Regular Meeting, January 10, 1953 2
Dr. O'Hare--I would like the gentleman from Phoenix to comment on the ratio of our State dues to our local dues. I would like to have his comments on the comparison of our local dues to our State dues, as I think these are unusual in comparison to most states.
Dr. Cogswell--There is going to be a bigger deficit than ever if things go as they are now. I am in favor of raising the dues. We have got to have enough locally to run things as they should be run. I do not think people realize that this is a big job which you cannot see from just these meetings.
Dr. Schwartzmann--In St Louis there are some 800 or 900 doctors in the county society. Our dues there to maintain an organization that was no more effective functionally than this local one were $50.00 a year flat. That group certainly, so far as meetings were concerned, had no more expenditures than locally. There is no particular reason, I think, why we should not support the local Society to the hilt if the State Society can justify its expenditures, and also meet what is coming here locally later.
Dr. Manning--My own personal feeling is that I think we should not close down anything into which he have grown. I do not believe it makes sense to spread, accomplishing more for the Society without any question, (I have had the privilege of serving on the Board and have seen it) and what we now have certainly seems to be to justify an increase in operational overhead. You have no way of knowing without us telling you and I do not blame you at all for not believing it. Let us actually go forward.
Dr. Hill--Incidentally, our Secretary is not paid a nickel. The expense we are talking about is operational.
Dr. Steen--I say "amen" to anything Dr. Manning has said. I would hate to see the Society going backwards. We have expanded to the point where we can do something for the Society from the public relations point of view--we are accomplishing a lot from that angle. If we are going to close that up and quit, we might as well stop our fight in Washington against Socialized Medicine.
Dr. Townsend--Does every County Medical Society in Arizona donate $50.00 to the State?
Dr. Baker--Are we going to vote on this?
Dr. Manning--Not until we have heard from everyone.
Dr. Baker--I think we have to convince ourselves that this local thing is all right and forget about the $75.00 balance. We cannot throw to the wolves this good will in this office.
Dr. Manning--Ideally, if we could get a vote if you want to keep this expense and justify by increasing dues to cover, we would have to have a motion.
Dr. Neubauer--I move that we ask the Board of Directors to decided on what they feel the appropriate action and raise our dues if deemed advisable, and be governed by their decision.
Dr. Baker--I second the motion.
Dr. Hirsch--I move the motion be tabled until we hear from the gentleman from Phoenix.
Dr. Fuller--I second the motion.
Dr. Hirsch's motion, upon being put to vote, was carried.
Mr. Robert Carpenter, Executive Secretary of the Arizona Medical Association, was then called upon by the President, and said--
"Mr. President and Members, about the State dues, I can say that I do not know of any state with equivalent membership whose dues are less than $50.00. They average from $55.00 down to $25.00, and you will find $20.00 state dues where they run 12,000 membership approximately. In the small states, in an endeavor
