ANNUAL REPORTS. 31 



offices may be held; but as the address of your president 

 or secretary is to be published, for the benefit of other 

 chapters, those offices should be made permanent if pos- 

 sible. In any case, you should decide on some address 

 for the chapter, which may remain unaltered, whatever 

 official changes may occur. This matter of an exact and 

 permanent address is of the highest importance. 



In societies where members are of nearly the same 

 age, the decision of the majority should be regarded as 

 absolute, and be cheerfully agreed to by the minority. 

 In family chapters, and those under the direction of a 

 teacher, it is well to have a by-law giving the president 

 the power of veto, and making a three-fourths vote 

 necessary to pass a motion over his veto. Such branches 

 may, if they choose, constitute simple classes, and remain 

 entirely subject to the control of parent or teacher. Our 

 Constitution leaves each branch entirely free in these 

 matters. 



The first duty of your secretary after having recorded 

 the minutes of your meeting for organization, will be to 

 send to the President of the Association an account of the 

 formation of the chapter, giving the date of organiza- 

 tion, the names and addresses of your officers, and the 

 names and ages of all your members. Once a year there- 

 after, a report of progress will be expected, and we shall 

 also be glad to hear from every chapter informally at 

 any time. The nature of this annual report can best be 

 learned by a study of those presented hereafter in this 

 book, but a few words of explanation here may be ac- 

 ceptable. 



ANNUAL REPORTS. 



In order to give each chapter fair opportunity to ac- 

 quaint the Association with its progress, methods, and 

 plans, the Association has been divided into centuries 



