Mrs. EDWARDS, of Michigan. I would like to offer an objection to this, that so many of us come many hundred miles from the west, to remain here during the entire week. The business is postponed from day to day, with little filibustering and all sorts of odds and ends which are perfectly picayunish, and we are delayed until the very last day, when every one has gone home in order to get there before Sunday. That puts off very much important business until Saturday, when a quorum of one hundred would be only those who live about here or in Washington.

Mrs. MCLEAN. I would wish to draw attention to the fact that if a quorum is made as small as seventy-five, or even one hundred, you place the power of legislating for a body of 27,000 women in the hands of a very small number. [Applause.]

Mrs. JEWETT. May I be allowed to speak a moment to my motion? It does not preclude the possibility of all being present.

Mrs. BURDETTE. I would like to say that if the ladies would come here and attend to business, and not filibuster so much, we could get the business done a great deal sooner. [Applause.]

Mrs. DARWIN. Does not a Congress of 300 or 400 men legislate for over seventy million people in this country? [Applause.]

Mrs. PECK, of Rhode Island. I move the previous question. PRESIDENT GENERAL. Previous question is moved; shall the main question be now put?

Mrs. MCLEAN. May I have one more word? It does not look to-night, when I look round this full house, as though so many of us had deserted our posts before Saturday. I think there would be as many as a hundred certainly, probably double that number, here until the last session of the Congress is adjourned. Let us make our quorum such as will intelligently transact business for the whole country.

PRESIDENT GENERAL. Are you ready for the question? All those in favor of the amendment of Mrs. Jewett will please say "aye;" opposed, "no;" the motion is lost. Question re

curs to the original amendment, "A quorum of the Continental Congress shall be one hundred properly accredited delegates." All in favor will please say "aye;" opposed, "no." Carried. READER. The next before us—

Mrs. GIST. Having voted on the prevailing side on amendment 10, Article 5, Section 5, I now move a reconsideration of the vote on that point, the participating of ex-officers in the privileges of voting.

Seconded.

PRESIDENT GENERAL. It is moved and seconded to reconsider the vote on the amendment with regard to ex-officers. Mrs. WARREN. I object to reconsideration.

Dr. MCGEE. Several of the ladies in the neighborhood wished to have a reconsideration in order that it might be explained that this motion cuts out the founders of our Society, as well as the Editor of the Magazine. We ought not to cu off our honorary officers from the privilege of debate. We have just elected a lady an Honorary Vice-President Genera. Where is the honor exhibited in this way? It is not our exofficers specially, but honorary officers, which include the founders of our Society.

Mrs. GIST. My motion contemplated ex-officers.

Mrs. BALLINGER. Can that proposition come from the negative side?

PRESIDENT GENERAL. Did you vote on the prevailing side? Mrs. GIST. I did, under a mistake, and many others did the same thing under a mistake-several others did.

PRESIDENT GENERAL. Mrs. Gist voted on the prevailing side and has the right to move reconsideration.

Miss PIKE. Many times, when knotty questions and difficult problems have confronted Congresses of this Society, it has been solved alone by an ex-officer. [Applause.] Some of the very best speeches, some of the most magnificent examples of oratory, have been made by ex-officers. [Applause.] Some of their experience has been invaluable to us. I do not know in some cases how we could have unravelled some of the troubles that we have had. They have had that experience as active officers that fits them to tell us when we

are travelling wrong as we sometimes do. How would we know all about the account of the Treasurer General if we had not an ex-Treasurer General to tell us where such and such things were different from what we are doing now? We have changed our methods in many of these offices. If we had not the experience of the past, we could not so well legislate for the future. Now, shall we say to all the ex-officers hereafter, "We do not care for your experience; we have wisdom enough, we don't need your wisdom?" Are we so wise, are we so experienced, that we can do without all this? I say this Society needs all the wisdom and all the experience that ever has been possessed by it; and we will make a great mistake if we cast out these ex-officers; for what is it to be on the floor and have no voice in the deliberations?

Mrs. EDWARDS. Have we voted to reconsider?

PRESIDENT GENERAL. The vote has not yet been taken.
Miss DESHA. Madam President,-

Mrs. THOMPSON. I rise to a point of order. sidering it or not? Have we voted on it?

Are we recon

Miss DESHA. A motion to reconsider opens the subject, without a vote. I hope you won't consider anything personal in my motion, because I don't believe you will ever refuse to hear the founders of this Society; and if you do refuse to hear a founder, you can't refuse to hear a voter.

Mrs. BALLINGER. No, certainly not; we welcome a voter. Miss DESHA. We can always come as delegates, but in the Society I don't see where the honor comes of being an Honorary Vice-President General unless we have some part in these deliberations. We go into the National Board, it has made an order that no honorary officer shall be present during its deliberations. We pay dues like any other member. We come into the Congress muzzled; mothers think of going into a room full of your own daughters, and not being able to open your mouths.

Mrs. BALLINGER. I am sorry I am obliged to speak again, but they speak on the motion so much that I feel obliged to defend it. You know that we do all reverence to the founders of this great Society; we have shown our wish to do all honor

by the presentation of these magnificent diamond badges. You know that our honorary officers are the equivalent of retired officers on full pay. Now it would be wrong to this Society to give to these ex-officers the right to come down year by year into this Society, to debate and deliberate here with us. when they have no vote. Let them go back into active service. There is no reason why they should not work as Regents and come back as Regents or delegates, and we will welcome them with open arms.

PRESIDENT GENERAL. I would like to have the Reader read the section in Roberts relating to reconsideration.

READER. "This motion cannot be amended; it is debatable or not, just as the question to be reconsidered is debatable or undebatable. When debatable it opens up for discussion the entire subject to be reconsidered, and the previous question, if ordered while it is pending, affects only the motion to reconsider."

Mrs. GIST. May we have the last clause again?

READER. When debatable it opens up for discussion the entire subject to be reconsidered, and the previous question, ii ordered while it is pending, affects only the motion to reconsider."

Mrs. WHITE, of Massachusetts. As a simple Regent from a country Chapter from a State far away, I came here to represent my Chapter. I have noticed that it is much easier for an ex-officer to get recognition than a simple delegate. [Ap plause.] It is, of course, because they are better known; I recognize that and don't criticise it, but I don't think that the fact of being an ex-officer disfranchises them or takes them out of their Chapter; their Chapters can send them back as their delegates if they desire to. [Applause.]

Mrs. BELDEN, of New York. The honorary officers and exofficers are increasing every year. In the course of ten or fifteen years this Congress will be composed of ex-officers. [Applause.]

Mrs. NASH. I only want to say that when a new member or delegate wants to solve a knotty problem, if she were to go to an honorary or an ex-officer for information instead of going

to Speaker Reed, she would not get an impression, but an opinion, and a very valuable one, too. [Applause.]

Mrs. DRAPER. In justice to the ex-officers on this floor, I think it but fair to say that I have been present at every session of Congress except one, and I have only heard two exofficers speak. I mean by that, you surely don't kill us and bury us because we once accepted office and worked for you. I am an ex-officer, but I speak and have always spoken as the alternate for a Regent who is not present and could not be. There have been but two officers who have taken up your time at all, and neither one of those spoke for more than five minutes, I think both together have not taken up fifteen minutes of this whole Congress.

Mrs. THOMPSON. I only wish to say to this Congress, to call attention to this fact, that when the very knotty problem came up this evening it was not an ex-officer who settled the problem, but a simple delegate. (Cries of “Question!")

Mrs. NEWCOMB. For a long time I was in favor of this amendment, without considering it very carefully; but when I came to the first meeting of this Congress there flashed to my mind the picture of last year, when our founders stood there and every one came round; and I spoke of it to others and they said, if you pass that amendment this year you prove that you are sorry you honored them, and show that you dishonor them.

PRESIDENT GENERAL. Are you ready for the question? All in favor will please say "aye;" opposed "no." It is carried. Now those in favor of reconsidering will please say "aye;" opposed, "no." Lost.

Mrs. KEMPSTER, of Wisconsin. I rise to a question of privilege. Madam President and Daughters, there are three reports of committees that were omitted this morning without the order of the Congress; there are also several other reports which were on the order of the day for the work of the morning. I would like to ask if there is any opportunity for those committees to make a report to this Congress? If so, it should be made an order of business for to-morrow morning, other