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Show POLITICAL POWEH zlpX College g r e e k s tiflf jf 11 Raffling Problem, t pM, Leaders Listening IpS'filllSiiiiSiil It ' ' pfor the Newest Rumble from the "Frat" House W'S9MgM'fh : P029i3V inrrrii ideals-had 'been his Ideals In politics and at reunions Jul.- repeatedly urged bis 'brothers to go In for political politi-cal careers wlUi Lhelr chapter mottos for their platforms. plat-forms. Because of peculiar conditions which existed In the fraternity world nt Harvard during the year. that Theodore Bosevelt was a student he became a member mem-ber of two national fraternities beginning even nt that age to do thln-j differently than his associate. When a sophomore Mr. Booscvolt was elected to the famous Dickey lull, a society whoso members were known to he member- of Delta Kappa EpHon. Some of the members did not consider the tie bind-in bind-in :r, for they joim d other fraternities as upper clas-inen. clas-inen. Mr. Bonsevelt became an Alpha Delta Phi an upper classman and after graduation retained membership In both frarrrnltie-s. Ills son-in-law, . Nleholas lAn'wort!i. i uln a I. In. E. I)urln? his o--c up.ini-y of the Whity ITon?e Mr. Ttoosevelt was peculiarly partial to collego men. Whether appoint mcnis were made becmse of fraternal fra-ternal bond-; and f rl.-mlslilps or for political oxpe-difney oxpe-difney cniuiot be determined, of course, but the records show that the political favors were divided about evenly bc'.wceii the members of the two fraternities. fra-ternities. He has been enthusiastic in hi fraternal relation.--, repeatedly attending the conventions nnd exhorting the v. .linger peneralion of collego men to inahe politics their life work "I feel that peculiar Rood must come from an association as-sociation such as that of Delta Kappa Epsllon," he said at one convention, "an association which take? the form of n fraternity whose reason, foe existence Theodore Roosevelt r Terhaps the strangest thln of all, however, Is thai the activity of the fraternity man in politics should occasion surprise, lias he not received a thorough course in political training from the day he first donned a freshman's cap up to the moment he laid aside bis cap and pown? From the day of the first class moo tins when a president Is chosen through four years of intrljrulni; to the choice of the commencement orator every step In the college man's career Is beset by politics. He makes luterfraternity combinations to oust the non-fraternity non-fraternity men from ofiice; the fraternities unite in "fusion" movements nnd divide am,ong themselves, such Important offices as captains of athletic teams or other equally Important offices. Men who have become be-come famous In politics have confessed that their love for the game was born in the college tights. In nearly every class, In nearly every college In the hind there Is a man who Is pointed out as the "politician," and it is he who has the peculiar trick of running things his own way. - g m --rm ''r,f lif Nicholas Longworth Erman J. Ridgway ... ....w ... i s u,1,ernot0 F: -v'C s4S'''A-il 1 I BcUamy.Storec ;?vr-.:-V;;'.:-1 cy Herbert Parsons Charles P. Taft VV'v' V't'L-- . Tine MacDonalJ Photo William McKinlcy -ir, - ,, V: . -1'- A :T.i;i5- :, Cv"-'"-:;' !" '-':;'"..:yl.'l A' Benjamin Harrison- . : ' ''''fjii ''i Frank H. H.tchcock . f, .km ; ? -j vVj,-f - James A. Garfield Jzo .i 4ir. . r Committee of the Executive Council of the Delta Upsilon Fraternity Which, tyt ":- ilfe-$ "Z tW- Installed the Lafayette Chapter at Easton,Pa.Mayj30.1835 f '.'y. i I' -T- A ff"V Photo by Pach Eros..' -.:r.-'.:Lf Jtll. hr b c-t- York FTtjII r-. ah rlcht rt-wrrM H.ITICIA.NS who are practical which usual-y usual-y ly iiieans successful have had their ears tl-e to the ground f..r a I.mg lime trying to make out the importance of the newest rumble. in politics, the lutlm.-ucc of the arls-tocratlc col-e col-e fraternities. The U'arwicks and their able aids In the political ;inips are nearly ahvaxs the Jim to detect any new factor that promises political development, but In try-rg try-rg tt "size up'' the Greek letter fraternity problem they have for once tackled a proposition that is baf-(ling. baf-(ling. Its solution has been doubly hard to the party organization leader because as a rule be has little knowledge of the force. Cut the Messrs. Taft and Ttoosevelt, Hughes and Hitchcock and scores of officials in prominent offices bnvc observed the fraternity factor nnd have taken the lead In forcing Its recognition by the organizations organiza-tions About the time that the voter who Is now fifty yearn pf age was casting bis first ballot the parly lenders In their secret council meetings were beginning to recognize recog-nize the "college element" in making up all party tickets after satisfying the "church clement," the "foreign clement" nnd others. The political chieftains have recently been learning to differentiate even in the college element In preparing prepar-ing tickets to captivate the voter. The fraternity alumni have become so numerous that thev nre re-f re-f ferred to In political parlance as a clnss. Figures talk loudest in practical politic, nnd it is that conversation which Las convinced the political leaders of the importance of the Greeks. There were almost two hundred thousand members of college fraternities List year scattered among about fourteen hundred chapters. This Includes every college from Bovrdoin to San Francisco. Each fraternity Las its alumni organization in nearly near-ly every large city, and the alumni associations nnd jtctlve chapters of undergraduates arc- as closely related re-lated as parent aDd son. If there is any other ote In i the United States which may be called clannish and romparablc with the solid South It Is the solid Greek . jetter vote. If a Tsl Upsilon man. a D. K. K.. an Alpha Delta or a Delta U man Is nominated for office tbo Furost thing about the candidate' campaign Is that every man In his fraternity within reach will rally to his aid quite regardless of party lines. Inventory is not made of the thirty thousand women In fraternities who are waiting to be counted as Iru-poitant Iru-poitant factors in politics when they win the ballot. The strength of the fraternities In polities is their wonderful organizations as pt rfectly operating ainchlnes ns Tammany Hall. The colleges have been crludlng away slowly for twenty or thirty years to mild up the nlumnl associations of fraternity men. .vn. li local nlumnl association has lis complete or-ionization or-ionization and is in tnrn a part of the big central ivMcni which meets in annual conventions, dls-usses dls-usses Internal affairs nnd policies and the welfare mil Interests of Its members. Nearly nil fraternities mvo a monthly magazine to complete the orgaulza-lon. orgaulza-lon. The fraternities held nloof from politics for many 'ears, always contending that It was dangerous to iitroduce party Mrlfe in a social organization. Hut It Ii the growing tendency to regard party ns less of a noral faith one fraternity after another has broken i way from the old tradition always to help one of N members who was struggling for Important mice. it has become almost a general axiom that a man vho Is worthy to belong to a certain fraternity is deserving de-serving of the support of his brothers regardless of iarty lines. It is no longer regarded as unusual even n fraternity circles to read campaign notices sent nil by a delegation of one's fraternity associates Jlrectlug attention to a certain candidate in something some-thing like the following terms: "He was one of our men. Cornell. 1SST. nnd therefore deserves your P-H.rt." P-H.rt." The "frat" magazines also contain arguments for their candidate. First Test in 1881. One of the first .crucial tests on the question of whciher the frntemlty should ei.t.r politics was In 1K1. F. ,. Finch was a candidate for n Judgeship, and his fraternity associate, regardless of pari l.-. united in helping him. They lued several hundred of letters, which read: "Judge F. X. Finch, who Is a candidate for the ofllc-of ofllc-of Judge of the Court of Appeals. Is a loyal IM U nnd has had a deep Interest in the welfare of the fraternity. frater-nity. You will remember him as the nlUor of many . of our most popular bongs. It is hoped you will do nil you can to jm-cutc bis election." Some of the New York papers obtained copies of the letter, nnd one of the ninwdng features of that campaign cam-paign was whether ability to write good fraternity K.i.gs QK-.ir. d ft g.M-l Jn.lg.-. .lu.l-e Finch wan elected after an exciting struggle, but when tb" next national I'hI I r.mventl-'U met tin- year Meowing there was long arguing over the propriety of the fraternity delving Into polities. Finally the Convention decided by divided ote "to i.l.j.i t to the ue uf the Moiety' name ;,i,d Inilur-nce f- r x. Ill leal p.irp-e." 1 ",,s M-venil ytar before that resolution ceased to be the -Hiding rule of the fraternity. Perhaps no better evidence of the strong interrelation inter-relation of politics and fraternities can be found than in the constancy of stntesmru to their old friendships. Men forget their class reunions; to some even the loyalty loy-alty to the alma rnater Is dimmed with the years. It is the fraternity spirit which lasts longest. The en-i en-i thuslusin on the fraternity subject never seems to grow old. During the Installation of a new president at ,Wes-leyan ,Wes-leyan University recently the. throng of visitors was amazed by a suddeu break In the black robed line of distinguished visitors which was escorting President Tuft toward the campus As the procession filed slowly along the street In which the fraternity houses are located it was observed that the Pi Upsilon house was decorated more elaborately than the others. When the President was opioslte that house a fraternity frater-nity yell went up from the balcony. The cry was like the clang of a fire gong in the ear of an old fire horse. The President stopped anil listened and In a imminent imm-inent bad Joined In the yell. Another moment and the dignified line was broken as the President dashed across to the fraternity huuse. The procession was halted, and there was confusion. The President tlfs-appeared tlfs-appeared In the house and for nearly ten minutes young nud old I'sl s fell upon their big brother, wringing wring-ing his hand with the fraternity grip and singing the frat" songs. In which be joined. When the President wus In college he was always Known as "Pig Pill." The Yale chapter of his day was large and played an Important "part in polities. His associates have K.-ild since that the political side eeeiucd to fascinate "young Taft," and he wus one of the lending class politicians of his day. One of his classmates Mid recently: "The strongest side of Taft In college was that of the politician. He was In all the political manoeuvres manoeu-vres during his entire course-. If there was a magazine maga-zine board to be elected, or the manager of a baseball team or a Junior "prom" committee there was Taft doing the electing." I'.oih of Mr. Tuft' brothers wire IM U's at Yale and they were always working with him then, as they have worked since In winning more important prizes, to help him eviitrol the MjUlcal situation. The first appointive oLVe Mr. Taft over held was as Internal ICoveoue Collector of Ohio. He was uamed by President Presi-dent Arthur, who was also n member of Pel Upsiloa. The President's political manager was Frank II. Hit. Iic.v k. a Harvard 1 Ita U, who won the credit of breaking, up the solid South and a!.o won the Post-master Post-master i ncr.i Ship. When he started to break up the South be turned io ortnshy McH.trg. member of M. Linn Bruce "William Travers Jerome Charles H. Treat ." Photo by Anderson Victor H. Metcalf Kappa Alpha. Mr. Taft has named scores of fraternity frater-nity men for Important posts. Of the present House of ICepresvjitatlves ai:l I'niletl Stales Senate about forty per cent are fraternity frater-nity men. All but one of the Justices of the l'n" d States Supreme Court wear the Jewelled fraternity pin Of Governors of Slates the list covers alnm.-t the map of the country. Put what stands on' nm1! drstinclly hi lie- chief State otilees is that In nearly every instance the Governors have appointed their old fraternity brothers to Important posts. One of i he historic wars among college fraternities-began fraternities-began in the early sixties-. A group of .slmh nl- i:i Williams, angered by the secrecy of other fraternity men, started a revolt against tin' secret' system and - cut ua'.ly founded a new fraternity whh-h lln-y named Helta Upsilon. There was a series of battles, but the new fraternity weathered them all. Its leader was a student, James A. Garfield, who was recognized ns one of the Iresl political organizers hi the college. Twenty years later James A. Garfield was national president of the Helta Upsilon fraternity, which had spread over the country, with chapters In all prominent promi-nent colleges. The same year, lssj the National Ke-publicnn Ke-publicnn Convention met in Chicago. After two dajs of ceaseless warring and when the Convention Oas stlM as far from selecting a eainli.Iate for President a on the firm day when It met. a young man ole lritb-d the great audience by Jumping up und iiomluatiug Garfield. The young man was knowil as "Givlr. of Pennsylvania." Put be was uNo a Helta U and had long been nssoci i!c,l with Garfield in the fraternity. Justice Hughes as Delegate. One of the first telegrams that reached the republican republi-can uoinlnci" was from the ielta U fraternity assem ble! In rational convention. That fraternity resolution resolu-tion was framed and presented by ii elclcgnle from Urown University. Chark--- 1; Hughes It was the first lime a convention had gone Into politics, but the fraternity worked through the campaign in careful ii ml guarded way. Garfield w.: the fir f Gre'I: letter man elected to I'm Presidency. He appointed scores of his own and other fraternity men to otlice. When Chester A. Ai Mint- H! eeoicd to l lie Presidency he was even iiv-re' put lil to his fraternity men. In P1 Upsilon. President Ilr. rri-on was a I'hl Helta Theta man a:ul lie made permanent the custom started by Garfield Gar-field and Arthur. It has continued to flourish In the ailinliiisuv.tio'is of Presidents McKinlcy and Taft ai:d in recent years has extended to every branch of ti.iiioii.il. State and municipal government. K Ideally ii"t sallsfii-d w ith the honors of appointive appoint-ive and old the otli -e, the fraternity man has re-ecii;l.v re-ecii;l.v lur.iid his attention to the organization branch of poiitks. In recent campaigns fraternity men havo been I lie helm of parly machines and have wou litolies, too. Herbert Par-ons, for four yens president of the New Yoik County C :n!ltce. was a Teke" at Yale and Si was through hN fraternity that his friendship with President poosevelt was formed. The friendship friend-ship lid to Mr. Parsons' po-i;.m in polities. JiHtie-e Hugla s U rcgiid.-d by college men ns a s.ei:d:d eiai.il !" of fratii'iliv iufiaence lu politics. Win n In- was nominated for Governor one of the most tin-less bauds of w. rkcis for his election was compi'sttl ef his fralernlty ass, t-iate-i, Including William Will-iam Travers Jerome, M. I. Inn Prin e, Krinan J. It 10 go-way. go-way. Frederick Crossed iind the men who lp.d been with Mr. Hughes In the Fxeeutlve. Council of the fraternity. fra-ternity. The latter ln luded Otto and Charles KidMtz, F-dwaid M. Passelt and Mark Allen. And after Hughes N-ranie Governor he appointed Mr. Itas-vtt a Public Sen Ice Commissioner, Mr. Bruce a Justice on the Supreme Court Bench nnd Mr. Crossed Cros-sed a member of his personal staff. He named many other Helta U's to Important otlice. Including Bobert II. Fuller as private secretary. Two of the important and distinctive measures of Governor Hughes' administration In Albany were the emboilliiti-nt of ideas for which he had fought lo his fraternity In his undergraduate days. The public ft r ice laws were expressions of the non-secret rules of his fraternity nnd the Plrcet Nominations bill on effort to restore to all the "members of the fraternity" the right to select th'-lr president, whether or not they hapix-n to go to Hie convention where the election lakes pt.ice. In the last few years Goer:ioi- Hugiies several times In l -pen-be,- declared that hV fraternity Is to be found In extending the bond of good brotherhood. broth-erhood. Fraternities such as this unite men without regard to section, creed or occupation on tho basis of the great qualities which they have In common." Among Mr. Boosoclt's notable appointments of fraternity men. all of which are recorded In chapter annals as elne entirely to the collego inflacnce, were Charles Henry Treat, treasurer of the United States; "John D. Long, Secretary of tho Navy; Victor Metcalfe, Met-calfe, Secretary of the Navy; Henry M. Iloyt, Solicitor Solici-tor General; Ashley M. Gould, Associate Justice of the Court of Appeals; Bellamy Storer, William II. Moody, all members of Helta Kappa Epsllon, and Justices William li. Duy and Oliver H. nolmes, of the Supremo Court; James It. Garfield. Secretary of the Interior; and Horace Maynard, all of Alpha Delta rhl. There were scores of lesser appointments from tho membership of the two fraternities. SPECTRE SHIP OF THE SOUND. T'lK coast of New Fngland has numerou3 legends concerning spectre ships firmly believed by the rugged fishermen, who Assert stoutly that on various vari-ous occasions glimpses of the shadowy craft bavc becu seen, followed invariably by fatal disaster. Tho spectre of the Fnlcntlno is occasionally seeu on the Sound, nud Is "the forerunner of n gale of wlnel. She was n Dutch trading vessel, and was wrecked off Block Island in 17o The wreckers, it Is said, made short work of her. stripping her fore nud aft and setting set-ting fire to the hull. As she drifted blazing off the coast n human form was visible amid Uio llames. the form of a female pnsengert left to perish on the doomed craft. Since, and generally upon the Anniversary of tho wreck, a phantom fhip with blazing hull, charred tpnrs nnd scorched sails and rigging has been seen cruLdns off Block Island. WhltUer recorded the legend in graceful verse, as well ns that of a ghostly cruiser that sailed from n vv England port on her last voyage, which he termed "The Dead Ship of Salem." In the seventee nlh century ft uhlp was about to Kill from Salem to England. Eng-land. Her cargo was on board, pails bent and passengers passen-gers on deck when two pussengers came hurriedly off and engaged passage. The couple were a young man nnd a young wouiau, who. so tradition records, were remarkable for their bearing and beauty. Who they were or whence they cuino no one in Salem Town could tell. The 6hip being detained by -adverse winds, the mysterious couple excited the suspicions sus-picions of tho townspeople, who viewed them as un-cuuuy un-cuuuy and prophesied disaster to the vessel if allowed to sail In her. But tho master, a bluff nnd stern sailor, refused to Jhstcn and finally departed on a Friday. , The vessel never reached her destination nnd was never spoken, but later iu tho. year Incoming vessels reported elghUng a craft with luminous' rigging and sails and shining hull nnd spars. She was tailing with all canvas set against the wind, with a crew of dead men standing in the shrouds nud leaning ovel the rail, while upon the quarter deck stood a youiij' and beautiful couple. |