VMI Cadet. October 20, 1952

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VOLUME XLIII VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE, LEXINGTON, VIRGINIA, OCTOBER 20, 1952 NUMBER 5
Band Win^s Honors
At Tobacco Bowl
First Prize Won
By Cadet Group
While in Richmond
The Virginia Military Institute
Band, which last Thursday after-noon
won first place in competi-tive
drill, went to Richmond Fri-day
for the VMI-UVa football game
and came home with first place
honors and a cash prize of $200,
winning over five other college
bands. The prize money will be
used to help finance the band trip
to West Point for the Army game.
The band will take trips to all
the rest of the games played this
season and it is hoped that they
will be able to compete in the
Apple Festival in" Winchester,
which they won last year.
The entire band left at 1:45 on
Friday afternoon from Lexington
by bus and arrived at 5:30 in Rich-mond
where they ate and changed
to white ducks, shako, and coatees.
The band then formed at 7:30 at
the base of Broad Street and parad-ed
up Broad past Parker Field
where the reviewing stand was
located. Other bands in competi-tion
with VMI were bands from the
University of Richmond, the Uni-versity
of Virginia, Mary Wash-ington
College, Virginia Union.
Among the professional bands,
the most colorful and specacular
»was the band representing Furko's
Wonder Bread. They were dressed
in pink and purple with red fezes
and played ftany different num-bers
which pleased the crowd
who demanded more- music from
the band. Also in the festival
were six different service bands
which added more noise to the
Tobacco Festival and greatly en-livened
the crowd.
It was during this parade of
bands, floats, important people,
cars, flags, and banners that the
VMI band was given the blue rib-bon
of first place by the reviewing
stand, and the cadets proudly
walked off with the prize money.
At 8:30 the cadets were free to
do what they- wanted until 12
o'clock Saturday afternoon where
they formed at Richmond City
Stadium and marched out onto
the field at 1:15 and stood at
parade rest until 2:00. Then the
band marched to the dressing
rooms at the end of the field
where they formed two long
columns through which the VMI
team ran out onto the field. Then
the cadets marched to the center
of the playing field where, and
along with the UVa band, jointly
played the Star Spangled Banner
to a record crowd of 23,000 en-thusiasts
with a Marine Honor
Guard leading the procession.
At kickoff the band stood at
the side lines where they cheered
the team from the beginning to
the end of the game. After each
VMI gain, 60 garrison gaps were
thrown in the air and 60 cadet
voices cheered the Big Red.
During the half time, the band
marched onto the south end of
the fieeld where they played
while the cadets of Augusta Mili-tary
Academy did some fancy rifle
movements. Shirley Gravitt, Miss
Danville, was crowned Queen of
the Tobacco Festival by Governor
John Battle and a host of other
distinguished dignitaries. After the
game, the cadets were free until
12:45 Sunday afternoon when they
formed and came back by bus to
Institute.
The VMI band, judged on their
lines, appearance, and musical
ability was very happy and
proud as they returned to Lexing-ton
with their honors. At least
one V M I organization returned
victorious from the Tobacco Bowl.
Dr. Jenks Talks To
IRC on Frounce, '52
The International Relations Club
heard Professor William A. Jenks
of Washington and Lee speak last
Tuesday night on the topic,
"France of 1952." Professor Jenks
graduated from W & L, then did
graduate work at Columbia Uni-versity.
He served in the Air
Force during World War II with
Strategic Services. He joined the
faculty at W & L in 1946. Last
summer Professor Jenks studied in
France and Italy. It was from his
experience during that period that
he obtained most of the subject
matter of his lecture.
Professor Jenks began his lec
ture telling of the Institute of
Political Studies of Paris, where
France's young men are trained
for civil service employment.
Some of the existing problems
that could injure Franco-Anerican
friendship were touched upon by
Professor Jenks. General Ridge-way's
criticism of the construction
work on air runways in France
displeased, the French quite a
bit. The French also feel that
American businessmen in Morocco,
who still operate there under the
open door policy of the 1880'
(and which has since then been
removed), are using high handed
methods and wrecking the controls
of business by doing so. The
French also are still very suspi-cious
of the Germans, and the
attempt to rebuild and rearm West-ern
Germany is disapproved by
them. The French have their own
"Korea" in Indo-China, and they
feel that America . should put
material aid and munitions into
that sector of the world.
Those are the problems existing
between France and the United
States. Now what about France
internal situation? Professor Jenks
explained that inflation is the
major problem there. The average
wage of a Frenchman in Paris is
$34 a month. However, the prices
that exist for living quarters and
food are so out of bounds that
Professor Jenks could not really
understand how they maintained
a living. Another problem in
France, of as great importance, is
that of Communism. Nearly one
out of every four persons is a
Communist. Although many signs
will be found throughout France
condemning the United States and
many of its representatives, Pro-fessor
Jenks explained that most
of the French are asamed of them
and are really much closer to
America than they seem.
France is trying to solve her
birth rate problem by offering a
Family Allowance System, which
is the French Social Security Sy-stem.
Wanting to increase their
birth rate, mainly for the reason
to have able man-power in the
event of another war with Ger-many
in the future, the French
government pays its citizens
amounts of money according to
the number of children they have.
France has found it impossible to
collect an income tax, since half
of their people are farmers, and
no means of actually knowing
their wages can be found. The
government collects money by
land tax on a national basis in-stead
of the city or county system
that exists here, by high excise
taxes, and by taxes on capital
gains of businesses.
What about France—their at-titude
and interests toward the
United States? The French ask
why America is building up such
a militaristic system. If all that
money is going to the military,
some asked Professor Jenks, will
the United States then have a mili-
(Continued on page 6)
Third Class Leads
October Honor List
The Class of 1955 led the first
honor list of the year by placing
15 men on the group in the Octo-ber
grading period. They were
closely followed by the First Class
who placed thirteen men on the
roll. The Fourth Class added nine
with the Second Class following
with seven.
FIRST CLASS
Washington To Play Host
As Cadets Invade Capital
Journey by Corps
W. D. Badgett Tenn.
R. A. Cheatham , Va.
J. P. Cross, Jr. Va.
J. W. Home Ga.
J. D. Kelly Mich.
T. F. Mariani Md.
W. B. Moncrief Va.
C. R. Steward Ariz.
R. L. Stilwell Va.
B. V. White Va.
C. M. Williams Md.
J. R. Wilson Va.
K. L. Yu Mich.
SECOND CLASS
E. R. Bare Va.
J. L. Berry W. Va. 1
D. W. Drennen, Jr ! Ala.
W. F. Dunkelberger Pa.
G. W. Hardy, III La.
R. A. Hubbard Va.
A. S. Mattox, Jr Va.
THIRD CLASS
J. R. Brenner Pa.
B. W. Freund, Jr Va.
E. R. Griffith Ga.
J. A. Hansen 111.
D. W. Hoatson Md.
F. J. Leech .., Va.
S. W. Marshall, III Tex.
J. W. McDonald, Jr. Kan.
L. G. McKnight D. C.
J. A. Openshaw, Jr.
E. N. Osborne, Jr Va.
J. W. Robertson Va.
R. H. Satterwhite Va.
W. C. Sauder W. Va.
F. C. Thompson, Jr. Va.
FOURTH CLASS
L. H. Bowen Va.
J. N. Brawner, III Ga.
W. W. Mears N. J.
G. M. Mundy Va.
R. J. Real Miss.
M. L. Waring, Jr. N. Y.
F. S. Wiggins Va.
G. S. Williams Va.
F. C. Wilson Austria
General Milton
Speaks To AIP
Thursday, 9 October 1952, Gen-eral
Milton addressed the VMI
Chapter of the American Institute
of Physics, during which time he
lectured upon the subject of
atomic Powered Submarines.
The General Electric Laboratory
for Atomic Power was awarded
one of the contracts for the con-struction
of an atomic submarine.
The greatest immediate problem
facing the men of the project was
that of safety for the city of Sche-nectady,
New York. The men who
had been entrusted with this great
project first had to satisfy their
own consciences that the helpless
civil population of the Schenectady
area would not be endangered by
escaping radio-active particles or
by an atomic explosion.
To combat this danger, a sphere
of 225 ft. diameter was construct-ed,
and all work upon the atomic
engine was carried on inside of it.
The sphere was constructed so-that
all escaping radio-active particles
would be caught. The sphere would
also dampen a small scale atomic
explosion, if one occurred.
The actual principle upon which
the engine works is relatively
simple. Basically, it is an atomic
reactor which furnishes heat to a
completely closed system of liquid
sodium, which in turn heats water
so that electric power may be gen-erated
to turn the submarine's
ppwicrful motors.
This submarine will be the larg-est,
heaviest, and fastest ever
built. Its only limitations will be
those of the men who man her.
After the lecture, refreshments
were served by Mrs. Hefiin and
other wives of the Physics Staff,
during which time everyone dis-cussed
and thought of the many
interesting points brought out by
General Milton.
Sections Given
Firefighting Tips
With the exception of the
organized forestry schools, V.M.I,
is the first college to provide
adequate training for forest fire
fighting. This provides for the
great demand and necessity of
forest rangers needed by the Vir
ginia Forestry Control. The organi-zation
this year is to be better
organized than in previous years.
Under this new system, in which
250 cadets will participate, two
hours of training, covering a six
(Continued on page 6)
^CS Chapter Hears
Maj.Pickral Speak
The V.M.I. Chapter of the
American Chemical Society met on
Wednesday night October 15 and
heard a talk by Major G. M. Pick-ral
on the Chemistry of Ruthenium.
Major Pickral, a graduate of VMI,
has done graduate work on Ruthe-nium
at the University of Miami
in Ohio and the University of Cin-cinnati,
from which he expects to
receive his Ph. D. next June.
He began his talk by outlining
the history of research done on
Ruthenium. Notable among the
chemist doing early research work
on this metal were Gibbs in 1860,
Joly, between 1885-1890, and Dr.
F. L. Howe, a former professor at
W&L, between 189Q.-1905. No more
work was done until 1945 when
Deford undertook a study of the
exchange reactions of Ruthenium.
There was a revival in the interest
Moseley Will Head
English Union Branch
A local branch of the English
Speaking Union was organized at
a meeting Friday in Washington
Chapel. The group attending the
meeting elected Col. T. A. E.
Moseley of the VMI faculty presi-dent.
The chwf purpose of the Union
is to promote international solida-rity
among English-speaking peo-ple.
At present there are 48
branches throughout the United
States and a number of branches
in England well known for their
hospitality to American visitors.
General Burress From V.M.I.
To Take Over First Army
Major General Withers A.
Burress, former commandant of
cadets at Virginia Military Insti-tute,
will take over command of
the United States First Army after
Jan. 1.
General Burress, a native of'
Richmond, has been named to
succeed Lieutenant General Willis
D. Crittenberger, who retirees Dec.
31.
Now in Europe as commander
of the United States S e v e n th
Corps, a command he assumed in
June, 1951, General Burress will
have headquarters at Governor's
Island, N. Y. The First Army com-mand
includes New York, New
Hampshire, New Jersey, Vermont,
Rhode Island, Maine Connecticut,
and Massachusetts.
General Burress, 57, graduated
from VMI in 1914. He was com-missioned
a second lieutenant Nov.
30, 1916, and.promoted to first
(Continued on page 6)
MAJ. GEN. W. A. BURRESS
First To Capitol
Since 1950 Trip
The Corps will embark on
busses Friday at 10:00 o'clock in
th6 morning and will appear at
8:00 P.M. that night at the George
Washington University-VMI foot-ball
game in Griffith Stadium.
The Corps selected the journey
to the George Washington game as
its annual trip for the 1952 foot-ball
season. Last year the Corps
journeyed to Williamsburg where,
in 95 degrees heat, it witnessed a
stunning Keydet victory.
VMI has not put in an appear-ance
in the nation's capitol since
the Corps made the same trip
during the 1950 football season.
That year, the Big Red went into
the contest as a slight favorite in
view of its victory over highly
rated William and Mary the week
before. However, oyer-confidence
in Ruthenium at this time s i n c e ! Proved deadly as the Colonials
it was a by-product of Uranium i Squadron on the
basis of the accurate passing of
"Handy Andy" Davis.
Revenge Is Sweet
With strong and unpleasant
memories, VMI will invade Wash-ington
this week ..with revenge as
the primary object. The Big Red
will face the light, fast Colonials at
Griffith Stadium.
The Corps will form at approxi-mately
7:30 Friday night and
march onto the field at 7:45. After
the usual pre-game ceremonies,
the regiment will double-time off
the field into its section of the
stands which is located between
the 20 and 40 yard stripes.
VMI Turns Pro
Because of space limitations at
the University field in Alexandria,
Griffith Stadium was acquired for
this year's VMI-GW clash. The
Washington plant, home of the
professional Washington Redskins
rises steeply into the air so that
even those spectators near the
goal lines can easily see the entire
contest. In addition, Griffith Sta-diu
mhas a roof for protection in
the event of bad weather.
After the contest, the Corps will
1 be free in Washington until Sun-day.
Busses for underclassmen will
leave Washington at about noon,
and two busses will be held for
first classmen until four o'clock
that afternoon.
Cut Rate Busses
All members of the Corps are
free to return to the Institute by
private transportation, but they
must be back by SRC Sunday night.
Those men who do chose to re-turn
by private means will still
have to buy a round trip ticket on
the bus in order to enable the rest
of the Corps to take advantage of
the cut rate which is being offered
by the bus company.
fission, and also because of the
interest in nitrose compounds
which are prominent in Ruthe-nium
compounds.
Major Pickral then discussed
the research he has inducted. He
noted the different compound?
and complexes of Ruthenium he
had obtained and how he char
acterized them. There are 9 oxida'
tion states of Ruthenium. He work-ed
with a complex from the 2nd
oxidation state. The first problem
to overcome was that of preparing
the desired complex. This involved
one step that required six days
of continuous running. Having pre-pared
the desired complex the'next
step was to characterize it and
determine all of its properties and
its exact composition. This jvas
partly accomplished by using
X-Ray powder patterns and radio-active
tracer elements, which are
among the most modern methods
of analysis. Major Pickral then con-cluded
his talk by explaining what
his present research is.
Cadet E. Cox, president then ad-journed
tl^e meeting and refresh-ments
were served.
ROTC To Sponsor
Christmas Toy
Drive for Kids
Again this year the ROTC units
of Virginia Military Institute will
sponsor a Christmas toy drive for
the underpriveleged children of
Lexington and Rockbridge County.
The campaign has gotten under
way, and collection points for toys
donated by local citizens have been
set up at business establishments
and schools in Lexington, Buena
Vista, and throughout the county.
Toys of all types are collected
and then repaired, painted and
generally renovated and later dis-tributed
through the local Christ-mas
Basket Committee to needy
children. Last year. Army ROTC
First Class Privates
To Act As Waiters
Beginning on Monday, October
...uuj-e... i^asi year. Army ROTC j 20, at B.R.C., an important chanee
I " take plice in ^hf mess hafl
ou, / ; oo,' . i the first time in the history
of V.M.I., cadet waiters will be
used to cary food from the kit-chen
to the islands. Only first
given to 381 children in the area
on Christmas Day.
Joining the project this year
Force'classman, Ix^cludrng "officer's, llave
cadet. Au^l' r ' ^^^ of becoming waiters.
tJrnrn.tL the Work done in They will be reimbursed for their
ttihme ep—rodgurraimng ISa cfaterrrineodo nous t omff spaanrde board, and in succeeding years
in the evenings. Local merchants
contributed to the project last
year, donating hardware, paints,
paint brushes, and lumber for use
in the repair work.
Citizens have been urged to
donate discarded toys, regardless
of condition, in the hope that
this year's toy drive can be expand-
(Continued on page 8)
will receive-free board. These men
will stand no meal formations, and
in case of absence have the right
to appoint their own replacements.
When in full operation, there will
be thirty one cadet waiters, head-ed
by Moncrief, W. B. who will
serve in the same capacity that
Ollie does to the regular staff.
The seed for thla system waa
(Continued on pag« 6)