‘No Basis for Charges’, Committee Reports
Charges made against the A&M
College Administration by the Vet
eran Students Association were
without basis, the majority report
of the Legislative investigating
committee concluded in a written
summary presented to members of
both houses of the Legislature on
Friday, June 6.
The report charged that dis
appointed, disgruntled and design
ing persons took full advantage of
student discontent over new hazing
rules, to discredit the school ad
ministration.
According to the report, Dr. T. O.
Walton, former President of A&M
and presently Postmaster, Travis
Bryan, banker in Bryan, and Del
bert V. Schultz, Big Spring, have
materially contributed to the pres
ent student uprising by fomenting,
counseling, advising and financing
unrest and discontent among the
student body.
The committee termed Dr. Wal
ton ’ s belittling of “constituted
authority” as an extremely unfor-
t u n a t e, not to say deplorable
thing.
A&M is not a sectional school
and it should not belong to any
particular group other than the
taxpayers of Texas the committee
further pointed out.
The committee recommended that
the Board of Directors investigate
the possibility of a Chancellor for
the A&M system. They point out
that this is just a recommendation
and that the Board has the sole
authority to reject or adopt the
recommendation.
Signing the majority report were
Senators Harris, Hardeman, Ram
sey, Tynan; Representatives, Gil
mer, Storey and Cox.
Complete Text of the Report
We, the Joint Legislative Com
mittee apointed by virtue of S. C.
R. 21 to investigate the “contro
versy at Texas A. & M. College and
to inquire fully into all matters of
disagreement between the student
body and the administration and
any violations of law or of state
policy by anyone connected with
Texas A. & M. College or the stu
dents of said college and the mis
use of any authority on the part
of anyone on the staff of Texas
A. & M. College, or any misconduct
or resistance to constituted auth
ority on the part of the students
and to inquire fully into all alle
gations made against the admin
istration of the college, touching
any of its administrative officers,
staff or faculty, by any person,”
pursuant thereto beg leave to sub
mit the following report:
STATEMENT
The Committee convened and
organized on April 3, 1947, select
ing Hon. Fred R. Harris and Hon.
Claude H. Gilmer, Chairman and
Vice-Chairman, respectively. An
investigator and a reporter were
employed.
Extensive documentary e v i -
dence, statements and records
were admitted and considered by
the Committee. Approximately
44 hours were consumed in the
actual examination of witnesses,
comprising approximately 1500
pages, and much more time was
spent in studying the evidence,
in deliberating thereon, and in
preparing the report.
Hearings were conducted both in
Austin and in College Station and,
in the main, were open to the pub
lic. Executive sessions were held,
however, at the specific request of
the officers of the Veterans Stu
dents Association for the purpose
of hearing testimony of certain des
ignated faculty members concern
ing their charge of “coercion’ dur
ess and intimidation of faculty
members and students”.
MATTERS INVESTIGATED
A. General charges
1. Official corruption of admin
istration.
2. Misappropriation of public
funds by administration.
3. “Ineptness” of, administra
tion^
4. Coercion and intimidation of
faculty members and stu
dents.
5. Excessive room rental and
dining hall charges.
6. Controlled publicity.
7. C o s t of administration of
Dean of Men’s office.
B. Specific questions propounded
by Veteran Students Association.
1. What happened to a fund es
tablished prior to 1943 for a new
classroom and laboratory building
to augment the Science Hall, and
why hasn’t construction started on
the building? This fund was in
the amount of approximately
$200,000.
2. What was the basis of the
purchase of a Brazos River Bot
tom farm at approximately $78
per acre when adjacent farm land
was, and still is, selling at approx
imately $60 an acre ?
3. Why should the College Ex
change Store, located here on state-
owned property be permitted to
make a net profit last year of $54,-
000 at the expense of the individ
ual student and the Federal Gov
ernment ?
4. Why is the $100,000 wind-tun
nel located at Easterwood Air
Field not in operation? Why was
the survey and subsequent recom
mendation by Dr. A. A. Potter, of
Purdue University, to spend not
over $25,000 on a wind tunnel ig
nored ?
5. Why did President Gilchrist
refuse to accept the outright gift
of Bryan Army Air Field from the
Federal Government for the use of
the Aeronautical Engineering De
partment ?
6. Why doesn’t Texas A. & M.
have a definite tenure system for
right of appeal for its faculty
members ?
FINDINGS
1. The A. & M. College of Texas
is a constitutional, tax-supported
institution of the State. (Art. VII
Sec. 13, Const. 1876).
2. The sole governing authority
of the College is vested in a Board
of Directors composed of nine mem
bers apointed by the Governor, by
and with the advice and consent of
the Senate. (Art. IV. Sec. 12; Art.
2610 R.C.S. Texas 1925).
3. The duties of the Board of
Directors are fixed by statute.
(Art. 2613 R.C.S. Texas, 1925).
4. Seven of the current Board of
Directors are ex-students of A. &
M. College and 3 therefore have
served as President of the Ex-Stu
dents Association of A. & M. Col
lege.
5. There was no evidence of
any official corruption of or by
the administration or the Presi
dent.
6. There was no evidence of
any misapplication or misappro
priation of any funds of the Col
lege by anyone.
7. There was no evidence of
any “ineptness” in the school
administration.
8. There was no evidence of
any coercion, intimidation or dur
ess of either students or faculty
or staff members.
9. The rental charged for rooms
was reasonable and necessary and
in compliance with the law for
the retirement of outstanding
revenue bonds. (Art. 2613a-l,
2613a-4, R. C. S. Texas, 1925).
10. The food in the dining hall
was of good quality, well-prepared,
and of sufficient quantity and the
cost thereof was not excessive.
11. There was no evidence of
“controlled” publicity on the part
of the administration.
12. The cost of operation of the
office of the Dean of Men was
not increased for the performance
of the same work done by the
Commandant’s office; however, ad
ditional duties assigned there to
necessitated an overall increase in
expenditures.
13. The fund of aproximately
$200,000.00 created for the con
struction of a Science Hall was
properly handled and its dispo
sition satisfactorily explained.
14. The Brazos River Bottom
Farm was purchased on the recom
mendation of Dean E. J. Kyle pri
or to the present administration
and the current price of land in
the vicinity is in excess of $75 per
acre and not $60 as charged.
15. The College Exchange Store
did a gross business of approxi
mately $360,000.00 and made a pro
fit of approximately $54,000.00
thereon or about 15%. A faculty-
student council, the student mem
bers being selected by the students
at large, were consulted and sub
mitted recommendations thereon
and whose recommendations were
followed by the management of
the Exchange Store and the profit
therefrom was disbursed as fol
lows:
$19,004.64 retained by the store
for operating margin;
$3,863.21 set up to pay a 10%
dividend to students whose sales
slips were signed and deposited;
$8,036.26 transferred to student
recreational fund;
$24,108.81 transferred to the
Union Building operating fund.
16. (a) The wind tunnel has not
been in operation because of un
availability of certain electric mo
tors and equipment.
(b) The administration o f
former President T. O. Wal
ton sought and obtained an
appropriation of $60,000.00
from the Legislature in May
1943 for construction of a
wind tunnel. (Acts 1943 Cr.
300, p. 784).
(c) The recommendation of
Dr. Potter regarding the wind
tunnel was substantially that
only the sum of $15,000 to
$25,00 should be spent for in
structional purposes unless it
was expected to spend as
much as $1,000,000.00 for
construction of a wind tun
nel.
17. There was no offer or tender
of Bryan Army Air Field at any
time by the Federal Government to
A. & M. College or the State for
the use of the Aeronautical Engi
neering Department.
18. A. & M. College has a tenure
system and right of appeal for any
aggrieved faculty members.
19. Former President T. O. Wal
ton recommended the appointment
of Mr. Gibb Gilchrist as Dean of
the School of Engineering in 1937.
20. The Board of Directors unan
imously directed the promulgation
of a “Basic Policy” for the conduct
of all personnel at the A. & M.
College in the early part of 1947.
21. The promulgation and en
forcement of rules and regulations,
including the Articles of the Cadet
Corps, pursuant to the Basic Pol
icy resulted in a limited student up
rising or revolt.
22. There have been recurring
student “strikes, uprisings, static
or revolts” at A. & M. College at
intervals and in varying degrees of
intensity, primarily over the mat
ter of enforcing the law prohibit
ing various hazing practices.
23. The banning of various
hazing practices is the prime fac
tor contributing to the student
unrest because of imagined “in
terference” with so-called “tradi
tions”.
24. That hazing is condemned
and prohibited by the penal stat
utes of Texas in A. & M. College,
as well as in all other state sup
ported schools, and the violation
thereof constitutes an offense pun
ishable as provided by law. (Art.
1152-1155 P. C. Texas, 1925).
25. It is the duty of the Board
of Directors and the school auth
orities to enforce the laws of Texas,
as well as the rules prescribed by
the Board of Directors pursuant to
law. (Const. Art. XVI, Sec. 1).
26. Hazing practices indulged in
at the college forced some 75 stu
dents to retire or withdraw from
school and caused others to suffer
physical injuries of a more or less
permanent nature and subjected
the victims to numerous indigni
ties in contravention of both law
and common decency.
27. It is the duty of the students
and other personnel of the College
to obey the laws of Texas, as well
as the rules prescribed by the
Board of Directors and promulga
ted by the administration with the
Board’s approval.
28. Reasonable rules and regu
lations prescribed and promulgated
by the Board pursuant to law have
all the force and effect of law in
sofar as those under their jurisdic
tion are concerned.
29. The School of Veterinary
Medicine has not been removed
from the accredited list of the
American Veterinary Association.
30. The School of Chemistry was
removed from the list of schools
approved by the American Chem
istry Society in December, 1946.
31. The Blue Star Award for
military efficiency was not earned
by the Cadet Corps in 1946.
32. Certain outside influences,
namely, Mr. T. O. Walton, form
er President of A- & M. and pres
ently Postmaster at College Sta
tion, Mr. Travis Bryan, banker
at Bryan, Texas, and Mr. Delbert
V. Schultz, Big Spring, Texas,
have materially contributed to
the present student uprising by
fomenting, counseling, advising
and financing unrest and discon
tent among the student body.
33. The morale of the vast ma
jority of both veteran students and
cadets, as well as staff members
is the highest in the history of the
College, and the academic accom
plishments of the vast majority of
the students are satisfactory.
34. The activities of the Col
lege are being administered in
a businesslike and efficient man
ner and its fiscal affairs are in
excellent condition.
35. The College has the largest
enrollment in its history and is at
tended by students whose courses
were 'interrupted by service in the
armed "forces of their country and
whose marital status, in many in
stances, has changed, and together
with crowded conditions and the
high cost of living, has thus con
tributed, unwittingly, perhaps, to
the general unrest of the present
period of transition from a great
school to a greater school.
COMMENTS
Careful consideration of the vol
uminous record of the investigation
clearly supports the foregoing
findings.
While many of the charges were
vague and indefinite, yet some spe
cific accusations were made and
queries propounded which have
been thoroughly studied in the
light of the evidence.
The complete absence of any
testimony worthy of considera
tion of official corruption or mis
appropriation of any funds by
the administration or ineptness
of administration is noteworthy.
On the contrary, the State audi
tor’s official reports, as well as
the College Comptroller’s rec
ords, indicate the efficient and
businesslike conduct of the ad
ministrative and fiscal affairs of
the main College and its far-
flung activities.
Testimony of staff and faculty
members, who were summoned at
the direct instance of the Veteran
Students Association, and heard in
executive session, also at the re
quest of the Veteran Students As
sociation, was unequivocally to the
effect that there was no coercion
or intimidation on the part of the
administration toward them or
either of them or toward anyone
else of whom they knew. This was
one of the general charges of which
there was not a scintilla of evi
dence to support.
The room rental of which com
plaint was made was shown to
have been fixed at a sufficient a-
mount, based upon the number of
occupants, to discharge the interest
and sinking fund requirements of
Revenue Bonds out of the proceeds
of which the dormitories had been
constructed. There was no other
source of income available for the
retirement of such bonds and it was
statutory that there should be
none. In order to preserve and
maintain the credit of the institu
tion it was necessary to make such
charges. In this connection it
should be borne in mind by the cit
izens of Texas that as taxpayers
they are under no obligation to
furnish board, room and clothing
to those availing themselves of the
educational facilities afforded by
a generous State governement.
Likewise, the charges for food
in the dining halls should be of suf
ficient amount to operate it on a
paying basis.
The uncontradicted evidence is
to the effect that there was no
form of censorship or “controlled
publicity” maintained by the ad
ministration. Two instances were
attempted to be cited showing such,
namely, that an item in the Dallas
News indicated the unanimous se
lection of Mr. Gilchrist as Presi
dent by the Board and the other
to the effect that a radio commen
tator in either Dallas or San Anto
nio disclosed that a meeting of vet
erans was to be held to discuss haz
ing and other important matters.
Such are rather inconsequential
since the newspaper and radio
were operating entirely independ
ent of the college and owned by
private interests and could hardly
be calculated to provoke serious
consideration.
The Director of Publicity and In
formation of the College testified
that he had never been told by
higher authority what to print or
when and that he had never under
taken to censor any items. The
co-editor of “The Battalion”, the
College paper, testified of his abso
lute freedom in the publishing and
preparing of its editorials, thus
clearly refuting such charge.
The evidence showed that the
Board of Directors and the admin
istration early began to take steps
to eliminate hazing. The matter of
discipline was transferred to a new
ly-created office of Dean of Men.
(See NO BASIS on Page 2)
Texas A. & M. College
The Battalion
HalS
■mm.
VOLUME 47
COLLEGE STATION (Aggieland), TEXAS, TUESDAY, JUNE 10, 1947
Number 1
Election of Six YSA Officers Slated
Next Week; Filing Deadline Thursday
Six veteran officers will be elected the early part of next week,
the election committee announced at the end of last semester.
Positions will include president, vice-president, secretary, treas
urer, sergeant-at-arms, and parliamentarian.
Veterans wishing to become candidates for any of the above
positions can file in the Student Activities Office until noon,
Thursday, June 12.
As stated in the constitution of the Veteran Students Asso
ciation, officers “shall be elected to serve a term of one regular
semester”; two summer sessions are considered as one senester.
Recreation Council Announces
Program of Summer Activities ^
At the May meeting of the College Station IRecreation
Council, a report on summer activitties was madjf. Included
on the summer program will be junior and senior softball;
rifle marksmanship; swimming for beginning, iiatermediate,
and anvanced students; a civic music organization; commun
ity picnicking; square dancing and instruction; golf instruc
tion; and arts and craft work.
Six teams have been formed in4
senior baseball and there will be
three games played each week. The
first game was played yesterday,
and each Monday, Wednesday, and
Friday hereafter, games will be
played on the College Hills and
College Park diamonds. Team
managers are W. R. Horsley, Cubs;
C. W. “Bill” Manning, Indians;
Carl Tishler, Giants; C. O. Spriggs,
Yanks; Roy Garrett, Pirates; and
Ralph Steen, Tigers.
Mrs. R. B. Hickerson, chairman
of the rifle marksmanship commit
tee, announced that six rifles have
been bought and turned over to
the rifle marksmanship coach.
Boys’ classes will meet Saturday
at 1 p.m., and girls’ classes will
meet Saturdays at 2:30 p.m.
Registration for swimming clas
ses began today and will continue
through Thursday. At the time of
registration each registrant will
be charged $2 to pay for the use
of the pool, to pay for awards, and
to send outstanding students to out-
of-tow nmeets.
Local residents possessing musi
cal ability will be able to partici
pate in the civic band under the
direction of H. W. Barlow. Tech
nical direct© rof musicalaffalrs
will be Bill Turner.
On June 17, July 16, and Au
gust 14, community picnics will
be held, Gordon Gay, chairman of
this commitee, reported. Every
one is invited to come out and
bring his family and friends to
the Grove fo rthese outings. There
will be softball games, skating for
both youngsters and adults, and
possibly movies and dancing.
Square dance committee chair
man, Mannings Smith, reports that
the classes held on the Slab were
(See RECREATION on Page 6)
Summer Enrollment
Sets New Record
There have been 3696 students
registered for the first term of
summer school to set an all time
record in number of enrollments
for a Summer Session. On Sat
urday, May 31, 2869 students en
rolled and yesterday, June 9,
827 more were signed up.
Appropriation of $5 Million to
A&M Granted Under Bill 246
The main division of A. & M.
College will receive an appropria
tion of $4,980,182 for the ensuing
biennium, under the provisions of
House Bill 246 which became a
law as Governor Beauford Jester
affixed his signature on June 4.
The bill, which contained the ap
propriations for all state-suppor
ted colleges and universities, to
talled $45,447,646, and is th^ lar-
' nr ' ' ★
By The Battalion
Staff Correspondents
gest grant that has been made
for higher education in the state’s
history.
House Bill 246 passed both houses
of the legislature on June 2. It
gives A. & M. the largest legisla
tive appropriation that it has ever
received. A. & M. officials were
★
State Schools Ask Support Of
Building Plan Amendment
Administrators of 16 state-supported colleges and uni
versities, including A. & M. and the University of Texas,
Saturday urged all friends of education in Texas to vote fav
orably next August 23 on the proposed constitutional amend
ment which would enable the>
schools to launch a thirty-year
building program and equipment
purchasing program without an in
crease in taxes.
The constitutional amendment is
proposed in Senate Joint Resolu
tion Number 4, passed by the Fif
tieth Legislature and approved by
Governor Beauford Jester last May.
College presidents, board mem
bers, and representatives of alumni
organizations and other meetings
who met in Waco Saturday gave
the proposed change strong en
dorsement. They said it constitu
ted “a fair, equitable, co-ordinated
plan for financing the building and
permanent equipment needs of the
several participating schools for
the next thirty years.”
Overcrowded conditions and the
“imperative” nee dto expand their
physical facilities made the passage
of the amendment “a public neces
sity,” they agreed.
Provisions of Amendment
In brief the provisions of the
proposed amendment are:
1. Assigning from the presently
authorized 7$ per $100 valuation
property tax for Confederate pen
sion purposes a 5tf portion for a
special fund for the 30-year build
ing program for A. & M„ and the
University.
2. Reduction from 35^ to 30$ per
$100 valuation the maximum prop
erty tax that may be levied for
state general fund support.
3. A. & M. would be permitted
to issue $5,000,000 in bonds and the
University $10,000,000 in bonds
payable out of income from the in
vested portion of the permanent
university fund which income these
two schools share.
4. The other 14 institutions would
share in revenue from the special
5$ tax which would be used to
amortize a series of three ten-year
bond issues at each institution.
The revenue would be distributed
proportionately among the other
14 schools on the basis of enroll-
(See STATE SCHOOLS
on Page 6)
jubilant over the passage of the
appropriation bill. For them, it
meant the end of a hard, uphill
fight which had been made more
difficult by people who had been
counted on for aid.
The Battalion correspondents
thought that they had lost their
eyesight when on the voting board
in the House of Representatives,
they saw a no-vote flash by the
name of Representative W. T.
Moore of Brazos County as House
Bill 246 (College Appropriation
Bill) came up for a vote.
To be sure that a mistake had
not been made, they rushed from
the gallery and talked to a member
of the House Appropriations Com
mittee. He related how Repre
sentative Moore had attempted to
cut A. & M.’s appropriation. Ac
cording to this representative, Mr.
Moore had opposed many research
provisions in the appropriation
bill; he had, while serving on a sub
committee, attempted to cut the
salaries of A. & M. professors by
name.
The Battalion correspondents
asked what basis Mr. Moore was
using in recommending salary cuts
for professors at A. & M. This
member said he thought Moore was
using some sort of list. Adminis
tration members bluntly stated that
they had never furnished Moore
with a list of professors whose sal
aries they wanted cut.
Mr. Moore, according to this
member, had openly opposed the
lump sum appropriation, which
had been loudly acclaimed by lead
ers of all state schools. It was
designed to give governing boards
leeway to use funds to the fullest
advantage.
State College Amounts
Following are amounts allocated
each of the state’s colleges, for the
(See APPROPRIATIONS
on Page 6)
Summer Battalion Staff Announced; Workers Needed
By Charlie Murray
This summer The Battalion will
be a semi-weekly publication, cir
culated every Tuesday and Friday
afternoon. In previous years the
summer Batt has been published
weekly, except during the three-
semester-a-year speed-up program.
Charlie Murray, veteran student
from Eagle Pass, will edit the pa
per, with David M. Seligman, navy
veteran architect student from Ed
na, serving as associate editor.
Managing editor for the Tuesday
issue will be Richard I. Alterman,
Charlie Murray
Editor
Maurice Howell
Advertising Manager
Bill Brown
Advertising Manager
who hails from San Antonio. He
is an electrical engineering sopho
more. As yet a managing editor
for the Friday issue has not been
appointed.
D. W. Springer
Circulation Manager
In charge of circulation will be
D. W. Springer, an Architectural
Education major of Midlothian.
Maurice T. Howell, also a veteran
Agricultural Education major, and
Bill Brown, pre-med. student from
Cleburne, will serve as advertising
managers.
Since a daily Battalion is plan
ned for the September term, in
terested students are needed to
work on the paper. At least five
paying offices will be available
during the fall term, and this sum
mer will be the best time to gain
experience.
Students with the intellectual
curiosity to gain writing experi
ence and to learn fundamentals
of newspaper editing and make
up, are requested to meet at 7
p.m., Wednesday, in The Battal
ion office, Room 3, Administra
tion Building.
In the past co-eds attending A.
& M. during the summer terms
have participated on The Battalion
staff, a practice which will be con
tinued. All interested co-eds are
also invited to meet Wednesday af
ternoon in The Batt office.
Married veterans who do not live
in dormitories should go by the
Student Activities Office to leave
their mailing addresses for the
summer Battalion.