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

Vol. LV, No. 6THESCROLLPHI DELTA THETABeta Province. The chapter openedin the fall of 1884 with but two members.Institute trustees in 1885adopted antifraternity regulations andVirginia Epsilon was forced into asub rosa existence. Temporary bettermentcame from the K 2 K unionin 1886. Virginia Epsilon had occasionallyinitiated students fromWashington and Lee, but the General, Council decided in 1886 that the twoinstitutions should be the homes ofseparate chapters and so Virginia Zetashortly came into existence.The Convention of 1886 appointeda committee of three to. investigateconditions at the Virginia Military Institute.The Washington and Leechapter reporter sang the swan songof Virginia Epsilon when in a SCROLLletter of March, 1888, he wrote: "Ishall close with a few words aboutVirginia Epsilon at V.M.I. Fraternitieshaving been abolished therethis year, this year will witness thedeath of this young and flourishingchapter which is composed of the bestmen in the institute. ..." The GeneralCouncil a year later voted to withdrawthe charter.Perhaps no school in the countryhas a more imposing list of "tombstones"than Virginia Military Institute.Associated with the ghost ofVirginia Epsilon are those of chaptersof A T n, K A, B 0 n, S N, K 2, S A E,S X, and S * E."•The Fraternity was almost extinctin Illinois, 1877, having only two chaptersin the state—those at Monmouthand Knox." George Banta, Sr. tookupon himself the responsibility of reviving$ A 0 in that great state. Heobtained the name of an Illinois Wesleyanstudent and began a correspondencewith him relative to establishinga chapter at Illinois Wesleyan. Thisstudent was a member of the # 2League, a small Mid-Western fraternity.He proposed the absorption by$ A 0 of the * 2 League and negotiationsproceeded on that basis.Although the Monmouth chapterwas then the senior chapter in Illinois,[377]its weak condition made it inadvisableto approach it with the proposal tocharter an Illinois Epsilon at Wesleyan.Hence, the application fromthe Bloomington group was referredto the National Grand chapter at Wooster.Ohio Delta refused to grant thecharter and Brother Banta determinedto take the application to the Conventionof 1878; this Convention, May 23,granted the charter.THE SCROLL for January, 1880,announced that, due to delinquency inpayment of fraternity dues, the ExecutiveCommittee of the Fraternity hadwithdrawn the Illinois Epsilon charterand expelled the entire active membership.The announcement like reportsof Mark Twain's death, however,were a little premature, and the situationwas soon adjusted. The chapterand resident alumni entertained theNational Convention of 1889.During the late Nineties both IllinoisWesleyan and the chapter sufferedfrom lack of students. A local alumnusadvised the General Council in thespring of 1897 that conditions wereunfavorable and that he thought thecharter should be surrendered. Fewerthan seventy men were then attendingIllinois Wesleyan. The General Councilinvestigated and late in March decidedto request the chapter to returnits charter at the end of the collegeyear. An application for recharteringwas refused in 1899, and one in 1901from the Knights of Classic Lore wasalso turned down. These applicationsreceived the very strong support ofRichard Henry Little, Illinois Wesleyan,'95, on whose recommendationthe Knights established the first fraternityhouse at Illinois Wesleyan andchanged their name to T K E. Thisgroup has since expanded into one ofthe strongest of the younger nationalfraternities. Illinois Epsilon initiatedsomewhat over 100 men. In additionto Brother Little, now a world-famouscolumnist on the Chicago Tribune, thenumber included such men as WilliamE. Higbee, SCROLL EndowmentTrustee, of Chicago, Dr. Charles S.