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The "official reason" Cole was "kicked out":
For the first few years, Cole made money (for travel-to-chapter
expenses, etc) by selling badges to members when he
visited. He wasn't a good "bookkeeper" so "his" money and
the "badge money" got mixed up in his pocket. Truth be
known, I'm sure he wasn't "making a killing" if anything at
all off the badges, prolly little more than enough to cover
his travel expenses.
Later the GHZ decided this was too sloppy, and "ordered"
that all money collected thru the sale of badges be returned
to the GHZ, and then Cole could submit his travel expenses
for re-imbursement. Cole basically ignored the "order" and
continued to operate as he had for the previous 10 years
or so.
So Cole was brought up on charges of "embezzlement",
though I think by the time it was "formal", he had already
given up on ever working with the GHZ again.
He was officially "kicked out" by the GHZ, but there was
a constitutional problem: only a member's chapter can
expel a member, not the GHZ (at that time...constitution
obviously changed later). But Fischer was GHPi at the
time (basically the "supreme court") who interpreted the
constitution saying the GHZ COULD expel Cole, and
so it was. Fischer then became GHA of course.
Years later (in the 50's?) when the GHZ at that time
decided to re-instate Cole as Alpha-1 (but not put him
on the GHZ obviously), old members of the GHZ
complained that a current GHZ could not reverse the
decisions of a previous GHZ, another "constitutional
crisis"...but Cole was re-instated as an "alum in good
standing" anyway.
The "real" reason:
Cole thought of LXA as "his" fraternity, and the other members
of the GHZ as just his gophers (at least the other members
of the GHZ might have explained it that way). The others
thought they should have authority as well as Cole.
The power struggle resulted in Cole vs. GHZ-others,
resulting in the "order" on selling badges, resulting
in the "expulsion."
But as the history book (Peyser) states, do not similar
scenarios play out at the chapter level all the time??
So the moral of the story is, as is always with history,
"Those who do not know history are doomed to
repeat it."
I think some were "sore" about airing LXA's "dirty laundry"
when the story appeared in the history book, but the
point is to learn from it. Hopefully some will!
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