The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1888-04-26
I "ALLt.Cs h %" MON UMLsN a AM HIS
TORICAL MEETINGS VALID.

TORlCAL MEETINGS VALID.
To the Editor of the Bdnner;-Mai
Alonzo b. Valentine, in the last issue o
your journal, takes exception to tn
proceedings OF the Monument and His
, toricaI meetings of the 18th. inst. Tn
Reformer editorlally does the sams
: There having been no quorum presen
! at either meeting, It is held that all tina
/ was done, and especially the election o
two members. was invalid, A little at.
tention to parliamentary practice will
show them in the wrong,
1t will be noticed by reference to thu
reports Of these meetings, in the BANNEI
and IN the Reformer of the week pre-
vious, that all business which required
discussion and elaboration. was post
pone1, This was done, not because il
would be invalid IL done, but because il
was OF too much consequence to be
transacted by so few members. no mat
ter who they were. The election of the
two young men was, bus ness that re-
QUired no such discussion and delIhera-
ton, for no member ever proposed for
election to the Historical Society has
ever been objec;ed to. Members. too.
have been declared elected without the
Formally OF a vote, The Reco' ding
Secretary has, ON request. after the adj
juurnment of a meeting, put the name
down on the list Of members elected. the
name having been passed over before
such adjournment. The Monument As
ISOLATION has also transacted business
after an adjournment, Of course invalid
il questioned. Nor have the directors
| of the Monument Association invariably
insist ed on having quorum present at
their meetings, when important bust
ness, and that too, on one occasion
certainly. brought forward nv Mai
Valentine, was transacted. Nor over,
one meeting of the directors WAS held at
which not only no quorum was present,
but not even notice Of the meeting was
given to any other directors than those
who happened to be in the town at the
time. Perhaps this might be properly
called an alleged meeting" il one chose
tn he precise in the application Of terms.
The report OF this meeting appeared IN
both the village papers Immediately
alter, But such Irregularities. probably
occurring in all societies OF this kind,
are passed over without cavil il the
business is transacted in good faith. and
is in itself unobjectIonable.
To the election Of the two Young men
there was no objection made, on account
OF the want Of quorum, or for any
other reason, and the other members
present say with this writer that the
statement made to the contrary by Mai.
Valentine is erroneous. We all agree in
saying that there was no protest, as he
asserts there was, and alsO that there
were no irregularities of any kind in
either meeting.
Now as to the validity OF the proceed.
Ings Of meeting in the absence of
quorum. There is some confusion in
the minds of some OF the members Of the
society and Of the association, and per
haps other minds on that point. 1t l.
commonly understood that parliamentary
law requires the presence of quorum
in any organization to give validity to
it's proceedings. This IL true in techni
cal sense. Practically. however, a vast
amount of business is always done with
out quorum, and mu /, almost OF ne
cessty. be 80 done. The business of
legislative bodies would he greatly re
tarded il they had TO wait for quorum.
Take the Congress- Of.the United States
for instance, In the Senate quorum is
rarely present at noon. the usual open
ing hour for the daily session. But the
business goes on just the same. tt g
minutes are read and approved, ines
sages are received from the House OF
Representatives, or from the President,
from Ihe Departments
are laid before the body by ils presiding
officer, and any mere routine business is |
franpanfaH 10 ha thaH.A htt |
the officers. Not Senator need be pres
ent to do this. So too in the other house.
The reason ia plain. 1t ia assumed that
by parliamt ntary fiction. a quorum is
present, as nothing has officially appear.
ed to show the contrary. When, how
ever, vote is taken OH any question
where difference OF opinion exists, and
the attention Of the presiding officer is
called to the fact of no quorum, he will |
II the ayes h We a majority, declare the
mutton lost on the principle that no |
business can be transacted without a
quorum. Often an oppOnento amo:ioD,
III order to prevent It's mover from press |
ing it, has only to call his attention to |
the fact that no quorum is present, if il
be apparent TO all that such is the fact. |
This is frequently the case in evening
sessions of the House OF Representatives,
held for special purposes. For instance,
the pension committee often secure
sessions of the House on Friday even
ings TO pass bills which they have already
reported. Most OF the pension bills OF
any Congress, several hundred in num-
Der tally, are passed at these evening
sessions. The members Of the pension
are present; those Represen-
taIives who are interested in pension
bills likely to come up, are also on hand,
and there will be few spectators in the
galleries. The speaker of the House is
rarely, perhaps never present. He
designates some other member to act for
the evening. The business of assing
bills proceeds regularly as in a full
house, till perhaps, some bill ia reached
to which some member has an objection
IL this objection cannot re removed.
either by the pension committee or the
memb,r whose soldier or sailor constit-
uent the bill makes provision for, or in
some way,the objecting member usually
declares that he will raise the poiht of
no quorum. That settles the question
for the evening and the pension commit
tee withdraws the bill from c)nsidera
ton. The House then goes on ~ the mex
bill II does not adjourn because the
discovery is made and noticed that no
quorum is present, hut continues to
transact business.
The principle is thus kept in force hat
the House Of Represents tiyes can trans
act no business without a quorum. and
at the same time does transact large
amount Of business without it, IRgisla
lative bodies, -and the Major is mem
Der Of the upper house of one such-all
do business without a quorum. pre-
sumo If occasion requires.
The last paragraph Of Maj. Valentines
letter quote nearly the whole Of, as il
is personal to myself:
Now IL the object desired is OF as
questionable character as the meaus
being used to secure It, the fewer pres
ent the more likelihood of its success,
and but step more is needed and that |
is for Mr.. Bliss IN some way TO find him |
self alone representing the BenningIo on |
Battle Monument Association, and then |
vote himself whatever percentage he
may desire" That IS to say. |, finding
myself alone at q monument meeting,
could vote myself back the moneys l
have expended in behalf Of the associa-
ton, or, taking the rest Of the letter with
this paragraph. few Of US could in