the time a little more equably between the solo singing and singing by the congregation. You cannot expect men to maintain an interest if they take no part. Taking a part is an American characteristic. The disposition of Americans is to have a hand in any enterprise with which they are connected. A good example of that was found in the recent war, when all of us were to a certain extent mobilized; when I myself left court, as my brethren of the Bench did, and undertook to arouse the sentiment in our section of the country. We gathered more real American patriotism than ever existed in our hearts, devoted as we were to our country. It was because we had a hand in it, because we were giving some service, and had an opportunity to do something for our country to preserve the liberty of a threatened world. Now, that same sentiment, that same characteristic, is present in those of us who are gathered here. We take an interest in the thing with which we have got to do, and even though we do not choose to do anything particular-because modesty controls most men-we want the opportunity to be heard.

This body, as I have understood, is a deliberative body. It is social, and we are glad when we have the opportunity to come here and greet each other; but the fundamental conception of the American Bar Association was some character of deliberation and you cannot have deliberation without an opportunity to deliberate, and you cannot have deliberation unless there is something to deliberate on. You have committees, and you have sections. Those committees and those sections are supposed to be the working bodies that will sift out the questions that are of importance and bring them to the floor of the meeting of the American Bar Association, and then the members of the Association will determine whether they are good or bad. We have arrived at a place where important committee reports are allotted five minutes, ten minutes, or fifteen minutes, with the injunction that time is of the essence of exit. Nobody is particularly to blame for that, because you cannot tell exactly who is at fault about it. If the sections and the committees are not at work grinding out practical questions that fall within the purview of the American Bar Association, or within the scope of the jurisdiction of the particular committee, then those committees and those sections are not doing their duty.

My judgment is that perhaps the reason they are not grinding out anything is because the time is so short that it expires almost before the Chairman can walk from the back of the hall and take his place on the platform. If we give more time for reports, won't we take more interest in the sections and in the committees? If I may suggest it, I would say to the committees and to the sections, "Get busy. This organization, the great American Bar Association, has got to get its grist from you, and if you don't bring it the mill won't grind." Then if they answer, “Why grind if you cannot use the product? If you give us such a short time that we cannot invoke the judgment of the parent organization, what is the use?" we must give them more time, and we must give them a better opportunity to present that which is to be considered.

I want to submit to you a few observations with respect to proposed amendments to the constitution of the American Bar Association, which were printed in the July issue of the JOURNAL. We have this Open Forum for the purpose of taking a survey of the condition of our own Association. The best index to that is the percentage of membership of the Bar of the United States by states. I have at considerable effort gotten a reasonably accurate list of the lawyers in each state. In one column I have given the number of lawyers from that state who are members of the American Bar Association; in another column the ratio or proportion between the membership in the Association and the total membership of the Bar in the respective states.

I am told that the membership this year is nearly 12,000, and we have only registered here about 575 up to the present moment. We are not working out the destiny nor doing the things we ought to do with reference to this great Association. To me the primary duty of the American Bar Association is to organize the American lawyers that answer to the qualifications for membership in this body. Think of it! Out of 127,000 lawyers we have only about 600 lawyers attending a national meeting!

Now, we have to go at this thing in a systematic way. We ought to make this Association as attractive to lawyers as possible, and one way to make it attractive is to give everybody a chance, give an opportunity to every member to lend a hand, not leave him simply a spectator. Invite him to your parties even though he reserves the right to refuse the invitation. It flatters. him to be invited. So let us flatter him if it will tend to build up the membership of the American Bar Association.

How can we do this? I think we can do it by adopting something on the order of the amendments that I have proposed. Understand that this proposal is in respect of the 92 per cent of the lawyers of the United States that do not attend these meetings. It is the interest of those 92 per cent that we want to secure. If you can keep a man in accord with the spirit of this Association which only meets three days out of 365 days in a year, we will generate an interest that will increase the membership largely. According to the program, the delegation from each state meets here and holds a caucus and selects a member to represent them on the General Council. By sending out a mail ballot in May we can do away with this caucus here and we will get the

expressions of all the members of the Association as to the men they want elected.

One of these amendments provides, on the same ballot, for the election of a vice-president from each state and for members of the local council.

The purpose of these amendments is to get the men who are at home in the middle of the year in touch with this organization. The balloting prescribed for the nomination of a member of the General Council is to be conducted by the vicepresidents of the respective states, and it shall be taken in each. state during the month of May of each year, upon the written request of five resident members, which request shall be filed with the vice-president not later than the 10th of May of each year, and the vice-president shall place on the ballot the name or names of members proposed for member of the General Council, and not later than the 20th of May shall mail to all members a ballot upon which the members shall indicate their choice, and the member given the highest number of votes shall be certified by the vice-president to the Secretary of the American Bar Association before the 15th day of June, and his name shall be published in the next issue of the JOURNAL. He shall be the nominee for member of the General Council from such state. Instead of being nominated by those of the members who are present at the meeting, the members at home in May will nominate him, and his name shall be presented by the Secretary for election at the annual meeting if he is present at the meeting.

The balloting is very much the same for members of the local councils and the vice-presidents.

James H. Harkless, of Missouri.

What clerical aid does the vice-president of each state have in order to do all this work?

Thomas C. McClellan :

I take it that that is a detail which can be easily covered, and I have no doubt that any vice-president from our state would use his own stenographer.

James H. Harkless:

I would like to ask what is to be done if a man is nominated after he gets here-who elects him?