40 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



No. 5. Opposed. 



"Dear Sir : — Havino- lived in for 15 vears, in intimate associa- 

 tion with university life and being a member of the Delta Tau Delta fra- 

 ternity, I have positive convictions upon the subject of fraternity life 

 in colleges, especially in chapter houses. All the objections urged against 

 them in your communication are valid and vital. In addition to them 

 is the moral element which, to my mind and in my observation outweighs 

 all the others. The debauchery from alocholic drinks and lewd women 

 so commonly practiced in such places certainly is not needed to develop 

 the best type of American citizenship. The kegs and cases of beer and 

 the obscene dances of nude Avomen so often exhibited in the 'Frat' houses 

 are but the inevitable result of the unrestrained tendencies of young men 

 of plenty of money furnished by indulgent parents and used according to 

 the unrestrained,, lustful tastes of a company of boys seeking to outdo 

 each other in ways unmentionable in polite society. I would as soon 

 allow my son to be housed in a saloon or brothel as in many of the 'Frat' 

 houses I know. It will be a sorry day for old M. A. C. when the fratern- 

 ity idea prevails in the form under consideration in your communication. 



''If I have spoken strongly it is because I feel strongly from an inti- 

 mate knowledge, as a physician, of 'Frat' conditions. Words convey but 

 feebly the abhorrence I have of such conditions as prevail in some 'Frat' 

 houses." 



No. 6. Opposed, 



"Dear Sir: — There is a distinct difference in the fraternity rooms used 

 for social and literary purposes from fraternity houses used for living- 

 purposes, and I believe that your analysis of the advantages and disad- 

 vantages of fraternity houses for living purposes expresses the salient 

 points for and against. 



"I have always felt that the democratic spirit manifested throughout 

 the student body during the years I was a student (1884 to 1887) was 

 a very valuable feature, and I am afraid that the establishment of 

 fraternity houses may have a tendency to curtail that broader fraternal 

 spirit which should prevail among the students. The conditions of stu- 

 dent life at the M. A. C. is essentially different from that incident to the 

 colleges of our large cities, and I feel confident that the conditions of 

 life that they obtain there are far better for the student body. As I look 

 back to my student life in college as I found it there, and in numerous 

 other colleges in this country and Europe in which I have worked, I 

 have never found one which I thought exerted so favorable an influence 

 upon the individual and the student body as a whole as did the condi- 

 tions at the M. A. C. For the students of colleges in large cities there 

 are greater reasons for fraternity houses for living purposes, but I am 

 very doubtful about the wisdom of making this change at the M. A. C. 



"Of course, all that I have said applies essentially to the housing of 

 students in fraternity buildings, and I would not wish to restrict in 

 any way the establishment of societies or fraternities for social and 

 literary purposes, as I believe they add materially to the pleasure and 

 profit of student life. While I have not been able to visit the college 

 as often as I would like I have always been in touch with its affairs 

 and have been very much gratified with the progress of the institution." 



