Below is the standard text of the by-laws for local "Russian Orthodox Brotherhoods." The basic text was set out by the Russian Orthodox Catholic Mutual Aid Society (ROCMA). ROCMA was the central organization for all the local brotherhoods. ROCMA functioned mainly as a life insurance organization while the local brotherhoods collected the insurance fees and administered death and disability payments. Additionally, the brotherhoods carried out locally a great number of purely social tasks.
Among the social functions carried out by the local brotherhoods were its function as a social club, holding holiday celebrations and parties for local children, providing basic arbitration in disputes among members, visiting the sick, helping the needy, assisting the church, assisting at funerals and keeping an eye on morality and alcohol consumption among the members.
Each brotherhood had its own patron saint. The patron saint of the society as a whole was St. Nicholas. The Orthodox calendar has a day dedicated to each saint. Thus December 19 (the day of St. Nicholas) and the day devoted to the saint of each local brotherhood were holidays of particular importance.
BY-LAWS
of the
RUSSIAN ORTHODOX BROTHERHOOD
of..................................................................................
at..................................................................................
PART I
The Name of the Brotherhood, Its Connection With the Society and Its Objects
Section 1 The Brotherhood is committed to the prayers and protection of The day consecrated to his memory ( . . . . . ) as well as the day of St. Nicholas, the Patron of the Society (19 December), shall be holidays for all the members. On these occasions it is the duty of every member to attend the Liturgy in full uniform and to celebrate the holiday by a solemn gathering.
Section 2 The Brotherhood is a part of the Russian Orthodox Catholic Mutual, Aid Society in the United States of America, and as such it complies with its By-Laws in everything. The close union between them is founded on the identity of their principles and objects, though their character is more universal in the case of the Society, and more private in the case of Brotherhoods, owing to the influence of local material and spiritual needs of the Orthodox population.
Section 3 If, because of the insufficiency of its membership or some other reason, the Brotherhood is forced to disband, its possessions shall be divided in two, one half going to the local church and the other to the Society. But if for the same reasons the Brotherhood decides to amalgamate with another Brotherhood, which also is a part of the Society, their possessions become joint property.
Section 4 The Brotherhood shall have for its object the fostering in its members of devotion to their nationality and the Orthodox faith; it shall support its church and its school; it shall succor its members in case of accident or debility, and, in case of a brother's death, it shall see that the body of the deceased brother is interred in a Christian and respectable way, and shall try as far as possible to better the future of his widow and orphans.
PART II
Conditions of Admission to the Brotherhood
Section 5 Male and female members shall be admitted to the Brotherhood, Slav in race and Orthodox in faith, conscientiously carrying out all their Christian duties and leading honorable and moral lives; if married, then according to the church rites; willing to enlist as actual member in the Orthodox Catholic Mutual Aid Society:
Section 6 The candidate's health shall be examined by a doctor in the presence of 1 member of the Brotherhood. The doctor shall not be paid by the Brotherhood, but by the candidate.
Section 7 The doctor's certificate concerning the health of the candidate shall be sent by the Brotherhood to the Supreme Assembly of the Society, together with other documents.
Section 8 The candidate shall find a sponsor among the members, who state before the Brotherhood that he personally knows the candidate for an honest and respectable man and that he gave correct information concerning himself.
Section 9 The candidate shall give to the Secretary of the Brotherhood the following information for the Brotherhood's books, which shall also be sent to the Society's Supreme Assembly in established form: his name, age, whether he is married or single, his birthplace, his residence, to whom or to what he leaves his death benefit, for what amount ($250, $500, $750, $1000) of benefit he wishes to enroll himself.
Section 10 Every new member shall pay:
Section 11 If the newcomer has been a member of some of the Society's Brotherhood before, he shall produce a Transfer Certificate in established form from it, and then he shall be admitted to the Brotherhood and the Society without taking the oath (if it was taken by him already), and without a new entrance fee, paying to the Brotherhood's Treasury only 25 cents.
Section 12 The Brotherhood shall not admit, or, if they had been admitted, the Brotherhood shall immediately expel men:
Section 13 A sick man changing to a new Brotherhood shall demand no aid from it, if at the time of change he was already receiving aid from his old Brotherhood on account of the same sickness.
Section 14 This or that man's desire to join the Brotherhood shall be announced by his sponsor at the Brotherhood's meeting, and, if the majority of members agree to his admission, the Treasurer of the Brotherhood shall receive from him the fees mentioned in Section 10 and its Secretary shall enter in the Ledger of the Brotherhood the newcomer's answers to all the questions mentioned in Section 9. Further, the requested information concerning the newcomer shall be sent by the Brotherhood to the Society's Supreme Assembly, together with his entrance fee to he Society. Beginning with the date when the Supreme Assembly receives and enters them in the Society's books, of which it shall immediately notify the Brotherhood, the newcomer shall be considered active member of the Society; he shall comply with all the duties which the By-Laws of the Society -and the Brotherhood impose and in return he shall enjoy all the rights granted by them to their members.
Section 15 Before joining the Brotherhood and Society each new member must become acquainted with the entrance certificate and also with the By-Laws of the Society and of the Brotherhood, in order that he may know exactly what he joins and how he should act and behave himself in the Brotherhood and in the Society.
Section 16 On the day of his admission no member has any right of speech in the affairs of the Brotherhood.
Section 17 On the nearest Sunday or holiday on the next visit of the Orthodox priest, if there is no resident Orthodox priest in the place, the newcomer shall take the oath. (Society By-Laws, Section 30).
Section 18 The established fees paid by the new member to the Brotherhood and the Society, on his admission, shall not be returned to him were he even to leave the Brotherhood and the Society the very day of his admission.
PART III
Duties of the Brotherhood's Members
Section 19 Every member of the Brotherhood shall accurately comply with all the By-Laws of the Brotherhood and the Society and obey such requests of their officers as are within their rights.
Section 20 Every member of the Brotherhood shall protect its own and the Society's interests and ever be a worthy representative, in everything, of an Orthodox union, founded on the principles of Christian love and mutual help.
Section 21 A member of the Brotherhood shall regularly attend church, and shall go to Confession and take the Holy Communion from an Orthodox priest (before every Easter) ; he shall honor his spiritual father and go for all his spiritual needs connected with the church to an Orthodox priest; he shall preserve constant sobriety, honesty, morality, purity and order in all the details of his life, etc.; in general, he shall be a good Orthodox Christian, otherwise he shall be expelled from the organization, and the Brotherhood, which tolerates him as a member in spite of his immoral life, shall be liable to a punishment, pecuniary fine or suspension from the Society.
Section 22 A member of the Brotherhood shall do all he can in order not to bring some harm or disrepute on another member and shall divert by all the power in his means everything that could damage the good name, property or life of another member, etc.
Section 23 If a member of the Brotherhood loses his work, all the other members shall do all they can to help him find some other work, and in general to ease for him his hardships.
Section 24 In case of sickness, the suffering member shall be visited by the members appointed by the Chairman of the Brotherhood not less than three times a week.
Section 25 If a member appointed to visit the sick cannot do so for some reason, he shall find some other member willing to replace him, otherwise he shall be fined 50c.
Section 26 When a member dies, the members appointed by the Chairman shall keep guard over the body of the, deceased, and at the appointed hour every member shall be present in complete uniform to render the last honors to the deceased and to see him to his grave.
Section 27 When changing his address every member shall immediately notify the Secretary of the Brotherhood, otherwise he must pay 25c. fine.
Section 28 A member shall leave the locality of the Brotherhood only by consent of the Brotherhood, otherwise he shall lose his right to the weekly aid, in case he falls sick; leaving, he shall procure a Travelling Card from the Brotherhood.
Section 29 Leaving his Brotherhood to enter another, 'which is also part of the Society, every member shall procure from his former Brotherhood a Transfer Certificate to present it to the new.
Section 30 If a member has not paid his debt to the Brotherhood or if he wishes to join another Brotherhood for some reprehensible reason or object, the Transfer Certificate shall be refused to him and he shall not be admitted to another Brotherhood.
Section 31 If a member of the Brotherhood leaves the boundaries of North America, but does not leave the Society and the Brotherhood, he shall leave to the latter: a) his proper address, b) deposit in the Treasury of the Brotherhood to enable it to pay out of this deposit all his pecuniary obligations to the Brotherhood and the Society; this deposit shall amount to a sum which shall always leave a surplus of five dollars ($5.00) in the Treasury, after all the dues are paid. If this surplus becomes less than five dollars ($5.00), the Secretary of the Brotherhood shall immediately notify the member, who shall make it up by a new deposit, not later than in two months, otherwise his name shall be struck off the list of the Brotherhood and the Society.
Section 32 The deposit left by a member, who has gone from North America, shall not be returned to him in case of his leaving the Brotherhood and the Society, or being expelled from them.
Section 33 A member leaving the boundary of North America loses his right to any aid from the Brotherhood or the Society, except his death benefit.
Section 34 In case of his sickness, a member shall immediately notify the Inspector of the Sick.
Section 35 If a member, having procured the permission of the Brotherhood, absents himself from home and falls ill, he shall send to his Brotherhood a Doctor's Certificate concerning the cause, kind and duration of his sickness before he can receive the weekly aid.
Section 36 Every member shall attend the monthly meetings of the Brotherhood, on dates appointed by its Council.
Section 37 Every member shall pay to the Treasury of the Brotherhood his established monthly contribution to his parish church and to his parish school.
Section 38 Every member shall pay monthly, (before the 28th day) through the Brotherhood, to the Treasury of the Society all his dues for benefits and the regular contribution toward the publishing of the Society's paper, the building of the churches, and other funds of the Society. (Society By-Laws, Section 84).
Section 39 Every member shall pay accurately the dues indicated in Sections 37 and 38 even if he is sick.
Section 40 Member of a Brotherhood, who will not pay his monthly dues on the meeting, or before the 28th day of each month, should. be informed about this by the Brotherhood's management, according this form: "Dear Brother................. The management of Brotherhood No............ of ............... informs you, that you owe to the Brotherhood and Society for the month of .......... $...... The management requests you to reimburse this debt before the 28th day of this month, otherwise you will be suspended from the Brotherhood and the Society.
President ............ Secretary ............
Section 41 Member of a Brotherhood, who fails to repay his debt during 45 days from the time of his suspension, should be excluded from the Brotherhood and the Society (Society By-Laws, Section 85).
Section 42 In case of extreme poverty or for some other serious reason, the Brotherhood may pay a member's dues to the Brotherhood and the Society, and deduct same from his sick benefit.
Section 43 If a member fails to fulfill his duties, he shall bring on himself various punishments, like reprimands, fines, forfeiture of his vote and expulsion from the Brotherhood and the Society.
PART IV
Rights of the Brotherhoods' Members
(Duties of the Brotherhood towards its members)
Section 44 The Brotherhood shall take care of:
Section 45 On hearing from the Inspector of the sick about the sickness of a member, the Brother:hood's Chairman shall appoint one member or more, chosen among those living in the same neighborhood and not too busy, who shall visit the patient. If a member is seriously ill and needs the care of a hospital, the Brotherhood shall help him to get into one.
Section 46 If a sick member paid accurately all his dues and is entitled to the aid, the Brotherhood, as soon as it hears from the Inspector of the sick when he fell ill, what is the nature and the cause of his illness, shall pay him from its Treasury the established weekly sick benefit; the payment shall begin the second week of the member's illness and shall not be paid any longer than six months. (Society By-Laws, Section 102).
Section 47 If the Inspector of the sick doubts either the sickness or the right of the member to the aid, the Brotherhood shall decide this question by the majority of votes.
Section 49 If a sick member received weekly aid from the Brotherhood during six months, but is still sick, the Brotherhood shall inform the Supreme Assembly of the Society about this, with a request to grant the sick man the aid mentioned in Section 102 of Society By-Laws, if it deems it necessary; at the same time the Brotherhood presents to the Supreme Assembly signed receipt from the sick member for the total weekly aid received during six months, and the Doctor's Certificate concerning the member's illness.
Section 50 If a member is crippled or dead, the Brotherhood applies to the Supreme Assembly of the Society for the aid the Society is to pay to him or to his heirs accordingly to the By-Laws (Society By-Laws, Section 106), presenting at the same time all the necessary documents (Society By-Laws, Sections 73 and 74).
Section 51 See the detailed conditions on which the Society grants various aids to its members, in Part VI of the By-Laws of the Society.
Section 52 The Brotherhood shall demand a receipt in established form from any person to whom money from the Society has been duly delivered and the receipt shall. be sent to the Supreme Assembly to be put on the record (Society By-Laws, Section 77).
Section 53 If a member dies, the Chairman of the Brotherhood shall immediately appoint four members daily to watch the body, and all the Brotherhood in full uniform shall be present at the mortuary services and at the funeral.
Section 54 The Brotherhood's Treasury shall assign for the funeral expenses of a member ............. dollars, and it sees itself to the funeral. But if the family of the deceased desire to bury him with more pomp than the sum assigned by the Brotherhood, then this sum is handed over to his family, and does what it can to help the family.
Section 55 The above sum hall be spent only on the funeral of the deceased, for the death benefit is paid to his family by the Society alone (Society By-Laws, Section 97).
Section 56 The Brotherhood shall hand the death benefit sent by the Society to those who are named in the will of the deceased, duly deposited in the Society's office, demanding from them a receipt, which shall be sent to the Supreme Assembly.
Section 57 If the deceased member or any member receiving an aid from the Society owed something to the Brotherhood, this debt shall be deducted from the death benefit and shall be paid where it is due.
Section 58 If the heirs of a deceased member are in great need and the Society is not able to pay the death benefit promptly, the Brotherhood may, if its Treasury allows and its members deem it necessary, pay the death benefit (or part of it) from its own Treasury, without waiting any longer, and, when the money arrives from the Society's office, the Brotherhood shall retain whatever is paid out as death benefit. Otherwise the Brotherhood shall pay no aids to its members in addition to the ones paid by the Society, excepting the weekly aids and the funeral allowance.
Section 59 If a member on his death leaves orphans, having appointed no guardian for them, the Brotherhood shall either take charge of them or send them with the consent of the Honorary President of the Society, to the Russian Orthodox Orphanage.
Section 60 If a member desires to change from one Brotherhood to another, his former Brotherhood supplies him with a Transfer Certificate, in established form, mentioning his name and age, amount of benefit and monthly dues, the date of his admission, his former Brotherhood, how did he behave whilst a member in it, has he left any debts, and what Brotherhood he is going to join (Society By-Laws, Section 65).
Section 61 If the conditions of a member's life necessitate frequent change of address, the Brotherhood shall supply him with a Travelling Card, in which, accordingly to established form, it shall mention his name, age and residence and its own address (Society By-Laws, Section 72).
Section 62 If a member of the Brotherhood leaves North America without leaving the Society and the Brotherhood, the latter shall immediately notify the Society's Supreme Assembly, stating the amount of the deposit he left in the Treasury of the Brotherhood, and its willingness to pay out of it all the absent member's dues to the Society (Society By-Laws, Section 99).
PART V
The Council of the Brotherhood, Its Rights and Duties
Section 63 The progress of the Brotherhood and its affairs are guided by the Council of the Brotherhood, consisting of the following officers:
Section 64 Besides these, the Brotherhood may elect other officers, as need be; for instance, a Leader, a Master of Ceremonies, Banner Bearers, etc.
Section 65 The Chairman of the Brotherhood is chiefly responsible for all its affairs, therefore nothing shall take place in it without his knowledge and all the members of the Brotherhood shall obey him. He shall guide all the life of the Brotherhood; he shall open the meetings and have two votes; he shall look after the order and peace during meetings; he shall give the right of speech or take it from those who speak out of time or about irrelevant matters; he shall make the resolutions of the Brotherhood, uniform and announce them; he shall remonstrate with and reprimand those who break the By-Laws of the Brotherhood or the Society; he shall admit new officers of the Brotherhood, and sign all Brotherhood's minutes and checks; he shall receive the orders of the Society's Supreme Assembly and put them in action; he shall appoint members to visit the sick and watch the dead members of the Brotherhood, etc. The seal of the Brotherhood is in his keeping.
Section 66 The Vice-Chairman shall help the Chairman in all the affairs of the Brotherhood. In the latter's absence or in case of his sickness, the Vice-Chairman shall perform all duties and enjoy all his rights. In case the Chairman retires or dies, he shall take his place until the following election.
Section 67 The Corresponding Secretary shall be in charge of all the written documents of the Brotherhood either within itself or in all its relations with the Society other Brotherhoods, and outside persons and institutions. Ire shall have a complete list of the Brotherhood's members with their addresses. He shall by word of mouth or by writing notify all the members concerning the time and place of monthly meetings and of the extraordinary gatherings, concerning the subjects of discussion and the resolutions of the Brotherhood's Council or the Society's Supreme Assembly, etc. At meetings he shall go through the roll call of the members, marking the absent; he shall keep the lists of fines and communicate them to the Financial Secretary; he shall make the minutes of the meetings, writing down in order all their discussions and resolutions; when new members join, he shall write their names, etc., in the books of the Brotherhood, and also on separate blanks, which shall be sent to the office of the Society, and in future he shall make all the necessary changes in this data; when members change to another Brotherhood or go traveling, he shall supply them with Transfer Certificates and Travelling Cards in established form; he shall report to the Society's Supreme Assembly all the changes taking place in the Brotherhood, all its needs, misunderstandings, etc.; he shall answer the inquiries of the Supreme. Assembly and supply to it all the documents required by the By-Laws of the Society; on special blanks, he shall inform the office of the "Svit" of the addresses of new members of the Brotherhood, and shall keep it accurately informed about the members who left, changed their addresses, etc. He shall attend to all the correspondence of the Brotherhood, but with the full knowledge of its Chairman.
Section 68 The Financial Secretary shall collect at meetings all the monthly fees, fines and dues to the Brotherhood and the Society, marking in the Brotherhood's and the member's books what sum, when, for what or toward what object he received from every member, and also how much every member still owes and for what; he shall keep accurate records as to when, what for and how much did every member get as aids from the Society or the Brotherhood; he shall procure from those who received an aid such receipts s the By-Laws of the Society demand and shall send them to the office of the Society; he shall collect the entrance fee from the newcomers and supply them, at the usual price, with the By-Laws and with members' booklets for the recording of members' money, every booklet bearing its owner's name and the seal of the Brotherhood; he shall also supply them with badges and diplomas; he shall inform the meetings of the expenditure and revenues of the Brotherhood; he shall hand the money collected at meetings to the Treasurer of the Brotherhood, which the latter shall receipt, sending the Society's share to the Supreme Assembly; he shall mention in the Transfer Certificates whether the member to whom it is given left any debts in the Brotherhood; if a member leaves or is expelled, he shall inform the Supreme Assembly of the member's debts; he shall take note of the lists published in the "Svit", in order that no member should be admitted to the Brotherhood who still owes anything to his former Brotherhood; together with the Chairman he shall sign the orders to the Treasurer of the Brotherhood, thus confirming all its expenses.
Section 69 The Treasurer shall have in his keeping the Treasury of the Brotherhood, the By-Laws, badges, members' books, etc.; he shall receive from the Financial Secretary all the collections; he shall pay out all the sums which the Brotherhood agreed to pay or the payment of which was demanded by the Society (for instance, the aids), but not unless he has an order signed by the Chairman and the Financial Secretary and stamped by the Brotherhood's seal; he shall receive and pay the aids sent by the Supreme Assembly; through the Financial Secretary shall supply the members with the books of the By-Laws, badges, diploma, etc.; if more than... dollars of the Brotherhood's money has come into his hands, he shall immediately notify the Chairman and the Financial Secretary, and together they shall deposit the surplus in a bank (Society By-Laws, Section 93).
Section 70 The Controller shall see that all the details in the procedure of the Brotherhood are carried out accordingly to the By-Laws of the Brotherhood and the Society; that the officers fulfill their duties conscientiously and honestly; hat the books of the Brotherhood are kept in an orderly way, and that its possessions are diligently cared for. If the actions of any of the officers inspire uneasiness for the welfare of the Brotherhood, the Controller shall inform the Chairman or the Brotherhood, who shall investigate the matter. At the end of every year, also when officers are changed, the Controller shall examine all the Brotherhood's books and property, with which they were entrusted, and report under his signature in what condition he finds them.
Section 71 The Doorkeeper shall see that, during meetings, no strangers are present; that no member shall come into the hall in a state of intoxication; that members shall not change places, keeping the same seats they took at the beginning; and that no one shall leave before the end without the permission of the Chairman, or cause disorder, etc.
Section 72 The Inspectors of the Sick shall visit each sick member, at the first rumor of his illness, and inform the Chairman; they shall further carefully look after the patient, helping him in his wants and, if necessary, taking him to a hospital; they shall see that the appointed members do not fail to visit him. At the first regular meeting they shall report concerning the nature, cause and duration of the member's illness and see that the Brotherhood pays him the weekly aid accurately. If the sick member dies, the Inspectors, having informed the Brotherhood and received from it the funeral allowance, shall take charge of everything necessary at the funeral and see that no member shirks the duty of rendering the last honors to the deceased.
Section 73 The Arbitration Committee consists of 5 members; 3 shall be appointed in every case by the Chairman of the Brotherhood, and 2 shall be named by the defendant. By mutual consent the members of the Arbitration Committee shall elect a Chairman who shall preside and a secretary who keep the minutes. The Secretary shall in good time inform the defendant and all concerned of the date and place of the Committee's session.
Section 74 The Arbitration Committee shall be competent in all cases of the breaking of the Society's and Brotherhood's By-Laws, in general, it is competent to judge any member who has offended or brought into disrepute another; who leads a life of drunkenness, dissoluteness and immorality, discrediting the Brotherhood, the Society and the Orthodox faith; who has given a false name at admission or has concealed from the Brotherhood that he had been previously in some other Orthodox Brotherhood and has left it without paying debts; who has obtained aid from the Brotherhood or the Society by deception, etc.
Section 75 The resolutions of the Arbitration Committee and the punishments it imposes shall be suggested by the nature of the offense and the repentance of the defendant; they shall be binding on all the members of the Brotherhood.
Section 76 The officers of the Brotherhood shall carry out their duties conscientiously, otherwise, if the Controller reports them, the Brotherhood may fine or even depose them before the end of the year, putting others in their places.
PART VI
Meetings of the Brotherhood
Section 77 The meetings of the Brotherhood shall be:
Section 78 Further, the Brotherhood (in the person or persons of its delegates) shall take part in the Conventions of the Society (for detail see Society By-Laws, articles 161-185).
Section 79 The time and place of the regular meetings of the Brotherhood are fixed by ballot or by general agreement at the preceding meeting; the time and place for the extraordinary meetings are fixed by the Council of the Brotherhood, which shall make them known to all the members in writing.
Section 80 The monthly meetings of the Brotherhood should be called not later than the 28th day of each month (Society By-Laws, Sections 80-81).
Section 81 The subject of discussions at extraordinary meetings, depends on the reasons for which they are called.
Section 82 The subjects of discussion at yearly meetings of the Brotherhood shall be:
Section 83 Non-Orthodox members shall not be elected to the Brotherhood's Council.
Section 84 The officers for the Brotherhood's Council shall be elected from among such members as have been in the Brotherhood not less than six months and can read and write; any member may he elected for other offices.
Section 85 If a member has already occupied some office in the Brotherhood, this does not debar him from being elected to it or to some other office at some other time.
Section 86 A member who refuses to fill an office to which he has been elected, shall pay a fine of three dollars ($3.00).
Section 87 All the members of the Brotherhood shall have the right to elect officers, except those mentioned in By-Laws of Brotherhood, Section 16 and Section 105.
Section 88 Elections shall take place only if at the preceding regular meeting it was made known to all present, the absent being informed in writing, that the next meeting (its exact place and time stated) is chosen for the elections; those attending it shall make the election, the absent losing their right to vote.
Section 89 Elections shall be conducted in the month of December by the existing Brotherhood's management and the names of the newly elected managers should be sent, for approval, to the Supreme Assembly not later than the first day of January of the following year. Every member, who has the right to vote, writes on a piece of paper the name of the member he wishes for any office. Then, having folded the card in such a way as not to show the name on it, he hands it to the Chairman. When all the cards are collected, two or three members, appointed by the Chairman, count and sort them to learn how many votes each candidate has received, the Secretary recording the results of voting in the Minute Book. The member who gets the most votes is confirmed by the Chairman in his office.
Section 90 At the first monthly meeting following the elections, or on some other date named by the Brotherhood, the ex-officers shall hand over to the new officers all the requisites of the Brotherhood's procedure: books, money, banner, seal, badges, books of By-Laws, archives, etc. and exactly inform them with the Brotherhood's expedition of business.
Section 91 The business subjects of the monthly regular meetings of the Brotherhood are:
Section 92 The order of the meeting is as follows:
Section 93 All members shall attend the meetings of the Brotherhood, cleanly dressed and sober. They shall quietly occupy their seats and behave as quietly, abstaining from laughter, from talking to their neighbors, from smoking and in general from all noise or disorder.
Section 94 Every member shall have the right of speech concerning every subject, excepting the members mentioned in By-Laws of Brotherhood, Section 16 and Section 105.
Section 95 If a member wishes to make some motion, he shall let the Chairman know before the meeting opens.
Section 96 If several members wish to discuss the same subject, the Chairman shall arrange beforehand the order in which they are to speak and the members shall keep to this order.
Section 97 Before speaking the member shall rise and ask the Chairman for the right of speech.
Section 98 No one shall have the right to interrupt the speaking member by remarks or objections, as long as he talks quietly and sensibly, seeking to prove his opinion concerning subjects of the Brotherhood's discussions. But if he wanders away from the subject, the Chairman has the right to stop him and restore the discussion to the right course.
Section 99 All resolutions of the Brotherhood shall be decided by the majority of votes; the Corresponding Secretary shall write them down in the Minute Book, and they be binding on all members.
Section 100 Excepting the members mentioned in By-Laws of Brotherhood, Section 16 and Section 105, every member shall have one vote, and the Chairman have two votes.
Section 101 The monthly meeting and its resolutions shall be binding only if it was attended by not less than one-fourth of all the members of the Brotherhood.
Section 102 Only members shall have the right to be present at meetings; only such outsiders shall be admitted as have been invited with the knowledge and the permission of the Chairman.
PART VII
Punishments for the Breaking of the By-Laws of the Brotherhood
Section 103 The Brotherhood shall inflict the following punishments:
In part these punishments are provided for and established by the By-Laws, and in part they are imposed by the verdicts of the Arbitration Committee or by all the Brotherhood, by the majority of votes.
Section 104 A public reprimand is the least of the punishments the Brotherhood shall impose. It shall be imposed on all who break the By-Laws of the Brotherhood and the Society: on those who shirk attending divine services, who lead reprehensible lives, who obstruct the orderly conduct of meetings, etc.
Section 105 Pecuniary fines are imposed on the members of the Brotherhood as follows:
Section 106 It is a general rule, that the officers of the Brotherhood are fined twice and the Chairman three times this amount for the same offenses.
Section 107 Offenses punished by partial loss of rights of membership are as follows:
Section 108 Members referred to in By-Laws of Brotherhood, Section 48, clauses a, g, h, shall have no right to the weekly aid; it is not as if they were punished by the loss of this right.
Section 109 If the Law-Courts of this country sentence a member to imprisonment for more than one month, the Brotherhood shall have the right, if it deems it advisable, to deprive him of all his rights in the Brotherhood so long as the imprisonment lasts.
Section 110 Expulsion from the Brotherhood is the most extreme punishment, which Brotherhood may impose. It shall be imposed on members who do not pay their dues accurately, and on those in general whom the lesser punishments have failed to influence or to bring to reason.
Section 111 In the cases not mentioned in the By-Laws, the Brotherhood decides by vote the nature and degree of punishments of their offending members.
Section 112 Punishments imposed on the members or on the whole Brotherhood by the Supreme Assembly of the Society shall be borne by the Brotherhood on penalty of expulsion from the Society.