KEYMEN

By TIME

The sun has twinkled upon the gilt-and-enamel lapel buttons, vest trinkets and watch charms of many a party of Elks, Masons, Moose, Knights of this and that, Loyal Sons of the other thing, as they craned their necks and arched their chests making holiday excursions up and down the Hudson River. Last week a municipal steamboat set out from Manhattan for West Point and again the sun twinkled on a galaxy of insignia, more chaste this time than usual, dangling at the midriffs of several score of distinguished looking gentlemen.

Closely scrutinized, each gleaming adornment was seen to be a golden watch key, graven with fine print and a florid script on the one side, with three stars, a pointing hand and the Greek P B K on the reverse.

P B K, Phi Beta Kappa! Initials of the country's hierarchy of intelligence. How many of the distinguished gentlemen, each of whom had been in the top berth of his class at graduation, could have told you the precise title hidden beneath these cryptic characters? "Public Board of Knowledge?" "Profoundity Bringeth Kudos?" No, of course it would be something in Greek, which any one of the gentlemen could have rattled off glibly, had he wished. Only he wouldn't have wished. It is a secret.

The Keymen sailed up the river to West Point, where they went ashore and looked about them indulgently. Up and back they had conversation. Their talk ran upon the excellent idea it was not to minimize the importance of their Council meetings by holding them more frequently than once in three years; upon the sound reasoning that had led them to decide to push ahead with the fraternity's million-dollar endowment fund, of which at least $100,000 must be in hand by December, 1926, for the erection of a founders' memorial building at the College of William and Mary (Williamsburg, Va.) upon the society's 150th anniversary; upon the sensible resolution they had passed that morning, at the instance of Brother W. O. Stevens (Colby College) put- ting themselves on record "as insisting on academic freedom that is essential to the pursuit of truth" (a direct blow at foes of evolution).

At the business meeting, other matters transacted were: re-election of officers: -- Dr. Charles F. Thwing (Western Reserve, emeritus), President; Dr. Francis W. Shepardson (Chicago), Vice President--and granting of charters to new chapters at Agnes Scott College, (Decatur, Ga.), University of South Carolina, College of Wooster (Wooster, Ohio), University of South Dakota, University of the South (Sewanee, Tenn.), University of Kentucky, Occidental College (Los Angeles, Calif), University of Idaho.