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.
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 shall remain unpaid for a period of three
months, the Treasurer shall notify the member by mail that, unless all dues in
arrears are paid within thirty days from the date of mailing, their membership
shall cease, unless the non-payment of such dues 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 President,
Secretary, or any Vice-President may also be Treasurer. 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 secretary to the Club;
shall serve as secretary of all meetings of the members and of the Board of
Directors; and shall be responsible for maintaining the roster of members of
the Club, for mailing all notices to members, for preparation and mailing of
the Year Book and for sending to members any papers printed 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 collection of dues from members
and all other amounts due and owing to the Club; shall collect all income from
the investments of the Club; shall pay the obligations of the Club incurred
from time to time; and shall invest and reinvest the funds of the Club as
directed from time to time in writing by the Committee on Rooms and Finances.
The Treasurer shall also report to the President, the Chairman of the Committee
on Rooms and Finances, and the Board of Directors from time to time as
requested, with respect to the finances of the Club, and shall, promptly after
the end of each fiscal year of the Club, furnish to the Secretary for
distribution to the members a report on the finances of the Club prepared by an
accounting firm selected by the Board of Directors, showing the income and
disbursements for such year and a balance sheet as of the close of each year,
in each case compared with the preceding fiscal year. The Treasurer shall be ex
officio a member of the Committee on Rooms and Finances.
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 Finances.
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 Finances shall have jurisdiction over the
finances of the Club, and shall advise the President, the Treasurer, the
Committee on Publications, and others with respect to costs and expenses. The
Committee shall determine how the Club shall invest its funds, subject to
review by the Board of Directors, and 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. Four members of the Committee on Rooms and Finances or three members of each
other 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, except that the Committee on Arrangements and Exercises may (1) in
its discretion suspend meetings on any one or more of (a) the first Monday in
October, (b) any one or more of the last two Mondays in December and the first
Monday in January, and (c) either or both of the last two Mondays in May, and
(2) with the consent of the President and the Vice President who chairs the
Standing Committee On Rooms and Finances, schedule the meeting to be held in
any week for a day other than Monday, except that the aggregate number of
meetings in any season that shall be scheduled for a night other than Monday
shall in no event exceed four.
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. Slips shall be provided upon
which the members present at any meeting of the Club may vote in favor of
printing the paper to which they have just listened; but they must sign their
ballots and indicate the number of copies they will subscribe for in case the
Committee decides favorably. A locked box or boxes shall be provided in the
Club rooms in which these ballots may be deposited; or they may be sent to the
Chairman of the Committee after the meeting. The result of the ballot shall in
all cases be kept secret by the Committee.
Section 7. In form the ballots shall be substantially as follows:
THE CHICAGO LITERARY CLUB
__________
To the Committee on Publications:
In my opinion the paper by
___________________________
which was read at the meeting on
___________________________
at which I was present, should be
printed by the Club.
If it should be decided to print it, I
hereby subscribe for ___ copy(ies),
it being understood that the price will
not exceed fifty cents per copy.
___________________________
(Print name)
Dated: ___________, 20___
Section 8. When any paper has been selected by the Committee and approved for
printing, an announcement circular shall be sent to the members of the Club
inviting subscriptions in addition to these already made upon the ballots,
provided, however, that before the circular is issued, the expenditure of the
funds of the Club which the printing would entail shall have been authorized by
the Committee on Rooms and Finances.
Section 9. 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.