DEPARTMENT REPORTS. 43 



"I don't believe that ever in the history of M. A. (\ will a more sturdy 

 alumni be turned out than now stands to her credit, and these have all 

 been gained without the fraternity feature which to me suggests the feas- 

 ibility of letting well enough alone, especially -along that line. 



"Your letter has created a good deal of interest among the alumni as I 

 have received several letters from classmates and others, asking my opin- 

 ion on the matter and incidentally expressing about the same views that 

 I have exi)ressed to you. 



"I should hate to see any marked departure from the good old 

 fashioned times that have nuide so much of the success of M. A. C." 



No. 11. Opposed. 



"Dear Friend: — ^\\ brother-in-law. a prosperous grocer, sent his boy 

 to the U. of M. He joined a leading 'Frat' and spent eleven hundred dol- 

 lars in his first and only year. He is now at work in the grocery. Too 

 bad. I say 'cut them out,' or better, keep them out.'' 



No. 12. Opposed. 



From an alumnus wlio has Iieen connected with four institutions. 



"Dear Sir: — My observations of 'Frat' houses have taught me that 



"(1) They add to Ihe cost of living very nuich. 



"(2) They create a social caste which is unquestionably injurious to the 

 college as a whole, (because all cannot be in it, and l)ecause sensible ones 

 do not leant to he.) 



"(3) They increase and foster what may be best described as the 

 'smart-alecky' spirit, and make the members harder to control. 



"(4) They frequently (not always) tend to lower the moral standards 

 of student life. Card i)laying goes on continuously, and gambling and 

 l)oker playing usually come in sooner or later. (Perhaps I ought not to 

 say, 'usually.' But they do rcn/ often.) 



"They therefore inevitably destroy the democratic spirit of a college 

 community. In Albion College those not in a 'Frat' are called 'Barbs' 

 (i. e., barbarians). There is a distinct social line in Ann Arbor between 

 'Frat' and non-'Frat' men. 



"As I knew them, the societies at M. A. C, were the best thing of the 

 kind I have ever seen. I was a member of the — — , and I owe evei-y- 

 thing to that society. I have often thought, that, had it not been for 

 them taking me in when they did, I might have left college never to re- 

 turn, for I was completely discouraged at the time. The l>est thing 

 about the societies there now is, that they wiite work and i)lai/, and 

 *Frats,' as I have known them, do not. 



"More dormitories and more literary societies would seem to me the 

 best plan to pursue at this juncture." 



No. 13. Opposed. 



Dear Sir: — Replying to your circular letter of March 8th, regarding 

 the advisability of adopting the fraternity house policy at the Michigan 

 Agricultural College and abandoning the dormitory system, I beg to state 

 that, in my opinion, such a change would be extremely unwise. The 

 traditions of the college owe not a little of their vigor and their influence 



