The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1922-08-03

do not know any chapter of any fraternity-and I
know hundreds Of them-whtch does not contain
men, respected by everyone in the chapter and in
the college. who are earning their living In college
through their own efforts; but In general, unless
the man concerned has some special talent, this
Is not so easy to do unaided when in q fraternity
as when out of it.
The man who joins a fraternity loses something
of his independence. Being a part of an organ
lied group of men, he is not so free to do as he
pleases as he would be If he did not have this
relationship. He must submit to regulations, he
must learn. to adapt himself to the conditions of
home life, and to the idiosyncrasies Of a score or
more of people, He will often have to yield his
desires and his rights, perhaps, to the will of the
organization, for those who go into an organiza-
ton must be willing to do what will bring the
greatest good to the greatest number. He must
learn to get on with people, to give up, to be un-
selfish, to do that which will be most helpful and
advantageous to his brothers. Many fellows do
not like to do this, and sometimes parents do not
wish them to learn, SO that such men would make
poor fraternity men. and they would be unhappy
and make their friends unhappy in the making.
There is a tendency when a man joins a frater-
nifty for him to be satisfied with the friends he
meets within it's membership, and so to narrow his
interests, to restrict his acquaintance, and to I'M
dervalue the broader training which comes from
a more general contact with men. It is only the
weak and narrow-minded man, however, who will
d luIO tUlS SHOUDtSIuCSS ILL WHO Will restrict
his acquaintance and his friends to the men
whom he meets within his fraternity. The num-
Der Of such men is fortunately not large.
But there are advantages in fraternity life and
these I believe outweigh these possible evils or
disadvantages which I have mentioned. The boy
who joins a fraternity establishes himself in a
home with many of the same duties and comforts
Of the home life to which he has been accustomed
before going to college, and the fraternity house
remains to him a home even after he gets out Of
college. He gathers around him Immediately a
group of friends who have his best interests at
heart. 1t has been said by those who oppose the
fraternity system, that his choice OF friends is
made too quickly to be satisfactory: that it is a
very mechanical choice seldom based upon the
principles which underlie true friendships, and
that the friendship thus formed is an evanescent
one. But the fact that fraternity brothers in
every chapter In every college where fraternities
exist are not only close friends while they are in
college, but remain SO throughout life, tends to
disprove such a statement. A fraternity man is
seldom dissatisfied with the friends he has chosen.
The ideals Of life formally set before the fra
ternity man, and these as I have said, are prac-
tcally always based upon Christian principles. are
the highest possible. The character De the men
who were responsible for the founding OF these
organizations and the character OF the national
officers who are now IN charge Of fraternity affairs
In each, organization will substantiate this fact.
The fnterfraternity conference, which for the last
dozen years has done more to bring fraternitfes
and fraternity men together than any other agency.
and which Is constantly suggesting methods in the
fraternity OF developing good scholarship. Of
Strengthening moral principles, and 5of encourage
ing loyalty to the college and cooperation with its
officers. Is composed of a most representative
group of business and professional men-lawyers.
doctors, ministers-and the best in the country.