ABSTRACT
The typical, or pure-bred, patriotic society consists of a leader and a gang. In times of political excitement and consequent patriotic prosperity, funds are easily raised and then the societies may acquire secretaries and offices. In quiet periods the superfluous flesh melts away and leaves only a skeleton —the boss and his personal henchmen. Records hardly exist; the absence of business-like procedure is as truly a characteristic of the movement as the lack of a tail is a characteristic of a Manx cat. A member of one society may be and usually is a member of a dozen. Members move from one association to another; new societies are always being formed and the old ones, like old soldiers, never die, they only fade away.
