1905-06 Volume 30 No 1–5 - Phi Delta Theta Scroll Archive

354 THE SCROLL.The apartment was at iii East 54th Street. These quarterswere kept until early in 1897, when the chapter moved again,this time, still nearer to the campus. Rooms were engagedat 142 East 48th Street and here the men met until theautumn when the university moved to Morningside Heights.New York Delta's first home in Harlem was at 116th Streetand Manhattan Avenue in the hollow below MorningsideDrive. Here with several lodgers and largely through theefforts of Henry W. Egner, '95, Stallo Vinton, 1900, andEdward B. G. Baker, '98, things were made comfortable fora year. The financial condition of the chapter was not ofthe best in those formative times and when the college sessionopened in September, 1898, a smaller apartment was rentedat 444 Manhattan Avenue.The accommodations here were wholly inadequate althoughthe men had eight rooms at their disposal, and the housewas too far from the university for successful rushing operations.The chapter, though weak in numbers, took matterscourageously in their hands and in the spring of 1899 movedup on "The Acropolis" and rested once more in an apartmenton 114th Street near Amsterdam Avenue, within astone's throw of the college grounds.During the first few years that Columbia enjoyed itsnew home the growth of the fraternities kept apace with thatof the institution. One fraternity after another moved intoa house and abandoned its apartment life. It became a matterof life or death to Phi Delta Theta to follow the leaderand get ahead of others and at a memorable chapter meetinga handful of men determined to sign a lease for a house, althoughno one could see how the limited resources of thesmall and financially embarrassed group could meet the newobligations. In September, 1899, the chapter moved into itsfirst house at 371 West 123rd Street. On October 6 thehouse-warming was celebrated by an enthusiastic band ofPhis. The chapter steadily grew in numbers and in strength.Its earlier necessity made its later success and by the end ofthe year Phi Delta Theta had won a place for itself amongthe Greek letter societies.' Bro. Julius M. Mayer, '86, thepresent attorney-general of the state of New York, and theRev. Dr. John Balcom Shaw, Lafayette, now of Chicago,among others, aided materially in the unusual developmentof the year.Having got on its feet, the chapter became ambitious aswell as prosperous. In the fall of 1900 its ranks were en-