PREAMBLE.
We, the undersigned, appreciating the advantages to be derived from practice in debate, hereby organize ourselves into a club for that purpose and agree to be governed by the following Constitution.
Article I.
NAME.
This society shall be called The Boys’ Debating Club of Fairfield.
Article II.
OFFICERS.
The officers of the club shall be a President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer, who shall be elected by ballot and shall hold office for ten weeks, or until their successors are elected. Any vacancy in office shall be filled by election at the meeting when the vacancy is made known.
Article III.
DUTIES OF OFFICERS.
President.
Section 1. The duty of the President shall be to preside at all meetings of the Club; enforce a due observance of the Constitution and Rules of Order; and perform all the duties required of him by the Constitution. He shall also visit, when practicable, clubs and societies of similar general purposes, cultivate fraternal relations with them, and, when possible, arrange with them joint programmes.
Vice-President.
Section 2. The duty of the Vice-President shall be to perform all the duties of the President in the absence of that officer.
Secretary.
Section 3. The duty of the Secretary shall be to take minutes of all meetings of the Club; call the roll, noting members that are absent; attend to the correspondence of the club not otherwise provided for, and perform such other duties pertaining to his office as may be required of him by the club.
Treasurer.
Section 4. It shall be the duty of the Treasurer to take charge of all money belonging to the club; to collect all fines and taxes imposed or assessed by the club; to pay the orders of the Secretary, indorsed by the President; to keep an accurate account of all receipts and expenditures of the club, in books kept for that purpose and, at the last regular meeting in his term of office, to make a report of the same and to produce vouchers for all expenditures during his term of office, which shall be received and filed by the Secretary; and when his successor is qualified he shall turn over to him all books, moneys and other property in his possession belonging to the Club.
Article IV.
CRITIC.
The President shall appoint at each session of the club a Critic, whose duty it shall be to criticise the conduct of the meeting and of the individual members in all respects, and to render to the Club such other help in advice and counsel as may seem wise to him. The Critic shall when possible be appointed from the honorary members of the Club.
Article V.
MEMBERSHIP.
Section 1. Any boy residing in Fairfield may become a member of this club, by election at any regular meeting.
Section 2. Proposals for membership shall be made in writing. The name shall be submitted to the Committee on Membership, hereinafter provided for, which shall, at the next regular meeting, report to the society the general standing and eligibility of the candidate. The vote on the candidate shall be by ballot. If not more than three votes appear against him, he shall be declared elected, and on signing the Constitution, taking the oath of membership, and paying the initiation fee of twenty-five cents he shall be announced by the President as an active member of the Club.
Section 3. Any person may become an honorary member of the society by election at any regular meeting, provided three votes do not appear against him. He shall be entitled to all the privileges of an active member, excepting voting and holding office. He shall not be subject to any initiation fee.
Section 4. Any member who is guilty of conduct unbecoming a member of the Club may, at any regular meeting, be suspended or expelled at the discretion of the Club. But the charge against such member shall be signed by one of the officers of the Club or by at least three members, shall definitely state the facts constituting the alleged offense and shall lie on the table for one week after the offending member has been notified of the charge. No member shall be convicted of the offense charged unless two-thirds of the members present vote for such conviction.
Article VI.
COMMITTEES.
Section 1. The President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer and the Chairman of the Membership Committee shall together constitute the Executive Committee, who shall be vested with all the powers of the club during the intervals between the sessions thereof.
Section 2. The President, at the first meeting of his term, shall appoint a committee of five whose duty it shall be to investigate and report on all proposals for membership. This committee shall hold office throughout the year.
Section 3. At the first meeting of his term, the President shall appoint two persons who, together with himself, shall act as the Programme Committee, whose duty it shall be to formulate the programmes, including the selection of questions for debate, and report the same to the Club at least two weeks before the date of the programme. The committee shall have full power to place active members, including the officers of the Club, on the programme as it may see fit. The Club may at any time modify or change completely any programme in the meeting at which it is reported. The Programme Committee shall hold office until one week after the regular election of the officers.
Article VII.
MEETINGS.
Regular meetings of the Club shall be held on Friday evening of each week at eight o’clock. Special meetings may be called by the President at any time.
Article VIII.
DUES.
Each member of the Club shall pay an initiation fee of twenty-five cents when he is elected to membership and a monthly fee of ten cents on the first day of every month.
Article IX.
This constitution may be amended by a two-thirds vote of all the members present at any regular meeting of the Club, provided one week’s previous notice of the proposed amendment shall have been given.