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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 25, 1954)
f y Battalion Editorials Page 2 THE BATTALION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 1954 Decision on Progress Wednesday, the people of College Station will have a chance to prove what kind of a city they want—whether they want an ade quate sanitary sewer system, or the present system of inconvenient and, in some cases unhealthy disposal of sewage. The issue at stake has been studied for two years and has been given the unanimous approval of the City Council. The plan in cludes future expansion to the south of the city, and it should give College Station one of the best systems of sewage disposal that can be planned. Now it is up to the citizens to decide if the city will continue to progress. If the plan is passed, the $300,000 bonds approved will not be paid for by taxation. In fact, the ordinance authorizing the elec tion says that payment cannot be made from taxes. The money will come from an in crease in service charges. The average home- owner will pay $1.50 instead of 50 cents, and this increase certainly seems worth it, con sidering how much protection the citizens will be getting for just a small fee. Wednesday the people will decide. Let’s hope they vote for progress. Letters to the Editors Editors, The Battalion, On Saturday, Nov. 20, I attend ed the football game between the freshmen of the University of Tex as and your school. Your fine band very properly played the A&M song* just prior to the kickoff; many of us waited in vain for the band to play the Eyes of Texas— knowing, as the band did, that the Longhorn band was not in attend ance. Under similar conditions in Austin, I have, on many occasions, heard the Longhorn band play the song - of our opponent’s school. Group Features ‘Omar Khayyam’s’ The Food’s group of the A&M Social club met last week and had ‘Omar Khayyam’s’ of San Fran cisco, as their featured restrau- rant. All decorations were of Armen ian theme. Each table had center- pieces of persimmons and greenery and either brass animals of India or Turkish coffee pots. The main table was covered with a Persian rug, two copper European Samno- vars, a brass tray with .a vase of paracantha berries and two books about Omar Kahyyam. Hostesses for the day were co- chairmen Mrs. T. R. Holleman and Mrs. E. N. Pianta, and Mesdames R. D. Chenowent, George Potter, R. O. Berry, Horace Blank, M. C. Schroeder and A. R. Burgess. TODAY & FRIDAY — BIG HOLIDAY SHOW — “Gone With the This is a very simple gesture of good sportsmanship and courtesy —qualities about which A&M and A&M supporters so frequently and loudly boast. Why not add some thing more to your band in addi tion to the precision marching and excellent musicianship it already possesses ? Charles S. Alexander Houston, Texas Two From College To Attend Meet Dr. Albert J. Kingston and Clay George of the Basic Division, will participate in the fourth annual meeting of the Southwest Reading Conference for Colleges and Uni versities. The meeting will be held at Texa& Christian university Dec. 3-4. Kingston is a member of the ex ecutive committee. .4 'm Wind” Feature at 6:30 and 10:05 BELIEVE IT OR NOT—The Battalion had a sign up on the bonfire field too, believe it or not. The Batt staff put up its annual sign, composed of The Battalion masthead pasted to a piece of wood. The amazing thing was that the sign stayed up until the bonfire burned last night. (The sign was not taller than the bonfire. The photographer just got playful.) Wehrman’s Cafe HOME COOKED FOODS 1009 West 25th St. BRYAN The Battalion The Editorial Policy of The Battalion Represents the Views of the Student Editors The Battalion, official newspaper of the Agricultural and Mechan ical College of Texas, is published by students four times a week, during the regular school year. During the summer terms, and examination and vacation periods. The Battalion is published twice a week. Days of publications are Tuesday through Friday for the regular school year, and Tuesday and Thursday during examination and vacation periods and the summer terms. Subscription rates $9.00 per year or $ .75 pei month. Advertising rates furnished on request. Entered as second-class matter at Post Office at ; College Station. Texas , under the Act of Con gress of March 3. 1870. Member of The Associated Press Represented nationally by National Advertising Services, Inc., at New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San* Fran cisco. The Associated Press is entitled exclusively to the use for republi cation of all news dispatches credited to it or not otherwise credited in the paper and local news of spontaneous origin published herein. Rights of republication of all other matter herein are also reserved. News contributions may be made by telephone (4-5444 or 4-7604) or at the editorial office room, 202 Goodwin Hall. Classified ads may be placed by telephone (4-5324) or at the Student Publication Office, Room 207 Goodwin Hall. BOB BORISKIE, HARRI BAKER Co-Editors Jon Kinslow Managing Editor Jerry Wizig Sports Editor iJon Shepard, Bill Fullerton. News Fditors Ralph Cobh City Editor Jnn Neighbors, Welton Jones, Paul Savage Reporters mrs. Jo Ann Cocanougher Women’s Editor Mauri? et nr Burchard A&M Consolidated Correspondent LalfyYi A&M Consolidated Sports Corespondent Tom Syta,, JOHN hub":I? 1 ' 8 '’ l0ny Goo<i " in Circulation Staff Charles Ritchie, George Allen ' -- Advertising Manager 1 Advertising Salesmen Extension Club Has Guest Day The Extension Service club met last week in the Memorial Student Center and had guest day. Mrs. A. W. Melloh, Carnegie li brarian, spoke to the group on new books. She told the group about what points they should consider when buying a new book. The publisher, illustrator, price, type of binding, recommendations of re views, literary quality, author and subject matter are the eight points to consider, she said. Those ladies present at the guest day meeting were Mesdames Wal ker M'atzen, R. D. Lewis, T. T. Montfort of Houston, R. R. Wook, L. E. Spangler, H. T. Blackhurts, Ralph Young, L. C. Short, C. C. Carlton, V. M. Stockbridge and Sevede Anderson of Dallas. Others present were Miss N. Stockbridge of Arizona, Senora Ferrao and Senora Montano of Portagal. Decorations consisted of rose and maroon chrysanthemums and maroon candles. The guests and members, were served pumpkin tarts and coffee for refi - eshments. Hostesses for the meeting were Mesdames W. W. Armistead, R. H. Bush, R. B. Hickerson, M. K. Thornton, Dora Baines and A. D. Folwieler. Growth Trial Dr. H. O. Kunkel of the animal husbandry department is carrying out an experiment to determine if the addition of hormones or anti biotics in feed will affect the growth rate of lambs. He is using bJ iambs in his experiments. THE FIRST SPORTCASTERS—A&M students who sent out the first sports broadcast in morse dots and dashes are shown working - at the “rock-crusher” transmission set used for the broadcast. They are (left to right) H. C. Dillingham, now an A&M professor; Cecil L. Matthes, Annual A&M-TU Game who died last year in North Carolina; Harry M. Saunders, chief engineer for Western Union company in New York; William (Doc) Tolson; research engineer for RCA in Princeton, N.J.; and Rezin B. Steele, chief engineer for Canadian National Telegraph, Toronto. First Football Cast Biased The A&M sophomore in electrical engineering who engineered the fi^st radio broadcast in history of a 1919 football game missed partic ipating in the actual transmission. William A. (Doc) Tolson was toot ing a trumpet in the band down on the* sidelines while the game was going on. It all comes out 35 years later in a recounting of the event. The occasion was the annual Thanksgiving Day gridiron skir mish between the Aggies and the Longhorns of the University of Texas. This one was on Kyle Field here. Today Tolson, a research engi neer at the Princeton (NJ) labora tories of Radio Corporation of America, recalls that original sportscast took some doing. He and his classmate's appropriated by night, while their professors look ed the other way, all the tinfoil and Other material to rig an orig inal spark transmitter. “One vital part,” he said, “came from an old electric fan which just accidentally' fell off he window sill of an instructor’s office. When retrieved on the sidewalk two floors below, the' fan’s blades were irreparably damaged. But the mo tor worked fine!” He fingers two partners in crime, as he puts it. One was Harry M. Saunders, an electrical engineering junior at the time and now gen eral supervisor of traffic engineer ing for Western Union Telegraph company in New York. The other was B. Lewis Wilson, a young lab oratory maintenance man then, now an electrical contractor in Denton. Those who took lesser parts in the whole shenanigans were H. C. (Dutch) Dillingham, now an A&M professor; Rezin B. Steele, chief engineer for Canadian National Telegraph, and Cecil L. Matthes, a power company executive who died last year in North Carolina. All were juniors in 1919. Tolson also credits Dr. F. C. Bolton, a professor and later dean of engineering and now president- emeritus of the college, with the first recognition of his students’ ingenuity. He went to bat for them and obtained a transmitter license, with the call letters 5 YA. “Those smart-alecks would stay up all night with their brainchild,” Bolton chuckles from memory. “I’m still amazed they made good grades in classes. They were bright boys, all right.” It was not a vocal broadcast the young men created. The play-by- play was sounded on a telegraph key in Continental code of dots and dashes, using a long list of initials for each movement of the football, But it was the very first account of any sports event sent via wire less—and so attested by the Ra dio - Electronics - Tile'^ifeiou Manu facturers association ■ in Washing ton. This was almost two years be fore the first prize fight and the first baseball game were “heard” over Station KDKA,' Pittsburgh. It was three years later still when. WEAF in New York initiated voice broadcasts from a gridiron. Dana X. Bible, one of the coach ing greats in America, then at Ag- gieland, helped the students work out their code. Now he is athletic director at Texas. Saunders, who today still is a licensed “ham” operator with the call letters W-20-M, clears a point: “While amateur stations are not licensed by the Federal Communi cations Commission to ‘broadcast’ now, our stunt took place when the regulation of hams was under the old Department of Commerce. Qld 5YA was licensed as an experi mental amateur station until the college took over in 1922 and got the present call letters.” Further, he points out that ex change of collegiath' sports notices. via radio was a common practice at that time among such A&M ri vals as Rice, Tulane and Texas. Saunders adds this highlight: “Texas had a star quarterback named, I believe, Elam. He wal an excellent long forward passer, and a fast man on his feet carrying the ball for long gains around the ends. In reporting some of hi* plays, I would send, ‘Elam passes 50 yards.’ Then after half a min ute just add, ‘Incomplete.’ Or ‘Elam long end run’ and several seconds later report, ‘No gain.’ “I knew these reports were giv ing Texas supporters at the old play-o-graph board in Austin a bad afternoon. At one point in the game the University operator wired us and asked if we couldn’t be a little less biased.” SAVE YOUR MONEY SAVE YOUR CLOTHES CAMPUS CLEANERS Inter Curfew Requested !u Women Students A grass-roots movement to ex tend evening curfew for women students an additional hour is gaining speed throughout the campus. Many women students feel the present hours are too restrictive. “If we could only have one more hour,” stated one prominent leader (pictured at left). “Now we barely have time to enjoy our Dr. Pepper”. Sweeping policy changes are being studied and some faculty comment is expected soon. In the meanwhile ... Girls, why don’t you ask for a Dr. Pepper vendor for your dorm or soror ity. You’ll find Dr. Pepper gives you a lift for life. DRINK LI E ABNER By AI Capp J—- ARE VOU SURE YOU'RE ALU RIGHT, DEAR? SHECKS ALL AH LOST IN TRET ACCIDENT WERE A COUPLA ST RANI DS O' HAIR/T NOTH VALOOBLE Y Mot valuable to you, TJNV-BUT VERY VALUABLE TO TIYO SC/ENTIFIC GENTLE MEN. LET'S LOOK MON TFE POLICE EXAMINER WHO R/CKED UR THE E/FST STRANE OF HAIR — YOU.'?'—HAVE YOU EVER PLAYED A VIOLIN ? NO, YER HONOR— BUT, 1 ONCE-d*-FOUND ONE. COULDN'T SELL IT— SO/1 USED IT TO P O G O By Walt Kelly El/#EEA T ' /n'<3 HASP P02 ' /VE TD LIE QUIET LIKE lob&v CHICKEN 6H0ULP WHEN VOU LEAPS UP HOLL-ESIN’ OUT WHISTLE STOPS. it jus’occue TO ME, ue \G INVITEP TO FC2 THANKS6IVIN PINNER- b-25 FOVT MAfct. CA T C 9 /, .1* WELL* CSPGJP poeus. AN’ I WA<5 TO 0KIN6 A UV SOMETH IN'TO £A7—G0, LONS ,A&yOU 16 A PEAP CHICKEN, COME AL0N6 AM'- STOP fUNNKy ME, FUNNY IN P WHAT'S YOU A comic ere ip? thankful j WOL/l0//'r \ AL3E2T? ~ nmfiTGF/r. 0 % Ru/ 0SIN'AS V/E GONE rojEAT I'SE THANKFUL I SOT THAT 0I3P HOUSE OFFA MY ‘ heapsone