1930–31 Volume 55 No 1–5 - Phi Delta Theta Scroll Archive

THE SCROLLPHI DELTA THETA March, 1931successful from the start. Withinlittle over a decade low membership,the nemesis of so many of the chaptersalong the South Atlantic seaboard,began to trouble Virginia Delta. Thechapter reported only two active membersin 1885-86.A new lease on life came with theabsorption by ^ A 0 of four chaptersof K S K in Virginia. Protractednegotiations preceded the acceptanceof this eastern remnant of a nationalfraternity, and through the union therecame to * A 0 a number of strongleaders. The five active Richmondmembers of K S K were initiated bythe two remaining members of VirginiaDelta June 18, 1886. That fallthe chapter initiated William L.Gravatt who had been a charter memberof the Richmond chapter of K S K,was then assistant rector of St. Paul'sChurch in Richmond, and is now abishop of the Protestant EpiscopalChurch.Visits by General Council memberscontinued necessary, though, largelydue to small membership of the chapterat Richmond. Faculty and trusteedissensions, lessened quality of matriculants,and probability of a loweredstanding of the institution all combinedto sap chapter morale. Only twomembers returned in the fall of 1895.After consulting with resident alumnithey placed the chapter charter at thedisposal of the General Council "withthe statement that they did not considerthe institution a desirable placefor # A 0 at that time." The GeneralCouncil, after inquiries, recalled thecharter in November, 1895.The chapter initiated a total ofeighty-four men, many of whom becameprominent. Among them, in additionto Bishop Gravatt, were Dr.Thornton Whaling, later president ofthe Theological Seminary of Kentucky,Judge Lyman Chalkley of Lexington,Kentucky, and Dr. Carter HelmJones, famous Baptist clergyman.Other inactives at Richmond includeB 0 n, A T n, S X, and S A E.The story of the chapter at Central[376](in Missouri) may be briefly recorded.The glamour coming from informalityof chartering had passed by 1876 andthe group had too short an existenceto develop a chapter personality. Thechartering came about through the activityof a Missouri Alpha Phi whowas a student at Central from 1874 to1876. Missouri Alpha granted thecharter. May 29, 1876, to MissouriBeta. No other fraternities existed atCentral and the chapter had to remainsub rosa because of antifraternityregulations.Such restrictions caused the death ofthe chapter two years later, no meetingsbeing held after June, 1878. Onlyeleven men had signed the chapter roll.An application for a charter was againplaced with the Fraternity by a groupat Central in 1893, but failed to receivethe approval of chapters of that Province.In the meantime, the Westminsterchapter, chartered in 1880, hadbeen entitled Missouri Beta, and thecatalog of 1894 appended the "prime"to the Central chapter name.Virginia Military Institute, "theWest Point of the South," came nearhaving a chapter in the year or sobefore 1876. George D. White, Centre,'75, a student in V. M. I. persuadeda number of his friends to joinhim in petitioning a charter of $ A 0.White, however, was forced to withdrawfrom the Institute due to hismother's illness, and so the initial attemptto establish a chapter provedabortive. .A charter member of theAlabama chapter, who had removedfrom V.M.I., was asked in 1878 to recommenda Virginia cadet throughwhom a chapter might be established.He did so, and after the customaryroutine procedure the group formed atthe Institute received a charter fromVirginia Alpha February 9, 1878.There were seven older fraternities buta Phi wrote to W. B. Palmer in October1878, that "we have done betterthan any other fraternity here."Weakness in numbers affected VirginiaEpsilon, however, as it did somany of the chapters in the (then)