Page:The Green Bag (1889–1914), Volume 20.pdf/805

 The Green PUBLISHED MONTHLY AT $4.00 PER ANNUM. SINGLE NUMBERS 50 CENTS. Communications in regard to the contents of the Magazine should be addressed to the Editor, S. R. WRIGHTINGTON, 31 State Street, Boston, Mass.

The Editor will be glad to receive contributions of articles of moderate length upon subjects of interttt to the profession; also anything in the way of legal antiquities, facetice, and anecdotes. A RESPONSIBLE NATIONAL ORGANIZATION. The recommendation of President Dickinson at Seattle, that a committee be appointed to consider the advisability of a reorganization of the American Bar Association, will command general approval. Whether or not the pres ent plan should be radically changed, it is evident, as we have often insisted, that the results now are unsatisfactory. Although many eminent lawyers are enrolled in the Association, and several are faithful in attend ance at the meetings, it must be admitted that the proportion of these who make a practice of attending is very low, that the debates are frequently unprofitable, and that matters of vital importance to the profession are often determined by small and wholly unrepresentative assemblages, or by large and unwieldy meetings in which the members of the local bar predominate. Committee reports when given full consideration are usually post poned after the meeting is exhausted by protracted discussion by self-constituted and ill-informed critics, many of them moved to speech by a desire for a fleeting notoriety. The underlying causes of this condition are first that the voters lack real respon sibility; second, that their number is not well regulated. In 'sharp contrast with this is the orderly and efficient work done by the Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. Their number is definitely limited, they feel a responsibility to the state they represent, and they employ experts to advise them on special topics. On the other hand, no one would contend that the Bar Association should reduce its membership or even the attendance at the annual meetings. Its aim should be to extend not contract its influence. Previous to 1901, the American Medical Association was a loosely organized body, similar to ours. As the number of delegates

increased, they encountered the same difficul ties we have described above. In addition to the legislative work of the Association, there was important scientific work, transacted largely in sections. The meetings of these sections conflicted with the general meetings and withdrew the ablest men. Dissatisfac tion resulted in a series of committee reports recommending a reorganization, but it was not until 1901 that the difficulties of the old system had become so serious that radical changes were imperative. In that year the present system was established, based on that adopted by most fraternal orders. It consists briefly in separating the scientific from the legislative work, and reducing the size of the legislative body. Members of the Association are primarily members of sections; each section is devoted to the study of some particular division of medicine or surgery. The House of Delegates was created to legislate on matters of professional practice. It represents the state medical societies in pro portion to their numbers. In addition it con tains one delegate from each section. It con sists of not more that one hundred and fifty members and holds its session at the same time as the sections. Whenever the delegates exceed one hundred and fifty, there is to be a reapportionment. All the general officers of the Association are elected by the House of Delegates, but no member of the House is eligible to any such office. No one can be elected to any office who is not present at the annual meeting, at which such election occurs. After effecting this radical reorganization, the national Association be gan a campaign to persuade the state and county societies to reorganize on the same plan, and the success of this step was an important element in the scheme. An organizer was employed to travel throughout the country enlisting the support of subor