THE XXVI CONGRESS

I

Nathan F. Giffin

Worthy Grand Chief

The twenty-sixth Congress will meet at Cleveland on December 27, and while in simplicity it is aimed to make it conform to all similar meetings which are being held during these troublous times, it is bound to be in many respects one of the most notable ever held.

History is being made rapidly in these days and members of Alpha Tau Omega are playing no small part in the making. While it is of course impossible to state with accuracy the number of our members who are in the service, the reports now in hand indicate that there are at least 2,500. In every branch of the service and in every rank from Major-General Bullard in command of the recently constituted Second Army Corps down to the man serving as private, each is doing what within him lies to make the world a safe and decent place in which to live.

Let me suggest that each of us must have realized, had we paused to look back and consider the circumstances that brought Alpha Tau Omega into being, that in this crisis there rests upon each member of our fraternity a bit more of responsibility and a bit higher duty than rests upon the members of many of the other fraternities, and I say this with no thought of detracting from or disparaging in the least the high ideals and the noble purposes for which they stand and which prompted their several founders.

We as members of Alpha Tau Omega can never forget that it was born within six months after the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia which ended what had been up to that time the most cruel war the world had known; that it was founded at the most prominent military school in the south which was excelled in America only by West Point; that its founders were men who had served not beneath the flag of the victor, but be

neath the flag of the vanquished. Coming as they did from the southland, they had seen their lands laid waste and their country devastated, but in the greatness of their natures they had a vision, off and far away in the distance, of a new and greater and better America, one in which sectional lines should be no more and which never again would know any North nor South nor East nor West, but one united country.

We of today see nothing and know less of any sectional prejudice; the man from the farthest south clasps the hand of him from the farthest north, or east, or west, in fraternalism and friendship and today men from all parts of our land stand shoulder to shoulder, battling against the systematic savagery and the efficient fiendishness of the Hun.

That our fraternity has played no small or unimportant part in bringing about this happy condition there can be not the least doubt. And it is because of this accomplishment, because Alpha Tau Omega has, to some extent, at least, helped to make a land rent asunder by a cruel fratricidal war, a reunited country, that there rests upon each of us who wears its badge the duty, and to each of us is given the privilege, of helping to preserve the country which our forbears helped to re-create, and of aiding it in these hours of stress and strife to become a dominant and potent power in the world for good, for humanity, and for Christianity.

It will not come to every one of us to serve in the trenches in France, but to each of us will come opportunity upon opportunity of doing something, ofttimes small, mayhaps great, to aid in the accomplishment of the great task which lies ahead.

Before the end is come each of us will be called upon to make many and great sacrifices. Let us then go about our daily toil making these sacrifices willingly, doing our work with a glad heart, filled with thanksgiving for the opportunity for service that has come to us so that in the end we may come forth better and truer men, and a part of a greater and better nation which has sacrificed and toiled and suffered and has helped to make a greater and a safer and a better world.

Because of all this, because of our responsibilities as individuals and as an organization, the forthcoming Congress is bound

to loom large in the history of Alpha Tau Omega.

The General Fraternity will pay the railroad and pullman fare of one delegate from every chapter which is in good standing; the exact amount payable to each delegate will be announced beforehand and this sum will be paid at Cleveland. A chapter is in good standing when its financial obligations to the fraternity are paid. This means that a chapter must have paid a tax of $2.50 for each active member on March 15, 1917, November 15, 1917, March 15, 1918, and November 15, 1918.

Every chapter should elect its delegate early in the Fall together with one or more alternates so as to make sure of being represented. Blanks for the credentials of delegates will be sent later.

Everything connected with Congress will be informal and evening clothes may be left at home.

The Congress program cannot be definitely announced at this time, but will be as soon as possible.

We hope that founder Glazebrook may be with us, and that we may hear from him an account of some of his wonderful experiences while Consul at Jerusalem.

Each chapter will please see that its list of men in the service on file with the War Service Committee is complete so that the number of stars in our service flag may be as accurate as possible. This information should be sent to Alfred C. Kennedy, Chairman, 205 South 18th Street, Omaha, Nebraska.

II

J. Paul Thompson

Chairman Congress Committee

It was not anticipated at the time of the St. Louis Congress that before another two years had elapsed our country would be deeply involved in the world conflict. As might naturally be expected, a large number of the Alpha Taus in college as well as alumni have abandoned their quiet pursuits for army service. The absence of so many from the various chapters and from the alumni associations must necessarily reduce the normal attend

ance at the twenty-sixth congress which will convene in Cleveland December 27 with headquarters at the Statler Hotel. The enforced absence of many who, were it not for the war, would be present should not distract the interest of those at home in the congress or in any manner lessen the spirit of the occasion. As a result of present conditions, greater interest should be evinced by the Alpha Taus, not engaged in military service, in the affairs of the fraternity and additional impetus given to the deliberations of the congress to the end that Alpha Tau Omega may direct its affairs to accord with the spirit of the times and may contribute its full quota to the service.

That the chapter delegates and other readers of The Palm who contemplate attending the twenty-sixth congress may know something of the local Alpha Taus and of the city of Cleveland, we desire to bring to your attention in this brief article some facts concerning the city of Cleveland, and in the next issue of The Palm to make some reference to the Gamma Kappa chapter at Western Reserve University and the Cleveland alumni association, and in connection therewith a complete program for the congress. It might be of interest at this time, to state that of the one hundred thirty-three initiates of Gamma Kappa, fifty-two are now in military service. Of this number, thirtyone are commissioned officers and about twenty are already overseas. The Cleveland alumni association when the last directory was published in 1916 had a membership of 225. More than fifty of this number are now rendering military service.

However discouraging the outlook may be to some of the chapters, it is the intention of the Alpha Taus of Cleveland and its environs to make the twenty-sixth congress as enjoyable as any of the twenty-five preceding congresses. There is no reason why it should not be, because conditions require thoughtful consideration of the present and future of the fraternity, and because there are probably as many Alpha Taus in Cleveland and within easy access of the city as of almost any other city in the United States. The city of Cleveland itself will arouse more than casual interest to those who are not already familiar with its activities.