Page Two
THE BATTALION, College Station (Aggieland), Texas, Tuesday, May 6, 1947
Minus Ten Percent!...
Following in the steps of the little Massachusetts sea
port town, Newburyport, cities over the nation have joined
in the efforts to “reduce prices by reducing them.” All the
way down to Texas, cities have reduced prices 10 percent—
and in some cases more—to ward off a “massive and crip
pling recession.”
New York was one of the latest major cities to cut
prices, started by seven stores in the Queensborough resi
dential district and followed by 150 Brooklyn firms.
Down Texas way, the Capitol City has listed 48 firms in
support of the 10% price reduction, and reports from staunch
supporters indicated that it was already paying off as far
as increased business was concerned.
In Corpus Christi one used car dealer announced a
$100-cut on all cars in his lot. Seven other Corpus firms
followed suit. In Lubbock a paint company came across
with proportional slashes. San Angelo, Harlingen, Denton,
San Antonio, and Tyler are also trying the Newburyport
Plan.
The Newburyport Plan has merit—but it cannot suc
ceed with half-hearted support. If enough College Station
—and Bryan—^business houses will join in the fight for low
er prices, wholesalers will be forced to cooperate and manu
facturers will fall in step. When these two large groups get
into the swing of things, retailers can continue to sell at re
duced prices.
What Sponsors Hope to Accomplish
According to the Essex County Development Council,
sponsors of the Newburyport Plan, a 10 percent decrease will
break the buyers strike. Buyers who have turned a blind
side to high-priced commodities will again make shopping
tours. Turn about, when cost-of-living is lowered, wage de
mands will drop and manufacturers can continue on an even
keel.
Down go prices—prices stay down—and threat of in
flation is gone.
How College Station and Bryan Can Help
College Station and Bryan merchants wishing to adopt
the Newburyport Plan can contact The Battalion office,
phone 4-5444. The Batt will print the names of all cooper
ating stores on its front page.
WILL YOU help keep down inflation!
Ten O’Clock Scholars ...
Some of our readers may have gotten the notion that
since we are optimistic about A. & M.’s future, we are com
placent as well. But the future of scholarship at this col
lege is a subject about which we can be neither complacent
nor overly optimistic.
Everyone knows that the Aggie is not a scholar. A pas
sionate follower of athletics, a regular fellow, a patriot, a
good reserve officer, but not a scholar. At least, that is the
general rule. Few Aggies belong to that intellectually cur
ious group who s^Kously consider social, political, and eco
nomic problems, who study for the pure joy of learning.
Now the. reasons or existence of this curious condition
which has existed since A. & M’s inception, are rather diffi
cult to discern. But we may enumerate a few which seem to
be the most important:
1. This is a military college, where the herd instinct
is exceedingly strong in holding the students together as a
group. “All for one and one for all.” The individual is
subordinate to the group, or corps. Adherence to the group
sentiments is demanded. Individual thoughts, ideas, and
actions are discouraged. But it is from individual thought
and research that scholarship springs.
2. There is a gulf between the faculty and the students.
Professors are unable to concentrate on individuals and en
courage scholarship. Students view professors as outsiders
who are working here because they can’t get a job in indus
try.
3. Men in the top administrative posts are not noted for
scholarly activity. Only five out of seventeen have doctor’s
degrees. They are not even moderately famous in the field
of education. And they are naturally prone to the argument
that the measure of a man’s worth is his ability, and not
the number of degrees he possesses. This argument is only
partly valid, for any man is better off for the training of
advanced degree work. How can we expect scholarship at
A. & M. when many persons responsible for hiring profes
sors are not scholars themselves?
4. Faculty members are not encouraged toward schol
arship. Little recognition is given outstanding work or de
grees from other colleges. Promotions come just the same.
5. The library is woefully inadequate for any graduate
research. An advanced degree from A. & M. means little,
especially if undergraduate work was done here.
If it is our intention to make A. & M. famous in educa
tional circles, it cannot be done as long as these factors con
tinue to exist in their present quantity and intensity. We
will remain a mediocre technical college, for that is what we
are, until these faults are corrected. Outstanding scholars
can be brought here, but that will do scant good if they
leave for colleges “with better acadejnic atmospheres.”
Men must be placed in administrative posts who are
leaders in the field of education, who have a real, personal
interest in scholarship and research. This does not mean
merely paying lip service to scholarship in convention speech
es off the campus. It means vigorous leadership.
Men, Money,
Law Make
Mines Safer
By Science Service
WASHINGTON.—The na
tion’s coal mines can be made
safer, but it is a job which
will need men, money, and
stricter enforcement of min
ing safety codes.
Safety in coal mining means
primarily good ventilation,
the prevention of mine roofs from
falling, dust-laying, and the use
of proper explosives, handled only
by experts, in the necessary blast
ing to loosen the coal from its
seams. There are other necessary
steps, but these are the most im
portant.
Falling roofs in coal mines cause
more fatalities each year than any
other type of accidents. They are
prevented, or at least lessened, by
what is known as timbering or
shoring. This means the placement
of supporting columns in newly
excavated cavities as rapidly as
the cavities are made. It is an
expensive job, requiring much skill
labor, and timber. Constant in
spection must be made to see if
additional timbering is needed.
Even with the best of shoring some
roof falls are apt to occur. Men
are sometimes injured also by deb
ris loosened from the walls or fa
ces on which the miners are work
ing.
★
Explosions rank second as causes
of mine fatalities. They may be
of gas or of very fine coal dust.
Ventilation is the method by which
the explosive gases are removed,
and ventilation also removes much
of the coal dust that is suspended
in the air. Powerful forced venti
lation is required. Under the gov
ernment mining safety code, giant
blowers are stationed outside the
mines to force fresh air down con
duits into the mine and to each
group of miners. Separate con
duits remove the foul air, together
with gases that have collected and
with the suspended coal dust.
Settled dust, on the walls and
roofs of coal mines, is often
worse in an explosion than the
minor amount of suspended dust
in a properly ventilated mine.
The shock waves that result
from what might be a minor ex
plosion drives this settled dust
into the air where it in turn adds
to the explosion.
Rock dusting is the best known
preventive. Rock dust is a non
combustible, specially treated pul
verized limestone that is applied to
the walls and roofs close behind
where miners are working. It pre
vents the accumulation of dust on
the surfaces. While limestone dust
alone is sometimes used, a more
modern practice is the use of a
limestone dust that has been so
treated that every tiny particle-of
it is coated with a water-resistant
material. Such dust is sometimes
scattered by automatic devices in
the air ahead of an approaching
explosion, in which case it is often
effective in halting progress of the
explosion.
★
The present federal mine safety
code for bituminous coal mines,
which most states now recognize,
was prepared by the U. S. Bureau
of Mines, representatives of the
coal industry and the United Mine
Workers of America headed by
John Lewis. Is was approved by
the Secertary of the Interior on
July 24, 1946. It is a code to guide
mine operators; its enforcement or
dinarily rests with state and local
authorities.
While the coal mines are under
federal administration, the head
of this administration probably has
the necessary authority to enfroce
compliance with the code, but does
not have the necessary staff. The
functions of the Bureau of Mines
covers inspection and the reporting
of code violations only, and it needs
a staff of 250 men, compared with
167 last year and additional inspec
tors called for in appropriations
for the fiscal years 1946 and 1947.
The job of this s|aff: inspecting
the 7,000 regularly producing coal
mines in the United States.
Letters
COULD BE?
THE NEW YORK DAILY MIRROR headlined story with “Too
Much Scotch and Sofa.”
GREETINGS!
THE CENTRALIA EVENING SENTINEL has a standing head,
FELICITATION, over birth notices. One day recently, the newly bom
were listed under: TODAY’S LIVESTOCK MARKET.
Designing Jefferson Memorial
Is Opportunity for Architects
An architectural competition of nation-wide artistic and historic
significance was announced in St. Louis with the offering of $125,000
in prizes to secure a design for a $30,000,000 Federal memorial to
Thomas Jefferson and the pioneers of the western expansion of the
United States. Site of the memorial is 80 acres now cleared in the
downtow ncenter of the St. Louis riverfront, an area historic as the
funnel of early migration to the west.
All architectus including students, who are citizens of the United
^States are invited to enter the com
petition, sponsored by the Jeffer
son National Expansion Memoi’ial
Association, a notional group of in
terested citizens, who raised the
necessary funds by private sub
scription. George Howe, Phila
delphia, internationally know Fel
low of the American Institute of
Architects, is directing the con
test as professional adviser to the
association.
The competition will be held in
two stages and will require approx
imately a year to complete. At
the end of the first stage next Sep
tember, five finalists will be named
to compete in the second stage.
Each of these will receive $10,000.
The author, or authors, of the
final winning design will receive
a prize of $40,000 and be recom
mended to the Department of the
Interior for employment in execu
ting that design. A second prize
of $20,000 and a third of $10,000,
together with two honorium awards
of $2500, will be made.
Site of the memorial contains
the place at which the United Sta
tes took formal possession of wes
tern territory transferred by the
Louisiana Purchase. The area is
directly associated with the exped
ition of Lewis and Clark as well as
those of Pike and Fremont, and
from the site the Santa Fe, Ore
gon, and California trails had their
start.
“The purpose of the memorial,”
Howe has written, “is not only to
commemorate the past, but also to
keep alive in the present and in
the future the daring and untram
melled spirit that inspired Thomas
Jefferson and his aides to offer
men of all nations new opportuni
ties under democracy.”
It is intended that the memor
ial area be developed as a place
of resort, inspiration, relaxation,
and instruction for visitors from
all the world.
2 PLUS 2 EQUALS 3
Dear Editor:
Flowers to Mr. Penny for his
work in the field of mathematics,
and fie on Mr. Carney for his re
cent gross of errors in calculating
the cost of twelve new tennis
courts being added to the present
facilities here at A. & M.
It seems that Mr. Carney is
suffering from the same malady
that lately has caused many peo
ple to stand up and shout about
things being corrupt before even
making a superficial investigation
of the facts. It would be to the
mutual advantage of all—espec
ially at the present time—if we
would all put the education we
are supposedly getting to some
use and do a little thinking before
blindly blundering around in some
thing which we know nothing
about.
Very truly yours,
FRANK BYRD
★
“NEWBURYPORT”
Dear Editor:
This is merely a suggestion and
please pass it on to the proper
authority, for I am certain that I
have the support of about 99.9%
of the student body.
With various price reduction
drives being launched to knock in
flation in the head, why can’t the
Exchange Store be the leader in
this area? Not only would this
reduce prices but raise most of
our opinions of the store. Of course,
the profits (which, I have been told
by a member of the Exchange Store
Committee, will be about what they
were last year—$54,000) will be
cut, but JUST THINK OF THE
SATISFACTION THE MANA
GERS WOULD GET FROM BE
ING PATRIOTIC?
CHARLES D. KIRKHAM
Bay Psalm Book ..
The Battalion
The Battalion,-official newspaper of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of
Texas and the City of College Station, is published tri-weekly and circulated on
Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday afternoons.
Member
Flssoaded Gnllebiate Press
Entered as second-class matter at Post Office at College Station, (Aggieland),
Texas, under the Act of Congress of March 3, 1870.
Subscription rate 4.00 per school year. Advertising rates on reQuest.
Bepresented nationally by National Advertising Service, Inc., at New York City,
Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Allen Self Corps Editor
Vick Bindley Veteran Editor
Charles E Murray Tuesda, Associate Editor
£• Nelson Thursday Associate Editor
David M. Seligman Saturday Associate Editor
Paul Martin ...—..—..— : Sports Editor
Larry Goodwyn, Andy Matula, Jack Goodloe, Dick Baker, Earl Grant.... Sports Writers
Wendell McClure Advertising Manager
D. W. Springer Circulation Manager
Ferd B. English, Franklin Cleland, William Miller, Doyle Duncan,
Ben Schrader, Wm. K. Colville, Walter Lowe, Jr., Lester
B. Gray, Jr., Carl C. Krueger, Jr., Mack T. Nolen Reporters
Highest Price
Paid for Book
Was $151,000
The highest auction price
ever paid for any book on re
cord, $151,000, was recently
paid by the Rosenbach Com
pany. The book was “The
Bay Psalm Book”, published in
Cambridge, Massachusetts in
1640.
$151,000 topped the highest
bid offered by Cornelius Van
derbilt Whitney by $1,000.
Whitney had hoped to purchase
the book for presentation to a
public institution for further
circulation among libraries.
“The Bay Psalm Book”, ac
quired for $1,200 by Cornelius
Vanderbilt in 1879 at the fam
ous Brindley sale, remained in
the Vanderbilt-Whitney family
until its sale last January.
David Kirschenbaum of Car
negie Book Shop opened the
bidding at $30,000. After some
of the most dramatic bidding
in American annals, the book
was knocked down to the Ros
enbach Company.
Until this sale the highest
price paid for any American
book was $15,000 for the Frank
J. Hogan copy of Poe’s “Ta
merlane” in 1945.
English Accepted As
Official Airways Language
By Science Service
American pilots can converse in English by radio with any air
port in the world, the International Scientific Radio Union and the
Institute of Radio Engineers were told here today by Howard K. Mor
gan, Bendix Aviation Corporation, Baltimore. Those of us who speak
English are in a very fortunate position, he said.
This is due to recent international agreements. With airports
in non-English-speaking countries, their own language is primary but
English is designated as a secondary language for use with approach
ing pilots who can not talk the local tongue. In English-speaking
countries, French or Spanish is the secondary language, depending
upon in what part of the world the+
country is located.
Voice instructions by radio from
airports in countries whose local
language means nothing to pilots
from other parts of the world pre
sented a serious problem in traffic
control in international flying. It
was just one of many problems,
however. Others include use of
similar instruments in traveling
and particularly in making land
ings in bad weather.
New Safety Devices
Many hundreds of air naviga
tion and traffic control devices
have been developed, Morgan stat
ed. A number of these were se
lected at the recent Montreal meet
ing of the Provisional International
Civil Aviation Organization as
most desirable. Some of these were
described by him.
There is universal agreement, he
said, that very high frequency ra
dio telephone is the primary aid
in the airport zone, and in the en-
route-short-distance zone. Bartow
lights, of great brilliancy, and fog-
dispersal equipment are generally
agreed upon as necessary aids in
foggy weather. The latter is a
method of lifting fogs by means
of long lines of burning fuel
stretching along runways.
ILS Gets Approval
The instrument landing system
developed in the United States
prior to the war, and improved
later, has met with international
agreement. This is the so-called
three-element system installed at
various American airports by the
Civil Aeronautics Administration.
It has a radiowave localizer to
guide planes to the runway, a glide
path for proper rate of descent,
Application to enter the compe
tition may be made to George
Howe, Old Courthouse, 415 Market
Street, Saint Louis 2. A detailed
program will be mailed to contest
ants in early June.
Caldwell’s Jewelry
For Graduation Gifts of Distinction
THE
lexlan
BILLFOLD
A billfold as truly Western
as the coyote himself.
Lovers of the open spaces
and of fine leather will
treasure this masterpiece
by the skilled craftsmen of
TexTan in Yoakum, Texas,
where the ancient craft has
been kept alive through
the centuries. Embossed
design.
THE
EXCHANGE
STORE
and fan markers on the approach
path to indicate distances from the
landing strip.
Scanning radar at all ports to
detect approaching planes in over
cast weather is a necessity for the
traffic control operator, he de-
clared. It should be separated from
the radar ground control approach
apparatus and mounted at a more
advantageous position. Thus GCA
would be used for the precision
functions during final approach
and landing. GCA is the system by
which pilots are “talked down” by
radio instructions by ground opera
tors following the plane on radar
scopes.
TUESDAY - WEDNESDAY
GEORGE RAFT
LYNN RARI
VIRGINIA HUSTON
JOSEPH PEVNEY
MYRNA DELL
Produced by Joan Harrison
Directed by Edwin L. Marin
Screen Play by Jonathan Latimer
Opens 1:00 p.m. Ph. 4-1181
— AIR CONDITIONED —
TUESDAY LAST DAY!
(JbouSJLQeaAtuui
cauuU.'utnu
See Ingrid BERGMAN
Rob't. MONTGOMERY
in M-G-M's
“RAGE IN HEAVEN"
WED., and THURS.
8se°' 4
HOLEIpli|P©F ! ’S
Propsr!y Proportioned Stockings
in New
COLORS
for
Mother’s Day
May 11
What could be more welcomed by
MOTHER than a pair of Holeproof
Nylons — Sheer beauty of superb
quality $1.50
(llaldropgfi
Two Convenient Stores
College — Bryan