18,440
READERS
THE
ATTALION
BONFIRE
INJURIES
10
Published Daily on the Texas A&M College Campus
Number 55: Volume 57
COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 1957
Price Five Cents
Engineer Rated
‘All-American’
In A CP St udy
A&M’s Engineer student
magazine has won the coveted
All American Honor Rating
according to information re
ceived here Monday.
The award was announced by the
Associated Collegiate Press, na
tional rating service for .student
magazines and newspapers.
All four student magazines at
A&M received top ratings in the
nation-wide contest.
Judging was based on issues
published in 1956-57.
Ratings were:
All American—Engineer, edited
by Joe Bill Foster.
First Class—Southwestern Vet-
by Benny E. Fichte.
First Class—Southwestern Vet
erinarian, edited by D. R. Cassidy
and K. R. Pierce.
Second Class — Commentator,
Edited by John Smith.
The Associated Collegiate Press
judges magazines and newspapers
on editorial (Standards, content,
illustrations, editing and display,
makeup, advertising and printing.
Rather than judging against a
given standard the student publi
cations are judged on a compara
tive basis for the current year.
The Battalion won a First Class
rating which was announced
earlier.
Doctors Order
Ike to Red
After Chill
WASHINGTON, — Presi
dent Eisenhower went to bed
on doctors orders yesterday
after suffering what the
White House described as a
chill, but was reported resting well
hours later.
He was said to be sleeping com
fortably last night under mild
sedation.
His scheduled national TV and
radio speech at Cleveland, Ohio,
tomorrow night was canceled be
cause of the illness. So was a
9 a. m. appointment tomorrow with
the visiting King of Morocco.
The White House said Eisen
hower contracted the chill after
greeting the King at the airport
in chilly weather early this after
noon. The President stood bare
headed in the wind part of the
time.
The first mention that Eisen
hower was indisposed came in an
announcement soon after 6 p. m.
that he would not be able to at
tend last night’s dinner at the
White House for the King.
Vice President Nixon escorted
Mrs. Eisenhower to the dinner in
the President’s absence, and made
a fleeting reference-in an orange
juice toast-to the fact that the
Pi'esident “unfoi’tunately is unable
to be” with the King at this oc
casion.
The dinner was a long one, last
ing from 8 until about 11:15.
Fire Destroys
HSU Chapel
ABILENE—(A 1 )—Behrens Chapel
at Hardin-Simmons University was
destroyed by a flash fire of unde
termined origin yesterday at an es
timated loss of $250,000.
Only the walls remained stand
ing when the blaze was brought
under control less than two hours
after it was discovered.
Many band instruments were
lost but the music of the school’s
famous Cowboy Band was saved.
The band will tour Iceland during
the Christmas holidays.
11 biiipf 1
v;
V-' • a* ' * ' ■ '
Stack Falls Saturday
Battalion Staff Photo
Foundation of the 1957 bonfire hit the dust, or more ac
curately the mud, Saturday about 12:30.
No one was injured as everyone had taken off for
lunch.
Work was stymied for only a few minutes and then the
centerpole was relocated and work began in earnest.
Spirit Falls, Rises
In Bonfire Shakeup
Spirit hit an all time low for a
few minutes Saturday at 12:30—
the bonfire fell over.
The stack began leaning Satur
day morning. The center pole was
loosened by the strain of the guy
ropes on it and by the weak foun
dation of soggy ground, made so
by the unceasing rain that fell all
last week.
Since the stack fell during the
lunch hour, no one was injured.
When the Ags discovered the
heap of logs strewn on the drill
field, they quietly walked through
the mud and stood in amazement.
As Ted Lowe, head yell Ibader said:
“Everything has happened to us
now.”
For several moments, no one
knew what to do or where to be
gin. Then a cry spread over the
area made muddy by thousands of
feet: “Okay you freshmen, sopho
mores and juniors, don’t just stand
there. We’ve got a bonfire to
build.”
And then work began in earnest
and by sundown, the centerpole
was relocated on the west end of
the drill field and stacking began
once more.
According to Lowe, no more cut
ting is needed but there are still
lots of trees to be hauled out. Since
trucks are unable to get all the
way into the area in the mud, logs
are being carried by manpower,
some for a half mile or more.
But Lowe has promised a “me
chanized secret weapon” to speed
up the hauling process today and
tomorrow.
“We’ve still got a chance to make
this one the biggest yet,” Lowe
firmly believes. “It will be if the
men continue to work as they did
this weekend.”
Unclaimed Articles
Ready for Auction
The annual Lost and Found Auc
tion will be held Wednesday, Nov.
27 at 5:30 p.m., in the Fountain
Room of the Memorial Student
Center, according to Toby Mattox,
House committee chairman.
Everything that has been turned
in at the main desk of the MSC
since last November and has not
been claimed will be on sale at the
auction and must be sold at any
price. Proceeds from the auction
will be used to decorate the MSC
at Christmas time.
Postmaster Urges
Early Yule Mailing
Predicting that the Christmas
mail this year will set an all time
record, Acting Postmaster Homer
Adams began last week his 1957
“Mail Early for Christmas” cam
paign.
Adams warns against waiting
until December rolls around be
fore giving Christmas mailing
plans a thought. He also says to
check Christmas card lists very
carefully, making sure that each
address includes the full name,
street and number, city, zone and
state.
“Securely pack and wrap Christ
mas gifts,” said the postmaster. “To
include a Christmas card or letter
inside a gift package, the appro
priate first class mail postage
should be added to the postage for
the package itself. This will in
sure simultaneous arrival of gift
and greeting.”
To help plan early Christmas
Council Making: Bid
For Better Streets
IPs Official:
School Opens
Next Monday
Monday will not be a holiday
regardless of the outcome of the
Thanksgiving Day clash between
the Aggies and U.T., according
to J. B. Page, dean of (he college.
Page said because of the time
already lost this semester during
the flu epidemic, the Executive
Committee, in action approved
by the president, has voted not
to close the college on Dec. 2.
All classes will meet as sched-
uled.
Moonwatchers See
Russian Satellite
Alpha I was spotted last night
by A&M’s Operation Moonwatch
at 6:48 p.m.
The object is the brightest of
the Soviet satellites circulating the
globe and follows the second
launched satellite by about 15 min
utes. The rocket was sighted at
about 100 degi’ees west, somewhere
over San Angelo.
The watchers were on alert from
5:30 until 7 p.m. yesterday and
relayed the information they ob
tained through their self-made tele
scopes to the Smithsonian Insti
tute for comparison with other
data collected over the United
States.
Dr. Jack Kent, director of the
local gi’oup, said last night that
all future alei’ts were called off
until further notice.
Library To Close
For Thanksgiving
The college library will be closed
Thanksgiving Day and Sunday
during this week, according to M.
V. Krenitsky, assistant librarian.
In addition the library will be
open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wed
nesday and Friday. Saturday the
library will close at noon.
Russ Morgan Orchestra
mailing - , the postmaster suggested
securing from the Post Office,
Pamphlet No. 2, which tells about
packaging and wrapping parcels
for mailing, and Pamphlet No. 3,
giving full details on domestic
postage rates and fees.
Also, free labels reading, “All
For Local Delivery” and “All For
Out of Town Delivei-y”, to speed
arrival of Christmas cards can be
obtained at the Post Office.
Only Christmas cards carrying
first class, three cent, or six cent
air mail postage, may include a
personal message, Adams remind
ed.
Christmas mailings should be
planned so that Christmas cards
and gifts for most distant points
are mailed first. All out-of-town
cards and gifts should be at the
Post Office before Dec. 10, and
those for nearby points by Dec.
15, he said.
Top Band Coming
For Bonfire Ball
Firms Give Group
Present Outlook
BY GAYLE MCNUTT
Reports of street and drainage improvement and ways
of financing the costs were presented by two firms last night
to the College Station City Council as they continued their
search for the answer to the city thorofare problem.
Spencer J. Buchanan, of Spencer J. Buchanan and As
sociates, the firm doing surveying and planning for the city,
gave findings made by his engineers and estimations of con
struction costs for improving drainage and streets to the
council.
Ernest L. Brown Jr., of Moroney, Beissner and Co., gave
the studies and recommendations of his firm for financing
such a project on the basis of a half-million dollars in bonds.
Buchanan gave three pos
sible solutions for street con
struction. Each plan could be
used either with or without
curbs and gutters, and in
cluded estimates for both primary
streets (41 feet wide and secondary
streets 27 feet wide).
the first Buchanan estimates
ranged from $9.98 per linage foot
for primary streets with curbs and
gutters, or $7.20 without curbs and
gutters, to $6.72 for secondary
(Streets with curbs and gutters—
$3.94 without.
The two alternate methods, also
considered adequate by the firm,
are slightly cheaper per linage foot
through probably not as durable,
Buchanan said.
“I’m sui’prised that we can even
travel the older streets in College
Station at all,” hei told the council.
The streets have a very poor
base. When they crack, the rain
soaks under them and washes away
what little base there is, Buchanan
isaid. He stated emphatically that
good drainage was the most im
portant factor toward good streets.
“The present assessed valuation
of the city of College Station is
inadequate to suppoi’t a $500,000
bond for building streets,” Brown
told the councilmen.
The present valuation is based
on 25 per cent actual value for
tax purposes.
He said however, that the valua
tion could ea,sily be raised from
25 to 50 per cent which would sup
port the $500,000 figure, and not
necessarily mean a tax rise for
citizens. On a 50 per cent basis,
the valuation would be raised to
$7,700,000 which would satisfy the
(See CITY COUNCIL, Page 3)
Lions Begin
Christmas Tree
Sale Monday
College Station Lions begin
their annual Christmas tree
sale next Monday at the va
cant Phillips 66 service sta
tion, north of the campus on
Highway 6.
Final plans for the sale were
made yesterday at the Lions’ week
ly luncheon meeting.
Five capon,s were auctioned off
at the meeting to Lion members,
the funds to go as Christmas gifts
of food to needy families. The
capons were bought at the Brazos
County Future Farmers of America
sale held three weeks ago in Bryan.
A letter from the Southwestern
Hemophilia Association was read
to the group. The letter expressed
the gratitude of the asisociation
for the “God-send” of 200 pints of
blood raised in the drive sponsored
on the campus last week by the
Lions.
“It is by far the most successful
drive we have ever had,” the letter
stated. It said that a similar let
ter was also being (Sent to each Ag
gie donor, expressing special
thanks to them.
By JOE BUSER
Russ Morgan and his orchestra,
featuring “Music in the Morgan
Manner” are to pi’ovide the sounds
for the Bonfire Dance in Sbisa
Wednesday night at 9.
One of the most versatile music
ians in the business, Morgan is an
accomplished pei’former on the pi
ano, vibraphone, guitai\ celeste,
marimba and organ, besides being
capable of blowing a bit of trom
bone. He also has tried his hand
at arranging and composing with
some success.
Although as a boy, Morgan
Weather Today
Fair and mild through Wednes
day is the forecast for the College
Station area.
At 8 this morning the tempera
ture was 50 degrees and the re
lative humidity, 80 per cent.
Yesterday’s high, recorded at 9
a. m., was 57 degrees, and this
morning’s low, 47 degreejS at 7:30.
US To Launch
l est Satellite
Next 'Tuesday
WASHINGTON. (JP) — An
attempt to launch America’s
first test satellite—a sphere
six inches in diameter weigh
ing six pounds—is planned for
the middle of next week, informed
isoui’ces said yesterday.
These informants said the at
tempt will be made at Patrick Air
Foi’ce Base, Fla., next Tuesday,
or soon thereafter. A dawn shot is
planned.
The globe will be fired south
eastward into space and adjusted
for a generally equatorial orbit.
It will have four tiny solar bat
teries, half an inch thick, glued
to its outside, and will have four
or six antennas. It will transmit
signals continuously on 108 mega-
cyles, so that it can be detected
by radio.
The solar batteries should last
as long as the life of the satellite
itsel f.
Unlike the fullscale future satel
lites, this one Avill contain no spe
cial telemetering instruments and
thus will tell nothing about condi
tions in outer (Space.
But if all goes well it should
join the Soviet Sputnik satellites
at altitudes from 300 to 1,200
miles.
The baby satellite will be
launched by the Vanguard rockets
that will be used later to put the
21-inch regular satellites into the
sky, in order to test those rockets.
The solar batteries are only two
inches (Square. Because of varia
tion in the energy which the satel
lite will get from the sun as it
goes round the earth, the voltage
output of the batteries will fluc
tuate considerably.
Informants said the satellite will
be spinning at a rate of 200 revolu
tions a minute.
The full launching assembly will
be 72 feet long and will weigh 15,-
000 pounds.
worked in the coal mines, he spent
his spare time learning all he-could
about music. At 20, he was ar
ranging for America’s March King,
John Philip Sousa. He also spent
some time ari’anging for Victor
Herbert, composer of “Naughty
Marietta,” “Babes in Toyland” and
others.
Called the “best of the enemy”
by swing fans, Morgan produces
sweet and clean sounds with the
help of three violins, a bass, three
trumpets and four saxes. Some
of the tunes he has pushed to the
top are: “Does Your Heart Beat
For Me,” “Somebody Else is Tak
ing My Place,” “You’re Nobody,
Till Somebody Loves You,” plus
many others.
His band has played engage
ments in some of the best clubs
and hotels in the United States and
has had two radio shows. He also
has made two full length feature
movies and several “shorts.”
Admission is $2.50 per couple.
The dance will end at midnight.
“Music in the Morgan Manner”
That’s what’s in store for those attending the annual Bon
fire Dance in Sbisa Wednesday night. Starting at 9 and
featuring Russ Morgan and His Band, the dance will climax
activities prior to the University of Texas game on Kyle
Field Thursday.