The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1922-10-15

grabbing one anothers hands when they
meet, and they may have grip and
password, and the chairs may be ar
ranged in peculiar fashion when the
boys gather for a session at some TEL
lows home, but that's as far as it goes.
The secret proceedings the critics OF
fraternities talk so much about consists
of a painful wait for food and healthy
dash for it when the hosts mother an
nounces that the spread Is ready.
High school fraternities were nearly
dead in 1910. Then school boards and
Legislatures tried to suppress them The
result is that they are flourishing to-day.
Let prohbitory law be passed In TINS
State and they'll flourish more than
ever. Nevertheless the principle OF at
tempted suppression Is wrong and' as
l said, we are going to fight.
Another man who protests against the
proposed law is Murray Il. Quigg. law
yer OF AZ Broadway. When he~attenoed
De Witt Clinton High School he was at
the head Of the Gamma Eta Kappa
chapter there. A Harvard degree ana
the years between have not erased MS
fondness for IL.
Among human beings" Mr.. Quigg
said, social distinctions are bound to
be made. Boys bind their friendships
by secret and peculiar ties exactly as
men do. This is fact not to be avoided
or legislated out OF existence. The ira
ternity can be controlled and made
strong force in the moral development
of the boys and the esprit OF the schooi.
My own society made 1t practice to
invite at least one member OF the fac
ulty to become an active member. AT
our meetings we always had from five
to twelve alumni present, some OF whom
had been out of school more than ten
years. They guided and helped us, and
we helped them to keep up their in
terest in the school.
Offer Prizes for Scholarship.
"Fraternities have been prosecuted ali
over the country, but are still going in
one shape or another. They are the
one school organization that tends to
make permanent ties not only between
the boys of school but between boys
in different parts Of the country.
recall one convention of our fraternity
to attend which eleven men crossed the
continent. Many of the larger fra
ternities publish magazines. Alumni of
some fraternities offer~prizes for scholar
ships
Are fraternities undemocratic? That
implies first a definition Of democracy.
We have the absurd habit of applying
the word to all kinds of institutions
to which it has no reasonable appli-
cation. People are not democratic in
making friends. They. are selected, and
generally the more worth while the man
the more selective he is. The point Is
that some fraternities are accused of
being snobbish. Undoubtedly some are,
but that is because they are not under
! proper leadership. A man or boy should
! be elected to a fraternity because he
displays some positive virtue or ability.
He should understand that IL he Is su-
perior to his fellows 1t is only in SO far
as he actually displays that virtue or
characteristic. Sound leadership should
| quickly destroy any faint of snobbish-
ness. If the fraternity attains it's pur.
pose of drawing together worthwhile
elements it can certainly exert strong
moral influence on the student body. It
is up to the fraternity to see that II Is
so organized that it does exert this in
| fiuence. Such an influence should not
be lost by legislation tempting to run
fraternitics into the ground and forcing
them to exist sub rosa. making 1t diff
ycult or impossible for high grade men
to exploit the good influences which the
| bringing together of the natural leaders
| In "a fraternaI organization would per.
nit"
The case for high school secret so
cieties was also presented to THE New