History of Alpha Kappa Psi

From the eighth edition of the History/Handbook of Alpha Kappa Psi

Theodore G. Ehrsam, Editor
Jess C. LaNore, Asst. Editor
Assistance provided by David P. Wendroff and Wendy A. Wendroff

The Founders of Alpha Kappa Psi

The story of Alpha Kappa Psi Fraternity begins at New York University, Washington Square, New York. After the passage of the Certified Public Accountants Act of 1896 in New York State, an increasingly urgent demand arose for adequate education in all branches of higher accountancy. There also developed an important calling known as the profession of administration. To meet this double need for higher commercial education and for a college of accountancy, the Council of New York University decided to establish a school on a broad basis of advanced instruction in political economy, accounting, and commercial law.

On July 28, 1900, the Chancellor of New York University, Dr. Henry Mitchell MacCracken, authorized the opening of the new evening School of Commerce, Accounts and Finance on the same basis as the seven other traditional schools and colleges of the university. The Financial Record for September 12th asserted that "the new school raises accounting from an avocation to a profession and places the accountant on the same plane as the lawyer and the physician." The school’s establishment on October 2nd was directly traceable to forceful insistence on the part of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants for university instruction in the sciences immediately connected with practical life. The October 13th issue of the Post (New York) indicated that the setting up of this school is "generally regarded as one of the most significant signs of the times.... It is recognized that a specialized higher education.... is inevitable, because more and more demanded."

The official announcement of the School of Commerce stated its objects, "to elevate the standards of business education and to furnish a complete and thorough course of instruction in the higher professional accountancy." At first there was a roster of 62 matriculants. Study extended over a two year period, with classes held from 8 to 9 and 9 to 10 o’clock Monday through Friday evenings for eight months a year. At the outset it was uncertain whether a university degree would accompany the diploma offered by the school. Then the School of Commerce at New York University became the first to offer a degree in a night school in business.

Prime movers behind the school included Charles Waldo Haskins, senior member of Haskins & Sells and President of the State Society of Certified Public Accountants; Leon Brummer, Secretary of that Society; and Dr. Charles Ezra Sprague, President of the Union Dime Savings Bank. All three men joined the faculty of the school. Haskins was appointed its first dean, but he lived only long enough to see the institution fairly well established on the road to success. At the beginning, the school was burdened with the manifold problems of organization. Fourteen courses were offered to the enrolled students by the faculty of fourteen members. Proper college textbooks as known today had not yet been written.

In the fall of 1902, after the university had awarded the first of the new degrees in business, a stronger basis for instruction was introduced, more faculty members were added, and the curriculum was enlarged and correlated anew. The group which entered in 1902 was the first three year class working toward the Bachelor of Commercial Science degree. Then all students took the same subjects. The first year had demonstrated the need for a strong administrator to concentrate his full time and energy on the development of the school. The man chosen for this position was Joseph French Johnson; previously he had for eight years been Professor of Finance at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. In 1901 he accepted the post of Secretary of the Faculty at the N.Y.U. School, and in 1903 he became its second Dean and Professor of Political Economy and Finance. At this critical time, some members of the Class of 1905 came forward to reassure the new Dean that they had complete faith in his policies and that they would, in every way possible, endeavor to promote the success of the school, to work to make the new degree respected and valued.

These same eager, serious-minded students later were to become the founders and the first elected members of Alpha Kappa Psi Fraternity. From the start the group had firm support from the Dean; in addition, Cleveland F. Bacon, Professor of Law at the School of Commerce, acted as their attorney and legal advisor. The students occupied the same seats in class five nights a week in the eighth floor classrooms of the new University Building on Washington Square. Since they all worked by day and had school work too, they had little time for any school social activities, but the early members managed to get together on Friday nights and have a social time, spent mostly in talk of the school. It was only natural that, without any apparent design or effort the Four should meet each night after classes to take advantage of the quietness of lower Broadway to walk south for twenty-five minute to City Hall and thence across the Brooklyn Bridge to their homes. They talked over their mutual problems. They soon acquired a new name and were widely heralded as the Brooklyn Four.

But too little has been said and not enough generally known about two other outstanding men of the Class of 1905 who likewise exercised and talked over their various problems while walking from class but in the opposite direction, north, toward midtown Manhattan. They were Robert Stuart Douglas and Daniel Vincent Duff.

Perhaps it was in their first year, but surely not later than their second, that Frederic R. Leach suggested the organization of a fraternity. The idea met with unanimous approval. Leach and the other members of the Brooklyn Four, Lane, Bergen, and Jefferson, mulled over the idea of fraternity for some time. In the winter, during the 1903-04 school year, much further spade work was accomplished. At the beginning, several meetings of those students who were the founders of Alpha Kappa Psi were conducted in a somewhat informal manner in conjunction with banquets held at various hotels in Manhattan. By late April plans had assumed definite shape; at the close of the academic year a date was set for a meeting in the Hotel St. Denis.

On June 9,1904, Douglas, Camp, Duff, Wright, Rachmil, Lane, Leach, Bergen, and Jefferson met at this hotel. All the men were strongly in favor of forming a fraternity, and many points thought worthy of being incorporated into a constitution were suggested. The men realized that the B.C.S. degree then was of relatively little or no commercial value in the community. They firmly believed, however, that it could be made to be of as much significance as the C.P.A. and that this change could be accomplished through the united efforts of men of strong character from the school. They were convinced that higher education for businessmen was a vital need in America, and they were willing to dedicate themselves to assist in encouraging such college training.

The group appointed the Brooklyn Four to draft an acceptable constitution to be presented the next time they gathered. After agreeing to meet on an excursion trip during the summer, they parted. The committee conferred several more times, embodying their ideas into a tentative constitution which they were then ready to report on at a meeting held on July 16, 1904, at Sea Cliff, Long Island. The trip there was made by steamer, but owing to several absences from the city because of vacations and other unforeseen events, only five of the men were present: Douglas, Lane, Rachmil, Leach, and Bergen. The constitution as submitted was read, and new plans were also suggested and considered.

Nothing more was accomplished until after school reopened in the fall. The plan of organization, though, was still quite alive, and on October 5, 1904, the charter members met in the Assembly Room, 32 Waverly Place; all ten were there. They decided to set up a professional fraternity at once, along the lines of the constitution which had been presented by the Brooklyn Four Committee, and to choose a president, secretary, and treasurer in accordance therewith, these officers to assume similar positions under the constitution when it was finally adopted. On written ballots, R. S. Douglas was elected President; H. M. Jefferson, Secretary; Nathan Lane, Jr., Treasurer; W.O. Tremaine, Vice-President; and Morris S. Rachmil, Financial Secretary, a choice made unanimous by acclamation. A committee of three, Rachmil, Tremaine, and Camp, was appointed to study the constitution draft, criticize and revise it, and report recommendations as soon as possible. This marked the founding date of the Fraternity, October 5,1904.

A meeting was called on October 21st, when a commendable report was presented by this committee, and the constitution and by-laws presented by it reviewed, clause by clause. With only slight alterations this first constitution was accepted as read. Discussion as to dues and initiation fees followed; annual dues were set at $1, but a decision on initiations was postponed. Lane, Leach, and Bergen were then asked to study the eligibility and desirability of admitting men from the junior class. On November 11th, the committee selected five men as suitable for election from the juniors: Paul H. Hudson, Robert Meyer, George W. Myer, Jr., William B. S. Winans, and Walter S. Witte. Fifteen members were on hand at a meeting a week later; a report of the Membership Committee recommended E. C. Smith and Robert C. Jeffrey, both of whom were unanimously elected to membership. A committee composed of Jefferson and Rachmil was appointed to compose a notice to be posted on the bulletin board revealing the organization of the fraternity. The sense of this instruction was that the announcement should be put up quickly. The committee began to work at once but decided to ask for the official sanction of the Chancellor of New York University before posting such a note. The two men sent this letter to the Chancellor on Saturday morning, accompanied by a statement from Dean Johnson:

New York, November 18, 1904

Sir:
The senior class of the School of Commerce, Accounts and Finance have organized a Greek letter Fraternity to be called Phi Psi Kappa. "The object of this Fraternity shall be to foster scientific research in the fields of commerce, accounts, and finance, to educate the public to demand and appreciate higher ideals in these walks of life, and to promote and advance in our great institutions of learning courses leading to the degrees in commercial sciences." This Fraternity is founded in memory of Charles Waldo Haskins, and this chapter is to be known as the "Charles Waldo Haskins Chapter of the Phi Psi Kappa Fraternity of the School of Commerce, Accounts and Finance of New York University."

We are especially desirous of having only the very best men in this School of Commerce as members of this Fraternity, and have arranged in pursuance therewith to admit only those whose intention it is to graduate, and have passed their first year examinations successfully, and in addition thereto have at least twenty-four of the requisite Regents’ counts or their equivalent.

We hope in some measure to be able to give value to the degree of B.C.S. by reason of our united efforts, and respectfully request that you give us your official sanction at as early a date as possible in order that we may feel fully organized before Thanksgiving Eve, when we are to have our first annual banquet and installation of officers.

Signed: H. M. Jefferson
Morris Rachimil
Committee.

Dr. Henry M. MacCracken
New York University
University Heights, N.Y.

The following letter was received from the Chancellor in reply:
University Heights, N.Y.
November 21, 1904.

Dean Joseph French Johnson
32 Waverly Place
New York, N.Y.

Dear Sir:
Accept my thanks for your letter respecting the new Fraternity in your school. I see no objection to the faculty approving of this organization. I return the paper since it ought to go on record upon the minutes of the faculty.

Sincerely yours,
H. M. MacCracken

Understandably, there was great satisfaction as a result of this permission extended to the fraternity.

At the November 22, 1904 meeting the Secretary was ordered to cast one ballot ratifying the election of Robert S. Douglas, President; William O. Tremaine, Vice-President; Howard M. Jefferson, Recording and Corresponding Secretary; Morris S. Rachimil, Financial Secretary; and Nathan Lane, Jr., Treasurer. The Membership Committee recommended Frederick H. Clark and Harry A. Hopf, juniors, both unanimously elected members. The first Annual Banquet of the group was held in the College Room of the Arena, 31st Street near Broadway, on Thanksgiving Eve, November 23rd, with eighteen members in attendance.

The festivities began with the singing of "The Violet," with everyone standing. Between courses the members sang college songs. After the meal, Douglas asked Jefferson to recount portions of the Fraternity’s history. The Constitution and By-Laws were read aloud by Rachimil and then discussed. Certain revisions were suggested but were finally left for more careful scrutiny at another meeting. Tremaine was asked to present ideas for a suitable and dignified initiation; a Committee on Ritual and Initiation, composed of Tremaine, Rachmil, and Hudson, was appointed. An application to incorporate was filed, but when it turned out that another fraternity with a similar name had already been granted a charter, the petition was rejected by the State of New York. A committee of Hopf, Leach, Tremaine, Rachimil , and Jefferson was chosen to settle on a new name and to ready the organization for the process of incorporation.

On behalf of the newer members, Hudson thanked the charter members for the honor shown in allowing juniors into the fraternity. He was grateful for the confidence which had been expressed, but he was also mindful of the heavy responsibilities assumed in thus accepting the invitation to join. He asserted that the juniors would have entrusted to them, to a considerable extent, the selection of suitable candidates from the freshman class. The greatest discretion would have to be exercised in excluding from membership any who failed to appreciate the high ideals of Alpha Kappa Psi.

On January 10, 1905, a meeting was held at which Harry Hopf reported on the Committee for a New Name. He had conferred with Dean Johnson and, following the Deans suggestion, made this motion: "In view of the fact that no name has heretofore appeared in the Constitution as the name of the Fraternity, I move that the name Alpha Kappa Psi be adopted as the name of the society." The motion passed. The name chosen was symbolic, the A, the K, and the {Psi} being the first letters of three Greek words which mean "I honor pure accounts" or "I honor accounts which exactly balance." Progress was reported in setting up a ritual and an initiation procedure. The notice submitted by Rachmil, signed by Jefferson, was posted on the bulletin board on January 19,1905, stating that the Fraternity had been officially sanctioned by the Chancellor, the Dean, and Faculty of the School. On the same evening at midnight the unexpected extinguishing of the lights by the landlord caused a groping exit for all without the formality of an adjournment.

A new committee was appointed on February 9, 1905, consisting of Hopf, Tremaine, Jefferson, Jeffery, and Meyer, for revision of the constitution and the by-laws, to be completed in a month. On March 11th, a Special Banquet and Meeting was held at the Arena, whose primary purpose was to receive the report of the Constitution Committee. Hopf first read the Constitution and By-Laws of the General Fraternity and then those of Alpha Chapter. The first constitution was so carefully constructed that, despite thorough scrutiny, only a minor revision was needed in the instrument; one word was changed, a substitution of "or" for "and." When Hopf read the constitution of Alpha Chapter, it too was accepted after only a few changes. The Secretary was instructed to cast one ballot for the present officers to elect them officers in Alpha Kappa Psi. Now two administrative groups were to direct the affairs of the fraternity. A body of administrators was provided for, consisting of the President, Vice-President, Financial Secretary, Recording Secretary, Corresponding Secretary, and Treasurer, to hold office for one year.

The second body, the Board of Governors, was made up of the President, as officiating chairman, the Vice President, the three Secretaries, Treasurer, and six other members, three of whom were to be seniors, to be chosen at annual elections. The Board was to investigate and report on applications for membership, to have a committee of its members audit the accounts of all officers once yearly and to report thereon, and to designate a depository for fraternity funds and for any possible investments.

This constitution radically altered the concept of the government of the Fraternity. The emphasis shifted from the arrangement and supervision of the affairs of one chapter of a local fraternity to a dual provision for the regulation of local affairs together with central control and collective action in the interest of potential brother chapters of Alpha Kappa Psi. To carry out this new double function, two constitutions were accepted at the March 11th dinner, one for the General or National Fraternity, shortly to become a membership corporation, and a second for Alpha Chapter, chartered in turn by the national group. Now the General Fraternity and Alpha Chapter each had its own laws and own officers. Navy blue and gold were adopted as the official fraternity colors, chosen by Paul Hudson. Years later Jefferson explained the significance of these colors, that the blue stands for the ocean over which the commerce of the world passes, and the gold that which is the basis for the financing of the trade. At a Special Meeting, March 17th, a pin with the design of a Phoenician galley outlined on a Greek coin with the letters AK’-P on the sail was selected as the official emblem of the group. The ship, representing the earliest vessels that sailed the seas far from home, is set upon a Greek coin, one of the earliest pieces of money known in the world.

On March 20, 1905, formal application was made to the State of New York for a charter of incorporation, this time for Alpha Kappa Psi Fraternity. It was then that Frederick Leach suggested to the juniors who had been of great help that they also sign the petition to become charter members. But Paul Hudson, for the class, generously declined the offer.

The document, in the handwriting of Leach, was signed by each of the ten Founders: Robert S. Douglas, Howard M. Jefferson, Daniel V. Duff, Irving L. Camp, George L. Bergen, Nathan Lane, Jr., Morris S. Rachimil , Herbert M. Wright, Frederic R. Leach, and William O. Tremaine. The application was approved, and the charter of incorporation was officially issued to Alpha Kappa Psi Fraternity on May 20, 1905. At the graduation exercises at New York University on June 8, 1905, five of the ten founders received special academic recognition: Camp and Douglas graduated summa cum laude; Leach, magna cum laude; and Bergen and Jefferson, cum laude.

Now the fraternity needed to set up regularly scheduled meetings, particularly professional business get-togethers. A program of activities was mapped out, affording members opportunities to present their favorite research projects. But with no home, the fraternity was handicapped, even forced 5 to hold some outdoor gatherings. On July 29, 1905, a Special Meeting occurred at Rockaway Park, New York, where fifteen members joined on the beach for an afternoon of bathing. At 7 P.M. the business session was called to order; afterwards, the group went to the Park Inn for dinner and then back to the beach. Alpha had been chartered nine weeks earlier, the semester had closed almost at once, and, though many difficult problems had been solved, no suitable home for the fraternity had yet been found. They had no meeting-place in the school where they could be private, and so during the week they used the carpenters workroom, to which they had found a back door, and it was in this room that the new men were interviewed and introduced.