In several previous articles we have discussed the question of the growth and expansion of the Panhellenic Order on a national scale. Ever since the founders of this splendid order in New York City undertook the gigantic and ambitious task of organizing chapters of the order in all major cities in the United States, The Star and most of the leaders of the Greek Community of Chicago espoused and accepted the idea with joy and enthusiasm. However, no one can fail to see that a national Greek organization which expects to establish itself permanently and function successfully must have the men, the money, and a definite and thoroughly planned course of action. We may rightfully ask ourselves if the Greeks in the whole of the United States of America are ripe and prepared to merge themselves into a great pattern of organization within the complicated framework of a national fraternal order. Are we Greeks socially 2and sufficiently mature to work and act as a unified and disciplined group? Do we have the capacity and necessary qualities of mind, spirit, and character for collective action? Since the days of Homer and Pericles, the Greek people have proved themselves incapable of forming a strong and extensive political system composed of all the Greeks from all parts of Greece. Our people have valued freedom so highly and have cherished it so dearly that they have been unwilling to compromise it to any appreciable extent. The Greek has one serious fault--though in some respects it is considered a blessing and a cardinal virtue--and that is: his extreme individualism and strong desire to think and act with complete independence. This individualism is especially evident in the lives and conduct of the Greeks of Chicago. If this instinctive and personal individualistic trait is multiplied by three or four hundred thousand, the number of Greeks in America, one can imagine the tremendous obstacle one has to face in attempting to organize and weld together the Greeks of America.

Next to the problem of winning over the people of our nationality to a scheme 3of concerted action, the supporters of the proposed national fraternal order must think of doing a carefully planned job of organizing the most important units of the order:that is, the local chapters in the largest American cities where most Greeks are concentrated. In previous studies and suggestions in regard to ways and means of building the order, we remarked that the present responsible officials and leaders of the mother or original lodge of the Panhellenic Order in New York City have failed to appeal to all classes of the Greek people for support. Not only the official representatives of the Greek Government--that is, the consuls,--not only the higher ecclesiastical authorities and the presidents of the various Greek church communities and organizations must be approached and consulted in laying the foundations of a national order, but the many hundreds of members of the professions, our businessmen, the Greek laborer and farmer, and the Greek press also must be contacted and shown how the organization is to function, how it will be financed, and how its work and activities will affect the life and welfare of every member.

There is no doubt whatever that the Panhellenic Order concerns every Greek in 4America. So, let the Order's active workers appeal to all the people even in the most distant town.

Our good and energetic brothers in New York City must also be told that they were extremely hasty in selecting and appointing the men who will canvass every Greek community in the United States. Their methods of action are being applied even faster than the speed of the twentieth-century American railroads!

We have had many schemes and various other national organizations which pretended to operate and function on a national scale but which had an inglorious end, for the sole reason that their organizers and leaders were too impulsive and too hasty. The history of the Greeks of Chicago bears out the statement that no organization, no social group, has outlived its first ambitions and hopes when its leaders were not experienced, intelligent, and gifted with the talent for true leadership. Such men we have had on occasion, but they were too hasty and too erratic to provide the initial impetus for our organizations and to establish them on a lasting and permanent basis. There are many clubs, societies, and 5local nationalistic and patriotic groups which were happily conceived, which grew, bloomed, and then withered and disappeared.

If the great idea of a national Greek order such as that which has been proposed and which is under discussion is not to encounter the same fate, we must by all means start building the structure of the Panhellenic Order on a solid foundation, on the strong character and the indomitable will and determination of our people to work harmoniously and sincerely for the common good.

When we are rid of the mortal diseases called selfishness, hatred, passionate jealousy, envy, and indifference to the suffering and difficulties of our fellow human beings and fellow countrymen, then we shall be building the foundations and the structure of a great and powerful national, fraternal, and patriotic organization. When this is done, we can order the local affairs of our communities and churches with the added moral and economic support of a great institution. The Panhellenic Order could be this institution, the shrine of every Greek in America.