Page Two ARMOUR TECH, NEWS Thursdayfildar ARMQMR Thlllt‘li NEWS Student Publication of the ARMOUR lNSTlTUTE OF TECHNOLOGY CHICAGO, lLLlNOIS Published Weekly During the College Year THE STAFF MANAGING BOARD \ Editor—in-Chief ..John Hommes, ’29) Managing Edito .Fred B. Farrell, ’29 ..Russell E. Johnson, ’29 Business Manager Faculty Adviser... P1 ofcssor Walter Hendricks NEWS DEPARTMENT News Editor .......................................... David T. Smith, ’30 Assistants... ..John S. Meck, ’30; F B. Attwood, ’31 Fraternities . V. A. Sturm. ’30; Harry Bailey, ’ Copy . ..B Auorbach, ’31 Reporte ——]3. W Caiison, ’32;F. M. .Al'anies, ’31;Stephen Janieszewski, ’30; 1‘. W. McCloska, ’29; Jerome Meyer, ’32; H. P. Richter, ’32; W. H. Rudolf, ’32; Max Schinkc, ’32; Vernon A. Sturm, ’30; Wm. Ed— monds, ’32; A. Wierzbowski, ’32 SPORTS DEPARTMENT ki ’32 Sports Editor .................................... ...C Stempkows , Assistants—J. P. Edstiwand J12, ’29; W. Pamdzinski, ’30. ' v. Taylor, '32. EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT Humor ........................ .Al Auerbach, Staff Artist Book Reviews Inquiring Reporter Editorial Writers MAKE- UP DEPARTMENT Make-up Editor”... W. J. Ehrmeyer, ’29 Assistants—M. L. Mmgan, 31; R. Steineit, ’31;E. J. Wilt1akis, ’32. BUSINESS DEPARTMENT ’30 Advertisin Manager... .................. Stanley A. Beatty, g M 0. Nelson, ’30 Circulation Manager... John W. Gamble, ’29 Assistants—J. S Meck, 30; 0.11. Johnson, ’;30 A. H. Jens, ’31; G. Reichle, '30; A. J. Lenka, ’31; L. W. Bookel, ’31; F. W. Spaulding, ’31; E J. Wiltrakis, ’32; E. A. Scanlan, ’32; E. W. Carlson, ’32. Exchanges ............................... John E. Barman, ’29 J. Ashenhurst, .. (Open) An is‘mn‘l‘ Vol. III. MARCH 14, 1929 No. 6 Sprig Spiingll Balmy breezes blowing from the southland. Cheerful old sol beaming down upon humanity telling us that/the snows have left us for another long season The first robins are singing sweetly from their aerial perch; all around the children aie proclaiming with the invin— cible proof of the when skate that old man winter has gasped his last. And hcie in the musty, dingy, Chapin Hall the editor sits racking his weary brain for an edito- rial subject. Man is of necessity a slave to duty. His first impulse is to listen to the bucolic call of the robin, throw off the yoke of labor or of routine daily affairs, and let an easy, nomadic existence be his lot But man must live. And food, a prerequisite to life, is secured only by adherence to duty, with its reward of a bite to eat. The student is motivated by the same necessity, al- though his is one 013 the future. He believes that if he can manage to exist on unbutteicd bread obtained by application of the “beg, borrow, or sacrifice’ principle during his student days, he will be rewarded with cake in later years. Getting back to the weary editor in dingy Chapin Hall, he too labors under the impression (probably an illusion) that he is building up a credit for cake in his old age. But cake or no, the editorial refuses to break, and he is going to call it a day. He’ll lot a few fellow editors zl'rom other schools help fill the column. W" 12th @thcr Editors AS A HINDU SEES US To those who are accustomed to being reviled and in- dicated as a “jazz—mad” youth comes a welcome relief from a distinguished visitor to this country, Shrimati Sarojini Devi. This Hindu Woman, exnprcsident of the Indian National Congress and formerly mayor of the city of Bombay, finds that her stay in the new world “has been a period of veritable delight and revelation,” as she expresses her sentiments in a letter to Gandhi. “Through all the incredible tumult and turmoil of the daily existence, I find the spirit of a valiant and vital youth, seeking for some truth, some realization finer and higher than the old world has yet conceived or expressed. Though today stone and steel and gold be their only sym~ hols, they express the challenge and dream of youth in all its unspent and invincible courage, ambition, power, and insolent pride.”——The M. I. T. “Tech.” Loohwfluhwieap Statistics on the amount of time wasted every day by all the persons in the world in pondering, dallyi-ng, and waiting in making decisions would make an interesting study, to say the least. Life as a whole is a matter of one decision altc1 another, starting flom chilies 1; child hood and cauying thiough until scnilitv or insanity mud or the mind incapable of making decisions. For example, the college man gets up in the morning, after deciding; o ...: “Tilt: dillldllt'li” :: Cleave to “The Slipstick"; lei: the Slapstick fly where it may. GO TO FATHER! “Go to father,” she said When I asked her to wed. For she knew that I knew That her father was dead. And she knew that I knew What a life he had led. So she knew that I knew What she meant when she said, “Go to father.” —0. Shaw. 1?- :li Pl: 0 It was the conclusion of the famous blindfold tests. Mr. Rodney B— had just completed the smoking of the four cigarettes, carefully clearing his taste With a cup- of black coffee. “Now, Mr. B-—,” pursued the judge, “will you tell us by number, without trying to identify the brand, which appealed to you as the smoothest and the best flavored?” There was a moment’s hesitation, and then, “Well, gentlemen, it’s a difficult task to choose between them, but my choice is cup number three.“ ——F1'eddie. 5% >14 ’1‘ Always Efficient Wife: Shall I have your lunch brought up to you on deck here? Husband: No, have it th1ow11 straight overboard; 11; will save timcmand trouble. 'vl‘ ‘k Blessed be he who askcth for nothing; for he shall be satisfied. “Aesop Bibb. :r- 2»- >1: AL: I inquired in the office of the Deans the other day if the Calculus grades had been turned in, They told me they didn’t even know they had been lost. — 0.N. >9 7?. :k We are forced to conjecture that the reporters were on a spree last week. In talking about the frosh dance, one remarks that the tickets for the dance on April 12 are to be on_ sale this year. Another woozy pencil—pusher says that the radio broadcast—was made available—for all Armour students unable to be present in the Assembly Hall. Come, come, boys, humor must be confined to Slip~ stick. The’Great Race “Your son is pursuing his studies at Armour, isn’t he ‘1” “I guess so,” said his father, “he’s always behind." 5% iii STANZA ONE A daughter of a clergyman stubbed her toe, and in the presence of her father audibly said “Damn!” Her horrified father ofiered her a new dress if she would promise never to say that word again. VERSE THE SECOND Then she had a date with an Armour man and his car froze. WORSE THE THIRD The next day she went to her father and said: I’ve got a word worth 'a fur coat.” 39‘ 1k :51 “Dad, Have you heard about the sophomore chemical who is so dumb that every time he has to count up to twenty he has to take his shoes off? mFreddie * fl ’1‘ I realized a life-long ambition the other evening. I went to the most exclusive night club in Chicago, and ordered a ham sandwich, I sat thru the entire perform- ance, bought no cigarets, threw no money to the singers, and paid my check without tipping the waiter. In fact, the cost of that evening’s entertainment was the price of that ham sandwich Quite an evening for twenty—five dollars if I do say so myself. ’I 1:1 lb Can‘t you picture, many, many years ago, Dean Penn standing in front of his father as the latter spoke to him? saying, “John, this is the age of specialties and special— ists. Is there anything that you can do better than any- one else in the world?” And can’t you just hear the Dean saying, “Yes, Dad. I can read my own writing.” =62 =1“ ,A temporary address: Chicago. =1: >1 >1: Have you heard of the deaf mute on a blind date? 1. r. it Baseball news is sure got us going; the Chicago teams are both rarin’ to start, and so we’re _most impatient. Come on, April, you mean a lot to us, Al. Auc‘rbach. whether the time is propitious or desirable; he chooses the color of his shirt; necktie, shoes, and other clothing; selects the kind of cereal he will have for his breakfast. Thus, it is readily seen that even the smaller things, many 01' which come to be done automatically, are in reality decisions of some sort. In a sense, each person is the executive for his or her individual corporation, as well as the working force. Or- ders must be issued and then carried out. The execution is simple, as a rule; it is determining just what ought to be done with one’s self that is of ultimate importance. Indecision, if carried through life, can not only result in inconvenience, but may result in continued unhappi~ ness. It involves a state of mind which forces one to weigh the facts at hand, choose the side upon which the evidence seems to be heavier, and then cease wondering about the decision, apparently secure in the thought that it was the proper choice for the conditions. That one trait—4t might better be called a habit~muy mean the difference between success and failure; pros~ perity and poverty; happiness and dcspondency. In any case, indecision has no place in the affairs of the aggres sivo, cheerful, and sucessful poi-sommJ. B. in the “Pur~ due Exponent.” hoot devious By JOEL M. JACOBSON, '29 MAKlNG A SQUARE OF THE CIRCLE From the time of Archimedes the calculation of the ratio of the cir- cumference to the diameter of a ain'— cle, which we know to be 3.14159-—~ approximately, has attracted the at- tention of numerous investigators, a few with mathematical knowledge, the greater number with none. Archi» medcs himself, said that while 22/7 was not the correct value, it was close enough for his purpose and he did not intend to waste any more time on a more accurate calculation. Since then, however, some ambitious cal- culator thought differently and fig- ured the value of “pi” to 607 decimal places. It has since been conclusive- ly proved that the circumference and the diameter are incommensurable, and that “pi” has no determinable exact value. Six hundred decimals should, nevertheless, be close enough for the average ten inch slide rule. A great many amateur mathemati- cians decided, however, that the cal— culations and proof were in error and attempted to find the exact value. Most of these circle squarers labored under the misapprehension that a large reward awaited the successful discoverer, The values they found varied from 3.0 to 3.5. One of these “cyclometers,” :1 john er, thought it peculiar that all the fa- mous mathematicians had failed to find an exact ratio, and decided to try himself. He turned out a circle of wood on his lathe and rolled it along a straight metal track finding “pi" equal to 3.140625 exactly. This momentous discovery he printed in a pamphlet which he sent to all the sci- entific societies. It is recorded that he received a medal from two Paris- ian organizations for his work. Another, a stone mason this time, found, so he says himself, that he could find no one who could calculate for him the number of square feet of stone necessary to cover a circular well he was building. For this rea- son he measured the area of stone he actually used for his well and found the ratio to be 3.01 exactly. He also printed a pamphlet. Still a third a Mr. James Smith, of London, printed 21 series of articles and pamphlets for a number of years (they must have been pretty cheap in those days) which proved “without doubt” that the right answer was 3 1~8. His method of proof was some- what as follows: “Assume ‘pi’ to be 3 1-8, then, etc.” He could just as well have assumed 10 1-18 or 100 1-8. He would have arrived at the same conclusion; i. e., that he was no mathematician ! Some budding engineer may wish to know an infallible method of cal- culating “pi” if he ever finds himself without his trusty handbook. Here is a method which will give the desired result to any degree of accuracy, even the 607 decimals, or more. “Take any diameter, double it, take 1-3 of that double, 2-5 of the last, 3-7 of the last, 4~9 of the last, etc. The sum of all is the circumference of that diameter.” This method is based on Taylor’s Theorem. One would think that circle squar- ing would go out of business with the 19th century. But here in the 213th another carpenter found how to square the circle graphically with only a steel squnreif you please. The article ‘ “ ' his method was printed recently in the “Carpenter,” official organ of tie Carpenter and Joiners’ Union. The method in brief is as follows: Take any circle with its Cir-cum» scribed square. Brew the common diagonals. Bissct the portion of the diagonals between the circle and the square. Bisect use the portion of the circle between the diagonal and the point. of tangency of the square. Connect the two points just found and hisctt the distance between them. A square drawn through the point thus found and parallel to the orig»- inal squsi'e “all have the some area as the circle. it is an interesting problem to rind what value this metbr od assumes for ”3113 A. short goons etrical calculation gives to x: decimals 3.1592. This is in error by one port in 300, not even 149 as accurate so his fellow igoia'erls result- of a cen— tury ago. DEAN @F ENEENEEEENG Fret. John C. Penn (A Biographical Sketch) By STEPHEN JANISZEWSKI John Cornelius Penn, our Dean of Engineering, was born on November 26, 1881, in Watering, Netherlands. He attended school there for three years, but in 1890 he came to Amer- ica with his parents and four broth~ are. In migrating to the United States, his family settled in Chicago. Here Professor Penn finished his element- ary school education, graduating from the Van Vlissingen public school in 1897. In 1901 he graduated from the Calumet High School and entered the Civil Department at Armour In- stitute of Technology. Dean Penn worked as a grocery clerk during his grammar and high school years and also drove a delivery wagon. While a student at Armour he worked for a surveyor in Chicago during the sum- mer months to earn his tuition. Momentous decisions have been made at places which are now histor- : icaily famous, but Dean Penn decid— ed that he was going to be a Civil Engineer ‘while riding on a streetcar to Armour on the day of registration. His reason for selecting this as 21 ca- reer was that he thought it would carry him all over the world. How- ever, all of his work was actually done in the City of Chicago. In this way, Prof, Penn’s course parallels with that of many of Armour stu- dents and graduates. Prof. Penn graduated from Ar- mour in 1905, receiving his B. S. de. gree in Civil Engineering. Immedi— ately after graduation he received a position in the Civil Service in Chi- cago. Until September, 1910, he was Assistant Engineer of the Bureau of Bridges and Harbors of the City of Chicago. During; this period of time he supervised the construction of sev- eral of the city’s, bridges which still stand as products of his ability. Dean Penn was in local charge of the con—- struction of the North Ave. Bridge, the Halsted St. Bridge (Canal), the Erie St. Bridge, and the chzie Ave. Bridge over the Illinois and Michigan beguiling assess Question: What do you; 3.1.2533: of students who cut assemblies? C. Stemphowsixi, ’32, 15111132.: E feel as though a pupil would not out“ .... assembly unless he is behind ' day's work, and under such all stances he will be more fortune ta to receive a good grade for his work. rather than hear a song or lecture. _ R. F. Stellar, 29, £13.: Assemblies «possess the advantage oi giving to students a wealth of lmowledge in a short time and in a pleasant manner. I always make it a point to be pzcev ent. R. E. Moore, ’32, E. 51.: it makes the members of the band. and orches- tra feel cheap when only a few slim dents show up. I know, because Fm a member. R. F. Meshes, ’32, M. E. 1’ 116151: think they should cut them because the assemblies are always very inter: esting. They learn something first: they go to them. f they cut the? are only cheating themselves. Leonard Davidson, ’31., E. 3.: It all depends on what the assembly is about. It all depends on Whether it is of interest to the students. F. M. Eromnclu, '32, C. 5.: I don‘t think very much of them“ 1 think that those fellows who cut assemblies ought to go to a few to find out What they’re all about. I think the reason that they don't go is because they haven’t gone enough times to appre- ciate their value. Canal. He also made a survey of the lake edge from the Chicago River to Evanston. Prof. Penn began teaching at Ar— mour ought school as an instructor in the Civil Department. In 1911‘} he received his C_ E. degree. He later became Associate Professor of Civil Engineering. 011 the retirement of Dean Monin he was made Dean oz“ Engineering. Dean Penn married Mae Van Wyn» garden, in Chicago, June 6, $22. Es has one daughter, Jane A1111. He loves the oat-doors and his fav- orite exercise is walking. For eleven successive years he spent his sum- mer as an instructor in the Civil Camp with Prof. Phillips. His favorite hobby is clocks and sun—dials. Prof. Perm is a member of the Theta Xi, Tau Beta. Pi, and Chi E? silon fraternities. He also holds mem- bership in the Western Society ofi E?» gineers and the Society.r for the Pro~ motion of Enginem-ing Education. He belongs to the University of Chi— cago Club and the Ancient Frae and Accepted Masons. Dean Penn does not acknowledge. the statement that he is a descendant of William Penn of Quaker fsme. In his capacity of office as Essa of Engineering, with the ability to '1» derstand a. situation, to grasp all the details and give 11 final satisfactory decision, Bean Penn had prover: his popularity with flie student body. Those who know him more intimately and know somethim: of his personal side have an admiration for the Dam and engineervwmd even when the mid—semester Valenu'nes are distrib— uted, the recipients pay their tribute when they achewiedge that “t‘e Pen(n} is mightier than the Saved.” J. RGTUNNG, President ilhieial inhalers For The Class at 193% €d§1§$ Elih'fig .91an PilFS Fidel. TEEEWFY dfiit’h‘éity 15% North State Street, fihicsgo, litigate PKQNE STATE 63-93