Page:Pocket Manual of Rules of Order for Deliberative Assemblies (1876).djvu/105

§ 41] man of executive ability, capable of controlling men; and it should never be forgotten, that, to control others, it is necessary to control one’s self. An excited chairman can scarcely fail to cause trouble in a meeting.

A chairman will often find himself perplexed with the difficulties attending his position, and in such cases he will do well to heed the advice of a distinguished writer on parliamentary law, and recollect that

“The great purpose of all rules and forms is to subserve the will of the assembly rather than to restrain it; to facilitate, and not to obstruct, the expression of their deliberate sense.”

[and the Minutes]. The recording officer is usually called the “Clerk” or “Secretary,” and the record of proceedings the “Minutes.” His desk should