NEWS
In Brief
IMPORTANT LEGISLATION
SLATED TO BEGIN TODAY
AUSTIN, Feb. 14 —(A>)~ The
olst Legislature goes on day and
night shifts starting today.
Proposed laws affecting the ev
ery day lives of most Texans are
among 75 measures up for public
study in house and senate com
mittees.
This week bills were introduced
heard in committee or set for
hearing that touch Texans who:
Vote, drink water, drive cars,
pay city taxes; send their children
to school; go to doctors, chiro
practors or naturopaths to have
their sicknesses treated; buy ra
dios or cosmetics; try to drive to
town on muddy roads; own homes;
receive old age pensions; or who
are war veterans.
Both afternoon and night com
mittee hearings are booked from
Monday through Wednesday and
the afternoon hearings stretch out
through Thursday. It is a matter
of record the 51st session was slow
in starting. It is also of recoi’d
that it has now gone to work in
earnest.
RELIGIOUS WEEK BEGINS TODAY
CHINESE PEACE TALKS
RUMORED APPROACHING
NANKING, Feb. 14 •—(A 1 )— A
member of Nanking’s unofficial
delegation to Communist-held Pei
ping said today the Reds gave as
surances that formal peace nego
tiations would be held within 30
days.
A spokesman for the delegation,
Prof. Wu Yu-Hou, said Gen. Yeh
Chien-Ying, told the group he ex
pected talks would begin within
a month to formally end China’s
long civil war.
Acting President Li Tsung-Jen
appointed a five-man official dele
gation to sue for peace with the
Communists. However, the Red ra
dio rejected the bid. It said the
detention of Generalissimo Chiang
Kai-Shek and other nationalist
leaders on the communist “war
criminal” list must precede peace
talks.
TEXAS WATER CARNIVAL
ENDS WITH CORONATION
AUSTIN, Feb. 14 —(A>)—Yesleta
Leisner of Fort Worth who is
studying psychology at the Uni
versity of Texas, was crowned
queen of the institution’s annual
Aqua Carnival Saturday night.
She was selected from a field of
153 candidates, selection was by
five groups of male judges.
The coronation was the climax
of the five-day Water Carnival,
which includes a swimming show,
exhibitions and the beauty contest.
TALMAGE SAID TO BE
CREATING “DYNASTY”
ATLANTA, Feb. 14 —(A>) Tal-
inadge forces are pushing through
legislation in Georgia which op
ponents say could create a politi
cal dynasty like the late Huey
Long regime in Louisiana.
Day after day the program of
young Gov. Herman Talmadge has
met cries on the floor of the legis
lature of “tyranny . . . dictatorship
. . . invasion of the bill of rights.”
In five fast-moving weeks, the
assembly has approved many bills
extending the governor’s power
and his opportunity for re-election.
Talmadge said today the oppo
sition charges “are only what is
expected. They would cry dictator
if I signed an order for Mother’s
Day.”
Camera Club Will
Reorganize Today
The Camera Club will meet at
7:15 p. m. Monday in the Physics
Lecture Room for reorganization
and a lecture by R. D. Rivers of
the Physics Department.
Plans have been made to present
progressively advanced talks by
various qualified men concerning
amateur photogi’aphy. These talks
will be designed so that the stu
dent with small box cameras and
little technical skill will be able to
do good photography work and
thereby increase enjoyment of the
hobby.
Rivers’ will speak on “Exposure
Decent and Indecent.” All old
members are urged to be present
and all men on the campus inter
ested in learning something about
photography “painlessly” are cor
dially invited to attend, the club
reporter said.
Internal Revenuer
To Aid Tax Payers
James A. Scanlon, collector of
internal revenue from the Bryan
office, will be at the YMCA on
Thursday, March 3, Dr. Walton,
College Station postmaster, said
today.
Scanlon will be here to help any
one having trouble with his 1948
tax return. He will have all neces
sary forms and will be here from
8 a. m. to 5 p. m., Walton added.
WEATHER
East Texas —
Occasional rain
north portion,
some freezing
I’ain extreme
northwest, and
partly cloudy
south portion this
afternoon and to
night. Not so
cold northwest
and extreme
north portions to
night, Tuesday
partly cloudy,
warmer north portion. Fresh to
strong southerly winds on coast.
Battalion
PUBLISHED IN THE INTEREST OF A GREATER A&M COLLEGE
COLLEGE STATION (Aggieland), TEXAS MONDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 1949
Number 123
AUDIE MURPHY, most decorated soldier of World War II
shakes hands with Chancellor GIBB GILCHRIST at the parade
Saturday afternoon. p;#*, i i ! i i '
Ball Is Climax of
Weekend’s Event
By GEORGE CHARLTON
The Military Ball, two presentation ceremonies, one for
mal review, and a concert-radio program combined to make
the weekend one of the most rushed and eventful weeknds
this year for corps members.
Events began Saturday at 12:10 when Audie Murphy,
Texas hero of World War II, ar-+
rived in College Station. Met by
the Aggie Band, he was escorted
to Duncan Mess Hall where he
had lunch with the corps. At 2:30
Lt. General Eilwood R. Quesada
was received by an honor guard of
Ross Volunteers at Easterwood
Air Field and escorted to his quar
ters here on the campus.
Governor Jester, who had been
scheduled to arrive at 3:30 at
Easterwood Air Field, was unable
to attend the weekend’s activities.
The entire corps, 3,800 strong
formed in front of Duncan at
2:00 and posed for Life photo
graphers. Poses included the
corps in mass formation at pre
sent arms, at attention, and at
the “wildcat.” Also a formal shot
was taken of corps members
squaring their helmet liners.
The cadets formed again at 3:50
this time for a Corps Review. The
highpoint of the ceremony was the
presentation of a Honorary Cadet
Colonel’s Commission, the first
given in the history of the college,
to Audie Murphy.
At 5:15 to 6:20 cadet officers
attended a reception in the YMCA.
There they were given an oppor
tunity to meet the numerous
guests.
At 6:15 Vaughn Monroe’s Camel
Caravan Show was held in Guion
Hall to a “sold out” house. During
the show the six Vanity Fair win
ners were presented. They were
Lou Prothro of Dallas, Martha
Keller of Stephenville, Bobbye
Ruth Smith of San Marcos, Marg
aret Malitz of Dallas, Alma Jean
Vance of Bryan, and Martha Dev-
enport of Greenville.
Among flags of the United Na
tions, palm plants, and insignias
representing different branches of
the Army adorning the walls of
Sbisa, the Military Ball began with
Vaughn Monroe singing and his
famous band playing. The Moon
Maids, four Texas girls, sang at
intervals during the show.
Later during the dance the six
Vanity Fair winners were again
introduced, this time, by Tru
man Martin, editor of Aggieland
’49, and were presented a bou
quet by Vaughn Monroe.
Audie Murphy was introduced,
Taylor’s Reports
Drawing Winners
The six winners of the drawing
held in conjunction with the grand
opening of Taylor’s Variety Store
were announced today by the own
ers.
Mrs. Bonnie McLain was the
winner of a radio, Mrs. F. F. Bis
hop won $10.00 in cash, and Diane
Oliver received an album of Hall
mark Dolls.
A Doll Bed and Dresser Set, a
train set, and a gun and holster
set went to Kay-Lynn Spireill,
Jodey Rush, and Sammy Hayward
respectively.
Ann Elkins, who fished out the
lucky names, was presented a Ma
dam Alexander doll.
Dick Hayman, hai’monica virtuoso,
played “Chinatown” and “Night
and Day”, the latter accompanied
by Monroe, and Jay Lawrence,
comedian, did imitations of Clark
Gable, Charles Boyer, Frank Sina
tra, Perry Como, Humphrey Bo
gart, and Harry Truman. Ziggy
Talent provided humorous songs.
The dance floor being crowded,
many couples made their way into
the room adjoining the dance floor
where tables and chairs were pro
vided. Soft drinks and cookies were
served there for Aggies and their
gUGStS.
At 12:00 the Militaiy Ball, cli
max of the weekend’s activities,
ended.
Prosthetic Expert
On Campus Today
James F. Flowers Jr., prosthetic
representative of the medical di
vision of the Veterans Administra
tion Center, Waco, will be at the
contact office in Room 260 of Biz-
zel Hall Thursday, February 17,
the local VA office announced to
day.
Flowers is here to become ac
quainted with and, where possible,
to be of service to veterans of this
locality who wear prosthesis the
VA said. Men needing information
on or assistance in fitting, replac-
ments, and repairs, may report to
him.
Water, Sewage
Engineers End
Short Course
The short course for water puri
fication and sewage disposal en
gineers came to a close Thursday,
February 12, according to a bul
letin from the civil engineering
department.
The course was sponsored by
the State Board of Health, the
Southwest Section of the Ameri
can Water Works Association, the
State Board for Vocational Edu
cation, and the Civil Engineering
Department of A&M.
The following is a list of reso
lutions adopted by the 435 engi
neers attending the course:
Ask the state legislature to
overcome the cast iron pipe de
ficiency in some manner or oth
er.
Request the president to ap
point a Southwesterner to the
national advisory committee on
water pollution control.
Call upon the Texas Legisla
ture for a committee to study
water shortage within the state.
Suggest that present river
authorities be given authority to
develop additional reservoirs,
treatment works, and distribu
tion system. Or, as an alternate,
that a super state agency, hav
ing a $200,000,000 fund and pat
terned after the Federal Rec
lamation Department, be set up
to accomplish the aforemention
ed.
Ask for $50,000 to help en
force federal stream pollution
regulations.
Dr. George W. Cox, Texas state
health officer, in concluding the
meeting praised the progress made
in most cities while pointing out
that some have not yet devised
a water purification system ac
ceptable to public health authori
ties.
Dr. C. E. Barbour Gives First Talk;
Charles Glass Presides At Meeting
The seventh annual Religious Emphasis week at ’A&M
opened this morning at 10 in Guion Hall with a talk by Dr.
Clifford E. Barbour.
The talk by Dr. Barbour, who is pastor of the Second
Presbyterian Church of Knoxville, Tennessee, and dean of
6 Vanity Fair Winners Visit
A&M; Enjoy Every Minute of It
By BILL BILLINGSLEY
The six Vanity Fair winners of the Aggieland 1949 had
a very busy day Saturday. In fact, after having been hurried
from one end of the campus to the other, and being photo
graphed all the way, it would have been difficult to persuade
them that A&M is not a highly social college.
The girls represented a wide+
variety of geographical areas. Lou
Prothro, escorted by Herb Beutel,
is a tall brownette from Dallas.
Only other Dallasite in the group
was Margaret Malitz, a near-plat
inum blonde from SMU, who was
i escorted by Cadet Colonel Bob Mc
Clure. From the Gulf Coast came
brunnette Bobbye Ruth Smith,
whose home is Newgulf and whose
escort was Ken Hudgins.
The western representative was
Martha Keller of Dublin, escorted
by bandsman Hiram Smith. Martha
Devenport, a small picture-blonde
from Greenville ,was escorted by
Loyd Devenport. Alma Jean Vance
the only Bryan representative, was
absent attending a friends wed
ding.
Reading Room For
Journalism Majors
Opened in Bizzell
A new service for journalism
students in the shape of a reading
room has been opened in Room 107
Bizzell Hall, Department Head
Donald D. Burchard announced
yesterday.
Completed just in time for open
ing of the spring term, the read
ing room has racks and files for
newspapers and magazines. The
department is now receiving about
60 home newspapers and more are
being added every week. A large
number of agricultural, business
and professional magazines are on
the shelves.
All students enrolled in any
journalism class, and others inter
ested, are invited to use the reading
room for study, and reference,
Burchard said. It will be open on
week days from 8 a. m. to 5 p. m.
and from 8 until 12 noon on Sat
urday.
The reading room supplements
the typing and newsroom labora
tory opened last semester. Addi
tional equipment is planned for the
future, Burchard said.
Kick-off for the atfernoon and
night’s whirl came at a luncheon
in the Aggieland Inn. There the
beauties and their escorts were
introduced to each other and the
co-editors of Aggieland 194’9.
Between bites of fried chicken,
Co-editors Earl Rose and Tru
man Martin explained the sche
dule for the rest of the day.
By 2:30 the meal had been con
sumed and the group departed for
the Academic Building and a date
with photographer. After an hour
of being posed and photographed,
the beauties were hustled off to
Guion Hall to discuss their intro
ductions of the night with Vaughn
Monroe.
Snatching a few minutes with
Monroe between his practice num
bers, the group smoothed out the
details of the concert and dance
and rushed off to dress for the
evening.
By 6 they were back at Guion to
see and hear the concert and to be
introduced by Monroe.
Going directly to the Military
Ball they went through the in
troduction ceremonies again and
plunged into the normal routine
of an A&M big-name dance.
When the last number was fin
ished, the girls were very tired.
The day had been long and rug
ged. They had met several hundred
people they wouldn’t remember the
next day and been photographd
from all angles. It had all been
very trying.
But they loved every minute of
it!
Business Club
Meets Tuesday
In T Chapel
The Business Society will meet
Tuesday night at 7:30 in the
Chapel of the YMCA, according
to Marvin Hagemeier, president of
the Society.
Purpose of the meeting will be
to hear an address to be made by
H. C. Windier, manager of the
Houston branch office of the In
ternational Business Machines Cor
poration.
Windier is an Aggie, a graduate
of the class of 1934. While attend
ing A&M, he majored in account
ing and after graduation, went di
rectly to work for IBM. He has
been connected with that company
continuously since his graduation
except during the last war.
He served in the army with the
rank of Major and was stationed
at Washington D. C. where he was
in charge of the army’s Tabulating
Machine Section.
Windler’s address will be of gen
eral interest.
At the last meeting of the So
ciety, elections were held for new
ofifcers and Marvin Hagemeier of
Bryan was elected president, Ted
Lokey of Amarillo, vice president,
Denton Murphy of Houston, social
chairman, and Bill Potts of Gates-
ville, reporter. Earl Little contin
ued as secretary-treasurer.
Seniors Call For
Duchess Pictures
Seniors interested in entering
pictures for the selection of a
duchess to represent their class at
the Cotton Ball may submit their
photos to one of the selection com
mitteemen, according to Dick Jo
seph, committee chairman.
Deadline for entries is March
15. Members on the committee are
Bill Bowen, 127-3; Adolph Thomae
228-8; William C. Gersch, 32-Mil-
ner; Dick Joseph, 201-6,
Tepid But Terrific
Military Ball Overcomes Crowds and
Heat to Rank as Outstanding Success
By DAVE COSLETT
Socially slumbering Aggieland
awoke with a bang Satui'day night
as the long-anticipated Military
Ball became a reality. The time-
proven ingredients of music, girls,
and celebrities gave birth to a
weekend of top-notch entertain
ment.
The fact that each of the com
ponents came in unusually heap
ing measures tended to add to the
batter of the Military Ball a sel
dom equaled quality.
The music, bearing the brand
name of Vaughn Monroe and
Orchestra, substantiated press
release claims that the Camel
Caravan congregation is “The
Most Talked of Band in Ameri
ca.”
Vaughn himself displayed his
“masculine voice” to anticipated
standards in songs which he has
made nationally famous including
“Dance Ballerina Dance,” “Racing
With the Moon,” and “There, I’ve
Said It Again.”
The Moon-Maids, four Texas
member’s of Vaughn’s troop, lend-
ed their able assistance in several
other familiar Monroe arrange
ments. Harmonica Virtuoso Dick
Hayman added his bit with some
harmonicabatics including “China
town” and “Night and Day.”
Humor high-spots of the night
came from two other members
of the Monroe aggregation, Jay
Lawrence and Ziggy Talent.
Lawrence ably impersonated va
rious well-known celebrities,
managing to produce a better
than reasonable facimile in looks
as well as voice.
Talent’s rendition of ‘Annabelle’
contained just enough of the
risque’ to draw giggles instead of
blushes from the visiting females.
He also did “The Maharaja of Ma-
gidor.”
In the personality compound of
the night, Lieutenant Audie Mur
phy, outstanding war-hero, movie
star, and recently turned novelist,
stole the spotlight from such con
tenders as British Major General
J. A. Gascoigne, British Colonel
Windsor Lewis, Major General
Harry H. Vaugn, Major General
Charles Ryder, Brigadier General
Wendall Westover, and Brigadier
General Edward A. Evans.
The handsome, almost bashful,
multi-decorated Texan made an
immediate hit with his promise
to bring his beautiful wife,
movie actress Wanda Hendrix,
to A&M on his next visit. His
unruly hair and conversational
abilities added an air of natural
ness to the star of the new pic
ture “Bad Boy.”
The third ingredient, girls, was
especially notable for both its
quality and its quantity. Out
standing in this department was
Aggieland ’49 Co-editor Truman
Martin’s presentation of the six
lovely winners of Vanity Fair.
As for the quantity, the number
of girls down for the affair could
well have set a record. They swell
ed the already tremendous attend
ance to a jam-packed peak.
The over-crowded conditions and
the resultant heat formed the basis
for what few complaints were reg
istered concerning the Ball. Open
doors and windows failed to re
lieve the definitely non-wintry
temperature in Sbisa.
As a result of the crowd,
which would have probably felt
cramped even in Kyle Field,
missing dates became the rule
instead of the exception. The
long-standing custom of date-
snatching, greatly enhanced by
the sardine-like atmosphere, led
to the appearance of an eagerly
searching look on the face of
many cadets.
The only casualties of the night
were a few males who were lost
in the long trek to and from the
men’s lounge. Numerous men
warned their buddies to stock pro
visions before attempting the trip.
Considerable color was added to
the dance by the presence of nu
merous photographers, most of
them from Life Magazine. Flash
bulbs popped constantly and sev
eral cadet dates got the genuine
thrill of being photographed stand
ing beside a full-fledged general.
The constant band-stand audi
ence and lines of autograph
seekers ate into the already in
sufficient dance floor making
genuine tripping of the light
fantastic not only dangerous but
nearly impossible.
Even the generous supply of
chairs and tables was not ample
enough to fill the needs of the al
ready foot-sore Aggies, fresh from
a full afternoon of military for
malities and picture posing.
The simple but attractive decora
tions for the affair were highlight
ed by a giant American flag di
rectly behind the band stand and
directly across from a spot-lighted
Confederate banner.
One Aggie had this one sentence
summation of the ball; “Tepid but
terrific.”
....Rev. F. G. Roesener, “The Fath
er of Lutheran Student Work in
the Texas at State Institutions,”
spoke at the dedication of the
Lutheran Student Center Sun
day.
the school of religion at the University of Tennessee, was
th Hrst in a series of five such talks by him to be given in
Guion Hall during the coming week.
Today’s session was presided over by Cadet Lt. Colonel
Charlie Glass, senior Agricultural Engineering major
from Mt. Pleasant and president
‘of the Inter-Faith Council Tony
Sorenson, a senior Animal Hus
bandry student from Waco lead
the singing.
Dr. Barbour outlined the Four
Great Facts as: “God is God,
Christ is Christ, salvation is
salvation, and the church is the
church.”
He discussed the philosophies of
commercialism, materialism and
humanism. None of these, he said,
could give a person complete sat
isfaction in life. He stressed the
need for religious ideals in secur
ing satisfaction from life.
In addition to the Guion Hall
talks, each of the churches serv
ing the college has arranged to
conduct nightly services at 7:15.
Special speakers will be present at
each of the services.
A coffee hour will also be held
in conjunction with the Religious
Emphasis Week activities. It will
be held in the Assembly Room of
the YMCA at 6:45 each evening.
Students attending thte evening
church services will be officially
excused fi’om Call to Quarters, ac
cording to an announcement by
Gordan Gay, assistant secretary of
the YMCA.
The special speaker for the
Methodist Church will be Rev.
Charles A. Jackson Jr., brother
of the present pastor of the A&M
Church and pastor of the First
Methodist Church of Statesboro,
Georgia.
Rev. Jackson is a graduate of
Emory University at Atlanta, Ga.
and the Union Theological Seme
nary in New York City. He works
with the student program at the
Georgia State Teachers College in
Statesboro.
Rev. Warren R. Hall, Jr., pastor
of the First Presbyterian Church
of Navasota will be the Religious
Emphasis Week speaker for the
A&M Presbyterian Church.
A former Lt. Colonel in the
Chaplain Corps of the Army dur
ing the war, Rev. Hall is a grad
uate of the University of Texas
and the Austin Presbyterian Theo
logical Seminary.
Evening services of the Episco
pal church will feature Bishop
John E. Hines, the Bishop Coad
jutor of the diocese of Texas- 1 in
Austin.
Bishop Hines has held pastorites
in St. Louis, Atlanta, and Houston
and at present his special duties
are with mission work and college
groups. He is a graduate of the
University of the South at Se-
wanee, Tennessee and of the Theo
logical Seminary of Virginia.
Jewish Religious Emphasis Week
services under the sponsorship of
the Hillel Club will be conducted
by Rabbi David Lefkowitz, Jr., of
B’nai Zion Congregation, Shreve
port, Louisiana.
Dr. Lefkowitz also will address
a combined meeting of the Pres
byterian and Hillel groups Sunday
February 13 at 7 p. m. in the
Presbyterian Church. He is a
graduate of the Hebrew Union
College of Cincinnati and served
four years as a Chaplain with the
U. S. Air Forces.
The Church of Christ’s special
speaker for Religious Emphasis
Week will be Rev. Willard Collins.
Rev. Collins is vice president of
David Lipscomb College and Pas
tor of the Charlotte Avenue Church
of Christ in Nashville, Tennessee.
A graduate of Vanderbilt Uni
versity, Rev. Collins is the district
five director of the American Col-
(See RELIGION, Page 4)
Wood of World’s
Oldest Tree On
Exhibit in Museum
Tracy Herbarium has received a
sample of wood supposed to be
from the oldest living plant that
reaches tree dimensions, H. B.
Parks, museum curator, has an
nounced.
The specimen, Metasequoia Gly-
ptostrobodies Huet Cheng, was giv
en to the College Station chapter
of Wood Collectors of America by
their secretary. It is one of the
three samples of this wood that has
recently reached the United States
Parks said.
Samples of the wood are located
at the University of California,
Yale University, which has the
largest collection of wood samples
in the world, and one with the
A&M Museum.
Parks described the wood as
soft and light, and said the tree
from which it came reaches a dia
meter of three feet and a height
of a hundred feet. The tree re
sembles the redwood of California.
It is called the living fossil as it
is known only from wood coming
from Asia or America, Parks said.
The A&M sample came from
China. The sample of wood is on
exhibit along with its history in
the lobby of the A&M Museum.
Griesser Appliance
Opening Today
C. E. Griesser, owner of Gries
ser Electrical Co. of Bryan, will
open a branch store at the South
Gate this morning.
The branch will be located in
the Dan Russell building, and will
be open from 10 a. m. to 8 p. m.
today.
Mrs. Charles Logan, home eco
nomist from Houston, will display
new types of kitchen equipment
and demonstrate it at the open
ing.
Joe Diviak of Bryan will be in
charge of all repairs on electrical
appliances. Other personnel in the
store include Marvin West, Leh
man Speed, and Mrs. E. T. Meisell.
Griesser stated that the store
will also carry all types of air
conditioning equipment.
Second Installment
Fees Now Payable
Second installment fees will be
payable February 1-20, W. H.
Holzmann, comptroller, announced
today.
Fees for this installment are
$44.30, delayed payment fees be
ing $1 per day extra for each day
of delay, Holzmann said.
Religious Week
Cancels Meetings
As has been a custom in the
past, organizations are request
ed not to hold any meetings
that will conflict with the morn
ing or evening services of Re
ligious Emphasis Week.
RV’s Act as Honor
Guard for Service
Eight Ross Volunteers left for
Dallas this morning to act as
honor guard at the reburial servi
ces of Lt. Austin Nance, former
captain of the Ross Volunteers
who was killed in the Battle of
France.
Members .attending the services
are Jim McCulley, Kenneth Smith,
Billy Shields, Emmet Ingram, Ken
neth Landrum, Jim Modesett, John
Taylor, and J. B. Rochelle. Wayne
Dunlap will act as bugler for the
ceremony.
College FFA Will
Reconvene Today
The A&M Collegiate Chapter of
Future Farmers of America will
hold its first meeting of the semes
ter at 7:30 Monday evening in the
Agricultural Engineering Lecture
Room, John Bradford, president,
announced today.
Several important committee as
signments are to be made, Brad
ford said.