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

Vol. LV, No. 6THE SCROLLPHI DELTA THETAment time when they gather for dinnerat the ATA house which that chaptergraciously puts at their disposal."The establishment of New YorkBeta at Union encouraged $ A 0 inhope of becoming a strong factor inother eastern institutions. It leddirectly to the establishment of NewYork Gamma at the College of theCity of New York. ..." A UnionPhi began working through a friend inC.C.N.Y. for the building of a groupwhich might petition for a charter.The group was formed, the applicationmade, and on February 16, 1884,the General Council granted a charterfor New York Gamma.The chapter remained sub rosa fora few weeks, and for a number ofmonths meetings were held in thehomes of various members. NewYork Delta at Columbia was charteredtwo months after the C.C.N.Y. chapterand relations between the two citychapters were most cordial. The twochapters and a group of New Yorkalumni jointly rented rooms late in1885 and later the two chapters tookmore commodious quarters.The changing character of the studentbody at the College of the City ofNew York caused a swift decline inthe chapter membership a few yearslater. March, 1890, found sixteen activemembers and October of that yeareleven. But J. M. Mayer, ProvincePresident, a C.C.N.Y. alumnus, reportedto the Atlanta Convention inOctober, 1891, that the chapter thenhad but three members and he recommendedwithdrawal of the charter.The Convention took this action.New York Gamma was very nearlyrechartered in 1892. An applicationfor charter was received and the GeneralCouncil voted to grant it. Byearly May all chapters of the Provincewith one exception had voted in favorof a revival, but the Province Conventionin October disapproved the projectand it was dropped. The loss ofthe C.C.N.Y. chapter was not so keena one to its alumni as might otherwisehave been the case because theymerged so easily in spirit with the NewYork Delta alumni. Many of themdid aflSliate with the Columbia chapter.The chapter initiated a few over fiftymen including such ones as JudgeJulius M. Mayer, Prof. Charles A.Downer of C.C.N.Y., Eugene H. L.Randolph, Past Secretary, President,and Reporter of the General Council,Louis E. Van Norman, author anddiplomat, and Franklin B. Ware, formerNew York City alderman andNew York state architect.Alabama state conventions of 1885and 1886 had adopted resolutionsfavoring entrance of the Fraternityinto Southern University at Greensboro.An Auburn Phi entered Southernin the fall of 1886 and soon beganto pledge men to form a chapter. Apetition, endorsed by both AlabamaAlpha and Alabama Beta, was presentedto the New York Convention of1886. The Convention voted to grantit, but later reconsidered the vote andreferred the matter to the GeneralCouncil. Another application was filedin December and in January by aunanimous vote of the General Counciland Province Presidents the charterwas granted.By the time of the Philadelphia Conventionof 1896 discussion of the weakenedcondition of Southern Universitywas rife, and the committee on chaptersand charters of that Conventionrecommended withdrawal. The Conventionconcurred and on November28 revoked the charter of AlabamaGamma. Southern University latereffected an amalgamation with aBirmingham school as Birmingham-Southern College. A group from thiscollege petitioned $ A © some yearsago but was advised to look elsewherefor a charter. The alumni of AlabamaGamma (about 125 were on theroll altogether) had not manifestedmuch interest in the petitioning group.Hoyt McWhortor Dobbs, bishop of theSouthern Methodist Church, is the outstandingalumnus of our chapter atBirmingham-Southern.These, then, are $ A 0's twenty-one[381]