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 
omitted 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. eis | 
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.t 
1So 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. 
