THE FERN BULLETIN 



125 



is authorized to change the constitution unless a two- 

 thirds vote of the whole Society favors it. Not con- 

 tent with paving the way for the recent unfortunate 

 blunder, the Executive Council endeavored to usurp 

 the powers of the Advisory Council to the extent of 

 sending out cards soliciting nominations. Others, 

 working with the Executive Council nominated those 

 persons which have since been given office. Never in 

 the history of the Society have we seen so determined 

 an attempt by members of the Executive Council to 

 name their own successors. We may well fear for the 

 future of the Society when acts of this kind go unre- 

 proved. 



* * * 



The animus back of all this activity is, of course, the 

 question of owning an "official organ." The Society 

 once owned its own publication and gave it up because 

 of the cost. We who have been through this experi- 

 ence have always advised against a repetition of it. 

 But the passing of time has brought to the front, a new 

 set of members gifted with more ambition than fore- 

 sight who must try their 'prentice hand at editing at 

 the expense of the Society. Long before these people 

 could tell a fern from a carrot, we had settled this mat- 

 ter, but we must needs upset our affairs now to con- 

 vince them that they do not know all there is about 

 "official organs." The publishers of The Fern Bulle- 

 tin have never objected to a change of publications, ail 

 that they have fought is the owning of a publication 

 by the Society because they know how expensive such 

 things are. Already we begin to have indications of 

 what to expect. A member of the new council writes, 

 "The expenditure, the past year, of $33.60 for Annual 

 Report was an extravagance. If the Society owned its 



