SEC. 5. Honorary members may be admitted by a vote of two-thirds of the delegate members present at a regular meeting. The whole number of honorary members shall not exceed twenty-five.

SEC. 6. The officers of the Society shall be a President, a First Vice President, a Second Vice President, a Secretary and a Treasurer. They shall be elected at each annual meeting, except the Secretary, who shall be elected every second year. The Secretary shall serve two successive years, and until his successor is elected. All other officers shall serve one year, and until their successors are elected. The election of these officers shall be by ballot, and a majority of the votes of the delegate members present shall be necessary to a choice. The officers shall severally perform such duties as custom and the by-laws shall prescribe.

SEC. 7. The president shall perform the ordinary duties of that office, and shall annually appoint the following standing committees, each of which shall consist of five members: An executive committee, a finance committee, a committee on publication, a committee on admission. The committee on admission shall be composed of delegate members only. He shall also appoint all other committees that may be raised by the Society, unless their appointment shall be otherwise directed. He may also, in his discretion, appoint members to represent this Society in other societies, except in cases in which the Society shall, in general session, choose such representatives. In case of a tie he shall give the casting vote. He shall preside at the meeting next succeeding that at which he may have been elected.

SEC. 8. To facilitate professional and scientific work, three sections are established, namely:

First, A section on medicine;
Second, A section on surgery;

Third, A section on midwifery and gynecology.

At each annual meeting a chairman shall be chosen for each section, who shall serve for one year. A secretary shall be chosen every second year, and he shall serve for two years, and until his successor shall be chosen. All papers, communications, and matters of a technical or professional nature shall be referred to the section to which it pertains: Provided, however, That any such paper or subject may, on vote, be considered in general session.

SEC. 9. A council, consisting of nine members, shall be annually elected by ballot, whose duty it shall be to take cognizance of and decide all questions of an ethical or judicial character that may arise in connection with the Society. Of the nine members of the council first elected, the three first named on the list shall hold office for one year; the second for two years, and the remainder for three years. With these exceptions, the term of office of members of the council shall be three years, three being elected annually. The said council shall organize by choosing a President and Secretary, and shall keep a permanent record of its proceedings. The decisions of said council, on all matters referred to it by the Society, shall be final, and shall be reported to the Society at the earliest practicable moment. All questions of a personal character, including complaints and protests, and all questions on credentials, shall be referred at once after the report of the committee on admissions, or other presentation, to the judicial council, and without discussion.

SEC. 10. Any proposed addition or amendment to this constitution shall be presented in writing, and shall lie on the table for one year, and if approved by two-thirds of the delegate members present at a regular meeting, it shall be declared adopted.

BY-LAWS.

SECTION 1. The regular meetings of the Society shall be held annually at such time and place as the Society may from time to time determine.

SEC. 2. At all meetings the presence of fifteen delegate menbers shall be necessary to constitute a quorum.

SEC. 3. The Vice Presidents shall assist the President in the performance of his duties. In the absence of the President, or at his request, the First Vice President, or in his absence the Second Vice President may perform the duties of that office.

SEC. 4. The Secretary shall keep the minutes and records of the Society, sign all official papers, conduct all correspondence, receive the initiation fee and signatures of all new members, and do such other duties as the Society may prescribe.

SEC. 5. The Treasurer shall receive all moneys due the Society, and pay all bills endorsed by the finance committee,

and countersigned by the President, keeping correct accounts: of the same, and making a full and detailed report at the annual meeting.

STANDING COMMITTEES.

SECTION 6. Standing committees shall keep regular minutes of their proceedings.

SEC. 7. It shall be the duty of the committee on admission upon receiving the names of candidates for membership, to make due inquiry, and report such as may be found worthy to the Society. Should the committee fail to report upon such applications, any member may present the same directly to the Society, in which case a vote of two-thirds of the delegate members present shall be requisite to constitute an election.

SEC. 8. The annual dues shall be two dollars, and any member failing to pay the same for two successive meetings shall forfeit his membership until the indebtedness be liquidated, and the fact notified to the Society.

SEC. 9. The committee on finance shall superintend the monetary affairs of the Society, inspect and audit all bills and the accounts of the Treasurer, and make such pro rata assessment upon members as may be necessary, which, however, shall not exceed the sum of two dollars per annum in addition to the regular dues.

SEC. 10. The committee on publication shall superintend the printing of such papers as may be ordered to be published, so that they may be issued upon uniform paper, under the title of "Transactions."

SEC. 11. The executive committee shall digest and prepare the business of each meeting, provide suitable rooms for the purpose of the Society, recommend plans for the promotion of its objects, and in all things protect and superintend the general interests of the Society.

SEC. 12. Every member elect must, before he shall become entitled to the rights of membership, pay two dollars as an initiation fee, and subscribe the constitution and by-laws.

SEC. 13. All vacancies in office shall be filled ad interim by the President.

SEC. 14. These by-laws may be suspended by a two-thirds vote, at any regular meeting, and they may be repealed or

amended by a majority vote, notice of the same having been given in writing at any previous meeting.

SEC. 15. As this Society is based on representation from local societies, and as the American Medical Association requires that this Society shall indorse all delegates from such local societies to said association, it is therefore required that all such local societies shall file with the Secretary of this Society a copy of their constitution and by-laws, with a certificate showing the number of members in it.

SEC. 16. Rules of order, and all questions arising upon the same, shall be determined by parliamentary rules, and the code of ethics of the American Medical Association.

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE

ACTION OF ALCOHOLIC LIQUORS
IN HEALTH AND DISEASE.

BY A. B. PALMER, M. D., LL. D.

The committee designated by the President of this Society to report upon the subject of alcoholic drinks, brought to our notice at the last annual meeting, beg leave to say that they regard this matter as of the most profound interest and importance, whether considered from an economical, a social, a hygienic, or a strictly medical point of view; and considering the intimate relations of these articles to health and disease, and the very wide spread influence they exert upon these conditions, it seems to us that no subject can more appropriately occupy the attention of this Society.

The fact that there are differences of opinion and practice among us in relation to the use of alcoholics in health and disease, if such differences are found to exist, so far from affording an objection to the introduction and consideration of the subject, is a strong reason for its discussion; but it should be treated in a calm and temperate manner, and in a scientific spirit. In this spirit we shall endeavor to proceed.

The term alcoholic drinks embraces all the liquids whose chief ingredient is ethylic or common alcohol, though in some of them are contained small quantities of the other alcohols, modifying, generally intensifying, in a slight degree, their effects. But into many of the details of their composition, for the purposes of this paper, it is not necessary to enter.

As to the physical and chemical character of these liquors, it is sufficient to state that common alcohol, the product of the fermentation of organic, starchy, and saccharine substances, is