CONSTITUTION

OF THE

AMERICAN SEED TRADE ASSOCIATION.

ARTICLE I.

This Association shall be known as the AMERICAN SEED TRADE ASSOCIATION.

ARTICLE II.

The object of the Association shall be the development of such relations and intimacies between the members as exist in all standard social organizations; and through and in that firmer business relation in which all can stand together in the effort to improve and perfect a standard of business integrity, which shall include purity of stocks, honesty of representation, carefulness of obligations, and promptness in execution. Also the discussion of all subjects of interest to, or belonging to, the Seed Trade.

ARTICLE III.

The membership shall consist of regular seed-growers and dealers whose chief business is the buying and selling of seeds, or agricultural tools and seeds, in this country and Canada.

BY-LAWS.

ARTICLE I.

SECTION 1. Any individual or firm engaged in the seed trade in this country or Canada, as provided for in Article III of the Constitution, shall, be eligible to membership in this Association; firms shall be entitled to one vote only, but each individual member of a firm may become a member of the Association on the payment of the regular membership fee, and be entitled to all the privileges of the Association, in person or by proxy.

SEC. 2. New members may be elected at the annual convention of the Association, or at any special meeting that may be held, after having been recommended by the Committee on Membership.

Amendment to Article I, Section 2, adopted June, 1897: All applicants for membership must be recommended as eligible by at least one member of the Association.

The election of new members shall be by ballot. It shall require the affirmative ballot of at least two-thirds of the, members present and voting to elect a member. No applicant for admission to membership shall be balloted for on the day of his proposal, except by a unanimous vote suspending the rule.

SEC. 3. Each member shall pay an annual assessment of five dollars, which shall be due at the commencement of each year.

SEC. 4. Any member not in arrears to the Association may withdraw from it, filing with the Secretary a written notice of his intention. Any member who shall be in arrears over two years for his dues, or who shall conduct himself in a manner that is considered at variance with the interests of this Association, shall, written charges having been preferred, be suspended from membership by order of the President, upon recommendation of the Committee on Membership, and, after a hearing before the Association at its next meeting, may be expelled by a vote of two-thirds of the members present.

Amendment of June, 1902.

I.

ARTICLE II.

SECTION 1. The officers of the Association shall consist of a President, two Vice-Presidents, a Secretary, a Treasurer, and an Assistant Secretary; an Executive Committee of seven, composed of President, Secretary and Treasurer, and five additional members; a Committee of Membership, consisting of three* and a Committee of Arbitration to 'consist of three members.

SEC. 2. All the officers and committees shall be elected by ballot of the Association, and shall hold their offices for one year, or until their successors are elected,* except the Committee of Arbitration, which committee shall be appointed by the President, when required for special cases. A majority. of the votes cast shall be requisite to constitute a choice.

ARTICLE III.

There shall be an annual meeting of the Association, for the choice of officers and the transaction of other business, on Tuesday of the last full week in June, at such place as the Executive Committee may appoint; each member shall be notified by the Secretary, through the mail, of the time and place of such meeting at least thirty days in advance of said meeting. Fifteen members shall constitute a quorum.

ARTICLE IV.

SECTION I. It shall be the duty of the President, or, in his absence, one of the Vice-Presidents, to preside at all meetings of the Association. The President shall also preside at all meetings of the Executive Committee, and he shall audit and sign the annual account of the Treasurer.

SEC. 2. It shall be the duty of the Secretary to attend all meetings of the Association and of the Executive Committee, and to keep a careful record of their doings; to conduct all correspondence, and to carry into execution all orders, votes, and resolves not otherwise committed; to keep a list of the members of the Association; collect the assessments, and pay over the same to the Treasurer; to notify members of their election, and members of committees of their appointment. • Amendment of June, 1898.

+ Amendment of June, 1902.

In the absence of the Secretary and Assistant Secretary, the President shall appoint a Secretary pro tempore.

SEC. 3. The Treasurer shall keep an account of all money received and expended for the use of the Association, and shall pay all accounts owing by the Association after they have been examined by the President and found correct. His account shall be produced at the annual meeting, having been previously audited and signed by the President. When his term of office expires, he shall deliver to his successor, or, in his absence, to the President, all books, moneys, and other property of the Association in his possession.

*SEC. 4. It shall be the duty of the Committee of Arbitration to investigate and decide all disputes of a financial, mercantile, or commercial character which may be submitted to it.

*SEC. 5. The proceedings of the Committee of Arbitration shall be recorded in a book to be kept for the purpose, in which shall be entered a summary of each controversy, the award made thereon, and, at the discretion of the committee, the grounds for making such award. The said book shall be the property of the Association, and subject to the inspection of its members.

ARTICLE V.

These By-laws may be amended or repealed by a vote of two-thirds of the members present and voting thereon at any meeting of the Association, provided notice of such amendment or repeal shall have been sent by mail to each member at least thirty days in advance of said meeting.

Amendments of June, 1898.