A Disagreement
In the fall of
1854 a disagreement arose within the Kappa chapter of Delta Kappa Epsilon (DKE)
at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. This chapter consisted of 12 men. Six of
them, led by Whitelaw Reid, supported one of the members for Poet in the
Erodelphian Literary Society. Four of the other six members, James Parks
Caldwell, Isaac M. Jordan, Benjamin Piatt Runkle and Franklin Howard Scobey,
refused to vote for the brother because they knew him to lack poetic abilities.
The man they did favor for that office was not a Deke. Thomas Cowan Bell and
Daniel William Cooper were not members of Erodelphian, but their relation to the
disagreement was unqualified endorsement of the four. Thus, they became six.
The chapter of 12 was evenly divided in a difference of opinion that ordinarily would have been decided one way or the other and immediately forgotten. But both sides considered it a matter of principle, and could not reach a compromise. During the ensuing months, the groups disagreed so much that their friendship grew distant.
A Schism at Dinner
Chapter meetings, or attempted chapter meetings, occurred for months with
the breach constantly widening. In February 1855, at an Oxford restaurant, a
dramatic dinner meeting between the dissenting groups set the stage for Sigma
Chi's founding. Bell, Caldwell, Cooper, Jordan, Runkle and Scobey hosted the
event, hoping to mend ways with the other six. They were on hand early, awaiting
developments with anticipation. Of the meeting, Founder Benjamin Piatt Runkle
said, “With the kindest of intentions, we determined to give a dinner in their
honor. I remember that the feast was prepared at the village restaurant, the
guests invited, and on the appointed night we gathered and waited for the
guests. They did not come for a long time, and then only Mr. Reid and with a
stranger. He took into his confidence Minor Millikin (an alumnus of the
fraternity from nearby Hamilton, Ohio) and the two decided on strenuous
proceedings.”
Minor Millikin Steps Up
Millikin lost no time. “My name is Minor Millikin,” he said. “I live in
Hamilton. I am a man of few words.” He then passed judgment on all of the
matters in dispute. Since he had heard only one side of the story, his verdict
was against Runkle, Scobey and the others who had originally opposed election of
the DKE as the Poet in the literary society. Millikin found them guilty.
Next, Millikin unfolded a plan he and Reid had concocted by which “justice” could be satisfied with the formal expulsion of the leaders in the rebellion (undoubtedly Runkle and Scobey), after which the others, having been properly chastised, could remain in the chapter.
At this dramatic moment Runkle stepped forward, pulled off his DKE pin, tossed it upon the table and said to Millikin, “I didn't join this Fraternity to be anyone's tool. And that, sir, is my answer!” Runkle stalked out of the room, and his five colleagues followed.
Six Against Six
The final meeting of the 12 active members of Delta Kappa Epsilon was held in
Reid's room in the “Old Southeast” building several days later. After a
strenuous effort, led by Reid, for the expulsion of the six, with six against
six on all vital issues, the meeting broke up in considerable disorder.
A rather prolonged correspondence ensued with the Delta Kappa Epsilon parent chapter at Yale, resulting in the April 1855 expulsion of Bell, Caldwell, Cooper, Jordan, Runkle and Scobey. It was at this time they began making plans to found their own fraternity.