An Act for the incorporation of the Blue Star Mothers of America, Inc.
PL 86-653 (S.1315), enacted 07/14/1960

74 S T A T . ] 
PUBLIC LAW 86-653-JULY 14, 1960 
515 
Public Law 86-653 
AN ACT 
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For the incorporation of the Blue Star Mothers of America, Inc. 
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Be it enacted hy the SeTiate and House of Representatives 
of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled^ That the following 
named persons, to wit: Ann Clumfoot, Port Huron, Michigan; Audree 
Jonechat, Covina, California; Nettie Ludwig, Milwaukee, Wisconsin; 
Esther Beer, Mansfield, Ohio; Evelyn Lauritson, Cedar Falls, Iowa; 
Ethel Stevensen, Fresh Meadows, New York; Etta Drayton, Flint, 
Michigan; Evelyn Bednar, Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Edna Crorey, 
Grants Pass, Oregon; Erma Sweeney, Long Beach, California; Jose-
phine Plant, Waterloo, Iowa; Dorothy Christensen, Flint, Michigan; 
Mary Tracey, Brooklyn, New York; La 
Vina Shope, Lima, Ohio; Olga 
Barnes, Eoseburg, Oregon; Levia Jamison, Jamestown, Pennsyl-
vania ; Jean Williams, Port Orchard, Washington; Ida Alf ord. Little 
Kock, Arkansas; Edna May Standing, Orange City, Florida; Char-
lotte Cobb, Chatham, Massachusetts; Ann Sine Gale, Milwaukee, Wis-
consin; Ann F. Petting, Smiths Creek, Michigan; Irene Uhl, Rose-
mead, California; Hazel Rue Scott, Arlington, Virginia; Louise 
Meyerhoff, Queens Village, New York; Ivah Jones, Long Beach, 
California; Florence Brown, Pontiac, Michigan; Erma Hoffman, 
Columbus, Ohio; Nellie Leonhardt, Detroit, Michigan; and all past 
national presidents, and their successors, retiring or leaving their 
office in good standing, are hereby created and declared to be a body 
corporate of the District of Columbia, where its legal domicile shall 
be, by the name of the Blue Star Mothers of America, Inc. (herein-
after referred to as the corporation), and by such name shall be known 
and have perpetual succession and the powers, limitations, and re-
strictions herein contained. It shall be the duty of the persons named 
in this section, jointly and severally, to file with the Superintendent of 
Corporations of the District of Columbia a copy of this Act within 
fifteen days after the date of its enactment. 
COMPLETION OF ORGANIZATION 
SEC. 2. A majority of the persons named in the first section of this 
Act, acting in person or by written proxy, are authorized to complete 
the organization of the corporation by the selection of officers and 
employees, the adoption of a constitution and bylaws not inconsistent 
with this Act, and the doing of such other acts as may be necessary 
for such purpose. 
PURPOSES OF CORPORATION 
SEC. 3. The purposes of the corporation shall be: To perpetuate 
the Blue Star Mothers of America, Inc., and the memory of all the 
men and women who have served our country as members of the 
Armed Forces; the further object of this organization shall be patri-
otic, educational, social, and for service; to maintain true allegiance 
to the Government of the United States; to educate our members 
and others not to divulge military, naval, or other Government in-
formation ; to assist in veterans' ceremonies, to attend patriotic rallies 
and meetings; to foster true democracy; to care for the unsupported 
mothers who gave their sons to the service of the Nation; to aid in 
bringing about recognition of the need of permanent civilian defense 
for each community and to ever be alert against invasion of un-
American activities; to uphold the American institutions of freedom, 
justice, and equal rights, and to defend the United States from all 
enemies. 
Blue Star Mothers 
of America, Inc. 
516 
PUBLIC LAW 86-653-JULY 14, 1960 
[74 STAT. 
CORPORATE POWERS 
SEC. 4. The corporation shall have power— 
(1) to have succession by its corporate name; 
(2) to sue and be sued, complain and defend in any court of 
competent jurisdiction; 
(3) to adopt, use, and alter a corporate seal; 
(4) to choose such officers, managers, agents, and employees 
as the activities of the corporation may require; 
(5) to adopt, amend and alter a constitution and bylaws; not 
inconsistent with the laws of the United States or of any State in 
which the corporation is to operate, for the management of its 
property and the regulation of its affairs; 
(6) to contract and be contracted with; 
(7) to take by lease, gift, purchase, grant, devise, or bequest 
from any public body or agency or any private corporation, 
association, partnership, firm, or individual and to hold absolutely 
or in trust for any of the purposes of the corporation any prop-
erty, real, personal, or mixed, necessary or convenient for attain-
ing the objects and carrying into effect the purposes of the cor-
poration, subject, however, to applicable provisions of law of any 
State (A) governing the amount of or kind of property which 
may be held by, or (B) otherwise limiting or controlling the own-
ership of property by, a corporation operating in such State; 
(8) to transfer, convey, lease, sublease, mortgage, encumber 
and otherwise alienate real, personal, or mixed property; and 
(9) to borrow money for the purpose of the corporation, issue 
bonds therefor, and secure the same by mortgage, deed of trust, 
pledge, or otherwise, subject in every case to all applicable pro-
visions of Federal and State laws; and 
(10) to do any and all acts and things necessary and proper 
to carry out the objects and purposes of the corporation. 
MEMBERSHIP; VOTING RIGHTS 
SEC. 5. Eligibility: A mother, adopted mother, or stepmother (a 
stepmother eligible for membership in the Blue Star Mothers of 
America, Inc., can claim that eligibility only if she has given a 
mother's care to the stepchild from the age of thirteen or under), liv-
ing in the United States, of a son or daughter serving in the Armed 
Forces of the United States, or having a son or daughter who has 
served, or has been honorably discharged from the Armed Forces of 
the United States in World War I I or the Korean hostilities. 
The 
term "Armed Forces" shall include the United States Army; United 
States Navy; United States Marines; United States Air Force; 
United States Coast Guard; National Guard; United States Army 
Reserves; United States Navy Reserves; United States Marine Re-
serves ; United States Air Force Reserves; United States Coast Guard 
Reserves; United States Naval Militia; merchant marines; and the 
armed home guards who have served on active duty. 
GOVERNING BODY 
SEC. 6. The supreme governing authority of the corporation shall 
be the national convention thereof, composed of such officers and 
elected representatives from the several States and other local subdi-
visions of the corporate organization as shall be provided by the con-
stitution and bylaws: Provided, That the form of the government 
of the corporation shall always be representative of the membership 
at large and shall not permit the concentration of control thereof in 
74 ST AT ] 
PimUC LAW 86-663-JULY 14, 1960 
517 
the hands of a limited number of members or in a self-perpetuating 
group not so representative. 
The meetings of the national conven-
tion may be held in any State or Territory or in the District of 
Columbia. 
OmCERS OP CX)RPORATION 
SEC. 7. The officers of the corporation shall be selected in such 
manner and for such terms and with such duties and titles as may be 
prescribed in the constitution and bylaws of the corporation. 
PRINCIPAL O F F I C E ; SCOPE OF ACTIVITIES; DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA AGENT 
SEC. 8. The principal office of the corporation shall be located in the 
District of Columbia and shall have in the District of Columbia at all 
times a designated agent authorized to accept service of, process, 
notice, or demand for the corporation, and service of such process, 
notice, or demand required or permitted by law to be served upon the 
corporation may be served upon such agent. 
The coriporation shall 
file with the Superintendent of Corporations of the District of Colum-
bia a statement designating the initial and each successor registered 
agent of the corporation and the initial and each successor registered 
office of the corporation immediately following any such designa-
tion. As used in this Act the term "Superintendent of Corporations 
of the District of Columbia" means the Commissioners of the Dis-
trict of Columbia or any agent designated by them to perform the 
functions vested by this Act in the Superintendent of Corporations. 
USE OF INCOME; LOANS TO OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, OR EMPLOYEES 
S E C 9. (a) No part of the income or assets of the corporation shall 
inure to any of its members or officers as such, or be distributable to 
any of them during the life of the corporation or upon its dissolution 
or final liquidation. 
Nothing in this subsection, however, shall be 
construed to prevent the payment of compensation to officers of the 
corporation or reimbursement for actual necessary expenses in amounts 
approved by the council of administration of the corporation. 
(b) The corporation shall not make loans to its officers or employees. 
Any member of the council of administration who votes for or assents 
to the making of a loan or advance to any officer or employee of the 
corporation, and any officer who participates in the making of such 
loan or advance, shall be jointly and severally liable to the corporation 
for the amount of such loan until the repayment thereof. 
NONPOLinCAL NATURE OF CORPORATION 
SEC 10. The corporation and its officers and agents as such shall not 
contribute to any political party or candidate for public office. 
LIABILITIES FOR ACTS OF OFFICERS AND AGENTS 
SEC. 11. The corporation shall be liable for the acts of its officers and 
agents when acting within the scope of their authority. 
PROHIBITION AGAINST ISSUANCE OF STOCK OR PAYMENT OF DIVIDENDS 
S E C 12. The corporation shall have no power to issue any shares 
of stock or to declare or pay any dividends. 
518 
PUBLIC LAW 86-653-JULY 14, 1960 
[74 S T A T . 
BOOKS AND RECORDS; INSPECTION 
SEC. 13. The corporation shall keep correct and complete books and 
records of account and shall keep minutes of the proceedings of its na-
tional conventions and council of administration. All books and rec-
ords of the corporation may be inspected by any member, or his agent 
or attorney, for any proper purpose, at any reasonable time. 
AUDIT o r 
F I N A N C I A L T R A N S A C T I O N S 
SEC. 14. (a) The financial transactions of the corporation shall be 
audited annually in accordance with generally accepted auditing 
standards by an independent licensed or certified public accountant 
or a firm of independent licensed or certified public accountants. The 
audit shall be conducted at the place or places where the accounts of 
the corporation are normally kept. The independent public account-
ant, or his representatives, shall have access to all books, accounts, 
records, reports, files, and all other papers, things, or property belong-
ing to or m use by the corporation and necessary to facilitate the 
audit, and they shall be afforded full facilities for verifying transac-
tions with the balances or securities held by depositories, fiscal agents, 
and custodians. 
(b) A report of such audit shall be made by the corporation to the 
Congress and not later than March 1 of each year. The report shall 
set forth the scope of the audit and shall include a verification by the 
person or persons conducting the audit of statements of (1) assets and 
liabilities,, (2) capital and surplus or deficit, (3) surplus or deficit 
analysis, (4) income and expense, and (5) sources and application of 
funds. Such report shall not be printed as a public document. 
REPORT TO CONGRESS 
SEC. 15. On or before March 1 of each year the corporation shall 
report to. the Congress on its activities during the preceding fiscal 
year. Such report may consist of a report on the proceedings of the 
national convention covering such fiscal year. Such report shall not 
be printed as a public document. 
U S E o r NAME 
SEC. 16. The corporation and its subordinate divisions shall have 
the sole and exclusive right to use the name, "Blue Star Mothers of 
America, Inc.", and no other organization shall use the name "Blue 
Star Mothers of America, Inc.". The corporation shall have the ex-
clusive and sole right to use, or to allow or refuse the use of, such em-
blems, seals, and badges as have heretofore been used by the Blue Star 
Mothers of America. 
U S E OF ASSETS O N DISSOLUTION OR LIQUIDATION 
SEC. 17. Upon dissolution or final liquidation of the corporation, 
after discharge or satisfaction of all outstanding obligations and 
liabilities, the remaining assets, if any, of the corporation shall be 
distributed in accordance with the determination of the national ex-
ecutive board and in compliance with the constitution and bylaws of 
the corporation and all Federal and State laws applicable thereto. 
RESERVATION OF RIGHT TO AMEND OR REPEAL CHARTER 
SEC. 18. The right to alter, amend, or repeal this Act is expressly 
reserved. 
Approved July 14, 1960.