Honorable Tom L. Beauchamp 

Secretary of State 

Aus tin, Texas 

Dear Sir: Attention: Mr. Claude A. Williams 

Opinion Wo. O-1171 

Re: Does the purpose alause of 

"AMIentOrder of Ladies and 

RMghts of Liberty" comply 

with the.provisions of Article 1302, B.C.S.? 

Your request for an opinion from this department 

as to-~whether the purpose clause of "Anchient Order of Ladies and Knights of Libertyn'comes within the provisions of 

Artisle 1302 of our statutes, has been received by this department. ~Your request attaches the application of these 

applicants, the purpose clause of which reads as follows: 

"The purpose of this ass~ooiation 

shall.,be to do patriotic, benevolent, 

social and educational work In perpetuating our Rational Constitution, and of 

the several States of the Union, In a 

fraternal manner. Patriotic (a) It shall 

be non-political, never preferring one political party more than any other political 

party. (b) Its members may affiliate 

and work with any political party of their 

choioe, provided such political party has 

a~'LRGAL"RIGRT to operate in the State and 

Nation. Educational (a) Its members shall 

be taught the necessary meaning and value 

of our Constitution. (b) Teach the righteousness of our American form of government, 

the checking and balancing of power of its 

several departments. (c) Teach duties of 

our offioials from President to constable. 

(a) Teach our children to love the AmerIcan standard and ideals of living as is 

left to us by our forebears. This association shall be a non-profiting organisation." 
- . 

Honorable Tom L. Beauchamp, Page 2, O-1171 

The express purpose of the applicant is educational. This department has in past years issued many 

opinions upon the subject of educational corporation, 

to-wit: An opinion by the Honorable George E. Christian 

on December 18, 1925, found in Reports and Opinions of 

AWorney General, 1924-26, p. 222; an opinion by Honorable Rice M. Tilly on March 16, 1930; an opinion No. 310, 

ai-, p. 766; an opinion by Honorable A. R. Stout, on Deaember 4, 1933, in Opinion Book No. 352, at p., 395; and a 

recent opinion by Lloyd Armstrong to the Honorable Tom L. 

Beauahamp. 

Referring again to the opinion of the Honorable 

George E. Christian, the writer says that "the function exercised by a corporation will determine its character." 

An educational corporation exercises functions 

that primarily~relate to the giving of instructions In 

useful and recognized subjects. The fact that educational 

benefits may be derived Incidental to the functioning of 

the corporation is not sufficient to authorize the creation under a statute dealing with the educational undertaking. 

We refer you to the case of In Re De peyster*s 

Estate, 104 N.E. 714, which has this to say about an educational purpose: 

.“A corporation or assooiation organized exclusively for scientific, 

literary, library, patriotic, or historical purposes, or for any one of such 

purposes, Is necessarily to some extent 

educational In Its nature, and In the 

results obtaIned from suah organizations. 

An exclusively historical society does 

not gather books, manuscripts, pictures, 

and antiqquities simply to hoard them. 

Its purpose is not alone to discover and 

preserve things and facts of historical 

value, but to keep and reaord them that 

they may be seen, read and studied, that 

greater knowledge may be attained from 

it. The Legislature, in Including eduoational corporations and assooiations 

in the first part of the statute quoted, 

intended corporations or assoaiations 
Honorable Tom L. Reauohamp, Page 3, O-1171 

engaged In something more than Inoidental 

eduoation, which is necessarily derived 

from corporations organized exclusively 

for scientific, literary, library, p@trIotic, or historical purposes." 

An opinion of thisdepartment~by the Honorable 

T. W. Taylor, March 26, 1919, said: 

*A corporation chartered as an educational undertaking is by force of the 

law a strictly educational institution." 

The opinions of this department on this‘particular subject have unanimously held that to be an eduoational 

corporation a corporation must have for its primary purpose 

giving instructions in some recognized field of knowledge. 

Education has been defined as: .~ 

"The system of development and cultiwation of the natural powers; instruotion 

and training in an institution of learning; 

the result of such Instruction and training." 

We think no additional authority neaessary to demonstrate the lack of the proposed purpose of your applicant 

to fall within the intention of the Legislature In authorizing the chartering of an educational tiorporation. 

In our opinion such a purpose clause as of the 

"Anoient Order of Ladies and Knights of Liberty" does not 

fall within the meaning of educational purpose as that 

term was intended to apply by our Legislature. 

MEI:FG/cg 

APPROVED AUG. 19, 1939 

Yours very truly 

ATTORNEY GRNRRAL OF TEXAS 

s/'MorrIs Hodges 

s/ Gerald C. Mann BY 

ATTORRRY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

Morris Hodges 

Assistant 

Approved Opinion Committee 

Ry BWB, Chairman