40 Federation of American Biological Societies 



C. P. Williamson and W. H. Welker: Hemoglobin : ( i ) Optical con- 

 stants. — C. P. Williamson and Grover Tracy: Nitrogen partition 

 in gout. 



Executive proceedings. Constitution. Three amendments 

 to the Constitution were proposed by the Council of the society. 

 Amendment I was intended to enable the society to meet at another 

 time of the year, if in the future it should seem wise to do so.^ 

 The amendment was as f ollows : " The annual meeting shall be held 

 at a time and place chosen by the Council in consultation with the 

 Exec. Commit. of the Fed. of Amer. Soc. for Exp. Biology." 



Amendment II was intended to bring the Constitution into har- 

 mony with the conditions which have arisen since the formation of 

 the Fed. These changes involved a formal distinction between 

 executive meetings and scientific meetings not expressed in the 

 Constitution as it Stands. 



Amendment III related to the number of votes required for the 

 adoption of an amendment to the Constitution. It involved a change 

 from " A three-fifths vote in the affirmative of the entire memher- 

 ship shall be required for the adoption of an amendment" to "Af- 

 firmative votes from three-fifths of the members voting shall be 

 required for the adoption of an amendment." Those in favor of 

 this amendment cite the opinion that it is practically impossible to 

 effect a change in the Constitution, no matter how essential it be, 

 because a failure to vote is a negative vote and there are possibly 

 some members of the society who take so small an interest in its 

 affairs that they fail to vote through neglect. It is contended, on 

 the other band, that essential changes might be brought about by a 

 very small minority of the members and that such changes could not 

 be regarded as representative of the sentiment of the society; for 

 that reason, if for no other, the proposed change should not be made. 



The vote on the amendments to the Constitution was as f ollows : 

 Amendment 1 : 93 for, 2 against ; II : 92 for, i against ; III : 82 for, 

 16 against. There being 165 members in the society, 99 votes were 

 necessary for the adoption of an amendment and the amendments 

 were therefore lost. 



1 See comment on this subject by Auer: Biochem. Bull., 1915, iv, p. 186 

 and Ibid., 1916, v, p. 44, of this issue. [Ed.] 



