THE LAUREL
The Official Publication of The Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity
JANUARY, 1920
VOLUME 1 JANUARY, 1920 NUMBER 2 THE LAUREL
The Official Publication of THE PHI KAPPA TAU FRATERNITY
Published at Alliance, Ohio,
In November, January, March and May.
Business Office, 1815 South Union Ave., Alliance, 0. Editorial Office, P. 0. Box 406, Honesdale, Pa.
Leonard M. Utz ...... Editor
Alvin C. Zurcher ··""·--- -- ~--~ ·- ·- ~ - ~ ------·-- -- ·-- -- "· " ··· ·· ------·- - -Chapter News Editor Clarence G. Lower...... Business Manager The Editor will be glad to exchange with Fraternity publications
Chapur 'Editors Alpha ·------W. A. Hopkins Beta -·------Robert L. Cross Gamma ...... ]. Kerr McLaughlin Delta ------J. B. Milliken Epsl1-on ...... Arthur B. W el h Zeta ----·······------···········------·Paul W. Bros man Eta .... ,-. ------· ------Raym-ond A. Green Theta ·- ·--· -· , ------·------·------~------·------George Elliot Iota .....•.....· ...... Edmund B. ha\v THE PHI KAPPA TAU FRATERNITY
Founded at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, March 17, 1906 GENERAL OFFICES, 226 East Oxford Street, Alliance, Ohio Grand Presiden:t.. ______Dr. H. E. Hoagland 4184 Ashland Street, \tVoodhaven, l ong I sland, N. Y. Grand Secretary______: __ R. K. Bowers 226 East O x ford Street, Alliance, Ohio Grand. Field Secretary. .. ·--·------J. M. Knappenberger 2502 East Twenty-Eighth Street, Kansas City, Mo . .. Grand A lumni Secretary ______Rev. H enry Moehling 128 N orth Sixty-Third Street, Philadelphia, Pa. Grand Treasurer ______: ______C. L. Riley Savannah, Ohio Grand RitualisL .. ______, ______Arthur T. Amerine 224 Monroe Ave., Columbus, Ohio Grand Historian ______Dr. W. H. Shideler 18 E. Race St., Oxford, Ohio Gr GRAND .EXECUTIVE COUNCIL Dr. Edward Ewing Brandon, (Chairman), Miami University, Oxford, 0. L. E. DePriest,· Moraine. Farm, Dayton, Ohio - E. E. Duncan, 1014-1015 Riebold Bldg., Dayton, Ohio CHAPTER ROLL Alpha-Miami University ------·------·------Oxford,-Ohio Beta-Ohio University ------Athens, Ohio Gamma-0 hio_ State Y ni versi ty ·------Col urn bus, Ohio D elta-Centre College of KentuckY------Danville, Ky. Epsilon-Mount Union College ______Alliance, Ohio Zeta-University of Illinois ______Champaign, Ill. E ta-Muhlenberg College ------11 ntown Pa. Th ta- Tran ylvania Coli o------L xin t n K . I ta- 11 g ------·------d.ar Ria id I wa VOL. I JANUARY, 1920 NO.2 THE LAUREL lOTA CHAPTER INSTALLED The Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity,-our Fraternity-cr pt ne n tch higher in its trend upward on January 15 when it offi cially added to its Chapter Roll its Iota Chapter, nee Delta Gamma Rho of Coe College, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. To depart from the present high standard f its Chapter per sonel is not the policy of the Fraternity, and to the contrary it is the policy of the Fraternity always to reach just a little higher w ith every step. The Grand Chapter, in recommending Delta Gamma Rho to the Councils kept this policy firmly in mind. The Grand Field Secretary made his usual inspection and a good report hom his office sufficed to impress upon the Chapters that the Grand Chapter had acted for the betterment of the Fraternity in allowing Delta Gamma Rho to petition. The petition passed every Council and the Charter has been granted. The dates of installation were set for January 14 and 15, and plans were well perfected by that date. A degree team campo ed of B.ros. Arthur T. Amerine, Grand Ritualist; Scheuffler and Nelson of Gamma; Foley of Alpha; and Crews of Zeta gave every effort toward giving the incoming brothers an impressive ceremony, and satisfaction was the re sult. The beauty and impressiveness of the ceremonies were enhanced by the use of the first new standard ritualistic kit to be i ued to an in coming Chapter. Bro. J. M. Knappenberger, Grand Field Secretary, spent the greater part of his time in going over with the President of the incoming Chapter the routine work and record of the Fraternit . Twenty men were initiated by the degree team. The fir t man re ceived the ceremony at 9 o'clock on \iVednesday morninrr, January 1-t and the last man at 1 o'clock on Thur day afternoon, Januar 15. The Chapter Roll follows. The first two men nam d. are two of th ori ina! . founders of Delta Gamma Rho, Bro. vVeber being the man wh had charge of extension for his fraternity, and the two last named men ar Brothers in Facultate at C Ralph Marston Letts Robert Ferguson Preston Edmund Burke Shaw Glenn Stauffer Kieffer James Paul McConkie William VanVranken Burger George Earle Ely Graham Eugene Harris Philip John McBurney. Ray McKinley Peterson Wesley Gabriel Vannoy Roy Blanch Clemon-s Norman Andrews Grassfield Clifford Gr-iffith Turnbull Harry Kremers Claude R. Newcomb The Chapter has in addition, at the present time, about eight excel lent p1edges. After the final .ce1:'emony on Thu-rsday, at whkh tJme the Charter and m-embel'.1>bip certi:G.e.ates were ~.es,epted, the m.en .of the degree team were taken for :a trip abottt the Campus. In the evening the new Chapter entertained at a formal dinner dance at th.e Hotel Montmse. The .affair w~s .e~ceJient J:hro.ugbo11t, the pro gram being well arranged and the decorations in Fraternity colors tastily taken care of. Dancing was the order of the day dp.rjng dinner, alter~ nating with the toasts. Bra.. Edmund B. . Shaw• .a .s toastmaster, called upon Bro. Knappenberger for a toast to "The National." Bro. Knappen berger, in his talk, touched upon tRe history and ideals of Phi Kappa Ta'-1 and upon the standar.ds whkh Phi Kappa Ta1;1 felt would be carried out at Coe by the new Chapter. Bro. Weber then responded with an excel lent address on "The Local," in which he touched upon the new scheme of things the Chapter was to face and how they would be carried out. Bro. Newcomb concluded the program with two excellent tenor solos. Dancing was then again the program until 11 o'clock. The degree team left at 2 o'clock Friday morning feeling that they had inde d been granted a rare privilege in being allowed to as i t in in tailing the Iota Chapter. Friendship of the brotherly qualit w r v rywh r manifest. It is to be hoped. that int r hang f vi it b - tw n the l t r hapter and th I ta hapt r' ill b arri d n quit ft n in rd r that th a quaintan ma b m nt d. THE LAUREL 7 DR. EDWARD EWING BRANDON Chairman of the Grand Executive Council If any member of Phi Kappa T au has the i lea that non of our brothers have gained nation-wide prominence, it mi ght be well to call his attention to some of the nam('s that may be found in Who's Who. Among these is the name of Edgar Ewing Brandon. Dr: Brandon was born in York Springs, Pa., fifty-five years ago. His father, a farmer, soon moved with the family to Missouri, and Dr. Brandon spent nearly all of his early life in that state. His boyhood days were interesting and full of incid.ents that m~rk him as an active chap. One of his adventures put him in the way of a mowing machine, and he was run over, but that did not seem to cut up any of his ambition. ·Another time he had the misfortune to freeze his feet, but even that did not stop his going. While he was still young, a rattle-snake bite almost ended his career, but by the aid of a former well known antidote he survived the attack. But since he was not accus tomed to the use of the antidote, it not only . acted as a cure, but also asserted its value as a stimulant, and for the first and last time of his life, the young man walked a crooked line. He started. to college at Sedalia University, Sedalia, Mo., and finished .the A. B. course at- the University of Michigan. Later he re ceived his M. A. at the University of Missouri and then a Ph. D. at the University of Paris. Aftet leaving school he started as a newspaper man, but soon left that to take ·tip educational ·work. Since then he · has spent all of his time in the field · of education. . . · · For several years he taught Lafin in the High School at Carthage, Mo. From ther·e he went ·to the University ·of Michigan as an instruc tor and later·to the University Of Missouri. H e came to fiami in 1898, and has become the Vice-President; and Deari of the Senior College. In.l911-12 he 'was sent as a special comni.issioner for the Pan Amer ican Union to South and Central America to report on institution of higher learning in Latin America. :His· report was publi hed by the De partment of Education, at ·Washington. ·At the same time he furn"i hed a series of articles on his observations to the P an merican Bulletin. He has made ·several tiips ·to Europe, the last bei'n"g in the ervice of the Foyer du ·Solcl~t. · ·For several months he was American Regi nal Director, and "his efforts were highly appreciated by the Fr n h oldier in his district. As a mark . o'f gratitude the· regiment t ' hich· he wa 8 THE LAUREL attached presented him with a beautiful bronze statue representing the part of Frahce irt the War. '- Dr. Brandon is tht; a1,1thor of several books) among them being, "Rovert Estienne, et le dicdonaire francais au XVI siecle," and "A Short History of the United States," in French, and now being published in France. In spite of his work along educational Hrtes, Dr. Bi-and.ort tiiahages to R~ep His boyish enthusiasm and to rertiairt irltetisely Human. He takes a fatherly interest iri the youhg meh of the school, and although He ts quick to see their faults he is always just as ready to overlook them. H~ is an atdent Phi Kappa Tau, and always workirtg to its irttei-est. If Alpha Chapter succeeds irt its campaigh for a new house, it will be large ly through his efforts. ·ANtAGONisM. TO FltAt~RNttl£5 A REVIEW :B:Y wctn~i- ll Pauli!~, i%1 rl~na 'l"het:~ · - (1l~p6i't of th~ Sti!rtdirlg CohifnlttN! oh PbbHc dpirltort to tile ~le:V:. ellt:n hheffr:He~rtity Cohfei-eilc~, t~f9.) . Fraternities are now nearly h 'c'eiltth·y old. At pi-~ttidily ail tiffies lWey HaVe m~en oh the defensive. They were founded primkrliy f'o'r the tUIH\iafi'oi\ bf friendship, also speeches made before the Kappa Alpha, Sigma· Phi, Delta· Phi, and Psi Epsilon societies. T his tract was answered by another, entitled· ';Review of the Review," which presented arguments agai·nst college secret so cieties, especially on account of the expense they incurred for halls, badges, suppers, etc., and their "deleterious effect upon reli gious young men." The first two of these three tracts vvere published in 1850, the last in that year or 1851. Faculties and students continued to oppose fraternities down to the Civil vVar. · This hostility was manifest in certain Eastern colleges and in. some of the few Western institutions which fraternities had. entered up to that time. Local anti secret societies were organized at a number of· Eastern colleges, and some of these later united to form an Anti Sec ret Confederation, which, in 1858, developed into Delta Upsilon, which, in 1881, eliminated "anti secret" from its constitution and substituted "non secret.'' At· Princeton the opposition of the faculty was so deter mined as to stamp out fraternities entirely. In Southern Colleges, prior to the Civil \Var there was· practically no -instance of fraternities being opposed by either faculty or students. At the close of the war intercollegiate fraternities were forty years old, and the strength they had gained was ·apparent. At places and at times the so caUed Greeks may have acted unadvisedly and indiscreetly, they may have foolishly arrogated to themselves some superiority over fellow students, they .may have maneuv.ered college politics and selfish ly grabbed all the· prizes that they could reach. Nevertheless the frat ernities had some good points,. and these had slowly become known to college authorities and the public generally. · No one could dispute· that the fraternities had high literary stand ards. They sought and usually secured the students who ranked or promised to rank highest in regular college· work.· Those were pre ath letic days, ·days, too, before the decline of literary societies. The college heroes were the men who stQod ·highest in their classes or who. distin guished themselves in oratory or debate. · Caledictorians and salutator ians, that is, the leading honor men in their classes, were nearly always fraternity men. ·Though not generally known; perhaps, the success of the fraternity me n in forensic ·contests was due in no small ·degree to drill they received in their chapters. · There could be no doubt also that ·fraternities had a fairly· decent lot of moral principles, and that the personal c·onduct of the members did not very often merit reproach. It must further be admitted that frater nities had not been convicted of any·heinous crimes subversive of cbnsti tutcd college authority. One "th e· whole, fraternity · m n had b ha d rath r w ll and had rendered most loyal upport to th tr 11 ft n finan ially vid n d by alumni m mb r . THE LAUREL 11 So it was that many strong h a t~ac t ers wer developed in th frater nities, many men of spl endid edu ation and high ideals. Gradually th opinion became establi heel that th frat rnities had high ideals or th y could not produce and hold the allegian e of such men. It may be said without fear of successful contrad iction that the men most disting uished in state and national affairs and the men who were most prominent in the various professions during the last quarter of the nineteenth century and since then were men who joined Greek letter fraternities while they were attending college. After the Civil W·ar many, if not 111 st, of the chairs in Eastern col leges were fill ed with professors who, as student , had worn Greek letter pins in college, and who, whether or not they continued to wear these pins, staunchly defended and upheld fraternities. Usually they were the brightest and most influential members of the faculties. By this time also a great many of the alumni upon whom the colleges depended for financial support were fraternity men. BQiard of trustees also were largely composed of fraternity men. The battle for fraternities had been won in the East, but conditions were different in the W est and South. After the Civil War fraternities were undisturbed at many W estern and Southern institutioins. At. other institutions, both state universities and private endowments, they were taboo. At some institutions fr.aternities were prohibited under rules adopted by the trustees or faculties, but at a number of these in tii tutions the fraternities continued, nevertheless and notwithstanding, by various subrosa methods improvised. to fit conditions in each case. In the '70's and '80's there w ere a lot of such chapters. Offender when de tected were not infrequently expelled, but those that remained u ually were undeterred from holding clandestine meetings and initiating re cruits. At some institutions the opposition to fraternities continued onl y a year or two, while at other rules prohibited them continued many year . But year by year the Greeks gained in number and infl uence, and in many colleges where fraternities had had a precarious footing their po i tion became secure. Two judicia l decisions should be mentioned. In the \ heaton Col lege case, the Supreme Court of Illinois decided, in 1866, that any tudent at an institution not under public control is bound to obey it rea onable rules, and that such an institution, which has a rule against tudent holding membership in secret societies, has the right to expel one who has joined the Good T emplars. In the famous Purdue ca e, decided in 1881, the Supreme Court of Indiana held that the faculty of P urdue Uni versity, a state institution, had no legal right to compel a tudent-a a condition precedent to matriculation- to ign a pledge that h would disconnect himself from a fraternity while attending the in titution. Tpis revjew so far bring~ ~s _dqwn. to pear th~ end .of the nineteenth ceQttJry. ln the ,cJ.osi~g years pf the ,cent);lry, <:J. W~Ye of populism ~wept tpe co!J.ptry, Tl}~:; pqJitic~J Jll,Qvetp.ent, wh.icb qrigjn4t~ OUR FRIENDS AND OUR ENEMIES We are in the midst of one of those recurrent periods of economic arid social reaction 'when progress in any direction may at any time be come the target for shafts of those who speak for the virtues of the past an? against the sins of the present. To some of these at least college fraternities are sinful organizations. Their extinction is demanded. The college world has made rapid. stri-des since the first fraternity baiters _heaped their venom upon these "iniquitous instruments of the devii in his efforts to degrade the college student." We shall not re trace our steps. We may find occasionally that local conditions place hindrances in the path of further progress. . To outsiders who would obstruct our path we owe no apologies. If our-conduct is worthy of our ideals and our views, ·we need only to stand ·on our record and demand a fair trial befure our accusers. If our rec ord will not stand such inspection, we do owe very humble apologies to ourselves and to the college fraternity world -of which we form a part. During· this period of reaction, fraternity men should be cautious in their discussions with outsiders. ·We may discuss the weaknesses of our fraternty brothers among ourselves, because such discussion is friendly and its purpose is the search for means to remedy these weak nesses. But an outsider without this interest would make a different use of the information which he obtained through such discussions. Like wise, any impressi·o~ - which , an ou t~icl~ r r ~ceiv e d from us concernino another college fraternity is more often thari not interpreted b him a applicable to all college fraternities. Hence every knock by a college ·fraternity man knocks the knocker. 16 THE LAUREL A critic of any tnovement distrusts arguments irl its favor. He looks for the hidden meaning o£ the words art;ayed before him. Achieverrtc~ts are tlisdedited with less ease. Evefy achievement of a college fraternity which advances tli.ose Who partiCipate in it towatd the ideals of fratertlity !ite helps the cbliege fraternity fuoveni.eht generally atltl.. further ebb founds those prophets of reaction who would destroy the llidvemeht. . May our deeds spe;ak for themselves-neither tequtritlg not' fearing ' the written or spoken word. H. E. HOAGLAND, Grand President. .. ·: BRUCE K. BROWN In additioi:i to Zeta's Urtusuaily heavy los§es in gradUation this Feb ruary she is also losing one of the strongest men it has ever been her good fortune to possess. Brother Bruce K. Brown has resigned hie posi tion as instructor ih the Chemistry Department of the University to ac cept a position in Madison) Wisconsin, where he will h'ave charge of extensive research work. Brother Brown has been almost a permanent fixture around the University since l9l4) he was a member of the class of. 1~18, graduating from the University at the age of nineteen, He served as a first lieuten,ant in Machine Guns, and returned to the Uni" versity immediateiy following his discharge to continue his work on his master's degree, which he received this year. Brother Brown has distinguished himself ln a-ctivity upon the tam pus. He was always ver.y prominent in the military life of the Univer sityj and was a member of Scabbard and Blade; honorary military frat ernity, He also served as editot of The IllinDis Chemist, and was weU known in campus politics. Besides -all this Bro\vn remaifred bne of the most active memb·ets of the ch.aptet\ and was extremely zealous in his attentitm to fraternity affairs. The chapter indeed deeply feels, and will, as time goe-s on; to a gt'eater e-xtent feel., the loss of Brother .Brown, student, faculty mah, ana. tntem-ity man in Phi Kappa Ta\l. · A ·NEW GRANt> PRESIBENT On Oece'mb r 22, Phi l(:ap·pa T-au :r COLLEGE FRATERNITIES ACTIVE IN FIGHT AGAINST VENEREAL DISEASES College men, largely fraternity men, have given invaluabl aid to the United States Government in its comprehensive health campaign to erad icate venereal diseases. In response to a request fr m Surgeon General Ruptert Blue of the U. S. Public Health Service, 215 fraternity chapters offered coopet~ation in varying degrees. This cooperation includes efforts to give rational sex instruction to freshmen initiates and to disseminate a knowledge of the dangers and consequences of venereal diseases. It also includes joining in commun ity endeavors to eliminate or minimize prostitution in college commun Ities. Furthermore, a score or more of fraternity publications devoted sr~ace to the campaign, publishing either formal article or editorial en couragement of the movement. Fraternity members, both in college and those who have been graduated into business and professional life, have aided. In many instances lectures have been given by graduate fraternity members to the younger men in the active ch'apters. The Surgeon General feels that the assistance thus far given is a fin e augury of what is to be expected during the next year from frater nity members. It is recognized that the campaign against venereal dis eases is in accordance with the tenets of Greek letter fraternizing, and the "decent living" keynote of the educational work find s a ready re sponse from all fraternities. The old canard that "wild oats" had a place in the life of the college man has been proved a pernicious fallacy. Extensive investigation by Public Health Service has shown that prostitution is the foremost spreader of gonorrhea, syphilis, and chancroid. Actual surveys show that 75 per cent to 95 per cent of all prostitutes, both public and clan destine, are infected with one or more of the venereal diseases, that as a class they are poisoned with gonorrhea and symphilis. Consequently, the request that communities repress prostitution is as urgent in the fi ght against venereal diseases as would be a call to rid a community of mosquito-breeding swamps if a malaria epidemic were to break out. From the standpoint of public health venereal diseas may be said to be epidemic. They are sapping the vigor and stamina of the nation, . weakening the American people as a race, and causing a heavy financial drain and untold misery. They contribute heavily to the blind and in S'ane asylums and are causing thousands of children to be born ph icall defective. This situation exists largely because of the ignorance on the part of the public as to the dangers and consequence of venereal in£ c- .10 .1 .n.l!< .u.a-o rr.ra:.. tion and the necessity of proper medical treatment. The beleif has been prevalent that gonorrhea was of slight importance and easily cured by a quack doctor, with the result that men have not been cured and have transmitted their infection to innocent wives and children. Syphilis ha erroneously been considered incurable and. consequently neglected and spread to others. Serious as they :are, both diseases are curable if proper treatment is begun early and continued long enough. The war made it possible for the Government to undertake this de finite and broad-gauged campaign to combat venereal diseases. Under the operation of the Selective Service Act ,a cross-section of the young manhood of the country was available for study. The examinations showed that 5 per cent of the second million men called under the draft were infected with venereal diseases. This 5 per cent did not include any cases where there was not ready evidence of infction, which excluded . many cases of latent or pa-ssive syphilis or of chronic gonorrhea. The majority of the men in the Army were woefully ignorant of the consequences of venereal diseases, and many believed promiscuous sex relations necessary to health, a belief which the majority of intelligent physicians and laymen now know to be a damaging fallacy. Consequent ly, rational sex instruction, including accurate information o~ venereal diseases, was given to all army men. The national program for the control of venereal diseases in civilian communities formally began in July, 1918, and was coordinated closely with the work of the Army, Navy, aqd Marine Corps. If it was necessary to make men fit to fight, it was necessary to make them fit to live. Con ~equently, a law was enacted by Congress creating a Division of Ven ereal Diseases in the Public Health Service, and funds were appropriated to be allotted to the State Bpards of Health. To secure Federal funds each state had to adopt regurations requiring that venereal diseases be made reportable, that patients be given free treatment, and that efforts be made to repress prostitution and to education the public in the prob lems of sex and venereal disease. At the close of the first year's work, 46 states have adopted the required regulations, secured Federal funds, and had organized bureaus in the state departments of health for venereal disease control. Most of these states have made appropriations from state funds for carryiqg nn the work, and are therefore entitled to receive the Federal allotment for the year 1919-20. The work of venereal disease control is classified under medical, ~ ducational, and law-enforcement measures. As a part of the medical work of the first year, nearly 250,000 a e f g norrhea, yphilis, and chancroid v r r port d to th tat D part 1 nt f H alth by physi ian , health offic r , and lini . r ,000 THEl LAUREL 19 physicians promised to report their cases and cooperate with the Govern ment in its program. On January 12, 1920, there were 499 free clinics in operration. · As part of the educational activities, pamphlets were distributed, lectures given, exhibits and motion pictures shown. Intensive work was done through the big industrial estab1is11ments of the nation. Employ ers were asked to secure educational material for their employes, with the result that more than 2,0CJO firms p'aid for milliions of pieces of educa tional material. Many of them have mC\(fe arrangements to have the plant physican or some loca~ doctor give free medical advice and treat ment to employes needing it. The importance of handling the problem as an economic one is realized by both industrial and commercial organ izations. The legislative program has resulted in the passage of state laws · for the suppression ,of prostitution and the control of venereal diseases by providing methods of report them and facilities for treatment and quarantine. The rehabilitation of prostitutes so that they may take their place in the legitimate life of the community is an important part of this work. Practically every state now has the laws necessary to carry out the program effectively. Many cities have passed ordinances which meet their special needs. The prevalence of gonorrhea ~nd syphilis is partly due to a false standard of modesty which has made a frank and intelligent discussion of the problems of social hygiene slow and difficult. An enlightened public opinion which will demand the enforcement of the laws and which will be able to act intelligently upon sex problems is essential to their eradication. For this reason the active assistance of the college fraternity men is desired. Education is necessary if the causes of venereal disease are to be removed and the diseases themselves radicated. College men did magnificent work as officers o'f the American Army. This war again t venereal diseases also requires their fi ghting spirit, their courage, their idealism, and their everlasting persistence. The foHowing are some of the fraternity chapters which are at present responding to the request for-cooperation: No. of No. of Fraternity Chaptell."" Fraternity Chapter Alpha Tau Omega ...... 9 Phi Gamma D elta ...... ll Phi Kappa Psi ..._...... 9 Beta Theta Pi ...... 11 Pi Kappa Alpha ...... Delta Tau Delta ...... lO Psi Omega ...... 7 Kappa Sigma ...... 9 Sigma Ch.i ...... 7 Phi Delta Theta ...... 8 Sigma Phi Epsilon ...... 7 20 THE LAUREL THRIFT Amid the strenuous thrift campaign being waged throughout the country, a word on the subject would not be amiss. We are content to quote the following poem written by a high school boy of our acquaint ance. It is good ad vice for college men : The other day a wise old gent Who's never broke nor badly bent, Said, "now's time time for making hay, Be ready for a rainy day. Don't blow your shekels and your dough, Throwing seven or little Joe, You can't buy thrift stamps, hats and shoes, By fooling ·with the billiard. cues. From every buck save twenty cents Which just leaves eighty for expense, Don't put the country on the bum, By blowing coin for chewing gum. Buy good fresh eggs or boiled ham, And buy thrift stamps for Uncle Sam, Each week invest a couple beans, And keep the Thrift Stamps in your Jeans. Now if you heed this good advice, and Shun the pool-room and the dice, You'll have a smile for all you meet, And You will be on Easy Street. -Richard Smith KNAP Just to show what Zeta thinks of our Grand Field Secretary we quote the following from "The Inner Circle." Knap has gone-for how long we do not know, but we hope that he will soon feel that old irresistable call and visit us again. The fact remains that Knap has left us, after spending ov r ix weeks with the chapter at the beginning of the emester. Many m n have left and we hated. to see each of them have to g but Knap i rt f different. We feel that he i aim t a mu h a fixtur ar und h r a th pian in th livin r om- a fi., tur alway ar und v h n h i n d d and r ·ady t d hi bit f r Phi Tau. THE LAUREL 21 SERMONS The following articles are from "The Delta" of Sigma Nu, headed "Short Sermons for Sigs." They are pretty good sermons for Phi Kappa Taus too. 1 I Picking Your Man A fr.aternity, like every producer, is in the nature of a machine. What comes out of it is governed by what goes into the hopper. You have to have good grist to have a good product. Not always the best flour comes from the wheat that looks tallest and most graceful growing in the field. You can't make a good frater nity man out of mere appearances. You wouldn't buy a knife because of its pretty handle; y-ou'd find out first if it were good steel. But that doesn't mean that the rough diamond always carries away the palm. A fraternity is not a reformatory; it cannot devote its activ ities exclusively to smoothing off corners. Two rough diamonds in a dozen men of breeding may leaven the whole mass and become splen did representative college men thmselves. Two "flossy" boys in a crowd of rough-and-readys will have an infernal time of it. · The thing to look for is quality. Look for toleration above all. Look for the man who readily admits that a different way is not neces sarily an inferior way. Look for ambition. Get the man who, when wrong, knows he is wrong and wants to be set right. Dodge the lazy man, the loud bluffing man, the strictly frivolous man, and the man who makes fun of other people and other ways. Get on to the difference between the shy man and the stupid man. Get the man who's proud of something beside himself. But don't cross off the man who believes in his own ability. He may be right. See if he gets results. Don't judge a man by his smile, or his hand-shake, or his taste in ties, or his pull with the girls. Some of us don't know how to swing these details right, but we'll learn. Get quality in your grist. II Rushing Your Man Rushing is salesmanship. It is giving something the other man wants, for something he has which you want-to your mutu,al profit. Rushing is not fishing. It is not a question of pulling any one in. Size up your man. Find out what he likes to see in his fraternity; then trot out what you've got in that line. Don't lie. He'll find it out later, and be sore, and you'll lose his efforts. Don't impress upon him that you're doiing an act of harit in bid- ding him. He may value himself just enough to resent charit But 22 THE LAUREL don't clamor too loudly for him, and offer too many inducements. He may conclude that he is too good for the crowd. Find one man in your house who is his sort-(be sure to have one man of every sort, within the limits of congeniality) and put that man to getting close to him. Tell him a fraternity means Work, and Ambition, and Helping, and Being Helped.. Don't advertise how much you spent on your last dance. That won't appeal to him by itself, if he is the kind of man you want. III Rituals and Your Share First impressions are everything in most walks of life. If you are received into a group in a way that makes you feel your reception amounts to something, your enthusiasm will be there! if not, it won't. You take a man into the Fraternity through the ceremony of a ritual. To him it comes as a new thing; he has not had a dozen read to him during the month; its novelty has not been brushed off. Remember that when you have to initiate a man. This is the first time he has re,ally seen the inside of the Fraternity; make sure that that first impression is the very best you can give him. The ritual belongs to all of you, but it belongs .most to the man who is receiving it. If it seems serious and symbolic to you, it will seem so to him. He has come to your Fraternity in good faith; do not offer him a travesty in return for a genuine article. The ritual means something to every good fraternity Brother. Not simply its words and picturesque observances, but the spirit in which it was given to the Fraternity, and what it stand.s for in that it officially adds a new man to the Legion. The ritual suffers from being delivered sloppily by Brothers who are too lazy to le,arn their share thoroughly. No ritual read from a printed book can represent the feeling a group should have on rece.iving a new man. The Brothers who have parts in the ritual should take it up in detail and understand thoroughly what they are trying to express. It's thank less work, sometimes, particularly if you have to read through half a dozen rituals, each a copy of the other, in an evening. But-you have worked to get your man, and you expect him to be of service to you when he is in. It is bad business to do all but the fin,al service, and then slump on that. vVhat a new man sees the older Brethren thinking of the Fraternity, he will think of it himself. If he notes that th y m oth it all over in the easi st, mo t car le way, he will think th \) h 1 thin f little matter. very r ading of the ritual mu t b a fir t tim , f r hav th fr hn and individuality fa fir t ·t m Th r wh d n t tak part in th ritu th r main! r f th m ting: a w rd t th m. n THE LAUREL word to say, docs not mean that you are to loung in chair , g to sl ep, converse whisperingly, or work calculus problems behind anoth r's back. It is old stuff for you, but it was new and vivid once. Rem mber th other man; it is new to him-you owe him the best you've got. Turn in and see that it goes as you would have had it go when you w re initiated. Remember the little slips you noted when you came in, and see that they do not happen for this man to see. Give your new man a true, sincere welcome and start him on the way right. If he is worth getting, he is worth being given the best you have. Only by giving the best, have you any right to ask his best. PERSONALS Grand Field Secretary, Brother J. M. Knappenberger is now em ployed as Chief Clerk of the Kansas City Division of the Pyrene Mfg. Company, of New York City. Grand Secretary Brother R. K. Bowers is the newly appointed ad vertising manager of the Triangle Tire and Rubber Corporation of Alli ance, Ohio. Besides his work as reporter on the News-Advertiser, Brother Al vin C. Zurcher, the newly appointed chapter editor of the Laurel, is put ting out a small four-page weekly paper called, "The Inside Dope," de voted to motion pictures. Brother Hollie Ellis of the Beta Chapter is the King of Injuries. He went through the war without getting a scratch but he cut his knee with a corn binder, thereby disabling him for two football games. Then the other day he tried to stop the planer in the manual training shop with his finger, and now is nursing a part of a finger, but the planer still buzzes on. Brothers Auxier, McEuen and Durham of Delta Chapter have vi- ited Theta several times since the beginning of the school term. Our Theta Brothers had better keep close watch on their girl friend or the Delta triumvirate will cop them. Brother Leo W. Auker of Maximo has just been mu tered out of the Navy after nineteen months of service. He expects to enter cho 1 next semester. 24 THE LAUREL CHAPTER NEWS ALPHA ATHLETICS AT ALPHA The football season has closed at Miami after a very successful year, Miami losing only one game, that with Oberlin. Bro. Beekley was the regular fullback on the team, and was considered to be Miami's most versatile player. Bros. Warr and Ladley substituted as tackle and end, respectively. On the Freshman team, Alpha was very well represented, and Davis, a Sophomore, at full, did. his share of carrying the ball. He did all of the punting, drop kicking and passing for the team. In the Freshman-Sophomore game, he made· a difficult drop kick, the only score made by his team. Pledge Devoss was Davis' running mate at half, and was characterized by his scrappy playing. On the line, Pred more was a regular at guard, and Girten substituted at tackle. Soccer football was established at Miami this fall, and a league was formed. Each organization on the campus was represented by a team. Alpha's team, under the lead.ership of Captain Hopkins finished the sea son in third place, with four games won, three games lost, and one tied. Alpha again took the cross country cup this fall. The team was composed of Bros. Harold Nichols, Daugherty, Sheard, and Burton, and Pledges Ainsley and Bishop. Three races were run, and each was easily won by Alpha. "Nick" was the individual star, winning one race and finishing second in the others. The season closed with the Phi Kaps 24 points ahead of her nearest rivals, the S. A. E.'s. The Intramural basketball season has just begun, two rounds hav ing been played.. In the first game, Alpha swamped the Phi Delts, and won from the Independents in the second game. According to the dope, Alpha will finish the season high in the standings. On Sunday, December 14th, Alpha was might glad to welcome Bro. R. K. Bowers, Grand Secretary, and Bro. Dimit, newly elected As sistant Grand Secretary on this their first visit to the mother chapter. This visit was a very helpful occasion to all concerned. Bro. Bowers, knowing something of conditions here is well able to help us solve our problems. The explanatory talk that Bro. Bowers gave proved to be an eye-opener, and a source of inspiration to Alpha. It happened that on the day that Bro. Bowers and Dimit were visi tors, Alpha entertained the Phi Kappa Tau sisters who ar attending Miami. They were the sisters of Bros. proull, Hamm nd Un ri ht. and Fl yd r wn. A spl ndid dinn r wa pr 1 ar d f r th m and th THEl LAUREL 25 afternoon wa spent in jolly fashion. This is only th beginning of the fulfillment of the d sire to get into more clir ct touch with our Phi Kappa Tau sisters. Alpha i I leased to announce the initiation of Bros. L. R. Davis, of Columbus, Ohio, and H. R. Nichols of Batavia, Ohio. They are splen did young men, and certainly will come up to the Phi Kappa Tau stand ·ard. Both are good athletes, Davis playing football and basketball, and Nichols running track and cross-country. As has been the custom for a number of years, the Resident Coun cil and a few members of the Graduate Council who live nearby, were entertained the last night before Christmas vacation by the Pledges of the Fraternity. They gave us a rousing good show, run on the Vaude ville plan of five acts. We had everything from Darky Comedians to charming young ladies being wooed by gentlemen in full dress. It was .really a commendable performance, and represented quite a bit in pre paration, showing that already our freshmen have imbibed some of the real Fraternity spirit. The already pleasant evening was made ever more to be remembered by the serving of eats, drinks (very soft ), and smokes. Alpha gave its regular fall dance on November 26th. As usual, it was a grand success, as every one was full of ginger and pep. The chap erones were Bro. and Mrs. Handschin and Bro. and Mrs. Shideler. We were especially fortunate in having Bros. Gray and Guenther of Zeta as our guests for the occasion. Needless to say, they thoroughly enj oyed themselves. Bro. Lynch of Gamma w.as down for the dance. The spring formal comes in April and we certainly will welcome Brothers from other Chapters. BETA BETA BUYS A NEW HOME Beta Chapter of Phi Kappa Tau, has been handicapped for some time because it has not had a home of its own. During the war it was a struggle for existence and the home that we had lived in for so long, was taken from us so at the beginning of the school year we were found living in a flat. With the coming back of the veterans we decided that we could not live in such a place any longer. V\T e found that " e could get good pledges on our reputation for one year, but that finall the good ones would go to the fraternities that could offer them the be t things, and a good home goes far in their decision. On November 22nd., 1919, the University had a homecoming, and a a means of attraction Ohio's football team pia) ed Deni on. \\ d ided 26 THE LAUREL that on the evening of that day when all the alumni of our fraternity would be home would be a go d time to get them together, and have them discuss the proposition of buying a new home. So on this cvcnin~ we gave the Alumni a banquet at the Colonial Hotel, and they discussed our plans. Some of the boys at once got into the spirit of the thing and soon we were counting our money by the thousands. The result of the whole thing is, that on the First of February, 1920, we will be installed in one of the finest homes in Athens. Our plans were very simple and carried on in a business like man ne. We raised enough money on that night to make a substantial pay ment on the home. Then the alumni signed notes to pay $25 annually to the house fund with the understanding that the money paid in was to be used for no other purpose other than the house fund. Now it does not matter much how poor a man is financiaHy he can pay $25 per year without feeling it very heavily. We will house all our men in the new house and the revenue c-ollected from the room rent will pay at least $1000 annually. Take it all in all it was the most simple proposition that we have tried, and one that every one was interested in. We are publishing this plan, not because it is the best, but that it may help some other organization who is trying to get a home of its own. If any Chapter of Phi Kappa Tau ·should be interested in our plan they can have all the details of the plan by writing to Wilber Emish, Athens, Ohio. WHAT OUR NEW HOME LOOKS LIKE ON THE INSIDE Some of you may know what it is like when you are told that it is the property on 56 E. State St. It is known as the Wheir property. It is a large brick building within five minutes walk of any building on the Campus (if you are not crippled). When we say a large brick building we do not mean just four square walls, but it is arranged in the most ar tistic manner. The lady who owned it is an artist of considerable worth and when the house was designed, it was from her most artistic view point. It has a large veranda in front with a most wonderful tile floor; it is surrounded by a fine grove of trees, and the exterior seems to fit into the natural surroundings, with so much ease, that one never thinks but what the house had grown there with the flowers and trees. We have only told you a part of it when the exterior has been so weakly described. The real part of the house, the part where the hom life comes in, is the most wonderful piece of skill and art that ther i xhibited in the city of Athens. The house is large enouo-h to a c m modate forty m n without crowding them into mall quart r . Th fir t st ry is fini hed in dark oak, and the fl ors ar f th , am mat rial. Th f1 r ar p li h d t uch an xt nt that n i apt t think that h THE LAUREL 27 is treading on mirrors rather than a wooden surface. The lower floor catt be thrown together so as to make it one large assembly hall, or it can be dosed up into four neat airy parlors. The second floor is much the same as the first only it cannot be thrown together, but every room is so arranged that it faces the street. The third floor is made for sleep ing quarters, and is large and roomy, but so well arranged that it does not have that barracks effect, but so that every man can have a neat bedroom and a large clothes press. In the rear of the building is a large sleeping porch which we have already designated for the athletes. The attic is just the place for that little bit of rough-house work which is so necessary for the individual good of every man in the fraternity. If we do not have time to go to the attic for this work we can store our trunks there, and use the basement for that kind of work, where no one will hear the noise and think we have a slaughter house rathen than a Greek letter organization of culture and refinement. When you hear all this we think we hear you say, well, that house is too fine for a fraternity house. Well, maybe, it is, and maybe the shine will be knocked off those floors, those great fireplaces fill ed w ith cigar and cigarette stubs, but we think there is something about it that will cause the boys to use a little care when they come in to such a place. We know personally how we have sacrificed. to get it .and every man in the fraternity will not only take a pride in it, but will qo his best to keep it the pride of Beta. POLITICAL PLUMS Beta has been copping her share of the political jobs at Ohio this year. She has one representative on the Varsity debating team, thi time it is Brother Clarence Waddell who will orate; Brother Bartlett is president of the Senior class, and an associate editor of the college paper, The Green and White; "Doc" Cross is Editor-in-Chief of the Yearbook The "Athena," Brother Carl Stockdale is captain of the Varsity basket ball team, and Hollie Ellis was captain of this year's fo otball team. There are a few more jobs loose around the university, but they are mostly filled with girls this year. Locally we think that our Chapter stands as high a any other, o our main effort from now on is to strengthen our standing a little more toward the National work. We have never shone Nationall for the reason that we have devoted too much of our ~ime to colleg acti itie but we feel now that we are in a position to give our Fraternity a littl recognition among the other Chapters of Phi Kappa Tau. 28 THE LAUREL BETA HAS A DANCE On Friday evening Beta entertained at the Masonic Temple with an Informal Dance. This was the first social function of the ye;tr, and the only way of improving on it will be to make the next one bigger for we cannot make it better. We had as chaperones Dean and Mrs. Richeson, Prof. and Mrs. Cooper. They have been to so many of our dances that we think that we cannot get along without them, and they say they just must attend in order to make things seem natural to them. There was one representative from each of the other five fraternities on the campus, and they joined in with us and made us think that they too were one of the great brotherhood. PREP SMOKER During the early part of the year there were several campaigns put on around the campus to create College Spirit. The fraternity pledges feeling that they were almost left out of it decided to put on something for themselves. So they were invited to a smoker given by the Delta Tau Delta. The idea was to give the Freshmen a chance to get ac quainted with each other, and they seemed to know each other from the very start. The presidents of the different Fraternities got together with them and gave them a few short snappy speeches. After they had smoked to their satisfaction, they started out to paint the town. They went into one of the prominent restaurants of the city, ate their fill then walked out forgetting to pay the cashier on their way. Then they went to a picture show free, ate some fruit at the Candy Kitchen, built a bonfire, then on the following morning there was a poor innocent cow found in Lindley Hall. The girls said that the cow had been mooing all night, but every "prep" looked innocent. DELTA CENTRE'S GREAT RECORD The football season definitely has become hi tory. Experts are rowning this ]layer and that by awarding th m pla n ll- m ri a I v nt . R lative m rits of t am are di u d with ut, h ' r an ham pi n hip , • a t r W t, b ing nvin ingly award d- \ ith x 'I ti n. And that · pti n r lat t a t am in anvill , "' THEJ LAUREJL 29 even the experts with Eastern prejudices arc disposed to award the laurel to Centre College. It is a remarkable record that the eleven representing Centre estab lished this season. It was unbeaten, and defeated impressively \ Vest Virginia, which the week before had defeated Princeton, which later tied Harvard and defeated Yale. And it was no fluke. So competent a judge as Eddie Mahan, the greatest player Harvard ever had, journeyed from Boston to Danville at the instance of a Boston newspaper, to see this new planet of the football heavens. And he returned to praise Centre unreservedly. But perhaps the most impressive part of Centre's record is that it was accomplished, not with a large squad. of players, but with only six teen men. Two of these players, or one-eighth of the whole squad, have been given places on Walter Camp's All-America eleven. Centre College is basking in the limelight at present. The great group of gridiron gladiators who won such fame and honor for Old Cen tre during the football season just past has disbanded for the season, and is now anxiously waiting for the Autumn to present itself to view, "Twist the Tigers Tail" or "Kill the Wildcats," have been the slogans of the Colonels for years, but next year "Thrash Harvard" and "Stop the Golden Tornadoes of Georgia Tech" will undoubtedly drown out the war crys of years gone by. The prospects of the Colonels for next year are exceedingly bright as only three men are to be lost. Davis, halfback, Van Antwerp, guard and Bell, end, are the three who have played their last game for the Gold and White. The return of several men who were in the service and were unable to return to school this year, will be back next year w ith renewed vim and energy. The defeat of the so-called " Freshman rule" at the meeting of the S. I. A. A. at Atlanta the first week in December is another event which greatly helps colleges of Centre's size. The opportunity offered by games with Harvard and Georgia T ech is another element of great promise and value. All in all the 1920 schedule is the best we ever had, and the chances for going through the sea on with a clean record are fully as bright as they have ever been in the pa t. Another attempt at a Pan-Hellenic dance was made just before th holidays. It met with as much failure as had previous imilar effort . The attendance was poor, the preparations ditto and con qu ntly the whole affair was an utter failure. Delta has decided to keep her house another ear, thou h th x- penses are unusually heavy. Centre is expectin su h an nlar d tu- 30 THE LAUREL dent body for next year that the chapter deemed it wise to hold the house at all costs instead of renting it to some one else for an indefinite period. This decision was extremely gratifying to Dr. Ganfield, who was considerably worried about housing facilities for the coming school year. EPSILON EPSILON'S NEW TROPHY Among the Christmas presents given to the fraternity by the broth- 1rs of the resident council was a handsome loving cup. The donors of this splendid gift are Brothers Hibbard, Dimit and Bratton. Upon one side of the ~up the following words are engraved: "Epsilon of Phi Kappa Tau-Freshman Prize," on the other side will be engraved the names of the winners and their respective years of winning. This trophy will be given annually to the Freshman who has the highest grades and who shows the greatest versatility in college activ ities. In other words the cup is symbolic of the ideals of Phi Kappa Tau. In the opinion of the men who gave the cup, it should foster a higher de gree of scholarship, in which Epsilon has always excelled, and should also encourage the Freshmen who are talented in music, oratory, ath letics, etc., to demonstrate as much as possible their ability. Brother Dimit, pledge manager, announced to last year's pledges hat the first name to be engraved. on the cup would be from the class of 22. Brother Donald C. Beatty of Pittsburgh, Pa., was judged the win ( ner and his name heads the list as the leading Freshman of last year. The cup is about eighteen inches high and presents a very fine ap pearance on the mantle of the lounging room. It is hoped that this trophy will be the forerunner of several more for Epsilon's mantle. EPSILON IN PSI KAPPA OMEGA r Epsilon is proud of the membership she has had in the honorary l!!:aternity-Psi Kappa Omega. Qualifications for membership in thi organization are based on scholarship, good fellowship, versatility and character. Membership, which is only open to Junior and 111 r , i limited to five per cent of the student body. r th r M rle Dundon wa on of the found r f thi ro-ani zati n, r th r . L. Ril y wa pre id nt in 191 -19. Br th r F. \\ . Trad r nd R W. Hibbard w r initiat d in 1 1 . an I r th r Rratt n am , Geml r in 1 20. THE LAUREL EPSILON PRESENTS SKINS Epsilon recently presented each of the sororities at Mount Union, the Alpha Xi Delta, the D elta D elta Delta and the Phi Delta Pi, with a nicely embossed wall skin. These little gifts are in token of the friend ship and good will existing between Epsilon and the "sister fraternities/" at Mount. OFFICERS The semi-annual election of officers for the resident council was held November 24. The present policy calls for fraternity elections on the tenth and twenty-seventh weeks of the school year. Thus the newly elected officers will hold their positions until April and the men elected at that time will serve until next November. Under the local consti tution, the Vice-Presid.ent and all assistants automatically assume their respective positions and only assistants are elected. The automatic offices and their occupants for the ensuing term are as follows : · President ------·----· ------Fred G. Bratton Recording SecretarY------Melvin Bixler Corresponding SecretarY------J- Oliver Riegle Treasurer ------Arthur Haverland Chaplain ------Raymond Bixler Sergeant-at- Arms ------Clarence Lower Local Editor of "Sidelights" and and "Laurel" ______Arthur Welsh Financial. Secretary------__ ------J as. F. Chalmers The results of the election are as follows : Vice-President ------Edgar V a nee Asst. Recording Secretary ______Paul Rushy Asst. Corresponding Secretary______Ciarence Lower Asst. Treasurer ------Donald Beatty Asst. Chaplain ------;------Raymond Ball Asst. Sergeant-at-Arms ------Guy Slusser Asst. Editor of "Sidelights" and "Laurel" ______\tVilliam C. Marquis Asst. Financial SecretarY------George Karn The Social Committee appointed for the new administration is composed of Brothers J ohn Trader, Arthur Dimit, and Samuel Pollock. THE HOMILETIC CLUB , T wenty new men were admitted into full membership in the H o mil etic Club which was r eorganized at Mount Union College this year. THE LAUREL From the beginning of the year each session has b~en lively and full of pep. The outlook for a successful year is very bright. Epsilon of Phi Kappa Tau is well represented, having as members three brothers, name ly: Bros. Hilty, Marquis and Pollock, and Pledges \tV ales, Schell and Bedell. The Homiletic Club, which is one of the oldest organizations on the campus, has held forth every year in a creditable manner, but last year owing to the Students' Army Training Corps it was impossible to re organize it. The purpose of this organization is to train men preparatory to entering the ministry. Besid.es the discussions on homiletics, many ·noted speakers have been and will be secured to address the club. The Homiletic Club is looking forward to a most successful year and is hoping to have one of our noted alumni, Brother D. C. Grover, vice-president of Baldwin Wallace College, addFess them in the near future. Following the pledge party on the evening of December 18, the upper classmen and pledges enjoyed a Christmas party, at which the brothers presented the fraternity with Christmas gifts. Never have the fraternity rooms presented a more pleasing appearance. The fraternity was the recipient of some very useful and. very sig nificant gifts. Three of the brothers presented a handsome silver loving cup, which is to be given each year to the Freshman who shows the greatest veratility in college life and who maintains the highest scholas tic standing. Another gift was a Mount Union banner, which is now adorning the wall of the living room. Other useful gifts which made "Mother" Haskell sit up and take notice were a percolator, salt and pep per .shakers, pans and other kitchen utensils. A fine picture was present ed by the pledges. After the gifts were presented, the boys had a feed. Grand Secre tary R. K. Bowers extracted speeches from the crowd. PLEDGES ENTERTAIN Thursday evening, December 18, the pledges of Epsilon gave a very delightful Christmas party. The house was artistically decorated ne room in the college colors, another with Christmas decoration , and a third in the colors of Phi Kappa Tau. In the Christmas room was a fine, beautiful, electrically-lighted tree. A large star, mbl mati f th tar f Phi Kappa Tau, shone from the top. THEl LAUREL 33 A featur s of the evening was a demonstration by our famous hyp notist, Brother Lower. Clad in professional attire, Professor Lower wielded his power to perfection. Music and contests greatly added to the success of the evening. Prizes were awarded to the winners of the various contests. A five course lunch was served by Brothers "Miss" Dimit, "Tiny" Karns, and "Yankee" Kim, who acted in the capacity of waiters. Nearing the closing of the evening, Santa Claus in the person of Brother Hibbard entered, accompanied. by the jingling of sl eigh bells, and distributed gifts, among which was a neat . K. T. bar pin for each ·guest. INTERNAL IMPROVEMENT Sometime ago Epsilon appointed a committee with no specific or definite work to do. This necessarily did not mean that there was noth· ing to accomplish, but it did mean that it was up to the committee to hunt its own work. The instructions to the committee were to make anything bad good and anything good better. You can see the scope of work that falls under these instructions. It includes every department of the fraternity, every phase of Chapter work from the dining room to the pledges. The committee has been at work and is gradually fulfilling its object -to completely attack its proposition and to make definite and specific reports. We have received very interesting reports from Ensign P. F. Opp, . U. S. N. Brother Opp is aboard the U. S. Destroyer Aaron Ward, which is now in Western waters. We are glad to know that Brother Opp has not forgotten us, as he shows by his frequent letters and gifts. ZETA SOME HOMECOMING ! October 31 to November 2-three big days when the entire Uni versity from the janitor of the library to President Kinley quit work, dressed up in its Sunday-best, and celebrated. Homecoming this year was a real old-fashioned one, such as only a few of us can remember. Not only for Zeta, but for every person connected with the University of Illinois was this an occasion long to be remembered. Everyone was better prepared for a thorough enjoyment of the traditional event than !FHE · LAUREL ever before; fraternity and boarding houses were filled with returned servi<>e men, who in turn, were equally filled with the desire to see a return of the old pre-war '!pep" before their college days should end. A wonder-working football teatn was all cocked and primed for a victory over Chicago. Men of the returning alumni had been in '\:ivies" for only a few months, and. all the old guard ttuned out in a plendid show ing. And the Chicago victory-Oh! Boy ! ! Internally, Zeta stood well too. The addition to the house and the new furnishings had livened things up wonderfully; the men had well settled to their work in all branches of activitiy; many of the old men had returned from the army with renewed ambitions; the pledges were highly satisfactory. Could a time be more opportune, both within the chapter and out, for the celebration of one of "the mo t time-honored of the University's event? Things started with a resound.ing "bang" on the afternppn qf the thirtieth with the first arrivals for the jollification. The first few hol.lrS were spent in renewing old acquaintances, making new one find t'ln}ng 4P for the I:lini Come-back which would b~gin in earnest on the mqrrow. The Hobo ~and, in which Zeta's Seniors were present to a man, started the ball rolling Friday afternoon, and was followed in close succession by the Soph-Frosh mix-up on the South Campus. The gang then jour neyed back to the Chapter house to partake of one of Mrs. Pound's long-remembered dinners, and to while away a few moments in worship of the great god, Jazz, in the form of Zeta's quartette and orchestra. The Co-Ed Carnival then loomed up for the evening's entertain ment, and it was well into the "we sma' " hours before the party dis solved for the night. On the following day the program began with an address by President Kinley to the alumni, and ended with an Orph party which served to bring back remembrances of "front row" days. But in between-Shades of Solomon Levi! the rout of Chicago; the snake dance through the streets; the joy fest in front of the auditorium; the dinner with it sinspiring talks by the old boys; the pledges' stunt at the smoker in the evening; were all crowded. into one panoramic whirl until one scarcely knew where he was or what he was doing: Sunday morning opened with the formal initiation of neophyte Carter R. Rittel and Amond M. Harlan, and was followed immediately after dinner by the first annual meeting of the Phi Kappa Tau BuildinO" Corporation. The Graduate Council then met, as a re ult of whi h th chapter is now in r c ipt of a mighty welcome gift: that of a doz n f ld ing cots for use on just su h cca ions as thi . ut g d thin th nd had t THEl LAUR!!:J!, 36 six o'clock train carried. away a large number of the gu sts and brothers, and the remaining few said good-bye the following morning. But they left behind them a thought in which Zeta joined with one howl, and which even now is echoing and rcverberatit)g through the chapter house: SOME HOMECOMING! AMONG THOSE PRESENT The following were Zeta's guests over the Homecoming week end: Brothers Eddie Miller, Len Minnis, Bill Troutman, Muggs Yeager, Char ley Calkins; Helge Diescerud, C. R. H ollingsworth, J. M. Knappen berger, Harold Lumley, Ben Daniels, and E rnie Vollweiler and F erris Beakley, both of Alpha Chapter. Among the parents, relatives, and friends of the various brothers and pledges were to be found: M r. and. Mrs. G. E . Colli ns, Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Phillips, A. J. Knopf, H. A. Fletcher, J. I. Minteer, H. E . Holliday, J . H. Hough, and Miss Margaret H ough, all of Maywood; Mr. and Mrs. Charles R. Ringer and Sidney Sandler, of Chicago; John l\f. Bell, of Highland Park, and Phil J. Kelly, of Akron, Ohio. NEW HONORS With the appointment of Brothers Durham, Guenther, and Yeager to places on the Military Ball Committee another plume is added to Zeta's military h e lm e~. Zeta always has taken great pride in the poses sian of more or less power in things military, and this year, stands par ticularly well in that :respect. Brothers Guenther and Durham are both offi cers in Scabbard and Blade, honorary military society, of which Brothers Yeager, Brown, Blair, and Taylor are also members. Brother Durham and Guenther also have places on the permanent committee on Cadet Hops, which are given by the University Brigade on alternate week ends. Our line-up in the Brigade stands as follows : Brother Y eager, major ; Guenther, major; Durham, major and brigade a ijutant; Owen, captain; H ough, captain ; \ Vinston, battalion sergeant-major· • and Pledges Butzer, battalion sergeant-major ; all d Bell , first erg a nt. In debating too Zeta i ~ well represented. Brother andler, veteran varsity debater, is still very much in the limeli ght, having b en cho en captain of the victorious Illinois team ''vhich defeated ImYa Ia t D ecem ber. He will again lead the t eam which meets Michigan in the near fu ture. Brother Sandler 'has the distinction of having served on four \ ar sity D ebates, more than any other man now in th Uni' ersit t ay nothing of several int r-society debates, and of ha,·in g- n n r I t th' decision. Brother Crew a! o is I rominently id entified with d batin...; THE LAUREL interests, having served as alternate varsity man on three occasions, and now occupying the presidential chair of Philomathean literary society, which organization he has represented in inter-society debates on three occasions. Brothers Owen, Fitch and Brosman also were recently in,. itiated into Philomathean, and will, no doubt, ably take charge of Zeta's literary activities. From a political standpoint too Zeta fared well in the recent class elections. As a reward for valuable labors rendered the party Brother Crews was given a place on both the Senior . moker Committee, and the Senior Memorial Committee, while Brother Brosman drew an ap pointment to the Sophomore Smoker Committee. The Freshmen are stacking up exceptionally well in athletics this year. Besides our representation on the Freshman varsity football squad, Pledges Bell, Butzer, and Smoot haY e placed on the Freshman varsity basketball squad, and bid fair for permanent berths in years to come. Brother Hobart and Pledge Carter have captured places on the man agerial staff of the Illinois Chemist as Advertising Manager and Cir culation Manager respectively. Brother Fitch, too continue his work on the Daily Illini, and is given keenest competition by Brother Bailey, who is in the same line. CHAPTER VISITORS Brother E. V . Bruington, '16, has just left the chapter-house after a ten days visit, during which time he officiated as vice-president of the short course in Agriculture given by the University. Brother Bruing ton is now engaged in agricultural extension work throughout the state, but is located at Monmouth, Illinois, where he has farming interests. V!Then in college he was prominently identified with campus journalistic interests, serving as editor of The Illinois Agriculturist. He is also a member of Alphi Zeta, honorary agricultural fraternity, Farm House, professional agricultural fraternity, and Pi Delta Epsilon, honorary journalistic fraternity. He was one of the founders of Loyante,· from which Zeta of Phi Kappa Tau was formed. Just previous to the Christmas vacation Zeta was visited by another brother, who, when in school, was very prominent in running th Colt g f Agriculture. Brother AI Kinsey, '17, who i now locat d in R ask., Canada spent the we k nd at th hapt r hou n hi wa t hi. h m inC ntralia f r th hri tma h liclay . It i. rum r cl that r Kin y m in qu ·t f 1111 an t v hit a\ a r th 1 whi h h sp ncl in th 1 r I rti n f th tnin nt. THE LAUREL 37 Brother "Bill" Troutman, who is now located at Lake Forest, Illinois, ran down for the last dance. Brother Troutman is at the present time officiating as professor of English at Lake Forest University. He was a member of the class of '1917, and received his master's degree the fol lowing year. While in the university "Bill" was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Mask and Bauble and Pierrots, honorary dramatic societies. Among Zeta's guests at the last dance given by the chapter are to be found Brother J. M. Knappenberger, Grand Field Secretary, A. M. Amerine, Grand Ritualist, R. M. Foley, of Alpha Chapter, and G. C. Nel son and R. C. Scheuffler of Gamma chapter, who were among the per sonel of the national degree team which installed Delta Gamma Rho of Coe College as Iota of Phi Kappa Tau. Brother Lyle C. Kaapke, ex '22, of Maywood spent the week end of our last dance visiting at the chapter house. The convention of high school teachers held at the unversity brought three of the alumni back to the house for a few days visit. Brothers Lacey, Moore and Minnis were each sent by their respective high schools to attend the convention. The chapter only wishes that there were more s uch conventions. Brother "Bish" Quigley has added further laurels to his engineer- 1ng honors by being initiated into the local chapter of Pi Tau Sigma, honorary mechanical engineering fraternity. "Bish" is also a member of Theta Tau, professional engineering fraternity. A few days before the game with Ohio State, Zeta wired Gamma challenging them to a wager of a loving cup on the outcome of the game. This brought back an immediate and unconditional acceptance. There fore, our mantel is now additionally graced by the presence of the "keen est" cup that ever happened. Your taste is perfect, brothers of Gamma! Two new fraternity houses are fast nearing completion. The Sigma N u house, being built on their lot at Third and John Street , will be ready for occupancy immediately, after considerable delay due to labor unrest, and scarcity of material. Sigma Pi has the foundation laid for a new brick house at the corner of Fourth and Armory Streets. A chapter room, completely equipped and furnished, will be the next addition to the house. The fraternity has long felt the need of a special room for meetings and the ritualistic ceremonies, but it has only been recently that any definite action has been taken. Plans have been made, however, during the last few weeks for furnishing a chapter room 1n the basement of the house, and the committee in charge promi that work will be completed within the next two weeks. 38 Ttlt!: I:.A UREL Brother L. H. Yeager, '21, has been recently elected president of the Urtiversity of Illinois Rifle Club. Brothers Guenther and Owen are prominent also in its management. Match are being planned witli the rifl~ teams of other conference universities. Masons are believed to be in greater numbers in the house than e\rer befor·e. Tnere are twelve brothers of the Masonic order, and thre .~ of these wear the emblem of the shrin. Many new fraternities and sororities of both social and professional type have been making their appearance on the campus of late, urged by the increasing enrollment in the university. Three professoonal frater nities are under process of organization under leadership of Zeta man More of these later. The university, in its biggest year, has an enrollment of 7,104 stu dents and. a faculty of 925. The increased activities of the university make necessary a larger budget and every means is being used to secure the cooperation of the alumni to influence the state legislature to increase the appropriation. Brother "Hook" Yeager is just completing the torments of his Scab bard and Blade initiation. With this initiation the chapter will have six members of the military fraternity. The Ul}-disputed football championship of the vVestern Conference is ~ow held by Illinois. Their record includes defeats of Iowa, Purdue, Chicago, Minnesota, Michigan, and Ohio; and a loss to W isconsin. Seniors are sending in their pictures and questionaires for the 1921 Illio, which gives promise of being one of the biggest and best year books ever put out. Zeta now has a larger Senior class representation than she has known since her d.ays as a local. Brothers Blair, Schweitzer, Wilson, Henry, and \ i\T uerker are planning to graduate in February, while ten more will sing their swan song next June. The war is well over, but it might be interesting to note that approx imately eighty per cent of Z'eta's alumni were engaged in active service, and that of this number thirty-three were commissioned officers, and the remiander, not in the navy, were non-commissioned men. DANCES Three dance have b en given by the chapt r at the chapt r hou so far during this s m ster; one on October 15, n n N and th la t n January 2 . All w r v t d t b b nn r ffair, thr f th b st dan s r giv n by th cha1 t r in th h u . 39 corpi~g to present plans, th f\,ltur.c d ETA HALLOWE'EN SOCIAL On Monday evening, November 3rd, Eta's annual Hallo-v e' n social was held in Sefing's barn at the corner of St. George and Turn r Streets. As is customary during the Hallowe'en d.ays "'hen the goblin · ~0 THE LAUREL and spmts wander around in this world, ye faire ladie needs the pro tection of ye gentle knight. So the Brothers brought their fair friends and initiated them into the secrets and mysteries of the spirit world. The barn was artistically decorated with shocks of corn, with here and there a pumpkin grinning. The barn certainly was spooky e'ven to the rustling of the dead leaves. Fraternity colors and banners decorated the walls. The early part of the evening was spent in playing a number of games, suitable prizes bei'ng awarded to the winners of the contests. Mrs. Wright and Brother Kleckner were the fortunate winners, but we almost believe they were in league with the judge. Brother Macintosh then told a very interesting ghost story which certainly had the desired effect. Suitable refreshments, right from the farm, were then served. The remainder of the evening was spent in dancing. At a late hour the party broke up, everyone tired but happy. In addition to the entire chapter there were a number of Alumni Brothers present with their friends. The party was chaperoned by Brother and Mrs. Wright and Brother and Mrs. Nenow. Too much credit can not be given to the committee with Brother , Kleckner as chairman for the masterful way in which this party was ar ranged, for it was a decided success. BIRTHDAY PARTY On Wednesday evening, November 19th, Brothers Arner, Smith, Heller, Kleckner and Zwoyer celebrated their birthday which came dur ing the month of November by giving the brothers and invited guests a very enjoyable buckwheat cake and sausage supper. While the sup per was being prepared there were some very close contests in pool, cards and chess. There were two of especial interest, a card game in which Dr. Wright was beaten so badly as to lose all claims as a card player, and a chess game in which Brother Dillman, the champion of the fraternity, was defeated by Professor Brown, a guest. However, it soon became difficult to keep one's mind on the games because of the odors wafted from the kitchen. Finally at ten o'clock the men gathered around the table and an excellent supper was served. Eta must give the prize to Chef "Hap" N enow for his good cooking. All the brothers will vow that it was the best supper ever served at the house. Brother Leslie Smith, who has recently been discharged from the service, after rving overseas, acted as toastmaster and after a few appropriate re marks called on Prof ssor Brown. Prof. Brown gave a very fine spe h, during th our c of which h pi tur d th rowth of th frat rnity THE LAUREL from the viewpoint of the outsider. Brother Dr. Wright then gave a very interesting talk, fill ed with unusual wit and poetry. Dr. Ettinger also gave a very appropriate talk whi h was hi ghly appreciated by the guests and brothers. Mr. Langkamcr, a Freshman at school, sang a very fine selection. Mr. Langkamer has just recently been made soloist on the Glee Club. Mr. Bryan, who is cornet soloist on the Glee Club also enter tained us with a cornet solo. Forty brothers and invited guests partici pated in this successful stag. STAG Owing to the Muhlenl5e rg celebration at the Orpheum, the result of the football victory over Catholic University, the monthly stag at the House had to be postponed from Monday evening to Wednesday even ing, Octiber 29th. However, the postponement did not detract from the enjoyment of the evening. This affair was held in celebration of the 13-0 defeat which was administered to the Capitol City boys. Besides the two main guests of honor, Dr. E ttinger and Professor Simpson, the Fraternity had a number of Freshmen guests. The early part of the evening was spent in playing pool and cards and discussing the points of the football game. About ten o'clock, light refreshments were served by the committee. Brother Morgan acted as toastmaster and welcomed the guests and the Freshmen to the House. He then called on Prof. Simpson, who read a fine original poem intended to be set to music and used as a col lege song. Prof. Simpson said that he thought the students should write more college songs for a real Muhlenberg Song Book. Brother Morgan then called on Dr. Ettinger, who gave the brothers some of the jokes that he obtained from his 2000-year old joke book. After the speeches the fellows hied themselves back to the pool table and the card games where they lingered until a late hour. INITIATION STAG In according with her custom, Eta held an initiation stag on Tuesday . evening, December 16th, after William A. Van Zandt had been admitted to the organization. Although the party was a stag affair with a number of Freshmen as guests and two professors present, it was really a testimonial to Brother Van Zandt. "Wally," as he is affectionately called., scrubbed on the varsity football team for three years. This year, he made the var ity at last, only to have his ankle broken in the Bucknell game. The injury 42 l'HE LAUREL held P,ack his initiation for about a month, so that he was unable to come iQ until the sixteenth. Besides _about ~fteen Freshmen, Eta had the pleasure of entertain ing he~ g-ood friend, Dr. Ettinger, and il newer friend, Prof. Crossman, A.T. 0. Aft~r~ l9qg ~essioq ilt ~~q:ls 1nd other g:a~1es, the men s~t dow~ to a fine supper, provided by the Birthday-bo,ys, Brothe~s N eno"Y lind Shelley. As an innovation, Dr. Ettinger acted as toastmaster and, after a few opening remarks, called on Prof. Cressman. Prof. Cressman gave some reminiscences of the days when he and Brother N enow were class p-l~tes at Muhlenberg. "Hap" suffer~p much from the revelations. Brother Dr. Wright then spoke on the value of a fraternity to new men at college. The toastmaster then called on the "~aby l3rother," Brother Yan Zandt, who told the men how it felt to be in the hospital with a bro~en ankle. Dr. Ettinger then called on Mr. Fritz, w~o spoke for the new men. He expr~ssed tpe pl~asure that the Freshmen had at the House and spoke of the fine feeling of fellowship that was 9ffered to a new p1an on the campus. After these remarks, the brothers and their guests renewed their v~rious games <~;nd left at a late hour. <;JE~-TO<;JETHE~ STAG One of Eta's most ingenious me~tings was held on Thursday even ing, December 11th, ~hen a get-together stag was held for the brothe~s, alone. Brother N en ow was the presiding officer, and called on each Brother, in turn, to offer a sugges~ion for the betterment of the organization, or a solution to any of the other brothers' problems. Many of the knotty problems of the Chapter were thus brought up, and, with the aid. of the Alumni who were present, quite a number were solved. The evening was not only one of the most profitable yet spent at the House, but also one of the most pleasant. Many a brother up topics that had not been thought of on the floor of the meeting. ETA ON 'fHE GLEE CLUB As th Gl lub ha ju t start d it 1\Iuhl nb r ta an b f und in th fr nt rank. Thi ar llman i THE LAUREL 43 the Business Manager, while Brother G. Herbert Koch is assistant Bus iness Manager. The leader is Brother Harry R. Zwoyer. Besides these, Eta has two of the four men in the quartet-Brother Green is singing first tenor and Brother Kleckner second tenor. Brother Koch is in the dialogue and Brother Shelly is again the charming girl in the same cast. The Instrumental Octet contains Brothers Shelly, Green and Nolde. The other two brothers on the Club are Brothers Freitag and Clifford Trexler. FIVE "M'' MEN At the close of the 1919 football season, the varsity "M" was awarded to those men at Muhlenberg who had earned it by their hard playing. Among the men getting their coveted letter, were five Phi Kappa Tau men, more than the total of the other fraternities on the campus. These five men were Brothers Green, Nolde, Freitag, \Vilis and Van Zandt. This was the last year for Brothers Nolde and Green. The former played for three years on the varsity and has starred in nearly all the games. It was mainly because of Brother Jolde that Muhlenberg was ~ble to beat Lafayette two years straight. Although this was Brother Green's first year on the varsity, he made an impressive debut, going into his first game against Catholic University and scooping up a fumble, running twenty-five yards for the first touchdown. Due to his in j_uries in the Bucknell game, Brother Van Zand.t was unable to play further, but he was awarded his "M" for faithful scrubbing Idr three years. This is "vVally's last year. Brother Wills has a record that few other met: in the country have: That ·of playing every second of every game. Brother Wills shone above all the others in most of the games, and is by far, the best center Muhlen berg has ever had. "Abe" is still good for another year. Brother Freitag, by his consistent playing at guard, won his letter .. for the third consecutive year. "Hip" has one more year and he will doubtless close his career in a blaze of glory. SANTA CLAUS VISITS ETA On Thursday evening, December 18, Eta held her annual Chri tma party. For the past few years, this party has been one of the leadina events oh Eta's calendar, as it is held for the brother and thu give them an opportunity to give presents to each other, appropriate to the recipient's peculiarities. 44 THE- LAUREL After the brothers had assembled, Brother Bollman opened the fes tivities as secretary to Santa Claus. He called on each brother in turn, who made his presentation speech and gave an appropriate present to that brother, whose name he had drawn. . Naturally, Brother Nenow's present to Brother Freitag, and Brother Kleckner's gift to Brother Heller took the banner, although it must bl! admitted that Brother Morgan's gift was in a class by itself. Brother Freed, who is teaching at Des Moines College, Iowa, was present, because the college was closed for lack of fuel. In order that he might me warm, Brother Freed was presented with a cigar box, which contained a number of large pieces of coal. After the presentations, light refreshments were served, which were followed by a more serious kind of presentations, the giving of service able gifts for the house by most of the brothers. The affair was one of the ·best Eta has had this year, due largely, no doubt, to the presence of a large number of the Alumni, and Brother Dr. Wright, who helped to make it a success. THETA ATHLETICS Theta made her formal bow on the occasion of the last issue; now she intends to take her place along with the other chapters of Phi Kappa Tau. Theta is maintaining the status in athletics which she had at the last writing. At the exercises on the day of the presentation of the let ters to the football men, Brother Moreland received his "T." In basket ball ~e are represented by Brothers Miller and Gamboe. DRAMATICS The play, "Fanny and the Servant Problem," given by the Stage crafters was a great success and two of the brothers, Barnett and Wright took two of the male leads. The words from the write-up of this play from the Lexington Leader will show what one of the be t dramatic critics thought of the work of the e men. He ays of Broth r Barn tt , "Mr. Barn tt a th butler wa giv n a part up n -v hi h d p nd d mu h f th ucc of the performance and d liv r d hi lin "ith a dignity and f r that mad him a n pi u u fi ur ." THE LAUREL 45 Of Brother Wright, Mr. Mar ·h, the writer of this appreciation, says: "Two of the cleverest bits of acting in the show were those of Haword \\' right, Fanny's former business manager, and that of "Happy" Chandler, as one of the servants. . . . Mr. Wright resembling Roscoe '~Fatty" Arbuckle in dimensions and topography, acted the florid, jolly English business man in a manner little short of professional." His further remarks pay tribute to the work of another brother. "The play was witnessed by a crowded house, a tribute to the work that has been done in the past several ·weeks by G. C. Banks, business manager of the production. Brother Roy Moreland acted as property man in this production. It has been rumored about that Brother Wright has been asked to join a oast which will play, "It Pays to Advertise," on the chautauqua platform during the summer. RELIGIOUS ACTIVITIES Brother Banks, Stephenson and Ford have returned from Des Moines where they attended the Student Volunteer Convention. They have given their reports of this great student gathering and the students have enjoyed the inspiration of the Convention through them. The State directors of the Student Volunteer Movement of Kentucky met on one day of last week and elected Brother Ford, vice-president of the State Movement. Mr. Bell, the State President, is soon to leave for Korea, so to Brother Ford will fall the responsibility of planning the convention and of directing it. This is the second conserutive year that Transyl vania has had the President of the State Movement and the second year for Theta, Brother Wright holding down this job last year. The Student Volunteers under the direction of Brother Ford are continuing their social reconstruction work in the Russell Negro High School, consisting of a series of lectures on citizenship and responsibility. .. We have a number of Divines in our midst, all of whom are holding I ~ome of the best student churches in Central Kentucky, namely, Broth ers Ford, Stephenson, Banks, Brooks, \.Vright and Gamboe. GLEE CLUB The program of the Glee Club is almost finished and it i to be the most artistic of the past few years. Brother Brooks has arranged about ten concerts so far and there seems to be no end to the number w hav called for. 46 THE LAUREL FORENSIC ACTIVITIES Brother Bruce has been elected for another period as President of the Periclean Society. In the Oratorical contest, Brothers Elliott, and vVright are to be contestants and in the Intercollegiate Debae, Brothers Brooks, Fossitt and \iVright are trying out for the t.eam. Things look goo'd for two places for Theta on the debating team. The team, Brother Brooks and \ Vright won from the University of Kentucky in the debat ing contest last year. PLEDGING AND INITIATION Theta pledged on November 28, three men, Maurice F . Seay, Camp bellsburg, Ky. ; Hugh P. Skidmore, Campbellsburg, Ky.; Augustus J. R~uitlolph , Mayneid, Ky. The following men vvere initiate I on November 28th :- J. G. Bruce, Edward E lliott, \i\1. H. Fraysure, and Hampton Adams. Following the initiation of these men the chapter had a banquet at the \Vomen's Exchange and we had some time. PERSONALS Brother Vice, who was compelled to leave college at the end of October, has reentered college at \ iV ashington and Lee University, Lex ington, Va. Brother Elliott, who had to leave college in November on account of his eyes, has returned to college and resumed his studies, having fully recovered from his eye trouble. • SOCIAL Mention has already been made of the banquet given to the new initiates and pledges immediately following the initiation on November 28. We had the tables set for twenty-five, and the colors of Phi Kappa Tau all about us. On Tuesday, December 16th, Theta entertained with a dinner-dance at the \ iV oman's Exchange, from six o'clock to ten-thirty. Brother Stephenson acted as toa tmaster for the banquet and. many toasts were made in honor of the guests. After the serving of a ix cour e dinn r the re t of the evening was spent in dancing. Ther were about tw nt - fiv f th fair x present. It wa entir ly a fraternity affair, nl th rhapt r and 1 ldg being pre nt, with th Jadi s m nti n d ab v . Th ta hacl tw b x 1 arti at th u, n;ght f th..: pr ·s ·ntati n f "fann an I th ' S r\'ant r bl •m," y th ' t, g-e\'r ft..:r:'. THE LAUREL 47 COLLEGE ~APPENINGS Transylvania has started her campaign for increase in endowment and the prospects are very fi~w ~or the re ftc~ ing of her goal. In all there is to be ~ funq <;>f approximately $3,500,000.00 raised. Mr. Jqseph ¥f!y~rs, winn~r of the So. uth ~ rn ~qt rcollegiqte Prohi bition contest went to the National Cotl te t \~1 Pes Jvl:pipes, held imme diately after the Student Volunteer Convention, ~s a representative from Transylvan~~- ~Ir. Myers won fifth place in this contest. He delivered his oration ~~fore th~ students on a recent day a~1d he was received very enthusiasti.cally by them. At a r ~ce nt foo.~ball banqu ~ t some twenty or more alumni pledged $500.00 toward athletics for next year. At this same bat~qu~t th~ stu dents agreed to reco~meqd that the fees for athletics be raised to ac commodate the ne~ds of our athletic rrogram. "JOKES" It has been said that Brother '~Fatty" \¥ right is the most polite man in the fhapter. The other day while pn the street car he was seen to get up and give his seat to three women. Brothers Nunnery and \tVright have been pledged to the "Schwa chapter of the Skookum <;::Iub." This is a great orga~ization , the lead ing points of it being as follows :-Motto: "Fain heart ne'er won fair lady. Flower:" Maryg o. ~d (Marigold). Color: True Blue. To be eligi ble, one must be young and at11bitious. Song: Can you kid a kidder ? Pledge button: Bull Durham tag. Brothers Nunnery and Wright are wearing their signs of pledge ship with no small degree of pride, and are soon to be initiated into the mysteries of "Schwa.?' This organization has already been petitioned by many colleges for the installation of chapters. Even the lad.ies want to get up a sister club. The D. L. Auld Co. is doing a rushing business; two more Theta men have lost their badges. HONORS TO MEN OF THETA Brother Moreland was elected to be the speaker for the \ ashing ton's birthday program from the Periclean Society. This is one of the distinct honors conferred upon a man and we feel proud of Brother Moreland. Brother Ford was elected to Boar's Head chapter of igma Up ilon, the literary fraternity on the campus. 48 THE LAUREL IOTA DINNER DANCE The concluding affair of the installation program of Iota Chapter of Phi Kappa Tau fraternity of Coe College was the dinner-dance Thurs day evening at Hotel Montrole. The elaborate holiday decorations of the main dining room were still in place and made an attractive setting for the party. Small tables were arranged near the walls of the room, and the speakers' table was at the east end. Lamps with red shades decorated the small tables and the long table was decorated with two large baskets of ferns and crimson carnations. The fraternity colors, Harvard red and old. gold were observed in the place cards. Booklets bound. in black suede and tied with white silk cord were at each plate and had the following lettering in gold: "Iota of Phi Kappa Tau" These booklets will make interesting souvenirs as they contain the menu, the toast program, the dance program, names of charter members, .names of pledges and the chapter roll. Thirty couples attended the party. The girls wore their loveliest dancing frocks, with corsage bou quets corresponding in color presented by their escorts. Prof. and Mrs. Harry Kremers were chaperons. Clark's orchestra played for dancing between the dinner courses and until eleven o'clock. The party was one of the prettiest of the season. The Menu Grape Fruit Marachino Mixed Olives Celery Salted Nuts Tenderloin Steak Fresh Mushroom Sauce Browned Potatoes Buttered String Beans Lettuce with Asparagus Tips Wafers French Dressing Fancy Brick Ice Cream Coffee THE LAUREL 49 Toasts Toastmaster, Edmund B. Shaw The National J. M. Knappenberger Solo Prof. Claude R. Newcomb The Chapter Charles S. Weber -From the Cedar Rapids Republican. HISTORY OF DELTA GAMMA RHO The idea of organizing a ne-vv men's fraternity at Coe, which later became Delta Gamma Rho fraternity, first ori ginated in the minds of the three men who might be called the founders of Delta Gamma Rho. In October, 1917, these three men, Glen S. Kieffer, George M. D erby shire, and Charles Weber, began active work toward the organization of the fraternity. They at once interested in the plans three other men who, with the first three became charter members of Delta Gamma Rho. These latter three were: Ralph M. Letts, Robert F. Preston, and Ed mund B. Shaw. On November 7, 1917, the tentative constitution of the fraternity was submitted to the faculty for approval. The petition asking for the granting of a charter to the fraternity was signed by the six charter mem bers. On November 14, one week after the petition was submitted, the faculty of Coe College, acting upon the recommendation of the Regula- . tion and Privilege Committee, granted a charter to the new fraternity. During the remainder of the academic year of 1917-18, the frater nity held regular meetings to care for its business. A pin design was worked out. Fraternity emblems, colors, etc., were chosen. Six addi tional men were pledged during the year. Several members of the fraternity left school to enter the military service. Complete arrange ments were made in the spring of 1918 for a fraternity house to be avail able with the opening of the next college year. With the opening of the school, O ctober 1, 1918, all the plans of .the fraternity were upset by the S. A. T. C. regime, and for a time it :was fea_red that Delta Gamma Rho was to pass through stormy clays. But with the signing of the armistice the Vvar Department ban on fraternities was lifted, and pledging b egan. The fraternity was extreme ly fortunate in the character and number of men it succeeded in pledg ing 'at this time. Ten men were pledged and all of these men became leaders in athletics and other forms of activities during the remainder · of the year. The fraternity rented an entire floor of \\ illiston Hall a 50 THE LAUREL dormitory located on the campus, and here fraternity spirit was instilled into the men by the aid. of extremely informal sings and other musical programs held at all hours of the day and night. The opening of the academic year of 1919-20 finds the fraternity located in a spacious and luminous house near the college in the best residence district of the city. Eighteen members were back in school and the outlook was good for the pledging of a number of ·strong men from the Freshman class. Active work to this end has brought due reward to the fraternity. The fraternity was free from debt at the present time, and has made a very substantial payment on its home for the present year. The men of the fraternity are, almost without exception, participants in student activities. Last year the fraternity included in its membership the pres idents of both men's literary societies, the president of the Forensic Lea gue, five members of the Y. M. C. A. Cabinet, three debaters, including the captains of both intercollegiate teams, seven recipients of the athletic "C," the track captain and several Freshmen who won class numerals, · as well as eight members of the College Glee Club. The general aims of the fraternity were to provide a college home for its members, to give them an opportunity for social development, to stimulate college spirit, and to promote sound morality among its mem bers. COE COLLEGE The history of Coe College is a history of rapid gr.owth. Founded in 1881, the college cannot claim great age, but it has risen until it ranks as the ninth largest of its kind in the United States. There are seven buildings on its campus, three of them built since 1910. The fast in creasing endowment, now totalling about a million and a half dollars, has made possible many irnprovements, so that the housing and. equip ment of the college is adequate for its needs. In 1910 the students at tending Coe numbered 300; in the present school year of 1919-20 the en rollment is expected to reach 1,000. The college has a teaching force of sixty professors and instructors, three of whom are mentioned· in the current, "\i\Tho's \tVho in America." Student opinion manifests itself in government by a Student Council and in the support of the Honor· System. Coe is a non-sectarian college and was the first college to be pfaced on the Rockefeller Foupdation. The school received its name from on of it founder wh gave th money with which to purcha. ighty acr f land p f which r mains a th ll g It ha, numb r d am n it. pr . id nt., r .. amu •I B. M r. J hn . 1\farqui~. th I t- 'rHE LAUREL 61 ter of whom i known through his position as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the U. S. A. during 1917. A recent amalgamation, in 1919, with Leander Clark College, has strength ened the college by adding to Coe's faculty, equipment and endowment. Attractive buildings or beautiful campus alone do not build up a college. Students do not come to college unless that college has a good record in athletics, forensics, and other student activities. One of th most powerful of these is athletics. Competing for the most part with s~hools more powerful than herself, Coe has always held her own and has often carried. away the championship. In the year just past, Coe College athletic teams have won the Iowa Conference Championships in · football, basketball ,baseball, and track. Even when up against tre mendous odds, Coe athletes are noted for the spirit which wins the game, yet tolerating nothing but clean play. As a result of its worthy record in athletics, the college attracts many first-class athletes every year. An other activity which advertises a college is its forensics. Coe maintains debating teams for both men and women, and has succeeded splendidly in all intercollegiate clashes. In the past year the women's teams won unanimous decisions in their triangular debate with the women's teams of neighboring colleges. The college gives hearty support to oratory. The State Oratorical Contest was held at Coe in 1919. Auother activ ity which is advancing rapidly is music. Three Glee Clubs were main tained the past year. They gave concerts at home and also went out on trips to other parts of the state. Since the establishment of the depart ment of music, in 1910, this activity has had a prominent place both on and off the -campus. Organizations and their activities fill a large place in college life. · The literary societies, which were founded in the early days of the col lege, were ·in some measure the forerunners of the fraternities. Starting in i901, fraternities and sororities began to be organized, and at present the former number seven and the latter five. Fraternity feeling is good; There is an active Pan-Hellenic organization. After all, the spirit of the college and of its organizations is the thermometer by which we read it~ warmth or its coldness. Coe is warm with a traditional college spirit w-hich never fails to show itself on every occasion where such spirit · counts. The college paper, published twice a week by student editor , is a stimulating influence. vVith stud.ent backing every worthy enter prise is put through, and the college is entering upon a period in which it will have wonderful expansion. A greater Coe i the expectation of all who are connected with the college. 52 THE LAUREL CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the home of Coe College, is a progressive, cul tured, middle-west city, situated in east-central Iowa. It has a popu lation of 41,000 and is the geographical center for a surrounding popula tion of one and one-half millions of people. The government is the com mission plan, this having been in successful operation since 1908. Pro gress is the key-note of the situation in the commercial interests of the city. The twelve banks capitalized at one and one-half billions of dol lars have an average weekly clearance of $1.800,000 and this represents twenty-five per cent of the business transacted. The fact that Cedar Rapid.s never had a bank failure reveals the stability of business condi tions. Though situated in an agricultural district, Cedar Rapids has broadened out into the manufacturing realm, having approximately two hundred factories, employing over eight thousand workers. Among these factories are two of the largest cereal mills in the world, the 1argest independent meat packing plant and the largest independent starch works in the world. Aesthetic appreciation is also a virile civic trait. Broad, well-paved and beautifully parked. streets, lined with shade trees, made Cedar Rap ids truly the "Garden City" of the vVest. The creation and maintenance of the beautiful is the spirit that prompts all construction. Six residen tial parks with an aggregate area of eight hundred acres illustrate the city's interest in making Cedar Rapids a place of beauty. Among the states, Iowa ranks first in literacy, and Cedar Rapids is well up to the state average. The importance attached to intellectual development is shown by the eighteen well-housed and modernly equipped grade schools, the high school and. the recently fini shed vocational school. The Cedar Rapids Business College, with its average attendance of three hundred and fifty students also has its home here. Three daily newspapers, eight weeklies, forty-one churches, a well-equipped library, frequent ·recitals, entertainments, etc., by notable artists further reveal the cultured ten dencies of the people. This spirit of progress and this atmosphere of culture make Cedar Rapids an ideal home. It can not be said here, as it can be of many college cities and towns, that the college makes the city and is its only support. Neither can it be said on the other hand that the city makes the college. In place of these two extremes an ideal situation is presented, that of a progressive city and a growing colleg , both co-exist nt and co-operative, each contributino· omething t th other and each ab orbing some good ft~om the oth r. Coli g i happy ind eel t claim c lar Ra1 i ls a its hom . 'rHEJ LA UREJL 63 PERSONAL NOTES Brothers Murphy and Garrett, Delta men of football fame went to Columbus to spend the holidays. A rest after such a season was indeed a much needed luxury, so to speak. Both Murph and Garrett are ex pected back next year to resume the-ir places on the squad. Coach Moran said that he though Murph ·was the fastest man in football togs in the country and that he expected much from Bill after this season's coaching. The Seniors of the Eta Chapter of the Fraternity under the direc tion of Leader Kleckner have started a Jazz Orchestra. Brother C. B. Richeson of Epsilon is located at Des Moines, low ~ as sales agents of a large rubber company. .} Brother Butz is sole representative of Eta on the Muhlenberg bas ketball team this year. Brother "Hank" Carr of Beta is coaching a Pedro team and is hav ing an interesting time of it. He says that he has plenty of material out for the team and that four of the members will get their letter if they play two more nights until four o'clock in the morning. "Si" Warfield has been taken off the team because he was not in training and went to sleep at ten minutes of three. Among the Brothers whom Eta had the pleasure of entertaining the past .few months were Brother Getz, and . Fiedler from the Seminary, Brothers N ase and Helfrich from the U. of P. Law School, and Broth ers Fogel, Moehling, Wirebach and Bausch. Brother Koch has entered Dramatics. He played a very important character role in a local play CINDERELLA. The marriage of "Old Lady Lowe and Miss Lawson of Danville was a pleasant surprise to his friends and brothers. Delta celebrated in force and gave brother and Sister Lowe a silver set as a token of the good wishes and high esteem of the fraternity. Brother Lowe practically founded Delta chapter and has done much since then for the betterment of the fraternity. Brothers Beasom and Mark Trexler of Eta ha e attended theY. M. C. A. in Detroit, Michigan. THE LAUREL Brother Sherwood Hall of Epsilon, who is a medical student at Toronto University, Toronto, Canada, writes that he is getting along fine. Brother H. J. Noble is in the employ of the Anti-Saloon League (.t Kansas City. Brother J. Melvin Freed, Eta '15, head of the Biology De·palitment at Des Moines College, Des Moines, Iowa. f Brother Byron 0. Leeper of Epsilon recently moved to his newly l purchased farm just east of Canton. Brother Luther Gerhart of Eta is one of the Muhlenberg represen- tatives to the Y. M. C. A. Conference at Des Moines, Iowa. - Brother F. vV. Trader of Epsilon has recently been elected into membership in the Nu Sigma Nu Medical Fraternity at the University (:f Pittsburgh. . . . APPOINTMENTS Publications Office Brother Alvin C. Zurcher, a member of The Alpha Chapter, in good ~tanding is hereby appointed Chapter News Editor of THE LAUREL, to perform such duties in that capacity as he may be instructed to per- form by the editor, until this order shall be rescinded. . LEONARD M. UTZ, Grand Editor. February 20, 1920. THE LAURfJL 55 THE LAUREL One Dollar and Fifty Cents the Year Send all subscriptions to your Graduate Council Secretary-Treasurer I-f You Have CHANGED YOUR ADDRESS · you will avoid delayed delivery and. loss of copies by sending the following form to the Editor of The Laurel: Name------,------·- Chapter...... Number...... New Address ------,-·-:··------ Old Address ------ IF YOU ARE IN DOUBT AS TO WHERE TO BUY Fraternity Novelties such as Stationery, Jewelry, Skins, Plaques, Shields, etc., write the Grand Secretary who carries all such information on fil e by Convention direction. NEW CHARTER GRANTS A ~K at \i\Tashington (St. Louis), Battle Creek Normal, Newark School for Physical Education; Oregon Agricultural. A ~ at Illinois. ~A~ at Florida, North Carolina, and Tennessee. ~ K :S at Washington. K N at Pennsylvania and Michigan. .. T H Tat Detroit, Northwestern Law. II K A at Washington. 0 X at Michigan. ~ T A at Iowa State, University of the South. K ~ (Medical) at Creighton, Cincinnati, and \\ iscons\n. l A X at Columbia and Colorado. c) B Kat Hunter. 0 Tat Utah. II K ~ at Washington and Lee. FIFTY YEARS 1870 AGO 1920 THE D. L~ AULD COMPANY SOLE OFFICIAL JEWELERS TO PHI KAPPA TAU COLUMBUS, OHIO Began the manufacture of Fraternity jewelry. Today AULD badges .are naturally recognized as Standard by all Fraternities. I. . ~ ' ntllllllllllHlllltiUiliiiUIUJIIImmnmulltlnun There is a BEST in every line-AULD goods are made to gtve · complete satisfaction, not merely to sell. That is why it is better to buy an AULD badge than to wish you had . • •• i HI!IUIIIHHIIIIISmiHUIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIUIIIIft Write for your copy of 1920 BLUE BOOK and illustrated badge price list. San Francisco Offjce- Chicago Office- 150 Post St., · 64 W. Randolph St. W. A. Shaw, Mgr. E. M. Mercier, Mgr.