Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-11-11

LlIi anu llti * PEA ii i
with limitations since Edward Fa.rchiid
Berkeley. of st. Louis. was drowned near
Geneva, n. Y. Undergraduates have
met to pass resolutions of coincidence
and TO advise against "horseplay" in the
future. Fraternity men say that the
funny business" which resulted SO sad
~ in Berkley's case has nothing to do
with the real initiation and is done SIM
ply for the amusement Of the men who
are already members. Several of the
Cornell fratsriiities lave decided to do
away with it altogether in the future. At
least one local fraternity which has had
its swing or spike since the accident
did nothing in the way Of hazing.
No attempt is made to keep fraternity
horseplay secret: in fact, many of the
stunts are down in public, the whole
matter is talked of freely afterward. and
the victim usually ENJOYS the telling as
much as any one. a Cornell professor
who has always been a strong fraternity
mar and who has had much experience
with swings" and the fun that usually
goes before said in speaking Of the mat
ter:
play indulged in before a fraternity mi
tiation is a part of that interesting ceIe-
mony Ii really has nothing to do with it
and could be left out as we'll as not. The
fun is usually of a mild sort, and the
PIoSptolING Lat. lhdl Sciopiii l
more than temporary annoyance. A few
serious accidents due to carelessness and
misunderstanding have done fraternities
a great deal of harm, but has this result
ed in modifying the character OF the fun
andulged in to a great extent?
1T is usually the desire OF those in
charge of the horseplay to make the vic
tins foolish and uncomfortable. There
are man ways Of doing this. A certain
fraternity not long ago sent one of it's
n, mon ~ New Work Hn was instruct.
ed to occupy a front seat in a big theater
where a popular play was on the boards.
According to instructions, just as the
climax of the second act approached he
arose in his seat, yawned, and said in a
voice loud enough to be heard all over the
house,: This show is rotten. You'd bet
ter go home!' He walked out slowly,
amid the Kisses Of the crowd, was arrest
ed. paid his fine, and returned to college
for his initiation.
Many of the Cornell fraternity houses
are situated near the Ithaca cemetery,
and the gravestones and vault doors have
been used for years In connection with
horseplay. I found a miserable, gloomy
crowd of four prospective frat men sit
ting on a lonely grave only a few nights
ago. They said they had been waiting for
several hours. They We're expecting
something to happen every moment. but
didn't have the slightest idea what form
the cause of their fright would take. They
We're SO sure they would be frightened
that when an ordinary ghost appeared
suddenly around the corner of a nearby
tomb they We're really badly upset. They
fed from the spot, with the ghost in pur-
suit. A rope stretched across the path
ambushed them successfully into the
aims of the waiting frat men. They
We're rolled up in blankets before they
recovered from the fall and were carried
away for the real initiation.
Another fraternity has all it's horse
play in public, and the crowd adds to the
victims discomfort. A man who joined
a Well known fraternity last year will
never forget the experience he had in a
small town near Ithaca. For two hours
his tormentors kept him doing stunts of
various sorts for the edification of the
villagers. From the top of a high tele-
graph pole he was forced TO sing:
Nearer, my God, to Thee,
Than ever I'll be again.
He followed this confession of faith
by an elaborate attempt to sing the chor-
us of a popular song in bass, tenor, So
prano and alto. He was lined up on a big
box with several other candidates for
the purpose of holding an i~mppomptu
prayer meeting. At it's close cigarettes
We're purchased at 50 cents each. The
quartet We're finally ordered to fight a
crowd of town boys that had gathered
around. Numbers were against them,
and by the time the village marshal ar
rived the college men had received IA Sc
we're beating.
Mock athletic meets in the country at
midnight are another form of horseplay.
The victim is blindfolded, placed before
a high bank and told to jump. IT he
ObevS with a will he hunts into the bank
with a crash. The candidate may be led
in front of a ditch of muddy water and
told to run straight ahead. He goes into
the ditch, and usually has to be helped
cut. Serious accidents have happened
through directions being misunderstood
MADE INSANE THROUGH FRIGHT.
"Thoughtlessnes and carelessness are
the dangers of this horseplay. The fact
that one man can stand with safety what
another cannot undergo is sometimes
overlooked. This fact was painfully
brought home to a California CHAPTER of
a certain fraternity not long ago. They
We're initiating a fine young fellow, the
son of a rich western politician. The
ceremonies had been under way for sew
eral hours, when the Young man was
locked up in a dark room while the fra
ternity went into council. After spend
ing an hour in solitary darkness the boy
was led out. The spokesman informed
him that they had Judged him unworthy
of being admitted to the brotherhood.
They explained, however. that too many
of the fraternity secrets had been d!Sclos-
ed and that he must be killed. He was to
have his choice between quick poison or
being cut to pieces under a train. The
boy took the matter seriously and begged
for his life. He offered to make any kind
of promise to keep secret what he knew.
The boys told him to hurry up his choice,
as he had but a quarter of an hour yet to
live. He then started TO fight, but was
quickly overpowered and bound. He still
refused to choose the manner of his
death; so a coin was tossed, heads
meaning poison and tails the carwhee
route. According to programme it fell
tails up, and the boy was carried across
the fields to a railroad track. His eyes
We're blinded. his arms and legs tied and
fastened with ropes to the rails of a
switch Immediately alongside the main