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

THE SCROLL 413ing coal and other staple necessities. The high cost of living has lately causedconsiderable uneasiness among the Greek-letter men, whose chapter houses accommodatefrom ten to twenty men in the college term. Prices for mealsand board have been advanced in some cases, and a number of chapters arejust about able to meet expenses. By buying supplies in large bulk through theuniversity, it is thought, running expenses may be kept down.A 2 $ was founded as a sophomore society at Yale in 1846, and was establishedas that sort of a society at Harvard in 1850 and at Amherst College in1856, and as a four year fraternity at Marietta College (Ohio) in i860. Itdied at Harvard in 1857, at Amherst in 1862 and at Yale in 1864. The chapterat Marietta has existed continuously. After a period of half a century, A 2 *was reincarnated but as a regular instead of a class fraternity. The Yalechapter was revived in 1907 and the Harvard chapter in 1911. The chapterat Amherst College has been nominally revived by fhe establishment of a chapterat Massachusetts Agricultural College at Amherst. Since 1907 eight newchapters have been established, giving the fraternity now a chapter roll oftwelve.The following rather remarkable statement is clipped from the Beta ThetaPi for November:It is not generally known that two women were at one time admitted to theWabash chapter. They were initiated June 15, 1860 and were then stsudeiits atWaveland's Indiana Academy. This initiation was conducted in one of the literary societyhalls at the academy. All of the Betas of the chapter were present and the recordsstate that the women were regularly initiated and were entitled to all the rights ofmembers of the fraternity. Their names were Emma Bennet and Celia Crocker.The minutes of the Wabash chapter meetings from 18S6 to 1867 were copied by membersof * r A and some few years since were given to the Betas at DePauw by* r A's.there. As the originals have always been in the possession of the Wabashchapter it is difficult to see how they were copied unless some Beta having custodyof the records had an over-curious room mate.In the Beta Theta Pi for February, Prof. Francis W. Shepardson again mentionsthe initiation of the two young women by the Beta chapter at Wabashin i860, and he also states that in 1889 membership in B 9 II was tenderedMrs. Leila McKee Welsh, President of Western College at Oxford, Ohio, but shedeclined fhe offer because, as explained by her in a recent letter, she "felt thatany leaning toward a single fraternity might injure my influence with theother fraternities in Miami University and with the other fraternity sympathizersamong my own girls."TWO PHIS IN THE CABINETOf the ten members of President Wilson's cabinet, six attended college andfive are members of fraternities. J. C. McReynolds, Attorney-General, wasgraduated by Vanderbilt in 1S82 and by the University of Virginia LawSchool in 1884. D. F. Houston, Secretary of Agriculture, was graduated bythe University of South Carolina in 1887. A. S. Burleson, Postmaster-General,was graduated by the University of Texas in 1884. W. G. McAdoo, Secretaryof the Treasury, was graduated by the University of Tennessee. F. K. Lane,Secretary of the Interior, was graduated by the University of California.W. J. Bryan, Secretary of Stale was graduated by Illinois College in 1881.J. C. McReynolds and D. F. Houston are members of ^ A 9, A. S. Burlesonof ^ r A, W. G. McAdoo of K 2 and F. K. Lane of X 4". W. J. Bryan is a memberof a literary society at Illinois College named 2 II but not of the recentlyorganized fraternity of that name.L. M. Garrison, Secretary of War, perhaps attended college and may belongto a fraternity, but he could not be traced, as his name does not appear in"Who's Who." Josephus Daniels, Secretary of fhe Navy, was educated atWilson (N. C.) Collegiate Institute; W. C. Redfield, Secretary of Commerce,in the Pittsfield (Mass.) High School, and W. B. Wilson, Secretary of Labor,in the common schools of Pennsylvania.