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About The Hesperian / (Lincoln, Neb.) 1885-1899 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 15, 1894)
22 THE HESPERIAN require that sustained thought and notion for which the ardent souls pined, and the ap pearance of the Sigma Chi fraternity in Jan uary 1883, followed by the Phi Delta Theta the next Decombor, with rumors of a third among the girls, proved a tempation these restless ones could not withstand. It was not the welfare of the University that first started the opposition, for the lead ers later acknowledged that when the first fraternity was announced they know nothing of the nature of college fraternities, and hence could not have been acquainted with their evils. .Neither could it have been an overweening devotion to institutional his tory that first led them to look into the mat ter, as the methods they pursued were scarce ly those of an investigator for knowledge only. But whatever motive prompted, in vestigation and agitation was promptly be gun. In the debates of the literarysocieties opportunity was afforded the leading investi gators to present to the unitiated the nefar ious principles upon which all secret orders were based. Gradually and adroitly the rank and file of preps and specials were made conversant with the workings of Odd Fel lows, Masons, the Spanish Inquisition, Ku-Klux-Klan, and finally with the very culmi nntion of evil, the college fraternity already flourishing within the prickly hedges of our sacred campus. It was not until May I6th, 1884, that the right of the college fraternities to exist was made an open subject of debate. The occa sion was a joint entertainment given by the two societies, in lieu of a contest which, ow ing to the lamentably peaceful state of af fairs, had fallen through earlier in the year. In one regard the frats had the better of us, as it was hardly iif good taste for fraternity men to expound too enthusiastically the ad vantages of a society to which from its very nature the general public could not bo in vited to belong. In the meantime a somewhat incidental series, of events precipitated the final strug gle, which otherwise might have been tided over. Earlier in the term, the usual attempt to abolish the Juno exhibition was more vig orously carried on than on former occasions by thoso elected to serve. In the Palladian Society 0. S. Polk, one of the prominent barbarians, and P. F. Clark, a Sigma Chi, represented the victims, while A. G. War ner and W. 0. Jonos, the two barbarian loaders, were their successful opponents. A somewhat bitter spirit was aroused and it was resolved to debar Mr. Warner from the pres idency for the coining fall term. The plan carried, and as the opposing candidate was a girl, tho Warner faction maintained an omi nous silence. Later they persuaded Mr. Polk and various other barbarians who had voted with us, that they had been mere tools in tho hands of fraternities. All that had been half suspected of the fraternities was now given a foundation. Not only would frat men control the offices, but the whole society, unless checked. It was even hinted that they wore looking with eyes of cupidity at the society halls for fraternity purposes. But if this election was governed by any other motive than the one stated, I never knew of it. In the Union society the fra ternity people as a matter of course were elected. With them tho opposition had never been much more than an echo of tho Palla dian. In a short time tho students dispensed for the summer. When wo assembled in Sep tember everything seemed poacoful, the us ual scramble for additions to the literary so cieties apparently constituting the absorbing interest. Tho fraternities were looking about for now members, but none had been initiated. The Greeks wore never aggressive, and though wo did not place much trust in the evidqnt quiet that prevailed, we were little prepared for the bomb that was hurled into our camp. Thursday morning, October 23d, 1884, Will O. Jones casually called mo aside after chapel and informed me, as president of the Palladian Society, that on the following night amendments wore to bo proposed to the
