no explanation. It is hoped that it may now receive consideration at an early date.

The proposed act is as follows:

"A BILL

To authorize the Supreme Court to prescribe forms and rules and generally to regulate pleading, procedure, and practice on the common-law side of the Federal Courts.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Supreme Court shall have the power to prescribe, from time to time and in any manner, the forms and manner of service of writs and all other process; the mode and manner of framing and filing proceedings and pleadings; of giving notice and serving process of all kinds; of taking and obtaining evidence; drawing up, entering, and enrolling orders; and generally to regulate and prescribe by rule the forms for the entire pleading, practice, and procedure to be used in all actions, motions, and proceedings at law of whatever nature by the district courts of the United States."

President Taft in his message to Congress in December, 1912, endorsed the principle embodied in the bill, and it is unofficially stated that the present administration is in favor of its passage.

In the judgment of your Committee this bill is one that should have the warmest support of this Association, and the adoption of the following resolution is accordingly recommended:

Resolved, That this Association approves the proposed legislation embodied in House Bill No. 133, introduced April 7, 1913, authorizing the Supreme Court to prescribe forms and rules and generally to regulate pleadings, procedure and practice on the common-law side of the Federal Courts, and instructs its Committee on the Amendment of Procedure in the

Federal Courts to co-operate with similar Committees of other Bar Associations in urging the passage of such bills.

All of which is respectfully submitted.

ARTHUR H. MASTEN, Chairman,

ALTON B. Parker,

HENRY L. STIMSON,

FREDERIC W. HINRICHS.

New York, January 28, 1914.

Arthur H. Masten, of New York:

Mr. President, I move the adoption of the resolution attached to the report.

The motion was duly seconded and carried.

The President:

Report of the Committee on Increase of Membership, Mr. Goldman, Chairman.

Samuel P. Goldman, of New York:

Mr. President, I will speak of my report in substance so as to consume as little time as possible. We found there were about 22,000 lawyers in the State of New York and there were less than 10 per cent. in the Bar Association. I offered the resolution last year which was carried. Pursuant to the resolution the President appointed 70 members to serve on the committee, seven of whom declined. Actual committee work was not started until the latter part of April. It was impossible to hold committee meetings because these gentlemen lived throughout the State, so the Secretary and I would like to say here that without the aid of Mr. Cyril F. Dos Passos, the Secretary, the work of the committee could not have been done, he was invaluable we got up a plan of action and had it manifolded and sent to all the members of the committee throughout the State and got their approval. The plan of action consisted of this: We divided the work into three stages,

first, we required the members of the committee to make personal solicitations among the lawyers in the various counties, instructing them, of course, that it was our desire that they should be dignified in every way. We decided as a second part of the campaign to address circulars, or communications to every member of the Bar Association, and as a third part we decided that we would, if the president of the Executive Committee approved of it, address a letter stating our desire and our efforts to every member of the Bar in the State. The entire plan has not yet been carried out because we have been at the work only about eight months. We have so far, through the personal solicitation of the members of the committee, only obtained 674 proposals for membership, all of whom have been elected. A remarkable increase perhaps for that short space of time considering that not every member of the committee worked diligently. But your Association has been increased in membership now about one-third. We have addressed one letter to every member of the State Bar Association and we expect after this session of the Association has concluded its deliberations to address another letter and we hope if our committee is continued by the time of the next annual meeting of the Association we will add about 1,000 new members to the Association. We have endeavored to be a little discriminating and we feel that the members who have come in are worthy to be your associates. In view of the fact that our efforts have met with some response from those members of the Bar who are not members of the Association and with the concurrence of the committee of which I have the honor to be the chairman, I offer this resolution:

Resolved, That the Committee on Increase of Membership, appointed by the President of this Association in pursuance of a resolution adopted at the

thirty-sixth annual meeting, be continued until the annual meeting of the Association to be held in 1915, with such changes in its personnel as the President shall deem advisable.

The motion was seconded.

The following is a copy of the report of the Committee on Increase of Membership:

REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON INCREASE OF MEMBERSHIP

To the New York State Bar Association:

The Committee on Increase of Membership was created at the 1913 meeting of the Association by the following resolution:

"Be it Resolved, That the President of this Association appoint a Committee on Increase of Membership, the number and personnel to be as he shall deem proper, which committee shall continue until the annual meeting of the Association to be held in 1914, or until such further date when their successors shall be appointed or the committee discharged."

Pursuant to such resolution the President appointed seventy (70) members to serve upon the committee; seven (7) of whom failed to accept the appointment or thereafter resigned.

Actual committee work was not commenced until the latter part of April, 1913. Owing to the size of the committee and the distance the members lived from each other, no regular meetings of the committee, as a whole, have been held. The members for the first district, however, held an organization meeting at the office of the chairman and decided upon a plan of action. This plan was immediately thereafter communicated to each member of the committee with the suggestion that the members in each district organize and follow the same general plan so far as they

should find the same applicable to the conditions confronting them.

The plan of action, so adopted, and which has since been followed, but not entirely completed, was divided into three stages. First, the personal solicitation by members of the committee of non-member lawyers; second, an appeal to each member of the Association to propose at least two new members; third, a general appeal to all non-member lawyers.

The committee has now completed the first and partly completed the second stages, as above outlined. The result is most gratifying. Five hundred and seventy-four new members have already been proposed by the committee and elected to the Association, and new proposals are coming in daily. This result we feel is most encouraging. In addition, 100 proposals have been made through sources other than the committee. Unquestionably many of these are due to our activities, though, naturally, it is impossible to trace the exact extent of the credit to which we are entitled in that direction.

The total membership (other than honorary) of the Association for the past six years was as follows: 1908, 1,722; 1909, 1,772; 1910, 1,846; 1911, 1,848; 1912, 2,122; 1913, 2,386. These figures show a steady increase each year; the actual number of new members being as follows: 1907 to 1908, 241; 1908 to 1909, 129; 1909 to 1910, 171; 1910 to 1911, 96; 1911 to 1912, 386; 1912 to 1913, 175. These figures are all eclipsed by the record increase of this year of 674 members.

If there is one thing this Association needs it is a larger and more representative membership. This is fundamental to every purpose for which the Association is working. Of the 22,000 odd lawyers in this State up to this year only slightly over 10 per cent. were members of the Association.