THE HESPERIAN.
Ifi
VIyI)
It must be admitted that such a policy .does not tend
to better the paper.
We hope that this subject will receive careful
consideration at the annual meeting of The Hes
perian Association. A change is surely desirable.
We thought the hours for opening and closing
the gates were finally satisfactorily arranged; but the
small attendance at the special literary programs last
Friday night, and the sight of a great many turning
away from the south gates, shows that a change must
be made.
The society programs have always been well
attended by fiiends of the students and of the uni
versity. Their presence stimulates the students to
greater literary effort, and the impressions the visitors
get of university social life from the literary societies
are always favorable, and are carried even outside of
the state.
Anything, then, that hinders the free association
between students and the people of Lincoln should
be removed, we believe. The south gates will be
open next Friday night.
It is with pleasure that we are able to state that
the military department is in a flourishing condition.
There are 192 cadets registered. Sixty-five new
Springfield rifles have been ordered. They will,
probably, arrive soon.
The plan of publishing at each drill the names of all
delinquencies is one that will, it is hoped, be contin
ued. It will tend to give the cadets a more soldierly
bearing. It will give the battalion a more orderly
and military appearance. It will tend to teach the
cadets to pay strict attention to duty, a thing which
will be beneficial in their every day life.
The cadets will have ample facilities for target
practice. A target will be fitted up in the basement
of the armory, miniature cartridges will be secured,
and every cadet will be required to manipulate his
rifle proficiently. This will be supplemented in the
spring by practice upon some suitable range near the
city.
A recording book has recently been procured.
In this, the individual records will be kept. This
will be ery valuable in as much as the merits and
demerits of each cadet will be entered side by side.
The records, heretofore were not, compiled in a very
systematic form. It will bean excellent improve
ment over the old way. Lieutenant Pershing is
bound to put, and to keep, the military department
on a systematic basis. Let his efforts be fruitful.
Among the "special features" of the December
issue of The Lasso, we had the pleasure of reading:
"Editorial staff given in this issue." We opened
the paper and noticed the .composition of the staff.
We were surprised to learn that the editors and con
tributors of the paper were composed of four persons
who are members of the literary societies which are
backing The Hesperian, and only two "frats."
For four years we have listened to rumors con
cerning the future advent of a "frat'' paper. Every
attempt of the fraternity people to start a college
paper has failed, failed because the "frats" were
not strong enough numerically, financially, or ment
ally to publish a college paper.
At the opening of this year, rumors of a "frat"
paper came to us again. We said "chestnuts." The
Lasso soon appeared. We supposed that their futile
efforts had, at least, materialized. The Hesperian
took no notice of The Lasso then, because we sup
posed it was a "frat" paper. We knew, if such was
the case, it would succumb to the inevitable fate of
"frat" enterprise. We based our presumptions upon
the enterprise and enthusiasm of the "frats" during
the past seven years. When they were expelled
from the literary societies in 1884, they lost their
grip on university affairs. They made a desperate
effort to gain back what they had lobt, but in vain.
The Philodicean Society succumbed to "frat" enter
prise. In 1SS7, there were about 400 students in the uni
versity. Then there were about sixty "frats."
To-day, there are 700 students and less than forty
"frats." Then there were six Greek letter socie'ties
now there are five. Is this enterprise! Is it any
wonder that students are continually refusing to join
their ranks and don a pretty pin. With these things
in view, The Hesperian was not alarmed when the
supposed "frat" paper made its debut.
After the ' 'frats" had started a paper, they were
unable to run it as such. They knew that if they
championed the cause of "brotherly love" their
paper would end by a painful death. They, evi
dently, chose a different course. They would start
the paper, seemingly not as a "frat" paper, but "an
all round university paper." They would sail under
such colors until the time came when they might
come out boldly and advocate their lost cause. V. c
do not believe that time will eyer come. We hope
not. It was when thoy foui.d out that a "frat"
paper could not flourish, that they published an edi
torial staff. Did they think that, in this way, they
could pull the wool ovenjthe students' eyes?
As long as the paper remained a fraternity paper,
we could not question the demand for such, however
small that demand might be. The Lasso is a pri
vate concern and, if it chooses, has a right to publish
a paper, If the staff had been selected from the frater
nity people and fiom students not belonging to any
society, then all would be different. We maintain
that those members on that staff, who belong to the