University Missourian. [volume] (Columbia, Mo.) 1908-1916, 1916-01-27
The Open Column


what We are pleased to call the fra
ternity question" As fraternity
man of twelve years standing, and OF
four different universities; as a fra
ternity man who numbers among the
so-called "barbs" some of his very
best friends. and has never found ms
membership in Greek-letter organi-
Zation a bar to those friendships, |
NAV be able to supplement and even to
correct some current impressions.
Though have given critical thought
to the value of Greek-letter frater-
mites for the past seven years, l have
not been able to determine. in my own
mind, whether they are an asset or a
detriment to the whole student body.
As to sororities, | know so little OF
them that | shall not try to fool even
myself into the belief that am COM
petent Judge of their value.
First: the subject of alleged de-
baucheries. of impure deeds. | have
attended universities where eXcesses
along those lines were very real ques-
tions indeed. far more of burning
question than in the University OF
Missouri, where | have never yet
seen a drunken student, nor even
heard of any party" being put on,
with the exception of the escapade OF
the freshman law class of last year.
and an occasional hurrah from the
links in the spring. Hence it seems
that that attitude of fraternities i'll
those institutions would more nearly
represent their attitude than in this
comparatively pure institution
Here, the son of prominent W. {. /.
L. worker-a fraternity man-ls al
legged to have advocated the putting
down of booze" There the winner Of
a prize offered by the W. C. T. L. for
the best essay on temperance used the
money so gained to pay bar-blll OF
long standing. He might have been a
fraternity member-but he wasn't
Single instances, especially when
carefully selected to prove "A point
prove nothing. That the student body
as a whole is more guilty of intemper-
ance than is that part of it represent
ed by the fraternities. is not proved
by the fact that more of the members
of the freshman lawyers were non
fraternity men than were fraternity
men.
The preponderance of evidence will
not bear out the claim that hard
drinking is fostered by fraternities,
nor by anyone else but liquor deal
ers. Should the real facts show that,
Il would be a strong argument against
fraternit:es. Those facts, as much
of them as have been able to discov-
er in the last twelve years, show di-
rectly the opposite. | havc known
MANY bows who, being away from
home influences for the first time. have
thought that the only way to be
great and good (college) man is to
become a heavy sport. In almost ev-
ery instance their regeneration is due
to the stern and immediate action of
their fraternity brothers. Some cases
are hopeless but even they are mOdi-
fed by fraternity action.
Fraternities don't want impure
minded sports. When they get them
it is by mistake not design.
Next, let us look into the claim of
snobbery. If the fraternity is undem-
ocratic-more undemOcratic than all
life-if it fosters distinctions of wealth
or birth. or anything else tending to
raise one group above another. it is
bad, unwholesome, and must ultimate
ly go the way of all bad and unwhole-
some things. Wealth is regarded less
in a fraternity than anywhere else in
the world. 1t is completely overshad-
owed by the central facts of brother
hood in the same organization. / have
known many chapters Of many frater-
mites intimately. and feel sure that
very nearly twenty per cent of all
fraternity men are working their
way through college without help.
This percentage frequently contains
the big men of the chapter and of the
university.
There is even less regard for dis
tinctions of birth. This type of So
cial distinction means very little to
boys in general. | have known men.
men well beloved in their chapter.
who were the sons of bartenders. of
day-labOrers of engine drivers, of
senators, of bankers. The on.y ques
tions asked by the chapter about their
prospective pledge are these: as he
a good fellow? Shall like him? Will
he fl in with the bunch?"
Everyone makes this distinction
each day of his life. We choose the
friends We shall see the most of from
the sort of people who like and can do