dance is the first in
the social program, with more
coming in March, and the various
regimental balls, the Junior Prom
and the Senior Ring Dance for
April, so that the boys just one
jump ahead of the army will get
in their last fling at Aggie life.
McGregor, elected leader of the
Aggieland Orchestra last week, has
announced a new plan for arrang
ing the musical numbers played
during the dances this year. This
new plan will allow the Aggies to
plan their dances ahead, knowing
just about what sort of piece is
coming up next. Our “set” will
consist of playing three or four
pieces straight then having a little
break to arrange the next of two
slow pieces, then a fast one, then
a break; two slow ones, one fast
one, and the break; and so on,” said
McGregor.
Bobbie Foster, Infantry band
freshman, has taken over the skin
section of the band, and Dick Lan
dry, Marine corps, will hack at the
ivory. Bill Boren has been added to
the sa xsection, which will be much
sweeter than the sax section has
been in past years.
“All you boys that have P.E. on
Saturdays will probably enjoy the
new Aggieland, while the hep-cats
won’t have to suffer from a lack
of solid stuff. We have a really
solid rhythm section, an improved
brass section and a sweeter reed
section, and hope we can give you
the kind of dance music you want.”
Air Cadets to Get Drill, Physical
Training Before Entering Classroom
First two weeks of training for
the new air corps arrivals will be
devoted to intensive military and
physical fitness programs, it was
announced by General Carter, and
actual class work will not begin
until March 1. All academic work
will be given by the regular col
lege teaching staff, and flight in
struction at Easterwood Field will
be under the direction of the Civil
Aeronautics Authority.
The contingent of Air Corps ca
dets, that recently arrived on the
campus, will begin their classwork
heer about March first. The group
that is here are training for com
missions as flying bombardiers and
navigators.
Arrival of the Air Corps con
tingent will bring to fruition a pre
diction made by General Brant
when he dedicated Texas A. & M.’s
new airport, Easterwood Field,
May 22, 1941 that in case of war
the aeronautical facilities of this
institution would be utilized by the
government to train flight officers.
Dr. Walton recalled in announcing
details of the training program
which will in no way curtail or in
terfere with the regular academic
and military program pursued in
the past at A. & M. To date, 6382
army commissions have been issued
here as a result of ROTC training,
and it is estimated that more than
8000 former Aggies are now ser
ving as commissioned officers in
the armed forces.
"Eyes of the Navy 9 Featured In
Library Movies at 7:30 Tonight
Free movies will be shown to
night at 7:30 in the Physics Lec
ture Room on the second floor of
the Physics building.
Of the three twenty-minute
movies shown, the one calculated
to be of most interest to the audi
ence is an MGM production called
Eyes o fthe. Navy. Beginning with
a dramatic introduction of a farm
boy who wants to fly for the Navy,
the short proceeds with heightened
action to show scenes of naval
training at Pensacola, San Diego,
and the specialized, precarious
training off an aircraft carrier.
Navy flying has a technique all
Marine Reserve Open
Until May 15 — Bolton
According to Dean F. C. Bolton,
the Marine Corps Reserve is open
to 17-year-old students until May
15. This enlistment would be for
the purpose of qualifying for the
candidates class for commission.
“Those interested should see me
at my office,” said Dean Bolton.
its own and differs in several re
spects from army or civilian flying.
Each cadet gets a year of training,
costing the Navy up to twenty-
seven thousand dollars. He gets
three hundred flying hours before
he joints the fleet. Some of the
special flying known only to a
naval aviator includes catapulting
off a cruiser or a battleship; cir
cling in for a carrier deck and
landing on a space just sixty feet
wide; and bringing a seaplane
down in a precision landing.
The most thrilling sequences of
Eyes of the Navy deal with taking
off and landing on the flat-tops.
It is comparatively easy for an
experienced flyer to take off from
a carrier, but to find a floating
carrier upon return from a sea
fight or bombing raid requires ex
perience, thorough navigation
training, and a steady nerve; for
setting a plane down on this wav
ing, teakwood surface has often
been compared to setting it down
on a dime.
A privilege granted a navy flyer
(See LIBRARY, page 4)
The air corps trainees will be
housed in the older dormitories on
the campus, vacant this semester
following graduation of the Class
of 1943 in January, and calls to
active duty of all Air Corps .re
serves here.
When the air corps training pro
gram gets fully under way it is
planned, to have a graduating
class moving out to basic training
fields every month, and another
new class moving into Texas A. &
M. for the preflight training pro
gram.
Facilities of the college were
found adequate to handle this ad
ditional teaching load without in
terfering in the least with the reg
ular academic schedule of the
school. Dr. Walton emphasized
that the college would continue to
offer regular courses on the year-
round speed-up schedule which co
vers a normal four-year college
course in two years and eight
months.
Six Aggies Pick
TSCWite Tonight
For TU Round-Up
“Sweetheart of A.&M.” will be
the title given to some lucky girl
at TSCW Saturday night, when
the committee of six Aggies who
will make the selection, announces
its selection at a formal dance to
be given in their honor. The
TSCWites selected will represent
A.&M. College at the annual Texas
University Roundup, March 27.
Those Aggies who made the trip,
according to F. C. Bolton, dean
of the college, are John Mullins,
cadet colonel; Helmut, It. col. sig
nal corps; Albert Lacy, It. col. com
posite regiment; Jack Barton, It.
col. infantry regiment; Arthur
Lacy, captain, quartermaster
corps; and Jack Keith, corps ex
ecutive.
LONGHORN NOTICES
Field Artillery and Cavalry Seniors. Deadline: Mon
day, March 1.
Fish, Sophomores and Junior Class Pictures—(Old
Pictures) Deadline: March 8.
Senior Favorites
Cost: $1.50, 5x7 glossy print (close up). Deadline:
March 15.
Vanity Fair
Cost: $3.00. 5x7 glossy print (close up). 8x10 glos
sy print (full length with evening dress.) Deadline:
March 15.
Organizations
Cost: $15.00 per half page. Each club limited to
half page. Deadline for club reservation: March 6.
Notes
Aggieland can make no 5x7 copies of portraits due
to film shortage.
Rollin Elkins
Made Major In
Cavalry in Ireland
Rollin L. (Batch) Elkins, a for
mer instructor in the Economics
department, has been promoted to
the rank of major. Elkin left
A.&M. in September 1941, taking
his commission in the Cavalry as
a first lieutenant. Shortly after
reporting, he was promoted to a
captain and was in the first con
tingent of Americans to land in
Ireland.
Elkin was graduated from
A.&M. in 1933 with a bachelor of
arts degree in liberal arts, major
ing in economics. While a student
he played in the Aggieland Or
chestra, was a member of the band,
and was an intramural manager.
Rollin was awarded his master of
science degree “with honor” in
May, 1935, his thesis being on the
subject, “A Study of the Develop
ment and Present Status of Work
man’s Compensation Insurance in
the United States.”
Soprano Gives
No Explanation
For Cancellation
Jessica Dragonette, sched
uled to appear in Town Hall
March 2 has absolutely re
fused to appear at College
Station and will give no ex
planation of the matter, said
John Lindsey, Town Hall
manager late yesterday.
Albert Morini, agent for
Miss Dragonette, has stated
in a letter to L. D. Boone,
student activities manager,
that Miss Dragonette has absolute
ly refused to fulfill her date in
College Station. He further stated
that Miss Dragonette gave no ex
planation about the matter, and
that he had entered a suit against
her for breach of contract in the
New York Court.
Both the Columbia and National
Broadcasting systems, said Morini
in his letter, managed Miss Drag
onette previously. Each company
reported that it had suffered the
greatest difficulty in working with
her and her sister, Mrs. Loftus, who
handles Miss Dragonette s affairs.
Morini quotes from one of his man
agers: “Mrs. Loftus is absolutely
impossible and causes trouble at
the slightest provocation.”
Though no program will be pre
sented Tuesday night, every effort
is being made by Lindsey to present
a suitable alternate. The date for
this substitution has not been set
but it will probably be about the
middle of March, stated Lindsey.
Paddlefeet Tagged
So Instructors Can
Keep Identity Clear
Navy, Marines to Get
Weekly News Column
In Saturday Battalion
Beginning a week from today,
the Battalion will carry a column
especially for the marines and
navymen. News of interest about
men who have left, letters from
friends, personal items about men
in the companies, and odd and in
teresting experiences will make up
the column.
At last the paddlefeet have got
ten themselves straightened out.
Unlike other outfits the juniors,
sophomores, and freshmen have all
been wearing coveralls to drill.
This, of course, led to a lot of con
fusion and the only person who was
pretty sure he wouldn’t be floated
out was a senior.
Finally this state of confusion
was solved and for the past two
weeks the juniors have been wear
ing white name plates over their
left upper pocket on their coveralls.
But the solution doesn’t stop
there. The juniors aren’t going to
be selfish and have this “privilege”
all to themselves. Beginning next
week the sophomores and freshmen
are going to be tagged. The sopho
mores will wear yellow name plates
(there will probably be some bleeds
from the Cavalry about this) and
the fish will wear pink ones (these
will go good with a case of pinkus
tuckus or a pair of pink pajamas).
This should just about clear up
the situation that existed in the
New Area.
Nazi Propaganda
Runs Backwards
Say Norweigans
Norwegian patriots in a Trond
heim (Norway) theater were aston
ished to see a prdpaganda film
showing the German forces giving
food to the Norwegian population.
For a few minutes ttey were too
amazed to speak. Then one of them
stood up and cried, “Stop! You’re
running the film backwards I”
SENIORS
t
The Registrar’s office an
nounced Friday that Seniors will
be notified over the mess hall
loud speaker system when the
Senior rings arrive.
Attention Bluejackets and Marines
We’re off on a new course and are looking forward
to a successful cruise. Beginning next week a column
of items of interest to naval personnel will appear in
this paper. Its title—“SPARKS and SCOPES.”
Contributions are helpful, welcome and necessary.
Many bluejackets and marines have had journalistic
experience. Many others feel they can write. All these
are needed and more too. We want men to act as cor
respondents for each individual company. We want men
who can editorialize, write features, and gossip. There
is a wide field of news items open to us—^letters from
friends who have left, personal items about men in the
company, odd and interesting experiences, short stories,
comedy, pathos, intrigue, melodrama. What have ypu
to offer?
Just jot the items down and leave them in the
“SPARKS and SCOPES” box in the Duty Room, No
124, Building 12.
Get your pencils sharpened, your thinking caps
on, your talents exercised and let’s get going with a
flood Of contributions to make this column a huge suc
cess.
Reporters, columnists, correspondents-
uscripts in Duty Room.
Aggies Prohibited
From Visiting Navy,
Air Corps Dormitories
Effective immediately, Aggies
are prohibited from entering any
of the dormitories that are oc-
cupide by the Air Corps, Navy,
or Marines since the trainees of
these units have a heavy academic
load to carry, according to an or
der from the Commandant’s of
fice.
Cadets are also ordered to re
frain from inviting the trainees
into their dormitories since their
units have forbidden them to do
this, the order continued.
Aggies Must Pay
Fees for Longhorn
Pictures by March 8
Marvin McMillan, editor of the
Longhorn, announced that Fish,
Sophomores, and Juniors must go
by the Aggieland Studio and pay
the $1 fee if they want their pic
tures in the 1944 Longhorn. Due
to the shortage of film the Junior
class will have to use their sopho
more picture. No class pictures will
be made after the completion of
the Seniors. All of these pictures
have to be in to the editor of the
Longhorn before March 8th.
Deadline for the Cavalry and the
Field Artillery senior pictures is
Monday, March 1, and all of these
men are warned to have their pic
tures made before this date. Begin
ning next Tuesday the Coast Ar
tillery, Engineers, and Sigjial Corps
Seniors will begin the taking of
their pictures. Deadline on all of
the senior pictures will be March 6.
McMillan stated also that all
clubs who wanted their pictures in
1944 Longhorn must make reser
vations at the Student Activities
Office before Saturday, March 6.
Pictures of clubs will be limited
to one-half of a page as more space
is not available. This half of the
page will have the picture of the
club and the club roster. The cost
of these half pages is $15.00 and
all these pictures have to be in
before March 20.
Dawson and Huffman on Aggie Casualty
List; Both Expected to See Some Action
Conference pace-setting Rice Owls will be trying for
their tenth consecutive victory against the Aggie Gagers
in DeWare Field House at 7 o’clock tonight. It will be just
another basketball game for the Texas Aggies but to the
Rice Owls it will be one of those chips-on-the-line affairs
which can assure them of a tie for the 1943 championship if
they win, or a second place if Texas Longhorns win their
•remaining two games.
So far the astounding Aggies
have thrown a sprag into the
wheels or other top rated teams
and gave the Owls a scare in Hous
ton. Last week they virtually
knocked Arkansas out of the race
by upsetting them to make it four
losses for the Porkers. Then at
the start of the season they
swamped the championship-rated
T.C.U. Horned Frogs so anything
can happen and probably will in
the DeWare Field House tonight.
Fans are urged to arrive early as
a capacity crowd is expected.
Discouraging to Aggie hopes of
a victory was the announcement
that Lee Huffman, high scoring
guard, suffered a hand injury in a
chemistry laboratory Wednesday
but that report was helped some
when Coach Smith said he thought
the ace would be able to play. On
top of that Center Jamie Dawson,
another scoring threat, has been
confined to the college hospital
with intestinal flue for two days,
but again there is hope, for Smith
said he expects the tall boy to be
discharged Friday evening. At any
rate neither can be expected to be
in top shape for so vital a game as
the Rice affair.
Dawson’s assignment will be to
keep Bill Tom Gloss, the great
Owl center from Hearne, from
breaking the all-time Southwest
Conference scoring record set by
Dwight Parks, of Baylor, last year.
Gloss needs but 31 more points to
shatter the mark and he can be
expected to be shooting for a rec
ord. If Dawson can’t go the route
the task will fall on the shoulders
of Pete Watkins or Tom Sample.
This will be the final home game
for the five Iron Men as all are
seniors this year. They wind up
their careers by meeting the Long
horns in Austin next week and
although they did not threaten to
win the championship they have
been responsible for throwing.
-leave man-
Sunday Sing to Be
Held in Assembly
Hall Sunday Night
An old-fashioned Sunday .even
ing get-together will be held again
in the Assembly Hall at 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, February 28. Richard Jen
kins invites everyone who does not
attend church to coma and join in
the singing.
“Everyone”, says Jenkins, “in
cludes Aggies, townspeople, sail
ors, soldiers, airforce, and marines.
Bring your girl, wife, buddy, or
anyone else that you think would
like to come.”
“You needn’t be dressed-up to
come to these meetings, everything
is informal. Everybody sings and
everyone has a good time because
he can pick out his own favorites.
If you don’t attend church services
anywhere, be sure and come to the
Sunday Sing. You’ll enjoy it!”
W ayneAlexanderGets
Marine Commission
Wayne Dewitt Alexander, Col
lege Station, has been commis
sioned a second lieutenant and as
signed to, active duty with the
Marine Air Force, it was announc
ed today.
Lt. Alexander, the son of Wil
lard Clay Alexander, attended
Texas A.&M. He enlisted in the
Marine Corps as an aviation cadet
in August.
Army Minds Seem to Dwell On
Finding Manual Labor for Ex
Those “bleed” letters still come
back from the Aggies who said the
regulations at A.&M. were too
tough and left for the army. This
one came in from a “five-year”
Aggie who stepped into OD at
the end of January semester.
“Well, it’s been God-help-you-
Private . . . for a full week today,
and it seems to me that I’ve done
every little piece of manual la
bor the best brains at Dodd Field
could dream up.
“Several Aggies who couldn’t
stand the new order up there are
in my barracks—or were. Among
them are Coolidge, Troop D; Moses
of Infantry; and a fellow named
McNeis, who disappeared last
night (a poor spot to take a one
way corps trip). Saw Shorty Booth
last night in his new GI haircut
(I should talk already).
“New Aggies as rookies came
in Saturday wearing pinks and
colar ornaments. 2nd embarrassed
by sloppy salutes. You know re
sults.
“Did KP Friday from 4 a.m.
to 7 p.m. without sitting down.
The very thought of another turn
at that makes good discipline.
“Tell Ransdell that descript
course he hammered into my head
stood me in good stead on the
army’s mechaniqal aptitude test,
one-third of which is devoted to
developments of solids.
“Oh, well! The uniforms fit
‘pretty’ well; the food is abundant
and fatigue duty more so; and a
silent tongue tumeth away wrath.
So I’ll get along in the army and
one of these days I’ll be a cpl.
You watch!”
Love and Kisses,
Ex-B, SC