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of the Annual Convention was called to order on Wednesday at 9:30 A. M.

President Teed: It is time for our business meeting, and already a little. late. I will ask Mr. Rich to take charge of the meeting this morning.

Mr. Rich: First in order of business will be the reading of the Secretary's report.

For the Secretary's report, see page 228.

Mr. Hoexter: In order that the members may be apprised of what the liabilities are, we are indebted to the bank, $200.00. We owe our printers a balance on the annuals that were printed for 1913, 1914 and 1915, $599.00, and then there are two other accounts of $43.00 and $75.00 to the Robert Smith Printing Co., and the Dean Hicks Printing Co., which accounts we are simply carrying over by good grace from year to year. So our indebtedness amounts to $600.00 and the $200.00 due the bank. If this debt was once cleared off you can easily see that the society could be self-supporting. We depend on the advertisements to cover the major portion of the expense of the annual, and we could make the annual self-supporting if we could secure sufficient advertisements. We have tried the scheme of giving it to some advertising agency and having them guarantee a certain amount, yet their success was not so good as we had ourselves last year. The annual costs about $500 for publication. The advertisements have been running up to $168 and $170. If the members will endeavor to secure more advertisements to cover the expense of the annual the other expenses of the society are very nominal, do not run above $200 or $300. I wish you would help us to start this. Then do not forget that I opened the matter of soliciting the members to pay dues in advance as a means of helping us to clear the society of its debts. If the society is to continue to grow new members must come into it, and we want to be able to ask them into a Society that is clear of debt, one that is strong and one which is growing.

Mr. Rich: What is the pleasure of the Society with reference to the Secretary's report, as a whole?

Mr. Rich: It is moved and seconded that the report be received. (Vote carried).

What will you do with the recommendations of the Secretary?

Prof. Riggs: Mr. Chairman, some three or four years ago when we were at Lansing we had a money raising bee and at that time a good many of us had some doubt as to whether the Society was going ahead or not. I don't think any one can come here and look at the attendance of this meeting and have a moment's doubt. At the time of that meeting a good many of the members present made contributions toward the debt, and a good many who were not there made no contribution and I am wondering whether anything was done to follow up the work of the Lansing meeting among the older men, or whether the matter rested with what was raised at the Lansing meeting.

I do not favor the suggestion made by the Secretary that dues be advanced. Personally I would rather either have a personal donation or raise the dues. I would rather see another dollar added than to pay the dues in advance. That is merely putting it off and shifting the debt from an old one to a future one. I feel that the recommendations made are good; that we ought to make a special effort to get free from debt but the manner of doing it should be one that will get us squarely on our feet without incurring any additional indebtedness.

Mr. Rich: I would ask the Secretary to tell us about the donation matter.

Mr. Hoexter: The donation bee at Lansing was like a revová meeting. In following it up I found that many of those who were the most earnest workers at the meeting could not be gotten to continue. The donations, as you will remember were pub lished in the 1915 annual and net about $256.00. That was about $50 more than was actually collected at the meeting soliciting the members there was a committee appointed to communicate with the members in regard to contributing for the purpose of raising funds to meet the indebtedness of the Society and that did not net us more than $55.00.

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Mr. Rich: Do you remember what the total pledges of the meeting amounted to?

Mr. Hoexter: No. But that which was pledged at the meeting was collected. There were no pledges that were not collected.

Mr. Smith: It seems to me that inasmuch as a year ago we were about $900.00 in debt, between $900 and a $1,000, and at this time we are practically the same amount in debt, within $50 at least, that the Society as it now runs is balancing out and expenses are practically the same as the receipts and in order to clear away our debts it will take practically $900.00. The membership of the Society, I understand, is something like 200 and a special assessment or donation would be rather heavy on some of the members or else it would have a tendency to crowd out members who are in good standing and who have joined the Society without the understanding of the present debts. Inasmuch as our dues were a few years ago $4.00 including postage on exchanges, I have been wondering if it would not be advisable to raise the dues to $4.00 and thereby get an amount equal to practically $180 or $200 per year to apply on this deficit. In order to bring the matter to discussion and a head I would move that the dues be raised to $4.00.

Mr. Rich: You have heard the motion, that the dues be raised to $4.00. Any debate?

Prof. Cox: I just rise to question the method somewhat. Would we not have to amend our present by-laws rather than bring it up as a motion before the meeting? Is not that provided in our constitution?

Mr. Rich: The Secretary is looking it up.

Mr. Parks: I think you will find that the dues are restricted to $3.00 in the constitution. While our former Secretary, Mr. Holmes adopted the plan to assess us $1.00 for postage it was declared in open meeting to be illegal. Still I would be very much in favor of increasing the dues to $4.00, whether we have to go through the procedure of amending the by-laws or not. I am in favor of adopting this change.

Mr. Smith: I would like to withdraw my motion and make another which will allow this thing to be taken care of now in

stead of a year from now, and the motion will be that we assess a dollar for postage on exchanges. I would make it indefinite as to how long. It can be rescinded when the deficit is made up. (Motion seconded by Mr. Rumsey.)

Mr. Rich: The motion is made that an assessment of a dollar per year be levied on the members for an indefinite period.

Mr. Williams: I see that by the by-laws I am an outlaw. I am willing to pay this morning. I don't know whether I can pay tomorrow morning or not. It seems if we are going to run a bluff on a dollar for postage let us make it $2.00 for postage and in that way make it a $5.00 annual due.

I personally would like to see twenty men that would guarantee to take one page of the annual at $16.00, which I believe is the price for the advertising, guarantee to sell that advertising and turn in the money for it. In that way we do not have to ask for any donation and nobody is required to go into his own pocket if he has a little energy to work it out. It is no particular trouble to get $16.00 worth of advertising. The merchants simply tumble over themselves to spend their money and it is very easy.

So I would really like to see our dues raised $2.00 by assessment for something, let the Secretary put it where he will, or see twenty men that will guarantee to take one page of the advertising. In the last year's annual I placed one page as a Grand Rapids page. I did that particularly because we were coming here this winter, and I obtained members and friends of the Society to put in their cards at one dollar apiece and it worked out very easily.

There is just one thing more while I am on my feet, and that is of the splendid work that our Secretary has been doing for us in the past year's collections. His collections of over $200.00 of past dues and membership fees, is something that we should be proud of. He has been doing hard work and I know something of it because I received a letter from him this last month pretty nearly every day in the week, so I know he has been working.

Mr. Rich: Any other remarks?

Prof. Decker: Personally I would be in favor of any reason

able amount, either $1.00 or $2.00 or $3.00 as a fee but it seems to me it would perhaps be wise to leave it at $1.00 increase as suggested by the motion. That will net us nearly $200.00 if it can be collected. Perhaps $150 would be a fair amount which we may assume may be collected. If we had had a report from the Secretary that our total indebtedness had been decreased $150 we would pat ourselves on the back and consider that we were doing well enough. So, if at the end of the next year our Secretary could make such a report we would consider we were making as good progress as could be reasonably expected and in view of the fact that we want to get as many new members as possible and sometimes it is the mention of the annual dues, the smallness of this amount, that is an argument which may be well used in getting new members. That is the reason I feel that the amount should be limited to $1.00. If there is a feeling that $2.00 or $3.00 would not hinder our work in getting new members I would be in favor of such an increase.

Mr. Taft: I think that up to last year we had been paying $4.00 and only this last year the due for postage was dropped off. If we had that $200.00 that would have reduced our indebtedness one quarter, so I am in favor of putting that dollar back.

Mr. Hoexter: Evidently Mr. Taft is working under a misapprehension. A great many of the members said that rather than have the one dollar charged against them they would rather not get the annuals. Then I was flooded with inquiries as to why they did not get the annuals. So finally I undertook sending them by express. Express was very much more nominal than postage. Mr. Parks moved that we rule this out as we had no right to charge this for postage on the annual, though as your motion now stands it will entitle us to collect that one dollar and apply it towards this deficit without specifying for postage.

Mr. Stoddard: While talking finance I would like to call the Society's attention to what a few of us local men have done here. I do not believe in any previous meeting of the Society you have had the material men before. This is a scheme for making your Society financially strong; if this Society at this time were to adopt the practice at each annual convention of in

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