Before getting to the fun instruments of torture used in sadistic initiations to frat houses, clubs, and gated communities, a word from your suppliers, DeMoulin Brothers & Co. of Greenville, Illinois, as stated in their catalog of 1908:
WE MAKE EVERYTHING FOR EVERY LODGE – Our extended experience, our knowledge of the wants of our customers, and our advantages over other manufacturers enable us to furnish superior grade of goods at prices that defy competition. We solicit correspondence from and information concerning prospective purchasers. All inquiries gave prompt attention. We give our best advice, the benefit of our best judgment, and render every possible assistance to those who contemplate purchasing any goods in our line. This service is free for the asking…
“Every article in this catalog is guaranteed to be exactly as represented. Prospective purchasers can consult our catalogs with a feeling of absolute confidence in the goods offered.”
People who were candidates, initiates, and (ultimately) members of the organizations that ordered and used these things back in the early part of the 1900s were also the same people who went through WWI, the Great Depression, and WWII. They accepted the hardships and buckled down to do what needed to be done when it needed to be done — and came back stronger than ever.
