1903-04 Volume 28 No 1–5 - Phi Delta Theta Scroll Archive

THE SCROLL. 119the spring. Michigan has moved into her splendid newhouse, although to her disappointment it was not completedby the opening of college. Ohio Wesleyan has filled hernewly acquired house to overflowing, and is already planningto add more rooms. Brown still occupies a whole floorin Brunonia Hall, and a chapter hall in the basement; thisis like unto a chapterhouse in a way, but the chapter willsome day decide that it is not nearly like enough, and get areal chapterhouse.* * * *At the last moment comes the appalling news of Purdue'sterrible catastrophe—the wreck of a special football traincarrying twelve hundred Purdue men, including footballplayers, students, faculty and graduates In this shockingtragedy, which occurred on the morning of October 31, asthe train was nearing Indianapolis, where Purdue was toplay Indiana in the afternoon, fourteen Purdue students werekilled outright and many more maimed and injured. It isour sad duty to announce that our own Indiana Theta chaptershared grievously in the loss: Bro. Edward C. Robertson,'01,.assistant coach, suffered instant death; Bro. S. V. B.Miller, '05, a brother of Hugh Th. Miller, former editor ofTHE SCROLL, had both legs broken, and his system sothoroughly shocked that his life was despaired of; Bro. IrvingH. Long, '06, was injured about the head, and DennisH. Long, '07, pledged, injured about the head and limbs.Bro. Ferdinand M. Hawthorne, DePauw, '04, a studentthis year at Purdue, also suffered slight injuries. Therailway car containing the football team seems to haveborne the brunt of the disaster, nine of the players beingkilled and nine others badly injured.The tears of the entire fraternity are mingled with thoseof our Ptirdue brothers and the sympathy of Phi Delta Thetamen everywhere goes out to them. Messages of condolenceand commiseration were received by Indiana Theta fromsister chapters and Phis in all parts of the country, and thealumni resident in Indianapolis were early on the groundto lend all aid to the injured.This is indeed a sorrowful calamity—the crushing out offourteen young lives at the very threshold of manhood, andprobable life injury to a score of others. We can but giveutterance to the grief which is ours, and assure our brothersof Purdue that we feel deeply for them in this sad hour.