1930 May - To Dragma

JOTWITHSTANDING the existence o f many
splendid colleges in the metropolitan dis-

Mm* tricts, the solid foundation of the American
college system rests upon the colleges with-
in the smaller towns. The colleges have in actuality
become small communities while the towns themselves
have become merged into the services o f the colleges.

I n a small community one can never escape his reputa-
tion. I t may be difficult f o r a deserving man to obtain
recognition in the crowded life of huge cities; a rascal
may there find a safe h i d i n g . But, among a population
which is small, every person is known for what he is.
As this is true of the individual, i t is equally true of the
corporation that serves the community. Whatever i t
does f o r any member of the group is known to a l l other
members. Success or failure is not taken f o r granted.
I t becomes a matter of common interest and common
knowledge.

N i n e o f every ten fraternities and sororities upon the
American campus receive Balfour service. T o main-
tain a ratio of which we are justly proud, i t has been
of vital importance that we extend a service that is
equally satisfactory to everyone. The continued growth
of our contract relations each year is silent evidence
that our service to national organizations has become
common knowledge thruout the communities of Ameri-
can colleges.

L G. BALFOUR COMPANY
Attleboro, Massachusetts

Sole Official Jewelers to Alpha Omicron Pi

Boston BRANCH OFFICES Des Moines
N e w Yoih San Francisco
Chicago Kansas City Richmond Los Angeles
Philadelphia Denver Ann Arbor Seattle
Pittsburgh Washington Dallas State College
Columbus Ithaca
Atlanta Indianapolis

o Dragma

Published by

Alpha Omicron Pi

Silver
Anniversary

1905-1930

May, 1930.

ACTIVE CHAPTER ROLL

ALPHA 1 1 ] — B a r n a r d College—Inactive. ETA (HI—University of
Pi ( I I I — H . Sophie Ncwcomb Memorial
Madison. Wis.
College, New Orleans, I . a
ALPHA PHI [A4>]—Montana
N u [N]—New York University. New
York City. lege, ll"/enian. Mont.

OMicaoN [0)—University of Tennessee. N u OMICKUN I.VO]—Vanderbilt
Knoxville, T a i n . sity, Nashville, Tenu.

KAJ-PA [KJ—Randolph-Macon Woman's Pst 1*1—University of Penii
College, Lynchbuig, Va. Philadelphia, Pa.

ZKTA [ Z ) — U n i v e r s i t y of Nebraska, Lin- P u t (*1—University of Kansas,
coln, Neb. rence. Kan.

SIGMA i —University of California, OMEOA fOJ—Miami University,
Ohio.
T if ETA [ 6 ] — D e P a u w University, Green-
castle, lnd. OMICEOV PI [0TI1—University
gan, Ann Arbor. Mich.
BETA [ B ] — B r o w n University—Inactive.
ALPHA SIGMA [ A £ ] — U n i v e r s i t y
DELTA [A]—Jackson College. T u f u Col- son. Euuene, Ore.

lege, Mass. X i [21—University of Oklahoma,
man. Okla
GAMMA [T]—University of Maine.
P i DELTA [nAJ—University of
Orono, Me.
land. Cottage Park. Md.
EPSILUN [ E ] — C o r n e l : University. Ithaca. TAU DELTA [TA1—Birminglinm So"

N.Y. College. Birniinirhnm, Afo.

Riio [PJ—Northwestern University, KAPPA THETA [ K G J—University of
Evanston, III. fornia at Lo» Angeles, Los
Caiif.
LAMHDA [ A ] — L e l a n d Stanford Univer-
KAPPA OMICION [KOI—SOU
sity, Palo Alto, Calif.
Memphis, Term.
IOTA 11)—University of Illinois. Cham-
ALPHA RHO I AIM—Oregon Ag
paign, 111.
College, Corvaltia, Ore.
TAU [ T J — U n j v e r s i r y of Minnesota, Min-
CHI DELTA [XAJ—University of
neapolis, Minn.
rado. Boulder, Colo.
C m [XI—Syracuse University, Syracuse,
BETA THETA [B91—Butler U n i v
N.Y. Indianapolis, lnd.

UPSII.UK [ T l — U n i v e r s i t y of Washington, ALPHA PI [ AflJ—Florida State C
for Women. Tallahassee. Fla.
Seattle, Wash.
EPHILON ALPHA [ E A ] — P c n n s y l v :
N o KAPPA [ N E ] — S o u t h e r n Methodist Suite College, State College, Pa,
University. Dallas, Tex.
THETA ETA [GH]—University of C
BETA PHI [ B # ] — I n d i a n a University.
Bloomingtou, lnd. C HnatAi. PCiTnciEnnRatiS, Ohio.

ALUMNAE

New Y o a a ALUMNA— New York City. KANSAS CITY ALUMNA—Kansas

SAN FRANCISCO ALUMNA—San Fran- Mo.
cisco, Calif. OMAHA ALUMNA—Omaha, Neb.
SYRACUSE ALPM N A--Syracuse. N.Y.
Paoviu«NCE ALUMNA—P r o v l d s n c e , DETROIT ALUMNA—Detroit, Mich.
Rhode Island. N •-UVII.LL ALUMNA—Nashville, T
BOSTON ALUM KA—Boston, Mass.

LINCOLN ALLUKS—Lincoln, Neb.

L o s ANGCLES ALUM N M—Los Angeles,
Calif.

CHICAGO ALUMNA—Chicago, 111. BIRMINGHAM ALUMNA — Bim
INDIANAPOLIS ALUM N A— Indianapolis, Ala.
lad.
OKLAHOMA CITY ALUMNJ
N s w ORLEANS ALUMNA—New Orleans, City, Okla.
—L a .
Minneapolis. CHICAGO-SOUTH SHORE ALU"
Mi N NXAPOLIS ALUM N A
Minn. MADISON ALUMNA—Madison, Wis.
BANCO-. ALUMNA—Bangor, Me.
POXTLANO ALOM NA—Portland. Ore. BLOOM: - ALUMNA—Bloomr
SEATTLE ALUM N A—Seattle, Wash.
KNOXVTLLS ALUMNA—Knoxville, T e n n . DEKVEB ALUMNA—Denver, Colo.
CINCINNATI ALUMNA—Cincinnati.
—LYNCHSURO ALUMNA—Lynchburg, V a . TULSA ALUMNA—Tulsa. Okla.
ANN ARBOR ALUMNA—Ann Arbor,,
WASHINGTON ALUMNA Washington, FORT WAYNS ALUMNA—Fort W R
D.C.
lad.
DALLAS ALUMNA—Dallas, T e x . ST. LOUTS ALUMNA—St. Louis, Mo.
PHILADELPHIA ALUMNA—Philadelphia, ROCHESTER ALUMNA—Rochester, N.Yi;

Pa.

rag m a

VOL. X X V W I L M A S M I T H L E L A N D , Editor NO. 4

® ®

C O N T E N T S for MAY

Tribute Frontispiece
3
Our Grand Historian Looks at T o DRAGMA
Section of Vol. I , No. 1, of T o DRAGMA -9
21
Our Grand President Wishes Us Happy Birthday 22
Then and Now 27
Alpha O New York Panhellenic Alternate 28
45
The Spirit of T o DRAGMA 4"
51
Little Tots Love Children's Theatre 54
Five Chapters Rank High in Scho'arship J 58
Welcome to P i Delta's Home 59
We Share Birthday Greetings 61
Do You Want a History? 62
Fair Rushing Comes From Correct Understanding 68
A Small But Exquisite Volume 69
The Grand President Goes on Her Sophomore Tour Facing 70
The Quiet Corner 71
The Editor Speaks 78
Looking at Alpha O's 101
Alpha O's in the Daily Press 122
The Active Chapters 128
The Alumna; Chapters
Directory
Bulletin Board

T o DRAGMA is published by Alpha Omicron P i fraternity, 405 E l m Street,

Menasha, Wisconsin, and is printed by The George Banta Publishing Company.
Entered at the Post Office at Menasha, Wisconsin, as second class matter under
the Act of March 3, 1879. Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage pro-
vided for in section 1103, Act of October 3, 1917, authorized February 12, 1920.

T o DRAGMA is published four times a year, October, January, March and May.

Subscription price, 50 cents per copy, $2 per year, payable in advance; L i f e
Subscription $15.

®®

ribute

By B e r t h a R a d o M u c k e y , Qhi

S o once again my soul sings praise to thee.
I n music tunefully shall I acclaim.
L o, too, my heart wells forth in memory,
V eiled in the shadow of thy lovely name.
E ach year thou art more precious still to me
R eturning fourfold all the love I gave.

B eloved sisterhood I strive to be

I n all things worthy, loyal, true and brave.

R ejoice with me, Oh A l p h a ' s , far and near,

T he wonder of the olden days renew.

H ail to the crimson of her color dear

D elight once more in its warm living hue.

A h let our spirits meet this gladsome day,

T et mid our joys forgetting not to pray.

Vol. 25 M A Y , 1930 No. 4

Our grand Jfistorian Jfyoks

I at To Pragma

A sketching of Mrs.
Perry sketched by
Rosemary Wyman,
niece of our grand
president and founder.

By S T E L L A GEORGE S T E R N P E R R Y , Grand Historian, Alpha

WE D I D not know, 'way back there, when we named our maga-
zine T H E SHEAF, T O DRAGMA, how prophetic was the title.
For the magazine has certainly gathered wheat from the whole
country, not only the wheat of talent and—after some hard farming, to

be sure,—of the support that was to be expected, but also of its editorial

guidance and policy. For the staff of To DRAGMA has been recruited

from a broad field, from Maine to California.

I think we ought not forget how barren and hard a plain this wheat

field was to those who cultivated it early, how little help they sometimes

got in their voluntary labors, how greatly we are indebted to them for

our full granary.

It would be futile to attempt within these narrow bounds, anything

'ike a complete survey of To DRAGMA'S years; but the Editor has asked

me for a cursory glance backward; and I am glad to give it.

As to the magazine's name, the symbolism of which nowadays needs

no elucidation to any member of Alpha Omicron Pi, it is amusing to

4 To DRAGMA

read in old records that there was some objection to i t , when it was first
proposed, on the ground that it was not sufficiently dignified! The
counter suggestion was made that "The Alpha" would be more practical.
You see, for the first ten years or more of the life of Alpha Omicron Pi,
the fraternity was known familiarly on campuses as "Alpha,"—not as
"Alpha O" or "A O n " as is now usual; and, I believe, the oldsters still
prefer to hear us called simply, "Alpha." I n the end, those of us with
more imagination prevailed, and our lovely, symbolic name, To DRAGMA,
was chosen by the Grand Council. We had a name for it long before we
had a magazine.

In those days, when the classics were "required" studies, no one ever
supposed that a time would come when college-bred women would have
to be instructed in the meaning and pronunciation of a simple Greek
title.

We had planned a magazine almost from the beginning. I can see
in memory now Helen St. Clair (Mullan) with a pile of men's fraternity
magazines that she and I had been examining, as she arranged them in
three groups and said, with that clear and definite judgment that has
always been an asset to us, "These are good. These are fair. These are
poor."

I t was in 1901 that the first Committee on Publications was ap-
pointed; and the Chairman of i t was Florence Lucas Sanville, author of
Once More United. I n a Grand Council report of the next year, in
December, we read, "Miss Sanville, Chairman of the Magazine Com-
mittee, announced the following Board of Editors: Ruth Earle (Alpha),
Olive R. Garland ( N u ) , and the Chairman herself." She stated that no
work had been done as yet; but a meeting of Editors was to take place
in the holidays.

This Board, however, could do little more than make plans, for lack

of the means of pursuing them.
I t was not until January of 1 9 0 5 — t w o more Chairmen of Publica-

tions, Margaret Clark Sumner of Alpha and May Sterling Parkerson of
Pi, having served meanwhile—that the magazine in its handsome

cardinal cover appeared to give a

glow to our hopes.

Helen Katherine Hoy (Gree-
ley) of N u chapter was the first

Editor of T o DRAGMA.

Though at that time the chap-

ter roll listed only Alpha, Pi, Nu,

Omicron, Kappa, Zeta, and the

New York Alumnae, that first num-

ber, in content and form, could

hold up its own without apology-

I t also served as a directory of

the membership,—of less than two

hundred names at that date,— and

Grecian women making a sacrifice to .% c . i i. .-..-ocpntinK
a statue of Dhnysius. was the first songbook, presents

MAY, 1930 5

"The Rose of Red," "Alpha for
Aye," "Once More United,"
"Garden of Our College Days,"
"Here's to Good Old N u , "
"Viva La A O Pi," "Fellowship
of Spring," and "Dear Old
Room."

Helen Hoy was unable to
stay with the magazine long,
and we found ourselves also
financially inhibited from bring-
ing out the next number on
time. But hope was maintained,
and we rallied.

Our reverently remembered

Jessie Ashley, who was always

ready in her gentle kindness to A Grecian lady spinning.
give us of her busy days and

her heavily-taxed talents, undertook to get out the next three numbers

that appeared. How glad we are to have this characteristic trace of her

now! For those three 1906-'07 numbers show her mind in their articles

on woman suffrage and social righteousness.

Alice Smith Thomson (Alpha), was chosen Business Manager, but
she married and went to St. Louis. I t was hard to find a business
manager who could give us the time and had the ability for the difficult
task.

Adelma Burd had the ability; she did not have the time, but she
gave it to us anyway. I t was she who stabilized—for the period of her
incumbency, at least—and managed with success the business of the
infant paper. That this was no easy task will be clear if you will look
at the excellent numbers published by Jessie and Adelma and compare
them with the following entry in our records:

New York, January 17, 1907

Report of Business Manager of To DRAGMA:

By advertisement $22.50

By subscription 5.00

In hand $27.50

However, we were able to help with a slight appropriation for the
November issue, and a campaign for subscriptions was launched among

chapters.

But these were the first of that long line of selfless and devoted
workers to whom we owe the growth of To DRAGMA from such humble
beginnings.

, After the successful administration of Jessie and Adelma, the maga-
zine met some vicissitudes of no interest now, only one number appear-

6 To DRAGMA J
*
ing; this was edited by Helen Arthur of Nu chapter. But undiscouraged *
people know that poor crops, whether in farming, editing, or anything
else, are often followed by abundance. We carried on. p

Viola Gray of Zeta chapter has served in so many varied ways,
unselfishly saying " I w i l l " to anything however arduous or however slight
that she was asked to do—whether the job were to hurry up and inspect
a chapter, to install one, to bolster up another, to perform some little
local service, to contribute a musical stunt during a lull at Convention,
up to serving long and well in important offices and on the Executive
Board itself—that we should not miss this opportunity of appreciating
her, the next Editor and the one who reinstated To DRAGMA. Since
then there has been no break in its good development. I t was only a
short while before she had changed our plan for three issues a year into
the achievement of four.

But the magazine was in a parlous state when she said—"I will" to
»* and the capable Helen Piper Hagenbuch (Zeta), echoed her as
•iusiness Manager. I wish there were time to tell you all they did.
T v e is not even time enough to begin i t ! To DRAGMA had gone West
tc ^iv\ up with the country.

When Viola left this post for another in 1910, we went further west
still, to put golden poppies in our wheat in California.

Virginia Esterly, Editor, and Isabelle Henderson (Stewart), Busi-
ness Manager, both of Sigma chapter and already widely known for their
perfect team play, made us a vital and lively paper. I t was Virginia's
broad vision that extended the scope of To DRAGMA during the long and
formative period of this management—up to the summer of 1915—and
gave it a general literary and artistic flavor, which, while it was kept in
its own field of usefulness, has prevented To DRAGMA'S becoming, as
many fraternity papers are, a "trade paper" merely. The chatty, folksy
note and the inspirational note were emphasized.

Then, as before, and especially with war in the air, the practical
problems of finance and support were weighty. Her work in keep-
ing To DRAGMA on its feet and self-respecting at this period made
Isabelle seem like a little Hercules to those who knew what she
was accomplishing. And she served on the editorial end of the publica-
tion too.

The readable quality that Virginia had given this necessarily small
magazine made it worthy to pass, as now it did, into the hands of one oi
the few American women writers who give promise of holding perma-
nent place in literature, our Mary Ellen Chase, of Gamma. Mary
Ellen had alreadv shown interest in To DRAGMA and to the issue ot May,
1913, had contributed a "leader," "This Truth Against the World,
which I should like to see in everybody's scrapbook. The merit of her
work as Editor of the rapidly growing publication goes, of course, witJ^
out saying. In her first number Mary Ellen gave us the cover with tne
quaint old-fashioned drawing of the wheat stack, the first design eve
shown on the cover of To DRAGMA.

Charter members <>/ ,\u In ancient Athens there
Chatter. Herein we see
a number of the first edi- were no modem conveni-
ences and so it was nec-
tors of T<> I Ml li.M A. You essary that the house wife

mil recognise the names. or her servant go to
•Reading from left to right,
back row, Olive li. Gar- one of the street fountains
to secure the water sup-
land, Madeleine 7.. Dotv, ply for drinking, bathing,
Ida Rauh, Helen St. C.
Million, Mary (i. Quack- and cooking. These cuts
used through courtesy of
**bos. Adelma H. Rvrd. William Stearns Davis,
Front row, Helen Arthur,
'**ne Ashley, Margaret Author of "A Day in Old
Athens."
Burnett. Helen K.
"oy, and Flora T. Fuller.

The practical questions that were always with that position pressed
nard on the able shoulders of the first Business Manager under this
Jjfewwe, Margaret Pillsbury Schoppe (Gamma), who greatly lightened
"te problem, and of her successor, who—serving with this Editor and
*rtn the next one—solved it!

f'or it was Carolyn Fraser Pulling (Delta) who originated, outlined
*pd developed the Life Subscription Plan. Of course, it took years
0 reap the benefit of that fine idea; but the day of harvest is with us

thanks for it are due to Carolyn Fraser Pulling.
The work of the next Editor, Etta Phillips Mac Phie (Delta) and
flat of her successor, Betty Hiestand Smith (Eta) stand united in the
prospect. This is largely because these two pursued much the same
se policy of emphasizing the note of national unity in the fraternity,

8 To DRAGMA i

bearing with stimulating encouragement upon personal achievements, !
loyal co-operation of chapters, the interest and pride we take in one
another and the immeasurable value of happy personal relations. These I
editors helped us to know one another and cemented national feeling.

It is due also to the fact that the magazine had for a long time
the same format under the two administrations. Etta it was who first
gave us a magazine with the table of contents on the cover—the New
England influence of the Atlantic Monthly, perhaps! I n this Betty
followed her for a while, though she changed to the "red and grey one"
in the second year of her incumbency.

Their separate contributions came from Etta's graces and her flashes
of originality so long well-known to us, and to Betty's effective, con-
structive persistence that gave roundness to her plans, and her dauntless
spirit that was not downed by post-war conditions, by personal pressure
of duties, or by any delays or discouragements.

The Business Managers, Carolyn Pulling and June Kelly (Delta)
had to face the singular difficulties confronting all who bought and
used print paper and photoengraving and type for a long period follow-
ing the war.

June Kelly—Margaret Theresa June, officially, but always appro-
priately June to us—helped greatly in this predicament. For she held a
position with the famous Plimpton Press, and could give us expert
leadership and protection.

The last few years of To DRAGMA are too recent to be history, too
fresh in our minds to need recording. Nearly everybody knows with-
out telling how that sturdy and insistent, brilliant and tactful little
hustler, Elizabeth Bond (Tau), made us all work for To DRAGMA and.
like i t ; and how she it was who began what may be called the modern
magazine, lightening and brightening it and winning high praise in high
places. And who does not give thanks now for that "iron hand in velvet
glove" of Kathryn Bremer (Matson), (Tau) who as Business Manager
insisted—(as she has done also as Grand Treasurer) that we cut our
clothes to our cloth financially, with the result that, though we may have
felt kind o' skimpy at the start, we soon emerged with fuller and hand-
somer garments than ever before and stepped out with more ease and
a sounder conscience?

Certainly being the latest, the present state of To DRAGMA should
be the best it has ever known. I t is the best. I t combines the con-
tributions of all the others and adds a professional zest that it has
never had before. I shall refrain from boasting—the exhibit is before
you. I f there is a better looking, more satisfying organization-magazine
anywhere than the one we are issuing now, I have never seen it. I
like it because it combines an alive and joyous youthfulness with dignity
and decorum. To DRAGMA does us honor. Let us show our gratitude
by heartiest co-operation and by every tangible proof.

In a true sense, we have all been editors and managers of our maga-

(Continued on page 26)

MAY, 1930

ThIS
^pntrodCuCS (I

(Section of
Vol. i. &yb.
of To "Dramg a

•



To Dragma

OF

Alpha Omicron Pi

Vol. 1. January, 1905 No. 1.

Published by the fraternity, quarterly
H E L E N K. HOY, Editor.

QTfje Jfounbmg of &lpfja ©micron $t.

Alpha Omicron Pi was founded on January 2, 1897, by Jessie Wal-
lace Hughan, of Brooklyn, N.Y., Helen St. Clair, of New York City,
Stella George Stern, of New Orleans, La., and Elizabeth Heywood Wy-
man, of Bloomfield, N.J., students of the class of 1898 at Barnard Col-
lege.

Although Kappa Kappa Gamma was the only woman's society in
the college at the time, Barnard was favorable to fraternities, and it
was natural for the more intimate college friendships to seek expression
that would endure through the pleasant channel afforded by fraternity
organization. Our founders, however, felt that the attainment of some
ideals of the college world was being seriously retarded by certain poli-
cies of the existing fraternities, and as a result were led not to ally them-
selves with any existing society, but to establish a new fraternity which
in time should become national along carefully worked out lines.

The making of a chapter roll was not considered as of first or im-
mediate importance. The founders believed, and those who now share
their responsibility in the governing council understand, that more al-
most than any other element of fraternity policy, a fraternity's attitude
on the question of extension is important and determines the standard
of the organization. Internal strength can be gained only by the com-
plete assimilation of each new chapter as an integral part of the whole.
This process must necessarily be slow, and is therefore prohibitive of a
fraternity's rapid entrance into a number of institutions, but it is as vital
as it is desirable, and while somewhat delaying expansion into a na-
tional existence, ensures the stability of that existence when it is finally
attained.

To such a policy the founders committed themselves. I t was de-
liberately shaped and has been faithfully adhered to. After seven years
there are six chapters, and their geographical location entitles Alpha
^micron Pi to be called a national sorority and to be represented in the

National Inter-Sorority Conference.

12 To DRAGMA

Better than that, however, are the increasing strength of the nu-
cleus and the right which these chapters have to feel themselves a firm
foundation for the future of Alpha Omicron Pi to be built upon.

Barnard College, the Home of Alpha Chapter.

There has been so much misconception as to the relation of Barnard
College to Columbia University that it may not be amiss briefly to sum-
marize the situation even at the risk of reiterating much that is familiar
to many of our readers. I n the first place, Barnard is not part of a
co-education institution, in the narrower and more usual sense of that
term; neither is it a separate college for women, as that designation is
generally applied. Indeed it is difficult to label the college in any simple
and comprehensive way, for its position is unique and any categorical
designation, therefore, demands definition. Perhaps the phrase that has
frequently been used, "affiliated college," is the most satisfactory: it
has, at least, the merit of not having been applied to anything that
Barnard has not been, though it is theoretically an inaccurate descrip-
tion of what Barnard is now. To define our phrase so that it may serve
to describe Barnard College in the two stages of its development, we may
say that an affiliated college for women is one which furnishes to those
matriculated as its own students' instruction qualifying them for the re-
ceipt of a degree from the university with which it is affiliated. This
definition is adopted for the sake of convenience, though it is framed to
fit the college to which the phrase is applied rather than the scope of
the term in its ideal sense. I t will, moreover, be noticed that the defini-
tion excludes from the class of "affiliated colleges" those institutions com-
monly known as "annexes" which confer their own degrees upon gradu-
ates, though furnishing their students, through association with other
institutions, the advantages of tuition by instructors employed in the
corresponding college for men.

The relations of Barnard and Columbia may be better understood
if something is known of the story of the foundation of the former. The
first definite step to give women equal educational opportunities with
men in the city of New York was taken in the year 1885. I n that year
the earnest and unremitting efforts of those who had been working to
this end, aided by the approval and co-operation of the more progressive
element in the faculty of Columbia College, overcame the doubts of the
conservative authorities of that institution so far as to bring about the
offer of the Columbia degree to any woman who should for four con-
secutive years pass the required undergraduate examinations. No
preparation for these examinations was given by Columbia, and in some
instances the entire scope of the class work was changed without the
formality of notice to those who were working (beyond the college
walls) to obtain the coveted degree. To the untiring labors and pa-
tient endeavors of those who pursued their studies under such great dis-
advantages, Barnard College owes an inestimable debt of gratitude, for

MAY, 1930 13

their success effectually overcame the doubts and hesitation of those
who had reluctantly consented to the experiment.

I t was soon recognized that a system which eliminated college life,
and failed to bring the student within the sphere of those influences
that make a college course something more than a period of acquisition
of so much book-learning, was radically defective and pitifully inade-
quate. The prejudice against co-education was, however, insurmountable,
and the adjustment of the difficulty by opening Columbia's doors to
women on equal terms with men was not, indeed, desired by many of
those most interested in a satisfactory solution of the problem. A plan,
which recognized this deep-rooted prejudice and eliminated co-education
as a cure for the evil, was embodied in a memorial presented to the
trustees of Columbia College in 1888, asking for "official sanction to a
Society for the Instruction of Women by the Professors and Other In-
structors of Columbia College under a management entirely satisfactory
to your honorable Board." This memorial was approved by the trustees
in February, 1889; in July the proposed society was incorporated as
Barnard College (so named in honor of the late President Barnard, of
Columbia) and in October eight students were enrolled as members of
the Freshman class and the institution was an accomplished fact.
No story of this period would be complete without some mention of
Mrs. Annie Nathan Meyer, to whose efforts perhaps more than to those
of any other one person was due the establishment of Barnard College.

From the first, Barnard set for herself high ideals and unflinchingly
followed them. Rather than admit improperly qualified students, she
shut her doors even to those desiring to pursue special courses, unless
the full requirements for entrance to the Freshman class were satis-
fied. This attitude is the more to be commended and admired when
one considers that the college was absolutely without endowment, that
it depended entirely upon tuition fees and private subscriptions for its
support, and that those who successfully passed the entrance examina-
tions were for several years very few in number.

The entrance requirements were identical with those of Columbia,
Greek and Latin (including the history and geography of Greece and
Rome), English, Mathematics, and either French or German being pre-
scribed. The entrance examinations, duplicates of those given at Co-
lumbia, were conducted by Columbia proctors. The Barnard classes
were, from an academic point of view, practically sections of those at
Columbia. They were instructed usually by the men who taught the
corresponding classes at Columbia. The midyear and final examina-
tions in all courses were identical with those given to the men, the ex-
aminations being set and the papers passed upon by the instructor con-
ducting the course at Columbia. The same courses and the same amount
0 1 work were required of Barnard and Columbia students, and prac-
tically the same electives were offered, although the number of so-called
"university" courses open to women was limited by the regulations of
some of the departments. Finally, the degree of bachelor of arts given

n

••>

en

I

LLJ
i.

• LLUi: LjJ

P•

ICAY, 1930 IS

to Barnard graduates was conferred by Columbia. So far was Barnard
regarded merely as machinery for giving women the Columbia courses
that for several years no separate catalogue was published for Barnard.

The working organization of the college in these early days was
largely the result of the efficient efforts of Ella Weed, Vassar, 73, who
for several years acted as executive head of the institution. After Miss
Weed's death, in 1894, it was decided to appoint a dean, and with the
opening of the fall term in that year, Emily James Smith (now Mrs.
George Haven Putnam), a graduate of Bryn Mawr, undertook the re-
sponsibilities of that position. The record of Miss Smith's administra-
tion, extending over a period of about six years, reads like a fairy tale.
When she came to Barnard, the college was still without endowment,
and housed in a converted dwelling totally inadequate for its needs. At
the opening of the college, in 1897, two of three handsome new build-
ings were completed and ready for occupancy, and the third was pro-
vided for and in process of construction. In three years the college
had become possessed of property representing an investment of over
a million dollars; it had acquired a considerable endowment with which
to meet current expenses, and it was able permanently to support three
full professorships in Columbia University. Those who had entered as
Freshmen at the beginning of Miss Smith's administration were able to
spend their Senior year in the new buildings on Morningside Heights, a
stone's throw from the magnificent new home of Columbia. Since that
period of phenomenal prosperity and expansion not a year has passed
without some substantial increase in the material equipment of Barnard.
The most important gift, perhaps, was that of a plot of land immediately
south of the original new site, three times as large, and valued at a mil-
lion dollars, generously presented by Mrs. A. A. Anderson in 1903.

With the year 1900, Barnard College entered upon the second stage
of its development as a collegiate institution. A new agreement with
Columbia was adopted, by which Barnard became one of the colleges
of the university, co-ordinate with Columbia College. As such, it is
entitled to representation through its dean on the University Council,
in like degree with the other schools, and the president of Columbia
becomes ex-ofncio president of Barnard. Barnard now certifies its own
curriculum, though it still refrains from granting degrees, the B.A. re-
ceived by Barnard graduates being conferred by Columbia on the com-
pletion of work equal to that required of graduates of Columbia Col-
lege. Since the new arrangement, an effort has been made to duplicate
at Barnard all courses open to undergraduates, including "university"
courses, so as entirely to separate the undergraduate students of Barnard
^ d Columbia. Formerly, in these "university" courses (i.e., those
which, if taken by one holding a bachelor's degree, would be counted
toward a higher degree), women and men, undergraduates and gradu-
ates were admitted to the same classes, chiefly because of the small
lumber of students electing any one course. Another change due to
the new system is the limitation of registry at Barnard to undergradu-

16 To DRAGMA

ates, many of the graduate schools of the university having opened
their doors to women on equal terms with men. The evolution of
Barnard as an affiliated college has changed its status academically from
a collection of sections of Columbia classes, to a separate college, co-
ordinate with Columbia and preparing its students for the same degree.
Financially, Barnard, like the College of Physicians and Surgeons and
Teachers' College, respectively the medical and pedagogical schools of
Columbia, is a separate institution.

The friends of Barnard and its graduates are unanimous in claim-
ing for her the advantages both of the co-educational and of the
separate college, and freedom from the defects of both classes of in-
stitutions. The standard demanded and quality of instruction provided
by a great university, the boast of the co-educational college, are cer-
tainly hers; and separate instruction of the sexes in undergraduate work,
the pride of the separate college, is also secured to her students.

The present home of Barnard College consists of three hall.-, the
corridors on each floor being connected so as to make practically one
building. These halls are built around a court which opens to the south
on 119th Street. They occupy a city block extending from 119th to
120th Street and from Broadway to Clermont Avenue. The central hall,
extending along 120th Street, is known as Milbank Hall and is the gift
of Mrs. A. A. Anderson. Mrs. Van Wyck Brinckerhoff is the donor
of the east wing, Brinckerhoff Hall, on Broadway, and Fiske Hall, the
west wing on Clermont Avenue, is the gift of Mrs. Josiah M . Fiske. In
Milbank are the entrance hall, the reception room, the trustees' room,
the administrative offices, the Ella Weed Memorial reading room (the
gift of the Associate Alumnae), the class studies, the infirmary, the cloak
rooms, and several lecture rooms. The corridors and rooms have been
beautifully decorated and furnished by Tiffany and the walls are hung
with photographs and casts of examples of beautiful architecture and
works of art. In Brinckerhoff is the college theatre, so arranged that
the stage can be removed for dances and receptions. Beneath the theatre
is the gymnasium and a room on the main floor is reserved for the use
of the alumna?. The rest of the building is given over to laboratories
and lecture rooms. For several years the dean occupied a suite of rooms
in Brinckerhoff, but the space was finally taken for much-needed class
rooms. Fiske Hall, though planned for lecture rooms and laboratories,
was originally fitted up as a dormitory, but in 1902 it became necessary
to remodel the building, owing to the great increase in the number of
students. This hall now contains the college lunch rooms, in addition
to the lecture rooms and laboratories.

Since the alterations in Fiske Hall, Barnard has been without a dor-
mitory of her own, and such a building is today one of the pressing
needs of the college. A few of the students live at the fraternity apart-
ments, some board in the neighborhood, and others live at home. A
great many, however, are accommodated in Whittier Hall, a ten-story
structure used as a university dormitory for women students. Here an

M A Y , 1930 17

effort is made to group the Barnard students on certain floors. Barnard
has been in her new home only seven years, and yet the buildings which
in 1897 seemed spacious enough to accommodate students for genera-
tions to come, have been outgrown and over-crowded for nearly three
years. I t is hoped that before long buildings will be erected on the
land given by Mrs. Anderson in 1903. This plot extends from 119th
to 116th Street and from Broadway to Clermont Avenue. I t is so
far unimproved except that the northern third, directly opposite the
college buildings, has been fitted up as an athletic field, known as Mill-
bank Quadrangle, where tennis courts and basketball grounds have been
laid out. I t is here that an annual Field Day is held on the anniversary
of the date of gift.

In spite of the lack of a proper dormitory and of the fact that many
of the Barnard students live at their homes in New York, the college is
not without its share of college life. Of the student organizations with
social features the fraternities are perhaps of most interest to the readers
of To DRAGMA. Of these, there are now seven, established in the fol-
lowing order: Kappa Kappa Gamma, Alpha Omicron Pi, Kappa Alpha
Theta, Gamma Phi Beta, Alpha Phi, Delta Delta Delta, and Pi Beta
Phi. They include in their membership less than one-fourth of the
student body. Several of the fraternities rent apartments in the vicinity
of the college, where a home for non-resident members is provided. Un-
til the year 1902-1903, each of the fraternities gave one large entertain-
ment yearly, to which the entire undergraduate body was invited. Since
that time, Alpha Omicron Pi is the only society that has followed the
old custom. Its entertainment has, for several years, taken the form
of a reception and concert, followed by an informal dance. The frater-
nities also give a number of smaller private entertainments during the
rushing season, and have their own social gatherings limited to members
or their friends. I t has been the custom of Alpha chapter to give a
dance during the spring term for active and alumna? members alone,
and sometimes there is an outing at the end of the year. For two sum-
mers, this outing took the form of a sail. On the first occasion, Nu
chapter was invited and the day was spent on the Hudson River; the
second trip was down the Bay to Sandy Hook.

There are certain fixed annual entertainments at Barnard as at every
other college. Chief of these is the Junior Ball, given in honor of the
Seniors. This entertainment is held in the Columbia Gymnasium, the
Barnard Theatre being much too small to accommodate the merry-
makers. I n December, the Sophomore Dance takes place, but this is
a smaller affair and the theatre suffices. Another dance given in the
Columbia Gymnasium is the Senior Dance, which is a part of the com-
mencement festivities. A series of dances known as the "Short and
Early" has for several years been conducted by a committee consisting
of members of Kappa Alpha Theta; its members are chiefly members of
that fraternity and their friends.

Three times during the year the Undergraduate Association gives

;

M A Y , 1930 I"

a tea in the theatre, to which friends of the college and of the students
are invited. The Associate Alumnae also give a reception at the end of
the academic year to welcome the new graduates to their number. Other
general college entertainments are the plays. The most important of
these is the Undergraduate Play, and the Sophomore Play easily holds
second place. Many of the class and society entertainments also take
the form of a dramatic performance, so that the girl with histrionic ability
does not lack opportunity to develop her talents. The other annual en-
tertainments are those welcoming the Freshmen to the halls of Barnard,
and the farewell of the Seniors in Commencement week. Of the first
there are three functions. The Christian Association invariably wel-
comes the new students as soon as possible after the opening of college.
Then there are the attentions of the Juniors and Sophomores, differing
somewhat in character and acceptability, but both equally inevitable,
and largely attended. Chief of the commencement festivities is Class
Day, which, beginning with 1898, has followed the form common to
most colleges, and is held in the theatre in Brinckerhoff. Besides the
Senior Dance and the Alumnae Reception already mentioned, there are
the gatherings attended by the graduates of both Barnard and Columbia,
including the Baccalaureate Sermon, the President's Reception, the meet-
ing of the Alumni of the university on Commencement Day, and, most
important of all, Commencement itself. Many of the Barnard Seniors
also attend the Columbia Class Day exercises and dance and invitations
to each of the Class Days are sent to the graduates of the other college.

The most important student organization at Barnard is the Under-
graduate Association, founded shortly after the foundation of the col-
lege itself. All undergraduates are members of this society, which regu-
lates the affairs of the student body, including the adoption and enforce-
ment of the rules for self-government. The presidency of this organi-
zation is perhaps the greatest honor that can be conferred by the stu-
dents upon one of their number.

Of the societies organized to foster the study of some particular
subject, the oldest is the Greek Club, founded in 1894. The member-
ship in this society is more limited and the character of the work more
serious than in any of the other clubs for language study. The Deutscher
Kreis, the Society Italiana, and La Societe Frangaise are enthusiastically
supported by students interested in the study of German, Italian, and
French, respectively. At all meetings of these societies, whether busi-
ness or social, no other language is used than that to the study of which
the society is devoted. Usually, the Deutscher Kreis and La Societe
Francaise entertain the college by giving a play some time during the
year. The Botanical Club, organized in 1897, is the oldest of the scien-
tific societies. I t differs from the other clubs in numbering many alumnae
among its members. Four meetings are held during the year, one of
which is a tea in the Botanical Laboratories. One of the other meet-
lngs is also open to those who are not members of the club, and is usu-
ally addressed by some prominent botanist. The Early Bird Club, which

20 To DRAGMA t/

started last year as a joke, inviting to membership all "who had ever II
cut the acquaintance of an earth worm," has developed into an enthu-
siastic Zoology Club. A lecture by Professor Osborn of Columbia has
been given under its auspices, and trips to the zoological gardens and
natural history museums in the vicinity have been taken by the mem-
bers.

The literary societies, which have been re-organized, re-named, and
re-established several times during the last ten years, have recently
united and formed the Barnard Union. The two largest societies whose
existence has been merged in that of the new organization are the Barn-
ard Bear and the Debating Club. The aims of the Union are broader
than those of any literary society which has previously existed at
Barnard, and an effort is being made to interest the great mass of the
student body in the various phases of work which it will undertake.
Among some things, the society intends to assume the publication of
the Barnard Bulletin, the college newspaper, which has hitherto been
under the control of the Undergraduate Association.

The college annual publication was originally known as the Barnard
Annual and three numbers appeared under this name. The first and
second were published in 1894 and 1895, respectively, by the Under-
graduate Association, and edited by a board consisting of one representa-
tive from each class. I n 1896 the Junior class undertook the publica-
tion of the Annual, and since that time the issue of the book has been
one of the tasks of the third-year students. The class of 1898 changed
the name to The Mortarboard, a title which has since been retained
without variation. The Bulletin and The Mortarboard are the only
periodicals published solely by the students of Barnard College. Barnard
has representatives, however, on the editorial boards of several of the
Columbia publications. The first Barnard songbook is now being com-
piled under the supervision of the Undergraduate Association; it will
probably be issued within a few months.

The Barnard Chorus has recently become part of the University
Chorus, but the Mandolin Club still maintains a separate existence, and
has the distinction at present of being the only independent musical or-
ganization at Barnard.

The Athletic Association is the outcome of the union of 1901 of the
basketball and tennis clubs. The acquisition of Milbank Quadrangle
has aroused fresh interest i n athletics and the institution of Field Day
has added several new sports to the time-honored list.

Altogether there seems to be plenty for the Barnard girl to do, no
matter what her talents or what her aspirations. If she is a stranger
in New York she also wishes to take advantage of the opportunities
offered by four years' residence in the great city. I f she lives at home
or spends the week-ends with her family, she keeps in touch with many
interests unconnected with her college life, and, in any event, there is no
danger that time will hang heavily on her hands.

MAY, 1930 21

/tnd £0 . .

Our
Qrand
'President

I 'Wishes
Us
"Jfappy

birthday

^ Q P E E C H is sil-

ver" the wise

men say. As

precious as that metal

the companionship

T o D R A G M A has

brought to remote

Jjanse and lonely farm,

jjje enduring courage it has sustained in the self-forgetful mother,

be inspiration it has brought to the seeker of fortune in a strange

Clt>", the sympathy it has directed to the sorrowing and the joyful,

t o r this achievement we congratulate the Editors, past and pres-

^ n t , and thank them for their self-sacrificing labor. We look for-

* a r d confidently to the time, twenty-five years hence when T o

g ] ' ) ! , "C M A S word fitly spoken" may truly be' likened to "apples of

22 To DRAGMA

1905-% emtntsctn g: Th

From plodding oxcart to su-ift airplane is symbolical of the growth of American college fraternitU*
and is appropriate on the twenty-fifth anniversary of T o DRAGMA. Cut by
courtesy of General Electric.

By A L I C E S M I T H THOMSON, Alpha '05

EXCEPT for a loaded pistol in the hand of a child, what is more
dangerous than giving an old timer a chance to talk on "the dear
dead days?" And what is worse, I am told to "please be serious"!
There is grave doubt in my mind as to whether one should be serious
when approaching this subject. M y mother was serious when she dis-
coursed theoretically to the world at large, but somehow always within
my hearing, of the nice girls of her day. And I can remember just how
well I realized that she was aiming at me. Shall I too, be serious, when
all the time I know just what the daughters who read this are thinking
of me? Life use to roll by and leave us in the same place. Now it
carries us along with it, giving us the rich experience of the past, with

M A Y , 1930 23

a n d <l5\O W - i g j O

A Delightfully Composed Article
That Ripples Like Fine Music Through

25 Years of Alpha O Life

more tolerance of the present, and we simply cannot achieve a serious
outlook on the future.

I should be able, in point of time at least, to talk of how times have
changed, for in June I shall go back to college to help celebrate the
twenty-fifth reunion of the "glorious class of 1905." I shall go back and
be target for innumerable jokes, T shall hear old nicknames and see old
faces, and perhaps they won't look so very old for time will deal kindly,
I'm sure, with 1905 at this wonderful reunion. Wrinkles will smooth,
and eyes will brighten, and voices won't break, except for tears, when
we sing our songs, to those tunes you poke fun at, on radio programs of
the "gay nineties."

I seem to be wandering from what I ' m to ]
do, and I fancy it will be wise to stop think-
ing of that reunion. I have been asked to dis-
cuss "then and now." Except that life is set
a bit too fast for the greatest enjoyment, I
think "nows" have the advantage of "thens"
in every way. But I don't believe you make
the most of that advantage, or get as much
out of all your fine freedom as we did out of
our poor little efforts. Everything is in your
favor; very little in ours. But as I watch the
young folks today, I miss the spontaneous

tAlice Thomson in 1905—

Frilled
and brown
haired, our Alice
Thomson faced the
world in 1905.

24 To DRAGMA a

fun and good times, and see instead a sort of set mechanical way of
getting enjoyment. The reason is plain enough. You don't do enough
to make your own good times, and you leave everything to the outside
diversion that relieves you of all effort.

In my college days, except for friendly class competition, life went
on without much struggle for prominence. There wasn't any money
anywhere to spend on parties. We just had the parties, regardless of
what "the other fellow" did, and "a good time was had by all." I f it was
a tea, a kind word about our sandwiches was all we asked. Possibly it
was a formal tea, with the now extinct coffee frappe, and a macaroon,
in which case we wore our better afternoon dress, though the train was
a bother if we had to help serve. Or it might have been a dance, with
three musicians in a corner behind some rented palms, (how we did
begrudge the money for those palms!), a few obviously bored but faith-
ful chaperons on the side lines, and we young ladies gracing the scene
in our new crepe de chine or point d'espris. Perhaps we were lamenting
the sad fact that we had given the wrong man the waltz to "Bartlett's
Dream." You see, we had programs with the music printed against
each dance, and chose our partners according to whether his type was
best suited to "Mosquito Parade" or "The Message of the Violets."!
Perhaps we cut the dance with the wrong man, and shamelessly sat out
the "Dream" with him—not in a parked car, but in some remote corner,
or outdoors on the campus if we were very daring. And then when the
three palm-sheltered musicians gave us "Home Sweet Home," we put
on our street shoes, put our slippers in our party bags, and tripped blithely
home on the trolley. That doesn't sound like a lot of fun, does it? But
it was. Now it's a big hotel, and favors, and a dinner dance, the best
jazz orchestra, and a car to take us to it all—it looks a lot more, but you
have no better time.

Life on a college campus in my day was actually "college life, not
fraternity life lived at a college." I t seems to me that the young people
of today ( I almost feel old when I write that) are not getting the full joy
out of their college associations, for they are so engrossed in projecting
their own particular group into the limelight, that they forget the large
organization of which they are a part. Class and college activities arouse
less interest than fraternity affairs. And here again the boys and girls
are not to blame. So much is being crammed into their days that they
can't do it all. Something has to be sacrificed, and unless affairs at a
university are so regulated as to permit fewer interests, and more time
to give those few, very often it is the college life and not the fraternity
life, that suffers. One hears less of "Alma Mater" than we used to,
possibly because the college is developing into the kind of mother that
we real parents are said to be, in these days of clubs and bridge. B u t
I still maintain that the youngsters are not to blame.

Maybe I'm wrong about this, but hearing girls from many colleges
discuss their problems, leads me to believe that we used to approach
the idea of college in a very different frame of mind. We all had a Pur'
pose, spelled with a capital, sometimes all in capitals. We didn't always

M A Y , 1930 Z5

and ^Mrs. Thomson in ipjo -

HI v- I.

f I

If

•

RALPH M. KROSCHER

A portrait of a
i lady tvtth white

hair. Our Alice,
a * 1930.

accomplish said Purpose—heaven forbid, I was to have been a Greek
professor—but we kept it right in the back of our heads and took col-
lege very seriously. We had to go four years, generally to the same
place; we had to "get our B.A." and if once in a while some frivolous
maiden decided to leave and marry, we rather pitied her, I give you
my word that's true, though we really were not so unattractive to men.
Fifteen out of our little class of 105, were wearing solitaires in their
"Tiffany settings" on graduation day. One of the fifteen, I recall, had
been engaged three out of her four years, and they set up housekeeping
with their two diplomas, neatly framed, and "lived happily ever after."
And I'm sure she has never begrudged the time she gave to college.
But now—you tumble into college as Freshmen and before you are
Sophomores, you are brides, or else you go one year to one place, next
year to another, and possibly come back to finish at Alma Mater Num-
ber One. What do you get? Atmosphere, perhaps, but not college
spirit.

I don't think we were especially to be commended, nor this genera-
tion to be blamed, for our different attitudes. We had to work—teach-
ing was all we had open to us—we had to get diplomas to show we could
be teachers—hence we went to college and secured the said diplomas.
So it was grim necessity, not nobility of character that inspired us. Why
should the young woman of today, with every fascinating job in the world
°Pen to her, settle in grooves like we did? Those of us who escape
settling, were just paving the way for you who take your freedom for
granted. But just the same, don't pity us. We were all in the same
Victorian predicament and knowing no better, were perfectly happy.

2 6 To DRAGM4 M

No one would ever let slip a chance like this without much dis- <
course on changes in dress. And I fear too much has been said already. ^
At times I wonder how we managed to have any fun at all, much less the
joys I claim, when I think of what clothes we endured. I can remember
one delightful bit of theatricals in my Freshman year, where the leading
lady, in a desperate attempt to jump on her chair when a mouse ran by,
tripped on her skirts, and landed in the footlights. And I still recall our
tennis games, designed apparently to prove that we could hit a ball with
our arms pinned to our sides. Now, indeed, I admit that we have noth-
ing in this line to offer 1930, in exchange for the freedom they have let
us share with them. One of the splendid things in college life today
is the provision made for athletics for women. We did not "learn to
swim nor join the gym" in my day. That's why we're all at it now,
trying to make up for lost time. We could have had such good sport at
college. But we thank you for emancipating us, even if it comes late.
For it's not too late.

Everything in the whole world has changed so much since I was a
"stately senior," that everything needs to be written about, and your edi-
tor says that will hardly do. But I'm wrong to say everything has changed
—human nature hasn't altered a bit. You college men and women are
just the same. I live in a university town where I am the joyful ob-
server of them day by day, not to mention an incipient case of college
youth in my own home. And I can always see the love and kindness
and fairness, and helpfulness that were the characteristics of my college
friends years ago. A bit snappier, perhaps, but so are the times. And
if once in a while I've seen some pettiness, that's not new to the present
generation, and it's no trick at all for me to know it will disappear, just
as it did when 1905 was young. My twenty-fifth reunion! How can I
be serious when I think of it? I'm sorry for you, collegians of today,
for you'll never go back to yours with such joy. I can tell by the
way you act that you won't feel as I do. But we made you what you
are; try to show us that we haven't done such a poor job. Times have
changed. We're glad, and you're glad; let's pull together and work
together and surprise the world.

Our Historian J^ooks at To Dragma

(Continued from page 8)

zine. The best part of it is always the report of what members and
chapters do and stand for, what they give to Alpha Omicron Pi and
to the world, the triumphs they have won and the way they feel toward
life and toward their fraternity—the real gathering of the real harvest.
I n this sheaf, as in the one more precious and profound, we are bound
together.

Let me close in the words of the first editorial in the first number

of To DRAGMA:

"Here the magazine is at last!—Let us say with heartiness, 'Heres
a health to you, To DRAGMA! Long may you live and prosper!' "

MAY, 1930 27

E L L E N E L O I S E K E E F E E , Zeta,

who has just been atvarded
the Alpha Omicron Pi Fel-
lowship of $1,000, according
to word just received.

<yllpha 0 is

^ y. Tanhellenic Scholarship

Alternate

HELEN DELANO WILLARD

A N " ALPHA () is the first alternate in the New York City Panhellenic
X " \ Scholarship Award for 1930-31 which has been granted to Helen

Delano Willard, Alpha Phi, graduate of the University of Wiscon-
sin. Miss Willard was graduated with the degree of A.B., June, 1928,
" e r major being English literature. Miss Willard is at present teach-
gl n English in the Waukesha, Wis., high school. In New York she will
^ork for a master's in English literature at Columbia University.

In order to safeguard the award two alternates were chosen.
[ First alternate—Ellen Eloise Keefer, Alpha Omicron Pi, a graduate
°f the University of Nebraska with A.B. degree, June, 1928; and A . M .
"Om the same university in June, 1929.

Second alternate—Edith Harriet Quamme, Kappa Delta, a gradu-

ate of the University of Minnesota, A.B., 1930.

The spirit To DRAGMA M

of HJouth &

m

COURTESY CROWELL PUBLISHING CO. TD

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o

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m
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MAY, 1930 29

&s the spirit of

m To D

Editors and Business Managers Tell of

Their Struggle to Give

To Dragma That Vigor Which So

Characterizes A O I I

TDEAR READERS:
H E R E follow twelve letters written to your present editor by past
editors and business managers. We asked them for reminiscent
articles or letters concerning their terms of office. We had the idea
of "compounding" the data into a composite article. Then the letters
came, each so delightful for its own individuality and for the way it
portrayed the personality of the writer, that we decided to pass them
on to you just as they came. We have deleted a few side remarks, but
otherwise they are unchanged.

We are sorry that we haven't anything from Helen K . Hoy
(Greeley), Helen Arthur, or June Kelly. Helen Hoy might have had
much to tell of the difficulty of assembling and publishing that first
crimson covered magazine, containing, besides the articles reproduced,
biographies of our Founders, intersorority history, personal and chapter
Bews, and the directory.

In our bound volumes we find that one issue was published in 1905;
one in 1906, and two in 1907. Jessie Ashlev, now gone from us, edited
the 1906 magazine and one of the issues of 1907; Helen Arthur pub-
lished the second one of 1907. Adelma Burd has spoken for Jessie
Ashley.

We should mention here Mattie Woodworth Higgins (Zeta '09),
she was business manager with Viola Gray for a very short time,
^he says she was registrar, "keeper of the card index," at the same
'me and that the double duty was too much, so she resigned the maga-
lne work very shortly after she undertook it.
Before you read the letters, we want to tell a little about what some
°t the past editors are doing now. Virginia Judy Esterly is dean of
^omen at the University of Oregon; Mary Ellen Chase is professor

To DRAGMA] M

of the English language and literature at Smith College as well as a
well-known writer; Betty Bond has just completed a library course
at Columbia, having been associated with the Minneapolis public library
and assistant editor of the University of Minnesota Press. Helen Ar-
thur is with Actors-Managers. We often hear of the others as we
read alumna? chapter letters, for they are still serving the fraternity.

D

JESSIE ASHLEY ' ADELMA BURD

DEAR EDITOR: I

"To look back over a quarter of a century and seek to recall spe-
cific instances of my trials and tribulations as business manager of To
DRAGMA in 1905 is beyond me. It would mean isolating myself from
my daily work in order to dissassociate my mind from the many prob-
lems it has to solve that it might attain the freedom which invites retro-
spection and remembrance.

"I can truthfully state that the only reaction my mind has to the
question, 'What were your experiences as business manager of To
DRAGMA twenty-five years ago?' is, 'It was hard sledding; a financial
struggle to keep going.' Details have been obliterated by larger experi-
ences, but the general problem left an indelible impression.

"Let me add that those days of association with that great woman,
Jessie Ashley, are precious days in my calendar of events. We had
joyous times overcoming difficulties and pressing forward. Alpha 0
was young and weak then—it has passed its majority and is strong now.
I rejoice to know that To DRAGMA flourishes and still informs and unites
the chapters and carries our message abroad."

Fraternally yours,

ADELMA H. BURD

MAY, 1930 31

VIOLA (iRAY H E L E N PIPER HAGENRLH II

DEAR EDITOR:

"We were the first editors to get out four issues of the magazine
in a year. I believe our predecessors were to have done the same, but
didn't for one reason or another. Some of them were too busy; some of
them had too little material; and, there was so little money. Our
second year the numbers did not reach four because our finances were
exhausted.

"We were not elected to the work because of particular editorial
ability, but because of a cry from chapters for a magazine that would
appear regularly. We were to issue it without fail four times yearly.
So we got it out, good or bad as it happened to be, until the money
dwindled.

"I wish I could tell you more, but I've been ill for eighteen months,
and my memories are neither clear nor numerous."

Sincerely, VIOLA GRAY

DKAR EDITOR:

"In 1908 Viola Gray (Zeta), was made editor of To DRAGMA, and I
was made business manager. I was at that time a kindergarten di-
rector in one of the grade schools in Lincoln, and knew absolutely
nothing about commercial subjects and 'business managing,' but I was
enthusiastic and so 'rushed in' where a wiser person might have hesi-
tated.

"My father bought me a 'used' Smith typewriter, and each after-
noon as soon as school closed I hurried home to begin laboriously to
write my letters. I used the pick and pound method. I didn't use a
carbon, I wish I had, I should like to see a copy of some of those let-

Iters!

To DRAGMA^

"The magazine had been published in the east, the editors having
been eastern girls, but in 1909 Mr. George Banta, Menasha, Wis., who
published several fraternity magazines, came to Lincoln to see about
publishing To DRAGMA. Ever since I had known anything about fra-
ternities I had known of Banta's Greek Exchange, and I stood in great
awe of its editor. Imagine how I felt when I answered the telephone
one Sunday afternoon, and Mr. Banta himself asked to come to see me!
Mr. Banta proved to be a most entertaining man, a true gentleman. He
secured the contract to be our official printer and he proved to be a
true friend of Alpha Omicron Pi, once when our funds were so low we
thought we must forego one issue, he printed that issue at cost, for he
said, 'It was a poor policy for a magazine to disappoint its subscribers.'
It must have been gratifying to Mr. Banta when he published our
magazine again in later years to see the growth of our fraternity as ex-1
pressed by the improvement in To DRAGMA.

"Comparing the issues of 1908-1911 with those of 1929-1930, I see
a vast difference. Ours had only a few pictures of members of new
chapters and of buildings of the universities where these chapters were
located. We had no money for illustrations nor for pictures of our
pretty, popular, and prosperous sisters, not even for those of our officers.
I wish the idea of life subscriptions might have been carried out long
before it was, for my constant prayer was for subscribers.

"In an editorial of February of 1909 you will find my woes expressed^
—'Your editor has the blues, so has your business manager. The way
the chapters have of securing advertisements is discouraging, and the
scramble among the alumna? to be on the subscription list is appalling.
More than likely the non-subscribing alumnae will not see this article,
but the active chapters could do good missionary work by informing
their graduate sisters that To DRAGMA is their magazine and needs sub-
scriptions. It is too bad to present anything as gloomy as the above
to the whole fraternity, but we judge that everyone would have to know
that the magazine office has its tribulations, before any relief could be
expected. Loyalty is a grand and glorious thing.'

"One tribulation was getting out the directory. Imagine one who
had no experience with magazine work publishing a directory with the
first number of the magazine, but this we did. I made so many errors
on my 'Smith' that I finally persuaded a friend who said he could type
to help me. Hour after hour we toiled, and when the magazine ap-
peared, names were omitted, and addresses were incorrect.

"And now one word to all alumna? who are annual subscribers, 'Take
a life subscription and secure another.'

"Roberta Williams Divine said in the March, 1930, To DRAGMA, 'the
magazine's improvement moves me to transports of joy,' and that e**|
presses my feelings exactly."

Fraternally,

HELEN PIPER HAGENBUCH

MAY, 1930 33

0*

>

ISABELLE HENDERSON STEWART

VIRGINIA JUDY ESTERLY

MY DEAR EDITOR:

"Your editorial request that I 'review the magazine under my editor-
ship' brings up many trains of thought—but most of the trains became
sidetracked in mid-transit. Whatever did I do, during my editorship?
I phoned the 'house' at Oregon to ask for a file of To DRAGMA of my
year, to find that Alpha Sigma chapter was not even born at that time,
and that the files—as does our individual interest in most things—dates
only through the life span.

"I have visions of my own files buried deep under a pile of personal
effects—dishes, mattresses, stoves, and what not in the basement of my
house in Berkeley in which the editorial office during my few years was
housed. A call to the university library was similarly fruitless.

"What can I do? Life has played so many tricks with me since then
that my memory has been filled with many things, both light and dark,
that have gradually cast a deep haze of time over those days as deep
as the dust on my To DRAGMA files in the basement in Berkeley.

"But some things I recall. Requests going out, mail after mail for
material—more material—still more material. Answers, generous and
kindly and sometimes productive of splendid articles on this and that
phase of fraternity life, but discouragingly often the pleas came of 'no
time,' 'too much to do.'

"In desperation I decided on an exposition of my private life and
took my editorial pencil in one hand, my baby daughter over my left
arm, a rag doll in my left hand, and, being ambidextrous, drew with my
Pencil a picture of my own immediate busyness, all the while twiddling
the rag doll to keep 'Jinny' the second from breaking in too much on
my fraternity responsibilities.

"Louise Fitch was then editor of the Trident of Delta Delta Delta
and was in person nearby. So I asked her how she kept her magazine
so full and so vital. T write up a lot of articles and keep them in re-
serve,' she said. But that was of no assistance. I was not so gifted.

34 To DRAG MA

"A brave thought broke upon my consciousness. Suppose I give
them a horrible example? So, after a warning that a magazine would be
issued, unpadded, giving just what material came in and being only as
long as the advertising and subscription income could support, I did
it and held my breath. The poor little emaciated issue appeared and
so appealed to the feminine hearts of my sisters that much food in the
way of articles and subscriptions poured in, and To DKAGMA resumed
almost immediately her generous proportions.

"Other memories—serious though lightly approached—my absorbing
interest in my fraternity; love for its members, seen and unseen; belief
in the ideal qualities of an association based on common interests which
cuts our modern societies forever from the primitive; respect for the
fraternity system which lends the strength of good environmental living
conditions to the ambitions of a life of intellectual achievement for
women of our day.

"To DRAGMA was, in short, to me, in a sense, a mission. My house
resounded with it from morning until night and yet I do not remember
what was written. Also 'and yet' my own Sigma chapter in preparing
its pledges to pass the fraternity examination used an old copy and
taught their freshmen, which included my own sister, living in my own
house in the midst of the editorial turmoil, to answer with my predeces-
sor's name to the question 'Who is the editor of To DRAGMA?'

"So, unhappily, passes memory, but not love. So passes details, but
not beliefs. So passes one's own day, but one's loved fraternity grows
in grace and knowledge.

"This gives you, dear present editor, nothing to go on. I'm sorry."
Yours fraternally,

VIRGINIA JUDY ESTERLY |

DEAR EDITOR:

"It does not seem possible that 1911 from 1930 leaves nineteen years.
But it does! To remember back that length of time—to what?

"The most persistent thought that comes has to do with letter writ-
ing and waiting for the mail. For a meager list of subscribers meant a
corresponding size for To DRAGMA, and Virginia Judy Esterly wanted 'fat
issues.' So my sister, Margaret Henderson Dudley, and I let no non-
subscriber escape.

"Some of these fervent appeals brought results, others—not so. The
'not so's' received double and at times triple doses, and I remember that
we seemed more depressed over those non-subscribrs than joyful over
the ones that replied. Like the 'ninety and nine,' wasn't it? But with
it all there were many friendships formed and Margaret became so pro-
ficient in her knowledge of names and addresses that it wasn't really
necessary to keep a directory.

"If we couldn't have subscribers, Virginia said that we must have
'ads.' So, armed with several issues, I started out on an advertising
campaign, not only in Oakland but also in San Francisco. I wonder
now how I ever did have such courage when I think of the leading firms

M A Y , 1930 35

that I visited. But every one seemed kind, perhaps because it was all
rather pitiful—especially when they asked to see the magazine and made
inquiries over circulation.

"This was far more discouraging than non-subscribers, and it seemed
the only way to rival the Saturday Evening Post was to get more sub-
scribers. So we went off on another of our campaigns. We were con-
tinually going on these, at times we grew weary and wrote postcards.
But this ended abruptly—as it well should—for one was sent to an Al-
pha 0 very important in her community, and she wrote me a very clear
statement as to the use of postcards. 'Never for impassioned pleas,'
she said (I'll never forget it). She evidently lived in a boarding house
with inquisitive-minded readers, for she wrote that she suffered great
humiliation. I often wonder what was on that postcard!

"I do remember how fine the San Francisco alumnae were. They
suggested the law of alumnae chapter members becoming automatic sub-
scribers, and we even used to talk about life subscriptions.

"The magazine now is so fine, so very much like the exchanges we
received through courtesy, that would make us wonder if we would ever
grow up and look like them. But we do 'look like them' now, and we
are very proud of it."

Sincerely,

ISABELLE HENDERSON STEWART

DEAR EDITOR:

"If elevation to Sainthood were determined by virtue of patience
and long suffering, then every editor of To DRAGMA would be raised
to that high estate!—-But, unfortunately, we know that something more
difficult of attainment than the seven cardinal virtues is necessary for
veneration, beautification, and canonization! Two things, in point of
fact—continuous joy and innate simplicity!!

"And no editor of To DRAGMA can be continuously joyful. Nor can
she escape developing a complexity of nature with chapter editors
dilatory or unrhetorical, with desired contributors recalcitrant or disin-
terested, and with galleys of proof demanding the sacrifice of reading
much higher in atmosphere.

"Asked to sketch my four years with To DRAGMA, I begin to probe
jnto a singularly barren memory. Most of my editorship was endured
in the great and cold state of Montana where I lived from 1914 to 1917.
I recall, besides the irritating inclusion and exclusion of commas in
chapter letters and the hours spent in reading proof, not many things.
And those for some probably unaccountable reason seem forever asso-
ciated with the cold of that state of prairies and of mountains. I re-
member two weeks of February weather when the mercury did not rise
above twenty below, when news of people frozen to death was con-
stantly reaching our ears, when schools were closed and one stared
from windows out upon a prairie stricken with such frightful cold that
one's very helplessness bred philosophy within his mind. During that
fortnight I was reading proof galleys, and I remember how futile they

3d To DRAGMA
1

MINNEAPOLIS TRIBUNE MARGUERITE SCHOPPE
MARY ELLEN CHASE

and everything else seemed in the face of that terrifying brilliance of
sky, that awfulness of cold.

"The last year of my editorship knew many exigencies, for at that
time I was beginning my study for the doctorate at the University of
Minnesota. One hour at learning the Lord's Prayer in Anglo-Saxon, one
hour trying to decipher the writing of the California chapter editor, one
hour pounding the typewriter to ask busy and well-meaning people for
articles, one hour (and that late) tracing the influence of Beaumont
and Fletcher on Shakespeare! I used to use my bed for To DRAGMA
material in those days, and many were the nights when I crawled in
beneath galleys from George Banta rather than clear the way for my
weary frame.

"I do not know that the fruits of those four years with To DRAGMA
were particularly nourishing, especially joyful, or very long in their ef-
fects. And yet, believing with Pater and the Epicureans that 'experi-
ence itself is the end,' I look back upon my editorship with pleasure
and gratitude. Surely I do not wish to repeat the experience, but just
as surely I would not have been without it!"

Sincerely,

MARY E L L E N CHASE

DEAR EDITOR:

"In response to your request for my experiences as business man-
ager under Mary Ellen Chase in 1915, I must begin with a confession,
in all humility. Mine is not one of those memories that exist among
my fruits, and at which I marvel. I cannot, in truth, tell you that, on
such a day or such a year, I was overwhelmed and interested or hon-
ored and intimidated when I learned that the financial responsibility
for To DRAGMA was to be in my hands for a time. Likely all these

MAY, 1930

feelings were mine, but you will have to take them for granted, as I

do.
"As a mother who cannot remember the smart sayings of her own

boys, in their baby days, I shall have to be excused for not going into
details. My memory of the To DRAGMA work is largely of the sessions
.Mary Ellen and I held in our own little living room on South Third Ave-
nue, in Bozeman, Mont., in a struggle to affect a compromise between our
desires and our financial ability, and, as usual, it resulted in our having
what we could, instead of what we wanted. Then there is a memory
of a recurring worry as to whether there would be quite money enough
for the next number—but somehow there always was. I remember the
arrival of bulky envelopes of proof sheets and subscription lists for ad-
ditions and corrections. Those were the days when previous training
in a country newspaper office was a matter for thanksgiving! I re-
member working at a small desk, and at the same time, if not exactly
rocking the cradle, at least keeping an occasional eye on the clock to
see that nap time and play time were kept somewhere near to schedule,
and to prevent too frequent visits to the apple tree that bore its tempting
fruit just out of sight of the living room window.—And this spring the
boy graduates from "prep" school and the business managership of his
school paper! But all the memories are not of work and worry. There
is a warm and loving memory of the friendships, formed, some only by
correspondence, it is true, but friendships, nevertheless, with national
and chapter officers. Even now I think with gratitude and fraternal
affection of some of the chapter business managers, whose promptness
and helpfulness eased the burden of care. The names on the subscrip-
tion list became endowed with personalities, as letters went back and
forth, and welcome remembrances came from hither and yon.

"The work brought with it full compensation in the widening of my
fraternity horizon, and in the happy satisfaction it brought of being an
active participant, though a humble one, in the splendid 'working group'
of the fraternal circle. It is a lasting compensation, too, for the feeling
of understanding interest is still there, and each issue of To DRAGMA
is anticipated with keen pleasure. It has been a great satisfaction to
watch the steady growth and improvement of our magazine, and it
now stands as a splendid testimony of the efficiency of those who came
after my brief terms of office."

Fraternally, as always,

"PEGGY" SCHOPPE

DEAR EDITOR:

" I am afraid I will be unable to give you a very good article about
the life subscription plan. I went to the attic this afternoon and into
my letter files. I expected to find in my To DRAGMA files material for
such an article but, alas, it wasn't there, and I haven't a good memory.

"I do recall this much, however, that when I became business ifUitt*
ager, Mary Ellen Chase, the editor, and I offered life subscriptions at
$10. Later the idea came to me that we might create a fund, the

38 To DRAGMA
I
•

"I

- ETTA PHILLIPS MACPHIE

CAROLYN PULLING

principal of which might be used for loans to chapters to build houses
or for loans to needy members, the interest to be used to run the maga-
zine. To get sufficient interest it was necessary to increase the life
subscription to $15. This life subscription was not based on the plan
of any other sorority; in fact, I was not aware that any sorority had
anything of the sort.

"Then the idea of compulsory life subscriptions came into existence.
It had several points to recommend it—the fund would increase rapidly
and benefit the fraternity; the alumna would be glad to have the matter
of subscribing settled for all times; the business manager would not
waste time and money writing for annual subscriptions.

"The Executive Committee was willing that this plan be submitted
at the Syracuse convention, 1919, so the business manager sent letters
to each chapter explaining the plan and saying that it was to be voted
upon in June. The plan was adopted at that convention, and a com-
mittee appointed to elect trustees for the fund and to make rules for its
management. Mrs. Mullan was chairman of that committee, and how
she awed us with her legal knowledge of trust funds and her so-called
Corpus I and Corpus I I ! "

_« Yours fraternally,
DEAR EDITOR:
CAROLYN PULLING

"Since early childhood, the word 'loyalty' always has aroused in me
an attitude of attention. However, once, after I had heeded the appe3'
of certain persons at a certain convention, I found that loyalty ( o r
effect of the intense heat) had played a serious and almost too strenu-
ous game with me, and before I hardly realized it, the first issue under
my editorship was about to appear. It was a great undertaking, for my
predecessor, Mary Ellen Chase, had done a wonderful piece of work
with the magazine and too, the finances were extremely low.

MAY, 1930 39

"Now that I have brought down from the dusty shelves of the attic,
the numbers of the issues in 1919-1922 and glance through them, many
definite memories come back and after all very pleasant ones, and per-
haps it is because one always loves to create, yet somehow these old
pages do not appear as odd and incomplete as I imagined they would.
Perhaps my standards were not of the highest, but each contributor was
very co-operative, and some changes took place. Each issue meant hours
of midnight toil for me, for with my family and civic cares and with
no help, I would wait, until the house was still, and I was alone, to bring
forth the typewriter, the material and most of all, the letters from my
helpmate and guide, the business manager, Carolyn Fraser Pulling.
Really, whatever the magazine produced either in quality or in appearance
was due to Mrs. Pulling. With her keen interest in the magazine and her
conscientious handling of the finances, I knew what was expected of
each issue and just how many lines, cuts, and so forth, to have. It was
hard to have the business manager and printer in Minneapolis and the
editor in Lowell, Mass. It was during this period that the cover was
changed to a light color and contained the 'contents' on it. Much stress
was put on the value of the Life Subscription Fund, and it was due to
Mrs. Pulling's business foresight that later editors have not had to
measure so carefully the lines on account of lack of money to see an
issue paid for.

"It was loyalty to an emergency which made me an editor, and
it was loyalty of all Alpha Omicron Pi members whether contributors
or not, that made the magazine. It gave me a very keen appreciation
of the magazine, and it is a joy to read it under the present editor. The
national interest, of the alumnae who are making their lives amount to
something, is a great piece of news and well worth space in To

DRAGMA."

Fraternally yours,

ETTA MARION PHILLIPS MACPHIE

DEAR EDITOR:

"From September, 1921, to May, 1923, covers the period of my
office as actual editor of To DRAGMA although I had served as asso-
ciate editor to Mrs. MacPhie for the two previous years. June Kelly
was my competent business manager. At first we continued the cover
used previously with the table of contents on the outside, but later
changed to plain grey with red lettering, placing the table of contents
mside. We ran a magazine of seventy-five to eighty-five pages with
fewer illustrations than we have now, usually not more than five or six
Pages of pictures; this only because of lack of funds. Our style in head-
mgs was more conservative than now, consequently much less inviting.
We tried to feature conventions; prominent seniors and alumnae under
the title 'Mirrors of Alpha 0'; and Panhellenic affairs.
' "Peggy Schoppe, Delta, was our exchange editor, and everyone en-
Joyed her fine selections of articles from the magazines of our Greek
neighbors. Among the distracting events in the editor's life of those

40 To DRAGMA

•

•

BETTY HIESTAND SMITH JUNE KELLY

days were a printer's strike and the first baby, Sara Evelyn, but other-
wise we pursued our uneventful way through the pages of To DRAGMA
with keener interest in each succeeding issue. The best thing about be-
ing editor, was the contact it gave us with other members of the fra-
ternity, from Grand Officers down to the greenest little chapter editor!
We watch the achievements of each succeeding editor with joy and
think our magazine of today can have few equals among the fraternity
world. But much as we enjoy today's To DRAGMA, nothing can ever
equal the thrill of opening the new magazine of our own composing—
our own brain child."

Fraternally,

BETTY HIESTAND SMITH

DEAR EDITOR:

"It's a little hard for me to remember just what did happen to the
magazine when I suddenly became its editor. That was just after the
life subscription plan had' been adopted, so for a year or two we had
no appreciable benefit from that and were quite 'hard up.'

"During the four years that I was editor, I think that you can see
very clearly the change brought about by the increasing funds, which,
even in that short time, made quite a difference in our budget. The first
year or two, we were very cramped for lack of money, just as were
all the editors before me. We should all be thankful that the magazine
is on a firm financial basis, getting firmer and larger every year.

"About the only things that I remember which happened during
my regime were the three issues devoted to national work that were
sent to every member of the fraternity. This was done to increase in-
terest in the fund, which had just been started. One issue, I remember,

MAY, 1930 4]

TO DRAGMA

- ALPHA OMICRON PI

KATIIRYN BREMER MATSON BETTY BOND

was devoted to the national work of other sororities, and contained illus-
trative articles written by those in charge of that work.

"All foreign subscribers and people, who, from the alumna? notes,
were found to be traveling or living in lands afar were solicited for ar-
ticles, and during this period the magazine contained many interesting
stories of this type.

"But as I said before, the chief interest now of the magazine edited
by me is a historical one—to illustrate the transition from a publica-
tion, financially poor to one, comparatively, on 'easy street.' As some
famous person has said, 'Poverty does so cramp the imagination,'—and
it certainly cramps an editor's style!"

Fraternally,

BETTY BOND

DEAR EDITOR:

"I was elected business manager at the 1923 convention in Ten-
nessee. At that time we had about $350 to $400 for each issue. The
elected editor, Dorothy Dalton, moved to Hawaii, and the runner-up
at convention was appointed. She failed to act, so I got out the first
two issues upon the orders of the Executive Committee. I knew nothing
of the work and just put in what I could find with an apology for the
•ssues. They were severely criticized and justly so, but what could one
expect from a business manager who knew nothing of editorial work!
Betty Bond was then appointed editor.

"At that time the business manager made printing contracts, solicited
advertising and collected subscriptions as well as having charge of the
mailing list. During my first two years the circulation doubled, due to
the life subscription plan, payable in three installments but compulsory
Upon initiation, yet we still published less than two thousand copies.

"I was re-elected in 1925 at the Minnesota convention. Life sub-
scriptions were now payable in full at the time of initiation. This was a
gfeat help. Due to this increasing revenue, we had between $550 and

42 To DRAGMA |
i
$600 per issue for the magazine. The Central Office was installed, and
gradually the work of the business manager was to be transferred there. '
This was not accomplished until the end of my term. From that time
on the annual subscriptions and the mailing list were handled in the
Central Office, and all money was held by the Grand Treasurer, who
paid all the bills.

"At Seattle convention, 1927, I was elected Grand Treasurer and so
was given the custody of financing the magazine. During this period
our revenue increased so that we spent approximately $800 per issue,
and our circulation was rapidly increasing.

"The income for To DRAGMA has always been obtained through the
same sources: annual subscriptions, $1 until 1929 convention when they
became $2; $1 from the Grand Council dues of active members was
placed in the To DRAGMA fund to underwrite expenses. Since 1929, $2
were taken from this source; advertising; interest from the Anniversary
Endowment Fund, which is made up of all life subscriptions (upon
death of the subscriber, this subscription is placed in another fund, and
interest is allowed to accumulate). Up to the time of the Seattle con-
vention the income of To DRAGMA paid only for the printing and mail-
ing of the magazine. Other expenses incurred in operating the editor's
office, the Anniversary Endowment Fund, et cetera, were carried by the
general fraternity budget. After 1927 the magazine was budgeted so
as to be self-supporting in the whole, paying all the expenses of the
magazine, editor, and of the operation of the Anniversary Endowment
Plan. Since 1927, the editor has been paid $50 per issue for her work.
At present the magazine is self-supporting, costing approximately $1,000
per issue and having some 4,000 subscribers, 3,500 of whom are life
subscribers. The Anniversary Endowment Fund now has a principal of
about $55,000. This yields an interest of $2,500 per year and will in-
crease steadily in years to come."

Fraternally,

KATHRYN BREMER MATSON

DEAR READERS:

"I wouldn't take up space with my letter, for my experiences are
not of the past; they are weekly trips to the printers, daily telephone
calls, dozens of letters always before me to be answered—the experi-
ences of one in the act of doing instead of in the act of having done.
But I suspect that when another twenty-five years have swept past us,
and the editor of To DRAGMA decides to celebrate our golden jubilee,
she will be glad to turn to volume twenty-five and find there the com-
plete record of the first twenty-five years of its existence instead of the
first twenty-two. Hence I write for those to come; for the day when
my editorship will be history instead of the living present.

"Betty Bond went to Europe in March, 1925, and I edited the May
issue for her and went to Seattle convention in her place. She had
declined the nomination for re-election, and so I was elected editor at
that time.

M A Y , 1930 43

WILMA SMITH LELAND HELEN HOY GREELEY

"I wonder if there will ever be all the money an editor wants?
| I doubt it, for our wants and desires ever increase faster than our in-
i comes, don't they? That's progress, they say. Of course, we've had

more money than ever before, but I long for the day when the editor
won't have the irksome job of haggling with printers over $2.00 items,
thinking all the while that $2.00 would pay for one more cut! I long
for the day when the editor won't have to clip together ten pages of
proof and mark them 'run next time' because she had ten pages over
the 128 allotted by the budget. Oh, I long for lots of things, and I
burn with envy as I watch other editors spend their dollars without
thought.

"But only those editors and business managers who have preceded
me and those who are yet to come will know what real joy there is in
the editing of this magazine of ours—the thrill that came when I saw
the name of-Virginia Judy's daughter, Josephine, at the top of the Sigma
letter sent for this issue; the kinship I feel toward those girls who have
been so loyal and faithful in sending material and answering last-minute
telegrams; the joy of finding personal letters tucked into chapter letter
envelopes and the greater joy of once in a while meeting those 'friends
made by mail'; and the satisfaction of looking through the first copy
' out of the bindery to find it free of errors, clean and sharp of print.
f "Yes, it's hard work—long hours during nap time and night time
when new books and magazines look so inviting; or minutes snatched
during the 'awake' hours, interrupted by a trip to see where the young
tour-year-old is, and if she isn't in sight to discover just where she has
gone. There are disappointments, someone fails to send the article she
nas promised; another refuses to send a much-needed picture; a cut

(Continued on page S3)

25 years With To Dragma Covers

To Dragma To Dragma
Alpha Omicron Pi AlphaOmicron Pi

TO DRAGMA

of Alph a Om cron Pi

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CON T E NTS

l&ass ij

•MARCH- 9 J 0 •

To DRAGMA Co Dragma
t Alpha Omicron PI

ALPHA OMICRON PI

coNvtrmoN N U M U B

MAY, 1930 45

JHttle Tots Pauline Gellatly made a very realistic
Christopher Robin in the flay by
J^ove
[ the that name.
Qhildren's

Theatre

B y I R E N E DAWSON,

Zeta

R0.? p | I T |_b

1AY, when does that shade go up?" comes a loud whisper from the
restless crowd of children packed in the Temple Theatre on
Saturday afternoon. They have been waiting an hour or more

for the curtain to rise on one of those delightful plays given by the Ne-
braska University Children's Theatre.

Miss H. Alice Howell, as head of the dramatic department, has dele-
gated this work to Pauline Gellatly (Zeta), an assistant in the depart-
ment. What could be more appropriate than that vivacious little Polly,
whose tiny figure misses five feet even on tiptoe, should know what
children love? She is scarcely more than a child herself, with her snap-
ping dark eyes and constant activity.

For the past two years, Children's Theatre has been somewhat of a
failure because of lack of interest and finances. But this year, under
such splendid direction, it has come to be a decided, almost stupendous
success—so much so, indeed, that even grown people are found in the
audiences and a second showing has been necessary for the last two
plays.

46 To DRAGMA

The curtain is scheduled to rise at two-thirty. By one, children
have started to arrive. They crowd in until the theater is packed. At
two the place is in a turmoil and unless the "shade" goes up at two-
thirty an explosion is bound to occur. The young members of the
audience simply live through the scenes. They cower when the croak-
ing old witch comes on, they cry and scream when she beats the little
boy with her stick, and they cheer and clap when Gretchel pushes the
offender into the oven and runs away with Hans. They follow the char-
acters through every move, they live with them and love them.

Eight plays are presented during the year, including such titles as
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Raggedy Ann and Andy, and a re-
view of Christopher Robin and Winnie the Pooh. The casts include
university dramatic students, local children, and sometimes even Polly
herself. They usually design and make their own costumes and, when
necessary, arrange plays. Between acts clever entertainment of various
kinds is presented, such as singing, story telling, and dancing.

It is the ambition of Polly and her crew to create in these youngsters
a real desire and interest in the spoken drama. Up until this time,
Lincoln children have had only the movie houses for their entertainment.
Their eager response has proven their appreciation for something within
their own scope and understanding.

It has been Miss Howell's life dream to bring this interest about.
Polly's work has accomplished it. We are proud of her.

Do you Know That—

Marie Jo Crutcher (Omega '30), was elected to Phi Beta Kappa at
Miami University.

Alma Scholz (Psi), won the "Punch Bowl" key given to the person
having the most illustrations in the Girl's Issue of the magazine. Alma
had nine out of eleven accepted.

Reba Brogdon (Alpha Sigma '31), has charge of the Mothers' ban-
quet, an annual event at the University of Oregon.

Alpha Sigma won the cup given to the group judged the best in a
group singing contest.

Ruth Wilson (Tau), is a member of the W.A.A. board at the Uni-
versity of Minnesota and that she attended the Athletic Conference of
American College Women held in Ann Arbor, April 24-25.

Xi chapter won the basketball championship and a cup at the Uni-
versity of Oklahoma.

Edith Sharp (Nu '30), was elected to Phi Beta Kappa at New York
University.

Upsilon won the intramural basketball cup at Cornell University.
E. Louise Hoffeditz (Epsilon Alpha '31), is the track manager for
the spring season at Pennsylvania State College.
Martha McQuilkin and Betty Swindler (Theta), had leads in the
DePauw May Day play, "The Youngest."
Kappa chapter has the Panhellenic scholarship cup lead for the
second quarter with a chapter average of 91.

MAY, 1930 47

55 55

-

•
•

Phi Beta Kappa at Vanderbilt University elected ten students to member-
ship last fall. Four of these were men and of the six women three were
members of Nu Omicron. From the second girl on the left you see Mary
Rutledge, Frances Carter, and Kathleen Boyd. Mary majored in political
science, Kathleen in mathematics, and Frances in philosophy and psychology.

5 Copters Itynk Very Jtigh
in Scholarship

ON T H I S twenty-fifth anniversary of the founding of our frater-
nity magazine perhaps we may profitably reflect upon the re-
markable achievement made. We can all realize what a power-
ful role the magazine plays in cementing our fraternal bonds, and we
are happy to be able to pay tribute to those who have served so faith-
fully and worked so diligently to make it such a success. It seems

By R O S E L Y N B E A L , Scholarship Officer