From:
http://www.phoenixmasonry.org/the_builder_1925_june.htm
SIGMA MU SIGMA FRATERNITY: OR "SELECT MASONS SOCIETY"
In the present instance we have ourselves contributed an inquiry to this department in the shape of a letter addressed to Bro. Sidney C. Brown, Jr., of Washington, D. C., concerning a new fraternity for college Masons. His reply is a complete description in brief of the fraternity in question, and good to have in its own behalf, as well as to serve as a valuable addition to Bro. Carl Foss's magnificent essay on "American College Fraternities," published in the March and April issues of this journal:
Realizing the need of an organization of students selected from the Masonic Order who would devote themselves to the fostering of the highest ideals of the Fraternity and to the promotion of Masonic fellowship, three Master Masons, Harold Van Vranken, Charles Knapp, and Claude Brown, students of Tri-State College of Angola, Ind., met on Good Friday, March 25, 1921, and organized the Sigma Mu Sigma fraternity. The first requisite of the new society was that the members should be Master Masons in good standing and should be imbued with a zeal for the promotion of the cardinal principles of Sincerity, Morality, and Scholarship by thought, speech and practice. The social fellowship that followed such lofty ideals was of the highest type, and the society at once became firmly fixed in the plans and lives of the young men who became affiliated with it.
Interest being manifested from other sources, a national organization was perfected in Washington, D. C., in May, 1924, by Sidney C. Brown, attorney, who was elected National President. Hon. L. W. Fairfield introduced in Congress a bill which would grant a National Charter to the fraternity. Brigadier General Fries, head of the division of Chemical Warfare, is sponsor of the National organization and these two men are the first national honorary members.
The object of the national body is to establish in leading universities and colleges chapters of Sigma Mu Sigma for the promotion of these same cardinal virtues. The plan is to select from Master Masons who are attending the various schools, those who are interested in promoting the true spirit of Masonry as applied to student life and for the development of sincerity, morality and scholarship in the lives of young men fitting themselves for service in the world. Established on such an exalted plane there is no need for wonder why the fraternity is attracting attention and a long and flourishing career is anticipated for Sigma Mu Sigma among those who have given thought to its aims and its teachings.
There are now three active chapters, located at Angola, Ind.; Washington, D. C.; and Oklahoma University, at Norman, Okla. Chapters will be installed at Purdue University, Indiana; Milwaukee Engineering School; Alabama University; National University; and George Washington University, Washington, D. C., this spring.
Sidney C. Brown, Jr., Dist. of Columbia.