James H. Harkless, of Missouri:

I desire to move an amendment of Section 3 of the Constitution of the Association. Before I read it, let me state the subject of the amendment. Under the Constitution the General Council is made up of one member from each state. Last year, at Chicago, we adopted an amendment which included a membership in the organization of state bar associations. That amendment, which admitted them into the Association, concluded with this clause: "Provided further that the votes in the General Council be by states whenever a roll call is asked." Now I desire to amend that in this respect:

"Resolved, That Section 3 of the Constitution of this Association be, and is now, amended by striking out of said section the following words: And provided further that votes in the General Council be by states whenever a roll call is asked' and substituting in lieu thereof the following: And each member of the General Council shall be entitled to cast one vote upon any and all questions.""

The difficulty that we have had in the General Council has arisen in this. One state is divided in its vote on any question, and when that happened to be the case it was contended that that state ought not to vote at all. It was contended by others that if the two votes from any one state were divided that each ought to be entitled to a one-half of the vote. It was even contended by others that where it was divided the regular member of the Council ought to cast the whole vote. Now, the desire and the purpose of this resolution is to place the members of the state bar associations upon the same footing, as to the voting right, and settle any future controversy.

I move the adoption of this amendment.

The Chairman:

The Chair rules that the amendment should go to the Executive Committee. Unless the ruling of the Chair is appealed from, that will be the order.

Ormsby McHarg, of New York:

I have here a resolution that comes from the Committee on Uniform State Laws:

"WHEREAS, There has been and now is a demand in various states for laws regulating and governing the sale of investment

securities, and there have been enacted in 30 states of the union laws relating to that subject, but which are not now uniform in construction; and

WHEREAS, Other states now have under consideration the adoption of such laws, which, if adopted, will doubtless be lacking in uniformity, and it being the desire of the members of the legal profession at large, and of business men generally, that all such laws be as nearly uniform in their provisions as may be possible in order that the rights of the citizen may be more clearly defined and the work of the courts and of the legal profession in that particular line simplified,

"Be it Resolved, That this subject be referred to the Association's Committee on Uniform State Laws for such action as the committee may deem proper and advisable."

The resolution was seconded and adopted.
The Chairman:

Before we adjourn I do not want to let this occasion pass without saying that our retiring President, George Sutherland, has rendered during the past year most efficient and excellent service, and has won the affection of the members of this Association to almost the same degree as our beloved friend, Senator Root, his immediate predecessor.

Adjourned sine die.

SECRETARY'S REPORT

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N. Y., September 4, 1917.

To the American Bar Association:

The report of the proceedings of the last annual meeting of the Association has been printed and distributed to all of the members, to all state bar associations and to a large number of legal journals and libraries, both in the United States and abroad.

There were 10,636 active and 15 honorary members at the date of the publication of the 1916 Report. There have been 250 deaths and resignations since the issuance of the Report, and the Membership Committee has since proposed 338 new members, all of whom have been elected by the Executive Committee.

The Secretary reports the death during the year of Hon. Michel Mathieu, Dean of the Faculty of Law of Laval University, Montreal, and of Maître Fernand Labori, of Paris, both elected to honorary membership in the Association in 1913. The number of persons now on the honorary list is 14.

The membership of the Association includes representatives of all the states, of the District of Columbia, China (members of the Far Eastern American Bar Association), and of the Insular Possessions of Hawaii, Porto Rico and the Philippines.

There are now in existence 47 state bar associations, and also the Bar Association of the District of Columbia, the Bar Association of Hawaii, and the Far Eastern American Bar Association; and in addition there are 660 local bar associations of which the Secretary has record.

In lieu of invitations as formerly sent to state bar associations to appoint three delegates to the annual meeting, the committee in charge of the program for the Conference of Bar Association Delegates on September 3, issued invitations to each state association to send three delegates, and to each local association to send two delegates to attend that conference and also to represent their respective associations at the annual meeting. The Secretary has, however, kept in close touch with the officers of the state associations throughout the year.

On May 16, 1917, the Secretary issued a communication signed by the President and himself to each member of the General Council of the Association, and to the President of each state and local bar association, urging that the matter of caring for the business of lawyers enlisting in the military service of the government be taken up by the various associations, and requesting each President of state and local organizations to write to or confer with the member of the General Council for his state. A detailed report of the result of this communication has been printed in the July JOURNAL.

The Secretary has continued to supply, upon request, copies of the Canons of Professional Ethics, and the demand increases year by year. About 4250 copies have been distributed since the last annual meeting.

By direction of the Executive Committee the Secretary communicated with each state bar association inquiring whether or not it would undertake to place in each court house in its state a cardboard copy of the Canons of Ethics if furnished by the American Bar Association. Subsequently the question of suitably framing the copies arose, and while many associations are willing to distribute the Canons, and some even to bear the expense of framing, the printing of the cardboard copies has not been begun. This matter is receiving constant attention and the Secretary will reserve definite information for a future report.

Notices were duly sent by the Secretary to all standing and special committees, requesting their attention to matters particularly referred to them.

The Secretary has also been in touch with the state bar associations concerning the adoption by them of the constitutional provisions of the American Bar Association adopted at the last annual meeting; 32 of the state associations have acted favorably on the subject. Notifications have been sent out by the Secretary to the President of each state association accepting the constitutional provisions advising him of his ex officio membership on the General Council, informing of the time and place of the first meeting of the General Council at Saratoga, and inviting attendance thereupon.

Certain reports for the year 1916-1917 of the committee were printed in the July number of the AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION

JOURNAL, which was mailed to members more than 15 days in advance of the meeting. The reports are as follows:

Standing Committees: Jurisprudence and Law Reform; To Suggest Remedies and Propose Law Relating to Procedure; Commerce, Trade and Commercial Law; International Law; Grievances; Reports and Digests; Trade-Mark and Copyright Law; Insurance; Uniform State Laws; Professional Ethics; Comparative Law Bureau.

Special Committees: Government Liens on Real Estate; To Present Bills to Congress Relating to Admiralty; To Oppose Judicial Recall; Uniform Judicial Procedure, and Drafting of Legislation.

Since the issuance of the JOURNAL two committee reports have been printed: Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar and Noteworthy Changes in Statute Law. These reports can be had in pamphlet form at the office of the Secretary.

Preliminary announcements and all details of the program of the meeting, as well as the addresses of the various speakers, and certain items of interest during the year were printed and copies sent to the press agencies for release on appropriate dates.

The quarterly JOURNAL is now completing its third year of existence; the Secretary's office has in charge the detail work in connection with printing and issuance, and works in co-operation with the chairman of the Committee on Publications. The exchange list is growing, and the number of libraries subscribing through the Association is 49.

The Secretary has received during the year annual reports of the various state bar associations, and a number of other books, all of which have been acknowledged through the JOURNAL.

The Secretary's office in the Writing Room of the Grand Union Hotel will use the system of registration cards as in recent years. These cards may be obtained at the Secretary's office or in the Casino. Cards should be signed legibly, all blanks filled, and cards returned promptly.

Members and delegates are particularly requested to register at headquarters as soon as convenient after arrival. A list of members and delegates will be printed for distribution at the meeting, and will also be included in the report of the proceedings.