BY-LAWS

OF THE

YOUNG MEN'S ASSOCIATION,

OF THE CITY OF CHICAGO,

ADOPTED JUNE, A. D. 1860,

WITH

AMENDMENTS SUBSEQUENT THERETO AND PREVIOUS TO MARCH 25, A. D. 1865.

OF MEMBERS.

1. Any resident of Cook county, of the age of fourteen years and upwards, may become a member of this Association, on election by the Executive Committee thereof, and the payment to its Treasurer of the initiation fee and, annual dues for one year. Provided, That all applications for membership shall be accompanied by the initiation fee and annual dues for one year, in advance, or by a certificate from the Librarian or Treasurer, showing that the applicant has actually paid such sums into the Association.

2. By vote of the Executive Committee, any person may become a life member of the Association, upon payment of fifty dollars to the Treasurer.

3. Upon nomination by the Executive Committee, the Association, at any regular meeting thereof, may elect honorary members of the Association.

4. Life and honorary members are entitled to all the privileges of membership. Provided, That no honorary member, as such, shall be entitled to vote for the election of officers of the Association.

5. A catalogue of the members of the Association, including life and honorary members thereof, shall be kept by the Librarian, which shall include, in addition to the name of each member, the date of his becoming connected with the Association, and of the cessation of such connection by death, withdrawal or otherwise.

OF NON-RESIDENTS.

1. Any non-resident may be introduced to the Association by a member thereof, by the entry of the name and place of residence of the person to introduced, in the register next hereinafter provided, together with the name of the member so introducing, after which such non-resident shall be entitled to admission to the reading room for the period of one month.

2. A register shall be provided by the Executive Committee, and placed in the exclusive charge of the Librarian, for the entry therein by him of the names and places of residence of non-residents introduced as provided in the foregoing regulation, together with the name of the member introducing the same, and the Librarian

shall in no case allow said register to be under the control or entries to be made therein by any other person than himself or assistant.

OF FEES AND DUES.

1. The initiation fee to be paid to the Treasurer on becoming a member of the Association, shall be two dollars.

2. Every member (life and honorary members excepted) shall pay to the Treasurer, as dues, three dollars annually in advance.

3. The fiscal year of the Association shall commence at the close of the fourth Saturday of March in each year, and continue until the close of the fourth Saturday of March next following.

OF MEETINGS.

1. Meetings of the Association shall be held at the rooms thereof on the evenings of the fourth Saturday of the months of March, June, September and December of each year, for the transaction of such business as may come before the Association, when reports may be made from the Executive Committee and the sub-committees thereof, if deemed expedient by the Executive Committee, provided, however, that such reports must be made at the meeting on the fourth Saturday of March.

2. A meeting of the Association shall be held on the evening of the third Saturday of March of each year, for the selection of the inspectors of election hereinafter provided, and the transaction of such other business as may come before the Association. 3. Special meetings of the Association may be held whenever the President shall see fit to call the same; and he shall call such meetings whenever thereto requested by three members of the Executive Committee or fifteen members of the Association, and whenever the same may be rendered necessary to carry into effect any of the by-laws or the provisions thereof.

4. Notice shall be given of all meetings of the Association, by advertisement in a daily newspaper or newspapers published in the City of Chicago, for three days preceding such meeting.

OF ELECTION OF OFFICERS.

1. There shall be an election of the officers of the Association annually, on the fourth Saturday of March, at the rooms of the Association, or such other place as the Executive Committee shall direct; and notice of the time and place of such election, signed by the President and Recording Secretary of the Association, shall be published at least three consecutive days immediately preceding the same in two or more of the daily newspapers of the City of Chicago.

2. All members of the Association (honorary members excepted) shall be entitled to vote at the election of officers of the Association, excepting such as shall be indebted to the Association for fees, dues, penalties or fines, or as shall have books out of the library which have been detained longer than three months.

3. At the meeting of the Association on the third Saturday of March of each year, a Board of Inspeetors, consisting of three members, shall be chosen by ballot, which Board shall, between the time of their choice and the opening of the polls on the day of election, appoint two poll clerks.

4. The Board of Inspectors shall take charge of the ballot-box and receive the votes at the election, and shall decide upon the right to vote of all persons offering so to do, subject, however, to an appeal from such decision to the committee on contested elections and the Association, to be prosecuted in the manner prescribed in case of contested elections.

5. Each of the poll clerks shall keep a correct register of the persons who shall vote at the election.

6. On the day of election, and before the opening of the polls, the Librarian shall furnish to the Board of Inspectors a correct list of the life and honorary members of the Association, alphabetically arranged.

7. No person (life members excepted) shall be permitted to vote at such election unless he shall present to the Board of Inspectors, at the time he offers to vote, a certificate signed by the chairman of the Finance Committee of the Executive Committee, that he has paid his fees and dues in full for the ensuing year, and all fines and penalties, if any, imposed upon him under the by-laws of the Association, up to the time of such election; and no such certificate of the payment of fees, dues, fines and penalties shall be made out within twenty-four hours of the opening of the polls on the day of election, nor shall any such certificate be issued to any person whose name

does not appear upon the record of the Executive Committee as elected a member of the Association.

8. The method of voting shall be by ballot, which ballot shall be folded by the voter and delivered to one of the inspectors of election, who shall, without unfolding or opening the same in any manner, deposit said ballot in the ballot-box, but no ballot shall be received or counted unless the same is written or printed upon white paper, without any marks or figures thereon intended to distinguish one ballot from another. 9. The Inspectors of Election, after the polls are closed, shall proceed to canvass the votes polled, by first counting the whole number of ballots in the box, without unfolding the same; if the ballots shall be found to exceed the number of names entered on each of the poll lists, they shall be replaced in the box, and one of the Inspectors shall openly draw out and destroy so many ballots unopened as shall be equal to such excess, and the ballots and poll lists being made to agree, the Inspectors shall proceed to count said votes, (blank votes included,) and report the same to the Association; Provided, that if in making such count two or more ballots shall be found fraudulently folded together, they shall all be rejected as if the same had never been deposited in the ballot-box.

10. The registers of the votes kept by the poll clerks, as hereinbefore provided, shall be left in the hands of the Librarian, subject to the examination, in his presence, of any member of the Association, for the period of one week after such election, and shall immediately thereafter be deposited in the archives of the Association.

11. The Executive Committee shall appoint, at their last meeting preceding the annual election, a committee on contested elections for the ensuing yerr, to consist of three members, but no membe of the Executive Committee shall be appointed on such committee.

12. The validity of the election of the officers of the Association, or either of them, may be contested by any member of the Association who voted at such election, within the week immediately succeeding the same, by complaint in writing to the committee on contested elections, setting forth the grounds upon which such election is contested, and said committee shall thereupon give notice to the parties interested and appoint a hearing on such application, when proofs and argument shall be submitted thereon; and thereupon said committee shall determine the validity of the grounds so presented, subject, however, to an appeal to the Association, a meeting of which shall be called within one week after such appeal is taken, to which said committee shall report the said complaint, proofs and decision thereon, and the Association at such meeting or adjournment thereof shall finally decide the questions involved therein.

13. The appeal last hereinbefore provided, shall be taken within one week after the parties interested receive information of the decision of the committee on contested elections in the premises, by notice in writing served upon all the members of said committee by the party desiring to appeal, and it shall be the duty of the committee upon making any such decision to give notice thercof to the parties interested within three days after the same is made.

14. In case of contested elections, the Executive Committee, who may be declared elected at the annual election, shall hold their respective offiees from the time of the declaration of such election until the same are filled by subscquent election, although it may have been finally decided by the committee on contested elections, or, in case of appeal, by the Association, that the election by which they or any of them hold their seats is invalid, unless such decision should be that any other candidate or candidates who were voted for at such election were legally elected, in which case such person or persons so decided to be legally elected shall take seats as officers of the Association in place of the de facto occupants thereof.

15. In all cases where the election of any officer or officers shall be contested and thereupon declared invalid by the committee on contested elections, or by the Association on appeal, the Executive Committee shall thereupon order a new election to be held on the Saturday succeeding such decision, providing three days notice may be given thereof, and if not, then the Saturday thereafter, and notice shall be published of such election, and said election conducted in accordance with the by-laws of the Association on the subject of elections; and the officers chosen at such election shall hold their offices until the next annual election, or until their successors are elected. 16. In all cases of failure to elect at the annual election all or any portion of the Executive Committee, the Committee for the preceeding year shall hold office until the election of the full board of their successors and a new election shall, in case of such failure to elect, be had on the Saturday succeeding the fourth Saturday of March; and if such failure continues, then on succeeding Saturdays thereafter until a choice is effected, unless otherwise ordered by the Association.

17. If any vacancy occur in the Board of Inspectors, they shall give notice thereof to the Executive Committee, who shall thereupon fill the same, and should said Committee neglect to supply said vacancy, within a reasonable time after notice given thereof, the Board of Inspectors shall fill the same.

18. The polls at said election shall be kept open from nine o'clock A. M. to seven o'clock P. M., when the same shall be closed, and the inspectors thereupon proceed to canvass the votes and make report thereof to the Association on the evening of the same day, unless otherwise ordered.

19. In case of a disagreement between the Inspectors in canvassing the votes, they shall report the same and the causes thereof to the Association, together with the state of the vote; and no person shall be deemed elected an officer of the Association until the report of the Inspectors of election to that effect shall have been adopted by the Association.

DUTIES OF THE SEVERAL OFFICERS.

1. The President shall preside at the meetings of the Association, in accordance with the rules and orders hereinafter prescribed.

2. He shall call special meetings of the Association at any time he may see fit, and also when required to do so by any three members of the Executive Committee, or any fifteen members of the Association, and whenever an appeal is taken from he decision of the Committee on Contested Elections, as provided by the by-laws on that subject.

3. He shall also, at the regular meetings of the Association, and at such other times as he shall deem proper, communicate to the Association or the Executive Committee such matters and make such suggestions relative to the affairs of the Association as may in his opinion tend to promote its prosperity and welfare. It shall also, be the duty of the President, or, in case of his inability or absence, then of the Vice Presidents in their order, to attend at the Library at least one hour every Saturday, for the purpose of meeting members of the Association and reviewing the general management of the affairs of the Library, notice of which hour shall be posted in some conspicuous place in the Library rooms,

4. In case of the death, absence, or inability to act, of the President, the Vice Presidents in their order, shall discharge the duties of the office; and in the absence of the President and Vice Presidents, the Executive Committee shall appoint some person who shall perform the duties of the office for the time being.

5. The Recording Secretary shall keep a record of the proceedings of the Association; he shall also be the Recording Secretary of the Executive Committee, keep a record of their transactions, and perform such other duties as may be assigned to him by the Executive Committee.

6. The Corresponding Secretary shall, under the direction of the Executive Committee, receive and answer all communications addressed to the Association, and perform such other duties as the Executive Committee may require, or as are prescribed by any of the by-laws.

7. The Treasurer shall receive all sums due the Association, and all donations in money made for its benefit, and shall pay out the same under the direction of the Executive Committee, upon drafts made upon him, signed by the Recording Secretary and countersigned by the President, and not otherwise. He shall keep an account of all receipts and disbursements, and report the same to the Executive Committee at the first regular meeting each month. He shall also, upon entering on his office, execute a bond with two sufficient sureties to the Association for the faithful performance of his duties, in such penal sum as the Executive Committee shall prescribe.

8. The Recording Secretary shall sign no draft upon the Treasurer, nor shall the same be countersigned by the President, until the voucher for the amount drawn shall be placed in the hands of the Secretary, duly certified by the chairman of the Finance Committee to be correct, and all vouchers shall be preserved by the Secretary until the termination of his term of office, when they shall be filed in the archives of the Association in charge of the Librarian, and a certificate of that fact given to the Secretary, signed by the chairman of the Finance Committee.

9. The Librarian shall attend at the rooms of the Association daily, (Sundays and Thursday evenings excepted,) from nine o'clock A. M. to nine P. M., and shall have charge of the library, reading-room, and property of the Association; shall keep a register of all its books, maps, charts, &c., with the names of doners in cases of presentation, as well as the catalogue of the members of the Association and the register of non-residents introduced, as hereinbefore provided, and perform such other cognate duties as may be required of him by the Executive Committee.

10. The Librarian may receive initiation fees, annual dues, fines and penalties from members, and shall keep an account thereof which he shall render to the Treasurer on the first of each and every month, and at the same time pay over the amounts so received by him.

RULES AND ORDERS.

1. At the hour named as the time of meeting, the Association shall be called to order and the minutes of the last meeting shall be read, and any mistakes or omissions therein corrected.

2. The President shall preside at the meetings of the Association; shall preserve order and decorum; may speak to points of order in preference to other members, but not more than once unless by leave, and shall decide all questions of order, subject to an appeal to the Association by any member.

3. In case of an equal division of the members of the Association voting at a meeting thereof upon any question thereat submitted, the President shall give the casting vote, and he shall also be required to vote whenever his vote, if given to the minority, will make the division equal, and in case of such equal division the question shall be lost. 4. The President may vote on any question as a member of the Association, and in such case he shall not have right to a casting vote; and if he votes as a member, and there is an equal division of votes, the question shall be lost.

5. The President shall rise to put a question or to address the Association, but may read sitting.

6. He shall put the previous question in the following form: "Shall the main question be now put?" and all further debate on the subject shall be suspended, unless the motion for the previous question shall not be sustained; and a call for a division of the question shall be in order after the main question has been ordered to be put. While a motion for the previous question is pending, a motion to lay on the table shall be decided without debate. After the adoption of the previous question, the vote shall forthwith be taken upon amendments reported by a committee upon pending amendments, and then upon the main question.

7. Questions shall be distinctly put in this form, to wit: "As many as are of opinion that (as the question may be) say Aye;" and after the affirmative voice is expressed, "As many as are of the contrary opinion, say No." If the President doubt, or a division be called for, the meeting shall divide; those in the affirmative of the question shall first rise from their seats, and afterwards those in the negative. If the President still doubt, or tellers be required by at least six members, the President shall name two members, one from each side, to tell the members in the affirmative and negative; which being reported, he shall rise and state the result to the meeting. 8. When two or more persons rise at the same time, the President shall name the member who shall speak first.

9. All committees, except such as the Association shall from time to time determine to select by ballot, shall be nominated by the President, unless a majority of the members shall be in favor of a nomination by the Association, in which case the nomination shall be so made.

10. Every question of order which shall be decided on appeal shall be entered on the records of the Association with the decision thereon.

11. In the absence of the Vice-Presidents, the President, if he desires to leave the chair during the progress of a meeting of the Association, shall have the right to name a member to perform its duties while he is absent, but such substitution shall not extend beyond an adjournment.

12. No member shall speak without first rising and addressing the President, nor interrupt another while speaking, except to call to order or to correct a mistake; and any member called to order shall immediately resume his seat, unless permitted by the President or the Association to proceed.

13. No member shall speak more than twice to the same question without leave of the Association, unless he be the mover, proposer, or introducer of the matter pending, in which case he shall be permitted to spoak in reply, but not until every member choosing to speak shall have spoken.

14. All motions, notices and resolutions shall be reduced to writing if desired by the President or any member, endorsed with the name of the person making, giving or introducing the same, and delivered to the Secretary before being considered.

15. No motion shall be received or considered by the Association until seconded; and after a motion is stated or read by the Prestdent, seconded, and reduced to writing, if required, it shall be deemed to be in the possession of the Association and shall be disposed of by vote; but any motion may be withdrawn by the mover at any time