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RALPH J. VERNON, professor ind research engineer in the De- oartment of Industrial Engineering it Texas A&M University, has been mmed one of two safety representa- ives on the advisory committee for )ccupational safety and health to the

S. Department of Labor. He is he only Texan in the group.

THE LAST DINNER of Texas A&M University’s Centennial year will be served in Sbisa Hall the eve­ning of Dec. 17, Col. Fred Dollar, food service director, said last week. (Dollar said that about 8,200 Texas (A&M students hold meal tickets for Ion-campus dining, making A&M the [largest institution in the Southwest [in terms of students fed daily. Cooks [for the University prepare 30,000 [meals each day.

EXAS A&M received almost $2 million in research funds during November, the Office of University Research reports. November’s fig­ure of $1,078,4.54 boosted the total in research aid for this fiscal year to $31,248,219, up some $3 million over the same time last year. At the end of November in fiscal year 1975-76, re­searchers had received $28,252,045 in aid. The College of Agriculture and Texas Agricultural Experiment Station shared a November total of $1,183,881. The College of En­gineering, Texas Engineering Ex­periment Station and Texas Trans­portation Institute received a total of $321,846 last month. Other aid in­cluded $309,524 for the College of Geosciences; $85,158 for Moody College of Marine Sciences & Maritime Resources; $61,872 to the College of Science; $14,598 to the College ofVeterinary Medicine; and $1,575 in support of College of Lib­eral Arts projects. With nine months left in the current fiscal year, the 1976-77 support level has already at­tained 66 per cent of last year’s record-setting $47 million mile­stone.

THE UNIVERSITY has received its first National Endowment for the Humanities grant directly as an in­stitution. Consequently, a trio of Texas A&M faculty will travel next month to the first of a series of con­ferences being sponsored by the American Association for Higher Education. Dr. Diane W. Strom- mer, associate dean of liberal arts, was named team leader of the Texas A&M group, which includes as­sociate professor of English Dr. De­nnis A. Berthold and assistant pro­fessor of history Dr. Lawrence D. Cress. Texas A&M’s trio was selected, notes Strommer, on the basis of a proposal sent by the AAHE and the NEH outlining plans for de­veloping an interdisciplinary ap­proach to the studies of freshmen English and American history here.

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TEXAS

A STATE health official yester­day said that small quantities of radioactive cesium found in ditches along Texas 35 south of Pearland ap­pear to have come from a business that once operated in the area. He also said that small amounts of radioactive material had been found in a bar ditch along FM 2351 about 200 feet inside the Friendswood city limits and in an abandoned solid- waste disposal site once used by Pearland and Manvel. An official said that only a small amount of the material had been found, not enough to cause illness.

A GALVESTON BAY chemical plant, under investigation by federal officials^ in connection with a con­troversial pesticide it produced has been accused of leaking another toxic chemical, p-nitrophenol. A Harris County official said inves­tigators found the substance riding the rain runoff from the Velsicol Chemical Corp. plant and into road­side ditches yesterday.

WILDFIRES would be the only al­ternative to prevent an overpopula­tion of hardwood trees if clear- cutting is banned from Texas na­tional forests, a wildlife biologist warns. Carroll J. Perkins, professor of forestry and wildlife biology at Mississippi State University, also told a federal court hearing in Tyler yesterday that the logging practice benefits wildlife. U.S. District Court Judge William Wayne Justice has been asked by the Texas Committee on Natural Resources to perma­nently ban the U.S. Forest Service from allowing clear-cutting in Texas national forests.

weatherPartly cloudy and mild late this

afternoon with occasional drizzle. Winds northeasterly 5-10 m.p.h. High today in the mid-50s. Low to­night in the upper 30s. No precipita­tion in sight.

The BattalionVol. 70 No. 56 16 Pages

Wednesday, December 15, 1976 College Station, Texas

News Dept. 845-2611 Business Dept. 845-2611

Oil nations discuss new price increase

By NICK LUDINGTONAssociated Press

DOHA, Qatar — The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) opened a price-fixing meeting today with only conservative Saudi Arabia, the cartel’s biggest producer, opposed to an increase in the price of crude oil. The Saudi oil minis­ter, Sheik Ahmed Zaki Yamani, said on his arrival in Doha that his country favors postponing the increase for six more months because the world economy is still too shaky. The Saudis previously said they would agree to a “reasonable increase’’ of less than 10 per cent in the price of $11.51 for a barrel of benchmark crude.

The ministers of the 13 nations who sup­ply 80 per cent of the oil imported by the world’s non-Communist nations met be­hind bulletproof shutters in the banquet hall of a luxurious hotel beside the Persian Gulf.

Indonesian Oil Minister Mohammed Sadli, the current chairman of OPEC, opened the conference with a reminder to

Southwest C onference

PrincessNancy Burleson, who graduated Saturday with a degree in ac­counting, has been chosen to rep­resent Texas A&M at the Cotton Bowl and Pageant.

the ministers that their decisions would “affect the state of health of the world, not only now but for some time to come.”

“We hope to convince the members of OPEC of our views,” Yamani said. “We believe we have a strong view, but we never come with a position we can’t change.”

Yamani said his government has found that the trend of international economic recovery “is not as strong as we hoped to have.” He noted that Saudi Arabian light crude is the benchmark oil on which OPEC’s price structure is based, and he commented: “I don’t think OPEC will be in position to raise the price of Saudi crude without the consent of Saudi Arabia.”

Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s leading moderate as well as its largest producer, is under heavy pressure from the United States to hold the oil price line.

President-elect Carter told a news con­ference yesterday that Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger and his successor, Cyrus R. Vance, both talked with rep­resentatives of the oil nations, and Carter said he felt “very good about their at­titude.”

The U.S. State Department said this week that each 5 per cent increase in the price of crude oil would mean a rise of .8 cent a gallon in the price of gasoline in the United States, now averaging 60 cents a gallon.

Most of the 12-member OPEC group have been insisting on a price boost despite the contention of the industrialized nations that it would worsen inflation, hamper re­covery from this worldwide economic slow-down and work more hardship on the underdeveloped nations than on the indus­trialized countries.

The price “hawks” argue that the cost of goods they import from the industrial na­tions has risen as much as 25 per cent since OPEC’s last oil price rise in October 1975. Western officials contend that this increase averaged less than 10 per cent.

Qatar’s oil minister, Abdulaziz Bin Khalifa al Thani, told a news conference that the Western campaign against a price boost was a “game” aimed at breaking up the oil cartel.

Dr. Alvin I. Thomas, president of Prairie View A&M University was the featured speaker at

1,418 degrees granted Saturday

commencement Saturday in G. Rollie White.

Graduates need to seek goals, define missions says Thomas

proftessor sees moreA&Mmilk co-op consolidation

Associated Press

A Texas A&M University professor said today that he expects more consolidations of dairy cooperatives despite complaints that some are too large and have engaged in practices that allegedly drive up consumer milk prices.

Dr. Ronald D. Knutson, an agricultural economist, said that while “it would be unfair to argue that there have been no excesses” among dairy co-ops no serious study has suggested that they be outlawed or substantially curtailed.

“I anticipate that there will be further consolidations” of cooperatives, particu­larly in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic areas, and in California, Knutson said.

“In each of these regions there are sim­ply too many cooperatives to efficiently serve functions of milk assembly and surplus handling,” he said. “In some cases, severe problems of cooperative misman­agement have been encountered.”

Knutson is a former head of the Farmer Cooperative Service in the Agriculture Department. His remarks were in a speech prepared for a two-day Conference on Milk Marketing, which began yesterday.

The meeting was co-sponsored by the Community Nutrition Institute, the Na­tional Milk Producers Federation, and USDA.

Knutson said that questions about co-ops usually include “predatory practices” used by some to gain competitive edges in mar-

After finals, MSC services limitedTexas A&M students who plan to be on

campus after final exams will find most of the University Center closed after Dec. 22.

Curtailed service hours will be in effect from the last exams Friday, Dec. 17, until faculty-staff holidays begin Dec. 23.

The Aggieland Post Office lobby. Rud­der Tower and Visitors Information Center and Association of Former Students office will remain open during the holidays. Per­sons picking up mail should enter by the Joe Routt Blvd. door across from G. Rollie White Coliseum.

Some offices and shops will be closed Dec. 18 through Jan. 2. These include the Arts and Crafts Center, Bowling-Games and basement snack bar, according to the holiday and semester break schedule.

The Bookstore, barber and beauty shops, Student Finance Center, Student Programs offices and MSC general office will be open Dec. 20-22 of the post-finals period. The Browsing Library will provide service Dec. 20-23.

The Rudder Tower dining room will serve lunch Dec. 19-22. The cafeteria will also serve diners until 4 p.m. Dec. 22.

Association of Former Students will staff its front desk daily except Friday after­noons, Saturdays and Sundays through the holidays.

The University Center will resume nor­mal operating hours Jan. 3, when the faculty-staff holidays end.

kets. Another involves so-called over-order premiums demanded by large dairy cooperatives from their customers.

The premiums, in effect, are surcharges levied by a co-op on milk handlers or others who buy milk from the farmer-owned cooperative.

Minimum milk prices, which handlers have to pay farmers, are set through federal milk marketing orders, thus, the extra price charged by a co-op is an over-order premium above the federal minimum.

“The problem is that most predatory practices have been engaged in by coopera­tives at a time when they were attempting to impose premiums,” Knutson said. “Pre­datory practices were considered neces­sary to solve competitive problems with the non-member, with other cooperatives or with the processor that had significant non-member volume.”

Texas A&M University’s mid-term graduates were urged Saturday to make a “positive difference in life by defining their missions and then committing them­selves to success and good use of time.

The advice was given by Dr. Alvin I. Thomas, president of Prairie View A&M University, Texas A&M’s sister school in the statewide teaching, research and pub­lic service system headquartered here.

A record 1,418 degrees were bestowed, including a Ph.D. awarded posthumously to John Mallory Davis who was murdered July 3 in Brazil in a feud over land owner­ship.

Fifty-five of the new graduates received military commissions at ceremonies which included an address by Gen. Samuel Jas- kilka, assistant commandant of the Marine Corps.

Thomas assured the new graduates there is much room for them to make a differ­ence.

. “With the exception of some phases of technological development,” Thomas said, “neither Texas nor the U.S.A. is the leader in any area of human development.”

He said challenges are readily apparent in such fields as health, unemployment, government, communications, youth lead­ership and aging.

Citing the need for a clearly defined mis­

sion, Dr. Thomas pointed out that too many people and institutions are not sure where they are going.

“Let me offer the suggestion that you define success as the attainment of your goals,” added the 10-year president of Prairie View, “and that this attainment should contribute positively, and not nega­tively, to people and society.”

General Jaskilka rendered the oath of office to the newly commissioned officers after discussing leadership and integrity.

General Jaskilka spoke optimistically of the current defense budget, noting the bet­ter level of funding is the result of the Pres­ident and the Congress hearing and heed­ing the facts concerning the balance of power between the U.S. and Russia.

He stressed the trend has been going against this country for the past 15 years, with the Soviet Union continually increas­ing its capability to “project power.”

“This one-year budget is not a ‘cure all,’ ” the general warned. “It’s just a start.”

General Jaskilka indicated encourage­ment in recent remarks by President-elect Carter. He pointed out the in-coming Pres­ident has talked about eliminating waste in defense spending but has said nothing of eliminating power. He also reminded that Carter has declared that a President s first responsibility is to insure the nation’s sec­urity.

“We stand anxiously ready to assist him to assure the U.S. remains strong,” Gen­eral Jaskilka said of the military.

Leaving your car on campus?Texas A&M University students

planning to leave their cars or motorcycles on campus during the Christmas break should leave them in Parking Area 9, University Police Chief O.L. Luther said last week.

Parking Area 9 is just west of Park­ing Area 42, which is adjacent to Law Hall. This parking area is for only those vehicles that will remain in the

area for the duration of the holiday period, Dec. 17, 1976 — Jan. 17, 1977.

Luther said that concentrating the vehicles in one area will enable the campus police to provide better pro­tection for them. He also urged stu­dents who plan to leave bicycles on campus to leave them in their dor­mitory rooms to discourage theft and damage.

Secret to Stradiv arms’tone may be the ingredients

The unequaled sound of the Stradivarius violin has long been a source of wonder to the world. Dr. Joseph Nagyvary, an A&M chemist, believes he may have the secret behind the exquisite Stradivarian tone, attributing the sound to the mixture of blood, beer and manure treated to the wood.

Almost nothing, in the eyes of the world’s cultured peoples, can match the sound of a well-played Stradivarius or any of the great Italian violins made in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries — a sound which was no longer manufactured after 1750 and has yet to be rediscovered.

However, a Texas A&M University chemist who loves violins, thinks he is on the right track to rediscovering old Antonio Stradivari of Cremona’s secret formula for finishing his fiddles.

Hungarian-bom Dr. Joseph Nagyvary, a Ph.D. in bicx:hemistry and biophysics, says the common materials of the time, such as blood, beer and fecal material were dis­carded in favor of pure organic solvents and with them went the great “old Italian sound.”

"Of course the wood and glue is impor­tant, but many builders and players refuse to seek the secret of Cremona in its var­nish,” said Nagyvary. “I feel that the de­velopment and intrusion of modem sci­ences were ultimately responsible for the downfall of this exquisite art.”

“As a professional chemist and a violin enthusiast, I have given more than a casual thought to the abrupt decline of those skills responsible for the highly prized old Italian sound,” he observed.

“For instance, the alcohol available in the 17th Century was hardly stronger than a brandy and thus it had solubilized the components of materials to a different de­gree,” Nagyvary said. “But more important than any single technical detail is the gen­eral philosophy that governed the people s actions. ”

“The sciences of materials through that time remained fixed on the old alchemistic conceptual framework,” he added. “Their goals were pursued with ingredients of midnight moon, witchcraft, lead oxide and chicken manure.”

“When you apply this approach to the

violin, which is supposed to sing with emo­tion and beauty and brilliant power, logical candidates of the violin makers’ alchemy are organic materials ascociated with those desirable properties,” Nagyvary ex­plained.

"For the emotion take a heart, for the power and durability take cartilage, for the mystery take some blood and for smooth­ness add some oil and wax, ” he pointed out. “Then mix it with the droppings of your favorite household animals, shake it with some beer and you possess the ingredients of the mysterious, crucial formula of the great Italian period of violin making. ”

Nagyvary said the first time he saw the yellow color of some of the old violins he immediately realized the color came from the addition of pigment from liver and bile that is found in excrement.

He also noticed that the changing colors that shimmer across the surface of many of the great violins when the light is reflected from them is the result of cholesterol esters found in blood which were mixed into the finish.

“Stradivari’s formula, written in the fam­ily Bible, was destroyed by his great- grandson, probably because this quaint formula was not the kind that a 19th Cen­tury heir expected and young Stradivari could have decided to preserve the myth of the unknown ingredients while losing forever the secret,” Nagyvary said.

He said the idea solidified when a histo­rian told him about the construction mate­rials used for building the famous opera house of Duke Esztemazy in Hungary in the 18th century.

“All the wooden boards were soaked in a mixture of ox blood, dark beer, flax seed and red clay,” Nagyvary noted. "For nu this information came like lightning. It is not far fetched to assume that the violii wood was treated according to similar prin­ciples.”