THE APPROACHING MAY MEETINGS.

We ask the attention of the members of the North Carolina Medical Society, at the request of Dr. Charles Duffy, Jr., President, to their obligation as Chairmen and members of Committees and Sections.

The sections as instituted at the last meeting of the Society are as follows:

It will be remembered that the resolution creating the Sections offered by Dr. Shaffner, of Salem, designed that all papers coming under the above heads should be presented to the Chairman of that section, and through him papers are to be presented to the Society. It is highly desirable, therefore, that papers intended to be presented should be sent forward to their proper chairman, that they may get early attention. The ultimate design of this method is to promote a systematic and orderly presentation of papers, and to induce every contributor to the literature of the Society to put his paper in a way to be properly shaped before being read to the Society. Sometimes papers are too long to be read during the session, and still are too important to be neglected. These papers should be passed upon by the Section to which they belong, and given to the publication committee.

As desirable as this plan is, it must not be understood to exclude papers prepared too late to be reviewed by the section, for literary laziness and procrastination is the prominent failing of members of our State Medical Society. (We are now speaking as editors).

With the additional work now devolving upon our State Society, every effort will have to be made to economize time. It is desirable that the Board of Medical Examiners meet a day in advance of the Society, in order that candidates passing the Board can at once enter into the duties of full membership, and enable the members of the Board also, to take active part in the proceedings. This we understand to be the plan agreed upon by the Board, and it may be officially announced in this Journal.

All these matters should be thought over before the meeting is right upon us, if we intend to make the best use of the opportunities presented, and not embarrass the presiding officer by a jumble of ill-digested work, or bring disrepute upon the Society by presenting papers put together without due study.

Another matter of vital importance should be carefully considered by every member of the Society. It is the amendment proposed by Dr. T. D. Haigh, of Fayetteville. He proposes to amend the Constitution (Art. IV, Sec. 2,) so that the officers are elected by ballot. This is not a new feature. It has been tried before in the Society but was found to consume a great deal of time. This is the only objection we have heard against it, and this should not be considered insuperable, if the amendment corrects abuses of which we have heard complaints.

We would like to see the office of President filled for a longer term than one year. A good presiding officer is not so easy to get that we ought to be willing to let him go out of office as soon as he has shown his capacity, and this remark applies with peculiar force to the present incumbent. To affect this change though, there must be a further amendment of the Constitution.