Recommendation of the National Board of Management, N. S., D. A. R., Wednesday, June 5, 1912: That the Proceedings of the Twenty-first Congress be sent to every Chapter and to every member of the National Board of Management. VIEW AOBK PRESS OF BYRON S. ADAMS, WASH., D. O PROCEEDINGS OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CONTINENTAL CONGRESS OF THE NATIONAL SOCIETY OF THE DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. MONDAY, MORNING SESSION, APRIL 15, 1912; 11:10 A. M. THE PRESIDENT GENERAL. The Twenty-first Continental Congress was called to order by the President General, Mrs. Matthew T. Scott. We will join in singing "America." Mrs. Barnard, our precentor, will lead us. (The Congress arose and joined in singing "America.") THE PRESIDENT GENERAL. We will now be lead by our Chaplain General, Miss Elisabeth F. Pierce, in the devotional exercises of the morning. CHAPLAIN GENERAL. Members of the Twenty-first Continental Congress and Friends: We are born of the faith of the prophets of old, such as Abraham and Moses, and with the faith of the Revolutionary Fathers in our minds this morning, I would call your attention to the reading as selected from chapters which describe the "Fruits of Faith," the eleventh and twelfth chapters of St. Paul's letter to the Hebrews. (The Chaplain General read the verses mentioned.) May we pray together. Our dear Heavenly Father, may we be Thy daughters, "Daughters of the King." We desire to thank and render praise to Thee this morning for the condition of our lives, the homes from which we come, the dear ones with whom Thou hast blest us, and the beautiful surroundings in which we find ourselves in this Memorial Hall. Dear Father, Thou knowest we love our work; we desire to stand for the highest patriotism; we desire to keep in mind the faith of the prophets and of our fathers. Do Thou take everything we have to offer. Forgive our sins; accept our thanks and praise; and, dear Father, bless our work this week. May we do everything as in Thy presence. We seek Thine approval. If we fail, dear Father, do Thou "make good the waste places"; do Thou be pleased to fill in the breaches. We ask Thee for so many things. We thank Thee for the love we feel. We desire to love Thee more, and may we realize our responsibility as individuals and as a congress, that our work may stand before Thee in the light of Thy countenance, for the country we love. We ask it in Jesus Christ's name. Amen. (The Congress joined in reciting the Lord's prayer.) THE PRESIDENT GENERAL. Ladies, you will perceive that there has been a change made in the opening of the Congress. Formerly the President and the speakers made their appearance upon this platform in the morning, but in order that delegates and alternates, the women who come from every portion of this broad land, some of them one thousand miles, may be sure to have their seats, and that nobody else gets their seats and infringes upon their rights, we have decided to have the delegates with their credentials received in the morning-the report of the Credential Committee, the roll call and the report of the Program Committee in the morning. No business will be transacted this afternoon. No business will occur at all in this house until tomorrow morning, when the busi ness sessions commence. We will now have the report of the Committee on Cre dentials, Mrs. Henry L. Mann, Chairman. (Applause.) MRS. MANN. Madam President General and Members of the Twenty-first Continental Congress: The credential blanks were sent December 27, 1911, and with few exceptions were returned before March 15th. Some, however, were returned as late as April 11th. It was the intention of the Committee that the blanks reached the Regents in time for the January meetings, as many chapters hold their elections at that time. If these blanks were not received it was doubtless through changes in address, unreported election of officers, or the failure of exRegents to pass the blanks on to those newly elected to this office. All were mailed under two-cent postage, and only five were returned to the office unclaimed. I wish to express the hearty appreciation of the Credential Committee to those chapters which conformed to the ruling of the Twentieth Continental Congress, and returned the blanks typewritten. A great amount of time and labor was saved. All, however, did not heed the injunction to place the Christian name first. The members of the National Society are catalogued under their Christian, and not their husband's, names. When the latter are sent without the former, constant reference to the Treasurer's books is necessary. We were curtailed somewhat in our work of organization when we tried to hold strictly to the ruling of the Twentieth Continental Congress, and as we wish the greatest good to the greatest number, I ask you to amend the ruling to read as follows: "That after the first Board meeting in March, no new chapters shall be authorized, nor Regents appointed, and no transfer granted to a member of a chapter after the election of the delegates and alternates of her chapter to the coming Congress, until the adjournment of the Continental Congress of that year. Also that chapters authorized by the Board may complete their organization from members-at-large, after the Board meeting in March. But members-at-large admitted after the March meeting of the Board cannot be transferred to chapters until after the adjournment of the Congress." We wish to remind the Congress of its vote of last year, instructing the Board to prepare a better method of voting. The Board referred the matter to this Committee, and as a result, I call your attention to the voting machine to be used for the first time in connection with our elections. While this is only a trial, in the use of these machines, we trust they may be found such an improvement over the old method of voting as to recommend themselves for future sessions of Congress. An explanation of the use of the machine will be given later. According to the method of the Credential Committee, the credential blanks were mailed to every State Regent, State Vice-Regent, and Chapter Regent, on the 27th day of December, 1911. Of the 1,187 organized chapters, 18 are not entitled to vote, 9 will not be represented, 231 have not reported. The membership of the Society has increased in the past year from 87,177 to 93,032. The actual membership is 71,865. In accordance with the rulings of the Credential Committee, we have 1,722 entitled to vote in the Twenty-first Continental Congress. These are as follows: One President General, 1 Vice-President General in Charge of Organization of Chapters, 19 Vice-Presidents General, 8 National Officers, 48 State Regents, 2 State Vice-Regents (acting State Regents), 1.160 Chapter Regents, 484 Delegates. |