A farmers' mutual fire insurance company. 19 



be necessary to bring about an amendment. The percentage of 

 favorable votes required should not be so large, however, that a rela- 

 tively small number of members, aided by mere inertia or the atti- 

 tude of opposition to all change on the part of other members, can 

 block a desirable reform. A three-fifths majority represents a suit- 

 able requirement for amendment to the by-laws. The majority re- 

 quired for change in the articles of association logically should be 

 slightly higher. Even here, however, two-thirds rather than three- 

 fourths is believed to constitute a reasonable majority. 



No amendment should be passed without due warning to the mem- 

 bers that a change is contemplated. Such warning may be provided 

 for by requiring that a notice of a proposed amendment shall be sent 

 to every member a reasonable time before the meeting at which the 

 amendment is to be considered. This special notice may properly be 

 omittfed only when an amendment has been formally acted upon 

 and recommended by a majority vote at a regular or regularly 

 called meeting of the members preceding that at which final action 

 is contemplated. 



SUGGESTIVE ORGANIZATION AND BUSINESS FORMS. 



The accompanying suggestive articles of incorporation, by-laws, 

 application, and policy embody the principles emphasized in the pre- 

 ceding pages. In many States it will be necessary to modify them to 

 conform to local conditions and to comply with legal requirements. 

 The advice of the State insurance commissioner should be freely 

 sought in all cases of serious doubt. Especially is such consultation 

 necessary when the question concerns the laws, or the interpretation 

 of the laws, regulating insurance in the State. Even when changes 

 are necessary, however, it is believed that the accompanying sug- 

 gestive organization and business forms will be found useful. 1 



1 So far as its facilities permit, the Office of Markets and Rural Organization of the 

 United States Department of Agriculture is ready to assist individual rural communities 

 both in the formation of new organizations and in the improvement of existing insurance 

 companies. 



