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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 11, 1957)
LXETTA31 PB 12 COPIES Number 62: Volume 57 < Published Daily on the Texas A&M College Campus SUPPQiT CAMPUS CNIST COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1957 Price Five Cents Wind-Swept Flames Cause $150,000 Damage To Downtown Bryan Store —Battalion Staff Photo by Raoul Roth Bryan Clothiers Gutted by Fire W. S. D. Clothiers, 108 N. Main St,, was ra- Cause of the fire has not yet been deter- vaged by a wind-swept fire last night, mined, causing an estimated $150,000 damage. Wainerdi Gives Plan For Nuclear Plant Dr. Richard E. Wainerdi, head of A&M’s nuclear program, today out lined to College Station Kiwanians a plan for future nuclear programs, which could go into effect within two or three years and would put A&M ahead of any other college nuclear program in the nation. The only thing lacking is money, Waiherdi told the gi’oup at their luncheon. The new nuclear plant would probably be located west of the follege near the Brazos River, Wainerdi said. He showed the club slides of diagrams and sketches of the proposed plant. It would include the most modern advancements in nuclear equipment and possibly the largest accelerator in the world. He said the Atomic Energy Commission agreed th^t A&M was an excellent locality for such an elaborate reactor. The reason is because A&M is not located near a heavily populated area, but is within the center region of several principal cities. Wainerdi explained that such a reactor would be used for research and student training. He said they were trying to get a master’s and Ph. D. degree in nuclear physics for A&M. ' Besides using the reactor for energy purposes, it will be used by many departments such as phy sics, chemistry, agriculture, bi ology, engineering, industrial train ing and medicine. One of the principal uses in medicine is the treatment of cancer by bombard- Sen. Hubert Humphrey ments of radioactive rays, which would be included in the program, Wainerdi said, especially in seeking new and better ways of curing cancer. Another important use for the reactor would be in analyzing un knowns. Wainerdi said that within five years he believed they could have a system developed by which an analysis could be completed every five minutes up to 50 indenti- fications at an approximate cost of $7 per identification. This is tremendously fast with an amaz ingly low cost, he explained. Also on the Kiwanis program was Wayne Stai'k, Memorial Stu dent Center director, with a talk on what the Student Conference On National Affairs offered college Station citizens. Cause Not Known; Shop Total Loss By GAYLE McNUTT Wind-swept flames raged out of control for an hour and a half last night, gutting the W.S.D. Clothiers store in down town Bryan, causing an estimated $150,000 damage. The clothing store was a complete loss, firemen said. All inside walls and the roof of the two-story structure were destroyed by the fire. Only the outside walls were left stand ing, and for a time, firemen feared the east wall would col lapse. It cracked in several places but did remain standing. The fire was believed to have broken out in a storeroom at the back of the building on the ground floor. Cause of the blaze is not known. Sam Noto, Bryan fire chief, said the alarm was turned in about 9 p.m. By 10:30, firemen from Bryan, College Station and City Council To Discuss Streets Friday A special meeting of the College Station City Council has been called by Mayor Ern est Langford for Friday night to discuss ways of financing street improvement in the city. The council was abjourned at its last meeting on Nov. 25, subject to call of the mayor. After hearing repoi'ts and recommendations from two firms on city street improve ment costs and ways of paying for them, the council decided to take time out and think over repoi’ts to get a better idea of which plan would be best before taking action. At the Friday meeting, the coun cil plans to put their heads to gether and compare notes on in dividual decisions. Street improve ment action may be forthcoming if the council reaches a definite conclusion at this meeting. Befoi’e any of the proposed plans could go into effect however, the measure would have to be approv ed in a citywide election. Bryan Air Force Base had the blaze under control. Firemen battled the flames, fan ned by 40 mile per hour gusts of wind from a fresh norther, for more than three hours before they were extinguished. No one was injured. Using gas masks, the Bryan Fire Department entered the build ing immediately after arriving on the scene, and attempted to salv age some of the store merchandise. However, flames forced them out of the structure, causing the loss of several salvage covers, gas masks and other equipment. “The fire seemed to race upward through the building, breaking through the ceiling and threaten ing nearby stores,” an unidenti fied fireman said. Flames on the west side of the building were brought under con trol first and later the blazing eastern front of the store. Firemen fought the blaze from adjoining roof tops and from the front and back of the store. Wind hindei’ed the men handling hoses, making it difficult to direct a con stant stream of water in one place. Smoke filled the adjoining build ings, but the thick, brick walls and speedy work of firemen were credi ted with saving them from the flames. Slight water damage was also repoi’ted by both adjoining stores, Caldwell’s Jewelry and The Fabric Shop. Weather Today The mercury plunged to a low of 27 degrees at 7:30 this morn ing, and more cold weather is ex pected today and tonight, the col lege weather station reports. Daugherty Rejects Job As Coach Chicago, (/P)—Hugh Duffy Daugherty today announced he is passiing up a head football' coaching job and athletic direc torship at Texas A&M to re main head football coach at Michigan State University. Third Annual SCONA Convenes In Center By JIM NEIGHBORS Three years of dreams, sweat, long working hours and tireless efforts became operational today as the Third Student Conference on National Affairs began its first session. SCONA III opened at 2:30 this afternoon in the Memorial Student Center with a keynote address by former secretary of the Air Force Eugene M. Zuckert. The retired Atomic Energy commissioner spoke on “The World Today.” Dean of the college J. B. Page welcomed the delegates prior to Zuckert’s kickoff speech. Highpoint of today’s activities is the panel discussion at 8 p. m. with Joseph E. Johnson, Dr. Charles L. Dunham and Zuckert. Topic of the hour: “What is the Role of Nuclear Energy in Foreign Policy?” Other fii’st day events include the first meeting of round-table groups for orientation, a smorgas bord for SCONA participants and a reception following the panel meeting. Schedule of events for the rest of the week is as follows: 0 8:30 a. m., Thursday, Dec. 12, the second round-table meetings will be held. • 1:30 p. m., Thursday, the third round-table meetings are scheduled. • 4:15 p. m., Thursday, a guided tour of the campus for delegates is planned. ® 6 p. m., Thursday, a • Texas- style barbecue on the MSC lawn. • 8 p. m., Thursday, Gen. John P. Daley, director of Special Weapons for the Department of Defense, will speak on the topic, “Why Army Missiles in the Space Age?” This address is open to the public and is also a Great Issues sponsored talk. • 8:30 a. m., Friday, Dec. 13, the fourth round-table meetings will be held. ® 2 p. m. Friday, Sen. Hubert Humphrey will speak on the topic, “How Can the Situation in the Middle East Affect the Rest of the World?” A jointly sponsored meeting open to the public, this session will be one of the high- points of the conference. • 4:15 p. m., Friday, the Corps of cadets will hold a special review on the main parade ground. • 8 p. m., Friday, Gen. Carlos P. Romulo, Philippine Security Coun cil representative and chairman of delegation, will speak on “The United States and World Affairs” in G. Rollie White Coliseum. His speech is open to the public.. • 8:30 a. m., Sat., Dec 14, the fifth and final roundtable discus sions will be held. • 12:30 p. m., Saturday, John Scott, special assistant to the publisher of Time Magazine, sums up the conference at the final luncheon. The closing speech is open to the public, however, tickets to the luncheon are limited. Top Aggie Talent Dave Woodard, “dressed” for the bip: occasion, won first place in the Aggie Talent Show last night with his combina tion of magic tricks and a hot set of drums. lie will repre sent A&M in the Intercollegiate Talent Show here next March. Magic, Dru m m ing Wins Talent Show By JOHNNY JOHNSON Dave Woodard, ’60, combined magic and mastery of the drums to win top honoi’s in the Sixth Annual Aggie Talent Show last night in Guion Hall. John Warner, ’58, pianist, and James Hickey, ’58, vocalist and guitarist, won second and third places, respectively. Woodard’s first place entitles him to represent A&M in the Inter- Collegiate Talent Show next spring. The nearly full house was entei’- tained by 10 acts, with Toby Hughes and Don Friedrich, WTAW announcers, serving as masters of ceremonies and providing exti’a laughs. Woodard, designated by a sign as “Official Sputnik Spotter”, fit into the general theme of the show —rocket travel. The show started with a countdown that ended with a dud blastoff. A special honorable mention went to Mrs. Rene Olds, stage as sistant and who received more ap plause than any of the perform ers. In the course of the program an overzealous Aggie came out of thei audience in a seemingly unplan ned bit and chased Mrs. Olds across the stage and then backstage. A party-crasher, obnoxiously dressed kept wandering across the stage throughout the program until he received an answer to his whispered question. After receiv ing the directions he wanted, the character left. Jerry Hatfield, ’60, last year’s winner of ATS, gave a special re turn engagement act on various sounds. Others on the program were Richard Smith, vocalist accom panied by the Collegiates; Ed Moerbe, juggler; Lane Lynch, bari tone accompanied by Anita Mowery; J. D. Nunnelee, dancer; Richard Hoff, pantominist; and El Tropicana, made up of Armando Quiros, Raul Villaronga, Cesar Nunez, Andres Carillo, Mike Belile, and Jack Nelson. Gen. Carlos P. Romulo