516
PUBLIC LAW 86-653-JULY 14, 1960
[74 STAT.
CORPORATE POWERS
SEC. 4. The corporation shall have power— (1) to have succession by its corporate name; (2) to sue and be sued, complain and defend in any court of competent jurisdiction; (3) to adopt, use, and alter a corporate seal; (4) to choose such officers, managers, agents, and employees as the activities of the corporation may require; (5) to adopt, amend and alter a constitution and bylaws; not inconsistent with the laws of the United States or of any State in which the corporation is to operate, for the management of its property and the regulation of its affairs; (6) to contract and be contracted with; (7) to take by lease, gift, purchase, grant, devise, or bequest from any public body or agency or any private corporation, association, partnership, firm, or individual and to hold absolutely or in trust for any of the purposes of the corporation any property, real, personal, or mixed, necessary or convenient for attaining the objects and carrying into effect the purposes of the corporation, subject, however, to applicable provisions of law of any State (A) governing the amount of or kind of property which may be held by, or (B) otherwise limiting or controlling the ownership of property by, a corporation operating in such State; (8) to transfer, convey, lease, sublease, mortgage, encumber and otherwise alienate real, personal, or mixed property; and (9) to borrow money for the purpose of the corporation, issue bonds therefor, and secure the same by mortgage, deed of trust, pledge, or otherwise, subject in every case to all applicable provisions of Federal and State laws; and (10) to do any and all acts and things necessary and proper to carry out the objects and purposes of the corporation. MEMBERSHIP; VOTING RIGHTS
SEC. 5. Eligibility: A mother, adopted mother, or stepmother (a stepmother eligible for membership in the Blue Star Mothers of America, Inc., can claim that eligibility only if she has given a mother's care to the stepchild from the age of thirteen or under), living in the United States, of a son or daughter serving in the Armed Forces of the United States, or having a son or daughter who has served, or has been honorably discharged from the Armed Forces of the United States in World W a r II or the Korean hostilities. The term "Armed Forces" shall include the United States Army; United States Navy; United States Marines; United States Air Force; United States Coast Guard; National Guard; United States Army Reserves; United States Navy Reserves; United States Marine Reserves; United States Air Force Reserves; United States Coast Guard Reserves; United States Naval Militia; merchant marines; and the armed home guards who have served on active duty. GOVERNING BODY
SEC. 6. The supreme governing authority of the corporation shall be the national convention thereof, composed of such officers and elected representatives from the several States and other local subdivisions of the corporate organization as shall be provided by the constitution and bylaws: Provided, That the form of the government of the corporation shall always be representative of the membership at large and shall not permit the concentration of control thereof in
�
