Flag and Portraits.

During the spring and summer there were so many calls for the BRIEF (Vol. II., No. 2) which gave a diagram and description of the official banner, that it exhausted the supply. The idea of having the flag in one's rooms or in the chapter halls is worth encouraging; every chapter, certainly, should own one. The flag is not an easy one to make and when a single one is made it is somewhat expensive. To further the idea, if those chapters or individuals who desire a flag will write the BRief, and if there are enough such writers, we will let the making to a flag-maker and furnish the results at cost.

In the same line, one of the law-publishing houses has recently issued a new series of likenesses of the legal masters, including Coke, Chitty, and Story. The appropriateness of having these also in the chapter halls is apparent. Single orders are again a bit costly, but clubbing will reduce the cost greatly. If those who wish the flag or portraits will send a conditional order, we will look into the matter; the cost of course, will be definitely agreed upon before any orders are binding. If interested, write.

McKinley and Roosevelt.

It is unusual for any order to have as members both the President and the Vice-President and probably no other fraternity has had the high honor. The catalogue at present does not contain the name of William McKinley, but several members of Swan chapter inform us that he was duly initiated by their chapter as an honorary member and that the chapter roll so records. The delegates to the Sixth Convention at Washington recall with pleasure the special audience Mr. McKinley gave them and the interested and gracious way in which he greeted them and inquired about the welfare and condition of the Fraternity.

Theodore Roosevelt was initiated while an undergraduate at Columbia law school, but the Phi Delta Phi virus did not take very well, for when he visited Ann Arbor, Mich., some few years ago, and was met by a committee from Kent chapter

and invited to the chapter house, he asserted that he was not a member-so Mr. Roberts P. Hudson of the Council tells us. He knew the Story club at Columbia, but he did not know Phi Delta Phi. Since then, the New York Club has changed Mr. Roosevelt's views on the matter, but the incident well shows the result of conducting a fraternity on the old laisser-faire idea, which formerly obtained.

Getting Clients.

At times

Of course, to practice law one must have clients. we meet law students and young lawyers who think that success in practice depends on having an abnormal legal brain, crammed with information on all branches of the law. The off hand opinions of this brain must be so accurate that its fame will be heralded abroad and clients will come from afar off to kow tow and pay it ample retainers. To develop such a brain one must stay in his library and grind, "living like a hermit and working like a horse."

He who starts practice with this view soon finds out that it is entirely wrong and that clients come from his acquaintances. Much time is lost in finding out that while it is well to know the law it is also well to know people. Concerning one who started with the right idea we have been sent the following:

A young man who was studying law in a town of twelve thousand inhabitants was asked by an acquaintance: "What are you doing now?" Reading law and making friends," was his answer. "I shall be admitted to the bar in June. For the last two years I have been spending all my spare time making friends. By the time I shall open my office I will know every one in this town-every one, from the conductors on the street cars and the man who runs the night lunch to the mayor, the judge, and the president of the bank. In my opinion it is just as important to prepare yourself to get clients as it is to prepare yourself to draw pleadings. People must know who I am and I must know the people."

Two and a-half years later the young lawyer was able to buy out the practice of the oldest lawyer in town.

The Brief's Contributors.

This number completes volume three of the BRIEF. Two years ago the publisher expressed the hope that the revised book would not by necessity become a one-man publication, but the organ of the Fraternity, in which the members would give the news and express their ideas. To that end, contributions were solicited and coöperation invited and with most gratifying results. Members have largely written the leading articles, which have placed the book high among legal periodicals and thanks are especially due to those who have assisted in the work as alumnus editors, for much of the book's success has been due to them. Fritz v. Briesen, Field; Fred B. Skinner, Conkling; J. R. Schindel, Hamilton; Reed H. Game, Swan; J. M. Thompson, McClain; Vroman Mason, Harlan; and Harold N. Eldridge, Webster, have been especially active in cooperation. Much of the editorial work has naturally fallen on one man and when coming with his other duties it has at times. seemed a task, but the knowledge that the book is winning, that the cooperation is growing, and that Phi Delta Phi is being welded into a national legal organization has lightened the work greatly. The BRIEF is acknowledged to be the handsomest legal periodical, and it ranks among the best. It must be the best as well as the most practical. All that is necessary to give it the coveted position is the hearty and active coöperation of the undergraduates and alumni. For volume four we ask the continued aid of those who have helped, and ask all other brothers, students, alumni, and professors, to join them.

The Convention Question.

Practically two years have passed since the seventh and last convention was held with Kent chapter in Ann Arbor in December, 1899. The selection by that convention of December, 1900, and Cooley chapter in St. Louis as the time and place for the eighth convention, Cooley's withdrawal of the invitation because of lack of response, and the movement to hold a convention at Buffalo which would be attended by the alumni so that for the first time the legal Fraternity would be holding a legal

convention, and then the failure of this plan, partly because of the position of Daniels chapter and partly because of the late date at which it was agitated-all this is pretty well known. The BRIEF has not changed its position, and still insists that the condition of the Fraternity, the interests of its alumnus clubs, and the general furthering of the legal side of the organization demands that future conventions, whenever possible, shall combine the strictly fraternity work with that of a Bar association. Without a doubt, such will ultimately be the character of our yearly gatherings, but at present it is probably inexpedient to plan such a convention which to be successful must for some years be held during the summer months when the alumni are at liberty, and at a time when some extra attraction, such as the Buffalo or the St. Louis Expositions, will aid the attendance, Such a convention can and will be held at the St. Louis Exposition and we now so announce, but a convention of the Fraternity for the purpose of general Fraternity legislation is needed. and should be held during the Christmas vacation. The Secretary will probably soon put the matter before the chapters. There will be enough funds in the treasury practically to pay the traveling expenses of a delegate from each chapter and as the chapters feel the need of such a convention the chapter with which it meets need have no fear as to the attendance or its

success.

A Chapter Program.

The year 1901-2 should see more uniformity in the work of the thirty-two chapters. Though local conditions may modify somewhat in the different schools, chapter effort should, in the main, be directed along the following lines and in the following order:

1. Pick out the strongest men of the entering class for the first initiation. Where rushing is necessary, begin it at the earliest possible moment, and under the direction of the chapter officers instead of a committee. Select men for personal worth rather than for fit of clothes or papa's rating. Stand on your own feet and, by all means, don't expect the alumni to come back to do your rushing.

2. Lease chapter rooms and get them convenient, comfortable, and not too expensive.

3. Send the names and addresses and dues of initiates to the Secretary, as provided by the constitution within thirty days after the initiation.

4. Weekly meetings should be held evenings for quizzes, reviews of class work, etc.; in those schools where practice and moot-court courses are not given, take up such work at these meetings.

5. Hold a somewhat more pretentious monthly meeting during each month of the college year. The social element may well enter into such meetings. There should be a good dinner. As many of the faculty as possible should be present, and the aim should be to have an enjoyable evening.

6. Have a final meeting at graduation and invite to it the alumni, faculty, and prominent members of the local Bar.

Hops, at homes, and social functions can be given according to the nature and disposition of the various chapters but these should be subordinated to the legal work. Use the prescribed form at the initiations. Don't indulge in horse play. Use the song book at least at the monthly meetings. If there are not enough of the books on hand write the Secretary for them. If the chapter is one of those seven chapters that needs a general awakening and renovating, get to work and wake it up. If it is one of the twenty-five thriving chapters, see the activity is continued. Finally, run the chapter's finances in such a way that your successors will not be obliged to shoulder a deficit.

The Year's Record.

Another year of the Fraternity's record is now closed. With the exception of the convention fiasco, the year has been one of increased activity and progress, as will be shown by the following:

1. Some 340 new members have been initiated—the largest number since the founding of Phi Delta Phi.

2. Two new chapters have been formed, viz., the Ranney chapter at the Western Reserve law school, Cleveland,