167]] GOVERNMENT 35 



committees of the national assembly. All proposals are 

 considered and sifted by the various committees, who make 

 their reports to the delegates. Even if proposed measures 

 are presented to the convention, the unfavorable action of 

 a committee constitutes a serious check to its adoption. 

 By the judicious selection of members for service on the 

 several committees, the president is able to influence appre- 

 ciably the action of the session. 



The other elective officers of the national union are three 

 trustees, who hold the bonds of the president, the secretary- 

 treasurer, and assistant secretary, audit the accounts of the 

 national lodge quarterly, and deposit with the president 

 their bond for the faithful performance of their duty. A 

 managing editor is elected to edit the " Amalgamated Jour- 

 nal." In the nineties, the national president was em- 

 powered to appoint an assistant to act as organizer. At 

 present, this power of appointment is vested in the execu- 

 tive board. 



The third stage, namely, the substitution of government 

 by popular vote for the representative form of government, 

 is of recent origin, and is even now in process of develop- 

 ment. First mention of this new and more democratic 

 form of government was made in 1894, when a local union 

 of Akron, Ohio, presented a resolution to have scales of 

 prices and constitutional amendments made "by the adop- 

 tion of the Initiative and Referendum."^^ Again, in 1901, 

 it was proposed to elect all national officers by the member- 

 ship at large. ^^ These proposals were rejected by the dele- 

 gates in convention. By 191 1 sentiment in favor of the 

 referendum had increased to such extent that it received 

 the endorsement of the committee, and was adopted in the 

 matter of constitutional amendments. Any proposition to 

 change the laws required the endorsement of five lodges in 

 three States within sixty days' time before it could legally 

 be sul)mitted to popular vote. The columns of the " Amal- 

 gamated Journal " were open for discussion. The propo- 



1' ProceedinRS, 1894, p. 4687. 

 i'-* Proceedings, 1901, p. 6182. 



