FRIDAY NIGHT
VOLUME 46
Texas A&M
The B
PUBLISHED IN THE INTEREST OF A GREATER A & M COLLEGE
COLLEGE STATION (Aggieland), TEXAS, THURSDAY, APRIL 10, 1947
SBISA HALL
Number 56
Gilchrist, Walton, Clark, Rollins Subpoenaed
Stan Kenton’s Orchestra To
Play Week-End Concert, Dance
Stan Kenton, who’s band has re
cently “cleaned up” in popular
ity polls conducted by the nations
most read music publications, will
make a one night appearance for
the All College dance Saturday,
April 12. Kenton will give a one
hour concert at 7:15 p.m. in Guion
Hall before the dance, with the ad
mission 60tf for students and $1.00
for non-students. The dance starts
at 9:15 and admission is $2.00 for
stag or couple.
Tickets are on sale in the
rotunda of the Academic Build
ing.
Cute and blonde June Christy,
featured vocalist with Stan Ken
ton, has in the last two years prov
en herself to be one of the bright
est new finds in the realm of
name bands. Celebrating her sec
ond anniversary with the Kenton
band this month, she can look back
on the fact that she won every
major popularity contest this past
year, arid has just signed a long
term contract with Capitol records.
There seems to have been some
mix up on whether June Christy
or Shirley Luster was to accom
pany Stan to A&M, but everything
has been straightened out. June
Christy and Shirley Luster are
one and the same person. Shirley
Luster is her real name, June
Christy is her stage name. Inci
dentally, June, or Shirley, is only
21 years old.
“His Feet Too Big for ’de Bed”
could easily apply to Stan Kenton.
He’s 6’ 5” tall and weighs over
200 pounds, and really has trouble
finding a hotel that has beds long
enough for him. “His Feet Too
Big for ’de Bed” is one of the
bands latest record releases for
Capitol.
“The Pastels,” vocal quintet with
the Stan Kenton orchestra, are an
unusual group inasmuch as each
voice was auditioned and hired in
dividually. Stan had gone through
so much trouble trying to find a
suitable organized group, that he
finally decided to organize a group
of his own. Thus, “The Pastels”.
They have only been with the band
for about three months and already
have a hit record to their credit.
If you think musicians know on
ly music, you’re dead wrong. Last
year the Kenton orchestra had an
undefeated soft-ball team after
playing some of the best amateur
teams in the nation, not to mention
the other band teams. In case
you’re interested, Kenton was Bat-
boy.
Carlos Gastel, personal manager
for Stan, has probably the three
greatest attractions in the music
business today. Besides Stan, he
also handles the King Cole Trio,
Peggy Lee, and just recently
signed the new singing sensation
Mel Torme.
Kenton will also appear on WT
AW at 4:30 Saturday afternoon.
Some of his hit records will be
played, and he will be interviewed.
Clarifying reports in the trade
press to the effect that Kenton
is cancelling dates for his famed
orchestra, the Capitol Information
Bureau reviewed conditions with
the band leader. Actually, Ken
ton’s band is taking an enforced
vacation at the insistance of Stan’s
personal physician. His grueling
Jakkula Circulates
Letter Endorsing
Gilchrist, Directors
An open letter was circula
ted among some members of
the faculty by Dr. Arne A.
Jakkula, executive director of
the A. & M. research founda
tion this week.
The text of the letter follows
below:
“To whom it may concern:
“We, the undersigned members
of the staff of A&M College, take
this means of endorsing and pledg
ing our wholehearted support to
the president and the board of
directors in their policies of admin
istration.
“We join with them in being de
termined to make this college an
outstanding institution of higher
learning in all ways. We deplore
the recent disturbances which have
brought undesirable and unfavor
able publicity to this institution.
“We strongly resent the pre-
sumptious statement of Professor
F. B. Clark indicating that a great
er part of the staff was opposed to
the administration of the college
and deplore his unethical conduct
and bad taste in alleging to speak
for us.
“We have neither been intimi
dated nor coerced nor have our
civil liberties nor academic free
dom been abridged by the adminis
tration of this cptlege.”
road tours, personal appearances
and recording dates during six
years without rest have so endan
gered his health that his doctors
warned he must either stop tem
porarily or risk a complete col
lapse. Hence, arrangements were
made for Stan to finish out the
April engagements under direct
care of his doctor throughout. He
will travel through Texas, Louis
iana, Alabama, Tennessee, North
Carolina, Virginia and Maryland,
winding up April 30 at the Hippo
drome Theatre in Baltimore.
Kennel Club
Dog Show
Set April 25
The third all-breed dog
show of the Brazos Valley
Kennel Club, sponsored by
the College Station Recrea
tion Council, will be held April 25
on the Animal Husbandry grounds.
Kennel Clubs are non-profit or
ganizations and as such, The Bra
zos County Kennel Club will use
the profits of the coming show
to further recreation in this area.
Harry Boyer has been appointed
chairman of the committee res
ponsible for making outside ar
rangements for the show. Other
committeemen are: Ralph Steen,
advertising; Dr. J. D. Neal, ticket
sales; Francis Vaughn, arena ar
rangements; Cecil Womble, child
ren training classes; Wayne Long,
handlers quarters; Louis Haupt,
information and public address
system; and Carl Tischler, food
concessions. Proceeds of the food
will be allocated to the Mother’s
and Dad’s Club of A & M Con
solidated School.
The bench show committee will
be composed of members of the
Kennel Club: H. C. Stewart, G. B.
Winstead, Dr. George T. Edds,
Cecil Wamble, and Mrs. D. E. Van
Buskirk, superintendent.
The show is accredited with the
American Kennel Club and is a
member of the Texas Circuit.
All dogs to be entered in the
show must be registered before
noon, April 12.
Cadet Trials
Concluded
Trials of cadets charged with
disobedience of orders were con
cluded Tuesday night. Total pun
ishments handed out were: 35 stu
dents moved out of corps; 83 cam-
pused and rammed; 21 found in
nocent.
The cadets were charged with
failure to report to Ross Hall when
ordered to do so after the senior
class meeting which voted “no
confidence” in cadet officers Ed
Brandt and Jack Nelson.
Harry J. Auverman, Oliver W.
Potter, Dale M. Wilkerson are no
longer in the corps.
Found innocent were John Spra-
gins, James E. Slaughter and E.
Slaughter.
Given demerits and restricted to
campus for various lengths of time
were i
W.’n. (Country) Higgins, W. J.
Mannas, Andrew F. Moore, Ver
non Hill, Robert L. Moore, Joe P.
Mueller, Joe B. Pettit, Ray L. Port-
lock, Fred R. Holste, R. F. Huston,
George P. Knox, James E. Morten-
son, Jean Nelson, Richard L. Ploch,
R. C. Qualls,' J. Tilford Jones.
Also Pete Scarmado, Robert W.
Spoede, Fred Thurmond, George
M. Wilson, Maurice E. Robinowitz,
John L. Slack, Burke I. Summers,
James P. Taylor, Roy E. Tipton,
R. K. Williams, Hershel C. Wood,
Heyward C. Hosch, Jack D. Rus
sell, Robert P. Swann, Mertz A.
Taylor, Arthur D. Werner, William
R. Wilson were given demerits and
restricted to the campus.
Extension Service
Agent Killed Tues.
Miss Tina Stewart, district agent
for the A&M College Extension
Service, was killed instantly by a
freight train near the Missouri
Pacific Railroad station, College
Station, shortly before 8 p.m.,
April 8.
Miss Stewart, who had driven to
the station to pick up a passenger
from the Southern Pacific stream
liner, stepped out of her car as the
Sunbeam approached the station,
directly into the path of a Missouri
Pacific freight train. It is be
lieved that the noise from the ap
proaching Sunbeam drowned out
the sound of the freight.
Chosen Veterans Duchess for the Cotton Ball and Pageant is MISS GLORIA JEAN STRANGE, 18-
year-old, blue-eyed blonde, who hails from Temple, Texas. GLORIA, a native Texan, was graduated from
Temple High School, and is a music major attending Junior College there. MISS STRANGE’S picture was
submitted by veteran WILLIAM R. HOCHMUTH of Houston, a graduate of San Jacinto High School,
and at present a sophomore majoring in mechanical engineering.
Agronomy Society Completes
Plans for Cotton Pageant
Earl D. Hard
The Agronomy Society’s annual Cotton Ball which is to
be presented the evening of April 18, is to be one of the larg
est affairs of the current semester’s social calendar.
There have been approximately ^.30 duchesses elected
and sent in to the Agronomy Society, it has been announced
by J. S. Mogford. Approximately 20 more clubs have
notified the society that they would elect duchesses and send
them in soon.
The Aggieland Orchestra wilH
open the affair with a special ar
rangement of “Old Man River.”
The scenery, which is to be a
“Showboat”, is being made by ar
tists from Sanger Brothers’ force
of decorators and display adver
tisers.
Immediately following the open
ing of the affair by the orchestra,
the crowning of the Cotton King,
Eugene J. Vacek, will take place.
The crowning of the Cotton Queen,
Joann Dobbs, will follow the
crowning of the king by Govern
or Jester. In conjunction with
the crowning of the queen, her
8 maids of honor will also be pre
sented. There will be two num
bers by the TSCW Caperettes and
the magician “Christy the Great”
who has built a reputation as an
entertainer among children as well
as grown-ups. These numbers will
be followed by the style show
which is sponsored by Sanger
Brothers of Dallas. Mrs. Manning
Smith has announced that the girls
from Sanger’s will all be profes
sional models and will be wearing
“all that is new in cotton.” In
connection with all this there will
be a number of girls from outside
the continental United States
who will be presented. These
girls will be dressed in native cos
tumes. The grand finale will come
when the TSCW Caperettes and
Christy the Great” will perform
a number in conjunction. This is
the tentative order in which the
program will be presented. There
will probably be some more chan
ges as Mrs. Wedell, director of the
style show, has a few surprises in
store.
The duchesses from the South
western Conference schools will be
presented with the other duchesses,
but will have their school song
played when they are presented.
The dance which is to follow the
ball will begin at 10 and continue
until 2. The music for the dance
will be furnished by the Aggieland
Orchestra.
A&M Receives
Housing For
Classes, Labs
Maybe you’ve been wondering
what the buildings across from St.
Mary’s Chapel are! They are part
of the $75,000,000 expenditure ap
propriated by Congress for emer
gency educational facilities at Am
erican Colleges and Universities in
connection with the Veterans Edu
cational Program.
Out of the appropriation A&M
will receive 10 classroom buildings.
The buildings will be so construct
ed as to provide for 38 classrooms,
one lecture room, four laboratories,
and 43 offices. $192,000 has been
allocated the Federal Works Agen
cy for cash outlay in connection
with the buildings. Aside from
that, the College expects to spend
$15,000 for sidewalks and utilities.
Also in connection with the ap
propriation, A&M will reveive a
one story field classroom to be con
structed between the Horticulture
and Poultry farms for the use of
these two departments. Easterwood
Field will also profit by the addi
tion of a 147 ft. by 210 ft. hangar
which is now being dismantled at
the Corsicana Airport for ship
ment here. Two small equipment
sheds will be built on the College
Plantation.
According to T. R. Spence, man
ager of construction program at
A&M, the buildings will be com
pleted sometime this summer and
should help alleviate the crowded
classroom conditions.
OrganizationalMeetingMonday
For City Chamber of Commerce
An organizational meeting of the
new College Station Chamber of
Commerce will be held Monday
night, April 14, at 7:30 p.m., in
the A.&M. Consolidated School
Gymnasium.
The sponsoring committee (the
Business and Civic Development
Committee of the Kiwanis Club)
met Monday, March 31, and estab
lished the time and place of the
future meeting. Invited to meet
with the sponsoring committee
were the following individuals and
groups: the mayor, city manager,
holdover members of the city coun
cil and the prospective members;
the president of the board of the
A. & M. Consolidated Independent
School District and the local mem
bers of the board; the school sup
erintendent; the president of the
Mothers’ and Dads’ Club; the pres
ident of A. & M. College; the im
mediate past president and the
next immediate past president of
the Bryan-College Station Chamber
of Commerce; the past-president
and representative members of the
Lions Club; representative mem
bers of the Rotary Club; local real
estate men; the president of the
Kiwanis Club; representative mem
bers of the Recreation Council;
and members of the proposed or
ganization who submitted sugges
tions for the working program of
the organization.
Progress- Report
A report of the progress being
made in the signing of the charter
members was given, stating that
all business houses, with the ex
ception of one small concern, had
signed the charter. The report
also stated that the total charter
membership is approaching the
200 mark, with some 35 petitions
still in the hands of workers not
yet heard from.
After some discussion, it was de
cided that the name “College Sta
tion Development Association and
Chamber of Commerce” was more
descriptive of the broad objectives
of the organization; the by-laws
committee was then instructed to
submit this as one of the possible
names of the proposed organiza
tion.
Membership
In discussions concerning the
broadening the scope of the organ
ization, the question was raised as
to whether it would not lend
strength to the organization to in
vite members from among the non
business ladies of the community,
inasmuch as the business member
ship is mixed. This suggestion
was adopted by the sponsoring
committee, and a committee of la
dies was named to conduct a mem
bership drive. Committees already
named were expanded to include
lady members.
The concensus of those present
was that a membership fee of five
dollars per individual member, or
six dollars annually for a husband-
and-wife membership would be suf
ficient, with a drive to be conduc
ted among the business members
for any additional funds needed
to meet budget requirements.
Committees
Temporary committees named to
function until permanent organ
ization is -completed were as fol
lows:
Organization: Lamar Fly, chair
man; Ewing Brown, A. M. Whitis,
L. P. Gabbard, Mrs. Manning
Smith, Mrs. Ralph Steen.
By-Laws: Ralph Steen, Chair
man; Joe Sorrels, Dan Davis, Mrs.
G. W. Schlesselman.
Ladies Membership: Mrs. Frank
Anderson, Chairman; Mrs. Hershel
Burgess, Mrs. Tom Harrington,
Mrs. Cecil Culpepper, Mrs. Joe
Woolket, Mrs. W. L. Penberthy,
Mrs. Howard Barlow.
Program: Frank Anderson,
chairman; Bill Turner, Music; Ray
Hickman, Gene Brock.
Publicity: Ray Oden, chairman;
Mrs. Norman Anderson, and a staff
to be named for assistance in tele
phoning.
It was emphasized that these
committees were temporary, and
that alternative sets of by-laws
and organizational set-ups were to
be drawn up for submission to the
entire body for consideration. Re
jected was a suggestion that this
meeting authorize the temporary
chairman to appoint a nominating
committee.
Veterans Heard by
State Committee
BULLETIN
Summoned to appear before the Senate-House investigating
committee are President Gibb Gilchrist, former president T. O.
Walton, Dr. F. B. Clark, head of Economics Department, Dean of
Men J. W. “Dough” Rollins, Allen Self, Corps Editor of The Bat
talion, Byron Winstead, head of the College Information Depart
ment, Dean of the College F. C. Bolton, George B. Wilcox, head of
the Education-Psychology Department, and Shannon Jones, a stu
dent whom VSA treasurer Sam Williams said was “just dying to
testify before this committee.”
Scheduled to appear before the committee tonight are six
board members: Tyree Bell, Dallas; E. W. Harrison, South Bend;
C. C. Krueger, San Antonio; John W. Newton, Beaumont; Rufus
Peeples, Tehuacana; and Roy C. Potts, Belton.
WALTON FILES INVOLVED
Secret files of Dr. T. O. Walton, former head of A. & M.
College, will be subpoenaed by the investigating committee, chair
man Fred Harris said as the committee recessed yesterday. The
group heard Bill McCormick state that the “midnight march” was
intended as a slap at the president rather than a protest against
new rules. Also heard were Ed Brandt, Bob Poison, and Sam
Williams.
Williams claimed that “gestapo methods” of the administration
were demoralizing the school. In the course of his testimony he
mentioned Dr. T. O. Walton, former president of A. & M. College.
As an example of the close watch on students, the VSA
treasurer cited the case of campus police who “snoop around and
eavesdrop” near groups of persons.
by Vick Lindley
Texas A. & M. should have an educator on its board of
directors, even if it requires rewriting present statutes, the
house-senate investigating committee was told in Austin
Tuesday night by Ed Fisher, secretary of the Veteran Stu
dents Association. Fisher’s suggestion was made in reply
to a question by Sen. George A.-4——— ——
Moffett, Aggie-ex, “What is your
objection to the board of direc
tors ?”
Fisher and W. S. Andrews, pres
ident of the VSA, were the only
two witnesses heard Tuesday night.
Andrews was on the stand for two
hours and 45 minutes, of which 45
minutes was taken up by a pre
pared statement which Andrews
read.
Fisher told the committee, in re
sponse to questions, that the first
evidence of student unrest he en
countered on his return to the cam
pus after the war was in regard
to the mess hall. A steady diet of
beef and potatoes, served cold, at
prices that seemed high, was the
root of that dissatisfaction, Fish
er said. When the mess hall com
mittee was told that high over
head made low prices impossible,
the students came to the conclus
ion that the entire school was in
need of investigation, he reported.
Still speaking of the mess hall
Fisher said, “When I first came to
A. & M. you could get along on
practically nothing. Now it is the
same as the university.” Laughter
was stilled by a warning from Sen.
Fred Harris, chairman of the com
mittee, who several times warned
that the committee would go into
closed executive session if demon
strations were made.
“Politics is a wonderful thing
for running a state, but out of
place in an educational institu
tion,” was another of Fisher’s re
marks. Fisher stated that he per
sonally had no grievance against
the administration, but that when
he became a dormitory representa
tive last fall, he was presented
with many complaints of intimida
tion. “Most of these things were
unknown to me, and I didn’t be
lieve them until we made our in
vestigation,” Fisher stated.
Clark Letter
A letter from Dr. F. B. Clark,
dated May 1944 and charging the
administration with intimidation
of faculty members, was read into
the record. Fisher certified the
copy he read to be a true copy of
one signed by Dr. Clark which
Fisher himself had carefully cop
ied. The original is still in Dr.
Clark’s hands, according to Fish
er. The Clark letter did not cite
specific instances.
At one point in the proceedings,
Fisher was assured by Sen. Harris
that his “head would not be chop
ped off” for answering questions.
The Six Questions
Andrews was questioned for two
hours about the six questions which
the Veterans Association had ask
ed in their mass meeting last
month.
Highlights of the dialogue be
tween Andrews and Sen Dorsey
Hardeman follow:
Q. Are you satisfied with Pre-
ident Gilchrist’s answer to your
first question? (Note: about funds
for new Science Hall.)
A. These facts were given to
me and I present them as head of
the Veteran Students Association.
Q. In regard to Question 2.
(Price of Brazos Bottom Farm.)
Have you made any investigation
of the price of land there?
A. No, but Sam Williams and
Bob Poison did.
Q. In regard to Question 3. (Ex
change Store profits.) Don’t you
think that is a reasonable profit
on that much business?
A. I am not qualified to ans
wer that question. We are not
asking what they did with the
money, but why a “non-profit”
store should make any profit.
Q. Are you satisfied with Pres
ident Gilchrist’s statement, in re
gard to Question 4 (wind tunnel)
that Dean Potter made no such
recommendation ?
A. We have proof that Dr. Pot
ter did make such a recommenda
tion.
At the end of the discussion of
the six questions Andrews stated,
“These facts were given to me and
I present them as head of the
VSA.”
Question on Clark
Andrews was questioned in some
detail as to how the veterans came
to get the Clark letter.
Q. Were charges or statements
by Mr. Clark submitted to vet
erans ?
A. They were read to us.
Q. By whom?
A. I do not wish to name the
person.
Q. You are under oath!
A. Mr. Clark read them to me.
Q. Where was he?
A. We went by.
Q. To his house?
A. To his office. He read them
to the committee.
Q. Who was present?
Members of the committee.
Who appointed the commit-
A.
Q.
tee?
A.
Q.
A.
I did.
Who were they?
Sam Williams, Dave Elliott,
and that’s all I remember.
Q. How did you know that Mr.
Clark had made this statement?
A. We knew how Mr. Clark
felt about matters, and asked for a
statement.
Q. What other members of the
faculty were approached?
A. Dr. Wilcox.
Q. Do you know of any finan
cial corruption — embezzlement or
theft—as mentioned in this letter?
(Note—senior class letter)
A. That has nothing to do with
the VSA.
Q. I’ll close the letter up and
ask that question again. Is any
body stealing anything?
A. I personally don’t know.
Q. You have no specific facts
on which to base your opinions?
A. Yes sir, we took a poll of
2,200 veterans.
Q. Did anybody give you any
information?
A. 5,813 veterans asked ques-
You only asked 2,200.
That’s pretty representa
tions.
Q.
A.
tive.
Q. Do you know of any student
who did not graduate because he
talked?
A. No, but Buddy Brennan was
told to keep quiet, and so was a
boy named Cooper.
Q. Who told them to keep
quiet?
A. The Dean of Men, Dough
Rollins.
Q.- At the mass meeting, were
any specific charges made?
A. After my speech, some of
the boys made charges. A photo
grapher made charges against
Student Activities.
Q. Who is in charge of Student
Activities?
A. I don’t know, but a guy
named Elms works there.
Q. Do you have the names of
those boys?
A. Yes, I will give them to you.
See HEARING, Page 4