additional copies, please stop by Mr. Mar-
tineau's office. I understand there are plenty
available.
With respect to the action today by the
Convention adopting the Rules as to com-
pensation and absentees, I would like to
advise the Convention that last week, pend-
ing the action by the Convention, the Comp-
troller was instructed by the Secretary to
pay the $25.00 expense allowance to every
delegate who was present, either at a com-
mittee session or at a session of the Con-
vention on each of the days that either was
in session, and not to pay the allowance for
any day on which a delegate was not pres-
ent, either at the Convention session or at a
committee session. Furthermore, the record
of attendance, which your committee's secre-
tary has been maintaining at the request
of the Secretary since Wednesday, Septem-
ber 13, has been maintained and will con-
tinue to be maintained for this purpose.
As to compensation, since we did not
know what action the Convention might
take, the Comptroller was instructed to pay
all delegates their proportionate share of
the $2,000 compensation, without deduction,
for any absentees, with the idea that, de-
pending upon what action was finally taken
by the Convention, an adjustment could be
made in the next pay.
Inasmuch as the Convention has approved
the rule. and has made it retroactive to the
12th of September, which means that they
have imposed on the President the duty of
excusing or not excusing absences under
the circumstances stated, and inasmuch as
there were motions made on previous days
by delegates that the Convention excuse an
absence of a delegate on that day, which
motions were withdrawn at the request of
the President pending adoption of the rule,
I will, on the basis of the information now
available tome. make a determination un-
der the terms of the rule as to whether an
absence is excused or not excused. I will,
prior to announcing the determination on
that issue, advise each delegate affected. I
will also advise the Convention of the day
on which I will report to the Convention all
such action taken with respect to absences
from the 12th of September until now.
There will be an opportunity afforded at
that time for any delegate, either on his
own behalf or on behalf of another, to re-
quest the Convention to take such action
as it may deem proper with respect to the
report which I will make to you.
I will announce the membership of the
Entertainment Committee by Wednesday of |
this week. I will also endeavor to announce
the membership of the Committee on Public
Information as quickly as possible.
I have already discussed this in a pre-
liminary way with the officers, in trying to
resolve the question of how large the com-
mittee should be, and will make the appoint-
ments very promptly. As soon as they are
made, they will be announced to the Con-
vention.
I wish to announce also that Second Vice-
President James, who was present this
morning, is absent this afternoon and will
be absent tomorrow and Wednesday. He is,
on behalf of the Convention, attending the
National Legislative Conference at San An-
tonio, Texas, where he is reading a paper
dealing with the work of this Convention.
The request was made of the Convention
by the National Legislative Conference.
It gives me pleasure to advise you that
tomorrow, on September 26, the Conven-
tion will have an interested observer from
another country, Mr. Seyse Tadeffe. I am
not certain of the pronunciation of the
name, but I believe that is correct. I under-
stand that he prefers to be called Mr. Sass.
He is a member of the Parliament of
Ethiopia. He will be here tomorrow, es-
corted by representatives of the United
States Department of State. He will arrive
sometime between 9:15 A.M. and 10:15 A.M.
tomorrow morning and plans to spend the
day. He will be attending committee meet-
ings. He is very anxious to meet and talk
to some of the Convention delegates, and is
anxious also to observe the session tomorrow
afternoon.
The Secretary of the Convention will ac-
company Mr. Sass and Mr. Buchwalter of
the Department of State and introduce him
to the delegates at the various committee
meetings.
Miss McNeill requests me to advise that
she now has a pool, a small pool, but, never-
theless. a pool of typists and stenographers
available, or who will be available by the
end of the day. If you find that you need
additional typing or stenographic service
that cannot be rendered to you promptly
by the secretaries assigned to the commit-
tee, if you will communicate with Miss
Joyce McNeill, who has an office upstairs
in Room H-207, and her telephone extension
is 345 or 247. You will find her most ac-
commodating. She will endeavor to get you
secretarial assistance very promptly.
You should have on your desk today the
complete ten-page memorandum that is |
