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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
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