BY-LAWS
ARTICLE I
Name
The name of this corporation shall be The Chicago Literary Club.
ARTICLE II
Object
The object of the Club shall be literary culture.
ARTICLE III
Members
Section 1. There shall be two classes of members:
Resident and Non-resident.
Section 2. Resident members shall be limited to two
hundred and fifty in number, unless temporarily increased by transfers from the
Non-resident list.
Section 3. Proposals for membership shall be in
writing and signed by three members of the Club. Each proposal shall state, in
the blank form furnished for the purpose, the candidate's place of birth, age,
occupation, general qualifications and, if a graduate of a college, the name of
the college and the year of graduation; and that the proposers believe that the
candidate desires to become a member of the Club.
Section 4. If the proposal is approved by the
Committee on Officers and Members, the candidate's name, with the names of such
candidate's proposers, shall be conspicuously posted in the Club rooms during
two regular meetings, after which the Electoral Committee shall consider the
application and vote thereon by secret ballot. Two blackballs shall prevent the
election of a candidate. No rejected candidate shall be again proposed for membership
within six months of rejection.
Section 5. Before admission to the Club, the candidate
so elected shall qualify by (1) signifying his or her acceptance in writing to
the Secretary and (2) paying to the Treasurer the following amount in full payment
of dues for the year ending the thirty-first day of May next following his or
her election, namely:
If elected during the months
of October, November, or December, the full amount of dues as set by the Board
of Directors.
If elected during the months of January, February, or March, sixty percent of
the dues as set by the Board of Directors.
If elected during the months of April or May, forty percent of the dues as set
by the Board of Directors.
If
the candidate fails to signify acceptance and pay the required amount of dues
within two months after being notified of his or her election by the Secretary,
such election shall be void. In addition, as soon as practicable after his or
her election, such candidate shall appear at a regular meeting of the Club,
accompanied by a proposer who shall present him or her to the presiding
officer, who in turn shall present such candidate to the members.
Section 6. The annual dues of Resident and
Non-resident members shall be set by the Board of Directors not later than the
month of October annually. Dues shall be set at an amount consistent with
anticipated expenses and fiscal responsibility. No increase in the dues greater
than ten percent in any year will be made without prior ratification by the
members. Such ratification of a greater dues increase shall be considered and
voted upon at the second regular meeting of members following announcement of
the increase, notification having been sent by mail to all members at least ten
days prior to such meeting, a simple majority of those present deciding the
matter.
Payment of dues by members who have been enrolled for an aggregate of twenty
years or more and are in good standing and have reached the age of sixty-five
years shall be optional on their part. The bill for dues shall contain a
statement calling the attention of members to the above set forth provision
regarding optional payment of dues.
The
Board of Directors shall have the authority to impose a late charge in such
amount as it may determine on members whose dues remain unpaid sixty days after
the date of the mailing of the dues statement, which late charge may be
different in amount as between Resident and Non-resident members.
Section 7. A Resident member moving from the city of
Chicago or vicinity who is in good standing and whose dues and other obligations
have been paid in full may, upon giving notice to the Secretary and Treasurer,
be transferred to the Non-resident list of members, provided that such member
shall be required to pay Resident-member dues for any year in which he or she
attends five or more regular meetings. A Non-resident member becoming a
resident of
Section 8. Membership may be terminated as follows:
1. By voluntary resignation, provided the member resigning has paid all his or
her indebtedness to the Club, and is in good standing.
2. When the dues of any member, including any late charge, shall remain unpaid
for a period of three months, the Treasurer shall notify the member by mail
that, unless all dues in arrears and late charges are paid within thirty days
from the date of such mailing, their membership shall cease, unless the
non-payment of such dues and late charges is accounted for to the satisfaction
of the Board of Directors.
3. By the vote of three-fourths of the members of the Electoral Committee
present at a meeting at which a quorum is present, provided that (1) a motion
be regularly made and seconded at the previous meeting of the Committee that
the name of the designated member be dropped from the rolls, setting forth the
reason or reasons therefor, and (2) the Secretary
shall have promptly notified the designated member by mail that such a motion
is pending and that he or she may appear before the Committee and be heard, if
such member so desires.
ARTICLE IV
Officers
Section 1. The officers of the Club shall be a
President, four Vice-Presidents, a Secretary, a Treasurer, a Historian, and a
Webmaster. The Historian and Webmaster may also hold any other office except
President. Each Vice-President
shall be the chairman of a standing committee provided in Article V, Section 1.
Section 2. The officers and members of the standing
committees shall be annually elected by ballot, on the second Monday in March,
or, in case of a failure then to elect, as soon thereafter as shall be
practicable. Their respective terms of office shall begin immediately upon the
adjournment of the last meeting of the season except that the term of office of
the members of the Committee on Arrangements and Exercises shall commence
immediately upon election and shall continue until the adjournment of the last
meeting of the full season for which it was elected. At the second meeting next
preceding, the Committee on Officers and Members shall
submit their regular nominations for all the offices to be filled; and
thereupon any member or members of the Club may make one or more nominations in
opposition to those of the Committee.
At the time of making such nominations, the Committee, or the member or members
making any such nomination as aforesaid, shall state that each of the persons
so nominated has affirmatively consented to serve in the office for which nominated.
The candidates for whom the highest number of votes
shall be cast, respectively, shall be declared elected. A vacancy may be filled
by the Board of Directors and the member selected to fill such vacancy shall
continue in office until the adjournment of the last meeting of the full season
for which the member was so selected.
Section 3. The officers of the Club shall perform such
duties as are implied by their respective titles, and as shall be prescribed by
these By-laws. The duties of each such officer shall include the following:
1.
The President shall preside at all meetings of the members of the Club and of
the Board of Directors; shall call meetings of the Board of Directors from time
to time or as may be requested by any director; shall coordinate the operations
of the respective officers and committees; and shall generally be responsible
for the effective operation of the Club. The President shall be ex officio a
member of each of the standing committees.
2. Each Vice-President shall be responsible for the performance of the duties
of the standing committee of which he or she is chairman. In the event of the
death, resignation or other disability of the President, the duties of the
President shall be performed by the senior Vice-President, such seniority to be
determined in the order in which the committees of which the Vice-Presidents
are chairmen are set forth in ARTICLE V, Section 1.
3. The Secretary shall perform the
statutory duties of the office of secretary of the Club; shall serve as secretary
and record the minutes of all meetings of the members and of the Board of
Directors and obtain for placement in the Club's archives one or more copies of
each paper presented to the Club; and shall be responsible for maintaining the
roster of members of the Club, for mailing all notices and other communications
to members, for the preparation and mailing of the Year Book, and for mailing
to members a copy of each paper selected for printing and publication by the
Club. In the event the President is
not present at any meeting of the members, the Secretary shall appoint a member
of the Club to preside at such meeting.
4. The Treasurer shall be
responsible for the supervision and execution of the financial affairs of the
Club (subject to the direction of the Board of Directors) and shall also be
specifically responsible for the collection of dues from members and all other
amounts due and owing to the Club the collection of all income from the
investments of the Club, the payment of the obligations of the Club incurred
from time to time, and the investment and reinvestment of the funds of the Club
with prior approval of the Board of
Directors. The Treasurer shall report regularly
to the President and the Board of Directors with respect to the finances of the
Club. The Treasurer shall also
advise the President, the Committee on Rooms and Events, the Committee on
Publications, and others (as needed) with respect to costs and expenses. During the fiscal year of the Club, the
Treasurer shall prepare (a) an annual budget for review and approval by the
Board of Directors and (b) interim (unaudited) financial statements of the Club
for review by the President and the Board of Directors. Promptly after the end of each fiscal
year of the Club, the Treasurer shall furnish to the President and the Board of
Directors a report on the finances of the Club prepared by a firm providing
accounting services selected by the Board of Directors, showing the income and
disbursements for such year and including a balance sheet as of the close of such
year, in each case compared with the preceding fiscal year, and a copy of such
annual financial report shall be mailed by the Secretary to the members. The Treasurer shall be ex officio a member of the Committee on
Rooms and Events.
5. The Historian shall be responsible for preserving, interpreting, and
transmitting the history and traditions of the Club, its documents and literary
exercises. The Historian shall perform the duties of Secretary in the event of
the death, resignation or disability of the Secretary. The Historian shall
ordinarily be a past president.
6. The Webmaster shall be responsible for the conduct of the electronic
business of the Club, in particular for maintaining a presence for the Club on
the Internet and preparing papers, publications, and other materials provided
by the members and the officers of the Club for presentation electronically.
The Webmaster shall also be responsible for dissemination of papers,
publications, and other materials to libraries, educational institutions and
other repositories.
Each
officer shall perform such further duties not inconsistent with the foregoing
as shall from time to time be requested by the President or by the Board of
Directors.
Section 4. The officers of the Club shall constitute
its Board of Directors, and as such shall be responsible for the control and
management of its affairs and funds. They shall be entrusted with all business
not committed to the Electoral Committee or to any standing or special
committee, and shall have the power to fill vacancies in any of the standing
committees. Five directors shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of
business.
The Board of Directors may appoint a person, who need not be a member, as
Administrative Secretary of the Club and may appoint such a person or any
entity as Administrative Agent of the Club. The administrative duties and
responsibilities of any such Administrative Secretary or Administrative Agent
shall be determined from time to time by the Board of Directors or by officers
referred to in Sections 1 and 3 of this ARTICLE IV. Appointment of a person or
entity as Administrative Secretary or Administrative Agent shall not result in
any such person's becoming a director or in any such person or entity's
obtaining authority not conferred by the Board of Directors or by any of such
officers.
ARTICLE V
Standing Committees and Electoral Committee
Section 1. The standing committees of the Club shall
be as follows:
1. On Officers and Members.
2. On Arrangements and Exercises.
3. On Rooms and Events.
4. On Publications.
Section 2. In addition to the ex officio member or members, each
standing committee shall consist of a chairman, who shall serve for one year,
and four other members, two of whom shall be elected each year to serve for two
years. At least three of the members of the Committee on Officers and Members
shall be past presidents of the Club.
Section 3. The several standing committees shall
perform the duties implied by their respective titles, and as shall be
prescribed by these By-laws. The duties of each such standing committee shall
include the following:
1.
The Committee on Officers and Members shall make nominations of officers of the
Club and members of standing committees as prescribed in ARTICLE IV, Section 2.
No member of the Committee shall be considered for nomination to any office of
the Club. It shall take action with respect to proposals for membership as
prescribed in ARTICLE III, Sections 3 and 4. It shall recommend to the
President the person to be appointed from time to time as The Arthur Baer
Fellow or to any other fellowship. It shall take appropriate action to
encourage the maintenance and increase of the membership within the limitations
imposed by ARTICLE III, Section 2.
2. The Committee on Arrangements and Exercises shall be responsible for the
selection of members to present Literary Exercises at the meetings in
accordance with ARTICLE VII, including the making of substitute arrangements
when a scheduled essayist for any reason fails to present a paper. It shall
furnish to the Secretary the Scheme of Exercises prescribed in ARTICLE VII,
Section 4, in time that it may be printed in the Year Book.
3. The Committee on Rooms and
Events shall have charge of the Club rooms and its physical property. It shall be responsible for making
arrangements for suitable rooms for each meeting of the members of the Club and
shall make all arrangements for the conduct of the Annual Reunion and Dinner,
Closing Meeting, and other special meetings and occasions of the Club.
4. The Committee on Publications shall be responsible for the selection and
printing of all papers to be published by the Club, in accordance with the
Regulations set forth in ARTICLE X of these By-laws, and shall cause the
printed papers to be delivered to the Secretary for distribution to the
members.
The Committee shall consider for publication all papers delivered during the
Club year preceding the year for which the Committee serves; it shall not
consider any paper presented by a current member of the Committee, but any such
member may request that a paper not considered for this reason be considered by
the Committee serving for the first subsequent year in which he or she is not a
member of the Committee.
5. Each standing committee shall perform such further duties not inconsistent
with the foregoing as shall from time to time be requested of it by the
President or the Board of Directors.
Section 4.
Three members of each standing committee shall constitute a quorum for the
transaction of business.
Section 5. Each standing committee shall keep proper
minutes of any action taken by such committee and such minutes shall be filed
with the Secretary promptly after the meeting at which such action was taken.
Section 6. The members of the four standing
committees, together with the President, Secretary, Treasurer, Historian, and
Webmaster, shall constitute the Electoral Committee. It shall be the duty of
the Electoral Committee to consider and vote upon proposals for membership
submitted by the Committee on Officers and Members. It shall meet promptly upon
the submission of such proposals, six members constituting a quorum for the
transaction of business.
In case a quorum of the Electoral Committee shall not be present when called to
meet on the evening of a regular meeting of the Club, the presiding officer may
appoint one or more members of the Club, not exceeding three in number, to make
up a quorum and act as members of the Committee for that meeting only;
provided, however, that no member who has signed a proposal for membership to
be considered at such meeting shall be eligible to vote upon such proposal.
Section 7. The President and the four Vice Presidents
shall serve as a Committee of the Board of Directors responsible for making
recommendations to the Board of Directors as to whether and to what extent the
Club should in any season itself engage, or make donations to other
organizations that engage, in literary activities (in addition to Club activities
expressly referred to in these By-Laws) or in other charitable, educational, or
community activities. The final decision of the Board of Directors as to what
donations, if any, the Club shall make in any season to any such other
organizations shall be reported to members at a Monday meeting promptly after
such decision is made.
ARTICLE VI
Meetings of Members
Section 1. Regular meetings of the members of the Club
shall be held every Monday evening from the first Monday in October to the last
Monday in May, inclusive, provided, however, that the Board of Directors may
suspend meetings on any eight Monday evenings during the season and may twice
schedule the meeting to be held in any week for a day other than Monday.
Section 2. Special meetings of the members of the Club
may be called by the President from time to time and shall be called by the
President upon the written request of ten or more members of the Club.
Section 3. The order of proceedings at the regular
meetings, and any special meeting, of the members of the Club, unless otherwise
specifically provided by the Board of Directors, shall be under the direction
of the President.
Section 4. Each meeting of the members of the Club
shall be held at such place and at such time as shall be fixed from time to
time by the Board of Directors and stated in the notice of the meeting.
ARTICLE VII
Literary Exercises
Section 1. Literary Exercises in general shall not
continue more than one hour.
Section 2. Each essayist shall select his or her own
subject and be free to express any opinions whatsoever thereon.
Section 3. The Club, as such, shall express no
opinions on religion, politics, social science, political economy, or any other
subject. It shall not, by vote, endorse or condemn any paper that may be read,
or views that may be expressed, by any member. No paper, at the time it is
read, shall be open to adverse criticism in the Club.
Section 4. The Committee on Arrangements and Exercises
shall, on or before the first meeting of the Club in each year, prepare a
Scheme of Exercises, with the dates and the names of the essayists, for the
whole season. The title selected by each essayist shall be announced at the
meeting next preceding.
ARTICLE VIII
Quorum
Twenty Resident members of the Club shall constitute a quorum for the
transaction of business at any regular or special meeting of the members of the
Club; but a lesser number shall have power to adjourn the meeting from time to
time.
ARTICLE IX
Amendments
These By-laws may be amended at any regular meeting of the members of the Club
at which a quorum is present by the vote of not less than two-thirds of the
members present in person at such meeting, provided that notice of such
meeting, accompanied by a copy of the proposed amendment or amendments, shall
be mailed to the members of the Club by the Secretary at least thirty days
prior to such meeting.
ARTICLE X
Regulations for Selecting and Printing Papers
The following regulations shall govern the selection and printing of papers to
be published by the Club, and the activities of the Committee on Publications.
Section 1. All papers selected for publication by the
Club shall be printed separately in small volumes, or booklets, uniform in size
and in the very best style so far as paper, presswork, and the general make-up
are concerned. The books in their outward appearance, as well as their subject
matter, must be creditable to the Club and such as to please book-lovers.
Section 2. One copy of every paper printed shall be
sent to each member whose dues to the Club are fully paid; and an opportunity
shall be given in advance of publication to subscribe for additional copies at
the cost of manufacture and delivery.
Section 3. The author of any paper printed by the Club
shall be entitled to ten copies without charge.
Section 4. The selection of papers to be printed shall
be made by the Committee on Publications.
Section 5. Recognizing the fact that many of the
papers read before the Club are on themes of transient interest, or such as to
interest but few of the members; and that others are prepared in such haste
that their authors would not care to have them printed; and that it is
desirable to make the standard of papers printed by the Club as high as
possible, the Committee on Publications shall not authorize the printing of
more than three in any one year, unless the conspicuous merit of a larger
number and the abundant subscriptions received shall make it appear
unquestionably wise to do so. The committee shall be under no obligation to
authorize the printing of any greater number than it sees fit.
Section 6. In making its selections the Committee
shall be guided by the expressed wishes of the members present when the papers
are read before the Club, but shall be free to disregard such expressions
concerning any paper it may deem unworthy of the imprint of the Club.
Section 7. After selecting one or more papers for
publication, the Committee shall have file cards typed for all papers turned in
by the previous season's essayists in the precise form prescribed by The
Newberry Library. All papers and file cards shall then be delivered to the
Special Collections Section of The Newberry Library, 60 West Walton Place,
Chicago IL 60610.
________________
THE ARTHUR BAER FELLOWSHIP
The
Arthur Baer Fellowship, established April 26, 1976,
provides a one-year membership for a person accomplished in any field of
endeavor who would contribute to the interest of our meetings and be
stimulating company.