ANTI-FRATERNITY AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION.

At the beginning of the college year 1884-5 there were some fourteen Palladians who were members of fraternities. The three fraternities represented were aggressive in proportion to their strength, and the outsiders were inevitably suspicious of them from the first. The anti-fraternity men, both in the Palladian and Union societies, did energetic though unorganized work to prevent the spread of the secret and exclusive Hellenism. After patient collection of what seemed impartial testimony from all sources open to them, they came to certain conclusions, of which only the following need be noticed here: (1) It is best for colleges and for the individual students therein that active, open literary societies should exist; (2) Wherever the secret fraternities have become strong they have killed the literary societies, or have utterly destroyed their usefulness; (3) The same tendency is already apparent here, and the danger calls for decisive action. It was found that the old rivalry between the literary societies had been broken down, that the confidence in each other had been destroyed, and that work for the society was done mainly as it might or might not have some influence in the faction struggle between the "frats" and "barbs." On October 24th there were submitted to the society amendments to the Constitution which forbade future Palladians to belong to secret fraternities, but made no change in the status of those already members. On the following Saturday evening a meeting for all students was called to meet in the chapel to discuss these amendments and like ones that had been offered in the Union. Though some fraternity men were present, they refused to do anything except report the proceedings. The non-fraternity men brought forth their evidence, stated their position, and adjourned. On Friday evening, October 31st, after a warm and long debate, the Palladian Society passed the amendments by a vote of forty to seventeen. At this time, or soon after, most of the defeated party withdrew. Their loss was something of a blow to the society, but was by no means as dangerous as their continued presence as organizations would have been.