The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, February 10, 1907, Page 4

By Ida L. Brooks e now t oewin etween n San nd Berkeley and the ernities and s the two cant right a student being 1 school the principles M’ Shade r public schools to harbor class dtstino- thére be any societies whose ten- schoal ication takes the sororities, and fon of the demo- moreover, that they enefit greater om other clubs cret, and such student. ully amusing, and all the rest, remembers that a good many e represented there are bare- 14 years of age and that the oldest the sent average, perhaps, st yvoungsters, but as keen for gustice as the oldest man in the court- yoom. Loaking at the thing through ® e their eyes American, resisting tyranny, tooth and one must see them as truly nail, quie disregardful of their great and incontrovertible youthfulness. One little girl at the Berkeley High, lately receiyed into the ‘“elect” a Lambda Theta Phi, to be specific, tips back her disdainful head, raises her eyvebrows and announces definitely that she doesn’'t know “how they are going to get along without us.” Maybe she will ibe a little older some time and a little wiser, and then she will know that just such exaggera- THE FIRST MUNICIPAL GRAFTERS Continued from Preceding Page.) - After the assassination, in an- he glorified himself for Caesar, by his will, had arrow, and his greatest hieved after his death. t estetes were given to the peo- The sum of $15 was citizen and $60 to every ssius and others of er speech ng it n > n 2 “ERmE ANy B n the comspirators met ar's acts they found they themselves, and pasd{>d oblivion. But the army and were furious, and would not nd e conspirators fled. An- d Lepidus combined the armies and Gaul, and at the battle of i brought the republic to an end. tony adyanced into Italy be gave people forge tony as he looked through the aine of his sedan chair. it what ie the lesson of this dra- matic epoch? We heve now the same Seeming conflict between the rich end poor. Two thousand years have not altered the powers nor the limitations of the human race a particle, and we are at this moment In a process of transition toward something new for which our oid political institutions are not adapted. We Thave capitalists maintaining monopolies of wealth and the essentials of life. We have a labor cult that is disputing with the monopo- lists, if not for supremacy, at least for equality. We see the individual cap- italist delegating. his powérs to “trust.” ~ We see the laborer sink his personality into his trades union, to be operated by delegates and representa- tives, and we see these representatives sometimes violate their trust. We need not go to Rome for object lessons In misgovernment. But the lesson of Rome tells us with painful suggestive- ness what the end will be, if we do not succeed in making the law absolutely paramount over rich and poor alike, and that law be founded upon prin- ciples of human equity. Our paper gov- ernment may hardly be improved. Our real government is a government of much graft, with too many men lo for a share in spofls. tion of fts importance was what gave the deathblow to her beloved sorority. One of ‘the very pleasant things In a high school girl’s life is being able— nay, even being entreated by him—to wear the pin of a fraternity boy. It's an immensely enviable privilege, a covetable honor. When you have a pin exhibited on’ yefr shirtwaist, the girls will come to you and say;, “Who is he?” —for he may/be one of many—and others won't even speak about it, it hurts them so. And that's kind of nice, too. And if you can wear two at one time—oh, the joy of-it! | One of the sorority girls told.me con-' fidentially that it I'really wouldn't make much. difference if the sororities had to go, but it would be perfectly terrible if thers weren’t going to be any more fraternities. I would just as soon pot come to school any more. .One doesn’t need to be told that ‘was & very pretty girl. / What Principal James Says Morris C. James, principal of the Berkeley High, states definitely the im- mediate stimulus that brought about the recent action of the Berkeley board. He says: “The thing that will perhaps sound to e people of this community in gene: is that the parents of the fraternity and soror- ity members themselves are the ones ‘whose - entreaties have compelled the school authorities to take I haye received numerous such a character, and members of the board have likewise received them. “Not long ago the father of two children who belong to secret societies came to me and told me most emphat- ically that he. considered that such societies should not be tolerated in the schools. He. did not approve of them all, he sald. et is . step. of \ “"But, 1 exclalmed, ‘yvour children belong to them. Why do you allow it? ' ‘Because,’ he replied, ‘their friends —thelir natural assoclates, remember— are members of these societies and, had I not allowed my children to join, they would have been debarred from privileges and pleasures enjoyed by their friends. T look on these frater- nities as & detriment to the schools and the school children.’ “Also, and naturally enough, we have received protesting lette: from par- ents ‘of ‘non-frats’ as they are called. In these letters there is the same en- treaty, that fraternities shall go. In the generality of such' cases it is be- cause the son or daughter has been subjected to slights from snobbish members. “For snobs th;re certainly among them. I will not say-that the secret soclety makes a snob out of & boy or girl who would not otherwise have de- veloped into a snob, but neither, on the other hand, 1s it'a preventive of or a cure_for snobbishness. “Although not pertectly posted on the law in the case, I am of the opinion that the board is authorized in its ac- tion. As you know, it {s rumored that the whole thing is to be thrashed out in the courts. board and faculty are trying te be very friendly In the, matter, but are alse equally det mined. If we don't win out this time ‘we shall try it again, and even again if necessary. Sooner or later exclusive social organizations are to be abolished in the high school” The last state- n:-nt ‘was made with great determina- tion. X “If the board wins the case, of course, many of what we consider the legiti-_ mate school activities will drop out for & year or two. This may seem surpria- ing in view of the fact that out of the 850 pupils in the school only about 150 or 200 come under the ban; but it is. also a fact that almost all important offices in the school have been. distrib- uted among them. & “Having. so many factions. in the school makes too much politics. These much out of matters of very little im- e O == 05 N, 089290 % L) = portance. The thing must be regu- :Tated with firmness and dissénsion done away with once and for all. “The fraternity in college is a differ- ent mitter. . It is also a different mat- ter in high school when we consider only those pupils who already show the fiber that mal fine manhood and ‘womanhood. t, unfortunately, we are not dealing with the individual ‘We are dealing with ap Institution. A curious rumor has come to my ears to-the effect that college sororities in Berkeley may hereafter refuse to admit to membership girls who have been members of sororities in prepara- tory schools.: Frankly, I do not under- stand that. Very likely it takes a ‘woman' to fathom' such' things. How- ever, if the rumor is correct, the board will have a strong ally.” Talking to the boys themselves after having been in places that held to be seats of authority 1s like taking a ithe school change of air, and not an unpleasant ene. Chester Ristenpart of Berkeley High is the sort of fellow who. delights in anything that looks exciting. He's not combative, but the minute you speak to him about fraternities nowadays you are impressed with the more than or- dinary interest he takes in what. has every Indication to him of being a -lively case in court, with every hope of a winning. . “You know we are going to fight.” he will. say. He looks contagiously merry about it. “Pretty sure to win. ‘We will have plenty monhey for The grand president of the ‘P. D. Q.'s’ has given us $2500. We're going to have another meeting tonight at the ‘Sign of the Bear.’ We've had several already. We won't give In now. Not on your life. - *“Just think what it means to us! Almost every fellow that does any- thing in the school at all is a frat man. There's Henry Skinner: he's president of the Associated Students. Harry Hielbron and he were going to try for : the doubles: this year at the park ten- nis court, but this knooks it; that is, unless we get reinstated pretty quick. The baseball team is all knocked out. Paul Bartlett, yell leader, can't get busy any more. The staff cartoonist of the Olla Podrida is down and out. So am I I'm businesc manager of the paper. “friends for yourself, “Ges! There Won't be any fun ‘at school any B 34 you'boye down more. Nothing doing." feel that way about it, The AN /A why don’'t you give up your frats and seitle down again like quiet citizens?” “Never do that. Ratheér give up everything. Give up school flrst. But, gee! there’s no use getting grouchy about' It. We'll win—sure thing. Just you give us time.” He was irresistidbly Jolly about it. Henry Skinner, whose position as president of the associated student body of Berkeley High gives him €asily the most prominent position among them, said: “This decision of the board may Dbe all right.. That is, fraternities may not do the school any good, although I can't see what harm they do. But the reason K¥m willing to help fight the thing is because it doesn't seem to me to be just on the square for them to come at us in this shape after we've joined the fraternities and pledged our- selves. Why don’t they say that fel- lows coming in have got to choose be- tween athletics and frats? I say ath- letics because that's the chief thing we're interested in. It's nothing to be elected president of the students. A fellow just happens to get that. But 1f you're captain of the football team, for instance, it's because you deserve to be. Of course, they don't tell us ‘we can’t play football or any of those things. But they won't let us compete with any of the other schools. And what's the use? ‘“More than half the Theta Chis have official positions in the school. I joined less than a month ago, before any of this came up, and of course I can't quit the.frat. There are lots of things at the school I don’t feel like being kept out of and that's the reason I'm going to help fight.” At Lowell High School In San Francisco the ultimate blow has not fallen. In several of the high schools the matter has been amicably adjusted. Arthur Sachs, president of the asso- «clated students at Lowell High, one of the most prominent members eof the Gamma Eta Kappa fraternity—other- wise a “Geek'—had a few things to say about fraternities and the situatien in San Francisco: “There’s mno trouble hers at Lowell about this,” said he, “and I apprehend that there will be none. We don’t have our charters hanging up on the walls and the ‘Geeks’ at any rats, hawen't ,been putting any fraternity matter paper. “All this talk abont frat boys paint- ing the town red is foolishness. It boys want to go wild they will do it anyhow whether they belong to a fra- ternity or not. st of the people who have so many accusations to make against us are eni tirely ignorant of fraternities and their aims. They say that our records Iin school are not as good as if we had let fraternities alone. But thers ars our records to show that it is net so. Right in our fraternities we alm at educational improvement. I, for one, know that my fraternity has done me" good in that way. You will find that a good percentage of the best pupils in the school belong to frats. “And there’s no truth about fellows getting sour-balled because they haven’t been asked to join fraternities. 1 wasn't asked for two years, and I didn’t think anything about it. If your friends haven't joined a fraternity, then you probably will not be asked to join ome, and if they have, you will. “Well, supposing you have joined one; if you have been careful to join a good one, you will have for associ- ates the kind of fellows vou want to know. And. having become a member of a fraternity, it would be like throw- ing down every member in it to with- draw. What sort of a fellow would do that? “To be sure, you can pick your but it 1s very pleasant to become ons af a society every oms of whom is a of students go0d fellow. Ve 7 /,) S LA&BD‘}S:_ Rg:‘fl; > o \ c-/*\h_/r,’-. 74 San .Pranczsco_ Sunday Call ) ““The reasen that our fraternities are made up of High School students in- stead of chance outside soquaintances 1s that they are the boys we are thrown with every day, afd it is the natural thing. “The only objection that can be made to a good fraternity is that 1t cometi- tutes an advantazge to Individual stu- dents and not to the whole school. But, honestly, I can’t see how these is aay- thing detrimental about them to aay- Jbody.” Lesiie B. Henry, associste editer of “The Lowsll,” the school publiomtion, and Lowell's champion debater, o the otheér hand, comes forth Wwith the strongest posaible denunciation of fra- ternities and their snobbishness. plea is for true Americanism and true democraoy n the schools, and he = unafraid to say that school fraternities sxist oilefly for the purpose of placing between their members and those who are not members a barrier insurmount- _=bla To his mind the only fraternity that should be acknowledged in public edu- cational institutions s the Assesimted Student Body. A Sorority Girl Says— Dorothy Simpson, a Lambdda Thwta Phi of the same school, seema sa far removed from snodbishness or anyfing remotely connected with It that one is more firmly convinced than aver that the Influences of secret socisties are not' ‘altogether pernicious. She .stanchly fraternal in her views, and when you ask her if the “Lambs” area’t - the best ever, will tell you It would be fairer to ask some onae slse that - San Bdua- cation should adopt the same m that the Berkeley board has™ re- arked, “T don’t know what would be- come of our reading club. Almost all its members belong to the fraternities and T suppose we would be cut off from that. You know we read plays through the term, taking parts, that is, and reading instead of reciting them, and, of course, not wearing costume. At the end of the ter we give one play in costume with parts memorized. It ig really a dramatic club and we také a great deal of interest in it. And 1f the fraternity sorority pupils were to be exclud the cast for the senior farce know who nk there will ng seems very . ‘Scott, principal eof the Girls’ High School, in his offictal capacity, iz opposed to fratermitics and other se- cret socleties, although he conslders the well-regulated ones, speaking, . of indisputable to the student enjoying membership in them. “But in this school,” says he, “the subject is not a vital one at all for sororities are notdn evidence here. Two years ago I had a talk with my puplls who belonged to such socleties and In perfect good faith on both sides we decided it would be best to remove the charters, which at that time were hanging framed on my office walls, to leave all sorority matter out of the paper and to hold no sorority meetings within the school. Since then I have suffered no annoyance whataver on thelr account. Since then I haven't heard one complaint because of smub- bing. Membership in them is dwin- dling. It appears to me that the whole thing is righting itself. “More than I have done I have no right to do. It is not for me te say whether they shall or shall not wear the Greek letter pins any more thanm it would be to dictate to them concerp- ing other jewelry that they please to ‘wear. “Affitiation with a serority helps a &irl socially, no doubt. If she is seek- ing social distinction, it Is no more than her parents have done before her. “Shortly Dbefore the unfortunate tragedy whose occurrence has given impetus to the antifraternity move- ment, Jeanie McNeil had entered this school, having left the Lick for some reason or another. I had known her for several years and remember her as haying been a delicate pupil. Upen in- quiry I have been told that if these school socleties wers in any way ac- countable for her act, the fact was not known among her most intimate friends.” Almost a year ago George A. Merrill, principal of the Lick and Wilmerding schools, at a meeting of the High School Teachers' Association, offered two resolutions relative to the subject of fraternities, which were passed by a unanimous vote. They were the fol- lowing: “First—TIt {8 inadvisable for a high school teacher to accept membership in a student fratqrnity after this date. “Second—High scheol fraternities should not be demiciled within the school bulldings eor accorded recos- nition of any sort. The exhibition of fraternity charters on the walls of the school is especially objectionable.” That the practices treated of In these resolutions have been general and gen- erally disapproved is shown by the unanimity of sentiment in the matt By putting these resolutions into practice Mr. Merrill ceased to have trouble with the fraternities, to whose existence, however, he is strongly posed. He highly approves the action of the Berkeley board and believes that it is legally justifiable. Dissensions have occurred over this matter in Seattle and in Sacramento. News comes of more trouble in Los Angeles. It would appear that there is unanimity among the powers that be and also unshaken fidelity among the members of the much mwu