The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-04-12
THE CONGRESS ADJOURNS.
Close of Ninth QuadrenniaI session
of the Loyal Legion.

Close of Ninth QuadrenniaI session
| of the Loyal Legion.
The ninth quadrennial congress and
| fourth reunion of the Military Order of the
| Loyal Legion of the United States came
to close about l o'clock yesterday after
/ noon, when the congress adjourned sine
! die.
J The tenth congress of the Loyal Legion
will be held in San Francisco, Cal, in
April. 1905.
! After the adjournment the delegates and
visiting companions. as the guests OF the
/ local commander, boarded the steamer
Samuel ]. Pentz at the wharf, foot of
Seventh Street, for excursion down the
Potomac. The party visited Indian Head
at the invitation of the Navy Department
| and inspected the equipment of the naval
proving ground. The excursionists re-
turned to Washington about 6 O'Clock.
The final session of the congress was
opened at o'clock yesterday morning in
the Arlington Hotel. when the report of
the committee appointed to consider pro-
posed amendments to the constitution was
received discussed. and passed upon. All
amendments recommended by the commit
tee were adopted. and all reported adverse
ly were rejected by the congress.
The most important legislative action
taken by the congress was the passage of
an amendment to Article v of the con-
stitution. extending eligibility to member
ship in the order to all veterans of the
civil war who were then or have since
become officers in the Regular or Volun-
teer Army.
An amendment offered by the District
OF Columbia Commandery. providing an
additional section to Article VI. was
adopted. The section NO. 10) gives the
commandery-in-chief the power to multi
fy the election of any member whose
election was procured through fraud, mis-
statement or suppression OF facts.
Oregpn's proposed amendment to Arti-
Gle XIV was adopted, providing that in
any commandery having a membership
not exceeding 100. nine companions of the
commandery shall constitute quorum.
Article XXI was amended on the prop
osition of New York Commandery so that
officers of the army and navy and State
troops, when or duty in undress uniforms
may wear in lieu of the rosette of the
order ribbon corresponding to that worn
with the insignia, pinned to the breast.
The Illinois COmmandery proposed an
amendment to section g. Article VI. which
was adopted. 1t provides that every com
panion of whatever class shall cast
vote for the election of members of the
second class, instead of being elected by
the votes of those only OF the second
class.
The committee in making its report |
failed to recommend the adoption of the
proposed amendment extending eligibility
to membership in the order to enlisted
men who served in the civil war. and who
subsequently received commissions as Off
GERS. The committee later. during the en-
suing discussion, gave its approval to the |
amendment whereupon it was adopted
There were offered for the consideration |
of the congress amendments to Article V |
of the constitution from nearly half of |
the States represented. This article re-
fers to the matter of eligibility to mem |
bership. and much of the proposed Iegfs- |
lation was aimed at the extension Of elgi- |
bility.
According to the constitution member |
ship in the order is gained only through |
an officers commission. service as an Off /
GER in the civil war. or as the male repre- |
sentative through the proper lines of con-
sanguinity, of such deceased officer of /
the civil war
Some of the amendments proposed to
extend the membership by Inheritance to
all sons of an officer of the civil war
while other amendments concerned the
admission to membership as original
members other than commissioned officers
of the civil war. The debates were eX-
tended over three and a half hours. each
proposition being considered by the con-
gress in the order printed The action
of the congress followed the recommended
lions of the committee appointed to con-
slider and report on the proposed amend
ments.
The following are the amendments
adopted:
slchigan-In Article V. section ., paragraph l. |
insert in the twentieth line after the word
been the words ''or may hereafter be- and |
in the twenty first line. after the words limited
States the words regular volunteer" and
strike out the clause in the twenty-frst twenty
second and twenty-third lines beginning with
the words ''or were commissioned as officers in
the volunteer forces prior to the 10th day of
August, 1866 so that the paragraph commencing
at the twentieth line shall read As follows:
Have since been may hereafter be commits
stoned officers in the United States Regular
Or Volunteer Army, Navy, Marine Corps
District of Columbia-b Add a section to Ar
tice w. viz:
''seo. 10. II at any time subsequent to cleo
ton to membership it shall he discovered that
the same was procured through fraud, misstate-
uent, the suppression OF material facts. the
Chief shall have power to declare
,urh election null andry0id: Provided. That after