1910 February - To Dragma

106 TO DRAG MA OF ALPHA OMICRON PI

"international chorus." The members of the chorus will be trained
to sing the national hymns of all the countries represented by the
members of the Cosmopolitan Club. A program of all the national
hymns will be rendered by the chorus at the Peace Day Exercises
to be held in Chicago on May 18, which will, it is thought, provide
a unique and appropriate feature of the occasion.—Chicago Univer-
sity News Letter.

The constantly recurring question of the adoption of a seal for
the University of Chicago has again been raised—this time by the
senior class, which has named a committee to present resolutions
to the president and the faculty, asking that the choice of a design
be made. For ten years sporadic agitation on this subject has con-
tinued, many designs having at one time been handed in as a result
of a contest among the students. I t is thought that the time is ripe
for action, and the large student body entertains the hope that the
university will adopt a distinctive seal with an appropriate motto in
the near future.

The following is a list of nine colleges and universities printed

in the order of the endowment funds which they possess. (From
Science) :

Columbia $28,542,246
Leland Stanford, J r 24,525,922

Girard College 24,467,770
Harvard 21,011,574
Chicago 13,999,900

Yale 9,597,102
Cornell 8,875,676
Princeton 3,939,200
Pennsylvania 3438,790

Despite constant and systematic appeals on our part to the gradu-
ate members of Kappa Psi for their financial support in the form of
subscriptions and advertisements for The Mask, the results thus far
have been much below our expectations, and i f we were at all "faint-
hearted" we might have been tempted to give up the fight and rely
on the usual percentage of old subscribers and advertisers renewing
their subscriptions with only the customary annual reminder from
us; but it is quite difficult for us to acknowledge defeat, and, what
is more, we have no intentions of doing so until we are duly notified
that every Kappa Psi graduate is either dead or an inmate of some
county poor house.—Ditto, Editor To DRAGMA.

A Nebraska T r i Delt writes of a possible Pan-Hellenic Associa-
tion in Paris, as follows:

There is a Syracuse T r i Delta here—married to a 2 A E and I feel very
well acquainted although I have not known them long. They are awfully nice

TO DRAGMA OF ALPHA OMICRON PI 107

and make fine chaperones. They are going to give a dance just after Christ-
mas but have not set the date yet. Just think of it I went to Alleyne Archi-
bald's (Nebr. I I B 4>) studio last Saturday night where she had quite a reun-
ion of frat girls. They were girls from coast to coast and we had quite a
nice time. I think perhaps they will form into the "Paris Pan Hellenic." At
any rate we are going to have lunch or tea together the first Wednesday in
each month and later on perhaps form an organization. I upheld T r i Delta
by singing " I f ever you want to join a set that's jolly, etc." Alleyne sang
a I I # song and two Thetas sang. We had a very fine time.—Trident.

The Twelfth General Convention of the Legal Fraternity of Phi
Delta Phi was held in New York City, December 28 and 29, 1909.
Forty out of forty-one active chapters were represented by delegates.
Six applications from law schools were considered, and charters
were granted to the Pittsburgh Law School and the Alcalde Law
Club of the University of Texas.

This fraternity was founded at the University of Michigan in
1869, and has over ten thousand members, nearly all practicing at-
torneys. The majority completed a college course before taking up
the study of law, and at least 40 per cent, of the initiates are mem-
bers of an undergraduate college fraternity.—American College.

Practical demonstrations of the working of a wireless telephone
have recently attracted much attention in Chicago. Before a large
assembly, an exhibition of the apparatus and its possibilities was
given a few days ago at Ryerson Physical Laboratory at the Uni-
versity of Chicago. Members of the audience holding unattached
receivers on the second floor were able to converse with the operator
in the basement, the ceiling of which is of concrete, over twelve
inches thick. The inventor, A. Frederick Collins, is a graduate of
the university, and is reported to have operated his telephone be-
tween Philadelphia and Newark, N . J.—a distance of 81 miles.
The device is also said to have been adopted and installed on several
vessels of the Japanese navy.

In acceptance of a challenge received from Waseda University of
Tokyo, Japan, the baseball nine of the University of Chicago will
this f a l l journey to Tokyo to play a series of five games. The start
will be made on September 15, and the players will return about
January 1. Waseda University is said to have about 6,000 stud-
ents, and a significant feature of the challenge is that its baseball
team is coached by Albert W. Place, the greatest batter the Uni-
versity of Chicago had from 1890 to 1902. The introduction of
the game in Japan is credited to Fred Merrifield, also a famous
Maroon player. I t is possible that an additional series of games will
be played with Keio University—and institution said to have 9,000
students.—Chicago University News Letter.

108 TO DRAG MA OF ALPHA OMICRON PI

The University of Oklahoma is now a member of the National
Association of State Universities, which means that its requirements
for admission are equal to those in all State universities, and that
undergraduate work done there is recognized by all of them. I n all
the territory south of the Mason and Dixon line it is one of the four
universities whose entrance requirements are equal to those adopt-
ed by the trustees of the Carnegie Foundation Fund for the ad-
vancement of teachers.

So with all these facilities at hand, a permanent endowment of
over $9,000,000, a new tax to provide further development, and
high schools and preparatory schools in almost every town in the
State turning out graduates, the future of the University of Okla-
homa seems bright indeed.—Themis of Z T A.

From my personal experience, which has been gained in more
than one chapter, I have come to believe that the one thing of pri-
mary importance to make the initiation as effective and beautiful
as possible, is that the officers, and every other member of the chap-
ter, know the ritual with unfaltering thoroughness. Much or lit-
tle may be spent on an initiation, according to the individual chap-
ter. But the elaborateness of the decorations has comparatively lit-
tle to do with the impressiveness of the experience. There is noth-
ing more beautiful than our ceremony, i f it is given with earnest-
ness, reverence, and perfect unanimity. One hesitating voice, or
slight mistake in words, will go far toward marring the occasion.—
Arrow of I I B «I>.

Stanford University has all the women its charter will permit,
which number is 500.

Last year the number of students suspended at Stanford for de-
linquent scholarship was 232. Three and two-tepths of the sorority
women were suspended, 3.6 of non-sorority women, 28 per cent,
of fraternity men, \2y2 per cent, of non-fraternity men. Thus,
comparing the records of the women living in the six sorority houses
on the campus with the non-sorority women living in ''the college
dormitory, we see they are practically identical, yet the sorority wo-
men are much more given to society. There are fewer failures in
scholarship among women than among men, among non-fraternity
men than fraternity men.—Independent, quoted by The Palm of
A T O.

I n the Mitchell Tower at the University of Chicago is hung a peal
of ten bells in memory of Alice Freeman Palmer. On July 4 these
bells were rung by a band of change-ringers who that afternoon
formed what is said to be the best guild of change-ringers in the
United States or Canada. I n change-ringing the bells hang freely

TO DRAG MA OF ALPHA OMICRON PI 109

in a frame and are rung in a succession determined mathematically.
A ringer is assigned to swing each bell. The first bells in this
country arranged in this way were set up i n Boston in 1745. Paul
Revere was one of the early ringers of Boston. The art is uncom-
mon in this country, the band at the Groton School being the only
one aside from the Chicago guild. As at Groton it is hoped that stud-
ents at the University of Chicago will learn the difficult art of cam-
panology and increase the number and skill of the local student
band.

Nearly 400 young men in Sigma Alpha Epsilon, a fraternity or-
ganized but five years before the outbreak of the Civil War, with a
membership of less than 500, took part in that war. Kentucky,
where the fraternity had two chapters, and Tennessee, where it had
three, gave as many soldiers to the Union army as to the Confeder-
ate. But most of our men were Southerners and they fought for
that which they had been taught to revere. There were 400 of these
men, and from them came ten generals, eighteen colonels, twelve
adjutants, twelve majors, fifty captains, thirty lieutenants. What a
record!

Georgia Pi is in the history. The chapter which went to war,
the chapter which heard the roll beat of the drum in the night, and
under the stars marched away from the old military school to the
battle field.—Record of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, quoted by The Ar-
row of n B $ .

The Harvard chapter of A Y is not satisfied with that fraternity's
method of voting upon charters, and says so in these words, taken
from the Quarterly:

I have said the great majority desire this growth, this expansion of inter-
ests and activities through the establishment of new chapters. But under the
present constitutional requirements do the majority get what they want? Clearly
no. We have seen, those of us who have been privileged to attend conventions,
how a majority composed of nearly all the chapters, together with many gradu-
ates, well ir. "ormed and eager to work for the best interests of the fraternity,
have been effectually blocked by a small minority again and again. I n a con-
vention of this organization, as in any legislative body, the majority should
rule. We need differences of opinion. We need hot debate, for in this way
always are the merits and faults best brought under the scrutiny which all
sincere men desire. But the cry that we must have absolute uniformity, as
though men were turned out like so many gross of German toys, may be dis-
missed as unworthy the consideration of those who want genuine progress.
The constitution, therefore, should be so amended as to permit the will of the
majority, and not of a minority of two or three, to guide the policy of the
entire fraternity.—Quoted by the Palm of A T ft.

The Yale News has not lived in vain. Nicholas Tschaykovsky,
the Russian revolutionist, has been released by the Government on

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evidence secured through this college publication. I t seems that
Tschaykovsky was lecturing at Yale at the time when he was accused
of having participated in a conspiracy in Russia, and that his alibi
was established through an article in the Yale News.

This Russian revolutionist belongs to a group of men who from a
moral point of view are very great; men who have consecrated their
lives to the cause of human freedom, at a sacrifice of personal com-
fort, ambition and life. Their methods are disapproved of by some
good people, but no one who knows doubts the beauty and nobility
of their character, their devotion, courage, single-mindedness, high
idealism. That the college publication at Yale has been instru-
mental in saving the liberty and probably the life of one of the
noblest of these noble men is probably the most important event in
its history, and one of which it justly can be proud.—American
College.

Some time ago I was talking with one of the leaders of the Ethi-
cal Culture Society of New York City. He was a man who had
been prominent in college life and had been invited to join several
fraternities, but had declined on the ground that they were undemo-
cratic. He said that since leaving college he had met many fra-
ternity men and had invariably asked them what their fraternity
meant to them and had as invariably received the reply, " I t means
so much to me." This is a familiar phrase. We have all heard it
often. He, however, considered it inadequate, and insisted that i f
a fraternity meant much to its graduate members, they should be
able to express the feeling in some more definite manner.

I n my nineteen years of fraternity life, I have frequently been
asked this same question, and I am always turning it over and over
in my mind and wondering whether it is possible to find a single
phrase which will express what the fraternity means to the alumna.
I have come to the conclusion that it can be described by a well-
known term of the economists, the term "unearned increment."

Without any effort on our part, we alumnae are reaping a profit
of kind thoughts, generous ardor, loving respect and deep sympathy
arising from the general conditions of fraternity life and out of all
proportion to the interests which we put into the chapter during our
active membership. We invested a small portion of good fellowship
and joyous cooperation and we brought away a large holding of
that unselfish enthusiasm which has been and is being stored up
from day to day by thousands of girls bound together by the same
aspirations and belief in the same ideals.—The Key.

I n the Chicago Tribune " B . L. T . " in his column "A Line o'
Type or Two" has been running for some time a Cannery his pur-

TO DRAGMA OF ALPHA OMICRON PI 111

pose being to hermetically seal all threadbare, boresome, bromidic
expressions. The more frayed and commonplace the expression the
deeper and saltier the brine must be in which it is to be pickled,
and the tighter the Mason jar. The Canning season is always
open and has become very popular with Tribune readers.

After reading some 1200 chapter letters the idea of a Greek Can-
nery to run at least in one issue of the TRIDENT appeals as a delight-
ful novelty.

Perhaps it would be more symbolic for T r i Delta to pickle them
instead of in cans in a fathom or two of Poseidon's realm, in which
case tie the heaviest stone to

"of whom we are justly proud."
Then add heavy enough ones to these so they will
sink to utter and complete oblivion,

"the pick of the Freshman class."
"of we girls—for we Seniors" etc.
"Greetings to sister chapters."

"it does not seem possible it is time for another letter."

"time for the terrible ordeal of midyears."
"dainty refreshments were served."
"of the true T r i Delta Spirit."
"glad and proud to introduce to you."
"secure our share of College honors."
"all voted it the best party of the year."

Fortunately these have been strangled so often by the editor that
very few appear nowadays in the TRIDENT. The plea to tell "old
things" in a new way has produced some cleverly original expres-
sions, and many TRIDENT readers now read every chapter letter be-
cause they are all interesting—Trident of A A A.

The ideal, the well-rounded chapter, is the one which contains
girls of all types, from the society girl of the butterfly type, to the
studious girl of Phi Beta Kappa standing. The greater variety of
girls of the highest quality that a chapter has, the stronger and
more powerful it will be. The fraternity which has many girls of
one type is sure to be weakened and hampered in its development.

This very condition, however, presents difficulties. The girl who
lives for the first time in a fraternity house has an entirely new prob-
lem to solve. I n her home town she has chosen for her friends
girls of tastes and habits similar to her own, and has had little to do
with those who did not appeal to her. She now has to adapt her-
self to a house f u l l of girls, brought up under different circumstan-
ces, with different habits, different aims in life, and, perhaps, even
different conceptions of right and wrong. Many of the girls, too,
as she discovers upon closer acquaintance, have traits of character,
or little habits which are particularly distasteful to her. Many
things are done which to her may seem incomprehensible or even

112 TO DRAGMA OF ALPHA OMICRON PI

wrong. Some of the members have little in common with each oth-
er, and, most of all, she finds that she, herself, is becoming critical
and is inclined to judge and condemn her sisters.

This is a critical stage. The high ideals of sisterhood and the
sacred initiation vows are in danger of either being forgotten or
else being thought of as beautiful but impractical dreams. The girl
is likely to become harsh and severe in judgment, unsympathetic
and suspicious. I f she is popular and a natural leader, she may
gather around herself a little group of followers with whom she will
associate exclusively, while her relations to the other girls may be
of the most superficial nature.

The spirit of tolerance and broad mind and generous, which is
abroad in the world today, and which often causes men of opposite
beliefs to unite for the sake of a common cause, should be preemi-
nently felt in the fraternity. I f this spirit prevails in the chapter,
the members will have the true fraternal spirit and difficulties will
adjust themselves. The members will then endeavor sympathetically
to understand their sisters, their motives and aims, and both the
individual girls and the fraternity as a whole will be greatly broad-
ened and developed.—Lyre of A X fi.

FANCY FLORAL WORK AND DECORATIONS

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