The times., 1901-04-12
THE CONGRESS ADJOURNS.
Close of Ninth QHadrenniaI Session
of the Loyal Legion.

of the Loyal Legion.
The ninth quadrennial congress and
fourth reunion of the Military Order of the
to a close about l o'clock yesterday after
noon, when the congress adjourned sine
die.
The tenth congress of the Loyal Legion
will be held in San Francisco, Cal, in
April. 1866
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 an 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 o'clock
The final session of the congress was
opened at 9 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
sT IN. 81.
commandery-in-chief the power to nulli-
fy the election of any member whose
election was procured through fraud, mis-
statement or suppression of facts.
Oregon's proposed amendment to Arti-
Gle XIV was adopted. providing that in
any commandery having membership
not exceeding 100. nine companions of the
commandery shall constitute a 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 on duty in uudress 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 3. 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 Iegis-
lation was aimed at the extension Of eligi-
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 officer of the civil war.
while other amendments concerned the
members other than commissioned officers
of the civil war. The debates were eX-
tended over three and half hours. each
proposition being considered by the con-
gress in the order printed. The action
of the congress followed the recommended
tions of the committee appointed to con-
slider and report on the proposed amend
ments.
The following are the amendments
adopted:
Michigan-In Article V. section .. paragraph l.
insert in the twentieth line after the wori
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 commissioned officers in
the volunteer forces prior to the 10th day Of
August 1866, - that the paragraph commencing
at the twentieth line shall read As follows:
Have since been may hereafter be commits
stoned as officers in the United States Regular
or Volunteer Army, Navy, or Marine Corps"
District Of Columbia-b Add a section to Ar
ticle VI. viz:
.'Sec. 10 Ii at any time subsequent to an cleo
ton to membership it shall he discovered that
the same was procured through fraud msstate-
ment OF the suppression of material facts. the
COMMUNICATIVE Chief shall have power to declare
such election null andSvoid: Provided. That after