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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 2, 1943)
Texas A&M The B OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE CITY OF COLLEGE STATION DIAL 4-5444 VOLUME 42 COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS, TUESDAY MORNING, MARCH 2, 1943 2275 NUMBER 105 Jose Iturbi To Give Town b Hail Program Pianist to Appear Maxell 17; Replaces Jessica Dragonette Late last night, Jose Iturbi, in ternationally famous pianist, ac cepted an invitation to appear on the Texas A. & M. Town Hall stage Wednesday, March 17, according to John Lindsey, student manager of Town Hall. Iturbi replaces Miss Jessica Dragonette, who refused without explanation to make her contract ed College Station appearance. Coast Artillery, Signal, Engineer Senior Photos Due Must Be Turned in At Student Activities Office Not Later than Saturday Seniors in the Signal Corps En gineers, and Coast Artillery regi ments may begin having class pic tures for the Longhorn made to day. Saturday is the deadline on all these pictures. All are urged to have pictures made as early as possible to prevent rushing on Friday and Saturday. Unless proofs are selected within two days after the picture is made, they will be selected by the Aggieland Studio. Saturday is the last day that Fish, Sophomores and Juniors may go by Aggieland and'have old pic tures put in the oLnghorn. No new pictures will be made due to film shortages unless they are made somewhere else other than Aggie land Studios. These people, how ever, must first go by the Studios to get the specifications for the picture or they will not be used in the 1944 Longhorn. Community Singing Session Doubles Its Attendance This Week Sunday night, the Sunday Sing in the Assembly hall nearly dou bled its attendance over last week, Richard Jenkins, director of the Singing Cadets said today. The Sing, a community sing ses sion during which only hymns are sung, was begun last week. Al though attendance was small, Jen kins expressed the firm belief that the Sunday Sings would soon be one of the most popular activities on the campus. FBI Agent Talks On Investigation ureau’s Methods Lecture Held Tomorrow Night; To Be Open To All Persons Interested William Newman, special agent for the Federal Bureau of Investi gation, will discuss the Bureau’s work at a meeting of the College Station Civilian Defense organiza tion Wednesday, March 3, at 7 p.m. in the Chemistry Lecture room, the chairman of the police committee, announced yesterday. Following the talk by Newman, W. E. Naylor, of the Texas De partment of Public Safety, will show some motion pictures on civilian defense activities. “The talk by Mr. Newman should prove of interest to many of the corps, and it will be over in time to make Call to Quarters,” said the chairman. “All persons in Bryan or College interested in hear ing this speaker and seeing the films are cordially invited.” New Farmer’s Market Now Open In College Hills The College Station Farmers’ Market opens Tuesday morning at 8:00 in the brick building in Col lege Hills Estates, formerly occu pied by the Stockton Plumbing Company. Many farmers in this area have been contacted and an adequate supply of vegettables will be as sured as soon as they are avail able. Eggs, chickens, flowers, and all the vegetables obtainable will be for sale. No Smoking Rules To Be Inforced By All Bryan Theaters The Bryan Police Department, working in coordination with the S. P.’s and the M. P.’s of Bryan Field and College Station, has is sued an order that smoking will not be allowed in the theaters of Bryan. This order pertains to the three theaters, namely, the Palace, Queen, and the Dixie. The “no smoking” law has been in the list of state laws for some time, but has not been enforced. As these theaters are not fireproof and with the coming of service men, an enforcement must be made so as to prevent a fire-trap if a fire did break loose. A violation of this rule will re sult in the banishing of all service men from these theaters. This rule of “no smoking” applies to every- Seniors May Get Rings From Registrar Wednesday ii Alphabetical Order to Prevail; A-K Wednesday Morning; L-Z Afternoon Senior class rings are in the Registrar's office and may be had starting Wednesday morning at 8, acting Registrar E. L. Heaton said late yesterday. These are the 1944 rings that were ordered in the fall, and may be obtained by those ordering them according to an alphabetical schedule. According to Heaton there are about 500 rings in this shipment, and to cut down confusion and rush in the Registrar’s office, those stu dents whose last name begins with A to K may get their rings Wed nesday morning. Those whose name begins with L to Z get their’s Wednesday afternoon. Those who have rings, but do not have the money to get them at the moment may get them any time within 30 days as the Regis trar can hold them that long. According to the Registrar’s of fice, “We are asking those boys who have rings to come only at the designated times, as only those rings will be available then. This Former Student Now in Training As Aerial Observer Lt. John F. Rougagnac, a grad uate of the class of '42, has been selected for training as aerial ob server at Brooks Field, San An tonio. Prior to his selection he served for seven months in the air forces and attended the Officer Training School at Miami Beach, Florida. Rougagnac was associated with the City of Houston before enter ing the air forces. Agronomy Society Holds Initiations In Meeting Tomorrow The Agronomy Society will meet Wednesday night, March 3, at 7:00 for the purpose of initiating new members. All students majoring in Agronomy and those interested in this type of work are especially urged to be present, as participat ing in initiation is necessary before you can become a member of the society. A committee, composed of Karl Wallace, Pat Carpenter, and Paul Rosmand was appointed by Presi dent Jack Barton to prepare the initiation program, and fun for all is expected. Roger Killingsworth is supervising the work. Refresh ments will be served. is necessary to avoid the rush and confusion of having all 500 boys show up at 8 a.m. Wednesday.” No orders will be taken for rings all day Wednesday, but will be re sumed Thursday and continue until the deadline of March 15. Classified juniors may also order their rings again starting March 5th. The final deadline for ring orders has been set as March 15, the Registrar’s office announced. More Proof of OCS Toughness Revealed In Letter From Ex mm A&M Laundry Keeps Aggies In Clean Clothes at Low Cost By Bill Jarnagin No, A&M’s laundry doesn’t have a bath tub of buttons taken from our shirts; in fact, the pro cess which our clothes go through is one of the most careful and ef ficient methods possible. Every week approximately 16,- 400 pieces of clothing go through the laundry, or about 800 bundles each day. About 200 workers are required to turn out our clothes on schedule. The cost of our shirts and pants run about three cents each, pojnts out the foreman of the building, Ed Whitten, while commercial laundries charge from 10c to 15c per shirt. Whitten said three typical A&M laundry bundles, each containing twenty-five pieces, were once taken to an average Houston laundry, where they charged $1.50 for each of the three bundles. A&M’s charge of only 50<£ a week for a 25-piece bundle is probably the lowest rate in any U. S. college. Here’s the trip your laundry goes on each week: First the laundry bundles are thrown from the delivery trucks through a big window into a pile in the rear of the laundry building. From this pile 120 bundles are laundered, making up a “lot”, and about 6 or 7 lots are laundered each day. Each bundle is opened, the con tents and laundry mark checked by ten girl markers. Each garment, as it is checked, is thrown on a moving belt, which sends the clothes down to two “separater” girls. , Here the bundle is divided into five or more sections — the sheets, pillow slips, etc. in one div ision; the khaki clothes in another; the white shirts in one division; the towels, sweat shirts, etc. in another—and so on. Seven big washing machines take in the clothes, then three “ex tractors”, or dryers, whirl out all the water, except a little dampness, These machines whirl with a vel ocity of 750 rpm for about seven minutes. Next all the “flat work” sheets handkerchiefs, pillow cases, etc., are sent through a series of steam- heated cloth-covered rollers. Here the damp pieces come out neatly pressed and dried. Ten “drying tumblers” are used to furnish fluffy, soft drying for towels, socks, and the like. Thirty-two “hot head” pressers take care of the miscellaneous gar ments and pants. Four sets of es pecially curved shirt pressers take care of all the shirts in 4 steps. A machine is used to press the collar and cuffs, another machine is used for the front, another for the back, and another for the sleeves. Much like a big assembly plant, the clothes make their way from the marking girls, through A the washers and dryers, across the building through its respective ironer, and on to the bundling de partment. Each ironer has a repair rack upon which clothes needing mend ing or buttons replaced are hung. A girl from the mending depart ment makes, gathers these clothes and takes them back to be repair ed. A special button attacher sews on buttons in less than two seconds, but the reason buttons are not so frequently replaced as it seems they should be is that under the speedy assembly line it is often impossible to even notice a missing button. The building department is in four divisions, each with pigeon holes arranged in alphabetical num ber. Each cadets’ laundry slip is clipped to its respective pigeon hole, where his clothes are placed checked, and wrapped. Five stations disperse the laun dry to the Aggies, sailors, ma rines, and now the air corp cadets. The following portion of a letter received by the Agronomy Depart ment from C. E. Butler, class of ’42, attending Officers Candidate School at Ft. Benning, Ga., gives further proof that OCS is no bed of roses. “This is going to have to be brief because we aren’t given much time to call our own—in fact, this is the first letter I’ve written during the middle of the week since getting in the army. “I didn’t realize what a picnic A. & M. was until recently; we are kept on the go continually from 6:30 a. m. until . . . Sometimes we get off at 6:00 p. m. but four nights each week we have study hall from 7:30 to 8:30; however, it's difficult to finish in that length of time so usually we finish up when we come back to the barracks. Lights go out at 10:00 except in the shower, so any studying, letter writing, etc., is done there. “Fortunately we have some real ly good instructors — they know their stuff and how to put it across. I thought when I was taking 418 that Doc Jones had the world beat on the use of charts and diagrams,' but you should sit through some of these lectures. “There are 37 Aggies in this company; most of the others with the exception of one Tea-sipper are damyankees. But the thing that tops it all—we also have four ne groes in the company. I’m not very well acquainted with two of them but the two I do know are well ed ucated. “By the way, Mr. Potts, peanut butter is the backbone of the Army. “Sincerely, Butler.” Plans Under Way To Train Engineers In Special Fields Here Officers will be here Wednesday and Thursday to discuss plans for the training of advanced engineer ing specialists at A. & M., stated Dean Gibb Gilchrist. The plan would make A. & M.’s facilities foj engineering education available to the Army for instruct ing selected groups of men who have had basic engineering train ing. The plan would probably bring several hundred trainees to A. & M. First Corps Dance Of Spring Term eld in Sbisa Hall New Aggieland Band Hailed As Success By Attendance There The first Corps Dance of this tei’m, held in Sbisa Hall last Sat urday night, was a great success according to Rodney Brauchle, so cial secretary of the Senior class. The new system of arrangement of the Aggieland Orchestra, under the direction of Jack McGregor, creat ed favorable comment among the persons at the dance. According to McGregor, this new plan allows the Aggies to plan their dances ahead, knowing just what sort of piece is coming up next. “Our set will consist of playing three or four pieces straight, then having a lit tle break to arrange the next of two slow pieces, then a fast one, then a break; two slow onec, one fast one, and the break; and so on,” said McGregor. Due to gas rationing, war, and the army, there was no dorm vacat ed for Aggie dates. To conform with the new C. Q. regulations the dance was held from 8 until 11:30 in order to give the Aggies time to get their dates home before call to quarters. This new time will also give the boys without dates an hour before C. Q. Regulations for Cadets were number one or tux for the fish, sophomores and juniors and civilian clothes, tux, or number one being reg for seniors. STUDENT EMPLOYMENT “There is an urgent need for students to handle the many jobs that are now open or will be open soon on the campus. Eligibility require ments have been relaxed un der existing conditions. Re gardless of your family in come, if you need or want work, please see the Place ment Office as soon as pos sible.” Prexy Leaves For Washington on Four- Day Conference Trip President T. O. Walton will leave Wednesday for a four-day trip to Washington, D.C., where he will confer with Secretary of Agricul ture Wickard. He will discuss the general agriculture situation in Texas. Aggie Ex Promoted To First Lieutenant Second Lt. Lelon T. Camp, Q. M. C., Officer in Charge of General Supplies at the New Cumberland Quartermaster Depot, New Cum berland, Pa., was recently promoted to first lieutenant. Prior to being called for active duty in June, 1942, Lt. Camp was a member of the graduating class of 1942 at the A. & M. College of Texas. Former Executive Assistant Visits Campus Yesterday Colonel Ike Ashburn, director of Houston’s Civilian Defense, was a visitor on the campus yesterday. He was formerly executive assist ant to President T. O. Walton. LONGHORN NOTICES Signal Corps, Engineers, and Coast Artillery Seniors. Deadline; Saturday, March 6. 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. ThousandsofRumors Killed Nothing New on E R C Call Commandant's Office Spikes Gossip; Definite Date Still Unknown to All March 6 Deadline Set For Longhorn’s Club Reservations Reservations Must Be Placed With Student Activities Office Here , All clubs that went space in the ’44 Longhorn must come by the Student Activities Office by Sat urday, March 6 and make their res ervations. Each club is limited to one-half page due to limited amount of space this year. This one half page will cost $15.00 and will include the club’s members and roster. No reservation will be accepted after Saturday, since the club pictures will have to be made next week, according to Marvin McMillan, Longhorn editor. Company Funds Must Be Placed In Activities Office All company funds collected thus far must be deposited in the Stu dent Activities before 5 o’clock, March 3, stated the Commandant’s Office. No more company funds or funds for Regimental Dances may be collected until further authorization by the Commandants Office. ; WTAW Sponsors Special Program For Home Gardeners Home gardens throughout the listening area of radio station WTAW will be especially inter ested in the program to be broad cast from 11:30 to 11:45 a.m. to day, because the care of young garden plants will be discussed in detail by A.&M. Horticulture De partment experts, and announce ment will be made of availability of a complete set of instructions for Victory gardening, it was an nounced by J. J. Woolket, program director. “The A.&M. College is endeavor ing to perform a service to all those radio listeners who are serv ed by our station, WTAW,” Wool ket said. “And Tuesday’s program will be full of good information for the novice home gardener. The series of gardening broadcasts has been going on for some time, but we have decided to make all the previous information available in simpe form to assist late starters in properly preparing the ground, planting the seed and caring for young garden plants. There is no new information con cerning the activation of military juniors and seniors, and any ru mors as to the definite date of activation are to be considered as mere opinion or heresay without any basis of fact whatsoever, the Commandant’s office said late yes terday. Activation will take place only when the War Department orders such action, and although more def inite information is expected soon, nothing further is known at this time. College officials assure you that there is no reason why such infor mation should be withheld from the Corps when it arrives, and that until that time, nothing is at all definite. Students are urged by the Presi dent’s office and the Commandant’s office to continue studying as usual as the academic part of your train ing will go on just as it is whether the Army comes down here or not. Correspondent Relates Narrow Escapes of Ex Action of A & M Ex In Tunisia Reported To Be Full of Danger In special dispatches from the Tunisian front, Ernie Pyle, cor respondent to the Houston Press, tells of the narrow escape of Major Rollin “Satch” Elkins, Aggie-ex and a professor of economics here since his graduation in 1935. Major Elkins arrived in North Africa in command of a cavalry unit and was stationed at a forward com mand post when the recent Axis push in Tunisia began. He was traveling across semi-cultivated desert land in the hasty retreat westward when Pyle’s story be gins. “A friend of mine, Major Rollin L. Elkins, of College Station, Texas, had his half-track hit three times by German shells. They were standing still, cleaning a carbu retor filter, when the third shell hit. It set them on fire. Some of the crew eventually got back safe ly, but others are still missing. Major Elkins said they could have gotten clear back with the car ‘if the damned engine had only kept running.” Pyle explains that “Practically every vehicle reported gasoline trouble that afternoon.” While in A.&M. Elkins was an outstanding student and active in campus affairs. He was on the staff of the Battalion and played with the Aggieland Orchestra. He had his reserve commission in the Cavalry. Position of India In War Effort To Be Explained Here The time was 20 years ago— 1923. The place was the Anklesvar Bombay Presidency, India. A young Ohio school teacher had just ar rived to take up his new duties as superintendent of a rural teachers’ training school. He was a man of warm sympathy toward the strug gles of farm people here and abroad, keenly appreciative of their problems. His first task was to master the native languages and he set out almost immediately on a 900 mile trip to north India to study Hindi, which most nearly approximates a national language. For days he traveled by horse car riage, pullman, motor bus, and pony, struck by the curious amalga mation of Eastern and Western commerce and culture. Eighteen years later—in Octo ber, 1941, to be exact—the self same Ohio school teacher sat at lunch with Mahatma Gandhi and reviewed the progress of the In dian National Congress in its ef forts to achieve the long-sought goal of Indian independence. Here there was mutual respect, for Will Moomaw had come a long way since he left the home farm in Ohio. Not in a worldly fashion but by virtue of his commonsense un derstanding of Indian agriculture, education, religion, people. Two days before Pearl Harbor, Dr. Moo maw sailed for America for one of his periodic vacations. Next Wednesday night at 7:00 o’clock Dr. Moomaw will appear be fore the Economics Club in the Pe troleum Engineering Lecture Room to describe his impressions of the position that India occupies in the war. The title of his talk will be “A Farmer Sees India.” Everyone is invited to attend and ask ques tions in the open forum that fol lows. Dr. Moomaw’s career eminently qualifies him to interpret the atti tudes of the masses of India’s huge (See INDIA, Page 4)