Delegate Willis W. Stover, Everett: "Speaking in behalf of Mr. Lavelle's amendment, I would like to say that if this amendment is not inserted it will be impossible for the State officers to go to the Department Convention unless they are elected as delegates from their Posts."

Delegate Richard P. Borden, Fall River: "If that amendment is adopted there must be another amendment providing how such delegates shall vote because the vote is to be by the number of delegates to which that Post is entitled."

Delegate Lavelle: "Speaking for the purpose of clearing up my amendment, I will move an additional amendment that the vote of the officers go to the credit of the Post to which they belong as members."

Delegate Lavelle's motion passed.

Section 4 adopted with the insertion of the word "Department" after the word "annual," in the first line.

Section 5 adopted.

Section 6 adopted.

Constitutional Committee chairman reads Article V, section 1. Delegate Joseph W. Monahan, Cambridge: "I desire to offer an amendment striking out the first paragraph and inserting after the word 'officer,' in the first line, the following: 'The Department Commander, the First Vice Department Commander, the Second Vice Department Commander and the Third Vice Department Commander shall be elected at the annual Convention and shall serve until their successors are chosen to office, none of the aforesaid to be eligible to seek re-election to their respective offices.' I might state my reason for so offering this at this time. It is not intended to cast any reflections upon the present incumbents for whose ability I have the greatest respect and appreciation, but we are building the road that is to be our guide for some time to come, and for two reasons I offer this amendment. The first reason is that we now have 100,000 members, with a potential membership of 300,000, and I believe that if we take a look back at the Grand Army after their formation of fifty-five years, with their depleted ranks, we will realize that we will have but fifty-five commanders out of a membership of perhaps 300,000. As a second reason we have adopted the slogan of policies and not politics, and I firmly believe that an office like the head of this Department offers an opportunity to build up a powerful ma

chine. It is true that it might be accepted as an unwritten law, but I believe that we now have the opportunity of making it a part of our Constitution, and thus have it for all time, and I hope that this amendment will pass."

Delegate Judson Hannigan, Beverly: "Speaking in opposition to Mr. Monahan, and as a member of the State Executive Committee, with no ambitions for the future, I want to call the attention of the Convention to the fact that if Mr. Monahan's motion prevails, upon the conclusion of your annual Convention you will embark each new year with an entirely new set of officers. In fairness to those who have served on the committee, and in fairness to the officers you have elected who are obliged to give an unbelievable amount of their time, I want to say that this work is wearing and tiring, and requires a great deal of private time. But, gentlemen, for the protection of yourselves, I want to say that to embark upon a new year with a new set of officers, a new Adjutant, a new Executive Committee" Delegate: "A point of order, Mr. Chairman. I would like to ask the speaker what he understood the motion to be."

Delegate Hannigan: "I believe that I understood Mr. Monahan's motion in the way in which it was put. If I have been speaking too broadly I will confine myself to the Commander and the three ViceCommanders, and I would say that under the head of Commander, in the present instance, while I wish to indulge in no personalities, I do not know of a man who could give more of his private time, and on his right and left we have the three Vice-Commanders, and should any one of them seek re-election it would only be to the benefit of the Legion. If you make them ineligible for re-election you are depriving yourselves of valuable officers. Therefore I hope that this motion will not prevail."

Constitution Committee Chairman: "Comrades, I would suggest that you leave this just as written. I do not approve of the motion just made. You have got to have some one back of your Commander. If we do not progress, then let us turn around and try something else next year. You can take care of this at any time. There is nothing in this Constitution that is not revocable."

Delegate Frank J. Mitchell, Malden: "I think that the intent of the motion is that the Third Vice-Commander shall not be eligible to run for that office again, but that he could run for the office of Second Vice-Commander, etc. In this way I do not think that we would have an entire new set of officers."

Delegate Clement H. Norton, Hyde Park: "The motion as introduced by Comrade Monahan would disfranchise every veteran here in this hall from electing a substantial and efficient Adjutant."

Delegate: "A point of order. I think the motion provides for the office of Adjutant still being elective."

Delegate Morrison, Roxbury: "I do not think that this motion should pass, but at the same time this cloud has a silver lining. It gives this body an opportunity to give their expression of approval to our present officers from the Commander down, and, ladies and gentlemen, it gives us a splendid opportunity to call for the motion. and vote it down unanimously."

Delegate Monahan: "I prefaced my remarks by saying that this motion was not intended for the present incumbents, and I want this body to understand the true spirit in which this motion was offered."

Delegate William Coughlin, Dorchester: "Because of the shortness of time it is obvious that this question has had enough discussion, and I respectfully move the previous question."

Delegate Monahan's motion was thereupon defeated.

Delegate Harold D. Wilson, Somerville Post 19: "I move the election of an Adjutant by the Executive Committee."

Delegate George W. Lovejoy, Jamaica Plain: "If this office is as important as I believe it to be, I think it is one upon which the members of the Massachusetts Department of The American Legion should have the right to vote, and therefore I hope that this amendment will not prevail."

Delegate Clement H. Norton, Hyde Park: "My previous remarks may have been a little premature, but I think this matter should be left to the Annual Convention to judge whether the choice for Adjutant has been an intelligent one, and I also believe that this is something which we owe to ourselves to hold. I trust that you will not disfranchise yourselves and place in the Executive Committee the appointment of a State Adjutant.”

Delegate Harold D. Wilson, Somerville: "My sole idea in making this motion was due to the fact that the duties of Adjutant are peculiar. We could elect almost any one for State Commander, and he could fill that position. [Much laughter.] The joke is on me, and I apologize to the State Commander, but the duties of Adjutant are of a secretarial nature, and it is very hard to find a man qualified to do the job."

Delegate John W. Reth, Roslindale: "The duties of Adjutant are vital, whether it be a Post adjutant or a Department Adjutant, because they are responsible directly to the Legionnaires. If an Adjutant is appointed by the Executive Committee he is responsible directly to it and not to the rank and file of the Department; consequently that would tend to make the future Adjutants lax in their work, and I trust that this amendment will not prevail and we will elect our Adjutant at the Annual Convention."

Delegate Kenneth C. McDonald, Jr., Mattapan: "I do not think any reflection should be cast upon any man. If our Adjutant proves to be inefficient, then it serves us right for having elected him, but in that case we should choose another, and I hope this amendment will be defeated."

Delegate Ernest J. Hall, Medford: "The Adjutant's position, as has been stated before, is one requiring technical knowledge, that is, technical knowledge of the organization along clerical lines. But we have the example of the National Constitution, where the Adjutant is appointed and rightly so, and the Adjutant of the Department should be appointed by the Commander. He is the representative and right-hand man of the Commander, and when a new commander comes in amidst considerable opposition from a close election he should have the right to have the man nearest to him working in harmony with him. I believe that the Adjutant should be appointive, and we should so have it in our Constitution."

Delegate John L. Murphy, Chelsea: "Comrade Commander: There seems to be a disposition on the part of some delegates to run away with the idea that our officers want to make a political organization. out of The American Legion. Now I say this, that if a body of men make monkeys out of our delegates and the members of The American Legion we do not deserve anything better for having elected them, but I do not believe that any intelligent body of men are going to let any man usurp the reins of authority and hold them in their hands year after year. I think that we owe thanks to the men holding the reins of this organization for the progress we have made and I am sure we are going to make in the future. Is it consistent for the members on the other side first to cast reflections on the Commander and the Vice-Commanders and then to say that the Executive Committee should appoint the Adjutant? They are inconsistent, because if you do not trust the officers why do you elect them? Both cannot be

consistent. If a man has made good, let us stand by him, and if he has not made good let us throw him out. [Cheering.] I hope that the motion will be defeated."

Delegate Wilson's motion to appoint Adjutant defeated.
Section 1 adopted without change.

Constitutional Committee chairman reads section 2.

Section 2 adopted with insertion of word "of" after the word "member" in second line of paragraph (a); the addition of word "Department" before "Executive" in the second line of paragraph (b); and the addition of the words in a sentence, "He shall ex officio be a member of the Department Executive Committee," to paragraph (d).

Delegate Lavelle: "I move the adoption of section 3 with this insertion. 'No Department officer shall during his tenure of office be a candidate for or a holder of a salaried elective political office.'" Section 3 adopted as amended.

Constitutional Committee chairman reads Article VI.

Delegate Jones, Swampscott: "I move as paragraph (e) of this article the following amendment: 'It shall have power to remove or suspend from office for good cause any elective officer of the Department organization or any elective officer within the Department after a fair and impartial hearing on the charges brought against such officer; to expel from membership in The American Legion any member of any Post within its jurisdiction.""

Amendment adopted.

Paragraph (e) inserted in Article VI and article adopted.
Constitutional Committee chairman reads Article VII.

Section 1 adopted with the change of the word "the" in the second. line to "a."

Delegate Kettel, Cambridge: "I wish to suggest that section 2 be amended by the changing of the word 'or' to the word 'and' in the seventh line. The reason for this change is that we allowed the State officials to use their best judgment with relation to the granting of charters to Posts, and we had the promise of our State Commander that that would be done, but it was not done. In the city of Cambridge is the Enos Clifford Sawyer Post, and recently there has been issued to Harvard University a full charter to establish a Post in Cambridge. As I understand it, that charter is not limited to members of Harvard University. The organization is open to any mem