The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-06-07
WHAT A COLLEGE BOY GOES THROUGH-By George Fitch
even With Adelphi by Lending 1t Infant Demosthene
Runaway Oratory-How Petey Simmons Got Even With

is members. In the sos the two So
cieties built fine halls. a dead heat in
cost and equipment, and started out on
the long task of paying for them.
After that the rivalry spread out into
a long skirmish line with hundred
fighting points. We owed more money
than Adelphi did, but we pulled of
grander lecture courses. They had a
piano. but we had two magnificent
plaster busts of Cicero and Demos
themes. They had more Interstate ora
torical winners than we, but we had
twice as many debate winners.
They had tinted and decorated walls
in their meeting hall, but we had
splendid set Of leather upholstered
chairs. They were ritualistic; we wer,
practical and plain. They were care
less in parliamentary practice: we held
firmly to formal rules and grew rich
in fines. They would start a debate on
the desirability of Cuba and end 1t on
the desirability OF whiskers. on the
other hand, they charged that at the
end Of a forty-hve minute Grafton by
one Of our leading men, during my
freshman year, the speaker had to
wakcn the chairman in order that the
rest Of the society might be fined for
sleeping.
On every point we viewed each other
with scorn and defiance. 1t add d zest
to our meetings and made hard work
pleasure. 1t made us Guido ourselves
each year in our annual open meetings.
to which the outside world was in
vited-and that reminds me that away
back about o'clock / started to tell
about one of these same open meetings
Witch | shall now do or forever hold
my peace.
The years rivalry always eliminated
in these open meetings. We n Id them
on succeeding Thursday nights in the
late spring. First, Adeph performed
while we Gnothautn sat with the other
guests and tried not to show our
amusement at their boyish efforts. The
| st week We unclaimed our soaringest
| orators and most peppery debaters, and
| must say that the Adelphians In the
| audience always acted like a lot of
| rilnoceroses, so far as appreciation Of
true wisdom went. Then we spent the
next year aspersing each others last
r,eetlng and preparing for the next dis
play.
No one realized better than that
whla | was loyal member Of Gnot-
| hauti / was not doing my full share to
maintain her glory. l attended regu-
larly, paid as much In fines as any one,
and could hold my own against any
! three ph.ans in rough and tumble
| talk about our merits on the campus.
| Tut as a dcbater. an orator, prize
| winner or any sort Of a future great
member 1 was a CHASTITY failure.
had not contributed a peep to the
fame of the society. 1t worried me until
/ realized that there must be humble
| camp followers and sappers and miners
| In every army as well as TALL towering
monuments OF gold braid. Then
cheered up and began to sap and mine
Adelphi to the very best OF my ability.
1t was a pleasant and exciting proc
ess, because there were a lot Of us
doing 1t In both societies. Some men
are constitutionally fitted to listen to
speeches. l admire them. They form
the bones and sinew Of the great Amerl-
can audience, without which oratory
could not exist. When / think OF the
| heroic listeners who turn out, rain or
| shine, settle back in hard chairs and
| endure speeches on every subject from
| Child Culture" to "Cniversal peace"
| am filled with awe at their pluck. For
| l never had 1t and never will have 1t.
| / can listen to speech for about
seven minutes. After that my right leg
| begins to itch, and my back hurts, and
| l begin TO think Of the Incredible length
OF a half hour, and presently ! get up
and go away. I can't help it. I'm just