The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-05-31
BY ALBERT 6. sTEvENs.

Copyright. 1896, by Albert c. Stevens,
New York City,
The Greek letter college fraternity is
unique in that it is the only secret or
ganization founded on an aristocracy
of social advantages and educational
opportunities. Members of these fra
ternities become so only after being in
vited 10 JOIN; the college student who
should prove SO unfamiliar with what
may be called college custom as 10 ask
TO be allowed to join one of these or
CARNATIONS would probably never be
permitted to do so. So secret" are the
Greek letter fraternities, or most of
them that are members although wear
ing jeweled badges. generally refuse to
mention the organizations in the pres
ence OF ''profanes." Instances have
been known where a member of one
college fraternity resigned and Joined
another. or was expelled and taken in
by a rival society, but they are like
hens teeth. Originally, membership in
the Greek letter fraternities was con-
fined TO college students, pursuing
classical course, students from the
scientific and even the engineering de-
partments now receive bids" These
fraternities take their names from in
Greek which is a monogram or other
wIse, designed in gold or enamel and
ornamented with jewels, go to make UP
the handsome fra,ternal badges or pins
which members wear.
THE PARENT FRATERNITY.
The practical parent of college fra
ternitieS is Phi Beta Kappa, now mere
ly an honorary society. 1t was started
at the college of William and Mary.
Virginia, in 1776, and is therefore as old
as the republic. 1t was a secret organ
iza,tion until early in the thirties. The
story that Thomas Jefferson was in
strumental in its founding cannot be
verified. The badge is a square gold
watch-keY, worn as a charm or pen
dent. It contains six stars and hand
pointing to the Greek letters Phi Beta
Kappa.
Phi Beta Kappa was taken to Yale in
1880; by Yale TO Harvard in 1881, and
by Yale and Harvard TO Dartmouth il
1887. and by Yale and Harvard and
Dartmouth to Union in 1917. Here, OF
course, there is a long jump Of thirty
years, during which period leading col
leges of the country and others ran tC
r1e formation of strictly literary organ
izations, some secret and some not
These took Understanding Latin titles
of which the only prominent illustra
ton today is at Princeton.
THE UNION TRIAD.
In 1921, four years after Phi Bete
Kappa was taken to Union, Chi Delta
Theta was founded ait Yale, where i
has remained a local society, of lat
years practically an honorary frater
nifty for the benefit of the editorial stat
of Yale Lit Two years later, in 1923
according to tradition, there was
Kappa All Ia club formed at Uniol
college. AIT first Il was merely a club
and. as admitted by its founder, had n
intention Of becoming a secret society
Whether the example of Chi Delta The
Ia at Yale in 1921 or the thought 0
rivalling the then generally Widespread,
Greek letter fraternity, Phi Beta Kap
pa, was the inspiration, is not known
neither can it now be determine
whether the (rumored) creat ton of Oh
Phi at Princeton in 1924 had any bear
ing on the matter. But certain it i
that in 1895 was born anew Kappi