AlJO
et
'I
Che Bdttdlion
iJEWSP^P|g
Volume 61
COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS THURSDAY, AUSUST 12, 1965
Number 196
Stop
iND
OR
US-
UR-
xc.
The
{Presses
By LANI PRESSWOOD
I If you haven’t seen a myste-
rious light in the skies lately
mat hovers silently, glows three
[different colors, and then tears
|ff at Mach II speed, then you’re
st not looking.
Because the UFO is most def-
itely with us again. From Aus-
alia to Alaska the sightings
have been pouring in the last few
weeks. The official term for the
tthenomenon is unidentified flying
[object, the popular one is flying
saucer.
I And whether your view is of-
■cial or un-official this UFO
Ihing has got to be the mystery
|of the century.
B Have you ever explored behind
Hie covers of one of the serious
iflying saucer books” on the
paperback stand ? If you want
|> keep a completely skeptical
utlook on UFO’s, free from any
oubts whatever . . . don’t go
last the covers.
The one that hooked me was
kitten by a retired Air Force
najor who seems to be pretty
trapped up in the subject now.
Be throws out a lot of facts in
lie book and proceeds from there
[to some pretty rank speculation
[about the origin of these things.
Even if you ignore the specula
tion though, those cold hard facts
ire still staring at you. And they
bake the author’s charge that
he Air Force hasn’t been playing
(fair with the public seem valid.
I The Air Force has an official
bureau called Project Blue Book
which has been exclusively con-
terned with investigating UFO’s
dor nearly 15 years now. The
luthor, a gentleman named Key-
loe, says the Air Force knows a
lot more about these babies than
they’re telling and that their alibi
for their secrecy is the fear of a
national panic.
I Now these are pretty strong
Words but a few incidents which
are virtually part of the public
domain by now- make you wonder
iW’hat all really is in the Blue
ook files.
)
The famous Captain Mantell
case occurred in 1948. An un
known object was sighted by ob
servers at Godman AFB in Louis-
|ille and Mantell was dispatched
to investigate. He maintained
radio contact with the base, said
something was up ahead and
that he was moving in closer.
| These were Mantell’s last
words. His plane suddenly crash
ed and the wreckage was widely
[scattered. The Air Force said he
was chasing Venus.
I Then there was the time that
fFO’s buzzed Washington D.C.,
back in 1952. People all over the
Capitol city reported seeing a
group of strange glowing objects
which hovered and maneuvered in
the night sky.
Perplexed radar operators on
he scene watched the blips in
prazement. Finally it was de
luded to find out what in the
am Hill was up there. The near-
ist air base was notified and
[ithin a few minutes F-94’s were
Streaking over the Potomac. When
fie jets approached, the objects
Iccelerated up to tremendous
Ipeeds, and hurtled out of sight
j|nd off the radar screens, leaving
|he jets pathetically behind.
I And there was the Lake Super-
i|>r thing a few years ago that
|o me is even more ominous. Once
a gain, an unidentified flying ob-
jject was sighted as a blip on a
pdar screen.
The thing was cruising out
Jver Lake Superior. A jet was
[Scrambled and sent up to in-
Nstigate. As he steadily gained
h the object, the pilot kept up
I steady radio contact with the
gadar operator. On his screen the
fperator watched the two blips,
is on gradually moved up behind
fhe other.
Then the pilot saw the object.
_ e said it looked metalic and was
■lowing and he was going in for
I closer look. The radar operator
watched his screen with horror
It what followed. The trailing
jllip caught up with the other one
*nd then two blips became one.
(continued on page 2)
Tax Testimony
In Consolidated
Trial Continues
CONSOLIDATED’S BENGAL BELLES
The Bengal Belles, composed of junior and
senior girls at A&M Consolidated High
School, have returned from a drill team
school at SMU where they won a third place
trophy in competition. The group will soon
begin two-a-day practice sessions in prep
aration for the coming football season’s
halftime activities. Linda Isbel (center) is
the drill team’s captain.
Testimony continued Thursday
in 85th District Court, in the
civil jury trial pitting the A&M
Consolidated School Distri ct
against complaining property
owners.
The suit, styled Roy W. Kelly
and others vs. A&M Consolidated
School District, contends that the
1955 tax roll omits many items
of personal property which they
consider taxable such as bank
deposits. It also contends that
the new assessments made by the
district are inequitable.
institutions. The subpoenas re
quire them to bring into court
individual account statements.
Counter motions requesting
nullification of the subpoenas
have been filed by attorneys re
presenting the financial firms.
The controversy flared up
when the school district revalued
from a total valuation of less
than $14 million to slightly more
than $32 million. The tax rate
of $1.98 per $100 valuation was
lowered to $1.15 but the assess
ment was raised from 40 per
cent market value to 80 per cent,
thus increasing the total valua
tion.
District Judge John Barron is
presiding over the trial. Frank
Harmon is representing the
school district in court while
Mac Bennett is the attorney for
the property owners.
Governor’s Pecan Wager
Covered By A&M Prof
A jury of nine men and three
women was selected Monday as
the trial began. Prospects are
likely for the trial to continue
through next week.
On Monday Tax Assessor Wil
liam Miller testified that auto
mobiles have been entered on the
Expansion Planned
For Civil Defense
If Texas Gov. John Connally
loses his bet with Pennsylvania
Gov. William Scranton on the
Texas-Pennsylvania High School
All-Star football game Saturday
the Keystone State official will
receive the finest pecans the Lone
Star State has to offer.
Scranton recently wagered
1,061 apples—one for every Penn
sylvania player recruited by out-
of-state colleges—that the all
stars from his state would defeat
their counterparts from Texas.
Connally accepted the challenge
and doubled the bet by putting up
2,122 Texas-grown pecans.
Dr. J. B. Storey of Texas A&M,
secretary-treasurer of the Texas
Pecan Growers Association, read
about the bet. He wrote the gov
ernor and offered 2,122 pecans to
be selected from winning entries
in the 1965 Texas State Pecan
Show Dec. 15-16 at A&M. Con
nally accepted.
Storey is an associate professor
of horticulture. His letter to the
governor read in part:
“We are confident that you
will have plenty of apples this
fall and that there is little like
lihood that it will be necessary
for you to supply Gov. Scranton
with the Texas Pecans. However,
in the event that Pennsylvania
were to win through some acci
dent, the Texas Pecan Growers
Association would be more than
happy to furnish the choice Texas
pecans . . .
“The Texas State Pecan Show
is not only the largest pecan show
in the world, but is well recog
nized by the industry as contain
ing the highest quality pecans.
The 840 entries in the 1964 show
came from about 350 Texans
throughout many of the state’s
180 pecan producing counties.
“We would even be willing to
ship Gov. Scranton a sample of
Texas pecans as a consolation no
matter how badly the Texas All-
Stars defeat his team.”
In his letter of acceptance to
Storey, Connally wrote:
“It is possible, but not likely,
that Pennsylvania will win the
game, so I greatly appreciate
your offer to furnish the 2,122
pecans from those entered in the
1965 Texas State Pecan Show at
A&M. Frankly, it might be worth
a defeat in order to introduce
Texas pecans to our less fortu
nate neighbors in Pennsylvania.
Perhaps your offer of a consola
tion shipment to Gov. Scranton
would serve this purpose.”
The governors also bet on the
game last year, and the Texans
were thumped 12 to 6. Connally
paid off with a pair of silver
spurs. Scranton had put up a
miner’s helmet.
The game will be played at
Hershey, Penn., and will pit some
of the top high school graduate
football talent from both states.
1965 tax roll. In Tuesday’s pro
ceedings, Dr. Harold Redmond,
one of the complaining property
owners, volunteered his bank de
posits for tax assessment pur
poses.
Program At A&M
Miller agreed to assess the de
posits furnished by Redmond,
which amounted to slightly over
$5,000. It was the first time
that the school district has ever
rendered a specific bank deposit.
The property owners who are
filing suit claim that the $32
million valuation recently ap
proved by the district would be
nearly doubled if all personal
property were rendered.
Texas A&M’s Civil Defense
Training Division of the Engi
neering Extension Service has
been awarded a $105,000 grant
by the U. S. Office of Civil De
fense to expand its 1965-66 pro
gram.
Dr. Willis R. Bodine, chief in
structor for civil defense train
ing at A&M, said the grant
basically provides for addition of
a full-time staff member, ad
ditional staff travel for personal
contact with local government
officials, and two new courses.
strategic defensive forces are
listed before civil defense.”
Basic goal of civil defense is
the survival of the American
population in the event of nu
clear attack on : : the United
States.
Dr. Bodine said emphasis dur
ing the year will be on fallout
shelters.
“Our target is every elected
and appointed public official in
Texas,” he said. “In turn, we
hope they will organize at the
local level for disaster prepared-
The plaintiffs have issued sub
poenas for the appearance in
court of representatives of local
firms involved in finance, such
as banks and savings and loans
Contract For $3.25 Million
“The continuing importance of
civil defense is indicated by the
increases we have received for
our program,” Dr. Bodine com
mented “The first year we re
ceived $70,000, the second $80,-
000.”
A&M’s program gives train
ing support to the State Office
of Defense and Disaster Relief,
affiliated with the Texas De
partment of Public Safety.
USD A Laboratory Awarded
A contract to design a $3.25
million toxicology laboratory at
Texas A&M has been awarded to
Matthews and Associates Archi
tects and Engineers of Bryan.
Rep. Olin E. Teague of College
Station notified University of
ficials Tuesday.
The toxicology facility is one of
three USD A laboratories costing
$4.25 million to be built on A&M
property. The other structures
are a $700,000 cotton pathology
unit on the university campus
and a $300,000 cotton ginning lab
planned for A&M’s South Plains
Research and Extension Center,
Lubbock.
Byron T. Shaw, USD A agri
cultural research administrator,
said the toxicology laboratory
will be the largest of its kind in
the nation. Most of its research
activities will be devoted to pesti
cides and insects affecting live
stock, he said.
Charles E. Estes, partner in
the Matthews firm, said the con
tract was made by the General
Services Administration which
has charge of federal buildings
and government construction
throughout the nation.
He said work on preliminary
design should start in two weeks.
The laboratory will consist of a
main one-story building and 12
smaller outbuildings.
Estes said the tentative loca
tion is south of Farm Road 60
across from the College of Veter
inary Medicine.
Gus F. White, formerly with
the Texas Department of Health,
has been hired as the fifth staff
member. He will direct the con
ference program for public of
ficials and teach Civil Defense
Management, one of the new
courses.
Dr. Bodine noted that local
government officials are legal
ly charged with emergency re
sponsibilities.
“This means any emergency
which threatens lives of people
—tornadoes, nuclear explosions,
fires and so on,” he stressed.
The other new course in de
signed for radiological defense
officers.
“People tend to think of civil
defense as a little-bitty thing,”
Dr. Bodine continued. “The im
portance of civil defense has
ranked in the top three protec
tive measures in the event of
nuclear war by Secretary of De
fense Robert McNamara. Only
strategic offensive forces and
"Numerous shelters have been
located and stocked, but we have
few trained managers and have
made no practice runs,” he add
ed. “We need to find more peo
ple to do this sort of thing.”
In addition to the new courses
offered by A&M’s training sta£f,
the curriculum includes shelter
management, civil defense plan
ning and operations, industrial
civil defense management and
civil defense adult education.
A&M Researchers Liquefying Gases
W. J. ROBINSON
Psychologist
Joins Faculty
An educational psychologist
who helped devise some of the
psychological tests used in the
nation’s schools, will join the
Texas A&M faculty Sept. 1.
Appointment of Dr. William J.
Robinson as an associate profes
sor in the Department of Educa
tion and Psychology was an
nounced Thursday by Dr. Paul
Hensarling, department head.
Dr. Robinson comes to Texas
A&M from the graduate faculty
of the University of Tennessee.
“We are fortunate in securing
a person of Dr. Robinson’s repu
tation,” Dr. Hensarling said. “His
services will provide support for
our new Ph.D. program in edu
cation.”
Dr. Robinson will teach courses
leading to the certification of
school counselors on the master’s
level and have charge of course
work in educational psychology.
Rocket fuel, improved surgical
techniques and better steelmaking
are a few of the benefits man
already has gained from chilling
gases to temperatures of minus
296 degrees Fahrenheit or lower.
Basic research which may
field the secrets for even greater
benefits is underway at Texas
A&M. The “space race” is a
powerful impetus.
Dr. C. F. Squire who helped
pioneer the field of low tempera
ture physics heads the Texas A&M
project. His studies date to 1935.
Two years later he was working
intensively with liquefied hydro
gen.
“In 1937, I guess, a handful
and I were the only scientists in
the world fooling with liquid
hydrogen,” the A&M professor
and associate dean said. Now the
National Aeronautics and Space
Administration almost routinely
orders $75 million worth of liquid
hydrogen for rocket fuel.
Liquefied gases are a $1.5
billion industry expected to double
within 10 years.
“Out of the basic research
laboratories has emerged this
giant worldwide industry,” Dr.
Squire said. A basic researcher,
he stresses, produces new facts
and these are the “raw materials”
used by the applied sciences in
meeting human needs.
The world of liquefied gases
is a strange one, Dr. Squire em
phasized.
“Among the fascinating things
we find at these low tempera
tures is the fact that metals lose
all resistance to electricity,” he
continued. Industrial laboratories
are exploring ways to use this
fact.
“The hope that many of us
have is that by studying the gross
properties of these materials, we
might reach a better understand
ing of the giant molecules in the
life processes,” Dr. Squires said.
“These giant molecules are almost
life itself and they behave ac
cording to quantum laws.”
The extreme cold slows the
motions of the atoms. This
allows better study of their
properties and interesting quan
tum laws are followed.
“A fortunate tie-in” of low
temperature physics and NASA’s
programs was noted by Dr.
Squire. The liquefied gases are
to be used as a fuel source to
supply energy within the space
vehicle on long duration flights.
Supporting basic low tempera
ture physics research at Texas
A&M are The Robert A. Welch
Foundation of Houston and a
NASA institutional grant. Na
tional Science Foundation funds
are sought.
Graduate students working
under Dr. Squire speak casually
of temperatures of minus 300 de
grees Fahrenheit. Atmospheric
gases liquefy at temperatures of
minus 296 to 320 degrees Fahren
heit.
Absolute zero is calculated at
minus 459 degrees and research
ers have gotten temperatures as
low as 1/1000th of one degree.
Dr. Squire has reached within
three one-thousandth of a degree
—on a different scale—of abso
lute zero. The world record low
is one-ten thousandth of a de
gree on the same scale. Re
searchers at Oxford University
set this record.
A&M graduate students know
liquefied gases can be dangerous
although nitrogen is quite stable.
Liquid oxygen is the most dan
gerous.
Among those A&M graduate
students involved in the project
this summer are: Edward Za-
mecki, Baltimore, Md.; Donald
Naugle, Fort Worth; Robert
Kasowski, Houston; Herbert
Moeller, Norwalk, Conn.; James
Miller, Pasadena; Edward Sharp,
Uniontown, Pa.; Dr. Thomas
Adair III, Houston; and Donald
Avery, Prescott, Ark.
BASIC KNOWLEDGE FROM INTENSE COLD
Texas A&M Professor C. F. Squires uses gases liquefied at
temperatures hundreds of degrees below zero to probe the
secrets of matter. He is a pioneer in the field of low tem
perature physics, doing his first work 30 years ago. Lique
fied gases now are a $1.5 billion annually business.