iiiiki lit: ihii i) iiii^ CONSTITUTION THE WA8HII\GTO]V M MTIOML MONUMEIT SOCIETY WASHINGTON: PRINTED BT JOHN T. TOWERS. 1847. J) CONSTITUTION, ARTICLE I. This Society shall be styled " The Washington National Monument Society," and its object shall be the erection of a Great National Monument to the memory of Washington, at the Seat of the Fede- I'al Government. ARTICLE IL The Society shall consist of all adult male contri- butors. The officers of the Society shall be a Presi- dent, three Vice Presidents, a Treasurer, and Secre- tary, who, with thirteen members, to be chosen as hereinafter mentioned, shall constitute a Board of Managers, all of whom shall be residents of the District of Columbia, and who shall be trienni?. ally elected by ballot by the members of the So- Society present at its anniversary meeting on the 22d day of February, 1835, and on the same day in every third year thereafter. The existing Officers shall hold their places until the 22d of February, 18:^5 ; and all officers shall continue in office until others shall be elected. All vacancies that may occur in the Board of Managers shall be supplied by the Board until the next ensuing triennial election. And the President of the United States for the time being, shall be ex officio^ President of the Society. ARTICLE III. The President shall preside at all meetings of the Society, state the business before it, and call all extra meetings when he shall see fit ; and, in case of his absence, it shall be the duty of the senior Vice Presi- dent then present to take the Chair ; and he shall, for the time, have and exercise all the authority, privileges, and powers of the President. In the ab- sence of the President and all the Vice Presidents at any meeting of the Society, the Society shall then choose, viva voce, a President j)ro tempore, who shall, for the time, be vested with all the power and au- thority of the President. ARTICLE IV. The Society shall meet on the 22d of February of every year. But if a vacancy shall occur, by the death, resignation, or otherwise, of any officer of the Society, an extra meeting shall be called by the President or either of the Vice Presidents, to fill guch vacancies. ARTICLE V. The Treasurer shall receive and deposite to the credit of the Society all moneys collected for its use in some safe Bank or Banks at Washington, to be drawn therefrom by drafts signed by the President or a Vice President, and countersigned by the Treasurer; shall disburse the same in such manner as the Board pf Managers shall direct ; and shall keep regular accounts of the moneys received and disbursed by him. The accounts of the Treasurer shall be audita ed every six months by a Committee of the Board of Managers, whose report shall be entered on their minutes. ARTICLE VI. The Secretary shall keep the Minutes of Proceeds ings of the Society, shall regularly record the same in a book to be provided and kept for that purpose, and shall also act as Secretary to the Board of Managers. ARTICLE VII. The United States shall be divided into such num^ ber of collection districts as the Board of Managers shall, from time to time, designate : Provided, that this provision shall in no wise affect or impair the bonds or obligations of any deputy collector hereto- fore appointed, or prevent the giving by them of new feonds for the faithful discharge of their duties. ARTICLE VIII. It shall be the business of each Collector to call in person, or by honest and faithful deputies to be appointed by him, on all the inhabitants of his Col- lection District, and receive from them such contri- butions in money as they may be inclined to grant ; to transmit the same, at least once in every two months, to the Treasurer of the Society, or deposite the sums collected in some safe Bank in his CoUec- iiion District, to the credit of the Society, to be drawn therefrom by drafts signed by the President or a Vice President, and countersigned by the Treasurer; and each Collector shall receive such compensation as the Board of Managers shall allow, and shall make a regular entry of the money he receives. He shall also enter in a book the names of the contributors, and the amount contributed by each, which shall be deposited in the Monument. Each Collector, before he enters upon the duties of his office, shall give bond, with good and sufficient sureties, to be approved by the Board of Managers, in the penal sum of at least five thousand dollars, with such conditions as the Board of Managers shall prescribe, and shall make his final return, and close his collections, in one year from the day of his appointment, unless the Board of Managers shall find it expedient to extend the time. ARTICLE IX. It shall be the duty of the Board of Managers, of whom five members shall constitute a quorum, to carry the object of the Society into effect by all proper means not repugnant to this Constitution, and to ren- der at each annual meeting a statement exhibiting the sums received and expended, with the measures adopted by them. ARTICLE X. The President and Vice President of the United States, the Heads of Departments of the General Crovernment, the Governors of the respective States and Territories, the Judges of the Supreme Court, and the members of the Senate and House of Rep- resentatives of the United States, shall be honorary members of the Society. ARTICLE XL The President of the Society, and, in his absence, the first, second, or third Vice President, shall be, ex officio, Chairman of the Board of Managers, and shall preside at all meetings thereof; and if the President and all the Vice Presidents be absent, then the Board shall choose, viva voce, a Chairman pro tempore. ARTICLE XII. No amendment to the Constitution shall be made, except at an annual meeting of the Society, and with the concurrence of three-fourths of the members present. < \ • LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 014 368 908 6