1912–13 Volume 37 No 1–5 - Phi Delta Theta Scroll Archive

328 THE SCROLLamounts to anything it amounts to something because of the fact that it promotesthe sweet fellowships, the peculiar intimacies of small groups in collegelife. The older Phi, who makes sacrifices for the sake of the younger Phi, thebrother living in the chapter house who feels the necessity of giving up somethingfor the common good, is laying the foundation for that larger, that unselfishloyalty which will enable him fo render the sacrificial service in theoutside world that is demanded above all things else in our day—in everyday—for human advancement.The typical Phi will serve his generation in the lime light, if the logic ofevents drives him in that direction, but he will serve—^he will serve, if need be,in obscurity; and always with the unselfish patriotism that becomes thetrue scholar, the genuine democrat, the broad-gauged, large-visioned, culturedgentleman, the clean, high-minded, efficient, manly man.God give us men! A time like this demandsStrong minds, great hearts, true faith and ready hands;Men whom the lust of office does not kill,Men whom the spoils of office cannot buy,Men who possess opinions and a will;Men who love honor; men who will not lie;Men who can stand before a demagogue,And damn his treacherous flatteries without winking!Tall men, sun-crowned, who live above the fogIn public duty and in private thinking.That, my brothers, is the ceaseless prayer of the ages. God give us theeverlasting answer in The Typical Phi. (Applause.)THE TOASTMASTER: We have here tonight a great nephew ofRobert Morrison, the founder of the Fraternity. He has come to tellus some things about the history of this Fraternity, particularly theearly history of it. We welcome him for his uncle's sake. It wasin his home that he lived during his college course, I understand.He was initiated into Phi Delta Theta by that father of the Fraternity.We welcome him certainly for his uncle's sake and we welcomehim also for his own sake—Brother J. Stuart Morrison, MissouriBeta, '93, who will speak to us on "Bits of Ancient History."BROTHER MORRISON : Mr. Toastmaster. I wish to thank you for the gratefulwelcome expressed in your words of introduction. Brother Phis, fellowBondsmen, there could be no greater pleasure come to me than to stand beforeyou on this occasion.Now I didn't come up here to talk about any particular ancient history.Really I didn't know what I was going to talk about, only I supposed aboutfifteen minutes; but I have been requested by some of the brothers to saysomething regarding the man whom you all reverence, and the documentwhich he wrote. It was my pleasure, naturally, to know my uncle. I didn'tknow him for a long time. He was born a good while before I was—somefifty years or so. I think I first knew him when he was fifty-two yearsold. My early life was not spent in the same "State where he resided; but later,when I was fourteen or fifteen years old, I moved into the same town in whichhe lived, down in Missouri. I knew him very intimately then for three or fouryears, and finally, after fhe lapse of a few years, I started to college, and hein the meantime moved to the college town in Missouri in which I attendedcollege, Westminster College, and there it was my pleasure to reside in hishome for two years or more. After I had been initiated, I learned from himseveral things which perhaps some men in the Fraternity may not yet know.I asked him how he came to organize the Fraternity anyhow, what put itinto his mind? He told me that before Phi Delta Theta was organized atMiami University some other fraternities had existed there, but they were of arather convivial nature, and paid but little attention to the better things incollege life; and he thought to take the best that they had in them and add