II
First Discussion Group
Covers General Education
Harvard Report Discussed; Topics
For Future Meetings Recommended
Texas A«M
ThelB
CoQege
alion
VOLUME 45
COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS, THURSDAY AFTERNOON, JULY 11, 1946
NUMBER 72
MARSfELLER TO BE RELIEVED OF VET SCHOOL
* III Health Given as Reason for Change
Kiiroy Is Here
Kilroy, famous T. U. student who is always sneaking into A.&M.
classrooms and writing his name on the wall, has finally faced the
camera. Here he is between two friends, Lum and Abner of radio
fame. -
Of Duties; May Carry On as Professor
In response to the widespread
student demand for opportunity
for free discussion of ideas of
general interest, the first group
discussion was held at the Y. M.
C. A. Monday night. Fifty peo
ple were present, including facul
ty members and their families,
students and their wives.
The program opened with Messrs.
Perry (Arch.) and Leary (Liberal
Arts), A. and M. students both
before and after the war, explain
ing the deficiencies in their edu
cation that were brought out by
their war experiences. Mr. Sell
ers (Vet. Med.) explained that the
requirements of veterinary train
ing have crowded general educa
tion from the curricula.
Dr. T. F. Mayo presented the
analytical definition of “good
general education” as explained in
the recent Harvard Report.
Mr. V. M. Faires and Mr. E. R.
Alexander, speaking for the tech
nical divisions of the college, eval
uated the curricula of their re
spective schools, and showed why
the curricula did not conform to
the requirements of a “general
education” as set up by the Har
vard Report.
In the general discussion that
followed, many students, including
Messrs. Leary, Peery, Sellars, Wat
son, Yentzen and Whitney, recom
mended the liberalizing of the
various curricula by the substi
tution of general education cours
es for many technical courses.
Several professors in technical
fields, including Dr. Wright and
Mr. Faires indicated the difficul
ty of such a solution. Mr. Pine
maintained by quotations from the
college catalogue that there are
already many opportunities for a
general education at A. & M. which
are largely unused.
Some students recommended that
an attempt be made by the tech
nical schools to eliminate all
technical and semi-technical sub
jects not absolutely necessary in
the equipment of their graduates.
These students desired such a
change in order that more time
might be spent on general educa
tion subjects.
Another recommendation was
“If Western Electric dares turn
scientists loose in its research
laboratories, and if Chase Nation
al Bank dares employ economists
in its research bureau, there is no
reason why people in our part of
the country should fear to elect
men of knowledge to high govern
ment posts.” Such was the advice
given by J. Frank Dobie, former
TU professor and world-famous
historian, to a large Guion Hall
audience last Saturday night. The
event was sponsored by the Ex-
Servicemen’s Club as the first of
a series of discussions of current
events by outstanding speakers. _
• Taking “Education” as his
topic, Dr. Dobie warned, “Espe
cially in the South voters have
been afraid of educated men
afraid of scientists—afraid, in
short, of knowledge and of men
who know what they are doing.
“Some of our greatest men
have been ridiculed because they
were above-average intelligencel
Woodrow Wilson was derided as
“impractical” because he was a
university president and the lead
ing authority on United States
history. Franklin Roosevelt was
laughed at for listening to a
Brains Trust, on the grounds that
the Brain Trust, being composed of
outstanding authorities in various
fields, must be “impractical.’
The Brain Trust had many faults,
but the fact that some members
‘knew too much” was not a fault
to be satirized.
“The ‘impractical’ Wilson was
succeeded by the ‘practical’ Hard-
E. O. Siecke Attends
Michigan Conference
E. O. Siecke, former state fores
ter of Texas, left today to attend
a conference at Higgins Lake,
Michigan, of a number of the Na
tion’s leading foresters and con
servationists. The meeting starts
Sunday and will continue through
Tuesday.
The foresters are being called
together by the American Forestry
Association to help outline a forest
program for the United States.
Findings of the group will be sub
mitted to the American forestry
congress, which the association has
announced will be held in Washing
ton, D. C., October 9, 10, and 11.
Siecke is a member of the ad
visory council of the AFA forest
resource appraisal project which
has just completed a three year in
ventory of the country’s forest re
sources.
He was also recently elected a
fellow member in the Society of
American Foresters. This is the
highest membership in the organ
ization and is awarded to foresters
who are recognized nationally for
their outstanding work. Fifty-seven
men have been appointed fellows
during the past 45 years. Member
ship in the SAF numbers about
5,000.
The Winkler collection of wood-
carvings in the A. & M. museum
came from the Netherlands East
Indies.
made that a definite discussion
program be established to enable
students to clarify and enlarge
upon the ideas presented in their
classes.
Future Topics
The general enthusiasm of the
students present indicated a de
sire to carry the discussion pro
gram on into greater and more
varied fields. Some topics sug
gested by the faculty and student
committee are:
What do the “isms” mean?
Useful ideas in modern psy
chology.
Trends in the modern novel.
What is democracy?
Evolution: old and new.
The topic and exact day and
hour for a discussion group meet
ing during the week of July 22nd,
will be announced soon in The
Battalion.
Elmer Scott Visitor
The first discussion group meet
ing had a distinguished and en
thusiastic visitor in Mr. Elmer
Scott, founder of the Dallas Civic
Federation. Mr. Scott is widely
known as an authority on adult
education in addition to his great
work on bringing internationally
known speakers and artists to Dal
las. Mr. Scott was greatly in
terested in the program at A. & M.
College, and offered the services
of the Federation speakers dur
ing their stay in Dallas at a great
ly reduced rate. Some of the
speakers on the Federation’s pro
gram are:
Edouard C. Lindemann; Social
Problems
Mrs. Emily Taft Douglas, Con
gresswoman at Large; Politi
cal Subjects
Hans Simons, Dean of Politics,
New School for Social Re
search; Political Subjects
Hernane Travares of Brazil;
Solidarity, of the Americans.
It is hoped that widespread stu
dent participation and interest will
encourage the College to bring
these and other well-known speak
ers to A. & M. on the Town Hall
program, and later under the aus
pices of the A. & M. College Free
Discussion Club.
ing and Coolidge. We got Teapot
Dome and the worst depression in
history.
“Still the cry goes out that we
must have more ‘practical’ men in
government. The so-called ‘prac
tical’ man frequently knows little
more about government than Davie
Crockett did when he was elected
to Congress for killing more bears
than any other hunter. Are we
still in the frontier days so far as
politics is concerned?
“Similar mental tricks have been
evident at Texas University and
other state colleges. An attempt
was made at T. U. to build a Magi-
not Line around the university to
keep out all ideas, so as to create
an obsolete college for an obso
lete economy. The men who did
this were looking backward toward
the days of the open range and
free grass, and refusing to face the
present or the future.
“The coyotes of our western
plains would have been extermin
ated if they had not adapted
themselves and changed their ways
to fit changed conditions. It is
time for citizens to prove them
selves as wise as coyotes and
adopt themselves to changing
times.”
The candidacy of Dr. Homer P.
Rainey for governor was endorsed
by Dr. Dobie, as an example of an
educated man running for high
public office.
Dr. Dobie was introduced by
Harry Kidd, former student of his
at T. U., now an instructor at A.
& M.
Prof. N. G. Davis
Return to Ag School
The School of Agriculture has
announced the return of Assistant
Professor Norris G. Davis, Mas
ter of Journalism graduate of Tex
as University and former member
of the department of rural sociolo
gy. Davis taught at Texas A. &
M. during the school year of 1940-
41, after which he accepted a posi
tion as graduate assistant at the
University of Wisconsin.
He recently was released from
active duty in the Quartermaster
Corps as a first lieutenant. His
outstanding work at Camp Lee,
Virginia, according to Daniel Rus
sell, head of the department of
rural sociology, earned for him
high commendations from superior
officers. He taught instructor class
es where officers were prepared
for work with enlisted personnel
and in other army schools. In ad
dition, he conducted classes at the
Officer Candidate School at Camp
Lee before being assigned to the
Instructor Training and Guidance
branch.
Still on terminal leave at this
time, Davis has reported on the
college campus and will teach two
courses in Agricultural Journalism
during the second summer term.
He and Mrs. Davis will make their
home in College Station.
Examine each chapter of text
before you read it. This will give
you a background of understand
ing.—A. & M. Handbook.
Rural Pastors
Convene Here
For Two Days
First Annual Conference
Of Group Sponsored by
Sociology Department
The first annual Rural Church
Conference opened at Texas A&M
College this morning in the Ag
ricultural Engineering Building
lecture room with Dr. W. H. An
drew, pastor of the First Baptist
Church of Bryan presiding. Rev.
A. T. Dyal, pastor of the First
Presbyterian Church of Bryan,
gave the invocation.
The delegates were welcomed by
President Gibb Gichrist and Rev.
A. J. Mohr, pastor of the Salem
Lutheran Church of Brenham, gave
the response to the welcome.
Dr. Ide P. Trotter, director of
the Texas A&M College Extension
Service, discussed the topic of
Soils and Souls, and was followed
by Rt. Rev. J. B. Gleissner, pastor
of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church of
Bryan, who spoke on the Rural
Challenge to the Church.
He was followed by Daniel
Russell, head of the department of
sociology at A&M (under which
department’s sponsorship the con
ference is being held) who dis
cussed the part the church plays
in serving all phases of x’ural life.
Eloise Trigg Johnson, special
ist in farm life education, Texas
A&M College Extension Service,
substituted for Miss Jennie Camp,
who was unable to appear as had
been scheduled. Her topic was
the Advantages of Rural Life.
Questions and discussions rounded
out the morning sessions.
This afternoon the group will
begin work at 1:30 with Dean C.
N. Shepardson presiding. Rev.
J. O. Fort, pastor of the Free Will
Baptist Church of Bryan, will give
the invocation.
Other talks will be given by
Dr. Luther Jones, acting head of
the agronomy department at the
college; E. S. McFadden and T. R.
Richmond, Texas Agricultural Ex
periment Station; Dr. I. W. Rupel,
head of the college dairy husban
dry department; and Roy Snyder,
of the Extension Service.
The evening session will open
at 7:30 o’clock with Bishop
Clinton Quinn, Houston, presiding
and Rev. James S. Butler, pastor'
of the St. Andrews Episcopal
Church, giving the invocation.
Rev. A. B. White, Texas General
Baptist Convention, Dallas, will
speak on the subject of “God
Speaks to and Through Rural Peo
ple”.
Rev. C. W. Lokey, Methodist
Home Missions, New York, was
scheduled to appear but an unex
pected call of other duties will
prevent his being present and
Prof. Russell will speak in his
place on the announced subject
of Training Rural Preachers at
Texas A&M College. Rev. Lok
ey is a former Bryan pastor and
a student at Texas A&M under
Prof. Russell.
The meetings are open to the
general public, and all are cor
dially invited to attend all ses
sions.
The purpose is to outline to the
pastors the many ways they can
aid their rural parishioneers by
knowing where they can get the
information they may need, or in
some cases they may be able to
lend the helping hand needed
through what they may learn at
the conference.
Lizard Book by
Dr. H. M. Smith
Is Published
A “Handbook of Lizards” by Dr.
Hobart Muir Smith, Associate
Professor of Fish and Game, Tex
as A. & M. College, recently has
been published.
The new volume is a handbook of
the American natural history
series. It is the first full treat
ment thus far published of liz
ards occurring in the United
States and in Canada. The book
considers 136 species of lizards
under a wide range of topics cov
ering the entire life history, dis
tribution, characteristics, habitat,
habits and methods of collection
and preservation.
The volume is illustrated with
more than 300 photographs, in
cluding practically all species and
subspecies. The distribution of
the lizards is indicated by lined
drawings and range maps. Also
included are illustrated keys to all
the families, genera, species, and
subspecies of North American liz
ards.
Dr. Smith has made important
contributions to the study of North
American reptiles, based on ex
tended field work in Mexico and
the United States. He graduated
from the Kansas State College in
1932, took his master’s and doc
tor’s degrees at the University of
Kansas in 1933 and 1936. Dr.
Smith and his students are carry
ing on further researches in the
herpetology of North America with
special reference to Texas, with
College Station as the center of
their operations.
Harrell, Winner of
Congressional Medal,
May Return to A. & M.
Does anybody have a house or
apartment for a Congressional
Medal of Honor winner?
William G. Harrell, ’43, one of
two surviving Aggie winners of
the nation’s highest military hon
or, has announced his intention of
returning to A. & M. if he can
find a house here for himself and
his wife.
Ex-Marine Harrell, who lost both
hands on Iwo Jirna in close com
bat with the Japs, was an Animal
Husbandry major before the war.
He lived in the American Legion
Project House and was a member
of C troop cavalry,
Lecture - Record
Makes History
In Local Class
Transcription Makes
Field Trip to Denton
Unnecessary This Year
Successful use of recorded lec
tures in classroom education was
demonstrated in the Texas A. &
M. College Department of Agron
omy by L. M. Thompson when he
used the recorded voice of Paul B.
Dunkle, superintendent of the
Denton Experiment Station, for
student instruction during one of
the classes of the current summer
term.
It is usual procedure for the
class in Soil and Crop Manage
ment to take a trip to Denton for
practical demonstrations by Dun
kle and his staff. Because of
limited time in summer sessions,
the class could not be taken to
North Texas, and Dunkle’s du
ties kept him away from A. & M.
College.
Thompson arranged with R. B.
Hickerson of the extension serv
ice to lecture in Dunkle’s place,
and Hickerson decided that a
simplified system of voice re
cording could be worked out with
C. W. Jackson, extension radio
editor. Jackson delivered five
recordings of interviews with the
Denton station superintendent to
the classroom and they were
“played” for the students.
The department and the 24 stu
dents were unanimous in express
ing their praise of recordings as
an added aid to modern teaching
methods.
“Mr. Dunkle’s lectures are in
valuable to students of this
course,” said Thompson, “and to
hear his voice left a deeper im
pression on the student than
would someone quoting his state
ments.” \
Houston Engineers
Speak to Architects
Continuing with the policy of
sponsoring out of town profes
sional men to address the organiza
tion as guest speakers, the Archi
tecture Society at its last meeting
held Tuesday nig-ht heard two out
standing engineers of the field of
heating and aitconditioning.
Ben Mills and Bob Salinger,
both of Houston, gave a dual dis
cussion on new types of air con
ditioning systems and answered
many questions of members of the
society. The main point stressed
was the need of early consultation
between the engineer and the ar
chitect. The speakers were intro
duced by Harold Jordan, president
of the society.
Plans for an exhibit of sketches
and photograph made by students,
of the Department of Architecture'
during the war were made. This
exhibit will be announted to the
public in the pear future.
2,507 Old Students
Register for Second
Sununer Term
New Students Register
Monday Under Old System
By five o’clock Saturday 2,507
old students had gone through the
lines at Sbisa Hall to register for
the second semester of summer
school. Registration was more ef
ficient and faster than at any prev
ious time and most students were
completely through with the for
malities within thirty minutes. The
main complaint of the day seemed
not to be with the system this time
but with the heat that went with
it. _
Registration of all new students
will be held on the afternoon of
the 15th. Those registering at that
time will have to go to the various
departments of the college to sign
up for their work. According to the
Registrar’s office approximately
500 are expected to register at that
time. All classes will begin the fol
lowing Tuesday morning, the lt6h.
Firemen Here
For Short Course
Cliff Edge to Register
Visitors; Dorm 2, 4 & 6
To Be Used as Quarters
They probably will leave the red
helmets and rubber boots at home
but starting next Sunday Texas
firemen will be present on the
campus attending the annual Fire
men’s Short Course. The course
will last until the following Fri
day.
Cliff Edge is in charge of regis
tering the visiting firemen who
will be housed in dormitories two,
four and six.
Special effort is being made to
comfort the visitors. Ice barrels
are being placed at various loca
tions on the campus to suppli-
ment the water cooling systems.
The firefighters will eat at either
the Aggieland Inn, the mess hall
cafeterias or at the cafe at North
ate.
Maj. Gen. Bruce, ’16
Returns to 7th Div.
Major General Andrew D. Bruce,
class of ’16, reassumed command of
the Seventh Infantry Division in
Korea today after returning from
a leave at his home in Temple,
Texas. Former commander of the
77th Division during five Pacific
operations, he first became com
manding general of the Hourglass
Division here last March.
During his recent leave General
Bruce was presented an honorary
doctor of law degree by Texas A.
and M.
An infantry veteran in both
world wars, he fought through five
major campaigns in World War I
with the Second Division. During
the recent Pacific war, General
Bruce led the 77th Division through
the Guam, Philippines, Keramo
Rhetto, le Shima and Okinawa bat
tles. In the Leyte and Okinawa
campaigns, he fought side by side
with the Seventh Division.
The general’s wife, Mrs. Ro
berta K. Bruce, lives in Temple,
Texas, with their son, Logal L., 17,
and daughter, Linnell, 20. Another
son, Captain A. D. Bruce, Jr., 23,
an infantry platoon leader in the
Okinawa battle, was recently dis
charged from the Army.
The Texas Aggie, publication of
the Ex-Students Association, is
mailed to readers all over the
world.
The fossils in the A. & M.
museum were collected by Mark
Francis over a period of more
than forty years.
The relieving of Dr. R. P. Mar-
steller as Dean of the School of
Veterinary Medicine at an early
date was learned late yesterday
afternoon. Confirmation of the fact
was made this morning by Dean F.
C. Bolton.
Dr. Marsteller has been Dean of
the Veterinary School for nine
years. He lacks one year of at
taining the compulsory retirement
age of 65.
During the speed-up program,
full capacity was claimed of all de
partments of the School of Vete
rinary Medicine and supplies were
exhausted to a degree of ineffic
iency.
Laboring under difficult circum
stances, the school still received the
following commendation, “Reflec
tion on the accomplishment of the
W. C. Winegar,
Vet. Med. Major,
Drowns in Gulf
W. C. Winegar, veteran student
in the school of Veterinary Medi
cine, was drowned Monday at Gal
veston, where he had been a pa
tient at John Seely Hospital.
Winegar was a familiar sight
around the A. & M. campus or be
tween college and Bryan, riding a
single-cylinder motor-bike. At a
recent rodeo in Bryan, he was
among those who tackled a wild
bull, trying to take a $10‘ bill
from its horns.
During the month of June, Win-
gar spent a week at John Seely
hospital in Galveston as a patient.
He was not enrolled for the cur
rent semester, but was expected
to return in the fall. An attempt
was being made this week to con
tact the next of kin, believed to be
in San Francisco, Cal.
Architects Show
Church Plans to
Rural Pastors
The Department of Architec
ture in conjunction with the De
partment of Rural Sociology pre
sented a number of rural church
designs to the First Annual Rural
Church Conference which is meet
ing here today and tomorrow.
The design of these churches has
been the semester project of the
second year students in Architec
ture under the direction of Pro
fessor William W. Caudill. The
third and fourth year students as
sisted in cost estimation and con
struction.
The church designs will be dis
played Friday afternoon. After
a brief talk by Mr. Caudill, the
students will be ready to answer
any questions asked them by the
delegates to the conference.
E. D. Staffers
Return From
St. Louis Meet
Four Texas A. & M. College en
gineering drawing instructors have
settled down to their primary du
ties after a busy ten days at St.
Louis, where they served as fac
ulty for a drawing-instructor
school sponsored by the American
Society for Engineering Educa
tion at Washington University.
The quartet—W. E. Street, head
of the department, and Profes
sors Gene Brock, C. H. Randsdell
and J. G. McGuire—taught draw
ing all day and then in the ev
enings served as ^committee of
the ASEE, which held its annual
meeting in St. Louis concurrently.
Street reported that he turned
over his editorship of the ASEE
Journal of Engineering Drawing to
Prof. A. A. Aakhus of Nebraska
University, after a two-year
stewardship which saw the maga
zine’s circulation doubled and its
financial condition much improved.
Further, Street said the ASEE
council on engineering drawing
had approved a system of stan
dardization of descriptive geome
try notation and nomenclaure
which he and four other commit
teemen had drafted.
Barlow, Faires, Honored
At SPEE Annual Meeting
Dr. Howard W. Barlow, dean of
engineering at Texas A. & M.
College, has been named to the
council of the Society for Promo
tion of Engineering Education,
serving as representative of the
SPEE aeronautical division. He
was so honored at the annual
meeting of the SPEE in St. Louis
last week.
Virgil B. Faires, head of the
Texas A. & M. management en
gineering department, presented
a paper on “Teaching of Entropy
to Undergraduate Students” be
fore the mechanical engineering
division of the SPEE at St. Louis.
graduation of many young men
much needed by the war effort,
livestock interests, and other sta
tions requiring the assistance and
management of veterinarians will
always be an achievement to re
fer to with pride and satisfaction.”
This is quoted from the “Annual
Report” for the fiscal year 1944-
45, by President Gibb Gilchrist.
In the same report recommenda
tions were made for the better
ment of the school pointing out
that ready liberal cooperation of
the Board of Directors, adminis
trative officers, and the tireless
endeavor of all departments heads
and their associates would be re
quired.
Ill health was given as the
cause for early retirement of Dr.
Marsteller.
E. E. Department
Installs Station
At Dow-Freeport
Study of Tropic Weather
Disturbances Is Aided
By Radio Equipment
Second step of a new program
for study of tropic weather dis
turbances was taken by the Tex
as A. & M. electrical engineering
department with installation of a
radio-direction-finding station near
the Dow Chemical company plant
at Freeport.
The electrical engineering de
partment already has a station in
operation here, and plans a third
somewhere on the Gulf coast as
soon as the equipment has been
gathered and assembled, M. C.
Mughes, head of the department,
said.
The direction-finding equipment
used m the program, which is be
ing developed in cooperation with
the University of Florida, has
been built during two years of ex
perimentation by Assistant Pro
fessors A. E. Salis and J. M. Chil
ton. Salis supervised the Free
port installation, which will be
operated by the Dow corporation.
One of the chief benefits ex
pected to be obtained by multi
ple “tracking” of tropic disturb
ances far down in the Gulf of
Mexico, Hughes said, is ample
warning of approaching storms for
industries in coastal areas, giving
them time to make preparations
for weathering a blow. Correla
tion of information with that ob
tained by Florida University at its
stations eventually is expected to
make it possible to alert any part
of the Gulf coastline.
Radar equipment will be instal
led as a supplement to the DF
gear when it becomes available,
Hughes explained, and research
seeking to improve existing para
phernalia will be continued.
Sanitary Eng.
Dept. Plans for
Future Changes
Plans for future development of
the municipal and sanitary en
gineering department at Texas A.
& M. College are being carefully
formulated and will be announced
soon, Engineering Dean H. W.
Barlow says.
Destiny of the M&SE branch,
whose classrooms have produced
many of Texas’ sanitary engineers,
became obscured recently upon
the appointment of Dr. S. R.
Wright, acting head, as chief of
the department of civil engineer
ing, soon after the resignation of
Col. E. W. Steele, M&SE head,
who has been on military leave.
“Although Dr. Wright now is
head of the civil engineering de
partment, he probably will devote
a great deal of his time as in
structor in sanitary engineering—
at least until we can work out new
plans for the department,” Dean
Barlow revealed.
Col. Steele said, in his letter
of resignation, that he intended
to become consulting engineer for
the National Institute of Sanitary
Works in Venezuela. He was
cited by the Venezuelan govern
ment for his sanitary work in that
country during the war.
Professor C. E. Sandstedt was
acting head of the civil engineer
ing department during the war
years while J. T. L. McNew was
on military leave. McNew, upon
his return, became vice president
for engineering.
Dr. Wright, a 1922 graduate
of Texas A. & M., received his
Ph. D. from the same institution
last June, becoming the first man
in history to win four degrees at
Aggieland. Currently, he is prin
cipal instructor for a group of 17
Corps of Engineers taking re
fresher courses at the college.
Fear of Educated Candidates? . . .
"Men Who Know” Should Be Elected
J. F. Dobie Says In Guion Hall Talk