FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 1945
Prof Turns
Sailor;- Now
Teache V-12
With the outbreak of the war
in 1942 the Navy was caught off
base when it came to the number
of officers ready to man the fleet.
As an emergency measure schools
were set up for the training of
midshipmen officer candidates.
To man these schools, instructors
were chosen from civilian life.
One man so chosen was Lt.
Maurice P. O'Connell, one-time
professor of civil engineering at
Manhattan College, and now an
instructor at the College V-12 un
it. The lieutenant, a graduate of
the college where he taught, was
associated with Manhattan College
from 1928 to 1936 when he moved
to the west coast. There he re
organized the pre-engineering de
partment of St. Mary's College.
After an absence of two years,
the lieutenant returned to his
New York College. There he was
teaching in June, 1942, when he
was called by the! Navy to active
duty as an instructor at the Co
lumbia midshipman school.
Lt. O'Connell ; received a short
indoctrination course on the
Prairie State, a training ship.
Then he began his active teach
ing of his subject, navigation.' At
Columbia he headed the naviga
tion department of Johnson Hall,
one of four •units.
January of 1943 found Lt. o'-
Connel transferred to the NROTC
unit at the College of th e Holy
Cross, Worcester, Mass. There he
was in charge of all instruction
in navigation and officer in
charge of audio-visual coordina
tion.
For two years the lieutenant
remained at Holy Cross. His
change of duty orders came
through in June of this year, and
directed 'him to report at the Col
lege after certain specialized
training. This training was in
damage control. and .fire-fighting
at the Philadelphia Navy Yard.
'Photostatic Articles
'Bring 'City Libraries
To faculty 'Members
"Most resources of big city li
braries are available to College
faculty .members," says Mrs. Mar
garet Spangler, circulation li
brarian.
Citing the case of the professor
who needed some specialized ma
terial within 48 hours, Mrs.
Spangler went on to say, - "We
phoned the New York Public Li
brary immediately and requested
that they send a photostatic copy
of an. article •by Perry in the
Transactions Of the Optical So
ciety in London."
The photostat arrived by spe
cial delivery the next day, and
Howard S.. Coleman, instructor
in physical science who had made
the request, wrote in apprecia
tion: "The article arrived in
time for inclusion in a report
which was urgently needed by
the armed services. If we had
not received the article at the
time we did, the entire report
covering the subject in question
would have been delayed for a
couple of months."
Mrs. Spangler stated that source
material which is not available in
the College library can be obtain
ed in a minimum of time by pho
tostatic or microfilm. She ex
plained that the cost of each pho
tostat averages 30 cents per page
and that of each microfilm—the
same method used in government
V mails—is about a cent and a
half.
Recent reports indicate that 14
photostats and four microfilms
were purchased in July and Au
gust. In'addition to this 73 books
were borrowed on inter-library
loan.
The libraries where most of the
!photostats and microfilms were
obtained were the New York Pub
lic Library, ;Biblofilm Service,
and Columbia University, while
books were receivel from. Stan
'ford, the University of Cali
fornia, Harvard, Yale, Princeton,
if.grtinnore, Bryp ; Mawr, Cornell,
he University ofL Illaho,. and: oth-
PRIVATE FIRST • CLASS JIMMY WILSON is shown at the Army's Thomas M. England Hospital
in Atlantic City with some of the thousands of letters sent him by well-wishers. The 20-year-old
Starke, Fla., boy is recovering from amputation of all four limbs. Penn State students were among
the thousands of generous Americans who contributed to the fund in Jimmy's behalf.
Wilson Fund Totals
Woman's Group Suggests
Laboratory For Teachers
A proposal to establish a Penn
sylvania Conservation Laboratory
for Teachers has been presented
to President Ralnh D. Iletzel by
a committee representing the
Pennsylvania Federation of Wom
en's Clubs and State conservation
interests.
l)r. Henry Klonower of the
State Department of Public In
struction, Harrisburg, and Mrs. J.
Charles Runk of Pittsburgh, con
servation. chairman for the wom
en's federation, headed the com
mittee • which outlined its plan
for a summer workshop where
teachers and laymen may study
conservation.
President Hetzel said he would
name a. committee at the College
to cooperate with the new group
in a study of the proposed labora
tory. Dr. Konower revealed the
program had progressed very
rapidly since it was first institut
ed by Pennsylvania clubwomen.
Few School-Age Vets
Will Return To Classes
Only a few high school (boys and
girls who swapped their books for
a military uniform or a job in way
industry will return to the class
room, in the opinion of a College
educator.
Dr. M. 'R. Trabue, dean of the
School of Education, says most of
these young people feel they have
broken their school ties and now
are reluctant'"to gt , back with the
kids."
"Moreover," he adds, "except
for the few, who were draf+ed,
most of these youngsters quit
school because they could see little
value in it, so •,,vhy should they
want to return now?"
The Penn State dean voicid
strong obje'ctions to any regula
tion which would compel them ti
return to high School, explaining
that "no youngster responds ,to
teaching which is forced dawn his
throat" - • • • ••• • •
riT;w7n7a77.ri
(Continued from page one)
flitted war veterans. For the
warm generosity you have shown,
Jimmy Wilson wishes to say
thanks.
Collegian wishes to thank
all who helped to make the
campaign a success. A special
vote of thanks is due the Army
and Navy officers, the Dean of
Women and her staff, and the
Student Union office, who co-
operated so wholeheartedly.
The following is a list of con
tributors who have given to the
Jimmy Wilson Fund conducted at
the College:
ASTP Unit $87.42
McAllister Hall 42.30
Phi Sigma Delta 30.00
Beta Sigma Rho 28.50
S. E. Atherton Hall 25.37
Dean Charlotte E. Ray (for
Women's Building) 20.00
Phi Epsilon Pi • 17.03
N. E. Atherton Hall 13.01
Grange Dormitory 10.40
S. W. Atherton Hall 6.75
Pi Kappa Alpha 6.03
Alpha Epsilon Phi 5.00
Alpha Xi Delta 5.00
N. W. Atherton 2.50
Gamma Phi Beta 2.25
Al Leader, iSports ' Editor. '
Rutherford Republican.
Rutherford, N. J. 2.00
Total amount received from
containers placed in: the
•
Corner Room, Graham's
A. C., Cliff's, New College
Diner. Dry Dock, Student
Union, and Rea and Der
ick's 50.57
Five Active Members
Reorganize Thespians
Thespians, after several semes
ters Of inactivity, is being reor
ganized by the five active mem
bers now on campus, William Re
utti, president; Pat Lamade,
Mary Faloon, James Casey, and
Harold Hein.
Assisting in the revival of the
organization is Ross Johnson and
faculty advisers, Hummel Fish
burn and J. Ewing Kennedy.
Later Thespians plan to recruit
musicians, technicians, , orews, •Equi
talent for a freshman week show
. .
next 'semester. '
$3.54
Bollinger Announces
Commencement Plans
D. E. Bullinger, chairman of the
Senate committee on public occa
sions, has announced that the com
mittee has made arrangements for
the three commencements at the
end of each semester and the corn •
mencement for the Summer :Ses •
sion.
Action of the ODT ruling con
cerning commencements includes
the elimination of outside speak
ers and guests, the non-scheduling
of class reunions and athletic
meets, the prohibition that seniors
may not send out formal invita
tions, the statement that the Col
lege cannot invite guests from out
side, and a request of the gradu
ates that they do not send out
announcements until just before
commencement.
This pattern will hold for all
commencements as long as there is
a shortage of transportation facili
ties, air. Sullinger said.
Airplane Catches Car
In Decade, Says Prof
It will be a good ten years be
fore the airplane can begin to ap
proach the automobile for general
usefulness, accordin g to Samuel K.
Hoffman, professor of aeronautical
engineering.
Professor Hoffman, who is engi
neering consultant for Lycoming
Division of Aviation Corporation of
America and also holder of a pri
vate pilot's license, says before
planes can be adopted for every
day use, a type must be developed
which can do what a helicopter
does—take off and land vertically,
remain stationary in flight, and fly
slowly.
He views as present-day handi
caps the necessity to plan trips
according to weather, the inability
to fly slowly in bad weather, high
landing speeds, and the inaccessi
bility of most airports.
"Automatic instruments for
blind flying are too expensive for
general tuse,v he-points out, "while
landing at 40 miles .an hour is far
from easy." - - :" .
PAGE FIVE
'Time' Honors
Former Dean
With Feature
Dr. Gerald L. Wendt, former
dean of th e School of Chemistry
and Physics whose name has been
associated with a variety of ac
tivities from the New York
World's Fair to atomic energy,
this week achieved added prom
inence in a full-page story in
Time magazine, for which he i 3
science advisor.
. *According to Frank C. Whit
more, present dean, Dr. Wendt
laid the foundation for the pre
sent School of Chemistry arta
Physics at the College. He tiaras
dean from 1924 to '1928, and foe
another year was assistant to the
president in charge of research.
In this week's Time, the week
ly feature, "A Letter From the
Publisher," honored Dr. Wendt
with a story - of his life and his
association with the magazine.
Describing him as a "stocky,
slightly balding man with a Me
phistophelean mustache and im
perial," the story added that he
offered to shave off the whiskers
when he came to Time "if we
thought them less in keeping with
his new career as a journalist
than they had been in his former
calling as Dean of the School . 0e
Chemistry and Physics at the
Pennsylvania State College."
Among Dr. Wendt's other
achievements were his experi
ments 20 years ago with atomic
power. At that time the Literary
Digest carried a story on how he
released atomic energy by 'bom
barding tungsten in a vacuum
tube at a temperature six times
as hot as the sun and transmit
ting some of the tungsten into
helium. One of his most priz:eil
possessions is a Krazy Kat car-•
toon with the caption, "Why is
somebody always trying to. smash
the poor Pil adam?"
Born in Davenport, lowa, the.
former dean worked as a re
porter for the Davenport Demo
crat in order to get his Ph:D. in
science at Harvard Unliversity.
He was awarded this degree in
1916, after also receiving his B„A.
and M.A. degrees at Harvard.
During his varied career Dr.
Wendt has been a captain in the
Chemical Warfare Service in
World War I; chemist in the U.
S. Bureau of Mines (where he
helped develop a new way to ex
tract radium); research director
of both Standard Oil of Indiana.
and the General Printing Ink
Corporation; professor at the Uni
versity of Chicago; and Director
of Science and Education at the
INew York World's Fair.
The ex-dean, whose home is in
West Cornwall ; Conn., t wrate.an4
edited "Matter and Energy,"
"Science for the World of To
morrow," and a six-volume ser-.
ies of textbooks on- sciences.
Which Comes First,
Chicken or Egg?
Margot/ Says Chicken
The answer to the puzzl,),
"Which comes first, the 'chicken or
the egg?" has finally been settled- •
at least for ration-weary house
wives.
The chicken comes 'first, accord.
ing to Paul IL Margolf, poultry
expert.
To be more specific, the assis•
tant professor of poultry hus•
bandry says, housewives shouk
have adequate supplies of chickens'
by fall,, but must wait until next
January for eggs.
The 194 1 5 supply of poultry, ho.
pointed out, promises to equal - aurti
perhaps exceed ti - mt produced in
the record year of ',1043, and al.
most certainly will exceed la-3t
year's supply.
This increase, he added, plu,i
cutbacks in Army demands— •
which already have been reduce].
30 per cent—should put the chick •
en 'back in the butcher's showcaSit
and take the housewife out of thi)
waiting line by fall, and perhaps;
as early as late August.
Eggs, on the other hand, aro
about to enter the bottom Dart - oe
their annual production cycle. if G:
holds little hope for their return
to the nation's breakfast tables in.
large numbers Ibeicre January, ex •
.plaining- . that many farmers ar.k:
sacrificing laying - hens to help out
in the 'present meat shortage. .