BRITISH CONSERVATISM AND THE PRIMROSE LEAGUE ... - ideals

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As the organization expanded, new methods were developed to
simplify office procedures.
In December of 1885 a lithograph signature
of the registrar was introduced to ease mounting paperwork. The
diplomas issued to members were also altered to reduce cost and
facilitate mass production.
In January, 1886 a facsimile letter
containing the Grand Masters' signatures v/as introduced for general
usage on League letterheads.
By July, other procedures were
introduced, further cutting the cost of diplomas by 25 percent.22
The massive national organizational network necessitated an
ever-growing set of uniform regulations.
They were developed on a
piecemeal basis to meet the immediate needs at hand.
By January, 1887
the organization had grown to such an extent that standard procedures
were available for transferring members from one Habitation to another.
The distribution of literature was routinized in June when each
Habitation was allocated one thousand free pamphlets every three months
subject only to carriage fees.
Additional materials could be purchased
at cost.23
These measures, aimed at streamlining office procedures,
were made necessary by the tremendous volume of correspondence churned
out and reflected the League's newfound role as a "mass" political
association.
The financial circumstances of the Primrose League reflected
its growing basis of support.
Funds were sufficiently high in March,
1886 to prompt the Council to set up a Capital Account in which four
22 Minutes of the Grand Council of the Primrose League, 9
December 1885; 27 January 1886; 16 July 1886.
23 Ibid., 7 January 1887, 16 June 1887.