UNION LEAGOE CLUB OF NEW YORK. i CHARTER, ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION, j AND B Y - L A. W S. 1 I MAY, 1868. CLUB HOUSE, MADISON SQUARE, Cor. East Twenty-Sixth Street. 1868 When you leave, please leave this hook Because it has heen said "Ever'thing comes t' him who waits Except a loaned hook." Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library Gift of Seymour B. Durst Old York Library UNION LEAGUE CLUB OF NEW YOKK. CHARTER, ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION, AND B Y - L A, W S . MAY, 1868. CLUB HOUSE, MADISON SQUARE, Cor. East Twenty-Sixth Street. 1868 oi- OFFICERS FOR 1868. JOHN JAY. CHARLES BUTLER, SAMUEL B. RUGGLES, ALEXANDER T. STEWART, WILLIAM C. BRYANT, PETER COOPER, CYRUS W. FIELD, W. J. HOPPIN, FRANKLIN H. DELANO, ELLIOT C COWDIN, GEORGE W. BLUNT, EDAVARD S. JAFFRAY, WILLIAM H. LEE. J. LANGDON WARD. GEORGE CABOT WARD. GEORGE GRISWOLD, JOHN A. WEEKS, FRANK E. HOWE, DAVID VAN NOSTRAND, THEODORE ROOSEVELT, LE GRAND B. CANNON, CHARLES S. SMITH, WILLIAM T. BLODGETT, DANIEL F. APPLETON, WILLIAM H. FOGG, GEORGE F. NOYES, DORMAN B. EATON, THOMAS N. DALE, GEORGE P. BRADFORD, JOSEPH H. CHOATE. 0FFICEB8, Committee on gibmksioits. N. PENDLETON HOSACK, ALBON P. MAN, HENRY L. PIERSON, PARKER HANDY, NATHANIEL HAYDEIT, JEREMIAH LOTHROP, W n.TTAM H. MAXWELL. Committee on ^nblitntioits. RUSH C. HAWKINS, SINCLAIR TOUSEY, THOMAS B. VAN BDREN, ISAAC AMES, BENJAMIN W. BONNEY, BENJAMIN COLLINS, CHARLES A- DANA. ITikarg Committee, ALBERT MATHEWS, JOHN M. GUITEAU, JOSEPH B. VARNUM, JE., ELLIOTT F. SHEPARD, JOHN G. HOLBROOKE, EDWARD WALKER, P. McMARTDJ. GEORGE P. PDTNAM, JOHN F. KENSETT, RICHARD BUTLER, Committee on girt. I JASPER F. CROPSEY, RICHARD M. HUNT, 1 J. Q. A. WARD, VINCENT COLYER. CHARTER. AN ACT TO INCORPORATE "THE UNION LEAGUE CLUB" OP THE CITY OF NEW YORK. PASSED FEBRUARY 16TH, 1865. As Amended by Chap. 160, Laws op 1867, Passed March 26, 1867. The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly J do enact as follows : Section 1. Cornelius R, Agnew, Horatio Allen, James W. Beekman, Henry W. Bellows, Francis B. Cutting, John A. Dix, Wolcot Giobs, John C. Green, George Griswold, David Hoad- ley, Murray Hoffman, William J. Hoppin, Charles King, Charles H. Marshall, "VVillard Parker, George T. Strong, Jonathan Sturges, Otis D. Swan, Moses Taylor, and such other persons as now are members of an association in the city of New York called "The Union League Club," and such persons as here- after shall become members of the corporation hereby created, are constituted a body corporate by the name of " The Union League Club," to be located in the city of New York, to pro- mote, encourage, and sustain, by all proper means, absolute and unqualified loyalty to the Government of the United States, to discountenance and rebuke, by moral and social influences, all disloyalty to said Government, and every attempt against the integrity of thv nation ; and in furtherance of these objects, to establish and maintain a Library and a Gallery of Art and Military Trophies, especially devoted to the perpetuation and illustration of the patriotic services and sacrifices by which tho existing struggle against rebellion has been characterized, 30 CEARTEh. Sec. 2. Said corporation sliall liave power to make and adopt a constitution, by-laws, rules and regulations, for the admission, suspension, and expulsion of its members, and their government, the collection of fees and dues, the number and election of its officers, and to define their duties, and for the safe keeping of its property, and, from time to time, to alter, modify, or change, such constitution, by-laws, rules and regulations. Until an election shall be held pursuant to such constitution, by-laws, rules and regulations, the officers, for the time being, of the association mentioned in the first section of this act, shall be the officers of the corporation hereby created. Sec. 3. Said corporation may purchase and hold, or lease any real or personal estate necessary and proper for the pur- poses of its incorporation, provided they shall not hold any real estate, the value of which shall exceed five hundred thousand dollars ; and the said corporation may issue bonds, and may execute mortgages upon their real estate to an amount not exceeding the value of such real estate, and the improve- ments thereon. Sec. 4. Said corporation shall possess the general powers and be subject to the restrictions and liabilities prescribed in the third title of the eighteenth chapter of the first part of the Revised Statutes. Sec. 5. This act shall take effect immediately. UNION LEAGUE CLUB, OF NEW YOKK. ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION. 1. The condition of membership shall be absolute and an- qualified loyalty to the Government of the United States, and unwavering support of its efforts for the suppression of the Re- bellion. 2. The primary object of the Association shall be to discoun tenance and rebuke, by moral and social influences, all disloy- alty to the Federal Government, and to that end the members will use every proper means in public and private. 3. We pledge ourselves, by every means in our power, collec- tively and individually, to resist to the uttermost every attempt agaiEi^t the territorial integrity of the nation. ADDITIONAL ARTICLE OP ASSOCIATION, ADOPTED JANUARY 11, 1866. 4. It shall be the duty of the Club to resist and expose cor- ruption, and promote reform in our National, State, and Muni- cipal affairs ; and to elevate the idea of American citizenship- Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2013 http://archive.org/details/charterarticlesoOOunio BY-LAWS. OF OFFICERS AND THEIR DUTIES. 1. The OfiScers of the Union League Club shall be a President, twelve Vice-Presidents, a Secretary, a Treas- urer, three Auditors, and the members of the following Standing Committees : Executive Committee, Committee on Admissions, Committee on Publications, Committee on Arts and Relics, Committee on Library ; all of whom shall be elected by the members of the Club, at the annual meet- ings, and shall serve until their successors shall have been elected respectively. 2. The President, or, in his absence, the Vice-President senior in order of election, and present, shall preside at all meetings of the Club. In the absence of the President and all the Vice-Presidents, a presiding officer shall be chosen without ballot from the members of the Club. The Pres- ident shall be, ex officio, a member of the Executive and other standing Committees. 3. The Secretary shall keep a record of the proceedings of the Club, and of the Executive Committee and the Com- mittee on Admissions (of which Committees he shall be, ex officio, a member), and of all matters of which a record shall be deemed advisable by the Club, or by said Commit- 2 10 BY-LAWS, tees. The records of the Secretary, except those of the proceedings of the Committee on Admissions, shall, at all reasonable times, be open to the inspection of any member of the Club. It shall be the duty of the Secretary to notify members of their election, to keep a roll of the members of the Club, to issue notices for all meetings of the Clul) (with a brief mention of the business to be transacted when a special meeting is called), and to conduct the cor- respondence. He shall also be the keeper of the seal of the Club. 4. The Treasurer shall collect, and, under the direction of the Executive Committee, disburse the funds. He shall keep the accounts of the Club in books belonging to it, which shall be at all times open to the inspection of the Executive Committee ; he shall report in writing at each quarterly meeting of the Executive Committee, the balance of money on hand, and the outstanding obligations of the Club as far as practicable, and he shall make a full report, at the annual meeting of the Club, of the receipts and dis- bursements of the past year, with such suggestions as to the financial management of the Club, as he may deem proper. He shall be, ecc officio, a member of the Executive Committee and Committee on Admissions. 5. The Secretary and Treasurer shall respectively have power, with the approval of the Executive Committee, to employ, at the expense of the Club, such clerical aid as may be necessary in the discharge of their duties. 6. The general affairs of the Club shall be managed by the Executive Committee, consisting of fifteen members. The Executive Committee shall, subject in all respects (except as to expenditures) to such instructions and limitations as BY-LAWS. 11 may be from time to time prescribed by the Glub, exer- cise a general superintendence over the internal affairs of the Club ; shall control and manage its property, and enforce the preservation of order and obedience to its rules. All appropriations of the funds of the Club, or of the use of the hall or club-rooms for other than Club purposes, shall be made by the Executive Committee. It shall make all necessary purchases and contracts, but shall have no power to make the Club liable for any debt or debts to an amount exceeding one-half that which, at the time of con- tracting the same, shall be in the Treasurer's hands in cash, and not subject to prior liabilities. It shall also have power to solicit subscriptions of money from loyal persons for the purpose of carrying into effect the objects of the Club. At every annual meeting it shall report its proceedings, and may, at any time, recommend such meas- ures as it may deem advisable. The Executive Committee shall appoint a House Committee of three members, and may from time to time declare their duties. Whenever a Special Committee shall be appointed, a majority thereof shall be those not members of the Executive Committee. 1. The Executive Committee, of which eight shall be a quorum, except during the months of June, July, August, September, and October, when five members shall consti- tute a quorum, shall meet at least once in every month for the transaction of business. Vacancies may be filled by the Committee for the residue of the term. 8. The Committee on Admissions shall consist of seven members. Vacancies may be filled by the Committee for the residue of the term. The names and residences of all persons proposed for admission, with the name and signa- ture of the member proposing them, and of the member 12 BY-LAWS. seconding them, and date of posting, shall be first posted, in a conspicuous place in the Club-IIouse, at least fifteen days. They shall then be referred to the Committee on Admissions, the proceedings of which Committee thereon shall be secret and confidential, and no member of such Committee shall be questioned as to the action of the Com- mittee. It shall be the duty of the Committee to make careful examination, and to consider all communications in reference to each individual proposed ; they shall pass upon each name separately. The Committee shall fix its own place and time of meeting. At every monthly meet- ing the Committee shall report the names of such persons proposed as they recommend for admission ; the names of persons proposed as resident members in one list, and the names of those proposed as non-resident members in a separate list, and the Club shall thereupon proceed to vote, by ballot, upon the names so recommended. Negative votes to the number of one-tenth of those cast shall exclude any person. Members shall be elected only at the regular monthly meetings, but any person elected as a non-resident member, may at any time be classed as a resident mem- ber, by signifying his intention to that effect to the Treas- urer, and paying the balance of the admission fee ; and shall thenceforth pay the full annual dues. 9. No person shall be proposed or admitted to be a member of the Club who is not at the time a citizen of the United States, having the right to vote, and who does not answer to the following requirement of the original Ar- ticles of Association of the Club : "The condition of membership shall be absolute and unqualified loyalty to the Gaverntnant of the United States." BY-LAWS. 13 And every person elected a member shall pledge himself to do all in his power to carry out the primary objects of the Club, which are to discountenance and rebuke, by moral and social influences, and by all proper means, both in public and private, all disloyalty to the Federal Gov- ernment, and to resist to the uttermost every attempt against the territorial integrity of the nation. 10. No candidate who shall have failed to be elected by the Club shall be again proposed for one year. If any person elected shall not, within three months after notice of his election, left at, or sent to his address, as specified by the member proposing him, signify his accept- ance, sign the roll annexed to the Act of Incorporation, and pay his admission fee and annual dues, he shall be deemed to have declined to become a member. 11. It shall be the duty of the Committee on Publications to publish such papers as shall tend to awaken, extend, and perpetuate the vital faith of the fathers of the Repub- lic, namely, that National Union is necessary to the Ameri- can people for the preservation of liberty, maintenance of law, security against civil discord, protection from foreign aggression, continuance of social and commercial prosper- ity, and transmission of national glory; and. to impress on the intelligent and educated classes the duty of taking an active part in the conduct of public affairs. Such Commit- tee shall consist of seven members, and have power to fill vacancies. There shall be a special publication fund dis- tinct from the general fund of the Club, which shall be dis- bursed by the Treasurer only on the order of the chairman of the Committee on Publications. 14 BY-LAWS. 12. The Library Committee shall consist of seven mem- bers, and shall have general charge of the Library and Reading Room, with authority to expend such sums of money upon the same as may be voted therefor by the Ex- ecutive Committee, or procured by voluntary subscription. It shall have power to fill vacancies for the residue of the term. 13. The Committee on Arts and Relics shall consist of seven members, and shall have power to fill vacancies. It shall be the duty of the Committee to expend such sums as shall be appropriated by the Executive Committee, or ob- tained by voluntary subscription, for procuring works of art and relics, and to make all proper efforts to enlarge and display the collection. 14. The duty of the Auditors shall be to audit and settle the accounts of the Treasurer, and to present their report thereof at each annual meeting. They shall have power to fill vacancies in their number, and two of them shall be a quorum. 15. Any officer may be removed for cause, at any meet- ing of the Club, upon two weeks' notice, and any vacancy in any office may be filled for the residue of the term by the Club, at any meeting thereof, except as herein otherwise provided. Neglect on the part of any member of a Standing or Special Committee to attend three consecutive meetings of such Committee, shall be deemed a tender of his resigna- tion of his office, which the Committee may accept, unless an explanation of such neglect, satisfactory to the Com- mittee, shall be given. BY-LAWS. 15 OF MEETINGS. 16. The annual meeting of the Club shall be held on the second Thursday in January, at 8 o'clock p. m., for the eloc- ution of officers, and the transaction of such other business as may come before it. At such election the polls shall re- main open two hours. ^ At the monthly meeting in December, in each year, a Committee of seven shall be appointed by the Club at large, who shall report, at the annual meeting, a list of candi- dates for the various offices. The rules and orders of Cushing's Manual shall govern the meetings of the Club, so far as they are applicable and not inconsistent with these By-Laws. Seventy-five members shall be a quorum at all meetinfrs of the Club. ^ 11. There shall be a monthly meeting, for the election of members, and the transaction of business, on the second Thursday of every month, at 8 p. m. ^ 18. Special meetings of the Club may be called at any time by order of the President, with the approval of three members of the Executive Committee, and shall be called by the Secretary whenever the President or any Vice-Pres- ident shall be thereunto requested in writing by twenty- five members, setting forth the purpose of such meeting. At any such special meeting no business other than that specified in the call, shall be considered, except by unani- mous consent. Such special meetings shall be called by notice in one or more newspapers. 19. At the meetings of the Club, the order of business, so far as the character and nature of the meeting may ad- mit, shall be as follows : 16 BY-LAWS, 1. Reading the Minutes of the last meeting. 2. Election of new members. 3. Reports of Standing Committees. 4. Reports of Special Committees. f). General business. But this order of business may be^changed by a majority of the meeting. . All Special Committees for any purpose shall be appomted by the presiding ofBcer, unless otherwise ordered. All resolutions expressing the sentiments of the Club on any public matter, if objected to by twenty members, shall be referred to a standing or special Committee, who shall report thereon at the next meeting of the Club. 20. No stranger shall be present at any meeting of the Club^ except he shall be specially invited by the President or the House Committee. 21. All elections, except as otherwise provided, shall be by ballot, and a majority of votes cast shall be sufficient, except for the election of new members. 22. Proxies shall not be permitted. OF MEMBERS. 23. No member shall receive any salary, emolument, or profit from the funds of the Club, unless the same be es- pecially appropriated by the Club and the Executive Com- mittee. 24. No member shall give any money or gratuity to servant of the Club. BT-LAWS. i>i 25. All resignations shall be made in writing to the Executive Committee ; but if made after the second Thurs- day of January, such resignation shall not discharge the member presenting it from his dues for the current year All interest in the property of the Club, of members re- signing, or otherwise ceasing to be members, shall be vested in the Club. 26. If the conduct of a member shall appear to the Executive Committee to be disorderly, in violation of the rules, prejudicial to the interests or character of the Club, or contrary to its Charter or By-Laws ; or if, by his acts or conversation, he shall seem to the Committee to manifest a spirit of disloyalty to the Government of the United States, the Committee shall inform him thereof in writing, and, if the nature of the offence in its opinion re- quire It, request him to resign. 21. Should such information or request be disreo-arded the Executive Committee shall refer the matter to the next stated meeting of the Club, or to a special meetino- thereof • of which reference not less than two weeks' written notice shall be given to the offending member. 28. At such meeting the nature of the offence shall be considered, and the member complained of may be censured or expelled by a vote of a majority of the members present A motion involving censure or expulsion shall be decided by ballot. 29. The number of resident members is limited to one thousand. The admission fee of members shall be fifty dollars The annual dues of members hereafter accruing shallbe 3 18 BY-LAWS, fifty dollars, payable, in advance, on the second Thursday of January, at which time the fiscal year shall commence. If not paid within thirty days thereafter, the name of the defaulter shall be posted by the Treasurer in a conspicuous place in the Club-House ; and, should he neglect payment, without good cause, until the first day of April, he shall, ipso facto, cease to be a member. Provided, that upon his written application, and the payment of all dues to the date thereof, the Executive Committee may, upon such terms as it may deem proper, remit the penalty of this By-law ; of all which the Secretary shall make a minute. And pro- vided further, that the penalty of this By-Law shall not apply to the case of a resident member who may be ill or absent from the city of New York. Any person, having ceased to be a member of the Club, since January 1, 1865, by resignation or non-payment of dues whose name has been posted as a candidate fifteen days', recommended by the Committee on Admissions, and passed by the Club, may be readmitted without payment of the admission fee. 30. Any member who has paid an admission fee and the annual dues for one year, and who maybe absent from the city of New York for a continuous period of a year, shall be exempted from the payment of the annual dues for the period of his absence, if he shall give previous written notice to the Treasurer of his intention so to be absent. 31 Persons who are citizens of the United States and non-residents of the city of New York, also officers of the army and navy, and clergymen of the United States where- ever residing, otherwise being eligible, may, with the con- currence of the Committee on Admissions, be admitted to membership in the Club, upon payment of half the rates of BY-LAWS. admission fees and annual dues. Provided, that when elected, it shall be announced to which class such appli- cant belongs, and provided, that when any person so elected ceases to belong to said class, by becoming a resident of the city of New York, he shall thereafter be liable to pay full annual dues, and the balance of the admission fee; Pro- vided, also, that such members shall not be entitled to vote while belonging to such non-resident class. Members who are oflScers of the army or navy, may, on giving notice to the Treasurer, be discharged from liability for dues while absent from the city for one or more years on official ser- vice. 32. Persons who shall be elected members of the Club after six months of any fiscal year shall have expired, shall pay only half the amount of dues for that fiscal year other- wise required. 33. The Club may, at any regular meeting, elect honorary members, who shall be nominated by the Executive Com- mittee. Such honorary members shall have all the privi- leges of the Club except voting at meetings and being eligible for office. OF STRANGERS. 34. X member may personally introduce non-residents to the rooms of the Club for one day, their names, and that of the member introducing them, and the date of such in- troduction, having been first entered in a book to be kept for that purpose. The Executive Committee may make regulations as to the extension of the privileges of the Club to non-resident strangers. 20 BY-LAWS. No resident of thq City of New York, not a member of the Club, shall be admitted to the Club-House, except to the reception-room and private dining-rooms, without the consent of the House Committee first obtained. 35. The Executive Committee may give a written invi- tation to any stranger, which shall entitle him to visit the Club-House for one month, or such longer period as the Committee may deem proper. 36. Residents of the City of New York, not being mem- bers, shall not be admitted to the rooms of the Club more than once. 37. No person, except a non-resident foreigner, shall be admitted into the Club-House, who does not give his un- wavering support to the Government ; and if any person disloyal to the Government of the United States be know- ingly introduced to the Club-House by a member of the Club, such member shall be expelled for the offence. MISCELLANEOUS. 38. No person shall take from the Club-House a news- paper, pamphlet, book, or other article the property of the Club, nor mutilate, deface, or destroy the same. 39. Books, pamphlets, and newspapers, shall not be re- moved from the reading and drawing-rooms. 40. Any motion or resolution offered for the considera- tion of the Club shall, at the request of any member, be reduced to writing before it is acted upon. BY-LAWS. 21 41. The Club shall have a seal, badge, and standard, which shall be devised by the Executive Committee and approved by the Club. 42. A By-Law of the Club may be amended, or a new By-Law made, at any regular meeting of the Club, the proposer having posted upon the notice-board the words of the proposed alteration or addition, for, at least, thirty days immediately preceding said meeting, when, if two- thirds of those present shall vote in favor of the proposed alteration or amendment, the same shall be adopted. 43. The Executive Committee shall have power to make such other regulations, not inconsistent with the Charter or these By-Laws, as may be deemed necessary for the protection of the property of the Club, the management of the Club-House, and the preservation of good order.